2009–10 Motherwell F.C. season
Motherwell competed in the Scottish Premier League, Scottish Cup, Scottish League Cup and UEFA Europa League during the 2009–10 season.
Important events
- 30 June 2009 – Jim Gannon appointed new manager of the club, after he was made redundant by English League One side, Stockport
- 2 July 2009 – First competitive match of the season against Welsh Premier League side, Llanelli in the First Qualifying Round of the UEFA Europa League, a 1–0 defeat at Fir Park
- 6 August 2009 – Motherwell are eliminated from the UEFA Europa League in the Third Qualifying Round by Steaua Bucharest
- 15 August 2009 – The first Scottish Premier League fixture of the season ends in a 2–2 draw at McDiarmid Park
- 28 December 2009 – Jim Gannon is sacked by the board following continuous refusals to sign a contract with the club
- 29 December 2009 – Craig Brown is hired to fill the void as caretaker manager until a replacement for Gannon can be found
- 18 January 2010 – Motherwell are knocked out of the Scottish Cup after just one game, a 2–0 defeat to Inverness in the 4th round
- 23 March 2010 – Both St Johnstone and Falkirk play out a 1–1 draw, which confirms Motherwell's place in the top-six of the Scottish Premier League
- 5 May 2010 – Motherwell play their last home fixture of the year at Fir Park, a 6–6 draw with Hibernian, and break the league record for most goals in a single game
- 5 May 2010 – Hearts play out a 0–0 draw confirming a minimum finish of 5th place for Motherwell
- 9 May 2010 – A final day draw away to Rangers sees Motherwell fall just short of automatic qualification to the Europa League as Hibernian win at Tannadice
- 15 May 2010 – Dundee United win the Scottish Cup: Motherwell qualify for the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League second qualifying round.
Transfers
Summer transfer window (1 July – 1 September 2009)
In permanent| Date | Player | From | Fee | Contract length |
| 1 July 2009 |  Stephen Jennings | Tranmere Rovers | Free | One year |
| 15 July 2009 |  Chris Humphrey | Shrewsbury Town | Free | Three years |
| 21 July 2009 | Giles Coke | Northampton Town | Free | One year |
| 13 August 2009 | Tom Hateley | Reading | Free | One year |
| 7 September 2009 |  Ryan Scanlon | Ross County | Undisclosed | Three years |
Loans in
| Date | Player | From | Loan length |
| 24 July 2009 | John Ruddy | Everton | Six months |
| 26 August 2009 |  Lukas Jutkiewicz | Everton | Six months |
| 1 September 2009 |  Yassin Moutaouakil | Charlton Athletic | Six months |
Loans out
| Date | Player | To | Loan length |
| — | — | — | — |
Out permanent
| Date | Player | To | Fee | Note |
| 2 June 2009 | Bob Malcolm |  Brisbane Roar | Free | |
| 29 June 2009 | David Clarkson | Bristol City | £600,000 | |
| 1 July 2009 |  Maros Klimpl |  Midtjylland | Loan return | - |
| 1 July 2009 | Artur Krysiak | Birmingham City | Loan return | |
| 1 July 2009 | Brian McLean | Falkirk | Free | |
| 1 July 2009 |  Cillian Sheridan | Celtic | Loan return | |
| 1 July 2009 | Graeme Smith | Brighton | Free | |
| 4 July 2009 | Paul Quinn |  Cardiff City | £300,000 | |
| 22 July 2009 | Stephen Hughes | Norwich City | Free |
Winter transfer window (1 January – 2 February 2010)
In permanent| Date | Player | From | Fee | Contract length |
| — | — | — | — | — |
Loans in
| Date | Player | From | Loan length |
| 2 January 2010 | John Ruddy | Everton | Six months |
| 2 January 2010 | Lukas Jutkiewicz | Everton | Six months |
| 2 January 2010 |  Michael McGlinchey | Central Coast Mariners | Six months |
Loans out
| Date | Player | To | Loan rength |
| 31 January 2010 | Jonathan Page | Stirling Albion | Six months |
Out permanent
| Date | Player | To | Fee | Note |
| 1 January 2010 | Steven McGarry | Perth Glory | Free | — |
| 1 February 2010 | Paul Slane | Celtic | Undisclosed | Four year contract with Celtic |
First-team squad
As of 5 December 2010Statistics
Appearances
As of 5 December 2010, Fir Park CornerTop scorers
| Position | Nation | Number | Name | Scottish Premier League | Europa League | Scottish Cup | Scottish League Cup | Total |
| 1 | | 11 | John Sutton | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| 2 | | 9 | Lukas Jutkiewicz | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 3 | | 15 | Jamie Murphy | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 4 | | 20 | Ross Forbes | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
