Richard Gough

This article is about the football player. For the 18th-century antiquarian, see Richard Gough (antiquarian).
Richard Gough
Personal information
Full nameCharles Richard Gough
Date of birth5 April 1962
Place of birthStockholm, Sweden
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Playing positionDefender
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
1979Wits University
1979–1980Charlton Athletic3(0)
1980–1986Dundee United165(23)
1986–1987Tottenham Hotspur65(0)
1987–1997Rangers294(25)
1997Kansas City Wizards17(0)
1997–1998Rangers24(1)
1998–1999San Jose Clash19(2)
1999→ Nottingham Forest (loan)7(0)
1999–2001Everton38(1)
National team
1983–1993Scotland61(6)
Teams managed
2004 – 2005Livingston
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Charles Richard Gough (born in Stockholm, Sweden, 5 April 1962) is a former Scottish football defender. He captained Rangers to nine successive Scottish Football League titles. He also played for Scotland 61 times and had a brief spell as manager of Livingston. He is now resident in San Diego.

Playing career

Club

Early career

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. Looking to build a career in British football, Gough signed for Charlton Athletic F.C. as an apprentice professional in July 1978. He returned to play for Wits University F.C. for a brief period in 1979, before returning to the UK where he signed for Dundee United in February 1980.

First spell in Scotland

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. 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 F.C.

MLS

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.

In all, he played 428 league games with Rangers, scoring 37 goals.

Everton

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.[1] During his time at Everton he was made captain for 2000/2001 season.

He also played 7 Premier League games on loan from MLS for Nottingham Forest from March- May 1999–

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 managerial job with Scottish Premier League team Livingston. He resigned in May 2005 after saving the club from relegation, having wrangled with the club's owner over the budget for signing players.[2] The club was fined £15,000 by the SFA for a breach of transfer regulations over the signing of Hassan Kachloul during Gough's time as manager[3] although there is no suggestion that Gough himself was responsible for the breach of regulations.

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
1980–81Dundee UnitedPremier Division40---40
1981–82301406150452
1982–83348109180529
1983–843333010580548
1984–85346616061528
1985–86315515261479
1986–8731---31
England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
1986–87Tottenham HotspurFirst Division4026090-552
1987–8890-10-100
Scotland League Scottish Cup League Cup Europe Total
1987–88RangersPremier Division315201021366
1988–89354705140515
1989–90260103010310
1990–91260305130371
1991–92332513010423
1992–93252205170393
1993–94373505010493
1994–95251202020311
1995–96293203082425
1996–97275205071416
USA League Open Cup League Cup North America Total
1997Kansas City WizardsMajor League Soccer170N/A--170
Scotland League Scottish Cup League Cup Europe Total
1997–98RangersPremier Division24161--302
USA League Open Cup League Cup North America Total
1998San Jose ClashMajor League Soccer192N/AN/A-192
England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
1998–99Nottingham ForestPremier League70---70
1999–00Everton29130--321
2000–019010--100
Career total 61753664831269683575

Honours

Dundee United
Rangers
Individual

References

  1. ↑ Slater, Richard (21 August 1999). "Jeffers and Campbell offer hope". London: The Independent. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
  2. ↑ Buckland, Simon (27 March 2005). "You want to sack me Just do it". The Times (London). Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  3. ↑ "Livi fined over Kachloul signing". BBC News. 15 June 2005. Retrieved 22 May 2010.

External links