# 2003–04 Rangers F.C. season

The 2003–04 season was the 124th season of competitive football 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, 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 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 campaign ended in the third round after a 1–0 defeat to Celtic. The League Cup campaign also ended in defeat at the semi-final stage to Hibernian at Hampden Park, 4–3 on penalties.
In Europe Rangers managed to qualify for the group stages of the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League with a win over F.C. Copenhagen in the third qualifying round. They were drawn in the group stages alongside English Champions Manchester United, Stuttgart and Panathinaikos. Despite earning 4 points from the first two matches Rangers were to finish bottom of the group.

## Players
### Squad information

| N | Pos. | Name | Age | Since | App | Goals | Ends | Transfer fee | Notes |
| 1 | GK | Stefan Klos | 32 | 1998 | | | 2007 | £0.7m | |
| 2 | DF | Fernando Ricksen | 27 | 2000 | | | 2009 | £3.75m | |
| 3 | DF | Craig Moore (captain) | 28 | 1999 (Winter) | | | 2006 | 0.9m | |
| 4 | MF | Emerson | 32 | 2003 | 18 | 1 | 2005 | Free | |
| 5 | DF | Frank de Boer | 34 | 2004 (Winter) | 17 | 2 | 2004 | Free | |
| 6 | MF | Barry Ferguson | 26 | 1998 | 255 | 38 | | Youth system | left on 29 August |
| 7 | FW | Shota Arveladze | 26 | 2001 | | | 2005 | £2m | |
| 8 | MF | Christian Nerlinger | 31 | 2001 | | | | £1.8m | |
| 9 | FW | Egil Østenstad | 31 | 2003 | 17 | 2 | 2004 | Free | left on 19 December |
| 10 | FW | Michael Mols | 33 | 1999 | 147 | 48 | 2004 | £4m | |
| 11 | MF | Gavin Rae | 26 | 2004 (Winter) | 11 | 2 | 2007 | £0.25m | |
| 12 | DF | Bob Malcolm | 23 | 1997 | 98 | 3 | 2007 | Youth system | |
| 14 | MF | Ronald de Boer | 34 | 2000 | | | 2004 | £4m | |
| 15 | DF | Zurab Khizanishvili | 22 | 2003 | 38 | 0 | 2006 | Free | |
| 16 | DF | Paolo Vanoli | 31 | 2003 | 35 | 1 | 2005 | Free | |
| 17 | DF | Kevin Muscat | 31 | | | | | | |
| 18 | DF | Michael Ball | 24 | 2001 | | | 2006 | £6.5m | |
| 19 | FW | Steven Thompson | 20 | 2003 (Winter) | | | 2006 | £0.2m | |
| 20 | MF | Nuno Capucho | 32 | 2003 | 32 | 6 | 2005 | £0.7m | |
| 21 | DF | Maurice Ross | 23 | 2000 | | | | Youth system | |
| 22 | GK | Allan McGregor | 22 | 2001 | | | | Youth system | |
| 26 | FW | Peter Løvenkrands | 25 | 2000 | | | | £1.3m | |
| 27 | MF | Stephen Hughes | 22 | 1999 | 90 | 7 | | Youth system | left 31 January |
| 30 | MF | Chris Burke | 21 | 2000 | 44 | 5 | 2007 | Youth system | |
| 32 | DF | Alan Hutton | 20 | 2002 | 24 | 1 | | Youth system | |
* Last updated: 22 May 2004
* Source: Players transfer, Wikipedia players' articles
* Ordered by position on pitch.

### Transfers
#### In

| No. | Pos. | Name | Age | Moving from | Type | Transfer window | Ends | Transfer fee |
| 20 | MF | Nuno Capucho | 31 | Porto | Transfer | Summer | 2005 | £0.67m |
| 15 | DF | Zurab Khizanishvili | 21 | Dundee | Transfer | Summer | 2006 | Free |
| 16 | DF | Paolo Vanoli | 30 | Bologna | Transfer | Summer | 2005 | Free |
| 25 | DF | Henning Berg | 33 | Blackburn Rovers | Transfer | Summer | 2004 | Free |
| 4 | MF | Emerson | 31 | Atlético Madrid | Transfer | Summer | 2005 | Free |
| 9 | FW | Egil Østenstad | 31 | Blackburn Rovers | Transfer | Summer | 2004 | Free |
| 37 | MF | Hamed Namouchi | 19 | Cannes | Transfer | n/a | 2005 | Free |
| | MF | Marc Kalenga | 18 | Auxerre | Transfer | n/a | 2004 | Free |
| 11 | MF | Gavin Rae | 26 | Dundee | Transfer | Winter | 2007 | £0.25m |
| 5 | DF | Frank de Boer | 33 | Galatasaray | Transfer | Winter | 2004 | Free |
| 52 | FW | Bajram Fetai | 18 | B.93 | Transfer | Winter | 2006 | £0.2m |
Last updated: 8 December 2014 Total spending: £1.12m

