2002/03
HAVING ended the previous season empty-handed, Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United were determined for revenge in 2002/03 and they hunted Arsenal down successfully to regain the Premiership title. It was their eighth success in 11 years. Despite having broken the British transfer record to sign Rio Ferdinand from Leeds United for £30million; old frailties seemed to be around Ferguson’s team early in the season. Bolton beat them at Old Trafford for the second successive season, with Leeds and Manchester City (in the last Manchester derby at Maine Road) also inflicting early season defeats. Meanwhile, Arsenal and Liverpool both started the season in sensational fashion. Liverpool went 12 games unbeaten at the start of the season, but then endured a miserable run in wintertime. Gerard Houiller’s side went 11 games without a win, dropped to 7th and saw their title challenge melt away. However, Arsenal continued to fly, with Thierry Henry, Sylvain Wiltord and Robert Pires all in great form. On March 2, they beat Charlton Athletic at Highbury 2-0 to extend their points advantage over Manchester United to eight points. Gradually, United took bites out of the deficit, until they overhauled them before a Highbury face-off in mid-April. Ruud Van Nistlerooy swung the Premiership pendulum United’s way with an early goal, but two Henry strikes in the opening moments of the second half turned the game around. A free header from Ryan Giggs drew the sides level, before Sol Campbell was sent off controversially for an accidental elbow into the face of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The game finished 2-2, and injuries and suspensions took their toll on Wenger’s side. Ten days later, they threw away a 2-0 lead to draw at Bolton and a week later, it was all over. Marc Viduka’s 87th minute winner was not only enough for Leeds to win 3-2 at Highbury and ensure Premiership football at Elland Road for another season, but give the title to one of their bitter rivals. Newcastle United launched a brief title assault, with Sir Bobby Robson’s exciting young side finishing a creditable third. Chelsea took the final Champions League spot on offer, as Claudio Ranieri penniless side won the £25million showdown with Liverpool on the final day of the season. Little did we know of the drama and the new investment to enter West London that summer! The stress of management was also shown as Glenn Roeder collapsed and was taken to hospital after West Ham beat Middlesbrough 1-0 on April 21. Trevor Brooking took over the reins, but he couldn’t save his beloved club from shock relegation on the final day of the season.
CHAMPIONS: Manchester United, 2nd: Arsenal 3rd: Newcastle United, 4th: Chelsea 5th: Liverpool, 6th: Blackburn Rovers, 7th: Everton, 8th; Southampton, 9th: Manchester City, 10th: Tottenham
RELEGATED: West Ham United, West Brom, Sunderland
BIGGEST WIN: West Brom 0-6 Liverpool (26 April 2003)
HIGHEST SCORING GAMES: Manchester United 5-3 Newcastle United (23 November 2002), Newcastle United 2-6 Manchester United (12 April 2003), West Ham United 3-4 Leeds United (10 November 2002)
SCORERS: Van Nistlerooy (Manchester United) 25, Henry (Arsenal) 24, Beattie (Southampton) 23, Viduka (Leeds) 20, Owen (Liverpool) 19, Shearer (Newcastle) 17, Scholes (Manchester United) 14, Pires (Arsenal) 14, Anelka (Manchester City) 14, Zola (Chelsea) 14, Keane (Leeds & Tottenham) 14, Kewell (Leeds) 14, Sheringham (Tottenham) 12, Hasselbaink (Chelsea) 11, Radzinski (Everton) 11
2003/04
ONE team dominated the 2003/04 season and totally rewrote the football history books. On Saturday May 15 2004, Arsenal beat Leicester City 2-1 to complete a truly remarkable feat. Not since Preston North End in 1888 had this happened. A team had gone unbeaten for an entire league season. The Gunners record was; P38, W26, D12, L0. Arsene Wenger had completed total football perfection. The turning point of their season was an early showdown with Manchester United at Old Trafford. The match was disappointing, finishing 0-0. However, it exploded into life in the closing stages. Already angered by Patrick Vieira’s dismissal, Arsenal were even more incensed when Diego Forlan went down in stoppage time under a Martin Keown challenge. Ruud Van Nistlerooy, involved in the Vieira scuffle, hit the crossbar from the penalty, and then, all hell broke loose. Eight players were charged, with six Gunners players getting up to 18 games in total of suspensions. After that, Arsenal let their football do the talking, rather than the aggression they showed on that awful day. Whilst the Gunners were achieving record after record, Chelsea began spending money almost as lavishly at Harrods. Roman Abramovich bought the club from Ken Bates in June and gave the club fortunes to spend in the transfer market. In came the likes of Wayne Bridge, Claude Makelele, Damien Duff, Glen Johnson and Adrian Mutu and in also came a new force in the Premiership reckoning. Chelsea topped the table on merit at the end of November and finished second, their best finish in the league since winning in 1955. Claudio Ranieri’s reward was the sack. Manchester United finished a distant third in the table, hobbled by Rio Ferdinand’s eight month suspension he received before Christmas for missing a drugs test. Amongst their shock defeats was a 1-0 loss away to newly promoted Wolves in January. Both Liverpool and Newcastle United had very inconsistent seasons, although they just about managed to scrap it out for the final Champions League spot. A run of four wins in a row towards the season’s end meant Liverpool finished in the coveted fourth position, but Gerard Houiller lost his job after an abject campaign which saw his side finish a mammoth 30 points behind the champions. Many other established clubs had dismal seasons too. Tottenham sacked Glenn Hoddle in September, were in the bottom three at the turn of the year and only finished 14th, whilst Blackburn Rovers, Manchester City and Everton finished in the bottom six after dreadful seasons. Worse befall Leeds United however. Champions League semi-finalists three years earlier, Leeds were relegated as their financial mess imploded with more star players being sold and total disarray in the boardroom. Leicester City and Wolves went straight back down too, but Portsmouth finished a very creditable 13th in their first season back in the top flight.
