The 2008–09 season was the 110th season of competitive league football in the history of English

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

. They played the season in the second tier of the English football system, 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 season turned out to be a major success as the club finished top of the division and were therefore promoted back to 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 ...

after a five-year absence. The team enjoyed their best start to the season for almost fifty years, winning seven of their opening eight games and scoring 23 goals in the process. They led the table continuously from October until the season's end, when they were crowned champions, winning their first silverware in 20 years. Leading goalscorer

Sylvan Ebanks-Blake Sylvan Augustus Ebanks-Blake (born 29 March 1986) is an English former professional association football, footballer who played as a striker (association football), striker. He played youth team football for Cambridge United F.C., Cambridge Uni ...

also finished as the division's top scorer for a second consecutive season.

Season review

The close season saw the club continue their policy of signing young players with potential from the lower leagues, rather than pursuing their heavy investment strategy of early times. The close season saw the likes of

Richard Stearman Richard James Michael Stearman (born 19 August 1987) is an English former professional footballer who is first team coach at Swansea City. He was a versatile defender, being able to play in any defensive slot although primarily a centre half or ...

, David Jones and

Sam Vokes Samuel Michael Vokes (born 21 October 1989) is a professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for club Wycombe Wanderers F.C., Wycombe Wanderers, and formerly for the Wales national footba ...

arrive, along with the experience of

Chris Iwelumo Christopher Robert Iwelumo (; born 1 August 1978) is a Scottish former professional footballer, who played as a striker. Iwelumo started his career with St Mirren before moving to Danish club Aarhus Fremad for two years. A move to Stoke City i ...

, while making a transfer profit with the sale of players such as

Seyi Olofinjana Oluwaseyi George Olofinjana (born 30 June 1980) is a Nigerian former footballer who played as a midfielder. Olofinjana began his career with local sides Crown and Kwara United before moving to Europe with Norwegian side SK Brann. After two seas ...

Jay Bothroyd Jay Bothroyd (born 7 May 1982) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. A product of the Arsenal Academy, he left in 2000 and signed with Coventry City, spending three years with the Sky Blues and becoming the club ...

and

Freddy Eastwood Freddie or Freddy may refer to: Entertainment *Freddy (comic strip), a newspaper comic strip which ran from 1955 to 1980 * Freddie (Cromartie), a character from the Japanese manga series''Cromartie High School'' *Freddie (dance), a short-lived 19 ...

. The squad was also boosted by retaining their most valuable assets in

Wayne Hennessey Wayne Robert Hennessey (born 24 January 1987) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for the Wales national team. Hennessey's first professional games saw him set a new Football League record for consecutive clean sheet ...

Michael Kightly Michael John Kightly (born 24 January 1986) is an English former professional footballer who played as a winger. Kightly was rejected as a schoolboy by Tottenham Hotspur but worked his way back to League football with Southend United. He aga ...

and the division's top goalscorer of last season,

. The season saw the club's strongest start since 1949–50, as a draw away to

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

preceded two runs of seven consecutive wins — scoring 23 goals and conceding only seven goals in the first eight games. Transfer deadline day saw the club add further defensive strength as three new defenders joined the ranks —

George Friend George Andrew Jordan Friend (born 19 October 1987) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender. He is currently Director of Football at Bristol Rovers. In the 2012–13 season, Friend won Middlesbrough players' playe ...

Matt Hill Matthew Hill (born January 19, 1968) is a Canadian voice actor working for Ocean Productions. Career Hill's roles include Ed in '' Ed, Edd n Eddy'', Kevin Keene/Captain N in '' Captain N: The Game Master'', Kira Yamato in '' Gundam Seed'' a ...

and

Jason Shackell Jason Philip Shackell (born 27 September 1983) is an English former professional footballer who primarily played as a centre-back, notably for Norwich City and Derby County. Born in Stevenage, he joined Norwich City in 2000. He made his senior ...

. Although their winning streak was ended by a 3–0 home defeat to promotion rivals

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 ...

, as well as a 5–2 defeat at

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

, which saw Wolves surrender top spot to

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 ...

, Wolves rediscovered their winning form for the second run of seven consecutive wins to lead the table at Christmas. After drawing their final two fixtures of 2008, Wolves endured a dismal start to 2009, winning just once in eleven league fixtures. Trying to arrest this slump, the January transfer window saw the arrival of three new faces: Kyel Reid and

Nigel Quashie Nigel Francis Quashie ( ; born 20 July 1978) is a Scottish footballer who played more than 300 games as a midfielder in the Football League. He also spent four seasons playing in Iceland. He represented his native England at under-21 and 'B' i ...

on loan for the remainder of the season from

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 ...

; defender

Christophe Berra Christophe Didier Berra (born 31 January 1985) is a Scottish professional football former player and coach. Berra began his professional career with Heart of Midlothian, playing 146 times for them before he moved to England in 2009 in a £2.5 ...

also joined from Scottish club Hearts for £2.3million. The FA Cup had brought some cheer with a fringe squad winning 2–0 at local rivals Birmingham in the 3rd round, before the club exited the competition with a 2–1 home defeat to

side

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 ...

