1983–84 Rangers F.C. season

The 1983–84 season was the 104th season of competitive football by Rangers.

Rangers
1983-84 season
ChairmanRae Simpson
John Paton
ManagerJohn Greig
(until 28 October)
Tommy McLean
Jock Wallace
(from 10 November)
GroundIbrox Park
Scottish Premier Division4th
P36 W15 D12 L9 F53 A41 Pts42
Scottish CupQuarter-finals
League CupWinners
Cup Winners' CupSecond Round
Glasgow CupWinners
Top goalscorerLeague:
Sandy Clark (9)
All:
Ally McCoist (20)

Overview

Rangers played a total of 55 competitive matches during the 1983–84 season. The season would signal the end of John Greig's managerial career. The league season began badly, one point from the first four league games, although the team did win their six League Cup games under Greig. A fruitful brief run in the European Cup Winner's Cup saw Rangers win the second round, first leg 2–1 over F.C. Porto (runners up) after the team's record breaking 18-0 aggregate win over Maltese champions Valletta. After the first nine league games, Greig's team had collected just seven points from eighteen and, in the end, the pressure was too much for Greig who ultimately resigned as manager on 28 October 1983.

Rangers were overseen by former midfielder Tommy McLean, who acted as caretaker, whilst attempts were made to find a new permanent manager. On 10 November 1983, Jock Wallace was persuaded by the Rangers board to leave Motherwell and return to the club. His aim was to restore the glory years of the treble-winning sides of the late 1970s. Wallace's initial impact was positive, boosting morale and fitness. He made changes to the coaching staff, bringing in Alex Totten as first team coach with Tommy McLean, David Provan and Joe Mason leaving. Wallace also added to the squad during the season; Bobby Williamson arrived from Clydebank, Nicky Walker from old club Motherwell and Stuart Munro from Alloa Athletic.

Wallace's first match in command was at Pittodrie on 12 November 1983. The game finished in a 3–0 defeat but subsequently the side went on a 22 match unbeaten run in all competitions until March 1984. However, Rangers still ended that season fourth in the league, fifteen points behind champions Aberdeen. The club did win a trophy, the League Cup. The cup final was a thrilling extra-time victory over Celtic, with Ally McCoist getting a hat-trick, in the 3–2 win that won them the cup.

Results

All results are written with Rangers' score first.

Scottish Premier Division
DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
20 August 1983St MirrenH1–121,500Prytz (pen.)
3 September 1983CelticA1–250,662McCoist
10 September 1983Heart of MidlothianA1–316,173Mitchell
17 September 1983AberdeenH0–227,500
24 September 1983St JohnstoneH6–312,500McCoist (2), McClelland, Prytz (pen.), Cooper, Clark
1 October 1983Dundee UnitedA2–016,738Clark, Hegarty (o.g.)
8 October 1983HibernianH1–021,800McClelland
15 October 1983DundeeA2–311,945Russell, Redford
22 October 1983MotherwellH1–215,000McCoist (pen.)
29 October 1983St MirrenA0–312,068
5 November 1983CelticH1–242,000Clark
12 November 1983AberdeenA0–322,771
19 November 1983Dundee UnitedH0–027,800
26 November 1983St JohnstoneA1–09,740Redford
3 December 1983Heart of MidlothianH3–022,500Clark (2), MacDonald
10 December 1983MotherwellA3–013,586McAdam, Cooper, Mitchell
17 December 1983DundeeH2–116,500Russell, Williamson
27 December 1983HibernianA2–020,820Williamson, Cooper
31 December 1983St MirrenH1–121,200Clark
7 January 1984AberdeenH1–137,500Cooper (pen.)
21 January 1984St JohnstoneH2–018,001Clark, Russell
4 February 1984MotherwellH2–117,000McCoist, Prytz (pen.)
11 February 1984Heart of MidlothianA2–218,063McCoist, Williamson
25 February 1984DundeeA3–111,750Russell, Cooper, McPherson
3 March 1984HibernianH0–017,000
6 March 1984St JohnstoneA4–15,293Redford, Clark, Davies, McCoist
31 March 1984MotherwellA3–08,574Paterson, McPherson, Burns
2 April 1984CelticA0–353,229
7 April 1984Heart of MidlothianH0–022,000
21 April 1984CelticH1–040,260Williamson
28 April 1984St MirrenA1–18,092Williamson
2 May 1984Dundee UnitedH2–216,500Clark, Williamson
5 May 1984DundeeH2–217,000Redford, Cooper
9 May 1984AberdeenA0–016,200
12 May 1984HibernianA0–010,567
14 May 1984Dundee UnitedA2–16,457Prytz (pen.), McCoist

