Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears (from the rhyming slang for the same) and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses. They are sometimes referred to as Glasgow Rangers, although the word Glasgow is not part of the club's official title. The club is incorporated as The Rangers Football Club plc. The club's home is the all-seated 51,082-capacity Ibrox Stadium in south-west Glasgow.
Rangers have won 54 League Championships, more top-flight national championships than any other club in the world. They have won the Scottish League Cup 27 times – more than any other Scottish club – and the Scottish Cup 33 times. In 1961 Rangers reached the final of the European Cup Winners' Cup, becoming the first British club to reach the final of a UEFA club competition. They won the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1972, having been the runners-up in 1961 and 1967, and were runners-up in the 2008 UEFA Cup Final. An estimated 130,000 Rangers fans made the journey to Manchester, even though most of them did not have tickets for the match.
The club have traditionally been identified with and favoured by the Protestant and Unionist community of Scotland, as well as the 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.
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) 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.
1970s
The 1971
Ibrox disaster overshadowed what happened on the pitch to a large extent in the early 1970s. On 2 January 1971, in the final minutes of the New Year's Day Old Firm game with the score set at 0–0,
Jimmy Johnstone scored for Celtic. Within seconds
Colin Stein had equalised for Rangers. As the 80,000 strong crowd was trying to disperse at full time, many fell down the stairway at the Copland Road end of the ground. Their momentum led to large scale crushing and 66 people died. It was initially thought the crush was caused by Rangers fans rushing back up the stairwell after the equaliser; however, a later enquiry said that the crush was likely to have happened ten minutes after the final whistle and to have been triggered by someone falling on the stairs.
Nine in a row
Every year from 1988–89 season until the 1996–97 season, Rangers won the league title. This nine-in-a-row achievement meant that they equalled Celtic's record. The first three of these seasons the club was managed by
Graeme Souness, the latter six under the stewardship of
Walter Smith.
Dick Advocaat
In 1998 Advocaat accepted the invitation from Rangers chairman
David Murray to become the club's new manager. When Advocaat took charge of Rangers he became the first foreign manager to do so and only the tenth manager in the history of the club.
The previous season was the last of seven under Walter Smith, Long term members of the squad that had won nine league championships in a row left, The club also had a short run in the UEFA Cup. and also won the Scottish Cup. Advocaat also guided Rangers into the Champions League having beaten the UEFA Cup winners Parma in the 3rd round qualifier. Rangers went out of the group stage after being drawn alongside Bayern Munich, PSV Eindhoven and Valencia. The club then lost to Borussia Dortmund in a penalty shoot out in the UEFA cup.
Advocaat's third season at Rangers was less successful. Despite investment in the team with players such as Tore Andre Flo for a record £12 million, Rangers failed to win any trophies, as Celtic under new manager Martin O’Neill, won the domestic treble. and Monaco, the club failed to qualify for the next phase of the competition, finishing third behind Galatasaray on goal difference. Rangers then lost 3–0 to Kaiserslautern of Germany in the Uefa cup.
In his last season at Rangers Dick guided Gers to the last 16 of the UEFA Cup in the 2001/02 season, but with Celtic leading the league championship by 12 points, Advocaat resigned from the manager's position on 12 December 2001. Alex McLeish was appointed as his successor with Advocaat moving to the position of General Manager. Advocaat eventually left Rangers for the Netherlands national team.
In his first season in charge Advocaat was instrumental in the formation of the current Rangers training facility Murray Park.
Alex McLeish
McLeish had become Rangers boss on 11 December 2001 and initially worked in association with Dick Advocaat who became Director of Football. McLeish seemed to encourage performances out of a squad that had under-achieved under Advocaat. McLeish was an instant success at Rangers, winning both the
Scottish Cup and
Scottish League Cup in his first season, but the big prize of the league title was essentially lost before his arrival.
Alex McLeish became the sixth Rangers manager to deliver a Treble when he swept the boards in season 2002/03 – his first full season in charge. The League was won on goal difference in a dramatic final day shoot out, which delivered Rangers 50th title.
Rangers' worsening financial state saw many of the team's top players leave in the summer of 2003. Celtic won the league comfortably in season 2003–04, and Rangers failed to win any trophies.