. Weathering their bad run of league form, Wolves managed to regain an air of consistency, reinventing their game from the free-flowing, free-scoring football of the first third of the season to hold down a string of clean sheets and one goal margin victories against

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

and

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

. With promotion rivals Birmingham City and Reading unable to take advantage of their poor run, March saw an upturn in Wolves' league form as the club took 13 points from a possible 15, strengthening their position at the top of the table that they had led since October. With just seven games left on the Championship calendar,

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 ...

striker

Marlon Harewood Marlon Anderson Harewood (born 25 August 1979) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. Harewood started his career at Nottingham Forest. During his career there, he had loan spells at Haka and Ipswich Town befor ...

was loaned for the run-in, though the team were also hit by the news that key midfielder Michael Kightly would miss the remainder of the season after suffering a broken metatarsal in his foot. Further injury woe struck when Chris Iwelumo suffered medial ligament damage in a loss to local rivals Birmingham in April that ended a five-game unbeaten run. However, Easter weekend brought 3–0 home win against struggling

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

, followed by a 3–2 away victory at

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

that gave Wolves a seven-point lead over third-placed

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...

. Promotion to the Premier League was confirmed on 18 April 2009 when a goal from Ebanks-Blake gave Wolves a 1–0 win over

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

. Seven days later, Wolves clinched their first league title since the 1988–89 season — and their first title at second-tier level since 1976–77 — after a 1–1 draw at

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

brought the point they required for the title. Wolves completed their season with a 1–0 home win over

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system after winning the 202 ...

, after which they were presented with the Championship trophy to crown their most successful season in decades as they returned to the top flight after a five-year absence.

Results

Pre season

Wolves conducted a short three-match tour of Scotland, their first visit in three years. As had become common in recent years, only their final game was held at their Molineux home. A second "Wolves XI" team largely comprising academy prospects and out of favour senior players also played a series of matches during this period. "Wolves XI" pre season results (all away)
4–1
v

Chasetown Chasetown is a village in the town of Burntwood in Staffordshire, England. It is split between the civil parishes of Burntwood and Hammerwich. History Chasetown developed in the mid 19th century as a coal mining village. At first the village ...

(18 July)
1–2
v

Rhyl Rhyl (; , ) is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire in Wales. The town lies on the coast of North Wales, at the mouth of the River Clwyd. To the west is Kinmel Bay and Towyn, to the east Prestatyn, and to the south-east Rhuddlan ...

(26 July)
2–0
v

Stafford Rangers Stafford Rangers Football Club is a semi-professional English football team from Stafford which plays in the Northern Premier League Division One West. The team wear black and white stripes with black shorts. Stafford Rangers' rivals include ...

(5 August)

Football League Championship

A total of 24 teams competed in the Championship in the 2008–09 season. Each team would play every other team twice, once at their stadium, and once at the opposition's. Three points were awarded to teams for each win, one point per draw, and none for defeats. The provisional fixture list was released on 16 June 2008, but was subject to change in the event of matches being selected for television coverage. Final table Results summary Results by round

FA Cup

League Cup

Players

Statistics

, - , align="left", , , align="left", , , align="left", , , , 0, , 2, , 0, , 1, , 0, , , , 0, , 0, , 1, , , - , align="left", , , align="left", , , align="left", , , , , , 2, , 0, , 2, , 0, , , , , , , , 1, , , - , align="left", , , align="left", , , align="left", , , , 0, , 0, , 0, , 1, , 0, , , , 0, , 0, , 0, , , - , align="left", , , align="left", , , align="left", , , , , , 2, , 0, , 2, , 0, , , , , , , , 0, , , - , align="left", , , align="left", , , align="left", , , , , , 1, , 0, , 2, , 0, , style="background:#98FB98", , , , , , , 1, , , - , align="left", , , align="left", , , align="left", ( c) , 17, , , , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 17, , , , , , 0, , , - , align="left", , , align="left", , , align="left", , , , , , , , 0, , 1, , 0, , , , , , , , 0, , , - , align="left", , , align="left", , , align="left", , , , 0, , 2, , 0, , 2, , 0, , , , 0, , 12, , 0, , , - , align="left", , , align="left", FW, , align="left", , 41, , 25, , , , 0, , , , 0, , , , 25, , , , 0, , , - , align="left", 10, , align="left", FW, , align="left", , , , , , , , 1, , , , 0, , , , , , , , 0, , , - , align="left", 11, , align="left", , , align="left", , , , 0, , 1, , 0, , 1, , 0, , , , 0, , , , 0, , , - , align="left", 12, , align="left", , , style="background:#faecc8" align="left", , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , , - , align="left", 13, , align="left", , , style="background:#faecc8" align="left", , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , , - , align="left", 14, , align="left", , , align="left", , , , , , 2, , 0, , , , 0, , style="background:#98FB98", , , , , , , 0, , , - , align="left", 15, , align="left", , , align="left", ¤ , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , , - , align="left", 16, , align="left", , , align="left", ¤ † , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , , , 1, , , , , , 0, , 0, , Davies was transferred during the season to

