Season | 2007–08 |
---|---|
Dates | 11 August 2007 – 11 May 2008 |
Champions | Manchester United 10th Premier League title 17th English title |
Relegated | Reading Birmingham City Derby County |
Champions League | Manchester United Chelsea Arsenal Liverpool |
UEFA Cup | Portsmouth Everton Tottenham Hotspur Manchester City (through UEFA Respect Fair Play ranking) |
Intertoto Cup | Aston Villa |
Matches played | 380 |
Goals scored | 1,002 (2.64 per match) |
Top goalscorer | Cristiano Ronaldo (31 goals) |
Best goalkeeper | Pepe Reina (18 clean sheets) |
Biggest home win | Middlesbrough 8–1 Manchester City (11 May 2008) |
Biggest away win | Derby County 0–6 Aston Villa (12 April 2008) |
Highest scoring | Portsmouth 7–4 Reading (29 September 2007) |
Longest winning run | 8 games [1] Manchester United |
Longest unbeaten run | 21 games [1] Chelsea |
Longest winless run | 32 games [1] Derby County |
Longest losing run | 8 games [1] Reading Wigan Athletic |
Highest attendance | 76,013 [2] Manchester United 4–1 West Ham United (3 May 2008) |
Lowest attendance | 14,007 [2] Wigan Athletic 1–0 Middlesbrough (15 August 2007) |
Total attendance | 13,708,885 |
Average attendance | 36,076 [2] |
← 2006–07 2008–09 → |
The 2007–08 Premier League (known as the Barclays Premier League for sponsorship reasons) season was the 16th since its establishment. The first matches of the season were played on 11 August 2007, and the season ended on 11 May 2008. Manchester United went into the 2007–08 season as the Premier League's defending champions, having won their ninth Premier League title and sixteenth league championship overall the previous season. This season was also the third consecutive season to see the "Big Four" continue their stranglehold on the top four spots (which mean UEFA Champions League qualification).
The first goal of the season was scored by Michael Chopra, who scored a 94th-minute winner for Sunderland against Tottenham in the early kick-off. [3] The first red card of the season was given to Reading's Dave Kitson after a challenge on Patrice Evra in their opening game against Manchester United. [4] The first hat-trick was scored by Emmanuel Adebayor in the match between Arsenal and Derby County. [5]
On 29 September 2007, Portsmouth and Reading played the highest-scoring match in Premier League history, in which Portsmouth won 7–4. [6] On 15 December 2007, both Roque Santa Cruz (Blackburn Rovers) and Marcus Bent (Wigan Athletic) scored hat-tricks during Wigan's 5–3 home win over Blackburn. This was the first occasion in Premier League history that two players on opposing teams had scored hat-tricks during the same match. [7]
Manchester United successfully defended their title, winning tenth Premier League on the final day with a 2–0 win over Wigan Athletic, while second-placed Chelsea drew 1–1 with Bolton Wanderers. It was their seventeenth English title overall, with the club just one title behind their rivals Liverpool's total of 18. Elsewhere on the final day, Middlesbrough thrashed Manchester City 8–1 to claim the biggest win of the season.
On 29 March 2008, Derby County drew 2–2 with Fulham while Birmingham City, who were 17th in the table at the time, beat Manchester City 3–1, to make Derby County the first team in Premier League history to be relegated in March. [8] Throughout the season, the team won just one game and recorded only 11 points, the lowest tally in top flight history. On the final day of the season, Reading beat Derby 4–0 and Birmingham City beat Blackburn Rovers 4–1. However, Fulham's 1–0 win over Portsmouth sent both teams down as the London club avoided the drop on goal difference.
The season was notable for the return of the English league to the top of UEFA's official ranking list, overtaking La Liga for the period from 1 May 2008 to 30 April 2009. This followed the success of English clubs in the UEFA Champions League, with both champions Manchester United and runners-up Chelsea reaching the final. This was the first time that the English league had topped the UEFA rankings since the Heysel Stadium disaster in 1985.
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, Birmingham City (both teams returning after a season's absence), and Derby County (returning after a five-year absence). They replaced Sheffield United, Charlton Athletic and Watford. The previous season had seen Sheffield United and Watford both suffer an immediate return to the Championship, while Charlton Athletic were relegated after a seven-year top flight spell.
