Overview

• The rebuilt Wembley Stadium was due to open in time for the FA Cup final in May. However, in August 2005, The Football Association reserved the Millennium Stadium as a backup, as there was some doubt whether Wembley would be ready. The doubts were confirmed on 21 February 2006, when The FA announced that the final would indeed be held at Millennium Stadium. On 31 March 2006 The FA confirmed that the new Wembley wouldn't be opened until 2007.
• Two clubs opened new stadiums at the beginning of this season:
  
  • Coventry City — Ricoh Arena.
  • Swansea City — Liberty Stadium.
• F.C. United of Manchester, formed by disgruntled Manchester United fans played their first competitive season, competing in the North West Counties Football League Division Two (level 10 of the English football league system), from which they gained promotion at the first time of asking.
• Wigan Athletic, who earned promotion to the Premiership by finishing second in the Football League Championship, played their first ever season in the top division of English football and stayed up, staying clear from the threat of relegation all season.

Events

June 4, 2006 - Scarborough are relegated from the Nationwide Conference for a breach of league rules. They take Altrincham's relegation place.

National team

England qualified for the Football World Cup 2006, after finishing top of European Qualifying Group 6.

Date	Venue	Opponents	Score	Competition	England scorers	Match Report
August 17, 2005	Parken Stadion, Copenhagen (A)		1-4	F	Wayne Rooney	BBC
September 3, 2005	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff (A)		1-0	WCQ	Joe Cole	BBC
September 7, 2005	Windsor Park, Belfast (A)		0-1	WCQ		BBC
October 8, 2005	Old Trafford, Manchester (H)		1-0	WCQ	Frank Lampard (pen)	BBC
October 12, 2005	Old Trafford, Manchester (H)		2-1	WCQ	Michael Owen, Frank Lampard	BBC
November 12, 2005	Stade de Genève, Geneva (N)		3-2	F	Wayne Rooney, Michael Owen (2)	BBC
March 1, 2006	Anfield, Liverpool (H)		2-1	F	Peter Crouch, Joe Cole	BBC
May 25, 2006	Madejski Stadium, Reading (H)		1-2	F ('B' team)	Jermaine Jenas	BBC
May 30, 2006	Old Trafford, Manchester (H)		3-1	F	Steven Gerrard, John Terry, Peter Crouch	BBC
June 3, 2006	Old Trafford, Manchester (H)		6-0	F	Frank Lampard, Jermaine Taylor (o.g.), Michael Owen, Peter Crouch (3)	BBC
June 10, 2006	FIFA WM Stadion Frankfurt, Frankfurt (N)		1-0	WCF	Carlos Gamarra (o.g.)	BBC
June 15, 2006	Frankenstadion, Nuremberg (N)		2-0	WCF	Peter Crouch, Steven Gerrard	BBC
June 20, 2006	FIFA WM Stadion Köln, Cologne (N)		2-2	WCF	Joe Cole, Steven Gerrard	BBC
June 25, 2006	Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion, Stuttgart (N)		1-0	WCF	David Beckham	BBC
July 1, 2006	Veltins-Arena, Gelsenkirchen (N)		0-0 (FT), 0-0 (aet), 1-3 (P)	WCF		BBC

Key

WCF = FIFA World Cup 2006 Finals

Honours

Competition	Winner	Details	Match Report
UEFA Super Cup	Liverpool	Beat CSKA Moscow 3-1	UEFA
FA Premier League	Chelsea	FA Premier League 2005-06	BBC
FA Cup	Liverpool	FA Cup 2005-06	BBC
Carling Cup	Manchester United	Beat Wigan 4-0	BBC
Football League Championship	Reading	Finished on record 106 points	BBC
Football League One	Southend United	Consecutive promotions	BBC
Football League Two	Carlisle United	Consecutive promotions	BBC
FA Community Shield	Chelsea	Beat Arsenal 2-1	BBC
Football League Trophy	Swansea City	Defeated Carlisle United 2-1

European qualification

Competition	Qualifiers	Reason for Qualification
UEFA Champions League	Chelsea	1st in FA Premier League
	Manchester United	2nd in FA Premier League
UEFA Champions League Third Qualifying Round	Liverpool	3rd in FA Premier League
	Arsenal	4th in FA Premier League
UEFA Cup	Tottenham Hotspur	5th in FA Premier League
	West Ham United	In lieu of FA Cup winners (qualification awarded as FA Cup runners-up because FA Cup winners Liverpool had already qualified for the Champions League)
	Blackburn Rovers	In lieu of League Cup winners (qualification awarded as next-highest (6th) Premier League finishers to have not qualified for Europe because League Cup winners Manchester United had already qualified for the Champions League)
UEFA Intertoto Cup Third round	Newcastle United	Highest Premier League finishers (7th) to have entered and not qualified for any other European competition

