Premier League
- "Premier League" redirects here. See List of professional sports leagues for other sports leagues which (maybe unofficially) are referred to by this name.
The FA Premier League (often referred to as the Barclays Premiership or just The Premiership in the UK and as the Barclays English Premier League or the English Premier League or the EPL internationally) is a league competition for English Football clubs located at the top of the English football league system (above The Football League), making it England's primary football competition.
Overview
The FA Premier League comprises the top 20 football clubs in the league system of English football. It was created in 1992, when the First Division football clubs broke away from the Football League after securing a greatly improved TV rights deal with the then fledgling satellite television company BSkyB. The first season's 22 clubs were reduced to 20 clubs for the 1995–96 season. The new name was simply a commercial restructuring and a rebranding exercise as there was no innovation in competitive terms; an identical first tier league had existed the previous season.
The Premiership boasts some of the best players in the world, including many from outside England. The Premier League is the most lucrative football league in the world, with total club revenues of over £1.3 billion in 2004–05 according to Deloitte, more than 40 per cent above its nearest competitor, Italy's Serie A.[1] Revenues will increase substantially by the 2007–08 season, when new media rights deals start (see below). The Premership is currently third in the UEFA rankings of European leagues based on their performances in European competitions over a five year period, behind Spain's La Liga, and Italy's Serie A.[2]
The 2005–06 average attendance of 33,875 for league matches is the fourth highest of any domestic professional sports league in the world. Based on May 2006 exchange rates, £1.3 billion converts to annual league revenue of about US$2.44 billion. This figure is also the fourth highest for any sports league worldwide, behind the annual revenues of the three most popular North American major sports leagues (the National Football League, Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association), but ahead of the National Hockey League.
The competition
There are 20 clubs in the Premier League. During the course of a season each club plays the others twice, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents for a total of 38 games for each club, and a total of 380 games in a Premier League season. At the end of each season 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 a play-off involving the third to sixth placed clubs, are promoted in their place.
The top four teams in the Premiership qualify for the UEFA Champions League, with the top two teams directly entering the group phase. The third and fourth placed teams enter the competition at the third qualifying round and must win a two-legged knockout tie in order to enter the group phase. The fifth placed team automatically qualifies for the UEFA Cup, and the sixth and seventh placed teams can also qualify, depending on what happens in the two domestic cup competitions. If the FA Cup champions and runners-up both finish in the top five of the Premier League, the FA Cup's UEFA Cup spot goes to the sixth placed team in the League. If the League Cup is won by a team that has already qualified for Europe, the League Cup's UEFA Cup spot also goes to the next highest placed team in the League (unlike the FA Cup spot, it is never transferred to the losing finalist).
Sponsorship
Since 1993, the FA Premier League has been sponsored. The sponsor has been able to determine the league's sponsorship name. So far, all the sponsors have referred to the competition as the 'Premiership'. 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)
- 2004–2008: Barclays (Barclays Premiership)
Worldwide reach
Promoted as "The Greatest Show On Earth", the FA Premier League is the world's most popular and most watched sporting league, followed worldwide by over a billion people[3]. Over 260 foreign players compete in the league, and 101 stars from England's domestic leagues competed in the
in Korea and Japan. It is widely watched overseas, with matches being shown in over 150 countries.
The Premier League is particularly popular in Scandinavia, with ferry operators offering "football ferries" to Norwegian football fans wishing to see their favourite teams in action. The Premier League is also very popular in Ireland, where the natives prefer to "support" English clubs, unlike in Scandinavia where the locals tend to support their league.
The Premier League is also very popular in Asia. In Southeast Asia, it is broadcast by ESPN-Star, a collaboration of ESPN and Star Sports. The broadcast is made from Singapore. Also in Iran, Premiereship matches are broadcast live on the IRIB3, the state-run television.
In the United States, it is the cornerstone league shown on the Fox Soccer Channel.
In Australia games are shown live on Foxtel and Austar digital services, while in New Zealand games are shown on SKY; on an average Saturday night/Sunday morning it is not uncommon for there to be two or three consecutive live games.
