Premier League 2007–08
Encyclopedia
The 2007–08 Premier League season (known as the Barclays Premier League for sponsorship reasons) was the sixteenth since its establishment. The first matches of the season were played on 11 August 2007, and the season ended on 11 May 2008. Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...

 went into the 2007–08 season as the Premier League's defending champions, having won their ninth Premier League title and sixteenth league championship overall the previous season. This season was also the third consecutive season to see the "Big Four" continue their stranglehold on the top four spots and places in the UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...

.

The first goal of the season was scored by Michael Chopra
Michael Chopra
Rocky Michael Chopra is an English footballer who plays for Football League Championship side Ipswich Town. He is of mixed Indian and British descent....

, who scored a 94th minute winner for Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...

 against Tottenham
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....

 in the early kick-off. The first red card of the season was given to Reading
Reading F.C.
Reading Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Reading, Berkshire who currently play in the Championship...

's Dave Kitson
Dave Kitson
David Barry "Dave" Kitson is an English footballer who plays for Football League Championship side Portsmouth as a striker.-Early life:...

 after a challenge on Patrice Evra
Patrice Evra
Patrice Latyr Evra is a French international footballer who currently plays for English club Manchester United in the Premier League and the France national team. Originally an attacker, he primarily plays as a left back and is described as "the classic example of a modern full-back" who is...

 in their opening game against Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...

. The first hat-trick
Hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick in sport is the achievement of a positive feat three times during a game, or other achievements based on threes. The term was first used in 1858 in cricket to describe HH Stephenson's feat of taking three wickets in three balls. A collection was held for Stephenson, and he...

 was scored by Emmanuel Adebayor
Emmanuel Adebayor
Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor is a Togolese footballer who plays for Tottenham Hotspur as a striker on loan from Manchester City. He plays in the same position for the Togo national team. Adebayor previously played for Metz, Monaco and Arsenal and was voted African Footballer of the Year for 2008...

 in the match between Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

 and Derby County
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...

.

On 29 September 2007, Portsmouth beat Reading 7–4 in the highest scoring match in Premier League history. On 15 December 2007, both Roque Santa Cruz
Roque Santa Cruz
Roque Luis Santa Cruz Cantero is a Paraguayan footballer currently playing as a striker for La Liga club Real Betis on loan from Manchester City and the Paraguay national football team....

 (Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....

) and Marcus Bent
Marcus Bent
Marcus Nathan Bent is an English football striker who plays for Indonesian club Mitra Kukar. A former England under-21 international, the journeyman striker has played for fourteen different clubs, playing over 570 games and scoring 110 goals in the process.A England under-21 international, he...

 (Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic F.C.
Wigan Athletic Football Club is an English Premier League Association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, having been promoted from the Championship in 2005. Wigan's current spell in the Premier League is the only top flight run in the club's history.They have played at the DW...

) scored hat-trick
Hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick in sport is the achievement of a positive feat three times during a game, or other achievements based on threes. The term was first used in 1858 in cricket to describe HH Stephenson's feat of taking three wickets in three balls. A collection was held for Stephenson, and he...

s during Wigan's 5–3 home win over Blackburn. This was the first occasion in Premier League history that two players on opposing teams had scored hat-tricks during the same match.

On 29 March 2008, Derby County
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...

 drew 2–2 with Fulham
Fulham F.C.
Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...

 while Birmingham City
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...

, who were 17th in the table at the time, beat Manchester City
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...

 3–1, to make Derby County the first team in Premier League history to be relegated in March, ending the season with a League record low points tally of just 11.

On 11 May 2008, the final day of the season, Manchester United beat Wigan Athletic 2–0 while Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...

 drew 1–1 with Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers F.C.
Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....

, thus crowning Manchester United with their tenth Premier League title, and 17th championship overall, just one behind Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...

's total of 18. Meanwhile, despite Birmingham beating Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....

 4–1 and Reading beating Derby 4–0, both Birmingham and Reading were relegated due to Fulham's 1–0 win over Portsmouth. This meant that Fulham avoided relegation by a goal difference of −22, compared to Reading's −25. On the same day, Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough F.C.
Middlesbrough Football Club , also known as Boro, are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Football League Championship. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since August 1995, their third ground since turning professional in 1889...

 beat Manchester City
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...

 8–1 to claim the biggest win of the season.

The season was notable for the return of the English league to the top of UEFA's official ranking list, overtaking La Liga
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...

 for the period from 1 May 2008 to 30 April 2009. This followed the success of English clubs in the UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...

, with both champions Manchester United and runners-up Chelsea reaching the European Cup final. This was the first time that the English league had topped the UEFA rankings since the events at the Heysel Stadium in 1985.

Final league table

Results


















































































































































































































































































































































































































Scoring

  • First goal of the season: Michael Chopra
    Michael Chopra
    Rocky Michael Chopra is an English footballer who plays for Football League Championship side Ipswich Town. He is of mixed Indian and British descent....

     for Sunderland against Tottenham Hotspur (11 August 2007)
  • Last goal of the season: Matthew Taylor
    Matthew Taylor (footballer)
    Matthew Simon "Matty" Taylor is an English footballer who plays for West Ham United. He is noted for his powerful long-range strikes.-Early career:...

     for Bolton Wanderers against Chelsea (11 May 2008)
  • Fastest goal in a match: 28 seconds – Geovanni for Manchester City against Wigan Athletic (1 December 2007)
  • Goal scored at the latest point in a match: 90+6 minutesAndy Reid
    Andy Reid (footballer)
    Andrew Matthew "Andy" Reid is an Irish footballer who currently plays for Nottingham Forest in the Football League Championship. He plays as a midfielder and has also represented the Republic of Ireland.-Personal life:...

     for Sunderland against West Ham United (29 March 2008)
  • Widest winning margin: 7 goals – Middlesbrough 8–1 Manchester City (11 May 2008)
  • Most goals in a match: 11 – Portsmouth F.C. 7–4 Reading F.C. (29 September 2007)
  • First hat-trick
    Hat-trick
    A hat-trick or hat trick in sport is the achievement of a positive feat three times during a game, or other achievements based on threes. The term was first used in 1858 in cricket to describe HH Stephenson's feat of taking three wickets in three balls. A collection was held for Stephenson, and he...

     of the season: Emmanuel Adebayor
    Emmanuel Adebayor
    Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor is a Togolese footballer who plays for Tottenham Hotspur as a striker on loan from Manchester City. He plays in the same position for the Togo national team. Adebayor previously played for Metz, Monaco and Arsenal and was voted African Footballer of the Year for 2008...

     for Arsenal against Derby County (22 September 2007)
  • First own goal
    Own goal
    An own net occurs in goal-scoring games when a player scores a goal that is registered against his or her own team. It is usually accidental, and may be a result of an attempt at defensive play that failed or was spoiled by opponents....

     of the season: Martin Laursen
    Martin Laursen
    Martin Laursen is a Danish former footballer who played in the centre back position. He played three seasons for Italian club AC Milan, with whom he won the 2003 UEFA Champions League and the 2004 Serie A championship. He also played for Italian clubs Hellas Verona and Parma FC, and was the team...

     for Liverpool against Aston Villa (11 August 2007)
  • Most goals by one player in a single match: 4
    • Dimitar Berbatov
      Dimitar Berbatov
      Dimitar Ivanov Berbatov is a Bulgarian footballer who plays as a forward for Manchester United. He captained the Bulgarian national team from 2006 to 2010, and is its all-time leading goalscorer and has also won the Bulgarian Footballer of the Year a record seven times, surpassing the number of...

       for Tottenham Hotspur against Reading (29 December 2007)
    • Frank Lampard
      Frank Lampard
      Frank James Lampard is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Chelsea and the England national team. He also holds the position of vice-captain for his club side...

       for Chelsea against Derby County (12 March 2008)
  • Most hat-tricks scored by one player: 2
    • Benjani
      Benjani Mwaruwari
      Benjamin Mwaruwari , known as Benjani, is a Zimbabwean footballer who currently plays for Portsmouth in the Football League Championship, where he plays as a striker....

       for Portsmouth
      • Portsmouth 7–4 Reading (29 September 2007)
      • Portsmouth 3–1 Derby County (19 January 2008)
    • Fernando Torres
      Fernando Torres
      Fernando José Torres Sanz , nicknamed , is a Spanish footballer who plays for Chelsea and the Spain national team as a striker....

