1908–09 Football League

The Football League
Season1908–09
ChampionsNewcastle United
RelegatedChesterfield
New Clubs in LeagueBradford Park Avenue
Tottenham Hotspur

The 1908–09 season was the 21st season of The Football League.

Tottenham Hotspur played their first ever season in the Football League. Spurs, along with Bradford Park Avenue entered the Second Division to replace Lincoln City and Stoke.

Final league tables

Beginning in the 1894–95 season, clubs finishing level on points were separated according to goal average (goals scored divided by goals conceded). In case one or more teams had the same goal difference, this system favoured those teams who had scored fewer goals. The goal average system was eventually scrapped beginning with the 1976–77 season.

During the first six seasons of the league, (up to the 1893–94 season), re-election process concerned the clubs which finished in the bottom four of the league. From the 1894–95 season and until the 1920–21 season the re-election process was required of the clubs which finished in the bottom three of the league.

First Division

First Division
Season1908–09
ChampionsNewcastle United
3rd English title
RelegatedManchester City
Leicester Fosse
Matches played380
Goals scored1,185 (3.12 per match)
Top goalscorerBert Freeman
(38 goals)[1]
Biggest home winNottingham Forest 12–0 Leicester Fosse
(21 April 1909)
Biggest away winNewcastle United 1–9 Sunderland
(5 December 1908)
Highest scoringNottingham Forest 12–0 Leicester Fosse
(21 April 1909)

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts Relegation
1 Newcastle United (C) 38 24 5 9 65 41 1.585 53
2 Everton 38 18 10 10 82 57 1.439 46
3 Sunderland 38 21 2 15 78 63 1.238 44
4 Blackburn Rovers 38 14 13 11 61 50 1.220 41
5 The Wednesday 38 17 6 15 67 61 1.098 40
6 Woolwich Arsenal 38 14 10 14 52 49 1.061 38
7 Aston Villa 38 14 10 14 58 56 1.036 38
8 Bristol City 38 13 12 13 45 58 0.776 38
9 Middlesbrough 38 14 9 15 59 53 1.113 37
10 Preston North End 38 13 11 14 48 44 1.091 37
11 Chelsea 38 14 9 15 56 61 0.918 37
12 Sheffield United 38 14 9 15 51 59 0.864 37
13 Manchester United 38 15 7 16 58 68 0.853 37
14 Nottingham Forest 38 14 8 16 66 57 1.158 36
15 Notts County 38 14 8 16 51 48 1.063 36
16 Liverpool 38 15 6 17 57 65 0.877 36
17 Bury 38 14 8 16 63 77 0.818 36
18 Bradford City 38 12 10 16 47 47 1.000 34
19 Manchester City (R) 38 15 4 19 67 69 0.971 34 Relegation to the Second Division
20 Leicester Fosse (R) 38 8 9 21 54 102 0.529 25
Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated

Results

Home \ Away AST BLB BRA BRI BRY CHE EVE LEI LIV MCI MUN MID NEW NOT NTC PNE SHU SUN WED WOO
Aston Villa 1–1 1–3 1–1 3–0 0–0 3–1 1–1 1–1 2–1 3–1 0–3 3–0 1–2 1–1 2–4 3–0 2–0 1–1 2–1
Blackburn Rovers 3–1 1–1 1–1 0–1 2–0 0–0 3–0 1–0 3–2 1–3 0–0 2–4 0–3 0–2 1–1 0–1 8–1 2–2 1–3
Bradford City 1–1 0–2 0–1 4–1 3–0 1–1 4–1 0–2 0–0 1–0 0–2 1–2 1–1 2–2 2–0 3–1 0–2 0–0 4–1
Bristol City 0–0 1–4 0–1 4–2 1–0 0–2 1–1 1–0 1–0 0–0 1–1 3–3 2–1 1–0 2–3 1–1 2–4 1–1 2–1
Bury 1–2 1–1 2–1 1–2 2–1 2–2 2–2 2–1 1–0 2–2 2–1 1–1 3–2 3–1 0–1 1–2 4–2 4–2 1–1
Chelsea 0–2 1–1 1–1 3–1 4–1 3–3 1–0 3–0 1–2 1–1 3–0 1–2 2–1 3–2 0–0 1–1 2–0 2–2 1–2
Everton 3–1 4–4 0–1 5–2 4–0 3–2 4–2 5–0 6–3 3–2 1–1 0–1 3–3 0–1 0–1 5–1 4–0 1–0 0–3
Leicester Fosse 4–2 2–4 1–4 1–1 2–5 5–2 0–2 3–2 3–1 3–2 1–1 0–4 0–3 0–2 0–0 1–1 4–3 1–1 1–1
Liverpool 3–2 1–1 4–0 1–2 2–2 2–1 0–1 4–1 1–3 3–1 1–2 2–1 1–1 1–1 2–1 2–1 3–0 1–2 2–2
Manchester City 2–0 3–3 4–3 5–1 6–1 1–2 4–0 5–2 4–0 1–2 0–0 0–2 2–1 1–0 4–1 1–3 1–0 4–0 2–2
Manchester United 0–2 0–3 2–0 0–1 2–1 0–1 2–2 4–2 3–2 3–1 6–3 1–0 2–2 4–3 0–2 2–1 2–2 3–1 1–4
Middlesbrough 1–0 1–0 1–0 4–0 0–1 1–4 2–3 6–2 1–0 3–0 5–0 0–0 4–0 1–2 4–2 1–2 0–3 2–1 1–1
Newcastle United 0–2 2–0 1–0 2–1 3–1 1–3 3–0 2–0 0–1 2–0 2–1 1–0 1–1 1–0 2–0 4–0 1–9 1–0 3–1
Nottingham Forest 1–2 2–1 2–1 1–1 0–2 2–1 1–2 12–0 5–1 0–2 2–0 4–1 0–4 1–0 1–1 0–2 4–0 1–2 0–1
Notts County 1–1 2–3 1–1 0–1 3–2 3–0 0–0 2–3 1–2 5–1 0–1 3–2 0–4 3–0 1–0 3–1 0–0 1–0 2–1
Preston North End 3–2 2–0 0–0 2–1 0–2 6–0 3–3 0–1 2–0 3–0 0–3 1–1 0–1 1–1 0–0 1–1 1–0 4–1 0–0
Sheffield United 3–1 0–0 3–0 3–1 2–2 1–3 1–5 2–1 0–2 4–0 0–0 2–0 1–1 1–2 3–2 2–1 0–2 2–1 1–1
Sunderland 4–3 0–1 2–1 0–2 3–1 1–2 2–0 3–1 1–4 2–0 6–1 2–0 3–1 2–1 0–1 2–1 3–1 4–2 1–0
The Wednesday 4–2 1–2 0–2 2–0 4–3 5–1 2–0 3–1 2–3 3–1 2–0 3–2 2–0 3–0 2–0 1–0 1–0 2–5 6–2
Woolwich Arsenal 0–1 0–1 1–0 1–1 4–0 0–0 0–4 2–1 5–0 3–0 0–1 1–1 1–2 1–2 1–0 1–0 1–0 0–4 2–0
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: [1]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Maps

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Locations of the Football League First Division teams

Second Division

Football League
Second Division
Season1908–09
ChampionsBolton Wanderers (1st title)
Failed re-electionChesterfield
Matches played380
Goals scored1,026 (2.7 per match)
Top goalscorerAlf Bentley (Derby County), 24[1]
Biggest home winWest Bromwich Albion – Grimsby Town 7–0 (2 January 1909)
Biggest away winChesterfield – Hull City 0–4 (24 October 1909)
Highest scoringBurnley – Wolverhampton Wanderers 3–5 (7 November 1909)

