2010–11 in Scottish football

The 2010–11 season was the 114th season of competitive football in Scotland. [1]

Football in Scotland

Season	2010–11
← 2009–10 2011–12 →

2010–11 in Scottish football
Premier League champions
Rangers
First Division champions
Dunfermline Athletic
Second Division champions
Livingston
Third Division champions
Arbroath
Scottish Cup winners
Celtic
League Cup winners
Rangers
Challenge Cup winners
Ross County
Youth Cup winners
Celtic
Teams in Europe
Dundee United, Celtic, Hibernian, Motherwell, Rangers
Scotland national team
Euro 2012 qualifying

Overview

• Rangers won the SPL title, pipping rivals Celtic on the final day of the season, their third title in a row and their 54th Scottish league championship. It was Walter Smith's final season as manager of Rangers.
• Inverness Caledonian Thistle are competing in the Scottish Premier League for the sixth time, their last season in the top-flight since the 2008–09 season, after being promoted as First Division champions last season.[2]
• Stirling Albion are competing in the First Division after being promoted as Second Division champions.[3]
• Arbroath won the Third Division, the first title in the club's 133-year history.

Referee strike

Transfer deals

League Competitions

Scottish Premier League

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Rangers (C)	38	30	3	5	88	29	+59	93	Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round
2	Celtic	38	29	5	4	85	22	+63	92	Qualification for the Europa League play-off round[lower-alpha 1]
3	Heart of Midlothian	38	18	9	11	53	45	+8	63	Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round
4	Dundee United	38	17	10	11	55	50	+5	61	Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round[lower-alpha 1]
5	Kilmarnock	38	13	10	15	53	55	−2	49
6	Motherwell	38	13	7	18	40	60	−20	46
7	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	38	14	11	13	52	44	+8	53
8	St Johnstone	38	11	11	16	23	43	−20	44
9	Aberdeen	38	11	5	22	39	59	−20	38
10	Hibernian	38	10	7	21	39	61	−22	37
11	St Mirren	38	8	9	21	33	57	−24	33
12	Hamilton Academical (R)	38	5	11	22	24	59	−35	26	Relegation to the First Division

Source: SPFL Archive
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champion; (R) Relegated.
Notes:

1. Celtic entered the play-off round of the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League as they won the 2011 Scottish Cup Final. Due to this, Heart of Midlothian also moved up to the third qualifying round, whilst fourth-placed team Dundee United received the second qualifying round spot.

Scottish First Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion, qualification or relegation
1	Dunfermline Athletic (C, P)	36	20	10	6	66	31	+35	70	Promotion to the Premier League
2	Raith Rovers	36	17	9	10	47	35	+12	60
3	Falkirk	36	17	7	12	57	41	+16	58
4	Queen of the South	36	14	7	15	54	53	+1	49
5	Partick Thistle	36	12	11	13	44	39	+5	47
6	Dundee	36	19	12	5	54	34	+20	44[lower-alpha 1]
7	Greenock Morton	36	11	10	15	39	43	−4	43
8	Ross County	36	9	14	13	30	34	−4	41
9	Cowdenbeath (R)	36	9	8	19	41	72	−31	35	Qualification for the First Division Play-offs
10	Stirling Albion (R)	36	4	8	24	32	82	−50	20	Relegation to the Second Division

Source: SPFL
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champion; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated.
Notes:

1. Dundee were docked 25 points for entering administration. The deduction was temporarily lifted pending an appeal by the club, however the appeal failed and the deduction was reinstated.[4]

Scottish Second Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion, qualification or relegation
1	Livingston (C, P)	36	25	7	4	79	33	+46	82	Promotion to the First Division
2	Ayr United (O, P)	36	18	5	13	62	55	+7	59	Qualification for the First Division Play-offs
3	Forfar Athletic	36	17	8	11	50	48	+2	59
4	Brechin City	36	15	12	9	63	45	+18	57
5	East Fife	36	14	10	12	77	60	+17	52
6	Airdrie United	36	13	9	14	52	60	−8	48
7	Dumbarton	36	11	7	18	52	70	−18	40
8	Stenhousemuir	36	10	8	18	46	59	−13	38
9	Alloa Athletic (R)	36	9	9	18	49	71	−22	36	Qualification for the Second Division Play-offs
10	Peterhead (R)	36	5	11	20	47	76	−29	26	Relegation to the Third Division

Source: SPFL
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champion; (O) Play-off winner; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated.

