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 → |
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.
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]
Promoted from First Division to Premier League
Relegated from Premier League
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 | 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] |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Team | Manager | Kit manufacturer | Kit sponsor |
---|---|---|---|
Aberdeen |
![]() |
Nike | Team Recruitment |
Celtic |
![]() |
Nike | Carling |
Dundee United |
![]() |
hummel | Carbrini |
Falkirk |
![]() |
Puma | Central Demolition |
Hamilton Academical |
![]() |
Nike | Morris Furniture (H) / UPVC Window & Door Company (A) |
Heart of Midlothian |
![]() |
Umbro | Ukio Bankas |
Hibernian |
![]() |
Le Coq Sportif | Whyte and Mackay |
Inverness Caledonian Thistle |
![]() |
Erreà | Flybe |
Kilmarnock |
![]() |
1869 | Smallworld |
Motherwell |
![]() |
Bukta | JAXX |
Rangers |
![]() |
Umbro | Carling |
St Mirren |
![]() |
hummel | Braehead Shopping Centre |
Team | Outgoing manager | Date of vacancy | Manner of departure | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Heart of Midlothian |
![]() |
9 July 2008 [15] | Caretaker spell ended | Pre-season |
![]() |
11 July 2008 [16] |
Inverness Caledonian Thistle |
![]() |
19 January 2009[ citation needed] | Sacked | 12th |
![]() |
27 January 2009 [17] |
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation [a] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Rangers (C) | 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 (R) | 38 | 10 | 7 | 21 | 37 | 58 | −21 | 37 | Relegation to the First Division |
During their first 22 matches, each team played every other team home and away.
During matches 23–33 each team played every other team once (either at home or away).
During matches 34–38 each team play every other team in their half of the table once.
Rank | Scorer | Team | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
1 |
![]() |
Rangers | 27 |
2 |
![]() |
Celtic | 16 |
3 |
![]() |
Celtic | 15 |
4 |
![]() |
Motherwell | 13 |
5 |
![]() |
Hibernian | 12 |
6 |
![]() |
Hibernian | 11 |
7 |
![]() |
St Mirren | 10 |
![]() |
Rangers | ||
![]() |
Aberdeen | ||
![]() |
Dundee United | ||
![]() |
Motherwell |
Last updated: 24 May 2009
Source:
BBC Sport
Archived 6 January 2009 at the
Wayback Machine
Scorer | For | Against | Date | Report |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() |
Rangers | Inverness Caledonian Thistle | 1 November 2008 | BBC Sport |
![]() |
Rangers | Hamilton Academical | 6 December 2008 | BBC Sport |
![]() |
Motherwell | Inverness Caledonian Thistle | 27 December 2008 | BBC Sport |
![]() |
Celtic | St Mirren | 28 February 2009 | BBC Sport |
![]() |
Kilmarnock | Falkirk | 11 April 2009 | BBC Sport |
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] |
Award | Recipient |
---|---|
Player of the Season |
![]() |
Manager of the Season |
![]() |
Young Player of the Season |
![]() |
Goal of the Season |
![]() |
Save of the Season |
![]() |
Under-19 League Player of the Season |
![]() |
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) |
{{
cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires |journal=
(
help)
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 → |
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.
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]
Promoted from First Division to Premier League
Relegated from Premier League
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 | 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] |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Team | Manager | Kit manufacturer | Kit sponsor |
---|---|---|---|
Aberdeen |
![]() |
Nike | Team Recruitment |
Celtic |
![]() |
Nike | Carling |
Dundee United |
![]() |
hummel | Carbrini |
Falkirk |
![]() |
Puma | Central Demolition |
Hamilton Academical |
![]() |
Nike | Morris Furniture (H) / UPVC Window & Door Company (A) |
Heart of Midlothian |
![]() |
Umbro | Ukio Bankas |
Hibernian |
![]() |
Le Coq Sportif | Whyte and Mackay |
Inverness Caledonian Thistle |
![]() |
Erreà | Flybe |
Kilmarnock |
![]() |
1869 | Smallworld |
Motherwell |
![]() |
Bukta | JAXX |
Rangers |
![]() |
Umbro | Carling |
St Mirren |
![]() |
hummel | Braehead Shopping Centre |
Team | Outgoing manager | Date of vacancy | Manner of departure | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Heart of Midlothian |
![]() |
9 July 2008 [15] | Caretaker spell ended | Pre-season |
![]() |
11 July 2008 [16] |
Inverness Caledonian Thistle |
![]() |
19 January 2009[ citation needed] | Sacked | 12th |
![]() |
27 January 2009 [17] |
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation [a] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Rangers (C) | 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 (R) | 38 | 10 | 7 | 21 | 37 | 58 | −21 | 37 | Relegation to the First Division |
During their first 22 matches, each team played every other team home and away.
During matches 23–33 each team played every other team once (either at home or away).
During matches 34–38 each team play every other team in their half of the table once.
Rank | Scorer | Team | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
1 |
![]() |
Rangers | 27 |
2 |
![]() |
Celtic | 16 |
3 |
![]() |
Celtic | 15 |
4 |
![]() |
Motherwell | 13 |
5 |
![]() |
Hibernian | 12 |
6 |
![]() |
Hibernian | 11 |
7 |
![]() |
St Mirren | 10 |
![]() |
Rangers | ||
![]() |
Aberdeen | ||
![]() |
Dundee United | ||
![]() |
Motherwell |
Last updated: 24 May 2009
Source:
BBC Sport
Archived 6 January 2009 at the
Wayback Machine
Scorer | For | Against | Date | Report |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() |
Rangers | Inverness Caledonian Thistle | 1 November 2008 | BBC Sport |
![]() |
Rangers | Hamilton Academical | 6 December 2008 | BBC Sport |
![]() |
Motherwell | Inverness Caledonian Thistle | 27 December 2008 | BBC Sport |
![]() |
Celtic | St Mirren | 28 February 2009 | BBC Sport |
![]() |
Kilmarnock | Falkirk | 11 April 2009 | BBC Sport |
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] |
Award | Recipient |
---|---|
Player of the Season |
![]() |
Manager of the Season |
![]() |
Young Player of the Season |
![]() |
Goal of the Season |
![]() |
Save of the Season |
![]() |
Under-19 League Player of the Season |
![]() |
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) |
{{
cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires |journal=
(
help)