The 2010–11 season was the 131st season of competitive

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

in England. The season began on 6 August 2010 for

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

s, with the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

and

Football Conference The National League (named Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons) is an association football league in England consisting of three divisions, the National League, National League North, and National League South. It was called the ...

both starting eight days later on 14 August 2010.

The Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the En ...

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

, and

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

ended on 7 May 2011. The

finished on 22 May 2011.

Promotion and relegation

Teams promoted to

* Newcastle United *

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

Teams relegated from

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

Teams promoted to

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, eas ...

Teams relegated from

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

* Plymouth Argyle *

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standing ...

Teams promoted to

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 25 November 1862, it is the ...

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...

* Dagenham & Redbridge Teams relegated from

* Gillingham *

Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play their ho ...

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club are a professional football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they were renamed Stockport Co ...

Teams promoted to

* Stevenage *

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and t ...

Teams relegated from

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in t ...

* Darlington

Managerial changes

Diary of the season

July 2010

1 July 2010: Roy Hodgson signs a three-year contract to manage

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, a month after

Rafael Benítez Rafael Benítez Maudes (born 16 April 1960) is a Spanish professional football manager and former player who most recently managed club Everton. Benítez joined Real Madrid's coaching staff at the age of 26, going on to work as the under- ...

left. 2 July 2010: Israeli winger

Yossi Benayoun Yossi Shai Benayoun ( he, יוסי שי בניון; born 5 May 1980) is an Israeli former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He spent most of his career in England and captained the Israel national team. Born in Dimona, he is ...

joins

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

from

for an undisclosed fee. Ivorian midfielder

Yaya Touré Gnégnéri Yaya Touré (born 13 May 1983) is an Ivorian professional football coach and former player who played as a midfielder. He is an academy coach for Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur. Touré aspired to be a striker during his you ...

joins Manchester City for a fee of "about £24 million" from

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

. 7 July 2010:

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

appoint Swansea City's

Paulo Sousa Paulo Manuel Carvalho de Sousa, CavIH (; born 30 August 1970) is a Portuguese football manager and former professional player who played as a defensive midfielder. Starting his career at Benfica, he also represented Sporting CP in his countr ...

as manager to replace

Nigel Pearson Nigel Graham Pearson (born 21 August 1963) is an English football manager and former professional player, currently the manager of Championship club Bristol City. During his playing career, he was a defender and played for Shrewsbury Town, Shef ...

, who moved to

at the end of June. 8 July 2010: Sunderland captain and Albanian international midfielder

Lorik Cana Lorik Agim Cana (; born 27 July 1983) is an Albanian former professional footballer. He is currently the Grassroots ambassador for children's football in Albania, named by the Albanian Football Association on 26 October 2017. Cana played in the ...

departs to

Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club'') is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul in Turkey. Most notable for its association football department, the club also consists of various other de ...

of Turkey for £5 million, after one season at the Stadium of Light. 9 July 2010:

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

reject an approach from Swansea City for assistant manager

Gary Speed Gary Andrew Speed (8 September 1969 – 27 November 2011) was a Welsh professional footballer and manager. As manager of Wales, Speed is often credited as being the catalyst for the change in fortunes of the national team and as setting t ...

to take over as manager of the south Wales club. 14 July 2010:

Los Angeles Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began pla ...

winger

David Beckham David Robert Joseph Beckham (; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the current president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Known for his range of passing, crossing ability and bending fr ...

rules out taking over as England manager in the future, but declares his desire to play at

Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...

and the 2014 World Cup. Manchester City sign

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

winger

David Silva David Josué Jiménez Silva (born 8 January 1986) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for La Liga club Real Sociedad. Silva plays mainly as a central or an attacking midfielder but can also play as a winger or second striker. He is ...

from

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

for £24 million. 16 July 2010:

Trevor Brooking Sir Trevor David Brooking, (born 2 October 1948) is a former England international footballer, manager, pundit and football administrator; he now works as director of football development in England. He spent almost his entire career at West ...

urges the Football Association to appoint an English successor when

Fabio Capello Fabio Capello (; born 18 June 1946) is an Italian former professional football manager and player. As a player, Capello represented SPAL 1907, Roma, Milan and Juventus. He played as a midfielder and won several trophies during his career which ...

eventually departs from the role of England manager. Former Watford and Reading manager

Brendan Rodgers Brendan Rodgers (born 26 January 1973) is a Northern Irish professional football manager and former player who is the manager of Premier League club Leicester City. Rodgers began his career as a defender at Ballymena United, where he stayed ...

is appointed as Swansea City's new manager. Manchester City sign

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

and

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

left-back

Aleksandar Kolarov Aleksandar Kolarov (; born 10 November 1985) is a Serbian former professional footballer. Although primarily a left-back, Kolarov could also operate as a centre-back and anywhere along the left flank and was known for his overlapping attacking r ...

for £16 million. 19 July 2010: English international midfielder

Joe Cole Joseph John Cole (born 8 November 1981) is an English football coach and former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or winger in the Premier League, Ligue 1, League One and United Soccer League. He is regarded as on ...

signs a four-year deal with Liverpool, following the expiry of his contract at Chelsea in June. 22 July 2010: Aston Villa manager

Martin O'Neill Martin Hugh Michael O'Neill, (born 1 March 1952) is a Northern Irish professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. Starting his career in Northern Ireland, O'Neill moved to England where he spent most of his playi ...

announces that he is willing sell to midfielder

James Milner James Philip Milner (born 4 January 1986) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Liverpool. A versatile player, Milner has played in multiple positions, including on the wing, in midfield and at full-back. ...

after the player expressed his desire to leave the club. He is widely tipped to sign for Manchester City, who recently had a £20 million offer for him turned down. 23 July 2010: Former

and

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. ...

striker Gavin Grant, 26, is found guilty (along with another man) of committing murder in London in May 2004. Grant was initially cleared of the murder three years earlier but charged again when new evidence came to light. 26 July 2010:

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

express interest in moving to London's

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...

after the 2012 Olympic Games.

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

is the only club to have officially bid for the venue so far, while

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profession ...

decided against moving. 28 July 2010: After six months back at Arsenal, former England defender

Sol Campbell Sulzeer Jeremiah Campbell (born 18 September 1974) is an English professional football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of club Southend United. He previously managed Macclesfield Town from November 2018 to August ...

signs for Newcastle United on a one-year contract. This means that Campbell, 35, will be playing in the Premier League for the 19th season running. He and Ryan Giggs are the only players who have played in every single Premier League season since its inception. 29 July 2010:

Mark Hughes Leslie Mark Hughes (born 1 November 1963) is a Welsh football coach and former player who is the manager of Bradford City. During his playing career he usually operated as a forward or midfielder. He had two spells at Manchester United, an ...

, sacked as Manchester City manager seven months earlier, is confirmed as manager of Fulham. 30 July 2010: England goalkeeper David James signs a one-year contract with

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

August 2010

2 August 2010:

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...

coach Gary Ablett, who managed

the previous season and won honours as a player with Liverpool and Everton, announces that he is suffering from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. 9 August 2010: Aston Villa manager

resigns after four years in charge, during which he guided them to

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

qualification in three successive seasons. He is replaced on a caretaker basis by Villa reserve team manager Kevin MacDonald until a permanent successor is appointed. 10 August 2010: Exeter City striker

Adam Stansfield Adam Stansfield (10 September 1978 – 10 August 2010) was an English professional footballer who played as a striker. He competed professionally for Yeovil Town, Hereford United and Exeter City, and won promotion from the Football Conf ...

dies of cancer aged 31. 12 August 2010: Steve Coppell resigns after less than four months and just two competitive games in charge of

. 13 August 2010: Manchester City take their summer spending past £100 million with the signing of Italy and

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is ...

striker

Mario Balotelli Mario Balotelli Barwuah (; ''né'' Barwuah; born 12 August 1990) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Swiss Super League club Sion. Balotelli started his professional football career in 2005 at Lumezzane, before ...

for a fee in the region of £24 million. 14 August 2010: The 19th Premier League season gets underway, with newcomers

winning their first top division game since 1971 4–0 away to

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

Kevin Blackwell Kevin Patrick Blackwell (born 21 December 1958) is an English former professional football goalkeeper who since retiring as a player has worked as a coach and a manager. He is currently the manager of Thai League 1 club Nakhon Ratchasima. Ear ...

leaves

by mutual consent following a 3–0 loss to

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

, having been manager for two and a half years. 17 August 2010: Sheffield United promote coach and former player

, aged 41, to be their new manager on a three-year contract.

striker

Nicolas Anelka Nicolas Sébastien Anelka (; born 14 March 1979) is a French professional football manager and retired player who played as a forward. As a player, he regularly featured in his country's national team, often scoring at crucial moments. Known f ...

is suspended from the French national team's next 18 matches following a dispute with coach

Raymond Domenech Raymond Manuel Albert Domenech (; born 24 January 1952) is a French football manager and former player. He managed the France national team from 2004 to 2010, reaching the 2006 FIFA World Cup Final. He was dismissed after their elimination from ...

at the World Cup. 21 August 2010:

Theo Walcott Theo James Walcott (born 16 March 1989) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Southampton and previously for the English national team. Walcott is a product of the Southampton Academy and started his career with ...

scores the first club hat-trick of his career as Arsenal defeat Blackpool 6–0 at the Emirates Stadium. 30 August 2010: Alan Pardew is sacked as manager of

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, League One promotion favourites and Football League Trophy holders, despite guiding them to a 4–0 away win over

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been c ...

two days previously. 31 August 2010: August draws to a close with

top of the table with nine points out of nine, scoring fourteen goals and conceding none against West Brom,

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

and

Stoke Stoke is a common place name in the United Kingdom. Stoke may refer to: Places United Kingdom The largest city called Stoke is Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. See below. Berkshire * Stoke Row, Berkshire Bristol * Stoke Bishop * Stok ...

