# 2004–05 FA Premier League

The 2004–05 FA Premier League (known as the FA Barclays Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the 13th season of the Premier League. It 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.

## 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 (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 ended on 24 October 2004, when Manchester United beat them 2–0 at Old Trafford.

### Relegation

For the first time since the advent of the Premier League in 1992, no team was 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 began 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 beating Portsmouth 2–0. Norwich, the only side to have their fate completely in their own hands, lost 6–0 to Fulham and went down. Southampton took the lead against Manchester United within 10 minutes through a John O'Shea own goal, but ultimately lost the match 2–1 and were also relegated. Crystal Palace, away to Charlton Athletic, were leading 2–1 after 71 minutes, but with eight minutes to go, Jonathan Fortune equalised for Charlton to send their South East London rivals down. Had Palace won they would have stayed up; instead they became the first team to be relegated from the Premier League four times. As a result, West Brom stayed up, becoming the first club in Premier League history to avoid relegation after being bottom of the table at Christmas.
As all four matches ended, 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 were relegated to the newly branded Football League Championship. Leicester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers were both relegated after a season's presence, while Leeds United ended their top flight spell of fourteen years.

### Stadiums and locations

| 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 | 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 |
* ↑ Fulham returned to 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 | O$_2$ |
| 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 | Pre-season | Rafael Benítez | 16 June 2004 |
| Chelsea | Claudio Ranieri | Sacked | 31 May 2004 | Pre-season | José Mourinho | 2 June 2004 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | David Pleat (caretaker) | End of caretaker spell | 1 June 2004 | Pre-season | Jacques Santini | 3 June 2004 |
| Southampton | Paul Sturrock | Mutual consent | 23 August 2004 | 10th | Steve Wigley | 23 August 2004 |
| Newcastle United | Sir Bobby Robson | Sacked | 30 August 2004 | 17th | Graeme Souness | 6 September 2004 |
| Blackburn Rovers | Graeme Souness | Signed by Newcastle United | 6 September 2004 | 19th | Mark Hughes | 16 September 2004 |
| West Bromwich Albion | Gary Megson | Sacked | 26 October 2004 | 16th | Bryan Robson | 9 November 2004 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | Jacques Santini | Resigned | 5 November 2004 | 11th | Martin Jol | 8 November 2004 |
| Portsmouth | Harry Redknapp | Resigned | 24 November 2004 | 12th | Velimir Zajec | 21 December 2004 |
| Southampton | Steve Wigley | Sacked | 8 December 2004 | 18th | Harry Redknapp | 21 December 2004 |
| Manchester City | Kevin Keegan | Resigned | 11 March 2005 | 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 |
| Manchester City | Stuart Pearce (caretaker) | End of caretaker period | 12 May 2005 | 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 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 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 | Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round |
| 5 | Liverpool | 38 | 17 | 7 | 14 | 52 | 41 | +11 | 58 | Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round |
| 6 | Bolton Wanderers | 38 | 16 | 10 | 12 | 49 | 44 | +5 | 58 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 7 | Middlesbrough | 38 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 53 | 46 | +7 | 55 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 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 | Relegation to the Football League Championship |
| 20 | Southampton (R) | 38 | 6 | 14 | 18 | 45 | 66 | −21 | 32 | Relegation to the Football League Championship |
* ↑ 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.
* ↑ 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 | |

## 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 |
| 4 | Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink | Middlesbrough | 13 |
| 4 | Frank Lampard | Chelsea | 13 |
| 4 | Yakubu | Portsmouth | 13 |
| 8 | Andy Cole | Fulham | 12 |
| 8 | Peter Crouch | Southampton | 12 |
| 8 | Eiður Guðjohnsen | Chelsea | 12 |

## Awards
### Monthly awards

| Month | Manager of the Month | Player 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) |

### Annual awards
#### 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:
* Petr Cech (Chelsea)
* Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
* Thierry Henry (Arsenal)
* Andrew Johnson (Crystal Palace)
* Frank Lampard (Chelsea)
* John Terry (Chelsea)

#### 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. 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. The least sporting side for 2004–05 was Blackburn Rovers, who achieved a significantly lower fair play score than any other side.