| Season | 2008–09 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Burnley (Championship) Scunthorpe United (League One) Gillingham (League Two) |
| Matches | 15 |
| Goals | 23 (1.53 per match) |
| Biggest home win | Gillingham 2–1Rochdale (League Two) |
| Biggest away win | Reading 0–2Burnley (Championship) |
| Highest scoring | Millwall 2-3Scunthorpe (5 goals) |
| Highest attendance | 80,518 –Burnley vSheffield United (Championship final) |
| Lowest attendance | 4,450 –Rochdale v Gillingham (League Two semi-final) |
| Average attendance | 25,298 |
←2008 2010 → | |
TheFootball League play-offs for the2008–09 season were held in May 2009, with the finals taking place atWembley Stadium inLondon. The play-off semi-finals were played over two legs and were contested by the teams who finished in 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th place in theFootball League Championship andLeague One tables, and the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th placed teams inLeague Two. The semi-final winners progressed to the finals, with the winner of each match earning promotion for thefollowing season.
Burnley andSheffield United contested the Championshipplay-off final, having defeatedReading andPreston North End respectively in the semi-finals. Burnley secured promotion to thePremier League with a 1–0 victory, courtesy of a goal fromWade Elliott. In the League One final,Scunthorpe United won 3–2 againstMillwall;Leeds United andMK Dons were the other teams to reach the play-offs. In League Two,Gillingham won their semi-final againstRochdale and then secured promotion with a 1–0 victory againstShrewsbury, who had beatenBury in their semi-final.
The Football League play-offs have been held every year since1987. They take place for each division following the conclusion of the regular season and are contested by the four clubs finishing below the automatic promotion places.
In the Championship,Sheffield United, who had been relegated from thePremier League under controversial circumstances in2007, finished 3 points behind second placedBirmingham City, who in turn had finished 7 points off the championsWolverhampton Wanderers.Reading - who were aiming to return to the Premier League at the first attempt - were in fourth place in the table.Burnley andPreston North End were only a couple of points further back on 76 and 74 respectively. Neither of the latter had played in thePremier League before, with Preston's last spell in the top division ending in1961. Burnley were relegated from in the top flight in1976.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Sheffield United | 46 | 22 | 14 | 10 | 64 | 39 | +25 | 80 |
| 4 | Reading | 46 | 21 | 14 | 11 | 72 | 40 | +32 | 77 |
| 5 | Burnley | 46 | 21 | 13 | 12 | 72 | 60 | +12 | 76 |
| 6 | Preston North End | 46 | 21 | 11 | 14 | 66 | 54 | +12 | 74 |
Sheffield United won 2–1 on aggregate.
Burnley won 3–0 on aggregate.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Milton Keynes Dons | 46 | 26 | 9 | 11 | 83 | 47 | +36 | 87 |
| 4 | Leeds United | 46 | 26 | 6 | 14 | 77 | 49 | +28 | 84 |
| 5 | Millwall | 46 | 25 | 7 | 14 | 63 | 53 | +10 | 82 |
| 6 | Scunthorpe United | 46 | 22 | 10 | 14 | 82 | 63 | +19 | 76 |
| Leeds United | 1–1 | Millwall |
|---|---|---|
Becchio 53' | Report | Abdou 74' |
Millwall won 2–1 on aggregate.
| Milton Keynes Dons | 0–0 (a.e.t.) | Scunthorpe United |
|---|---|---|
| Report | ||
| Penalties | ||
Leven Wilbraham Navarro Puncheon  Llera Stirling Lewington Guéret Flo | 6–7 | McCannHayesCrosbyByrneTrotterSparrowForteTogwellMorris |
Milton Keynes Dons 1–1 Scunthorpe United on aggregate. Scunthorpe United won 7–6 on penalties.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Bury | 46 | 21 | 15 | 10 | 63 | 43 | +20 | 78 |
| 5 | Gillingham | 46 | 21 | 12 | 13 | 58 | 55 | +3 | 75 |
| 6 | Rochdale | 46 | 19 | 13 | 14 | 70 | 59 | +11 | 70 |
| 7 | Shrewsbury Town | 46 | 17 | 18 | 11 | 61 | 44 | +17 | 69 |
| Shrewsbury Town | 0–1 | Bury |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Ashton 81' (o.g.) |
| Bury | 0–1 (a.e.t.) | Shrewsbury Town |
|---|---|---|
| Report | McIntyre 88' | |
| Penalties | ||
| Barry-Murphy Jones Racchi Bennett Bishop | 3–4 | DaviesAshikodiMcIntyreWorrall |
Bury 1–1 Shrewsbury Town on aggregate. Shrewsbury Town won 4–3 on penalties.
Gillingham won 2–1 on aggregate.