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Premier League

Season	1998–99
Champions	Manchester United 5th Premier League title 12th English title
Relegated	Charlton Athletic Blackburn Rovers Nottingham Forest
Champions League	Manchester United (first group stage) Arsenal (first group stage) Chelsea (third qualifying round)
UEFA Cup	Leeds United (first round) Newcastle United (first round) Tottenham Hotspur (first round)
Intertoto Cup	West Ham United (third round)
Matches played	380
Goals scored	963 (2.53 per match)
Top goalscorer	Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (Leeds, 18) Michael Owen (Liverpool, 18) Dwight Yorke (Manchester United, 18)
Biggest home win	Liverpool 7–1 Southampton (16 January 1999) Everton 6–0 West Ham United (8 May 1999)
Biggest away win	Nottingham Forest 1–8 Manchester United (6 February 1999)
Highest scoring	Nottingham Forest 1–8 Manchester United (6 February 1999)
Longest winning run	Leeds United (7)
Longest unbeaten run	Chelsea (21)
Longest losing run	Charlton Athletic (8)
Highest attendance	Manchester United v Southampton (55,316) (27 February 1999)
Lowest attendance	Nottingham Forest v Sheffield Wednesday (20,480) (1 May 1999)
Average attendance	30,591
← 1997–98 1999–2000 →

The 1998–99 FA Premier League season was the seventh season of the Premier League, the top division of English football, since its establishment in 1992. The season will always be remembered as the one in which Manchester United won a unique treble of the league title, the FA Cup and the European Cup. They secured their fifth league championship in seven seasons after losing just three league games all season.

Arsenal, who failed to regain their title, despite having the same points tally as last season 78 points, and had at one point looked as though they were on the brink of winning the title, after beating fellow rivals Tottenham Hotspur, while Manchester United had drawn against Liverpool, 2–2. However, Manchester United pushed on and took advantage of Arsenal's 1–0 defeat at Leeds United in the penultimate match of the season and despite going 1–0 down against Tottenham on the final day, came back to win 2–1 and clinch the title. Should they have failed to win, Arsenal would have been crowned champions once more.

In order to achieve their success, the Manchester United playing squad had been altered substantially during the close season. A total of more than £28 million had been spent on Dwight Yorke, Jaap Stam and Jesper Blomqvist, while several older players left the club; Gary Pallister returned to Middlesbrough after nine years for £2.5 million, while Brian McClair returned to Motherwell on a free transfer. In December, however, McClair was back in the Premier League as Brian Kidd's assistant at Blackburn Rovers.

European qualifiers[link]

At the end of 1998–99, the Premiership would have three Champions League places. As well as Manchester United, runners-up Arsenal and third placed Chelsea would be playing in the following season's Champions League. There would only be one automatic UEFA Cup place from the league – taken by fourth-placed Leeds United. Fifth-placed West Ham United qualified for the UEFA Cup via the Intertoto Cup. Also qualifying were Newcastle United via the FA Cup final, and Tottenham Hotspur via the League Cup.

Going down...[link]

Bottom of the Premiership in the final table came Nottingham Forest, who suffered their third relegation in seven seasons. One notable low for Forest this season was an 8–1 drubbing at home, by Manchester United. Second from bottom came Blackburn Rovers, who just four seasons earlier had been Premiership champions. The final relegation place went to Charlton Athletic, who went down at the end of their first spell in the top flight for nine seasons. The only newly promoted club to survive was Middlesbrough, who finished in a respectable ninth place.

None of the teams relegated from the Premiership the previous season regained their top division status in 1999, although First Division champions Sunderland regained their Premiership place after a two-year exile. The other two relegation places went to long-term absentees from the top division. Playoff winners Watford regained their top division place after an absence of 11 years, but runners-up Bradford had been outside of the top division for 77 years. These two promotion winners surprised the observers more than any other Division One side during 1998–99.

Personnel and kits[link]

(as of 16 May 1999)

Team	Manager1	Captain	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
Arsenal	Arsène Wenger	Tony Adams	Nike	JVC
Aston Villa	John Gregory	Gareth Southgate	Reebok	LDV Vans
Blackburn Rovers	Brian Kidd	Tim Sherwood	Uhlsport	CIS
Charlton Athletic	Alan Curbishley	Mark Kinsella	Le Coq Sportif	Mesh Computers
Chelsea	Gianluca Vialli	Dennis Wise	Umbro	Autoglass
Coventry City	Gordon Strachan	Gary McAllister	Le Coq Sportif	Subaru
Derby County	Jim Smith	Igor Štimac	Puma	EDS
Everton	Walter Smith	Dave Watson	Umbro	One2One
Leeds United	David O'Leary	David Hopkin	Puma	Packard Bell
Leicester City	Martin O'Neill	Steve Walsh	Fox Leisure	Walkers
Liverpool	Gérard Houllier	Paul Ince	Reebok	Carlsberg
Manchester United	Alex Ferguson	Roy Keane	Umbro	Sharp
Middlesbrough	Bryan Robson	Andy Townsend	Erreà	Cellnet
Newcastle United	Ruud Gullit	Rob Lee	adidas	Newcastle Brown Ale
Nottingham Forest	Ron Atkinson (caretaker)	Steve Chettle	Umbro	Pinnacle Insurance
Sheffield Wednesday	Danny Wilson	Peter Atherton	Puma	Sanderson
Southampton	Dave Jones	Matt Le Tissier	Pony	Sanderson
Tottenham Hotspur	George Graham	Sol Campbell	Pony	Hewlett-Packard
West Ham United	Harry Redknapp	Steve Lomas	Pony	Dr. Martens
Wimbledon	Terry Burton Mick Harford (caretakers)	Robbie Earle	Lotto	Elonex

Managerial changes[link]

Liverpool brought in former French national coach Gérard Houllier to work alongside manager Roy Evans at the start of the season, but Evans resigned in November to leave Houllier in sole charge.

