2008–09 Football League Championship

Football League Championship
Season 2008–09
Champions Wolverhampton Wanderers
(3rd divisional title)
Promoted Wolverhampton Wanderers
Birmingham City
Burnley
Relegated Norwich City
Southampton
Charlton Athletic
Matches played 552
Goals scored 1350 (2.45 per match)
Top goalscorer Sylvan Ebanks-Blake
(25 goals)
Biggest home win Reading 6–0 Sheffield Wednesday,
Preston North End 6–0 Cardiff City
Biggest away win Charlton Athletic 2–5 Sheffield United
Highest scoring Norwich City 5–2 Wolverhampton Wanderers,
Watford 3–4 Blackpool,
Charlton Athletic 2–5 Sheffield United
Longest winning run 7 games[1]
Wolverhampton Wanderers (achieved twice)
Longest unbeaten run 13 games[1]
Cardiff City,
Swansea City
Longest winless run 18 games[1]
Charlton Athletic
Longest losing run 6 games[1]
Doncaster Rovers
Highest attendance 33,079[2]
Derby County v Wolverhampton Wanderers
Lowest attendance 6,648[2]
Blackpool v Charlton Athletic
Average attendance 17,938[2]

The 2008–09 Football League Championship (known as the Coca-Cola Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the sixth season of the league under its current title and seventeenth season under its current league division format.

Wolverhampton Wanderers won the division to return to the Premier League after a five-year absence. They secured the Championship title on 25 April, one week after having confirmed their promotion with a victory over QPR.[3][4]

Birmingham City were promoted at the first attempt following their relegation. They secured their return to the top flight on the final day of the season by winning at promotion rivals Reading 2–1.[5] Norwich City, Southampton and Charlton Athletic were relegated;[6]

Burnley won the play-offs to reach the Premier League for the first time after a 1–0 win in the play-off final against Sheffield United, who had been in with a chance of automatic promotion on the final day.[7]

Team changes from previous season

Joining the Championship

Relegated from the Premier League:

Promoted from League One:

Leaving the Championship

Promoted to the Premier League:

Relegated to League One:

Team overview

Stadium and locations

Team Stadium Capacity
Barnsley Oakwell 23,009
Birmingham City St Andrew's 30,009
Blackpool Bloomfield Road 9,788
Bristol City Ashton Gate 21,497
Burnley Turf Moor 22,546
Cardiff City Ninian Park 22,008
Charlton Athletic The Valley 27,111
Coventry City Ricoh Arena 32,609
Crystal Palace Selhurst Park 26,309
Derby County Pride Park 33,597
Doncaster Rovers Keepmoat Stadium 15,231
Ipswich Town Portman Road 30,311
Norwich City Carrow Road 26,034
Nottingham Forest City Ground 30,602
Plymouth Argyle Home Park 19,500
Preston North End Deepdale 24,500
Queens Park Rangers Loftus Road 19,128
Reading Madejski Stadium 24,161
Sheffield United Bramall Lane 32,609
Sheffield Wednesday Hillsborough 39,814
Southampton St Mary's Stadium 32,689
Swansea City Liberty Stadium 20,532
Watford Vicarage Road 19,920
Wolverhampton Wanderers Molineux 28,525

Personnel and sponsoring

Team Manager Kit maker Sponsor
Barnsley Simon Davey Lotto Barnsley Building Society
Birmingham City Alex McLeish Umbro F&C Investments
Blackpool Tony Parkes Carlotti Floors 2 Go/Carbrini
Bristol City Gary Johnson Puma AG D.A.S.
Burnley Owen Coyle Errea Holland's Pies
Cardiff City Dave Jones Joma Vans Direct.co.uk
Charlton Athletic Phil Parkinson Joma Carbrini
Coventry City Chris Coleman Puma AG Cassidy Group
Crystal Palace Neil Warnock Errea GAC Logistics
Derby County Nigel Clough Adidas Bombardier
Doncaster Rovers Sean O'Driscoll Vandanel Wright Investments
Ipswich Town Roy Keane Mitre Marcus Evans
Norwich City Bryan Gunn Xara Norwich Union
Nottingham Forest Billy Davies Umbro Capital One
Plymouth Argyle Paul Sturrock Puma AG Ginsters
Preston North End Alan Irvine Diadora Enterprise Plc
Queens Park Rangers Paulo Sousa Lotto Gulf Air
Reading Steve Coppell Puma AG Waitrose
Sheffield United Kevin Blackwell Le Coq Sportif Visit Malta.com
Sheffield Wednesday Brian Laws Lotto PlusNet
Southampton Mark Wotte Umbro FlyBe
Swansea City Roberto Martínez Umbro Swansea.com
Watford Brendan Rodgers Diadora Beko
Wolverhampton Wanderers Mick McCarthy Le Coq Sportif Chaucer Consulting

