2004–05 FA Premier League

The 2004–05 FA Premier League (known as the FA Barclays Premiership for sponsorship reasons) began on 14 August 2004 and ended on 15 May 2005. Arsenal were the defending champions after going unbeaten the previous season. Chelsea won the title with a then record 95 points, which was previously set by Manchester United in the 1993–94 season, and later surpassed by Manchester City in the 2017–18 season (100), securing the title with a 2–0 win at the Reebok Stadium against Bolton Wanderers. Chelsea also broke a number of other records during their campaign, most notably breaking the record of most games won in a single Premier League campaign, securing 29 wins in the league in home and away matches, which was later surpassed by themselves in the 2016–17 season.

FA Premier League
Season2004–05
Dates14 August 2004 – 15 May 2005
ChampionsChelsea
1st Premier League title
2nd English title
RelegatedNorwich City
Crystal Palace
Southampton
Champions LeagueChelsea
Arsenal
Manchester United
Everton
Liverpool
UEFA CupBolton Wanderers
Middlesbrough
Intertoto CupNewcastle United
Matches played380
Goals scored975 (2.57 per match)
Top goalscorerThierry Henry (25 goals)
Biggest home winArsenal 7–0 Everton
(11 May 2005)
Biggest away winWest Bromwich Albion 0–5 Liverpool
(26 December 2004)
Highest scoringTottenham Hotspur 4–5 Arsenal
(13 November 2004)
Longest winning run8 games[1]
Chelsea
Longest unbeaten run29 games[1]
Chelsea
Longest winless run15 games[1]
West Bromwich Albion
Longest losing run6 games[1]
Bolton Wanderers
Tottenham Hotspur
Highest attendance67,989
Manchester United v Portsmouth (26 February 2005)
Lowest attendance16,180
Fulham v West Bromwich Albion (16 January 2005)
Average attendance33,893
← 2003–04

Season summary

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 UEFA 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.

Arsenal's record-breaking unbeaten streak of 49 games was ended on 24 October 2004, when Manchester United beat them 2–0 at Old Trafford.

For the first time since the advent of the Premier League in 1992, no team was mathematically relegated before the final day of the season. 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 at the bottom, Southampton and Crystal Palace one point ahead and Norwich City a further point ahead, in the last safe spot.

West Brom, who had been bottom of the table and eight points from safety on Christmas Day, 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 after 27 years in the top flight and did not return to the top flight for 7 years. Palace, away to Charlton Athletic, were leading 2–1 after 71 minutes, but with eight minutes to go, Charlton's Jonathan Fortune equalised to relegate Palace, who did not return for 8 years, where they finally avoided relegation for the first time in the Premier League era. Thus, West Brom stayed up, becoming the first club in Premier League history to avoid relegation after being bottom of the table at Christmas.

At the end of the 90 minutes in all four matches, cameras focused on West Brom'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.

Teams

Twenty teams competed in the league – the top seventeen teams from the previous season and the three teams promoted from the First Division. The promoted teams were Norwich City, West Bromwich Albion and Crystal Palace, returning to the top flight after an absence of nine, one and six years respectively. They replaced Leicester City, Leeds United and Wolverhampton Wanderers, who had been relegated to the Championship. Leicester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers were relegated after a season's presence while Leeds United ended their top flight spell of fourteen years.

Stadiums and Locations
Locations of the 2004–05 Premier League teams
Greater London Premier League football clubs
West Midlands Premier League football clubs
Team Location Stadium Capacity
Arsenal London (Highbury) Arsenal Stadium 38,419
Aston Villa Birmingham (Aston) Villa Park 42,553
Birmingham City Birmingham (Bordesley) St Andrew's 30,079
Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Ewood Park 31,367
Bolton Wanderers Bolton Reebok Stadium 28,723
Charlton Athletic London (Charlton) The Valley 27,111
Chelsea London (Fulham) Stamford Bridge 42,360
Crystal Palace London (Selhurst) Selhurst Park 25,073
Everton Liverpool (Walton) Goodison Park 40,569
Fulham London (Fulham) Craven Cottage[lower-alpha 1] 24,600
Liverpool Liverpool (Anfield) Anfield 45,276
Manchester City Manchester (Bradford) City of Manchester Stadium 48,000
Manchester United Manchester (Old Trafford) Old Trafford 68,217
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough Riverside Stadium 35,049
Newcastle United Newcastle upon Tyne St James' Park 52,387
Norwich City Norwich Carrow Road 27,010
Portsmouth Portsmouth Fratton Park 20,220
Southampton Southampton St Mary's Stadium 32,505
Tottenham Hotspur London (Tottenham) White Hart Lane 36,240
West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich The Hawthorns 26,484
  1. Fulham returned to the Craven Cottage this season after a two-year refurbishment took place at their home ground.

