List of Premier League seasons

Premier League

Country	England  Wales
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Founded	20 February 1992
Number of teams	20
Level on pyramid	1
Relegation to	Football League Championship
International cup(s)	UEFA Champions League UEFA Europa League
Current champions	Leicester City (2015–16)
Most championships	Manchester United (13)
2016–17 Premier 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. Seasons run from August to May, with teams playing 38 matches each, totalling 380 matches in the season. Most games are played on Saturdays and Sundays, with a few games played during weekday evenings.

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. Teams competing in the Premier League may qualify for the UEFA Champions League or UEFA Europa League on virtue of league positions. The competition adopts a promotion and relegation system with the Football League which comes into place at the end of each season. Since the inaugural season in 1992–93, 45 teams have competed in the Premier League. At the end of the 1994–95 season, the league was reduced from 22 teams to 20.

Six clubs have won the title: Manchester United (13 times), Chelsea (4), Arsenal (3), Manchester City (2), Blackburn Rovers and Leicester City; Manchester United was the first club to win the league three consecutive seasons in a row twice (1998–99 to 2000–01 & 2006–07 to 2008–09) and Arsenal was the only team to go an entire season without a single defeat in 2003–04. The record number of points accumulated by a team is 95 by Chelsea, who won the Premier League in 2004–05. Crystal Palace and Norwich have been relegated the most times (4) while Derby County accumulated the lowest ever points total with 11 in the 2007–08 season. 16 top goalscorers from 11 different clubs have been awarded the Premier League Golden Boot. Andrew Cole and Alan Shearer scored 34 goals in a 42-game season – the most in a Premier League season, while Alan Shearer, Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Suárez jointly hold the record in a 38-game season with 31. Dutchman Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was the first foreigner to win the award outright in 2000–01 having shared the accolade with Dwight Yorke of Trinidad and Tobago in 1998–99.

History

Champions

They've deserved to win the league and now, having opened the door, if they show the same hunger they have shown this year, there's no saying what they can achieve.

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson on his players winning the Premier League in May 1993.^[1]

In the inaugural season of the Premier League Manchester United finished 10 points clear of Aston Villa to win their first league championship in over 26 years.^[2] The club successfully retained the title in 1993–94, leading the table after beating Aston Villa 2–1 in the third gameweek.^[3] Manchester United also completed a league and cup double, beating Chelsea 4–0 in the FA Cup final. Blackburn Rovers under the investment of owner Jack Walker and manager Kenny Dalglish won their first championship since 1913–14 on the final day of the 1994–95 season.^[4] Despite Blackburn losing to Liverpool, Manchester United – in second place and two points behind the leaders before kick-off had failed to capitalise on the result, drawing at West Ham United.^[5] Manchester United however regained the Premier League in 1995–96 after much scrutiny over the inexperience of the first team at the beginning of the season.^[6] Newcastle United who held a 12-point lead at the top in January 1996 were pegged back in the following weeks before Manchester United moved in front at the end of March.^[7]

Manchester United retained the league in 1996–97 but were overhauled by Arsenal in the final ten weeks of the 1997–98 season, finishing second.^[8][9] Arsenal, managed by Arsène Wenger in his first full season at the club also beat Newcastle 2–0 in the FA Cup final to win the trophy and accomplish a double.^[10] They however failed to retain both trophies as Manchester United pipped Arsenal on the final day of the league season, winning the Premier League as well as defeating the holders in a FA Cup semi-final replay.^[11] United won the league for two successive seasons: in 1999–2000 ending the season 18 points in front and 2000–01 by 10.^[12][13] After four seasons without a trophy, Arsenal again completed a league and cup double in 2001–02 remarkably scoring in every single Premier League match.^[14] The title the following season was won by Manchester United, with striker Ruud van Nistelrooy scoring 25 goals in 38 league matches.^[15]

In the summer of 2003, Chelsea were taken over by businessman Roman Abramovich and despite the club spending over £100m on new players, the 2003–04 champions were Arsenal, who became the first Premier League club to win the league without defeat.^[16][17] Chelsea's failure to finish first culminated in managerial changes: coach Claudio Ranieri was sacked and subsequently replaced with Portuguese José Mourinho.^[18] The club won the league in 2004–05, 12 points ahead of runners-up Arsenal, scoring 72 goals and conceding 15 in the process.^[19][20] Chelsea won a second successive Premier League title in 2005–06 before Manchester United became the third different club to win the league in four seasons in 2006–07.^[21][22] Despite Arsenal leading the division for much of the 2007–08 season, Manchester United retained the championship on the final day of the season and won their eleventh Premier League title in 2008–09 after much competition from Liverpool.^[23][24] Chelsea reclaimed the league in 2009–10, scoring a record 103 goals and won the FA Cup to end the season as double winners.^[25] In May 2011, Manchester United won their 12th Premier League title and a record 19th after drawing away to Blackburn Rovers.^[26]

