2007–08 Premier League

The 2007–08 Premier League (known as the Barclays Premier League for sponsorship reasons) season was the 16th 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 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 (which mean UEFA Champions League qualification).

Premier League
Manchester United celebrating their 10th Premier League title following their win at Wigan
Season2007–08
Dates11 August 2007 – 11 May 2008
ChampionsManchester United
10th Premier League title
17th English title
RelegatedReading
Birmingham City
Derby County
Champions LeagueManchester United
Chelsea
Arsenal
Liverpool
UEFA CupPortsmouth
Everton
Tottenham Hotspur
Manchester City
Intertoto CupAston Villa
Matches played380
Goals scored1,002 (2.64 per match)
Top goalscorerCristiano Ronaldo (31 goals)
Biggest home winMiddlesbrough 8–1 Manchester City
(11 May 2008)
Biggest away winDerby County 0–6 Aston Villa
(12 April 2008)
Highest scoringPortsmouth 7–4 Reading
(29 September 2007)
Longest winning run8 games[1]
Manchester United
Longest unbeaten run21 games[1]
Chelsea
Longest winless run32 games[1]
Derby County
Longest losing run8 games[1]
Reading
Wigan Athletic
Highest attendance76,013[2]
Manchester United v West Ham United
(3 May 2008)
Lowest attendance14,007[2]
Wigan Athletic v Middlesbrough
(15 August 2007)
Average attendance36,076[2]

The first goal of the season was scored by Michael Chopra, who scored a 94th-minute winner for Sunderland against Tottenham in the early kick-off.[3] The first red card of the season was given to Reading's Dave Kitson after a challenge on Patrice Evra in their opening game against Manchester United.[4] The first hat-trick was scored by Emmanuel Adebayor in the match between Arsenal and Derby County.[5]

On 29 September 2007, Portsmouth beat Reading 7–4 in the highest-scoring match in Premier League history.[6] On 15 December 2007, both Roque Santa Cruz (Blackburn Rovers) and Marcus Bent (Wigan Athletic) scored hat-tricks 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.[7]

On 29 March 2008, Derby County drew 2–2 with Fulham while Birmingham City, who were 17th in the table at the time, beat Manchester City 3–1, to make Derby County the first team in Premier League history to be relegated in March,[8] ending the season with an all-time top flight 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 drew 1–1 with Bolton Wanderers, thus crowning Manchester United with their tenth Premier League title, and 17th championship overall, just one behind Liverpool's total of 18. Meanwhile, despite Birmingham beating Blackburn Rovers 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 beat Manchester City 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 for the period from 1 May 2008 to 30 April 2009. This followed the success of English clubs in the UEFA Champions League, 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 Heysel Stadium disaster in 1985.

Teams

Twenty teams competed in the league – the top seventeen teams from the previous season and the three teams promoted from the Championship. The promoted teams were Sunderland, Birmingham City (both teams returning after a season's absence) and Derby County (returning after a five-year absence). They replaced Sheffield United, Charlton Athletic and Watford. The previous season had seen Sheffield United and Watford both suffer an immediate return to the Championship, while Charlton Athletic were relegated after a seven-year top flight spell.

Stadiums and locations
Locations of the 2007–08 Premier League teams
Greater London Premier League football clubs
Greater Manchester Premier League football clubs
Team Location Stadium Capacity
Arsenal London (Holloway) Emirates Stadium 60,355
Aston Villa Birmingham (Aston) Villa Park 42,640
Birmingham City Birmingham (Bordesley) St Andrew's Stadium 30,009
Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Ewood Park 31,367
Bolton Wanderers Bolton Reebok Stadium 28,723
Chelsea London (Fulham) Stamford Bridge 42,055
Derby County Derby Pride Park Stadium 33,597
Everton Liverpool (Walton) Goodison Park 40,157
Fulham London (Fulham) Craven Cottage 26,300
Liverpool Liverpool (Anfield) Anfield 45,276
Manchester City Manchester (Bradford) City of Manchester Stadium 47,726
Manchester United Manchester (Old Trafford) Old Trafford 76,212
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough Riverside Stadium 35,049
Newcastle United Newcastle upon Tyne St James' Park 52,387
Portsmouth Portsmouth Fratton Park 20,688
Reading Reading Madejski Stadium 24,161
Sunderland Sunderland Stadium of Light 49,000
Tottenham Hotspur London (Tottenham) White Hart Lane 36,244
West Ham United London (Upton Park) Upton Park 35,303
Wigan Athletic Wigan JJB Stadium 25,138

