2008–09 Leeds United F.C. season

Leeds United

2008–09 season
Chairman	Ken Bates
Manager	Gary McAllister (until 21 December 2008)[1] Simon Grayson
Stadium	Elland Road
League One	4th (qualified for play-offs)
Play-offs	Semi-finals
FA Cup	Second round
League Cup	Fourth round
League Trophy	Second round northern
Top goalscorer	League: Jermaine Beckford (27) All: Jermaine Beckford (34)
Highest home attendance	37,036 vs Millwall (14 May 2009, Play-offs)
Lowest home attendance	9,531 vs Northampton Town (7 Nov 2008, FA Cup)
Average home league attendance	22,849
Home colours Away colours Third colours
← 2007–08 2009–10 →

The 2008–09 season was Leeds United F.C.'s second consecutive season in the third tier of English football and for the second year running saw them finish in the play-offs in League One. Gary McAllister started the season as manager, but after a poor run of games in late 2008, his contact was terminated and he was replaced by Simon Grayson. After a nervy first few games, Grayson lifted the side from 8th to 4th, resulting in a place in the play-offs. During this time, the club recorded an incredible 11 consecutive home wins. Although to the heartbreak of Leeds fans, the club failed in the play-offs again, being defeated by Millwall in the semi-finals. During the season, Jermaine Beckford scored 34 goals in all competitions - the highest in the country. Once again, the club received the highest attendance outside the Premier League on three occasions; the largest in the play-off semi final, recording a crowd of over 37,000. Off the pitch, the club made a profit for the first time in years.

Events

This is a list of the significant events to occur at the club during the 2008–09 season, presented in chronological order (starting from 26 May 2008 and ending on 14 May 2009). This list does not include transfers or new contracts, which are listed in the transfers section below, or match results, which are in the matches section.

May

• 27 May: Leeds Chairman, Ken Bates denies claims that Canadian sports firm, Maple Leaf Sports are in talks to take over the club.^[2]

June

• 4 June: Leeds confirm they have had talks with out-of-contract West Bromwich Albion striker, Kevin Phillips, regarding a move to Elland Road.^[3] However, the former England international's agent says that it would be "unlikely" that Phillips would move to Leeds.^[4] Duncan Revie, the son of the late Leeds manager, Don says he is still interested in buying the club.^[5] Meanwhile, thieves steal an England shirt worn by Don during the 1954–55 season.^[6]
• 6 June: Chairman, Ken Bates denies rumours that the club have bought back their stadium, Elland Road which is currently owned by the company, Teak Commercial Limited.^[7]
• 16 June: The fixtures for the 2008–09 League One season are released. Leeds start away at Scunthorpe United on 9 August, with their first home game against Oldham Athletic a week later. The club's final match of the season is against Northampton Town at Elland Road.^[8]
• 26 June: A friendly match scheduled for 30 July against Rotherham United is cancelled due to the "reputation" of the Leeds fans.^[9]

July

• 4 July: The Leeds team return from their holidays for pre-season training.^[10] Leeds' opponents for the friendly match on 2 August at Elland Road are changed from Sporting Lokeren to FCV Dender after Lokeren struggle to get visas for their full team.^[11]
• 9 July: Assistant manager, Steve Staunton is charged with a breach of FA rule E3 following comments he allegedly made to FA doping controllers after the club's defeat to Doncaster Rovers at Wembley on 25 May 2008.^[12]
• 10 July: The club's new kit for the 2008–09 season is revealed, with a full white home strip, a light blue/dark blue away kit and a full yellow alternative away kit. The club encounter contractual issues with the company who had agreed and signed a two-year contract with the club on 26 May 2008 to be the new shirt sponsor. The problem will force the team to wear shirts without a sponsor for the friendly against York City on the 11th.^[13]
• 14 July: Gary McAllister leaves out Sébastien Carole, Anthony Elding, Trésor Kandol, Sebastian Sorsa, Ian Westlake, Curtis Weston from his squad for the pre-season tour of Ireland. Fabian Delph and Neil Kilkenny miss out due to international duty.^[14]
• 29 July: Leeds agree a three-year shirt sponsorship deal with online travel company NetFlights.com.^[15]

August

• 1 August: The squad numbers for the new season are revealed. Most notably, Carole, Westlake, Weston and Bayly are demoted to numbers 35, 37, 40 and 41 respectively, suggesting their careers at Elland Road may be coming to an end.^[16]
• 9 August: Frazer Richardson is named as Leeds' club captain for the 2008–09 season.^[17] Leeds win their opening game of the season with a 2–1 away victory over Scunthorpe United.^[18]
• 29 August: The club confirm they have been charged by the FA with making payments to an unlicensed agent during the transfer of Anthony Elding from Crewe Alexandra in January 2008.^[19]
• 30 August: The club's new home shirt is made available for the first time in the official club shop.^[20]

