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The Chronicles of the Banter Years (2012 - ∞)


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14 hours ago, Puffinmuncher said:

Many fans get tattoos to remind them of monumental events in their club’s history, such as cup finals, league titles or, erm, an Andy Little hat trick against Berwick Rangers...

IMG_0564.jpg

To be fair their record against Berwick isn't as good as it might be so something like this is definitely worth commemorating.

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14 hours ago, Puffinmuncher said:

Many fans get tattoos to remind them of monumental events in their club’s history, such as cup finals, league titles or, erm, an Andy Little hat trick against Berwick Rangers...

IMG_0564.jpg

The good thing with playing Berwick was that they finally fulfilled their dream of playing league football in England

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2014 - 15 - pre season.

So the Rangers juggernaut had reached the Championship and was just 1 small obstacle away from the big time. It wouldn't be easy at the would come up against 2 other fallen giants in Hearts and Hibs as well as Cowdenbeath. As always they recruited for the top flight -

IN - Darren McGregor (St Mirren), Kenny Miller (at the age of 68 from Vancouver), Marius Zaliukis, Lee Robinson and they made 5 loan signings from Newcastle in the January transfer window.  These 5 signings actually didn't even undergo a medical and if they were to win promotion they'd owe Newcastle 500K - clearly some shrew negotiations to obtain these talented players who would surely go on to have careers at the top of football.

Remie Streete - now at Port Vale

Gaël Bigirimana - now at Motherwell

Haris Vučkić - now at Cardiff but not getting a game

Kevin Mbabu - playing for Young Boys in Switzerland

Shane Ferguson - now at Millwall.

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So how did the season start? 

Well before the competitive action commenced they had organised a tour of North America. New York. Washington. Los Angeles - all of these cities didn't even realise that Rangers were visiting. First up?  L.A Galaxy? New York Red Bulls?

Venturacountyfusion.png

Nope me neither.   They must be a decent side though as they ran out 3-1 winners over the Scottish League 1 Champions. Clearly the USL PDL Southwest Division must be on a standard with the lower half of our top flight?  Quite a few Rangers fans made it to the match including the Los Angeles Rangers Supporters Club...JS41880568.jpg

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A tough opening fixture but positives to be taken...

Next up?

Sacramento Republic FC.png

A last minute winner from Ian Black saw the Glasgow Bears beat the Sacramento Bears.  The home side took to the pitch wearing capes in support of a local children's charity

The Sacramento team take to the pitch in capes pre-match in honour of a local children's charity

Fair-goers on the Big Wheel get a bird's eye view of the Rangers match

The best seats in the house?

It would end 2-1 and a late winner is always good for boosting confidence.  Next up? 

Victoriahighlanders.png

The Victoria Highlanders who currently play in Canada's fourth tier. One of their most notable players is Blair Sturrock (son of Paul) who became player coach at the club.  It was another successful outing as the Gers ran out 2-1 winners with goals from Callum Gallagher and Nicky Clark (below).Rangers striker Nicky Clark (left) is closed down by Elliot Mitrou before scoring his side's second goal of the game

The final stop on their tour saw them face Ottawa Fury who were about to start their first season in the North American Soccer League.  Lewis MacLeod scored the only goal of the match as the Scots headed home on the back of 3 straight wins. 

Image result for ottawa fury rangers

Either a very old flag or one celebrating the League One title....

So that was the pre season tour of North America.  A perfect way to prepare for their opening matches of the season....

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14 minutes ago, The Minertaur said:

 

The final stop on their tour saw them face Ottawa Fury who were about to start their first season in the North American Soccer League.  Lewis MacLeod scored the only goal of the match as the Scots headed home on the back of 3 straight wins. 

Image result for ottawa fury rangers

Either a very old flag or one celebrating the League One title....

So that was the pre season tour of North America.  A perfect way to prepare for their opening matches of the season....

Minor correction, it was Nicky Law who got the goal in this game, not Lewis Macleod.  I was in attendance that evening hoping to see Sevco lose.  

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2014/15 

So it was on to the real stuff as the domestic football kicked off.  A 2-1 AET win over Hibs in the League Cup started the season off before their rivals Hearts came to Ibrox on the opening day of the league season.  It was to be an emotional day as the Govan Stand was renamed the Sandy Jardine stand after he recently died.  A touching memorial to an excellent player.

