2005/2006 SEASON
Sunday 7th May 2006
| Pld W D L F A | Pld W D L F A | Pld W D L F A GD Pts |
1. CHELSEA 19 18 1 0 47 9 19 11 3 5 25 13 38 29 4 5 72 22 +50 91
2. Manchester United 19 13 5 1 37 8 19 12 3 4 35 26 38 25 8 5 72 34 +38 83
3. Liverpool 19 15 3 1 32 8 19 10 4 5 25 17 38 25 7 6 57 25 +32 82
4. Arsenal 19 14 3 2 48 13 19 6 4 9 20 18 38 20 7 11 68 31 +37 67
5. Tottenham Hotspur 19 12 5 2 31 16 19 6 6 7 22 22 38 18 11 9 53 38 +15 65
6. Blackburn Rovers 19 13 3 3 31 17 19 6 3 10 20 25 38 19 6 13 51 42 +9 63
- - - - - - - - - - - EUROPEAN QUALIFICATION - - - - - - - - - -
7. Newcastle United 19 11 5 3 28 15 19 6 2 11 19 27 38 17 7 14 47 42 +5 58
8. Bolton Wanderers 19 11 5 3 29 13 19 4 6 9 20 28 38 15 11 12 49 41 +8 56
9. West Ham United 19 9 3 7 30 25 19 7 4 8 22 30 38 16 7 15 52 55 -3 55
10. Wigan Athletic 19 7 3 9 24 26 19 8 3 8 21 26 38 15 6 17 45 52 -7 51
11. Everton 19 8 4 7 22 22 19 6 4 9 12 27 38 14 8 16 34 49 -15 50
12. Fulham 19 13 2 4 31 21 19 1 4 14 17 37 38 14 6 18 48 58 -10 48
13. Charlton Athletic 19 8 4 7 22 21 19 5 4 10 19 34 38 13 8 17 41 55 -14 47
14. Middlesbrough 19 7 5 7 28 30 19 5 4 10 20 28 38 12 9 17 48 58 -10 45
15. Manchester City 19 9 2 8 26 20 19 4 2 13 17 28 38 13 4 21 43 48 -5 43
16. Aston Villa 19 6 6 7 20 20 19 4 6 9 22 35 38 10 12 16 42 55 -13 42
17. Portsmouth 19 5 7 7 17 24 19 5 1 13 20 38 38 10 8 20 37 62 -25 38
- - - - - - - - - - - RELEGATED TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP - - - - - - - - - -
18. Birmingham City 19 6 5 8 19 20 19 2 5 12 9 30 38 8 10 20 28 50 -22 34
19. West Bromwich Albion 19 6 2 11 21 24 19 1 7 11 10 34 38 7 9 22 31 58 -27 30
20. Sunderland 19 1 4 14 12 37 19 2 2 15 14 32 38 3 6 29 26 69 -43 15
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUALIFIERS:
Chelsea
Manchester United
Liverpool
Arsenal
UEFA CUP QUALIFIERS:
Tottenham Hotspur
Blackburn Rovers
West Ham United (FA Cup Finalists)
INTERTOTO CUP:
Newcastle United
PROMOTED FROM THE CHAMPIONSHIP:
Reading (1st)
Sheffield United (2nd)
Watford (Play-off Winners)
RELEGATED TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP:
Birmingham City
West Bromwich Albion
Sunderland
Chelsea 2-1 Arsenal
FA CUP FINAL:
Liverpool 3-3 West Ham United (AET; Liverpool won 3-1 on penalties)
CARLING CUP FINAL:
Manchester United 4-0 Wigan Athletic
WEST HAM UNITED –
It was a magnificent first season back in the Premiership after a two-year absence for Pardew’s men, and I think we certainly shocked a few teams along the way. A league finish of 9th, winning 16 games (7 of which were away from Upton Park), an FA Cup final (which we were 3 minutes of stoppage time away from deservedly winning) and a place in next season’s UEFA Cup is an outstanding effort from Hammers, and beyond almost everyone’s expectations back in August (me included).
