2008–09 Motherwell F.C. season

Motherwell
2008–09 season
ChairmanJohn Boyle
ManagerMark McGhee
Premier League7th
Scottish CupFifth Round
League CupThird Round
UEFA CupFirst Round
Top goalscorerDavid Clarkson (13)
Highest home attendance11,318 vs Nancy (2 October 2008)
Lowest home attendance2,818 vs Inverness (13 May 2009)
Average home league attendance5,351

The 2008–09 season was Motherwell's 11th season in the Scottish Premier League, and their 24th consecutive season in the top division of Scottish football. As well as the SPL, the club competed in the Scottish Cup, Scottish League Cup, and the UEFA Cup for the first time in 13 years.

Season review

On 10 July, Bob Malcolm signed a new one-year contract with the club.[1]

On 8 August, Motherwell announced the signing of Jim O'Brien to a two-year contract from Celtic, and the six-month loan signing of Gunnar Nielsen from Blackburn Rovers.[2]

On 19 August, Motherwell signed John Sutton to a three-year contract from Wycombe Wanderers.[3]

On 1 September, Motherwell signed Maroš Klimpl on loan from Midtjylland for five-months.[4]

On 2 January, Artur Krysiak joined Motherwell on loan from Birmingham City until the end of the season, whilst Maroš Klimpl extended his loan stay from Midtjylland until the summer.[5]

On 24 January, Ross Forbes joined Dumbarton for the remainder of the season.[6]

On 2 February, Cillian Sheridan joined Motherwell on loan from Celtic for the remainder of the season, whilst Semih Aydilek joined from Birmingham City on a similar deal.[7] The following day, 3 February, Chris Porter left the club, signing for Derby County for an undisclosed fee of around £400,000[8]

On 12 June 2009, Mark McGhee left the club to become manager of Aberdeen with Assistant Scott Leitch and goalkeeping coach Colin Meldrum also leaving for the Pittodrie outfit.[9]

Squad

Updated 5 December 2010[10]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Scotland SCO Graeme Smith
2 DF Scotland SCO Paul Quinn
3 DF Scotland SCO Steven Hammell
4 DF Scotland SCO Mark Reynolds
5 DF Northern Ireland NIR Stephen Craigan (captain)
6 DF Northern Ireland NIR Brian McLean
7 MF Scotland SCO Stephen Hughes
8 MF Scotland SCO Bob Malcolm
9 FW Republic of Ireland IRL Cillian Sheridan (on loan from Celtic)
10 FW Scotland SCO David Clarkson
11 FW England ENG John Sutton
12 MF Scotland SCO Darren Smith
13 DF Slovakia SVK Maroš Klimpl (on loan from Midtjylland)
14 MF Scotland SCO Keith Lasley
No. Pos. Nation Player
15 FW Scotland SCO Jamie Murphy
16 MF Scotland SCO Marc Fitzpatrick
17 MF Scotland SCO Jim O'Brien
18 MF Scotland SCO Steven McGarry
19 GK Poland POL Artur Krysiak (on loan from Birmingham City)
22 MF Germany GER Semih Aydilek (on loan from Birmingham City)
23 FW Scotland SCO Mark Archdeacon
26 MF Scotland SCO Kenny Connolly
29 MF Scotland SCO Ross Forbes
35 FW Scotland SCO Bob McHugh
37 DF England ENG Shaun Hutchinson
43 DF Scotland SCO Steven Saunders
45 FW Scotland SCO Paul Slane

Transfers

Main article: List of Scottish football transfers 2008–09

In

Date Position Nationality Name From Fee Ref
8 August 2008 MF Scotland Jim O'Brien Celtic Undisclosed [2]
19 August 2008 FW England John Sutton Wycombe Wanderers Undisclosed [3]

Loans in

Date from Position Nationality Name From Date to Ref.
8 August 2008 GK Faroe Islands Gunnar Nielsen Blackburn Rovers 30 December 2008 [2]
1 September 2008 DF Slovakia Maroš Klimpl Midtjylland End of season [4][5]
2 January 2009 GK Poland Artur Krysiak Birmingham City End of season [5]
2 February 2009 FW Germany Semih Aydilek Birmingham City End of season [7]
2 February 2009 FW Republic of Ireland Cillian Sheridan Celtic End of season [7]

Out

Date Position Nationality Name To Fee Ref.
3 February 2009 FW England Chris Porter Derby County Undisclosed [8]

Loans out

Date from Position Nationality Name To Date to Ref.
24 January 2009 MF Scotland Ross Forbes Dumbarton End of season [6]

