The 2008–09 Scottish Football League Third Division (also known as the 2008–09

Irn-Bru Irn-Bru ( "iron brew", ) is a Scottish carbonated soft drink, often described as "Scotland's other national drink" (after whisky). Introduced in 1901, the drink is produced in Westfield, Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire, by A.G. Barr of Glasgo ...

Scottish Football League Third Division for sponsorship reasons) was the 14th season in the format of ten teams in the fourth-tier of Scottish football. The season started on 2 August 2008 and ended on 9 May 2009.

Dumbarton F.C. Dumbarton Football Club is a semi-professional football club in Dumbarton, Scotland. Founded on 23 December 1872, they are one of the oldest football clubs in Scotland. The club plays home games at the Dumbarton Football Stadium next to Dum ...

finished top and were promoted alongside Stenhousemuir F.C. as play-off winners.

Cowdenbeath F.C. Cowdenbeath Football Club ( ) is a Scottish semi-professional football team based in Cowdenbeath, Fife. They are members of the Lowland Football League, the fifth tier of the Scottish football league system after their relegation from Scottish ...

were also promoted due to

Livingston Livingston may refer to: Businesses * Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010) * Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline * Livingston International, a North American custom ...

being demoted to the Third Division.

Teams for 2008–09

East Fife as champions of the 2007–08 season were directly promoted to the

2008–09 Scottish Second Division The 2008–09 Scottish Second Division was the fourteenth season of the Second Division in its current format of ten teams. Promotion and relegation from 2007–08 First & Second Divisions Relegated from First Division to Second Division * Sti ...

. They were replaced by

Berwick Rangers Berwick Rangers Football Club is a football team based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, England, just south of the border with Scotland. Founded in 1881, they currently play in the , the fifth tier of Scottish football, despite hailing f ...

who finished bottom of the

2007–08 Scottish Second Division The 2007–08 Second Division season was the thirteenth season of the Second Division in a ten team format. The following teams competed: Airdrie United, Alloa Athletic, Ayr United, Berwick Rangers, Brechin City, Cowdenbeath, Peterhead, Queen' ...

. A second promotion place was available via a play-off tournament between the ninth-placed team of the 2007–08 Scottish Second Division,

Cowdenbeath Cowdenbeath (; sco, Coudenbeith) is a town and burgh in west Fife, Scotland. It is north-east of Dunfermline and north of the capital, Edinburgh. The town grew up around the extensive coalfields of the area and became a police burgh in 18 ...

, and the sides ranked second, third and fourth in the 2007–08 Scottish Third Division, Stranraer, Montrose and

Arbroath Arbroath () or Aberbrothock ( gd, Obar Bhrothaig ) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the council area of Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902. It lies on the North Sea coast some ENE of Dundee and SSW of Aberdeen. ...

respectively. The play off was won by Arbroath who defeated Stranraer in the final. Cowdenbeath were therefore relegated. However, due to Gretna's expulsion from the Football League, an extra promotion place was awarded, thus Stranraer as losing play-off finalists were also promoted. Annan Athletic, formerly of the

East of Scotland League The East of Scotland Football League (EoSFL) is a senior football league based in the east and south-east of Scotland. The league sits at levels 6–9 on the Scottish football league system, acting as a feeder to the Lowland Football League. F ...

, were admitted to the SFL to replace Gretna, who resigned their league status on 3 June.) The SFL voted on the matter on 3 July, with 5 clubs having put forward applications. Annan, who like Gretna are from the

Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries and Galloway ( sco, Dumfries an Gallowa; gd, Dùn Phrìs is Gall-Ghaidhealaibh) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland and is located in the western Southern Uplands. It covers the historic counties of Dumfriesshire, Ki ...

region, were chosen above other applicants

Cove Rangers Cove Rangers Football Club is a senior Scottish football club currently playing in the Scottish Championship. They are based in the Cove Bay area of Aberdeen and play their football at Balmoral Stadium, having left their former home at All ...

, Edinburgh City,

Preston Athletic Preston Athletic Football Club are a Scottish football club based in the town of Prestonpans, East Lothian. The club are nicknamed the Panners and play their home matches at Pennypit Park. The team play in dark blue. They were founding member ...

and

Spartans Sparta (Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: wikt:Σπάρτη, Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the nam ...

