2008–09 Los Angeles Lakers season, Offseason, Departures
Ira Newble, who the Lakers picked up midway through the 2007–08 season, was not re-signed and remained a free agent for the rest of the season. Coby Karl was also cut from the roster with Sun Yue replacing him.


2008–09 Los Angeles Lakers season, Offseason, Signings
Sasha Vujacic was the first member of the Lakers to sign a contract with the team in the offseason. Still, contract negotiations dragged on longer than usual because he wasn’t signed to a tender offer from another team as a restricted free agent. Vujacic considered playing in Europe, but ultimately signed a 3-year contract worth $15 million with the Lakers.


2008–09 Los Angeles Lakers season, Offseason, Signings
Andrew Bynum, who is signed for the 2008–09 season, signed a 4-year contract extension for $57.4 million.


2008–09 Los Angeles Lakers season, Offseason, Signings
DJ Mbenga re-signed with the team for one year for approximately $850,000. Josh Powell was also signed to a one-year contract to replace the departed Ronny TuriafThe Lakers 2007 NBA draft pick Sun Yue, spent the entire 07-08 season playing for the Beijing Olympians in the ABA. He also played for China in the 2008 Summer Olympics. In the offseason the Lakers signed him to a 2-year deal.


2008–09 Los Angeles Lakers season, Offseason, Signings
Joe Crawford, C.J. Giles, Brandon Heath, and Dwayne Mitchell signed to the Lakers roster during the offseason but were all released before the season began.


2008–09 Los Angeles Lakers season, Offseason, Draft picks
Due to the midseason trade for Pau Gasol in February 2008, the Lakers only had a second round draft pick in 2008. With it they selected Joe Crawford from Kentucky. He signed with the Lakers on August 27, 2008, but was waived October 22, during the 2008–09 pre-season.


2008–09 Los Angeles Lakers season, Trades
On February 7, Vladimir Radmanović was traded to the Charlotte Bobcats in return for Adam Morrison and Shannon Brown. The deal was made largely to save money to be able to resign players during the off-season, notably Lamar Odom and Trevor Ariza.


2008–09 Los Angeles Lakers season, Trades
On February 18, backup center Chris Mihm was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies for a conditional second round draft pick in 2013. The trade saves the Lakers approximately $2 million in salary and luxury tax money.


2008–09 Los Angeles Lakers season, Season summary
When the Lakers made it all the way to the 2008 NBA Finals without starter Andrew Bynum, they were seen as the favorites from the Western Conference to return there in 2009. The team's original starting lineup was:


2008–09 Los Angeles Lakers season, Season summary
C – Andrew BynumPF – Pau GasolSF – Vladimir RadmanovićSG – Kobe BryantPG – Derek Fisher


2008–09 Los Angeles Lakers season, Season summary
Having Radmanović start at SF instead of Lamar Odom was seen as a way to space out the offense since two 7-footers, Bynum and Gasol, were in the starting lineup.


2008–09 Los Angeles Lakers season, Season summary
With Bynum starting and swingman Trevor Ariza healthy, the team started off the season with a 7-0 record. A week later they tied the record for best start in franchise history. They were unable to break the record the next game, losing to the Sacramento Kings on the road. After peaking at a 21-3 record the Lakers played 4 games in 5 days on the road. They finished the road trip with a sub-par 2-2 record and were facing a rematch of last year's finals against the Boston Celtics on Christmas Day.


2008–09 Los Angeles Lakers season, Season summary
Under the national spotlight the two teams kept the game close well into the fourth quarter, where the Lakers finally pulled away in the last 2:48 of the game. Phil Jackson earned his 1,000th career win in the game. The Lakers went to win 10 of 11 games, before losing back to back against the San Antonio Spurs and the Orlando Magic.


2008–09 Los Angeles Lakers season, Season summary
The losses revealed how injuries to role players Luke Walton and Jordan Farmar could affect the Lakers. Jackson eventually benched the under-performing Radmanović and was replaced by Walton in the starting lineup. Walton was chosen as starter because of his good passing skills and Jackson wanted to emphasize ball movement in the offense. Andrew Bynum was also criticized for his poor play, including a one rebound performance against the Houston Rockets on January 13. Bynum responded by going five straight games with a double-double including a career best 42 points against the Los Angeles Clippers. Around the same time Kobe Bryant also recorded two triple-doubles for the first and second time in his career since 2005.


2008–09 Los Angeles Lakers season, Season summary
On January 31, against the Memphis Grizzlies, Bynum left the game with an injured right knee after he was hit by Bryant driving to the basket. An MRI scan revealed he had a tear of the medial collateral ligament in his right knee and was expected to miss 8–12 weeks. To adjust to the injury Pau Gasol moved from power forward to center to replace Bynum and Lamar Odom was put into the starting lineup as power forward to replace Gasol. On February 7 the Lakers traded Vladimir Radmanović to the Charlotte Bobcats for Adam Morrison and Shannon Brown. Radmanović saw his role decrease drastically with the Lakers when he was taken out of the starting lineup, often coming in behind Walton and Trevor Ariza.


2008–09 Los Angeles Lakers season, Season summary
In a road game against the New York Knicks on February 2, Bryant scored 61 points on 61% shooting in a 126–117 win. Bryant's scoring outburst set a record for the most points ever scored at the historic Madison Square Garden, breaking Bernard King's record. Bryant's performance was also the highest single game point total of the 2008–2009 season in the NBA.


2008–09 Los Angeles Lakers season, Season summary
Aside from the team record, another result of the team's success was Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Phil Jackson being selected to play and coach in the 2009 NBA All-Star Game. Bryant was named the All-Star MVP along with former teammate Shaquille O'Neal. After the All-Star break, the Lakers won 17 of 19 games.


2008–09 Los Angeles Lakers season, Season summary
After playing 27 of their first 46 games at home (a league high) the Lakers were on the road for 22 of 31 games; which started with a six-game road trip and ended with a seven-game road trip. The Lakers won the first six games on the road, including wins against the top two teams in the Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers (Cleveland's first of two home losses during the regular season). After the All-Star break, the Lakers won six straight games, but then went 2-5 including going 0-3 on the road. The Lakers redeemed themselves by winning two road games in two days; including a win against the Houston Rockets who were on a 12-game home winning streak and their Western rivals (and second seeded team in the West) the San Antonio Spurs.


2008–09 Los Angeles Lakers season, Season summary
In March, after recommending Phil Jackson to, Luke Walton was moved to the bench and was replaced with Trevor Ariza. Jackson hoped he can spark the bench activity which dwindled throughout the year. The change caused a surge in Ariza's production and allowed Walton to play less minutes against opposing teams' starting players. The Lakers were dealing with giving up leads in games and receiving inconsistent production from the reserves.


2008–09 Los Angeles Lakers season, Season summary
After spending the entire season with the best record in the Western Conference the Lakers clinched the top record in the Western Conference on March 27. Since then they were in a race with the Cleveland Cavaliers to finish with the best record in the league and secure home court advantage throughout the playoffs. With a loss to the Sixers on March 17, the Lakers fell to second place overall. They eventually conceded the best regular-season record to Cleveland and clinched the #2 record in the league in April. On April 9, Bynum returned to the Lakers after missing 31 games. His first game back he started and scored 16 points off of 7-11 shooting and grabbed 7 rebounds.


2008–09 Los Angeles Lakers season, Post season, Utah Jazz
The Lakers went 65–17, and clinched the Pacific Division and home court advantage throughout the Western Conference playoffs. In the first round, the Lakers faced the eight-seeded Utah Jazz. The Lakers won Games 1 and 2 at the Staples, but lost Game 3 in Salt Lake City, following a game winner from Deron Williams. All three games saw the Lakers give up big leads, though they were able to still hold the series edge. After a 5-24 performance in Game 3, Kobe Bryant scored 38 points in Game 4 on 16 of 24 shooting in a road win. The Lakers won the series in Game 5 with a 107-96 win at home.


2008–09 Los Angeles Lakers season, Post season, Houston Rockets
In the second round the Lakers faced the Houston Rockets. In Game 1, the Lakers fell behind in the first quarter and never got into a rhythm. As a result, they lost their first home game of the postseason. The Lakers rebounded in Game 2 behind Bryant's 40 point performance and a double double by Gasol and tied the series up at 1 win each. The game was very intense and physical as Derek Fisher of the Lakers and Ron Artest got ejected and technical fouls were assessed to Bryant, Artest, Luis Scola, Luke Walton and Lamar Odom.


2008–09 Los Angeles Lakers season, Post season, Houston Rockets
The series moved to Houston for Game 3 which the Lakers won 108-94 to retake home court advantage in the series. The Lakers went on to lose Game 4 87-99, despite Rockets center Yao Ming missing the game (and rest of the series) with a broken foot. In Game 5 the Lakers blew out the Rockets by 40 points, tying the Rockets worst loss in franchise history. Game 6 in Houston was a decisive 95-80 Rockets win. The Rockets jumped out to a 17-1 lead to start the game and were up at half time by 16.


2008–09 Los Angeles Lakers season, Post season, Houston Rockets
Game 6 was the most watched basketball game ever on ESPN. The final game of the series was played in Los Angeles on May 17. The Lakers routed the Rockets and won the game 89-70. With 2:30 left in the game the Lakers were up 89-58 and Bryant sat out for most of the 4th quarter. Kobe Bryant scored 14 points his lowest amount of playoff points. In each game of the series the team that led at the first quarter won the game.


2008–09 Los Angeles Lakers season, Post season, Denver Nuggets
In the third round the Lakers faced the Denver Nuggets. In Game 1, the Lakers fell behind in the first quarter by up to 13 points. In the second quarter the Lakers found their rhythm and took a 55-54 lead at halftime. In the fourth quarter the game was close and Kobe Bryant scored 18 of his 40 points in that quarter to lead the Lakers to a 105-103 to take a 1-0 series lead. In Game 2, the Lakers took a 41-27 lead in the second quarter.


2008–09 Los Angeles Lakers season, Post season, Denver Nuggets
In the final minutes of the second quarter the Nuggets went on a 14-2 run to get themselves within 1. Ever since that the game was close. The Nuggets were able to get a win at Staples Center 106-103 which gave the Lakers their second home loss of the postseason. In Game 3, there was another close game which the winner was not decided until the Lakers pulled away at 12 seconds when Bryant made 2 free throws.


