Mark Walters

[broxi321 55]

We all know he got dogs abuse and Bannanas thrown at him, but reading a bit of his bio says he was thrown golf balls and a pigs leg! Anyone recall who threw it I remember it in the Rangers news when I was younger but cant remember which team threw it unsure as well about the golf balls??

Also, interesting he wasnt the first black/ethnic player in Scotland it was actually Mohammed Latif in the 1930's??

A mercurial winger and master of the 'Double Shuffle', Mark Walters arrived in Glasgow on 31 December 1987. Born in Birmingham on 2 June 1964, Walters had been on the books at his boyhood heroes Aston Villa since his school days, making his first-team debut at the age of 17, but he was tempted north by Graeme Souness, who beat off competition from Everton and Derby County to secure the Englishman's signature for £500, 000.

He made his debut against Celtic at Parkhead on 2 January 1988. It proved to be an inauspicious start for the new boy, as Celtic won 2-0, but Walters soon found his feet and was soon entertaining the Rangers supporters with his stunning array of skills and tricks. He had the ability to ghost past defenders, tying them in knots with his twisting and turning, and his 'Double Shuffle', a skill he had honed since his childhood, became a feature of his game. Although most defenders expected it, they were unable to stop Walters as he dummied his way beyond them before delivering a menacing cross into the danger area. In common with most wingers, he was afflicted by inconsistency and some critics felt that his work-rate was questionable, but on his day he was mesmerising and a potent attacking weapon in the Rangers arsenal.

Mark was a threat in front of goal too, possessing a powerful shot and the skill to impart bend and swerve on to the ball to take it out of the reach of goalkeepers. He was also an expert penalty taker, with two spot-kicks against Celtic among the highlights of his three-and-a-half year stay at Ibrox.

Although he failed to pick up any honours in the 1987/88 season, Walters enjoyed a fruitful first full season in Scotland, as he picked up a League Championship medal and a winners badge in the Scottish League Cup. He scored seventeen goals in forty-eight appearances, and included in his haul were four league goals against Celtic and a double in the semi-final of the League Cup against Hearts.

By the time the 1989/90 season dawned, Walters had made the number 11 jersey his own, which effectively signalled the end of the masterful Davie Cooper's time at Ibrox, and he enjoyed another fine campaign, scoring twelve goals and picking up a second Championship medal. A third followed in 1990/91, and it was Mark's cross that set up the first of Mark Hateley's two goals in the final day title shoot-out against Aberdeen at Ibrox. Walters also scored the opening goal against Celtic in the League Cup Final, a match that Rangers won by two goals to one.

His time in Scotland was not without its hardships, though. He was Rangers' first black player since the Egyptian Mohammed Latif, who had turned out for the club in the 1930s, and due to the paucity of black players plying their trade north of the border at that time, Mark was subjected to vile racist abuse at regular intervals. As well as having to dodge the bone-jarring challenges doled out by the full-backs he came up against, Walters also had to evade numerous objects that were hurled at him from the crowd, including bananas, golf balls, and even a pig's leg! The fact that Mark was able to rise above this odious abuse and turn on the dazzling displays that he did spoke volumes for his strength of character.

After making 143 appearances and scoring fifty-two goals, Mark Walters left Rangers in the summer of 1991 to join Graeme Souness at Liverpool. The winger, who cost Liverpool £1.25 million, felt that the move to England would aid his quest to become a regular in the England team, but he failed to add to the solitary cap that he earned at the end of his final season in Glasgow.

Mark spent five years at Anfield, winning the FA Cup in 1992 and the League Cup in 1995, before moving on to Southampton, Swindon Town and Bristol Rovers. Now retired, he coaches kids at the Aston Villa academy and is a regular for Rangers at Sky Sports' Masters Football tournament. (Alistair Aird, Author of Ally McCoist - Portrait of a Hero)

[murdy 0]

aye remember his debut at the piggery!bananas flying everywhere from the jungle-cunts,also remember being at tynecastle where he got the same treatment<also recall tins of fruit being thrown-shocking! what a player btw-magical!

[murdy 0]

the sheep were know for flinging golf balls!cunts!! remember Mark Hateley got one thrown at him with nails through it!! WANKS

[murdy 0]

mark walters-always wore his socks inside out!

[King Jela 20,360]

Imagine that shite happening in this day and age ? Crazy stuff.

Anyway, judging purely from videos, he was an excellent player.

[WestEndLoyal 45]

Anyway, judging purely from videos, he was an excellent player.

He was a great player. Always played well against the Vhermin too, which is a biggie for me.

Imagine Sone Aluko with a great final ball - That was Mark Walters.

[SkiBunny 441]

Wish they made it clear who the abuse was coming from. Kinda sounds like 'the crowd' could be misinterpretated as our supporters!!!

[Gaz92 966]

Imagine that shite happening in this day and age ? Crazy stuff.

Watch Russian football at all? Still got some pretty vile stuff going on over there.

Too young to know Walters myself but had a couple of videos from the 80's, looked like a cracking player.

[Der Hammer 160]

I loved Mark Walters when he played for us,in fact i loved the way he played so much that even nowadays when i hear he is playing in the Masters football its him that i can't wait to see,pure entertainment as a footballer.

[DietofWorms 2,063]

Walters was a fantastic player for us.

