38 matches

win - 3pnts draw 1pnts

if league is dwawn they ll seach for goal difference... goal scored -goal conce
ded

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------

[close]
The Wikimedia Foundation's 2010 steward election has started. Please vote.
[Hide]
[Help us with translations!]
Premier League
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
For other uses, see Premier League (disambiguation).
Premier League Premier League.svg
Countries England England
Confederation UEFA
Founded 20 February 1992
Number of teams 20
Relegation to Football League Championship
Levels on pyramid 1
Domestic cup(s) FA Cup, League Cup
International cup(s) Champions League, Europa League
Current champions Manchester United (2008 09)
Most championships Manchester United (11)
TV partners Sky Sports, ESPN
Website PremierLeague.com
2009 10 Premier League
The Premier League is an English professional league for association football cl
ubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's prima
ry football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promo
tion and relegation with The Football League. The Premier League is a corporatio
n in which the 20 member clubs act as shareholders. Seasons run from August to M
ay, with teams playing 38 games each totalling 380 games in the season. It is sp
onsored by Barclays Bank and therefore officially known as the Barclays Premier
League. In the Premier League, most of the games are played during Saturdays and
Sundays, with a few games played during the weekdays.
The competition formed as the FA Premier League on 20 February 1992 following th
e decision of clubs in the Football League First Division to break away from The
Football League, which was originally founded in 1888, and take advantage of a
lucrative television rights deal. The Premier League has since become the world'
s most watched sporting league.[1] It is the world's most lucrative football lea
gue, with combined club revenues of £1.93 billion ($3.15bn) in 2007 08.[2] It is a
lso ranked first in the UEFA coefficients of leagues based on performances in Eu
ropean competitions over the last five years, ahead of Spain's La Liga and Italy
's Serie A.[3]
A total of 43 clubs have competed in the Premier League, but only four have won
the title: Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Arsenal, and Chelsea. The curren
t champions are Manchester United, who won their eleventh Premier League title i
n the 2008 09 season, the most of any Premier League team. This title triumph also
levelled United and Liverpool on 18 top-flight championships altogether.
Contents
[hide]
* 1 History
o 1.1 Origins
o 1.2 Foundation
o 1.3 Establishment
* 2 Corporate structure
* 3 Competition format and sponsorship
o 3.1 Competition
+ 3.1.1 Qualification for European competitions
o 3.2 Sponsorship
* 4 Finances
* 5 Media coverage
o 5.1 United Kingdom and Ireland
o 5.2 Worldwide
o 5.3 Website
* 6 Criticisms
o 6.1 Widening gap between lower leagues
o 6.2 "Big Four" dominance
o 6.3 Influence on the global game
* 7 Match balls
* 8 Clubs
o 8.1 Members for 2009 10
* 9 Players
o 9.1 Top scorers
* 10 Awards
o 10.1 Trophy
o 10.2 Monthly and annual
o 10.3 10 Seasons
* 11 See also
* 12 References
* 13 External links
[edit] History
[edit] Origins
The original logo of The Premier League (1992 2007)
Despite significant European success during the 1970s and early 1980s, the late
80s had marked a low point for English football. Stadia were crumbling, supporte
rs endured poor facilities, hooliganism was rife, and English clubs were banned
from European competition for five years following the events at Heysel in 1985.
[4] The Football League First Division, which had been the top level of English
football since 1888, was well behind leagues such as Italy's Serie A and Spain's
La Liga in attendances and revenues, and several top English players had moved
abroad.[5] However, by the turn of the 1990s the downward trend was starting to
reverse; England had been successful in the 1990 FIFA World Cup, reaching the se
mi-finals. UEFA, European football's governing body, lifted the five-year ban on
English clubs playing in European competitions in 1990 (resulting in Manchester
United lifting the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1991) and the Taylor Report on stad
ium safety standards, which proposed expensive upgrades to create all-seater sta
dia in the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster, was published in January of t
hat year.[6]
Television money had also become much more important; the Football League receiv
ed £6.3 million for a two-year agreement in 1986, but when that deal was renewed
 in 1988, the price rose to £44m over four years.[7] The 1988 negotiations were
the first signs of a breakaway league; ten clubs threatened to leave and form a
"super league", but were eventually persuaded to stay.[8] As stadia improved and
match attendance and revenues rose, the country's top teams again considered le
aving the Football League in order to capitalise on the growing influx of money
being pumped into the sport.
Premier League champions Season Winner
1992 93 Manchester United
1993 94 Manchester United
1994 95 Blackburn Rovers
1995 96 Manchester United
1996 97 Manchester United
1997 98 Arsenal
1998 99 Manchester United
1999 2000 Manchester United
2000 01 Manchester United
2001 02 Arsenal
2002 03 Manchester United
2003 04 Arsenal
2004 05 Chelsea
2005 06 Chelsea
2006 07 Manchester United
2007 08 Manchester United
2008 09 Manchester United
Further information:
English football champions
[edit] Foundation
See also: Foundation of the Premier League
At the close of the 1991 season, a proposal for the establishment of a new leagu
e was tabled that would bring more money into the game overall. The Founder Memb
ers Agreement, signed on 17 July 1991 by the game's top-flight clubs, establishe
d the basic principles for setting up the FA Premier League.[9] The newly formed
top division would have commercial independence from the Football Association a
nd the Football League, giving the FA Premier League license to negotiate its ow
n broadcast and sponsorship agreements. The argument given at the time was that
the extra income would allow English clubs to compete with teams across Europe.[
10]
In 1992 the First Division clubs resigned from the Football League en masse and
on 27 May 1992 the FA Premier League was formed as a limited company working out
of an office at the Football Association's then headquarters in Lancaster Gate.
[5] This meant a break-up of the 104-year-old Football League that had operated
until then with four divisions; the Premier League would operate with a single d
ivision and the Football League with three. There was no change in competition f
ormat; the same number of teams competed in the top flight, and promotion and re
legation between the Premier League and the new First Division remained on the s
ame terms as between the old First and Second Divisions.
The 22 inaugural members of the new Premier League were Arsenal, Aston Villa, Bl
ackburn Rovers, Chelsea, Coventry City, Crystal Palace, Everton, Ipswich Town, L
eeds United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Middlesbrough, Norwi
ch City, Nottingham Forest, Oldham Athletic, Queens Park Rangers, Sheffield Unit
ed, Sheffield Wednesday, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, and Wimbledon.
[edit] Establishment
See also: List of Premier League seasons
As of the end of the 2008 09 season, there had been 17 completed seasons of the Pr
emier League. The league held its first season in 1992 93 and was originally compo
sed of 22 clubs. The first ever Premier League goal was scored by Brian Deane of
 Sheffield United in a 2 1 win against Manchester United. Due to insistence by FIF
A, the international governing body of football, that domestic leagues reduce th
e number of games clubs played, the number of clubs was reduced to 20 in 1995 wh
en four teams were relegated from the league and only two teams promoted. On 8 J
une 2006, FIFA requested that all major European leagues, including Italy's Seri
e A and Spain's La Liga be reduced to 18 teams by the start of the 2007 08 season.
