Rangers FC
Rangers will stay in between two stadiums as their Ibrox victory earns them a hero’s applause for their everlasting punch bag.
Flitting between two dwellings can be stressful, even when it only involves coming home after a temporary relocation. There were no such worries for Rangers here as they booked a return to Hampden with a degree of comfort. Normal service was quickly resumed.
Cyriel Dessers scored twice and James Tavernier converted a penalty as the hosts took care of Dundee by a three-goal margin at Ibrox, just as they did on their last appearance at this stadium. It has been a long and sometimes traumatic 130 days of exile in between times.
Rangers will, though, return willingly to the national stadium in November for a League Cup semi-final.
Some healing seemed to have occurred here. A decent attendance of 33,665, including around 1,000 from Dundee, saw Ibrox resume life as a football stadium. The vendors returned to Edmiston Drive and the locals bars welcomed back regulars. A statue of Walter Smith, unveiled in May, was finally consecrated as fans gathered to admire it on a match day for the first time, with flowers left at the legendary manager’s feet.
Another notably emotive moment arrived just after the hour mark, with Rangers already 2-0 up. With the hosts looking to kill the game off Tavernier hurried over to take a corner between the main stand and Copland Road Stand. The last time he was in that area of the stadium he was targeted by a thuggish fan on the pavement outside Ibrox after Rangers’ return to HQ following the comprehensive defeat to Celtic earlier this month. This time he was applauded by the supporters, who clearly agree the abuse meted out to the skipper has been beyond the pale.
Philippe Clement made a point of replacing Tavernier with Neraysho Kasanwirjo with eight minutes left to let him feel the love again. The manager also enveloped the skipper in a hug. “It is normal,” Clement said, when asked about this afterwards. “He played a good game. He deserved that. Maybe after the Celtic game we have a few individuals crossing a certain line. That’s not good.
“But this is the life of being a captain at a big club – you are the symbol in the good days and it’s nice, like today. In the difficult days you are also the one everyone looks at.”
It might have been different had a slack pass from Tavernier been punished by Scott Tiffoney. Albeit, with the hosts already 3-0 up, even this would not have threatened to spoil this homecoming.
Goalkeeper Jack Butland did pull off a miraculous double save at point blank range from Simon Murray near the start of the second half although, in truth, it could have been an even more handsome victory were it not for some wild finishing from Rangers.
They had already doubled their lead by the time of Butland’s heroics through Tavernier’s first goal of the season from the spot while Dessers was looking like his usual self – dangerous and erratic. He opened the scoring after 17 minutes in opportunistic style when diverting in a drive from Tavernier that was heading well wide. His second goal was straight out of the No 9 finishing handbook, just as the cross in for him was of the textbook variety. Nedim Bajrami, who supplied it, enjoyed an effective full debut.
Dessers will always have his critics but the way he steered the ball first time beyond goalkeeper Trevor Carson, who enjoyed a fine game, strengthened the impression of a player in form. That’s now seven goals in his last eight games.
His second of the game came shortly after Dundee had missed another opportunity to cut the deficit to just one when substitute Seb Palmer-Houlden headed over from the edge of the six-yard box.
Rangers had lost just once in 18 previous League Cup meetings against Dundee, so such a fixture seemed a welcome way to mark a return to their spiritual home. The thought of losing on their turf to Dundee, who hadn’t won here since 2001 in any competition, was not to be borne.
It rarely looked likely although the visitors, trailing by just one, remained in the tie at half-time. That quickly changed after the interval when Mo Sylla was penalised for pulling down Dessers in the box at a corner. Tavernier lashed the penalty home.
Rangers had previously been wasteful and they were guilty of this afterwards as well. Dessers ought to have had a first half double, possibly even a hat-trick. Carson saved one effort with his feet after the striker was released by a clever through ball from Bajrami and the ‘keeper tipped another effort over. The Dundee ‘keeper was as busy, if not busier, in the second half.
After scoring a “wonderful” Champions League goal in the Euro opener, Star Clement would have “loved” to have joined with Rangers.
A star Rangers boss Phillipe Clement made clear he wanted this season has started the Champions League term in style.
Abdallah Sima was an impressive performer in an otherwise disappointing campaign at Ibrox, despite a League Cup win. He joined on loan from Brighton in the summer of 2023 and netted 16 times with two assists while in blue, even with some injury problems during the campaign.
