| Season | 2004–05 |
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| Champions | Chelsea 1st Premier League title 2nd English title |
| Champions League | Chelsea (group stage) Arsenal (group stage) Manchester United (third qualifying round) Everton (third qualifying round) Liverpool (first qualifying round) |
| Matches played | 380 |
| Goals scored | 974 (2.56 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Thierry Henry (25 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Arsenal 7–0 Everton (11 May 2005) |
| Biggest away win | West Bromwich Albion 0–5 Liverpool |
| Highest scoring | Tottenham Hotspur 4–5 Arsenal (13 November 2004) (9 goals) |
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← 2003–04
2005–06 →
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The 2004–05 season of the FA Premier League began on 14 August 2004 and ended on 15 May 2005. Arsenal were the defending champions after going unbeaten the previous season.
In the domestic cup competitions, Arsenal won the FA Cup after beating holders Manchester United on penalties in the final. Chelsea won the Football League Cup, beating Liverpool (who had defeated holders Middlesbrough in the 4th round) 3–2 after extra time.
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Comments |
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Chelsea |
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Arsenal |
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Manchester United |
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3rd qualifying round |
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Everton |
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Liverpool |
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1st qualifying round |
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Bolton Wanderers |
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Middlesbrough |
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Manchester City |
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Tottenham Hotspur |
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Aston Villa |
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Charlton Athletic |
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Birmingham City |
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Fulham |
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Newcastle United |
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Blackburn Rovers |
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Portsmouth |
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West Bromwich Albion |
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Crystal Palace |
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2005–06 Football League Championship |
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Norwich City |
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Southampton |
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Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points
1. Though they failed to qualify for the Champions League as one of the top four English clubs at the end of the season, Liverpool were given a special dispensation to compete as they were defending champions of the European competition. They were, however, forced to enter in the first qualifying round. See Liverpool F.C. 2005–06 UEFA Champions League qualification
2. Since the finalists of the 2004–05 FA Cup, Arsenal and Manchester United, as well as Chelsea, who won the 2004–05 Football League Cup, were confirmed to qualify for the 2005–06 UEFA Champions League, and the fifth-placed team (Liverpool) were moved to the Champions League, the sixth and seventh-placed teams in the Premier League were rewarded with entry to the 2005–06 UEFA Cup.
| Total Goals: | 974 |
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| Average Goals per game: | 2.56 |
Arsenal were the favourites to defend their title after finishing the previous season unbeaten, but they also faced competition in the form of regular challengers Manchester United and Chelsea, the latter under the new management of Portuguese José Mourinho, who had just won the Champions League with Porto. Liverpool also had a new manager in Spaniard Rafael Benítez, who had just won La Liga and the UEFA Cup with Valencia and were expected to challenge for the title too. Another managerial change at a club aiming for the top was at Tottenham Hotspur, who appointed Jacques Santini, who had just led France to the quarter-finals of the 2004 European Championship.
At the other end of the table, amongst those tipped for relegation were Norwich City, Crystal Palace and West Bromwich Albion, having all just been promoted from the First Division (which was rebranded this season as the Championship). Everton, Manchester City, Blackburn Rovers and Portsmouth were also tipped to struggle, the first three finishing just outside the relegation places the previous season and Portsmouth being in their second season.
These teams were promoted from the First Division at the start of the season:
These teams were relegated to the Football League Championship at the end of the season:
Although Chelsea led the Premiership virtually all season long, they faced stiff competition from eventual runners-up Arsenal and third-placed Manchester United, both of whom achieved Champions League qualification. The title seemed to be heading towards Highbury once again after Arsenal stretched their unbeaten run to 49 matches to leading Chelsea by five points and Manchester United by eleven as they travelled to Old Trafford on 24 October, only to controversially lose 2–0. Arsenal's form then dropped dramatically as Chelsea continued in great form and Manchester United kickstarted their campaign, at one stage going into second position after defeating Arsenal 4–2 at Highbury on 1 February (Arsenal's first home defeat since being beaten 3-2 by Leeds United in 2003). However, as Chelsea steamrolled all those before them with their powerful defensive style, United's form dipped after drawing at home to Blackburn and being defeated by Norwich; this allowed Arsenal to pass United, taking second place.
The fourth Champions League place went to Everton, who had been among the relegation favourites after the early season sale of striker and PFA Young Player of the Year Wayne Rooney to Manchester United; this result was even more amazing considering Everton had finished in 17th place the previous season.
Fifth-placed Liverpool would normally have qualified for the UEFA Cup, but eventually were allowed by UEFA to defend their Champions League title despite finishing outside the top four, forfeiting the UEFA Cup slot given to the fifth placed team. Liverpool had to enter in the first qualifying round, where they defeated Welsh champions TNS.
