 | |
| Season | 2005–06 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 13 August 2005 – 7 May 2006 |
| Champions | Chelsea 2nd Premier League title 3rdEnglish title |
| Relegated | Birmingham City West Bromwich Albion Sunderland |
| Champions League | Chelsea Manchester United Liverpool Arsenal |
| UEFA Cup | Tottenham Hotspur Blackburn Rovers West Ham United |
| Intertoto Cup | Newcastle United |
| Matches played | 380 |
| Goals scored | 944 (2.48 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Thierry Henry (27 goals) |
| Best goalkeeper | Pepe Reina (20 clean sheets) |
| Biggest home win | Arsenal 7–0Middlesbrough (14 January 2006) |
| Biggest away win | Everton 0–4Bolton Wanderers (17 December 2005) Middlesbrough 0–4Aston Villa (4 February 2006) Fulham 0–4 Arsenal (4 March 2006) |
| Highest scoring | Charlton Athletic 2–5Manchester City (4 December 2005) Wigan Athletic 4–3 Manchester City (26 December 2005) Arsenal 7–0Middlesbrough (14 January 2006) Blackburn Rovers 4–3 Manchester United (1 February 2006) Fulham 6–1 West Bromwich Albion (11 February 2006) Middlesbrough 4–3 Bolton Wanderers (26 March 2006) |
| Longest winning run | 10 games[1] Chelsea Liverpool |
| Longest unbeaten run | 13 games[1] Chelsea |
| Longest winless run | 14 games[1] Sunderland |
| Longest losing run | 9 games[1] Sunderland |
| Highest attendance | 73,006 Manchester United 4–0 Charlton Athletic (7 May 2006) |
| Lowest attendance | 16,550 Fulham 0–0 Birmingham City (13 August 2005) |
| Total attendance | 12,876,213 |
| Average attendance | 33,885 |
2006–07 → | |
The2005–06 FA Premier League (known as theFABarclays Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the 14th season of thePremier League. It began on 13 August 2005, and concluded on 7 May 2006. The season sawChelsea retain their title after defeatingManchester United 3–0 atStamford Bridge towards the end of April. On the same day,West Bromwich Albion andBirmingham City were relegated, joiningSunderland inthe Championship for the following season. Chelsea drew the record they setthe previous season, with 29 wins in home and away campaigns.[2][3]
Several clubs reported disappointing attendances and/or trouble selling out their grounds for the opening weeks' matches. Many have argued that this was due mainly to the comparatively early season start and theAshes Testcricket series which caught the nation's imagination and which England went on to win. Other possible reasons are continued escalation of ticket prices and the increasing number of games shown on television (which has had the knock on effect of greater variation in kick-off times). The overall decline in attendances for the season was only around 2%, but that figure is reduced by the fact that bigger clubs were promoted into the Premiership than were relegated and several clubs have suffered larger falls.[citation needed]
For the second time in two seasons, José Mourinho's Chelsea triumphed in the Premier League, with a home win over closest rivals Manchester United confirming them as champions after a record setting albeit tense season.[citation needed]
Chelsea's early season form with 14 wins out of 16 gave the champions an unequivocal head start. With Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool falling way short of their expectations before Christmas, Chelsea had effectively become champions-elect by early 2006. However, a sudden collapse in form by mid-March caused their seemingly unassailable lead of 16 points to be cut to just 7 in two months due to the impressive late run of form of Manchester United, who went on a nine-match winning streak scoring over 20 goals. However, a shock home draw with bottom of the table Sunderland at Old Trafford killed United's title hopes. The momentum was back with Chelsea who didn't need a second bite at the apple with wins over Bolton, Everton and finally Manchester United giving the west Londoners their second successive championship under Mourinho.[2][3]
The top two clubs at the end of the season earned the right to participate in theUEFA Champions League group stages, while the third- and fourth-placed clubs get places in the Champions League Third Qualifying Round (where they progress to the Champions League group stages if they win or the UEFA Cup if they lose). However, if an English team wins the Champions League, but finishes outside the top four, then they get the final Champions League spot instead of the fourth-placed club, who have to settle for a place in theUEFA Cup. This could have been the case with Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, but Arsenal pipped Spurs to fourth place in the final matchday of the season before losing 2–1 toFC Barcelona in the final of the UEFA Champions League.[4]
The fifth-placed club always earns a spot in the UEFA Cup. The winners of theFA Cup also earn a place in the UEFA Cup. If they have already qualified for European competition by their league position or winning theLeague Cup, then the FA Cup runners-up get their place. If the runners-up, too, have already qualified, then the highest league finisher who have not already qualified for Europe (normally sixth place) are given the place. This season, the FA Cup final featured Liverpool and West Ham. Since Liverpool finished third they were assured of a spot in the Champions League qualifying round, which in turn meant that West Ham received the cup winner's UEFA Cup place.[citation needed]
The League Cup winners also qualify for the UEFA Cup. If they have already qualified for European competition through other means then their place is, unlike the FA Cup, not awarded to the runner-up, but instead the highest league finisher who has not qualified for Europe. League Cup winners Manchester United finished second, placing them directly into the Champions League group stage. This meant that the sixth-placed club, Blackburn Rovers, qualified for the UEFA Cup. The team directly after the UEFA Cup places, goes into theUEFA Intertoto Cup which means in turn, if the team – Newcastle United this season – wins a 2-legged match means they earn a place in the qualifying round of the UEFA Cup.[citation needed]
2005-06 also saw the final action of two of the most successful players in English football,Alan Shearer (last played forNewcastle United) andDennis Bergkamp (last played forArsenal).
Twenty teams competed in the league – the top seventeen teams from the previous season and the three teams promoted from theChampionship. The promoted teams wereSunderland,Wigan Athletic andWest Ham United. Sunderland and West Ham United returned to the top flight after absences of two years, while Wigan Athletic played in the top flight for the first time in history. They replacedCrystal Palace,Norwich City (both teams relegated to theChampionship after a season's presence) andSouthampton (ending their top flight spell of twenty-seven years).[citation needed]
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenal | London(Highbury) | Arsenal Stadium[a] | 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 |
| Everton | Liverpool(Walton) | Goodison Park | 40,569 |
| Fulham | London(Fulham) | Craven Cottage | 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 |
| Portsmouth | Portsmouth | Fratton Park | 20,220 |
| Sunderland | Sunderland | Stadium of Light | 49,000 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | London(Tottenham) | White Hart Lane | 36,240 |
| West Bromwich Albion | West Bromwich | The Hawthorns | 26,484 |
| West Ham United | London(Upton Park) | Boleyn Ground | 35,146 |
| Wigan Athletic | Wigan | JJB Stadium | 25,138 |
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portsmouth |  Alain Perrin | Sacked | 24 November 2005[7] | 17th |  Harry Redknapp | 2 December 2005 |
| Newcastle United |  Graeme Souness | 2 February 2006[8] | 15th | Glenn Roeder (caretaker) | 2 February 2006 | |
| Sunderland |  Mick McCarthy | 6 March 2006[9] | 20th | Kevin Ball (caretaker) | 7 March 2006 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelsea(C) | 38 | 29 | 4 | 5 | 72 | 22 | +50 | 91 | Qualification for theChampions League group stage |
| 2 | Manchester United | 38 | 25 | 8 | 5 | 72 | 34 | +38 | 83 | |
| 3 | Liverpool | 38 | 25 | 7 | 6 | 57 | 25 | +32 | 82 | Qualification for theChampions League third qualifying round |
| 4 | Arsenal | 38 | 20 | 7 | 11 | 68 | 31 | +37 | 67 | |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | 18 | 11 | 9 | 53 | 38 | +15 | 65 | Qualification for theUEFA Cup first round[a] |
| 6 | Blackburn Rovers | 38 | 19 | 6 | 13 | 51 | 42 | +9 | 63 | |
| 7 | Newcastle United | 38 | 17 | 7 | 14 | 47 | 42 | +5 | 58 | Qualification for theIntertoto Cup third round |
| 8 | Bolton Wanderers | 38 | 15 | 11 | 12 | 49 | 41 | +8 | 56 | |
| 9 | West Ham United | 38 | 16 | 7 | 15 | 52 | 55 | −3 | 55 | Qualification for theUEFA Cup first round[b] |
| 10 | Wigan Athletic | 38 | 15 | 6 | 17 | 45 | 52 | −7 | 51 | |
| 11 | Everton | 38 | 14 | 8 | 16 | 34 | 49 | −15 | 50 | |
| 12 | Fulham | 38 | 14 | 6 | 18 | 48 | 58 | −10 | 48 | |
| 13 | Charlton Athletic | 38 | 13 | 8 | 17 | 41 | 55 | −14 | 47 | |
| 14 | Middlesbrough | 38 | 12 | 9 | 17 | 48 | 58 | −10 | 45 | |
| 15 | Manchester City | 38 | 13 | 4 | 21 | 43 | 48 | −5 | 43 | |
| 16 | Aston Villa | 38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 42 | 55 | −13 | 42 | |
| 17 | Portsmouth | 38 | 10 | 8 | 20 | 37 | 62 | −25 | 38 | |
| 18 | Birmingham City(R) | 38 | 8 | 10 | 20 | 28 | 50 | −22 | 34 | Relegation to theFootball League Championship |
| 19 | West Bromwich Albion(R) | 38 | 7 | 9 | 22 | 31 | 58 | −27 | 30 | |
| 20 | Sunderland(R) | 38 | 3 | 6 | 29 | 26 | 69 | −43 | 15 |
| Home \ Away | ARS | AVL | BIR | BLB | BOL | CHA | CHE | EVE | FUL | LIV | MCI | MUN | MID | NEW | POR | SUN | TOT | WBA | WHU | WIG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenal | 5–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 7–0 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–3 | 4–2 | |
| Aston Villa | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–2 | |
| Birmingham City | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 5–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | |
| Blackburn Rovers | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 4–3 | 3–2 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | |
| Bolton Wanderers | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 1–1 | |
| Charlton Athletic | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–5 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | |
| Chelsea | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 4–2 | 5–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 4–1 | 1–0 | |
| Everton | 1–0 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–4 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | |
| Fulham | 0–4 | 3–3 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 6–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | |
| Liverpool | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–4 | 3–1 | 5–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | |
| Manchester City | 1–3 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | |
| Manchester United | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 4–1 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 4–0 | |
| Middlesbrough | 2–1 | 0–4 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 4–3 | 0–3 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–3 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 2–3 | |
| Newcastle United | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | |
| Portsmouth | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | |
| Sunderland | 0–3 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 1–4 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | |
| West Bromwich Albion | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | |
| West Ham United | 0–0 | 4–0 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–4 | 2–4 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | |
| Wigan Athletic | 2–3 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 4–3 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 |
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thierry Henry | Arsenal | 27 |
| 2 |  Ruud van Nistelrooy | Manchester United | 21 |
| 3 | Darren Bent | Charlton Athletic | 18 |
| 4 | Robbie Keane | Tottenham Hotspur | 16 |
| Frank Lampard | Chelsea | 16 | |
| Wayne Rooney | Manchester United | 16 | |
| 7 | Marlon Harewood | West Ham United | 14 |
| 8 |  Craig Bellamy | Blackburn Rovers | 13 |
 Yakubu | Middlesbrough | 13 | |
| 10 |  Henri Camara | Wigan Athletic | 12 |
 Didier Drogba | Chelsea | 12 |
| Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month |
|---|---|---|
| August | Stuart Pearce (Manchester City) | Darren Bent (Charlton Athletic) |
| September | Paul Jewell (Wigan Athletic) | Danny Murphy (Charlton Athletic) |
| October | Paul Jewell (Wigan Athletic) | Frank Lampard (Chelsea) |
| November | Rafael Benítez (Liverpool) | Robin van Persie (Arsenal) |
| December | Rafael Benítez (Liverpool) | Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) |
| January | David Moyes (Everton) | Anton Ferdinand (West Ham United) |
| February | Alan Pardew (West Ham United) | Kevin Nolan (Bolton Wanderers) |
| March | Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United) | Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) |
| April | Harry Redknapp (Portsmouth) | Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) |
ThePFA Players' Player of the Year award for 2006 was won bySteven Gerrard.[10]
The shortlist for the PFA Players' Player of the Year award was as follows:
ThePFA Young Player of the Year award was won byWayne Rooney.[11]
The shortlist for the award was as follows:
| PFA Team of the Year |
Goalkeeper:Shay Given (Newcastle United)
Defence:Pascal Chimbonda (Wigan Athletic),Jamie Carragher (Liverpool),John Terry,William Gallas (both Chelsea)
Midfield:Steven Gerrard (Liverpool),Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United),Frank Lampard (Chelsea),Joe Cole (Chelsea)
Attack:Thierry Henry (Arsenal),Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)
Wayne Rooney, was named thePFA Fans' Player of the Year for 2006.
TheFWA Footballer of the Year award for 2006 was won byThierry Henry for a record third time. No other player has won the accolade on as many occasions as the Arsenal player in the award's long history.[12]
Arsenal'sThierry Henry[13][14] won thePremier League Player of the Season award for the second time.[citation needed]
José Mourinho was awarded thePremier League Manager of the Season award after he led Chelsea to their second premier league title in two years, their third league title in their history. This title was also his second time of winning the award in as many seasons.[citation needed]
Thierry Henry was named the winner of thePremier League Golden Boot award. The Arsenal striker scored 27 goals in the league and was presented with the award at Arsenal's last game at Highbury.[15][16]
Liverpool goalkeeperPepe Reina won thePremier League Golden Glove award for the first time. He achieved clean sheets in 20 Premier League games.[17]
The Premier League Fair Play League was won by Charlton Athletic, ahead of fellow London team Arsenal. The least sporting side was Blackburn Rovers.[18]
