2008–09 West Ham United F.C. season

West Ham United F.C.
2008–09 season
ChairmanBjörgólfur Guðmundsson
ManagerAlan Curbishley (until 3 September)
Gianfranco Zola (from 9 September)
Premier League9th
FA CupFifth round
League CupThird round
Top goalscorerCarlton Cole 10
Highest home attendance34,802 (v Arsenal)
Lowest home attendance10,055 (v Macclesfield Town)

The 2008–09 season saw West Ham United compete in the Premier League, where the club finished in 9th place. The beginning of the season was overshadowed by the sudden resignation of manager Alan Curbishley, following the sale of first team players Anton Ferdinand and George McCartney to Sunderland - after Curbishley claimed that these transfers had been authorised without his consent - and the related financial troubles of the club's owners, brought on by the 2008 Icelandic Banking Crisis. The club's owners had their assets frozen by the UK government, with the club narrowly avoiding going into administration as a result. Curbishley was replaced by Italian former Chelsea forward Gianfranco Zola on 9 September.[1]

The club recovered from its off-field troubles, and a relatively poor start to the season, to finish in the top half and were never seriously threatened with relegation after the turn of the year.

Final league table

Main article: 2008–09 Premier League
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
7 Fulham 38 14 11 13 39 34 +5 53 Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round[a]
8 Tottenham Hotspur 38 14 9 15 45 45 0 51
9 West Ham United 38 14 9 15 42 45 −3 51
10 Manchester City 38 15 5 18 58 50 +8 50
11 Wigan Athletic 38 12 9 17 34 45 −11 45
Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:
  1. ^ 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.

Squad

[1] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK England ENG Robert Green
2 DF Australia AUS Lucas Neill (captain)
3 DF Democratic Republic of the Congo COD Herita Ilunga
4 DF Wales WAL Danny Gabbidon
5 DF Uruguay URU Walter Lopez
7 MF England ENG Kieron Dyer
8 MF England ENG Scott Parker
9 FW England ENG Dean Ashton
10 FW Germany GER Savio Nsereko
11 MF England ENG Matthew Etherington
12 FW England ENG Carlton Cole
13 MF Portugal POR Luís Boa Morte
14 MF Czech Republic CZE Radoslav Kovac
15 DF England ENG Matthew Upson
16 MF England ENG Mark Noble
17 MF England ENG Hayden Mullins
18 DF United States USA Jonathan Spector
19 DF Wales WAL James Collins
No. Pos. Nation Player
20 MF France FRA Julien Faubert
21 MF Switzerland SUI Valon Behrami
22 MF England ENG Tony Stokes
23 GK England ENG Jimmy Walker
24 GK Czech Republic CZE Jan Lastuvka
25 FW Spain ESP Diego Tristan
26 MF Scotland SCO Nigel Quashie[2]
27 DF England ENG Calum Davenport
28 MF England ENG Kyel Reid
29 MF England ENG Lee Bowyer
30 DF England ENG James Tomkins
31 MF Wales WAL Jack Collison
32 FW Italy ITA David Di Michele
33 FW England ENG Freddie Sears
34 GK Czech Republic CZE Marek Štěch
41 FW England ENG Zavon Hines
45 DF England ENG Jordan Spence
46 MF England ENG Junior Stanislas

