The 2008–09 season was Hull City's first ever season in the Premier League. Home games were played at the KC Stadium,[4] which has a capacity of 25,404.[5] On Friday 6 June 2008 Hull City announced they had sold out all 20,500 season tickets.[6] Hull City's first ever top-flight fixture was a home game against Fulham,[7] which they won 2–1. City finished the season in 17th place in the table, successfully avoiding relegation by the narrow margin of one point over Newcastle United. In the FA Cup, Hull reached the quarterfinals stage for the first time in 38 years, where they were knocked out by Arsenal with a controversial offside goal.

Players [ edit ]

Squad [ edit ]

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

No. Position Player No. Position Player

Pre-season training [ edit ]

Hull were one of the first Premier League clubs to start pre-season training. Between 4 and 11 July Hull trained in Bormio, Italy.[11]

Preseason friendlies [ edit ]

[12][13][14]

Premier League [ edit ]

Hull's first season in the top tier of English Football in their 104-year history.[28]

[4] KC Stadium where Hull play their Premier League home games

Hull's Premier League opener was at home to Fulham. Hull started rather poorly and went behind after eight minutes from a Seol Ki-Hyeon header. Hull's comeback came when Geovanni scored from a shot from outside the box, the goal was Hull's first Premier League goal and Geovanni's first as a Hull player. In the second half Hull scored the winner from substitute Caleb Folan's shot when he slotted the ball into the net from Craig Fagan's low cross. Hull won the game putting them joint top of the league, joint second on goal difference and 3rd on alphabetical order.[29][30][31][32][33] Hull's second game was against Blackburn Rovers away. The home team scored first when Jason Roberts scored in the 39th minute.[34] Hull came back to get a draw; before halftime Australian Richard Garcia scored with a header from a Craig Fagan cross.[35] There followed a home game against Wigan which turned out to be a heavy 0–5 defeat. Sam Ricketts turned a corner from Kevin Kilbane in to his own net after 5 minutes to open the scoring. Antonio Valencia scored after 13 minutes and provided the cross for Amr Zaki to stroke home in the second half. Five minutes later Emile Heskey scored from a poor clearance by Wayne Brown. Nine minutes from time Amr Zaki drove in off the crossbar to inflict the first defeat of the season on Hull.[2]

An away game at managerless Newcastle United followed. Nicky Butt's foul on Péter Halmosi resulted in a penalty which allowed Marlon King to open the scoring for City. He slotted home a second 10 minutes into the second half. Newcastle tried to get back into the match and a Charles N'Zogbia shot rebounded off the post to Xisco who pulled a goal back. As full-time approached, Danny Guthrie was sent off for a foul on Craig Fagan, which broke Fagan's leg and caused him to miss several weeks of football while injured. City secured a deserved 1–2 victory.[36]

A home game against Everton followed in which City took the lead from a Dean Marney corner which was headed home by Michael Turner. Early in the second half another Dean Marney corner was turned in by Phil Neville for an own goal. Everton pulled one back when a Tim Cahill shot bounced in off the crossbar. They drew level minutes later when Leon Osman scored from close range to secure a 2–2 draw.[37]

A trip to Arsenal provided a test for the City but they withstood the pressure during the first half. Following the restart the home team were soon in front when a Cesc Fàbregas shot found the net after coming off Paul McShane. City responded with a 25-yard (23 m) shot by Geovanni quickly followed by a Daniel Cousin header from an Andy Dawson corner. Arsenal's William Gallas hit the crossbar and Boaz Myhill saved a late shot from Cesc Fàbregas to give the visitors a 1–2 victory.[38]

A further away game at Tottenham Hotspur followed. City raced into the lead with a 30-yard (27 m) free kick by Geovanni after just nine minutes. Tottenham's Gareth Bale and Jonathan Woodgate hit the post, as did Dean Marney before half time. Neither side managed to score in the second half giving City a 0–1 victory.[39]

