By David Herd
This weekend, Rangers travel to Parkhead for the first Old Firm clash of the new season, and it’s probably fair to say that very few pundits will be predicting an away win. After season 2023/24 finished on a depressing low, with Rangers collapsing in the title race and then suffering last-minute heartache in the cup final, the summer has been one of mainly doom and gloom for Rangers supporters both on and off the pitch. The transfers in and out have not convinced most that the team has got any stronger, while the farcical need to rent Hampden for home games has added to both the negativity and the apathy.
With the transfer window closing at 11pm on the Friday night prior to the Parkhead match, supporters on both sides of the divide will be expecting some late business to be done by their clubs meaning both Philippe Clement and Brendan Rodgers would have the opportunity to give debuts to players in the biggest domestic match there is. The Rangers boss is maybe developing a bit of a reputation for being overly cautious when it comes to throwing new players into the first team, but surely on this occasion if he does have fresh options he should be taking the chance on them. It appears to me that relying on the same players will inevitably bring the same outcome.
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What does history tell us about players making their competitive debuts in royal blue in the heat of Old Firm battle? I’ve racked my brain and looked up a few reference books, and I’ve found examples of every kind of debut by every kind of player. From the spectacular debut win to the dismal debut defeat. Players who went on to become genuine club legends, to players already long forgotten. Here’s a quick look at some Rangers debuts against Celtic, and I’ve put them into four categories – On the Way to the Hall of Fame, The Perfect Start to being a Ranger, Honours Even on Debut, and a final category of Sorry to Remind You (that one maybe best be left unread by those of a nervous disposition). These are not meant to be an exhaustive list, no doubt there will be others that could have been included and I’ve simply forgotten them!
1 ON THE WAY TO THE HALL OF FAME
Several genuine club greats started their illustrious Rangers careers in a match against Celtic. These players are all members of the club Hall of Fame.
Sandy Archibald (1917)
Signed from Raith Rovers during The Great War, Sandy Archibald holds some mighty impressive club records. His 13 league title wins are more than any other player in the history of Scottish domestic football, and he also played in more official league matches for Rangers than any other player (even John Greig). A quick and fiery right winger with an eye for goal, Archibald gave Rangers incredible service until the end of season 1933/34, and as well as all those goals and league titles, he is also remembered for scoring twice in the iconic 1928 Scottish Cup final win over Celtic that ended the infamous 25-year hoodoo. Our club have had some great wingers over the years, Archibald deserves to be mentioned in any debate on the best of them.
His debut, however, came in the semi-final of old Charity Cup competition, matches that are no longer included in official statistics, but at the time were genuinely competitive and attracted big crowds. In May 1917, Celtic had been the dominant team in Scotland while the country endured the horrors of war, and had just retained their league crown. The first sight of Archibald in the Rangers colours saw him on the losing side. In a team that included a few famous Rangers names plus some guest players and short-lived Rangers careers, Celtic won 2-0 at Parkhead before going on to lift the trophy by beating Queens Park in the final. Archibald would go on to get his revenge many times over.
Jimmy Simpson (1927)
Signed from Dundee United while still a teenager, Simpson started his career as a forward before being converted into one of the most reliable and successful centre halves in club history. Simpson was a mainstay of the team who dominated Scottish football in the 1930s, and he would become captain for both Rangers and Scotland. He won six league titles and four Scottish Cups wearing the Rangers shirt, and holds the unique record of being skipper for the home team on the day that both Ibrox and Hampden saw their record attendances. His other unusual claim to fame is that his son Ronnie was goalkeeper for Celtic when they won the 1967 European Cup, and the Rangers hall of fame defender has a son in the Celtic hall of fame.
But his Rangers career started in October 1927 at Hampden in the Glasgow Cup final against Celtic, when he deputised for injured club captain Tommy Muirhead at the age of 19. To give an idea of the popularity of this “minor” competition, there were over 84,000 inside the stadium to watch the game. Despite dominating much of the opening period, Rangers somehow found themselves two goals down at half-time, thanks to brilliant goalkeeping from Celtic’s John Thomson and two opportunist goals by McGrory and Connolly. The second half was another tale of Rangers dominance, but they could only muster one goal through Andy Cunningham, and Simpson had to make do with a runners-up medal after the 2-1 loss. He collected very few of these over the remainder of his Rangers career, and Rangers would get Hampden revenge later in the season with that legendary 4-0 Scottish Cup final win, a match that Simpson watched from the sidelines.
