The 2011âÂÂ12 season was the 118th season of competitive football by Celtic. They finished top of the Scottish Premier League on 93 points.
In the 2010âÂÂ11 season Celtic finished second in the league having gained 92 points, one less than Rangers. They also lost to their Old Firm rivals in the 2011 League Cup Final, as Rangers won 2âÂÂ1 after extra time. Celtic's only trophy came after they beat Motherwell 3âÂÂ0 in the 2011 Scottish Cup Final. Celtic were knocked out of both European competitions at the first stage. Europa League final runners-up Braga knocked Celtic out of the Champions League third round after a 4âÂÂ2 aggregate victory. Utrecht knocked Celtic out of the Europa League play-off round by the same score.
Several former youth academy players left during the month of June. The most notable being Paul McGowan who went to fellow Scottish Premier League side St Mirren after his contract expired. Ryan Conroy was released by the club and joined Scottish First Division side Dundee. Sean Fitzharris also went to the First Division as he joined Morton
On 1 July, Celtic confirmed the signings of Adam Matthews from Cardiff City, Kelvin Wilson from Nottingham Forest and Dylan McGeouch from Rangers. All three had already signed on pre-contract agreements and joined Celtic after their contracts expired. Three players also left the club after the expiry of their contracts. Former Germany and Sweden internationals Andreas Hinkel and Freddie Ljungberg left along with Ben Hutchinson.
Celtic's pre-season started off with a three-match tour of Australia. The first match was on 2 July and Celtic lost 1âÂÂ0 against Central Coast Mariners.
On 7 July Niall McGinn joined English League One side Brentford on a season-long loan. The next day Graham Carey signed for St Mirren after Celtic agreed to cancel his contract.
On 9 July Celtic played the second match of their Australian tour and beat Perth Glory 2âÂÂ0. On the same day Celtic officially signed Victor Wanyama from Belgian Pro League club K. Beerschot AC on a four-year deal. He had signed for Celtic nine days earlier but had to wait to get a work permit.
On 13 July Celtic won the final match of their Australian tour as they beat Melbourne Victory 1âÂÂ0.
Celtic's last friendly before the start of the league campaign was a 1âÂÂ0 away win over Championship side Cardiff.
Due to the fact that the 2011âÂÂ12 Scottish Premier League started several weeks earlier than usual, Celtic's first competitive match came on 24 July. Goals from Ki Sung-yueng and Anthony Stokes secured victory over Hibernian, although Gary Hooper also missed a penalty in the match played at Easter Road. Two days later EfraÃÂn Juárez moved to La Liga side Real Zaragoza on loan.
Celtic's next game was another friendly against Premier League team Wolverhampton Wanderers which they lost 2âÂÂ0.
Celtic then finished second in the 2011 Dublin Super Cup after losing 2âÂÂ0 to Inter Milan on 30 July and beating a League of Ireland XI 5âÂÂ0, the next day. The other team competing was Manchester City who won the competition.
On 3 August, Celtic lost 2âÂÂ0 against English Premier League side Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium. The next day Darren O'Dea signed for English Championship side Leeds United on a season long loan. Celtic were then drawn against Swiss Cup winners FC Sion in the play-off round of the Europa League. On 7 August Celtic resumed their SPL campaign with a 1âÂÂ0 win over Aberdeen, Anthony Stokes scored the winner. However, the match was overshadowed by Emilio Izaguirre suffering a broken ankle which was expected to keep him out till the new year. Josh Thompson then went to Championship side Peterborough on loan.
On 17 August, Fraser Forster joined on a loan deal from Newcastle United, having spent the previous season as first choice goalkeeper at Celtic.
On 21 August, Celtic suffered their first home defeat to St Johnstone since 1998 when Dave Mackay scored to give the away side a 1âÂÂ0 victory.
Richie Towell went to Hibs for a second loan spell. Daryl Murphy went on loan to Ipswich Town.
Greig Spence went on loan to First Division club Hamilton.