Overview

Relegated from

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

to Third Division *

(via play-offs) Promoted from Third Division to

* East Fife *

(via play-offs) * Stranraer (losing play-off finalists, promoted due to Gretna's demotion to Third Division) Newly admitted into SFL * Annan Athletic

Stadia and attendances

{, {, class="sortable wikitable" style="text-align: center;" , - ! class=unsortable, Team ! class=unsortable, Stadium ! Capacity ! Highest ! Lowest ! Average , - , align=left, Annan Athletic , align=left, Galabank Stadium , 3,500 , 1,343 , 422 , 734 , - , align=left, Dumbarton , align=left,

Strathclyde Homes Stadium The Dumbarton Football Stadium, commonly known as The Rock, and currently named The moreroom.com Stadium for sponsorship purposes is a stadium in Dumbarton, Scotland, used mostly for football matches; it is the home ground of Dumbarton Footba ...

, 2,025 , 1,398 , 462 , 716 , - , align=left, Stenhousemuir , align=left,

Ochilview Park Ochilview Park is a football stadium in Stenhousemuir in the Falkirk council area of Scotland. It is the home ground of Scottish League Two club Stenhousemuir, and is also currently shared by Scottish Championship club Queen's Park and East ...

, 2,624 , 805 , 311 , 496 , - , align=left, Forfar Athletic , align=left, Station Park , 5,177 , 621 , 362 , 460 , - , align=left, East Stirlingshire , align=left,

, 2,624 , 812 , 343 , 450 , - , align=left, Cowdenbeath , align=left,

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...

, 2,000 , 1,181 , 193 , 415 , - , align=left, Berwick Rangers , align=left,

Shielfield Park Shielfield Park is a football stadium that is home to Berwick Rangers and Berwick Bandits speedway team. Although Berwick Rangers is a Scottish Lowland Football League club, Shielfield Park is situated in the English county of Northumberland. H ...

, 4,131 , 570 , 288 , 414 , - , align=left, Elgin City , align=left,

Borough Briggs Borough Briggs is a football ground in Elgin, Moray, Scotland and is the most northerly football league stadium in Great Britain. This venue is the home ground of Elgin City who currently play in the Scottish League Two. Borough Briggs opened ...

, 3,927 , 537 , 276 , 392 , - , align=left, Montrose , align=left,

Links Park Links Park is a football stadium in Montrose, Scotland. It has been the home ground of Montrose F.C. since 1887. Links Park was opened in 1887 on land rented from the ' Auld Kirk'. To help finance the new ground, Montrose F.C. rented the pitch ...

, 3,292 , 570 , 294 , 379 , - , align=left, Albion Rovers , align=left,

Cliftonhill Cliftonhill Stadium, commonly known as Cliftonhill and currently 'The Reigart Stadium' for sponsorship purposes, is a football stadium in Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is the home ground of Scottish Professional Football League te ...

, 1,249 , 452 , 237 , 312 Source
The League Insider
/small>
A.East Stirlingshire ground shared with

Stenhousemuir Stenhousemuir (; gd, Featha Thaigh nan Clach) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies within the Falkirk council area of Scotland. The town is north-northwest of Falkirk and directly adjoins to Larbert in the west, where the nea ...

.East Stirlingshire FC
, www.eaststirlingshirefc.com Retrieved 25 May 2011.

Managerial changes

{, class="wikitable" ! Team ! Outgoing manager ! Manner of departure ! Date of vacancy ! Replaced by ! Date of appointment ! Table position , - ,

Albion Rovers Albion Rovers Football Club is a semi-professional football team from Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. They are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and play in Scottish League Two, the fourth tier of the Scot ...

, John McCormack , Resigned , 28 June ,

Paul Martin Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006. The son o ...

, 9 July , pre-season , - , Montrose ,

Jim Weir James McIntosh Weir (born 15 June 1969) is a Scottish professional football player and coach. Weir played in the senior Scottish leagues for Hamilton Academical, Hearts and St. Johnstone. He has also worked as manager of Montrose, Arbroath, ...

, Sacked , 19 October ,

Steven Tweed Steven Tweed (born 8 August 1972) is a Scottish former footballer and manager. Tweed started his career in Scotland with Hibernian, for whom he made over 100 league appearances. He made his first move abroad in 1996 when he joined Greek side ...

, 15 January 2009 , 4 , - ,

Alan McGonigal Allan McGonigal (born 27 March 1964) is a Scottish retired footballer, the former manager of Berwick Rangers and, as of 2019, the director of football at Scottish Premiership club Hamilton Academical. Playing career McGonigal was a striker with ...

, Resigned , 13 November , Jimmy Crease , 26 December , 9 , - ,

Elgin City Elgin City Football Club (also known as City or The Black and Whites) is a professional senior football club based in Elgin, Moray. Elgin was founded in 1893 and originally played their football in the Highland Football League. The club was g ...

