2008–09 in Scottish football

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2008–09 in Scottish football
Premier League champions
Rangers
First Division champions
St. Johnstone
Second Division champions
Raith Rovers
Third Division champions
Dumbarton
Scottish Cup winners
Rangers
League Cup winners
Celtic
Challenge Cup winners
Airdrie United
Junior Cup winners
Auchinleck Talbot
Teams in Europe
Celtic, Hibernian, Motherwell, Queen of the South, Rangers
Scotland national team
2010 World Cup qualification

The 2008–09 season is the 112th season of competitive football in Scotland. The season commenced in August 2008.

Contents 1 Overview 2 Notable events 2.1 2008 2.2 2009 3 Transfer deals 4 Managerial changes 5 League Competitions 5.1 Scottish Premier League 5.2 Scottish First Division 5.3 Scottish Second Division 5.4 Scottish Third Division 6 Other Honours 6.1 Cup honours 6.2 Non-league honours 6.2.1 Senior 6.2.2 Junior 6.3 Individual honours 6.3.1 PFA Scotland awards 6.3.2 SFWA awards 7 Scottish clubs in Europe 7.1 Summary 7.2 Celtic 7.3 Rangers 7.4 Motherwell 7.5 Queen of the South 7.6 Hibernian 8 Scotland national team 9 Deaths 9.1 2008 9.2 2009 10 Notes and references

[edit] Overview

• Hamilton Academical are competing in the Scottish Premier League for the first time, their first season in the top-flight since the 1988–89 season, after being promoted as First Division champions last season.^[1]
• Gretna were due to play in the First Division after being relegated from the SPL. However, on 29 May 2008, they were demoted to the Third Division due to their failure to guarantee that they would fulfill their fixtures.^[2] Gretna resigned from the SFL on 3 June 2008^[3] with the club's administrators warning of the threat of liquidation, creating an opening in the Third Division for a new SFL member.^[4] Following Gretna's demise a new club, Gretna 2008 was formed, they were given a place in the East of Scotland League, filling the gap left by Annan Athletic.^[5]
• Ross County are competing in the First Division after being promoted as Second Division champions. Airdrie United were also promoted into the First Division, filling Gretna's space, as they were the losing play-off finalists.^[2]
• Stirling Albion are competing in the Second Division after being relegated from the First Division as the bottom team.^[6]
• East Fife^[7] and Arbroath^[8] are competing in the Second Division after being promoted as Third Division champions and Second Division play-off winners, respectively. Stranraer were also promoted into the Second Division, filling the empty space following Gretna's relegation, as they were the losing play-off finalists.^[2]
• Berwick Rangers^[9] and Cowdenbeath^[10] are competing in the Third Division after being relegated from the Second Division as the bottom team and through the Second Division play-offs, respectively.
• Annan Athletic are competing in the Third Division after being admitted to the SFL.^[11] They replaced Gretna, who resigned their league status on 3 June.^[3]
• St. Mirren moved into their new 8,000 seater stadium, New St. Mirren Park, on January 31st 2009.^[12][13]

