2008–09 in English football

Managerial changes

In-season managerial changes

End-of-season managerial changes

Notes

• 1 Joe Kinnear was named interim manager on 26 September, and signed as permanent manager on 28 November.
• 2 Dean Glover had previously been caretaker manager at Port Vale since Sinnott's departure.
• 3 Tony Adams had previously been caretaker manager at Portsmouth since Redknapp's departure.
• 4 Greg Abbott had previously been caretaker manager at Carlisle United since Ward's departure.
• 5 Phil Parkinson had previously been caretaker manager at Charlton Athletic since Pardew's departure.
• 6 Ricky Sbragia had previously been caretaker manager at Sunderland since Keane's departure.
• 7 Eddie Howe had previously been caretaker manager at Bournemouth since Quinn's departure.
• 8 Bryan Gunn had previously been caretaker manager at Norwich City since Roeder's departure.
• 9 Ian Hendon had previously been caretaker manager at Barnet since Fairclough's departure.

National team

The home team is on the left column; the away team is on the right column.

Friendly matches

J. Cole Jankulovski

Terry

Llorente

Rooney Lampard

World Cup qualifiers

England is currently in Group 6 of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification process.

Rooney

Kuchma Rooney Defoe

Rooney

Terry

Heskey Rooney Lampard

Lampard Defoe Crouch

Diary of the season

5 July 2008 - Former Liverpool and Leeds United winger Harry Kewell joins Galatasaray.

9 July 2008 - Journeyman forward Kevin Phillips swaps Midlands sides, joining newly relegated Birmingham City from West Bromwich Albion.

11 July 2008 - Arsenal complete the signing of Frenchman Samir Nasri from Marseille.

9 August 2008 - The Football League kicks-off, with two promotion favourites, Birmingham City and Sheffield United, locking horns. Kevin Phillips' 90th-minute goal gave the Blues the perfect start, winning 1-0.

16 August 2008 - The Premier League began, with Arsenal defeating West Brom 1-0 at the Emirates to open the season off. Hull City's first ever top flight appearance saw an inspired display by Giovani help them to a 2-1 win over Fulham.

31 August 2008 -

• Manchester City completed their takeover with The Abu Dhabi United Group. City completed their signing of Robinho and appointed former Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Manchester United star Mark Hughes as manager.
• August ends with Chelsea ahead of Liverpool on goal difference at the top of the table, with Manchester City and Arsenal competing the top four. West Han United, Middlesbrough, tipped by many to struggle, and Aston Villa completing the top seven. Manchester United were a lowly ninth after a slow start, albeit with a game in hand. West Bromwich Albion and Tottenham Hotspur prop up the division without a point on the board, with Sunderland joining them in the drop zone on goal scored, which simultaneously kept Everton out of the bottom three. Wolverhampton Wanderers led the Championship on goal difference, with Preston heading Birmingham on the same virtue to stand second. Bristol City, Sheffield United and Reading competed the top six, with pressure from Swansea, Watford, QPR and Doncaster. Derby County, statistically the worst Premier League ever after their turgid 2007-08 Premier League campaign, struggled to stave off their drop and stand at the foot of the Championship, with Burnley and Crystal Palace joining them in the drop zone.

4 September 2008 - Two Premier League managers in succession resigned. Alan Curbishley quit after almost two years as West Ham manager, with Kevin Keegan abrupt second spell as Newcastle United manager ended.

11 September 2008 - Gianfranco Zola was named as Alan Curbishley's successor at West Ham.

13 September 2008 - Liverpool moved six points clear of rivals Manchester United after a 2-1 victory at Anfield. Liverpool kept up the head on Chelsea, staying level on points, but United's title defence took a stuttering start, lying 14th in the Premier League table.

26 September 2008 - Joe Kinnear became the new manager of Newcastle United.

27 September 2008 - Liverpool won the first Merseyside derby of the season, triumphing 2-0 at Goodison Park. Hull City's bright start to the campaign saw them defeat Arsenal 2-1 in their first visit to the Emirates.

30 September 2008 - Goal difference continued to separate both Chelsea and Liverpool at the top of the Premier League, with Aston Villa and Arsenal competing the top four. West Ham remained fifth and Hull City, tipped by many to be the leagues whipping boys in their first top flight campaign, sat sixth. Blackburn held the final European place. Tottenham Hotspur, still without a win, sat at the foot of the table, growing pressure on Juande Ramos. Newcastle United and Stoke City, playing their first top division campaign in 20 years, ended September in the drop zone. Wolves opened up a two points lead at the top of the Championship, as Midlands rivals Birmingham City sitting second. Reading, Burnley, recovering from their slow start, Sheffield Wednesday and Steel City rivals Sheffield United completing the top six. Nottingham Forest ended September at the foot of the Championship, joint in the drop zone by Barnsley and Doncaster.

25 October 2008 - With Tottenham's start to the season not getting better, Juande Ramos was relieved of his duties as manager. Harry Redknapp quit fellow Premier League side Portsmouth to become his successor.

26 October 2008 - Chelsea's historic 86-game unbeaten run at Stamford Bridge ended, as Xavi Alonso's strike earned Liverpool a 1-0 win in London.

28 October 2008 - Redknapp's successor at Portsmouth was former Arsenal defender and captain Tony Adams

31 October 2008 - Liverpool opened up a three point lead over Chelsea after winning all their games in October. The West Londoners remained second, with Arsenal climbing above Aston Villa in an unchanged top four. Hull's fast start showed no sign of slowing down as they were only kept out of the Champions League spots on goal difference. Manchester United began to pick up pace as they sat sixth, still eight points off the top. Tottenham remained bottom, but had renewed optimism with Harry Redknapp's appointment. Bolton Wanderers and Wigan Athletic completing the bottom three. Wolves had their lead at the top cut to one point by Birmingham, but both have opened a comfortable gap over the chasing pack. Cardiff, Reading, Burnley and Sheffield United competing the play-off places. Doncaster became the side rooted to the foot of the division, with Nottingham Forest and Southampton competing the drop zone.

30 November 2008 - Manchester United defeated City in the first Manchester derby of the season, winning 1-0 at the Etihad Stadium. This win moved United into third, and still five points behind leaders, this time which was Chelsea. Liverpool were second, level on points, but with a game in hand. Arsenal completed the top four. Aston Villa, Hull and Everton competed the European places. West Brom sank to the foot, staring down the barrels of an immediate return to the Championship. Blackburn, whom were challenging for Europe two months prior, and Sunderland completed the drop zone, with Newcastle ahead of their North East rivals on goal difference. Wolves opened up a six point lead on Birmingham City and thirteen on third placed Reading, citing their credentials as a Premier League place looks likely. Burnley, Sheffield United and Preston competing the top six. Doncaster and Nottingham Forest's battle remained gloomy, with Charlton, just two years after Premier League relegation, completing the bottom three.

4 December 2008 - Roy Keane departed his post as Sunderland manager, with the team in the Premier League drop zone. His successor was Scotsman Ricky Sbragia. Initially temporary, he took the role until the end of the season.

26 December 2008 - The highlight of the Boxing Day football was Hull City manager Phil Brown giving his side a public dressing down at half-time, as his side were 4-0 down at half-time at Manchester City. It didn't change much, as City ran out 5-1 winners.

31 December 2008 - Liverpool ended the year as the Premier League leaders, ahead of Chelsea by three points and Manchester United by eight points, although United had two games in hand. Aston Villa competed the top four. Arsenal, Everton and Wigan, a little over a month after being in the drop zone, competing the European places. West Brom remained bottom, with Blackburn and Stoke in the drop zone, although Middlesbrough, Tottenham, Sunderland and Newcastle close by. Wolves lead was cut to seven points for promotion, with Reading edging Birmingham out of the top two on goal difference. Cardiff, Burnley and Sheffield United ending 2008 in the play-offs, with close battles from Preston and Crystal Palace. Charlton were rooted to the foot of the table. Debt-riddled Southampton joined the Addicks below the dreaded line, and Doncaster's fortunes had upturned, now 22nd and in the drop zone on goal difference.