Personnel and kits
Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
Arsenal France Arsène Wenger France William Gallas Nike Emirates
Aston Villa Northern Ireland Martin O'Neill England Gareth Barry Nike 32red
Birmingham City Scotland Alex McLeish Northern Ireland Damien Johnson Umbro F&C Investments
Blackburn Rovers Wales Mark Hughes New Zealand Ryan Nelsen Umbro Bet 24
Bolton Wanderers England Gary Megson England Kevin Davies Reebok Reebok
Chelsea Israel Avram Grant England John Terry Adidas Samsung Mobile
Derby County England Paul Jewell Wales Robbie Savage Adidas Derbyshire Building Society
Everton Scotland David Moyes England Phil Neville Umbro Chang Beer
Fulham England Roy Hodgson United States Brian McBride Nike LG
Liverpool Spain Rafael Benítez England Steven Gerrard Adidas Carlsberg
Manchester City Sweden Sven-Göran Eriksson Republic of Ireland Richard Dunne Le Coq Sportif Thomas Cook.com
Manchester United Scotland Sir Alex Ferguson England Gary Neville Nike AIG
Middlesbrough England Gareth Southgate Netherlands George Boateng Erreà Garmin[9]
Newcastle United England Kevin Keegan England Nicky Butt Adidas Northern Rock
Portsmouth England Harry Redknapp England Sol Campbell Canterbury Oki
Reading England Steve Coppell Scotland Graeme Murty Puma Kyocera
Sunderland Republic of Ireland Roy Keane England Dean Whitehead Umbro boylesports.com
Tottenham Hotspur Spain Juande Ramos England Ledley King Puma Mansion Casino
West Ham United England Alan Curbishley Australia Lucas Neill Umbro XL Airways
Wigan Athletic England Steve Bruce Netherlands Mario Melchiot Umbro JJB Sports

In addition, Premier League officials were supplied with new kit made by Umbro, 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.[10]

Managerial changes
Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Wigan Athletic England Paul Jewell Resigned 14 May 2007[11] Pre-season England Chris Hutchings 14 May 2007[12]
Newcastle United England Nigel Pearson (caretaker) End of caretaker period 14 May 2007 England Sam Allardyce 15 May 2007[13]
Manchester City England Stuart Pearce Sacked 14 May 2007[14] Sweden Sven-Göran Eriksson 6 July 2007[15]
Chelsea Portugal José Mourinho Mutual consent 20 September 2007[16] 5th Israel Avram Grant 20 September 2007[16]
Bolton Wanderers England Sammy Lee 17 October 2007[17] 19th England Gary Megson 25 October 2007[18]
Tottenham Hotspur Netherlands Martin Jol Sacked 25 October 2007[19] 18th Spain Juande Ramos 27 October 2007[20]
Wigan Athletic England Chris Hutchings 5 November 2007[21] England Steve Bruce 26 November 2007[22]
Birmingham City England Steve Bruce Wigan purchased rights for £3m 19 November 2007[22] 15th Scotland Alex McLeish 28 November 2007[23]
Derby County Scotland Billy Davies Mutual consent 26 November 2007[24] 20th England Paul Jewell 28 November 2007[25]
Fulham Northern Ireland Lawrie Sanchez Sacked 21 December 2007[26] 18th England Roy Hodgson 30 December 2007[27]
Newcastle United England Sam Allardyce Mutual consent 9 January 2008[28] 11th England Kevin Keegan 16 January 2008[29]

