The 2008–09 season was the 112th season of competitive football in Scotland.
Overview Hamilton Academical competed 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 the previous season. 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. Gretna resigned from the SFL on 3 June 2008 with the club's administrators warning of the threat of liquidation, creating an opening in the Third Division for a new SFL member. 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. Ross County competed 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. Stirling Albion competed in the Second Division after being relegated from the First Division as the bottom team. East Fife and Arbroath competed 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. Berwick Rangers and Cowdenbeath competed 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 competed in the Third Division after being admitted to the SFL. They replaced Gretna, who resigned their league status on 3 June. St Mirren moved into their new 8,000 seater stadium, New St Mirren Park, on 31 January 2009.
Notable events
2008 3 July – Annan Athletic, formerly of the East of Scotland League were admitted to the SFL, beating Cove Rangers, Edinburgh City, Preston Athletic and Spartans. They replaced Gretna, who resigned their league status on 3 June. 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. 11 July – Gretna 2008, founded by the supporters of the bankrupt Gretna, join the East of Scotland League First Division. 26 July – Competitive domestic competition got under way with the first fixtures of the 2008–09 Challenge Cup. 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. 9 August – The first matches of the 2008–09 Scottish Premier League take place. 13 November – A consortium led by Berwick Rangers Supporters Club agreed a deal to take over 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." 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. 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. 13 December – Celtic drew 1–1 with Heart of Midlothian at Celtic Park which was followed by a reported dressing-room argument between Celtic manager Gordon Strachan and player Aiden McGeady. This led to Strachan banning the player without pay for two weeks, after initially saying he would contest the sanction McGeady accepted the punishment and later returned to the team.
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. 28 January – Shares in Berwick Rangers were transferred to complete the deal which handed control to a consortium led by Berwick Rangers Supporters Trust. 31 January – St Mirren drew 1–1 with Kilmarnock in their first match at their new stadium. 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. 25 February – Former First Minister and former East Fife player Henry McLeish was appointed to chair a review of Scottish football. 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. 2 May – St Johnstone won promotion to the Scottish Premier League as First Division champions following a 3–1 win over Greenock Morton. 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. Clyde were relegated from the First Division despite beating Dundee 2–0. 9 May – The Third Division title was won by Dumbarton after they beat Annan Athletic 3–1, they therefore gained promotion to the second Division. 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. 23 May – Falkirk beat Inverness Caledonian Thistle 1–0 to stay in the SPL and relegate Inverness to the First Division on goal difference. Stenhousemuir won promotion to the Second Division as Second Division play-off winners, they beat Cowdenbeath 5–4 on penalties. 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. 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. 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.
Transfer deals
