The 2006–07 FA Premier League (known as the FA Barclays Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the 15th season of the FA Premier League since its establishment in 1992. The season started on 19 August 2006 and concluded on 13 May 2007. Chelsea were the two-time defending champions.
| Season | 2006–07 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 19 August 2006 – 13 May 2007 |
| Champions | Manchester United 9th Premier League title 16th English title |
| Relegated | Sheffield United Charlton Athletic Watford |
| Champions League | Manchester United Chelsea Liverpool Arsenal |
| UEFA Cup | Tottenham Hotspur Everton Bolton Wanderers |
| Intertoto Cup | Blackburn Rovers |
| Matches played | 380 |
| Goals scored | 931 (2.45 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Didier Drogba (20 goals) |
| Best goalkeeper | Pepe Reina (19 clean sheets) |
| Biggest home win | Reading 6–0 West Ham United (1 January 2007) |
| Biggest away win | Middlesbrough 0–4 Portsmouth (28 August 2006) Reading 0–4 Arsenal (22 October 2006) Bolton Wanderers 0–4 Manchester United (28 October 2006) Wigan Athletic 0–4 Liverpool (2 December 2006) Tottenham Hotspur 0–4 Manchester United (4 February 2007) |
| Highest scoring | Arsenal 6–2 Blackburn Rovers (23 December 2006) |
| Longest winning run | 9 games[1] Chelsea |
| Longest unbeaten run | 14 games[1] Chelsea |
| Longest winless run | 11 games[1] Aston Villa Watford West Ham United |
| Longest losing run | 8 games[1] Wigan Athletic |
| Highest attendance | 76,098 Manchester United 4–1 Blackburn Rovers (31 March 2007) |
| Lowest attendance | 13,760 Watford 2–1 Blackburn Rovers (23 January 2007) |
| Total attendance | 13,058,755 |
| Average attendance | 34,365 |
← 2005–06 2007–08 → | |
On 12 February 2007, the FA Premier League renamed itself simply to the Premier League. The change introduced a new logo, sleeve patches and typeface. The sponsored name remains the Barclays Premier League.
The 2006–07 season was the lowest-scoring season in Premier League history, with only 931 goals (with a 2.45 goals per match ratio, the poorest in the history of Premier League).[citation needed]
Manchester United won their first Premiership title since 2003, following Chelsea's 1–1 draw with Arsenal on 6 May 2007. The result left the defending champions seven points behind United with two games left. It was their ninth title in fifteen seasons.
The three relegation spots were occupied by Watford and Sheffield United who each lasted one season in the league, along with Charlton Athletic who went down after seven seasons.
Teams
editTwenty teams competed in the league – the top seventeen teams from the previous season and the three teams promoted from the Football League Championship. The promoted teams were Reading (playing in the top flight for the first time ever), Sheffield United (returning after a twelve-year absence) and Watford (returning after a six-year absence). They replaced Birmingham City, West Bromwich Albion and Sunderland, who were relegated to the Championship after their top flight spells of four, two and one year respectively.
Stadiums and locations
edit
- ^ Arsenal moved to the larger 60,000-seat Emirates Stadium after 93 years at Arsenal Stadium.
- ^ Old Trafford is now a fully completed 76,000-seater stadium, making it the largest club stadium in the UK.
- ^ The Madejski Stadium was a new Premier League ground for this season, Reading's first in the competition.
