134th season in existence of Aston Villa
Aston Villa 2008–09 football season
The 2008–09 season was Aston Villa 's 134th professional season; their 98th season in the top-flight and their 21st consecutive season in the top flight of English football, the Premier League . They were managed by Martin O'Neill – in his third season since replacing David O'Leary . The 2008–09 season was the first spell in European competition for O'Neill, and the first for Villa, in 6 seasons.
The club's first summer signing was the permanent capture of on-loan West Brom centre-back, Curtis Davies , in July, while their first sale was made in May, as Luke Moore completed a move to West Brom in an initial £3 million deal, after he had spent the second half of the 2007–08 season there on loan.
The fixtures for the 2008–09 season were announced on Monday 16 June 2008, with Aston Villa beginning at home against Manchester City and finishing the season at home to Newcastle . Due to Birmingham 's relegation at the end of the 2007–08 season, there was no Second City derby , however they faced local rivals West Brom on 20 September 2008 at The Hawthorns and on 10 January 2009 at home.[ 1]
In December 2008, Everton player and boyhood Villa fan, Joleon Lescott put two past Villa and still lost the match following Ashley Young 's "brilliant" equalizer.[ 2]
After 25 games, having qualified for the UEFA Cup as joint winners of the Intertoto Cup, the club were third in the table on 51 points, 2 points above Chelsea on level games and 7 points above Arsenal in 5th place and on course for a place in the Champions League for the first time since 1983. O'Neill decided to prioritise Champions League qualification above all else, fielding a virtual reserve side for a UEFA Cup game against CSKA Moscow which was subsequently lost.[ 3] Following this, Villa failed to win any of the next 8 league games and improving form for Arsenal & Chelsea meant that Villa failed to reach the top 4.
Kit
*Villa passed up sponsorship for the 2008-09 season and instead displayed the children's hospice charity, Acorns.
Transfers
Transferred in
Date
Pos
Player
From
Fee
3 July 2008
CB
Curtis Davies
West Bromwich Albion
£8,000,000
10 July 2008
CM
Steve Sidwell
Chelsea
£5,000,000
26 July 2008
GK
Brad Friedel
Blackburn Rovers
£2,500,000
1 August 2008
GK
Brad Guzan
Chivas USA
£600,000
7 August 2008
LB
Nicky Shorey
Reading
£2,000,000
8 August 2008
RB
Luke Young
Middlesbrough
£6,000,000
12 August 2008
CB
Carlos Cuéllar
Rangers
£7,800,000
30 August 2008
RM
James Milner
Newcastle United
£12,000,000
23 January 2009
CF
Emile Heskey
Wigan Athletic
£3,500,000
£45,400,000
Record
Loaned in
Date
Pos
Player
From
Loan End
Transferred out
Loaned out
Overall transfer activity
Expenditure
£45,400,000
Income
£6,600,000
Balance
£38,800,000
Players
First-team squad
Squad at end of season
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Left club during season
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Reserve squad
The following players made most of their appearances for the reserve team this season, and did not appear for the first team.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Youth squad
The following players made most of their appearances for the youth team this season, but may have also appeared for the reserves.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Other players
The following players did not appear for any squad this season.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Trialists
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Competitions
Overall
Updated to match played 12 June 2008 Source: Competitions
Premier League
Final league table
Source:
Premier League Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:
^ a b Since both finalists of the FA Cup (Chelsea and Everton) and the League Cup winners (Manchester United) qualified for the European competitions based on their league position, the sixth-placed team (Aston Villa) received a berth in the Europa League play-off round and the seventh-placed team (Fulham) received a berth in the Europa League third qualifying round.