The Premier League has a strong following in South Africa and other parts of Africa. Every match is televised by Supersport which has a dedicated 24-hour football channel.
In general, Premier League games air on networks owned and/or controlled by NewsCorp, which owns the primary UK and Ireland TV rights.
Number of foreigners
At the inception of the Premier League in 1992-93, just 11 players named in the starting line-ups for the first round of matches were 'foreign' (players hailing from outside of the United Kingdom or Republic of Ireland).[1] By 2000-01, the number of foreign players participating in the Premiership was 36%. In the 2004-5 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, while on 14 February 2005 Arsenal were the first to name a completely foreign 16-man squad for a match. Arsenal's 85% foreign player figure (rising from 64% in 2000–01) is the highest of any club over the period. Chelsea have since been overtaken in terms of the number of foreign-born players by Liverpool (72%).
No English manager has ever actually won the Premier League. Only four different managers have won the title as of 2006: two Scots (Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United and Kenny Dalglish, Blackburn Rovers), a Frenchman (Arsène Wenger, Arsenal) and a Portuguese (José Mourinho, Chelsea). Two English managers have achieved second place in the Premiership. They are Ron Atkinson (Aston Villa in 1993) and Kevin Keegan (Newcastle United in 1996).
The Premier League is the most represented league at the 2006 World Cup, with more than 80 players in the competition.
Television broadcasting rights
Television has played a major role in the history of the F.A. Premier League. The money from TV deals has been vital in helping to create excellence both on and off the field. The initial decision to go with BSkyB was, again, a radical decision, but one that has paid off. At the time pay television was a relatively untested proposition in the UK market, as was charging fans to watch live televised football. However a combination of Sky’s marketing strategy, the quality of the F.A. Premier League football and the public’s appetite for the game has seen the value of the F.A. Premier League’s broadcast rights soar and delivered huge benefits to the game.
The first BSkyB television agreement was worth £191 million over five seasons. The next contract, negotiated to start from the 1997/98 season, rose to £670 million over four seasons. The Premier League’s current £1.024 billion deal with BSkyB runs over the course of three seasons from August 2004. BSkyB's monopoly was finally broken from August 2007 when Setanta Sports was awarded rights to show two out of the six packages of matches available. This occurred following an insistence by the European Union that exclusive rights should not be sold to any 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 widely assumed that the value of the rights had levelled off following many years of rapid growth. The BBC has retained the rights to show highlights for the same three seasons (on Match of the Day) £171.6 million, a 63% increase on the £105 million it paid for the previous three year period. [4] Sky and BT have will jointly pay £84.3 million for delayed broadcast rights to 242 games, that is the right to broadcast them in full on television and over the internet, in most cases for a period of 50 hours after 10pm on matchday. [5] Overseas and mobile phone rights are expected to fetch a further several hundred million pounds.
The decision to go with pay TV is still criticised by many, particularly with reference to the cost when compared with other pay TV platforms around Europe that offer coverage of live top flight domestic football.
The F.A. Premier League is unique in domestic football in Europe in its agreement over kick off times. In an agreement with the Football Association, it does not allow live broadcasts at the traditional English kick off time (Saturday 3pm). This is designed to ensure that fans still attend lower league games. These broadcasting restrictions can be circumvented either by subscribing to overseas satellite broadcasters (thus creating somewhat of a grey market), or through various streaming networks on the internet.
The Premier League - and Sky - maintain that whilst this is not illegal on the part of the viewer, it is illegal for anyone (such as a public house) to make such services available. This has in the past lead to heavy fines for public houses in the United Kingdom which have shown these games in their establishments. More recently, the legality of such fines has been disputed, and a number of Crown Court cases have been reported in which publicans successfully challenged the Premier League's position.[2]
History
Template:FA Premier League winners
The FA Premier League was formed on 20 February 1992 and played its first season in 1992–93. This meant a break-up of the 104-year-old Football League that had operated until then with four divisions. A number of events during the mid and late Eighties had sent clear signals that fundamental changes were needed to the structure of professional football. The English game was at possibly its lowest ebb ever. Stadiums were crumbling, supporters were faced with poor facilities, hooliganism was rife and English clubs were banned from European competition following the events at Heysel in 1985. The old First Division became a selling league as many top players were lured by the financial (and competitive) attractions of the Continent with English clubs being banned from UEFA competition. Increasing supporter apathy meant reduced revenues for all clubs and, to make ends meet, the First Division was a mere feeder league for the leagues of Italy and Spain.
