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2006–07 in English football

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The new Wembley Stadium was completed in time for the 2006-07 season's FA Cup Final.

The 2006–07 season was the 127th season of competitive football in England.

[edit] Overview

• The number of divisions at Level 8 of the English football league system increased from four to five. Level 9 decreased from fifteen divisions to fourteen.
• Wembley Stadium was completed to host the FA Cup Final,^[1] however it was not ready for the national team's first three 2008 UEFA European Football Championship home qualifiers. The three matches were played at Old Trafford in Manchester.
• Arsenal moved into their new home, the 60,000-capacity Emirates Stadium.^[2] Emirates became the club's shirt sponsor.^[3]
• Following promotion from the Championship, Reading played in the Premiership and the "top flight" of English football for the first time in their 135-year history and won their first game, coming back from 0-2 down to beat Middlesbrough 3-2. ^[4]
• Accrington Stanley (the third, present version) played in the Football League for the first time.^[5] The previous club of the same name dissolved with massive debts and in 1962 became the first club to leave the Football League mid-season.^[5]
• Oxford United played in the Conference National after being relegated from the Football League.^[6] They are the first former winners of a major trophy to play at this level, having won the League Cup in 1986.^[7]

[edit] Diary of the season

• 22 June 2006 - Fixtures for the Premier League and the Football League are released.^[8]
• 30 June 2006 - Rupert Lowe resigns from Southampton. Michael Wilde's consortium takes control of the club.^[9]
• 27 July 2006 - A consortium led by Niall Quinn takes full control of Sunderland after previously buying out the former chairman Bob Murray.^[10]
• 1 August 2006 - Steve McClaren begins his job as England manager.^[11]
• 2 August 2006 - Leeds United chairman Ken Bates reports his former club Chelsea to The Football Association, Premier League and FIFA over the alleged 'tapping-up' of three Leeds youth team players.^[12]
• 5 August 2006 - The Football League season begins, with Luton Town beating Leicester City 2-0 in the first game.^[13]
• 8 August 2006 - The 500,000th goal in the history of English league football (FA Premier League and Football League) was scored by Huddersfield Town's Gary Taylor-Fletcher in their 3-0 victory over Rotherham United.^[14]
• 10 August 2006 - John Terry is appointed as the new captain of England.^[15]
• 12 August 2006 - The Football Conference begins, along with most other non-league campaigns.^[16]
• 13 August 2006 - Liverpool take the first silverware of the season, as they beat Chelsea 2-1 in the FA Community Shield at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.^[17]
• 19 August 2006 - The Premier League season begins with Sheffield United and Liverpool drawing 1-1.^[18]
• 23 August 2006 - Manchester City defender Ben Thatcher elbows Portsmouth's Pedro Mendes in the face at the City of Manchester Stadium, after the two challenged for the same ball. This left Mendes unconscious and needing hospital treatment.^[19] Thatcher was shown a yellow card for the incident, but he was later banned by his club and charged with violent misconduct by The FA.^[20]
• 31 August 2006 - Chelsea are fined £40,000 by The F.A. for breaching doping regulations.^[21]
• 4 September 2006 - Andy Webster's controversial move to Wigan Athletic is ratified by FIFA.^[22]
• 8 September 2006 - Liverpool get permission from Liverpool city council to build a new 60,000 all-seater stadium in nearby Stanley Park.^[23]
• 19 September 2006 - After becoming majority shareholder at the club, Randy Lerner officially becomes chairman of Aston Villa, replacing 82-year-old Doug Ellis.^[24] A BBC Panorama programme is aired, alleging widespread corruption in the English game.^[25]
• 14 October 2006 - Chelsea goalkeepers, Petr Čech and Carlo Cudicini, both received head injuries during their match against Reading.^[26] Čech underwent surgery for a depressed skull fracture and is expected to be out for six months,^[27] while Cudicini was treated and released.^[27]
• 28 October 2006 - Aston Villa, the last unbeaten team in the Football League at this point, lose 3-1 to Liverpool at Anfield.^[28]
• 21 November 2006 - West Ham United accept Eggert Magnússon's £85m takeover bid for the club.^[29]
• 29 November 2006 - England National Game XI, the English semi-professional team, win the inaugural European Challenge Trophy after a 4-1 win over Holland.^[30]
• 5 December 2006 - Macclesfield Town, the last team without a win in the Football League, beat Rochdale 1-0 at Moss Rose.^[31]
• 20 December 2006 - Bury are thrown out of this season's FA Cup after they fielded an ineligible player, Stephen Turnbull, on-loan from Hartlepool United in their 3-1 second round replay win at Chester City on 12 December. Chester will replace Bury in the third round.^[32] Lord Stevens releases the results of his inquiry in the allegation of corruption in the English game, pin-pointing seventeen transfers that he will investigate further. ^[33]