#### Out

| N | Pos. | Name | Age | Moving to | Type | Transfer window | Transfer fee |
| 25 | DF | Dan Eggen | 33 | Le Mans | Transfer | Summer | n/a |
| 5 | DF | Arthur Numan | 33 | Retired | End of contract | Summer | n/a |
| 7 | FW | Claudio Caniggia | 35 | Qatar SC | Transfer | Summer | Free |
| | FW | Stephen Dobbie | 20 | Hibernian | Transfer | Summer | Free |
| | DF | Marc Twaddle | 16 | Falkirk | Transfer | Summer | Free |
| | MF | Jimmy Gibson | 20 | Clyde | Transfer | Summer | Free |
| 15 | DF | Bert Konterman | 32 | Vitesse | Transfer | Summer | Free |
| 16 | DF | Jérôme Bonnissel | 30 | Fulham | Transfer | Summer | Free |
| 44 | DF | Paul Reid | 21 | Northampton Town | Transfer | Summer | £0.1m |
| 3 | DF | Lorenzo Amoruso | 32 | Blackburn Rovers | Transfer | Summer | £1.4m |
| 11 | MF | Neil McCann | 28 | Southampton | Transfer | Summer | £1.5m |
| 6 | MF | Barry Ferguson | 25 | Blackburn Rovers | Transfer | Summer | £7.5m |
| 17 | DF | Kevin Muscat | 30 | Millwall | Transfer | Summer | Free |
| 30 | GK | Jesper Christiansen | 25 | Viborg FF | Transfer | Winter | Free |
| 9 | FW | Egil Østenstad | 32 | Viking FK | Transfer | n/a | Free |
Last updated: 31 January 2004 Total received: £10.5m

### Player statistics

| No. | Player | Position | Appearances | Goals |
| 1 | Stefan Klos | GK | 46 | 0 |
| 2 | Fernando Ricksen | DF | 42 | 1 |
| 3 | Craig Moore | DF | 25 | 2 |
| 4 | Emerson | MF | 18 | 1 |
| 5 | Frank de Boer | DF | 17 | 2 |
| 6 | Barry Ferguson | MF | 5 | 0 |
| 7 | Shota Arveladze | FW | 29 | 15 |
| 8 | Christian Nerlinger | MF | 21 | 5 |
| 9 | Egil Østenstad | FW | 17 | 2 |
| 10 | Michael Mols | FW | 45 | 12 |
| 11 | Gavin Rae | MF | 11 | 2 |
| 12 | Robert Malcolm | DF | 17 | 0 |
| 14 | Ronald de Boer | MF | 21 | 3 |
| 15 | Zurab Khizanishvili | DF | 38 | 0 |
| 16 | Paolo Vanoli | DF | 35 | 1 |
| 17 | Kevin Muscat | DF | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | Michael Ball | DF | 43 | 1 |
| 19 | Steven Thompson | FW | 19 | 8 |
| 20 | Nuno Capucho | MF | 32 | 6 |
| 21 | Maurice Ross | DF | 30 | 1 |
| 22 | Allan McGregor | GK | 6 | 0 |
| 23 | Mikel Arteta | MF | 33 | 9 |
| 24 | Steven MacLean | FW | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | Henning Berg | DF | 30 | 0 |
| 26 | Peter Løvenkrands | MF | 36 | 13 |
| 27 | Stephen Hughes | MF | 28 | 3 |
| 29 | Jesper Christiansen | GK | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | Chris Burke | MF | 26 | 4 |
| 32 | Alan Hutton | DF | 11 | 1 |
| 37 | Hamed Namouchi | MF | 9 | 3 |
| 38 | Darryl Duffy | FW | 3 | 0 |
| 40 | Alex Walker | MF | 2 | 0 |
| 45 | Charlie Adam | MF | 2 | 0 |
| 48 | Gary MacKenzie | DF | 2 | 0 |
| 49 | Robert Davidson | FW | 1 | 0 |
| 50 | Ross McCormack | FW | 1 | 0 |
| 52 | Bajram Fetai | FW | 1 | 0 |

