2008–09 York City F.C. season, Review, January
The New Year began with a second defeat of the season to Burton, this time being beaten 3–1 at home, in which Brodie scored in the first half with a shot from the edge of the penalty area. Wrexham defender Kyle Critchell was signed on a one-month loan, who Foyle knew while he was a coach at the club. Adam Smith returned to Gainsborough following the conclusion of his loan, while a permanent move had been stalled as Gainsborough were holding out for a fee.


2008–09 York City F.C. season, Review, January
Progression to the third round of the FA Trophy was ensured with a 2–1 away victory over Oxford, with goals from McBreen and Brodie. Further signings from Wrexham took place when striker Simon Brown and midfielder Christian Smith signed on loan and permanently respectively. Hirst was released having failed to break into the first team. Lewes were beaten 3–0 at home; Brodie opened the scoring with a volley into the top corner from outside the penalty area, and Christian Smith scored from 30 yards before Brodie finished the scoring with a low shot into the bottom corner. Henderson was released having fallen out of the reckoning for a first-team place.


2008–09 York City F.C. season, Review, January
York were knocked out of the Conference League Cup following a 3–1 away defeat by Barrow in the Northern section fourth round. Midfielder Levi Mackin was signed on loan from Wrexham until the end of the season. He debuted in York's 2–1 away defeat to Eastbourne Borough, in which Christian Smith scored a header from Brown's cross. Adam Smith rejoined York from Gainsborough on a permanent contract for an undisclosed fee.


2008–09 York City F.C. season, Review, January
His return came as a substitute in York's 1–1 draw away to Altrincham, in which Brodie scored the equalising goal after Shaun Densmore put the home team in the lead. Farrell was loaned out to Oxford for the remainder of the season, as he sought more game time. York drew 1–1 away with Kidderminster in the FA Trophy third round, in which Boyes scored his first goal for York, meaning a replay was to be played.


2008–09 York City F.C. season, Review, February
Critchell's loan at York was extended for a second month, with the fitness of several York defenders in doubt. York were beaten 1–0 away by Mansfield, courtesy of a Robert Duffy penalty, in the teams' fourth encounter of the season. A 13–12 penalty shoot-out victory over Kidderminster followed a 1–1 extra time draw in an FA Trophy replay; in normal time, McBreen scored a header from a corner delivered by Simon Rusk before the away team equalised shortly after through Justin Richards. A new record for the most consecutive penalties scored in a shoot-out was set, at 25.


2008–09 York City F.C. season, Review, February
McBreen was reported to have signed for North Queensland Fury of the A-League, although the transfer had yet to be confirmed by York. It was confirmed that he would join the Fury for the start of 2009–10 in August 2009. Former Wrexham defender Shaun Pejic signed after a successful trial at the club. York beat Conference South team Havant & Waterlooville 2–0 at home in the fourth round of the FA Trophy to secure a place in the semi-final, with both goals scored by McBreen. This was followed by a 2–0 away defeat to Rushden in the league. York's first league victory in a month was a 2–0 home win over Weymouth, who were forced to play a weakened team due to their financial situation, and Brodie scored headers in each half.


2008–09 York City F.C. season, Review, March
Ingham made several important saves as York drew 0–0 away to Ebbsfleet. The first leg of the FA Trophy semi-final tie against AFC Telford United ended in a 2–0 away win, with goals in each half from Rusk and Purkiss. A late goal from Sodje with a shot from the edge of the penalty area earned the team a 1–1 draw away to Forest Green Rovers, after Kaid Mohamed had given the home team a first-half lead.


2008–09 York City F.C. season, Review, March
A 2–1 home win over Telford in the second leg of the FA Trophy semi-final, with goals in each half from Brodie and McBreen, saw York progress into 2009 FA Trophy Final at Wembley Stadium with 4–1 aggregate victory. This was followed by a 0–0 home draw with Kettering in the league. Wilkinson joined divisional rivals Altrincham on loan until the end of the season, having failed to feature in the team since January 2009. York drew 0–0 with play-off contenders Kidderminster at home, which was followed by a 2–0 home defeat to Stevenage.


2008–09 York City F.C. season, Review, April and May
York dropped into the relegation zone after a 1–0 away defeat to Grays, who themselves moved out of the relegation zone and above York, and this was followed with a 0–0 home draw with Oxford. They were beaten 2–1 at home by Northwich; Jonny Allan gave the visitors the lead in the first half and Robinson equalised with a penalty on 68 minutes, before Allan scored a stoppage-time winner for Northwich. This was followed by a 0–0 draw away to fellow strugglers Barrow.


2008–09 York City F.C. season, Review, April and May
Before York's penultimate home match against Eastbourne, Parslow was named the 2008–09 Clubman of the Year, voted for by the club's supporters. A 1–0 victory saw York move out of the relegation zone, in what was their first league win in 10 matches. It was achieved after McBreen scored from a Purkiss pass in the 35th minute. A second successive win came at home to Forest Green, who York beat 2–1 with second-half goals from Boyes and Brodie.


2008–09 York City F.C. season, Review, April and May
A 2–1 away victory over Weymouth saw York secure survival from relegation, with their opponents facing relegation as a result. Brodie gave York a 14th-minute lead, and after Cliff Akurang equalised for Weymouth late in the first half, Boyes scored the winning goal 13 minutes from time. York's last league match was a 1–1 away draw with bottom placed Lewes, Greaves scoring on 80 minutes before the home team equalised three minutes from time. This result saw them finish the season 17th the table. York were defeated 2–0 by Stevenage in the 2009 FA Trophy Final at Wembley, who scored with second-half goals from Steve Morison and Lee Boylan.


2008–09 York City F.C. season, Summary and aftermath
York were in a midtable position for most of the season, and were as high as fifth in August 2008, while dropping as low as 22nd in April 2009. Their goalscoring record of 47 goals scored was the fifth lowest in the division; whereas, their defensive record of 51 goals conceded was better than that of the champions Burton. Parslow made the highest number of appearances during the season, appearing in 57 of York's 58 matches. Brodie was York's top scorer in the league and in all competitions, with 15 league goals and 19 in total. McBreen was the only other player to reach double figures, with 10 goals.


2008–09 York City F.C. season, Summary and aftermath
After the season ended, York released Greaves, Hogg, McBreen, Pejic, Radcliffe, Robinson, Rusk, Shepherd, Christian Smith and Wilkinson. Boyes, Farrell, Darren Kelly and Sodje left for Scunthorpe, Rushden, Portadown and Barnsley respectively. Brodie, McWilliams, Mimms and Purkiss signed new contracts with the club.


2008–09 York City F.C. season, Summary and aftermath
Over the summer York signed defenders James Meredith from Shrewsbury Town, Alan O'Hare from Mansfield and Djoumin Sangaré from Salisbury, midfielders Neil Barrett from Ebbsfleet, Andy Ferrell from Kidderminster, Alex Lawless from Forest Green, Mackin from Wrexham, winger Craig Nelthorpe from Oxford, and strikers Michael Gash from Ebbsfleet, Richard Pacquette from Maidenhead United and Michael Rankine from Rushden. Striker Michael Emmerson was promoted from the youth team after he signed a professional contract with the club.


2008–09 Ystalyfera RFC season
At the end of this season Ystalyfera were promoted back to the level of Division Three after an absence of three years. This was the first taste of success for ten years since the Division Five Championship in season 1998-99, the highest points total and number of league wins since then. The 264 total of most away game points was also equalled.


2008–09 Ystalyfera RFC season
At the start of the season initial form of the side continued on from the end of the previous campaign, with commanding wins at home up to November, the only defeats being away - a surprising 2nd half collapse at Pontycymmer and the ‘theft’ of a victory at Bryncoch where we more than matched the eventual Division champions.


2008–09 Ystalyfera RFC season
The relatively young ‘Fera side continued to grow in confidence boosted by the experience of no less than 7 former captains namely; Martyn Stoneman, Alun Guerrier, Steven Munkley, Kevin Williams, Peter Abraham, Damian James and Craig Lloyd, all contributing in their own individual ways and the latter two coaching the team in its success. Cornerstone of the achievement was undoubtedly the two young props Kieran Lloyd and Daniel White. Hard working and dedicated they played in every game and won commendable plaudits from both local and visiting onlookers.


2008–09 Ystalyfera RFC season
Captain for his second year Paul Davies, led his side through a surge of five consecutive wins in April whilst getting married and enjoying a honeymoon as well! Gareth James, back in the side from the Bryncoch away game with 5 conversions, finished with the highest season total of 172 points, his career total to date being 535. Brother Damian increased his club record total to 1354 points. Graham Jones was top try scorer with 9 touchdowns. Players Player was Stephan Jones and Supporters Player Daniel White.


2008–09 Ystalyfera RFC season
A profitable season also delivered in the Welsh Cup where Ystalyfera equalled their highest progress reaching the Third Round for the seventh time. Opportunity to achieve success in the elusive Swansea Valley cup proved disappointing with the termination of the event due to the failure of participating teams to complete the fixtures. This season finished with great promise from an averagely young side, playing a fast positive style of play and much fun to watch.


2008–09 Zamalek SC season, Team Kit
The team kits for the 2008-09 season are produced by Adidas. The home kit was revealed at Zamalek TV website on April 4. The kit was first worn in the first CAF Champions League game of the 2007-08 season. An all-black kit with white stripes replaced the bright-yellow away kit from the 2006-07 season.


2008–09 Zamalek SC season, Squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2008–09 Zamalek SC season, Squad, Youth Squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2008–09 Zamalek SC season, Transfers, Overall
This section displays the club's financial expenditure's in the transfer market. Because all transfer fee's are not disclosed to the public, the numbers displayed in this section are only based on figures released by media outlets.


2008–09 Zamalek SC season, Statistics, Top scorers
Includes all competitive matches. The list is sorted by shirt number when total goals are equal.


2008–09 Zamalek SC season, Statistics, Disciplinary record
Includes all competitive matches. Players with 1 card or more included only.


2008–09 Zamalek SC season, Statistics, Disciplinary record
*  = 1 suspension withdrawn ** = 2 suspensions withdrawn*** = 3 suspensions withdrawn


2008–09 curling season
The 2008-09 curling season began in September 2008 and ended in April 2009.