Honours

League tables

Premier League

Main article: 2008–09 Premier League

Manchester United won their 18th league title, drawing level with Liverpool for the record of most league titles. Liverpool pushed them all the way; they actually had a superior goal difference and completed the double over United, even winning 4–1 at Old Trafford in March, but also suffered 11 draws which enabled United to overtake and win the title. Chelsea broke records for all the wrong reasons as their 86-game unbeaten home record finally came to an end, with several surprise away losses effectively ending their title challenge (as well as resulting in manager Luiz Felipe Scolari being sacked), though they did win the FA Cup under caretaker manager Guus Hiddink. Arsenal finished fourth to claim the final Champions League spot, which meant that last season's top 4 all qualified for Europe's elite for the fifth time in six seasons.

Aston Villa had looked like breaking into the Champions League spots for most of the season, but a late collapse that saw them win just twice in their last 13 league games saw them join FA Cup finalists Everton in qualifying for the newly formed UEFA Europa League (which replaced the UEFA Cup). Fulham were the other team to qualify for Europe, marking a remarkable turnaround since Roy Hodgson had taken over 18 months earlier when relegation from the Premier League looked a certainty. This was not only the first time they had qualified for Europe via their league position, but in finishing 7th in the first tier, this was also the highest ever league finish in the club's history. Stoke City, despite being pre-season relegation favourites for many, defied their critics and finishing comfortably in mid-table.

West Bromwich Albion made an immediate return to the Championship after propping up the table for most of the season. Joining them on the final day were Middlesbrough and Newcastle United, ending 11 and 16-year spells in the top flight respectively, the latter going through four managers in Kevin Keegan, Joe Kinnear, Chris Hughton and even former striker Alan Shearer during the campaign. Sunderland survived relegation, thanks to the efforts of caretaker manager Ricky Sbragia after Roy Keane's surprise resignation in December; meaning next season they would be the only North-East team in top flight football. Despite a brilliant start to the season (Which included victories at Arsenal and Tottenham, a draw at Liverpool and a narrow 4–3 loss at Manchester United, and climbing as high as third place in October), Hull City won just one league game after the new year, but avoided relegation by a single point. Leading goalscorer: Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea) – 19

Football League Championship

Main article: 2008–09 Football League Championship

Five years after being relegated from the Premier League, Wolverhampton Wanderers returned to the top flight in style as champions, having been in the top 2 for virtually all the season since August. Birmingham City were runners-up, making this the fourth season in a row that they had swapped divisions. Burnley joined them by beating Sheffield United in the play-off final, earning their place in the top flight after a 33-year absence.

Cardiff City occupied a play-off position for much of the season, but agonisingly slipped out of them on the final day after obtaining just one point in their final four league games. Preston North End in contrast, took twelve points from their final four league games, including a 6–0 win over Cardiff to finish ahead of them by courtesy of having scored one goal more throughout the season. Doncaster Rovers who were favourites to go straight back down and in the second tier after half a century out, achieved a respectable mid-table finish ahead of former Premier League teams in Crystal Palace, Coventry City, Derby County, Nottingham Forest and Barnsley.

Charlton suffered their second relegation in three years, despite a run of just one loss out of eight games at the end of the season. Southampton also crashed out of the division amid financial worries, which also meant they would be starting the 2009–10 season in League One with a ten-point deduction for entering administration. Norwich were the third relegated club, meaning that all three relegated clubs had been in the Premier League as recently as 2005 and had long left the third tier (Charlton last competed in the third tier in 1981, Southampton and Norwich in 1960). Leading goalscorer: Sylvan Ebanks-Blake (Wolverhampton Wanderers) – 25

Football League One

Main article: 2008–09 Football League One

Leicester comfortably won promotion in their first-ever season at this level, leading the table for virtually the entire season, going half the season (23 consecutive games) unbeaten and losing just 4 games in the process. Nigel Pearson brought stability to the club in becoming their first manager in five years to last an entire season as they looked to turn the corner after several years of struggle. Peterborough were runners-up, winning their second successive promotion and entering the second tier for only the second time in their history. Scunthorpe grabbed the final play-off place on the last day of the season in a winner takes all match v 7th place Tranmere Rovers and won promotion through them, making an immediate return to the Championship after being relegated the previous year.

