2008–09 Premier Academy League

The 2008–09 Premier Academy League Under–18 season was the twelfth edition since the establishment of The Premier Academy League, and the fifth under the current make-up. The first matches of the season were played on 23 August 2008, and the season ended on 18 May 2009.

2008–09 Premier Academy League

Champions	Arsenal
Goals scored	1,975
Average goals/game	3.51
Biggest home win	Ipswich Town 7 – 0 Birmingham City (25 April)
Biggest away win	Blackburn Rovers 0 – 8 Manchester City (1 November)
Highest scoring	Tottenham Hotspur 6 – 6 Coventry City (22 November)
Longest winning run	11, Sunderland (1 November – 14 March)
Longest unbeaten run	28 (all group game), Manchester City (23 August – 18 May) 26 (inc. play-off), Manchester City (23 August – 2 May)
Longest losing run	11, Milton Keynes Dons (1 November – 28 February)
← 2007–08 2009–10 →

All teams played the other teams in their group twice and played 10 inter-group fixtures, producing 28 games a season. Eight of the inter-group games were played against teams in their 'paired group' (i.e. A–B and C–D are the paired groups), whilst the remaining two games comprise one game against a team in each of the two remaining groups. Winners of each group qualified for play-offs.

Arsenal became the first group winners by leading Crystal Palace 20 points with 6 games left in Group A after a 1–0 win against Watford on 21 March 2009. Group C champions Manchester City set up tie with Arsenal in the play-off the following week by recording a 23–game unbeaten run which last to 26 games. Sunderland secured top spot in Group D after achieving the 14th win in last 15 games on 31 March. These 3 teams all clinched the group title for a third successive season. Tottenham Hotspur claimed the last play-off spot after beating Watford 2–1 on 6 May.

Arsenal reached the 2009 Premier Academy League Play-off Final with a 2–1 victory over Manchester City at the City of Manchester Stadium on 8 May. Tottenham Hotspur set up clash with Arsenal after defeating Sunderland 2–1 at the Stadium of Light on 13 May.

On 17 May, Arsenal were crowned the 2008–09 Premier Academy League Champions after a 1–0 win against Tottenham Hotspur in the Play-off Final at White Hart Lane, with a goal from Rhys Murphy. It is Arsenal's first title since the Premier Academy League reformed as an under–18 competition.

League tables

Academy Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Arsenal U18s (C)	28	22	4	2	71	31	+40	70
2	Norwich City U18s	28	13	6	9	46	42	+4	45
3	Ipswich Town U18s	28	14	2	12	55	53	+2	44
4	Crystal Palace U18s	28	12	4	12	51	47	+4	40
5	West Ham United U18s	28	10	8	10	51	38	+13	38
6	Southampton U18s	28	12	2	14	49	56	−7	38
7	Portsmouth U18s	28	10	5	13	48	52	−4	35
8	Chelsea U18s	28	10	4	14	57	65	−8	34
9	Fulham U18s	28	8	9	11	44	45	−1	33
10	Charlton Athletic U18s	28	6	4	20	32	65	−33	22

Academy Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Tottenham Hotspur U18s (C)	28	19	7	2	85	36	+49	64
2	Leicester City U18s	28	19	3	6	90	48	+42	60
3	Aston Villa U18s	28	16	6	6	66	42	+24	54
4	Coventry City U18s	28	15	8	5	62	46	+16	53
5	Reading U18s	28	10	5	13	44	52	−8	35
6	Bristol City U18s	28	9	6	13	63	67	−4	33
7	Cardiff City U18s	28	7	7	14	33	48	−15	28
8	Watford U18s	28	7	4	17	43	58	−15	25
9	Birmingham City U18s	28	7	4	17	30	64	−34	25
10	Milton Keynes Dons U18s	28	3	4	21	26	81	−55	13

