The 2003–04 season was the 124th season of competitive football by Rangers.
Overview
Rangers played a total of 52 competitive matches during the 2003–04 season. The season ended trophyless. Due to the club's financial situation they had to resort to selling many top players. These included Barry Ferguson, Lorenzo Amoruso and Neil McCann, they also released high earners Arthur Numan and Bert Konterman.
Despite starting the season well with seven consecutive wins and topping the table, a 1–0 loss at home to Celtic in October saw Rangers season unravel. Inconsistent form and three old firm derby defeats saw Rangers fall behind Celtic in the title race and ended up finishing 17 points off top spot.
The Scottish Cup campaign ended in the third round after a 1–0 defeat to Celtic. The League Cup campaign also ended in defeat at the semi-final stage to Hibernian at Hampden Park, 4–3 on penalties.
In Europe Rangers managed to qualify for the group stages of the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League with a win over F.C. Copenhagen in the third qualifying round. They were drawn in the group stages alongside English Champions Manchester United, Stuttgart and Panathinaikos. Despite earning 4 points from the first two matches Rangers were to finish bottom of the group.
Players
Squad information
Transfers
In
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Date
!Player
!From
!Fee
|-
|17 June 2003
| Nuno Capucho || Porto || £700,000
|-
|18 July 2003
| Zurab Khizanishvili || Dundee || Free
|-
|4 August 2003
| Paolo Vanoli || Bologna || Free
|-
|5 August 2003
| Henning Berg || Blackburn Rovers || Free
|-
|30 August 2003
| Egil Østenstad || Blackburn Rovers|| Free
|-
|rowspan=2|18 September 2003
| Hamed Namouchi || Cannes|| Free
|-
| Marc Kalenga || Auxerre|| Free
|-
|26 January 2004
| Frank de Boer || Galatasaray|| Free
|-
|31 January 2004
| Bajram Fetai || B.93|| £200,000
|}
Out
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Date
!Player
!To
!Fee
|-
|rowspan=4|1 June 2003
| Dan Eggen || Le Mans || Free
|-
| Arthur Numan ||colspan=2|Retired
|-
|3 June 2003
| Paul Reid || Northampton Town || £100,000
|-
|4 June 2003
| Claudio Caniggia || Qatar SC || Free
|-
|7 July 2003
| Bert Konterman || Vitesse || Free
|-
|14 July 2003
| Lorenzo Amoruso || Blackburn Rovers || £1,400,000
|-
|30 July 2003
| Steven MacLean || Scunthorpe United || Loan
|-
|5 August 2003
| Neil McCann || Southampton || £1,500,000
|-
|21 August 2003
| Jimmy Gibson || Clyde || Free
|-
| Kevin Muscat || Millwall || Free
|-
|16 January 2004
| Jesper Christiansen || Viborg FF || Free
|-
|18 March 2004
| Egil Østenstad || Viking FK || Free
|}
- Expenditure: £1,107,000
- Income: £10,500,000
- Total loss/gain: £9,393,000
Player statistics
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!No.
!Player
!Position
!Appearances
!Goals
|-
|1 ||align="left"| ||GK || 46 || 0
|-
|2 ||align="left"| ||DF || 42 || 1
|-
|3 ||align="left"| ||DF|| 25 || 2
|-
|4 ||align="left"| ||MF || 18 || 1
|-
|5 ||align="left"| ||DF|| 17 || 2
|-
|6 ||align="left"| ||MF || 5 || 0
|-
|7 ||align="left"| ||FW || 29 || 15
|-
|8 ||align="left"| ||MF || 21 || 5
|-
|9 ||align="left"| ||FW || 17 || 2
|-
|10 ||align="left"| ||FW || 45 || 12
|-
|11 ||align="left"| ||MF || 11 || 2
|-
|12 ||align="left"| ||DF|| 17 || 0
|-
|14 ||align="left"| ||MF || 21 || 3
|-
|15 ||align="left"| ||DF|| 38 || 0
|-
|16 ||align="left"| ||DF|| 35 || 1
|-
|17 ||align="left"| ||DF|| 0|| 0
|-
|18 ||align="left"| ||DF|| 43 || 1
