2004–05 Scottish Premier League

99th season of top-tier football league in Scotland March 2026 Scottish Premier League 2004–05 6 August 2004 – 21 May 2005 Rangers 4th Premier League title 51st Scottish title Dundee Champions League Rangers Celtic UEFA Cup HibernianDundee United Intertoto Cup None John Hartson (25) 228 595 Celtic 6–0 Dunfermline (12 March) Livingston 0–4 Celtic (13 April) 2003–04 2005–06 The 2004–05 Scottish Premier League was won by Rangers, who claimed the title on the final day of the season by a single point from Celtic, who had gone into the final fixtures leading and were still ahead in the closing minutes of their last game against Motherwell until they conceded two goals (both scored by striker Scott McDonald),Motherwell 2-1 Celtic, BBC Sport, 22 May 2005 costing them the title with Rangers winning their match against Hibernian in Edinburgh.Hibernian 0-1 Rangers, BBC Sport, 21 May 2005 The dramatic events became known in popular culture as 'Helicopter Sunday' due to the aircraft ceremonially delivering the championship trophy changing direction in mid-flight as the identity of its winners altered suddenly.Helicopter Sunday: Rangers' last-gasp triumph, 15 years on, BBC Sport, 21 May 2020 As league champions, Rangers qualified for the UEFA Champions League group stage, with runners-up Celtic also qualifying to the third qualifying round. Third-placed Hibernian qualified for the UEFA Cup, as did Dundee United, who took the Scottish Cup place despite losing the final to Celtic. Dundee were relegated, and Scottish First Division winners Falkirk were promoted. John Hartson was the top scorer with 25 goals for Celtic, whose manager Martin O'Neill stepped down at the end of the season after five years and a host of major trophies. Teams Promotion and relegation from 2003–04 Promoted from First Division to Premier League Inverness Caledonian Thistle Relegated from Premier League to First Division Partick Thistle Stadia and locations Aberdeen Celtic Dundee Dundee United Pittodrie Stadium Celtic Park Dens Park Tannadice Park Capacity: 20,866http://spfl.co.uk/clubs/aberdeen/ Aberdeen Football Club Scottish Professional Football League 11 November 2013 Capacity: 60,411http://spfl.co.uk/clubs/celtic/ Celtic Football Club Scottish Professional Football League 11 November 2013 Capacity: 11,506http://spfl.co.uk/clubs/dundee/ Dundee Football Club Scottish Professional Football League 11 November 2013 Capacity: 14,223http://spfl.co.uk/clubs/dundee-united/ Dundee United Football Club Scottish Professional Football League 11 November 2013 200px 200px 200px 200px Dunfermline AthleticUK Scotland 400 center Location of teams in 2004–05 Scottish Premier League UK Scotland 6 57.159387 -2.088979 Aberdeen left UK Scotland 6 56.495264 -2.973194 Dundee left UK Scotland 6 56.474765 -2.968894 Dundee United right UK Scotland 6 56.075308 -3.441906 Dunfermline Athletic left UK Scotland 6 55.939167 -3.232222 Hearts left UK Scotland 6 55.961667 -3.165556 Hibernian right UK Scotland 6 57.494976 -4.217345 Inverness Caledonian Thistle left UK Scotland 6 55.604321 -4.508300 Kilmarnock left UK Scotland 6 55.886167 -3.522872 Livingston right UK Scotland 6 55.853207 -4.309243 Rangers left UK Scotland 6 55.849705 -4.205414 UK Scotland 6 55.780279 -3.980205 UK Scotland TransparentPlaceholder.png 55.88 -4.28 Celtic top UK Scotland TransparentPlaceholder.png 55.75 -3.40 Motherwell bottom Heart of Midlothian East End Park Tynecastle Park Capacity: 12,509http://spfl.co.uk/clubs/dunfermline-athletic/ Dunfermline Athletic Football Club Scottish Professional Football League 11 November 2013 Capacity: 17,420http://spfl.co.uk/clubs/hearts/ Heart of Midlothian Football Club Scottish Professional Football League 11 November 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20131022121754/http://spfl.co.uk/clubs/hearts/ 2013-10-22 dead 200px 200px Hibernian Inverness Caledonian Thistle Easter Road Caledonian StadiumInverness played their first eleven home fixtures at Pittodrie Stadium, while the Caledonian Stadium was expanded. Capacity: 16,531http://spfl.co.uk/clubs/hibernian/ Hibernian Football Club Scottish Professional Football League 11 November 2013 