The Premier League responded by announcing their intention to resist such a red
uction.[11] Ultimately, the 2007 08 season kicked off again with 20 teams. The lea
gue changed its name from the FA Premier League to simply the Premier League in
2007.[12]
[edit] Corporate structure
The Premier League is operated as a corporation and is owned by the 20 member cl
ubs. Each club is a shareholder, with one vote each on issues such as rule chang
es and contracts. The clubs elect a chairman, chief executive, and board of dire
ctors to oversee the daily operations of the league.[13] The Football Associatio
n is not directly involved in the day-to-day operations of the Premier League, b
ut has veto power as a special shareholder during the election of the chairman a
nd chief executive and when new rules are adopted by the league.[14]
The Premier League sends representatives to UEFA's European Club Forum, the numb
er of clubs and the clubs themselves chosen according to UEFA coefficients. The
European Club Forum is responsible for electing three members to UEFA's Club Com
petitions Committee, which is involved in the operations of UEFA competitions su
ch as the Champions League and UEFA Europa League.[15]
[edit] Competition format and sponsorship
[edit] Competition
There are 20 clubs in the Premier League. During the course of a season, which l
asts from August to May, each club plays the others twice, once at their home st
adium and once at that of their opponents, for a total of 38 games. Teams receiv
e three points for a win and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a l
oss. Teams are ranked by total points, then goal difference, and then goals scor
ed. At the end of each season, the club with the most points is crowned champion
. If points are equal, the goal difference and then goals scored determine the w
inner. If still equal, teams are deemed to occupy the same position. If there is
a tie for the championship, for relegation, or for qualification to other compe
titions, a play-off match at a neutral venue decides rank.[16] The three lowest
placed teams are relegated into the Football League Championship and the top two
teams from the Championship, together with the winner of play-offs involving th
e third to sixth placed Championship clubs, are promoted in their place.[17]
[edit] Qualification for European competitions
As of the 2009 10 season qualification for the UEFA Champions League changes, the
top four teams in the Premier League qualify for the UEFA Champions League, with
the top three teams directly entering the group stage. Previously only the top
two teams qualified automatically. The fourth-placed team enters the Champions L
eague at the play-off round for non-champions and must win a two-legged knockout
tie in order to enter the group stage.[18] The fifth team automatically qualifi
es for the UEFA Europa League, and the sixth and seventh-placed teams can also q
ualify, depending on the winners of the two domestic cup competitions. If one of
the cup winners qualifies for Europe through their league position, the sixth-p
laced team in the Premier League will qualify for the Europa League. If both of
the cup winners qualify for Europe through their league position, the sixth and
seventh-placed teams in the Premier League will qualify for the Europa League. A
further place in the UEFA Europa League is available via the Fair Play initiati
ve. If the Premier League has one of the three highest Fair Play rankings in Eur
ope, the highest ranked team in the Premier League Fair Play standings which has
not already qualified for Europe will automatically qualify for the UEFA Europa
League first qualifying round.[19]
An exception to the usual European qualification system happened in 2005, when L
iverpool won the Champions League, but did not finish in a Champions League qual
ification place in the Premier League that season. UEFA gave special dispensatio
n for Liverpool to enter the Champions League, giving England five qualifiers.[2
0] UEFA subsequently ruled that the defending champions qualify for the competit
ion the following year regardless of their domestic league placing. However, for
those leagues with four entrants in the Champions League, this means that if th
e Champions League winner falls outside of its domestic league's top four, it wi
ll qualify at the expense of the fourth-placed team in the league. No associatio
n can have more than four entrants in the Champions League.
The Premier League was recently promoted to the top of the UEFA rankings of Euro
pean leagues based on their performances in European competitions over a five-ye
ar period. This broke the eight-year dominance of the Spanish league, La Liga.[2
1] The top three leagues in Europe are currently allowed to enter four teams int
o the Champions League. The UEFA president Michel Platini, had proposed taking o
ne place from the top three leagues and allocating it to that nation's cup winne
rs. This proposal was rejected in a vote at a UEFA Strategy Council meeting.[22]
In the same meeting, however, it was agreed that the third-placed team in the t
op four leagues would receive automatic qualification for the group stage, rathe
r than entry into the third qualifying round, while the fourth-placed team would
enter the play-off round for non-champions, guaranteeing an opponent from one o
f the top 15 leagues in Europe. This was part of Platini's plan to increase the
number of teams qualifying directly into the group stage, while simultaneously i
ncreasing the number of teams from lower-ranked nations in the group stage.[23]
[edit] Sponsorship
The Premier League has been sponsored since 1993. The sponsor has been able to d
etermine the league's sponsorship name. The list below details who the sponsors
have been and what they called the competition:
* 1993 2001: Carling (FA Carling Premiership)
* 2001 2004: Barclaycard (Barclaycard Premiership)
* 2004 2007: Barclays (Barclays Premiership)
* 2007 present: Barclays (Barclays Premier League) [24]
[edit] Finances
See also: List of Premier League football club owners
The Premier League is the most lucrative football league in the world, with tota
l club revenues rising 26% to £1.93 billion ($3.15bn) as of 2007 08.[2] Eleven of
the twenty Premier League teams made an operating profit in that year. Wage cost
s also reached 1.51 billion in 2007/08, considerably higher than that of the next
highest-spending league, the Italian Serie A (at 972m). Individual salaries are
rarely, if ever, confirmed in public, although a survey of players in 2006, cond
ucted in conjunction with the Professional Footballers' Association, showed the
average basic wage in the Premier League was £676,000 per year, or £13,000 per w
eek, before bonuses.[25]
The Premier League's gross revenue is the fourth highest of any sports league wo
rldwide, behind the annual revenues of the three most popular North American maj
or sports leagues (the National Football League, Major League Baseball and the N
ational Basketball Association), but ahead of the National Hockey League. On a p
er club basis, the average revenues of the 20 Premier League teams are thought t
o be close those of the 30-team NBA. However, there is much greater financial di
sparity among Premier League clubs when compared to the members of any of the "B
ig Four" North American leagues.
In terms of world football, the Premier League clubs are some of the richest in
the world. Deloitte, who annually release figures on club revenues through its "
Football Money League", listed eight Premier League clubs in the top 20 for the
2005 06 season.[26] No other league has more than four clubs in this table, and wh
ile La Liga rivals Real Madrid and F.C. Barcelona take up two of the top 3 place
s, no other Spanish clubs are listed in the top 20. Premier League teams have do
minated the list for many years, and even topped the list for almost a decade un
til the 2004 05 season. After the Premier League's new TV deal went into effect, t
he league-wide increase in revenues is expected to increase the Premier League c
lubs' standing in the list, and there is a possibility that a Premier League clu
b will be top of the list.[26][27]
Another significant source of regular income for Premier League clubs remains th
eir revenue from stadium attendances, which, with the 2005 06 average attendance o
f 34,364 for league matches, is the fourth highest of any domestic professional
sports league in the world, ahead of Serie A and La Liga, but behind the German
Bundesliga. This represents an increase of over 60% from the average attendance
of 21,126 recorded in the league's first season (1992 93).[28] However, during the
1992 93 season the capacities of most stadia were reduced as clubs replaced terra
ces with seats in order to meet the Taylor Report's 1994 95 deadline for all-seate
r stadia.[29][30] The 2005 06 figure is lower than the Premier League's record ave
rage attendance of 35,464, set during the 2002 03 season, although average attenda
nces fluctuate depending on which teams are in the league.[31]
[edit] Media coverage
See also: List of Premier League broadcasters
[edit] United Kingdom and Ireland
See also: English football on television
A 2004 match between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur
Television has played a major role in the history of the Premier League. The mon
ey from television rights has been vital in helping to create excellence both on
and off the field. The League's decision to assign broadcasting rights to BSkyB
in 1992 was at the time a radical decision, but one that has paid off. At the t
ime pay television was an almost untested proposition in the UK market, as was c
harging fans to watch live televised football. However, a combination of Sky's s
trategy, the quality of Premier League football and the public's appetite for th
e game has seen the value of the Premier League's TV rights soar.[7]
The Premier League sells its television rights on a collective basis. This is in
contrast to some European Leagues, including Serie A and La Liga, in which each
club sells its rights individually, leading to a much higher share of the total
income going to the top few clubs. The money is divided into three parts:[32] h
alf is divided equally between the clubs; one quarter is awarded on a merit basi
s based on final league position, the top club getting twenty times as much as t
he bottom club, and equal steps all the way down the table; the final quarter is
paid out as facilities fees for games that are shown on television, with the to
p clubs generally receiving the largest shares of this. The income from overseas
rights is divided equally between the twenty clubs.
The first Sky television rights agreement was worth £304 million over five seaso
ns.[33] The next contract, negotiated to start from the 1997 98 season, rose to £6
70 million over four seasons.[33] The third contract was a £1.024 billion deal w
ith BSkyB for the three seasons from 2001 02 to 2003 04. The league brought in £320
million from the sale of its international rights for the three-year period from
2004 05 to 2006 07. It sold the rights itself on a territory-by-territory basis.[34
] Sky's monopoly was broken from August 2006 when Setanta Sports was awarded rig
hts to show two out of the six packages of matches available. This occurred foll
owing an insistence by the European Commission that exclusive rights should not
be sold to one television company. Sky and Setanta paid a total of £1.7 billion,
a two-thirds increase which took many commentators by surprise as it had been w
idely assumed that the value of the rights had levelled off following many years
 of rapid growth. Setanta also hold rights to a live 3 pm match solely for Irish
viewers. The BBC has retained the rights to show highlights for the same three
seasons (on Match of the Day) for £171.6 million, a 63% increase on the £105 mil
lion it paid for the previous three year period.[35] Raidió Teilifís Éireann bro
adcast the highlights package in Ireland. Sky and BT have agreed to jointly pay
£84.3 million for delayed television rights to 242 games (that is the right to b
roadcast them in full on television and over the internet) in most cases for a p
eriod of 50 hours after 10 pm on matchday.[36] Overseas television rights fetche
d £625 million, nearly double the previous contract.[37] The total raised from t
hese deals is more than £2.7 billion, giving Premier League clubs an average med
ia income from league games of £45 million a year from 2007 to 2010. They also r
eceive smaller amounts from media rights for the domestic cups and in some cases
substantial amounts from media rights for European matches.