Tottenham Hotspur sacked Christian Gross in September after less than a year in charge. His replacement was George Graham of Leeds United, who was himself replaced by former assistant David O'Leary.

Newcastle United sacked Kenny Dalglish just after the start of the season and replaced him with Ruud Gullit.

Everton appointed Walter Smith as Howard Kendall's successor.

Blackburn Rovers sacked Roy Hodgson in November, with the club bottom of the table. Manchester United assistant Brian Kidd replaced him. Ironically relegation was confirmed in the penultimate game of the season against Kidd's former club.

Nottingham Forest sacked Dave Bassett in January and put Ron Atkinson in charge until the end of the season. Atkinson retired after failing to save Forest from relegation and former England captain David Platt, 33, was name as player-manager.

Wimbledon manager Joe Kinnear was effectively forced to step down due to health problems in March, and did not return to the club. Coaches Mick Harford and Terry Burton took charge until the end of the season, when Norwegian coach Egil Olsen was appointed manager.

Final league table[link]

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

¹ Tottenham Hotspur qualified for the UEFA Cup as League Cup winners

² As Manchester United qualified for the Champions League, their UEFA Cup place as FA Cup winners defaulted to Newcastle United, the losing finalists

Season statistics[link]

Results[link]

Source:^{[citation needed]
1}The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Arsenal

Aston Villa

Blackburn

Charlton

Chelsea

Coventry

Derby

Everton

Leeds

Leicester

Liverpool

Man United

Middlesbrough

Newcastle

Nottingham Forest

Sheffield Wednesday

Southampton

Tottenham

West Ham

Wimbledon

Locations of the Premier League 1998–99 teams

Arsenal[link]

By the final day of the season, Manchester United were top of the Premiership and were facing Arsenal's local rivals Tottenham. United won 2–1 and clinched the title, making Arsenal's last-day victory meaningless and condemning the Gunners to a trophyless end to a season in which they had conceded just 17 Premiership goals.

The sale of young forward Nicolas Anelka to Real Madrid made the following season's task all the more difficult.

Aston Villa[link]

The early-season sale of Dwight Yorke to Manchester United seemed to rule out Villa's chances of challenging for a UEFA Cup place, but new signings Dion Dublin and Paul Merson soon revitalised the attack and spent much of the first half of the season top of the league. By Christmas Villa were top of the Premiership, though eventually the challenge from Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea was too strong and bad form which included 10 games without a win, Villa's season capitulated, tailing off into sixth place – this season it wasn't even enough for a UEFA Cup place.

Blackburn Rovers[link]

Four years earlier, Blackburn Rovers were Premiership champions. Just one year earlier, they had qualified for the UEFA Cup. They were among some people's outsiders for a title challenge.

But it all went wrong for Blackburn, who were soon in the depth of a relegation battle. Manager Roy Hodgson paid with his job in November, and Manchester United assistant Brian Kidd was named as his replacement. But Kidd was unable to steer Rovers to safety, and their relegation was confirmed in the penultimate day of the season, when they failed to beat United at Ewood Park. They were condemned to a place in Division One, but managed to hold on to many key players and approached the new season as most people's favourites for an immediate return to the elite.

Charlton Athletic[link]

Back in the top flight after an eight-year exile, Charlton Athletic made a good start to the Premiership campaign and Alan Curbishley was voted Manager of the Month for August. Their form soon dipped, but they were never completely outclassed by the rest of the Premiership sides. In the end, they were the last team to make the drop following a late revival by Southampton. But Curbishley's job was still safe, as the board had every confidence in his ability to regain a hard-earned place among the elite for the Addicks.

Chelsea[link]

Chelsea's recent revival continued, after a solid 4th place finish, European and League Cup success the previous season, Chelsea really felt that they could challenge for the title this season, The Blues made yet more big name signings, most notably French World Cup winning Defender Marcel Desailly from A.C. Milan, Spanish International Right-Back Albert Ferrer from F.C. Barcelona and breaking the clubs transfer record by paying £5.4 million for Italian International Stiker Pierluigi Casiraghi from S.S. Lazio, unfortunately Casiraghi's season and career was cut short by a knee injury, Gianfranco Zola had arguably the best season of his career, leading Chelsea to a serious title challenge, scoring 13 league goals, 15 in all competitions, and setting up many other goals for his team-mates. The European Super Cup was the only trophy that they had to show for their excellence. Their defence of the now-defunct Cup Winners' Cup ended in the semi-finals, while their title challenge was ended in early May when they just couldn't get the better of Manchester United or Arsenal. But a third place finish in the league booked them a third successive European campaign, and was another triumph for their excellent young manager Gianluca Vialli, who at 35 announced his retirement as a player to concentrate on his managerial duties.

Coventry City[link]

Coventry City finished 15th in the Premiership – four places lower than last season – but were never in any real danger of being relegated, despite the loss of key striker Dion Dublin to local rivals Aston Villa.

The biggest news of Coventry's season was the announcement of a move to a new 45,000-seat stadium at Foleshill, which was anticipated to be ready by 2002. Manager Gordon Strachan then signed Moroccan international football star Mustapha Hadji, knowing that it would be important to have a top quality team to match the forthcoming new home.

Derby County[link]

Derby County had another solid season in the Premiership, going one better than last season's finish to come eighth in the final table. They were in with a chance of a UEFA Cup place right up to the beginning of May, but once again they couldn't quite make it. They still had the satisfaction of finishing well above more fancied sides including Tottenham, Newcastle and Blackburn; not to mention finishing one place behind Liverpool.

Everton[link]

Everton continued to look a shadow of their former selves after Howard Kendall made way for new manager Walter Smith, though their 14th place finish was a three-place improvement upon last season's near miss with relegation. With Smith having achieved so much success north of the border with Rangers, he had been expected to bring some success to the blue half of Merseyside after two seasons of misery, but there was little for the Goodison Park faithful to shout about.

