The 2005–06 season was the 109th season of competitive football in Scotland.

Notable events

2005

*1 June:

Gordon Strachan Gordon David Strachan ( born 9 February 1957) is a Scottish former football coach and player. He played for Dundee, Aberdeen, Manchester United, Leeds United and Coventry City, as well as the Scotland national team. He has since managed Co ...

officially takes charge of Celtic after the resignation of

Martin O'Neill Martin Hugh Michael O'Neill, (born 1 March 1952) is a Northern Irish professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. Starting his career in Northern Ireland, O'Neill moved to England where he spent most of his playi ...

*1 June: Former Celtic player

Paul Lambert Paul Lambert (born 7 August 1969) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player, who was most recently the manager of Ipswich Town. Lambert played as a midfielder and won the Scottish Cup in 1987 with St Mirren as a 17-year-ol ...

officially takes charge of Livingston following the resignation of

Richard Gough Charles Richard Gough (born 5 April 1962) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a defender. Gough played in the successful Dundee United team of the early 1980s, winning the Scottish league title in 1982–83 and reachi ...

. *16 June: The SPL fine Livingston £15,000 for breaching transfer regulations after it emerged that amateur signing from last season, Hassan Kachloul, was paid money during his time at the club. *30 June:

George Burley George Elder Burley (born 3 June 1956) is a Scottish former football player and manager. He had a professional career spanning 21 years as a player, making 628 league appearances and earning 11 Scotland caps. His most successful spell came whi ...

is confirmed as the new manager of Hearts after days of discussions with Chief Executive Phil Anderton and major shareholder Vladimir Romanov. *27 July: Celtic manager Gordon Strachan is under pressure after his first match in charge as Celtic are beaten 5–0 away to Artmedia Bratislava in the first leg of their Champions League second qualifying round match, all but ending their European hopes for the season. *2 August: Celtic crash out of Europe, despite beating Artmedia Bratislava 4–0 in the second leg of their Champions League qualifier. *7 August: Hearts demonstrate their

SPL SPL may refer to: Association football * Saudi Professional League * Scottish Premier League * SportPesa Premier League, Kenya * Singapore Premier League * RoboCup Standard Platform League, matches between autonomous robots Computing Program ...

title-challenge credentials as they claim a 4–0 home victory over local rivals Hibernian. *22 October: Despite their unbeaten start to the SPL season, Hearts Manager George Burley departs from his position just hours before their league match with Dunfermline. A club statement after the game declared that the departure of Burley had been mutually agreed and that there were "irreconcilable differences" between him and the Hearts board. Throughout his short spell in charge rumours persisted about an uneasy relationship between Burley and major shareholder Vladimir Romanov with Romanov having bought players without the consent of the Manager. *6 November: St Mirren win the first trophy of the season beating

Hamilton Academical Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire who currently compete in the Scottish Championship, having been relegated from the 2020–21 Scotti ...

2–1 in the Challenge Cup final. *8 November:

Graham Rix Graham Cyril Rix (born 23 October 1957) is an English former professional football player who later became a coach and manager. He is the current manager of Fareham Town. He played for Arsenal for thirteen years, then Brentford (on loan), Cae ...

is appointed as Hearts new head coach. *14 November: Rangers Chairman David Murray gives his short-term backing to under-fire Manager Alex McLeish despite recent poor results. *6 December: Rangers become first Scottish club to reach the Champions League knock-out stages after drawing 1–1 with Inter Milan at Ibrox.

2006

*10 January:

Gordon Chisholm Gordon William Chisholm (born 8 April 1960 in Glasgow) is a Scottish professional football former player and manager. Chisholm played as a central defender for Sunderland, Hibernian, Dundee and Partick Thistle. After retiring as a player, ...

is sacked as Manager of Dundee United. *13 January: Dundee United appoint Inverness Manager

Craig Brewster Craig James Brown Brewster (born 13 December 1966) is a Scottish former professional footballer, turned coach. He made his name in a long playing career as a striker for numerous clubs in Scotland, particularly Forfar Athletic, Raith Rovers, ...

at the helm after the sacking of Gordon Chisholm. *19 January: Wolves and Scotland striker