Scottish Third Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or qualification
1	Arbroath (C, P)	36	20	6	10	80	61	+19	66	Promotion to the Second Division
2	Albion Rovers (O, P)	36	17	10	9	56	40	+16	61	Qualification for the Second Division Play-offs
3	Queen's Park	36	18	5	13	57	43	+14	59
4	Annan Athletic	36	16	11	9	58	45	+13	59
5	Stranraer	36	15	12	9	72	57	+15	57
6	Berwick Rangers	36	12	13	11	62	56	+6	49
7	Elgin City	36	13	6	17	53	63	−10	45
8	Montrose	36	10	7	19	47	61	−14	37
9	East Stirlingshire	36	10	4	22	33	62	−29	34
10	Clyde	36	8	8	20	37	67	−30	32

Source: SPFL
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champion; (O) Play-off winner; (P) Promoted.

Scottish Premier Under-19 League

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Celtic (C)	22	17	3	2	74	16	+58	54
2	Heart of Midlothian	22	17	1	4	53	23	+30	52
3	Rangers	22	14	3	5	48	26	+22	45
4	Aberdeen	22	12	5	5	40	32	+8	41
5	Hibernian	22	8	5	9	32	34	−2	29
6	Motherwell	22	8	3	11	27	43	−16	27
7	St Johnstone	22	7	7	8	27	28	−1	28
8	St Mirren	22	8	4	10	22	39	−17	28
9	Dundee United	22	5	5	12	24	37	−13	20
10	Kilmarnock	22	6	2	14	32	61	−29	20
11	Hamilton Academical (R)	22	5	3	14	31	43	−12	18
12	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	22	4	1	17	24	52	−28	13

Updated to match(es) played on 30 April 2011. Source: Scotprem
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Team, which his senior will place 12th in Scottish Premier League at the end of this season will be relegated from Scottish Premier Under-19 League and his place will be for junior team of new SPL club. Bottom SPL club is Hamilton Academical.
(C) Champion; (R) Relegated.

Honours

Cup honours

Competition	Winner	Score	Runner-up	Match report
2010–11 Scottish Cup	Celtic	3 – 0	Motherwell	BBC Sport
2010–11 League Cup	Rangers	2 – 1	Celtic	BBC Sport
2010–11 Challenge Cup	Ross County	2 – 0	Queen of the South	BBC Sport
2010–11 Youth Cup	Celtic	2 – 1	Rangers	BBC Sport
2010–11 Junior Cup	Auchinleck Talbot	2 – 1 (after extra time)	Musselburgh Athletic	BBC Sport

Senior

Competition	Winner
2010–11 Highland League	Buckie Thistle
East of Scotland League	Spartans
South of Scotland League	Threave Rovers

Junior

West Region

Division	Winner
2010–11 Premier Division	Irvine Meadow
Division One	Ashfield
Ayrshire League	Ardrossan Winton Rovers
Central League Division One	Kilsyth Rangers
Central League Division Two	Yoker Athletic

East Region

Division	Winner
2010–11 Superleague	Bo'ness United
Premier League	St Andrews United
North Division	Downfield
Central Division	Oakley United
South Division	Sauchie Juniors

North Region

Division	Winner
2010–11 Superleague	Culter
Division One	Inverness City
Division Two	Parkvale

PFA Scotland awards

Award	Winner	Team
Players' Player of the Year	Emilio Izaguirre	Celtic
Young Player of the Year	David Goodwillie	Dundee United
Manager of the Year	John McGlynn	Raith Rovers
First Division Player	John Baird	Raith Rovers
Second Division Player	Rory McAllister	Brechin City
Third Division Player	Gavin Swankie	Arbroath

SFWA awards

Award	Winner	Team
Footballer of the Year	Emilio Izaguirre	Celtic
Young Player of the Year	David Goodwillie	Dundee United
Manager of the Year	Mixu Paatelainen	Kilmarnock

Scottish clubs in Europe

Summary

Club	Competitions	Final round	Coef.	Top Scorer
Rangers	UEFA Champions League UEFA Europa League	Group Stage Round of 16	12.0	Maurice Edu, 2
Celtic	UEFA Champions League UEFA Europa League	Third qualifying round Play-off round	2.0	Efraín Juárez, 2
Dundee United	UEFA Europa League	Play-off round	0.5	Jon Daly, 1
Hibernian	UEFA Europa League	Third qualifying round	0.0	Edwin de Graaf, 2
Motherwell	UEFA Europa League	Play-off round	3.5	Jamie Murphy, 3
Total			18.0
Average			3.6