Clement said during the summer that the Brighton winger was a player he wanted back in his ranks during the transfer window, but it was not a deal they were able to get through. Sima instead moved to Ligue 1 with Brest, who are in this year’s revamped league phase in the Champions League.
On his fourth outing in their opening match against Sturm Graz, Sima started the competition in style by scoring the winner in a 2-1 success. A long looping ball into the box found him with his back, before he turned a fired a low effort into the bottom corner, which helped win the attacker Player of the Match. The goal was described as ‘wonderful’ by TNT Sports.
Speaking in the summer on a possible Rangers move for Sima, Clement said: “I’ve been in touch with him, of course. He’s like one of my sons. Abda loves the club. He loves our way of playing we had last season and his role in that. He loved his team-mates and the staff.
“But at the end of the day, Brighton is the owner so it’s all about the money then. At the moment it’s not possible. But we will see along the way if there comes a possibility because we would love to get him back.”
After ‘big scale disruption’ involving fans, Rangers pub receives a notice from licensing chiefs.
A Rangers pub in Glasgow have been warned by licencing chiefs after fans gathered there before clashing with Tottenham Hotspur supporters.
The Union Bears ultras group left the 3 Cheers bar “in hoods and balaclavas” ahead of “large scale disorder”, the city’s licening board has heard. It was an incident that formed part of a series between May 2019 and May 204, which has resulted in Police Scotland asking for a review of the Paisley Road Toll venue’s premises licence.
An inspector, according to Glasgow Live, has said there was “an ongoing and flagrant disregard for the conditions”. The force’s concerns were based on outdoor drinking and a failure to use Security Industry Authority (SIA) qualified door stewards when football matches were being played at the home of Rangers, Ibrox Stadium.
3 Cheers, originally named as NN10, was opened by Rangers hero Nacho Novo and his business partner John Campbell in 2017. The ex-Ibrox star quit the bar in 2020 and it has since been rebranded.
Licensing lawyer Archie MacIver, who is the man representing landlord and licence holder Rosemount Taverns and the current leaseholder and manager Darren Tait, has said there had been “very few” incidents since Mr Tait took over in 2023.
Rangers are back in action this weekend when Dundee come to Ibrox on Premier Sports Cup quarter-final business. It is the first time Philippe Clement’s side will have played on their own patch after delayed renovation works at Ibrox forced them into Hampden for their opening home games across all competitions so far this term.
“Oh my God,” Keith Jackson exclaims after the Rangers ace defeats Dundee United.
Keith Jackson has said he’s “lost count” of how many goals Cyriel Dessers should have scored for Rangers this season.
The Gers were triumphant in the league on Sunday (15 September) as they managed to scrape past Dundee United in a 1-0 win.
Dessers chipped in with an assist but there were multiple times throughout the clash where he could’ve bagged a goal for himself and made the Gers’ win more comfortable.
Speaking on the Daily Record’s Hotline Live (15 September), Jackson shared his thoughts on the Nigeria international.
“Dessers was again doing Dessers things today where he’s taking extra touches every time he’s in the six-yard box,” Jackson said.
“The ball that he plays through for the only goal of the game was a lovely touch and there was a couple of lovely touches for Dessers but that’s it.
“One minute he’s doing something where you think ‘oh my God that’s really intelligent’ and then he just seems to fall apart.
“When he gets into the six-yard box he always seems to want to take three touches when one will do and I’ve lost count of how many goals that he probably should have scored from [those] situations.”
Cyriel Dessers needs to improve his finishing for Rangers
Although Dessers found himself as the Gers’ top scorer last season, he could’ve bagged even more goals than the 22 he managed to put away last term.
This season the Nigeria international has managed to score five goals in just seven games but, once again, he could have many more to his name if his final third play was up to scratch.
While the 29-year-old manages to get into good positions and create chances out of nothing, he always seems to take too many touches in the box and that ends up with the chance being wasted.
On the odd occasion, this would be fine but the fact that Dessers somehow manages to do it each game will no doubt be starting to get on the nerves of Philippe Clement.
Hamza Igamane made his second cameo appearance of the season and, despite having never played outside of Morocco domestically, he managed to hold his own and bring something new to the table.