League table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Manchester United (C) 38 27 6 5 80 22 +58 87 Qualification for the Champions League group stage
2 Chelsea 38 25 10 3 65 26 +39 85
3 Arsenal 38 24 11 3 74 31 +43 83 Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round
4 Liverpool 38 21 13 4 67 28 +39 76
5 Everton 38 19 8 11 55 33 +22 65 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
6 Aston Villa 38 16 12 10 71 51 +20 60 Qualification for the Intertoto Cup third round
7 Blackburn Rovers 38 15 13 10 50 48 +2 58
8 Portsmouth 38 16 9 13 48 40 +8 57 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round[lower-alpha 1]
9 Manchester City 38 15 10 13 45 53 −8 55 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first qualifying round[lower-alpha 2]
10 West Ham United 38 13 10 15 42 50 −8 49
11 Tottenham Hotspur 38 11 13 14 66 61 +5 46 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round[lower-alpha 3]
12 Newcastle United 38 11 10 17 45 65 −20 43
13 Middlesbrough 38 10 12 16 43 53 −10 42
14 Wigan Athletic 38 10 10 18 34 51 −17 40
15 Sunderland 38 11 6 21 36 59 −23 39
16 Bolton Wanderers 38 9 10 19 36 54 −18 37
17 Fulham 38 8 12 18 38 60 −22 36
18 Reading (R) 38 10 6 22 41 66 −25 36 Relegation to the Football League Championship
19 Birmingham City (R) 38 8 11 19 46 62 −16 35
20 Derby County (R) 38 1 8 29 20 89 −69 11
Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
For further information on European qualification see Premier League – Competition
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. As FA Cup winners
  2. Manchester City qualified as the highest-ranked team not already qualified for European competitions of Premier League Fair Play Ranking by The Football Association, the top association among UEFA Fair Play ranking winners.
  3. As League Cup winners

Results
Home \ Away ARS AVL BIR BLB BOL CHE DER EVE FUL LIV MCI MUN MID NEW POR REA SUN TOT WHU WIG
Arsenal 1–1 1–1 2–0 2–0 1–0 5–0 1–0 2–1 1–1 1–0 2–2 1–1 3–0 3–1 2–0 3–2 2–1 2–0 2–0
Aston Villa 1–2 5–1 1–1 4–0 2–0 2–0 2–0 2–1 1–2 1–1 1–4 1–1 4–1 1–3 3–1 0–1 2–1 1–0 0–2
Birmingham City 2–2 1–2 4–1 1–0 0–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 2–2 3–1 0–1 3–0 1–1 0–2 1–1 2–2 4–1 0–1 3–2
Blackburn Rovers 1–1 0–4 2–1 4–1 0–1 3–1 0–0 1–1 0–0 1–0 1–1 1–1 3–1 0–1 4–2 1–0 1–1 0–1 3–1
Bolton Wanderers 2–3 1–1 3–0 1–2 0–1 1–0 1–2 0–0 1–3 0–0 1–0 0–0 1–3 0–1 3–0 2–0 1–1 1–0 4–1
Chelsea 2–1 4–4 3–2 0–0 1–1 6–1 1–1 0–0 0–0 6–0 2–1 1–0 2–1 1–0 1–0 2–0 2–0 1–0 1–1
Derby County 2–6 0–6 1–2 1–2 1–1 0–2 0–2 2–2 1–2 1–1 0–1 0–1 1–0 2–2 0–4 0–0 0–3 0–5 0–1
Everton 1–4 2–2 3–1 1–1 2–0 0–1 1–0 3–0 1–2 1–0 0–1 2–0 3–1 3–1 1–0 7–1 0–0 1–1 2–1
Fulham 0–3 2–1 2–0 2–2 2–1 1–2 0–0 1–0 0–2 3–3 0–3 1–2 0–1 0–2 3–1 1–3 3–3 0–1 1–1
Liverpool 1–1 2–2 0–0 3–1 4–0 1–1 6–0 1–0 2–0 1–0 0–1 3–2 3–0 4–1 2–1 3–0 2–2 4–0 1–1
Manchester City 1–3 1–0 1–0 2–2 4–2 0–2 1–0 0–2 2–3 0–0 1–0 3–1 3–1 3–1 2–1 1–0 2–1 1–1 0–0
Manchester United 2–1 4–0 1–0 2–0 2–0 2–0 4–1 2–1 2–0 3–0 1–2 4–1 6–0 2–0 0–0 1–0 1–0 4–1 4–0
Middlesbrough 2–1 0–3 2–0 1–2 0–1 0–2 1–0 0–2 1–0 1–1 8–1 2–2 2–2 2–0 0–1 2–2 1–1 1–2 1–0
Newcastle United 1–1 0–0 2–1 0–1 0–0 0–2 2–2 3–2 2–0 0–3 0–2 1–5 1–1 1–4 3–0 2–0 3–1 3–1 1–0
Portsmouth 0–0 2–0 4–2 0–1 3–1 1–1 3–1 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 1–1 0–1 0–0 7–4 1–0 0–1 0–0 2–0
Reading 1–3 1–2 2–1 0–0 0–2 1–2 1–0 1–0 0–2 3–1 2–0 0–2 1–1 2–1 0–2 2–1 0–1 0–3 2–1
Sunderland 0–1 1–1 2–0 1–2 3–1 0–1 1–0 0–1 1–1 0–2 1–2 0–4 3–2 1–1 2–0 2–1 1–0 2–1 2–0
Tottenham Hotspur 1–3 4–4 2–3 1–2 1–1 4–4 4–0 1–3 5–1 0–2 2–1 1–1 1–1 1–4 2–0 6–4 2–0 4–0 4–0
West Ham United 0–1 2–2 1–1 2–1 1–1 0–4 2–1 0–2 2–1 1–0 0–2 2–1 3–0 2–2 0–1 1–1 3–1 1–1 1–1
Wigan Athletic 0–0 1–2 2–0 5–3 1–0 0–2 2–0 1–2 1–1 0–1 1–1 0–2 1–0 1–0 0–2 0–0 3–0 1–1 1–0
Source: Barclays Premier League
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Season statistics