The teams in sixth place and seventh place, Bolton Wanderers and Middlesbrough, achieved UEFA Cup qualification as both the FA Cup runners-up (Manchester United) and League Cup winners (Chelsea) had qualified for the Champions League via their league position. Liverpool's entry into the Champions League did not affect either Bolton Wanderers' or Middlesbrough's UEFA Cup entry as they both achieved their best finishes in the Premiership to date.
Going into the final round of matches, no team was assured of relegation. In each of the last three weekends of the season, the team that was bottom of the table at the start of the weekend finished it outside the drop zone. The final round of the season started on 15 May with West Bromwich Albion on the bottom, Southampton and Crystal Palace one point off the bottom and Norwich City in the last safe spot, two points off the bottom. For the first time since the advent of the Premier League in 1992, no club was assured of relegation going into the final day. The final matchday was publicised by Sky Sports as "Survival Sunday", with accompanying promotional material advertising the last matchday like a title fight or an epic movie blockbuster.
West Bromwich Albion, who had been bottom of the table and eight points from safety at Christmas, did their part by defeating Portsmouth at home 2–0. Norwich, the only side to have their fate completely in their own hands, lost 6–0 at Fulham and went down. Southampton lost 2–1 at home to Manchester United and were relegated. Palace, away to Charlton, were leading 2–1 after 71 minutes, but with eight minutes to go, Charlton's Jonathan Fortune equalised to relegate Crystal Palace. Thus, West Bromwich Albion stayed up, becoming the first club in Premiership history to avoid relegation after being bottom of the table on Christmas Day.
At the end of the 90 minutes in all four matches, cameras focused on West Bromwich Albion's home ground, The Hawthorns, as confirmation of other results began to filter through. Once the realisation dawned on the players and fans that survival had been achieved, a mass pitch invasion was sparked, with huge celebrations. The Portsmouth fans joined in the celebrations as, through losing, they had "helped" relegate arch-rivals Southampton. The defeat itself mattered little to Portsmouth, as they would be unable to improve on their final position of 16th due to 15th-placed Blackburn Rovers' greater points tally.
18th place in the final Premiership table went to Crystal Palace, who drew 2–2 with Charlton Athletic on the final day of the season after being 2-1 ahead with eight minutes to play. This made way for West Bromwich Albion's Premiership survival.
19th place went to Norwich City, who had hit form late in the campaign to defeat Manchester United and Newcastle United at home to stand in 17th position on the final day of the season. Norwich could have stayed up with a win, but their fate was sealed by a 6–0 hammering at Fulham — a result which underlined the frailty of their defence, which had leaked 77 goals in 38 Premiership games.
Bottom place went to Southampton, who lost 2–1 at home to Manchester United and were relegated after 27 years in the top flight.
Sunderland, who finished top of the 2004–05 Championship, were the first team to secure promotion to the Premiership for the 2005–06 season. The second promotion place was secured on the final day of the season by runners-up Wigan Athletic, in only their 27th season of league football. The third promotion place went to West Ham United, who defeated Preston North End in the Championship playoff final.
Top scorers
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Top assists
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| Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month |
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| August | Arsène Wenger (Arsenal) | José Antonio Reyes (Arsenal) |
| September | David Moyes (Everton) | Ledley King (Tottenham Hotspur) |
| October | Harry Redknapp (Portsmouth) | Andy Johnson (Crystal Palace) |
| November | José Mourinho (Chelsea) | Arjen Robben (Chelsea) |
| December | Martin Jol (Tottenham Hotspur) | Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) |
| January | José Mourinho (Chelsea) | John Terry (Chelsea) |
| February | Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United) | Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) |
| March | Harry Redknapp (Southampton) | Joe Cole (Chelsea) |
| April | Stuart Pearce (Manchester City) | Frank Lampard (Chelsea) |
The PFA Player's Player of the year award was won by Chelsea captain John Terry. His teammate Frank Lampard came second.
Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney was the recipient for this award.
Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard won this award for the first time.
Goalkeeper — Petr Čech
Defenders — Gary Neville, John Terry, Rio Ferdinand, Ashley Cole
Midfielders — Shaun Wright-Phillips, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Arjen Robben
Strikers — Thierry Henry, Andy Johnson
Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard won this award.
Chelsea's midfielder Frank Lampard won the award.
Arsenal and French striker Thierry Henry won the award for the third time in his career with an impressive 25 goals.
Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Čech won the Golden Glove for the first time as he set a remarkable record of 10 consecutive clean sheets, as Chelsea won the title.
Chelsea manager José Mourinho won the award in his first season in England.
The Fair Play Award is merit given to the team who has been the most sporting and best behaved team. Arsenal won the award for the second year in a row, ahead of Tottenham.[2][3] The least sporting side for 2004–05 was Blackburn Rovers, who achieved a significantly lower fair play score than any other side.[4]
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