The Highlights for me must be the fantastic FA Cup run, which included a 4-2 win over 6th-placed Blackburn Rovers, 2-1 victories over Bolton and Manchester City (after being drawn away to both) and the 1-0 semi-final win over ‘Boro. I also got to see three live West Ham cup games on the BBC, too!! Other highlights – destroying Tottenham’s hopes of a Champion’s League place with a final-day 2-1 win over our rivals at Upton Park (after they had all fallen ill, ha ha ha!), a superb 3-2 win at Arsenal in our last-ever game there. Remember Arsenal only lost two league games at home this season, the other was a 2-0 loss at home to those rich pricks Chelsea, but to be 2-0 and 3-1 up at Highbury was an amazing effort (and holding on to claim the 3 points, too). Those above results meant Hammers managed to avoid defeat to North London opposition, having claimed a dramatic last-gasp equaliser in a 1-1 draw at Spurs in November, and a 0-0 at home to Arsenal in September. Let’s not forget the opening day 3-1 win at home to Blackburn, having been on the backfoot in the first half and 0-1 down at the break – what a marvellous second half comeback, Nigel Reo-Coker’s goal was amazing! Other highlights – Harewood’s hat-trick in a 4-0 demolition of Aston Villa on a Monday night in September, winning 3 out of our first 5 league games, spending the whole season in the top 10, and incredibly, on six occasions (no less) falling a goal behind but coming back to win the match! Also, the 7 wins in a row after the 1-3 loss to Chelsea in the first game of January, which kick-started our season and set us up for that magnificent FA Cup run (I think that equalled a long-time club record as well).
Now, the low points, thankfully not too many. But I have to start with the FA Cup final – I still cannot believe we were so cruelly denied the cup after outplaying those bloody Scousers, but that’s the way these things always seem to pan out. Other things which pissed me off – not managing to nick a single point off any of the top three in the Premiership table (all of which I bloody hate, my 3 least favourite teams maybe minus Tottenham – that would be Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool). Losing 3 times to Bolton, would have been four if we had not defeated them in extra time in the FA Cup replay at Upton Park. Losing 2-4 at home to Newcastle and Portsmouth; we should have beaten Newcastle but decided to let that irritating pair Owen (who hit a hat-trick) and Shearer take the points back to Geordie-land, and being 0-3 down at home at half-time against Pompey who were languishing in 19th spot at the time wasn’t too clever (you may seem to recall the 2-1 win over Man City the previous week which began that incredible escape from relegation for Pompey). And finally, the 5-game winless run over Christmas and New Year which threatened to wreck a fine start to the season, thankfully we won the next seven consecutive games!
So generally, it was a brilliant season for West Ham United Football Club. Manager Alan Pardew must take a lot of credit for turning the club around after the struggle we had at the end of last season, and making the team play some of the best football I have ever witnessed at Upton Park. What has been achieved this season is nothing short of astonishing. Now let’s hope The Irons continue the good work next season, and let’s have a nice run in the UEFA Cup.
DJ Wittzy’s Review Of Other Premiership Teams:
ARSENAL –
Struggled to find any away form this season, losing nine matches on the road (after remaining undefeated throughout the whole of 2003/04 in the Prem), but managed to grasp the final Champion’s League spot on the final day, with a 4-2 win over Wigan in Highbury’s last-ever match before the move to The Emirates Stadium next season. Also reached the Champion’s League final, where they took the lead against Barcelona, only to lose the game 2-1 late in the second half.
ASTON VILLA –
Manager David O’Leary was under constant pressure the whole season, as his side slumped to a massively disappointing 16th position. They were dumped out of the Carling Cup by League One Doncaster, who defeated them 3-0 at Belle Vue, and were nearly upset by Wycombe in one of the previous rounds, but after trailing 3-1 at half-time they won the game 8-3!! In one of the few highlights of 05/06, they finally managed to defeat bitter rivals Birmingham 3-1 and 1-0 in the league games.
BIRMINGHAM CITY –
A disastrous season for Blues, who fell out of the Premiership after 4 seasons. Their main problem was a lack of goals – they managed just 28 in the league. Reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup where they suffered a humiliating 7-0 home defeat to eventual winners Liverpool.
BLACKBURN ROVERS –
A fantastic season for Rovers saw them seal a UEFA Cup spot with a 1-0 win over run-away leaders Chelsea. They accumulated 63 points on their way to 6th spot, only four points off a Champion’s League place. Also did the double over Manchester United, defeating them 2-1 at Old Trafford and 4-3 at Ewood Park, in which David Bentley netted a hat-trick.
