Rangers F.C. season 2007-08

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Rangers
Season 2007-08
Manager Walter Smith
Chairman David Murray
League Scottish Premier League
Final league position 2nd
P38 W27 D5 L6 F84 A33
Scottish Cup Winners
League Cup Winners
Champions League Group Stage
UEFA Cup Runners-up
Top goalscorer League: Kris Boyd (14)
All: Kris Boyd (25)
← Previous season
2006-07
Next season →
2008-09
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The 2007-08 season is the 111th season of competitive football by Rangers.

Contents

[edit] Overview

Rangers played a total of 68 competitive matches during the 2007-08 season. It was Walter Smith's first full season at the club since 1997-98. The early season priority was qualification for the group stages of the Champions League and this was secured with hard-fought victories over FK Zeta and Red Star Belgrade.

Rangers were drawn in Group E with Barcelona, Lyon and Stuttgart. The group stage started well, with the first two matches resulting in victories, over Stuttgart and Lyon. A home draw with Barcelona left Rangers with seven points after three games, but the last three matches all resulted in defeat, meaning Rangers finished third in the group and entered the UEFA Cup. However, the European adventure continued for Rangers as they progressed to the semi finals of the competition by beating Panathinaikos, Werder Bremen and Sporting Lisbon and then reached the final with a penalty shoot-out victory against Fiorentina. They played FC Zenit Saint Petersburg in Manchester on 14 May, the Russian side was managed by formed Gers boss Dick Advocaat. Rangers lost the match 2-0, with over 100,000 fans in the city to see the game.

On the domestic front, the race for the Scottish Premier League continued until the final matchday of the season. Both Celtic and Rangers were tied on 86 points going into their games (against Dundee United and Aberdeen respectively) on 22 May 2008, but Celtic were top of the table due to having a better goal difference of 57, four ahead of Rangers. This did not prove to be decisive, as Rangers surrendered their hopes of landing the championship with a 2-0 defeat away to the Dons. The club had had a ten-point lead in late March.

The club appeared in its first final since 2005. They played Dundee United on March 16, 2008 and won the League Cup on penalties. The match was tied 2-2 after extra time, with both goals coming from Kris Boyd who also scored the winning spot kick.

They also reached the final of the Scottish Cup for the 49th time. They beat St. Johnstone 4-3 on penalties in the semi-final after the score was tied at 1-1 after extra time. The club played Queen of the South in the final on 24 May 2008 and won the match 3-2 thanks to goals from DaMarcus Beasley and a double from Kris Boyd.

[edit] Transfers

[edit] In:

Name From Fee
Flag of Spain Carlos Cuéllar[1] CA Osasuna £2,370,000
Flag of Scotland Lee McCulloch[2] Wigan Athletic £2,250,000
Flag of Scotland Steven Whittaker[3] Hibernian £2,000,000
Flag of Scotland Steven Naismith[4] Kilmarnock £1,900,000
Flag of Gabon Daniel Cousin[5] RC Lens £750,000
Flag of the United States DaMarcus Beasley[6] PSV Eindhoven £700,000
Flag of Norway Thomas Kind Bendiksen[7] Harstad IL Undisclosed
Flag of Sweden Isa Bagci[8] BK Häcken Undisclosed
Flag of Scotland Neil Alexander[9] Ipswich Undisclosed
Flag of Scotland Kirk Broadfoot[10] St. Mirren Free
Flag of Northern Ireland Roy Carroll[11] West Ham United Free
Flag of France Jean-Claude Darcheville[12] Bordeaux Free
Flag of Cyprus Giorgos Efrem[13] Arsenal Free
Flag of Scotland Alan Gow[14] Falkirk Free
Flag of Scotland Graeme Smith[15] Kilmarnock Free
Flag of Scotland Christian Dailly[16] West Ham United Free
Flag of Latvia Arturs Vaiculis[8] St. Mirren Free
Flag of Spain Luis Borja Lazaro Atletico Madrid Free
Flag of Senegal Amdy Faye[17] Charlton Athletic Loan
Flag of Austria Marco Michetschlager[18] Admira Wacker Loan
Flag of Scotland Andy Webster[19] Wigan Athletic Loan Extension
Flag of Northern Ireland Steven Davis[20] Fulham Loan

[edit] Out:

