Alan Rough
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Alan Rough
Alan Rough
• Alan Rough, 1976 (TOP)

born in Scotland

Alan Roderick Rough was born on Sunday, 25th November, 1951, in Glasgow.

The 6' 1 (12st 6lbs) goalkeeper signed for Scot Symon's Thistle on Monday, 20th October, 1969, having most recently been with Sighthill Amateurs.

Aged 18, he made his debut appearance on Wednesday, 8th April, 1970, in a 2-1 defeat at home to Morton in the SFL First Division.

Alan kept his first clean-sheet on Wednesday, 19th August, 1970, in a 0-0 draw away to Queen of the South in the League Cup.

He registered the last of his 191 clean-sheets on Saturday, 20th November, 1982, in a 1-0 win at home to Airdrieonians in the SFL First Division.

Fittingly, that was actually the last of his 631 games as a Jag, a mighty club-record which looks unbeatable!

Alan's club-list included Partick Thistle, Hibernian, Orlando Lions, Celtic, Hamilton Academical, Ayr United and Glenafton Athletic.
Alan Rough's Summary Totals
appearances position won drew lost clean-sheets
League 410 145 115 150 121
Competitive 571 215 151 205 170
All Games 631 248 162 221 191

Bio Extra

As of 2nd June 2022, he became Alan Rough MBE, although we still like to call him 'Roughie'! The renowned custodian was worth 8 or 9 points per season in Auld money, and was a major factor in Partick Thistle finishing in the Top 8 for 5 consecutive seasons from 1976-77 onwards. He remains Thistle's record-holder in many ways; most appearances (631), most clean-sheets (191) and most-caps as a Jag (51). With Thistle he won 2 titles, 1 League Cup, 1 Glasgow Cup - as well as the International Gathering of the Clans tournament! He appeared for Scotland on 53 occasions all told, winning back-to-back British Championships in 1976 & 1977. Incredibly, he went to 3 consecutive World Cups with his country; playing in Argentina '78, Spain '82 & backing Jim Leighton at Mexico '86.

As Alan regaled in his book "The Rough and the Smooth" (2006), away back in 1962, there was a terrifying period when it looked like it may have been over before it had begun:

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I woke up early with only a vague sense of where I was. As I came to my senses, I gradually became aware of a group of people standing around my bed enagaged in earnest discussions, apparently oblivious to the fact that I could make out only one or two words in every sentence they spoke. My arm felt incredibly sore. I couldn't move my limbs and a sick feeling engulfed me. Nurses and medical attendants sped in and out. I was in the emergency ward of Glasgow's Oakbank Hospital, and a stern-looking doctor was approaching me. “How do you feel” he asked. “I don't know mister, not too great I suppose, what's happening?”. He gazed rather sorrowfully at me, his expression unchanged, and said in a 'there-is-no-alternative' monotone which made me gasp: “I'm sorry, but it's just too far gone. I am afraid we are going to have to amputate your arm.” Not exactly what you want to hear. I was ten years old. Numb with worry, already shocked and scared, and here I was being told that all my football dreams were being dashed even before they had really begun. My father and grandfather both sought to re-assure me but, as you can probably understand, I was inconsolable. In retrospect, I never considered that if I had lost my arm it would have affected a lot more than my football career and would have had a massive impact on the rest of my life. All I could think about was that a one-armed goalkeeper is about as much use as a three-legged horse.

Only a few hours earlier, on that winter's day in 1962, I had been playing with my mates around Maryhill, in Glasgow. As usual, we had dumped our school books and our satchels and headed off to our secret world, a football park, our own private field of dreams (even if the majority of adults rightly regarded it as a midden). At that time I was a member of a little gang; we called ourselves the Tartan Army. I am not pretending we were angels, but we didn't go around vandalising phone boxes or smoking behind bicycle sheds: no, we were so obsessed with football that if we had been offered the slimmest chance of escaping from mundane reality to become soccer heroes, we would have grabbed it with both hands. Our mothers had kitted us out with wee tartan patches and, I guess, in some respects we were the forerunners of the Bay City Rollers (with more singing talent obviously - you've heard 'We Have A Dream' haven't you?) Thinking about it now, the words 'gang' and 'tartan patches' don't go together, do they? In reality, we were simply a rag-tag collection of youngsters with a collective passion for one sport and that was the game of Denis Law and Jim Baxter and Jimmy Johnstone. One of my pals had once remarked to me: “Alan, can you imagine playing for Scotland at Hampden Park in front of 100,000 supporters?” and they would tease me about how I used to get this faraway look in my eyes, as if I actually believed that I could go on to achieve that. But, almost from the time that I could walk, football was my all-consuming passion, and why SHOULDN'T I be starry-eyed?

