by Birmingham Evening Mail

1 Premier League leaders Arsenal began the new year with a 2-0 win over West Ham, while second-placed Manchester United struggled to a 1-0 victory over Blues.

5 Blues crashed out of the FA Cup in a third-round shock, 2-1 at Huddersfield Town Andy Murray beat Stanislas Wawrinka 6-4 4-6 6-2 to win the Qatar Open in Doha.

7 Fabio Capello officially started work as England head coach.

9 Manager Sam Allardyce parted company with Newcastle after less than eight months in the job.

13 Welshman Mark Webster beat Australia's Simon Whitlock 7-5 to win the BDO World Championship at Frimley Green.

14 British No.1 Andy Murray was beaten 7-5 6-4 0-6 7-6 (7-5) in the first round of the Australian Open by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

16 David Murphy joined Blues from Hibs for pounds 1.5million Kevin Keegan was appointed Newcastle manager for the second time on a three-and-a-half-year contract.

18 David Graveney was axed as England's chief cricket selector after 11 years in the role. Former England spin bowler Geoff Miller was appointed as the new salaried national selector. James McFadden signed for Blues from Everton for pounds 5million.

19 Lleyton Hewitt and Marcos Baghdatis played out the latest finish in grand slam history in the third round of the Australian Open . Hewitt triumphed 4-6 7-5 7-5 6-7 (4/7) 6-3 at 4.33am local time.

20 Mark Selby won the SAGA Insurance Masters, defeating Stephen Lee 10-3 at Wembley Arena.

24Southampton bossGeorge Burley was named as the new Scotland manager.

26 Maria Sharapova won the Australian Open women's singles title after a 7-5 6-3 victory over Ana Ivanovic in the final in Melbourne.

27 Serbia's Novak Djokovic won his maiden grand slam title with a 4-6 6-4 6-3 7-6 (7-2) victory over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the Australian Open .

28 Walsall sold Dan Fox to Coventry City for around pounds 400,000

30 Villa signed winger Wayne Routledge from Tottenham for an undisclosed fee, believed to be worth around pounds 1.5million.

31 Walsall sold Scott Dann to Coventry City for a fee in excess of pounds 1million.

FEBRUARY

1 Shaun Pollock hit the winning runs in his final match on his home ground in Durban as South Africa beat West Indies by five wickets at Kingsmead.

2 England lost their opening RBS 6 Nations match 26-19 to Wales at Twickenham.

5 England beat New Zealand by 32 runs in the first Twenty20 international at Eden Park, Auckland.

6 England won Fabio Capello's first match as coach, beating Switzerland 2-1 in a friendly at Wembley.

7 England won the second Twenty20 international against New Zealand by 50 runs.

9 England slipped to a dismal six-wicket defeat in their first one-day international against New Zealand in Wellington.

10 Jonny Wilkinson passed the 1,000-point mark for England in their unconvincing 23-19 win over Italy at the Stadio Flaminio in the RBS 6 Nations.

11 Iain Dowie was sacked as manager of Coventry.

12 England lost the second one-day international against New Zealand in Hamilton by 10 wickets to trail 2-0 in the five-match series.

13 Giovanni Trapattoni was confirmed as the new Republic of Ireland manager.

15 England beat New Zealand by six wickets in the third one-day international in Auckland.

19 Chris Coleman was named as Coventry's new manager on a three-and-a-half-year deal.

20 England tied with New Zealand in the fourth one-day international in Napier. New Zealand led 2-1 in the series with one match remaining.

21 Carson Yeung failed at an EGM to get Steve McManaman and Fan Zhiyi appointed as Blues directors.

23 A Martin Taylor tackle shattered Eduardo's leg and ankle and sparked a storm in the 2-2 draw against Arsenal. Jonny Wilkinson became the leading drop-goal scorer in Test history with 14 points as England beat France 24-13 in the RBS 6 Nations in Paris. England lost to New Zealand in the fifth and final one-day international in Christchurch under the Duckworth-Lewis method. New Zealand won the series 3-1.

24 Jonathan Woodgate scored the winning goal after a Petr Cech blunder as Tottenham came from behind to beat Chelsea 2-1 in extra-time in the Carling Cup final at Wembley. Thirteen-year-old Tom Daley became the youngest British male Olympian when he qualified in the 10-metre platform diving for the Beijing Games. Tiger Woods notched his fifth victory in a row when he beat Stewart Cink by a record margin in the final Accenture Match Play Championship.

