The Football League 2008–09, known as the Coca-Cola Football League for sponsorship reasons, is the 17th season under its current league division format. It began in August 2008 and concluded in May 2009, with the promotion play-off finals.

The Football League is contested through three Divisions. The third division of these is League Two. The winner, runner up and third-placed team of League Two will be automatically promoted to Football League One and they will be joined by the winner of the League Two playoff. The bottom two teams in the league will be relegated to the third division, Conference National for the 2009–10 season.

Before the season started, Luton Town, Rotherham United and A.F.C. Bournemouth were all deducted points for the League Two season for, in all cases, financial problems and additionally, in the case of Luton, for criminal matters regarding transfers of players. Bournemouth and Rotherham both started on –17 points while Luton had to begin on –30 points. On 25 January, Darlington were deducted ten points after going into administration.

Contents 1 Changes from last season 1.1 From League Two 1.2 To League Two 2 League table 2.1 Playoffs 3 Results 4 Top scorers 5 Monthly awards 6 Key events 7 Stadia 8 Managerial changes 9 See also 10 References

[edit] Changes from last season

[edit] From League Two

Promoted to League One

• Milton Keynes Dons
• Peterborough United
• Hereford United
• Stockport County

Relegated to Conference National

• Wrexham
• Mansfield Town

[edit] To League Two

Relegated from League One

• Bournemouth
• Gillingham
• Port Vale
• Luton Town

Promoted from Conference National

• Aldershot Town
• Exeter City

[edit] League table

P	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Brentford  (C) (P)	46	23	16	7	65	36	+29	85	Promotion to League One
2	Exeter City  (P)	46	22	13	11	65	50	+15	79
3	Wycombe Wanderers  (P)	46	20	18	8	54	33	+21	78
4	Bury	46	21	15	10	63	43	+20	78	Qualification to League Two playoffs
5	Gillingham  (P) (O)	46	21	12	13	58	55	+3	75
6	Rochdale	46	19	13	14	70	59	+11	70
7	Shrewsbury Town	46	17	18	11	61	44	+17	69
8	Dagenham & Redbridge	46	19	11	16	77	53	+24	68
9	Bradford City	46	18	13	15	66	55	+11	67
10	Chesterfield	46	16	15	15	62	57	+5	63
11	Morecambe	46	15	18	13	53	56	−3	63
12	Darlington	46	20	12	14	61	44	+17	062*
13	Lincoln City	46	14	17	15	53	52	+1	59
14	Rotherham United	46	21	12	13	60	46	+14	058*
15	Aldershot Town	46	14	12	20	59	80	−21	54
16	Accrington Stanley	46	13	11	22	42	59	−17	50
17	Barnet	46	11	15	20	56	74	−18	48
18	Port Vale	46	13	9	24	44	66	−22	48
19	Notts County	46	11	14	21	49	69	−20	47
20	Macclesfield Town	46	13	8	25	45	77	−32	47
21	Bournemouth	46	17	12	17	59	51	+8	046*
22	Grimsby Town	46	9	14	23	51	69	−18	41
23	Chester City  (R)	46	8	13	25	43	81	−38	37	Relegation to Conference National
24	Luton Town  (R)	46	13	17	16	58	65	−7	026*

Updated to games played on 2 May 2009
Source: The Football League
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd goal difference; 3rd goals scored.
^* Darlington deducted 10 points^[1]; Bournemouth deducted 17 points^[2]; Rotherham United deducted 17 points^[3]; Luton Town deducted 30 points^[4]
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (Q) = Qualified to respective phase of tournament; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.