       for Liverpool
      • Liverpool 3–2 Middlesbrough (23 February 2008)
      • Liverpool 4–0 West Ham United (5 March 2008)
    • Emmanuel Adebayor
      Emmanuel Adebayor
      Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor is a Togolese footballer who plays for Tottenham Hotspur as a striker on loan from Manchester City. He plays in the same position for the Togo national team. Adebayor previously played for Metz, Monaco and Arsenal and was voted African Footballer of the Year for 2008...

       for Arsenal
      • Arsenal 5–0 Derby County (22 September 2007)
      • Derby County 2–6 Arsenal (28 April 2008)
        • This is the first time in the Premier League that any player has scored a hat-trick against the same team twice in one season.
  • Most goals by one team in a match: 8
    • Middlesbrough 8–1 Manchester City (11 May 2008)
  • Most goals in one half by one team: 6
    • Manchester United 6–0 Newcastle United (12 January 2008)
    • Middlesbrough 8–1 Manchester City (11 May 2008)
  • Most goals scored by losing team: 4 – Reading
    • Portsmouth 7–4 Reading (29 September 2007)
    • Tottenham Hotspur 6–4 Reading (29 December 2007)

Cards

  • First yellow card of the season: Didier Zokora
    Didier Zokora
    Déguy Alain Didier Zokora is an Ivorian footballer who plays for Turkish club Trabzonspor and the Ivorian national team. Zokora plays in a defensive role and is a strong tactical player in the middle of the park.-Early career:Zokora started his career in Côte d'Ivoire at the famed youth academy of...

     for Tottenham Hotspur against Sunderland (11 August 2007)
  • First red card of the season: Dave Kitson
    Dave Kitson
    David Barry "Dave" Kitson is an English footballer who plays for Football League Championship side Portsmouth as a striker.-Early life:...

     for Reading against Manchester United (12 August 2007)
  • Most yellow cards: Middlesbrough (85)
  • Fewest yellow cards: Everton (40)
  • Most red cards: Chelsea and Fulham (6)
  • Fewest red cards: Bolton (0)

Average home attendance

  • Highest average home attendance: 75,691 (Manchester United)
  • Lowest average home attendance: 19,046 (Wigan Athletic)

Clean sheets

  • Most clean sheets – Manchester United and Chelsea (21)
  • Fewest clean sheets – Derby County and Birmingham (3)

Overall

  • Most wins – Manchester United (27)
  • Fewest wins – Derby County (1)
  • Most losses – Derby County (29)
  • Fewest losses – Arsenal and Chelsea (3)
  • Most goals scored – Manchester United (80)
  • Fewest goals scored – Derby County (20)
  • Most goals conceded – Derby County (89)
  • Fewest goals conceded – Manchester United (22)

Home

  • Most wins – Manchester United (17)
  • Fewest wins – Derby County (1)
  • Most losses – Derby County (13)
  • Fewest losses – Arsenal and Chelsea (0)
  • Most goals scored – Manchester United (47)
  • Fewest goals scored – Derby County (12)
  • Most goals conceded – Derby County (43)
  • Fewest goals conceded – Manchester United (7)

Away

  • Most wins – Chelsea (13)
  • Fewest wins – Derby County (0)
  • Most losses – Derby County (16)
  • Fewest losses – Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool (3)
  • Most goals scored – Arsenal and Aston Villa (37)
  • Fewest goals scored – Derby County (8)
  • Most goals conceded – Derby County (46)
  • Fewest goals conceded – Chelsea (13)

Top scorers

Rank Scorer Club Goals
1   Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH, , commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger or striker for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and is the captain of the Portuguese national team...

Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...

31
2   Fernando Torres
Fernando Torres
Fernando José Torres Sanz , nicknamed , is a Spanish footballer who plays for Chelsea and the Spain national team as a striker....

Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...

24
  Emmanuel Adebayor
Emmanuel Adebayor
Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor is a Togolese footballer who plays for Tottenham Hotspur as a striker on loan from Manchester City. He plays in the same position for the Togo national team. Adebayor previously played for Metz, Monaco and Arsenal and was voted African Footballer of the Year for 2008...

Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

24
4   Roque Santa Cruz
Roque Santa Cruz
Roque Luis Santa Cruz Cantero is a Paraguayan footballer currently playing as a striker for La Liga club Real Betis on loan from Manchester City and the Paraguay national football team....

Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....

19
5   Benjani
Benjani Mwaruwari
Benjamin Mwaruwari , known as Benjani, is a Zimbabwean footballer who currently plays for Portsmouth in the Football League Championship, where he plays as a striker....

Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...

 / Manchester City
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...

15
  Dimitar Berbatov
Dimitar Berbatov
Dimitar Ivanov Berbatov is a Bulgarian footballer who plays as a forward for Manchester United. He captained the Bulgarian national team from 2006 to 2010, and is its all-time leading goalscorer and has also won the Bulgarian Footballer of the Year a record seven times, surpassing the number of...

Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....

15
  Robbie Keane
Robbie Keane
Robert David "Robbie" Keane is an Irish association football player who plays as a striker for Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer and captains the Irish national football team....

Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....

15
  Yakubu
Yakubu Aiyegbeni
Yakubu Aiyegbeni , generally known simply as Yakubu, is a Nigerian footballer who plays as a striker for Blackburn Rovers and the Nigerian national football team. His nickname is "The Yak".-Early career:...

Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...

15
9   Carlos Tévez
Carlos Tévez
Carlos Alberto Tévez is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for English club Manchester City...

Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...

14
10   John Carew
John Carew
John Alieu Carew , is a Norwegian professional association football player who plays for West Ham United and the Norwegian national team. His father is Gambian and his mother is Norwegian; he was born and raised in Norway.-Vålerenga:John Alieu Carew began his career with his local club Lørenskog,...

Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...

13


Top assists

Rank Assistant Club Assists
1   Cesc Fàbregas
Cesc Fàbregas
Francesc "Cesc" Fàbregas i Soler is a Spanish footballer who plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club FC Barcelona.Fàbregas started his career as a trainee with Barcelona but was signed by Premier League side Arsenal in September 2003 at the age of 16...

Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

19
2   Ashley Young Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...

17
3   Wayne Rooney
Wayne Rooney
Wayne Mark Rooney is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Manchester United and the England national team...

Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...

13
4   David Bentley
David Bentley
David Michael Bentley is an English footballer who plays for West Ham United as a winger, on loan from Tottenham Hotspur....

Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....

11
  Dimitar Berbatov
Dimitar Berbatov
Dimitar Ivanov Berbatov is a Bulgarian footballer who plays as a forward for Manchester United. He captained the Bulgarian national team from 2006 to 2010, and is its all-time leading goalscorer and has also won the Bulgarian Footballer of the Year a record seven times, surpassing the number of...

Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....

11
  Steven Gerrard
Steven Gerrard
Steven George Gerrard MBE is an English footballer who plays for and captains Premier League club Liverpool. He also has 89 caps for the England national team. He has played much of his career in a centre midfielder role, but he has also been used as a second striker and right winger...

Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...

11
7   Gareth Barry
Gareth Barry
Gareth Barry is an English footballer who plays for Manchester City and the England national football team.Barry moved to Aston Villa from Brighton & Hove Albion as a youngster, and spent 12 years at the club. He captained Aston Villa, and, at the end of his career with the club, lay eighth in...

Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...

10
  Kenwyne Jones
Kenwyne Jones
Kenwyne Joel Jones is a Trinidadian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Stoke City and the Trinidad and Tobago national team. He previously played for Sunderland, Southampton, Stoke City, Sheffield Wednesday, W Connection and Joe Public.He began his football...

Sunderland 10
9   Gabriel Agbonlahor
Gabriel Agbonlahor
Gabriel Imuetinyan "Gabby" Agbonlahor is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Aston Villa. Agbonlahor is a product of Aston Villa's Academy and has earned three caps for the English national team. He is currently the longest-serving player at Villa Park, joining as a youth player in...

Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...

9
  Carlton Cole
Carlton Cole
Carlton Michael Cole Okirie is an English footballer who plays as a striker for West Ham United in the Npower Championship....

West Ham United
West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...

9
  Salomon Kalou
Salomon Kalou
Salomon Armand Magloire Kalou is an Ivorian footballer who plays as a striker for Chelsea in the Premier League.He is often used on the wings at Chelsea. He has a preference for playing on the left wing as this gives him opportunities to cut inside and take shots with his favoured right foot...

Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...

9
  Nicky Shorey
Nicky Shorey
Nicholas "Nicky" Robert Shorey is an English footballer who currently plays for West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League as a left-back.-Leyton Orient:...

Reading
Reading F.C.
Reading Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Reading, Berkshire who currently play in the Championship...

9


Fastest scorers

Scorer Time (seconds) Team Opponent
  Geovanni 28 Manchester City
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...

Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic F.C.
Wigan Athletic Football Club is an English Premier League Association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, having been promoted from the Championship in 2005. Wigan's current spell in the Premier League is the only top flight run in the club's history.They have played at the DW...

  Cameron Jerome
Cameron Jerome
Cameron Zishan Rana-Jerome is an English footballer who plays for Stoke City as a striker. He also played for Cardiff City in the Football League, and for Birmingham City in the Football League and Premier League, and at international level has several caps for the England under-21 team.-Early...

32 Birmingham City
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...

Derby County
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...

  Yakubu
Yakubu Aiyegbeni
Yakubu Aiyegbeni , generally known simply as Yakubu, is a Nigerian footballer who plays as a striker for Blackburn Rovers and the Nigerian national football team. His nickname is "The Yak".-Early career:...

47 Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...

Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...

  David Healy
David Healy (footballer)
David Jonathan Healy, MBE is a Northern Ireland international footballer who plays as a striker for Scottish Premier League champions Rangers...

50 Fulham
Fulham F.C.
Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...

Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...


Monthly awards

MonthManager of the MonthPlayer of the Month
August 2007   Sven-Göran Eriksson
Sven-Göran Eriksson
Sven-Göran Eriksson , in Sweden commonly referred to just by his nickname Svennis, is a Swedish ex-football manager. From October 2010 to October 2011 he managed Football League Championship side Leicester City....

 (Manchester City
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...

)
  Micah Richards
Micah Richards
Micah Lincoln Richards is an English footballer who plays for Manchester City and the England national team. A versatile defender, Richards is equally adept at centre back and right back or in centre midfield...

 (Manchester City
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...

)
September 2007   Arsène Wenger
Arsène Wenger
Arsène Wenger, OBE is a French association football manager and former player, who has managed English Premier League side Arsenal since 1996...

 (Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

)
  Cesc Fàbregas
Cesc Fàbregas
Francesc "Cesc" Fàbregas i Soler is a Spanish footballer who plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club FC Barcelona.Fàbregas started his career as a trainee with Barcelona but was signed by Premier League side Arsenal in September 2003 at the age of 16...

 (Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

)
October 2007   Mark Hughes
Mark Hughes
Leslie Mark Hughes, OBE , is a former Welsh international footballer. As an international footballer, he made 72 appearances and scored 16 goals....

 (Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....

)
  Wayne Rooney
Wayne Rooney
Wayne Mark Rooney is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Manchester United and the England national team...

 (Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...

)
November 2007   Martin O'Neill
Martin O'Neill
Martin Hugh Michael O'Neill, OBE, is a Northern Irish football manager and former player.Until resigning the post on 9 August 2010, he was manager of Aston Villa. Starting his career in his native Northern Ireland, O'Neill moved to England where he spent most of his playing career with Nottingham...

 (Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...

)
  Gabriel Agbonlahor
Gabriel Agbonlahor
Gabriel Imuetinyan "Gabby" Agbonlahor is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Aston Villa. Agbonlahor is a product of Aston Villa's Academy and has earned three caps for the English national team. He is currently the longest-serving player at Villa Park, joining as a youth player in...

 (Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...

)
December 2007   Arsène Wenger
Arsène Wenger
Arsène Wenger, OBE is a French association football manager and former player, who has managed English Premier League side Arsenal since 1996...

 (Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

)
  Roque Santa Cruz
Roque Santa Cruz
Roque Luis Santa Cruz Cantero is a Paraguayan footballer currently playing as a striker for La Liga club Real Betis on loan from Manchester City and the Paraguay national football team....

 (Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....

)
January 2008   Alex Ferguson
Alex Ferguson
Sir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson, CBE is a Scottish association football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United, where he has been in charge since 1986...

 (Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...

)
  Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH, , commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger or striker for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and is the captain of the Portuguese national team...

 (Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...

)
February 2008   David Moyes
David Moyes
David William Moyes is an association football manager and former player, currently managing English Premier League club Everton. He was the 2003, 2005 and 2009 League Managers Association Manager of the Year...

 (Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...

)
  Fernando Torres
Fernando Torres
Fernando José Torres Sanz , nicknamed , is a Spanish footballer who plays for Chelsea and the Spain national team as a striker....

 (Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...

)
March 2008   Alex Ferguson
Alex Ferguson
Sir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson, CBE is a Scottish association football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United, where he has been in charge since 1986...

 (Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...

)
  Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH, , commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger or striker for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and is the captain of the Portuguese national team...

 (Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...

)
April 2008   Avram Grant (Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...

)
  Ashley Young (Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...

)

League Managers' Association Manager of the Year

The LMA Manager of the Year award was won by Sir Alex Ferguson
Alex Ferguson
Sir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson, CBE is a Scottish association football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United, where he has been in charge since 1986...

 after leading Manchester United to back-to-back league title wins. The award was presented by Fabio Capello
Fabio Capello
Fabio Capello is an Italian football manager and former player. He is the manager of the England national football team.Capello has the distinction of winning the domestic league title with every club he has coached throughout his career...

 on 13 May 2008.

PFA Players' Player of the Year

The PFA Players' Player of the Year
PFA Players' Player of the Year
The Professional Footballers' Association Players' Player of the Year is an annual award given to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the year in English football...

 award for 2008 was won by Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH, , commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger or striker for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and is the captain of the Portuguese national team...

 for the second year in a row.

The shortlist for the PFA Players' Player of the Year award, in alphabetical order, was as follows:
  • Emmanuel Adebayor
    Emmanuel Adebayor
    Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor is a Togolese footballer who plays for Tottenham Hotspur as a striker on loan from Manchester City. He plays in the same position for the Togo national team. Adebayor previously played for Metz, Monaco and Arsenal and was voted African Footballer of the Year for 2008...

     (Arsenal)
  • Cesc Fàbregas
    Cesc Fàbregas
    Francesc "Cesc" Fàbregas i Soler is a Spanish footballer who plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club FC Barcelona.Fàbregas started his career as a trainee with Barcelona but was signed by Premier League side Arsenal in September 2003 at the age of 16...

     (Arsenal)
  • Steven Gerrard
    Steven Gerrard
    Steven George Gerrard MBE is an English footballer who plays for and captains Premier League club Liverpool. He also has 89 caps for the England national team. He has played much of his career in a centre midfielder role, but he has also been used as a second striker and right winger...

     (Liverpool)
  • David James
    David James (footballer)
    David Benjamin James is an English footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Bristol City.On 14 February 2009, he achieved the all-time Premier League appearance record with 536 appearances, overtaking Gary Speed. He held this record until being overtaken by Ryan Giggs on the 14th May 2011...

     (Portsmouth)
  • Cristiano Ronaldo
    Cristiano Ronaldo
    Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH, , commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger or striker for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and is the captain of the Portuguese national team...

     (Manchester United)
  • Fernando Torres
    Fernando Torres
    Fernando José Torres Sanz , nicknamed , is a Spanish footballer who plays for Chelsea and the Spain national team as a striker....

     (Liverpool)

PFA Young Player of the Year

The PFA Young Player of the Year
PFA Young Player of the Year
The Professional Footballers' Association Young Player of the Year is an annual award given to the player aged 23 or under at the start of the season who is adjudged to have been the best of the season in English football...

 award was won by Cesc Fàbregas
Cesc Fàbregas
Francesc "Cesc" Fàbregas i Soler is a Spanish footballer who plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club FC Barcelona.Fàbregas started his career as a trainee with Barcelona but was signed by Premier League side Arsenal in September 2003 at the age of 16...

 of Arsenal.

The shortlist for the award was as follows:
  • Gabriel Agbonlahor
    Gabriel Agbonlahor
    Gabriel Imuetinyan "Gabby" Agbonlahor is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Aston Villa. Agbonlahor is a product of Aston Villa's Academy and has earned three caps for the English national team. He is currently the longest-serving player at Villa Park, joining as a youth player in...

     (Aston Villa)
  • Cesc Fàbregas
    Cesc Fàbregas
    Francesc "Cesc" Fàbregas i Soler is a Spanish footballer who plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club FC Barcelona.Fàbregas started his career as a trainee with Barcelona but was signed by Premier League side Arsenal in September 2003 at the age of 16...

     (Arsenal)
  • Micah Richards
    Micah Richards
    Micah Lincoln Richards is an English footballer who plays for Manchester City and the England national team. A versatile defender, Richards is equally adept at centre back and right back or in centre midfield...

     (Manchester City)
  • Cristiano Ronaldo
    Cristiano Ronaldo
    Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH, , commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger or striker for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and is the captain of the Portuguese national team...

