2009/10 Premier League Table: Dramatic Final Day For Title

2009/10 Premier League Champions: Chelsea

Runners-up: Manchester United

Champions League places: Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur.

Europa League places: Manchester City, Aston Villa, Liverpool

Promoted (from 2008/09): Wolverhampton Wanderers, Burnley, Birmingham City

Relegated: Portsmouth, Hull City, Burnley

Leading scorer: Didier Drogba (Chelsea) 29 goals

Premier League Table 2009 – 2010

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Chelsea	38	27	5	6	103	32	+71	86
2	Manchester United	38	27	4	7	86	28	+58	85
3	Arsenal	38	23	6	9	83	41	+42	75
4	Tottenham Hotspur	38	21	7	10	67	41	+26	70
5	Manchester City	38	18	13	7	73	45	+28	67
6	Aston Villa	38	17	13	8	52	39	+13	64
7	Liverpool	38	18	9	11	61	35	+26	63
8	Everton	38	16	13	9	60	49	+11	61
9	Birmingham City	38	13	11	14	38	47	-9	50
10	Blackburn Rovers	38	13	11	14	41	55	-14	50
11	Stoke City	38	11	14	13	34	48	-14	47
12	Fulham	38	12	10	16	39	46	-7	46
13	Sunderland	38	11	11	16	48	56	-8	44
14	Bolton Wanderers	38	10	9	19	42	67	-25	39
15	Wolverhampton Wanderers	38	9	11	18	32	56	-24	38
16	Wigan Athletic	38	9	9	20	37	79	-42	36
17	West Ham United	38	8	11	19	47	66	-19	35
18	Burnley	38	8	6	24	42	82	-40	30
19	Hull City	38	6	12	20	34	75	-41	30
20	Portsmouth	38	7	7	24	34	66	-32	19

2009/10 Season Review

Chelsea reclaimed the Barclays Premier League title from Manchester United on a dramatic final day of the campaign to finish on top of the 2009/10 Premier League table.

Both sides had a chance of winning the trophy going into the final set of fixtures, but it was the Blues who ended up victorious after an 8-0 thumping of Wigan Athletic. United were 4-0 victors against Stoke City, but Chelsea’s win meant they clinched the crown by just one point.

The success capped an excellent first season for Carlo Ancelotti as a manager, with his side scoring 103 goals in the process – a new Premier League record.

Chelsea got off to a flying start by winning their first six Barclay Premier League matches and setting a club record 11th straight victory.

United pushed them hard for the title most of the season but ended up second best and was unable to retain their crown. But they at least had the consolation of winning the Carling Cup after victory over Aston Villa at Wembley.

Same Result For Arsenal

Arsenal occasionally flirted with the top spot, but an injury-hit season meant they had to settle for third place. The talismanic Robin van Persie missed much of the campaign, while William Gallas and Cesc Fabregas were sidelined at crucial stages of the title race.

Everton was another side beset with injuries, but the Toffees had an impressive second half of the season to finish in eighth place on the 2009/10 Premier League table.

Merseyside rivals and last season’s Barclay Premier League runners-up Liverpool had a disappointing campaign and placed seventh – their worst finish for 11 years.

Administration

The first managerial sacking was Paul Hart, who was relieved of his duties at Portsmouth in November following an awful start to the season. Pompey’s financial problems would make them the first Premier League club fall into administration, and they have deducted nine points. Despite new manager Avram Grant’s efforts, he could not stop the south coast club from getting relegated.

Manchester City’s Mark Hughes was the next managerial casualty. He was replaced by former Inter Milan coach Roberto Mancini, tasked with leading City to the top four.

With Chelsea, Man Utd, and Arsenal establishing themselves as this year’s top three outfits, the race for the fourth spot was one of the most exciting in recent years.

Liverpool, Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur, and Man City were chasing the coveted place all season. However, spurs and City pulled away from their rivals as the campaign reached its climax. In the final week, Tottenham’s sensational victory over Mancini’s side at Eastlands ensured Champions League football.

One of the controversial moments of 2009/10 was Sunderland’s 1-0 win at home to Liverpool, which saw Darren Bent score the winning goal that deflected off a beach ball that had landed on the Anfield pitch.

Sunderland had their sights on Europe after a fine start, but a poor second half of the campaign saw them slide down the table but improve enough to end up in midtable.

Stoke City consolidated their place in the Barclay Premier League for a second successive season and finished in an impressive 11th. Wigan survived their fifth consecutive season in the Barclay Premier League, Blackburn Rovers finished in 10th on the 2009/10 Premier League table, and West Ham finished fourth from the bottom after a nervous end to the campaign.

Back To The Championship

But Hull City, who came up to the top flight with Stoke two years ago, could not keep their status in England’s elite league. Iain Dowie replaced manager Phil Brown in March, but the former Crystal Palace boss could not stop the free-falling Tigers from relegating.

Another managerial change was at Bolton Wanderers, where Gary Megson was dismissed. Owen Coyle came in from Burnley, and Coyle steered the struggling outfit to safety.

His old Burnley team, with ex-Sheffield Wednesday boss Brian Laws at the helm, were not so lucky and were relegated after one season. However, the other Barclays Premier League newcomers, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Birmingham City, managed to survive with impressive ninth and 15th place on the 2009/10 Premier League table, respectively.

Fulham maintained their Barclays Premier League status, but they did the league proud by reaching the Europa League Final, staying in Europe longer than Manchester United, Chelsea, and Arsenal.

But this season belonged to West London rivals Chelsea who won the Barclays Premier League for the first time since 2006. And they clinched the double with the FA Cup after beating Portsmouth in the final.

2009/10 Cup Results

2009/10 FA Cup winners: Chelsea [Final – Chelsea 1-0 Portsmouth]

2009/10 League Cup winners: Manchester United [Final – Aston Villa 1-2 Manchester United]

2009/10 Champions League winners: Inter Milan [Final Inter Milan 2-0 Bayern Munich]

2009/10: Europa League winners: Atletico Madrid [Final – Atletico Madrid 2-1 Fulham aet]

2009/10 Managerial Changes

Portsmouth: Paul Hart out, Avram Grant in

Manchester City: Mark Hughes out, Roberto Mancini in

Bolton Wanderers: Gary Megson out, Owen Coyle

Burnley: Owen Coyle out, Brian Laws in

Hull City: Phil Brown out, Iain Dowie in

West Ham United: Gianfranco Zola out