Wikipedia
2008–09 Scottish Premier League
The 2008–09 Scottish Premier League season was the eleventh season of the Scottish Premier League and the second season under the sponsorship of the Clydesdale Bank. It began on 9 August 2008 with a game between Falkirk and Rangers.[1] After the 33rd round of matches, the league split in half and each team played a further five matches against the teams in their half of the league.
| Season | 2008–09 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 9 August 2008 – 24 May 2009 |
| Champions | Rangers 5th Premier League title 52nd Scottish title |
| Relegated | Inverness Caledonian Thistle |
| Champions League | Rangers Celtic |
| Europa League | Heart of Midlothian Falkirk Aberdeen Motherwell |
| Matches played | 228 |
| Goals scored | 548 (2.4 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Kris Boyd (27) |
| Biggest home win | Celtic 7–0 St Mirren (28 February) |
| Biggest away win | Kilmarnock 0–4 Rangers (9 November) Dundee United 0–4 Motherwell (18 January) |
| Highest scoring | Rangers 7–1 Hamilton Academical (6 December) |
← 2007–08 2009–10 → | |
Champions Rangers qualified directly for the Champions League, while second-placed Celtic qualified for the qualifying rounds. Four teams qualified for the new Europa League: Hearts and Aberdeen via league position, Falkirk via the Scottish Cup, and Motherwell by the Fair Play initiative. Inverness were relegated after their fifth season in the SPL and were replaced by St Johnstone for the following season's competition.
The championship was determined on the final day of the season. Leaders Rangers travelled to Tannadice to play Dundee United knowing that a win would secure the title. Meanwhile, Celtic needed to win their final match of the season against Hearts at Celtic Park and hope that Rangers failed to win to clinch the title. In the end, Rangers achieved this comfortably, courtesy of a 3–0 victory with goals scored by Kyle Lafferty, Pedro Mendes and the league's top goalscorer, Kris Boyd, clinching their first title in 4 years.[2] Meanwhile, Celtic drew Hearts 0-0.[2]
Clubs edit
Promotion and relegation from 2007–08 edit
Promoted from First Division to Premier League
Relegated from Premier League
Stadia and locations edit
| Aberdeen | Celtic | Dundee United | Falkirk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pittodrie Stadium | Celtic Park | Tannadice Park | Falkirk Stadium |
| Capacity: 20,866[3] | Capacity: 60,411[4] | Capacity: 14,223[5] | Capacity: 7,937[6] |
| Hamilton Academical | class=notpageimage| Location of teams in 2007–08 Scottish Premier League | Heart of Midlothian | |
| New Douglas Park | Tynecastle Park | ||
| Capacity: 5,510[7] | Capacity: 17,420[8] | ||
| Hibernian | Inverness Caledonian Thistle | ||
| Easter Road | Caledonian Stadium | ||
| Capacity: 16,531[9] | Capacity: 7,500[10] | ||
| Kilmarnock | Motherwell | Rangers | St Mirren |
| Rugby Park | Fir Park | Ibrox Stadium | Love Street (until 3 January) St Mirren Park (from 31 January) |
| Capacity: 17,889[11] | Capacity: 13,677[12] | Capacity: 50,817[13] | Capacity: 8,023[14] |
Personnel and kits edit
| Team | Manager | Kit manufacturer | Kit sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen | Jimmy Calderwood | Nike | Team Recruitment |
| Celtic | Gordon Strachan | Nike | Carling |
| Dundee United | Craig Levein | hummel | Carbrini |
| Falkirk | John Hughes | Puma | Central Demolition |
| Hamilton Academical | Billy Reid | Nike | Morris Furniture (H) / UPVC Window & Door Company (A) |
| Heart of Midlothian | Csaba László | Umbro | Ukio Bankas |
| Hibernian | Mixu Paatelainen | Le Coq Sportif | Whyte and Mackay |