2008–09 figure skating season
The 2008–09 figure skating season began on July 1, 2008, and ended on June 30, 2009. During this season, elite skaters competed on the Championship level at the 2009 European, Four Continents, World Junior, and World Championships. They also competed in elite competitions such as the Grand Prix and Junior Grand Prix series.


2008–09 figure skating season, Season notes
As this was a pre-Olympic season, skaters qualified entries to the 2010 Winter Olympic Games at the 2009 World Championships.


2008–09 figure skating season, Season notes, Age eligibility
Skaters competing on the junior level were required to be at least 13 but not 19 – or 21 for male pair skaters and ice dancers – before July 1, 2008. Those who had turned 14 were eligible for the senior Grand Prix series and senior B internationals. Those who turned 15 before July 1, 2008 were also eligible for the senior World, European, and Four Continents Championships.


2008–09 figure skating season, Season's best scores
The following are all the season's best scores set over the season.


2008–09 in Argentine football
2008–09 season of Argentine football was the 118th season of competitive football in Argentina.


2008–09 in Argentine football, National teams, Men's
This section covers Argentina men's matches from August 1, 2008 to July 31, 2009.


2008–09 in Argentine football, National teams, Men's
For the Olympic Games results, please see here. Those results are not tallied here because the team is made of Under–23 players, not the full squad.


2008–09 in Argentine football, National teams, Women's
This section covers Argentina women's matches from August 1, 2008 to July 31, 2009.


2008–09 in Australian soccer
The following article is a summary of the 2008–09 football season in Australia, which was the 4th competitive season since the restructuring of the domestic system and commencement of the A-League.


2008–09 in Belgian football
The 2008–09 football season in Belgium, which is the 106th season of competitive football in the country.


2008–09 in Belgian football, European Club Results
As Cercle Brugge did not desire to play in the Intertoto Cup, Germinal Beerschot took their place but where immediately eliminated. Anderlecht  suffered a painful defeat to BATE Borisov in the second qualification round of the Champions League, which did not even send them into the UEFA Cup. Gent also performed weak, losing immediately in their first match. Club Brugge got into the group stage but after drawing in every match against mostly weaker opponents, they finally succumbed at home to Copenhagen. Champions Standard Liège however provided stunning football as they came very close to keeping Liverpool out of the Champions League and then dropped into the UEFA Cup where they beat teams such as Everton, Sevilla, Partizan and Sampdoria before eventually going out against Braga in the last 16.


2008–09 in Cape Verdean football
In the 2008–09 season of competitive football (soccer) in Cape Verde The 2nd Cape Verdean Cup took place in July and August.


2008–09 in Cape Verdean football, Final standings, Cape Verdean Football Championships
Académica and Sporting  Praia were first in each group while  Mindelense and Sporting Porto Novo, second of each group. Académica Praia had the most points second were Mindelense and Sporting Praia with 12. Mindelense scored the most with 13 goals followed by Sporting Praia and Ultramarina with eleven, Académica Praia with ten and Sporting Porto Novo with nine. Later, Académica Praia advanced with four goals scored while Sporting Advanced with three. Sporting won the first match 2-0, the second leg had a goal draw, with a total of three goals, Sporting Praia claimed their 8th national title.


2008–09 in Cape Verdean football, Final standings, Cape Verdean Cup
The second Cape Verdean Cup took place. Boavista Praia won their first cup title after defeating Académico do Aeroporto 1-0 in the final.


2008–09 in Cape Verdean football, Final standings, Island or regional competitions, Regional Super Cups
The 2008 champion winner played with a 2008 cup winner (when a club won both, a second place club competed).


2008–09 in Croatian football
The following article presents a summary of the 2008–09 football (soccer) season in Croatia, which was the 18th season of competitive football in the country.


2008–09 in Croatian football, National team
The home team is on the left column; the away team is on the right column.


2008–09 in Croatian football, National team, World Cup qualifiers
Croatia is currently in Group 6 of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification process.


2008–09 in Danish football
The 2008-09 season is the 119th season of competitive football in Denmark.


2008–09 in Danish football, National team, Players
The following players appeared for Denmark during the 2008-09 season. All caps and goals are tallied for the 2008-09 season only.


2008–09 in Danish football, National team, Friendly matches
The home team is on the left column; the away team is on the right column.


2008–09 in Danish football, National team, World Cup qualifiers
Denmark competed in Group 1 of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification tournament.


2008–09 in Danish football, National team, World Cup qualifiers
The home team is on the left column; the away team is on the right column.


2008–09 in Danish football, League XI national team
On December 5, 2008, a 20-man squad Denmark League XI national football team was named to play the 2009 King's Cup in Thailand. In the following month, a total ten players pulled out of the squad and had to be replaced in turn.


2008–09 in Danish football, League XI national team
Olsen had initially refrained from selecting players from AaB due to their participation in the UEFA Cup, and when F.C. Copenhagen also advanced in that tournament, Copenhagen players Mathias Jørgensen, Hjalte Bo Nørregaard, Thomas Kristensen, and Martin Vingaard were replaced. Additionally, Mikkel Bischoff, Steffen Kielstrup, Anders Randrup, Thomas Rasmussen, Christopher Poulsen, as well as replacement player Jonas Troest, all had to pull out due to injuries.


2008–09 in Danish football, League XI national team
The team played two games, as it won the tournament. The number of caps and goals reflect performances during the two matches.


