2003–04 Rangers F.C. season

Rangers
2003–04 season
Chairman John McClelland
Manager Alex McLeish
Ground Ibrox Stadium
Scottish Premier League 2nd
P38 W25 D6 L7 F76 A33
Scottish Cup Quarter-finals
League Cup Semi-finals
Champions League Group Stage
Top goalscorer League:
Shota Arveladze (12)
All:
Shota Arveladze (15)
Highest home attendance 49,962 vs Aberdeen
(22 November)
Lowest home attendance 29,395 vs St. Johnstone
(3 December)
Home colours
Away colours
Third colours

The 2003–04 season is the 123rd season of competitive football by Rangers.

Overview

Rangers played a total of 52 competitive matches during the 2003–04 season. The season ended trophyless. Due to the club's financial situation they had to resort to selling many top players. These included Barry Ferguson, Lorenzo Amoruso and Neil McCann, they also released high earners Arthur Numan and Bert Konterman.

Despite starting the season well with seven consecutive wins and topping the table, a 1–0 loss at home to Celtic F.C. in October saw Rangers season unravel. Inconsistent form and three old firm derby defeats saw Rangers fall behind Celtic in the title race and ended up finishing 17 points off top spot.

The Scottish Cup campaign ended in the third round after a 1–0 defeat to Celtic. The League Cup campaign also ended in defeat at the semi-final stage to Hibernian at Hampden Park, 4–3 on penalties.

In Europe Rangers managed to qualify for the group stages of the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League with a win over F.C. Copenhagen in the third qualifying round. They were drawn in the group stages alongside English Champions Manchester United, Stuttgart and Panathinaikos. Despite earning 4 points from the first two matches Rangers were to finish bottom of the group.

Players

Transfers

In

N
P
Nat.
Name
Age
Moving from
Type
Transfer
window
Ends
Transfer
fee
Source
20 MF Portugal Nuno Capucho 31 Porto Portugal Transfer Summer 2005 £0.67m [1]
15 DF Georgia (country) Zurab Khizanishvili 21 Dundee Transfer Summer 2006 Free [2]
16 DF Italy Paolo Vanoli 30 Bologna Italy Transfer Summer 2005 Free [3]
25 DF Norway Henning Berg 33 Blackburn Rovers England Transfer Summer 2004 Free [3]
4 MF Brazil Emerson 31 Atlético Madrid Spain Transfer Summer 2005 Free [4]
9 FW Norway Egil Østenstad 31 Blackburn Rovers England Transfer Summer 2004 Free [5]
37 MF Tunisia Hamed Namouchi 19 Cannes France Transfer n/a 2005 Free [6]
MF France Marc Kalenga 18 Auxerre France Transfer n/a 2004 Free [6]
11 MF Scotland Gavin Rae 26 Dundee Transfer Winter 2007 £0.25m [7]
5 DF Netherlands Frank de Boer 33 Galatasaray Turkey Transfer Winter 2004 Free [8]
52 FW Republic of Macedonia Bajram Fetai 18 B.93 Denmark Transfer Winter 2006 £0.2m [9]

Last updated: 8 December 2014
Total spending: £1.12m

Out

N
P
Nat.
Name
Age
Moving to
Type
Transfer
window
Transfer
fee
Source
25 CB Norway Dan Eggen 33 Free Agent End of contract Summer n/a [10]
5 LB Netherlands Arthur Numan 33 Retired End of contract Summer n/a [10][11]
7 CF Argentina Claudio Caniggia 35 Free Agent End of contract Summer n/a [10][12]
CF Scotland Stephen Dobbie 20 Hibernian End of contract Summer n/a [10]
DF Scotland Marc Twaddle 16 Falkirk End of contract Summer n/a [10]
MF Scotland Jimmy Gibson 20 Clyde End of contract Summer n/a [10]
15 CB Netherlands Bert Konterman 32 Vitesse Netherlands End of contract Summer n/a [10]
16 LB France Jerome Bonnissel 30 Fulham England End of contract Summer n/a [10][13]
44 DF England Paul Reid 21 Northampton Town England Transfer Summer £0.1m [14]
3 CB Italy Lorenzo Amoruso 32 Blackburn Rovers England Transfer Summer £1.4m [15]
11 LW Scotland Neil McCann 28 Southampton England Transfer Summer £1.5m [16]
6 CM Scotland Barry Ferguson 25 Blackburn Rovers England Transfer Summer £7.5m [17]
17 RB Australia Kevin Muscat 30 Millwall England Transfer Summer Free [18]
30 GK Denmark Jesper Christiansen 25 Viborg FF Denmark Transfer Winter Free [19]
9 CF Norway Egil Østenstad 32 Free Agent Transfer n/a n/a [20]

