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2008–09 in English football

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Football in England
Season2008–09
Men's football
Premier LeagueManchester United
ChampionshipWolverhampton Wanderers
League OneLeicester City
League TwoBrentford
Conference NationalBurton Albion
FA CupChelsea
League CupManchester United
Community ShieldManchester United
← 2007–08 England 2009–10 →

The 2008–09 season was the 129th season of competitive football in England. The Premier League started on 16 August 2008, while the Championship, League One, and League Two matches started on 9 August 2008. The regular season of the Football League ended on 3 May 2009, while the Premier League ended on 24 May 2009.

The Premier League title was won by Manchester United, capturing their 18th top-division title and third in a row. Three teams, Newcastle United, Middlesbrough, and West Bromwich Albion were relegated at the end of the season. They were replaced by three teams from the Championship, being the champion Wolverhampton Wanderers alongside regular season runner up Birmingham City, and Burnley, which won a four-team playoff for the third promotion spot. Relegated from Championship to League One were Norwich City, Southampton, and Charlton Athletic. The League One teams promoted to the Championship include champions Leicester City, runners up Peterborough United, and playoff winners Scunthorpe United. Relegated from League One to League Two were Northampton Town, Crewe Alexandra, Cheltenham Town and Hereford United. Promoted from League Two were the champions Brentford, runners up Exeter City, third-place finishers Wycombe Wanderers, and playoff winners Scunthorpe United. Relegated to Conference were Chester City and Luton Town

The England national football team played in four friendlies, winning two, losing one, and playing to a draw in the other. During the season, England played seven of its ten Group 6 matches for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, winning all seven.

The FA Cup was won by Chelsea who defeated Everton 2–1 in the final.

Managerial changes

[edit]
See also: List of English Football League managers by date of appointment

In-season managerial changes

[edit]
Name Club Date of departure Replacement Date of appointment
Kevin Bond Bournemouth 1 September 2008[1] Jimmy Quinn 2 September 2008[2]
Alan Curbishley West Ham United 3 September 2008[3] Gianfranco Zola 11 September 2008[4]
Kevin Keegan Newcastle United 4 September 2008[5] Joe Kinnear1 26 September 2008[6]
Keith Downing Cheltenham Town 13 September 2008[7] Martin Allen 15 September 2008[8]
Alan Buckley Grimsby Town 15 September 2008[9] Mike Newell 6 October 2008[10]
Geraint Williams Colchester United 22 September 2008[11] Paul Lambert 9 October 2008[12]
Lee Sinnott Port Vale 22 September 2008[13] Dean Glover2 6 October 2008[14]
Iain Dowie Queens Park Rangers 24 October 2008[15] Paulo Sousa 19 November 2008[16]
Juande Ramos Tottenham Hotspur 25 October 2008[17] Harry Redknapp 26 October 2008[17]
Harry Redknapp Portsmouth 26 October 2008[17] Tony Adams3 28 October 2008[18]
John Ward Carlisle United 3 November 2008[19] Greg Abbott4 5 December 2008[20]
Aidy Boothroyd Watford 3 November 2008[21] Brendan Rodgers 24 November 2008[22]
Stan Ternent Huddersfield Town 4 November 2008[23] Lee Clark 11 December 2008[24]
Simon Davies Chester City 11 November 2008[25] Mark Wright 14 November 2008[26]
Maurice Malpas Swindon Town 14 November 2008[27] Danny Wilson 26 December 2008[28]
Steve Holland Crewe Alexandra 18 November 2008[29] Gudjon Thordarson 24 December 2008[30]
Alan Pardew Charlton Athletic 22 November 2008[31] Phil Parkinson5 31 December 2008[32]
Roy Keane Sunderland 4 December 2008[33] Ricky Sbragia6 27 December 2008[34]
Danny Wilson Hartlepool United 15 December 2008[35] Chris Turner 15 December 2008
Gary McAllister Leeds United 21 December 2008[36] Simon Grayson 23 December 2008[37]
Simon Grayson Blackpool 23 December 2008[37] Ian Holloway 21 May 2009
Colin Calderwood Nottingham Forest 26 December 2008[38] Billy Davies 1 January 2009[39]
Paul Fairclough Barnet 28 December 2008[40] Ian Hendon9 21 April 2009
Paul Jewell Derby County 29 December 2008 Nigel Clough 6 January 2009[41]
Jimmy Quinn Bournemouth 31 December 2008[42] Eddie Howe7 19 January 2009[43]
Jimmy Mullen Walsall 10 January 2009[44] Chris Hutchings 20 January 2009[45]
Glenn Roeder Norwich City 14 January 2009[46] Bryan Gunn8 21 January 2009[47]
Martin Ling Leyton Orient 18 January 2009[48] Geraint Williams 5 February 2009[49]
Jan Poortvliet Southampton 23 January 2009[50] Mark Wotte 23 January 2009[50]
Tony Adams Portsmouth 9 February 2009[51] Paul Hart 3 March 2009[52]
Luiz Felipe Scolari Chelsea 9 February 2009[53] Guus Hiddink 11 February 2009[54]
Russell Slade Yeovil Town 16 February 2009[55] Terry Skiverton 18 February 2009[56]
Micky Adams Brighton & Hove Albion 21 February 2009[57] Russell Slade 6 March 2009[58]
John Sheridan Oldham Athletic 15 March 2009[59] Joe Royle 15 March 2009[60]
Paulo Sousa Queens Park Rangers 9 April 2009[61] Jim Magilton 3 June 2009
Jim Magilton Ipswich Town 21 April 2009 Roy Keane 22 April 2009
Graham Turner Hereford United 24 April 2009 John Trewick 24 April 2009
Joe Royle Oldham Athletic 30 April 2009 Dave Penney 30 April 2009
Dave Penney Darlington 30 April 2009 Colin Todd 20 May 2009

End-of-season managerial changes

[edit]
Name Club Date of departure Replacement Date of appointment
Dean Glover Port Vale 2 May 2009 Micky Adams 1 June 2009
Jim Gannon Stockport County 6 May 2009 Gary Ablett 8 July 2009
Lee Richardson Chesterfield 6 May 2009 John Sheridan 9 June 2009
Steve Coppell Reading 12 May 2009 Brendan Rodgers 5 June 2009
Ricky Sbragia Sunderland 24 May 2009 Steve Bruce 2 June 2009
Guus Hiddink Chelsea 30 May 2009 Carlo Ancelotti 1 June 2009
Steve Bruce Wigan Athletic 2 June 2009 Roberto Martínez 16 June 2009
Brendan Rodgers Watford 5 June 2009 Malky Mackay 15 June 2009
Ronnie Moore Tranmere Rovers 5 June 2009 John Barnes 15 June 2009
Roberto Martínez Swansea City 16 June 2009 Paulo Sousa 29 June 2009
Tony Mowbray West Bromwich Albion 17 June 2009 Roberto Di Matteo 1 July 2009
Mark Wright Chester City 22 June 2009 Mick Wadsworth 29 June 2009
Roberto Di Matteo Milton Keynes Dons 1 July 2009 Paul Ince 3 July 2009
Mark Wotte Southampton 9 July 2009 Alan Pardew 17 July 2009

Notes

[edit]
  • 1 Joe Kinnear was named interim manager on 26 September, and signed as permanent manager on 28 November.
  • 2 Dean Glover had previously been caretaker manager at Port Vale since Sinnott's departure.
  • 3 Tony Adams had previously been caretaker manager at Portsmouth since Redknapp's departure.
  • 4 Greg Abbott had previously been caretaker manager at Carlisle United since Ward's departure.
  • 5 Phil Parkinson had previously been caretaker manager at Charlton Athletic since Pardew's departure.
  • 6 Ricky Sbragia had previously been caretaker manager at Sunderland since Keane's departure.
  • 7 Eddie Howe had previously been caretaker manager at Bournemouth since Quinn's departure.
  • 8 Bryan Gunn had previously been caretaker manager at Norwich City since Roeder's departure.
  • 9 Ian Hendon had previously been caretaker manager at Barnet since Fairclough's departure.

National team

[edit]

The home team is on the left column; the away team is on the right column.

