Sunderland football club

Sunderland stormed to the Championship title in 2006/07 to reclaim their place in the top-flight at the first time of asking.

After their relegation in 2006, the club was taken over by Drumaville - a consortium of mainly Irish-based businessmen, headed up by former player Niall Quinn - which appointed Republic of Ireland legend and former Manchester United hero Roy Keane as manager, his first managerial post since hanging up his boots.

The club have never looked back since as Keane guided them from the bottom of the Championship to title winners in May.

The club's passionate fans hope that the Irish legend's Wearside revolution can bring back the days of the two successive seventh-place finishes in 2000 and 2001. Keane led them to a 15th place finish last season.

Club Heritage

Glaswegian schoolteacher James Allan founded Sunderland and District Teachers' Association Football Club in 1879, changing the name to Sunderland AFC a year later. They were elected to the newly-formed Football League in 1890/91 and were to remain in the top flight for 68 consecutive years - a record only recently passed by Arsenal.

Sunderland won the title three times in five years, only losing one home match in their first six seasons. The Mackems won another title in 1902, but a better prize in their fans eyes' was a 9-1 thrashing of fierce rivals Newcastle United - still a record away win in the top flight. The team came close to doing the double in 1913 but they lost the FA Cup final 1-0 to Aston Villa.

A post-war slump saw them beaten by Yeovil Town in the FA Cup - the first time a non-league club had beaten a top-flight team - and worse, relegated in 1958. Sunderland have spent most of their time since then bouncing between the top two divisions, with their only real glory being a 1973 FA Cup win over Leeds United - the first time in 40 years a club outside the top flight had won the trophy.

The Black Cats reached their lowest point in 1987 as they were relegated to the Third Division. But successive promotions saw them back in the top flight two years later.

Premier League History

1992/93 - Avoid relegation to Division Two by one point
1993/94 - Mick Buxton replaces Terry Butcher as manager
1994/95 - Peter Reid becomes manager with seven matches remaining
1995/96 - Win Division One
1996/97 - Relegated from FA Carling Premiership
1997/98 - First season at Stadium of Light. Lose play-off final on penalties
1998/99 - Win Division One with a record 105 points
2002/03 - Break record signing with Tore André Flo for £6.75million. Reid replaced by Howard Wilkinson. Mick McCarthy takes over with nine matches left. Relegated with lowest points tally ever (19)
2004/05 - Win Division One
2005/06 - McCarthy leaves in March after just two wins. Kevin Ball appointed as caretaker. Relegated with new record low number of points (15).
2006/07 - Consortium headed by former hero Niall Quinn takes over. Quinn appointed as manager but sacks himself after four straight defeats. Roy Keane becomes manager. Win promotion to the Barclays Premier League
2007/08 - Break British transfer record for a goalkeeper - paying Hearts £9million for Craig Gordon
2008/09 - After a disappointing run, Roy Keane resigns from his post as manager in December. Ricky Sbragia takes temporary charge.

Aston Villa Football club

The inaugural 1992/93 Premier League season saw Aston Villa miss out on their first title in 12 years when they finished runners-up to Manchester United. Villa got their revenge over the champions by beating them in the League Cup Final the following season.

Chairman Doug Ellis had been unimpressed by Villa's league form and replaced the flamboyant Ron Atkinson with Brian Little in 1993/94. The former Villa player led the club to a 3-0 win over Leeds United in the 1996 League Cup final.

In 2000, Villa reached their first FA Cup final since 1957 but were defeated by Chelsea. Although Villa remained a hard side to beat, the loss of several star names and further managerial changes did little to help consistency.

Matters came to a head in 2006 when manager David O'Leary left in acrimonious circumstances, but Martin O'Neill has been heralded as the man to lead them up the table. Aston Villa - along with only Chelsea and Blackburn Rovers - have finished in every position in the top flight.

Club Heritage

In 1874, a group of cricketers needing something to occupy them during winter happened to see a game of football in the park - thus Aston Villa was born. Their first match was unusual in that the first half was played under rugby rules and the second under football rules. Villa fast became the Midlands' dominant side, beating Small Heath Alliance - later to become arch rivals Birmingham City - 22-0 on one occasion.

Aston Villa were one of the founding members of the Football League in 1888 and enjoyed instant success. In the 1890s, they won five titles in seven seasons. Villa were also the first side to do the league and cup double in 1897. A week later, they moved to Aston Lower Grounds, which the fans dubbed Villa Park.

