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Celtic clinch third successive titleGordon Strachan became the third Celtic manager to claim three successive Scottish titles. No Celtic manager, not even Martin O'Neill, has had three championships in a row to his name since Jock Stein. Celtic secured their third straight league crown and 42nd overall with a 1-0 win at Dundee United while challengers Rangers went down 2-0 at Aberdeen on the last day of last season. Both sides had 86 points at the start of play but Rangers' goal difference was inferior. Here is a short summary of the 2007/08 Scottish Premier League campaign:
Strachan, who also guided Celtic to two consecutive last 16 places in the UEFA Champions League, will be the favourite to steer his side to their fourth consecutive SPL title. He managed to keep his key players out of the hands of predatory agents. So, Aiden McGeady and Scott McDonald both signed five-year contract extensions during the summer. McDonald's 31 goals were a crucial element in Celtic's success last season but even he was eclipsed by 22-year-old McGeady, who walked off with every player of the season award.
The table shows the overall number of titles (since 1891) for each club in the Scottish Premier League and their league standings in the last five seasons. Rangers Euro exitLast season's domestic cup double, runners-up spot in the league and the club's appearance in the UEFA Cup final was an outstanding achievement. Rangers' cup victory over Queen of the South followed a loss to Zenit St. Petersburg in the UEFA Cup final in May and a second-place finish behind Celtic in the Scottish Premier League, when they lost five points in their last three matches, played over six days. But any hopes of progress on manager Walter Smith's team have collapsed before the 2008/09 domestic season has even started. This page is introduction to the 2008/2009 Scottish Premier League season. Latest news, statistics, results and predictions you can find on our main Euro Football > Scotland page. Rangers were already dumped out of the UEFA Champions League by Lithuanian minnows Kaunas in the second qualifying round. The Ibrox club's elimination means they are facing an entire season without European football, as well as blowing any chance of earning the €12.6m windfall given to teams who reach the group stages of Europe's top club competition. Arch-rivals Celtic will now claim the entire UEFA Champions League TV revenue allocated to Scotland, and the pressure is now on for Rangers to produce the goods in the Scottish Premiership.
* Table displays the league standings for season 2007/2008 Two-horse raceThe title is sure to be a two-horse race but Rangers don't look any stronger this time round. They will be desperate to win the 2008/09 Scottish Premier League to erase the bitter memories of their UEFA Champions League humiliation. Rangers' failure to do so will almost certainly mean it's four-in-a-row for rivals Celtic.
* Preseason odds for the outright winner of the 2008/09 Scottish football league. Scottish Cup finals in last five seasons2004 Celtic - Dunfermline 3:1 Scottish League Cup finals in last five seasons2004 Livingston - Hibernian 2:0 |
