Tranmere Rovers
Tranmere Legends: Part Five
By Matthew Jones
June 16 2010
Total Tranmere brings you our fifth article in our Past Legends series, with a feature on a very special player of days gone by, who is still the clubs record goalscorer
A striker who struggled for form elsewhere in his career, Muir was brought to Prenton Park by Tranmere manager Frank Worthington in 1985 and he became the most successful goalscorer the club has ever had.
Few footballers to have represented Tranmere Rovers have an illustrious Prenton Park career to back up supporters opinions as striker Ian Muir. 
Coventry born Ian Muir started his career with Queens Park Rangers as an apprentice, but despite scoring twice on his debut for the club, Muir could never make himself a regular at Loftus Road and only managed two appearances in three years between 1980 and 1983.
A loan spell at Burnley followed for Muir, before in 1983 he joined Birmingham City on a permanent transfer. Then 20, this was an ideal opportunity for Muir to make a name for himself with a big city club.
However, just two goalless appearances down the line, Muir was on the move again, just six months after he had signed for The Blues, joining Brighton and Hove Albion again on a free-transfer in February 1984.
At least Muir lasted a year at Brighton, but he made just four appearances for the club, failing to score in all of them, whilst in January 1985 he moved on loan to Swindon Town where he played three games.
On July 26th 1985, Ian Muir signed for Tranmere Rovers on a free-transfer. He came to the club with no past record, two goals and just eleven games of senior football for five different clubs over a five year career were nothing to be proud of. Indeed, the only prize that Muir could boast on arrival at Prenton Park were his appearances for England at school boy level. This though, was not to matter, as Muir played out a ten year career on the Wirral, ending it as the greatest goalscorer Tranmere fans have ever known to grace the Prenton Park pitch in the famous white shirt.
A loan spell at Burnley followed for Muir, before in 1983 he joined Birmingham City on a permanent transfer. Then 20, this was an ideal opportunity for Muir to make a name for himself with a big city club.
However, just two goalless appearances down the line, Muir was on the move again, just six months after he had signed for The Blues, joining Brighton and Hove Albion again on a free-transfer in February 1984.
At least Muir lasted a year at Brighton, but he made just four appearances for the club, failing to score in all of them, whilst in January 1985 he moved on loan to Swindon Town where he played three games.
On July 26th 1985, Ian Muir signed for Tranmere Rovers on a free-transfer. He came to the club with no past record, two goals and just eleven games of senior football for five different clubs over a five year career were nothing to be proud of. Indeed, the only prize that Muir could boast on arrival at Prenton Park were his appearances for England at school boy level. This though, was not to matter, as Muir played out a ten year career on the Wirral, ending it as the greatest goalscorer Tranmere fans have ever known to grace the Prenton Park pitch in the famous white shirt.
It was then that Muir was with Tranmere as they went on "a journey to the moon", rising from the foot of Division Four, from where they were nearly relegated, to the division we now know as the Championship.
Muir made his debut in a 3-1 defeat at Leyton Orient only a few weeks after signing for Tranmere, going on to net 15 goals in the season.
The next season Tranmere came oh so close to relegation out of the football league and it required a late winner from Gary Williams to secure Tranmere a 1-0 win against Exeter City that saved them from the drop, a game in which Muir played with along with other Rovers greats; Ronnie Moore, Steve Mungall and Johnny Morrisey.
Indeed, instead of plummeting into oblivion, the only way for Rovers now was up, as, now managed by John King, Rovers serged up the Football League, with Muir in particular starring.
With Muir spearheading the Tranmere attack, Rovers made multiple Wembley appearances and indeed whilst with the club, Muir won two promotions and the Leyland DAF trophy as well as seeing them through to three play-off appearances to get to the Premier Division in the early 1990's.
Muir made his debut in a 3-1 defeat at Leyton Orient only a few weeks after signing for Tranmere, going on to net 15 goals in the season.
The next season Tranmere came oh so close to relegation out of the football league and it required a late winner from Gary Williams to secure Tranmere a 1-0 win against Exeter City that saved them from the drop, a game in which Muir played with along with other Rovers greats; Ronnie Moore, Steve Mungall and Johnny Morrisey.
Indeed, instead of plummeting into oblivion, the only way for Rovers now was up, as, now managed by John King, Rovers serged up the Football League, with Muir in particular starring.
With Muir spearheading the Tranmere attack, Rovers made multiple Wembley appearances and indeed whilst with the club, Muir won two promotions and the Leyland DAF trophy as well as seeing them through to three play-off appearances to get to the Premier Division in the early 1990's.
During the 1990/91 season, Muir broke the Tranmere Rovers goalscoring record, then held by Bunny Bell (113 goals) and he went on to score a total of 180 goals in 393 games for the club, six more than John Aldridge, who joined Muir at the club in 1991.
Indeed, for five seasons between 1986 and 1991 Muir was the Tranmere Rovers leading scorer, netting an increadible 35 goals in 65 games during the 1989/90 season, and it was only "Aldo's" arrival that stopped his goal glut.
