2005–06 FA Premier League

FA Premier League

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 [1] Chelsea Liverpool
Longest unbeaten run	13 games [1] Chelsea
Longest winless run	14 games [1] Sunderland
Longest losing run	9 games [1] 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 →

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. ^{[2] [3]}

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. ^{[2] [3]}

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. ^[4]

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

London

Greater Manchester

West Midlands

Blackburn Rovers

Everton

Liverpool

Middlesbrough

Newcastle United

Portsmouth

Sunderland

London  teams:
Arsenal
Charlton Athletic
Chelsea
Fulham
Tottenham Hotspur
West Ham United

West Midlands  teams:
Aston Villa
Birmingham City
West Bromwich Albion

Greater Manchester  teams:
Bolton Wanderers
Manchester City
Manchester United
Wigan Athletic

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Locations of the 2005–06 Premier League teams

Arsenal

Charlton Athletic

Chelsea

Fulham

Tottenham
Hotspur

West Ham United

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Greater London Premier League football clubs

Bolton Wanderers

Manchester City

Manchester United

Wigan Athletic

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Greater Manchester Premier League football clubs

Aston Villa

Birmingham City

West Bromwich Albion

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West Midlands Premier League football clubs

Team	Location	Stadium	Capacity
Arsenal	London (Highbury)	Arsenal Stadium [lower-alpha 1]	38,419
Aston Villa	Birmingham (Aston)	Villa Park	42,553
Birmingham City	Birmingham (Bordesley)	St Andrew's	30,079
Blackburn Rovers	Blackburn	Ewood Park	31,367
Bolton Wanderers	Bolton	Reebok Stadium	28,723
Charlton Athletic	London (Charlton)	The Valley	27,111
Chelsea	London (Fulham)	Stamford Bridge	42,360
Everton	Liverpool (Walton)	Goodison Park	40,569
Fulham	London (Fulham)	Craven Cottage	24,600
Liverpool	Liverpool (Anfield)	Anfield	45,276
Manchester City	Manchester (Bradford)	City of Manchester Stadium	48,000
Manchester United	Manchester (Old Trafford)	Old Trafford	68,217
Middlesbrough	Middlesbrough	Riverside Stadium	35,049
Newcastle United	Newcastle upon Tyne	St James' Park	52,387
Portsmouth	Portsmouth	Fratton Park	20,220
Sunderland	Sunderland	Stadium of Light	49,000
Tottenham Hotspur	London (Tottenham)	White Hart Lane	36,240
West Bromwich Albion	West Bromwich	The Hawthorns	26,484
West Ham United	London (Upton Park)	Boleyn Ground	35,146
Wigan Athletic	Wigan	JJB Stadium	25,138

1. This was Arsenal's last season at their long-time home of the Arsenal Stadium. The Gunners opened the 60,000-seat Emirates Stadium in the summer of 2006. ^[5]

Personnel and kits

Team	Manager	Captain	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
Arsenal	Arsène Wenger	Thierry Henry	Nike	O2
Aston Villa	David O'Leary	Olof Mellberg	Hummel	DWS Investments
Birmingham City	Steve Bruce	Kenny Cunningham	Lonsdale	Flybe
Blackburn Rovers	Mark Hughes	Ryan Nelsen	Lonsdale	Lonsdale
Bolton Wanderers	Sam Allardyce	Kevin Nolan	Reebok	Reebok
Charlton Athletic	Alan Curbishley	Matt Holland	Joma	All:Sports [6] Llanera
Chelsea	José Mourinho	John Terry	Umbro	Samsung Mobile
Everton	David Moyes	David Weir	Umbro	Chang
Fulham	Chris Coleman	Luís Boa Morte	Puma	Pipex
Liverpool	Rafael Benítez	Steven Gerrard	Reebok	Carlsberg
Manchester City	Stuart Pearce	Sylvain Distin	Reebok	Thomas Cook
Manchester United	Sir Alex Ferguson	Gary Neville	Nike	Vodafone
Middlesbrough	Steve McClaren	Gareth Southgate	Erreà	888.com
Newcastle United	Glenn Roeder	Alan Shearer	Adidas	Northern Rock
Portsmouth	Harry Redknapp	Dejan Stefanović	Jako	OKI Printing Solution
Sunderland	Kevin Ball (caretaker)	Gary Breen	Lonsdale	Reg Vardy
Tottenham Hotspur	Martin Jol	Ledley King	Kappa	Thomson Holidays
West Bromwich Albion	Bryan Robson	Kevin Campbell	Diadora	T-Mobile
West Ham United	Alan Pardew	Nigel Reo-Coker	Reebok	JobServe
Wigan Athletic	Paul Jewell	Arjan de Zeeuw	JJB	JJB