Kenny Miller Kenneth Miller (born 23 December 1979) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player. Miller, who played as a striker, is one of only five post-war players to have played for both Rangers and Celtic. Miller began his career at ...

signs a pre-contract agreement to play for Celtic from next season. The former Rangers player will become only the third man to play for both Old Firm clubs since the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. *27 January: Inverness coach and former player Charlie Christie is appointed as the club's new manager. *8 February: Hearts principal shareholder Vladimir Romanov agrees to a meeting requested by the Hearts players, following speculation that Romanov had selected the team in the previous two matches, Manager Graham Rix meanwhile, refused to confirm or deny the speculation. *9 February: Rangers Chairman David Murray confirms that manager Alex McLeish will leave the club at the end of the current season. He also stated that an announcement regarding a new manager and significant levels of investment into the club will be made in March. *11 February: Livingston Manager Paul Lambert resigns after defeat at home to Dunfermline left them six points adrift at the bottom of the table having taken just 12 points from 26 games. *15 February: Livingston appoint former player John Robertson as their new Manager. *8 March: Rangers Chairman David Murray's announces a 10-year licence agreement with sports retailer

JJB Sports JJB Sports plc was a British sports retailer. On 24 September 2012, shares in JJB Sports were suspended, and the firm called in administrators. On 1 October 2012, it was announced that Sports Direct had purchased part of the business, includ ...

. Rangers will net an initial £18m and a minimum of £3m each year on royalty fees for the duration of the licence. *11 March: Rangers confirm that former Olympique Lyonnais manager

Paul Le Guen Paul Joseph Marie Le Guen (, ; born 1 March 1964) is a French professional football manager and former player. He was most recently the manager of Ligue 2 club Le Havre. During his playing career, Le Guen played as a midfielder, and enjoyed a su ...

will succeed Alex McLeish at the start of the 2006–07 season, signing a three-year contract. *13 March: Former Celtic legend

Jimmy Johnstone James Connolly Johnstone (30 September 1944 – 13 March 2006) was a Scottish footballer who played as an outside right. Known as "Jinky" for his elusive dribbling style, Johnstone played for Celtic for 13 years, and was part of the 'Lisbon ...

dies at the age of 61 after a long battle with

motor neurone disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most commo ...

. *19 March: Celtic win the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

, beating Dunfermline 3–0 at Hampden Park. *23 March: Hearts sack head coach Graham Rix after just 4 months in charge.

Valdas Ivanauskas Valdas Ivanauskas (born 31 July 1966) is a Lithuanian football coach and a former striker. He is best known in Europe for his time at Austria Vienna as well as Hamburger SV where he acted between 1993 and 97. Beyond that he stood on the sidel ...

was appointed as head coach for the interim *25 March: Gretna win the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

and are promoted to the First Division with their second successive promotion. *5 April: Celtic win the

after beating 2nd placed Hearts 1–0 at

Celtic Park Celtic Park is the home stadium of Celtic Football Club, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest football stadium in Scotland, and the eighth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom. It is al ...

. *16 April: St Mirren win promotion to the SPL after a 2–1 win over Dundee. *29 April: Livingston are relegated from the SPL after a 1–0 defeat to Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Meanwhile, Cowdenbeath clinch the Third Division title after beating Elgin City 2–1. *3 May: Hearts clinch second place and a spot in the Champions League qualifiers with a 1–0 home win over Aberdeen. This marks the first time since the 1994–95 season that the Old Firm clubs have failed to finish in the top two places in the SPL. Hearts' win also ensures that Gretna will play European football next season in the

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...

. *13 May: Hearts win the Scottish Cup 4–2 on penalties after a 1–1 draw with Second Division champions Gretna.

Major transfer deals

2005

*3 June 2005 –

Lee Miller Elizabeth "Lee" Miller, Lady Penrose (April 23, 1907 – July 21, 1977), was an American photographer and photojournalist. She was a fashion model in New York City in the 1920s before going to Paris, where she became a fashion and fine art ...

from

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...

, £225,000 *9 June 2005 – Ian Murray from Hibernian to Rangers, Free *13 June 2005 – Jamie Smith from ADO Den Haag to

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

, Free *14 June 2005 – Brahim Hemdani from

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

to Rangers, Free *14 June 2005 –

Jackie McNamara Jackie McNamara (born 24 October 1973) is a Scottish professional football agent, and former player, manager and executive. He won 33 international caps playing for Scotland, and filled a variety of defensive roles in his career. McNamara beg ...

from Celtic to

Wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...

