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 19 January, Motherwell signed a pre-contract agreement with Michael Fraser, with the goalkeeper joining from Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the summer.[6]

On 24 January, Ross Forbes joined Dumbarton for the remainder of the season.[7]

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.[8] The following day, 3 February, Chris Porter left the club, signing for Derby County for an undisclosed fee of around £400,000[9]

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.[10]

Squad

As of match played 23 May 2009[11]
No. Name Nationality Position Date of birth (age) Signed from Signed in Contract ends Apps. Goals
Goalkeepers
1 Graeme Smith GK (1983-06-08)8 June 1983 (aged 25) Rangers 2005[12] 147 0
21 Artur Krysiak GK (1989-08-11)11 August 1989 (aged 19) on loan from Birmingham City 2009[5] 2009[5] 1 0
Defenders
2 Paul Quinn DF (1985-07-21)21 July 1985 (aged 23) Academy 2002 184 5
3 Steven Hammell DF (1982-02-18)18 February 1982 (aged 27) Southend United 2008[13] 2010[13] 301 2
4 Mark Reynolds DF (1987-05-07)7 May 1987 (aged 22) Academy 2004 2010[14] 128 2
5 Stephen Craigan (captain) DF (1976-10-29)29 October 1976 (aged 32) Partick Thistle 2003[15] 260 9
6 Brian McLean DF (1985-02-28)28 February 1985 (aged 24) Rangers 2006[16] 2009[16] 61 6
37 Shaun Hutchinson DF (1990-11-23)23 November 1990 (aged 18) Academy 2008 1 0
40 Jonathan Page DF (1990-02-08)8 February 1990 (aged 19) Portsmouth 2008 3 0
43 Steven Saunders DF (1991-03-30)30 March 1991 (aged 18) Academy 2008 3 0
Midfielders
7 Stephen Hughes MF (1982-11-14)14 November 1982 (aged 26) Leicester City 2007[17] 2009[17] 75 3
17 Bob Malcolm MF (1980-11-12)12 November 1980 (aged 28) Unattached 2008[18] 2009[1] 24 2
12 Darren Smith MF (1988-03-27)27 March 1988 (aged 21) Academy 2004 71 8
13 Maroš Klimpl MF (1980-07-04)4 July 1980 (aged 28) on loan from Midtjylland 2008[4] 2009[5] 24 1
14 Keith Lasley MF (1979-09-21)21 September 1979 (aged 29) Unattached 2006[19] 197 12
16 Marc Fitzpatrick MF (1986-05-11)11 May 1986 (aged 23) Academy 2002 2010[20] 132 5
17 Jim O'Brien MF (1987-09-28)28 September 1987 (aged 21) Celtic 2008[2] 2010[2] 28 1
18 Steven McGarry MF (1979-09-28)28 September 1979 (aged 29) Ross County 2006[21] 2010[22] 99 4
22 Semih Aydilek MF (1989-01-16)16 January 1989 (aged 20) on loan from Birmingham City 2009[8] 2009[8] 0 0
45 Paul Slane MF (1991-11-25)25 November 1991 (aged 17) Academy 2007 1 0
Forwards
9 Cillian Sheridan FW (1989-02-23)23 February 1989 (aged 20) on loan from Celtic 2009[8] 2009[8] 15 2
12 David Clarkson FW (1985-09-10)10 September 1985 (aged 23) Academy 2002 2010[14] 253 55
11 John Sutton FW (1983-12-26)26 December 1983 (aged 25) Wycombe Wanderers 2008[3] 2011[3] 33 12
15 Jamie Murphy FW (1989-08-28)28 August 1989 (aged 19) Academy 2006 53 4
33 Mark Archdeacon FW (1989-10-09)9 October 1989 (aged 19) Academy 2007 0 0
35 Bob McHugh FW (1991-07-16)16 July 1991 (aged 17) Academy 2007 3 0
Away on loan
29 Ross Forbes MF (1989-03-03)3 March 1989 (aged 20) Academy 2008 0 0
Left during the season
9 Chris Porter FW (1983-12-12)12 December 1983 (aged 25) Unattached 2007[23] 2009[23] 67 27
26 Kenny Connolly MF (1987-04-04)4 April 1987 (aged 22) Academy 2004 3 0
Gunnar Nielsen GK (1986-10-07)7 October 1986 (aged 22) on loan from Blackburn Rovers 2008[2] 2008[2] 0 0