Academy Group C

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Manchester City U18s (C)	28	22	6	0	88	33	+55	72
2	Manchester United U18s	28	15	8	5	65	34	+31	53
3	West Bromwich Albion U18s	28	13	5	10	55	37	+18	44
4	Liverpool U18s	28	13	5	10	56	49	+7	44
5	Everton U18s	28	11	8	9	49	39	+10	41
6	Stoke City U18s	28	11	7	10	30	41	−11	40
7	Wolverhampton Wanderers U18s	28	10	9	9	36	39	−3	39
8	Crewe Alexandra U18s	28	11	5	12	54	53	+1	38
9	Blackburn Rovers U18s	28	8	6	14	36	50	−14	30
10	Bolton Wanderers U18s	28	7	2	19	28	57	−29	23

Academy Group D

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Sunderland U18s (C)	28	22	2	4	62	30	+32	68
2	Newcastle United U18s	28	13	7	8	55	46	+9	46
3	Derby County U18s	28	11	7	10	55	51	+4	40
4	Sheffield United U18s	28	8	11	9	34	43	−9	35
5	Nottingham Forest U18s	28	9	3	16	41	50	−9	33
6	Leeds United U18s	28	9	5	14	41	43	−2	32
7	Barnsley U18s	28	7	7	14	34	64	−30	28
8	Sheffield Wednesday U18s	28	6	6	16	27	47	−20	24
9	Huddersfield Town U18s	28	5	9	14	37	69	−32	24
10	Middlesbrough U18s	28	5	8	15	39	57	−18	23

Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd goal difference; 3rd goals scored
Pos = Position; Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points
C = Champions

Play-off semi-finals

Manchester City	1–2	Arsenal
Abdisalam Ibrahim 41'	Report	Cedric Evina 14' Rhys Murphy 76'

8 May 2009

19:00 BST

City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester

Attendance: TBA

Referee: Andrew Scregg (Liverpool)

---

Sunderland	1–2	Tottenham Hotspur
Ryan Noble 71' (pen.)	Report	Ryan Mason 39' (pen.) Andros Townsend 43'

13 May 2009

19:00 BST

Stadium of Light, Sunderland

Attendance: 314

Referee: Steve Rowntree (North Yorkshire)

Play-off Final

Tottenham Hotspur	0–1	Arsenal
	Report	Rhys Murphy 50'

17 May 2009

16:00 BST

White Hart Lane, London

Attendance: 5,090

Referee: Carl Berry (Surrey)

Records

• Most group wins: 22, Arsenal, Manchester City and Sunderland
• Most league wins: 24, Arsenal
• Fewest wins: 3, Milton Keynes Dons
• Fewest group defeats: 0, Manchester City
• Fewest league defeats: 1, Manchester City
• Most defeats: 21, Milton Keynes Dons
• Most points: 72, Manchester City
• Fewest points: 13, Milton Keynes Dons
• Most goals scored: 90, Leicester City
• Fewest goals scored: 26, Milton Keynes Dons
• Fewest group goals conceded: 30, Sunderland
• Fewest league goals conceded: 32, Arsenal and Sunderland
• Most goals conceded: 81, Milton Keynes Dons
• Highest goal difference: 55, Manchester City
• Lowest goal difference: −55, Milton Keynes Dons

See also

• Premier Reserve League 2008–09
• FA Youth Cup 2008–09
• Premier League 2008–09
• 2008–09 in English football

External links

• Premier Academy League U18 2008/2009 final league tables
• Premier Academy League U18 2008/2009 results

Match reports

Group A	Group B	Group C	Group D
Arsenal Charlton Athletic Chelsea Crystal Palace Fulham Ipswich Town Norwich City Portsmouth Southampton West Ham United	Aston Villa Birmingham City Bristol City Cardiff City[permanent dead link‍] Coventry City Leicester City Milton Keynes Dons Reading Tottenham Hotspur Watford	Blackburn Rovers Bolton Wanderers Crewe Alexandra Everton Archived 19 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine Liverpool Manchester City Manchester United Stoke City West Bromwich Albion Wolverhampton Wanderers	Barnsley Derby County Huddersfield Town Leeds United Middlesbrough Newcastle United Nottingham Forest Sheffield United Sheffield Wednesday Sunderland