Stockport went into administration before the final match of the season and so suffered a 10-point penalty; however, there was no real chance of them being relegated as a result of this penalty, barring an extremely unlikely set of results on the final day.

Hereford made an immediate return to League Two, finishing bottom in their first campaign at this level for thirty years. Cheltenham improved late in the season, but it proved too late to prevent relegation. Crewe suffered a late collapse and went down to League Two, having looked safe a few weeks previously. Northampton were relegated on the final day of the season after losing at Leeds and other results went against them. Brighton had looked certainties for relegation in the closing weeks, but the appointment of Russell Slade as manager saw them claim 16 points out of a possible 21 to survive. Carlisle and Hartlepool both survived on the last day. Leading goalscorer: Simon Cox (Swindon Town) – 29, and Rickie Lambert (Bristol Rovers) – 29

Football League Two

Main article: 2008–09 Football League Two

Brentford made a return to League One as champions, the second club to win the fourth tier three times since Doncaster Rovers. Exeter won their second successive promotion, and on the final day of the season managed to pip Wycombe Wanderers for the runners-up spot. Wycombe themselves managed the final automatic promotion spot by virtue of a single goal over Bury. The play-offs were won by Gillingham, who made an immediate return to League One after the previous season's relegation.

Several teams suffered heavy points deductions during the season. Rotherham were docked 17 points at the start of the season and Darlington 10 points later on. Without these penalties they would have both qualified for the play-offs, but instead managed only mid table. Bournemouth also suffered a 17-point deduction pre-season, and halfway through it looked to be enough to cost them their League status; however, a fightback under new manager Eddie Howe saw them climb to safety and secure survival with a game to spare.

Luton suffered the heaviest deduction however, and the loss of 30 points proved too much for them to survive (though they would still have been relegated, albeit while finishing a place higher, had they only suffered the same 17-point deduction as Bournemouth and Rotherham). They suffered four back-to-back seasons without getting promoted and dropped out of the league, making them only the third English team to suffer a hat-trick of relegations, and the first to drop from the second tier to the Conference in successive years. The other relegated team was Chester City, who were statistically the worst team in the division and returned to the Conference after only five years. This would ultimately be the final season that the club completed, as they folded in March 2010, before the end of the following campaign. Grimsby would also have suffered relegation, if not for Luton's points deduction. Leading goalscorers: Simeon Jackson (Gillingham) – 20, Grant Holt (Shrewsbury Town) – 20, and Jack Lester (Chesterfield) – 20

Movements for the 2009–10 season

Clubs removed

• Team Bath (Conference South)
• Gresley Rovers (Northern Premier League, Division One South)

Women's football

Women's Premier League

Main article: 2008–09 FA Women's Premier League

National Division

Main article: 2008–09 FA Women's Premier League#National Division

Northern Division

Main article: 2008–09 FA Women's Premier League#Northern Division

Southern Division

Main article: 2008–09 FA Women's Premier League#Southern Division

FA Women's Cup

Main article: 2008–09 FA Women's Cup

FA Women's Premier League Cup

Main article: 2008–09 FA Women's Premier League Cup

Transfer deals

Main article: List of English football transfers 2008-09

Notable debutants

• 1 November 2008 – Jordan Henderson, 18-year-old midfielder, makes his debut as a substitute in Sunderland's 5–0 Premier League defeat at Chelsea.

