1999–2000 Scottish Premier League
The 1999–2000 Scottish Premier League (known as the 1999–2000 Bank of Scotland Premier League for sponsorship reasons) was the second season of the Scottish Premier League, the top level of football in Scotland. It began in on 31 July 1999 and concluded on 21 May 2000.
| Season | 1999–2000 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 31 July 1999 – 21 May 2000 |
| Champions | Rangers 2nd Premier League title 49th Scottish title |
| Relegated | No relegation |
| Champions League | Rangers |
| UEFA Cup | Celtic Heart of Midlothian Aberdeen (via Scottish Cup) |
| Matches played | 180 |
| Goals scored | 528 (2.93 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Mark Viduka (25) |
| Biggest home win | Celtic 7–0 Aberdeen (16 October) |
| Biggest away win | Dundee 1–7 Rangers (27 February) Aberdeen 0–6 Celtic (11 December) |
| Highest scoring | Motherwell 5–6 Aberdeen (20 October) |
| Highest attendance | 60,253, Celtic 3–0 St Johnstone (7 August) |
| Lowest attendance | 4,039, Dundee 0–0 Kilmarnock (26 January) |
| Average attendance | 17,944 ( 633) |
← 1998–99 2000–01 → | |
Rangers, the defending champions, retained their title on 22 April 2000, after their nearest challengers Celtic drew 1–1 with Hibernian.[1]
Teams
A total of 10 teams competed in the league, the top 9 sides from the 1998–99 Scottish Premier League and the champions of the 1998–99 Scottish First Division.
Hibernian were promoted to the league after winning the 1998–99 First Division by a 23-point margin. They replaced Dunfermline Athletic who were relegated after a three-season stint in the top flight, finishing bottom of the league the previous season.
Stadia and locations
| Aberdeen | Celtic | Dundee |
|---|---|---|
| Pittodrie Stadium | Celtic Park | Dens Park |
| Capacity: 20,866[2] | Capacity: 60,411[3] | Capacity: 11,506[4] |
| Dundee United | Heart of Midlothian | Hibernian |
| Tannadice Park | Tynecastle Park | Easter Road |
| Capacity: 14,223[5] | Capacity: 17,420[6] | Capacity: 16,531[7] |
| Kilmarnock | Motherwell | |
| Rugby Park | Fir Park | |
| Capacity: 17,889[8] | Capacity: 13,677[9] | |
| Rangers | St Johnstone | |
| Ibrox Stadium | McDiarmid Park | |
| Capacity: 50,817[10] | Capacity: 10,696[11] | |
Personnel and kits
| Team | Manager | Kit manufacturer | Kit sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen | Ebbe Skovdahl | Puma[12] | Atlantic Telecom |
| Celtic | Kenny Dalglish (interim) | Umbro[13] | ntl: |
| Dundee | Jocky Scott | Xara[14] | Ceramic Tile Warehouse |
| Dundee United | Paul Sturrock | Olympic Sports[15] | Telewest |
| Heart of Midlothian | Jim Jefferies | Olympic Sports[16] | Strongbow |
| Hibernian | Alex McLeish | Le Coq Sportif[17] | Carlsberg |
| Kilmarnock | Bobby Williamson | Puma[18] | JJB Sports |
| Motherwell | Billy Davies | Xara[19] | Motorola |
| Rangers | Dick Advocaat | Nike[20] | ntl: |
| St Johnstone | Sandy Clark | Xara[21] | Scottish Hydro Electric |
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Date of vacancy | Manner of departure | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen | Paul Hegarty | 24 May 1999 | Caretaker spell ended | Pre-season | Ebbe Skovdahl | 1 July 1999[22] |
| Celtic | Jozef Vengloš | 1 June 1999[23] | Mutual consent | John Barnes | 10 June 1999[23] | |
| Celtic | John Barnes | 10 February 2000[24] | Sacked | 2nd | Kenny Dalglish (caretaker) | 10 February 2000[24] |
Overview
The 1999–2000 Scottish Premier League was won by Rangers for the second successive year, finishing 21 points ahead of nearest rivals Celtic. As champions, Rangers qualified for the Champions League while Celtic and third-placed Hearts qualified for the UEFA Cup.
As the SPL was being expanded to 12 teams, the bottom finishing side were to be relegated but due to Falkirk's stadium (Brockville Park) having fewer than the SPL minimum required 10,000 seats, bottom-placed Aberdeen were spared relegation and Dunfermline were promoted automatically as the First Division runner-up.[25] Aberdeen appeared in both the League Cup and Scottish Cup final, but lost both to Celtic and Rangers, respectively. However, as Scottish Cup runners-up, they also qualified for the following season's UEFA Cup.
Celtic entered the season under new management with former Liverpool player John Barnes taking charge in June 1999.[26] It proved to be a brief and unsuccessful reign, however, after being sacked in February 2000, ten points behind Rangers in the league, and in the wake of a Scottish Cup defeat to First Division Inverness Caledonian Thistle.[24]
On 20 October 1999, Aberdeen and Motherwell played out a match which finished in a 6–5 victory for Aberdeen at Fir Park.[27] This was the record for the highest-scoring match in Scottish Premier League history, until Motherwell and Hibernian played out a 6–6 draw in May 2010, also at Fir Park.