Results summary
Overall
Home
Away
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
38
17
11
10
54
48
+6
62
7
9
3
27
21
+6
10
2
7
27
27
0
Matches
Pre-season friendlies
First-Team
Date
Opponents
H/A
Result
Scorers
Venue
Attendance
Competition
19 July 2008
Odense Boldklub
A
2–2
Carew , Laursen
Fionia Park
12,000
UEFA Intertoto Cup – 3rd round
26 July 2008
Odense Boldklub
H
1–0
A.Young
Villa Park
34,394
UEFA Intertoto Cup – 3rd round
14 August 2008
Fimleikafélag Hafnarfjarðar
A
4–1
Barry , A.Young , Agbonlahor , Laursen
Laugardalsvöllur
2,200
UEFA Cup – Second qualifying round
17 August 2008
Manchester City
H
4–2
Carew , Agbonlahor (3)
Villa Park
39,955
Premier League
23 August 2008
Stoke City
A
2–3
Carew , Laursen
Britannia Stadium
27,500
Premier League
28 August 2008
Fimleikafélag Hafnarfjarðar
H
1–1
Gardner
Villa Park
25,415
UEFA Cup – Second qualifying round
31 August 2008
Liverpool
H
0–0
Villa Park
41,647
Premier League
15 September 2008
Tottenham Hotspur
A
2-1
Reo-Coker , A.Young
White Hart Lane
36,076
Premier League
18 September 2008
PFC Litex Lovech
A
3–1
Reo-Coker , Barry , Petrov
Lovech Stadium
7,000
UEFA Cup – First round
21 September 2008
West Bromwich Albion
A
2–1
Carew , Agbonlahor
The Hawthorns
26,011
Premier League
24 September 2008
Queens Park Rangers
H
0–1
Villa Park
21,541
League Cup
27 September 2008
Sunderland
H
2–1
A.Young , Carew
Villa Park
38,706
Premier League
2 October 2008
PFC Litex Lovech
H
1–1
Harewood
Villa Park
27,230
UEFA Cup – First round
5 October 2008
Chelsea
A
0–2
Stamford Bridge
41,593
Premier League
19 October 2008
Portsmouth
H
0–0
Villa Park
37,660
Premier League
23 October 2008
Ajax
H
2–1
Laursen , Barry
Villa Park
36,657
UEFA Cup – Group Stage
26 October 2008
Wigan Athletic
A
4–0
Barry , Agbonlahor , Carew , Sidwell
JJB Stadium
20,249
Premier League
29 October 2008
Blackburn Rovers
H
3–2
L.Young , Barry , Agbonlahor
Villa Park
35,985
Premier League
3 November 2008
Newcastle United
A
0–2
St James' Park
44,567
Premier League
6 November 2008
Slavia Prague
A
1–0
Carew
Synot Tip Arena
22,322
UEFA Cup – Group Stage
9 November 2008
Middlesbrough
H
1–2
Sidwell
Villa Park
36,672
Premier League
15 November 2008
Arsenal
A
2–0
Clichy (OG), Agbonlahor
Emirates Stadium
60,047
Premier League
22 November 2008
Manchester United
H
0–0
Villa Park
42,585
Premier League
29 November 2008
Fulham
H
0–0
Villa Park
36,625
Premier League
4 December 2008
MŠK Žilina
H
1–2
Delfouneso
Villa Park
28,797
UEFA Cup – Group Stage
7 December 2008
Everton
A
3–2
Sidwell , A.Young (2)
Goodison Park
31,922
Premier League
13 December 2008
Bolton Wanderers
H
4–2
Agbonlahor (2), Davies (OG), A.Young
Villa Park
35,134
Premier League
17 December 2008
Hamburger SV
A
1–3
Delfouneso
HSH Nordbank Arena
49,121
UEFA Cup – Group Stage
20 December 2008
West Ham United
A
1–0
Neill (OG)
Boleyn Ground
31,353
Premier League
26 December 2008
Arsenal
H
2–2
Barry (pen), Knight
Villa Park
42,585
Premier League
30 December 2008
Hull City
A
1–0
Zayatte (OG)
KC Stadium
24,727
Premier League
4 January 2009
Gillingham
A
2–1
Milner (2)
Priestfield Stadium
10,107
FA Cup – Third round
10 January 2009
West Bromwich Albion
H
2–1
Davies , Agbonlahor
Villa Park
41,757
Premier League
17 January 2009
Sunderland
A
2–1
Milner , Barry (PEN)
Stadium of Light
40,350
Premier League
24 January 2009
Doncaster Rovers
A
0–0
Keepmoat Stadium
13,517
FA Cup – Fourth round
27 January 2009
Portsmouth
A
1–0
Heskey
Fratton Park
19,073
Premier League
31 January 2009
Wigan Athletic
H
0–0
Villa Park
41,766
Premier League
4 February 2009
Doncaster Rovers
H
3–1
Sidwell , Carew , Delfouneso
Villa Park
24,203
FA Cup – Fourth round replay
7 February 2009
Blackburn Rovers
A
2–0
Milner , Agbonlahor
Ewood Park
24,267
Premier League
15 February 2009
Everton
A
1–3
Milner
Goodison Park
35,439
FA Cup – Fifth round
18 February 2009
CSKA Moscow
H
1–1
Carew
Villa Park
38,038
UEFA Cup – Round of 32
21 February 2009
Chelsea
H
0–1
Villa Park
42,585
Premier League
26 February 2009
CSKA Moscow
A
0–2
Luzhniki Stadium
25,650
UEFA Cup – Round of 32
1 March 2009
Stoke City
H
2–2
Petrov , Carew
Villa Park
39,641
Premier League
4 March 2009
Manchester City
A
0–2
City of Manchester Stadium
40,137
Premier League
15 March 2009
Tottenham Hotspur
H
1–2
Carew
Villa Park
41,205
Premier League
22 March 2009