| Inverness Caledonian Thistle | Terry Butcher | Erreà | Flybe |
| Kilmarnock | Jim Jefferies | 1869 | Smallworld |
| Motherwell | Mark McGhee | Bukta | JAXX |
| Rangers | Walter Smith | Umbro | Carling |
| St Mirren | Gus MacPherson | hummel | Braehead Shopping Centre |
Managerial changes edit
| Team | Outgoing manager | Date of vacancy | Manner of departure | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heart of Midlothian | Stephen Frail | 9 July 2008[15] | Caretaker spell ended | Pre-season | Csaba László | 11 July 2008[16] |
| Inverness Caledonian Thistle | Craig Brewster | 19 January 2009[citation needed] | Sacked | 12th | Terry Butcher | 27 January 2009[17] |
Events edit
- 8 August – Former SPL members and Scottish Cup finalists Gretna are formally liquidated by the club's administrators[18]
- 3 January – St Mirren drew 0–0 with Motherwell in their last game at Love Street before they moved to New St Mirren Park[19]
- 31 January – St Mirren drew 1–1 with Kilmarnock in their first match at their new stadium[20]
- 2 May – St Johnstone won promotion to the Scottish Premier League as First Division champions following a 3–1 win over Greenock Morton[21]
- 23 May – Inverness Caledonian Thistle were relegated after losing 1–0 to Falkirk at the Caledonian Stadium[22]
League table edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation[a] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rangers | 38 | 26 | 8 | 4 | 77 | 28 | +49 | 86 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Celtic | 38 | 24 | 10 | 4 | 80 | 33 | +47 | 82 | Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round |
| 3 | Heart of Midlothian | 38 | 16 | 11 | 11 | 40 | 37 | +3 | 59 | Qualification for the Europa League play-off round |
| 4 | Aberdeen | 38 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 41 | 40 | +1 | 53 | Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round |
| 5 | Dundee United | 38 | 13 | 14 | 11 | 47 | 50 | −3 | 53 | |
| 6 | Hibernian | 38 | 11 | 14 | 13 | 42 | 46 | −4 | 47 | |
| 7 | Motherwell | 38 | 13 | 9 | 16 | 46 | 51 | −5 | 48 | Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round[b] |
| 8 | Kilmarnock | 38 | 12 | 8 | 18 | 38 | 48 | −10 | 44 | |
| 9 | Hamilton Academical | 38 | 12 | 5 | 21 | 30 | 53 | −23 | 41 | |
| 10 | Falkirk | 38 | 9 | 11 | 18 | 37 | 52 | −15 | 38 | Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round[c] |
| 11 | St Mirren | 38 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 33 | 52 | −19 | 37 | |
| 12 | Inverness Caledonian Thistle | 38 | 10 | 7 | 21 | 37 | 58 | −21 | 37 | Relegation to the First Division |
Source: Scottish Professional Football League
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
Notes:
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
Notes:
- ^ Teams played each other three times (33 matches), before the league split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six) for the last five matches.
- ^ Scotland were awarded an additional Europa League place as the association finished in third place of the UEFA Fair Play ranking. Motherwell earned this place as winners of the Scottish Fair Play ranking.
- ^ Since Rangers, the winners of the Scottish Cup, already qualified for the Champions League via their league position, Falkirk, the losing finalist, earned a spot in the Europa League.
Results edit
Matches 1–22 edit
During their first 22 matches, each team played every other team home and away.
Matches 23–33 edit
During matches 23–33 each team played every other team once (either at home or away).
Matches 34–38 edit
During matches 34–38 each team play every other team in their half of the table once.
