The 1986–87 season was the 107th season of competitive football by Rangers.
Overview
Rangers played a total of 56 competitive matches during the 1986–87 season. The team finished top of the
Scottish Premier Division
The Scottish Football League Premier Division was, from 1975 until 1998, the top division of the Scottish Football League and the entire Scottish football league system. It lay above the Scottish Football League First, Second and (from 1994) ...
for the first time in nine seasons. A total of 69 points were gained from 44 games and a lead of six points over second placed Celtic.
The Souness Revolution began with the signing of England internationals, goalkeeper Chris Woods and centre half Terry Butcher. Northern Ireland international Jimmy Nicholl rejoined the club and Colin West was brought in to partner Ally McCoist in attack. In December Graham Roberts arrived from Tottenham Hotspur to strengthen the defence.
There was a disappointing start to the league campaign, losing 2–1 to Hibernian at
Easter Road
Easter Road is a association football, football stadium located in the Leith area of Edinburgh, Scotland, which is the home ground of Scottish Premiership club Hibernian F.C., Hibernian (Hibs). The stadium currently has an all-seated capacity ...
. Graeme Souness was sent off for a tackle on George McCluskey in the centre circle, with both teams displaying a lack of discipline at that moment."Si Ferry Meets... Ally McCoist" – Open Goal, YouTube, published on 16 April 2018
On the penultimate day of the season the Championship was secured at Pittodrie with a 1–1 draw against Aberdeen. A Terry Butcher header was enough to bring the league title back to Ibrox for the first time since 1978.
In the cup competitions, Rangers were knocked out of the
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Ibrox to
Hamilton Academical
Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire who currently compete in the Scottish Championship, having been relegated from the 2020–21 Scotti ...
. The goal ended a run of 1196 minutes without conceding – a British record for goalkeeper Chris Woods.
They won the
League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
Ian Durrant
Ian Durrant (born 29 October 1966) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player who is currently a first team coach at East Kilbride.
During his playing career, Durrant played as a midfielder for Rangers for 13 years and was par ...
and
Davie Cooper
Davie is a surname and a form of the masculine given name David.
It can refer to:
Surname
* Alan Davie (1920-2014), Scottish painter and musician
* Alexander Edmund Batson Davie (1847-1889), Canadian politician and eighth Premier of British Col ...
. This was an early success for Graeme Souness and helped pave the way towards the Championship.
The European campaign was moderately successful. Rangers reached the third round of the
UEFA Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...
after beating
Ilves Tampere
Ilves (; Finnish for " Lynx") is a Finnish professional ice hockey team based in Tampere. They play in the Liiga at the Tampere Deck Arena.
The colors of Ilves, green, yellow, and black, were taken from what was then the coat of arms of the cit ...
All results are written with Rangers' score first.
Scottish Premier Division
UEFA Cup
Scottish Cup
League Cup
*Rangers won the match 5–4 on penalties
Glasgow Cup
Appearances
League table
See also
*
1986–87 in Scottish football
The 1986–87 season was the 90th season of competitive football in Scotland.
In the first full season under the management of player-manager Graeme Souness, Rangers won their first league title since 1978, and also won the League Cup. The tit ...
*
1986–87 Scottish Cup
The 1986–87 Scottish Cup was the 102nd staging of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. The Cup was won by St Mirren who defeated Dundee United in the final. It is also the last time the competition was won by a team cont ...
1986–87 UEFA Cup
The 1986–87 UEFA Cup was the 16th season of the UEFA Cup, a football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for clubs affiliated to its member associations. The competition was won by IFK Göteborg of Sweden ...