2008–09 Leicester City F.C. season

The 2008–09 season was Leicester City F.C.'s 104th season in the English football league system and their first and, to date, only season in the third tier of English football, after being relegated to League One the previous season.

Leicester City
2008–09 season
ChairmanMilan Mandarić
ManagerNigel Pearson
Football League One1st
FA CupThird round
League CupSecond round
Football League TrophyNorthern quarter-final
Top goalscorerLeague: Matty Fryatt (27)
All: Matty Fryatt (32)
Highest home attendance30,542 (vs. Scunthorpe, league, 24 April)
Lowest home attendance7,386 (vs. Stockport, League Cup, 12 August)
Average home league attendance20,253

Under the stewardship of new manager Nigel Pearson (who managed to become the first Leicester manager in five years to last an entire season), Leicester comfortably took the League One title to earn instant promotion back to the Championship, which included a club record run of 23 games league unbeaten between 1 November and 7 March. Leicester also broke club records for the most points ever gained in a season (96), the most league wins ever gained in a season (27) and the fewest league defeats in a season (4), the latter record especially impressive considering the amount of league seasons Leicester have had to play fewer than 46 games.

Matty Fryatt also became the first Leicester player to score over 30 goals in one season since legendary striker Arthur Rowley, 52 years previously.

Players

2008-09 squad
Only includes players given a squad number. The squad listed is the squad which Leicester finished the season with.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  AUS Paul Henderson
2 DF  ENG Marc Edworthy
3 DF  AUS Patrick Kisnorbo
4 DF  ENG Kerrea Gilbert (on loan from Arsenal)
5 DF  BUL Aleksandar Tunchev
6 MF  ENG Stephen Clemence (captain)
7 MF  ENG Tom Cleverley (on loan from Manchester United)
8 MF  ENG Matthew Oakley (vice-captain)
9 FW  SCO Steve Howard
10 FW  ENG DJ Campbell
11 MF  ENG Lloyd Dyer
12 FW  ENG Matty Fryatt
13 GK  IRL Conrad Logan
14 MF  AUS James Wesolowski
15 DF  ENG Michael Morrison
16 MF  WAL Nicky Adams
17 DF  FRA Bruno N'Gotty
18 MF  ENG Levi Porter
19 FW  JAM Barry Hayles
No. Pos. Nation Player
20 DF  ENG Harry Worley
21 FW  ENG Ashley Chambers
22 MF  CIV Max Gradel
23 DF  ENG Joe Mattock
24 MF  WAL Andy King
25 DF  ENG Jack Hobbs (on loan from Liverpool)
26 GK  ENG David Martin (on loan from Liverpool)
27 FW  SCO Paul Dickov
28 DF  ENG Luke O'Neill
29 DF  ENG Chris Powell
30 FW  ENG Craig King
31 DF   SUI Bruno Berner
32 GK  AUS Alex Cisak
34 MF  ENG Aman Verma
35 GK  ENG Carl Pentney
36 DF  ENG Wayne Brown (on loan from Hull City)
37 GK  ENG David Stockdale (on loan from Fulham)
38 GK  TRI Tony Warner (on loan from Hull City)
39 MF  SWE Astrit Ajdarević (on loan from Liverpool)

Kit and sponsorship

Leicester City retained the previous season's home kit. A yellow away kit and a black third kit were also used.

The kits were produced by German company Jako and sponsored by British company Topps Tiles.

Pre-Season Friendlies

The Leicester City players reported back for Pre-Season on 1 July 2008. They played the following Friendlies:

12 July 2008 1 Hinckley United 4–5 Leicester City Hinckley
Murphy
Webster 		(Report) Howard
Adams
Gradel
Fryatt
Chambers 		Stadium: Marsdon's Stadium
Attendance: 3,231
16 July 2008 2 Olimpija Ljubljana 2–2 Leicester City Slovenia
Rudonja
O.G 		(Report) Fryatt
Campbell
22 July 2008 3 Luton Town 1–1 Leicester City Luton
Spring (Report) Dyer Stadium: Kenilworth Road
Attendance: 1,934
Referee: K Friend
24 July 2008 4 Quorn 4–8 Leicester City XI Quorn
Jenkins
Hearn
Turner 		(Report) Malenovic (Trialist)
Sappleton (p)
Odhiambo
King
McKay
26 July 2008 5 Kettering Town 1–4 Leicester City Kettering
Solkhan (Report) Fryatt
Adams
Campbell 		Stadium: Rockingham Road
Referee: A Woolmer
29 July 2008 6 Leicester City 2–3 Birmingham City Leicester
Fryatt
Porter 		(Report) Larsson
Phillips 		Stadium: Walkers Stadium
Attendance: 6,354
Referee: T Kettle
30 July 2008 7 Ilkeston Town 2–4 Leicester City XI Ilkeston
Howell (Report) King
McKay
Porter 		Stadium: New Manor Ground
Attendance: 431
2 August 2008 8 Crystal Palace 1–1 Leicester City London
Moses (Report) Oakley Stadium: Selhurst Park
Attendance: 1,993
Referee: P Crossley