Leeds United[link]

Shockwaves were sent around Elland Road when manager George Graham walked out on Leeds to take charge of Tottenham in early October, and Martin O'Neill seemed certain to take over the reins. But it was a shock to many when O'Neill turned his back on Leeds, and Graham's former assistant David O'Leary was appointed instead. He quickly worked wonders with a predominantly young, inexperienced side, and they managed to qualify for the UEFA Cup in fourth place – their highest finish since winning the title seven years earlier. The acquisition of brilliant young striker Michael Bridges from Sunderland at the end of the season gave Leeds fans hope of more success – and preferably silverware – next time round.

Leicester City[link]

Leicester City repeated the previous season's 10th place in the Premiership, earning Martin O'Neill more credit for achieving strong finishes on a relatively limited budget. But the club's best chance of a UEFA Cup place was blown in late March when they lost to Tottenham in the Worthington Cup final. At least City fans had the satisfaction of holding on to the highly-rated O'Neill, who had seemed certain to desert the club for Leeds early in the season.

Liverpool[link]

The appointment of former French national coach Gérard Houllier as joint manager alongside Roy Evans was seen as Liverpool's best chance of making a title challenge, but Evans did not think the partnership was working and quit in November to leave Houllier in sole charge. Despite Michael Owen's brilliant form, Liverpool were unable to mount anything like a title challenge and seemed to be a side in transition following the appointment of their new coach and adapting to a new style, including facing the imminent break up of their Spice Boys squad with transfers in (Rigobert Song) and out (Jason McAteer, Stig Bjornebye, etc.). By January, the side was reshuffled but the failure of the club to retain the services of Steve McManaman, transferred to Real Madrid in a deal labelled as the Bosman scandal of the season, hurt the club financially. Performance wise, their seventh place finish was not enough to attain even a UEFA Cup place – as well as being the club's lowest finish for five years.

Manchester United[link]

Determined not to endure a repeat of last season's disappointing, trophyless season, Alex Ferguson twice broke the club's transfer record by signing Dutch defender Jaap Stam and then Aston Villa striker Dwight Yorke, as well as bolstering his attacking options by signing Jesper Blomqvist from Parma. They overcame an early challenge from Aston Villa to mount a three-horse title challenge with Arsenal and Chelsea, and a 2–1 win over Tottenham – Andy Cole netting the winner – on the final day of the season confirmed their status as champions for the fifth time in seven seasons. The following weekend, they took on Newcastle in the FA Cup final to win 2–0 at Wembley and become the first English team to win three "doubles" – they did so with no fewer than four key players remaining from the 1994 double winning side. That double would eventually become a Treble, as United were also the winners of the UEFA Champions League 1998-99, defeating Bayern Munich 2–1 in the final at the Nou Camp.

Middlesbrough[link]

Middlesbrough were the only newly-promoted side to avoid relegation from the Premiership in 1998–99. They attained an impressive ninth place finish in the final table. Way too high for relegation, but not quite high enough for a UEFA Cup place. Still, it was their highest finish for more than 20 years, and a step in the right direction for manager Bryan Robson – who had come close to European qualification (via the cup competitions) in the previous two campaigns.

Newcastle United[link]

Newcastle's season was an almost carbon copy of the one before. They finished 13th in the Premiership but reached the FA Cup final, and entered Europe (this time into the UEFA Cup due to the discontinuation of the Cup Winners' Cup) because the winning side had already qualified for the European Cup.

Just after the season started, Kenny Dalglish paid for Newcastle's sub-standard league performances with his job. The task was given to Ruud Gullit to turn things round, on the now-infamous promise of delivering 'sexy football' to Tyneside. But he could not improve on the club's previous league finish of 13th and a second successive cup final appearance was just not enough. A dismal league position put them below local rivals Middlesbrough as well as other unfancied sides including Derby County and Sheffield Wednesday.

Nottingham Forest[link]

Pierre Van Hooijdonk, top scorer in Forest's promotion-winning 1997–98 campaign, went AWOL before the start of the season following the sale of strike partner Kevin Campbell and it appeared that he would never play for the club again. He returned in October, but Forest were already deep in relegation trouble and it was too late to save manager Dave Bassett's job. Ron Atkinson made what appeared to be his final return to management, but was unable to save Forest from relegation in bottom place – the third time in seven years that they had endured this fate. With just 7 wins and 30 points all season, they had never really looked like beating the drop, due to embarrassing results like the 8–1 beating at home to Manchester United. Relegation was confirmed by a defeat to Aston Villa with three games left, which also seemingly guaranteed that Forest would be relegated with the worst record in the history of the Premier League, but the club avoided this by winning all three of their remaining games (including a 2-1 away victory at Blackburn which effectively dragged them down into Division One with Forest), which gave fans some hope that they might make another immediate return to the top-flight.

When Atkinson's contract was not renewed, Brian Little, Glenn Hoddle and Roy Evans were just some of the many high profile names linked with the manager's job, but in the end it was 33-year-old former England captain David Platt who took on the role as player-manager.

Sheffield Wednesday[link]

Danny Wilson's return to Hillsborough as manager saw them begin the season among the favourites for relegation of many pundits. But they performed reasonably well throughout the season – being one of just three sides to beat treble winners Manchester United – and finished 12th at the end of a campaign during which they had never faced any serious threat of going down. The only major concern at the club was a growing mountain of debts which would have been even more of a worry had the Owls suffered relegation.

Southampton[link]

Southampton were in the relegation zone all season long until April, and then a late run of good form saved the Saints from relegation at the expense of Charlton Athletic. Winning their final game of the season was a double delight, not only because they had attained survival. It also meant that they would be able to press ahead with a move to a new 32,000-seat stadium on the banks of the River Itchen, knowing that they would only have to play two more seasons at their dilapidated century-old Dell before making the long-awaited move to a capacious new home.

