By David Herd
With this weekend seeing league leaders Rangers playing a massive match against in-form Hearts, it got me thinking about the huge number of players who played for both clubs. In my time watching Rangers, I’m pretty sure Hearts will be the club who have shared more players with Rangers than any other. I spent an afternoon trying to list as many as I could, going back to around the mid-1970s and I’ve got 56 names of players who wore both the royal blue and the maroon. Given our dreams of title number 56, it seems a very appropriate number.
No doubt there will be more from the past 50 years (I’m bound to have forgotten someone obvious and will remember them as soon as this article appears online), but that’s more than enough to try a wee exercise in naming the best XI who have played for the biggest club in Edinburgh as well as the biggest club in Scotland.
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I know that many of the players listed were hardly roaring successes at either club, some players hardly played for one of the clubs, and some were into the twilight of their careers before they made an appearance for one of them. But as long as they were signed players then they can be considered, as I get to decide the rules. They are listed in no particular order, I’ve tried to roughly put them in order from the 70s onwards, but some might be in the wrong place.
Goalkeepers
Five names, not all massive successes.
Peter McCloy (he signed a short term deal with Hearts in 1988 after leaving Rangers as the goalkeeping coach and sat on the bench in 2 European games against Bayern Munich. So his Hearts career had no starts at all, a mere 545 games less than his Rangers career), Nicky Walker, Andy Bruce, Antti Niemi, Jon McLaughlin.
Defenders
19 names, with a high number of centre backs and only a few full backs.
Sandy Jardine, Jim Denny, Gregor Stevens, Kenny Black, Hugh Burns, Colin Miller, Dave McPherson, Alan McLaren, Fraser Wishart, Gordan Petric, Paul Ritchie, Steven Pressley, Davie Weir, Andy Webster, Danny Wilson, Lee Wallace, Marius Zaliukas, Craig Halkett, John Souttar.
Midfielders
Ten central midfield players of very varying ability, and both ends of the spectrum as far as supporter popularity is concerned.
Alex MacDonald, Alfie Conn, Jim Bett, Cammy Fraser, Derek Ferguson, David Kirkwood, Ian Black, Jason Holt, Andy Halliday, Alex Lowry.
Forwards
An incredible 22 players, with plenty wingers as well as lots of strikers.
Willie Johnston, Colin McAdam, Sandy Clark, Billy MacKay, Chris Robertson (older brother of Hearts legend John), Derek Strickland, Iain Ferguson, Mo Johnston, David Hagen, Gordon Durie, Gary McSwegan, Allan Johnston, Steven Boyack, Neil McCann, Steven McLean, Steven Naismith, Andrius Velicka, Kyle Lafferty, David Templeton, Kevin Kyle, Billy King, Barrie McKay.
There might be 56 names, but more than half of them are obviously never going to make a best team – in fact, I’m tempted to make a worst-ever one as well as it would be a real howler. But I’ll stick with being positive, and the first decision is formation. I’m tempted to go 4-4-2 with all those wingers to pick from, but I feel that 4-3-3 is more modern and in tune with how football gets played these days.
In goal, it boils down to a choice between Peter McCloy and Antti Niemi. I do think that if Jon McLaughlin had left Rangers in the summer of 2022 after Allan McGregor decided not to retire, his Ibrox reputation would be very different from now. He was a reliable deputy with a fantastic shutout record, and had just played very well in the semi-final and final of the Scottish Cup, where we beat Hearts to lift the trophy. But his short spell as Gio’s first choice was a total disaster, culminating in one of the worst Rangers goalkeeping displays seen at Parkhead. Nicky Walker was a man of many clubs who did a job for them all, but was never outstanding, and once we saw Chris Woods take his place Rangers fans suddenly realised what top quality goalkeeping really looked like.
I really should go with the Barcelona 1972 legend and the goalkeeper with most appearances in Rangers history, but he never actually played a single minute on the park for Hearts in his very brief time there. It seems like cheating to have mentioned him in the first place. Niemi, in contrast, was mostly a reserve at Ibrox but became a very good goalkeeper not just for Hearts, but also in the EPL and at international level. So in the interests of fairness rather than in who was the better Rangers player, the vote goes to Niemi. With the Girvan Lighthouse on the bench, just like in his very brief Tynecastle career.
