Rod Wallace

[ian1964 10,409]

ROD Wallace was a hero of Old Firm meetings in his time in Glasgow and believes victory for the light blues in this month's derby clash will see the title momentum swing to the city's south side.

 

Rod WallaceWallace picked up five medals in a successful three year spell at Ibrox and now feels the current crop of Rangers stars can add a title success to their CVs after the disappointment of missing out last term.

 

The diminutive Englishman took the Scottish game by storm when he switched to Rangers from Leeds in the summer of 1998.

 

Dick Advocaat brought the striker north of the border on a free transfer and he rewarded the Dutchman with a flying start to his Ibrox career.

 

His debut season in a light blue shirt saw him bag 27 goals as Advocaat led his side to the domestic treble in his first season at the helm.

 

And Wallace forever endeared himself to the Ibrox faithful in the final game of that first season when he hit the only goal of the 1999 Scottish Cup final against Celtic.

 

His 49th minute strike was the goal that secured the treble for Advocaat's team just weeks after they had landed the title at Celtic Park

 

It also ensured that Wallace ended his incredible debut season on a high note with three medals in his first year in Scotland.

 

He went contribute another 20 goal haul the following season to help his side to the domestic double and take his silverware tally as a Rangers player to five trophies in two seasons.

 

Now, having watched Walter Smith's current side narrow the gap to Celtic to just four points over the weekend he feels the title might just be heading back to Ibrox after a three season absence.

 

He said: "I always keep an eye out for the results to see how the club are getting on. Of course they lost last week but it's good to see them get a result this weekend.

 

"Hopefully they can pick up a few results and go on a bit of a run now and kick on from there. If they can do that I don't see any reason why the title won't come back to Ibrox this season."

 

With an Old Firm game to come at the end of December, Wallace knows Gers will have a chance to further decrease the gap at the top of the table.Rod Wallace

 

And he admits he will be keeping a keen eye on events when the two rivals lock horns again after Christmas.

 

Walter Smith will be looking for one of his stars to deliver a belated Christmas gift on the 27th of the month and Wallace knows all about being the man who makes a difference against Rangers' rivals.

 

As well as that Scottish Cup winner in '99, Wallace grabbed the only goal of the game in March 2000 as Rangers left Parkhead with full points on their way to a second successive title success.

 

He was also part of the famous team that clinched the '99 title on their neighbours' patch just weeks before his Hampden triumph.

 

Although he was on the receiving end of a late red card in that title winning visit to Parkhead he remembers his appearances in derby matches throughout his Gers career fondly.

 

He added: "I had a few good times here and it's hard to pick out one that stands out over the rest.

 

"The Cup final was a great experience, without doubt one of the best. It was a great occasion and one of the first finals at the new Hampden which just added to the experience.

 

"Scoring the winner at Parkhead was another great occasion but there were so many in my time up here that it's hard to really pick one as the real highlight.

 

"That would certainly be one of them though and I'll be looking out for the boys to see how they got on at the end of the month."

 

Wallace was back at Ibrox as a half time hero against Hamilton at the weekend and he admits it was great to bring back some happy memories from his time in Glasgow.

 

Rod WallaceAfter reuniting and reminiscing with some familiar faces around Ibrox he said: "It's been great being back here.

 

"I've really enjoyed seeing some old friends and having the chance to catch up with what they've been doing.

 

"I had a great three years up here and have got some great memories from being part of this great club.

 

"Of course I won a few things but I also met some really good people and that helped make for a really enjoyable time up here for me."

 

It is little wonder that Wallace enjoyed his three seasons north of the border as he built up an impressive record in his time as a light blue, scoring 54 goals in 120 games over the three years.

 

After leaving Glasgow Rod returned south where he had a further three seasons in England with Bolton and Gillingham before injury forced him to quit his playing career at the age of 34.

 

Since then he has maintained a keen interest in remaining in football and is now working towards his coaching badges whilst gaining hands on experience with Kingstonian FC's youth teams.

 

And at just 39 he is hoping to continue his involvement in the game with more senior coaching roles to come once his professional coaching courses have finished.

 

He added: "I finished in 2004 because of the toll the injuries took on me. Since then I've been looking in to the coaching side of things.

 

"I'm working on level three at the moment and I've been concentrating on that for the last couple of years now.

 

"I'm keen to stay involved in the game if I get a chance. It's all about luck really, but once I get the qualification I'll see how things go from there."

[John Barr 0]

I remember vivedly being really depressed at Rangers having signed what i thought was a man bought on the cheap to try and take us forward.

 

But Leeds obviously underestimated his scoring prowess as it didn't take him long to win the majority of Gers fans over.

 

He was in the end a great transfer, bought for nothing, but done the job of a �£5M striker.

 

Gone yersel' wee man!

[calscot 0]

I agree, when you see some of the footage of the games he was in, you get reminded that he was an excellent player that was definitely a bargain. He totally fitted in with the likes of Klos, Numan and Gio.

[CammyF 6,778]

Rod Wallace was a fantastic signing and scored some very important goals for us during his time at Ibrox.

 

This is not only one of my favourite Rod Wallaces goals, but would probably make my top 10 best ever Rangers goals

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKqfyQQnsCg]YouTube - Rod Wallace vs Borrusia Dortmund[/ame]

 

Cammy F

[Super_Ally 0]

Classic team goal Cammy. Good to see it again as had forgotten it tbh.

[craig 5,195]

Man was that ever a classy goal - we played some great stuff in those days !

[Tannochsidebear 2,306]

I said it often at the time, that we should have won the UEFA cup under Advocaat in the two seasons we dropped into it from the CL, but he totally arrogantly undervalued the competition, and I thought at the time it was our best chance I would see in my lifetime of winning a European trophy.

 

I wish he employed the same underwhelmed attitude with his employers in 2008!!