Personnel and kits
Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
Arsenal Arsène Wenger Patrick Vieira Nike O2
Aston Villa David O'Leary Olof Mellberg Hummel DWS Investments
Birmingham City Steve Bruce Kenny Cunningham Diadora Flybe
Blackburn Rovers Mark Hughes Garry Flitcroft Lonsdale HSA
Bolton Wanderers Sam Allardyce Jay-Jay Okocha Reebok Reebok
Charlton Athletic Alan Curbishley Matt Holland Joma All:Sports
Chelsea José Mourinho John Terry Umbro Emirates
Crystal Palace Iain Dowie Michael Hughes Diadora Churchill
Everton David Moyes David Weir Umbro Chang
Fulham Chris Coleman Lee Clark Puma dabs.com
Liverpool Rafael Benítez Steven Gerrard Reebok Carlsberg
Manchester City Stuart Pearce Sylvain Distin Reebok Thomas Cook
Manchester United Alex Ferguson Roy Keane Nike Vodafone
Middlesbrough Steve McClaren Gareth Southgate Erreà 888.com
Newcastle United Graeme Souness Alan Shearer Adidas Northern Rock
Norwich City Nigel Worthington Craig Fleming Xara Proton
Portsmouth Alain Perrin Arjan De Zeeuw Pompey Sport TY
Southampton Harry Redknapp Nigel Quashie Saints Friends Provident
Tottenham Hotspur Martin Jol Ledley King Kappa Thomson Holidays
West Bromwich Albion Bryan Robson Kevin Campbell Diadora T-Mobile

Managerial changes
Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Liverpool Gérard Houllier Mutual consent 24 May 2004[2] Pre-season Rafael Benítez 16 June 2004[3]
Chelsea Claudio Ranieri Sacked 31 May 2004 José Mourinho 2 June 2004[4]
Tottenham Hotspur David Pleat (caretaker) End of caretaker spell 1 June 2004 Jacques Santini 3 June 2004[5]
Southampton Paul Sturrock Mutual consent 23 August 2004[6] 10th Steve Wigley 23 August 2004
Newcastle United Sir Bobby Robson Sacked 30 August 2004[7] 17th Graeme Souness 6 September 2004[8]
Blackburn Rovers Graeme Souness Signed by Newcastle United 6 September 2004[8] 19th Mark Hughes 16 September 2004[9]
West Bromwich Albion Gary Megson Sacked 26 October 2004[10] 16th Bryan Robson 9 November 2004[11]
Tottenham Hotspur Jacques Santini Resigned 5 November 2004 11th Martin Jol 8 November 2004[12]
Portsmouth Harry Redknapp 24 November 2004[13] 12th Velimir Zajec 21 December 2004[14]
Southampton Steve Wigley Sacked 8 December 2004 18th Harry Redknapp 21 December 2004[15]
Manchester City Kevin Keegan Resigned 11 March 2005[16] 12th Stuart Pearce (caretaker) 11 March 2005
Portsmouth Velimir Zajec Returned to director of football position 7 April 2005 16th Alain Perrin 7 April 2005[17]
Manchester City Stuart Pearce (caretaker) End of caretaker period 12 May 2005[18] 8th Stuart Pearce 12 May 2005

League table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Chelsea (C) 38 29 8 1 72 15 +57 95 Qualification for the Champions League group stage
2 Arsenal 38 25 8 5 87 36 +51 83
3 Manchester United 38 22 11 5 58 26 +32 77 Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round
4 Everton 38 18 7 13 45 46 −1 61
5 Liverpool 38 17 7 14 52 41 +11 58 Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round[lower-alpha 1]
6 Bolton Wanderers 38 16 10 12 49 44 +5 58 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round[lower-alpha 2]
7 Middlesbrough 38 14 13 11 53 46 +7 55
8 Manchester City 38 13 13 12 47 39 +8 52
9 Tottenham Hotspur 38 14 10 14 47 41 +6 52
10 Aston Villa 38 12 11 15 45 52 −7 47
11 Charlton Athletic 38 12 10 16 42 58 −16 46
12 Birmingham City 38 11 12 15 40 46 −6 45
13 Fulham 38 12 8 18 52 60 −8 44
14 Newcastle United 38 10 14 14 47 57 −10 44 Qualification for the Intertoto Cup third round
15 Blackburn Rovers 38 9 15 14 32 43 −11 42
16 Portsmouth 38 10 9 19 43 59 −16 39
17 West Bromwich Albion 38 6 16 16 36 61 −25 34
18 Crystal Palace (R) 38 7 12 19 41 62 −21 33 Relegation to the Football League Championship
19 Norwich City (R) 38 7 12 19 42 77 −35 33
20 Southampton (R) 38 6 14 18 45 66 −21 32
Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champion; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. Although they failed to qualify for the Champions League as one of the top four English clubs, Liverpool were given a special dispensation to compete as the defending champions. They were, however, forced to enter in the first qualifying round.[19]
  2. Since the finalists of the FA Cup, Arsenal and Manchester United, as well as Chelsea, who won the 2004–05 Football League Cup, were qualified for the 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 entry to the UEFA Cup.

