Rangers F.C.
| File:Rangers.png | |||
| Full name | Rangers Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Gers, Teddy Bears, Light Blues | ||
| Founded | 1873 | ||
| Ground | Ibrox Stadium Glasgow Scotland | ||
| Capacity | 51,082[1] | ||
| Chairman |  Sir David Murray | ||
| Manager | Walter Smith | ||
| League | Scottish Premier League | ||
| 2006-07 | Scottish Premier League, 2nd | ||
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Rangers Football Club are a football club from Glasgow, Scotland who currently play in the Scottish Premier League. Rangers have won 51 league titles,[2] a world record, and have won more major trophies than any football club in the world.[3]
The club's home, the all-seated 51,082-capacity Ibrox Stadium in south-west Glasgow, has been accredited as one of UEFA's five-star stadia. The stadium was the first one in Scotland to be granted this accolade, although it now shares the rating with Hampden Park, Scotland's national stadium.
Rangers' players and fans today are multi-national and of various religions, although the club have traditionally been identified with and favoured the Protestant Unionist community of Scotland. For most of their history, Rangers have enjoyed a fierce rivalry with their cross-city opponents Celtic.[4]
The club are nicknamed The Teddy Bears, from the rhyming slang for Gers, which in turn is short for Rangers, and the fans are known to each other as "Bluenoses". The club's correct name is simply Rangers F.C., although they are sometimes incorrectly referred to as Glasgow Rangers.[citation needed]
History
Under Paul Le Guen (2006-2007)
Paul Le Guen replaced former manager Alex McLeish as manager after season 2005-06. Known for unearthing and nurturing young talent, Le Guen immediately made a number of signings for the club, as well as releasing and transfer-listing various players.
The season started poorly for Rangers, with a number of losses and draws against teams lower in the league, as well as their being knocked out of the League Cup by Division One side St. Johnstone. Rivals Celtic built a lead at the top of the table, while Rangers fought for second place alongside Hearts and Aberdeen. As the season progressed, a number of more promising results were achieved, including wins over Hearts, Aberdeen and Hibernian. The first Old Firm match of the season resulted in a 2-0 defeat; the second - at Ibrox - was a 1-1 draw, after which Le Guen claimed Rangers deserved at least the point.[5]
Throughout the first six months of the league campaign, Rangers' results in the UEFA Cup were more respectable. Qualification for the group stage was achieved with a 2-0 aggregate win over Molde F.K., and Rangers proceeded to become the first Scottish side to qualify for the last 32 of the competition in its current format, with wins over Livorno, Maccabi Haifa and Partizan Belgrade and a draw away to AJ Auxerre.[6]
There had been rumours during the season of disharmony at Rangers, between Scottish and foreign units, with players including captain Barry Ferguson disapproving of Le Guen's strict disciplinarian stance.[7] The imbalance came to a head on the day of the second Old Firm game of the season, with stories appearing in the Scottish media that Ferguson was angry with comments made by his manager regarding the captaincy of the club, and how Le Guen perceived it as more of an important role in Scotland than it is in France.[8] On January 1 2007, Le Guen stripped Ferguson of the captaincy, and after protests from a section of the fans at the away match at Motherwell the following day, it was announced on January 4 that Le Guen had left Rangers by mutual consent.[9]
Walter Smith's return (2007-present)
Following the departure of Paul Le Guen, a number of media sources report an "understanding" that the new management structure would consist of former Rangers manager Walter Smith and former player Ally McCoist, and the SFA confirmed that Rangers enquired about the availability of the pair.[10] However, on January 8, the SFA rebuffed Rangers' approach for Smith.[11]
On 10 January 2007, it was announced that Smith was the new manager of Rangers, with McCoist confirmed as assistant manager and Kenny McDowall as first-team coach.[12]
The Old Firm and Sectarianism
The club's most distinct rivalry is with Celtic, the other major football club based in Glasgow; the two clubs are collectively known as the Old Firm. Rangers' traditional support has largely come from the Protestant community, while Celtic's has often, but by no means exclusively, come from those of Irish and Italian extraction. The rivalry between the two clubs has often been characterised along sectarian lines. Both Rangers and Celtic now accept that they have a problem with sectarianism, and both admit that a proportion of their supporters have been, and continue to be, guilty of perpetuating partisan, sectarian beliefs as well as cultural intolerance.