Managerial changes Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Replaced by Date of appointment Albion Rovers John McCormack Resigned 28 June Paul Martin 9 July Heart of Midlothian Stephen Frail Sacked 9 July Csaba László 11 July Dundee Alex Rae Sacked 20 October Jocky Scott 30 October Montrose Jim Weir Sacked 19 October Steven Tweed 15 January Berwick Rangers Alan McGonigal Resigned 13 November Jimmy Crease 26 December Livingston Roberto Landi Sacked 1 December Paul Hegarty 5 December Brechin City Michael O'Neill Resigned 15 December Jim Duffy 9 January Elgin City Robbie Williamson Resigned 20 December Ross Jack 23 January Inverness CT Craig Brewster Sacked 19 January Terry Butcher 27 January Stranraer Derek Ferguson Resigned 24 January Keith Knox 17 February East Fife Dave Baikie Resigned 14 April Stevie Crawford 14 April Livingston Paul Hegarty Suspended 25 April John Murphy 30 June Aberdeen Jimmy Calderwood Mutual consent 24 May Mark McGhee 12 June Celtic Gordon Strachan Resigned 25 May Tony Mowbray 16 June Hibernian Mixu Paatelainen Resigned 29 May John Hughes 8 June Falkirk John Hughes Resigned 8 June Eddie May 23 June Motherwell Mark McGhee Resigned 12 June Jim Gannon 30 June
League Competitions
Scottish Premier League
Scottish First Division
Scottish Second Division
Scottish Third Division
Other honours
Cup honours CompetitionWinnerScoreRunner-upMatch report2008–09 Scottish CupRangers1–0FalkirkWikipediaLeague Cup 2008–09Celtic2–0 RangersWikipediaChallenge Cup 2008–09Airdrie United2–2 ( 3 – 2 pen.)Ross CountyWikipediaJunior Cup 2008–09Clydebank1–2Auchinleck TalbotDaily Record
Non-league honours
Senior CompetitionWinnerHighland League 2008–09Cove RangersEast of Scotland League 2008-09SpartansSouth of Scotland LeagueThreave Rovers
Junior West Region
DivisionWinnerPremier LeagueIrvine MeadowDivision OneLargs ThistleAyrshire LeagueDalry ThistleCentral League Division OneRutherglen GlencairnCentral League Division TwoBlantyre Victoria
East Region DivisionWinnerSuper LeagueBonnyrigg Rose AthleticPremier LeagueMusselburgh AthleticNorth DivisionMontrose RoseleaCentral DivisionSt. Andrews UnitedSouth DivisionArmadale Thistle
North Region DivisionWinnerPremier LeagueBanks O' DeeDivision OneBuchanhaven HeartsDivision TwoInverness City
Individual honours
PFA Scotland awards AwardWinnerTeam 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.
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.
SFWA awards AwardWinnerTeam Footballer of the Year Gary Caldwell Celtic Young Player of the Year Steven Fletcher Hibernian Manager of the Year Csaba Laszlo Heart of Midlothian International Player of the Year Gary Caldwell Celtic
Scottish clubs in Europe
Summary ClubCompetition(s)Final roundCoef.CelticUEFA Champions LeagueGroup stage7RangersUEFA Champions LeagueSecond qualifying round0.5MotherwellUEFA CupFirst round0.5Queen of the SouthUEFA CupSecond qualifying round0.5HibernianIntertoto CupSecond round0
Celtic DateVenueOpponentsScoreThe score of the Scottish team is shown first.Celtic scorer(s)ReportChampions League Group stage17 SeptemberCeltic Park, Glasgow (H) Aalborg BK0–0BBC Sport30 SeptemberEstadio El Madrigal, Villarreal (A) Villarreal CF0–1BBC Sport21 OctoberOld Trafford, Manchester (A) Manchester United0–3BBC Sport5 NovemberCeltic Park, Glasgow (H) Manchester United1–1Scott McDonaldBBC Sport25 NovemberEnergi Nord Arena, Aalborg (A) Aalborg BK1–2Barry RobsonBBC Sport10 DecemberCeltic Park, Glasgow (H) Villarreal CF2–0Shaun Maloney, Aiden McGeadyBBC Sport
Rangers DateVenueOpponentsScoreRangers scorer(s)ReportChampions League Second qualifying round30 JulyIbrox Stadium, Glasgow (H) FBK Kaunas0–0BBC Sport5 AugustS. Darius and S. Girėnas Stadium, Kaunas (A) FBK Kaunas1–2Kevin ThomsonBBC Sport
Motherwell DateVenueOpponentsScoreMotherwell scorer(s)ReportUEFA Cup first round18 SeptemberStade Marcel Picot, Tomblaine (A) AS Nancy0–1BBC Sport2 OctoberFir Park, Motherwell (H) AS Nancy0–2BBC Sport
Queen of the South DateVenueOpponentsScoreQueens scorer(s)ReportUEFA Cup Second Qualifying Round14 AugustExcelsior Stadium, Airdrie (H) FC Nordsjælland1–2Sean O'ConnorBBC Sport26 AugustFarum Park, Farum (A) FC Nordsjælland1–2Robert HarrisBBC Sport
Hibernian DateVenueOpponentsScoreHibernian scorer(s)ReportIntertoto Cup Second round6 JulyEaster Road, Edinburgh (H) IF Elfsborg0–2BBC Sport12 JulyBorås Arena, Borås (A) IF Elfsborg0–2BBC Sport
Scotland national team
Summary