2012–13 Scottish Premier League

Scottish Premier League
Season2012–13
Dates4 August 2012 – 19 May 2013
ChampionsCeltic
8th Premier League title
44th Scottish title
RelegatedDundee
Champions LeagueCeltic
Europa LeagueMotherwell
St Johnstone
Hibernian
Matches played228
Goals scored623 (2.73 per match)
Top goalscorerMichael Higdon
(26 goals)
Biggest home winCeltic 5–0 Dundee
(24 February 2013)
Biggest away winSt Mirren 0–5 Celtic
(20 October 2012)
Highest scoringSt Mirren 5–4 Ross County
(29 September 2012)
Longest winning run6 games[1]
Celtic
Longest unbeaten run11 games[1]
Ross County
Longest winless run14 games[1]
Dundee
Longest losing run6 games[1]
Dundee
St Mirren
Highest attendance57,000[2]
Celtic 4–0 St Johnstone
Lowest attendance2,167[2]
St Johnstone 3–1 Aberdeen
Average attendance9,871 (3,990)[1]

The 2012–13 Scottish Premier League was the fifteenth and final season of the Scottish Premier League, the highest division of Scottish football, since its inception in 1998. The season began on 4 August 2012[3] and ended on 19 May 2013.[4]

Twelve teams contested the league. Ross County (champions) and Dundee (runners-up) were promoted from the 2011–12 First Division, replacing Dunfermline (relegated) and Rangers (entered administration and demoted). After the SPL clubs voted against Rangers continuing in the league,[5] the club were accepted into the fourth tier of Scottish football,[6] with Dundee taking their place in the SPL.[7]

On 21 April, Celtic retained their title after a 4–1 home win against Inverness Caledonian Thistle at Celtic Park.[8][9]

This was the final season of the Scottish Premier League before it was abolished in June 2013, when the SPL and SFL merged to form the new Scottish Professional Football League,[10] with its top division being known as the Scottish Premiership.

Teams

class=notpageimage|
Location of teams in Scottish Premier League 2012–13

Dunfermline were relegated from the 2011–12 Scottish Premier League. Ross County, who won the 2011–12 Scottish First Division, were promoted. The 2012–13 season marks the top-flight debut for the Highland team.[11]

After failing to exit administration by an agreed CVA, Rangers was replaced with the term "Club 12" when the fixture list was published on 18 June 2012.[12][13] The transfer of the club's membership share of the SPL to the new company that had bought Rangers was dependent on a vote by the remaining SPL clubs.[12] Eight clubs publicly declared that they would oppose the membership transfer, which would mean that they could not play in the SPL.[14] The vote took place on 4 July 2012, and Rangers were refused re-entry to the SPL by a 10-1 majority.[15][16] Dundee, who had finished second in the 2011–12 Scottish First Division, were invited to replace Rangers.[16][17]

Stadia and locations

Team Stadium Capacity
Aberdeen F.C. Pittodrie 22,199
Celtic F.C. Celtic Park 60,832
Dundee United Tannadice Park 14,223
Heart of Midlothian F.C. Tynecastle Stadium 17,420
Hibernian F.C. Easter Road 20,241
Inverness Caledonian Thistle Caledonian Stadium 7,800
Kilmarnock F.C. Rugby Park 18,182
Motherwell F.C. Fir Park 13,742
Ross County F.C. Victoria Park 6,541
St Johnstone F.C. McDiarmid Park 10,740
St Mirren F.C. St Mirren Park 8,023
Dundee F.C. Dens Park 11,500

Personnel and kits

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 Derek McInnes Russell Anderson Adidas Team Recruitment
Celtic Neil Lennon Scott Brown Nike Tennents
Dundee John Brown Stephen O'Donnell Puma Kilmac Energy
Dundee United Jackie McNamara Jon Daly Nike Calor
Heart of Midlothian Gary Locke Marius Žaliūkas Adidas Wonga.com
Hibernian Pat Fenlon James McPake Puma Crabbie's
Inverness Caledonian Thistle Terry Butcher Richie Foran Erreà Orion Group
Kilmarnock Kenny Shiels Manuel Pascali Killie 1869 QTS
Motherwell Stuart McCall Keith Lasley Puma Cash Converters
Ross County Derek Adams Richard Brittain Diadora Stanley CRC Evans Offshore
St Johnstone Steve Lomas Dave Mackay Joma GS Brown Construction
St Mirren Danny Lennon Jim Goodwin Diadora Diadora

