The 2003–04 season was the 124th season of competitive
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
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
Neil Doherty McCann (born 11 August 1974) is a Scottish Association football, football pundit, former professional Association football, player and former Manager (association football), manager. He has recently worked as a pundit for BBC Scotla ...
, 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
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Foot ...
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
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,[Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Foot ...](_blank)
. The
League Cup campaign also ended in defeat at the semi-final stage to
Hibernian at
Hampden Park
Hampden Park ( ; Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden'') is a association football, football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland, which is the national stadium of football in Scotland and home of the Scotland national football ...
, 4–3 on penalties.
In Europe Rangers managed to qualify for the group stages of the
2003–04 UEFA Champions League
The 2003–04 UEFA Champions League was the 12th season of UEFA's premier European club football tournament, the UEFA Champions League, since its rebranding from the European Cup in 1992, and the 49th tournament overall. This was the first UEFA C ...
with a win over
F.C. Copenhagen in the third qualifying round. They were drawn in the group stages alongside English Champions
Manchester United
Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
,
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...
and
Panathinaikos. Despite earning 4 points from the first two matches Rangers were to finish bottom of the group.
Players
Squad information
Transfers
In
Total spending: £1.12m
Out
Total received: £10.5m
Player statistics
Disciplinary record
Club
Board of directors
Coaching staff
Other staff
Matches
Friendlies
Scottish Premier League
Scottish League Cup
*Rangers lost the match 4–3 on penalties
Scottish Cup
UEFA Champions League
Competitions
Overall
Scottish Premier League
Standings
Results summary
Results by round
Champions league table
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:2003-04 Rangers F.C. Season
Rangers F.C. seasons
Rangers