Friendly matches

[edit]
England 2–2 Czech Republic
Brown 45'
J. Cole 90'		 (Report) Baroš 22'
Jankulovski 48'
Wembley Stadium, London
Attendance: 69,738
Referee: Terje Hauge (Norway)
Germany 1–2 England
Helmes 63' (Report) Upson 23'
Terry 84'
Attendance: 74,224
Spain 2–0 England
Villa 36'
Llorente 82'		 (Report)
Attendance: 42,102
England 4–0 Slovakia
Heskey 6'
Rooney 70', 90'
Lampard 82'		 (Report)
Wembley Stadium, London
Attendance: 85,512

World Cup qualifiers

[edit]

England is currently in Group 6 of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification process.[62]

Andorra 0–2 England
(Report) J. Cole 49', 55'
Attendance: 10,300
Croatia 1–4 England
Mandžukić 78' (Report) Walcott 26', 59', 82'
Rooney 63'
Attendance: 35,218
England 5–1 Kazakhstan
Ferdinand 52'
Kuchma 65' (o.g.)
Rooney 77', 86'
Defoe 90'		 (Report) Kukeev 68'
Wembley Stadium, London
Attendance: 89,107
Belarus 1–3 England
Sitko 28' (Report) Gerrard 11'
Rooney 50', 74'
Attendance: 32,000
England 2–1 Ukraine
Crouch 29'
Terry 85'		 (Report) Shevchenko 74'
Wembley Stadium, London
Attendance: 87,548
Kazakhstan 0–4 England
(Report) Barry 39'
Heskey 45'
Rooney 73'
Lampard 77' (pen.)
Attendance: 23,281
England 6–0 Andorra
Rooney 4', 39'
Lampard 29'
Defoe 73', 75'
Crouch 80'		 (Report)
Wembley Stadium, London
Attendance: 57,897

Diary of the season

[edit]

5 July 2008 - Former Liverpool and Leeds United winger Harry Kewell joins Galatasaray.

9 July 2008 - Journeyman forward Kevin Phillips swaps Midlands sides, joining newly relegated Birmingham City from West Bromwich Albion.

11 July 2008 - Arsenal complete the signing of Frenchman Samir Nasri from Marseille.

9 August 2008 - The Football League kicks-off, with two promotion favourites, Birmingham City and Sheffield United, locking horns. Kevin Phillips' 90th-minute goal gave the Blues the perfect start, winning 1-0.

16 August 2008 - The Premier League began, with Arsenal defeating West Brom 1-0 at the Emirates to open the season off. Hull City's first ever top flight appearance saw an inspired display by Giovani help them to a 2-1 win over Fulham.

31 August 2008 -

  • Manchester City completed their takeover with The Abu Dhabi United Group. City completed their signing of Robinho and appointed former Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Manchester United star Mark Hughes as manager.
  • August ends with Chelsea ahead of Liverpool on goal difference at the top of the table, with Manchester City and Arsenal competing the top four. West Han United, Middlesbrough, tipped by many to struggle, and Aston Villa completing the top seven. Manchester United were a lowly ninth after a slow start, albeit with a game in hand. West Bromwich Albion and Tottenham Hotspur prop up the division without a point on the board, with Sunderland joining them in the drop zone on goal scored, which simultaneously kept Everton out of the bottom three. Wolverhampton Wanderers led the Championship on goal difference, with Preston heading Birmingham on the same virtue to stand second. Bristol City, Sheffield United and Reading competed the top six, with pressure from Swansea, Watford, QPR and Doncaster. Derby County, statistically the worst Premier League ever after their turgid 2007-08 Premier League campaign, struggled to stave off their drop and stand at the foot of the Championship, with Burnley and Crystal Palace joining them in the drop zone.

4 September 2008 - Two Premier League managers in succession resigned. Alan Curbishley quit after almost two years as West Ham manager, with Kevin Keegan abrupt second spell as Newcastle United manager ended.

11 September 2008 - Gianfranco Zola was named as Alan Curbishley's successor at West Ham.

13 September 2008 - Liverpool moved six points clear of rivals Manchester United after a 2-1 victory at Anfield. Liverpool kept up the head on Chelsea, staying level on points, but United's title defence took a stuttering start, lying 14th in the Premier League table.

26 September 2008 - Joe Kinnear became the new manager of Newcastle United.

27 September 2008 - Liverpool won the first Merseyside derby of the season, triumphing 2-0 at Goodison Park. Hull City's bright start to the campaign saw them defeat Arsenal 2-1 in their first visit to the Emirates.

