2008–09 Aston Villa F.C. season
The 2008–09 season was Aston Villa's 134th professional season; their 98th season in the top-flight and their 21st consecutive season in the top flight of English football, the Premier League. They were managed by Martin O'Neill – in his third season since replacing David O'Leary. The 2008–09 season was the first spell in European competition for O'Neill, and the first for Villa, in 6 seasons.
| 2008–09 season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chairman | Randy Lerner | |||
| Manager | Martin O'Neill | |||
| Premier League | 6th | |||
| FA Cup | Fifth round | |||
| League Cup | Third round | |||
| UEFA Cup | Round of 32 | |||
| Top goalscorer | League: Gabriel Agbonlahor (12) All: John Carew (15) | |||
| Highest home attendance | 42,585 vs Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Newcastle United | |||
| Lowest home attendance | 21,541 vs Queens Park Rangers | |||
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The club's first summer signing was the permanent capture of on-loan West Brom centre-back, Curtis Davies, in July, while their first sale was made in May, as Luke Moore completed a move to West Brom in an initial £3 million deal, after he had spent the second half of the 2007–08 season there on loan.
The fixtures for the 2008–09 season were announced on Monday 16 June 2008, with Aston Villa beginning at home against Manchester City and finishing the season at home to Newcastle. Due to Birmingham's relegation at the end of the 2007–08 season, there was no Second City derby, however they faced local rivals West Brom on 20 September 2008 at The Hawthorns and on 10 January 2009 at home.[1]
In December 2008, Everton player and boyhood Villa fan, Joleon Lescott put two past Villa and still lost the match following Ashley Young's "brilliant" equalizer.[2]
After 25 games, having qualified for the UEFA Cup as joint winners of the Intertoto Cup, the club were third in the table on 51 points, 2 points above Chelsea on level games and 7 points above Arsenal in 5th place and on course for a place in the Champions League for the first time since 1983. O'Neill decided to prioritise Champions League qualification above all else, fielding a virtual reserve side for a UEFA Cup game against CSKA Moscow which was subsequently lost.[3] Following this, Villa failed to win any of the next 8 league games and improving form for Arsenal & Chelsea meant that Villa failed to reach the top 4.
Kit
| Kit Supplier | Sponsor |
|---|---|
| Nike | Acorns* |
*Villa passed up sponsorship for the 2008-09 season and instead displayed the children's hospice charity, Acorns.
Transfers
Transferred in
| Date | Pos | Player | From | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 July 2008 | CB | Curtis Davies | West Bromwich Albion | £8,000,000 |
| 10 July 2008 | CM | Steve Sidwell | Chelsea | £5,000,000 |
| 26 July 2008 | GK |  Brad Friedel | Blackburn Rovers | £2,500,000 |
| 1 August 2008 | GK | Brad Guzan | Chivas USA | £600,000 |
| 7 August 2008 | LB | Nicky Shorey | Reading | £2,000,000 |
| 8 August 2008 | RB | Luke Young | Middlesbrough | £6,000,000 |
| 12 August 2008 | CB |  Carlos Cuéllar |  Rangers | £7,800,000 |
| 30 August 2008 | RM | James Milner | Newcastle United | £12,000,000 |
| 23 January 2009 | CF | Emile Heskey | Wigan Athletic | £3,500,000 |
| £45,400,000 |
Record
Loaned in
| Date | Pos | Player | From | Loan End |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Transferred out
| Date | Pos | Player | To | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 May 2008 | CF | Luke Moore | West Bromwich Albion | £3,000,000 |
| 1 July 2008 | AM |  Patrik Berger | Sparta Prague | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2008 | CB |  Olof Mellberg |  Juventus | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2008 | GK |  Thomas Sørensen | Stoke City | Free transfer |
| 22 August 2008 | AM | Shaun Maloney | Celtic | £3,000,000 |
| 3 January 2009 | LM | Wayne Routledge | Queens Park Rangers | £600,000 |
| £6,600,000 |
Loaned out
| Date | Pos | Player | To | Loan End |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 September 2008 | GK |  David Bevan | Tamworth | 20 December 2008 |