Transfers

In
Date Pos. Nat. Name From Fee
1 July 2008 DF Michael Morrison Cambridge United Undisclosed
1 July 2008 MF Lloyd Dyer Milton Keynes Dons Free
1 July 2008 MF Nicky Adams Bury £100,000
7 July 2008 DF Aleksander Tunchev CSKA Sofia £850,000
1 August 2008 DF Chris Powell Charlton Athletic Free
7 August 2008 FW Paul Dickov Manchester City Free

Out
Date Pos. Nat. Name To Fee
1 July 2008 DF Gareth McAuley Ipswich Town Undisclosed
1 July 2008 DF Richard Stearman Wolverhampton Wanderers Undisclosed
1 July 2008 FW Iain Hume Barnsley £1,200,000
1 July 2008 GK Rab Douglas Dundee Free
1 July 2008 DF Alan Sheehan Leeds United Free
21 July 2008 MF Louis Dodds Port Vale Free
30 July 2008 MF Sergio Hellings K.V.C. Westerlo Free
5 August 2008 DF James Chambers Doncaster Rovers Free
19 December 2008 DF Radostin Kishishev PFC Litex Lovech Free
30 January 2009 FW Eric Odhiambo Inverness Caledonian Thistle Free

Loans in
Date from Date to Pos. Nat. Name From
10 July 2008 End of season DF Kerrea Gilbert Arsenal
1 August 2008 End of season DF Jack Hobbs Liverpool
4 August 2008 End of season GK David Martin Liverpool
27 November 2008 26 January 2009 MF Mark Davies Wolverhampton Wanderers
17 January 2009 End of season MF Tom Cleverley Manchester United
30 January 2009 End of season DF Wayne Brown Hull City
16 February 2009 1 March 2009 GK Mark Bunn Blackburn Rovers
3 March 2009 End of season GK David Stockdale Fulham
13 March 2009 End of season GK Tony Warner Hull City
26 March 2009 End of season MF Astrit Ajdarevic Liverpool

Loans out
Date from Date to Pos. Nat. Name From
12 August 2008 12 September 2008 FW Ricky Sappleton Bournemouth
12 August 2008 12 October 2008 FW Barry Hayles Cheltenham Town
21 August 2008 1 January 2009 GK Conrad Logan Luton Town
18 September 2008 23 November 2009 MF Harry Worley Luton Town
26 September 2008 2 November 2008 MF Bruno N'Gotty Hereford United
2 October 2008 2 November 2008 MF James Wesolowski Cheltenham Town
20 October 2008 20 November 2008 DF Lathaniel Rowe-Turner Cheltenham Town
23 October 2008 23 November 2008 GK Carl Pentney Woking
24 October 2008 1 February 2009 MF Jonathan Hayes Cheltenham Town
27 November 2008 27 December 2008 FW Eric Odhiambo Brentford
27 November 2008 31 December 2008 FW Barry Hayles Cheltenham Town
1 January 2009 End of season FW Ricky Sappleton Oxford United
8 January 2009 End of season FW DJ Campbell Blackpool
19 January 2010 End of season MF Nicky Adams Rochdale
1 February 2010 End of season FW DJ Campbell Blackpool
3 February 2010 End of season MF James Wesolowski Dundee United
27 March 2010 End of season GK Conrad Logan Stockport County

