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Premier League
2008-09
Premier League Logo (2007-Current)
Season information
Winners Manchester United
Relegated Newcastle United
Middlesbrough
West Bromwich Albion
Domestic cup winners
FA Cup Chelsea
Carling Cup Manchester United
FA Community Shield Manchester United
Continental cup qualifiers
Champions League Manchester United
Liverpool
Chelsea
Arsenal
Europa League Everton
Aston Villa
Fulham
Season statistics
Matches played 380
Goals scored 942
Average (2.48 per match)
Top goalscorer Nicolas Anelka (19)
Biggest home win Manchester City 6–0 Portsmouth
(21 September 2008)
Biggest away win Hull City 0–5 Wigan Athletic
(30 August 2008)
Middlesbrough 0–5 Chelsea
(18 October 2008)
West Bromwich Albion 0–5
Manchester United
(27 January 2009)
Highest scoring Arsenal 4–4 Tottenham Hotspur
(29 October 2008)
Liverpool 4–4 Arsenal
(21 April 2009)
 ← 2007-08
2009-10 → 

The 2008–09 Premier League (known as the Barclays Premier League for sponsorship reasons) was the 17th season since the establishment of the Premier League in 1992. Manchester United became champions for the 11th time on the penultimate weekend of the season, defending their crown after winning their tenth Premier League title on the final day of the previous season. They were run close by Liverpool, who had a better goal difference and who had beaten United home and away, including a 4–1 victory at Old Trafford, but who were undone by a series of draws. The campaign – the fixtures for which were announced on 16 June 2008 – began on Saturday, 16 August 2008, and ended on 24 May 2009. A total of 20 teams contested the league, consisting of 17 who competed in the previous season and three promoted from the Football League Championship. The new match ball was the Nike T90 Omni.

At the start of this season, clubs were allowed to name seven substitutes on the bench instead of five. This season was also different in that there was no New Year's Day game, as is traditional. This was because the FA Cup Third Round is traditionally played on the first Saturday in January, which in 2009 fell in the usual spot for New Year's league games. September saw Manchester City taken over by the Abu Dhabi United Group, transforming them into one of the world's wealthiest football clubs, securing the signing of Robinho for a British record £32.5 million just seconds before the 2008 summer transfer window closed in the process.

The first goal of the season was scored by Arsenal's Samir Nasri against newly promoted West Bromwich Albion in the fourth minute of the early kick-off game on the opening day of the season on 16 August. Gabriel Agbonlahor of Aston Villa scored the first hat-trick of the season against Manchester City, scoring three goals in the space of seven minutes. Manchester United clinched the 2009 Premier League title with a scoreless draw against Arsenal on 16 May 2009, their 11th Premier League title, and 18th League title overall, drawing level with fierce rivals Liverpool who finished as runners-up. It is the second time they clinched the title for three consecutive years, the first being in 2001.

West Bromwich Albion were the first team to be relegated to the Championship after losing 2–0 at home to Liverpool on 17 May 2009. They were joined in the Championship by Middlesbrough and Newcastle United on the last day of the season after Middlesbrough's defeat at West Ham United and Newcastle's 1–0 defeat at Aston Villa. It meant that Hull City and Sunderland stayed up despite home defeats to Manchester United and Chelsea respectively. The fact that Hull City avoided relegation (along with Stoke City, who stayed up relatively comfortably under the management of Tony Pulis), meant it was the first time since the 2005–06 season that more than one promoted club maintained their Premier League status. Aston Villa, Everton and Fulham all secured European football for the 2009–10 season through their league position.

Promotion and relegation[]

Start of season[]

Teams promoted from The Championship 2007-08

End of season[]

Teams relegated to The Championship 2009-10

Teams[]

Twenty teams competed in the league – the top seventeen teams from the previous season and the three teams promoted from the Championship. The promoted teams were West Bromwich Albion, Stoke City (returning to the top flight after absences of two and twenty-three years respectively) and Hull City (playing Premier League football for the first time ever). It was Stoke City's first ever season in the Premier League. The promoted teams replaced Reading (relegated to the Championship after a two-year top-flight spell), Birmingham City and Derby County (both teams relegated to the Championship after a season's presence).

Stadiums and locations[]

Team Location Stadium Capacity
Arsenal London (Holloway) Emirates Stadium 60,432
Aston Villa Birmingham Villa Park 42,640
Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Ewood Park 31,367
Bolton Wanderers Bolton Reebok Stadium 28,723
Chelsea London (Fulham) Stamford Bridge 42,055
Everton Liverpool (Walton) Goodison Park 40,157
Fulham London (Fulham) Craven Cottage 26,500
Hull City Kingston upon Hull KC Stadium 25,404
Liverpool Liverpool (Anfield) Anfield 45,276
Manchester City Manchester (Bradford) City of Manchester Stadium 47,726
Manchester United Manchester (Old Trafford) Old Trafford 76,212
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough Riverside Stadium 35,100
Newcastle United Newcastle upon Tyne St James' Park 52,387
Portsmouth Portsmouth Fratton Park 20,224
Stoke City Stoke-on-Trent Britannia Stadium 28,000
Sunderland Sunderland Stadium of Light 49,000
Tottenham Hotspur London (Tottenham) White Hart Lane 36,240
West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich The Hawthorns 25,369
West Ham United London (Upton Park) Upton Park 35,303
Wigan Athletic Wigan JJB Stadium 25,138