Villa's winning ways continued into the early 1900s, but their fortunes dwindled and in 1937 they were relegated. After the Second World War, the team was totally rebuilt. But apart from a 1957 FA Cup win, previous levels of success were never achieved.

A new low was reached when Villa were relegated to the Third Division in 1971. The club's fortunes changed 10 years later when Ron Saunders led them to the league title. The following year, in 1982, under caretaker manager Tony Barton, the club won the European Cup with victory over Bayern Munich.

Villa were relegated from the top flight in 1987 but bounced back at the first attempt. They finished Premier League runners-up under manager Ron Atkinson in 1993 and League Cup wins over Manchester United and Leeds followed in 1994 and 1996 respectively.

Premier League History

1992/93 - Premier League runners-up
1993/94 - Win the League Cup (Aston Villa 3-1 Manchester United)
1994/95 - Brian Little replaces Ron Atkinson as manager
1995/96 - Win the League Cup (Aston Villa 3-0 Leeds United)
1997/98 - John Gregory replaces Brian Little
1999/00 - Lose FA Cup Final (Chelsea 2-0 Aston Villa)
2001/02 - Gregory quits in January. Former manager Graham Taylor takes over
2002/03 - David O'Leary replaces Taylor in May
2005/06 - At the end of the season O'Leary leaves. Randy Lerner buys a majority share in the club. Martin O'Neill appointed manager
2006/07 - Sign Ashley Young from Watford for a club record £9.65million
2007/08 - Sign Nigel Reo-Coker and Marlon Harewood from West Ham United and Zat Knight from Fulham

Newcastle united football club

Newcastle United fans have had a rollercoaster time since the inception of the Premier League. When Kevin Keegan took over the reins in 1992, the club was on the brink of relegation to the old Division Three. But under his management, they romped to the title and took their place in the FA Carling Premiership in time for the 1993/94 season.

With a goal-hungry Andy Cole and veteran Peter Beardsley at the forefront of an attacking team, they were dubbed "The Entertainers". Attack was the first form of defence and it worked as the North East outfit finished third in their first season. They went even closer two years later. Leading Manchester United by 12 points, they eventually slipped to second.

Signing Alan Shearer for a world record £15million eased the Toon Army's disappointment and again they were runners-up. Managerial upheaval has seen the club fail to reach those dizzy heights since. Sam Allardyce took over for the 2007/08 campaign but was sensationally replaced by Keegan later that season. Equally unexpectedly, Keegan resigned in September 2008 and was replaced by Joe Kinnear whose initial short-term contract was soon extended to the end of the campaign. However there was further disruption as Kinnear was rushed to hospital in February 2009 and needed heart surgery. Chris Hughton took temporary charge during Kinnear's absence.

St James' Park is the only Barclays Premier League stadium not to have a scoreboard of any kind.

Club Heritage

In 1881, Stanley Cricket Club formed a football team to occupy themselves in winter. A year later, they changed their name to East End FC, turning professional in 1889. In 1892, they took over fierce rivals West End and moved into their ground - St James' Park. And on 22nd December, the FA approved the name Newcastle United.

The Magpies joined the Football League in 1893 and swiftly became one of the game's giants - winning three league titles and an FA Cup by 1914. In 1934 they were relegated though - despite memorably defeating Liverpool 9-2 and Everton 7-3. The Magpies started to rebuild, helped enormously by former stars Stan Seymour and Joe Harvey, as director and manager respectively.

The end of the Second World War saw the birth of another great team. Newcastle signed Jackie Milburn after he responded to their advert for trialists, and with his help, they lifted the FA Cup three times in five years. They also recorded the highest victory in English League football, 13-0 over Newport County.

European success followed when the Magpies won the Fairs Cup - re-named the Uefa Cup in 1969 - despite a brief spell in Division Two, and in 1971 Malcolm Macdonald was signed from Luton Town. Devastating in front of goal, 'Supermac' led the Magpies to Wembley twice - in the FA Cup in 1974 and League Cup in 1976 - and quickly established himself as a Newcastle legend. The club have had their ups and downs since then but players such as Kevin Keegan, Paul Gascoigne and Chris Waddle have seen them maintain their ethos of attractive and attacking football.

