2011–12 Scottish Premier League
| Season | 2011–12 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Celtic 7th Premier League title 43rd Scottish title overall |
| Relegated | Dunfermline Athletic |
| Champions League | Celtic Motherwell |
| Europa League | Hearts Dundee United St. Johnstone |
| Matches played | 228 |
| Goals scored | 601 (2.64 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Gary Hooper (24) |
| Biggest home win |
Celtic 5–0 St. Mirren |
| Biggest away win | Kilmarnock 0–6 Celtic (7 April 2012) |
| Highest scoring | Kilmarnock 3–6 Inverness CT (5 November 2011) |
| Longest winning run | 17 games[1] Celtic |
| Longest unbeaten run | 21 games[1] Celtic |
| Longest winless run | 11 games[1] St. Mirren |
| Longest losing run | 5 games[1] Dunfermline Athletic |
| Highest attendance | 58,875[2] Celtic v Hearts (13 May 2012) |
| Lowest attendance | 1,607[2] St. Johnstone v Aberdeen (13 December 2011) |
| Average attendance |
13,861[3]
|
|
← 2010–11
2012–13 →
|
|
The 2011–12 Scottish Premier League was the fourteenth season of the Scottish Premier League, the highest division of Scottish football, since its inception in 1998. The season started on 23 July 2011[4] and ended on 13 May 2012.
A total of twelve teams contested the league: eleven sides that competed in the 2010–11 SPL and one club promoted from the First Division. The new entry was First Division champions Dunfermline Athletic, who replaced relegated Hamilton Academical.
Since Scotland climbed from sixteenth to fifteenth place in the UEFA association coefficient rankings at the end of the 2010–11 season,[5] the league re-gained an additional third qualifying round berth for the UEFA Champions League. However, it lost that berth again the following season. Despite finishing in the second qualifying position for the 2012-13 UEFA Champions League, the eventual dissolution of Rangers allowed Motherwell to take their place in the competition for the first time in the club's history.
On 7 April, Celtic won the title after a 6–0 away win against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park. It was their first title in four years.[6][7][8]
Contents |
Teams[edit]
The team ending the 2010–11 season at the bottom of the table, Hamilton Academical, were relegated to the 2011–12 Scottish First Division. Hamilton were replaced by Dunfermline Athletic, champions of the First Division.
Stadia and locations[edit]
| Team | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen | Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen | 22,199 |
| Celtic | Celtic Park, Glasgow | 60,832 |
| Dundee United | Tannadice Park, Dundee | 14,209 |
| Dunfermline Athletic | East End Park, Dunfermline | 12,509 |
| Heart of Midlothian | Tynecastle Stadium, Edinburgh | 17,420 |
| Hibernian | Easter Road, Edinburgh | 20,421 |
| Inverness Caledonian Thistle | Caledonian Stadium, Inverness | 7,918 |
| Kilmarnock | Rugby Park, Kilmarnock | 18,128 |
| Motherwell | Fir Park, Motherwell | 13,742 |
| Rangers | Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow | 51,082 |
| St. Johnstone | McDiarmid Park, Perth | 10,673 |
| St. Mirren | St. Mirren Park, Paisley | 8,016 |
Personnel and kits[edit]
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen | adidas | Team Recruitment | ||
| Celtic | Nike | Tennents | ||
| Dundee United | Nike | Calor | ||
| Dunfermline | Puma | The Purvis Group | ||
| Hearts | Umbro | Wonga.com | ||
| Hibernian | Puma | Crabbie's | ||
| Inverness CT | Erreà | Orion Group | ||
| Kilmarnock | Killie 1869 | verve.net | ||
| Motherwell | Puma | Cash Converters | ||
| Rangers | Umbro | Tennents | ||
| St Johnstone | Joma | GS Brown Construction | ||
| St Mirren | diadora | diadora, Braehead Shopping Centre (shorts) |
Managerial changes[edit]