In addition, Premier League officials were supplied with new kit made by Umbro, replacing American makers Official Sports, and are sponsored by Air Asia, replacing Emirates. The 2007–08 season saw a new font used for the names on the back of players' shirts. [10]
Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wigan Athletic | Paul Jewell | Resigned | 14 May 2007 [11] | Pre-season | Chris Hutchings | 14 May 2007 [12] |
Newcastle United | Nigel Pearson (caretaker) | End of caretaker period | 14 May 2007 | Sam Allardyce | 15 May 2007 [13] | |
Manchester City | Stuart Pearce | Sacked | 14 May 2007 [14] | Sven-Göran Eriksson | 6 July 2007 [15] | |
Chelsea | José Mourinho | Mutual consent | 20 September 2007 [16] | 5th | Avram Grant | 20 September 2007 [16] |
Bolton Wanderers | Sammy Lee | 17 October 2007 [17] | 19th | Gary Megson | 25 October 2007 [18] | |
Tottenham Hotspur | Martin Jol | Sacked | 25 October 2007 [19] | 18th | Juande Ramos | 27 October 2007 [20] |
Wigan Athletic | Chris Hutchings | 5 November 2007 [21] | Steve Bruce | 26 November 2007 [22] | ||
Birmingham City | Steve Bruce | Signed by Wigan | 19 November 2007 [22] | 15th | Alex McLeish | 28 November 2007 [23] |
Derby County | Billy Davies | Mutual consent | 26 November 2007 [24] | 20th | Paul Jewell | 28 November 2007 [25] |
Fulham | Lawrie Sanchez | Sacked | 21 December 2007 [26] | 18th | Roy Hodgson | 30 December 2007 [27] |
Newcastle United | Sam Allardyce | Mutual consent | 9 January 2008 [28] | 11th | Kevin Keegan | 16 January 2008 [29] |
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Manchester United (C) | 38 | 27 | 6 | 5 | 80 | 22 | +58 | 87 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
2 | Chelsea | 38 | 25 | 10 | 3 | 65 | 26 | +39 | 85 | |
3 | Arsenal | 38 | 24 | 11 | 3 | 74 | 31 | +43 | 83 | Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round |
4 | Liverpool | 38 | 21 | 13 | 4 | 67 | 28 | +39 | 76 | |
5 | Everton | 38 | 19 | 8 | 11 | 55 | 33 | +22 | 65 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
6 | Aston Villa | 38 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 71 | 51 | +20 | 60 | Qualification for the Intertoto Cup third round |
7 | Blackburn Rovers | 38 | 15 | 13 | 10 | 50 | 48 | +2 | 58 | |
8 | Portsmouth | 38 | 16 | 9 | 13 | 48 | 40 | +8 | 57 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round [lower-alpha 1] |
9 | Manchester City | 38 | 15 | 10 | 13 | 45 | 53 | −8 | 55 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first qualifying round [lower-alpha 2] |
10 | West Ham United | 38 | 13 | 10 | 15 | 42 | 50 | −8 | 49 | |
11 | Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 66 | 61 | +5 | 46 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round [lower-alpha 3] |
12 | Newcastle United | 38 | 11 | 10 | 17 | 45 | 65 | −20 | 43 | |
13 | Middlesbrough | 38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 43 | 53 | −10 | 42 | |
14 | Wigan Athletic | 38 | 10 | 10 | 18 | 34 | 51 | −17 | 40 | |
15 | Sunderland | 38 | 11 | 6 | 21 | 36 | 59 | −23 | 39 | |
16 | Bolton Wanderers | 38 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 36 | 54 | −18 | 37 | |
17 | Fulham | 38 | 8 | 12 | 18 | 38 | 60 | −22 | 36 | |
18 | Reading (R) | 38 | 10 | 6 | 22 | 41 | 66 | −25 | 36 | Relegation to Football League Championship |
19 | Birmingham City (R) | 38 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 46 | 62 | −16 | 35 | |
20 | Derby County (R) | 38 | 1 | 8 | 29 | 20 | 89 | −69 | 11 |
Rank | Player | Club | Goals [43] |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Manchester United | 31 |
2 | Emmanuel Adebayor | Arsenal | 24 |
Fernando Torres | Liverpool | ||
4 | Roque Santa Cruz | Blackburn Rovers | 19 |
5 | Benjani | Portsmouth / Manchester City | 15 |
Dimitar Berbatov | Tottenham Hotspur | ||
Robbie Keane | |||
Yakubu | Everton | ||
9 | Carlos Tevez | Manchester United | 14 |
10 | John Carew | Aston Villa | 13 |
Scorer | Time (seconds) | Team | Opponent |
---|---|---|---|
Geovanni | 28 | Manchester City | Wigan Athletic |
Cameron Jerome | 32 | Birmingham City | Derby County |
Yakubu | 47 | Everton | Portsmouth |
David Healy | 50 | Fulham | Arsenal |
Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month |
---|---|---|
August 2007 | Sven-Göran Eriksson (Manchester City) [46] | Micah Richards (Manchester City) [46] |
September 2007 | Arsène Wenger (Arsenal) [47] | Cesc Fàbregas (Arsenal) [47] |
October 2007 | Mark Hughes (Blackburn Rovers) [48] | Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) [48] |
November 2007 | Martin O'Neill (Aston Villa) [49] | Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa) [49] |
December 2007 | Arsène Wenger (Arsenal) [50] | Roque Santa Cruz (Blackburn Rovers) [50] |
January 2008 | Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United) [51] | Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United) [51] |