If Dessers doesn’t manage to pick up his goalscoring form soon, he could end up being replaced by the summer signing and losing his spot in the starting XI.
Jim Goodwin insists there be no fear against the Rangers as Dundee United’s fan base is praised.
Goodwin highlighted the Gers’ quality, but believes the Tangerines can hurt the Glasgow outfit.
Jim Goodwin has lauded Dundee United fans for the pivotal part they have played in the Tangerines’ splendid start to the season.
United boast a record amount of season ticket holders, with 6,400 Arabs securing their seats for the club’s return to the Premiership, while a sell-out 12,616 crowd watched last month’s Dundee derby.
The attendance was close to 10,000 for the 2-0 victory over St Johnstone on August 24.
United have won four of their five home matches this season, drawing the other 2-2 in dramatic fashion against the Dee.
And Goodwin has stated that the backing from the stands “helped us to get over the line” during recent narrow victories.
He is counting on more of the same for Sunday’s sell-out against Rangers – but has emphasised that it remains the players’ responsibility to give the punters something to shout about.
“Right now, there is a feel-good factor about the place,” said Goodwin.
“The supporters are turning out in huge numbers, and they have made a massive difference in some of the home games this season, especially where the matches have been relatively close.
“I think about the St Mirren game in the Premier Sports Cup (1-0 win); they were brilliant in the Dundee derby; the St Johnstone game, which was a very frustrating game, but they stuck with us and helped us to get over the line.
“Sunday is going to be no different and we know the rivalry that exists between the two groups of supporters.
“It is important that the players give them something to cheer about. We need to start the game in a positive fashion and that is what we aim to do.”
Goodwin added: “We also know we are going to have spells in the season when things aren’t going to plan, and we are not getting the results we want or expect.
“That is when they are going to be even more important.”
Goodwin calls for fearless United
Rangers will arrive at Tannadice on Sunday nursing a record of just three wins in their last seven fixtures in all competitions.
Their last outing was a humbling 3-0 defeat against Celtic, which could have been even more comprehensive.
Goodwin is quick to accentuate the Gers’ dangers – spotlighting their 6-0 demolition of Ross County at Hampden – but has urged his players to be fearless against the wounded Glasgow giants.
“I look back to Rangers’ previous league fixture before Celtic, where they dismantled Ross County,” added Goodwin. “They scored six goals and probably should have scored more.
“They have had some good performances already this season and we must be wary of the quality they have in the team. But we certainly can’t fear them or be overawed.
“The positive results I have had in the past against the big clubs have come with a lot of discipline, organisation, hard work defensively and, at the right times, being adventurous. That is the only way you can win.”
Alarm bells go off as Pundit notes senior Rangers ‘Flagged Up’ indications of ‘disagreement’ in the locker room.
John Souttar may have revealed disharmony in the Rangers dressing room amid a rough start to the season off the back of a frustrating summer, fears Derek Ferguson.
The Gers centre-back gave awkward answers in his press conference duty on 16 August in which he showed signs of discomfort in answering questions about how long the side would take to be up to speed under Philippe Clement.
And Ferguson isn’t surprised to see signs of something being amiss behind the scenes when he had also detected potential issues from watching the players during a run of poor preseason results.
He exclusively told Ibrox News: “There could be, and the reason I’m saying that is because I watched all the preseason games and at times you look at the body language of the players and it didn’t look too clever to me in certain games.
“So that flagged up for me. And this is an experienced player that’s been around the block so there might be a little bit of a disagreement there.
“Sometimes you keep that in house and you’ve just got to box clever when you’re speaking to the press. It just sets alarm bells ringing a little bit.”
“But sometimes you just get a sense that everything ain’t rosy. Just watching games and watching them out there at times, the relationships between the players, cameradery, I don’t know, it’s just not quite there.
“We’re struggling in so many departments. It’s all doom and gloom with me but it’s quite scary when you look at the position that Rangers are in at the moment.
Rangers defeat at Celtic piles more pressure on at Ibrox
Ferguson was already worried about what he’d seen from the players and the manager before the campaign kicked off and the stuttering start to the season will have only added to that.
Souttar was understandably morose after the controversial exit from Champions League qualifying, but seemed to indicate a lack of belief in the current operation when quizzed on his manager’s plans.
