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| 1989–90 season | |
|---|---|
| Chairman | David Holmes (until 2 June) David Murray (from 2 June) |
| Manager | Graeme Souness |
| Ground | Ibrox Stadium |
| Scottish Premier Division | 1st (champions) |
| Scottish Cup | Fourth round |
| League Cup | Runners-up |
| European Cup | First round |
| Top goalscorer | League: Mo Johnston (15) All: Ally McCoist (18) |
The1989–90 season was the 110th season of competitivefootball byRangers.
Rangers played a total of 45 competitive matches during the 1989–90 season. On 10 July when Rangers, acting on Souness' say so, purchased formerCeltic strikerMo Johnston from French clubNantes for £1.5 million. The fact Rangers signed an ex-Celtic player would have been a big enough story but the fact Johnston was a high-profile Roman Catholic made the move unprecedented. The transfer angered both sides of theOld Firm's support, Rangers because Johnston was an ex-Celt and Catholic (Rangers traditionally did not sign Catholics), and Celtic fans saw Johnston as aturncoat who had already committed to re-join Celtic from Nantes before Rangers made known their interest.
When the season began, Rangers did not. Three matches played in the league, no wins and two defeats. However, the team slowly got into gear, despite only two wins from the first eight games. New arrival Johnston netted the crucial winner during anOld Firm game on 4 November 1989. Scoring the goal in the dying minutes of the match meant Johnston was all but forgiven by the Rangers support. Come May 1990, Rangers' name was on the trophy for the second time in as many seasons but the club again failed to win theScottish Cup, losing to Celtic in the fourth round, and for once did not win the League Cup. The side lost toAberdeen by 2–1 in thefinal.
In Europe they were knocked out theEuropean Cup by German sideBayern Munich, losing the tie 3–1 on aggregate.
| Date | Player | From | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 July 1989 | £1,525,000 | ||
| 10 July 1989 | £1,500,000 | ||
| 15 August 1989 | £200,000 | ||
| 30 August 1989 | £100,000 | ||
| 3 November 1989 | £150,000 | ||
| 30 November 1989 | £500,000 |
| Date | Player | To | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26 May 1989 | Free | ||
| 5 July 1989 | £600,000 | ||
| 26 July 1989 | £50,000 | ||
| 29 July 1989 | £100,000 | ||
| 11 August 1989 | £50,000 | ||
| 22 August 1989 | £125,000 | ||
| 2 October 1989 | £800,000 | ||
| 28 November 1989 | Free | ||
| 10 January 1990 | £200,000 |
All results are written with Rangers' score first.
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 August 1989 | St Mirren | H | 0–1 | 39,951 | |
| 19 August 1989 | Hibernian | A | 0–2 | 22,500 | |
| 26 August 1989 | Celtic | A | 1–1 | 54,000 | Butcher |
| 9 September 1989 | Aberdeen | H | 1–0 | 40,283 | Johnston |
| 16 September 1989 | Dundee | H | 2–2 | 35,836 | McCoist (2) |
| 23 September 1989 | Dunfermline Athletic | A | 1–1 | 17,765 | McCoist |
| 30 September 1989 | Heart of Midlothian | H | 1–0 | 39,554 | Johnston |
| 3 October 1989 | Motherwell | A | 0–1 | 17,667 | |
| 14 October 1989 | Dundee United | H | 2–1 | 36,062 | Johnston, McCoist |
| 25 October 1989 | St Mirren | A | 2–0 | 15,130 | McCoist, Johnston |
| 28 October 1989 | Hibernian | H | 3–0 | 35,260 | McCoist (2), Johnston (pen.) |
| 4 November 1989 | Celtic | H | 1–0 | 41,598 | Johnston |
| 18 November 1989 | Dundee | A | 2–0 | 14,536 | Johnston, Walters |
