History of Rangers F.C. - Walter Smith's Return

Walter Smith's Return

Following the departure of Paul Le Guen, a number of media sources reported an "understanding" that the new management structure would consist of former Rangers manager Walter Smith and former player Ally McCoist, and the SFA confirmed that Rangers enquired about the availability of the pair. However, on 8 January, the SFA rebuffed Rangers' approach for Smith.

On 10 January 2007, it was announced that Walter Smith was the new manager of Rangers, with Ally McCoist confirmed as assistant manager and Kenny McDowall as first team coach. Smith and his team undertook some serious surgery to the side. He signed experienced defenders David Weir, Ugo Ehiogu and Andy Webster to shore up the rocky backline. This proved to be a steadying influence on the team and they only lost three times until the end of the season, although Webster injured himself during his first training session at the club and did not make his debut until September 2007.

The following summer, Smith made ten signings, including defender Carlos Cuéllar and midfielder Lee McCulloch. The early season priority, qualification for the Champions League group stage, was secured after aggregate victories over the champions of the Montenegrin and Serbian leagues, FK Zeta and Red Star Belgrade respectively. Rangers were drawn in Group E, to play FC Barcelona, French champions Olympique Lyonnais and German champions VfB Stuttgart. The campaign started well for Rangers with two victories, 2–1 at home to Stuttgart and 3–0 against Lyon at the Stade Gerland as well as a 0–0 draw against Barcelona at Ibrox Stadium. They lost match day six against Olympique Lyonnais 3–0, which ended their 2007–08 UEFA Champions League run. But the adventure continued as they progressed to the final of the UEFA Cup, defeating Panathinaikos, Werder Bremen, Sporting Lisbon and Fiorentina along the way. They beat Italian side Fiorentina on penalties to set up a final, in Manchester, against Zenit St. Petersburg, who are managed by former Gers manager Dick Advocaat. The team lost that match 2–0, amid serious disturbances caused by small sections of the 100,000-strong Rangers support. Video evidence was released by the Greater Manchester Police of suspected Rangers fans attacking officers in Manchester city centre following the defeat. An appeal was launched on BBC's Crimewatch program in January 2009 in an attempt to trace 49 men in connection with the riots.

On the domestic front, the race for the Scottish Premier League continued until the final match-day of the season. Both Celtic and Rangers were tied on 86 points going into their games (against Dundee United and Aberdeen respectively) on 22 May 2008, but Celtic were top of the table due to having a better goal difference of 57, four ahead of Rangers. This did not prove to be decisive, as Rangers surrendered their hopes of landing the championship with a 2–0 defeat away to the Dons. The club had had a ten-point lead in late March.

The club appeared in its first final since 2005. They played Dundee United on 16 March 2008 and won the League Cup on penalties. The match was tied 2–2 after extra time, with both goals coming from Kris Boyd who also scored the winning spot kick. They also reached the 2009 Scottish Cup Final, the club's 50th appearance in a Scottish Cup final. The side had beaten St. Johnstone 4–3 on penalties in the semi-final after the score was tied at 1–1 after extra time. The final was against Queen of the South and played on 24 May 2008. Rangers won the match 3–2 thanks to goals from DaMarcus Beasley and a double from Kris Boyd.

The 2008–09 season began disastrously as the club exited the UEFA Champions League and European football altogether, losing 2–1 on aggregate to Lithuanian side FBK Kaunas in the second qualifying round. The first leg at Ibrox finished goalless, but the return leg ended in defeat for Rangers after an 87th-minute header from Linas Pilibaitis. The financial consequences of the failures to qualify for the Champions League were revealed when the club posted a loss of £3.9 million for the six months to December 2008, and in March decided to offer staff the option of voluntary redundancy as a way of cutting costs. There was also mounting pressure on the manager to reduce the first team squad from 28 players to a more manageable figure. The player excess was eased slightly with the departures of Chris Burke, Jean-Claude Darcheville and a couple out on loan deals but the increased debt meant that the club needed to find a cash injection. This resulted in the attempted sale of Kris Boyd to Birmingham City, which fell through due to the player's wage demands.

In the first Old Firm game of the season, Rangers won 4–2, with Pedro Mendes scoring his first goal for the club, and Kenny Miller scoring a double against his former employers. But the team's league form stuttered thereafter. Despite a run of five wins from six matches following the Old Firm victory, the side trailed Celtic by seven points in the league at the turn of the year. For the first few months of 2009' both sides dropped and gained points on the other and Rangers briefly took over top spot of the Scottish Premier League on 21 February after a win against Kilmarnock. The spell as league leaders lasted less than a fortnight. A defeat and a draw, both at home, to Inverness and Hearts respectively, saw Smith's side sit second in the table, one point behind Celtic, at the split. The fourth Old Firm league meeting of the season finished with a 1–0 win to Rangers, thanks to a Steven Davis strike. This meant that, with three league games remaining, Rangers were two points ahead of Celtic. Further twists and turns followed, both Old Firm sides drew their matches against Hibernian at Easter Road, and so Rangers were ahead by two points with one round of matches remaining. Smith's side just needed a win against Dundee United to guarantee the club's 52nd league title. That is exactly what they got, goals from Kyle Lafferty, Pedro Mendes and Kris Boyd sealed a 3–0 win and the clubs first league championship in four seasons.