During the late 19th century, many immigrants came to Glasgow from Ireland. This was around the same time that both Old Firm clubs were founded (Rangers in 1873 and Celtic in 1888). Celtic grew out of the Irish Catholic community and Rangers came to be identified with the Protestant community. Until Graeme Souness signed former Celtic player Mo Johnston, in 1989, Rangers were said by him to have had an "unwritten policy"[13] of not signing any player who was Catholic;[14][15] although Johnston was by no means the first Catholic to sign for the club,[16] he was the first openly Catholic, high-profile player to sign for them since World War I.[17]
Increasingly in recent years, both clubs have frequently participated in initiatives and campaigns along with religious organisations and the Scottish Executive directed at removing the sectarian undercurrent, including supporting pressure group Nil by Mouth. However, disagreements about what constitutes sectarian behaviour have undermined progress in these matters, and consensus over what types of songs and flags are acceptable remains difficult to achieve.
In recent times, both Rangers and Celtic have taken measures to combat sectarianism. Working alongside the Scottish Parliament, church groups, schools and community organisations, the Old Firm have made efforts to clamp down on sectarian songs, inflammatory flag-waving, and troublesome supporters, using increased levels of policing and surveillance.[18]
On 12 April 2006, following an investigation into the conduct of Rangers supporters at both legs of their UEFA Champions League tie against Villarreal CF, the Control and Disciplinary Body of UEFA imposed a fine of £8,800 on Rangers following the improper conduct of some of their supporters, notably the smashing of a window of the Villarreal CF team bus at the second-leg match in Spain on 7 March.[19] However, UEFA declared the Rangers fans not guilty of alleged discriminatory chants.[19] UEFA challenged the ruling, and their Appeals Body partially upheld it,[20] fining the Ibrox club £13,500 and warning them as to their responsibility for any future misconduct.
On 9 June 2006, Rangers, in conjunction with representatives from several supporters clubs, announced that they would comply with three UEFA directives:
- The club were "ordered to announce measurable targets in order to reduce sectarian behaviour amongst its supporters".
- The club were "to control their anti-sectarian activities by producing comprehensive statistics that are communicated to the public".
- The club were "to make a public address announcement at every official fixture, be it international or domestic, stating that any sectarian chanting and any form of the song 'Billy Boys' is strictly prohibited".[21]
Despite these measures, UEFA indicated that they will launch another investigation after Rangers fans clashed with riot police and were filmed making sectarian chants during the defeat by Osasuna in their UEFA Cup match in 2007. The Rangers Supporters Association secretary indicated his belief that a small minority of fans are to blame, suggesting "it doesn't matter how often they are told [to stop sectarian chanting], some people will just not listen."[22]
Stadium and training facility
The club used a variety of grounds in Glasgow as a venue for home matches in the years between 1872 and 1899. The first was Flesher's Haugh, situated on Glasgow Green, followed by Burnbank in the Kelvinbridge area of the city, and then Kinning Park for ten years from the mid-1870s to the mid-1880s. From February of the 1886-87 season, Cathkin Park was used until the first Ibrox Park, in the Govan area of south-west Glasgow, was inaugurated for the following season. Ibrox Stadium in its current incarnation was originally designed by the architect Archibald Leitch, a Rangers fan[23] who also played a part in the design of, among others, Old Trafford in Manchester and Highbury in London. The stadium was inaugurated on December 30, 1899, and Rangers defeated Hearts 3-1 in the first match held there.
Since 1899, two major disasters have taken place at the stadium. The first occurred in 1902 during a Scotland vs England international match, when a section of terracing collapsed, leading to the deaths of 26 people and over 500 injuries. The second disaster took place in 1971, during the traditional New Year's Day Old Firm match-up. As the crowd were leaving the match, barriers on the stairway to the rear of passageway 13 at the Copland End collapsed, causing a crush and resulting in the deaths of 66 people, with over 200 injuries. This led to a major redevelopment of Ibrox, overseen by the general manager Willie Waddell. After its conversion to an all-seater stadium, Ibrox was awarded UEFA five-star status.
