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2006–07 in Scottish football

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The 2006–07 season was the 110th season of competitive football in Scotland. [1]

Quick facts Season ...
Football in Scotland
Season2006–07
Scotland
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Quick facts Premier League champions, First Division champions ...
2006–07 in Scottish football
Premier League champions
Celtic
First Division champions
Gretna
Second Division champions
Greenock Morton
Third Division champions
Berwick Rangers
Scottish Cup winners
Celtic
League Cup winners
Hibernian
Challenge Cup winners
Ross County
Junior Cup winners
Linlithgow Rose
Teams in Europe
Celtic, Gretna, Hibernian, Heart of Midlothian, Rangers
Scotland national team
UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
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Notable events

2006

  • 9 July: Rangers defender Fernando Ricksen is banned for the club's pre-season trip to South Africa, following an incident on the outbound flight. Manager Paul Le Guen cited "wholly inappropriate and unacceptable" behaviour as the reason for Ricksen's omission. Ricksen later admitted that he fears for his future at Rangers claiming that the club have other motives for wanting him out.[2] He was later loaned to Russian Premier League club Zenit Saint Petersburg.
  • 29 July: Scotland under-19s lose 2–1 to Spain in the final of the European Under-19 Football Championship.[3]
  • 23 October: In the wake of their 2–0 home defeat to Kilmarnock, Hearts head coach Valdas Ivanauskas is given a two-week leave of absence after discussions with majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov. Ivanauskas cited ill-health as the reason for his temporary departure. Sporting Director, and former coach of Belarus, Eduard Malofeev is appointed for the interim.[4]
  • 27 October: Hearts' majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov states that he will sell players if the club fail to beat Dunfermline Athletic in their forthcoming fixture. Club captain Steven Pressley released a statement shortly after expressing the players' discontent at the current situation at the club.[5]
  • 14 November: After their 1–1 draw away at Falkirk, Hearts announce that interim head coach Eduard Malofeev is to be replaced by FBK Kaunas manager Eugenijus Riabovas, this is to allow Malofeev to pursue his Uefa coaching Pro-licence.[6]
  • 24 November: Valdas Ivanauskas returns as Hearts head-coach.[7]
  • 9 December: Hearts part company with captain Steven Pressley.[8][9]
  • 20 December: Dundee part company with striker Andy McLaren after he was given three red cards in a 2–1 defeat to Clyde.[10]