Retirements

• 14 July 2008 – Neil Moss, 33, former Bournemouth goalkeeper.
• 20 August 2008 – Alan Stubbs, 36, former Bolton Wanderers, Celtic, Everton, Sunderland and Derby County defender.
• 28 August 2008 – Andy Cooke, 34, former Burnley, Stoke City, Bradford City, Darlington and Shrewsbury Town striker.
• 3 September 2008 – Rob Clare, 25, former Stockport County and Blackpool defender.
• 3 September 2008 – Antti Niemi, 36, former Southampton and Fulham goalkeeper.
• 25 September 2008 – Christian Roberts, 28, former Cardiff City, Exeter City, Bristol City and Swindon striker.
• 3 October 2008 – Damien Francis, 29, former Wimbledon, Norwich City, Wigan Athletic and Watford defensive midfielder.
• 11 November 2008 – Andy Cole, 37, former Arsenal, Fulham, Bristol City, Newcastle United, Manchester United, Manchester City, Portsmouth, Sunderland, Birmingham City, Burnley and Nottingham Forest striker.
• 6 December 2008 – Darren Anderton, 36, former Portsmouth, Tottenham Hotspur, Birmingham City, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Bournemouth attacking midfielder.
• 6 January 2009 – Paul Mitchell, 27, former Wigan Athletic, Halifax Town, Swindon, Wrexham, Barnet and Milton Keynes Dons defender and midfielder.
• 21 January 2009 – Shane Tudor, 26, former Wolverhampton Wanderers, Cambridge United, Leyton Orient and Port Vale winger.
• 22 April 2009 – Andy Booth, 35, former Huddersfield Town, Sheffield Wednesday and Tottenham Hotspur striker.
• 25 April 2009 – Fabian Wilnis, 38, former Ipswich Town and Grays Athletic defender.
• 15 May 2009 – Martin Laursen, 31, former Aston Villa defender.
• End of season – Richie Barker, 34, former Doncaster Rovers, Brighton & Hove Albion, Macclesfield Town, Mansfield Town, Hartlepool United and Rotherham United striker.

