2005–06 Celtic F.C. season

Celtic started the season 2005–06 looking to win the Scottish Premier League trophy and retain the Scottish Cup. They competed in the Scottish League Cup, and entered the Champions League at the qualification stage.

Celtic

2005–06 season
Chairman	Brian Quinn
Manager	Gordon Strachan
Ground	Celtic Park Glasgow, Scotland (Capacity: 60,355)
Scottish Premier League	1st
Scottish Cup	Third Round
Scottish League Cup	Winners
Champions League	Second qualifying round
Top goalscorer	League: John Hartson (18) All: Maciej Żurawski John Hartson (20 each)
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Celtic were knocked out of the Scottish Cup in the third round by Clyde, losing 2–1. They won the Scottish League Cup with a comfortable 3–0 victory over Dunfermline on 19 March 2006, while the league was regained after a 1–0 win over Hearts. Rival managers were quick to praise the manner in which Celtic had regained the SPL title.[1]

Results

Scottish Premier League

Main article: 2005–06 Scottish Premier League

Motherwell v Celtic

30 July 2005 SPL	Motherwell	4 – 4	Celtic	Fir Park
	Kerr  20' Hamilton  58' McDonald  60' Kinniburgh  84'	BBC Sport	Hartson  14', 32', 44' (pen.) Beattie  90+1'	Attendance: 9,903 Referee: Mike McCurry

Celtic v Dundee United

6 August 2005 SPL	Celtic	2 – 0	Dundee United	Celtic Park
	Hartson  37' Beattie  88'	BBC Sport		Attendance: 56,532 Referee: Iain Brines

Celtic v Falkirk

13 August 2005 SPL	Celtic	3 – 1	Falkirk	Celtic Park
	Hartson  49' Thompson  75', 90+1'	BBC Sport	Duffy  39' (pen.)	Attendance: 57,782 Referee: Alan Freeland

Rangers v Celtic

20 August 2005 SPL	Rangers	3 – 1	Celtic	Ibrox Stadium
	Pršo  34' Buffel  51' Novo  88' (pen.)	BBC Sport	Maloney  86' (pen.)	Attendance: 49,699 Referee: Stuart Dougal

Dunfermline Athletic v Celtic

28 August 2005 SPL	Dunfermline Athletic	0 – 4	Celtic	East End Park
		BBC Sport	Żurawski  5', 74' Hartson  10' Nakamura  58'	Attendance: 9,244 Referee: Kenny Clark

Celtic v Aberdeen

10 September 2005 SPL	Celtic	2 – 0	Aberdeen	Celtic Park
	Żurawski  13' Petrov  61'	BBC Sport		Attendance: 59,607 Referee: Charlie Richmond

Hibernian v Celtic

18 September 2005 SPL	Hibernian	0 – 1	Celtic	Easter Road
		BBC Sport	Petrov  5'	Attendance: 15,649 Referee: Craig Thomson

Celtic v Inverness CT

24 September 2005 SPL	Celtic	2 – 1	Inverness CT	Celtic Park
	Beattie  57', 67'	BBC Sport	Wyness  51'	Attendance: 57,247 Referee: Steve Conroy

Livingston v Celtic

1 October 2005 SPL	Livingston	0 – 5	Celtic	Almondvale Stadium
		BBC Sport	McManus  36' Maloney  45' Żurawski  51' Sutton  62' Beattie  72'	Attendance: 9,115 Referee: Mike McCurry

Celtic v Hearts

15 October 2005 SPL	Celtic	1 – 1	Hearts	Celtic Park
	Beattie  13'	BBC Sport	Skácel  16'	Attendance: 60,100 Referee: Dougie McDonald

Kilmarnock v Celtic

22 October 2005 SPL	Kilmarnock	0 – 1	Celtic	Rugby Park
		BBC Sport	Petrov  24'	Attendance: 10,544 Referee: Iain Brines

Celtic v Motherwell

26 October 2005 SPL	Celtic	5 – 0	Motherwell	Celtic Park
	Petrov  14', 23', 79' Maloney  17' Nakamura  67'	BBC Sport		Attendance: 57,388 Referee: Charlie Richmond

Dundee United v Celtic

29 October 2005 SPL	Dundee United	2 – 4	Celtic	Tannadice Park
	Sutton  4' (o.g.) Samuel  30'	BBC Sport	Hartson  17' Sutton  28' Archibald  32' (o.g.) Pearson  88'	Attendance: 11,942 Referee: Alan Freeland

Falkirk v Celtic

5 November 2005 SPL	Falkirk	0 – 3	Celtic	Falkirk Stadium
		BBC Sport	Maloney  41' McGeady  42' Hartson  69'	Attendance: 6,459 Referee: Calum Murray