Tottenham Hotspur[link]

A dismal start to the season saw Christian Gross lose his job as Tottenham manager less than a year after taking over. There were a few raised eyebrows when the job went to George Graham – who had achieved so much success during his reign at Tottenham's deadly rivals Arsenal. But the appointment brought instant success. Though Tottenham were unable to progress beyond 11th place in the final Premiership table, they triumphed in the Carling Cup to attain only their second European campaign of the post-Heysel era.

West Ham United[link]

After narrowly missing out on a UEFA Cup place in 1997–98, West Ham finally achieved European qualification for the first time since 1980 thanks to a fifth place finish. Although star striker John Hartson was sold to Wimbledon in March (a record fee for West Ham), manager Harry Redknapp held on to Rio Ferdinand and ensured that West Ham would be with their finest asset in their next big challenge. The season also saw the arrival of Paolo Di Canio from Sheffield Wednesday. The season also saw the breakthrough of many current England internationals into the first team. Frank Lampard made a vital contribution to the season and Joe Cole made his debut.

Wimbledon[link]

Wimbledon dipped one place to finish 16th in the final Premiership table, bringing them to a new low in their 13th season of top flight football.

In March, when Wimbledon were still in the top half of the table with a UEFA Cup spot still within reach, striker John Hartson joined the club in a record £7.5million move from West Ham United, but his arrival coincided with a decline in form that dragged the club to the wrong end of the table.

Manager Joe Kinnear resigned at the end of the season after seven years in charge, to be succeeded by former Norwegian national coach Egil Olsen.

Top scorers[link]

Rank	Scorer	Club	Goals
1	Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink	Leeds United	18
	Michael Owen	Liverpool	18
	Dwight Yorke	Manchester United	18
4	Nicolas Anelka	Arsenal	17
	Andy Cole	Manchester United	17
6	Hamilton Ricard	Middlesbrough	15
7	Dion Dublin	Aston Villa	14
	Robbie Fowler	Liverpool	14
	Julian Joachim	Aston Villa	14
	Alan Shearer	Newcastle United	14

Awards[link]

Monthly awards[link]

Month	Manager of the Month	Player of the Month
August	Alan Curbishley (Charlton Athletic)	Michael Owen (Liverpool)
September	John Gregory (Aston Villa)	Alan Shearer (Newcastle United)
October	Martin O'Neill (Leicester City)	Roy Keane (Manchester United)
November	Harry Redknapp (West Ham United)	Dion Dublin (Aston Villa)
December	George Graham (Tottenham Hotspur)	Paul Scholes (Manchester United)
January	Alex Ferguson (Manchester United)	Dwight Yorke (Manchester United)
February	Alan Curbishley (Charlton Athletic)	Nicolas Anelka (Arsenal)
March	David O'Leary (Leeds United)	Ray Parlour (Arsenal)
April	Alex Ferguson (Manchester United)	Kevin Campbell (Everton)

Notes[link]

External links[link]

• 1998–99 FA Premier League Season at RSSSF

Premier League

150px
Countries	England  Wales
Confederation	UEFA
Founded	20 February 1992
Number of teams	20
Levels on pyramid	1
Relegation to	Football League Championship
Domestic cup(s)	FA Cup
League cup(s)	League Cup
International cup(s)	UEFA Champions League UEFA Europa League
Current champions	Manchester City (2011–12, 1st title)
Most championships	Manchester United (12 titles)
TV partners	Sky Sports ESPN BBC (Highlights only)
Website	Premierleague.com
2012–13 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. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Football League. The Premier League is a corporation in which the 20 member clubs act as shareholders. 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. It was known as the Premiership from 1993 to 2007. It is currently sponsored by Barclays Bank and therefore officially known as the Barclays Premier League.

The competition formed as the FA Premier League on 20 February 1992 following the decision of clubs in the Football League First Division to break away from The Football League, which was originally founded in 1888, and take advantage of a lucrative television rights deal.^[1] This was worth £2 billion in 2008–09.^[2] The Premier League is the most-watched football league in the world, broadcast in 212 territories to an audience of 643 million viewers.^[3] In the 2010–11 season the average Premier League match attendance was 35,363, the second highest of any professional football league behind the German Bundesliga,^[4] and stadium occupancy was 92.2% full.^[5] The Premier League ranked first in the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) coefficients of leagues based on performances in European competitions over the last five years, ahead of the Spanish La Liga and German Bundesliga.^[6]

Since 1888, a total of 23 clubs have been crowned champions of the English football system. Of the 45 clubs to have competed since the inception of the Premier League in 1992, five have won the title: Manchester United (12 titles), Arsenal (3), Chelsea (3), Blackburn Rovers (1) and Manchester City (1). The current champions are Manchester City, who won the title in the 2011–12 season.

History[link]

Origins[link]

Despite significant European success during the 1970s and early 1980s, the late '80s had marked a low point for English football. Stadia were crumbling, supporters endured poor facilities, hooliganism was rife, and English clubs were banned from European competition for five years following the Heysel Stadium disaster in 1985.^[7] The Football League First Division, which had been the top level of English football since 1888, was well behind leagues such as Italy's Serie A and Spain's La Liga in attendances and revenues, and several top English players had moved abroad.^[8] However, by the turn of the 1990s the downward trend was starting to reverse; England had been successful in the 1990 FIFA World Cup, reaching the semi-finals. UEFA, European football's governing body, lifted the five-year ban on English clubs playing in European competitions in 1990 (resulting in Manchester United lifting the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1991) and the Taylor Report on stadium safety standards, which proposed expensive upgrades to create all-seater stadia in the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster, was published in January of that year.^[9]

Television money had also become much more important; the Football League received £6.3 million for a two-year agreement in 1986, but when that deal was renewed in 1988, the price rose to £44 million over four years.^[10] The 1988 negotiations were the first signs of a breakaway league; ten clubs threatened to leave and form a "super league", but were eventually persuaded to stay.^[11] As stadia improved and match attendance and revenues rose, the country's top teams again considered leaving the Football League in order to capitalise on the growing influx of money being pumped into the sport.^[11]

