The 2008–09 Premier League (known as the

Barclays Barclays PLC (, occasionally ) is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services ...

Premier League for sponsorship reasons) was the 17th season since the establishment of the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

in 1992. The season began on Saturday, 16 August 2008, and ended on 24 May 2009. The fixtures were announced on 16 June 2008. 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 English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, i ...

. The new match ball was the Nike T90 Omni.

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

began the season as the two-defending champions, having secured their second consecutive (and tenth) Premier League title on the final day of the previous season.

Season summary

At the start of the 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 Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

taken over by the Abu Dhabi United Group, transforming the football club into one of the world's wealthiest, securing the signing of

Robinho Robson de Souza (; born 25 January 1984), known as Robinho (), is a Brazilian former professional association football, footballer and convicted rapist who played as a Forward (association football), forward. In 1997, at 12 years of age, Robin ...

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 An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

's Samir Nasri against newly promoted

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

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 Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

scored the first

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

of the season against Manchester City, scoring three goals in the space of seven minutes. The title race was a battle between Manchester United and bitter rivals

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, who beat them 4–1 at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

on 14 March 2009. Liverpool topped the table at the end of 2008, but their lead slipped after a series of draws. On 16 May 2009, Manchester United clinched the Premier League title after a goalless draw against Arsenal. It was their 11th Premier League title and 18th English top flight title overall, tying a record with Liverpool, who finished as runners-up. It was the second time that they had won the title for three consecutive years, the first being in 2001. Only four other clubs have achieved this feat:

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

(1923–25), Arsenal (1933–35), Liverpool (1982–84) and Manchester City (2021–24), with the latter becoming the first club to win the English top flight title for four consecutive seasons.

were the first team to be relegated to the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

after losing 2–0 at home to Liverpool on 17 May 2009.

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

and

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

joined them on the last day of the season after losses at

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

and Aston Villa, respectively. The results meant that Hull City and

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

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 Anthony Richard Pulis (; born 16 January 1958) is a Welsh former professional football manager and former footballer who last managed Sheffield Wednesday. Pulis obtained his FA coaching badge at age 19, followed by his UEFA 'A' licence aged 2 ...

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

, who stayed up last season on goal difference, all secured European football for the 2009–10 season through their league positions.

Teams

Twenty teams competed in the league – the top seventeen teams from the previous season and the three teams promoted from the

. The promoted teams were

, Stoke City (returning to the top flight after absences of two and twenty-three years respectively) and Hull City (playing top flight football for the first time ever). This was also Stoke City's first season in the Premier League. They replaced

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

(relegated to the

after a two-year top-flight spell),

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

and Derby County (both teams relegated to the Championship after a season's presence).

Stadiums and locations

Personnel and kits

(as of 24 May 2009) 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

* Newcastle United manager Joe Kinnear was originally appointed as interim manager until the end of October on 26 September, signed a one-month contract extension on 24 October, and was named manager until the end of the English football season on 28 November. * Portsmouth caretaker manager Paul Hart was appointed on 9 February. On 3 March chairman Alexandre Gaydamak confirmed the appointment would be until at least the end of the English football season. * Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink remained

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

manager until the end of the English football season, when he left Chelsea and returned to his Russia duties on a full-time basis. * Newcastle United manager Joe Kinnear took leave from Newcastle United following heart bypass surgery on 16 February. His assistants, Chris Hughton and Colin Calderwood, were appointed to serve as caretaker managers until his return, which was understood might not occur before the end of the English football season. On 31 March, Alan Shearer was appointed manager until the end of the season, as Joe Kinnear was not able to return to his Newcastle United duties until the end of the English football season. After the season ended, both Joe Kinnear and Alan Shearer left the club permanently, and Chris Hughton was appointed manager during the course of the following season. * Roberto Martínez was announced to be manager on 9 June, however due to complications surrounding the appointment of backroom staff, the deal was not finalised and officially announced until 15 June.

