By Alistair Aird
Giovanni van Bronckhorst had a big call to make at the start of season 2022/23. He had two experienced goalkeepers vying for the gloves and the right to be regarded as the club’s first choice custodian. Neither Allan McGregor nor Jon McLaughlin had let the Dutchman down when called upon, so it was an unenviable task for the Rangers manager.
Gio opted for the latter, perhaps because McLaughlin was more adept with the ball at his feet which suited the manager’s preference to play out from the back. However, with the benefit of hindsight it was the wrong decision.
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McLaughlin didn’t look too convincing in many of the early season games, and although he eventually lost his place as a result of injury, van Bronckhorst must surely have been thinking it was time for change in any case. The horror show against Celtic at Parkhead was arguably the tipping point for any of those left among the Rangers support that felt that Jon was a better proposition than Allan. If there was still a small minority left after that then surely McGregor’s Champions League heroics against Napoli and Liverpool convinced them. Indeed, there is a compelling argument now to say that McGregor isn’t just the best goalkeeper at the club just now but arguably the greatest goalkeeper ever to play for Rangers.
Debates such as these are admittedly subjective as it’s difficult to make a like-for-like assessment across the different eras in our 150-year history. Different playing styles and formations skew the comparison as does the fact that not all our goalkeepers have played in European competition. And since the early 1960s, none of our goalies have played in the Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup, while Glasgow Cup appearances became a thing of the past for senior players too after 1986. Even one of the three major honours in the country, the League Cup, was only contested from season 1946/47 onwards.
But what can’t be called into question is the contribution that Allan McGregor has made to Rangers Football Club over the past 20 years. Our greatest ever? He’s up there with the finest of them all that’s for sure.
Since making his first team debut as a substitute in a Scottish Cup tie against Forfar Athletic in February 2002, McGregor has made 458 appearances in competitive matches for Rangers. He has recorded 209 shut outs (45.63%) and conceded 365 goals. In just over 41,000 minutes of game time he has had, that equates to a goal conceded every 112.68 minutes, or once every 1.255 games.
Here is a breakdown of McGregor’s Rangers appearances:
Scottish Premier League/Premiership
Allan made his league debut on 27 April 2002 against Aberdeen at Ibrox. He kept a clean sheet in a 2-0 win. Since then, he has racked up 321 league appearances, conceding 227 goals while recording 153 shut outs.
Although he was subjected to some criticism last season for some of the goals conceded – equalising goals against Hearts and Motherwell at Ibrox come to mind – McGregor’s role in delivering title number 55 cannot be underestimated, and I feel he has a significant part to play if we are to regain the title this season. There were games on the road to the invincible 55 that required several key interventions from the veteran goalkeeper, none more so than the 1-0 win over Celtic at Ibrox. One fingertip save when he seemed to stretch every sinew to reach a curling effort from Lee Griffiths was in the sublime category.
McGregor was on the bench on Helicopter Sunday in 2005 but had to wait until season 2008/09 for the first of his four league titles. One hopes his recent form continues and he adds a fifth to his collection this season. It would be a fitting way to end his illustrious Rangers career.
Scottish Cup
Many felt that McGregor’s single-minute cameo as substitute in the 2022 Scottish Cup Final, his twenty-first appearance in the competition, was his final farewell. With his contract up, many expected that retirement was imminent. But he agreed to stay for an extra year, and Rangers are now reaping the rewards of that decision. In a transfer window where the board have righty taken some flak, the decision to retain McGregor already looks to be one of the better ones they made.
In his 21 Scottish Cup ties, McGregor has conceded 18 goals and kept 10 clean sheets. He has four winners’ medals, the first two being picked up by virtue of the fact that he was an unused substitute in the Finals against Celtic in 2002 and Dundee the following year.
Scottish League Cup
McGregor has played in 11 Scottish League Cup ties. He has conceded 10 goals and recorded five shut outs.
When Gio opted for Jon McLaughlin at the start of the season, many felt that this would be the competition where we would most likely see McGregor playing. At the moment, it would seem that there will be a role reversal when we face Dundee at Ibrox in a couple of weeks’ time.
McGregor made his debut in the competition on 28 October 2003 in a 6-0 win over Forfar Athletic at Ibrox. It was a memorable night for Christian Nerlinger who scored a hat trick, and there was a rare goal for Egil Ostenstad too. We must never lose sight of the fact that despite our current frustrations, in windows gone by, that was the market we were operating in. Ostenstad was simply awful, netting only twice in 17 appearances, and you can add Francis Jeffers to the list of misfiring misfits we signed at that time.
In his first spell at Rangers, McGregor played in so few matches in this competition as Walter Smith took the decision to rest his number one and bring in Neil Alexander in seasons 2008/09, 2009/10 and 2010/11. In those campaigns he only featured once – the 2-1 win over Motherwell in the 2010/11 semi-final – but McGregor would vie with Kris Boyd for hero status in the 2007/08 final against Dundee United.
Boyd had rescued Rangers twice to force a penalty shootout. He would eventually net the winning penalty kick, but he got that opportunity thanks to saves in the shootout from McGregor, who denied Lee Wilkie and David Robertson.