2008–09 in English football
The 2008–09 season was the 129th season of competitive football in England. The Premier League started on 16 August 2008, while the Championship, League One, and League Two matches started on 9 August 2008. The regular season of the Football League ended on 3 May 2009, while the Premier League ended on 24 May 2009.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
1 July 2008: Luiz Felipe Scolari, who managed Brazil to World Cup glory in 2002, is appointed manager of Chelsea.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
22 July 2008: Luke McCormick, on bail after being charged with causing death by dangerous driving, has his contract terminated by Plymouth Argyle.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
29 July 2008: Liverpool pay £20.3million for 28-year-old Tottenham Hotspur and Ireland striker Robbie Keane.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
9 August 2008: The first Football League matches of the season are played.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
10 August 2008: The FA Community Shield is won by Manchester United on penalties against Portsmouth after a goalless draw at Wembley Stadium.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
16 August 2008: The first Premier League matches of the season are played.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
31 August 2008: The first month of the Premier League season ends with Chelsea top of the league under their new manager Luiz Felipe Scolari and West Bromwich Albion being bottom of the table. The race to get into the Premier League is being headed by Wolverhampton Wanderers, Preston North End and Birmingham City who are level on 10 points at the top of the Football League Championship after four games.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
1 September 2008: Manchester City are taken over by the Abu Dhabi group to become the richest club in England, and pay a national record £32.4million for Real Madrid CF and Brazil striker Robinho, while Manchester United pay a club record £30.75million for Tottenham Hotspur and Bulgaria striker Dimitar Berbatov. In League Two, Kevin Bond becomes the first manager to be removed of the season when his contract is terminated by Bournemouth after two years in charge.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
3 September 2008: West Ham United manager Alan Curbishley resigns after 21 months in charge, the first Premier League managerial resignation of the season.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
5 September 2008: Kevin Keegan resigns after eight months back in charge at Newcastle United, leading to dissatisfaction from fans at Chairman Mike Ashley, who allegedly forced Keegan out of the club with a series of disputes about team selection and transfers.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
11 September 2008: Gianfranco Zola, former Chelsea and Italy striker, becomes West Ham United's first non-British manager.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
26 September 2008: Joe Kinnear, 61, returns to football as interim manager of Newcastle United, four years after leaving Nottingham Forest due to health reasons.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
27 September 2008: Hull City win 2–1 over Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. Their first win against Arsenal in English football.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
30 September 2008: Chelsea and Liverpool finish September level on points at the top of the Premier League, with Aston Villa, Arsenal and West Ham United completing the top five. Blackburn Rovers, sixth in the league making Paul Ince the most successful Ethnic Minority manager to start a Premier League season. Hull City, playing top division football for the first time are seventh in the Premier League. Defending champions Manchester United are ninth in the league, with a game in hand over the teams above them, while Tottenham Hotspur are bottom of the table. Wolverhampton Wanderers and Birmingham City are first and second respectively in the Championship.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
6 October 2008: Luke McCormick is found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving at Stoke Crown Court and sentenced to 7 years and 4 months in prison.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
26 October 2008: Tottenham Hotspur, bottom of Premier League, terminate the contract of manager Juande Ramos and hire Portsmouth's Harry Redknapp to fill the vacancy.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
28 October 2008: Portsmouth promote assistant manager Tony Adams to manager following Harry Redknapp joining Tottenham Hotspurs.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
31 October 2008: Liverpool finish October as Premier League leaders, with Chelsea, Arsenal, Aston Villa and Hull City completing the top five. Manchester United are sixth with a game in hand over the top five clubs. Wolverhampton Wanderers and Birmingham City are first and second respectively in the Championship.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
22 November 2008: Charlton Athletic, bottom of the Football League Championship 18 months after being relegated from the Premier League, sack manager Alan Pardew after nearly two years in charge.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
30 November 2008: Chelsea and Liverpool are level on points at the top of the Premier League, with Manchester United in third place. Aston Villa and Arsenal complete the top five, with Hull City in sixth place in the league. Tottenham Hotspur are bottom of the table with West Bromwich Albion second-bottom in the league. Blackburn Rovers complete the bottom three relegation places. Wolverhampton Wanderers lead the Championship by 6 points ahead of second placed Birmingham City and 13 points ahead of third placed Reading.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
6 December 2008: Darren Anderton retires from playing after a career of nearly 20 years in his final game Anderton scores AFC Bournemouth's winning goal against Chester City in League Two.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
16 December 2008: Blackburn Rovers terminate the contract of Paul Ince after six months as manager.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
17 December 2008: Sam Allardyce is appointed manager of Blackburn Rovers.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
22 December 2008: Leeds United terminate the contract of manager Gary McAllister after 11 months as manager.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
23 December 2008: Simon Grayson resigns as Blackpool manager to take the managers job at Leeds United.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
25 December 2008: Sheffield United striker Jordan Robertson, 20, suffers minor injuries in a car crash on the M1 motorway in Leicestershire in which a 38-year-old Coventry man is seriously injured.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
26 December 2008: Nottingham Forest, 22nd in Football League Championship, terminate the contract of manager Colin Calderwood after two and a half years in charge. Omar Mohammed, the man injured in the car crash which also involved Jordan Robertson, dies in hospital.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
29 December 2008: Paul Jewell resigns as Derby County manager after one year, with the East Midlands side 18th in the Football League Championship.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
31 December 2008: Liverpool end 2008 as Premier League leaders, three points ahead of second placed Chelsea, while third placed Manchester United are 10 points off the top of the table but have three games in hand. Arsenal and Aston Villa complete the top five, while Everton and Wigan Athletic occupy sixth and seventh place respectively. West Bromwich Albion, Blackburn Rovers and Stoke City occupy the relegation places. Wolverhampton Wanderers remain top of the Championship, with Reading and Birmingham level on points in second and third respectively.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
3 January 2009: Billy Davies returns to management by accepting an offer to take over as Nottingham Forest manager.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
6 January 2009: Nigel Clough ends 10 years as manager of Conference National leaders Burton Albion to take the managers jobs at Derby County. Tottenham Hotspur pay a club record £15million for Portsmouth striker Jermain Defoe, a year after he left them for half that fee.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
20 January 2009: Four Tottenham Hotspur fans are banned from all football grounds in England for four years after being found guilty of making indecent chants at the club's former defender Sol Campbell in reference to his transfer to Arsenal in 2001. The incidents took place at Fratton Park, where Tottenham were playing Campbell's current club Portsmouth, on 28 September the previous year.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
31 January 2009: Manchester United are top of the Premier League while the rest of the top seven remains unchanged from the end of December. West Bromwich Albion, Stoke City and Middlesbrough are in the relegation places all on 21 points at the bottom of the Premier League. Wolverhampton Wanderers, Reading and Birmingham City continue occupy the top three positions in the Championship.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
2 February 2009: Robbie Keane returns to Tottenham Hotspur after six months at Liverpool for a fee of £12million.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
8 February 2009: Portsmouth terminate the contract of Tony Adams after 14 weeks as manager. Paul Hart is appointed caretaker manager.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
9 February 2009: Chelsea terminate the contract of Luiz Felipe Scolari after eight months as manager.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
11 February 2009: Dutchman Guus Hiddink, manager of the Russia national football team, accepts an offer to manage Chelsea until the end of the season.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
28 February 2009: Manchester United end February as Premier League leaders ahead of Chelsea by seven points and with a game in hand. Liverpool, Arsenal, Everton and Wigan Athletic complete the top seven. West Bromwich Albion, Blackburn Rovers and Stoke City occupy the relegation places. Wolverhampton Wanderers, Birmingham City and Reading continue in the top threeplaces respectively in the Championship.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
1 March 2009: Manchester United win the 2008–09 Football League Cup defeating Tottenham Hotspur 4–1 on penalties, following a 0–0 draw after extra time.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
14 March 2009: Liverpool beat Manchester United 4–1 at Old Trafford.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
31 March 2009: Manchester United's lead at the top of the Premier League is one point over Liverpool, with a game in hand. The whole top seven remains unchanged again at the end of the month. West Bromwich Albion, Middlesbrough and Newcastle United occupy the relegation zone. Wolverhampton Wanderers, Birmingham City and Reading continue in the top three places in the Championship.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
5 April 2009: Luton Town win the 2008–09 Football League Trophy by defeating Scunthorpe United 3–2 in extra time.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
13 April 2009: The first two relegations of the season take place, with Hereford United relegated from League One to League Two one season after promotion and Luton Town are relegated from League Two into the Conference National. Their third successive relegation resulting in the loss of league status.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
18 April 2009: Wolverhampton Wanderers are promoted to the Premier League and Leicester City are promoted to the Football League Championship, while Charlton Athletic are relegated to League One.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
21 April 2009: Ipswich Town sack manager Jim Magilton after failing to reach the Play-offs.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
22 April 2009: Roy Keane appointed new manager of Ipswich Town on a two-year contract.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
25 April 2009: Peterborough United are promoted to the Football League Championship.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
25 April 2009: Brentford are promoted to League One as well as winning the League Two title with a 3–1 win over Darlington.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
25 April 2009: Cardiff City played their last ever game at Ninian Park.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
30 April 2009: Manchester United end April with a three-point lead over Liverpool with a game in hand in the Premier League, with Chelsea the only other team still in contention for the title. Arsenal, Aston Villa, Everton and Fulham complete the top seven who will qualify for Europe club competitions for next this season. West Bromwich Albion, Newcastle United and Middlesbrough occupy the relegation zone. Birmingham City and Sheffield United the final two teams in contention for automatic promotion to the Premier League, while playoff qualification is being contested between Reading, Cardiff City, Burnley and Preston North End.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
2 May 2009: Chester City are relegated to the Conference. resulting in the loss of league status for second time.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
2 May 2009: Wycombe Wanderers and Exeter City won promotion to League One.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
3 May 2009: Birmingham City are Promoted to The Premier League after a last day 2–1 Win over Reading. Norwich City are relegated to League One, and Crewe Alexandra and Northampton Town are relegated to League Two.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
5 May 2009: Manchester United win 4–1 on aggregate over Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals to reach the final.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
6 May 2009: Chelsea lose on away goals in the Champions League semi-final with FC Barcelona, ending their hopes of a final against Manchester United.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
16 May 2009: Manchester United earn a 0–0 draw with Arsenal at Old Trafford to win the Premier League.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
17 May 2009: West Bromwich Albion are relegated from the Premier League to the Championship.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
23 May 2009: Gillingham win promotion to League One after defeating Shrewsbury Town 1–0 in the League Two play-off final.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
24 May 2009: On the final day of the Premiership season Newcastle United and Middlesbrough are relegated to the Championship after both lost away at Aston Villa and West Ham United respectively. This ends Newcastle United's 16-year spell in the Premier League. Also Scunthorpe United win promotion to the Championship with a 3–2 win over Millwall in the League One play-off final at Wembley.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
25 May 2009: Burnley win promotion to the Premier League, defeating Sheffield United 1–0 at Wembley in the Championship play-off final.


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
27 May 2009: Manchester United lose 2–0 to Barcelona in 2009 UEFA Champions League Final


2008–09 in English football, Diary of the season
30 May 2009: Chelsea win the FA Cup final beating Everton 2–1.


2008–09 in English football, National team
The home team is on the left column; the away team is on the right column.


2008–09 in English football, National team, World Cup qualifiers
England is currently in Group 6 of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification process.


2008–09 in English football, League tables, Premier League
Manchester United won their 18th league title, drawing level with Liverpool for the record of most league titles. Liverpool pushed them all the way; they actually had a superior goal difference and completed the double over United, even winning 4–1 at Old Trafford in March, but also suffered 11 draws which enabled United to overtake and win the title.


2008–09 in English football, League tables, Premier League
Chelsea broke records for all the wrong reasons as their 86-game unbeaten home record finally came to an end, with several surprise away losses effectively ending their title challenge (as well as resulting in manager Luiz Felipe Scolari being sacked), though they did win the FA Cup under caretaker manager Guus Hiddink. Arsenal finished fourth to claim the final Champions League spot, which meant that last season's top 4 all qualified for Europe's elite for the fifth time in six seasons.


2008–09 in English football, League tables, Premier League
Aston Villa had looked like breaking into the Champions League spots for most of the season, but a late collapse that saw them win just twice in their last 13 league games saw them join FA Cup finalists Everton in qualifying for the newly formed UEFA Europa League (which replaced the UEFA Cup). Fulham were the other team to qualify for Europe, marking a remarkable turnaround since Roy Hodgson had taken over 18 months earlier when relegation from the Premier League looked a certainty.


2008–09 in English football, League tables, Premier League
This was not only the first time they had qualified for Europe via their league position, but in finishing 7th in the first tier, this was also the highest ever league finish in the club's history. Stoke City, despite being pre-season relegation favourites for many, defied their critics and finishing comfortably in mid-table.


2008–09 in English football, League tables, Premier League
West Bromwich Albion made an immediate return to the championship after propping up the table for most of the season. Joinining them on the final day were Middlesbrough and Newcastle United, ending 11 and 16-year spells in the top flight respectively, the latter going through four managers in Kevin Keegan, Joe Kinnear, Chris Hughton and even former striker Alan Shearer during the campaign. Sunderland survived relegation, thanks to the efforts of caretaker manager Ricky Sbragia after Roy Keane's surprise resignation in December; meaning next season they would be the only North-East team in top flight football.


2008–09 in English football, League tables, Premier League
Despite a brilliant start to the season (Which included victories at Arsenal and Tottenham, a draw at Liverpool and a narrow 4–3 loss at Manchester United, and climbing as high as third place in October), Hull City won just one league game after the new year, but avoided relegation by a single point.


2008–09 in English football, League tables, Football League Championship
Five years after being relegated from the Premier League, Wolverhampton Wanderers returned to the top flight in style as champions, having been in the top 2 for virtually all the season since August. Birmingham City were runners-up, making this the fourth season in a row that they had swapped divisions. Burnley joined them by beating Sheffield United in the play-off final, earning their place in the top flight after a 33-year absence.


2008–09 in English football, League tables, Football League Championship
Cardiff City occupied a play-off position for much of the season, but agonisingly slipped out of them on the final day after obtaining just one point in their final four league games. Preston North End in contrast, took twelve points from their final four league games, including a 6–0 win over Cardiff to finish ahead of them by courtesy of having scored one goal more throughout the season. Doncaster Rovers who were favourites to go straight back down and in the second tier after half a century out, achieved a respectable mid-table finish ahead of former Premier League teams in Crystal Palace, Coventry City, Blackpool, Derby County, Nottingham Forest and Barnsley.