### Disciplinary record
## Matches
### Friendlies

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 16 July 2003 | Greuther Fürth | N | 2–0 | 3,500 | Thompson (2) |
| 19 July 2003 | VfB Auerbach | A | 5–1 | 2,500 | Mols (3), Capucho, Løvenkrands |
| 19 July 2003 | Erzgebirge Aue | A | 1–0 | 2,500 | R.de Boer |
| 22 July 2003 | Jahn Regensburg | A | 1–2 | 5,000 | Nerlinger |
| 26 July 2003 | Everton | H | 2–3 | 28,000 | Thompson, Mols |
| 30 July 2003 | Linfield | A | 3–0 | 13,284 | R.de Boer, Dowie, MacLean |
| 5 August 2003 | Arsenal | H | 0–3 | 37,000 | |

### Scottish Premier League

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 9 August 2003 | Kilmarnock | H | 4–0 | 49,108 | Løvenkrands, Mols, Arteta (2) |
| 16 August 2003 | Aberdeen | A | 3–2 | 16,348 | R. de Boer, Arteta, Mols |
| 23 August 2003 | Hibernian | H | 5–2 | 49,642 | Mols (2), O'Connor (o.g.), Arteta, Burke |
| 31 August 2003 | Dundee United | A | 3–1 | 11,111 | Capucho, Arveladze, Arteta (pen.) |
| 13 September 2003 | Dunfermline Athletic | H | 4–0 | 49,072 | Thompson, Mols, Arveladze, Capucho |
| 21 September 2003 | Heart of Midlothian | A | 4–0 | 14,732 | Arveladze (2), Løvenkrands (2) |
| 27 September 2003 | Dundee | H | 3–1 | 49,548 | Arveladze (2), Vanoli |
| 4 October 2003 | Celtic | H | 0–1 | 49,825 | |
| 19 October 2003 | Motherwell | A | 1–1 | 10,824 | Arveladze |
| 25 October 2003 | Livingston | A | 0–0 | 9,627 | |
| 1 November 2003 | Partick Thistle | H | 3–1 | 49,551 | Arteta (2, 1 pen.), Mols |
| 9 November 2003 | Kilmarnock | A | 3–2 | 12,204 | Arveladze (2), Capucho |
| 22 November 2003 | Aberdeen | H | 3–0 | 49,962 | Løvenkrands (2), Hughes |
| 30 November 2003 | Hibernian | A | 1–0 | 11,160 | Hughes |
| 6 December 2003 | Dundee United | H | 2–1 | 49,307 | Capucho, Løvenkrands |
| 14 December 2003 | Dunfermline Athletic | A | 0–2 | 8,592 | |
| 20 December 2003 | Hearts | H | 2–1 | 49,592 | Arveladze, Burke |
| 28 December 2003 | Dundee | A | 2–0 | 10,948 | Capucho, Ball |
| 3 January 2004 | Celtic | A | 0–3 | 59,087 | |
| 17 January 2004 | Motherwell | H | 1–0 | 48,925 | Arveladze |
| 24 January 2004 | Livingston | H | 1–0 | 48,638 | Nerlinger |
| 1 February 2004 | Partick Thistle | A | 1–0 | 8,220 | Løvenkrands |
| 11 February 2004 | Kilmarnock | H | 2–0 | 46,900 | Moore, Namouchi |
| 14 February 2004 | Aberdeen | A | 1–1 | 15,815 | F.de Boer |
| 21 February 2004 | Hibernian | H | 3–0 | 49,698 | Arveladze, Mols, Thompson |
| 29 February 2004 | Dundee United | A | 0–2 | 10,497 | |
| 13 March 2004 | Hearts | A | 1–1 | 14,598 | Moore |
| 20 March 2004 | Dundee | H | 4–0 | 49,364 | Løvenkrands, F.de Boer, Rae, Thompson |
| 23 March 2004 | Dunfermline Athletic | H | 4–1 | 47,487 | Hutton, Løvenkrands, R.de Boer, Mols |
| 28 March 2004 | Celtic | H | 1–2 | 49,909 | Thompson |
| 4 April 2004 | Motherwell | A | 1–0 | 8,967 | Hughes |
| 14 April 2004 | Livingston | A | 1–1 | 6,096 | Mols |
| 17 April 2004 | Partick Thistle | H | 2–0 | 49,279 | Thompson, Rae |
| 24 April 2004 | Dundee United | A | 3–3 | 8,339 | Thompson (2), Namouchi |
| 1 May 2004 | Motherwell | H | 4–0 | 47,579 | Arteta, Ross, Namouchi, Thompson |
| 8 May 2004 | Celtic | A | 0–1 | 59,180 | |
| 12 May 2004 | Hearts | H | 0–1 | 47,467 | |
| 16 May 2004 | Dunfermline Athletic | A | 3–2 | 6,798 | Ricksen, Burke, McCormack (pen.) |