Promotion and Relegation

Nottingham Forest were the first team relegated from the Premier League in the 1992–93 season, losing 0–2 at home to Sheffield United on 1 May 1993.^[27] They were joined by Middlesbrough and Crystal Palace, with the latter club relegated on goal difference. Newcastle United and West Ham United were both automatically promoted from the First Division while Swindon Town triumphed in the playoffs.

Blackburn Rovers have been the only Premier League champions to be relegated from the league, in 1998–99 and 2011–12.

Top goalscorer

Thierry Henry has received the most Golden Boot awards with four.

The top goalscorer in the Premier League at the end of each season is awarded the Premier League Golden Boot, known for sponsorship reasons as the Barclays Golden Boot. The first recipient was Teddy Sheringham of Tottenham Hotspur, who scored 21 goals in 40 games for the club as well as an additional goal for Nottingham Forest on the opening day of the season.^[28] Andrew Cole scored 34 goals for Newcastle United in 1993–94 before Alan Shearer won three consecutive awards: twice for Blackburn Rovers including their league-winning season and once for Newcastle United in 1996–97. Chris Sutton, Michael Owen and Dion Dublin of Blackburn Rovers, Liverpool and Coventry City respectively were the joint recipients of the Golden Boot the following season, with 18 goals apiece. Owen again shared the accolade, scoring 18 goals in 1998–99 with Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke and Leeds forward Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. In 1999–2000, the award was given to Kevin Phillips of newly promoted Sunderland, scoring 30 goals in 36 games.^[29] At a strike rate of 0.83, he was also awarded the European Golden Shoe.^[29]

Hasselbaink was the winner in 2000–01, scoring 23 goals for Chelsea in 35 appearances.^[30] Thierry Henry of Arsenal picked up the prize a year later with 24 goals and Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy was the awardee in 2002–03, scoring one more than the previous season's tally.^[31][32] Henry picked up three successive Golden Boots in 2003–04, 2004–05 and 2005–06 scoring 30, 25 and 27 goals respectively.^[33] Chelsea striker Didier Drogba was the top goalscorer in 2006–07 with 20 goals and Manchester United midfielder Cristiano Ronaldo contributed to his team's success in 2007–08, scoring 31 goals in 34 league games; a strike rate of 0.91.^[34][35] Nicolas Anelka of Chelsea was the recipient in 2008–09 with 18 goals before his fellow strike partner Drogba won his second Golden Boot the following season with 29 goals.^[36][37] Both Carlos Tevez and Dimitar Berbatov of Manchester City and Manchester United respectively each won their first Golden Boot at the end of the 2010–11 season, scoring 20 goals.^[38]