2008–09 in English football, League tables, Football League Championship
Charlton suffered their second relegation in three years, despite a run of just one loss out of eight games at the end of the season. Southampton also crashed out of the division amid financial worries, which also meant they would be starting the 2009–10 season in League One with a ten-point deduction for entering administration. Norwich were the third relegated club, meaning that all three relegated clubs had been in the Premier League as recently as 2005 and had long left the third tier (Charlton last competed in the third tier in 1981, Southampton and Norwich in 1960).


2008–09 in English football, League tables, Football League One
Leicester comfortably won promotion in their first-ever season at this level, leading the table for virtually the entire season, going half the season (23 consecutive games) unbeaten and losing just 4 games in the process. Nigel Pearson brought stability to the club in becoming their first manager in five years to last an entire season as they looked to turn the corner after several years of struggle. Peterborough were runners-up, winning their second successive promotion and entering the second tier for only the second time in their history. Scunthorpe grabbed the final play-off place on the last day of the season in a winner takes all match v 7th place Tranmere Rovers and won promotion through them, making an immediate return to the Championship after being relegated the previous year.


2008–09 in English football, League tables, Football League One
Stockport went into administration before the final match of the season and so suffered a 10-point penalty; however, there was no real chance of them being relegated as a result of this penalty, barring an extremely unlikely set of results on the final day.


2008–09 in English football, League tables, Football League One
Hereford made an immediate return to League Two, finishing bottom in their first campaign at this level for thirty years. Cheltenham improved late in the season, but it proved too late to prevent relegation. Crewe suffered a late collapse and went down to League Two, having looked safe a few weeks previously. Northampton were relegated on the final day of the season after losing at Leeds and other results went against them. Brighton had looked certainties for relegation in the closing weeks, but the appointment of Russell Slade as manager saw them claim 16 points out of a possible 21 to survive. Carlisle and Hartlepool both survived on the last day.


2008–09 in English football, League tables, Football League One
Leading goalscorer: Simon Cox (Swindon Town) – 29, and Rickie Lambert (Bristol Rovers) – 29


2008–09 in English football, League tables, Football League Two
Brentford made a return to League One as champions, the second club to win the fourth tier three times since Doncaster Rovers. Exeter won their second successive promotion, and on the final day of the season managed to pip Wycombe Wanderers for the runners-up spot. Wycombe themselves managed the final automatic promotion spot by virtue of a single goal over Bury. The play-offs were won by Gillingham, who made an immediate return to League One after the previous season's relegation.


2008–09 in English football, League tables, Football League Two
Several teams suffered heavy points deductions during the season. Rotherham were docked 17 points at the start of the season and Darlington 10 points later on. Without these penalties they would have both qualified for the play-offs, but instead managed only mid table. Bournemouth also suffered a 17-point deduction pre-season, and halfway through it looked to be enough to cost them their League status; however, a fightback under new manager Eddie Howe saw them climb to safety and secure survival with a game to spare.


2008–09 in English football, League tables, Football League Two
Luton suffered the heaviest deduction however, and the loss of 30 points proved too much for them to survive (though they would still have been relegated, albeit while finishing a place higher, had they only suffered the same 17-point deduction as Bournemouth and Rotherham). They suffered their third successive relegation and dropped out of the league, making them only the third English team to suffer three successive relegations, and the first to drop from the second tier to the Conference in successive years.


2008–09 in English football, League tables, Football League Two
The other relegated team was Chester City, who were statistically the worst team in the division and returned to the Conference after only five years. This would ultimately be the final season that the club completed, as they folded in March 2010, before the end of the following campaign. Grimsby would also have suffered relegation, if not for Luton's points deduction.


2008–09 in English football, League tables, Football League Two
Leading goalscorers: Simeon Jackson (Gillingham) – 20, Grant Holt (Shrewsbury Town) – 20, and Jack Lester (Chesterfield) – 20


2008–09 in German football
The 2008–09 season was the 99th season of competitive football in Germany. It lasted from 1 July 2008 until 30 June 2009.


2008–09 in German football, Diary of the season
5 October 2008 – Jos Luhukay is released from his duties as head coach of Borussia Mönchengladbach after 20 months over a series of bad results. Director of sporting affairs Christian Ziege acts as a caretaker until a new coach has been found.


2008–09 in German football, Diary of the season
19 October 2008 – Hans Meyer is introduced as the new head coach of Borussia Mönchengladbach. It is his second spell with the club after a four-year stint between 1999 and 2003.


2008–09 in German football, Diary of the season
23 November 2008 – Armin Veh, head coach of defending champions VfB Stuttgart, is sacked after 33 months. Former player Markus Babbel, who has retired after last season, takes over the coaching duties. Babbel is assigned the title of a "teamchef" since he does not own a professional coaching license.


2008–09 in German football, Diary of the season
26 March 2009 – Fred Rutten is sacked as head coach of FC Schalke 04 after 9 months. A well-below-expectation season performance, including early exits in the UEFA Cup and DFB-Pokal competitions and a dismal eighth place in the Bundesliga, is cited as the reason.


2008–09 in German football, Diary of the season
1 April 2009 – FC Schalke 04 announces that assistant coaches Mike Büskens, Youri Mulder and Oliver Reck will once again act as caretakers for the remainder of the season.


2008–09 in German football, Diary of the season
27 April 2009 – Jürgen Klinsmann is released from his duties as FC Bayern Munich head coach. "Endangered minimum season goals" are cited as the cause of his dismissal after ten months. Jupp Heynckes, who coincidentally visits the Bayern match before Klinsmann's exit, and reserves coach Hermann Gerland are appointed as caretakers. Mehmet Scholl is assigned as temporary coach for the 3. Liga reserve team.


2008–09 in German football, Diary of the season
6 May 2009 – Felix Magath, manager of championship contenders VfL Wolfsburg, is announced as new FC Schalke 04 manager for the 2009–10 season. Magath signs a four-year contract with the club.


2008–09 in German football, Diary of the season
14 May 2009 – Louis van Gaal is confirmed as new head coach of Bayern Munich for the 2009–10 season. Van Gaal, who won the Eredivisie with AZ Alkmaar, signs a two-year contract.


2008–09 in German football, Diary of the season
17 May 2009 – Just prior to the last matchday, Michael Frontzeck is ousted as Arminia Bielefeld head coach in a last attempt to save the club from relegation. Jörg Berger is assigned as a caretaker two days later.


2008–09 in German football, Diary of the season
21 May 2009 – Friedhelm Funkel announces he resignment after five seasons as Eintracht Frankfurt head coach at the end of the season.


2008–09 in German football, Diary of the season
26 May 2009 – Martin Jol, head coach of Hamburger SV, leaves the club for Eredivisie sides Ajax Amsterdam.


2008–09 in German football, Diary of the season
28 May 2009 – Hans Meyer announces he retirement as a coach after successfully avoiding relegation with Borussia Mönchengladbach


2008–09 in German football, Diary of the season
2 June 2009 – In a surprise move, Christoph Daum skips his last year with 1. FC Köln to become the new head coach of Turkish Süper Lig sides Fenerbahçe.


2008–09 in German football, Diary of the season
3 June 2009 – Michael Frontzeck signs a two-year contract as head coach of Borussia Mönchengladbach.


2008–09 in German football, Diary of the season
4 June 2009 – Michael Skibbe is appointed as new head coach of Eintracht Frankfurt. Skibbe signs a two-year contract with the club.


2008–09 in German football, Diary of the season
5 June 2009 – Bruno Labbadia, head coach of Bayer Leverkusen, leaves the club after just one year and takes over Hamburger SV. Labbadia signs a two-year contract with Hamburg. Jupp Heynckes is named as Labbadia's successor, also signing a two-year contract.


2008–09 in German football, Diary of the season
12 June 2009 – Former Bundesliga player Zvonimir Soldo signs a two-year contract as head coach of 1. FC Köln. Soldo enters Cologne after a Prva HNL title with Croatian team Dinamo Zagreb.


2008–09 in German football, Men's national team, FIFA World Cup 2010 qualifiers
Germany was drawn into Group 4 of UEFA qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.


2008–09 in German football, Women's national team, Olympic football tournament
Germany ended the Olympic football tournament with the bronze medal.


2008–09 in German football, Women's national team, UEFA Women's Euro 2009 qualifiers
Germany had already qualified for the UEFA Women's Euro 2009 before the start of the season. After the last qualifying match, the team finished with eight wins from eight matches in Group 4.


2008–09 in German football, Women's national team, 2009 Algarve Cup
Germany finished the 2009 Algarve Cup as fourth-placed team after losing against Denmark in the match for third place.


2008–09 in German football, League tables, Men, 3. Liga
1. FC Union Berlin were the dominating team in the first season of the newly created third tier of the German league pyramid, winning the championship and promotion to the 2. Bundesliga with four matches to play. The remaining one-and-a-half promotion spots were contested between Fortuna Düsseldorf, Paderborn, and Unterhaching until the last matchday. Since all three teams won their last matches, Düsseldorf gained direct promotion, while Paderborn were to face 2. Bundesliga sides Osnabrück in the 2. Bundesliga relegation playoffs. The third-placed team eventually completed the promotional trio by beating Osnabrück 2–0 on aggregate.


2008–09 in German football, League tables, Men, 3. Liga
Stuttgarter Kickers were struggling both on and off the pitch and consequently relegated to the fourth-level Regionalliga. After being on bottom of the table for most of the season, the choice not to return a loan from the German FA resulted in a three-point deduction, which effectively ended their season. The second relegated team, VfR Aalen, fell victim to its amount of drawn matches. Fifteen of them, paired with only eight wins, resulted in only 39 points, which proved to be too few to survive.


2008–09 in German football, League tables, Men, 3. Liga
Wacker Burghausen would originally have been the third team to be relegated. However, they were spared after Kickers Emden, who were a promotion contender for three-quarters of the season, had to return their license over financial problems. Since Emden did not obtain a license for the Regionalliga, they entered the fifth-tier Oberliga Niedersachsen for the 2009–10 season.


2008–09 in German football, League tables, Women, Bundesliga
Turbine Potsdam emerged victorious in a very tight championship race, beating runners-up Bayern Munich by just a single goal. A 4–0 defeat against third-placed FCR Duisburg just days before the last matchday of the season proved to be costly for the team from Munich. Long-time successive champion 1. FFC Frankfurt had to battle through a couple of injuries to key players, including Birgit Prinz, and thus finished in fourth place.


