1975–76 in Scottish football
The 1975–76 season was the 103rd season of competitive football in Scotland and the 79th season of Scottish league football. It was the first season in the new, three-tier setup. Division One was no longer the top division in Scottish football, although all three divisions are still part of the Scottish Football League. [1]
| 1975–76 in Scottish football | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Premier Division champions | |
| Rangers | |
| Division One champions | |
| Partick Thistle | |
| Division Two champions | |
| Clydebank | |
| Scottish Cup winners | |
| Rangers | |
| League Cup winners | |
| Rangers | |
| Spring Cup winners | |
| Airdrieonians | |
| Junior Cup winners | |
| Bo'ness United | |
| Teams in Europe | |
| Celtic, Dundee United, Hibernian, Rangers | |
| Scotland national team | |
| 1976 BHC, UEFA Euro 1976 qualifying |
The Premier Division champions succeeded the last Division One champions, and the new Division One champions are equivalent to the old Division Two champions. The new Division Two is a completely new competition, although it shares its name with the old Division Two.
Both Division One and Two now contained 14 teams, previously considered a difficult number to ensure a balanced schedule. A 26-game programme, with every team playing each other home and away, was considered too short, a 52-game programme (with each team playing each other home and away twice) too congested. A 39-game schedule would leave an imbalance with each side having two fixtures at home against some teams, and one against others. The Scottish Football League addressed the problem by opting for a 26-game calendar and introducing a supplementary competition, the Spring Cup, open only to teams from Divisions One and Two, to be played at the season's end. It was discontinued after a single season.
Scottish Premier Division
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rangers (C) | 36 | 23 | 8 | 5 | 60 | 24 | +36 | 54 | Qualification for the European Cup first round |
| 2 | Celtic | 36 | 21 | 6 | 9 | 71 | 42 | +29 | 48 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 3 | Hibernian | 36 | 18 | 7 | 11 | 55 | 43 | +12 | 43 | |
| 4 | Motherwell | 36 | 16 | 8 | 12 | 57 | 49 | +8 | 40 | |
| 5 | Heart of Midlothian | 36 | 13 | 9 | 14 | 39 | 45 | −6 | 35 | Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round |
| 6 | Ayr United | 36 | 14 | 5 | 17 | 46 | 59 | −13 | 33 | |
| 7 | Aberdeen | 36 | 11 | 10 | 15 | 49 | 50 | −1 | 32 | |
| 8 | Dundee United | 36 | 12 | 8 | 16 | 46 | 48 | −2 | 32 | |
| 9 | Dundee (R) | 36 | 11 | 10 | 15 | 49 | 62 | −13 | 32 | Relegation to the 1976–77 Scottish First Division |
| 10 | St Johnstone (R) | 36 | 3 | 5 | 28 | 29 | 79 | −50 | 11 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champion; (R) Relegated.
Champions: Rangers
Relegated: Dundee, St Johnstone
Scottish League Division One
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Partick Thistle (C, P) | 26 | 17 | 7 | 2 | 47 | 19 | +28 | 41 | Promotion to Premier Division |
| 2 | Kilmarnock (P) | 26 | 16 | 3 | 7 | 44 | 29 | +15 | 35 | |
| 3 | Montrose | 26 | 12 | 6 | 8 | 53 | 43 | +10 | 30 | |
| 4 | Dumbarton | 26 | 12 | 4 | 10 | 53 | 46 | +7 | 28 | |
| 5 | Arbroath | 26 | 11 | 4 | 11 | 41 | 39 | +2 | 26 | |
| 6 | St Mirren | 26 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 37 | 37 | 0 | 26 | |
| 7 | Falkirk | 26 | 10 | 5 | 11 | 38 | 35 | +3 | 25 | |
| 8 | Airdrieonians | 26 | 7 | 11 | 8 | 44 | 41 | +3 | 25 | |
| 9 | Hamilton Academical | 26 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 37 | 37 | 0 | 24 | |
| 10 | Queen of the South | 26 | 9 | 6 | 11 | 44 | 47 | −3 | 24 | |
| 11 | Morton | 26 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 31 | 40 | −9 | 23 | |
| 12 | East Fife | 26 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 39 | 53 | −14 | 23 | |
| 13 | Dunfermline Athletic (R) | 26 | 5 | 10 | 11 | 30 | 51 | −21 | 20 | Relegation to Second Division |
| 14 | Clyde (R) | 26 | 5 | 4 | 17 | 34 | 52 | −18 | 14 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champion; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated.