JS43756115.jpg

So of course the most poignant way to commemorate Sandy would be to go out and defeat their future title rivals....ex Ger Danny Wilson scored first for Hearts before a last gasp equaliser from Nicky Law surely secured a point.

Image result for rangers 1 hearts 2 nicky law goal

Nope. Osman Sow picked up the ball from kick off and ran through the static Gers backline before scoring to make it 2-1. 

JS43761476.jpg

 

As the season progressed Rangers started to show signs of a side who....well...weren't very good. In fact their first 2 matches against the giants of Alloa saw two 1-1 draws. 

Image result for alloa 1 rangers 1 TEMPLETON

Joyous scenes as David Templeton scores the late equaliser at Recreation Park.

Next up though were Hibs at Ibrox who actually hadn't won a single away match in the league so far that season.  They'd lost to Hearts, Alloa and Queen of the South on the road and were now heading through to Fortress Ibrox? This match could only go one way.

Image result for rangers 1 hibs 3

It was 3-0 at half time with Jason Cummings scoring twice as well as a rare goal for David Gray. David Gray is certainly not a prolific goalscorer so I'd be stunned if he managed to score another goal in a big match against Rangers.

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The intimidating RFC Ultras were out in force despite it being a school night.

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Rangers would then go unbeaten in the league until the end of November when they faced Hearts once again. Image result for hearts 2 rangers 0 2014

Rangers went down to 10 men early on much to the glee of the Hearts fans above. Jason Holt (whatever happened to him?) and Jamie Walker scored the goals as the Jambos cemented their place at the top of the league. Their was joyous scenes for the home side when former player Ian Black fouled Jamie Walker to concede a late penalty which he converted.

 JS51443945.jpg

The ginger boy above showing his delight at his team going NINE points clear at the top of the table while questions must be asked about the professionalism of the photographer in this photo.  

Rangers would bounce back with a narrow 1-0 win over Cowdenbeath before heading down to Dumfries to take on Queen of the South.  There was drama before the match as Ally McCoist announced that he had actually handed in his notice (just a 12 month notice period to be worked!) and it clearly affected the team as Queens ran out 2-0 winners.

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They would then go on to lose their 3rd away match in a row a fortnight later at Easter Road. I'll hold my hands up - David Gray once again scoring against Rangers which is something that nobody here would have predicted!

Gray opened the scoring before goals from Cummings, Robertson and Craig saw a 4-0 victory for the home side.  Of course at this point Super Ally was on gardening leave and Kenny McDowell was forced into the managerial role. 

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Ian Black was subbed off within half an hour and it was to be a grim afternoon for the Rangers faithful.

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Merry Christmas mate.

In fairness Rangers would only lose 2 more league matches after December and it was against the same 2 sides who beat them recently.  First Hibs won 2-0 at Ibrox thanks to goals from Robertson and Stevenson before Queens thumped the Gers 3-0 again down at Palmerston.  In between those 2 games though they had a run of FIVE draws against Falkirk, Cowdenbeath (who had lost 10-0 7 days before), Queen of the South, Livingston and of course Alloa.

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By the time the Queens game arrived Stuart McCall was in charge...

Dejection for Rangers as Gavin Reilly wheels away having put Queens 3-0 ahead

Image result for queen of the south 3 rangers 0

Bilel Moshni calmly pointing out where the ball is

 

The league campaign would end with a 2-2 draw at Tynecastle despite Rangers being 2-0 up with just 8 minutes to play.  After the match....

Image result for hearts rangers zeefuik

 

So Rangers would be in the play offs where they would have to overcome Queen of the South to have a shot at beating Hibs. Motherwell awaited the winners.....

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Not to forget in December 2015 when Newco snatched a late 2-2 draw at home to Morton, with Tavernier gallantly scoring the visitors’ first goal.

The home fans were so ecstatic that amid the usual coins, they lobbed a glass bottle into the away end.

Edit - just realised that it was two years ago today. Still remember the scenes after Stefán put us 2-1 up with 6 minutes left.

Edited by AyrshireTon
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2014/15 - Play Offs

So it would be Queen of the South who Rangers would face first in the play offs. The first game would be played at Palmerston where Rangers had lost both their previous league games that season.  However a spirited performance saw striker from Stevie Smith and Dene Shiels cancel out a Derek Lyle goal.  2-1 after 90 minutes it would all go down to Ibrox.

