The 2003–04 Scottish Premier League was won by Celtic.
| Season | 2003–04 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 8 August 2003 – 15 May 2004 |
| Champions | Celtic 3rd Premier League title 39th Scottish title |
| Champions League | Celtic Rangers |
| UEFA Cup | Heart of Midlothian Dunfermline |
| Intertoto Cup | Hibernian |
| Top goalscorer | Henrik Larsson (30) |
| Biggest home win | Celtic 6–0 Hibernian (27 December) |
| Biggest away win | Kilmarnock 0–5 Celtic (1 November) |
| Highest attendance | 59,739 – Celtic v Dunfermline (2 May) |
| Lowest attendance | 2,677 – Livingston v Kilmarnock (7 April) |
← 2002–03 2004–05 → | |
As league champions, Celtic qualified for the UEFA Champions League group stage, with runners-up Rangers also qualifying to the third qualifying round. Third-placed Hearts qualified for the UEFA Cup, as did Dunfermline Athletic, who took the Scottish Cup place despite losing the final to Celtic.
During the season, Celtic set a Scottish record of 25 successive wins.[1]
Partick Thistle were relegated, and First Division winners Inverness Caledonian Thistle were promoted.
Celtic's Henrik Larsson was the top scorer with 30 goals.
Teams
editPromotion and relegation from 2002–03
editMotherwell finished bottom of the 2002–03 Scottish Premier League but were spared relegation, as 2002–03 Scottish First Division champions Falkirk were denied promotion due to their lack of an appropriate stadium for the Scottish Premier League.
Stadia and locations
edit| Aberdeen | Celtic | Dundee | Dundee United |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pittodrie Stadium | Celtic Park | Dens Park | Tannadice Park |
| Capacity: 20,866[2] | Capacity: 60,411[3] | Capacity: 11,506[4] | Capacity: 14,223[5] |
|
|
|
|
| Dunfermline Athletic |  Location of teams in 2003–04 Scottish Premier League
|
Heart of Midlothian | |
| East End Park | Tynecastle Park | ||
| Capacity: 12,509[6] | Capacity: 17,420[7] | ||
|
| ||
| Hibernian | Kilmarnock | ||
| Easter Road | Rugby Park | ||
| Capacity: 16,531[8] | Capacity: 17,889[9] | ||
|
| ||
| Livingston | Motherwell | Partick Thistle | Rangers |
| Almondvale Stadium | Fir Park | Firhill Stadium | Ibrox Stadium |
| Capacity: 10,016[10] | Capacity: 13,677[11] | Capacity: 13,300[12] | Capacity: 50,817[13] |
|
|
|
|
Personnel
editManagerial changes
edit| Team | Outgoing manager | Date of vacancy | Manner of departure | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Partick Thistle |  John Lambie
|
24 May 2003 | Retired | Pre-season | Gerry Collins
|
25 May 2003 |
| Livingston | Jim Leishman
|
4 June 2003 | Resigned |  Márcio Máximo
|
4 June 2003 | |
| Livingston | Márcio Máximo
|
14 October 2003 | Resigned | 8th | David Hay
|
15 October 2003 |
| Partick Thistle | Gerry Collins
|
30 November 2003 | Sacked | 12th | Gerry Britton Derek Whyte (co-managers)
|
30 November 2003 (interim) 23 December 2003 (permanent) |
| Hibernian | Bobby Williamson
|
20 April 2004 | Signed by Plymouth Argyle | 7th |  Tony Mowbray
|
24 May 2004 |
League table
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation[a] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Celtic (C) | 38 | 31 | 5 | 2 | 105 | 25 | +80 | 98 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Rangers | 38 | 25 | 6 | 7 | 76 | 33 | +43 | 81 | Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round |
| 3 | Heart of Midlothian | 38 | 19 | 11 | 8 | 56 | 40 | +16 | 68 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round[b] |
| 4 | Dunfermline Athletic | 38 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 45 | 52 | −7 | 53 | |
| 5 | Dundee United | 38 | 13 | 10 | 15 | 47 | 60 | −13 | 49 | |
| 6 | Motherwell | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 42 | 49 | −7 | 46 | |
| 7 | Dundee | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 48 | 57 | −9 | 46 | |
| 8 | Hibernian | 38 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 41 | 60 | −19 | 44 | Qualification for the UEFA Intertoto Cup second round[c] |
| 9 | Livingston | 38 | 10 | 13 | 15 | 48 | 57 | −9 | 43 | |
| 10 | Kilmarnock | 38 | 12 | 6 | 20 | 51 | 74 | −23 | 42 | |
| 11 | Aberdeen | 38 | 9 | 7 | 22 | 39 | 63 | −24 | 34 | |
| 12 | Partick Thistle (R) | 38 | 6 | 8 | 24 | 39 | 67 | −28 | 26 | Relegation to the Scottish First Division |
Source: Scottish Professional Football League
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- ^ 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.