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 [7]	17th	Harry Redknapp	2 December 2005
Newcastle United	Graeme Souness		2 February 2006 [8]	15th	Glenn Roeder (caretaker)	2 February 2006
Sunderland	Mick McCarthy		6 March 2006 [9]	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 [lower-alpha 1]
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 [lower-alpha 2]
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

Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:

1. Since Manchester United qualified for the Champions League, their place in the UEFA Cup as League Cup winners passed down to the league and was awarded to Blackburn Rovers as the highest-placed team not already qualified for European competitions.
2. Since Liverpool had already qualified for the Champions League, their UEFA Cup berth as the FA Cup winners went to West Ham, who were the FA Cup runners-up.

Results

Home \ Away	ARS	AVL	BIR	BLB	BOL	CHA	CHE	EVE	FUL	LIV	MCI	MUN	MID	NEW	POR	SUN	TOT	WBA	WHU	WIG
Arsenal		5–0	1–0	3–0	1–1	3–0	0–2	2–0	4–1	2–1	1–0	0–0	7–0	2–0	4–0	3–1	1–1	3–1	2–3	4–2
Aston Villa	0–0		3–1	1–0	2–2	1–0	1–1	4–0	0–0	0–2	0–1	0–2	2–3	1–2	1–0	2–1	1–1	0–0	1–2	0–2
Birmingham City	0–2	0–1		2–1	1–0	0–1	0–0	0–1	1–0	2–2	1–2	2–2	0–3	0–0	5–0	1–0	0–2	1–1	1–2	2–0
Blackburn Rovers	1–0	2–0	2–0		0–0	4–1	1–0	0–2	2–1	0–1	2–0	4–3	3–2	0–3	2–1	2–0	0–0	2–0	3–2	1–1
Bolton Wanderers	2–0	1–1	1–0	0–0		4–1	0–2	0–1	2–1	2–2	2–0	1–2	1–1	2–0	1–0	2–0	1–0	2–0	4–1	1–1
Charlton Athletic	0–1	0–0	2–0	0–2	0–1		0–2	0–0	1–1	2–0	2–5	1–3	2–1	3–1	2–1	2–0	2–3	0–0	2–0	1–0
Chelsea	1–0	2–1	2–0	4–2	5–1	1–1		3–0	3–2	2–0	2–0	3–0	1–0	3–0	2–0	2–0	2–1	4–0	4–1	1–0
Everton	1–0	4–1	0–0	1–0	0–4	3–1	1–1		3–1	1–3	1–0	0–2	1–0	1–0	0–1	2–2	0–1	2–2	1–2	0–1
Fulham	0–4	3–3	0–0	2–1	2–1	2–1	1–0	1–0		2–0	2–1	2–3	1–0	1–0	1–3	2–1	1–0	6–1	1–2	1–0
Liverpool	1–0	3–1	1–1	1–0	1–0	0–0	1–4	3–1	5–1		1–0	0–0	2–0	2–0	3–0	1–0	1–0	1–0	2–0	3–0
Manchester City	1–3	3–1	4–1	0–0	0–1	3–2	0–1	2–0	1–2	0–1		3–1	0–1	3–0	2–1	2–1	0–2	0–0	2–1	0–1
Manchester United	2–0	1–0	3–0	1–2	4–1	4–0	1–0	1–1	4–2	1–0	1–1		0–0	2–0	3–0	0–0	1–1	3–0	1–0	4–0
Middlesbrough	2–1	0–4	1–0	0–2	4–3	0–3	3–0	0–1	3–2	0–0	0–0	4–1		1–2	1–1	0–2	3–3	2–2	2–0	2–3
Newcastle United	1–0	1–1	1–0	0–1	3–1	0–0	1–0	2–0	1–1	1–3	1–0	0–2	2–2		2–0	3–2	3–1	3–0	0–0	3–1
Portsmouth	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–2	0–2	0–1	1–0	1–3	2–1	1–3	1–0	0–0		2–1	0–2	1–0	1–1	0–2
Sunderland	0–3	1–3	0–1	0–1	0–0	1–3	1–2	0–1	2–1	0–2	1–2	1–3	0–3	1–4	1–4		1–1	1–1	1–1	0–1
Tottenham Hotspur	1–1	0–0	2–0	3–2	1–0	3–1	0–2	2–0	1–0	0–0	2–1	1–2	2–0	2–0	3–1	3–2		2–1	1–1	2–2
West Bromwich Albion	2–1	1–2	2–3	2–0	0–0	1–2	1–2	4–0	0–0	0–2	2–0	1–2	0–2	0–3	2–1	0–1	2–0		0–1	1–2
West Ham United	0–0	4–0	3–0	3–1	1–2	0–0	1–3	2–2	2–1	1–2	1–0	1–2	2–1	2–4	2–4	2–0	2–1	1–0		0–2
Wigan Athletic	2–3	3–2	1–1	0–3	2–1	3–0	0–1	1–1	1–0	0–1	4–3	1–2	1–1	1–0	1–2	1–0	1–2	0–1	1–2

