# 2008–09 Clyde F.C. season

Season 2008–09 saw Clyde compete in their ninth consecutive season in the Scottish First Division. They finished bottom of the league, and were relegated to the Scottish Second Division.

## Transfers
### Summer
#### In

| Player | From | Fee | Date |
| Stuart Kettlewell | Queens Park | Free | 19 May 2008 |
| Marc McCusker | Hearts | Free | 1 June 2008 |
| Alan Trouten | Queens Park | Free | 2 June 2008 |
| Ricky Waddell | Airdrie United | Free | 2 June 2008 |
| Willie McLaren | Unattached | Free | 2 June 2008 |
| Mark Brown | Eddlewood Amateurs | Free | 4 June 2008 |
| Sean Connolly | Hamilton Academical Youth | Free | 1 July 2008 |
| Charles McCole | Clyde Youth | Free | 1 July 2008 |
| Gerry McLaughlin | Clyde Youth | Free | 1 July 2008 |
| Michael Ohnesorge | SV Elversberg | Free | 22 July 2008 |
| Scott Gemmill | Berwick Rangers | Free | 25 July 2008 |
| Alan Lowing | Rangers | Loan | 30 August 2008 |
| Paul Emslie | Rangers | Loan | 30 August 2008 |
| Alan Lithgow | Unattached | Free | 29 October 2008 |

#### Out

| Player | To | Fee | Date |
| Iain Campbell | Kilmarnock | Loan Return | 10 May 2008 |
| Marc McCusker | Hearts | Loan Return | 10 May 2008 |
| Gary Arbuckle | Queen of the South | Free | 19 May 2008 |
| Shaun Fagan | East Fife | Free | 19 May 2008 |
| Sean McKenna | Camelon Juniors | Free | 19 May 2008 |
| Jörg Albertz | Retired | Free | 31 May 2008 |
| Steven Masterton | Greenock Morton | Free | 1 June 2008 |
| Calum McGregor | Kilwinning Rangers | Free | 2 June 2008 |
| Michael Doherty | Released | Free | 2 June 2008 |
| Paul MacDonald | Vale of Clyde | Free | 2 June 2008 |
| Juan Carrio | Glenafton Athletic | Free | 2 June 2008 |
| Ryan Craig | Goldenhill | Free | 2 June 2008 |
| Martin McGowan | Released | Free | 2 June 2008 |
| Kyle Hendry | Blackburn Rovers | Free | 2 June 2008 |
| Craig McKeown | Dundee | Free | 5 June 2008 |
| Dušan Bestvina | FC Mistelbach | Free | 12 June 2008 |
| Christian Smith | Wrexham | Free | 12 June 2008 |
| Jimmy Gibson | East Stirlingshire | Free | 25 June 2008 |
| Michael McGowan | Queen of the South | Free | 30 June 2008 |
| Kevin Bradley | Montrose | Free | 30 June 2008 |
| David McGowan | Arbroath | Loan | 17 October 2008 |
| Marc McCusker | Albion Rovers | Loan | 13 December 2008 |
| Stephen Connolly | Stenhousemuir | Loan | 15 December 2008 |

### In

| Player | From | Fee | Date |
| Tony Stevenson | Hamilton Academical | Loan | 1 January 2009 |
| Craig O'Reilly | East Fife | Free | 1 January 2009 |
| Grégory Tadé | Stranraer | Undisclosed | 24 January 2009 |
| Robbie Winters | Unattached | Free | 31 April 2009 |

#### Out

| Player | To | Fee | Date |
| David McGowan | Arbroath | Loan | 1 January 2009 |
| Michael Ohnesorge | Released | Free | 1 January 2009 |
| Paul Emslie | Rangers | Loan Return | 1 January 2009 |
| Stephen Connolly | Stranraer | Loan | 24 January 2009 |
| Jordan Murch | Stranraer | Loan | 24 January 2009 |
| Alan Lowing | Rangers | Loan Return | 31 January 2009 |
| Craig O'Reilly | Montrose | Loan | 20 March 2009 |
| Jordan Morton | Hearts | Undisclosed | 28 April 2009 |