Foundation[link]

At the close of the 1991 season, a proposal for the establishment of a new league was tabled that would bring more money into the game overall. The Founder Members Agreement, signed on 17 July 1991 by the game's top-flight clubs, established the basic principles for setting up the FA Premier League.^[12] The newly formed top division would have commercial independence from the Football Association and the Football League, giving the FA Premier League licence to negotiate its own broadcast and sponsorship agreements. The argument given at the time was that the extra income would allow English clubs to compete with teams across Europe.^[13]

In 1992 the First Division clubs resigned from the Football League en masse and on 27 May 1992 the FA Premier League was formed as a limited company working out of an office at the Football Association's then headquarters in Lancaster Gate.^[8] This meant a break-up of the 104-year-old Football League that had operated until then with four divisions; the Premier League would operate with a single division and the Football League with three. There was no change in competition format; the same number of teams competed in the top flight, and promotion and relegation between the Premier League and the new First Division remained the same as the old First and Second Divisions with three teams relegated from the league and three promoted.^[11]

The league held its first season in 1992–93 and was originally composed of 22 clubs. The first ever Premier League goal was scored by Brian Deane of Sheffield United in a 2–1 win against Manchester United.^[14] The 22 inaugural members of the new Premier League were Arsenal, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Chelsea, Coventry City, Crystal Palace, Everton, Ipswich Town, Leeds United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Middlesbrough, Norwich City, Nottingham Forest, Oldham Athletic, Queens Park Rangers, Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, and Wimbledon.^[15] Luton Town, Notts County and West Ham United were the three teams relegated from the old first division at the end of the 1991–92 season, and did not take part in the inaugural Premier League season.

Development[link]

As of the end of the 2010–11 season, there had been 19 completed seasons of the Premier League. Due to insistence by the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), the international governing body of football, that domestic leagues reduce the number of games clubs played, the number of clubs was reduced to 20 in 1995 when four teams were relegated from the league and only two teams promoted. On 8 June 2006, FIFA requested that all major European leagues, including Italy's Serie A and Spain's La Liga be reduced to 18 teams by the start of the 2007–08 season. The Premier League responded by announcing their intention to resist such a reduction.^[16] Ultimately, the 2007–08 season kicked off again with 20 teams. The league changed its name from the FA Premier League to simply the Premier League in 2007.^[17] Welsh club Swansea City were promoted to the Premier League for the 2011–12 season. They were the first non-English team to compete in the Premier League. On 20 August 2011, the first Premier League match to be played outside England was between Swansea City and Wigan Athletic at the Liberty Stadium in Swansea, Wales.^[18]

Corporate structure[link]

The Premier League is operated as a corporation and is owned by the 20 member clubs. Each club is a shareholder, with one vote each on issues such as rule changes and contracts. The clubs elect a chairman, chief executive, and board of directors to oversee the daily operations of the league.^[19] The current chairman is Sir Dave Richards, who was appointed in April 1999, and the chief executive is Richard Scudamore, appointed in November 1999.^[20] The former chairman and chief executive, John Quinton and Peter Leaver, were forced to resign in March 1999 after awarding consultancy contracts to former Sky executives Sam Chisholm and David Chance.^[21] The Football Association is not directly involved in the day-to-day operations of the Premier League, but has veto power as a special shareholder during the election of the chairman and chief executive and when new rules are adopted by the league.^[22]

The Premier League sends representatives to UEFA's European Club Association, the number of clubs and the clubs themselves chosen according to UEFA coefficients. For the 2010–11 season the Premier League had 10 representatives in the Association: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Everton, Fulham, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur.^[23] The European Club Association is responsible for electing three members to UEFA's Club Competitions Committee, which is involved in the operations of UEFA competitions such as the Champions League and UEFA Europa League.^[24]

Competition format[link]

Competition[link]

There are 20 clubs in the Premier League. During the course of a season (from August to May) each club plays the others twice (a double round-robin system), once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents, for a total of 38 games. Teams receive three points for a win and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, then goal difference, and then goals scored. At the end of each season, the club with the most points is crowned champion. If points are equal, the goal difference and then goals scored determine the winner. If still equal, teams are deemed to occupy the same position. If there is a tie for the championship, for relegation, or for qualification to other competitions, a play-off match at a neutral venue decides rank.^[25] 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 play-offs involving the third to sixth placed Championship clubs, are promoted in their place.^[26]

Qualification for European competitions[link]

Arsenal against Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League in 2011

As of the 2009–10 season qualification for the UEFA Champions League changed, the top four teams in the Premier League qualify for the UEFA Champions League, with the top three teams directly entering the group stage. Previously only the top two teams qualified automatically. The fourth-placed team enters the Champions League at the play-off round for non-champions and must win a two-legged knockout tie in order to enter the group stage.^[27] The team placed fifth in the Premier League automatically qualifies for the UEFA Europa League, and the sixth and seventh-placed teams can also qualify, depending on the winners and runners-up of the two domestic cup competitions. Two Europa League places are reserved for the winner of each of the domestic cup competitions; if the winner of the FA Cup qualifies for the Champions League, then that place will go to the runner-up, and if the runner-up is also already qualified, then that place will go to the next-best placed finisher in the Premier League. If the winner of the League Cup has already qualified, that place goes to the next-best placed team in the league.^[28][29] A further place in the UEFA Europa League is also available via the Fair Play initiative. If the Premier League has one of the three highest Fair Play rankings in Europe, the highest ranked team in the Premier League Fair Play standings which has not already qualified for Europe will automatically qualify for the UEFA Europa League first qualifying round.^[30]

