# 2008–09 Sunderland A.F.C. season

The 2008–09 season was the 112th season in Sunderland A.F.C.'s history and 104th in the league system of English football.

## Background

In preparation for their Premier League campaign, Sunderland spent around £40,000,000 in the 2007–08 season. Signings included the club's record signing of Craig Gordon for £9,000,000, Michael Chopra for £5,000,000, and Kieran Richardson for an undisclosed fee believed to be in the region of £5,500,000. Roy Keane began his managerial tenure in the Premier League with a win over Tottenham Hotspur through a last minute goal from Michael Chopra. In an attempt to bolster their goalscoring chances, Sunderland signed Kenwyne Jones from Southampton for £6,000,000. The club came close to their first Tyne-Wear derby victory at home in 17 years when they drew with Newcastle United. They had taken the lead before half time, but James Milner equalised an hour into the game. Michael Chopra missed the opportunity to win the game by heading the ball onto the crossbar.
A tribute was paid to 1973 FA Cup Final goalscorer Ian Porterfield in a game against Reading. Sunderland marked the occasion by winning 2–1. A win over Aston Villa sparked a three-game winning streak, when Sunderland overcame West Ham United and Fulham to extend their lead over the relegation area. They sealed their Premier League safety in a 3–2 win over local rivals Middlesbrough through a 90th-minute goal from Daryl Murphy. They finished the season in fifteenth place, on 39 points.

## Match results
### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Pre-season

| Game | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| 1 | 20 July 2008 | Sporting CP | Away | 3–1 | — | O'Donovan, Nosworthy, Stokes |
| 2 | 22 July 2008 | Vitória de Setúbal | Away | 1–1 | — | Richardson |
| 3 | 28 July 2008 | Cobh Ramblers | Away | 4–0 | — | Murphy, Stokes (2), O'Donovan |
| 4 | 30 July 2008 | Nottingham Forest | Away | 1–0 | 12,573 | Richardson |
| 5 | 3 August 2008 | Ajax | Home | 0–1 | 19,768 | |
| 6 | 7 August 2008 | Athlone Town | Away | 6–0 | — | Richardson, Chopra (2), Leadbitter, Diouf, Murphy |
| 7 | 9 August 2008 | Shamrock Rovers | Away | Postponed | — | |

### Premier League
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 14 | Portsmouth | 38 | 10 | 11 | 17 | 38 | 57 | −19 | 41 | |
| 15 | Blackburn Rovers | 38 | 10 | 11 | 17 | 40 | 60 | −20 | 41 | |
| 16 | Sunderland | 38 | 9 | 9 | 20 | 34 | 54 | −20 | 36 | |
| 17 | Hull City | 38 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 39 | 64 | −25 | 35 | |
| 18 | Newcastle United (R) | 38 | 7 | 13 | 18 | 40 | 59 | −19 | 34 | Relegation to Football League Championship |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 4 December 2018. Source: 11v11