September

• 3 September: Leeds' first goal against Bristol Rovers on 30 August is awarded to Jermaine Beckford after there was initial confusion where the goal had in fact been an own goal by Bristol defender, Steve Elliott.^[21] The club plead guilty to the FA charge in regard to payments to unlicensed agents in the Elding transfer.^[22]
• 6 September: The club announce that OHS will be the club's secondary shirt sponsor for a further two seasons. OHS were the club's secondary shirt sponsors in the 2007–08 season as well.^[23]
• 27 September: The club's new away shirt is made available for the first time in the official club shop and online.^[24]
• 30 September: The club are fined £7,500, with a further suspended fine of £12,500, for using an unlicensed agent in the transfer of Anthony Elding from Stockport County in January.^[25]

October

• 27 October: Plans for the re-development of the East Stand of Elland Road are revealed. As part of the re-development, a hotel, arcade, shops, restaurants, bars, nightclub, office block and a new club shop will be built.^[26]

November

• 27 November: The club directors reveal that the audited accounts for the 14-month period to 30 June 2008 show the club have made a profit of £4,553,000.^[27] The club also announce that due to savings on VAT, ticket prices as of 1 January 2009 will feature a £1 reduction.^[28]

December

• 13 December: Leeds defender, Paul Huntington is given a three match ban (suspended until May 2010) and fined £1,500 following his gestures towards the Carlisle United fans at their defeat to Leeds at Elland Road in April.^[29]
• 18 December: The club's first team coach, Neil McDonald leaves to become new Blackburn Rovers manager, Sam Allardyce's assistant.^[30]
• 21 December: Gary McAllister is sacked as Leeds' manager after 11 months in charge of the club.^[31]
• 22 December: Assistant Manager, Steve Staunton parts company with the club following Gary McAllister's dismissal. Reserve Team Manager, Neil Thompson and Goalkeeping Coach, Andy Beasley are put in charge of first team training until a new manager is appointed.^[32] Blackpool turn down Leeds' approach for their manager, Simon Grayson.^[33]
• 23 December: Blackpool announce they will be taking legal action against Leeds following Simon Grayson's decision to tender his resignation which was rejected by Blackpool's directors.^[34] Several hours later, Leeds appoint Grayson as their new manager.^[35]
• 26 December: The club announce that former Blackburn, Leicester and Wolves coach, Ian Miller has joined Simon Grayson's new coaching team.^[36]
• 29 December: Midfield starlet, Fabian Delph is charged with drink driving following an incident on 23 December.^[37] Manager, Simon Grayson states that Delph is not for sale after it is reported that Arsenal and Newcastle United are ready to launch a bid for the 19-year-old in the January transfer window.^[38]

January

• 1 January: Leeds' academy is re-structured with Daral Pugh being promoted from Under 18s Manager to Assistant Academy Manager, with responsibilities for under-16s. Neil Redfearn joins the club to replace Pugh as Under-18s Manager.^[39]
• 3 January: The away match at Hereford United is postponed to due a frozen pitch.^[40]
• 17 January: Leeds rejects bids from two unnamed Premiership clubs for starlet, Fabian Delph.^[41]

February

• 2 February: Glynn Snodin returns to the club as Assistant Manager having left the club as a player over 15 years ago.^[42] The away match against Leyton Orient is cancelled a day in advance because of heavy snow.^[43]
• 11 February: Striker, Jermaine Beckford is charged with violent conduct and offered a three match ban following an incident in the match against Millwall two days earlier.^[44]
• 13 February: Jermaine Beckford pleas guilty to the violent conduct charge by FA resulting in an automatic three match suspension.^[45]

March

• 18 March: Following news that Sheffield United have won their battle to gain compensation from West Ham as part of the Tevez affair, Leeds chairman, Ken Bates confirms that the club will claim compensation from Sheffield United. Sheffield's relegation in 2007 saw Leeds miss out on contingency payments in relation to Premiership survival for the transfers of Rob Hulse, Matthew Kilgallon, and Ian Bennett.^[46]

