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Born in Sweden and raised in South Africa, Richard Gough, a
consummate professional who would eventually emerge as one of the most
successful captain's in Rangers' history, first arrived at Ibrox in
February 1980. After a failed trial at Ipswich Town and a bout of
homesickness that denied him the chance to sign for Charlton Athletic,
Gough was offered a trial by Rangers manager John Greig, but he failed
to do enough during his short stint to convince Greig that he merited a
contract. Dundee United were more impressed, though, and offered Richard
a one-year deal, and he proceeded to become a vital component in a
United side that was consistently challenging for the top honours in the
Scottish game. A series of assured displays saw Gough become a virtual
ever-present in the right-back position, and his displays were so
impressive that he was identified as one of Graeme Souness' primary
transfer targets when Souness became Rangers manager in 1986. A bid of
£650, 000 was rejected by United, though, as their manager, Jim McLean,
did not want to sell one of his prized assets to a rival club. Richard
moved to Tottenham Hotspur instead, but he was in London for just over a
year - during which time he captained the club to the FA Cup Final in
1987 - and Souness eventually snared him in October 1987 for a fee of
£1, 100, 000.
Although he eventually established himself as a rock-solid
centre-half, Gough was initially deployed at right-back, and made his
debut in that position at his old stomping ground, Tannadice, in a 1-0
defeat against Dundee United on October 10th 1987. He scored his first
goal in light blue seven days, a dramatic late equaliser in a 2-2 draw
against Celtic at Ibrox, and before his first month at Ibrox was out, he
had picked up a League Cup winners' medal when Rangers defeated
Aberdeen 5-3 on penalty kicks after the teams had shared six goals in a
pulsating match at Hampden (see photo above, Richard keeping a close eye on Willie Falconer).
Gough partnered Graham Roberts in the heart of defence for that match,
filling in for the suspended Terry Butcher, and when the Rangers skipper
broke his leg a few weeks later, Richard stepped into the breach at
centre-half and became a mainstay in that position for the next nine
years. His athleticism, bravery, excellent positional sense and
commanding aerial presence made Gough a natural for the position, and he
missed only two league matches for the remainder of the 1987/88
campaign. He added more goals to his tally too, registering five league
goals in total, including the winning goal against Aberdeen at Pittodrie
in February, a strike that earned Rangers their first league win in the
Granite City since September 1982.
When Butcher returned to action at the start of the 1988/89 season,
he and Gough soon formed an unyielding defensive barrier that provided a
firm foundation upon which Rangers launched one of the most celebrated
eras in their history. Richard missed just two matches during the
1988/89 season - a 3-1 league win over Dundee in January and a 1-1 draw
against Raith Rovers in the opening round of the Scottish Cup- and his
performances over the course of the season were of such a high standard
that he was voted Player of the Year by the Scottish Football Writers
Association. In addition to that particular personal accolade, Gough
also added a League Cup winners' medal - Aberdeen were the vanquished
opponents in the Final - and a Premier Division Championship medal to
his collection. He claimed another title medal in the 1989/90 season
when the Light Blues retained the Championship, although his appearances
were restricted by a troublesome foot injury that required two
operations. (Alistair Aird, Author of Ally McCoist - Portrait of a Hero)
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