. Arsenal and Manchester United are joint second on seven points, Arsenal ahead on goal difference following the win over

, while Aston Villa, still without a manager, are fourth, after recovering from a 6–0 thrashing at

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

to narrowly beat Everton 1–0. Bolton, Birmingham and Wolves complete the top seven. Propping up the table are Stoke and

, neither with a point this season, and Everton. Queens Park Rangers lead the Championship, with Cardiff City, Ipswich Town, Millwall, Burnley and Leeds United (joint sixth with Norwich City) completing the top six; Bristol City, Leicester City and Portsmouth lie in the relegation zone. In the transfer market, Sunderland confirm the transfer of Ghana striker

Asamoah Gyan Asamoah Gyan ( ; born 22 November 1985) is a Ghanaian professional footballer who last played as a striker for Legon Cities FC and is the former captain of the Ghanaian national team. Gyan began his career in 2003 with Ghanaian Premier Leag ...

in a club record £13m deal whilst Tottenham began contact with Dutch midfielder

Rafael van der Vaart Rafael Ferdinand van der Vaart (born 11 February 1983) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder, and is currently the assistant manager of Danish 2nd Division club Esbjerg fB. Van der Vaart began his c ...

September 2010

4 September 2010:

Jermain Defoe Jermain Colin Defoe (born 7 October 1982) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. He also played for the England national team. Defoe began his career with Charlton Athletic, joining their youth team aged 14, be ...

scores a hat-trick as England open their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign with a 4–0 win over Bulgaria at Wembley. 8 September 2010: Aston Villa name

Gérard Houllier Gérard Paul Francis Houllier (; 3 September 194714 December 2020) was a French professional football manager and player. Clubs he managed include Paris Saint-Germain, Lens and Liverpool, where he won the FA Cup, League Cup, FA Charity Shield, U ...

, former Liverpool and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

manager, as their successor to Martin O'Neill. 12 September 2010:

Nigel Adkins Nigel Howard Adkins (born 11 March 1965) is an English professional football manager and former player and physiotherapist. Adkins played as a goalkeeper for Tranmere Rovers and Wigan Athletic. He finished his playing career and began his man ...

leaves Scunthorpe United after four years as manager (during which they won promotion to the Championship twice) to become the new manager of Southampton. 13 September 2010:

Gary McAllister Gary McAllister MBE (born 25 December 1964) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player. McAllister played primarily as a midfielder in a career spanning over nineteen years. He started his career at local side Motherwell b ...

, first team coach at Middlesbrough, is reported to have been offered the role of assistant manager at Aston Villa after

Phil Thompson Philip Bernard Thompson (born 21 January 1954) is an English retired footballer, who played as a defender for Liverpool team of the 1970s and 1980s. During this time, he also represented the England national football team on 42 occasions, and ...

rejected the offer for the role. 18 September 2010: Gary McAllister completes his move to Aston Villa as assistant manager. Bobby Smith, who scored 208 goals for Tottenham Hotspur and helped them win the league title/FA Cup double in 1961, retain the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

a year later and win the

European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...

in 1963, dies aged 77. 25 September 2010: The last 100% start in any of the professional divisions ends when Chelsea, who won their opening five games of the Premier League season, are beaten 1–0 at Manchester City, with

Carlos Tevez Carlos Alberto Tevez (; born 5 February 1984) is an Argentine professional football manager and former player. A quick, tenacious, powerful, hard-working and dynamic forward in his prime, Tevez was capable of playing as a striker, as a wing ...

scoring the only goal of the game. 30 September 2010: Despite loss at Manchester City, Chelsea still lead the Premier League by three points. Manchester United, Arsenal, Manchester City, Aston Villa, West Bromwich Albion and Fulham complete the top seven, while Wigan Athletic, West Ham United and Everton lie in the relegation zone. QPR and Cardiff lead the Championship, with Norwich, Watford, Burnley and Reading in the play-off zone and Crystal Palace, Bristol City and Leicester City in the relegation zone.

October 2010

1 October 2010:

is sacked after just nine league matches in charge of

, who were bottom of the Championship having qualified for the play-offs last season under Sousa's predecessor

. Manchester City announce that they made a loss of £121million in the year leading up to 31 May. 3 October 2010: Former

England national football team The England national football team has represented England in international Association football, football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by The Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in Engl ...

manager Sven-Göran Eriksson is appointed manager of Leicester City on a two-year contract. 4 October 2010: Bolton Wanderers striker

Kevin Davies Kevin Cyril Davies (born 26 March 1977) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker for Chesterfield, Southampton, Blackburn Rovers, Millwall, Bolton Wanderers and Preston North End. He managed Southport in the 201 ...

, aged 33 and uncapped at senior level, is called up to the England squad for the following week's Euro 2012 qualifier against Montenegro. 5 October 2010: Two potential buyers, one Asian and the other American, table bids to buy control of

from American co-owners

Tom Hicks Thomas Ollis Hicks Sr. (born February 7, 1946), is an American private equity investor and sports team owner living in Dallas, Texas. ''Forbes'' magazine estimated Hicks' wealth at $1 billion in 2009, but it dropped to $700 million in 2010 ...

and George Gillet. 8 October 2010: Liverpool directors reported to be on the verge of surrendering the club to the

administrators Administrator or admin may refer to: Job roles Computing and internet * Database administrator, a person who is responsible for the environmental aspects of a database * Forum administrator, one who oversees discussions on an Internet forum * N ...

and risk a nine-point deduction in an attempt to oust the club's unpopular owners

and George Gillett, as they facilitate the sale of the club to an American consortium. 10 October 2010: It is reported that Liverpool's prospective new owners are planning to abandon the plan for a new stadium in

Stanley Park Stanley Park is a public park in British Columbia, Canada that makes up the northwestern half of Vancouver's Downtown Peninsula, surrounded by waters of Burrard Inlet and English Bay. The park borders the neighbourhoods of West End and ...

in favour of expanding

Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892. ...

. 11 October 2010:

UK Athletics UK Athletics (UKA) is the governing body for the sport of athletics in the United Kingdom. It is responsible for overseeing the governance of athletics events in the UK as well as athletes, their development, and athletics officials. The orga ...

announces its support for West Ham United's bid to take over the

after the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. Tottenham Hotspur have also expressed interest in taking over the stadium as a possible alternative to the revamp of

White Hart Lane White Hart Lane was a Association football, football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater i ...

. 12 October 2010: Singapore billionaire Peter Lim becomes Liverpool's latest bidder when he tables a £320million bid for the club. 15 October 2010: Liverpool's new owners are

New England Sports Ventures Fenway Sports Group Holdings, LLC (FSG), is an American multinational sports holding conglomerate who own Major League Baseball's Boston Red Sox, Premier League club Liverpool F.C., and the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins. FSG wa ...

, who complete a £300million takeover deal of the club. 17 October 2010: In the first game under their owners, Liverpool lose the

Merseyside derby The Merseyside derby is the association football, football matches between Everton F.C., Everton and Liverpool F.C., Liverpool, the two primary clubs in Liverpool, England. Named after the county of Merseyside, in which Liverpool is located, it ...

2–0 to Everton at

Goodison Park Goodison Park is a football stadium in the Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area 2 miles (3 km) north of Liverpool ...

. 18 October 2010:

Gordon Strachan Gordon David Strachan ( born 9 February 1957) is a Scottish former football coach and player. He played for Dundee, Aberdeen, Manchester United, Leeds United and Coventry City, as well as the Scotland national team. He has since managed Co ...

resigns after 12 months as manager of

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

, who began the season as Championship promotion favourites but now occupy 20th place. 19 October 2010: Manchester United manager

Sir Alex Ferguson Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football managers of all tim ...

reveals that striker

Wayne Rooney Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985) is an English professional football manager and former player, who is the manager of Major League Soccer club D.C. United in the United States. He spent much of his playing career as a forward while ...

wants to leave the club, having recently decided against signing an extension to his contract which will expire at the end of next season. 22 October 2010: Wayne Rooney makes a surprise u-turn on his future and signs a new five-year contract with Manchester United.

are reported to be on the brink of bankruptcy after talks with former owner and key creditor Sacha Gaydamak broke down. 24 October 2010: Portsmouth are saved after former owner Alexander Gaydamak agrees to sell the club to Balram Chainrai, another former owner of the club. 25 October 2010: Aston Villa will be without the services of captain

Stiliyan Petrov Stiliyan Alyoshev Petrov ( Bulgarian: Стилиян Альошев Петров, born 5 July 1979) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Petrov joined Celtic from CSKA Sofia in 1999, and won ten trophies in ...

for at least two months due to a knee injury suffered in the 1–0 league defeat by Sunderland on Saturday. Promising

midfielder James McCarthy, 19, is expected to be out of action until the New Year as a result of an ankle injury suffered in Saturday's 1–1 league draw with Bolton Wanderers. 31 October 2010:

beat local rivals Sunderland 5–1 at

St James' Park St James' Park is a football stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Premier League club Newcastle United F.C. With a seating capacity of 52,305 seats, it is the eighth largest football stadium in England. St James' Pa ...

in the Premier League, with

Kevin Nolan Kevin Anthony Jance Nolan (born 24 June 1982) is an English former professional footballer and current first team coach for Premier League club West Ham United. He has represented England at under-21 level. After growing up in Toxteth, Live ...

scoring a hat-trick – the first player to do so in a game between the two clubs since Peter Beardsley in the 1984–85 season. In the Championship, Cardiff have overtaken QPR at the top of the table, with Swansea City, Coventry City, Norwich and Reading also in the top six and Bristol City, Middlesbrough and Crystal Palace in the bottom three.

November 2010

6 November 2010: A late winning goal from

Park Ji-sung Park Ji-sung (; ; born 30 March 1981) is a South Korean former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Born in the South Korean capital Seoul, Park is the most successful Asian player in football history, having won 19 trophies in ...

gives Manchester United a 2–1 home win over Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League, cutting Chelsea's lead to two points – although the

West London West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary. The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: North Londo ...

side, who play Liverpool at

tomorrow, have a game in hand. In the first round of the

, Conference South side

Dover Athletic Dover Athletic Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in the town of Dover, Kent, England. The club currently competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club was formed in 198 ...

eliminate fellow

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

club Gillingham, managed by former Dover manager

Andy Hessenthaler Andrew Hessenthaler (born 17 August 1965) is an English football manager and former player who is head of recruitment at club Gillingham. He began his career in non-league football and did not turn professional until he joined Watford at ...

, with a 2–0 win on the League Two club's own soil. 11 November 2010: Blackpool manager

Ian Holloway Ian Scott Holloway (born 12 March 1963) is an English professional football manager, former player, media personality and television pundit who was most recently the manager of Grimsby Town. A midfielder, he notably played in the Premier League ...

threatens to resign if the Football Association penalise him for fielding a weakened side in his side's 3–2 league defeat at Aston Villa yesterday evening. 13 November 2010:

announces his England squad for the friendly against France on 17 November. It includes first call-ups for

Jay Bothroyd Jay Bothroyd (born 7 May 1982) is a former English professional footballer who last played as a striker for J1 League club Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo. A product of the Arsenal Academy, he left in 2000 and signed with Coventry City, spending t ...

of Cardiff City,

Andy Carroll Andrew Thomas Carroll (born 6 January 1989) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Championship side Reading. He has played in the Premier League and English Football League for Newcastle United, Preston North End, Liv ...

of Newcastle United,

Jordan Henderson Jordan Brian Henderson (born 17 June 1990) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Liverpool and the England national team. Henderson joined the Sunderland Academy at the age of eight, making his first-team ...

of Sunderland and

Chris Smalling Christopher Lloyd Smalling (born 22 November 1989) is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Serie A club Roma. Smalling represented the England national team from 2011 to 2017. During his youth, Smalling played f ...

of Manchester United. 14 November 2010: League One side Sheffield Wednesday are reported to be on the brink of going into administration. 16 November 2010: West Ham United vice-chairman

Karren Brady Karren Rita Brady, Baroness Brady, (born 4 April 1969) is a British business executive and television personality. She is a former managing director of Birmingham City F.C. and current vice-chairman of West Ham United F.C., and an aide to Al ...

announces that

Avram Grant Avraham "Avram" Grant ( he, אברהם "אברם" גרנט; born Avraham Granat; ) is an Israeli professional football manager. He has spent the majority of his career coaching and managing in Israel, winning a number of national league and cup ...

's job as manager is safe despite the club being bottom of the Premier League with just one win from their opening 13 games. Fabio Capello confirms that Andy Carroll, Jordan Henderson and

Kieran Gibbs Kieran James Ricardo Gibbs (born 26 September 1989) is an English professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami. Gibbs began his senior career with Arsenal in 2007, after joining the club from the Wi ...

will all play in England's friendly against France. 19 November 2010: Blackburn Rovers are taken over by the Rao family in a £43million deal, making them the first Indian owned English football club. 25 November 2010:

Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the 1998 Greater London Authority referendum, Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first Directly elected may ...

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...

gives the go-ahead from Tottenham Hotspur to rebuild

as a 56,000-seat stadium which is set to cost around £450million. 27 November 2010: In the FA Cup second round,

FC United of Manchester Football Club United of Manchester is a semi-professional football club based in Moston, Manchester, England, that competes in the , the seventh tier of the English football league system, and plays home matches at Broadhurst Park. Founded ...

(the club created five years ago by Manchester United fans protesting against

Malcolm Glazer Malcolm Irving Glazer (August 15, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American businessman and sports team owner. He was the president and chief executive officer of First Allied Corporation, a holding company for his varied business interests, ...

's takeover) hold League One leaders Brighton & Hove Albion to a 1–1 draw to force a replay. 30 November 2010: November ends with unbeaten Manchester United top of the Premier League after thrashing Blackburn 7–1 at home, with

Dimitar Berbatov Dimitar Ivanov Berbatov ( bg, Димитър Иванов Бербатов; born 30 January 1981) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer. A striker, he captained the Bulgaria national team from 2006 to 2010, and is the country's all-ti ...

scoring five goals. Chelsea, having only picked up four points from their last five matches, have slipped to second, ahead of Arsenal on goal difference. Manchester City remain in fourth, with Tottenham Hotspur one point behind. Despite beating fellow strugglers Wigan Athletic, West Ham United remain bottom of the table, joined in the relegation zone by Wolverhampton Wanderers and Wigan. In the championship, Queen's Park Rangers, still unbeaten, hold a five-point lead for promotion over second placed Cardiff City, who in turn have a three-point lead over arch-rivals and third placed Swansea City. Derby County, Norwich City and Coventry City are also in the play-off zone, while Crystal Palace, Middlesbrough and Preston North End prop up the table.

December 2010

2 December 2010: England's bid to host the 2018 World Cup fails;

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

awards the tournament to Russia instead. 6 December 2010: Newcastle United sack manager

Chris Hughton Christopher William Gerard Hughton (born 11 December 1958) is a professional football manager and former player. Born in England, he represented the Republic of Ireland national team. After making his professional debut aged 20, Hughton spen ...

after just over a year in charge. 9 December 2010: Alan Pardew is appointed manager of Newcastle United on a contract until the end of the 2015–16 season. 10 December 2010: Queen's Park Rangers suffer their first league defeat of the season when they lose 3–1 at home to Watford. 11 December 2010: Newcastle United continue to pile the pressure on Liverpool by winning 3–1 in the Premier League in their first game under the management of Alan Pardew. West Ham United fall deeper into relegation trouble with a 3–1 home defeat to Manchester City, who go level on points with Arsenal at the top of the Premier League. 12 December 2010: Manchester City captain

announces his intention to leave the club. Wolverhampton Wanderers give their survival hopes a major boost with a 1–0 home win over local rivals Birmingham City. Chelsea continue to drop points as a Didier Drogba penalty miss restricts them to a 1–1 draw at Tottenham Hotspur. 13 December 2010: Blackburn Rovers sack manager

Sam Allardyce Samuel Allardyce (; born 19 October 1954), colloquially referred to as Big Sam, is an English football manager and former professional player. Allardyce made 578 league and cup appearances in a 21-year career spent mostly in the Football Lea ...

