Rangers F.C. Reserve and Youth squads
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| Full name | Rangers Football Club Academy Under 20's | |||
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| Nickname(s) | Rangers Swifts | |||
| Founded | 1872 | |||
| Ground | Murray Park | |||
| Capacity | Unofficial (All-standing) | |||
| Chairman | Dave King | |||
| Head Coaches | Ian Durrant and Billy Kirkwood (Reserves and Academy Under 20's) | |||
| League | SPFL Development League[1] | |||
| 2014–15 | 4th | |||
| Website | Club home page | |||
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In addition to the first team, Rangers F.C. also have an academy under 20's side which plays in the SPFL Development League.
Background
On 20 April 2004, Rangers Football Club announced the creation of a new company which would oversee the development of the club's youth players. The company, called Rangers Youth Development Limited, is entirely self-funding but completely owned by the club. It attracted four investors from outside Rangers who have invested £1 million, with the club also putting up an initial £2.5 million.
This would leave Rangers F.C. in an unfamiliar position which would mean it has to buy its own youth players from Rangers Youth Development. The company will own the young players and the club will need to bid for them although it will have first option on all the players. If both sides cannot reach an agreement on a transfer fee then a FIFA transfer model will be used. Any profit made by the company will be divided between investors with the majority being invested to fund more youth players.[2]
The main reasons for the formation of the new company is to offset the running costs of Murray Park. However, many of the Rangers fans were opposed to the formation of the new company.[3]
Reserve team
History
They were been members of the Scottish Premier Reserve League since its foundation in the 1998–99 season. They played their home games at Rangers training ground Murray Park, having previously used Broadwood Stadium (the home of Clyde). The team mainly consists of Under-19 players at the club and fringe first team players, some also play when they are recovering from injury.
For the 2009–10 season Rangers reserve team withdrew from the SPL Reserve League and will now play friendly games instead.[4] For the 2012–13 season Rangers reserve team entered the Scottish Football League Reserve League.[5] The league ended with the emergence of the SPFL, with a development league for under-20's teams taking its place.
Manager history
Honours
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Under-20 team
History
From the 2013-14 season the Rangers Under-20 team compete in the Scottish Premier under-20 League. Before the inception of the Scottish Professional Football League in 2013, Rangers fielded an under-19 team. In the 2006–07 season the team won the league and Scottish Youth Cup double, ending rivals Celtic's run of six consecutive league titles and defeating them 5–0 in the final of the Youth Cup at Hampden Park.
The under-20s play their home matches at Rangers training ground in Auchenhowie, but games are also occasionally played at Ibrox Stadium.
The teams current head coach is Billy Kirkwood. The team have been previously coached by Tommy McLean, Ian Durrant and John Brown.
The side have won the Scottish Premier under-19 League three times, first in 2001–02 and more recently 2007–08. In the seven seasons since the league's foundation, Rangers Under-19s have only failed to finish outside the top three, once. This was a fifth placed finished in the 2004–2005.
Current squad
As of 26 February 2016[7]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
As of 26 February 2016[7]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Honours
- Scottish Premier League Youth 19s League: champions
- 2002, 2007, 2008
- Scottish Youth Cup winners:
- 1994, 1995, 2002, 2007, 2008, 2014
- Milk Cup winners: (Premier)
- 1984, 1992
- Milk Cup winners: (Junior)
- 1985
Staff
As of 21 August 2015[8]
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Head of Academy | Craig Mulholland |
| Senior Academy Manager | Billy Kirkwood |
| Academy Sports Scientist | Jamie Ramsden |
| Assistant Academy Sports Scientist | Luke Lawrence |
| Academy Analyst | Graeme Stevenson |
| Head of Academy Recruitment | Billy McLaren |
| Academy Administrator | Louise McLean |
| Player Liaison Officer | Katy Lamont |
| Academy Operations and Scouting Co-ordinator | Greg Statt |
| Coach Education Co-ordinator | David McCallum |
| Football in the Community | Alan Boyd and Gary Gibson |
| Part-Time Coaching Team | Ricky Waddell, Drew Todd and Gordon Craig |
| Head of Intermediate Academy | Alan Boyd |
| Goalkeeper Staff | Jim Stewart, Peter Dennison and Fraser Stewart |
| Scouts | Joe Begg, Jimmy Brown, Scott Bryson, Ronnie Lowrie, Eddie McCulloch, John McPherson, Charlie Palmer, David Roseburgh, Alan Upton, Alan Wardlaw, Brian Thomson, |
| Medical | Steve Walker, Kevin MacLellan, Billy Henderson, Dr Paul Jackson and Dr Ian Brown |
| Sports Science | Jamie Ramsden, Luke Lawrence, Mark Jones, Gary Sherriff and Richard Chessor |
| Kit | Graham Smillie and Martin Bell |
| Under-20s team coaches | Ian Durrant and Billy Kirkwood |
| Under-17s team coaches | Billy Kirkwood and Alan Boyd |
| Under-15s team coaches | Andy Kirk and Gardner Spiers[9] |
| Under-14s team coaches | Gary Gibson and Ally Dawson |
| Under-13s team coaches | Malcolm Thomson and Steven Mundell |
| Under-12s team coaches | Jim McNee and Alan Karas |
| Under-11s team coaches | Greg Statt and Kieran Reilly |
| Under-8s, Under-9s and Under-10s team coaches | Robin Gibson, Foster Douglas and Alan Sharp |
First team graduates
- Players who made a first-team appearance for Rangers, whilst a youth team player at the club. From the start of season 1996-97. In bold are players who have received international caps.
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References
- ↑ http://spfl.co.uk/reserve-and-youth/development-league/development-league-table/
- ↑ "Gers launch youth scheme". BBC Sport. 20 April 2004.
- ↑ "Supporters 'mystified' by Rangers youth plan". Telegraph. 26 April 2004.
- ↑ "Gers withdraw reserves"
- ↑ "Reserve Fixtures Released "
- ↑ "Coach Brown calls time on Rangers". BBC Sport. 27 June 2006.
- 1 2 "Academy Under 20's". rangers.co.uk. 5 June 2015. Archived from the original on 5 June 2015. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
- ↑ http://www.rangers.co.uk/teams/academy-information/key-staff/item/2537-other-academy-staff
- ↑ "Rangers hire three new coaches in academy shake-up". Andrew Dickson (The Scotsman). 19 March 2015.
External links
- Rangers Official Website – Reserve/Youth
- Rangers Official Website – Academy Staff
- Rangers Youths Wordpress– Rangers Under-19's Match Reports
- Scottish Professional Football League – Development League
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