Last updated: 31 January 2004
Total received: £10.5m

Player statistics

No. Player Position Appearances Goals
1 Germany Klos, StefanStefan Klos GK 46 0
2 Netherlands Ricksen, FernandoFernando Ricksen DF 42 1
3 Australia Moore, CraigCraig Moore DF 25 2
4 Brazil , EmersonEmerson MF 18 1
5 Netherlands de Boer, FrankFrank de Boer DF 17 2
6 Scotland Ferguson, BarryBarry Ferguson MF 5 0
7 Georgia (country) Arveladze, ShotaShota Arveladze FW 29 15
8 Germany Nerlinger, ChristianChristian Nerlinger MF 21 5
9 Norway Østenstad, EgilEgil Østenstad FW 17 2
10 Netherlands Mols, MichaelMichael Mols FW 45 12
11 Scotland Rae, GavinGavin Rae MF 11 2
12 Scotland Malcolm, RobertRobert Malcolm DF 17 0
14 Netherlands de Boer, RonaldRonald de Boer MF 21 3
15 Georgia (country) Khizanishvili, ZurabZurab Khizanishvili DF 38 0
16 Italy Vanoli, PaoloPaolo Vanoli DF 35 1
17 Australia Muscat, KevinKevin Muscat DF 0 0
18 England Ball, MichaelMichael Ball DF 43 1
19 Scotland Thompson, StevenSteven Thompson FW 19 8
20 Portugal Capucho, NunoNuno Capucho MF 32 6
21 Scotland Ross, MauriceMaurice Ross DF 30 1
22 Scotland McGregor, AllanAllan McGregor GK 6 0
23 Spain Arteta, MikelMikel Arteta MF 33 9
24 Scotland MacLean, StevenSteven MacLean FW 0 0
25 Norway Berg, HenningHenning Berg DF 30 0
26 Denmark Løvenkrands, PeterPeter Løvenkrands MF 36 13
27 Scotland Hughes, StephenStephen Hughes MF 28 3
29 Denmark Christiansen, JesperJesper Christiansen GK 0 0
30 Scotland Burke, ChrisChris Burke MF 26 4
32 Scotland Hutton, AlanAlan Hutton DF 11 1
37 Tunisia Namouchi, HamedHamed Namouchi MF 9 3
38 Scotland Duffy, DarrylDarryl Duffy FW 3 0
40 Scotland Walker, AlexAlex Walker MF 2 0
45 Scotland Adam, CharlieCharlie Adam MF 2 0
48 Scotland MacKenzie, GaryGary MacKenzie DF 2 0
49 Scotland Davidson, RobertRobert Davidson FW 1 0
50 Scotland McCormack, RossRoss McCormack FW 1 0
52 Republic of Macedonia Fetai, BajramBajram Fetai FW 1 0

Club

Board of directors

Position Staff
Chairman Scotland John McClelland
Honorary chairman Scotland David Murray
Director of Football Business Scotland Martin Bain
Director of Finance Scotland Douglas Odam
(until 28 August)
Scotland David Jolliffe
(from 1 August)
Director of Retail England Nick Peel
Company Secretary Scotland Campbell Ogilvie
Non-executive director Scotland John Greig
(from 11 February)
Non-executive director Scotland Alastair Johnston
(from 11 February)
Non-executive director Scotland Dave King
Non-executive director England Daniel Levy
Non-executive director Scotland Donald Wilson
Non-executive director Scotland Ian Skelly
(until 27 June)

Source:

Coaching staff

Position Staff
Manager Scotland Alex McLeish
Assistant Manager Scotland Andy Watson
First-team coach Netherlands Jan Wouters
Goalkeepers coach Scotland Billy Thomson

Source: Wikipedia article

Other staff

Position Staff
Physiotherapist Scotland Davie Henderson
Doctor Scotland Dr Iain McGuiness
Chief scout Scotland Ewan Chester
Kit controller Scotland Jimmy Bell

