This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "1987–88 Rangers F.C. season" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(January 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| 1987–88 season | |
|---|---|
| Chairman | David Holmes |
| Manager | Graeme Souness |
| Ground | Ibrox Stadium |
| Scottish Premier Division | 3rd |
| Scottish Cup | Fourth round |
| League Cup | Winners |
| European Cup | Quarter-finals |
| Top goalscorer | League: Ally McCoist (31) All: Ally McCoist (42) |
The1987–88 season was the 108th season of competitivefootball byRangers.
Rangers played a total of 58 competitive matches during the 1987–88 season. The team finished a disappointing third in theScottish Premier Division with 60 points, two behindHearts and twelve behind championsCeltic.
Future club captain Richard Gough was signed from Tottenham Hotspur for a club record fee of £1.1m.
In the cup competitions, they were knocked out of theScottish Cup in the fourth round, losing 2–0 away toDunfermline Athletic. They won theLeague Cup (Skol Cup), defeatingAberdeen 5–3 on penalties after the match was drawn 3–3.
The European campaign was fairly successful. The club reached the quarter-final of theEuropean Cup after beatingDynamo Kiev andGórnik Zabrze before being knocked out bySteaua Bucharest.
Rangers defeated English Champions Everton in theDubai Super Cup in December. The match ended 2–2 with Rangers winning the penalty shootout 8–7. The match was dubbed the unofficial British Championship decider by the football media.
| Date | Player | From | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 1987 | [1] | ||
| 1987 | [1] | ||
| September 1987 | £75,000[1] | ||
| 2 October 1987 | £1,100,000[2] | ||
| 30 December 1987 | £500,000[3] | ||
| 15 January 1988 | £350,000[4] | ||
| 15 February 1988 | £850,000[5] |
| Date | Player | From | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| December 1987 | £580,000[1] |
All results are written with Rangers' score first.
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 August 1987 | Dundee United | H | 1–1 | 39,120 | McCoist (pen.) |
| 12 August 1987 | Hibernian | A | 0–1 | 22,000 | |
| 15 August 1987 | Aberdeen | A | 0–2 | 22,568 | |
| 22 August 1987 | Falkirk | H | 4–0 | 32,340 | McCoist (3), Falco |
| 29 August 1987 | Celtic | A | 0–1 | 60,800 | |
| 5 September 1987 | Dundee | H | 2–1 | 38,302 | Fleck, McCoist |
| 12 September 1987 | Dunfermline Athletic | H | 4–0 | 39,749 | McCoist (3), Souness |
| 19 September 1987 | Motherwell | A | 1–0 | 19,480 | Philliben (o.g.) |
| 26 September 1987 | Greenock Morton | H | 7–0 | 35,843 | McCoist (3), Falco (3), Fleck |
| 3 October 1987 | Heart of Midlothian | A | 0–0 | 28,637 | |
| 6 October 1987 | St Mirren | H | 3–1 | 39,298 | Falco, Butcher, Souness |
| 10 October 1987 | Dundee United | A | 0–1 | 18,214 | |
| 17 October 1987 | Celtic | H | 2–2 | 44,500 | McCoist, Gough |
| 28 October 1987 | Dunfermline Athletic | A | 4–0 | 18,070 | Durrant (2), McCall (pen.), McCoist |
| 31 October 1987 | Motherwell | H | 1–0 | 36,583 | McCoist |
| 7 November 1987 | Hibernian | H | 1–0 | 37,571 | Fleck |
| 14 November 1987 | St Mirren | A | 2–2 | 20,649 | McCoist (2) |
| 17 November 1987 | Aberdeen | H | 0–1 | 41,371 | |
| 21 November 1987 | Falkirk | A | 1–0 | 17,500 | Fleck |
| 24 November 1987 | Greenock Morton | A | 3–0 | 16,500 | D.Ferguson, Fleck, McCoist |
| 28 November 1987 | Heart of Midlothian | H | 3–2 | 43,557 | Fleck, Durrant, Levein (o.g.) |
| 5 December 1987 | Dundee United | H | 1–0 | 41,159 | McCoist |
| 12 December 1987 | Hibernian | A | 2–0 | 21,000 | Gough, Fleck |
| 14 December 1987 | Dunfermline Athletic | H | 2–2 | 31,687 | D.Ferguson, McCoist |
| 19 December 1987 | Motherwell | A | 2–0 | 15,436 | McCoist (pen.), Philiben (o.g.) |
| 26 December 1987 | Dundee | H | 2–0 | 40,938 | McCoist (2, 1 (pen.)) |
