Andrew Gray (1988 to 1989)
A first ever Rangers goal for Andy Gray came on 29th October 1988 at 'Love Street'.
Rangers had fallen behind to St.Mirren on the hour mark, a great goal involving former midfielder Billy Davies and Mark McWalter. For a while it looked like a second defeat in 4 days was on the cards (having gone down 2-0 in Cologne during the midweek European fixtures).
With Ally McCoist limping off in Paisley after just 11 minutes due to a hamstring injury, Rangers goal threat was significantly reduced and as the clock ticked down manager Graeme Souness threw caution to the wind when he substituted left full back Stuart Munro and replaced him with striker Andy Gray. Within 18 minutes of being on the pitch, Andy had struck his first goal for the Club to earn a valuable point which saw Rangers remain at the top of the Premier Division.
Over the years, there have been a number of top class performers plying their trade in England who have never hidden their love for our Club but who never quite managed to find their way to Ibrox as players. Therefore, when lifelong Rangers fan Andy Gray finally got the opportunity at almost 33 years of age he wasn’t exaggerating when, after making his debut, declared “I can die a happy man now”!
Following an early season injury to Kevin Drinkell, Graeme Souness paid WBA £25,000 to secure the services of Andy as back up.
His debut came at Hampden just days after signing as Rangers defeated Hearts 3-0 in the semi final of the league cup on a night when his former Aston Villa team mate Mark Walters stole the show.
Andy started out in Scottish Football with Dundee United where he was a team mate of Walter Smith. His goal scoring record at Tannadice was soon attracting interest from English Clubs and at the start of season 1975/76 he was snapped up by Aston Villa for £110,000.
Four years later, he would become the most expensive ever British transfer when Wolverhampton Wanderers paid £1.46m to secure his services. With Wolves, he would win the League Cup during his first season and spent four years at Molineux.
His move to Everton in November 1983 would see Andy enjoy the greatest success of his career. The FA Cup was secured in his first season (a victory over a Watford side that included Maurice Johnston) and he would score in that Wembley Final. The League Championship and European Cup Winners Cup would arrive at Goodison the following season as the balance of power in Merseyside shifted from red to blue. His team mates included Gary Stevens and Trevor Steven who, of course, would both make their own way to Rangers in the years to come. Andy and Trevor both scored goals in that ECWC victory over Rapid Vienna in 1985 on a memorable night for the Toffees in Rotterdam. However , the sickening scenes in Heysel Stadium just two weeks later would prevent them from defending the trophy as a ban on English Clubs in Europe was introduced.
Andy was a powerful striker, tremendous in the air and absolutely fearless. His willingness to put his head in where it hurts possibly resulted in more injuries than most but he scored goals wherever he went and represented Scotland on 20 occasions. At his peak, he would have been a phenomenal player for Rangers, exactly the type of striker our fans have loved down the years.
His Rangers career lasted only that one season and he made 16 appearances in total scoring 5 goals. Bearing in mind he started only 3 of those games it was a decent contribution from Andy. His final start and goals came on the penultimate game of the 1988/89 league campaign when his double at Dens Park secured a 2-1 victory. Having been a regular substitute throughout the season, he was perhaps more than a bit unfortunate to miss out on a similar role in the 1989 Scottish Cup Final as we looked to secure the treble. Unfortunately for Andy, the manager decided he wanted to be on the bench instead!
Rangers would bring Maurice Johnston to the Club that summer to compete with Ally McCoist and Kevin Drinkell for the striking positions and Andy moved on.
“The best thing that has ever happened to me. I’ll never forget it as long as I live” - Andy Gray on making his first appearance for Rangers in September 1988.
by Rick Plews
