2005–06 Scottish Premier League
| Season | 2005–06 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Celtic |
| Relegated | Livingston |
| Champions League | Celtic Hearts |
| UEFA Cup | Rangers Gretna |
| Intertoto Cup | Hibernian |
| Top goalscorer | Kris Boyd (32) |
| Biggest home win | Hibernian 7–0 Livingston |
| Biggest away win | Dunfermline 1–8 Celtic |
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← 2004–05
2006–07 →
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The 2005–06 Scottish Premier League was won by Celtic, with a 17-point margin over their nearest challengers Hearts in the first season under the management of Gordon Strachan. Rangers, who finished third, failed to finish a Scottish top flight campaign as champions or runners-up for the first time since 1988.
As league champions, Celtic qualified for the UEFA Champions League, with runners-up Hearts also qualifying. This marked the first time since 1995 that a club outside the Old Firm of Celtic and Rangers finished in the top two. Third-placed Rangers qualified for the UEFA Cup, as did Scottish Second Division champions Gretna, who took the Scottish Cup place despite losing the final to Hearts.
Livingston were relegated, and Scottish First Division winners St Mirren were promoted.
Kris Boyd was the top scorer with 32 goals (17 for Rangers after 15 for Kilmarnock).
Contents
Promotion and relegation from 2004–05
Promoted from First Division to Premier League
Relegated from Premier League to First Division
League table
| P | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Celtic | 38 | 28 | 7 | 3 | 93 | 37 | +56 | 91 | 2006–07 UEFA Champions League Group stage |
| 2 | Heart of Midlothian | 38 | 22 | 8 | 8 | 71 | 31 | +40 | 74 | 2006–07 UEFA Champions League Second qualifying round |
| 3 | Rangers | 38 | 21 | 10 | 7 | 67 | 37 | +30 | 73 | 2006–07 UEFA Cup First round |
| 4 | Hibernian | 38 | 17 | 5 | 16 | 61 | 56 | +5 | 56 | 2006 UEFA Intertoto Cup Second round |
| 5 | Kilmarnock | 38 | 15 | 10 | 13 | 63 | 64 | −1 | 55 | |
| 6 | Aberdeen | 38 | 13 | 15 | 10 | 46 | 40 | +6 | 54 | |
| 7 | Inverness CT | 38 | 15 | 13 | 10 | 51 | 38 | +13 | 58 | |
| 8 | Motherwell | 38 | 13 | 10 | 15 | 55 | 61 | −6 | 49 | |
| 9 | Dundee United | 38 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 41 | 66 | −25 | 33 | |
| 10 | Falkirk | 38 | 8 | 9 | 21 | 35 | 64 | −29 | 33 | |
| 11 | Dunfermline Athletic | 38 | 8 | 9 | 21 | 33 | 68 | −35 | 33 | |
| 12 | Livingston | 38 | 4 | 6 | 28 | 25 | 79 | −54 | 18 | Relegated to 2006–07 First Division |
Source: SPL official website
Matches 1–22
During matches 1–22 each team played every other team twice (home and away).
| Home ╲ Away | ABE | CEL | DUN | DNF | FAL | HOM | HIB | INV | KIL | LIV | MOT | RAN |
| Aberdeen | 1–3 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 3–2 | |
| Celtic | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 4–2 | 2–1 | 5–0 | 3–0 | |
| Dundee United | 1–1 | 2–4 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | |
| Dunfermline Athletic | 0–2 | 0–4 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–4 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 3–3 | |
| Falkirk | 1–2 | 0–3 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | |
| Heart of Midlothian | 2–0 | 2–3 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 5–0 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | |
| Hibernian | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 4–2 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | |
| Inverness Caledonian Thistle | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | |
| Kilmarnock | 4–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 2–4 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 4–1 | 2–3 | |
| Livingston | 0–0 | 0–5 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–4 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 2–2 | |
| Motherwell | 3–1 | 4–4 | 4–5 | 1–0 | 5–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | |
| Rangers | 0–0 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 5–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 |
Source:[citation needed]
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
During matches 23–33 each team played every other team once (either at home or away).
