Premier League, 2009 (2008-09)

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Premier League – Season Review 2008-09

The 2009-10 Barclays Premier League was the 17th season in the competition’s history. Manchester United won the Premier League title for the 11th time and for the third season in a row. United were pushed all the way by Liverpool who suffered only two defeats in the season and finished with a superior goal difference.

Chelsea and Arsenal qualified for the UEFA Champions League, along with the bitter north-west rivals. Everton, Aston Villa and Fulham qualified for the UEFA Europa League through their league position. A notable event that would threaten the status quo of the recognised top four was the takeover of Manchester City by the Abu Dhabi United Group in September.

The relegation battle culminated in a dramatic final day. Hull City, in their first-ever season in the top flight, plummeted from 5th position in December to narrowly survive due to Newcastle United’s last day defeat at Aston Villa. Middlesbrough and West Bromwich Albion dropped with the Toon into the Championship. This was the first season that clubs were allowed to name seven substitutes on their bench.

Sir Alex Ferguson was named Premier League Manager of the Year for the tenth time. Nemanja Vidic won the Premier Player of the Season award while his United colleague Ryan Giggs was named PFA Players’ Player of the Year Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard was the Football Writers’ Footballer of the Year. Chelsea’s Nicolas Anelka won the Golden Boot with 19 goals.

The PFA Premier League Team of the Year was:

  • Edwin Van Der Sar (Manchester United)
  • Glen Johnson (Portsmouth), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United), Patrice Evra (Manchester United)
  • Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Ryan Giggs (Manchester United), Ashley Young (Aston Villa)
  • Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea), Fernando Torres (Liverpool)

The average attendance was 35,650. The highest attendance was 75,569 for Liverpool’s visit to Manchester United on 14 March 2009 while the lowest attendance was the 14,169 who saw the game between Wigan Athletic and West Ham United on 4 March 2009.