2008–09 in English football

Overview

• West Bromwich Albion, Stoke City and Hull City were all playing in the Premier League after winning promotion from the Championship last season. Stoke returned to the top flight after a 23-year absence, while Hull were making their debut. West Bromwich Albion's last appearance was in 2005–06.
• Leicester City were playing in League One, the third division, for the first time after being relegated from the Championship last season.
• Colchester United were playing in their new 10,000-seater stadium at Colchester Community Stadium.
• Aldershot Town and Exeter City both returned to The Football League after winning the Conference National championship and play-offs, respectively. Exeter returned after five years of Conference football, while Aldershot are an entirely new club which is the spiritual successor of the former town club, which folded in 1992.
• Luton Town began their League Two campaign on minus 30 points following a ruling from The Football Association. Bournemouth and Rotherham United both began on minus 17 points, with the latter playing their home games at the Don Valley Stadium in Sheffield.
• Darlington were docked 10 points on 25 February 2009 for going into administration.
• Stockport County were docked 10 points on 30 April 2009 for going into administration.

  Managerial changes

In-season managerial changes

End-of-season managerial changes

Diary of the season

National team

Friendly matches

World Cup qualifiers

Honours

League tables

Premier League

Football League Championship

Football League One

Football League Two

Movements for the 2009–10 season

Clubs removed

• Team Bath
• Gresley Rovers

  Transfer deals

Notable debutants

• 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.

  Retirements

• 14 July 2008 – Neil Moss, 33, former Bournemouth goalkeeper.
• 20 August 2008 – Alan Stubbs, 36, former Bolton Wanderers, Celtic, Everton, Sunderland and Derby County defender.
• 28 August 2008 – Andy Cooke, 34, former Burnley, Stoke City, Bradford City, Darlington and Shrewsbury Town striker.
• 3 September 2008 – Rob Clare, 25, former Stockport County and Blackpool defender.
• 3 September 2008 – Antti Niemi, 36, former Southampton and Fulham goalkeeper.
• 25 September 2008 – Christian Roberts, 28, former Cardiff City, Exeter City, Bristol City and Swindon striker.
• 3 October 2008 – Damien Francis, 29, former Wimbledon, Norwich City, Wigan Athletic and Watford defensive midfielder.
• 11 November 2008 – Andrew Cole, 37, former Arsenal, Fulham, Bristol City, Newcastle United, Manchester United, Manchester City, Portsmouth, Sunderland, Birmingham City, Burnley and Nottingham Forest striker.
• 6 December 2008 – Darren Anderton, 36, former Portsmouth, Tottenham Hotspur, Birmingham City, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Bournemouth attacking midfielder.
• 6 January 2009 – Paul Mitchell, 27, former Wigan Athletic, Halifax Town, Swindon, Wrexham, Barnet and Milton Keynes Dons defender and midfielder.
• 21 January 2009 – Shane Tudor, 26, former Wolvehampton Wanderers, Cambridge United, Leyton Orient and Port Vale winger.
• 22 April 2009 – Andy Booth, 35, former Huddersfield Town, Sheffield Wednesday and Tottenham Hotspur striker.
• 25 April 2009 – Fabian Wilnis, 38, former Ipswich Town and Grays Athletic defender.
• 15 May 2009 – Martin Laursen, 31, former Aston Villa defender.
• End of season – Richie Barker, 34, former Doncaster Rovers, Brighton & Hove Albion, Macclesfield Town, Mansfield Town, Hartlepool United and Rotherham United striker.

  Deaths

• 3 July 2008 – Ernie Cooksey, 28, Grays Athletic midfielder, who died from skin cancer. Earlier in his career, he played for Oldham Athletic, Rochdale, Crawley Town and Boston United.
• 26 July 2008 – Gerry Lightowler, 67, former Bradford Park Avenue and Bradford City full back.
• 8 August 2008 – Selwyn Whalley, 74, former Port Vale defender, played 196 games in a 15-year association with the club.
• 9 August 2008 – Ken Griffiths, 78, former striker who played for Port Vale, Mansfield Town, and a host of lower league clubs.
• 26 August 2008 – Bob Mountford, 56, former striker who played for a number of lower-league clubs in the 1970s, most notably Port Vale, Rochdale, Huddersfield Town and Halifax Town.
• 28 August 2008 – Ronnie Briggs, 65, former goalkeeper who began his career at Manchester United, and later played for Swansea Town and Bristol Rovers. Capped twice by Northern Ireland.
• 4 September 2008 – Tommy Johnston, 81, former striker who is Leyton Orient's all-time top scorer with 123 goals. Other clubs include Norwich City, Newport County and Blackburn Rovers
• 6 September 2008 – Bill Shorthouse, 86, former Wolverhampton Wanderers defender and vice-captain, who played 376 games for the club in their heyday of the 1940s and 1950s.
• 25 September 2008 – Jimmy Sirrel, 86, former Notts County manager who took the Magpies from the Fourth Division to the First during two spells at the club. Also managed Brentford and Sheffield United.
• 27 September 2008 – Jimmy Murray, 72, former Wolverhampton Wanderers striker who scored more than 150 goals for the club, and won two league championships and one FA Cup title while at Wolves. Also played for Manchester City and Walsall.
• 27 September 2008 – Len Browning, 80, former Leeds United and Sheffield United striker whose career was cut short by tuberculosis.
• 29 September 2008 – Tommy Northcott, 76, former Torquay United striker who scored over 120 goals for the club. Also played for Cardiff City and Lincoln City.
• 2 October 2008 – John Sjoberg, 67, former Leicester City central defender who spent 15 seasons at Filbert Street. Also played briefly for Rotherham United.
• 9 October 2008 – Bert Loxley, 74, former Notts County wing-half and Lincoln City manager.
• 21 October 2008 – George Edwards, 87, former Welsh international winger who began his career as an amateur at Swansea Town, and later played professionally for Birmingham City and Cardiff City.
• 23 October 2008 – Brian Hillier, 65, former chairman of Swindon Town.
• 27 October 2008 – Colin Gale, 76, former Northampton Town centre half who made over 200 appearances for the club between 1956 and 1961. Also played for Cardiff City.
• 1 November 2008 – Dermot Curtis, 76, former Republic of Ireland international striker who played for Bristol City, Ipswich Town, Exeter City and Torquay United. To date, he is the only Exeter player to have played at senior international level.
• 8 November 2008 – Régis Genaux, 35, former Belgian international full-back who played half a season for Coventry City, in 1996–97. Also played for Standard Liège in his home country, and Italian side Udinese.
• 17 November 2008 – Peter Aldis, 81, former Aston Villa left-back, who spent 12 seasons at Villa Park, and was a member the Villa side that won the 1957 FA Cup.
• 24 December 2008 – Ray Deakin, 49, former Burnley defender and captain. Also played for Port Vale and Bolton Wanderers.
• 27 December 2008 – Bert "Sailor" Brown, 93, former inside-forward who played for Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and Charlton Athletic. Served in the RAF during World War II, and was an England wartime international.
• 31 December 2008 – Harry Oscroft, 82, former winger who played for Mansfield Town, Port Vale, and most notably Stoke City, where he scored 106 goals in 349 games during a ten-year spell at the club.
• 2 January 2009 – Ian Greaves, 76, former Manchester United full-back and Busby Babe who became a successful manager, most notably at Huddersfield Town, Bolton Wanderers and Mansfield Town, all of whom he guided to promotion.
• 5 January 2009 – Jimmy Rayner, 73, former striker who played for Grimsby Town, Peterborough United, Notts County and several non-league clubs. Scored an incredible 71 goals for non-league Grantham Town during the 1963–64 season.
• 6 January 2009 – Charlie Thomson, 78, former goalkeeper who played for Chelsea and Nottingham Forest. Won the league with Chelsea in 1954–55, and the FA Cup with Forest in 1959.
• 10 January 2009 – Jack Wheeler, 89, former goalkeeper with Birmingham City and Huddersfield Town, who became a trainer at Notts County for 26 years during two spells.
• 13 January 2009 – Tommy Casey, 78, former wing-half who most notably played for Newcastle United, where he won the 1955 FA Cup. Also played for Leeds United, Bournemouth, Portsmouth and Bristol City. Represented Northern Ireland in the 1958 World Cup.
• 20 January 2009 – Johnny Dixon, 85, former Aston Villa striker, who captained the side in the 1957 FA Cup Final, when they defeated Manchester United 2–1.