| Home ╲ Away | ABE | CEL | DUN | DNF | FAL | HOM | HIB | INV | KIL | LIV | MOT | RAN |
| Aberdeen | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | ||||||
| Celtic | 3–0 | 3–3 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | |||||||
| Dundee United | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–4 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–4 | ||||||
| Dunfermline Athletic | 1–0 | 1–8 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | ||||||
| Falkirk | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–4 | 1–2 | |||||||
| Heart of Midlothian | 1–2 | 4–0 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | |||||||
| Hibernian | 1–2 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 7–0 | ||||||
| Inverness Caledonian Thistle | 0–1 | 0–0 | 3–3 | 0–1 | 2–3 | |||||||
| Kilmarnock | 1–4 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | ||||||
| Livingston | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 2–1 | |||||||
| Motherwell | 1–3 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | |||||||
| Rangers | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 4–1 | 1–0 |
Source:[citation needed]
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
During matches 34–38 each team played every other team in their half of the table once.
Top six
1 ^ The home team is listed in the left-hand column. Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win. |
Bottom six
1 ^ The home team is listed in the left-hand column. Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win. |
Top scorers
| Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|
 Kris Boyd |
Kilmarnock / Rangers | 32 |
 John Hartson |
Celtic | 18 |
| Craig Dargo |
Inverness CT | 16 |
| Derek Riordan |
Hibernian | 16 |
 Rudi Skácel |
Hearts | 16 |
 Maciej Żurawski |
Celtic | 16 |
| Paul Hartley |
Hearts | 14 |
 Peter Løvenkrands |
Rangers | 14 |
| Shaun Maloney |
Celtic | 13 |
| Steven Naismith |
Kilmarnock | 13 |
| Mark Burchill |
Dunfermline Athletic | 12 |
 Richie Foran |
Motherwell | 11 |
Source: SPL official website
Attendances
The average attendances for SPL clubs during the 2005/06 season are shown below:
| Team | Average |
|---|---|
| Celtic | 58,149 |
| Rangers | 49,245 |
| Hearts | 16,767 |
| Hibernian | 13,816 |
| Aberdeen | 12,727 |
| Dundee United | 8,197 |
| Kilmarnock | 7,070 |
| Dunfermline Athletic | 6,260 |
| Motherwell | 6,250 |
| Falkirk | 5,515 |
| Inverness CT | 5,061 |
| Livingston | 4,938 |
Source: SPL official website
Monthly awards
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| Month | Manager | Player | Young Player |
|---|---|---|---|
| August | George Burley (Hearts) |
Rudolf Skácel (Hearts) |
Steven Naismith (Kilmarnock) |
| September | George Burley (Hearts) |
Andy Webster (Hearts) |
Kevin Thomson (Hibernian) |
| October | Gordon Strachan (Celtic) |
 Stilian Petrov (Celtic) |
Darryl Duffy (Falkirk) |
| November |  Tony Mowbray (Hibernian) |
Kris Boyd (Kilmarnock) |
Aiden McGeady (Celtic) |
| December | Craig Brewster (Inverness CT) |
Peter Løvenkrands (Rangers) |
Calum Elliot (Hearts) |
| January | Alex McLeish (Rangers) |
Kris Boyd (Rangers) |
Steven Naismith (Kilmarnock) |
| February | Jimmy Calderwood (Aberdeen) |
Maciej Żurawski (Celtic) |
Charlie Mulgrew (Dundee United) |
| March | Terry Butcher (Motherwell) |
Steven Naismith (Kilmarnock) |
Brian McLean (Motherwell) |
| April | Jimmy Calderwood (Aberdeen) |
Paul Hartley (Hearts) |
Steven Smith (Rangers) |