Personnel and kits[]

(as of 24 May 2009)

Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
Arsenal Flag of France Arsène Wenger Flag of Spain Cesc Fàbregas Nike Fly Emirates
Aston Villa Flag of Northern Ireland Martin O'Neill Flag of Denmark Martin Laursen Nike Acorns
Blackburn Rovers Flag of England Sam Allardyce Flag of New Zealand Ryan Nelsen Umbro Crown Paints
Bolton Wanderers Flag of England Gary Megson Flag of England Kevin Davies Reebok Reebok
Chelsea Flag of Netherlands Guus Hiddink Flag of England John Terry Adidas Samsung
Everton Flag of Scotland David Moyes Flag of England Phil Neville Umbro Chang
Fulham Flag of England Roy Hodgson Flag of England Danny Murphy Nike LG
Hull City Flag of England Phil Brown Flag of England Ian Ashbee Umbro Karoo (H) / Kingston Communications (A, 3rd)
Liverpool Flag of Spain Rafael Benítez Flag of England Steven Gerrard Adidas Carlsberg
Manchester City Flag of Wales Mark Hughes Flag of Republic of Ireland Richard Dunne Le Coq Sportif Thomas Cook
Manchester United Flag of Scotland Sir Alex Ferguson Flag of England Gary Neville Nike AIG
Middlesbrough Flag of England Gareth Southgate Flag of Austria Emmanuel Pogatetz Erreà Garmin
Newcastle United Flag of England Alan Shearer Flag of England Nicky Butt Adidas Northern Rock
Portsmouth Flag of England Paul Hart Flag of England David James Canterbury Oki
Stoke City Flag of Wales Tony Pulis Flag of England Andy Griffin Le Coq Sportif Britannia
Sunderland Flag of Scotland Ricky Sbragia Flag of England Dean Whitehead Umbro Boylesports
Tottenham Hotspur Flag of England Harry Redknapp Flag of England Ledley King Puma Mansion.com
Casino & Poker
West Bromwich Albion Flag of England Tony Mowbray Flag of England Jonathan Greening Umbro None
West Ham United Flag of Italy Gianfranco Zola Flag of England Matthew Upson Umbro XL Holidays SBOBET
Wigan Athletic Flag of England Steve Bruce Flag of Netherlands Mario Melchiot Champion JJB Sports

Also, Nike provided new match balls, white with red and yellow (autumn/spring) and yellow with purple and black (winter), based on their T90 Laser II Omni model.

Managerial changes[]

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Chelsea Flag of Israel Avram Grant Sacked 24 May 2008 Pre-season Flag of Brazil Luiz Felipe Scolari 1 July 2008
Manchester City Flag of Sweden Sven-Göran Eriksson Mutual consent 2 June 2008 Flag of Wales Mark Hughes 4 June 2008
Blackburn Rovers Flag of Wales Mark Hughes Signed by Manchester City 4 June 2008 Flag of England Paul Ince 22 June 2008
West Ham United Flag of England Alan Curbishley Resigned 3 September 2008 5th Flag of Italy Gianfranco Zola 11 September 2008
Newcastle United Flag of England Kevin Keegan 4 September 2008 11th Flag of Republic of Ireland Joe Kinnear 26 September 2008
Tottenham Hotspur Flag of Spain Juande Ramos Sacked 25 October 2008 20th Flag of England Harry Redknapp 26 October 2008
Portsmouth Flag of England Harry Redknapp Signed by Tottenham 26 October 2008 7th Flag of England Tony Adams 28 October 2008
Sunderland Flag of Republic of Ireland Roy Keane Resigned 4 December 2008 18th Flag of Scotland Ricky Sbragia 27 December 2008
Blackburn Rovers Flag of England Paul Ince Sacked 16 December 2008 19th Flag of England Sam Allardyce 17 December 2008
Portsmouth Flag of England Tony Adams 9 February 2009 16th Flag of England Paul Hart 9 February 2009
Chelsea Flag of Brazil Luiz Felipe Scolari 9 February 2009 4th Flag of Netherlands Guus Hiddink 11 February 2009
Newcastle United Flag of Republic of Ireland Joe Kinnear Medical break clause 16 February 2009 13th Flag of England Alan Shearer 31 March 2009

League table[]

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
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
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
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) Champion; (R) Relegated

Results[]