### Scottish League Cup

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 28 October 2003 | R3 | Forfar Athletic | H | 6–0 | 26,327 | Nerlinger (3), Løvenkrands, Capucho, Østenstad |
| 3 December 2003 | QF | St Johnstone | H | 3–0 | 11,072 | Burke, Østenstad, Mols |
| 5 February 2004 | SF | Hibernian | N | *1–1 | 27,954 | Mols |
*Rangers lost the match 4–3 on penalties

### Scottish Cup

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 10 January 2004 | R3 | Hibernian | A | 2–0 | 11,392 | Arveladze, Løvenkrands |
| 8 February 2004 | R4 | Kilmarnock | A | 2–0 | 11,072 | R.de Boer, Arveladze (pen.) |
| 7 March 2004 | QF | Celtic | A | 0–1 | 58,735 | |

### UEFA Champions League

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 13 August 2003 | QR3 | Copenhagen | H | 1–1 | 47,401 | Løvenkrands |
| 27 August 2003 | QR3 | Copenhagen | A | 2–1 | 35,519 | Arteta (pen.), Arveladze |
| 16 September 2003 | GS | VfB Stuttgart | H | 2–1 | 47,957 | Nerlinger, Løvenkrands |
| 1 October 2003 | GS | Panathinaikos | A | 1–1 | 13,718 | Emerson |
| 22 October 2003 | GS | Manchester United | H | 0–1 | 48,730 | |
| 4 November 2003 | GS | Manchester United | A | 0–3 | 66,707 | |
| 26 November 2003 | GS | VfB Stuttgart | A | 0–1 | 50,348 | |
| 9 December 2003 | GS | Panathinaikos | H | 1–3 | 48,588 | Mols |

## Competitions
### Overall

| Competition | Started round | Current position / round | Final position / round | First match | Last match |
| Scottish Premier League | — | — | 2nd | 11 August | 4 May |
| Scottish Cup | Third round | — | Quarter-finals | 29 July | 18 September |
| League Cup | Third round | — | Semi-finals | 7 August | 31 October |
| UEFA Champions League | Third qualifying round | — | Group stage | 29 September | 2 February |
Source:

### Scottish Premier League
#### Standings

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Celtic (C) | 38 | 31 | 5 | 2 | 105 | 25 | +80 | 98 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Rangers | 38 | 25 | 6 | 7 | 76 | 33 | +43 | 81 | Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round |
| 3 | Heart of Midlothian | 38 | 19 | 11 | 8 | 56 | 40 | +16 | 68 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 4 | Dunfermline Athletic | 38 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 45 | 52 | −7 | 53 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 5 | Dundee United | 38 | 13 | 10 | 15 | 47 | 60 | −13 | 49 | |
* ↑ Teams played each other three times (33 matches), before the league split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six) for the last five matches.
* ↑ As Celtic, the 2003–04 Scottish Cup winners, qualified for the UEFA Champions League via their league position, the place in the UEFA Cup was passed onto Dunfermline Athletic, the cup runners-up.

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 2 January 2013. Source:

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 |
| Ground | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A |
| Result | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | L | D | D | W | W | W | W | W | L | W | W | L | W | W | W | W | D | W | L | D | W | W | L | W | D | W | D | W | L | L | W |

### Champions league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | MUN | STU | PAN | RAN |
| 1 | Manchester United | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 2 | +11 | 15 | Advance to knockout stage | — | 2–0 | 5–0 | 3–0 |
| 2 | VfB Stuttgart | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 6 | +3 | 12 | Advance to knockout stage | 2–1 | — | 2–0 | 1–0 |
| 3 | Panathinaikos | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 13 | −8 | 4 | Transfer to UEFA Cup | 0–1 | 1–3 | — | 1–1 |
| 4 | Rangers | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 10 | −6 | 4 | | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | — |