2007–08 Motherwell F.C. season

Motherwell
2007–08 season
Chairman	John Boyle
Manager	Mark McGhee
Premier League	3rd
Scottish Cup	Fifth Round
League Cup	Quarter-finals
Top goalscorer	Chris Porter (18)
Highest home attendance	10,445 vs Rangers (17 May 2008)
Lowest home attendance	3,571 vs Raith Rovers (29 August 2007)
Average home league attendance	6,599
Home colours	Away colours
	← 2006–07 2008–09 →

The 2007–08 season was Motherwell's 10th season in the Scottish Premier League, and their 23rd consecutive season in the top division of Scottish football. Because of finishing 3rd in the SPL, the club managed to qualify for Europe in the UEFA Cup, their first season in Europe for 13 years.

Important events

18 June 2007 – Motherwell name Mark McGhee as their new manager, replacing Maurice Malpas, who was sacked at the end of the previous season.^[1]
4 August 2007 – The first Scottish Premier League fixture of the season (against St Mirren) ends in a 1–0 win at Love Street.
25 August 2007 – Motherwell play at Fir Park as the away team for the first time in their history, in a match with Gretna, who are groundsharing for the season. Motherwell win the match 2–1
29 August 2007 – The first League Cup fixture of the season against Raith Rovers ends in a 3–1 win at Fir Park. Motherwell advance to the Third Round.
31 October 2007 – Motherwell are eliminated from the League Cup against Rangers, ending in a 2–1 defeat at Fir Park
29 December 2007 – Captain Phil O'Donnell dies after collapsing on the pitch during Motherwell's 5–3 win over Dundee United. A post mortem reveals left ventricular failure of the heart. Motherwell's next two games (against Hibernian and Celtic) are postponed as a mark of respect. Players wear O'Donnell's signature on their shirts for the rest of the season.^[2]
4 January 2008 – The funeral of Phil O'Donnell is held at St. Mary's Church, Hamilton.^[3]
12 January 2008 – The first Scottish Cup fixture of the season against Hearts (also the first match Motherwell play since O'Donnell's death) ends in a 2–2 draw at Tynecastle. Motherwell win the replay 1–0. The club advance to the Fifth Round.
4 February 2008 – Motherwell are eliminated from the Scottish Cup after a 2–1 defeat to Dundee at Fir Park.
10 May 2008 – Motherwell beat Aberdeen 2–1 to all but seal their place in next seasons UEFA Cup. Hibernian's 2–0 defeat to Celtic confirms Motherwell's place in Europe for the first time in 13 years.
22 May 2008 – The final Scottish Premier League fixture of the season against Hibernian ends in a 2–0 win at Easter Road.

Squad

Updated 5 December 2010^[4]

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


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	SCO	Graeme Smith
2	DF	SCO	Martyn Corrigan
3	DF	SCO	Steven Hammell
4	DF	SCO	Mark Reynolds
5	DF	NIR	Stephen Craigan
6	DF	NIR	Brian McLean
7	MF	SCO	Stephen Hughes
8	FW	SCO	Simon Lappin
9	FW	ENG	Chris Porter
11	FW	SCO	Ross McCormack
12	FW	SCO	David Clarkson
14	MF	SCO	Keith Lasley


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
15	GK	ENG	Luke Daniels
16	MF	SCO	Marc Fitzpatrick
17	MF	SCO	Robert Malcolm
18	MF	SCO	Steven McGarry
20	GK	SCO	Colin Meldrum
23	DF	SCO	Paul Quinn
23	MF	SCO	Darren Smith
30	FW	SCO	Paul Slane
32	FW	SCO	Jamie Murphy
33	FW	SCO	Mark Archdeacon
44	FW	SCO	Robert McHugh

Transfers

In

Date	Position	Name	From	Fee
31 August 2007	MF	Stephen Hughes	Leicester City	Undisclosed^[5]
31 January 2008	DF	Steven Hammell	Southend	£110,000^[6]
26 February 2008	DF	Robert Malcolm	Derby County	Free^[7]