Transfers

In

Date Position Nationality Name From Fee Ref
August 2010 GK Sebastian Kosiorowski Korona Kielce
8 August 2008 MF Jim O'Brien Celtic Undisclosed [2]
19 August 2008 FW John Sutton Wycombe Wanderers Undisclosed [3]

Loans in

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

Out

Date Position Nationality Name To Fee Ref.
16 June 2008 FW Martin Grehan Stirling Albion Undisclosed [24]
3 February 2009 FW Chris Porter Derby County Undisclosed [9]

Loans out

Date from Position Nationality Name To Date to Ref.
24 January 2009 MF Ross Forbes Dumbarton End of season [7]

Released

Date Position Nationality Name Joined Date Ref.
31 December 2008 MF Kenny Connolly Ayr United 17 January 2009 [25]
31 May 2009 GK Graeme Smith Brighton 1 July 2009 [26]
31 May 2009 DF Brian McLean Falkirk 1 July 2009 [27]
31 May 2009 MF Stephen Hughes Norwich City 22 July 2009 [28]
31 May 2009 MF Bob Malcolm Brisbane Roar 31 July 2009 [29]

Trial

Date from Position Nationality Name Last club Date to Ref.
July 2008 GK Lenny Pidgeley Millwall [1]
August 2010 GK Sebastian Kosiorowski Korona Kielce [30]
January 2009 DF Byron Webster Baník Most [5]
January 2009 MF 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

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[31] 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

Date Round Opponent H/A Score[31] Motherwell Scorer(s)[32] Attendance Report
24 September 2008 3rd Round Hamilton H 1–2 Jamie Murphy 5,590 BBC Sport


UEFA Cup

Date Round Opponent H/A Score[31] Motherwell Scorer(s)[32] Attendance Report
18 September 2008 1st Round AS Nancy A 0–1 16,094 BBC Sport
2 October 2008 1st Round AS Nancy H 0–2 11,318 BBC Sport