| 3 November 2008 | CF | Sam Williams | Colchester United | 30 November 2008 |
| 5 November 2008 | LB | Stephen O'Halloran |  Swansea City | 1 January 2009 |
| 20 November 2008 | LM | Wayne Routledge | Cardiff City | 2 January 2009 |
| 30 January 2009 | CF | Sam Williams | Walsall | 15 February 2009 |
| 3 March 2009 | CM | Isaiah Osbourne | Nottingham Forest | 31 May 2009 |
| 9 March 2009 | CF | Sam Williams | Brentford | 31 May 2009 |
| 13 March 2009 | CM | Barry Bannan | Derby County | 31 May 2009 |
| 13 March 2009 | GK | Stuart Taylor | Cardiff City | 31 May 2009 |
| 23 March 2009 | CF | Marlon Harewood | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 31 May 2009 |
Overall transfer activity
Expenditure
|
Income
|
Balance
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Players
First-team squad
- Squad at end of season
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Left club during season
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Reserve squad
- The following players made most of their appearances for the reserve team this season, and did not appear for the first team.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Youth squad
- The following players made most of their appearances for the youth team this season, but may have also appeared for the reserves.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Other players
- The following players did not appear for any squad this season.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Trialists
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Competitions
Overall
- Premier League: Sixth
- League Cup: Third round (knocked out by Q.P.R.)
- FA Cup: Fifth round (knocked out by Everton)
- UEFA Intertoto Cup: Joint-winner, qualified for UEFA Cup
- UEFA Cup: Round of 32 (knocked out by CSKA Moscow)
| Competition | Started round | Current position / round |
Final position / round |
First match | Last match |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Premier League | — | — | 6th | 17 August 2008 | 24 May 2009 |
| Football League Cup | Third round | — | Third round | 24 September 2008 | 24 September 2008 |
| FA Cup | 3rd round | — | 5th round | 4 January 2009 | 15 February 2009 |
Updated to match played 12 June 2008
Source: Competitions
Premier League
Final league table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Arsenal | 38 | 20 | 12 | 6 | 68 | 37 | +31 | 72 | Qualification for the Champions League play-off round |
| 5 | Everton | 38 | 17 | 12 | 9 | 55 | 37 | +18 | 63 | Qualification for the Europa League play-off round[lower-alpha 1] |
| 6 | Aston Villa | 38 | 17 | 11 | 10 | 54 | 48 | +6 | 62 | |
| 7 | Fulham | 38 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 39 | 34 | +5 | 53 | Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round[lower-alpha 1] |
| 8 | Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | 14 | 9 | 15 | 45 | 45 | 0 | 51 |
Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:
- Since both finalists of the FA Cup (Chelsea and Everton) and the League Cup winners (Manchester United) qualified for the European competitions based on their league position, the sixth-placed team (Aston Villa) received a berth in the Europa League play-off round and the seventh-placed team (Fulham) received a berth in the Europa League third qualifying round.
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 |
| 38 | 17 | 11 | 10 | 54 | 48 | +6 | 62 | 7 | 9 | 3 | 27 | 21 | +6 | 10 | 2 | 7 | 27 | 27 | 0 |
Matches
Pre-season friendlies
| Date | Opponents | H/A | Result | Scorers | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 July 2008 | FC Wil 1900 .svg.png.webp){kind=small} |
A | 6 – 0 | Harewood (2), Carew, Delfouneso, Maloney, Routledge | Sportpark Bergholz |
| 12 July 2008 | FC Zürich |
A | 1 – 2 | Agbonlahor | Letzigrund |
| 15 July 2008 | Lincoln City | A | 1 – 3 | Carew | Sincil Bank |
| 22 July 2008 | Walsall | A | 3 – 2 | Maloney (2), Routledge | Bescot Stadium |
| 2 August 2008 | Reading | A | 1 – 1 Archived 4 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine | Agbonlahor | Madejski Stadium |