GOALKEEPER: NIEMI
In defence, there are three who are included with very little debate. Sandy Jardine is the best Scottish right back, and one of the classiest defenders, I’ve ever seen. Hugh Burns, and anyone else who fancied getting in as the right back, simply picked the wrong man to go up against for the number two shirt! Similarly, at left back it has to be Lee Wallace, who gave Rangers such great service in a dark time for the club, and whose departure left something of a sour taste. The likes of Kenny Black and Fraser Wishart don’t seem any competition to him for his number three jersey. This gives me two good defensive full-backs, both of whom are more than capable of getting forward too. As is the current Ibrox tradition, my right back will be captain and penalty taker too.
In central defence, one place must go to Davie Weir, a dependable rock for both clubs and a man who had a song that said he could play in all 11 positions. He might have signed for Rangers at an advanced age, but what a career he still had. A great defender, a great organiser, and a great leader. He made every defensive partner better, and has to be in the conversation when we talk about Walter’s most influential signings. And, a while further back, he was a vital player in the 1998 cup final for Hearts when they ended Walter’s first spell in charge with a painful defeat. There are a few really good centre backs in the list, but Weir is at the top for me.
His central defensive partner has lots of options, with the likes of Alan McLaren, Danny Wilson, Gordan Petric, Stephen Pressley, Dave McPherson and Andy Webster all enjoying very successful careers with at least one of the clubs. On saying that, Webster’s uncanny ability to be injured for virtually all his Rangers career while finding miracle fitness when out on loan has to disqualify him from any consideration. But for me it boils down to Dave McPherson and Alan McLaren. Two international defenders who gave both clubs excellent service. If it was about how long he played, or how many medals he won, then McPherson would win easily. But, for me, McLaren was simply the better centre half, a player who was Rangers captain the night we won 9-in-a-row, and who suffered a career ending injury at far too young an age just when he looked like both Rangers and Scotland would build a defence around him. I’m hoping that John Souttar might be mentioned in years to come for this team, once he has picked up a few winner’s medals of his own.
DEFENCE: JARDINE, WEIR, MCLAREN, WALLACE
The three in the centre of midfield need to provide a balance between attack and defence, be able to keep the ball, and to have some goals in there. One player is a certainty, the great Alex MacDonald. Doddie would get in my all-time Rangers team, never mind this one. The best box-to-box player I’ve seen, able to track runners into his own penalty box one minute then pop up in the opposition penalty area the next. He was also a man who scored goals on the biggest occasions with amazing regularity, incredibly scoring in four different major Hampden finals from midfield between 1975 and 1979. He knew how to win a tackle too, he gave total commitment, a game was never over as long as he was on the pitch. That leaves another two places, and for me it is between Jim Bett, Derek Ferguson and Alfie Conn to fill them.
Bett was probably the best of the three in his overall career, although he spent just three years of it at Ibrox and just one at Tynecastle, and had his longest and most successful spell at Aberdeen. He was a Scotland regular, an excellent passer of the ball, and chipped in with a few goals. Conn was the most naturally talented of the three, and the fact he is one of the Barcelona Bears has to go in his favour too. Another Scotland international, he was a regular at Ibrox as a teenager, and it broke my teenage heart when he signed for Celtic in 1977. If the formation was a Clement-style 4-2-3-1, he would be ideal in the advanced midfield “Number Ten” role. His career was very much on the slide by the time he signed for Hearts, however, neither the player or the support particularly enjoying it.
Then there is Derek Ferguson. Although he won far fewer caps than the others, he genuinely did contribute hugely to both clubs. As a teenager, he looked to me like a future Rangers captain, and that was backed up by some brilliant performances, including Man Of The Match in the 1986/87 League Cup final against Celtic. His ability was without doubt (some older fans still think he had more talent than younger brother Barry), but he fell foul of Graeme Souness due to his attitude, and he got shipped out despite being hugely popular at Ibrox amongst the support. In his time at Hearts, he often looked good enough to still play for us, he was a player many of us wish had fulfilled his massive potential in a Rangers shirt.