The high profile Bosman signings of Jean-Alain Boumsong and Dado Pršo in the close season of 2004–05 gave Rangers renewed hope of regaining the title from Celtic's grasp. McLeish's team won the 2005 league title on a dramatic last day, an outcome that had looked highly unlikely after Rangers fell five points behind leaders Celtic with just four games remaining. Celtic losing to Motherwell at Fir Park, coupled with Rangers' win at Easter Road meant that the helicopter changed direction and delivered the SPL trophy to Rangers at the Leith ground.
After this success, McLeish and his Rangers team headed into the 2005–06 SPL campaign as favourites to retain the championship. McLeish made a number of signings, including Julien Rodriguez and Ian Murray, despite having little money to spend. After a reasonable start to the season, including a win over Celtic, Rangers suffered a series of poor results between September and November. This period included a club record of 10 games without a win. However the tenth match of this run, a 1–1 draw with Inter Milan in the Champions League, took Rangers into the last 16 of the Champions League. The club were defeated on the away goals rule by Villarreal. but in reaching this stage of the competition had become the first Scottish team to progress this far in the European Cup since 1993, and the first Scottish team to progress through a European group stage. It was later announced that he would be succeeded by former Olympique Lyonnais manager Paul Le Guen.
Paul Le Guen
at Ibrox to welcome Paul Le Guen]]
Paul Le Guen replaced
Alex McLeish as manager after
season 2005–06.
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. The first Old Firm match of the season resulted in a 2–0 defeat; the second – at Ibrox – was a 1–1 draw.
In the UEFA Cup Rangers became the first Scottish side to qualify for the last 32 of the competition in its current format after finishing the group stage unbeaten.
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. It was announced on 4 January 2007 that Le Guen had left Rangers by mutual consent.
Walter Smith's return
On 10 January 2007, it was announced that former manager
Walter Smith was the new manager of Rangers, with
Ally McCoist as assistant manager and
Kenny McDowall as first-team coach.
The following season Rangers embarked on a UEFA Cup adventure after dropping into the competition from the Champions League. The club progressed to the final, defeating Panathinaikos, Werder Bremen, Sporting Lisbon and Fiorentina along the way. The final was against Zenit St. Petersburg who were managed by former Rangers manager Dick Advocaat. They lost the match 2–0, amid serious disturbances caused by some supporters. Video evidence was released by the Greater Manchester Police of Rangers fans attacking officers and officers attacking the fans with batons and dogs, in Manchester city centre following the defeat.
The 2008–09 season saw Rangers make a below-par start to their UEFA Champions League campaign, losing out in the knock-out stage to FBK Kaunas of Lithuania. The financial consequences of the failures to qualify for the Champions League were revealed when the club posted a loss of £3.9m for the six months to December 2008, and in March decided to offer staff the option of voluntary redundancy as a way of cutting costs. Despite a tight title race, on the final day of the league, Rangers managed to claim their 52nd league title. With their title success, Rangers gained automatic entry into the following season's Champions League group stage. Rangers won the Scottish Cup for the 33rd time after defeating Falkirk 1–0 in the final, clinching a double in the process.
At the beginning of the 2009–10 season Rangers had to reduce their squad size by several players due to costs while not being able to sign anyone. After a disappointing European campaign where they only picked up two points they made a £13 million profit at the turn of the year. Rangers reached their fifth consecutive domestic cup final where they played St. Mirren in the Scottish League Cup. After having two players sent off in the second half Rangers won the final 1–0 through a goal from Kenny Miller.
On 25 April 2010, Rangers retained their league title with three matches remaining by defeating Hibernian 1–0 with a Kyle Lafferty goal. This was their 53rd Scottish League title. With this success, they again sealed their automatic entry into the 2010–11 Champions League.
During the close season Walter Smith announced the upcoming new season would be his last as manager of Rangers and that the intention was to replace him with Ally McCoist and assistant Kenny McDowall. Smith stated: "I am wholly committed to managing the club next season and when it comes to the end of next season I firmly believe that Ally and Kenny would do a great job and I am glad everybody at the club shares that view."