The TV rights agreement between the Premier League and Sky has faced accusations
of being a cartel, and a number of court cases have arisen as a result. An inve
stigation by the Office of Fair Trading in 2002 found BSkyB to be dominant withi
n the pay TV sports market, but concluded that there were insufficient grounds f
or the claim that BSkyB had abused its dominant position.[38] In July 1999 the P
remier League's method of selling rights collectively for all member clubs was i
nvestigated by the UK Restrictive Practices Court, who concluded that the agreem
ent was not contrary to the public interest.[39] The BBC's highlights package on
Saturday and Sunday nights, as well as other evenings when fixtures justify, wi
ll run until 2013.[40] Television rights alone for the period 2010 to 2013 have
been purchased for £1.782bn.[41]
On 22 June 2009, due to the troubles encountered by Setanta Sports after it fail
ed to meet a final deadline over a £30m payment to the Premier League, ESPN was
awarded the two packages of UK rights containing a total of 46 matches that were
available for the 2009/10 season as well as a package of 23 matches per season
from 2010/11 to 2012/13.[42]
[edit] Worldwide
Promoted as "The Greatest Show On Earth", the Premier League is the world's most
popular and most watched sporting league, followed worldwide by over half a bil
lion people in 202 countries,[43] frequently on networks owned and/or controlled
by NewsCorp who also own Sky Sports.
In the United States, coverage is shared between Fox Soccer Channel, Setanta Spo
rts USA and ESPN; NewsCorp sometimes buys pitch-side advertising boards with the
Fox Soccer Channel logo replacing that of Sky.[44] ESPN's acquisition of UK rig
hts was originally said to have no effect on Setanta Sports in North America, wh
ich is a separate operation that has separate agreement to show the Barclays Prem
ier League in the U.S.[45] ESPN's U.S. channels later acquired two game packages
that Setanta's also-financially troubled North American branch returned to NewsC
orp to ensure its survival (Setanta retained about half of its original rights).
In Canada, Setanta Canada broadcasts all but two EPL games each week; Rogers Spo
rtsnet and The Score broadcast one weekend game each. On 4 December 2009, Sports
net announced on-air that they had secured the EPL rights for the next three yea
rs, starting with the 2010-11 season.[46]
In Australia, Fox Sports (Australia), shows the games with a Viewers Choice opti
on for up to five live games and up to nine games live on any given game-week.[4
7]
The Premier League is particularly popular in Asia, where it is the most widely
distributed sports programme.[48] For example, in the People's Republic of China
, matches attract television audiences between 100 million and 360 million, more
than any other foreign sport.[49] Due to this popularity, the league has held t
hree pre-season tournaments in Asia, the only Premier League affiliated tourname
nts ever to have been held outside England. In July 2003, the FA Premier League
Asia Cup was held in Malaysia, featuring three Premier League clubs, Chelsea, Ne
wcastle United and Birmingham City, and the Malaysia national team.[50] In 2005
the Asia Trophy featured a similar format, held in Thailand and featuring the Th
ailand national team competing against three English clubs Everton, Manchester Cit
y and Bolton Wanderers, the last of which won the trophy.[51] In 2007, the Barcl
ays Asia Trophy was held in Hong Kong and featured Liverpool, Portsmouth, Fulham
and the Hong Kong FA Cup winning team, South China, with Portsmouth winning the
competition.[52]
The FA has faced difficulty fighting internet copyright infringement. In an effo
rt to stop the broadcasting of streams of live games on the net they have hired
NetResult, a company that specialises in protecting trademark rights online.[53]
[edit] Website
The Premier League did not launch their first official website, www.premierleagu
e.com, until April 2002, although there was an existing website being run by the
title sponsor Barclaycard, who intended to continue it in parallel.[54][55]
[edit] Criticisms
[edit] Widening gap between lower leagues
See also: Premier League Football League gulf
One of the main criticisms levelled at the Premier League is the increasing gulf
between the Premier League and the Football League. Since its split with the Fo
otball League, many established clubs in the Premier League have managed to dist
ance themselves from their counterparts in lower leagues. Owing in large part to
the disparity in revenue from television rights between the leagues,[56] many n
ewly promoted teams have found it difficult to avoid relegation in their first s
eason in the Premier League. In every season except 2001 02 (Blackburn Rovers, Bol
ton Wanderers and Fulham) at least one Premier League newcomer has been relegate
d back to the Football League. In 1997 98 all three promoted clubs were relegated
at the end of the season.[57]
The Premier League distributes a small portion of its television revenue to club
s that are relegated from the league in the form of "parachute payments". Starti
ng with the 2006 07 season, these payments are in the amount of £6.5 million over
the club's first two seasons in lower leagues, although this rose to £11.2 milli
on per year for clubs relegated in 2007 2008.[56] Designed to help teams adjust to
the loss of television revenues (the average Premier League team receives £45 m
illion while the average Football League Championship club receives £1 million),
[56] critics maintain that the payments actually widen the gap between teams tha
t have reached the Premier League and those that have not,[58] leading to the co
mmon occurrence of teams "bouncing back" soon after their relegation. For some c
lubs, including Leeds United, Charlton Athletic, Nottingham Forest, Sheffield We
dnesday, Bradford City, Leicester City, Southampton and most notably Wimbledon F
.C. who have failed to win immediate promotion back to the Premier League, finan
cial problems, including in some cases administration or even liquidation have f
ollowed. Further relegations down the footballing ladder have ensued for several
clubs unable to cope with the gap.[59][60]
[edit] "Big Four" dominance
"Big Four" since the start of the Premier League[61] Season ? A ? C ?
L ? M ?
1992 93 10 11 6 1
1993 94 4 14 8 1
1994 95 12 11 4 2
1995 96 5 11 3 1
1996 97 3 6 4 1
1997 98 1 4 3 2
1998 99 2 3 7 1
1999 00 2 5 4 1
2000 01 2 6 3 1
2001 02 1 6 2 3
2002 03 2 4 5 1
2003 04 1 2 4 3
2004 05 2 1 5 3
2005 06 4 1 3 2
2006 07 4 2 3 1
2007 08 3 2 4 1
2008 09 4 3 2 1
Another major criticism is the development of the so-called "Big Four" clubs.[62
] From the 1995 96 season onwards, the "Big Four" (Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and
Manchester United) have dominated the top four spots, thus a place in the UEFA
Champions League. Since Liverpool won the Champions League 2005, the next four c
onsecutive seasons have seen a Big Four club reach the final. Since Blackburn Ro
vers lifted the trophy in 1994 95, only three clubs have won the Premier League ti
tle Manchester United (nine of the club's eleven titles), Arsenal (three times)
and Chelsea (twice). In addition, Manchester United have not finished outside th
e top three since the formation of the Premier League, with Arsenal finishing in
side the top five in all but two seasons (including 12 consecutive top 4 finishe
s and 8 consecutive top 2), while Liverpool, without an English league title sin
ce their pre-Premier League era win in 1990, have only finished outside the top
4 twice in the last 10 years. Also, in the last three seasons, three of the "Big
Four" teams have reached the Champions League semi-final stage. Chelsea hold th
e record for the most points in a single season (95),[63] while Arsenal are the
first team since Preston North End in 1888-89 never to lose a single league matc
h in one season (38 games played), earning them the nickname of "The Invincibles
".[64]
Also, in the last five seasons, two members of the big four have won the Champio
ns League (Liverpool in 2005, Manchester United in 2008) and each of the big fou
r has been a runner up in the last four years (Arsenal in 2006, Liverpool in 200
7, Chelsea in 2008 and Manchester United in 2009). In recent years, the success
of these clubs has led to these four teams being increasingly referred to as the
"Big Four". The Big Four clubs have finished in the first four positions for th
e last four seasons, therefore they have all qualified for the last three season
s of the Champions League and receive the financial benefits of such qualificati
on. The benefits, especially increased revenue, is believed to have widened the
gap between the Big Four clubs and the rest of the Premier League.[62] In May 20
08, Newcastle United manager Kevin Keegan said the Big Four's dominance threaten
ed the division, saying, "This league is in danger of becoming one of the most b
oring but great leagues in the world."[65] Following Keegan's comments, Premier
League chief executive Richard Scudamore defended the league, saying, "There are
a lot of different tussles that go on in the Premier League depending on whethe
r you're at the top, in the middle or at the bottom that make it interesting."[6
6].