April

• 9 April: The club announce that Blackpool's dispute with Leeds over Simon Grayson's appointment as manager of the Yorkshire club has been resolved.^[47] Leeds City Council grant the club planning permission for their plans to redevelopment the East Stand of Elland Road.^[48]
• 21 April: Leeds' place in the 2008–09 League One play-offs is confirmed following Scunthorpe's 3–3 draw with Northampton.^[49]
• 28 April: The club's reserve team win their league - The Central League, Division One East and hence quality for The Central League play-offs.^[50]

May

• 1 May: The new kit for the 2009–10 season is unveiled, featuring a new NetFlights.com logo, a white and blue collar, a blue slash adjacent to the club badge and a blue Macron logo. It is announced that the new kit will be worn for the final games of the season, starting with the final league game of the season against Northampton Town.^[51]
• 2 May: The normal league season comes to a close with Leeds beating Northampton to finish 4th. The result means that Leeds will play Millwall in the play-off semi finals with the 1st leg away on 9 May and the 2nd leg at home on 14 May.^[52]
• 14 May: The club's play-off campaign comes to an end as they draw 1–1 with Millwall resulting in a 2–1 aggregate score to Millwall.^[53]

Players

Squad information

N	P	Nat.	Name	Age	EU	Since	App	Goals	Ends	Transfer fee	Notes
1	GK		Ankergren	29	EU	2007	104	0	2010	Undisclosed	Leeds United
2	DF		Richardson (captain)	26	EU	2001	173	5	2009	Youth system	Leeds United
3	DF		Huntington	21	EU	2007	31	2	2010	£200k	BBC Sport
4	MF		Douglas	27	EU	2005	166	11	2009	Undisclosed	Sky Sports
5	DF		Rui Marques	31	Non-EU	2005	94	4	2010	Free	Leeds United
6	DF		Michalík	25	EU	2007	53	1	2011	£200k	Leeds United
7	MF		Prutton	27	EU	2007	69	4	2010	Free	Leeds United
8	MF		Kilkenny	23	EU	2008	57	5	2011	£150k	Birmingham City
9	FW		Beckford	25	EU	2006	100	54	2010	£ 50k	Leeds United
10	FW		Becchio	25	Non-EU	2008	56	19	2011	£300k	Leeds United
11	DF		Sheehan	22	EU	2008	24	2	2011	Undisclosed	Leeds United
12	GK		Lucas	31	EU	2007	23	0	2009	Free	Leeds United
13	FW		Grella	22	EU	2009	12	0	2010	Free	Leeds United
14	MF		Howson	20	EU	2006	97	12	2011	Youth system	Leeds United
15	MF		Delph	19	EU	2007	54	6	2012	Youth system	Leeds United
16	MF		Johnson	22	EU	2008	44	4	2011	£250k	BBC Sport
18	MF		Robinson	29	EU	2008	41	6	2011	Free	Leeds United
19	DF		Parker	21	EU	2007	45	1	2009	Youth system	Leeds United
20	FW		Kandol	27	Non-EU	2006	66	12	2011	£200k	Leeds United
21	FW		Showunmi	27	EU	2008	16	5	2010	Free	Leeds United
22	MF		Hughes	31	EU	2007	74	1	2010	Undisclosed	Leeds United
23	FW		Snodgrass	21	EU	2008	51	11	2011	£ 35k	Leeds United
24	MF		Sweeney	24	EU	2008	9	0	2010	£150k	Leeds United
25	GK		Martin	20	EU	2007	0	0	2011	Undisclosed	Leeds United
26	DF		Sodje	29	EU	20092	7	0	2009	Loan	Leeds United
27	FW		Dickinson	23	EU	20092	8	0	2009	Loan	Leeds United
28	GK		Flahavan	30	EU	20092	0	0	2009	Loan	Leeds United
29	FW		Elliott	19	EU	2007	4	0	2011	Youth system	Leeds United
31	DF		Webb	19	EU	2008	1	0	2009	Youth system	Leeds United
32	DF		White	17	EU	2008	9	0	2012	Youth system	Leeds United
33	MF		Falkingham	18	EU	2008	0	0		Youth system	Leeds United
36	DF		Naylor (VC)	32	EU	2009	24	1	2011	Free	Leeds United

Appearances (starts and substitute appearances) and goals include those in The Premiership, The Championship (and playoffs), League One (and playoffs), FA Cup, League Cup, Football League Trophy, and UEFA Cup.
¹Player first came to the club on loan and was transferred the following year.
²Player is at the club on loan
Squad includes players registered with the club on the last day of the season (14 May 2009) only.

