1994–95 Scottish Premier Division

The 1994–95 Scottish Premier Division season began on 13 August 1994; it was the first season of the new ten team league format, and also the first season using the rule of awarding three points for a win.

Scottish Premier Division
Season1994–95
Dates13 August 1994 – 13 May 1995
ChampionsRangers
10th Premier Division title
45th Scottish title
RelegatedDundee United
Champions LeagueRangers
UEFA CupMotherwell
Raith Rovers
Cup Winners' CupCeltic
Goals scored453
Average goals/game2.52
Top goalscorerTommy Coyne (16)
Biggest home winHibernian 5–0 Dundee United (13 August)
Dundee United 6–1 Motherwell (21 January)
Biggest away winDundee United 0–3 Rangers (4 December)

Overview

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The 1994–95 Scottish Premier Division season ended in success for Rangers who won the title by fifteen points from nearest rivals Motherwell to clinch seven titles in a row. Dundee United were relegated to the First Division after finishing bottom with Aberdeen surviving a relegation playoff against Dunfermline Athletic. As champions, Rangers qualified for the Champions League while Motherwell were joined by League Cup winners Raith Rovers in qualifying for the UEFA Cup. Fourth-placed Celtic qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup as Scottish Cup winners.[1]

The season began on 13 August with the first goal of the season scored by Hibernian's Billy Findlay as they won 5–0 at home to Dundee United. The regular league season ended on 13 May, with the relegation/promotion play-off following on the 21st and 25th.

Clubs

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Promotion and relegation from 1993–94

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Promoted from First Division to Premier League

Relegated from Premier Division to First Division

Stadia and locations

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Location of clubs in the 1994–95 Scottish Premier Division
Team Location Stadium
Aberdeen Aberdeen Pittodrie Stadium
Celtic Parkhead, Glasgow Hampden Park[2]
Dundee United Dundee Tannadice Park
Falkirk Falkirk Brockville Park
Heart of Midlothian Gorgie, Edinburgh Tynecastle Park
Hibernian Leith, Edinburgh Easter Road
Kilmarnock Kilmarnock Rugby Park
Motherwell Motherwell Fir Park
Partick Thistle Maryhill, Glasgow Firhill Stadium
Rangers Ibrox, Glasgow Ibrox Park

Managers

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Team Manager
Aberdeen   Roy Aitken
Celtic   Tommy Burns
Dundee United   Billy Kirkwood
Falkirk   Jim Jefferies
Heart of Midlothian   Tommy McLean
Hibernian   Alex Miller
Kilmarnock   Alex Totten
Motherwell   Alex McLeish
Partick Thistle   John Lambie
Rangers   Walter Smith

Managerial changes

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Team Outgoing manager Date of vacancy Manner of departure Incoming manager Date of appointment
Motherwell   Tommy McLean 11 June 1994[3] Resigned   Alex McLeish 11 June 1994
Celtic   Lou Macari 16 June 1994[4] Sacked   Tommy Burns 12 July 1994[5]
Heart of Midlothian   Sandy Clark 20 June 1994[6] Sacked   Tommy McLean 1 July 1994
Kilmarnock   Tommy Burns 12 July 1994[5] Signed by Celtic   Alex Totten July 1994
Aberdeen   Willie Miller 6 February 1995[7] Sacked   Roy Aitken 6 February 1995[7]
Dundee United   Ivan Golac 14 March 1995 Sacked   Billy Kirkwood 28 March 1995[8]

League table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Rangers (C) 36 20 9 7 60 35 +25 69 Qualification for the Champions League qualifying round
2 Motherwell 36 14 12 10 50 50 0 54 Qualification for the UEFA Cup preliminary round
3 Hibernian 36 12 17 7 49 37 +12 53
4 Celtic 36 11 18 7 39 33 +6 51 Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round[a]
5 Falkirk 36 12 12 12 48 47 +1 48
6 Heart of Midlothian 36 12 7 17 44 51 −7 43
7 Kilmarnock 36 11 10 15 40 48 −8 43
8 Partick Thistle 36 10 13 13 40 50 −10 43 Qualification for the Intertoto Cup group stage[b]
9 Aberdeen (O) 36 10 11 15 43 46 −3 41 Qualification for the Play-off
10 Dundee United (R) 36 9 9 18 40 56 −16 36 Relegation to the 1995–96 Scottish First Division
Updated to match(es) played on end of season. Source: Soccerbase
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ Celtic qualified for the 1995–96 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup by winning the 1994–95 Scottish Cup.
  2. ^ Partick Thistle qualified for the 1995 UEFA Intertoto Cup as the highest ranked Scottish club to apply for a place in the competition.