Capacity: 7,500http://spfl.co.uk/clubs/inverness/ Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club Scottish Professional Football League 11 November 2013 April 2019 InternetArchiveBot yes 200px 200px Kilmarnock Livingston Motherwell Rangers Rugby Park Almondvale Stadium Fir Park Ibrox Stadium Capacity: 17,889http://spfl.co.uk/clubs/kilmarnock/ Kilmarnock Football Club Scottish Professional Football League 11 November 2013 Capacity: 10,016http://spfl.co.uk/clubs/livingston/ Livingston Football Club Scottish Professional Football League 11 November 2013 Capacity: 13,677http://spfl.co.uk/clubs/motherwell/ Motherwell Football Club Scottish Professional Football League 11 November 2013 Capacity: 50,817http://spfl.co.uk/clubs/rangers/ Rangers Football Club Scottish Professional Football League 4 November 2015 200px 200px 200px 200px Personnel Team Manager Aberdeen Scotland Jimmy Calderwood Celtic Northern Ireland Martin O'Neill Dundee Scotland Jim Duffy Dundee UnitedScotland Gordon Chisholm Dunfermline AthleticScotland Jim Leishman Heart of MidlothianScotland Steven PressleyScotland John McGlynn (joint caretakers) HibernianEngland Tony Mowbray Inverness Caledonian ThistleScotland Craig Brewster KilmarnockScotland Jim Jefferies LivingstonScotland Richard Gough MotherwellEngland Terry Butcher RangersScotland Alex McLeish Managerial changes Team Outgoing manager Date of vacancy Manner of departure Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment Aberdeen Scotland Steve Paterson24 May 2004SackedPre-seasonScotland Jimmy Calderwood28 May 2004 Dunfermline AthleticScotland Jimmy Calderwood28 May 2004Signed by AberdeenScotland David Hay17 June 2004 LivingstonScotland David Hay1 June 2004Contract ExpiredScotland Allan Preston4 June 2004 Heart of MidlothianScotland Craig Levein29 October 2004Signed by Leicester City6thScotland John Robertson3 November 2004 Inverness Caledonian ThistleScotland John Robertson3 November 2004Signed by Heart of Midlothian9thScotland Craig Brewster25 November 2004 LivingstonScotland Allan Preston25 November 2004Sacked12thScotland Richard Gough30 November 2004 Dundee UnitedScotland Ian McCall14 March 2005Scotland Gordon Chisholm14 March 2005 (interim)14 May 2005 (permanent) Dunfermline AthleticScotland David Hay3 May 2005Scotland Jim Leishman3 May 2005 Heart of MidlothianScotland John Robertson9 May 20055thScotland Steven PressleyScotland John McGlynn (joint caretakers)11 May 2005 League table main WDL complete Scottish Professional Football League RAN CEL HIB ABE HOM MOT KIL INV DNU LIV DNF DND CL3Q CL2Q UC1 UC2Q REL 18 7 13 44 39 30 2 6 85 35 8 9 21 37 71 R 8 12 18 41 59 8 10 20 34 60 13 11 14 43 41 18 7 13 64 57 11 11 16 41 47 15 4 19 49 55 9 8 21 34 61 13 9 16 46 49 29 6 3 78 22 C Aberdeen Celtic Dundee Dundee United Dunfermline Athletic Heart of Midlothian Hibernian Inverness Caledonian Thistle Kilmarnock Livingston Motherwell Rangers yes Teams played each other three times (33 matches), before the league split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six) for the last five matches. 5 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored QR green1 Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round green2 Qualification for the Champions League second qualifying round blue1 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round blue2 Qualification for the UEFA Cup second qualifying round red1 Relegation to the Scottish First Division As Celtic, the 2004–05 Scottish Cup winners, qualified for the UEFA Champions League via their league position, the place in the UEFA Cup was passed onto Dundee United, the cup runners-up. Results Matches 1–22 During matches 1–22 each team played every other team twice (home and away). main FBR grey ABE CEL DND DUN DNF HOM HIB INV KIL LIV MOT RAN Aberdeen 0–1 1–1 1–0 2–1 0–1 0–1 0–0 3–2 2–0 2–1 0–0 Celtic 2–3 3–0 1–0 3–0 3–0 2–1 3–0 2–1 2–1 2–0 1–0 Dundee 1–0 2–2 1–0 1–2 0–1 1–4 3–1 3–1 0–0 1–2 0–2 Dundee United 1–1 0–3 1–2 1–2 1–1 1–4 2–1 3–0 1–0 0–1 1–1 Dunfermline Athletic 0–1 0–2 3–1 1–1 1–0 1–1 1–1 4–1 0–0 1–1 1–2 Heart of Midlothian 0–0 0–2 3–0 3–2 3–0 2–1 1–0 3–0 0–0 0–1 0–0 Hibernian 2–1 2–2 4–4 2–0 2–1 1–1 2–1 0–1 2–1 1–0 0–1 