[edit] Playoffs

	Semifinals							Final at Wembley
	7	Shrewsbury Town	0	1 (4)	1
	4	Bury	1	0 (3)	1
								Shrewsbury Town		0
								Gillingham		1
	6	Rochdale	0	1	1
	5	Gillingham	0	2	2

[edit] Results

Home \ Away1

ACC

ALD

BRN

BOU

BRA

BRE

BRY

CHC

CHF

D&R

DAR

EXE

GIL

GRI

LIN

LUT

MAC

MOR

NTC

PTV

ROC

ROT

SHR

WYC

Accrington Stanley

0–1

1–1

3–0

2–3

1–1

1–2

0–1

1–0

0–0

1–0

2–1

0–2

3–1

0–2

0–0

2–0

1–0

1–1

2–0

1–3

1–3

2–1

0–1

Aldershot Town

3–1

1–1

1–1

3–2

1–1

3–3

2–2

1–1

1–2

2–1

1–0

2–1

2–2

2–0

2–1

1–1

0–2

2–2

1–0

2–4

0–1

0–0

3–2

Barnet

2–1

0–3

1–0

4–1

0–1

1–2

3–1

1–3

1–1

0–1

0–1

2–2

3–3

3–2

1–1

1–3

1–1

0–4

1–2

2–1

2–0

0–0

1–1

Bournemouth

1–0

2–0

0–2

4–1

0–1

2–0

1–0

1–1

2–1

3–1

0–1

1–1

2–1

0–1

1–1

0–1

0–0

0–1

0–0

4–0

0–0

1–0

3–1

Bradford City

1–1

5–0

3–3

1–3

1–1

1–0

0–0

3–2

1–1

0–0

4–1

2–2

2–0

1–1

1–1

1–0

4–0

2–1

0–1

2–0

3–0

0–0

1–0

Brentford

3–0

3–0

1–0

2–0

2–1

1–0

3–0

0–1

2–1

1–1

1–1

1–1

4–0

1–1

2–0

1–0

3–1

1–1

2–0

1–2

0–0

1–1

3–3

Bury

1–0

2–1

1–0

1–0

1–0

1–0

1–1

1–2

2–2

2–2

0–1

4–0

0–2

3–1

1–2

3–0

2–1

2–0

3–0

2–1

1–2

2–1

0–0

Chester City

2–0

0–1

5–1

0–2

0–0

3–0

1–1

1–3

2–2

1–2

0–0

0–1

1–1

0–2

2–2

0–2

1–2

2–0

1–2

0–2

1–5

1–1

0–2

Chesterfield

1–1

5–1

1–1

1–0

0–2

0–1

1–3

1–1

1–1

0–0

2–1

0–1

2–1

1–1

2–2

2–4

1–2

3–1

2–1

3–0

1–0

2–2

0–1

Dagenham & Redbridge

0–0

3–1

2–0

0–1

3–0

3–1

1–3

6–0

3–0

0–1

1–2

2–0

4–0

0–3

2–1

2–1

0–2

6–1

1–1

3–2

1–1

1–2

0–1

Darlington

3–0

2–0

2–2

2–1

2–1

1–3

2–2

1–2

0–0

3–0

1–1

1–2

1–0

2–0

5–1

1–2

0–0

1–0

2–1

1–2

1–0

1–1

1–2

Exeter City

2–1

3–2

2–1

1–3

1–0

0–2

0–0

2–0

1–6

2–1

2–0

3–0

0–0

2–1

0–1

4–0

2–2

2–2

1–0

4–1

1–1

1–2

1–0

Gillingham

1–0

4–4

0–2

1–0

0–2

1–1

0–0

2–0

2–1

2–1

1–0

1–0

3–0

1–2

0–1

3–1

5–0

2–2

1–0

1–1

4–0

2–2

1–1

Grimsby Town

0–1

1–0

0–1

3–3

1–3

0–1

1–2

1–3

0–1

1–1

1–2

2–2

3–0

5–1

2–2

0–0

2–3

0–1

3–0

0–0

3–0

1–0

1–1

Lincoln City

5–1

0–2

2–0

3–3

0–0

2–2

1–1

1–1

3–1

0–3

0–1

0–1

2–0

1–1

0–0

1–0

1–1

1–1

0–1

1–1

0–1

0–0

1–0

Luton Town

1–2

3–1

3–1

3–3

3–3

0–1

1–2

1–1

0–0

2–1

1–2

1–2

0–0

2–1

3–2

1–0

1–1

1–1