Squad stats

				Total			League One		FA Cup		Football League Cup		Football League Trophy
No.	P	Nat.	Name	Sts	App	Gls	App	Gls	App	Gls	App	Gls	App	Gls
1	GK		Ankergren	39	39		35		1		3
2	RB		Richardson	27	29		23		2		3		1
3	CB		Huntington	7	7		4				2		1
4	CM		Douglas	49	51	2	45	1	3		3	1
5	CB		Rui Marques	36	36	1	32	1	1		1		2
6	CB		Michalík	22	26		19		3		3		1
7	RM		Prutton	12	20		16		1		1		2
8	CM		Kilkenny	35	38	4	32	4	1		3		2
9	FW		Beckford	37	42	34	36	27	1	3	4	4	1
10	FW		Becchio	48	55	19	46	16	3		4	2	2	1
11	LB		Sheehan	13	14	1	11	1	1		1		1
12	GK		Lucas	18	18		13		2		1		2
13	FW		Grella		12		12
14	CM		Howson	34	52	6	43	4	3	1	4		2	1
15	LM		Delph	47	51	6	44	6	2		4		1
16	LM		Johnson	7	20	1	17	1			2		1
18	LW		Robinson	27	41	6	34	2	2	1	3	2	2	1
19	LB		Parker	30	31	1	26		2	1	2		1
20	FW		Kandol
21	FW		Showunmi	6	16	5	8	2	3		3	2	2	1
22	RM		Hughes	23	32		27		2		2		1
23	RW		Snodgrass	35	51	11	44	9	2		3	2	2
24	LM		Sweeney
25	GK		Martin
26	CB		Telfer	18	18		14		2		2
26	CB		Sodje	7	7		7
27	RB		Assoumani	1	1		1
27	FW		L. Dickinson	4	8		8
28	FW		Christie	2	5	1	4	1	1
28	GK		Flahavan
29	FW		Elliott
31	CB		Webb		1				1
32	LB		White	7	9		5		1		2		1
33	CM		Falkingham
35	FW		Trundle	7	10	1	10	1
36	CB		Naylor	24	24	1	24	1
38	LB		C. Dickinson	7	7		7

Last updated: 15 May 2009
Source: Leeds United
Ordered by Squad Numbers
0 shown as blank

Most frequent start

No.	Pos	Nat	Name	MS	Notes
4	MF		Douglas	49
15	MF		Delph	47
10	FW		Becchio	47
1	GK		Ankergren	39
5	DF		Rui Marques	36
9	FW		Beckford	36
8	MF		Kilkenny	35
23	MF		Snodgrass	34
14	MF		Howson	34
18	MF		Robinson	28
19	DF		Parker	30

Last updated: 15 May 2009
Source: Squad stats.
Starts in League One, FA Cup, League Cup and Football League Trophy only.
If two players in the same position have same amount of starts in all competitions, the player with the high amount of starts in League games is listed.
Ordered by position on pitch (from back right to front left).
Country: 1st flag=country of birth, 2nd flag=country that plays for internationally (if different); N = number on jersey; P = Position; Name = Name on jersey (for more extensive name, pause mouse pointer on the name).

Most frequent starting line-up

Most frequent starting line-up uses the team's most used formation: 4-4-2. The players used are those who have played the most games in each respective position, not necessarily who have played most games out of all the players.

Captains

No.	P	Name	Country	No. games	Notes
2	DF	Richardson		26	Club Captain
36	DF	Naylor		23	Vice-captain (Jan-present)
26	DF	Telfer		4	Vice-captain (Aug-Jan)
22	MF	Hughes		2
5	DF	Rui Marques		1

Last updated: 15 May 2009
Source: Competitive match reports.
Competitive matches only
Matches started as captain only
Country: FIFA nationality; No.: Squad number; P: Position; Name: Player name; No. Games: Number of games started as captain.

Disciplinary record

N	P	Nat.	Name				Notes
15	MF		Delph	13
10	FW		Becchio	8
23	MF		Snodgrass	7
36	DF		Naylor	6			3/6 yellow cards at previous club
18	MF		Robinson	6
4	MF		Douglas	5
16	MF		Johnson	5			2/5 yellow cards on loan
8	MF		Kilkenny	5
9	FW		Beckford	5	1
6	DF		Michalik	4	1
5	DF		Rui Marques	4
7	MF		Prutton	3	1
1	GK		Ankergren	2
2	DF		Richardson	2
11	DF		Sheehan	1		1
38	DF		C. Dickinson	1
27	FW		L. Dickinson	1
14	MF		Howson	1	1
22	MF		Hughes	1
3	DF		Huntington	1
19	DF		Parker	1
26	DF		Sodje	1
21	FW		Showunmi	1
26	DF		Telfer	1
32	DF		White	1

Last updated: 7 May 2009
Source: BBC Sport
Only competitive matches
= Number of bookings; = Number of sending offs after a second yellow card; = Number of sending offs by a direct red card.