| 6 August 2008 | Real Balompédica Linense |
A | 1 – 1 | Carew | Estadio Municipal de La Línea de la Concepción |
| 8 August 2008 | UD Marbella |
A | 2 – 0 | Delfouneso, Gardner | Estadio Municipal de Marbella |
First-Team
Reserves
| Date | Opponents | H/A | Result | Scorers | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 September 2008 | Stoke City | A | 2 – 1 | Delfouneso, Osbourne | Britannia Stadium |
| 8 September 2008 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 1 – 0 | Herd | Villa Park |
| 29 September 2008 | Arsenal | A | 4 – 1 | Albrighton (2), Stieber (2) | Underhill Stadium |
| 13 October 2008 | Chelsea | A | 1 – 0 | Sidwell | Griffin Park |
| 20 October 2008 | Portsmouth | A | 0 – 2 | West Leigh Park | |
| 10 November 2008 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 2 – 1 | Bannan (2) | The Hawthorns |
| 25 November 2008 | Fulham | A | 1 – 1 | Bannan | Motspur Park |
| 13 January 2009 | West Ham United | H | 0 – 0 | De Montfort Park | |
| 16 February 2009 | Arsenal | H | 0 – 0 | De Montfort Park | |
| 2 March 2009 | Chelsea | H | 4 – 3 | Delfouneso (2), Hogg, Clark | Villa Park |
| 10 March 2009 | Portsmouth | H | 6 – 1 | Hogg (2), Lowry, Weimann, Lichaj, G.Gardner | Villa Park |
| 17 March 2009 | West Ham United | A | 2 – 0 | Weimann, Hofbauer | Woodside Park |
| 23 March 2009 | Stoke City | H | 1 – 0 | Collins | Villa Park |
Academy
| Date | Opponents | H/A | Result | Scorers | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 July 2008 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 6 – 1 | A.Stieber (2), Forrester (2), Weimann (2) | Friendly |
| 2 August 2008 | Doncaster Rovers | H | 6 – 0 | R.Simmonds (2), G.Gardner, Poyser, Berry, Chapman | Friendly |
| 9 August 2008 | Plymouth Argyle | H | 4 – 0 | R.Simmonds, G.Gardner, Forrester, Ja.Collins | Friendly |
| 23 August 2008 | Sheffield United | A | 1 – 1 | Ja.Collins | Premier Academy League |
| 30 August 2008 | Barnsley | H | 3 – 0 | Ja.Collins (2), Grocott | Premier Academy League |
| 6 September 2008 | Chelsea | H | 2 – 0 | Weimann, Ja.Collins | Premier Academy League |
| 13 September 2008 | West Ham United | A | 0 – 3 | Premier Academy League | |
| 20 September 2008 | Norwich City | A | 1 – 1 | Ja.Collins | Premier Academy League |
| 27 September 2008 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 0 – 2 | Premier Academy League | |
| 4 October 2008 | Cardiff City | A | 4 – 2 | Hofbauer, Ja.Collins, Grocott, Forrester | Premier Academy League |
| 11 October 2008 | Coventry City | H | 5 – 0 | Ja.Collins (3), Poyser, Grocott | Premier Academy League |
| 19 October 2008 | Birmingham City | A | 5 – 0 | Poyser (3), Clark, Berry | Premier Academy League |
| 8 November 2008 | Reading | A | 3 – 1 | Ja.Collins, Weimann, Forrester | Premier Academy League |
| 15 November 2008 | Watford | H | 3 – 2 | Forrester, Ja.Collins (2) | Premier Academy League |
| 22 November 2008 | Bristol City | H | 4 – 2 | Berry, Weimann (2), Hofbauer | Premier Academy League |
| 6 December 2008 | MK Dons | A | 3 – 0 | Ja.Collins, Blythe, A.Stieber | Premier Academy League |
| 10 December 2008 | Arsenal | H | 2 – 3 | Ja.Collins (2) | FA Youth Cup |
| 17 January 2009 | Leicester City | A | 0 – 2 | Premier Academy League | |
| 24 January 2009 | Reading | H | 2 – 1 | A.Stieber, Ja.Collins | Premier Academy League |
| 31 January 2009 | Watford | H | 3 – 1 | Grocott, Bradley, Ja.Collins | Premier Academy League |
| 14 February 2009 | MK Dons | H | 4 – 0 | Ja.Collins, G.Gardner (2), Moore | Premier Academy League |
| 21 February 2009 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 4 – 4 | Ja.Collins (2), Weimann, A.Stieber | Premier Academy League |
| 28 February 2009 | Birmingham City | H | 2 – 2 | Forrester, Ja.Collins | Premier Academy League |
| 7 March 2009 | Cardiff City | H | 3 – 2 | Forrester, Ja.Collins (2) | Premier Academy League |
| 14 March 2009 | Coventry City | A | 0 – 0 | Premier Academy League | |
| 21 March 2009 | Ipswich Town | H | 4 – 2 | Weimann (2), Ja.Collins, A.Stieber | Premier Academy League |
Statistics
First-Team
- Last Update: End of season
- Data includes all competitive competitions
