Premier League, 2005 (2004-05)

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Premier League – Season Review 2004-05

The 2004-05 FA Barclays Premiership was the 13th season in the competition’s history. New manager Jose Mourinho proved his own description of being the Special One to the patrons of Stamford Bridge as Chelsea became England’s league champions for the first time in 50 years. Arsenal started the campaign by beating Nottingham Forest’s top division record of 42 consecutive unbeaten games but, after a steady start, Chelsea wrestled the Premier League crown away from their London rivals with 12 points to spare. The Blues’ success was built on a rock-solid defence that conceded only 15 goals in their 38 games.

Along with the Gunners, Manchester United and Everton qualified for the UEFA Champions League by their league position while Liverpool joined them as the winners following their sensational victory against AC Milan in a never-to-be-forgotten night in Istanbul. Bolton Wanderers and Middlesbrough qualified for the UEFA Cup due to their league positions and other clubs’ success in the cup competitions. Newcastle United elected to enter the UEFA Intertoto Cup.

For the first time in the Premier League’s history, no club was mathematically relegated before kick-off time on the final day of the season. West Bromwich Albion defied the odds as, after being bottom-of-the-table on Christmas Day, they secured their survival with a last day win against Portsmouth at The Hawthorns. Norwich City started the final day with their destiny in their own hands but crashed through the trap-door with a 0-6 loss at Fulham. Southampton’s 27 years in the top flight came to an end and it was Crystal Palace who completed the relegated trio. In his first season in England, Jose Mourinho was named Premier League Manager of the Year. Frank Lampard won the Premier League Player of the Season award and was named the Football Writers’ Footballer of the Year. The PFA Player's Player of the year award was won by his Chelsea colleague, John Terry. Arsenal’s Thierry Henry won the Golden Boot for the third time with 25 goals.

The PFA Premier League Team of the Year was:

  • Petr Cech (Chelsea)
  • Gary Neville (Manchester United), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United),John Terry (Chelsea), Ashley Cole (Arsenal)
  • Shaun Wright-Phillips (Manchester City), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Arjen Robben (Chelsea)
  • Thierry Henry (Arsenal), Andrew Johnson (Crystal Palace)

The average attendance was 33,893. The highest attendance was 67,989 for Portsmouth’s visit to Manchester United on 26 February 2005. The lowest attendance of the season was the 16,180 who witnessed the game between Fulham and West Bromwich Albion on 16 January 2005.