Celtic v Rangers

19 November 2005 SPL	Celtic	3 – 0	Rangers	Celtic Park
	Hartson  12' Baldé  56' McGeady  61'	BBC Sport		Attendance: 58,997 Referee: Dougie McDonald

Celtic v Dunfermline Athletic

26 November 2005 SPL	Celtic	0 – 1	Dunfermline Athletic	Celtic Park
		BBC Sport	Ross  17'	Attendance: 58,203 Referee: Craig Mackay

Aberdeen v Celtic

3 December 2005 SPL	Aberdeen	1 – 3	Celtic	Pittodrie Stadium
	Winter  53'	BBC Sport	McGeady  56' Petrov  58' Telfer  64'	Attendance: 17,031 Referee: Charlie Richmond

Celtic v Hibernian

10 December 2005 SPL	Celtic	3 – 2	Hibernian	Celtic Park
	Hartson  40', 65' Maloney  57'	BBC Sport	Beuzelin  47' Fletcher  53'	Attendance: 59,895 Referee: Kenny Clark

Inverness CT v Celtic

17 December 2005 SPL	Inverness CT	1 – 1	Celtic	Caledonian Stadium
	Dargo  1'	BBC Sport	Hartson  21'	Attendance: 7,382 Referee: Stuart Dougal

Celtic v Livingston

26 December 2005 SPL	Celtic	2 – 1	Livingston	Celtic Park
	Maloney  39' (pen.) Nakamura  87'	BBC Sport	Dalglish  58'	Attendance: 57,000 Referee: John Underhill

Hearts v Celtic

1 January 2006 SPL	Hearts	2 – 3	Celtic	Tynecastle Stadium
	Jankauskas  6' Pressley  8'	BBC Sport	Pearson  55' McManus  87', 90+3'	Attendance: 17,358 Referee: Iain Brines

Celtic v Kilmarnock

14 January 2006 SPL	Celtic	4 – 2	Kilmarnock	Celtic Park
	Nakamura  3' Maloney  16' (pen.) McManus  53' Żurawski  67'	BBC Sport	Naismith  24' (pen.) Invincibile  51'	Attendance: 59,995 Referee: Calum Murray

Motherwell v Celtic

22 January 2006 SPL	Motherwell	1 – 3	Celtic	Fir Park
	Hamilton  41'	BBC Sport	Żurawski  17' McGeady  71' Hartson  85'	Attendance: 11,503 Referee: Charlie Richmond

Celtic v Dundee United

28 January 2006 SPL	Celtic	3 – 3	Dundee United	Celtic Park
	Hartson  9' Żurawski  49' Petrov  67'	BBC Sport	Fernández  40', 86' Miller  82'	Attendance: 59,875 Referee: M Ritchie

Celtic v Falkirk

8 February 2006 SPL	Celtic	2 – 1	Falkirk	Celtic Park
	Keane  34' McManus  44'	BBC Sport	Milne  83'	Attendance: 56,672 Referee: Iain Brines

Rangers v Celtic

12 February 2006 SPL	Rangers	0 – 1	Celtic	Ibrox Stadium
		BBC Sport	Żurawski  12'	Attendance: 49,788 Referee: Mike McCurry

Dunfermline Athletic v Celtic

18 February 2006 SPL	Dunfermline Athletic	1 – 8	Celtic	East End Park
	Tod  14'	BBC Sport	Petrov  3' Hartson  24' Żurawski  32', 40', 56', 88' Maloney  74' Lennon  82'	Attendance: 9,015 Referee: Dougie McDonald

Celtic v Aberdeen

4 March 2006 SPL	Celtic	3 – 0	Aberdeen	Celtic Park
	Petrov  66' Maloney  75' Żurawski  89'	BBC Sport		Attendance: 60,018 Referee: Mike McCurry

Hibernian v Celtic

11 March 2006 SPL	Hibernian	1 – 2	Celtic	Easter Road
	Riordan  24'	BBC Sport	Maloney  36' (pen.) McManus  60'	Attendance: 16,985 Referee: Alan Freeland

Celtic v Inverness CT

22 March 2006 SPL	Celtic	2 – 1	Inverness CT	Celtic Park
	McManus  35' Maloney  79'	BBC Sport	Hart  90+1'	Attendance: 57,451 Referee: Charlie Richmond

Livingston v Celtic

26 March 2006 SPL	Livingston	0 – 2	Celtic	Almondvale Stadium
		BBC Sport	Żurawski  46' Maloney  52' (pen.)	Attendance: 7,486 Referee: Kenny Clark

Celtic v Hearts

5 April 2006 SPL	Celtic	1 – 0	Hearts	Celtic Park
	Hartson  4'	BBC Sport		Attendance: 59,699 Referee: Dougie McDonald

Kilmarnock v Celtic

9 April 2006 SPL	Kilmarnock	1 – 4	Celtic	Rugby Park
	Nish  89'	BBC Sport	Nakamura  8', 82' Hartson  64' Dublin  84'	Attendance: 10,978 Referee: Craig Thomson