Results

Premier League

16 August 2008 1 West Ham United 2–1 Wigan Athletic London
Ashton 3', 10' Report Zaki 47' Stadium: Boleyn Ground
Attendance: 32,758
Referee: Steve Bennett
24 August 2008 2 Manchester City 3–0 West Ham United Manchester
Sturridge 65'
Elano 70', 76'		 Report Stadium: Etihad Stadium
Attendance: 36,635
Referee: Howard Webb
30 August 2008 3 West Ham United 4–1 Blackburn Rovers London
Davenport 12'
Samba 20', og'
Cole 89'
Bellamy 90'		 Report Roberts 22' Stadium: Boleyn Ground
Attendance: 32,905
Referee: Mike Riley
13 September 2008 4 West Bromwich Albion 3–2 West Ham United West Bromwich
Morrison 3'
Bednar 37'
Brunt 83'		 Report Noble 29'
Neill 35'		 Stadium: The Hawthorns
Attendance: 26,213
Referee: Lee Probert
20 September 2008 5 West Ham United 3–1 Newcastle United London
Di Michele 8', 37'
Etherington 53'		 Report Owen 67' Stadium: Boleyn Ground
Attendance: 34,743
Referee: Phil Dowd
27 September 2008 6 Fulham 1–2 West Ham United London
Murphy 59' Report Cole 43'
Etherington 45'		 Stadium: Craven Cottage
Attendance: 23,946
Referee: Andre Marriner
5 October 2008 7 West Ham United 1–3 Bolton Wanderers London
Cole 69' Report K. Davies 30'
Cahill 34'
Taylor 86'		 Stadium: Boleyn Ground
Attendance: 33,715
Referee: Mike Dean
19 October 2008 8 Hull City 1–0 West Ham United Kingston-upon-Hull
Turner 51' Report Stadium: KC Stadium
Attendance: 24,896
Referee: Chris Foy
26 October 2008 9 West Ham United 0–2 Arsenal London
Report Faubert 75', og'
Adebayor 90'		 Stadium: Boleyn Ground
Attendance: 34,802
Referee: Phil Dowd
29 October 2008 10 Manchester United 2–0 West Ham United Manchester
Ronaldo 14', 30' Report Stadium: Old Trafford
Attendance: 75,397
Referee: Peter Walton
1 November 2008 11 Middlesbrough 1–1 West Ham United Middlesbrough
Mido 83' Report Mullins 21' Stadium: Riverside Stadium
Attendance: 25,164
Referee: Andre Marriner
8 November 2008 12 West Ham United 1–3 Everton London
Collison 63' Report Lescott 83'
Saha 85', 87'		 Stadium: Boleyn Ground
Attendance: 33,961
Referee: Mark Halsey
15 November 2008 13 West Ham United 0–0 Portsmouth London
Report Stadium: Boleyn Ground
Attendance: 32,328
Referee: Martin Atkinson
23 November 2008 14 Sunderland 0–1 West Ham United Sunderland
Report Behrami 20' Stadium: Stadium of Light
Attendance: 35,222
Referee: Mike Dean
1 December 2008 15 Liverpool 0–0 West Ham United Liverpool
Report Stadium: Anfield
Attendance: 41,169
Referee: Peter Walton
8 December 2008 16 West Ham United 0–2 Tottenham Hotspur London
Report King 68'
O'Hara 90'		 Stadium: Boleyn Ground
Attendance: 34,277
Referee: Chris Foy
14 December 2008 17 Chelsea 1–1 West Ham United London
Anelka 51' Report Bellamy 33' Stadium: Stamford Bridge
Attendance: 41,675
Referee: Mike Riley
20 December 2008 18 West Ham United 0–1 Aston Villa London
Report Neill 78', og' Stadium: Boleyn Ground
Attendance: 31,353
Referee: Mark Halsey
26 December 2008 19 Portsmouth 1–4 West Ham United Portsmouth
Belhadj 8' Report Collison 20'
Cole 67'
