List of Motherwell F.C. seasons

This is a record of the seasons played by Motherwell Football Club in Scottish and European competition from 1891 to the present day.[1] It details the club's achievements in major competitions, and details all the managers of Motherwell.[2]

This list does not include matches from the Lanarkshire Cup.

Seasons

Season League Tier Manager
[note 1][note 2] 		League Scottish
Cup 		League
Cup
[note 3] 		Europe
[note 4] 		Leading
Scorer(s)
[note 5][note 6]
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts FP
[note 7]
1891–92 Football Federation U Committee 22 4 6 12 58 80 -22 14 12th R1 - - - -
1892–93 Football Federation U
[note 8] 		Committee 18 11 3 4 77 46 +31 25 2nd R2 - - - -
1893–94
[3] 		Division Two 2
[note 9] 		Committee 18 11 1 6 61 44 +17 23 4th - - - - -
1894–95 Division Two 2 Committee 18 10 2 6 56 39 +17 22 2nd - - - - -
1895–96 Division Two 2 Committee 18 5 3 10 31 47 -16 13 8th - - - - -
1896–97 Division Two 2 Committee 18 6 1 11 40 55 -15 13 9th - - - - -
1897–98 Division Two 2 Committee 18 3 4 11 31 56 -25 10 10th - - - - -
1898–99 Division Two 2 Committee 18 7 6 5 41 40 +1 20 4th - - - - -
1899–1900 Division Two 2 Committee 18 9 1 8 38 36 +2 19 4th - - - - -
1900–01 Division Two 2 Committee 18 4 3 11 26 42 -16 11 10th - - - - -
1901–02 Division Two 2 Committee 22 12 2 8 50 44 +6 26 3rd - - - - -
1902–03 Division Two 2 Committee 22 12 4 6 44 9 +35 28 2nd R2 - - - -
1903–04 Division One 1 Committee 26 6 3 17 26 61 -35 15 13th R2 - - - -
1904–05 Division One 1 Committee 26 6 2 18 28 53 -25 14 14th R2 - - - -
1905–06 Division One 1 Committee 34 9 8 13 50 64 -14 26 10th - - - - -
1906–07 Division One 1 Committee 34 12 9 13 45 48 -3 33 10th - - - - -
1907–08 Division One 1 Committee 34 12 7 15 61 53 +8 31 10th R2 - - - -
1908–09 Division One 1 Committee 34 11 6 17 47 73 -26 28 13th R2 - - - -
1909–10 Division One 1 Committee 34 12 8 14 59 60 -1 32 10th QF - - - -
1910–11 Division One 1 Committee 34 8 4 22 37 66 -29 20 17th QF - - - -
1911–12 Division One 1 John "Sailor" Hunter 34 11 5 18 34 44 -10 27 14th QF - - - -
1912–13 Division One 1 John "Sailor" Hunter 34 12 13 9 47 39 +8 37 6th R2 - - - -
1913–14 Division One 1 John "Sailor" Hunter 38 11 6 21 46 65 -19 28 17th QF - - - -
1914–15 Division One 1 John "Sailor" Hunter 38 10 10 18 49 66 -17 30 18th -[note 10] - - - -
1915–16 Division One 1 John "Sailor" Hunter 38 11 8 19 55 82 -27 30 14th -[note 10] - - - -
1916–17 Division One 1 John "Sailor" Hunter 38 16 6 16 57 59 -2 38 8th -[note 10] - - - -
1917–18 Division One 1 John "Sailor" Hunter 34 16 9 9 70 51 +19 41 5th -[note 10] - - - -
1918–19
[4] 		Division One 1 John "Sailor" Hunter 34 14 10 10 51 40 +11 38 5th - - - - -
1919–20 Division One 1 John "Sailor" Hunter 42 23 11 8 74 53 +21 57 3rd - - - - -
1920–21 Division One 1 John "Sailor" Hunter 42 19 10 13 75 51 +24 48 5th QF - - - -
1921–22 Division One 1 John "Sailor" Hunter 42 16 7 19 63 58 +5 39 13th QF - - - -
1922–23 Division One 1 John "Sailor" Hunter 38 13 10 15 59 60 -1 36 13th SF - - - -
1923–24 Division One 1 John "Sailor" Hunter 38 15 7 16 58 63 -5 37 10th R2 - - - -
1924–25 Division One 1 John "Sailor" Hunter 38 10 10 18 54 63 -9 30 18th R3 - - - -
1925–26 Division One 1 John "Sailor" Hunter 38 19 8 11 67 46 +21 46 5th - - - - -
1926–27 Division One 1 John "Sailor" Hunter 38 23 5 10 81 52 +29 51 2nd - - - - -
1927–28 Division One 1 John "Sailor" Hunter 38 23 9 6 92 46 +46 55 3rd QF - - - -
1928–29 Division One 1 John "Sailor" Hunter 38 20 10 8 85 66 +19 50 3rd QF - - - -
1929–30 Division One 1 John "Sailor" Hunter 38 25 5 8 104 48 +56 55 2nd R3 - - - -
1930–31 Division One 1 John "Sailor" Hunter 38 24 8 6 102 42 +60 56 3rd RU - - - -
1931–32 Division One 1 John "Sailor" Hunter 38 30 6 2 119
[note 11] 		31 +88 66 1st
[5][note 12] 		QF - - - -
1932–33 Division One 1 John "Sailor" Hunter 38 27 5 6 114 53 +61 59 2nd RU - - - -
1933–34 Division One 1 John "Sailor" Hunter 38 29 4 5 97 45 +52 62 2nd SF - - - -
1934–35 Division One 1 John "Sailor" Hunter 38 15 10 13 83 64 +19 40 7th QF - - - -
1935–36 Division One 1 John "Sailor" Hunter 38 18 12 8 77 58 +19 48 4th QF - - - -
1936–37 Division One 1 John "Sailor" Hunter 38 22 7 9 96 54 +42 51 4th QF - - - -
1937–38 Division One 1 John "Sailor" Hunter 38 17 10 11 78 69 +9 44 5th QF - - - -
1938–39 Division One 1 John "Sailor" Hunter 38 16 5 17 82 86 -4 37 12th RU - - - -
1939–40 Division One 1 John "Sailor" Hunter 5 2 1 2 14 12 +2 5 8th
[note 13]
[note 14] 		-
[note 15] 		- - - -
No competitive football was played between 1939 and 1946 due to the Second World War
1946–47
[6] 		Division One 1 George Stevenson 30 12 5 13 58 54 +4 29 8th SF GS - - John Brown (16)
1947–48 Division One 1 George Stevenson 30 13 3 14 45 47 -2 29 8th R3 GS - - Wilson Humphries (19)
1948–49 Division One 1 George Stevenson 30 10 5 15 44 49 -5 25 12th R2 GS - - Davie Mathie (13)
1949–50 Division One 1 George Stevenson 30 10 5 15 53 58 -5 25 10th R1 GS - - Archie Kelly (15)
1950–51 Division One 1 George Stevenson 30 11 6 13 58 65 -7 28 9th RU W
[note 16] 		- - Jim Forrest (14)
1951–52 Division One 1 George Stevenson 30 12 11 7 51 57 -6 31 7th W
[note 17] 		SF - - Archie Kelly (20)
1952–53 Division One 1 George Stevenson 30 10 5 15 57 80 -23 25 15th R3 GS - - Archie Kelly (19)
1953–54 Division Two 2 George Stevenson 30 21 3 6 109 43 +66 45 1st SF GS - - Jackie Hunter (28)
1954–55 Division One 1 George Stevenson 30 9 4 17 42 62 -20 22 15th
[note 18] 		QF RU - - Jackie Hunter (8)
1955–56 Division One 1 Bobby Ancell 34 11 11 12 53 59 -6 33 10th R5 SF Ian Gardiner (9)
1956–57 Division One 1 Bobby Ancell 34 16 5 13 72 66 +6 37 7th R6 GS Ian Gardiner (18)
1957–58 Division One 1 Bobby Ancell 34 12 8 14 68 67 +1 32 8th SF GS Ian Gardiner (18)