2007

  • 1 January: It is reported that Barry Ferguson has been stripped of the captaincy of Rangers and will not play for the club again under Paul Le Guen. Gavin Rae is appointed as the new captain.[11]
  • 2 January: Paul Le Guen confirms that Gavin Rae will be the new Rangers captain. With regard to Barry Ferguson he stated "When you have someone you feel undermines you, it becomes harder and harder".[12] Asked whether Ferguson had been placed on the transfer list, Le Guen said "It remains to be seen. My own position, which is precarious, may have an influence on that."[13]
  • 4 January: Paul Le Guen leaves Rangers by mutual consent after meeting with Rangers chairman Sir David Murray.[14]
  • 8 January: The Scottish Football Association reject an approach from Rangers for manager Walter Smith.[15] A statement from the SFA revealed that Smith had requested to be relieved of his contract, however this was refused following a meeting.[16]
  • 10 January: Walter Smith is confirmed as Rangers manager, having resigned from his position as Scotland manager.[17] The SFA release a statement stating that "No agreement has been reached with Mr Smith or Rangers Football Club on any compensation payment" and "In the absence of agreement, proceedings will require to be raised against Mr Smith for breach of contract and Rangers Football Club for inducement to breach the contract."[18]
  • 11 January: The SFA agree a compensation package with Rangers over manager Walter Smith's switch to Ibrox.[19]
  • 2 March: For the second time of the season, Hearts manager Valdas Ivanauskas is given leave of absence by the club. Sporting Director, and former CSKA Moscow player Anatoly Korobochka is appointed on a temporary basis.[20]
  • 18 March: Hibernian win the Scottish League Cup, defeating Kilmarnock 5–1 in the final.[21]
  • 7 April: Second Division team Forfar Athletic become the first team in Scotland to confirm their relegation following a 9–1 defeat by Greenock Morton.[22]
  • 14 April: Greenock Morton are promoted as champions of the Second Division, despite losing 2–0 to Raith Rovers.[23]
  • 21 April: Berwick Rangers are promoted as champions of the Third Division after a 1–0 win over Arbroath.[24]
  • 22 April: Celtic are crowned Scottish Premier League champions for the second successive season after defeating Kilmarnock 2–1.[25]
  • 28 April: Gretna win promotion to the Premier League as First Division champions after beating Ross County 3–2 at Victoria Park, a result that relegated County to the Second Division.[26]
  • 3 May: East Stirlingshire, having finished bottom of the Third Division for the fifth consecutive season, are told they will lose full member status if the club finish bottom again next season.[27]
  • 5 May: Rangers ensure second place in the SPL and entry to the UEFA Champions League Second qualifying round after defeating Celtic 2–0 at Ibrox.[28]
  • 12 May: Queen's Park gain promotion to the Second Division after defeating East Fife 7–2 on aggregate in the promotion play-off.[29] The Glasgow club swap places with Stranraer who lost to East Fife in the semi-final stage.
  • 12 May: Stirling Albion gain promotion to the First Division, and swap places with Airdrie United, after defeating the North Lanarkshire club 5–4 on aggregate in the promotion/relegation play-off match[30]
The 2007 UEFA Cup Final was played at Hampden Park, Glasgow.
  • 12 May: Dunfermline Athletic are relegated to the First Division. A 2–1 defeat at Inverness,[31] coupled with St Mirren's 3–2 win at Motherwell,[32] meant the Fife club exit the SPL after seven seasons in the top flight.
  • 16 May: Sevilla win the UEFA Cup after defeating Espanyol 3–1 on penalties at Hampden Park. The match had finished 2–2 after 90 minutes.[33]
  • 20 May: Aberdeen seal a UEFA Cup place for next season after defeating Rangers 2–0 at Pittodrie in the final game of the season.[34]
  • 26 May: SPL champions Celtic complete the double after defeating Dunfermline Athletic 1–0 to win the Scottish Cup for the 34th time.[35]

Major transfer deals

2006

Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink moved from PSV Eindhoven to Celtic for £3.4m

Celtic made preparations for the Champions League with the high-profile signings of Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink from PSV Eindhoven, Jiri Jarosik from Chelsea and Thomas Gravesen from Real Madrid while Stilyan Petrov left to join former boss Martin O'Neill at Aston Villa. Celtic also signed former Rangers striker Kenny Miller on a free transfer from Wolverhampton Wanderers. Rangers, under new manager Paul Le Guen, brought in several players including Jérémy Clément from Paris Saint Germain and Filip Sebo from Austria Vienna while Peter Løvenkrands departed for Schalke 04. Hearts paid £200,000 for PAOK defender Christos Karipidis and sold Rudi Skácel to Southampton after a dispute between the player and the club. Hibs brought in English League Two defenders Rob Jones and Shelton Martis but lost last season's top scorer Derek Riordan who joined Celtic.

Domestic

In

Out

2007

Celtic further strengthened their squad with the signings of Paul Hartley from Hearts and Mark Brown from Inverness, while Steven Pressley was also signed after being released by Hearts. Shaun Maloney joined Aston Villa after contract negotiations broke down. New Rangers manager Walter Smith brought in defenders David Weir, Andy Webster and Ugo Ehiogu and spent £2m on Hibs' highly rated midfielder Kevin Thomson. Hearts looked to boost their European qualification hopes with the signing of a further four players on loan from FBK Kaunas as well as Laryea Kingston from Terek Grozny. New Dunfermline boss Stephen Kenny brought in loan signings James O'Brien from Celtic, Adam Hammill from Liverpool and Stephen Glass from Hibs with the club bottom of the SPL.