Released

Date Position Nationality Name Joined Date Ref.
31 December 2008 MF Scotland Kenny Connolly Ayr United 17 January 2009 [11]

Trial

Date from Position Nationality Name Last club Date to Ref.
January 2009 DF England Byron Webster Baník Most [5]
January 2009 MF New Zealand Simon Elliott Fulham [5]

Competitions

Overview

Competition First match Last match Starting round Final position Record
Pld W D L GF GA GD Win %
Premier League 9 August 2008 23 May 2009 Matchday 1 7th 38 13 9 16 46 51 −5 034.21
Scottish Cup 2 February 2009 19 February 2009 Fourth round Fifth Round 3 1 1 1 4 2 +2 033.33
League Cup 24 September 2008 24 September 2008 Third round Third round 1 0 0 1 1 2 −1 000.00
UEFA Cup 18 September 2008 2 October 2008 First round First round 2 0 0 2 0 3 −3 000.00
Total 44 14 10 20 51 58 −7 031.82

Last updated: 23 May 2009
Source: Soccerway

Premier League

Main article: 2008–09 Scottish Premier League

Table

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation[a]
5 Dundee United 38 13 14 11 47 50 −3 53
6 Hibernian 38 11 14 13 42 46 −4 47
7 Motherwell 38 13 9 16 46 51 −5 48 Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round[b]
8 Kilmarnock 38 12 8 18 38 48 −10 44
9 Hamilton Academical 38 12 5 21 30 53 −23 41
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. ^ Scotland were awarded an additional Europa League place as the association finished in third place of the UEFA Fair Play ranking. Motherwell earned this place as winners of the Scottish Fair Play ranking.

Results summary

Overall Home Away
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts W D L GF GA GD W D L GF GA GD
38 13 9 16 46 51  −5 48 7 6 6 24 27  −3 6 3 10 22 24  −2

Source: BBC Sport

Results by round

Round1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738
GroundAHHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAAHAH
ResultLLDWLLWWLWWLDLLLLLWDWWDDWDWLDDLLLLWDWL
Position9111091011108973667910111099977776677777777777
Source: BBC Sport
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Results

Date Opponent Venue Result[12] Attendance Motherwell Scorer(s) Report
9 August 2008 Hearts Tynecastle Stadium, Edinburgh (A) 2–3 14,219 Clarkson (2)
16 August 2008 Aberdeen Fir Park, Motherwell (H) 0–1 5,872 BBC Sport
23 August 2008 Dundee United Fir Park, Motherwell (H) 1–1 5,149 Sutton
30 August 2008 Hibernian Easter Road, Edinburgh (A) 1–0 11,285 Sutton
13 September 2008 Celtic Fir Park, Motherwell (H) 2–4 5,872 Clarkson, Sutton BBC Sport
21 September 2008 Rangers Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow (A) 1–2 49,448 BBC Sport
27 September 2008 St Mirren Fir Park, Motherwell (H) 2–1 4,786 Malcolm, Sutton
5 October 2008 Falkirk Fir Park, Motherwell(H) 3–2 4,509 Porter, Murphy, Sutton
18 October 2008 Kilmarnock Rugby Park, Kilmarnock (A) 0–1 5,113
25 October 2008 Inverness CT Caledonian Stadium, Inverness (A) 2–1 3,110 Malcolm (2)
1 November 2008 Hamilton Fir Park, Motherwell(H) 2–0 6,205 Porter (2) Sutton
8 November 2008 Celtic Celtic Park, Glasgow (A) 0–2 56,504 BBC Sport
12 November 2008 Rangers Fir Park, Motherwell (H) 0–0 9,600 BBC Sport
15 November 2008 Falkirk Falkirk Stadium, Falkirk (A) 0–1 5,279
22 November 2008 Hibernian Fir Park, Motherwell (H) 1–4 4,957 Malcolm
29 November 2008 Aberdeen Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen (A) 0–2 10,302 BBC Sport
15 December 2008 Kilmarnock Fir Park, Motherwell (H) 0–2 3,339
20 December 2008 Hamilton New Douglas Park, Hamilton (A) 0–2 3,527
27 December 2008 Inverness Fir Park, Motherwell (H) 3–2 4,521 Porter (3)
3 January 2009 St Mirren Love Street, Paisley (A) 0–0 10,189
7 January 2009 Hearts Fir Park, Motherwell (H) 1–0 4,928 Porter
17 January 2009 Dundee United Tannadice, Dundee (A) 4–0 7,090 Klimpl, Porter, Clarkson, Fitzpatrick
24 January 2009 Falkirk Fir Park, Motherwell (H) 1–1 5,018 Clarkson
31 January 2009 Hibernian Easter Road, Edinburgh (A) 1–1 10,903 Clarkson
14 February 2009 Hamilton Fir Park, Motherwell (H) 1–0 5,197 Clarkson
22 February 2009 Celtic Fir Park, Motherwell (H) 1–1 8,593 Quinn BBC Sport
28 February 2009 Inverness CT Caledonian Stadium, Inverness (A) 2–1 3,611 Sutton, Sheridan
4 March 2009 Hearts Tynecastle, Edinburgh (A) 1–2 13,306 Hughes BBC Sport
14 March 2009 Dundee United Fir Park, Motherwell (H) 2–1 4,798 Clarkson, Sutton BBC Sport
21 March 2009 Kilmarnock Rugby Park, Kilmarnock (A) 0–0 5,434 BBC Sport
4 April 2009 Aberdeen Fir Park, Motherwell (H) 1–1 4,686 O'Brien BBC Sport
11 April 2009 Rangers Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow (A) 1–3 50,080 Sutton BBC Sport
18 April 2009 St Mirren Fir Park, Motherwell (H) 0–2 6,626 BBC Sport
2 May 2009 Falkirk Falkirk Stadium, Falkirk (A) 1–2 4,937 Clarkson (pen.) BBC Sport
9 May 2009 St Mirren St Mirren Park, Paisley (A) 3–1 4,002 Murphy, Clarkson (2) BBC Sport
13 May 2009 Inverness CT Fir Park, Motherwell (H) 2–2 2,818 McLean, Sutton BBC Sport
16 May 2009 Hamilton New Douglas Park, Hamilton (A) 3–0 3,383 Clarkson, Sheridan, Sutton BBC Sport
23 May 2009 Kilmarnock Fir Park, Motherwell (H) 1–2 4,186 McLean BBC Sport

