The2010–11 Premier League (known as theBarclays Premier League for sponsorship reasons) was the 19th season of the Premier League since its establishment in 1992. The 2010–11 fixtures were released on 17 June 2010 at 09:00BST.[2] The season began on 14 August 2010,[3] and ended on 22 May 2011.Chelsea were thedefending champions.[4]
On 15 May 2011,West Ham United were the first team to be relegated to theChampionship, following a 3–2 defeat away toWigan Athletic.[8] Two more relegation spots were to be confirmed going into the final day of the season, with five teams (Blackburn Rovers,Wolverhampton Wanderers,Birmingham City,Blackpool, and Wigan Athletic) all at threat of the drop. Blackburn secured their top flight status with a 3–2 away win over Wolves. Blackpool were relegated after losing 4–2 to champions Manchester United atOld Trafford, despite having led at one point.[9] Birmingham City were also down afterRoman Pavlyuchenko scored an injury-time winner for Tottenham atWhite Hart Lane.[10] Both of these results allowed Wolves to avoid the drop by one point, despite their loss to Blackburn, while Wigan, who were in the bottom three prior to kick-off, extended their Premier League stay to seven consecutive seasons after a 1–0 win away atStoke City.
The Premier League introduced a cap on the number of players in a squad. From this season onwards, clubs had to declare a squad of no more than 25 players when the summertransfer window shuts, and then again at the end of the January transfer window. Players aged 21 and under could be selected without being registered in the 25.
Also being introduced this season was the "home grown players" rule, which aims to encourage the development of young footballers atPremier League clubs. The new rule required clubs to name at least eight players in their squad of 25 players that have been registered domestically for a minimum of three seasons prior to their 21st birthday.[11]
All of the Premier League teams submitted their 25-man squads on 1 September 2010 deadline.[12]
Twenty teams competed in the league – the top seventeen teams from the previous season and the three teams promoted from theChampionship. The promoted teams wereNewcastle United,West Bromwich Albion (both teams returning after a season's absence), andBlackpool (returning after a thirty-nine-year absence). This was also Blackpool's first season in the Premier League. They replacedBurnley,Hull City andPortsmouth, who were relegated to theChampionship after their top flight spells of one, two and seven years respectively.
Nike produced a new match ball, the Nike Total 90 Tracer, which was electric blue, black and white during the autumn and spring. A high-visibility version in yellow was released for the winter.[14] Additionally, Umbro provided officials with new kits in black, lime green, yellow, red and cyan blue for the season.Tune Ventures, parent company ofAirAsia, took over as sponsor of the referee kits for the next three seasons.[15]
Source:Premier League Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored. (C) Champions;(R) Relegated Notes:
^Fulham, as the highest-ranked team from theFair Play table not yet qualified for any European competition, entered the first qualifying round of the Europa League.[31]
^Stoke City qualified for the third qualifying round of the Europa League asFA Cuprunners-up to Champions League-qualified Manchester City.
^Birmingham City qualified for the play-off round of the Europa League afterwinning theLeague Cup, worth a third qualification round spot, and subsequently being moved up a round due to the outcome of theFA Cup final.
Dimitar Berbatov of Manchester United andCarlos Tevez of Manchester City shared thePremier League Golden Boot this season, both finishing with 20 goals. Berbatov's 20 goals came in 32 appearances, with Tevez's 20 goals coming in 31 appearances. This was the first time either player had won the award, and the first time it had been shared since the1998–99 season.[50]
The Premier League Fair Play Award was won by Fulham, who finished on top of the Fair Play Table. Newcastle United were deemed to be the least sporting team, finishing bottom of the table.[52] Due to England being one of the three best teams in theUEFA Fair Play rankings, Fulham as the highest-ranked team not already qualified for a European competition were awarded a spot in the first qualifying round of the2011–12 UEFA Europa League.[53]
^"Kean's for the season".Blackburn Rovers F.C. Blackburn Rovers F.C. 22 December 2010. Archived fromthe original on 31 December 2010. Retrieved22 December 2010.