     (Manchester United)
  • Fernando Torres
    Fernando Torres
    Fernando José Torres Sanz , nicknamed , is a Spanish footballer who plays for Chelsea and the Spain national team as a striker....

     (Liverpool)
  • Ashley Young (Aston Villa)

PFA Team of the Year



Goalkeeper: David James
David James (footballer)
David Benjamin James is an English footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Bristol City.On 14 February 2009, he achieved the all-time Premier League appearance record with 536 appearances, overtaking Gary Speed. He held this record until being overtaken by Ryan Giggs on the 14th May 2011...

 (Portsmouth)

Defence: Bacary Sagna
Bacary Sagna
Bacary Sagna is a French footballer who plays for Arsenal and the France national football team. His cousin Ibrahima Sonko also plays in England, for Ipswich Town. Sagna is called Bac by the majority of his teammates...

, Gaël Clichy
Gaël Clichy
Gaël Clichy is a French footballer who plays as a defender for Manchester City and the France national football team. Though initially right-foot dominant, he primarily plays as a left back that is also capable of playing as an offensive-minded wingback. Clichy is described as a player who...

 (both Arsenal), Rio Ferdinand
Rio Ferdinand
Rio Gavin Ferdinand is an English footballer. He plays at centre back for Manchester United in the Premier League and for the England national football team...

, Nemanja Vidić
Nemanja Vidic
Nemanja Vidić is a Serbian footballer who captains English Premier League club Manchester United. He was part of the Serbia national football team from 2002 to 2011....

 (both Manchester United)

Midfield: Steven Gerrard
Steven Gerrard
Steven George Gerrard MBE is an English footballer who plays for and captains Premier League club Liverpool. He also has 89 caps for the England national team. He has played much of his career in a centre midfielder role, but he has also been used as a second striker and right winger...

 (Liverpool), Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH, , commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger or striker for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and is the captain of the Portuguese national team...

 (Manchester United), Cesc Fàbregas
Cesc Fàbregas
Francesc "Cesc" Fàbregas i Soler is a Spanish footballer who plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club FC Barcelona.Fàbregas started his career as a trainee with Barcelona but was signed by Premier League side Arsenal in September 2003 at the age of 16...

 (Arsenal), Ashley Young (Aston Villa)


Attack: Emmanuel Adebayor
Emmanuel Adebayor
Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor is a Togolese footballer who plays for Tottenham Hotspur as a striker on loan from Manchester City. He plays in the same position for the Togo national team. Adebayor previously played for Metz, Monaco and Arsenal and was voted African Footballer of the Year for 2008...

 (Arsenal), Fernando Torres
Fernando Torres
Fernando José Torres Sanz , nicknamed , is a Spanish footballer who plays for Chelsea and the Spain national team as a striker....

 (Liverpool)

PFA Fans' Player of the Year

2007 winner, Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH, , commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger or striker for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and is the captain of the Portuguese national team...

, was named the PFA Fans' Player of the Year
PFA Fans' Player of the Year
The ESPN Professional Footballers' Association Fans' Player of the Year award is given to footballers in the top four flights of English football, the Premier League, the Championship, League One and League Two.The shortlist is compiled by the members of the Professional Footballers'...

 again in 2008. Liverpool striker Fernando Torres
Fernando Torres
Fernando José Torres Sanz , nicknamed , is a Spanish footballer who plays for Chelsea and the Spain national team as a striker....

 finished second, with Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fàbregas
Cesc Fàbregas
Francesc "Cesc" Fàbregas i Soler is a Spanish footballer who plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club FC Barcelona.Fàbregas started his career as a trainee with Barcelona but was signed by Premier League side Arsenal in September 2003 at the age of 16...

 finishing third.

PFA Merit Award

BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 broadcaster and former England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...

 and Blackpool full-back Jimmy Armfield
Jimmy Armfield
James Christopher "Jimmy" Armfield, CBE, DL is an English former professional football player and manager who currently works as a football pundit for BBC Radio Five Live. He played the whole of his Football League career at Blackpool, usually at right back...

 received the PFA Merit Award for his services to the game.

FWA Footballer of the Year

The Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year
Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year
The Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year is an annual award given to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the season in English football...

 award for 2008 was won by Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH, , commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger or striker for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and is the captain of the Portuguese national team...

 for a second successive season. The Manchester United winger saw off the challenges of Liverpool striker Fernando Torres
Fernando Torres
Fernando José Torres Sanz , nicknamed , is a Spanish footballer who plays for Chelsea and the Spain national team as a striker....

 and Portsmouth goalkeeper David James
David James (footballer)
David Benjamin James is an English footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Bristol City.On 14 February 2009, he achieved the all-time Premier League appearance record with 536 appearances, overtaking Gary Speed. He held this record until being overtaken by Ryan Giggs on the 14th May 2011...

, who finished second and third respectively.

Barclays Player of the Season

Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH, , commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger or striker for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and is the captain of the Portuguese national team...

 won the Barclays Player of the Season accolade for the second season in succession.

Barclays Manager of the Season

Sir Alex Ferguson
Alex Ferguson
Sir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson, CBE is a Scottish association football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United, where he has been in charge since 1986...

, picked up the Barclays Manager of the Season for the eighth time. During his hugely successful spell with Manchester United, which began in 1986, he has won ten Premier League titles, five FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...

s and two European titles.

Barclays Golden Boot Award

Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH, , commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger or striker for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and is the captain of the Portuguese national team...

 was named the winner of the Barclays Golden Boot Award. The Manchester United winger's 31 goals from 34 league appearances helped see off stiff opposition for this award from Arsenal's Emmanuel Adebayor
Emmanuel Adebayor
Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor is a Togolese footballer who plays for Tottenham Hotspur as a striker on loan from Manchester City. He plays in the same position for the Togo national team. Adebayor previously played for Metz, Monaco and Arsenal and was voted African Footballer of the Year for 2008...

 and Fernando Torres
Fernando Torres
Fernando José Torres Sanz , nicknamed , is a Spanish footballer who plays for Chelsea and the Spain national team as a striker....

 of Liverpool. This was the first Premier League season that a player has scored more than 30 goals since Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer OBE, DL is a retired English footballer. He played as a striker in the top level of English league football for Southampton, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United and for the England national team...

's 31-goal haul for Blackburn Rovers twelve years prior.

Barclays Golden Glove Award

Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina claimed the Premier League's golden gloves award
Barclays Golden Glove
The Barclays Golden Glove is an annual association football award that is won by the goalkeeper who has kept the most clean sheets in that season's Barclays Premier League. It was formerly called the Barclaycard Golden Glove....

 for the third season in succession. Clean sheets in 18 out of the 38 games meant Reina kept more clean sheets than any other goalkeeper in the top flight during the 2007–08 campaign.

Barclays Fair Play Award

The Fair Play Award is a merit given to the team who has been the most sporting and best behaved team. Tottenham topped the Fair Play League, ahead of Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal. The least sporting side was Blackburn Rovers who finished in last place in the rankings.

Barclays Premier League Merit Award

Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH, , commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger or striker for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and is the captain of the Portuguese national team...

, the Portuguese
Portuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....

 winger, collected the Barclays Premier League Merit Award for reaching 30 league goals this season.

Personnel and kits

Team Manager Captain Kit maker Shirt sponsor Notes
Arsenal   Arsène Wenger
Arsène Wenger
Arsène Wenger, OBE is a French association football manager and former player, who has managed English Premier League side Arsenal since 1996...

  William Gallas
William Gallas
William Eric Gallas is a French footballer who plays for Tottenham Hotspur.Gallas began his career in France, before being signed by English club Chelsea in 2001. He transferred to rivals Arsenal as part of an exchange deal in 2006...

Nike
Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...

Emirates
Emirates Airline
Emirates is the airline based in the Emirate of Dubai part of the United Arab Emirates . Based at Dubai International Airport it is the largest airline in the Middle East, operating over 2,400 flights per week, from its hub at Terminal 3, to 111 cities in 62 countries across six continents...

Same home kit as 2006–07. New white and redcurrant away kit with watermark in tribute to former manager, Herbert Chapman
Herbert Chapman
Herbert Chapman was an English association football player and manager. Though he had an undistinguished playing career, he went on to become one of the most successful and influential managers in early 20th century English football, before his sudden death in 1934.As a player, Chapman played for...

. New third kit for Champions League ties features red and blue hoops.
Aston Villa   Martin O'Neil   Gareth Barry
Gareth Barry
Gareth Barry is an English footballer who plays for Manchester City and the England national football team.Barry moved to Aston Villa from Brighton & Hove Albion as a youngster, and spent 12 years at the club. He captained Aston Villa, and, at the end of his career with the club, lay eighth in...