Seasons

Key

	League champions won domestic double
	Team qualified as UCL champions

Season	Champions	Champions League[lower-alpha 1]	UEFA Cup / Europa League[lower-alpha 2]	Relegated	Promoted	Player	Goals[lower-alpha 3]
		Europe[lower-alpha 4]				Top scorer
1992–93	Manchester United	& —	Aston Villa Norwich City	Crystal Palace Middlesbrough Nottingham Forest	Newcastle United West Ham United Swindon Town	Sheringham, TeddyTeddy Sheringham	22[lower-alpha 5]
1993–94	Manchester United	& —	Blackburn Rovers Newcastle United	Sheffield United Oldham Athletic Swindon Town	Crystal Palace Nottingham Forest Leicester City	Cole, AndyAndy Cole	34
1994–95	Blackburn Rovers	& —	Manchester United Nottingham Forest Liverpool Leeds United	Crystal Palace Norwich City Leicester City Ipswich Town	Middlesbrough Bolton Wanderers	Shearer, AlanAlan Shearer	34
1995–96	Manchester United	& —	Newcastle United Aston Villa Arsenal	Manchester City Queens Park Rangers Bolton Wanderers	Sunderland Derby County Leicester City	Shearer, AlanAlan Shearer	31
1996–97	Manchester United	Newcastle United	Arsenal Liverpool Aston Villa	Sunderland Middlesbrough[lower-alpha 6] Nottingham Forest	Bolton Wanderers Barnsley Crystal Palace	Shearer, AlanAlan Shearer	25
1997–98	Arsenal	Manchester United	Liverpool Leeds United Blackburn Rovers Aston Villa	Bolton Wanderers Barnsley Crystal Palace	Nottingham Forest Middlesbrough Charlton Athletic	Dublin, DionDion Dublin Michael Owen Chris Sutton	18
1998–99	Manchester United [lower-alpha 7]	Arsenal Chelsea	Leeds United	Charlton Athletic Blackburn Rovers Nottingham Forest	Sunderland Bradford City Watford	Hasselbaink, Jimmy FloydJimmy Floyd Hasselbaink Michael Owen Dwight Yorke	18
1999–2000	Manchester United	Arsenal Leeds United	Liverpool	Wimbledon Sheffield Wednesday Watford	Charlton Athletic Manchester City Ipswich Town	Phillips, KevinKevin Phillips	30[lower-alpha 8]
2000–01	Manchester United	Arsenal Liverpool	Leeds United	Manchester City Coventry City Bradford City	Fulham Blackburn Rovers Bolton Wanderers	Hasselbaink, Jimmy FloydJimmy Floyd Hasselbaink	23
2001–02	Arsenal	Liverpool Manchester United Newcastle United	Leeds United Chelsea	Ipswich Town Derby County Leicester City	Manchester City West Bromwich Albion Birmingham City	Henry, ThierryThierry Henry	24
2002–03	Manchester United	Arsenal Newcastle United Chelsea	Blackburn Rovers Southampton	West Ham United West Bromwich Albion Sunderland	Portsmouth Leicester City Wolverhampton Wanderers	Nistelrooy, Ruud vanRuud van Nistelrooy	25
2003–04	Arsenal	Chelsea Manchester United Liverpool	Newcastle United	Leicester City Leeds United Wolverhampton Wanderers	Norwich City West Bromwich Albion Crystal Palace	Henry, ThierryThierry Henry	30[lower-alpha 9]
2004–05	Chelsea	Arsenal Manchester United Everton Liverpool	Bolton Wanderers Middlesbrough	Crystal Palace Norwich City Southampton	Sunderland Wigan Athletic West Ham United	Henry, ThierryThierry Henry	25[lower-alpha 10]
2005–06	Chelsea	Manchester United Liverpool Arsenal	Tottenham Hotspur Blackburn Rovers	Birmingham City West Bromwich Albion Sunderland	Reading Sheffield United Watford	Henry, ThierryThierry Henry	27
2006–07	Manchester United	Chelsea Liverpool Arsenal	Tottenham Hotspur Everton Bolton Wanderers	Sheffield United Charlton Athletic Watford	Sunderland Birmingham City Derby County	Drogba, DidierDidier Drogba	20
2007–08	Manchester United	Chelsea Arsenal Liverpool	Everton	Reading Birmingham City Derby County	West Bromwich Albion Stoke City Hull City	Ronaldo, CristianoCristiano Ronaldo	31[lower-alpha 11]
2008–09	Manchester United	Liverpool Chelsea Arsenal	Everton Aston Villa	Newcastle United Middlesbrough West Bromwich Albion	Wolverhampton Wanderers Birmingham City Burnley	Anelka, NicolasNicolas Anelka	19
2009–10	Chelsea	Manchester United Arsenal Tottenham Hotspur	Manchester City Aston Villa	Burnley Hull City Portsmouth[lower-alpha 12]	Newcastle United West Bromwich Albion Blackpool	Drogba, DidierDidier Drogba	29
2010–11	Manchester United	Chelsea Arsenal Manchester City	Tottenham Hotspur	Birmingham City Blackpool West Ham United	Queens Park Rangers Norwich City Swansea City	Berbatov, DimitarDimitar Berbatov Carlos Tevez	21
2011–12	Manchester City	Manchester United Chelsea Arsenal	Tottenham Hotspur Newcastle United	Bolton Wanderers Blackburn Rovers Wolverhampton Wanderers	Reading Southampton West Ham United	Persie, Robin vanRobin van Persie	30
2012–13	Manchester United	Manchester City Chelsea Arsenal	Tottenham Hotspur	Wigan Athletic Reading Queens Park Rangers	Cardiff City Hull City Crystal Palace	Persie, Robin vanRobin van Persie	26
2013–14	Manchester City	Liverpool Chelsea Arsenal	Everton Tottenham Hotspur	Norwich City Fulham Cardiff City	Leicester City Burnley Queens Park Rangers	Suarez, LuisLuis Suárez	31 [lower-alpha 13]
2014–15	Chelsea	Manchester City Arsenal Manchester United	Tottenham Hotspur Liverpool Southampton	Hull City Burnley Queens Park Rangers	Bournemouth Watford Norwich City	Aguero, SergioSergio Agüero	26
2015–16	Leicester City	Arsenal Tottenham Hotspur Manchester City	Manchester United Southampton West Ham United	Aston Villa Norwich Newcastle	Burnley Middlesbrough Hull City	Kane, HarryHarry Kane	25[54]