Name To Fee
Flag of Scotland Alan Hutton[21] Tottenham Hotspur £9,000,000
Flag of Sweden Karl Svensson[22] SM Caen £700,000
Flag of the Czech Republic Libor Sionko[23] F.C. Copenhagen Undisclosed
Flag of England Lee Robinson[24] Greenock Morton Loan
Flag of Slovakia Filip Šebo[25] Valenciennes Loan
Flag of Scotland Gavin Rae[26] Cardiff City Free
Flag of Scotland Ian Murray[27] Norwich City Free
Flag of England Ugo Ehiogu[28] Sheffield United Free
Flag of Northern Ireland Roy Carroll[29] Derby County Free
Flag of Scotland Steven Campbell[30] Airdrie United Free
Flag of France Antoine Ponroy AS Cannes Free
Flag of Scotland Martin Ure[31] Queen's Park Free
Flag of Scotland Scott Hadden[32] Ross County Free
Flag of England Joe Sagar[33] Porthmadog Free
Flag of Senegal Makhtar N'Diaye Unattached Released
Flag of Scotland Sam Woods Unattached Released
Flag of Germany Stefan Klos [34] Unattached Retired
Flag of Croatia Dado Pršo[35] Unattached Retired
Flag of Austria Marco Michetschlager [36] Admira Wacker Loan Return

[edit] Results

All results are written with Rangers' score first.

[edit] Scottish Premier League

Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
04 Aug 2007 Inverness A 3-0 7,711 Ferguson (2), Novo
11 Aug 2007 St Mirren H 2-0 47,772 Ferguson, Cousin
18 Aug 2007 Falkirk H 7-2 47,419 Cousin (2), Whittaker, Boyd, Darcheville (2), Broadfoot
25 Aug 2007 Kilmarnock A 2-1 11,544 Beasley, Darcheville
01 Sep 2007 Gretna H 4-0 49,689 Boyd, Webster, Cuéllar, Collin (og)
15 Sep 2007 Hearts A 2-4 15,948 Cousin (pen), Beasley
23 Sep 2007 Aberdeen H 3-0 49,046 McCulloch, Naismith, Boyd
29 Sep 2007 Motherwell A 1-1 10,009 Boyd (pen)
06 Oct 2007 Hibernian H 0-1 50,440
20 Oct 2007 Celtic H 3-0 50,428 Novo (2, 1 pen), Ferguson
28 Oct 2007 Dundee United A 1-2 12,129 Cousin (pen)
03 Nov 2007 Inverness H 2-0 48,898 Boyd, Cuéllar
24 Nov 2007 Falkirk A 3-1 6,627 Cuéllar, Darcheville, Boyd
01 Dec 2007 Kilmarnock H 2-0 48,055 Darcheville, Whittaker
15 Dec 2007 Hearts H 2-1 48,392 McCulloch (2)
23 Dec 2007 Aberdeen A 1-1 17,798 Adam
26 Dec 2007 Motherwell H 3-1 49,823 Cousin, Porter (og), Boyd
29 Dec 2007 Hibernian A 2-1 16,217 Naismith, Cousin
05 Jan 2008 Dundee United H 2-0 48,559 Naismith, Ferguson
16 Jan 2008 Gretna A 2-1 6,137 Ferguson, Cousin
19 Jan 2008 Inverness A 1-0 7,753 Darcheville
26 Jan 2008 St Mirren H 4-0 49,198 Burke, Boyd, Whittaker (2)
09 Feb 2008 Falkirk H 2-0 48,590 Boyd, Naismith
17 Feb 2008 Kilmarnock A 2-0 10,546 Cuéllar, Boyd (pen)
24 Feb 2008 Gretna H 4-2 48,375 Cousin, Naismith, Burke, Boyd
27 Feb 2008 Hearts A 4-0 16,173 Darcheville (2), Novo (2)
01 Mar 2008 Aberdeen H 3-1 50,066 Dailly, Adam, Boyd
22 Mar 2008 Hibernian H 2-1 50,117 Darcheville, Novo
29 Mar 2008 Celtic H 1-0 50,325 Thomson
06 Apr 2008 Dundee United A 3-3 11,214 Weir, Novo, Boyd
16 Apr 2008 Celtic A 1-2 58,964 Novo
27 Apr 2008 Celtic A 2-3 58,662 Weir, Cousin
04 May 2008 Hibernian A 0-0 16,872
07 May 2008 Motherwell H 1-0 48,238 Ferguson
10 May 2008 Dundee United H 3-1 30,293 Novo (2), Darcheville
17 May 2008 Motherwell A 1-1 10,445 Dailly
19 May 2008 St Mirren A 3-0 7,439 Boyd, Darcheville (2)
22 May 2008 Aberdeen A 0-2 17,509

[edit] UEFA Champions League

Date Round Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
31 Jul 2007 QR2 FK Zeta H 2-0 33,000 Weir, McCulloch
07 Aug 2007 QR2 FK Zeta A 1-0 11,000 Beasley
14 Aug 2007 QR3 Red Star Belgrade H 1-0 35,364 Novo
28 Aug 2007 QR3 Red Star Belgrade A 0-0 47,012
19 Sep 2007 GS VfB Stuttgart H 2-1 49,795 Adam, Darcheville (pen)
21 Oct 2007 GS Lyon A 3-0 38,067 McCulloch, Cousin, Beasley
23 Oct 2007 GS Barcelona H 0-0 49,957
07 Nov 2007 GS Barcelona A 0-2 82,887
27 Nov 2007 GS VfB Stuttgart A 2-3 51,000 Adam, Ferguson
12 Dec 2007 GS Lyon H 0-3 50,062