30 September 2008 - Goal difference continued to separate both Chelsea and Liverpool at the top of the Premier League, with Aston Villa and Arsenal competing the top four. West Ham remained fifth and Hull City, tipped by many to be the leagues whipping boys in their first top flight campaign, sat sixth. Blackburn held the final European place. Tottenham Hotspur, still without a win, sat at the foot of the table, growing pressure on Juande Ramos. Newcastle United and Stoke City, playing their first top division campaign in 20 years, ended September in the drop zone. Wolves opened up a two points lead at the top of the Championship, as Midlands rivals Birmingham City sitting second. Reading, Burnley, recovering from their slow start, Sheffield Wednesday and Steel City rivals Sheffield United completing the top six. Nottingham Forest ended September at the foot of the Championship, joint in the drop zone by Barnsley and Doncaster.

25 October 2008 - With Tottenham's start to the season not getting better, Juande Ramos was relieved of his duties as manager. Harry Redknapp quit fellow Premier League side Portsmouth to become his successor.

26 October 2008 - Chelsea's historic 86-game unbeaten run at Stamford Bridge ended, as Xavi Alonso's strike earned Liverpool a 1-0 win in London.

28 October 2008 - Redknapp's successor at Portsmouth was former Arsenal defender and captain Tony Adams

31 October 2008 - Liverpool opened up a three point lead over Chelsea after winning all their games in October. The West Londoners remained second, with Arsenal climbing above Aston Villa in an unchanged top four. Hull's fast start showed no sign of slowing down as they were only kept out of the Champions League spots on goal difference. Manchester United began to pick up pace as they sat sixth, still eight points off the top. Tottenham remained bottom, but had renewed optimism with Harry Redknapp's appointment. Bolton Wanderers and Wigan Athletic completing the bottom three. Wolves had their lead at the top cut to one point by Birmingham, but both have opened a comfortable gap over the chasing pack. Cardiff, Reading, Burnley and Sheffield United competing the play-off places. Doncaster became the side rooted to the foot of the division, with Nottingham Forest and Southampton competing the drop zone.

30 November 2008 - Manchester United defeated City in the first Manchester derby of the season, winning 1-0 at the Etihad Stadium. This win moved United into third, and still five points behind leaders, this time which was Chelsea. Liverpool were second, level on points, but with a game in hand. Arsenal completed the top four. Aston Villa, Hull and Everton competed the European places. West Brom sank to the foot, staring down the barrels of an immediate return to the Championship. Blackburn, whom were challenging for Europe two months prior, and Sunderland completed the drop zone, with Newcastle ahead of their North East rivals on goal difference. Wolves opened up a six point lead on Birmingham City and thirteen on third placed Reading, citing their credentials as a Premier League place looks likely. Burnley, Sheffield United and Preston competing the top six. Doncaster and Nottingham Forest's battle remained gloomy, with Charlton, just two years after Premier League relegation, completing the bottom three.

4 December 2008 - Roy Keane departed his post as Sunderland manager, with the team in the Premier League drop zone. His successor was Scotsman Ricky Sbragia. Initially temporary, he took the role until the end of the season.

26 December 2008 - The highlight of the Boxing Day football was Hull City manager Phil Brown giving his side a public dressing down at half-time, as his side were 4-0 down at half-time at Manchester City. It didn't change much, as City ran out 5-1 winners.

31 December 2008 - Liverpool ended the year as the Premier League leaders, ahead of Chelsea by three points and Manchester United by eight points, although United had two games in hand. Aston Villa competed the top four. Arsenal, Everton and Wigan, a little over a month after being in the drop zone, competing the European places. West Brom remained bottom, with Blackburn and Stoke in the drop zone, although Middlesbrough, Tottenham, Sunderland and Newcastle close by. Wolves lead was cut to seven points for promotion, with Reading edging Birmingham out of the top two on goal difference. Cardiff, Burnley and Sheffield United ending 2008 in the play-offs, with close battles from Preston and Crystal Palace. Charlton were rooted to the foot of the table. Debt-riddled Southampton joined the Addicks below the dreaded line, and Doncaster's fortunes had upturned, now 22nd and in the drop zone on goal difference.

