Alex McLeish (2001 to 2006)
Despite having not yet reached Christmas, the 2001/02 League challenge already looked beyond Rangers as the Club turned to Hibernian’s Alex McLeish in an effort to halt a Celtic side now dominant under Martin O’Neill. Appointed on the recommendation of outgoing boss Dick Advocaat, McLeish would initially have to contend with the Dutchman’s continued presence within the corridors of Ibrox with Advocaat initially moving “upstairs” as General Manager. It would prove to be a short-term working relationship.
The appointment of McLeish was not universally popular with supporters despite most agreeing that it was time for Advocaat to relinquish the manager’s position. Having worked exclusively in Scotland with provincial sides before joining Hibs, there were those who questioned his ability to make the step up to a Club the sheer magnitude of Rangers. Others were, perhaps, negatively influenced by his association with the hugely successful Aberdeen side of the mid 1980’s. Whilst undoubtedly a “Rangers man” (originally from Barrhead), “Eck” had proved to be a fierce opponent when turning out for the Dons and there were certainly no obvious signs of his strong feelings for the Glasgow Club whenever the teams met. In fact, ill feeling had often run high between the two sides for more than a decade.
Alex took charge of Rangers for the first time on 15th December 2001, returning to Fir Park (where he had finished his playing days and moved into management) to face Motherwell. Conceding an equaliser with ten minutes remaining, a 2-2 draw would see Rangers fall 13 points behind Celtic with Craig Moore receiving a late red card. The first goals of the McLeish era were scored by Shota Arveladze and Neil McCann. There was little doubt that it was going to take a miracle for Rangers to claw their way back into the title race, the priorities being the knockout competitions and restoring some pride in the remaining Old Firm clashes.
Advocaat’s inability to produce results against Martin O’Neill’s Celtic had surely been a major factor in him vacating the hot seat. During 2001, he had overseen a run of 5 straight Old Firm defeats which was clearly not palatable particularly with the squad of players he had amassed. Whilst the sides would not meet again until the new year, it was vital that McLeish could turn that tide at the earliest opportunity.
Rangers would go on a lengthy unbeaten run following the appointment of McLeish but there was the odd scare such a nervous goalless draw at Berwick in the Scottish Cup. The real test was to come on 5th February 2002 when Celtic would provide the opposition at Hampden in the Semi Final of the League Cup. When Celtic’s Balde cancelled out a Peter Lovenkrands opener with just 20 minutes remaining, many could have been forgiven in fearing the worst and even more so when Arveladze failed to convert a late penalty opportunity to secure the victory. The smart money may well have been on Celtic achieving a sixth straight win – a feat that had not been achieved in 30 years. However, Rangers dug deep and showed a team spirit that many felt had been missing in the final months under Advocaat. Although working with the same group of players, there already seemed a greater level of physical and mental toughness on display under McLeish. A fine example of that was Bert Konterman and it was his stunning 30-yard strike during extra time that fired Rangers into the Final thus ending the dismal sequence of derby day defeats. The psychological boost was massive and facing Ayr United in the Final presented a huge opportunity for silverware.
A first defeat under McLeish also came in February as Rangers went down 3-2 to Feyenoord in Rotterdam. The result meant elimination from the UEFA Cup but the side had certainly given their all having even led at one stage. The League Cup was secured the following month, Ayr United comfortably defeated 4-0 to give Alex his first major trophy success as boss. The two remaining Old Firm clashes in the league had ended in stalemate but the sides would meet for the sixth time of the season in the Final of the Scottish Cup. It was an epic, swinging one way and then the other. With the match looking destined for extra time, Lovenkrands headed home in injury time to give Rangers a 3-2 win and earn McLeish a famous Cup double. It had been an excellent opening six months for Alex and there was real optimism going into his first full season in charge.
Despite the disappointment of an early UEFA Cup exit to the relatively unknown Viktoria Zizkov, fewer games to contend with would prove to be an advantage domestically as the season progressed. The implications of no significant European income could not, however, be underestimated.