Scoring
  • First goal of the season: Michael Chopra for Sunderland against Tottenham Hotspur (11 August 2007)[3]
  • Last goal of the season: Matthew Taylor for Bolton Wanderers against Chelsea (11 May 2008)[30]
  • Fastest goal in a match: 28 seconds – Geovanni for Manchester City against Wigan Athletic (1 December 2007)[31]
  • Goal scored at the latest point in a match: 90+6 minutes – Andy Reid for Sunderland against West Ham United (29 March 2008)[32]
  • Widest winning margin: 7 goals – Middlesbrough 8–1 Manchester City (11 May 2008)[33]
  • Most goals in a match: 11 – Portsmouth F.C. 7–4 Reading F.C. (29 September 2007)[6]
  • First hat-trick of the season: Emmanuel Adebayor for Arsenal against Derby County (22 September 2007)[5]
  • First own goal of the season: Martin Laursen for Liverpool against Aston Villa (11 August 2007)[34]
  • Most goals by one player in a single match: 4
  • Most hat-tricks scored by one player: 2
    • Benjani for Portsmouth
      • Portsmouth 7–4 Reading (29 September 2007)[6]
      • Portsmouth 3–1 Derby County (19 January 2008)[37]
    • Fernando Torres for Liverpool
      • Liverpool 3–2 Middlesbrough (23 February 2008)[38]
      • Liverpool 4–0 West Ham United (5 March 2008)[39]
    • Emmanuel Adebayor for Arsenal
      • Arsenal 5–0 Derby County (22 September 2007)[5]
      • Derby County 2–6 Arsenal (28 April 2008)[40]
        • 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)[41]
  • Most goals in one half by one team: 6
    • Manchester United 6–0 Newcastle United (12 January 2008)[42]
    • Middlesbrough 8–1 Manchester City (11 May 2008)[41]
  • Most goals scored by losing team: 4 – Reading
    • Portsmouth 7–4 Reading (29 September 2007)[6]
    • Tottenham Hotspur 6–4 Reading (29 December 2007)[35]

Top scorers
Rank Player Club Goals[43]
1 Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo Manchester United 31
2 Togo Emmanuel Adebayor Arsenal 24
Spain Fernando Torres Liverpool
4 Paraguay Roque Santa Cruz Blackburn Rovers 19
5 Zimbabwe Benjani Portsmouth / Manchester City 15
Bulgaria Dimitar Berbatov Tottenham Hotspur
Republic of Ireland Robbie Keane
Nigeria Yakubu Everton
9 Argentina Carlos Tevez Manchester United 14
10 Norway John Carew Aston Villa 13

