# 1908–09 Football League

The 1908–09 season was the 21st season of The Football League.
Tottenham Hotspur played their first ever season in the Football League. Spurs, along with Bradford Park Avenue entered the Second Division to replace Lincoln City and Stoke.

## Final league tables

Beginning in the 1894–95 season, clubs finishing level on points were separated according to goal average (goals scored divided by goals conceded). In case one or more teams had the same goal difference, this system favoured those teams who had scored fewer goals. The goal average system was eventually scrapped beginning with the 1976–77 season.
During the first six seasons of the league, (up to the 1893–94 season), re-election process concerned the clubs which finished in the bottom four of the league. From the 1894–95 season and until the 1920–21 season the re-election process was required of the clubs which finished in the bottom three of the league.

## First Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Relegation |
| 1 | Newcastle United (C) | 38 | 24 | 5 | 9 | 65 | 41 | 1.585 | 53 | |
| 2 | Everton | 38 | 18 | 10 | 10 | 82 | 57 | 1.439 | 46 | |
| 3 | Sunderland | 38 | 21 | 2 | 15 | 78 | 63 | 1.238 | 44 | |
| 4 | Blackburn Rovers | 38 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 61 | 50 | 1.220 | 41 | |
| 5 | The Wednesday | 38 | 17 | 6 | 15 | 67 | 61 | 1.098 | 40 | |
| 6 | Woolwich Arsenal | 38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 52 | 49 | 1.061 | 38 | |
| 7 | Aston Villa | 38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 58 | 56 | 1.036 | 38 | |
| 8 | Bristol City | 38 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 45 | 58 | 0.776 | 38 | |
| 9 | Middlesbrough | 38 | 14 | 9 | 15 | 59 | 53 | 1.113 | 37 | |
| 10 | Preston North End | 38 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 48 | 44 | 1.091 | 37 | |
| 11 | Chelsea | 38 | 14 | 9 | 15 | 56 | 61 | 0.918 | 37 | |
| 12 | Sheffield United | 38 | 14 | 9 | 15 | 51 | 59 | 0.864 | 37 | |
| 13 | Manchester United | 38 | 15 | 7 | 16 | 58 | 68 | 0.853 | 37 | |
| 14 | Nottingham Forest | 38 | 14 | 8 | 16 | 66 | 57 | 1.158 | 36 | |
| 15 | Notts County | 38 | 14 | 8 | 16 | 51 | 48 | 1.063 | 36 | |
| 16 | Liverpool | 38 | 15 | 6 | 17 | 57 | 65 | 0.877 | 36 | |
| 17 | Bury | 38 | 14 | 8 | 16 | 63 | 77 | 0.818 | 36 | |
| 18 | Bradford City | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 47 | 47 | 1.000 | 34 | |
| 19 | Manchester City (R) | 38 | 15 | 4 | 19 | 67 | 69 | 0.971 | 34 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 20 | Leicester Fosse (R) | 38 | 8 | 9 | 21 | 54 | 102 | 0.529 | 25 | Relegation to the Second Division |

### Results

| Home \ Away | AST | BLB | BRA | BRI | BRY | CHE | EVE | LEI | LIV | MCI | MUN | MID | NEW | NOT | NTC | PNE | SHU | SUN | WED | WOO |
| Aston Villa | | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 0–3 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–4 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 |
| Blackburn Rovers | 3–1 | | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 2–4 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 8–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 |
| Bradford City | 1–1 | 0–2 | | 0–1 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 4–1 |
| Bristol City | 0–0 | 1–4 | 0–1 | | 4–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 2–4 | 1–1 | 2–1 |
| Bury | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 4–2 | 4–2 | 1–1 |
| Chelsea | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 4–1 | | 3–3 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 |
| Everton | 3–1 | 4–4 | 0–1 | 5–2 | 4–0 | 3–2 | | 4–2 | 5–0 | 6–3 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 3–3 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 5–1 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 0–3 |
| Leicester Fosse | 4–2 | 2–4 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 2–5 | 5–2 | 0–2 | | 3–2 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 4–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| Liverpool | 3–2 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 4–1 | | 1–3 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 |
| Manchester City | 2–0 | 3–3 | 4–3 | 5–1 | 6–1 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 5–2 | 4–0 | | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2–2 |
| Manchester United | 0–2 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 4–2 | 3–2 | 3–1 | | 6–3 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 4–3 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–4 |
| Middlesbrough | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 0–1 | 1–4 | 2–3 | 6–2 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 5–0 | | 0–0 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 4–2 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 |
| Newcastle United | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 1–9 | 1–0 | 3–1 |
| Nottingham Forest | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 12–0 | 5–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 0–4 | | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 |
| Notts County | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 5–1 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 0–4 | 3–0 | | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 |
| Preston North End | 3–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 6–0 | 3–3 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | | 1–1 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 0–0 |
| Sheffield United | 3–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–5 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 2–1 | | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 |
| Sunderland | 4–3 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–4 | 2–0 | 6–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | | 4–2 | 1–0 |
| The Wednesday | 4–2 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 4–3 | 5–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–3 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–5 | | 6–2 |
| Woolwich Arsenal | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 0–4 | 2–1 | 5–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–4 | 2–0 | |

