Premier League, 2006 (2005-06)

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Premier League – Season Review 2005-06

The 2005-06 FA Barclays Premiership was the 14th season in the competition’s history. Like London buses, having ended a 50-year wait to be the champions a year earlier, Jose Mourinho continued his success with Chelsea as he led the Stamford Bridge club to back-to-back titles. With 20 wins from their first 22 games, their reign was rarely threatened as runners-up Manchester United eventually finished eight points in their wake.

Along with the top two, it was Liverpool and Arsenal who qualified for the Champions League by finishing third and fourth, respectively. West Ham United went in to the UEFA Cup as they lost to Liverpool in the FA Cup Final. Tottenham Hotspur and Blackburn Rovers qualified for the UEFA Cup through their league position. Newcastle United entered the UEFA Intertoto Cup by finishing in seventh position.

Harry Redknapp’s returned from Southampton inspired Portsmouth’s great escape as they avoided the drop with six wins from their last ten games. Birmingham City, West Bromwich Albion and Sunderland were relegated, with the Black Cats enduring a particularly disappointing campaign as the mustered only three wins.

Jose Mourinho was named Premier League Manager of the Year for the second year in a row. Frank Lampard won the Premier Player of the Season award while England colleague Steven Gerrard was named the PFA Players’ Player of the Year. Thierry Henry created a new record by winning the Football Writers’ Footballer of the Year award for a third time. The Arsenal legend also won the Golden Boot with 27 goals.

The PFA Premier League Team of the Year was:

  • Shay Given (Newcastle United)
  • Pascal Chimbonda (Wigan Athletic), Jamie Carragher (Liverpool),John Terry (Chelsea), William Gallas (Chelsea)
  • Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Joe Cole (Chelsea)
  • Thierry Henry (Arsenal), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)

The average attendance was 33,875. The highest attendance was 73,006 for Charlton Athletic’s visit to Manchester United on 7 May 2006. Not only was this Alan Curbishley’s last game in charge of Charlton but it was a new Premier League record and also the highest for a United game at Old Trafford. The lowest attendance of the season was the 16,550 who witnessed the game between Fulham and Birmingham City on 13 August 2005.