The stands in Ibrox are: The Bill Struth Main Stand (south; three tiers; the top one known as the Club Deck), Govan Stand (north; two tiers), and the Copland (east) and Broomloan (west) Stands (both two tiers), which are behind the goals. In addition to these, there are also the East and West Enclosures (in the lower tier of the Main Stand), and the two corners adjacent to the Govan Stand are filled in. As a result of work completed in the summer of 2006 to make the Bar 72 area situated in the Govan Stand, the total capacity of Ibrox is 51,082.[1] On August 22 2006, Rangers announced that the Main Stand would be renamed The Bill Struth Main Stand in September 2006 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the death of their former manager, who served Rangers for 34 years.[24]
Rangers training facility is located in Auchenhowie, near Milngavie in Glasgow. The facility is known as Murray Park after chairman Sir David Murray. It was proposed by then-manager Dick Advocaat upon his arrival at the club in 1998. It was completed in 2001 at a cost of £14-million. Murray Park is the first purpose-built facility of its kind in Scotland, and incorporates features including nine football pitches, a state of the art gym, a hydrotherapy pool, and a video-editing suite. Rangers' youth teams are also accommodated at Murray Park, with around 140 players between under-10 and under-19 age groups using the training centre.[25] Various first-team players have come through the ranks at Murray Park, including Chris Burke, Stevie Smith and Charlie Adam. International club teams playing in Scotland, as well as national sides, have previously used Murray Park for training, and Advocaat's South Korea team used it for training prior to the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
Players
Current squads
First-team squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Players out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Reserve and Youth squad
- For Rangers' reserve and youth squads, see here.
2007-08 transfers
- For a list of Rangers' 2007-08 transfers, see here.
Notable players
- For a complete list of Rangers players with a Wikipedia article, see here.
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¹ - Player is included in the Rangers F.C. Hall of Fame.
Internationalists
- For a list of Rangers' past and present international players, see here.
Team managers
- All managers are from Scotland unless otherwise stated.
| Name | From | To | P | W | D | L | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Wilton | August 1899 | May 1920 | 724 | 480 | 120 | 124 | 66.29% |
| Bill Struth | May 1920 | May 1954 | 1169 | 787 | 219 | 163 | 67.32% |
| Scot Symon | June 1954 | November 1967 | 684 | 449 | 115 | 120 | 65.64% |
| David White | November 1967 | November 1969 | 111 | 70 | 19 | 22 | 63.06% |
| William Waddell | December 1969 | May 1972 | 131 | 74 | 25 | 32 | 56.49% |
| Jock Wallace | June 1972 | May 1978 | 308 | 200 | 56 | 52 | 64.94% |
| John Greig | June 1978 | October 1983 | 228 | 121 | 59 | 48 | 53.07% |
| Jock Wallace | October 1983 | April 1986 | 135 | 62 | 36 | 37 | 45.92% |
| Graeme Souness | April 1986 | April 1991 | 258 | 163 | 50 | 45 | 63.18% |
| Walter Smith | April 1991 | May 1998 | 266 | 169 | 49 | 48 | 63.53% |
Dick Advocaat 
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July 1998 | December 2001 | 194 | 131 | 33 | 30 | 67.53% |
| Alex McLeish | December 2001 | May 2006 | 235 | 155 | 44 | 36 | 65.96% |
Paul Le Guen 
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May 2006 | January 2007 | 31 | 16 | 8 | 7 | 51.61% |
| Walter Smith | January 2007 | Present | 22 | 14 | 4 | 4 | 63.64% |
| 12 managers | 108 years | 4494 | 2889 | 837 | 768 | 64.29% | |
Non-playing staff
Boardroom
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Chairman | Sir David Murray |
| Chief Executive | Martin Bain |
| Football Administrator | Andrew Dickson |
| Director of Finance | Donald McIntyre |
| Operations Executive | Laurence MacIntyre |
| Director | John Greig |
| Non-Executive Director | John McClelland |
| Non-Executive Director | Alastair Johnston |
| Non-Executive Director | David Cunningham King |
| Non-Executive Director | Donald Wilson |
Management
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Manager | Walter Smith |
| Assistant Manager | Ally McCoist |
| First Team Coach | Kenny McDowall |
| Reserve Team Coach | Ian Durrant |
| Under-19 Team Coach | Billy Kirkwood |
| Goalkeeping Coach | Jim Stewart |
| Fitness Coach | Adam Owen |
| Physiotherapist | Post vacant |
| Chief Scout | Ewan Chester |
Shirt sponsors/Kit manufacturer
The first shirt sponsors of Rangers was CR Smith between 1985 and 1987. Below is a list of sponsors since that point.
- 1987-1999: McEwans Lager
- 1999-2003: NTL
- 2003-present: Carling
The first major kit manufacturer for Rangers was Umbro between 1985 and 1990. Below is a list of manufacturers since that point.
