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.
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
Squad
Results
Premier League
League Cup
FA Cup
Statistics
Overview CompetitionRecord Premier League FA Cup League Cup Total
Goalscorers NamePremier LeagueFA CupLeague CupTotal1ST12Carlton Cole1011122ST10Craig Bellamy5005MF16Mark Noble32054ST32David Di Michele40045ST25Diego Tristan3003MF31Jack Collison30037DF3Hérita Ilunga0202ST9Dean Ashton2002MF11Matthew Etherington2002MF21Valon Behrami1102MF46Junior Stanislas200212DF2Lucas Neill1001MF8Scott Parker1001MF14Radoslav Kovac1001MF17Hayden Mullins1001DF27Calum Davenport1001MF28Kyel Reid0011MF29Lee Bowyer0011DF30James Tomkins0011ST41Zavon Hines0011Own goals1001Totals426452
League position by matchday
Appearances and goals
! colspan=12 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Goalkeepers
! colspan=12 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Defenders
! colspan=12 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Midfielders
! colspan=12 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Forwards
Transfers
In +DateNationPositionNameClub FromFee23 July 2008MFValon BehramiLazio£5,000,0005 September 2008DFWalter LopezFree AgencyFree14 October 2008FWDiego TristanFree AgencyFree20 January 2009FWSavio NserekoBrescia£9,000,000
Out DateNationPositionNameClub ToFee12 June 2008MFNolberto SolanoFree AgencyReleased15 July 2008DFJohn PaintsilFulham£6,300,000 (combined with Zamora)15 July 2008FWBobby ZamoraFulham£6,300,000 (combined with Paintsil)22 July 2008GKRichard WrightIpswich TownUndisclosed6 August 2008MFFreddie LjungbergFree AgencyReleased27 August 2008DFAnton FerdinandSunderland£8,000,0001 September 2008DFGeorge McCartneySunderlandUndisclosed8 January 2009MFMatthew EtheringtonStoke CityUndisclosed14 January 2009FWCraig BellamyManchester CityUndisclosed26 January 2009MFHayden MullinsPortsmouthUndisclosed
Loan In DateNationPositionNameClub FromLength4 August 2008GKJan LastuvkaShakhtar DonetskFull-Season2 September 2008DFHérita IlungaToulouseFull-Season2 September 2008FWDavid Di MicheleTorinoFull-Season30 January 2009MFRadoslav KovacSpartak MoscowUntil end of season
Loan Out DateNationPositionNameClub ToLength21 October 2008MFNigel QuashieBirmingham CityOne month(extended 24 November and again on 23 December)27 November 2008GKJimmy WalkerColchester UnitedOne month(extended 12 January)9 January 2009MFLee BowyerBirmingham CityUntil end of season15 January 2009MFKyel ReidWolvesUntil end of season22 January 2009MFNigel QuashieWolvesUntil end of season31 January 2009MFJulien FaubertReal MadridUntil end of season2 February 2009DFCalum DavenportSunderlandUntil end of season15 February 2009MFTony StokesÚjpestUntil end of season
References
External links West Ham United FC official website West Ham United FC on Soccerbase