#### Results per 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 | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H |
| Result | L | W | L | D | W | L | D | D | W | L | L | L | W | L | L | L | W | W | D | L | D | L | W | D | W | D | L | D | L | L | L | L | W | L | L | D | L | L |
| Position | 18 | 12 | 18 | 16 | 6 | 11 | 14 | 12 | 9 | 10 | 14 | 17 | 11 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 17 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 |
| Game | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| 1 | 16 August 2008 | Liverpool | Home | 0–1 | 43,259 | |
| 2 | 23 August 2008 | Tottenham Hotspur | Away | 2–1 | 36,064 | Richardson, Cissé |
| 3 | 31 August 2008 | Manchester City | Home | 0–3 | 39,622 | |
| 4 | 13 September 2008 | Wigan Athletic | Away | 1–1 | 18,015 | Bramble (O.G.) |
| 5 | 20 September 2008 | Middlesbrough | Home | 2–0 | 38,388 | Chopra (2) |
| 6 | 27 September 2008 | Aston Villa | Away | 1–2 | 38,706 | Cissé |
| 7 | 4 October 2008 | Arsenal | Home | 1–1 | 40,199 | Leadbitter |
| 8 | 18 October 2008 | Fulham | Away | 0–0 | 25,116 | |
| 9 | 25 October 2008 | Newcastle United | Home | 2–1 | 47,936 | Cissé, Richardson |
| 10 | 29 October 2008 | Stoke City | Away | 0–1 | 26,731 | |
| 11 | 1 November 2008 | Chelsea | Away | 0–5 | 41,693 | |
| 12 | 8 November 2008 | Portsmouth | Home | 1–2 | 37,712 | Cissé |
| 13 | 15 November 2008 | Blackburn Rovers | Away | 2–1 | 21,798 | Jones, Cissé |
| 14 | 23 November 2008 | West Ham United | Home | 0–1 | 35,222 | |
| 15 | 29 November 2008 | Bolton Wanderers | Home | 1–4 | 35,457 | Cissé |
| 16 | 6 December 2008 | Manchester United | Away | 0–1 | 75,400 | |
| 17 | 13 December 2008 | West Bromwich Albion | Home | 4–0 | 36,280 | Jones (2), Andy Reid, Cissé |
| 18 | 20 December 2008 | Hull City | Away | 4–1 | 24,917 | Malbranque, Zayatte (O.G.), Jones, Cissé |
| 19 | 26 December 2008 | Blackburn Rovers | Home | 0–0 | 44,680 | |
| 20 | 28 December 2008 | Everton | Away | 0–3 | 39,146 | |
| 21 | 10 January 2009 | Middlesbrough | Away | 1–1 | 29,310 | Jones |
| 22 | 17 January 2009 | Aston Villa | Home | 1–2 | 40,350 | Collins |
| 23 | 27 January 2009 | Fulham | Home | 1–0 | 36,539 | Jones |
| 24 | 1 February 2009 | Newcastle | Away | 1–1 | 52,084 | Cissé |
| 25 | 7 February 2009 | Stoke City | Home | 2–0 | 38,350 | Jones, Healy |
| 26 | 21 February 2009 | Arsenal | Away | 0–0 | 60,104 | |
| 27 | 3 March 2009 | Liverpool | Away | 0–2 | 41,587 | |
| 28 | 8 March 2009 | Tottenham Hotspur | Home | 1–1 | 37,894 | Richardson |
| 29 | 14 March 2009 | Wigan Athletic | Home | 1–2 | 39,266 | Leadbitter |
| 30 | 22 March 2009 | Manchester City | Away | 0–1 | 43,017 | |
| 31 | 4 April 2009 | West Ham United | Away | 0–2 | 34,761 | |
| 32 | 11 April 2009 | Manchester United | Home | 1–2 | 45,408 | Jones |
| 33 | 18 April 2009 | Hull City | Home | 1–0 | 42,855 | Cissé |
| 34 | 25 April 2009 | West Bromwich Albion | Away | 0–3 | 26,256 | |
| 35 | 3 May 2009 | Everton | Home | 0–2 | 41,313 | |
| 36 | 9 May 2009 | Bolton Wanderers | Away | 0–0 | 24,005 | |
| 37 | 18 May 2009 | Portsmouth | Away | 1–3 | 20,398 | Jones |
| 38 | 24 May 2009 | Chelsea | Home | 2–3 | 42,468 | Richardson, Jones |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| 3 | 3 January 2009 | Bolton Wanderers | Home | 2–1 | 20,685 | Jones, Cissé |
| 4 | 24 January 2009 | Blackburn Rovers | Home | 0–0 | 22,634 | |
| 4 | 4 February 2009 | Blackburn Rovers | Away | 1–2 (replay) | 10,112 | Healy |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| 2 | 27 August 2008 | Nottingham Forest | Away | 2–1 (aet) | 9,198 | Bardsley, Healy |
| 3 | 23 September 2008 | Northampton Town | Home | 2–2 4–3 (pen) | 21,082 | Stokes (2) |
| 4 | 12 November 2008 | Blackburn Rovers | Home | 1–2 | 18,555 | Jones |

## 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 | Craig Gordon |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Phil Bardsley |
| 3 | DF | NIR | George McCartney |
| 4 | MF | FIN | Teemu Tainio |
| 5 | DF | JAM | Nyron Nosworthy |
| 6 | MF | ENG | Dean Whitehead (captain) |
| 7 | MF | TRI | Carlos Edwards |
| 8 | MF | FRA | Steed Malbranque |
| 9 | FW | FRA | Djibril Cissé (on loan from Marseille) |
| 10 | MF | ENG | Kieran Richardson |
| 12 | DF | ISR | Tal Ben Haim (on loan from Manchester City) |
| 13 | GK | WAL | Darren Ward |
| 14 | FW | IRL | Daryl Murphy |
| 15 | DF | WAL | Danny Collins |
| 17 | FW | TRI | Kenwyne Jones |
| 18 | MF | ENG | Grant Leadbitter |
| 19 | MF | TRI | Dwight Yorke |
| 20 | MF | IRL | Andy Reid |
| 21 | DF | ENG | Calum Davenport (on loan from West Ham United) |
| 23 | FW | NIR | David Healy |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 24 | GK | NIR | Trevor Carson |
| 25 | DF | FRA | Jean-Yves Mvoto |
| 26 | DF | ENG | Anton Ferdinand |
| 29 | DF | ENG | Peter Hartley |
| 30 | DF | IRL | Paul McShane |
| 31 | FW | IRL | David Connolly |
| 32 | GK | HUN | Márton Fülöp |
| 34 | MF | ENG | Jack Colback |
| 35 | DF | ENG | Michael Kay |
| 36 | MF | ENG | Nathan Luscombe |
| 37 | MF | NIR | Robbie Weir |
| 38 | MF | ENG | Jamie Chandler |
| 39 | FW | ENG | Martyn Waghorn |
| 40 | FW | ENG | David Dowson |
| 41 | MF | IRL | David Meyler |
| 43 | MF | IRL | Conor Hourihane |
| 44 | FW | IRL | Anthony Stokes |
| 45 | MF | ENG | Jordan Cook |
| 46 | GK | IRL | Nick Colgan |