, after two years in charge, following a 2–1 defeat at Bolton Wanderers.

, the Sheffield United manager, is given permission to speak to the Welsh football association about the national team manager's job left vacant by the recent resignation of

John Toshack John Benjamin Toshack (born 22 March 1949) is a Welsh former professional football player and manager. He began his playing career as a teenager with his hometown club Cardiff City, becoming the youngest player to make an appearance for the ...

, and is expected to be confirmed as Wales manager within the next 24 hours. 14 December 2010: Gary Speed is confirmed as the new Wales manager on a contract until July 2014. 15 December 2010: Dale Roberts, goalkeeper with

Conference National The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profes ...

side

Rushden & Diamonds Rushden & Diamonds Football Club was an association football club based in Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire, England. Nicknamed "The Diamonds", the club played at Nene Park. The club's main rivals were county neighbours Kettering Town F.C., Ke ...

, dies suddenly at the age of 24. 31 December 2010: The year ends with Manchester United top of the Premier League, separated from second-placed Manchester City by goal difference. Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham, Bolton and Sunderland make up the rest of the top seven and Fulham, Wolves and West Ham the bottom three. In the Championship, the top three of QPR, Cardiff and Swansea remain unchanged, with Leeds, Norwich and Reading in the top six and Scunthorpe, Crystal Palace and Preston in the relegation zone.

January 2011

6 January 2011 – The Aston Villa board announce that Gérard Houllier's position as manager is safe in spite of recent results. 7 January 2011 – Roy Keane is sacked by

after less than two years as manager, with the Suffolk club League Cup semi-finalists but struggling the Championship. 8 January 2011: Roy Hodgson leaves Liverpool after six months as manager and is succeeded by Kenny Dalglish as caretaker manager until the end of the season. It is Dalglish's first managerial job since he left

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

more than 10 years ago, and his return as Liverpool manager comes a month before the 20th anniversary of his sudden resignation. The FA Cup third round sees a number of upsets as League Two Burton Albion eliminate Middlesbrough 2–1 at the

Pirelli Stadium Pirelli Stadium is an association football stadium on Princess Way in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. It was built in 2005 and is the current home of Burton Albion FC Burton Albion Football Club is a professional association foo ...

. Football League newcomers Stevenage defeat mid-table Premier League side Newcastle United 3–1 and Sunderland lose 2–1 at home to League One strugglers Notts County. 9 January 2011: Kenny Dalglish's first match back in charge of Liverpool ends in a 1–0 FA Cup third round defeat at Manchester United, with a second-minute penalty by Ryan Giggs winning the game, while Liverpool's Steven Gerrard is sent off. 10 January 2011:

Macclesfield Town Macclesfield Town Football Club was an English professional football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, that was wound-up after a High Court ruling on 16 September 2020. Initially known as Macclesfield F.C., the club was formed in 1874 ...

midfielder Richard Butcher dies suddenly aged 29, just 10 months after Keith Alexander, who had brought him to the club. 12 January 2011:

beat Arsenal in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final 1–0 at Portman Road, three days after losing 7–0 in the FA Cup at Chelsea. 15 January 2011: Bolton Wanderers and England legend

Nat Lofthouse Nathaniel Lofthouse (27 August 1925 – 15 January 2011) was an English professional footballer who played as a forward for Bolton Wanderers for his entire career. He won 33 caps for England between 1950 and 1958, scoring 30 goals, with o ...

dies aged 85.Nat Lofthouse dead at 85 – remember his finest football moments – mirror.co.uk
/ref> 25 January 2011: Arsenal reach the

Football League Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

final with a 3–1 aggregate victory over Ipswich Town in the semi-finals. 26 January 2011: Birmingham reach the Football League Cup final with a 4–3 aggregate victory over West Ham after extra time in the semi-finals. 29 January 2011: The FA Cup fourth round sees Manchester United win 2–1 at Southampton, Bolton Wanderers and Wigan Athletic draw a blank at the

Reebok Stadium The University of Bolton Stadium is the home ground of Bolton Wanderers F.C. in Horwich, Greater Manchester, England. Opening in 1997, it was named the Reebok Stadium, after club sponsors Reebok. In 2014, Bolton Wanderers signed a naming ri ...

Burton Albion's FA Cup dream end in a 3–1 defeat at Burnley, Crawley Town match the record FA Cup run for a Conference club by winning 1–0 at Torquay United, and Brighton & Hove Albion win 1–0 at Watford. The highlights of the league action include Norwich City's goalless draw at Crystal Palace putting them into second place in the Championship, while Walsall keep their League One survival hopes alive with a 6–1 win over fellow strugglers Bristol Rovers. 31 January 2011: Chelsea pay a British record 50 million pounds for Liverpool striker

Fernando Torres Fernando José Torres Sanz (; born 20 March 1984) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a striker. He is the current manager of Atlético Madrid Juvenil A. Due to his consistent goalscoring rate as a young player, ...

. Liverpool paid 35 million pounds for

– breaking the transfer record for a British footballer.

February 2011

2 February 2011:

Gary Neville Gary Alexander Neville (born 18 February 1975) is an English football pundit and former player. He is also a co-owner of English Football League club Salford City. After retiring from football in 2011, Neville went into punditry and was a comm ...

, who has played 602 times for Manchester United since his debut in September 1992, announces his retirement from playing just before his 36th birthday. He has won a total of 14 major trophies at United, and also been capped 85 times for England, but has played just over 30 games in all competitions over the last four years following injury and competition from other players at United for the right-back position. 5 February 2011: A record-breaking day for the

sees Arsenal take a 4–0 lead at Newcastle United after 26 minutes, only to concede four times after half-time to see the game end 4–4 – the first time in Premier League history that a team has been four goals ahead and still not won.

Louis Saha Louis Laurent Saha (born 8 August 1978) is a French former professional footballer who played as a striker. Saha was capped 20 times for the France national team and scored four goals. A former scholar at the Clairefontaine football academy, h ...

scores four goals as Everton beat Blackpool 5–3 at

scores a first half hat-trick as Manchester City beat West Bromwich Albion 3–0 to boost their own title hopes and push their opponents deeper into the relegation battle. Manchester United suffer their first league defeat of the season when they are beaten 2–1 at Wolverhampton Wanderers. 6 February 2011: West Bromwich Albion sack manager Roberto Di Matteo after a season and a half in charge. 10 February 2011: West Ham United win the backing of

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

bosses to take over the

after the 2012 games. 11 February 2011: Roy Hodgson is appointed as manager of West Bromwich Albion. 18 February 2011: Ryan Giggs signs a new one-year contract at Manchester United, tying him to the club for at least another season and taking him into his 22nd year at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...

. 21 February 2011: Plymouth Argyle issue a notice for administration, resulting in a 10-point deduction which leaves them bottom of League One and 10 points adrift of safety as their battle against a second successive relegation is made much harder. 27 February 2011: Birmingham City win the first silverware of the season, beating Arsenal 2–1 in the League Cup Final and thus ending their 48-year wait for a trophy 28 February 2011: February ends with Manchester United still top of the Premier League, four points clear of second-placed Arsenal. Manchester City, Tottenham, Chelsea, Liverpool and Bolton Wanderers complete the top seven. Wigan Athletic prop up the table with West Ham and Wolves fill the relegation zone. In the Championship, Queens Park Rangers and Swansea City remain in the automatic promotion spots. Cardiff, Norwich, Nottingham Forest and Leeds make up the play-offs, with Preston, Sheffield United and Scunthorpe in the relegation zone.

March 2011

6 March 2011: Dirk Kuyt scores a hat-trick in Liverpool's 3–1 Premier League home win over Manchester United, making him the first Liverpool player to score a competitive hat-trick against United since Peter Beardsley in September 1990. West Ham United boost their survival hopes with a 3–0 home win over Stoke City. 12 March 2011: Manchester United beat Arsenal 2–0 in the

quarter-final at

. Bolton Wanderers win 3–2 at Birmingham City to reach their first FA Cup semi-final for 11 years. 13 March 2011:

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

, the last non-Premier League side in the FA Cup, lose 1–0 to Manchester City in the quarter final, with the winners reaching the semi-finals for the first time in 30 years. Stoke City beat

2–1 to reach the semi-finals for the first time since 1972. 14 March 2011:

Jens Lehmann Jens Gerhard Lehmann (; born 10 November 1969) is a German former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He was a member of Arsenal's " Invincibles", playing every match of their unbeaten title-winning season. He holds the UEFA Ch ...