Billy Ritchie (1956)
The Rangers team of the early to mid-1960s is legendary, with an almost mythical starting eleven that fans of all ages are able to recite. The first name in the team was goalkeeper Billy Ritchie, a fine club servant who enjoyed a Rangers career of over a decade. He collected three championships, four Scottish Cups and three League Cups during a period where Rangers sat majestically at the top of the Scottish game.
He had to bide his time in the early part of his Ibrox career, when George Niven was the number one goalkeeper. Niven was rested for a Glasgow Cup tie at Parkhead in August 1956 by manager Scot Symon, who was keen to see what the teenage Ritchie could do. And what a match it turned out to be for a Rangers debut, before over 50,000 fans. Rangers cut through the home defence at will in the first half, returning to the dressing room 3-0 in front thanks to goals by another teenager Alex Scott, and strikes by Billy Simpson and Max Murray. If Ritchie thought the Old Firm experience was an easy one, he was given a rude awakening after the interval, as Celtic fought back to equalise within twenty minutes of the restart. With those in green now in a frenzy, and the visiting fans in blue watching on in disbelief, it looked like an unbelievable comeback was taking place. Then, with Rangers down to ten fit players with the injured Sammy Baird a passenger out on the wing, Celtic defender Sean Fallon made a total mess of an attempted pass to teammate Charlie Tully. It was picked off by the ever-alert Ian McColl, and he threaded a beautiful pass to Johnny Hubbard. The little South African lashed the ball home to seal a 4-3 win for Rangers, giving Ritchie the first of many wins over their great rivals.
Tommy McLean (1971)
When Willie Waddell decided to bring Kilmarnock winger Tommy McLean to Ibrox in the summer of 1971, it wasn’t a move greeted by universal approval on the terraces. McLean was a Scotland international and a player highly regarded by all in Scottish football, but the fans saw his arrival as a threat to their hero Willie Henderson, who had been the undisputed right winger for many years. While not having Henderson’s dazzling pace and ability to beat a full back, McLean was more a thinking footballer, as well as being one of the best crossers of a ball in the game. He would very much prove his doubters wrong, enjoying a trophy-laden Rangers career, which included the 1972 European Cup-Winners’ Cup in Barcelona and two treble campaigns.
In amongst those trophies and successes, McLean played a huge role in many great wins over Celtic, his pinpoint crosses leading to many a Rangers goal in the fixture. But his first appearance for the club came at a time when Celtic held the upper hand in both Old Firm matches and collecting silverware. They had beaten Rangers in the Scottish Cup final in May as well as lifting a sixth successive title, with Willie Waddell enduring a poor record against them apart from the Derek Johnstone-inspired League Cup final triumph the previous October. McLean’s debut was on the opening day of season 1971/72 in a League Cup group game, with Celtic being the “home” team despite the match taking place at Ibrox! Parkhead’s main stand was undergoing renovation, meaning both group games between the teams would take place at Ibrox as Hampden was also unavailable.
McLean played well in an even first half, but two goals in two minutes decided the game, with the Celtic fans in the 72,500 crowd the ones to go home happy. Jimmy Johnstone opened the scoring in 68 minutes, with Celtic then awarded a penalty a minute later. Youngster Kenny Dalglish converted it, and there was no way back. The season started with this painful defeat, but it would end with the club’s greatest triumph when John Greig lifted the club’s only ever European trophy.
Lorenzo Amoruso (1998)
Signed for big money in the summer of 1997 from Fiorentina, Italian defender Amoruso was seen as the new rock at the heart of the defence who would replace the departed Richard Gough and help seal a historic ten-in-a-row. Manager Walter Smith’s plan would suffer a massive blow when Amoruso suffered a serious injury in pre-season, and it would be the following April before he was fit enough to play in the first team. With the league title going to the wire with Celtic, the clubs were paired in the Scottish Cup semi-final, and the match would take place at Parkhead with Hampden unavailable and Celtic winning a coin toss between Ibrox and Parkhead. Amoruso was named on the bench for the game, and if he was needed, it would be the hottest of white-hot debut occasions.
