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The 2005–06 FA Premier League (known as the FA
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Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the 14th season of the
Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
. It began on 13 August 2005, and concluded on 7 May 2006. The season saw Chelsea retain their title after defeating
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
3–0 at Stamford Bridge towards the end of April. On the same day, West Bromwich Albion and
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. The team compete in the ...
were relegated, joining
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...
in the Championship for the following season. Chelsea drew the record they set the previous season, with 29 wins in home and away campaigns.


Season summary

Several clubs reported disappointing attendances and/or trouble selling out their grounds for the opening weeks' matches. Many have argued that this was due mainly to the comparatively early season start and the Ashes Test
cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
series which caught the nation's imagination and which England went on to win. Other possible reasons are continued escalation of ticket prices and the increasing number of games shown on television (which has had the knock on effect of greater variation in kick-off times). The overall decline in attendances for the season was only around 2%, but that figure is reduced by the fact that bigger clubs were promoted into the Premiership than were relegated and several clubs have suffered larger falls. For the second time in two seasons, José Mourinho's Chelsea triumphed in the Premier League, with a home win over closest rivals Manchester United confirming them as champions after a record setting albeit tense season. Chelsea's early season form with 14 wins out of 16 gave the champions an unequivocal head start. With Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool falling way short of their expectations before Christmas, Chelsea had effectively become champions-elect by early 2006. However, a sudden collapse in form by mid-March caused their seemingly unassailable lead of 16 points to be cut to just 7 in two months due to the impressive late run of form of Manchester United, who went on a nine-match winning streak scoring over 20 goals. However, a shock home draw with bottom of the table Sunderland at Old Trafford killed United's title hopes. The momentum was back with Chelsea who didn't need a second bite at the apple with wins over Bolton, Everton and finally Manchester United giving the west Londoners their second successive championship under Mourinho. The top two clubs at the end of the season earned the right to participate in the
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...
group stages, while the third- and fourth-placed clubs get places in the Champions League Third Qualifying Round (where they progress to the Champions League group stages if they win or the UEFA Cup if they lose). However, if an English team wins the Champions League, but finishes outside the top four, then they get the final Champions League spot instead of the fourth-placed club, who have to settle for a place in the
UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
. This could have been the case with Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, but Arsenal pipped Spurs to fourth place in the final matchday of the season before losing 2–1 to
FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...
in the final of the UEFA Champions League. The fifth-placed club always earns a spot in the UEFA Cup. The winners of the
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
also earn a place in the UEFA Cup. If they have already qualified for European competition by their league position or winning the League Cup, then the FA Cup runners-up get their place. If the runners-up, too, have already qualified, then the highest league finisher who have not already qualified for Europe (normally sixth place) are given the place. This season, the FA Cup final featured Liverpool and West Ham. Since Liverpool finished third they were assured of a spot in the Champions League qualifying round, which in turn meant that West Ham received the cup winner's UEFA Cup place. The League Cup winners also qualify for the UEFA Cup. If they have already qualified for European competition through other means then their place is, unlike the FA Cup, not awarded to the runner-up, but instead the highest league finisher who has not qualified for Europe. League Cup winners Manchester United finished second, placing them directly into the Champions League group stage. This meant that the sixth-placed club, Blackburn Rovers, qualified for the UEFA Cup. The team directly after the UEFA Cup places, goes into the
UEFA Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from , "between" and , " betting pool"),Most precisely, from ( football pool); cf. originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition between European clubs. The competition was dis ...
which means in turn, if the team – Newcastle United this season – wins a 2-legged match means they earn a place in the qualifying round of the UEFA Cup. 2005-06 also saw the final action of two of the most successful players in English football,
Alan Shearer Alan Shearer (born 13 August 1970) is an English Association football, football pundit and former professional player who played as a striker (association football), striker. Widely regarded as one of the best strikers of all time and one of t ...
(last played for Newcastle United) and Dennis Bergkamp (last played for Arsenal).


Teams

Twenty teams competed in the league – the top seventeen teams from the previous season and the three teams promoted from the
Championship 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 sys ...
. The promoted teams were
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...
,
Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...
and West Ham United. Sunderland and West Ham United returned to the top flight after absences of two years, while Wigan Athletic played in the top flight for the first time in history. They replaced Crystal Palace, Norwich City (both teams relegated to the
Championship 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 sys ...
after a season's presence) and
Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
(ending their top flight spell of twenty-seven years).


Stadiums and locations


Personnel and kits


Managerial changes


League table


Results


Top scorers


Awards


Monthly awards


Annual awards


PFA Players' Player of the Year

The PFA Players' Player of the Year award for 2006 was won by Steven Gerrard. The shortlist for the PFA Players' Player of the Year award was as follows: * Thierry Henry (Arsenal) * Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) * Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) * Joe Cole (Chelsea) * Frank Lampard (Chelsea) * John Terry (Chelsea)


PFA Young Player of the Year

The PFA Young Player of the Year award was won by Wayne Rooney. The shortlist for the award was as follows: * Darren Bent (Charlton Athletic) * Cesc Fàbregas (Arsenal) * Anton Ferdinand (West Ham United) * Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) * Aaron Lennon (Tottenham Hotspur) *
Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Saudi Pr ...
(Manchester United)


PFA Team of the Year

Goalkeeper: Shay Given (Newcastle United)
Defence: Pascal Chimbonda (Wigan Athletic), Jamie Carragher (Liverpool), John Terry, William Gallas (both Chelsea)
Midfield: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool),
Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Saudi Pr ...
(Manchester United), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Joe Cole (Chelsea)
Attack: Thierry Henry (Arsenal), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)


PFA Fans' Player of the Year

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


FWA Footballer of the Year

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


Premier League Player of the Season

Arsenal's Thierry Henry won the Premier League Player of the Season award for the second time.


Premier League Manager of the Season

José Mourinho José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix (; born 26 January 1963) is a Portuguese professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player, who is currently the head coach of Süper Lig club Fenerba ...
was awarded the Premier League Manager of the Season award after he led Chelsea to their second premier league title in two years, their third league title in their history. This title was also his second time of winning the award in as many seasons.


Premier League Golden Boot

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


Premier League Golden Glove

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


Premier League Fair Play League

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


See also

* 2005–06 in English football


References


External links


2005–06 FA Premier League Season at RSSSF
{{DEFAULTSORT:2005-06 FA Premier League Premier League seasons Eng 1