Rangers: 10 Incredible Stats You Won’t Believe From The SPL Era
Remember the good ol' days?
Whether you’re a fan of Scottish football or it’s just something which you laugh about with your friends while enjoying the delights of Aston Villa versus Queens Park Rangers, there can be no doubt that (until recently) Rangers and their Glasgow rivals Celtic have made the Scottish leagues largely uncompetitive.
That doesn’t mean that the standard of football on show from the Ibrox side was diminished in any way. During the SPL era (1998-2013) the Old Firm dominated the record books, consistently setting and then smashing their own records. An undoubted highlight included knocking out the likes of Werder Bremen, Sporting CP and Fiorentina on their way to the UEFA Cup Final against former manager Dick Advocaat's Zenit St. Petersburg in 2008 but it was domestically where they enjoyed most of their success.
From stunning records, incredible unbeaten streaks, amazing goals and some of the best players ever to have graced the Scottish game, the SPL era was surely one of Rangers' golden ages.
Of course, there some of these statistics can be easily forgotten as Rangers' recent travails continue to dominate the headlines. Fans of the Ibrox club will thoroughly enjoy the memories, while fans of other Scottish clubs will cringe and wince at some of their records.
After all, with Mark Warburton and David Weir in charge, the fun might be over for those who enjoy poking fun at Rangers' troubles.
10. Success Breeds Success
This won’t come as a surprise to anyone reading this but during the SPL Era (1998-2013), only Rangers and Celtic won the top division title. In total Rangers took 7 SPL titles back to Ibrox while Celtic managed to edge them by winning 8 out of a possible 15 titles.
Obviously this record is slightly skewed by Rangers’ relegation to the Third Division for the 2012/13 season but it is still a marvellous achievement and one that every Gers fan can be proud of. An undoubted highlight are their domestic treble-winning seasons in 1999 and 2003. In the former, their top scorer in all competitions was the understated but prolific Rod Wallace.