After only nineteen minutes, he was needed. Gordan Petric indicated he could not continue, and the Italian took to the pitch to a huge roar from the 22,000 Rangers fans in the 49,000 Parkhead crowd (Celtic were given more tickets with the SFA finding it impossible to create an even split). Despite his obvious match-rustiness, Amoruso proved to be a colossus on the day, both in repelling the Celtic forwards and even coming close to a goal with a stunning 35-yard free kick effort. But Rangers still prevailed, thanks to two absolutely iconic goals. The first came in the 75th minute, veteran Ally McCoist scoring his 27th and last Old Firm goal with a diving header. The win was sealed five minutes later with a quite spectacular 60-yard run and thunderbolt finish by midfielder Jorg Albertz, with a very late Celtic consolation goal leaving the final score at 2-1.
Amoruso and Rangers would end that season with nothing, but he would then enjoy great success, including being captain the following season when new manager Dick Advocaat lifted the treble. His Rangers career ended with him scoring the winning goal in the 2003 Scottish Cup final against Dundee, as Alex McLeish’s Rangers secured another clean sweep of the domestic honours.
THE PERFECT START TO BEING A RANGER
These Rangers players made their competitive debuts in victories over Celtic.
Billy Williamson (1941)
Williamson was a centre forward, who started his Ibrox career during WW2, then saw it interrupted by military service with the Royal Navy. On returning after the conflict, he carved out a reputation as a reliable deputy to the great Willie Thornton, and scored an impressive number of big-game goals. He scored in the first-ever League Cup final, and scored in successive Scottish Cup final wins (incredibly, these two final appearances were his first career starts in the tournament). He also developed a happy habit of scoring against Celtic, although not on his debut.
His first Rangers appearance was in the Glasgow Cup semi final of 1941, a match played at Hampden due to Celtic having their ground closed for a month after previous crowd disorder. The attendance was also limited to just 15,000, giving the occasion a very unusual atmosphere. In the end, Rangers won 3-2 in an incident-packed game thanks to goals by George Thomson (penalty), Charlie Johnston, and a winner scored by the great Torry Gillick. Celtic were awarded THREE penalties in the match, but goalkeeper Jerry Dawson saved two of them.
Alan McLaren (1994)
Season 1994/95 saw Rangers welcome the talents of the wonderful Brian Laudrup to the club, and when they also added Champions League winner Basile Boli to the squad, many expected to see European glory at last. But the season started horribly, with early exits in both Europe and the League Cup, as well as inconsistent league form. The brilliance of Laudrup was the one consistency, but Rangers were struggling defensively and conceding too many goals. An injury to Richard Gough, followed by a tepid defeat at Fir Park while wearing the lilac away strip prompted action from Walter Smith. There was a trip to Hampden on the horizon to play Celtic, their Parkhead home undergoing renovation, and with one Old Firm defeat already the manager was worried his fragile defence would cost another. He went into the transfer market, and brought young Hearts central defender Alan McLaren to Rangers, with Dave McPherson returning to Tynecastle as part of the deal. McLaren’s debut would be in the Old Firm encounter.
He was immense. McLaren gave as composed and immaculate a performance as any Old Firm debutant in memory, and with this more solid platform, Rangers then were able to use their attacking class to overpower their hosts. Youngster Charlie Miller did brilliantly to set up the rampaging Mark Hateley to open the scoring, and although Celtic equalised Hateley had the champions back in front before half time with another brilliantly worked goal. The 3-1 win was completed in the second half with a magnificent solo run and finish from Laudrup. Alan McLaren would go on to be the man to skipper Rangers the night they won nine-in-a-row, but a long and distinguished Rangers career was prevented by serious injury, the player having to retire at the age of just 27 in 1998.
