| Season | 2008–09 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Leicester City |
| Promoted | Leicester City Peterborough United Scunthorpe United |
| Relegated | Northampton Town Crewe Alexandra Cheltenham Town Hereford United |
| Top goalscorer | Rickie Lambert Simon Cox(29 each) |
2009–10 → | |
The Football League 2008–09 (namedCoca-Cola Football League for sponsorship reasons), was the seventeenth season under its current league division format. It began in August 2008 and concluded in May 2009, with the promotion play-off finals.
The Football League is contested through three Divisions. The second division of these isLeague One. The winner and the runner up of League One will be automatically promoted to theFootball League Championship and they will be joined by the winner of the League One playoff. The bottom four teams in the league will be relegated to the third division,League Two.
Leicester City played at this level for the first time in their history having spent all their time in the top two divisions. In the opposite direction, Hereford United made their first appearance in the third tier since 1978, after many seasons in non-league and lower-league football.
Promoted toChampionship
Relegated toLeague Two
Relegated fromChampionship
Promoted fromLeague Two
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leicester City(C, P) | 46 | 27 | 15 | 4 | 84 | 39 | +45 | 96 | Promotion toFootball League Championship |
| 2 | Peterborough United(P) | 46 | 26 | 11 | 9 | 78 | 54 | +24 | 89 | |
| 3 | Milton Keynes Dons | 46 | 26 | 9 | 11 | 83 | 47 | +36 | 87 | Qualification for League One play-offs |
| 4 | Leeds United | 46 | 26 | 6 | 14 | 77 | 49 | +28 | 84 | |
| 5 | Millwall | 46 | 25 | 7 | 14 | 63 | 53 | +10 | 82 | |
| 6 | Scunthorpe United(O, P) | 46 | 22 | 10 | 14 | 82 | 63 | +19 | 76 | |
| 7 | Tranmere Rovers | 46 | 21 | 11 | 14 | 62 | 49 | +13 | 74 | |
| 8 | Southend United | 46 | 21 | 8 | 17 | 58 | 61 | −3 | 71 | |
| 9 | Huddersfield Town | 46 | 18 | 14 | 14 | 62 | 65 | −3 | 68 | |
| 10 | Oldham Athletic | 46 | 16 | 17 | 13 | 66 | 65 | +1 | 65 | |
| 11 | Bristol Rovers | 46 | 17 | 12 | 17 | 79 | 61 | +18 | 63 | |
| 12 | Colchester United | 46 | 18 | 9 | 19 | 58 | 58 | 0 | 63 | |
| 13 | Walsall | 46 | 17 | 10 | 19 | 61 | 66 | −5 | 61 | |
| 14 | Leyton Orient | 46 | 15 | 11 | 20 | 45 | 57 | −12 | 56 | |
| 15 | Swindon Town | 46 | 12 | 17 | 17 | 68 | 71 | −3 | 53 | |
| 16 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 46 | 13 | 13 | 20 | 55 | 70 | −15 | 52 | |
| 17 | Yeovil Town | 46 | 12 | 15 | 19 | 41 | 66 | −25 | 51 | |
| 18 | Stockport County | 46 | 16 | 12 | 18 | 59 | 57 | +2 | 50[a] | |
| 19 | Hartlepool United | 46 | 13 | 11 | 22 | 66 | 79 | −13 | 50 | |
| 20 | Carlisle United | 46 | 12 | 14 | 20 | 56 | 69 | −13 | 50 | |
| 21 | Northampton Town(R) | 46 | 12 | 13 | 21 | 61 | 65 | −4 | 49 | Relegation toFootball League Two |
| 22 | Crewe Alexandra(R) | 46 | 12 | 10 | 24 | 59 | 82 | −23 | 46 | |
| 23 | Cheltenham Town(R) | 46 | 9 | 12 | 25 | 51 | 91 | −40 | 39 | |
| 24 | Hereford United(R) | 46 | 9 | 7 | 30 | 42 | 79 | −37 | 34 |
| Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||||
| 6 | Scunthorpe United | 1 | 0 (7) | 1 | |||||||
| 3 | Milton Keynes Dons | 1 | 0 (6) | 1 | |||||||
| 6 | Scunthorpe United | 3 | |||||||||
| 5 | Millwall | 2 | |||||||||
| 5 | Millwall | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||
| 4 | Leeds United | 0 | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Home \ Away | B&HA | BRR | CRL | CHL | COL | CRE | HAR | HER | HUD | LEE | LEI | LEY | MIL | MKD | NOR | OLD | PET | SCU | STD | STP | SWI | TRA | WAL | YEO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brighton & Hove Albion | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–3 | 1–2 | 0–4 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 2–4 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–4 | 1–4 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 5–0 | |
| Bristol Rovers | 1–2 | 2–3 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 6–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 4–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 4–2 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 3–0 | |
| Carlisle United | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 4–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 4–1 | |
| Cheltenham Town | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 4–3 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–4 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 3–5 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–6 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | |
| Colchester United | 0–1 | 0–1 | 5–0 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | |
| Crewe Alexandra | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–3 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 3–4 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | |
| Hartlepool United | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 4–1 | 4–2 | 1–4 | 4–2 | 5–3 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 3–3 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 3–3 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | |
| Hereford United | 1–2 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 5–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | |
| Huddersfield Town | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | |
| Leeds United | 3–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 5–2 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 4–0 | |
| Leicester City | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 4–2 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | |
| Leyton Orient | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | |
| Millwall | 0–1 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–4 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | |
| Milton Keynes Dons | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 6–2 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | |
| Northampton Town | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 4–2 | 1–2 | 5–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 2–3 | 4–0 | 3–4 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–0 | |
| Oldham Athletic | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–3 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 0–2 | |
| Peterborough United | 0–0 | 5–4 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 4–2 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–3 | |
| Scunthorpe United | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 4–4 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | |
| Southend United | 0–2 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 3–3 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | |
| Stockport County | 2–0 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 4–3 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | |
| Swindon Town | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 4–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 2–3 | |
| Tranmere Rovers | 1–0 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 3–4 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | |
| Walsall | 3–0 | 0–5 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 1–4 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 5–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | |
| Yeovil Town | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–4 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 |
Correct as of 8 May 2009[2]
30 April 2009 – Stockport County are docked 10 points by the FA for entering administration
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Replaced by | Date of appointment | Position in table |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milton Keynes Dons | Paul Ince | Signed byBlackburn Rovers (mutual consent) | 22 June 2008[3] | Roberto Di Matteo | 2 July 2008[4] | Pre-season |
| Cheltenham Town | Keith Downing | Mutual consent | 13 September 2008[5] | Martin Allen | 15 September 2008[6] | 24th |
| Colchester United | Geraint Williams | Mutual consent | 22 September 2008[7] | Paul Lambert | 24 September 2008[8] | 23rd |
| Carlisle United | John Ward | Mutual consent | 3 November 2008[9] | Greg Abbott | 5 December 2008[10] | 20th |
| Huddersfield Town | Stan Ternent | Mutual consent | 4 November 2008[11] | Lee Clark | 11 December 2008[12] | 16th |
| Swindon Town | Maurice Malpas | Mutual consent | 14 November 2008[13] | Danny Wilson | 26 December 2008[14] | 16th |
| Crewe Alexandra | Steve Holland | Contract terminated[15] | 18 November 2008[16] | Guðjón Þórðarson | 24 December 2008[17] | 24th |
| Hartlepool United | Danny Wilson | Contract terminated | 15 December 2008[18] | Chris Turner | 15 December 2008[18] | 13th |
| Leeds United | Gary McAllister | Contract terminated | 21 December 2008[19] | Simon Grayson | 23 December 2008[20] | 9th |
| Walsall | Jimmy Mullen | Contract terminated | 10 January 2009[21] | Chris Hutchings | 20 January 2009[22] | 12th |
| Leyton Orient | Martin Ling | Mutual Consent | 18 January 2009[23] | Geraint Williams | 5 February 2009[24] | 21st |
| Yeovil Town | Russell Slade | Contract terminated | 16 February 2009[25] | Terry Skiverton | 18 February 2009[26] | 16th |
| Brighton & Hove Albion | Micky Adams | Contract terminated | 21 February 2009[27] | Russell Slade | 6 March 2009[28] | 21st |
| Oldham Athletic | John Sheridan | Mutual Consent | 15 March 2009[29] | Joe Royle | 15 March 2009[30] | 8th |