2007–08 in Scottish football
The 2007–08 season was the 111th season of competitive football in Scotland.
Overview
- Gretna were competing in the Scottish Premier League for the first time, their first ever season in the top-flight, after being promoted as First Division champions the previous season.
- Dunfermline Athletic competed in the First Division after being relegated from the Scottish Premier League.
- Greenock Morton and Stirling Albion played in the First Division after being promoted as Second Division champions and First Division play-off winners, respectively.
- Ross County were competing in the Second Division after being relegated as the First Division's bottom team and Airdrie United were relegated through the Second Division play-offs.
- Berwick Rangers and Queen's Park were competing in the Second Division after being promoted from the Third Division as champions and Second Division play-offs winners, respectively.
- Forfar Athletic and Stranraer played Third Division football after being relegated as the Second Division's bottom team and Second Division play-off losers, respectively.
- East Stirlingshire had a suspended reduction to associate members hanging over them from the previous season. Finishing bottom of the Third Division would mean an automatic and instant reduction to associate members, while finishing 9th or higher would annul any punishment.
Notable events
2007
- 1 June – The Scottish Football Association appoint former Rangers and Kilmarnock striker Gordon Smith as the new Chief Executive following the departure of David Taylor who was appointed General Secretary of UEFA.
- 20 July – Irn-Bru became the new sponsor of the Scottish Football League, signing a three-year deal.
- 11 October – Celtic are fined £25,000 by UEFA for "lack of organisation and improper conduct by supporters" during their UEFA Champions League match with A.C. Milan at Celtic Park.
- 17 November – The Scotland national team fail to qualify for Euro 2008 after a 2–1 defeat by Italy at Hampden Park eliminated them at the qualifying stage.
- 25 November – St Johnstone beat Dunfermline 3–2 to win the Challenge Cup for the first time.
- 29 December – Motherwell captain Phil O'Donnell, 35, collapsed on the pitch at Fir Park during a match against Dundee United, and died later that evening.
2008
- 15 March – East Fife confirm their promotion to the Second Division as Third Division champions with a 3–0 victory over East Stirlingshire, becoming the first team in Britain to win a league trophy in the 2007–08 season.
- 16 March – Rangers win the Scottish League Cup by beating Dundee United 3–2 in a penalty shootout after a 2–2 draw in the final at Hampden Park.
- 22 March – Scotland's Under-17s qualify for the 2008 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship after finishing top of their Elite qualifying group.
- 29 March – Gretna are relegated from the SPL after losing 2–0 to St Mirren at Love Street.
- 29 March – Berwick Rangers are relegated from the Second Division after a 2–2 draw with Peterhead.
- 5 April – Ross County win promotion to the First Division as Second Division champions after defeating already-relegated Berwick Rangers 4–0 and second place Airdrie United losing 2–1 to Brechin City.
- 8 April – Stirling Albion are relegated from the First Division after a 1–0 defeat to Partick Thistle.
- 12 April – First Division Queen of the South beat SPL Aberdeen 4–3 at Hampden Park to qualify for their first Scottish Cup final, in the highest scoring semi-final ever.
- 19 April – Hamilton Academical win promotion to the Scottish Premier League as First Division champions following a 2–0 over Clyde.
- 10 May – Clyde retain their First Division status after defeating Airdrie United 3–0 on aggregate in the First Division play-off final.
- 10 May – Arbroath are promoted to the Second Division after a 2–1 aggregate win over Stranraer in the Second Division play-off final. Cowdenbeath, who were beaten by Arbroath in the semi-finals, are relegated to the Third Division.
- 14 May – Rangers lose 2–0 to Zenit St. Petersburg in the UEFA Cup Final.
- 22 May – Celtic win their third successive SPL title after defeating Dundee United 1–0.
- 24 May – Rangers win the Scottish Cup for the 32nd time after defeating Queen of the South 3–2 in the Final. This was the Dumfries club's first ever Scottish Cup Final appearance in their history.
- 29 May – Gretna are demoted to the Third Division after administrator David Elliot could not guarantee the Football League that the club would fulfil its fixtures next season. Consequently, First Division play-off runners-up Airdrie United are promoted to the First Division and Second Division play-off runners-up Stranraer are promoted to the Second Division.
