FA Premier Reserve League
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The FA Premier Reserve League is the top reserve team league for the top English football teams in the FA Premier League. Most of England's major teams field reserve sides in this league. The league is split into a northern and a southern division, commonly referred to as the Barclays Premiership Reserve League North and the Barclays Premiership Reserve League South for sponsorship reasons.
The league in its current form started out in 1999, replacing the Central League in the North and the Football Combination in the South as the top level of reserve-team football, although these competitions still continue for lower-level teams.
[edit] Past winners
| Season | Northern Division winner | Southern Division winner |
|---|---|---|
| 1999-00 | Liverpool Reserves | Derby County Reserves |
| 2000-01 | Everton Reserves | Derby County Reserves |
| 2001-02 | Manchester United Reserves | Ipswich Town Reserves |
| 2002-03 | Sunderland Reserves | Watford Reserves |
| 2003-04 | Aston Villa Reserves | Charlton Athletic Reserves |
| 2004-05 | Manchester United Reserves | Charlton Athletic Reserves |
| 2005-06 | Manchester United Reserves | Tottenham Hotspur Reserves |
From 2004-05 onwards, the League held its first play-off between the champions of the two sections. Northern Champions Manchester United Reserves beat Southern Champions Charlton Athletic Reserves 4-2 at The Valley. In the 2005-06 Play-off, held at Old Trafford, Manchester United Reserves beat Tottenham Hotspur Reserves 2-0.
[edit] Current participants
The Reserve League has been restructured for 2006-07, with only reserve teams of members of the FA Premier League taking part in the competition. The current 20 members of the Premier Reserve League are:
| Northern Division | Southern Division |
|---|---|
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Arsenal • Aston Villa • Blackburn Rovers • Bolton Wanderers • Charlton Athletic • Chelsea • Everton • Fulham • Liverpool • Manchester City • Manchester United • Middlesbrough • Newcastle United • Portsmouth • Reading • Sheffield United • Tottenham Hotspur • Watford • West Ham United • Wigan Athletic |
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Premier League seasons
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1992–93 • 1993–94 • 1994–95 • 1995–96 • 1996–97 • 1997–98 • 1998–99 • 1999–00 • 2000–01 • 2001–02 • 2002–03 • 2003–04 • 2004–05 • 2005–06 • 2006–07 |