Nike 32red
32Red
32Red is a British company. The online casino is licensed in Gibraltar . The business is registered on the Alternative Investment Market, a section of the London Stock Exchange, with the code TTR....

Nike takes over from hummel
Hummel International
hummel International is a Denmark-based sportswear company. The firm was started in 1923 by the Messmer family in the town of Hamburg, Germany. It currently manufactures apparel for football, handball, basketball, rugby league, Australian football, shinty and volleyball...

. New crest design. The new home strip was unveiled on 17 July 2007, there is a small white lion on the back of the neck. Away kit is white with sky blue pinstripes and also features a lion on the back of the neck (claret). Black third shirt released in November.
Birmingham City   Steve Bruce
Steve Bruce
Stephen Roger "Steve" Bruce is an English football manager and former player. Born in Corbridge, Northumberland, he was a promising schoolboy footballer but was rejected by a number of professional clubs. He was on the verge of quitting the game altogether when he was offered a trial with Gillingham...

  Damien Johnson
Damien Johnson
Damien Michael Johnson is a Northern Irish footballer who plays as a midfielder for Plymouth Argyle, but as of 19 July 2011 he is on loan at Huddersfield Town for a second consecutive season....

Umbro
Umbro
Umbro is an English sportswear and football equipment supplier based in Cheadle, Greater Manchester, England. The company is now part of Nike. Umbro designs, sources, and markets sport-related apparel, footwear, and equipment...

F&C Investments Lonsdale
Lonsdale (brand)
Lonsdale is a boxing and clothing brand that was founded in London, England in 1960. Ex-boxer Bernard Hart started the brand as a boxing equipment company, but it eventually branched out into clothing as well...

 dropped as kit manufacturers as Umbro come in. F&C Investments replace flybe
Flybe
Flybe Group PLC is a British low-cost regional airline headquartered at the Jack Walker House at Exeter International Airport in Devon, England...

 as sponsors. "Penguin" shirt design returns. White away shirt, with blue shorts and white socks. All-red third kit with blue and white trim.
Blackburn Rovers   Mark Hughes
Mark Hughes
Leslie Mark Hughes, OBE , is a former Welsh international footballer. As an international footballer, he made 72 appearances and scored 16 goals....

  Ryan Nelsen
Ryan Nelsen
Ryan William Nelsen, ONZM is a New Zealand footballer who plays as a defender, and is captain of Premier League club Blackburn Rovers. Nelsen captains the New Zealand national team, the All Whites. He joined Blackburn back in 2005 on a free transfer from D.C. United...

Umbro Bet 24 Umbro replace Lonsdale as new kit manufacturers. Minor alterations to home kit. New red and black halved away kit.
Bolton Wanderers   Sammy Lee
Sammy Lee (footballer)
Samuel "Sammy" Lee is an English football coach and former player. He played most of his career for hometown club Liverpool during the 1970s and 1980s as a midfielder, and also represented England fourteen times....

  Kevin Davies
Kevin Davies
Kevin Cyril Davies is an English footballer who currently plays for Bolton Wanderers and the England national football team as a striker. He was made Bolton team captain in January 2009....

Reebok
Reebok
Reebok International Limited, a subsidiary of the German sportswear company Adidas since 2005, is a producer of Athletic shoes, apparel, and accessories. The name comes from the Afrikaans spelling of rhebok, a type of African antelope or gazelle...

Reebok New white home kit, with watermark, red sleeve design and navy blue trim. New indigo blue away kit with turquoise shapes and dark watermark. Last season's third kit unchanged.
Chelsea   Jose Mourinho
José Mourinho
José Mário dos Santos Félix Mourinho is a Portuguese football manager and the current manager of Real Madrid. He is commonly known as "The Special One".Mourinho is regarded by some players, coaches and critics as the best ever coach in football....

  John Terry
John Terry
John George Terry is an English professional footballer. Terry plays in a centre back position and is the captain of Chelsea in the Premier League...

adidas
Adidas
Adidas AG is a German sports apparel manufacturer and parent company of the Adidas Group, which consists of the Reebok sportswear company, TaylorMade-Adidas golf company , and Rockport...

Samsung Mobile
Samsung Group
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...

Home kit same as 2006–07. New 'electric yellow' away kit with black trim, new white and blue third/European kit. Both of the new kits have a small Chelsea Lion embossed on the lower back.
Derby County   Billy Davies
Billy Davies
William McIntosh "Billy" Davies is a Glasgow-born Scottish football manager, noted for his achievement in the Football League Championship with East Midlands Rivals Derby County and Nottingham Forest and Preston North End which has led him to be described, in 2011, as "probably the best manager at...

  Matthew Oakley
Matthew Oakley
Matthew "Matt" Oakley is an English midfielder playing for League One side Exeter City on loan from Npower Championship side Leicester City where he was captain from 2008 to 2011. He had previously played for Southampton and Derby County....

adidas Derbyshire Building Society
Derbyshire Building Society
Derbyshire Building Society is a former UK building society based in Duffield, Derbyshire in the East Midlands of England. With effect from 1 December 2008 it was acquired by Nationwide Building Society and now operates as a trading division of Nationwide...

adidas replaces Joma
Joma
Joma is a Spanish sports apparel manufacturer, which currently produces footwear and apparel for football, running and tennis. Its headquarters are located in the city of Toledo, Spain....

. New white home kit and black away kit. New crest design. Third kit is bright yellow.
Everton   David Moyes
David Moyes
David William Moyes is an association football manager and former player, currently managing English Premier League club Everton. He was the 2003, 2005 and 2009 League Managers Association Manager of the Year...

  Phil Neville Umbro Chang Beer
Thai Beverages
Thai Beverage is Thailand's largest and one of the largest beverage alcohol companies in South East Asia with distilleries in Thailand, Scotland, Poland, Ireland, China, and France...

New royal blue home kit and white away kit designs. New navy blue alternative kit.
Fulham   Lawrie Sanchez
Lawrie Sanchez
Lawrence Philip "Lawrie" Sanchez is a former Northern Irish football manager, and a former player. He is currently the manager of League Two side Barnet...

  Brian McBride
Brian McBride
Brian Robert McBride is a retired American soccer player who finished his career for Chicago Fire in Major League Soccer , but spent the majority of his time in MLS playing for the Columbus Crew. For much of his career he played in Europe, notably for Fulham in the English Premier League...

Nike LG
LG Electronics
LG Electronics is a global electronics and telecommunications company headquartered in Yeouido, Seoul, South Korea. The company operates its business through five divisions: mobile communications, home entertainment, home appliance, air conditioning and business solution...

Nike replaces Airness
Airness
Airness is a footwear trademark founded in 1999 in Saint-Denis by Malamine Koné.-Football: Benin AJ Auxerre Le Havre AC Guinea Mali...

 as kit maker; LG replaces Pipex
PIPEX Communications
Daisy Group plc is a British company that sells Internet and telecommunications services, including hosting, broadband Internet connections, and VOIP.- History :...

 as shirt sponsor. All-white home kit and red-and-black striped away kit, honouring Fulham's 1975 FA Cup Final
1975 FA Cup Final
The 1975 FA Cup Final was contested by West Ham United and Fulham at Wembley. The Fulham team contained two former England captains in former West Ham captain Bobby Moore, making his last appearance at Wembley, and Alan Mullery. West Ham won 2–0, with the two goals scored by Alan Taylor...

 team, with white V-neck collar. Third kit of all-sky blue.
Liverpool   Rafael Benitez
Rafael Benítez
Rafael "Rafa" Benítez Maudes is a football manager, and former player. He is currently unemployed, after leaving as manager of Internazionale in December 2010....

  Steven Gerrard
Steven Gerrard
Steven George Gerrard MBE is an English footballer who plays for and captains Premier League club Liverpool. He also has 89 caps for the England national team. He has played much of his career in a centre midfielder role, but he has also been used as a second striker and right winger...

adidas Carlsberg Home kit same as 2006–07. New white away kit with red trim. Also, new black and red third/European away kit. New Adidas kit for 2008–09 was previewed in the final home game of the season against Manchester City on 4 May.
Manchester City   Sven-Goran Eriksson
Sven-Göran Eriksson
Sven-Göran Eriksson , in Sweden commonly referred to just by his nickname Svennis, is a Swedish ex-football manager. From October 2010 to October 2011 he managed Football League Championship side Leicester City....

