Scottish Goalkeepers Are Much Put-Upon

AS PROMISED – I here return to one of my pet subjects: Scottish goalkeepers, a much-maligned, not to say mis-understood species of footballer. I have of late been forensically examining the record books and can now reveal all.

Since the first international, in 1872, 110 men have back-stopped the Scottish national side. Their international careers have lasted varying times – from Cammy Bell's 22 minutes to Jim Leighton's 91 games. How do you collate and compare such a divergence of game time? What are the criteria – other than personal opinion, for comparing the likes of Robert Gardner – number one on the list, with Zander Clark – number 110?

On games played, your list would be different from goals per game conceded; while going by the goalie's gold standard – clean sheets as a percentage of games – you get another list. Perhaps the easiest method would be to adopt the National Hockey League's measurement for ice hockey net-minders: percentage of shots saved against shots faced. Sadly, we do not have, even today, that statistic available to us.

So, here are a few lists to mull over:

Clean Sheets

First-up we have what I call: the 100-percentres, the goalkeepers who never let-in a single goal in a Scotland international. Each of these players only ever won one cap, but kept a clean sheet, these men are:

1. John Inglis (Kilmarnock Athletic) v Ireland 1884

2. Robert MacFarlane (Morton) v Wales 1896

3. William Howden (Partick Thistle) v Ireland 1905

4. William Muir (Dundee) v Ireland 1907

5. Jock Ewart (Bradford City) v England 1921

6. Willie Waugh (Heart of Midlothian) v Czechoslovakia 1937

7. Dave Cumming (Middlesbrough) v England 1938

8. Jonathan Gould (Celtic) v Lithuania 1999

9. Cammy Bell (Kilmarnock) v Faroe Islands 2010

They are followed by those goalkeepers who kept a clean sheet in better than every other game – posting a 50% to 99.9% clean sheets record. These players are:

1. Alexander McGeoch OBE (Dumbreck) (3/4) - 75% clean sheets

2. John Thomson (Celtic) (3/4) – 75% clean sheets

3. Bob Parlane (Vale of Leven) (2/3) – 66.7% clean sheets

4. Dan McArthur (Celtic) (2/3) – 66.7% clean sheets

5. Scott Bain (Celtic) (2/3) – 66.7% clan sheets

6. Bill Harper (Hibs, Arsenal) (6/11) – 54.5% clan sheets

7. David Harvey (Leeds United) (8/16) – 50% clean sheets

8. Jim Herriot (Birm City, Hibs) (4/8) – 50% clean sheets

9. Archie Rowan (Caledonians, Queen's Park (1/2) – 50% clean sheets

10. Joe McWattie (Queen's Park) (1/2) – 50% clean sheets

11. Bill Robb (Rangers, Hibs) (1/2) – 50% clean sheets

12. Willie Fraser (Sunderland) (1/2) – 50% clean sheets

13. Harery Thomson (Burnley) (1/2) – 50% clean sheets

14. Ernie McGarr (Aberdeen) (1/2) – 50% clean sheets

Next up, we have the record-breakers, the men who in sequence held the record for the most appearances in goal for Scotland, these men are:

Record Holders

1. Robert Gardner (Queen's Park and Clydesdale) – 1872-1878 - 5 caps

2. Jimmy McAulay (Dumbarton) – 1883-1887 – 8 caps*

3. Harry Rennie (Hearts and Hibs) – 1900-1908 – 13 caps

4. Jimmy Brownlie (Third Lanark) – 1909 – 1914 – 16 caps

5. Jimmy Cowan (Morton) – 1948-1952 – 25 caps

6. Bill Brown (Dundee and Tottenham Hotspur) – 1958-1965 – 28 caps

7. Alan Rough (Partick Thistle and Hibernian) – 1976–1986 – 53 caps

8. Jim Leighton (Aberdeen, Manchester Utd, Hibs) – 1982–1998 – 91 caps

The asterik after Jimmy McAulay's name signifies his unique place in Scottish football history. He actually won nine caps, his first was at centre forward, scoring in a 5-0 demolition of Wales in 1882. He then switched to goalkeeper to win his eight further caps. He captained Scotland to victories over England and Wales in 1887, before going off to work in Burma. He later returned to Dumbarton, where he was appointed an honorary Sheriff Substitute.