Promoted: Partick Thistle, Kilmarnock
Relegated: Dunfermline Athletic, Clyde
Scottish League Division Two
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clydebank | 26 | 17 | 6 | 3 | 46 | 15 | +31 | 40 | Promotion to the 1976–77 First Division |
| 2 | Raith Rovers | 26 | 15 | 10 | 1 | 45 | 22 | +23 | 40 | |
| 3 | Alloa Athletic | 26 | 14 | 7 | 5 | 48 | 32 | +16 | 35 | |
| 4 | Queen's Park | 26 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 41 | 33 | +8 | 29 | |
| 5 | Cowdenbeath | 26 | 11 | 7 | 8 | 44 | 43 | +1 | 29 | |
| 6 | Stirling Albion | 26 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 39 | 32 | +7 | 25 | |
| 7 | Stranraer | 26 | 11 | 3 | 12 | 49 | 43 | +6 | 25 | |
| 8 | East Stirlingshire | 26 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 24 | |
| 9 | Albion Rovers | 26 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 35 | 38 | −3 | 24 | |
| 10 | Stenhousemuir | 26 | 9 | 5 | 12 | 39 | 44 | −5 | 23 | |
| 11 | Berwick Rangers | 26 | 7 | 5 | 14 | 32 | 44 | −12 | 19 | |
| 12 | Forfar Athletic | 26 | 4 | 10 | 12 | 28 | 48 | −20 | 18 | |
| 13 | Brechin City | 26 | 6 | 5 | 15 | 30 | 53 | −23 | 17 | |
| 14 | Meadowbank Thistle | 26 | 5 | 6 | 15 | 24 | 53 | −29 | 16 |
Promoted: Clydebank, Raith Rovers
Cup honours
| Competition | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scottish Cup 1975–76 | Rangers | 3 – 1 | Heart of Midlothian |
| League Cup 1975–76 | Rangers | 1 – 0 | Celtic |
| Spring Cup | Airdrieonians | 4 – 2 (a.e.t.) | Clydebank |
| Junior Cup | Bo'ness United | 3 – 0 | Darvel Juniors |
Other Honours
National
| Competition | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scottish Qualifying Cup - North | Elgin City | 3 – 1 * | Inverness Thistle |
| Scottish Qualifying Cup - South | Vale of Leithen | 5 – 2 * | Girvan |
County
| Competition | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aberdeenshire Cup | Fraserburgh | ||
| Ayrshire Cup | Ayr United | 4 – 0 * | Kilmarnock |
| East of Scotland Shield | Hearts | 8 – 0 | Meadowbank Thistle |
| Fife Cup | Raith Rovers | 3 – 2 * | East Fife |
| Forfarshire Cup | Dundee United | 3 – 1 | Dundee |
| Glasgow Cup | Rangers | 3 – 1 | Celtic |
| Lanarkshire Cup | Airdrie | ||
| Stirlingshire Cup | Stenhousemuir | 1 – 0 | East Stirling |
* - aggregate over two legs
Highland League
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nairn County | 30 | 19 | 6 | 5 | 75 | 35 | +40 | 44 |
| 2 | Fraserburgh | 30 | 20 | 4 | 6 | 67 | 35 | +32 | 44 |
| 3 | Keith | 30 | 19 | 5 | 6 | 65 | 30 | +35 | 43 |
Individual honours
| Award | Winner | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Footballer of the Year |  John Greig | Rangers |
Scotland national team
| Date | Venue | Opponents | Score[3] | Competition | Scotland scorer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 September | Idraetsparken, Copenhagen (A) |  Denmark |
1–0 | ECQG4 | Joe Harper |
| 29 October | Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) | Denmark |
3–1 | ECQG4 | Kenny Dalglish, Bruce Rioch, Ted MacDougall |
| 17 December | Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) |  Romania |
1–1 | ECQG4 | Bruce Rioch |
| 7 April | Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) |  Switzerland |
1–0 | ECQG4 | Willie Pettigrew |
| 6 May | Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Wales |
3–1 | BHC | Willie Pettigrew, Bruce Rioch, Eddie Gray |
| 8 May | Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) |  Northern Ireland |
3–0 | BHC | Archie Gemmill, Kenny Dalglish, Don Masson |
| 15 May | Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) |  England |
2–1 | BHC | Don Masson, Kenny Dalglish |
1976 British Home Championship - Winners
Key:
- (H) = Home match
- (A) = Away match
- ECQG4 = European Championship qualifying - Group 4
- BHC = British Home Championship
Notes and references
- "Scottish Division One 1975-1976 Season Summary". statto.com. Archived from the original on 29 January 2013. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
- Scotland's score is shown first.