- ^ As Celtic, the 2003–04 Scottish Cup winners, qualified for the UEFA Champions League via their league position, the place in the UEFA Cup was passed onto Dunfermline Athletic, the cup runners-up.
- ^ Hibernian qualified for the 2004 UEFA Intertoto Cup as the highest placed team to apply to participate in the competition.
Results
editMatches 1–22
editDuring matches 1–22 each team played every other team twice (home and away).
Matches 23–33
editDuring matches 23–33 each team played every other team once (either at home or away).
Matches 34–38
editDuring matches 34–38 each team played every other team in their half of the table once.
Top scorers
edit| Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|
 Henrik Larsson |
Celtic | 30 |
| Chris Sutton |
Celtic | 19 |
 Nacho Novo |
Dundee | 19 |
| James Grady |
Partick Thistle | 15 |
| Kris Boyd |
Kilmarnock | 15 |
| Derek Riordan |
Hibernian | 15 |
| Stevie Crawford |
Dunfermline Athletic | 13 |
 Mark de Vries |
Hearts | 13 |
| Derek Lilley |
Livingston | 12 |
 Shota Arveladze |
Rangers | 12 |
| David Clarkson |
Motherwell | 11 |
| Alan Thompson |
Celtic | 11 |
Source: SPL official website
Attendances
editThe average attendances for SPL clubs during the 2003/04 season are shown below:
| Team | Average |
|---|---|
| Celtic | 57,657 |
| Rangers | 48,992 |
| Hearts | 11,947 |
| Aberdeen | 10,389 |
| Hibernian | 9,137 |
| Dundee United | 7,785 |
| Dundee | 7,089 |
| Kilmarnock | 6,966 |
| Dunfermline Athletic | 6,235 |
| Motherwell | 6,225 |
| Livingston | 5,116 |
| Partick Thistle | 4,710 |
Source: SPL official website
Monthly awards
edit| Month | Manager | Player | Young Player |
|---|---|---|---|
| August | Alex McLeish (Rangers)
|
Michael Ball (Rangers)
|
Mikel Arteta (Rangers)
|
| September | Alex McLeish (Rangers)
|
 Shota Arveladze (Rangers)
|
Zurab Khizanishvili (Rangers)
|
| October |  Martin O'Neill (Celtic)
|
Roddy McKenzie (Livingston)
|
 Liam Miller (Celtic)
|
| November | Martin O'Neill (Celtic)
|
Chris Sutton (Celtic)
|
Stephen Hughes (Rangers)
|
| December | Steve Paterson (Aberdeen)
|
Craig Brewster (Dunfermline Athletic)
|
Craig Gordon (Hearts)
|
| January | Jim Duffy (Dundee)
|
 Stilian Petrov (Celtic)
|
David Clarkson (Motherwell)
|
| February | Terry Butcher (Motherwell)
|
Steven Pressley (Hearts)
|
Alexander Diamond (Aberdeen)
|
| March | Ian McCall (Dundee United)
|
Neil Lennon (Celtic)
|
David Marshall (Celtic)
|
| April | Jimmy Calderwood (Dunfermline Athletic)
|
Barry Nicholson (Dunfermline Athletic)
|
Derek Riordan (Hibernian)
|
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Celtic tipped to break 2004 25-game winning streak by Mjallby". The Daily Record. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
- ^ "Aberdeen Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
- ^ "Celtic Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
- ^ "Dundee Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
- ^ "Dundee United Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
- ^ "Dunfermline Athletic Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
- ^ "Heart of Midlothian Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
- ^ "Hibernian Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
- ^ "Kilmarnock Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
- ^ "Livingston Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
- ^ "Motherwell Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
- ^ "Partick Thistle Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
- ^ "Rangers Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
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