MARCH

3 Andy Murray beat world No.1 Roger Federer 6-7 (6/8) 6-3 6-4 in the first round of the Dubai Open. Villa defender Curtis Davies was ruled out for up to seven months after undergoing surgery on the ruptured Achilles he suffered at Arsenal on April 1.

7 Dwain Chambers took a share of silver over 60 metres in the World Indoor Championships at Valencia following his controversial comeback from a drugs ban. Birchfield's Kelly Sotherton (pentathlon) and Jeanette Kwakye (60m) also claimed silver medals.

8 Scotland beat England 15-9 in their RBS 6 Nations match at Murrayfield. The game saw Jonny Wilkinson set a new world record of points scored in Test rugby, with a total of 1,099. Wales won the Triple Crown with a 16-12 defeat of Ireland at Croke Park. Ryan Sidebottom became the 11th England bowler to take a hat-trick in the First Test against New Zealand.

9 England lost the First Test against New Zealand in Hamilton by 189 runs.

Phillips Idowu won the triple jump at the World Indoor Championships in Valencia.

12 The second day of the Cheltenham Festival was cancelled amid safety concerns over the strong winds buffeting the west of England.

14 Denman staged an emphatic display of front-running to win his Cheltenham Gold Cup showdown with stable neighbour Kauto Star. Warwickshire's Tim Ambrose collected his maiden Test century as England were bowled out for 342 on day two of the Second Test against New Zealand.

15 Wales beat France 29-12 at the Millennium Stadium to claim the Grand Slam and RBS 6 Nations title. Fly-half Danny Cipriani starred on his full debut as England beat Ireland 33-10 at Twickenham.

16 Lewis Hamilton won the first grand prix of the 2008 season in Melbourne.

England bowled out New Zealand for 311 on the final morning to win the Second Test with New Zealand in Wellington by 126 runs.

19 Albion beat Bristol Rovers 5-1 to reach FA Cup semifinal for the first time since 1982

22 Kevin Pietersen hit a brilliant 129 to help England recover and reach 240 for seven by the close of the opening day of the Third Test against New Zealand in Napier.

23 Ryan Sidebottom took a career-best seven for 47 as England hit back to take control on day two of the deciding Test. World champion Kimi Raikkonen won the Malaysian Grand Prix for Ferrari, with McLaren's Lewis Hamilton only fifth.

26 England won the Third Test against New Zealand by 121 runs to take the series 2-1 - a first overseas series victory since 2005. France beat England 1-0 at Stade de France as David Beckham won his 100th cap.

28 Virender Sehwag struck the fastest triple century in Test history on the third day of India's clash with South Africa in Chennai.

29 Oxford beat Cambridge to win the 154th University Boat Race.

30 Great Britain ended the track World Championships in Manchester with a record nine gold medals and two silver medals.

APRIL

2 Swimmer Mark Foster qualified for his fifth Olympics at the age of 37 by winning the 50 metres freestyle at the trials in Sheffield.

5 Steve Bruce gained revenge over Blues with a 2-0 Wigan Athletic win Comply Or Die, trained by David Pipe and ridden by Timmy Murphy, won the Grand National at Aintree.

Portsmouth beat Albion 1-0 in the first FA Cup semi-final at Wembley thanks to a second-half goal from Kanu.

6 Cardiff beat Barnsley 1-0 in their FA Cup semi-final.

Ferrari's Felipe Massa won the Bahrain Grand Prix from Kimi Raikkonen, with BMW's Robert Kubica third.

9 Karren Brady and David Sullivan were arrested by City of London Police on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud and false accounting and later released on bail. Questioning related to the transfers of Aliou Cisse and Ferdinand Coly.

13 South African Trevor Immelman held on to his overnight lead to win the US Masters at Augusta by three strokes from Tiger Woods.

Kenyan distance runner Martin Lel won his third London Marathon in a course record time of two hours five minutes and 15 seconds.

15 Albion returned to the top of the Championship after a 1-0 win at Wolves.

16 Martin Johnson was confirmed as England rugby union team manager.

20 Joe Calzaghe improved his record to 45 fights without loss by winning his lightheavyweight fight against Bernard Hopkins in Las Vegas.