But now, suddenly, in that hospital bed, I felt as vulnerable as you can imagine. On our way to our hidden pitch we had to climb up and down this slatted door, which was covered with sharp hinges. Normally we hardly even noticed these, let alone worried about them, but this time I slipped and lost my footing and crashed into one of them. I remember this searing jolt of agony as it ripped through my arm. I was screaming and yelling out: “Help me, for God's sake, it hurts like hell.” And then, when I glanced down I saw the flesh had been pierced clean through to the bone. Until something like that occurs you never truly know how you will react, and it all happened so quickly. Unconscious, there was no time to reflect on what might become of me if the amputation went ahead. (Even forty-five years later, the prospect still induces a shudder.) All I do know is that if the original diagnosis had been acted upon, I would have missed out on being involved in three World Cups, and the chance to participate in one of the biggest Cup final upsets in footballing history. Nor would I have gone to Wembley to best the English in their own backyard, quite apart from meeting some of the greatest football performers across the planet and being privileged to share in some tremendous adventures from Maryhill to Mexico City.

When I wound up in hospital my parents, Robert and Jean, and the rest of my family were as dumbfounded as I was; we considered ourselves to be immortal. My father obviously was as shocked as anybody, but while it was clear that my injury was serious, he remained resolutely upbeat throughout the ordeal and he visited me as often as he could. His message was always the same - chin up son, this will get sorted! From my perspective, I was just gone; I was in the depths of despair and, and convinced that I would need the amputation. When you are ten and an authority figure such as a doctor comes along and uses fancy language to a child, you can hardly tell him he's talking rubbish, can you?! (Probably still wouldn't today - if I understand him that is.) And yet, as the discussions continued over what was the best treatment for me, and yet more senior medical staff became involved, I recall wondering whether I was perhaps in with a chance after all. I didn't build my hopes up - after they came and took X-rays, the hospital people weren't exactly dancing jigs of joy - but shortly afterwards, I noticed this doctor, wearing a green turban, standing over me and heard him telling me: “Alan, I am sure we can fix this and we can sort it out, as long as you understand that you will have to show patience if it is to heal properly.” I was overwhelmed. It was as if a dozen Christmases had arrived at once, and despite my never discovering the name of that doctor who saved me, he commends my undying gratitude. He sewed me up, and subsequently talked to my parents, warning them that my recovery might take up to nine months, a forecast which proved unerringly correct. None of that mattered to me; I had been spared, I could start counting down the days and weeks until I was one hundred per cent fit again, and thank my lucky stars.

With two arms fully intact and perfectly swingable, the gangly 14-year-old was first spotted by Thistle scout Jimmy Dickie who just happened to be driving past the Barclay Curie pitch on Crow Road where Alan and his pals were enjoying their usual kick-about. Random! Having pulled over on instinct, the diligent Jimmy was impressed enough to subsequently pave the way for Alan to join the Partick Thistle U-16 Amateur side of the day, the first step before Sighthill Amateurs, who were, essentially, Thistle's pre-reserve team of the era. A few years later, injuries to Ian Dick and Billy Vance dictated that the 17-year-old was introduced to the reserves in the autumn of 1969, where he had a baptism of fire in a 5-5 thriller at Ibrox Park on 27th September! Conceding 5 was bad enough, but to Rangers? That made it worse for Alan - a huge Celtic fan! Thistle manager Scot Symon liked what he seen early on, and conceded that he now had three top-class keepers vying for the first/reserve team berths in Billy Ritchie, Ian Dick and Alan Rough. The Scottish national coaches were alert to the promise too, and Alan was involved in youth team trials before he'd even made his first-team debut.