League table

Results

Season statistics

Scoring

* First goal of the season: Samir Nasri for Arsenal against West Bromwich, 3 minutes and 40 seconds. (''16 August 2008''). * Last goal of the season: Kenwyne Jones for Sunderland against Chelsea, 90 minutes. (''24 May 2009'') * Fastest goal in a match: 31 seconds – Steve Sidwell for Aston Villa against Everton (''7 December 2008'')) * Goal scored at the latest point in a match: 90+4 minutes and 56 seconds – Carlton Cole for West Ham United against Blackburn (''30 August 2008'') * First own goal of the season: Robert Huth (Middlesbrough) for Tottenham Hotspur, 90+2 minutes and 28 seconds (''16 August 2008'') * First hat-trick of the season and fastest hat-trick of the season: Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa) against Manchester City, 7 minutes and 3 seconds (''17 August 2008'') * Most goals scored by one player in a match: 4 goals –

Andrey Arshavin Andrey Sergeyevich Arshavin (, ; born 29 May 1981) is a Russian former professional footballer who played as a winger (association football), winger or midfielder. Since 2019, Arshavin has held administrative posts at Zenit. In 2022 he became De ...

(Arsenal) against Liverpool, 36', 67', 70', 90' (''21 April 2009'') * Widest winning margin: 6 goals – Manchester City 6–0 Portsmouth (''21 September 2008'') * Most goals in a match: 8 goals ** Arsenal 4–4 Tottenham Hotspur (''29 October 2008'') ** Liverpool 4–4 Arsenal (''21 April 2009'') * Most goals in one half: 7 goals – Liverpool v Arsenal (''21 April 2009'') 0–1 at half time, 4–4 final * Most goals in one half by a single team: 5 goals – Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur (''25 April 2009'') 0–2 at half-time, 5–2 final

Top scorers

Clean sheets

* Most clean sheets – Manchester United (24) * Fewest clean sheets – Hull City (6)

Discipline

* First yellow card of the season: Sam Ricketts for Hull City against Fulham, 28 minutes and 6 seconds (''16 August 2008'') * First red card of the season:

Mark Noble Mark James Noble (born 8 May 1987) is an English former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. He is currently the sporting director of Premier League club West Ham United F.C., West Ham United. A fan of the c ...

for West Ham United against Manchester City, 37 minutes and 20 seconds (''24 August 2008'') * Card given at latest point in a game: Michael Dawson (red) at 90+8 minutes and 28 seconds for Tottenham Hotspur against Stoke City (''19 October 2008'') * Most yellow cards in a single match: 8 ** Chelsea 1–1 Manchester United – one for Chelsea ( Mikel John Obi) and seven for Manchester United ( Paul Scholes, Rio Ferdinand,

Gary Neville Gary Alexander Neville (born 18 February 1975) is an English football pundit, former coach and player, and co-owner of English Football League club Salford City. As a player, Neville was a right-back and spent his entire career with Manches ...

, Dimitar Berbatov,

Wayne Rooney Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985) is an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Association football, player who was most recently the head coach of EFL Championship club Plymouth Argyle F.C., Pl ...

Patrice Evra Patrice Latyr Evra (; born 15 May 1981) is a French former professional footballer. Originally a forward, he primarily played as a left-back. Evra served as captain for both Manchester United and the France national team. He was named in the P ...

and

Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Saudi Pr ...

) (''21 September 2008'') ** Sunderland 1–1 Arsenal – three for Sunderland (

Dean Whitehead Dean Whitehead (born 12 January 1982) is an English football coach and former professional footballer who is an assistant head coach at club Blackburn Rovers. A midfielder who occasionally played as a right-back, he made 622 league and cup a ...

, Kieran Richardson and Dwight Yorke) and five for Arsenal ( Gaël Clichy,

Kolo Touré Kolo Abib Touré (born 19 March 1981) is an Ivorian professional Manager (association football), football manager and former player. He most recently managed then-Championship club Wigan Athletic F.C., Wigan Athletic. Beginning his career as a ...

, Alex Song,

Nicklas Bendtner Nicklas Bendtner (; born 16 January 1988) is a Danish former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. His preferred position was centre-forward, but he has also played on the Forward ...

and Emmanuel Adebayor) (''4 October 2008'') ** Aston Villa 2–2 Arsenal – four for Aston Villa ( Gabriel Agbonlahor,

Nigel Reo-Coker Nigel Shola Andre Reo-Coker (born 14 May 1984) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder, as well as a football commentator and pundit for CBS Sports. Reo-Coker came through the youth team ranks at Wimbledon, and h ...

, Stiliyan Petrov and

Gareth Barry Gareth Barry (born 23 February 1981) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Mid Sussex League Championship side Hurstpierpoint. He made 653 Premier League appearances for Aston Villa, Manchester City, Everton and ...

) and four for Arsenal ( Alex Song,

, Abou Diaby and

Robin van Persie Robin van Persie (; born 6 August 1983) is a Dutch football coach and former professional association football, footballer who is the head coach of Eredivisie club Feyenoord. He is regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation and was ...