An exception to the usual European qualification system happened in 2005, after Liverpool won the Champions League the year before, but did not finish in a Champions League qualification place in the Premier League that season. UEFA gave special dispensation for Liverpool to enter the Champions League, giving England five qualifiers.^[31] UEFA subsequently ruled that the defending champions qualify for the competition the following year regardless of their domestic league placing. However, for those leagues with four entrants in the Champions League, this means that if the Champions League winner falls outside of its domestic league's top four, it will qualify at the expense of the fourth-placed team in the league. No association can have more than four entrants in the Champions League.^[32]

In 2007, the Premier League became the highest ranking European League based on the performances of English teams in European competitions over a five-year period. This broke the eight-year dominance of the Spanish league, La Liga.^[33] The top three leagues in Europe are currently allowed to enter four teams into the Champions League. Michel Platini, the UEFA president, had proposed taking one place from the top three leagues and allocating it to that nation's cup winners. This proposal was rejected in a vote at a UEFA Strategy Council meeting.^[34] In the same meeting, however, it was agreed that the third-placed team in the top four leagues would receive automatic qualification for the group stage, rather than entry into the third qualifying round, while the fourth-placed team would enter the play-off round for non-champions, guaranteeing an opponent from one of the top 15 leagues in Europe. This was part of Platini's plan to increase the number of teams qualifying directly into the group stage, while simultaneously increasing the number of teams from lower-ranked nations in the group stage.^[35]

Trophy[link]

The Premier League trophy, held by Vincent Kompany, captain of Manchester City.

The current Premier League trophy was created by Royal Jewellers Asprey of London. It consists of a trophy with a golden crown and a malachite plinth base. The plinth weighs 33lbs (15kg) and the trophy weighs 22lbs (10kg).^[36] The trophy and plinth are 76 cm (30 in) tall, 43 cm (17 in) wide and 25 cm (9.8 in) deep.^[37]

Its main body is solid sterling silver and silver gilt, while its plinth is made of malachite, a semi-precious stone. The plinth has a silver band around its circumference, upon which the names of the title-winning clubs are listed. Malachite's green colour is also representative of the green field of play.^[37] The design of the trophy is based on the heraldry of Three Lions that is associated with English football. Two of the lions are found above the handles on either side of the trophy – the third is symbolised by the captain of the title winning team as he raises the trophy, and its gold crown, above his head at the end of the season.^[38] In 2004, a special gold version of the trophy was commissioned to commemorate Arsenal winning the title without a single defeat.^[39]

Sponsorship[link]

The Premier League has been sponsored since 1993. The sponsor has been able to determine the league's sponsorship name. There have been three sponsors since the league's formation.^[40]

• 1993–2001: Carling (FA Carling Premiership)^[8]
• 2001–2004: Barclaycard (Barclaycard Premiership)^[8]
• 2004–2007: Barclays (Barclays Premiership)^[8]
• 2007–present: Barclays (Barclays Premier League)^[41]

As well as sponsorship for the league itself, the Premier League has a number of official partners and suppliers.^[42] The official ball supplier for the league is Nike who have had the contract since the 2000–01 season when they took over from Mitre.^[43]

Finances[link]

The Premier League has the highest revenue of any football league in the world, with total club revenues of €2.479 billion in 2009–10,^[44] and is the second most profitable after the German Bundesliga.^[2] In 2010 the Premier League was awarded the Queen's Award for Enterprise in the International Trade category by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The Premier League was recognised for its outstanding contribution to international trade and the value it brings to English football and the United Kingdom's broadcasting industry.^[45] The Premier League's gross revenue is regularly the fourth highest of any sports league worldwide, behind the annual revenues of the three most popular North American major sports leagues (the National Football League, Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association).^[46]

In terms of world football, the Premier League clubs are some of the richest in the world. Deloitte, who annually release figures on club revenues through its "Football Money League", listed seven Premier League clubs in the top 20 for the 2009–10 season.^[47] No other league has more than four clubs in this table. Premier League teams have dominated the list for many years, and even topped the list for almost a decade until the 2004–05 season. After the Premier League's new TV deal went into effect, the league-wide increase in revenues is expected to increase the Premier League clubs' standing in the list, and there is a possibility that a Premier League club will be top of the list.^[48][49]

Media coverage[link]

United Kingdom and Ireland[link]

A 2010 match between Chelsea and Newcastle United

Television has played a major role in the history of the Premier League. The money from television rights has been vital in helping to create excellence both on and off the field. The League's decision to assign broadcasting rights to BSkyB in 1992 was at the time a radical decision, but one that has paid off. At the time pay television was an almost untested proposition in the UK market, as was charging fans to watch live televised football. However, a combination of Sky's strategy, the quality of Premier League football and the public's appetite for the game has seen the value of the Premier League's TV rights soar.^[10]

The Premier League sells its television rights on a collective basis. This is in contrast to some other European Leagues, including La Liga, in which each club sells its rights individually, leading to a much higher share of the total income going to the top few clubs.^[50] The money is divided into three parts:^[51] half is divided equally between the clubs; one quarter is awarded on a merit basis based on final league position, the top club getting twenty times as much as the bottom club, and equal steps all the way down the table; the final quarter is paid out as facilities fees for games that are shown on television, with the top clubs generally receiving the largest shares of this. The income from overseas rights is divided equally between the twenty clubs.^[52]

The first Sky television rights agreement was worth £304 million over five seasons.^[53] The next contract, negotiated to start from the 1997–98 season, rose to £670 million over four seasons.^[53] The third contract was a £1.024 billion deal with BSkyB for the three seasons from 2001–02 to 2003–04. The league brought in £320 million from the sale of its international rights for the three-year period from 2004–05 to 2006–07. It sold the rights itself on a territory-by-territory basis.^[54] Sky's monopoly was broken from August 2006 when Setanta Sports was awarded rights to show two out of the six packages of matches available. This occurred following an insistence by the European Commission that exclusive rights should not be sold to one television company. Sky and Setanta paid a total of £1.7 billion, a two-thirds increase which took many commentators by surprise as it had been widely assumed that the value of the rights had levelled off following many years of rapid growth. Setanta also hold rights to a live 3 pm match solely for Irish viewers. The BBC has retained the rights to show highlights for the same three seasons (on Match of the Day) for £171.6 million, a 63 per cent increase on the £105 million it paid for the previous three-year period.^[55] Raidió Teilifís Éireann broadcast the highlights package in Ireland. Sky and BT have agreed to jointly pay £84.3 million for delayed television rights to 242 games (that is the right to broadcast them in full on television and over the internet) in most cases for a period of 50 hours after 10 pm on matchday.^[56] Overseas television rights fetched £625 million, nearly double the previous contract.^[57] The total raised from these deals is more than £2.7 billion, giving Premier League clubs an average media income from league games of around £40 million a year from 2007 to 2010.^[58]

Cristiano Ronaldo preparing to take a free kick in a 2009 match between Manchester United and Liverpool.