Scottish Cup

Date Round Opponent H/A Score[31] Motherwell Scorer(s)[32] 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'[33][34]
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  SCO Graeme Smith 43 0 37 0 2 0 3 0 1 0
2 DF  SCO Paul Quinn 40 0 33+1 0 2 0 3 0 1 0
3 DF  SCO Steven Hammell 43 0 37 0 2 0 3 0 1 0
4 DF  SCO Mark Reynolds 42 0 36 0 2 0 3 0 1 0
5 DF  NIR Stephen Craigan 28 0 22 0 2 0 3 0 1 0
6 DF  NIR Brian McLean 12 2 12 2 0 0 0 0 0 0
7 MF  SCO Stephen Hughes 40 2 35 1 2 0 2 1 1 0
8 MF  SCO Bob Malcolm 16 2 11+2 2 2 0 0 0 1 0
9 FW  IRL Cillian Sheridan 15 2 9+4 2 0 0 1+1 0 0 0
10 FW  SCO David Clarkson 39 14 30+3 13 2 0 3 1 1 0
11 FW  ENG John Sutton 33 12 26+2 10 1+1 0 1+1 2 0+1 0
12 MF  SCO Darren Smith 22 0 1+15 0 0+2 0 0+3 0 0+1 0
13 DF  SVK Maroš Klimpl 24 1 20+1 1 0 0 3 0 0 0
14 MF  SCO Keith Lasley 33 0 24+4 0 2 0 2 0 1 0
15 FW  SCO Jamie Murphy 34 3 11+19 2 0+2 0 0+1 0 1 1
16 MF  SCO Marc Fitzpatrick 28 1 14+9 1 1 0 3 0 0+1 0
17 MF  SCO Jim O'Brien 33 1 19+10 1 0 0 3 0 1 0
19 MF  SCO Steven McGarry 25 0 16+7 0 1 0 0+1 0 0 0
21 GK  POL Artur Krysiak 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
35 FW  SCO Bob McHugh 2 0 0+2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
37 DF  ENG Shaun Hutchinson 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
43 DF  SCO Steven Saunders 3 0 2+1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
45 MF  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  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 10 David Clarkson 13 1 0 0 14
2 FW 11 John Sutton 10 2 0 0 12
3 FW 9 Chris Porter 9 0 0 0 9
4 MF 8 Bob Malcolm 3 0 0 0 3
FW 15 Jamie Murphy 2 0 1 0 3
6 DF 28 Brian McLean 2 0 0 0 2
FW 9 Cillian Sheridan 2 0 0 0 2
MF 7 Stephen Hughes 1 1 0 0 2
9 DF 16 Marc Fitzpatrick 1 0 0 0 1
DF 13 Maroš Klimpl 1 0 0 0 1
MF 17 Jim O'Brien 1 0 0 0 1
DF 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 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
GK 1 Graeme Smith 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
DF 2 Paul Quinn 5 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 2
DF 3 Steven Hammell 4 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 5 0
DF 4 Mark Reynolds 6 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 7 0
DF 5 Stephen Craigan 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
DF 6 Brian McLean 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
MF 7 Stephen Hughes 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
MF 8 Bob Malcolm 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0
FW 10 David Clarkson 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 1
DF 13 Maroš Klimpl 8 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 9 0
MF 14 Keith Lasley 7 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 9 0
MF 16 Marc Fitzpatrick 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
MF 19 Steven McGarry 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Players who left Motherwell during the season:
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. ^ a b c "Malcolm nets new Motherwell deal". news.bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 10 July 2008. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Motherwell seal double transfer". news.bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 8 August 2008. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d "Motherwell seal Sutton transfer". news.bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 19 August 2008. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  4. ^ a b c "Well sign Slovak defender Klimpl". news.bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 1 September 2008. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h "Blues loan keeper Krysiak to Well". news.bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 2 January 2009. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  6. ^ "Motherwell tie up deal for Fraser". news.bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 19 January 2009. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  7. ^ a b "Forbes and Pope head out on loan". news.bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 24 January 2009. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g "Motherwell sign loan duo". skysports.com. Sky Sports. 2 February 2009. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  9. ^ a b "Porter swaps Motherwell for Derby". news.bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 3 February 2009. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  10. ^ Dons Welcome Returning Hero, BBC Sport, 12 June 2009
  11. ^ "FootballSquads - Motherwell - 2008/09".
  12. ^ "Keeper Smith moves to Motherwell". BBC Sport. 25 June 2005. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
  13. ^ a b "Well capture Hammell and Lappin". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  14. ^ a b "New deals for Well youngsters". skysports.com. Sky Sports. 29 November 2007. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
  15. ^ "Motherwell complete triple signing". BBC Sport. 5 June 2003. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
  16. ^ a b "Motherwell agree deal for McLean". news.bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 21 April 2006. Retrieved 26 February 2026.
  17. ^ a b "Hughes and Grabban move to Well". BBC Sport. 31 August 2007.
  18. ^ "Malcolm seals Motherwell switch". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  19. ^ "Lasley opts for Motherwell return". news.bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 18 August 2006. Retrieved 26 February 2026.
  20. ^ "Fitzpatrick extends Well contract". news.bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 31 May 2008. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
  21. ^ "Steven McGarry Soccerbase". Soccerbase. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
  22. ^ "McGarry commits to Well". skysports.com. Sky Sports. 11 March 2008. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
  23. ^ a b "Striker Porter signs for Steelmen". news.bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 3 July 2007. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
  24. ^ "Grehan leaves Well to join Binos". news.bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 16 June 2008. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  25. ^ "Ayr snap up midfielder Connolly". news.bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 17 January 2009. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  26. ^ "Goalkeeper Signs". Seagulls.co.uk. 1 July 2009. Archived from the original on 4 August 2009. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
  27. ^ "Defender McLean signs for Falkirk". BBC Sport. 1 July 2009. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
  28. ^ "City sign Hughes". Canaries.co.uk. 22 July 2009. Archived from the original on 23 July 2009. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
  29. ^ "Malcolm clinches move Down Under". BBC Sport. 2 July 2009. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
  30. ^ "Sebastian Kosiorowski na testach w Motherwell FC". 90minut.pl (in Polish). 90 Minut. 22 August 2008. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  31. ^ a b c d Motherwell's score is shown first.
  32. ^ a b c The number(s) in brackets shows the minutes of the goal(s) that was/were scored.
  33. ^ Motherwell F.C. 2008–09 Statistics, Motherwell F.C. Official Site
  34. ^ Motherwell FC season 2008–09, Fir Park Corner