Records
Club
Record home attendance: 118,567 vs Celtic, January 1939
Record victory: 13-0 vs Possilpark, Scottish Cup, October 1877
Record league victory: 10-0 vs Hibernian, December 1898
Record defeat: 2-10 vs Airdrieonians, 1886
Record league defeat: 0-6 vs Dumbarton, May 1892
Record appearances: John Greig, 755, 1960-1978
Record league appearances: Sandy Archibald, 513, 1917-1934
Record Scottish Cup appearances: Alec Smith, 74
Record Scottish League Cup appearances: John Greig, 121
Record European competition appearances: Barry Ferguson, 65
Record goalscorer: Ally McCoist, 355 goals, 1983-1998
Most goals in one season: Sam English, 44 goals, 1931/1932
Most league goals: Ally McCoist, 251 goals
Most Scottish Cup goals: Jimmy Fleming, 44 goals
Most League Cup goals: Ally McCoist, 54 goals
Most European goals: Ally McCoist, 21 goals
Shutout record: Chris Woods, 1196 minutes, 1986/87 (British record)
Most capped player: Frank de Boer, 112 caps for The Netherlands
Highest transfer fee received: Giovanni van Bronckhorst, £8.5m, Arsenal, 2001
Highest transfer fee paid: Tore André Flo, £12.5m, Chelsea, 2000
Individual
- All players are from Scotland unless otherwise stated.
| # | Name | Career | Apps | Goals | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ally McCoist | 1983-1998 | 581 | 355 | 0.61 |
| 2 | Bob McPhail | 1927-1940 | 408 | 261 | 0.64 |
| 3 | Jimmy Smith | 1930-1946 | 259 | 249 | 0.96 |
| 4 | Derek Johnstone | 1970-1982 1985-1986 |
546 | 210 | 0.38 |
| 5 | Ralph Brand | 1954-1965 | 317 | 206 | 0.65 |
| 6 | Willie Thornton | 1936-1954 | 308 | 194 | 0.63 |
| 7 | Andy Cunningham | 1914-1929 | 389 | 182 | 0.47 |
| 8 | Billy Simpson 
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1950-1959 | 239 | 163 | 0.68 |
| 9 | Davie Wilson | 1956-1967 | 373 | 157 | 0.42 |
| 10 | Sandy Archibald | 1917-1934 | 580 | 148 | 0.26 |
| # | Name | Career | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Greig | 1961-1978 | 755 | 120 |
| 2 | Sandy Jardine | 1964-1982 | 674 | 77 |
| 3 | Ally McCoist | 1983-1998 | 581 | 355 |
| 4 | Sandy Archibald | 1917-1934 | 580 | 148 |
| 5 | Davie Meiklejohn | 1919-1936 | 563 | 46 |
| 6 | Dougie Gray | 1925-1947 | 555 | 2 |
| 7 | Derek Johnstone | 1970-1982 1985-1986 |
546 | 210 |
| 8 | Davie Cooper | 1977-1989 | 540 | 75 |
| 9 | Peter McCloy | 1970-1986 | 535 | 0 |
| 10 | Ian McColl | 1945-1960 | 526 | 15 |
Managerial
- All managers are from Scotland unless otherwise stated.
| Name | League | SC | LC | EC | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Wilton | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Bill Struth | 18 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 30 |
| Scot Symon | 6 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 15 |
| David White | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| William Waddell | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Jock Wallace | 3 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 10 |
| John Greig | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Graeme Souness | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 7 |
| Walter Smith | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 12 |
| Dick Advocaat
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2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Alex McLeish | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 7 |
| Paul Le Guen
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0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Honours
Formed in 1873, Rangers were the first club in the world to win more than 50 league titles. They are also the most-honoured football club in the world, having won 107 trophies in total.
- Rangers hold the world record for number of domestic league championships won,[2] racking up 51 titles.
- They hold the record for domestic trebles,[26] with seven so far.
- Rangers won their 100th major trophy in 2000, the first club in the world to reach that milestone.[3]
- Have competed in European competitions in more seasons than any other British club, 46 times as of and including 2006-07.