Mohamed Bangura also joined the club in a ã2.2 million deal from AIK Stockholm.
Badr El Kaddouri joined on a six-month loan from Dynamo Kyiv. Jos Hooiveld went to Southampton on a six-month loan. Shaun Maloney moved to English Premier League side Wigan Athletic for ã1 million.
Sion won 3âÂÂ1 on aggregate, however were found guilty of fielding ineligible players by UEFA and were excluded from the competition. As a result of this Celtic were awarded both matches as 3âÂÂ0 wins and took Sion's place in the group stage along with Atlético Madrid, Udinese and Stade Rennais.
On 5 September, Morten Rasmussen joined Turkish Süper Lig side Sivasspor, on a short-term loan, until December.
Celtic drew Ross County in the third round of the League Cup and beat the home side 2âÂÂ0 at Victoria Park. Celtic were then drawn to play Hibs in the quarter-final.
On 2 October, Celtic lost 2âÂÂ0 to Hearts at Tynecastle with winger Kris Commons getting sent off. This defeat left Celtic in third place, 10 points behind leaders Rangers. In the following match, Celtic drew 3âÂÂ3 with Kilmarnock at Rugby Park. Kilmarnock had been leading 3âÂÂ0 at half-time but two goals from Anthony Stokes and a Charlie Mulgrew header brought Celtic back into it. Following the Kilmarnock game, Celtic travelled to France to play Rennes in UEFA Europa League action. Rennes led 1âÂÂ0 at half-time after a mix-up between Cha Du-ri and Fraser Forster, but Joe Ledley scored in the second half with a header to secure a draw. The Bhoys returned to Scottish Premier League action defeating Aberdeen 2âÂÂ1 at Celtic Park on 23 October 2011. Hibernian were the opponents for the final two games of October. Celtic won 4âÂÂ1 in the Scottish League Cup before the Edinburgh team secured a 0âÂÂ0 draw in the Scottish Premier League tie at Celtic Park on 29 October 2011.
Stade Rennais were Celtic's first opponents of November in the Europa League. Celtic won the match 3-1 thanks to an Anthony Stokes double and a third from Gary Hooper. On 5 November 2011, Celtic were third in the Scottish Premier League behind leaders Rangers, who were 15 points clear of their rivals, and Motherwell. Celtic then won four Scottish Premier League ties in November, defeating Motherwell 2âÂÂ1, Inverness Caledonian Thistle 2âÂÂ0, Dunfermline 2-1 and St Mirren 5âÂÂ0. November ended poorly for Celtic after Atlético Madrid won 1âÂÂ0 in a UEFA Europa League tie at Celtic Park, thanks to a goal from Arda Turan in the second half. However, the excellent league form during November ensured Celtic won a clean-sweep of monthly awards with Neil Lennon winning SPL Manager of the Month, Gary Hooper winning SPL Player of the Month and James Forrest winning SPL Young Player of the Month.
Celtic continued their excellent league form throughout December, winning all five of their Scottish Premier League games. A solitary goal from Gary Hooper in the first half was enough to defeat Dundee Utd whilst a Victor Wanyama strike from 25 yards saw off the challenge of Hearts at Celtic Park the following week. Celtic travelled to Italy to face Udinese in the UEFA Europa League and claimed a 1âÂÂ1 draw, a result which meant they would exit the tournament at the group stages. Gary Hooper added to his seasonal goal tally in a 2âÂÂ0 win over St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park. Georgios Samaras scored both in a 2âÂÂ1 home win versus Kilmarnock. Celtic's last league game of 2011 was a home game against arch-rivals Rangers. Joe Ledley scored the only goal of the game as Celtic won 1âÂÂ0. The result meant that Celtic had overturned a 15-point deficit in the Scottish Premier League and moved top of the league, two points clear of Rangers in the title race.
<small>Last updated 8 May 2012</small>
Key: = Appearances, = Goals, = Yellow card, = Red card
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