CHAMPIONS: Arsenal, 2nd: Chelsea 3rd: Manchester United, 4th: Liverpool 5th: Newcastle United, 6th: Aston Villa, 7th: Charlton Athletic, 8th; Bolton Wanderers, 9th: Fulham, 10th: Birmingham City
RELEGATED: Leicester City, Leeds United, Wolves
BIGGEST WIN: Portsmouth 6-1 Leeds United (8 November 2003)
HIGHEST SCORING GAMES: Manchester City 6-2 Bolton Wanderers (18 October 2003), Tottenham Hotspur 4-4 Leicester City (22 February 2004), Middlesbrough 5-3 Birmingham City (21 March 2004)
SCORERS: Henry (Arsenal) 30, Shearer (Newcastle) 22, Saha (Fulham & Manchester United) 20, Van Nistlerooy (Manchester United) 20, Forssell (Birmingham) 17, Owen (Liverpool) 16, Angel (Aston Villa) 16, Yakubu (Portsmouth) 16, Anelka (Manchester City) 16, Pires (Arsenal) 14, Beattie (Southampton) 14, Keane (Tottenham) 14, Hasselbaink (Chelsea) 12, Ferdinand (Leicester) 12
2004/05
JOSE Mourinho was welcomed into the Premiership and his mission was simple; to deliver Chelsea their first championship in 50 years. Along the way, he not only mastered the English game, but revolutionised Chelsea’s fortunes. On Saturday April 30, the inspirational Frank Lampard scored twice to seal a 2-0 win at Bolton and complete Chelsea’s dream. They became Premiership champions for the first time. Not only that, but they rewrote the Premiership history books. Mourinho’s men only conceded 18 goals all season, whilst new goalkeeper Petr Cech broke the record for the number of minutes he kept goal without conceding. The Blues managed 95 points, won 27 games, which was the most ever in a 38-game season and lost only once (1-0 at Manchester City on October 16). Blue really was the colour in 2004/05. Established contenders Arsenal and Manchester United were forced to play second fiddle. The Red Devils did manage to end Arsenal’s incredible unbeaten run at 49 games, after another bruising encounter between the two teams at Old Trafford ended 2-0 in United’s favour on October 24. However, it was Arsenal who had the last laugh and finished second, ensuring automatic qualification for the Champions League. Having sold star striker Wayne Rooney to Manchester United and been relegation favourites in pre-season, Everton defied all the critics to finish an outstanding fourth in the league, despite a humiliating 7-0 defeat at Arsenal towards the season’s end. It meant that Everton beat Liverpool in the league table for the first time since 1987, although Rafa Benitez did mastermind an incredible Champions League triumph in his first season at the club. A new manager became the new fashion this season too with Paul Sturrock (Southampton), Sir Bobby Robson (Newcastle), Gary Megson (West Brom) and Jacques Santini (Tottenham) among those to lose their jobs in the first three months of the season. Graeme Souness was given the task of managing Newcastle, but he couldn’t stop an amazing incident in April, when two of his midfielders, Kieron Dyer and Lee Bowyer started fighting during a match at home to Aston Villa. Both were sent off and banned and 14th place was the final outcome. At the bottom of the table, Norwich City, Southampton, Crystal Palace and West Brom got locked in an intense dogfight all season. On ‘Survival Sunday,’ Norwich had their fate in their own hands, but lost 6-0 at Fulham and went straight back down. Harry Redknapp failed to mastermind Southampton’s sorry season and their 27 year stay in the top flight was ended by a 1-2 loss at home to Manchester United. West Brom beat Portsmouth 2-0 and a late Charlton equaliser from Jonathan Fortune at home to Crystal Palace was enough for the Baggies to stay up. In doing so, West Brom became the first team ever to stay up in the Premiership, having been bottom of the table on Christmas Day.