Rangers had been quiet on the transfer front leading into that 2002/03 season, the major signing being young Spanish midfielder Mikel Arteta from Barcelona. Arteta had been on the radar for several months, initially impressing Dick Advocaat when playing for PSG against Rangers the previous season. With speculation that Club Captain Barry Ferguson was a target for several English Premiership sides, McLeish was supportive of the deal being concluded for a fee of £5.8m. The sale of Flo (despite representing a huge £5.25m loss) was enough to balance the books in relation to the Arteta signing. Tellingly, the remaining deals undertaken by McLeish were primarily free transfers or swap deals. It was the first obvious indication of the downsizing taking place at Ibrox as the unrivalled spending of the Advocaat years (fully sanctioned by owner Murray) resulted in a requirement for remedial action. Having seen a trio of Rangers managers bankrolled over the previous 15 years, Alex was now operating against a very different backdrop albeit with a talented squad already at his disposal.
Domestically, it proved to be a sensational campaign for McLeish and his players. Undefeated in the league until Boxing Day, a win and draw versus Celtic in the first half of the season saw Rangers with all to play for come to the end of 2002 with a place in the League Cup semi-final already booked. Ronald de Boer, now showing the consistency that had eluded him as he battled a persistent injury, duly fired Rangers into the Final as Hearts were defeated at Hampden. The pain of losing his first Old Firm clash did not last too long as the sides met again just 8 days after that league reversal. The occasion was his second successive League Cup Final and Rangers would emerge 2-1 winners in another action-packed clash at Hampden.
A second league defeat to Celtic (this time at Ibrox) narrowed the gap to 5 points with Celtic having played one game fewer. Crucially, the goal difference was in the favour of Rangers and Celtic were also having to contend with a rare extended European run. The post-split matches were tense affairs, every singly goal having a real significance.
Going into the final game of the 2002/03 campaign, Rangers were top of the league by virtue of having scored one more goal than rivals Celtic. The points (94) total and the goal difference (68) were identical. With Rangers having home advantage against Dunfermline and Celtic travelling to Kilmarnock, there remained confident that a 50th title for the Club could be secured. On an afternoon of high drama, that was exactly what happened as Dunfermline were beaten 6-1 at Ibrox. Although Celtic had defeated Kilmarnock 4-0 (a game in which they also missed a penalty), they had failed to ‘outscore’ Rangers. Jubilant scenes followed as skipper Barry Ferguson lifted the trophy and it was hard to envisage a more dramatic or nerve-wracking afternoon.
Having possibly ‘overdone’ the celebrations, Rangers players toiled at Hampden just six days later despite being firm favourites to defeat Dundee in the Scottish Cup Final. A solitary goal from Lorenzo Amoruso was enough to secure the win and, with it, the domestic Treble. The turnaround under Alex McLeish in just 18 months had been nothing sort of sensational and it would be Celtic who would end the season empty-handed. Frustratingly, at a time when Alex would have been looking to build on his achievement, he was instead forced to watch as key players Lorenzo Amoruso, Neil McCann, Arthur Numan & Claudio Caniggia all moved on as the cost-cutting kicked in.
The joy of navigating a tough qualifying round versus FC Copenhagen to reach the group stages of the 2003/04 Champions League was soon clouded by the news that inspirational captain Barry Ferguson had agreed to join Blackburn Rovers. Undoubtedly the heartbeat of the side, losing Ferguson was a monumental blow to McLeish even allowing for the purchase of Arteta the previous summer (with this scenario firmly in mind). Free transfers arrived in the shape of former English Premiership players Emerson, Henning Berg and Egil Ostenstad but clearly their best playing days were behind them. Celtic seized the initiative and Rangers would fail to defend any of the trophies they had won the previous season.