2008–09 Los Angeles Lakers season, Post season, Denver Nuggets
The Lakers stole home court advantage back from the Nuggets with a 41-point performance from Kobe Bryant (13 of them in the 4th quarter). The Lakers were able to stop Denver's 16 home game winning streak by defeating the Nuggets 103-97 to take a 2-1 series lead. The Denver Nuggets would even the series by defeating the Lakers 120-101, thanks in part to 49 free throw attempts. The Lakers 120 points were the most the franchise has ever given up on the postseason, and they also allowed Denver to score 43 points in the 4th quarter. The Lakers defeated the Nuggets at Staples Center 103-94 in Game 5. Game 6 was a blowout in which the Lakers defeated the Nuggets 119-92 to advance to its franchise's 30th NBA Finals appearance.


2008–09 Los Angeles Lakers season, Post season, Orlando Magic
While the Lakers were making their NBA record 30th Finals appearance, the Magic were entering only their second in franchise history. The Lakers had home court advantage due to having the better regular season record. The Lakers earned a blowout win in Game 1, defeating the Magic by 25 points. Game 2 was a tighter contest, with Magic guard Courtney Lee missing a game winning lay-up off an inbounds lob at the end of regulation. Instead, the game went into overtime and the Lakers prevailed. The series switched to Orlando for games 3, 4, and 5.


2008–09 Los Angeles Lakers season, Post season, Orlando Magic
In Game 3 the Magic shot 75% in the first half and 62.5% in the game, both NBA Finals records, to win by 4 and bring the series to 2-1. Game 4 was another close game. Derek Fisher hit two key 3-pointers, one with 4.6 seconds left in regulation to tie the game, and the other with 31.3 seconds to go in overtime. The Lakers moved within one win of their 15th championship by beating the Orlando Magic 99-91 to open a 3-1 series lead. The Lakers defeated the Magic in Game 5 to clinch their 15th NBA Championship with a 99-86 win, winning two consecutive games in Orlando.


2008–09 Los Angeles Lakers season, Post season, Orlando Magic
Fans celebrate with their 2009 NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers.


2008–09 Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team
The 2008–09 Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team  represented the University of Louisiana at Lafayette during the 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Ragin' Cajuns, led by fifth-year head coach Robert Lee, played their home games at the Cajundome and were members of the West Division of the Sun Belt Conference. They finished the season 10–20, 7–11 in Sun Belt play to finish in fourth place in the Western Divisional standings. They competed in the 2009 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament where they lost in the Quarterfinals to FIU. They were not invited to any other post-season tournament.


2008–09 Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns women's basketball team
The 2008–09 Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns women's basketball team represented the University of Louisiana at Lafayette during the 2008–09 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Ragin' Cajuns were led by second-year head coach Errol Rogers; they played their double-header home games at the Cajundome with other games at the Earl K. Long Gymnasium, which is located on campus. They were members in the Sun Belt Conference. They finished the season 4–27, 0–18 in Sun Belt play to finish dead-last (seventh place) in the West Division. They were eliminated in the first round of the Sun Belt Women's Tournament.


2008–09 Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns women's basketball team, Previous season
The Ragin' Cajuns finished the 2007–08 season 8–22, 4–14 in Sun Belt play to finish in dead-last (seventh place) in the West Division. They made it to the 2007 Sun Belt Conference Women's Basketball Tournament, losing in the first round game by a low score of 40-49 to the South Alabama Jaguars. They were not invited to any other postseason tournament.


2008–09 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team
The 2008–09 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team represented the University of Louisville during the 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, Louisville's 95th season of intercollegiate competition. The Cardinals competed in the Big East Conference and were coached by Rick Pitino, who was in his eighth season. The team played its home games at Freedom Hall.


2008–09 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team
The Cardinals finished the season 31–6, 16–2 and were regular season Big East Champions (their 1st). They defeated Syracuse 76–66 to win the 2009 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament (their 1st). They received an automatic bid to the 2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, earning the overall #1 seed and were placed in the Midwest Region. They were upset by #2 seed Michigan State in the Midwest Regional final, 64–52.


2008–09 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team, Preseason
After an elite eight appearance in the 2008 tournament, Louisville entered the 2008–09 season ranked third in both the AP and Coaches polls in part due to a strong recruiting class. The incoming freshman class is ranked fifth overall by Scouts.com, led by number one ranked center Samardo Samuels. Louisville has been picked by many analysts to be a potential Final Four contender, including Sports Illustrated and Dick Vitale.


2008–09 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team, Regular season
Despite the #3 preseason ranking, Louisville struggled in the non-conference losing to three unranked opponents. After beating Kentucky on an Edgar Sosa buzzer-beating three pointer, Louisville entered Big East play ranked #21. After beating South Florida easily, Louisville beat three straight ranked teams in close games: #17 Villanova, #12 Notre Dame in overtime, and previously unbeaten #1 Pittsburgh. Louisville would continue strong play, going undefeated in January and winning its first eight conference games before losing to #1 Connecticut on February 2. After beating St. John's, Louisville lost by their most lopsided margin since joining the Big East, a 33-point drubbing by Notre Dame. After that game, Louisville won its final seven regular season games to win the school's first ever regular season Big East championship.


2008–09 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team, Big East Tournament
By virtue of their outright regular-season title, Louisville received a double-bye in the Big East Tournament and played their first game in the tournament quarterfinals. In the tournament, Louisville beat Providence 73–55 in the quarterfinals and #10 Villanova 69–55 in the semifinals to advance to the school's first ever Big East Tournament championship game in four seasons in the conference. In the finals, Louisville won its first Big East Tournament Championship, defeating #18 Syracuse 76–66. Due to losses in the early conference tournament rounds by several teams above them, the Cardinals finished #1 in the final regular season AP and coaches' polls—the first time in school history they have been ranked #1 in either poll.


2008–09 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team, NCAA tournament
Louisville was awarded the top seed in the NCAA Tournament Midwest Region, as well as the overall #1 seed in the tournament. This is Louisville's second ever 1-seed. The Cardinals beat Morehead St. and Siena in the first two tournament rounds, advancing to face Arizona in the Sweet 16 on March 27. After beating Arizona by 39 points, Louisville faced Michigan St. in the Elite Eight and lost 64–52.


2008–09 Louisville Cardinals women's basketball team
The 2008–09 Louisville Cardinals women's basketball team represented the University of Louisville in the 2008–09 NCAA Division I basketball season. The Cardinals were coached by Jeff Walz, and the Cardinals played their home games at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky. The Lady Cardinals are a member of the Big East Conference and advanced to the NCAA championship match.


2008–09 Luge World Cup
The 2008–09 Luge World Cup was a multi race competition over a season for luge. The season started on 29 November 2008 and ended on 21 February 2009. The World Cup was organised by the FIL and sponsored by Viessmann. These cups served as qualifiers for the 2010 Winter Olympics luge events in Vancouver.


2008–09 Luton Town F.C. season
The 2008–09 season was the 123rd season in the history of Luton Town Football Club. The team's 24th-place finish in League One in 2007–08 meant the club competed in League Two. The club was docked 30 points at the start of the season; 10 by The Football Association for irregular matters involving player transfers, and 20 by the Football League for breaking rules on exiting administration. As a result, the club finished bottom of the league and was relegated to the Conference Premier. The season was not, however, without success – Luton beat Scunthorpe United 3–2 at Wembley to win the Football League Trophy for the first time.


2008–09 Luton Town F.C. season
This article covers the period from 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2009.


2008–09 Luton Town F.C. season, Background
Kevin Blackwell's Luton team had a woeful 2007–08 season, due in no small part to the chaos behind the scenes at the club. Chairman David Pinkney, who had only months before taken over the club promising success, took the club into administration on 22 November 2007, stating he would fund the club's overheads. The club had ten points deducted as punishment. Meanwhile, an FA probe on transfer irregularities dragged on, described by Pinkney as "a storm in a teacup".


2008–09 Luton Town F.C. season, Background
On 12 January, Kevin Blackwell and his assistants Sam Ellis and John Carver announced their intention to resign from the club on 9 February. This came after the administrator had sold captain Chris Coyne to Colchester United and midfielder David Edwards to Wolverhampton Wanderers for £350,000 and £675,000 respectively. Blackwell had managed to guide his team to an FA Cup replay against Liverpool at Anfield, which assisted financially, but failed to prevent further sales.


2008–09 Luton Town F.C. season, Background
On the same day as the replay at Anfield, 15 January, the administrator awarded "preferred bidder" status to Luton Town Football Club 2020, a consortium fronted by broadcaster and Luton Town supporter Nick Owen. 2020 loaned money to the club to keep them operating and, in return, were granted exclusive negotiation rights until the end of February 2008. Blackwell and his assistants were all sacked by the administrator on the same day, following a 5–0 defeat to Liverpool, to be replaced by former player Mick Harford, with Warren Neill installed as his assistant.


2008–09 Luton Town F.C. season, Background
On 26 February, the 2020 consortium had their bid for the club conditionally accepted by the administrator. This meant that they were now custodians of the club until the end of the season, and that the Football League would have to negotiate terms to return the Golden Share to Luton Town for the 2008–09 campaign.


2008–09 Luton Town F.C. season, Background
Luton were relegated to League Two following a 2–1 home defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion on 12 April. The defeat left the Hatters rooted to the bottom of the table on 33 points, three points behind fellow strugglers Port Vale, who were also relegated on the same day. Luton lost all of their remaining league games and finished the season in bottom place and 17 points adrift of safety.


2008–09 Luton Town F.C. season, Background
On 3 June, the FA's probe finally finished, and Luton were found guilty of 15 misconduct charges. The club was handed a ten-point deduction for the 2008–09 campaign, and a £50,000 fine. However, the situation soon went from bad to worse as, since the club had violated Football League rules by leaving administration without having made a Company Voluntary Arrangement with its creditors, the Football League only offered to return the Golden Share (that would allow the club to compete) to Luton on the condition that they play with a further twenty-point deduction. Luton appealed against the decision, but their appeal was thrown out. As a result, Luton Town began the 2008–09 season with an unprecedented −30 points, and facing a mighty fight merely to avoid relegation from the Football League for the first time in their history.


2008–09 Luton Town F.C. season, Review, Pre-season
Following the player sales in the previous season, Luton manager Mick Harford needed to practically rebuild his squad from scratch. A Football League-enforced transfer embargo that was in place until 48 hours before their first game of the season handicapped Harford further.


