1985–86 Rangers F.C. season

Rangers 1985–86 football season
Rangers
1985–86 season
ChairmanJohn Paton
ManagerJock Wallace
(until 7 April)
Alex Totten
(from 8 April)
(until 16 April)
Walter Smith
(from 16 April)
(until 1 May)
Graeme Souness
(from 1 May)
GroundIbrox Park
Scottish Premier Division5th
P36 W13 D9 L14 F53 A45 Pts35
Scottish CupThird Round
League CupSemi-finals
UEFA CupFirst Round
Glasgow CupWinners
Top goalscorerLeague:
Ally McCoist (25)

All:
Ally McCoist (27)

The 1985–86 season was the 106th season of competitive football by Rangers.

Overview

Rangers played a total of 44 competitive matches during the 1985–86 season. The team finished a disappointing 5th in the Scottish Premier Division. A total of 35 points were gained from 36 games with only 13 wins and 14 defeats. This resulted in the departure of Jock Wallace as manager in April with the club announcing that Scotland captain Graeme Souness would take over as player-manager after the World Cup Finals in Mexico.

In the cup competitions, they were knocked out of the Scottish Cup in the third round, losing 3–2 at Tynecastle to Hearts. They were knocked out of the League Cup by Edinburgh's other team Hibernian 2–1 on aggregate in the two legged semi final.

The European campaign lasted two matches. The club went out in the first round of the UEFA Cup after losing to Spanish side CA Osasuna. The first leg at Ibrox was won 1–0 thanks to a Craig Paterson goal but the team went down 2–0 in the second leg.

Rangers qualified for Europe on the last day of the season, beating Motherwell 2–0 at Ibrox.

The Glasgow Cup was won with a 3–2 victory over Celtic at Ibrox in May. This match presented an early opportunity for the players to impress their new boss.

Results

All results are written with Rangers' score first.

Scottish Premier Division

Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
10 August 1985 Dundee United H 1–0 28,035 McCoist
17 August 1985 Hibernian A 3–1 14,500 McCoist, McPherson, Williamson
24 August 1985 Heart of Midlothian H 3–1 35,483 Williamson (2), Burns
31 August 1985 Celtic A 1–1 58,365 McCoist
7 September 1985 St Mirren H 3–0 27,707 Fleck, Cooper, Burns
14 September 1985 Clydebank A 1–0 9,980 Williamson
21 September 1985 Dundee H 0–1 23,600
28 September 1985 Aberdeen H 0–3 37,599
5 October 1985 Motherwell A 3–0 12,711 McCoist (2), McPherson
12 October 1985 Dundee United A 1–1 15,821 McCoist
19 October 1985 Hibernian H 1–2 23,478 Cooper (pen.)
26 October 1985 St Mirren A 1–2 13,911 McCoist
2 November 1985 Clydebank H 0–0 16,943
9 November 1985 Celtic H 3–0 42,045 Durrant, Cooper, McMinn
16 November 1985 Heart of Midlothian A 0–3 23,083
23 November 1985 Dundee A 2–3 10,798 McCoist (2)
7 December 1985 Motherwell H 1–0 12,872 McCoist
14 December 1985 Dundee United H 1–1 17,786 McCoist
21 December 1985 Hibernian A 1–1 10,823 Cooper
28 December 1985 Heart of Midlothian H 0–2 33,410
1 January 1986 Celtic A 0–2 49,812
4 January 1986 Dundee H 5–0 13,954 McCoist (3), Williamson, Fleck
11 January 1986 Clydebank H 4–2 12,731 Paterson, McPherson, Williamson, McCoist
18 January 1986 St Mirren H 2–0 17,528 McCoist, McPherson
1 February 1986 Aberdeen H 1–1 29,887 Burns
8 February 1986 Motherwell A 0–1 11,619
19 February 1986 Aberdeen A 0–1 19,500
22 February 1986 Dundee United A 1–1 14,644 McCoist
1 March 1986 Hibernian H 3–1 16,574 McCoist (3, 1 (pen.))
15 March 1986 Dundee A 1–2 10,965 McCoist
22 March 1986 Celtic H 4-4 41,006 Fraser(2), McCoist, Fleck
29 March 1986 Heart of Midlothian A 1–3 24,740 McCoist (pen.)
12 April 1986 Clydebank A 1–2 7,027 Durrant
19 April 1986 St Mirren A 1–2 9,760 Dawson
26 April 1986 Aberdeen A 1–1 17,000 McMinn
3 May 1986 Motherwell H 2–0 21,500 McPherson, McCoist (pen.)