Liverpool
A
0–5
Anfield
44,131
Premier League
5 April 2009
Manchester United
A
2–3
Carew , Agbonlahor
Old Trafford
75,409
Premier League
12 April 2009
Everton
H
3–3
Carew , Milner , Barry (PEN)
Villa Park
40,188
Premier League
18 April 2009
West Ham United
H
1–1
Heskey
Villa Park
39,534
Premier League
25 April 2009
Bolton Wanderers
A
1–1
A.Young
Reebok Stadium
21,709
Premier League
2 May 2009
Hull City
H
1–0
Carew
Villa Park
39,607
Premier League
9 May 2009
Fulham
A
1–3
A.Young
Craven Cottage
25,660
Premier League
16 May 2009
Middlesbrough
A
1–1
Carew
Riverside Stadium
27,261
Premier League
24 May 2009
Newcastle United
H
1–0
Duff (OG)
Villa Park
42,585
Premier League
Reserves
Academy
Date
Opponents
H/A
Result
Scorers
Competition
19 July 2008
Queens Park Rangers
A
6 – 1
A.Stieber (2), Forrester (2), Weimann (2)
Friendly
2 August 2008
Doncaster Rovers
H
6 – 0
R.Simmonds (2), G.Gardner, Poyser, Berry, Chapman
Friendly
9 August 2008
Plymouth Argyle
H
4 – 0
R.Simmonds, G.Gardner, Forrester, Ja.Collins
Friendly
23 August 2008
Sheffield United
A
1 – 1
Ja.Collins
Premier Academy League
30 August 2008
Barnsley
H
3 – 0
Ja.Collins (2), Grocott
Premier Academy League
6 September 2008
Chelsea
H
2 – 0
Weimann, Ja.Collins
Premier Academy League
13 September 2008
West Ham United
A
0 – 3
Premier Academy League
20 September 2008
Norwich City
A
1 – 1
Ja.Collins
Premier Academy League
27 September 2008
Tottenham Hotspur
H
0 – 2
Premier Academy League
4 October 2008
Cardiff City
A
4 – 2
Hofbauer, Ja.Collins, Grocott, Forrester
Premier Academy League
11 October 2008
Coventry City
H
5 – 0
Ja.Collins (3), Poyser, Grocott
Premier Academy League
19 October 2008
Birmingham City
A
5 – 0
Poyser (3), Clark, Berry
Premier Academy League
8 November 2008
Reading
A
3 – 1
Ja.Collins, Weimann, Forrester
Premier Academy League
15 November 2008
Watford
H
3 – 2
Forrester, Ja.Collins (2)
Premier Academy League
22 November 2008
Bristol City
H
4 – 2
Berry, Weimann (2), Hofbauer
Premier Academy League
6 December 2008
MK Dons
A
3 – 0
Ja.Collins, Blythe, A.Stieber
Premier Academy League
10 December 2008
Arsenal
H
2 – 3
Ja.Collins (2)
FA Youth Cup
17 January 2009
Leicester City
A
0 – 2
Premier Academy League
24 January 2009
Reading
H
2 – 1
A.Stieber, Ja.Collins
Premier Academy League
31 January 2009
Watford
H
3 – 1
Grocott, Bradley, Ja.Collins
Premier Academy League
14 February 2009
MK Dons
H
4 – 0
Ja.Collins, G.Gardner (2), Moore
Premier Academy League
21 February 2009
Tottenham Hotspur
A
4 – 4
Ja.Collins (2), Weimann, A.Stieber
Premier Academy League
28 February 2009
Birmingham City
H
2 – 2
Forrester, Ja.Collins
Premier Academy League
7 March 2009
Cardiff City
H
3 – 2
Forrester, Ja.Collins (2)
Premier Academy League
14 March 2009
Coventry City
A
0 – 0
Premier Academy League
21 March 2009
Ipswich Town
H
4 – 2
Weimann (2), Ja.Collins, A.Stieber
Premier Academy League
Statistics
Player statistics
First-Team
Last Update: End of season
Data includes all competitive competitions
Reserves/Academy
Last Update: 25 March 2009
Data includes all competitions
Zoltán Stieber signed for TuS Koblenz on 29 January 2009. Conor Devlin and Aldi Haxhia were signed on emergency short-term loan deals. Both returned to Manchester United and Chelsea respectively.
Last updated: 12 May 2008
Source: avfc.co.uk , players' Wikipedia articles
Ordered by position on pitch (from back right to front left).
Notes
References
External links
National teams
League competitions
Level 1 Levels 2–4 Levels 5–6 Levels 7–8 Levels 9–10
Combined Counties League (Premier , One )
East Midlands Counties League (level 10 only )
Eastern Counties League (Premier , One )
Essex Senior League (level 9 only )
Hellenic League (Premier , One East , One West )
Kent League (level 9 only )
Midland Alliance (level 9 only )
Midland Football Combination (level 10 only )
North West Counties League (Premier , One )
Northern Counties East League (Premier , One )
Northern League (One , Two )
South West Peninsula League (level 10 only )
Spartan South Midlands League (Premier , One )
Sussex County League (One , Two )
United Counties League (Premier , One )
Wessex League (Premier , One )
West Midlands (Regional) League (level 10 only )
Western League (Premier , One )
Cup competitions
FA cups Football League cups
Youth competitions