# 2008–09 Burnley F.C. season

The 2008–09 season was Burnley's 9th season in the second tier of English football. They were managed by Owen Coyle – his second season since he replaced Steve Cotterill on 8 November 2007. Burnley finished fifth in the league but were promoted to the Premier League after winning the Football League Championship playoffs. It was the first time the club was in the top division of English Football for 33 years.

## First-team squad

Updated 30 June 2008.

### Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | PER | Diego Penny |
| 2 | DF | SCO | Graham Alexander (vice-captain) |
| 3 | DF | NOR | Christian Kalvenes |
| 4 | DF | NIR | Michael Duff |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Clarke Carlisle |
| 6 | DF | SCO | Steven Caldwell (captain) |
| 7 | MF | SCO | Kevin McDonald |
| 8 | MF | ISL | Joey Guðjónsson |
| 9 | FW | NGA | Ade Akinbiyi |
| 10 | FW | NIR | Martin Paterson |
| 11 | MF | ENG | Wade Elliott |
| 12 | GK | DEN | Brian Jensen |
| 16 | MF | IRL | Chris McCann |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 17 | GK | HUN | Gábor Király |
| 18 | MF | IRL | Alan Mahon |
| 19 | FW | ENG | Jay Rodriguez |
| 20 | FW | ENG | Robbie Blake |
| 21 | DF | AUS | Rhys Williams (on loan from Middlesbrough) |
| 22 | FW | ALB | Besart Berisha |
| 23 | DF | ENG | Stephen Jordan |
| 24 | DF | SCO | Russell Anderson (on loan from Sunderland) |
| 25 | MF | ENG | Adam Kay |
| 26 | MF | NED | Remco van der Schaaf |
| 27 | MF | SCO | Alex MacDonald |
| 30 | FW | SCO | Steve Thompson |
| 33 | MF | ENG | Chris Eagles |

### Transfers
#### In

| # | Pos | Player | From | Fee | Date |
| 10 | FW | Martin Paterson | Scunthorpe United | £1.3m | 23 June 2008 |
| 7 | MF | Kevin McDonald | Dundee | £500k | 24 June 2008 |
| 3 | DF | Christian Kalvenes | Dundee United | Free | 26 June 2008 |
| 1 | GK | Diego Penny | Coronel Bolognesi | Undisclosed | 27 June 2008 |
| 26 | MF | Remco van der Schaaf | Vitesse Arnhem | Free | 7 July 2008 |
| 33 | FW | Chris Eagles | Manchester United | Undisclosed | 29 July 2008 |
| 24 | DF | Russell Anderson | Sunderland | Loan | 26 August 2008 |
| 21 | DF | Rhys Williams | Middlesbrough | Loan | 30 January 2009 |

#### Out

| # | Pos | Player | To | Fee | Date |
| 17 | FW | Kyle Lafferty | Rangers | £3.8m | 19 June 2008 |
| 22 | FW | Besart Berisha | Rosenborg | Loan | 8 August 2008 |
| N/A | MF | Steve Jones | Huddersfield Town | Loan | 17 October 2008 |
| N/A | MF | Steve Jones | Bradford City | Loan | 27 November 2008 |
| 22 | FW | Besart Berisha | AC Horsens | Loan | 8 January 2009 |
| 17 | GK | Gábor Király | Bayer Leverkusen | Loan | 30 January 2009 |
| 26 | MF | Remco van der Schaaf | Brøndby | Loan | 2 February 2009 |
| 18 | MF | Alan Mahon | Blackpool | Loan | 17 March 2009 |
| 25 | MF | Adam Kay | Accrington Stanley | Loan | 20 March 2009 |
| 9 | FW | Ade Akinbiyi | Houston Dynamo | Free | 6 April 2009 |