Celtic v Hibernian

16 April 2006 SPL	Celtic	1 – 1	Hibernian	Celtic Park
	Żurawski  76'	BBC Sport	Fletcher  35'	Attendance: 60,047 Referee: K Toner

Celtic v Rangers

23 April 2006 SPL	Celtic	0 – 0	Rangers	Celtic Park
		BBC Sport		Attendance: 59,684 Referee: Craig Thomson

Hearts v Celtic

30 April 2006 SPL	Hearts	3 – 0	Celtic	Tynecastle Stadium
	McManus  7' (o.g.) Hartley  9' Bednář  63'	BBC Sport		Attendance: 16,795 Referee: Alan Freeland

Celtic v Kilmarnock

3 May 2006 SPL	Celtic	2 – 0	Kilmarnock	Celtic Park
	Żurawski  55' Varga  63'	BBC Sport		Attendance: 48,649 Referee: Steve Conroy

Aberdeen v Celtic

7 May 2006 SPL	Aberdeen	2 – 2	Celtic	Pittodrie Stadium
	Stewart  69', 72'	BBC Sport	Hartson  5' Maloney  61'	Attendance: 14,597 Referee: Calum Murray

UEFA Champions League

Main article: 2005–06 UEFA Champions League

Artmedia Bratislava v Celtic

27 July 2005 Second Qualifying	Artmedia Bratislava	5 – 0	Celtic	Bratislava, Slovakia
	Halenár  43', 76', 89' Vaščák  57' Mikulič  78'	BBC Sport		Stadium: Tehelné pole Attendance: 17,262 Referee: Selçuk Dereli

Celtic v Artmedia Bratislava

2 August 2005 Second Qualifying	Celtic	4 – 0 (4 – 5 agg.)	Artmedia Bratislava	Glasgow, Scotland
	Thompson  21' (pen.) Hartson  44' McManus  54' Beattie  82'	BBC Sport		Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 50,063 Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco

Scottish League Cup

Main article: 2005–06 Scottish League Cup

Celtic v Falkirk

21 September 2005 Third Round	Celtic	2 – 1	Falkirk	Celtic Park
	Żurawski  62' Hartson  94'	BBC Sport	Gow  54'	Attendance: 24,953 Referee: Kenny Clark

Celtic v Rangers

9 November 2005 Quarter Final	Celtic	2 – 0	Rangers	Celtic Park
	Maloney  26' Klos  82' (o.g.)	BBC Sport		Attendance: 57,183 Referee: Kenny Clark

Motherwell v Celtic

1 February 2006 Semi Final	Motherwell	1 – 2	Celtic	Hampden Park
	Foran  11'	BBC Sport	Żurawski  29' Maloney  88'	Attendance: 32,595 Referee: Craig Thomson

Dunfermline Athletic v Celtic

19 March 2006 Final	Dunfermline Athletic	0 – 3	Celtic	Hampden Park
		BBC Sport	Żurawski  43' Maloney  76' Dublin  90+2'	Attendance: 50,090 Referee: Stuart Dougal

Scottish Cup

Main article: 2005–06 Scottish Cup

Clyde v Celtic

7 January 2006 Third Round	Clyde	2 – 1	Celtic	Broadwood Stadium
	Bryson  32' Malone  36'	BBC Sport	Żurawski  82'	Attendance: 8,000 Referee: Kenny Clark

