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Rangers F.C.

File:Rangers.png
Full name	Rangers Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Gers, Teddy Bears, Light Blues
Short name	Rangers
Founded	1873
Ground	Ibrox Stadium
Capacity	51,082
Chairman	Sir David Murray
Manager	Walter Smith
League	Scottish Premier League
2007-08	Scottish Premier League, 2nd
Website	http://rangers.co.uk/
Home colours Away colours

Rangers Football Club are an association football team based in Glasgow, Scotland, who currently play in the Scottish Premier League. They 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 are 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, as well as the Ulster Unionist community in Northern Ireland. 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 did not take part in the inaugural Scottish Cup. By 1876 Rangers had their first internationalist, with Moses McNeil representing Scotland in a match against Wales, and by 1877 Rangers had reached a Scottish Cup final. The first ever Old Firm match took place in 1888, the year of Celtic's establishment. Rangers lost 5-2 in a friendly to a team largely comprised of "guest players" from Hibernian.

The 1890-91 season saw the inception of the Scottish Football League, and Rangers were one of ten original members. By this time Rangers were playing at the first Ibrox Stadium. Rangers' first ever league match took place on August 16, 1890 and resulted in a 5-2 victory over Heart of Midlothian. After finishing equal-top with Dumbarton a play-off was held at Cathkin Park to decide the who would be champions. The match finished 2-2 and the title was shared for the only time in its history, the first of Rangers' world record 51 championships. Rangers' first ever Scottish Cup win came in 1894 after a 3-1 victory over rivals Celtic in the final. By the turn of the century Rangers had won two league titles and three Scottish Cups.

This article appears to be slanted towards recent events. Please try to keep recent events in historical perspective and add more content related to non-recent events. (April 2008)

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.

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 is in France. On 1 January 2007, Le Guen stripped Ferguson of the captaincy. After protests from a section of the fans at the away match at Motherwell F.C. reports in the media announced that Le Guen had given David Murray a "Barry Ferguson or me" ultimatum. 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 orange.

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 endeavoured 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 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".

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 , 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 May 2008.

First-team squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  SCO Allan McGregor 3 DF  SCO David Weir (vice-captain) 4 FW  BEL Thomas Buffel 5 DF  BIH Saša Papac 6 MF  SCO Barry Ferguson (captain) 7 MF  ALG Brahim Hemdani 8 MF  SCO Kevin Thomson 9 FW  SCO Kris Boyd 10 FW  ESP Nacho Novo 11 MF  SCO Charlie Adam 15 MF  SCO Alan Gow 16 GK  SCO Graeme Smith 17 MF  SCO Chris Burke 18 FW  SCO Steven Naismith

No. Pos. Nation Player 19 FW  FRA Jean-Claude Darcheville 20 MF  USA DaMarcus Beasley 21 DF  SCO Kirk Broadfoot 22 DF  SCO Andy Webster 23 DF  SCO Christian Dailly 24 DF  ESP Carlos Cuéllar 25 GK  SCO Neil Alexander 26 DF  SCO Steven Smith 27 FW  SCO Lee McCulloch 28 MF  SCO Steven Whittaker 29 FW  GAB Daniel Cousin — FW  SCO Kenny Miller — FW  LTU Andrius Velička (joins on 14 July) — FW  NIR Kyle Lafferty

Reserve and Youth squad

For Rangers' reserve and youth squads, see here.