• All teams had been eliminated.
• Current UEFA coefficients: Ranking

Rangers

2010–11 UEFA Champions League

14 September 2011 Group stage	Manchester United	0 – 0	Rangers	Old Trafford, Manchester
19:45 BST (UTC+01)		BBC Sport		Attendance: 74,408 Referee: Olegário Benquerença

29 September 2011 Group stage	Rangers	1 – 0	Bursaspor	Ibrox Park, Glasgow
19:45 BST (UTC+01)	Naismith  18'	BBC Sport		Attendance: 41,905 Referee: Serge Gumienny

20 October 2011 Group stage	Rangers	1 – 1	Valencia	Ibrox Park, Glasgow
19:45 BST (UTC+01)	Edu  34'	BBC Sport	Edu  34 o.g.'	Attendance: 45,153 Referee: Nicola Rizzoli

2 November 2011 Group stage	Valencia	3 – 0	Rangers	Estadio Mestalla, Valencia
19:45 BST (UTC+01)	Soldado  34', 71' Costa  90'	BBC Sport		Attendance: 25,000 Referee: Felix Brych

24 November 2011 Group stage	Rangers	0 – 1	Manchester United	Ibrox Park, Glasgow
19:45 BST (UTC+01)		BBC Sport	Rooney  87 pen.'	Attendance: 49,764 Referee: Massimo Busacca

7 December 2011 Group stage	Bursaspor	1 – 1	Rangers	Bursa Atatürk Stadium, Bursa
19:45 BST (UTC+01)	Yıldırım  79'	BBC Sport	Miller  19'	Attendance: 22,000 Referee: Tony Chapron

2010–11 UEFA Europa League

17 February 2011 Round of 32	Rangers	1 – 1	Sporting CP	Ibrox Park, Glasgow
19:45 BST (UTC+01)	Whittaker  66'	BBC Sport	Fernández  89'	Attendance: 34,095 Referee: Manuel Gräfe

24 February 2011 Round of 32	Sporting CP	2 – 2 (3 – 3 agg.)	Rangers	Estádio José Alvalade, Lisboa
19:45 BST (UTC+01)	Mendes  42' Djaló  83'	BBC Sport	Diouf  20' Edu  90+2'	Attendance: 15,375 Referee: Paolo Tagliavento

10 March 2011 Round of 16	PSV Eindhoven	0 – 0	Rangers	Philips Stadion, Eindhoven
19:45 BST (UTC+01)		BBC Sport		Attendance: 30,000 Referee: Martin Hansson

17 March 2011 Round of 16	Rangers	0 – 1 (0 – 1 agg.)	PSV Eindhoven	Ibrox Park, Glasgow
19:45 BST (UTC+01)		BBC Sport	Lens  13'	Attendance: 35,373 Referee: Robert Schorgenhofer

Celtic

2010–11 UEFA Champions League

28 July 2011 Third qualifying round	Braga	3 – 0	Celtic	Estádio Municipal de Braga, Braga
19:45 BST (UTC+01)	Alan  26 pen.' Echiéjilé  76' Nascimento  89'	BBC Report		Attendance: 12,295 Referee: Serge Gumienny

4 August 2011 Third qualifying round	Celtic	2 – 1 (2 – 4 agg.)	Braga	Celtic Park, Glasgow
19:45 BST (UTC+01)	Hooper  57' Juárez  78'	BBC Sport	Paulo César  20'	Attendance: 52,000 Referee: Ivan Bebek

2010–11 UEFA Europa League

19 August 2011 Play-off round	Celtic	2 – 0	Utrecht	Celtic Park, Glasgow
19:45 BST (UTC+01)	Juárez  19' Samaras  34'	BBC Sport		Attendance: 35,755 Referee: Svein Oddvar Moen

26 August 2011 Play-off round	Utrecht	4 – 0 (4 – 2 agg.)	Celtic	Stadion Galgenwaard, Utrecht
19:45 BST (UTC+01)	van Wolfswinkel  12' (pen), 20' (pen), 47' Maguire  63'	BBC Sport		Attendance: 18,000 Referee: Carlos Velasco Carballo

Dundee United

2010–11 UEFA Europa League

19 August 2011 Play-off round	Dundee United	0 – 1	AEK Athens	Tannadice Park, Dundee
19:45 BST (UTC+01)		BBC Sport	Djebbour  11'	Attendance: 12,116 Referee: Marijo Strahonja

26 August 2011 Play-off round	AEK Athens	1 – 1 (2 – 1 agg.)	Dundee United	Karaiskakis Stadium, Pireus
19:45 BST (UTC+01)	Diop  23'	BBC Sport	Daly  78'	Attendance: 600 Referee: Libor Kovařík

