Everything about Rangers F C totally explained
Sir David Murray
| ceo =
Martin Bain
| manager =
Walter Smith
| asst manager =
Ally McCoist
| league =
Scottish Premier League
| season =
2007-08
| position = Scottish Premier League, 2nd
| website = http://rangers.co.uk/
| shirtsupplier =
Umbro
| shirtsponsors =
Carling
| pattern_la1 =
| pattern_b1 = _Rangers_0708
| pattern_ra1 =
| leftarm1 = 0000FF
| body1 = 0000FF
| rightarm1 = 0000FF
| shorts1 = FFFFFF
| socks1 = 000000
| pattern_la2 =
| pattern_b2 =
| pattern_ra2 =
| leftarm2 = 4B0082
| body2 = FFFFFF
| rightarm2 = 4B0082
| shorts2 = 4B0082
| socks2 = FFFFFF
}}
Rangers Football Club is a
Scottish football team based in
Glasgow, who currently play in the
Scottish Premier League. Rangers have won 51 league titles, a world record, and have won more major trophies than any football club in the world. 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're sometimes referred to as
Glasgow Rangers for European matches to avoid confusion.
Rangers' players and fans today are multi-national and of various religions, although the club have traditionally been identified with and favoured the
Protestant and
Unionist community of Scotland. For most of their history, Rangers have enjoyed a fierce rivalry with their cross-city opponents
Celtic, and the two are collectively known as the
Old Firm.
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, which it now shares with
Hampden Park, Scotland's national stadium.
History
Formation and early years
The four founders of Rangers - brothers
Moses and Peter McNeil,
Peter Campbell and William McBeath - met in 1872 and named their team after an English rugby club upon seeing the name in a book. In May of that year the first match was played, a 0-0 draw in a friendly against Callander F.C. on the public pitches of
Glasgow Green. The only other match played that year was another friendly against a team called Clyde (not the present-day
Clyde F.C.) resulting in an 11-0 victory and featuring the debut of the club's blue strip. The official founding of Rangers is recognised as taking place in 1873, when the club held its first annual meeting and staff were elected. The first season's fixtures were all friendlies, as the deadline for joining the
Scottish Football Association had been missed, meaning the team didn't take part in the inaugural
Scottish Cup.
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 F.C. and
Partizan Belgrade and a draw away to
AJ Auxerre.
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. 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's in France. 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 F.C. the following day, it was announced on
4 January 2007 that Le Guen had left Rangers by mutual consent.
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. However, on
January 8, the SFA rebuffed Rangers' approach for Smith.
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.
Smith and his team under took some serious surgery to the side. He signed veteran defenders
David Weir and
Ugo Ehiogu to sure up rocky backline. This proved too be a steadying influence on the team and they only lost three times until the end of the season.
The following summer he made ten signings, including defenders
Carlos Cuellar and midfielder
Lee McCulloch. The early season priority, qualification for the
Champions League group stage was secured after aggregate victories over the champions of the Montenegrin and Serbian leagues,
FK Zeta and
Red Star Belgrade respectively. Rangers were drawn in Group E, to play
FC Barcelona, French champions
Olympique Lyonnais and German champions
VfB Stuttgart. The campaign started well for Rangers with two victories, 2-1 at home to Stuttgart and 3-0 against Lyon at the
Stade Gerland as well as a 0-0 draw against Barcelona at
Ibrox Stadium. They lost match day six against
Olympique Lyonnais 3-0 which ended their
UEFA Champions League 2007-08 run. But the adventure continued as they progressed to the final of the
UEFA Cup, defeating
Panathinaikos,
Werder Bremen,
Sporting Lisbon and
Fiorentina along the way. They beat
Italian side
Fiorentina on penalties to set up a
final against
Zenit St. Petersburg who are managed by former Gers manager
Dick Advocaat.. They lost that match 2-0, amid
serious disturbances caused by some supporters. Video evidence was released by the
Greater Manchester Police of Rangers fans attacking officers in
Manchester City Centre following the defeat.
Club colours and crest
The club colours of Rangers F.C. are
royal blue, white and red.
The team's home strip invariably features a royal blue shirt (often with white and/or red trim). Traditionally this is accompanied by white shorts (often with royal blue and/or red trim) and black socks with red turn-downs. However when wearing the 'home strip' Rangers will occasionally alter the shorts and socks, sometimes replacing the black socks with white ones; or replacing the white shorts and black socks combination with royal blue shorts and socks.
The basic design of Rangers away strips has changed far more than the traditional home strip. White and red have been the most common predominant colours for Rangers alternate strips, though dark and light blue have also featured highly.
In recent years, Rangers have also introduced a third kit. This is usually worn if both the home and away kits clash with their opponents. The colours used range from light blue to red to a very controversial tangerine.
Shirt sponsors and manufacturers
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 Unionist community.
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). Rangers came to be identified with the Scottish Protestant community. Until
Graeme Souness signed former Celtic player
Mo Johnston, in 1989, Rangers were said by him to have had an "unwritten policy" of not signing any player who was Catholic; although Johnston was by no means the first Catholic to sign for the club, he was the first openly Catholic, high-profile player to sign for them since
World War I.
In recent times, both Rangers and Celtic have taken measures to combat sectarianism. Working alongside the
Scottish Parliament,
church groups, pressure groups such as
Nil by Mouth, schools and community organisations, the Old Firm have endevoured to clamp down on sectarian songs, inflammatory flag-waving, and troublesome supporters, using increased levels of policing and surveillance.