, the German goalkeeper who kept goal for Arsenal from 2003 to 2008, is reported to be on the verge of coming out of retirement to act as an emergency goalkeeper for Arsenal until the end of the season to ease an injury crisis. 19 March 2011:

re-instates

John Terry John George Terry (born 7 December 1980) is an English professional football coach and former player who played as a centre-back. He was previously captain of Chelsea, the England national team and Aston Villa. He was most recently the a ...

as England captain a year after he was stripped of the position following allegations about his personal life. 31 March 2011: Manchester United remain top of the Premier League, 5 points ahead of closest rivals Arsenal. Manchester City and Chelsea fill the two remaining Champions League places, whilst Tottenham, Liverpool and Bolton complete the top seven. At the bottom Birmingham City have slipped into the relegation zone barely a month after lifting the League Cup, they are joined by West-Midlands rivals Wolves and bottom club Wigan. In the Championship Queens Park Rangers continue to lead the way and have a nine-point cushion over second-placed Norwich City. Welsh rivals Swansea and Cardiff are joined in the play-off places by Leeds and Nottingham Forest, whilst at the bottom, Preston remain at the foot of the league with Scunthorpe and Sheffield United also in the relegation zone.

April 2011

2 April 2011: Manchester United move closer to the Premier League title after coming from 2–0 down at half–time to win 4–2 at West Ham United, in which

scores a hat-trick. In the Championship,

Yakubu Yakubu is an English transliteration of a West African name and is a cognate of Jacob and James. Notable people with the name include: ;Given name * Yakubu (born 1982 as Yakubu Ayegbeni), Nigerian footballer * Yakubu (Gobir ruler), historical ruler ...

scores a hat-trick for Leicester City in their 3–3 draw at Middlesbrough. 6 April 2011: Torquay United are deducted one point and Hereford United deducted three points for fielding ineligible players in the League Two game at Plainmoor on 1 February, which Hereford won 3–1. 8 April 2011: Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard is ruled out for the rest of the season with a groin injury. 9 April 2011: Crawley Town secure the Conference National title and promotion to the Football League with a 3–0 win at Tamworth. 11 April 2011: Liverpool's record signing, Andy Carroll, scores his first two goals for the club in their 3–0 home win over Manchester City in the Premier League. 12 April 2011: Manchester United reach the semi-finals of the Champions League when a 2–1 quarter-final second leg win over Chelsea at Old Trafford gives them a 3–1 aggregate triumph. Brighton and Hove Albion become the first Football League side to be promoted after they beat Dagenham & Redbridge 4–3 at home. 16 April 2011:

fires Manchester City to their first FA Cup final for 30 years by beating rivals Manchester United 1–0, who were reduced to 10 men after the dismissal of

Paul Scholes Paul Scholes (born 16 November 1974) is an English football coach, pundit, former player, and co-owner of Salford City. He spent his entire professional playing career with Manchester United, for whom he scored over 150 goals in more than 700 ...

. 17 April 2011: Stoke City reach the FA Cup final for the first time in their history with a 5–0 win over Bolton Wanderers in the other semi-final. 22 April 2011: Chesterfield become the second Football League side to win promotion this season after the last side capable of overhauling them, Wycombe Wanderers, drew 0–0 with Torquay. Blue Square Premier champions

Crawley Town F.C. Crawley Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crawley, West Sussex, England. The club was founded as Crawley Football Club in 1896, changed its name to Crawley Town Football Club in 1958. The team com ...

break the 100-point barrier with a 4–0 home win over Rushden & Diamonds, with leading scorer

Matt Tubbs Matthew Stephen Tubbs (born 15 July 1984) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Bashley. Having started his football career, Tubbs joined Salisbury City and quickly made an impact throughout his time at the club, h ...

taking his tally for this season to 36 goals. 23 April 2011: British record signing

scores his first goal in thirteen appearances for Chelsea in their 3–0 home win over West Ham United. 25 April 2011: Preston North End, bottom of the Championship, lose 1–0 at home to Cardiff City and are relegated to League One after 11 successive seasons in the league's second tier. Swindon Town are relegated to League Two after losing 3–1 at Sheffield Wednesday. Bury join Chesterfield in League One as a 3–2 win at the division's leaders ends their nine-year stay in the league's basement division. 30 April 2011: Queens Park Rangers seal the Championship title and promotion to the Premier League after a 15-year exile by beating Watford 2–0 at

Vicarage Road Vicarage Road is a stadium in Watford, England, and is the home stadium of championship club Watford. An all-seater stadium, its current capacity is 22,200. History It has been the home of Watford since 1922, when the club moved from Cas ...

. Sheffield United are relegated to League One (a level they last played at in 1989) after they could only manage a 2–2 draw at home to Yorkshire rivals Barnsley. Scunthorpe United's relegation is also confirmed as they crash to a 5–1 defeat at a Nottingham Forest side whose victory virtually seals a playoff place. Stockport County's relegation from the Football League is confirmed by a 2–0 defeat at Crewe Alexandra.

May 2011

2 May 2011: Norwich City seal a second successive promotion to reach the Premier League by beating Portsmouth 1–0 at Fratton Park. They are the first team since Manchester City in 2000 to reach the Premier League with two successive promotions. Plymouth Argyle are relegated from League One, their second successive relegation, with a 3–1 home defeat to a Southampton side whose promotion is virtually ensured by virtue of having a vastly superior goal difference to third-placed Huddersfield, three points adrift with one game left. 7 May 2011: QPR escape points deduction, while Nottingham Forest confirm their play-off place. Southampton's promotion to the Championship is confirmed. Dagenham & Redbridge and Bristol Rovers are relegated from League One. Lincoln City's 3–0 home defeat to Aldershot costs them their Football League status and they are relegated to the Conference National. Wycombe Wanderers seal an immediate return to League One by beating Southend United 3–1 at Adams Park. 8 May 2011: Manchester United beat Chelsea 2–1 at Old Trafford in the Premier League, meaning that they need just a point from their final two games to win a record 19th top division title. Arsenal's faint title hopes are ended with a 3–1 defeat at FA Cup finalists Stoke City. Wolverhampton Wanderers climb out of the relegation zone with a 3–1 home win over Black Country rivals West Bromwich Albion, whose survival (and highest league finish since 1985) has already been confirmed. 14 May 2011: Manchester City defeat Stoke City 1–0 in the FA Cup final, with

scoring the only goal which ends the club's 35-year wait for a major trophy. It is a double success story on the same day for the city of

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, as United's 1–1 draw with Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park confirms their status as Premier League champions – giving them a record 19th top division title. Blackpool keep their survival hopes alive with a thrilling 4–3 home win over Bolton Wanderers, while Wolverhampton Wanderers take a step further to survival with a 3–1 win at Sunderland. 15 May 2011: West Ham United lose 3–2 at Wigan Athletic, despite taking a 2–0 lead after 26 minutes, and are relegated from the Premier League after six successive seasons there. Chelsea effectively secure second place with a 2–2 draw at home to Newcastle United. Birmingham City remain on the brink of the relegation zone, with only goal difference keeping them clear, after losing 2–0 at home to a Fulham side occupying eighth place. Later that day West Ham manager Avram Grant is sacked. 21 May 2011:

AFC Wimbledon AFC Wimbledon is an English professional Association football, football club, based in London Borough of Merton, Merton, London, that plays in the EFL League Two, after being relegated from the EFL League One following the 2021–22 EFL Leagu ...

beat

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

4–3 on penalties following a goalless draw in the Conference play-off final. Wimbledon reach the Football League only nine years after their formation, which occurred when The FA approved the relocation of the original

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

side to

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...

. AFC Wimbledon and the since-renamed

Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The ...

will now be just one division apart. 22 May 2011: On the final day of the Premier League, Blackpool are relegated by a 4–2 defeat at Manchester United after taking a 2–1 lead, while League Cup holders Birmingham City also go down after conceding a last minute goal as they lose 2–1 to a Tottenham Hotspur side whose victory confirms their Europa League qualification, while Blackburn Rovers beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 3–2 at Molineux, and both sides avoid relegation. Wigan Athletic win 1–0 against Stoke City and also avoid the drop. Elsewhere, Manchester City pip Arsenal to third place, and Tottenham's win over Birmingham City means that Liverpool (who lose 1–0 at Aston Villa) miss out on a place in Europe for the first time in 12 years. 28 May 2011: Stevenage are promoted to League One, beating Torquay United 1–0 in the League Two play-off final at Old Trafford. 29 May 2011: Peterborough United win promotion to the Championship, beating Huddersfield Town 3–0 in the League One play-off final at Old Trafford. 30 May 2011: Swansea City become the first Welsh club to earn promotion to the Premier League, beating Reading 4–2 in the Championship play-off final at Wembley.