## Notable events

* May: The club ensure that they will be playing First Division football again after a 3–0 aggregate victory over Airdrie United in the playoff final. Preparations are made for the forthcoming season, with Steven Masterton joining Greenock Morton, Gary Arbuckle, Shaun Fagan and Sean McKenna being released whilst Queen's Park captain Stuart Kettlewell becomes the first summer signing. Keeper Peter Cherrie and winger Dave McKay sign new deals, and youngsters Jordan Murch and Stephen Connolly sign their first professional contracts. Marc McCusker, who was on loan to the club last season, signs a two-year contract following his release from Hearts, whilst Jörg Albertz retires. Jörg Albertz retires.
* June: Marc McCusker, who was on loan to the club last season, signs a two-year contract following his release from Hearts. He is shortly joined for Alan Trouten from Queens Park, Ricky Waddell from Airdrie United and ex St Johnstone winger Willie McLaren. Billy Gibson and Marvyn Wilson sign new contracts, whilst all out of contract YTS players are released, including Michael Doherty, the youngest player to play in a competitive match for the club. Mark Brown, of Eddlewood Amateurs, becomes the latest signing, after having scored the winning goal in the 2008 Scottish Amateur Cup Final. Christian Smith leaves the club, along with Slovakian Dušan Bestvina, whose contract has been terminated by mutual consent. Midfield dynamo Jimmy Gibson joins East Stirlingshire.
* July: A 20-man squad, including a German trialist, head to Norfolk for their pre-season tour. A 4–0 victory over Great Yarmouth Town, coupled with 2–1 victories over Norwich City and King's Lynn, see the team leave with a 100% record. The Bully Wee return to Rutherglen, their original heartland, to open Rutherglen Glencairn's new stadium. A late Pat Clarke header earns a 1–1 draw. A near capacity crowd at Broadwood Stadium sees Clyde, with special guest players Arthur Numan and Brian Laudrup, along with former Bully Wee midfielder Jorg Albertz, lose narrowly to Rangers. The 1–0 defeat was the first loss of the pre-season. Just before the start of the season, John Brown bolsters his squad further, with the signings of German defender Michael Ohnesorge from SV Elversberg, and striker Scott Gemmill, joining from Berwick Rangers. The first competitive game of the season sees Clyde defeat Annan Athletic 2–0 in their first match as a Scottish Football League side, with Alan Trouten scoring both goals on his debut. The final friendly match sees an understrength Clyde side surprisingly defeat SPL side Hibernian 3–0, in a match to celebrate the 1958 Scottish Cup Final between the two sides.

## Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | GK | SCO | Peter Cherrie |
| — | GK | SCO | David Hutton |
| — | GK | SCO | Paul McKendry |
| — | GK | SCO | Gerry McLaughlin |
| — | DF | SCO | Mark Brown |
| — | DF | SCO | Billy Gibson |
| — | DF | SCO | Chris Higgins |
| — | DF | SCO | Alan Lithgow |
| — | DF | SCO | Alan Lowing (on loan from Rangers) |
| — | DF | SCO | Neil McGregor |
| — | DF | GER | Michael Ohnesorge |
| — | DF | SCO | Tony Stevenson (on loan from Hamilton Academical) |
| — | MF | SCO | Stephen Connolly |
| — | MF | SCO | Paul Emslie (on loan from Rangers) |
| — | MF | SCO | Stuart Kettlewell (Team captain) |
| — | MF | SCO | Roddy MacLennan |
| — | MF | SCO | Ruari MacLennan |
| — | MF | SCO | Charles McCole |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | SCO | David McGowan |
| — | MF | SCO | Willie McLaren |
| — | MF | SCO | Jordan Murch |
| — | MF | SCO | Connor Stevenson |
| — | MF | FRA | Grégory Tadé |
| — | MF | SCO | Alan Trouten |
| — | MF | SCO | Ricky Waddell |
| — | MF | SCO | Marvyn Wilson (Club captain) |
| — | FW | SCO | Pat Clarke |
| — | FW | SCO | Sean Connolly |
| — | FW | SCO | Scott Gemmill |
| — | FW | SCO | Steven Howarth |
| — | FW | SCO | Marc McCusker |
| — | FW | SCO | Dave McKay |
| — | FW | SCO | Gary McSwegan |
| — | FW | SCO | Jordan Morton |
| — | FW | SCO | Craig O'Reilly |
| — | FW | SCO | Robbie Winters |