21 Jonny Wilkinson was ruled out of England's tour to New Zealand in June.

22 Richard Money resigned as Walsall manager, his team having won just five of 15 games to fade out of the play-offs race. Jimmy Mullen was appointed caretaker manager.

24 Billionaire businessman Sir Allen Stanford unveiled plans to pour as much as pounds 500million into Twenty20 cricket events in England, insisting the format could become the "dominant team sport in the world".

26 A pivotal day for Blues' survival hopes as they blew a 2-0 lead against Liverpool to draw while Fulham staged an astonishing comeback to win 3-2 at Manchester City.

27 Kimi Raikkonen won the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona ahead of Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton. It moved the Finn nine points clear of Hamilton in the standings.

28 Ronnie O'Sullivan hit his third maximum 147 break at the Crucible in his 13-7 victory over Mark Williams in the second round of the 888.com World Championship.

29 Ali Carter fired a maximum 147 - just a day after Ronnie O'Sullivan achieved the same feat - in his quarterfinal against Peter Ebdon. It was the first time two maximums had been scored in the same tournament.

Reports that Sven-Goran Eriksson would leave his post as Manchester City manager at the end of the season gathered credence with his agent Athole Still admitting it was "odds against" him staying.

MAY

2 Villa manager Martin O'Neill confirmed the club had received an offer from Liverpool for captain Gareth Barry.

3 In the do-or-die game at Fulham, Blues went down 2-0 and relegation was now virtually certain.

4 Albion won their first title in 88 years thanks to a 2-0 win at QPR, through Do-Heon Kim and Chris Brunt.

5 Ronnie O'Sullivan won his third world snooker title with an 18-8 victory over Ali Carter.

6 Crisis-torn Super Aguri finally withdrew from the 2008 Formula One world championship.

11 Manchester United retained the Premier League title with a 2-0 win over Wigan.

Blues defeated Blackburn 4-1 but it meant nothing: they were relegated from the Premier League in 19th place on 35 points.

Fans staged antiboard protests at the end.

Ferrari's Felipe Massa held off Lewis Hamilton to win the Turkish Grand Prix for the third year in succession.

12 David Gold offered to resign as Blues chairman because of fans' unrest.

David Sullivan named Franck Queudrue among a 'pile of rubbish' signed by Steve Bruce last summer and described Richard Kingson as a 'complete waste of space'.

14 Rangers were defeated 2-0 by Zenit St Petersburg in the UEFA Cup final at the City of Manchester Stadium.

Ian McGeechan, Wasps' director of rugby, was confirmed as coach of the British and Irish Lions for their tour to South Africa in 2009.

15 Celtic icon Tommy Burns died after a long battle with skin cancer, aged 51.

16 Warwickshire suffered a humiliating Friends Provident Trophy defeat to Ireland at Stormont.

17 Portsmouth won the FA Cup for the first time since 1939, Kanu scoring the only goal as they beat Cardiff 1-0 at Wembley.

18 England captain Michael Vaughan returned to form with 106 in the First Test against New Zealand at Lord's, which would end in a draw.

19 Midfielder Lee Carsley joins relegated Blues from Everton.

21 Manchester United won the Champions League 6-5 on penalties after thefinal against Chelsea in Moscow finished 1-1 following extra time.

23 Leicester parted company with manager Ian Holloway by mutual consent.

24 Chelsea confirmed the dismissal of manager Avram Grant with immediate effect.

25 Lewis Hamilton won an eventful Monaco Grand Prix ahead of Robert Kubica (BMW) and Felipe Massa (Ferrari).

Bath won the European Challenge Cup after beating Worcester 24-16 in the final at Gloucester.

26 England won the Second Test against New Zealand at Old Trafford by six wickets to lead the best-of-three series 1-0.

28 Goals from John Terry and Steven Gerrard handed England a 2-0 win over USA at Wembley.

31 David Beckham named England captain for their friendly against Trinidad and Tobago in Port of Spain.

Wasps beat Leicester 26-16 in the Guinness Premiership final at Twickenham.

JUNE

1 England beat Trinidad and Tobago 3-0 in a friendly in Port of Spain with two goals from Jermain Defoe and Gareth Barry's first for his country.

