| Season | 2007–08 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 4 August 2007 – 22 May 2008 |
| Champions | Celtic 6th Premier League title 42ndScottish title |
| Relegated | Gretna |
| Champions League | Celtic Rangers |
| UEFA Cup | Motherwell |
| Intertoto Cup | Hibernian |
| Matches | 228 |
| Goals | 610 (2.68 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Scott McDonald (25) |
| Biggest home win | Rangers 7–2Falkirk (18 August) Inverness CT 6–1Gretna (3 May) Celtic 5–0Hearts (25 August) Celtic 5–0Inverness CT (15 September) |
| Biggest away win | Aberdeen 1–5Celtic (10 February) St Mirren 1–5Celtic (2 September) St Mirren 1–5Falkirk (1 December) Gretna 0–4Falkirk (4 August) Gretna 0–4Inverness CT (27 October) Hearts 0–4Rangers (27 February) |
| Highest attendance | 60,000,Celtic 0–0Kilmarnock (5 August) |
| Lowest attendance | 431,Gretna 1–2Inverness CT (5 April) |
2008–09 → | |
The2007–08 Scottish Premier League season was the tenth season of theScottish Premier League. It began on 4 August 2007 and was originally due to end on 18 May 2008. Due to the death ofPhil O'Donnell and extremely poor weather causing the postponement of fixtures during the winter, as well as a backlog ofRangers fixtures and their progression to theUEFA Cup Final, the SPL decided to move the final round of fixtures back four days to 22 May 2008.[1] It was the first season under the sponsorship of theClydesdale Bank.
Gretna had been promoted from the First Division and played in the SPL for the first time, replacingDunfermline Athletic. Gretna did not play at their home stadiumRaydale Park as it did not meet the SPL stadia criteria of 6,000 and instead usedMotherwell'sFir Park for all but one of their games; that match was atLivingston'sAlmondvale Stadium.
The championship was determined on the final day of the season withCeltic and Rangers even on 86 points. Celtic travelled toTannadice to playDundee United knowing that a win would likely secure the title due to their superior goal difference (+57 to +53). Meanwhile, Rangers needed to better Celtic's result in their match againstAberdeen atPittodrie (or in the event of both winning, overhaul the goal difference). As it turned out, Celtic won 1–0 followingJan Vennegoor of Hesselink's second-half header, while Aberdeen beat Rangers 2–0 thanks to goals fromLee Miller andSteve Lovell.
Celtic qualified directly for theChampions League, while second-placed Rangers qualified for theSecond qualifying round. Third-placed Motherwell qualified for theUEFA Cup andHibernian qualified for theIntertoto Cup.First Division sideQueen of the South also qualified for the UEFA Cup after reaching theScottish Cup Final, losing to Rangers. Gretna wererelegated after just one season in the SPL and were replaced by First Division championsHamilton Academical for thefollowing season.
Promoted fromFirst Division toPremier League
Relegated fromPremier League toFirst Division
| Aberdeen | Celtic | Dundee United | Falkirk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pittodrie Stadium | Celtic Park | Tannadice Park | Falkirk Stadium |
| Capacity:20,866[2] | Capacity:60,411[3] | Capacity:14,223[4] | Capacity:7,937[5] |
 |  |  |  |
| Gretna |  Location of teams in 2007–08 Scottish Premier League | Heart of Midlothian | |
| Fir Park,Motherwell[6] | Tynecastle Park | ||
| Capacity:13,677[7] | Capacity:17,420[8] | ||
 |  | ||
| Hibernian | Inverness Caledonian Thistle | ||
| Easter Road | Caledonian Stadium | ||
| Capacity:17,500[9] | Capacity:7,500[10] | ||
 |  | ||
| Kilmarnock | Motherwell | Rangers | St Mirren |
| Rugby Park | Fir Park | Ibrox Stadium | Love Street |
| Capacity:17,889[11] | Capacity:13,677[7] | Capacity:50,817[12] | Capacity:10,800[13] |
 | |  |  |
| Team | Manager | Kit manufacturer | Kit sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen |  Jimmy Calderwood | Nike | Apex Tubulars |
| Celtic | Gordon Strachan | Nike | Carling |
| Dundee United | Craig Levein | hummel | Anglian Windows |
