Manchester United regain the league title for the first time in four years, overcoming a stiff challenge from defending champions Chelsea to be crowned Premier League victors for the 9th time in 16 seasons
The number of divisions at Level 8 of theEnglish football league system increased from four to five. Level 9 decreased from fifteen divisions to fourteen.
Following promotion from theChampionship,Reading played in thePremiership and the "top flight" of English football for the first time in their 135-year history and won their first game, coming back from 0–2 down to beatMiddlesbrough 3–2.[4] They went on to finish 8th.
Accrington Stanley (the third, present version) played in theFootball League for the first time.[5] The previous club of the same name dissolved with massive debts and in 1962 became the first club to leave the Football League mid-season.[5]
Oxford United played in theConference National after being relegated from the Football League.[6] They are the first former winners of a major trophy to play at this level, having won theLeague Cup in 1986.[7]
31 August 2006 –Chelsea are fined £40,000 by The FA for breaching doping regulations.[22]
31 August 2006: August ends with last season's runners-upManchester United top of the Premiership with three wins out of three.Portsmouth,Aston Villa,Everton,Chelsea,West Ham United andLiverpool complete the top seven.Watford,Sheffield United andBlackburn Rovers prop up the table with one point each from their opening three matches, withArsenal only above the relegation zone on goal difference. Cardiff City lead the Championship, with Norwich City, Crystal Palace, Birmingham City and Wolverhampton Wanderers all three points behind the Welsh club and Burnley completing the top six, ahead of Plymouth Argyle and West Bromwich Albion on goal difference. Sunderland, despite playing in a lower division, have failed to turn around their poor form from the previous season and stand in the Championship drop zone, sandwiched by Colchester United and Hull City. Nottingham Forest lead the way in League One, with Port Vale second. Bradford, Tranmere, Brentford and Cheltenham Town completing the top six. Rotherham, only bottom after a 10 point deduction for due to entering a Company Voluntary Agreement, Scunthorpe United and Northampton Town sandwiching Millwall,failing to turn around their fortunes after relegation last season. Swindon Town, Walsall and Milton Keynes Dons lie in the automatic promotion places, with Peterborough and Lincoln a point behind. Wycombe and Wrecham complete the play-off places. Macclesfield and Rochdale in the drop zone.
30 September 2006 – September ends with reigning champions Chelsea top of the Premiership. Bolton Wanderers are keeping up their push for a European place, being only two points behind in second place. Manchester United, Portsmouth, Everton, Aston Villa and Arsenal complete the top seven, with Tottenham Hotspur, Watford and Charlton Athletic in the relegation zone. Cardiff have extended their lead in the Championship to five points, ahead of Birmingham. Preston North End, Crystal Palace, Southampton and West Brom stand in the play-off places and Southend United, Hull City and Sheffield Wednesday in the relegation zone. Nottingham Forest continue to lead League One, with a three point cushion over their nearest challenges Yeovil Town and Bristol City, with Yeovil above Bristol City on goal difference. Bradford, Tranmere and Carlisle in the play-off places, with Scunthorpe a point behind, recovering from their slow start. Rotherham, Leyton Orient, Millwall and Blackpool in the bottom four. Walsall lead League Two, with Swindon and Wycombe completing the automatic promotion places. Lincoln, MK Dons, Notts County and Hartlepool complete the top seven. Macclesfield and Boston United in the drop zone.
14 October 2006 –Chelsea goalkeepers,Petr Čech andCarlo Cudicini, both received head injuries during their match againstReading.[29] Čech underwent surgery for a depressed skull fracture and is expected to be out for six months,[30] while Cudicini was treated and released.[30]
28 October 2006 –Aston Villa, the last unbeaten team in any professional English division, lose 3–1 toLiverpool atAnfield.[33]
30 October 2006 – Manchester United have moved to the top of the Premiership on goal difference; both United and Chelsea have 25 points apiece. Bolton, Portsmouth, Arsenal, Everton and Aston Villa complete the top seven, while Watford, Sheffield United and Charlton Athletic finish the month in the relegation zone. Cardiff remain top of the Championship and Preston have claimed second place, with Burnley, Birmingham, West Brom and Plymouth not far behind. Hull, Barnsley and Southend stand in the bottom three.
29 November 2006 –England National Game XI, the English semi-professional team, win the inaugural European Challenge Trophy after a 4–1 win over the Netherlands.[35]
30 November 2006 – Manchester United remain top of the Premiership, three points ahead of Chelsea. Portsmouth, having narrowly avoided relegation the previous season, are maintaining their European push although they are 11 points adrift of Chelsea in third. Bolton, Aston Villa, Arsenal and Liverpool complete the top seven, while Sheffield United, Watford and Charlton Athletic remain in the relegation zone. Preston have leaped to the top of the Championship, a point ahead of Cardiff, Birmingham and Derby County. Burnley and Stoke City are also challenging for a play-off spot, while Leeds United, Hull and Southend are battling relegation.
20 December 2006 –Bury are thrown out ofthis season'sFA Cup after they fielded an ineligible player,Stephen Turnbull, on-loan fromHartlepool United in their 3–1 second round replay win atChester City on 12 December. Chester will replace Bury in the third round.[37]Lord Stevens releases the results of his inquiry in the allegation of corruption in the English game, pin-pointing seventeen transfers that he will investigate further.[38]
30 December 2006 – Manchester United have increased the gap between them and Chelsea, still in second place, to six points. Bolton, Liverpool, Arsenal, Portsmouth and Everton complete the top seven. Watford see in the New Year being bottom of the Premiership and ten points adrift of safety, with West Ham United and Charlton Athletic also several points behind fellow strugglers Sheffield United, Wigan Athletic and Middlesbrough. Birmingham now lead the Championship, six points ahead of Preston and Derby. Colchester have overcome a slow start to stand in sixth, behind Southampton and West Brom. Hull, Leeds and Southend remain in the Championship drop zone.
16 January 2007 – In the FA Cup third round replays, third tierBristol City knock out Championship clubCoventry City. Elsewhere, top-flight sides Manchester City and Middlesbrough survive scares againstFootball League teams to progress, beating Sheffield Wednesday and Hull City respectively.[42]
31 January 2007 – Manchester United remain top of the Premiership and look safe to reclaim the title they last won in 2003. Chelsea remain six points behind, with Liverpool, Arsenal, Bolton, Portsmouth and Reading (the latter expected by many to struggle in their first ever top-flight campaign) completing the top seven. The relegation zone remains unchanged from the end of December, but the strugglers are cranking up the pressure on Wigan Athletic. Derby end the month as the leader of the Championship, six points clear of Birmingham (who have two games in hand) and Preston, with West Brom, Southampton and a resurgent Cardiff not far behind. Leeds has swapped places with Southend at the foot of the Championship while Hull have escaped the bottom three at the expense of QPR.
1 February. 2007 –Stuart Pearce is appointed as Peter Taylor's replacement.[44]
25 February 2007 –Chelsea defeatArsenal 2–1 in theCarling Cup final at theMillennium Stadium. The match was marred by a mass brawl between the two sides during the final few minutes of the game, in which three players were sent off.[47]
28 March 2007 – Manchester United now lead Chelsea by nine points, but have played one match more. Liverpool, Arsenal and Bolton are still in the mix for a Champions League place, with sixth-placed Reading and seventh-place Everton's challenge forUEFA Cup qualification is being threatened by Portsmouth and Tottenham. Wigan remains six points ahead of eighteenth-placed Charlton, joined in the relegation zone by West Ham and Watford. Birmingham are back on top of the Championship, a point ahead of West Brom and Derby. An improving Sunderland have moved into the top six, ahead of Southampton and Cardiff. The relegation zone is unchanged from the end of January.