Jamaica's Usain Bolt set a new world record in the 100metres of 9.72seconds, breaking Asafa Powell's mark of 9.74sec.

2 Manager Sven-Goran Eriksson left Manchester City.

4 Manchester City appointed Mark Hughes their new manager on a three-year contract.

5 Kevin Pietersen struck his 12th Test century to help England recover from 86 for five to reach 273 for seven at the close of the first day of the final Test against New Zealand at Trent Bridge.

7 Serbia's Ana Ivanovic beat Dinara Safina of Russia 6-4 6-3 in the women's final of the French Open .

New Approach, trained by Jim Bolger and ridden by Kevin Manning, won the Vodafone Derby at Epsom.

8 Rafael Nadal thrashed Roger Federer 6-1 6-3 6-0 in the French Open men's singles final at Roland Garros and make it four titles in a row.

England beat New Zealand by an innings and nine runs in the Third Test at Trent Bridge. England won the series 2-0.

BMW Sauber driver Robert Kubica won his maiden grand prix in Canada ahead of teammate Nick Heidfeld and David Coulthard. Lewis Hamilton crashed into Kimi Raikkonen in the pit lane.

11 Chelsea named Brazilian Luiz Filipe Scolari as their new manager.

12Villarejectedanimproved bid from Liverpool for captain Gareth Barry.

13 England beat New Zealand by nine wickets in the Twenty20 International at Old Trafford.

14 England's rugby union side lost 37-20 to New Zealand in Auckland in the First Test against the All Blacks.

15 Kevin Pietersen scored an unbeaten 110 from 112 deliveries as England beat New Zealand by 114 runs in the first one-day international at the Riverside.

Rafael Nadal won his first grasscourt title when he beat Novak Djokovic 7-6 7-5 to claim the Artois Championships crown.

16 Tiger Woods won the US Open in a sudden-death playoff at the Torrey Pines course in southern California.

Fabrice Muamba left Blues for Bolton in a pounds 5.75million deal.

18 England's rain-affected one-day international with New Zealand was controversially abandoned just six balls short of the requirement for a result.

21 New Zealand completed a remarkable turnaround in the third one-day international at Bristol to come back from 49 for five on their way to a 22-run win which levelled the series at 1-1.

England's rugby union side lost the Second Test against New Zealand 44-12 in Christchurch.

22 Paul Ince became the first black Briton to take charge of a top-flight side in England when Blackburn confirmed he would succeed Mark Hughes on a three-year contract.

Ferrari's Felipe Massa won the French Grand Prix at Magny Cours with team-mate Kimi Raikkonen second and Toyota's Jarno Trulli (Toyota) third.

25 New Zealand claimed a dramatic last-ball one-wicket victory over England in the fourth NatWest Series one-day international at The Oval.

26 Kevin Pietersen was chosen to replace Paul Collingwood as England captain after the Durham player was banned for four games because of the team's slow over rate.

28 England lost the one-day series against New Zealand after a 51-run defeat at Lord's gave the tourists a 3-1 victory.

29 Liverpool striker Fernando Torres scored the only goal as Spain beat Germany 1-0 in the Euro 2008 final.

JULY

1 Blues reported back for pre-season training but Franck Queudrue got his dates mixed up and didn't show, nor did Olivier Kapo.

2 Andy Murray's Wimbledon came to an end as he was swept aside 6-3 6-2 6-4 by Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals.

4 Formula Onesupremo Bernie Ecclestone revealed the British Grand Prix would be staged at Donington Park from 2010 5 Venus Williams beat sister Serena 7-5 6-4 to win the Wimbledon women's singles title, while Britain's Laura Robson won the girls' singles title by beating Thailand's Noppawan Lertcheewakarn 6-3 3-6 6-1.

6 Lewis Hamilton cruised to victory at the British Grand Prix - becoming the first home winner since David Coulthard prevailed in 2000.

Rafael Nadal won his first Wimbledon men's singles title with an epic 6-4 6-4 6-7 (5/7) 6-7 (8/10) 9-7 victory over top seed Roger Federer.

9 Disappointment for Warwickshire as they were well beaten by Kent in the Twenty20 quarter-finals at Edgbaston.

Villa agreed a pounds 5million fee for Chelsea midfielder Steve Sidwell.

Kevin Phillips left Albion for Blues on a two-year contract.