League Cup

Main article: 2008–09 Scottish League Cup
Date Round Opponent H/A Score[12] Motherwell Scorer(s)[13] Attendance Report
24 September 2008 3rd Round Hamilton H 1–2 Jamie Murphy 5,590 BBC Sport


UEFA Cup

Main article: 2008–09 UEFA Cup
Date Round Opponent H/A Score[12] Motherwell Scorer(s)[13] Attendance Report
18 September 2008 1st Round FranceAS Nancy A 0–1 16,094 BBC Sport
2 October 2008 1st Round FranceAS Nancy H 0–2 11,318 BBC Sport

Scottish Cup

Main article: 2008–09 Scottish Cup
Date Round Opponent H/A Score[12] Motherwell Scorer(s)[13] Attendance Report
2 February 2009 4th Round Inverurie A 3–0 John Sutton (2, 69), David Clarkson (57) 2,500 BBC Sport
7 February 2009 5th Round St Mirren H 1–1 Stephen Hughes (65) 5,695 BBC Sport
19 February 2009 5th Round Replay St Mirren A 0–1 4,555 BBC Sport

Squad statistics

Appearances

As of match played 23 May 2009'[14][15]
No. Pos Nat Player Total Premier League UEFA Cup Scottish Cup League Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
1 GK Scotland SCO Graeme Smith 43 0 37 0 2 0 3 0 1 0
2 DF Scotland SCO Paul Quinn 40 0 33+1 0 2 0 3 0 1 0
3 DF Scotland SCO Steven Hammell 43 0 37 0 2 0 3 0 1 0
4 DF Scotland SCO Mark Reynolds 42 0 36 0 2 0 3 0 1 0
5 DF Northern Ireland NIR Stephen Craigan 28 0 22 0 2 0 3 0 1 0
6 DF Northern Ireland NIR Brian McLean 12 2 12 2 0 0 0 0 0 0
7 MF Scotland SCO Stephen Hughes 40 2 35 1 2 0 2 1 1 0
8 MF Scotland SCO Bob Malcolm 16 2 11+2 2 2 0 0 0 1 0
9 FW Republic of Ireland IRL Cillian Sheridan 15 2 9+4 2 0 0 1+1 0 0 0
10 FW Scotland SCO David Clarkson 39 14 30+3 13 2 0 3 1 1 0
11 FW England ENG John Sutton 33 12 26+2 10 1+1 0 1+1 2 0+1 0
12 MF Scotland SCO Darren Smith 22 0 1+15 0 0+2 0 0+3 0 0+1 0
13 DF Slovakia SVK Maroš Klimpl 24 1 20+1 1 0 0 3 0 0 0
14 MF Scotland SCO Keith Lasley 33 0 24+4 0 2 0 2 0 1 0
15 FW Scotland SCO Jamie Murphy 34 3 11+19 2 0+2 0 0+1 0 1 1
16 MF Scotland SCO Marc Fitzpatrick 28 1 14+9 1 1 0 3 0 0+1 0
17 MF Scotland SCO Jim O'Brien 33 1 19+10 1 0 0 3 0 1 0
19 MF Scotland SCO Steven McGarry 25 0 16+7 0 1 0 0+1 0 0 0
21 GK Poland POL Artur Krysiak 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
35 FW Scotland SCO Bob McHugh 2 0 0+2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
37 DF England ENG Shaun Hutchinson 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
43 DF Scotland SCO Steven Saunders 3 0 2+1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
45 MF Scotland SCO Paul Slane 1 0 0+1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Players away from the club on loan:
Players who left Motherwell during the season:
9 FW England ENG Chris Porter 25 9 21+1 9 1+1 0 0 0 1 0