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Derek Lyle would score again for Queens against Rangers but Lee Wallace struck with 30 minutes to go as Rangers narrowly progressed 3-2 on aggregate. 

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One down, two to go.

Next up was Hibs who did a great job of finishing runner up in the league and were confident of dispatching Stuart McCalls side.  Ibrox was buzzing for the first leg though and Rangers ran out deserved 2-0 winners which meant the 1-0 loss in the 2nd leg was immaterial.  Rangers were through to the play off final and were taking on Motherwell.

Once again the first leg was at Ibrox and there was a huge Rangers support there to cheer the team on.  Stage 3 of the journey was almost complete and all they needed to do was defeat a struggling Motherwell side. 

 

Rangers fans show their colours before the match

Possibly it was no surprise that this confusing banner meant that Rangers didn't turn up for the game. "AYE READY" apparently doesn't translate to the players out on the pitch.  

Motherwell players celebrate Lionel Ainsworth's strike with their fans

Goals from Lee Erwin, Stephen McManus and Lionel Ainsworth had The Well 3-0 up just 4 minutes into the second half. 

Motherwell manager Ian Baraclough celebrates his side going 3-0 up as Rangers manager Stuart McCall walks back to the dugout

Stuart McCall forgetting the golden rule - "we don't do walking away"

Darren McGregor pulled a goal back but it was the last goal of the match.  Rangers 1 - 3 Motherwell.

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This of course meant that Rangers would have to travel to Fir Park and win by 2 clear goals to stand any chance of promotion to the promised land.

What Rangers needed was to not make any mistakes and a little bit of good fortune.  At half time though it's 0-0 with chances at both ends.  The most notable moment coming when Lee McCulloch was hit in the face by a Motherwell flagpole!

Lee McCulloch holds his face after being smacked by a fan's flagpole

"Keep it tight at the back lads and nick an early goal to put the pressure on" was surely the advice from the manager before the 2nd half.  

3 minutes into the second half and Marvin Johnson picks the ball up in the middle of the pitch and drives forward before hitting a long range effort which deflects high into the sky....

Motherwell's Marvin Johnson fires it home to give his side a 1-0 lead

What should be a simple save for Cammy Bell suddenly becomes a bit more complicated as he goes for an elaborate one handed punch to keep the ball out....

Cammy Bell can't get to Marvin Johnson's deflected shot as Motherwell take the leadSadly as can be seen here Cammy forgot to keep his eyes opening and could only half-heartedly punch the ball into his own goal.  Rangers now needed 3.

As time ticked by Rangers never looked like scoring and it was no surprise when Lionel Ainsworth pounced to make it 2-0 and 5-1 on aggregate. 

Image result for motherwell 3 rangers 0 lionel ainsworth

It was too easy and the cherry on top of the cake came in the dying moments when Lee Wallace brought down Lee Erwin to concede a penalty which John Sutton duly dispatched.   Nice and easy for Motherwell and that was the end of the football.....

Then hell broke loose. 

Quote

Defender Mohsni was pushed in the back by Lee Erwin, and responded by kicking the Motherwell striker and then punching him, with Kerr then becoming involved with the Tunisian amid a melee.

Image result for motherwell 3 rangers 0 mohsni

 

Image result for motherwell 3 rangers 0 mohsni

Image result for motherwell 3 rangers 0 mohsni

Image result for motherwell 3 rangers 0 mohsni

If only they Rangers had shown the same fighting spirit as Bilel here during the match then they may well have ended up getting promoted.

 

Quote

Meanwhile, Motherwell fans streamed onto the pitch and ran towards the away fans to goad them.

The stewards and police eventually ushered them away, with mounted police also involved in shepherding supporters back into the stand.

Motherwell fans invade the pitch at the end of the game

 

Motherwell fans taunt Rangers fans after invading the Fir Park pitch at full-time

Police horses enter the Fir Park pitch to stop more Motherwell fans from invading the pitch

Surely the only time we'd see such disgraceful scenes involved the opposition fans goading the innocent Rangers fans.  I mean police horses? In the 21st Century?

Image result for motherwell 3 rangers 0 celebrations play off

 

All in all a disappointing end to a disappointing season for Rangers.  But did the cups offer a glimmer of joy?