Premier League History

1992/93 - Promoted to FA Carling Premiership as Division One Champions
1994/95 - Sell Andy Cole to Manchester United for English record transfer fee of £7million
1995/96 - FA Carling Premiership runners-up
1996/97 - Sign Alan Shearer for world record £15million. Manager Kevin Keegan quits in January. Replaced by Kenny Dalglish. FA Carling Premiership runners-up
1997/98 - Lose FA Cup Final 2-0 to Arsenal
1998/99 - Ruud Gullit replaces Dalglish. Lose FA Cup final 2-0 to Manchester United
1999/00 - Bobby Robson replaces Gullit. Wins first match 8-0 against Sheffield Wednesday
2004/05 - Robson sacked. Replaced by Graeme Souness
2005/06 - Sign Michael Owen for club record £17m. Souness sacked, replaced by Glenn Roeder. Shearer becomes record goalscorer - overtaking Jackie Milburn's tally of 200. Retires having scored 206 goals for Newcastle
2006/07 - Roeder sacked with one match of the Barclays Premiership season to go. Sam Allardyce appointed two days after season ends. 26th June - Mike Ashley and St. James' Holdings gain 90 per cent of shares, enough to take over the club
2007/08 - Sam Allardyce leaves the club in January '08 by mutual consent. Kevin Keegan replaces Allardyce to make a sensational return to the club.
2008/09 - Keegan resigns in September '08 by mutual consent. He is replaced by Joe Kinnear, initially on a 10-week contract soon extended to the end of the season. However heart surgery in February forces Kinnear to miss two months of the season with Chris Hughton stepping in on a temporary basis.

Arsenal football club

Overview

Arsenal may have been off the pace in the inaugural Premier League season in 1992/93, but they made up for it by winning both the FA and League Cups.

The Premier League crown eluded them until 1998 - two years into manager Arsene Wenger's tenure - when they did the league and FA Cup double. Under the Frenchman, the Gunners shook off their "boring" image and began to play some of the most attractive football in England.

In eight of his 12 seasons at the club, Arsenal have finished first or second. And together with star players such as Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira and Dennis Bergkamp, Wenger took Arsenal to another "double" in 2002.

The Gunners reached the Champions' League final in 2006, becoming the first London team to do so, but lost to Barcelona. Their Barclaycard Premiership title in 2003/04 saw them become only the second team to win the league without losing a match - earning them the title "The Invincibles." Overall they went 49 matches unbeaten, which is a national record.

Club Heritage

In 1886, a group of workers at the Woolwich Arsenal Armament Factory formed a team called Dial Square, renaming themselves to Royal Arsenal shortly afterwards. The team turned professional in 1891 and changed its name again to Woolwich Arsenal, eventually dropping the prefix completely in 1913 when they moved to Highbury.

The Gunners joined the Second Division in 1893 and were promoted in 1904. Success eluded them until the arrival of Herbert Chapman in 1925 when they won the league five times between 1930 and 1938 and the FA Cup twice. Chapman, who died in 1934, was also behind the renaming of the nearest London Underground station to Arsenal.

Arsenal had to wait until the 1970s for their next period of success. But their first double in 1971 was followed by several near-misses - finishing second in 1972, and losing three FA Cup finals and the 1980 European Cup Winners' Cup final.

It was not until the return of ex-player George Graham as manager that the club rose to greatness again - winning six trophies during his nine-year reign. That included League Cup success in 1987 and 1993, the FA Cup in 1993, the league title in 1989 and 1991 and European Cup Winners' Cup in 1994. Arsenal hold the enviable record of the most consecutive seasons in the top flight - 80 at present.

Premier League History

1992/93 - Win the FA Cup and League Cup double
1993/94 - Win the European Cup Winners' Cup
1994/95 - George Graham sacked. Stewart Houston becomes caretaker. Lose the Cup Winners' Cup final to Real Zaragoza
1995/96 - Bruce Rioch takes charge for one season before resigning
1996/97 - Arsène Wenger becomes manager. Signs Nicolas Anelka and Patrick Vieira
1997/98 - Win the FA Carling Premiership and FA Cup double
1999/00 - Sign Thierry Henry. Lose the UEFA Cup final on penalties to Galatasaray
2000/01 - Break club record transfer signing Sylvain Wiltord for reported £13million
2001/02 - Win the Barclaycard Premiership and FA Cup double
2003/04 - Win the Barclaycard Premiership without losing a match
2005/06 - Last season at Highbury. Lose the Champions' League final to Barcelona
2006/07 - Move to Emirates Stadium

Liverpool Football club

Liverpool have maintained their status as a domestic and European force since the Premier League began in 1992, rarely finishing outside the top positions. The club have won seven major trophies since then, including the Champions League, Uefa Cup, two FA Cups and three League Cups.