Results

Football League One
  • Leicester City scores given first
Game Date Venue Opponents Score Scorers Attendance Points Position Report
1 9 August 2008 Home Milton Keynes Dons 2–0 Fryatt 24, 83(p) 23,351 3 4th LCFC.com
2 16 August 2008 Away Stockport County 0–0 7,151 4 3rd LCFC.com
3 23 August 2008 Home Tranmere Rovers 3–1 Howard 33, Fryatt 52, 90+4 17,798 7 2nd LCFC.com
4 30 August 2008 Away Cheltenham Town 4–0 Dyer 3, 80, Oakley 54, Fryatt 77 5,344 10 1st LCFC.com
5 13 September 2008 Home Millwall 0–1 19,591 10 6th LCFC.com
6 20 September 2008 Home Leyton Orient 3–1 Dyer 11, Fryatt 87, King 90 6,448 13 5th LCFC.com
7 27 September 2008 Home Hartlepool United 1–0 Oakley 3 18,578 16 4th LCFC.com
8 30 September 2008 Away Colchester United 1–0 Dyer 49 5,133 19 1st LCFC.com
9 4 October 2008 Away Huddersfield Town 3–2 Fryatt 50, 65(p), Dyer 90+1 16,212 22 1st LCFC.com
– 11 October 2008 Home Yeovil Town P–P1 – – – –
10 18 October 2008 Away Oldham Athletic 1–1 Howard 54 8,901 23 2nd LCFC.com
11 21 October 2008 Home Walsall 2–2 King 34, Tunchev 73 17,178 24 3rd LCFC.com
12 25 October 2008 Home Northampton Town 0–0 22,795 25 4th LCFC.com
13 28 October 2008 Away Brighton & Hove Albion 2–3 Fryatt 35, 42 6,282 25 6th LCFC.com
14 1 November 2008 Home Bristol Rovers 2–1 Fryatt 87, 90+4 18,941 28 5th LCFC.com
15 11 November 2008 Home Yeovil Town 1–0 Dyer 25 16,528 31 1st LCFC.com
16 15 November 2008 Away Swindon Town 2–2 Oakley 57, Fryatt 74 9,499 32 2nd LCFC.com
17 22 November 2008 Away Scunthorpe United 2–1 Dyer 22, King 81 7,967 35 1st LCFC.com
18 25 November 2008 Home Crewe Alexandra 2–1 Fryatt 15, King 72 16,961 38 1st LCFC.com
19 6 December 2008 Home Southend United 3–0 Fryatt 6, 76, 80(p) 16,836 41 1st LCFC.com
20 13 December 2008 Away Carlisle United 2–1 King 60, Berner 692 7,058 44 1st LCFC.com
21 20 December 2008 Home Peterborough United 4–0 O.G. 6, Fryatt 38, King 70, Howard 90 23,390 47 1st LCFC.com
22 26 December 2008 Away Leeds United 1–1 Oakley 24 33,580 48 1st LCFC.com
23 28 December 2008 Home Hereford United 2–1 Howard 9, King 71 22,920 51 1st LCFC.com
24 10 January 2009 Home Leyton Orient 3–0 Oakley 9, Davies 37, Dickov(p) 87 18,240 54 1st LCFC.com
25 19 January 2009 Away Yeovil Town 2–0 Howard 57, Mattock 88 4,569 57 1st LCFC.com
26 24 January 2009 Home Huddersfield Town 4–2 Morrison 11, Berner 59, Fryatt 63, Hobbs 73 21,311 60 1st LCFC.com
27 27 January 2009 Home Brighton & Hove Albion 0–0 17,410 61 1st LCFC.com
28 31 January 2009 Away Northampton Town 2–1 Howard 21(p), Dyer 73 7,028 64 1st LCFC.com
29 3 February 2009 Away Walsall 4–1 Fryatt 12, King 34, Cleverley 47, Howard 52 5,634 67 1st LCFC.com
30 7 February 2009 Home Oldham Athletic 0–0 22,328 68 1st LCFC.com
31 14 February 2009 Home Swindon Town 1–1 King 86 19,926 69 1st LCFC.com
32 17 February 2009 Away Hartlepool United 2–2 Howard 28, 80(p) 4,068 70 1st LCFC.com
33 21 February 2009 Away Bristol Rovers 1–0 Fryatt 20 9,138 73 1st LCFC.com
34 28 February 2009 Away Milton Keynes Dons 2–2 Fryatt 5, Gradel 90+7 17,717 74 1st LCFC.com
35 3 March 2009 Home Stockport County 1–1 Gilbert 2 16,378 75 1st LCFC.com
36 7 March 2009 Home Cheltenham Town 4–0 Howard 15, Fryatt 22, Cleverley 67, Oakley 70 18,939 78 1st LCFC.com
37 11 March 2009 Away Tranmere Rovers 0–2 6,032 78 1st LCFC.com
38 14 March 2009 Away Millwall 1–0 Howard 22 13,261 81 1st LCFC.com
39 21 March 2009 Home Colchester United 1–1 Dickov 67 20,218 82 1st LCFC.com
40 28 March 2009 Away Peterborough United 0–2 14,110 82 1st LCFC.com
41 4 April 2009 Home Carlisle United 2–2 Oakley 52, Fryatt 88 20,159 83 1st LCFC.com
42 11 April 2009 Away Hereford United 3–1 Oakley 35, Dyer 74, Howard 86 4,389 86 1st LCFC.com
43 13 April 2009 Home Leeds United 1–0 Howard 90+2 25,507 89 1st LCFC.com
44 18 April 2009 Away Southend United 2–0 Fryatt 60(p), 70 10,089 92 1st LCFC.com
45 24 April 2009 Home Scunthorpe United 2–2 Morrison 16, 77 30,542 93 1st LCFC.com
46 2 May 2009 Away Crewe Alexandra 3–0 Berner 56, Dyer 66, Fryatt 68 6,982 96 1st LCFC.com