• 21 January 2009 – Vic Crowe, 76, former Aston Villa and Welsh international wing-half who spent 13 seasons at Villa Park as a player, and four years as manager. Also played for Peterborough United, and was an unused reserve in Wales' 1958 World Cup squad.
• 27 January 2009 – Aubrey Powell, 90, former Welsh international inside-forward who spent the majority of his club career at Leeds United, and also had spells at Everton and Birmingham City.
• 29 January 2009 – Roy Saunders, 78, former Liverpool and Swansea Town wing-half, who was later on Swansea's coaching staff. Never capped at senior level, but did play once for Great Britain XI against a "Rest of the World" team. Father of Dean Saunders.
• 2 February 2009 – Paul Birch, 46, former right-sided midfielder best known from his days at Aston Villa and Wolverhampton Wanderers. He also played for Doncaster Rovers, Exeter City and non-league Halesowen Town, and later worked as a coach at Forest Green Rovers and Birmingham City. Died from bone cancer.
• 7 February 2009 – Joe Haverty, 72, former Irish international winger who most notably played seven seasons for Arsenal, and also had spells at Blackburn Rovers, Millwall and several other clubs both in Britain and abroad. Capped 32 times by the Republic of Ireland.
• 9 February 2009 – Marc Burrows, 30, non-league striker and former Portsmouth trainee who is notable for scoring the fastest goal in football history in a reserve team match between Cowes Sports and Eastleigh in 2004.
• 9 February 2009 – Reg Davies, 79, former inside-forward who played for Southend United, Newcastle United, Swansea Town and Carlisle United, and was capped six times by Wales.
• 9 February 2009 – Neville Hamilton, 48, former Leicester City, Mansfield Town and Rochdale midfielder who had to retire at age 24 following a heart attack, and later spent many years as youth team coach at Leicester City.
• 15 February 2009 – Don Leeson, 73, former Barnsley goalkeeper, who later became a policeman.
• 2 March 2009 – Andy Bowman, 74, former Chelsea and Newport County wing-half, who also played for Hearts in his native Scotland.
• 4 March 2009 – Harry Parkes, 89, former full-back who spent his entire 18-year career at Aston Villa, where he played almost 350 games. Called up by England in 1946, but never capped.
• 7 March 2009 – Jimmy Hernon, 84, former winger who played for Leicester City, Bolton Wanderers, Grimsby Town and Watford.
• 9 March 2009 – Eddie Lowe, 83, former Aston Villa and Fulham wing-half, who played three times for England in 1947. Played 511 games for Fulham, and retired as the club's all-time appearance record holder.
• 16 March 2009 – Alan Suddick, 64, former midfielder who most notably played for Newcastle United and Blackpool, and was capped by England at under-23 level. Known as a free-kick specialist.
• 29 March 2009 – Hugh Kelly, 85, former wing-half who spent his entire career at Blackpool, playing 428 league games for the Seasiders. Missed the famous "Matthews Final" in 1953 because of injury. Capped once by Scotland.
• 11 April 2009 – Jimmy Neighbour, 58, former Tottenham Hotspur, Norwich City and West Ham United winger. Was a member of the Tottenham side that won the 1971 League Cup.
• 12 April 2009 – Mike Keen, 69, former Queens Park Rangers, Luton Town and Watford midfielder who played nearly 700 league games in a 16-year career. Was player-manager at Watford, and also managed Northampton Town and Wycombe Wanderers.
• 19 April 2009 – Dicky Robinson, 82, former defender who played more than 400 games for Middlesbrough in the early post-war years, and played five times for the Football League representative side. Also played for Barrow.
• 3 May 2009 – John Elsworthy, 77, former Ipswich Town wing-half, who spent 16 years at the club, and was part of Ipswich's 1961–62 league championship winning side. Was a reserve in Wales' 1958 World Cup squad, but was in fact never capped at any level.
• 3 May 2009 – Tommy Fowler, 84, former Northampton Town winger who played a club-record 521 league games for the club between 1946 and 1961. Also played for Aldershot.
• 4 May 2009 – Bobby Campbell, 86, former Scottish international who played as a winger for Falkirk, Chelsea and Reading, before going on to manage Dumbarton and Bristol Rovers.
• 14 May 2009 – Ken Hollyman, 86, former defender who played for Cardiff City and Newport County, making over 400 league appearances.
• 16 May 2009 – Peter Sampson, 81, former wing-half who made 340 league appearances for Bristol Rovers, his only professional club, between 1948 and 1961.
• 20 May 2009 – Alan Kelly, 72, former Preston North End goalkeeper who played a club-record 447 league games for the Lilywhites, and was capped 47 times by the Republic of Ireland. His sons Gary and Alan Jr also became professional goalkeepers.
• 25 May 2009 – Billy Baxter, 70, former Ipswich Town defender who spent eleven seasons at Portman Road, and was a member of the side that won the league championship in 1961–62. Also played for Hull City, Watford and Northampton Town.
• 23 June 2009 – Jackie Swindells, 72, former striker who is Altrincham's all-time top goalscorer with 195 goals in the Northern Premier League. Began his career at Manchester City, and also played for Blackburn Rovers, Accrington Stanley and Workington.