The 1996–97 Scottish Premier Division season was the penultimate season of Scottish Premier Division football before the change to the Scottish Premier League. It began on 10 August 1996.
| Season | 1996–97 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 10 August 1996 – 10 May 1997 |
| Champions | Rangers 12th Premier Division title 47th Scottish title |
| Promoted | Dunfermline Dundee United |
| Relegated | Raith Rovers |
| Champions League | Rangers |
| UEFA Cup | Celtic Dundee United |
| Cup Winners' Cup | Kilmarnock |
| Goals scored | 504 ( 27) |
| Average goals/game | 2.8 |
| Top goalscorer | Jorge Cadete (25) |
| Biggest home win | Celtic 6–0 Kilmarnock (08 Jan) |
| Biggest away win | Raith Rovers 0–6 Rangers (15 Apr) |
| Highest attendance | 50,210, Rangers 2–0 Celtic (28 Sep) |
| Lowest attendance | 3,052, Raith Rovers 1–5 Motherwell (18 Feb) |
| Average attendance | 17,194 (2,159) |
← 1995–96 1997–98 → | |
Overview edit
The 1996–97 Scottish Premier Division season ended in success for Rangers who won the title by five points from nearest rivals Celtic to clinch nine titles in a row, equalling Celtic's record from the 1973–74 season. Raith Rovers were relegated to the First Division after finishing bottom. As champions, Rangers qualified for the Champions League while Celtic were joined by third-placed Dundee United in qualifying for the UEFA Cup. Seventh-placed Kilmarnock qualified for the penultimate Cup Winners' Cup as Scottish Cup winners.[1]
The season began on 10 August with the first goal of the season scored by Dundee United's Gary McSwegan as they drew 1–1 at home to Motherwell. The season ended on 10 May with Celtic's Tommy Johnson netting a late goal to cap a 3–0 win at home to Dundee United to claim the final goal of the season.
Clubs edit
Promotion and relegation from 1995–96 edit
Promoted from First Division to Premier League
- Dunfermline Athletic
- Dundee United (via play-off)
Relegated from Premier Division to First Division
- Partick Thistle (via play-off)
- Falkirk
Stadia and locations edit
Managers edit
Managerial changes edit
| Team | Outgoing manager | Date of vacancy | Manner of departure | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raith Rovers |  Jimmy Thomson | 24 August 1996 | Resigned | Tommy McLean | 2 September 1996 |
| Hibernian | Alex Miller | 30 September 1996 | Sacked | Jocky Scott (interim) Jim Duffy (permanent) | 30 September 1996 30 December 1996 |
| Dundee United | Billy Kirkwood | 10 September 1996[2] | Sacked | Tommy McLean | 10 September 1996[2] |
| Raith Rovers | Tommy McLean | 10 September 1996[2] | Signed by Dundee United | Iain Munro | 20 September 1996 |
| Kilmarnock | Alex Totten | 4 December 1996[3] | Sacked | Bobby Williamson | 4 December 1996[3] |
| Raith Rovers | Iain Munro | 14 April 1997[4] | Sacked | Steve Kirk Miodrag Krivokapić (joint caretakers) | 16 April 1997[5] |
| Celtic | Tommy Burns | 2 May 1997 | Resigned | Billy Stark (caretaker) | 2 May 1997 |
Events edit
- 17 August: Ally McCoist hits the first hat-trick of the season in a 5–2 win at Dunfermline.
- 7 May: Rangers win the title with a 1–0 win at Dundee United
League table edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rangers (C) | 36 | 25 | 5 | 6 | 85 | 33 | +52 | 80 | Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Celtic | 36 | 23 | 6 | 7 | 78 | 32 | +46 | 75 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first qualifying round[a] |
| 3 | Dundee United | 36 | 17 | 9 | 10 | 46 | 33 | +13 | 60 | |
| 4 | Heart of Midlothian | 36 | 14 | 10 | 12 | 46 | 43 | +3 | 52 | |
| 5 | Dunfermline Athletic | 36 | 12 | 9 | 15 | 52 | 65 | −13 | 45 | |
| 6 | Aberdeen | 36 | 10 | 14 | 12 | 45 | 54 | −9 | 44 | |
| 7 | Kilmarnock | 36 | 11 | 6 | 19 | 41 | 61 | −20 | 39 | Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup qualifying round[b] |
| 8 | Motherwell | 36 | 9 | 11 | 16 | 44 | 55 | −11 | 38 | |
| 9 | Hibernian (O) | 36 | 9 | 11 | 16 | 38 | 55 | −17 | 38 | Qualification for the Play-off |
| 10 | Raith Rovers (R) | 36 | 6 | 7 | 23 | 29 | 73 | −44 | 25 | Relegation to the First Division |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- ^ As the League Cup winners Rangers had qualified for European competition via their league position, the place in the UEFA Cup was passed to the next highest placed team in the league, Dundee United.
- ^ Kilmarnock qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup as the winners of the Scottish Cup.
Results edit
Matches 1–18 edit
During matches 1–18 each team plays every other team twice (home and away).
Matches 19–36 edit
During matches 19–36 each team plays every other team a further two times (home and away).
Play-off edit
A two leg play-off took place between the 9th placed team in the Premier Division (Hibernian) and the runner-up of the First Division (Airdrieonians) for a place in the 1997–98 Scottish Premier Division.
Hibernian won the first leg 1–0 at Easter Road, and went on to win the second leg by 4 goals to 2 at Broadwood Stadium.[6] Therefore, Hibernian maintained their Premier Division status for another season, 5–2 on aggregate.
Top scorers edit
| Player | Goals | Team |
|---|---|---|
 Jorge Cadete | 25 | Celtic |
 Brian Laudrup | 16 | Rangers |
| Paul Wright | 15 | Kilmarnock |
| Billy Dodds | 14 | Aberdeen |
| John Robertson | Hearts | |
 Pierre van Hooijdonk | Celtic | |
| Gerry Britton | 13 | Dunfermline Athletic |
 Paul Gascoigne | Rangers | |
 Paolo Di Canio | 12 | Celtic |
 Kjell Olofsson | Dundee United | |
 Tommy Coyne | 11 | Motherwell |
| Darren Jackson | Hibernian | |
 Jörg Albertz | 10 | Rangers |
| Ally McCoist | Rangers | |
| Andy Smith | Dunfermline Athletic | |
| Dean Windass | Aberdeen |
Source: Soccerbot Archived 2013-05-17 at the Wayback Machine
References edit
- ^ "Scottish Premier Division 1996/97". Soccerbot. Archived from the original on 12 May 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-03.
- ^ a b c "McLean quits Raith to join his brother". The Herald. 10 September 1996. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
- ^ a b "Youth is name of the game as Totten is pushed out by Kilmarnock". The Herald. 4 December 1996. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
- ^ "Photographer claims club chairman kicked and punched him outside ground Raith chief 'went berserk'". The Herald. 16 April 1997. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
- ^ "Nicholl rejects Raith's offer". The Independent. 14 April 1997. Archived from the original on 2022-05-01. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
- ^ "Airdrie captain sent off as Hibs secure premier division status Jackson at the double on a night of penalties". The Herald. 23 May 1997. Retrieved 17 February 2018.