Personnel and kits
edit(as of 13 May 2007)
Managerial changes
edit| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlton Athletic |  Alan Curbishley
|
End of contract | 24 April 2006[2] | Pre-season |  Iain Dowie
|
27 May 2006 |
| Middlesbrough | Steve McClaren
|
Signed by England | 4 May 2006[3] | Gareth Southgate
|
7 June 2006[4] | |
| Aston Villa |  David O'Leary
|
Sacked | 19 July 2006 | Martin O'Neill
|
4 August 2006[5] | |
| Charlton Athletic | Iain Dowie
|
13 November 2006[6] | 20th | Les Reed
|
13 November 2006 | |
| West Ham United | Alan Pardew
|
11 December 2006[7] | 18th | Alan Curbishley
|
13 December 2006[8] | |
| Charlton Athletic | Les Reed
|
20 December 2006 | 19th | Alan Pardew
|
24 December 2006[9] | |
| Fulham |  Chris Coleman
|
10 April 2007[10] | 15th | Lawrie Sanchez
|
10 April 2007 | |
| Bolton Wanderers | Sam Allardyce
|
Resigned | 29 April 2007[11] | 5th | Sammy Lee
|
30 April 2007[12] |
| Newcastle United | Glenn Roeder
|
6 May 2007[13] | 13th | Nigel Pearson (caretaker)
|
6 May 2007 |
League table
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester United (C) | 38 | 28 | 5 | 5 | 83 | 27 | +56 | 89 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Chelsea | 38 | 24 | 11 | 3 | 64 | 24 | +40 | 83 | |
| 3 | Liverpool | 38 | 20 | 8 | 10 | 57 | 27 | +30 | 68 | Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round |
| 4 | Arsenal | 38 | 19 | 11 | 8 | 63 | 35 | +28 | 68 | |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | 17 | 9 | 12 | 57 | 54 | +3 | 60 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round[a] |
| 6 | Everton | 38 | 15 | 13 | 10 | 52 | 36 | +16 | 58 | |
| 7 | Bolton Wanderers | 38 | 16 | 8 | 14 | 47 | 52 | −5 | 56 | |
| 8 | Reading | 38 | 16 | 7 | 15 | 52 | 47 | +5 | 55 | |
| 9 | Portsmouth | 38 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 45 | 42 | +3 | 54 | |
| 10 | Blackburn Rovers | 38 | 15 | 7 | 16 | 52 | 54 | −2 | 52 | Qualification for the Intertoto Cup third round[b] |
| 11 | Aston Villa | 38 | 11 | 17 | 10 | 43 | 41 | +2 | 50 | |
| 12 | Middlesbrough | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 44 | 49 | −5 | 46 | |
| 13 | Newcastle United | 38 | 11 | 10 | 17 | 38 | 47 | −9 | 43 | |
| 14 | Manchester City | 38 | 11 | 9 | 18 | 29 | 44 | −15 | 42 | |
| 15 | West Ham United | 38 | 12 | 5 | 21 | 35 | 59 | −24 | 41 | |
| 16 | Fulham | 38 | 8 | 15 | 15 | 38 | 60 | −22 | 39 | |
| 17 | Wigan Athletic | 38 | 10 | 8 | 20 | 37 | 59 | −22 | 38 | |
| 18 | Sheffield United (R) | 38 | 10 | 8 | 20 | 32 | 55 | −23 | 38 | Relegation to Football League Championship |
| 19 | Charlton Athletic (R) | 38 | 8 | 10 | 20 | 34 | 60 | −26 | 34 | |
| 20 | Watford (R) | 38 | 5 | 13 | 20 | 29 | 59 | −30 | 28 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- ^ Since both finalists of the FA Cup (Manchester United and Chelsea) and the League Cup winners (Chelsea) were qualified for the Champions League, their UEFA Cup spots were given to the 6th- and 7th-placed Premier League teams.
- ^ The highest-placed team who applied for the Intertoto Cup and not in an automatic UEFA Cup spot was awarded with a place in that competition. Blackburn Rovers occupied the Intertoto place, because Portsmouth and Reading did not apply.[14] A further place in the UEFA Cup was up for grabs via the Premiership Fair Play League. The winner is placed into a draw with the winners of Fair Play leagues in other countries. The representatives from the two countries that come out of the hat first are given a place in the UEFA Cup first qualifying round. Since the winners of the Premiership Fair Play League, Tottenham Hotspur, had already qualified for the UEFA Cup by virtue of their league position, their place in the Fair Play draw was given to Aston Villa. However, the places in the UEFA Cup were awarded to the representatives from Finland and Norway.