On 13 August 2010, Rangers signed former England striker James Beattie from Stoke City for an undisclosed fee, becoming the Scottish champions' first signing in two years. Slovakia international forward Vladimir Weiss subsequently followed on a year-long loan from Manchester City with Croatia international striker Nikica Jelavic signing from Rapid Vienna for £4million after protracted negotiations. Rangers were drawn against Bursaspor, Valencia and Manchester United in the group stages of the 2010–11 Champions League. They finished third in the group, behind Manchester United and Valencia.
On 24 February 2011 Rangers reached the last 16 of the Europa League by beating Sporting Clube de Portugal on away goals. Their opponents in the last 16 were PSV Eindhoven who knocked Rangers out of the competition, winning 1–0 on aggregate after a 1–0 win at Ibrox on 17 March. Three days later Smith led Rangers to victory in the League Cup Final over Celtic.
On 6 May 2011 it was confirmed that David Murray had sold his controlling interest in the club (85.3 percent) to Wavetower limited for £1. Wavetower Limited is owned by the company Liberty Capital which in turn is ultimately owned by businessman Craig Whyte, a lifelong supporter of the club.
Colours and crest
Colours and kit
The club colours of Rangers F.C. are
royal blue, white and red. However, for the majortiy of the first forty-eight years of Rangers existence the club played in a plain
light blue home shirt. The only deviation from this was a four season period from 1879 when the side wore a light blue hooped shirt.
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. Black socks were first included in 1883 for five seasons before disappearing for eight years but became a permanent fixture from 1896 onwards. When the red turn-downs were added to the socks in 1904, the strip began to look more like the modern day Rangers home kit. Occasionally the home kit will be altered by 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 colours for Rangers alternate strips, though dark and light blue have also featured highly.
In recent years, Rangers have introduced a third kit. This is usually worn if both the home and away kits clash with their opponents. The colours used in the third kits have included combinations of white, red, dark and light blue as well as black.
Crest
Rangers currently have two different club crests. The scroll crest, representing letters
RFC overlapping each other, has been used since the club's formation in 1872 and was first introduced to the Rangers kits in 1968; it was modified several times in the 1990s. After successful
season 2002/03, which delivered Rangers a Treble and their 50th championship title, it was decided to add five stars above the scroll crest, one for every ten titles won by the club.
The circular crest was adopted in 1959 The circular crest is mostly used on merchandise and by the media.
Sponsors and manufacturers
Tennent's are currently the main shirt sponsors of Rangers, and as part of the sponsorship deal, their logo is displayed on the front of the club's shirts and a number of other merchandise. The club has only ever had four main shirt sponsors. The first shirt sponsor was
Scottish double glazing firm CR Smith. In 1984, Rangers signed a three-year deal with CR Smith, who also had a similar deal with
Celtic. At the end of the contract both
Old Firm clubs were offered terms by brewers
Scottish & Newcastle to become their new sponsor. The deal would have seen Rangers bear the
McEwan's Lager and Celtic sport the
Harp Lager logo on their shirts. The latter club rejected the deal but Rangers accepted and in 1987 began what would become a twelve-year association with the drinks company. The club wore the
McEwan's Lager logo on the front its shirts for all but two matches during the
Nine in a row era. When Rangers played
French sides
AJ Auxerre and
RC Strasbourg in the
1996–97 UEFA Champions League and the
1996–97 UEFA Cup respectively, due to a French ban on alcohol advertising the team wore the logo of
Center Parcs. In 1999, both
Old Firm clubs signed a joint sponsorship deal with
telecommunications company
NTL. The four-year deal was worth £13 million but ended in the summer of 2003.
Rangers then signed a contract with Carling. The deal was the second joint Old Firm sponsorship agreement. It was announced on 3 January 2003 and began at the start of the 2003–04 season, initially for three-years and worth a total of £12 million pounds. On 21 July 2005 the contract was extended. The new deal was five-years in length and worth a basic £18 million but with substantial bonuses should either club meet performance targets. As Rangers and Celtic both reached the last 16 of the Champions League during this period, plus the Ibrox club's 2008 UEFA Cup Final appearance, the deal proved to be lucrative. On 3 February 2010, Rangers and Celtic announced a three-year contract with Tennent's brewery. The deal is worth around £1.5 million per season to each club.