Results
Home \ Away ARS AVL BIR BLB BOL CHA CHE CRY EVE FUL LIV MCI MUN MID NEW NOR POR SOU TOT WBA
Arsenal 3–1 3–0 3–0 2–2 4–0 2–2 5–1 7–0 2–0 3–1 1–1 2–4 5–3 1–0 4–1 3–0 2–2 1–0 1–1
Aston Villa 1–3 1–2 1–0 1–1 0–0 0–0 1–1 1–3 2–0 1–1 1–2 0–1 2–0 4–2 3–0 3–0 2–0 1–0 1–1
Birmingham City 2–1 2–0 2–1 1–2 1–1 0–1 0–1 0–1 1–2 2–0 1–0 0–0 2–0 2–2 1–1 0–0 2–1 1–1 4–0
Blackburn Rovers 0–1 2–2 3–3 0–1 1–0 0–1 1–0 0–0 1–3 2–2 0–0 1–1 0–4 2–2 3–0 1–0 3–0 0–1 1–1
Bolton Wanderers 1–0 1–2 1–1 0–1 4–1 0–2 1–0 3–2 3–1 1–0 0–1 2–2 0–0 2–1 1–0 0–1 1–1 3–1 1–1
Charlton Athletic 1–3 3–0 3–1 1–0 1–2 0–4 2–2 2–0 2–1 1–2 2–2 0–4 1–2 1–1 4–0 2–1 0–0 2–0 1–4
Chelsea 0–0 1–0 1–1 4–0 2–2 1–0 4–1 1–0 3–1 1–0 0–0 1–0 2–0 4–0 4–0 3–0 2–1 0–0 1–0
Crystal Palace 1–1 2–0 2–0 0–0 0–1 0–1 0–2 1–3 2–0 1–0 1–2 0–0 0–1 0–2 3–3 0–1 2–2 3–0 3–0
Everton 1–4 1–1 1–1 0–1 3–2 0–1 0–1 4–0 1–0 1–0 2–1 1–0 1–0 2–0 1–0 2–1 1–0 0–1 2–1
Fulham 0–3 1–1 2–3 0–2 2–0 0–0 1–4 3–1 2–0 2–4 1–1 1–1 0–2 1–3 6–0 3–1 1–0 2–0 1–0
Liverpool 2–1 2–1 0–1 0–0 1–0 2–0 0–1 3–2 2–1 3–1 2–1 0–1 1–1 3–1 3–0 1–1 1–0 2–2 3–0
Manchester City 0–1 2–0 3–0 1–1 0–1 4–0 1–0 3–1 0–1 1–1 1–0 0–2 1–1 1–1 1–1 2–0 2–1 0–1 1–1
Manchester United 2–0 3–1 2–0 0–0 2–0 2–0 1–3 5–2 0–0 1–0 2–1 0–0 1–1 2–1 2–1 2–1 3–0 0–0 1–1
Middlesbrough 0–1 3–0 2–1 1–0 1–1 2–2 0–1 2–1 1–1 1–1 2–0 3–2 0–2 2–2 2–0 1–1 1–3 1–0 4–0
Newcastle United 0–1 0–3 2–1 3–0 2–1 1–1 1–1 0–0 1–1 1–4 1–0 4–3 1–3 0–0 2–2 1–1 2–1 0–1 3–1
Norwich City 1–4 0–0 1–0 1–1 3–2 1–0 1–3 1–1 2–3 0–1 1–2 2–3 2–0 4–4 2–1 2–2 2–1 0–2 3–2
Portsmouth 0–1 1–2 1–1 0–1 1–1 4–2 0–2 3–1 0–1 4–3 1–2 1–3 2–0 2–1 1–1 1–1 4–1 1–0 3–2
Southampton 1–1 2–3 0–0 3–2 1–2 0–0 1–3 2–2 2–2 3–3 2–0 0–0 1–2 2–2 1–2 4–3 2–1 1–0 2–2
Tottenham Hotspur 4–5 5–1 1–0 0–0 1–2 2–3 0–2 1–1 5–2 2–0 1–1 2–1 0–1 2–0 1–0 0–0 3–1 5–1 1–1
West Bromwich Albion 0–2 1–1 2–0 1–1 2–1 0–1 1–4 2–2 1–0 1–1 0–5 2–0 0–3 1–2 0–0 0–0 2–0 0–0 1–1
Source: Barclays Premier League
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Top scorers
Rank Player Club Goals
1 Thierry Henry Arsenal 25
2 Andy Johnson Crystal Palace 21
3 Robert Pires Arsenal 14
4 Jermain Defoe Tottenham Hotspur 13
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink Middlesbrough 13
Frank Lampard Chelsea 13
Yakubu Portsmouth 13
8 Andy Cole Fulham 12
Peter Crouch Southampton 12
Eiður Guðjohnsen Chelsea 12