Source: Wikipedia article

Matches

Scottish Premier League

DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
9 August 2003KilmarnockH4–049,108Løvenkrands, Mols, Arteta (2)
16 August 2003 Aberdeen A 3–2 16,348 R. de Boer, Arteta, Mols
23 August 2003 Hibernian H 5–2 49,642 Mols (2), O'Connor (o.g.), Arteta, Burke
31 August 2003 Dundee United A 3–1 11,111 Capucho, Arveladze, Arteta (pen.)
13 September 2003 Dunfermline Athletic H 4–0 49,072 Thompson, Mols, Arveladze, Capucho
21 September 2003 Heart of Midlothian A 4–0 14,732 Arveladze (2), Løvenkrands (2)
27 September 2003 Dundee H 3–1 49,548 Arveladze (2), Vanoli
4 October 2003 Celtic H 0–1 49,825
19 October 2003 Motherwell A 1–1 10,824 Arveladze
25 October 2003 Livingston A 0–0 9,627
1 November 2003 Partick Thistle H 3–1 49,551 Arteta (2, 1 pen.), Mols
9 November 2003 Kilmarnock A 3–2 12,204 Arveladze (2), Capucho
22 November 2003 Aberdeen H 3–0 49,962 Løvenkrands (2), Hughes
30 November 2003 Hibernian A 1–0 11,160 Hughes
6 December 2003 Dundee United H 2–1 49,307 Capucho, Løvenkrands
14 December 2003 Dunfermline Athletic A 0–2 8,592
20 December 2003 Hearts H 2–1 49,592 Arveladze, Burke
28 December 2003 Dundee A 2–0 10,948 Capucho, Ball
3 January 2004 Celtic A 0–3 59,087
17 January 2004 Motherwell H 1–0 48,925 Arveladze
24 January 2004 Livingston H 1–0 48,638 Nerlinger
1 February 2004 Partick Thistle A 1–0 8,220 Løvenkrands
11 February 2004 Kilmarnock H 2–0 46,900 Moore, Namouchi
14 February 2004 Aberdeen A 1–1 15,815 F.de Boer
21 February 2004 Hibernian H 3–0 49,698 Arveladze, Mols, Thompson
29 February 2004 Dundee United A 0–2 10,497
13 March 2004 Hearts A 1–1 14,598 Moore
20 March 2004 Dundee H 4–0 49,364 Løvenkrands, F.de Boer, Rae, Thompson
23 March 2004 Dunfermline Athletic H 4–1 47,487 Hutton, Løvenkrands, R.de Boer, Mols
28 March 2004 Celtic H 1–2 49,909 Thompson
4 April 2004 Motherwell A 1–0 8,967 Hughes
14 April 2004 Livingston A 1–1 6,096 Mols
17 April 2004 Partick Thistle H 2–0 49,279 Thompson, Rae
24 April 2004 Dundee United A 3–3 8,339 Thompson (2), Namouchi
1 May 2004 Motherwell H 4–0 47,579 Arteta, Ross, Namouchi, Thompson
8 May 2004 Celtic A 0–1 59,180
12 May 2004 Hearts H 0–1 47,467
16 May 2004 Dunfermline Athletic A 3–2 6,798 Ricksen, Burke, McCormack (pen.)

UEFA Champions League

DateRoundOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
13 August 2003 QR3FC CopenhagenH1–147,401Løvenkrands
27 August 2003 QR3FC CopenhagenA2–135,519Arteta (pen.), Arveladze
16 September 2003 GSVfB StuttgartH2–147,957Nerlinger, Løvenkrands
1 October 2003 GSPanathinaikosA1–113,718Emerson
22 October 2003 GSManchester UnitedH0–148,730
4 November 2003 GSManchester UnitedA0–366,707
26 November 2003 GSVfB StuttgartA0–150,348
9 December 2003 GSPanathinaikosH1–348,588Mols

Scottish Cup

DateRoundOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
10 January 2004R3HibernianA2–011,392Arveladze, Løvenkrands
8 February 2004R4KilmarnockA2–011,072R.de Boer, Arveladze (pen.)
7 March 2004QFCelticA0–158,735

League Cup

M
Date
Tournament
Round
Ground
Opponent
Score1
Report
28 October 2003League CupR3HForfar Athletic6 0
3 December 2003League CupQFHSt Johnstone3 0
5 February 2004League CupSFNHibernian1 1
(3-4 pen.)