Similarly, the club has only had five independent kit manufacturers, the first being English sportswear company Umbro, which became the first company to place their logo on a Rangers shirt in 1978. Admiral took over in 1990, but only manufactured one strip. German company Adidas followed in 1992 then American company Nike in 1997 and Italian manufacturer Diadora in 2002, before Umbro began a second spell as the club's kit manufacturers in 2005. Umbro's sponsorship is due to expire at the end of the 2010–11 season.
The Old Firm and sectarianism
The club's most distinct rivalry is with
Celtic F.C, 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, meanwhile Celtics' traditional support has largely come from the
Catholic republican community. During the late 19th century, many
immigrants came to
Glasgow from
Ireland – this was a time of considerable anti-Catholic and anti-Irish sentiment in Scotland. Even before the formation of Celtic, in 1888, Rangers had close links to the
Orange Order and
freemasonry. By the early 20th century, Catholic players were asked to leave the club.
The first Old Firm match was won by Celtic and there have been nearly four hundred matches played to date. The Old Firm rivalry has fueled many assaults and many deaths on Old Firm derby days; an activist group that monitors sectarian activity in Glasgow has reported that on Old Firm weekends, admissions to hospital emergency rooms have increased ninefold over normal levels and journalist Franklin Foer noted that in the period from 1996 to 2003, eight deaths in Glasgow were directly linked to Old Firm matches, as well as hundreds of assaults.
Between World War I and the 1980s, Rangers did not knowingly sign any Catholic players. Many have written about the club's refusal to sign Catholic players, or employ Catholics in other roles, and the discrimination against employees who married Catholics. Particularly from the 1970s, Rangers came under increasing media pressure over their policy, but several of the club's directors publicly defended its position.
In 1989, when Rangers signed Maurice "Mo" Johnston, "their first major Roman Catholic signing", David Miller, the general secretary of the Rangers' Supporters' Association condemned the signing, saying "It is a sad day for Rangers... I don't want to see a Roman Catholic at Ibrox."
More recent examples of sectarianism
In 1999, Rangers' vice-chairman
Donald Findlay was forced to resign after he was filmed singing sectarian songs (
The Billy Boys and
The Sash) at an event organised by a Rangers Supporters Club. In his resignation letter, Findlay described the incident as "a serious misjudgment". He said his conduct "was not acceptable" and he regretted any harm done to the club's reputation. Anti-sectarianism campaigners and politicians had criticised the club's decision to market an orange shirt, as the colour is associated with the
Orange Institution.
In 2006 UEFA declared the Rangers fans not guilty of alleged discriminatory chants after a UEFA Champions League tie against Villareal. Celtic challenged the ruling, and the Appeals Body partially upheld the appeal, fining Rangers F.C. £13,500 and issued a warning to the club regarding any future misconduct.
Rangers were fined again (€12,000) in 2007 after some Rangers fans were filmed making sectarian chants at a UEFA Cup match against Osasuna.
In 2008, Rangers fans' singing of the Famine song, containing the lyrics "The famine's over now / Why don't you go home", caused controversy. The football club urged fans to stop singing the song, and warned they could be arrested for it. Rangers' chief executive Martin Bain also warned fans they could be arrested for singing the song, but would not condemn the chanting. He also said "Clearly some supporters feel aggrieved that a song they believe to be no more than a tit-for-tat 'wind up' of Celtic supporters should be singled out in this way and merit the attention of police, governments and anti-racist organisations".
The song was condemned as racist by anti-racism group Show Racism the Red Card and described as "vile, vicious and racist" by Celtic chairman John Reid and complaints prompted Irish diplomats to contact the Scottish government. The Rangers Supporters Trust (RST), however rejected claims that the song was racist, saying : "Racism is not a wind-up, however distasteful, aimed at Scottish Celtic fans".
In November 2008, a Rangers fan was found guilty of a breach of the peace (aggravated by religious and racial prejudice) by singing the Famine Song during a game against Kilmarnock. In February 2009, sectarian chanting by some Rangers fans during an Old Firm match at Celtic Park was reported to the SPL by the match delegate, again relating to the chanting of the Famine Song.
