2009–10 Falkirk F.C. season

The 2009–10 season was Falkirk's fifth consecutive season in the Scottish Premier League. Falkirk also competed in the League Cup, Scottish Cup and the Europa League. Falkirk finished the season in twelfth place and were relegated to the Scottish First Division after five years in the SPL.

Falkirk

2009–10 season
Chairman	Martin Ritchie
Manager	Eddie May (until 11 February) Steven Pressley
Scottish Premier League	Twelfth place (relegated)
League Cup	Third round
Scottish Cup	Fourth round
Europa League	Second qualifying round
Top goalscorer	League: Carl Finnigan, Ryan Flynn & Pedro Moutinho (5) All: Ryan Flynn (6)
Highest home attendance	7,049 vs. Kilmarnock, 10 February 2010
Lowest home attendance	4,321 vs. Motherwell, 27 January 2010
Average home league attendance	5,635
Home colours Away colours
← 2008–09 2010–11 →

Summary

Falkirk finished as runners-up in the 2009 Scottish Cup Final and qualified for the UEFA Europa League. They entered the second qualifying round of the competition, losing 2–1 on aggregate, after extra-time, to Vaduz, becoming the first British club to lose a European tie to a club from Liechtenstein. Falkirk were relegated to the Scottish First Division for the first time since 2005 after a 0–0 draw with Kilmarnock on the final day of the season. Kilmarnock were also at threat of being relegated and the winner of the match at Rugby Park would have remained in the SPL. Falkirk also reached the third round of the League Cup, the fourth round of the Scottish Cup.

Management

Falkirk began the season under the management of Eddie May who had been appointed in June 2009 after several years of coaching in the youth set-up at the club.^[1] On 11 February 2010, May stepped down from his position, with the club sitting bottom of the SPL. He was succeeded by Steven Pressley, player-coach at the club and was appointed until the end of the season.^[2]

Results

  Win   Draw   Loss

Scottish Premier League

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers	Match Report
1	15 August 2009	Rangers	Ibrox Stadium	1–4	50,239	Finnigan 24'	Match Report
2	22 August 2009	Hibernian	Falkirk Stadium	1–3	6,059	Flynn 25'	Match Report
3	29 August 2009	Dundee United	Tannadice Park	1–2	6,979	Finnbogason 75'	Match Report
4	14 September 2009	Aberdeen	Falkirk Stadium	0–0	4,724		Match Report
5	19 September 2009	Hamilton Academical	New Douglas Park	0–0	2,640		Match Report
6	26 September 2009	Kilmarnock	Falkirk Stadium	0–0	5,394		Match Report
7	3 October 2009	Motherwell	Fir Park	0–1	4,337		Match Report
8	17 October 2009	St Mirren	Falkirk Stadium	1–3	5,084	McLean 55'	Match Report
9	24 October 2009	Heart of Midlothian	Tynecastle Stadium	0–0	14,127		Match Report
10	31 October 2009	St Johnstone	McDiarmid Park	1–3	4,423	Finnigan 49'	Match Report
11	8 November 2009	Celtic	Falkirk Stadium	3–3	6,795	Arfield 61' (Pen), Moutinho 64', Stewart 83'	Match Report
12	21 November 2009	Hamilton Academical	Falkirk Stadium	2–0	5,628	Mitchell 64', Bullen 79'	Match Report
13	28 November 2009	Hibernian	Easter Road	0–2	13,305		Match Report
14	5 December 2009	Rangers	Falkirk Stadium	1–3	6,903	Moutinho 41'	Match Report
15	12 December 2009	St Mirren	New St Mirren Park	1–1	4,033	Finnigan 88'	Match Report
16	19 December 2009	Kilmarnock	Rugby Park	2–1	4,472	Finnigan 3', Flynn 58'	Match Report
17	26 December 2009	Heart of Midlothian	Falkirk Stadium	0–1	6,082		Match Report
18	16 January 2010	Celtic	Celtic Park	1–1	50,000	Finnigan 19'	Match Report
19	24 January 2010	Dundee United	Falkirk Stadium	1–4	4,378	Moutinho 90+1'	Match Report
20	27 January 2010	Motherwell	Falkirk Stadium	0–0	4,321		Match Report
21	30 January 2010	Rangers	Ibrox Stadium	0–3	45,907		Match Report
22	2 February 2010	Aberdeen	Pittodrie	1–0	7,741	Healy 31'	Match Report
23	10 February 2010	Kilmarnock	Falkirk Stadium	0–1	7,049		Match Report
24	13 February 2010	Heart of Midlothian	Tynecastle Stadium	2–3	14,078	Kucharski 45+2' (o.g.), Moutinho 83'	Match Report
25	20 February 2010	Aberdeen	Falkirk Stadium	3–1	4,643	Moutinho 13', Barr 42', Showunmi 70'	Match Report
26	27 February 2010	Dundee United	Tannadice Park	0–3	6,352		Match Report
27	7 March 2010	Celtic	Falkirk Stadium	0–2	6,792		Match Report
28	13 March 2010	St Johnstone	Falkirk Stadium	1–2	5,895	Twaddle 27'	Match Report
29	20 March 2010	Hamilton Academical	New Douglas Park	2–2	2,461	Arfield 26', Flynn 59'	Match Report
30	23 March 2010	St Johnstone	McDiarmid Park	1–1	3,107	Flynn 19'	Match Report
31	27 March 2010	Hibernian	Falkirk Stadium	1–3	5,460	Stewart 19'	Match Report
32	3 April 2010	Motherwell	Fir Park	1–0	4,628	Flynn 27'	Match Report
33	10 April 2010	St Mirren	Falkirk Stadium	2–1	5,671	Moutinho 45+2', Higdon (o.g.) 67'	Match Report
34	17 April 2010	Aberdeen	Pittodrie	0–1	10,461		Match Report
35	24 April 2010	Hamilton Academical	Falkirk Stadium	0–1	5,118		Match Report
36	1 May 2010	St Mirren	Falkirk Stadium	1–1	5,919	Arfield 45' (Pen)	Match Report
37	5 May 2010	St Johnstone	Falkirk Stadium	0–0	5,502		Match Report
38	8 May 2010	Kilmarnock	Rugby Park	0–0	10,662		Match Report