Managerial changes

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Heart of Midlothian Paulo Sérgio End of contract[18] 7 June 2012 Pre-season John McGlynn[19] 26 June 2012
Dundee United Peter Houston Mutual consent[20] 28 January 2013 7th Jackie McNamara[21] 30 January 2013
Dundee Barry Smith Mutual consent[22] 20 February 2013 12th John Brown[23] 23 February 2013
Heart of Midlothian John McGlynn Contract terminated[24] 28 February 2013 11th Gary Locke[24] 28 February 2013
Aberdeen Craig Brown Retired[25] 14 March 2013 9th Derek McInnes[26] 25 March 2013

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Celtic (C) 38 24 7 7 92 35 +57 79 Qualification for the Champions League second qualifying round
2 Motherwell 38 18 9 11 67 51 +16 63 Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round
3 St Johnstone 38 14 14 10 45 44 +1 56 Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round
4 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 38 13 15 10 64 60 +4 54
5 Ross County 38 13 14 11 47 48 −1 53
6 Dundee United 38 11 14 13 51 62 −11 47[a]
7 Hibernian 38 13 12 13 49 52 −3 51[a] Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round[b]
8 Aberdeen 38 11 15 12 41 43 −2 48[a]
9 Kilmarnock 38 11 12 15 52 53 −1 45
10 Heart of Midlothian 38 11 11 16 40 49 −9 44
11 St Mirren 38 9 14 15 47 60 −13 41
12 Dundee (R) 38 7 9 22 28 66 −38 30 Relegation to the Championship
Source: SPFL Archive
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ a b c Teams in the bottom half at the time of the split may not overtake a team in the top 6 at the time of the split.
  2. ^ Since the winners of 2012–13 Scottish Cup, Celtic, qualified for European competition based on league position, the runners–up Hibernian secured a spot in Europa League second qualifying round.

Results

Matches 1–22

Teams play each other twice, once at home, once away

Home \ Away ABE CEL DND DUN HOM HIB INV KIL MOT ROS STJ STM
Aberdeen 0–2 2–0 2–2 0–0 2–1 2–3 0–2 3–3 0–0 2–0 0–0
Celtic 1–0 2–0 4–0 1–0 2–2 0–1 0–2 1–0 4–0 1–1 2–0
Dundee 1–3 0–2 0–3 1–0 3–1 1–4 0–0 1–2 0–1 1–3 0–2
Dundee United 1–1 2–2 3–0 0–3 3–0 4–4 3–3 1–2 0–0 1–1 3–4
Heart of Midlothian 2–0 0–4 0–1 2–1 0–0 2–2 1–3 1–0 2–2 2–0 1–0
Hibernian 0–1 1–0 3–0 2–1 1–1 2–2 2–1 2–3 0–1 2–0 2–1
Inverness Caledonian Thistle 1–1 2–4 4–1 4–0 1–1 3–0 1–1 1–5 3–1 1–1 2–2
Kilmarnock 1–3 1–3 0–0 3–1 1–0 1–1 1–2 1–2 3–0 1–2 3–1
Motherwell 4–1 0–2 1–1 0–1 0–0 0–4 4–1 2–2 3–2 1–1 1–1
Ross County 2–1 1–1 1–1 1–2 2–2 3–2 0–0 0–0 0–0 1–2 0–0
St Johnstone 1–2 2–1 1–0 0–0 2–2 0–1 0–0 2–1 1–3 1–1 2–1
St Mirren 1–4 0–5 3–1 0–1 2–0 1–2 2–2 1–1 2–1 5–4 1–1
Source: BBC Sport
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Matches 23–33

Teams play every other team once (either at home or away)

Home \ Away ABE CEL DND DUN HOM HIB INV KIL MOT ROS STJ STM
Aberdeen 1–0 2–0 0–0 0–0 0–1 0–0
Celtic 4–3 5–0 6–2 4–1 3–0 4–1
Dundee 1–1 0–3 0–2 2–2 2–1
Dundee United 1–0 1–1 3–1 2–2 1–1
Heart of Midlothian 1–0 2–3 0–3 1–2 4–2 2–0
Hibernian 1–1 0–0 1–2 2–2 1–3
Inverness Caledonian Thistle 3–0 1–3 0–0 1–1 2–1 0–0
Kilmarnock 1–1 1–2 2–3 2–0 1–1
Motherwell 2–1 0–1 4–1 3–0 3–2 2–2
Ross County 3–2 1–0 0–1 3–0 1–0
St Johnstone 3–1 1–1 1–1 2–0 1–0
St Mirren 1–1 0–0 2–0 0–1 2–1 1–4
Source: BBC Sport
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Matches 34–38

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.