[edit] UEFA Cup

Date Round Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
13 Feb 2008 R3 Panathinaikos H 0-0 45,203
21 Feb 2008 R3 Panathinaikos A 1-1 14,452 Novo
06 Mar 2008 R4 Werder Bremen H 2-0 45,959 Cousin, Davis
13 Mar 2008 R4 Werder Bremen A 0-1 33,660
03 Apr 2008 QF Sporting Lisbon H 0-0 48,923
10 Apr 2008 QF Sporting Lisbon A 2-0 31,155 Darcheville, Whittaker
24 Apr 2008 SF Fiorentina H 0-0 49,199
01 May 2008 SF Fiorentina A 0-0* 39,130
14 May 2008 F Zenit Saint Petersburg N 0-2 47,500

*Rangers won the match 4-2 on penalties

[edit] Scottish Cup

Date Round Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
23 Jan 2008 R4 East Stirling H 6-0 34,024 McCulloch (2), Hutton, Boyd (3, 1 pen)
03 Feb 2008 R5 Hibernian A 0-0 11,513
09 Mar 2008 R5 Rpl Hibernian H 1-0 33,837 Burke
19 Mar 2008 QF Partick Thistle H 1-1 36,724 Boyd
13 Apr 2008 QF Rpl Partick Thistle A 2-0 9,909 Novo, Burke
20 Apr 2008 SF St. Johnstone N 1-1* 26,180 Novo (pen)
24 May 2008 F Queen of the South N 3-2 48,821 Boyd (2), Beasley

*Rangers won the match 4-3 on penalties

[edit] League Cup

Date Round Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
26 Sep 2007 R3 East Fife A 4-0 7,413 Novo, Boyd (2, 1 pen), Cuéllar
31 Oct 2007 QF Motherwell A 2-1 9,283 Novo, Boyd
30 Jan 2008 SF Hearts N 2-0 31,989 Ferguson, Darcheville
16 Mar 2008 F Dundee United N 2-2* 50,019 Boyd (2)

*Rangers won the League Cup 3-2 on penalties

[edit] Friendlies

Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
13 Jul 2007 FC Gütersloh A 3-0 1,850 Webster, Boyd (pen), Burke
15 Jul 2007 SV Lippstadt 08 A 4-2 Šebo, Novo (pen), McCulloch (2)
17 Jul 2007 Hannover 96 A 0-1
21 Jul 2007 Falkirk A 1-1 McCulloch
24 Jul 2007 Ajax H 1-1 32,770 Cuéllar
28 Jul 2007 Chelsea H 2-0 50,380 Novo, Šebo

[edit] Player statistics

Alan Hutton takes on Barcelona left back Éric Abidal during the match at the Camp Nou.
Alan Hutton takes on Barcelona left back Éric Abidal during the match at the Camp Nou.
  • ¹ Denotes player has left the club. ² Denotes player joined in the January transfer window.
No. Player Apps Goals YC RC
1 Flag of Scotland McGregor, AllanAllan McGregor 53 0 2 1
2 Flag of Scotland Hutton, AlanAlan Hutton¹ 31 1 13 1
3 Flag of Scotland Weir, DavidDavid Weir 61 3 3 1
4 Flag of Belgium Buffel, ThomasThomas Buffel 5 0 0 0
5 Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina Papac, SašaSaša Papac 46 0 2 0
6 Flag of Scotland Ferguson, BarryBarry Ferguson 62 9 2 0
7 Flag of Algeria Hemdani, BrahimBrahim Hemdani 35 0 2 0
8 Flag of Scotland Thomson, KevinKevin Thomson 44 1 10 0
9 Flag of Scotland Boyd, KrisKris Boyd 41 25 2 0
10 Flag of Spain Novo, NachoNacho Novo 49 16 2 2
11 Flag of Scotland Adam, CharlieCharlie Adam 32 4 4 0
12 Flag of Northern Ireland Davis, StevenSteven Davis² 26 1 0 0
12 Flag of England Ehiogu, UgoUgo Ehiogu¹ 1 0 0 0
14 Flag of Senegal Faye, AmdyAmdy Faye 6 0 1 0
15 Flag of Scotland Gow, AlanAlan Gow 2 0 0 0
16 Flag of Scotland Smith, GraemeGraeme Smith 1 0 0 0
17 Flag of Scotland Burke, ChrisChris Burke 21 4 3 0
18 Flag of Scotland Naismith, StevenSteven Naismith 31 5 2 0
19 Flag of France Darcheville, Jean-ClaudeJean-Claude Darcheville 48 15 1 1
20 Flag of the United States Beasley, DaMarcusDaMarcus Beasley 21 5 2 0
21 Flag of Scotland Broadfoot, KirkKirk Broadfoot 34 1 5 0
22 Flag of Scotland Webster, AndyAndy Webster 1 1 0 0
23 Flag of Scotland Dailly, ChristianChristian Dailly² 22 2 3 0
23 Flag of Slovakia Šebo, FilipFilip Šebo 1 0 0 0
24 Flag of Spain Cuéllar, CarlosCarlos Cuéllar 65 5 6 1
25 Flag of Scotland Alexander, NeilNeil Alexander² 15 0 0 0
25 Flag of Northern Ireland Carroll, RoyRoy Carroll¹ 1 0 0 0
26 Flag of Scotland Smith, StevenSteven Smith 2 0 0 0
27 Flag of Scotland McCulloch, LeeLee McCulloch 46 7 7 1
28 Flag of Scotland Whittaker, StevenSteven Whittaker 48 5 4 1
29 Flag of Gabon Cousin, DanielDaniel Cousin 42 12 1 0
34 Flag of Scotland Emslie, PaulPaul Emslie 1 0 0 0
36 Flag of South Africa Furman, DeanDean Furman 1 0 0 0
43 Flag of Scotland Fleck, JohnJohn Fleck 3 0 0 0

