Mark Walters (1987 to 1991)
One of the great entertainers, Mark joined Rangers on the eve of the 1988 ‘New Year’ clash at Parkhead from boyhood heroes, Aston Villa. It was to be a baptism of fire for the 23 year old who was thrown into the starting line up to make his debut in the Old Firm encounter. Rangers lost the game 2-0 and Mark was subjected to the most vile racist abuse at the hands of the Celtic support. Sadly, it would not prove to be an isolated event during his time playing in Scotland.
An explosive winger, comfortable with both feet, Mark could turn defenders inside out and his famous ‘double shuffle’ regularly left full-backs mesmerised. He was also a great finisher and the scorer of important goals, more than capable of performing a role through the centre although with Ally McCoist, Mark Hateley, Kevin Drinkell and Maurice Johnston around at the time he was not asked to do so too often.
Walters had broken into the Villa side at a young age and by the time he arrived in Glasgow had made over 200 first time appearances for the Midlands club. During that spell they had gone from recent European Cup winners to dropping out of the top flight. In the first half of season 1987/88 Mark played his part in attempting to secure promotion but he was keen to move on and jumped at the chance to join the English contingent moving up to Glasgow. Villa would return to the First Division at the end of that season with Andy Gray and Neale Cooper also making a positive contribution.
Mark was an ever present in the Rangers side for the remainder of the 1987/88 league campaign, playing 18 times and scoring a more than credible 7 goals. However, it was not a great 6 months for the side as we finished 3rd in the league and crashed out of the Scottish Cup to Dunfermline at East End Park. Perhaps even more frustratingly, Mark had not been signed in time to take his place in the Quarter Final of the European Cup in March. Had we managed to see off Steaua Bucharest, both Mark and John Brown would have been eligible for the semi-final and over the two legs it was a tie that many still believe we should have won.
By the start of the 1988/89 campaign Mark was fully settled into the Rangers way of life. He scored in League Cup wins over Clyde and Clydebank to open his account for the season before heading into the big one....a 5-1 win over Celtic in which he tormented their defence all afternoon and scored the final goal of the match. His first medal was secured in October 1988 as Aberdeen were defeated 3-2 at Hampden. Although he was not on the scoresheet that afternoon, he had scored in every other round making it 5 goals in 5 appearances. He would score 3 more Old Firm goals that season including a double in the 1989 New Year clash in which he was outstanding in that more central role. His first championship was secured in April 1989 and Mark had played in 31 of a possible 36 matches netting 8 times. He had also scored the winner on his Euro debut for Rangers, the only goal of the game in a tense victory over GKS Katowice at Ibrox.
The league cup was again good to Walters during 1989/90 although the side fell just short at the final stage. Mark matched his 5 goal tally including one in the final but it wasn’t enough to secure a 4th successive competition win. The cup runs were generally disappointing although Walters did score in the European Cup and Scottish Cup that season. The main objective was achieved when Rangers retained the title and Mark had netted 5 times in 27 appearances including a penalty in the 3-0 demolition of Celtic in April 1990.
His most prolific season in terms of goals was 1990/91 when he netted 12 times in 26 league starts (plus 4 subs). His second league cup was earned in a 2-1 win over Celtic at Hampden in which Mark would score our opening goal. He followed this up with another Old Firm goal in the 1991 New Years clash, this time breaking the deadlock direct from a corner! His attempts to get his hands on a Scottish Cup medal were, however, ended at Parkhead three months later when he was red carded in an explosive Quarter Final tie. It was a continued source of frustration that Mark never received the protection from referees that he deserved and this regularly resulted in him retaliating and falling foul of officials.
The end to his Rangers career was almost as dramatic as the beginning. He missed a penalty on the penultimate match of the league campaign as Gers crashed 3-0 at Fir Park in a score line that handed challengers Aberdeen the initiative. However, the reigning Champions recovered to beat the Dons 2-0 in the final match and Mark set up the opening goal for Mark Hateley with a typically precise cross. His third Championship in his 3 full seasons spent at Ibrox was secured but unknown to anyone it would prove to be his final act as a Rangers player.
With the introduction of the 3 foreigner rule for the beginning of season 1991/92, Rangers reluctantly agreed to let Mark join up with former manager Graeme Souness at Liverpool. A £750k profit after three and a half years of tremendous service represented good business but there was no denying that the support were truly sad to see Mark return South.
by Rick Plews