[edit] Notable events

[edit] 2008

• 3 July – Annan Athletic, formerly of the East of Scotland League were admitted to the SFL,^[11] beating Cove Rangers, Edinburgh City, Preston Athletic and Spartans.^[14] They replaced Gretna, who resigned their league status on 3 June.^[3]
• 6 July – The first competitive match involving a Scottish team was played by Hibernian in the 2008 Intertoto Cup, they lost 2–0 to Elfsborg.^[15]
• 11 July – Gretna 2008, founded by the supporters of the bankrupt Gretna, join the East of Scotland League First Division.^[5]
• 26 July – Competitive domestic competition got under way with the first fixtures of the 2008–09 Challenge Cup.^[16]
• 2 August – The Scottish Football League begins with the playing of the first fixtures in the First and Second divisions.
• 8 August – Former SPL members and Scottish Cup finalists Gretna F.C. are formally liquidated by the club's administrators.^[17]
• 9 August – The first matches of the 2008–09 Scottish premier League take place.^[18]
• 13 November – A consortium led by Berwick Rangers Supporters Club agreed a deal to takeover the club. Following a poor run of form, manager Allan McGonigal resigned at the same time saying "I made up my mind that when the current directors left I would move on."^[19]
• 16 November – The 2008–09 Challenge Cup was won by Airdrie United who defeated Ross County 3–2 on penalties following a 2–2 draw after extra time, the winning penalty was scored by Marc Smyth.^[20]
• 4 December – Scotland fail in their attempt to have the match against Norway moved to October 2009, the match was to go ahead on 12 August 2009.^[21]
• 13 December – Celtic drew 1–1 with Heart of Midlothian at Celtic Park^[22] which was followed by a reported Dressing-room argument between Celtic manager Gordon Strachan and player Aiden McGeady.^[23][24] This led to Strachan banning the player without pay for two weeks, after initially saying he would contest the sanction McGeady accepted the punishment^[25] and later returned to the team.^[26]

[edit] 2009

• 3 January – St. Mirren drew 0–0 with Motherwell in their last game at Love Street before they moved to New St. Mirren Park.^[27]
• 28 January – Shares in Berwick Rangers were transferred to complete the deal which handed control to a consortium led by Berwick Rangers Supporters Trust.^[28]
• 31 January – St. Mirren drew 1–1 with Kilmarnock in their first match at their new stadium.^[29]
• 14 February – The Scottish Premier League agreed to the Scottish Football Association's request to delay the start of the SPL season by a week to give the Scotland national team extra time to prepare for the match against Norway.^[30]
• 25 February – Former First Minister and former East Fife player Henry McLeish was appointed to chair a review of Scottish football.^[31]
• 15 March – Celtic won the 2008–09 League cup beating Rangers 2–0 after extra time in the final thanks to a goal from Darren O'Dea and an Aiden McGeady penalty.
• 4 April – Stranraer were relegated to the Third Division after being beaten 3–0 by Raith Rovers.^[32]
• 2 May – St. Johnstone won promotion to the Scottish Premier League as First Division champions following a 3–1 win over Greenock Morton.^[33]
  • The Second Division title and promotion to the First Division was won by Raith Rovers, following a 1–0 win over Queen's Park at Hampden Park.^[34]
  • Clyde were relegated from the First Division despite beating Dundee 2–0.^[35]
• 9 May – The Third Division title was won by Dumbarton after they beat Annan Athletic 2–1, they therefore gained promotion to the second Division.^[36]
• 17 May – Queen's Park were relegated from the Second Division after a 2–1 aggregate loss to Stenhousemuir in their Second Division play-off Semi-final.^[37]
• 23 May – Falkirk beat Inverness Caledonian Thistle 1–0 to stay in the SPL and relegate Inverness to the First Division on goal difference.^[38]
  • Stenhousemuir won promotion to the Second Division as Second Division play-off winners, they beat Cowdenbeath 5–4 on penalties.^[39]
• 24 May – Rangers are crowned Scottish champions after beating Dundee United 3–0, Celtic drew 0–0 with Heart of Midlothian so Rangers won by 4 points.^[40]
  • Airdrie United are relegated to the Second Division and Ayr United are promoted to the First after Ayr won the First Division play-off Final 3–2 on aggregate.^[41]
• 30 May – Rangers won the 2008–09 Scottish Cup beating Falkirk 1–0 in the final thanks to a goal from substitute Nacho Novo just after half-time.^[42]