Bellamy 70', 83'		 Stadium: Fratton Park
Attendance: 20,102
Referee: Steve Bennett
28 December 2008 20 West Ham United 2–1 Stoke City London
Cole 51'
Tristan 88'		 Report Faye 4' Stadium: Boleyn Ground
Attendance: 34,477
Referee: Michael Jones
10 January 2009 21 Newcastle United 2–2 West Ham United Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Owen 19'
Carroll 78'		 Report Bellamy 29'
Cole 55'		 Stadium: St James' Park
Attendance: 47,571
Referee: Alan Wiley
18 January 2009 22 West Ham United 3–1 Fulham London
Di Michele 7'
Noble 60'
Cole 76'		 Report Konchesky 22' Stadium: Boleyn Ground
Attendance: 31,818
Referee: Phil Dowd
28 January 2009 23 West Ham United 2–0 Hull City London
Di Michele 33'
Cole 51'		 Report Stadium: Boleyn Ground
Attendance: 34,340
Referee: Howard Webb
31 January 2009 24 Arsenal 0–0 West Ham United London
Report Stadium: Emirates Stadium
Attendance: 60,109
Referee: Steve Bennett
8 February 2009 25 West Ham United 0–1 Manchester United London
Report Giggs 62' Stadium: Boleyn Ground
Attendance: 34,958
Referee: Phil Dowd
21 February 2009 26 Bolton Wanderers 2–1 West Ham United Bolton
Taylor 10'
K. Davies 11'		 Report Parker 66' Stadium: Reebok Stadium
Attendance: 21,245
Referee: Steve Tanner
1 March 2009 27 West Ham United 1–0 Manchester City London
Collison 71' Report Stadium: Boleyn Ground
Attendance: 34,562
Referee: Mike Dean
4 March 2009 28 Wigan Athletic 0–1 West Ham United Wigan
Report Cole 34' Stadium: JJB Stadium
Attendance: 14,169
Referee: Stuart Attwell
16 March 2009 29 West Ham United 0–0 West Bromwich Albion London
Report Stadium: Boleyn Ground
Attendance: 30,842
Referee: Mark Halsey
21 March 2009 30 Blackburn Rovers 1–1 West Ham United Blackburn
Andrews 51' Report Noble 35' Stadium: Ewood Park
Attendance: 21,672
Referee: Chris Foy
4 April 2009 31 West Ham United 2–0 Sunderland London
Stanislas 42'
Tomkins 53'		 Report Stadium: Boleyn Ground
Attendance: 34,761
Referee: Michael Jones
11 April 2009 32 Tottenham Hotspur 1–0 West Ham United London
Pavlyuchenko 65' Report Stadium: White Hart Lane
Attendance: 35,969
Referee: Martin Atkinson
18 April 2009 33 Aston Villa 1–1 West Ham United Birmingham
Heskey 11' Report Tristan 85' Stadium: Villa Park
Attendance: 39,534
Referee: Rob Styles
25 April 2009 34 West Ham United 0–1 Chelsea London
Report Kalou 55' Stadium: Boleyn Ground
Attendance: 34,749
Referee: Mike Dean
2 May 2009 35 Stoke City 0–1 West Ham United Stoke-on-Trent
Report Tristan 33' Stadium: Britannia Stadium
Attendance: 27,500
Referee: Peter Walton
9 May 2009 36 West Ham United 0–3 Liverpool London
Report Gerrard 2', 38'
Babel 84'		 Stadium: Boleyn Ground
Attendance: 34,951
Referee: Alan Wiley
16 May 2009 37 Everton 3–1 West Ham United Liverpool
Saha 38', 76'
Yobo 48'		 Report Kovac 24' Stadium: Goodison Park
Attendance: 38,501
Referee: Phil Dowd
24 May 2009 38 West Ham United 2–1 Middlesbrough London
Cole 33'
Stanislas 58'		 Report O'Neil 50' Stadium: Boleyn Ground
Attendance: 34,007
Referee: Howard Webb