UEFA Cup

Date Round Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
18 September 1985 R1 Osasuna H 1–0 29,479 Paterson
2 October 1985 R1 Osasuna A 0–2 25,600

Scottish Cup

Date Round Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
25 January 1986 R3 Heart of Midlothian A 2–3 27,442 McCoist, Durrant

League Cup

Date Round Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
21 August 1985 R2 Clyde H 5–0 11,350 Williamson (3, 1 (pen.)), McCoist, Paterson
27 August 1985 R3 Forfar Athletic A 2–2* 7,283 Cooper (pen.), Williamson
4 September 1985 QF Hamilton Academical A 2–1 12,392 Williamson (2)
25 September 1985 SF L1 Hibernian A 0–2 17,916
9 October 1985 SF L2 Hibernian H 1–0 39,282 Cooper

*Rangers won 6–5 on penalties

Glasgow Cup

Date Round Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
9 September 1985 1984–85 F Queen's Park N 5–0 3,584 Fraser (3), Ferguson, McCoist (pen)
12 November 1985 SF Queen's Park A 2–1 1,724 McCoist (2)
9 May 1986 F Celtic H 3–2 40,741 McCoist (3)

Appearances

Player Position Appearances Goals
Scotland Nicky Walker GK 42 0
Scotland Peter McCloy GK 2 0
Scotland Hugh Burns DF 35 3
Scotland Stuart Munro DF 36 0
Scotland Dave McPherson DF 42 5
Scotland Craig Paterson DF 25 3
Scotland Ally Dawson DF 26 1
Scotland Stuart Beattie DF 5 0
Scotland Derek Johnstone DF 11 0
Scotland Scott Nisbet DF 5 0
Canada Colin Miller DF 3 0
Scotland Ian Durrant MF 37 3
Scotland Ally McCoist FW 40 27
Scotland Bobby Russell MF 35 0
Scotland Bobby Williamson FW 31 12
Scotland Derek Ferguson MF 21 0
Scotland Davie Cooper MF 39 6
Scotland Ted McMinn MF 32 1
Scotland Dave MacKinnon DF 27 0
Scotland Dougie Bell MF 29 0
Scotland Robert Fleck MF 16 3
Scotland Iain Ferguson MF 6 0
Scotland Cammy Fraser MF 10 2
Scotland Eric Ferguson FW 1 0
Scotland John MacDonald FW 4 0

League table

Pos Team
  • v
  • t
  • e
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
3 Dundee United 36 18 11 7 59 31 +28 47 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
4 Aberdeen 36 16 12 8 62 31 +31 44 Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round
5 Rangers 36 13 9 14 53 45 +8 35 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
6 Dundee 36 14 7 15 45 51 −6 35
7 St Mirren 36 13 5 18 42 63 −21 31
Source: Rsssf
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

See also

References

  • v
  • t
  • e
Rangers F.C. seasons
  • v
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Domestic leagues
Domestic cups
European competitions
Related to national team
Club seasons
Premier Division
First Division
  • Airdrieonians
  • Alloa Athletic
  • Ayr United
  • Brechin City
  • Clyde
  • Dumbarton
  • East Fife
  • Falkirk
  • Forfar Athletic
  • Hamilton Academical
  • Kilmarnock
  • Montrose
  • Morton
  • Partick Thistle
Second Division
  • Albion Rovers
  • Arbroath
  • Berwick Rangers
  • Cowdenbeath
  • Dunfermline Athletic
  • East Stirlingshire
  • Meadowbank Thistle
  • Queen's Park
  • Queen of the South
  • Raith Rovers
  • St. Johnstone
  • Stenhousemuir
  • Stirling Albion
  • Stranraer