2008–09 Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. season
# 2008–09 Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. season

The 2008–09 season was the 110th season of competitive league football in the history of English football club Wolverhampton Wanderers. They played the season in the second tier of the English football system, the Football League Championship. The season turned out to be a major success as the club finished top of the division and were therefore promoted back to the Premier League after a five-year absence.

The team enjoyed their best start to the season for almost fifty years, winning seven of their opening eight games and scoring 23 goals in the process. They led the table continuously from October until the season's end, when they were crowned champions, winning their first silverware in 20 years. Leading goalscorer Sylvan Ebanks-Blake also finished as the division's top scorer for a second consecutive season.

## Season review

The close season saw the club continue their policy of signing young players with potential from the lower leagues, rather than pursuing their heavy investment strategy of early times. The close season saw the likes of Richard Stearman, David Jones and Sam Vokes arrive, along with the experience of Chris Iwelumo, while making a transfer profit with the sale of players such as Seyi Olofinjana, Jay Bothroyd and Freddy Eastwood. The squad was also boosted by retaining their most valuable assets in Wayne Hennessey, Michael Kightly and the division's top goalscorer of last season, Sylvan Ebanks-Blake.

The season saw the club's strongest start since 1949–50, as a draw away to Plymouth preceded two runs of seven consecutive wins — scoring 23 goals and conceding only seven goals in the first eight games. Transfer deadline day saw the club add further defensive strength as three new defenders joined the ranks — George Friend, Matt Hill and Jason Shackell. Although their winning streak was ended by a 3–0 home defeat to promotion rivals Reading, as well as a 5–2 defeat at Norwich, which saw Wolves surrender top spot to Birmingham City, Wolves rediscovered their winning form for the second run of seven consecutive wins to lead the table at Christmas.

After drawing their final two fixtures of 2008, Wolves endured a dismal start to 2009, winning just once in eleven league fixtures. Trying to arrest this slump, the January transfer window saw the arrival of three new faces: Kyel Reid and Nigel Quashie on loan for the remainder of the season from West Ham United; defender Christophe Berra also joined from Scottish club Hearts for £2.3million. The FA Cup had brought some cheer with a fringe squad winning 2–0 at local rivals Birmingham in the 3rd round, before the club exited the competition with a 2–1 home defeat to Premier League side Middlesbrough.

Weathering their bad run of league form, Wolves managed to regain an air of consistency, reinventing their game from the free-flowing, free-scoring football of the first third of the season to hold down a string of clean sheets and one goal margin victories against Crystal Palace and Sheffield Wednesday. With promotion rivals Birmingham City and Reading unable to take advantage of their poor run, March saw an upturn in Wolves' league form as the club took 13 points from a possible 15, strengthening their position at the top of the table that they had led since October.

With just seven games left on the Championship calendar, Aston Villa striker Marlon Harewood was loaned for the run-in, though the team were also hit by the news that key midfielder Michael Kightly would miss the remainder of the season after suffering a broken metatarsal in his foot. Further injury woe struck when Chris Iwelumo suffered medial ligament damage in a loss to local rivals Birmingham in April that ended a five-game unbeaten run.

However, Easter weekend brought 3–0 home win against struggling Southampton, followed by a 3–2 away victory at Derby County that gave Wolves a seven-point lead over third-placed Sheffield United. Promotion to the Premier League was confirmed on 18 April 2009 when a goal from Ebanks-Blake gave Wolves a 1–0 win over Queens Park Rangers. Seven days later, Wolves clinched their first league title since the 1988–89 season — and their first title at second-tier level since 1976–77 — after a 1–1 draw at Barnsley brought the point they required for the title.

Wolves completed their season with a 1–0 home win over Doncaster Rovers, after which they were presented with the Championship trophy to crown their most successful season in decades as they returned to the top flight after a five-year absence.

## Results

### Pre season

Wolves conducted a short three-match tour of Scotland, their first visit in three years. As had become common in recent years, only their final game was held at their Molineux home. A second "Wolves XI" team largely comprising academy prospects and out of favour senior players also played a series of matches during this period.

"Wolves XI" pre season results (all away): 4–1 v Chasetown (18 July), 1–2 v Rhyl (26 July), 2–0 v Stafford Rangers (5 August)

### Football League Championship

A total of 24 teams competed in the Championship in the 2008–09 season. Each team would play every other team twice, once at their stadium, and once at the opposition's. Three points were awarded to teams for each win, one point per draw, and none for defeats. The provisional fixture list was released on 16 June 2008, but was subject to change in the event of matches being selected for television coverage.