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4 minutes ago, The Minertaur said:

 

2014/15 - Play Offs

So it would be Queen of the South who Rangers would face first in the play offs. The first game would be played at Palmerston where Rangers had lost both their previous league games that season.  However a spirited performance saw striker from Stevie Smith and Dene Shiels cancel out a Derek Lyle goal.  2-1 after 90 minutes it would all go down to Ibrox.

JS63795140.jpg

Derek Lyle would score again for Queens against Rangers but Lee Wallace struck with 30 minutes to go as Rangers narrowly progressed 3-2 on aggregate. 

JS63795087.jpg

 

One down, two to go.

Next up was Hibs who did a great job of finishing runner up in the league and were confident of dispatching Stuart McCalls side.  Ibrox was buzzing for the first leg though and Rangers ran out deserved 2-0 winners which meant the 1-0 loss in the 2nd leg was immaterial.  Rangers were through to the play off final and were taking on Motherwell.

Once again the first leg was at Ibrox and there was a huge Rangers support there to cheer the team on.  Stage 3 of the journey was almost complete and all they needed to do was defeat a struggling Motherwell side. 

 

Rangers fans show their colours before the match

Possibly it was no surprise that this confusing banner meant that Rangers didn't turn up for the game. "AYE READY" apparently doesn't translate to the players out on the pitch.  

Motherwell players celebrate Lionel Ainsworth's strike with their fans

Goals from Lee Erwin, Stephen McManus and Lionel Ainsworth had The Well 3-0 up just 4 minutes into the second half. 

Motherwell manager Ian Baraclough celebrates his side going 3-0 up as Rangers manager Stuart McCall walks back to the dugout

Stuart McCall forgetting the golden rule - "we don't do walking away"

Darren McGregor pulled a goal back but it was the last goal of the match.  Rangers 1 - 3 Motherwell.

JS64764155.jpg

 

This of course meant that Rangers would have to travel to Fir Park and win by 2 clear goals to stand any chance of promotion to the promised land.

What Rangers needed was to not make any mistakes and a little bit of good fortune.  At half time though it's 0-0 with chances at both ends.  The most notable moment coming when Lee McCulloch was hit in the face by a Motherwell flagpole!

Lee McCulloch holds his face after being smacked by a fan's flagpole

"Keep it tight at the back lads and nick an early goal to put the pressure on" was surely the advice from the manager before the 2nd half.  

3 minutes into the second half and Marvin Johnson picks the ball up in the middle of the pitch and drives forward before hitting a long range effort which deflects high into the sky....

Motherwell's Marvin Johnson fires it home to give his side a 1-0 lead

What should be a simple save for Cammy Bell suddenly becomes a bit more complicated as he goes for an elaborate one handed punch to keep the ball out....

Cammy Bell can't get to Marvin Johnson's deflected shot as Motherwell take the leadSadly as can be seen here Cammy forgot to keep his eyes opening and could only half-heartedly punch the ball into his own goal.  Rangers now needed 3.

As time ticked by Rangers never looked like scoring and it was no surprise when Lionel Ainsworth pounced to make it 2-0 and 5-1 on aggregate. 

Image result for motherwell 3 rangers 0 lionel ainsworth

It was too easy and the cherry on top of the cake came in the dying moments when Lee Wallace brought down Lee Erwin to concede a penalty which John Sutton duly dispatched.   Nice and easy for Motherwell and that was the end of the football.....

Then hell broke loose. 

Image result for motherwell 3 rangers 0 mohsni

 

Image result for motherwell 3 rangers 0 mohsni

Image result for motherwell 3 rangers 0 mohsni

Image result for motherwell 3 rangers 0 mohsni

If only they Rangers had shown the same fighting spirit as Bilel here during the match then they may well have ended up getting promoted.

 

Motherwell fans invade the pitch at the end of the game

 

Motherwell fans taunt Rangers fans after invading the Fir Park pitch at full-time

Police horses enter the Fir Park pitch to stop more Motherwell fans from invading the pitch

Surely the only time we'd see such disgraceful scenes involved the opposition fans goading the innocent Rangers fans.  I mean police horses? In the 21st Century?

Image result for motherwell 3 rangers 0 celebrations play off

 

All in all a disappointing end to a disappointing season for Rangers.  But did the cups offer a glimmer of joy?

A poor season that one and those play offs against qots and ibs were really nerve wracking, that has to be the most underperforming team I've ever seen. Probably down to Ally trying to be one of the lads rather than being a manager.