Notes

1. The Champions League was initially contested by domestic league champions of nations affiliated to UEFA. From the 1997–98 season the competition was expanded to include eight domestic league runners-up selected by a coefficient system. A preliminary spot was awarded to the third place team in the Premier League starting from the 1999–2000 season and an increase in coefficient points resulted in an extra preliminary spot announced during the 2001–02 season, awarded to the team finishing fourth in the Premier League. As of 2008–09, the top three Premier League teams will automatically qualify for the group stages of the competition while the fourth-placed team will participate in a play-off.^{[39][40][41][42]}
2. Since the 2001–02 season, the fifth-placed team in the Premier League automatically qualifies for the competition. If both of the domestic cup winners qualify for the Champions League through their league position, the sixth and seventh-placed teams will take their place.^[43] Originally referred to as the UEFA Cup, the competition was revamped to the UEFA Europa League from the start of the 2009–10 season.^[44]
3. Goals only scored in the Premier League
4. In addition to the Premier League champions, teams who also qualify for Europe by virtue of their league position, not those who qualify by other means such as winning the FA Cup, Football League Cup or via the Fair Play initiative. Abolished competitions such as the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and UEFA Intertoto Cup are excluded.
5. Sheringham joined Tottenham Hotspur in August 1992 for £2.1 million. In the league he scored one goal for Nottingham Forest (against Liverpool on the opening weekend of the season) and 21 for Tottenham Hotspur.^[45][28]
6. Middlesbrough were deducted three points and fined £50,000 by the Premier League after failing to attend the scheduled fixture against Blackburn Rovers in January 1997.^[46]
7. As well as winning the league and FA Cup, Manchester United beat Bayern Munich 2–1 in the final of the UEFA Champions League to complete a European treble.^[47]
8. Kevin Phillips won the European Golden Shoe for the 1999–2000 season, scoring 30 league goals.^[48]
9. Thierry Henry won the European Golden Shoe for the 2003–04 season, scoring 30 goals.^[49]
10. Thierry Henry was the joint holder of the European Golden Shoe with Diego Forlán who also scored 25 goals.^[50]
11. Cristiano Ronaldo was awarded the European Golden Shoe for the 2007–08 season, scoring 31 goals.^[51]
12. Portsmouth were deducted ten points after entering administration in February 2010.^[52]
13. Luis Suárez shared the European Golden Shoe for the 2013–14 season with Cristiano Ronaldo, both scoring 31 goals.^[53]

References

General

• "History of the Premier League". 24 November 2011. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
• "Barclays Premier League Table". Retrieved 6 January 2012.
• "Who qualifies to play in Europe?". Retrieved 6 January 2012.
• Ross, James M. (7 November 2008). "English League Leading Goalscorers". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 18 November 2008.

Bibliography

• Ascough, Phil (2011). Kissing the Badge. A&C Black. ISBN 1-4081-6508-2.

