Gretna were due to play in the First Division after being relegated from the SPL. However, on 29 May 2008, they were demoted to the
Third Division due to their failure to guarantee that they would fulfill their fixtures.[3] Gretna resigned from the SFL on 3 June 2008[4] with the club's administrators warning of the threat of
liquidation, creating an opening in the Third Division for a new SFL member.[5] Following Gretna's demise a new club,
Gretna 2008 was formed, they were given a place in the
East of Scotland League, filling the gap left by
Annan Athletic.[6]
Ross County competed in the First Division after being promoted as
Second Division champions.
Airdrie United were also promoted into the First Division, filling Gretna's space, as they were the losing play-off finalists.[3]
Stirling Albion competed in the Second Division after being relegated from the First Division as the bottom team.[7]
East Fife[8] and
Arbroath[9] competed in the Second Division after being promoted as Third Division champions and
Second Division play-off winners, respectively.
Stranraer were also promoted into the
Second Division, filling the empty space following Gretna's relegation, as they were the losing play-off finalists.[3]
Berwick Rangers[10] and
Cowdenbeath[11] competed in the Third Division after being relegated from the Second Division as the bottom team and through the Second Division play-offs, respectively.
Annan Athletic competed in the Third Division after being admitted to the SFL.[12] They replaced
Gretna, who resigned their league status on 3 June.[4]
13 November – A consortium led by
Berwick Rangers 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."[20]
4 December – Scotland fail in their attempt to have the match against
Norway moved to October 2009, the match was to go ahead on 12 August 2009.[22]
13 December –
Celtic drew 1–1 with
Heart of Midlothian at
Celtic Park[23] which was followed by a reported dressing-room argument between Celtic manager
Gordon Strachan and player
Aiden McGeady.[24][25] This led to Strachan banning the player without pay for two weeks, after initially saying he would contest the sanction McGeady accepted the punishment[26] and later returned to the team.[27]
28 January – Shares in Berwick Rangers were transferred to complete the deal which handed control to a consortium led by Berwick Rangers Supporters Trust.[29]
31 January – St Mirren drew 1–1 with
Kilmarnock in their first match at their new stadium.[30]
Source:
Scottish Professional Football League Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored (C) Champions; (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.
^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.
Source:
BBC Sport Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored. (C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated Notes:
^Demoted to 3rd Division for Financial Irregularities
^Spared Relegation as Losing Finalist in the playoff due to Livingston
^The 9th placed team will be entered into a play-off with the Second Division's 2nd, 3rd and 4th placed teams. The winning team will be awarded a place in the 2009–10 First Division.
Source:
BBC Sport Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored. (C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated Notes:
^The 2nd, 3rd and 4th placed teams will be entered into a play-off with the First Division's 9th placed team. The winning team will be awarded a place in the 2009–10 First Division
^The 9th placed team will be entered into a play-off with the Third Division's 2nd, 3rd and 4th placed teams. The winning team will be awarded a place in the 2009–10 Second Division.
Source:
BBC Sport Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored. (C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted Notes:
^Cowdenbeath were promoted due to Livingston's demotion from the First Division to the Third.
^The 2nd, 3rd and 4th placed teams will be entered into a play-off with the Second Division's 9th placed team. The winning team will be awarded a place in the 2009–10 Second Division.
Scotland began the season with a
friendly against
Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland were denied a victory by substitute goalkeeper
Allan McGregor who saved a
David Healy penalty after he brought down
Warren Feeney inside the area. The draw meant that Scotland had yet to win under
George Burley after three matches. The
2010 World Cup qualification campaign began against
Macedonia. Scotland faced an early free-kick after Macedonia striker
Goran Maznov fell theatrically on the edge of the penalty area as he was challenged by stand-in captain
Stephen McManus.
Craig Gordon was able to tip the resulting shot onto the post, but
Ilčo Naumoski followed up to score five minutes into George Burley's first competitive match. Both teams had opportunities and Scotland were denied what appeared to be a clear penalty after
James McFadden was brought down but the referee waved away the appeals and booked the striker for his protests. Scotland recovered from their opening defeat with a 2–1 victory away to
Iceland in what was Burley's first win as manager.
Kirk Broadfoot scored on his debut and James McFadden scored from a penalty, Iceland got back into the match after captain McManus handled in the box and
Eiður Guðjohnsen scored from the resulting penalty. Scotland held out for the win despite having to play the last 13 minutes down to ten men.
Scotland drew 0–0 at home to
Norway despite debutant striker
Chris Iwelumo being presented with an open goal opportunity from just three yards, with the ball being crossed by
Gary Naysmith from the left to the right side of the goal where Iwelumo is standing, he connects with the ball but somehow manages to put the ball wide of the left post. The draw left Scotland top of
Group Nine but with just four points from three games, with the
Netherlands having played just one. They next played a friendly against
Argentina in
Diego Maradona's first match as Argentina manager,
Maxi Rodríguez scored the winning goal for the Argentines in a 1–0 win.
The Netherlands beat Scotland comfortably with goals from
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar,
Robin van Persie and
Dirk Kuyt, depleted by injuries Burley was forced to field an inexperienced side
Ross McCormack making his debut started along with
Christophe Berra and Allan McGregor, who were making their first competitive starts. Scotland were denied a chance to get back into the match at 2–0 down when referee
Massimo Busacca (who was suspended by his home federation) disallowed a seemingly perfectly good
Gary Caldwell goal, minutes later the Netherlands were awarded a penalty from which Kuyt scored. Ross McCormack and
Steven Fletcher both scored their first international goals in a 2–1 win over Iceland, McCormack opened the scoring after 39 minutes firing high into the net from an
Alan Hutton cross,
Indridi Sigurdsson levelled for the visitors after
Pálmi Rafn Pálmason hit the post, Scotland though regrouped and after 65 minutes were awarded a debatable corner which McCormack took, the ball was headed into the danger area by McManus and Fletcher headed into the net. Scotland had gained seven points from five matches and occupied second spot in Group nine, three points clear of Iceland, four matches between the other teams and Scotland retained second position having played less matches than all other teams in the group meaning they were in prime position for second place with Holland already guaranteed first, However, only the second placed teams from eight of the nine qualifying groups would go into the
play-offs.