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

. , - , align="left", 16, , align="left", , , align="left", , 15, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , style="background:#98FB98", 15, , 0, , 4, , 0, , , - , align="left", 17, , align="left", , , align="left", , , , , , 1, , 0, , 0, , 0, , , , , , 0, , 0, , , - , align="left", 18, , align="left", FW, , align="left", , , , , , 2, , 2, , 1, , 0, , style="background:#98FB98", , , , , 0, , 0, , , - , align="left", 19, , align="left", FW, , align="left", , , , 14, , , , 0, , , , 2, , style="background:#98FB98", , , 16, , , , 1, , , - , align="left", 20, , align="left", , , align="left", ¤ , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , , - , align="left", 21, , align="left", , , align="left", ¤ , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 1, , 0, , , , 0, , 0, , 0, , , - , align="left", 22, , align="left", , , align="left", ¤ , , , 0, , 1, , 0, , 0, , 0, , style="background:#98FB98", , , 0, , 0, , 0, , , - , align="left", 23, , align="left", , , align="left", ¤ , , , 0, , 0, , 0, , 1, , 0, , , , 0, , 0, , 0, , , - , align="left", 24, , align="left", , , align="left", † , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , Edwards was transferred before the season began to

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

. , - , align="left", 24, , align="left", , , style="background:#faecc8" align="left", , , , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , style="background:#98FB98", , , 0, , 0, , 0, , , - , align="left", 24, , align="left", , , style="background:#faecc8" align="left", , , , , , 1, , 0, , 0, , 0, , style="background:#98FB98", , , , , 0, , 0, , , - , align="left", 25, , align="left", , , align="left", ¤ , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , , - , align="left", 26, , align="left", FW, , align="left", † , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , , , 0, , , , 0, , 0, , 0, , Elliott was transferred during the season to

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional association football club in Preston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English footbal ...

. , - , align="left", 26, , align="left", , , align="left", , 13, , 0, , 1, , 0, , 0, , 0, , style="background:#98FB98", 14, , 0, , , , 0, , , - , align="left", 27, , align="left", , , style="background:#faecc8" align="left", , , , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , style="background:#98FB98", , , 0, , , , 0, , , - , align="left", 27, , align="left", FW, , style="background:#faecc8" align="left", , , , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , style="background:#98FB98", , , 0, , 0, , 0, , , - , align="left", 28, , align="left", , , align="left", , , , 0, , 1, , 0, , 0, , 0, , style="background:#98FB98", , , 0, , 0, , 0, , , - , align="left", 29, , align="left", , , align="left", ¤ , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , , - , align="left", 30, , align="left", , , align="left", , 12, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 1, , 0, , 13, , 0, , 0, , 0, , , - , align="left", 31, , align="left", , , align="left", , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , Salmon was released during the season. , - , align="left", 31, , align="left", , , style="background:#faecc8" align="left", , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , , - , align="left", 32, , align="left", , , align="left", , 45, , , , 0, , 0, , 2, , 0, , 47, , , , , , 0, , , - , align="left", 33, , align="left", , , align="left", ¤ † , , , , , 0, , 0, , 2, , 0, , , , , , 0, , 0, , Gray was initially loaned to

, and later transferred there permanently. , - , align="left", 34, , align="left", , , align="left", ¤ , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , , - , align="left", 35, , align="left", , , align="left", ¤ , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , , - , align="left", 36, , align="left", , , align="left", ¤ † , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , Collins was initially loaned to

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in , the third tier of the English football league system. Vale are named after the valley of ports on the Trent and Mersey Canal ...

, and later transferred there permanently. , - , align="left", 36, , align="left", , , style="background:#faecc8" align="left", , , , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , style="background:#98FB98", , , 0, , 0, , 0, , , - , align="left", 37, , align="left", FW, , align="left", ¤ , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , Hughes was released during the season. , - , align="left", 38, , align="left", , , align="left", ¤ , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , , - , align="left", 39, , align="left", , , align="left", , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , , - , align="left", 40, , align="left", , , align="left", ¤ , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , , - , align="left", 41, , align="left", FW, , align="left", ¤ , , , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , style="background:#98FB98", , , 0, , 0, , 0, , , - , align="left", 43, , align="left", MF, , align="left", , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , , - , align="left", 44, , align="left", , , align="left", , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , , - , align="left", 45, , align="left", , , align="left", ¤ , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, ,

Awards

Transfers

In

Out

Loans in

Loans out

Management and coaching staff

Kit

The season saw a new home and away kit, both manufactured by

Le Coq Sportif Le Coq Sportif (, "the athletic rooster") is a French sportswear and sports equipment manufacturer based in Entzheim. Founded in 1882 by Émile Camuset, the brand first issued items branded with its now-famous rooster trademark in 1948. The com ...

. The away kit was all black with minor neon green piping. Chaucer Consulting sponsored the club for a fifth and final season.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. Season 2008-09 2008–09 Football League Championship by team 2008-09