2008–09 Falkirk F.C. season

Falkirk

2008–09 season

Chairman

Campbell Christie

Manager

John Hughes

Scottish Premier League

Tenth Place

League Cup

Semi-final

Scottish Cup

Runners-up

Top goalscorer

League: Steve Lovell (8)
All: Scott Arfield & Steve Lovell (10)

Highest home attendance

6,853 vs. Rangers,
5 April 2009

Lowest home attendance

4,385 vs. Dundee United,
3 March 2009

Average home league attendance

5,640

Home colours

Away colours

← 2007–08

2009–10 →

The 2008–09 season was Falkirk's fourth consecutive season in the Scottish Premier League. Falkirk also competed in the League Cup and the Scottish Cup.

Summary

In their fourth season in the SPL, Falkirk finished in tenth place. The club reached the semi-final of the League Cup, and ended as runners in the Scottish Cup, losing to Rangers in both matches.

Results

Win Draw Loss

Pre-season

Date	Venue	Opponents	Score^[1]	Falkirk scorer(s)	Match Report
22 July 2008	Falkirk Stadium	Ross County	2–2	Higdon, Finnigan	Falkirk Official Site
23 July 2008	Shielfield Park	Berwick Rangers	1–2	J.Stewart	Falkirk Official Site
26 July 2008	Falkirk Stadium	Queens Park Rangers	2–0	Own goal, J.Stewart	Falkirk Official Site
28 July 2008	Falkirk Stadium	Alloa Athletic	0–0		Falkirk Official Site
30 July 2008	Cambuur Stadion	SC Cambuur	0–1		Falkirk Official Site
1 August 2008	De Langeleegte	BV Veendam	2–0	Finnigan, J.Stewart	Falkirk Official Site
2 August 2008	Abe Lenstra Stadion	SC Heerenveen	0–4		Falkirk Official Site

Scottish Premier League

Date	Venue	Opponents	Score^[1]	Attendance	Falkirk scorer(s)	Match Report
9 August 2008	Falkirk Stadium	Rangers	0–1	6,669		BBC Sport Report
16 August 2008	Easter Road	Hibernian	2–3	12,445	Higdon 30', 53'	BBC Sport Report
23 August 2008	Celtic Park	Celtic	0–3	56,031		BBC Sport Report
30 August 2008	Falkirk Stadium	Inverness CT	1–2	4,730	M.Stewart 60'	BBC Sport Report
13 September 2008	Falkirk Stadium	Heart of Midlothian	2–1	5,960	McCann 3', Arfield 90'	BBC Sport Report
20 September 2008	Love Street	St Mirren	1–1	4,134	Barrett 47'	BBC Sport Report
27 September 2008	Falkirk Stadium	Hamilton Academical	4–1	4,734	Lovell 44', Arfield 69', 87 pen., O'Brien 79'	BBC Sport Report
5 October 2008	Fir Park	Motherwell	2–3	4,509	Lovell 22', Barrett 48'	BBC Sport Report
18 October 2008	Falkirk Stadium	Aberdeen	0–1	5,662		BBC Sport Report
25 October 2008	Rugby Park	Kilmarnock	2–1	4,267	Lovell 28', Arfield 66' pen.	BBC Sport Report
1 November 2008	Falkirk Stadium	Dundee United	0–0	5,608		BBC Sport Report
8 November 2008	New Douglas Park	Hamilton Academical	1–1	2,600	Higdon 49'	BBC Sport Report
12 November 2008	Caledonian Stadium	Inverness CT	1–1	3,111	Higdon 19'	BBC Sport Report
15 November 2008	Falkirk Stadium	Motherwell	1–0	5,279	Higdon 37'	BBC Sport Report
22 November 2008	Tynecastle Stadium	Heart of Midlothian	1–2	13,009	Lovell 16'	BBC Sport Report
29 November 2008	Falkirk Stadium	Hibernian	1–1	6,260	Barr 69'	BBC Sport Report
6 December 2008	Falkirk Stadium	St Mirren	1–2	4,828	Lovell 62'	BBC Sport Report
13 December 2008	Pittodrie Stadium	Aberdeen	1–2	8,909	Lovell 89'	BBC Sport Report
21 December 2008	Falkirk Stadium	Celtic	0–3	6,543		BBC Sport Report
27 December 2008	Tannadice Park	Dundee United	0–1	7,972		BBC Sport Report
3 January 2009	Falkirk Stadium	Kilmarnock	1–1	5,375	Lovell 41'	BBC Sport Report
17 January 2009	Ibrox Stadium	Rangers	1–3	48,811	Lovell 12'	BBC Sport Report
24 January 2009	Fir Park	Motherwell	1–1	5,018	Holden 53'	BBC Sport Report
31 January 2009	Falkirk Stadium	Aberdeen	1–0	5,605	Higdon 55'	BBC Sport Report
14 February 2009	St Mirren Park	St Mirren	2–2	5,504	Finnigan 35', Arfield 85' pen.	BBC Sport Report
21 February 2009	Falkirk Stadium	Hamilton Academical	1–2	5,307	Swailes 6' o.g.	BBC Sport Report
28 February 2009	Easter Road	Hibernian	0–0	10,682		BBC Sport Report
3 March 2009	Falkirk Stadium	Dundee United	0–1	4,385		BBC Sport Report
21 March 2009	Falkirk Stadium	Inverness CT	4–0	5,523	Finnigan 37', 90' M.Stewart 65', Arfield 82' pen.	BBC Sport Report
5 April 2009	Falkirk Stadium	Rangers	0–1	6,853		BBC Sport Report
8 April 2009	Celtic Park	Celtic	0–4	57,669		BBC Sport Report
11 April 2009	Rugby Park	Kilmarnock	0–3	5,835		BBC Sport Report
18 April 2009	Falkirk Stadium	Heart of Midlothian	0–0	6,156		BBC Sport Report
2 May 2009	Falkirk Stadium	Motherwell	2–1	4,937	Finnigan 9', Scobbie 56'	BBC Sport Report
9 May 2009	Rugby Park	Kilmarnock	1–1	5,955	Barr 56'	BBC Sport Report
13 May 2009	New Douglas Park	Hamilton Academical	1–0	3,710	Arfield 60'	BBC Sport Report
16 May 2009	Falkirk Stadium	St Mirren	0–2	6,744		BBC Sport Report
23 May 2009	Caledonian Stadium	Inverness CT	1–0	6,489	Higdon 68'	BBC Sport Report

Scottish League Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers	Match Report
Second round	26 August 2008	Raith Rovers	Stark's Park	3–1	2,090	Higdon 16', J.Stewart 35 pen., M.Stewart 84'	BBC Sport Report
Third round	23 September 2008	Queen of the South	Falkirk Stadium	2–1	2,058	McCann 29', Lovell 73'	BBC Sport Report
Quarter-final	28 October 2008	Inverness CT	Falkirk Stadium	1–0	3,007	McCann 36'	BBC Sport Report
Semi-final	27 January 2009	Rangers	Hampden Park	0–3	24,507		BBC Sport Report

Scottish Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers	Match Report
Fourth Round	10 January 2009	Queen of the South	Falkirk Stadium	4–2	3,423	Arfield 37' pen., 48' Barrett 68', 81'	BBC Sport Report
Fifth Round	7 February 2009	Heart of Midlothian	Tynecastle Stadium	1–0	14,569	Lovell 59'	BBC Sport Report
Quarter-final	7 March 2009	Inverness CT	Caledonian Stadium	1–0	3,024	Finnigan 31' pen.	BBC Sport Report
Semi-final	26 April 2009	Dunfermline Athletic	Hampden Park	2–0	17,124	Scobbie 54', Arfield 89' pen.	BBC Sport Report
Final	30 May 2009	Rangers	Hampden Park	0–1	50,956		BBC Sport Report

Squad statistics

Player statistics

^[2]

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Premier League		League Cup		Scottish Cup
No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	ESP	Dani Mallo	20	0	15+0	0	1+0	0	4+0	0
2	DF	SCO	Lee Bullen	37	0	29+3	0	2+0	0	3+0	0
3	DF	NIR	Dean Holden	22	1	16+3	1	1+0	0	1+1	0
4	MF	IRL	Patrick Cregg	31	0	16+7	0	2+2	0	2+2	0
5	DF	SCO	Jackie McNamara	37	0	29+0	0	4+0	0	4+0	0
6	MF	SCO	Kevin McBride	35	0	25+3	0	4+0	0	2+1	0
7	MF	SCO	Neil McCann	31	3	22+2	1	3+0	2	4+0	0
8	MF	ESP	Arnau Riera	20	0	14+3	0	0+0	0	3+0	0
10	DF	SCO	Steven Pressley	19	0	15+1	0	1+0	0	2+0	0
11	FW	ENG	Michael Higdon	42	8	27+7	7	3+1	1	3+1	0
12	MF	IRL	Stephen Bradley	4	0	4+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
14	DF	NED	Gerard Aafjes	23	0	10+7	0	3+0	0	2+1	0
15	FW	ENG	Steve Lovell	33	10	25+3	8	2+0	1	3+0	1
16	MF	CAN	Scott Arfield	45	10	35+2	7	4+0	0	4+0	3
17	GK	AUT	Bobby Olejnik	18	0	15+0	0	2+0	0	1+0	0
18	DF	SCO	Brian Allison	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
19	MF	SCO	Sean Lynch	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
20	DF	SCO	Darren Barr	44	2	35+0	2	4+0	0	5+0	0
21	FW	ENG	Carl Finnigan	19	5	10+4	4	0+0	0	2+3	1
22	DF	SCO	Chris Mitchell	10	0	3+6	0	0+1	0	0+0	0
23	FW	SCO	Kevin Moffat	4	0	0+4	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
24	FW	SCO	Mark Stewart	27	3	5+15	2	1+2	1	1+3	0
29	MF	SCO	Sean Lynch	2	0	0+2	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
30	GK	SCO	Jamie Barclay	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
31	DF	NIR	Dermot McCaffrey	2	0	1+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
33	DF	SCO	Tam Scobbie	27	2	18+2	1	2+1	0	4+0	1
34	FW	SCO	Dayne Robertson	4	0	0+4	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
35	DF	SCO	Mark Staunton	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
47	MF	SCO	Burton O'Brien	39	1	30+2	1	1+1	0	4+1	0
56	DF	SWE	Erik Schultz-Eklund	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
Players who left the club during the 2008–09 season
9	FW	IRL	Graham Barrett	19	4	9+6	2	2+1	0	1+0	2
10	MF	TRI	Russell Latapy	4	0	2+1	0	0+1	0	0+0	0
13	GK	ENG	Scott Flinders	9	0	8+0	0	1+0	0	0+0	0
25	FW	SCO	John Stewart	5	1	4+0	0	1+0	1	0+0	0

Team statistics

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation^[a]
8	Kilmarnock	38	12	8	18	38	48	−10	44
9	Hamilton Academical	38	12	5	21	30	53	−23	41
10	Falkirk	38	9	11	18	37	52	−15	38	Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round^[b]
11	St Mirren	38	9	10	19	33	52	−19	37
12	Inverness Caledonian Thistle (R)	38	10	7	21	37	58	−21	37	Relegation to the First Division

Source: Scottish Professional Football League
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(R) Relegated
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.
^ Since Rangers, the winners of the Scottish Cup, already qualified for the Champions League via their league position, Falkirk, the losing finalist, earned a spot in the Europa League.

Transfers

Players in

Player	From	Fee
Dermot McCaffrey	Hibernian	Free^[3]
Jackie McNamara	Aberdeen	Free^[4]
Lee Bullen	Sheffield Wednesday	Free^[5]
Neil McCann	Heart of Midlothian	Free^[5]
Erik Schultz-Eklund	Gretna	Free^[6]
Burton O'Brien	Sheffield Wednesday	Free^[7]
Ashley Young	Bury	Free^[8]
Arnau Riera	Sunderland	Loan^[9]
Steve Lovell	Aberdeen	Free^[10]
Scott Flinders	Crystal Palace	Loan^[11]
Sean Lynch	Hibernian	Free^[12]
Steven Pressley	Randers	Free^[13]
Dani Mallo	Braga	Free^[14]

Players out

Player	To	Fee
Pedro Moutinho	Marítimo	Free^[15]
Liam Craig	St Johnstone	£25,000^[16]
Jack Ross	St Mirren	Free^[17]
Kenny Milne	Scunthorpe United	Free^[18]
Peter McMahon	Berwick Rangers	Free^[19]
Jamie Barclay	East Stirlingshire	Loan^[20]
Scott Gibb	Stirling Albion	Loan^[21]
John Stewart	Ross County	Undisclosed^[22]
Russell Latapy	Caledonia AIA	Free^[23]^[24]
Graham Barrett	St Johnstone	Undisclosed^[25]

References

^ ^a ^b Falkirk's score is shown first.
^ "Falkirk 2008/2009 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
^ "falkirk-sign-northern-ireland-u21-defender". Falkirk FC. 12 May 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
^ "Falkirk complete McNamara swoop". BBC Sport. 13 May 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
^ ^a ^b "Falkirk complete Bullen transfer". BBC Sport. 14 May 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
^ "Transfer deadline day". BBC Sport. 1 September 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
^ "O'Brien back up north with Bairns". BBC Sport. 30 June 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
^ "Ashley Young Signs for Falkirk". lincolnshireonline.net. 4 July 2008. Archived from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
^ "Riera passed fit to rejoin Bairns". BBC Sport. 19 July 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
^ "Falkirk secure signing of Lovell". BBC Sport. 6 August 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
^ "Falkirk bring in keeper Flinders". BBC Sport. 14 August 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
^ "Falkirk sign up midfielder Lynch". BBC Sport. 18 September 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
^ "Falkirk swoop to sign Pressley". BBC Sport. 13 January 2009. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
^ "Bairns complete keeper Mallo deal". BBC Sport. 22 January 2009. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
^ "Moutinho makes Maritimo switch". BBC Sport. 21 May 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
^ "Falkirk's Craig to stay a Saint". BBC Sport. 1 July 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
^ "St Mirren snap up Bairns player". BBC Sport. 1 July 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
^ "Milne completes Scunthorpe switch". BBC Sport. 4 July 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
^ "Berwick boss makes signing spree". BBC Sport. 26 July 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
^ "Barclay joins East Stirlingshire". BBC Sport. 12 September 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
^ "Stirling Albion take Gibb on loan". BBC Sport. 15 November 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
^ John Stewart Joins County TheJailEnder.com, 28 December 2008
^ "Russell Latapy heads out of Falkirk and Scotland". Daily Record. Glasgow. 30 December 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
^ "Latapy to star in Pro League". Archived from the original on 27 April 2009. Retrieved 4 September 2006.
^ BARRETT ARRIVES TO INCREASE STRIKING OPTIONS Archived 28 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine St Johnstone FC Official Website, 24 February 2009

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v t e 2008–09 in Scottish football
« 2007–08 2009–10 »
Domestic leagues	Premier League Football League First Division Second Division Third Division Highland League East of Scotland Women's Premier League Women's First Division
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 Intertoto Cup
Related to national team	Results 2010 World Cup qualifying (UEFA Group 9)
Club seasons
Premier League	Aberdeen Celtic Dundee United Falkirk Hamilton Academical Heart of Midlothian Hibernian Inverness Caledonian Thistle Kilmarnock Motherwell Rangers St. Mirren
First Division	Airdrie United Clyde Dundee Dunfermline Athletic Greenock Morton Livingston Queen of the South Partick Thistle Ross County St. Johnstone
Second Division	Alloa Athletic Arbroath Ayr United Brechin City East Fife Peterhead Queen's Park Raith Rovers Stirling Albion Stranraer
Third Division	Albion Rovers Annan Athletic Berwick Rangers Cowdenbeath Dumbarton East Stirlingshire Elgin City Forfar Athletic Montrose Stenhousemuir
List of Scottish football transfers 2008–09 2008–09 in Scottish reserve and youth football