Source: Barclays Premier League
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Top scorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Thierry Henry	Arsenal	27
2	Ruud van Nistelrooy	Manchester United	21
3	Darren Bent	Charlton Athletic	18
4	Robbie Keane	Tottenham Hotspur	16
	Frank Lampard	Chelsea	16
	Wayne Rooney	Manchester United	16
7	Marlon Harewood	West Ham United	14
8	Craig Bellamy	Blackburn Rovers	13
	Yakubu	Middlesbrough	13
10	Henri Camara	Wigan Athletic	12
	Didier Drogba	Chelsea	12

Most assists

Rank	Player	Club	Assists [10]
1	Didier Drogba	Chelsea	11
2	José Antonio Reyes	Arsenal	10
3	Luís Boa Morte	Fulham	9
	Wayne Rooney	Manchester United
5	Thierry Henry	Arsenal	8
	Frank Lampard	Chelsea
	James Milner	Aston Villa
	Danny Murphy	Charlton Athletic
	Charles N'Zogbia	Newcastle United
	Park Ji-sung	Manchester United

Awards

Monthly awards

Month	Manager of the Month	Player of the Month
August	Stuart Pearce (Manchester City)	Darren Bent (Charlton Athletic)
September	Paul Jewell (Wigan Athletic)	Danny Murphy (Charlton Athletic)
October	Paul Jewell (Wigan Athletic)	Frank Lampard (Chelsea)
November	Rafael Benítez (Liverpool)	Robin van Persie (Arsenal)
December	Rafael Benítez (Liverpool)	Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)
January	David Moyes (Everton)	Anton Ferdinand (West Ham United)
February	Alan Pardew (West Ham United)	Kevin Nolan (Bolton Wanderers)
March	Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United)	Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)
April	Harry Redknapp (Portsmouth)	Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)

Annual awards

PFA Players' Player of the Year

The PFA Players' Player of the Year award for 2006 was won by Steven Gerrard. ^[11]

The shortlist for the PFA Players' Player of the Year award was as follows:

• Thierry Henry (Arsenal)
• Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)
• Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
• Joe Cole (Chelsea)
• Frank Lampard (Chelsea)
• John Terry (Chelsea)

PFA Young Player of the Year

The PFA Young Player of the Year award was won by Wayne Rooney. ^[12]

The shortlist for the award was as follows:

• Darren Bent (Charlton Athletic)
• Cesc Fàbregas (Arsenal)
• Anton Ferdinand (West Ham United)
• Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)
• Aaron Lennon (Tottenham Hotspur)
• Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)

PFA Team of the Year

Given Chimbonda Carragher Terry Gallas Ronaldo Lampard Gerrard Cole Henry Rooney PFA Team of the Year

Goalkeeper: Shay Given (Newcastle United)
Defence: Pascal Chimbonda (Wigan Athletic), Jamie Carragher (Liverpool), John Terry, William Gallas (both Chelsea)
Midfield: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Joe Cole (Chelsea)
Attack: Thierry Henry (Arsenal), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)

PFA Fans' Player of the Year

Wayne Rooney, was named the PFA Fans' Player of the Year for 2006.