League Cup

27 August 2008 Second round West Ham United 4–1 (a.e.t.) Macclesfield Town London
Bowyer 74'
Cole 100'
Hines 105'
Reid 117'		 Report Evans 5' Stadium: Boleyn Ground
Attendance: 10,055
Referee: Clive Penton
23 September 2008 Third round Watford 1–0 West Ham United Watford
Mullins 70', og' Report Stadium: Vicarage Road
Attendance: 12,914
Referee: Peter Walton

FA Cup

3 January 2009 Third round West Ham United 3–0 Barnsley London
Ilunga 10'
Noble 39'
Cole 68'		 Report Stadium: Boleyn Ground
Attendance: 28,869
Referee: Michael Oliver
24 January 2009 Fourth Round Hartlepool United 0–2 West Ham United Hartlepool
Report Behrami 44'
Noble 45'		 Stadium: Victoria Park
Attendance: 6,849
Referee: Lee Mason
14 February 2009 Fifth round West Ham United 1–1 Middlesbrough London
Ilunga 83' Report Downing 22' Stadium: Boleyn Ground
Attendance: 33,658
Referee: Peter Walton
25 February 2009 Fifth round replay Middlesbrough 2–0 West Ham United Middlesbrough
Downing 5'
Tuncay 20'		 Report Stadium: Riverside Stadium
Attendance: 15,602
Referee: Steve Bennett

Statistics

Overview

Competition Record
P W D L GF GA GD Win %
Premier League 38 14 9 15 42 45 −3 036.84
FA Cup 4 2 1 1 6 4 +2 050.00
League Cup 2 1 0 1 4 2 +2 050.00
Total 44 17 10 17 52 51 +1 038.64

Goalscorers

Rank Pos No. Nat Name Premier League FA Cup League Cup Total
1 ST 12 England Carlton Cole 10 1 1 12
2 ST 10 Wales Craig Bellamy 5 0 0 5
MF 16 England Mark Noble 3 2 0 5
4 ST 32 Italy David Di Michele 4 0 0 4
5 ST 25 Spain Diego Tristan 3 0 0 3
MF 31 Wales Jack Collison 3 0 0 3
7 DF 3 Democratic Republic of the Congo Herita Ilunga 0 2 0 2
ST 9 England Dean Ashton 2 0 0 2
MF 11 England Matthew Etherington 2 0 0 2
MF 21 Switzerland Valon Behrami 1 1 0 2
MF 46 England Junior Stanislas 2 0 0 2
12 DF 2 Australia Lucas Neill 1 0 0 1
MF 8 England Scott Parker 1 0 0 1
MF 14 Czech Republic Radoslav Kovac 1 0 0 1
MF 17 England Hayden Mullins 1 0 0 1
DF 27 England Calum Davenport 1 0 0 1
MF 28 England Kyel Reid 0 0 1 1
MF 29 England Lee Bowyer 0 0 1 1
DF 30 England James Tomkins 0 0 1 1
ST 41 England Zavon Hines 0 0 1 1
Own goals 1 0 0 1
Totals 42 6 4 52

League position by matchday

Matchday1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738
GroundHAHAHAHAHAAHHAAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAH
ResultWLWLWWLLLLDLDWDLDLWWDWWDLLWWDDWLDLWLLW
Position5154745681011111313131316161713101088888777777787999
Source: [citation needed]
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Appearances and goals