Fastest scorers
Scorer Time (seconds) Team Opponent
Geovanni 28 Manchester City Wigan Athletic
Cameron Jerome 32 Birmingham City Derby County
Yakubu 47 Everton Portsmouth
David Healy 50 Fulham Arsenal

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

Discipline
  • First yellow card of the season: Didier Zokora for Tottenham Hotspur against Sunderland (11 August 2007)[3]
  • First red card of the season: Dave Kitson for Reading against Manchester United (12 August 2007)[4]
  • 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)[44]
  • Lowest average home attendance: 19,046 (Wigan Athletic)[44]

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)

Records
  • Derby County 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 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 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'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 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 during the 1995–96 season
  • Marcus Bent and Roque Santa Cruz each scored a hat trick for their team during Wigan Athletic's 5–3 victory over Blackburn Rovers 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[7]
  • Emmanuel Adebayor 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 scored 24 goals for Liverpool, a new record for goals scored by a foreign player during his debut season[45]

Awards

Monthly awards
MonthManager of the MonthPlayer of the Month
August 2007Sven-Göran Eriksson (Manchester City)[46]Micah Richards (Manchester City)[46]
September 2007Arsène Wenger (Arsenal)[47]Cesc Fàbregas (Arsenal)[47]
October 2007Mark Hughes (Blackburn Rovers)[48]Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)[48]
November 2007Martin O'Neill (Aston Villa)[49]Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa)[49]
December 2007Arsène Wenger (Arsenal)[50]Roque Santa Cruz (Blackburn Rovers)[50]
January 2008Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United)[51]Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)[51]
February 2008David Moyes (Everton)[52]Fernando Torres (Liverpool)[52]
March 2008Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United)[53]Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)[53]
April 2008Avram Grant (Chelsea)[54]Ashley Young (Aston Villa)[54]

Premier League Manager of the Season

Sir Alex Ferguson picked up the Premier League Manager of the Season award for the eighth time.[55]

Premier League Player of the Season

Cristiano Ronaldo won the Premier League Player of the Season accolade for the second season in succession.[55]

PFA Players' Player of the Year

The PFA Players' Player of the Year award for 2008 was won by Cristiano Ronaldo for the second year in a row.[56]

The shortlist for the PFA Players' Player of the Year award, in alphabetical order, was as follows:

PFA Team of the Year

Goalkeeper: David James (Portsmouth)
Defence: Bacary Sagna, Gaël Clichy (both Arsenal), Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidić (both Manchester United)
Midfield: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United), Cesc Fàbregas (Arsenal), Ashley Young (Aston Villa)
Attack: Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal), Fernando Torres (Liverpool)

PFA Young Player of the Year

The PFA Young Player of the Year award was won by Cesc Fàbregas of Arsenal.[56]

The shortlist for the award was as follows:

FWA Footballer of the Year

The FWA Footballer of the Year award for 2008 was won by Cristiano Ronaldo for a second successive season. The Manchester United winger saw off the challenges of Liverpool striker Fernando Torres and Portsmouth goalkeeper David James, who finished second and third respectively.[57]

Premier League Golden Boot

Cristiano Ronaldo was named the winner of the Premier League 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 and Fernando Torres of Liverpool. This was the first Premier League season that a player has scored more than 30 goals since Alan Shearer's 31-goal haul for Blackburn Rovers twelve years prior.[55][58]

Premier League Golden Glove

Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina claimed the Premier League Golden Glove award 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.[59]

Premier League Fair Play Award

The Premier League 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.[60] The least sporting side was Blackburn Rovers who finished in last place in the rankings.[61]

LMA Manager of the Year

The LMA Manager of the Year award was won by Sir Alex Ferguson after leading Manchester United to back-to-back league title wins. The award was presented by Fabio Capello on 13 May 2008.[62]

PFA Fans' Player of the Year

2007 winner, Cristiano Ronaldo, was named the PFA Fans' Player of the Year again in 2008. Liverpool striker Fernando Torres finished second, with Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fàbregas finishing third.[63]

PFA Merit Award

BBC broadcaster and former England and Blackpool full-back Jimmy Armfield received the PFA Merit Award for his services to the game.[56]

Premier League Merit Award

Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese winger, collected the Premier League Merit Award for reaching 30 league goals this season.[58]

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