) (''26 December 2008'') ** Manchester United 3–0 Chelsea – three for Manchester United (

and

Park Ji-sung Park Ji-sung (; born 30 March 1981) is a South Korean former professional association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. Born in the South Korean capital Seoul, Park is regarded as one of the greatest and most successful Asian pe ...

) and five for Chelsea (

Frank Lampard Frank James Lampard (born 20 June 1978) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the manager of English club Coventry City. Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time, one of Chelsea's greates ...

José Bosingwa José Bosingwa da Silva (born 24 August 1982) is a Portuguese former professional association football, footballer who played as a right-back. An attacking fullback, his pace and ability to get up and down the flanks created problems for the op ...

Ricardo Carvalho Ricardo Alberto Silveira de Carvalho (; born 18 May 1978) is a Portuguese professional association football, football coach and former player who is currently assistant head coach of the Portugal national football team, Portugal national team ...

John Terry John George Terry (born 7 December 1980) is an English professional Coach (association football), football coach and former Association football, player who played as a centre-back. He was previously captain of Chelsea F.C., Chelsea, the En ...

and

Juliano Belletti Juliano Haus Belletti (born 20 June 1976) is a Brazilian association football, football Coach (sport), coach and former player who mostly played as a right-back. He is currently the head coach at FC Barcelona Atlètic, Barcelona Atlètic. Belle ...

) (''11 January 2009'') ** Manchester City 1–0 Sunderland – three for Manchester City ( Valeri Bojinov, Gélson Fernandes and Shaun Wright-Phillips) and five for Sunderland ( Phil Bardsley, Calum Davenport, Grant Leadbitter, Andy Reid and Anton Ferdinand) (''22 March 2009'') * Most red cards in a single match: 3 – Manchester City 1–2 Tottenham Hotspur – two for Manchester City ( Richard Dunne and Gélson Fernandes) and one for Tottenham Hotspur ( Benoît Assou-Ekotto) (''9 November 2008'')

Table related statistics

Overall

* Most wins – Manchester United (28) * Fewest wins – Middlesbrough and Newcastle United (7) * Most losses – West Bromwich Albion (22) * Fewest losses – Liverpool (2) * Most goals scored – Liverpool (77) * Fewest goals scored – Middlesbrough (28) * Most goals conceded – West Bromwich Albion (67) * Fewest goals conceded – Chelsea and Manchester United (24)

Home

* Most wins – Manchester United (16) * Fewest wins – Hull City (3) * Most losses – Hull City (11) * Fewest losses – Liverpool (0) * Most goals scored – Manchester United (43) * Fewest goals scored – Middlesbrough and Wigan Athletic (17) * Most goals conceded – Hull City (36) * Fewest goals conceded – Tottenham Hotspur (10)

Away

* Most wins – Chelsea (14) * Fewest wins – West Bromwich Albion (1) * Most losses – Middlesbrough (15) * Fewest losses – Liverpool (2) * Most goals scored – Arsenal (37) * Fewest goals scored – West Bromwich Albion (10) * Most goals conceded – Stoke City (40) * Fewest goals conceded – Manchester United (11)

Miscellaneous

* Longest injury time: 11 minutes, 2 seconds – Stoke City against Tottenham Hotspur (''19 October 2008'')

Awards

Monthly awards

Annual awards

Premier League Manager of the Season

Sir Alex Ferguson, 67, picked up the Premier League Manager of the Season for the ninth time. During his hugely successful spell with Manchester United, which began in 1986, he won thirteen Premier League titles, five FA Cups, three League Cups, three European titles, one Intercontinental Cup and one Club World Cup.

Premier League Player of the Season

Nemanja Vidić Nemanja Vidić ( sr-Cyrl, Немања Видић, ; born 21 October 1981) is a Serbian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Widely considered to be one of the greatest defenders in history, Vidić is best known for his t ...

, 27, won the

Premier League Player of the Season The Premier League Player of the Season is an annual association football award presented to players in England, which recognises the most outstanding player in the Premier League each season. The recipient is chosen by a panel assembled by t ...

accolade for the first time.

PFA Players' Player of the Year

The

PFA Players' Player of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Men's Players' Player of the Year (often called the PFA Men's Players' Player of the Year, the Players' Player of the Year, or simply the Player of the Year) is an annual award given to the player who is ...

award for 2009 was won by

Ryan Giggs Ryan Joseph Giggs (né Wilson; born 29 November 1973) is a Welsh football coach, former player and co-owner of Salford City. He is regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, and one of the best wingers in the history of footba ...

