Andy Goram

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Andrew Lewis Goram (b. April 13, 1964 in Bury, England) is a former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He played for both Oldham Athletic A.F.C. and Hibernian F.C. but is best remembered for having played for Rangers F.C. during which time he was known to teammates simply as "The Goalie". In 2001 he was voted Rangers' greatest ever goalkeeper by the fans. After his time with Rangers he had short spells at Motherwell F.C., Notts County, Sheffield United, Manchester United, Elgin City and Coventry City.

Goram joined Oldham Athletic as a teenager and spent seven years with the English club before moving to Hibernian in 1987. He was bought by Rangers in 1991 for £1m and went on to help the club to win nine Scottish League titles in a row between 1989 and 1997. He was also instrumental in Rangers' run in the European Cup in 1992-93, as they came to within one match of reaching the final.

He was also an important player for the Scotland national team, winning 43 caps, although he frequently withdrew from squads which led to his international career being curtailed.

After it was reported in the press that Goram had a mild form of schizophrenia, fans responded with a chorus of "Two Andy Gorams, there's only two Andy Gorams".^[1] This chant quickly gained popularity, and became the title of a book documenting humorous football chants - Two Andy Gorams: The Funniest Football Songs Ever (ISBN 1902927532).

He ended his career with Queen of the South F.C. and Elgin City. With Queen of the South in 2002 he won the Bells Challenge Cup.

Goram is a popular after dinner speaker and regularly attends Rangers fan gatherings.

He has faced accusations of sectarianism.^[2] He attracted publicity^[3] for sporting a black armband at a match in 1997^[4] after the murder of the Loyalist paramilitary Billy Wright.^[5] Andy Goram's ex-wife, Tracey, once released a photograph of him in a bar holding a flag of Northern Irish Loyalist group the UVF.^[6] Though he had by then left Rangers, the photograph had allegedly been taken at a time when he was a regular in the Rangers first team.^[7] In 2007, he added his voice to calls to stop sectarian chants by football fans.^[8]

In March 2006, Goram joined Airdrie United as goalkeeping coach.

[edit] Cricket

Also a cricketer, Goram represented the Scottish cricket team four times: twice (1989 and 1991) in the annual first-class game against Ireland and twice (again in 1989 and 1991) in the NatWest Trophy.

A left-handed batsman and right-arm medium-pace bowler, he never achieved any great success, and his most significant act was probably to bowl England Test player Richard Blakey in a NatWest Trophy game against Yorkshire in 1989.

He was also a league cricketer, appearing as a wicket-keeper and batsman for various Oldham clubs in the Saddleworth League including Delph & Dobcross, Moorside and East Lancashire Paper Mills.

Preceded by Ally McCoist	Scottish Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year 1993	Succeeded by Mark Hateley
Preceded by Ally McCoist	Scottish PFA Players' Player of the Year 1993	Succeeded by Mark Hateley

	Scotland squad - 1986 FIFA World Cup
1 Leighton \| 2 Gough \| 3 Malpas \| 4 Souness \| 5 McLeish \| 6 Miller \| 7 Strachan \| 8 Aitken \| 9 Bannon \| 10 Bett \| 11 McStay \| 12 Goram \| 13 Nicol \| 14 Narey \| 15 Albiston \| 16 McAvennie \| 17 Archibald \| 18 Sharp \| 19 Nicholas \| 20 Sturrock \| 21 Cooper \| 22 Rough \| Coach: Ferguson

	Scotland squad - 1990 FIFA World Cup
1 Leighton \| 2 McLeish \| 3 Aitken \| 4 Gough \| 5 McStay \| 6 Malpas \| 7 Johnston \| 8 Bett \| 9 McCoist \| 10 MacLeod \| 11 Gillespie \| 12 Goram \| 13 Durie \| 14 McInally \| 15 Levein \| 16 McCall \| 17 McKimmie \| 18 Collins \| 19 McPherson \| 20 McAllister \| 21 Fleck \| 22 Gunn \| Coach: Roxburgh