Top six edit | Bottom six edit
|
Goals edit
Top scorers edit
| Rank | Scorer | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kris Boyd | Rangers | 27 |
| 2 | Scott McDonald | Celtic | 16 |
| 3 | Georgios Samaras | Celtic | 15 |
| 4 | David Clarkson | Motherwell | 13 |
| 5 | Derek Riordan | Hibernian | 12 |
| 6 | Steven Fletcher | Hibernian | 11 |
| 7 | Andy Dorman | St Mirren | 10 |
| Kenny Miller | Rangers | ||
| Lee Miller | Aberdeen | ||
| Francisco Sandaza | Dundee United | ||
| John Sutton | Motherwell |
Last updated: 24 May 2009
Source: BBC Sport 6 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine
Hat-tricks edit
| Scorer | For | Against | Date | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kris Boyd | Rangers | Inverness Caledonian Thistle | 1 November 2008 | BBC Sport |
| Kris Boyd | Rangers | Hamilton Academical | 6 December 2008 | BBC Sport |
| Chris Porter | Motherwell | Inverness Caledonian Thistle | 27 December 2008 | BBC Sport |
| Shunsuke Nakamura | Celtic | St Mirren | 28 February 2009 | BBC Sport |
| Kevin Kyle | Kilmarnock | Falkirk | 11 April 2009 | BBC Sport |
Attendances edit
| Team | Stadium | Capacity | Highest | Lowest | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Celtic | Celtic Park | 60,355 | 59,685[23] | 55,117[24] | 57,761[25] |
| Rangers | Ibrox Stadium | 51,082 | 50,403[26] | 48,129[27] | 49,534[25] |
| Heart of Midlothian | Tynecastle Stadium | 17,420 | 17,244[28] | 12,030[29] | 14,398[25] |
| Aberdeen | Pittodrie Stadium | 22,199 | 20,441[30] | 8,909[31] | 12,929[25] |
| Hibernian | Easter Road | 17,500 | 17,223[32] | 10,317[33] | 12,684[25] |
| Dundee United | Tannadice Park | 14,209 | 14,077[34] | 5,926[35] | 8,654[25] |
| Kilmarnock | Rugby Park | 18,128 | 10,153[36] | 4,267[37] | 5,727[25] |
| Falkirk | Falkirk Stadium | 6,935 | 6,853[38] | 4,385[39] | 5,640[25] |
| Motherwell | Fir Park | 13,742 | 9,600[40] | 2,818[41] | 5,522[25] |
| St Mirren | Love Street[42] | 10,800 | 10,189[43] | 3,364[44] | 5,411[25] |
| New St Mirren Park | 8,000 | ||||
| Inverness Caledonian Thistle | Caledonian Stadium | 7,500 | 7,143[45] | 2,578[46] | 4,457[25] |
| Hamilton Academical | New Douglas Park | 6,000 | 5,895[47] | 2,600[48] | 3,823[25] |
Awards edit
Monthly awards edit
| Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month | Young Player of the Month | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manager | Club | Player | Club | Player | Club | |
| August | Jim Jefferies[49] | Kilmarnock | Pedro Mendes[50] | Rangers | James McArthur[51] | Hamilton Academical |
| September | Gordon Strachan[52] | Celtic | Georgios Samaras[52] | Celtic | Scott Arfield[53] | Falkirk |
| October | Gus MacPherson[54] | St Mirren | Scott Brown[55] | Celtic | Steven Fletcher[56] | Hibernian |
| November | Gordon Strachan[57] | Celtic | Bruno Aguiar[58] | Heart of Midlothian | Sone Aluko[59] | Aberdeen |
| December | Gus MacPherson[60] | St Mirren | Lee Miller[61] | Aberdeen | James McCarthy[62] | Hamilton Academical |
| January | Billy Reid[63] | Hamilton Academical | Tomas Cerny[63] | Hamilton Academical | James McCarthy[63] | Hamilton Academical |
| February | Mark McGhee[64] | Motherwell | Andy Dorman[65] | St Mirren | Lee Wallace[66] | Heart of Midlothian |
| March | Mixu Paatelainen[67] | Hibernian | Scott McDonald[68] | Celtic | Steven Fletcher[69] | Hibernian |
| April | Walter Smith[70] | Rangers | Andy Dorman[71] | St Mirren | Calum Elliot[72] | Heart of Midlothian |
Clydesdale Bank Premier League Awards edit
| Award | Recipient |
|---|---|
| Player of the Season | Gary Caldwell (Celtic) |
| Manager of the Season | Csaba László (Heart of Midlothian) |
| Young Player of the Season | Steven Fletcher (Hibernian) |
| Goal of the Season | Marc Crosas (Celtic v St Mirren) |
| Save of the Season | Graeme Smith (Motherwell v St Mirren) |
| Under-19 League Player of the Season | Sean Welsh (Hibernian) |
| Best Club Media Relations | Motherwell |
| Best Fan Marketing Initiative | Rangers |
| Best Matchday Hospitality | Rangers |
| Best Community Initiative | Falkirk |
| Best Away Ground | Tynecastle (Heart of Midlothian) |
References edit
- ^ "Falkirk 0-1 Rangers". BBC Sport. 9 August 2008. Retrieved 26 May 2009.