Hibernian

2010–11 UEFA Europa League

29 July 2011 Third qualifying round	Maribor	0 - 3	Hibernian	Ljudski vrt, Maribor
19:45 BST (UTC+01)		Report	Iličić  32', 52' Tavares  60'	Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Martin Ingvarsson

5 August 2011 Third qualifying round	Hibernian	2 - 3 (2 - 6 agg.)	Maribor	Easter Road, Edinburgh
19:45 BST (UTC+01)	de Graaf  54', 89'	BBC Report	Tavares  19', 73' Mezga  67' (pen)	Attendance: 12,504 Referee: Clément Turpin

Motherwell

2010–11 UEFA Europa League

15 July 2011 Second qualifying round	Motherwell	1 - 0	Breiðablik	Fir Park, Motherwell
19:45 BST (UTC+01)	Forbes  63'	BBC Report		Attendance: 5,990 Referee: Richard Liesveld

22 July 2011 Second qualifying round	Breiðablik	0 - 1 (0 - 2 agg.)	Motherwell	Kópavogsvöllur, Kópavogur
19:45 BST (UTC+01)		BBC Report	Murphy  42'	Attendance: 1,700 Referee: Carlos Miguel Taborda Xistra

29 July 2011 Third qualifying round	Aalesunds	1 - 1	Motherwell	Color Line Stadion, Ålesund
19:45 BST (UTC+01)	Mathisen  90+3'	BBC Sport	Murphy  48'	Attendance: 8,450 Referee: Toussaint

5 August 2011 UEFA Europa League play-off round	Motherwell	3 - 0 (4 - 1 agg.)	Aalesunds	Fir Park, Motherwell
19:45 BST (UTC+01)	Murphy  4' Sutton  13' Page  89'	BBC Report		Attendance: 7,721 Referee: Richard Trutz

19 August 2011 Play-off round	Odense	2 - 1	Motherwell	TRE-FOR Park, Odense
19:45 BST (UTC+01)	Sørensen  31' Utaka  78'	BBC Sport	Hateley  90+4'	Attendance: 14,911 Referee: Zsolt Szabó

26 August 2011 Play-off round	Motherwell	0 - 1 (1 - 3 agg.)	Odense	Fir Park, Motherwell
19:45 BST (UTC+01)		BBC Sport	Utaka  28'	Attendance: 9,105 Referee: Michael Koukoulakis

National teams

Scotland national team

Date	Venue	Opponents	Score[5]	Competition	Scotland scorers	Report
11 August 2010	Råsunda Stadium, Stockholm (A)	Sweden	0–3	Friendly		BBC Sport
3 September 2010	S.Darius and S.Girėnas Stadium, Kaunas (A)	Lithuania	0–0	Euro 2012 Q		BBC Sport
7 September 2010	Hampden Park, Glasgow (H)	Liechtenstein	2–1	Euro 2012 Q	Miller, McManus	BBC Sport
8 October 2010	AXA Arena, Prague (A)	Czech Republic	0–1	Euro 2012 Q		BBC Sport
12 October 2010	Hampden Park, Glasgow (H)	Spain	2–3	Euro 2012 Q	Naismith, Pique (o.g.)	BBC Sport
16 November 2010	Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen (H)	Faroe Islands	3–0	Friendly	Wilson, Commons, Mackie	BBC Sport
9 February 2011	Aviva Stadium, Dublin (N)	Northern Ireland	3–0	2011 Nations Cup	Miller, McArthur, Commons	BBC Sport
27 March 2011	Emirates Stadium, London (N)	Brazil	0–2	Friendly		BBC Sport
25 May 2011	Aviva Stadium, Dublin (N)	Wales	3–1	2011 Nations Cup	Morrison, Miller, Berra	BBC Sport
29 May 2011	Aviva Stadium, Dublin (A)	Republic of Ireland	0–1	2011 Nations Cup		BBC Sport

Scotland Under-21 team

Date	Venue	Opponents	Score[5]	Competition	Scotland scorers	Report
11 August 2010	New St Mirren Park, Paisley (H)	Sweden	1–1	Friendly	Wotherspoon	Scottish FA
3 September 2010	Haradzki Stadium, Barysaw (A)	Belarus	1–1	2011 Under-21 Championship Q	Maguire	Scottish FA
7 September 2010	Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen (H)	Austria	2–1	2011 Under-21 Championship Q	Bannan, Maguire	Scottish FA
7 October 2010	Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík (A)	Iceland	1–2	2011 Under-21 Championship Q	Murphy	Scottish FA
11 October 2010	Easter Road, Edinburgh (H)	Iceland	1–2	2011 Under-21 Championship Q	Maguire	Scottish FA
17 November 2010	Firhill Stadium, Glasgow (H)	Northern Ireland	3–1	Friendly	Griffiths, Hanlon, Ross	Scottish FA