17 March 2007 – The newWembley Stadium opens for a special community event.[50]
31 March 2007 – Chelsea have moved to within six points of leaders Manchester United but, with only seven matches left to play, there is little hope of the Londoners retaining the title for a third successive season. Liverpool and Arsenal have put distance between Bolton in the chase for the Champions League, who complete the top seven with Everton and Tottenham. Charlton, West Ham and Watford remain in the relegation zone but have caught up with strugglers Wigan and Sheffield United, now only three points and one point above the relegation zone respectively. Sunderland have finally moved into the automatic promotion spots in the Championship, sandwiched by leaders Derby and Birmingham. Preston, West Brom and Wolves are in the play-off places. Luton Town have slipped to the bottom of the table, behind Southend and Leeds.
10 April 2007 – Manchester United beatRoma 7–1 in the Champions League quarter-final second leg atOld Trafford, completing an 8–3 aggregate victory and booking their first semi-final appearance in the competition for five years.[55]
24 April 2007 –Tamworth andSouthport are relegated from the Conference.[65] Manchester United beatMilan 3–2 in the Champions League semi-final first leg at Old Trafford.[66]
30 April 2007 –Sammy Lee is promoted from the coaching staff to the manager's seat at Bolton Wanderers.[71]
30 April 2007 – Manchester United remain five points ahead of Chelsea with both left with three games to play, but both have secured automatic Champions League qualification, meaning Liverpool and Arsenal will both have to face a two-legged tie to secure qualification to the group stage. Two points separate Bolton, Everton, Reading, Portsmouth and Tottenham in the race to qualify for theUEFA Cup. At the bottom of the table Watford have already been relegated, with Charlton and a resurgent West Ham completing the relegation zone but still with a slim chance of survival at the possible expense of Wigan, Fulham, Sheffield United and Middlesbrough.
1 May 2007 –Liverpool beatChelsea on penalties in the Champions League semi-final atAnfield after both sides won their home leg 1–0.[72]
2 May 2007 – Manchester United's hopes of an all-English European Cup final with Liverpool and second Treble are ended when they lose 3–0 to Milan in the semi-final second leg at theSan Siro.[73]
4 May 2007 –Leeds United are relegated to League One for the first time in their history after they go intoadministration.[74]
13 May 2007 –Sheffield United are relegated from the Premiership after losing 2–1 at home toWigan Athletic andWest Ham United beatManchester United 1–0 at Old Trafford.[83] The season ends with Manchester United champions, Chelsea runners-up and Liverpool and Arsenal completing the top four. Tottenham, Everton and Bolton all qualify for the UEFA Cup.
16 May 2007 –Neil Warnock resigns after seven and a half years in charge of Sheffield United.[84]
18 May 2007 –The Football League confirms thatBoston United were docked ten points for entering a Company Voluntary Arrangement in the final seconds of theirLeague Two defeat atWrexham, a game which sawThe Pilgrims relegated.[85]
19 May 2007 –Chelsea beatManchester United 1–0 to win theFA Cup.[86] at the first FA Cup Final at the new Wembley and stop Manchester United winning the double.
20 May 2007 –Morecambe are promoted to the Football League for the first time in their history after beatingExeter City 2–1 in the Conference National play-off final.[87]
23 May 2007 – A.C. Milan beat Liverpool 2–1 in the European Cup final inAthens, two years after Liverpool had beaten the Italians on penalties after a 3–3 draw in theIstanbul final.[88]
20 June 2007 –Nottingham Forest announce plans to relocate from theCity Ground to a new 50,000-seat stadium by 2014.[92]Scarborough, who were relegated from theConference North this season but are best remembered for beingFootball League members from 1897 to 1999, go out of business with debts of £2.5million.[93]
25 June 2007 – Five days after the demise of the 128-year-old Scarborough FC, a new club –Scarborough Athletic – is formed.[94]
In lieu ofLeague Cup winners (qualification awarded as next-highest (6th) Premier League finishers to have not qualified for Europe because League Cup winners Chelsea had already qualified for the Champions League)
In lieu ofFA Cup winners (qualification awarded as next-highest (7th) Premier League finishers to have not qualified for Europe because FA Cup winners Chelsea and Runners Up Manchester United had already qualified for the Champions League)
After 3 seasons of missing out,Manchester United fought off the challenge ofChelsea and regained the Premier League title for the 9th time in 15 years. Despite finishing second, the Blues claimed a League Cup and FA Cup double, and Didier Drogba was the top flight's leading goalscorer with 20 in the league. The final two Champions League places went toLiverpool (who nearly won the competition for the 2nd time in 3 seasons only to lose out toA.C. Milan, the same opponents from the final 2 years previous) andArsenal.Tottenham andEverton qualified for theUEFA Cup, as didBolton, despite the departure of long-serving managerSam Allardyce shortly before the end of the season.Blackburn qualified for theIntertoto Cup thanks to the 18 goals of strikerBenni McCarthy as well as the impressive efforts of managerMark Hughes.
Newly promotedReading, tipped by many critics for relegation, defied the odds by finishing 8th on their first ever season in the top flight.Portsmouth put last season's managerial debacle behind them to finish 9th, finishing just 2 points short of European qualification.Aston Villa's campaign, their first under former Celtic managerMartin O'Neill, marked an improvement on the previous campaign which saw them go undefeated in their first nine and last nine matches, although a staggering 17 draws prevented a top-half finish.
Watford finished bottom, managing only 5 wins all season as they made a swift return to the Championship. The loss ofAlan Curbishley and 3 managerial changes inIain Dowie,Les Reed and thenAlan Pardew endedCharlton Athletic's 7-year stay in the top flight. Ironically, Curbishley took charge atWest Ham, another London club who looked certain for the drop after a poor season. However, a run of seven wins from their final nine matches was enough to secure their Premiership status, with a goal fromCarlos Tevez giving the Hammers victory over champions Manchester United at Old Trafford, while sendingSheffield United down and beginning speculation from the Yorkshire club over whether Tevez was eligible to play. The matter was eventually settled out of court, with West Ham fined £5.5 million by the Premier League and ordered to pay the Blades compensation over five years.Wigan Athletic, in their second year in the top flight, narrowly avoided relegation on goal difference.
Source:Premier League Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored. (C) Champions;(R) Relegated Notes:
^Since bothfinalists of theFA Cup (Manchester United and Chelsea) and theLeague Cupwinners (Chelsea) were qualified for the Champions League, their UEFA Cup spots were given to the 6th- and 7th-placed Premier League teams.
^The highest-placed team who applied for the Intertoto Cup and not in an automatic UEFA Cup spot was awarded with a place in that competition. Blackburn Rovers occupied the Intertoto place, because Portsmouth and Reading did not apply.[194] A further place in the UEFA Cup was up for grabs via the Premiership Fair Play League. The winner is placed into a draw with the winners of Fair Play leagues in other countries. The representatives from the two countries that come out of the hat first are given a place in the UEFA Cup first qualifying round. Since the winners of the Premiership Fair Play League, Tottenham Hotspur, had already qualified for the UEFA Cup by virtue of their league position, their place in the Fair Play draw was given to Aston Villa. However, the places in the UEFA Cup were awarded to the representatives from Finland and Norway.
After losing their first four games,Sunderland looked ominous for a second relegation. The surprise appointment ofRoy Keane by rookie chairmanNiall Quinn paid off and they surged up the table, losing just one of their final 20 games to clinch promotion as champions. Keane's former Manchester United colleague,Steve Bruce also tookBirmingham City back into the Premier League, ensuring that they only remained in the Championship for one season.
Derby County spent half the season in the top 2, but fell away in the final weeks to slip into the play-off places. Nonetheless, they won promotion by beatingWest Bromwich Albion 1–0 in the final at the recently opened new Wembley Stadium. This denied the Baggies an immediate return to the Premier League, which would have meant all 3 relegated clubs from the previous season were promoted.
Preston were perhaps the biggest chokers as they lost 5 of their final 7 games to slump out of the play-off places they had occupied through the bulk of the season, missing out on a third successive play-off finish.Cardiff City had been the early pace-setters, leading the table up until the midway point before their form tailed off badly in the second half.
After a play-off final appearance the previous year,Leeds finished bottom amidst yet more financial worries and acrimony, falling into the relegation zone in early October and, despite a late improvement, never leaving it. Their placing at the foot of the table was due to a 10-point deduction they suffered after going into voluntary administration after their relegation was all but confirmed on the penultimate weekend. The club came close to being expelled from the Football League during the summer after being unable to agree a deal with their creditors, but they were allowed to remain for the following season, albeit with a 15-point deduction. Regardless, it meant they would spend next season competing outside of the top two divisions for the first time in their history.
Luton, who would have finished bottom but for Leeds's deduction, were relegated after being forced to sell many of their top players due to mounting financial problems. They had spent the first half of the season safely in mid-table, but a disastrous run of form after the turn of the year saw them relegated back to League One after just two seasons.Southend lasted only a single season in the Championship after their two successive promotions; their season was essentially the opposite of Luton's, winning just three games until the turn of the year before an improvement in form gave them some hope.Colchester fared best of the newly promoted clubs, comfortably finishing in 10th, largely on the back of their strong home form at the division's smallest stadium,Layer Road.
Source:RSSSF Rules for classification: In the Football League goals scored (F) takes precedence over goal difference (GD). (C) Champions;(O) Play-off winners;(P) Promoted;(R) Relegated Notes:
With club physiotherapistNigel Adkins promoted to the manager's role,Scunthorpe United topped the league as champions, having been in the bottom two divisions since the early 1960s. Prolific strikerBilly Sharp was the also the division's leading marksman with 30 goals.Gary Johnson helpedBristol City achieve automatic-promotion after nearly a decade of near-misses and 2 play-off defeats, ending their eight-year exile from the Championship.Blackpool won the play-offs, ending nearly three decades in the bottom two divisions.
Brentford, who lost their managerMartin Allen just before the start of the season, finished bottom, having a dismal run of 21 games without a win.Rotherham won their first few games, wiping out their ten-point deduction early in the season; they ended up finishing thirteen points adrift however, and were relegated. Having started the decade in the Premier League,Bradford City fell into the bottom division for the first time in twenty-five years, withChesterfield occupying the final relegation spot.
Source:[citation needed] Rules for classification: In the Football League goals scored (GF) takes precedence over goal difference (GD). (C) Champions;(O) Play-off winners;(P) Promoted;(R) Relegated Notes:
The four teams relegated from League One in 2005–06 would occupy the top four this season, sendingWalsall,Hartlepool United andSwindon Town back up.Bristol Rovers won the play-offs however, returning to League One after six years.
Torquay United had been both the last team to finish bottom under the old election system, and the last team to finish bottom of the League and survive due to the Conference champions not having a good enough ground. However, this season they finished bottom and dropped out of the League. They were joined byBoston United, who had voluntary arrangements in the 87th minute of the season's final game, but would still have been relegated even without the 10-point administration penalty. In a first since the introduction of automatic promotion and relegation between the Football League and Conference, Boston were relegated two divisions due to failing to pay footballing creditors, along with financial irregularities committed during their promotion season in 2001–02.
Source:[citation needed] Rules for classification: In the Football League goals scored (GF) takes precedence over goal difference (GD). (C) Champions;(O) Play-off winners;(P) Promoted;(R) Relegated Notes:
^Boston United had 10 points deducted for entering a Company Voluntary Arrangement. They were relegated directly to theConference North for not paying their footballing creditors.
Leading goalscorer:Izale McLeod (Milton Keynes Dons) – 21
^UEFA lifts Israel match banArchived 7 January 2007 at theWayback Machine,UEFA, 15 September 2006. UEFA later lifted its ban on matches in Israel after a cease-fire in the conflict. Matches may only be played in theTel Aviv area, which includes the Ramat Gan stadium in Ramat Gan.
^Espanyol to host Andorra-England,BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 January 2007. As Andorra's national stadium only holds 1,800 fans, UEFA agreed for the England's Euro 2008 qualifier there to be switched toEspanyol's Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, which has a much higher capacity of 55,926, as to avoid major security issues.
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