CHAMPIONS: Chelsea, 2nd: Arsenal 3rd: Manchester United, 4th: Everton 5th: Liverpool, 6th: Bolton Wanderers, 7th: Middlesbrough, 8th; Manchester City, 9th: Tottenham, 10th: Aston Villa
RELEGATED: Crystal Palace, Norwich City, Southampton
BIGGEST WIN: Arsenal 7-0 Everton (11 May 2005)
HIGHEST SCORING GAMES: Tottenham Hotspur 4-5 Arsenal (13 November 2004), Arsenal 5-3 Middlesbrough (22 August 2004), Tottenham Hotspur 5-2 Everton (1 January 2005)
SCORERS: Henry (Arsenal) 25, Johnson (Crystal Palace) 21, Pires (Arsenal) 14, Lampard (Chelsea) 13, Hasselbaink (Middlesbrough) 13, Defoe (Tottenham) 13, Yakubu (Portsmouth) 13, Gudjohnsen (Chelsea) 12, Cole (Fulham) 12, Crouch (Southampton) 12, Rooney (Manchester United) 11, Cahill (Everton) 11, Fowler (Manchester City) 11, Keane (Tottenham) 11, Earnshaw (West Brom) 11
2005/06
FOR the second successive season, Chelsea totally dominated the Premiership, winning the league by eight points from nearest rivals, Manchester United. At times, Chelsea had leads in the table as big as 15 points. They were top of the league from the third week onwards, kept clean sheets in their first six Premiership games and never looked threatened. They won the league in crowning style, on the penultimate weekend of the season. Goals from William Gallas, Joe Cole and Ricardo Carvalho spearheaded Chelsea to a 3-0 win over Manchester United, which highlighted the gulfing class between the two sides. Liverpool had a much better domestic campaign this time around, winning ten games in a row between October and December and achieving a similar run from March to May. The Anfield club also gave Robbie Fowler an emotional return in January, when he signed from Manchester City. Four goals in the season run-in earnt him an extra season on Merseyside. Whilst Fowler continued, Alan Shearer retired at the end of the season. Sadly, injury forced the decision prematurely three weeks earlier than anticipated, but his final involvement was scoring a penalty at the Stadium of Light against Tyneside rivals Sunderland. Whilst Newcastle finished seventh in the table, Sunderland had a horrific campaign. They wound up with 13 points, which for two seasons, was the worst total ever in Premiership history. The Black Cats only managed three wins all season and sacked Mick McCarthy in March. After walking out on Portsmouth a year earlier to manage bitter South Coast rivals Southampton, Harry Redknapp returned to Fratton Park, and ‘Harry Houdini’ inspired the club to an incredible run of form that kept them in the Premiership. They were eight points adrift of safety in March, but two Pedro Mendes strikes against Manchester City were the catalyst for the dramatic upturn in fortunes. Portsmouth’s revival meant Birmingham City were relegated, just two years after finishing in the top half of the league and West Brom also couldn’t hold onto their Premier League status. After 93 years at Highbury, time ran out on the glorious stadium as Arsenal got prepared for life at their new home. Plus, the new 60,000 capacity Emirates Stadium could welcome Champions League football after a dramatic final day. For much of the season, a disastrous away record meant Arsenal trailed the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and newcomers Wigan Athletic in the table. They went into the final day a single point behind Tottenham and fell 1-2 behind at home to Wigan on Highbury’s final day. However, the King of Highbury, Thierry Henry, said farewell in the grand manner. He scored a hat-trick to complete a 4-2 victory. Dodgy food chef or not, Tottenham folded at Upton Park, losing 2-1 at West Ham, which meant they were pipped to the final Champions League spot right at the end of the campaign.