2008–09 Luton Town F.C. season, Review, Pre-season
Once the embargo was lifted on 8 August, the club signed nine players: former player Kevin Nicholls returned from a spell at Preston North End to captain the team; Claude Gnakpa joined from Peterborough United; Asa Hall signed from Birmingham City; George Pilkington arrived from Port Vale, and many others were signed including Michael Spillane and Chris Martin, both on season-long loans from Norwich City.


2008–09 Luton Town F.C. season, Review, August and September
Luton made an indifferent start to the season, beating Plymouth Argyle in the League Cup, before going down 5–1 in the next round at Reading. By the end of September, Luton had reached −19 points in the league. This included an opening day home defeat to Port Vale, but narrow away victories over both Gillingham and Exeter City.


2008–09 Luton Town F.C. season, Review, October
Luton's form soon slumped – after a draw away at Bradford City and a penalty shootout win over Brentford in the Football League Trophy, they lost two home games in a row. First Darlington inflicted defeat with a last minute winner in front of the Oak Road, then Luton were beaten 2–1 at home by Accrington Stanley in the first ever meeting between the two clubs.


2008–09 Luton Town F.C. season, Review, October
Meanwhile, manager Mick Harford continued to try to regenerate the squad – Irish winger Garreth O'Connor was drafted in from free agency, as was former Coventry City forward Wayne Andrews. A spate of injuries did not help matters – talismanic captain Nicholls had not played since August, forward Sam Parkin was struggling with a recurring ankle injury, and defender Pilkington was out after becoming injured in early September. Harford introduced several younger players into the squad, including 16-year-old left-back Jake Howells from the youth team, 19-year-old Harry Worley on loan from Leicester City and 20-year-old striker Tom Craddock on loan from Middlesbrough.


2008–09 Luton Town F.C. season, Review, October
Craddock made a big impact in his second game – scoring two goals in a 2–2 draw at Grimsby Town. Craddock earnt and scored a penalty after Grimsby had taken an early lead, and then, deep into injury time, crashed the ball into the far corner from long range to secure a vital point for Luton. Luton Town history was made in this game as striker Jordan Patrick pulled on the number 29 shirt to become the club's youngest ever player – at 16 years and 7 days, Patrick came off the bench to set up Craddock's equaliser.


2008–09 Luton Town F.C. season, Review, October
Craddock scored again in a 2–1 win against Bury to quickly establish himself in the team. Parkin, one of the club's highest earners, returned from injury during this game, but failed to score. He was sent out on loan to Leyton Orient days later, with a view to a permanent deal. Three days later, a Tuesday night game against AFC Bournemouth at Kenilworth Road was abandoned after only eight minutes due to bad weather.


2008–09 Luton Town F.C. season, Review, November
Luton's form was interrupted – a 3–0 annihilation followed that Saturday at Shrewsbury Town, putting a dent into Luton's charge for safety. A win in the Football League Trophy, against League One club Walsall, was the exception rather than the rule. Ahead of the next game, at home against Dagenham & Redbridge, Luton were boosted by the news that Craddock had extended his loan from Middlesbrough by a month.


2008–09 Luton Town F.C. season, Review, November
However, when Craddock injured his groin only days later, Luton were forced to bring in another striker – former Queens Park Rangers player Kevin Gallen was signed on loan for a month from MK Dons. Results did not improve, with consecutive losses to Rochdale and Brentford. An exit from the FA Cup followed, as Southend comfortably beat Luton 3–1 at Roots Hall.


2008–09 Luton Town F.C. season, Review, December
December saw a revival in fortunes, as the Hatters went the entire month unbeaten. After a thrilling 3–3 draw at Kenilworth Road in the rescheduled game against Bournemouth, Luton beat Barnet 3–1. A 0–0 draw at top-of-the-table Wycombe Wanderers followed a week later, before Luton beat Colchester United in the Football League Trophy to earn a place in the Southern Area Final against Brighton & Hove Albion.


2008–09 Luton Town F.C. season, Review, December
Craddock extended his loan from Middlesbrough by another month soon after. Luton's unbeaten run continued on Boxing Day; Ian Roper's goal six minutes into injury time sealing a point at Chesterfield. Two days later came a home win against Lincoln City, Roper scoring again after Martin had put Luton 2–0 ahead – the match finished 3–2. Luton were now only one point away from cancelling out their 30-point deduction.


2008–09 Luton Town F.C. season, Review, January
Winger Ian Henderson, available as a free agent, signed on New Year's Day and Gallen's loan was also extended. To make room on the wage bill, O'Connor and Kevin Watson both left after short careers as Luton players. The club then had a bad run of results, including a 5–1 defeat at Darlington. Before the Darlington game, Luton signed Colchester United forward Akanni-Sunday Wasiu on loan for a month, while extending goalkeeper Conrad Logan's stay for a further month and signing Gallen on a permanent deal. Andrews was released soon after.


2008–09 Luton Town F.C. season, Review, January
In the first leg of the Football League Trophy Southern Area Final on 20 January, Luton travelled to Brighton & Hove Albion and battled to a 0–0 draw, giving them a slight advantage for the second leg at Kenilworth Road. A controversial 3–3 draw with Bradford City saw both teams' managers, Mick Harford and Stuart McCall, and Luton captain Nicholls all set dates for FA hearings following a bizarre refereeing performance from Trevor Kettle.


2008–09 Luton Town F.C. season, Review, January
Craddock signed an £80,000 permanent deal on 27 January, with Drew Talbot leaving for Chesterfield on loan to make room on the wage budget. Luton's poor run of league form continued.


2008–09 Luton Town F.C. season, Review, February
A series of postponements due to adverse weather meant the club did not play for another two weeks and, when they did, they lost 2–1 to Dagenham & Redbridge.


2008–09 Luton Town F.C. season, Review, February
17 February saw Brighton & Hove Albion return for the second leg of the Football League Trophy Southern Area Final. Luton took the lead after 59 seconds through Craddock, following a defensive mix-up. Brighton equalised with a Nicky Forster goal before David Livermore was sent off for a dangerous tackle on Spillane. Neither club made a breakthrough in the remainder of the match, which went to a penalty shoot-out. Luton's on-loan goalkeeper from Derby County, Lewis Price, saved from Jason Jarrett and Chris Birchall to take Luton into the final against Scunthorpe United on 5 April at Wembley Stadium. This appeared to have given Luton something of a confidence boost as they then went four games unbeaten in the league. Craddock scored again against Shrewsbury Town as Luton won 3–1, and carried on his scoring form over the next month.


2008–09 Luton Town F.C. season, Review, March
The next major game was on 17 March against relegation rivals Grimsby Town. Grimsby boss Mike Newell, formerly manager of Luton Town, was suing the club for unfair dismissal. Newell received an angry reception, which turned to jeers when Hall scored a last minute winner to give Luton the three points.


2008–09 Luton Town F.C. season, Review, March
Macclesfield Town then visited Kenilworth Road, and a Craddock penalty was enough to secure a 1–0 victory for Luton – the first time the club had secured two straight wins all season. Meanwhile, the club announced they had sold out their allocated 30,000 tickets for the Football League Trophy final almost immediately, and were given another 8,500 which went just as fast – setting a record for the most fans at Wembley Stadium from one club. However, Luton were told they would not be given any more due to "segregation issues". As a result, the final saw 40,000 Wembley seats empty.


2008–09 Luton Town F.C. season, Review, March
26 March, loan deadline day, saw Luton bring in experienced midfielder David Livermore from Brighton & Hove Albion on a month's loan. Meanwhile, young striker Ryan Charles moved to Kettering Town on loan, also for a month. Two days later the Hatters travelled to Morecambe, unbeaten in twelve games. Goals from Martin and Gallen saw Luton beat Morecambe 2–1 and, in doing so, managed three straight wins for the first time since the 2004–05 League One winning season. Luton were now only eight points behind Chester City and with a game in hand. The match that Tuesday against Rotherham United, Luton's game in hand, could not have been more vital, but the Hatters ended up being defeated 4–2 and suffered a severe blow to their hopes of escaping relegation.


2008–09 Luton Town F.C. season, Review, March
The FA hearings from the Bradford City game in January rolled around for Nicholls, Mick Harford and the club on 23 March – Harford was fined a total of £1,000, the club £2,000, and Nicholls £1,000. Nicholls was also handed a five-match ban to begin on 7 April – however, the club lodged an appeal against the ban on 31 March, delaying its effect until after the appeal was heard.


2008–09 Luton Town F.C. season, Review, April
April began with the news that the club had won their case against former manager Mike Newell. Newell claimed that in his contract he had been entitled to 10% of any profit on players sold. However, his claim for £400,000 in unpaid transfer money was not upheld by a Football League panel on 31 March.


2008–09 Luton Town F.C. season, Review, April
5 April finally came, and Luton faced Scunthorpe United at Wembley Stadium in the Football League Trophy final as 40,000 Luton supporters converged on Wembley, dwarfing Scunthorpe's support of 13,000. Brian Mawhinney, Chairman of the Football League, was roundly booed by the Luton support before the game, in protest at the huge point deductions imposed at the start of the season. When the game got going, however, it was Scunthorpe who drew first blood in a pulsating match. Gary Hooper put Scunthorpe ahead early on with a low shot past Dean Brill.


2008–09 Luton Town F.C. season, Review, April
Craddock set up Martin with a superb cross a few minutes later, and Martin chested the ball down to shoot into the far corner to make it 1–1. In the second half, Craddock scored a half-volley from the edge of the box to make it 2–1, but Grant McCann forced extra time with a spectacular strike with only minutes left.


2008–09 Luton Town F.C. season, Review, April
Craddock was substituted and replaced by French defender Gnakpa, played in an unusually forward role by Mick Harford – it was a gamble which paid off, as Gnakpa ran onto a long ball from Keith Keane and got a touch that carried the ball over Joe Murphy and into the net, sending the supporters wild. Luton clung on, with man-of-the-match captain Nicholls at the centre of the game, and held on to win the match 3–2 and bring the Football League Trophy to Luton for the first time.


2008–09 Luton Town F.C. season, Review, April
Only eight days later, Luton lost their League status – Lincoln City dealt another blow, as Luton were held to a 0–0 draw, and the final nail in the coffin came two days later as, on 13 April 2009, Luton Town were finally relegated from The Football League after a spell of 89 years. Chesterfield held Luton to a draw and, coupled with former Luton manager Mike Newell's Grimsby Town side winning, this meant the club's survival in the league became mathematically impossible to achieve.