June 2011

1 June 2011:

steps down as Aston Villa manager by mutual consent following his illness. Also on 1 June, Convers Sports Initiatives owned by Russian Vladimir Antonov completed its takeover of

. 2 June 2011:

resigned as a

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

manager after having spent 11 months as manager. 3 June 2011: Tottenham Hotspur signed Aston Villa's goalkeeper veteran Brad Friedel on a free transfer as his contract set to expire next season. Also,

Frank Arnesen Frank Arnesen (born 30 September 1956) is a former Danish footballer and sporting director at Dutch football club Feyenoord. Arnesen was the Director of Football at English football clubs Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea, and was Sporting Director a ...

Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its football section. Though the current HSV was founded in June 1919 from a merger of three ...

signed

Jacopo Sala Jacopo Sala (; born 5 December 1991) is an Italian footballer who plays as a central midfielder. Club career Hamburger SV Sala came to German side Hamburger SV from Chelsea on a three-year contract, joining former Chelsea teammate Michael Man ...

from

, becoming a second player to join Hamburg from Chelsea this following

Michael Mancienne Michael Ian Mancienne (born 8 January 1988) is a former professional footballer who played as a defender. Born in England, he represented the Seychelles national team. Schooled primarily as a centre back, Mancienne can also play as a defensive ...

's £1.75 million move to Germany. 6 June 2011: Millwall top scorer last season Steve Morison joined newly promoted side

for an undisclosed fee. 7 June 2011: Newly promoted side Swansea City signed Watford's top scorer

Danny Graham Daniel Graham (born 1978) is an American football player. Daniel Graham may also refer to: * Bob Graham (born 1936), Daniel Robert Graham, American politician *Daniel O. Graham (1926–1995), American general and political activist *Danny Graham ( ...

for £3.5 million. 8 June 2011: Arsenal make their first signing of the transfer window in

Carl Jenkinson Carl Daniel Jenkinson (born 8 February 1992) is an English professional association football, footballer who plays as a right-back for Newcastle Jets FC, Newcastle Jets in the Australian A-League Men, A-League. Jenkinson began his career with C ...

from

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in ...

for an undisclosed fee. 9 June 2011: Liverpool make their first signing of the transfer window in

from Sunderland for £16 million. 10 June 2011: Newcastle United made their first signing

Yohan Cabaye Yohan Cabaye (; born 14 January 1986) is a French former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Cabaye began his football career playing for hometown club US Tourcoing at the age of six. After seven years developing in the club's ...

from

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...

for an undisclosed fee. 13 June 2011: Manchester United made their first signing Phil Jones from

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

for an undisclosed fee. 23 June 2011: Manchester United sign midfielder

Ashley Young Ashley Simon Young (born 9 July 1985) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger or full-back for Premier League club Aston Villa, where he is club captain. Young started his career at Watford and made his first senior appea ...

from Aston Villa for an undisclosed fee. 29 June 2011: Manchester United sign Spanish goalkeeper

David de Gea David de Gea Quintana (born 7 November 1990) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Manchester United. During the mid-2010s, he was widely regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world. Born in Madrid ...

from

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...

for £18.9 million.

New clubs

Bromsgrove Sporting F.C. Bromsgrove Sporting Football Club is a football club based in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England. The club was founded in 2009 and played their first season, 2010–11, in Midland Football Combination Division Two, where they ended third. T ...

was formed by fans of Bromsgrove Rovers before the season began and before the original club folded. They were accepted into the

Midland Football Combination The Midland Football Combination was an English football league covering parts of the West Midlands. It comprised five divisions, a Premier Division, Divisions One and Two and two Reserves Divisions. The league was one of three official feeder l ...

Division two (level 12) while the original club was expelled from the Southern League, Division One South & West (Level 8) *

Chester F.C. Chester Football Club is an association football club based in Chester. They are currently members of and play at the Deva Stadium. The club was founded in 2010 following the liquidation of Chester City. In its inaugural season it competed ...

was formed by fans of

Chester City F.C. Chester City Football Club was an association football team from Chester, England that played in a variety of leagues between 1885 and 2010. The club played its home games at Sealand Road from 1906 to 1991 and moved to the Deva Stadium in 1992 ...

which had folded. They were accepted into the

Northern Premier League Division One North The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division One West and Division ...

(level 8), while the original club had been expelled from the

(level 5). *

Merthyr Town F.C. Merthyr Town Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Tref Merthyr) is a Welsh semi-professional football club based in Merthyr Tydfil, currently playing in the , in the seventh tier of the English football league system. The football club was o ...

was formed by fans of

Merthyr Tydfil F.C. Merthyr Tydfil Football Club was a Welsh association football, football club based at the Penydarren Park ground in Merthyr Tydfil. In 2010 the club was liquidated and reformed under the name Merthyr Town F.C., Merthyr Town, which was accepted ...

which had folded. They were accepted into the

Western Football League The Western Football League is a football league in South West England, covering Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, western Dorset, parts of Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. The league's current main sponsor is Toolstation, so it is also known as ...

Division One (level 10), while the original club had been expelled from the

Southern Football League The Southern League is a men's football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from the South and Midlands of England. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and eight of the English fo ...

Premier Division (level 7)

Clubs removed

* Bromsgrove Rovers, expelled from Southern League, Division One South & West (Level 8), 11 August 2010. * Ilkeston Town, expelled from

Conference North The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Sy ...

(Level 6), 8 September 2010. *

Leyton Leyton () is a town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford to the south, with Clapton, Hackney Wick and Homerton, across the River L ...

, expelled from Isthmian League, Division One North (Level 8), 14 January 2011. * Atherstone Town, resigned from

Southern League Division One Central The Southern League is a men's football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from the South and Midlands of England. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and eight of the English foot ...

(Level 8) at the end of the season. Announced 18 December 2010. * Windsor & Eton, expelled from Southern League, Premier Division (Level 7), 2 February 2011. **

Windsor F.C. Windsor Football Club is an English football club formed in 2011 after Windsor & Eton folded. The club are current members of the and play at the former Windsor & Eton's Stag Meadow ground. The club is affiliated to the Berks & Bucks Footba ...

formed out of club's demise, and competed in the

Combined Counties Football League The Combined Counties Football League is a regional men's football league in south-eastern England with members in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Jersey, Kent, Middlesex, Oxfordshire, Surrey, and the western half and sou ...

(level 9) in 2011–12 * Almondsbury Town, resigned from Southern League, Division One South & West (Level 8) at end of season. Announced 7 April 2011. * Leigh Genesis, resigned from North West Counties Football League (level 9) after season finished. Announced 2 June 2011. *

, expelled from 2011–12 Conference National (level 5) after season finished. Announced 11 June 2011. **

AFC Rushden & Diamonds A.F.C. Rushden & Diamonds is an English football club based in Rushden in Northamptonshire. They played their opening season at Kiln Park, the home of Raunds Town, in 2011–12 and subsequently shared the Dog & Duck ground with Wellingboroug ...

formed out of club's demise and will field a senior team in 2012–13. * Rossendale United, expelled from 2011–12 North West Counties Football League (level 9) after season finished. Announced 18 June 2011.

Retirements

* July 2010 –

Chris Lumsdon Christopher Lumsdon (born 15 December 1979 in Newcastle upon Tyne) is an English former professional footballer. A midfielder, he played twice for Sunderland in the Premier League, forming part of their Championship title-winning team of 1998 ...

, 30, former Sunderland,

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

, Carlisle United and Darlington midfielder. * 24 August 2010 –

Sam Hutchinson Samuel Edward Hutchinson (born 3 August 1989) is an English professional footballer who primarily plays as a centre-back or defensive midfielder for club Reading. Early and personal life Hutchinson was born in Windsor, Berkshire, in England. H ...

, 21, former

defender. * 26 August 2010 – Matt Murray, 29, former

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

goalkeeper. * January 2011 –

Gavin McCann Gavin Peter McCann (born 10 January 1978) is an English retired footballer who played as a midfielder in the English Premier League. He has one England cap to his name, playing against Spain at Villa Park in 2001. He is currently the First Tea ...

, 33, former Everton, Sunderland, Aston Villa and Bolton Wanderers midfielder who won one cap for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. * 2 February 2011 –

, 35, former

and Manchester United full back. * 5 March 2011 – Miki Roqué, 22, former

and

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic ...

defender. * 8 March 2011 – Chris Armstrong, 28, former

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...

and

defender. * 10 March 2011 – Sean McDaid, 25, former

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...

and Carlisle United defender. * 29 April 2011 –

Michael Bridges Michael Bridges (born 5 August 1978) is an English professional football manager and retired former player. As a player, he was a striker who notably played in the Premier League for Sunderland, Leeds United and Newcastle United, as well a ...