CHAMPIONS: Chelsea, 2nd: Manchester United 3rd: Liverpool, 4th: Arsenal 5th: Tottenham, 6th: Blackburn Rovers, 7th: Newcastle United, 8th; Bolton Wanderers, 9th: West Ham United, 10th: Wigan
RELEGATED: West Brom, Birmingham City, Sunderland
BIGGEST WIN: Arsenal 7-0 Middlesbrough (14 January 2006)
HIGHEST SCORING GAMES: Blackburn Rovers 4-3 Manchester United (2 February 2006), Charlton Athletic 2-5 Manchester City (4 December 2005), Fulham 6-1 West Brom (12 February 2006)
SCORERS: Henry (Arsenal) 27, Van Nistlerooy (Manchester United) 21, Bent (Charlton) 18, Lampard (Chelsea) 16, Rooney (Manchester United) 16, Keane (Tottenham) 16, Harewood (West Ham) 14, Bellamy (Blackburn) 13, Yakubu (Middlesbrough) 13, Drogba (Chelsea) 12, Camara (Wigan) 12, Mido (Tottenham) 11, John (Fulham) 11, Gerrard (Liverpool) 10, Shearer (Newcastle) 10
2006/07
CHELSEA’s two year domination of the Premiership crown ended in 2006/07, as Manchester United became champions once again. United secured the league title at the beginning of May, with a 1-0 win at Eastlands against goal shy Manchester City. 24 hours later, Khalid Boulahrouz was sent off and Chelsea failed to beat Arsenal at the Emirates, drawing 1-1. This meant that Jose Mourinho’s team had to gracefully give up the title. Manchester United were inspired by Cristiano Ronaldo, who finally began to show some consistent form at club level, which would make him one of the world’s best footballers in years to come. Late winners away from home at Fulham and Liverpool on two successive Saturdays in springtime turned out to be very decisive for Sir Alex Ferguson’s team, despite a late slip-up against Portsmouth and a frustrating home draw with Middlesbrough. Chelsea ended up drawing their last five matches, and tensions clearly were beginning to rise between owner and manager. Jose Mourinho didn’t seem impressed with Roman Abramovich’s interference in purchasing both Michael Ballack and Andrei Shevchenko. Neither player made a significant impact at Stamford Bridge. Key injuries to the likes of John Terry and Petr Cech also had their effects on Chelsea’s season. Liverpool edged out Arsenal by a single point, but both clubs had inconsistent campaigns. There seemed to be positive news from Anfield in February, when George Gillett and Tom Hicks completed a deal to buy the club. Sadly, the promises made by the pair of success and a new stadium were broken and dark days in the long-term faced the Anfield side. The other big story of the season was West Ham’s controversial signings of Argentine pair Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano. The club had broken Premier League third-party ownership regulations and the clubs fighting around them such as Sheffield United and Wigan Athletic were incensed when the Premier League decided on giving the Hammers a fine rather than a points deduction. Alan Pardew was sacked in December by the new owners and Mascherano moved away from the controversy to sign for Liverpool. However, Tevez scored a flurry of late season goals, which ultimately kept the Hammers, now managed by Alan Curbishley, up. The great escape was completed by a last day victory at Old Trafford, with Tevez scoring the deciding goal again. Wigan beat Sheffield United 2-1 at Bramwall Lane, which meant their Premiership adventure cruelly ended after one season back in the top flight. Not only that, the deciding goal came from a David Unsworth penalty. Unsworth had started the season as a Sheffield United player! A similar fate of one season in the top flight befell Watford, whilst Charlton Athletic paid the price for sacking two managers and also were relegated.
CHAMPIONS: Manchester United, 2nd: Chelsea 3rd: Liverpool, 4th: Arsenal 5th: Tottenham, 6th: Everton, 7th: Bolton Wanderers, 8th; Reading, 9th: Portsmouth, 10th: Blackburn Rovers
RELEGATED: Sheffield United, Charlton Athletic, Watford
BIGGEST WIN: Reading 6-0 West Ham United (1 January 2007)
HIGHEST SCORING GAMES: Arsenal 6-2 Blackburn Rovers (23 December 2006), West Ham United 3-4 Tottenham Hotspur (4 March 2007), Blackburn Rovers 4-2 Manchester City (17 September 2006)
SCORERS: Drogba (Chelsea) 20, McCarthy (Blackburn) 18, Ronaldo (Manchester United) 17, Rooney (Manchester United) 14, Viduka (Middlesbrough) 14, Doyle (Reading) 13, Bent (Charlton) 13, Kuyt (Liverpool) 12, Berbatov (Tottenham) 12, Yakubu (Middlesbrough) 12, Lampard (Chelsea) 11, Van Persie (Arsenal) 11, Anelka (Bolton) 11, Zamora (West Ham) 11, Johnson (Everton) 11
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