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)

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

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 England Trevor StevenEngland Everton£1,525,000
10 July 1989 Scotland Mo JohnstonFrance Nantes£1,500,000
15 August 1989 Israel Bonni GinzburgIsrael Beitar Jerusalem£200,000
30 August 1989 Scotland Davie DoddsScotland Aberdeen£100,000
3 November 1989 England Chris VinnicombeEngland Exeter City£150,000
30 November 1989 England Nigel SpackmanEngland Queens Park Rangers£500,000

Out

Date Player To Fee
26 May 1989 Scotland Andy GrayEngland Cheltenham TownFree
5 July 1989 England Mel SterlandEngland Leeds United£600,000
26 July 1989 Northern Ireland Jimmy NichollScotland Dunfermline Athletic£50,000
29 July 1989 Scotland Davie KirkwoodScotland Heart of Midlothian£100,000
11 August 1989 Scotland Davie CooperScotland Motherwell£50,000
22 August 1989 Scotland Nicky WalkerScotland Heart of Midlothian£125,000
2 October 1989 England Kevin DrinkellEngland Coventry City£800,000
28 November 1989 England Ray WilkinsEngland Queens Park RangersFree
10 January 1990 Scotland Ian McCallEngland Bradford City£200,000

Results

All results are written with Rangers' score first.

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

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

DateRoundOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
20 January 1990R3St JohnstoneH3–039,003Johnston, Brown, Walters
25 February 1990R4CelticA0–152,565

European Cup

DateRoundOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
13 September 1989R1Germany Bayern MunichH1–340,253Walters (pen.)
27 September 1989R1Germany Bayern MunichA0–040,000

Appearances

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