The 2012–13 Scottish Premier League was the fifteenth and final season of the Scottish Premier League, the highest division of Scottish football, since its inception in 1998. The season began on 4 August 2012 and ended on 19 May 2013.
Twelve teams contested the league. Ross County (champions) and Dundee (runners-up) were promoted from the 2011–12 First Division, replacing Dunfermline (relegated) and Rangers (now in the Third Division). After the SPL clubs voted against the new Rangers company replacing the old Rangers company in the league, the club were accepted into the fourth tier, with Dundee taking their place in the SPL.
On 21 April, Celtic retained their title after a 4–1 home win against Inverness Caledonian Thistle at Celtic Park.
This was the final season of the Scottish Premier League before it was abolished in June 2013, when the SPL and SFL merged to form the new Scottish Professional Football League, with its top division being known as the Scottish Premiership.
Teams
Dunfermline were relegated from the 2011–12 Scottish Premier League. Ross County, who won the 2011–12 Scottish First Division, were promoted. The 2012–13 season marks the top-flight debut for the Highland team.
After failing to exit administration by an agreed CVA, Rangers was replaced with the term "Club 12" when the fixture list was published on 18 June 2012. The transfer of the club's membership share of the SPL to the new company that had bought Rangers was dependent on a vote by the remaining SPL clubs. Eight clubs publicly declared that they would oppose the membership transfer, which would mean that they could not play in the SPL. The vote took place on 4 July 2012, and Rangers were refused re-entry to the SPL by a 10-1 majority. Dundee, who had finished second in the 2011–12 Scottish First Division, were invited to replace Rangers.
Stadia and locations Team Stadium CapacityAberdeen F.C.Pittodrie 22,199Celtic F.C.Celtic Park 60,832Dundee UnitedTannadice Park 14,223Heart of Midlothian F.C.Tynecastle Stadium 17,420Hibernian F.C.Easter Road 20,241Inverness Caledonian ThistleCaledonian Stadium 7,800Kilmarnock F.C.Rugby Park 18,182Motherwell F.C.Fir Park 13,742Ross County F.C.Victoria Park 6,541St Johnstone F.C.McDiarmid Park 10,740St Mirren F.C.St Mirren Park 8,023Dundee F.C.Dens Park 11,500
Personnel and kits
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsorAberdeenAdidasTeam RecruitmentCelticNikeTennentsDundeePumaKilmac EnergyDundee UnitedNikeCalorHeart of MidlothianAdidasWonga.comHibernianPumaCrabbie'sInverness Caledonian ThistleErreàOrion GroupKilmarnockKillie 1869QTSMotherwellPumaCash ConvertersRoss CountyDiadoraStanley CRC Evans OffshoreSt JohnstoneJomaGS Brown ConstructionSt MirrenDiadoraDiadora
Managerial changes Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment Heart of Midlothian End of contract 7 June 2012 Pre-season 26 June 2012 Dundee United Mutual consent 28 January 2013 7th 30 January 2013 Dundee Mutual consent 20 February 2013 12th 23 February 2013 Heart of Midlothian Contract terminated 28 February 2013 11th 28 February 2013 Aberdeen Retired 14 March 2013 9th 25 March 2013
League reconstruction
SPL clubs voted on a proposed 12–12–18 league structure on 15 April 2013. Ten clubs voted in favour, while St Mirren and Ross County voted against; the proposal required the support of eleven clubs.
League table
Results
Matches 1–22 Teams play each other twice, once at home, once away
Matches 23–33 Teams play every other team once (either at home or away)
Matches 34–38 After 33 matches, the league splits into two sections of six teams each, with teams playing every other team in their section once (either at home or away). The exact matches are determined upon the league table at the time of the split.
