The 2008–09 season was Stoke City's first season in the Premier League and the 53rd in the top tier of English football. This was also their 102nd season of league football.
After gaining promotion to the top division for the first time since 1985, Stoke were immediately tipped to be relegated from the Premier League by the media. Dave Kitson became the first signing and he was followed by Seyi Olofinjana, Thomas Sørensen, Amdy Faye, Abdoulaye Faye and the returning Danny Higginbotham. Stoke started the campaign at Bolton Wanderers and were dealt a harsh reality check losing 3–1. Stoke's first home game in the Premier League produced an exciting 3–2 win over Aston Villa with Mamady Sidibé getting the winner in the 93rd minute. Stoke claimed a valuable point away at title challengers Liverpool in September and earned wins over Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Sunderland and West Bromwich Albion in October and November with Rory Delap's long throw-ins causing defences problems.
Stoke hit poor form in December failing to win a match and had to deal with an embarrassing on-field clash between teammates Ricardo Fuller and captain Andy Griffin away at West Ham United. In January Stoke brought in James Beattie and Matthew Etherington who proved to be influential signings. Beattie scored the only goal as Stoke ended a run of nine matches without a win at the end of January against Man City. Stoke continued to improve and pulled clear of the relegation zone with important victories over Bolton, Middlesbrough and West Brom. Stoke sealed survival with a 2–1 victory away at Hull City in May 2009 and ended their first season in the Premier League in 12th position with 45 points.
Pre-season Stoke began its preparations for the 2008–09 season with the traditional opener at Newcastle Town. City won 3–0 with goals coming from Richard Cresswell, Jon Parkin and Adam Rooney. Stoke then travelled to Austria for their pre-season training camp, where they also played two games. The first was against German side Nürnberg in Stainach, Greek forward Angelos Charisteas scored the only goal of the match. The second was against the Bahrain national team, a rare club versus country match. Stoke won 2–1 with the goals coming from Cresswell and Pericard while Ismail Abdul-Latif replied for the Arabic nation. On their return to England Stoke travelled to League Two Notts County and came away with a 2–0 win thanks to a brace from Mamady Sidibé. Stoke kept their winning run going as they visited Shrewsbury Town's new stadium the New Meadow for the first time, Cresswell scored the winning goal after 68 minutes. Stoke's final away fixture saw them make the long trip down to Southampton. Stoke took the lead through new signing Dave Kitson, David McGoldrick levelled before Pericard scored from distance. Stern John pulled The Saints level again but Stoke were not to be denied as Jamie Hatch scored an own goal. Stoke's final friendly saw them take on Spanish side Osasuna in what was an entertaining 2–2 draw. Delap and Shawcross scored for Stoke while Walter Pandiani and Javad Nekounam scored for Osasuna.
MatchDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorersReport118 July 2008Newcastle TownA3–03,011Cresswell 16', Parkin 32', Rooney 66'Report222 July 20081. FC NürnbergA0–1Report325 July 2008BahrainN2–1Cresswell 29', Péricard 75'Report429 July 2008Notts CountyA2–02,425Sidibé (2) 15', 21'Report52 August 2008Shrewsbury TownA1–02,450Cresswell 68'Report65 August 2008SouthamptonA3–25,040Kitson 2', Péricard 74', Hatch (o.g.) 80'Report78 August 2008OsasunaH2–25,419Shawcross 27', Delap 45'Report
Premier League
August Stoke began their long-awaited first match in the Premier League and first in the top-flight for 23 years away at Gary Megson's Bolton Wanderers. Manager Tony Pulis gave debuts to new signings Thomas Sørensen, Seyi Olofinjana and record £5 million man Dave Kitson. Stoke made a bright start and went close to opening the scoring through Leon Cort and Kitson. However, out of nowhere Bolton took the lead through Grétar Steinsson as his attempted cross curled into the Stoke net. This knocked all the momentum out of Stoke and Bolton took full advantage and scored twice through Kevin Davies and Johan Elmander to put Wanderers 3–0 up at half-time. Stoke tried to get back into the game and did manage to score a consolation from Ricardo Fuller in the final few seconds of the match.
Stoke's first home match in the Premier League came against Aston Villa in front of 27,500 at the Brit as Senegalese duo Abdoulaye Faye and Amdy Faye made their debuts. Both sides made a positive start and Stoke took the lead in the 30th minute when Liam Lawrence scored from the spot after Martin Laursen had brought down Rory Delap. Villa pulled level in the second half through John Carew before Fuller put Stoke back in front with a quality goal. Gareth Barry's stray pass was intercepted by Delap who passed to Lawrence who fed in Fuller and the Jamaican 'swivelled' past Laursen and scored. The lead didn't last long as Stoke failed to deal with an Ashley Young free kick and Laursen made amends for his earlier error. Stoke were not to be denied victory as, in the final minute, a trademark Delap throw-in was headed in by Mamady Sidibé to give Stoke a 3–2 win.