Suspensions

No.	P	Name	No. Matches Banned	Reason for Suspension	Notes
6	DF	Ľubomír Michalík	1	Red card for second bookable offence
11	DF	Alan Sheehan	3	Red card for violent conduct
15	MF	Fabian Delph	1	Five yellow cards
7	MF	David Prutton	1	Red card for second bookable offence
9	FW	Jermaine Beckford	3	Violent conduct	Incident not spotted by referee during play. Suspension handed after match.
10	FW	Luciano Becchio	1	Five yellow cards
14	MF	Jonathan Howson	1	Red card for second bookable offence
9	FW	Jermaine Beckford	1	Red card for second bookable offence
15	MF	Fabian Delph	2	Ten yellow cards

Awards

Internal Awards

Official Player of the Year Awards

The results of the 2008–09 Leeds United F.C. Player of the Year Awards were announced at a dinner on 14 April 2008 at Elland Road .

• Fans' Player of the Year: Jermaine Beckford (Runner-up: Robert Snodgrass)
• Fans' Young Player of the Year: Fabian Delph (Runner-up: Aidan White)
• Players' Player of the Year: Fabian Delph
• Goal of the Season: Fabian Delph (vs Brighton, 17 January)
• Best Contribution to Community: Andy Hughes
• Chairman's Special Award: Jonathan Douglas and Ben Parker

Regional Members Clubs Player of the Year Awards

• Player of the Year: Robert Snodgrass
• Goal of the Season: Jermaine Beckford (vs Millwall, 9 February)

Official Goal of the Month

• August: Jermaine Beckford (12 August vs Chester City)¹
• September: Andy Robinson (6 September vs Crewe Alexandra)
• October–January: n/a
• February: Jermaine Beckford (9 February vs Millwall)²

¹Winning goal was the player's third goal in the match. ²Winning goal was the player's first goal in the match.

External Awards

League One Team of the Week

The following Leeds players have been selected in the official League One team of the week.

• 11 August: Frazer Richardson, David Prutton
• 8 September: Alan Sheehan
• 15 September: Fabian Delph, Jermaine Beckford
• 22 September: Aidan White
• 29 September: Andy Robinson
• 13 October: Fabian Delph, Jermaine Beckford
• 27 October: Ben Parker, Fabian Delph
• 3 November: Frazer Richardson
• 17 November: Robert Snodgrass
• 24 November: Fabian Delph, Jermaine Beckford
• 29 December: Ľubomír Michalík, Fabian Delph
• 19 January: Fabian Delph
• 26 January: Jermaine Beckford
• 2 February: Rui Marques
• 23 February: Jonny Howson
• 2 March: Jermaine Beckford
• 30 March: Casper Ankergren, Jermaine Beckford
• 6 April: Jonathan Douglas
• 15 April: Fabian Delph
• 20 April: Neil Kilkenny
• 27 April: Casper Ankergren

Others

• PFA Fans' Player of the Year (League One): Jermaine Beckford^[54]
• PFA Team of the Year (League One): Fabian Delph^[55]
• PFA Fans' Player of the Month (League One): Jermaine Beckford (September,^[56] March^[57]), Fabian Delph (November,^[58] January^[59])
• The Football League Golden Boot: Jermaine Beckford^[60]
• League One Young Player of the Year: Fabian Delph^[61]
• League One Player of the Month: Jermaine Beckford (September^[62])
• Yorkshire Evening Post Player of the Year (Leeds United): Jermaine Beckford, (Runner-up: Robert Snodgrass)^[63]