. The shortlist for the PFA Players' Player of the Year award was as follows: * Rio Ferdinand (

) *

Steven Gerrard Steven George Gerrard MBE (born 30 May 1980) is an English professional football manager and a former player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time and one of Liverpool's greatest ever players,Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

) *

(

) *

(

) *

Edwin van der Sar Edwin van der Sar (; born 29 October 1970) is a Dutch association football, football executive and former professional player who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. He was most recently the chief executive of AFC Ajax, A ...

(

) *

(

)

PFA Team of the Year

Goalkeeper:

(

)
Defence: Glen Johnson (

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

, Rio Ferdinand,

(all

)
Midfield:

(both

), Ashley Young (

)
Attack:

Nicolas Anelka Nicolas Sébastien Anelka (born 14 March 1979) is a French professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a Forward (association football), forward. As a player, he regularly featur ...

( Chelsea),

Fernando Torres Fernando José Torres Sanz (; born 20 March 1984) is a Spanish Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former Football player, player who played as a Striker (association football), striker. He is the curr ...

(

)

PFA Young Player of the Year

The

PFA Young Player of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Young Player of the Year (often called the PFA Young Player of the Year, or simply the Young Player of the Year) is an annual award given to the young player who is adjudged to have been the best of the ...

award was won by Ashley Young of

. The shortlist for the award was as follows: * Gabriel Agbonlahor (

) *

Jonny Evans Jonathan Grant Evans (born 3 January 1988) is a Northern Irish former professional Association football, footballer who played as a centre-back. Evans started his career at Manchester United F.C., Manchester United, having progressed throug ...

(

) * Stephen Ireland ( Man City) * Aaron Lennon (

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

) * Rafael (

) * Ashley Young (

)

FWA Footballer of the Year

The

FWA Footballer of the Year The Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year (often called the FWA Footballer of the Year, or in England simply the Footballer of the Year) is an annual award given to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the season in ...

award for 2009 was won by

captain saw off the challenges of

winger

and forward

, who finished second and third respectively.

Premier League Golden Boot

Chelsea striker

won the

Premier League Golden Boot The Premier League Golden Boot is an annual association football award presented to the leading goalscorer in the Premier League. For sponsorship purposes, it was called the Carling Golden Boot from 1994 to 2001, the Barclaycard Golden Boot from ...

award for the first time. He scored 19 goals in 35 appearances, which ensured he finished as the season's top scorer.

Premier League Golden Glove

goalkeeper

collected the Premier League Golden Glove award for the first time. He kept a total of 21 clean sheets in 33 appearances, including a record run of 11 consecutive clean sheets (1,311 minutes) from Stoke City on 15 November 2008 to West Bromwich Albion on 27 January 2009.

Premier League Fair Play Award

The Premier League Fair Play Award is merit given to the team who has been the most sporting and best behaved team.

won this, ahead of London neighbours Chelsea and Arsenal. Hull City were deemed the least sporting side, finished in last place in the rankingsArsenal finish third in Fair Play League News Archive News Arsenal.com

LMA Manager of the Year

The LMA Manager of the Year award was won by David Moyes after he led Everton to back-to-back fifth-place finishes and the FA Cup final.

PFA Fans' Player of the Year

Premier League Merit Award

and former

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

goalkeeper Brad Friedel was honoured with the Premier League Merit Award after reaching 167 consecutive Premier League appearances on 5 December 2008. *

goalkeeper

collected the Premier League Premier League Merit Award after breaking the Premier League record for minutes played without conceding a goal, spanning 11 consecutive clean sheets from Stoke City on 15 November 2008 to West Bromwich Albion on 27 January 2009. *

goalkeeper David James was honoured with the Premier League Premier League Merit Award after he broke the Premier League's appearance record with 536 appearances on 14 February 2009 in Portsmouth's 2–0 victory over Manchester City.

Premier League Spirit Award

The Premier League Spirit Award is given to "the player or manager whose actions best encapsulate the spirit of the game". In recognition for leading his club to the top of the Fair Play league, the Premier League Spirit Award for 2008–09 was given to

manager Roy Hodgson.

Behaviour of the Public League

Given to the best-behaved fans,

won this for the third consecutive year, rounding off a hat-trick of sporting awards.

References

External links

League and cup results for all the 2008/09 Premier Division clubs
at footballsite

Official season review
at premierleague.com {{DEFAULTSORT:2008-09 Premier League Premier League seasons Eng 1