Honours

[edit]
Competition Winner Details Match Report
FA Cup Chelsea FA Cup 2008–09
Beat Everton 2–1 		Report
League Cup Manchester United Football League Cup 2008–09
Beat Tottenham Hotspur 4–1 on penalties (0–0 final score) 		Report
Premier League Manchester United Premier League 2008–09 Report
Football League Championship Wolverhampton Wanderers Football League Championship 2008–09 Report
Football League One Leicester City Football League One 2008–09 Report
Football League Two Brentford Football League Two 2008–09 Report
FA Community Shield Manchester United 2008 FA Community Shield
Beat Portsmouth 3–1 on penalties (0–0 final score) 		Report
Football League Trophy Luton Town Football League Trophy 2008–09
Beat Scunthorpe United 3–2 a.e.t 		Report
FA Trophy Stevenage Borough FA Trophy 2008–09
Beat York City 2–0 		Report
Conference League Cup A.F.C. Telford United Conference League Cup 2008–09
Beat Forest Green Rovers 3–0 on penalties. (0–0 final score) 		Report

League tables

[edit]

Premier League

[edit]
Main article: 2008–09 Premier League

Manchester United won their 18th league title, drawing level with Liverpool for the record of most league titles. Liverpool pushed them all the way; they actually had a superior goal difference and completed the double over United, even winning 4–1 at Old Trafford in March, but also suffered 11 draws which enabled United to overtake and win the title. Chelsea broke records for all the wrong reasons as their 86-game unbeaten home record finally came to an end, with several surprise away losses effectively ending their title challenge (as well as resulting in manager Luiz Felipe Scolari being sacked), though they did win the FA Cup under caretaker manager Guus Hiddink. Arsenal finished fourth to claim the final Champions League spot, which meant that last season's top 4 all qualified for Europe's elite for the fifth time in six seasons.

Aston Villa had looked like breaking into the Champions League spots for most of the season, but a late collapse that saw them win just twice in their last 13 league games saw them join FA Cup finalists Everton in qualifying for the newly formed UEFA Europa League (which replaced the UEFA Cup). Fulham were the other team to qualify for Europe, marking a remarkable turnaround since Roy Hodgson had taken over 18 months earlier when relegation from the Premier League looked a certainty. This was not only the first time they had qualified for Europe via their league position, but in finishing 7th in the first tier, this was also the highest ever league finish in the club's history. Stoke City, despite being pre-season relegation favourites for many, defied their critics and finishing comfortably in mid-table.

West Bromwich Albion made an immediate return to the Championship after propping up the table for most of the season. Joining them on the final day were Middlesbrough and Newcastle United, ending 11 and 16-year spells in the top flight respectively, the latter going through four managers in Kevin Keegan, Joe Kinnear, Chris Hughton and even former striker Alan Shearer during the campaign. Sunderland survived relegation, thanks to the efforts of caretaker manager Ricky Sbragia after Roy Keane's surprise resignation in December; meaning next season they would be the only North-East team in top flight football. Despite a brilliant start to the season (Which included victories at Arsenal and Tottenham, a draw at Liverpool and a narrow 4–3 loss at Manchester United, and climbing as high as third place in October), Hull City won just one league game after the new year, but avoided relegation by a single point.

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Manchester United (C) 38 28 6 4 68 24 +44 90 Qualification for the Champions League group stage[a]
2 Liverpool 38 25 11 2 77 27 +50 86
3 Chelsea 38 25 8 5 68 24 +44 83
4 Arsenal 38 20 12 6 68 37 +31 72 Qualification for the Champions League play-off round
5 Everton 38 17 12 9 55 37 +18 63 Qualification for the Europa League play-off round[a]
6 Aston Villa 38 17 11 10 54 48 +6 62
7 Fulham 38 14 11 13 39 34 +5 53 Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round[a]
8 Tottenham Hotspur 38 14 9 15 45 45 0 51
9 West Ham United 38 14 9 15 42 45 −3 51
10 Manchester City 38 15 5 18 58 50 +8 50
11 Wigan Athletic 38 12 9 17 34 45 −11 45
12 Stoke City 38 12 9 17 38 55 −17 45
13 Bolton Wanderers 38 11 8 19 41 53 −12 41
14 Portsmouth 38 10 11 17 38 57 −19 41
15 Blackburn Rovers 38 10 11 17 40 60 −20 41
16 Sunderland 38 9 9 20 34 54 −20 36
17 Hull City 38 8 11 19 39 64 −25 35
18 Newcastle United (R) 38 7 13 18 40 59 −19 34 Relegation to Football League Championship
19 Middlesbrough (R) 38 7 11 20 28 57 −29 32
20 West Bromwich Albion (R) 38 8 8 22 36 67 −31 32
Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ a b c Since both finalists of the FA Cup (Chelsea and Everton) and the League Cup winners (Manchester United) qualified for the European competitions based on their league position, the sixth-placed team (Aston Villa) received a berth in the Europa League play-off round and the seventh-placed team (Fulham) received a berth in the Europa League third qualifying round.