Deaths

• 29 July – Alex Wilson, 76, Portsmouth and Scotland defender.[6]
• 2 September – Jackie Sinclair, 67, Dunfermline and Scotland winger.[7]
• 30 October – John Benson, 67, Manchester City, Torquay United, Bournemouth, Exeter City and Norwich City defender; Bournemouth, Manchester City, Burnley and Wigan Athletic manager.[8]
• 10 November – Jim Farry, 56, Scottish Football League secretary (1979–1990) and Scottish Football Association chief executive (1990–1999).[9]
• 18 November – Jim Cruickshank, 69, Queen's Park, Hearts, Dumbarton and Scotland goalkeeper.[10]
• 28 December – Avi Cohen, 54, Rangers defender.[11]
• 24 January – Alec Boden, 85, Celtic and Ayr United defender.
• 27 January – Svein Mathisen, 58, Norwegian player who made three appearances for Hibernian in 1978.[12]
• 10 March – Danny Paton, 75, Hearts forward.
• 4 April – John Niven, 89, East Fife and Kilmarnock goalkeeper.[13]
• 6 April – Jim Blair, 64, St Mirren and Hibs forward.
• 11 April – Jimmy Briggs, 74, Dundee United defender.[14]
• 12 April – Ronnie Coyle, 46, Raith Rovers, Celtic, Ayr United, Clyde, East Fife and Queen's Park defender.[15]
• 20 April – Allan Brown, 84, East Fife and Scotland forward.[16]
• 28 April – Willie O'Neill, 70, Celtic defender.[17]
• 30 April – Eddie Turnbull, 88, Hibernian and Scotland player; manager of Queen's Park, Aberdeen and Hibernian.
• 5 May – Dougie McCracken, 46, Ayr United, Dumbarton and East Fife player.
• 5 May – Tommy Wright, 83, Partick Thistle, East Fife and Scotland winger.[18]
• 14 May – Ernie Walker, 83, Secretary of the Scottish Football Association from 1977 to 1990.[19]
• 30 May – Eddie Morrison, 63, Kilmarnock and Morton forward; Kilmarnock manager.[20]

Notes and references

1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 16 December 2012. Retrieved 13 October 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
2. "Raith Rovers 1–0 Dundee". BBC Sport. 21 April 2010. Archived from the original on 24 April 2010. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
3. "Ayr United go down, Stirling Albion secure title". BBC Sport. 1 May 2010. Archived from the original on 3 May 2010. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
4. "Dundee fail to overturn 25-point penalty". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 17 December 2010. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
5. Scotland's score is shown first.
6. "Dedicated Pompey servant Alex Wilson dies aged 76". The News. 11 August 2010. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
7. Ryder, Lee (3 September 2010). "Fairs Cup legend Sinclair loses cancer battle". Newcastle Chronicle. Archived from the original on 4 April 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
8. "Ex-Wigan & Man City manager John Benson dies aged 67". BBC Sport. BBC. 30 October 2010. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
9. Williams, Martin (11 November 2010). "Former SFA chief Jim Farry dies at 56". The Herald. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
10. "Gordon joins Cruickshank tributes". Football.co.uk (Scottish Premier Division News). 19 November 2010. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
11. "Ex-Rangers star Avi Cohen dies following motorbike crash". STV. 28 December 2010. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
12. ""Matta" var en av de største". VG (in Norwegian). 27 January 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
13. "Obituary: John Niven, footballer". The Scotsman. 5 April 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
14. "Obituary: Jimmy Briggs, footballer". The Scotsman. 13 April 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
15. Vallance, Matt (13 April 2011). "Ronnie Coyle". The Herald. Herald & Times Group. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
16. Vallance, Matt (22 April 2011). "Allan Brown". The Herald. Herald & Times Group. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
17. Pattullo, Alan (29 April 2011). "Willie O'Neill, member of legendary European Cup-winning squad, dies aged 70". The Scotsman. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
18. "Obituary: Tommy Wright, footballer". The Scotsman. 24 May 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
19. "Former Scottish FA secretary Ernie Walker dies". BBC Sport. BBC. 15 May 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
20. Vallance, Matt (31 May 2011). "Eddie Morrison". The Herald. Herald & Times Group. Retrieved 1 January 2015.