The 2008–09 season was the 112th season in Sunderland A.F.C.'s history and 104th in the league system of English football.

Background

In preparation for their Premier League campaign, Sunderland spent around £40,000,000 in the 2007–08 season. Signings included the club's record signing of Craig Gordon for £9,000,000, Michael Chopra for £5,000,000, and Kieran Richardson for an undisclosed fee believed to be in the region of £5,500,000.

Roy Keane Roy Maurice Keane (born 10 August 1971) is an Irish football pundit, coach and former professional player. He is the joint most successful Irish footballer of all time, having won 19 major trophies in his club career, 17 of which came during ...

began his managerial tenure in the Premier League with a win over Tottenham Hotspur through a last minute goal from Michael Chopra. In an attempt to bolster their goalscoring chances, Sunderland signed Kenwyne Jones from Southampton for £6,000,000. The club came close to their first

Tyne-Wear derby Tyne and Wear () is a metropolitan county in North East England, situated around the mouths of the rivers Tyne and Wear. It was created in 1974, by the Local Government Act 1972, along with five metropolitan boroughs of Gateshead, Newcas ...

victory at home in 17 years when they drew with

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. They had taken the lead before half time, but Shola Ameobi equalised an hour into the game. Michael Chopra missed the opportunity to win the game by heading the ball onto the crossbar. A tribute was paid to

1973 FA Cup Final The 1973 FA Cup Final was the 92nd final of the FA Cup. It took place on 5 May 1973 at Wembley Stadium and was contested between Leeds United, the previous season's winners and one of the dominant teams in English football at the time, and Sunde ...

goalscorer

Ian Porterfield John Ian Porterfield (11 February 1946 – 11 September 2007) was a Scottish professional footballer, and an experienced football coach who worked at both club and international level for almost 30 years. At the time of his death, he was the coa ...

in a game against Reading. Sunderland marked the occasion by winning 2–1. A win over

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sparked a three-game winning streak, when Sunderland overcame West Ham United and

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

to extend their lead over the relegation area. They sealed their Premier League safety in a 3–2 win over local rivals Middlesbrough through a 90th-minute goal from

Daryl Murphy Daryl Michael Murphy (born 15 March 1983) is an Irish former professional footballer. Murphy began his career at Waterford United, having previously played youth football for Waterford based side Southend United and English side Luton Town, whi ...

. They finished the season in fifteenth place, on 39 points.

Match results

Legend

Pre-season

Premier League

League table

Results summary

Results per matchday

FA Cup

League Cup

Players

First-team squad

:''Squad at end of season.''

Left club during season

Statistics

Appearances and goals

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Goal scorers

Transfers

In

Out

Loans in

Loans out

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2008-09 Sunderland A.F.C. season Sunderland A.F.C. seasons

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...