, Free *16 June 2005 – Paul Tierney from Manchester United to Livingston, Free *21 June 2005 – Mohammed Camara from

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...

to Celtic, Free *30 June 2005 – Michael Stewart from Manchester United to Hibernian, Free *1 July 2005 – Jérémie Aliadière from Arsenal to Celtic, Loan *5 July 2005 – Jose-Karl Pierre-Fanfan from

Paris Saint Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As ...

to Rangers, Free *6 July 2005 –

Mark Burchill Mark James Burchill (born 18 August 1980) is a Scottish former professional Association football, football player and coach. He played for Scottish clubs Celtic F.C., Celtic, Dundee F.C., Dundee, Heart of Midlothian F.C., Hearts, Dunfermline Ath ...

from Hearts to Dunfermline, Free *7 July 2005 –

Maciej Żurawski Maciej Stanisław Żurawski (; born 12 September 1976) is a Polish former professional footballer who played as a forward. Żurawski appeared 72 times and scored 17 goals for Poland, representing them at two World Cups and Euro 2008. He also ...

from

Wisła Kraków Towarzystwo Sportowe Wisła Kraków Spółka Akcyjna, commonly referred to as Wisła Kraków (), is a Polish professional football club based in Kraków. It currently competes in the I liga, the second level of Polish football league system. ...

to Celtic, £2m *7 July 2005 – Derek Stillie from Dunfermline to

, Undisclosed fee *7 July 2005 –

Barry Nicholson Barry Nicholson (born 24 August 1978) is a Scottish former professional footballer, who played as a midfielder. He is currently in charge of Fleetwood Town's development squad and also served as caretaker manager of the first team squad. He star ...

from Dunfermline to

, Undisclosed fee (reportedly £250,000) *8 July 2005 –

Federico Nieto Federico Gastón Nieto (born 26 August 1983) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a striker for Barcelona SC. Career Nieto was born in Buenos Aires. He previously played for Almagro, with a loan spell at Scottish club Ranger ...

from

Club Almagro Club Almagro is an Argentine sports club from José Ingenieros, Buenos Aires, although its headquarters are in the Almagro district. The football team currently plays in the Primera Nacional, the second division of the Argentine football league s ...

to Rangers, Loan *13 July 2005 –

Artur Boruc Artur Boruc (; born 20 February 1980) is a Polish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He began his career in the Polish third division with hometown club Pogoń Siedlce. He joined Ekstraklasa team Legia Warsaw in 1999 a ...

from

Legia Warszawa Legia Warszawa (), commonly referred to as Legia Warsaw or simply Legia, is a professional football club based in Warsaw, Poland. Legia is the most successful Polish football club in history, winning record 15 Ekstraklasa champions titles, a ...

to Celtic, Loan *14 July 2005 – Steve Lovell from Dundee to

, Undisclosed fee (reportedly £250,000) *19 July 2005 – Rudolf Skácel from

to Hearts, Loan *20 July 2005 –

Adam Virgo Adam John Virgo (born 25 January 1983) is a former professional footballer, who now works as a pundit and commentator. Playing career Early career From the age of seven Virgo played for the St. Aubyns Preparatory School football team. At 13 h ...

from Brighton to Celtic, £1.5m *21 July 2005 – Paul Telfer from

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

to Celtic, Undisclosed fee *25 July 2005 –

Edgaras Jankauskas Edgaras Jankauskas (born 12 March 1975) is a Lithuanian football manager and former professional player. A powerful forward during his playing career, Jankauskas excelled in the physical side of the game. Other than in his native Lithuania, he ...

from

FBK Kaunas Kauno futbolo ir beisbolo klubas, commonly known as FBK Kaunas, was a Lithuanian football club from the city of Kaunas. History Banga Kaunas (1960–1993) Originally the team was founded in 1960 as Banga Kaunas and played its first three years ...

to Hearts, Loan *29 July 2005 –

Shunsuke Nakamura is a Japanese former professional footballer. He is the only person to have been named J.League Most Valuable Player more than once, receiving the award in 2000 and 2013. Steve Perryman once remarked that Nakamura "could open a tin of beans wi ...