A radical restructuring was required if English football was to prosper. A proposal for the establishment of the league was tabled that would bring more money into the game overall. The Founder Members Agreement, signed on 17 July 1991 by the game's top-flight clubs, established the basic principles for setting up the FA Premier League. The newly formed top division would have commercial independence from the Football Association and the Football League, giving the FA Premier League license to negotiate its own broadcast and sponsorship agreements. This was seen to be necessary so that English clubs could once again compete with the best of Europe, and beat them, while attracting the best talent in the world, something which in 1991 seemed practically unthinkable.
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, which worked out of an office at the then Football Association's headquarters, Lancaster Gate.
The league originally comprised twenty-two clubs. Due to FIFA's insistence on domestic leagues reducing the number of games clubs played, the number was reduced to twenty in 1995, when four teams were relegated from the league and only two teams were promoted. On 8 June, 2006, FIFA requested that all major European leagues, including Italy's Serie A and Spain's La Liga be reduced to eighteen teams by the start of the 2007-08 season, which has put the Premier League at war with football's biggest governing body. [3]
Premier League clubs, 2006–07
| Club |
Finishing position last season |
First season in top division |
First season of current spell in top division |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenal [6][7] | 4th | 1904–05 | 1919–20 |
| Aston Villa [6][7] | 16th | 1888–89 | 1988–89 |
| Blackburn Rovers [7] | 6th | 1888–89 | 2001–02 |
| Bolton Wanderers | 8th | 1888–89 | 2001–02 |
| Charlton Athletic | 13th | 1936–37 | 2000–01 |
| Chelsea [6][7] | 1st | 1907–08 | 1989–90 |
| Everton [6][7] | 11th | 1888–89 | 1954–55 |
| Fulham | 12th | 1949-50 | 2001–02 |
| Liverpool [6][7] | 3rd | 1894–95 | 1962–63 |
| Manchester City [7] | 15th | 1899–1900 | 2002–03 |
| Manchester United [6][7] | 2nd | 1892–93 | 1975–76 |
| Middlesbrough [7] | 14th | 1902–03 | 1998–99 |
| Newcastle United | 7th | 1898–99 | 1993–94 |
| Portsmouth | 17th | 1927–28 | 2003–04 |
| Reading | 1st in the Championship | 2006–07 | 2006–07 |
| Sheffield United [7] | 2nd in the Championship | 1893–94 | 2006–07 |
| Tottenham Hotspur [6][7] | 5th | 1909–10 | 1978–79 |
| Watford | 3rd in the Championship (promoted via the playoffs) |
1982–83 | 2006-07 |
| West Ham United | 9th | 1923–24 | 2005–06 |
| Wigan Athletic | 10th | 2005–06 | 2005–06 |
Team movements for 2006-07 season
Relegated
- On 14 April, Sunderland were assured of an immediate return to the Championship. A scoreless draw at Manchester United left them on 12 points; they stood 17 points from safety with only five matches left.
- On 29 April, both Birmingham City and West Bromwich Albion were assured of relegation after Portsmouth defeated Wigan Athletic 2–1, making it impossible for either Birmingham (who had a chance of surviving if they beat Newcastle, but drew 0–0) or West Brom to reach safety.
Promoted
- On 25 March, Reading clinched a place in the Premiership for 2006-07, securing promotion to the top flight earlier than any other side in the post-war era. One week later (1 April), they secured the Championship crown. Reading will be playing in the top flight for the first time ever in their 135-year history.
- On 15 April, Sheffield United were promoted to the Premiership for the first time since the 1993-94 season, after Leeds United were held to a draw against Reading.
- On 21 May, Watford gained promotion to the Premiership by defeating Leeds United 3-0 in the Championship play-off final. They had previously defeated Crystal Palace in the semi-final by an aggregate scoreline of 3-0.