Transfer deals
Managerial changes
League competitions
Scottish Premier League
Scottish First Division
Scottish Second Division
Scottish Third Division
Other honours
Main cup honours
Non-league honours
Senior
Junior
West RegionCompetition | Winner |
Premier League | Pollok |
Division One | Kirkintilloch Rob Roy |
Ayrshire League | Hurlford United |
Central League Division One | Port Glasgow |
Central League Division Two | Vale of Leven |
Competition | Winner |
Evening Times Cup | Pollok |
West of Scotland Cup | Kilbirnie Ladeside |
Central League Cup | Arthurlie |
Central Sectional League Cup | Rutherglen Glencairn |
Ayrshire League Cup | Cumnock Juniors |
Ayrshire Sectional League Cup | Auchinleck Talbot |
North Ayrshire Cup | Ardrossan Winton Rovers |
South Ayrshire Cup | Maybole |
East Region
Competition | Winner |
Super League | Lochee United |
Premier League | Bo'ness United |
North Division | Blairgowrie |
Central Division | Ballingry Rovers |
South Division | Fauldhouse United |
North Region
Competition | Winner |
Premier League | Banks O'Dee |
Division One | Banchory St. Ternan |
Division Two | Lossiemouth United |
Individual honours
PFA Scotland awards
SFWA awards
Monthly awards
Scottish clubs in Europe
Summary
Celtic
Rangers
Aberdeen
Dunfermline Athletic
National teams
Summary
failed in their attempt to qualify for the Euro 2008, finishing third in Group B behind 2006 World Cup finalists France and Italy despite beating France twice. Scotland needed a win in their final group game against Italy to qualify, although a draw would have been enough if Ukraine beat France in the last group fixture. Scotland lost 2–1 as a result of a heavily criticised decision by Spanish referee Manuel Mejuto González to award Italy a free kick in stoppage time when it was clear it should have been a free kick to Scotland.Manager Alex McLeish resigned on 27 November 2007 following the loss against Italy and became manager of Birmingham City, his assistants Roy Aitken and Andy Watson joined him at Birmingham. He was eventually replaced on 24 January 2008 by Southampton manager George Burley, he appointed Steven Pressley and former England captain Terry Butcher as his assistants. In first match in charge a 1–1 draw was achieved against Croatia despite the withdrawal of 7 players.
Results
Date | Venue | Opponents | Score | Competition | Scotland scorer | Report |
22 August | Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen | 1–0 | Friendly | Kris Boyd | ||
8 September | Hampden Park, Glasgow | 3–1 | ECQ | Kris Boyd, Stephen McManus, James McFadden | ||
12 September | Parc des Princes, Paris | 1–0 | ECQ | James McFadden | ||
13 October | Hampden Park, Glasgow | 3–1 | ECQ | Kenny Miller, Lee McCulloch, James McFadden | ||
17 October | Boris Paichadze Stadium, Tbilisi | 0–2 | ECQ | |||
17 November | Hampden Park, Glasgow | 1–2 | ECQ | Barry Ferguson | ||
26 March | Hampden Park, Glasgow | 1–1 | Friendly | Kenny Miller | ||
30 May | AXA Arena, Prague | 1–3 | Friendly | David Clarkson |
Youth and Reserve football
Deaths
- 12 July: Forbes Johnston, 35, Falkirk and Airdrie midfielder.
- 31 August: Willie Cunningham, 77, St Mirren and Dunfermline defender; Dunfermline, Falkirk and St Mirren manager.
- 11 September: Ian Porterfield, 61, Aberdeen manager.
- 30 November: Ian Crawford, 73, Hamilton and Hearts winger.
- 29 December: Phil O'Donnell, 35, Motherwell, Celtic and Scotland midfielder.
- 14 January: Johnny Steele, 91, East Fife and Ayr United inside forward.
- 20 April: Derek McKay, 59, Dundee and Aberdeen winger.
- 15 May: Tommy Burns, 51, Celtic, Kilmarnock and Scotland midfielder; Kilmarnock and Celtic manager.
- 7 June: Jimmy Bonthrone, 78, East Fife, Dundee and Stirling Albion inside forward; East Fife and Aberdeen manager.