# 2008–09 West Ham United F.C. season

The 2008–09 season saw West Ham United compete in the Premier League, where the club finished in 9th place. The beginning of the season was overshadowed by the sudden resignation of manager Alan Curbishley, following the sale of first team players Anton Ferdinand and George McCartney to Sunderland - after Curbishley claimed that these transfers had been authorised without his consent - and the related financial troubles of the club's owners, brought on by the 2008 Icelandic Banking Crisis. The club's owners had their assets frozen by the UK government, with the club narrowly avoiding going into administration as a result. Curbishley was replaced by Italian former Chelsea forward Gianfranco Zola on 9 September.
The club recovered from its off-field troubles, and a relatively poor start to the season, to finish in the top half and were never seriously threatened with relegation after the turn of the year.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 7 | Fulham | 38 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 39 | 34 | +5 | 53 | Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round |
| 8 | Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | 14 | 9 | 15 | 45 | 45 | 0 | 51 | |
| 9 | West Ham United | 38 | 14 | 9 | 15 | 42 | 45 | −3 | 51 | |
| 10 | Manchester City | 38 | 15 | 5 | 18 | 58 | 50 | +8 | 50 | |
| 11 | Wigan Athletic | 38 | 12 | 9 | 17 | 34 | 45 | −11 | 45 | |
* ↑ Since both finalists of the FA Cup (Chelsea and Everton) and the League Cup winners (Manchester United) qualified for the European competitions based on their league position, the sixth-placed team (Aston Villa) received a berth in the Europa League play-off round and the seventh-placed team (Fulham) received a berth in the Europa League third qualifying round.

## Squad

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 | ENG | Robert Green |
| 2 | DF | AUS | Lucas Neill (captain) |
| 3 | DF | COD | Hérita Ilunga |
| 4 | DF | WAL | Danny Gabbidon |
| 5 | DF | URU | Walter Lopez |
| 7 | MF | ENG | Kieron Dyer |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Scott Parker |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Dean Ashton |
| 10 | FW | GER | Savio Nsereko |
| 11 | MF | ENG | Matthew Etherington |
| 12 | FW | ENG | Carlton Cole |
| 13 | MF | POR | Luís Boa Morte |
| 14 | MF | CZE | Radoslav Kovac |
| 15 | DF | ENG | Matthew Upson |
| 16 | MF | ENG | Mark Noble |
| 17 | MF | ENG | Hayden Mullins |
| 18 | DF | USA | Jonathan Spector |
| 19 | DF | WAL | James Collins |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 20 | MF | FRA | Julien Faubert |
| 21 | MF | SUI | Valon Behrami |
| 22 | MF | ENG | Tony Stokes |
| 23 | GK | ENG | Jimmy Walker |
| 24 | GK | CZE | Jan Lastuvka |
| 25 | FW | ESP | Diego Tristan |
| 26 | MF | SCO | Nigel Quashie |
| 27 | DF | ENG | Calum Davenport |
| 28 | MF | ENG | Kyel Reid |
| 29 | MF | ENG | Lee Bowyer |
| 30 | DF | ENG | James Tomkins |
| 31 | MF | WAL | Jack Collison |
| 32 | FW | ITA | David Di Michele |
| 33 | FW | ENG | Freddie Sears |
| 34 | GK | CZE | Marek Štěch |
| 41 | FW | ENG | Zavon Hines |
| 45 | DF | ENG | Jordan Spence |
| 46 | MF | ENG | Junior Stanislas |

## Statistics
### Overview

| Competition | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Competition | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
| Premier League | 38 | 14 | 9 | 15 | 42 | 45 | −3 | 036.84 |
| FA Cup | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 050.00 |
| League Cup | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 050.00 |
| Total | 44 | 17 | 10 | 17 | 52 | 51 | +1 | 038.64 |

### Goalscorers

| Rank | Pos | No. | Nat | Name | Premier League | FA Cup | League Cup | Total |
| 1 | ST | 12 | | Carlton Cole | 10 | 1 | 1 | 12 |
| 2 | ST | 10 | | Craig Bellamy | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 2 | MF | 16 | | Mark Noble | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| 4 | ST | 32 | | David Di Michele | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 5 | ST | 25 | | Diego Tristan | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 5 | MF | 31 | | Jack Collison | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 7 | DF | 3 | | Hérita Ilunga | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 | ST | 9 | | Dean Ashton | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 | MF | 11 | | Matthew Etherington | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 | MF | 21 | | Valon Behrami | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 | MF | 46 | | Junior Stanislas | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 12 | DF | 2 | | Lucas Neill | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | MF | 8 | | Scott Parker | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | MF | 14 | | Radoslav Kovac | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | MF | 17 | | Hayden Mullins | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | DF | 27 | | Calum Davenport | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | MF | 28 | | Kyel Reid | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 12 | MF | 29 | | Lee Bowyer | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 12 | DF | 30 | | James Tomkins | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 12 | ST | 41 | | Zavon Hines | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 12 | Own goals | Own goals | Own goals | Own goals | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | 42 | 6 | 4 | 52 |

### League position by matchday

| Matchday | 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 |
| Ground | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H |
| Result | W | L | W | L | W | W | L | L | L | L | D | L | D | W | D | L | D | L | W | W | D | W | W | D | L | L | W | W | D | D | W | L | D | L | W | L | L | W |
| Position | 5 | 15 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 |

### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Premier League | Premier League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||||
| 1 | GK | ENG | Robert Green | 43 | 0 | 38 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 24 | GK | CZE | Jan Lastuvka | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||
| 2 | DF | AUS | Lucas Neill | 37 | 1 | 34 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | COD | Hérita Ilunga | 39 | 2 | 35 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | MF | NIR | George McCartney | 2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | WAL | Daniel Gabbidon | 14 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | URU | Walter Lopez | 6 | 0 | 0+5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | ENG | Matthew Upson | 41 | 0 | 37 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 18 | DF | USA | Jonathan Spector | 9 | 0 | 4+5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | DF | WAL | James Collins | 21 | 0 | 17+1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | DF | ENG | Calum Davenport | 8 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 30 | DF | ENG | James Tomkins | 15 | 1 | 11+1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||
| 7 | MF | ENG | Kieron Dyer | 8 | 0 | 1+6 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Scott Parker | 32 | 1 | 28 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | ENG | Matthew Etherington | 15 | 2 | 8+5 | 2 | 0+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 13 | MF | POR | Luis Boa Morte | 32 | 0 | 13+14 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | CZE | Radoslav Kovac | 10 | 1 | 8+1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | ENG | Mark Noble | 34 | 5 | 28+1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | ENG | Hayden Mullins | 21 | 1 | 5+12 | 1 | 1+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | FRA | Julien Faubert | 24 | 0 | 15+5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | SUI | Valon Behrami | 27 | 2 | 24 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 28 | MF | ENG | Kyel Reid | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 1 |
| 29 | MF | ENG | Lee Bowyer | 7 | 1 | 4+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 31 | MF | WAL | Jack Collison | 24 | 3 | 16+4 | 3 | 3+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | MF | ENG | Josh Payne | 2 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 46 | MF | ENG | Junior Stanislas | 9 | 2 | 7+2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||||
| 9 | FW | ENG | Dean Ashton | 5 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | WAL | Craig Bellamy | 17 | 5 | 13+3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | GER | Savio Nsereko | 11 | 0 | 1+9 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | FW | ENG | Carlton Cole | 32 | 12 | 26+1 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 0+1 | 1 |
| 25 | MF | ESP | Diego Tristan | 17 | 3 | 8+6 | 3 | 0+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | FW | ITA | David Di Michele | 34 | 4 | 22+8 | 4 | 2+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 33 | FW | ENG | Freddie Sears | 22 | 0 | 4+13 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 41 | FW | ENG | Zavon Hines | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 1 |

### Transfers
#### In

| Date | Position | Name | Club From | Fee |
| 23 July 2008 | MF | Valon Behrami | Lazio | £5,000,000 |
| 5 September 2008 | DF | Walter Lopez | Free Agency | Free |
| 14 October 2008 | FW | Diego Tristan | Free Agency | Free |
| 20 January 2009 | FW | Savio Nsereko | Brescia | £9,000,000 |

#### Out

| Date | Position | Name | Club To | Fee |
| 12 June 2008 | MF | Nolberto Solano | Free Agency | Released |
| 15 July 2008 | DF | John Paintsil | Fulham | £6,300,000 (combined with Zamora) |
| 15 July 2008 | FW | Bobby Zamora | Fulham | £6,300,000 (combined with Paintsil) |
| 22 July 2008 | GK | Richard Wright | Ipswich Town | Undisclosed |
| 6 August 2008 | MF | Freddie Ljungberg | Free Agency | Released |
| 27 August 2008 | DF | Anton Ferdinand | Sunderland | £8,000,000 |
| 1 September 2008 | DF | George McCartney | Sunderland | Undisclosed |
| 8 January 2009 | MF | Matthew Etherington | Stoke City | Undisclosed |
| 14 January 2009 | FW | Craig Bellamy | Manchester City | Undisclosed |
| 26 January 2009 | MF | Hayden Mullins | Portsmouth | Undisclosed |

#### Loan In

| Date | Position | Name | Club From | Length |
| 4 August 2008 | GK | Jan Lastuvka | Shakhtar Donetsk | Full-Season |
| 2 September 2008 | DF | Hérita Ilunga | Toulouse | Full-Season |
| 2 September 2008 | FW | David Di Michele | Torino | Full-Season |
| 30 January 2009 | MF | Radoslav Kovac | Spartak Moscow | Until end of season |

#### Loan Out

| Date | Position | Name | Club To | Length |
| 21 October 2008 | MF | Nigel Quashie | Birmingham City | One month(extended 24 November and again on 23 December) |
| 27 November 2008 | GK | Jimmy Walker | Colchester United | One month(extended 12 January) |
| 9 January 2009 | MF | Lee Bowyer | Birmingham City | Until end of season |
| 15 January 2009 | MF | Kyel Reid | Wolves | Until end of season |
| 22 January 2009 | MF | Nigel Quashie | Wolves | Until end of season |
| 31 January 2009 | MF | Julien Faubert | Real Madrid | Until end of season |
| 2 February 2009 | DF | Calum Davenport | Sunderland | Until end of season |
| 15 February 2009 | MF | Tony Stokes | Újpest | Until end of season |