Domestic

In

Out

Managerial changes

More information Team, Outgoing manager ...
TeamOutgoing managerManner of departureDate of vacancyReplaced byDate of appointment
MotherwellEngland Terry ButcherResigned17 May 2006[36]Scotland Maurice Malpas4 August 2006[36]
DundeeRepublic of Ireland Alan KernaghanSacked 20 April 2006[37]Scotland Alex Rae24 May 2006[38]
Raith RoversScotland Gordon DalzielMutual consent1 September 2006Scotland Craig Levein5 September 2006[39]
HibernianEngland Tony MowbrayResigned 13 October 2006[40]Scotland John Collins31 October 2006[41]
CowdenbeathFinland Mixu PaatelainenResigned21 October 2006[42]Scotland Brian Welsh30 October 2006[43]
Dunfermline AthleticScotland Jim LeishmanResigned26 October 2006[44]Republic of Ireland Stephen Kenny18 November 2006[45]
Dundee UnitedScotland Craig BrewsterSacked29 October 2006[46]Scotland Craig Levein30 October 2006[47]
Raith RoversScotland Craig LeveinResigned30 October 2006[47]Scotland John McGlynn20 November 2006[48]
StenhousemuirScotland Des McKeownResigned1 November 2006[49]Scotland Campbell Money10 November 2006[50]
Airdrie UnitedScotland Sandy StewartSacked13 November 2006[51]Scotland Kenny Black17 November 2006[52]
RangersFrance Paul Le GuenMutual consent4 January 2007[14]Scotland Walter Smith10 January 2007[17]
ScotlandScotland Walter SmithResigned10 January 2007[17]Scotland Alex McLeish29 January 2007[53]
MontroseScotland David RobertsonResigned17 January 2007[54]Scotland Jim Weir8 February 2007[55]
Ayr UnitedScotland Bobby ConnorSacked26 February 2007[56]Scotland Neil Watt22 March 2007[57]
Heart of MidlothianLithuania Valdas IvanauskasMutual consent20 March 2007[58]Ukraine Anatoly Korobochka30 July 2007[59]
Partick ThistleScotland Dick CampbellSacked 27 March 2007[60]Scotland Ian McCall25 May 2007[61]
LivingstonScotland John RobertsonSacked15 April 2007[62]England Mark Proctor23 May 2007[63]
Queen of the SouthScotland Ian McCallResigned28 April 2007[64]Scotland Gordon Chisholm7 May 2007[65]
Ross CountyScotland Scott LeitchResigned30 April 2007[66]Scotland Dick Campbell17 May 2007[67]
Albion RoversScotland Jim ChapmanSacked7 May 2007[68]Scotland John McCormack31 May 2007[69]
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League competitions

Scottish Premier League

More information Pos, Pld ...
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation[a]
1 Celtic (C) 38 26 6 6 65 34 +31 84 Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round
2 Rangers 38 21 9 8 61 32 +29 72 Qualification for the Champions League second qualifying round
3 Aberdeen 38 19 8 11 55 38 +17 65 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
4 Heart of Midlothian 38 17 10 11 47 35 +12 61
5 Kilmarnock 38 16 7 15 47 54 −7 55
6 Hibernian 38 13 10 15 56 46 +10 49
7 Falkirk 38 15 5 18 49 47 +2 50
8 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 38 11 13 14 42 48 −6 46
9 Dundee United 38 10 12 16 40 59 −19 42
10 Motherwell 38 10 8 20 41 61 −20 38
11 St Mirren 38 8 12 18 31 51 −20 36
12 Dunfermline Athletic (R) 38 8 8 22 26 55 −29 32 Relegation to the Scottish First Division and
qualification for UEFA Cup second qualifying round[b]
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Source: Scottish Professional Football League
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. Teams played each other three times (33 matches), before the league split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six) for the last five matches.
  2. As Celtic, the Scottish Cup winners, qualified for the Champions League via their league position, the place in the UEFA Cup was passed to Dunfermline Athletic, the cup runner-up.

