Hull finished a mere four points adrift of second-placed Stoke City for promotion to the Premier League, qualifying for the play-offs instead. After trouncing Watford 6–1 over two legs, Hull City reached Wembley to play a Bristol City side aiming for a second successive promotion. A single Dean Windass goal gave Hull the game and promotion to English football's top flight for the first time in Hull's history. Promotion was made all the more incredible considering that five seasons ago Hull were languishing in the bottom tier of the Football League, and that when manager Phil Brown had taken the managerial role at Hull in December 2006 the club were in the Championship relegation zone.
Players
First-team squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Updated to match(es) played on 4 May 2008. Source: The Football League Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored. (C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted
^Myhill was born in Modesto, California, United States, but was raised in England from the age of 1 and qualified to represent any of the home nations internationally, and represented England at U-17, U-18, and U-20 level before making his international debut for Wales in March 2008.
^Folan was born in Leeds, England, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally through his grandparents and was called up by the Republic of Ireland in 2007 without playing before making his debut for the Republic of Ireland in October 2008.
^Ricketts was born in Aylesbury, England, and represented England at C level, but also qualified to represent Wales internationally through his grandmother and made his debut for Wales in February 2005.
^Cooper was born in Kingston upon Hull, England, but also qualified to represent Scotland internationally through his paternal grandfather and represented Scotland at U-17 and U-19 level before making his international debut for Scotland in September 2019.