As all this was going on, Scot Symon's Thistle had been going from bad to worse during his tenure, and the Jags were sliding towards their first relegation in nearly 70 years. All but down with 3 games to play, it was an exasperated Symon who said “to hell with it” and fielded the youngest-ever starting line-up in a competitive match for Partick Thistle - average age 20y, 8m, 4d - for the visit of British Cup chasing Morton on 8th April 1970. Only 1,146 were in attendance for the Wednesday evening match. Little did that exclusive band of die-hards know they were bearing witness to the debuts of two would-be all-time club legends in Alan Rough and Denis McQuade. Thistle lost 2-1 and were mathematically relegated, but the performance drew some praise from Bob Patience in the Daily Record: “Throughout the first half it was all Thistle with a makeshift Morton team hanging on like grim death with commendable courage. It was a pity so few fans were there at this point to see Thistle's undoubted promise at last being fulfilled.” In contrast, there was stinging criticism from Malcolm Munro in the Evening Times who snarled: “a team as young and inexperienced as the one which lost to Morton won't do for the Second Division”. Oh Malcolm, how wrong you were!

Assistant manager Davie McParland took over and so began an extra-ordinary chapter in the history of Parick Thistle. At just 34, he was the youngest manager in the club's history at that time, and it seemed to follow that his team would hit the youngest averages too. 18-year-old Alan Rough was trusted with the gloves for the Second Division campaign and returned 17 clean-sheets in the league, setting a brand new club-record for any one goalkeeper (later matched by Jamie Sneddon in 2020-21). The youngsters were none-too-shabby at the other end either, rattling in 100 goals in all competitions, only the 5th Thistle team in history to do so at that time. Just over a year from taking over, Davie McParland had steered the side back to the top-flight berth to which they had, for so long, been accustomed. When the fixture list was announced for 1971-72, no doubt there were wry smiles and mixed emotions from those with an allegiance to the red and yellow. Rangers at Firhill was sure to be a test. Had Thistle truly improved in the intervening period, or would they be on the receiving end of a short-sharp reminder of Thistle life circa '69?

The answer on the day was loud and clear – THISTLE ARE BACK! Writing beautifully in the Herald, Jim Parkinson set the scene:

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If Firhill’s freshly mown turf, manicured in exquisite pattern, was an open invitation to Partick Thistle’s eager youngsters to produce something equally artististic on their return to the First Division, then it had the desired effect.

One down after five minutes, Firhill Patrons feared the worst, but their heroes were not long in overcoming their nervousness; two goals from Johnny Gibson and one from Frank Coulston had Jags 3-1 up after half an hour, and 3-2 was how it finished - not all of the 24,539 were delighted! “McParland’s babes”, as they were occasionally styled, knew no fear, and played with a youthful confidence that was extremely refreshing to the Firhill faithful; the tired old Partick Thistle club of the late 1960s was born anew. You can just imagine how a Jaggy conversation might well have went heading down the Firhill Road at 4.50pm… “I'm tellin' ye Tam, ah 'hink they could dae something in wan ae the Cups this year, Alloa on Monday, ye gawn, aye?”

The opening league win over Rangers emphasised the belief and winning mentality which had been building with the young team, who had stormed through their league cup group with 18 goals in their 6 matches. Indeed, Thistle lost only 3 of their first 21 competitive fixtures of the new season, which was great going for a top-flight club. Near the end of this run was the infamous 4-1 win over Celtic on 23 October 1971, as Thistle clinched only their third national cup, following on from the Scottish Cup (1921) and Summer Cup (1945). With these early successes, there really was no fear for Alan and his teammates as the 1970s progressed. The 'Alan Rough era' was the last period during which victories over the Old Firm were regular, relatively speaking. Indeed, Alan's record of 10 league wins over the Old Firm has never been bettered by any Jag in history. In this regard, he's the equal of only 3 others; Jimmy Davidson, Johnny MacKenzie and George Smith, Thistle legends one and all.