Scottish First Division

More information Pos, Pld ...
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
1 Gretna (C, P) 36 19 9 8 70 40 +30 66 Promotion to the Premier League
2 St Johnstone 36 19 8 9 65 42 +23 65
3 Dundee 36 16 5 15 48 42 +6 53
4 Hamilton Academical 36 14 11 11 46 47 −1 53
5 Clyde 36 11 14 11 46 35 +11 47
6 Livingston 36 11 12 13 41 46 −5 45
7 Partick Thistle 36 12 9 15 47 63 −16 45
8 Queen of the South 36 10 11 15 34 54 −20 41
9 Airdrie United (R) 36 11 7 18 39 50 −11 40 Qualification for the First Division Play-offs
10 Ross County (R) 36 9 10 17 40 57 −17 37 Relegation to the Second Division
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Source: "2006-2007 First Division - SPFL Archive". SPFL. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Scottish Second Division

More information Pos, Pld ...
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
1 Greenock Morton (C, P) 36 24 5 7 76 32 +44 77 Promotion to the First Division
2 Stirling Albion (P) 36 21 6 9 67 39 +28 69 Qualification for the First Division Play-offs[a]
3 Raith Rovers 36 18 8 10 50 33 +17 62
4 Brechin City 36 18 6 12 61 45 +16 60
5 Ayr United 36 14 8 14 46 47 −1 50
6 Cowdenbeath 36 13 6 17 59 56 +3 45
7 Alloa Athletic 36 11 9 16 47 70 −23 42
8 Peterhead 36 11 8 17 60 62 −2 41
9 Stranraer (R) 36 10 9 17 45 74 −29 39 Qualification for the Second Division Play-offs[b]
10 Forfar Athletic (R) 36 4 7 25 37 90 −53 19 Relegation to the Third Division
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Source: "2006–2007 Second Division - SPFL Archive". SPFL (in Malay). Retrieved 29 April 2021.
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th placed teams will be entered into a play-off with the First Division's 9th placed team. The winning team were awarded a place in the 2007–08 First Division, Airdrie United were relegated and Stirling Albion were promoted.
  2. The 9th placed team were entered into a play-off with the Third Division's 2nd, 3rd and 4th placed teams. The winning team were awarded a place in the 2007–08 Second Division, Stranraer were relegated and Queen's Park were promoted.

Scottish Third Division

More information Pos, Pld ...
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or qualification
1 Berwick Rangers (C, P) 36 24 3 9 51 29 +22 75 Promotion to the Second Division
2 Arbroath 36 22 4 10 61 33 +28 70 Qualification for the Second Division Play-offs[a]
3 Queen's Park (O, P) 36 21 5 10 57 28 +29 68
4 East Fife 36 20 7 9 59 37 +22 67
5 Dumbarton 36 18 5 13 52 37 +15 59
6 Albion Rovers 36 14 6 16 56 61 −5 48
7 Stenhousemuir 36 13 5 18 53 63 −10 44
8 Montrose 36 11 4 21 42 62 −20 37
9 Elgin City 36 9 2 25 39 69 −30 29
10 East Stirlingshire 36 6 3 27 27 78 −51 21
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Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted
Notes:
  1. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th placed teams will be entered into a play-off with the Second Division's 9th placed team. The winning team will be awarded a place in the 2007–08 Second Division, Stranraer were relegated and Queen's Park were promoted.

Cup honours

Non-league honours

Senior honours

More information Competition, Winner ...
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Junior honours

West Region

East Region

North Region

More information Division, Winner ...
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Individual honours

Scottish clubs in Europe

Summary

Average coefficient – 6.750

Celtic

Heart of Midlothian

Rangers

Gretna

More information Date, Venue ...
Date Venue Opponents Score[70] Gretna scorer(s) Report
UEFA Cup Second qualifying round
10 August Fir Park, Motherwell (H) Republic of Ireland Derry City 1–5 Ryan McGuffie BBC Sport
24 August Brandywell Stadium, Derry (A) Republic of Ireland Derry City 2–2 David Graham, Ryan Baldacchino BBC Sport
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Hibernian

Scotland national team

More information Date, Venue ...
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Key
  • (H) = Home match
  • (A) = Away match
  • ECQ(B) = European Championship qualifying (Group B)

Deaths

References

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