# 2008–09 Norwich City F.C. season

The 2008–09 season was Norwich City's fourth consecutive year in the Football League Championship. On 3 May 2009, the club was relegated to play League One football for the first time in 49 years after losing 4–2 to Charlton Athletic and finishing in 22nd place. This article shows statistics and lists all matches played by the club during the season.

## Club sponsors

From 26 April 2008, it was announced that Flybe would be stepping down as the main club sponsor. On 29 April 2008 it was announced that Aviva would be the new shirt sponsors, having signed a three-year contract. Aviva are the parent company of Norwich Union.

## Board changes

On 2 September 2008, Andrew and Sharon Turner announced that they were leaving the football club's board of directors. This left a £2 million hole in Norwich City's budget. On 4 September 2008, Delia Smith and Michael Wynn Jones announced that they would be injecting £2 million, avoiding financial problems for the club.

## Board and staff members
### Board members

| Position | Staff |
| Chairman | Roger Munby |
| Joint Majority Shareholder | Delia Smith |
| Joint Majority Shareholder | Michael Wynn-Jones |
| Director | Michael Foulger |
| Chief Executive | Neil Doncaster |
Last updated: 3 September 2008 Source: Norwich FC

### Coaching staff

| Position | Staff |
| Manager | Bryan Gunn |
| Assistant manager | Ian Butterworth |
| First Team coach | Ian Crook |
| Reserve Team manager | Vacant |
| Goalkeeping coach | Paul Crichton |
| Head of strength and conditioning | Alan Pearson |
| Strengthening coach | Mark Garfoot |
| Academy manager | Ricky Martin |
| Under 14s coach | Neil Adams |
| Performance analyst | Liam Weeks |
| Physiotherapist | Simon Spencer |
| Head of player recruitment | Vacant |
| Club doctor | Dr Peter Harvey |
| Chief scout | John Deehan |
Last updated: 14 January 2009 Source: Norwich FC

## Players
### First-team squad

    Squad at end of season
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | SCO | David Marshall |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Jon Otsemobor |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Adam Drury |
| 4 | DF | ENG | Jason Shackell (on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers) |
| 6 | DF | SRB | Dejan Stefanović |
| 7 | MF | ENG | Lee Croft |
| 8 | MF | NIR | Sammy Clingan (vice-captain) |
| 9 | FW | NZL | Chris Killen (on loan from Celtic) |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Jamie Cureton |
| 11 | MF | AUS | David Carney (on loan from Sheffield United) |
| 12 | DF | IRL | Gary Doherty (captain) |
| 13 | GK | ENG | Declan Rudd |
| 14 | MF | IRL | Wes Hoolahan |
| 17 | FW | SCO | Alan Gow (on loan from Rangers) |
| 18 | FW | IRL | David Mooney (on loan from Reading) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 19 | MF | SCO | Simon Lappin |
| 20 | MF | ENG | Darel Russell |
| 21 | DF | ENG | Ryan Bertrand (on loan from Chelsea) |
| 22 | DF | AUS | Adrian Leijer (on loan from Fulham) |
| 23 | FW | IRL | Alan Lee (on loan from Crystal Palace) |
| 24 | MF | RSA | Matty Pattison |
| 25 | GK | ENG | Stuart Nelson |
| 27 | FW | ENG | Cody McDonald |
| 29 | FW | ENG | Carl Cort |
| 30 | FW | ENG | Korey Smith |
| 33 | FW | SCO | Kris Renton |
| 34 | MF | ENG | Tom Adeyemi |
| 36 | MF | ENG | Damon Lathrope |
| 37 | FW | ENG | Luke Daley |

### Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 5 | DF | SCO | John Kennedy (on loan from Celtic) |
| 9 | FW | FRA | Antoine Sibierski (on loan from Wigan Athletic) |
| 11 | MF | ENG | Luke Chadwick (to MK Dons) |
| 15 | DF | ENG | Jonathan Grounds (on loan from Middlesbrough) |
| 16 | MF | SCO | Mark Fotheringham (released) |
| 17 | MF | IRL | David Bell (to Coventry City) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 18 | FW | ITA | Arturo Lupoli (on loan from Fiorentina) |
| 22 | DF | ENG | Elliot Omozusi (on loan from Fulham) |
| 23 | FW | GAM | Omar Koroma (on loan from Portsmouth) |
| 26 | MF | ENG | Robert Eagle (released) |
| 27 | DF | ENG | Troy Archibald-Henville (on loan from Tottenham Hotspur) |
| 44 | FW | ENG | Leroy Lita (on loan from Reading) |

## Transfers
### In

| # | Pos | Player | From | Fee | When |
| 6 | DF | Dejan Stefanović | Fulham | Undisclosed | Summer |
| 8 | MF | Sammy Clingan | Nottingham Forest | Free | Summer |
| 14 | MF | Wes Hoolahan | Blackpool | Undisclosed | Summer |
| 17 | MF | David Bell | Luton Town | Undisclosed | Summer |
| 25 | GK | Stuart Nelson | Leyton Orient | Free | Summer |
| 29 | FW | Carl Cort | Unattached | Free | December |
| 27 | FW | Cody McDonald | Dartford | Undisclosed | February 2009 |

