| Club: | Rangers |
| Season: | 2003–04 |
| Manager: | Alex McLeish |
| Chairman: | John McClelland |
| Stdtitle: | Ground |
| Stadium: | Ibrox Stadium |
| League: | Scottish Premier League |
| League Result: | 2nd |
| Cup1: | Scottish Cup |
| Cup1 Result: | Quarter-finals |
| Cup2 Result: | Semi-finals |
| Cup3 Result: | Group Stage |
| Highest Attendance: | 49,962 vs Aberdeen (22 November) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 29,395 vs St Johnstone (3 December) |
| Season Topscorer: | Shota Arveladze (15) |
| League Topscorer: | Shota Arveladze (12) |
| Prevseason: | 2002–03 |
| Nextseason: | 2004–05 |
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The 2003–04 season was the 124th season of competitive football by Rangers.
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.
Total spending: £1.12m
Total received: £10.5m
| No. | Player | Position | Appearances | Goals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 46 | 0 | |||
| 2 | 42 | 1 | |||
| 3 | DF | 25 | 2 | ||
| 4 | 18 | 1 | |||
| 5 | DF | 17 | 2 | ||
| 6 | 5 | 0 | |||
| 7 | 29 | 15 | |||
| 8 | 21 | 5 | |||
| 9 | 17 | 2 | |||
| 10 | 45 | 12 | |||
| 11 | 11 | 2 | |||
| 12 | DF | 17 | 0 | ||
| 14 | 21 | 3 | |||
| 15 | DF | 38 | 0 | ||
| 16 | DF | 35 | 1 | ||
| 17 | DF | 0 | 0 | ||
| 18 | DF | 43 | 1 | ||
| 19 | 19 | 8 | |||
| 20 | 32 | 6 | |||
| 21 | DF | 30 | 1 | ||
| 22 | 6 | 0 | |||
| 23 | 33 | 9 | |||
| 24 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 25 | DF | 30 | 0 | ||
| 26 | 36 | 13 | |||
| 27 | 28 | 3 | |||
| 29 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 30 | 26 | 4 | |||
| 32 | DF | 11 | 1 | ||
| 37 | 9 | 3 | |||
| 38 | 3 | 0 | |||
| 40 | 2 | 0 | |||
| 45 | 2 | 0 | |||
| 48 | 2 | 0 | |||
| 49 | 1 | 0 | |||
| 50 | 1 | 0 | |||
| 52 | 1 | 0 |
| 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 |
See main article: 2003–04 Scottish Premier League.
See main article: 2003–04 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 |
| 27,954 | Mols |
See main article: 2003–04 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 |
See main article: 2003–04 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 |
See main article: 2003–04 Scottish Premier League.