### Maps
## Second Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | HW | HD | HL | HGF | HGA | AW | AD | AL | AGF | AGA | GAv | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Bolton Wanderers | 38 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 37 | 8 | 10 | 1 | 8 | 22 | 20 | 2.107 | 52 | Division Champions |
| 2 | Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | 12 | 5 | 2 | 42 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 25 | 20 | 2.094 | 51 | Promoted |
| 3 | West Bromwich Albion | 38 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 35 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 21 | 18 | 2.074 | 51 | |
| 4 | Hull City | 38 | 14 | 2 | 3 | 44 | 15 | 5 | 4 | 10 | 19 | 24 | 1.615 | 44 | |
| 5 | Derby County | 38 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 38 | 11 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 17 | 30 | 1.341 | 43 | |
| 6 | Oldham Athletic | 38 | 14 | 4 | 1 | 39 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 14 | 16 | 34 | 1.279 | 40 | |
| 7 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 38 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 32 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 24 | 36 | 1.167 | 39 | |
| 8 | Glossop | 38 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 35 | 17 | 4 | 3 | 12 | 22 | 36 | 1.075 | 38 | |
| 9 | Gainsborough Trinity | 38 | 12 | 3 | 4 | 30 | 20 | 3 | 5 | 11 | 19 | 50 | 0.700 | 38 | |
| 10 | Fulham | 38 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 39 | 26 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 19 | 22 | 1.208 | 37 | |
| 11 | Birmingham | 38 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 35 | 21 | 4 | 3 | 12 | 23 | 40 | 0.951 | 37 | |
| 12 | Leeds City | 38 | 12 | 3 | 4 | 35 | 19 | 2 | 4 | 13 | 8 | 34 | 0.811 | 35 | |
| 13 | Grimsby Town | 38 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 23 | 14 | 5 | 2 | 12 | 18 | 40 | 0.759 | 35 | |
| 14 | Burnley | 38 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 33 | 28 | 5 | 3 | 11 | 18 | 30 | 0.879 | 33 | |
| 15 | Clapton Orient | 38 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 25 | 19 | 5 | 2 | 12 | 12 | 30 | 0.755 | 33 | |
| 16 | Bradford Park Avenue | 38 | 9 | 2 | 8 | 30 | 25 | 4 | 4 | 11 | 21 | 34 | 0.864 | 32 | |
| 17 | Barnsley | 38 | 11 | 3 | 5 | 36 | 19 | 0 | 7 | 12 | 12 | 38 | 0.842 | 32 | |
| 18 | Stockport County | 38 | 11 | 2 | 6 | 25 | 19 | 3 | 1 | 15 | 14 | 52 | 0.549 | 31 | |
| 19 | Chesterfield Town | 38 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 30 | 28 | 1 | 5 | 13 | 7 | 39 | 0.552 | 30 | Failed re-election |
| 20 | Blackpool | 38 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 30 | 22 | 0 | 5 | 14 | 16 | 46 | 0.676 | 29 | Re-elected |
* 1 2 New club in the league
* ↑ Chesterfield failed re-election, and Lincoln City were re-admitted to the Football League in their place, after a season away.