Marcelo Pantanella of The Times also criticised the widening financial power of
the division's top teams, naming the Premier League the 2nd worst thing about mo
dern football, saying "What s changed since the Premier League broke away from the
Football League in 1992? Everything. If you won the First Division title, you w
ere the best team in England. If you win the Premier League, you owe someone £50
0 million."[67]
[edit] Influence on the global game
Nigerian football officials have claimed the increase in popularity of the Premi
er League and subsequent world wide media coverage is having a damaging effect o
n the national leagues of other footballing countries, with Nigeria being a rece
nt example, citing lower domestic attendances when games clash with Premier Leag
ue fixtures, and the drain of young talent being lured to the Premier League by
wage offers no local club can hope to match. In an extreme case of worldwide inf
luence, after the 2008 UEFA Champions League Final, seven people died in Nigeria
after clashes between rival supporters of Chelsea and Manchester United.[68]
[edit] Match balls
For the inaugural season of the Premier League, clubs were obliged to supply the
ir own match balls, which were usually provided by the clubs' kit manufacturers.
In 1993, the Premier League came to an agreement with Mitre for them to supply
the league's teams with their match balls. Mitre supplied balls to the Premier L
eague for seven years, starting with the Mitre Pro Max (1993 1995) and then the Mi
tre Ultimax (1995 2000)[citation needed].
The 2000 01 season saw Nike take over as match ball supplier, introducing the Nike
Geo Merlin ball, which had been used in the UEFA Champions League. The Geo Merl
in was used for four seasons before being replaced by the Nike Total 90 Aerow, w
hich ran for another two seasons. The 2004 05 season also saw the introduction of
a yellow "Hi-Vis" ball for use in the winter months. Next came the Nike Total 90
Aerow II, which featured an asymmetrical design to help players judge the fligh
t and spin of the ball. For the 2008 09 season, the official ball of the Premier L
eague was the Nike Total 90 Omni, which featured yet another pattern in dark red
and yellow and a modified panel design, and has been replaced by the Nike T90 A
scente for the 2009 10 season, with blue, yellow and orange trim[citation needed].
[edit] Clubs
Main article: List of Premier League clubs
See also: English football champions and All-time FA Premier League table
A total of 43 clubs have played in the Premier League from its inception in 1992
and the end of the 2008 09 season. Two other clubs (Luton Town and Notts County)
were signatories to the original agreement that created the Premier League, but
were relegated prior to the inaugural Premier League season and have not subsequ
ently returned to the top flight. For a list of all clubs past and present see L
ist of FA Premier League clubs and an amalgamated table can be found at All-time
FA Premier League table. For a list of winners and runners-up of the Premier Le
ague since its inception, and top scorers for each season, see English football
champions.
Seven clubs have been members of the Premier League for every season since its i
nception. This group is composed of Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Everton, Live
rpool, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur.[69]
[edit] Members for 2009 10
The following 20 clubs will compete in the Premier League during the 2009 10 seaso
n.
Club
? Position
in 2008 09 ? First season in
top division ? Number of seasons
in top division ? Number of seasons
in the Premier League ? First season of
current spell in
top division ? Top division
titles ? Last top division title ?
Arsenala,b 0044th 1904 05 93 18 1919 20 13 2003 04
Aston Villaa,b 0066th 1888 89 99 18 1988 89 7 1980 81
Birmingham City YYY2nd: Championship 1894 95 56 6 2009 10
0 n/a
Blackburn Roversa 01515th 1888 89 70 16 2001 02 3
1994 95
Bolton Wanderers 01313th 1888 89 71 11 2001 02 0
n/a
Burnleyb ZZZ5th: Championship 1888 89 52 1 2009 10 2
1959 60
Chelseaa,b 0033rd 1907 08 75 18 1989 90 3 2005 06
Evertona,b 0055th 1888 89 107 18 1954 55 9 1986 87
Fulhamb 0077th 1949 50 21 9 2001 02 0 n/a
Hull Cityb 01717th 2008 09 2 2 2008 09 0 n/a
Liverpoola,b 0022nd 1894 95 95 18 1962 63 18 1989 90
Manchester Citya 01010th 1899 1900 81 13 2002 03
2 1967 68
Manchester Uniteda,b 0011st 1892 93 85 18 1975 76 18 200
Portsmouthb 01414th 1927 28 33 7 2003 04 2 194
Stoke Cityb 01212th 1888 89 54 2 2008 09 0 n/a
Sunderland 01616th 1890 91 79 9 2007 08 6 193
Tottenham Hotspura,b 0088th 1909 10 75 18 1978 79 2 196
West Ham United 179th 1923 24 53 15 2005 06 0 n/a
Wigan Athleticb 01111th 2005 06 5 5 2005 06 0
n/a
Wolverhampton Wanderers XXX1st: Championship 1888 89 61 2
2009 10 3 1958 59
a: Founding member of the Premier League
b: Never been relegated from Premier League
[edit] Players
See also: List of foreign Premier League players
All-time appearances in the Premier League
(Premier League appearances only) Rank Player Appearances
1 England David James 562
2 Wales Ryan Giggs 539
3 Wales Gary Speed 535
4 England Sol Campbell 486
5 England Emile Heskey 457
6 England Frank Lampard 454
7 England Alan Shearer 441
8 England Paul Scholes 431
9 England Gareth Southgate 426
10 England Jamie Carragher 421
As of 6 February 2010
(Bold denotes players still playing in the Premier League)
(Italics denotes players still playing professional football).[70]
Premier League clubs have almost complete freedom to sign whatever number and ca
tegory of players they wish. There is no team or individual salary cap, no squad
size limit, no age restrictions other than those applied by general employment
law, no restrictions on the overall number of foreign players and few restrictio
ns on individual foreign players all players with EU nationality, including thos
e able to claim an EU passport through a parent or grandparent, are eligible to
play, and top players from outside the EU are able to obtain UK work permits. Th
e only area where the Premier League's player registration rules are more restri
ctive than those of some other football leagues, such as those of those of Belgi
um and Portugal, is that academy level non-EU players have little access to Engl
ish football by law.[71] Also, clubs competing in the Champions League or UEFA E
uropa League must comply with UEFA's player-eligibility rules for those competit
ions.
At the inception of the Premier League in 1992 93, just eleven players named in th
e starting line-ups for the first round of matches were 'foreign' (players haili
ng from outside of the United Kingdom or Republic of Ireland).[72] By 2000 01, the
number of foreign players participating in the Premier League was 36%. In the 2
004 05 season the figure had increased to 45%. On 26 December 1999, Chelsea became
 the first Premier League side to field an entirely foreign starting line-up,[73
] and on 14 February 2005 Arsenal were the first to name a completely foreign 16
-man squad for a match.[74] No English manager has won the Premier League; the f
our managers to have won the title comprise two Scots (Alex Ferguson (Manchester
United, eleven wins) and Kenny Dalglish (Blackburn Rovers, one win), a Frenchma
n (Arsène Wenger, Arsenal, three wins) and a Portuguese (José Mourinho, Chelsea,
two wins).