Season statistics

Hat-tricks

Main article: List of Scottish Premier League hat-tricks
Player For Against Result Date
England Michael Higdon Motherwell Inverness CT 4–1[29] 1 September 2012
Republic of Ireland Cillian Sheridan Kilmarnock Heart of Midlothian 3–1[30] 29 September 2012
Northern Ireland Billy McKay Inverness CT Dundee United 4–4[31] 15 December 2012
Northern Ireland Niall McGinn Aberdeen Dundee 3–1[32] 15 December 2012
Scotland Johnny Russell Dundee United Kilmarnock 3–2[33] 19 January 2013
England Michael Higdon Motherwell St Johnstone 3–2[34] 20 January 2013
Republic of Ireland Paul Heffernan Kilmarnock Heart of Midlothian 3–0[35] 16 February 2013
Northern Ireland Billy McKay Inverness CT Motherwell 4–3[36] 4 May 2013

Scoring

  • First goal of the season: Kris Commons for Celtic against Aberdeen (4 August 2012)
  • Fastest goal of the season: 12 seconds, Kris Commons for Celtic against Aberdeen (16 March 2013)[37]
  • Latest goal of the season: 94 minutes, Georgios Samaras for Celtic against Aberdeen (16 March 2013)[38]
  • Largest winning margin: 5 goals
    • St Mirren 0–5 Celtic (20 October 2012)
    • Celtic 5–0 Dundee (24 February 2013)
  • Highest scoring game: 9 goals
    • St Mirren 5–4 Ross County (29 September 2012)
  • Most goals scored in a match by a single team: 6 goals
    • Celtic 6–2 Dundee United (16 February 2013)
  • Most goals scored in a match by a losing team: 4 goals
    • St Mirren 5–4 Ross County (29 September 2012)

Clean sheets

Discipline

Awards

Monthly awards

Main article: List of Scottish Premier League monthly award winners
Month Manager Player Young Player
August Scotland Derek Adams (Ross County)[39] Scotland Leigh Griffiths (Hibernian)[40] Scotland Tony Watt (Celtic)[41]
September Northern Ireland Steve Lomas (St Johnstone)[42] England Michael Higdon (Motherwell)[43] Scotland Ryan Fraser (Aberdeen)[44]
October Scotland Craig Brown (Aberdeen)[45] Northern Ireland Niall McGinn (Aberdeen)[45] Scotland Ryan Fraser (Aberdeen)[45]
November England Terry Butcher (Inverness CT)[46] Northern Ireland Billy McKay (Inverness CT)[46] Republic of Ireland Aaron Doran (Inverness CT)[46]
December Northern Ireland Neil Lennon (Celtic)[47] Scotland Jamie Murphy (Motherwell)[48] Republic of Ireland Joe Shaughnessy (Aberdeen)[49]
January Scotland Derek Adams (Ross County)[50] England Gary Hooper (Celtic)[51] Wales Adam Matthews (Celtic)[52]
February Scotland Derek Adams (Ross County)[53] Scotland Leigh Griffiths (Hibernian)[54] Scotland Stuart Armstrong (Dundee United)
March Scotland Stuart McCall (Motherwell)[55] England Nicky Law (Motherwell)[56] England Josh Meekings (Inverness CT)[57]
April Scotland John Brown (Dundee)[58] England Michael Higdon (Motherwell)[59] Estonia Henrik Ojamaa (Motherwell)[60]