|-
|19 ||align="left"| ||FW || 19 || 8
|-
|20 ||align="left"| ||MF || 32 || 6
|-
|21 ||align="left"| ||DF|| 30 || 1
|-
|22 ||align="left"| ||GK || 6 || 0
|-
|23 ||align="left"| ||MF || 33 || 9
|-
|24 ||align="left"| ||FW || 0 || 0
|-
|25 ||align="left"| ||DF|| 30 || 0
|-
|26 ||align="left"| ||MF || 36 || 13
|-
|27 ||align="left"| ||MF || 28 || 3
|-
|29 ||align="left"| ||GK || 0 || 0
|-
|30 ||align="left"| ||MF || 26 || 4
|-
|32 ||align="left"| ||DF|| 11 || 1
|-
|37 ||align="left"| ||MF || 9 || 3
|-
|38 ||align="left"| ||FW || 3 || 0
|-
|40 ||align="left"| ||MF || 2 || 0
|-
|45 ||align="left"| ||MF || 2 || 0
|-
|48 ||align="left"| ||DF || 2 || 0
|-
|49 ||align="left"| ||FW || 1 || 0
|-
|50 ||align="left"| ||FW || 1 || 0
|-
|52 ||align="left"| ||FW || 1 || 0
|}
Disciplinary record
Club
Board of directors
Coaching staff
Other staff
Matches
Friendlies
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:100%; text-align:center"
!Date!!Opponent!!Venue!!Result!!Attendance!!Scorers
|- bgcolor = "#EEFFEE"
| 16 July 2003|| Greuther Fürth||N||2–0||3,500||Thompson (2)
|- bgcolor = "#EEFFEE"
| 19 July 2003|| VfB Auerbach||A||5–1||2,500||Mols (3), Capucho, Løvenkrands
|- bgcolor = "#EEFFEE"
| 19 July 2003|| Erzgebirge Aue||A||1–0||2,500||R.de Boer
|- bgcolor = "#FFEEEE"
| 22 July 2003|| Jahn Regensburg||A||1–2||5,000||Nerlinger
|- bgcolor = "#FFEEEE"
| 26 July 2003|| Everton||H||2–3||28,000||Thompson, Mols
|- bgcolor = "#EEFFEE"
| 30 July 2003||Linfield||A||3–0||13,284||R.de Boer, Dowie, MacLean
|- bgcolor = "#FFEEEE"
| 5 August 2003|| Arsenal||H||0–3||37,000||
|}
Scottish Premier League
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:100%; text-align:center"
!Date!!Opponent!!Venue!!Result!!Attendance!!Scorers
|- bgcolor = "#EEFFEE"
| 9 August 2003||Kilmarnock||H||4–0||49,108||Løvenkrands, Mols, Arteta (2, 1 pen)
|- bgcolor = "#EEFFEE"
| 16 August 2003
| Aberdeen
|A
|3–2
|16,348
| R. de Boer, Arteta, Mols
|- bgcolor = "#EEFFEE"
| 23 August 2003
| Hibernian
|H
|5–2
|49,642
| Mols (2), O'Connor (o.g.), Arteta, Burke
|- bgcolor = "#EEFFEE"
| 31 August 2003
| Dundee United
|A
|3–1
|11,111
| Capucho, Arveladze, Arteta (pen.)
|- bgcolor = "#EEFFEE"
| 13 September 2003
| Dunfermline Athletic
|H
|4–0
|49,072
| Thompson, Mols, Arveladze, Capucho
|- bgcolor = "#EEFFEE"
| 21 September 2003
| Heart of Midlothian
|A
|4–0
|14,732
| Arveladze (2), Løvenkrands (2)
|- bgcolor = "#EEFFEE"
| 27 September 2003
| Dundee
|H
|3–1
|49,548
| Arveladze (2), Vanoli
|- bgcolor = "#FFEEEE"
| 4 October 2003
| Celtic
|H
|0–1
|49,825
|
|- bgcolor = "#FFFFEE"
| 19 October 2003
| Motherwell
|A
|1–1
|10,824
| Arveladze
|- bgcolor = "#FFFFEE"
| 25 October 2003
| Livingston
|A
|0–0
|9,627
|
|- bgcolor = "#EEFFEE"
| 1 November 2003
| Partick Thistle
|H
|3–1
|49,551
| Arteta (2, 1 pen.), Mols
|- bgcolor = "#EEFFEE"
| 9 November 2003
| Kilmarnock
|A
|3–2
|12,204
| Arveladze (2), Capucho
|- bgcolor = "#EEFFEE"
| 22 November 2003
| Aberdeen
|H
|3–0
|49,962
| Hughes, Løvenkrands (2),
|- bgcolor = "#EEFFEE"
| 30 November 2003
| Hibernian
|A
|1–0
|11,160
| Hughes
|- bgcolor = "#EEFFEE"
| 6 December 2003
| Dundee United
|H
|2–1
|49,307
| Capucho, Løvenkrands
|- bgcolor = "#FFEEEE"
| 14 December 2003
| Dunfermline Athletic
|A
|0–2
|8,592
|
|- bgcolor = "#EEFFEE"
| 20 December 2003
| Hearts
|H
|2–1
|49,592
| Arveladze, Burke
|- bgcolor = "#EEFFEE"
| 28 December 2003
| Dundee
|A
|2–0
|10,948
| Capucho, Ball
|- bgcolor = "#FFEEEE"
| 3 January 2004
| Celtic
|A
|0–3