| 2 January 1988 | Celtic | A | 0–2 | 60,800 | |
| 6 January 1988 | Dundee | A | 1–0 | 17,450 | McCoist |
| 9 January 1988 | Greenock Morton | H | 5–0 | 38,349 | McCoist (3), Durrant |
| 16 January 1988 | Heart of Midlothian | A | 1–1 | 28,967 | Durrant (pen.) |
| 23 January 1988 | Falkirk | H | 3–1 | 41,088 | Bartram, Brown, Durrant (pen.) |
| 6 February 1988 | Aberdeen | A | 2–1 | 22,500 | McCoist, Gough |
| 13 February 1988 | St Mirren | H | 4–0 | 41,664 | Cooper, Walters, Wilkins, Gough |
| 27 February 1988 | Dundee United | A | 1–1 | 20,846 | Walters |
| 5 March 1988 | Dunfermline Athletic | A | 3–0 | 19,017 | McCoist (pen.), Walters, Gough |
| 12 March 1988 | Motherwell | H | 1–0 | 39,650 | Durrant |
| 20 March 1988 | Celtic | H | 1–2 | 43,650 | Bartram |
| 26 March 1988 | Dundee | A | 3–2 | 14,879 | Roberts, Walters, Durrant (pen.) |
| 2 April 1988 | Heart of Midlothian | H | 1–2 | 41,125 | Bartram |
| 9 April 1988 | Greenock Morton | A | 2–3 | 12,000 | I.Ferguson, Durrant |
| 16 April 1988 | Hibernian | H | 1–1 | 32,218 | D.Ferguson |
| 23 April 1988 | St Mirren | A | 3–0 | 13,809 | Walters, Brown, McCoist |
| 30 April 1988 | Aberdeen | H | 0–1 | 36,010 | |
| 7 May 1988 | Falkirk | A | 5–0 | 14,500 | Walters (2), McCoist (2, 1 (pen.)), D.Ferguson |
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 August 1987 | R2 | Stirling Albion | A | 2–1 | 13,000 | Falco, McCoist |
| 26 August 1987 | R3 | Dunfermline Athletic | A | 4–1 | 18,070 | McCoist (3, 1 (pen.)), Falco |
| 2 September 1987 | QF | Heart of Midlothian | H | 4–1 | 40,920 | Durrant (2), McCoist (2, 1 (pen.)) |
| 23 September 1987 | SF | Motherwell | N | 3–1 | 45,938 | Fleck, Falco, Kirk (o.g.) |
| 25 October 1987 | F | Aberdeen | N | 3–3 | 71,961 | Cooper, Durrant, Fleck |
*Rangers won the match 5–3 on penalties
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 January 1988 | R3 | Raith Rovers | A | 0–0 | 9,500 | |
| 10 February 1988 | R3 R | Raith Rovers | H | 4–1 | 35,144 | Durrant (2, 1 (pen.)), Walters, McCoist |
| 20 February 1988 | R4 | Dunfermline Athletic | A | 0–2 | 19,360 |
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 September 1987 | R1 | A | 0–1 | 100,000 | ||
| 30 September 1987 | R1 | H | 2–0 | 44,500 | Falco, McCoist | |
| 21 October 1987 | R2 | H | 3–1 | 41,366 | McCoist, Durrant, Falco | |
| 4 November 1987 | R2 | A | 1–1 | 23,250 | McCoist (pen.) | |
| 2 March 1988 | QF | A | 0–2 | 33,000 | ||
| 16 March 1988 | QF | H | 2–1 | 44,000 | Gough, McCoist (pen.) |
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 December 1987 | F | N | 2–2* | 8,000 | Fleck, McCoist |
*Rangers won the match 8–7 on penalties
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 April 1988 | SF | Partick Thistle | A | 2–1* | 4,500 | Cooper, Spencer |
*Competition not completed
| Player | Position | Appearances | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| GK | 6 | 0 | |
| GK | 52 | 0 | |
| DF | 14 | 3 | |
| DF | 12 | 2 | |
| DF | 18 | 1 | |
| DF | 12 | 0 | |
| DF | 36 | 6 | |
| DF | 32 | 0 | |
| DF | 22 | 0 | |
| DF | 33 | 0 | |
| DF | 29 | 0 | |
| DF | 27 | 0 | |
| DF | 50 | 1 | |
| MF | 43 | 2 | |
| MF | 54 | 16 | |
| MF | 43 | 4 | |
| MF | 8 | 1 | |
| MF | 28 | 9 | |
| MF | 7 | 0 | |
| MF | 1 | 0 | |
| MF | 12 | 1 | |
| MF | 30 | 2 | |
| MF | 21 | 8 | |
| MF | 29 | 1 | |
| FW | 19 | 10 | |
| FW | 25 | 0 | |
| FW | 53 | 42 | |
| FW | 1 | 0 | |
| FW | 1 | 0 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Celtic(C) | 44 | 31 | 10 | 3 | 79 | 23 | +56 | 72 | Qualification for theEuropean Cup first round |
| 2 | Heart of Midlothian | 44 | 23 | 16 | 5 | 74 | 32 | +42 | 62 | Qualification for theUEFA Cup first round |
| 3 | Rangers | 44 | 26 | 8 | 10 | 85 | 34 | +51 | 60 | |
| 4 | Aberdeen | 44 | 21 | 17 | 6 | 56 | 25 | +31 | 59 | |
| 5 | Dundee United | 44 | 16 | 15 | 13 | 54 | 47 | +7 | 47 | Qualification for theCup Winners' Cup first round |