See also

References

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  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Statistics". Scottish Premier League. Archived from the original on 12 June 2011. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
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  4. ^ "Key dates". Scottish Premier League. Archived from the original on 5 July 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
  5. ^ "Rival teams block Rangers from playing in Scottish Premier League". ITV News. 4 July 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  6. ^ "Rangers demoted to 3rd division after debt crisis". ITV News. 13 July 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  7. ^ "Dundee replace Rangers in SPL". The Guardian. 16 July 2012. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  8. ^ Conaghan, Martin (21 April 2013). "Celtic 4–1 Inverness CT". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
  9. ^ "Celtic retain Scottish Premier League title". ESPN. 21 April 2013. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  10. ^ "Scottish Football League clubs vote in favour of a proposed merger with the Scottish Premier League". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
  11. ^ "Ross County ready for Scotland's top-flight". BBC Sport. 18 June 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
  12. ^ a b Grahame, Ewing (17 June 2012). "Rangers would have to start in Scottish League Division Three". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
  13. ^ "Rangers replaced with 'Club 12' in SPL fixture list". BBC Sport. 18 June 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
  14. ^ "Newco Rangers will not get votes for SPL transfer". BBC Sport. 25 June 2012. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  15. ^ "Rival teams block Rangers from playing in Scottish Premier League". ITV News. 4 July 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  16. ^ a b "Rangers newco refused SPL entry after chairmen vote". BBC Sport. 4 July 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  17. ^ "Rangers: Dundee invited to take place in SPL". BBC Sport. 16 July 2012. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
  18. ^ "Manager Paulo Sergio leaves Hearts after rejecting deal". BBC Sport. 7 June 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
  19. ^ "John McGlynn is Hearts manager after leaving Raith Rovers". BBC Sport. 26 June 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
  20. ^ "Dundee Utd boss Peter Houston brings forward Tannadice exit". BBC Sport. 28 January 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  21. ^ "Jackie McNamara named as new Dundee United manager". BBC Sport. 30 January 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  22. ^ "Dundee part company with manager Barry Smith". BBC Sport. 20 February 2013. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  23. ^ "John Brown takes over as Dundee interim manager". BBC Sport. 23 February 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
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  28. ^ "Scotland Stats: Assists Leaders – 2012–13". ESPN Soccernet. Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (ESPN). Retrieved 23 August 2012.
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  30. ^ "Hearts 1–3 Kilmarnock". BBC Sport. 29 September 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
  31. ^ Miller, Stevie (15 December 2012). "Inverness CT 4–4 Dundee United". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
  32. ^ McLauchlin, Brian (29 December 2012). "Dundee 1–3 Aberdeen". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  33. ^ "Kilmarnock 2–3 Dundee Utd". BBC Sport. 19 January 2013. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  34. ^ "Motherwell 3–2 St Johnstone". BBC Sport. 20 January 2013. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  35. ^ "Hearts 0–3 Kilmarnock". BBC Sport. 16 February 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
  36. ^ "Inverness CT 4–3 Motherwell". BBC Sport. 4 May 2013. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
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  38. ^ "Celtic 4–3 Aberdeen". BBC Sport. 16 March 2013. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  39. ^ "Ross County boss Derek Adams named manager of the month". BBC Sport. 30 August 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
  40. ^ "Hibernian's Leigh Griffiths named SPL player of month for August". BBC Sport. 13 September 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
  41. ^ "Celtic's Tony Watt wins August young player of the month award". BBC Sport. 12 September 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
  42. ^ "St Johnstone's Steve Lomas named manager of the month". BBC Sport. 4 October 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
  43. ^ "Motherwell striker Michael Higdon nets player award". BBC Sport. 5 October 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
  44. ^ "SPL: Aberdeen's Ryan Fraser is young player of the month". BBC Sport. 7 October 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
  45. ^ a b c "Aberdeen trio collect monthly SPL awards". BBC Sport. 6 November 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  46. ^ a b c "Inverness CT sweep Clydesdale Bank SPL November awards". BBC Sport. 6 December 2012. Retrieved 7 December 2012.
  47. ^ "Celtic manager Neil Lennon wins December award". BBC Sport. 10 January 2013. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  48. ^ "Ex-Motherwell forward Jamie Murphy wins SPL monthly award". BBC Sport. 10 January 2013. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  49. ^ "Aberdeen's Joe Shaughnessy wins December young player award". BBC Sport. 10 January 2013. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  50. ^ "Ross County manager Derek Adams wins January SPL award". BBC Sport. 7 February 2013. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  51. ^ "Celtic striker Gary Hooper wins SPL monthly award". BBC Sport. 19 February 2013. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  52. ^ "Celtic's Adam Matthews wins SPL January young player award". BBC Sport. 8 February 2013. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  53. ^ "Ross County's Derek Adams wins February SPL award". BBC Sport. 7 March 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  54. ^ "Hibernian striker Leigh Griffiths nets monthly SPL award". BBC Sport. 8 March 2013. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  55. ^ "Motherwell's Stuart McCall is SPL manager of month". BBC Sport. 15 April 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  56. ^ "Award-winner Nicky Law ponders future at Motherwell". BBC Sport. 15 April 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  57. ^ "Inverness CT player Josh Meekings wins young player award". BBC Sport. 19 April 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
  58. ^ "Dundee's John Brown wins award and has another blast at St Mirren". BBC Sport. 1 May 2013. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
  59. ^ "Motherwell's Michael Higdon picks up April player prize". BBC Sport. 12 May 2013. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
  60. ^ "Motherwell's Henrik Ojamaa picks up young player award for April". BBC Sport. 3 May 2013. Retrieved 3 May 2013.

External links