12 Dwain Chambers won the 100 metres at the Aviva UK National Championships and Olympic trials in Birmingham.

13 Triple-jumper Phillips Idowu recorded a world's-best leap of 17.58metres on the final day of the championships in Birmingham.

14 England drew the First Test against South Africa at Lord's.

16 Blues' Olivier Kapo linked up with Steve Bruce at Wigan in a pounds 3.25million deal.

18 Dwain Chambers lost his bid to be allowed to compete at the Olympics after a High Court judge refused to grant an injunction to temporarily suspend a lifetime ban.

20 Padraig Harrington defended his Open title at Royal Birkdale after a one-under-par 69 saw him finish four strokes clear.

Lewis Hamilton fought back from fifth to win the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim and take a four-point lead in the World Championship.

21 England lost the Second Test against South Africa by 10 wickets at Headingley to go 1-0 down with two to play.

26 Villa completed the signing of Blackburn goalkeeper Brad Friedel. Villa also claimed a 1-0 win (3-2 on aggregate) win over Danish side Odense in the Intertoto Cup to book their place in the UEFA Cup qualifying round.

MiddlesexwontheTwenty20 Cup with a dramatic threerun victory over Kent at the Rose Bowl.

27 Spain's Carlos Sastre won the Tour de France.

30 Villa announced Gareth Barry would stay at the club after Liverpool failed to meet their deadline to sign him.

AUGUST

1 Kemy Agustien joined Blues on loan from AZ Alkmaar.

2 South Africa completed a five-wicket win in the Third Test at Edgbaston to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the four-match series.

3 Michael Vaughan stood down as England Test captain.

One-day skipper Paul Collingwood also quit.

McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen won the Hungarian Grand Prix, ahead of Timo Glock (Toyota) and Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari).

4 Kevin Pietersen was named England's new Test and one-day captain.

6 Quincy signed for Blues on loan from Spartak Moscow.

8 The Olympics started with an elaborate opening ceremony in Beijing.

Kevin Pietersen struck 100 in his debut innings as Test captain as England reached 316 all out - a lead of 122 - on day two of the Fourth Test against South Africa at The Oval.

9 American Michael Phelps set a new world record of 4:03.84 in the Olympic men's 400m individual medley final.

10 Padraig Harrington won the US PGA Championship by a stroke at Oakland Hills.

Cyclist Nicole Cooke took Great Britain's first gold of the Beijing Olympics in the women's road race.

Manchester United beat Portsmouth 3-1 on penalties to win the Community Shield at Wembley after a 0-0 draw.

11 Rebecca Adlington won the 400 metres freestyle.

England secured a six-wicket victory over South Africa in the final Test at The Oval.

12 Villa completed the pounds 7.8million signing of defender Carlos Cuellar from Rangers.

14 Villa won 4-1 against Icelandic outfit FH Hafnarfjordur in the UEFA Cup.

15 Chris Hoy, Jamie Staff and Jason Kenny won Olympic cycling gold for Great Britain in the men's team sprint having broken the world record in the heats.

Michael Phelps won his sixth gold medal of the Games in the men's 200m individual medley in a world-record time of 1min 54.23sec.

16 Great Britain won four gold medals - Rebecca Adlington's second in the pool, Bradley Wiggins and Chris Hoy in the track cycling and, in rowing, the men's coxless four.

Jamaican Usain Bolt set a new world record to win the 100m final, strolling home in 9.69sec, and American swimmer Michael Phelps took his gold haul to seven.

An unbeaten 70 from Grant Flower helped Essex beat Kent by five wickets in the Friends Provident Trophy final at Lord's.

17 Michael Phelps broke Mark Spitz's record of gold medals in an Olympic Games with his eighth in the men's 4x100m medley relay final in a world record time of 3:29.34.

Great Britain's crew of Sarah Ayton, Sarah Webb and Pippa Wilson won sailing gold in the Yngling class while Ben Ainslie took gold in the Finn class for the second consecutive Games.

GB's Zac Purchase and Mark Hunter won a gold medal in the lightweight men's double sculls while in cycling Rebecca Romero took gold in the women's individual pursuit.

18 Great Britain's men's pursuit team broke the world record in claiming gold.

19 On another golden day for Great Britain, Christine Ohuruogu won the 400m, Paul Goodison triumphed in the men's sailing Laser class and cyclist Victoria Pendleton was victorious in the sprint final.