1958–59 Division One 1 Bobby Ancell 34 18 8 8 83 50 +33 44 3rd R3 GS Ian St. John (24)
1959–60 Division One 1 Bobby Ancell 34 16 8 10 71 61 +13 40 5th R3 QF Ian St. John (21)
1960–61 Division One 1 Bobby Ancell 34 15 8 11 70 57 +13 38 5th QF GS Ian St. John (18)
1961–62 Division One 1 Bobby Ancell 34 13 6 15 65 62 +3 32 9th SF QF Pat Quinn (21)
1962–63 Division One 1 Bobby Ancell 34 10 11 13 60 63 -3 31 10th R2 GS Joe McBride (11)
1963–64 Division One 1 Bobby Ancell 34 9 11 14 51 62 -11 29 11th QF QF Joe McBride (19)
1964–65 Division One 1 Bobby Ancell 34 11 8 16 45 54 -9 28 14th SF GS Joe McBride (21)
1965–66 Division One 1 Bobby Howitt 34 12 4 18 52 69 -17 28 13th R2 GS Ian Thomson (10)
1966–67 Division One 1 Bobby Howitt 34 10 11 13 59 60 -1 31 10th R1 GS Bobby Campbell (18)
1967–68 Division One 1 Bobby Howitt 34 6 7 21 40 66 -26 19 17th R1 GS Dixie Deans (11)
1968–69 Division Two 2 Bobby Howitt 36 30 4 2 112 23 +89 64 1st R1 GS Dixie Deans (30)
1969–70 Division One 1 Bobby Howitt 34 11 10 13 49 51 -2 32 11th QF SF Dixie Deans (15)
1970–71 Division One 1 Bobby Howitt 34 13 8 13 43 47 -4 34 10th R3 GS Dixie Deans (9)
1971–72 Division One 1 Bobby Howitt 34 11 7 16 49 69 -20 29 10th QF GS Jim MacCabe (7)
1972–73 Division One 1 Bobby Howitt 34 11 9 14 38 48 -10 31 8th R4 R2 Willie McClymont (6)
1973–74 Division One 1 Ian St. John 34 14 7 13 45 40 +5 35 9th QF R2 Bobby Graham (13)
1974–75 Division One 1 Willie McLean 34 14 5 15 52 57 -5 33 10th SF GS Willie Pettigrew (20)
1975–76
[note 19]
[7] 		Premier Division 1 Willie McLean 36 16 8 12 53 49 +4 40 4th SF GS Willie Pettigrew (22)
1976–77 Premier Division 1 Willie McLean 36 10 12 14 57 60 -3 32 7th QF GS Willie Pettigrew (21)
1977–78 Premier Division 1 Roger Hynd 36 13 17 16 45 52 -7 33 6th R4 R2 Vic Davidson (8)
1978–79 Premier Division 1 Ally MacLeod 36 5 7 24 33 86 -53 17 10th R3 R3 Willie Pettigrew (6)
1979–80 Division One 2 Ally MacLeod 39 16 11 12 59 48 +11 43 6th R3 R2 Willie Irvine (13)
1980–81 Division One 2 Ally MacLeod 39 19 11 9 65 51 +14 49 8th QF GS Albert Kidd (13)
1981–82 Division One 2 David Hay 39 26 9 4 92 36 +56 61 1st R3 GS Willie Irvine (20)
1982–83 Premier Division 1 Jock Wallace 36 11 5 20 39 73 -34 27 8th R3 GS Brian McClair (11)
1983–84 Premier Division 1 Jock Wallace
Succeeded by Bobby Watson 		36 4 7 25 31 75 -44 15 10th QF GS John Gahagan (11)
1984–85 Division One 2 Tommy McLean 36 21 8 10 62 26 +26 50 1st SF R2 Andy Harrow
Rab Stewart (9)
1985–86 Premier Division 1 Tommy McLean 36 7 6 23 33 66 -33 20 9th
[note 20] 		QF R3 John Reilly (9)
1986–87 Premier Division 1 Tommy McLean 44 11 12 21 43 64 -21 34 8th QF SF Andy Walker
Steve Kirk (10)
1987–88 Premier Division 1 Tommy McLean 44 13 10 21 37 56 -19 36 8th R4 SF Steve Cowan (9)
1988–89 Premier Division 1 Tommy McLean 36 7 13 16 35 44 -9 27 9th R4 R3 Steve Kirk (14)
