The 2018–19 season is Motherwell's thirty-fourth consecutive season in the top flight of Scottish football and the sixth in the newly established
Scottish Premiership
The Scottish Premiership, also known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Scotland and the highest level of the Scottish football league system. Th ...
, having been promoted from the
Scottish First Division
The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. It was replaced by the Scottish Championship.
History
The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 in Scottish footb ...
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,
Transfers
On 5 June 2018, Motherwell announced the signing of Mark Gillespie on a two-year contract from
Walsall
Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...
, with the transfer becoming official when the Scottish Transfer window opened on 9 June.
On 7 June 2018, Motherwell announced the signing of Liam Donnelly on an initial two-year contract from
Hartlepool United
Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system.
They were founded in 190 ...
.
On 13 June 2018, Motherwell announced the signing of Danny Johnson on a two-year contract from
Gateshead
Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...
.
Motherwell announced their fourth signing of the summer on 19 June 2018, with
Aaron Taylor-Sinclair
Aaron Taylor-Sinclair (born 8 April 1991) is a professional association football, footballer who plays as a left sided central defender for club Airdrieonians F.C., Airdrieonians. Born in Scotland, he plays for the Antigua and Barbuda national ...
signing a one-year contract with the club following the expiration of his
Plymouth Argyle
Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club has played ...
contract on 30 June 2018. The following day, 20 June, Motherwell announced the signing of
Alex Rodriguez
Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez (born July 27, 1975), nicknamed "A-Rod", is an American former professional baseball shortstop, third baseman and designated hitter and current businessman. Rodriguez played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (ML ...
on an initial one-year contract, whilst Ross MacLean moved to
Greenock Morton
Greenock Morton Football Club is a Scottish professional football club, which plays in the . The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of the oldest Scottish clubs. Morton was renamed Greenock Morton in 1994 to celebr ...
on a season-long loan deal.
On 2 July, Shea Gordon joined
Partick Thistle
Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland and currently plays in the . Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not ...
on loan for the season.
On 7 July, Jake Hastie joined
Alloa Athletic
Alloa Athletic Football Club is a Scottish association football semi-professional club based in the town of Alloa, Clackmannanshire. They compete in as a member of the Scottish Professional Football League.
According to the official club hist ...
on loan until January 2019. On 10 July, Motherwell announced that Broque Watson had joined the reserve team from
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Foot ...
and Neil McLaughlin had joined from
Partick Thistle
Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland and currently plays in the . Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not ...
and would be immediately loaned out to
Stirling Albion
Stirling Albion Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the city of Stirling. The club was founded in 1945 following the demise of King's Park after World War II. The club currently competes in as a member of the Scottish Profession ...
for the season.
On 16 July, Motherwell announced the season-long loan signing of
Conor Sammon
Conor Sammon (born 6 November 1986) is an Irish professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Alloa Athletic F.C., Alloa Athletic.
Sammon started his professional career in the League o ...
from Hearts.
On 3 August, Motherwell announced that
Cédric Kipré
Cédric Kipré (born 9 December 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for club Ipswich Town on loan from club Reims. Born in France, he represents the Ivory Coast national team.
Club career Leicester City
After coming th ...
had left the club to join
Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system.
Founded in 1932, they have p ...
for an undisclosed fee.
On 9 August, Tom Aldred returned to Motherwell for a second loan-spell, agreeing a deal until the end of the season. The next day,
Christian Mbulu
Christian Mbulu (6 August 1996 – 26 May 2020) was an English professional Association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football), defender. During his career he played for Brentwood Town F.C., Brentwood Town, Millwall ...
signed a one-year contract with Motherwell after his release from
Millwall
Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...
at the end of the previous season.
On 10 December 2018,
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Vancouver. The Whitecaps compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The MLS ite ...
announced that they had signed Rose to a two-year contract, following the acquisition of his MLS rights from
Seattle Sounders FC
Seattle Sounders FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The club was established on ...
, with Motherwell confirming that Rose would join Vancouver Whitecaps on 1 January 2019.
On 1 January 2019, Barry Maguire joined Queen of the South on loan for the remainder of the season, whilst Jason Krones and Jordan Armstrong left the club after the expiration of their contracts. The following day, 2 January,
Ryan Bowman
Ryan Michael Bowman (born 30 November 1991) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Cheltenham Town.
Career Carlisle United
Bowman was born in Carlisle, Cumbria. He started his career with hometown club Carlisle ...
moved permanently to
Exeter City
Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third level of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...
for an undisclosed fee.
On 3 January 2019, Ross MacLean ended his loan deal with
Greenock Morton
Greenock Morton Football Club is a Scottish professional football club, which plays in the . The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of the oldest Scottish clubs. Morton was renamed Greenock Morton in 1994 to celebr ...
to join
Falkirk
Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow.
Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the ...
on a permanent basis. 2 days later, 5 January,
Ross McCormack
Ross McCormack (born 18 August 1986) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a striker for English side Doncaster City, who play in the Central Midlands Alliance League North Division.
McCormack started his career with Scottish ...
joined on loan until the end of the season from
Aston Villa
Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...
after his loan deal with
Central Coast Mariners
Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes in the A-League Men, under licence from the Australian Professional Leagues (APL).
The Mar ...
was cut short. On 7 January, Gboly Ariyibi joined Motherwell on loan for the remainder of the season from
Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football.
Founde ...
.
