Wallace: Rodney Seymour (Rod)

1991-1998 (Player Details)

Forward

Born: Lewisham: 02-10-1969

Debut: Nottingham Forest (h): 20-08-1991

5’7” 10st 1lb (1992)

#45 in 100 Greatest LUFC Players Ever

He signed for the Saints as trainee in 1986 along with his twin brother Ray. Elder brother Danny had already become an established member of the Southampton first team. On 22nd October 1988, his two brothers Danny and Ray lined up alongside him in the Southampton team in a match at The Dell against Sheffield Wednesday; this was the first time three brothers had played in the same team in English professional top-flight football. His start at Southampton mirrored that of his twin Ray, but he was quickly being tipped for the top after some dazzling displays for the Saints and eleven England Under-Twenty-one caps and a couple of ‘B’ caps followed. He netted forty-five goals in one hundred and one League starts for Southampton and Leeds won the race to sign him, a tribunal setting the £1.6 million fee in July 1991. On his day little ‘Hot Rod’s darting runs could slice open any defence and he enjoyed a superb 1991-92 League championship campaign when his busy feet complemented the raw power of Lee Chapman as Leeds stormed to the First Division Championship. In September 1992 he was called up for an England trip to Spain, but injury prevented him from going and after that his confidence seemed to dip, taking his form with it. However, his ‘Goal of the Season’ against Tottenham Hotspur in April 1994 ranks as one of the greatest solo goals ever seen at Elland Road, when he cut a swathe through a posse of defenders at pace and curled in a wonderful shot from just inside the penalty area.His partnership with Brian Deane failed to come up with the goals and towards the end of 1995-96 a return to Southampton looked on the cards, but Wallace could not agree personal terms. Many believe his speed made him a better prospect as a winger rather than an out-and-out striker where competition at Elland Road became intense as Liverpool and Wales star Ian Rush signed in May 1996 to team up with Tony Yeboah. Wallace found himself even more marginalized with the arrival of George Graham as Manager and he would not sign an extension to his contract which was due to expire in June 1998. This resulted in Wallace joining Scottish giants Rangers on a Bosman transfer. In Scotland the speedy Londoner acquired a flurry of medals to add to the silverware previously won during his time in England. In 1999 and 2000 he won the domestic double as Rangers won both the Scottish Premier League championship and Scottish Cup. These where not to be his first honours in Scottish Football as he won the Scottish League Cup in 1998 following Rangers defeat of St Johnstone by two goals to one. He scored fifty-four goals in one hundred and twenty appearances in all competitions while at Ibrox. In 2001 he headed back to English football on a free transfer to link up with newly promoted Bolton Wanderers of the EPL. Wallace successfully helped Bolton stave off relegation back to the lower reaches of English football but was on the move again after being unhappy with the new one year contract which was offered to him. He scored three goals and started fourteen League games and came on another five times as a substitute for the Trotters and scored once in four games in the Cup competitions of which two were as a substitute. In June 2002 he joined Gillingham on a two-year contract and managed to score twelve goals in his first full season at the Priestfield Stadium. His time with the Gills was blighted by a succession of injuries and at the end of the 2003-2004 season he announced his retirement from professional football. He scored twelve goals in twenty-seven League starts and nine from the bench as well as playing four games in the cups, including one as a substitute, without scoring while with the Gills.