  Richard Dunne
Richard Dunne
Richard Patrick Dunne is an Irish footballer who plays as a defender for Aston Villa and the Republic of Ireland national football team. With Ireland he was a member of the 2002 FIFA World Cup squad and helped his team qualify for UEFA Euro 2012.Dunne began his professional career at Everton...

le coq sportif
Le Coq Sportif
Le Coq Sportif is a French company producing sports equipment such as shoes, shorts, and T-shirts. It was founded in 1882 by Émile Camuset, but the first clothing items branded with the rooster appeared in 1948...

Thomas Cook.com
Thomas Cook AG
This article contains historical information about Thomas Cook AG until its merger with My Travel - for the new company see - Thomas Cook Group...

Reebok replaced by French sports kit makers. White shorts replace sky blue in home kit, with shirt having white pinstripes. New indigo away kit also with white pinstripes. Third kit is white with a blue cross white shorts and socks.
Manchester United   Sir Alex Ferguson
Alex Ferguson
Sir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson, CBE is a Scottish association football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United, where he has been in charge since 1986...

  Ryan Giggs
Ryan Giggs
Ryan Joseph Giggs OBE is a Welsh professional footballer who plays for Manchester United. Giggs made his first appearance for the club during the 1990–91 season and has been a regular player since the 1991–92 season...

Nike AIG
American International Group
American International Group, Inc. or AIG is an American multinational insurance corporation. Its corporate headquarters is located in the American International Building in New York City. The British headquarters office is on Fenchurch Street in London, continental Europe operations are based in...

New red home shirt with a white line which runs down the centre of the back, blue goalkeeper shirt were released on 1 August. Away kit is black with red trim and red line on the back. Previous season's white away kit confirmed as the third kit.
Middlesbrough   Gareth Southgate
Gareth Southgate
Gareth Southgate in Crawley, West Sussex is a retired English footballer and ex-manager. He is known as the "Penalty Misser of '96." He served as manager of Middlesbrough from June 2006, until he was dismissed in October 2009...

  George Boateng
George Boateng
George Boateng is a Dutch footballer who plays as a midfielder for Nottingham Forest in The Championship.-Club career:...

Erreà
Erreà
Erreà is a sportswear trademark founded in 1988, in Torrile...

Garmin
Garmin
Garmin Ltd. , incorporated in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, is the parent company of a group of companies founded in 1989 by Gary Burrell and Min Kao , that develops consumer, aviation, and marine technologies for the Global Positioning System...

888.com replaced as sponsor by satellite navigation company Garmin. New home kit with red pinstripe, and new white and gold away kit. New crest design.
Newcastle United   Sam Allardyce
Sam Allardyce
Samuel "Sam" Allardyce , nicknamed "Big Sam", is an English football manager and former professional player. In June 2011 he was appointed as manager of West Ham United....

  Nicky Butt
Nicky Butt
Nicholas "Nicky" Butt is an English footballer. He began his career with Manchester United and spent 12 years in their first-team before moving to Newcastle United in 2004. He spent one season on loan to Birmingham City in 2005–06...

adidas Northern Rock
Northern Rock
Northern Rock plc is a British bank, best known for becoming the first bank in 150 years to suffer a bank run after having had to approach the Bank of England for a loan facility, to replace money market funding, during the credit crisis in 2007.  Having failed to find a commercial buyer for...

New home kit with solid black back and sky blue trims. New sky blue away kit with black trim. New sky blue and white third kit.
Portsmouth   Harry Redknapp
Harry Redknapp
Henry James "Harry" Redknapp is a former English footballer who has enjoyed a long career in football management starting in 1983 with Bournemouth. He is the current manager of Tottenham Hotspur....

  Sol Campbell
Sol Campbell
Sulzeer Jeremiah "Sol" Campbell is an English footballer who is currently a free agent. A central defender, Campbell has played for Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Portsmouth, Notts County and Newcastle United, as well as the English national team.Born in East London to Jamaican parents, Campbell's...

Canterbury
Canterbury of New Zealand
Canterbury of New Zealand is a New Zealand-based sports apparel company that focuses on rugby football. The company is named after the Canterbury area in New Zealand where the company started to make knitwear. Other than producing rugby kits, the brand is also known for their rugby protective wear...

Oki
Oki Electric Industry
, commonly referred to as OKI, OKI Electric or the OKI Group, is a Japanese company manufacturing and selling info-telecom and printer products. Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, OKI operates in over 120 countries around the world....

Rugby jersey manufacturer Canterbury replaces Jako
Jako
Jako AG is a German sportswear company based in the Hollenbach district of Mulfingen , Baden-Württemberg. The company was founded by Rudi Sprügel and his brother in 1989 in Stachenhausen...

 in the New Zealand brand's first venture into football. Home shirt is blue with white and gold trim. Away shirt is white with blue and gold trim. Third shirt is black with gold trim. Each kit has a number of reflective circles on the sleeves and down the sides.
Reading   Steve Coppell
Steve Coppell
Stephen James "Steve" Coppell is an English former footballer and manager, currently without a club.As a player, he was a highly regarded right winger known for his speed and work rate. He won domestic honours with Manchester United and represented England at the World Cup...

  Graeme Murty
Graeme Murty
Graeme Stuart Murty is a footballer. He has made more than 400 appearances in the Football League playing for York City, Reading, Charlton Athletic and Southampton...

Puma
PUMA AG
Puma SE, officially branded as PUMA, is a major German multinational company that produces high-end athletic shoes, lifestyle footwear and other sportswear. Formed in 1924 as Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik by Adolf and Rudolf Dassler, relationships between the two brothers deteriorated until the two...

Kyocera
Kyocera
is a multinational manufacturer based in Kyoto, Japan. It was founded as in 1959 by Kazuo Inamori and renamed in 1982. The company has diversified its founding technology in ceramic materials through internal development as well as strategic mergers and acquisitions...

Home kit same as 2006–07. New black and grey hooped away kit with black back and 'arch' design. Third kit is the same as last season's.
Sunderland   Roy Keane
Roy Keane
Roy Maurice Keane is an Irish former footballer and manager. In his 18-year playing career, he played for Cobh Ramblers in the League of Ireland, Nottingham Forest and Manchester United, before ending his career at Celtic in Scotland....

  Dean Whitehead
Dean Whitehead
Dean Whitehead is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Stoke City.Whitehead joined his local non-league club Abingdon Town before he signed for Football League side Oxford United in 1999. He impressed in the lower divisions and was signed by Championship side...

Umbro boylesports.com
Boylesports
Boylesports is the largest independent bookmaker in Ireland. Headquartered in Dundalk, County Louth, Boylesports has 161 retail branches throughout the country. In addition to their retail stores, Boylesports operates a telephone betting service, "Fon-A-Bet", and Internet-based betting and gaming...

Another change from Lonsdale to Umbro; Reg Vardy
Reg Vardy
Evans Halshaw is a chain of car dealerships with around 180 showrooms, predominantly in Northern England. It is a subsidiary of Pendragon PLC.-Pendragon PLC:...

 out as sponsor. New home kit is red-and-white stripes with Umbro diamond design on shoulders. Away kit is all white with red and black trimmings. Third kit is all blue with red and white trimmings.
Tottenham Hotspur   Martin Jol
Martin Jol
Maarten Cornelis "Martin" Jol is a Dutch football manager and former midfielder who currently manages Fulham in the Premier League. Jol played over 400 games during his career which included spells in the Netherlands, Germany, and England, as well as earning three caps with the Dutch national team...

  Ledley King
Ledley King
Ledley Brenton King is an English footballer who plays for Tottenham Hotspur. He is the longest serving player at the club and captained Spurs since 2005. He is currently contracted to Tottenham until 2012...

Puma Mansion Casino Celebrating their 125th season. Home strip to change to all white. Navy blue away kit and yellow third kit to carry Chinese Mandarin version of the Mansion logo. Halved white and light blue throwback worn on anniversary date.
West Ham United   Alan Curbishley
Alan Curbishley
Llewellyn Charles "Alan" Curbishley is an English football manager and former professional player....

  Lucas Neill
Lucas Neill
Lucas Edward Neill is an Australian Soccer player who currently plays for UAE Pro-League club Al Jazira. He is a full back. Neill had spent almost 15 years of his career playing in England. He represented Australia at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, the 2010 World Cup in South...

Umbro XL Airways
XL Airways
XL Airways may refer to:* XL Airways France* XL Airways Germany* XL Airways UK, which is defunct following XL Leisure Group's insolvency...

