The Rangers Story: 1872-2015

In 1872, the brothers Peter and Moses McNeil, along with their friends William McBeath and Peter Campbell saw a group of men playing football on Glasgow Green's Flesher's Haugh and decided to form a team of their own.

Rangers continued their success in the early 1900s winning the championship seven times between 1900 and 1918. Having lost the title in 1919 they responded in 1920 with one of the best seasons in their history as manager William Wilton and his right hand man Bill Struth retained the title netting 106 goals in 42 league games.

After Bill Struth collected two more domestic doubles in 1950 and 1953, Scot Symon was appointed as Rangers third manager in 1954. Symon continued Struth's success winning six league championships, five Scottish Cups and four League Cups. He also became the second manager to win the domestic treble in season 1963-64.

Davie White was installed as Rangers' fourth manager in 1967. However, his tenure was a brief one and he was dismissed after little more than two years in charge, winning no trophies.

Willie Waddell was appointed as Rangers manager in 1969. In 1972 he guided Rangers to their first, and to date only, European triumph when they defeated Dynamo Moscow 3-2 in the Cup Winners' Cup final at the Camp Nou in Barcelona.

Wallace's managership of Rangers saw the club achieve a period of sustained success. His first season as manager - the club's centenary year - culminated in a 3-2 Scottish Cup win over Celtic.

Greig's tenure began promisingly. Wallace's treble-winning team of the previous season performed ably in the European Cup. Juventus were defeated 2-1 on aggregate - the first time Rangers had ever recovered from a first-leg defeat to win a two-legged European tie.

Rangers hoped to rekindle success by bringing Jock Wallace back to the club, following his exile in England with Leicester City.

Graeme Souness was appointed as Rangers' first player-manager in 1986. The club's US-domiciled owner, Lawrence Marlborough, concerned at the lack of progress in the 1980s, began to take a more active interest in Rangers, wresting clear control of the boardroom after years of internecine squabbling.

Following Souness' departure, Walter Smith went on to clinch the championship in 1991 after a dramatic last day win over title challengers Aberdeen.

Dick Advocaat, nicknamed the Little General, succeeded Walter Smith at the start of season 1998-99. Advocaat, former manager of PSV Eindhoven, was only Rangers' tenth manager and the first non-Scot to hold the position.

Alex McLeish's four-and-a-half-year spell at Ibrox was a turbulent one, coming as it did after the wastefulness of the Advocaat era. McLeish never enjoyed access to the funds his predecessors had been given, and his managership was marked by wildly-fluctuating fortunes, in part caused by forced asset stripping of his best players due to the spectre of debt from Advocaat's spending.

After signs that supporter unrest was turning on Murray, on 9 February 2006, two days before the crucial Old Firm match, it was announced that Alex McLeish would leave his position as manager at the end of the 2005-06 season, and on 11 March, it was confirmed that former Lyon manager Paul Le Guen would indeed succeed him at the end of the season.

On 10 January 2007, it was announced that former manager Walter Smith was the new manager of Rangers, with Ally McCoist as assistant manager and Kenny McDowall as first-team coach.

Smith's deputy and Rangers record goalscorer Ally McCoist was appointed manager of the club for season 2011–12.

After months of pressure on the Rangers board, an EGM was held on 6 March 2015 at the behest of businessman and former director Dave King. Shareholders approved the appointment of King as Non-executive Chairman and the appointments of several other new directors were made as well. Existing directors Derek Llambias and Barry Leach were voted to be removed at the EGM and were suspended later in the week.