2008–09 Luton Town F.C. season, Review, April
I found out at five to five. I looked at the clock in the dressing room and said to the players: "Remember this time – five to five, on 13 April. This is the rebirth of Luton Town Football Club.


2008–09 Luton Town F.C. season, Review, April
Relegation opened the question of whether Luton would be allowed to enter the Football League Trophy during the 2009–10 season. Luton soon submitted an application to the Football League, asking for special dispensation to defend their title.


2008–09 Luton Town F.C. season, Review, April
A Rossi Jarvis goal saved a point at Barnet on 18 April. Nicholls was sent off late on for collecting two yellow cards, and Brill saved a penalty from former Hatter Paul Furlong. Wycombe Wanderers then came to Kenilworth Road, but despite Luton forcing pressure on the promotion contenders, Wycombe managed a goal on the break following an error by Sol Davis and Luton failed to find an equaliser. Luton's last home game in the Football League was a 1–1 draw with promotion chasers Rochdale, with Craddock scoring a penalty before Adam Rundle rescued a point for the visitors.


2008–09 Luton Town F.C. season, Review, April
27 April saw the appeal against the Nicholls ban heard at the FA, and the decision was upheld, meaning that Nicholls would miss the match against Brentford on 2 May, as well as the first four games of the 2009–10 season. Two days later, long-serving club secretary Cherry Newbury, an employee since 1978, finally left by mutual consent after a period of suspension on full pay starting in January. Newbury had been secretary since 1994, and was implicated as the employee who drew The Football Association's attention to former directors paying agents through the club's holding company.


2008–09 Luton Town F.C. season, Review, May and June
Luton Town bowed out of the Football League after 89 years with a 2–0 defeat at champions Brentford.


2008–09 Luton Town F.C. season, Review, May and June
The first signing of the summer for Luton's time in non-League football was announced on 26 May, as lifelong Luton Town supporter Andy Burgess signed a two-year contract, joining from Rushden & Diamonds on a free transfer. The next day saw five players released – Parkin, Dean Morgan, Paul McVeigh, Davis and Brill all left as their contracts had ended. Adam Newton signed a two-year contract on 28 May following his release from Brentford, as regeneration of the squad continued. Gallen signed a new one-year deal the same day. Young defender Howells signed his first professional deal on 2 June. Three days later, Liam Hatch arrived on loan from Peterborough United for the 2009–10 season. Central defender Alan White rejoined Luton on 8 June, nine years after leaving in 2000.


2008–09 Luton Town F.C. season, Review, May and June
On 15 June, the request to defend the Football League Trophy title was turned down. Experienced goalkeeper Mark Tyler signed a two-year deal two years later.


2008–09 Luxembourg Cup
The 2008–09 Luxembourg Cup is the eighty-fourth season of Luxembourg's annual cup competition. It began on 3 September 2008 with Round 1 and ended on 30 May 2009 with the Final held at a neutral venue. The winners of the competition will qualify for the second qualifying round of the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League. CS Grevenmacher are the defending champions.


2008–09 Luxembourg Cup, Round 1
Fifty-two teams from Division 2 (IV) and Division 3 (V) entered in this round. Forty of them competed in matches, with the other twelve teams were awarded a bye. The games were played on September 3, 2008.


2008–09 Luxembourg Cup, Round 1
Bye : US Boevange, CS Bourscheid, FC Brouch, Vinesca Ehnen, Excelsior Grevels, FC Kopstal, AS Luxembourg-Porto, Marisca Mersch, US Moutfort, US Reisdorf, Résidence Walferdange, Yellow Boys Weiler


2008–09 Luxembourg Cup, Round 2
The winners of Round 1 competed in this round. The games were played on September 28, 2008.


2008–09 Luxembourg Cup, Round 3
The winners of Round 2 competed in this round, as well as twenty-eight teams from Division 1 (III), which entered the competition in this round. The games were played on November 2, 2008.


2008–09 Luxembourg Cup, Round 4
Twenty-two winners of Round 3 competed in this round, as well as fourteen teams from the Division of Honour (II), which entered the competition in this round. The games were played on December 7, 2008.


2008–09 Luxembourg Cup, Round 5
Eighteen winners of Round 4 competed in this round, as well as fourteen teams from the National Division, which entered the competition in this round. The games were played on February 21, 2009.


2008–09 Luxembourg Cup, Round 6
The winners of Round 5 competed in this round. The games were played on April 10 and 11, 2009.


2008–09 Luxembourg National Division
The 2008–09 Luxembourg National Division (also known as BGL Ligue due to sponsorship reasons) was the 95th season of top-tier football in Luxembourg. It started on 2 August 2008 and ended on 24 May 2009.


2008–09 Luxembourg National Division
F91 Dudelange successfully defended their title and qualified for the UEFA Champions League. Runners-up FC Differdange 03 and third-placed CS Grevenmacher, as well as domestic cup winners UN Käerjeng 97, will participate in the UEFA Europa League. SC Steinfort and Avenir Beggen were directly relegated while US Rumelange retained their National Division status via relegation play-off.


2008–09 Luxembourg National Division, Team changes from 2007–08
FC Victoria Rosport and CS Pétange were relegated to the Division of Honour after finishing 13th and 14th in 2007–08. They were replaced by Division of Honour 2007–08 champions US Rumelange and runners-up CS Fola Esch.


2008–09 Luxembourg National Division, Team changes from 2007–08
FC Wiltz 71 as 12th-placed team had to compete in a single play-off match against 3rd-placed Division of Honour sides SC Steinfort. Steinfort won the match, 2–0, and thus gained promotion to the National Division while Wiltz were relegated as well.


2008–09 Luxembourg National Division, Relegation play-offs
12th placed US Rumelange competed in a relegation play-offs match against the third placed team of Luxembourg Division of Honour, FC Erpeldange 72.


2008–09 MJHL season
The 2008–09 season was the Manitoba Junior Hockey League's (MJHL) 92nd season of operation.


2008–09 MOL Liga season
The 2008–2009 MOL Liga Season was the first season played, of this international ice hockey. Six teams from Hungary and two from Romania participated.


2008–09 MOL Liga season, Teams
Alba Volán Székesfehérvár II Budapest Stars Dunaújvárosi Acélbikák Ferencvárosi TC HC Csíkszereda Progym Hargita Gyöngye Miskolci JJSE SC Miercurea Ciuc Steaua București Újpesti TE


2008–09 MTN Domestic Championship
The MTN Domestic Championship is the premier List A cricket championship in South Africa. This was the 28th time the championship was contested. Each team plays each other twice in a home and away leg. The top four teams progress to the semi-finals, with the winners of the semi-finals going through to the final.


2008–09 MTN Domestic Championship
The series starts on 14 October 2008 and plays through until the final on 17 January 2009.


2008–09 Maccabi Haifa F.C. season
The 2008–09 season was Maccabi Haifa's 51st season in Israeli Premier League, and their 27th consecutive season in the top division of Israeli football.


2008–09 Maccabi Haifa F.C. season
The season was a great success for the club winning the league and coming extremely close to winning the State Cup to go with it.


2008–09 Macedonian First Football League
The 2008–09 Macedonian First League was the 17th season  of the Macedonian First Football League, the highest football league of Macedonia. It began on 3 August 2008 and ended on 31 May 2009. Rabotnichki were the defending champions, having won their third title the previous year. Bashkimi withdrew from the championship due to financial reasons.


2008–09 Macedonian First Football League, Promotion and relegation
1 Bashkimi was withdraw from the First League due to financial reasons.


2008–09 Macedonian First Football League, Results
The schedule consists of three rounds. During the first two rounds, each team played each other once home and away for a total of 20 matches. The pairings of the third round were then set according to the standings after the first two rounds, giving every team a third game against each opponent for a total of 30 games per team.


2008–09 Macedonian Football Cup
The 2008–09 Macedonian Football Cup was the 17th season of Macedonia's football knockout competition. FK Rabotnichki defended their title, having won their second title.


2008–09 Macedonian Football Cup, First round
The draw was held on 21 June 2008 in Skopje. Matches were played on 17 September 2008.


2008–09 Macedonian Football Cup, Second round
The draw was held on 22 September 2008 in Skopje. The first legs were played on 22 October 2008 and second on 29 and 30 October 2008.


2008–09 Macedonian Football Cup, Quarter-finals
The draw was held on 6 November 2008 in Skopje. The first legs were played on 26 November 2008 and the second were played on 7 and 10 December 2008.


2008–09 Macedonian Football Cup, Semi-finals
The draw was held on 25 December 2008 in Skopje. The first legs were played on 8 April 2009 and the second were played on 6 May 2009.


2008–09 Macedonian Second Football League
The 2008–09 Macedonian Second Football League was the seventeenth season since its establishment. It began on 2 August 2008 and ended on 30 May 2009.


2008–09 Magyar Kupa
The 2008–09 Magyar Kupa was the sixty-ninth season of Hungary's annual knock-out cup competition. It started with the first games of Round 1 on 2 August 2008 and ended with the Final held on 26 May 2009. The winners earned a place in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League. Debreceni VSC were the defending champions.


2008–09 Magyar Kupa, Round 5
The first legs were played between 8 and 10 October 2008. The second legs were played on 21 and 22 October 2008.


2008–09 Magyar Kupa, Quarterfinals
The first legs were played on 10 and 11 March 2009 and the second legs were played on 17 and 18 March 2009.


2008–09 Magyar Kupa, Semifinals
The first legs were played on 14 and 15 April 2009 and the second legs were played on 21 and 22 April 2009.


2008–09 Maine Black Bears women's ice hockey season
The 2008-09 season was the 11th season for the Black Bears. The Black Bears had an overall record of 5 wins, 23 losses and 5 ties. Their Hockey East conference record was 4 wins, 15 losses and 2 ties. Jennie Gallo led the team in goals for the second consecutive year. Myriam Croussette led all freshman in scoring and Jenna Ouellette led the team with five power play goals


2008–09 Malian Première Division
The 2008–09 Malian Première Division was the 44th season of the Highest-Level of Professional Soccer in Mali.


2008–09 Malian Première Division, Overview
Though the competition's structure has varied over time, the size of the league remained the same from the previous season. The championship was once again contested by fourteen teams between December 2008 and September 2009. The league was conducted over 26 rounds as well with all teams playing against each other twice on a home and away basis.


