2008–09 Portsmouth F.C. season
During the 2008–09 football season Portsmouth played their sixth consecutive season in the highest tier of English football, the Premier League. Thanks to the exploits of the previous season, Portsmouth achieved European football for the first time in their footballing history, thanks to an FA Cup win over Cardiff City; they competed in the UEFA Cup. They also participated in the Charity Shield, against Manchester United on 10 August 2008, at Wembley Stadium, eventually losing on penalties. This was the first time since 1996 that a team outside of the "Big Four" had competed in the competition.
Transfer summary
In
Out
Statistics
Appearances
Goalkeepers
| No. | Name | Position | Date of Birth | Nationality | League App. | Domestic Cups | UEFA Cup App. | Clean Sheets | Goals Conceded | / |
| 1 | David James | Goalkeeper | 01-08-1970 |  England | 36 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 55 | 2 / 0 |
| 21 | Jamie Ashdown | Goalkeeper | 30-11-1980 | England | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 / 0 |
| 31 | Asmir Begović | Goalkeeper | 20-06-1987 |  Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 / 0 |
Defenders
| No. | Name | Position | Date of Birth | Nationality | League App. | Domestic Cups | UEFA Cup App. | Goals Scored | Assists | / |
| 3 | Younès Kaboul | Central Defender | 04-01-1986 |  France | 17 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 / 0 |
| 5 | Glen Johnson | Right Back | 23-08-1984 | England | 29 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 9 / 1 |
| 7 | Hermann Hreiðarsson | Left Back/Central Defender | 11-07-1974 |  Iceland | 19 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 7 / 0 |
| 15 | Sylvain Distin | Central Defender | 16-12-1977 | France | 38 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 / 0 |
| 16 | Noé Pamarot | Utility Defender | 14-04-1979 | France | 11 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 / 1 |
| 23 | Sol Campbell | Central Defender | 18-09-1974 | England | 32 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 / 0 |
| 30 | Armand Traoré | Left Back/Left-sided Midfielder | 08-12-1989 | France | 14 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 / 0 |
| 35 | Marc Wilson | Utility Defender | 17-08-1987 |  Ireland | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 / 0 |
| 39 | Nadir Belhadj | Left Back/Left-sided Midfielder | 18-06-1982 |  Algeria | 21 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 / 1 |
Midfielders
| No. | Name | Position | Date of Birth | Nationality | League App. | Domestic Cups | UEFA Cup App. | Goals Scored | Assists | / |
| 6 | Hayden Mullins | Defensive Midfielder/Sweeper/Right Back | 27-03-1979 | England | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 / 0 |
| 8 | Papa Bouba Diop | Defensive Midfielder/Central Defender | 28-01-1978 |  Senegal | 15 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 5 / 0 |
| 14 | Jermaine Pennant | Right-sided Midfielder | 15-01-1983 | England | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 / 0 |
| 18 | Arnold Mvuemba | Central Midfielder/Right-sided Midfielder | 28-01-1985 | France | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 / 0 |
| 19 | Niko Kranjčar | Attacking Midfielder/Left-sided Midfielder | 13-08-1984 |  Croatia | 16 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 / 0 |
| 22 | Richard Hughes | Defensive Midfielder | 25-06-1979 |  Scotland | 17 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 / 0 |
| 28 | Sean Davis | Defensive Midfielder | 20-09-1979 | England | 31 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 5 / 1 |
| 33 | Angelos Basinas | Defensive Midfielder | 03-01-1976 |  Greece | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 / 0 |
Forwards
| No. | Name | Position | Date of Birth | Nationality | League App. | Domestic Cups | UEFA Cup App. | Goals Scored | Assists | / |
| 9 | Peter Crouch | Centre Forward | 30-01-1981 | England | 38 | 4 | 5 | 13 | 5 | 2 / 0 |
| 10 | David Nugent | Centre Forward | 02-05-1985 | England | 13 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 / 0 |
| 17 | John Utaka | Right Winger | 08-01-1982 |  Nigeria | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 / 0 |
| 27 | Nwankwo Kanu | Centre Forward | 01-08-1976 | Nigeria | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 / 0 |
Others
Includes players who have yet to feature prominently and former players.| No. | Name | Position | Date of Birth | Nationality | League App. | Domestic Cups | UEFA Cup App. | Goals Scored | Assists | / |
| 2 | Linvoy Primus | Central Defender | 14-09-1973 | England | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 / 0 |
| 4 | Lauren | Right Back | 19-01-1977 |  Cameroon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 / 0 |
| 6 | Lassana Diarra | Defensive Midfielder | 10-03-1985 | France | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 / 1 |
| 11 | Jerome Thomas | Left-sided Midfielder | 23-03-1983 | England | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 / 0 |
| 14 | Jermain Defoe | Centre Forward | 07-10-1982 | England | 17 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 4 / 0 |
| 20 | Martin Cranie | Utility Defender | 23-09-1986 | England | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 / 0 |
| 24 | Richard Duffy | Right Back | 30-08-1985 |  Wales | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 / 0 |
| 25 | Glen Little | Right-sided Midfielder | 15-10-1975 | England | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 / 0 |
| 26 | Pelé | Central Midfielder | 14-09-1987 |  Portugal | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 / 0 |
| 26 | Ben Sahar | Centre Forward | 10-08-1989 |  Israel | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 / 0 |
| 29 | Theofanis Gekas | Centre Forward | 23-05-1980 | Greece | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 / 0 |
| 29 | Jean-François Christophe | Defensive Midfielder | 27-06-1987 | France | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 / 0 |
| 32 | Djimi Traoré | Left Back/Central Defender | 01-03-1980 |  Mali | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 / 0 |
| 36 | Matt Ritchie | Left-sided Midfielder | 10-09-1989 | Scotland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 / 0 |
Results
Premier League
Final league table
Results summary
UEFA Cup
Top scorers
- Jermain Defoe 7
- Niko Kranjčar 3
- Glen Johnson 3
- David Nugent 3