Leading goalscorer: Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea) – 19

Football League Championship

[edit]
Main article: 2008–09 Football League Championship

Five years after being relegated from the Premier League, Wolverhampton Wanderers returned to the top flight in style as champions, having been in the top 2 for virtually all the season since August. Birmingham City were runners-up, making this the fourth season in a row that they had swapped divisions. Burnley joined them by beating Sheffield United in the play-off final, earning their place in the top flight after a 33-year absence.

Cardiff City occupied a play-off position for much of the season, but agonisingly slipped out of them on the final day after obtaining just one point in their final four league games. Preston North End in contrast, took twelve points from their final four league games, including a 6–0 win over Cardiff to finish ahead of them by courtesy of having scored one goal more throughout the season. Doncaster Rovers who were favourites to go straight back down and in the second tier after half a century out, achieved a respectable mid-table finish ahead of former Premier League teams in Crystal Palace, Coventry City, Derby County, Nottingham Forest and Barnsley.

Charlton suffered their second relegation in three years, despite a run of just one loss out of eight games at the end of the season. Southampton also crashed out of the division amid financial worries, which also meant they would be starting the 2009–10 season in League One with a ten-point deduction for entering administration. Norwich were the third relegated club, meaning that all three relegated clubs had been in the Premier League as recently as 2005 and had long left the third tier (Charlton last competed in the third tier in 1981, Southampton and Norwich in 1960).

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
1 Wolverhampton Wanderers (C, P) 46 27 9 10 80 52 +28 90 Promotion to the Premier League
2 Birmingham City (P) 46 23 14 9 54 37 +17 83
3 Sheffield United 46 22 14 10 64 39 +25 80 Qualification for Championship play-offs
4 Reading 46 21 14 11 72 40 +32 77
5 Burnley (O, P) 46 21 13 12 72 60 +12 76
6 Preston North End 46 21 11 14 66 54 +12 74
7 Cardiff City 46 19 17 10 65 53 +12 74
8 Swansea City 46 16 20 10 63 50 +13 68
9 Ipswich Town 46 17 15 14 62 53 +9 66
10 Bristol City 46 15 16 15 54 54 0 61
11 Queens Park Rangers 46 15 16 15 42 44 −2 61
12 Sheffield Wednesday 46 16 13 17 51 58 −7 61
13 Watford 46 16 10 20 68 72 −4 58
14 Doncaster Rovers 46 17 7 22 42 53 −11 58
15 Crystal Palace 46 15 12 19 52 55 −3 56[a]
16 Blackpool 46 13 17 16 47 58 −11 56
17 Coventry City 46 13 15 18 47 58 −11 54
18 Derby County 46 14 12 20 55 67 −12 54
19 Nottingham Forest 46 13 14 19 50 65 −15 53
20 Barnsley 46 13 13 20 45 58 −13 52
21 Plymouth Argyle 46 13 12 21 44 57 −13 51
22 Norwich City (R) 46 12 10 24 57 70 −13 46 Relegation to Football League One
23 Southampton (R) 46 10 15 21 46 69 −23 45[b]
24 Charlton Athletic (R) 46 8 15 23 52 74 −22 39
Updated to match(es) played on 3 May 2009. Source: The Football League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ Crystal Palace were give a one-point deduction for using an ineligible player during a match against Sheffield United on 3 May 2009.[63]
  2. ^ Southampton were given a ten-point deduction for breaching insolvency regulations, regarding their holding company. As they finished in the bottom three in the 2008–09 season, the points deduction was applied during the 2009–10 season in League One.[64]