2008–09 Malian Première Division, Overview
The structure by which promoted clubs are chosen has changed over time, but as of 2008, the two promoted teams are chosen from regional league tournaments. One club comes from Malian Groupe B league soccer tournament (for teams near Bamako and the west) and the other is the Malian Groupe A league which is a tournament for clubs outside Bamako. Al Farouk were promoted from Group A and Jeanne d'Arc FC were promoted from Group B.


2008–09 Malian Première Division, Overview
The season featured 183 matches, a total of 421 goals were scored, more than last season


2008–09 Malian Première Division, Overview
Djoliba AC qualified into the 2010 CAF Champions League while CO Bamako qualified into the 2010 CAF Confederation Cup.


2008–09 Maltese FA Trophy
The 2008–09 Maltese FA Trophy was the 71st season since its establishment. It features 20 teams from Maltese Premier League and First Division. The competition started on 25 October 2008 and ended on 30 May 2009 with the Final.


2008–09 Maltese FA Trophy
Birkirkara were the defending champions, but were eliminated in the semi-finals by Valletta.


2008–09 Maltese FA Trophy, Results
When the draw was conducted four teams received a bye to the Quarterfinals. Birkirkara received a bye because they won the 2007–08 Maltese FA Trophy. Other three teams qualifying directly to the Quarterfinals are Valletta, Marsaxlokk and Sliema Wanderers, for being (except Birkirkara) three best-placed teams in last year's Premier League.


2008–09 Maltese FA Trophy, Results, First Round
In the First Round entered Premier League teams placed 4th to 10th and 10 First Division teams. The matches were played on 25, 26 October, 1 and 2 November  2008.


2008–09 Maltese FA Trophy, Results, Second Round
In this round entered winners from the previous round. The matches were played on 8 and 9 November 2008.


2008–09 Maltese FA Trophy, Results, Quarterfinals
In this round entered winners from the previous round and four teams that had received a bye. The matches were played on 7 February 2009. All 8 teams from this round were from the Premier League. Marsaxlokk, Birkirkara, Valletta and Sliema won their ties and advanced to the semifinals.


2008–09 Maltese FA Trophy, Results, Semifinals
The matches were played on 7 and 8 March 2009. Holders Birkirkara met the same team they met the previous year, Valletta. But this time they lost and it was Valletta who reached the final. In the other semifinal Sliema beat Marsaxlokk 4–3 on penalties after the match finished in a 1–1 draw.


2008–09 Maltese First Division
The Maltese First Division 2008–09 season (known as BOV First Division 2008–09 for sponsorship reasons) started in October 2008 and ended in May 2009. Pieta Hotspurs and Mqabba were relegated from the Premier League. The promoted teams were San Gwann and Rabat Ajax. Dingli Swallows and Vittoriosa Stars finished the league as joint first with the same number of points. Both were promoted but a decider had to be played to decide who the champions would be. The decider was won by Dingli by the score of 2–1. At the other end Rabat Ajax and Senglea Athletics were relegated to the Second Division.


2008–09 Maltese First Division, Teams
These teams will contest the Maltese First Division 2008-09 season:


2008–09 Maltese First Division knock-out
The First Division Knock-Out 2008-09 is a group and knock-out competition for football teams from the Maltese First Division. This year's format differs from the previous 2 years in that the simple knock-out has been replaced by two groups, the top two from each qualifying for the semi-finals. The competition started on 13 September 2008 and finished on 10 May 2009, with the final. The final was contested between First Division champions Dingli and St. Patrick. St. Patrick won 2-0.


2008–09 Maltese Premier League
The Maltese Premier League 2008–09 was the 94th season of the Maltese Premier League, the top-tier Association Football competition in Malta. It began on 23 August 2008 with a scoreless draw between Floriana and Hamrun Spartans; and ended on 24 May 2009. The first goal in the season was scored by Ivan, who played for Qormi. Hibernians were crowned champions on 23 May 2009, surpassing rivals Valletta by two points and winning their tenth title.


2008–09 Maltese Premier League, Competition modus
In the First Round, every team played each opponent twice, once home and once away, for a total of 18 games. The league was then split in two pools. Earned points were halved. Teams that finished in positions 1–6 compete in the "Championship Pool" and teams finishing in positions 7–10 play in the "Relegation Pool".


2008–09 Maltese Premier League, Second round, Relegation Pool, Deciding game
Because Tarxien Rainbows, Msida Saint-Joseph and Hamrun Spartans were tied on points after all matches played, their head-to head results in Relegation Pool were decisive. Hamrun Spartans had the fewest points in those matches and were therefore immediately relegated. However, Tarxien Rainbows and Msida Saint-Joseph were equal on points in their two matches and they played a decision game to determine the second relegated team. The match was played on 8 May 2009 at Hibernians Ground. However, in the wake of a corruption scandal, both Hamrun Spartans and Msida Saint-Joseph were returned to the Premier League.


2008–09 Maltese Second Division
The 2008–09 Maltese Second Division season, also known as the 2008–09 BOV 2nd Division  due to sponsorship reason) started on 27 September 2008 and ended on 10 May 2009. Mellieha and Marsa were relegated from the First Division. The promoted teams were Gozo FC and Zebbug Rangers. Zebbug had to start the season with a five point deduction due to incidents which occurred the previous season. The 2008–09 Maltese Second Division was won by Balzan Youths. The runners-up were Melita, who finished 2 points off Lija Athletic. Mgarr United and Marsa were relegated to the Third Division. This was the third straight relegation for Marsa, who 3 years previously were competing in the Premier League and now have to compete in the Third Division. Naxxar Lions were also relegated as they lost in the promotion-relegation play-offs to Santa Lucia. The play-offs were won by Zurrieq.


2008–09 Maltese Second and Third Division Knock-Out
The 2008–09 Second and Third Division Knock-Out (known as quick Keno Second and Third Division Knock-Out for sponsorship reasons) was a knockout tournament for Maltese football clubs playing in the Second and Third Division. The winners were Melita which successfully defended this title from their win in the previous season.


2008–09 Maltese Third Division
The Maltese Third Division 2008–09 (known as the BOV 3rd Division 2008–09 due to sponsorship reasons) is the 9th season of the Maltese Third Division. It started in September 2008 and ended in late May 2009, with the promotion play-off finals. This division is divided into two sections: Section A, with ten teams and Section B, with nine. The winners from both sections will face each other in a play-off where the winner is crowned as champion of this division, but both teams will still be given promotion to the Second Division.


2008–09 Maltese Third Division
Gharghur were the winners of Section A, while Gzira United were the winners of Section B. Gzira United finished the season as overall champions after they beat Gharghur 3–0.


2008–09 Maltese Third Division
Zurrieq were also promoted after winning the promotion play-offs, beating Santa Lucia on penalties in the final. Santa Lucia beat Naxxar Lions in the semi-final.


2008–09 Manchester City F.C. season
The 2008–09 season was Manchester City Football Club's seventh consecutive season playing in the Premier League, the top division of English football, and its twelfth season since the Premier League was first created with Manchester City as one of its original 22 founding member clubs. Overall, it was the team's 117th season playing in a division of English football, the majority of which have been spent in the top-flight.


2008–09 Manchester City F.C. season, Changes in ownership
The club started the season under the private ownership of UK Sports Investments Limited (UKSIL), a company controlled by former Thailand prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, but it was announced on the morning of Monday 1 September 2008 (the last day of the summer transfer window) that Abu Dhabi-based Abu Dhabi United Group Investment and Development Limited (ADUG) had completed a takeover of Manchester City in a deal worth a reported £200 million.


2008–09 Manchester City F.C. season, Changes in ownership
This transaction made Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan the new owner of the club, although initially he kept a very low profile and Dr. Sulaiman Al-Fahim, who was the board member of ADUG that had presided over the signing of the deal at the Emirates Palace Hotel, was widely believed to be the new owner and potential chairman of the club. However, before the takeover was finally completed, wealthy backer Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan became more prominent and it was eventually made clear that Al-Fahim would not be joining the board at Manchester City, with Khaldoon Al Mubarak being appointed as the club's new chairman.


2008–09 Manchester City F.C. season, Changes in ownership
The last-minute takeover of the club on transfer "deadline-day" was further capped, mere minutes before the summer transfer window closed, with the news that the club had beaten Chelsea to the signing of Robinho from Real Madrid for a British record transfer fee of £32.5 million.


2008–09 Manchester City F.C. season, Kit, Kit information
For this season the shirt sponsor for all of the club's kits continued to be the previous season's sponsor, Thomas Cook, while the team kits were produced by the previous season's supplier, Le Coq Sportif. The home and away kits were unveiled by the club on 27 June 2008, with the new away kit representing a more modern rendition of the club's highly popular red and black striped shirts and black shorts that had first been introduced as a club kit by Malcolm Allison back in 1968 in imitation of A.C. Milan's classic colors.


2008–09 Manchester City F.C. season, Kit, Kit information
A striking new "blaze orange"/navy third kit completed the collection of kits, while the team's main home strip shed the previous season's thin white vertical stripes from the shirts and returned to the solid sky blue shirts that are more traditionally associated with the team. As well as all three of the team kits being new this season, the previous season's two-tone green goalkeeper strip was also replaced with two new strips for the goalkeepers.


2008–09 Manchester City F.C. season, Kit, Kit information
The main goalkeeper strip, intended primarily for use with the home team colours, sported an all gold shirt trimmed with black on the shoulders and sides with matching all black shorts and socks, whilst the second mint-green strip, with the shirts similarly trimmed in black, was introduced to supplement it on both home and away fixtures.


2008–09 Manchester City F.C. season, Historical league performance
Prior to this season, the history of Manchester City's performance in the English football league hierarchy since the creation of the Premier League in 1992 is summarised by the following timeline chart – which commences with the last season (1991–92) of the old Football League First Division (from which the Premier League was formed).