, 32, former Sunderland,

, Carlisle United,

and

MK Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. ...

striker. * 22 May 2011 – Jerzy Dudek, 38, former

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

and

goalkeeper. * 30 May 2011 –

Claude Makélélé Claude Makélélé Sinda (born 18 February 1973) is a French football manager and former professional player who played as a defensive midfielder. He is currently a youth coach and technical mentor at Chelsea, having formerly been the head co ...

, 38, former

and

midfielder. * 31 May 2011 –

, 36, former

and Manchester United midfielder. * 6 June 2011 – Jon Dahl Tomasson, 34, former

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

and Newcastle United striker. * Summer 2011 –

Edwin van der Sar Edwin van der Sar (; born 29 October 1970) is a Dutch football executive and former professional player who is currently the chief executive of AFC Ajax, with whom he began his senior playing career in the early 1990s; he is considered to be a m ...

, 40, former

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and Manchester United goalkeeper. * Summer 2011 –

Sami Hyypiä Sami Tuomas Hyypiä (; born 7 October 1973) is a Finnish football manager and former defender. Hyypiä began his playing career with Ykkönen side Kumu and soon moved to Veikkausliiga outfit MyPa. He spent four years at the club, helping t ...

, 37, former

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

and

defender. * Summer 2011 –

Robbie Savage Robert William Savage (born 18 October 1974) is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a midfielder, now a football pundit and director of football at club Macclesfield. During his career he played predominantly as a midfielder, ...

, 36, former

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...

and

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 188 ...

midfielder. * Summer 2011 –

Paul Hartley Paul Hartley (born 19 October 1976) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He is the manager of Scottish Championship side Cove Rangers. As a player, Hartley won trophies with both Hearts and ...

, 34, former

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

and

midfielder. * Summer 2011 – Tony Roberts, 41, former Dagenham & Redbridge,

QPR Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football, football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home ...

goalkeeper.

Deaths

* 14 July 2010 – Ken Barnes, 81, wing-half who made 283 appearances for Manchester City, and was a member of the City side that won the FA Cup in 1956. Later became manager of

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

before returning to City as chief scout * 17 July 2010 – Shaun Mawer, 50, full back who made 60 appearances for

from 1977 to 1980 * 30 July 2010 – Stanley Milburn, 83, played for Ashington, Chesterfield, Leicester City and Rochdale and had one England B team cap. Uncle of Jack and Bobby Charlton. * 10 August 2010 – Brian Clark, 67, forward who made over 600 appearances in

The Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

, most notably with Cardiff City and

. * 10 August 2010 –

, 31,

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

forward who made over 300 career appearances for

Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to: * Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset * Yeovil Town L.F.C. Bridgwater United Women's Football Club are an English women's association football club based in Bridgwater, Somerset who wer ...

Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'Th ...

and

. * 10 August 2010 –

Markus Liebherr Markus Liebherr (30 March 1948 – 10 August 2010) was a German-born Swiss businessman and a member of one of Europe's top family business dynasties. He was a Swiss entrepreneur and owner of MALI International AG, which he founded in 1994. Life ...

, 62, owner of

Southampton F.C. Southampton Football Club () is an English professional football club based in Southampton, Hampshire, which competes in the . Their home ground since 2001 has been St Mary's Stadium, before which they were based at The Dell. The club play i ...

* 15 August 2010 –

John Green John Michael Green (born August 24, 1977) is an American author, YouTube content creator, podcaster, and philanthropist. His books have more than 50 million copies in print worldwide, including '' The Fault in Our Stars'' (2012), which is ...

, 71, midfielder who made 250 league appearances for

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ado ...

and

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

. * 18 September 2010 – Bobby Smith, 77, who was a key member of Tottenham Hotspur's

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

winning side of 1961 . * 1 October 2010 –

Ian Buxton Ian Ray Buxton (17 April 1938 – 1 October 2010) was an English footballer and cricketer. He played football as an inside forward for Derby County between 1959 and 1967, before brief spells with Luton Town, Notts County, Port Vale, and non-lea ...

, 72, inside-forward who made 215 league appearances for

and

; also a captain of Derbyshire County Cricket Club. * 13 October 2010 –

Eddie Baily Edward Francis Baily (6 August 1925 – 13 October 2010) was an England international footballer. He was a member of the 1950 FIFA World Cup squad, and scored five goals in nine international games. He was described as one of the best inside fo ...

, 85, inside-forward who made 419 league appearances for

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

, and

, and the England national team; part of the Spurs 1950–51 League winning side. * 15 October 2010 – Malcolm Allison, 83, best remembered for his spell as coach under

Joe Mercer Joseph Mercer, OBE (9 August 1914 – 9 August 1990) was an English football player and manager. Mercer, who played as a defender for Everton and Arsenal in his footballing career, also went on to manage Aston Villa, Manchester City and Engl ...

at Manchester City during the successes of the late 1960s and early 1970s, and for his later but less successful spell as the club's manager. * 29 October 2010 – Ronnie Clayton, 76, Right-half who made 35 appearances

, many as the skipper. Clayton was one of the most recognised wing-halves of his generation, during his 21-year career from 1950 to 1971, he spent 19 years at

. * 30 October 2010 – John Benson, 67, Scottish football player and manager. Notably playing for

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

in the 60's, and for managing and directing

. * 14 December 2010 – Dale Roberts, 24, former

goalkeeper playing for

team

. Roberts also featured for the England C team. His death was a suspected suicide. * 17 December 2010 –

Ralph Coates Ralph Coates (26 April 1946 – 17 December 2010) was an English footballer who played at both professional and international levels as a winger. Coates played for Burnley, Tottenham Hotspur and Orient, making 480 appearances in the Football Le ...

, 64, former Burnley, Tottenham Hotspur, Leyton Orient and England forward. * 28 December 2010 –

Avi Cohen Avraham "Avi" Cohen ( he, אבי כהן; 14 November 1956 – 29 December 2010) was an Israeli footballer who played as a defender, and a manager. He was best known for his spells playing for two British clubs: Liverpool in England and Rangers ...

, 54, former

defender who scored the club's title-clinching goal in 1980. Was also a captain of the

Israel national football team The Israel national football team ( he, נבחרת ישראל בכדורגל, ) represents Israel in international football, and is governed by the Israel Football Association (IFA). Israel's national team is the direct successor of the M ...

. Died from injuries sustained in a motorcycling accident in his native

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. * 10 January 2011 – Richard Butcher, 29,

midfielder, who also enjoyed spells with

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...

Kettering Town Kettering Town Football Club is a football club based in Burton Latimer, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of and play at Latimer Park in Burton Latimer. Kettering were the first club to wear sponsorship on their shirts in ...

and Lincoln City. * 15 January 2011 –

, 85, spent his entire career at Bolton Wanderers as a striker, scoring 285 goals in 503 appearances from 1946 to 1960, along with scoring 30 goals in 33 appearances for

. * 26 January 2011 – David Knowles, 69, former

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

. * 3 February 2011 –

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...

, 66, former Manchester City striker. * 20 February 2011 –

Tony Kellow Tony Kellow (1 May 1952 – 20 February 2011) was an English professional footballer. He played as a forward and made over 400 Football League appearances in the 1970s and 1980s. Early career He was born in Budock Water, a village near Fa ...

, 58, former Exeter City, Blackpool, Plymouth Argyle, Swansea and Newport County striker. * 26 February 2011 – Dean Richards, 36, former Tottenham and Wolves defender. * 23 March 2011 –

Trevor Storton Trevor Storton (26 November 1949 – 23 March 2011) was an English footballer who played as a central defender. The early years He began his career at Tranmere Rovers, playing alongside his older brother Stan, he played over 100 games for the ...

, 61, former

and Chester City defender.

Honours

Trophy and League Champions

Playoff Winners

League tables

Premier League

Manchester United won their 12th Premier League title and their 19th championship overall, beating Liverpool's record of 18 championships set in 1990. A late surge consigned Chelsea to a second-place finish; their season fell apart following the departure of first-team coach

Ray Wilkins Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (gra ...

in early November and this coincided with a horrendous run of form in the winter as they picked up just 10 points from 11 games, with manager

Carlo Ancelotti Carlo Ancelotti , (born 10 June 1959) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of La Liga club Real Madrid. Regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time, Ancelotti is the most decorated manager ...

losing his job on the final day. Arsenal qualified for the Champions League in 4th, having been realistic outsiders for the league title until losing the League Cup final, at which point they won just two of their last 11 league games, falling behind 3rd placed Manchester City, who entered Europe's elite competition for the first time after overturning a 5-point deficit with 3 games left. Tottenham settled for the Europa League spot, though they had an impressive first Champions League run that took them to the quarterfinals. Liverpool – who managed to put a terrible League start under Roy Hodgson behind them – seemed as if they were going to finish 5th under Kenny Dalglish, but lost their last two games and had to settle for 6th. This meant that they failed to qualify for any European competition for the first time in 12 years. Merseyside rivals Everton finished immediately behind them in seventh place, after a much improved second half of the campaign. Fulham rose up the table to finish eighth, and qualify for the Europa League via the Fair Play League. Stoke also qualified for the Europa League by reaching their first ever FA Cup Final, despite losing by a single goal to eventual winners Manchester City.