Top six
Bottom six
Season statistics
Top scorers RankScorerTeamGoals1 Michael HigdonMotherwell262 Leigh GriffithsHibernian23 Billy McKayInverness CT234 Niall McGinnAberdeen205 Gary HooperCeltic196 Johnny RussellDundee United13 Steven ThompsonSt Mirren138 Andrew ShinnieInverness CT129 Kris CommonsCeltic11 Paul HeffernanKilmarnock11
Assists RankPlayerClubAssists1 Henrik OjamaaMotherwell162 Aaron DoranInverness CT123 Kris CommonsCeltic114 Jonny HayesAberdeen9 Iain VigursRoss County96 Chris HumphreyMotherwell8 Adam MatthewsCeltic8 Gary TealeSt Mirren89 Richie ForanInverness CT7 Gary HooperCeltic7 Nicky LawMotherwell7 Andrew ShinnieInverness CT7
Hat-tricks
Player For Against Result Date Motherwell Inverness CT 4–1 Kilmarnock Heart of Midlothian 3–1 Inverness CT Dundee United 4–4 Aberdeen Dundee 3–1 Dundee United Kilmarnock 3–2 Motherwell St Johnstone 3–2 Kilmarnock Heart of Midlothian 3–0 Inverness CT Motherwell 4–3
Scoring First goal of the season: Kris Commons for Celtic against Aberdeen (4 August 2012) Fastest goal of the season: 12 seconds, Kris Commons for Celtic against Aberdeen (16 March 2013) Latest goal of the season: 94 minutes, Georgios Samaras for Celtic against Aberdeen (16 March 2013) Largest winning margin: 5 goals St Mirren 0–5 Celtic (20 October 2012) Celtic 5–0 Dundee (24 February 2013) Highest scoring game: 9 goals St Mirren 5–4 Ross County (29 September 2012) Most goals scored in a match by a single team: 6 goals Celtic 6–2 Dundee United (16 February 2013) Most goals scored in a match by a losing team: 4 goals St Mirren 5–4 Ross County (29 September 2012)
Clean sheets Most clean sheets: 16 Celtic Fewest clean sheets: 5 Dundee
Discipline Most yellow cards (club): 76 Ross County Most yellow cards (player): 11 Iain Davidson (Dundee) James Fowler (Kilmarnock) Jim Goodwin (St Mirren) Most red cards (club): 6 Dundee Motherwell St Johnstone Most red cards (player): 2 Jim Goodwin (St Mirren) Owain Tudur Jones (Inverness CT) Rowan Vine (St Johnstone)
Awards
Monthly awards
Month Manager Player Young Player August Derek Adams (Ross County) Leigh Griffiths (Hibernian) Tony Watt (Celtic) September Steve Lomas (St Johnstone) Michael Higdon (Motherwell) Ryan Fraser (Aberdeen) October Craig Brown (Aberdeen) Niall McGinn (Aberdeen) Ryan Fraser (Aberdeen) November Terry Butcher (Inverness CT) Billy McKay (Inverness CT) Aaron Doran (Inverness CT) December Neil Lennon (Celtic) Jamie Murphy (Motherwell) Joe Shaughnessy (Aberdeen) January Derek Adams (Ross County) Gary Hooper (Celtic) Adam Matthews (Celtic) February Derek Adams (Ross County) Leigh Griffiths (Hibernian) Stuart Armstrong (Dundee United) March Stuart McCall (Motherwell) Nicky Law (Motherwell) Josh Meekings (Inverness CT) April John Brown (Dundee) Michael Higdon (Motherwell) Henrik Ojamaa (Motherwell) Annual awards Award Winner Club SPL Player of the Year Leigh Griffiths Hibernian SPL Young Player of the Year Victor Wanyama Celtic PFA Scotland Players' Player of the Year Michael Higdon Motherwell PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year Leigh Griffiths Hibernian PFA Scotland Team of the Year Goalkeeper Darren Randolph (Motherwell) Defence Adam Matthews (Celtic) Shaun Hutchinson (Motherwell) Kelvin Wilson (Celtic) Charlie Mulgrew (Celtic) Midfield Victor Wanyama (Celtic) Nicky Law (Motherwell) Andrew Shinnie (Inverness Caledonian Thistle) Forwards Niall McGinn (Aberdeen) Michael Higdon (Motherwell) Leigh Griffiths (Hibernian)
Attendances Source:
# Football club Average attendance 1 Celtic 46,917 2 Heart of Midlothian 13,163 3 Hibernian 10,489 4 Aberdeen 9,611 5 Dundee United 7,547 6 Dundee 5,958 7 Motherwell 5,362 8 Kilmarnock 4,647 9 Ross County 4,430 10 St. Mirren 4,389 11 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 4,038 12 St. Johnstone 3,712
See also Nine in a row
References
External links