2008–09 Manchester City F.C. season, Competitive games, Premier League, Results summary
Last updated: 24 May 2009 (end of season). Source: Premier League results 2008–09


2008–09 Manchester City F.C. season, Competitive games, Premier League, Points breakdown
Points against "Big Four" teams: 4 Points against promoted teams: 10


2008–09 Manchester City F.C. season, Competitive games, Premier League, Biggest & smallest
Biggest home win: 6–0 vs. Portsmouth, 21 September 2008 Biggest home defeats: 1–3 vs. Chelsea, 13 September 2008 & vs. Fulham, 12 April 2009 Biggest away win: 0–3 vs. Sunderland, 31 August 2008 Biggest away defeats: 4–2 vs. Aston Villa, 17 August 2008 000000002–0 vs. Middlesbrough, 29 October 2008 & vs. Bolton Wanderers, 2 November 2008 000000000& vs. Portsmouth, 14 February 2009 & vs. Arsenal, 4 April 2009 000000000& vs. Manchester United, 10 May 2009 Biggest home attendance: 47,331 vs. Chelsea, 13 September 2008 Smallest home attendance: 36,635 vs. West Ham United, 24 August 2008 Biggest away attendance: 75,464 vs. Manchester United, 10 May 2009 Smallest away attendance: 18,214 vs. Wigan Athletic, 28 September 2008


2008–09 Manchester City F.C. season, Playing statistics, Starting XI
Source: Squad stats and Start formations. Only competitive matches. Using the most used start formation. Ordered by position on pitch (from back right to front left).


2008–09 Manchester City F.C. season, Playing statistics, Starting XI
Last updated: 21 August 2011Source: Appearance and Starting Formations. Only competitive matches. Using the most used Starting Formation. Sorted by position on pitch (from back right to front left).


2008–09 Manchester City F.C. season, Playing statistics, Starting XI
Appearances (Apps.) numbers are for appearances in competitive games onlyApps. numbers denote: "Total no. of games played (No. of games played as a substitute)"Red card numbers denote: "No. of second yellow cards / No. of straight red cards"Yellow and red cards for the 2 domestic cups only accounted for in the TOTALS columns*** indicates 3-match ban for violent conduct towards Rory Delap in PL game against Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium on 31 January 2009


2008–09 Manchester City F.C. season, Playing statistics, Starting XI
Information current as of 24 May 2009 (end of season)


2008–09 Manchester City F.C. season, Playing statistics, Starting XI
Last updated: 28 January 2011. Source: (for players and positions) 00(for squad numbers) 00(for actual stats.) All match Reports in Competitive games section above


2008–09 Manchester City F.C. season, Goal scorers, League Cup and FA Cup
Information current as of 24 May 2009 (end of season)


2008–09 Manchester City F.C. season, Awards, Thomas Cook Player of the Month awards
Awarded to the player in each category that receives the most votes in a poll conducted each month on the MCFC OWS


2008–09 Manchester Phoenix season, Roster
4 – Boothroyd •5 – Smith •7 – Dunn •13 – Garbutt •17 – Parrish •81 – Graham •


2008–09 Manchester Phoenix season, Roster
9 – Hand •10 – Beauregard •11 – Burnett •14 – Ward •16 – Clouthier •18 – Mulherin •19 – Jacobsen •27 – Fulghum •29 – Walker •54 – Bruce •76 – Hamer •


2008–09 Manchester Phoenix season, Player stats, Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Total Points; PIM = Penalty Minutes