, Robbie Williamson , Resigned , 20 December 2008 ,

Ross Jack James Ross Jack (born 21 March 1959) is a Scottish football player and manager. Playing career A striker, Jack began his career with Ross County, where he played in the Highland Football League at the age of 14. He then joined Everton, initi ...

, 23 January , 10

League table

Results

Teams play each other four times in this league. In the first half of the season each team plays every other team twice (home and away) and then do the same in the second half of the season.

First half of season

Second half of season

Top scorers

{, class="wikitable" , - ! Rank ! Scorer ! Team ! Goals , - , rowspan=2 align=center, 1 , Mike Jack , Annan Athletic , rowspan=2 align=center, 15 , - , Scott Dalziel ,

, - , rowspan=4 align=center, 3 ,

Darren Gribben Darren Gribben (born 27 March 1986) is a Scottish semi-professional footballer who plays as a striker for Camelon Juniors. Gribben has played for Hamilton Academical, Cowdenbeath, Forfar Athletic, Stirling Albion, Brechin City, Stranraer, ...

, rowspan=4 align=center, 14 , - , Ross Clark ,

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990. Dumbarton was the ca ...

, - ,

Andy Rodgers Andrew Rodgers (born 18 October 1983 in Falkirk) is a Scottish footballer and coach who plays as a forward for Syngenta. Career Rodgers began his career at Falkirk, scoring nine minutes into his debut after coming on as a substitute in a 2– ...

East Stirlingshire East Stirlingshire Football Club is a Scottish association football club based in the town of Falkirk. The club was founded in 1881 and competes in the , in the fifth tier of the Scottish football league system. The club's origins can be tra ...

, - , Brian Graham ,

, - , align=center, 7 , Ross Campbell , Forfar Athletic , align=center, 13 , - , rowspan=2 align=center, 8 , John Gemmell ,

, rowspan=2 align=center, 12 , - , Kevin Motion ,

, - , rowspan=2 align=center, 10 , Bobby Barr ,

, rowspan=2 align=center, 11 , - ,

Derek Carcary Derek Carcary (born 11 July 1986) is a Scottish former footballer who played for Queen's Park, Rangers, Raith Rovers, Dumbarton, Brechin City and Annan Athletic and Clydebank Clydebank ( gd, Bruach Chluaidh) is a town in West Dunbarto ...

Source
The League Insider
/small>

Events

* 3 July – Annan Athletic, formerly of the

were admitted to the SFL, beating

, Edinburgh City,

and

. They replaced Gretna, who resigned their league status on 3 June. * 13 November – A consortium led by

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."

Monthly awards

{, class="wikitable" style="font-size:100%" , - !rowspan=2, Month !colspan=2, First Division manager !colspan=2, SFL Player !colspan=2, SFL Young player , - !Manager !Club !Player !Club !Player !Club , - , August ,

Roberto Landi Roberto Landi (born 2 January 1956) is an Italian football manager and former player. Playing career Landi was born in Forlì. A goalkeeper, he joined the Piacenza youth system in 1966 and later joined the first team, then playing in Serie C1 ...

, Stephen Robertson ,

Airdrie United Airdrieonians Football Club is a Scottish professional football team in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, who are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and play in Scottish League One. They were formed in 2002 as Airdrie Unite ...

Leigh Griffiths Leigh Griffiths (born 20 August 1990) is a Scottish professional footballer who most recently played as a striker for Australian club Mandurah City. Griffiths started his career at Livingston where he made his debut as a sixteen-year-old. He ...

, - , September , Jim McIntyre ,

Dunfermline Athletic Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish Association football, football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently play in Scottish League One after being relegated from the 2021–22 Scottish Champ ...

, Paul McManus , East Fife ,

Calum Elliot Calum Elliot (born 30 March 1987) is a Scottish former professional footballer, who played as a forward for Heart of Midlothian, Motherwell, Livingston, Dundee, Žalgiris Vilnius, Alloa and Raith Rovers. He also represented Scotland at you ...

, - , October ,

Derek McInnes Derek John McInnes (born 5 July 1971) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player who is the manager of Scottish Premiership club Kilmarnock. He featured prominently for Greenock Morton, Rangers, West Bromwich Albion and ...

St Johnstone St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland which is a member of the Scottish Premiership for the 2022–23 season. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun ''aka'' Saint Johnstoun – an ol ...