Both the club and its fans are disparagingly nicknamed Huns by some fans of Celtic. The Rangers Supporters Trust, in their statement defending singing of the Famine Song, described the nickname as "sectarian abuse". The anti-sectarian charity Nil By Mouth also considers "Huns" to be a sectarian insult. In 2008, a Celtic fan was convicted of a religiously aggravated breach of the peace for wearing a t-shirt with the slogan "dirty horrible huns".
In March 2011, Rangers fans were accused by UEFA of sectarian singing during the away leg of their Europa League match with PSV Eindhoven. In April, further charges of sectarian singing were made against them concerning the home tie. Rangers were fined €40,000 and had their fans banned for one away European match as a result of the UEFA hearing
Rangers' efforts to eliminate sectarianism
In recent times, both Old Firm teams 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.
In August 2003 Rangers launched its 'Pride Over Prejudice' campaign to promote social inclusion, which has urged fans to wear only traditional Rangers colours and avoid offensive songs, banners and salutes. This involved publishing the 'Blue Guide', known as the "Wee Blue Book", which contained a list of acceptable songs and was issued to 50,000 supporters in August 2007.
In 2005, Rangers Football in the Community partnered with Celtic to form the 'Old Firm Alliance', an initiative aimed at educating children from across Glasgow about issues like healthy eating and fitness, as well as awareness of anti-social behaviour, sectarianism and racism. The club's 'Follow With Pride' campaign was launched in 2007 to improve the club's image and build on previous anti-racist, anti-sectarian campaigns. The club, through the Rangers Study Centre, is also involved in the "Ready To Learn" project, along with Glasgow City Council.
In 2006 William Gallard, UEFA's Director Of Communications, commended the SFA and Scottish clubs, including Rangers, for their actions in fighting discrimination. In September 2007, UEFA praised Rangers for the measures the club had taken against sectarianism.
Rivalry with Aberdeen
Many Rangers fans see
Aberdeen as a bitter rival. The rivalry began in the late 1970s when the two clubs were among the strongest in Scotland. Relations between fans were soured during a league match on 8 October 1988, when Aberdeen player
Neil Simpson's tackle on Rangers'
Ian Durrant resulted in Durrant being injured for two years. Resentment continued and in 1998 an article in Rangers pre-match programme branded Aberdeen fans "scum". Rangers stated that they had "issued a full and unreserved apology" to Aberdeen and their supporters, and this was accepted by Aberdeen. In another incident, then Rangers captain
Richard Gough accused Aberdeen of only playing when it was against Rangers. This further increased the hostility between supporters of both clubs, which has continued.
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 30 December 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. 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, including its conversion to an all-seater stadium. Ibrox was awarded UEFA five-star stadium status, which has since been replaced by a different classification system.
before a game]]
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. 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 Alan Hutton, Chris Burke, Stevie Smith, John Fleck 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 World Cup.
Players
Current squads
Reserve and Youth squad
2010–11 transfers
Notable players
International Players
Team managers
Non-playing staff
Board
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, 1964–65
; Most league goals in one season
Sam English, 44 goals, 1931–32
; 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, £12m,
Chelsea, 2000
Individual
All players are from Scotland unless otherwise stated.