1 - Match postponed due to International call-ups.
2 - In some match reports, this goal is mistakenly awarded to Mark Davies

FA Cup
  • Leicester City scores given first
Round Date Venue Opponents Score Scorers Attendance Report
R1 8 November 2008 Home Stevenage Borough 3–0 Dyer 37, Fryatt 52, King 69 7,586 LCFC.com
R2 29 November 2008 Home Dagenham & Redbridge 3–2 Fryatt 11, 30(p), 55 7,791 LCFC.com
R3 3 January 2009 Home Crystal Palace 0–0 15,976 LCFC.com
R3 Replay 3 January 2009 Away Crystal Palace 1–2 Gradel 90+4 6,023 LCFC.com

Football League Cup
  • Leicester City scores given first
Round Date Venue Opponents Score Scorers Attendance Report
R1 12 August 2008 Home Stockport County 1–0 Howard 36 7,386 LCFC.com
R2 27 August 2008 Away Fulham 2–3 Dickov 46, King 48 7,386 LCFC.com

Football League Trophy
  • Leicester City scores given first
Round Date Venue Opponents Score Scorers Attendance Report
R1 N 2 September 2008 Away Hartlepool United 3–0 Howard 52, Adams 66, Fryatt 87 2,807 LCFC.com
R2 N 23 September 2008 Home Lincoln City 0–01 8,046 LCFC.com
QF N 4 November 2008 Away Rotherham United 0–2 4,255 LCFC.com

1 Leicester won 3-1 on penalties.

Awards

Club awards

At the end of the season, Leicester's annual award ceremony including categories voted for by the players and backroom staff, the supporters and the supporters club, saw the following players recognised for their achievements for the club throughout the 2009–10 season.

Player of the Season Award Steve Howard
Young Player of the Season Award Andy King
Players' Player of the Season Award Matty Fryatt
Supporters' Club Player of the Season Award Matty Fryatt
Academy Player of the Season Award Cian Bolger
Goal of the Season Award Matt Oakley vs Cheltenham Town (7.3.2009)

Divisional awards
Date Award Winner
August 2008 League One Manager of the Month Nigel Pearson
December 2008 League One Manager of the Month Nigel Pearson
December 2008 League One Player of the Month Matty Fryatt
Season League One Player of the Year Matty Fryatt
Season League One PFA Team of the Year Jack Hobbs
Season League One PFA Team of the Year Matt Oakley
Season League One PFA Team of the Year Matty Fryatt

League One statistics

League One table
Leicester celebrate their promotion as champions of League One with a win at Southend.
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Leicester City (C, P) 46 27 15 4 84 39 +45 96 Promotion to Football League Championship
2 Peterborough United (P) 46 26 11 9 78 54 +24 89
3 Milton Keynes Dons 46 26 9 11 83 47 +36 87 Qualification for League One play-offs
4 Leeds United 46 26 6 14 77 49 +28 84
5 Millwall 46 25 7 14 63 53 +10 82
Updated to match(es) played on 2 May 2009. Source: The Football League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champion; (P) Promoted.

