Memories of Gary Stevens

Khal Drogo

Khal Drogo

Well-Known Member
What are people's thoughts on him?

Mine are that he was a really consistent full back for us from 1988-1992. He had a great engine to get up and down the pitch. He didnt play regularly the following 2 seasons he had with us. He got a bad injury and was never quite the same player again

A mate of mine said recently that he only got booked once in his entire Rangers career, which if true is amazing for a full back.
 
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Broke his foot in the run up to Euro 92 and effectively finished him as a top class player.

Barely played the following season and by 93/94 when he recovered fully he looked a shadow of the player he was. Went off early in the cup final v Dundee United injured and I think that sealed it for Walter.

Stuck on the transfer list the summer of 1994 and somehow still found himself in the team for the crucial away game in Athens. As a left sided centre back in a back three. Went to Tranmere not long after.

A sad end to a wonderful Rangers career

Would love to see his...er...video collection
 
Scoring against St Mirren in a rout at the end of the season, decent hit at the Copland End.

Passback in the cup final.
 
bluetonic said:
Pass back in the 89 cup final .... sorry
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We used to watch them train at Jordanhill when we were wee guys and I think it was one of the first training sessions of the new season after said Cup final.Anyway,one of the boys with us asked him wtf was that passback all about?Stevens toed him right up the shiter a dull yin and told him to %^*& off and bring his old man up.Imagine the outcry if that happened now but the boy took the toeing and that was the end of it.
 
The best right back I’ve seen play with us.

As has been said, he was never the same after the injury picked up with England.

Ironic thing is, he was initially left out of England’s Euro 92 squad and was only called up because Lee Dixon picked up an injury!
 
Gary is living in perth western Australia now hes a physio and was working at the same clinic as my mum . Any time he was asked questions about his footballing career he wasn't keen on answering the questions. Walks with a terrible limp as well guessing from previous injuries, that said he was a gentleman by all accounts
 
Very athletic player without being a brilliant footballer. Perhaps the closest comparison with a modern day player would be Kyle Walker now at Man City. Came nowhere close to Sandy Jardine, who was not only an exceptional right back, but also had the ability to play in a number of positions, which demonstrated his footballing skills.
 
Alex Venters said:
Great full-back.
The only one to come anywhere near Sandy Jardine in my 50 years watching The Famous.
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Near?
As in how close we are to Mars compared to Pluto?
An excellent full back though although I don’t recall him being an outstanding defender.
 
tazzabear said:
Near?
As in how close we are to Mars compared to Pluto?
An excellent full back though although I don’t recall him being an outstanding defender.
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You do Gary Stevens a disservice.
He was a quality RB and fantastic defender,he also got up and down the park as well as anyone we've ever had.

Sandy Jardine was unquestionably a better all round footballer than Gary Stevens but taking them solely as right full-backs there wasn't much in it,with Sandy's ability on the ball giving him a slight edge.
The Magnificent Bastard himself rated Stevens as the best defender in British football when he signed.
 
great player for us
'remember this last minute own goal against Dundee Hibs, I was in the Utd Shed with a lot of Bears when that went in:mad:
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Sandy Jardine had left by the time I started to go to games with my dad. I started going in the mid-80's and was at the Hamilton game when Gary scored. I believe that was his debut.

Anyway, I always have Gary as my right back in my all-time best Rangers 11, as do most bears who didn't see Sandy play and started going to games around the r9 in a row era. I think Tav might have a shot of replacing him as my favorite right back though!
 
Gary Stevens’ mother lodge is Polmont 793 same as me. My old man did some ritual at his degrees
 
First class fullback. Gary Stevens was a regular in a good England team. When at Rangers, he was a very reliable defender.
 
I have to say I was disappointed in him overall in his time at Rangers. His standard of passing was poor imo particularly for an England international. For me, he could not lace Sandy Jardine’s boots.

For those who were too young to see Gary Stevens play for us, there is one game which sums his time as a Rangers player for me. In the game when Maurice Johnston scored the last minute winner for us against Celtic, Gary Stevens charged up the right wing and passed the ball into the middle without one of our players being near it. Luckily Chris Morris of Celtic played a perfectly cushioned pass to Maurice who promptly blasted the ball past the despairing Safe Hands.

If Gary Stevens played for us now, I suspect there would have been more than a few threads and lots of steam been generated on FF.
 
Someone , Souness I think, said Gary Stevens was the fittest player at the club.

Souness also announced when he signed him he had signed the best right back in Britain.
He wasn't wrong.
 
Rino100 said:
Someone , Souness I think, said Gary Stevens was the fittest player at the club.

Souness also announced when he signed him he had signed the best right back in Britain.
He wasn't wrong.
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He’d cost at least £50m in today’s market.
 
Last ditch tackle at Parkhead just as Joe Miller was about to slot home the penalty rebound, helped me get my coupon up.
 
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