Alan's time at Thistle spanned four permanent managers - Scot Symon, Davie McParland, Bertie Auld and Peter Cormack. His relationship with Auld was often difficult, Bertie's brand of tough love making it so. It's to Alan's great credit that he kept a cool head and knuckled down despite being denied chances for bigger and better moves down throughout the years. As he told the Scotsman in 2010:

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I loved playing for Thistle, loved winning the League Cup with them, and maybe I stayed there too long but that was me. I never thought about 'career' and I never bothered about money. All of my business ventures – the pub in Maryhill, the sports shop in Musselburgh – failed. But I absolutely loved standing in the Wembley tunnel next to these English stars like Kevin Keegan and Emlyn Hughes when I was on 40 quid a week at Thistle, when the previous week at Firhill the crowd had been 2100, and we were about to walk on to the park and enjoy a famous win.

Alan brought great honour to Partick Thistle throughout his 14 seasons as a Jag but, having been involved in many different national squads at various levels, he had to wait several years to make his full international debut, finally doing so in April 1976 when he kept a clean-sheet in a 1-0 friendly win over Switzerland at Hampden. What took them so long? Roughie lost only 2 of his first 17 internationals, and these away to Czechoslovakia in '76 (then European champions) and to Brazil in the Maracanã in '77! In fact, just a month or so after his debut, Scotland, with Alan, won all 3 of their British Championship games, securing the title with an excellent 2-1 Hampden win over England in May '76. The momentum was building nicely for the World Cup qualifiers. A second British title was won in June '77, culminating in another excellent 2-1 win over the Auld Enemy, this time on their own turf, much of which was dug up in the aftermath for souvenirs by the happy hooligans of Wembley.

In October '77, Roughie's spectacular outstretched back-stroke save from John Toshack at Anfield kept Wales at bay, and paved the way for a 2-0 win and WC qualification. “The best save anyone's ever made at my expense” groaned the Welsh striker in the post-match. Of course, we all know about Scotland's rollercoaster ride at the '78 World Cup. Some folk were quick to point the finger at Roughie for the lows but, poor positioning for the Iran goal aside, he had a good tournament. “I was relieved to escape and resume my existence in the shadows at Partick Thistle. And you don't say that everyday!” He never lost his sense of humour anyway, who couldn't love him!? Incidentally, Roughie being a traditional Thistle maverick, he still walked away from Argentina with 2 accolades. Firstly, he was the only 'keeper to play at the tournament without gloves. The other “accolade” was a tad ironic as he himself explained:

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I later suffered the debatable honour of being presented with an award by FIFA, because, as it materialised, Rensenbrinks goal was the one thousandth in the history of the tournament - aye, it would have to be rattled in against the Scots. It came after the Dutch were awarded a dubious penalty when Stuart Kennedy made what I thought was a perfectly fair challenge on Johnny Rep. but we battled on.

Just over 2 years on from Argentina, an excellent slew of clean-sheets against Sweden, Portugal and Israel had us dreaming of doing it all again by qualifying for Spain '82. In April 1981, Alan became the first (and to date) only Jag to win the prestigious Scottish Football Writers' Association player of the year award, no mean feat with the talented Aberdeen and Dundee United teams of the day, never mind the gruesome twosome! It was so nearly a glory double that year as he finished runner-up (separated by a single vote) for the Scottish Football Personality of the Year! For an incredible example of his consistency at Thistle, you only need to consider his similar Evening Times 'Superstar' achievements in seasons prior to this. Throughout the league campaigns, every player in every game was rated by reporters for technique, flair, effort and sportsmanship and, at the end of season 1978-79, Roughie was second only to Andy Ritchie of Morton in the final tally-up. In 1979-80 he won it outright, setting him up for a unique one-two with the SFWA award to come.

In May 1981, just one month on from his SFWA award, Alan became just the second Scottish 'keeper to register a clean-sheet against England at Wembley (following David Cumming in 1938) as the Scots chalked up a fine 1-0 win in the Home Championship. Poor defending let us down in the Spain '82 World Cup, yet another case of so near, but so far, but we went out on goal difference again, oh boy.