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season
The 2008–09 season was Manchester United's 17th season in the Premier League, and their 34th consecutive season in the top division of English football. After winning a third consecutive Premier League title for the second time to equal Liverpool's record of 18 league titles, the team aimed to become the first team to retain the European Cup since Milan in 1990. However, they were beaten 2–0 by Barcelona in the final at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome on 27 May 2009.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season
United started their season in August 2008 by winning the Community Shield. In December 2008, the club became the first English side to win the FIFA Club World Cup when they beat LDU Quito 1–0 in the final. Two months later, on 1 March 2009, the club added the 2008–09 League Cup to their trophy cabinet with a 4–1 penalty shootout win over Tottenham Hotspur after a goalless 120 minutes in the final.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season
United secured the Premier League title with a goalless draw at home to Arsenal on 16 May 2009. This made them the first team to win three consecutive English top flight titles on two occasions, having also done so between 1999 and 2001.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season
This was the final season where Cristiano Ronaldo was on the Manchester United roster until the 2021-22 season, as he was sold for an at-the-time record-breaking transfer to Real Madrid following the end of this season.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Pre-season and friendlies
After losing assistant manager Carlos Queiroz to the Portugal national team, Manchester United began their pre-season schedule on 12 July 2008 with a trip up to Pittodrie Stadium to play against Sir Alex Ferguson's former team, Aberdeen. The fixture was to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Dons winning the European Cup Winners' Cup, for which Ferguson himself was the manager. Manchester United won the match 2–0, with a penalty from Michael Carrick and a header from Wayne Rooney.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Pre-season and friendlies
The team then left for South Africa to play in the 2008 Vodacom Challenge. The tournament began with United drawing 1–1 with Kaizer Chiefs in Cape Town, before moving on to Durban to play against Orlando Pirates three days later; they won the match 1–0. On 24 July, the Kaizer Chiefs beat the Orlando Pirates in Port Elizabeth and were rewarded with a further fixture against Manchester United in Pretoria on 26 July. United won the match 4–0 to take the Vodacom Challenge, with goals from Ryan Giggs, Wayne Rooney, Tom Cleverley and Fraizer Campbell.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Pre-season and friendlies
En route back from South Africa, United stopped off in Abuja, Nigeria, on 27 July, where they achieved a 2–1 friendly win over Portsmouth, with goals from Eagles and Tevez. Coincidentally, this was a "dress rehearsal" for the Community Shield on 10 August. It was also United's first trip to Nigeria, the location of the club's fourth-largest fan base, with 13.6 million supporters. Upon their return from Africa, the Manchester United team was involved in Ole Gunnar Solskjær's testimonial on 2 August 2008. The match, played at Old Trafford against RCD Espanyol, was won by United 1–0.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Pre-season and friendlies
The winner was scored in the 82nd minute by Fraizer Campbell. This match was followed by two more friendlies; first, a 2–0 win over Peterborough United, managed by Sir Alex's son and former United player Darren, on 4 August at London Road Stadium, and then a 0–0 draw against Italian giants Juventus at Old Trafford on 6 August.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, FA Community Shield
The Red Devils retained the 2008 FA Community Shield 3–1 on penalties against 2007–08 FA Cup winners Portsmouth after the match finished 0–0 after 90 minutes on 10 August. It was United's second game against Portsmouth in the space of two weeks.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, UEFA Super Cup
At the end of August, after the start of the Premier League season, United, as the winners of the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League, travelled to Monaco for the 2008 UEFA Super Cup against UEFA Cup winners Zenit St. Petersburg. However, they went 2–0 down in the first hour of the game, and a Nemanja Vidić goal was not enough to save them from defeat. A Paul Scholes handball in the 90th minute resulted in his second yellow card of the game, meaning that he would miss the Red Devils' opening UEFA Champions League match against Villarreal.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
Manchester United kicked off their defence of the Premier League title on 17 August 2008, playing against Newcastle United at Old Trafford. Newcastle got the first goal of the game through an Obafemi Martins header, but United hit straight back through Darren Fletcher two minutes later. Alex Ferguson handed debuts to both Rodrigo Possebon and Rafael during the game. This was followed up by a narrow 1–0 win over Portsmouth on 25 August.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
Papa Bouba Diop went close for Portsmouth after just 12 seconds, before United opened the scoring in the 32nd minute, Darren Fletcher's scuffed shot deflecting off Sol Campbell before being turned into the roof of the net by Sylvain Distin. United dominated most of the match, with Portsmouth rarely testing Edwin van der Sar in the United goal.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
On 13 September, United travelled to Anfield to play Liverpool, who handed them their first loss of the Premier League season. United got off to a strong start with Carlos Tevez scoring in the third minute, but an own goal by Wes Brown in the 27th minute and a goal by Liverpool winger Ryan Babel in the 77th sealed United's fate. The game saw the debut of Dimitar Berbatov, who had signed from Tottenham Hotspur on 1 September; the Bulgarian marked his first appearance by providing the assist for Tevez's goal.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
The defeat was United's first against Liverpool in the Premier League since 2004. Following the loss at Anfield, United faced the daunting task of travelling to Stamford Bridge to play Chelsea. As in the previous game, United opened the scoring, with Park Ji-sung scoring in the 18th minute after Chelsea's Petr Čech parried Berbatov's shot into the Korean's path. United held on until the 80th minute, when Mikel John Obi's free kick found the head of Salomon Kalou, who headed in the equaliser.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
United gave their league season a kick-start with a 2–0 win over Bolton Wanderers on 27 September. Bolton took the game to United early on in the first half, but the tide began to slowly shift back into United's favour; only the heroics of Bolton goalkeeper Jussi Jääskeläinen kept the visitors in the game going into half-time, although Fabrice Muamba did shoot wide from eight yards out just before the whistle.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
The United breakthrough came 15 minutes into the second half, when referee Rob Styles awarded the home side a penalty, despite Jlloyd Samuel's challenge on Cristiano Ronaldo appearing to have been a fair one; Ronaldo converted the penalty himself. In the 71st minute, Paul Scholes came on for Anderson to make his 400th Premier League appearance, while Carlos Tevez was replaced by Wayne Rooney. Not long afterwards, Rooney doubled the Reds' lead and secured the win with an unstoppable shot after being played in by a Ronaldo back-heel.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
The Red Devils then made the short trip up to Ewood Park the following weekend to take on Blackburn Rovers. Wayne Rooney declared himself fit after having picked up a knock against Aalborg BK in midweek, and was the orchestrator of most of United's attacks, including the one that led to the opening goal. Rooney took the return pass from his own short corner before swinging the ball into the Blackburn penalty area, where it was met by the head of Wes Brown and passed between the upright and the player who was supposed to be guarding it.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
The Blackburn players believed that the goal should not have been allowed to stand, as Nemanja Vidić impeded goalkeeper Jason Brown from getting to the ball, but referee Steve Bennett allowed it to stand. Rooney himself scored United's second goal halfway through the second half, latching on to Cristiano Ronaldo's pull-back and curling it past Brown from 12 yards. Carlos Tevez hit the post with a late strike, but the score remained at 2–0 at full-time, pushing United up the table to sixth place.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
After a week off for international duty, United returned to action on 18 October with a home match against West Bromwich Albion. The Baggies started off in a disciplined fashion, but were unable to prevent the in-form Wayne Rooney from putting the ball in the back of the net after 21 minutes. However, the goal was ruled out by referee Mark Halsey after he deemed Rooney to have pushed a West Brom defender to the floor before shooting past Scott Carson.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
Neither team found the back of the net again before half-time, but Rooney soon scored a legal goal ten minutes into the second half, picking up a long through pass from Berbatov out on the left wing before cutting back into the penalty area and firing a near-post shot through Ryan Donk's legs and past the goalkeeper. The home side then scored two goals in quick succession, Ronaldo shooting through Carson's legs for the first before Berbatov stabbed home his first League goal for United following a cross from substitute Nani. Nani himself then added a fourth goal for the Red Devils in the 90th minute, celebrating in his usual flamboyant style. The win propelled United up to 4th place in the Premier League table, the first time they had been in the top four that season.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
A trip to Goodison Park to play Everton followed on 25 October, with Alex Ferguson preferring to stick with Rooney and Berbatov up front, leaving Tevez on the bench. United had the run of the play in the first half, and after Darren Fletcher scored from a late run into the box in the 22nd minute, they began to treat the match as somewhat of an exhibition, with Everton hardly able to get a look in. However, United were unable to add to their tally and Everton came back with added resolve after the interval.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
United were rocked by Everton's new-found physicality, and the Liverpudlians equalised in the 66th minute through Marouane Fellaini, who headed home Phil Neville's cross after an uncharacteristic lapse in concentration from Rio Ferdinand. Ferdinand was again at fault a minute later, but Edwin van der Sar saved his blushes by saving from Yakubu in a one-on-one situation. Wayne Rooney was booked later for inciting the fans, and he was immediately substituted. The match finished at 1–1, a result that United will look on as two points dropped, but deserved for not having killed the game off earlier.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
On 29 October, United hosted West Ham United. Unlike other opposing teams that season, the Hammers struggled to cope with the tempo set by the home side from the word "go", and Dimitar Berbatov almost opened the scoring after just two minutes, only to see his shot deflected over by Matthew Upson. The scoresheet did not remain blank for much longer, however, as Nani received the ball on the left wing after United had spent a prolonged spell inside the West Ham box, before crossing for Ronaldo who scored with a left-footed shot to the far post.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
Ronaldo doubled his tally 15 minutes later, although he would have found it more difficult to miss the target after Berbatov got past James Collins with a wonderful piece of skill on the goal line. United continued to threaten Robert Green in the West Ham goal, but they did not add to their tally.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
United went into their 1 November match at home to Premier League newcomers Hull City two points behind their visitors in the league table, a position they would not have expected to find themselves in at the start of the season. Nevertheless, the Red Devils took the game to the Tigers from the kick-off, with Ronaldo opening the scoring after just three minutes. Laying the ball off to Dimitar Berbatov, the Portuguese controlled the Bulgarian's return ball 12 yards from goal before sweeping the ball in off the post with his left foot.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
Hull equalised in the 23rd minute, but Michael Carrick restored United's lead on the half-hour, also shooting in off the post with his left foot. Ronaldo extended the lead just before half-time, heading in from Nani's corner. The story after half-time was much the same, as Nemanja Vidić added a fourth from a corner that never should have reached him. However, Hull responded through Bernard Mendy, whose lob over Edwin van der Sar crossed the line before Vidić could hook it away. They opened the game up again in the 82nd minute, with Geovanni converting a penalty awarded after Rio Ferdinand brought Mendy down, but their response came too late and the match finished 4–3 to United.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
Manchester United travelled to Arsenal's Emirates Stadium the following weekend for a lunchtime kick-off. The match started at a high tempo, with United's players harassing the Arsenal contingent at every opportunity. Such harassment led to the first chance of the game, when Manuel Almunia was forced into handling Mikaël Silvestre's underhit backpass with Wayne Rooney bearing down on him. However, the resulting indirect free kick was cleared and Michael Carrick hit the rebound wide. It was Arsenal who opened the scoring, though, with Samir Nasri's 22nd-minute shot deflecting off Gary Neville and past Van der Sar.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
Nasri scored again just after half-time, almost bursting the net after being played in by Cesc Fàbregas, while United never really looked like threatening the Arsenal goal. Towards the end of the game, Michael Carrick accidentally caught Manuel Almunia with his boot as the Spanish goalkeeper bravely dropped on a loose ball, resulting in Almunia requiring several minutes of treatment. He attempted to carry on, but was soon replaced by Łukasz Fabiański. Rafael pulled a goal back for United in the final minute, but it was too little, too late for the Red Devils who swapped places with Arsenal in the league table, dropping back to fourth.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
The club's next fixture was a home game against Stoke City on 15 November, the 50th anniversary of Alex Ferguson's first appearance in professional football for Queen's Park. Despite being without the injured Rio Ferdinand, Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney, United took the lead just three minutes into the match, with Cristiano Ronaldo hitting a dipping and swerving free kick past Thomas Sørensen in the middle of the Stoke goal for his 100th goal for Manchester United.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
United's second goal came in stoppage time at the end of the first half; Michael Carrick ghosted through the Stoke City defence and, with four defenders in close proximity, hit a powerful left-footed shot into the top corner of the net. Just minutes into the second half, United scored their third goal after Dimitar Berbatov controlled Carlos Tevez's cross with the outside of his foot before volleying home.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
In the 84th minute, Danny Welbeck picked up the ball on the edge of the centre circle in Stoke's half, played a one-two with Manucho and unleashed a swerving shot from 30 yards for his first Manchester United goal in his Premier League debut for the club. Five minutes later, Ronaldo scored from another free kick to round off a 5–0 victory for the home side. The result moved United up to third place.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
United then travelled to Villa Park to play Aston Villa on 22 November. The tie ended a scoreless draw, the first time the Reds had failed to score a goal in a Premier League game since November 2007. United's next match took them crosstown to City of Manchester Stadium to play Manchester City on 30 November. The lone goal of the match came to United when a Michael Carrick shot rebounded off City keeper Joe Hart and was put in the back of the net by Wayne Rooney, giving him his 100th club goal and his 83rd at United. With the victory United increased their win total in the Manchester derby to 60 as compared to City's 41. Six days later, United faced Sunderland at home, with United winning thanks to Nemanja Vidić's goal in the first minute of second half stoppage time.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
United's next match was against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane on 13 December. Despite chances for both sides, Spurs keeper Heurelho Gomes and Edwin van der Sar kept clean sheets for both sides. United then closed out the year with 1–0 wins over Stoke City at Britannia Stadium on 26 December and at home against Middlesbrough three days later, with Carlos Tevez scoring against Stoke and Dimitar Berbatov scoring against Boro.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
United started 2009 with a crucial 3–0 win over Chelsea, putting them 1 point behind Chelsea and 5 points behind Liverpool, but they did have two games in hand. Ferguson surprised the crowd by starting Ryan Giggs ahead of Michael Carrick in central midfield, and the move paid off as Giggs was instrumental in the win. Both teams attacked in the first half, but forced few saves from either goalkeeper for the opening 30 minutes.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