Final table

Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |

Source: Statto.com

Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Result | D | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | L | L | W | L | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | D | L | W | W | W | D | D | L | D | L | W | D | L | L | D | L | W | W | D | W | W | L | W | W | W | D | W |
| Position | 10 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |

## Players

### Statistics

Key: ‡ On loan from another club * First appearance(s) for the club

* # = Squad number
* Pos = Playing position
* P = Number of games played
* G = Number of goals scored
* GK = Goalkeeper
* DF = Defender
* MF = Midfielder
* FW = Forward
* = Yellow cards
* = Red cards
* † Permanent player left club during the season
* ¤ Loaned to another club for part or all of season

Correct as of end of season. Starting appearances are listed first, followed by substitute appearances in parentheses where applicable.

| No. | Pos | Name | P | G | P | G | P | G | P | G | | |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| No. | Pos | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Total | Total | Discipline | Discipline | Notes |
| 1 | GK | Wayne Hennessey | 34(1) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 37(1) | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2 | DF | Neill Collins | 20(3) | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 24(3) | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| 3 | DF | George Elokobi | 3(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | David Edwards | 23(21) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 27(21) | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | Richard Stearman | 32(5) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 35(5) | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| 6 | DF | Jody Craddock (c) | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | Michael Kightly | 37(1) | 8 | 1(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 39(2) | 8 | 7 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | Karl Henry | 42(1) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 44(1) | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | Sylvan Ebanks-Blake | 41 | 25 | 0(2) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 41(3) | 25 | 2 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | Andy Keogh | 21(21) | 5 | 1(1) | 1 | 1(1) | 0 | 23(23) | 6 | 3 | 0 |
| 11 | DF | Stephen Ward | 38(4) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 40(4) | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 12 | GK | Shane Higgs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | GK | Darren Ward | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | David Jones | 31(3) | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 33(4) | 4 | 5 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | Mark Little ¤ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | Mark Davies ¤ † | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 1 | 0(1) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | DF | Christophe Berra | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | Matt Jarvis | 21(7) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22(7) | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | FW | Sam Vokes | 4(32) | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7(32) | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | Chris Iwelumo | 25(6) | 14 | 1(1) | 0 | 1(1) | 2 | 27(8) | 16 | 4 | 1 |
| 20 | GK | Matt Murray ¤ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | DF | Daniel Jones ¤ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | DF | Jason Shackell ¤ | 3(9) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4(9) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | Darren Ward ¤ | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | DF | Rob Edwards † | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | Carlos Edwards | 5(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | Kyel Reid | 3(5) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4(5) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | Darren Potter ¤ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | FW | Stephen Elliott † | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | DF | Matt Hill | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 27 | DF | Michael Mancienne | 8(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8(2) | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 27 | FW | Marlon Harewood | 2(3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2(3) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | MF | George Friend | 4(2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | MF | Stephen Gleeson ¤ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | GK | Carl Ikeme | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | MF | Mark Salmon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | GK | Graham Stack | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | DF | Kevin Foley | 45 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 47 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 33 | MF | Michael Gray ¤ † | 4(4) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6(4) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | MF | Matt Bailey ¤ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | MF | Elliott Bennett ¤ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | DF | Lee Collins ¤ † | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | MF | Nigel Quashie | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | FW | Liam Hughes ¤ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | MF | Lewis Gobern ¤ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | MF | Alex Melbourne | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | DF | Peter Williams ¤ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 41 | FW | Ashley Hemmings ¤ | 0(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 43 | MF | Kyle Bennett | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | DF | Danny Batth | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 45 | DF | Scott Malone ¤ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

* ↑ Davies was transferred during the season to Bolton Wanderers.
* ↑ Edwards was transferred before the season began to Blackpool.
* ↑ Elliott was transferred during the season to Preston North End.
* ↑ Salmon was released during the season.
* ↑ Gray was initially loaned to Sheffield Wednesday, and later transferred there permanently.
* ↑ Collins was initially loaned to Port Vale, and later transferred there permanently.
* ↑ Hughes was released during the season.

### Awards

| Award | Winner |
| - | - |
| Fans' Player of the Season | Kevin Foley |
| Players' Player of the Season | Sylvan Ebanks-Blake |
| Young Player of the Season | Sam Vokes |
| Academy Player of the Season | Scott Malone |
| Goal of the Season | Andy Keogh (vs Derby County, 13 April 2009) |

