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In the midst of a glut of extravagant purchases in the summer of
1998, Rod Wallace's arrival at Ibrox almost went unnoticed. Signed by
Dick Advocaat on a Bosman from Leeds United, the striker joined the
likes of Arthur Numan, Andrei Kanchelskis and Giovanni van Bronckhorst
in a first-team squad that had undergone a radical facelift in the close
season following Walter Smith's departure at the end of one of the most
successful eras in the Club's history.
An England 'B'
international who had played for Southampton and Leeds United prior to
his arrival in Glasgow, Wallace perfectly fitted the 'pint sized'
stereotype that is often given to smaller strikers and his pace and
razor sharp instincts in the penalty area were his strongest assets. He
made an immediate impact in a Rangers jersey, scoring in his first four
league appearances and also grabbing three vital goals against PAOK
Salonika, Beitar Jerusalem and Parma during Rangers' UEFA Cup campaign.
By
Christmas Rod had found the net sixteen times, and his purple patch
continued into the New Year, with the speedy striker finding the net in a
2-2 draw against Celtic and notching a hat-trick in a vital 5-0 victory
over title rivals Kilmarnock at Rugby Park in February. Wallace's form
was one of the major factors that helped Rangers to regain the SPL
Championship, and the title was eventually secured when Celtic were
defeated 3-0 at Parkhead on May 3, the first time the Light Blues had
clinched a league title at the home of their fierce rivals. Rod now had a
Scottish League Championship medal to add to the English equivalent he
had picked up with Leeds in 1991/92, although his joy was diluted by a
late ordering off in what had been a tempestuous encounter. However, he
more than made up for his dismissal when the teams faced each other
again in the Scottish Cup Final, ending his first season in style when
he grabbed the only goal of the game. It was Wallace's twenty-seventh
goal of the season, and the victory completed a domestic Treble for
Rangers.
Rod maintained his rich vein of goal-scoring form in the
1999/2000 season, a campaign in which Rangers won an SPL and Scottish
Cup 'Double'. He forged fruitful front-line partnerships with Michael
Mols and Billy Dodds and plundered twenty goals in forty-two
appearances. He figured prominently on all fronts, scoring one of the
goals against Finnish side FC Haka that helped the Light Blues qualify
for the group stages of the Champions League, and he was an Old Firm
match-winner again when his late goal eked out a 1-0 win over Celtic at
Parkhead in the closing stages of the league campaign. Perhaps his
highlight of the season, however, was the hat-trick of headers that he
scored in a 6-2 win over Motherwell at Ibrox in March; a magnificent
feat when one considers that at just 5 foot 7 inches tall Rod was one of
the smallest players on the park.
The arrival of the likes of
Kenny Miller, Ronald de Boer and Tore Andre Flo in the early months of
the 2000/2001 season increased competition for places at Ibrox, and
despite a healthy goal-scoring return in the previous two campaigns,
Wallace eventually found himself falling further down the pecking order.
After scoring just once in the opening five league matches, he dropped
out of the starting eleven, appearing just twice for the first-team
before he was recalled to help resurrect Rangers' season at the end of
March. He managed to find the net four times in the final eight league
fixtures, including a brace against Kilmarnock in the penultimate league
match of the campaign, but he failed to help Rangers win any
silverware.
The goals against Kilmarnock would be Wallace's last
in Rangers colours. After making a total of 120 appearances and scoring
fifty-five goals, he returned to England and signed for Bolton Wanderers
on a free transfer. (Alistair Aird, Author of Ally McCoist - Portrait of a Hero)
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