It was in Peter Cormack's era when the club finally relinquished the stronghold on Roughie - relegation in April 1982 was a surefire catalyst. Alan's long-promised testimonial finally came to pass just after relegation had been confirmed, which was unfortunate timing. The club came good for him on that occasion though, and Firhill hosted a match which was designed to fill the coffers a little - Scotland versus Celtic! 14,000 were there on 9th May 1982 and it was a well-deserved pay-day for Roughie at last. Interestingly, 5 Jags featured for Scotland (see 'Scrapbook' tab). As well as the man himself, there was Brian Whittaker and 3 oncoming subs - Jamie Doyle, Mo Johnston and Donald Park, the latter of whom scored for the dark blues, alas only a consolation; Scotland 3 Celtic 8!

In November 1982, Alan's Thistle career finished nicely with back-to-back clean-sheets, a 4-0 win away to Dunfermline being followed by a 1-0 win at home to Airdrie. After several months of speculation and wrangling, it was all over just 6 days later when Roughie signed for Hibs on 26th November 1982, £60,000 being the agreed transfer price.

Jim Leighton took over as Alan reached his 30s, but he was still involved in the squads and, in 1985, the 33-year-old played in the ill-fated WC Qualifier at Ninian Park, replacing Leighton (who had lost a contact lense) at half-time with the Scots trailing 0-1. Davie Cooper's late penalty rescued the precious point which ensured qualification, but this was completely overshadowed in the aftermath by Jock Stein's fatal heart attack on the touchline. The burden we place on our managers had finally taken its toll. Alan put it into some sort of perspective: “for many days afterwards we were blubbing like children.” Alan Rough appeared for Scotland on 53 occasions all told. Incredibly, he went to 3 consecutive World Cups with his country; playing in Argentina '78, Spain '82 & backing Jim Leighton at Mexico '86. At the time of his retiral, his 53 cap total was the Scottish record for a goalkeeper.

At Hibs, Alan was eventually replaced by Andy Goram, who also took his place in the Scotland squad. After leaving Hibs in 1988, Rough played in the United States with Orlando Lions. He also had spells with Celtic (covering for the injured Pat Bonner), Hamilton Academical and Ayr United before leaving senior football. Rough had a successful five-year spell as the manager (initially player-manager) of Junior club Glenafton Athletic after being appointed in 1990. He led the team to three Scottish Junior Cup finals in a row between 1991–92 to 1993–94, also reaching the semi-finals in 1990–91 and 1994–95. Glenafton lost 4–0 to Auchinleck Talbot in the 1992 final and 1–0 to Largs Thistle in the 1994 final, but did beat Tayport 1–0 in the 1993 final at Firhill Stadium (Rough's home ground for much of his playing career), winning the trophy for the first time. The team also added the Ayrshire First Division title and the Ayrshire Cup to make it a treble in 1992–93, the most successful season in the club's history.

Rough married Margaret Barry, a Daily Mirror reporter, in 2009 after a seventeen-year engagement. Barry has two children from a previous relationship. Rough was previously married to Michelle, a former model and Tennent's girl. Michelle and Alan had one son, also named Alan.

Alongside Ewen Cameron, Alan co-presented a football phone-in show on Real Radio Scotland until July 2012, when the station replaced the phone-in with music. From August 2006 to June 2009, the Irish sports broadcaster Setanta Sports simulcasted the show live twice a week on Setanta Sports 1. He later co-presented a football show along with Peter Martin shown on STV2, STV. The Football Show was eventually moved to YouTube on the channel PLZ Soccer. Alan Rough continues to be a co-host on the show with Peter Martin on Mondays and Fridays covering Scottish football.

Alan was appointed to the Partick Thistle board of directors in June 2018. He resigned from this position in July 2019 following a boardroom coup which saw chairman Jacqui Low ousted. Rough was re-appointed to the board later in 2019, when Low returned to the chairperson role after the purchase of club shares by her friend Colin Weir. Alan remained a non-executive director at the club until December 2022, when several board members were forced to resign due to fan discontent at the lack of movement on a promise of fan ownership that had been made by Weir before his death. It was a disappointing episode, but life goes on.

In July 2024, the Jags Foundation honoured Rougie's exceptional playing career, with the first-ever 'Thistle Pin' for a goalkeeper, acknowledging his 51 international caps whilst a Partick Thistle player. What more can we say about the man, the legend? At Partick Thistle, it's doubtful we'll ever see the likes again!

Alan is included in our feature piece, The Definitive Who's Who Of The Partick Thistle Internationalists →
(WS/WIK)



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