Managerial changes

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Replaced by Date of appointment Position in table
QPR Iain Dowie Contract terminated 24 October 2008[8] Paulo Sousa 19 November 2008[9] 9th
Watford Aidy Boothroyd Mutual Consent 3 November 2008[10] Brendan Rodgers 24 November 2008[11] 21st
Charlton Athletic Alan Pardew Mutual Consent 22 November 2008[12] Phil Parkinson 31 December 2008[13] 22nd
Blackpool Simon Grayson Signed by Leeds United (Mutual Consent) 23 December 2008[14] Ian Holloway 21 May 2009 16th
Nottingham Forest Colin Calderwood Contract terminated 26 December 2008[15] Billy Davies 1 January 2009[16] 22nd
Derby County Paul Jewell Resigned 28 December 2008[17] Nigel Clough 6 January 2009[18] 18th
Norwich City Glenn Roeder Contract terminated 14 January 2009[19] Bryan Gunn 21 January 2009[20] 21st
Southampton Jan Poortvliet Resigned 23 January 2009[21] Mark Wotte 23 January 2009[21] 23rd
QPR Paulo Sousa Contract terminated 9 April 2009[22] Jim Magilton 3 June 2009 10th
Ipswich Town Jim Magilton Contract terminated 22 April 2009[23] Roy Keane 23 April 2009[24] 9th
Reading Steve Coppell Resigned 12 May 2009[25] Brendan Rodgers 4 June 2009 4th, Play-off semi-final

League table

Pos
Team
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
Promotion or relegation
1 Wolverhampton Wanderers (C) (P) 46 27 9 10 80 52+28 90 Promotion to Premier League
2 Birmingham City (P) 46 23 14 9 54 37+17 83
3 Sheffield United 46 22 14 10 64 39+25 80 Qualification to League Championship playoffs
4 Reading 46 21 14 11 72 40+32 77
5 Burnley (P) 46 21 13 12 72 60+12 76
6 Preston North End 46 21 11 14 66 54+12 74
7 Cardiff City 46 19 17 10 65 53+12 74
8 Swansea City 46 16 20 10 63 50+13 68
9 Ipswich Town 46 17 15 14 62 53+9 66
10 Bristol City 46 15 16 15 54 540 61
11 Queens Park Rangers 46 15 16 15 42 442 61
12 Sheffield Wednesday 46 16 13 17 51 587 61
13 Watford 46 16 10 20 68 724 58
14 Doncaster Rovers 46 17 7 22 42 5311 58
15 Crystal Palace 46 15 12 19 52 553 0561
16 Blackpool 46 13 17 16 47 5811 56
17 Coventry City 46 13 15 18 47 5811 54
18 Derby County 46 14 12 20 55 6712 54
19 Nottingham Forest 46 13 14 19 50 6515 53
20 Barnsley 46 13 13 20 45 5813 52
21 Plymouth Argyle 46 13 12 21 44 5713 51
22 Norwich City (R) 46 12 10 24 57 7013 46 Relegation to League One
23 Southampton (R) 46 10 15 21 46 6923 0452
24 Charlton Athletic (R) 46 8 15 23 52 7422 39

|} Updated to games played on 3 May 2009.
Source: The Football League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
1 Crystal Palace were give a one-point deduction for using an ineligible player during a match against Sheffield United on 3 May 2009.[26]
2 Southampton were given a ten-point deduction for breaching insolvency regulations, regarding their holding company. As they finished in the bottom three this season, the points deduction will be applied next season.[27]
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.

Play-offs

  Semi-finals Final
                     
3  Sheffield United 1 1 2  
6  Preston North End 1 0 1  
    3  Sheffield United 0
  5  Burnley 1
4  Reading 0 0 0
5  Burnley 1 2 3  