from

Reggina Reggina 1914 S.r.l., commonly referred to as Reggina, is an Italian football club based in Reggio Calabria. Founded in 1914, they currently play in Serie B, and play their home matches at the 27,763 seater Stadio Oreste Granillo. They are n ...

to Celtic, £2.5m *4 August 2005 – Julien Rodriguez from

AS Monaco Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club SA, commonly referred to as AS Monaco () or Monaco, is a professional football club based in Monaco that is member of French Football Federation (FFF) and competes in Ligue 1, the top tier of Frenc ...

to Rangers, £1m *12 August 2005 – David Fernández from Celtic to

, Free *30 August 2005 –

Sotirios Kyrgiakos Sotirios Kyrgiakos ( el, Σωτήριος Κυργιάκος, born 23 July 1979) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a central defender. Club career Kyrgiakos made his first football steps with a local team, Thyella Megaloc ...

from Panathinaikos to Rangers, Free *31 August 2005 –

Maurice Ross Maurice Alexander Ross (born 3 February 1981) is a Scottish football player and coach, who was manager of Cowdenbeath. Ross made his first senior appearance in professional football in February 2000 and played for eleven different clubs: Ra ...

from Rangers to

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...

, season Loan *31 August 2005 –

Zurab Khizanishvili Zurab Khizanishvili ( ka, ზურაბ ხიზანიშვილი; born 6 October 1981) is a Georgian football coach, currently the assistant manager of Georgia U-21, and former footballer who played as a defender. Club career Early ...

from Rangers to

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

, season Loan *31 August 2005 –

Francis Jeffers Francis Jeffers (born 25 January 1981) is an English football coach and former player, who is a first-team coach at Oldham Athletic. Jeffers started his career at his boyhood club Everton, making his debut in 1997 as a 16 year old. After scori ...

from

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in ...

to Rangers, six-month Loan *31 August 2005 –

Samuel Almeida Camazzola Samuel Camazzola (born 30 August 1982 in Caxias do Sul) is a former Brazilian professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He played 71 Série A games for Esporte Clube Juventude. Career Camazzola began his career with Juventude an ...

from Juventude to Hearts, season Loan *31 August 2005 – Du Wei from

Shanghai Shenhua Shanghai Shenhua F.C. () is a Chinese professional football club that participates in the Chinese Super League under license from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The term ''shen hua'' literally translates as "the Flower of Shanghai" in ...

to Celtic, Loan *31 August 2005 –

Michael Ball Michael Ashley Ball (born 27 June 1962) is an English singer, presenter and actor. He made his West End debut in 1985 playing Marius Pontmercy in the original London production of ''Les Misérables'', and went on to star in 1987 as Raoul in ...

from Rangers to

PSV Eindhoven Philips Sport Vereniging (; en, Philips Sports Association ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional football department, w ...

, Free *31 August 2005 – Filippo Maniero from

Torino Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...

to Rangers, Free *1 September 2005 – Olivier Bernard from

to Rangers, Free

2006

*1 January 2006 –

Kris Boyd Kris Boyd (born 18 August 1983) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a forward. Boyd grew up in the South Ayrshire village of Tarbolton and started his senior career with Kilmarnock. He transferred to Rangers in Januar ...

from Kilmarnock to Rangers, Undisclosed fee (reportedly £400,000) *1 January 2006 – Roy Keane from Manchester United to Celtic, Free *3 January 2006 –

Wes Hoolahan Wesley Patrick Hoolahan (born 20 May 1982) is an Irish professional footballer who most recently played as an attacking midfielder for League One club Cambridge United. Hoolahan began his playing career with Shelbourne and has previously playe ...

from Shelbourne to Livingston, £100,000 *5 January 2006 –

Chris Sutton Christopher Roy Sutton (born 10 March 1973) is an English former professional football player and manager. He later became a pundit and commentator for BT Sport, regularly working on their coverage of Scottish football. He is now also a pundi ...

from Celtic to

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Sin ...

