Jimmy Nicholl (1983 to 1984) & (1986 to 1989)
Jimmy Nicholl must be unique in the history of Rangers in that he had three different spells at Ibrox (twice as a player) during which time he captained, coached and managed the Club.
The likeable Ulsterman first joined Rangers for a loan spell in October 1983 but, famously, despite having agreed the loan deal with John Greig, he would never play a single minute under Greig who would resign as manager the day after securing Nicholl’s services!
It was a difficult time for the Club and Nicholl would taste defeat in his first 3 league matches (versus St.Mirren, Celtic and Aberdeen) but the return of Jock Wallace as boss slowly started to galvanise the side. Following on from that loss to Aberdeen, Rangers would taste defeat just once in the remaining 24 league matches whilst also lifting the League Cup in a thrilling 3-2 victory over Celtic.
Jimmy played his part, making 26 domestic appearances including a starting berth in that Cup Final win. He also started the final Old Firm League clash of the season, a 1-0 victory at Ibrox thanks to a late Bobby Williamson strike. Jimmy was handed the captain's armband in what was to be his final match before returning to Canada following the end of his loan arrangement. It was, however, a bittersweet afternoon for Nicholl who was (harshly) red carded.
Having appeared in both the 1982 and 1986 World Cup Finals with Northern Ireland and with almost 250 Manchester United first team appearances under his belt, right full-back Jimmy had a wealth of experience by the time he made his return to Rangers permanent in 1986. His signing (ironically a swap from WBA involving Bobby Williamson) was fairly low profile in comparison to the arrival of Chris Woods and Terry Butcher but Jimmy quickly slotted back into the right-back position and played regularly until the start of December. During this time he secured another league cup medal, again at the expense of Celtic. The arrival of Graham Roberts saw him moved out of his favoured full back role but Jimmy would feature consistently as Rangers secured the title for the first time since 1978. He more than earned his Championship medal, featuring in 34 of a possible 44 league matches.
With Davie McPherson moving to Hearts in the summer of 1987 Graham Roberts would now form a central defensive partnership with Butcher, thus allowing Nicholl to return to right-back at the start of season 1987/88. The arrival of Richard Gough would ordinarily have seen Nicholl drop out but with Terry Butcher having a stop/start season due to suspension and then a leg break, Gough found himself slotting into the central defensive role where he would remain. Jimmy would secure a third league cup winners medal against Aberdeen and played a total of 28 times that season. With England right-back Gary Stevens joining the Club in the summer of 1988 and Terry Butcher returning from injury, opportunities were now few and far between for Jimmy who was now 31 years of age. He made just 2 appearances during season 1988/89, his farewell match being a 1-1 draw with Raith Rovers in the Scottish Cup at Starks Park on 28th January 1989.
By now, Jimmy had also become part of the back-room staff and was coaching the Reserve side whilst keeping himself fit for first team emergencies. However, the lure of extending his own playing career proved too much and Jimmy made the decision to join Dunfermline Athletic in 1989.
He would return to coaching and management and had spells at Raith Rovers, Millwall and Cowdenbeath to name but a few. His greatest moment came in 1994 when his Raith Rovers side shocked Celtic to win the 1994/95 League Cup Final at Ibrox. It secured a European place for Raith who famously led Bayern in Munich in the UEFA cup before going out on aggregate.
Jimmy made a surprise return to Rangers during the winter break of season 2017/18 in order to assist caretaker manager Graeme Murty in a coaching capacity. Two heavy Old Firm defeats in the month of April saw Murty removed from his position and Jimmy was given the unenviable task of taking the side for the final three matches of the league campaign as the Club looked to secure European qualification for season 2018/19. A victory over Kilmarnock at Ibrox was followed up by a credible draw at Pittodrie before Jimmy took his side to Easter Road for the final match of the campaign. Needing to avoid a heavy defeat to remain above Hibs, the home side incredibly raced into a 3-0 lead before Gers recovered to lead 5-3. The match ended 5-5 in one of the strangest games witnessed. It proved to be Jimmy’s final involvement with the Club as Steven Gerrard and his own coaching staff arrived during the close season.
by Rick Plews