Leading goalscorer: Sylvan Ebanks-Blake (Wolverhampton Wanderers) – 25

Football League One

[edit]
Main article: 2008–09 Football League One

Leicester comfortably won promotion in their first-ever season at this level, leading the table for virtually the entire season, going half the season (23 consecutive games) unbeaten and losing just 4 games in the process. Nigel Pearson brought stability to the club in becoming their first manager in five years to last an entire season as they looked to turn the corner after several years of struggle. Peterborough were runners-up, winning their second successive promotion and entering the second tier for only the second time in their history. Scunthorpe grabbed the final play-off place on the last day of the season in a winner takes all match v 7th place Tranmere Rovers and won promotion through them, making an immediate return to the Championship after being relegated the previous year.

Stockport went into administration before the final match of the season and so suffered a 10-point penalty; however, there was no real chance of them being relegated as a result of this penalty, barring an extremely unlikely set of results on the final day.

Hereford made an immediate return to League Two, finishing bottom in their first campaign at this level for thirty years. Cheltenham improved late in the season, but it proved too late to prevent relegation. Crewe suffered a late collapse and went down to League Two, having looked safe a few weeks previously. Northampton were relegated on the final day of the season after losing at Leeds and other results went against them. Brighton had looked certainties for relegation in the closing weeks, but the appointment of Russell Slade as manager saw them claim 16 points out of a possible 21 to survive. Carlisle and Hartlepool both survived on the last day.

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Leicester City (C, P) 46 27 15 4 84 39 +45 96 Promotion to Football League Championship
2 Peterborough United (P) 46 26 11 9 78 54 +24 89
3 Milton Keynes Dons 46 26 9 11 83 47 +36 87 Qualification for League One play-offs
4 Leeds United 46 26 6 14 77 49 +28 84
5 Millwall 46 25 7 14 63 53 +10 82
6 Scunthorpe United (O, P) 46 22 10 14 82 63 +19 76
7 Tranmere Rovers 46 21 11 14 62 49 +13 74
8 Southend United 46 21 8 17 58 61 −3 71
9 Huddersfield Town 46 18 14 14 62 65 −3 68
10 Oldham Athletic 46 16 17 13 66 65 +1 65
11 Bristol Rovers 46 17 12 17 79 61 +18 63
12 Colchester United 46 18 9 19 58 58 0 63
13 Walsall 46 17 10 19 61 66 −5 61
14 Leyton Orient 46 15 11 20 45 57 −12 56
15 Swindon Town 46 12 17 17 68 71 −3 53
16 Brighton & Hove Albion 46 13 13 20 55 70 −15 52
17 Yeovil Town 46 12 15 19 41 66 −25 51
18 Stockport County 46 16 12 18 59 57 +2 50[a]
19 Hartlepool United 46 13 11 22 66 79 −13 50
20 Carlisle United 46 12 14 20 56 69 −13 50
21 Northampton Town (R) 46 12 13 21 61 65 −4 49 Relegation to Football League Two
22 Crewe Alexandra (R) 46 12 10 24 59 82 −23 46
23 Cheltenham Town (R) 46 9 12 25 51 91 −40 39
24 Hereford United (R) 46 9 7 30 42 79 −37 34
Updated to match(es) played on 2 May 2009. Source: The Football League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ Stockport County deducted 10 points for entering administration.[65]

Leading goalscorer: Simon Cox (Swindon Town) – 29, and Rickie Lambert (Bristol Rovers) – 29

Football League Two

[edit]
Main article: 2008–09 Football League Two

Brentford made a return to League One as champions, the second club to win the fourth tier three times since Doncaster Rovers. Exeter won their second successive promotion, and on the final day of the season managed to pip Wycombe Wanderers for the runners-up spot. Wycombe themselves managed the final automatic promotion spot by virtue of a single goal over Bury. The play-offs were won by Gillingham, who made an immediate return to League One after the previous season's relegation.

Several teams suffered heavy points deductions during the season. Rotherham were docked 17 points at the start of the season and Darlington 10 points later on. Without these penalties they would have both qualified for the play-offs, but instead managed only mid table. Bournemouth also suffered a 17-point deduction pre-season, and halfway through it looked to be enough to cost them their League status; however, a fightback under new manager Eddie Howe saw them climb to safety and secure survival with a game to spare.