|59,087
|
|- bgcolor = "#EEFFEE"
| 17 January 2004
| Motherwell
|H
|1–0
|48,925
| Arveladze
|- bgcolor = "#EEFFEE"
| 24 January 2004
| Livingston
|H
|1–0
|48,638
| Nerlinger
|- bgcolor = "#EEFFEE"
| 1 February 2004
| Partick Thistle
|A
|1–0
|8,220
| Løvenkrands
|- bgcolor = "#EEFFEE"
| 11 February 2004
| Kilmarnock
|H
|2–0
|46,900
| Moore, Namouchi
|- bgcolor = "#FFFFEE"
| 14 February 2004
| Aberdeen
|A
|1–1
|15,815
| F.de Boer
|- bgcolor = "#EEFFEE"
| 21 February 2004
| Hibernian
|H
|3–0
|49,698
| Arveladze (pen), Mols, Thompson(pen)
|- bgcolor = "#FFEEEE"
| 29 February 2004
| Dundee United
|A
|0–2
|10,497
|
|- bgcolor = "#FFFFEE"
| 13 March 2004
| Hearts
|A
|1–1
|14,598
| Moore(pen)
|- bgcolor = "#EEFFEE"
| 20 March 2004
| Dundee
|H
|4–0
|49,364
| Løvenkrands, F.de Boer, Rae, Thompson
|- bgcolor = "#EEFFEE"
| 23 March 2004
| Dunfermline Athletic
|H
|4–1
|47,487
| Hutton, Løvenkrands, R.de Boer, Mols
|- bgcolor = "#FFEEEE"
| 28 March 2004
| Celtic
|H
|1–2
|49,909
| Thompson
|- bgcolor = "#EEFFEE"
| 4 April 2004
| Motherwell
|A
|1–0
|8,967
| Hughes
|- bgcolor = "#FFFFEE"
| 14 April 2004
| Livingston
|A
|1–1
|6,096
| Mols
|- bgcolor = "#EEFFEE"
| 17 April 2004
| Partick Thistle
|H
|2–0
|49,279
| Thompson, Rae
|- bgcolor = "#FFFFEE"
| 24 April 2004
| Dundee United
|A
|3–3
|8,339
| Thompson (2, 1 pen), Namouchi
|- bgcolor = "#EEFFEE"
| 1 May 2004
| Motherwell
|H
|4–0
|47,579
| Arteta, Ross, Namouchi, Thompson
|- bgcolor = "#FFEEEE"
| 8 May 2004
| Celtic
|A
|0–1
|59,180
|
|- bgcolor = "#FFEEEE"
| 12 May 2004
| Hearts
|H
|0–1
|47,467
|
|- bgcolor = "#EEFFEE"
| 16 May 2004
| Dunfermline Athletic
|A
|3–2
|6,798
| Ricksen, Burke, McCormack (pen.)
|}
Scottish League Cup
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:100%; text-align:center"
!Date!!Round!!Opponent!!Venue!!Result!!Attendance!!Scorers
|- bgcolor = "#EEFFEE"
| 28 October 2003||R3||Forfar Athletic||H||6–0||26,327||Nerlinger (3), Løvenkrands, Capucho, Østenstad
|- bgcolor = "#EEFFEE"
| 3 December 2003||QF||St Johnstone||H||3–0||11,072||Burke, Østenstad, Mols
|- bgcolor = "#FFFFEE"
| 5 February 2004||SF||Hibernian||N||*1–1||27,954||Mols
|}
<small>*Rangers lost the match 4–3 on penalties</small>
Scottish Cup
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:100%; text-align:center"
!Date!!Round!!Opponent!!Venue!!Result!!Attendance!!Scorers
|- bgcolor = "#EEFFEE"
| 10 January 2004||R3||Hibernian||A||2–0||11,392||Arveladze, Løvenkrands
|- bgcolor = "#EEFFEE"
| 8 February 2004||R4||Kilmarnock||A||2–0||11,072||R.de Boer, Arveladze (pen.)
|- bgcolor = "#FFEEEE"
| 7 March 2004||QF||Celtic||A||0–1||58,735||
|}
UEFA Champions League
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:100%; text-align:center"
!Date!!Round!!Opponent!!Venue!!Result!!Attendance!!Scorers
|- bgcolor = "#FFFFEE"
| 13 August 2003 ||QR3|| Copenhagen||H||1–1||47,401||Løvenkrands
|- bgcolor = "#EEFFEE"
| 27 August 2003 ||QR3|| Copenhagen||A||2–1||35,519||Arteta (pen.), Arveladze
|- bgcolor = "#EEFFEE"
| 16 September 2003 ||GS|| VfB Stuttgart||H||2–1||47,957||Nerlinger, Løvenkrands
|- bgcolor = "#FFFFEE"
| 1 October 2003 ||GS|| Panathinaikos||A||1–1||13,718||Emerson
|- bgcolor = "#FFEEEE"
| 22 October 2003 ||GS|| Manchester United||H||0–1||48,730||
|- bgcolor = "#FFEEEE"
| 4 November 2003 ||GS|| Manchester United||A||0–3||66,707||
|- bgcolor = "#FFEEEE"
| 26 November 2003 ||GS|| VfB Stuttgart||A||0–1||50,348||
|- bgcolor = "#FFEEEE"
| 9 December 2003 ||GS|| Panathinaikos||H||1–3||48,588||Mols
|}