1989–90 Premier Division 1 Tommy McLean 36 11 12 13 43 47 -4 34 6th R4 R3 England Nick Cusack (11)
1990–91 Premier Division 1 Tommy McLean 36 12 9 15 51 50 -1 33 6th W[8][9] QF Dougie Arnott (14)
1991–92 Premier Division 1 Tommy McLean 44 10 14 20 43 61 -18 34 10th R4 R2 UEFA Cup
Winners' Cup 		R1 Dougie Arnott (8)
1992–93 Premier Division 1 Tommy McLean 44 11 13 20 46 62 -16 35 8th R3 R3 Steve Kirk (10)
1993–94 Premier Division 1 Tommy McLean 44 20 14 10 58 43 +15 54 3rd R4 R3 Republic of Ireland Tommy Coyne (12)
1994–95 Premier Division 1 Alex McLeish 36 14 12 10 50 50 0 54 2nd
[note 21] 		R4 R3 UEFA Cup R1 Republic of Ireland Tommy Coyne (16)
1995–96 Premier Division 1 Alex McLeish 36 9 12 15 28 39 -11 39 8th R3 QF UEFA Cup PR Willie Falconer (5)
1996–97 Premier Division 1 Alex McLeish 36 9 11 16 44 55 -11 38 8th QF R2 Republic of Ireland Tommy Coyne (11)
1997–98 Premier Division 1 Alex McLeish 36 9 7 20 46 64 -18 34 9th R4 QF Republic of Ireland Tommy Coyne (15)
1998–99
[note 22] 		Premier League 1 Finland Harri Kampman
Succeeded by Billy Davies 		36 10 11 15 35 54 -19 41 7th R5 R3 Republic of Ireland Owen Coyle
John Spencer (7)
1999–2000 Premier League 1 Billy Davies 36 14 10 12 49 63 -14 52 4th R5 QF John Spencer (11)
2000–01 Premier League 1 Billy Davies 38 12 17 19 42 56 -14 43 8th R3 R4 Northern Ireland Stuart Elliott (12)
2001–02 Premier League 1 Billy Davies
Succeeded by Eric Black
Succeeded by England Terry Butcher 		38 11 7 20 49 69 -20 40 11th R3 R2 Northern Ireland Stuart Elliott (11)
2002–03 Premier League 1 England Terry Butcher 38 7 7 24 45 71 -26 28 12th
[note 23][10] 		SF R3 James McFadden (13)
2003–04 Premier League 1 England Terry Butcher 38 12 10 16 42 49 -7 46 6th QF R2 David Clarkson (12)
2004–05 Premier League 1 England Terry Butcher 38 13 9 16 46 49 -3 48 6th R3 RU[11] Australia Scott McDonald (15)
2005–06 Premier League 1 England Terry Butcher 38 13 10 15 55 61 -6 49 8th R3 SF Australia Scott McDonald
Republic of Ireland Richie Foran (12)
2006–07 Premier League 1 Maurice Malpas 38 10 8 20 41 61 -20 38 10th QF QF Australia Scott McDonald (15)
2007–08 Premier League 1 Mark McGhee 38 18 6 14 50 46 +4 60 3rd R5 QF England Chris Porter (18)
2008–09 Premier League 1 Mark McGhee 38 13 9 16 46 51 -5 48 7th R5 R3 UEFA Cup PO David Clarkson (13)
2009–10 Premier League 1 Republic of Ireland Jim Gannon
Succeeded by Craig Brown 		38 13 14 11 52 54 -2 53 5th R4 QF UEFA Europa League
[note 24] 		QR3 England Lukas Jutkiewicz (12)
2010–11
[note 25] 		Premier League 1 Craig Brown
Succeeded by Stuart McCall 		38 13 7 18 40 60 -20 46 6th RU[12] SF UEFA Europa
League 		PO England John Sutton
England Nick Blackman (10)
2011–12 Premier League 1 Stuart McCall 38 18 8 12 49 44 +5 62 3rd QF R3 England Michael Higdon (14)
2012–13 Premier League 1 Stuart McCall 38 18 9 11 67 51 +16 63 2nd R4 R3 UEFA Champions
League[note 26]
UEFA Europa
League
QR3