The TV rights agreement between the Premier League and Sky has faced accusations of being a cartel, and a number of court cases have arisen as a result.^[59] An investigation by the Office of Fair Trading in 2002 found BSkyB to be dominant within the pay TV sports market, but concluded that there were insufficient grounds for the claim that BSkyB had abused its dominant position.^[60] In July 1999 the Premier League's method of selling rights collectively for all member clubs was investigated by the UK Restrictive Practices Court, who concluded that the agreement was not contrary to the public interest.^[61] The BBC's highlights package on Saturday and Sunday nights, as well as other evenings when fixtures justify, will run until 2013.^[62] Television rights alone for the period 2010 to 2013 have been purchased for £1.782 billion.^[63] On 22 June 2009, due to troubles encountered by Setanta Sports after it failed to meet a final deadline over a £30 million payment to the Premier League, ESPN was awarded two packages of UK rights containing a total of 46 matches that were available for the 2009–10 season as well as a package of 23 matches per season from 2010–11 to 2012–13.^[64]

Worldwide[link]

Promoted as "The Greatest Show On Earth",^[65][66] being broadcast to over 600+ million people in over 200 countries worldwide,^[67] often on networks owned and/or controlled by NewsCorp, which owns BSkyB and thus the primary UK and Ireland TV rights. In the United States, coverage is shared between Fox Soccer, Fox Soccer Plus and ESPN; NewsCorp sometimes buys pitch-side advertising boards with the Fox Soccer Channel logo replacing that of Sky.^[68] In Canada, Sportsnet owns the Premier League rights for three years from the 2010–11 season.^[69] In Australia, Fox Sports shows the games with a Viewers Choice option for up to five live games and up to nine games live on any given game-week.^[70]

The Premier League is particularly popular in Asia, where it is the most widely distributed sports programme.^[71] In India, the matches are broadcast live on ESPN and Star Sports. In the People's Republic of China, data from 2003 suggested that matches were attracting television audiences between 100 million and 360 million, more than any other foreign sport.^[72] However, when the Chinese rights to Premier League matches were sold to a subscription channel in 2007, the number of viewers proved to be in the tens of thousands.^[73] Due to its popularity in Asia, the league has held four pre-season tournaments there, the only Premier League affiliated tournaments ever to have been held outside England.^[74] The Premier League Asia Trophy has been played in Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong and China and involves three Premier League clubs playing against a local team from the host nation, often the national side.^[75]

Figures from UK tourism body VisitBritain suggest that 750,000 visitors to Britain attended a Premier League match in 2010, spending a total £595 million and an average of £766. Visitors from Norway are most likely to come to watch Premier League football, with one in 13 Norwegian tourists travelling specifically to attend matches. Second on the list is the United Arab Emirates. For those visiting family and friends, the most likely to watch a football match are from Japan, China and Australia.^[76]

Criticisms[link]

"Big Four" dominance[link]

A major criticism of the Premier League has been the emergence of the so-called "Big Four" clubs (Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United).^[78][79] With the exception of Blackburn Rovers in 1994–95 and Manchester City in 2011–12, only three clubs have won the Premier League title – Manchester United (twelve titles), Arsenal and Chelsea (three times each). In addition, Manchester United have not finished outside the top three since the formation of the Premier League. From the 1996–97 season onwards, the "Big Four" have dominated the top four spots, and thus places in the UEFA Champions League (qualification was one club for the first four seasons, increased to two clubs in 1997, three in 1999 and four since 2002). The benefits of qualification, especially increased revenue, are believed to have widened the gap between the "Big Four" clubs and the rest of the Premier League.^[79] Arsenal are second with 17 top four finishes, followed by Liverpool with 12 and Chelsea with 11. The team who have appeared in the top four on the most occasions, and are not part of this "Big Four", is Newcastle United, having finished in the top four on five occasions, but not since the 2002–03 season.

In May 2008, then Newcastle United manager Kevin Keegan said the "Big Four"'s dominance threatened the division, stating: "This league is in danger of becoming one of the most boring but great leagues in the world."^[80] Following Keegan's comments, Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore defended the league, saying, "There are a lot of different tussles that go on in the Premier League depending on whether you're at the top, in the middle or at the bottom that make it interesting."^[81] The dominance of Chelsea and Manchester United has led some to believe that the "Big Four" has contracted to a "Big Two"; prior to 2012, no club other than these two had won the Premier League since 2005 and, as of May 2012^[update], 21 of the last 28 major domestic trophies have gone to either Stamford Bridge or Old Trafford.^[77] This point became muted at the end of the 2011–12 season, as Chelsea fell to their worst finish in 10 years.

