2005–06 Fa Premier League
The 2005–06 FA Premier League (known as the FA Barclays Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the 14th season of the Premier League.
It began on 13 August 2005, and concluded on 7 May 2006. The season saw Chelsea retain their title after defeating Manchester United 3–0 at Stamford Bridge towards the end of April. On the same day, West Bromwich Albion and Birmingham City were relegated, joining Sunderland in the Championship for the following season. Chelsea drew the record they set the previous season, with 29 wins in home and away campaigns.
 | |
| Season | 2005–06 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 13 August 2005 – 7 May 2006 |
| Champions | Chelsea 2nd Premier League title 3rd English 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 7–0 Middlesbrough (14 January 2006) |
| Biggest away win | Everton 0–4 Bolton Wanderers (17 December 2005) Middlesbrough 0–4 Aston Villa (4 February 2006) Fulham 0–4 Arsenal (4 March 2006) |
| Highest scoring | Charlton Athletic 2–5 Manchester City (4 December 2005) Wigan Athletic 4–3 Manchester City (26 December 2005) Arsenal 7–0 Middlesbrough (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 Chelsea Liverpool |
| Longest unbeaten run | 13 games Chelsea |
| Longest winless run | 14 games Sunderland |
| Longest losing run | 9 games 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 |
← 2004–05 2006–07 → | |
Season summary
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 the Ashes Test cricket 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.
The top two clubs at the end of the season earned the right to participate in the UEFA 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 the UEFA 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 to FC Barcelona in the final of the UEFA Champions League.
The fifth-placed club always earns a spot in the UEFA Cup. The winners of the FA Cup also earn a place in the UEFA Cup. If they have already qualified for European competition by their league position or winning the League 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 the UEFA 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 for Newcastle United) and Dennis Bergkamp (last played for Arsenal).
Teams
Twenty teams competed in the league – the top seventeen teams from the previous season and the three teams promoted from the Championship. The promoted teams were Sunderland, Wigan Athletic and West 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 replaced Crystal Palace, Norwich City (both teams relegated to the Championship after a season's presence) and Southampton (ending their top flight spell of twenty-seven years).[citation needed]
Stadiums and locations
Personnel and kits
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portsmouth |  Alain Perrin | Sacked | 24 November 2005 | 17th |  Harry Redknapp | 2 December 2005 |
| Newcastle United |  Graeme Souness | 2 February 2006 | 15th | Glenn Roeder (caretaker) | 2 February 2006 | |
| Sunderland |  Mick McCarthy | 6 March 2006 | 20th | Kevin Ball (caretaker) | 7 March 2006 |
League table
| 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 the Champions 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 the Champions 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 the UEFA Cup first round |
| 6 | Blackburn Rovers | 38 | 19 | 6 | 13 | 51 | 42 | +9 | 63 | |
| 7 | Newcastle United | 38 | 17 | 7 | 14 | 47 | 42 | +5 | 58 | Qualification for the Intertoto 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 the UEFA Cup first round |
| 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 the Football 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 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