On 30 January 2019, David Turnbull signed a new contract until the summer of 2021, whilst
Aaron Taylor-Sinclair
Aaron Taylor-Sinclair (born 8 April 1991) is a professional association football, footballer who plays as a left sided central defender for club Airdrieonians F.C., Airdrieonians. Born in Scotland, he plays for the Antigua and Barbuda national ...
joined
Crewe Alexandra
Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...
on loan for the rest of the season.
On 31 January, Transfer deadline day, Broque Watson joined East Fife on loan for the remainder of the season, George Newell went on loan to
Albion Rovers
Albion Rovers Football Club is a semi-professional football team from Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. They play in the , the fifth tier of the Scottish football league system.
Founded in October 1882, the club joined the Scottish Foot ...
for the rest of the season, and
Gaël Bigirimana
Gaël Bigirimana (; born 22 October 1993) is a Burundian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for NIFL Premiership club Dungannon Swifts and the Burundi national team.
He began his professional career at Coventry City in 2011 and ...
left the club in a permanent move to
Hibernian
Hibernian may refer to:
* Of Hibernia, Latin name for Ireland; hence
** Irish (disambiguation)
Hibernian, Hibernians or The Hibernian may refer to:
Sports clubs
* Hibernian F.C., a Scottish football club, founded 1875
* Hibernian W.F.C., a Sc ...
.
On 7 March, Barry Maguire signed a new contract, until the summer of 2020, whilst Liam Grimshaw agreed a new deal on 12 March, keeping him at club until the summer of 2020.
On 29 March, Adam Livingstone extended his contract until the summer of 2020.
On 10 April, Jamie Semple extended his contract until the summer of 2021.
On 11 April, Motherwell signed a pre-contract agreement with
Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club, commonly known as Caley Thistle, Inverness CT or just Inverness, is a professional football club based in Inverness, Scotland. The team competes in , the third tier of the Scottish Professional Footba ...
defender
Declan Gallagher
Declan Patrick Gallagher (born 13 February 1991) is a Scottish footballer who plays as a centre back for Ross County.
Gallagher started his career at Celtic but never made a first team appearance, however he was involved in their Scottish Yout ...
, on a contract that will run until the summer of 2021. 6 days later, 17 April, Motherwell signed another pre-contract agreement with an Inverness Caledonian Thistle player, with Liam Polworth agreeing to a contract that will also run until the summer of 2021.
On 1 May,
Rangers
A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...
announced that they had signed Jake Hastie to a pre-contract agreement, with the winger signing a four-year contract to begin once his Motherwell contract ends.
On 15 May, Motherwell confirmed that Shea Gordon would leave the club when his contract expired at the end of the season, and would sign a permanent deal with
Partick Thistle
Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland and currently plays in the . Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not ...
where he had been on a season-long loan.
On 21 May, Motherwell announced that they had offered new contracts to Craig Tanner and
Chris Cadden
Christopher Cadden (born 19 September 1996) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a right-back for club Hibernian. Cadden, who is a product of the Motherwell Academy, made his first full international appearance for Scotland in M ...
, whilst first teamer
Christian Mbulu
Christian Mbulu (6 August 1996 – 26 May 2020) was an English professional Association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football), defender. During his career he played for Brentwood Town F.C., Brentwood Town, Millwall ...
,
Aaron Taylor-Sinclair
Aaron Taylor-Sinclair (born 8 April 1991) is a professional association football, footballer who plays as a left sided central defender for club Airdrieonians F.C., Airdrieonians. Born in Scotland, he plays for the Antigua and Barbuda national ...
,
Elliott Frear
Elliott Thomas Frear (born 11 September 1990) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger for club Taunton Town.
Career
Frear signed for Exeter City at the age of 11 and progressed through the club's Centre of Excellence side ...
,
Carl McHugh
Carl Gerard McHugh (born 5 February 1993) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for club. He can also play as a centre-back or left-back.
Club career Early career
Born in Lettermacaward, County Donegal, McHugh ...
,
Alex Rodriguez
Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez (born July 27, 1975), nicknamed "A-Rod", is an American former professional baseball shortstop, third baseman and designated hitter and current businessman. Rodriguez played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (ML ...
,
Curtis Main
Curtis Lee Main (born 20 June 1992) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Ayr United.
Main previously played in the Football League and the Football Conference for Darlington, and spent three seasons with Middl ...
, George Newell and Jake Hastie would be leaving the club at the end of their contracts after turning down new deals or not being offered new terms. At the same time, Motherwell also confirmed that youngsters Shaun Bowers, Akeal Rehman, Shea Gordon,
Liam Brown
Liam Brown (born 26 April 1983) is a British novelist. His debut novel, ''Real Monsters'', was published in 2015 by Legend Press. His second novel, ''Wild Life'', was published in 2016 and his third, ''Broadcast,'' was published in 2017. In 20 ...
, Kyle MacDonald, Broque Watson and Neil McLaughlin would also be leaving the club.
Transfers
In
: Gillespie's move was announced on the above date, becoming official when the Scottish transfer window opened on 9 June.
Loans in
Out
: Rose move was announced on the above date, becoming official when the Scottish transfer window opened on 1 January.
Loans out
Released
: Hastie & Gordon's moves were announced on the above date, with their Motherwell contracts officially ending on 31 May 2019.
Trial
Squad
Out on loan
Left club during season
Friendlies
Competitions
Premiership
League table
Results by round
Results summary
Results
Scottish Cup
League Cup
Group stage
=Table
=
=Matches
=
Knockout phase
Challenge Cup
Squad statistics
Appearances
, -
, colspan="12", ''Players away from the club on loan:''
, -
, colspan="12", ''Players who left Motherwell during the season:''
Motherwell
Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...