In response to concerns that clubs were increasingly passing over young British
players in favour of signing less-expensive foreign players, in 1999, the Home O
ffice tightened its rules for granting work permits to players from countries ou
tside of the European Union.[75] Currently a non-EU player applying for the perm
it must have played for his country in at least 75% of its competitive 'A' team
matches for which he was available for selection during the previous two years,
and his country must have averaged at least 70th place in the official FIFA worl
d rankings over the previous two years. If a player does not meet those criteria
, the club wishing to sign him may appeal if they believe that he is a special t
alent and "able to contribute significantly to the development of the game at th
e top level in the UK."[71]
Over 260 foreign players compete in the league, and 101 players from England's d
omestic leagues competed in the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Korea and Japan. At the 2
006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, the Premier League was the most represented leagu
e with more than eighty players in the competition, including 21 of the 23 playe
rs in England's squad.
As a result of the increasingly lucrative television deals, player wages rose sh
arply following the formation of the Premier League. In the first Premier League
season the average player wage was £75,000 per year,[76] but subsequently rose
by an average 20% per year for a decade,[77] peaking in the 2003 04 season, when t
he annual salary of the average Premier League player was £676,000.[78]
The record transfer fee for a Premier League has been broken several times over
the lifetime of the competition. Prior to the start of the first Premier League
season Alan Shearer became the first British player to command a transfer fee of
more than £3 million.[79] The record rose steadily in the Premier League's firs
t few seasons, until Alan Shearer made a world record breaking £15 million move
to Newcastle United in 1996.[79] This stood as a British record for four years u
ntil it was eclipsed by the £18 million Leeds paid West Ham for Rio Ferdinand.[7
9] Manchester United subsequently broke the record three times by signing Ruud v
an Nistelrooy, Juan Sebastián Verón and Rio Ferdinand.[80][81] Chelsea broke the
record in May 2006, when they signed Andriy Shevchenko, from AC Milan. The exac
t figure of the transfer fee was not disclosed, but was reported as being around
£30 million.[82] This was eclipsed by Manchester City's transfer of Robinho fro
m Real Madrid on 1 September 2008 for £32.5 million.[83]
David James holds the record for the most Premier League appearances, overtaking
the previous record held by Gary Speed of 535 appearances in February 2009.[84]
[edit] Top scorers
All-time top scorers in the Premier League
(Premier League goals only) Rank Player Goals
1 England Alan Shearer 260
2 England Andrew Cole 187
3 France Thierry Henry 174
4 England Robbie Fowler 163
5 England Les Ferdinand 149
6 England Teddy Sheringham 147
7 England Michael Owen 146
8 Netherlands Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink 127
9 Trinidad and Tobago Dwight Yorke 123
10 Republic of Ireland Robbie Keane 121
As of 29 December 2009
(Bold denotes players still playing in the Premier League)
(Italics denotes players still playing professional football).[70]
Further information: Top Scorer (Golden Boot) by season, List of Premier League
hat-tricks, List of football players with a Premier League medal
Players in the Premier League can compete for the informal competitions of Goal
of the Month and Goal of the Season. Other titles players compete for include th
e top-scorer for a season. Former Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United striker
Alan Shearer holds the record for most Premier League goals with 260. Shearer fi
nished among the top ten goal scorers in 10 out of his 14 seasons in the Premier
League and won the top scorer title three times. During the 1995 96 season he bec
ame the first player to score 100 Premier League goals.[85] Since then, 16 other
players have reached the mark, with Wayne Rooney being the most recent when he
scored against Arsenal at Emirates Stadium on 31 January 2010.[86]
Since the first Premier League season in 1992 93, 13 different players have won or
shared the top scorers title. Thierry Henry won his third consecutive and fourt
h overall scoring title by scoring 27 goals in the 2005 06 season. This surpassed
Shearer's mark of three titles which he won consecutively from 1994 95 through 199
6 97. Other multiple winners include Michael Owen and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink who
have won two titles each. Andrew Cole and Alan Shearer hold the record for most
goals in a season (34) for Newcastle and Blackburn respectively. Cole's record c
ame in the 1993 94 season, while Shearer's came in 1994 95, both of which were 42-ga
me seasons.[87] Shearer's mark of 31 goals from a 38-game season in 1995 96 was eq
ualled in the 2007 08 season by Cristiano Ronaldo, a mark which surpassed the reco
rd of most goals by a midfielder in a season.[88]
Manchester United became the first team to have scored 1,000 goals in this leagu
e after Cristiano Ronaldo scored, in a 4 1 defeat of Middlesbrough, in the 2005 06 s
eason, having been the first team to have conceded a Premier League goal followi
ng the League's inception. Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool are the only other tea
ms to have reached the 1,000-goal mark.[89][90] The highest-scoring match to dat
e in the Premier League occurred on 29 September 2007 when Portsmouth beat Readi
ng 7-4. Five goals is the record individual scoring total for a player in a sing
le Premier League game, and as of November 2009, only three players had achieved
this feat, Andy Cole first, followed by Alan Shearer and then Jermaine Defoe.[9
1] Only Ryan Giggs of Manchester United has scored in all 18 Premier League seas
ons.[92]
[edit] Awards
[edit] Trophy
The Premier League trophy
The current Premier League trophy was created by Royal Jewellers Asprey of Londo
n. It weighs 4 st (25 kg; 56 lb), and is 76 cm (30 in) tall, 43 cm (17 in) wide
and 25 cm (9.8 in) deep. Its main body is solid sterling silver and silver gilt,
while its plinth is made of malachite, a semi-precious stone. The plinth has a
silver band around its circumference, upon which the names of the title-winning
clubs are listed. Malachite's green colour is also representative of the green f
ield of play.[93] The design of the trophy is based on the heraldry of Three Lio
ns that is associated with English football. Two of the lions are found above th
e handles on either side of the trophy the third is symbolised by the captain of
the title winning team as he raises the trophy, and its gold crown, above his h
ead at the end of the season.[93] The trophy has borne several names on its face
since it was first created, when it read "The F.A. Premier League". The one Man
chester United lifted in 2006 07 read "The Barclays Premiership". From the 2007 08 s
eason onwards, the trophy has read "Premier League" on one side and "Barclays Pr
emier League" on the other.[citation needed]
In 2004, a special gold version of the trophy was commissioned to commemorate Ar
senal winning the title without a single defeat.[94]
[edit] Monthly and annual
In addition to the winner's Trophy and the individual Winner's Medals, the Premi
er League also awards the monthly, Manager of the Month and Player of the Month
awards, and the annual Manager of the Year and Golden Glove awards.
[edit] 10 Seasons
Main article: Premier League 10 Seasons Awards
In 2003, the Premier League celebrated its first decade by holding the 10 Season
s Awards:
* Teams of the Decade:
o Domestic: David Seaman, Gary Neville, Tony Adams, Steve Bruce, Stuar
t Pearce, David Beckham, Paul Ince, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Alan Shearer, Mich
ael Owen
o Overseas: Peter Schmeichel, Dan Petrescu, Jaap Stam, Marcel Desailly
, Denis Irwin, Freddy Ljungberg, Patrick Vieira, Roy Keane, Robert Pires, Thierr
y Henry, Eric Cantona
o Overall: Peter Schmeichel, Gary Neville, Tony Adams, Marcel Desailly
, Denis Irwin, David Beckham, Patrick Vieira, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Alan She
arer, Eric Cantona
* Overall Player of the Decade - Alan Shearer
* Domestic Player of the Decade - Alan Shearer
* Overseas Player of the Decade - Eric Cantona
* Goal of the Decade - David Beckham, 17 August 1996, Wimbledon v. Mancheste
r Utd
* Save of the Decade, Peter Schmeichel, 21 December 1997, Newcastle United v
. Manchester Utd
* Match of the Decade - Liverpool 4 3 Newcastle United, 3 April 1996
* Photograph of the Decade - Phil Noble (PA), 11 September 1999, Michael Owe
n miss against Manchester United
* Commentator of the Decade - Martin Tyler of Sky Sports

* Quote of the Decade - "I would love it if we beat them. Love it!", Kevin K
eegan, 29 April 1996
* Manager of the Decade - Sir Alex Ferguson
* Outstanding Contribution - Alan Shearer
* Contribution to the Community - Lucas Radebe
* Most Appearances - Gary Speed (352)
* Goalkeeper with most clean sheets - David Seaman (130)
* Most Coaching Appearances - Sir Alex Ferguson (392)
* 10,000th Goal - Les Ferdinand, 15 December 2001, Tottenham Hotspur v. Fulh
am
* Top Goalscorer - Alan Shearer (204)
[edit] See also
English football portal
* List of English Football League managers by date of appointment
* Football records in England
[edit] References
1. ^ Campbell, Dennis (6 January 2002). "United (versus Liverpool) Nations".
