Andrew Goram (1991 to 1998)
Voted goalkeeper of the greatest Rangers XI of all time, external circumstances provided Andrew Goram with the opportunity to join the Club in 1991. Whilst naturally keen to build his own side, changes in football regulations had forced manager Walter Smith’s hand as he embarked on his first full season in charge of Britain’s top side.
In a normal close season trading environment, moving on England’s No.1 goalkeeper (Chris Woods) would not have been seen as a priority or, indeed, a particularly wise move. However, the clearly defined status of Woods as “non-national” when it came to European competition would bring his Ibrox career to an abrupt end despite him having been a crucial component of the ‘1986 revolution’.
Ironically, the big winner in this somewhat unwanted situation was a man born in the very same county as Woods. A cricket fanatic with arguably a more prominent English accent than his predecessor, Andrew Lewis Goram was the ‘obvious’ replacement. Already a full internationalist (at both Football and Cricket), Andy had qualified to represent Scotland through the grandparent ruling and had not hesitated in doing so. That decision some years previously was, by the summer of 1991, paying dividends.
Born in Bury, Lancashire, in 1964 Andy followed in the footsteps of his father (Lewis) to become a professional footballer and fellow member of the goalkeeper’s ‘union’. By the age of 16, and despite an early rejection by WBA due to concerns over his lack of height for that position, Andy was playing in the second tier of the Football League with Oldham Athletic where he would go on to firmly establish himself as manager Joe Royle’s first team keeper. His performances were catching the eye of both England (he had been named in Under 21 squads) and Scotland and his eligibility to represent either at that stage potentially ‘fast-tracked’ his full debut for Scotland in 1985. Caretaker manager Alex Ferguson handed the 21-year-old his first cap against East Germany to cement his allegiance to Scotland and the following summer he would be part of the World Cup squad headed for Mexico.
Still only 23, Andy made a big money move to Hibernian in October 1987 for a fee of £325,000. Although a Rangers and Manchester United fan as a child, there was an emotional attachment to the Easter Road side with his father having spent time there in the in the late 1940’s. He would spend 4 seasons in Edinburgh and during that period would establish himself as one of the top performers in the Premier Division despite Hibernian under achieving in terms of league placings.
Rangers spent £1M to prize Andy from Hibernian and having received £1.2M for the sale of Woods, it was a palatable deal for all parties involved. Andy’s debut would come in the opening game of the 1991/92 season as St. Johnstone were dismantled 6-0 at Ibrox with the home support also treated to the unfurling of the championship flag pre-match. If this was a routine start to his Gers career, the next couple of months were anything but as several high-profile individual errors made for an unconvincing start to his time in Govan.
League points were dropped at Tynecastle just 7 days after his debut as he misjudged an early Scott Crabbe shot and our ‘assaults’ on both the League Cup and European Cup were over by the start of October with Andy firmly in the firing line. Whether down to a massive change in expectations or perhaps a consequence of now having far less to do in the course of 90 minutes, Andy’s confidence and concentration levels appeared to be in question. Whilst Walter Smith reiterated the requirements of being a Rangers player, he stuck by his new signing and (at Andy’s request) sanctioned the introduction of goalkeeping coach Alan Hodgkinson to the backroom staff. A mentor and somewhat of a father figure to Andy, guru Hodgkinson would soon have Goram back in the right mindset where he would now go on to earn legendary status.
Those early season blips were long forgotten by the end of season 1991/92 as Rangers clinched a fourth successive league championship and a first Scottish Cup win in 11 years. Andy had finished the campaign strongly but the best was yet to come. Season 1992/93 would turn out to be one of the greatest in the history of the Club, the domestic treble was secured for the first time in 15 years as Rangers embarked on a 44-match unbeaten run which saw the side come within 90 minutes of the inaugural Champions League Final.
Whilst that 1992/93 squad was littered with stand-out performers, Andy appeared to be on a different level. In matches where Rangers were running on empty and under the cosh, it felt like ‘The Goalie’ could single-handedly keep the opposition at bay. The bigger the occasion the bigger the performance, an incredible night at Elland Road being the pick of the bunch. Whilst Andy would always be the first to credit his teammates (and there so many heroes that season), it would be no exaggeration to say that his personal performances that season were WORLD class. Whilst Mark Hateley (1993/94), Brian Laudrup (1994/95) and Paul Gascoigne (1995/96) are often credited with delivering subsequent titles, there would be a strong argument that Andy surpassed all of them. Voted Footballer of the Year and Players’ Player of the Year for 1992/93, his abilities were certainly recognised throughout Scotland.
Of course, making your mark in an Old Firm match is a sure way to elevate yourself to hero status among the Rangers support and Andy often saved his 10/10 performances for those matches. Former Celtic boss Tommy Burns famously groaned, “put it on my tombstone – Andy Goram broke my heart”. Many of the saves that Andy made during those powder keg clashes simply defied belief, the point-blank stop from Van Hooijdonk at Ibrox being the stand-out.
Although there were certainly periods of frustration due to injury and fitness levels, Andy remained a stalwart of Walter’s NIAR side and would win 6 league titles during his 7 seasons at the Club. Allied to regular Scottish Cup and League Cup successes, it was an incredible haul for ‘The Goalie’ who proudly represented Rangers first team on 260 occasions.
Latterly featuring for Motherwell and several other Clubs on a short-term basis, Andy fulfilled his other great ambition when in 2001 he played for Manchester United after answering an emergency SOS call to cover an injury crisis at Old Trafford.
Following his retirement, Andy remained extremely close to the Club and the 'Rangers Family' were stunned when he announced he was battling cancer in the early months of 2022.
He died on 2nd July 2022 at the age of 58.
by Rick Plews