Stoke next travelled to Middlesbrough for the first time since 1997. The match was an even affair until the 36th minute, when Amdy Faye was sent off for a dangerous two-footed tackle on Mohamed Shawky. From the resulting free kick Afonso Alves put Middlesbrough into the lead against the run of play. Boro had the chance to make sure of the win midway through the second half after Abdoulaye Faye fouled Alves in the area, but Stewart Downing hit the crossbar from the resulting spot kick. Stoke then equalised after Justin Hoyte put a Lawrence cross in to his own net. However Turkish striker Tuncay beat the offside trap and gave Boro the win.
September For the visit of Everton, there were debuts for Ibrahima Sonko and the return of Danny Higginbotham. It was also the first live televised match of the season. Stoke made the better start with Fuller testing Tim Howard early on. It was Everton though who opened the scoring when Nigerian striker Yakubu scored just before half-time, and five minutes after the restart it became 2–0 as another Nigerian, Victor Anichebe, headed in. Stoke pulled one back through a Nigerian of their own when Olofinjana volleyed in after the Everton defence failed to clear a Delap throw. City thought they had equalised moments later when Fuller went through and rounded 'keeper Howard but he was penalised for a foul on Joseph Yobo. They were level soon though as Phil Jagielka headed a Delap throw into his own net. Everton thought they should have had a penalty when Cort handled in the area but the referee, Alan Wiley deemed it outside the box which resulted in David Moyes being sent to the stands for his protest. Tim Cahill headed Everton back in front and the Toffees held out for the points.
Stoke completed the Merseyside double with a trip to Anfield. Liverpool went into the match in fine form and it looked to be a very difficult task for Stoke to come away with anything. Stoke made a bad start as Steven Gerrard's free kick found the back of the net, luckily for Stoke the linesman ruled the goal out for offside. Liverpool had numerous chances to take the lead but Stoke's defence held firm and came away with an impressive 0–0 draw.
Title favourites Chelsea next came to the Britannia Stadium and produced a commanding performance with two goals from José Bosingwa and Nicolas Anelka. Stoke rarely troubled Chelsea 'keeper Petr Čech in what was a simple win for the away side.
October Steve Simonsen and Michael Tonge made their first starts of the season away at Portsmouth. Peter Crouch acrobatically fired Pompey into the lead from Jermain Defoe's cross after 24 minutes at a time when the Potters were slightly on top of the game. Ricardo Fuller forced home an equaliser just after the break, but Defoe secured all three points for the hosts just three minutes later when he beat Simonsen at his near post with a low drive.
Juande Ramos's Tottenham travelled to Stoke in what turned out to be a match full of incident. The first came after 17 minutes when Gareth Bale fouled Tom Soares in the area and received a red card. Higginbotham scored from the spot after having to reset the ball four times due to strong winds. Spurs then equalised through Darren Bent before Delap gave City the lead early in the second half. Sørensen was then forced off due to injury and also Spurs defender, Vedran Ćorluka who collided with his own keeper Heurelho Gomes. Due to these injuries 11 minutes of stoppage time were added, Stoke had the chance to end the match when Soares was again brought down in the box but Fuller's spot kick hit both posts and Delap's rebound hit the cross bar. Spurs were reduced to nine men when Michael Dawson lunged nastily at Sidibé.
Stoke made their first trip to the City of Manchester Stadium and were undone by £32 million Brazilian Robinho, who scored a hat-trick. City did have their chances, but were unable to beat Joe Hart.
The first Tuesday night match in the Premier League came at home against Roy Keane's Sunderland, who had beaten rivals Newcastle United at the weekend. It proved to be a very tight affair with both sides struggling to create clear-cut chances. Stoke scored the only goal of the game when Fuller out-jumped Dean Whitehead to head in another Delap throw-in.
November Arsenal visited the Britannia Stadium at the beginning of November and it was another match full of incident. The first came after just eleven minutes when Fuller's delicate touch from a Delap long throw put City in the lead. Arsenal rarely threatened Sørensen as they struggled to deal with Stoke's greater power and strength. They conceded again from a Delap throw on 73 minutes when Olofinjana bundled the ball past Almunia. Arsenal's misery was complete when Van Persie was sent off for needlessly barging into Sørensen, leaving him requiring assistance from the physio. Gaël Clichy's deflected free kick gave the Gunners a consolation deep in stoppage time. After the match, Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger accused Stoke of being overly aggressive in their play. Pulis responded to Wenger's criticism by quoting Abraham Lincoln.
Stoke went to Wigan still looking for their first away win in the Premier League however, the home side were full of confidence and had Egyptian striker Amr Zaki in fine form. The Latics dominated the match and had 22 shots to City's 2. The combination of saves from Sørensen and some wayward Wigan shooting meant Stoke managed a useful scoreless draw.
Stoke then made the short trip to Manchester United in what turned out to be a poor game for City, as the reigning champions scored five times without reply. Goals from Michael Carrick, Dimitar Berbatov, Danny Welbeck and two free-kicks from Cristiano Ronaldo condemned Stoke to a heavy defeat.
After the heavy defeat at Old Trafford, Stoke came up against Midlands rivals West Bromwich Albion. It was a poor match with few scoring opportunities, but Stoke did manage to get the only goal of the game when Mamady Sidibé converted Danny Higginbotham's inch-perfect centre with just five minutes remaining, to maintain City's exceptional winning record against the Baggies, and also lifted Stoke up to 13th place in the Premier League.