FA Premier League

The FA Premier League (which, for sponsorship reasons, is often referred to as the Barclays Premiership in the UK and the Barclays English Premier League internationally) comprises the top 20 football clubs in the league system of English football. It was created in 1992, when the top division football clubs broke away from the Football League after securing a greatly improved TV rights deal with the then fledgling satellite television company Sky Television. The new name was simply a commercial restructuring and a branding exercise as there was no innovation in competitive terms; an identical first tier league had existed the previous season.

The competition

There are 20 clubs in the Premier League. During the course of a season each club plays the others twice, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents, for a total of 38 games. At the end of each season the three lowest placed teams are relegated into the Football League Championship and the top two teams from the Championship, together with the winner of a play-off involving the 3rd to 6th placed clubs, are promoted in their place.

The top four teams in the Premiership qualify for the UEFA Champions League, with the top two teams directly entering the group phase. The third and fourth placed teams enter the competition at the third qualifying round and must win a two-legged knockout tie in order to enter the group phase. One team automatically enters the UEFA Cup, two teams if the FA Cup Champion and runner-up and League Cup Champions are already entered in the UEFA Champions League.

Sponsorship

Since 1993, the FA Premier League has been sponsored. The sponsor has been able to determine the league's sponsorship name. So far, all the sponsors have referred to the competition as the 'Premiership'. The list below details who the sponsors have been and what they called the competition:

• 1993–2001: Carling (FA Carling Premiership)
• 2001–04: Barclaycard (Barclaycard Premiership)
• 2004–08: Barclays Bank (Barclays Premiership)

Premier League clubs, 2005–06

Former Premier League Members

Notes:

• Team movements for 2004–05 season:
  • Leeds United, Leicester City, and Wolverhampton Wanderers were relegated from the Premier League to The Championship of The Football League for 2004–05.
  • Norwich City and West Bromwich Albion won automatic promotion to the Premier League from the First Division of The Football League. Crystal Palace won the third promotion place by defeating West Ham United 1–0 in the playoff final held 29 May, 2004, in the Millennium Stadium.
• Team movements for 2005–06 season:
  • Crystal Palace, Norwich City and Southampton were relegated to The Championship. On a dramatic final day of the season, last-place West Bromwich Albion defeated Portsmouth, but had to see other results go their way. Norwich City, who started the day outside the drop zone, were destroyed 6–0 by Fulham. Southampton lost 2–1 to Man United. Palace were eight minutes from survival and leading Charlton 2–1, but Charlton equalized, consigning the Eagles to the drop.
  • Sunderland have won The Championship for 2004–05, assuring themselves of a return to the Premier League for 2005–06.
  • The second automatic promotion spot is taken by Wigan Athletic.
  • The third and final promotion spot is taken by West Ham United when they defeated Preston North End 1–0 in the playoff final on May 30th, 2005, at Millenium Stadium in Cardiff.

Past Premier League winners

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 id:Arsenal     value:rgb(1,1,1)       legend:Arsenal_(3)
 id:Blackburn   value:rgb(0,1,1)       legend:Blackburn_Rovers_(1)
 id:Chelsea     value:rgb(0,0,1)       legend:Chelsea_(1)

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 from:1992 till:1993 text:"1st Manchester United 1" color:ManUnited
 from:1993 till:1994 text:"2nd Manchester United 2" color:ManUnited
 from:1994 till:1995 text:"3rd Blackburn Rovers 1" color:Blackburn
 from:1995 till:1996 text:"4th Manchester United 3" color:ManUnited
 from:1996 till:1997 text:"5th Manchester United 4" color:ManUnited
 from:1997 till:1998 text:"6th Arsenal 1" color:Arsenal
 from:1998 till:1999 text:"7th Manchester United 5" color:ManUnited
 from:1999 till:2000 text:"8th Manchester United 6" color:ManUnited
 from:2000 till:2001 text:"9th Manchester United 7" color:ManUnited
 from:2001 till:2002 text:"10th Arsenal 2" color:Arsenal
 from:2002 till:2003 text:"11th Manchester United 8" color:ManUnited
 from:2003 till:2004 text:"12th Arsenal 3" color:Arsenal
 from:2004 till:2005 text:"13th Chelsea 1" color:Chelsea

* Premier League championships (total English football championships)
Up to 1992, the winners of the First Division of The Football League were the English football champions.
Liverpool hold the overall record with 18 championships.

Top flight champions in English football

The following clubs have won the top division in English football, that is the Football League from 1888–89 to 1991–92 and the Premier League from 1992–93 to 2004–05.

• 18 wins: Liverpool
• 15 wins: Manchester United
• 13 wins: Arsenal
• 9 wins: Everton
• 7 wins: Aston Villa
• 6 wins: Sunderland
• 4 wins: Newcastle United, Sheffield Wednesday
• 3 wins: Blackburn Rovers, Huddersfield Town, Leeds United, Wolverhampton Wanderers
• 2 wins: Burnley, Chelsea, Derby County, Manchester City, Portsmouth, Preston North End, Tottenham Hotspur
• 1 win: Ipswich Town, Nottingham Forest, Sheffield United, West Bromwich Albion

Top scorers

By season

All-time

As of April 2005

Worldwide reach

The Premier League is one of the most cosmopolitan and widely watched national sporting leagues in the world. Over 260 foreign players compete in the league, and 101 stars from England's domestic leagues competed in the Template:Wc in Korea and Japan. It is widely watched overseas, with matches being shown in over 150 countries and reaching over 450 million people worldwide. Premier League teams such as Manchester United and star players such as Thierry Henry, Steven Gerrard or Ruud van Nistelrooy have become worldwide sporting icons. The Premier League is particularly popular in Scandinavia, with ferry operators offering "football ferries" to Norwegian football fans wishing to see their favourite teams in action. The Premier League and its clubs also enjoy popularity in Canada; games are aired every Saturday in most parts of the country.

