 | |
| Season | 2004–05 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 14 August 2004 – 15 May 2005 |
| Champions | Chelsea 1st Premier League title 2ndEnglish title |
| Relegated | Crystal Palace Norwich City Southampton |
| Champions League | Chelsea Arsenal Manchester United Everton Liverpool (asChampions League winners) |
| UEFA Cup | Bolton Wanderers Middlesbrough |
| Intertoto Cup | Newcastle United |
| Matches | 380 |
| Goals | 975 (2.57 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Thierry Henry (25 goals) |
| Best goalkeeper | Petr Čech (24 clean sheets) |
| Biggest home win | Arsenal 7–0 Everton (11 May 2005) |
| Biggest away win | West Bromwich Albion 0–5 Liverpool (26 December 2004) |
| Highest scoring | Tottenham Hotspur 4–5 Arsenal (13 November 2004) |
| Longest winning run | 8 games[1] Chelsea |
| Longest unbeaten run | 29 games[1] Chelsea |
| Longest winless run | 15 games[1] West Bromwich Albion |
| Longest losing run | 6 games[1] Bolton Wanderers Tottenham Hotspur |
| Highest attendance | 67,989 Manchester United 2–1Portsmouth (26 February 2005) |
| Lowest attendance | 16,180 Fulham 1–0 West Bromwich Albion (16 January 2005) |
| Total attendance | 12,882,140 |
| Average attendance | 33,900 |
2005–06 → | |
The2004–05 FA Premier League (known as theFABarclays Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the 13th season of thePremier League. It began on 14 August 2004 and ended on 15 May 2005.Arsenal were the defending champions after goingunbeaten the previous season.Chelsea won the title with a then record 95 points, which was previously set byManchester United in the1993–94 season, and later surpassed byManchester City in the2017–18 season (100), securing the title with a 2–0 win at theReebok Stadium againstBolton Wanderers. Chelsea also broke a number of other records during their campaign, most notably breaking the record of most games won in a single Premier League campaign, securing 29 wins in the league in home and away matches, which was later surpassed by themselves in the2016–17 season.
Arsenal were the favourites to defend their title after finishing theprevious season unbeaten, but they also faced competition in the form of regular challengers Manchester United and Chelsea, the latter under the new management of PortugueseJosé Mourinho, who had just won theUEFA Champions League withPorto. Liverpool also had a new manager in SpaniardRafael Benítez, who had just wonLa Liga and theUEFA Cup withValencia and were expected to challenge for the title too. Another managerial change at a club aiming for the top was at Tottenham Hotspur, who appointedJacques Santini, who had just ledFrance to the quarter-finals ofthe 2004 European Championship.
At the other end of the table, amongst those tipped for relegation were Norwich City, Crystal Palace and West Bromwich Albion, having all just been promoted from the First Division (rebranded this season as the Championship). Everton, Manchester City, Blackburn Rovers and Portsmouth were also tipped to struggle, the first three finishing just outside the relegation places the previous season and Portsmouth being in their second season.
Arsenal's record-breaking unbeaten streak of 49 games ended on 24 October 2004, when Manchester Unitedbeat them 2–0 atOld Trafford.
For the first time since the advent of the Premier League in 1992, no team was relegated before the final day of the season. In each of the last three weekends of the season, the team that was bottom of the table at the start of the weekend finished it outside the drop zone. The final round of the season began withWest Bromwich Albion at the bottom,Southampton andCrystal Palace one point ahead andNorwich City a further point ahead, in the last safe spot. West Brom, who had been bottom of the table and eight points from safety on Christmas Day, did their part by beatingPortsmouth 2–0. Norwich, the only side to have their fate completely in their own hands, lost 6–0 toFulham and went down. Southampton took the lead againstManchester United within 10 minutes through aJohn O'Shea own goal, but ultimately lost the match 2–1 and were also relegated. Crystal Palace, away toCharlton Athletic, were leading 2–1 after 71 minutes, but with eight minutes to go,Jonathan Fortune equalised for Charlton to send their South East London rivals down. Had Palace won they would have stayed up; instead they became the first team to be relegated from the Premier League four times. As a result, West Brom stayed up, becoming the first club in Premier League history to avoid relegation after being bottom of the table at Christmas.
As all four matches ended, cameras focused on West Brom's home ground,The Hawthorns, as confirmation of other results began to filter through. Once the realisation dawned on the players and fans that survival had been achieved, a masspitch invasion was sparked, with huge celebrations. The Portsmouth fans joined in the celebrations as, through losing, they had "helped" relegate arch-rivals Southampton.
Twenty teams competed in the league – the top seventeen teams from the previous season and the three teams promoted from theFirst Division. The promoted teams wereNorwich City,West Bromwich Albion andCrystal Palace, returning to the top flight after an absence of nine, one and six years respectively. The promoted teams replacedLeicester City,Leeds United andWolverhampton Wanderers, who were relegated to the newly brandedChampionship. Leicester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers were both relegated after a season's presence while Leeds United ended their top flight spell of fourteen years.