BOLTON WANDERERS –
A strong start to the season slipped away as Wanderers fell out of the FA Cup and lost crucial league games as they aimed for the UEFA Cup positions again. A final finish of 8th was slightly disappointing, but just shows the good work Sam Allardyce has put in by increasing expectation levels over the years. Bolton also had a decent UEFA Cup run, but were overshadowed by Middlesbrough’s exploits in the competition.
CHARLTON ATHLETIC –
Alan Curbishley ended a 15-year stay at Charlton by announcing his exit as the season ended. Having been at the helm since the summer of 1991, Curbishley had led the Addicks to a strong start, where they joined Chelsea at the summit of the table having both won all four opening matches. Things slightly fell away from there, after they lost the next match (typically against Chelsea) 2-0. However, they did manage to gain revenge on the Blues by knocking them out of the Carling Cup at Stamford Bridge on penalties, and by being the only side to steal a point from Stamford Bridge in the Prem with a 1-1 draw.
CHELSEA –
What else is there to say about them? They truly are a bunch of c*nts, destroying the competition of the Premiership by constantly adding expensive imports to their enormous squad. However, they achieved (only) 91 points during 2005/06, compared to the record 95 the previous season. Let’s not overlook their heaviest defeat under Mourinho – 3-0 against Middlesbrough, and for the first time under his guidance, consecutive league defeats: 1-0 losses to both Blackburn and Newcastle in the final two games of the season. Despite their dominance of the Premiership, that was the only trophy the Blues could get their hands on this year!
EVERTON –
Things had looked promising for Everton before the season started, with a place in the Champion’s League via a qualification round. However, as if failing to win the qualifying tie and then losing in the first round of the UEFA Cup wasn’t a bad enough start to the season, the Toffees managed to win only 1 game (a 1-0 win at Bolton, in which they were outplayed) from their first eight matches, losing the other 7. They slipped to the bottom of the league, but managed to hold leaders Chelsea 1-1 in their next match, and finished the second half of the season strongly to end in 11th position.
FULHAM –
For all their excellent efforts at home, in which they won 13 out of a possible 19 games, Fulham could not for the life of them, perform away from fortress Craven Cottage. They finally managed to win an away league game at the end of April (2-1 at Manchester City), but then lost their next away game to Sunderland – their only home win all season! One of the highlights was a bad-tempered 1-0 win over West-London rivals Chelsea, but Fulham were also knocked out at home to Leyton Orient in the FA Cup in an inconsistent season.
LIVERPOOL –
The Reds got off to a poor start to the season, winning only 2 out of their first 8 games and losing 1-4 at home to Chelsea (their only home defeat in the league) and suffered a 2-1 loss at Crystal Palace in the Carling Cup. However, they were much better for the rest of the campaign, and remained a difficult team to beat, losing just 6 league games in total. Won their final 9 nine league games in a row to seal 3rd place and another season in the Champion’s League for 06/07. The season ended on a high after the dramatic FA Cup final win over the Hammers.
MANCHESTER CITY –
City got off to a flyer, remaining unbeaten in their first five league games, winning 3 of those, and seemed set to reach a UEFA Cup spot. However, things fell away dramatically in the second half of the season, as manager Stuart Pearce was constantly being linked to the soon-to-be vacant England manager’s post. City reached the FA Cup quarter-finals, but actually lost 21 league games, finishing in 15th spot.
MANCHESTER UNITED –
Not good enough to catch Chelsea, but still managed to take a comfortable 2nd place in the end. United fell out of the Champion’s League in the group stages and suffered heavy defeats to Middlesbrough (4-1) and great rivals Manchester City (3-1), as their Premiership campaign seemed to be derailing. However, they managed to prevent Chelsea from claiming the league championship until the end of April, when the Blues defeated the Mancs 3-0. Still managed to pick up some silverware, winning the Carling Cup with a 4-0 demolition of Wigan at Cardiff in the final.
MIDDLESBROUGH –
It was a rather strange season for ‘Boro, who managed to thrash Chelsea 3-0 and Manchester United 4-1, and also defeat Arsenal 2-1 at The Riverside Stadium. However, Arsenal got their revenge by humiliating ‘Boro 7-0 at Highbury, and the lowest point of Middlesbrough’s season was a 0-4 home loss to Aston Villa, not forgetting they were one of only two teams to lose at home to Sunderland. They recovered to finish a fairly lowly 14th, but also managed to reach the FA Cup semi-finals, and (in truly dramatic fashion) the UEFA Cup final, where they suffered a 4-0 defeat to Sevilla. Boss Steve McClaren left his post to take up the new England manager’s job after the World Cup, and Gareth Southgate has been appointed the new manager.