1 hour ago, The Minertaur said:

2014/15 

So it was on to the real stuff as the domestic football kicked off.  A 2-1 AET win over Hibs in the League Cup started the season off before their rivals Hearts came to Ibrox on the opening day of the league season.  It was to be an emotional day as the Govan Stand was renamed the Sandy Jardine stand after he recently died.  A touching memorial to an excellent player.

JS43756115.jpg

So of course the most poignant way to commemorate Sandy would be to go out and defeat their future title rivals....ex Ger Danny Wilson scored first for Hearts before a last gasp equaliser from Nicky Law surely secured a point.

Image result for rangers 1 hearts 2 nicky law goal

Nope. Osman Sow picked up the ball from kick off and ran through the static Gers backline before scoring to make it 2-1. 

JS43761476.jpg

 

As the season progressed Rangers started to show signs of a side who....well...weren't very good. In fact their first 2 matches against the giants of Alloa saw two 1-1 draws. 

Image result for alloa 1 rangers 1 TEMPLETON

Joyous scenes as David Templeton scores the late equaliser at Recreation Park.

Next up though were Hibs at Ibrox who actually hadn't won a single away match in the league so far that season.  They'd lost to Hearts, Alloa and Queen of the South on the road and were now heading through to Fortress Ibrox? This match could only go one way.

Image result for rangers 1 hibs 3

It was 3-0 at half time with Jason Cummings scoring twice as well as a rare goal for David Gray. David Gray is certainly not a prolific goalscorer so I'd be stunned if he managed to score another goal in a big match against Rangers.

JS47568381.jpg

The intimidating RFC Ultras were out in force despite it being a school night.

JS47569029.jpg

 

Rangers would then go unbeaten in the league until the end of November when they faced Hearts once again. Image result for hearts 2 rangers 0 2014

Rangers went down to 10 men early on much to the glee of the Hearts fans above. Jason Holt (whatever happened to him?) and Jamie Walker scored the goals as the Jambos cemented their place at the top of the league. Their was joyous scenes for the home side when former player Ian Black fouled Jamie Walker to concede a late penalty which he converted.

 JS51443945.jpg

The ginger boy above showing his delight at his team going NINE points clear at the top of the table while questions must be asked about the professionalism of the photographer in this photo.  

Rangers would bounce back with a narrow 1-0 win over Cowdenbeath before heading down to Dumfries to take on Queen of the South.  There was drama before the match as Ally McCoist announced that he had actually handed in his notice (just a 12 month notice period to be worked!) and it clearly affected the team as Queens ran out 2-0 winners.

JS52887064.jpg

They would then go on to lose their 3rd away match in a row a fortnight later at Easter Road. I'll hold my hands up - David Gray once again scoring against Rangers which is something that nobody here would have predicted!

Gray opened the scoring before goals from Cummings, Robertson and Craig saw a 4-0 victory for the home side.  Of course at this point Super Ally was on gardening leave and Kenny McDowell was forced into the managerial role. 

JS53561731.jpg

Ian Black was subbed off within half an hour and it was to be a grim afternoon for the Rangers faithful.

JS53562718.jpg

Merry Christmas mate.

In fairness Rangers would only lose 2 more league matches after December and it was against the same 2 sides who beat them recently.  First Hibs won 2-0 at Ibrox thanks to goals from Robertson and Stevenson before Queens thumped the Gers 3-0 again down at Palmerston.  In between those 2 games though they had a run of FIVE draws against Falkirk, Cowdenbeath (who had lost 10-0 7 days before), Queen of the South, Livingston and of course Alloa.

JS56811583.jpg

By the time the Queens game arrived Stuart McCall was in charge...

Dejection for Rangers as Gavin Reilly wheels away having put Queens 3-0 ahead

Image result for queen of the south 3 rangers 0

Bilel Moshni calmly pointing out where the ball is

 

The league campaign would end with a 2-2 draw at Tynecastle despite Rangers being 2-0 up with just 8 minutes to play.  After the match....

Image result for hearts rangers zeefuik

 

So Rangers would be in the play offs where they would have to overcome Queen of the South to have a shot at beating Hibs. Motherwell awaited the winners.....

 

2 hours ago, The Minertaur said:

2014 - 15 - pre season.