## Match details
### Football League Championship
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 3 | Sheffield United | 46 | 22 | 14 | 10 | 64 | 39 | +25 | 80 | Qualification for Championship play-offs |
| 4 | Reading | 46 | 21 | 14 | 11 | 72 | 40 | +32 | 77 | Qualification for Championship play-offs |
| 5 | Burnley (O, P) | 46 | 21 | 13 | 12 | 72 | 60 | +12 | 76 | Qualification for Championship play-offs |
| 6 | Preston North End | 46 | 21 | 11 | 14 | 66 | 54 | +12 | 74 | Qualification for Championship play-offs |
| 7 | Cardiff City | 46 | 19 | 17 | 10 | 65 | 53 | +12 | 74 | |

#### Matches

Football League Championship match details :
| Date | League position | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 9 August 2008 | 24th | Sheffield Wednesday | A | L | 1–4 | Paterson 6' | 23,793 |
| 16 August 2008 | 24th | Ipswich Town | H | L | 0–3 | | 11,312 |
| 23 August 2008 | 23rd | Crystal Palace | A | D | 0–0 | | 14,071 |
| 30 August 2008 | 23rd | Plymouth Argyle | H | D | 0–0 | | 10,032 |
| 13 September 2008 | 19th | Nottingham Forest | A | W | 2–1 | Alexander (2) 25', 70' pen. | 20,504 |
| 16 September 2008 | 12th | Blackpool | H | W | 2–0 | Paterson 60', Alexander 76' pen. | 13,752 |
| 20 September 2008 | 13th | Swansea City | A | D | 1–1 | Guðjónsson 59' | 13,299 |
| 27 September 2008 | 8th | Preston North End | H | W | 3–1 | Guðjónsson 33', Caldwell 64', Eagles 90' | 16,276 |
| 30 September 2008 | 4th | Watford | H | W | 3–2 | Alexander 25' pen., Paterson 64', Elliott 69' | 10,033 |
| 4 October 2008 | 9th | Reading | A | L | 1–3 | McCann 89' | 18,621 |
| 18 October 2008 | 11th | Birmingham City | H | D | 1–1 | McCann 25' | 13,809 (934 away) |
| 21 October 2008 | 6th | Coventry City | A | W | 3–1 | Duff 52', Blake 88', Eagles 90' | 14,621 |
| 25 October 2008 | 8th | Charlton Athletic | A | D | 1–1 | Thompson 13' | 21,884 |
| 28 October 2008 | 5th | Reading | H | W | 1–0 | Blake 81' | 11,538 |
| 1 November 2008 | 4th | Norwich City | H | W | 2–0 | Eagles (2) 55', 60' | 11,353 |
| 8 November 2008 | 5th | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | L | 0–2 | | 23,711 (1,088 away) |
| 15 November 2008 | 4th | Queens Park Rangers | A | W | 2–1 | Blake 34', Mahon 60' | 13,226 |
| 22 November 2008 | 5th | Doncaster Rovers | H | D | 0–0 | | 12,173 |
| 24 November 2008 | 5th | Barnsley | A | L | 2–3 | Paterson (2) 69', 73' | 10,678 |
| 29 November 2008 | 4th | Derby County | H | W | 3–0 | McDonald 6', Paterson (2) 15', 23' | 11,552 |
| 6 December 2008 | 4th | Sheffield United | A | W | 3–2 | Paterson 19', Alexander 42' pen., Eagles 79' | 24,702 |
| 9 December 2008 | 4th | Cardiff City | H | D | 2–2 | Blake 14', Thompson 76' | 11,230 |
| 13 December 2008 | 4th | Southampton | H | W | 3–2 | Perry 4' o.g., Guðjónsson (2) 7', 11' | 11,229 |
| 20 December 2008 | 4th | Bristol City | A | W | 2–1 | Paterson 57', Thompson 77' | 16,108 |
| 26 December 2008 | 4th | Barnsley | H | L | 1–2 | McCann 38' | 16,580 |
| 28 December 2008 | 5th | Doncaster Rovers | A | L | 1–2 | Paterson 62' | 14,020 |
| 10 January 2009 | 7th | Swansea City | H | L | 0–2 | | 13,740 |
| 17 January 2009 | 7th | Preston North End | A | L | 1–2 | Blake 77' | 15,692 |
| 27 January 2009 | 9th | Watford | A | L | 0–3 | | 13,193 |
| 31 January 2009 | 8th | Charlton Athletic | H | W | 2–1 | Thompson (2) 76' 90' | 14,404 |
| 7 February 2009 | 10th | Birmingham City | A | D | 1–1 | Paterson 3' | 16,763 (986 away) |
| 14 February 2009 | 8th | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | W | 1–0 | McCann 6' | 13,515 (1,496 away) |
| 17 February 2009 | 7th | Coventry City | H | D | 1–1 | Eagles 90' | 14,595 |
| 21 February 2009 | 7th | Norwich City | A | D | 1–1 | Thompson 36' | 24,363 |
| 28 February 2009 | 9th | Sheffield Wednesday | H | L | 2–4 | McCann 53', Eagles 85' | 12,449 |
| 3 March 2009 | 7th | Blackpool | A | W | 1–0 | Kalvenes 85' | 7,679 |
| 11 March 2009 | 6th | Crystal Palace | H | W | 4–2 | Carlisle 39', Alexander 83' pen., Thompson 88', Rodriguez 90' | 10,312 |
| 14 March 2009 | 5th | Nottingham Forest | H | W | 5–0 | Blake 19', Elliott 39', Carlisle 51', Rodriguez 55', Guðjónsson 73' | 13,055 |
| 17 March 2009 | 5th | Ipswich Town | A | D | 1–1 | Elliott 19' | 18,745 |
| 21 March 2009 | 4th | Plymouth Argyle | A | W | 2–1 | Caldwell 16', Blake 78' | 11,246 |
| 4 April 2009 | 5th | Derby County | A | D | 1–1 | McCann 59' | 33,010 |
| 11 April 2009 | 6th | Queens Park Rangers | H | W | 1–0 | Carlisle 49' | 15,058 |
| 13 April 2009 | 6th | Cardiff City | A | L | 1–3 | Blake 84' | 19,379 |
| 20 April 2009 | 5th | Sheffield United | H | W | 1–0 | Paterson 23' | 14,884 |
| 25 April 2009 | 6th | Southampton | A | D | 2–2 | Alexander 32' pen., Carlisle 67' | 23,927 |
| 3 May 2009 | 5th | Bristol City | H | W | 4–0 | Alexander (2) 42' pen., 76' pen., Elliott 44', Guðjónsson 86' | 18,005 |