Results
editSeason statistics
editScoring
edit- Biggest win: 6 goals – Reading 6–0 West Ham United (1 January 2007)
- Highest scoring match: 8 goals – Arsenal 6–2 Blackburn Rovers
- First goal: Rob Hulse for Sheffield United against Liverpool (19 August 2006)
- Last goal: Harry Kewell (pen.) for Liverpool against Charlton Athletic (13 May 2007)
Overall
edit- Most wins: 28 – Manchester United
- Fewest wins: 5 – Watford
- Most losses: 21 – West Ham United
- Fewest losses: 3 – Chelsea
- Most goals scored: 83 – Manchester United
- Fewest goals scored: 29 – Manchester City and Watford
- Most goals conceded: 60 – Fulham and Charlton Athletic
- Fewest goals conceded: 24 – Chelsea
Home
edit- Most wins: 15 – Manchester United
- Fewest wins: 3 – Watford
- Most losses: 10 – Wigan Athletic
- Fewest losses: 0 – Chelsea
- Most goals scored: 46 – Manchester United
- Fewest goals scored: 10 – Manchester City
- Most goals conceded: 30 – Wigan Athletic
- Fewest goals conceded: 7 – Liverpool
Away
edit- Most wins: 13 – Manchester United
- Fewest wins: 1 – Fulham and Charlton Athletic
- Most losses: 14 – Sheffield United
- Fewest losses: 3 – Manchester United and Chelsea
- Most goals scored: 37 – Manchester United
- Fewest goals scored: 8 – Sheffield United
- Most goals conceded: 42 – Fulham
- Fewest goals conceded: 13 – Chelsea
Statistics
editTop scorers
edit| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Didier Drogba
|
Chelsea | 20 |
| 2 |  Benni McCarthy
|
Blackburn Rovers | 18 |
| 3 |  Cristiano Ronaldo
|
Manchester United | 17 |
| 4 | Wayne Rooney
|
Manchester United | 14 |
 Mark Viduka
|
Middlesbrough | ||
| 6 | Darren Bent
|
Charlton Athletic | 13 |
| Kevin Doyle
|
Reading | ||
| 8 |  Dimitar Berbatov
|
Tottenham Hotspur | 12 |
 Dirk Kuyt
|
Liverpool | ||
 Yakubu
|
Middlesbrough |
Historic goals
edit15,000th goal
editThe Premier League expected to have the league's 15,000th goal scored at some point in the period between Christmas and New Year. The target was reached on 30 December when Moritz Volz scored for Fulham against Chelsea. Barclays, the Premiership's sponsor, donated £15,000 to the Fulham Community Sports Trust in Volz' name. Additionally, a fan who correctly predicted that Volz would score the historic goal in a contest presented the player with a special award prior to Fulham's game against Watford at Craven Cottage on 1 January.[15] The honour of scoring the 15,000th goal led to Volz being nicknamed "15,000 Volz".[citation needed]
Goalkeeper scores
editOn 17 March 2007, Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Paul Robinson scored against Watford from an 83-yard free kick, which bounced over his England teammate Ben Foster, who was in goal for the Hornets, leading Spurs to a 3–1 win at White Hart Lane.[16] This was the third goal scored by a goalkeeper in Premiership history. The other two were scored by Peter Schmeichel, for Aston Villa against Everton on 21 October 2001,[17] and Brad Friedel, for Blackburn Rovers against Charlton Athletic on 21 February 2004.[18] In those two cases, the teams they played for lost. Robinson became the first keeper to score for the winning team in a Premiership match.