Club standings
OverallHomeAway
PldWDLGFGAGDPtsWDLGFGAGDWDLGFGAGD
46 27 15 4 84 39  +45 96 13 9 1 41 16  +25 14 6 3 43 23  +20

Last updated: 2 May 2009.
Source: LCFC League One Results

Club statistics

Appearances
No. Nat. Name FL1 Cups Total
1 Paul Henderson 6 4 10
2 Marc Edworthy 5 3 8
3 Patrick Kisnorbo 5 (3) 2 7 (3)
4 Kerrea Gilbert 33 (1) 4 (1) 37 (2)
5 Aleksander Tunchev 19 (1) 6 25 (1)
7 Radostin Kishishev 0 1 1
7 Tom Cleverley 10 (5) 0 10 (5)
8 Matt Oakley 45 3 48
9 Steve Howard 40 (1) 9 (1) 49 (2)
10 DJ Campbell 2 (5) 1 (3) 3 (8)
11 Lloyd Dyer 43 (1) 7 50 (1)
12 Matty Fryatt 46 4 (2) 50 (2)
14 James Wesolowski 0 4 4
15 Michael Morrison 32 (3) 6 (2) 38 (5)
16 Nicky Adams 4 (8) 5 (1) 9 (9)
18 Levi Porter 1 0 (1) 1 (1)
19 Barry Hayles 1 (9) 1 2 (9)
21 Ashley Chambers 0 (1) 0 (2) 0 (3)
22 Max Gradel 16 (11) 3 (2) 19 (13)
23 Joe Mattock 25 (6) 5 30 (6)
24 Andy King 45 8 (1) 53 (1)
25 Jack Hobbs 39 (5) 5 44 (5)
26 David Martin 25 5 30
27 Paul Dickov 4 (16) 3 (3) 7 (19)
28 Luke O'Neill 0 1 1
29 Chris Powell 12 (5) 3 (2) 15 (7)
30 Craig King 0 0 (1) 0 (1)
31 Bruno Berner 21 (11) 5 (1) 26 (12)
33 Mark Davies 5 (2) 1 (1) 6 (3)
33 Mark Bunn 3 0 3
35 Carl Pentney 0 (1) 0 0 (1)
36 Wayne Brown 7 (2) 0 7 (2)
37 David Stockdale 8 0 8
38 Tony Warner 4 0 4
39 Astrit Ajdarevic 0 (5) 0 0 (5)

Note: Subs in brackets.

Starting XI

The following players have been named in the most starting line-ups. This line-up may differ from the list of players with most appearances.

Top scorers
  • Note: In some records, Bruno Berner's goal vs. Carlisle United on 13 December 2008 is mistakenly recorded as being scored by Mark Davies.
Pos. Nat. Player FL1 Cups Total
1 Matty Fryatt 27 5 32
2 Steve Howard 13 2 15
3 Andy King 9 2 11
4 Lloyd Dyer 10 1 11
5 Matt Oakley 8 0 8
6 Paul Dickov 2 1 3
= Michael Morrison 3 0 3
= Bruno Berner 3 0 3
9 Tom Cleverley 2 0 2
= Max Gradel 1 1 2
11 Joe Mattock 1 0 1
= Mark Davies 1 0 1
= Jack Hobbs 1 0 1
= Nicky Adams 0 1 1
= Aleksandar Tunchev 1 0 1
= Kerrea Gilbert 1 0 1

Most assists
Pos. Nat. Player FL1 Cups Total
1 Steve Howard 14 0 14
2 Lloyd Dyer 9 1 10
3 Matty Fryatt 8 1 9
4 Max Gradel 6 1 7
5 Matt Oakley 6 0 6
6 Andy King 4 1 5
7 Nicky Adams 3 1 4
8 Tom Cleverley 3 0 3
= Jack Hobbs 3 0 3
= Paul Dickov 2 1 3
11 Joe Mattock 1 1 2
12 Ashley Chambers 0 1 1
= James Wesolowski 0 1 1
= DJ Campbell 0 1 1
= Mark Davies 1 0 1
= Barry Hayles 1 0 1

Disciplinary record
Nat. Player
Jack Hobbs 2 1
Steve Howard 10 0
Max Gradel 7 0
Matty Fryatt 6 0
Bruno Berner 4 0
Matt Oakley 4 0
Michael Morrison 4 0
Aleksandar Tunchev 3 0
Paul Dickov 3 0
Joe Mattock 3 0
Barry Hayles 3 0
Nicky Adams 2 0
Kerrea Gilbert 2 0
Andy King 2 0
Lloyd Dyer 2 0
Mark Davies 2 0
Chris Powell 1 0
Tom Cleverley 1 0
Wayne Brown 1 0

All Stats obtained from LCFC.com

References
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