Indeed, 2001 saw the Reds claim an unprecedented League Cup, FA Cup and Uefa Cup treble. Having won more domestic and European trophies than any other English club, Liverpool's status as giants of the domestic game is undisputed.

Under Rafa Benitez, Liverpool have secured Champions League football in each of the last four seasons. The Spaniard guided them to third place in the 2006/07 season and an appearance in the Champions League final where they were beaten 2-1 by AC Milan. They lost to Chelsea in the semi-finals of the competition last season and secured a fourth place finish in the league.

Club Heritage

In 1891, John Houlding purchased Anfield after Everton left the ground for Goodison Park following a seven-year tenancy. With an empty stadium and only three players remaining, Houlding formed Liverpool Football Club on 15th March 1892. Everton FC and Athletic Grounds, Ltd, or Everton Athletic was to be the name, but the Football Association refused to recognise the team as Everton. Liverpool's first-ever competitive match was in the Lancashire League, where a predominantly Scottish team defeated Higher Walton 8-0 on 23rd September 1892. Liverpool won their first title in 1901 after gaining promotion to the First Division in 1894.

The appointment of Bill Shankly in 1959 was the beginning of a golden era for Liverpool. He led the club to promotion to the First Division in 1962 and they have stayed there ever since. The title was secured in 1964 and 1966, with a first-ever FA Cup final victory sandwiched in between. A year after winning the Uefa Cup, Shankly retired and was replaced by his assistant Bob Paisley.

Within two seasons, the Reds had won the league, and the Uefa Cup for a second time. Paisley's nine-year reign saw Liverpool win 21 trophies, including three European Cups, six league titles, a Uefa Cup, and three League Cups. Joe Fagan took over in 1983 and inspired the club to the European Cup, League title, and League Cup in his first season.

Premier League History

1993/94 - Roy Evans replaces Graeme Souness
1994/95 - Win League Cup
1998/99 - Gerard Houllier joins Evans as joint-manager
1998/99 - Houllier takes sole charge in November 1998
2000/01 - Win FA Cup, League Cup and Uefa Cup
2002/03 - Win League Cup
2003/04 - Houllier departs by mutual consent in May 2004
2004/05 - Rafa Benitez takes over
2004/05 - Djibril Cisse joins from Auxerre for a club record £14m
2004/05 - Win Champions League
2005/06 - Win FA Cup
2006/07 - American businessmen George Gillett and Tom Hicks become owners in a deal worth £470m.
2007/08 - Fernando Torres becomes Liverpool's record signing at an initial fee of around £20.2m from Atletico Madrid.
2008/09 - Benitez ends widespread specualtion about his future by signing a new five-year contract.

Samsung (Official sponsor of Chelsea)

Samsung Electronics (SEC, Hangul:KRX: 005930, KRX: 005935, LSE: SMSN, LSE: SMSD) is the world's largest electronics company,^[2] headquartered in Seocho Samsung Town in Seoul, South Korea. It is the largest South Korean company and the flagship subsidiary of the Samsung Group.

Samsung Electronics is the global market leader in more than 60 products, including Semiconductors such as DRAM, SDRAM, Flash Memory and Hard Drives, Digital Displays such as LCD Displays, Plasma Displays and OLED Displays, Home Electronics such as TVs, DVD Players, Blu-ray Players, Home Cinema Systems, Set-Top Boxes and Projectors, Mobile Devices such as Mobile Phones, MP3 Players, Digital Cameras and Camcorders, Computing Products such as Monitors, Laptops, UMPCs, CD and DVD Drives, Laser Printers and Fax Machines and Home Appliances such as Refrigerators, Washing Machines, Microwaves, Ovens, Vacuum Cleaners and Air Conditioners.

In 2005, Samsung surpassed Japanese rival Sony for the first time to be rated as the new leading and most popular consumer electronics brand in the world by Interbrand. In 2007, Samsung Electronics' handset division overtook American rival Motorola, making it the world's second largest mobile phone maker. At the end of 2007, Samsung Electronics exceeded the $100 billion mark in annual sales for the first time in its history. This achievement places the company, along with Siemens of Germany and Hewlett-Packard of the U.S., among the world's top three companies in the electric appliances and electronics industry.