Reserves/Academy
| No. | Pos. | Nationality | Player | Reserve Apps |  Reserve Goals |
Academy Apps | Academy Goals |
Total Apps | Total Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 45 | MF |  England | Marc Albrighton | 10 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 2 |
| 48 | DF | England | Nathan Baker | 4 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| 46 | MF | Scotland | Barry Bannan | 11 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 15 | 3 |
| – | FW | England | Durrell Berry | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 9 | 2 |
| – | MF | England | Richard Blythe | 1 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 17 | 1 |
| – | MF | England | Daniel Bradley | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| 47 | DF | England | Ciaran Clark | 12 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 21 | 2 |
| – | FW | England | James Collins | 10 | 1 | 22 | 24 | 32 | 25 |
| – | GK |  Austria | Thomas Dau | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| 14 | FW | England | Nathan Delfouneso | 9 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 3 |
| * | GK | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Northern Ireland | Conor Devlin | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| – | MF | England | Jack Dyer | 1 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| – | DF | England | Calum Flanagan | 1 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 18 | 0 |
| 41 | MF | England | Harry Forrester | 3 | 0 | 18 | 5 | 21 | 5 |
| – | MF | England | Gary Gardner | 2 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 13 | 3 |
| – | MF | England | Will Grocott | 1 | 0 | 18 | 4 | 19 | 4 |
| – | DF |  Netherlands | Arsenio Halfhuid | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| * | GK |  Kosovo | Aldi Haxhia | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 49 | MF | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Australia | Chris Herd | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 |
| 42 | MF | Austria | Dominik Hofbauer | 6 | 1 | 17 | 3 | 23 | 4 |
| – | MF | England | Jonathan Hogg | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 |
| – | MF | England | Jason Lampkin | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 43 | DF | United States | Eric Lichaj | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 |
| – | MF | England | Ben Love | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 51 | DF | Republic of Ireland | Shane Lowry | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 |
| – | FW | Sweden | Tobias Mikaelsson | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| – | FW | England | Ethan Moore | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 29 | DF | Republic of Ireland | Stephen O'Halloran | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 53 | GK | England | Elliott Parish | 9 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| – | FW | England | Kofi Poyser | 0 | 0 | 13 | 4 | 13 | 4 |
| – | DF | Wales | Tomos Roberts | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| – | DF | England | Matthew Roome | 5 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 19 | 0 |
| – | GK | Switzerland | Benjamin Siegrist | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| – | MF | England | Ryan Simmonds | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| – | DF | England | Sam Simmonds | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| – | MF |  Hungary | András Stieber | 0 | 0 | 11 | 4 | 11 | 4 |
| * | MF | Hungary | Zoltán Stieber | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 |
| – | FW | Austria | Andreas Weimann | 10 | 2 | 18 | 6 | 28 | 8 |
| – | DF | Republic of Ireland | Derrick Williams | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| – | FW | England | Sam Williams | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
- Last Update: 25 March 2009
- Data includes all competitions
- Zoltán Stieber signed for TuS Koblenz on 29 January 2009. Conor Devlin and Aldi Haxhia were signed on emergency short-term loan deals. Both returned to Manchester United and Chelsea respectively.
