2006–07 Fa Premier League
The 2006–07 FA Premier League (known as the FA Barclays Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the 15th season of the FA Premier League since its establishment in 1992.
The season started on 19 August 2006 and concluded on 13 May 2007. Chelsea were the two-time defending champions.
| Season | 2006–07 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 19 August 2006 – 13 May 2007 |
| Champions | Manchester United 9th Premier League title 16th English title |
| Relegated | Sheffield United Charlton Athletic Watford |
| Champions League | Manchester United Chelsea Liverpool Arsenal |
| UEFA Cup | Tottenham Hotspur Everton Bolton Wanderers |
| Intertoto Cup | Blackburn Rovers |
| Matches played | 380 |
| Goals scored | 931 (2.45 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Didier Drogba (20 goals) |
| Best goalkeeper | Pepe Reina (19 clean sheets) |
| Biggest home win | Reading 6–0 West Ham United (1 January 2007) |
| Biggest away win | Middlesbrough 0–4 Portsmouth (28 August 2006) Reading 0–4 Arsenal (22 October 2006) Bolton Wanderers 0–4 Manchester United (28 October 2006) Wigan Athletic 0–4 Liverpool (2 December 2006) Tottenham Hotspur 0–4 Manchester United (4 February 2007) |
| Highest scoring | Arsenal 6–2 Blackburn Rovers (23 December 2006) |
| Longest winning run | 9 games Chelsea |
| Longest unbeaten run | 14 games Chelsea |
| Longest winless run | 11 games Aston Villa Watford West Ham United |
| Longest losing run | 8 games Wigan Athletic |
| Highest attendance | 76,098 Manchester United 4–1 Blackburn Rovers (31 March 2007) |
| Lowest attendance | 13,760 Watford 2–1 Blackburn Rovers (23 January 2007) |
| Total attendance | 13,058,755 |
| Average attendance | 34,365 |
← 2005–06 2007–08 → | |
On 12 February 2007, the FA Premier League renamed itself simply to the Premier League. The change introduced a new logo, sleeve patches and typeface. The sponsored name remains the Barclays Premier League.
The 2006–07 season was the lowest-scoring season in Premier League history, with only 931 goals (with a 2.45 goals per match ratio, the poorest in the history of Premier League).[citation needed]
Manchester United won their first Premiership title since 2003, following Chelsea's 1–1 draw with Arsenal on 6 May 2007. The result left the defending champions seven points behind United with two games left. It was their ninth title in fifteen seasons.
The three relegation spots were occupied by Watford and Sheffield United who each lasted one season in the league, along with Charlton Athletic who went down after seven seasons.
Teams
Twenty teams competed in the league – the top seventeen teams from the previous season and the three teams promoted from the Football League Championship. The promoted teams were Reading (playing in the top flight for the first time ever), Sheffield United (returning after a twelve-year absence) and Watford (returning after a six-year absence). They replaced Birmingham City, West Bromwich Albion and Sunderland, who were relegated to the Championship after their top flight spells of four, two and one year respectively.
Stadiums and locations
Personnel and kits
(as of 13 May 2007)
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlton Athletic |  Alan Curbishley | End of contract | 24 April 2006 | Pre-season |  Iain Dowie | 27 May 2006 |
| Middlesbrough | Steve McClaren | Signed by England | 4 May 2006 | Gareth Southgate | 7 June 2006 | |
| Aston Villa |  David O'Leary | Sacked | 19 July 2006 | Martin O'Neill | 4 August 2006 | |
| Charlton Athletic | Iain Dowie | 13 November 2006 | 20th | Les Reed | 13 November 2006 | |
| West Ham United | Alan Pardew | 11 December 2006 | 18th | Alan Curbishley | 13 December 2006 | |
| Charlton Athletic | Les Reed | 20 December 2006 | 19th | Alan Pardew | 24 December 2006 | |
| Fulham |  Chris Coleman | 10 April 2007 | 15th | Lawrie Sanchez | 10 April 2007 | |
| Bolton Wanderers | Sam Allardyce | Resigned | 29 April 2007 | 5th | Sammy Lee | 30 April 2007 |
| Newcastle United | Glenn Roeder | 6 May 2007 | 13th | Nigel Pearson (caretaker) | 6 May 2007 |
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester United (C) | 38 | 28 | 5 | 5 | 83 | 27 | +56 | 89 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Chelsea | 38 | 24 | 11 | 3 | 64 | 24 | +40 | 83 | |
| 3 | Liverpool | 38 | 20 | 8 | 10 | 57 | 27 | +30 | 68 | Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round |
| 4 | Arsenal | 38 | 19 | 11 | 8 | 63 | 35 | +28 | 68 | |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | 17 | 9 | 12 | 57 | 54 | +3 | 60 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 6 | Everton | 38 | 15 | 13 | 10 | 52 | 36 | +16 | 58 | |
| 7 | Bolton Wanderers | 38 | 16 | 8 | 14 | 47 | 52 | −5 | 56 | |
| 8 | Reading | 38 | 16 | 7 | 15 | 52 | 47 | +5 | 55 | |
| 9 | Portsmouth | 38 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 45 | 42 | +3 | 54 | |
| 10 | Blackburn Rovers | 38 | 15 | 7 | 16 | 52 | 54 | −2 | 52 | Qualification for the Intertoto Cup third round |
| 11 | Aston Villa | 38 | 11 | 17 | 10 | 43 | 41 | +2 | 50 | |
| 12 | Middlesbrough | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 44 | 49 | −5 | 46 | |
| 13 | Newcastle United | 38 | 11 | 10 | 17 | 38 | 47 | −9 | 43 | |
| 14 | Manchester City | 38 | 11 | 9 | 18 | 29 | 44 | −15 | 42 | |
| 15 | West Ham United | 38 | 12 | 5 | 21 | 35 | 59 | −24 | 41 | |
| 16 | Fulham | 38 | 8 | 15 | 15 | 38 | 60 | −22 | 39 | |
| 17 | Wigan Athletic | 38 | 10 | 8 | 20 | 37 | 59 | −22 | 38 | |
| 18 | Sheffield United (R) | 38 | 10 | 8 | 20 | 32 | 55 | −23 | 38 | Relegation to Football League Championship |
| 19 | Charlton Athletic (R) | 38 | 8 | 10 | 20 | 34 | 60 | −26 | 34 | |
| 20 | Watford (R) | 38 | 5 | 13 | 20 | 29 | 59 | −30 | 28 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
