1989–90 in Scottish football

1989–90 in Scottish football
Premier Division champions
Rangers
Division One champions
St Johnstone
Division Two champions
Brechin City
Scottish Cup winners
Aberdeen
League Cup winners
Aberdeen
Junior Cup winners
Hill of Beath Hawthorn
Teams in Europe
Aberdeen, Celtic, Dundee United, Hibernian, Rangers
Scotland national team
1990 World Cup qualification, 1990 World Cup
← 1988–89 1990–91 →

The 1989–90 season was the 93rd season of competitive football in Scotland. [1]

Notable events

Rangers won their third league title in four seasons under the management of Graeme Souness.

Aberdeen won their first major honours since the departure of Alex Ferguson, winning a cup double of the Scottish Cup and the League Cup.

Celtic finished the season without winning a trophy, mounting the pressure on manager Billy McNeill.

Rangers abandoned their longstanding signing policy by acquiring Mo Johnston, who was the first high-profile Catholic player to sign for Rangers. Johnston joined Rangers after having come close to rejoining his old club Celtic from French club Nantes. Also arriving at Rangers was the Everton and England winger Trevor Steven, filling the gap on the right wing left by club hero David Cooper, who signed for Motherwell.

Rangers had four players – more than any other club – selected for the England World Cup squad. Goalkeeper Chris Woods, defenders Gary Stevens and Terry Butcher, and winger Trevor Steven helped them reach the semi-finals.

Scottish Premier Division

Main article: 1989–90 Scottish Premier Division
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Rangers (C) 36 20 11 5 48 19 +29 51 Qualification for the European Cup first round
2 Aberdeen 36 17 10 9 56 33 +23 44 Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round
3 Heart of Midlothian 36 16 12 8 54 35 +19 44 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
4 Dundee United 36 11 13 12 36 39 −3 35
5 Celtic 36 10 14 12 37 37 0 34
6 Motherwell 36 11 12 13 43 47 −4 34
7 Hibernian 36 12 10 14 34 41 −7 34
8 Dunfermline Athletic 36 11 8 17 37 50 −13 30
9 St Mirren 36 10 10 16 28 48 −20 30
10 Dundee (R) 36 5 14 17 41 65 −24 24 Relegation to the 1990–91 Scottish First Division
Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated

Champions: Rangers
Relegated: Dundee

Scottish League Division One

Main article: 1989–90 Scottish First Division
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 St Johnstone (C, P) 39 25 8 6 81 39 +42 58 Promotion to the Premier Division
2 Airdrieonians 39 23 8 8 77 45 +32 54
3 Clydebank 39 17 10 12 74 64 +10 44
4 Falkirk 39 14 15 10 59 46 +13 43
5 Raith Rovers 39 15 12 12 57 50 +7 42
6 Hamilton Academical 39 14 13 12 52 53 −1 41
7 Meadowbank Thistle 39 13 13 13 41 46 −5 39
8 Partick Thistle 39 12 14 13 62 53 +9 38
9 Clyde 39 10 15 14 39 46 −7 35
10 Ayr United 39 11 13 15 41 62 −21 35
11 Morton 39 9 16 14 38 46 −8 34
12 Forfar Athletic 39 8 15 16 51 65 −14 29[a]
13 Albion Rovers (R) 39 8 11 20 50 78 −28 27 Relegation to the Second Division
14 Alloa Athletic (R) 39 6 13 20 41 70 −29 25
Source: RSSSF and statto[2]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ 2 points deducted

Promoted: St Johnstone
Relegated: Albion Rovers, Alloa Athletic

Scottish League Division Two

Main article: 1989–90 Scottish Second Division
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion
1 Brechin City (C, P) 39 19 11 9 59 44 +15 49 Promotion to the First Division
2 Kilmarnock (P) 39 21 5 13 67 41 +26 47
3 Stirling Albion 39 20 7 12 73 50 +23 47
4 Stenhousemuir 39 18 9 12 62 53 +9 45
5 Berwick Rangers 39 18 5 16 66 57 +9 41
6 Dumbarton 39 15 10 14 70 73 −3 40
7 Cowdenbeath 39 13 13 13 58 54 +4 39
8 Stranraer 39 15 8 16 57 59 −2 38
9 East Fife 39 12 12 15 60 63 −3 36
10 Queen of the South 39 11 14 14 58 69 −11 36
11 Queen's Park 39 13 10 16 40 51 −11 36
12 Arbroath 39 12 10 17 47 61 −14 34
13 Montrose 39 10 12 17 53 63 −10 32
14 East Stirlingshire 39 8 10 21 34 66 −32 26
Source: "1989-1990 Second Division - SPFL Archive". SPFL. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted

Promoted: Brechin City, Kilmarnock

Other honours

Cup honours

Competition Winner Score Runner-up Report
Scottish Cup 1989–90 Aberdeen 0–0 (a.e.t.)
(9 – 8 pen.) 		Celtic Wikipedia article
League Cup 1989–90 Aberdeen 2–1 (a.e.t.) Rangers Wikipedia article
Youth Cup Hibernian 0–0 (a.e.t.)(4 – 2 (Pen.) Dundee United
Junior Cup Hill of Beath Hawthorn 1–0 Lesmahagow

Senior

Competition Winner
Highland League 1989–90 Elgin City
East of Scotland League Annan Athletic
South of Scotland League Girvan

Individual honours

SPFA awards

Award Winner Club
Players' Player of the Year Scotland Jim Bett Aberdeen
Young Player of the Year Scotland Scott Crabbe Heart of Midlothian

SFWA awards

Award Winner Club
Footballer of the Year Scotland Alex McLeish Aberdeen
Manager of the year Scotland Andy Roxburgh Scotland

Scotland national team

Main article: Scotland national football team 1980–99 results
Date Venue Opponents Score[3] Competition Scotland scorer(s)
6 September 1989 Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb (A) Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Yugoslavia 1–3 WCQG5 Gordon Durie
11 October 1989 Parc des Princes, Paris (A) France France 0–3 WCQG5
15 November 1989 Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) Norway Norway 1–1 WCQG5 Ally McCoist
28 March 1990 Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) Argentina Argentina 1–0 Friendly Stewart McKimmie
25 April 1990 Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) East GermanyEast Germany 0–1 Friendly
16 May 1990 Pittodrie, Aberdeen (H) Egypt Egypt 1–3 Friendly Ally McCoist
19 May 1990 Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) Poland Poland 1–1 Friendly Maurice Johnston
28 May 1990 Ta'Qali Stadium, Valletta (A) Malta Malta 2–1 Friendly Alan McInally (2)
11 June 1990 Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa (N) Costa Rica Costa Rica 0–1 WCGC
16 June 1990 Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa (N) Sweden Sweden 2–1 WCGC Stuart McCall, Maurice Johnston
20 June 1990 Stadio Delle Alpi, Turin (N) Brazil Brazil 0–1 WCGC

Key:

  • (H) = Home match
  • (A) = Away match
  • WCQG5 = World Cup qualifying – Group 5
  • WCGC = World Cup – Group C

See also

Notes and references

  1. ^ "1989/90 - the Scottish Football League". Archived from the original on 5 December 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
  2. ^ "Scottish Division One 1989-1990 Season Summary". statto.com. Archived from the original on 22 December 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  3. ^ Scotland's score is shown first.