## Transfers

### In

| Date | Player | From | Fee |
| - | - | - | - |
| 23 May 2008 | Sam Vokes | Bournemouth | £1,200,000 |
| 25 June 2008 | Richard Stearman | Leicester City | £1.6 million |
| 27 June 2008 | David Jones | Derby County | £1.2 million |
| 14 July 2008 | Chris Iwelumo | Charlton Athletic | £400,000 |
| 1 September 2008 | Jason Shackell | Norwich City | £1 million |
| 1 September 2008 | Matt Hill | Preston North End | Undisclosed |
| 1 September 2008 | George Friend | Exeter City | £350,000 |
| 2 February 2009 | Christophe Berra | Hearts | £2.3 million |

### Out

| Date | Player | To | Fee |
| - | - | - | - |
| June 2008 | Gary Breen | Released | Free |
| June 2008 | Keith Lowe | Released | Free |
| June 2008 | Sam Morsy | Released | Free |
| June 2008 | Martin Riley | Released | Free |
| 12 July 2008 | Freddy Eastwood | Coventry City | £1.2 million |
| 15 July 2008 | Charlie Mulgrew | Aberdeen | £150,000 |
| 26 July 2008 | Seyi Olofinjana | Stoke City | £3 million |
| 4 August 2008 | Jay Bothroyd | Cardiff City | £350,000 |
| 6 August 2008 | Rob Edwards | Blackpool | Undisclosed |
| 1 September 2008 | Stephen Elliott | Preston North End | Undisclosed |
| January 2009 | Liam Hughes | Released | Free |
| January 2009 | Mark Salmon | Released | Free |
| 13 January 2009 | Dénes Rósa | Released | Free |
| 16 January 2009 | Lee Collins | Port Vale | Free |
| 26 January 2009 | Mark Davies | Bolton Wanderers | Undisclosed |
| 2 February 2009 | Michael Gray | Sheffield Wednesday | Free |

### Loans in

| Start date | Player | From | End date |
| - | - | - | - |
| 2 October 2008 | Carlos Edwards | Sunderland | 20 November 2008 |
| 27 October 2008 | Michael Mancienne | Chelsea | 2 January 2009 |
| 27 November 2008 | Shane Higgs | Cheltenham Town | End of season |
| January 2009 | Krisztián Simon | Újpest | End of season |
| 15 January 2009 | Kyel Reid | West Ham United | End of season |
| 22 January 2009 | Nigel Quashie | West Ham United | End of season |
| 2 March 2009 | Darren Ward | Sunderland | End of season |
| 23 March 2009 | Marlon Harewood | Aston Villa | End of season |
| 26 March 2009 | Graham Stack | Plymouth Argyle | End of season |

### Loans out

| Start date | Player | To | End date |
| - | - | - | - |
| 23 July 2008 | Matt Bailey | Burton Albion | January 2009 |
| 29 July 2008 | Elliott Bennett | Bury | End of season |
| 31 July 2008 | Lee Collins | Port Vale | 15 January 2009 |
| 8 August 2008 | Stephen Gleeson | Stockport County | January 2009 |
| 22 August 2008 | Mark Little | Northampton Town | 22 October 2008 |
| 18 September 2008 | Darren Ward | Watford | 29 November 2008 |
| 3 October 2009 | Daniel Jones | Oldham Athletic | 20 December 2008 |
| 7 November 2008 | Peter Williams | Kettering Town | 30 November 2008 |
| 12 November 2008 | Matt Murray | Hereford United | 12 December 2008 |
| 27 November 2008 | Mark Davies | Leicester City | 24 January 2009 |
| 9 January 2009 | Michael Gray | Sheffield Wednesday | 2 February 2009 |
| 15 January 2009 | Darren Potter | Sheffield Wednesday | End of season |
| 15 January 2009 | Lewis Gobern | Colchester United | End of season |
| 30 January 2009 | Darren Ward | Charlton Athletic | End of season |
| 2 February 2009 | Daniel Jones | Oldham Athletic | End of season |
| 10 February 2009 | Jason Shackell | Norwich City | End of season |
| 23 February 2009 | Ashley Hemmings | Cheltenham Town | 23 March 2009 |
| 25 March 2009 | Stephen Gleeson | Milton Keynes Dons | End of season |

## Management and coaching staff

| Position | Name |
| - | - |
| Manager | Mick McCarthy |
| Assistant manager | Terry Connor |
| Fitness coach | Tony Daley |
| Goalkeeping coach | Pat Mountain |
| Development Coach, 18–21's | Steve Weaver |
| Academy Manager | Kevin Thelwell |
| Assistant Academy Manager / Under-18's coach | John Perkins |
| Club Doctor | Dr Matthew Perry |
| Head of medical department | Steve Kemp |
| Club Physio | Alan Peacham |

## Kit

The season saw a new home and away kit, both manufactured by Le Coq Sportif. The away kit was all black with minor neon green piping. Chaucer Consulting sponsored the club for a fifth and final season.