Andy Dibble (1997)
Season 1996/97 is one that will forever be carved into Rangers folklore, the one that saw 9-in-a-row delivered. And the day that we all knew that the ninth title was safely secured was Sunday 16 March at Parkhead. Despite a lead at the top, Rangers were stumbling. A defeat at Parkhead in the Scottish Cup was followed by a dreadful home league defeat by Dundee United, with a clearly unfit Andy Goram playing in both matches due to his deputy Theo Snelders being declared unavailable. The visit to Parkhead the following Sunday represented Celtic’s last chance to close the gap to something realistic, and Walter Smith knew that both the team and the fans needed a lift. He brought back Old Firm specialist Mark Hateley from QPR for the remainder of the season, a man who struck terror into every Celtic defender he played against. Although well past his best, it was a wonderful piece of psychology. But, slightly less heralded, came his other masterstroke. Goram couldn’t possibly be risked, Rangers needed a goalkeeper who could handle this unique occasion. Smith signed Welshman Andy Dibble on loan from Manchester City.
Dibble had been something of a football nomad in recent years, going out on loan to Aberdeen, Middlesbrough, Bolton, Sheffield United and West Brom. But he was an experienced player, having played well over 100 games for City as well as gaining three Welsh international caps. He took to the pitch in front of a capacity crowd at Parkhead, and more than played his part in a scrappy, bad-tempered 1-0 win, in a match of few clear chances and featuring red cards for both Hateley and Celtic’s Malky McKay as well as a famous “disagreement” at full-time between Ian Ferguson and Paolo di Canio that saw the brave Italian realise his mistake and run a mile. Dibble played in all the remaining matches of the season, and enjoyed the celebrations at Tannadice in early May when Brian Laudrup’s header sealed the title and saw grown men cry. Despite only appearing seven times for Rangers, Dibble developed a lifetime attachment to the club.
Tore Andre Flo (2000)
The 2000s started with Dick Advocaat’s Rangers lording over Scottish football, but the summer of 2000 was to see the winds of change blow through Glasgow. Over on the east side, Martin O’Neill was appointed Celtic manager and he was given a big cheque book to build his dream team of big bruisers, paranoid moaners, plus a very good goalscorer that he inherited. Meanwhile, Dick Advocaat’s summer transfer business had seen millions paid out but the team looking significantly weaker, especially in defence. Celtic won the first Old Firm game easily, and had raced into a commanding lead in the title race by mid-November. Rangers, meantime, had seen all kinds of stupid points dropped, had gone out of the Champions League after winning their first two group games, and had changed captain with Advocaat removing the armband from Lorenzo Amoruso and giving it to Barry Ferguson. Things looked chaotic, and the fans needed a boost before the upcoming Old Firm clash at Ibrox. Advocaat had brought in Dutch playmaker Ronald de Boer in September, but a double transfer fell through when West Ham’s John Hartson failed a medical. Advocaat obviously still craved a top quality centre forward, and in the midweek before the Celtic match, Rangers smashed the Scottish transfer record by paying Chelsea an eye-watering £12 million for Norwegian striker Tore Andre Flo.
Flo was pitched straight into the mayhem of the Old Firm, and almost made a dream debut when missing a decent chance in the opening minutes. The pace never relented, with Rangers deserving their 1-0 lead at the break after a well-taken Ferguson goal. But things were level early in the second half when Larsson pounced, and the match was evenly poised with just over half an hour left. Then the £12 Million Man stepped forward. He got a debut goal when flicking home at the back post after a corner had been headed onto the bar. From that moment, there was only one winner. Celtic were reduced to ten men when Alan Thompson was sent off for a second booking when flattening Ferguson, and Rangers then ran riot against the depleted visitors. Goals three and four came from corners, with headers dispatched by de Boer than Amoruso, before substitute Michael Mols completed a 5-1 thrashing with a clinical finish to a flowing move in the closing stages. The result failed to put Rangers back on track, Advocaat’s men ending the season trophyless. Flo would go on to play 72 times for the club and hit a respectable 38 goals, but the price tag weighed heavily on him, and he eventually left for Sunderland with a League Cup and Scottish Cup medal to show for his time at Ibrox.
HONOURS EVEN ON DEBUT
Rangers players whose competitive debut for the club was a draw against Celtic.
