Rod Wallace

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Rod Wallace
Personnel
Surname Rodney Seymour Wallace
birthday 2nd October 1969
place of birth Greenwich , London ,  England
size 170 cm
position striker
Juniors
Years station
1986-1988 Southampton FC
Men's
Years station Games (goals) 1
1988-1991 Southampton FC 128 (45)
1991-1998 Leeds United 212 (53)
1998-2001 Glasgow Rangers 77 (39)
2001-2002 Bolton Wanderers 19 0(3)
2002-2004 Gillingham FC 36 (12)
National team
Years selection Games (goals)
1989-1991 England U-21 19 0(3)
1990 England B 1 0(0)
1 Only league games are given.

Rodney Seymour "Rod" Wallace (born October 2, 1969 in Greenwich , London ) is a former English football player . A nimble and tricky striker, like his twin brother Ray and almost six years older brother Danny, he came from the youth work of Southampton FC . He later celebrated his greatest successes with Leeds United when he won the English Championship in 1992 and later with the Scottish top club Glasgow Rangers two Scottish championships (1999, 2000) and FA Cup editions (1999, 2000) as well as in the 1999 / 2000 won the Scottish League Cup.

Athletic career

Southampton FC (1986-1991)

Together with his twin brother Ray , Rod Wallace joined Southampton FC as a “trainee” in 1986 , ending up at the club that had already successfully trained older brother Danny . A good two years later, on October 22, 1988, all three stood together against Sheffield Wednesday , making them probably the first brother trio in the top English football league to compete together for the same team. Initially, the twins had a very similar career path, but after some spectacular performances and eleven appearances for the English U-21 team , Rod's prospects were considered to be far more promising than Ray's. By the end of the 1990/91 season he scored 56 competitive goals for the "Saints" and moved in June 1991 for 1.6 million pounds to the up-and-coming Leeds United , which had achieved a surprisingly good fourth place as a first division promoted .

Leeds United (1991-1998)

With the speed with which he gained advantages, especially in the first few meters, "Hot Rod" was an immediate reinforcement for the team trained by Howard Wilkinson . He complemented the classic and with a high physical presence acting striker and center forward Lee Chapman in the 1991/92 season almost ideally and contributed eleven own hits to win the championship . He also played himself in the focus of the senior team , but an injury prevented a possible use against Spain in September 1992 . In addition, there was a sporty decline for the club, which ended in a disappointing 17th place and Wallace's form also suffered. The fact that Leeds United got back on track in the 1993/94 season was due not least to the fact that Wallace found its way back to old strength with a total of 17 league goals. In addition, in April 1994 against Tottenham Hotspur came the "goal of the season" when he single-handedly duped three opponents from the center line and circled the ball into the corner from the corner of the penalty area.

When Wallace took a slightly more lagging position in the 1994/95 season and came more often on the flank, the goals were rarer. His form deteriorated and only after the commitment of Anthony Yeboah he harmonized a little better again, which in turn led coach Wilkinson to reject an offer from Southampton FC in the amount of 1.5 million pounds. In the period that followed, however, his success stories remained and with just one league goal in the 1995/96 season it became clear that he was now less suitable for a constant striker than as a winger. In addition to Yeboah and Brian Deane there was further competition in the attack in the form of the Swedish national player Tomas Brolin and in May 1996 the Welsh veteran Ian Rush . Nevertheless, those involved turned down further offers from Southampton. The coaching change to George Graham initially brought little improvement, as the only 22 league appearances in the 1996/97 season proved. Nevertheless, in the medium term he benefited again from the new sporting management and with his direct play and speed he again increasingly caused problems for the opposing defensive formations. Especially in the following season 1997/98 Wallace, who was meanwhile the "longest serving" player in the Leeds United squad, was extremely successful in teamwork with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink , with the numerous goals in away games being particularly noticeable. Reinforced again, he decided, however, not to extend the contract any further and instead to move to the Scottish top club Glasgow Rangers on a free transfer in July 1998 .

Glasgow Rangers (1998-2001)

The signing of Wallace went almost unnoticed in Glasgow, as the Rangers under the new coach Dick Advocaat were in a radical upheaval and with Arthur Numan , Andrei Kantschelskis and Giovanni van Bronckhorst came other well-known newcomers to the club. That changed when he scored goals in the first four league games and his speed proved to be very valuable. By Christmas 1998 Wallace had scored 16 goals and with a 3-0 win at local rivals Celtic his team secured the Scottish Championship on May 2, 1999 - although the game for Wallace with a late red card had a bitter aftertaste. He “reciprocated” for this only 27 days later when he faced Celtic again in the final of the Scottish FA Cup and scored the goal for the decisive 1-0. He had previously won the league cup with the Rangers at the end of November 1998.

The sporting development was positive in his second season 1999/2000 and in the end there was the second "double" from the Scottish championship and the FA Cup in series. He formed good strike partnerships with Michael Mols and Billy Dodds and scored 20 competitive goals, including another crucial goal against Celtic late in the season. Despite this consistently good performance, Wallace found himself exposed to additional competition, including in particular Kenny Miller , Ronald de Boer and Tore André Flo , who were signed up at the beginning of the 2000/01 season . After only one goal in the first five league games of the new season, Wallace suddenly found himself on the bench and was rarely used, especially in the domestic league until March 2001. He only scored four times in the last eight league games, but in the end he was untitled with the Rangers. In September 2001 he returned to the top English league and was hired for free at first division promoted Bolton Wanderers .

Bolton Wanderers & Gillingham FC (2001-2004)

Just six minutes after the first substitution against Blackburn Rovers (1-1), Wallace appeared for his new club for the first time, but although Wallace successfully supported Sam Allardyce's team in the relegation battle, he decided to take the new contract offer for another year to refuse and instead to sign a two-year contract with second division Gillingham FC .

Due to groin problems, Wallace did not come regularly to the "Gills" until the end of September 2002, but with eleven league goals from just 22 games, he was again very accurate, including a series of seven goals in eight games. In his last professional season 2003/04, the injury problems increased. Wallace rarely found his form, only scored one competitive goal and then ended his active career.

Title / Awards

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ "England - U-21 International Results 1986–1995 - Details" (RSSSF)
  2. ^ "England - International Results B-Team - Details (RSSSF")
  3. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 1995-1996 Official PFA Footballers Factfile . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 1995, ISBN 978-0-09-180854-9 , pp. 222 f .
  4. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 1996-1997 Official PFA Footballers Factfile . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 1996, ISBN 978-1-85291-571-1 , pp. 252 .
  5. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 1997-1998 Official PFA Footballers Factfile . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 1997, ISBN 978-1-85291-581-0 , pp. 288 .
  6. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 1998-1999 Official PFA Footballers Factfile . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 1998, ISBN 978-1-85291-588-9 , pp. 315 .
  7. ↑ "Rod Wallace: Rangers FC 1998-2001" (Sporting Heroes)
  8. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2002/2003 . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 2002, ISBN 978-1-85291-648-0 , pp. 425 .
  9. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2003/2004 . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 2003, ISBN 978-1-85291-651-0 , pp. 438 .
  10. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2004/2005 . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 2004, ISBN 978-1-85291-660-2 , pp. 422 .
  11. ↑ The final of the 1998/99 League Cup season was held on November 29, 1998.
personal data
SURNAME Wallace, Rod
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wallace, Rodney Seymour (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English soccer player
DATE OF BIRTH 2nd October 1969
PLACE OF BIRTH Greenwich , London , England