PO 		England Michael Higdon (26)
2013–14 Premiership
[note 27] 		1 Stuart McCall 38 22 4 12 64 60 +4 70 2nd R4 QF UEFA Europa
League 		QR3 England John Sutton (22)
2014–15 Premiership 1 Stuart McCall
Succeeded by England Ian Baraclough 		38 10 6 22 38 63 -25 36 11th R4 R3 UEFA Europa
League 		QR2 England John Sutton (13)
2015–16 Premiership 1 England Ian Baraclough
Succeeded by Mark McGhee 		38 15 5 18 47 63 -16 50 5th R5 R3 England Louis Moult (15)
2016–17 Premiership 1 Mark McGhee
Succeeded by Northern Ireland Stephen Robinson 		38 10 8 20 46 69 -23 38 9th R4 R2 England Louis Moult (15)
2017–18 Premiership 1 Northern Ireland Stephen Robinson 38 13 9 16 43 49 -6 48 7th RU RU England Louis Moult (8)
2018–19 Premiership 1 Northern Ireland Stephen Robinson 38 15 6 17 46 56 -10 51 8th R4 QF David Turnbull (15)
2019–20 Premiership
[note 28][13] 		1 Northern Ireland Stephen Robinson 30 14 4 12 41 38 +3 46 3rd R5 R2 Northern Ireland Liam Donnelly
England Chris Long (7)
2020–21 Premiership 1 Northern Ireland Stephen Robinson
Succeeded by Graham Alexander 		38 12 9 17 39 55 -16 45 8th QF R2 UEFA Europa
League 		QR3 England Devante Cole (11)
2021–22 Premiership 1 Graham Alexander 38 12 10 16 42 61 -19 46 5th QF R2 Tony Watt
Netherlands Kevin van Veen (9)
2022–23 Premiership 1 Graham Alexander
Succeeded by Steven Hammell
Succeeded by Stuart Kettlewell 		38 14 8 16 53 51 +2 50 7th R5 QF UEFA Europa
Conference League 		2R3 Netherlands Kevin van Veen (25)

