| Football League Trophy | |
| Year: | 2008–09 |
| Country: | |
| Num Teams: | 48 |
| Defending Champions: | MK Dons |
| Champions: | Luton Town |
| Runner-Up: | Scunthorpe United |
| Prevseason: | 2007–08 |
| Nextseason: | 2009–10 |
The 2008–09 Football League Trophy, known as the 2008–09 Johnstone's Paint Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is the 28th Football League Trophy, a knockout competition for English football clubs in Leagues One and Two, the third and fourth tiers of English football. Luton Town won the competition, beating Scunthorpe United 3–2 after extra time in the final. However, Luton were unable to defend their trophy as they were relegated from the Football League at the end of the season.
The format was the same as that which had been used since 1996, with four first round regions; North-West, North-East, South-West and South-East and a two-region format from the second round; North and South. The resulting regional winners then meet in the final.
The First Round draw was conducted on 16 August 2008. The teams to be granted byes to the Second Round were drawn first, with the remaining teams drawn for the First Round ties. The First Round matches were played in the week commencing 1 September 2008.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North-West | |||||
| 1 | Oldham Athletic | 1–1 | Morecambe | 2,016 | |
| Morecambe won 5 – 4 on penalties | |||||
| 2 | Crewe Alexandra | 3–0 | Macclesfield Town | 2,463 | |
| 3 | Stockport County | 1–0 | Port Vale | 2,290 | |
| 4 | Tranmere Rovers | 1–0 | Accrington Stanley | 2,410 | |
| North-East | |||||
| 5 | Chesterfield | 2–2 | Grimsby Town | 1,665 | |
| Grimsby Town won 4 – 1 on penalties | |||||
| 6 | Scunthorpe United | 2–1 | Notts County | 1,755 | |
| 7 | Leeds United | 2–1 | Bradford City | 20,128 | |
| 8 | Hartlepool United | 0–3 | Leicester City | 2,807 | |
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South-West | |||||
| 1 | Bournemouth | 3–0 | Bristol Rovers | 2,220 | |
| 2 | Brentford | 2–2 | Yeovil Town | 1,339 | |
| Brentford won 4 – 2 on penalties | |||||
| 3 | Exeter City | 1–2 | Shrewsbury Town | 1,530 | |
| 4 | Aldershot Town | 2–2 | Swindon Town | 1,814 | |
| Swindon Town won 7 – 6 on penalties | |||||
| South-East | |||||
| 5 | Millwall | 0–1 | Colchester United | 2,456 | |
| 6 | Northampton Town | 0–1 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 2,047 | |
| 7 | Southend United | 2–4 | Leyton Orient | 3,499 | |
| 8 | Dagenham & Redbridge | 4–2 | Barnet | 1,412 | |
Bury, Carlisle United, Chester City, Darlington, Lincoln City, Rochdale,
Rotherham United, Huddersfield Town.
Cheltenham Town, Gillingham, Hereford United, Luton Town, Milton Keynes Dons, Peterborough United, Walsall, Wycombe Wanderers.
The Second Round draw was conducted on 6 September 2008, with matches played in the week commencing 6 October 2008.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tranmere Rovers | 1–0 | Crewe Alexandra | 2,626 | |
| 2 | Rochdale | 2–2 | Carlisle United | 1,608 | |
| Rochdale won 4 – 2 on penalties | |||||
| 3 | Chester City | 1–1 | Morecambe | 926 | |
| Morecambe won 3 – 1 on penalties | |||||
| 4 | Bury | 1–0 | Stockport County | 2,384 | |
| 5 | Scunthorpe United | 2–1 | Grimsby Town | 4,844 | |
| 6 | Rotherham United | 4–2 | Leeds United | 4,658 | |
| 7 | Darlington | 1–0 | Huddersfield Town | 1,791 | |
| 8 | Leicester City | 0–0 | Lincoln City | 8,046 | |
| Leicester City won 3 – 1 on penalties | |||||
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cheltenham Town | 1–2 | Walsall | 1,741 | |
| 2 | Hereford United | 1–2 | Swindon Town | 1,458 | |
| 3 | Wycombe Wanderers | 0–7 | Shrewsbury Town | 1,730 | |
| 4 | Milton Keynes Dons | 0–1 | Bournemouth | 4,329 | |
| 5 | Peterborough United | 0–1 | Dagenham & Redbridge | 2,644 | |
| 6 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 2–2 | Leyton Orient | 2,157 | |
| Brighton & Hove Albion won 5 – 4 on penalties | |||||
| 7 | Gillingham | 0–1 | Colchester United | 1,557 | |
| 8 | Luton Town | 2–2 | Brentford | 2,029 | |
| Luton Town won 4 – 3 on penalties | |||||
The draw for the area quarter-finals was conducted on 11 October 2008. The matches were played in the week commencing 3 November 2008, with the exception of the match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Swindon Town, which was played on 12 November 2008.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rotherham United | 2–0 | Leicester City | 4,255 | |
| 2 | Tranmere Rovers | 1–0 | Morecambe | 2,110 | |
| 3 | Darlington | 1–0 | Bury | 1,651 | |
| 4 | Scunthorpe United | 1–0 | Rochdale | 2,474 |
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shrewsbury Town | 5–0 | Dagenham & Redbridge | 2,747 | |
| 2 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 2–0 | Swindon Town | 2,234 | |
| 3 | Walsall | 0–1 | Luton Town | 1,844 | |
| 4 | Bournemouth | 0–1 | Colchester United | 2,275 |
The draw for the area semi-finals was conducted on 8 November 2008, and matches were played in the week commencing 15 December 2008.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scunthorpe United | 2–1 | Tranmere Rovers | 2,669 | |
| 2 | Rotherham United | 1–1 | Darlington | 2,706 | |
| Rotherham United won 4 – 2 on penalties | |||||
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Luton Town | 1–0 | Colchester United | 2,638 | |
| 2 | Shrewsbury Town | 0–0 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 4,052 | |
| Brighton & Hove Albion won 5 – 4 on penalties | |||||
The area finals, which serve as the semi-finals for the entire competition, are contested over two legs, home and away. The first legs were played on 20 January 2009; the second legs were played on 17 February 2009.
----Scunthorpe United won 3–0 on aggregate.
----Brighton & Hove Albion 1–1 Luton Town on aggregate. Luton Town won 4–3 on penalties.
See main article: 2009 Football League Trophy Final.