2008–09 in German football, League tables, Women, Bundesliga
The first three teams qualified for the newly created UEFA Women's Champions League, although Duisburg did only so on virtue of their UEFA Women's Cup win. Both Potsdam and Duisburg directly entered the main round of the competition, while Bayern Munich competed in a qualification tournament.


2008–09 in German football, League tables, Women, Bundesliga
On the bottom side of the table, TSV Crailsheim never had a chance to be competitive, and successfully ended the season with a mere five points in last place. The second relegation place was contested between SC Bad Neuenahr and Borussia Friedenstal. The team from southwestern Germany eventually prevailed and sent Friedenstal back to the 2. Bundesliga after just one year in the top flight.


2008–09 in German football, League tables, Women, 2. Bundesliga
The northern group was won by Tennis Borussia Berlin. SG Lütgendortmund had to leave the second tier again after just one season. They were accompanied by 1. FC Union Berlin.


2008–09 in German football, League tables, Women, 2. Bundesliga
The southern group saw a close finish between 1. FC Saarbrücken and VfL Sindelfingen. Saarbrücken eventually prevailed and made their immediate return to the top flight. Wattenscheid 09, who were also relegated from the Bundesliga last season, finished fourth. On the bottom end of the table, SV Dirmingen were relegated with the worst record of all 24 2. Bundesliga teams. They were joined by Viktoria Jägersburg, who made their immediate return to the Regionalliga.


2008–09 in German football, League tables, Women, 2. Bundesliga
The relegation playoffs featured a match-up between Mellendorf and Löchgau. Both teams were promoted to the second level one year ago. Löchgau eventually retrieved their spot with a 2–1 aggregate victory, sending Mellendorf back to the Regionalliga.


2008–09 in German football, Retirements
The following is a list of retired players who ended their career at the end of the 2008–09 season. All retirements are, unless noted otherwise, listed in the 2009 special edition of kicker magazine. The club given in parentheses is the last club of the retired player.


2008–09 in Guatemalan football
The following article presents a summary of the 2008-09 football (soccer) season in Guatemala.


2008–09 in Guatemalan football, National team
This section covers the Guatemala national team matches from the beginning of June 2008 until the end of June 2009.


2008–09 in Guatemalan football, National team
The Guatemala national team played the entirety of its 2010 World Cup qualification campaign from June 2008 to November 2008, being eliminated in the Third Round of the CONCACAF region as third place in its group.


2008–09 in Guatemalan football, National team
KEY:  F = Friendly match; WCQ2010 = 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification; UNCAF 2009 = UNCAF Nations Cup 2009


2008–09 in Hong Kong football
The 2008–09 season in Hong Kong football, starting July 2008 and ending June 2009:


2008–09 in Hong Kong football, Events
On 9 July 2008, South China goalkeeper Zhang Chunhui was sentenced imprisonment for 8 months due to inflicting grievous bodily harm upon another person. He injured a 17-year-old boy in Causeway Bay on 19 December 2007.


2008–09 in Hong Kong football, Events
On 22 July 2008, HKFA confirmed the Hong Kong First Division League team list for 2008-09 season. 13 teams will compete in the top division, among which TSW Pegasus and Xiangxue Eisiti will enter using competing membership, and they will need to sponsor one local cup competition each. There are two team name changes: Lanwa Redbull renamed to be Sheffield United and Wofoo Tai Po renames to be NT Realty Wofoo Tai Po.


2008–09 in Hong Kong football, Events
On 2 September 2008, the 2008–09 season of Hong Kong First Division League started at Hong Kong Stadium, with the match between South China and Citizen, with Citizen drawing South China 1–1.


2008–09 in Hong Kong football, Events
On 17 September 2008, South China head coach Tsang Wai Chung left his post.


2008–09 in Hong Kong football, Representative team, Hong Kong Team
The home team is on the left column; the away team is on the right column.


2008–09 in Hong Kong football, Representative team, Hong Kong Team, Guangdong-Hong Kong Cup
Hong Kong representative football team participated in 31st Guangdong-Hong Kong Cup.


2008–09 in Hong Kong football, Representative team, Hong Kong Team, Asian Cup qualifiers
Hong Kong is going to play in their Asian Cup 2011 qualifying campaign.


2008–09 in Italian football
The 2008–2009 season was the 107th season of competitive football in Italy.


2008–09 in Italian football, National team
Italy played the qualifying campaign for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Italy also be participated in the FIFA Confederations Cup in mid-to-late June, 2009.


2008–09 in Italian football, Honours
Girone A: BielleseGirone B: P.B. VercelliGirone C: SacileseGirone D: Crociati NocetoGirone E: Sporting LuccheseGirone F: Pro VastoGirone G: VillacidreseGirone H: BrindisiGirone I: Siracusa


2008–09 in Libyan football
The 2008-09 season is the 96th season of competitive football in Libya.


2008–09 in Libyan football, Events
On October 15, 2008, the Libyan Super Cup was won Ittihad as they defeated Khaleej Sirte 4-0 at 11 June Stadium


2008–09 in Libyan football, Events
On October 17, 2008, the 2008-09 Libyan Premier League season started at the Green Document Stadium, at 14:00 GMT where Akhdar defeated Tersanah by 3 goals to 1.


2008–09 in Libyan football, Events
On November 4, 2008, the 2008-09 Libyan Second Division season started.


2008–09 in Libyan football, Events
On February 26, 2009, the 2008-09 Libyan Cup competition started


2008–09 in Libyan football, Events
On May 28, 2009, Al Wahda Tripoli's relegation from the Libyan Premier League was confirmed after a 4-1 away defeat to Ahly Benghazi.


2008–09 in Libyan football, National team
The home team is on the left hand column; the away team is on the right hand column.


2008–09 in Libyan football, National team, World Cup Qualifiers
Libya was in Group 4 of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification process


2008–09 in Libyan football, National team, African Nations Championship
Libya was in the North Zone for qualification to the inaugural African Nations Championship


2008–09 in Libyan football, National team, African Nations Championship, Finals
Libya were drawn in Group B, along with DR Congo, Ghana and Zimbabwe.


2008–09 in Libyan football, Performance in CAF competitions, Fixtures & Results, First round
Al Ahly Tripoli go through with an aggregate score of 7-2


2008–09 in Libyan football, Performance in CAF competitions, Fixtures & Results, First round
Khaleej Sirte go through with an aggregate score of 6-0


2008–09 in Libyan football, Performance in CAF competitions, Fixtures & Results, First round
Al Ahly Benghazi go through 3-2 on penalty kicks, after an aggregate score of 1-1.


2008–09 in Libyan football, Performance in CAF competitions, Fixtures & Results, Second round
First Legs to be played over March 13-March 15, 2009Second Legs to be played over April 3-April 5, 2009


2008–09 in Libyan football, Performance in CAF competitions, Fixtures & Results, Second round
Ahly Tripoli advance to the next stage of the competition with an aggregate score of 3–1.


2008–09 in Libyan football, Performance in CAF competitions, Fixtures & Results, Second round
Ittihad are eliminated from the competition with an aggregate score of 4–1


2008–09 in Libyan football, Performance in CAF competitions, Fixtures & Results, Second round
Ahly Benghazi are eliminated from the competition with an aggregate score of 5–3


2008–09 in Libyan football, Performance in CAF competitions, Fixtures & Results, Second round
Khaleej Sirte are eliminated from the competition with an aggregate score of 6–0


2008–09 in Libyan football, Performance in CAF competitions, Fixtures & Results, Third round
First legs to be played over April 17-April 19, 2009Second legs to be played over May 1-May 3, 2009


2008–09 in Libyan football, Performance in CAF competitions, Fixtures & Results, Third round
Ahly Tripoli are eliminated from the competition with an aggregate score of 2–0


2008–09 in Libyan football, Performance in CAF competitions, Fixtures & Results, Fourth round
First legs to be played over May 17-May 19, 2009Second legs to be played over May 29-May 31, 2009


2008–09 in Libyan football, Performance in CAF competitions, Fixtures & Results, Fourth round
Ahly Tripoli are eliminated from the competition with an aggregate score of 2–1


2008–09 in Libyan football, Performance in UAFA Competitions, Fixtures & Results
First legs to be played over October 27-October 29, 2008Second legs to be played over November 24-November 26, 2008


2008–09 in Libyan football, Performance in UAFA Competitions, Fixtures & Results
Ittihad are eliminated from the competition with an aggregate score of 3–2


2008–09 in Libyan football, Performance in UAFA Competitions, Fixtures & Results
Al Ahly Tripoli are eliminated from the competition after losing a penalty shootout 9–8, after an aggregate score of 0–0


2008–09 in Libyan football, Performance in UNAF Competitions, Fixtures & Results
Khaleej Sirte are eliminated from the competition with an aggregate score of 4–0


2008–09 in Libyan football, Performance in UNAF Competitions, Fixtures & Results
Ittihad are eliminated from the competition with an aggregate score of 3–2


2008–09 in Libyan football, Performance in UNAF Competitions, Fixtures & Results
There was an ongoing feud as to who would take 3rd place. Ittihad were originally given 3rd place as JS Kabylie did not play a penalty shootout, as they claim they won the tie on away goals. The Algerian club also said that Ittihad had an unfair advantage playing at home in a one-off match. As a result, UNAF met on January 19 to discuss the case. The UNAF later decided that the two clubs would share 3rd place, and therefore share the $75,000 prize fund.


2008–09 in Scottish football
The 2008–09 season was the 112th season of competitive football in Scotland.


2008–09 in Scottish football, Other honours, Individual honours, PFA Scotland awards
Celtic midfielder Scott Brown was named Players' Player of the Year after winning the most votes from his fellow players. He was named on the shortlist along with three other Old Firm players, Celtic defender Gary Caldwell and Rangers midfielder's Steven Davis and Pedro Mendes.


2008–09 in Scottish football, Other honours, Individual honours, PFA Scotland awards
The Young Player of the Year award was awarded to James McCarthy who was named on the shortlist along with; Heart of Midlothian winger Andrew Driver, Hibernian striker Steven Fletcher and fellow Hamilton Academical midfielder James McArthur.