Luton suffered the heaviest deduction however, and the loss of 30 points proved too much for them to survive (though they would still have been relegated, albeit while finishing a place higher, had they only suffered the same 17-point deduction as Bournemouth and Rotherham). They suffered their third successive relegation and dropped out of the league, making them only the third English team to suffer three successive relegations, and the first to drop from the second tier to the Conference in successive years. The other relegated team was Chester City, who were statistically the worst team in the division and returned to the Conference after only five years. This would ultimately be the final season that the club completed, as they folded in March 2010, before the end of the following campaign. Grimsby would also have suffered relegation, if not for Luton's points deduction.

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
1 Brentford (C, P) 46 23 16 7 65 36 +29 85 Promotion to Football League One
2 Exeter City (P) 46 22 13 11 65 50 +15 79
3 Wycombe Wanderers (P) 46 20 18 8 54 33 +21 78
4 Bury 46 21 15 10 63 43 +20 78 Qualification for League Two play-offs
5 Gillingham (O, P) 46 21 12 13 58 55 +3 75
6 Rochdale 46 19 13 14 70 59 +11 70
7 Shrewsbury Town 46 17 18 11 61 44 +17 69
8 Dagenham & Redbridge 46 19 11 16 77 53 +24 68
9 Bradford City 46 18 13 15 66 55 +11 67
10 Chesterfield 46 16 15 15 62 57 +5 63
11 Morecambe 46 15 18 13 53 56 −3 63
12 Darlington 46 20 12 14 61 44 +17 62[a]
13 Lincoln City 46 14 17 15 53 52 +1 59
14 Rotherham United 46 21 12 13 60 46 +14 58[b]
15 Aldershot Town 46 14 12 20 59 80 −21 54
16 Accrington Stanley 46 13 11 22 42 59 −17 50
17 Barnet 46 11 15 20 56 74 −18 48
18 Port Vale 46 13 9 24 44 66 −22 48
19 Notts County 46 11 14 21 49 69 −20 47
20 Macclesfield Town 46 13 8 25 45 77 −32 47
21 Bournemouth 46 17 12 17 59 51 +8 46[c]
22 Grimsby Town 46 9 14 23 51 69 −18 41
23 Chester City (R) 46 8 13 25 43 81 −38 37 Relegated to Conference National
24 Luton Town (R) 46 13 17 16 58 65 −7 26[d]
Source: The Football League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ Darlington deducted 10 points for entering administration.[66]
  2. ^ Rotherham United deducted 17 points for leaving administration without a Company Voluntary Agreement.[67]
  3. ^ Bournemouth deducted 17 points for leaving administration without a Company Voluntary Agreement.[68]
  4. ^ Luton Town deducted 30 points; 20 points for leaving administration without a Company Voluntary Agreement, and 10 points for making illegal payments to agents.[69]

Leading goalscorers: Simeon Jackson (Gillingham) – 20, Grant Holt (Shrewsbury Town) – 20, and Jack Lester (Chesterfield) – 20

Movements for the 2009–10 season

[edit]
Competition Promoted Playoffs Relegated
Premier League N/A N/A Newcastle, Middlesbrough, West Bromwich Albion
Football League Championship Wolverhampton Wanderers, Birmingham City Burnley Charlton Athletic, Southampton, Norwich City
Football League One Leicester City, Peterborough United Scunthorpe United Northampton Town, Crewe Alexandra, Cheltenham Town, Hereford United
Football League Two Brentford, Exeter City, Wycombe Wanderers Gillingham Chester City, Luton Town
Conference National Burton Albion Torquay United Woking, Northwich Victoria, Weymouth, Lewes
Conference North Tamworth Gateshead King's Lynn (demoted), Burscough, Hucknall Town
Conference South AFC Wimbledon Hayes & Yeading United Team Bath (folded),[70] Bognor Regis Town, Fisher Athletic

Clubs removed

[edit]
  • Team Bath (Conference South)
  • Gresley Rovers (Northern Premier League, Division One South)

Transfer deals

[edit]
Main article: List of English football transfers 2008-09

Notable debutants

[edit]
  • 1 November 2008 – Jordan Henderson, 18-year-old midfielder, makes his debut as a substitute in Sunderland's 5–0 Premier League defeat at Chelsea.[71]

Retirements

[edit]

References

[edit]
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