February 2008 | David Moyes (Everton) [52] | Fernando Torres (Liverpool) [52] |
March 2008 | Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United) [53] | Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United) [53] |
April 2008 | Avram Grant (Chelsea) [54] | Ashley Young (Aston Villa) [54] |
Sir Alex Ferguson picked up the Premier League Manager of the Season award for the eighth time. [55]
Cristiano Ronaldo won the Premier League Player of the Season accolade for the second season in succession. [55]
The PFA Players' Player of the Year award for 2008 was won by Cristiano Ronaldo for the second year in a row. [56]
The shortlist for the PFA Players' Player of the Year award, in alphabetical order, was as follows:
PFA Team of the Year |
Goalkeeper: David James (Portsmouth)
Defence: Bacary Sagna, Gaël Clichy (both Arsenal), Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidić (both Manchester United)
Midfield: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United), Cesc Fàbregas (Arsenal), Ashley Young (Aston Villa)
Attack: Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal), Fernando Torres (Liverpool)
The PFA Young Player of the Year award was won by Cesc Fàbregas of Arsenal. [56]
The shortlist for the award was as follows:
The FWA Footballer of the Year award for 2008 was won by Cristiano Ronaldo for a second successive season. The Manchester United winger saw off the challenges of Liverpool striker Fernando Torres and Portsmouth goalkeeper David James, who finished second and third respectively. [57]
Cristiano Ronaldo was named the winner of the Premier League Golden Boot award. The Manchester United winger's 31 goals from 34 league appearances helped see off stiff opposition for this award from Arsenal's Emmanuel Adebayor and Fernando Torres of Liverpool. This was the first Premier League season that a player has scored more than 30 goals since Alan Shearer's 31-goal haul for Blackburn Rovers twelve years prior. [55] [58]
Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina claimed the Premier League Golden Glove award for the third season in succession. Clean sheets in 18 out of the 38 games meant Reina kept more clean sheets than any other goalkeeper in the top flight during the 2007–08 campaign. [59]
The Premier League Fair Play Award is a merit given to the team who has been the most sporting and best behaved team. Tottenham topped the Fair Play League, ahead of Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal. [60] The least sporting side was Blackburn Rovers who finished in last place in the rankings. [61]
The LMA Manager of the Year award was won by Sir Alex Ferguson after leading Manchester United to back-to-back league title wins. The award was presented by Fabio Capello on 13 May 2008. [62]
2007 winner, Cristiano Ronaldo, was named the PFA Fans' Player of the Year again in 2008. Liverpool striker Fernando Torres finished second, with Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fàbregas finishing third. [63]
BBC broadcaster and former England and Blackpool full-back Jimmy Armfield received the PFA Merit Award for his services to the game. [56]
Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese winger, collected the Premier League Merit Award for reaching 30 league goals this season. [58]
The 2002–03 FA Premier League was the 11th season of the Premier League, the top division in English football. The first matches were played on 17 August 2002 and the last were played on 11 May 2003.
The 2006–07 season was the 127th season of competitive association football in England.
The 2005–06 FA Premier League 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.
Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor is a Togolese former professional footballer who played as a striker. During his career, he played for English clubs Arsenal, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace, as well as French side Metz, Monégasque team Monaco, Spanish team Real Madrid, Turkish clubs İstanbul Başakşehir and Kayserispor, Paraguay's Club Olimpia and Togolese club Semassi.
The 2007–08 season was the 128th season of competitive football in England.
The 2006–07 FA Premier League 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.
The 2006–07 season was Manchester United's 15th season in the Premier League, and their 32nd consecutive season in the top division of English football. United enjoyed a much more successful season than the previous three seasons, winning the Premier League by a six-point margin over Chelsea. They also reached the final of the FA Cup and the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League, losing to Chelsea and Milan respectively. However, for all their success in the major competitions, the club was unable to defend the League Cup title they had won in 2005–06, losing to Southend United in the Fourth Round.
