# 2007–08 Scottish First Division

The 2007–08 First Division season was the 14th season of the First Division in its current format of ten teams.
The team which finished first were automatically promoted to the Scottish Premier League. The team which finished bottom were automatically relegated to the Second Division and the team which finished second bottom were entered into the First division play-offs with the teams which finished second, third and fourth in the Third Division for a place in the 2008–09 First Division.

## Promotion and Relegation from 2006–07
### SPL and First Division

Relegated from Premier League to First Division
* Dunfermline Athletic
Promoted from First Division to Premier League
* Gretna

### First and Second Divisions

Relegated from First Division to Second Division
* Ross County
* Airdrie United (via play-offs)
Promoted from Second Division to First Division
* Greenock Morton
* Stirling Albion (via play-offs)

## Events

* 29 March: Gretna are relegated from the SPL to the First Division after losing 2–0 to St Mirren.
* 5 April: Ross County win promotion to the First Division as Second Division champions after defeating 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.
* 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.
* 29 May: Play-off runners-up Airdrie United are promoted to the First Division following Gretna's demotion to the Third Division.

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Hamilton Academical (C, P) | 36 | 23 | 7 | 6 | 62 | 27 | +35 | 76 | Promotion to the Premier League |
| 2 | Dundee | 36 | 20 | 9 | 7 | 58 | 30 | +28 | 69 | |
| 3 | St Johnstone | 36 | 15 | 13 | 8 | 60 | 45 | +15 | 58 | |
| 4 | Queen of the South | 36 | 14 | 10 | 12 | 47 | 43 | +4 | 52 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup second qualifying round |
| 5 | Dunfermline Athletic | 36 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 36 | 41 | −5 | 51 | |
| 6 | Partick Thistle | 36 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 40 | 39 | +1 | 45 | |
| 7 | Livingston | 36 | 10 | 9 | 17 | 55 | 66 | −11 | 39 | |
| 8 | Greenock Morton | 36 | 9 | 10 | 17 | 40 | 58 | −18 | 37 | |
| 9 | Clyde | 36 | 9 | 10 | 17 | 40 | 59 | −19 | 37 | Qualification for the First Division Play-offs |
| 10 | Stirling Albion (R) | 36 | 4 | 12 | 20 | 41 | 71 | −30 | 24 | Relegation to the Second Division |
* ↑ Queen of the South qualified for the UEFA Cup Second Qualifying Round as Scottish Cup runners-up
* ↑ The 9th placed team were entered into a play-off with the Second Division's 2nd, 3rd and 4th placed teams. The winning team were awarded a place in the 2008–09 First Division, Clyde won the play-off to stay in the division.

## 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

| Home \ Away | CLY | DND | DNF | GMO | HAM | LIV | PAR | QOS | STJ | STI |
| Clyde | | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–3 |
| Dundee | 0–1 | | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 |
| Dunfermline Athletic | 1–1 | 0–1 | | 0–1 | 0–5 | 0–4 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 |
| Greenock Morton | 3–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | | 0–2 | 2–2 | 4–2 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 |
| Hamilton Academical | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 4–0 |
| Livingston | 4–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 2–0 | | 0–4 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 4–3 |
| Partick Thistle | 4–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 3–0 | | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 |
| Queen of the South | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | | 3–3 | 2–2 |
| St Johnstone | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 4–1 | 5–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | | 2–2 |
| Stirling Albion | 0–2 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–0 | |

### Second half of season

| Home \ Away | CLY | DND | DNF | GMO | HAM | LIV | PAR | QOS | STJ | STI |
| Clyde | | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 3–2 | 1–4 | 1–4 | 1–3 | 1–3 |
| Dundee | 2–0 | | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 3–2 | 3–0 |
| Dunfermline Athletic | 2–1 | 0–1 | | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 |
| Greenock Morton | 1–2 | 1–2 | 3–0 | | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 2–1 |
| Hamilton Academical | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | | 3–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 |
| Livingston | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 6–1 | 1–3 | | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 |
| Partick Thistle | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 3–0 | 2–1 | | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 |
| Queen of the South | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | | 3–1 | 3–1 |
| St Johnstone | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 5–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | | 2–1 |
| Stirling Albion | 1–1 | 1–6 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–4 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | |

## Top scorers

| Scorer | Goals | Team |
| Richard Offiong | 19 | Hamilton Academical |
| Stephen Dobbie | 16 | Queen of the South |
| Andy Jackson | 14 | St Johnstone |
| Chris Aitken | 13 | Stirling Albion |
| Graham Dorrans | 11 | Livingston |
| Liam Buchanan | 11 | Partick Thistle |
| Mark Burchill | 11 | Dunfermline Athletic |
| Kevin McDonald | 9 | Dundee |
| Robert Snodgrass | 9 | Livingston |
| Paul Sheerin | 9 | St Johnstone |
| Mickaël Antoine-Curier | 9 | Dundee |
| Peter Weatherson | 9 | Greenock Morton |
| Sean O'Connor | 8 | Queen of the South |
| Colin McMenamin | 8 | Dundee |
| Iain Russell | 8 | Greenock Morton |
| Robert Davidson | 8 | Dundee |
Source: The League Insider

## Attendances

| Team | Stadium | Capacity | Highest | Lowest | Average |
| Dundee | Dens Park | 11,856 | 6,192 | 3,146 | 4,264 |
| Dunfermline Athletic | East End Park | 11,998 | 4,946 | 2,444 | 3,754 |
| St Johnstone | McDiarmid Park | 10,673 | 6,279 | 1,686 | 2,969 |
| Greenock Morton | Cappielow | 5,741 | 3,818 | 2,228 | 2,727 |
| Partick Thistle | Firhill Stadium | 10,887 | 4,914 | 1,149 | 2,591 |
| Hamilton Academical | New Douglas Park | 5,396 | 5,078 | 1,410 | 2,468 |
| Queen of the South | Palmerston Park | 6,412 | 3,005 | 1,484 | 1,965 |
| Livingston | Almondvale Stadium | 10,016 | 2,865 | 1,125 | 1,726 |
| Clyde | Broadwood Stadium | 8,006 | 1,979 | 910 | 1,298 |
| Stirling Albion | Forthbank Stadium | 3,808 | 2,215 | 431 | 1,166 |
Source: The League Insider

## Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Replaced by | Date of appointment |
| Clyde | Joe Miller | Mutual consent | 25 May | Colin Hendry | 11 June |
| St Johnstone | Owen Coyle | Mutual consent | 22 November | Derek McInnes | 27 November |
| Dunfermline Athletic | Stephen Kenny | Sacked | 4 December | Jim McIntyre | 3 January |
| Clyde | Colin Hendry | Resigned | 18 January | John Brown | 26 January |
| Greenock Morton | Jim McInally | Resigned | 12 February | David Irons | 19 February |
| Livingston | Mark Proctor | Sacked | 3 June | Roberto Landi | 11 June |

## Monthly awards

| Month | First Division manager | SFL Player | SFL Young player |
| August | Billy Reid (Hamilton Academical) | Richard Offiong (Hamilton Academical) | Kevin McDonald (Dundee) |
| September | Owen Coyle (St Johnstone) | Second Division player | James McArthur (Hamilton Academical) |
| October | Billy Reid (Hamilton Academical) | Bryn Halliwell (Hamilton Academical) | James McCarthy (Hamilton Academical) |
| November | Alex Rae (Dundee) | Kenny Deuchar (St Johnstone) | Third Division player |
| December | Jim McIntyre (Dunfermline Athletic) | Second Division player | Kevin McDonald (Dundee) |
| January | Gordon Chisholm (Queen of the South) | Second Division player | Andy Jackson (St Johnstone) |
| February | Gordon Chisholm (Queen of the South) | Mickaël Antoine-Curier (Dundee) | Graham Dorrans (Livingston) |
| March | Ian McCall (Partick Thistle) | Jonathan Tuffey (Partick Thistle) | Leigh Griffiths (Livingston) |
| April | Gordon Chisholm (Queen of the South) | Mark McLaughlin (Hamilton Academical) | Brian Easton (Hamilton Academical) |

## First Division play-offs
### Semi-finals

The ninth placed team in the First Division played the fourth placed team in the Second Division and third placed team in the Second Division played the second placed team in the Second Division. The play-offs were played over two legs, the winning team in each semi-final advanced to the final.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Alloa Athletic | 5–6 | Clyde | 2–1 | 3–5 |
| Raith Rovers | 2–4 | Airdrie United | 0–2 | 2–2 |
First legs
Second legs

#### Final

The two semi-final winners played each other over two legs, the home team in the 1st Leg was determined by a draw conducted on 1 April 2008. The winning team was awarded a place in the 2008–09 First Division.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Airdrie United | 0–3 | Clyde | 0–1 | 0–2 |
First leg
Second leg
Clyde remained in First Division.

## Transfer deals

    See: List of Scottish football transfers 2007–08