| Falkirk | John Hughes | Lotto | Central Demolition |
| Gretna | Mick Wadsworth(caretaker) | Crest Teamwear | Subway |
| Heart of Midlothian | Stephen Frail(caretaker) | Umbro | Ukio Bankas |
| Hibernian |  Mixu Paatelainen | Le Coq Sportif | Whyte and Mackay |
| Inverness Caledonian Thistle | Craig Brewster | Erreà | Flybe |
| Kilmarnock | Jim Jefferies | Lotto | www.smallworldmedia.com |
| Motherwell | Mark McGhee | Bukta | Anglian Home Improvements |
| Rangers | Walter Smith | Umbro | Carling |
| St Mirren | Gus MacPherson | hummel | Braehead Shopping Centre |
| Team | Outgoing manager | Date of vacancy | Manner of departure | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Motherwell | Maurice Malpas | 1 June 2007[14] | Sacked | Pre-season | Mark McGhee | 18 June 2007[15] |
| Gretna | Rowan Alexander | 14 June 2007[16] | Sacked | Davie Irons | 18 July 2007[17] | |
| Inverness | Charlie Christie | 20 August 2007[18] | Resigned | 12th | Craig Brewster | 27 August 2007[19] |
| Hibernian | John Collins | 20 December 2007[20] | Resigned | 5th | Mixu Paatelainen | 10 January 2008[21] |
| Hearts |  Anatoliy Korobochka | 1 January 2008[22] | Sacked | 10th | Stephen Frail(caretaker) | 1 January 2008 |
| Gretna | Davie Irons | 19 February 2008[23] | Signed byGreenock Morton | 12th | Mick Wadsworth(caretaker) | 19 February 2008[23] |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation[a] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Celtic(C) | 38 | 28 | 5 | 5 | 84 | 26 | +58 | 89 | Qualification for theChampions League group stage |
| 2 | Rangers | 38 | 27 | 5 | 6 | 84 | 33 | +51 | 86 | Qualification for theChampions League second qualifying round |
| 3 | Motherwell | 38 | 18 | 6 | 14 | 50 | 46 | +4 | 60 | Qualification for theUEFA Cup first round |
| 4 | Aberdeen | 38 | 15 | 8 | 15 | 50 | 58 | −8 | 53 | |
| 5 | Dundee United | 38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 53 | 47 | +6 | 52 | |
| 6 | Hibernian | 38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 49 | 45 | +4 | 52 | Qualification for theIntertoto Cup second round[b] |
| 7 | Falkirk | 38 | 13 | 10 | 15 | 45 | 49 | −4 | 49 | |
| 8 | Heart of Midlothian | 38 | 13 | 9 | 16 | 47 | 55 | −8 | 48 | |
| 9 | Inverness Caledonian Thistle | 38 | 13 | 4 | 21 | 51 | 62 | −11 | 43 | |
| 10 | St Mirren | 38 | 10 | 11 | 17 | 26 | 54 | −28 | 41 | |
| 11 | Kilmarnock | 38 | 10 | 10 | 18 | 39 | 52 | −13 | 40 | |
| 12 | Gretna(R) | 38 | 5 | 8 | 25 | 32 | 83 | −51 | 13[c] | Resigned from theScottish Football League andliquidated[d] |
During matches 1–22 each team played every other team twice (home and away).
| Home \ Away | ABE | CEL | DUN | FAL | GRT | HOM | HIB | INV | KIL | MOT | RAN | STM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen | 1–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 4–0 | |
| Celtic | 3–0 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 3–0 | 5–0 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | |
| Dundee United | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | |
| Falkirk | 0–0 | 1–4 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 0–1 | |
| Gretna | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | |
| Heart of Midlothian | 4–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 4–2 | 0–1 | |
| Hibernian | 3–3 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | |
| Inverness Caledonian Thistle | 1–2 | 3–2 | 0–3 | 4–2 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 1–0 | |
| Kilmarnock | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 3–3 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | |
| Motherwell | 3–0 | 1–4 | 5–3 | 0–3 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | |
| Rangers | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 7–2 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | |
| St Mirren | 0–1 | 1–5 | 0–3 | 1–5 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–3 |
During matches 23–33 each team played every other team once (either at home or away).
