2011–12 Rangers F.C. season

Overview

Rangers played a total of 45 competitive matches during the 2011-12 season. Smith's deputy and Rangers record goalscorer Ally McCoist was appointed manager of the club. Hampered by a bizarre transfer policy under Whyte, Rangers found themselves knocked out of first the UEFA Champions League and then the UEFA Europa League by the end of August, depriving the club of income that may have been anticipated. With the new ownership there initially appeared to be some financial stability of the club. A number of first-team regulars were secured on long-term contract extensions including Steven Davis, Allan McGregor, Steven Whittaker and Gregg Wylde. When McCoist entered the transfer market, his first signing being Almería midfielder Juan Manuel Ortiz, he soon encountered difficulties. A number of highly publicised failed transfers, including deals for Wesley Verhoek and Roland Juhász, led to many doubting Whyte’s financial prowess.

Rangers's first Scottish Premier League match of the season was a home match against Jim Jefferies' Hearts, where the league flag was unfurled by then chairman Craig Whyte, as Rangers were under considerable pressure for most of the first half but managed to salvage a draw. The following week, McCoist claimed his first competitive victory as manager with a win over St Johnstone. The season proved to be a baptism of fire for McCoist, by early October the club held a ten-point lead over Celtic, and on 5 November the lead stood at fifteen points over Celtic and twelve over second placed Motherwell. However, a draw with St Johnstone and subsequent defeats to Kilmarnock, St Mirren and Old Firm rivals Celtic, who then went on a run of twenty-one matches undefeated saw Rangers slip to second place where the club remained for the rest of the season.

Ranger's European adventure began in the middle of the final week of July, where Rangers were defeated by underdogs Malmö 1-0 at home and Rangers crashed out of the Champions League with a bad tempered 1-1 draw in Sweden in which both Steven Whittaker and Madjid Bougherra were both given their marching orders, and ultimately relegating the Gers to the Europa League play-off round, where they faced Slovenian team NK Maribor. In cup competitions the club fair no better, a third round defeat to First Division side Falkirk in the League Cup and a fifth round exit at home at the hands of Dundee United.

On 13 February 2012, Rangers filed legal papers at the Court of Session giving notice of their intention to appoint administrators. Rangers officially entered administration on the following day, appointing London-based financial advisers Duff & Phelps as administrators. Rangers entered administration over an alleged non-payment of £9m in PAYE and VAT taxes to HM Revenue and Customs. On entering administration, the team was docked ten points by the SPL, a move regarded as 'effectively ending' its 2012 championship challenge. A failure then to submit accounts for 2011 meant the club was not granted a licence to play in European football in season 2012–13. In April it was revealed that the club's total debts could be as high as £134m.

On 13 May it was revealed that Whyte sold his controlling interest in The Rangers Football Club Plc for £2 to a consortium led by Charles Green. Green offered the creditors a settlement, in the form of a company voluntary arrangement (CVA), in an attempt to exit administration. On 12 June 2012, it emerged that HMRC would reject the CVA put forward by Green. Green's takeover of the club depended on the CVA being accepted by HMRC, which would have seen only £8.5m of the total debt repaid. The formal rejection of the CVA, two days later, meant that the Rangers Football Club Plc entered the liquidation process and the clubs corporate owner would have to be transfer to a new company. The oldco's assets, including Rangers F.C., Ibrox Stadium and Murray Park, were sold to Sevco 5088 Ltd, a consortium led by Green, in a deal worth £5.5m. In turn, these assets were then transferred to Sevco Scotland Ltd which was renamed The Rangers Football Club Ltd at the end of July 2012.

In

Last updated: 11 February 2012
Total spending: £4.31m

Out

Last updated: 25 March 2012
Total income: £7.513m

New Contracts

Last updated: 2 January 2012

Squad statistics

Last updated: 13 May 2012
Source: Soccerbase - Rangers 2011/2012 player appearances
Ordered by squad numbers
0 shown as blank

Scottish Premier League

Last updated: 13 May 2012
Source: Wikipedia article
¹Rangers goals come first.
National flags for Ground and Opponent columns are only shown when different to that of Rangers.
M = Match; Ground: H = Home, A = Away, N = Neutral, HR = Home replacement, AR = Away replacement.

UEFA Champions League

Last updated: 3 August 2011
Source: Wikipedia article
¹Rangers goals come first.
National flags for Ground and Opponent columns are only shown when different to that of Rangers.
M = Match; Ground: H = Home, A = Away, N = Neutral, HR = Home replacement, AR = Away replacement.

UEFA Europa League

Last updated: 25 August 2011
Source: Wikipedia article
¹Rangers goals come first.
National flags for Ground and Opponent columns are only shown when different to that of Rangers.
M = Match; Ground: H = Home, A = Away, N = Neutral, HR = Home replacement, AR = Away replacement.

Scottish Cup

Last updated: 5 February 2012
Source: Wikipedia article
¹Rangers goals come first.
National flags for Ground and Opponent columns are only shown when different to that of Rangers.
M = Match; Ground: H = Home, A = Away, N = Neutral, HR = Home replacement, AR = Away replacement.

League Cup

Last updated: 21 September 2011
Source: Wikipedia article
¹Rangers goals come first.
National flags for Ground and Opponent columns are only shown when different to that of Rangers.
M = Match; Ground: H = Home, A = Away, N = Neutral, HR = Home replacement, AR = Away replacement.

Friendlies

Last updated: 29 November 2011
Source: Wikipedia article
¹Rangers goals come first.
National flags for Ground and Opponent columns are only shown when different to that of Rangers.
M = Match; Ground: H = Home, A = Away, N = Neutral, HR = Home replacement, AR = Away replacement.

Overall

Source: Competitions

Standings

Updated to games played on 13 May 2012.
Source: Wikipedia article
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head goals scored; 5) goal difference; 6) number of goals scored
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.
Head-to-Head: used when head-to-head record is used to rank tied teams.
^† Rangers were docked 10 points for entering administration. Should they remain in administration by the end of March, they will be ineligible to play in a 2012–13 European competition.

Results summary

Last updated: 13 May 2012.
Source: Wikipedia article

Results by round

Last updated: 13 May 2012.
Source: Wikipedia article
Ground: A = Away; H = Home. Result: D = Draw; L = Loss; W = Win; P = Postponed.