1–3

1–1

2–4

3–1

0–1

Macclesfield Town

0–2

4–2

2–1

0–2

0–2

2–0

1–1

3–1

1–1

0–4

0–6

1–4

0–1

1–0

1–2

2–1

0–1

1–1

0–2

0–1

1–2

3–0

0–0

Morecambe

1–1

2–0

2–1

0–4

2–1

2–0

0–0

3–1

2–2

1–2

1–0

1–1

0–1

1–1

1–1

1–2

4–1

1–0

1–1

1–1

1–3

1–0

0–0

Notts County

1–1

2–1

2–0

1–1

3–1

1–1

0–1

1–2

0–1

0–3

0–0

2–1

0–1

0–2

0–1

0–2

1–1

1–0

4–2

1–2

0–3

2–2

0–2

Port Vale

0–2

0–0

0–0

3–1

0–2

0–3

1–1

3–0

0–1

0–1

3–1

1–3

1–3

2–1

0–1

1–3

1–4

2–1

1–2

2–1

0–0

1–1

1–1

Rochdale

3–1

3–1

3–1

1–1

3–0

1–2

1–1

6–1

2–1

0–2

0–2

2–2

0–1

2–0

2–2

2–0

1–1

1–1

3–0

1–0

1–2

2–1

0–1

Rotherham United

0–0

1–2

3–4

1–0

0–2

0–0

1–1

3–1

3–0

1–1

0–1

0–1

2–0

4–1

1–0

1–0

2–0

3–2

2–1

1–0

2–2

1–2

0–0

Shrewsbury Town

2–0

1–0

2–2

4–1

2–0

1–3

1–0

1–0

2–1

2–1

1–0

1–1

7–0

1–1

0–0

3–0

4–0

0–0

3–2

1–2

1–1

1–0

0–1

Wycombe Wanderers

2–1

3–0

1–1

3–1

1–0

0–0

2–1

2–0

1–1

2–1

1–1

1–1

1–0

0–1

1–0

0–0

4–0

1–1

1–2

4–2

0–1

0–0

1–1

Source: The Football League
¹The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For coming matches, an a indicates there is an article about the match.

[edit] Top scorers

Pos	Player	Team	Goals
1	Simeon Jackson	Gillingham	20
2	Grant Holt	Shrewsbury Town	20
3	Jack Lester	Chesterfield	20
4	Adam le Fondre	Rochdale	17
5	John O'Flynn	Barnet	17
6	Reuben Reid	Rotherham United	17
7	Charlie MacDonald	Brentford	16
8	Andy Bishop	Bury	15
	Peter Thorne	Bradford City
10	Paul Benson	Dagenham & Redbridge	14
	Ryan Lowe	Chester City
	Brett Pitman	Bournemouth
	Jamie Ward	Chesterfield

[edit] Monthly awards

Month	Manager of the Month		Player of the Month		Notes
	Manager	Club	Player	Club
August	Mark Robins	Rotherham United	Solomon Taiwo	Dagenham & Redbridge	[5][6]
September	Alan Knill	Bury	Matthew Gill	Exeter City	[7][8]
October	Peter Jackson	Lincoln City	Jamie Ward	Chesterfield	[9][10]
November	Peter Taylor	Wycombe Wanderers	Grant Holt	Shrewsbury Town	[11][12]
December	John Still	Dagenham & Redbridge	Marcus Bean	Brentford	[13][14]
January	Alan Knill	Bury	Dany N'Guessan	Lincoln City	[15][16]
February	Sammy McIlroy	Morecambe	Charlie MacDonald	Brentford	[17][18]
March	Lee Richardson	Chesterfield	Reuben Reid	Rotherham United	[19][20]
April	Andy Scott	Brentford	Sam Saunders	Dagenham & Redbridge	[21][22]