NEWCASTLE UNITED –
After a poor start to the season which saw the Geordies fail to net in any of their first four games, Graeme Souness was eventually given the sack, and replaced with ex-West Ham boss Glenn Roeder. Under his guidance, Newcastle soared up the table to 7th, but will be without local hero Alan Shearer for future seasons after he retired from the game. Managed to reach the FA Cup quarter-finals where they lost 1-0 at Chelsea in a very poor game.
PORTSMOUTH –
After sacking Alain Perrin after just two league wins, Pompey re-installed Harry Redknapp as manager. But despite a whole host of new signings in the January Transfer window, Pompey had still only recorded four wins and were lying in deep trouble in 19th position in mid-March. However, having guided West Ham out of trouble in a similar situation in early 1997, Redknapp took his Pompey side away from danger after going on a remarkable end-of-season run, which saw the club win 6 out of their last nine games and condemn Birmingham and West Brom to the drop in the process.
SUNDERLAND –
A truly and utterly forgettable season for the Mackems. On their last Premiership season in 2002/03, they managed only four wins in collecting a record-low 19 points. But this season they were so bad that they completely eclipsed that feat, winning only 3 matches all season – this included only one home win, in their final game at The Stadium Of Light, 2-1 against Fulham (ironically, this game had originally been abandoned first time around with Fulham leading 1-0 before heavy snow forced the match to be postponed). With a dismal 15 points, manager Mick McCarthy was axed, and Sunderland set several new unwanted records on their way to relegation to The Coca-Cola Championship. They were also defeated by League One outfit Brentford in the FA Cup.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR –
A much-improved season for the underachieving Tottenham team, which this season contained Edgar Davids. Good home form was the key, with only Chelsea and Manchester United winning at White-Hart Lane in the league. 4th spot and Champion’s League football beckoned for so long, until the final day when Spurs lost to West Ham at Upton Park, giving up the opportunity to bitter rivals Arsenal who took it with open arms. However, Spurs are still in next season’s UEFA Cup (along with West Ham, Blackburn and possibly Newcastle), but will look to improve on their cup form, having been knocked out by lower league opposition in the first rounds of both the Carling Cup (losing 1-0 Grimsby) and the FA Cup (losing 3-2 to Leicester).
WEST BROMWICH ALBION –
Having achieved the great escape in 2004/05, West Brom looked good to maintain their Premiership status for a third consecutive season, but fell apart during the crucial stages of the season; they remained winless from the 4th February (when they defeated Blackburn 2-0) to the end of the season. The Baggies only won once away from home, 1-0 at Wigan, and also suffered a home loss to doomed Sunderland.
WIGAN ATHLETIC –
A memorable first-ever Premiership season for Wigan Athletic, who stormed to second spot in the table after recording 8 wins in their first 11 matches. Unfortunately for the Latics, five consecutive defeats (against Chelsea, Man United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham) followed, but they still retained their hopes of Europe, until that dream was ended shortly before the season finished. However, a finish of 10th and reaching the final of a superb Carling Cup campaign, which saw Wigan defeat Arsenal in the semi-finals, was a tremendous achievement by Paul Jewell and his team.
MORE DJ WITTZY “FASCINATING” FACTS:
The 2005/2006 season saw the fewest goals scored in the Premier League’s history, with only 944 goals being scored in the 380 games. For those maths freaks like me, that’s an average of 2.48 goals per match. The season which saw the highest amount of goals was 1999/2000, with 1060 goals scored – an average of 2.79 goals per game. This season, there were no Premiership matches that had more than 7 goals in, that’s the first time in the 14 seasons of Premiership football that has happened. That sort of proves how dull the modern game has become, and with Chelsea buying anyone they can get their hands on, the competition has been ruined. And if I told you that in March 1993 (the first Premiership season), Norwich City were top of the Premiership table, you can see how things have become more and more predictable with the top teams and all their bloody money dominating the league.......
I would just like to add as well that, (in terms of total goals in the 38 Premiership league matches this season), West Ham United were the most entertaining, as the 38 league games they played in yielded 107 goals - more than any other team!