Fellow cyclist Chris Hoy claimed his third gold of the Games in the men's sprint while Germaine Mason won silver in the high jump.

John Terry was confirmed as England captain.

20 Usain Bolt became the first man to win the sprint double since Carl Lewis in 1984 when he won the 200m in a new world record of 19.30sec.

Joe Cole scored an injury-time equaliser as England drew 2-2 with the Czech Republic at Wembley.

22 Great Britain's Tim Brabants won a gold medal in the men's K1 1,000m kayaking in Beijing.

England beat South Africa by 20 runs in the first one-day international at Headingley.

Usain Bolt won his third gold medal of the Olympics as Jamaica won the 4x100m relay final in a world record time of 37.10sec.

After days of 'will he, won't he', Albion finally complete the pounds 4.7million signing of Borja Valero - their record signing.

23 James DeGale won Great Britain's 19th gold, beating Cuban Emilio Correa in boxing's middleweight final.

24 Ferrari's Felipe Massa won the European Grand Prix in Valencia ahead of Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) and Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber).

26 Jordon Mutch, aged 16 and 268 days, became Blues' second youngest debutant with a substitute appearance at Southampton in the Carling Cup.

Stuart Broad took five for 23 as England won the second one-day international against South Africa at Trent Bridge by 10 wickets.

29 Villa confirmed the signing of James Milner from Newcastle on a four-year contract for around pounds 12million.

Manchester United lost 2-1 to Zenit St Petersburg in the UEFA Super Cup in Monaco.

England won the third one day international against South Africa by 126 runs at The Oval to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.

31 England won the fourth one-day international against South Africa at Lord's by seven wickets under the Duckworth/Lewis method.

SEPTEMBER

1 Manchester City signed Robinho from Real Madrid for a British record pounds 32million.

2 Worcestershire batsman Graeme Hick announced his retirement from county cricket.

3 Alan Curbishley resigned as West Ham manager.

The fifth one-day international between England and South Africa at Cardiff was abandoned due to heavy rain. England won the series 4-0.

4 Manager Kevin Keegan shocked Newcastle by resigning.

5 England Under-21s claimed a 2-0 victory Portugal at Wembley thanks to a first-half penalty from James Milner and a second-half strike from Gabriel Agbonlahor.

6 England struggled to an unimpressive 2-0 victory over Andorra in Barcelona in the opening match of their World Cup qualifying campaign.

7 McLaren's Lewis Hamilton won the Belgian Grand Prix only to later be demoted to third after officials handed out a 25-second penalty for an illegal move on Kimi Raikkonen two laps from the end.

8 Walsall swimmer Eleanor Simmonds, aged 13, won gold in the 100 metres freestyle at the Paralympics in Beijing.

Andy Murray lost his first grand slam final in straight sets to Roger Federer at the US Open .

10 Theo Walcott scored a hat-trick as England beat 10-man Croatia 4-1 in Zagreb in their World Cup qualifier.

Gianfranco Zola agreed a three-year deal to take over as manager of West Ham.

14 Eleanor Simmonds won her second gold at the Paralympics, this time in the 400 metres freestyle.

Murray Goodwin hit a six off the final ball as Sussex beat Nottinghamshire to win the NatWest Pro40 title.

19 Worcestershire sealed promotion from Division Two of the County Championship.

20 Warwickshire clinched championship promotion as Tony Frost's double century lifted them to victory over Essex at Chelmsford.

21 Great Britain lost their Davis Cup World Group playoff 3-2 to Austria.

Worcestershire ensured they would play in NatWest Pro40 Division One next year after beating Glamorgan by 103 runs in a play-off at Cardiff.

USA regained the Ryder Cup with a 16 1/2 -11 1/2 victory over Europe at Valhalla.

26 Newcastle named former Wimbledon boss Joe Kinnear as their interim manager.

27 Durham clinched the County Championship title.

Warwickshire took the Second Division title.

28 Former world champion Fernando Alonso came from 15th on the grid to win the Singapore Grand Prix.

Lee Westwood narrowly failed to defend his Quinn Insurance British Masters title at The Belfry, losing to Spain's Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano on the third play-off hole.