Pos Team Pld HW HD HL HGF HGA AW AD AL AGF AGA GAv Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Bolton Wanderers 38 14 3 2 37 8 10 1 8 22 20 2.107 52 Division Champions
2 Tottenham Hotspur[a] 38 12 5 2 42 12 8 6 5 25 20 2.094 51 Promoted
3 West Bromwich Albion 38 13 5 1 35 9 6 8 5 21 18 2.074 51
4 Hull City 38 14 2 3 44 15 5 4 10 19 24 1.615 44
5 Derby County 38 13 5 1 38 11 3 6 10 17 30 1.341 43
6 Oldham Athletic 38 14 4 1 39 9 3 2 14 16 34 1.279 40
7 Wolverhampton Wanderers 38 10 6 3 32 12 4 5 10 24 36 1.167 39
8 Glossop 38 11 5 3 35 17 4 3 12 22 36 1.075 38
9 Gainsborough Trinity 38 12 3 4 30 20 3 5 11 19 50 0.700 38
10 Fulham 38 8 4 7 39 26 5 7 7 19 22 1.208 37
11 Birmingham 38 10 6 3 35 21 4 3 12 23 40 0.951 37
12 Leeds City 38 12 3 4 35 19 2 4 13 8 34 0.811 35
13 Grimsby Town 38 9 5 5 23 14 5 2 12 18 40 0.759 35
14 Burnley 38 8 4 7 33 28 5 3 11 18 30 0.879 33
15 Clapton Orient 38 7 7 5 25 19 5 2 12 12 30 0.755 33
16 Bradford Park Avenue[a] 38 9 2 8 30 25 4 4 11 21 34 0.864 32
17 Barnsley 38 11 3 5 36 19 0 7 12 12 38 0.842 32
18 Stockport County 38 11 2 6 25 19 3 1 15 14 52 0.549 31 Re-elected
19 Chesterfield Town[b] 38 10 3 6 30 28 1 5 13 7 39 0.552 30 Failed re-election
20 Blackpool 38 9 6 4 30 22 0 5 14 16 46 0.676 29 Re-elected
Source: [2]
Notes:
  1. ^ a b New club in the league
  2. ^ Chesterfield failed re-election, and Lincoln City were re-admitted to the Football League in their place, after a season away.

Results

Home \ Away BAR BIR BLP BOL BPA BUR CHF CLA DER FUL GAI GLP GRI HUL LEE OLD STP TOT WBA WOL
Barnsley 3–1 4–0 0–1 3–1 1–2 4–0 3–0 1–0 1–2 2–2 1–3 3–1 2–1 2–1 2–0 2–0 1–1 0–2 1–1
Birmingham 2–1 2–2 2–0 3–1 2–0 3–0 1–0 1–1 1–3 2–2 1–2 3–1 1–2 1–0 2–0 4–2 3–3 0–0 1–1
Blackpool 1–1 2–0 1–2 2–1 0–0 2–2 1–3 2–2 2–0 3–0 2–1 2–2 2–3 1–0 1–0 2–1 1–1 0–2 3–1
Bolton Wanderers 3–0 2–1 3–1 0–1 2–1 4–0 2–0 1–0 0–0 4–0 2–0 2–0 1–0 2–0 3–0 4–1 0–1 1–1 1–1
Bradford Park Avenue 3–2 1–2 4–3 1–2 2–3 1–0 0–1 2–0 1–1 4–1 1–0 0–2 1–0 2–0 3–4 0–1 0–2 0–0 4–1
Burnley 3–2 1–1 1–1 1–2 3–3 0–1 0–1 2–0 1–3 5–2 3–2 2–0 1–0 0–0 1–0 5–1 1–2 0–2 3–5
Chesterfield 1–0 4–2 3–1 0–2 2–1 1–0 2–0 2–4 2–1 2–1 2–1 1–2 0–4 2–0 1–1 1–2 1–3 2–2 1–1
Clapton Orient 1–1 3–2 1–1 0–2 2–0 0–1 1–1 2–0 1–1 2–2 0–2 2–1 1–2 0–0 2–0 5–0 0–0 1–0 1–3
Derby County 0–0 1–2 1–1 1–0 3–1 1–0 1–1 1–0 2–1 5–0 4–0 2–1 0–0 5–1 1–0 5–0 1–1 2–1 2–1
Fulham 2–2 1–1 3–0 1–2 3–1 3–0 0–0 1–2 1–2 4–0 2–3 5–2 0–3 0–1 3–2 5–1 2–3 2–0 1–1
Gainsborough Trinity 4–1 1–3 1–0 2–1 2–1 1–0 3–0 2–0 0–0 1–1 3–1 0–3 2–0 1–1 1–4 3–2 0–2 2–0 1–0
Glossop 3–0 3–1 3–0 0–2 1–1 1–2 2–0 4–0 3–1 0–0 2–2 1–0 2–1 0–0 2–1 3–0 1–1 1–3 3–2
Grimsby Town 0–0 0–3 2–1 1–0 1–1 0–1 1–0 1–0 2–0 2–2 1–2 2–0 0–0 0–1 2–0 3–0 1–2 1–1 3–0
Hull City 4–0 4–1 2–0 2–0 2–3 3–2 1–0 3–2 4–0 2–0 5–1 0–0 0–1 4–1 1–0 4–1 1–0 2–2 0–1
Leeds City 2–0 2–0 1–0 1–2 0–3 1–1 3–0 0–0 2–5 2–0 0–2 3–1 4–1 2–0 3–0 2–1 1–0 1–1 5–2
Oldham Athletic 0–0 2–0 3–1 1–1 2–0 4–1 2–0 2–0 1–1 1–0 2–0 2–1 4–0 2–2 6–0 0–1 1–0 2–0 2–1
Stockport County 2–1 3–2 1–0 1–0 0–1 2–1 2–0 1–1 1–0 1–2 0–1 4–2 0–1 3–1 1–0 1–3 1–3 0–0 1–0
Tottenham Hotspur 4–0 4–0 4–1 2–1 3–0 4–2 4–0 0–1 0–0 1–0 1–1 3–3 2–0 0–0 3–0 3–0 0–0 1–3 3–0
West Bromwich Albion 1–1 1–1 5–1 2–0 1–0 0–0 2–2 1–0 2–0 1–1 2–0 1–0 7–0 1–0 2–1 1–0 2–0 3–0 0–2
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2–0 2–0 2–2 1–2 1–1 2–1 3–0 5–1 1–1 0–1 4–0 0–0 0–0 3–0 2–1 1–1 2–0 1–0 0–1
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane’s, London & Sydney, 1980.
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Maps