So the Rangers juggernaut had reached the Championship and was just 1 small obstacle away from the big time. It wouldn't be easy at the would come up against 2 other fallen giants in Hearts and Hibs as well as Cowdenbeath. As always they recruited for the top flight -

IN - Darren McGregor (St Mirren), Kenny Miller (at the age of 68 from Vancouver), Marius Zaliukis, Lee Robinson and they made 5 loan signings from Newcastle in the January transfer window.  These 5 signings actually didn't even undergo a medical and if they were to win promotion they'd owe Newcastle 500K - clearly some shrew negotiations to obtain these talented players who would surely go on to have careers at the top of football.

Remie Streete - now at Port Vale

Gaël Bigirimana - now at Motherwell

Haris Vučkić - now at Cardiff but not getting a game

Kevin Mbabu - playing for Young Boys in Switzerland

Shane Ferguson - now at Millwall.

Related image

So how did the season start? 

Well before the competitive action commenced they had organised a tour of North America. New York. Washington. Los Angeles - all of these cities didn't even realise that Rangers were visiting. First up?  L.A Galaxy? New York Red Bulls?

Venturacountyfusion.png

Nope me neither.   They must be a decent side though as they ran out 3-1 winners over the Scottish League 1 Champions. Clearly the USL PDL Southwest Division must be on a standard with the lower half of our top flight?  Quite a few Rangers fans made it to the match including the Los Angeles Rangers Supporters Club...JS41880568.jpg

JS41880109.jpg

A tough opening fixture but positives to be taken...

Next up?

Sacramento Republic FC.png

A last minute winner from Ian Black saw the Glasgow Bears beat the Sacramento Bears.  The home side took to the pitch wearing capes in support of a local children's charity

The Sacramento team take to the pitch in capes pre-match in honour of a local children's charity

Fair-goers on the Big Wheel get a bird's eye view of the Rangers match

The best seats in the house?

It would end 2-1 and a late winner is always good for boosting confidence.  Next up? 

Victoriahighlanders.png

The Victoria Highlanders who currently play in Canada's fourth tier. One of their most notable players is Blair Sturrock (son of Paul) who became player coach at the club.  It was another successful outing as the Gers ran out 2-1 winners with goals from Callum Gallagher and Nicky Clark (below).Rangers striker Nicky Clark (left) is closed down by Elliot Mitrou before scoring his side's second goal of the game

The final stop on their tour saw them face Ottawa Fury who were about to start their first season in the North American Soccer League.  Lewis MacLeod scored the only goal of the match as the Scots headed home on the back of 3 straight wins. 

Image result for ottawa fury rangers

Either a very old flag or one celebrating the League One title....

So that was the pre season tour of North America.  A perfect way to prepare for their opening matches of the season....

Santa supporting the bears in bottom pic, left hand side bottom.

4 hours ago, The Minertaur said:

2013/14 - League 1

Well after their domination of the bottom division and runs in all the Cups it was looking good for another bright season for Rangers and in fairness they did go the whole league season undefeated amassing a giant 102 points. Credit where it's due as it couldn't have been easy to avoid defeat up against big sides like Dunfermline and Ayr United.

Then again they did make some rather over the top signings for League 1.  In came Cammy Bell from Kilmarnock, Nicky Law (Motherwell), Jon Daly (Dundee Utd), Arnold Peralta (Vida), Richard Foster (Bristol City), Stevie Smith (Portland Timbers), Steven Simonsen (Dundee) and of course Bilel Moshni (Southend).  Bilel would become a cult hero in Scottish football...

Image result for bilel mohsni

Moshni making friends at Motherwell the following year

The only dropped points came against Stranraer (a 94th minute Longworth goal), Stenhousemuir (a 3-3 draw with another late goal) and a 1-1 draw with Dunfermline on the final day of the season.

The Stenhousemuir game was the most entertaining match at Ibrox in the league that season.  Sean Higgins scoring the final goal with a penalty 15 minutes from time.

Image result for sean higgins rangers goal

Sean Higgins clearly trying to goad the Ibrox faithful. Great restraint shown here.

 

The Cups -

Well any side winning 33 out of 36 matches should have the confidence to go far in any competition.  A winning mentality is established and it makes the squad fear no opposition.  With numerous top flight level players in their team the mighty Rangers were going for an unprecedented quadruple and started the season with an easy match away to Forfar in the League Cup.  The road to 4 trophies begins now...