OCTOBER

11 Wayne Rooney scored twice as England recovered from a goalless first half against World Cup Qualifying Group Six minnows Kazakhstan, to win 5-1 at Wembley.

Wolves' Scotland debutant Chris Iwelumo missed a sitter against Norway at Hampden Park, where the hosts were held to a 0-0 draw.

12 Lewis Hamilton finished 12th in the Japanese Grand Prix, despite starting on pole, as Felipe Massa closed the gap in the Formula One drivers' championship to five points with two races remaining. Fernando Alonso won the grand prix.

15 Wayne Rooney scored twice after Steven Gerrard hit the opener as England beat Belarus 3-1 in their World Cup qualifier in Minsk.

17 Sachin Tendulkar became the leading run-scorer in Test cricket after reaching 16 in the Second Test against Australia in Mohali.

19 Lewis Hamilton ensured he would take a seven-point lead into the final grand prix of the season in Brazil after winning in China ahead of Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen.

Andy Murray clinched back-to-back Masters Series titles with a 6-4 7-6 (8/6) victory over Gilles Simon in Madrid.

21 Blues made their best ever start to a league season in club history after defeating Crystal Palace 1-0.

23 Villa beat Ajax 2-1 in the UEFA Cup.

24 QPR sacked manager Iain Dowie after 12 games in charge.

25 Tottenham sacked manager Juande Ramos, replacing him with Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp.

26 Andy Murray won his fifth title of the season as he easily defended his St Petersburg Open crown with a 6-1 6-1 win over Andrey Golubev.

27 Middlesex lost out on a $400,000 bounty after defeat to Trinidad and Tobago in the Stanford Super Series.

28 Tony Adams was named the new manager of Portsmouth.

England beat Trinidad and Tobago by one run in their final warm-up ahead of the Stanford Super Series showpiece against the Stanford Superstars.

30 AC Milan confirmed they had signed David Beckham on a two-month loan from Los Angeles Galaxy from January.

31 Birmingham's world amateur boxing champion Frankie Gavin announced he would turn professional in November.

NOVEMBER

2 Lewis Hamilton became the youngest world champion in Formula One history after the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Hamilton passed Timo Glock on the penultimate corner to claim fifth spot and win the championship by one point from race winner Felipe Massa.

England lost their $20 million Twenty20 clash against the Stanford Superstars by 10 wickets.

England were thrashed 52-4 by Australia in the Rugby League World Cup.

3 Nicky Hunt made his Blues debut after joining from Bolton Wanderers on loan.

Watford parted company with manager Adrian Boothroyd.

5 Villa were 1-0 winners at Slavia Prague in the UEFA Cup.

9 Joe Calzaghe made it 46 fights without defeat with a unanimous points victory over Roy Jones Jr in New York.

14 India hammered England by 158 runs in the first one-day international in Rajkot.

15 Andy Murray lost 7-5 6-2 to Russia's Nikolay Davydenko in the Masters Cup semi-final in Shanghai.

17 England lost the second one-day international against India in Indore by 54 runs to trail 2-0 in the series.

19 John Terry's late winner handed England a deserved 2-1 friendly victory over Germany in Berlin.

Matthew Upson had put Fabio Capello's side ahead.

20 India beat England by 16 runs under the Duckworth-Lewis method in Kanpur to take a 3-0 lead in the seven match one-day series.

21 Darren Maddy resigned as Warwickshire captain.

Ian Westwood took over.

Nigel Quashie made his Blues debut after signing on loan from West Ham United.

22 Alan Pardew left his job as Charlton manager by mutual consent.

England were beaten 42-6 by South Africa at Twickenham.

New Zealand sprang a shock when they beat Australia 34-20 to claim the Rugby League World Cup.

23 England went 4-0 down in the seven-match ODI series, suffering their latest defeat by the Duckworth-Lewis method in Bangalore.

Ricky Hatton continued his unbeaten run at light-welterweight by outclassing Paulie Malignaggi with an 11th-round stoppage at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

26 England lost the fifth one-day international to India by six wickets in Cuttack to trail 5-0 in the series.

27 Alex McLeish celebrated his first anniversary in charge of Blues.

England's remaining two one-day internationals in India were postponed following the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, and it was later announced the squad would fly home on November 30 before returning for the Test series in December.

