RANGERS v ST JOHNSTONE
IBROX STADIUM • WED 1 MARCH 2017 • KO 7:45pm
MATCHDAY 27
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>CONTENTS
IN tonight’s MATCHDAY PROGRAMME
RANGERS
FOOTBALL CLUB IBROX STADIUM, 150 EDMISTON DRIVE GLASGOW, G51 2XD Chairman DAVE KING
Directors JOHN BENNETT, JOHN GILLIGAN, DOUGLAS PARK, GRAEME PARK PAUL MURRAY
Barrie MCKAY
Honorary Life President JOHN GREIG MBE
Managing Director STEWART ROBERTSON
Director: Finance and Administration ANDREW DICKSON
Caretaker Manager GRAEME MURTY
Doctor PAUL JACKSON
Head of Performance and Preparation CRAIG FLANNIGAN
Goalkeeping Coach JIM STEWART
Head of analysis NEIL MCILHARGEY
Head of Recruitment FRANK MCPARLAND
Kit Controller JIMMY BELL
Editor NEIL SMITH
Design GREG JOHN GILFILLAN
Photography KIRK O’ROURKE
Contributors ALICE HEDWORTH, NICK THOMSON, ROBERT BOYLE, ANDY CAMERON, ROBERT CARMICHAEL, ANDREW DICKSON, LINDSAY HERRON
Print L&S LITHO The views in this magazine are not necessarily the views of Rangers Football Club. All material is copyrighted and may only be reproduced with the written permission of Rangers Football Club. The appearance of an advert within this publication does not necessarily mean that the goods/services advertised are associated with or endorsed by Rangers Football Club. All facts and information accurate at time of going to press.
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STEWART ROBERTSON QUIZ CARLOS BOCANEGRA INTERVIEW JAK ALNWICK - ON THE SPOT ON THIS DAY: 1st MARCH GARY BOLLAN INTERVIEW NEXTGEN GERS - JAMIE BARJONAS LEE WALLACE RANGERS HISTORIAN: DAVID MASON NINE IN A ROW PART 7 ANDY CAMERON THE A-Z OF RANGERS: T JUNIOR GERS STATS & APPEARANCES THE LAST WORD: CRAIG MULHOLLAND PAGE 3
Football BARRIE McKAY is determined to help keep Gers’ season on
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Focus track despite recent changes at managerial level
INTERVIEW BY NICK THOMSON | PHOTOS: KIRK O’ROURKE
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WORDS: ANDREW DICKSON
ATLANTA UNITED TECHNICAL DIRECTOR CARLOS BOCANEGRA WITH WINGER HECTOR VILLALBA
AFTER TWO YEARS OF PREPARATIONS, CARLOS BOCANEGRA’S ATLANTA UNITED ARE READY TO START LIFE IN THE MLS AT LAST
B
UILDING a team from scratch, preparing it for life in a new league and trying to put a structure in place which will help it grow and succeed. As a member of the Rangers squad which set out on the journey from the Third Division in the summer of 2012, those are all processes Carlos Bocanegra is familiar with. This time he’s at it again, yet on a whole different scale from when he was trying to help the Light Blues recover from the after effects of administration
almost five years ago. Tomorrow marks the second anniversary of Bocanegra’s appointment as Atlanta United’s technical director. Since taking on the role, he has been tasked with getting the new club up and running to the point it is ready to play competitive football – and that day comes this Sunday. Kicking off their very first MLS campaign against New York Red Bulls, it will be a landmark moment for the former American international captain. Bocanegra played seven games for Rangers in
2012/13, including three in Scottish football’s bottom tier, before going on loan to Racing Santander then joining Chivas USA permanently. His time in the lower leagues was therefore brief, and on a personal level what he has been doing more recently has been a much larger project. Bocanegra said: “We’re just a few days out now so it’s been a really busy period but it’s good and things are coming together. “It’s been a long process and there has been a lot to prepare away from the field. We’ve had systems to put in PAGE 7
STADIUM TOURS Get behind the scenes.
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NEXT GEN
POSITION: Midfielder BORN: 24.01.1999 HOMETOWN: Cumbernauld JOINED RANGERS: 2008 WEIGHT: 78kg HEIGHT: 1.8m
GERS
IN TH E WE’L REMAIN L PR ING OF PR PL AY ERS ILE SOM OGR AM HOP E OF MES THE IN FIRS T T T TE G TO FO HE DE V HIS SE A A M. ELOP S ON RCE THEI M R WA ENT SQ UAD Y INT O
I joined Rangers when I was nineyears-old from Clyde Soccer. I was scouted and came along to a few different things on Sundays, then I moved into the youth team and I have worked my way through every age group since.
I played for Balloch Eastfield and for Clyde Soccer before signing for Rangers.