Deaths

• 3 July 2008 – Ernie Cooksey, 28, Grays Athletic midfielder, who died from skin cancer. Earlier in his career, he played for Oldham Athletic, Rochdale, Crawley Town and Boston United.
• 26 July 2008 – Gerry Lightowler, 67, former Bradford Park Avenue and Bradford City full back.
• 8 August 2008 – Selwyn Whalley, 74, former Port Vale defender, played 196 games in a 15-year association with the club.
• 9 August 2008 – Ken Griffiths, 78, former striker who played for Port Vale, Mansfield Town, and a host of lower league clubs.
• 26 August 2008 – Bob Mountford, 56, former striker who played for a number of lower-league clubs in the 1970s, most notably Port Vale, Rochdale, Huddersfield Town and Halifax Town.
• 28 August 2008 – Ronnie Briggs, 65, former goalkeeper who began his career at Manchester United, and later played for Swansea Town and Bristol Rovers. Capped twice by Northern Ireland.
• 4 September 2008 – Tommy Johnston, 81, former striker who is Leyton Orient's all-time top scorer with 123 goals. Other clubs include Norwich City, Newport County and Blackburn Rovers.
• 6 September 2008 – Bill Shorthouse, 86, former Wolverhampton Wanderers defender and vice-captain, who played 376 games for the club in their heyday of the 1940s and 1950s.
• 25 September 2008 – Jimmy Sirrel, 86, former Notts County manager who took the Magpies from the Fourth Division to the First (pre-Premier League) during two spells at the club. Also managed Brentford and Sheffield United.
• 27 September 2008 – Jimmy Murray, 72, former Wolverhampton Wanderers striker who scored more than 150 goals for the club, and won two league championships and one FA Cup title while at Wolves. Also played for Manchester City and Walsall.
• 27 September 2008 – Len Browning, 80, former Leeds United and Sheffield United striker whose career was cut short by tuberculosis.
• 29 September 2008 – Tommy Northcott, 76, former Torquay United striker who scored over 120 goals for the club. Also played for Cardiff City and Lincoln City.
• 2 October 2008 – John Sjoberg, 67, former Leicester City central defender who spent 15 seasons at Filbert Street. Also played briefly for Rotherham United.
• 9 October 2008 – Bert Loxley, 74, former Notts County wing-half and Lincoln City manager.
• 21 October 2008 – George Edwards, 87, former Welsh international winger who began his career as an amateur at Swansea Town, and later played professionally for Birmingham City and Cardiff City.
• 23 October 2008 – Brian Hillier, 65, former chairman of Swindon Town.
• 27 October 2008 – Colin Gale, 76, former Northampton Town centre half who made over 200 appearances for the club between 1956 and 1961. Also played for Cardiff City.
• 1 November 2008 – Dermot Curtis, 76, former Republic of Ireland international striker who played for Bristol City, Ipswich Town, Exeter City and Torquay United. To date, he is the only Exeter player to have played at senior international level.
• 8 November 2008 – Régis Genaux, 35, former Belgian international full-back who played half a season for Coventry City, in 1996–97. Also played for Standard Liège in his home country, and Italian side Udinese.
• 17 November 2008 – Peter Aldis, 81, former Aston Villa left-back, who spent 12 seasons at Villa Park, and was a member the Villa side that won the 1957 FA Cup.
• 24 December 2008 – Ray Deakin, 49, former Burnley defender and captain. Also played for Port Vale and Bolton Wanderers.
• 27 December 2008 – Bert "Sailor" Brown, 93, former inside-forward who played for Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and Charlton Athletic. Served in the Royal Air Force during World War II, and was an England wartime international.
• 31 December 2008 – Harry Oscroft, 82, former winger who played for Mansfield Town, Port Vale, and most notably Stoke City, where he scored 106 goals in 349 games during a ten-year spell at the club.
• 2 January 2009 – Ian Greaves, 76, former Manchester United full-back and Busby Babe who became a successful manager, most notably at Huddersfield Town, Bolton Wanderers and Mansfield Town, all of whom he guided to promotion.
• 5 January 2009 – Jimmy Rayner, 73, former striker who played for Grimsby Town, Peterborough United, Notts County and several non-league clubs. Scored an incredible 71 goals for non-league Grantham Town during the 1963–64 season.
• 6 January 2009 – Charlie Thomson, 78, former goalkeeper who played for Chelsea and Nottingham Forest. Won the league with Chelsea in 1954–55, and the FA Cup with Forest in 1959.
• 10 January 2009 – Jack Wheeler, 89, former goalkeeper with Birmingham City and Huddersfield Town, who became a trainer at Notts County for 26 years during two spells.
• 13 January 2009 – Tommy Casey, 78, former wing-half who most notably played for Newcastle United, where he won the 1955 FA Cup. Also played for Leeds United, Bournemouth, Portsmouth and Bristol City. Represented Northern Ireland in the 1958 World Cup.
• 20 January 2009 – Johnny Dixon, 85, former Aston Villa striker, who captained the side in the 1957 FA Cup Final, when they defeated Manchester United 2–1.
• 21 January 2009 – Vic Crowe, 76, former Aston Villa and Welsh international wing-half who spent 13 seasons at Villa Park as a player, and four years as manager. Also played for Peterborough United, and was an unused reserve in Wales' 1958 World Cup squad.