### Football League Championship play-offs

Football League Championship play-off match details :
| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| Semi-final first leg | 9 May 2009 | Reading | H | W | 1–0 | Alexander 84' pen. | 18,853 |
| Semi-final second leg | 12 May 2009 | Reading | A | W | 2–0 | Paterson 50', Thompson 58' | 19,909 |
| Final | 25 May 2009 | Sheffield United | N | W | 1–0 | Elliott 13' | 80,518 (37,000 Burnley fans) |

### FA Cup

FA Cup match details :
| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| Third round | 3 January 2009 | Queens Park Rangers | A | D | 0–0 | | 8,896 (775 away) |
| Third round replay | 13 January 2009 | Queens Park Rangers | H | W | 2–1 (a.e.t.) | Thompson 60', Rodriguez 120' | 3,760 (285 away) |
| Fourth round | 24 January 2009 | West Bromwich Albion | A | D | 2–2 | Alexander 25' pen., Paterson 89' | 18,294 (1,354 away) |
| Fourth round replay | 3 February 2009 | West Bromwich Albion | H | W | 3–1 | Elliott 44', Thompson (2) 52', 88' | 6,635 (652 away) |
| Fifth round | 8 March 2009 | Arsenal | A | L | 0–3 | | 57,454 (5,188 away) |

