History of Rangers F.C. - Financial Hangover Under McLeish

Financial Hangover Under McLeish

Murray appointed ex-Aberdeen defender Alex McLeish as the clubs eleventh manager on 11 December 2001, joining McLeish was assistant Andy Watson. Murray's choice of manager was met with a lukewarm reaction amongst many Rangers supporters. Many fans viewed it as symptomatic of the downsizing of the club's ambitions, while others saw in McLeish a manager whose mixed fortunes at Hibernian and Motherwell left him ill-equipped to cope with the demands of managing a high-profile club like Rangers. However, McLeish was the number one managerial target on a four man shortlist. Others said to be included on the list were the then Ipswich Town manager George Burley, former Germany coach Berti Vogts and George Graham.

Fans concerns were quickly allayed as McLeish's Rangers team began to display a spirit that had been sorely lacking in the twlight of Advocaat's reign. A Scottish Cup and League Cup double in McLeish's first half-season, 2001–02, saw a renewed sense of optimism that Rangers could regain the ascendancy claimed by Celtic under the managership of Martin O'Neill. A dramatic 3–2 defeat of Celtic in the 2002 Scottish Cup Final, orchestrated by Barry Ferguson and marked by a dramatic Peter Løvenkrands last minute winner, was the perfect end to a disappointing season.

In McLeish's first full season as manager, 2002–03, the club won its seventh domestic treble. The Scottish Premier League title was secured after an astonishingly tense run-in. Going into the final round both sides were equal on 94 points but Rangers had a one-goal advantage and sat top of the league. On a dramatic last day, a 6–1 victory over Dunfermline Athletic denied Celtic the title on goal difference after the Parkhead club beat Kilmarnock 4–0. The destination of the title was unknown until the dying seconds of this match as both teams had headed into the game level on points and goal difference. Only a last-minute penalty by Mikel Arteta clinched the win.

A victory over Celtic in the 2003 Scottish League Cup Final in March 2003, provided the first leg of the club's latest treble. A somewhat drab and anti-climactic 1–0 victory over Dundee in the 2003 Scottish Cup Final the following May saw a triumphant finalé to the season. It was a near-flawless start to McLeish's reign, ruined only by a poor showing in Europe, which Rangers exited in the first round to minnows Viktoria Žižkov.

The following season, McLeish's initial period as manager proved difficult to sustain. The club's perilous financial position in the wake of the profligacy of the Advocaat era, meant a period of relative austerity. The wage bill had to be slashed as the club embarked on an extensive cost-cutting programme in an attempt to stabilise a mushrooming and unsustainable level of debt. Confronted with a squad of well-paid but ageing players assembled by Advocaat, McLeish was compelled to rebuild without the luxury of the generous transfer kitty enjoyed by some of his predecessors. McLeish was to lose, from his treble winning squad, the inspirational if mistake-prone defender Lorenzo Amoruso, Scottish international winger Neil McCann and, most damagingly of all, club captain Barry Ferguson. In their place McLeish was required to rebuild with the selective use of Bosman free transfers and loan siginings.

After a good start to the 2003–04 season which saw the side top of the league and qualify for UEFA Champions League (thanks to a dramatic late goal in Denmark against FC Copenhagen), the loss of Ferguson shortly afterwards led to a dramatic downturn in results and ultimately a trophyless campaign. McLeish's Bosman signings of experienced players, such as the Brazilian midfielder Emerson, Norway forward Egil Østenstad and, most damaging of all, the £600,000 signing Nuno Capucho, have since entered Ibrox folklore as some of the worst players to play for Rangers.

The 2004–05 season started in the same vein, with McLeish making another poor signing in Serbian midfielder, Dragan Mladenovic, for £1m. The Serb would manage less than ten games for the club. On the pitch, the team again fell behind Celtic in the league and exited the Champions League at the qualifying stage. It was rumoured that failure to gain entry into the new UEFA Cup group stage would see McLeish lose his job, but another late goal and a penalty shoot out win over CS Marítimo of Portugal provided him with a stay of execution. After this, his fortunes began to turn again. Mladenovic aside, McLeish had made some canny signings in the summer, such as Nacho Novo, plus the Bosmans Dado Pršo, Jean-Alain Boumsong along with midfielder Alex Rae. Once these players settled in, the team began to recover ground on O'Neill's ageing Celtic side. Boumsong, in particular, was a great success but he was sold in January 2005, after only six months at the club, to then Premier League side Newcastle United (managed by former boss Graeme Souness) for £8m. This cash paved the way for more signings, including Thomas Buffel, Sotirios Kyrgiakos and the return of former captain Barry Ferguson.

The 2005 Scottish League Cup Final in March 2005 ended in a 5–1 victory over Motherwell . The league, however, appeared to have been lost. Despite catching and overtaking Celtic (with two Old Firm wins, including a pivotal 2–0 victory at Celtic Park in what was McLeish's first win there as Rangers manager) nerves seemed to get the better of Rangers. A loss to Celtic in the last derby of the season at Ibrox, handed a five-point lead to their rivals with only four games of remaining, and seemed to end hopes of the title. However, Rangers kept its winnings way and a 3–1 Celtic home loss to Hibernian meant only two points separated the sides going into the final game of the season. Rangers needed to win at Hibernian and hope that Celtic would drop points at Fir Park. In perhaps even more dramatic circumstances than two years previously., Motherwell overcame a 1–0 deficit with two goals in injury time from Scott McDonald to defeat the Parkhead side, while Rangers edged out a tight 1–0 win at Easter Road. For 89 minutes of the match, Rangers thought their rivals were set for the title, and once news broke of Motherwell's late intervention, ecstasy awaited for the Ibrox legions. Even the helicopter that was carrying the league trophy was on its way to Motherwell so it had to turn around and fly to Edinburgh. That day has passed into Ibrox folklore, becoming known as Helicopter Sunday. McLeish could celebrate his second, and Rangers' 51st, league title.

The 2005–06 season got off to a bad start, with Rangers only winning six league games out of the first 17, being knocked out of the League Cup by Celtic in the process. The period from October through to early December saw the team embark on, statistically, the worst run in their history, going ten games without a win. During this time, however, the club became the first Scottish side to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League, yet there was still significant pressure on McLeish from fans due to the club's poor position in the domestic league table. It was widely felt that chairman David Murray would let McLeish go after the European campaign had finished, and a press conference arranged two days after the final group match seemed to confirm this.

However, Murray seemed to undergo a change of heart and stated that McLeish would remain in charge indefinitely, but did concede that domestic results would need to improve. After this announcement, the team improved, helped by the signing from Kilmarnock of Kris Boyd. The side strung together a ten-match unbeaten run. Yet, entering the crucial month of February, which was to feature a must-win Old Firm match and the resumption of European football, this evaporated. Rangers lost 3–0 at home to Hibernian on 4 February to exit the Scottish Cup and end their last realistic hopes of silverware that season. Protests against McLeish and the chairman followed the game.

Overall, McLeish's four-and-a-half-year spell at Ibrox was a turbulent one, coming as it did after the wastefulness of the Advocaat era. McLeish never enjoyed access to the funds his predecessors had been given, and his managership was marked by wildly fluctuating fortunes, in part caused by forced asset stripping of his best players due to the spectre of debt from Advocaat's spending. The lack of money certainly played its part in McLeish's downfall but it is debatable, based on the money he did have to spend, whether greater sums would have been invested wisely. Indeed there is an argument that a good proportion of McLeish's signings have been among the worst in the club's entire history. However, history will look back on McLeish's reign, as a period of tremendous transition on and off the pitch.