### 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 |
| 11 | FW | SEN | El Hadji Diouf (to Blackburn Rovers) |
| 12 | MF | IRL | Liam Miller (to Queens Park Rangers) |
| 16 | FW | ENG | Michael Chopra (on loan to Cardiff City) |
| 21 | DF | FRA | Pascal Chimbonda (to Tottenham Hotspur) |
| 22 | DF | ENG | Danny Higginbotham (to Stoke City) |
| 26 | MF | NGA | Dickson Etuhu (to Fulham) |
| 27 | DF | SCO | Russell Anderson (on loan to Burnley) |
| 28 | MF | IRL | Graham Kavanagh (to Carlisle United) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 33 | DF | IRL | Michael Liddle (on loan to Carlisle United) |
| 42 | MF | ENG | Jordan Henderson (on loan to Coventry City) |
| 45 | FW | SWE | Rade Prica (to Rosenborg) |
| — | MF | SCO | Ross Wallace (to Preston North End) |
| — | MF | ESP | Arnau Riera (on loan to Falkirk) |
| — | DF | ENG | Greg Halford (on loan to Sheffield United) |
| — | FW | IRL | Roy O'Donovan (on loan to Blackpool) |

## Statistics
### 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 | SCO | Craig Gordon | 14 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 32 | GK | HUN | Márton Fülöp | 30 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||
| 2 | DF | ENG | Phil Bardsley | 33 | 1 | 27+1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 3 | DF | NIR | George McCartney | 18 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | JAM | Nyron Nosworthy | 20 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 7 | DF | TRI | Carlos Edwards | 26 | 0 | 6+16 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 12 | DF | ISR | Tal Ben Haim | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | WAL | Danny Collins | 41 | 1 | 35 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 21 | DF | ENG | Calum Davenport | 8 | 0 | 7+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | DF | ENG | Anton Ferdinand | 36 | 0 | 31 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 30 | DF | IRL | Paul McShane | 3 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | DF | ENG | Michael Kay | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||
| 4 | MF | FIN | Teemu Tainio | 22 | 0 | 18+3 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | ENG | Dean Whitehead | 38 | 0 | 30+4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | FRA | Steed Malbranque | 40 | 1 | 34+2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | ENG | Kieran Richardson | 35 | 4 | 31+1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | ENG | Grant Leadbitter | 28 | 2 | 12+11 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | IRL | Andy Reid | 38 | 1 | 20+12 | 1 | 2+1 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 |
| 36 | MF | ENG | Nathan Luscombe | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 42 | MF | ENG | Jordan Henderson | 2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||||
| 9 | FW | FRA | Djibril Cissé | 38 | 11 | 29+6 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 14 | FW | IRL | Daryl Murphy | 27 | 0 | 6+17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | TRI | Kenwyne Jones | 32 | 12 | 25+4 | 10 | 1+1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 19 | FW | TRI | Dwight Yorke | 8 | 0 | 4+3 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | FW | NIR | David Healy | 14 | 3 | 0+10 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1+1 | 1 |
| 39 | FW | ENG | Martyn Waghorn | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | FW | IRL | Anthony Stokes | 3 | 2 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 2 |
| Players transferred out during the season ||||||||||||
| 11 | FW | SEN | El Hadji Diouf | 16 | 0 | 11+3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 12 | MF | IRL | Liam Miller | 4 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 16 | FW | ENG | Michael Chopra | 8 | 2 | 1+5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 21 | DF | FRA | Pascal Chimbonda | 16 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 22 | DF | ENG | Danny Higginbotham | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Last updated: 31 May 2009 Source: Competitions

### Goal scorers

| Nation | Number | Name | Premier League | League Cup | FA Cup | Total |
| | 17 | Kenwyne Jones | 10 | 1 | 1 | 12 |
| | 9 | Djibril Cissé | 10 | 0 | 1 | 11 |
| | 10 | Kieran Richardson | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| | 23 | David Healy | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| | 18 | Grant Leadbitter | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| | 16 | Michael Chopra | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| | 44 | Anthony Stokes | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| / | / | Own goals | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| | 8 | Steed Malbranque | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| | 15 | Danny Collins | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| | 20 | Andy Reid | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| | 2 | Phil Bardsley | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| / | / | TOTALS | 34 | 5 | 3 | 42 |

