1975–76 in Scottish football
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The 1975–76 season was the 103rd season of competitive football in Scotland and the 79th season of Scottish league football. It was the first season in the new, three-tier setup.[1]
| 1975–76 in Scottish football | |
|---|---|
| |
| Premier Division champions | |
| Rangers | |
| First Division champions | |
| Partick Thistle | |
| Second Division champions | |
| Clydebank | |
| Scottish Cup winners | |
| Rangers | |
| League Cup winners | |
| Rangers | |
| Spring Cup winners | |
| Airdrieonians | |
| Junior Cup winners | |
| Bo'ness United | |
| Teams in Europe | |
| Celtic, Dundee United, Hibernian, Rangers | |
| Scotland national team | |
| 1976 BHC, UEFA Euro 1976 qualifying | |
| ← 1974–75 1976–77 → |
The Premier Division champions succeeded the last Division One champions, and the new First Division champions were equivalent to the old Division Two champions. The new Second Division was a completely new competition.
Both the First and Second Divisions now contained 14 teams, previously considered a difficult number to ensure a balanced schedule. A 26-game programme, with every team playing each other home and away, was considered too short, a 52-game programme (with each team playing each other home and away twice) too congested. A 39-game schedule would leave an imbalance with each side having two fixtures at home against some teams, and one against others. The Scottish Football League addressed the problem by opting for a 26-game calendar and introducing a supplementary competition, the Spring Cup, open only to teams from the First and Second Divisions, to be played at the season's end. It was discontinued after a single season.
Scottish Premier Division
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rangers (C) | 36 | 23 | 8 | 5 | 60 | 24 | +36 | 54 | Qualification for the European Cup first round |
| 2 | Celtic | 36 | 21 | 6 | 9 | 71 | 42 | +29 | 48 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 3 | Hibernian | 36 | 18 | 7 | 11 | 55 | 43 | +12 | 43 | |
| 4 | Motherwell | 36 | 16 | 8 | 12 | 57 | 49 | +8 | 40 | |
| 5 | Heart of Midlothian | 36 | 13 | 9 | 14 | 39 | 45 | −6 | 35 | Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round |
| 6 | Ayr United | 36 | 14 | 5 | 17 | 46 | 59 | −13 | 33 | |
| 7 | Aberdeen | 36 | 11 | 10 | 15 | 49 | 50 | −1 | 32 | |
| 8 | Dundee United | 36 | 12 | 8 | 16 | 46 | 48 | −2 | 32 | |
| 9 | Dundee (R) | 36 | 11 | 10 | 15 | 49 | 62 | −13 | 32 | Relegation to the 1976–77 Scottish First Division |
| 10 | St Johnstone (R) | 36 | 3 | 5 | 28 | 29 | 79 | −50 | 11 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Champions: Rangers
Relegated: Dundee, St Johnstone
Scottish League First Division
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Partick Thistle (C, P) | 26 | 17 | 7 | 2 | 47 | 19 | +28 | 41 | Promotion to the Premier Division |
| 2 | Kilmarnock (P) | 26 | 16 | 3 | 7 | 44 | 29 | +15 | 35 | |
| 3 | Montrose | 26 | 12 | 6 | 8 | 53 | 43 | +10 | 30 | |
| 4 | Dumbarton | 26 | 12 | 4 | 10 | 53 | 46 | +7 | 28 | |
| 5 | Arbroath | 26 | 11 | 4 | 11 | 41 | 39 | +2 | 26 | |
| 6 | St Mirren | 26 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 37 | 37 | 0 | 26 | |
| 7 | Falkirk | 26 | 10 | 5 | 11 | 38 | 35 | +3 | 25 | |
| 8 | Airdrieonians | 26 | 7 | 11 | 8 | 44 | 41 | +3 | 25 | |
| 9 | Hamilton Academical | 26 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 37 | 37 | 0 | 24 | |
| 10 | Queen of the South | 26 | 9 | 6 | 11 | 44 | 47 | −3 | 24 | |
| 11 | Morton | 26 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 31 | 40 | −9 | 23 | |
| 12 | East Fife | 26 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 39 | 53 | −14 | 23 | |
| 13 | Dunfermline Athletic (R) | 26 | 5 | 10 | 11 | 30 | 51 | −21 | 20 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 14 | Clyde (R) | 26 | 5 | 4 | 17 | 34 | 52 | −18 | 14 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Promoted: Partick Thistle, Kilmarnock