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WORDS: LINDSAY HERRON
Cold Snap PLAYING in Dortmund with Rangers in December 1995 was a dream for Gary Bollan but a late injury turned his Champions League adventure into a nightmare. PAGE 10
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N a bitterly cold night in western Germany Gary Bollan realised the full enormity of where his football career had taken him as Rangers ended their Champions League campaign with a highly creditable 2-2 draw with Borussia Dortmund. Rangers had not scored on German soil for nearly 20 years, but against the odds – Paul Gascoigne was sent off – Brian Laudrup and Gordon Durie both netted to secure a second draw with Ottmar Hitzfeld’s side having also tied 2-2 at Ibrox. Bollan, having already faced Juventus and Steaua Bucharest, was playing at the highest level of the game, rubbing shoulders with
some of the greats of modern times like Alessandro Del Piero, Luca Vialli, Andi Moeller, Karl-Heinz Riedle and Marius Lacatus. However, that enormous high on 6 December 1995 turned into a disastrous low as an accidental injury with only minutes remaining effectively began the end of his Rangers career. In a bitter twist of fate, it was the defender’s 13th appearance in a light blue shirt after signing along with Alex Cleland from Dundee United in January that year. And it was an unfortunate twist of his knee on the freezing surface at the Westfalen Stadium that was to blame, and although he didn’t know it at the time it was to prove pivotal. He didn’t play again
for Rangers for nearly two years by which time he realised he needed to leave for the benefit of his career. He was sold to St Johnstone in February 1998 and went on to enjoy three fantastic years in Perth – indeed, one of the greatest years in the history of that club. Bollan, now manager of Forfar Athletic and looking like taking them up to League One as champions, could be melancholy about it all but these European experiences are still cherished. The 43-year-old said: “That night in Dortmund was a massive night because it was my third appearance in the Champions League and I was playing in one of the great European stadiums.
FREEZING CONDITIONS MEANT THE WESTFALEN’S PITCH WAS ROCK HARD
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JORDAN HOUSTON (CENTRE) WITH BILLY GILMOUR AND LIAM BURT AT DENS PARK ON FEBRUARY 19
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The Last Word with Craig Mulholland
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EAD of Academy Craig Mulholland was delighted to see 17-year-old fullback Jordan Houston promoted to the firstteam squad recently. The talented youngster has been a standout for the club’s under-20 side and we caught up with Craig
to discuss Jordan’s attributes both on and off the pitch... We were all delighted to see Jordan named on the bench at Dens Park last week, and of course it gives the whole youth department a lift when you see someone who has been at the club for so long making that
initial step up. Jordan leaves the training ground late at night, he’s actually one of the players who volunteers to coach younger groups, he does extra strength sessions and technical work and he sits with Graeme Murty and David McCallum and does all his individual analysis.
CRAIG WITH GRAEME MURTY
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20 years on - March 1997 - part 7 Mad march fare - Old Firm win is vital as inconsistent Gers stutter IN the summer of 1996 Walter Smith and his Rangers players began an incredible journey that would end with a historic triumph. Having secured eight successive championship titles, Gers needed one more to equal Celtic’s record, set under Jock Stein between 1966 and 1974. The pressure was massive, the intensity was ferocious and the expectation was colossal but Smith and his players came through in magnificent fashion. Today we relive another stage of the unforgettable 1996/97 season. PAGE 15
NEXT HOME MATCH...
G O A L K E E PE R S
G O A L K E E PE R S
1. WES FODERINGHAM 25. JAK ALNWICK
1. ALAN MANNUS 12. ZANDER CLARK
RANGERS v HAMILTON ACADEMICAL
DE F E NDE R S
DE F E NDE R S
SCOTTISH CUP QF SAT 4 MAR 2017 KICK-OFF 12.30pm
2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 17. 24. 27. 64.
JAMES TAVERNIER CLINT HILL ROB KIERNAN LEE WALLACE DANNY WILSON LEE HODSON PHILIPPE SENDEROS DAVID BATES JORDAN HOUSTON
MIDF IE L DE R S 8. 11. 15. 16. 18. 19. 20. 23. 52.
JON TORAL JOSH WINDASS HARRY FORRESTER ANDY HALLIDAY JORDAN ROSSITER NIKO KRANJCAR EMERSON HYNDMAN JASON HOLT LIAM BURT
FOR WA RD S 7. 9. 10. 14. 29. 33.
JOE GARNER KENNY MILLER BARRIE MCKAY JOE DODOO MICHAEL O’HALLORAN MARTYN WAGHORN
3. 6. 14. 15. 19. 22. 24. 28.
TOM SCOBBIE STEVEN ANDERSON JOE SHAUGHNESSY CLIVE SMITH RICHARD FOSTER KEITH WATSON BRIAN EASTON ALLY GILCHRIST
MIDF IE L DE R S 4. 7. 8. 10. 11. 17. 18. 26. 27. 49.
BLAIR ALSTON CHRIS MILLAR MURRAY DAVIDSON DAVID WOTHERSPOON DANNY SWANSON MICHAEL COULSON PAUL PATON LIAM CRAIG CRAIG THOMSON DANNY JARDINE
FOR WA RD S 9. 25. 29. 33.
STEVEN MACLEAN CHRIS KANE GRAHAM CUMMINS GEORGE HUNTER
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REFEREE: KEVIN CLANCY | AR1: ALASDAIR ROSS | AR2: GAVIN HARRIS | 4TH OFFICIAL: NICK WALSH
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