Former Premier League members
| Club |
Years in most recent spell in top division |
First season in most recent spell in top division of English football |
Final season of most recent spell in top division of English football |
Position at end of 2005-06 season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barnsley | 1 | 1997–98 | 1997–98 | League One 5th (play-offs) |
| Birmingham City | 4 | 2002–03 | 2005-06 | Premiership 18th (relegated) |
| Bradford City | 2 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | League One 11th |
| Coventry City [7] | 34 | 1967–68 | 2000–01 | Championship 8th |
| Crystal Palace [7] | 1 | 2004–05 | 2004–05 | Championship 6th (play-offs) |
| Derby County | 6 | 1996–97 | 2001–02 | Championship 20th |
| Ipswich Town [7] | 2 | 2000–01 | 2001–02 | Championship 15th |
| Leeds United [7] | 14 | 1990–91 | 2003–04 | Championship 5th (play-offs) |
| Leicester City | 1 | 2003–04 | 2003–04 | Championship 16th |
| Norwich City [7] | 1 | 2004–05 | 2004–05 | Championship 9th |
| Nottingham Forest [7] | 1 | 1998–99 | 1998–99 | League One 7th |
| Oldham Athletic [7] | 3 | 1991–92 | 1993–94 | League One 10th |
| Queens Park Rangers [7] | 13 | 1983–84 | 1995–96 | Championship 21st |
| Sheffield Wednesday [7] | 9 | 1991–92 | 1999–2000 | Championship 19th |
| Southampton [7] | 27 | 1978–79 | 2004–05 | Championship 12th |
| Sunderland | 1 | 2005–06 | 2005–06 | Premiership 20th (relegated) |
| Swindon Town | 1 | 1993–94 | 1993–94 | League One 23rd (relegated) |
| West Bromwich Albion | 2 | 2004–05 | 2005-06 | Premiership 19th (relegated) |
| Wimbledon (MK Dons) | 14 | 1986–87 | 1999–2000 | League One 22nd (relegated) |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 1 | 2003–04 | 2003–04 | Championship 7th |
As of the 2006-07 season, former Premier League members will be in all three divisions of the Football League for the first time following the relegation to League Two of Swindon Town and Milton Keynes Dons.
FA Premier League Winners to date
Winners and Runners Up of the Premier League since its inception.
| Season | Winner | Total wins* | Remarks | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992–93 | Manchester United | 1 (8) | First Premier League winners | Aston Villa |
| 1993–94 | Manchester United | 2 (9) | Also won the FA Cup | Blackburn Rovers |
| 1994–95 | Blackburn Rovers | 1 (3) | First league championship since 1914 | Manchester United |
| 1995–96 | Manchester United | 3 (10) | Also won the FA Cup | Newcastle United |
| 1996–97 | Manchester United | 4 (11) | Newcastle United | |
| 1997–98 | Arsenal | 1 (11) | Also won the FA Cup | Manchester United |
| 1998–99 | Manchester United | 5 (12) | Also won the FA Cup, and the UEFA Champions League | Arsenal |
| 1999–2000 | Manchester United | 6 (13) | Arsenal | |
| 2000–01 | Manchester United | 7 (14) | First and only team to date to have won the English Premier League in 3 consecutive seasons | Arsenal |
| 2001–02 | Arsenal | 2 (12) | Scored in all 38 league games, and also won the FA Cup | Liverpool |
| 2002–03 | Manchester United | 8 (15) | Arsenal | |
| 2003–04 | Arsenal | 3 (13) | Undefeated in League | Chelsea |
| 2004–05 | Chelsea | 1 (2) | Also won the League Cup. First league championship since 1955. | Arsenal |
| 2005–06 | Chelsea | 2 (3) | First team other than Manchester United to win back-to-back Premiership titles | Manchester United |
* Number of Premiership championships, figure in brackets includes old First Division championships.