Key

Champions
[note 29] 		Runners-up
[note 29] 		Third Place
[note 30] 		Semi-finals
[note 31] 		Relegated
Key to league record
  • Pld = Played
  • W = Games won
  • D = Games drawn
  • L = Games lost
  • GF = Goals for
  • GA = Goals against
  • GD = Goal difference
  • Pts = Points
  • FP = Final position
Key to tier
  • U = Unknown
Key to rounds
  • PR = Preliminary Round
  • QR3 = Qualifying Round 3
  • PO = Play-Off match
  • R1 = Round 1
  • R2 = Round 2
  • R3 = Round 3
  • R4 = Round 4
  • R5 = Round 5
  • R6 = Round 6
  • GS = Group Stage
  • QF = Quarter-finals
  • SF = Semi-finals
  • RU = Runners-up
  • W = Winners

Notes

  1. ^ All managers are Scottish unless their nationality is stated
  2. ^ Before 1911, a Committee was in place as a management team
  3. ^ The League Cup competition did not start until the 1946–47 season.
  4. ^ European club competitions did not begin until the 1955–56 season.
  5. ^ All players are Scottish unless their nationality is stated
  6. ^ Only league goals are stated
  7. ^ Positions resulting in promotion are in bold
  8. ^ Since it was a Regional League, it is unknown what level the league was in the Scottish Football pyramid.
  9. ^ Since the 1893-94 season, Motherwell have never competed in a league lower than the second tier of Scottish Football.
  10. ^ a b c d The Scottish Cup was not held in 1915 through to 1918 because of the First World War.
  11. ^ This total stands as a record for the highest number of league goals scored by Motherwell in a season.
  12. ^ This was Motherwell's first, and to this day only, top-flight title success.
  13. ^ The 1939–40 season was suspended following the outbreak of the Second World War.
  14. ^ The club participated in the Scottish War Emergency Cup as an alternative
  15. ^ Scottish Cup was suspended following the outbreak of the Second World War.
  16. ^ This was Motherwell's first, and to this day, only League Cup win.
  17. ^ This was Motherwell's first ever Scottish Cup win.
  18. ^ Motherwell were spared of relegation due to Division One being increased to 18 teams for the following season.
  19. ^ The league was renamed the Scottish Premier Division
  20. ^ Relegation was suspended due to league reconstruction, therefore Motherwell retained their Premier Division status
  21. ^ The first season in which teams are awarded 3 points for a win. Before this season, 2 points were awarded for each win
  22. ^ The league was renamed the Scottish Premier League
  23. ^ Motherwell were spared of relegation as Falkirk did not meet the SPL stadium criteria
  24. ^ The UEFA Cup was re-named the Europa League.
  25. ^ The 2010-11 season was their 125 anniversary season.
  26. ^ Motherwell qualified for the Champions League as Rangers went into liquidation. They entered the Europa League upon exiting the Champions League.
  27. ^ The league was renamed the Scottish Premiership
  28. ^ 2019–20 Scottish Premiership suspended in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland; season curtailed and standings at time of postponement declared final on 18 May 2020.
  29. ^ a b League and Cup
  30. ^ League Only
  31. ^ Cup Only

References

  1. ^ "Records – The Scottish Football League Archive". Scottish Football Association. Archived from the original on 31 May 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
  2. ^ Graham Barnstaple and Keith Brown (2004). "'Well Again! The Official History of Motherwell Football Club 1886-2004". Yore Publications. ISBN 978-0-9547830-2-0
    Alex Smith (2003). "Motherwell: Champions of Scotland 1931-32". Desert Island Books. ISBN 1-874287-73-2
    Derek Wilson (2009). "Motherwell FC Miscellany". Pitch Publishing. ISBN 978-1-905411-37-5
    Jim Jeffrey, Genge Fry (2001). "The Men Who Made Motherwell Football Club". Tempus Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7524-2191-9
  3. ^ "Motherwell : History 1871 to 1918". Statto.com. Archived from the original on 16 March 2011. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
  4. ^ "Motherwell : History 1918 to 1945". Statto.com. Archived from the original on 16 March 2011. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
  5. ^ "Motherwell F.C. 1930-1939". Motherwell Football Club. 1931–32. Archived from the original on 8 November 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  6. ^ "Motherwell : History 1945 to 1975". Statto.com. Archived from the original on 16 March 2011. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
  7. ^ "Motherwell : History 1975 to date". Statto.com. Archived from the original on 30 August 2011. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
  8. ^ "Scottish Cup Final Archive – Motherwell 4-3 Dundee United". Scottish Football Association. 18 May 1991. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  9. ^ "The 1991 Cup Run". Fir Park Corner. 18 May 1991. Retrieved 5 August 2011.
  10. ^ "Falkirk denied promotion". BBC Sport. 23 May 2003. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  11. ^ "Rangers 5-1 Motherwell". BBC Sport. 20 March 2005. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  12. ^ "Celtic lift the 2011 Scottish Cup". Scottish Football Association. 21 May 2011. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  13. ^ "Celtic champions & Hearts relegated after SPFL ends season". BBC Sport. 18 May 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2020.

External links

  • Motherwell F.C. Club History
  • Scottish Football Historical Archive
  • Scottish Football History website
  • League Archive
  • Cup Archive
  • Soccerbase
  • v
  • t
  • e
Motherwell Football Club
  • Club
  • Squad
  • Honours
  • Under-20s and Academy
  • Women
  • Current season
The club
Grounds
Training GroundRivalriesStatisticsRelated Articles
Viking Thunder Clap
  • All articles
  • v
  • t
  • e
Motherwell F.C. seasons
  • v
  • t
  • e
2023–24 Premiership
2023–24 Championship
2023–24 League One
2023–24 League Two
Non-league
Defunct teams