2008-09 transfers

For a list of Rangers' 2008-09 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	W	D	L	Win %
William Wilton	1896 May 1899	1920 May 1920	722	475	118	129	65.78%
Bill Struth	1920 May 1920	1954 June 1954	1179	788	228	163	66.83%
Scot Symon	1954 June 1954	1967 November 1967	681	445	114	122	65.34%
David White	1967 November 1967	1969 November 1969	114	73	19	22	64.03%
William Waddell	1969 December 1969	1972 May 1972	130	73	25	32	56.49%
Jock Wallace	1972 June 1972	1978 May 1978	308	201	56	51	65.25%
John Greig	1978 May 1978	1983 October 1983	288	150	71	67	52.08%
Jock Wallace	1983 October 1983	1986 April 1986	124	55	36	33	43.65%
Graeme Souness	1986 April 1986	1991 April 1991	260	165	50	45	63.32%
Walter Smith	1991 April 1991	1998 May 1998	379	248	68	63	65.52%
Dick Advocaat	1998 July 1998	2001 December 2001	194	131	33	30	67.53%
Alex McLeish	2001 December 2001	2006 May 2006	235	155	44	36	65.96%
Paul Le Guen	2006 May 2006	2007 January 2007	31	16	8	7	51.61%
Walter Smith	2007 January 2007	9999 Present	87	52	20	15	59.77%

Non-playing staff

Boardroom

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.

Top goalscorers

Most appearances

Managerial

Name	League	SC	LC	EC	Total
William Wilton	8	1	0	0	9
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	8	4	4	0	16
Dick Advocaat	2	2	1	0	5
Alex McLeish	2	2	3	0	7
Paul Le Guen	0	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

References

1. ^ "A Look at Ibrox's Rich History". Rangers official website. Cite error: The named reference "Ibrox capacity" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
2. "Total Number of Championships". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 23 November 2006.
3. "Glasgow Rangers - 100 Trophies". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 21 October 2001.
4. "Glasgow Rangers". Yahoo! sport.
5. "A rivalry tied up in religion". BBC Website. 26 August 2006.
6. "Hall of Fame - Moses McNeil". Rangers official website.
7. ^ "1872-1898 - The Birth Of The Blues". Rangers official website.
8. "Le Guen says team are improving". BBC Sport website. 17 December 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
9. "Auxerre 2-2 Rangers". BBC Sport website. 23 November 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
10. "Clash of cultures". BBC Sport website. 5 January 2007. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
11. "Ferguson anger at Le Guen comment". BBC Sport website. 17 December 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
12. "Le Guen and Rangers part company". BBC Sport website. 4 January 2007. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
13. "Rangers' Smith approach revealed". BBC Sport website. 7 January 2007.
14. "SFA reject Rangers' Smith move". BBC Sport website. 8 January 2007.
15. "Smith installed as Rangers boss". BBC Sport website. 10 January 2007.
16. "Fiorentina 0-0 Rangers (0-0)". Retrieved May 1. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
17. BBC News CCTV shows fans chasing police
18. Current Rangers Home shirt
19. Current Rangers Away shirt
20. Current Rangers Third shirt
21. "Rangers to drop orange strip after sectarian outcry". Sunday Herald. 6 October, 2002. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
22. Shirt sponsors and manufacturers
23. "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
24. "GRAEME SOUNESS PRAYED I WOULD BE THE FIRST CATHOLIC TO JOIN RANGERS". Daily Record.; Darryl Broadfoot, Rangers try to avert title ‘nightmare’, The Herald, 27 July, 2007.
25. 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
26. Kuper, Simon (1996). Football Against the Enemy Orion, 2006. ISBN 0-7528-4877-1
27. "Who's getting cuffed today?". Sunday Herald. 24 April 2005.
28. ^ "Rangers handed fine". UEFA Website. 12 April 2006.
29. "Rangers appeal upheld". UEFA Website. 24 May 2006.
30. "Joint Supporter/Club Statement". Rangers official website.
31. "Uefa set to probe Gers Euro tie". BBC Sport website. 20 March 2007.
32. Uefa praises Rangers for action on bigotry | Scotland - Times Online
33. "Scottish football". June 2006.
34. "Gers to unveil The Bill Struth Stand on September 9". Follow Follow fansite. 22 August 2006.
35. "Rangers Chairman Developing a 700 m To Rebuild Ibrox". TheHerald. 07 Jan 2008. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
36. "New kids on the ball". Evening Times. 30 January 2007.
37. "PLAYER PROFILES". Rangers FC. Retrieved 2008-01-25.
38. BBC News - Velicka completes Rangers switch

External links

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• Official website
• Rangers F.C. on BBC Sport: Club news – Recent results and fixtures

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