Recruitment in the summer of 2004 was more positive for Rangers. The departure of twins Ronald and Frank de Boer plus fellow countryman Michael Mols provided some scope in terms of freeing uo wages. Mikel Arteta returned to Spain (briefly), citing homesickness but was again sold at a significant loss. Emerson, Capucho and Berg all left after just one unspectacular season in Scotland and they were joined by the injury-prone Christian Nerlinger. However, ‘Bosman’ signings Dado Prso and Jean-Alain Boumsong were top quality and in Marvin Andrews, Alex Rae and Nacho Novo the squad had gained some big characters with knowledge and experience of the Scottish game.
Reminiscent of the previous season, there was early frustration in Europe with Rangers now failing to seize the opportunity of securing a Champions League windfall. Having left Moscow with the vital away goal from the first leg (2-1 defeat) there were high hopes that CSKA could yet be overcome at Ibrox in the return. However, when the Russian side opened the scoring just after the hour the tie seemed beyond McLeish’s side and it was CSKA who eventually progressed 3-2 on aggregate. On this occasion, there was at least the consolation of dropping into the now-revamped UEFA Cup.
The opening weeks of the domestic season had seen Rangers drop points in each of the major tests provided. A narrow defeat at Parkhead had come in between draws at Pittodrie and Tynecastle with Rangers firing blanks on all occasions. That latest defeat to Celtic, hot on the heels of the CL qualification failure, heaped pressure on McLeish. Alex had been appointed amid a poor run of results against Celtic but, having initially reversed the Club’s fortunes, he had now overseen a staggering sequence of 7 straight defeats in the Old Firm fixture (6 of which had been by a single goal). It clearly could not continue if Rangers were to finish the 2004/05 season with any silverware.
‘Ten days in November’ would be huge for both Rangers and McLeish as they would face Celtic twice at Ibrox in the League and League Cup. Undefeated domestically since that first meeting at Parkhead and having reached the UEFA Cup Group stages, there was optimism the dismal run could finally be halted. The first pairing was a midweek clash in the Quarter Finals of the League Cup and with just 5 minutes remaining Rangers again were trailing by a single goal. It seemed like McLeish had been stuck in this same movie for the last 18 months. However, Croatian striker Dado Prso found a late equaliser to force the match into extra time with Shota Arveladze netting the decisive winner on 100 minutes. It was a monumental win and when Celtic returned on league duty Rangers picked up where they had left off. Racing into a two-goal lead through the striking partnership of Novo and Prso, the away side had no answer and was reduced to 9 men in the process.
The form of new signing Jean-Alain Boumsong at the heart of the Rangers defence was not going unnoticed and transfer speculation began to mount. Just as he had done the previous summer when taking Barry Ferguson to Blackburn Rovers, former manager Graeme Souness (by now at Newcastle) lured Boumsong to the English Premiership after less than half a season in Glasgow. Whilst representing an £8m profit which was impossible to turn down, it did have the potential to derail the remainder of the season. Allied to a training ground injury suffered to the outstanding Stefan Klos (by now captaining the side), Rangers faced a crucial winter transfer window. Experienced goalkeeper Ronald Waterreus arrived from Manchester City whilst Greek centre half Sotirios Kyrgiakos came in on loan to replace Boumsong. Young Belgian midfielder Thomas Buffel had arrived at the start of the window for a fee of £2.3m but there was a feeling that the side would be weaker for the second half of the campaign. That changed in the closing minutes of the ‘window’ when Rangers secured the return of Ferguson from Blackburn. Although some had not forgiven Barry for his original departure, his return was massive.
Fergie’s second “debut” came as a substitute in the 7-1 thrashing of Dundee United as Rangers reached the final of the League Cup at Hampden. A huge win at Parkhead quickly followed, Vignal and Novo scoring the goals before Rangers clinched the League Cup with a fine 5-1 victory over Motherwell which saw Fernando Ricksen lifting the trophy as skipper. Two League defeats in April meant that Rangers were again on the back foot, trailing by 5 points with 4 games remaining (Celtic having played one game more). Victories over Aberdeen (A), Hearts (H) and Motherwell (H) saw Gers head to Easter Road for the final match of the season trailing Celtic by 2 points but with a slightly superior goal difference. With Motherwell in sixth place (47 points behind Celtic) and with nothing obvious to play for, there seemed little prospect of an upset and even less so when Celtic took the lead.