| Home \ Away | ABE | CEL | DUN | FAL | GRT | HOM | HIB | INV | KIL | MOT | RAN | STM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen | 1–5 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | ||||||
| Celtic | 0–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | |||||||
| Dundee United | 3–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–3 | 1–1 | ||||||
| Falkirk | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 4–0 | |||||||
| Gretna | 0–3 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 4–2 | 1–3 | ||||||
| Heart of Midlothian | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–4 | |||||||
| Hibernian | 3–1 | 0–2 | 4–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | ||||||
| Inverness Caledonian Thistle | 3–4 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 0–1 | |||||||
| Kilmarnock | 3–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | ||||||
| Motherwell | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | |||||||
| Rangers | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 4–2 | 2–1 | 4–0 | ||||||
| St Mirren | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 |
During matches 34–38 each team played every other team in their half of the table once.
Top six[edit] | Bottom six[edit]
Source:BBC Sport Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
|
| Scorer | For | Against | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
 Scott McDonald | Celtic | Dundee United | 29 September 2007 |
 Clayton Donaldson | Hibernian | Kilmarnock | 29 September 2007 |
| Scott McDonald | Celtic | Motherwell | 27 October 2007 |
 Aiden McGeady | Celtic | Falkirk | 11 December 2007 |
| Barry Robson | Dundee United | Heart of Midlothian | 2 January 2008 |
| Steven Fletcher | Hibernian | Gretna | 13 February 2008 |
| Team | Kitmaker | Shirt sponsor | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen | Nike | Apex Tubulars | New home and third kits |
| Celtic | Nike | Carling | New home kit and new away kit to celebrate 40 years since being the first British team to win theEuropean Cup. |
| Dundee United | hummel | Anglian Windows | New home and away kit |
| Falkirk | Lotto | Central Demolition | Lotto take over from previous manufacturer, TFG. Home kit is to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the club's Scottish Cup victory in 1957. |
| Gretna | Crest Teamwear | Subway | Subway take over as new sponsor |
| Heart of Midlothian | Umbro | Ukio Bankas | Umbro take over from previous manufacturer, Hummel |
| Hibernian | Le Coq Sportif | Whyte and Mackay | New away kit and new home kit |
| Inverness CT | Erreà | Flybe | Flybe take over as new sponsor |
| Kilmarnock | Lotto | www.smallworldmedia.com | Lotto take over from previous manufacturer, TFG. |
| Motherwell | Bukta | Anglian Home Improvements | Bukta take over from previous manufacturer, Xara |
| Rangers | Umbro | Carling | New home, away and third kits |
| St Mirren | hummel | Braehead Shopping Centre | Hummel take over from previous manufacturer, Xara |
For the first time in the SPL, certain teams also carried secondary sponsors on the back of their jerseys, above the players' names.