No. Pos Nat Player Total Premier League FA Cup League Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Goalkeepers
1 GK England ENG Robert Green 43 0 38 0 4 0 1 0
24 GK Czech Republic CZE Jan Lastuvka 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Defenders
2 DF Australia AUS Lucas Neill 37 1 34 1 2 0 1 0
3 DF Democratic Republic of the Congo COD Herita Ilunga 39 2 35 0 4 2 0 0
3 MF Northern Ireland NIR George McCartney 2 0 0+1 0 0 0 1 0
4 DF Wales WAL Daniel Gabbidon 14 0 10 0 0 0 4 0
5 DF Uruguay URU Walter Lopez 6 0 0+5 0 0 0 1 0
6 DF England ENG Matthew Upson 41 0 37 0 2 0 2 0
18 DF United States USA Jonathan Spector 9 0 4+5 0 0 0 0 0
19 DF Wales WAL James Collins 21 0 17+1 0 3 0 0 0
27 DF England ENG Calum Davenport 8 1 7 1 0 0 1 0
30 DF England ENG James Tomkins 15 1 11+1 1 3 0 0 0
Midfielders
7 MF England ENG Kieron Dyer 8 0 1+6 0 0+1 0 0 0
8 MF England ENG Scott Parker 32 1 28 1 3 0 0+1 0
11 MF England ENG Matthew Etherington 15 2 8+5 2 0+1 0 1 0
13 MF Portugal POR Luis Boa Morte 32 0 13+14 0 2+1 0 2 0
14 MF Czech Republic CZE Radoslav Kovac 10 1 8+1 1 1 0 0 0
16 MF England ENG Mark Noble 34 5 28+1 3 4 2 1 0
17 MF England ENG Hayden Mullins 21 1 5+12 1 1+1 0 2 0
20 MF France FRA Julien Faubert 24 0 15+5 0 2 0 2 0
21 MF Switzerland SUI Valon Behrami 27 2 24 1 2 1 1 0
28 MF England ENG Kyel Reid 2 1 0 0 0 0 0+2 1
29 MF England ENG Lee Bowyer 7 1 4+2 0 0 0 1 1
31 MF Wales WAL Jack Collison 24 3 16+4 3 3+1 0 0 0
35 MF England ENG Josh Payne 2 0 0+2 0 0 0 0 0
46 MF England ENG Junior Stanislas 9 2 7+2 2 0 0 0 0
Forwards
9 FW England ENG Dean Ashton 5 2 4 2 0 0 1 0
10 FW Wales WAL Craig Bellamy 17 5 13+3 5 1 0 0 0
10 MF Germany GER Savio Nsereko 11 0 1+9 0 0+1 0 0 0
12 FW England ENG Carlton Cole 32 12 26+1 10 4 1 0+1 1
25 MF Spain ESP Diego Tristan 17 3 8+6 3 0+3 0 0 0
32 FW Italy ITA David Di Michele 34 4 22+8 4 2+1 0 1 0
33 FW England ENG Freddie Sears 22 0 4+13 0 1+2 0 2 0
41 FW England ENG Zavon Hines 1 1 0 0 0 0 0+1 1

Transfers

In

Date Nation Position Name Club From Fee
23 July 2008 Switzerland MF Valon Behrami Lazio £5,000,000[3]
5 September 2008 Uruguay DF Walter Lopez Free Agency Free[4]
14 October 2008 Spain FW Diego Tristan Free Agency Free[5]
20 January 2009 Germany FW Savio Nsereko Brescia £9,000,000[6]

Out

Date Nation Position Name Club To Fee
12 June 2008 Peru MF Nolberto Solano Free Agency Released[7]
15 July 2008 Ghana DF John Paintsil Fulham £6,300,000 (combined with Zamora)[8]
15 July 2008 England FW Bobby Zamora Fulham £6,300,000 (combined with Paintsil)[8]
22 July 2008 England GK Richard Wright Ipswich Town Undisclosed[9]
6 August 2008 Sweden MF Freddie Ljungberg Free Agency Released[10]
27 August 2008 England DF Anton Ferdinand Sunderland £8,000,000[11]
1 September 2008 Northern Ireland DF George McCartney Sunderland Undisclosed[12]
8 January 2009 England MF Matthew Etherington Stoke City Undisclosed[13]
14 January 2009 Wales FW Craig Bellamy Manchester City Undisclosed[14]
26 January 2009 England MF Hayden Mullins Portsmouth Undisclosed[15]

Loan In

Date Nation Position Name Club From Length
4 August 2008 Czech Republic GK Jan Lastuvka Shakhtar Donetsk Full-Season[16]
2 September 2008 Democratic Republic of the Congo DF Herita Ilunga Toulouse Full-Season[17]
2 September 2008 Italy FW David Di Michele Torino Full-Season[17]
30 January 2009 Czech Republic MF Radoslav Kovac Spartak Moscow Until end of season[18]