Rangers needed to ensure that they got their own job done and it was Nacho Novo who eventually broke the deadlock to give Rangers the lead over Hibernian. With the clock ticking down, it looked to be in vain as the match in Edinburgh turned into a game of keep ball (Hibs being content to lose only 1-0 which would see them achieve European football). Then, in the final moments, news came through that Motherwell had snatched a late equaliser. Wild celebrations ensued with confusion amongst the travelling Rangers support. A second roar had many believing it to be full time at Fir Park but in fact, Motherwell had produced a winner. Against all the odds, Rangers won the title. The Helicopter had famously changed direction with literally two minutes of the season remaining and the trophy was duly delivered to McLeish at Easter Road. If 2003 had been dramatic, this was simply unbelievable.
With O’Neill having surprisingly left Celtic in the wake of their collapse at Fir Park, McLeish would now go head-to-head with his former Aberdeen teammate and friend, Gordon Strachan. The month of August was good for Rangers, much needed Champions League income was secured when Anorthosis Famagusta was overcome in the qualifiers. Allied to a comfortable 3-1 win over Celtic at Ibrox, there were few signs that the reign of McLeish was beginning to come to an end.
A defeat at Tynecastle on 24th September 2005 saw Rangers fall 8 points behind the pacesetters dropping to 5th place in the table. Whilst few felt Hearts could maintain such a flying start, there was already concern that a 6-point gap had opened up with Celtic even though Rangers had won the first meeting between the sides. An unwanted club record 10 matches without a win was on the horizon which included a League Cup exit and back-to-back league defeats to Celtic and Hibs. This saw the gap widen to 15 points at the top of the table. Crucially, Hearts remained only 1 point off the top and there was now a real danger that Rangers would fail to finish in the top two, resulting in automatic absence from the 2006/07 Champions League.
On the positive side, Rangers became the first Scottish side to qualify from the group stages of the CL competition emerging from a difficult group which included both Porto and Inter Milan. The performances had been in stark contrast to what was being produced domestically and enough to prompt owner Murray to publicly back McLeish.
The arrival of Kris Boyd from Kilmarnock in the winter transfer window would prove to be a good signing for the Club but by mid-February, the chance of domestic silverware had vanished. A heavy defeat in the Scottish Cup to Hibs followed by a league defeat at Pittodrie prompted the announcement on February 9th 2006 that Alex would leave Rangers at the end of the season. A further league defeat to Celtic was the latest blow in what had been a catastrophic month for McLeish. Catching Hearts for second place was the only remaining target and that would require a 9-point swing with just 12 fixtures remaining.
The Champions League competition would resume at the end of the month and Rangers would twice come from behind to earn a 2-2 draw with Villarreal at Ibrox. Lovenkrands, so often the man for the big occasion under McLeish, would fire Rangers into the lead in Spain and it looked as though an unlikely quarter final slot may be achieved. However, the home side would equalise at the start of the second half and survive a close call from Boyd to progress on the away goals ruling.
Ironically, following the news that McLeish would be departing, Rangers began to find the consistency in the League that had eluded them for so long, 9 victories and 3 draws from their final 12 matches would see the side finish just a single point behind Hearts....but it was too little too late. The thought of another Club ‘splitting’ the two Old Firm sides at the start of the season had seemed inconceivable.