Loans in

Date from	Date to	Position	Name	From
31 August 2007^[5]	6 Months		Lewis Grabban	Crystal Palace
31 January 2008	6 Months	MF	Simon Lappin	Norwich City
31 January 2008	6 Months		Luke Daniels	West Brom

Out

Date	Position	Name	To	Fee
24 May 2007	MF	Kevin McBride	Darlington	Free^[8]
25 July 2007	MF	Brian Kerr	Hibernian	Free
30 July 2007	FW	Scott McDonald	Celtic	£700,000
1 August 2007	GK	Alan Martin	Leed United	Free
17 August 2007	DF	Paul Keegan	Partick Thistle	Undisclosed^[9]
29 November 2007	DF	Simon Mensing	Hamilton	Undisclosed
4 January 2008	DF	Martyn Corrigan	Kilmarnock	Free
19 January 2008	DF	William Kinniburgh	Partick Thistle	Undisclosed
19 January 2008	DF	Jim Paterson	Plymouth	Undisclosed^[10]

Loans out

Date from	Date to	Position	Name	To
5 October 2007^[11]	5 November 2007	DF	Martyn Corrigan	Dundee
19 October 2007^[12]	3 months	DF	David Nixon	Queen of the South
2 November 2007^[13]	3 months	DF	Danny Murphy	Dunfermline
29 November 2007	2 months	DF	William Kinniburgh	Partick Thistle
20 February 2008	6 months	FW	Martin Grehan	Forfar

Released

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	Joined	Date

Competitions

Overview

Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Record
Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Premier League	4 August 2007	22 May 2008	Matchday 1	3rd	38	18	6	14	50	46	+4	047.37
Scottish Cup	12 January 2008	11 February 2008	Fourth round	Fifth Round	3	1	1	1	4	4	+0	033.33
League Cup	29 August 2007	31 October 2007	Second round	Quarterfinal	3	2	0	1	8	5	+3	066.67
Total					44	21	7	16	62	55	+7	047.73

Last updated: 22 May 2008
Source: Soccerway

Premier League

Table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation^[a]
1	Celtic (C)	38	28	5	5	84	26	+58	89	Qualification for the Champions League group stage
2	Rangers	38	27	5	6	84	33	+51	86	Qualification for the Champions League second qualifying round
3	Motherwell	38	18	6	14	50	46	+4	60	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
4	Aberdeen	38	15	8	15	50	58	−8	53
5	Dundee United	38	14	10	14	53	47	+6	52

Source: Scottish Professional Football League
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions
Notes:

^ 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.

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	18	6	14	50	46	+4	60	9	4	6	30	26	+4	9	2	8	20	20	0

Source: BBC Sport

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38
Ground	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	A	A	H	A	H	H	H	A	H	H	A
Result	W	W	L	W	L	W	L	D	L	W	L	D	W	W	W	W	W	L	L	W	L	W	W	W	L	D	D	L	L	W	W	L	D	L	L	W	D	W
Position	4	3	4	3	5	4	5	5	6	5	6	5	5	5	5	3	3	3	3	3	4	4	3	3	3	3	3	4	5	4	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3

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

Results

^[14]