The Observer. http://observer.guardian.co.uk/osm/story/0,6903,626773,00.html. Re
trieved 8 August 2006.
2. ^ a b "Premier League revenues near £2bn". BBC. 4 June 2009. http://news.b
bc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8078533.stm. Retrieved 4 June 2009.
3. ^ "UEFA ranking of European leagues". UEFA. 2006. http://www.xs4all.nl/~ka
ssiesa/bert/uefa/data/method3/trank2006.html.
4. ^ "1985: English teams banned after Heysel". BBC Archive. 31 May 1985. htt
p://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/31/newsid_2481000/2481723.stm.
Retrieved 8 August 2006.
5. ^ a b "A History of The Premier League". Premier League. http://www.premie
rleague.com/page/History/0,,12306,00.html. Retrieved 22 November 2007.
6. ^ "The Taylor Report". Footballnetwork. http://www.footballnetwork.org/dev
/communityfootball/violence_taylor_report.asp. Retrieved 22 November 2007.
7. ^ a b Crawford, Gerry. "Fact Sheet 8: British Football on Television". Uni
versity of Leicester Centre for the Sociology of Sport. http://www.le.ac.uk/soci
ology/css/resources/factsheets/fs8.html. Retrieved 10 August 2006.
8. ^ "The History Of The Football League". Football League official website.
http://www.football-league.premiumtv.co.uk/page/History/0,,10794,00.html. Retrie
ved 10 August 2006.
9. ^ "In the matter of an agreement between the Football Association Premier
League Limited and the Football Association Limited and the Football League Limi
ted and their respective member clubs". HM Courts Service. 2006. http://www.hmco
urts-service.gov.uk/judgmentsfiles/j9/pljmtint.htm. Retrieved 8 August 2006.
10. ^ "A history of the Premier League". Premier League official website. http
://www.premierleague.com/page/History/0,,12306,00.html. Retrieved 4 January 2008
.
11. ^ "Fifa wants 18-team Premier League". BBC. 8 June 2006. http://news.bbc.c
o.uk/sport1/hi/football/5061302.stm. Retrieved 8 August 2006.
12. ^ "Premier League and Barclays Announce Competition Name Change" (PDF). Pr
emier League. http://www.premierleague.com/staticFiles/22/65/0,,12306~91426,00.p
df. Retrieved 22 November 2006.
13. ^ "Our relationship with the clubs". Premier League. http://www.premierlea
gue.com/fapl.rac?command=setSelectedId&nextPage=enSimpleStories&id=2861&type=com
.fapl.website.stories.SimpleStories&categoryCode=Who%20We%20Are&breadcrumb=about
_breadcrumb. Retrieved 8 August 2006.
14. ^ "The Premier League and Other Football Bodies". Premier League. http://w
ww.premierleague.com/fapl.rac?command=setSelectedId&nextPage=enSimpleStories&id=
2851&type=com.fapl.website.stories.SimpleStories&categoryCode=Who%20We%20Are&bre
adcrumb=about_breadcrumb. Retrieved 8 August 2006.
15. ^ "European Club Forum". UEFA. http://www.uefa.com/uefa/aboutuefa/Committe
sPanels/panel=32.html. Retrieved 8 August 2006.
16. ^ "Barclays Premier League". Sporting Life. http://www.sporting-life.com/f
ootball/live/tables/premiership.html. Retrieved 26 November 2007.
17. ^ "Huge Stakes For Championship Play-Off Contenders". Goal.com. http://www
.goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=294727. Retrieved 26 November 2007.
18. ^ "UEFA Executive Committee approves changes to UEFA club competitions" (P
DF). UEFA. 30 November 2007. http://www.uefa.com/newsfiles/630630.pdf. Retrieved
15 August 2008.
19. ^ "Norway lead Respect Fair Play league". Uefa. 26 January 2009. http://ww
w.uefa.com/uefa/keytopics/kind=8/newsid=795065.html. Retrieved 11 March 2009.
20. ^ "Liverpool get in Champions League". BBC Sport. 10 June 2005. http://new
s.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/4613695.stm. Retrieved 11 Decem
ber 2007.
21. ^ "5 Jahreswertung der UEFA Saison 07/08 (German)". http://www.5-jahres-we
rtung.de/APD/Online/5-Jahres-Wertung.htm. Retrieved 17 May 2008.
22. ^ "Clubs force UEFA's Michel Platini into climbdown". Daily Telegraph. 13
November 2007. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2007/11/13
/sfnuef113.xml. Retrieved 2 December 2007.
23. ^ "Platini's Euro Cup plan rejected". BBC Sport. 12 December 2007. http://
news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/7090646.stm. Retrieved 11 December 2007
.
 24. ^ "Barclays renews Premier sponsorship". Barclays. 23 October 2009. http:/
/www.premierleague.com/page/Headlines/0,,12306~1835324,00.html. Retrieved 23 Oct
ober 2009.
25. ^ http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/163676000-t
he-average-salary-of-a-premiership-footballer-in-2006-473659.html
26. ^ a b "Real Madrid stay at the top". Deloitte. 2 August 2007. http://www.d
eloitte.com/dtt/press_release/0,1014,sid%253D2834%2526cid%253D145152,00.html. Re
trieved 2 December 2007.
27. ^ "Arsenal bullish over £200m income". BBC News. 24 September 2007. http:/
/news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/a/arsenal/7009944.stm. Retrieved 24 Sep
tember 2007.
28. ^ "Football Stats Results for 1992 1993 Premiership". football.co.uk. http:/
/stats.football.co.uk/1992/. Retrieved 10 August 2006.
29. ^ "Fact Sheet 2: Football Stadia After Taylor". University of Leicester. h
ttp://www.le.ac.uk/fo/resources/factsheets/fs2.html. Retrieved 10 August 2006.
30. ^ "Shifting stands". ESPN. 27 July 2005. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/colu
mns/story?id=337736&root=extratime&cc=5901. Retrieved 10 August 2006.
31. ^ "Premiership Attendance - 2002/03". ESPN. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/s
tats/attendance?league=eng.1&year=2002&cc=5901. Retrieved 10 August 2006.
32. ^ "Frequently asked questions about the F.A. Premier League, (How are tele
vision revenues distributed to Premier League clubs?)". premierleague.com. http:
//www.premierleague.com/page/Faqs/0,,12306,00.html. Retrieved 11 December 2007.
33. ^ a b "BSkyB Timeline". http://corporate.sky.com/about_sky/timeline.htm. R
etrieved 20 October 2009.
34. ^ "Premier League announce name change". SportBusiness. http://www.sportbu
siness.com/news/160604/premier-league-launches-international-rights-tender. Retr
ieved 3 June 2007.
35. ^ "BBC keeps Premiership highlights". BBC News. 8 June 2006. http://news.b
bc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/match_of_the_day/5060828.stm. Retrieved 8 August 200
6.
36. ^ "TV deal pays another £84m". Daily Telegraph. 26 May 2006. http://www.te
legraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/sport/2006/05/26/sfntv26.
xml. Retrieved 8 August 2006.
37. ^ "Premiership in new £625m TV deal". 18 January 2007. http://news.bbc.co.
uk/1/hi/business/6273617.stm. Retrieved 3 June 2007.
38. ^ "BSkyB investigation: alleged infringement of the Chapter II prohibition
" (PDF). Office of Fair Trading. 17 December 2002. http://web.archive.org/web/20
060823170841/http://www.oft.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/D36BD282-3F52-410E-86EA-F494E41B
C199/0/bskybfinal1.pdf. Retrieved 8 August 2006.
39. ^ "Sport and European Competition Policy" (PDF). European Commission. 1999
. http://ec.europa.eu/comm/competition/speeches/text/sp1999_019_en.pdf. Retrieve
d 8 August 2006.
40. ^ "BBC retains Premier League rights". BBC Sport. 28 January 2009. http://
news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/7856459.stm. Retrieved 29 January 200
9.
41. ^ "New Television Rights". BBC. 6 February 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/h
i/business/7875478.stm. Retrieved 6 January 2010.