• 23 December 2006 - Doncaster Rovers play their final game at Belle Vue against Nottingham Forest. They move into the 15,000 seat Keepmoat Stadium. ^[34]
• 30 December 2006 - Moritz Volz of Fulham scored the 15,000th goal in the history of the F.A. Premier League, opening the scoring in his side's 2-2 draw away at Chelsea.^[35]
• 11 January 2007 - Former Barrow defender James Cotterill is sentenced to four months in prison for causing grievous bodily harm to Bristol Rovers player Sean Rigg during an FA Cup first round match in November 2006. Rigg suffered a double fracture of the jaw after being punched by Cotterill.^[36]
• 25 January 2007 - Peter Taylor leaves his job as England under-21 manager, stating that he wants to focus on managing his other team, Crystal Palace.^[37]
• February 1. 2007 - Stuart Pearce is appointed as Peter Taylor's replacement. ^[38]
• 6 February 2007 - George Gillett and Tom Hicks complete their takeover of Liverpool.^[39]
• 7 February 2007 - Milan Mandarić completes his takeover of Leicester City.^[40]
• 25 February 2007 - Chelsea defeat Arsenal 2-1 in the Carling Cup final at the Millennium Stadium. The match was marred by a mass brawl between the two sides during the final few minutes of the game, in which three players were sent off.^[41]
• 3 March 2007 - Stockport County set a Football League record of nine consecutive wins without conceding a goal by beating Swindon Town 3-0 at Edgeley Park.^[42] Goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey keeps the club record nine consecutive clean sheets and is named Player of the Month for February 2007.^[43]
• 17 March 2007 - The new Wembley Stadium opens for a special community event.^[44]
• 1 April 2007 - Doncaster Rovers win the competition for lower-division football league clubs, as they beat Bristol Rovers 3-2 after extra time in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.^[45]
• 7 April 2007 - Dagenham & Redbridge win the Conference and promotion to the Football League.^[46]
• 9 April 2007 - St Albans City are relegated from the Conference.^[47] Brentford are relegated to League Two.^[48]
• 14 April 2007 - Torquay United are relegated to the Conference.^[49] Scunthorpe United are promoted to the Championship.^[50] Hartlepool United and Walsall are both promoted to League One.^[51][52] Rotherham United are relegated to League Two.^[53]
• 20 April 2007 - Luton Town are relegated to League One.^[54]
• 21 April 2007 - Watford are relegated from the Premiership.^[55] Droylsden are promoted to the Conference.^[56]
• 22 April 2007 - Cristiano Ronaldo is named PFA Player of the Year as well as PFA Young Player of the Year. Eight out of the eleven players who are named in the PFA Premiership Team of the Year are Manchester United players, including Cristiano Ronaldo.^[57]
• 24 April 2007 - Tamworth and Southport are relegated from the Conference.^[58]
• 28 April 2007 - Southend United are relegated from the Championship.^[59] Chesterfield and Bradford City are both relegated from League One.^[60]
• 29 April 2007 - Derby County lose to Crystal Palace meaning that Birmingham City and Sunderland are promoted to the Premiership.^[61]
• 4 May 2007 - Leeds United are relegated to League One for the first time in their history after they go into administration.^[62]
• 5 May 2007 - Manchester United come on top in the Manchester derby beating Manchester City 1-0. In doing so United extend their lead at the top of the Premiership to 8 points. City's failure to score means that they set a new record for the fewest goals scored at home in a season by a club in the top flight, with only 10 scored in the season.^[63] Bristol City are promoted to the Championship.^[64] Boston United are relegated to the Conference.^[64] Swindon Town are promoted to League One and Walsall are League Two champions.^[65]
• 6 May 2007 - Manchester United win the Premiership after Chelsea only draw 1-1 at Arsenal.^[66] Sunderland win the Championship with a 5-0 win at Luton Town, whilst Birmingham City lose 1-0 at Preston North End.^[67]
• 7 May 2007 - Arsenal Ladies completed an unprecedented Quadruple of trophies, defeating Charlton Athletic 4-1 in the FA Women's Cup final, to add to their FA Women's Premier League, Women's League Cup and UEFA Women's Cup victories.^[68] Charlton Athletic are relegated from the Premiership after they lose to Tottenham Hotspur.^[69]
• 13 May 2007 - Sheffield United are relegated from the Premiership after losing 2-1 at home to Wigan Athletic, and West Ham United beat Manchester United 1-0 at Old Trafford.^[70]
• 18 May 2007 - The Football League confirmed that Boston United were deducted 10 points for entering a Company Voluntary Arrangement in the final seconds of their League Two defeat at Wrexham, a game which saw the The Pilgrims relegated.^[71]
• 19 May 2007 - Chelsea beat Manchester United 1-0 to win the FA Cup.^[72]
• 20 May 2007 - Morecambe are promoted to the Football League after beating Exeter City 2-1 in the Conference National play-off final.^[73]
• 26 May 2007 - Bristol Rovers win the League Two play-off final.^[74]
• 27 May 2007 - Blackpool win the League One play off final.^[75]
• 28 May 2007 - Derby County defeat West Bromwich Albion 1-0 in the Championship play-off final.^[76]