, Free *10 January 2006 – Steven Thompson from Rangers to Cardiff City, Undisclosed fee (reportedly £250,000) *10 January 2006 –

Darryl Duffy Darryl Alexander Duffy (born 16 April 1984) is a Scottish footballer who plays as a striker for Stranraer. He began playing professionally in 2003 and has played for sixteen different teams across a number of countries. He played for Scotlan ...

from Falkirk to

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...

, Undisclosed fee *11 January 2006 – Steven Hislop from Gillingham to Livingston, Undisclosed fee (reportedly Nominal) *11 January 2006 – Lee Johnson from

Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to: * Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset * Yeovil Town L.F.C. Bridgwater United Women's Football Club are an English women's association football club based in Bridgwater, Somerset who wer ...

to Hearts, Nominal fee *13 January 2006 – Nerijus Barasa from

to Hearts, six-month Loan *16 January 2006 – Mark Wilson from

to Celtic, Undisclosed fee (reportedly £500,000) *17 January 2006 –

Neil McCann Neil Doherty McCann (born 11 August 1974) is a Scottish football manager, pundit and former professional player who played as a left winger. His most recent role in football was a stint as the caretaker manager of Inverness Caledonian Thistle. ...

from

to Hearts, Free *24 January 2006 – Chris Hackett from

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and t ...

to Hearts, £20,000 *26 January 2006 –

Chris Killen Christopher John Killen (born 8 October 1981) is a former New Zealand international footballer. Killen grew up in Wellington and played his club football for Miramar Rangers. After a trial with Manchester City, he joined City's youth academy. ...

from

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic be ...

to Hibernian, Free *26 January 2006 – Neil MacFarlane from Hearts to

, Free *27 January 2006 – Scott Muirhead from

to Dunfermline, Free *27 January 2006 – Andy Campbell from Cardiff City to Dunfermline, Free *27 January 2006 – Stephen Simmons from Hearts to Dunfermline, Free *30 January 2006 –

Dion Dublin Dion Dublin (born 22 April 1969) is an English former professional footballer, television presenter and pundit. He is a club director of Cambridge United. As a player he was a centre-forward, notably playing in the Premier League for Mancheste ...

from

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

to Celtic, Free *31 January 2006 – José Gonçalves from

to Hearts, Loan *31 January 2006 –

Juho Mäkelä Juho Mäkelä (born 23 June 1983) is a Finnish footballer who plays as a striker. He is especially known for his pace. Club career Early career Mäkelä started his career with Tervarit in his home-town, before moving to Veikkausliiga club H ...

from

HJK Helsinki Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi (), commonly known as HJK Helsinki, or simply as HJK, is a professional football club based in Helsinki, Finland. The club competes in the Finnish Veikkausliiga. Founded in 1907, the club has spent most of its history i ...

to Hearts, Free *31 January 2006 – Bruno Aguiar from

to Hearts, Loan *31 January 2006 –

Mirsad Bešlija Mirsad Bešlija (born 6 July 1979) is a Bosnian retired professional footballer who played as a right winger. He has most notably played for Željezničar, Genk, Heart of Midlothian and the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. Club career B ...

from

Racing Genk Koninklijke Racing Club Genk (), commonly known as KRC Genk, Racing Genk or simply Genk, is a Belgium, Belgian professional association football, football club based in the city of Genk in Limburg (Belgium), Belgian Limburg. Racing Genk plays ...

to Hearts, £850,000 *31 January 2006 – Lindsay Wilson from

to Kilmarnock, Loan *31 January 2006 –

Paul Dalglish Paul Kenneth Dalglish (born 18 February 1977) is a Scottish former professional footballer. Playing career Dalglish, son of former Scotland international Kenny Dalglish, was born in Glasgow though spent his childhood in the city where his fa ...

from Livingston to Hibernian, Nominal fee *31 January 2006 – Luděk Stracený from

to Hearts, Loan *31 January 2006 – Martin Petráš from

to Hearts, Loan *31 January 2006 –

Ferne Snoyl Ferne Dean Snoyl (born 8 March 1985) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a left-back. Club career Snoyl started his professional career with Feyenoord, where he was considered a talented player but with disciplinary issues. ...

from

Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club (association football), football club in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the club changed to various names bef ...