Transfers

In

N	P	Name	EU	Country	Age	Type	Moving from	Transfer window	Ends	Transfer fee	Source
18	MF	Andy Robinson	EU		37	Free Agent	Swansea City !Swansea City	Summer	2011	Free	Leeds United Yorkshire Evening Post
11	DF	Alan Sheehan	EU		30	Transferred1	Leicester City !Leicester City	Summer	2011	Undisclosed	Leeds United
21	FW	Enoch Showunmi	EU		34	Free Agent	Bristol City !Bristol City	Summer	2010	Free	Leeds United
23	FW	Robert Snodgrass	EU		29	Free Agent1	Livingston !Livingston	Summer	2011	£ 35k2	Leeds United
10	FW	Luciano Becchio	Non-EU		32	Transferred	Mérida UD !Mérida UD	Summer	2011	£300k3	Leeds United
26	DF	Paul Telfer	EU		45	Free Agent	Bournemouth !Bournemouth	Summer	20094	Free	Leeds United
28	FW	Malcolm Christie	EU		37	Free Agent	Middlesbrough !Middlesbrough	Summer	n/a5	Free	Leeds United
27	DF	Mansour Assoumani	EU		33	Free Agent	Sportfreunde Siegen !Sportfreunde Siegen	Summer	2009	Free	Leeds United
13	FW	Mike Grella	EU		29	Free Agent	Cary Clarets !Cary Clarets	Winter	2010	Free	Leeds United
36	DF	Richard Naylor	EU		31	Transferred	Ipswich Town !Ipswich Town	Winter	2011	Free	Leeds United

¹As the player was under the age of 23 at the time of the transfer, an undisclosed compensation package was due to the player's former club.
²Although intended to be undisclosed, it was revealed on Yorkshire Radio on 18 April 2009 that the compensation paid to the player's former club was £35,000.
³Although intended to be undisclosed, chairman Ken Bates revealed on Yorkshire Radio on 19 May 2009 that the compensation paid to the player's former club was £300,000.
⁴Player originally joined the club on a non-contract basis, but signed a one-year contract lasting until 2009 several weeks after.
⁵Player joined the club on a non-contract basis.

Out

N	P	Name	Country	Age	Type	Moving to	Transfer window	Transfer fee	Apps	Goals	Source
8	MF	Alan Thompson		34	Retired	Retirement !Retirement	Summer	n/a	25	5	Leeds United
35	DF	Darren Kenton		29	Out of Contract	Cheltenham Town !Cheltenham Town	Summer	n/a	16	0	Leeds United
10	FW	Leon Constantine		38	Transferred	Northampton Town !Northampton Town	Summer	Free	6	2	Leeds United
31	FW	Tomi Ameobi		28	Transferred	Doncaster Rovers !Doncaster Rovers	Summer	£ 30k	2	0	Leeds United
39	FW	Anthony Elding		34	Transferred	Crewe Alexandra !Crewe Alexandra	Summer	£160k	9	1	Leeds United
38	MF	Sebastian Sorsa		32	Released	Hamilton Academical !Hamilton Academical	Summer	n/a	0	0	Yorkshire Evening Post
41	MF	Robert Bayly		20	Released	Sporting Fingal !Sporting Fingal	Summer	n/a	3	0	Leeds United
40	MF	Curtis Weston		21	Transferred	Gillingham !Gillingham	Summer	Free	11	1	Leeds United
35	MF	Sébastien Carole		25	Released	Darlington !Darlington	Summer	n/a	52	3	Leeds United
27	DF	Mansour Assoumani		27	Out of Contract	Wrexham !Wrexham	Winter	n/a	1	0	Leeds United
37	MF	Ian Westlake		25	Released	Cheltenham Town !Cheltenham Town	Winter	n/a	52	3	Leeds United
28	FW	Malcolm Christie		29	Released1		Winter	n/a	5	1	Leeds United
17	DF	Scott Gardner		20	Released	Mansfield Town !Mansfield Town	Winter	n/a	2	0	Leeds United
26	DF	Paul Telfer		37	Released	Slough Town !Slough Town	Winter	n/a	18	0	Leeds United
30	GK	Jonathan Lund		20	Released	Grimsby Town !Grimsby Town	Winter	n/a	0	0	Leeds United
—	MF	Lee Booth		18	Released		Winter	n/a	0	0	[64]
—	MF	Nathan Cartman		19	Released		Winter	n/a	0	0	[64]
—	GK	Matt Edwards		18	Released	Rochdale !Rochdale	Winter	n/a	0	0	[64]
—	FW	Sam Jerome		18	Released		Winter	n/a	0	0	[64]
—	DF	Chris Ovington		18	Released	Bradford Park Avenue !Bradford Park Avenue	Winter	n/a	0	0	[64]
—	DF	Ross Wilkinson		19	Released		Winter	n/a	0	0	[64]

EU = if holds or not a European Union passport; Country: when 2 flags, 1st flag = country that plays for internationally, 2nd flag = country of birth; N = number on jersey; P = Position (for position name, pause mouse pointer on abbreviation); Name = Name on jersey (for more extensive name, pause mouse pointer on name); Age = age on the day of the signing; Moving from = only indicate the club the player was playing before start playing for this club in this season, for the type of the moving see Status column; Moving to = only indicates the club the player is going to play next, for the type of the moving see Status column; Ends = when the player's current contract ends; n/a = Not applicable; Apps = Total number of competitive appearances (including substitute appearances) at the club prior to departure; Goals = Total number of competitive goals scored at the club prior to departure.