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Rangers clinch signing of Cuellar", BBC Sport, July 6, 2007. 
  2. ^ "Rangers seal McCulloch transfer", BBC Sport, July 11, 2007. 
  3. ^ "Whittaker in £2m Rangers switch", BBC Sport, July 11, 2007. 
  4. ^ "Naismith makes late Rangers move", BBC Sport, August 31, 2007. 
  5. ^ "Cousin completes Rangers switch", BBC Sport, August 9, 2007. 
  6. ^ "Rangers clinch Beasley transfer", BBC Sport, June 27, 2007. 
  7. ^ "Gers land Norwegian starlet", Sky Sports, August 31, 2007. 
  8. ^ a b "Gers sign youth trio", Rangers official website, September 1, 2007. 
  9. ^ "Gers sign Ipswich Goalkeeper", BBC Sport, January 30, 2008. 
  10. ^ "Rangers sign Buddies' Broadfoot", BBC Sport, March 6, 2007. 
  11. ^ "Carroll signs one year Gers deal", BBC Sport, July 7, 2007. 
  12. ^ "Rangers sign striker Darcheville", BBC Sport, May 9, 2007. 
  13. ^ "Walter backs Murray on cash charge", Evening Times, May 30, 2007. 
  14. ^ "Rangers seal Gow summer transfer", BBC Sport, February 1, 2007. 
  15. ^ "Smith leaves Killie for Rangers", BBC Sport, June 27, 2007. 
  16. ^ "Gers sign Dailly", Rangers official website, January 30, 2008. 
  17. ^ "Rangers win race to sign up Faye", BBC Sport, August 31, 2007. 
  18. ^ "Robinson completes move to Morton", BBC Sport, July 10, 2007. 
  19. ^ "Webster extends Ibrox loan deal", BBC Sport, June 29, 2007. 
  20. ^ "Fulham's Davis loaned to Rangers", BBC Sport, January 31, 2008. 
  21. ^ "Spurs complete signing of Hutton", BBC Sport, January 30, 2008. 
  22. ^ "Svensson joins Caen from Rangers", BBC Sport, June 27, 2007. 
  23. ^ "København snap up Sionko", UEFA website, July 29, 2007. 
  24. ^ "Robinson heads to Morton on loan", BBC Sport, July 6, 2007. 
  25. ^ "Sebo offloaded to Valenciennes", BBC Sport, August 22, 2007. 
  26. ^ "Cardiff capture Rae and MacLean", BBC Sport, June 22, 2007. 
  27. ^ "Murray completes move to Norwich", BBC Sport, August 24, 2007. 
  28. ^ "Ehiogu completes move to Blades", BBC Sport, January 18, 2008. 
  29. ^ "Derby capture goalkeeper Carroll", BBC Sport, 31 January 2008. 
  30. ^ "Airdrie snap up defender Campbell", BBC Sport, January 27, 2008. 
  31. ^ "Martin Ure switches to Queen's Park", Queen's Park website, July 19, 2007. 
  32. ^ "Hadden joins Ross County", Ross County website, June 19, 2007. 
  33. ^ "Sagar signs for Porthmadog", Welsh Premier website, July 23, 2007. 
  34. ^ "Concern over Klos, Prso swansong", BBC Sport, 8 May 2007. 
  35. ^ "Prso to part company with Rangers", BBC Sport, March 29, 2007. 
  36. ^ "St Johnstone trial for Austrian", BBC Sport, February 19, 2008.