It had certainly been a roller coaster ride under McLeish with some of the most dramatic days in the history of the Club coming under his stewardship. During his 5 years at Ibrox, he earned the full respect of the Rangers support and remains an extremely popular figure.
by Rick Plews
Alex McLeish (2001 to 2006)
Despite having not yet reached Christmas, the 2001/02 League challenge already looked beyond Rangers as the Club turned to Hibernian’s Alex McLeish in an effort to halt a Celtic side now dominant under Martin O’Neill. Appointed on the recommendation of outgoing boss Dick Advocaat, McLeish would initially have to contend with the Dutchman’s continued presence within the corridors of Ibrox with Advocaat initially moving “upstairs” as General Manager. It would prove to be a short-term working relationship.
The appointment of McLeish was not universally popular with supporters despite most agreeing that it was time for Advocaat to relinquish the manager’s position. Having worked exclusively in Scotland with provincial sides before joining Hibs, there were those who questioned his ability to make the step up to a Club the sheer magnitude of Rangers. Others were, perhaps, negatively influenced by his association with the hugely successful Aberdeen side of the mid 1980’s. Whilst undoubtedly a “Rangers man” (originally from Barrhead), “Eck” had proved to be a fierce opponent when turning out for the Dons and there were certainly no obvious signs of his strong feelings for the Glasgow Club whenever the teams met. In fact, ill feeling had often run high between the two sides for more than a decade.
Alex took charge of Rangers for the first time on 15th December 2001, returning to Fir Park (where he had finished his playing days and moved into management) to face Motherwell. Conceding an equaliser with ten minutes remaining, a 2-2 draw would see Rangers fall 13 points behind Celtic with Craig Moore receiving a late red card. The first goals of the McLeish era were scored by Shota Arveladze and Neil McCann. There was little doubt that it was going to take a miracle for Rangers to claw their way back into the title race, the priorities being the knockout competitions and restoring some pride in the remaining Old Firm clashes.
Advocaat’s inability to produce results against Martin O’Neill’s Celtic had surely been a major factor in him vacating the hot seat. During 2001, he had overseen a run of 5 straight Old Firm defeats which was clearly not palatable particularly with the squad of players he had amassed. Whilst the sides would not meet again until the new year, it was vital that McLeish could turn that tide at the earliest opportunity.
Rangers would go on a lengthy unbeaten run following the appointment of McLeish but there was the odd scare such a nervous goalless draw at Berwick in the Scottish Cup. The real test was to come on 5th February 2002 when Celtic would provide the opposition at Hampden in the Semi Final of the League Cup. When Celtic’s Balde cancelled out a Peter Lovenkrands opener with just 20 minutes remaining, many could have been forgiven in fearing the worst and even more so when Arveladze failed to convert a late penalty opportunity to secure the victory. The smart money may well have been on Celtic achieving a sixth straight win – a feat that had not been achieved in 30 years. However, Rangers dug deep and showed a team spirit that many felt had been missing in the final months under Advocaat. Although working with the same group of players, there already seemed a greater level of physical and mental toughness on display under McLeish. A fine example of that was Bert Konterman and it was his stunning 30-yard strike during extra time that fired Rangers into the Final thus ending the dismal sequence of derby day defeats. The psychological boost was massive and facing Ayr United in the Final presented a huge opportunity for silverware.
A first defeat under McLeish also came in February as Rangers went down 3-2 to Feyenoord in Rotterdam. The result meant elimination from the UEFA Cup but the side had certainly given their all having even led at one stage. The League Cup was secured the following month, Ayr United comfortably defeated 4-0 to give Alex his first major trophy success as boss. The two remaining Old Firm clashes in the league had ended in stalemate but the sides would meet for the sixth time of the season in the Final of the Scottish Cup. It was an epic, swinging one way and then the other. With the match looking destined for extra time, Lovenkrands headed home in injury time to give Rangers a 3-2 win and earn McLeish a famous Cup double. It had been an excellent opening six months for Alex and there was real optimism going into his first full season in charge.
Despite the disappointment of an early UEFA Cup exit to the relatively unknown Viktoria Zizkov, fewer games to contend with would prove to be an advantage domestically as the season progressed. The implications of no significant European income could not, however, be underestimated.
Rangers had been quiet on the transfer front leading into that 2002/03 season, the major signing being young Spanish midfielder Mikel Arteta from Barcelona. Arteta had been on the radar for several months, initially impressing Dick Advocaat when playing for PSG against Rangers the previous season. With speculation that Club Captain Barry Ferguson was a target for several English Premiership sides, McLeish was supportive of the deal being concluded for a fee of £5.8m. The sale of Flo (despite representing a huge £5.25m loss) was enough to balance the books in relation to the Arteta signing. Tellingly, the remaining deals undertaken by McLeish were primarily free transfers or swap deals. It was the first obvious indication of the downsizing taking place at Ibrox as the unrivalled spending of the Advocaat years (fully sanctioned by owner Murray) resulted in a requirement for remedial action. Having seen a trio of Rangers managers bankrolled over the previous 15 years, Alex was now operating against a very different backdrop albeit with a talented squad already at his disposal.
Domestically, it proved to be a sensational campaign for McLeish and his players. Undefeated in the league until Boxing Day, a win and draw versus Celtic in the first half of the season saw Rangers with all to play for come to the end of 2002 with a place in the League Cup semi-final already booked. Ronald de Boer, now showing the consistency that had eluded him as he battled a persistent injury, duly fired Rangers into the Final as Hearts were defeated at Hampden. The pain of losing his first Old Firm clash did not last too long as the sides met again just 8 days after that league reversal. The occasion was his second successive League Cup Final and Rangers would emerge 2-1 winners in another action-packed clash at Hampden.
A second league defeat to Celtic (this time at Ibrox) narrowed the gap to 5 points with Celtic having played one game fewer. Crucially, the goal difference was in the favour of Rangers and Celtic were also having to contend with a rare extended European run. The post-split matches were tense affairs, every singly goal having a real significance.
Going into the final game of the 2002/03 campaign, Rangers were top of the league by virtue of having scored one more goal than rivals Celtic. The points (94) total and the goal difference (68) were identical. With Rangers having home advantage against Dunfermline and Celtic travelling to Kilmarnock, there remained confident that a 50th title for the Club could be secured. On an afternoon of high drama, that was exactly what happened as Dunfermline were beaten 6-1 at Ibrox. Although Celtic had defeated Kilmarnock 4-0 (a game in which they also missed a penalty), they had failed to ‘outscore’ Rangers. Jubilant scenes followed as skipper Barry Ferguson lifted the trophy and it was hard to envisage a more dramatic or nerve-wracking afternoon.
Having possibly ‘overdone’ the celebrations, Rangers players toiled at Hampden just six days later despite being firm favourites to defeat Dundee in the Scottish Cup Final. A solitary goal from Lorenzo Amoruso was enough to secure the win and, with it, the domestic Treble. The turnaround under Alex McLeish in just 18 months had been nothing sort of sensational and it would be Celtic who would end the season empty-handed. Frustratingly, at a time when Alex would have been looking to build on his achievement, he was instead forced to watch as key players Lorenzo Amoruso, Neil McCann, Arthur Numan & Claudio Caniggia all moved on as the cost-cutting kicked in.
The joy of navigating a tough qualifying round versus FC Copenhagen to reach the group stages of the 2003/04 Champions League was soon clouded by the news that inspirational captain Barry Ferguson had agreed to join Blackburn Rovers. Undoubtedly the heartbeat of the side, losing Ferguson was a monumental blow to McLeish even allowing for the purchase of Arteta the previous summer (with this scenario firmly in mind). Free transfers arrived in the shape of former English Premiership players Emerson, Henning Berg and Egil Ostenstad but clearly their best playing days were behind them. Celtic seized the initiative and Rangers would fail to defend any of the trophies they had won the previous season.
Recruitment in the summer of 2004 was more positive for Rangers. The departure of twins Ronald and Frank de Boer plus fellow countryman Michael Mols provided some scope in terms of freeing uo wages. Mikel Arteta returned to Spain (briefly), citing homesickness but was again sold at a significant loss. Emerson, Capucho and Berg all left after just one unspectacular season in Scotland and they were joined by the injury-prone Christian Nerlinger. However, ‘Bosman’ signings Dado Prso and Jean-Alain Boumsong were top quality and in Marvin Andrews, Alex Rae and Nacho Novo the squad had gained some big characters with knowledge and experience of the Scottish game.
Reminiscent of the previous season, there was early frustration in Europe with Rangers now failing to seize the opportunity of securing a Champions League windfall. Having left Moscow with the vital away goal from the first leg (2-1 defeat) there were high hopes that CSKA could yet be overcome at Ibrox in the return. However, when the Russian side opened the scoring just after the hour the tie seemed beyond McLeish’s side and it was CSKA who eventually progressed 3-2 on aggregate. On this occasion, there was at least the consolation of dropping into the now-revamped UEFA Cup.
The opening weeks of the domestic season had seen Rangers drop points in each of the major tests provided. A narrow defeat at Parkhead had come in between draws at Pittodrie and Tynecastle with Rangers firing blanks on all occasions. That latest defeat to Celtic, hot on the heels of the CL qualification failure, heaped pressure on McLeish. Alex had been appointed amid a poor run of results against Celtic but, having initially reversed the Club’s fortunes, he had now overseen a staggering sequence of 7 straight defeats in the Old Firm fixture (6 of which had been by a single goal). It clearly could not continue if Rangers were to finish the 2004/05 season with any silverware.
‘Ten days in November’ would be huge for both Rangers and McLeish as they would face Celtic twice at Ibrox in the League and League Cup. Undefeated domestically since that first meeting at Parkhead and having reached the UEFA Cup Group stages, there was optimism the dismal run could finally be halted. The first pairing was a midweek clash in the Quarter Finals of the League Cup and with just 5 minutes remaining Rangers again were trailing by a single goal. It seemed like McLeish had been stuck in this same movie for the last 18 months. However, Croatian striker Dado Prso found a late equaliser to force the match into extra time with Shota Arveladze netting the decisive winner on 100 minutes. It was a monumental win and when Celtic returned on league duty Rangers picked up where they had left off. Racing into a two-goal lead through the striking partnership of Novo and Prso, the away side had no answer and was reduced to 9 men in the process.
The form of new signing Jean-Alain Boumsong at the heart of the Rangers defence was not going unnoticed and transfer speculation began to mount. Just as he had done the previous summer when taking Barry Ferguson to Blackburn Rovers, former manager Graeme Souness (by now at Newcastle) lured Boumsong to the English Premiership after less than half a season in Glasgow. Whilst representing an £8m profit which was impossible to turn down, it did have the potential to derail the remainder of the season. Allied to a training ground injury suffered to the outstanding Stefan Klos (by now captaining the side), Rangers faced a crucial winter transfer window. Experienced goalkeeper Ronald Waterreus arrived from Manchester City whilst Greek centre half Sotirios Kyrgiakos came in on loan to replace Boumsong. Young Belgian midfielder Thomas Buffel had arrived at the start of the window for a fee of £2.3m but there was a feeling that the side would be weaker for the second half of the campaign. That changed in the closing minutes of the ‘window’ when Rangers secured the return of Ferguson from Blackburn. Although some had not forgiven Barry for his original departure, his return was massive.
Fergie’s second “debut” came as a substitute in the 7-1 thrashing of Dundee United as Rangers reached the final of the League Cup at Hampden. A huge win at Parkhead quickly followed, Vignal and Novo scoring the goals before Rangers clinched the League Cup with a fine 5-1 victory over Motherwell which saw Fernando Ricksen lifting the trophy as skipper. Two League defeats in April meant that Rangers were again on the back foot, trailing by 5 points with 4 games remaining (Celtic having played one game more). Victories over Aberdeen (A), Hearts (H) and Motherwell (H) saw Gers head to Easter Road for the final match of the season trailing Celtic by 2 points but with a slightly superior goal difference. With Motherwell in sixth place (47 points behind Celtic) and with nothing obvious to play for, there seemed little prospect of an upset and even less so when Celtic took the lead.