¹Player was at the club on a non-contract, pay-as-you-play deal which include a clause in which either party could cancel the agreement with 7 days notice. The player was the party that triggered the clause, resulting in his release from the club.

Loans

No.	P	Name	Country	Age	Loan club	Started	Ended	Start source	End source
40	MF	Curtis Weston		21	Gillingham !Gillingham	1 August	27 August	Leeds United	Leeds United
20	FW	Trésor Kandol		26	Millwall !Millwall	7 August	28 January	Sky Sports	Yorkshire Evening Post
17	DF	Scott Gardner		20	Farsley Celtic !Farsley Celtic	19 September	21 October	Leeds United	Leeds United
25	GK	Alan Martin		19	Barrow !Barrow	24 September	2 May	Leeds United	BBC Sport
37	MF	Ian Westlake		25	Cheltenham Town !Cheltenham Town	23 October	24 January	Leeds United	Yorkshire Evening Post
16	MF	Bradley Johnson		21	Brighton & Hove Albion !Brighton & Hove Albion	27 October	5 January	Seagulls	Yorkshire Evening Post
35	FW	Lee Trundle		32	Bristol City !Bristol City	9 January	11 March	Leeds United	Leeds United
36	DF	Richard Naylor		31	Ipswich Town !Ipswich Town	14 January	2 February	Leeds United	Leeds United
38	DF	Carl Dickinson		21	Stoke City !Stoke City	15 January	18 February	Leeds United	Leeds United
29	FW	Tom Elliott		18	Macclesfield Town !Macclesfield Town	27 January	26 February	BBC Sport	Macclesfield Town
20	FW	Trésor Kandol		27	Charlton Athletic !Charlton Athletic	30 January	3 May	Leeds United	South London Press
31	DF	Jonathan Webb		19	Newcastle Blue Star !Newcastle Blue Star	27 February	2 May	Leeds United
27	FW	Liam Dickinson		23	Derby County !Derby County	13 March	14 May	Leeds United	Leeds United
24	MF	Peter Sweeney		24	Grimsby Town !Grimsby Town	20 March	2 May	Leeds United	BBC Sport
11	DF	Alan Sheehan		22	Crewe Alexandra !Crewe Alexandra	23 March	2 May	Leeds United	BBC Sport
26	DF	Sam Sodje		29	Reading !Reading	27 March	14 May	Leeds United	Leeds United
28	GK	Darryl Flahavan		30	Crystal Palace !Crystal Palace	27 March	14 May	Leeds United	Leeds United

Sources: For loan start source see "Start source". For loan end source see "End source".
EU = if holds or not a European Union passport; Country: when 2 flags, 1st flag = country that plays for internationally, 2nd flag = country of birth; No. = number on jersey; P = Position (for position name, pause mouse pointer on abbreviation); Name = Name on jersey (for more extensive name, pause mouse pointer on name); In/Out = In: The player came in on loan, Out: The player went out on loan; Loan club = the club that the player moved on loan to or the club that the player came from on loan; Started = the date when the player's loan started; Ended = the date when the player's loan ended.

New Contracts

N	P	Nat.	Name	Age	Status	Contract length	Expiry date	Source
5	DF		Rui Marques	30	Signed	2 years	May 2010	Leeds United
14	MF		Jonathan Howson	20	Signed	3 years1	June 2011	Leeds United
	GK		Matty Edwards	17	Signed	1 year	July 2009	Leeds United
	FW		Chris Ovington	17	Signed	1 year	July 2009	Leeds United
7	MF		David Prutton	26	Signed	1 year	June 2010	Leeds United
25	GK		Alan Martin	19	Signed	3 years	August 2011	Leeds United
31	DF		Jonathan Webb	18	Signed	1 year	August 2009	LUTV
15	MF		Fabian Delph	18	Signed	4 years	August 2012	Leeds United
32	DF		Aidan White	17	Signed	4 years	December 2012	Leeds United
	DF		Tom Lees	18	Signed	3 years	January 2011	Leeds United
22	MF		Andrew Hughes	31	Signed	1 year2	June 2010	Leeds United

Last updated:

¹Automatically extended until 2012 if the club is promoted to The Championship.
²Player's first contract included an appearance related clause which was automatically triggered in March, resulting in a one-year contract extension commencing in June 2009.