### Results

| Home \ Away | BAR | BIR | BLP | BOL | BPA | BUR | CHF | CLA | DER | FUL | GAI | GLP | GRI | HUL | LEE | OLD | STP | TOT | WBA | WOL |
| Barnsley | | 3–1 | 4–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 |
| Birmingham | 2–1 | | 2–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 4–2 | 3–3 | 0–0 | 1–1 |
| Blackpool | 1–1 | 2–0 | | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–1 |
| Bolton Wanderers | 3–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | | 0–1 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| Bradford Park Avenue | 3–2 | 1–2 | 4–3 | 1–2 | | 2–3 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–4 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 4–1 |
| Burnley | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–3 | | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 5–2 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 5–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 3–5 |
| Chesterfield | 1–0 | 4–2 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | | 2–0 | 2–4 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–4 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–1 |
| Clapton Orient | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 5–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–3 |
| Derby County | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | | 2–1 | 5–0 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 5–1 | 1–0 | 5–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 |
| Fulham | 2–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | | 4–0 | 2–3 | 5–2 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 5–1 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 |
| Gainsborough Trinity | 4–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | | 3–1 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 |
| Glossop | 3–0 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 3–2 |
| Grimsby Town | 0–0 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 2–0 | | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 |
| Hull City | 4–0 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 5–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | | 4–1 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 |
| Leeds City | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 2–5 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 2–0 | | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 5–2 |
| Oldham Athletic | 0–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 6–0 | | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 |
| Stockport County | 2–1 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 4–2 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–3 | | 1–3 | 0–0 | 1–0 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 4–0 | 4–0 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 4–2 | 4–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | | 1–3 | 3–0 |
| West Bromwich Albion | 1–1 | 1–1 | 5–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 7–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | | 0–2 |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 5–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | |

### Maps
## Attendances
### First Division

| # | Football club | Home games | Average attendance |
| 1 | Newcastle United | 19 | 29,300 |
| 2 | Chelsea FC | 19 | 29,120 |
| 3 | Everton FC | 19 | 23,025 |
| 4 | Bradford City | 19 | 21,875 |
| 5 | Manchester City | 19 | 19,665 |
| 6 | Aston Villa | 19 | 18,945 |
| 7 | Manchester United | 19 | 18,150 |
| 8 | Liverpool FC | 19 | 17,660 |
| 9 | Sunderland AFC | 19 | 15,235 |
| 10 | Blackburn Rovers | 19 | 14,745 |
| 11 | Middlesbrough FC | 19 | 14,050 |
| 12 | Woolwich Arsenal | 19 | 13,025 |
| 13 | The Wednesday | 19 | 12,840 |
| 14 | Leicester Fosse | 19 | 12,790 |
| 15 | Sheffield United | 19 | 12,625 |
| 16 | Bristol City | 19 | 12,015 |
| 17 | Nottingham Forest | 19 | 11,090 |
| 18 | Bury FC | 19 | 10,975 |
| 19 | Notts County | 19 | 10,805 |
| 20 | Preston North End | 19 | 9,210 |

### Second Division

| # | Football club | Home games | Average attendance |
| 1 | Tottenham Hotspur | 19 | 20,255 |
| 2 | Fulham FC | 19 | 16,340 |
| 3 | West Bromwich Albion | 19 | 15,525 |
| 4 | Bolton Wanderers | 19 | 12,850 |
| 5 | Oldham Athletic | 19 | 12,295 |
| 6 | Bradford Park Avenue | 19 | 11,350 |
| 7 | Leeds City | 19 | 11,055 |
| 8 | Birmingham City | 19 | 10,825 |
| 9 | Clapton Orient | 19 | 10,500 |
| 10 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 19 | 8,620 |
| 11 | Hull City | 19 | 8,200 |
| 12 | Burnley FC | 19 | 6,815 |
| 13 | Derby County | 19 | 6,615 |
| 14 | Stockport County | 19 | 5,925 |
| 15 | Barnsley FC | 19 | 5,650 |
| 16 | Gainsborough Trinity | 19 | 5,380 |
| 17 | Grimsby Town | 19 | 5,235 |
| 18 | Chesterfield Town | 19 | 4,975 |
| 19 | Blackpool FC | 19 | 4,970 |
| 20 | Glossop | 19 | 3,430 |