The club played in the finals of both of the domestic cup competitions for the second season running. The 2009 Scottish League Cup Final was reached by defeating Partick Thistle, Hamilton and Falkirk en route but the final ended in a 2–0 defeat at the hands of Old Firm rivals Celtic after extra time. The match was Walter Smith's first ever Old Firm final and was marred by a Kirk Broadfoot sending off deep into extra time for a foul on Aidan McGeady inside the penalty box. Celtic were subsequently awarded a penalty which McGeady himself converted. Rangers qualified for the 2009 Scottish Cup Final after beating St. Mirren 3–0 in the semi-final. The second goal of the game was scored by Kris Boyd and was his 100th goal for Rangers. The team faced Falkirk at Hampden Park on 30 May 2009 in what was the clubs 51st Scottish Cup Final appearance. A Nacho Novo strike in the first minute of the second half gave Rangers a 1–0 win and completed the domestic double.

The following season saw Rangers financial problems continue. A quiet summer in terms of transfer arrivals contrasted to the outgoings. The club removed eleven players who had made first team appearances from the wage bill on permanent and loan deals. The only addition to the playing staff was Jérôme Rothen on a season loan, Rothen was the first player to sign for the club in over a year. On 26 August, chairman David Murray stepped down and was replaced by non-executive director Alastair Johnston. Johnston stated that one of his main priorities was to find a buyer for owner Murray's shares. On 24 October, Rangers manager Walter Smith was reported to say that Lloyds Banking Group, who the club was in debt to, was "effectively running the club". On 12 November, the extent of the clubs financial problems was shown to be £31 million in debt, a rise of £10m from the previous year.

On the field, Rangers' Scottish Premier League title defence got off to a stuttering start, three wins in the league was followed by three draws, the first Old Firm victory of the season was followed by poor performances against St. Johnstone and dropped points at home to Hibernian. The side lost their first league match of the season away to Aberdeen on 28 November but then embarked on a six match winning run, scoring 26 goals in the process. At the start of 2010, Rangers sat at the top of the league. The second Old Firm fixture finished in a 1–1 draw. Rangers had a ten-point lead by mid-February. Rangers won the third Old Firm match 1–0 thanks to an injury time winner from Maurice Edu which all but secured the title. The side had to wait nearly two months to be confirmed as champions due to dropping points to St. Johnstone and Dundee United. On 25 April, Rangers won their 53rd league title after defeating Hibernian 1–0 at Easter Road.

In the domestic cup competitions, Rangers won the League Cup after a 1–0 victory over St. Mirren in the final, despite being reduced to nine men with Danny Wilson and Kevin Thomson being sent off. However, Rangers were unable to retain the Scottish Cup after losing 1–0 to eventual winners Dundee United in a quarter-final replay.

Rangers were seeded in pot two of the UEFA Champions League group stage for the first time. The club was drawn against Spanish team Sevilla, German outfit Stuttgart and Romanian champions Unirea Urziceni. A 1–1 away draw in Germany was followed by two consecutive 4–1 defeats at home to Sevilla and Unirea, the latter being regarded as one of the club's worst-ever European results. Rangers were left with a small chance of qualifying from the group after a 1–1 draw in the return leg with Unirea, a match that saw trouble in the Rangers fans section of the stadium. The club was charged by UEFA for inappropriate conduct and following an investigation fined €20,000 plus ordered to pay the cost of repairing the damage to the stadium infrastructure caused by its supporters. The side finished bottom of their group and was knocked out of European football altogether after two defeats from in the final two matches.

With financial problems at the club ongoing, the summer of 2010 began for Rangers with several players leaving the club. With a limited transfer budget and a small squad. Smith had to decided whether to increase the number of playing staff or improve the starting eleven, he opted for quality.

Both sides of the Old Firm began the season with eight league wins in a row, however, with the sides meeting on matchday nine something had to give. Rangers claimed a 3-1 victory over Celtic and took early control of the league. A 1-1 draw at home to Inverness CT the following weekend ended Rangers 100% start to the season and a home defeat to Hibernian inflicted the teams first league defeat of the season, the first of five. The cold spell in the winter of 2010-11 saw many postponements and for long spells Rangers were behind Celtic but with games in hand. In the third league meeting between the Old Firm, Celtic came out on top and mathematical lead the table, for the first time that season. However Celtic's advantage was short lived after a loss to Motherwell the following week. This allowed Rangers to regain top spot, but 3-2 loss to Dundee United at Ibrox followed by a 0-0 draw in the final Old Firm fixture left the title in Celtic's hands, with just four matches remaining. There was to be a final twist in the league season; on 3 May, Celtic lost a rearranged match away to Inverness and so with three matches remaining Rangers had a one-point lead. Smith's side went on to win all three fixtures, scoring 11 goals, and claimed the club's 54th league championship.

In the domestic cup competitions, Rangers won the League Cup after beating Celtic 2-1 AET. However, Rangers lost 1-0 to Celtic in the fifth round replay in Scottish Cup. The match was marked by several incidents, three Rangers players were sent off and Celtic manager Neil Lennon and Ally McCoist were involved in a bust-up.

In Europe, Rangers automatically qualified for the UEFA Champions League group stages for the second season in a row. They drew Manchester United, Valencia and Bursaspor. Rangers were unbeaten in their first three group stage games, with a 0-0 draw at Old Trafford, a 1-0 victory over Bursaspor at Ibrox and a 1-1 draw at home to Valencia. A 3-0 defeat in Spain to Valencia followed by a 1-0 loss at home to Manchester United ended Rangers chances of qualifying for the last 16, but third place and a spot in the UEFA Europa League was already secured with Bursaspor having failed to pick up a point in five games. In the last group match, Rangers drew 1-1 in Turkey, giving Bursaspor their first Champions League point. However, Rangers did make it to the last 16 of the Europa League, beating Sporting Lisbon on away goals in the last 32 but lost to PSV Eindhoven on aggregate.

On 6 May 2011, it was confirmed that David Murray had sold his controlling interest in the club (85.3%) for £1 to Wavetower Limited, a company ultimately owned by businessman Craig Whyte.