The years following 2009 marked a shift in the structure of the "Big Four" with two new clubs, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City, vying for top four places to secure Champions League football. In the 2009–10 season, Tottenham pipped Manchester City to finish fourth and become the first team to "break" the top four since Everton in 2005, with both Manchester City and Aston Villa also finishing above Liverpool, one of the "Big Four" teams. In 2010–11, Manchester City finished third – the first time a team has broken into the top three since Newcastle did so in the 2002–03 season. This has continued into the 2011–12 season, with Manchester City winning the title for the first time since 1968, the first team outside the "Big Four" to do so since 1994–95. In addition, Chelsea finished outside the top four for the first time since 2001–02, as did Liverpool for the third season in a row. Criticism of the gap between an elite group of "super clubs" and the majority of the Premier League has continued, nevertheless, due to their increasing ability to spend more than the other Premier League clubs.^[82]

Widening gap with lower leagues[link]

One of the main criticisms levelled at the Premier League is the increasing gulf between the Premier League and the Football League. Since its split with the Football League, many established clubs in the Premier League have managed to distance themselves from their counterparts in lower leagues. Owing in large part to the disparity in revenue from television rights between the leagues,^[83] many newly promoted teams have found it difficult to avoid relegation in their first season in the Premier League. In every season except 2001–02 (Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers and Fulham) and 2011–12 (Queens Park Rangers, Swansea City and Norwich City), at least one Premier League newcomer has been relegated back to the Football League. In 1997–98 all three promoted clubs were relegated at the end of the season.^[84]

The Premier League distributes a small portion of its television revenue to clubs that are relegated from the league in the form of "parachute payments". Starting with the 2006–07 season, these payments are in the amount of £6.5 million over the club's first two seasons in lower leagues, although this rose to £11.2 million per year for clubs relegated in 2007–2008.^[83] Designed to help teams adjust to the loss of television revenues (the average Premier League team receives £45 million while the average Football League Championship club receives £1 million),^[83] critics maintain that the payments actually widen the gap between teams that have reached the Premier League and those that have not,^[85] leading to the common occurrence of teams "bouncing back" soon after their relegation. For some clubs, including Burnley, Leeds United, Charlton Athletic, Derby County, Nottingham Forest, Oldham Athletic, Sheffield Wednesday, Bradford City, Leicester City, Queens Park Rangers, Southampton, Wimbledon, and Portsmouth who have failed to win immediate promotion back to the Premier League, financial problems, including in some cases administration or even liquidation have followed. Further relegations down the footballing ladder have ensued for several clubs unable to cope with the gap.^[86][87]

Clubs[link]

A total of 45 clubs have played in the Premier League from its inception in 1992 up to and including the 2011–12 season. Seven clubs have been members of the Premier League for every season since its inception. This group is composed of Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur.^[88]

The following 20 clubs are competing in the Premier League during the 2011–12 season.

• Birmingham City, Blackpool and West Ham United were relegated to the npower Championship (old Div. 2) for the 2011–12 season, while Queens Park Rangers, Norwich City and Swansea City were promoted to the 2011–12 Premier League. Swansea became the first Welsh side to ever gain promotion to the Premier League, after defeating Reading 4–2 in the 2011 Championship play-off Final.

^a: Founding member of the Premier League
^b: Never been relegated from Premier League
^c: One of the original 12 Football League teams

Stadia[link]

Premier League football has been played in 50 stadia since the formation of the Premier League in 1992. The Hillsborough disaster in 1989 and the subsequent Taylor Report saw a recommendation that standing terraces should be abolished; as a result all stadia in the Premier League are all-seater.^[89][90] Since the formation of the Premier League, football grounds in England have seen constant improvements to capacity and facilities, with some clubs moving to new-build stadia.^[91] Nine stadia that have seen Premier League football have now been demolished. The stadia for the 2010–11 season show a large disparity in capacity: Old Trafford, the home of Manchester United has a capacity of 75,957^[92] with Bloomfield Road, the home of Blackpool, having a capacity of 16,220.^[93] The combined total capacity of the Premier League in the 2010–11 season is 770,477 with an average capacity of 38,523.^[94]

Stadium attendances are a significant source of regular income for Premier League clubs.^[95] For the 2009–10 season, average attendances across the league clubs were 34,215 for Premier League matches with a total aggregate attendance figure of 13,001,616.^[94] This represents an increase of 13,089 from the average attendance of 21,126 recorded in the league's first season (1992–93).^[96] However, during the 1992–93 season the capacities of most stadia were reduced as clubs replaced terraces with seats in order to meet the Taylor Report's 1994–95 deadline for all-seater stadia.^[97][98] The Premier League's record average attendance of 36,144 was set during the 2007–08 season.^[99]

Managers[link]

Managers in the Premier League are involved in the day to day running of the team, including the training, team selection, and player acquisition. Their influence varies from club-to-club and is related to the ownership of the club and the relationship of the manager with fans.^[100] Managers are required to have a UEFA Pro Licence which is the final coaching qualification available, and follows the completion of the UEFA 'B' and 'A' Licences.^[101] The UEFA Pro Licence is required by every person who wishes to manage a club in the Premier League on a permanent basis (i.e. more than 12 weeks – the amount of time an unqualified caretaker manager is allowed to take control).^[102] Caretaker appointments are managers that fill the gap between a managerial departure and a new appointment. Several caretaker managers have gone on to secure a permanent managerial post after performing well as a caretaker; examples include Paul Hart at Portsmouth and David Pleat at Tottenham Hotspur.

Only one manager, Alex Ferguson, has remained in his position since the formation of the Premier League in 1992.^[103] Arsène Wenger has been in charge of Arsenal in the Premier League since 1996, while David Moyes has been Everton's manager since 2002. The most recent appointment was Terry Connor who was confirmed as manager of Wolverhampton Wanderers on 24 February 2012. No English manager has won the Premier League; the six managers to have won the title comprise two Scots Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United, twelve wins) and Kenny Dalglish (Blackburn Rovers, one win), a Frenchman (Arsène Wenger, Arsenal, three wins), a Portuguese (José Mourinho, Chelsea, two wins) and two Italians (Carlo Ancelotti, Chelsea and Roberto Mancini, Manchester City, one win each).^[104] Currently 15 of the managers are from the British Isles, with three of them coming from Scotland. The current managers in the Premier League are: