1989–90 Rangers F.C. season

The 1989–90 season was the 110th season of competitive football by Rangers.

Rangers
1989–90 season
ChairmanDavid Holmes
(until 2 June)
David Murray
(from 2 June)
ManagerGraeme Souness
GroundIbrox Stadium
Scottish Premier Division1st (Champions)
Scottish CupFourth round
League CupRunners-up
European CupFirst round
Top goalscorerLeague:
Mo Johnston (15)
All:
Ally McCoist (18)

Overview

Rangers played a total of 45 competitive matches during the 1989–90 season. On 10 July when Rangers, acting on Souness' say so, purchased former Celtic striker Mo Johnston from French club Nantes 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 the Old Firm's support, Rangers because Johnston was an ex-Celt and Catholic (Rangers traditionally did not sign Catholics), and Celtic fans saw Johnston as a turncoat 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 an Old 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 the Scottish Cup, losing to Celtic in the fourth round, and for once did not win the League Cup. The side lost to Aberdeen by 2–1 in the final.

In Europe they were knocked out the European Cup by German side Bayern Munich,losing the tie 3–1 on aggregate.

Transfers

In
Date Player From Fee
1 July 1989 Trevor Steven Everton£1,525,000
10 July 1989 Mo Johnston Nantes£1,500,000
15 August 1989 Bonni Ginzburg Beitar Jerusalem£200,000
30 August 1989 Davie Dodds Aberdeen£100,000
3 November 1989 Chris Vinnicombe Exeter City£150,000
30 November 1989 Nigel Spackman Queens Park Rangers£500,000

Out
Date Player To Fee
26 May 1989 Andy Gray Cheltenham TownFree
5 July 1989 Mel Sterland Leeds United£600,000
26 July 1989 Jimmy Nicholl Dunfermline Athletic£50,000
29 July 1989 Davie Kirkwood Heart of Midlothian£100,000
11 August 1989 Davie Cooper Motherwell£50,000
22 August 1989 Nicky Walker Heart of Midlothian£125,000
2 October 1989 Kevin Drinkell Coventry City£800,000
28 November 1989 Ray Wilkins Queens Park RangersFree
10 January 1990 Ian McCall Bradford City£200,000

Results

All results are written with Rangers' score first.

Scottish Premier Division
Main article: 1989–90 Scottish Premier Division
DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
12 August 1989St MirrenH0–139,951
19 August 1989HibernianA0–222,500
26 August 1989CelticA1–154,000Butcher
9 September 1989AberdeenH1–040,283Johnston
16 September 1989DundeeH2–235,836McCoist (2)
23 September 1989Dunfermline AthleticA1–117,765McCoist
30 September 1989Heart of MidlothianH1–039,554Johnston
3 October 1989MotherwellA0–117,667
14 October 1989Dundee UnitedH2–136,062Johnston, McCoist
25 October 1989St MirrenA2–015,130McCoist, Johnston
28 October 1989HibernianH3–035,260McCoist (2), Johnston (pen.)
4 November 1989CelticH1–041,598Johnston
18 November 1989DundeeA2–014,536Johnston, Walters
22 November 1989AberdeenA0–122,500
25 November 1989Dunfermline AthleticH3–039,131Johnston, Butcher, McCoist
2 December 1989Heart of MidlothianA2–124,771Walters, Steven
9 December 1989MotherwellH3–033,549Butcher, McCoist, Brown
16 December 1989Dundee UnitedA1–115,947Johnston
23 December 1989St MirrenH1–031,797Dodds
30 December 1989HibernianA0–024,500
2 January 1990CelticA1–054,000Spackman
6 January 1990AberdeenH2–041,351Walters, McCoist
13 January 1990DundeeH3–036,993McCoist, Dodds, Johnston
27 January 1990Dunfermline AthleticA1–017,380Steven
3 February 1990Dundee UnitedH3–139,058Walters, McCoist, Johnston
10 February 1990MotherwellA1–117,647Johnston
17 February 1990Heart of MidlothianH0–041,884
3 March 1990DundeeA2–212,743Johnston, Dodds
17 March 1990St MirrenA0–016,129
24 March 1990HibernianH0–137,452
1 April 1990CelticH3–041,926Walters (pen.), McCoist, Johnston (pen.)
8 April 1990AberdeenA0–023,000
14 April 1990MotherwellH2–139,305Steven, Johnston
21 April 1990Dundee UnitedA1–015,995Steven
28 April 1990Dunfermline AthleticH2–040,769McCoist, Dodds
5 May 1990Heart of MidlothianA1–120,283Munro

Scottish League Cup
Main article: 1989–90 Scottish League Cup
DateRoundOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
15 August 1989R2ArbroathH4–031,762McCoist (3), I.Ferguson
23 August 1989R3Greenock MortonA2–111,821Walters, Pickering (o.g.)
30 August 1989QFHamilton AcademicalA3–09,162Walters (2), Steven
19 September 1989SFDunfermline AthleticN5–041,643Steven, Johnston, Walters, McCoist, I.Ferguson
22 October 1989FAberdeenN1–2*61,190Walters (pen.)

*Aberdeen won the match 2–1 in extra-time

Scottish Cup
Main article: 1989–90 Scottish Cup
DateRoundOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
20 January 1990R3St JohnstoneH3–039,003Johnston, Brown, Walters
25 February 1990R4CelticA0–152,565

European Cup
Main article: 1989–90 European Cup
DateRoundOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
13 September 1989R1 Bayern MunichH1–340,253Walters (pen.)
27 September 1989R1 Bayern MunichA0–040,000

Appearances
Player Position Appearances Goals
Bonni GinzburgGK80
Chris WoodsGK370
John BrownDF302
Terry ButcherDF430
Tom CowanDF40
Richard GoughDF310
Stuart MunroDF451
Scott NisbetDF90
Gary StevensDF441
Chris VinnicombeDF90
Neale CooperMF30
Derek FergusonMF80
Ian FergusonMF322
Ian McCallMF50
Sandy RobertsonMF10
Graeme SounessMF10
Nigel SpackmanMF231
Trevor Steven MF433
Mark WaltersMF3612
Ray Wilkins MF220
Davie DoddsFW154
Kevin DrinkellFW70
Mo JohnstonFW4517
Ally McCoistFW4018

League table
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 the European Cup first round
2 Aberdeen 36 17 10 9 56 33 +23 44 Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round
3 Heart of Midlothian 36 16 12 8 54 35 +19 44 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
4 Dundee United 36 11 13 12 36 39 −3 35
5 Celtic 36 10 14 12 37 37 0 34
Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions

See also
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