## Fixtures and results

Win  Draw  Loss  Upcoming fixture

### Friendlies

| Date | Opponents | Stadium | Result F – A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 5 July 2008 | Stirling Albion | Little Kerse | 2–0 | McLaren , Kettlewell pen' | 0 |
| 9 July 2008 | Airdrie United | Little Kerse | 1–1 | own goal' | 0 |
| 12 July 2008 | Great Yarmouth Town | Wellesley Recreation Ground | 4–0 | Trouten 57', Roddy MacLennan 62' 83', Lee 78' (own goal) | 284 |
| 14 July 2008 | Norwich City | Colney Training Centre | 2–1 | McSwegan , Ohnesorge (Trialist) | 0 |
| 15 July 2008 | King's Lynn | The Walks Stadium | 2–1 | Kettlewell 27', McKay 87' | 480 |
| 19 July 2008 | Rutherglen Glencairn | New Southcroft Park | 1–1 | Clarke 85' | 600 |
| 22 July 2008 | Rangers | Broadwood Stadium | 0–1 | | 7,653 |
| 30 July 2008 | Hibernian | Broadwood Stadium | 3–0 | McKay 20' 52', Roddy MacLennan 42' | 934 |

### Scottish First Division

| Date | Opponents | Stadium | Result F – A | Scorers | Attendance | Position |
| 2 August 2008 | Greenock Morton | Broadwood Stadium | 1–1 | Brown 90+4' | 1,638 | 4th |
| 9 August 2008 | Dundee | Dens Park | 0–1 | | 4,042 | 7th |
| 16 August 2008 | Ross County | Broadwood Stadium | 2–2 | Ruari MacLennan 68', Clarke 82' | 966 | 8th |
| 23 August 2008 | Livingston | Almondvale Stadium | 1–2 | Clarke 29' | 1,725 | 8th |
| 30 August 2008 | St Johnstone | McDiarmid Park | 3–2 | McKay 2', Gemmill 37', Waddell 81' | 2,412 | 7th |
| 13 September 2008 | Partick Thistle | Broadwood Stadium | 1–1 | Clarke 69' (pen.) | 2,091 | 8th |
| 20 September 2008 | Airdrie United | Excelsior Stadium | 2–0 | Waddell 27', Ruari MacLennan 59' | 1,489 | 7th |
| 27 September 2008 | Queen of the South | Broadwood Stadium | 0–2 | | 1,096 | 8th |
| 4 October 2008 | Dunfermline Athletic | Broadwood Stadium | 0–2 | | 1,273 | 9th |
| 18 October 2008 | Greenock Morton | Cappielow | 0–1 | | 2,041 | 9th |
| 25 October 2008 | Livingston | Broadwood Stadium | 2–1 | Trouten 63', McSwegan 90' | 820 | 8th |
| 1 November 2008 | Ross County | Victoria Park | 0–3 | | 2,205 | 9th |
| 8 November 2008 | Partick Thistle | Firhill Stadium | 0–2 | | 3,003 | 10th |
| 15 November 2008 | St Johnstone | Broadwood Stadium | 2–2 | Clarke 17', 85' | 1,603 | 10th |
| 22 November 2008 | Queen of the South | Palmerston Park | 2–0 | Clarke 55', 83' | 2,324 | 9th |
| 13 December 2008 | Dundee | Broadwood Stadium | 1–0 | McLaren 66', Gemmill 68' | 1,176 | 9th |
| 16 December 2008 | Airdrie United | Broadwood Stadium | 1–0 | Ruari MacLennan 47', Trouten 74' | 864 | 7th |
| 20 December 2008 | Dunfermline Athletic | East End Park | 4–4 | Trouten 1', Higgins 50', Clarke 65', 70' | 3,279 | 5th |
| 27 December 2008 | St Johnstone | McDiarmid Park | 0–1 | McSwegan 90' | 3,491 | 7th |
