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).
Manchester United celebrating their 10th Premier League title following their win at Wigan
| |
| Season | 2007–08 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 11 August 2007 – 11 May 2008 |
| Champions | Manchester United 10th Premier League title 17th English title |
| Relegated | Reading Birmingham City Derby County |
| Champions League | Manchester United Chelsea Arsenal Liverpool |
| UEFA Cup | Portsmouth Everton Tottenham Hotspur Manchester City (through UEFA Respect Fair Play ranking) |
| Intertoto Cup | Aston Villa |
| Matches played | 380 |
| Goals scored | 1,002 (2.64 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Cristiano Ronaldo (31 goals) |
| Best goalkeeper | Pepe Reina (18 clean sheets) |
| Biggest home win | Middlesbrough 8–1 Manchester City (11 May 2008) |
| Biggest away win | Derby County 0–6 Aston Villa (12 April 2008) |
| Highest scoring | Portsmouth 7–4 Reading (29 September 2007) |
| Longest winning run | 8 games[1] Manchester United |
| Longest unbeaten run | 21 games[1] Chelsea |
| Longest winless run | 32 games[1] Derby County |
| Longest losing run | 8 games[1] Reading Wigan Athletic |
| Highest attendance | 76,013[2] Manchester United 4–1 West Ham United (3 May 2008) |
| Lowest attendance | 14,007[2] Wigan Athletic 1–0 Middlesbrough (15 August 2007) |
| Total attendance | 13,708,885 |
| Average attendance | 36,076[2] |
← 2006–07 2008–09 → | |
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 and Reading played the highest-scoring match in Premier League history, in which Portsmouth won 7–4.[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]
Manchester United successfully defended their title, winning tenth Premier League on the final day with a 2–0 win over Wigan Athletic, while second-placed Chelsea drew 1–1 with Bolton Wanderers. It was their seventeenth English title overall, with the club just one title behind their rivals Liverpool's total of 18. Elsewhere on the final day, Middlesbrough thrashed Manchester City 8–1 to claim the biggest win of the season.
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] Throughout the season, the team won just one game and recorded only 11 points, the lowest tally in top flight history. On the final day of the season, Reading beat Derby 4–0 and Birmingham City beat Blackburn Rovers 4–1. However, Fulham's 1–0 win over Portsmouth sent both teams down as the London club avoided the drop on goal difference.
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 final. This was the first time that the English league had topped the UEFA rankings since the Heysel Stadium disaster in 1985.
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 after a one year 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.
London
Greater Manchester
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]
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wigan Athletic |  Paul Jewell
|
Resigned | 14 May 2007[11] | Pre-season | Chris Hutchings
|
14 May 2007[12] |
| Newcastle United | Nigel Pearson (caretaker)
|
End of caretaker period | 14 May 2007 | Sam Allardyce
|
15 May 2007[13] | |
| Manchester City | Stuart Pearce
|
Sacked | 14 May 2007[14] |  Sven-Göran Eriksson
|
6 July 2007[15] | |
| Chelsea |  José Mourinho
|
Mutual consent | 20 September 2007[16] | 5th |  Avram Grant
|
20 September 2007[16] |
| Bolton Wanderers | Sammy Lee
|
17 October 2007[17] | 19th | Gary Megson
|
25 October 2007[18] | |
| Tottenham Hotspur |  Martin Jol
|
Sacked | 25 October 2007[19] | 18th |  Juande Ramos
|
27 October 2007[20] |
| Wigan Athletic | Chris Hutchings
|
5 November 2007[21] | Steve Bruce
|
26 November 2007[22] | ||
| Birmingham City | Steve Bruce
|
Signed by Wigan | 19 November 2007[22] | 15th |  Alex McLeish
|
28 November 2007[23] |
| Derby County | Billy Davies
|
Mutual consent | 26 November 2007[24] | 20th | Paul Jewell
|
28 November 2007[25] |
| Fulham |  Lawrie Sanchez
|
Sacked | 21 December 2007[26] | 18th | Roy Hodgson
|
30 December 2007[27] |
| Newcastle United | Sam Allardyce
|
Mutual consent | 9 January 2008[28] | 11th | Kevin Keegan
|
16 January 2008[29] |
| 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[a] |
| 9 | Manchester City | 38 | 15 | 10 | 13 | 45 | 53 | −8 | 55 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first qualifying round[b] |
| 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[c] |
| 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 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 |
| 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 |
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals[43] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cristiano Ronaldo
|
Manchester United | 31 |
| 2 |  Emmanuel Adebayor
|
Arsenal | 24 |
| Fernando Torres
|
Liverpool | ||
| 4 |  Roque Santa Cruz
|
Blackburn Rovers | 19 |
| 5 |  Benjani
|
Portsmouth / Manchester City | 15 |
 Dimitar Berbatov
|
Tottenham Hotspur | ||
 Robbie Keane
| |||
 Yakubu
|
Everton | ||
| 9 |  Carlos Tevez
|
Manchester United | 14 |
| 10 |  John Carew
|
Aston Villa | 13 |
| 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 |
| Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month |
|---|---|---|
| August 2007 | Sven-Göran Eriksson (Manchester City)[46] | Micah Richards (Manchester City)[46] |
| September 2007 | Arsène Wenger (Arsenal)[47] | Cesc Fàbregas (Arsenal)[47] |
| October 2007 | Mark Hughes (Blackburn Rovers)[48] | Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)[48] |
| November 2007 | Martin O'Neill (Aston Villa)[49] | Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa)[49] |
| December 2007 | Arsène Wenger (Arsenal)[50] | Roque Santa Cruz (Blackburn Rovers)[50] |
| January 2008 | Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United)[51] | Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)[51] |
| February 2008 | David Moyes (Everton)[52] | Fernando Torres (Liverpool)[52] |
| March 2008 | Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United)[53] | Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)[53] |
| April 2008 | Avram Grant (Chelsea)[54] | Ashley Young (Aston Villa)[54] |
Sir Alex Ferguson picked up the Premier League Manager of the Season award for the eighth time.[55]
Cristiano Ronaldo won the Premier League Player of the Season accolade for the second season in succession.[55]
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)
The PFA Young Player of the Year award was won by Cesc Fàbregas of Arsenal.[56]
The shortlist for the award was as follows:
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
BBC broadcaster and former England and Blackpool full-back Jimmy Armfield received the PFA Merit Award for his services to the game.[56]
Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese winger, collected the Premier League Merit Award for reaching 30 league goals this season.[58]
