McGregor: John Reid (John)

1985-1985 (Player Details)

Midfield/Defender

Born: Airdrie: 05-01-1963

Debut: v Portsmouth (h): 02-11-1985

5’11” 12st (1986)

McGregor was educated at Airdrie Academy and joined Queen’s Park from school before Liverpool paid a big fee for him in the summer of 1982. He had made one hundred and five League appearances for Queen’s Park, scoring nineteen goals. He never made a senior appearance for the Reds, but was an unused substitute on eight occasions in all games at Anfield. In April 1984 he began a loan period with St Mirren, where he scored once in five starts in the Scottish League but unfortunately he sustained a bad knee injury. He returned to Anfield but missed the 1984-85 season and had his only taste of the Football League level during a month’s loan to Leeds in October 1985. He showed his versatility by playing right half on debut at home to Portsmouth and at Millwall in the next fixture, right-back the next week at home to Crystal Palace, then left-half at Carlisle United and centre-half in his final game at home to Norwich City. He returned to Anfield and enjoyed a long stint in the reserves before being sold to Rangers in the summer of 1987 for £90,000. He won a Scottish League Cup-winners’ medal in his first season at Ibrox to add to a string of Central League medals won at Anfield. He had made twenty starts and five substitute appearances in the Scottish League before a bad knee injury ended his career in 1987-88. He did make one appearance in the 1991-92 season for Rangers and he became reserve team coach at Ibrox until February 2003. He was known for his criticism of Referees during his coaching spell and in January 1994 he was fined £3,000 and banned from the dugout and touchline areas for five years. As he was already in the middle of a two year ban for similar indiscretions it meant he was banned until 2000. As McGregor was still registered as a player he would have been entitled to sit in the dugout if listed as a substitute, but he left this to his assistant.