Player statistics

Appearances and goals

List of squad players, including number of appearances by competition

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Premier League		FA Cup		League Cup		Other
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK		Artur Boruc	40	0	34	0	1	0	4	0	1	0
2	DF		Paul Telfer	42	1	36	1	1	0	3	0	2	0
3	DF		Mo Camara	23	0	18	0	0	0	3	0	2	0
4	DF		Adam Virgo	12	0	3+7	0	0+1	0	1	0	0	0
5	DF		Du Wei	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
6	DF		Dianbobo Balde	33	1	28	1	0	0	3	0	2	0
7	FW		Maciej Żurawski	30	20	22+2	16	0+1	1	3	3	2	0
8	MF		Alan Thompson	19	3	11+5	2	0	0	0+1	0	2	1
9	FW		Chris Sutton	10	2	7+1	2	0	0	1	0	1	0
9	FW		Dion Dublin (from January)	12	2	3+8	1	0	0	0+1	1	0	0
10	FW		John Hartson	41	20	29+6	18	1	0	2+1	1	2	1
11	MF		Stephen Pearson	20	2	2+16	2	1	0	0+1	0	0	0
12	DF		Mark Wilson	15	0	14+1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
14	FW		Jérémie Aliadière	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0+2	0
16	MF		Roy Keane	13	1	10	1	1	0	1+1	0	0	0
17	DF		Didier Agathe	4	0	0+4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
18	MF		Neil Lennon	38	1	32	1	1	0	3	0	2	0
19	MF		Stilian Petrov	43	10	36+1	10	0	0	4	0	2	0
22	GK		David Marshall	5	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
23	DF		Stanislav Varga	13	1	9+1	1	0	0	1+1	0	1	0
25	MF		Shunsuke Nakamura	38	6	30+3	6	1	0	4	0	0	0
29	FW		Shaun Maloney	43	16	27+9	13	1	0	4	3	0+2	0
33	MF		Ross Wallace	14	0	8+3	0	1	0	1	0	1	0
35	MF		Paul Lawson	4	0	1+2	0	0	0	0+1	0	0	0
37	FW		Craig Beattie	15	7	7+6	6	0	0	1	0	0+1	1
42	FW		Michael McGlinchey	1	0	0+1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
44	DF		Stephen McManus	42	8	36	7	1	0	4	0	1	1
46	MF		Aiden McGeady	24	4	11+9	4	0+1	0	1+1	0	0+1	0

Goal scorers

R	Player	Scottish Premier League	Scottish League Cup	Scottish Cup	UEFA Champions League	Total
1	Maciej Żurawski	16	3	1	0	20
	John Hartson	18	1	0	1	20
2	Shaun Maloney	13	3	0	0	16
3	Stilian Petrov	10	0	0	0	10
4	Stephen McManus	7	0	0	1	8
5	Craig Beattie	6	0	0	1	7
6	Shunsuke Nakamura	6	0	0	0	6
7	Aiden McGeady	4	0	0	0	4
8	Alan Thompson	2	0	0	1	3
9	Chris Sutton	2	0	0	0	2
	Stephen Pearson	2	0	0	0	2
	Dion Dublin	1	1	0	0	2
9	Bobo Balde	1	0	0	0	1
	Paul Telfer	1	0	0	0	1
	Roy Keane	1	0	0	0	1
	Neil Lennon	1	0	0	0	1
	Stanislav Varga	1	0	0	0	1

Team statistics

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation[lower-alpha 1]
1	Celtic	38	28	7	3	93	37	+56	91	Qualification for the Champions League group stage
2	Heart of Midlothian	38	22	8	8	71	31	+40	74	Qualification for the Champions League second qualifying round
3	Rangers	38	21	10	7	67	37	+30	73	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
4	Hibernian	38	17	5	16	61	56	+5	56	Qualification for the UEFA Intertoto Cup second round[lower-alpha 2]
5	Kilmarnock	38	15	10	13	63	64	−1	55

Source: Scottish Professional Football League
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
Notes:

1. 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.
2. Hibernian qualified for the 2006 UEFA Intertoto Cup by being the highest place applicant for the competition.

Technical staff

Position	Staff
Manager	Gordon Strachan
Assistant Manager	Gary Pendrey
First Team Coach	Tommy Burns
Goalkeeping Coach	Jim Blyth
Head of Youth Academy	Tommy Burns
Head of Recruitment	Tom O'Neil
Head Physiotherapist	Tim Williamson
Physiotherapist	Gavin McCarthy
Doctor	Roddy MacDonald
Head of Sports Science	Kenny McMillan
Performance Coach	Jim Henry

Last updated: 12 June 2017
Source:

Transfers

In

Player	From	Fee
Mark Wilson	Dundee United	£500,000
Roy Keane	Manchester United	Free
Du Wei	Shanghai Shenhua	Loan
Paul Telfer	Southampton	£200,000
Adam Virgo	Brighton & Hove Albion	£1.5 million
Shunsuke Nakamura	Reggina	£2.5 million
Maciej Żurawski	Wisła Kraków	£2.5 million
Artur Boruc	Legia Warsaw	£900,000
Mohammed Camara	Burnley	Free

Out

Player	From	Fee
Du Wei	Shanghai Shenhua	End of loan
Chris Sutton	Birmingham City	Free
David Fernández	Dundee United	Free
Jackie McNamara	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Free
Stéphane Henchoz	Wigan Athletic	Free
Robert Douglas	Leicester City	Free
Mohammed Sylla	Leicester City	Free
Paul Lambert	Livingston	Free
Joos Valgaeren	Club Brugge	Free
Ulrik Laursen	Odense BK	Free
Magnus Hedman	Chelsea	Free

Total spending: £7.6 million

Total income: £0

See also

• List of Celtic F.C. seasons

References

1. "McLeish: "Celtic deserved title"". BBC Sport. 6 April 2006. Retrieved 13 July 2011.