### Out

| # | Pos | Player | To | Fee | When |
| 4 | DF | Jason Shackell | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Undisclosed | Summer |
| 6 | MF | Darren Huckerby | San Jose Earthquakes* | Released | Summer |
| 9 | FW | Dion Dublin | Retired | | Summer |
| 12 | GK | Matthew Gilks | Blackpool | Part of Hoolahan deal | Summer |
| 14 | DF | Juan Velasco | Panthrakikos* | Released | Summer |
| 23 | FW | Ryan Jarvis | Leyton Orient* | Released | Summer |
| 25 | DF | Rossi Jarvis | Luton Town* | Released | Summer |
| 29 | DF | Matthew Halliday | Wroxham* | Released | Summer |
| 31 | DF | Andrew Cave-Brown | Leyton Orient* | Released | Summer |
| 34 | GK | Steven Arnold | Grays Athletic* | Released | Summer |
| 36 | MF | Bally Smart | Kerkyra FC* | Released | Summer |
| 37 | DF | Patrick Bexfield | Released | Released | Summer |
| 11 | MF | Luke Chadwick | MK Dons | Free | Winter |
| 17 | MF | David Bell | Coventry City | 500,000 | Winter |
| 16 | MF | Mark Fotheringham | Released | Released | April 9 |
| 26 | DF | Robert Eagle | Released | Released | April 9 |
0* Indicates player joined club after being released by Norwich City

### Loans in

| # | Pos | Player | From | When | Until |
| 5 | DF | John Kennedy | Celtic | Summer | January 2009 |
| 9 | MF | Antoine Sibierski | Wigan Athletic | Summer | January 2009 |
| 15 | DF | Jonathan Grounds | Middlesbrough | Summer | December 2008 |
| 18 | FW | Arturo Lupoli | ACF Fiorentina | Summer | January 2009 |
| 21 | DF | Ryan Bertrand | Chelsea | Summer | Season |
| 22 | DF | Elliot Omozusi | Fulham | Summer | January 2009 |
| 23 | FW | Omar Koroma | Portsmouth | Summer | January 2009 |
| 27 | DF | Troy Archibald-Henville | Tottenham Hotspur | Summer | December 2008 |
| 44 | FW | Leroy Lita | Reading | October 2008 | December 2008 |
| 15 | DF | Jonathan Grounds | Middlesbrough | January 2009 | March 2009 |
| 11 | MF | David Carney | Sheffield United | January 2009 | May 2009 |
| 9 | FW | Chris Killen | Celtic | January 2009 | May 2009 |
| 17 | FW | Alan Gow | Rangers | January 2009 | May 2009 |
| 22 | DF | Adrian Leijer | Fulham | January 2009 | May 2009 |
| 18 | FW | David Mooney | Reading | January 2009 | April 2009 |

### Loans out

| # | Pos | Player | To | Until | When |
| 10 | FW | Jamie Cureton | Barnsley | February 2009 | November 2008 |
| 11 | MF | Luke Chadwick | MK Dons | January 2009 | October 2008 |
| 28 | MF | Michael Spillane | Luton Town | Season | Summer |
| 35 | FW | Chris Martin | Luton Town | Season | Summer |

## Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 |
| Ground | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A |
| Result | L | D | D | D | W | L | W | D | L | L | L | W | W | L | L | D | L | W | L | L | W | L | L | W | L | L | L | W | D | D | D | L | L | D | L | W | L | W | W | D | L | L | W | L | L | L |

## Competitions

Win  Draw  Loss

### Pre-season

| Date | Opponents | H/A | Result F–A | Scorers |
| 25 July 2008 | Dereham Town | A | 1–2 | Martin 8' |
| 28 July 2008 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 1–5 | Cureton 16' |
| 29 July 2008 | King's Lynn | A | 2–2 | Daley 9' Renton 37' |
| 2 August 2008 | Colchester United | H | 2–2 | Russell 60', 63' |

### FA Cup

| Round | 3 | 3(R) |
| Result | 1–1 | 0–1 |

### League Cup

| Round | 1 |
| Result | 0–1 |

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 20 | Barnsley | 46 | 13 | 13 | 20 | 45 | 58 | −13 | 52 | |
| 21 | Plymouth Argyle | 46 | 13 | 12 | 21 | 44 | 57 | −13 | 51 | |
| 22 | Norwich City (R) | 46 | 12 | 10 | 24 | 57 | 70 | −13 | 46 | Relegation to Football League One |
| 23 | Southampton (R) | 46 | 10 | 15 | 21 | 46 | 69 | −23 | 45 | Relegation to Football League One |
| 24 | Charlton Athletic (R) | 46 | 8 | 15 | 23 | 52 | 74 | −22 | 39 | Relegation to Football League One |
* ↑ Southampton were given a ten-point deduction for breaching insolvency regulations, regarding their holding company. As they finished in the bottom three in the 2008–09 season, the points deduction was applied during the 2009–10 season in League One.