Relegation controversy
editWest Ham escaped relegation on the final day of the season with a 1–0 win over Manchester United, with Carlos Tevez scoring the winner.[19] Sheffield United were relegated, along with Charlton and Watford. Tevez was subsequently found to have been ineligible to play, as he was not owned by West Ham, but by a third party. Sheffield United sued to keep their Premier League status and, when that failed, went to an FA arbitration panel seeking up to £30m compensation. The arbitration panel found in favour of Sheffield United.[20] The two clubs subsequently settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.[21]
Monthly awards
edit| Month | Manager | Player |
|---|---|---|
| August 2006 | Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United) | Ryan Giggs (Manchester United) |
| September 2006 | Steve Coppell (Reading) | Andrew Johnson (Everton) |
| October 2006 | Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United) | Paul Scholes (Manchester United) |
| November 2006 | Steve Coppell (Reading) | Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United) |
| December 2006 | Sam Allardyce (Bolton) | Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United) |
| January 2007 | Rafael Benítez (Liverpool) | Cesc Fàbregas (Arsenal) |
| February 2007 | Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United) | Ryan Giggs (Manchester United) |
| March 2007 | José Mourinho (Chelsea) | Petr Čech (Chelsea) |
| April 2007 | Martin O'Neill (Aston Villa) | Robbie Keane (Tottenham Hotspur) Dimitar Berbatov (Tottenham Hotspur)[a] |
Annual awards
editThis season's awards were dominated by Manchester United, who, as a team, picked up a total of eight individual awards, five of which went to Cristiano Ronaldo. They also had eight players in the Team of the Year.
PFA Players' Player of the Year
editThe PFA Players' Player of the Year award for 2007 was won by Cristiano Ronaldo. He had won the PFA Young Player of the Year award earlier on in the awards ceremony, making him the first player to win both awards in the same year since Andy Gray managed the same feat in 1977. Didier Drogba came second, while Paul Scholes was third.[23]
The shortlist for the PFA Players' Player of the Year award, in alphabetical order, is as follows:
- Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
- Cesc Fàbregas (Arsenal)
- Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
- Ryan Giggs (Manchester United)
- Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
- Paul Scholes (Manchester United)
PFA Young Player of the Year
editThe PFA Young Player of the Year award was also won by Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United. Cesc Fàbregas came in second place, and Aaron Lennon was third. Wayne Rooney was going for a hat-trick of Young Player of the Year awards, having won this award for both of the two preceding seasons, but did not feature in the top three for the 2006–07 season.[23]
The shortlist for the award was as follows:
- Kevin Doyle (Reading)
- Cesc Fàbregas (Arsenal)
- Aaron Lennon (Tottenham Hotspur)
- Micah Richards (Manchester City)
- Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
- Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)
PFA Team of the Year
editThe Team of the Year featured eight Manchester United players.[23]
Goalkeeper: Edwin van der Sar (Manchester United)
Defence: Gary Neville, Patrice Evra, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidić (all Manchester United)
Midfield: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Cristiano Ronaldo (all Manchester United)
Attack: Didier Drogba (Chelsea), Dimitar Berbatov (Tottenham Hotspur)
PFA Merit Award
editThe PFA Merit Award was awarded to Sir Alex Ferguson, manager of Manchester United, for his commitment to the club, the Premier League, and in recognition of the 19 major trophies he had won in his time in England.[23]
PFA Fans' Player of the Year
editThis award was voted for in an online poll run by the PFA on their website. With four days of voting left before the closing date of midnight on 15 April, the five players with the most votes in the poll were Cristiano Ronaldo, Steven Gerrard, Dimitar Berbatov, Thierry Henry and Frank Lampard, but it was Ronaldo who managed to fend off the challenges of the other four.
FWA Footballer of the Year
editThe FWA Footballer of the Year award for 2007 was also won by Cristiano Ronaldo. The award is presented by the Football Writers' Association and voted for by its members. This year, Didier Drogba came second and Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes came third and fourth respectively.
Premier League Manager of the Season
editThe Premier League Manager of the Season award was presented to Manchester United's Sir Alex Ferguson before the club's final game of the season against West Ham United.