• 27 January 2009 – Aubrey Powell, 90, former Welsh international inside-forward who spent the majority of his club career at Leeds United, and also had spells at Everton and Birmingham City.
• 29 January 2009 – Roy Saunders, 78, former Liverpool and Swansea Town wing-half, who was later on Swansea's coaching staff. Never capped at senior level, but did play once for Great Britain XI against a "Rest of the World" team. Father of Dean Saunders.
• 2 February 2009 – Paul Birch, 46, former right-sided midfielder best known from his days at Aston Villa and Wolverhampton Wanderers. He also played for Doncaster Rovers, Exeter City and non-league Halesowen Town, and later worked as a coach at Forest Green Rovers and Birmingham City. Died from bone cancer.
• 7 February 2009 – Joe Haverty, 72, former Irish international winger who most notably played seven seasons for Arsenal, and also had spells at Blackburn Rovers, Millwall and several other clubs both in Britain and abroad. Capped 32 times by the Republic of Ireland.
• 9 February 2009 – Marc Burrows, 30, non-league striker and former Portsmouth trainee who is notable for scoring the fastest goal in football history in a reserve team match between Cowes Sports and Eastleigh in 2004.
• 9 February 2009 – Reg Davies, 79, former inside-forward who played for Southend United, Newcastle United, Swansea Town and Carlisle United, and was capped six times by Wales.
• 9 February 2009 – Neville Hamilton, 48, former Leicester City, Mansfield Town and Rochdale midfielder who had to retire at age 24 following a heart attack, and later spent many years as youth team coach at Leicester City.
• 15 February 2009 – Don Leeson, 73, former Barnsley goalkeeper, who later became a policeman.
• 2 March 2009 – Andy Bowman, 74, former Chelsea and Newport County wing-half, who also played for Hearts in his native Scotland.
• 4 March 2009 – Harry Parkes, 89, former full-back who spent his entire 18-year career at Aston Villa, where he played almost 350 games. Called up by the England national football team in 1946, but never capped.
• 7 March 2009 – Jimmy Hernon, 84, former winger who played for Leicester City, Bolton Wanderers, Grimsby Town and Watford.
• 9 March 2009 – Eddie Lowe, 83, former Aston Villa and Fulham wing-half, who played three times for England in 1947. Played 511 games for Fulham, and retired as the club's all-time appearance record holder (later broken by Johnny Haynes).
• 16 March 2009 – Alan Suddick, 64, former midfielder who most notably played for Newcastle United and Blackpool, and was capped by England at under-23 level. Known as a free-kick specialist.
• 29 March 2009 – Hugh Kelly, 85, former wing-half who spent his entire career at Blackpool, playing 428 league games for the Seasiders. Missed the famous "Matthews Final" in 1953 because of injury. Capped once by Scotland.
• 11 April 2009 – Jimmy Neighbour, 58, former Tottenham Hotspur, Norwich City and West Ham United winger. Was a member of the Tottenham side that won the 1971 League Cup.
• 12 April 2009 – Mike Keen, 69, former Queens Park Rangers, Luton Town and Watford midfielder who played nearly 700 league games in a 16-year career. Was player-manager at Watford, and also managed Northampton Town and Wycombe Wanderers.
• 19 April 2009 – Dicky Robinson, 82, former defender who played more than 400 games for Middlesbrough in the early post-war years, and played five times for the English Football League representative side. Also played for Barrow.
• 3 May 2009 – John Elsworthy, 77, former Ipswich Town wing-half, who spent 16 years at the club, and was part of Ipswich's 1961–62 league championship winning side. Was a reserve for Wales' 1958 World Cup squad, but was in fact never capped at any level.
• 3 May 2009 – Tommy Fowler, 84, former Northampton Town winger who played a club-record 521 league games for the club between 1946 and 1961. Also played for Aldershot.
• 4 May 2009 – Bobby Campbell, 86, former Scottish international who played as a winger for Falkirk, Chelsea and Reading, before going on to manage Dumbarton and Bristol Rovers.
• 14 May 2009 – Ken Hollyman, 86, former defender who played for Cardiff City and Newport County, making over 400 league appearances.
• 16 May 2009 – Peter Sampson, 81, former wing-half who made 340 league appearances for Bristol Rovers, his only professional club, between 1948 and 1961.
• 20 May 2009 – Alan Kelly, 72, former Preston North End goalkeeper who played a club-record 447 league games for the Lilywhites, and was capped 47 times by the Republic of Ireland. His sons Gary and Alan Jr also became professional goalkeepers.
• 25 May 2009 – Billy Baxter, 70, former Ipswich Town defender who spent eleven seasons at Portman Road, and was a member of the side that won the league championship in 1961–62. Also played for Hull City, Watford and Northampton Town.
• 23 June 2009 – Jackie Swindells, 72, former striker who is Altrincham's all-time top goalscorer with 195 goals in the Northern Premier League. Began his career at Manchester City, and also played for Blackburn Rovers, Accrington Stanley and Workington.

References

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