In the 45th minute Wayne Rooney nudged the ball onto the pitch from a corner kick, before sauntering off, allowing Ryan Giggs to stroll casually over as if he was supposed to take the corner all along. Then, as Chelsea's players arranged themselves, presuming the ball to be out of play, Giggs crossed to Ronaldo who headed the ball home. However, the goal was disallowed. United retook the corner and scored through Berbatov's flick-on to Vidić who headed it in. Rooney stabbed the ball into the net after 63 minutes from a Patrice Evra cross and a Ronaldo backheel, while Berbatov completed the rout in the 86th minute from a cross from a Ronaldo free kick.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
Following the win over Chelsea, United's next game was at home to Wigan. Rooney scored from less than six yards after just 54 seconds on a cross from Ronaldo, but hobbled off with a hamstring injury just a few minutes later. Tevez, who replaced Rooney, had a good chance after 20 minutes, rounding Chris Kirkland in the Wigan net, but his touch was too heavy and he failed to convert the chance. Wigan improved after the disastrous start, but neither side could find a goal and the match ended 1–0 to United. With this result, United climbed to 2nd (their highest position of the season so far) above Chelsea. They remained 2 points behind Liverpool, but having played one game fewer than the Merseysiders.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
The Reds then travelled the short distance to Bolton's Reebok Stadium on 17 January. Both sides remained scoreless after 89 minutes, with Bolton keeper Jussi Jääskeläinen making several terrific saves and Van der Sar challenged by a Fabrice Muamba long-range shot. Finally, Berbatov headed in a Tevez cross in the 90th minute. With the win, United extended their clean sheet record to 10, tying a record set by Chelsea in the 2004–05 season. Also with the victory, United gained three points, enough to reach the top spot of the Premier League table. This was the first time United had returned to the top spot since winning the 2007–08 Premier League title on 11 May 2008.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
After a week off for domestic cup involvements, United returned to league action on 27 January with an away fixture at West Bromwich Albion. Despite having several players out through injury, Alex Ferguson was able to name a fairly strong starting XI, including a fit-again Rio Ferdinand, starting his first match since the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup Final in December.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
Both sides started the match in an attacking mindset, with United posing the slightly greater threat, and it was they who opened the scoring in the 22nd minute through Dimitar Berbatov; the Bulgarian exchanged passes with Michael Carrick before firing across Scott Carson into the far corner of the West Brom goal. Shortly before half-time, the Baggies were reduced to ten men when Paul Robinson was shown a straight red card for an innocuous-looking foul on Park Ji-sung.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
Their misery was compounded with almost the last kick of the half as Carson failed to hang on to a Ryan Giggs free kick, dropping the ball at the feet of Carlos Tevez, who lashed it home with his left foot. Nemanja Vidić added a third on the hour mark with a header from Giggs' corner, before Giggs set up another for Cristiano Ronaldo five minutes later.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
Ronaldo completed the scoring in the 73rd minute, shooting through Carson's legs after being put through by Berbatov, despite the West Brom players' protests that both Berbatov and Ronaldo had been offside during the build-up to the goal.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
The win took United three points clear of Liverpool, who were not to play until the following day, but the fact that they kept a clean sheet meant that they set a new Premier League record for consecutive clean sheets – with 11 – while Edwin van der Sar had not conceded in 1,032 minutes of football, surpassing Petr Čech's record of 1,025 minutes, set during the 2003–04 season.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
After setting the Premier League clean sheet record against West Brom, Edwin van der Sar went into the following game against Everton knowing that if he kept the Toffees off the scoresheet for 72 minutes, he would also set a new clean sheet record for the entire English league – the previous record, set by Steve Death of Reading in 1979, stood at 1,104 minutes. In the end, he continued his flawless record for the entire 90 minutes as United recorded another 1–0 win.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
The first half was largely dominated by United, who saw strikes from Park Ji-sung and Carlos Tevez stopped by goalkeeper Tim Howard, while Cristiano Ronaldo hit the inside of the post with Howard beaten. The breakthrough came at the end of the first half, as Michael Carrick made his way into the box before being tripped by Mikel Arteta. Carrick attempted to stay on his feet, but when United were unable to gain an advantage, referee Mark Halsey pointed to the penalty spot; Ronaldo converted the resulting penalty kick to open the scoring.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
During the second half, Carrick looked to have won another penalty for United when he was knocked to the ground by Joleon Lescott, but Halsey turned away the Red Devils' appeals. Van der Sar was forced into a save from a 30-yard free kick by Arteta on the hour mark, but the shot never looked to be seriously troubling the goalkeeper. United continued to hold on for another 1–0 win to take them five points ahead of Liverpool and Chelsea, who were to play each other the following day. Liverpool won the match 2–0 with two late goals from Fernando Torres, which closed the gap between themselves and United to two points, although they had now played one more match than United.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
Liverpool returned to the top of the table with a 3–2 away win over Portsmouth on 7 February, but they remained there for less than 24 hours as United recorded a 1–0 away win over West Ham to restore their two-point lead.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
West Ham came into the game off the back of a six-game unbeaten run, and it was they who had the better of the early chances; first, Lucas Neill had a shot from the edge of the area stopped by Edwin van der Sar, who then denied Carlton Cole as the English striker attempted to chip him from just inside the box. United settled into their characteristic passing rhythm, but the two sides went into half-time still at 0–0. Halfway through the second half, Ryan Giggs picked up a pass from Paul Scholes out on the left wing.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
He then took the ball round a sliding Carlton Cole and cut into the box, before curling a shot through a narrow gap and past Robert Green's outstretched left hand for the first goal of the game. The goal meant that Giggs maintained his record of having scored in every season of the Premier League since its inception. Cristiano Ronaldo was denied a penalty in the dying minutes of the game after he was tripped by Lucas Neill, and then he smashed a free kick into the chest of Scott Parker, but there were no further goals and United returned to the top of the table.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
As a result of their qualification for the 2008 UEFA Super Cup, United's home fixture against Fulham, which was originally scheduled for the weekend of 30/31 August 2008, was eventually played on 18 February 2009. United went into the match, their game in hand over second-placed Liverpool, two points ahead of the Merseysiders and could extend their lead to five points with a win over Fulham.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
With this in mind, the Red Devils started well, and opened the scoring in the 12th minute through Paul Scholes; Michael Carrick picked out Scholes just outside the area with a pinpoint corner, and the veteran midfielder volleyed the ball goalwards. Fulham goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer got down to stop the shot, but the spin and pace on the ball took it over the line.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
Carlos Tevez had a goal ruled out for offside shortly after, before a Dimitar Berbatov strike was blocked on the line by Aaron Hughes, but the Bulgarian did end up doubling United's tally shortly before the half-hour, stealing in ahead of Schwarzer to convert John O'Shea's square cross. Berbatov had the ball in the net again on the stroke of half-time, but he was deemed to have been offside in the build-up.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
Wayne Rooney, returning from a seven-game absence due to a hamstring injury, was introduced on the hour, and scored with his first touch, poking home Park Ji-sung's misdirected shot across goal. Bobby Zamora came close to ending United's run of clean sheets in the closing stages, but his shot went narrowly wide and United held on to win 3–0.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
The following weekend presented United with an opportunity to stretch their lead over Liverpool to eight points, as United played against Blackburn Rovers on the Saturday, while Liverpool would not play Manchester City until the Sunday. With one eye on the Champions League round of 16 tie against Internazionale the following Tuesday, Alex Ferguson rested Edwin van der Sar and Nemanja Vidić, and played Tomasz Kuszczak and Jonny Evans in their stead.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
Despite the defensive shake-up, United had the better of the early chances, with both Scholes and Ronaldo going close before Nani put Wayne Rooney through for the first goal in the 23rd minute. The Portuguese winger curled a through-pass round the back of the Blackburn defence, and although Ryan Nelsen got a toe to the ball, it was not enough to take it away from Rooney, who poked it past Paul Robinson in the Blackburn goal.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
However, the lead only lasted nine minutes, as Blackburn became the first team in more than 22 hours of football (1,334 minutes) to breach the Manchester United defence; after catching Nani in possession, André Ooijer played a through ball to Roque Santa Cruz, who took the ball round the sliding Rio Ferdinand and Tomasz Kuszczak and shot home from a narrowing angle. Jonny Evans looked to have restored United's lead on the stroke of half-time, but his header was ruled out after the referee deemed Cristiano Ronaldo to have impeded Ryan Nelsen.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
Nelsen himself almost gave Blackburn the lead shortly after the break, but his effort came back off the post, and the follow-up strike from El Hadji Diouf was saved by Kuszczak. In the end, though, it was United who regained the lead in the 60th minute; the Red Devils were awarded a free kick wide to the left of the penalty area, and, as usual, Cristiano Ronaldo stepped up to take it.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
Despite it looking like the angle was too narrow to strike at goal, the FIFA World Player of the Year hit a characteristic dipping shot over the wall and over the head of Paul Robinson to make the score 2–1. The scoreline remained the same for the next half-hour, and although it looked like Morten Gamst Pedersen may have been pulled back by Rafael in the penalty area late in the game, the referee deemed it not to be a foul and United held on for the win.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
United's next game was played away against Newcastle United. Van der Sar was back in goal, having missed the previous two games (the League game against Blackburn and the League Cup Final against Tottenham Hotspur). However, his clean sheet record finally came to an end after just 9 minutes as Peter Løvenkrands opened the scoring for Newcastle. Obafemi Martins should have put Newcastle 2–0 up, but he slid his shot wide and was made to pay as Wayne Rooney slotted home midway through the first half, which ended 1–1.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
The game was slightly marred by two questionable challenges, late in the first half, by Newcastle's Steven Taylor, who first appeared to hit Cristiano Ronaldo with his arm and then, moments later, slid a dangerous tackle in on Michael Carrick. However, despite some anger from players such as Rio Ferdinand and Wayne Rooney, Taylor only received a single yellow card. The second half started brightly, and Dimitar Berbatov scored what proved to be the winner just before the hour mark after Taylor mis-hit a back-pass. Neither team could manage another goal and the game ended 2–1 to Manchester United.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
The Reds' next Premier League encounter saw the visit of Liverpool to Old Trafford which brought the two main title contenders head-to-head. United started the match brightly and took the lead on 23 minutes when Park Ji-sung was brought down in the penalty area by Pepe Reina and referee Alan Wiley pointed to the spot, where Cristiano Ronaldo converted the penalty kick to Reina's right.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
The lead only lasted five minutes, however, as Nemanja Vidić failed to deal with a long ball from Liverpool's Martin Škrtel and Fernando Torres punished his error with a cool finish past United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar. The match went from bad to worse for the hosts just before the break when Patrice Evra tripped Steven Gerrard in the penalty area and Gerrard scored the resulting spot kick.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
After the break, United drove at Liverpool in an attempt to find an equaliser, but Vidić was sent off after hauling down Gerrard on the edge of the penalty area and Fábio Aurélio scored the free kick to give Liverpool a 3–1 lead. In injury time, Andrea Dossena compounded United's misery by chipping Van der Sar to score Liverpool's fourth and close the gap at the top of the table to four points.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
United suffered a further setback when they lost their next League encounter against Fulham 2–0 at Craven Cottage, seeing the team's lead in the league cut to only a point. Paul Scholes was sent off in the 18th minute for handling the ball on the goal-line and Danny Murphy scored the resulting penalty. Despite strong pressure from United in the second half, following an unconvincing first-half display, Zoltán Gera scored a second goal for Fulham to seal the match. Wayne Rooney was also dismissed for two bookable offences and would subsequently miss the next match. This was the first time since 2005 that United had lost two consecutive league games.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
On 5 April, after an international break, United defeated Aston Villa 3–2 at home. Cristiano Ronaldo scored an early first-half goal to give United the lead, only for John Carew and Gabriel Agbonlahor to put Villa 2–1 in front. With United looking to avoid a third-straight Premier League defeat for the first time in four years, Ronaldo scored an equaliser on 80 minutes to set up a frantic finale to the match. A late injury time winner by debutant Federico Macheda won the match for United and took them back to the top of the League after Liverpool had briefly led, having beaten Fulham 1–0 the day before.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
The Reds' next game was away to a struggling Sunderland, which they won 2–1 thanks to another Federico Macheda goal. United took the lead through Paul Scholes' looping header from Wayne Rooney's cross on 19 minutes but Sunderland equalised on 55 minutes through Kenwyne Jones' bundled finish. United had created a few good chances to double their lead before Sunderland's goal, with Scholes and Rooney both shooting narrowly wide. However, with Sunderland trying to hold-on to a precious point, Macheda was introduced and within seconds had put United ahead.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
Michael Carrick had taken a shot which looked to be going wide, but Macheda was in the box, alongside other players, and he flicked his left foot towards the ball, directing it into Craig Gordon's bottom corner to give United the win and put them back to the top of the table again.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
Liverpool's 4–4 draw with Arsenal on 22 April returned the Merseysiders to the top of the table, but only on goal difference, with United having two games in hand on their rivals. United had the chance, 24 hours later, to retake top spot with a home game against Portsmouth.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
United – who picked a team containing nine changes from the one that lost to Everton in the FA Cup semi-final – did not start very well and Portsmouth took the early possession, but following a good through-ball from Anderson, Ryan Giggs crossed for Wayne Rooney to score past England goalkeeper, David James to put United 1–0 up after just nine minutes. The remainder of the first half saw United squander a number of chances, the best of which being a goal-line clearance from a John O'Shea header.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
Portsmouth improved in the second half, although Edwin van der Sar was rarely troubled. It took until the 82nd minute for substitute Michael Carrick to score from a perfect through-ball from Paul Scholes, who was playing his 600th game for United. The second goal effectively killed the game and United finished comfortable 2–0 winners, taking them three points ahead of Liverpool.


2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season, Premier League
United welcomed the visit of Tottenham Hotspur to Old Trafford for their next game, knowing that they had slipped down to second in the league on goal difference after Liverpool had beaten Hull City earlier in the day. What the Reds didn't welcome, however, was being 2–0 down at half-time, with Darren Bent and Luka Modrić having taken advantage of two showings of poor defending by United. Bent scored from close range just before the half-hour mark, finishing off a Vedran Ćorluka cross, having got the better of Rio Ferdinand.