Premier League Player of the Season
editThe Premier League Player of the Season award was also presented before Manchester United's game with West Ham United on the last day of the season, and was awarded to Cristiano Ronaldo, granting him the sextuple of PFA Players' Player, Young Player, Fans' Player of the Year, Barclays Premiership Player of the Season, Football Writers' Association Player of the Year and a place in the Team of the Year.
Premier League Merit Award
editRyan Giggs was presented with this special award at the same time as the Manager and Player of the Season Awards were given out, in recognition of his record of nine Premier League titles.
Premier League Golden Glove
editThe Premier League Golden Glove award was presented to Liverpool's Pepe Reina for the second successive season after keeping 19 clean sheets, ahead of Tim Howard of Everton (14) and Marcus Hahnemann of Reading (13).[24]
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ a b c d "English Premier League 2006–07". statto.com. Archived from the original on 19 February 2015. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
- ^ "Curbishley to leave Charlton job". BBC Sport. 24 April 2006. Retrieved 1 July 2006.
- ^ "McClaren named as England manager". BBC Sport. 4 May 2006. Retrieved 4 May 2006.
- ^ "Southgate appointed as Boro boss". BBC Sport. 7 June 2006. Retrieved 7 June 2006.
- ^ "O'Neill named Aston Villa manager". BBC Sport. 4 August 2006. Retrieved 4 August 2006.
- ^ "Charlton part company with Dowie". BBC Sport. 13 November 2006. Retrieved 13 November 2006.
- ^ "Pardew sacked as West Ham manager". BBC Sport. 11 December 2006. Retrieved 11 December 2006.
- ^ "Curbishley named West Ham manager". BBC Sport. 13 December 2006. Retrieved 13 December 2006.
- ^ "Pardew replaces Reed at Charlton". BBC Sport. 24 December 2006. Retrieved 24 December 2006.
- ^ "Coleman out as Sanchez takes over Charlton". BBC Sport. 10 April 2007. Retrieved 10 April 2007.
- ^ "Allardyce resigns as Bolton boss". BBC Sport. 29 April 2007. Retrieved 29 April 2007.
- ^ "Lee appointed manager of Bolton". BBC Sport. 30 April 2007. Retrieved 30 April 2007.
- ^ "Roeder resigns as Newcastle boss". BBC Sport. 6 May 2007. Retrieved 6 May 2007.
- ^ Spurs win may harm Rovers' Intertoto chances
- ^ "VOLZ SCORES 15,000TH PREMIER LEAGUE GOAL". premierleague.com. 30 December 2006. Archived from the original on 23 January 2007. Retrieved 17 May 2007.
- ^ Lyon, Sam (17 March 2007). "Tottenham 3–1 Watford". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 May 2007.
- ^ "Schmeichel strike in vain". BBC Sport. 20 October 2001. Retrieved 17 May 2007.
- ^ "Charlton 3–2 Blackburn". BBC Sport. 21 February 2004. Retrieved 17 May 2007.
- ^ Nurse, Howard (13 May 2007). "Man Utd 0-1 West Ham". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
- ^ Dollard, Rory (23 September 2008). "Sheffield Utd win ruling against West Ham over Tevez". The Independent. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
- ^ Kelso, Paul (13 March 2009). "West Ham and Sheffield United reach out-of-court settlement over Carlos Tevez affair". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
- ^ "Keane & Berbatov win April award". BBC Sport. 7 May 2007. Retrieved 17 May 2007.
- ^ a b c d "Ronaldo secures PFA awards double". BBC Sport. 22 April 2007. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
- ^ "REINA NETS GOALKEEPING AWARD". Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
External links
edit
- 2006–07 Premier League Season at RSSSF
- Premier League 2006–07 on BBC Sport: News – Recent results Archived 13 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine – Upcoming fixtures Archived 8 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine – Live Scores[permanent dead link] – Current standings Archived 9 September 2010 at Archive-It
- Official Premier League site