2008–09 Scottish Premier League

Scottish Premier League

Season	2008–09
Champions	Rangers
Relegated	Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Champions League	Rangers Celtic
Europa League	Heart of Midlothian Falkirk Aberdeen Motherwell
Goals scored	548
Average goals/game	2.40
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. 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. They achieved this comfortably, courtesy of a 3–0 victory. The goals were scored by Kyle Lafferty, Pedro Mendes and the league's top goalscorer, Kris Boyd. Celtic needed to win their final match of the season against Hearts and hope that Rangers failed to win, but their goalless draw was rendered meaningless. It was also Rangers first title in 4 years.

Promotion and relegation from 2007–08

Promoted from First Division to Premier League

• Hamilton Academical

Relegated from Premier League

• Gretna

Events

Main article: 2008–09 in Scottish football § Notable events

• 8 August – Former SPL members and Scottish Cup finalists Gretna are formally liquidated by the club's administrators
• 3 January – St Mirren drew 0–0 with Motherwell in their last game at Love Street before they moved to New St Mirren Park
• 31 January – St Mirren drew 1–1 with Kilmarnock in their first match at their new stadium
• 2 May – St Johnstone won promotion to the Scottish Premier League as First Division champions following a 3–1 win over Greenock Morton
• 23 May – Inverness Caledonian Thistle were relegated after losing 1–0 to Falkirk at the Caledonian Stadium

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Rangers (C)	38	26	8	4	77	28	+49	86	2009–10 UEFA Champions League Group stage
2	Celtic	38	24	10	4	80	33	+47	82	2009–10 UEFA Champions League Third qualifying round
3	Heart of Midlothian	38	16	11	11	40	37	+3	59	2009–10 UEFA Europa League Play-off round
4	Aberdeen	38	14	11	13	41	40	+1	53	2009–10 UEFA 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	2009–10 UEFA Europa League First qualifying round 1
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	2009–10 UEFA Europa League Second qualifying round 2
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 Scottish First Division 2009–10

Source: BBC Sport
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
¹ Scotland was among the best three associations in the UEFA Fair Play ranking and thus received an additional spot in the UEFA Europa League 2009-10. Since Celtic, the winners of the Scottish Fair Play ranking, already qualified for the UEFA Champions League 2009–10, Motherwell, being the second place team in the ranking, earned a spot in the first qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League 2009–10.
² Since Rangers, the winners of the 2008–09 Scottish Cup, already qualified for the UEFA Champions League 2009–10, Falkirk, being the losing finalist, earned a spot in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League 2009–10.
(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; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.

Results

Matches 1–22

During their first 22 matches, each team played every other team home and away.

Home ╲ Away

ABE

CEL

DUN

FAL

HAM

HOM

HIB

INV

KIL

MOT

RAN

STM

Aberdeen

4–2

0–1

2–1

1–2

1–0

1–2

0–2

1–0

2–0

1–1

2–0

Celtic

3–2

2–2

3–0

4–0

1–1

4–2

1–0

3–0

2–0

2–4

1–0

Dundee United

2–1

1–1

1–0

1–1

3–0

2–0

2–1

0–2

0–4

2–2

2–0

Falkirk

0–1

0–3

0–0

4–1

2–1

1–1

1–2

1–1

1–0

0–1

1–2

Hamilton Academical

2–0

1–2

3–1

1–1

1–2

0–1

1–0

1–0

2–0

1–3

1–2

Heart of Midlothian

1–1

0–2

0–0

2–1

1–0

0–0

1–0

1–2

3–2

2–1

2–1

Hibernian

2–2

2–0

2–1

3–2

2–0

1–1

1–2

2–4

0–1

0–3

2–0

Inverness Caledonian Thistle

0–3

1–2

1–3

1–1

0–1

0–1

1–1

3–1

1–2

0–3

1–2

Kilmarnock

1–2

1–3

2–0

1–2

1–0

0–2

1–0

1–2

1–0

0–4

0–1

Motherwell

0–1

2–4

1–1

3–2

2–0

1–0

1–4

3–2

0–2

0–0

2–1

Rangers

2–0

0–1

3–3

3–1

7–1

2–0

1–0

5–0

2–1

2–1

2–1

St Mirren

0–1

1–3

0–2

1–1

1–0

0–1

0–0

2–0

0–0

0–0

1–0

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 23–33

During matches 23–33 each team played every other team once (either at home or away).

Home ╲ Away

ABE

CEL

DUN

FAL

HAM

HOM

HIB

INV

KIL

MOT

RAN

STM

Aberdeen

2–2

1–0

1–0

0–0

0–0

Celtic

2–0

4–0

4–0

3–1

0–0

7–0

Dundee United

2–2

0–1

2–2

1–1

0–0

3–2

Falkirk

1–0

0–1

1–2

0–0

4–0

0–1

Hamilton Academical

0–1

2–0

0–1

0–1

0–0

Heart of Midlothian

2–1

1–1

3–2

3–1

2–1

1–1

Hibernian

0–0

0–0

1–0

1–1

2–3

Inverness Caledonian Thistle

0–0

1–1

2–0

2–1

1–2

2–1

Kilmarnock

1–2

3–0

0–1

1–1

0–0

Motherwell

1–1

1–1

2–1

1–1

1–0

0–2

Rangers

2–0

2–2

0–1

3–1

3–1

St Mirren

1–1

2–2

1–1

1–1

1–2

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.
For coming matches, an a indicates there is an article about the match.

Matches 34–38

During matches 34–38 each team play every other team in their half of the table once.

Top six

Home ╲ Away	ABE	CEL	DUN	HOM	HIB	RAN
Aberdeen		1–3		0–0	2–1
Celtic			2–1	0–0
Dundee United	1–1					0–3
Heart of Midlothian			3–0		0–1
Hibernian		0–0	1–2			1–1
Rangers	2–1	1–0		2–0

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.
For coming matches, an a indicates there is an article about the match.

Bottom six

Home ╲ Away	FAL	HAM	INV	KIL	MOT	STM
Falkirk					2–1	0–2
Hamilton Academical	0–1			2–1	0–3
Inverness Caledonian Thistle	0–1	1–1
Kilmarnock	1–1		1–0			2–1
Motherwell			2–2	1–2
St Mirren		0–1	1–2		1–3

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.

Goals

Top scorers

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

Hat-tricks

Main article: List of Scottish Premier League hat-tricks

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

Kits and shirt sponsors

Team	Kit manufacturer	Kit sponsor	Notes
Aberdeen	Nike	Team Recruitment	Team Recruitment replace Apex Tubulars as sponsors New home and away kits
Celtic	Nike	Carling	New home kit, green and white hoops New away kit, yellow with green shorts
Dundee United	Hummel	Carbrini	Carbrini replace Anglian Home Improvements as shirt sponsor New home and away kits
Falkirk	Puma	Central Demolition	Puma replace Lotto as kit manufacturer New home and away kits
Hamilton Academical	Nike	Morris Furniture (H) / UPVC Window & Door Company (A)	New home and away kits
Heart of Midlothian	Umbro	Ūkio bankas	New home and away kits
Hibernian	Le Coq Sportif	Whyte and Mackay	New home kit New away kit, yellow dubbed "Sunshine on Leith"
Inverness Caledonian Thistle	Erreà	Flybe	New home kit
Kilmarnock	1869	Smallworld	1869 (Kilmarnock's own brand name) replace Lotto as kit manufacturer
Motherwell	Bukta	JAXX	JAXX replace Anglian Home Improvements as kit sponsor New home and away kits
Rangers	Umbro	Carling	New home kit, light blue with white New away and third kits
St Mirren	Hummel	Braehead Shopping Centre	New home and away kits

Attendances

Aberdeen

Dundee Utd

Falkirk

Hearts

Hibernian

Inverness

Kilmarnock

St Mirren

Celtic

Hamilton

Motherwell

Rangers

Location of teams in Scottish Premier League 2008–09

Team	Stadium	Capacity	Highest	Lowest	Average
Celtic	Celtic Park	60,355	59,685	55,117	57,761
Rangers	Ibrox Stadium	51,082	50,403	48,129	49,534
Heart of Midlothian	Tynecastle Stadium	17,420	17,244	12,030	14,398
Aberdeen	Pittodrie Stadium	22,199	20,441	8,909	12,929
Hibernian	Easter Road	17,500	17,223	10,317	12,684
Dundee United	Tannadice Park	14,209	14,077	5,926	8,654
Kilmarnock	Rugby Park	18,128	10,153	4,267	5,727
Falkirk	Falkirk Stadium	6,935	6,853	4,385	5,640
Motherwell	Fir Park	13,742	9,600	2,818	5,522
St Mirren	Love Street	10,800	10,189	3,364	5,411
	New St Mirren Park	8,000
Inverness Caledonian Thistle	Caledonian Stadium	7,500	7,143	2,578	4,457
Hamilton Academical	New Douglas Park	6,000	5,895	2,600	3,823

Managerial changes

See also: 2008–09 in Scottish football § Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date	Replaced by	Date	Position in table
Heart of Midlothian	Stephen Frail	Sacked	9 July	Csaba László	11 July	Pre-season
Inverness CT	Craig Brewster	Sacked	19 January	Terry Butcher	27 January	12
Aberdeen	Jimmy Calderwood	Mutual consent	24 May	Mark McGhee	12 June	4
Celtic	Gordon Strachan	Resigned	25 May	Tony Mowbray	16 June	2
Hibernian	Mixu Paatelainen	Mutual consent	29 May	John Hughes	8 June	6
Falkirk	John Hughes	Resigned	8 June	Eddie May	23 June	10
Motherwell	Mark McGhee	Resigned	12 June	Jim Gannon	30 June	7

Awards

Monthly awards

Main article: Scottish Premier League monthly awards

Month	Manager of the Month		Player of the Month		Young Player of the Month
	Manager	Club	Player	Club	Player	Club
August	Jim Jefferies	Kilmarnock	Pedro Mendes	Rangers	James McArthur	Hamilton Academical
September	Gordon Strachan	Celtic	Georgios Samaras	Celtic	Scott Arfield	Falkirk
October	Gus MacPherson	St Mirren	Scott Brown	Celtic	Steven Fletcher	Hibernian
November	Gordon Strachan	Celtic	Bruno Aguiar	Heart of Midlothian	Sone Aluko	Aberdeen
December	Gus MacPherson	St Mirren	Lee Miller	Aberdeen	James McCarthy	Hamilton Academical
January	Billy Reid	Hamilton Academical	Tomas Cerny	Hamilton Academical	James McCarthy	Hamilton Academical
February	Mark McGhee	Motherwell	Andy Dorman	St Mirren	Lee Wallace	Heart of Midlothian
March	Mixu Paatelainen	Hibernian	Scott McDonald	Celtic	Steven Fletcher	Hibernian
April	Walter Smith	Rangers	Andy Dorman	St Mirren	Calum Elliot	Heart of Midlothian

Clydesdale Bank Premier League Awards

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)