Scottish League Cup

Main article: 2009–10 Scottish League Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers	Match Report
Third round	23 September 2009	Celtic	Falkirk Stadium	0–4	5,669		Match Report

Scottish Cup

Main article: 2009–10 Scottish Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers	Match Report
Fourth round	18 January 2010	Kilmarnock	Rugby Park	0–1	3,378		Match Report

UEFA Europa League

Main article: 2009–10 UEFA Europa League

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers	Match Report
Second qualifying round	16 July 2009	Vaduz	Falkirk Stadium	1–0	5,763	Flynn 50'	Match Report
Second qualifying round	23 July 2009	Vaduz	Rheinpark Stadion	2–0 (a.e.t)	1,842		Match Report

Squad statistics

Player statistics

As of 8 May 2010(UTC)^[3]

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Premier League		League Cup		Scottish Cup		Europa League
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	AUT	Bobby Olejnik	42	0	38+0	0	1+0	0	1+0	0	2+0	0
2	DF	SCO	Darren Barr	39	1	35+1	1	1+0	0	0+0	0	2+0	0
3	DF	SCO	Tam Scobbie	23	0	19+1	0	0+1	0	0+0	0	2+0	0
4	DF	SCO	Marc Twaddle	37	1	30+3	1	1+0	0	1+0	0	2+0	0
6	MF	NIR	Brian McLean	40	1	36+0	1	1+0	0	1+0	0	2+0	0
7	MF	POR	Pedro Moutinho	26	5	20+5	5	0+0	0	1+0	0	0+0	0
8	MF	SCO	Burton O'Brien	30	0	23+4	0	0+0	0	0+1	0	2+0	0
9	FW	ENG	Carl Finnigan	30	5	20+7	5	1+0	0	0+0	0	2+0	0
10	MF	CAN	Scott Arfield	40	3	35+1	3	1+0	0	1+0	0	2+0	0
11	MF	SCO	Ryan Flynn	40	6	36+0	5	1+0	0	1+0	0	1+1	1
12	FW	SCO	Mark Stewart	20	2	7+12	2	0+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
15	FW	NGA	Enoch Showunmi	21	1	15+6	1	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
16	FW	SCO	Dayne Robertson	2	0	0+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+1	0
18	DF	SCO	Brian Allison	4	0	4+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
19	MF	SCO	Sean Lynch	9	0	3+5	0	1+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
22	MF	SVN	Danijel Marčeta	17	0	8+7	0	1+0	0	0+1	0	0+0	0
23	MF	POR	Vítor Lima	27	0	22+4	0	0+0	0	1+0	0	0+0	0
24	FW	IRL	Colin Healy	19	1	17+2	1	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
25	DF	SCO	Lee Bullen	10	1	0+9	1	0+0	0	1+0	0	0+0	0
26	MF	CPV	Pelé	10	1	7+2	1	0+0	0	1+0	0	0+0	0
27	MF	FRA	Toufik Zerara	3	0	3+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
28	MF	WAL	Jack Compton	14	0	3+10	0	0+0	0	1+0	0	0+0	0
29	GK	CAN	Josh Wagenaar	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
30	DF	SCO	Kieran Duffie	6	0	5+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
31	DF	SCO	Michael Andrews	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
35	MF	SCO	Stewart Murdoch	3	0	0+3	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
Players who left the club during the 2009–10 season
4	CM	SCO	Jordyn Felling	2	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+2	0
5	DF	SCO	Jackie McNamara	17	0	13+0	0	0+1	0	1+0	0	2+0	0
13	GK	SCO	Jamie Barclay	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
14	DF	SCO	Chris Mitchell	11	1	5+3	1	1+0	0	0+0	0	1+1	0
15	FW	SCO	Kevin Moffat	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
21	MF	SCO	Alex MacDonald	13	0	4+7	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	2+0	0
24	FW	ISL	Kjartan Finnbogason	7	1	7+0	1	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0