2008–09 in Scottish football, Scotland national team, Summary
Scotland began the season with a friendly against Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland were denied a victory by substitute goalkeeper Allan McGregor who saved a David Healy penalty after he brought down Warren Feeney inside the area. The draw meant that Scotland had yet to win under George Burley after three matches. The 2010 World Cup qualification campaign began against Macedonia. Scotland faced an early free-kick after Macedonia striker Goran Maznov fell theatrically on the edge of the penalty area as he was challenged by stand-in captain Stephen McManus.


2008–09 in Scottish football, Scotland national team, Summary
Craig Gordon was able to tip the resulting shot onto the post, but Ilčo Naumoski followed up to score five minutes into George Burley's first competitive match. Both teams had opportunities and Scotland were denied what appeared to be a clear penalty after James McFadden was brought down but the referee waved away the appeals and booked the striker for his protests. Scotland recovered from their opening defeat with a 2–1 victory away to Iceland in what was Burley's first win as manager.


2008–09 in Scottish football, Scotland national team, Summary
Kirk Broadfoot scored on his debut and James McFadden scored from a penalty, Iceland got back into the match after captain McManus handled in the box and Eiður Guðjohnsen scored from the resulting penalty. Scotland held out for the win despite having to play the last 13 minutes down to ten men.


2008–09 in Scottish football, Scotland national team, Summary
Scotland drew 0–0 at home to Norway despite debutant striker Chris Iwelumo being presented with an open goal opportunity from just three yards, with the ball being crossed by Gary Naysmith from the left to the right side of the goal where Iwelumo is standing, he connects with the ball but somehow manages to put the ball wide of the left post. The draw left Scotland top of Group Nine but with just four points from three games, with the Netherlands having played just one. They next played a friendly against Argentina in Diego Maradona's first match as Argentina manager, Maxi Rodríguez scored the winning goal for the Argentines in a 1–0 win.


2008–09 in Scottish football, Scotland national team, Summary
The Netherlands beat Scotland comfortably with goals from Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Robin van Persie and Dirk Kuyt, depleted by injuries Burley was forced to field an inexperienced side Ross McCormack making his debut started along with Christophe Berra and Allan McGregor, who were making their first competitive starts. Scotland were denied a chance to get back into the match at 2–0 down when referee Massimo Busacca (who was suspended by his home federation) disallowed a seemingly perfectly good Gary Caldwell goal, minutes later the Netherlands were awarded a penalty from which Kuyt scored.


2008–09 in Scottish football, Scotland national team, Summary
Ross McCormack and Steven Fletcher both scored their first international goals in a 2–1 win over Iceland, McCormack opened the scoring after 39 minutes firing high into the net from an Alan Hutton cross, Indridi Sigurdsson levelled for the visitors after Pálmi Rafn Pálmason hit the post, Scotland though regrouped and after 65 minutes were awarded a debatable corner which McCormack took, the ball was headed into the danger area by McManus and Fletcher headed into the net.


2008–09 in Scottish football, Scotland national team, Summary
Scotland had gained seven points from five matches and occupied second spot in Group nine, three points clear of Iceland, four matches between the other teams and Scotland retained second position having played less matches than all other teams in the group meaning they were in prime position for second place with Holland already guaranteed first, However, only the second placed teams from eight of the nine qualifying groups would go into the play-offs.


2008–09 in Scottish reserve and youth football
This is the current revision of this page, as edited by Frietjes (talk | contribs) at 15:03, 26 January 2020 (→Notes and references). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this version.


2008–09 in Scottish reserve and youth football
The 2008–09 season was a season of reserve and youth football in Scotland. The season commenced in August 2008.


2008–09 in Turkish football
The 2008–09 season is the 105th season of competitive football in Turkey.


2008–09 in Uruguayan football, Second Division, Teams
These are the teams that currently participate in Uruguayan Second Division:


2008–09 in Uruguayan football, Uruguay national teams
This section will cover Uruguay's games from August 1, 2008 until June 30, 2009.


2008–09 in Uruguayan football, Uruguay national teams, Uruguay U-20, World Cup qualifiers
The Uruguay under-20 squad is in Group B of the qualification process for the Final Group of 2009 South American Youth Championship.


2008–09 in Uruguayan football, Uruguay national teams, Uruguay U-17, World Cup qualifiers
The Uruguay under-17 squad is in Group B of the qualification process for the Final Group of 2009 South American Under-17 Football Championship.


2008–09 in Venezuelan football
The following article presents a summary of the 2008-09 football season in Venezuela.


2008–09 in Venezuelan football, Segunda División A, Torneo Apertura ("Opening" Tournament)
Last updated: 14 December 2008Source: Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd goal difference; 3rd goals scored. P = Position; Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points.


2008–09 in Venezuelan football, Segunda División A, Torneo Clausura ("Closing" Tournament)
Last updated: 26 May 2009Source: Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd goal difference; 3rd goals scored. P = Position; Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points.


2008–09 in Venezuelan football, Segunda División A, Aggregate Table
Last updated: 26 May 2009Source: 1Although the Union Atlético Trujillo qualified to the First Division, were not inscribed due to the merger with Real Esspor. 2Yaracuyanos FC bought UA Maracaibo spot.3Trujillanos FC promoted. Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd goal difference; 3rd goals scored. P = Position; Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points.


2008–09 in Venezuelan football, Segunda División B, Grupo Centro Occidental
Last updated: 14 December 2008Source: Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd goal difference; 3rd goals scored. P = Position; Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points.


2008–09 in Venezuelan football, Segunda División B, Promotion playoff
Minasoro FC and U.A. San Antonio finished the tournament as champions of the Apertura: Grupo Centro Oriental and Grupo Centro Occidental respectively, because of this they have to play a promotion playoff.


2008–09 in Venezuelan football, Segunda División B, Grupo Centro Occidental
Last updated: 10 May 2009Source: Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd goal difference; 3rd goals scored. P = Position; Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points.


2008–09 in Venezuelan football, Segunda División B, Promotion playoff
Fundación Cesarger and U.A. San Antonio finished the tournament as champions of the Clausura: Grupo Centro Oriental and Grupo Centro Occidental respectively, because of this they have to play a promotion playoff.


2008–09 in Venezuelan football, Venezuela national team
This section will cover Venezuela's games from August 19, 2008 until June 27, 2009.


2008–09 in Welsh football, FAW Premier Cup
The FAW Premier Cup was discontinued, 2007-08 being the last season the competition was run.


2008–09 in Welsh football, Welsh Cup
Bangor City won the 2009 Welsh Cup beating Aberystwyth Town 2–0 in the final.


2008–09 in Welsh football, Welsh League Cup
The New Saints won the 2009 Welsh League Cup beating Bangor City 2–0 in the final.


2008–09 in men's cyclo-cross
2008–09 in men's cyclo-cross covers the major Cyclo-cross competitions in the 2008-09 season, which runs from September 2008 until March 2009.


2008–09 in men's cyclo-cross
The competitions considered are the World Championships, National championships, the World Cup, the Superprestige and the Gazet van Antwerpen Trophy. Results of single day races of type C1 (the highest class) are also given.


2008–09 snooker season
The 2008–09 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between 4 June 2008 and 10 May 2009. Four players missed the fourth ranking event of the season, the Bahrain Championship, and therefore lost ranking points; this was due to a clash with some Premier League matches whose date had already been approved by the game's governing body.


2008–09 snooker season, New professional players
Note: new means in these case, that these players were not on the 2007/2008 professional Main Tour.


2008–09 snooker season, Calendar
The following table outlines the results and dates for all the ranking and major invitational events.


2008–09 snooker season, Official rankings
The top 16 of the world rankings, these players automatically played in the final rounds of the world ranking events and were invited for the Masters.


2008–09 synchronized skating season
The 2008–09 synchronized skating season began on July 1, 2008, and ended on June 30, 2009. During this season, which was concurrent with the season for the other four disciplines (men's single, ladies' single, pair skating and ice dancing), elite synchronized skating teams competed on the International Skating Union (ISU) Championship level at the 2009 World Championships and Junior World Challenge Cup. They also competed at various other international as well as national synchronized skating competitions.


2008–2009 Belgian financial crisis
The 2008–2009 Belgian financial crisis is a major financial crisis that hit Belgium from mid-2008 onwards. Two of the country's largest banks – Fortis and Dexia – started to face severe problems, exacerbated by the financial problems hitting other banks around the world. The value of their stocks plunged. The government managed the situation by bailouts, selling off or nationalizing banks, providing bank guarantees and extending the deposit insurance. Eventually Fortis was split into two parts. The Dutch part was nationalized, while the Belgian part was sold to the French bank BNP Paribas. Dexia group was dismantled, Dexia Bank Belgium was nationalized.


2008–2009 Belgian financial crisis, Context
The global financial crisis and the credit crunch shocked trust across the board. At the time of bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Belgium was in a long simmering political crisis. The Flemish and French communities were at odds with one another, especially after the electoral gains of the Flemish separatist party N-VA. The fear of Belgium splitting into two worsened the trust situation. Most of the events took place during the Leterme I, Van Rompuy I and Leterme II Governments. Didier Reynders was finance minister in all of them. The government was assisted by CBFA and the Court of Audit.


2008–2009 Belgian financial crisis, Context
Historically Belgium has had a high public debt, which in 1993 peaked at 137.8% GDP. In order to be able to join the eurozone this was greatly reduced to around 100% GDP at the turn of the century. This budgetary discipline was continued after the introduction of the euro, in part to comply with the Maastricht Treaty. By 2007 the public debt of Belgium had dropped to 84% GDP. The reduced debt increased Belgium's ability to cope with the situation. The government interventions in the financial sector, and deficit spending at a time of economic slowdown has affected the government debt, rising again to 99.6% GDP in 2012.


2008–2009 Belgian financial crisis, Context
There is a degree of pillarisation in Belgium. Dexia belonged to the Catholic pillar, Ethias belongs to the socialist pillar.