, Loan *8 March 2006 –

Garry O'Connor Garry Lawrence John O'Connor (born 7 May 1983) is a Scottish former professional footballer. He played for Hibernian, Peterhead, Lokomotiv Moscow, Barnsley, Tom Tomsk, Birmingham City, Greenock Morton and represented Scotland. O'Connor beg ...

from Hibernian to

Lokomotiv Moscow FC Lokomotiv Moscow (''FC Lokomotiv Moskva'', russian: link=no, Футбольный клуб "Локомотив" Москва, ) is a Russian professional football club based in Moscow. Lokomotiv have won the Russian Premier League on three oc ...

, £1.6m

League competitions

Scottish Premier League

The Scottish Premier League 2005–06 season finished in May 2006 with Celtic as champions. Livingston were relegated to the First Division and First Division winners St Mirren were promoted. For the first time in 11 years, when Celtic finished fourth behind Rangers, Motherwell and Hibernian, the

Old Firm The Old Firm is the collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are by far the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply em ...

were separated with Rangers finishing third behind Hearts.

was the top scorer with 32 goals (15 for Kilmarnock and 17 for Rangers). Attendances went up to 3.7 million, the highest figure in top-flight Scottish football since the 1960s.

Scottish First Division

Scottish Second Division

Scottish Third Division

Other honours

Cup honours

Hearts became the first non-

club to win the Scottish Cup since they themselves lifted the trophy in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

. Second Division side Gretna became the first club in history from the third-tier of Scottish football to reach the final. Celtic meanwhile lifted the League Cup in what was manager

's first trophy as manager. St Mirren were winners of the Challenge Cup in a season that would eventually see them promoted to the SPL. Auchinleck Talbot lifted the Junior Cup.

Non-league honours

Senior honours

Junior honours

Individual honours

SPFA awards

SFWA awards

Scottish clubs in Europe

Summary

Average coefficient �
4.250
/small>

Rangers

Celtic

Hibernian

Dundee United

Scotland national team

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

failed in their attempt to qualify for the

2006 World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...

, eventually finishing third in their group. However, significant improvement was shown in results with just two defeats from nine matches, compared with four defeats from nine during the previous season. Wins against

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnistr ...

and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

and a draw at home to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

had raised hopes that Scotland could gain second place behind Italy and therefore enter the play-offs. However a 1–0 defeat at home to

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

ended their hopes of qualification. They finished the season strongly, however, with a victory over

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

and also lifted the

Kirin Cup The is an association football tournament organised in Japan by the Kirin Brewery Company. The host, Japan, is a participant in every edition. The tournament was founded in 1978 then known as Japan Cup (International competition which nationa ...

— beating

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

and drawing with hosts Japan. ;Key * (A) = Away match * (H) = Home match * WCQ5 = World Cup Qualifying – Group 5

Deaths

*14 July: Matt Patrick, 86, Cowdenbeath forward. *30 August: John Brown, 90, Clyde and Scotland goalkeeper. *25 November:

George Best George Best (22 May 1946 – 25 November 2005) was a Northern Irish professional footballer who played as a winger, spending most of his club career at Manchester United. A highly skilful dribbler, Best is regarded as one of the greatest p ...

, 59, Hibs winger. *30 December: Fred "Jock" Smith, 79, Aberdeen and Montrose inside forward. *17 January: Wallace Mercer, 59, Hearts chairman. *10 February: John Prentice, 79, Scotland manager. *13 March:

, 61, Celtic (

Lisbon Lions The Lisbon Lions is the nickname given to the Celtic F.C., Celtic team that won the UEFA Champions League, European Cup at the Estádio Nacional in Lisbon, Portugal on 25 May 1967 European Cup Final, 1967, defeating Inter Milan 2–1. The name i ...

) and Scotland winger. *3 April:

Ewan Fenton Alexander Ewan Fenton, more commonly known as Ewan Fenton (17 November 1929 – 3 April 2006) was a Scottish professional footballer. He spent thirteen seasons at Blackpool, with whom he was victorious in the famous FA Cup Final of 1953. Pl ...

, 76, Scottish defender for Blackpool *19 June: Hugh Baird, 76, Airdrie, Aberdeen and Scotland forward.

Notes

References

External links

Scottish Premier League official website

Scottish Football League official website

BBC Scottish Premier League portal

BBC Scottish Football League portal
{{DEFAULTSORT:2005-06 in Scottish football Seasons in Scottish football