McGregor has a very good penalty record. His recent save against Napoli means he has saved 12 of the 39 penalty kicks he has faced across his two spells at Rangers. That figure doesn’t account for the saves made against United or in any other penalty shoot out. That record was probably why there was a degree of confidence when the Europa League Final went to penalties, so it is testament to the quality of the five penalty kicks taken by the Eintracht Frankfurt in Seville that Allan didn’t save them.
European Competition
No Rangers player has made as many appearances in the European arena as Allan McGregor. His stellar performance against Liverpool at Anfield was his 105th at that level. And while he may have conceded 100 goals and only kept the opposition out on 51 occasions, some of the saves he has made have been in the superlative category.
One that immediately springs to mind is the miraculous save made by McGregor in a match against Werder Bremen in 2008. While football aficionados wax lyrical about the save Gordon Banks made from Pele in the 1970 World Cup, few refer to this one. Boubacar Sanogo rose six yards from goal, and his header looked like forcing the tie into extra time. But racing across his goal, McGregor dived, got his fingertips to the ball and diverted it onto the crossbar. The save effectively sealed Rangers’ progress into the last eight of the competition.
Go Compare
McGregor’s numbers are impressive, but how do they compare to some of the others that are regarded as Rangers goalkeeping greats?
Willie Robb made his Rangers debut on 13 April 1920 against Ayr United at Ibrox. Between then and 31 October 1925, Robb never missed a league match or Scottish Cup tie that Rangers contested. That amounts to 242 successive appearances. If you include appearances in the Glasgow Cup and Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup, Robb played 282 times for Rangers. He conceded 203 goals (equivalent to a goal every 1.39 games) and kept 130 clean sheets.
Jerry Dawson, the Prince of Goalkeepers, is among the most decorated goalkeepers in Rangers’ history. He played a part in five league title triumphs, three Scottish Cups, one Scottish Regional League Western Division title, one Scottish Emergency War Cup, four Southern League titles, and three Southern League Cups. He also claimed seven Glasgow Cup medals and five winners’ medals in the Charity Cup. Including Glasgow Cup and Charity Cup matches but excluding ‘other’ category matches, Dawson made a total of 495 appearances for Rangers. He recorded 172 shut outs and conceded 513 goals.
Bobby Brown was the last line of the famous Iron Curtain defence. What was remarkable about the tall, blond, and athletic Brown was his consistency. From 2 November 1946 until 19 April 1952, Brown didn’t miss a single first team match. That amounts to 265 consecutive appearances, and during that time, Rangers won three league titles, three Scottish Cups, one League Cup, three Charity Cups, and two Glasgow Cups. In his Rangers career, he made 325 appearances for the club, conceded 331 goals, and kept 118 clean sheets.
George Niven and Billy Ritchie were the principal custodians from the mid-1950s until the latter part of the 1960s. Niven, who was the first goalkeeper to represent the club in a European competition when he played against OGC Nice in 1956, made 400 Rangers appearances and kept 118 clean sheets. Ritchie, who was part of the scintillating side that sparkled in the early 1960s, played 369 times for the club and recorded 125 shut outs.
In the post-war era, only Peter McCloy has been the guardian of our goal more often than Allan McGregor. Between March 1970 and the end of season 1985/86, McCloy made 535 competitive appearances and kept 214 clean sheets. With 508 goals conceded, he was beaten once every 94.78 minutes.
Chris Woods was recruited in 1986 for a fee of £600,000. He would be one of the key links in the chain of events that saw Rangers reborn under Graeme Souness. Woods was an agile shot stopper who commanded his penalty area. In five seasons at Rangers, he made 230 appearances, conceded 156 goals, and kept 119 clean sheets. Aside from matches against St Mirren and Celtic when he picked up injuries and the infamous 2-2 draw against Celtic in October 1987 when he was ordered off after 16 minutes, Woods completed 90 minutes in his other 227 appearances. That equates to over 20,500 minutes played and a goal conceded every 1.474 games. Woods also went 1,196 minutes without conceding a goal in season 1986/87 too, a British record at that time.
Taking over from Woods was the late, great Andy Goram. A shot stopper par excellence, ‘The Goalie’ tends to be at the top end when the majority of supporters talk about the greatest ever Rangers goalkeeper. Between 1991 and 1998, Goram won six league titles, two League Cups, and three Scottish Cups. He made a total of 260 appearances for Rangers, conceded 219 goals and kept 108 clean sheets (41.54%).
Stefan Klos made his Rangers debut on Boxing Day 1998 against St Johnstone at Ibrox. Another who is highly thought of among the Rangers followers, Der Goalie played a significant part in the successes achieved under both Dick Advocaat and Alex McLeish. The German won four league titles, four Scottish Cups, and two League Cups. In 297 Rangers appearances, Klos conceded 225 goals and kept 114 clean sheets. He played just over 26,700 minutes, conceding a goal just shy of every 119 minutes.
Once again, some very impressive numbers posted, and while the outcome of the discussion remains subjective, Allan McGregor thoroughly merits his place in the pantheon of great Rangers goalkeepers. One of the most dedicated professionals at the club – he is one of the first to report to the training ground each day and one of the last to leave – his presence at the club will undoubtedly help with the development of Robbie McCrorie, whose new contract this week suggests he is in the line of sight of the manager when it comes to looking for a replacement for McGregor.
Is he our greatest-ever? I’ll leave that up to you all to debate and dispute, but in the meantime, let’s appreciate McGregor while we can still call upon him to thwart the opposition as we push for superiority at home and abroad.