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rangers | End of contract | 15 May 2011[9] | Pre-season | 1 June 2011[10] | ||
| Heart of Midlothian | Contract terminated | 2 August 2011[11] | 9th | 3 August 2011[12] | ||
| St. Johnstone | Signed by Bristol City | 19 October 2011[13] | 4th | 3 November 2011[14] | ||
| Hibernian | Contract terminated | 6 November 2011[15] | 9th | 25 November 2011[16] | ||
| Dunfermline | Contract terminated | 16 March 2012[17] | 12th | 20 March 2012[18] |
League table[edit]
| Pos |
Team |
Pld |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
GD |
Pts |
Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Celtic (C) | 38 | 30 | 3 | 5 | 84 | 21 | +63 | 93 | 2012–13 UEFA Champions League Third qualifying round |
| 2 | Rangers | 38 | 26 | 5 | 7 | 77 | 28 | +49 | 73 | Relegated to 2012–13 Scottish Third Division 1 |
| 3 | Motherwell | 38 | 18 | 8 | 12 | 49 | 44 | +5 | 62 | 2012–13 UEFA Champions League Third qualifying round |
| 4 | Dundee United | 38 | 16 | 11 | 11 | 62 | 50 | +12 | 59 | 2012–13 UEFA Europa League Third qualifying round |
| 5 | Heart of Midlothian | 38 | 15 | 7 | 16 | 45 | 43 | +2 | 52 | 2012–13 UEFA Europa League Play-off round 2 |
| 6 | St Johnstone | 38 | 14 | 8 | 16 | 43 | 50 | −7 | 50 | 2012–13 UEFA Europa League Second qualifying round 2 |
| 7 | Kilmarnock | 38 | 11 | 14 | 13 | 44 | 61 | −17 | 47 | |
| 8 | St Mirren | 38 | 9 | 16 | 13 | 39 | 51 | −12 | 43 | |
| 9 | Aberdeen | 38 | 9 | 14 | 15 | 36 | 44 | −8 | 41 | |
| 10 | Inverness Caledonian Thistle | 38 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 42 | 60 | −18 | 39 | |
| 11 | Hibernian | 38 | 8 | 9 | 21 | 40 | 67 | −27 | 33 | |
| 12 | Dunfermline Athletic (R) | 38 | 5 | 10 | 23 | 40 | 82 | −42 | 25 | Relegation to the 2012–13 Scottish First Division |
Updated to games played on 13 May 2012.
Source: BBC website
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
1 Rangers were deducted 10 points for entering administration.[19] As they did not exit administration by 31 March, they are ineligible to compete in Europe next season. This led to the liquidation of Rangers, and the newco Rangers were admitted into the Third Division.[20]
2 Hearts qualified for the Europa League as 2011–12 Scottish Cup winners. Since they finished fifth in the league, the sixth-placed team, St. Johnstone, also qualified for the Europa League.
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.
Results[edit]
Matches 1–22[edit]Teams play each other twice, once at home, once away
Source: BBC website 1 ^ The home team is listed in the left-hand column. Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win. |
Matches 23–33[edit]Teams play every other team once (either at home or away)
Source: BBC Sport 1 ^ The home team is listed in the left-hand column. Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win. |
Matches 34–38[edit]
After 33 matches, the league splits into two sections of six teams each, with teams playing every other team in their section once (either at home or away). The exact matches are determined upon the league table at the time of the split.
Top six[edit]
1 ^ The home team is listed in the left-hand column. Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win. |
Bottom six[edit]
1 ^ The home team is listed in the left-hand column. Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win. |
Season statistics[edit]
Top scorers[edit]
|
Top assists[edit]
|
Clean sheets[edit]
- As of 31 May 2012.[2]
| Rank | Player | Team | Clean sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Celtic | 21 | |
| 2 | Rangers | 17 | |
| 3 | Motherwell | 15 | |
| 4 | Dundee United | 13 | |
| St. Mirren | 13 | ||
| 6 | St. Johnstone | 10 | |
| 7 | Kilmarnock | 9 | |
| 8 | Hearts | 8 | |
| 9 | Aberdeen | 6 | |
| Inverness CT | 6 |