Rangers secured the league title on 22 April 2000, after Celtic drew 1–1 with Hibernian at Celtic Park, leaving Celtic with a 17-point deficit with only 5 matches left to play.[1]
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rangers (C) | 36 | 28 | 6 | 2 | 96 | 26 | +70 | 90 | Qualification for the Champions League second qualifying round |
| 2 | Celtic | 36 | 21 | 6 | 9 | 90 | 38 | +52 | 69 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup qualifying round |
| 3 | Heart of Midlothian | 36 | 15 | 9 | 12 | 47 | 40 | +7 | 54 | |
| 4 | Motherwell | 36 | 14 | 10 | 12 | 49 | 63 | −14 | 52 | |
| 5 | St Johnstone | 36 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 36 | 44 | −8 | 42 | |
| 6 | Hibernian | 36 | 10 | 11 | 15 | 49 | 61 | −12 | 41 | |
| 7 | Dundee | 36 | 12 | 5 | 19 | 45 | 64 | −19 | 41 | |
| 8 | Dundee United | 36 | 11 | 6 | 19 | 34 | 57 | −23 | 39 | |
| 9 | Kilmarnock | 36 | 8 | 13 | 15 | 38 | 52 | −14 | 37 | |
| 10 | Aberdeen | 36 | 9 | 6 | 21 | 44 | 83 | −39 | 33 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup qualifying round[a] |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champion
Notes:
- ^ Since Rangers, the winners of the 1999–2000 Scottish Cup, already qualified for the UEFA Champions League, Aberdeen, the losing finalist, earned a spot in the 2000–01 UEFA Cup. As the bottom team, Aberdeen were also due to take part in a three-team play-off with Dunfermline Athletic and Falkirk, but as Falkirk's stadium did not meet SPL criteria, the play-off did not take place and Aberdeen were spared relegation.[25]
Results
Matches 1–18
During matches 1–18 each team plays every other team twice (home and away).
Matches 19–36
During matches 19–36 each team plays every other team a further two times (home and away).
Top scorers
| Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Mark Viduka | Celtic | 25 |
| Billy Dodds | Dundee United/Rangers | 19 |
| Jörg Albertz | Rangers | 17 |
| Rod Wallace | Rangers | 16 |
| Gary McSwegan | Hearts | 13 |
| Willie Falconer | Dundee | 12 |
| Mark Burchill | Celtic | 11 |
| Kenny Miller | Hibernian | 11 |
| John Spencer | Motherwell | 11 |
| Nathan Lowndes | St Johnstone | 10 |
| Michael Mols | Rangers | 9 |
| Tommy Johnson | Celtic | 9 |
Source:
Attendances
The average attendances for SPL clubs during the 1999/00 season are shown below:
| Team | Average |
|---|---|
| Celtic | 54,440 |
| Rangers | 48,116 |
| Hearts | 14,246 |
| Aberdeen | 12,813 |
| Hibernian | 11,870 |
| Kilmarnock | 9,419 |
| Dundee United | 8,186 |
| Motherwell | 7,297 |
| Dundee | 6,938 |
| St Johnstone | 6,117 |
Source:
References
- ^ a b "Rangers handed Scottish crown". BBC News. 2000-04-24. Retrieved 2008-04-21.
- ^ "Aberdeen Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
- ^ "Celtic Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
- ^ "Dundee Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
- ^ "Dundee United Academical Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
- ^ . Scottish Professional Football League. Archived from the original on 2013-10-22. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
- ^ "Hibernian Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
- ^ "Kilmarnock Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
- ^ "Motherwell Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
- ^ "Rangers Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
- ^ "St Johnstone Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
- ^ "Aberdeen". Historical Football Kits. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
- ^ "Celtic". Historical Football Kits. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
- ^ "Dundee". Historical Football Kits. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
- ^ "Dundee United". Historical Football Kits. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
- ^ "Heart of Midlothian". Historical Football Kits. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
- ^ "Hibernian". Historical Football Kits. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
- ^ "Kilmarnock". Historical Football Kits. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
- ^ "Motherwell". Historical Football Kits. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
- ^ "Rangers". Historical Football Kits. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
- ^ "St Johnstone". Historical Football Kits. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
- ^ "Spiers to be Skovdahl's assistant". BBC News. 30 June 1999. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
- ^ a b "Dalglish and Barnes move in at Celtic". The Guardian. 10 June 1999. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
- ^ a b c "Barnes forced out". BBC News. 2000-02-10. Retrieved 2008-04-20.
- ^ a b "Falkirk stadium hopes boost". BBC News. 6 December 2000. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
- ^ "Dalglish back at Parkhead". BBC News. 1999-06-10. Retrieved 2008-04-20.
- ^ "SPL from the archives: Motherwell 5-6 Aberdeen". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 6 February 2018.