Alex Rae (footballer, born 1969)

Alexander Scott Rae (born 30 September 1969) is a Scottish professional manager and former player who played as a midfielder.

Alex Rae
Rae during Jody Craddock's testimonial in 2014
Personal information
Full name Alexander Scott Rae[1]
Date of birth (1969-09-30) 30 September 1969[1]
Place of birth Glasgow, Scotland
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[2]
Playing position(s) Midfielder[1]
Youth career
Celtic Boys Club[3]
Rangers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1987–1990 Falkirk 83 (20)
1990–1996 Millwall 218 (63)
1996–2001 Sunderland 114 (12)
2001–2004 Wolverhampton Wanderers 107 (15)
2004–2006 Rangers 34 (1)
2006–2008 Dundee 26 (3)
2009–2010 Milton Keynes Dons 3 (0)
Total 585 (114)
National team
1990–1992 Scotland U21[4] 9 (3)
Teams managed
2006–2008 Dundee
2015–2016 St Mirren
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Rae began his youth career at Rangers and started his senior career at Falkirk. Rae played for Millwall, Sunderland, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Rangers, Dundee, Milton Keynes Dons. Back from rehab clinic for alcoholism in 1998, he was with Sunderland and played regularly in the top flight until September 2001. He then joined Wolverhampton Wanderers,[5] and quickly became the key player in the team, winning the fans' player of the season award. In 2002, he helped the team back into the Premier League, and had his best seasonal tally with 8 goals. He then went back to Scotland, joining Rangers where he had started his youth career, in May 2004,[6] and won the league title in his first season.[7]

Rae was appointed player-manager of Dundee in May 2006. He led the club to third place in the First Division in his first season and took them a place higher in his second. He stopped his career as a footballer during the 2008–09 season[8] and went to Sweden as part of his work towards a UEFA Pro Licence.[9]

Playing career

Rae was born in Glasgow.[1] He started his career as a youngster at boyhood heroes Rangers but was rejected by boss Graeme Souness. He dropped down to junior leagues with Bishopbriggs before he joined Falkirk and enjoyed a successful two years before heading south to sign for Millwall in 1990 for £100,000. He made his Millwall debut on 25 August 1990 and played for the club for six years. He is currently Millwall's joint-ninth all-time leading scorer, with 71 goals in all competitions. His form for Millwall earned him a big money move to Premier League Sunderland for £1 million in 1996, where he established himself as a crowd-pleasing, combative midfielder. His career took a downturn though, as he descended into alcoholism, leading to him attending a rehab clinic during 1998. He stayed sober after this treatment and further rehabilitation, and later became a patron for the Sporting Chance clinic.

Back on the field, he won promotion as champions back to the Premier League with Sunderland in 1998–99 and played regularly in the top flight. By 2001, he had dropped out of manager Peter Reid's plans and was sold to Wolverhampton Wanderers in September 2001, for £1.2 million.[5] He quickly became an important player for Wolves, winning the fans' player of the season award in his first campaign. The following year, he helped them back into the Premier League when they won the play-offs in 2003. He had a strong year in the top flight, finishing as the club's leading scorer with eight goals – his best-ever seasonal tally – but could not prevent the club's relegation. Rae re-signed for Rangers in May 2004,[6] and won the league title in his first season, scoring once in the process against Dunfermline.[7] He only featured 12 times in his second season, however, and was later released by the club.

Coaching and managerial career
Rae in 2010

He was appointed as player-manager of Dundee on 24 May 2006. He led the club to third place in the First Division in his first season and took them a place higher in his second. He gave up playing for the 2008–09 season but was sacked on 20 October 2008 with the team in eighth place in the league.[8] Following this, Rae travelled to Sweden as part of his work towards a UEFA Pro Licence.[9]

In July 2009 he joined MK Dons, on a temporary basis with a view to a permanent deal, as first team coach working under his former Wolves teammate Paul Ince.[10]

In 2010, Rae made a return to competitive football to cover for injuries. On 29 October 2010, Rae joined Notts County as assistant manager until he left the club following the departure of manager Paul Ince[11] on 3 April 2011.

In February 2013, Rae joined Blackpool, once again with Paul Ince.[12] The season finished with Blackpool in 15th place.

On 21 January 2014, along with Paul Ince, Rae's Blackpool contract was terminated and he left the club.[13] In August 2014 he became assistant manager at Belgian club KRC Genk, working with Alex McLeish.[14]

Rae was appointed as manager of Scottish Championship side St Mirren in December 2015,[15] after former manager Ian Murray resigned.[16] After an unsuccessful start to the 2016–17 season, Rae and his assistant David Farrell were sacked by the club.[17]

Managerial statistics
As of match played on 17 September 2016[18]
Team From To Record
G W D L Win %
Dundee 24 May 2006 20 October 2008 97 42 22 33 043.30
St Mirren 18 December 2015 18 September 2016 32 13 6 13 040.63
Total 129 55 28 46 042.64

Honours

Sunderland

Wolverhampton Wanderers

  • Football League First Division play-offs: 2003[20]

Rangers

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gollark: Oh, right, you're using a laptop.
gollark: I mean, 1% less power use is ££££ in those electricity bills.
gollark: Which is odd, because if you think about it big companies really want more power efficiency.

References
  1. "Alex Rae". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  2. "Alex Rae: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  3. Open Goal (5 March 2018). "Si Ferry Meets...Alex Rae - Falkirk, Millwall, Sunderland, Wolves & Return to Rangers" – via YouTube.
  4. "Scotland U21 Player Alex Rae Details". www.fitbastats.com.
  5. "Rae completes move". BBC Sport. 19 September 2001. Retrieved 15 April 2012.
  6. "Rangers seal Rae deal". BBC Sport. 18 May 2004. Retrieved 28 January 2008.
  7. "Rangers 3–0 Dunfermline Athletic". BBC Sport. 15 January 2005. Retrieved 29 December 2009.
  8. "Dundee sack Rae and seek new boss". BBC Sport. 20 October 2008. Archived from the original on 22 October 2008. Retrieved 20 October 2008.
  9. "Rae of Sunshine". HeraldScotland.
  10. "Ince makes his mark as assistant is named". Milton Keynes Citizen. 15 July 2009. Retrieved 29 July 2009.
  11. "Archived item". Archived from the original on 18 March 2012. Retrieved 2016-02-09.
  12. "Alex Rae: Paul Ince adds Scot to Blackpool coaching staff". BBC Sport. 21 February 2013. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
  13. "Paul Ince: Blackpool boss sacked after less than a year in charge". BBC Sport. 21 January 2014.
  14. "Rangers v Celtic: Experience key for semi-final - Alex McLeish". BBC Sport. 26 January 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  15. "St Mirren: Alex Rae succeeds Ian Murray as manager". BBC Sport. 18 December 2015. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
  16. "St Mirren: Ian Murray resigns after six months as manager". BBC Sport. 12 December 2015. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
  17. Paterson, Colin (18 September 2016). "St Mirren sack manager Alex Rae after dreadful start to the season". Daily Record. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
  18. "Alex Rae managerial statistics". Soccerbase. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
  19. Rollin, Glenda; Rollin, Jack, eds. (1999). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1999–2000. London: Headline Publishing Group. pp. 32, 352–353. ISBN 978-0-7472-7627-2.
  20. "Wolves back in big time". BBC Sport. 26 May 2003. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
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