2005–06 Celtic F.C. season

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)
	← 2004–05 2006–07 →

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 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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
No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	POL	Artur Boruc	40	0	34	0	1	0	4	0	1	0
2	DF	SCO	Paul Telfer	42	1	36	1	1	0	3	0	2	0
3	DF	GUI	Mo Camara	23	0	18	0	0	0	3	0	2	0
4	DF	SCO	Adam Virgo	12	0	3+7	0	0+1	0	1	0	0	0
5	DF	CHN	Du Wei	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
6	DF	GUI	Dianbobo Balde	33	1	28	1	0	0	3	0	2	0
7	FW	POL	Maciej Żurawski	30	20	22+2	16	0+1	1	3	3	2	0
8	MF	ENG	Alan Thompson	19	3	11+5	2	0	0	0+1	0	2	1
9	FW	ENG	Chris Sutton	10	2	7+1	2	0	0	1	0	1	0
9	FW	ENG	Dion Dublin (from January)	12	2	3+8	1	0	0	0+1	1	0	0
10	FW	WAL	John Hartson	41	20	29+6	18	1	0	2+1	1	2	1
11	MF	SCO	Stephen Pearson	20	2	2+16	2	1	0	0+1	0	0	0
12	DF	SCO	Mark Wilson	15	0	14+1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
14	FW	FRA	Jérémie Aliadière	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0+2	0
16	MF	IRL	Roy Keane	13	1	10	1	1	0	1+1	0	0	0
17	DF	FRA	Didier Agathe	4	0	0+4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
18	MF	NIR	Neil Lennon	38	1	32	1	1	0	3	0	2	0
19	MF	BUL	Stiliyan Petrov	43	10	36+1	10	0	0	4	0	2	0
22	GK	SCO	David Marshall	5	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
23	DF	SVK	Stanislav Varga	13	1	9+1	1	0	0	1+1	0	1	0
25	MF	JPN	Shunsuke Nakamura	38	6	30+3	6	1	0	4	0	0	0
29	FW	SCO	Shaun Maloney	43	16	27+9	13	1	0	4	3	0+2	0
33	MF	SCO	Ross Wallace	14	0	8+3	0	1	0	1	0	1	0
35	MF	SCO	Paul Lawson	4	0	1+2	0	0	0	0+1	0	0	0
37	FW	SCO	Craig Beattie	15	7	7+6	6	0	0	1	0	0+1	1
42	FW	SCO	Michael McGlinchey	1	0	0+1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
44	DF	SCO	Stephen McManus	42	8	36	7	1	0	4	0	1	1
46	MF	IRL	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
1	John Hartson	18	1	0	1	20
2	Shaun Maloney	13	3	0	0	16
3	Stiliyan 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 v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation^[a]
1	Celtic (C)	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^[b]
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
(C) Champions
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.
^ 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: ^{[citation needed]}

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

References

^ "McLeish: "Celtic deserved title"". BBC News. 6 April 2006. Retrieved 13 July 2011.

[2] 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.

[table_note_res_IC0.21451978162607-3] Hibernian qualified for the 2006 UEFA Intertoto Cup by being the highest place applicant for the competition.

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

[1]

[a]

[b]

v t e Celtic F.C. seasons
1888–89 1889–90
1890–91 1891–92 1892–93 1893–94 1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900
1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10
1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20
1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30
1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40
1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50
1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60
1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70
1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80
1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90
1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000
2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10
2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20
2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
List of unbeaten football club seasons

v t e 2005–06 in Scottish football
« 2004–05 2006–07 »
Domestic leagues	Premier League Football League First Division Second Division Third Division Highland League Women's Premier League
Domestic cups	Scottish Cup Final League Cup Final Challenge Cup Final Junior Cup
European competitions	Champions League UEFA Cup Intertoto Cup
Related to national team	Results 2006 World Cup Qualifying UEFA Group 5 Kirin Cup
Club seasons
Premier League	Aberdeen Celtic Dundee United Dunfermline Athletic Falkirk Heart of Midlothian Hibernian Inverness Caledonian Thistle Kilmarnock Livingston Motherwell Rangers
First Division	Airdrie United Brechin City Clyde Dundee Hamilton Academical Queen of the South Ross County St. Johnstone St. Mirren Stranraer
Second Division	Alloa Athletic Ayr United Dumbarton Forfar Athletic Greenock Morton Gretna Partick Thistle Peterhead Raith Rovers Stirling Albion
Third Division	Albion Rovers Arbroath Berwick Rangers Cowdenbeath East Fife East Stirlingshire Elgin City Montrose Queen's Park Stenhousemuir
Major transfer deals 2005–06