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenal | London(Highbury) | Arsenal Stadium | 38,419 |
| Aston Villa | Birmingham(Aston) | Villa Park | 42,553 |
| Birmingham City | Birmingham(Bordesley) | St Andrew's | 30,079 |
| Blackburn Rovers | Blackburn | Ewood Park | 31,367 |
| Bolton Wanderers | Bolton | Reebok Stadium | 28,723 |
| Charlton Athletic | London(Charlton) | The Valley | 27,111 |
| Chelsea | London(Fulham) | Stamford Bridge | 42,360 |
| Crystal Palace | London(Selhurst) | Selhurst Park | 25,073 |
| Everton | Liverpool(Walton) | Goodison Park | 40,569 |
| Fulham | London(Fulham) | Craven Cottage[a] | 24,600 |
| Liverpool | Liverpool(Anfield) | Anfield | 45,276 |
| Manchester City | Manchester(Bradford) | City of Manchester Stadium | 48,000 |
| Manchester United | Manchester(Old Trafford) | Old Trafford | 68,217 |
| Middlesbrough | Middlesbrough | Riverside Stadium | 35,049 |
| Newcastle United | Newcastle upon Tyne | St James' Park | 52,387 |
| Norwich City | Norwich | Carrow Road | 27,010 |
| Portsmouth | Portsmouth | Fratton Park | 20,220 |
| Southampton | Southampton | St Mary's Stadium | 32,505 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | London(Tottenham) | White Hart Lane | 36,240 |
| West Bromwich Albion | West Bromwich | The Hawthorns | 26,484 |
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liverpool |  Gérard Houllier | Mutual consent | 24 May 2004[2] | Pre-season |  Rafael Benítez | 16 June 2004[3] |
| Chelsea |  Claudio Ranieri | Sacked | 31 May 2004 |  José Mourinho | 2 June 2004[4] | |
| Tottenham Hotspur |  David Pleat (caretaker) | End of caretaker spell | 1 June 2004 | Jacques Santini | 3 June 2004[5] | |
| Southampton |  Paul Sturrock | Mutual consent | 23 August 2004[6] | 10th | Steve Wigley | 23 August 2004 |
| Newcastle United | Sir Bobby Robson | Sacked | 30 August 2004[7] | 17th | Graeme Souness | 6 September 2004[8] |
| Blackburn Rovers | Graeme Souness | Signed byNewcastle United | 6 September 2004[8] | 19th |  Mark Hughes | 16 September 2004[9] |
| West Bromwich Albion | Gary Megson | Sacked | 26 October 2004[10] | 16th | Bryan Robson | 9 November 2004[11] |
| Tottenham Hotspur | Jacques Santini | Resigned | 5 November 2004 | 11th |  Martin Jol | 8 November 2004[12] |
| Portsmouth | Harry Redknapp | 24 November 2004[13] | 12th |  Velimir Zajec | 21 December 2004[14] | |
| Southampton | Steve Wigley | Sacked | 8 December 2004 | 18th | Harry Redknapp | 21 December 2004[15] |
| Manchester City | Kevin Keegan | Resigned | 11 March 2005[16] | 12th | Stuart Pearce (caretaker) | 11 March 2005 |
| Portsmouth | Velimir Zajec | Returned to director of football position | 7 April 2005 | 16th | Alain Perrin | 7 April 2005[17] |
| Manchester City | Stuart Pearce (caretaker) | End of caretaker period | 12 May 2005[18] | 8th | Stuart Pearce | 12 May 2005 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelsea(C) | 38 | 29 | 8 | 1 | 72 | 15 | +57 | 95 | Qualification for theChampions League group stage |
| 2 | Arsenal | 38 | 25 | 8 | 5 | 87 | 36 | +51 | 83 | |
| 3 | Manchester United | 38 | 22 | 11 | 5 | 58 | 26 | +32 | 77 | Qualification for theChampions League third qualifying round |
| 4 | Everton | 38 | 18 | 7 | 13 | 45 | 46 | −1 | 61 | |
| 5 | Liverpool | 38 | 17 | 7 | 14 | 52 | 41 | +11 | 58 | Qualification for theChampions League first qualifying round[a] |
| 6 | Bolton Wanderers | 38 | 16 | 10 | 12 | 49 | 44 | +5 | 58 | Qualification for theUEFA Cup first round[b] |
| 7 | Middlesbrough | 38 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 53 | 46 | +7 | 55 | |
| 8 | Manchester City | 38 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 47 | 39 | +8 | 52 | |
| 9 | Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 47 | 41 | +6 | 52 | |
| 10 | Aston Villa | 38 | 12 | 11 | 15 | 45 | 52 | −7 | 47 | |
| 11 | Charlton Athletic | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 42 | 58 | −16 | 46 | |
| 12 | Birmingham City | 38 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 40 | 46 | −6 | 45 | |
| 13 | Fulham | 38 | 12 | 8 | 18 | 52 | 60 | −8 | 44 | |
| 14 | Newcastle United | 38 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 47 | 57 | −10 | 44 | Qualification for theIntertoto Cup third round |
| 15 | Blackburn Rovers | 38 | 9 | 15 | 14 | 32 | 43 | −11 | 42 | |
| 16 | Portsmouth | 38 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 43 | 59 | −16 | 39 | |
| 17 | West Bromwich Albion | 38 | 6 | 16 | 16 | 36 | 61 | −25 | 34 | |
| 18 | Crystal Palace(R) | 38 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 41 | 62 | −21 | 33 | Relegation to theFootball League Championship |
| 19 | Norwich City(R) | 38 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 42 | 77 | −35 | 33 | |
| 20 | Southampton(R) | 38 | 6 | 14 | 18 | 45 | 66 | −21 | 32 |
| Home \ Away | ARS | AVL | BIR | BLB | BOL | CHA | CHE | CRY | EVE | FUL | LIV | MCI | MUN | MID | NEW | NOR | POR | SOU | TOT | WBA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenal | 3–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 5–1 | 7–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–4 | 5–3 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | |
| Aston Villa | 1–3 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 4–2 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | |
| Birmingham City | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | |
| Blackburn Rovers | 0–1 | 2–2 | 3–3 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | |
| Bolton Wanderers | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | |
| Charlton Athletic | 1–3 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–4 | |
| Chelsea | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | |
| Crystal Palace | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 3–3 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 3–0 | |
| Everton | 1–4 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | |
| Fulham | 0–3 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–4 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–4 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 6–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | |
| Liverpool | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | |
| Manchester City | 0–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | |
| Manchester United | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 5–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | |
| Middlesbrough | 0–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 4–0 | |
| Newcastle United | 0–1 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 1–0 | 4–3 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 | |
| Norwich City | 1–4 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 4–4 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 3–2 | |
| Portsmouth | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 4–3 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 3–2 | |
| Southampton | 1–1 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 4–3 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 4–5 | 5–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 5–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 5–1 | 1–1 | |
| West Bromwich Albion | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–4 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–5 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 |
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thierry Henry | Arsenal | 25 |
| 2 | Andy Johnson | Crystal Palace | 21 |
| 3 | Robert Pires | Arsenal | 14 |
| 4 | Jermain Defoe | Tottenham Hotspur | 13 |
| Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink | Middlesbrough | 13 | |
| Frank Lampard | Chelsea | 13 | |
 Yakubu | Portsmouth | 13 | |
| 8 | Andy Cole | Fulham | 12 |
| Peter Crouch | Southampton | 12 | |
 Eiður Guðjohnsen | Chelsea | 12 |
| Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month |
|---|---|---|
| August | Arsène Wenger (Arsenal) | José Antonio Reyes (Arsenal) |
| September | David Moyes (Everton) | Ledley King (Tottenham Hotspur) |
| October | Harry Redknapp (Portsmouth) | Andy Johnson (Crystal Palace) |
| November | José Mourinho (Chelsea) | Arjen Robben (Chelsea) |
| December | Martin Jol (Tottenham Hotspur) | Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) |
| January | José Mourinho (Chelsea) | John Terry (Chelsea) |
| February | Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United) | Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) |
| March | Harry Redknapp (Southampton) | Joe Cole (Chelsea) |
| April | Stuart Pearce (Manchester City) | Frank Lampard (Chelsea) |
The PFA Player's Player of the year award was won by Chelsea captainJohn Terry.
The shortlist for the PFA Players' Player of the Year award, in alphabetical order, was as follows:[21]
Manchester United strikerWayne Rooney was the recipient for this award.
Chelsea midfielderFrank Lampard won this award for the first time.
Goalkeeper –Petr Čech
Defenders –Gary Neville,John Terry,Rio Ferdinand,Ashley Cole
Midfielders –Shaun Wright-Phillips,Frank Lampard,Steven Gerrard,Arjen Robben
Strikers –Thierry Henry,Andy Johnson
Chelsea midfielderFrank Lampard won this award.
Chelsea's midfielderFrank Lampard won thePremier League Player of the Season award.
Arsenal and French strikerThierry Henry won thePremier League Golden Boot award for the third time in his career with 25 goals.
Chelsea goalkeeperPetr Čech won thePremier League Golden Glove, for 25 clean sheets, in his debut season as he set a remarkable record of 10 consecutive clean sheets, as Chelsea won the title.
José Mourinho was awarded thePremier League Manager of the Season award after he led Chelsea to their first Premier League title, second Top division title in their history.[22][23] During his first season at the club, Chelsea won the Premier League title (their first league title in 50 years) and the League Cup. The season was also notable for the number of records set during the season: Fewest goals against in a Premier League season (15), most clean sheets kept in a season (25), most wins in a season (29), most consecutive away wins (9) and the most points in a season (95).
The Premier League Fair Play Award is merit given to the team who has been the most sporting and best behaved team. Arsenal won the award for the second year in a row, ahead of Tottenham.[24] The least sporting side for 2004–05 was Blackburn Rovers, who achieved a significantly lower fair play score than any other side.[25]
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