Team statistics

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
8	St Johnstone	38	12	11	15	57	61	−4	47
9	Aberdeen	38	10	11	17	36	52	−16	41
10	St Mirren	38	7	13	18	36	49	−13	34
11	Kilmarnock	38	8	9	21	29	51	−22	33
12	Falkirk (R)	38	6	13	19	31	57	−26	31	Relegation to the First Division

Source: SPFL Archive
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(R) Relegated

Transfers

Players in Player From Fee   Brian McLean   Motherwell Free^[4]   Marc Twaddle   Partick Thistle Undisclosed^[5]   Ryan Flynn   Liverpool Loan^[6]   Alex MacDonald   Burnley Loan^[7]   Danijel Marčeta   Partizan Belgrade Loan^[8]   Vítor Lima   Ethnikos Piraeus Free^[9]   Josh Wagenaar   Yeovil Town Free^[10]   Kjartan Finnbogason   Sandefjord Loan^[11]   Ryan Flynn   Liverpool Free^[12]   Pedro Moutinho   Marítimo Free^[13]   Pelé   West Bromwich Albion Free^[14]   Toufik Zerara   Al Dhafra Free^[15]   Jack Compton   Weston-super-Mare Undisclosed^[16]   Colin Healy   Ipswich Town Loan^[17]   Enoch Showunmi   Leeds United Free^[18]

Players out Player To Fee   Michael Higdon   St Mirren Free^[19]   Dean Holden   Shrewsbury Town Free^[20]   Patrick Cregg   Hibernian Free^[21]   Kevin McBride   Hibernian Free^[22]   Paul McLean   Brechin City Free^[23]   Mark Staunton   East Fife Free^[24]   Jay Lang   Clyde Free^[25]   Jamie Barclay   East Stirlingshire Loan^[26]   Dermot McCaffrey   Arbroath Loan^[27]   Steve Lovell   Partick Thistle Free^[28]   Paul Sludden   East Fife Loan^[29]   Kevin Moffat Free Agent Free^[30]   James Bloom   Alloa Athletic Loan^[31]   Chris Mitchell   Ayr United Loan   Jackie McNamara   Partick Thistle Loan^[32]

References

1. "Falkirk name May as new manager". BBC Sport. 23 June 2009. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
2. "Steven Pressley succeeds Eddie May as Falkirk manager". BBC Sport. 11 February 2010. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
3. "Falkirk FC 2009/2010 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
4. "Defender McLean signs for Falkirk". BBC Sport. 1 July 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
5. "Falkirk bring in three new faces". BBC Sport. 1 July 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
6. "Falkirk bring in three new faces". BBC Sport. 1 July 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
7. "Falkirk bring in three new faces". BBC Sport. 1 July 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
8. "Bairns snap up Partizan's Marceta". BBC Sport. 22 July 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
9. "Lima completes return to Falkirk". BBC Sport. 30 July 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
10. "Falkirk snap up keeper Wagenaar". BBC Sport. 11 August 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
11. "Falkirk sign forward Finnbogason". BBC Sport. 28 August 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
12. "Bairns make Flynn move permanent". BBC Sport. 16 September 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
13. "Moutinho makes return to Falkirk". BBC Sport. 4 November 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
14. "Pele signs contract with Falkirk". BBC Sport. 12 November 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
15. "Falkirk recruit Zerara & Compton". BBC Sport. 9 December 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
16. "Falkirk recruit Zerara & Compton". BBC Sport. 1 January 2010. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
17. "Falkirk sign Ipswich Town's Colin Healy". BBC Sport. 12 January 2010. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
18. "Falkirk sign striker Enoch Showunmi from Leeds". BBC Sport. 14 January 2010. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
19. "St Mirren sign up striker Higdon". BBC Sport. 24 June 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
20. "Shrewsbury sign Falkirk's Holden". BBC Sport. 24 June 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
21. "Cregg follows Hughes to Hibernian". BBC Sport. 29 June 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
22. "McBride joins Hughes at Hibernian". BBC Sport. 2 July 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
23. "Brechin sign keeper and defender". BBC Sport. 21 July 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
24. "Fifers net Gourlay and Staunton". BBC Sport. 23 July 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
25. "Reidford among eight Clyde deals". BBC Sport. 24 July 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
26. "Call-off costs Shire and Barclay". BBC Sport. 10 August 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
27. "Bairns' McCaffrey joins Arbroath". BBC Sport. 18 September 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
28. "Striker Lovell signs at Firhill". BBC Sport. 30 October 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
29. "Bairns' Sludden joins East Fife". BBC Sport. 30 October 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
30. "Falkirk offer Moutinho extension". BBC Sport. 22 December 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
31. "Bryan Prunty in as Alloa look to release Brian Carrigan". BBC Sport. 19 January 2010. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
32. "Falkirk's Jackie McNamara agrees Partick Thistle loan". BBC Sport. 19 February 2010. Retrieved 16 February 2022.