All Time FA Premier League Table
By total points
Seasons 1992/93 to 2005/2006 inclusive.
| Position | Club | Seasons in Premier League |
Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals for |
Goals against |
Goal difference |
Total points |
Titles won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester United | 14 | 544 | 339 | 126 | 79 | 1057 | 489 | 568 | 1143 | 8 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 14 | 544 | 289 | 146 | 109 | 911 | 481 | 430 | 1030 | 3 |
| 3 | Liverpool | 14 | 544 | 265 | 136 | 143 | 868 | 552 | 316 | 931 | |
| 4 | Chelsea | 14 | 544 | 261 | 147 | 136 | 848 | 556 | 292 | 930 | 2 |
| 5 | Newcastle United | 13 | 502 | 218 | 132 | 152 | 761 | 606 | 155 | 786 | |
| 6 | Aston Villa | 14 | 544 | 203 | 158 | 183 | 668 | 632 | 36 | 767 | |
| 7 | Tottenham Hotspur | 14 | 544 | 195 | 143 | 206 | 716 | 732 | -16 | 728 | |
| 8 | Blackburn Rovers | 12 | 468 | 190 | 125 | 153 | 650 | 553 | 97 | 695 | 1 |
| 9 | Leeds United | 12 | 468 | 189 | 125 | 154 | 641 | 573 | 68 | 692 | |
| 10 | Everton | 14 | 544 | 177 | 146 | 221 | 651 | 739 | -88 | 677 | |
| 11 | Southampton | 13 | 506 | 150 | 137 | 219 | 598 | 738 | -140 | 587 | |
| 12 | West Ham United | 11 | 426 | 148 | 111 | 167 | 514 | 590 | -76 | 555 | |
| 13 | Middlesbrough [8] | 11 | 422 | 131 | 123 | 168 | 506 | 582 | -76 | 513 | |
| 14 | Manchester City | 9 | 354 | 103 | 101 | 150 | 413 | 482 | -69 | 410 | |
| 15 | Coventry City | 9 | 354 | 99 | 112 | 143 | 387 | 490 | -103 | 409 | |
| 16 | Sheffield Wednesday | 8 | 316 | 101 | 89 | 126 | 409 | 453 | -44 | 392 | |
| 17 | Wimbledon [9] | 8 | 316 | 99 | 94 | 123 | 384 | 472 | -88 | 391 | |
| 18 | Leicester City | 8 | 308 | 84 | 90 | 134 | 354 | 456 | -102 | 342 | |
| 19 | Charlton Atheltic | 7 | 266 | 85 | 72 | 109 | 308 | 382 | -74 | 327 | |
| 20 | Bolton Wanderers | 7 | 266 | 81 | 77 | 108 | 311 | 386 | -75 | 320 | |
| 21 | Derby County | 6 | 228 | 67 | 62 | 99 | 251 | 331 | -80 | 263 | |
| 22 | Nottingham Forest | 5 | 198 | 60 | 59 | 79 | 229 | 287 | -58 | 239 | |
| 23 | Fulham | 5 | 190 | 63 | 47 | 80 | 229 | 258 | -29 | 236 | |
| 24 | Sunderland | 6 | 228 | 58 | 55 | 115 | 214 | 335 | -121 | 229 | |
| 25 | Ipswich Town | 5 | 202 | 57 | 53 | 92 | 219 | 312 | -93 | 224 | |
| 26 | Queen's Park Rangers | 4 | 164 | 59 | 39 | 66 | 224 | 232 | -8 | 216 | |
| 27 | Norwich City | 4 | 164 | 50 | 51 | 63 | 205 | 257 | -52 | 201 | |
| 28 | Birmingham City | 4 | 152 | 44 | 45 | 43 | 152 | 193 | -41 | 177 | |
| 29 | Crystal Palace | 4 | 160 | 37 | 49 | 74 | 160 | 243 | -83 | 160 | |
| 30 | Portsmouth | 3 | 114 | 37 | 26 | 56 | 127 | 175 | -48 | 122 | |
| 31 | Sheffield United | 2 | 84 | 22 | 28 | 34 | 96 | 113 | -17 | 94 | |
| 32 | West Bromwich Albion | 3 | 114 | 19 | 33 | 62 | 96 | 184 | -88 | 90 | |
| 33 | Oldham Athletic | 2 | 84 | 22 | 23 | 39 | 105 | 142 | -37 | 89 | |
| 34 | Bradford City | 2 | 76 | 14 | 20 | 42 | 68 | 138 | -70 | 62 | |
| 35 | Wigan Athletic | 1 | 38 | 15 | 6 | 17 | 45 | 52 | -7 | 51 | |
| 36 | Barnsley | 1 | 38 | 10 | 5 | 23 | 37 | 82 | -45 | 35 | |
| 37 | Wolves | 1 | 38 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 38 | 77 | -39 | 33 | |
| 38 | Swindon Town | 1 | 42 | 5 | 15 | 22 | 47 | 100 | -53 | 30 | |