After a break for internationals a home game against West Ham United was next up. City's Marlon King created the first opportunity with a cross to Daniel Cousin who volleyed just passed the post. At the other end Carlton Cole shot straight at Boaz Myhill. Dean Marney came close twice for City before Hérita Ilunga headed wide, Valon Behrami shot passed the post and Craig Bellamy shot over the crossbar. Missed chances left the game goalless at half time. Soon after the restart a corner by Andy Dawson was headed home by Michael Turner to break the deadlock. Almost immediately Carlton Cole nearly levelled but his shot came off the crossbar. Kamil Zayatte almost had a second for Hull but shot over the bar leaving Hull with a 1–0 victory over the visitors.[40]

An away match at West Bromwich Albion was the next action by the Tigers. Albion opened the stronger, with Ishmael Miller being blocked by Andy Dawson who picked up an injury which saw him being substituted for Sam Ricketts after only 10 minutes. Albion's Borja Valero had a shot that was saved by Boaz Myhill, Jonas Olsson hitting the rebound off the crossbar for Roman Bednář to miss the second rebound. On a break City gained a corner but Kamil Zayatte headed wide. A Daniel Cousin shot was deflected and Scott Carson scooped the ball off the line to leave the game goalless at half time. Soon after the restart City gained a corner and Kamil Zayatte volleyed home. Albion's Ryan Donk and James Morrison had shots saved before Marlon King put the ball in the area for a diving Geovanni to head in. Minutes later Marlon King was also on the score sheet after slotting in to the corner of the net, leaving it another away victory of 0–3 for City.[41]

A mid-week home game against leaders Chelsea followed, with a record crowd at the KC Stadium. Chelsea were soon in the lead when Frank Lampard lobbed in. Both teams missed opportunities the nearest being Daniel Cousin hitting the post for City. Soon after the break indecision in the City defence allowed Nicolas Anelka to run in and slot home. After missing several attempts Florent Malouda finally scored from six-yards from a Ricardo Carvalho cross. City lost 0–3 in a match which could easily have been a much heavier defeat.[42]

Then on 1 November the Tigers travelled to Old Trafford to play Manchester United away from home. The match was gripping, and after 3 minutes United scored only to be brought back to earth by the Tigers free kick headed in by Daniel Cousin. United went on to score a further 3 goals, but after half time the Tigers looked back on track and regained 2 goals in the final few minutes thanks to Bernard Mendy and Giovanni. The final score 4–3 to Manchester United.[43]

Results [ edit ]

[44]

Results by round [ edit ]

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 Ground H A H A H A A H A H A H H A A H A H A H A H A H A H H A H A H A A H A H A H Result W D L W D W W W W L L L D D D W D L L L L L L D D L L W D L D L L L L L D L Position 3 3 9 4 7 6 3 3 3 5 6 6 6 6 6 5 6 6 8 8 8 8 10 11 12 13 13 12 12 13 15 16 16 17 17 18 17 17



A = Away ; H = Home ; W = Win ; D = Draw ; L = Loss Updated to match(es) played on 30 May 2009. Source: Hull City Results

Final league table [ edit ]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation 15 Blackburn Rovers 38 10 11 17 40 60 −20 41 16 Sunderland 38 9 9 20 34 54 −20 36 17 Hull City 38 8 11 19 39 64 −25 35 18 Newcastle United (R) 38 7 13 18 40 59 −19 34 Relegation to the Football League Championship 19 Middlesbrough (R) 38 7 11 20 28 57 −29 32



Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

(R) Relegated. Source: Premier League Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.Relegated.

Records [ edit ]

Top Goalscorer

Geovanni – 8

Assists

Bernard Mendy – 6

Appearances

Michael Turner – 38

(Turner was one of only two outfield players in the Premier League to play every minute of every game)[76]

Attendance

Average: 24,816

Highest: 24,945 vs. Manchester United

Lowest: 24,282 vs. Wigan Athletic

Squad statistics [ edit ]

Updated 16 May 2009.

[29][34][77][2][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][55][75][78][57][79][58][80][59][60][61][81][62][82][63][65][66][83][67][68][69][70][71][72][73][74][1]

Starting 11 [ edit ]