Club

Kit

Supplier: Macron
Sponsor(s): NetFlights.com

Home (Aug-Apr)

Home (May)

Away

Third

Source: Leeds United (Macron), Leeds United (NetFlights.com)

Non-playing staff

Position	Staff
Manager	Simon Grayson (from Dec.)
First Team Coaches	Ian Miller (from Dec.) Glynn Snodin (from Feb.)
Technical Director	Gwyn Williams
Academy Manager, Reserve Team Coach	Neil Thompson
Goalkeeping Coach	Andy Beasley
Under 18s Coach (until Jan.) Assistant Academy Manager (from Jan.)	Daral Pugh
Under 18s Coach	Neil Redfearn (from Jan)
Head Physio	Harvey Sharman
Assistant Physio	Paul Perkins
Fitness Coach	Matt Pears
Coaching Assistant	Mick Walker
Performance Analyst	Darren Mowbray
Kit Man	Chris Beasley
Groundsman	Norman Southernwood

Includes staff currently registered with club only.

Former staff

Position	Staff	Date	Reason	Notes	Source
First Team Coach	Neil McDonald	18 December	Resigned to join Blackburn Rovers		Leeds United
Manager	Gary McAllister	21 December	Sacked		Leeds United
Assistant Manager	Steve Staunton	22 December	Sacked		Leeds United
Head of Recruitment	Dave Harrison	1 January	Resigned to join Manchester City

Date = Date the staff member left the club. Reason = Reason for departure from the club.

Other information

President	George Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood KBE
Chairman	Ken Bates
Director, Chief Executive Officer	Shaun Harvey
Director	Mark Taylor
Mascot	Lucas the Kop Cat
Ground (capacity and dimensions)	Elland Road (39,460 / 105x68m)

Last updated: 5 August 2008
Source: Leeds United

Competitions

Overall summary

Competition	Started round	Final position / round	First match	Last match
League One	—	4th1	9 August	2 May
Football League Cup	1st round	4th round	12 August	11 Nov
Football League Trophy	1st round (North-East)	2nd round (Northern)	2 September	8 Oct
FA Cup	1st round	2nd round	7 November	30 Nov

Last updated: 15 May 2009
Source: Competitions
¹Qualified for play-offs. Lost to Millwall in the semi-final.

League One

Table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Leicester City !Leicester City (C) (P)	46	27	15	4	84	39	+45	96	Promotion to Football League Championship 2009–10
2	Peterborough United !Peterborough United (P)	46	26	11	9	78	54	+24	89
3	Milton Keynes Dons !Milton Keynes Dons	46	26	9	11	83	47	+36	87	Qualification to Football League One playoffs
4	Leeds United !Leeds United	46	26	6	14	77	49	+28	84
5	Millwall !Millwall	46	25	7	14	63	53	+10	82
6	Scunthorpe United !Scunthorpe United (P)	46	22	10	14	82	63	+19	76

Updated to games played on 2 May 2008.
Source: The Football League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
46	26	6	14	77	49	+28	84	17	2	4	49	20	+29	9	4	10	28	29	−1

Last updated: 2 May 2009.
Source: The Football League

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42	43	44	45	46
Ground	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H
Result	W	L	D	D	W	W	W	W	L	W	L	W	W	L	W	L	W	L	L	L	L	D	W	L	W	W	W	L	W	L	L	W	W	D	D	W	W	W	W	W	D	W	L	W	W	W
Position	8	13	12	14	6	4	3	3	4	3	5	4	2	3	2	6	6	7	7	8	9	9	9	10	9	7	7	7	7	7	8	8	6	5	7	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	4

Last updated: 2 May 2009.
Source: Competitive Matches
Ground: A = Away; H = Home. Result: D = Draw; L = Loss; W = Win; P = Postponed.

Play-offs

	Semi-finals							Final
	3	MK Dons	1	0	1
	6	Scunthorpe United	1	0	11
								Scunthorpe United		3
								Millwall		2
	4	Leeds United	0	1	1
	5	Millwall	1	1	2

Last updated: 15 May 2009.
Source: Competitive Matches
¹Scunthorpe beat MK Dons 7–6 on penalties.

Matches

Pre-season

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

League One

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

Football League Cup

---

---

---

---

---

Football League Trophy

---

---

---

FA Cup

---

---

---

---

References

External links

• 2008–09 Leeds United F.C. season on BBC Sport: Club news – Recent results – Upcoming fixtures
• Official Website
• Sky Sports
• Soccerbase
• ESPNsoccernet
• Leeds Fans
• Leeds Utd Mad