Squad information
| N |
Pos. |
Nat. |
Name |
Age |
EU |
Since |
App(GS/Sub) |
Goals |
Ends |
Transfer fee |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK | |
Brad Friedel | 37 | Non-EU | 2008 | 16 (16/0) | 0 | 2011 | £2.5m | |
| 13 | GK | |
Stuart Taylor | 27 | EU | 2005 | 17 (14/3) | 0 | 2009 | Undisclosed | |
| 22 | GK | |
Brad Guzan | 23 | Non-EU | 2008 | 2 (2/0) | 0 | 2011 | £0.6m | |
| 2 | RB | |
Luke Young | 29 | EU | 2008 | 14 (13/1) | 1 | 2011 | £6m | |
| 3 | LB | |
Wilfred Bouma | 30 | EU | 2005 | 90 (87/3) | 1 | 2011 | £3.5m | |
| 5 | CB | |
Martin Laursen | 31 | EU | 2004 | 83 (81/2) | 11 | 2010 | £3m | |
| 15 | CB | |
Curtis Davies | 23 | EU | 2008 | 27 (22/5) | 1 | 2012 | Undisclosed | |
| 16 | CB | |
Zat Knight | 28 | EU | 2007 | 34 (32/2) | 1 | 2011 | £3.5m | |
| 21 | LB | |
Nicky Shorey | 27 | EU | 2008 | 16 (16/0) | 0 | 2011 | Undisclosed | |
| 24 | CB | |
Carlos Cuéllar | 27 | EU | 2008 | 12 (9/3) | 0 | 2012 | £7.8m | |
| 29 | LB | |
Stephen O'Halloran | 20 | EU | 2008 | 0 (0/0) | 0 | 2009 | Academy | |
| 4 | CM | |
Steve Sidwell | 25 | EU | 2008 | 6 (3/3) | 1 | 2011 | Undisclosed | |
| 6 | CM | |
Gareth Barry | 27 | EU | 1997 | 410 (393/17) | 49 | 2010 | Undisclosed | |
| 7 | LM | |
Ashley Young | 23 | EU | 2007 | 70 (67/3) | 14 | 2011 | £9.6m | |
| 8 | RM | |
James Milner | 22 | EU | 2008 | 45 (40/5) | 3 | 2012 | £12m | |
| 17 | CM |  |
Moustapha Salifou | 25 | Non-EU | 2007 | 9 (3/6) | 0 | 2009 | Undisclosed | |
| 19 | CM |  |
Stiliyan Petrov | 29 | EU | 2006 | 82 (75/7) | 4 | 2010 | £6.5m | |
| 20 | CM | |
Nigel Reo-Coker | 24 | EU | 2007 | 56 (56/0) | 3 | 2011 | £8.5m | |
| 26 | CM | |
Craig Gardner | 21 | EU | 2005 | 58 (37/21) | 6 | 2011 | Academy | |
| 27 | CM | |
Isaiah Osbourne | 20 | EU | 2006 | 26 (13/13) | 0 | 2011 | Academy | |
| 9 | CF | |
Marlon Harewood | 29 | EU | 2006 | 34 (7/27) | 7 | 2010 | £4m | |
| 10 | CF |  |
John Carew | 28 | EU | 2007 | 59 (57/2) | 23 | 2010 | Part-Exchange | |
| 11 | CF | |
Gabriel Agbonlahor | 21 | EU | 2006 | 110 (102/8) | 29 | 2011 | Academy | |
| 14 | CF | |
Nathan Delfouneso | 17 | EU | 2008 | 3 (0/3) | 0 | 2010 | Academy | |
| 18 | CF | |
Emile Heskey | 29 | EU | 2009 | 3 (3/0) | 1 | 2012 | £3.5m |
- Last updated: 12 May 2008
- Source: avfc.co.uk, players' Wikipedia articles
- Ordered by position on pitch (from back right to front left).
Notes
- Williams was born in Hamburg, Germany, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally through his mother and represented them at U-19 and U-21 level before making his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in May 2018.
- Collins was born in Coventry, England, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally through his parents and represented them at U-19 and U-21 level.
- Bryan was born in Birmingham, England, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally and represented them at U-16 and U-17 level.
- Eminoglu was born in Solihull, England, but also qualified to represent Turkey internationally and represented them at U-16 level.
References
- "Premier League 2008/09 fixtures announced". Premier League. 16 June 2008. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
- 7th December 2008 Everton 2-3 Aston Villa
- "Villa 'reserves' crash out to CSKA Moscow". CNN. 26 February 2009. Retrieved 14 December 2013.
External links
- Aston Villa official website
- avfchistory.co.uk 2008–09 season
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