Steven Milne Steven Milne (born 5 May 1980) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a striker for Dundee, Forfar Athletic, Plymouth Argyle, St Johnstone, Ross County and Arbroath. Milne received a runners-up medal in the 2003 Scotti ...

Dominic Shimmin Dominic Edward Shimmin (born 13 October 1987, in Bermondsey) is an English former footballer. In his career, he has also played for Arsenal, Queens Park Rangers, AFC Bournemouth and Crawley Town. Shimmin mainly plays as a centre half. Car ...

Greenock Morton Greenock Morton Football Club is a Scottish professional football club, which plays in the Scottish Championship. The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of the oldest senior Scottish clubs. Morton was renamed Green ...

, - , November ,

Jocky Scott John Alexander "Jocky" Scott (born 14 January 1948) is a Scottish football coach and former player. During his playing career he played for Dundee, Aberdeen, Seattle Sounders and Scotland. An extensive management career followed with spells ...

, Dundee , Bryan Prunty , Ayr United ,

Kyle Benedictus Kyle Benedictus (born 7 December 1991) is a Scottish footballer who plays as a centre back and captains Scottish Championship side Dunfermline Athletic. He started his career with Lincraig Boys Club before moving to Dundee, and had loan spell ...

, Dundee , - , December , John Brown ,

Clyde Clyde may refer to: People * Clyde (given name) * Clyde (surname) Places For townships see also Clyde Township Australia * Clyde, New South Wales * Clyde, Victoria * Clyde River, New South Wales Canada * Clyde, Alberta * Clyde, Ontario, a to ...

Alan Main Alan David Main (born 5 December 1967) is a Scottish former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is currently goalkeeping coach at Dunfermline Athletic. Main began his senior football career in the Highland League, for whom he made his ...

Chris McMenamin Chris McMenamin (born 2 January 1989 in Glasgow) is a Scottish footballer. After spending much of last season on loan with Berwick while an Airdrie United player, defender Chris has now joined Berwick on a permanent basis. During his loan sti ...

, - , January , Ian McCall ,

Partick Thistle Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional football club from Glasgow, Scotland. Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not played in Partick since 1908. The club have been mem ...

Willie McLaren William McLaren (born 6 November 1984) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays for Scottish Junior club Forth Wanderers, who plays as a midfielder. He has played for several Scottish clubs throughout his career which started in 200 ...

, Bobby Barr ,

, - , February ,

, Dundee ,

Gary Harkins Gary Harkins (born 2 January 1985) is a Scottish professional association football, footballer and coach who plays as a midfielder. Having come through the youth academies at Celtic F.C., Celtic and Blackburn Rovers F.C., Blackburn Rovers he wou ...

Fraser McLaren Fraser McLaren (born 26 September 1988) is a Scottish footballer, who plays for club Dunbar United. He has previously played for Gretna, Ayr United, Montrose, Berwick Rangers, Peterhead and Bonnyrigg Rose. Career McLaren started his seni ...

, - , March ,

Paul Hegarty Paul Anthony Hegarty (born 25 July 1954 in Edinburgh) is a Scottish football player and manager. He was captain of Dundee United during their most successful era in the 1970s and 1980s, winning the Scottish league championship in 1983 and the ...

Kevin Rutkiewicz Kevin Rutkiewicz (born 10 May 1980) is a Scottish professional football player and coach, who is the current manager of Lowland League side East Kilbride. He was formally the manager of Scottish League Two club Stirling Albion. Ruthkiewicz pl ...

, - , April ,

Gordon Chisholm Gordon William Chisholm (born 8 April 1960 in Glasgow) is a Scottish professional football former player and manager. Chisholm played as a central defender for Sunderland, Hibernian, Dundee and Partick Thistle. After retiring as a player, Ch ...

, Queen of the South ,

Stephen Dobbie Stephen Dobbie (born 5 December 1982) is a Scottish former professional footballer. He is Senior Professional Development Phase coach at his former club Blackpool. Dobbie is Queen of the South's second-highest goalscorer of all time (166 goal ...

, Queen of the South ,

Kevin Moon Kevin John Moon (born 8 June 1987) is a Scottish footballer, who last played as a midfielder for Scottish League Two club Stirling Albion. He began his career with St. Johnstone and was part of the side which gained promotion to the Scottish ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2008-09 Scottish Third Division Scottish Third Division seasons 3 4

Scot The Scots ( sco, Scots Fowk; gd, Albannaich) are an ethnic group and nation native to Scotland. Historically, they emerged in the early Middle Ages from an amalgamation of two Celtic-speaking peoples, the Picts and Gaels, who founded ...