Chelsea Football Club

Chelsea will be desperate to regain the Premier League crown after finishing second to Manchester United in the last two seasons. Former manager Jose Mourinho, bankrolled by owner Roman Abromovich's millions, brought the first title to Stamford Bridge for 50 years when the Blues lifted the trophy in 2005. Chelsea became only the second team to win back-to-back Premier League titles when they clinched it a year later. Mourinho left the club by mutual consent in September 2007.

Although Chelsea reached the FA Cup final in 1994, they hardly set the world alight in their early Premier League days. Ruud Gullit became manager in 1996 and steered the Blues to an FA Cup triumph in 1997, while his successor Gianluca Vialli guided the team to victory in the League Cup and European Cup Winners' Cup in 1998.

Shortly after, he led the team to the UEFA Super Cup after a 1-0 win over Real Madrid. The FA Cup followed in 2000. Vialli was replaced by Claudio Ranieri in 2000 and he led Chelsea to another FA Cup final appearance in 2002.

Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich bought the Blues for £140m. After a trophyless season, he appointed Mourinho as new Chelsea manager and there was instant success. In 2005, Chelsea won the Barclays Premiership and League Cup, along with a Champions League semi-final appearance.

And Mourinho retained the Barclays Premiership crown the year after, equalling the club's own Premier League record of 29 wins set the previous season. They were league runners-up in 2006/07 and also claimed the FA Cup and League Cup double.

They were also runners-up in the 2007/08 campaign, but by this time Mourinho had left the club. He was replaced by Avram Grant who led the Blues to the final of the Champions League and Carling Cup.

Grant left Stamford Bridge at the end of the season and was replaced by Luiz Felipe Scolari who will be charged with bringing the title back to the club. However he was sacked in February 2009 and replaced by Guus Hiddink who agreed to take charge until the end of the campaign while continuing to coach the Russian national side.

Club Heritage

Chelsea were formed in 1905 and were elected into the Second Division of the Football League. They just missed out on silverware 10 years later with an FA Cup final defeat. The Blues had to wait for their first major trophy in 1955, when under manager Ted Drake, they won the league title. Chelsea claimed the League Cup for the first time in 1965 and were defeated in the FA Cup final two years later.

Featuring the likes of Ron 'Chopper' Harris, Ian Hutchison and Peter Osgood, Chelsea overcame Leeds to win the FA Cup in 1970. In the following season, they clinched the European Cup Winners' Cup with a replay victory over Real Madrid.

Financial problems meant the Stamford Bridge club dropped into the Second Division, and at one point they were close to falling to the Third Division.

They eventually won their place back in the top flight in 1984, but their stay only lasted four seasons. They clawed their way back to the First Division again as Second Division champions in 1989 and have remained there ever since.

Premier League History

1992/93 - Inaugural members of the Premier League
1993/94 - Lose FA Cup final
1996/97 - Ruud Gullit appointed player-manger
1996/97 - Win FA Cup
1997/98 - Gianluca Vialli becomes manager
1997/98 - Win League Cup, Cup Winners' Cup and UEFA Super Cup
1999/00 - FA Cup winners
2000/01 - Claudio Ranieri becomes manager
2001/02 - Lose FA Cup final
2003/04 - Chairman Ken Bates sells Chelsea to Roman Abramovich
2000/05 - Jose Mourinho takes over as manager
2004/05 - Chelsea win Barclays Premiership and League Cup
2005/06 - Chelsea win Barclays Premiership
2006/07 - Win FA Cup and League Cup
2007/08 - Jose Mourinho leaves the club to be replaced by Avram Grant. Runners up in the Carling Cup, Barclays Premier League and Champions League. Part company with Grant. Luiz Felipe Scolari appointed manager in June.
2008/09 - Scolari is sacked in February 2009 and replaced by Russian national coach Guus Hiddink who will combine both roles until the end of the season.