Reebok replaced by Umbro; JobServe
JobServe
JobServe Ltd is a privately held company headquartered in Tiptree, Essex, UK. The company was originally incorporated as Fax-Me-Limited in 1993 and later changed its name to JobServe Ltd. in 1995...

 replaced by XL Airways as sponsor. New claret-and-blue home shirt unveiled on 16 June; white away shirt unveiled on 27 July.
Wigan Athletic   Chris Hutchings
Chris Hutchings
Christopher "Chris" Hutchings is an English former footballer and former manager of Walsall. He played for a number of clubs including Chelsea and played more than 100 games for Brighton & Hove Albion and Huddersfield Town...

  Mario Melchiot
Mario Melchiot
Mario Deno Patrik Melchiot is a Dutch football defender who currently plays for Qatari Stars League club Umm Salal. He can play as either a right-back or a central defender, and has also occasionally played in midfield....

Umbro JJB Sports
JJB Sports
JJB Sports plc is a United Kingdom sports retailer. It currently operates 251 stores in the UK and Ireland.- History :The sportshop chain was founded in 1971, when ex-footballer Dave Whelan acquired a single sports shop in Wigan. The original store was established by JJ Broughton in the early...

New home, away and third kit. JJB replaced by Umbro as kit maker, but remains as sponsor. Home kit is a return to blue-and-white stripes with solid blue back. Away kit is white with blue and black trim, with the third kit black with blue and white trim.


In addition, Premier League officials were supplied with new kit made by Umbro
Umbro
Umbro is an English sportswear and football equipment supplier based in Cheadle, Greater Manchester, England. The company is now part of Nike. Umbro designs, sources, and markets sport-related apparel, footwear, and equipment...

, replacing American makers Official Sports, and are sponsored by Air Asia, replacing Emirates. The 2007–08 season saw a new font used for the names on the back of players' shirts.

Stadia

Team Stadium Capacity
Manchester United Old Trafford
Old Trafford
Old Trafford commonly refers to two sporting arenas:* Old Trafford, home of Manchester United F.C.* Old Trafford Cricket Ground, home of Lancashire County Cricket ClubOld Trafford can also refer to:...

 
76,212
Arsenal Emirates Stadium
Emirates Stadium
Ashburton Grove, currently known as the Emirates Stadium, is a UEFA elite football stadium which is home to Arsenal FC, where they moved from Highbury in 2006. It has an current capacity of 60,361, and there have been rumours of an expansion...

 
60,355
Newcastle United St James' Park
St James' Park
St James' Park, known for sponsorship reasons as the Sports Direct Arena, is an all-seater stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Newcastle United Football Club and is the sixth largest football stadium in the United Kingdom with a capacity of between 52,387 and 52,409.St James'...

 
52,387
Sunderland Stadium of Light
Stadium of Light
The Stadium of Light is an all-seater football stadium in Sunderland, England. With space for 49,000 spectators, the Stadium of Light has the fifth-largest capacity of any English football stadium. The stadium primarily hosts Sunderland A.F.C. matches...

 
49,000
Manchester City City of Manchester Stadium
City of Manchester Stadium
The City of Manchester Stadium in Manchester, England – also known as the Etihad Stadium for sponsorship purposes– is the home ground of...

 
47,726
Liverpool Anfield
Anfield
Anfield is an association football stadium in the district of Anfield, Liverpool, England, with a seating capacity of 45,522. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892 and was originally the home of Everton F.C. from 1884 to 1892, before they moved to Goodison Park...

 
45,522
Aston Villa Villa Park
Villa Park
Villa Park may mean:United Kingdom* Villa Park, an association football stadium in Birmingham, EnglandUnited States* Villa Park, California, a small city in Orange County* Villa Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago in DuPage County...

 
42,640
Chelsea Stamford Bridge
Stamford Bridge (stadium)
Stamford Bridge is a football stadium in Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, West London, and is the home of Chelsea Football Club. The stadium is located within the Moore Park Estate also known as Walham Green and is often referred to as simply The Bridge...

 
42,055
Everton Goodison Park
Goodison Park
Goodison Park is a football stadium located in Walton, Liverpool, England. The stadium has been home to Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892 and is one of the world's first purpose-built football grounds...

 
40,157
Tottenham Hotspur White Hart Lane
White Hart Lane
White Hart Lane is an all-seater football stadium in Tottenham, London, England. Built in 1899, it is the home of Tottenham Hotspur and, after numerous renovations, the stadium has a capacity of 36,230....

 
36,244
West Ham United Upton Park
Boleyn Ground
The Boleyn Ground, more commonly referred to as Upton Park due to its location in Upton Park, London is the football stadium of West Ham United.-History:...

 
35,303
Middlesbrough Riverside Stadium
Riverside Stadium
The Riverside Stadium is a football stadium in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England, which has been the home of Middlesbrough F.C. since it opened in 1995...

 
35,049
Derby County Pride Park Stadium
Pride Park Stadium
Pride Park Stadium is an all-seater football stadium located on the Pride Park business park on the outskirts of Derby, England. It is the current home of Football League Championship club Derby County, who moved to the stadium from the Baseball Ground upon its opening in 1997...

 
33,597
Blackburn Rovers Ewood Park
Ewood Park
Ewood Park is a football stadium in the English town of Blackburn, Lancashire, and is the home of Blackburn Rovers Football Club — one of the founder members of the Football League and Premier League. Rovers have played there since they moved from Leamington Street in the summer of 1890. The...

 
31,367
Birmingham City St Andrews Stadium
St Andrews (stadium)
St Andrew's is an association football stadium in the Bordesley district of Birmingham, England. It has been the home ground of Birmingham City Football Club for more than a century....

 
30,009
Bolton Wanderers Reebok Stadium
Reebok Stadium
The Reebok Stadium is the home stadium of English Premier League football club Bolton Wanderers, and is located on the Middlebrook Retail Park in Horwich, in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. It is commonly known as 'The Reebok'...

 
28,723
Fulham Craven Cottage
Craven Cottage
Craven Cottage is the name of a football stadium in the Hammersmith and Fulham area that has been the home ground of the association football team Fulham F.C. since 1896....

 
26,300
Wigan Athletic JJB Stadium
JJB Stadium
The DW Stadium is a sports stadium in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, that is home to Wigan Athletic football club and Wigan Warriors rugby league club....

 
25,138
Reading Madejski Stadium
Madejski Stadium
The Madejski Stadium is a stadium in Reading, Berkshire, England. The stadium is the home of Reading Football Club and to the rugby union club London Irish as tenants. It also provides the finish for the Reading Half Marathon...

 
24,161
Portsmouth Fratton Park
Fratton Park
Fratton Park is a football stadium in the English city-port of Portsmouth. It has been the home of professional club Portsmouth F.C. since its construction in 1898.-Description:...

 
20,688

Managerial changes

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Replaced by Date of appointment Position in table
Manchester City
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...

  Stuart Pearce
Stuart Pearce
Stuart Pearce OBE is an English football manager and former player. He is currently the manager of the England national under-21 team and the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Olympic football team...

Contract terminated 14 May 2007   Sven-Göran Eriksson
Sven-Göran Eriksson
Sven-Göran Eriksson , in Sweden commonly referred to just by his nickname Svennis, is a Swedish ex-football manager. From October 2010 to October 2011 he managed Football League Championship side Leicester City....

6 July 2007 Pre-season
Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...

  José Mourinho
José Mourinho
José Mário dos Santos Félix Mourinho is a Portuguese football manager and the current manager of Real Madrid. He is commonly known as "The Special One".Mourinho is regarded by some players, coaches and critics as the best ever coach in football....

Mutual consent 20 September 2007   Avram Grant 20 September 2007 5th
Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers F.C.
Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....

  Sammy Lee
Sammy Lee (footballer)
Samuel "Sammy" Lee is an English football coach and former player. He played most of his career for hometown club Liverpool during the 1970s and 1980s as a midfielder, and also represented England fourteen times....

Mutual consent 17 October 2007   Gary Megson
Gary Megson
Gary John Megson is an English former football player and is currently manager of Sheffield Wednesday.He has previously managed Norwich City, Blackpool, Stockport County, Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion, Nottingham Forest, Leicester City and Bolton Wanderers...

25 October 2007 19th
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....

  Martin Jol
Martin Jol
Maarten Cornelis "Martin" Jol is a Dutch football manager and former midfielder who currently manages Fulham in the Premier League. Jol played over 400 games during his career which included spells in the Netherlands, Germany, and England, as well as earning three caps with the Dutch national team...