| 22 November 1989 | Aberdeen | A | 0–1 | 22,500 | |
| 25 November 1989 | Dunfermline Athletic | H | 3–0 | 39,131 | Johnston, Butcher, McCoist |
| 2 December 1989 | Heart of Midlothian | A | 2–1 | 24,771 | Walters, Steven |
| 9 December 1989 | Motherwell | H | 3–0 | 33,549 | Butcher, McCoist, Brown |
| 16 December 1989 | Dundee United | A | 1–1 | 15,947 | Johnston |
| 23 December 1989 | St Mirren | H | 1–0 | 31,797 | Dodds |
| 30 December 1989 | Hibernian | A | 0–0 | 24,500 | |
| 2 January 1990 | Celtic | A | 1–0 | 54,000 | Spackman |
| 6 January 1990 | Aberdeen | H | 2–0 | 41,351 | Walters, McCoist |
| 13 January 1990 | Dundee | H | 3–0 | 36,993 | McCoist, Dodds, Johnston |
| 27 January 1990 | Dunfermline Athletic | A | 1–0 | 17,380 | Steven |
| 3 February 1990 | Dundee United | H | 3–1 | 39,058 | Walters, McCoist, Johnston |
| 10 February 1990 | Motherwell | A | 1–1 | 17,647 | Johnston |
| 17 February 1990 | Heart of Midlothian | H | 0–0 | 41,884 | |
| 3 March 1990 | Dundee | A | 2–2 | 12,743 | Johnston, Dodds |
| 17 March 1990 | St Mirren | A | 0–0 | 16,129 | |
| 24 March 1990 | Hibernian | H | 0–1 | 37,452 | |
| 1 April 1990 | Celtic | H | 3–0 | 41,926 | Walters (pen.), McCoist, Johnston (pen.) |
| 8 April 1990 | Aberdeen | A | 0–0 | 23,000 | |
| 14 April 1990 | Motherwell | H | 2–1 | 39,305 | Steven, Johnston |
| 21 April 1990 | Dundee United | A | 1–0 | 15,995 | Steven |
| 28 April 1990 | Dunfermline Athletic | H | 2–0 | 40,769 | McCoist, Dodds |
| 5 May 1990 | Heart of Midlothian | A | 1–1 | 20,283 | Munro |
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 August 1989 | R2 | Arbroath | H | 4–0 | 31,762 | McCoist (3), I.Ferguson |
| 23 August 1989 | R3 | Greenock Morton | A | 2–1 | 11,821 | Walters, Pickering (o.g.) |
| 30 August 1989 | QF | Hamilton Academical | A | 3–0 | 9,162 | Walters (2), Steven |
| 19 September 1989 | SF | Dunfermline Athletic | N | 5–0 | 41,643 | Steven, Johnston, Walters, McCoist, I.Ferguson |
| 22 October 1989 | F | Aberdeen | N | 1–2* | 61,190 | Walters (pen.) |
*Aberdeen won the match 2–1 in extra-time
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 January 1990 | R3 | St Johnstone | H | 3–0 | 39,003 | Johnston, Brown, Walters |
| 25 February 1990 | R4 | Celtic | A | 0–1 | 52,565 |
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 September 1989 | R1 | H | 1–3 | 40,253 | Walters (pen.) | |
| 27 September 1989 | R1 | A | 0–0 | 40,000 |
| Player | Position | Appearances | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| GK | 8 | 0 | |
| GK | 37 | 0 | |
| DF | 30 | 2 | |
| DF | 43 | 0 | |
| DF | 4 | 0 | |
| DF | 31 | 0 | |
| DF | 45 | 1 | |
| DF | 9 | 0 | |
| DF | 44 | 1 | |
| DF | 9 | 0 | |
| MF | 3 | 0 | |
| MF | 8 | 0 | |
| MF | 32 | 2 | |
| MF | 5 | 0 | |
| MF | 1 | 0 | |
| MF | 1 | 0 | |
| MF | 23 | 1 | |
| MF | 43 | 3 | |
| MF | 36 | 12 | |
| MF | 22 | 0 | |
| FW | 15 | 4 | |
| FW | 7 | 0 | |
| FW | 45 | 17 | |
| FW | 40 | 18 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rangers(C) | 36 | 20 | 11 | 5 | 48 | 19 | +29 | 51 | Qualification for theEuropean Cup first round |
| 2 | Aberdeen | 36 | 17 | 10 | 9 | 56 | 33 | +23 | 44 | Qualification for theCup Winners' Cup first round |
| 3 | Heart of Midlothian | 36 | 16 | 12 | 8 | 54 | 35 | +19 | 44 | Qualification for theUEFA Cup first round |
| 4 | Dundee United | 36 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 36 | 39 | −3 | 35 | |
| 5 | Celtic | 36 | 10 | 14 | 12 | 37 | 37 | 0 | 34 |