List of Motherwell F.C. seasons

For details of the current season, see 2024–25 Motherwell F.C. season.

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			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			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	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			Tommy Coyne (11)
1997–98	Premier Division	1	Alex McLeish	36	9	7	20	46	64	−18	34	9th	R4	QF			Tommy Coyne (15)
1998–99 [note 22]	Premier League	1	Harri Kampman Succeeded by Billy Davies	36	10	11	15	35	54	−19	41	7th	R5	R3			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			Stuart Elliott (12)
2001–02	Premier League	1	Billy Davies Succeeded by Eric Black Succeeded by Terry Butcher	38	11	7	20	49	69	−20	40	11th	R3	R2			Stuart Elliott (11)
2002–03	Premier League	1	Terry Butcher	38	7	7	24	45	71	−26	28	12th [note 23][10]	SF	R3			James McFadden (13)
2003–04	Premier League	1	Terry Butcher	38	12	10	16	42	49	−7	46	6th	QF	R2			David Clarkson (12)
2004–05	Premier League	1	Terry Butcher	38	13	9	16	46	49	−3	48	6th	R3	RU[11]			Scott McDonald (15)
2005–06	Premier League	1	Terry Butcher	38	13	10	15	55	61	−6	49	8th	R3	SF			Scott McDonald Richie Foran (12)
2006–07	Premier League	1	Maurice Malpas	38	10	8	20	41	61	−20	38	10th	QF	QF			Scott McDonald (15)
2007–08	Premier League	1	Mark McGhee	38	18	6	14	50	46	+4	60	3rd	R5	QF			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	Jim Gannon Succeeded by Craig Brown	38	13	14	11	52	54	−2	53	5th	R4	QF	UEFA Europa League [note 24]	QR3	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	John Sutton Nick Blackman (10)
2011–12	Premier League	1	Stuart McCall	38	18	8	12	49	44	+5	62	3rd	QF	R3			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	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	John Sutton (22)
2014–15	Premiership	1	Stuart McCall Succeeded by Ian Baraclough	38	10	6	22	38	63	−25	36	11th	R4	R3	UEFA Europa League	QR2	John Sutton (13)
2015–16	Premiership	1	Ian Baraclough Succeeded by Mark McGhee	38	15	5	18	47	63	−16	50	5th	R5	R3			Louis Moult (15)
2016–17	Premiership	1	Mark McGhee Succeeded by Stephen Robinson	38	10	8	20	46	69	−23	38	9th	R4	R2			Louis Moult (15)
2017–18	Premiership	1	Stephen Robinson	38	13	9	16	43	49	−6	48	7th	RU	RU			Louis Moult (8)
2018–19	Premiership	1	Stephen Robinson	38	15	6	17	46	56	−10	51	8th	R4	QF			David Turnbull (15)
2019–20	Premiership [note 28][13]	1	Stephen Robinson	30	14	4	12	41	38	+3	46	3rd	R5	R2			Liam Donnelly Chris Long (7)
2020–21	Premiership	1	Stephen Robinson Succeeded by Graham Alexander	38	12	9	17	39	55	−16	45	8th	QF	R2	UEFA Europa League	QR3	Devante Cole (11)
2021–22	Premiership	1	Graham Alexander	38	12	10	16	42	61	−19	46	5th	QF	R2			Tony Watt 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	QR2	Kevin van Veen (25)
2023–24	Premiership	1	Stuart Kettlewell	38	10	13	15	56	59	−3	43	9th	R5	R2			Theo Bair (15)

Key

Champions [note 29]

Runners-up [note 29]

Third Place [note 30]

Semi-finals [note 31]

Relegated

Key to league record Pld = Matches played W = Matches won D = Matches drawn L = Matches 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. 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. 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