| 3 January 2009 | Partick Thistle | Broadwood Stadium | 2–4 | Clarke 20', 63' (pen.) | 2,016 | 9th |
| 17 January 2009 | Livingston | Almondvale Stadium | 1–1 | McLaren 41' | 1,354 | 8th |
| 24 January 2009 | Ross County | Broadwood Stadium | 2–0 | McLaren 44', Waddell 66' | 776 | 8th |
| 31 January 2009 | Dundee | Dens Park | 1–2 | McLaren 12' | 3,217 | 9th |
| 22 February 2009 | Airdrie United | Excelsior Stadium | 0–1 | Clarke 39' | 1,189 | 9th |
| 28 February 2009 | Queen of the South | Broadwood Stadium | 1–1 | Trouten 9' (pen.) | 1,142 | 9th |
| 3 March 2009 | Greenock Morton | Broadwood Stadium | 2–4 | Ruari MacLennan 44', Gemmill 45', Gibson 61' | 1,165 | 9th |
| 7 March 2009 | Partick Thistle | Firhill Stadium | 1–0 | Maxwell 54' (own goal) | 3,579 | 9th |
| 10 March 2009 | St Johnstone | Broadwood Stadium | 1–3 | Lithgow 63' | 1,093 | 9th |
| 14 March 2009 | Greenock Morton | Cappielow | 0–2 | Hutton 68' | 2,168 | 10th |
| 21 March 2009 | Dunfermline Athletic | Broadwood Stadium | 1–4 | Ruari MacLennan 38' | 1,109 | 10th |
| 4 April 2009 | Livingston | Broadwood Stadium | 0–1 | McLaren 57' | 957 | 10th |
| 11 April 2009 | Ross County | Victoria Park | 0–0 | | 2,078 | 10th |
| 18 April 2009 | Airdrie United | Broadwood Stadium | 3–0 | Waddell 5', Ruari MacLennan 61' 74' | 1,614 | 10th |
| 25 April 2009 | Queen of the South | Palmerston Park | 1–7 | McLaren 24' | 2,601 | 10th |
| 2 May 2009 | Dundee | Broadwood Stadium | 2–0 | Shinnie 53' (own goal), McLaren 77' | 944 | 10th |
| 9 May 2009 | Dunfermline Athletic | East End Park | 1–1 | Higgins 27' | 2,418 | 10th |

### Scottish Challenge Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | Stadium | Result F – A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 26 July 2008 | Round 1 | Annan Athletic | Broadwood Stadium | 2–0 | Trouten 61' (pen.) 74' | 688 |
| 12 August 2008 | Round 2 | Alloa Athletic | Recreation Park | 2–0 | Clarke 58', Gibson 76' | 414 |
| 7 September 2008 | Quarter Final | Ross County | Broadwood Stadium | 0–1 | McGregor 44' | 756 |

### Scottish League Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | Stadium | Result F – A | Scorers | Attendance | Notes |
| 5 August 2008 | Round 1 | Queen's Park | Broadwood Stadium | 4–1 | Roddy MacLennan 15', Gibson 63', McSwegan 86' 88' | 690 | |
| 26 August 2008 | Round 2 | Hamilton Academical | New Douglas Park | 1–3 | Clarke 19', Ohnesorge 66' | 1,146 | |

### Scottish Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | Stadium | Result F – A | Scorers | Attendance | Notes |
| 29 November 2008 | Round 3 | Montrose | Broadwood Stadium | 2–0 | McKay 38', Clarke 87' (pen.) | 677 | |
| 10 January 2009 | Round 4 | Dunfermline Athletic | East End Park | 0–2 | | 2,871 | |