- First Scottish club to qualify from both the Champions League group stage (2005-06)[27] and the UEFA Cup group stage (2006-07).[6]
Major honours
League
- Scottish League championships (51):
- 1891, 1899, 1900, 1901, 1902, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1918, 1920, 1921, 1923, 1924,
1925, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1937, 1939, 1947, 1949,
1950, 1953, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1987, 1989,
1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997*, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2005
* Equalled Celtic's record of nine championships in a row (commonly known as "9-in-a-row")
- 1891, 1899, 1900, 1901, 1902, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1918, 1920, 1921, 1923, 1924,
Cups
- European Cup Winners’ Cup winners:
- 1972
- Scottish Cup winners (31):
- 1894,
- League Cup winners (24):
- 1947,
Other honours
League
- Emergency War League (1): 1940
- Southern League (6): 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946
- Glasgow League (2): 1895-96, 1897-98
Cups
- Milk Cup (3): (Premier) 1984, 1992; (Junior) 1985
- Drybrough Cup (1): 1979
- Tennents' Sixes (2): 1984, 1989
- Glasgow Cup (44):
- 1893, 1894, 1897, 1898, 1900, 1901, 1902, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1914, 1918, 1919,
1922, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1930, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1940, 1942,
1943, 1944, 1945, 1948, 1950, 1954, 1957, 1958, 1960, 1969, 1971, 1975*, 1976,
1979, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987
* 1975 trophy shared with Celtic after 2-2 draw
- 1893, 1894, 1897, 1898, 1900, 1901, 1902, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1914, 1918, 1919,
- Glasgow Merchants and Charity Cup (32):
- 1878-79, 1896-97, 1899-00, 1903-04, 1905-06, 1906-07, 1908-09, 1910-11, 1918-19,
1921-22, 1922-23, 1924-25, 1927-28, 1928-29, 1929-30, 1930-31, 1931-32, 1932-33,
1933-34, 1938-39, 1939-40, 1940-41, 1941-42, 1943-44, 1944-45, 1945-46, 1946-47,
1947-48, 1950-51, 1954-55, 1956-57, 1959-60
- 1878-79, 1896-97, 1899-00, 1903-04, 1905-06, 1906-07, 1908-09, 1910-11, 1918-19,
References
- ^ a b "A Look at Ibrox's Rich History". Rangers Official Website.
- ^ a b "Total Number of Championships". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 23 November 2006.
- ^ a b "Glasgow Rangers - 100 Trophies". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 21 October 2001.
- ^ "A rivalry tied up in religion". BBC Website. 26 August 2006.
- ^ "Le Guen says team are improving". BBC Sport website. 17 December 2006.
- ^ a b "Auxerre 2-2 Rangers". BBC Sport website. 23 November 2006.
- ^ "Clash of cultures". BBC Sport website. 5 January 2007.
- ^ "Ferguson anger at Le Guen comment". BBC Sport website. 17 December 2006.
- ^ "Le Guen and Rangers part company". BBC Sport website. 4 January 2007.
- ^ "Rangers' Smith approach revealed". BBC Sport website. 7 January 2007.
- ^ "SFA reject Rangers' Smith move". BBC Sport website. 8 January 2007.
- ^ "Smith installed as Rangers boss". BBC Sport website. 10 January 2007.
- ^ "For years Rangers have been pilloried for what the majority of people saw as discrimination against one section of the population. Now we have shown that this unwritten policy at Ibrox is over. It's finished. Done with." (Graeme Souness: A Manager's Diary (Mainstream, 1989); p17
- ^ Daily Record
- ^ Darryl Broadfoot, Rangers try to avert title ‘nightmare’, The Herald, 27 July, 2007.
- ^ Catholics who signed for Rangers before Johnston include, before the end of World War I: Pat Lafferty (1886), Tom Dunbar (1891-1892), J Tutty (1899-1900), Archie Kyle (1904-1908), Willie Kivlichan (1906-1907), Colin Mainds (1906-1907), Tom Murray (1907-1908), William Brown (1912), Joe Donnachie (circa.1914-1918) and John Jackson (1917). Thereafter, Catholic players prior to Mo Johnston's signing include: Laurie Blyth (1951-1952), Don Kitchenbrand (1955-1956), Hugh O'Neill (1976), John Spencer (1985-1992). (Bill Murray, "The Old Firm - Sectarianism, Sport and Society in Scotland (John Donald Publishers, 1984) pp 64-5
- ^ Kuper, Simon (1996). Football Against the Enemy Orion, 2006. ISBN 0-7528-4877-1
- ^ "Who's getting cuffed today?". Sunday Herald. 24 April 2005.
- ^ a b "Rangers handed fine". UEFA Website. 12 April 2006.
- ^ "Rangers appeal upheld". UEFA Website. 24 May 2006.
- ^ "Joint Supporter/Club Statement". Rangers FC Website.
- ^ "Uefa set to probe Gers Euro tie". BBC Sport website. 20 March 2007.
- ^ "Scottish football". June 2006.
- ^ "Gers to unveil The Bill Struth Stand on September 9". Follow Follow Fansite. 22 August 2006.
- ^ "New kids on the ball". Evening Times. 30 January 2007.
- ^ "Domestic Trebles". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 23 November 2006.
- ^ "Rangers 1-1 Inter Milan". BBC Sport website. 6 December 2005.
External links
- Official website
- Rangers F.C. on BBC Sport: Club news – Recent results and fixtures
- Complete Rangers Scottish Football Caps
- Complete Rangers Scottish Football League Caps