AIG (American International group) Official sponsor of Manchester United Club

American International Group, Inc. (AIG) (NYSE: AIG) is a major American insurance corporation. Its corporate headquarters are located the American International Building in New York City. The British headquarters office is on Fenchurch Street in London; continental Europe operations are based in La Défense, Paris, and its Asian headquarters office is in Hong Kong. According to the 2008 Forbes Global 2000 list, AIG was the 18th-largest public company in the world. It was listed on the Dow Jones Industrial Average from April 8, 2004 to September 22, 2008.

AIG suffered from a liquidity crisis when its credit ratings were downgraded below "AA" levels in September 2008. The United States Federal Reserve Bank on September 16, 2008, created an $85 billion credit facility to enable the company to meet increased collateral obligations consequent to the credit rating downgrade, in exchange for the issuance of a stock warrant to the Federal Reserve Bank for 79.9% of the equity of AIG. In November 2008 the U.S. government revised the credit facility, increasing the total amount available to $152 billion. AIG is subsequently has sold a number of its subsidiaries and other assets to pay down loans received, and continues to seek buyers of its assets.

Manchester United Club

Manchester United are the most successful Premier League club having won the title 10 times. It all began in 1993 when manager Sir Alex Ferguson ended a 26-year wait to lift the Premier League crown.

The signing of Eric Cantona for £1.2million from Leeds United proved a masterstroke as the Frenchman was instrumental in the title victory, along with the likes of Gary Pallister, Denis Irwin, Ryan Giggs and Paul Ince.

United retained the trophy in the following campaign and romped to further titles in 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2003. More silverware was added to the Red Devils' burgeoning trophy cabinet with FA Cup success in 1994, 1996, 1999 and 2004, plus League Cup victories in 1992 and 2006.

Perhaps the most memorable time in the club's history was the treble-winning season of 1999 when they added the European Champions League trophy to the league title and FA Cup.

Chelsea briefly broke their league dominance with title wins in 2005 and 2006. But in the 2006/07 season, the Red Devils roared back to regain the Barclays Premiership.

They went one better last season, enjoying their most successful campaign since winning the treble. They saw off the challenge of Chelsea and Arsenal to win an exciting Barclays Premier League title race and defeated the Blues on penalties in the Champions League final after a 1-1 draw between the two sides in Moscow.

Club Heritage

Formed as Newton Heath L&YR F.C in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902. Six years later they clinched the Division One title, then the FA Cup in 1909, and another title triumph in 1911.

Matt Busby became manager in 1945 and steered United to championship victories in 1952, 1956 and 1957. They became the first English club to compete in the European Cup and reached the semi-final, before going out to Real Madrid. Tragedy struck in 1958 when the plane carrying the team home from a European match crashed, killing eight players.

Busby survived and led his rebuilt team to an FA Cup win in 1963, then league titles in 1965 and 1967. United won the European Cup in 1968 with victory over Benfica in the final - the first English club to do so. When Busby resigned in 1969, his successors failed to continue his glorious triumphs and United were relegated five years later.

They managed to regain their top-flight status at the first attempt and later won the FA Cup in 1977. More FA Cup success followed in 1983 and 1985. But it was United's 1990 FA Cup replay win over Crystal Palace that proved to be the springboard to becoming the force they are today.

It saved under-pressure manager Alex Ferguson from losing his job and he went on to win the European Cup Winners' Cup the season after and began their Premier League dominance with the 1993 title.

Premier League History

1992/93 - Inaugural members of the Premier League
1992/93 - Eric Cantona signs from Leeds United for £1.2million
1992/93 - Win FA Carling Premiership
1993/94 - Win FA Carling Premiership and FA Cup
1995/96 - Win FA Carling Premiership and FA Cup
1996/97 - Win FA Carling Premiership
1998/99 - Win FA Carling Premiership, European Cup, and FA Cup
1999/00 - Win FA Carling Premiership
2000/01 - Win FA Carling Premiership
2001/02 - Juan Sebastian Veron breaks the British transfer record with a £28million move from Lazio
2002/03 - Win Barclaycard Premiership
2003/04 - Win FA Cup
2005/06 - American Malcolm Glazer takes control of club
2005/06 - Win League Cup
2006/07 - Win Barclays Premiership
2007/08 - Win Barclays Premier League, win European Cup

www.barclays.co.uk

Barclays bank is the official sponsor of English premier league.

History of Premier League

A History of The Premier League

It is the world's most watched league and the most lucrative - attracting the top players from all over the globe. Hard to believe then that the first ball kicked in the Premier League was as relatively recently as 15th August 1992.