Rangers needed to ensure that they got their own job done and it was Nacho Novo who eventually broke the deadlock to give Rangers the lead over Hibernian. With the clock ticking down, it looked to be in vain as the match in Edinburgh turned into a game of keep ball (Hibs being content to lose only 1-0 which would see them achieve European football). Then, in the final moments, news came through that Motherwell had snatched a late equaliser. Wild celebrations ensued with confusion amongst the travelling Rangers support. A second roar had many believing it to be full time at Fir Park but in fact, Motherwell had produced a winner. Against all the odds, Rangers won the title. The Helicopter had famously changed direction with literally two minutes of the season remaining and the trophy was duly delivered to McLeish at Easter Road. If 2003 had been dramatic, this was simply unbelievable.
With O’Neill having surprisingly left Celtic in the wake of their collapse at Fir Park, McLeish would now go head-to-head with his former Aberdeen teammate and friend, Gordon Strachan. The month of August was good for Rangers, much needed Champions League income was secured when Anorthosis Famagusta was overcome in the qualifiers. Allied to a comfortable 3-1 win over Celtic at Ibrox, there were few signs that the reign of McLeish was beginning to come to an end.
A defeat at Tynecastle on 24th September 2005 saw Rangers fall 8 points behind the pacesetters dropping to 5th place in the table. Whilst few felt Hearts could maintain such a flying start, there was already concern that a 6-point gap had opened up with Celtic even though Rangers had won the first meeting between the sides. An unwanted club record 10 matches without a win was on the horizon which included a League Cup exit and back-to-back league defeats to Celtic and Hibs. This saw the gap widen to 15 points at the top of the table. Crucially, Hearts remained only 1 point off the top and there was now a real danger that Rangers would fail to finish in the top two, resulting in automatic absence from the 2006/07 Champions League.
On the positive side, Rangers became the first Scottish side to qualify from the group stages of the CL competition emerging from a difficult group which included both Porto and Inter Milan. The performances had been in stark contrast to what was being produced domestically and enough to prompt owner Murray to publicly back McLeish.
The arrival of Kris Boyd from Kilmarnock in the winter transfer window would prove to be a good signing for the Club but by mid-February, the chance of domestic silverware had vanished. A heavy defeat in the Scottish Cup to Hibs followed by a league defeat at Pittodrie prompted the announcement on February 9th 2006 that Alex would leave Rangers at the end of the season. A further league defeat to Celtic was the latest blow in what had been a catastrophic month for McLeish. Catching Hearts for second place was the only remaining target and that would require a 9-point swing with just 12 fixtures remaining.
The Champions League competition would resume at the end of the month and Rangers would twice come from behind to earn a 2-2 draw with Villarreal at Ibrox. Lovenkrands, so often the man for the big occasion under McLeish, would fire Rangers into the lead in Spain and it looked as though an unlikely quarter final slot may be achieved. However, the home side would equalise at the start of the second half and survive a close call from Boyd to progress on the away goals ruling.
Ironically, following the news that McLeish would be departing, Rangers began to find the consistency in the League that had eluded them for so long, 9 victories and 3 draws from their final 12 matches would see the side finish just a single point behind Hearts....but it was too little too late. The thought of another Club ‘splitting’ the two Old Firm sides at the start of the season had seemed inconceivable.
It had certainly been a roller coaster ride under McLeish with some of the most dramatic days in the history of the Club coming under his stewardship. During his 5 years at Ibrox, he earned the full respect of the Rangers support and remains an extremely popular figure.
by Rick Plews