Willie Reid (1909)
One of the greatest goalscorers in the history of both Rangers and of Scottish football, Willie Reid joined Rangers from Portsmouth in April 1909. The team had just played out an exciting, and unlucky, 2-2 draw with league champions Celtic at Hampden in the Scottish Cup final and a replay was required. Reid went straight into the team, starting the biggest match of the year in domestic club football. Celtic, going for an unprecedented third successive league and cup double, were favourites, but Rangers enjoyed the better of the first half and left the field at half-time with a 1-0 lead thanks to Jimmy Gordon. They had chances to kill the game, and were made to pay late on when Quinn equalised. The match ended 1-1, which the fans (and some players) thought meant extra-time. But the SFA had decided that a draw after 90 minutes would mean a second replay, and as the players started slowly leaving the field, the supporters of both teams in the 60,000 crowd realised they would need to pay to see a third game. Instead, they rioted. Police were attacked, missiles were thrown, and fires were started in the worst disorder ever seen at a Scottish football ground. The SFA decided in the aftermath to abandon the final, and declare the 1909 competition void. “The Hampden riot”, what a debut game!
Reid would go on to score well over 200 goals for the club, hitting over 100 league goals in just 3 seasons as Rangers finally ended Celtic’s run of titles and won three in succession. He would also serve his country in The Great War, before returning to score goals again in one more championship success in season 1919/20. He is the highest Rangers goalscorer of all-time who is not in the hall of fame.
Duncan Ferguson (1993)
A teenage sensation at Dundee United, Ferguson was at the centre of a long-running transfer saga in the summer of 1993 as Rangers made it clear they wanted the player and United manager Jim McLean insisted he was not for sale to another Scottish club. In the end, money talked, with Rangers breaking the British transfer record to pay £4.5 million for the striker. Ferguson missed the first few games of the new season through injury, but he was fit to start the season’s first Old Firm match at Parkhead. Rangers had won the treble in a memorable season just past, but the sheer number of games had taken a toll on the players, with several missing the start of the new campaign injured. Andy Goram, Davie Robertson, John Brown and Stuart McCall were all missing from the line-up, as well as Ally McCoist who had not yet recovered from the broken leg that had ended his previous season. Ferguson was joined in the side by names such as Ally Maxwell, Steven Pressley and Fraser Wishart in front of 48,000 fans.
In truth, the match was like much of season 1993/94 – forgettable. Ferguson acquitted himself well, and was always a handful for the Celtic defence, but he was unable to take any of the half chances that came his way. He ran out of steam near the end, and was replaced by youngster David Hagen after 83 minutes. The match ended 0-0, one of FOURTEEN draws in the league. Ferguson’s Ibrox career was blighted by injury, the form of Mark Hateley, and off-field disciplinary issues, and he never settled into life as the Rangers first-choice centre forward. He eventually left for Everton on loan before making the move permanent. He only started twelve times, and came off the bench on eleven occasions. After just five goals in the blue of Rangers, he went on to become a hero at Goodison.
Moses Ashikodi (2006)
Without doubt, the most bizarre Old Firm debut and shortest Rangers career of them all. The young Londoner had spells at Millwall then West Ham with very few first team appearances, before signing a one year deal at Ibrox in 2005 after a successful trial. Season 2005/06 would be the last season of Alex McLeish’s managerial reign at the club, but despite several poor results and the team crashing out of all domestic competitions, the manager did not give Ashikodi a single minute of first team action up until the last Old Firm game of the season at Parkhead on April 23rd 2006.
Celtic were already champions and were hot favourites to win. But it was Rangers who could claim the better chances over the 90 minutes. Kris Boyd was unlucky to see a goal disallowed for a tight offside decision, before Dado Prso’s late effort was well saved by goalkeeper Boruc. With the game still goalless and two minutes of injury time already played, McLeish made his last ever substitution in an Old Firm match. Off went winger Chris Burke, and on came Moses Ashikodi. The final whistle sounded moments later, with these 30 seconds on the pitch being the only first team action the player ever saw. He was released at the end of the season and went on to have a nomadic career in English lower league and non-league football.
SORRY TO REMIND YOU
Unfortunately, there are also a few whose Rangers debut ended in defeat to Celtic. The names here range from the very good to the very awful!