The 2007–08 season was Chelsea Football Club's 94th competitive season, 16th consecutive season in the Premier League, and 102nd year as a club. Manager José Mourinho left the club by mutual consent on 20 September 2007 following a disappointing 1–1 draw with Rosenborg and was replaced by the Israeli Avram Grant.
The 2007–08 season was Arsenal Football Club's 16th season in the Premier League and their 82nd consecutive season in the top flight of English football. The club ended their Premier League campaign in third position, having led the table for two-thirds of the season. Arsenal made it into the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League, but were eliminated on aggregate score against Liverpool. The team exited the FA Cup in the fifth round to Manchester United and lost in the semi-finals of the League Cup to Tottenham Hotspur. This was Arsenal's first hat-trick of trophyless seasons since 1997.
The 2008–09 Premier League was the 17th season since the establishment of the Premier League in 1992. The season began on Saturday, 16 August 2008, and ended on 24 May 2009. The fixtures were announced on 16 June 2008. A total of 20 teams contested the league, consisting of 17 who competed in the previous season and three promoted from the Football League Championship. The new match ball was the Nike T90 Omni.
The 2007–08 season was Manchester United's 16th season in the Premier League, and their 33rd consecutive season in the top division of English football. Despite a slow start in the league, they won their 10th Premier League title and beat Chelsea on penalties in the 2008 UEFA Champions League Final to claim the European Double.
The 2006–07 season was Reading Football Club's first season in the Premier League, and their first season in the top flight of English football. Reading also participated in the League Cup, beating Darlington in the second round before losing 4–3 to Liverpool at Anfield. Reading entered the FA Cup at the third round stage, defeating Burnley 3–2 and then Birmingham City by the same score to meet Manchester United in the Fifth Round. After drawing the initial game 1–1 at Old Trafford, Reading lost 2–3 at home in the replay ten days later, conceding the three goals in the first six minutes of the match. They collected 55 points from 38 matches which was good enough for eighth place, making this Reading's best ever league season.
The 2006–07 season was Arsenal Football Club's 15th season in the Premier League and their 81st consecutive season in the top flight of English football. It was the first season in which home matches were played at the over-60,000 capacity Emirates Stadium; the club's former ground Highbury was to be redeveloped as a residential development. Arsenal ended their Premier League campaign in fourth, level on points with third-placed Liverpool but with a marginally lower goal difference. In the League Cup, a competition which offered manager Arsène Wenger the chance to play his younger players, Arsenal reached the final but lost to a relatively experienced Chelsea side. The defeat was followed by exits in the FA Cup to Blackburn Rovers and in the UEFA Champions League to PSV Eindhoven.
The 2006–07 season was the 115th season in Liverpool Football Club's existence and was their 45th consecutive year in the top-flight, and covers the period between 1 July 2006 to 30 June 2007. Having finished third the previous season, Liverpool had qualified for the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round.
The 2008–2009 season was Liverpool's 117th season in existence and their 47th consecutive season in the top-flight of English football. The season began on 1 July 2008 and concluded on 30 June 2009, with competitive matches played between August and May. Having finished the previous Premier League season in fourth place behind Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal, Liverpool improved to end the 2008–09 campaign in second place, four points behind Manchester United, with a record of 25 wins, 11 draws and two defeats. Liverpool made little progress in the domestic cup competitions and were eliminated in the fourth round of both the FA Cup and League Cup by Everton and Tottenham Hotspur respectively. They were defeated in the quarter-final of the UEFA Champions League by Chelsea.
The 2008–09 season was Manchester United's 17th season in the Premier League, and their 34th consecutive season in the top division of English football. The club won a third consecutive Premier League title for the second time to equal Liverpool's record of 18 league titles. United also reached the Champions League final, aiming to become the first team since Milan to defend the European Cup, but lost 2–0 to Barcelona.
The 2009–10 Premier League was the 18th season of the Premier League since its establishment in 1992. A total of 20 teams competed in the league, with Chelsea unseating the three-time defending champions Manchester United, scoring a then Premier League record 103 goals in the process. The season began on 15 August 2009 and concluded on 9 May 2010. Prior to each opening week match, a minute's applause was held in memory of Sir Bobby Robson. Nike provided a new match ball – the T90 Ascente – for this season. Barclays sponsored the league.
The Premier League is an English professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition and is contested by 20 clubs. The competition was formed in February 1992 following the decision of clubs in the Football League First Division to break away from The Football League, in order to take advantage of a lucrative television rights deal.