The 1980s saw a nadir in English football. Stadiums were crumbling and hooliganism was rife. English teams were banned from Europe following the death of 39 fans at Heysel Stadium in Belgium ahead of Liverpool's European Cup Final against Juventus in 1985. Few of the world's top players would even contemplate plying their trade in England.

Then in 1989 came Hillsborough and the Taylor report. 96 fans died and over 150 were injured - crushed during the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. Lord Justice Taylor recommended a complete overhaul in the way football grounds were run and structured - leading to the introduction of all-seater stadia.

radical restructuring

Faced with the huge cost of implementing the recommendations and growing concern over the inability to attract quality players, there was mounting discontent among the top clubs. As early as 1988 ten clubs had threatened to break away in order to take advantage of higher television revenue.

A radical restructuring was needed if English clubs and the game in general were to develop and flourish.

The Founder Members Agreement was signed on 17th July 1991 establishing the basic principles for the setting up of the Premier League. The League would have commercial independence from the Football League and FA, leaving it free to organise its own broadcast and sponsorship agreement.

On the 20th February 1992 the first division clubs resigned from the Football League en masse and three months later the Premier League was established as a limited company.

The League decided to take the radical step of assigning television rights to Sky TV. At the time charging fans to watch televised sport was a relatively new concept, but a combination of the quality of football on offer and Sky's marketing strategy saw the value of the Premier League soar. The initial deal was worth £191million over five years. To televise the matches from 2007-2010, Sky and Setanta have paid a staggering £1.7billion.

shape and develop

Sponsorship has also played an enormous role. In 1993 Carling paid £12million for four years and the competition became known as the FA Carling Premiership. They renewed for another four years paying a 300% increase. In 2001 Barclaycard became the new sponsors for £48million over three years. Barclays took over in 2004 with their renewal price for 2007 coming in at £65.8million for three seasons.

Increased revenue has ensured that English clubs can compete on a global scale in terms of transfer fees and wages - an important factor which has seen some of the best overseas players grace the Barclays Premier League.

In 1992 there were just 11 non-British or Irish footballers in the Premier League, by 2007 this had increased to over 250. Over the years overseas players have helped shape and develop the British game. Overseas managers, too, have been eager to work in England, and techniques used by the likes of Arsene Wenger, Gerrard Houllier and Ruud Gullit have had an enormous impact.

The Premier League was initially composed of 22 clubs but it was always the intention to reduce that number to 20 to promote development and excellence at club and international level. This was achieved at the end of the 1994/95 season when four clubs were relegated and just two promoted.

Reading's promotion in 2006 made them the 40th club to ply their trade in the Premier League. The most successful team in Premier League history is undoubtedly Manchester United. Alex Ferguson's side have won a remarkable ten titles and have never finished below third since the Premier League was launched in 1992.

Info about Micheal Ballack (German Soccer player)

Do u wants to know about him. He is a wonderful player one of my favourites. Read the article below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Ballack

Micheal Ballack (We wants to be Europe's best)

Michael Ballack is determined to erase the memory of last season's Champions League final defeat to Manchester United by lifting the trophy in Rome at the end of May.

Ballack played his defensive part in Chelsea's creditable goalless draw with Barcelona in their semi-final first leg in the Nou Camp last night. A superb defensive performance from the Blues kept free-scoring Barcelona at bay to give Chelsea a slight advantage going into the return leg at Stamford Bridge next week.

"We don't just want to reach the final, we want to win it," said Ballack. "You could see by the team spirit that everyone wants to get to the final again."

Chelsea were defiant and disciplined to a man as they stifled the life out of Barca's attack.

The Catalan giants had not failed to score at home all season and Lionel Messi, Thierry Henry and Samuel Eto'o have hit 90 goals between them.

But makeshift left-back Jose Bosingwa made Messi looked distinctly ordinary and John Terry and Alex were rock solid at the heart of the back line.

The rest of the Chelsea team produced equally praiseworthy displays, including Germany midfielder Ballack who is determined to wipe away the memory of last year's defeat in Moscow with victory in Rome.

"It's not easy to reach the final again in the next year, but we have a big chance now," added the Germany midfielder.

"If you saw how we got through to the final last year we were very focused and knew what we had to do.

"We have that experience to go on but Barcelona have it as well. There are always little points or a mistake that decide a game and this could be what happens at Stamford Bridge."