Image result for forfar 2 rangers 1

An excellent advert for Forfars premier milk company.

FORFAR ATHLETIC V RANGERS- RANGERS DEJECTION AT THE END

 

Well the quest for a quadruple didn't last long. A Gavin Swankie double cancelled out Fraser Airds goal for Rangers and the League Cup was out of reach.  This was early in the season on a plastic pitch - you could almost excuse it.  ALMOST.

Charles Green disagreed....

So a League title and a Cup was a must.  No worries - Rangers will surely have enough to lift the Challenge Cup?

A 4-0 thumping of Albion Rovers in the 1st Round set them up for a famous cup run that would end with a memorable match at Easter Road.  To get there though they also had to beat Berwick, Queen of the South and Stenhousemuir to set up the final with Raith Rovers. 

Obviously nerves were apparent in both sides as the match ticked towards penalties after extra time.  With 3 minutes to go finally a goal....

John Baird scored the winning goal for Raith which the Daily Record described as...

JS34675097.jpg

Image result for rangers 0 raith 1 challenge cup

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All too much for Ian Black to take in

Image result for rangers 0 raith 1 challenge cup

 

That defeat meant Rangers just had the Scottish Cup to try and win and less than a week after the Ramsdens Cup defeat they had a semi final to compete in....

After victories over Airdrieonians, Falkirk and Dunfermline without conceding a goal the only team that stood between the Gers and the semi's was Albion Rovers.  ALBION ROVERS? This should be a walk in the park for the Ibrox Globetrotters! 

Rangers 1 - Albion Rovers 1.  Ciaran Donnelly scored the opening goal for Rovers and they were on course for a famous win when Bilel Moshni scored a rather controversial equaliser.

Controversy: Rangers survived what would have been one of the most embarrassing results in their history thanks to Bilel Mohsni's goal

Rangers scrape through thanks to this goal - is it a foul?

They would win the replay 2-0 and set up a semi final against their arch rivals Dundee United. Due to work at Hampden the semi final was being played at Ibrox - a home match basically!  The Rangers fans went all out to try and intimidate the opposition....

Related image

Unfortunately none of the Dundee United players even noticed it.

The match went as all non Gers fans hoped.  United ran out 3-1 winners and the greatest moment came when Steve Simonsen slipped and allowed future Celt Nadir Ciftci in to score a tap in. Nadir cheekily started celebrating before even firing the ball into the empty goal.

Image result for nadir ciftci celebrate goal rangers

Image result for rangers 1 dundee united 3

No cups for Rangers this season. Nevermind promotion was achieved and under their bright young manager Ally McCoist surely the Championship would be easy enough the next season? Luckiy for Ally Charles Green had left the club months ago so there was no repercussions for the lack of cup silverware. 

Image result for ally mccoist manager of the month

 

Image result for rangers win league 1

Image result for rangers win league 1

 

It looks like the glory days are back on the way for The Famous Glasgow Rangers.  Thankfully for everybody a DVD has been released regarding the 2013/14 season and has received nothing but high reviews - 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Glasgow-Rangers-2013-Season-Review/dp/B00PUB7WA0/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

Glasgow Rangers 2013/14 Season Review [DVD]

Only £6.95 and would be delivered well before Christmas.  A great stocking filler or possible Secret Santa gift I'm sure you shall all agree.

Here's a list of all the Scottish League 1 winners who have decided to release a season review DVD in honour of their amazing success -

  • Rangers 2013/14

 

That's actually been a decent read and brought back some memories that had slipped my mind, thanks for the effort that you've put in.

The hedge in our opening lower league game has to be my overriding memory of those years.

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Loving this...

 

This has to be the start of best threads on P&B and I am sure it will soon hit 2012 + pages which will be fitting to match the year of the founding of the new rangers. Lock it when it hits 2012 pages please admin

I challenge anyone to find a football team (or holding company !!) anywhere in the world that has suffered as much humiliation and embarrassment as the (second) rangers. 

Really can this be matched?

Various Hibs/Hearts winning losing spells?  eh no

Hibs not winning Scottish cup? eh no, but was funny....

Ayr winning nothing and never will? eh no, but really funny....

However to watch this tribute act burn through millions pretending to be the same cheating club, that existed before they died, has truly been joyous.

Long may it continue

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