[edit] Transfer deals

[edit] Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Replaced by	Date of appointment
Albion Rovers	John McCormack	Resigned	28 June[43]	Paul Martin	9 July[44]
Heart of Midlothian	Stephen Frail	Sacked	9 July[45]	Csaba László	11 July[46]
Dundee	Alex Rae	Sacked	20 October[47]	Jocky Scott	30 October[48]
Montrose	Jim Weir	Sacked	19 October[49][50]	Steven Tweed	15 January[51]
Berwick Rangers	Alan McGonigal	Resigned	13 November[52]	Jimmy Crease	26 December[53]
Livingston	Roberto Landi	Sacked	1 December[54]	Paul Hegarty	5 December[55]
Brechin City	Michael O'Neill	Resigned	15 December[56]	Jim Duffy	9 January[57]
Elgin City	Robbie Williamson	Resigned	20 December[58]	Ross Jack	23 January[59]
Inverness CT	Craig Brewster	Sacked	19 January[60]	Terry Butcher	27 January[61]
Stranraer	Derek Ferguson	Resigned	24 January[62]	Keith Knox	17 February[63]
East Fife	Dave Baikie	Resigned	14 April[64]	Stevie Crawford	14 April[64]
Livingston	Paul Hegarty	Suspended	25 April[65]	John Murphy	30 June[66]
Aberdeen	Jimmy Calderwood	Mutual consent	24 May[67]	Mark McGhee	12 June[68]
Celtic	Gordon Strachan	Resigned	25 May[69]	Tony Mowbray	16 June[70]
Hibernian	Mixu Paatelainen	Resigned	29 May[71]	John Hughes	8 June[72]
Falkirk	John Hughes	Resigned	8 June[72]	Eddie May	23 June[73]
Motherwell	Mark McGhee	Resigned	12 June[68]	Jim Gannon	30 June[74]

[edit] League Competitions

[edit] Scottish Premier League

[edit] Scottish First Division

[edit] Scottish Second Division

[edit] Scottish Third Division

[edit] Other Honours

[edit] Cup honours

Competition	Winner	Score	Runner-up	Match report
Scottish Cup 2008–09	Rangers	1–0	Falkirk	Wikipedia
League Cup 2008–09	Celtic	2 – 0 (a.e.t.)	Rangers	Wikipedia
Challenge Cup 2008–09	Airdrie United	2 – 2 (a.e.t.) ( 3 – 2 pen.)	Ross County	Wikipedia
Junior Cup 2008–09	Clydebank	1–2	Auchinleck Talbot	Wikipedia

[edit] Non-league honours

[edit] Senior

Competition	Winner
Highland League 2008–09	Cove Rangers
East of Scotland League
South of Scotland League	Threave Rovers

[edit] Junior

West Region

Division	Winner
Premier League
Division One	Largs Thistle
Ayrshire League	Dalry Thistle
Central League Division One	Rutherglen Glencairn
Central League Division Two	Blantyre Victoria

East Region

Division	Winner
Super League
Premier League
North Division	Montrose Roselea
Central Division	St. Andrews United
South Division	Armadale Thistle

North Region

Division	Winner
Premier League
Division One	Buchanhaven Hearts
Division Two	Inverness City

[edit] Individual honours

[edit] PFA Scotland awards

Award	Winner	Team
Players' Player of the Year	Scott Brown	Celtic
Young Player of the Year	James McCarthy	Hamilton Academical
Manager of the Year	Gordon Strachan	Celtic

Celtic midfielder Scott Brown was named Players' Player of the Year after winning the most votes from his fellow players. He was named on the shortlist along with three other Old Firm players, Celtic defender Gary Caldwell and Rangers midfielder's Steven Davis and Pedro Mendes.^[75][76]

The Young Player of the Year award was awarded to James McCarthy who was named on the shortlist along with; Heart of Midlothian winger Andrew Driver, Hibernian striker Steven Fletcher and fellow Hamilton Academical midfielder James McArthur.^[75][76]

[edit] SFWA awards

Award	Winner	Team
Footballer of the Year	Gary Caldwell	Celtic
Young Player of the Year	Steven Fletcher	Hibernian
Manager of the Year	Csaba Laszlo	Heart of Midlothian