Apart from his 'Double-Shuffle' tricks, he was a brilliant finisher...he was excellent at chipping the ball and caught a fair few goalies just off their lines.

...also, in the space of 3-4 Seasons we had Cooper,Walters then Huistra.

[mav3ric 13]

an absolute fantastic player, had the privilege to see him on many occasions. Did the number 11 shirt justice that has been worn by many great footballers at The Rangers.

[jack1690 793]

The first black/ethnic player was an Andrew Watson in 1880s. Queens Park player & Scotland international.

Mark Walters was a great signing by Souness.

[jjcale27 46]

Remember being in the old East Enclosure the day he scored a fantastic late double against Aberdeen....great player

[Guest]

"It's a delightful little chip from Mark Walters" Said by old candy floss heed, Archie McPherson on a few occasions. What a player he was

[Davey_RFC 122]

Why the f*ck would we racially abuse our own player

Of course it wasn't our fans. Are people really that stupid as to think that?

[jack1690 793]

Why the f*ck would we racially abuse our own player

Of course it wasn't our fans. Are people really that stupid as to think that?

Only if they are a taig

[superkai 54]

Why the f*ck would we racially abuse our own player

Of course it wasn't our fans. Are people really that stupid as to think that?

Maybe that's a question you could put to Sanjeev Kholi.

[Right_To_Censor 1,951]

I can't really remember him from my hazy memory but when I see the videos of him and cooper the memories come flooding back, it's funny that

Love watching him and mols tear it up in the masters just a shame the great Dane doesn't get involved, what a player he was

[caseyjones 3,009]

He's also an Honorary member of the RST, so even more kudos for the man.

[nemisis 358]

The biggest, most disgusting racist incident to happen in Scotland was when the bheats racially abused Mark Walters. And Mark Walters was not only a fantastic football player but he is a gentleman.

[Thermopylae 15,286]

mark walters-always wore his socks inside out!

You know I never noticed that .

What a great player though unfortunately he is a little over shadowed in the memory by Brian Laudrup who came later but still a match winner on his day and a real entertainer

[ColinStein1975 2]

Brilliant player. Scored one of the best goals I've ever seen against St. Mirren. Took the ball around the halfway on the right wing, beat about five of them and ran it into the net. I think we won 4-0 that day.

Never liked all the racial stuff about him, but he usually came out on top.

[broxi321 55]

Sadly there are some weak armchair Rangers fans who still think some of our own fans directed abuse at Walters when he was playing against septic it was the opposition fans who threw the banannas?

Interesting account for a fan:-

His debut was at Parkhead and the game was marred by TIMS throwing bananas at Walters and dressing up in monkey suits. The media also had stories in the morning of East End Grocers stating that they had run out of bananas. The kick-off of the second half was delayed 15 minutes so the fruit could be removed from the playing surface.

Walters next game was against Hearts at Tynecastle and the same thing happened there. The game was delayed whilst te bananas were removed from the ground.

I apologise to Lynds as my response was 'curt' but I thought Lynds was implying that Rangers fans were behind the racial abuse dished out to Walters.

RST Outraged at 'Evening Times' Lie

Tuesday, 10 July 2007 16:55

The Rangers Supporters' Trust is outraged that a lie about the Rangers support which appeared in the Sunday Herald more than 4 years ago is repeated in today's Evening Times. In today's edition (10 July 2007) Brian Beacom writes that broadcaster Sanjeev Kohli "watched as Rangers fans threw exotic fruit' at their own player, Mark Walters.", supposedly in a friendly at Ibrox against Tottenham Hotspur.

Kohli insults the intelligence of Evening Times readers by asking them to believe that Rangers fans waited 18 months and then racially abused a player they had taken to their hearts. There are no archive sources to back up Kohli's pathetic assertion. Ironically enough, Mr Kohli switched allegiance to a team whose supporters did racially abuse Mark Walters on 2 January 1988 at Celtic Park*. This footage shows Kohli's claims to be the delusional witterings of a gallery-playing bigot.

The Trust's opposition to racism in football is undeniable. We support all moves to ‘Kick Racism out of Football’ and a link to ‘Show Racism The Red Card Scotland’ is on the front page of the Trust website. Mark Walters is in fact the RST's Honorary Chairman.

The Trust set up the Walter Tull Trophy (which Rangers and Tottenham play for) in honour of the first black commissioned officer in the British Army. We suggest that people who fabricate obvious and blatant lies whilst purporting anti-racism damage the very cause they claim to support.

Mr Kohli, it is claimed in the article, is best known for his role in a BBC Scotland sitcom. The Trust suggests he is better known to Rangers fans as a liar and a slum landlord**.

In conclusion, the Rangers support accepts no lectures from those devoid of morality. We call for this lie to be withdrawn and for an appropriate apology or right of reply to appear with equal prominence to that given to the original article.

[downviewbear 136]

always remember that cross for hateley in the title winning match against the sheep shaggers brilliant

[GMac 1,405]

Also, interesting he wasnt the first black/ethnic player in Scotland it was actually Mohammed Latif in the 1930's??

The first black player in Scotland was Andrew Watson. Also the first black player in the UK and also the first ever black internationalist in the world. Played for Queens Park and capped for Scotland in 1881.