Premier Reserve League
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| Countries |  England |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1999 |
| Divisions | 3 |
| Number of teams | 16 |
| Levels on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | Central League (North) Football Combination (South) |
| Current champions | Chelsea Reserves (2010–11) |
 2011–12 Premier Reserve League |
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The Premier Reserve League (officially known as The Barclays Premier Reserve League for sponsorship reasons) is the reserve team league for the top English football teams in the Premier League. The league is split into a northern and a southern division.
The league in its current form started out in 1999, replacing The Central League in the north and The Football Combination in the south as the top level of reserve-team football, although these competitions still continue for lower-level teams.
Teams are not relegated from the Premier Reserve League based on their final league position, but on the league position of their respective clubs' senior teams. If a senior team is relegated from the Premier League, then the reserve team is relegated from the Premier Reserve League and replaced by the reserve team of the promoted team from the Championship.
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[edit] Past winners
From 2004–05 onwards, the League held its first play-off between the champions of the two sections. Northern Champions Manchester United Reserves beat Southern Champions Charlton Athletic Reserves 4–2 at The Valley. In the 2005–06 Play-off, held at Old Trafford, Manchester United Reserves beat Tottenham Hotspur Reserves 2–0. The 2007 final, held at the Madejski Stadium, Reading beat Bolton 2–0. Liverpool Reserves beat Aston Villa Reserves 3–0 in the 2008 final at Anfield. Aston Villa reached the final again next season and beat Sunderland 3–1 at Villa Park. In the 2009–10 Play-off, held again at Old Trafford, Manchester United beat Aston Villa 3–2 in a penalty shoot-out after the game ended 3–3. In the 2010-11 playoff Chelsea defeated Blackburn 5-4 in a penalty shoot-out after the game ended 1-1 at Stamford Bridge.
[edit] Winners table
| Team | Regional titles |
National titles |
|---|---|---|
| Manchester United Reserves | 4 | 3 |
| Aston Villa Reserves | 4 | 1 |
| Liverpool Reserves | 2 | 1 |
| Chelsea Reserves | 1 | 1 |
| Reading Reserves | 1 | 1 |
| Sunderland Reserves | 2 | 0 |
| Derby County Reserves | 2 | 0 |
| Charlton Athletic Reserves | 2 | 0 |
| Blackburn Rovers Reserves | 1 | 0 |
| Tottenham Hotspur Reserves | 1 | 0 |
| Bolton Wanderers Reserves | 1 | 0 |
| Everton Reserves | 1 | 0 |
| Ipswich Town Reserves | 1 | 0 |
| Watford Reserves | 1 | 0 |
[edit] Current participants
The Premier Reserve League was restructured for the 2006–07 season, with only reserve teams of members of the Premier League taking part in the competition. The sixteen members of the Premier Reserve League for the 2011–12 season are:
NB Manchester City Reserves, Queens Park Rangers Reserves, Stoke City Reserves and Tottenham Hotspur Reserves are not entering the competition in 2011–12.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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