Muir often partnered "Big" Jim Steele in attack for Rovers, this after Steele signed for the club in 1987, and the pair were a formidable partnership, with Steele the perfect foil for Muir.
With Steele playing as a target man who also weighed in with a fair amount of goals, Muir was able to play off his flick-ons and general hold up play which benefited him greatly and resulted in Muir scoring goals by the plenty.
It was then that when Tranmere Rovers won the Leyland DAF in 1990, beating Bristol Rovers in the Final at Wembley, Muir would score Tranmere's first, with Steele getting the second to earn Tranmere the win.
Indeed, for five seasons between 1986 and 1991 Muir was the Tranmere Rovers leading scorer, netting an increadible 35 goals in 65 games during the 1989/90 season, and it was only "Aldo's" arrival that stopped his goal glut.
Muir often partnered "Big" Jim Steele in attack for Rovers, this after Steele signed for the club in 1987, and the pair were a formidable partnership, with Steele the perfect foil for Muir.
With Steele playing as a target man who also weighed in with a fair amount of goals, Muir was able to play off his flick-ons and general hold up play which benefited him greatly and resulted in Muir scoring goals by the plenty.
It was then that when Tranmere Rovers won the Leyland DAF in 1990, beating Bristol Rovers in the Final at Wembley, Muir would score Tranmere's first, with Steele getting the second to earn Tranmere the win.
Ian Muir and Tranmere Rovers finally parted company in June 1995, with the striker playing his final game for Rovers at Prenton Park in the game against Grimsby Town, which ended 1-1, the game where the "New" Prenton Park was officially re-opened.
He re-signed for Birmingham, this time on a permanent deal, joining the club for £125,000 - some handy cash for Rovers. But Muir was sadly to fall into obscurity, making just two more appearances for Birmingham before injury halted his career.
A loan spell with Darlington and a move to Asia did nothing to revive Muir's career, and in 1998 he joined non-league side Nuneaton where he played in the same side as future Middlesbrough and Derby star Malcolm Christie as well as winning what we now know as the Conference South, scoring three times in twenty-one game for the club.
After leading Nuneaton in 2000, he went on to join Stratford Town for a short while, even managing the club on a temporary basis after the manager fell ill.
It was then that he retired with a playing record of 186 goals in 433 games over a twenty year playing career, certainly not a poor record at all.
His best years without doubt came at Prenton Park, where he flourished under the leadership of John King, regularly banging in the goals for Rovers as the Super Whites began to make a name for themselves as a football club at last.
Muir was a natural born goalscorer, you might say, and it is baffling how a player who was so successful at Tranmere could struggle to even make the first team at other clubs of similar league status. It must be something in the Wirral water...or just that John King was a quite increadible manager.
He re-signed for Birmingham, this time on a permanent deal, joining the club for £125,000 - some handy cash for Rovers. But Muir was sadly to fall into obscurity, making just two more appearances for Birmingham before injury halted his career.
A loan spell with Darlington and a move to Asia did nothing to revive Muir's career, and in 1998 he joined non-league side Nuneaton where he played in the same side as future Middlesbrough and Derby star Malcolm Christie as well as winning what we now know as the Conference South, scoring three times in twenty-one game for the club.
After leading Nuneaton in 2000, he went on to join Stratford Town for a short while, even managing the club on a temporary basis after the manager fell ill.
It was then that he retired with a playing record of 186 goals in 433 games over a twenty year playing career, certainly not a poor record at all.
His best years without doubt came at Prenton Park, where he flourished under the leadership of John King, regularly banging in the goals for Rovers as the Super Whites began to make a name for themselves as a football club at last.
Muir was a natural born goalscorer, you might say, and it is baffling how a player who was so successful at Tranmere could struggle to even make the first team at other clubs of similar league status. It must be something in the Wirral water...or just that John King was a quite increadible manager.
Sadly, Tranmere's record goalscorer has now faded away from football somewhat, and lives in Coventry, but he made a return to Merseyside last year to compete in the Masters national final and scored some crucial goals as he helped Tranmere to the title, whilst he was recently one of seven Tranmere legends voted into the clubs brand new Hall of Fame.
Don't forget to check back to Total Tranmere next Wednesday for another Past Legends feature, whilst the four other articles of Rovers legends of days gone by can be found by clicking the "Latest News" tab on the left.
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Discussion started by Total Tranmere (IP Logged), 16/06/2010 10:47
16/06/2010 10:47
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Great article Matt as ever.
Anyone know who the Player is with Muir at Wembley with the trophy?
I've been racking my brain trying to think who it is!
Anyone know who the Player is with Muir at Wembley with the trophy?
I've been racking my brain trying to think who it is!
Thats Jim Steele he is with at Wembley.
A really good read what a player he was for us.
A really good read what a player he was for us.
Thanks for kind comments. Only time I've seen Muir play was in the Masters last year. Despite his age, you could see he had a magical touch, a clear gift of awareness and a superb, natural scoring ability.
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