Results

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Matches 1–18

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During matches 1-18 each team plays every other team twice (home and away).

Home \ Away ABE CEL DUN FAL HOM HIB KIL MOT PAR RAN
Aberdeen 0–0 3–0 2–2 3–1 0–0 0–1 1–3 1–1 2–2
Celtic 0–0 2–1 0–2 3–0 3–0 1–1 2–2 0–0 1–3
Dundee United 2–1 2–2 1–0 5–2 0–0 2–2 1–1 0–1 0–3
Falkirk 2–1 1–1 1–3 2–1 0–0 3–3 0–1 2–1 0–2
Heart of Midlothian 2–0 1–0 2–1 1–1 0–1 3–0 1–2 3–0 1–1
Hibernian 2–2 0–2 5–0 2–2 2–1 0–0 2–2 3–0 2–1
Kilmarnock 2–1 0–0 0–2 1–1 3–1 0–0 0–1 2–0 1–2
Motherwell 0–1 1–1 1–1 5–3 1–1 1–1 3–2 3–1 2–1
Partick Thistle 2–1 1–2 2–0 1–2 0–1 2–2 2–0 2–2 0–2
Rangers 1–0 0–2 2–0 1–1 3–0 2–0 2–0 2–1 3–0
Source: RSSSF
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Matches 19–36

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During matches 19-36 each team plays every other team a further two times (home and away).

Home \ Away ABE CEL DUN FAL HOM HIB KIL MOT PAR RAN
Aberdeen 2–0 2–1 0–0 3–1 0–0 0–1 0–2 3–1 2–0
Celtic 2–0 1–1 2–0 1–1 1–1 2–1 1–1 1–3 3–0
Dundee United 0–0 0–1 1–0 1–1 0–1 1–2 6–1 2–0 0–2
Falkirk 0–2 1–2 3–1 2–0 1–0 2–0 3–0 1–3 2–3
Heart of Midlothian 1–2 0–1 2–0 0–1 2–0 2–2 2–0 0–1 2–1
Hibernian 4–2 0–2 4–0 0–2 3–1 2–1 2–0 1–2 1–1
Kilmarnock 3–1 0–1 2–0 2–1 3–2 1–2 2–0 0–0 0–1
Motherwell 2–1 1–0 2–1 2–2 1–2 0–0 2–0 1–2 1–3
Partick Thistle 2–2 0–0 1–3 0–0 3–1 2–2 2–2 0–0 1–1
Rangers 3–2 1–1 1–1 2–2 1–0 3–1 3–0 0–2 1–1
Source: RSSSF
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Play-off

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A two leg play-off took place between the 9th placed team in the Premier Division (Aberdeen) and the runner-up of the First Division (Dunfermline Athletic). Aberdeen won both legs by 3 goals to 1, winning the tie 6–2 on aggregate, thus securing their place in the 1995–96 Scottish Premier Division.[9][10]

Top scorers

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Player Goals Team
  Tommy Coyne 16 Motherwell
  Billy Dodds 15 Aberdeen
  Mark Hateley 13 Rangers

Source:=https://www.rsssf.org/tabless/scot95.html RSSSF

References

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  1. ^ "Scottish Premier Division 1995/96". Soccerbot. Archived from the original on 14 May 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-04.
  2. ^ Celtic would spend the season groundsharing with Queen's Park at Hampden Park while renovation works were completed at Celtic Park.
  3. ^ "McLean loses patience with Motherwell". The Independent. 11 June 1994. Archived from the original on 2022-05-01. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  4. ^ "Celtic in surprise sacking of Macari". The Independent. 16 June 1994. Archived from the original on 2022-05-01. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  5. ^ a b "Anger as Celtic appoint Burns: Kilmarnock demand compensation for loss of manager". The Independent. 12 July 1994. Archived from the original on 2022-05-01. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  6. ^ "Clark seeks compensation after sacking by Hearts". The Herald. 21 June 1994. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  7. ^ a b "Aberdeen sack Miller". The Independent. 7 February 1995. Archived from the original on 2022-05-01. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  8. ^ Kelly, Pat (1998). Dundee United Who's Who. Edinburgh: John Donald. p. 191. ISBN 0-85976-502-4.
  9. ^ David McKinney (26 May 1995). "Aberdeen find form to preserve Premier status". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-05-01. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  10. ^ Haggerty, Tony (6 May 2015). "In pictures: The agony and ecstasy of Scottish football play-off drama". Daily Record. Retrieved 1 October 2018.

See also

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