# 2008–09 in English football

The 2008–09 season was the 129th season of competitive football in England. The Premier League started on 16 August 2008, while the Championship, League One, and League Two matches started on 9 August 2008. The regular season of the Football League ended on 3 May 2009, while the Premier League ended on 24 May 2009.
The Premier League title was won by Manchester United, capturing their 18th top-division title and third in a row. Three teams, Newcastle United, Middlesbrough, and West Bromwich Albion were relegated at the end of the season. They were replaced by three teams from the Championship, being the champion Wolverhampton Wanderers alongside regular season runner up Birmingham City, and Burnley, which won a four-team playoff for the third promotion spot. Relegated from Championship to League One were Norwich City, Southampton, and Charlton Athletic. The League One teams promoted to the Championship include champions Leicester City, runners up Peterborough United, and playoff winners Scunthorpe United. Relegated from League One to League Two were Northampton Town, Crewe Alexandra, Cheltenham Town and Hereford United. Promoted from League Two were the champions Brentford, runners up Exeter City, third-place finishers Wycombe Wanderers, and playoff winners Scunthorpe United. Relegated to Conference were Chester City and Luton Town
The England national football team played in four friendlies, winning two, losing one, and playing to a draw in the other. During the season, England played seven of its ten Group 6 matches for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, winning all seven.
The FA Cup was won by Chelsea who defeated Everton 2–1 in the final.

## Managerial changes
### In-season managerial changes

| Name | Club | Date of departure | Replacement | Date of appointment |
| Kevin Bond | Bournemouth | 1 September 2008 | Jimmy Quinn | 2 September 2008 |
| Alan Curbishley | West Ham United | 3 September 2008 | Gianfranco Zola | 11 September 2008 |
| Kevin Keegan | Newcastle United | 4 September 2008 | Joe Kinnear$^1$ | 26 September 2008 |
| Keith Downing | Cheltenham Town | 13 September 2008 | Martin Allen | 15 September 2008 |
| Alan Buckley | Grimsby Town | 15 September 2008 | Mike Newell | 6 October 2008 |
| Geraint Williams | Colchester United | 22 September 2008 | Paul Lambert | 9 October 2008 |
| Lee Sinnott | Port Vale | 22 September 2008 | Dean Glover$^2$ | 6 October 2008 |
| Iain Dowie | Queens Park Rangers | 24 October 2008 | Paulo Sousa | 19 November 2008 |
| Juande Ramos | Tottenham Hotspur | 25 October 2008 | Harry Redknapp | 26 October 2008 |
| Harry Redknapp | Portsmouth | 26 October 2008 | Tony Adams$^3$ | 28 October 2008 |
| John Ward | Carlisle United | 3 November 2008 | Greg Abbott$^4$ | 5 December 2008 |
| Aidy Boothroyd | Watford | 3 November 2008 | Brendan Rodgers | 24 November 2008 |
| Stan Ternent | Huddersfield Town | 4 November 2008 | Lee Clark | 11 December 2008 |
| Simon Davies | Chester City | 11 November 2008 | Mark Wright | 14 November 2008 |
| Maurice Malpas | Swindon Town | 14 November 2008 | Danny Wilson | 26 December 2008 |
| Steve Holland | Crewe Alexandra | 18 November 2008 | Gudjon Thordarson | 24 December 2008 |
| Alan Pardew | Charlton Athletic | 22 November 2008 | Phil Parkinson$^5$ | 31 December 2008 |
| Roy Keane | Sunderland | 4 December 2008 | Ricky Sbragia$^6$ | 27 December 2008 |
| Danny Wilson | Hartlepool United | 15 December 2008 | Chris Turner | 15 December 2008 |
| Gary McAllister | Leeds United | 21 December 2008 | Simon Grayson | 23 December 2008 |
| Simon Grayson | Blackpool | 23 December 2008 | Ian Holloway | 21 May 2009 |
| Colin Calderwood | Nottingham Forest | 26 December 2008 | Billy Davies | 1 January 2009 |
| Paul Fairclough | Barnet | 28 December 2008 | Ian Hendon$^9$ | 21 April 2009 |
| Paul Jewell | Derby County | 29 December 2008 | Nigel Clough | 6 January 2009 |
| Jimmy Quinn | Bournemouth | 31 December 2008 | Eddie Howe$^7$ | 19 January 2009 |
| Jimmy Mullen | Walsall | 10 January 2009 | Chris Hutchings | 20 January 2009 |
| Glenn Roeder | Norwich City | 14 January 2009 | Bryan Gunn$^8$ | 21 January 2009 |
| Martin Ling | Leyton Orient | 18 January 2009 | Geraint Williams | 5 February 2009 |
| Jan Poortvliet | Southampton | 23 January 2009 | Mark Wotte | 23 January 2009 |
| Tony Adams | Portsmouth | 9 February 2009 | Paul Hart | 3 March 2009 |
| Luiz Felipe Scolari | Chelsea | 9 February 2009 | Guus Hiddink | 11 February 2009 |
| Russell Slade | Yeovil Town | 16 February 2009 | Terry Skiverton | 18 February 2009 |
| Micky Adams | Brighton & Hove Albion | 21 February 2009 | Russell Slade | 6 March 2009 |
| John Sheridan | Oldham Athletic | 15 March 2009 | Joe Royle | 15 March 2009 |
| Paulo Sousa | Queens Park Rangers | 9 April 2009 | Jim Magilton | 3 June 2009 |
| Jim Magilton | Ipswich Town | 21 April 2009 | Roy Keane | 22 April 2009 |
| Graham Turner | Hereford United | 24 April 2009 | John Trewick | 24 April 2009 |
| Joe Royle | Oldham Athletic | 30 April 2009 | Dave Penney | 30 April 2009 |
| Dave Penney | Darlington | 30 April 2009 | Colin Todd | 20 May 2009 |

### End-of-season managerial changes

| Name | Club | Date of departure | Replacement | Date of appointment |
| Dean Glover | Port Vale | 2 May 2009 | Micky Adams | 1 June 2009 |
| Jim Gannon | Stockport County | 6 May 2009 | Gary Ablett | 8 July 2009 |
| Lee Richardson | Chesterfield | 6 May 2009 | John Sheridan | 9 June 2009 |
| Steve Coppell | Reading | 12 May 2009 | Brendan Rodgers | 5 June 2009 |
| Ricky Sbragia | Sunderland | 24 May 2009 | Steve Bruce | 2 June 2009 |
| Guus Hiddink | Chelsea | 30 May 2009 | Carlo Ancelotti | 1 June 2009 |
| Steve Bruce | Wigan Athletic | 2 June 2009 | Roberto Martínez | 16 June 2009 |
| Brendan Rodgers | Watford | 5 June 2009 | Malky Mackay | 15 June 2009 |
| Ronnie Moore | Tranmere Rovers | 5 June 2009 | John Barnes | 15 June 2009 |
| Roberto Martínez | Swansea City | 16 June 2009 | Paulo Sousa | 29 June 2009 |
| Tony Mowbray | West Bromwich Albion | 17 June 2009 | Roberto Di Matteo | 1 July 2009 |
| Mark Wright | Chester City | 22 June 2009 | Mick Wadsworth | 29 June 2009 |
| Roberto Di Matteo | Milton Keynes Dons | 1 July 2009 | Paul Ince | 3 July 2009 |
| Mark Wotte | Southampton | 9 July 2009 | Alan Pardew | 17 July 2009 |