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Locations of the Football League Second Division London teams
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Locations of the Football League Second Division teams

Attendances

First Division

# Football club Home games Average attendance[3]
1 Newcastle United 19 29,300
2 Chelsea FC 19 29,120
3 Everton FC 19 23,025
4 Bradford City 19 21,875
5 Manchester City 19 19,665
6 Aston Villa 19 18,945
7 Manchester United 19 18,150
8 Liverpool FC 19 17,660
9 Sunderland AFC 19 15,235
10 Blackburn Rovers 19 14,745
11 Middlesbrough FC 19 14,050
12 Woolwich Arsenal 19 13,025
13 The Wednesday 19 12,840
14 Leicester Fosse 19 12,790
15 Sheffield United 19 12,625
16 Bristol City 19 12,015
17 Nottingham Forest 19 11,090
18 Bury FC 19 10,975
19 Notts County 19 10,805
20 Preston North End 19 9,210

Second Division

# Football club Home games Average attendance[4]
1 Tottenham Hotspur 19 20,255
2 Fulham FC 19 16,340
3 West Bromwich Albion 19 15,525
4 Bolton Wanderers 19 12,850
5 Oldham Athletic 19 12,295
6 Bradford Park Avenue 19 11,350
7 Leeds City 19 11,055
8 Birmingham City 19 10,825
9 Clapton Orient 19 10,500
10 Wolverhampton Wanderers 19 8,620
11 Hull City 19 8,200
12 Burnley FC 19 6,815
13 Derby County 19 6,615
14 Stockport County 19 5,925
15 Barnsley FC 19 5,650
16 Gainsborough Trinity 19 5,380
17 Grimsby Town 19 5,235
18 Chesterfield Town 19 4,975
19 Blackpool FC 19 4,970
20 Glossop 19 3,430

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "English League Leading Goalscorers". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 31 October 2010.
  2. ^ "1908–09 Football League". F.C.H.D. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  3. ^ https://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/attn/archive/eng/aveeng1909.htm
  4. ^ https://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/attn/archive/eng/aveeng1909.htm
  • Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane's, London & Sydney, 1980.