Home \ Away ARS AVL BLB BOL CHE EVE FUL HUL LIV MCI MUN MID NEW POR STK SUN TOT WBA WHU WIG
Arsenal 0–2 4–0 1–0 1–4 3–1 0–0 1–2 1–1 2–0 2–1 2–0 3–0 1–0 4–1 0–0 4–4 1–0 0–0 1–0
Aston Villa 2–2 3–2 4–2 0–1 3–3 0–0 1–0 0–0 4–2 0–0 1–2 1–0 0–0 2–2 2–1 1–2 2–1 1–1 0–0
Blackburn Rovers 0–4 0–2 2–2 0–2 0–0 1–0 1–1 1–3 2–2 0–2 1–1 3–0 2–0 3–0 1–2 2–1 0–0 1–1 2–0
Bolton Wanderers 1–3 1–1 0–0 0–2 0–1 1–3 1–1 0–2 2–0 0–1 4–1 1–0 2–1 3–1 0–0 3–2 0–0 2–1 0–1
Chelsea 1–2 2–0 2–0 4–3 0–0 3–1 0–0 0–1 1–0 1–1 2–0 0–0 4–0 2–1 5–0 1–1 2–0 1–1 2–1
Everton 1–1 2–3 2–3 3–0 0–0 1–0 2–0 0–2 1–2 1–1 1–1 2–2 0–3 3–1 3–0 0–0 2–0 3–1 4–0
Fulham 1–0 3–1 1–2 2–1 2–2 0–2 0–1 0–1 1–1 2–0 3–0 2–1 3–1 1–0 0–0 2–1 2–0 1–2 2–0
Hull City 1–3 0–1 1–2 0–1 0–3 2–2 2–1 1–3 2–2 0–1 2–1 1–1 0–0 1–2 1–4 1–2 2–2 1–0 0–5
Liverpool 4–4 5–0 4–0 3–0 2–0 1–1 0–0 2–2 1–1 2–1 2–1 3–0 1–0 0–0 2–0 3–1 3–0 0–0 3–2
Manchester City 3–0 2–0 3–1 1–0 1–3 0–1 1–3 5–1 2–3 0–1 1–0 2–1 6–0 3–0 1–0 1–2 4–2 3–0 1–0
Manchester United 0–0 3–2 2–1 2–0 3–0 1–0 3–0 4–3 1–4 2–0 1–0 1–1 2–0 5–0 1–0 5–2 4–0 2–0 1–0
Middlesbrough 1–1 1–1 0–0 1–3 0–5 0–1 0–0 3–1 2–0 2–0 0–2 0–0 1–1 2–1 1–1 2–1 0–1 1–1 0–0
Newcastle United 1–3 2–0 1–2 1–0 0–2 0–0 0–1 1–2 1–5 2–2 1–2 3–1 0–0 2–2 1–1 2–1 2–1 2–2 2–2
Portsmouth 0–3 0–1 3–2 1–0 0–1 2–1 1–1 2–2 2–3 2–0 0–1 2–1 0–3 2–1 3–1 2–0 2–2 1–4 1–2
Stoke City 2–1 3–2 1–0 2–0 0–2 2–3 0–0 1–1 0–0 1–0 0–1 1–0 1–1 2–2 1–0 2–1 1–0 0–1 2–0
Sunderland 1–1 1–2 0–0 1–4 2–3 0–2 1–0 1–0 0–1 0–3 1–2 2–0 2–1 1–2 2–0 1–1 4–0 0–1 1–2
Tottenham Hotspur 0–0 1–2 1–0 2–0 1–0 0–1 0–0 0–1 2–1 2–1 0–0 4–0 1–0 1–1 3–1 1–2 1–0 1–0 0–0
West Bromwich Albion 1–3 1–2 2–2 1–1 0–3 1–2 1–0 0–3 0–2 2–1 0–5 3–0 2–3 1–1 0–2 3–0 2–0 3–2 3–1
West Ham United 0–2 0–1 4–1 1–3 0–1 1–3 3–1 2–0 0–3 1–0 0–1 2–1 3–1 0–0 2–1 2–0 0–2 0–0 2–1
Wigan Athletic 1–4 0–4 3–0 0–0 0–1 1–0 0–0 1–0 1–1 2–1 1–2 0–1 2–1 1–0 0–0 1–1 1–0 2–1 0–1
Source: Barclays Premier League
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Top goalscorers[]

Scorer Goals Team
Nicolas Anelka 19 Chelsea
Cristiano Ronaldo 18 Manchester United
Steven Gerrard 16 Liverpool
Robinho 14 Manchester City
Fernando Torres Liverpool
Gabriel Agbonlahor 12 Aston Villa
Darren Bent Tottenham Hotspur
Kevin Davies Bolton Wanderers
Dirk Kuyt Liverpool
Frank Lampard Chelsea
Wayne Rooney Manchester United

External links[]

Premier League 2008–09

Arsenal · Aston Villa · Blackburn Rovers · Bolton Wanderers · Chelsea · Everton · Fulham · Hull City · Liverpool · Manchester City · Manchester United · Middlesbrough · Newcastle United · Portsmouth · Stoke City · Sunderland · Tottenham Hotspur · West Bromwich Albion · West Ham United · Wigan Athletic

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Template:2008-09 in English football Template:2008-09 in European football (UEFA)

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