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result^[15]	Attendance	Motherwell Scorer(s)^[16]	Report
4 August 2007	St Mirren	Love Street, Paisley (A)	1–0	5,257	McGarry (3)	BBC Sport
11 August 2007	Inverness C.T.	Fir Park, Motherwell (H)	2–1	4,259	O'Donnell 85', McCormack 90' (pen.)
18 August 2007	Kilmarnock	Fir Park, Motherwell (H)	1–2	4,985	Clarkson (23)
25 August 2007	Gretna	Fir Park, Motherwell^[17] (A)	2–1	3,758	Lasley (8), Porter (62)	BBC Sport
3 September 2007	Hearts	Fir Park, Motherwell (H)	0–2	5,081
15 September 2007	Aberdeen	Pittodrie, Aberdeen (A)	2–1	10,154	Quinn (34), Porter (37)	BBC Sport
22 September 2007	Falkirk	Falkirk Stadium, Falkirk (A)	0–1	5,245
29 August 2007	Rangers	Fir Park, Motherwell (H)	1–1	10,009	Porter (24)	BBC Sport
6 October 2007	Dundee United	Tannadice, Dundee (A)	0–1	6,286		BBC Sport
20 October 2007	Hibernian	Fir Park, Motherwell (H)	2–1	7,071	McCormack (35,37)
27 October 2007	Celtic	Celtic Park, Glasgow (A)	0–3	57,566		BBC Sport
3 November 2007	St Mirren	Fir Park, Motherwell (H)	1–1	5,123	Porter (29)	BBC Sport
10 November 2007	Inverness C.T.	Caledonian Stadium, Inverness (A)	3–0	3,608	Clarkson (15,53), Smith (87)
24 November 2007	Kilmarnock	Rugby Park, Kilmarnock (A)	1–0	5,016	O'Donnell (46)	BBC Sport
1 December 2007	Gretna	Fir Park, Motherwell (H)	3–0	6,431	Clarkson (44,74), Porter (61)	BBC Sport
8 December 2007	Hearts	Tynecastle, Edinburgh (A)	2–1	16,633	Porter (53), Zaliukas (67 og)
15 December 2007	Aberdeen	Fir Park, Motherwell (H)	3–0	5,326	McCormack (8 pen.,45), McGarry (12)	BBC Sport
22 December 2007	Falkirk	Fir Park, Motherwell (H)	0–3	5,241		BBC Sport
26 December 2007	Rangers	Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow (A)	1–3	49,823	Quinn (65)	BBC Sport
29 December 2007	Dundee United	Fir Park, Motherwell (H)	5–3	5,227	Hughes (11), Porter (14), McCormack (17), Clarkson (55,56)	BBC Sport
19 January 2008	St Mirren	Love Street, Paisley (A)	1–3	4,291	Clarkson (11)	BBC Sport
9 February 2008	Kilmarnock	Fir Park, Motherwell (H)	1–0	6,618	Clarkson (90)
16 February 2008	Gretna	Fir Park, Motherwell^[17] (A)	3–1	2,877	Porter (25), McCormack (47,90)	BBC Sport
20 February 2008	Inverness C.T.	Fir Park, Motherwell (H)	3–1	4,526	Clarkson (7,42), Porter (10)
23 February 2008	Hearts	Fir Park, Motherwell (H)	0–1	5,925
27 February 2008	Aberdeen	Pittodrie, Aberdeen (A)	1–1	8,240	Smith (83)	BBC Sport
1 March 2008	Falkirk	Falkirk Stadium, Falkirk (A)	0–0	5,108		BBC Sport
12 March 2008	Hibernian	Easter Road, Edinburgh (A)	0–1	11,692		BBC Sport
22 March 2008	Dundee United	Tannadice, Dundee (A)	0–2	6,779		BBC Sport
29 March 2008	Hibernian	Fir Park, Motherwell (H)	1–0	6,580	Clarkson (3)
5 April 2008	Celtic	Celtic Park, Glasgow (A)	1–0	58,624	Lappin (43)	BBC Sport
13 April 2008	Celtic	Fir Park, Motherwell (H)	1–4	9,771	McManus (24 og)	BBC Sport
26 April 2008	Dundee United	Fir Park, Motherwell (H)	2–2	5,027	Porter (17,50)
3 May 2008	Celtic	Fir Park, Motherwell (H)	1–2	9,158	Porter (60)	BBC Sport
7 May 2008	Rangers	Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow (A)	0–1	48,238		BBC Sport
10 May 2008	Aberdeen	Fir Park, Motherwell (H)	2–1	8,574	Smith (61), Porter (81)	BBC Sport
17 May 2008	Rangers	Fir Park, Motherwell (H)	1–1	10,445	Porter (50)	BBC Sport
22 May 2008	Hibernian	Easter Road, Edinburgh (A)	2–0	10,754	Lappin 4', Murphy 50' (pen.)	BBC Sport