### Football League Cup

Football League Cup match details :
| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| First round | 12 August 2008 | Bury | A | W | 2–0 | Paterson (2) 40', 90' | 4,276 (2,069 away) |
| Second round | 26 August 2008 | Oldham Athletic | H | W | 3–0 | McCann 12', Paterson (2) 63', 79' | 5,528 (1,552 away) |
| Third round | 23 September 2008 | Fulham | H | W | 1–0 | Rodriguez 88' | 7,119 (206 away) |
| Fourth round | 12 November 2008 | Chelsea | A | D | 1–1 (a.e.t.) (5–4 p) | Akinbiyi 69' | 41,369 (6,100 away) |
| Quarter final | 2 December 2008 | Arsenal | H | W | 2–0 | McDonald (2) 6', 57' | 19,045 (2,141 away) |
| Semi final first leg | 6 January 2009 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | L | 1–4 | Paterson 15' | 31,377 (4,212 away) |
| Semi final second leg | 21 January 2009 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | W | 3–2 (a.e.t.) | Blake 34', McCann 73', Rodriguez 88' | 19,533 (2,793 away) |

## Appearances and goals

    Numbers in parentheses denote appearances as substitute.
    Players with names struck through and marked † left the club during the playing season.
    Players with names in italics and marked * were on loan from another club with Burnley.
    Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; DF – Defender; MF – Midfielder; FW – Forward
| No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Play-offs | Play-offs | Total | Total | Discipline | Discipline |
| No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | | |
| 1 | GK | PER | Diego Penny | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | MF | SCO | Graham Alexander | 46 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 61 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | NOR | Christian Kalvenes | 21 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 (1) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 30 (1) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | NIR | Michael Duff | 22 (5) | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5 (2) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 33 (7) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Clarke Carlisle | 36 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 48 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | SCO | Steven Caldwell | 45 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 57 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | SCO | Kevin McDonald | 9 (16) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 (3) | 2 | 0 (1) | 0 | 13 (20) | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | ISL | Joey Guðjónsson | 20 (19) | 6 | 3 (2) | 0 | 5 (2) | 0 | 1 (2) | 0 | 29 (25) | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | NGA | Ade Akinbiyi † | 1 (10) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (4) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 (14) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | NIR | Martin Paterson | 39 (4) | 12 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 53 (4) | 19 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | ENG | Wade Elliott | 41 (1) | 4 | 4 (1) | 1 | 6 (1) | 0 | 2 | 1 | 53 (3) | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | GK | DEN | Brian Jensen | 45 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 60 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | FW | NIR | Steve Jones | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | IRL | Chris McCann | 44 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 58 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | GK | HUN | Gábor Király | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | IRL | Alan Mahon | 0 (7) | 1 | 0 (2) | 0 | 0 (3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (12) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | ENG | Jay Rodriguez | 2 (23) | 2 | 0 (4) | 1 | 0 (3) | 2 | 0 (3) | 0 | 2 (33) | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | ENG | Robbie Blake | 33 (13) | 8 | 5 | 0 | 6 (1) | 1 | 3 | 0 | 47 (14) | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | DF | AUS | Rhys Williams * † | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | FW | ALB | Besart Berisha | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | ENG | Stephen Jordan | 26 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | DF | SCO | Russell Anderson * † | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | ENG | Adam Kay | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | MF | NED | Remco van der Schaaf | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | MF | SCO | Alex MacDonald | 0 (3) | 0 | 0 (3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (6) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | FW | SCO | Steven Thompson | 23 (11) | 7 | 3 (2) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 (1) | 1 | 31 (14) | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | MF | ENG | Chris Eagles | 30 (13) | 7 | 4 | 0 | 6 (1) | 0 | 1 (2) | 0 | 41 (16) | 7 | 0 | 0 |

## Player of the Year Awards 2009

| # | Pos | Winner | Award |
| N/A | FW | Wes Fletcher | Youth Player of the Year |
| 1 | GK | Brian Jensen | League Cup Player of the Tournament |
| 19 | FW | Jay Rodriguez v Nottingham Forest, 14 March 2009 | Goal of the Season |
| 16 | MF | Chris McCann | Young Player of the Year |
| 2 | DF | Graham Alexander | Players' Player of the Year |
| 20 | FW | Robbie Blake | Player of the Year |