Rab Douglas facts for kids

Robert James Douglas (born 24 April 1972), known as Rab Douglas, is a Scottish former professional goalkeeper. He played for many football clubs, including Livingston, Dundee, Celtic, Leicester City, and Forfar Athletic. Later, he became a goalkeeping coach for Arbroath.

Douglas was a key player for Celtic when they reached the 2003 UEFA Cup Final. He also played for the Scottish national team 19 times between 2002 and 2005. In 2017, Rab Douglas was honored by being added to the Dundee FC Hall of Fame.

Playing Career

Meadowbank Thistle and Livingston

Rab Douglas was born in Lanark, Scotland. He started his professional football journey in 1993. He joined Meadowbank Thistle, a team in the Scottish Second Division.

After one season, Meadowbank Thistle moved down to the Third Division. In 1995, the club moved to Livingston and changed its name to Livingston FC. By this time, Douglas had become the main goalkeeper. The team had a great first season under their new name, winning promotion back to the Second Division.

First Time at Dundee

In the summer of 1997, Rab Douglas joined Dundee, a team in the Scottish First Division. He played in every game as Dundee won the 1997–98 Scottish First Division title. This win meant they were promoted to the top league, the Scottish Premier League.

Douglas also helped Dundee have a good run in the 1997–98 Scottish Cup. He kept a clean sheet (meaning the other team didn't score) in a quarter-final match against Rangers at Ibrox. Dundee drew that game 0-0, but lost the replay. In November 1999, he saved a penalty kick against Rangers, helping Dundee win 2-1. He continued to be Dundee's main goalkeeper until 2000.

Time at Celtic

In 2000, Douglas moved from Dundee to Celtic. He quickly became the first-choice goalkeeper for the club. In his first season, he helped Celtic win the Scottish Premier League title and the Scottish Cup. However, he couldn't play in the 2000–01 Scottish League Cup final because he had already played for Dundee in that competition earlier in the season.

The next season, Douglas won another SPL title with Celtic. He was praised for his excellent performance in a UEFA Cup match against Valencia in November 2001. He also won the SPL Player of the Month award that same month.

Douglas was part of the Celtic team that reached the 2003 UEFA Cup Final against F.C. Porto. He played very well in the matches leading up to the final. While his form at Celtic was generally good, he sometimes let in goals that fans thought he should have saved, especially in big games.

In the 2003–04 and 2004–05 seasons, Douglas faced strong competition from other goalkeepers like Magnus Hedman and David Marshall. He missed the 2004 Scottish Cup Final due to an injury. After a mistake in a game against Rangers in 2005, there was talk about his future at the club. At the end of the season, Celtic's manager, Martin O'Neill, told Douglas he would not be the main goalkeeper anymore. Douglas decided he wanted to play regularly, so he moved to Leicester City for free.

Leicester City and Loan Spells

At Leicester City, Rab Douglas's place in the team became uncertain. He was replaced by other goalkeepers towards the end of the 2005–06 season. Because of this, in June 2007, Douglas was put on the transfer list, meaning he could be sold to another club.

He had a trial with Motherwell, his childhood favorite team, but they couldn't agree on a deal. In September 2007, Douglas joined Millwall on a short loan. He played his first game for them in a 2-1 loss to Walsall. Later, in October, he went on a three-month loan to Wycombe Wanderers, where he played three times. This loan ended early in December 2007 for personal reasons.

In March 2008, Douglas joined Plymouth Argyle for a week as an emergency cover goalkeeper. He played one game, a 2-1 away win against Bristol City. In May, Leicester City released him as his contract was ending. He then rejoined his former club, Dundee.

Second Time at Dundee

Rab Douglas returned to Dundee in 2008. He played against his old club, Celtic, in the Scottish Cup, a game Dundee lost 2-1. A week later, Douglas signed a new two-year contract with Dundee. In his first season back, he played every single game.

At the start of the 2009–10 season, there were rumors that Douglas might move back to England. However, Dundee's manager said he was not for sale. Douglas played 16 games that season, sometimes missing matches due to injuries. Despite his injuries, Dundee won the Scottish Challenge Cup, with Douglas in goal for the final.

In the 2010–11 season, Douglas played 34 games. During this time, the club faced financial problems. Douglas helped the team achieve an amazing 23-match unbeaten run, which was a club record. This helped Dundee avoid relegation and overcome their financial difficulties. After this, Douglas signed another one-year deal.

Douglas played every game in the 2011–12 season, except for one where he was sent off. The club appealed his sending-off, and it was overturned, meaning the referee's decision was changed. Dundee finished second that season and were promoted to the Scottish Premier League.

Douglas played his first SPL match in over seven years in a 0-0 draw against Kilmarnock. He was praised for his saves, including a penalty save, in a 1-0 win against Heart of Midlothian. This gave Dundee their first win of the season. Douglas played 30 games that season. However, his future at Dundee became uncertain when he was replaced by another goalkeeper and had a disagreement with the new manager, John Brown. On 8 May 2013, it was announced that Douglas would not be offered a new contract as the club was relegated. In his last match, he received a standing ovation from the fans.

Forfar Athletic

On 25 July 2013, Douglas joined Forfar Athletic, a team in the Scottish League One. He was on the bench when Forfar Athletic famously beat Rangers 2-1 in the Scottish League Cup. In November, Douglas became the main goalkeeper for Forfar after their usual keeper was injured.

Douglas played a very important role in Forfar's push for promotion in the 2014–15 season. He was even named in the PFA Scotland League One Team of the Year. Forfar reached the championship play-off final but lost. Douglas left the club in December 2015 after the manager was sacked.

Arbroath

After almost a year without a club, Douglas signed for Arbroath, a team in the Scottish League Two, in 2016. He rejoined his former manager, Dick Campbell. Douglas left Arbroath in January 2017 but re-signed in March 2017 when another goalkeeper was recalled by his club. He left again at the end of the 2016–17 season but returned in November 2017, leaving again at the end of the 2017–18 season.

After helping Arbroath as a goalkeeping coach during his playing time, Douglas was officially hired as the team's goalkeeping coach in 2018. He helped the team win League One in the 2018–19 season. In 2020, at 48 years old, Douglas was named as a substitute for Arbroath in a League Cup match due to injuries and suspensions, though he did not play. In January 2023, at age 50, he was again an unused substitute for Arbroath in a Scottish Cup match.

International Career

Rab Douglas regularly played for the Scotland national team during the UEFA Euro 2004 qualification games. After a tough 6-0 loss to the Netherlands in a play-off match, Douglas lost his spot as the main goalkeeper for Scotland. He only played once more under manager Berti Vogts, in a 4-0 defeat to Wales.

Douglas was called back to the Scotland squad in 2005 by manager Walter Smith for a World Cup qualifier against Italy. However, he had to leave the game early due to an injury. His last game for Scotland was a friendly match in August 2005, where he came on as a substitute in a 2-2 draw against Austria. In total, he played 19 times for Scotland.

Personal Life

In January 2017, Rab Douglas faced financial difficulties. He later became a sports columnist for a newspaper called The Courier.

Honours

Livingston

• Scottish Football League Third Division: 1995–96

Dundee

• Scottish Football League First Division: 1997–98
• Scottish Challenge Cup: 2009–10

Celtic

• Scottish Premier League: 2000–01, 2001–02, 2003–04
• Scottish Cup: 2000–01, 2003–04, 2004–05
• UEFA Cup runner-up: 2002–03