NOVEMBER 1998

Saturday 28th November 1998

French striker Stephane Guivarc'h is expected to get the nod over a less than fit Jonaton Johansson for the vacant striker's role in the League Cup final at Celtic Park. Defender Scott Wilson is suspended, and skipper Lorenzo Amaruso stays in central defence. Dutchman Giovanni van Bronkhurst returns in place of Ian Ferguson. Rangers have been linked with a £150,000 move for Linfield's Northern Ireland Under-21 attacking midfielder Lee Feeney. Linfield boss David Jeffrey said: "Lee has been over to Rangers and was impressed and by all accounts they were with him, so something could happen sooner rather than later."

Tuesday 24th November 1998

Captain Lorenzo Amoruso will return to the side tonight after missin the last 2 games through suspension. Giovanni Van Bronckhorst is suspended, Jonatan Johansson faces a fitness test and Stephane Guivarc'h is ineligible. Tonight's game with Parma is being shown live on BBC Scotland as well as on German satellite channel DSF available throughout Europe on the Astra satellite.

Wednesday 18th November 1998

Rangers have announced that Tuesday's UEFA Cup clash with Parma at Ibrox is a complete sell-out. A record 10,000 tickets were sold today and many disappointed fans were turned away. Stadium Access Manager Ian Hosie said: "The scenes at Ibrox were unbelievable.The queue extended from the ticket office down to the underground station, which is totally unprecedented." Rangers have abandoned their interest in signing former German international keeper Andreas Kopke - after failing to agree terms with his agent. Kopke's English representative Dennis Roach, who had been conducting negotiations on Rangers' behalf, has confirmed there would be no further moves. Roach revealed that personal terms had been agreed with the player's agent Wolfgang Voge on three separate occasions, only for them all to be later rejected.

Tuesday 17th November 1998

Rangers will head to a US training camp during the Premier League winter shut down. Rangers will be in the States between January 12th and 19th and will split their time between Orlando and Fort Lauderdale.

Monday 16th November 1998

Andreas Kopke should complete his projected free transfer to Rangers within the next 48 hours subject to an Ibrox medical. The German international 'keeper had been expected to arrive in Glasgow on Monday, but the deal was held up while his departure from French club Marseille was finalised. Kopke's agent Dennis Roach stressed that nothing has been signed, but the player has agreed personal terms and is understood to be happy with the contract length offered to him. Rangers UEFA Cup first leg match with Parma will be shown live on BBC Scotland. The game will be played on Tuesday 24th November with a 7.45pm kickoff. Giovanni Van Bronckhorst has been called up to the Dutch squad, for Wednesday's friendly with Germany, after Edgar Davids withdrew through injury.

Saturday 14th November 1998

Scott Wilson will partner Colin Hendry at the heart of Rangers' defence in place of suspended skipper Lorenzo Amoruso for the Premier League visit of Aberdeen today. Sergio Porrini and Barry Ferguson return to the squad after missing last Sunday's 7-0 hammering of St Johnstone. Antti Niemi will be in goal and Stephane Guivarc'h will be pushing for a place in the starting line-up after scoring two goals on his debut.

Friday 13th November 1998

Rangers have agreed to play the return leg of the forthcoming UEFA match with Parma to 1.30pm British time to accommodate Italian television. But negotiations for TV coverage of the first-leg at Ibrox continue without any deal being clinched with the BBC.

Thursday 12th November 1998

Sebastian Rozental has gone on extended loan to his former club Universidad Catolica of Chile. The striker, who has been fighting to overcome a knee injury, says he will be gone for 18 months but intends to return to Ibrox in the Spring of 2000. While he is away Rozental will not recieve any wages from Rangers at his insistance. German goalkeeping legend Andreas Kopke is expected to join Rangers over the weekend. The 36-year-old veteran of three World Cup finals will move to Ibrox until the end of the season on a free transfer from Marseille. Advocaat met Marseille vice-president Jean-Michel Roussier on Wednesday and Kopke is due in Glasgow on Monday. Dutch midfield star Giovanni van Bronkhurst has blasted UEFA chiefs for not allowing him to play in the first-leg of the UEFA third-round tie against Parma. Although his two yellow cards means he misses just the first leg at Ibrox, he claims as Rangers have already played 8 matches in the tournament as opposed to Parma's 4, he should have his qualifying yellow disallowed. Not much chance of that I'm afraid.

Saturday 7th November 1998

Lionel Charbonnier may miss the rest of the season as it was discovered that he suffered a tear in the cruciate ligament of his knee during the game with Leverkusen Stephane Guivarc'h is included in the sqaud for tomorow's match with St Johnstone. Antti Niemi wil replace Lionel Charbonnier in goal and Barry Ferguson is also likely to be missing.

Friday 6th November 1998

Rangers have drawn Italian giants Parma in the 3rd round of the UEFA Cup. The first leg is at Ibrox on 24th of November with the return in Italy on the 8th of December. The full draw: FC Zurich v Roma Monaco v Marseille Grasshoppers/Fiorentina v Bordeaux Real Sociedad v Ath. Madrid Lyon v Club Bruges RANGERS v Parma Celta Vigo v Liverpool Bologna v Real Betis Rangers have completed the £3.5million signing of Newcastle United's French World Cup striker Stephane Guivarc'h. Guivarc'h who scored 47 goal in 57 games for Auxerre has signed a three and a half year deal. Gordan Petric has joined Craig Moore at Crystal Palace after completing a £300,000 move today.

Wednesday 4th November 1998

Newcastle United's French World Cup striker Stephane Guivarc'h has said he is set to sign for Rangers. Guivarc'h told the French sports daily L'Equipe: "The two clubs are in agreement over the transfer fee. "On that basis there's nothing to stop me signing. Besides, I've given my agreement to Rangers. "On Thursday I'll be in Glasgow with my agent. I'll watch the UEFA Cup match against Bayer Leverkusen. On Friday I'll have the medical and then sign"

Tuesday 3rd November 1998

Newcastle striker Stephane Guivarc'h is expected to decide in the next 24 hours if he wants to join Rangers. The Ibrox club have reopened talks with the French star's advisors after failing with two earlier approaches. Rangers chairman David Murray said: "It is up to the player and we expect to hear from him but this is the last time we will go down this road." Guivarc'h is out of favour at St James' Park and could be tempted by a reported salary of more than £20,000 a week. Rangers star Jorg Albertz has escaped with a warning from SFA disciplinary chiefs for his criticism of referee Hugh Dallas at the end of last season. Albertz was upset after Dallas sent him off against Dundee United in the final match of the campaign. The red card resulted in Albertz missing the Scottish Cup final with Hearts, but an SFA committee decided to take no further action at a hearing.

Monday 2nd November 1998

Stockport County have signed midfielder Derek McInnes on a 2 month loan deal. Rangers' £3.5M swoop for World Cup winner Stephane Guivarc'h is back on and he will be unveiled as an Ibrox player this week. The Newcastle United misfit's switch to Ibrox had looked a non-starter as he aimed to move within England or to Italy. But Gers' outstanding UEFA Cup win over Bayer Leverkusen in Germany has made him take notice.