Specific

1. Winter, Henry (5 May 1993). "Football: United revel in their new theatre of themes: Ferguson reacts to the title with a call for continued hunger as Cantona, Giggs and Robson reveal appetite for more". The Independent. London. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
2. "FA Premier League / Football League Division One". ManUtd.com. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
3. Shaw, Phil (3 May 1994). "Football / The Race for The Premiership: United take title as Blackburn's chase ends: Darby inspires Coventry to deny denuded Rovers and ensure championship stays in Manchester". The Independent. London. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
4. Shaw, Phil (15 May 1995). "Ewood Park has seen it all before – long, long ago". The Independent. London. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
5. Moore, Glenn (15 May 1995). "Rovers' title forged by Hammers". The Independent. London. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
6. Moore, Glenn (6 May 1996). "United finish in style of worthy champions". The Independent. London. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
7. Shaw, Phil (6 May 1996). "Keegan to fight on despite anticlimax". The Independent. London. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
8. Hodgson, Guy (12 May 1997). "Football: Cruyff's delight enlivens drudge match". The Independent. London. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
9. "Arsenal crowned Premiership champions". BBC News. 3 May 1998. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
10. "Arsenal at the double". BBC News. 16 May 1998. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
11. Thorpe, Martin (22 May 1999). "Dominant Reds make the Double look easy". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
12. Lacey, David (16 December 2000). "Fergie's shadow leaves the future unclear". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
13. Barlow, Matt (3 March 2001). "So, who will blink first? United heading for title showdown with Arsenal... but don't rule out Chelsea yet". Daily Mail. London. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
14. "Arsenal clinch Double". BBC Sport. 8 May 2002. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
15. Fletcher, Paul (4 May 2003). "Ten weeks that turned the title". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
16. Ridley, Ian (10 August 2003). "Reality check for Roman's dream team". The Observer. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
17. McCarra, Kevin (26 April 2004). "Celebrations as Arsenal clinch title". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
18. Brodkin, Jon (1 June 2004). "Mourinho flies in as Ranieri is fired". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
19. Walker, Michael (16 May 2005). "Mourinho's record-breakers take Geordie salute". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
20. "Chelsea 2004–2005 : English Premier League Table". Statto.com. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
21. "Chelsea 3–0 Man Utd". BBC Sport. 29 April 2006. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
22. Fletcher, Paul (6 May 2007). "How the title was won". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
23. McKenzie, Andrew (12 May 2008). "How the title was won". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
24. Stevenson, Jonathan; Cheese, Caroline (16 May 2009). "How the Premier League was won". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
25. McNulty, Phil (9 May 2010). "Chelsea 8–0 Wigan". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
26. Nurse, Howard (14 May 2011). "Blackburn 1–1 Man Utd". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
27. Fox, Norman (2 May 1993). "Football: Clough bids the saddest farewell". The Independent. London. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
28. May, John (10 February 2003). "Sheri all round in exclusive club". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
29. Roach, Stuart (15 February 2002). "Phillips' uncertain world". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
30. "Manchester City 1–2 Chelsea". BBC Sport. 19 May 2001. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
31. "Arsenal 4–3 Everton". BBC Sport. 11 May 2002. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
32. "Van Nistelrooy nets Golden Boot". BBC Sport. 11 May 2003. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
33. Turner, Georgina; Ingle, Sean (17 May 2004). "Mr Em and Sven's squad, and Fiver Worst Player Awards VI". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
34. "Drogba collects Golden Boot award". BBC Sport. 18 May 2007. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
35. "Ronaldo & Ferguson win top awards". BBC Sport. 14 May 2008. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
36. "Anelka's Golden Boot delight". skysports.com. BSkyB. 28 May 2009. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
37. "Didier Drogba revels in beating Rooney to golden boot". BBC Sport. 9 May 2010. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
38. Marshall, Adam (26 May 2011). "Dimitar strikes gold". ManUtd.com. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
39. "Competition format". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
40. "FAQ: Qualification and Seeding for the European Cups". RSSSF. 28 October 1999. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
41. "European qualification explained". BBC Sport. 25 March 2002. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
42. "Champions League final switched". BBC Sport. 30 November 2007. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
43. Premier League, FAQ.
44. "Uefa Cup given new name in revamp". BBC Sport. 26 September 2008. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
45. Ascough, p. 16.
46. Duxbury, Nick (15 January 1997). "Middlesbrough rocked by three-point penalty". The Independent. London. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
47. "United crowned kings of Europe". BBC News. 26 May 1999. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
48. "Phillips nets Golden prize". BBC Sport. 29 July 2000. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
49. "2004 at a glance". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 1 January 2011. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
50. "Henry and Forlan win Golden Shoe". BBC Sport. 30 May 2005. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
51. Pontes, Carlos (14 September 2008). "Ronaldo receives Golden Boot in his native Madeira". Reuters. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
52. "Pompey become first top-flight club in administration". BBC Sport. 26 February 2010. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
53. Carroll, James (19 May 2014). "Suarez jointly wins Golden Shoe prize". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
54. http://www.premierleague.com/en-gb/players/profile.statistics.html/harry-kane

External links

• Premier League official website