[edit] Scottish clubs in Europe

[edit] Summary

Club	Competition(s)	Final round	Coef.
Celtic	UEFA Champions League	Group stage	7
Rangers	UEFA Champions League	Second qualifying round	0.5
Motherwell	UEFA Cup	First round	0.5
Queen of the South	UEFA Cup	Second qualifying round	0.5
Hibernian	Intertoto Cup	Second round	0

[edit] Celtic

Date	Venue	Opponents	Score[77]	Celtic scorer(s)	Report
Champions League Group stage
17 September	Celtic Park, Glasgow (H)	Aalborg BK	0–0		BBC Sport
30 September	Estadio El Madrigal, Villareal (A)	Villarreal CF	0–1		BBC Sport
21 October	Old Trafford, Manchester (A)	Manchester United	0–3		BBC Sport
5 November	Celtic Park, Glasgow (H)	Manchester United	1–1	Scott McDonald	BBC Sport
25 November	Energi Nord Arena, Aalborg (A)	Aalborg BK	1–2	Barry Robson	BBC Sport
10 December	Celtic Park, Glasgow (H)	Villarreal CF	2–0	Shaun Maloney, Aiden McGeady	BBC Sport

[edit] Rangers

Date	Venue	Opponents	Score[77]	Rangers scorer(s)	Report
Champions League Second qualifying round
30 July	Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow (H)	FBK Kaunas	0–0		BBC Sport
5 August	S. Darius and S. Girėnas Stadium, Kaunas (A)	FBK Kaunas	1–2	Kevin Thomson	BBC Sport

[edit] Motherwell

Date	Venue	Opponents	Score[77]	Motherwell scorer(s)	Report
UEFA Cup First Round
18 September	Stade Marcel Picot, Tomblaine (A)	AS Nancy	0–1		BBC Sport
2 October	Fir Park, Motherwell (H)	AS Nancy	0–2		BBC Sport

[edit] Queen of the South

Date	Venue	Opponents	Score[77]	Queens scorer(s)	Report
UEFA Cup Second Qualifying Round
14 August	Excelsior Stadium, Airdrie (H)	FC Nordsjælland	1–2	Sean O'Connor	BBC Sport
26 August	Farum Park, Farum (A)	FC Nordsjælland	1–2	Robert Harris	BBC Sport

[edit] Hibernian

Date	Venue	Opponents	Score[77]	Hibernian scorer(s)	Report
Intertoto Cup Second round
6 July	Easter Road, Edinburgh (H)	IF Elfsborg	0–2		BBC Sport
12 July	Borås Arena, Borås (A)	IF Elfsborg	0–2		BBC Sport

[edit] Scotland national team

Date	Venue	Opponents	Score[78]	Competition	Scotland scorer(s)	Report
20 August	Hampden Park, Glasgow (H)	Northern Ireland	0–0	Friendly		BBC Sport
6 September	Skopje City Stadium, Skopje (A)	FYR Macedonia	0–1	WCQ(9)		BBC Sport
10 September	Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík (A)	Iceland	2–1	WCQ(9)	Kirk Broadfoot, James McFadden	BBC Sport
11 October	Hampden Park, Glasgow (H)	Norway	0–0	WCQ(9)		BBC Sport
20 November	Hampden Park, Glasgow (H)	Argentina	0–1	Friendly		BBC Sport
28 March	Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam (A)	Netherlands	0–3	WCQ(9)		BBC Sport
1 April	Hampden Park, Glasgow (H)	Iceland	2–1	WCQ(9)	Ross McCormack, Steven Fletcher	BBC Sport