| Team | Stadium | Capacity | Lowest | Highest | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Celtic | Celtic Park | 60,832 | 45,000 | 60,000 | 56,676 |
| Rangers | Ibrox Stadium | 51,082 | 47,419 | 50,440 | 48,090 |
| Heart of Midlothian | Tynecastle Stadium | 17,420 | 10,512 | 17,131 | 15,930 |
| Hibernian | Easter Road | 17,500 | 7,650 | 17,015 | 13,840 |
| Aberdeen | Pittodrie | 22,199 | 8,240 | 17,798 | 11,993 |
| Dundee United | Tannadice Park | 14,209 | 5,845 | 13,613 | 8,530 |
| Kilmarnock | Rugby Park | 18,128 | 4,456 | 11,544 | 6,181 |
| Motherwell1 | Fir Park | 13,742 | 4,086 | 10,445 | 6,598 |
| Falkirk | Falkirk Stadium | 6,935 | 4,490 | 6,803 | 5,657 |
| Inverness CT | Caledonian Stadium | 7,500 | 3,420 | 7,753 | 4,752 |
| St Mirren | Love Street | 10,800 | 3,163 | 7,840 | 4,547 |
| Gretna1 | Fir Park | 13,742 | 431 | 6,137 | 2,283 |
As of 22 May 2008[30]
1 Gretna were sharing Motherwell's stadium whilstRaydale Park was being upgraded. However, in March the Fir Park pitch was considered unplayable so the game between Gretna and Celtic was played instead atAlmondvale, the home ofFirst Division clubLivingston.[31]
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Replaced by | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Motherwell | Maurice Malpas | Sacked | 18 June 2007 | Mark McGhee | 1 June 2007 |
| Gretna | Andy Smith | Health | 4 August 2007 | Davie Irons | 18 July 2007 |
| Heart of Midlothian |  Valdas Ivanauskas | Mutual consent | Stephen Frail &Anatoly Korobochka | 30 July 2007 | |
| Inverness CT | Charlie Christie | Resigned | August 2007 | Craig Brewster | 27 August 2007 |
| Hibernian | John Collins | Resigned | 20 December 2007 | Mixu Paatelainen | 10 January 2008 |
| Gretna | Davie Irons | Resigned | 19 February 2008 | Mick Wadsworth | 19 February |
| Heart of Midlothian | Stephen Frail[32] | Mutual Consent | 27 May 2008 |  Csaba László | 11 July[33] |
| Month | Manager | Player | Young player | Rising star |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August | Walter Smith (Rangers) |  Carlos Cuéllar (Rangers) | Steven Fletcher (Hibernian) | Mark Staunton (Falkirk) |
| September | John Collins (Hibernian) | Scott McDonald (Celtic) | Andrew Driver (Heart of Midlothian) | Scott Anson (Kilmarnock) |
| October | Craig Levein (Dundee United) | Lee Wilkie (Dundee United) | Ross McCormack (Motherwell) | Jack Wilson (Hibernian) |
| November | Mark McGhee (Motherwell) | Aiden McGeady (Celtic) | Ross McCormack (Motherwell) | Liam Cusack (Gretna) |
| December | Craig Brewster (Inverness CT) |  Marius Niculae (Inverness CT) | Scott Arfield (Falkirk) | — |
| January | Walter Smith (Rangers) | Barry Robson (Dundee United) | Danny Grainger (Dundee United) | — |
| February | Mixu Paatelainen (Hibernian) | Aiden McGeady (Celtic) | Steven Fletcher (Hibernian) | Ryan Strachan (Aberdeen) |
| March | Walter Smith (Rangers) | Darren Barr (Falkirk) | Garry Kenneth (Dundee United) | Ryan Crighton (St Mirren) |
| April | Gordon Strachan (Celtic) | Barry Robson (Celtic) | Gary Glen (Heart of Midlothian) | — |
| Award | Recipient |
|---|---|
| Player of the Season | Carlos Cuéllar (Rangers) |
| Manager of the Season | Walter Smith (Rangers) |
| Young Player of the Season | Aiden McGeady (Celtic) |
| Goal of the Season | Willo Flood (Dundee United vSt Mirren) |
| Under-19 League Player of the Season | Scott Anson (Kilmarnock) |
| Best Club Media Relations | Kilmarnock |
| Best Fan Initiative | Heart of Midlothian |
| Best Matchday Hospitality Package | Rangers |
| Best Community Initiative | Falkirk |
| Best Away Ground | Tynecastle (Heart of Midlothian) |
Setanta Sports provided domestic TV live coverage and highlights as in previous seasons, withSTV andBBC Scotland also broadcasting free-to-air highlights.BBC Radio Scotland continued to provide domestic radio coverage, with many games also available internationally, and all domestically, through their website. TheBBC held rights to show highlights online and do so through the BBC Sport website. Internationally, the Premier League's overseas television broadcasting partner wasTWI, with coverage of the SPL available in over 100 territories worldwide.Overseas Broadcasting | Scottish Premier League | Broadcasting | Overseas
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