In some ways, Richard Gough reckons it’s for the best he never got the chance to see old pal Andy Goram one last time.
Now living in California, the former Ibrox captain had gone a couple of years without meeting up with the man who he claims had “repeatedly saved my ass” with his heroics in goal during their days as the bedrock of Rangers ’ nine-in-a-row backline. He was hoping to put that right as he returned to Scotland for the Scottish Cup Final six weeks ago.
After learning Goram was facing an increasingly bleak fight against cancer, Gough called the former Gers keeper asking if he could visit him. The answer he received was the same as when he’d tried to arrange a reunion with Walter Smith late last year.
Both men, with their health failing, told their old skipper to stay away and to remember them as he knew them in their prime. And it’s those memories Gough will now cling to following Goram’s tragically early passing aged just 58.
He told Record Sport : “We knew Andy was very ill. I don’t know if these things are better to come as a shock or to have to live with the knowledge it’s coming.
“Even so, it all happened very quickly. I had a good friendship with him but unfortunately I hadn’t seen him for a few years.
“I came back over a few weeks ago to go to Seville and then the cup final against Hearts. I wanted to pop in and see him in the hospital. But I never got to do it.
“The same thing had happened with Walter. I called and told him I’d like to visit but he said, ‘No, listen Goughie, I’m not feeling well. Don’t come’.
“It was the same with Andy. He text me to say, ‘I’m not feeling great Richard’.
“Maybe but that’s for the best. It means I remember them being the strong men they were.
“That’s the feeling I got from them too. Maybe they didn’t want to see anyone either. They didn’t want people to see them when they were sick.”
It’s been a bitter period for the Rangers family, with the loss of cherished kitman Jimmy Bell in between Smith and Goram passing another brutal blow. But through the darkness, Gough has taken solace from the tributes and stories that have poured out from friends, team-mates, fans and even former rivals.
“It’s been a hard eight months with losing first Walter, then Jimmy and now Andy,” Gough continued. “But the scenes we’ve seen following each of their deaths just goes to show how treasured that era was to the club.
“I don’t think we realised at the time how special that nine-in-a-row side was. We made memories that lasted for such a long time and it’s those memories which everyone has been sharing.
“It’s just very, very sad. Andy’s been taken far too soon – 58 is no age at all.”
Positioned directly in front of the former Ibrox No.1 for most of his Ibrox career, Gough was blessed to have had a front-row view for some of Goram’s greatest displays. But it was his battle with Celtic striker Pierre van Hooijdonk which Gough says cemented his status as Rangers’ greatest ever goalie.
The former skipper said: “That save from van Hooijdonk at Ibrox in the 3-3 game is the one I’ll always recall. Tosh McKinlay has played the ball in from the left and as I turned round, I saw it heading straight for van Hooijdonk.
“He’s got a perfect volley on it and I just thought, ‘well that’s a goal, isn’t it?’. But Andy’s instincts kicked in and he’s somehow got a hand to it. I put my head in my hands thinking, ‘how the hell has he saved that?’.
“There was another one the season after at Parkhead. We’d scored early but with only five minutes left, I gave away a penalty after diving in on Simon Donnelly.
“As van Hooijdonk is about to step up to take it, I’m screaming at Andy, ‘Go left, go left!’ But the bugger went right and saved it! I ran up to give him a pat on the head but he just told me to get ready for the corner.”
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