The inaugural Champions League Twenty20 was also postponed until early 2009, because an alternative venue to Mumbai could not be organised at such short notice.

28 Blues agreed a pounds 300,000 initial fee for the transfer of St Patrick's Athletic star Keith Fahey.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India confirmed the Test match between England and the hosts scheduled to take place in Mumbai had been moved to Chennai.

29 Blues and Wolves were level at 1-1 in the big top-of-the-table Championship clash.

England completed an unhappy Tri-Nations hat-trick with a 32-6 defeat to New Zealand, which followed losses to Australia and South Africa in previous weeks.

DECEMBER

4 Roy Keane resigned as manager of Sunderland after 27 months in charge at the Stadium of Light.

The England and Wales Cricket Board confirmed an England squad would fly to Abu Dhabi before resuming their Test tour of India. The ECB also confirmed the West Indies would tour England next summer in place of Sri Lanka.

In the UEFA Cup, Villa progressed to the last 32 despite losing 2-1 to Slovakians MSK Zilina.

The Madrid hospital at which he was being treated confirmed Seve Ballesteros had left intensive care following his fourth brain operation.

5 Honda confirmed they would pull out of Formula One unless a buyer could be found by the end of the month.

7 The ECB announced England were to travel to India for their two-Test series after the Mumbai terrorist attacks, and would take a full strength squad.

Manny Pacquiao beat Oscar de la Hoya by technical knockout after the Mexican failed to come out from his corner for the ninth round of their welterweight bout in Las Vegas.

11 Corey Pavin was confirmed as America's Ryder Cup captain for their defence of the trophy at Celtic Manor in Wales in 2010.

14 Triple Olympic cycling champion Chris Hoy was named BBC Sports Personality of the Year, with Lewis Hamilton second and Rebecca Adlington third. Paralympian Eleanor Simmonds won the Young Sports Personality of the Year award.

15 England lost the First Test against India in Chennai by six wickets.

16 Blackburn sacked manager Paul Ince after only three wins in 17 games left the club second-bottom in the Premier League.

17 Sam Allardyce was appointed Blackburn boss.

19 Villa were drawn against CSKA Moscow in the last 32 of the UEFA Cup.

20 Villa moved third in the Premier League after an own goal earned them a 1-0 win at West Ham.

Reading went two points clear of Blues in second place with a 3-1 win at St Andrew's. It was the first time Blues had slipped out of the Championship top two since mid-September.

21 South Africa debutant JP Duminy hit the winning runs as the Proteas chased down the second highest total in Test history - 414 for four - to beat Australia in Perth.

Manchester United won the Club World Cup, beating Ecuador's LDU Quito 1-0 in the final in Japan, with Wayne Rooney grabbing the winner.

Leeds sacked manager Gary McAllister.

22 Shaun Murphy won snooker's Maplin UK Championship in Telford with a 10-9 final victory over Marco Fu.

23 England lost the Test series against India 1-0 after the Second Test in Mohali ended in a draw.

Simon Grayson was appointed as the new manager of Leeds.

26 Championship club Nottingham Forest terminated the contract of manager Paul Calderwood after a 4-2 home defeat by Doncaster.

Kauto Star, trained by Paul Nicholls and ridden by Ruby Walsh, won the Stan James King George VI Chase at Kempton. Kauto Star became only the second horse after Desert Orchid to win the Christmas showpiece three years in succession.

27 Sunderland appointed Ricky Sbragia as manager on an 18-month contract.

28 Albion ended the year on a high.

Having been well adrift in mid-December, Tony Mowbray's men climbed off the bottom, albeit for three hours, following their 2-0 win against Tottenham. Blues were held 0-0 by Swansea at St Andrew's.

29 Wolves ensured they would take a seven-point lead at the top of the Championship into the New Year following a 2-2 draw at Blackpool.

Derby manager Paul Jewell resigned after 13 months in charge at Pride Park. Chris Hutchings was put in caretaker charge.

South Africa won the Second Test in Melbourne by nine wickets to become the first touring team in 16 years to post a series victory in Australia.

30 Villa finished 2008 on a high when they beat Hull 1-0 with a Kamil Zayatte own-goal in the 88th minute to jump above Arsenal into fourth place in the Premier League. There was late drama when the referee awarded Hull a stoppage-time penalty then changed his decision.

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