42. ^ "ESPN win Premier League rights". Barclays Premier League. 22 June 2009.
http://www.premierleague.com/page/Headlines/0,,12306~1698362,00.html. Retrieved
22 June 2009.
43. ^ Wilson, Jeremy (6 November 2007). "Premier League is world's favourite l
eague". The Daily Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml;jsessio
nid=IGZ4VPSTTGE5BQFIQMFSFGGAVCBQ0IV0?xml=/sport/2007/11/06/sfnfro106.xml. Retrie
ved 7 November 2007.
44. ^ "Bidders line up for U.S. rights to Premiership". Sports Business Journa
l. 26 January 2009. http://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/article/61334. Retrieve
d 8 April 2009.
45. ^ "SETANTA IN FLUX". New York Times. 19 June 2009. http://www.nytimes.com/
2009/06/21/sports/soccer/21kick.html?ref=sports. Retrieved 19 June 2009.
46. ^ Sportsnet: EPL returns to Sportsnet 4 December 2009
 47. ^ "Never Miss An EPL Moment...". Australian Four Four Two. 10 August 2007.
http://au.fourfourtwo.com/news/58663,never-miss-an-epl-moment.aspx. Retrieved 8
April 2009.
48. ^ "ESPN-Star extends pact with FA Premier League". The Hindu Business Line
. 21 March 2004. http://www.blonnet.com/2004/03/21/stories/2004032101440300.htm.
Retrieved 9 August 2006.
49. ^ "Chinese phone maker's fancy footwork". BBC News. 27 October 2003. http:
//news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3207829.stm. Retrieved 9 August 2006.
50. ^ "Premiership trio launch Asia Cup". ESPN. 1 March 2003. http://soccernet
.espn.go.com/news/story?id=259488&cc=5901. Retrieved 9 August 2006.
51. ^ "English Premier League Launch Asia Trophy". premierleague.com. http://w
ww.premierleague.com/fapl.rac?command=forwardOnly&nextPage=enNewsLatest&id=88340
3&breadcrumb=latestfa_breadcrumb. Retrieved 9 August 2006.
52. ^ "Portsmouth win Asia Trophy after shoot-out". The Times. 27 July 2007. h
ttp://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/article2154102.ece. Retrieved 25
May 2008.
53. ^ "Goal footage warning for website". BBC. 9 August 2006. http://news.bbc.
co.uk/2/hi/technology/6072266.stm. Retrieved 2 December 2007.
54. ^ "The Premier League". Webuser. 2002-10-22. Archived from the original on
2009-11-18. http://www.webcitation.org/5lNnZi8LM. Retrieved 2009-11-18.
55. ^ "Premiership to launch website". Marketing Week. 2002-04-04. Archived fr
om the original on 2009-11-18. http://www.webcitation.org/5lNnSaPyI. Retrieved 2
009-11-18.
56. ^ a b c "Rich clubs forced to give up a sliver of the TV pie". Guardian. h
ttp://football.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1771399,00.html. Retrieved 8 Augu
st 2006.
57. ^ Brewin, John (4 July 2005). "1997/98 - Season Review". ESPN. http://socc
ernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=333233&root=extratime&cc=5739. Retrieved 29 N
ovember 2007.
58. ^ "Why clubs may risk millions for riches at the end of the rainbow". Guar
dian. 5 August 2006. http://football.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1837801,00.
html. Retrieved 13 August 2006.
59. ^ Ben Bailey and Patrick Whyte (19 March 2009). "Premier League casualties
- clubs that have struggled since relegation". Evening Standard. http://www.thi
sislondon.co.uk/standard-sport/article-23664566-details/Premier+League+casualtie
s+-+clubs+that+have+struggled+since+relegation/article.do. Retrieved 7 April 200
9.
60. ^ "Down again: Leicester's relegation horror". Daily Telegraph. 5 May 2008
. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/2299511/Down-again-Leicesters-relega
tion-horror.html. Retrieved 7 April 2009.
61. ^ Football Club History Database
62. ^ a b "The best of the rest". ESPNsoccernet. 29 January 2007. http://socce
rnet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=405515&root=england&&cc=5739. Retrieved 27 Nov
ember 2007.
63. ^ "Mourinho proud of battling finish". BBC. 2005-05-13. http://news.bbc.co
.uk/sport1/football/teams/c/chelsea/4545045.stm. Retrieved 2006-12-28.
64. ^ Hughes, Ian (2004-05-15). "Arsenal the Invincibles". BBC Sport. http://n
ews.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/a/arsenal/3713537.stm. Retrieved 2008-08-
11.
65. ^ "Power of top four concerns Keegan". BBC Sport. 6 May 2008. http://news.
bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/n/newcastle_united/7384247.stm. Retrieved 6 M
ay 2008.
66. ^ "Scudamore defends 'boring' League". BBC Sport. 7 May 2008. http://news.
bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/7388360.stm. Retrieved 9 May 2008.
67. ^ http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/article55
89815.ece Times Online The Times s 50 Worst Things About Modern Football
68. ^ BBC News Is Premier League killing Nigerian football?, 28 July 2008
69. ^ "It's official - Tottenham have the worst defence in Premier League hist
ory". Daily Mail. 14 November 2007. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articl
es/sport/football.html?in_article_id=493532&in_page_id=1779. Retrieved 1 Decembe
r 2007.
70. ^ a b "Barclays Premier League Statistics". premierleague.com. FA Premier
League. http://www.premierleague.com/page/Statistics. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
71. ^ a b "Work permit arrangements for football players". Home Office. http:/
/www.workingintheuk.gov.uk/working_in_the_uk/en/homepage/work_permits0/applying_
for_a_work/sports_and_entertainers/football_players.html. Retrieved 1 July 2007.
72. ^ Ron Atkinson (23 August 2002). "England need to stem the foreign tide".
The Guardian. http://football.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,4487212-3057,00.html.
Retrieved 10 August 2006.
73. ^ "Phil Neal: King of Europe?". Guardian Unlimited. http://football.guardi
an.co.uk/news/theknowledge/0,9204,474626,00.html. Retrieved 10 August 2006.
74. ^ "Wenger backs non-English line-up". BBC. 14 February 2005. http://news.b
bc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/a/arsenal/4266443.stm. Retrieved 10 August 200
6.
75. ^ "New Work Permit Criteria for Football Players Announced". Department fo
r Education and Employment. 2 July 1999. http://www.gnn.gov.uk/Content/Detail.as
p?ReleaseID=32096&NewsAreaID=2. Retrieved 1 July 2007.
76. ^ "Forty factors fuelling football inflation". The Guardian. 31 July 2003.
http://football.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,9753,1009392,00.html. Retrieved
8 August 2006.
77. ^ "Wages fall, but Premier League still spend big". ESPN Soccernet. 1 June
2006. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=369799&cc=5739. Retrieved 8 Au
gust 2006.
78. ^ "The billion-pound revolution". The Times. 8 June 2005. http://www.times
online.co.uk/tol/sport/football/article531111.ece. Retrieved 8 August 2006.
79. ^ a b c "From £250,000 to £29.1m". Observer. 5 March 2006. http://observer
.guardian.co.uk/osm/story/0,,1720979,00.html. Retrieved 2 December 2007.
80. ^ "Veron and Other Top Transfers". 4thegame. http://www.4thegame.com/featu
res/feature/82010/.html. Retrieved 2 December 2007.
81. ^ "Leeds sell Rio for £30 million". Daily Telegraph. 21 July 2002. http://
www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2002/07/21/uferd.xml. Retrieved
2 December 2007.
82. ^ "Chelsea complete Shevchenko deal". BBC. 31 May 2006. http://news.bbc.co
.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/chelsea/5035604.stm. Retrieved 2 December 2007.
83. ^ "Man City beat Chelsea to Robinho". BBC Sport. 1 September 2008. http://
news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_city/7593026.stm. Retrieved 2 Sept
ember 2008.
84. ^ Fletcher, Paul (14 February 2009). "Portsmouth 2-0 Man City". BBC Sport.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/7872584.stm. Retrieved 14 Feb
ruary 2009.
85. ^ Becky Gamester. "Super Shearer". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/lancashire/sp
ort/brfc/shearer.shtml. Retrieved 10 December 2007.
86. ^ McNulty, Phil (31 January 2010). "Arsenal 1-3 Man Utd". BBC Sport (Briti
sh Broadcasting Corporation). http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/
8485984.stm. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
87. ^ "Barclaycard Premiership top scorers". 4thegame. 20 January 2004. http:/
/www.4thegame.com/features/feature/145997/. Retrieved 16 December 2007.