Scottish Cup 2007–08

Date	Round	Opponent	H/A	Score^[15]	Motherwell Scorer(s)^[16]	Attendance	Report
12 January 2008	4th Round	Hearts	A	2–2	Chris Porter (64,78)	13,651	BBC Sport
22 January 2008	4th Round Replay	Hearts	H	1–0	Ross McCormack (23 pen.)	8,300	—
11 February 2008	5th Round	Dundee	H	1–2	Darren Smith (61)	5,733	—

Scottish League Cup 2007–08

Date	Round	Opponent	H/A	Score^[15]	Motherwell Scorer(s)^[16]	Attendance	Report
29 August 2007	2nd Round	Raith Rovers	H	3–1	Brian McLean (45), Ross McCormack (74), Chris Porter (90)	3,571	—
26 September 2007	3rd Round	Hibernian	A	4–2	David Clarkson (17), Keith Lasley (20), Ross McCormack (24), Chris Porter (83)	7,000	BBC Sport
31 October 2007	Quarter-finals	Rangers	H	1–2	Paul Quinn (90)	9,283	BBC Sport

Squad statistics

Appearances

As of match played 22 May 2008^[18]^[14]

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Premier League		Scottish Cup		League Cup
No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	SCO	Graeme Smith	42	0	36	0	3	0	3	0
2	DF	SCO	Martyn Corrigan	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
3	DF	SCO	Steven Hammell	16	0	15	0	1	0	0	0
4	DF	SCO	Mark Reynolds	44	0	38	0	3	0	3	0
5	DF	NIR	Stephen Craigan	43	0	38	0	3	0	2	0
6	DF	NIR	Brian McLean	11	1	6+3	0	1	0	1	1
7	MF	SCO	Stephen Hughes	35	1	29+2	1	3	0	1	0
8	MF	SCO	Simon Lappin	15	2	7+7	2	0+1	0	0	0
9	FW	ENG	Chris Porter	42	18	34+3	14	2	2	2+1	2
11	FW	SCO	Ross McCormack	42	11	30+6	8	3	1	3	2
12	FW	SCO	David Clarkson	41	13	34+1	12	3	0	2+1	1
14	MF	SCO	Keith Lasley	38	2	25+7	1	3	0	3	1
15	GK	ENG	Luke Daniels	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0
16	MF	SCO	Marc Fitzpatrick	35	0	19+11	0	2+1	0	1+1	0
17	MF	SCO	Bob Malcolm	8	0	8	0	0	0	0	0
18	MF	SCO	Steven McGarry	34	2	27+3	2	2	0	1+1	0
22	DF	SCO	Paul Quinn	35	3	31	2	2	0	2	1
23	MF	SCO	Darren Smith	27	4	4+19	3	0+3	1	1	0
24	FW	SCO	Martin Grehan	1	0	0+1	0	0	0	0	0
27	MF	SCO	Stephen Maguire	1	0	0+1	0	0	0	0	0
32	FW	SCO	Jamie Murphy	17	1	0+16	1	0+1	0	0	0
44	FW	SCO	Bob McHugh	1	0	0+1	0	0	0	0	0
Players away from the club on loan:
Players who left Motherwell during the season:
3	DF	SCO	Jim Paterson	25	0	20	0	2	0	3	0
8	MF	GER	Simon Mensing	4	0	0+2	0	0	0	1+1	0
10	MF	SCO	Phil O'Donnell	19	2	15+3	2	0	0	0+1	0
15	FW	ENG	Lewis Grabban	6	0	0+5	0	0	0	0+1	0
17	DF	SCO	Willie Kinniburgh	2	0	0+1	0	0	0	1	0
21	DF	IRL	Danny Murphy	2	0	0+2	0	0	0	0	0

Goal scorers

As of match played 22 May 2008

Ranking	Nation	Number	Name	Premier League	Scottish Cup	League Cup	Total
1	FW	9	Chris Porter	14	2	2	18
2	FW	12	David Clarkson	12	0	1	13
3	FW	11	Ross McCormack	8	1	2	11
4	DF	22	Paul Quinn	2	1	1	4
5	DF	23	Darren Smith	3	0	0	3
6	MF	8	Simon Lappin	2	0	0	2
	MF	18	Steven McGarry	2	0	0	2
	MF	10	Phil O'Donnell	2	0	0	2
	MF	14	Keith Lasley	1	0	1	2
			Own goal	2	0	0	2
11	MF	7	Stephen Hughes	1	0	0	1
	FW	32	Jamie Murphy	1	0	0	1
	DF	6	Brian McLean	0	0	1	1
TOTALS				50	4	8	62

Clean sheets

As of match played 22 May 2008

Ranking	Nation	Number	Name	Premier League	Scottish Cup	Total
1	GK	1	Graeme Smith	9	1	10
1	GK	15	Luke Daniels	1	0	1
TOTALS				10	1	11

Disciplinary record

As of match played 22 May 2008

Nation	Position	Number	Name
Nation	Position	Number	Name	Premier League		Scottish Cup		League Cup		Total
	GK	1	Graeme Smith	1	0	1	0	2	0	4	0
	DF	2	Martyn Corrigan	5	2	0	0	0	0	5	2
	DF	3	Steven Hammell	1	0	0	0	1	0	2	0
	DF	4	Mark Reynolds	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
	DF	5	Stephen Craigan	6	0	2	0	0	0	8	0
	DF	6	Brian McLean	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	MF	7	Stephen Hughes	4	0	0	0	1	0	5	0
	MF	8	Simon Lappin	2	0	0	0	1	0	3	0
	FW	9	Chris Porter	6	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
	FW	11	Ross McCormack	5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
	FW	12	David Clarkson	7	0	0	0	0	0	7	0
	MF	14	Keith Lasley	5	0	1	0	1	0	7	0
	MF	16	Marc Fitzpatrick	3	0	0	0	1	0	4	0
	MF	17	Robert Malcolm	2	1	0	0	0	0	2	1
	MF	18	Steven McGarry	1	0	0	0	1	0	2	0
	DF	23	Paul Quinn	7	0	2	0	0	0	9	0
	FW	23	Darren Smith	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Players away from Motherwell on loan:
Players who left Motherwell during the season:
	DF	3	Jim Paterson	6	0	0	0	1	0	7	0
	MF	8	Simon Mensing	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	MF	10	Phil O'Donnell	3	0	0	0	1	0	4	0
			TOTALS	63	1	6	0	10	0	79	1

References

^ "McGhee named new Motherwell manager". BBC Sport.
^ Motherwell Captain O'Donnell Dies, BBC Sport, 29 December 2007
^ Footballer Died Of Heart Failure, BBC News, 1 January 2008
^ "FootballSquads – Motherwell – 2007/08". Footballsquads.co.uk. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
^ ^a ^b "Hughes and Grabban move to Well". BBC Sport. 31 August 2007.
^ "Well capture Hammell and Lappin". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
^ "Malcolm seals Motherwell switch". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
^ "Midfielder McBride quits Fir Park". BBC Sport. 24 May 2007.
^ "Thistle complete Keegan signing". BBC Sport. 17 August 2007.
^ "Sturrock signs defender Paterson". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
^ "Dundee sign Corrigan on loan deal". news.bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 5 October 2007.
^ "Well's Nixon makes Queens move". BBC Sport. 19 October 2007.
^ "Well's Murphy joins Pars on loan". BBC Sport. 2 November 2007.
^ ^a ^b Motherwell FC season 2007–08, Fir Park Corner
^ ^a ^b ^c Motherwell's score is shown first.
^ ^a ^b ^c The number(s) in brackets shows the minutes of the goal(s) that was/were scored.
^ ^a ^b The match was played at Fir Park due to Gretna groundsharing at the stadium for the season.
^ Motherwell F.C. 2007–08 Statistics, Motherwell F.C. Official Site

[14] 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.

[1] "McGhee named new Motherwell manager". BBC Sport.

[Phil_O'Donnell-2] Motherwell Captain O'Donnell Dies, BBC Sport, 29 December 2007

[Phil_O'Donnell_2-3] Footballer Died Of Heart Failure, BBC News, 1 January 2008

[4] "FootballSquads – Motherwell – 2007/08". Footballsquads.co.uk. Retrieved 4 July 2018.

[Grabban_and_Hughes-5] "Hughes and Grabban move to Well". BBC Sport. 31 August 2007.

[6] "Well capture Hammell and Lappin". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 May 2014.

[7] "Malcolm seals Motherwell switch". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 May 2014.

[8] "Midfielder McBride quits Fir Park". BBC Sport. 24 May 2007.

[9] "Thistle complete Keegan signing". BBC Sport. 17 August 2007.

[10] "Sturrock signs defender Paterson". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 May 2014.

[11] "Dundee sign Corrigan on loan deal". news.bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 5 October 2007.

[12] "Well's Nixon makes Queens move". BBC Sport. 19 October 2007.

[13] "Well's Murphy joins Pars on loan". BBC Sport. 2 November 2007.

[Motherwell_season_2007/08_2-15] Motherwell FC season 2007–08, Fir Park Corner

[Motherwell_score-16] Motherwell's score is shown first.

[Motherwell_scorers-17] The number(s) in brackets shows the minutes of the goal(s) that was/were scored.

[Gretna_Groundshare-18] The match was played at Fir Park due to Gretna groundsharing at the stadium for the season.

[Motherwell_2008-09_Statistics-19] Motherwell F.C. 2007–08 Statistics, Motherwell F.C. Official Site

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v t e 2007–08 in Scottish football
« 2006–07 2008–09 »
Domestic leagues	Premier League Football League First Division Second Division Third Division Highland League Women's Premier League
Domestic cups	Scottish Cup Final League Cup Final Challenge Cup Final Junior Cup Youth Cup Women's Cup Women's League Cup
European competitions	Champions League UEFA Cup Final Intertoto Cup
Related to national team	Results Euro 2008 qualifying (Group B)
Club seasons
Premier League	Aberdeen Celtic Dundee United Falkirk Gretna Heart of Midlothian Hibernian Inverness Caledonian Thistle Kilmarnock Motherwell Rangers St. Mirren
First Division	Clyde Dundee Dunfermline Athletic Greenock Morton Hamilton Academical Livingston Queen of the South Partick Thistle St. Johnstone Stirling Albion
Second Division	Airdrie United Alloa Athletic Ayr United Berwick Rangers Brechin City Cowdenbeath Peterhead Queen's Park Raith Rovers Ross County
Third Division	Albion Rovers Arbroath Dumbarton East Fife East Stirlingshire Elgin City Forfar Athletic Montrose Stenhousemuir Stranraer
List of Scottish football transfers 2007–08, 2007–08 in Scottish reserve and youth football

Important events

Squad

Transfers

In

Loans in

Out

Loans out

Released

Competitions

Overview

Premier League

Table

Results summary

Results by round

Results

Scottish Cup 2007–08

Scottish League Cup 2007–08

Squad statistics

Appearances

Goal scorers

Clean sheets

Disciplinary record

See also

References