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. However, UEFA declared the Rangers fans not guilty of alleged discriminatory chants. UEFA challenged the ruling, and their Appeals Body partially upheld it, 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'd 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".
Despite these measures, UEFA indicated that that'll 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're told [tostop sectarian chanting], some people will just not listen." In September 2007, UEFA praised Rangers for the measures the club has taken against sectarianism.
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
Ibrox 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 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. 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. There are currently plans underway for a redevelopment of Ibrox stadium which could result in Ibrox being rebuilt as a 70,000 seated stadium - which would make it the second largest club football stadium in Britain after
Old Trafford. The official Rangers Website was quoted as saying: "We are analysing three strategies which would enhance the development of the existing outline planning proposals for the Hinshelwood area to the south of the stadium. One of the strategies includes the total rebuilding of Ibrox Stadium while retaining the brick facade, the tradition and the integrity of the Bill Struth Main Stand".
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. 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
» As of 31 January 2008.
First-team squad
Out on loan
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
Internationalists
» For a list of Rangers' past and present international players, see here.
Team managers
There have been twelve different managers of Rangers. The longest-serving manager was
Bill Struth (34 years). The club has, on average, appointed a new manager every seven and a half years. The club's directors have only ever dismissed two of their managers, namely
Davie White and
Jock Wallace (during his second spell). The others have left through of their own accord or by mutual agreement, except for
William Wilton, who died whilst still manager of the side.
» Correct as of 25 May, 2008
| Name |
From |
To |
P |
|
|
|
in % |
|
1896 May 1899 |
1920 May 1920 |
722 |
475 |
118 |
129 |
65.78% |
|
1920 May 1920 |
1954 June 1954 |
1179 |
788 |
228 |
163 |
66.83% |
|
1954 June 1954 |
1967 November 1967 |
681 |
445 |
114 |
122 |
65.34% |
|
1967 November 1967 |
1969 November 1969 |
114 |
73 |
19 |
22 |
64.03%
|
|
1969 December 1969 |
1972 May 1972 |
130 |
73 |
25 |
32 |
56.49% |
|
1972 June 1972 |
1978 May 1978 |
308 |
201 |
56 |
51 |
65.25% |
|
1978 May 1978 |
1983 October 1983 |
288 |
150 |
71 |
67 |
52.08% |
|
1983 October 1983 |
1986 April 1986 |
124 |
55 |
36 |
33 |
43.65% |
|
1986 April 1986 |
1991 April 1991 |
260 |
165 |
50 |
45 |
63.32% |
|
1991 April 1991 |
1998 May 1998 |
379 |
248 |
68 |
63 |
65.52% |
|
1998 July 1998 |
2001 December 2001 |
194 |
131 |
33 |
30 |
67.53% |
|
2001 December 2001 |
2006 May 2006 |
235 |
155 |
44 |
36 |
65.96% |
|
2006 May 2006 |
2007 January 2007 |
31 |
16 |
8 |
7 |
51.61%
|
|
2007 January 2007 |
9999 Present |
87 |
52 |
20 |
15 |
59.77% |
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, MBE |
| Non-Executive Director |
John McClelland, CBE |
| Non-Executive Director |
Alastair Johnston |
| Non-Executive Director |
David Cunningham King |
| Non-Executive Director |
Donald Wilson |
| Non-Executive Director |
Paul Murray |
Management
Records
Club
Record home attendance:
118,567 vs
Celtic, January 1939
Record victory:
13-0 vs Possilpark,
Scottish Cup,
6 October 1877
Record league victory:
10-0 vs
Hibernian,
24 December 1898
Record defeat:
2-10 vs
Airdrieonians,
6 February 1886
Record league defeat:
0-6 vs
Dumbarton,
4 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, 82
Record goalscorer:
Ally McCoist, 355 goals, 1983-1998
Most goals in one season:
Jim Forrest, 57 goals, 1964/1965
Most league 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:
Alan Hutton, £9m,
Tottenham Hotspur, 2008
Highest transfer fee paid:
Tore André Flo, £12.5 m,
Chelsea, 2000
Individual
» All players are from Scotland unless otherwise stated.
Managerial
| Name |
League |
a href=http://Scottish_Cup.totallyexplained.com title="Scottish Cup - Totally Explained">SC |
a href=http://Scottish_League_Cup.totallyexplained.com title="Scottish League Cup - Totally Explained">LC |
a href=http://European_Cup_Winners_Cup.totallyexplained.com title="European Cup Winners Cup - Totally Explained">EC |
otal |
|
|
1 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
|
|
10 |
2 |
0 |
30 |
|
|
5 |
4 |
0 |
15
|
|
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
|
|
0 |
1 |
1 |
2
|
|
|
3 |
4 |
0 |
10
|
|
|
2 |
2 |
0 |
4
|
|
|
0 |
4 |
0 |
7
|
|
|
4 |
4 |
0 |
16
|
|
|
2 |
1 |
0 |
5
|
|
|
2 |
3 |
0 |
7
|
|
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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.
Cups
Cup Winners' Cup winners (1): 1972
; Scottish Cup winners (32): 1894, 1897, 1898, 1903, 1928, 1930, 1932, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1953, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1973, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2008.
League Cup winners (25): 1947, 1949, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1971, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2008.
Europe
Further Information
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