; Top goalscorers
{|class="wikitable sortable" border="1" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!class="unsortable"|Rank
!class="unsortable"|Name
!class="unsortable"|Career
!Apps
!Goals
!Average
|-
|1
|align="left"|Ally McCoist
|1983–1998
|581
|355
|0.61
|-
|2
|align="left"|Bob McPhail
|1927–1940
|408
|261
|0.64
|-
|3
|align="left"|Jimmy Smith
|1930–1946
|259
|249
|0.96
|-
|4
|align="left"|Jimmy Fleming
|1925–1934
|268
|223
|0.83
|-
|5
|align="left"|Derek Johnstone
|1970–19821985–1986
|546
|210
|0.38
|-
|6
|align="left"|Ralph Brand
|1954–1965
|317
|206
|0.65
|-
|7
|align="left"|Willie Reid
|1909–1920
|230
|195
|0.84
|-
|8
|align="left"|Willie Thornton
|1936–1954
|308
|194
|0.63
|-
|9
|align="left"|RC Hamilton
|1897–1908
|209
|184
|0.88
|-
|10
|align="left"|Andy Cunningham
|1914–1929
|389
|182
|0.47
|}
; Most appearances
{|class="wikitable sortable" border="1" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!class="unsortable"|Rank
!class="unsortable"|Name
!class="unsortable"|Career
!Apps
!Goals
|-
|1
|align="left"|John Greig
|1961–1978
|755
|120
|-
|2
|align="left"|Sandy Jardine
|1964–1982
|674
|77
|-
|3
|align="left"|Ally McCoist
|1983–1998
|581
|355
|-
|4
|align="left"|Sandy Archibald
|1917–1934
|580
|148
|-
|5
|align="left"|Davie Meiklejohn
|1919–1936
|563
|46
|-
|6
|align="left"|Dougie Gray
|1925–1947
|555
|2
|-
|7
|align="left"|Derek Johnstone
|1970–19821985–1986
|546
|210
|-
|8
|align="left"|Davie Cooper
|1977–1989
|540
|75
|-
|9
|align="left"|Peter McCloy
|1970–1986
|535
|0
|-
|10
|align="left"|Ian McColl
|1945–1960
|526
|14
|}
Managerial
{| class="wikitable sortable" border="1" style="text-align: center"
|-
!Name
!
League!!
Scottish Cup!!
League Cup!!
Europe!!Total
|-
|align="left"| (1899-1920)
||8||1||0||0||9
|-
|align="left"| (1920-1954)
||18||10||2||0||30
|-
|align="left"| (1954-1967)
||6||5||4||0||15
|-
|align="left"| (1967-1969)
||0||0||0||0||0
|-
|align="left"| (1969-1972)
||0||0||1||1||2
|-
|align="left"| (1972-1978, 1983-1986)
||3||3||4||0||10
|-
|align="left"| (1978-1983)
||0||2||2||0||4
|-
|align="left"| (1986-1991)
||3||0||4||0||7
|-
|align="left"| (1991-1998, 2007-2011)
||10||5||6||0||21
|-
|align="left"| (1998-2002)
||2||2||1||0||5
|-
|align="left"| (2001-2006)
||2||2||3||0||7
|-
|align="left"| (2006-2007)
||0||0||0||0||0
|-
|align="left"| (2011-)
||0||0||0||0||0
|}
Honours
League
;
Scottish League championships (54): 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,
2009,
2010,
2011
Cups
;
Cup Winners' Cup winners (1):
1972
;
Scottish Cup winners (33): 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,
2009
;
League Cup winners (27): 1947, 1949, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1971, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1982,
1983,
1984,
1987,
1988,
1990,
1992,
1993,
1996,
1998,
2002,
2003,
2005,
2008,
2010,
2011
Europe
Superleague Formula
, 2008]]
Rangers Football Club has a team in the
Superleague Formula race car series. The Rangers F.C. team has been operated by
Alan Docking Racing. In 2008
Ryan Dalziel drove for Rangers F.C. in the teams maiden sason.
James Walker also drove for the team in one round of the
2008 season and posted their best result, a fourth place finish.
For the 2009 season, the team were much more successful with Australian driver John Martin posting 3 podium places including one win at Donington Park.
The Rangers team did not compete in the 2010 Superleague Formula season as it was not named in the provisional entry list, which included which race teams might operate each car.
References
External links
Rangers History Project
Rangers Media
Category:Scottish football clubs
Category:Association football clubs established in 1873
Category:Sport in Glasgow
Category:Govan
Category:Publicly traded sports companies
Category:Superleague Formula clubs
Category:Culture in Glasgow
Category:Scottish Premier League teams
Category:1873 establishments in Scotland
![Glasgow Rangers Football Club [SPL Champions 2011] 3 In A Row!](http://web.archive.org./web/20110830020456im_/http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Sz_vn7aOskE/0.jpg "Glasgow Rangers Football Club [SPL Champions 2011] 3 In A Row!")