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key playersAberdeenGoalkeeper Jamie Langfield (€0.7m); Defense: Alexander Diamond (€0.8m), Andrew Considine (€0.8m), Lee Mair (€0.5m), Richard Foster (€0.4m); Midfield: Scott Severin (€1.3m), Jamie Smith (€0.7m), Mark Kerr (€0.5m), Derek Young (€0.5m); Forward: Darren Mackie (€0.8m), Lee Miller (€0.6m). Celtic GlasgowGoalkeeper Artur Boruc (€11m); Defense: Stephen McManus (€4.5m), Andreas Hinkel (€2.5m), Gary Caldwell (€2m); Midfield: Shunsuke Nakamura (€9m), Scott Brown (€6.6m), Massimo Donati (€5m), Aiden McGeady (€3.5m); Forward: Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink (€7.5m), Georgios Samaras (€3m), Scott McDonald (€1.5m). Dundee UnitedGoalkeeper Lukasz Zaluska (€0.2m); Defense: Lee Wilkie (€0.8m), Sean Dillon (€0.5m), Darren Dods (€0.4m), Daniel Grainger (€0.3m); Midfield: Morgaro Gomis (€0.5m), Willo Flood (€0.5m), Daniel Swanson (€0.3m), Prince Buaben (€0.3m); Forward: Mark De Vries (€0.9m), Warren Feeney (€0.5m). FalkirkGoalkeeper Robert Olejnik (€0.3m); Defense: Jackie McNamara (€1.2m), Lee Bullen (€0.4m), Dean Holden (€0.3m); Midfield: Burton O'Brien (€1m), Neil McCann (€0.9m), Arnau Riera (€0.5m), Kevin McBride (€0.5m); Forward: Steve Lovell (€0.9m), Graham Barrett (€0.8m), Carl Finnigan (€0.3m). Glasgow RangersGoalkeeper Allan McGregor (€4.5m); Defense: Carlos Cuellar (€6m), Steven Whittaker (€3m); Midfield: Barry Ferguson (€7.5m), Kevin Thomson (€4m), DaMarcus Beasley (€4m), Brahim Hemdani (€3.5m), Lee McCulloch (€3.5m); Forward: Kris Boyd (€7.5m), Daniel Cousin (€4m), Jean-Claude Darcheville (€3.5m). HamiltonGoalkeeper Tomas Cerny (€0.3m); Defense: Brian Easton (€0.5m), David Elebert (€0.5m), Tom Parratt (€0.4m), Mark McLaughlin (€0.3m); Midfield: Jamie McCarthy (€0.8m), James McArthur (€0.6m), Alex Neil (€0.4m), Mark Corcoran (€0.4m), Tony Stevenson (€0.3m); Forward: Richard Offiong (€0.9m). HeartsGoalkeeper Steve Banks (€0.4m); Defense: Christophe Berra (€3m), Robbie Neilson (€1.5m), Marius Zaliukas (€1.2m), Christos Karypidis (€1.1m); Midfield: Laryea Kingston (€2.5m), Michael Stewart (€2m), Andrew Driver (€1.8m), Deividas Cesnauskis (€1.5m), Saulius Mikoliunas (€1.2m); Forward: Calum Elliot (€0.8m). HibernianGoalkeeper Yves Makaba-Makalamby (€0.4m); Defense: Ian Murray (€0.9m), Robert Jones (€0.8m), David van Zanten (€0.4m); Midfield: Fabian Yantorno (€0.9m), Merouane Zemmama (€0.8m), Brian Kerr (€0.8m), Alan O'Brien (€0.7m), Joe Keenan (€0.6m); Forward: Steven Fletcher (€1m), Abdessalam Benjelloun (€0.8m). Inverness Caledonian ThistleGoalkeeper Michael Fraser (€0.5m); Defense: Grant Munro (€0.6m), Ross Tokely (€0.5m), Richard Hastings (€0.5m), Phil McGuire (€0.4m); Midfield: Ian Black (€0.8m), Don Cowie (€0.6m), Russell Duncan (€0.4m), Roy McBain (€0.3m), Barry Wilson (€0.3m); Forward: Rory McAllister (€0.2m). KilmarnockGoalkeeper Alan Combe (€0.4m); Defense: Martyn Corrigan (€0.5m), Grant Murray (€0.4m), David Lilley (€0.2m); Midfield: Allan Johnston (€0.8m), Gavin Skelton (€0.6m), David Fernandez (€0.5m), Danny Invincible (€0.4m), James Fowler (€0.4m), Gary Locke (€0.3m); Forward: Gary Wales (€0.4m). MotherwellGoalkeeper Graeme Smith (€0.9m); Defense: Mark Reynolds (€0.8m), Brian McLean (€0.7m), Stephen Craigan (€0.6m), Paul Quinn (€0.5m), Steven Hammell (€0.5m); Midfield: Stephen Hughes (€0.9m), Keith Lasley (€0.5m), Mark Fitzpatrick (€0.4m); Forward: Steven McGarry (€0.5m), David Clarkson (€0.5m). St. MirrenGoalkeeper Chris Smith (€0.3m); Defense: Franco Andres Miranda (€0.6m), John-Paul Potter (€0.3m); Midfield: Craig Molloy (€0.5m), Steven Robb (€0.4m), Garry Brady (€0.4m), Gary Mason (€0.4m), Jack Ross (€0.4m); Forward: Craig Dargo (€1.3m), Dennis Wyness (€0.6m), Jim Hamilton (€0.3m). |
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