Cup Winners' Cup
DateRoundOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
14 September 1983R1VallettaA8–018,213McPherson (4), Prytz (2, 1 (pen.)), Paterson, MacDonald
28 September 1983R1VallettaH10–011,500MacDonald (3, 1 (pen.)), Mitchell (2), Redford (2),
Dawson, MacKay, Davies
19 October 1983R2FC PortoH2–127,800Clark, Mitchell
2 November 1983R2FC PortoA0–163,000

Scottish Cup
DateRoundOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
28 January 1984R3Dunfermline AthleticH2–117,500McAdam, McCoist
18 February 1984R4CaledonianA6–05,500Williamson (2), McCoist (2), Redford, Russell
10 March 1984QFDundeeA2–217,097Russell, McGeachie (o.g.)
17 March 1984QF RDundeeH2–325,000McPherson, McClelland

League Cup
DateRoundOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
24 August 1983R2 L1Queen of the SouthH4–08,000MacDonald (2), Clark, Prytz (pen.)
27 August 1983R2 L2Queen of the SouthA4–17,350Mitchell, McKinnon, Cooper, McCoist
31 August 1983SRClydebankH4–08,500McCoist (2), Russell, Prytz
7 September 1983SRHeart of MidlothianA3–011,287Clark (2), Gauld (o.g.)
5 October 1983SRSt MirrenH5–011,500McCoist (2), Clark, McClelland, Paterson
26 October 1983SRHeart of MidlothianH2–012,000Prytz, Mitchell
9 November 1983SRClydebankA3–03,612Cooper, McCoist, McPherson
30 November 1983SRSt MirrenA1–05,446Cooper
15 February 1984SF L1Dundee UnitedA1–114,569Mitchell
22 February 1984SF L2Dundee UnitedH2–035,950Clark, Redford
25 March 1984FCelticN3–266,369McCoist (3, 1 (pen.))

Glasgow Cup (1982-83 competition)
DateRoundOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
10 August 1983SFClydeA1–04,700Ruseell
13 August 1983FCelticN1–032,707Clark

Appearances
Player Position Appearances Goals
Scotland Peter McCloy GK 400
Scotland Nicky Walker GK 110
Scotland Ally Dawson DF 451
Northern Ireland John McClelland DF 554
Scotland Dave McPherson DF 548
Scotland Craig Paterson DF 343
Scotland Ian Redford MF 478
Sweden Robert Prytz MF 429
Scotland Ally McCoist FW 4720
Scotland Sandy Clark FW 4516
Scotland Bobby Russell MF 487
Scotland Davie Cooper MF 519
Scotland John MacDonald FW 287
Scotland Billy Davies MF 72
Scotland Dave MacKinnon DF 231
Australia David Mitchell MF 218
Scotland Jim Stewart GK 40
Northern Ireland Jimmy Nicholl DF 260
Scotland Kenny Lyall MF 20
Scotland Gregor Stevens DF 20
Scotland Derek Ferguson MF 50
Scotland Andy Kennedy FW 20
Scotland Colin McAdam DF 112
Scotland Bobby Williamson FW 208
Scotland Hugh Burns DF 71
Scotland Scott Fraser DF 80
Scotland Billy MacKay MF 51
Scotland Stuart Munro DF 50
Scotland Robert Fleck MF 10
Scotland Eric Ferguson FW 40
Scotland Kenny Black MF 10

League table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
2 Celtic 36 21 8 7 80 41 +39 50 Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round
3 Dundee United 36 18 11 7 67 39 +28 47 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
4 Rangers 36 15 12 9 53 41 +12 42
5 Heart of Midlothian 36 10 16 10 38 47 −9 36
6 St Mirren 36 9 14 13 55 59 −4 32
Source: Statto
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

See also

References
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