, just days before the campaign began, resigned from his position as Aston Villa manager. This hit Villa immensely and they found themselves in a relegation battle for much of the season, despite the efforts of former Liverpool manager

. They confirmed survival with a 9th-place finish, but only after Houllier took a leave of absence following a heart scare with a few weeks to go. Newly promoted West Bromwich Albion and Newcastle United also enjoyed decent finishes, in eleventh and twelfth places respectively. Albion began the season well under Roberto di Matteo until a loss in form saw them fall down the table. With Albion just above the drop zone, the Italian was replaced by Roy Hodgson, who recovered from his disappointing Liverpool tenure to steer the Baggies away from relegation trouble. Newcastle's twelfth place was achieved despite the surprise sacking of Chris Hughton, who was replaced by Alan Pardew, and the departure of striker Andy Carroll to Liverpool for £35 million in January. West Ham United were the first team to go down, despite the efforts of their star midfielder

Scott Parker Scott Matthew Parker (born 13 October 1980) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He is currently the head coach of Club Brugge in Belgium. Parker began his career at Charlton Athletic, and ...

(who won the Footballer of the Year Award); the Hammers' relegation was confirmed following a 3–2 defeat at Wigan. Blackpool returned to the Championship after a run of only three wins from their last 21 games, despite a league double over Liverpool. Despite winning the

, Birmingham were relegated on the last day after they suffered a late season slump in form, enabling close rivals Wolves, as well as Blackburn and Wigan, to survive in one of the top-flight's tightest relegation battles. Leading goalscorers:

(Manchester United) and

(Manchester City) – 21

Football League Championship

Queens Park Rangers won the Championship and returned to the Premier League after a fifteen-year absence. Neil Warnock became the first manager in six years to complete a full season in charge with the club, and equalled the record for the most promotions ever won by a single manager. The runners-up spot was taken by Norwich City, who earned their second successive promotion under

Paul Lambert Paul Lambert (born 7 August 1969) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player, who was most recently the manager of Ipswich Town. Lambert played as a midfielder and won the Scottish Cup in 1987 with St Mirren as a 17-year-ol ...

and became only the third English club to achieve back to back promotions to the top flight, and the first since Manchester City 11 years previous. Swansea City were promoted via the play-offs after beating Reading in the play-off final, becoming the first Welsh club ever to play in the Premier League. Ironically, Swansea manager

was a former manager of Reading, having been sacked by the Royals midway through the previous season. None of the three teams relegated from the Premier League in the previous season were able to mount a challenge for promotion. Burnley, whom many tipped for an immediate return to the top flight, ultimately fell just short of the top six, but the efforts of Hull City and Portsmouth were hindered by respective financial constraints. Cardiff City were the league's biggest chokers as they threw away their chances of automatic promotion in shocking fashion, amid reports of several players seen out drinking in the early hours before a crucial game against Middlesbrough, meaning they had to settle for the play-offs. Dave Jones was sacked at the end of May after they were crushed by losing play-off finalists Reading. Scunthorpe United were unable to escape relegation for the second year in a row and were relegated in bottom place, despite the arrival of

Alan Knill Alan Richard Knill (born 8 October 1964) is a professional football manager and former player, who is a coach for the Wales national team. He played as a centre-back for several clubs, spending the most time at Halifax Town, Bury and Scuntho ...

, ultimately unable to compete with teams operating on much higher financial resources. Sheffield United were relegated only a year after their cross-city counterparts, meaning that the

Steel City derby The Steel City Derby (also known as the Sheffield Derby) is a local derby that takes place between Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday, the two professional football league teams based in the city of Sheffield, England. It is widely consi ...

would now be taking place in the third tier for the first time since 1980, the sacking of

after just two games and subsequent managerial instability proving their downfall. The third relegated club was Preston North End, who had been the longest-serving members of the Championship, having been in the division since 2000. Much like Sheffield United, their decision to replace manager

Darren Ferguson Darren Ferguson (born 9 February 1972) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player, who was most recently the manager of Championship club Peterborough United. In between his stints with Peterborough, he also managed Preston No ...

backfired on them. Leading goalscorer

(Watford) – 24

Football League One

Brighton and Hove Albion gave their old Withdean Stadium a memorable send-off as they dominated the division for nearly the whole season and won the League One title, ensuring that the new Falmer Stadium would open to Championship football. Fellow south coast club Southampton, whose promotion challenge had been derailed by a ten-point administration penalty in the previous season, were promoted at the second time of asking, finishing as runners-up. At first, they didn't look like promotion chasers when Alan Pardew was sacked in early September and replaced by

. But Adkins gave Saints fans what they wanted for years; attacking football and a 2nd-place finish. Peterborough United, who were the top scorers in any of the top four divisions, won the play-offs and clinched an immediate return to the Championship after the previous year's relegation. It meant that manager

– who had left the Posh 2 years ago – had achieved his third successive promotion with the club. Swindon Town suffered a shock relegation: having been runners-up in the play-off final the previous season, they struggled for the entire campaign and were eventually relegated in bottom place after the departures of strike-duo

Billy Paynter William Paul Paynter (born 13 July 1984) is an English former professional association football, footballer and coach who is now head first team coach at club Runcorn Linnets F.C., Runcorn Linnets. In a 17-year professional career in the English ...

and

Charlie Austin Charles Austin (born 5 July 1989) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker. Released from his contract by Reading as a youth, Austin played non-league football up to May 2009, when he was signed by Swindon Town after a pro ...

. Plymouth Argyle suffered their second successive relegation, the loss of ten points for entering administration proving fatal. Bristol Rovers, who had been promoted alongside Swindon in 2007, were relegated with them this year. Dagenham & Redbridge battled until the final day of the season, but ultimately suffered relegation in their first-ever season at this level. Coincidentally, had it not been for Plymouth's points deduction then Walsall would have been relegated, meaning that three of the four clubs promoted from League Two at the end of the 2006–07 season would have gone down together. Leading goalscorer:

Craig Mackail-Smith Craig Anthony Robert Mackail-Smith (born 25 February 1984) is a retired professional footballer who played as a striker. He played in the English Football League for Brighton & Hove Albion, Luton Town, Peterborough United, Wycombe Wanderers, No ...

(Peterborough United) – 27

Football League Two

Chesterfield enjoyed a dream start to life at their new stadium, winning the title. Runners-up were Bury, who had been in impressive form for most of the season and secured second place with a blistering late run of form under new manager Richard Barker, even threatening to overtake Chesterfield in the final weeks of the season. Wycombe Wanderers were the final automatically promoted team, making an immediate return to League One after being relegated the previous season. Stevenage won the play-offs and earned promotion in their first ever Football League season. Stockport suffered their second successive relegation, with continued financial problems and the worst defensive record in the whole Football League costing them dearly. Barnet escaped relegation on the last day of the season with a 1–0 win over Port Vale at Underhill, and along with Lincoln City losing 3–0 to Aldershot, condemned Lincoln to their second relegation from the Football League. They had looked safe with two months to go, but an appalling run, with only two points gained from their last eleven matches saw them dumped into the relegation zone on the last day (their first relegation from the League in 1987 occurred under nearly identical circumstances). Promoted from the

as champions were

Crawley Town Crawley Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crawley, West Sussex, England. The club was founded as Crawley Football Club in 1896, changed its name to Crawley Town Football Club in 1958. The team com ...

, who entered the Football League for the first time in their history. Also promoted (via the play-offs) were

, who were technically also newcomers to the League, but widely seen as the continuation of the original

, who became the Milton Keynes Dons at the start of the 2004–05 season. Leading goalscorer:

Clayton Donaldson Clayton Andrew Donaldson (born 7 February 1984) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Gainsborough Trinity. He has played in the English Football League and Scottish Premier League for Hull City, Hibernian, Crewe Ale ...

(Crewe Alexandra) – 28

England national football team

Euro 2012 qualification

During the season, the

played the first five of their eight scheduled Group G qualifying matches for

Friendlies

England also participated in a number of

friendly matches An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

English clubs' performance in Europe

These are the results of the English teams in European competitions during the 2010–11 season. (English team score displayed first) * For group games in Champions League or Europa League, score in home game is displayed
** For group games in Champions League or Europa League, score in away game is displayed

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2010-11 in English football