FWA Footballer of the Year

The FWA Footballer of the Year award for 2006 was won by Thierry Henry for a record third time. No other player has won the accolade on as many occasions as the Arsenal player in the award's long history. ^[13]

Premier League Player of the Season

Arsenal's Thierry Henry ^{[14] [15]} won the Premier League Player of the Season award for the second time.^{[ citation needed ]}

Premier League Manager of the Season

José Mourinho was awarded the Premier League Manager of the Season award after he led Chelsea to their second premier league title in two years, their third league title in their history. This title was also his second time of winning the award in as many seasons.^{[ citation needed ]}

Premier League Golden Boot

Thierry Henry was named the winner of the Premier League Golden Boot award. The Arsenal striker scored 27 goals in the league and was presented with the award at Arsenal's last game at Highbury. ^{[16] [17]}

Premier League Golden Glove

Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina won the Premier League Golden Glove award for the first time. He achieved clean sheets in 20 Premier League games. ^[18]

Premier League Fair Play League

The Premier League Fair Play League was won by Charlton Athletic, ahead of fellow London team Arsenal. The least sporting side was Blackburn Rovers. ^[19]

See also

• 2005–06 in English football

References

1. "English Premier League 2005–06". statto.com. Archived from the original on 9 November 2014. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
2. Lawrence, Amy (29 April 2006). "Chelsea shoulder to shoulder as they seal back-to-back titles". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 15 February 2023.
3. "CNN.com - Chelsea retain the title in style - Apr 29, 2006". edition.cnn.com. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
4. Culf, Andrew; McCarra, Kevin (8 May 2006). "Police called in as Spurs hopes dashed after food poisoning". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 15 February 2023.
5. "Henry delight at Highbury finale". BBC News. 7 May 2006. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
6. Charlton changed sponsors during the season, as previous sponsors All:Sports went into administration.
7. "Portsmouth dismiss manager Perrin". BBC Sport. 24 November 2005. Retrieved 24 November 2005.
8. "Newcastle dismiss manager Souness". BBC Sport. 2 February 2006. Retrieved 2 February 2006.
9. "Sunderland sack manager McCarthy". BBC Sport. 6 March 2006. Retrieved 6 March 2006.
10. "Premier League Player Stats - Assists". Premier League. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
11. "GERRARD NAMED PFA PLAYER OF THE YEAR". Sporting Life. Archived from the original on 22 November 2007. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
12. "Gerrard named player of the year". BBC News. 23 April 2006. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
13. "BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Arsenal | Henry picks up award from writers". BBC News. 27 April 2006. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
14. "Premier League History - 2005/06 Season Review". www.premierleague.com. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
15. "Henry collects Premiership award". BBC News. 5 May 2006.
16. Wallace, Sam (8 May 2006). "Arsenal 4 Wigan Athletic 2: Highbury story ends with last act of sublime skill from Henry – Premier League, Football". The Independent. UK. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
17. "Thierry Henry with his Golden Boot Award. Arsenal 4:2 Wigan Athletic. Arsenal FC, Arsenal v Wigan 2005/06". Arsenalpics.com. Archived from the original on 2 December 2008. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
18. "Reina collects Barclays Golden Glove Award". Premierleague.com. Archived from the original on 18 September 2008. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
19. "BARCLAYS PREMIERSHIP 2005/2006 FAIR PLAY LEAGUE" (PDF). 23 September 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2006.

External links

• 2005–06 FA Premier League Season at RSSSF
• 2005/2006 League table from sportpress