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Pos | Name | From | Fee |
| 4 June 2008 | DF | Michael Kay | Youth system | – |
| 4 June 2008 | MF | Jordan Henderson | Youth system | – |
| 4 June 2008 | MF | Nathan Luscombe | Youth system | – |
| 4 June 2008 | FW | Jordan Cook | Youth system | – |
| 4 June 2008 | DF | Michael Liddle | Youth system | – |
| 4 June 2008 | MF | Jack Colback | Youth system | – |
| 4 June 2008 | DF | Niall McArdle | Youth system | – |
| 23 July 2008 | MF | Teemu Tainio | Tottenham Hotspur | Undisclosed fee |
| 24 July 2008 | GK | Nick Colgan | Ipswich Town | Free |
| 25 July 2008 | MF | David Meyler | Cork City | Undisclosed fee |
| 26 July 2008 | DF | Pascal Chimbonda | Tottenham Hotspur | Undisclosed fee |
| 28 July 2008 | FW | El Hadji Diouf | Bolton Wanderers | Undisclosed fee |
| 30 July 2008 | MF | Steed Malbranque | Tottenham Hotspur | Undisclosed fee |
| 21 August 2008 | FW | David Healy | Fulham | Undisclosed fee |
| 27 August 2008 | DF | Anton Ferdinand | West Ham United | Undisclosed fee |
| 1 September 2008 | DF | George McCartney | West Ham United | Undisclosed fee |

### Out

| Date | Pos | Name | To | Fee |
| 8 May 2008 | DF | Stephen Wright | Coventry City | Released |
| 8 May 2008 | DF | Ian Harte | – | Released |
| 8 May 2008 | DF | Stanislav Varga | – | Released |
| 8 May 2008 | FW | Andy Cole | Nottingham Forest | Free |
| 8 May 2008 | DF | Gavin Donogue | – | Released |
| 8 May 2008 | MF | Billy Dennehy | – | Released |
| 8 May 2008 | MF | Jake Richardson | – | Released |
| 8 May 2008 | DF | Jack Pelter | – | Released |
| 29 August 2008 | MF | Dickson Etuhu | Fulham | Undisclosed fee |
| 1 September 2008 | DF | Danny Higginbotham | Stoke City | Undisclosed fee |
| 9 January 2009 | MF | Graham Kavanagh | Carlisle United | Mutual consent |
| 12 January 2009 | MF | Ross Wallace | Preston North End | Undisclosed fee |
| 15 January 2009 | MF | Liam Miller | Queens Park Rangers | Undisclosed fee |
| 26 January 2009 | DF | Pascal Chimbonda | Tottenham Hotspur | Undisclosed fee |
| 30 January 2009 | FW | El Hadji Diouf | Blackburn Rovers | Undisclosed fee |

### Loans in

| Date | Pos | Name | From | Length |
| 21 August 2008 | FW | Djibril Cissé | Marseille | End of season |
| 1 February 2009 | DF | Tal Ben Haim | Manchester City | End of season |
| 2 February 2009 | DF | Calum Davenport | West Ham United | End of season |

### Loans out

| Date | Pos | Name | To | Length |
| 2 July 2008 | DF | Greg Halford | Sheffield United | End of season |
| 22 July 2008 | MF | Arnau Riera | Falkirk | End of season |
| 31 July 2008 | MF | Ross Wallace | Preston North End | End of season |
| 8 August 2008 | FW | Roy O'Donovan | Dundee United | End of season |
| 14 August 2008 | GK | Trevor Carson | Chesterfield | 19 December 2008 |
| 27 August 2008 | DF | Russell Anderson | Burnley | End of season |
| 30 August 2008 | DF | Paul McShane | Hull City | 15 January 2009 |
| 2 October 2008 | MF | Carlos Edwards | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 20 November 2008 |
| 10 October 2008 | MF | Graham Kavanagh | Carlisle United | 3 January 2009 |
| 17 October 2008 | FW | Anthony Stokes | Sheffield United | 1 January 2009 |
| 6 November 2008 | FW | Michael Chopra | Cardiff City | 1 January 2009 |
| 14 November 2008 | DF | Michael Liddle | Carlisle United | End of season |
| 17 November 2008 | FW | Martyn Waghorn | Charlton Athletic | 17 January 2009 |
| 9 January 2009 | FW | Roy O'Donovan | Blackpool | End of season |
| 28 January 2009 | MF | Jordan Henderson | Coventry City | End of season |
| 2 February 2009 | FW | Michael Chopra | Cardiff City | End of season |
| 2 March 2009 | FW | Anthony Stokes | Crystal Palace | End of season |
| 2 March 2009 | GK | Darren Ward | Wolverhampton Wanderers | End of season |