Results

Home ╲ Away BAR BIR BLPBRIBURCARCHACOVCRYDERDONIPSNORNOTPLYPNEQPRREASHUSHWSOUSWAWATWOL
Barnsley 11 01 00 32 01 00 12 31 20 41 12 00 11 20 11 21 01 12 21 01 13 21 11
Birmingham City 20 01 10 11 11 32 01 10 10 10 21 11 20 11 12 10 13 10 31 10 00 32 20
Blackpool 10 20 01 01 11 20 11 22 32 23 01 20 11 01 13 03 22 13 02 11 11 02 22
Bristol City 20 12 00 12 11 21 20 10 11 41 11 10 22 22 11 11 14 00 11 20 00 11 22
Burnley 12 11 20 40 22 21 11 42 30 00 03 20 50 00 31 10 10 10 24 32 02 32 10
Cardiff City 31 12 20 00 31 20 21 21 41 30 03 22 20 10 20 00 22 03 20 21 22 21 12
Charlton Athletic 13 00 22 02 11 22 12 10 22 12 21 42 02 20 00 22 42 25 12 00 20 23 13
Coventry City 11 10 21 03 13 02 00 02 11 10 22 20 22 01 00 10 00 12 20 41 11 23 21
Crystal Palace 30 00 01 42 00 02 10 11 10 21 14 31 12 12 21 00 00 00 11 30 20 00 01
Derby County 00 11 41 21 11 11 10 21 12 01 01 31 11 21 22 02 02 21 30 01 22 10 23
Doncaster Rovers 01 02 00 10 21 11 01 10 20 21 10 11 00 10 02 20 01 02 10 02 00 12 01
Ipswich Town 30 01 11 31 11 12 11 21 11 20 13 32 21 00 12 20 20 11 11 03 22 00 02
Norwich City 40 11 11 12 11 20 10 12 12 12 21 20 23 10 22 01 02 10 01 22 23 20 52
Nottingham Forest 10 11 00 32 12 01 00 10 02 13 24 11 12 20 21 22 00 01 21 31 11 32 01
Plymouth Argyle 12 01 12 02 12 21 22 40 13 03 03 13 12 10 10 11 22 22 40 20 01 21 22
Preston North End 21 10 01 20 21 60 21 21 20 20 10 32 10 21 11 21 21 00 11 23 02 20 13
Queens Park Rangers 21 10 11 21 12 10 21 11 00 02 20 13 01 21 00 32 00 00 32 41 10 00 10
Reading 00 12 10 02 31 11 22 31 42 30 21 01 20 01 20 00 00 01 60 12 40 40 10
Sheffield United 21 21 22 30 23 00 31 11 22 42 01 20 10 00 20 10 30 02 12 00 10 21 13
Sheffield Wednesday 01 11 11 00 41 10 41 01 20 01 10 00 32 10 01 11 10 12 10 20 00 20 01
Southampton 00 12 01 01 22 10 23 11 10 11 12 22 20 02 00 31 00 11 12 11 22 03 12
Swansea City 22 23 01 10 11 22 11 00 13 11 31 30 21 31 10 41 00 20 11 11 30 31 31
Watford 11 01 34 24 30 22 10 21 20 31 11 21 21 21 12 21 30 22 02 22 22 20 23
Wolverhampton Wanderers 20 11 20 20 20 22 21 21 21 30 10 00 33 51 01 13 10 03 11 41 30 21 31

Source: The Football League
1 ^ The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For coming matches, an a indicates there is an article about the match.

Top goalscorers

PosPlayerTeamGoals
1 Sylvan Ebanks-Blake Wolverhampton Wanderers 25
2 Ross McCormack Cardiff City 21
Jason Scotland Swansea City
3 Kevin Doyle Reading 18
4 Tommy Smith Watford 16
5 Rob Hulse Derby County 14
Chris Iwelumo Wolverhampton Wanderers
Marcus Tudgay Sheffield Wednesday
Kevin Phillips Birmingham City

Awards

Month Manager of the Month Player of the Month Notes
Manager Club Player Club
August Mick McCarthy Wolverhampton Wanderers Richard Chaplow Preston North End [28][29]
September Owen Coyle Burnley Kevin Doyle Reading [30][31]
October Dave Jones Cardiff City Rob Hulse Derby County [32][33]
November Mick McCarthy Wolverhampton Wanderers Chris Iwelumo Wolverhampton Wanderers [34][35]
December Steve Coppell Reading Stephen Hunt Reading [36][37]
January Roberto Martínez Swansea City Joe Ledley Cardiff City [38][39]
February Chris Coleman Coventry City Jason Scotland Swansea City [40]
March Kevin Blackwell Sheffield United Robbie Blake Burnley [41][42]
April Alan Irvine Preston North End Kyle Naughton Sheffield United
PFA Team of the Year[43]
Pos.PlayerClub
GK Keiren Westwood Coventry City
DF Kyle Naughton Sheffield United
DF Roger Johnson Cardiff City
DF Richard Stearman Wolverhampton Wanderers
DF Danny Fox Coventry City
MF Michael Kightly Wolverhampton Wanderers
MF Stephen Hunt Reading
MF Joe Ledley Cardiff City
MF Jordi Gómez Swansea City
FW Sylvan Ebanks-Blake Wolverhampton Wanderers
FW Jason Scotland Swansea City

Events

Goal controversies

Southampton administration

On 23 April 2009, The Football League announced that Southampton had been placed into administration. The ruling occurred after the deadline for immediate points deduction application, so the ten-point deduction would have to await whether or not Southampton, in 22nd place at the time of the announcement, were relegated.[47] If they had finished above the relegation zone, then the points would have been deducted from their total for the current year to thereby relegate them. However, since their relegation was confirmed following their penultimate match, their point penalty would be applied the next season in League One.[48]

References

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  2. 1 2 3 "Football League Attendance Report" (PDF). The Football League. 25 July 2012.
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  44. "Watford 2–2 Reading". BBC Sport. 20 September 2008. Archived from the original on 16 January 2009.
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  48. Statement on Southampton Football Club from The Football League, 23 April 2009
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