[edit] Deaths

[edit] 2008

• 19 July – George Niven, 79, former Rangers and Partick Thistle goalkeeper.^[79]
• 28 July – Bob Crampsey, 78, broadcaster who contributed to sports programmes on BBC Scotland, STV and Radio Clyde.^[80]
• 28 August – Bobby Cummings, 72, former Aberdeen player. Also played for Newcastle United, Darlington and Hartlepool^[81][82]
• 31 August – Jamie Dolan, 39, former Motherwell, Dundee United, Dunfermline Athletic, Livingston, Forfar and Partick Thistle player.^[83]
• 25 September – Jimmy Sirrel, 86, former Celtic player. also played for Bradford Park Avenue, Brighton & Hove Albion and Aldershot, and managed Brentford, Notts County and Sheffield United.^[84]
• 15 October – Eddie Thompson, 67, Dundee United Chairman.^[85]
• 25 October – Ian McColl, 81, Former Rangers defender and manager of the Scotland national team. Also managed Sunderland.^[86]
• 27 October – Andy Young, 83, Former Raith Rovers and Celtic player.^[87]
• 4 November – Paddy Buckley, 83, former St. Johnstone, Aberdeen and Scotland player.^[88]
• 3 November – Brooks Mileson, 60, former Gretna F.C. owner.^[89]
• 27 November – Gil Heron, 87, first black player to play for Celtic, known as the Black Arrow.^[90]
• 6 December – John Cumming, 78, former Heart of Midlothian and Scotland player. He is the most decorated player in Hearts' history having won two league championship medals, one Scottish Cup medal and four Scottish League Cup medals.^[91][92]
• 26 December – George Miller, 69, former player and manager of Dunfermline Athletic; also played for Wolverhampton Wanderers, Heart of Midlothian and Falkirk and managed Hamilton Academical. He is most notable for being part of the Dunfermline team that won the club's first major honour; the 1960–61 Scottish Cup.^[93]
• 28 December – Willie Clark, 90, former Hibernian and St. Johnstone defender, he was the oldest surviving Hibs player.^[94]

[edit] 2009

• 6 January – Charlie Thomson,78 , former goalkeeper of Clyde, Chelsea and Nottingham Forest.^[95]
• 7 January – Alfie Conn, Sr., 82, Former player of Heart of Midlothian and Raith Rovers and former manager of Gala Fairydean and Raith Rovers. Best remembered as part of the 'Terrible Trio' forward line along with Willie Bauld and Jimmy Wardhaugh.^[96]
• 2 March – Andy Bowman, 75, twice Scottish League winner with Heart of Midlothian, also played for Chelsea, Newport County, Tonbridge Angels, Hamilton Academical and Hawick Royal Albert.^[97]
• 28 March – Hugh Kelly, 85, Scottish defender who spent his entire 14 year-professional career with Blackpool, Made one appearance for scotland.^[98]
• 22 April – Billy Smith, 78, Former Aberdeen defender, Part of the Dons team that claimed their first league title in season 1954–55.^[99]
• 3 May – Bobby Campbell, 86, former Scotland international who played as a winger for Falkirk, Chelsea and Reading, before going on to manage Dumbarton and Bristol Rovers.^[100]
• 25 May – Bily Baxter, 70, Scottish defender who played for Ipswich Town, Hull City, Watford and Northampton Town who he also managed.^[101]
• 7 June – Gordon Lennon, 26, Dumbarton captain and former player for Stenhousemuir and Albion Rovers. Helped secure the Third Division title for dumbarton shortly before being killed in a car crash.^[102]

[edit] Notes and references

v • d • e 2008–09 in Scottish football Domestic leagues Premier League · First Division · Second Division · Third Division · Highland League Domestic cups Scottish Cup (Final) · League Cup (Final) · Challenge Cup (Final) · Junior Cup · Youth Cup European competitions Champions League · UEFA Cup · Intertoto Cup Related to national team Results · 2010 World Cup qualifying (UEFA Group 9) Club seasons Premier League Aberdeen · Celtic · Dundee United · Falkirk · Hamilton Academical · Heart of Midlothian · Hibernian · Motherwell · Rangers · St. Mirren First Division Clyde · Dunfermline Athletic · Partick Thistle Second Division Raith Rovers List of Scottish football transfers 2008–09 · 2008–09 in Scottish reserve and youth football
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