Awards

Monthly awards
MonthManager of the MonthPlayer of the Month
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)

PFA Players' Player of the Year

The PFA Player's Player of the year award was won by Chelsea captain John Terry.

The shortlist for the PFA Players' Player of the Year award, in alphabetical order, was as follows:[20]

PFA Young Player of the Year

Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney was the recipient for this award.

PFA Fans' Player of the Year

Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard won this award for the first time.

PFA Team of the year

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

FWA Footballer of the Year

Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard won this award.

Premier League Player of the Season

Chelsea's midfielder Frank Lampard won the Premier League Player of the Season award.

Premier League Golden Boot

Arsenal and French striker Thierry Henry won the Premier League Golden Boot award for the third time in his career with 25 goals.

Premier League Golden Glove

Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Čech won the Premier League Golden Glove, for 25 clean sheets, in his debut season as he set a remarkable record of 10 consecutive clean sheets, as Chelsea won the title.

Premier League Manager of the Season

José Mourinho was awarded the Premier League Manager of the Season award after he led Chelsea to their first Premier League title, second Top division title in their history.[21][22] During his first season at the club, Chelsea won the Premier League title (their first league title in 50 years) and the League Cup. The season was also notable for the number of records set during the season: Fewest goals against in a Premier League season (15), most clean sheets kept in a season (25), most wins in a season (29), most consecutive away wins (9) and the most points in a season (95).

Premier League Fair Play Award

The Premier League 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.[23] The least sporting side for 2004–05 was Blackburn Rovers, who achieved a significantly lower fair play score than any other side.[24]

See also
  • 2004–05 in English football

References
  1. "English Premier League 2004–05". statto.com. Archived from the original on 7 October 2014. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
  2. "Houllier to leave Liverpool". BBC Sport. 24 May 2004. Retrieved 13 April 2007.
  3. "Liverpool appoint Benitez". BBC Sport. 16 June 2004.
  4. "Chelsea appoint Mourinho". BBC Sport. 2 June 2004. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
  5. "Spurs appoint Santini". BBC Sport. 3 June 2004. Retrieved 21 May 2009.
  6. "Sturrock leaves Saints". BBC Sport. 23 August 2004. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  7. "Newcastle force Robson out". BBC Sport. 30 August 2004. Retrieved 14 May 2007.
  8. "Souness takes Newcastle job". BBC Sport. 6 September 2004. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  9. "Blackburn appoint Hughes". BBC Sport. 16 September 2004. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  10. "Megson sacked by West Brom". BBC Sport. 26 October 2004. Retrieved 22 April 2007.
  11. "Baggies appoint Robson as manager". BBC Sport. 9 November 2004. Retrieved 22 August 2007.
  12. "Spurs appoint Jol as new boss". BBC Sport. 8 November 2004. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  13. "Redknapp quits as Portsmouth boss". BBC Sport. 24 November 2004. Retrieved 28 January 2008.
  14. "Zajec named as Pompey boss". BBC Sport. 21 December 2004. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  15. "Saints name Redknapp as boss". BBC Sport. 8 December 2004. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  16. "Keegan ends his reign at Man City". BBC Sport. 11 March 2005. Retrieved 29 August 2008.
  17. "Pompey unveil Perrin as new boss". BBC Sport. 7 April 2005. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
  18. "Man City unveil Pearce as manager". BBC Sport. 12 May 2005. Retrieved 24 February 2008.
  19. "Liverpool FC allowed to defend title" (PDF). UEFA. 10 June 2005. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  20. "Blues trio head PFA list". The Guardian. 14 April 2005.
  21. "Premier League History - 2004/05 Season Review". www.premierleague.com. Archived from the original on 14 September 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  22. "SEASONAL AWARDS 2004/05". www.premierleague.com. Archived from the original on 11 December 2006. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  23. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 October 2011. Retrieved 17 November 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  24. "Fair Play League" (PDF). 12 December 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 December 2005.
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