Contract terminated 25 October 2007   Juande Ramos 27 October 2007 18th
Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic F.C.
Wigan Athletic Football Club is an English Premier League Association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, having been promoted from the Championship in 2005. Wigan's current spell in the Premier League is the only top flight run in the club's history.They have played at the DW...

  Chris Hutchings
Chris Hutchings
Christopher "Chris" Hutchings is an English former footballer and former manager of Walsall. He played for a number of clubs including Chelsea and played more than 100 games for Brighton & Hove Albion and Huddersfield Town...

Contract terminated 5 November 2007   Steve Bruce
Steve Bruce
Stephen Roger "Steve" Bruce is an English football manager and former player. Born in Corbridge, Northumberland, he was a promising schoolboy footballer but was rejected by a number of professional clubs. He was on the verge of quitting the game altogether when he was offered a trial with Gillingham...

26 November 2007 18th
Birmingham City
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...

  Steve Bruce
Steve Bruce
Stephen Roger "Steve" Bruce is an English football manager and former player. Born in Corbridge, Northumberland, he was a promising schoolboy footballer but was rejected by a number of professional clubs. He was on the verge of quitting the game altogether when he was offered a trial with Gillingham...

Wigan purchased rights for £3m 19 November 2007   Alex McLeish
Alex McLeish
Alexander "Alex" McLeish , is a Scottish former professional footballer and manager, who is currently managing English Premier League club Aston Villa...

28 November 2007 15th
Derby County
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...

  Billy Davies
Billy Davies
William McIntosh "Billy" Davies is a Glasgow-born Scottish football manager, noted for his achievement in the Football League Championship with East Midlands Rivals Derby County and Nottingham Forest and Preston North End which has led him to be described, in 2011, as "probably the best manager at...

Mutual consent 26 November 2007   Paul Jewell
Paul Jewell
Paul Steven Jewell is a former English footballer who is currently the manager of Ipswich Town.His playing career started with Liverpool before moving to Wigan Athletic and then a ten-year spell with Bradford City...

28 November 2007 20th
Fulham
Fulham F.C.
Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...

  Lawrie Sanchez
Lawrie Sanchez
Lawrence Philip "Lawrie" Sanchez is a former Northern Irish football manager, and a former player. He is currently the manager of League Two side Barnet...

Contract terminated 21 December 2007   Roy Hodgson
Roy Hodgson
Roy Hodgson is a former English footballer and current head coach of West Bromwich Albion.Hodgson, who has managed sixteen different teams in eight countries, guided the Switzerland national team to the last 16 of the 1994 World Cup and qualification for Euro 1996; Switzerland had not qualified...

30 December 2007 18th
Newcastle United
Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...

  Sam Allardyce
Sam Allardyce
Samuel "Sam" Allardyce , nicknamed "Big Sam", is an English football manager and former professional player. In June 2011 he was appointed as manager of West Ham United....

Mutual consent 9 January 2008   Kevin Keegan
Kevin Keegan
Joseph Kevin Keegan, OBE is a former international footballer and former manager of the England national football team and several English clubs, most notably Newcastle United....

16 January 2008 11th
Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...

  Avram Grant Contract terminated 24 May 2008   Luiz Felipe Scolari
Luiz Felipe Scolari
Luiz Felipe Scolari , ComIH , also known as Felipão in Brazil and Phil Scolari in the United Kingdom, is a World Cup-winning Brazilian football manager. He is currently the manager of Palmeiras. He served as the manager of the Portuguese national team from July 12, 2003 to June 30, 2008...

1 July 2008 Post-season (2nd)
Manchester City
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...

  Sven-Göran Eriksson
Sven-Göran Eriksson
Sven-Göran Eriksson , in Sweden commonly referred to just by his nickname Svennis, is a Swedish ex-football manager. From October 2010 to October 2011 he managed Football League Championship side Leicester City....

Mutual consent 2 June 2008   Mark Hughes
Mark Hughes
Leslie Mark Hughes, OBE , is a former Welsh international footballer. As an international footballer, he made 72 appearances and scored 16 goals....

4 June 2008 Post-season (9th)
Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....

  Mark Hughes
Mark Hughes
Leslie Mark Hughes, OBE , is a former Welsh international footballer. As an international footballer, he made 72 appearances and scored 16 goals....

Manchester City purchased rights for £4.6m 4 June 2008   Paul Ince
Paul Ince
Paul Emerson Carlyle Ince is an English football manager and a former professional player. He has managed Blackburn Rovers, Milton Keynes Dons and Macclesfield Town...

22 June 2008 Post-season (7th)

Records

  • Derby County
    Derby County F.C.
    Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...

     finished with the worst record since the league was founded in 1992–93 and also the worst since the introduction of the three points for a win rule. Among the records set by the Rams were:
    • A final record of one win, eight draws and 29 losses for a total of eleven points, worse than the Sunderland
      Sunderland A.F.C.
      Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...

       team from 2005–06, with the previously set lows of three wins, six draws and 29 losses totalling fifteen points. The single win, coming at home against Newcastle United
      Newcastle United F.C.
      Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...

       1–0 on 17 September was also a record for the fewest wins in a Premier League campaign
    • Derby's 20 goals scored as a team (with Ronaldo, Adebayor and Torres each scoring more goals individually) was lower than the 2002–03 Black Cats' total with 21 goals scored. This marked the third time a team was outscored by one or more players. The team also failed to score in 21 of their 38 games
    • Their −69 goal difference (20 goals scored, 89 conceded) was worse than Ipswich Town
      Ipswich Town F.C.
      Ipswich Town Football Club are an English professional football team based in Ipswich, Suffolk. As of 2011, they play in the Football League Championship, having last appeared in the Premier League in 2001–02....

      's 1994–95 goal difference of −57 (36 goals scored, 93 conceded). The 89 goals they conceded was the worst defensive performance by a team since Ipswich Town conceded 93 goals in 1994–95. It was also the worst record since the Premier League adopted the 20-team, 38-match format in 1995–96
    • The 29 defeats they suffered equalled the 2005–06 Sunderland team for the most losses suffered in one Premier League season
  • Chelsea's 85 points accumulated was a new record for the most points gained in a 38-game season without securing the title. The 83 points achieved by Arsenal was a new record for the most points gained in a 38-game season for finishing third
  • Manchester United's goal difference of +58 was the greatest ever attained in a Premier League season, beating the record set by Chelsea in 2004–05
  • Cristiano Ronaldo
    Cristiano Ronaldo
    Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH, , commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger or striker for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and is the captain of the Portuguese national team...

     beat his own record for most goals scored by a midfielder, raising the record to 31 goals. The previous record was 17 goals, from the previous season. Furthermore, his goal total equalled the highest number of goals ever scored in the Premier League during a 38-game season, equalling the record first set by Blackburn Rovers' Alan Shearer
    Alan Shearer
    Alan Shearer OBE, DL is a retired English footballer. He played as a striker in the top level of English league football for Southampton, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United and for the England national team...

     during the 1995–96 season
  • Marcus Bent
    Marcus Bent
    Marcus Nathan Bent is an English football striker who plays for Indonesian club Mitra Kukar. A former England under-21 international, the journeyman striker has played for fourteen different clubs, playing over 570 games and scoring 110 goals in the process.A England under-21 international, he...

     and Roque Santa Cruz
    Roque Santa Cruz
    Roque Luis Santa Cruz Cantero is a Paraguayan footballer currently playing as a striker for La Liga club Real Betis on loan from Manchester City and the Paraguay national football team....

     each scored a hat trick for their team during Wigan Athletic
    Wigan Athletic F.C.
    Wigan Athletic Football Club is an English Premier League Association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, having been promoted from the Championship in 2005. Wigan's current spell in the Premier League is the only top flight run in the club's history.They have played at the DW...

    's 5–3 victory over Blackburn Rovers
    Blackburn Rovers F.C.
    Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....

     on 15 December 2007. This is the first time in Premier League history that players from opposing sides both scored hat-tricks in the same match
  • Emmanuel Adebayor
    Emmanuel Adebayor
    Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor is a Togolese footballer who plays for Tottenham Hotspur as a striker on loan from Manchester City. He plays in the same position for the Togo national team. Adebayor previously played for Metz, Monaco and Arsenal and was voted African Footballer of the Year for 2008...

     scored two hat tricks home and away against Derby. This was the first time in the Premier League that a player had scored a hat trick against the same team twice in the league
  • Fernando Torres
    Fernando Torres
    Fernando José Torres Sanz , nicknamed , is a Spanish footballer who plays for Chelsea and the Spain national team as a striker....

    scored 24 goals for Liverpool, a new record for goals scored by a foreign player during his debut season

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