[edit] Managerial changes

See also: List of English Football League managers by date of appointment

[edit] National team

England began their qualifying campaign for Euro 2008 in September, beating Andorra 5-0.^[167] Steve McClaren began his reign as head coach against Greece.^[168]

Date	Venue	Opponents	Score[169]	Competition	England scorers	Match report
16 August 2006	Old Trafford (H)	Greece	4-0	F	John Terry Frank Lampard Peter Crouch (2)	BBC
2 September 2006	Old Trafford (H)	Andorra	5-0	ECQ	Peter Crouch (2) Steven Gerrard Jermain Defoe (2)	BBC
6 September 2006	Skopje City Stadium (A)	FYR Macedonia	1-0	ECQ	Peter Crouch	BBC
7 October 2006	Old Trafford (H)	FYR Macedonia	0-0	ECQ		BBC
11 October 2006	Maksimir Stadium, Zagreb (A)	Croatia	0-2	ECQ		BBC
15 November 2006	Amsterdam ArenA (A)	Netherlands	1-1	F	Wayne Rooney	BBC
7 February 2007	Old Trafford (H)	Spain	0-1	F		BBC
24 March 2007	Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan (A)[170][171]	Israel	0-0	ECQ		BBC
28 March 2007	Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, Barcelona, Spain (A)[172]	Andorra	3-0	ECQ	Steven Gerrard (2) David Nugent	BBC
1 June 2007	Wembley Stadium (H)	Brazil	1-1	F	John Terry	BBC
6 June 2007	A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn (A)	Estonia	3-0	ECQ	Joe Cole Peter Crouch Michael Owen	BBC

Key

• H = Home match
• A = Away match
• F = Friendly
• ECQ = European Championship qualifier

[edit] Honours

[edit] League football

[edit] Non-League football

[edit] European qualification

[edit] League tables

[edit] Premier League

Main article: Premier League 2006-07

[edit] Football League Championship

Sunderland won the division under new manager Roy Keane. The club had lost their first five games, and looked ominous for a second relegation but Keane's surprise appointment by rookie chairman Niall Quinn paid off and they surged up the table, losing just one of their final 20 games.

Keane's former Manchester United colleague, Steve Bruce also took Birmingham back into the Premier League, ensuring that they only remained in the Championship for one season.

Derby County spent half the season in the top 2 but fell away in the final weeks to slip into the play-off places. Nonetheless, they won promotion by beating West Bromwich Albion 1-0 in the final at the recently-opened new Wembley Stadium. This denied the Baggies an immediate return to the Premier League, which would have meant all 3 relegated clubs from the previous season were promoted.

Preston were perhaps the biggest chokers as they lost 5 of their final 7 games to slump out of the play-off places they had occupied through the bulk of the season, missing out on a third successive play-off finish. Cardiff City had been the early pace-setters, leading the table until almost the midway point but their form tailed off badly in the second half.

After a play-off final appearance the previous year, Leeds finished bottom amidst yet more financial worries and acrimony. Their placing at the foot of the table was due to a 10 point deduction they suffered after going into voluntary administration after their relegation was all but confirmed on the penultimate weekend.

Luton sold some of their best players and were relegated, while Southend lasted only a single season in the Championship after their two successive promotions. Colchester fared best of the newly-promoted clubs, comfortably finishing in 10th, largely on the back of their strong home form at the division's smallest stadium, Layer Road.