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 1–3 1–3 2–1 1–1 2–0 1–1 1–2 0–2 2–0 1–1 1–1 Kilmarnock 0–1 2–4 3–1 5–2 1–0 1–1 3–1 2–2 1–3 2–0 0–1 Livingston 0–2 2–4 1–0 1–1 2–0 1–2 0–2 3–0 0–2 2–3 1–4 Motherwell 0–0 2–3 3–0 4–2 2–1 2–0 1–2 1–2 0–1 2–0 0–2 Rangers 5–0 2–0 3–0 1–1 3–0 3–2 4–1 1–0 2–0 4–0 4–1 complete Matches 23–33 During matches 23–33 each team played every other team once (either at home or away). main FBR grey ABE CEL DND DUN DNF HOM HIB INV KIL LIV MOT RAN Aberdeen null 1–1 null null null 3–0 null null 2–0 1–3 1–2 Celtic 3–2 3–0 null 6–0 0–2 null null null null 2–0 0–2 Dundee null null null 2–1 1–1 null null 1–0 0–1 2–1 0–2 Dundee United 1–2 2–3 2–2 null 2–1 null 1–1 null null null null Dunfermline Athletic 2–1 null null 1–1 1–1 1–4 null null null 0–0 0–1 Heart of Midlothian 1–0 null null null null 1–2 0–2 3–0 3–1 null 1–2 Hibernian null 1–3 4–0 3–2 null null null 3–0 0–3 null null Inverness Caledonian Thistle 0–1 0–2 3–2 null 2–0 null 3–0 null null 1–0 null Kilmarnock 0–1 0–1 null 3–0 2–1 null null 0–1 null null null Livingston null 0–4 null 0–2 1–1 null null 1–4 3–1 1–1 null Motherwell null null null 2–0 null 2–0 1–1 null 1–1 null 2–3 Rangers null null null 0–1 null null 3–0 1–1 2–1 3–0 null complete Matches 34–38 During matches 34–38 each team played every other team in their half of the table once. Top six main FBR grey ABE CEL HOM HIB MOT RAN Aberdeen null 2–0 null null 1–3 Celtic 2–0 null 1–3 null null Heart of Midlothian null 1–2 null 0–0 null Hibernian 1–2 null 2–2 null 0–1 Motherwell 0–1 2–1 null 2–2 null Rangers null 1–2 2–1 null 4–1 complete Bottom six main FBR grey DND DUN DNF INV KIL LIV Dundee 1–2 null 1–1 null null Dundee United null 0–1 null 1–1 1–1 Dunfermline Athletic 5–0 null 0–0 null null Inverness Caledonian Thistle null 0–1 null 1–2 0–1 Kilmarnock 1–0 null 4–0 null 2–0 Livingston 1–1 null 2–0 null null complete Top scorers ScorerClubGoalsWales John HartsonCeltic25Scotland Derek RiordanHibernian20Spain Nacho NovoRangers19Croatia Dado PršoRangers18Scotland Kris BoydKilmarnock17Australia Scott McDonaldMotherwell15Scotland Garry O'ConnorHibernian14England Steve LovellDundee12England Chris SuttonCeltic12Scotland Darren MackieAberdeen12Bulgaria Stiliyan PetrovCeltic11Scotland Paul HartleyHearts11 Source: SPL official website Attendances The average attendances for SPL clubs during the 2004–05 season are shown below: TeamAverageCeltic57,906Rangers48,676Aberdeen13,576Hibernian12,541Hearts12,219Dundee United8,210Motherwell6,960Dundee6,879Dunfermline Athletic6,192Kilmarnock5,930Livingston5,157Inverness CT4,067 Source: SPL official website Awards Monthly awards Scottish Premier League monthly awards MonthManagerPlayerYoung PlayerAugustScotland Jimmy Calderwood (Aberdeen)England Alan Thompson (Celtic)Scotland Alexander Diamond (Aberdeen)SeptemberEngland Terry Butcher (Motherwell)Australia Scott McDonald (Motherwell)Scotland Derek Riordan (Hibernian)OctoberScotland John Robertson (Inverness CT)Netherlands Fernando Ricksen (Rangers)Scotland Steven Fletcher (Hibernian)NovemberScotland Alex McLeish (Rangers)Spain Nacho Novo (Rangers)Scotland Derek Riordan (Hibernian)DecemberEngland Tony Mowbray (Hibernian)Ireland Aiden McGeady (Celtic)Scotland Derek Riordan (Hibernian)JanuaryNorthern Ireland Martin O'Neill (Celtic)England Chris Sutton (Celtic)Scotland Derek Riordan (Hibernian)FebruaryScotland Alex McLeish (Rangers)Croatia Dado Pršo (Rangers)Scotland Lee Miller (Hearts)MarchScotland Craig Brewster (Inverness CT)Wales Craig Bellamy (Celtic)Ireland Aiden McGeady (Celtic)AprilScotland Gordon Chisholm (Dundee United)South Africa Burton O'Brien (Livingston)Scotland Lee Miller (Hearts)MayEngland Tony Mowbray (Hibernian)Croatia Dado Pršo (Rangers)Scotland Derek Riordan (Hibernian) Annual awards Player awards AwardWinnerClubPFA Players' Player of the Year (joint winners)NED Fernando RicksenRangersWAL John HartsonCelticPFA Young Player of the YearSCO Derek RiordanHibernianSFWA Footballer of the YearWAL John HartsonCelticSFWA Young Player of the YearSCO Derek RiordanHibernian Manager awards AwardWinnerClubSFWA Manager of the YearENG Tony MowbrayHibernian References Category:Scottish Premier League seasons 1 Scot