The club were once a major force in European football but events off the field of play brought them to their knees. Glasgow Rangers were plunged into a financial crisis after Craig Whyte purchased the Ibrox club from former owner David Murray for £1 in 2011.
That may seem a ridiculous price for one of the biggest sports teams in the United Kingdom but, chances are, Mr Whyte will look back and think he maybe should have kept that pound coin in his pocket. Shortly after the takeover Gers entered administration and were eventually dumped into the bottom tier of Scottish football.
The sports-loving content team at SEO marketing firm SeoBrothers catch up on the remarkable story from the fair Scottish city of Glasgow.
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What’s behind the monumental comeback of Glasgow Rangers?
It was the darkest time in the history of Rangers but, as the old saying goes, tough times don’t last, tough people do. Just nine years after entering administration Rangers stand on the brink of a record 55th Scottish title and find themselves in the latter stages of European competition.
How did the boys in blue manage such a monumental comeback? The appointment of then-rookie manager Steven Gerrard had a major impact with the former Liverpool and England captain reshaping Rangers from top to bottom.
When taking over from the previous manager Pedro Caixinha, Gerrard inherited a team that was worth little, going nowhere and severely lacking in the confidence and ambition that the Rangers sides of old had in abundance. In the season before Gerrard arrived in Govan Rangers had been knocked out of the Europa League at the qualifying stage by little known Luxembourg side FC Progres Niederkorn.
Steven immediately set about improving the playing squad and backroom staff. He brought in former Scotland great Gary McAllister as his assistant and Michael Beale as the first-team coach. The players signed were all done on a shoestring budget. Freebies here, loans there, favours asked, the stars of the Liverpool youth set-up borrowed, and former Rangers players begged to return and lend a hand to their former employers.
It was a work in progress for Rangers with Gerrard tasked with halting the dominance of Glasgow Celtic. Rangers failed to stop the Hoops’ title charge in Gerrard’s first two seasons. The blues found themselves challenging for the title at Christmas before falling off the pace in the New Year. Some began to question the boss and his team as fans watched on while Old Firm rivals Celtic collected trophy after trophy.
The winds of change were blowing through Scottish football
The winds of changes were blowing through Scottish football, however, and it was a case of third time lucky for Gerrard. With Celtic on the brink of winning a record 10th Scottish title on the bounce, Gers splashed the cash in the summer transfer window, pulling in season ticket money despite no fan attendance at games. They also funded the recruitment drive with the money made from reaching the last 16 of the previous season’s Europa League.
In season 2020/21 the Rangers players didn’t seem affected by the lack of supporters inside Ibrox Park. They had a job to do and stuck to their task with focus supporters hadn’t seen for a generation. They beat Celtic 2-0 at Parkhead with defender Conor Goldson getting both goals. They then did the double with a narrow 1-0 victory over Celts at Ibrox in their final game of 2020, an own-goal proving the difference in that game.
No one in the winning dressing room cared to admit it but as Celtic stumbled from one poor result to another, a 55th league title was wrapped up well before it was mathematically impossible for Neil Lennon’s Bhoys to get back into it. The dreams of 10-in-a-row were over and the Gers across the city celebrated a title that will never be forgotten.
Will 2020/21 be remembered as the greatest success in the history of Rangers football club? Only time will tell but considering the road they had to travel to get there, from Division Three to Premiership champions, it will surely take some beating.
Betting traders impressed by Glasgow Rangers
Following the successful launch of Serbian Mightytips, a popular sportsbook-related site, we checked the latest odds concerning Rangers. Major bookmakers across the world had them as strong favourites to win the league following that second win over Celtic. Traders also fancied Gers to make it to the latter stages of the UEFA Europa League and that was also a shrewd call.
Rangers won their Europa League pool despite being drawn as the outsiders from pot four. They went on to qualify as group winners, sending shockwaves through the competition. In the knockout stages of the tournament, they beat Royal Antwerp home and away, winning 4-3 in Belgium and 5-2 a week later in Glasgow. That ensured an appearance in the Round of 16 for the second season.
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