Memorable events in 2008

What has actually happened on football pitches and in the boardrooms of British clubs in 2008? Hereunder are the most important events that brought joy and discontent to the fans.

January

The Premier League underlines its healthy business as the January transfer window produces a record of £150m outlay on new players − more than double the previous record of £70m established in 2006.

Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson is named coach of UEFA's 2007 Top Team. Premier League players represented in the selection are John Terry (Chelsea), Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) and Didier Drogba (Chelsea).

George Burley leaves Southampton to become Scotland manager.

QPR co-owner and Renault's Formula One team boss Flavio Briatore blasts football in Italy and lauds sport in Britain for its fair play.

February

The English Premier League comes up with the idea of an extra round of matches overseas. At a meeting in London, all 20 club chairmen agree to explore the proposal to extend the season to 39 games.

England beat Switzerland 2-1 in a friendly at Wembley in Fabio Capello's debut as national coach.

Liverpool claim their 100th European game victory at Anfield after a 2-0 win over Inter.

Tottenham lift the League Cup at Wembley, beating neighbours Chelsea 2-1 after extra-time.

March

The four English contenders in the Champions League, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United, set a new competition record as they all reach the quarter-finals.

Arsenal become the first English club to beat Milan at San Siro (2-0).

Three of the FA Cup semi-finalists are from the Championship, Barnsley, Cardiff and West Brom. The only Premier League side left are Portsmouth.

England go down 0-1 away to France, where David Beckham earns his 100th cap.

April

In the return legs of the Champions League quarter-finals, three English clubs make it to the last four for the second year running.

Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo, of Manchester United, is named PFA Player of the Year for the second successive season. Cesc Fabregas, of Arsenal, wins the Young Player's prize.

Manchester United and Chelsea advance to the Champions League final after beating Barcelona and Liverpool respectively. It is the first time that the final showdown will be contested between two English sides.

May

Manchester United are crowned English champions, giving Sir Alex Ferguson his tenth title.

At the City of Manchester Stadium, Rangers lose 2-0 to Zenit St Petersburg in the UEFA Cup final.

Portsmouth lift the FA Cup for the first time since 1939, beating Cardiff 1-0.

In Moscow, Manchester United topple Chelsea in a penalty shoot-out 6-5 after a 1-1 draw to win the Champions League.

June

Chelsea appoint Brazilian coach Luiz Felipe Scolari as their new coach following the sacking of Avram Grant.

Paul Ince becomes the first black manager in the Premier League, taking over at Blackburn Rovers.

Bolton Wanderers sign Swedish striker Johan Elmander for a club record fee of £11m.

Barcelona midfielder Deco becomes Scolari's first signing at Chelsea.

July

Annan Athletic are admitted to the Scottish League instead of Gretna.

The newly-formed Euro Club Association board replaces the G14 alliance.

Manchester City sign Brazilian forward Jo (Joao Alves) from CSKA Moscow for a club record £18m.

Luton to start new season on minus 30 points after they failed to observe the League's rules by making payments to agents via a third party.

August

Arsenal and Liverpool win their respective qualifying round ties to join Manchester United and Chelsea in the group phase of the 2008-09 Champions League.

Hull's first top-flight campaign in their 104-year history starts with a 2-1 home win over Fulham.

The first hat-trick of 2008-09 is scored by Gabriel Agbonlahor in Aston Villa's 4-2 victory over Manchester City at Villa Park.

In Monaco, Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo is named UEFA's European Club Footballer of the Year. Three other Premier League players are also in UEFA's Team of the Year.

September

A British record fee of £32.5m is paid by the Abu Dhabi Group-owned Manchester City to sign Robinho from Real Madrid.

Kevin Keegan resigns as Newcastle manager after only eight months in charge.

England open their 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign under Capello with a 2-0 win in Andorra.

Arsenal's Theo Walcott becomes the youngest player to score a hat-trick for England in the 4-1 away triumph in Croatia.

October

England's Under-21 team reach the European Championship finals in Sweden in June following a 5-4 aggregate win over Wales.

Capello's England beat Belarus 3-1 to chalk up their four straight wins for the best ever start to a World Cup qualification campaign.

Arsenal win 5-2 in Fenerbahce in a Champions League group match.

Manchester United's Ronaldo is named FifPro World Footballer of the Year.

November

Tottenham striker Darren Bent nets a treble in the club's 4-0 home thumping of Dinamo Zagreb in a UEFA Cup group match.

Chelsea create an away Premier League record of 10 straight wins after their victory at West Brom.

In a friendly international, England beat Germany 2-1 in Berlin to become the first nation to win at this venue since Brazil in 1973.

Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United progress to the knock-out phase of the Champions League.

December

Ronaldo, of Manchester United wins the 2008 Ballon D'Or.

Burnley beat Arsenal at Turf Moor to reach the semi-finals of the League Cup for the first time in 25 years.

Chelsea extend their top-flight record to 11 consecutive away league victories.

Manchester United are crowned FIFA Club World Cup champions after a 1-0 win over Ecuador's LDU Quito in Yokohama.