Last updated: 8 December 2014
Source: Wikipedia article
1Rangers goals come first.
National flags for Ground and Opponent columns are only shown when different to that of Rangers.
M = Match; Ground: H = Home, A = Away, N = Neutral, HR = Home replacement, AR = Away replacement.

Friendlies

DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
16 July 2003Greuther FürthN2–03,500Thompson (2)
19 July 2003VfB AuerbachA5–12,500Mols (3), Capucho, Løvenkrands
19 July 2003Erzgebirge AueA1–02,500R.de Boer
22 July 2003Jahn RegensburgA1–25,000Nerlinger
26 July 2003EvertonH2–328,000Thompson, Mols
30 July 2003LinfieldA3–013,284R.de Boer, Dowie, MacLean
5 August 2003ArsenalH0–337,000

Competitions

Overall

Competition Started roundCurrent
position / round
Final
position / round
First match Last match
Template:Fb competition 2003-04 SPL 2nd 11 August4 May
Template:Fb competition 2003-04 SCC Template:Fb round2 2003-04 SCC R3 Template:Fb round2 2003-04 SCC QF 29 July18 September
League Cup Template:Fb round2 2003-04 SL Cup R3 Template:Fb round2 2003-04 SL Cup SF 7 August31 October
Template:Fb competition 2003-04 SC Template:Fb round2 2003-04 SC QR3 Template:Fb round2 2003-04 SC GS 29 September2 February

Source: Competitions

Scottish Third Division

Standings

Pos
Team
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
Qualification or relegation
1 Celtic 38 31 5 2 105 25+80 98 2004–05 UEFA Champions League Group stage
2 Rangers 38 25 6 7 76 33+43 81 2004–05 UEFA Champions League Third qualifying round
3 Heart of Midlothian 38 19 11 8 56 40+16 68 2004–05 UEFA Cup First round
4 Dunfermline Athletic 38 14 11 13 45 527 53 2004–05 UEFA Cup Qualifying round

Updated to games played on 2 May 2004.
Source: Wikipedia article
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head goals scored; 5) goal difference; 6) number of goals scored
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.
Head-to-Head: used when head-to-head record is used to rank tied teams.

Results summary

OverallHomeAway
PldWDLGFGAGDPtsWDLGFGAGDWDLGFGAGD
18 14 3 1 51 14 +37 45 8 0 0 26 3 +23 6 3 1 25 11 +14

Last updated: 2 January 2013.
Source: Wikipedia article

Results by round

Round123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536
GroundAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAHAA
Result D W D W D W L W W W W W W W W W W W

Last updated: 2 January 2013.
Source: Wikipedia article
Ground: A = Away; H = Home. Result: D = Draw; L = Loss; W = Win; P = Postponed.

References

  1. "Capucho joins Rangers". BBC Sport. 17 June 2003.
  2. "Rangers seal Zura deal". BBC Sport. 18 July 2003.
  3. 3.0 3.1 "Berg signs on at Rangers". BBC Sport. 5 August 2003.
  4. "Gers win Emerson race". BBC Sport. 29 August 2003.
  5. "Ostenstad joins Rangers". BBC Sport. 30 August 2003.
  6. 6.0 6.1 "Gers snap up French duo". BBC Sport. 18 September 2003.
  7. "Rangers parade signing Rae". BBC Sport. 31 December 2003.
  8. "Rangers sign second de Boer". BBC Sport. 26 January 2004.
  9. "Rangers sign young striker". BBC Sport. 31 January 2004.
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 10.7 "SPL ins and outs". BBC Sport. 4 August 2003.
  11. "Numan to retire". BBC Sport. 18 February 2003.
  12. "Caniggia considers other offers". BBC Sport. 12 February 2003.
  13. "Fulham sign Bonnissel". BBC Sport. 1 August 2003.
  14. "SPL ins and outs". BBC Sport. 4 August 2003.
  15. "Blackburn sign Amoruso". BBC Sport. 14 July 2003.
  16. "McCann makes Saints switch". BBC Sport. 5 August 2003.
  17. "Rovers sign Ferguson". BBC Sport. 29 August 2003.
  18. "Millwall land Muscat". BBC Sport. 29 August 2003.
  19. "Christiansen leaving Rangers". BBC Sport. 16 January 2004.
  20. "Ostenstad to leave Ibrox". BBC Sport. 19 December 2003.