88. ^ "Fergie deserves his victory dance". Sporting Life. 11 May 2008. http://
www.sportinglife.com/fanzine/story_get.dor?STORY_NAME=soccer/08/05/11/SOCCER_Pre
mier_League_Comment.html. Retrieved 11 May 2008.
89. ^ Bevan, Chris (1 November 2008). "Chelsea 5-0 Sunderland". BBC Sport. htt
p://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/7684736.stm. Retrieved 2 November
2008.
90. ^ "Torres goals aid club and country". FIFA. 12 December 2008. http://www.
fifa.com/classicfootball/awards/gala/news/newsid=973350.html. Retrieved 10 April
2009.
91. ^ "Tottenham 9 - 1 Wigan". BBC. 2009-11-22. Archived from the original on
2009-11-23. http://www.webcitation.org/5lVZ4CbjA. Retrieved 2009-11-23.
 92. ^ "Ryan Giggs goal makes him only person to score in all PL seasons trivia
". sportsbusiness.com. http://www.sportbusiness.com/marketplace/facts/ryan-giggs
-goal-makes-him-only-person-to-score-in-all-pl-seasons. Retrieved 21 November 20
09.
93. ^ a b "Barclays Premier League Trophy in city". Express India. 26 February
2008. http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Barclays-Premier-League-Trophy-in
-city/277204/. Retrieved 21 May 2008.
94. ^ http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/51204716/Getty-Images-Sport
[edit] External links
Listen to this article (info/dl)
Play sound
This audio file was created from a revision dated 4 March 2007, and does not ref
lect subsequent edits to the article. (Audio help)
More spoken articles
This is a spoken version of the article. Click here to listen.
Search Wikimedia Commons Wikimedia Commons has media related to: FA Premi
er League
* Official Site
[show]
v d e
Premier League
Competition
Seasons (current) · Teams (winners) · Players (foreign) (winners) · Managers (cu
rrent) · Stadia · Founding · Broadcasters · Referees
Statistics and awards
Records · All-time table · Top scorers · Hat-tricks · Golden Glove · Manager of
the Year · Manager of the Month · Player of the Month · Arsenal undefeated seaso
n · 10 Seasons Awards
Finances
Richest clubs: (Deloitte list) (Forbes' list) · Team owners · Average attendance
s · Transfer records · Game 39 · Premier League Football League gulf · Relegated t
eams (2005 onwards)
Associated competitions
Asia Trophy · FA Community Shield · UEFA Champions League · UEFA Europa League ·
Women's League · Reserve League · Academy League
[show]
v d e
Premier League teams
2009 10 teams
Arsenal · Aston Villa · Birmingham City · Blackburn Rovers · Bolton Wanderers ·
Burnley · Chelsea · Everton · Fulham · Hull City · Liverpool · Manchester City ·
Manchester United · Portsmouth · Stoke City · Sunderland · Tottenham Hotspur ·
West Ham United · Wigan Athletic · Wolverhampton Wanderers
Former teams
Barnsley · Bradford City · Charlton Athletic · Coventry City · Crystal Palace ·
Derby County · Ipswich Town · Leeds United · Leicester City · Middlesbrough · Ne
wcastle United · Norwich City · Nottingham Forest · Oldham Athletic · Queens Par
k Rangers · Reading · Sheffield United · Sheffield Wednesday · Southampton · Swi
ndon Town · Watford · West Bromwich Albion · Wimbledon
[show]
v d e
Premier League seasons
Football League · 1992 93 · 1993 94 · 1994 95 · 1995 96 · 1996 97 · 1997 98 · 1998 99 · 199
0
2000 01 · 2001 02 · 2002 03 · 2003 04 · 2004 05 · 2005 06 · 2006 07 · 2007 08 · 2008 09 · 2
[show]
English football league system Level 1
Promotion to: none (top level)
Relegation to: Football League Championship
[show]
v d e
Football in England
The Football Association
National teams
England · B · C · U-21 · U-20 · U-19 · U-18 · U-17 · U-16
League system
Premier League · The Football League (Championship League One League Two) · Foot
ball Conference (National North South) · Northern Premier (Premier Division Divi
sion One North Division One South) · Southern League (Premier Division Division
One Midlands Division One South & West) · Isthmian League (Premier Division Divi
sion One North Division One South)
Domestic cups
FA Cup · Football League Cup · FA Community Shield · Football League Trophy · FA
Trophy · Conference League Cup · FA Vase · FA NLS Cup
List of clubs · Venues (Listed by capacity) · Competitions · Trophies and Awards
· Records
[show]
v d e
Football in the United Kingdom
England
National team · The FA · Footballing history · National team history · Premier L
eague · FA Cup · Carling Cup · Football in England
Scotland
National team · The SFA · Footballing history · National team history · Scottish
Premier League · Scottish Cup · Co-operative Insurance Cup · Football in Scotla
nd
Wales
National team · FAW · National team history · Welsh Premier League · Welsh Cup ·
Football in Wales
Northern Ireland
National team · IFA · National team history · IFA Premiership · Irish Cup · Foot
ball in Northern Ireland
United Kingdom
National football team · British Home Championship · Rous Cup · 4 Associations'
Tournament · Empire Exhibition Trophy · Coronation Cup · Texaco Cup · Anglo-Scot
tish Cup · FAW Premier Cup · Setanta Sports Cup · International Football Associa
tion Board · England and Scotland football rivalry
[show]
v d e
Top level football leagues of Europe (UEFA)
Albania · Andorra · Armenia · Austria · Azerbaijan · Belarus · Belgium · Bosnia
and Herzegovina · Bulgaria · Croatia · Cyprus · Czech Republic · Denmark · Engla
nd · Estonia · Faroe Islands · Finland · France · Georgia · Germany · Greece · H
ungary · Iceland · Israel · Italy · Kazakhstan · Latvia · Lithuania · Luxembourg
· Macedonia · Malta · Moldova · Montenegro · Netherlands · Northern Ireland · N
orway · Poland · Portugal · Republic of Ireland · Romania · Russia · San Marino
· Scotland · Serbia · Slovakia · Slovenia · Spain · Sweden · Switzerland · Turke
y · Ukraine · Wales
Former leagues: Czechoslovakia · East Germany · Soviet Union · Yugoslavia
This is a featured article. Click here for more information.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premier_League"
Categories: Premier League | Football competitions in England | National footbal
l (soccer) premier leagues | 1992 establishments
Hidden categories: All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsour
ced statements from August 2009 | Articles with unsourced statements from April
2009 | Spoken articles | Featured articles
Views
* Article
* Discussion
* Edit this page
* History
Personal tools
* Try Beta
* Log in / create account
Navigation
* Main page
* Contents
* Featured content
* Current events
* Random article
Search
Interaction
* About Wikipedia
* Community portal
* Recent changes
* Contact Wikipedia
* Donate to Wikipedia
* Help
Toolbox
* What links here
* Related changes
* Upload file
* Special pages
* Printable version
* Permanent link
* Cite this page
Languages
* ???????
* ?????
* ?????????? (???????????)
* Bosanski
* ?????????
* Català
* Cesky
* Cymraeg
* Dansk
* Deutsch
* Eesti
* ????????
* Español
* Esperanto
* Euskara
* ?????
 * Français
* Galego
* ? ??
* Hrvatski
* Italiano
* ?????
* Basa Jawa
* Latvie u
* Lëtzebuergesch
* Lietuviu
* Magyar
* ??????????
* ??????
* Malti
* ?????
* Bahasa Melayu
* Nederlands
* ???
* ?Norsk (bokmål)?
* ?Norsk (nynorsk)?
* Polski
* Português
* Româna
* ???????
* Scots
* Shqip
* Simple English
* Slovencina
* ?????? / Srpski
* Suomi
* Svenska
* ???
* Türkçe
* ??????????
* Ti?ng Vi?t
* Wolof
* ??
* ??
Powered by MediaWiki
Wikimedia Foundation
* This page was last modified on 7 February 2010 at 22:56.
* Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licens
e; additional terms may apply. See Terms of Use for details.
Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a
non-profit organization.
* Contact us
* Privacy policy
* About Wikipedia
* Disclaimers