Relegated: Dunfermline Athletic, Clyde
Scottish League Second Division
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clydebank (C, P) | 26 | 17 | 6 | 3 | 46 | 15 | +31 | 40 | Promotion to the First Division |
| 2 | Raith Rovers (P) | 26 | 15 | 10 | 1 | 45 | 22 | +23 | 40 | |
| 3 | Alloa Athletic | 26 | 14 | 7 | 5 | 48 | 32 | +16 | 35 | |
| 4 | Queen's Park | 26 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 41 | 33 | +8 | 29 | |
| 5 | Cowdenbeath | 26 | 11 | 7 | 8 | 44 | 43 | +1 | 29 | |
| 6 | Stirling Albion | 26 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 39 | 32 | +7 | 25 | |
| 7 | Stranraer | 26 | 11 | 3 | 12 | 49 | 43 | +6 | 25 | |
| 8 | East Stirlingshire | 26 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 24 | |
| 9 | Albion Rovers | 26 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 35 | 38 | −3 | 24 | |
| 10 | Stenhousemuir | 26 | 9 | 5 | 12 | 39 | 44 | −5 | 23 | |
| 11 | Berwick Rangers | 26 | 7 | 5 | 14 | 32 | 44 | −12 | 19 | |
| 12 | Forfar Athletic | 26 | 4 | 10 | 12 | 28 | 48 | −20 | 18 | |
| 13 | Brechin City | 26 | 6 | 5 | 15 | 30 | 53 | −23 | 17 | |
| 14 | Meadowbank Thistle | 26 | 5 | 6 | 15 | 24 | 53 | −29 | 16 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted
Promoted: Clydebank, Raith Rovers
Cup honours
| Competition | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scottish Cup 1975–76 | Rangers | 3 – 1 | Heart of Midlothian |
| League Cup 1975–76 | Rangers | 1 – 0 | Celtic |
| Spring Cup | Airdrieonians | 4 – 2 (a.e.t.) | Clydebank |
| Junior Cup | Bo'ness United | 3 – 0 | Darvel Juniors |
Other honours
National
| Competition | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scottish Qualifying Cup – North | Elgin City | 3 – 1 * | Inverness Thistle |
| Scottish Qualifying Cup – South | Vale of Leithen | 5 – 2 * | Girvan |
County
| Competition | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aberdeenshire Cup | Fraserburgh | 3-1 | Huntly |
| Ayrshire Cup | Ayr United | 4 – 0 * | Kilmarnock |
| East of Scotland Shield | Hearts | 8 – 0 | Meadowbank Thistle |
| Fife Cup | Raith Rovers | 3 – 2 * | East Fife |
| Forfarshire Cup | Dundee United | 3 – 1 | Dundee |
| Glasgow Cup | Rangers | 3 – 1 | Celtic |
| Lanarkshire Cup | Airdrie | ||
| Stirlingshire Cup | Stenhousemuir | 1 – 0 | East Stirling |
* – aggregate over two legs
Highland League
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nairn County | 30 | 19 | 6 | 5 | 75 | 35 | +40 | 44 |
| 2 | Fraserburgh | 30 | 20 | 4 | 6 | 67 | 35 | +32 | 44 |
| 3 | Keith | 30 | 19 | 5 | 6 | 65 | 30 | +35 | 43 |
Individual honours
| Award | Winner | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Footballer of the Year |  John Greig | Rangers |
Scotland national team
| Date | Venue | Opponents | Score[3] | Competition | Scotland scorer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 September | Idraetsparken, Copenhagen (A) |  Denmark |
1–0 | ECQG4 | Joe Harper |
| 29 October | Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) | Denmark |
3–1 | ECQG4 | Kenny Dalglish, Bruce Rioch, Ted MacDougall |
| 17 December | Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) |  Romania |
1–1 | ECQG4 | Bruce Rioch |
| 7 April | Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) |  Switzerland |
1–0 | friendly | Willie Pettigrew |
| 6 May | Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) |  Wales |
3–1 | BHC | Willie Pettigrew, Bruce Rioch, Eddie Gray |
| 8 May | Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) |  Northern Ireland |
3–0 | BHC | Archie Gemmill, Kenny Dalglish, Don Masson |
| 15 May | Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) |  England |
2–1 | BHC | Don Masson, Kenny Dalglish |
1976 British Home Championship – Winners
Key:
- (H) = Home match
- (A) = Away match
- ECQG4 = European Championship qualifying – Group 4
- BHC = British Home Championship