Tom Hyslop (1896)
A Scottish international forward with a very impressive goals record for Rangers in his time at the club. Unfortunately, his debut was in the second-worst competitive defeat Rangers have ever suffered in an Old Firm match. Hyslop’s debut came in the 1896 Charity Cup final, and we lost 6-1! He went on to win the Scottish Cup twice with the club.
It was later discovered that Hyslop was an army deserter who changed his name to avoid discovery. His real name was Bryce Scouller, and he ended up back in the army.
Jimmy Sharp (1908)
A Scottish international left back who Rangers signed from Arsenal to help ease the London club’s financial troubles. Sharp’s debut at Ibrox was a painful one, Celtic won 1-0 and clinched the league title! Sharp stayed at Ibrox for less than a year before returning to London with Fulham. He served his country during the Great War, and ended the conflict as a prisoner of war after being captured by the Germans in 1918.
Doug Baillie (1960)
Signed from Airdrie, Baillie was thrown in at the deep end not long after his arrival when regular centre half Bill Paterson got injured in the midweek and was unavailable for an early season League Cup match against Celtic at Ibrox. He had something of a nightmare debut, failing to get to grips with the pace of the game, and Celtic ran out surprise 3-2 winners against a Rangers team that had another new signing Jim Baxter making his Old Firm debut. Baxter didn’t lose many more.
Jim Denny (1971)
Like Willie Reid, this wasn’t just a debut in an Old Firm match. This was a debut in a Scottish Cup final replay at Hampden. Rangers had grabbed a deserved late equaliser in the first match through 17-year-old Derek Johnstone, but then had a major selection problem for the replay. Regular right back Sandy Jardine was already out, and his replacement Alex Miller had broken his jaw in the initial game. Manager Willie Waddell needed a third choice right back, and he surprised everyone (including the player) by opting for Jim Denny. A signing from junior football the previous year, Denny had never played right back for the reserves, but had been more of an inside forward. The 21-year-old tried manfully, but Celtic were able to exploit this inexperience in the Rangers backline and won the match 2-1. Denny went on to play for the club for a decade, albeit always as a stopgap and never as a regular.
Jimmy Phillips (1987)
Signed from Bolton to provide competition for regular left back Stuart Munro, Englishman Phillips arrived at the club as Graeme Souness was steering Rangers to their first title in nine years. The final Old Firm clash of the season at Parkhead represented a last chance for Celtic to get close enough for the run-in, and Phillips was named on the Rangers bench. It wasn’t Rangers’ day, as referee Bob Valentine awarded Celtic two first half penalties, both converted by Brian McClair. The first of these came after Davie Cooper had scored direct from a corner only to see it disallowed for mysterious reasons. Ally McCoist pulled one back after half-time but a calamitous mistake in the Rangers defence near the end allowed Owen Archdeacon to clinch the points for Celtic in a 3-1 win. Phillips came on for the closing stages, replacing Davie Cooper, with Souness probably deciding he couldn’t risk a second yellow card for his star winger as the season reached its climax.
Ian McCall (1987)
The next time Rangers went to Parkhead was in the early weeks of the following season, with Rangers hit by a massive injury blow when skipper Terry Butcher was ruled out. In the midweek, Rangers had knocked Dunfermline out of the League Cup at East End Park, but despite the 4-1 scoreline their midfielder Ian McCall had impressed Souness with an excellent performance. The player was signed on the Friday, and put on the bench the following afternoon. Unfortunately, it was to be a dismal debut. Celtic won 1-0 with an early goal by Billy Stark, Souness got sent off for a couple of late tackles, and McCall came on when the team was down to ten men and the tide was totally against him. He never really established himself at Ibrox, and was eventually transferred to Bradford City. McCall is probably better known for his managerial career than has included the likes of Falkirk, Dundee United, Ayr, Partick and his current club Clyde.