2008–2009 Belgian financial crisis, Bank crises, Fortis
Fortis was the largest Belgian bank in early 2008, positioned mainly in the Benelux. From mid-2008 onwards, the bank began facing severe liquidity problems and its stock value began rapidly declining. The problem was exacerbated by the earlier acquisition of the Dutch bank ABN Amro, which had depleted Fortis' capital. Since the beginning of 2008, about 3% of the deposits stalled at the bank were withdrawn. Belgian and Dutch ministers and financial regulators met each other on 27 September to tackle the crisis.


2008–2009 Belgian financial crisis, Bank crises, Fortis
The following day, Fortis was partially nationalised on 28 September 2008, with Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg investing a total of €11.2 billion (US$16.3 billion) in the bank. Belgium will purchase 49% of Fortis's Belgian banking division, with the Netherlands doing the same for the Dutch banking division. Luxembourg has agreed to a loan convertible into a 49% share of Fortis's Luxembourg banking division.


2008–2009 Belgian financial crisis, Bank crises, Fortis
On 3 October the Dutch government purchased the Dutch banking and insurance division of Fortis for €16.8 billion ($23.3 billion), becoming the holder of Fortis Bank Nederland, Fortis Verzekeringen Nederland and Fortis Corporate Insurance, including the part of ABN Amro held by Fortis. BNP Paribas, a French bank, took a majority stake in Fortis, while Belgian and Luxembourg governments became minority shareholders with blocking power in exchange for shares in BNP Paribas. The deal does not include the main holding company, but does include the insurance and banking subsidiaries, except for Fortis Insurance International. Dutch and Belgian shareholders' associations have requested a review of the takeover.


2008–2009 Belgian financial crisis, Bank crises, Fortis
Toxic assets were placed in a bad bank called Royal Park Investments. Thanks in part to good management and multi billion euro guarantees by the government the holding performed better than expected. In April 2013 it was sold for 2.3 billion euro to the American investment firm Lone Star. This was good news for public finances (1 billion euro) and the Fortis holding since renamed to Ageas.


2008–2009 Belgian financial crisis, Bank crises, Dexia
On 30 September 2008 the Belgian, French and Luxembourg governments said they would put in €6.4bn to keep Dexia afloat.


2008–2009 Belgian financial crisis, Bank crises, Dexia
The problems at Dexia stem in part from a multi-billion loan to troubled German bank Depfa and potential losses at its US subsidiary FSA. The Dexia board stated on 5 October 2008 that the capital addition by the governments would put it in a position in which it could deal with deteriorating market conditions, and that the credit risks associated with Hypo Real Estate and Depfa are only limited.


2008–2009 Belgian financial crisis, Bank crises, Dexia
Market conditioned worsened over the following years, generating losses. On the sale of FSA, due to the fall of Lehman brother and Icelandic banks and finally due to a large exposure to the Greek government-debt crisis.


2008–2009 Belgian financial crisis, Bank crises, Dexia
Eventually, in October 2011, the group was dismantled Dexia bank Belgium was bought by the Belgian federal government for 4 billion euro and changed its name to Belfius. Other healthy components were also sold off and the toxic assets remained in the Dexia Holding. Dexia holding is Europe's largest bad bank. Operating with the help of bank guarantees of the Belgian and French governments Dexia holding is tasked to minimize the losses on its toxic assets. The holding is still generating large losses, which led Belgium and France to inject another €5.5 billion in 2012.


2008–2009 Belgian financial crisis, Bank crises, KBC
Since the beginning of October 2008, the price of KBC shares had dropped by more than half. The turbulence on the international financial markets and the skewed domestic situation after the government bail-out of its two largest competitors had increased the pressure. On Saturday 25 October, KBC was reported to be in talks with the Belgian government, hoping to obtain a €3.5 billion cash injection. The company, which is also active in Central Europe, fears the harm of the financial woes hitting that region. The deal was approved. The extra cash was used to increase its risk buffer.


2008–2009 Belgian financial crisis, Bank crises, KBC
Because KBC is seen by the Walloons as a mainly Flemish bank, the federal government was unwilling to participate in a second intervention. In January 2009, the Flemish government stepped in KBC for €2 billion. In addition KBC was allowed to issue bonds to the Flemish government for up to 1.5 billion euro.


2008–2009 Belgian financial crisis, Bank crises, KBC
When the credit rating of MBIA an American insurer, which specializes in bond insuring, was downgraded to junk this decreased the value of KBC's risky assets. A third agreement was made. Mid -May 2009 the federal government announced it will offer bank guarantees for up to 2 billion euro.


2008–2009 Belgian financial crisis, Bank crises, KBC
In 2012 KBC made a profit of 612 million euro. By the end of that year, and ahead of schedule, KBC had paid back all of the 3.5 billion euro of support from the federal government. It also plans to pay back the support from the Flemish government at an accelerated pace, starting with 1.17 billion in 2013.


2008–2009 Belgian financial crisis, Government reaction
Besides the bail-outs of both Fortis and Dexia, the government also guaranteed all bank savings up to €20,000. This limit was later raised to €100,000. On Saturday 11 October, the government announced that all banks, including the smaller ones, could obtain a similar guarantee on the condition that they are solvent and pay a fee.


2008–2009 Belgian financial crisis, Government reaction
The government also negotiated in deals to protect the savings of the 16,000 Belgian customers of the Icelandic Kaupthing Bank whose money was locked up for months following the crisis in Iceland. They belonged to the subsidiary Kaupthing Bank Luxembourg. Which was finally taken over by Blackfish Capital the Belgian accounts were taken over by Crelan. Which later also took over Centea part of the activities KBC had to shed from the European Commission as compensation for the government support.


2008–2009 Belgian financial crisis, Government reaction
When in late 2011 the interest rates on Belgian government bonds rose to irrational heights the government asked for support from the population and promoted the staatsbon. The staatsbon is a government bond that can be easily purchased at banks without any knowledge of the stock exchange. The long term rates on the international markets briefly spiked above 5.5%. The consumer purchasable bonds offered gross interests rates of 3.5%, 4%, 4.2% depending on the runtime of 3, 5 or 8 years. This was twice that of a standard savings account. The attractive rate, and the promotion resulted in a success.


2008–2009 Belgian financial crisis, Government reaction
This way the government managed to borrow 5.68 billion euro below market rates. Colloquially this iteration of the staatsbon is referred to as the Leterme-staatsbon after then Prime minister Yves Leterme. Shortly after the measure, and with a new government finally being formed the interest rates started to drop. Early 2013 even to the lowest level they had been since the introduction of the euro(below 2%). Allowing them to be resold at a profit.


2008–2009 Belgian financial crisis, Stock market reaction
The BEL-20 stock index lost more than 20% of its value during the week of 6–10 October, making it the largest weekly decline in the stock index' history. At the time Fortis, Dexia and KBC stocks made up 29.78% of the weighted index.


2008–2009 Canadian parliamentary dispute
The 2008–2009 Canadian parliamentary dispute was a political dispute during the 40th Canadian Parliament. It was triggered by the expressed intention of the opposition parties (who together held a majority of seats in the House of Commons) to defeat the Conservative minority government on a motion of non-confidence six weeks after the federal election of October 14, 2008.


2008–2009 Canadian parliamentary dispute
The intention to vote non-confidence arose from the government's fiscal update, tabled on November 27, 2008. It included several contentious provisions that the opposition parties rejected and that the government later withdrew to resolve the crisis. The Liberal Party and New Democratic Party reached an accord to form a minority coalition government. The Bloc Québécois agreed to provide support on confidence votes, thereby enabling the coalition a working majority in the Commons.


2008–2009 Canadian parliamentary dispute
On December 4, 2008, Governor General Michaëlle Jean (the representative of the Canadian monarch and head of state, Elizabeth II) granted Prime Minister Stephen Harper (the head of government) a prorogation on the condition that parliament reconvene early in the new year; the date was set as January 26, 2009. The first session of the 40th parliament thus ended, delaying a vote of no-confidence.


2008–2009 Canadian parliamentary dispute
After prorogation, the Liberals underwent a change in leadership and distanced themselves from the coalition agreement, while the NDP and Bloc remained committed to bringing down the government. The Conservative government's budget, unveiled on January 27, 2009, largely met the demands of the Liberals, who agreed to support it with an amendment to the budget motion.


2008–2009 Canadian parliamentary dispute, Background
The 39th Canadian Parliament produced a Conservative minority government headed by Stephen Harper that lasted for two and a half years. On September 7, 2008, the Prime Minister was granted a dissolution of parliament followed by a snap election. Harper justified recommending the dissolution by stating that parliament had become dysfunctional and that his government required a new mandate.


2008–2009 Canadian parliamentary dispute, Background
During the election campaign, movements for strategic voting to defeat the government came from a variety of sources. The Liberals and the Green Party formed an agreement not to run candidates against their respective leaders and a national Anything But Conservative (ABC) campaign was created by Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams. The election also took place at the height of the Financial crisis of 2007–2008, which saw governments in the United States and United Kingdom take drastic measures to stimulate their economies and bail out failing financial institutions. The Conservatives promised to stand firm with Canada's fiscal course, while the other parties began to promise greater stimulus measures.


2008–2009 Canadian parliamentary dispute, Background
The October 14, 2008, vote saw an increase in the Conservative seat count from 127 to 143—still a plurality—while the Liberals, led by Stéphane Dion, returned as Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition, with 77 seats, down from 103. Two other parties, the New Democratic Party (NDP), with 37 seats, up from 29 seats, and the Bloc Québécois, with 49 seats, down from 51 seats, together with two independent members of parliament, were elected to the House of Commons. Dion announced his resignation as Liberal leader a week after the election, stating it was his intention to stay on as leader until a successor was chosen.


2008–2009 Canadian parliamentary dispute, The dispute, Catalyst and formation of a coalition
On November 27, 2008, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty provided the House of Commons with a fiscal update, within which were plans to cut government spending, suspend the ability of civil servants to strike until 2011, sell off some Crown assets to raise capital, and eliminate the existing CAD$1.95 per vote subsidy parties garner in an election. Since money bills are matters of confidence, the opposition was forced to consider whether to accept the motion or bring down the government.