| 39 | Watford | 1 | 38 | 6 | 6 | 26 | 35 | 77 | -42 | 24 |
Top scorers
By season
| Season | Top scorer, club | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 1992–93 [10] | Teddy Sheringham, Nottm Forest / Tottenham | 22 |
| 1993–94 [10] | Andy Cole, Newcastle United | 34 |
| 1994–95 [10] | Alan Shearer, Blackburn Rovers | 34 |
| 1995–96 | Alan Shearer, Blackburn Rovers | 31 |
| 1996–97 | Alan Shearer, Newcastle United | 25 |
| 1997–98 | Chris Sutton, Blackburn Rovers Dion Dublin, Coventry City Michael Owen, Liverpool Andy Cole, Manchester United |
18 |
| 1998–99 | Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Leeds United Michael Owen, Liverpool Dwight Yorke, Manchester United |
18 |
| 1999–2000 | Kevin Phillips, Sunderland | 30 |
| 2000–01 | Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Chelsea | 23 |
| 2001–02 | Thierry Henry, Arsenal | 24 |
| 2002–03 | Ruud van Nistelrooy, Manchester United | 25 |
| 2003–04 | Thierry Henry, Arsenal | 30 |
| 2004–05 | Thierry Henry, Arsenal | 25 |
| 2005–06 | Thierry Henry, Arsenal | 27 |
All-time
As of the end of the 2005/06 season on 7 May 2006. The 2006/07 season will commence on August 19th 2006.
| Rank | Player | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alan Shearer [11] | 260 |
| 2 | Andy Cole [11] | 185 |
| 3 | Thierry Henry [11] | 164 |
| 4 | Robbie Fowler [11] | 159 |
| 5 | Les Ferdinand | 149 |
| 6 | Teddy Sheringham [11] | 145 |
| 7 | Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink [11] | 126 |
| 8 | Michael Owen [11] | 125 |
| 9 | Dwight Yorke | 122 |
| 10 | Ian Wright | 113 |
Premiership managers
The following is a list of the current managers in the Premiership. The list is arranged chronologically by appointment.
+ - Appointed without holding necessary UEFA Pro Licence by agreement of Premier League Chairmen.
See also
- Premier League Records
- Premiership-Football League gulf
- Premier League Curse of Christmas
- Sports league attendances
- List of Premier League stadiums
- English football champions
- Dubious Goals Panel
Notes
- ^ First fall in Premiership wages, BBC News, 31 May 2006, reporting on Deloitte's review of football finance in 2004–05.
- ^ UEFA Country Ranking 2006
- ^ Campbell, Dennis (January 6 2002). "United (versus Liverpool) Nations". The Observer.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ BBC keeps Premiership highlights, bbc.co.uk, 8 June 2006.
- ^ TV deal pays another £84m, Daily Telegraph, 26 May, 2006.
- ^ a b c d e f g Played in every Premier League season
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Founding member of Premier League.
- ^ Middlesbrough deducted 3 points for failure to fulfill fixture at Blackburn Rovers on 21 December 1996
- ^ Now known as Milton Keynes Dons F.C.
- ^ a b c For the first 3 seasons of the Premier League (1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95) there were 22 clubs and therefore 42 games played by each club. For all seasons since there have been 20 clubs and therefore 38 games played.
- ^ a b c d e f g Played in the Premier League in 2005/06
- ^ a b c d e f g Manager was appointed when club was playing in the Football League.
External links
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