Mark Walters (1988)
A dazzling winger with an eye for goal, Walters was a massive success at Ibrox. But his debut at New Year in 1988, days after signing from Aston Villa, remains one of the most shameful afternoons in Scottish football. Celtic won 2-0 with a double from Frank McAvennie, in a match that saw goalkeeper Chris Woods taken off injured and Graham Roberts forced to play in goal for the second Old Firm game in a row. But all that was put in the shade by the worst display of crowd racism to ever stain this country. Walters, the first black player to sign for Rangers for decades, was mercilessly abused for the entire match, both verbally and by the throwing of bananas at him. The Celtic fans have somehow managed to forget this display of sheer evil, but those of us present will never let them pretend it never happened. Walters went on to punish them in the perfect way. He scored important goals against them at Ibrox, Parkhead and Hampden on the way to lifting three league titles and two League Cups.
Gavin Rae (2004)
In season 2003/04, the Rangers team who had won the treble the previous season had seen several key players sold or freed to save money, with massively cheaper and inferior replacements coming in. This was a recipe for disaster on the pitch, and Martin O’Neill’s Celtic took full advantage. Just before the New Year game at Parkhead, Rangers and Dundee confirmed that Gavin Rae would move to Ibrox for a fee of around £300,000 with the player’s contract at Dens due to expire in the summer. Rae went straight into the Rangers team at Parkhead but in a sign of things to come, he limped off with a hamstring injury after just 35 minutes. By then, Celtic had already taken the lead through Petrov, and they underlined their superiority at the time by adding two more goals in the second half. Rae remained at Ibrox until the summer of 2007, but he only made 39 appearances in those three and a half years. His is probably best remembered for being named club captain by Paul le Guen after the French manager had a bust up with Barry Ferguson, his captaincy lasting two games before new manager Walter Smith handed Ferguson back the armband.
Thomas Buffel and Bojan Djordjic (2005)
Season 2004/05 ultimately ended in the glory of Helicopter Sunday, but in January there was some gloom and doom around. Rangers had sold the hugely impressive Jean-Alain Boumsong to Newcastle for big money, but the support were fearful what selling our best defender would do to our title challenge. The cash generated allowed manager Alex McLeish to spend some money, and he brought in winger Djordjic from Manchester United and attacking midfielder Buffel in the midweek prior to a Scottish Cup trip to Parkhead for the clash of the heavyweights in round 3 of the competition. With no replacement yet brought in for Boumsong, it was Georgian defender Zurab Khizanishvili was partnered Marvin Andrews in central defence, but the former Dundee man was at fault when Sutton scored the only goal of the first half. The second half has barely started when Fernando Ricksen headed a superb equaliser that silenced the Celtic fans, but they were roaring again when Hartson scrambled in a late winner. McLeish gave Djordjic a start, but he made little impression before being replaced by Buffel with just over twenty minutes left.
Philippe Senderos (2016)
We finish with perhaps the worst of all the Old Firm debutants in this big list. Season 2016/17 saw Rangers “going for 55” under Mark Warburton, but the manager had very limited funds to improve on the team who had won the Championship the previous season. Experienced campaigners were brought in for little or no fee, with Joey Barton the one grabbing the headlines, and he was joined by Croatian Niko Kranjcar and Swiss defender Senderos. All 3 had played at the top level, but all 3 were players very much on the way down. Meanwhile, over at Parkhead, new manager Brendan Rodgers was being bankrolled to significantly strengthen his squad, and Celtic started the season in impressive style. The first Old Firm match at Parkhead looked a daunting challenge, and the Rangers manager decided this was the day to give Senderos his debut.
In his time on the pitch, the big defender did nothing right. He looked slow, he looked weak in the tackle, and Celtic were in no mood to be merciful. Striker Dembele scored the first hat-trick in an Old Firm league fixture since season 1965/66, and it ended in a horrendous 5-1 pasting. Another Rangers new boy Joe Garner got the consolation goal in the first half, but Senderos wouldn’t see the end of the game. To top off his miserable day, he saw red for a deliberate handball when already on a booking. A day to forget, and a Rangers career to forget. Senderos only played three more times and hardly improved on his diabolical debut.
That run through history probably shows that winning Old Firm debuts are quite a rare thing, but wouldn’t it be wonderful if we saw one this Sunday. At the time of writing, Rangers have not confirmed any signings in the days leading up to the game, although rumours suggest we will see some arrive. This would be a perfect time for a new hero to be born, and a long overdue Parkhead victory to be delivered.