### Reserve Fixtures
#### Reserve League Cup

| Date | Stage | Opponents | Stadium | Result F – A | Scorers |
| 15 September 2008 | Group | Queen's Park | Lesser Hampden | 0–2 | |
| 29 September 2008 | Group | Stenhousemuir | Broadwood Stadium | 0–1 | |
| 20 October 2008 | Group | Stranraer | Stair Park | 7–1 | McCusker , Gemmill , Waddell , Trouten , McCole , Sean Connolly |
| 18 November 2008 | Group | Airdrie United | Broadwood Stadium | 1–2 | McGowan |
| 24 November 2008 | Group | Queens Park | Broadwood Stadium | 3–1 | McSwegan , McGowan , Roddy MacLennan |
| 9 December 2008 | Group | Stenhousemuir | Ochilview Park | 3–1 | Ruari MacLennan , Trouten , Gemmill |
| 12 January 2009 | Group | Stranraer | Broadwood Stadium | 1–1 | Walker |
| 19 January 2009 | Group | Partick Thistle | Petershill Park | 1–0 | O'Reilly |
| 27 January 2009 | Group | Airdrie United | Broadwood Stadium | 3–2 | Tadé , McKay , Gemmill |
| 17 March 2009 | Group | Partick Thistle | Broadwood Stadium | 2–0 | McSwegan , McKay |
| 4 May 2009 | Semi Final | Ross County | Victoria Park | 0–3 | |

#### Friendlies

| Date | Opponents | Stadium | Result F – A | Scorers |
| 12 November 2008 | Partick Thistle | Lesser Hampden | 1–1 | McSwegan |

## Player statistics
### Overall

| # | Player | P | | | |
| GK | David Hutton | 34 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| DF | Neil McGregor | 9 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| DF | Billy Gibson | 37 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
| DF | Chris Higgins | 37 (2) | 2 | 10 | 0 |
| DF | Mark Brown | 29 (2) | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| MF | Roddy MacLennan | 4 (2) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| MF | Alan Trouten | 18 (16) | 6 | 5 | 0 |
| MF | Stuart Kettlewell | 32 (1) | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| FW | Pat Clarke | 34 (1) | 14 | 6 | 1 |
| FW | Gary McSwegan | 3 (19) | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| FW | Dave McKay | 19 (19) | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| FW | Scott Gemmill | 26 (9) | 2 | 6 | 1 |
| MF | Willie McLaren | 26 (2) | 6 | 8 | 1 |
| MF | Stephen Connolly | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| MF | Ruari MacLennan | 20 (16) | 6 | 7 | 1 |
| MF | Marvyn Wilson | 18 (5) | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| GK | Peter Cherrie | 9 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| MF | Ricky Waddell | 27 (4) | 4 | 8 | 0 |
| MF | David McGowan | 0 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| FW | Marc McCusker | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| MF | Jordan Murch | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DF | Alan Lithgow | 24 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| DF | Tony Stevenson | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| FW | Craig O'Reilly | 0 (3) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| MF | Grégory Tadé | 11 (2) | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| FW | Robbie Winters | 4 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| MF | Connor Stevenson | 0 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| GK | Paul McKendry | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| GK | Gerry McLaughlin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DF | Michael Ohnesorge | 13 (1) | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| MF | Paul Emslie | 11 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| DF | Alan Lowing | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
* Note: Players in italics have left the club

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 6 | Greenock Morton | 36 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 40 | 40 | 0 | 47 | |
| 7 | Livingston (R) | 36 | 13 | 8 | 15 | 56 | 58 | −2 | 47 | |
| 8 | Ross County | 36 | 13 | 8 | 15 | 42 | 46 | −4 | 47 | |
| 9 | Airdrie United | 36 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 29 | 43 | −14 | 42 | Qualification for the First Division Play-offs |
| 10 | Clyde (R) | 36 | 10 | 9 | 17 | 41 | 58 | −17 | 39 | Relegation to the Second Division |
* ↑ 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.