[edit] Key events

25 February 2009 - Darlington are docked 10 points by the FA for entering administration

2 May 2009 - Brentford crowned Champions of League 2 after 3-1 win at Darlington.

[edit] Stadia

Team	Stadium	Capacity
Darlington	The Darlington Arena	25,294*
Bradford City	Valley Parade	25,136
Rotherham United	Don Valley Stadium	25,000
Port Vale	Vale Park	22,356
Notts County	Meadow Lane	19,588
Brentford	Griffin Park	12,763
Bury	Gigg Lane	11,840
Gillingham	Priestfield Stadium	11,582
Bournemouth	Dean Court	10,700
Luton Town	Kenilworth Road	10,260
Rochdale	Spotland Stadium	10,249
Lincoln City	Sincil Bank	10,127
Wycombe Wanderers	Adams Park	10,000
Shrewsbury Town	New Meadow	9,875
Grimsby Town	Blundell Park	9,106
Exeter City	St James Park	9,036
Chesterfield	Saltergate	8,504
Aldershot Town	Recreation Ground	7,100
Morecambe	Christie Park	6,400
Macclesfield Town	Moss Rose	6,335
Dagenham & Redbridge	Victoria Road	6,000
Barnet	Underhill Stadium	5,568
Chester City	Deva Stadium	5,376
Accrington Stanley	Crown Ground	5,057

*Capacity limited to 6,000 because of planning regulations^[23]

[edit] Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Replaced by	Date of appointment	Position in table
Bournemouth	Kevin Bond	Contract terminated	1 September 2008[24]	Jimmy Quinn	2 September 2008[25]	23rd
Grimsby Town	Alan Buckley	Contract terminated	15 September 2008[26]	Mike Newell	6 October 2008[27]	20th
Port Vale	Lee Sinnott	Mutual consent	22 September 2008[28]	Dean Glover	6 October 2008[29]	16th
Chester City	Simon Davies	Contract terminated	11 November 2008[30]	Mark Wright	14 November 2008[31]	19th
Barnet	Paul Fairclough	Resigned	28 December 2008[32]	Ian Hendon	21 April 2009[33]	16th
Bournemouth	Jimmy Quinn	Contract terminated	31 December 2008[34]	Eddie Howe	31 December 2008[35]	23rd

[edit] See also

• The Football League 2008–09
• 2008–09 in English football
• Aldershot Town F.C. season 2008–09
• Bradford City A.F.C. season 2008–09
• Grimsby Town F.C. season 2008–09
• Luton Town F.C. season 2008–09

[edit] References

v • d • e 2008–09 in English football « 2007–08 2009–10 » FA competitions FA Cup (Qualifying Rounds) · Community Shield · FA Trophy Premier League and Football League Premier League · Football League (Championship · League One · League Two) · League Cup · Football League Trophy Football Conference Football Conference (National · North · South) · Conference League Cup Lower leagues Northern Premier League · Southern Football League · Isthmian League European competitions Champions League · UEFA Cup · Intertoto Cup · Super Cup Related to national team 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA Group 6) · Fabio Capello   Team seasons Premier League Arsenal · Aston Villa · Blackburn Rovers · Bolton Wanderers · Chelsea · Everton · Fulham · Hull City · Liverpool · Manchester City · Manchester United · Middlesbrough · Newcastle United · Portsmouth · Stoke City · Sunderland · Tottenham Hotspur · West Ham United · Wigan Athletic Championship Birmingham City · Blackpool · Burnley · Cardiff City · Coventry City · Crystal Palace · Derby County · Norwich City · Nottingham Forest · Queens Park Rangers · Reading · Swansea City League One Brighton & Hove Albion · Bristol Rovers · Crewe Alexandra · Huddersfield Town · Leeds United · Millwall · Oldham Athletic League Two Aldershot Town · Bradford City · Gillingham · Grimsby Town · Luton Town · Football Conference Eastbourne Borough · Ebbsfleet United · Gateshead · Stevenage Borough · Torquay United · York City   Awards PFA Players' Player of the Year Ryan Giggs PFA Young Player of the Year Ashley Young FWA Footballer of the Year Steven Gerrard Ballon d'Or Cristiano Ronaldo FIFA World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo Summer 2008 transfers · Winter 2008–09 transfers