2008–09 Football League Championship


The 2008–09 Football League Championship was the sixth season of the league under its current title and seventeenth season under its current league division format.
Wolverhampton Wanderers won the division to return to the Premier League after a five-year absence. They secured the Championship title on 25 April, one week after having confirmed their promotion with a victory over QPR.
Birmingham City were promoted at the first attempt following their relegation. They secured their return to the top flight on the final day of the season by winning at promotion rivals Reading 2–1. Norwich City, Southampton and Charlton Athletic were relegated;
Burnley won the play-offs to reach the Premier League for the first time after a 1–0 win in the play-off final against Sheffield United, who had been in with a chance of automatic promotion on the final day.

Team changes from previous season

;Joining the Championship
Relegated from the Premier League:
Promoted from League One:
;Leaving the Championship
Promoted to the Premier League:
Relegated to League One:

Stadium and locations

TeamStadiumCapacity
BarnsleyOakwell23,009
Birmingham CitySt Andrew's30,009
BlackpoolBloomfield Road9,788
Bristol CityAshton Gate21,497
BurnleyTurf Moor22,546
Cardiff CityNinian Park22,008
Charlton AthleticThe Valley27,111
Coventry CityRicoh Arena32,609
Crystal PalaceSelhurst Park26,309
Derby CountyPride Park33,597
Doncaster RoversKeepmoat Stadium15,231
Ipswich TownPortman Road30,311
Norwich CityCarrow Road26,034
Nottingham ForestCity Ground30,602
Plymouth ArgyleHome Park19,500
Preston North EndDeepdale24,500
Queens Park RangersLoftus Road19,128
ReadingMadejski Stadium24,161
Sheffield UnitedBramall Lane32,609
Sheffield WednesdayHillsborough39,814
SouthamptonSt Mary's Stadium32,689
Swansea CityLiberty Stadium20,532
WatfordVicarage Road19,920
Wolverhampton WanderersMolineux28,525

Personnel and sponsoring

Managerial changes

League table

Play-offs

Results

Top goalscorers

Awards

;PFA Team of the Year
Pos.PlayerClub
GKKeiren WestwoodCoventry City
DFKyle NaughtonSheffield United
DFRoger JohnsonCardiff City
DFRichard StearmanWolverhampton Wanderers
DFDanny FoxCoventry City
MFMichael KightlyWolverhampton Wanderers
MFStephen HuntReading
MFJoe LedleyCardiff City
MFJordi GómezSwansea City
FWSylvan Ebanks-BlakeWolverhampton Wanderers
FWJason ScotlandSwansea City

Events

Goal controversies

On 23 April 2009, The Football League announced that Southampton had been placed into administration. The ruling occurred after the deadline for immediate points deduction application, so the ten-point deduction would have to await whether or not Southampton, in 22nd place at the time of the announcement, were relegated. If they had finished above the relegation zone, then the points would have been deducted from their total for the current year to thereby relegate them. However, since their relegation was confirmed following their penultimate match, their point penalty would be applied the next season in League One.