- ^ a b "Dundee United 0-3 Rangers". BBC Sport. 24 May 2009. from the original on 27 May 2009. Retrieved 26 May 2009.
- ^ "Aberdeen Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
- ^ "Celtic Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
- ^ "Dundee United Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
- ^ "Falkirk Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
- ^ . Scottish Professional Football League. Archived from the original on 16 October 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
- ^ . Scottish Professional Football League. Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
- ^ "Hibernian Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
- ^ "Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "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.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ "St Mirren Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
- ^ "Hearts confirm Frail's departure". BBC Sport. 9 July 2008. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
- ^ "Hearts appoint Laszlo as manager". BBC Sport. 11 July 2008. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
- ^ "Butcher named as Inverness boss". BBC Sport. 27 January 2009.
- ^ . The Cumberland News. 8 August 2008. Archived from the original on 14 March 2009. Retrieved 14 March 2009.
- ^ "St Mirren 0-0 Motherwell". BBC Sport. 3 January 2008. Retrieved 9 January 2008.
- ^ "St Mirren 1-1 Kilmarnock". BBC Sport. 31 January 2009. from the original on 3 February 2009. Retrieved 1 March 2009.
- ^ "St Johnstone 3–1 Morton". BBC Sport. 2 May 2009. from the original on 4 May 2009. Retrieved 3 May 2009.
- ^ "Inverness CT 0-1 Falkirk". BBC Sport. 23 May 2009. from the original on 25 May 2009. Retrieved 23 May 2009.
- ^ Celtic 0–0 Hearts Soccerbase, 24 May 2009
- ^ Celtic 1–0 Inverness CT Soccerbase, 29 November 2008
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Statistics 12 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Scottish Premier League
- ^ Rangers 0–1 Celtic Soccerbase, 27 December 2008
- ^ Rangers 0–1 Inverness CT Soccerbase, 4 March 2009
- ^ Hearts 0–0 Hibernian Soccerbase, 3 January 2009
- ^ Hearts 1–0 Hamilton Soccerbase, 12 November 2008
- ^ Aberdeen 0–0 Rangers Soccerbase, 24 January 2009
- ^ Aberdeen 2–1 Falkirk Soccerbase, 13 December 2008
- ^ Hibernian 1–1 Hearts Soccerbase, 19 October 2008
- ^ Hibernian 2–0 St Mirren Soccerbase, 17 January 2009
- ^ Dundee Utd 0–3 Rangers Soccerbase, 24 May 2009
- ^ Dundee Utd 1–1 Inverness CT Soccerbase, 14 February 2009
- ^ Kilmarnock 0–4 Rangers Soccerbase, 9 November 2008
- ^ Kilmarnock 1–2 Falkirk Soccerbase, 25 October 2008
- ^ Falkirk 0–1 Rangers Soccerbase, 5 April 2009
- ^ Falkirk 0–1 Dundee Utd Soccerbase, 3 March 2009
- ^ Motherwell 0–1 Rangers Soccerbase, 12 November 2008
- ^ Motherwell 2–2 Inverness CT Soccerbase, 13 May 2009
- ^ St Mirren played their final game at Love Street on 3 January 2009
- ^ St Mirren 0–0 Motherwell[permanent dead link] Soccerbase, 3 January 2009
- ^ St Mirren 2–0 Inverness CT Soccerbase, 13 December 2008
- ^ Inverness CT 1–2 Celtic Soccerbase, 18 October 2008
- ^ Inverness CT 2–0 Kilmarnock Soccerbase, 7 February 2009
- ^ Hamilton 0–1 Rangers Soccerbase, 28 February 2009
- ^ Hamilton 1–1 Falkirk Soccerbase, 8 November 2008
- ^ "Jefferies picks up monthly award". BBC Sport. 11 September 2008. from the original on 14 September 2008. Retrieved 11 September 2008.