2008–2009 Canadian parliamentary dispute, The dispute, Catalyst and formation of a coalition
Flaherty's update was ultimately rejected on the grounds that it lacked any fiscal stimulus during the ongoing economic crisis, for its suspension of federal civil servants' ability to strike, for suspending the right for women to seek recourse from the courts for pay equity issues, and for the change in election financing rules.


2008–2009 Canadian parliamentary dispute, The dispute, Catalyst and formation of a coalition
After the Conservative government tabled its fiscal update, NDP leader Jack Layton asked his predecessor, Ed Broadbent, to contact former Liberal prime minister Jean Chrétien to discuss a coalition to oust the Conservatives from power. The plan became public almost immediately. Labelling the absence of an economic stimulus plan as irresponsible and the removal of public funding to parties as an attack against democracy, the opposition threatened to topple the government by voting against the fiscal update. The opposition parties based their strategy on the constitutional authority of the Governor General Michaëlle Jean to appoint a Liberal-NDP coalition able to hold the confidence of the House of Commons to form a government, should the Conservative government fall on a matter of confidence.


2008–2009 Canadian parliamentary dispute, The dispute, Catalyst and formation of a coalition
It was decided that should a coalition between the Liberals and NDP be called upon to form government its mandate would last until June 30, 2011. The proposed coalition was to have a cabinet of 24 ministers of the Crown, with the leader of the Liberal Party as prime minister, 17 other Liberal ministers (including the minister of finance), and six New Democratic ministers; if the prime minister chose a larger cabinet, the NDP proportion would be maintained.


2008–2009 Canadian parliamentary dispute, The dispute, Catalyst and formation of a coalition
As the outgoing leader of the Liberal Party, Dion would have become prime minister, likely serving until the Liberal leadership convention in May 2009. Further, Liberal party elders Frank McKenna, Paul Martin, John Manley, and former Saskatchewan NDP premier Roy Romanow, were reported to have been asked to form an economic advisory body to the coalition if needed, though both McKenna and Manley declined to take part.


2008–2009 Canadian parliamentary dispute, The dispute, Catalyst and formation of a coalition
The leader of the Bloc Québécois, which held the balance of power in the 40th parliament, signed a policy accord with the other opposition parties and agreed to support the proposed coalition on confidence votes until at least June 30, 2010. In return, the Bloc would have access to a consultative mechanism for the duration of the agreement, but would not directly participate in the coalition, receiving no cabinet positions and being free to vote as it wished on other matters. Independent MP Bill Casey announced he would join in voting non-confidence against Harper. It has been speculated that Layton and Duceppe had formed an agreement prior to the Conservatives' fiscal update and then persuaded Dion to sign on.


2008–2009 Canadian parliamentary dispute, The dispute, Catalyst and formation of a coalition
In December 2008, Elizabeth May announced the Green Party would support the proposed coalition from outside parliament. Dion indicated that the Green Party would be given input, but not a veto, over coalition policy and left open the possibility, should he become prime minister, of advising the appointment of May to the Senate.


2008–2009 Canadian parliamentary dispute, The dispute, Historical background
Since Confederation, the only formal coalition government at the Federal level was during Canada's involvement in World War I, when the governing Conservatives rebranded as the Unionist Party and accepted Liberals from English Canada into government in response to the Conscription Crisis of 1917. Previous Progressive Conservative and Liberal minority governments had relied on ad hoc voting arrangements with the NDP and the former Social Credit Party to maintain supply instead of formal coalitions. Pierre Trudeau's private offer of a coalition to the NDP after the 1980 election, an attempt to form consensus in the patriation debate and bring more Western Canadian members into Cabinet, was refused by NDP leader Ed Broadbent.


2008–2009 Canadian parliamentary dispute, The dispute, Historical background
In 2000, the Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservatives discussed forming a coalition government with the Bloc Québécois if, together, their three parties had won a majority of the seats in the 2000 election. During the minority Martin government of 2004-06, Conservative leader Stephen Harper sent a letter to then Governor General Adrienne Clarkson, suggesting that, if the Liberal minority government fell, the Conservatives would be willing to form a government with the support of the Bloc Québécois and NDP.


2008–2009 Canadian parliamentary dispute, The dispute, Historical background
There have been examples of coalition governments provincially: In Manitoba, a coalition existed between the provincial Liberal Party and the Progressives following the 1932 election; the two parties subsequently merged, and also led a coalition government with several other parties through the 1940s. British Columbia was governed by a Liberal-Conservative coalition, formed to keep the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) from power.


2008–2009 Canadian parliamentary dispute, The dispute, Historical background
In 1985, the Ontario Liberals and the third-place New Democrats reached an agreement to vote non-confidence in the governing Progressive Conservatives and have the lieutenant governor appoint the Liberal leader, David Peterson, as premier, with the NDP pledging to support his government on confidence motions for a period of two years. The NDP had no cabinet posts. The most recent coalition was seen in Saskatchewan in 1999, when the New Democratic Party formed such an arrangement with two Saskatchewan Liberal Party MLAs.


2008–2009 Canadian parliamentary dispute, The dispute, Cabinet response
On November 28, 2008, Stephen Harper referred to the accord between the Liberals and NDP as undemocratic backroom dealing, stating that the opposition parties were "overturning the results of an election a few weeks earlier in order to form a coalition that nobody voted for"; Transport minister John Baird announced that two of the Minister of Finance's proposals that had been rejected by the opposition—the elimination of political party subsidies and a ban on strikes by public servants—would be dropped.


2008–2009 Canadian parliamentary dispute, The dispute, Cabinet response
Further, in response to the opposition's demands for an economic stimulus package, the Conservatives changed their plan to one in which a federal budget would be presented on January 27, 2009, instead of late February or early March. Despite these concessions, the Liberals indicated that they intended to present their motion of non-confidence on December 8.


2008–2009 Canadian parliamentary dispute, The dispute, Cabinet response
The government then cancelled opposition day, originally to be held on December 1, to avert the threatened vote of non-confidence, this meant the earliest a coalition non-confidence motion could occur would be the following week, December 8, 2008. On November 30, the Conservatives released a secretly recorded private NDP conference call in which Jack Layton indicated that the groundwork for assuring the Bloc's participation "was done a long time ago".


2008–2009 Canadian parliamentary dispute, The dispute, Cabinet response
The NDP said in reaction that they would consider pressing criminal charges and alleged that Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) John Duncan received the invitation to participate by mistake, in place of NDP MP Linda Duncan, who had "a similar email address". However, it does not constitute a wiretap crime under the Criminal Code of Canada if someone is invited to participate in a conference call and then releases the recording publicly.


2008–2009 Canadian parliamentary dispute, The dispute, Cabinet response
The possible change of government was debated during Question Period, and the Conservatives aired radio and television advertisements contending that "a leader whose party captured just 25% of the vote in the October 14 election doesn't have a legitimate mandate to govern". In anticipation of the Prime Minister's visit to the Governor General, Harper's office also organised protests outside of the vicereine's residence, while Baird said that "Conservatives would go over the head of Parliament and of the Governor General". The revenue minister, Jean-Pierre Blackburn, said "It's a kind of coup d'état", while Environment Minister Jim Prentice declared the coalition to be "irresponsible and it is undemocratic". Echoing Prentice's sentiment, Harper insisted that the government "will use all legal means to resist this undemocratic seizure of power".


2008–2009 Canadian parliamentary dispute, Role of the Governor General
Governor General Michaëlle Jean stated that "what is happening right now is part of the possibilities in our democratic system and I think that people can be reassured that, as I turn to what is happening, I am myself looking at my constitutional duties." Jean was faced with three possible outcomes as a result of her planned meeting with the Prime Minister on December 4, 2008: dissolving parliament, proroguing parliament, or dismiss the Prime Minister and invite the opposition parties to form government.


2008–2009 Canadian parliamentary dispute, Role of the Governor General
The media looked to the two previous occasions when the reserve powers of the governor general were used in respect to declining the advice of the prime minister: The first was in 1896, when Charles Tupper refused to resign as prime minister following his party's loss in the election and Governor General the Earl of Aberdeen refused his advice to make several appointments. This effective dismissal forced Tupper to relinquish office.


2008–2009 Canadian parliamentary dispute, Role of the Governor General
The second was in 1926, during the King–Byng affair, when Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, already in minority government and having lost two votes that suggested he was likely to lose a third vote—one on a confidence question—asked Governor General the Viscount Byng of Vimy to dissolve parliament. Byng refused on the grounds that parliament was still viable and should sit for a reasonable period before a new election should be called, and then only if members of parliament were demonstrably unable to work together to form an alternate government.


2008–2009 Canadian parliamentary dispute, Role of the Governor General
One view held that, in applying the rationale relied upon by Byng to the matters in 2008, Jean would have been obliged to refuse advice to dissolve parliament within less than six months of the previous election, unless Harper had a valid reason consistent with Commonwealth constitutional precedent.


2008–2009 Canadian parliamentary dispute, Role of the Governor General
However, the situation in 2008 was not identical to the one that unfolded in 1926 and so the precedent may not have been directly applicable: In the 1925 election, Arthur Meighen had emerged as the plurality seat winner and the Liberals had suffered an electoral rebuff, with King losing his own parliamentary riding. Although Byng had suggested he resign immediately, King and his cabinet struggled on with Progressive Party support. In 2008, the Tories were in an electoral ascendancy while the Liberals suffered one of their heaviest defeats. In addition, former Governor-General of New Zealand Sir Michael Hardie Boys expressed the opinion that Byng had been in error in not re-appointing King as prime minister on the defeat of Meighen in the vote of confidence.


2008–2009 Canadian parliamentary dispute, Role of the Governor General, Dissolution of parliament
Peter H. Russell, a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Toronto, suggested that if Harper had sought a dissolution, the Governor General would have had to consider carefully the reasonableness of the request. In Russell's view, the vicereine's primary concern is to protect parliamentary democracy and a dissolution of parliament would have necessitated an election only two months after the preceding one; repeated short term elections are not healthy for the system. In such a case, with a reasonably viable coalition available, Jean might then refuse Harper's advice to dissolve parliament (forcing him to resign under constitutional precedent), and invite Dion to form a government.