| 5 | | 4 | Mark Reynolds | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 6 | | 28 | Shaun Hutchinson | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 7 | | 6 | Tom Hateley | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 8 | | 17 | Jim O'Brien | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 9 | | 6 | Giles Coke | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 | | 8 | Steve Jennings | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | | 35 | Robert McHugh | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 12 | | 43 | Steven Saunders | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 | | 45 | Paul Slane | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| / | / | / | Own goals | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| / | / | / | Totals | 54 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 69 |
Disciplinary record
Results and fixtures
Friendlies
Scottish Premier League
| Match Day | Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Motherwell scorer | League Position | Attendance | Report |
| 1 | 15 August 2009 | St Johnstone | A | 2–2 | Hutchinson, Forbes | 5 | 5,220 | |
| 2 | 22 August 2009 | Kilmarnock | H | 3–1 | Sutton, Forbes , Hutchinson | 3 | 5,093 | |
| 3 | 29 August 2009 | Aberdeen | A | 0–0 | 5 | 11,320 | ||
| 4 | 12 September 2009 | Rangers | H | 0–0 | 5 | 9,355 | ||
| 5 | 19 September 2009 | Dundee United | A | 1–0 | Forbes | 4 | 7,196 | |
| 6 | 26 September 2009 | Hibernian | H | 1–3 | Reynolds | 6 | 5,221 | |
| 7 | 3 October 2009 | Falkirk | H | 1–0 | Jutkiewicz | 5 | 4,337 | |
| 8 | 17 October 2009 | Celtic | A | 0–0 | 5 | 58,000 | ||
| 9 | 24 October 2009 | St Mirren | A | 3–3 | Forbes , Jutkiewicz | 5 | 4,327 | |
| 10 | 31 October 2009 | Hearts | H | 1–0 | Forbes | 4 | 4,830 | |
| 11 | 7 November 2009 | Hamilton | A | 2–2 | Murphy, Jutkiewicz | 5 | 3,583 | |
| 12 | 21 November 2009 | Aberdeen | H | 1–1 | Jutkiewicz | 5 | 4,662 | |
| 13 | 28 November 2009 | Dundee United | H | 2–2 | Sutton, Jutkiewicz | 5 | 4,593 | |
| 14 | 5 December 2009 | Hibernian | A | 0–2 | 5 | 10,398 | ||
| 15 | 12 December 2009 | Celtic | H | 2–3 | Jutkiewicz, Reynolds | 5 | 7,807 | |
| 16 | 19 December 2009 | Rangers | A | 1–6 | Hutchinson | 5 | 44,291 | |
| 17 | 26 December 2009 | St Johnstone | H | 1–3 | Jennings | 6 | 4,140 | |
| 18 | 30 December 2009 | Hearts | A | 0–1 | 6 | 14,411 | ||
| 19 | 16 January 2010 | Kilmarnock | A | 3–0 | O'Brien, Jutkiewicz | 6 | 5,354 | |
| 20 | 23 January 2010 | St Mirren | H | 2–0 | Murphy, Sutton | 6 | 3,621 | |
| 21 | 27 January 2010 | Falkirk | A | 0–0 | 7 | 4,321 | ||
| 22 | 30 January 2010 | Aberdeen | A | 3–0 | Sutton, Jutkiewicz | 5 | 9,555 | |
| 23 | 6 February 2010 | Hamilton | H | 1–0 | Jutkiewicz | 5 | 4,777 | |
| 24 | 10 February 2010 | Rangers | H | 1–1 | Hateley | 5 | 9,352 | |
| 25 | 13 February 2010 | Hamilton | A | 0–0 | 5 | 3,133 | ||
| 26 | 20 February 2010 | Hibernian | H | 1–0 | Murphy | 5 | 5,055 | |
| 27 | 27 February 2010 | Kilmarnock | H | 1–0 | Murphy | 5 | 4,178 | |
| 28 | 6 March 2010 | St Johnstone | A | 2–1 | Murphy, Sutton | 5 | 3,669 | |
| 29 | 9 March 2010 | St Mirren | A | 0–0 | 5 | 3,154 | ||
| 30 | 13 March 2010 | Hearts | H | 3–1 | Reynolds, Sutton, O'Brien | 4 | 4,448 | |
| 31 | 27 March 2010 | Dundee United | A | 0–3 | 5 | 7,609 | ||
| 32 | 3 April 2010 | Falkirk | H | 0–1 | 5 | 4,268 | ||
| 33 | 13 April 2010 | Celtic | A | 1–2 | Reynolds | 5 | 27,750 | |
| 34 | 18 April 2010 | Dundee United | H | 2–3 | Sutton | 5 | 3,544 | |
| 35 | 24 April 2010 | Hearts | A | 2–0 | Saunders, Žaliūkas | 4 | 13,447 | |
| 36 | 1 May 2010 | Celtic | A | 0–4 | 4 | 24,000 | ||
| 37 | 5 May 2010 | Hibernian | H | 6–6 | Coke, Sutton, Hateley, Jutkiewicz | 4 | 6,241 | |
| 38 | 9 May 2010 | Rangers | A | 3–3 | Murphy, Jennings, Jutkiewicz | 5 | 50,321 |
Note: Due to postponements between match day 18 and match day 19, Motherwell's position in the Scottish Premier League dropped to 8th place. The win on match day 19 served to allow them to leapfrog the teams in 6th and 7th place while still having two games in hand.
UEFA Europa League
| Date | Round | Opponent | H/A | Score | Motherwell scorer | Attendance | Report |
| 2 July 2009 | FQR | Llanelli | H | 0–1 | 4,307 | ||
| 9 July 2009 | FQR | Llanelli | A | 3–0 | Sutton Murphy | 3,025 | |
| 16 July 2009 | SQR |  Flamurtari Vlorë | A | 0–1 | 4,012 | ||
| 23 July 2009 | SQR | Flamurtari Vlorë | H | 8–1 | Murphy Slane Forbes Shaun Hutchinson McHugh | 4,641 | |
| 30 July 2009 | TQR |  Steaua Bucharest | A | 0–3 | 25,000 | ||
| 6 August 2009 | TQR | Steaua Bucharest | H | 1–3 | Forbes | 4,975 |
Scottish League Cup
| Date | Round | Opponent | H/A | Score | Motherwell scorer | Attendance | Report |
| 22 September 2009 | 3rd Round | Inverness CT | H | 3–2 | McHugh, Own goal, Forbes | 3,905 | |
| 27 October 2009 | Quarter-Final | St Mirren | A | 0–3 | — | 4,325 |
Scottish Cup
| Date | Round | Opponent | H/A | Score | Motherwell scorer | Attendance | Report |
| 18 January 2010 | 4th Round | Inverness CT | A | 0–2 | — | 1,450 |