'He's got no hair and we don't care': Wolves play-off winning hero Alex Rae recalls his memorable Molineux days
Alex Rae was a fans’ favourite at both Wolves and Sunderland in a career in which, whether playing or coaching, he has never given anything but his best. It’s still going as well, with the proud Scot possessing a hunger for the game which shows no sign of wavering. Paul Berry finds out more.
There are some players who, even if not at a club for all that long, leave an indelible mark which allows their popularity to stand the test of time.
Here for a good time, not a long time. Like Alex Rae and Wolves. Sort of.
Because in the case of Rae, the top and tail of his three seasons at Wolves ended in disappointment. And, even in the successful one in the middle, he wasn’t massively involved towards the end, one incredible memory-making moment aside.
Yet he remains so fondly remembered by all of a gold and black persuasion. Rightly so.
As a player, a midfielder, he was so fiercely determined, so combative. As well as being extremely good in terms of technique as well as tackling.
As a person, open, engaging, willing to give of his time. It was a perfect combination.
And that’s why he has always been so highly regarded not just at Wolves but also Millwall, Sunderland, and Rangers, amongst others.
“I always enjoy going back to my former clubs, and am lucky to get a pretty decent reception,” says 56-year-old Rae, who recently joined Matt Murray, Mark Kennedy and Colin Cameron for a great night at the Cleveland Arms.
“You sometimes wonder who remembers you as a couple of generations now probably don’t, but I feel grateful to have stayed close to all of those clubs.
“I was fortunate to have had over 20 years as a player, and since then more as a player and coach – I love it!”
Rae is now assistant head coach at Partick Thistle in the Scottish Championship. When we speak, he is bemoaning a 1-1 home draw with Arbroath which pushed them further behind St Johnstone at the top of the table.
“But it’s not about looking behind, all about looking forward,” he quickly counters.
Fortunately, he is happy to look back and chat in glowing terms about his time at the two teams in action at the Stadium of Light this weekend.
First though, the story of how the comeback was stronger than the setback. How Glasgow-born Rae’s career may have hit the buffers before it had even started. When he was released by his boyhood club Rangers whose then manager Graeme Souness would later try and sign him for Blackburn.
“I was devastated,” Rae recalls.
“I had been released by the football club I supported as a boy and had put so much expectation into becoming a success.
“I wasn’t sure which direction I was going to go after that, and when you get a kick in the – let’s not lower the tone – when you get a setback, it can be difficult to react.
“I was fortunate because a guy called Joe Woods, a local builder with his own company, contacted me out of the blue.
“He was the manager of an amateur team, Bishopbriggs, and asked me to come back and play for them.
“I said no initially, but thankfully Joe persevered, and for a few months I went to play for them and just started to enjoy football again.
“We had a little bit of success at that level, and that led me to getting back on the merry-go-round with Falkirk.
“I am indebted to Joe, really indebted, and it wasn’t just me – there were so many other released lads who he helped get back into the game to enjoy successful careers.
“He was such a good guy Big Joe, with a really kind heart, and I never forgot what he did for me.
“It was in 2004, when I went back to join Rangers after being at Wolves, that I was in the local ASDA and a lady in her 70s came up and asked how I was.
“I presumed she was a Rangers fan, but she was actually Joe’s wife, and told me that unfortunately he had passed away a couple of years earlier.
“I said to her that I had really wanted to see Joe and tell him how important he had been to my career, and this wee lady started laughing.
“’Oh Alex,’ she said. ‘Don’t you worry – you were always one of his favourites’.
“She told me that Joe used to pray for me at the chapel, and over all the years he carried on looking out for me, and that speaks volumes for him, and really made my day.
“I probably would have gone on to have enjoyed a career of some description, but you never know.
“I look back and understand just how important that intervention was.”
A real sliding doors moment, and one which Rae’s future employers were certainly extremely grateful for.
A successful stint with Falkirk saw him head south of the border, for six happy years with Millwall where his 71 goals put him in the upper echelons of the club’s overall goalscorers.