Loan Out

Date Nation Position Name Club To Length
21 October 2008 Scotland MF Nigel Quashie Birmingham City One month[19](extended 24 November[20] and again on 23 December[21])
27 November 2008 England GK Jimmy Walker Colchester United One month[22](extended 12 January[23])
9 January 2009 England MF Lee Bowyer Birmingham City Until end of season[24]
15 January 2009 England MF Kyel Reid Wolves Until end of season[25]
22 January 2009 Scotland MF Nigel Quashie Wolves Until end of season[26]
31 January 2009 France MF Julien Faubert Real Madrid Until end of season[27]
2 February 2009 England DF Calum Davenport Sunderland Until end of season[28]
15 February 2009 England MF Tony Stokes Újpest Until end of season[29]

References

  1. ^ "West Ham close in on Zola". The Guardian. 10 September 2008. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  2. ^ Quashie was born in Southwark, London, England, and has represented England at U-21 and B-level, but also qualified to represent Scotland internationally through his grandfather and made his international debut for Scotland in May 2004.
  3. ^ "West Ham sign Lazio star Behrami". BBC Sport. 23 July 2008. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  4. ^ Burton, Chris (8 September 2008). "Hammers snap up Lopez". Sky Sports. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  5. ^ "Tristan deal completed". West Ham United F.C. 14 October 2008. Archived from the original on 20 June 2009. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  6. ^ Nitzberg, Jacob (28 January 2009). "West Ham Completes Signing of Savio Nsereko". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  7. ^ "West Ham release veteran Solano". BBC Sport. 12 June 2008. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  8. ^ a b Barrett, Chris (15 July 2008). "Fulham sign Zamora and Pantsil". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  9. ^ "Ipswich re-sign goalkeeper Wright". BBC Sport. 22 July 2008. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  10. ^ Collins, Sam (6 August 2008). "West Ham part company with Ljungberg". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  11. ^ "Ferdinand makes Sunderland switch". BBC Sport. 27 August 2008. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  12. ^ "McCartney heads to Sunderland | West Ham United F.C." www.whufc.com. 1 September 2008. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  13. ^ "Etherington off to Stoke | West Ham United F.C." www.whufc.com. 8 January 2009. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  14. ^ "Manchester City complete signing of Bellamy". The Guardian. 19 January 2009. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  15. ^ "Portsmouth sign Mullins and Pele". BBC Sport. 26 January 2009. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  16. ^ "Lastuvka joins West Ham on loan". BBC Sport. 4 August 2008. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  17. ^ a b "Di Michele & Ilunga join West Ham". BBC Sport. 2 September 2008. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  18. ^ "Czech Kovac joins Hammers on loan". BBC Sport. 30 January 2009. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  19. ^ "Quashie loaned to Birmingham | West Ham United F.C." www.whufc.com. 21 October 2008. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  20. ^ "Quashie extends Birmingham stay". BBC Sport. 24 November 2008. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  21. ^ "Quashie staying on at Birmingham". BBC Sport. 23 December 2008. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  22. ^ "Colchester sign goalkeeper Walker". BBC Sport. 27 November 2008. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  23. ^ "Walker to stay with Colchester | West Ham United F.C." www.whufc.com. 12 January 2009. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  24. ^ "Birmingham snap up Bowyer on loan". BBC Sport. 9 January 2009. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  25. ^ "Wolves land Reid on loan". Eurosport. 15 January 2009. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  26. ^ "Quashie makes loan move to Wolves". BBC Sport. 22 January 2009. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  27. ^ "Faubert seals loan switch to Real". BBC Sport. 31 January 2009. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  28. ^ "Sunderland get Davenport on loan". BBC Sport. 2 February 2009. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  29. ^ "Stokes stays in Hungary". WHFC.co.uk. 15 February 2009. Archived from the original on 23 February 2009. Retrieved 20 December 2023.