John Greig

John Greig, MBE (born 11 September 1942, in Edinburgh) is a Scottish former professional footballer, who played as a defender. He spent his entire career with Rangers, as a player, manager and director. Greig was voted "The Greatest Ever Ranger" in 1999 by the club's supporters[4] and has been elected to Rangers' Hall of Fame.

For other people named John Greig, see John Greig (disambiguation).

John Greig
Statue of Greig at Ibrox Stadium, part of the memorial to the 1971 Ibrox disaster.
Personal information
Date of birth (1942-09-11) 11 September 1942
Place of birth Edinburgh, Scotland
Playing position(s) Defender
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1961–1978 Rangers 498 (87)
National team
1963–1976[1] Scottish League XI 14 (1)
1963–1968[2] Scotland U23 3 (0)
1964[3] SFL trial v SFA 1 (0)
1964–1975 Scotland 44 (3)
Teams managed
1978–1983 Rangers
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Playing career

Youth
Greig in Amsterdam (1969)

Greig played his youth football with United Crossroads in Edinburgh, under the supervision of Eric Gardner, and supported Hearts as a boy. It is unknown if Hearts showed any interest in signing him. Bob McAuley signed Greig for Rangers and despite his initial reluctance Greig did as instructed by his father.[5] However, after viewing a match between Rangers and Hibernian at Easter Road, where he witnessed them beating Hibs 6–1, he was convinced the move was right.

Club career
Greig and Johan Cruyff (Jan. 1973)

A determined, forceful player, recognised for his great leadership qualities, Greig made 755 official appearances for Rangers (498 in the domestic league, 72 in the Scottish Cup, a club record 121 in the League Cup and 64 in European tournaments). He scored 120 goals for the club and won three domestic trebles. Greig actually started his career with Rangers as a forward, prior to being moved back to midfield—playing initially alongside another Rangers legend in Jim Baxter—and finally to left back. It was therefore in those initial years that he scored the majority of his goals for the club.

Greig was captain when Rangers won the European Cup Winners Cup in 1972 beating Dynamo Moscow 3–2 in Barcelona. Although Greig's was an enormously successful playing career, his captaincy coincided with a period of sustained success for Rangers' city rivals, Celtic, from the late 1960s until the mid-1970s. Greig's fortitude during that period further cemented his reputation as one of Rangers' most celebrated captains.

He was granted a testimonial match in 1978 against a Scotland XI as part of the national squad's preparations for the 1978 FIFA World Cup; Rangers won 5–0 before a crowd of 65,000 at Ibrox.[6]

International career

Greig played for Scotland on 44 occasions, 15 as captain, between 1964 and 1975.[7] He scored the late winner in Scotland's 1–0 victory against Italy at Hampden Park on 9 November 1965 and in 1967 achieved the distinction of captaining the Scottish side who beat England 3-2—their first defeat as World Champions—at Wembley. Greig also represented the Scottish League XI 14 times.[8][1]

Managerial career

Greig's playing career ended in May 1978 when he was appointed manager of Rangers, replacing Jock Wallace.[9] The club failed to win the league championship during Greig's time as manager, finishing no higher than the second place achieved in 1978–79. Greig's team had come close to winning a domestic treble and performed well in Europe in that first season. Rangers reached the quarter-final of the 1978–79 European Cup, defeating Italian champions Juventus and becoming the first club to win in European club competition at PSV's Philips Stadion, before eventual elimination to Cologne. There was also the partial compensation of success in domestic cup competitions, with two Scottish Cups and two League Cups secured over the course of Greig's five full seasons as manager. Greig was also responsible for signing Rangers' greatest ever goalscorer Ally McCoist from Sunderland. However, these were isolated achievements, and Greig—under intense pressure from the Scottish media, Rangers supporters and the club's directors—resigned in October 1983, replaced by the returning Wallace.

Post-football career

After leaving Rangers, Greig worked as a pundit for Radio Scotland and BBC television. He returned in 1990 as part of the club's public relations team. Dick Advocaat, manager of Rangers from 1998–2001, re-involved Greig in football coaching during which time he contributed to youth development. In 2003, he joined the Rangers board of directors.[10] Greig resigned this position in October 2011, soon after the takeover of the club by Craig Whyte.[11] Greig and John McClelland, who resigned at the same time as Greig, stated that they had been excluded from the corporate governance of the club since Whyte had taken control.[11] After Greig objected to women being allowed into the Rangers directors' room, Whyte had considered him unsophisticated.[12] Greig later re-joined Rangers on 23 May 2015, when he was named the club's honorary life president with ambassadorial responsibilities.[13]

Career statistics

Club
Scotland League Scottish Cup League Cup Europe Total
SeasonClubLeague AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
1961–62Rangers[14] Division One117102110158
1962–632757055204110
1963–643446210020526
1964–65344307071515
1965–663277010100498
1966–67322108190503
1967–6832114260614814
1968–69336516092539
1969–70307326040439
1970–712687081214510
1971–72288616080489
1972–7330760103204810
1973–7432610102424710
1974–75221001000221
1975–76Premier Division3625010140553
1976–773005011120481
1977–78292515121415
Career total 4988772912117647755120

International appearances
As of 4 March 2019[7]
International statistics
National teamYearAppsGoals
Scotland 196450
196593
196660
196730
196850
196980
197030
197140
1972—
1973—
1974—
197510
Total443

International goals
Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first
GoalDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.27 May 1965Olympic Stadium, Helsinki Finland2–12–11966 World Cup qualification
2.9 November 1965Hampden Park, Glasgow Italy1–01–01966 World Cup qualification
3.24 November 1965Hampden Park, Glasgow Wales4–14–11965–66 British Home Championship

Honours

Greig was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) on 15 November 1977. In June 2008, he was awarded honoris causa, from Glasgow University, in recognition for outstanding achievement in football and continuing ambassadorship for the sport.[15]

As a player

Club
Rangers

Individual

As a manager

See also

References
  1. Under 9000 see Scots defeated, Glasgow Herald, 18 March 1976
  2. Scotland U23 player Greig, John, FitbaStats
  3. Ronnie McDevitt (2016). Scotland in the 60s: The Definitive Account of the Scottish National Football Side During the 1960s. Pitch Publishing. ISBN 9781785312458.
  4. "John Greig". STV Sport. STV. 1 April 2010. Archived from the original on 6 April 2010.
  5. John Greig, Jim Black (2005). John Greig: My Story. Headline Book Publishing. ISBN 978-0755313549.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  6. Greig gives Ally's team the blues, Glasgow Herald, 17 April 1978
  7. John Greig at the Scottish Football Association
  8. "SFL player John Greig". London Hearts Supporters' Club. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
  9. "Jock Wallace: Former players talk about their time with the legendary hard man". Leicester Mercury. 29 June 2014. Archived from the original on 28 September 2015. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  10. "Greig joins Rangers board". BBC Sport. 26 December 2003.
  11. "Rangers directors John Greig and John McClelland step down". BBC Sport. BBC. 17 October 2011. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
  12. Whyte, Craig (14 February 2020). Into The Bear Pit - The Explosive Autobiography. Arena Sport. pp. 83–84.
  13. Rangers appoint John Greig as honorary life president
  14. Rangers player Greig, John, FitbaStats (also includes Glasgow Cup, not shown in table)
  15. "Honorary Degrees for Scottish football legends". University of Glasgow. 10 March 2008.
  16. José Luis, Pierrend (1 May 2005). "European Footballer of the Year ("Ballon d'Or") 1972". RSSSF. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
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