Born on this day is Scottish midfielder Alex Rae. The combative midfielder was a fan favourite on Wearside after signing for Peter Reid’s side.
Rae began his career as a youngster at Rangers, but was rejected by manager Graeme Souness. He ended up signing for Falkirk, where he made over 80 appearances in two years. The midfielder crossed the border to England in 1990, signing for Millwall for £100,000. Despite playing as a midfielder, Rae is Millwall’s ninth-top scorer with 71 goals in total, and was even their top goalscorer for three seasons in a row from midfield. He played for The Lions for six years, until Premier League outfit Sunderland came calling.
Alex made his debut as a late substitute in a 2-1 defeat to Newcastle, replacing Steve Agnew. His first start came in a 2-2 draw with Middlesbrough, where Rae also scored his first Sunderland goal! It was a penalty which quickly cancelled out Emerson’s opener. Despite the team’s struggles in the 1996/97 season, Rae wasn’t able to fully break into the side and had to wait until next season to get his chance.
He immediately became a fan favourite due to his tough-tackling style of play, leaving everything on the pitch. Even though he had recurring injury trouble, Rae was integral whenever he played and helped the lads reach the play-off final. Despite scoring a penalty in the shootout, we famously lost against Charlton in the most heart-breaking fashion.
The following season, Rae’s off the pitch struggles began to spiral. He suffered more injuries, and took some time away from football to address his alcohol addiction. Upon arriving back at Sunderland, Alex expressed his gratitude at the number of good wishes from Sunderland fans. Unfortunately, another big ligament injury kept him out of action again and he was never really able to work his way back into Peter Reid’s team. He joined Wolves in 2001 for £1.2 million.
At his new club, Wolves fans quickly realised why Rae was so popular on Wearside. In his first season with the club, he was given their player of the season award and guided the club to the Premier League via the play-offs. The following season, he was even their top scorer with eight goals, his best ever return in a season. Rae returned to Scotland in 2004, signing for Rangers. They won the league in his first season, but he only featured twelve times the following year before being released.
Rae had a brief career in management, taking over at Dundee in 2006. He was initially player-manager, but hung up his boots after his first season in charge. He was then sacked during his second season, with the team eighth in the league. His only other job as a manager came several years later in 2015, where he took over at St Mirren. However, after a poor start Rae was relieved of his duties.