The "Curse of Christmas"

Over the history of the Premier League, the so called "Curse of Christmas" became apparent—from the first season onwards, the team who was bottom of the league on Christmas Day was always relegated. This curse was only broken in season 2004–05, when West Bromwich Albion finished 17th on the final day.

The Premiership-Football League gulf

Since the Premier League began at the start of the 1992–93 season, its members have received larger amounts of money in TV rights than their Football League counterparts. This has resulted in newly promoted teams finding it increasingly hard to establish themselves in the Premiership, and the Premiership relegation places have been filled by at least one newly-promoted club in all but one of the 13 seasons since its introduction.

In 1992–93, newly-promoted Middlesbrough were relegated in second from bottom place after failing to win their penultimate game of the season. Ipswich Town fnished 16th and Blackburn Rovers finished fourth.

In 1993–94, newly-promoted Swindon Town were relegated in bottom place with an embarrassing low of just five wins and 100 goals conceded. Newcastle United finished third and qualified for the UEFA Cup, while West Ham United achieved a secure 13th place finish.

In 1994–95, Nottingham Forest finished third and qualified for the UEFA Cup but Leicester City and Crystal Palace were both relegated. The third-place finish of Forest this season and Newcastle the previous season remains the highest finish by a newly promoted team in Premiership history.

In 1995–96, Bolton Wanderers were relegated in bottom place while Middlesbrough finished 12th.

In 1996–97, Sunderland finished 18th and were relegated after losing their final game of the season. Derby County finished in a satisfactory 12th place, while Leicester City defied the odds and finished ninth—also lifting the League Cup. They were the first newly promoted club to win a major trophy since Oxford United lifted the League Cup in 1986. No other newly promoted clubs have won a major trophy since.

In 1997–98, all three newly-promoted teams were relegated from the Premiership - Bolton Wanderers, Barnsley and Crystal Palace. Bolton were relegated in 18th place because they had a lesser goal difference than 17th-placed Everton, and would have survived had they been given a likely goal which had been disallowed against Everton early in the season.

In 1998–99, Charlton Athletic and Nottingham Forest were both relegated one season after gaining promotion to the Premiership. The other newly-promoted team, Middlesbrough, finished ninth in the final table.

In 1999–2000, Watford were relegated in bottom place while Bradford City secured their survival by winning the final game of the Premiership campaign. Sunderland had an impressive comeback to the top flight, finishing seventh and narrowly missing out on a UEFA Cup place.

In 2000–01, Manchester City were the only newly-promoted club to suffer relegation from the Premiership. Charlton Athletic finished ninth in the Premiership, preserving top division status for the first time since 1989. Most impressively, Ipswich Town finished fifth and qualified for the UEFA Cup. Manager George Burley was credited with the Manager of the Year Award in recognition of his achievements.

In 2001–02, all three newly-promoted clubs—Fulham, Blackburn Rovers and Bolton Wanderers—avoided relegation. This was the first time that no newly-promoted clubs had been relegated from the Premiership, and the first time it had happened in the top division since the 1989–90 season.

In 2002–03, newly promoted West Bromwich Albion were relegated after collecting just 26 points from their first top division season in almost 20 years. Birmingham City finished in a secure 13th place, while Manchester City stayed clear of relegation all season long and finished in an impressive ninth place.

In 2003–04, newly-promoted Wolves and Leicester City went down—bracketed together on 33 points with Leeds United, who had lost their top division status after 14 seasons—after just one season of Premiership football. The other promoted team, Portsmouth, finished 13th.

In 2004–05, newly-promoted Crystal Palace and Norwich City were relegated after losing a relegation battle which saw no relegation places confirmed before the final day of the season—a Premiership first. West Bromwich Albion pulled off a remarkable escape act after winning just one of their first 20 Premiership games, and being at the bottom of the table going into the final day. Had Southampton been able to beat Manchester United, then all three newly-promoted teams would have lost their status. But Southampton's defeat ended their 27-year tenancy in the top division.

Current favourites for relegation in the 2005–06 season are the newly-promoted teams of Sunderland, West Ham United and Wigan Athletic, along with West Bromwich Albion. Sunderland and West Ham both spent the last two seasons out of the Premiership, while Wigan are in the top flight for the first time in their history. West Brom survived with 34 points, the lowest total by a surviving team in the history of the Premiership and the lowest for a surviving team in the top flight since 1978–79. In that season, winning teams only received two points; England adopted the current system of three points for a win in 1981–82.

External links

• FA Premier League official site (http://www.premierleague.com/)
• The FA official site (http://www.thefa.com/)

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