1985–86 Rangers F.C. season

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

Rangers
1985–86 season
ChairmanJohn Paton
ManagerJock Wallace
(until 7 April)
Alex Totten
(from 8 April)
(until 16 April)
Don Mackay
(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)

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
DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
10 August 1985Dundee UnitedH1–028,035McCoist
17 August 1985HibernianA3–114,500McCoist, McPherson, Williamson
24 August 1985Heart of MidlothianH3–135,483Williamson (2), Burns
31 August 1985CelticA1–158,365McCoist
7 September 1985St MirrenH3–027,707Fleck, Cooper, Burns
14 September 1985ClydebankA1–09,980Williamson
21 September 1985DundeeH0–123,600
28 September 1985AberdeenH0–337,599
5 October 1985MotherwellA3–012,711McCoist (2), McPherson
12 October 1985Dundee UnitedA1–115,821McCoist
19 October 1985HibernianH1–223,478Cooper (pen.)
26 October 1985St MirrenA1–213,911McCoist
2 November 1985ClydebankH0–016,943
9 November 1985CelticH3–042,045Durrant, Cooper, McMinn
16 November 1985Heart of MidlothianA0–323,083
23 November 1985DundeeA2–310,798McCoist (2)
7 December 1985MotherwellH1–012,872McCoist
14 December 1985Dundee UnitedH1–117,786McCoist
21 December 1985HibernianA1–110,823Cooper
28 December 1985Heart of MidlothianH0–233,410
1 January 1986CelticA0–249,812
4 January 1986DundeeH5–013,954McCoist (3), Williamson, Fleck
11 January 1986ClydebankH4–212,731Paterson, McPherson, Williamson, McCoist
18 January 1986St MirrenH2–017,528McCoist, McPherson
1 February 1986AberdeenH1–129,887Burns
8 February 1986MotherwellA0–111,619
19 February 1986AberdeenA0–119,500
22 February 1986Dundee UnitedA1–114,644McCoist
1 March 1986HibernianH3–116,574McCoist (3, 1 (pen.))
15 March 1986DundeeA1–210,965McCoist
22 March 1986CelticH4–441,006Fraser (2), McCoist, Fleck
29 March 1986Heart of MidlothianA1–324,740McCoist (pen.)
12 April 1986ClydebankA1–27,027Durrant
19 April 1986St MirrenA1–29,760Dawson
26 April 1986AberdeenA1–117,000McMinn
3 May 1986MotherwellH2–021,500McPherson, McCoist (pen.)

UEFA Cup
DateRoundOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
18 September 1985R1OsasunaH1–029,479Paterson
2 October 1985R1OsasunaA0–225,600

Scottish Cup
DateRoundOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
25 January 1986R3Heart of MidlothianA2–327,442McCoist, Durrant

League Cup
DateRoundOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
21 August 1985R2ClydeH5–011,350Williamson (3, 1 (pen.)), McCoist, Paterson
27 August 1985R3Forfar AthleticA2–2*7,283Cooper (pen.), Williamson
4 September 1985QFHamilton AcademicalA2–112,392Williamson (2)
25 September 1985SF L1HibernianA0–217,916
9 October 1985SF L2HibernianH1–039,282Cooper

*Rangers won 6–5 on penalties

Glasgow Cup
DateRoundOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
9 September 19851984–85 FQueen's ParkN5–03,584Fraser (3), Ferguson, McCoist (pen)
12 November 1985SFQueen's ParkA2–11,724McCoist (2)
9 May 1986FCelticH3–240,741McCoist (3)

Appearances
Player Position Appearances Goals
Nicky Walker GK 420
Peter McCloy GK 20
Hugh Burns DF 353
Stuart Munro DF 360
Dave McPherson DF 425
Craig Paterson DF 253
Ally Dawson DF 261
Stuart Beattie DF 50
Derek Johnstone DF 110
Scott Nisbet DF 50
Colin Miller DF 30
Ian Durrant MF 373
Ally McCoist FW 4027
Bobby Russell MF 350
Bobby Williamson FW 3112
Derek Ferguson MF 210
Davie Cooper MF 396
Ted McMinn MF 321
Dave MacKinnon DF 270
Dougie Bell MF 290
Robert Fleck MF 163
Iain Ferguson MF 60
Cammy Fraser MF 102
Eric Ferguson FW 10
John MacDonald FW 40

League table
Pos Team 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 51 56 −5 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: Statto
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

See also

References
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