- ^ "Mendes voted player of the month". BBC Sport. 14 September 2008. from the original on 18 September 2008. Retrieved 16 September 2008.
- ^ "Player prize for Accies' McArthur". BBC Sport. 18 September 2008. Retrieved 20 September 2008.
- ^ a b "Strachan and Samaras net awards". BBC Sport. 3 October 2008. from the original on 4 October 2008. Retrieved 3 October 2008.
- ^ "Arfield wins young player award". BBC Sport. 5 October 2008. from the original on 8 October 2008. Retrieved 5 October 2008.
- ^ "MacPherson named manager of month". BBC Sport. 30 October 2008. from the original on 2 November 2008. Retrieved 31 October 2008.
- ^ "Brown voted player of the month". BBC Sport. 31 October 2008. from the original on 3 November 2008. Retrieved 31 October 2008.
- ^ "Young player prize for Fletcher". BBC Sport. 9 November 2008. Retrieved 9 November 2008.
- ^ "Strachan explains media walkout". BBC Sport. 6 December 2008. from the original on 7 December 2008. Retrieved 6 December 2008.
- ^ . Heart of Midlothian FC. 7 December 2008. Archived from the original on 8 December 2008. Retrieved 7 December 2008.
- ^ "Aluko named young player of month". BBC Sport. 9 December 2008. from the original on 11 December 2008. Retrieved 9 December 2008.
- ^ "MacPherson award for historic run". BBC Sport. 30 December 2008. from the original on 31 December 2008. Retrieved 31 December 2008.
- ^ "Dons' Miller wins December award". BBC Sport. 10 January 2009. from the original on 22 January 2009. Retrieved 11 January 2009.
- ^ "McCarthy nets young player award". BBC Sport. 6 January 2009. Retrieved 6 January 2009.
- ^ a b c "Clean sweep in awards for Accies". BBC Sport. 12 February 2009. from the original on 13 February 2009. Retrieved 12 February 2009.
- ^ "McGhee lauds players after award". BBC Sport. 13 March 2009. from the original on 16 March 2009. Retrieved 14 March 2009.
- ^ "Dorman seals new St Mirren deal". BBC Sport. 18 March 2009. from the original on 22 March 2009. Retrieved 18 March 2009.
- ^ "Wallace wins young player award". BBC Sport. 12 March 2009. from the original on 15 March 2009. Retrieved 14 March 2009.
- ^ "Paatelainen is manager of month". BBC Sport. 3 April 2009. from the original on 6 April 2009. Retrieved 3 April 2009.
- ^ "Player prize for Celtic striker". BBC Sport. 7 April 2009. from the original on 11 April 2009. Retrieved 7 April 2009.
- ^ . The Scotsman. 4 April 2009. Archived from the original on 16 April 2009. Retrieved 4 April 2009.
- ^ "Gaffer Scoops April Award". Rangers FC. 3 May 2009. Retrieved 3 May 2009.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Dorman lands April player award". BBC Sport. 29 April 2009. from the original on 2 May 2009. Retrieved 30 April 2009.
- ^ "Elliot scoops young player award". BBC Sport. 30 April 2009. from the original on 3 May 2009. Retrieved 30 April 2009.
- ^ . Archived from the original on 15 May 2009. Retrieved 3 May 2010.