It’s a tough choice to come up with two from three, and I could be persuaded to go with any combination beside Alex MacDonald and be sure it would work. But I need to decide who doesn’t get to play, and I’m going with Derek Ferguson beside Doddie as the two in front of the back four, and Alfie Conn at number ten. To me, it looks best in terms of flair, goals, ball winning and ball retention.
CENTRAL MIDFIELD: MACDONALD, D. FERGUSON, CONN
Up front, I need a player for each wing and lone central striker. Sandy Clark did a fantastic job for Hearts after leaving Rangers, and I still fondly remember his role in beating Celtic in the 1984 League Cup final when he laid on Ally’s second goal. But there are others who were simply far better than him. Kyle Lafferty is another who deserves consideration, a player who scored in three successive league title clinching games with Rangers, and who then became a Hearts hero against Celtic. I also liked Iain Ferguson as a player, a man who scored a cup final winner for Rangers and a winning goal for Hearts against Bayern, and who often came back to haunt us after we let him go. But he was too inconsistent at both clubs to make the final cut. Then big Colin McAdam, who was a good old-fashioned battering ram, brilliant in the air, and who scored a few goals for us in the early 1980s. He gave me a few great memories, especially a day he scored twice against Celtic in a 3-0 win a few days after we had been humbled in Chesterfield, but I’d want a better footballer as my number nine. In the end, it’s a decision between Gordon Durie and Mo Johnston.
Durie wasn’t the silkiest player, but he had a fantastic work rate, and he became an integral part of the 9-in-a-row team. He also managed a Scottish Cup final hat-trick (against Hearts) and didn’t even win man of the match! The price to pay when you share a pitch with a God. Durie was a regular for club and country, and he played his part in some huge wins for both. Maybe not the best goals record for a Rangers striker in a dominant team, but a hugely effective team player and one who definitely could play the lone striker position.
Johnston’s career hardly needs telling, but suffice to say he showed enormous bravery in joining Rangers, and for a time he was among the best strikers in the UK, scoring vital goals for Scotland as well as for Rangers. He was a better all-round footballer than Durie, and a more natural finisher. I’m struggling to remember him playing as a lone striker, he tended to be part of a pairing, with McCoist the obvious name that springs to mind for their time together for Rangers and Scotland. There are pros and cons to pick either of them for the centre forward position, but I’m a bit old fashioned and think the primary role of a striker is to score goals. Johnston gets the nod, as he would score more, and he was a clever enough player to be able to lead the line himself.
That leaves the wide men. On the right, Allan Johnston was a good player, I well remember him scoring three for Hearts at Ibrox as well as playing well for Rangers in a couple of big European ties. Most other wingers in the list are left sided, so I’m going for Steven Naismith at number seven, even if it feels a bit wrong. We all remember what he said in 2012, and I doubt many will ever forgive him for it. I know I struggle to. But if I put that aside, he was an excellent Rangers player in a very good team who chipped in with plenty goals and assists as well as being hard-working. At Hearts, despite at a stage in his career where he got a lot of injuries, he was by far their best player and got himself back in the international team.
The left wing is easy, but also very difficult. I know who the best number eleven is from the list, and it’s not particularly close. But it means no place for Neil McCann, who was a brilliant player and one I loved watching. He delivered excellent crosses, had ability to beat a player inside or outside, and he scored a few big goals. No bigger than the two he scored at Parkhead in May 1999! Unfortunately, McCann has the bad luck to be up against Willie Johnston.
“Bud” had a terrible temper, and his days at Hearts were in the twilight of his career, but we’re talking here about a genuine Rangers all-time great, who scored more than 100 goals for the club in over 400 appearances across two spells, played in iconic League Cup and Scottish Cup wins over Celtic, and who scored twice the night we won our only European trophy. He also was a brilliant player for the international team, who played his part in taking Scotland to the world cup. There can’t be any other on the left wing.
FORWARDS: NAISMITH, M. JOHNSTON, W. JOHNSTON
So here’s my Best Rangers-Hearts Eleven of the last 50 years in formation:
Niemi
Jardine Weir McLaren Wallace
MacDonald D Ferguson
Conn
Naismith M Johnston W Johnston
No doubt, few will agree with this selection. What would yours be?