Richard Gough

This article is about the football player. For the 18th-century antiquarian, see Richard Gough (antiquarian).

Richard Gough

Personal information
Full name	Charles Richard Gough
Date of birth	(1962-04-05) 5 April 1962
Place of birth	Stockholm, Sweden
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Position(s)	Defender
Youth career
1978–1979	Charlton Athletic
1979–1980	Wits University
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1980–1986	Dundee United	165	(23)
1986–1987	Tottenham Hotspur	49	(2)
1987–1997	Rangers	294	(25)
1997	Kansas City Wizards	17	(0)
1997–1998	Rangers	24	(1)
1998–1999	San Jose Clash	19	(2)
1999	→ Nottingham Forest (loan)	7	(0)
1999–2001	Everton	38	(1)
2001	Northern Spirit	2	(0)
Total		615	(54)
International career
1983–1993	Scotland	61	(6)
Managerial career
2004–2005	Livingston
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Charles Richard Gough (born in Stockholm, Sweden, 5 April 1962) is a former Scottish football defender. He captained Rangers to nine successive Scottish league championships. He also played for Scotland 61 times and had a brief spell as manager of Livingston. He is currently a Global Ambassador for Rangers.

Early life

Born to a Scottish father (former Charlton Athletic player Charlie Gough) and Swedish mother, Gough grew up in South Africa, went to school at King Edward VII and Highlands North High School (Johannesburg), and began his career playing with the Wits University club.

Playing career

Club

Looking to build a career in British football, Gough signed for Charlton Athletic as an apprentice professional in July 1978, however, he returned to play for Wits University for a brief period in 1979 then returned to the United Kingdom to sign for Dundee United in February 1980.

He played for Dundee United for six seasons, finishing with 23 goals in 165 appearances and helping them to the League title in 1982–83. Dundee United also reached the European Cup semi-final against Roma in 1984, during Gough's time at the club. In 1986, Gough was sold to English First Division club Tottenham Hotspur for £750,000, where he played for slightly over a year, and captained the Tottenham team which lost to Coventry City in the 1987 FA Cup Final.

Gough decided to return to Scotland, early in the 1987–88 season, joining Rangers and becoming the first Scottish player to be signed for over £1,000,000. His debut was at Tannadice Park in a defeat against former club Dundee United. He was named the SFWA Footballer of the Year in 1988/89. Gough remained at Ibrox until 1997, captaining the side that achieved nine consecutive League titles. He won 9 league titles, 3 Scottish Cups and 6 League Cups at Rangers. In all, he played 427 league games with Rangers, scoring 37 goals.

In May 1997, Gough left the United Kingdom to play in the United States' nascent professional league, Major League Soccer, signing for Kansas City Wizards. In October 1997, he returned to Rangers due to injury issues at Ibrox. He resumed his MLS career with the San Jose Clash. He played 36 games in total in MLS, scored 2 goals and he was named the MLS Best XI for his 1997 season with the Wizards. Gough also went on loan Nottingham Forest from March until May 1999, playing seven matches as the club was relegated.

After leaving San Jose Clash he linked up with former boss Walter Smith at Everton. He played two seasons at Goodison Park making 60 appearances and scoring once against Southampton. During his time at Everton he was made captain for 2000/01 season and retied from playing in May 2001.

International

Gough was also a regular in the Scotland national team in the 1980s. He made his debut against Switzerland in 1983, and went on to gain 61 caps. His international career was ended prematurely, however, after he was critical of coaches Andy Roxburgh and Craig Brown and withdrew himself from further selection. Gough played in 2 World Cups, 1986 and 1990, and captained his country in the 1992 European Championships, in his birthplace, Sweden.

Managerial career

On 30 November 2004, Gough landed his first and only managerial position with the then Scottish Premier League side Livingston. After a difficult season where the club battled relegation, Gough resigned and noted that disagreements with the club's owner over the budget for signing players as the reason. The club was also fined £15,000 by the SFA for a breach of transfer regulations over the signing of Hassan Kachloul during Gough's time as manager although there was no suggestion that Gough himself was responsible for the breach of regulations.

Later career

Gough supported the Rangers Supporters' Trust and Dave King's boardroom takeover of Rangers International Football Club PLC and was later appointed as a global ambassador for the club on 21 September 2015.

Career statistics

Club performance			League		Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Scotland			League		Scottish Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
1980–81	Dundee United	Premier Division	4	0	-		-		-		4	0
1981–82			30	1	4	0	6	1	5	0	45	2
1982–83			34	8	1	0	9	1	8	0	52	9
1983–84			33	3	3	0	10	5	8	0	54	8
1984–85			34	6	6	1	6	0	6	1	52	8
1985–86			31	5	5	1	5	2	6	1	47	9
1986–87			3	1	-		-		-		3	1
England			League		FA Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
1986–87	Tottenham Hotspur	First Division	40	2	6	0	9	0	-		55	2
1987–88			9	0	-		1	0	-		10	0
Scotland			League		Scottish Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
1987–88	Rangers	Premier Division	31	5	2	0	1	0	2	1	36	6
1988–89			35	4	7	0	5	1	4	0	51	5
1989–90			26	0	1	0	3	0	1	0	31	0
1990–91			26	0	3	0	5	1	3	0	37	1
1991–92			33	2	5	1	3	0	1	0	42	3
1992–93			25	2	2	0	5	1	7	0	39	3
1993–94			37	3	5	0	5	0	1	0	49	3
1994–95			25	1	2	0	2	0	2	0	31	1
1995–96			29	3	2	0	3	0	8	2	42	5
1996–97			27	5	2	0	5	0	7	1	41	6
USA			League		Open Cup		League Cup		North America		Total
1997	Kansas City Wizards	Major League Soccer	17	0	N/A		-		-		17	0
Scotland			League		Scottish Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
1997–98	Rangers	Premier Division	24	1	6	1	-		-		30	2
USA			League		Open Cup		League Cup		North America		Total
1998	San Jose Clash	Major League Soccer	19	2	N/A		N/A		-		19	2
England			League		FA Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
1998–99	Nottingham Forest	Premier League	7	0	-		-		-		7	0
1999–00	Everton		29	1	3	0	-		-		32	1
2000–01			9	0	1	0	-		-		10	0
Career total			617	53	66	4	83	12	69	6	835	75

Honours

Dundee United

• Scottish Premier Division: 1982–83

Rangers

• Scottish Premier Division: 1988–89, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97
• Scottish Cup: 1991–92, 1992–93, 1995–96
• Scottish League Cup: 1987–88, 1988–89, 1990–91, 1992–93,1993–94, 1996–97

Individual

• SPFA Players' Player of the Year: 1985-86
• SFWA Footballer of the Year: 1988-89
• MLS Best XI: 1997
• Scottish Football Hall of Fame
• Scotland national football team roll of honour : 1990

External links

• Richard Gough at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Transfer Database
• Richard Gough at the Scottish Football Association