The next list shows those goalkeepers who played in more than one international but were beaten at less than a goal per game. I list them in rising order of goals lost, fewest to most conceded per game:

Less than a goal a game conceded

1. Alexander McGeoch OBE (Dumbreck) (4/1) 1876-1877 – 0.25 gpg

2. John Thomson (Celtic) (4/1) 1930-1931 – 0.25 gpg

3. Dan McArthur (Celtic) (3/1) 1895-1899 – 0.33 gpg

4. Joe McWattie (Queen's Park) (2/1) 1901 – 0.5 gpg

5. Harry Thomson (Burnley) (2/1) 1967 World tour – 0.5 gpg

6. David Harvey (Leeds United) (16/10) 1972-1976 – 0.625 gpg

7. Henry Smith (Heart of Midlothian) (3/2) 1988-1992 – 0.67 gpg

8. Neil Alexander (Cardiff City) (3/2) 2006 – 0.67 gpg

9. Matt Gilks (Blackpool) (3/2) 2012 – 2013 – 0.67 gpg

10. Jimmy Brownlie (Third Lanark) (16/11) 1909-1914 – 0.69 gpg

11. Bill Harper (Hibs and Arsenal) (11/8) 1923-1926 – 0.73 gpg

12. Jim Leighton (Ab, Man U, Hibs) (91/72) 1982-1998 – 0.79 gpg

13. Andy Goram (OldAth,Hibs,Rang) (43/35) 1985-1998 – 0.81 gpg

14. Geordie Gillespie (Rang,Q.Park) (7/6) 1880-1891 – 0.86 gpg

15. Billy Thomson (St Mirren) (7/6) 1980 – 1983 – 0.86 gpg

16. Jimmy McAulay (Dumbarton) (8/7) 1883-1887 – 0.875 gpg

17. Harry Rennie (HOM,HIbs) (13/12) 1900-1908 – 0.92 gpg

18. Craig Gordon (HOM,Sund,Celtic) (81/77) 2004-2025– 0.95gpg

So, who has been our best-ever goalkeeper? Given how we Scots do love an argument, if you asked the 50,000-plus attendance at a Hampden international, you might well get 50,000 different answers. However, if you look at the above listings, some names do keep appearing.

For instance, for all the myths surrounding his tragically short life, and the manner of his death, the above lists demonstrate – John Thomson must have been an exceptional goalkeeper. We can only wonder what figures he might have posted had he lived and played longer.

Jim Leighton's records may never be broken, although, it must be said, if Craig Gordon does not soldier-on to beat Leighton's number of caps, then it will be down to injuries. For Leighton to post a less than a goal a game conceded over such a lengthy career is exceptional, while the fact that statistically Andy Goram has run him so close shows how fortunate we were to have both of them playing at roughly the same time.

David Harvey is another great Scottish goalkeeper whom we should cherish. Less than a goal per international conceded, plus being voted the top goalkeeper at the 1974 World Cup shows how good he was.

The other goalkeepers in our list of record-holders all deserve consideration in the G.O.A.T – greatest of all time – conversation. For instance, in spite of his club manager, Bill Nicholson's efforts to piss-off the SFA Selectors, by refusing to release him for international duty, Bill Brown still set a then appearances record for a goalkeeper, while Jimmy Cowan, the man he displaced, alone among Scottish goalkeepers has a Wembley win over England credited to him – the 3-1 win under the twin towers in 1949 is still referred to as: Jimmy Cowan's Match, for the way he defied a first-half English onslaught.

Years later, demonstrating how he had got used to Canadian speech patterns during his many years in that country, Sammy Cox, who played left-back that day, told me: “Jimmy's performance was the finest display of net-minding I have ever seen.” The England forward line he confined to a 75^th minute Jackie Milburn goal was: Stanley Matthews, Stan Mortensen, Milburn, Stan Pearson and Tom Finney – no mugs in that quintet.

I have to confess to a personal bias towards Alan Rough, because he's a mate and for all the often unfounded criticism he endured during his career, he has remained one of the nicest, most-genuine people you could wish to meet. His years as manager of Glenafton Athletic was a magical time to be around this wee Ayrshire former mining village.

Finally, it goes without saying, statistically, our worst goalkeeper was Frank Haffey, but that cannot take away from the fact – he wasn't our worst player at Wembley, on 15 April, 1961. Others in that team played worse, and didn't get (figuratively) banished to Botany Bay. Big Frank has unfairly shouldered the blame for that catastrophy for the past 64 years – but, that is perhaps the lot of the Scottish goalkeeper – to carry the can for the failings of the outfield ten.