Goal scorers

As of match played 23 May 2009
Ranking Nation Position Number Name Premier League Scottish Cup League Cup UEFA Cup Total
1 FW Scotland 10 David Clarkson 13 1 0 0 14
2 FW England 11 John Sutton 10 2 0 0 12
3 FW England 9 Chris Porter 9 0 0 0 9
4 MF Scotland 8 Bob Malcolm 3 0 0 0 3
FW Scotland 15 Jamie Murphy 2 0 1 0 3
6 DF Northern Ireland 28 Brian McLean 2 0 0 0 2
FW Republic of Ireland 9 Cillian Sheridan 2 0 0 0 2
MF Scotland 7 Stephen Hughes 1 1 0 0 2
9 DF Scotland 16 Marc Fitzpatrick 1 0 0 0 1
DF Slovakia 13 Maroš Klimpl 1 0 0 0 1
MF Scotland 17 Jim O'Brien 1 0 0 0 1
DF Scotland 12 Paul Quinn 1 0 0 0 1
TOTALS 46 4 1 0 51

Clean sheets

As of match played 23 May 2009
Ranking Nation Position Number Name Premier League Scottish Cup League Cup UEFA Cup Total
1 GK Scotland 1 Graeme Smith 9 1 0 0 10
TOTALS 9 1 0 0 10

Disciplinary record

As of match played 23 May 2009
Nation Position Number Name Premier League Scottish Cup League Cup UEFA Cup Total
Yellow card Red card Yellow card Red card Yellow card Red card Yellow card Red card Yellow card Red card
Scotland GK 1 Graeme Smith 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
Scotland DF 2 Paul Quinn 5 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 2
Scotland DF 3 Steven Hammell 4 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 5 0
Scotland DF 4 Mark Reynolds 6 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 7 0
Northern Ireland DF 5 Stephen Craigan 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
Northern Ireland DF 6 Brian McLean 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Scotland MF 7 Stephen Hughes 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Scotland MF 8 Bob Malcolm 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0
Scotland FW 10 David Clarkson 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 1
Slovakia DF 13 Maroš Klimpl 8 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 9 0
Scotland MF 14 Keith Lasley 7 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 9 0
Scotland MF 16 Marc Fitzpatrick 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Scotland MF 19 Steven McGarry 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Players who left Motherwell during the season:
England FW 9 Chris Porter 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
TOTALS 52 3 3 0 2 1 1 0 58 4

See also

References

  1. ^ "Malcolm nets new Motherwell deal". news.bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 10 July 2008. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  2. ^ a b c "Motherwell seal double transfer". news.bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 8 August 2008. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Motherwell seal Sutton transfer". news.bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 19 August 2008. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Well sign Slovak defender Klimpl". news.bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 1 September 2008. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Blues loan keeper Krysiak to Well". news.bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 2 January 2009. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Forbes and Pope head out on loan". news.bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 24 January 2009. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  7. ^ a b c "Motherwell sign loan duo". skysports.com. Sky Sports. 2 February 2009. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  8. ^ a b "Porter swaps Motherwell for Derby". news.bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 3 February 2009. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  9. ^ Dons Welcome Returning Hero, BBC Sport, 12 June 2009
  10. ^ "FootballSquads - Motherwell - 2008/09".
  11. ^ "Ayr snap up midfielder Connolly". news.bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 17 January 2009. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  12. ^ a b c d Motherwell's score is shown first.
  13. ^ a b c The number(s) in brackets shows the minutes of the goal(s) that was/were scored.
  14. ^ Motherwell F.C. 2008–09 Statistics, Motherwell F.C. Official Site
  15. ^ Motherwell FC season 2008–09, Fir Park Corner