Any positivity that was subsequently built up by the 6-0 win over Ross County on 24 August and some late movement in the transfer market since then was comprehensively blown away by a dismal loss at Celtic on 1 September straight after the widow closed.
Clement had suggested it would be weeks into the season before his work-in-progress side was firing on all cylinders, and after the Parkhead defeat pointed to the first return at Ibrox in January as the time to pass real judgment.
But if there are problems behind the scenes there is still the possibility that things could get worse between now and then.
Rangers frustration as offer to reverse Ibrox fixture ‘rebuffed’ – full list of SPFL amendments including ‘unusual’ Sunday slot
Glasgow road closures impact on SPFL schedule
Rangers have expressed frustration after one of their fixtures was moved to an 8pm kick-off on a Sunday.
The William Hill Premiership match against St Johnstone due to be played on Sunday, October 6, has been pushed back to the later time due to the Great Scottish Run taking place in Glasgow on the same day.
Road closures around the southside of the city mean that Ibrox will be unable to safely and efficiently host 45,000 spectators for a traditional afternoon kick-off.
Rangers had been willing to reverse the fixture to McDiarmid Park in order to maintain an earlier kick-off, but those advances were turned down.
A club statement read: “Rangers put forward a number of alternative options including an earlier kick-off and a fixture reversal, but all were rebuffed by the other stakeholders involved.
“Playing on the Saturday is not feasible given our match with Lyon takes place on the Thursday evening, while the Monday evening is also not possible with that falling in the international window.
“The club is fully cognisant of the inconvenience this will cause to many of our supporters, and we share in your frustration at this situation.
“We will continue to engage with stakeholders including public transport providers and Glasgow City Council, and update supporters on access plans and routes closer to the match taking place.”
The match, which has been selected for live coverage on Premier Sports, is among several fixtures to be given new dates and times by the SPFL.
A total of 13 matches have been moved to Sundays following publication of the fixture lists for UEFA group stage competitions, while broadcast selections have been made for the weekends of September 28/29 and October 5/6.
Sky Sports will show Rangers v Hibs on Sunday, September 29 and Ross County v Celtic on Sunday October 6. Both games will kick off at 12 noon.
Premier Sports will have live coverage of St Johnstone v Celtic on Saturday September 28, kick-off 5.45pm, and the aforementioned Rangers v St Johnstone fixture.
SPFL Chief Operating Officer Calum Beattie: “I would like to place on record my thanks to the two clubs and all other stakeholders for their assistance throughout this process to enable the Rangers v St Johnstone match to take place on its scheduled weekend.
“The congested nature of the fixture list, compounded by the additional UEFA matchdays this season, is not without its challenges. We appreciate this is an unusual fixture slot for an SPFL match but our options were very limited.
“We are pleased to announce that Premier Sports will cover the match on the Sunday evening, ensuring that any supporters who are not able to attend on a Sunday evening will be able to watch the match live on Premier Sports. Travel information for supporters will be released by Rangers and St Johnstone ahead of the match.”
William Hill Premiership fixture amendments:
Saturday September 28
St Johnstone v Celtic (Premier Sports, 5.45pm)
Sunday September 29
Rangers v Hibernian (Sky Sports, 12 noon)
Sunday October 6
Ross County v Celtic (Sky Sports, 12 noon)
Aberdeen v Heart of Midlothian (3.00pm)
Rangers v St Johnstone (Premier Sports, 8.00pm)
Sunday October 27
Hibernian v Heart of Midlothian (kick-off TBC)
Rangers v St Mirren (kick-off TBC)
Sunday November 10
Rangers v Heart of Midlothian (kick-off TBC)
Sunday December 1
Heart of Midlothian v Aberdeen (kick-off TBC)
St Johnstone v Rangers (kick-off TBC)
Sunday December 15
Kilmarnock v Heart of Midlothian (kick-off TBC)
Rangers v Aberdeen (kick-off TBC)
Subject to Premier Sports Cup final
Sunday December 22
Heart of Midlothian v St Johnstone (kick-off TBC)
Sunday January 26
Dundee United v Rangers (kick-off TBC)
Sunday February 2
Rangers v Ross County (kick-off TBC)
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