League tables

FA Premier League

Chelsea won the Premiership title by an 8-point margin after fighting off a late challenge by runners-up Manchester United. The other five European places went to Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and Blackburn Rovers.
   Middlesbrough dipped seven places to 14th place in the final table, but did reach the UEFA Cup final - the first European final in their history. Also dipping seven places were Manchester City, who finished 15th, while Aston Villa slipped six places to 16th.
   Sunderland were relegated with a Premiership record low of 3 wins and 15 points, while West Bromwich Albion and Birmingham City both hit the 30-point mark but were unable to avoid relegation. Portsmouth had spent almost the entire season in the relegation zone, but they stayed up after assuring their safety in their penultimate match of the season.

									D	ts
C	1	Chelsea	38	29	4	5	72	22	+50	91
CLG	2	Manchester United	38	25	8	5	72	34	+38	83
CLQ	3	Liverpool	38	25	7	6	57	25	+32	82
CLQ	4	Arsenal	38	20	7	11	68	31	+37	67
UC	5	Tottenham Hotspur	38	18	11	9	53	38	+15	65
UC	6	Blackburn Rovers	38	19	6	13	51	42	+9	63
INTO.	7	Newcastle United	38	17	7	14	47	42	+5	58
	8	Bolton Wanderers	38	15	11	12	49	41	+8	56
UC	9	West Ham United	38	16	7	15	52	55	-3	55
	10	Wigan Athletic	38	15	6	17	45	52	-7	51
	11	Everton	38	14	8	16	34	49	-15	50
	12	Fulham	38	14	6	18	48	58	-10	48
	13	Charlton Athletic	38	13	8	17	41	55	-14	47
	14	Middlesbrough	38	12	9	17	48	58	-10	45
	15	Manchester City	38	13	4	21	43	48	-5	43
	16	Aston Villa	38	10	12	16	42	55	-13	42
	17	Portsmouth	38	10	8	20	37	62	-25	38
R	18	Birmingham City	38	8	10	20	28	50	-22	34
R	19	West Bromwich Albion	38	7	9	22	31	58	-27	30
R	20	Sunderland	38	3	6	29	26	69	-43	15

The Football League

Football League Championship

Reading entered the top flight for the first time in their history, breaking Sunderland's points record in the process. (Coincidentally, Sunderland were relegated from the Premiership while breaking the record for lowest number of points under the current scoring system). Sheffield United joined them, returning to the Premiership after twelve years. Surprise package Watford, initially tipped for relegation, entered the play-offs and beat Leeds United 3-0 in the Millennium Stadium final, who were unable to shake off a bad run of form (worse than any of the three relegated sides) that saw them lose out in the race for automatic promotion.
   Crystal Palace fared the best out of the Premiership teams relegated the previous season, by getting to the play-offs but losing in the semi finals. Norwich never managed better than mid-table, while Southampton endured an awful season that saw Sir Clive Woodward take up a much-criticised role as director of football, manager Harry Redknapp return to local rivals Portsmouth and the side looking in danger of relegation for much of the season, only managing a mid-table finish with a late surge in form, thanks to the appointment of George Burley. Chairman Rupert Lowe ultimately paid the price by being forced to resign after the end of the season.
   The relegation battle was principally fought by four sides, Crewe, Brighton, Millwall and Sheffield Wednesday. Wednesday ultimately won the battle, and the remaining three were relegated all on the same day, after Wednesday beat Brighton 2-0. While Crewe and Brighton hadn't spent long in the division and were considered to be punching above their weight, Millwall underwent a disastrous season, getting through five managers and four chairmen before relegation.

									D	ts
C	1	Reading	46	31	13	2	99	32	+67	106
P	2	Sheffield United	46	26	12	8	76	46	+30	90
P	3	Watford	46	22	15	9	77	53	+24	81
	4	Preston North End	46	20	20	6	59	30	+29	80
	5	Leeds United	46	21	15	10	57	38	+19	78
	6	Crystal Palace	46	21	12	13	67	48	+19	75
	7	Wolverhampton Wanderers	46	16	19	11	50	42	+8	67
	8	Coventry City	46	16	15	15	62	65	-3	63
	9	Norwich City	46	18	8	20	56	65	-9	62
	10	Luton Town	46	17	10	19	66	67	-1	61
	11	Cardiff City	46	16	12	18	58	59	-1	60
	12	Southampton	46	13	19	14	49	50	-1	58
	13	Stoke City	46	17	7	22	54	63	-9	58
	14	Plymouth Argyle	46	13	17	16	39	46	-7	56
	15	Ipswich Town	46	14	14	18	53	66	-13	56
	16	Leicester City	46	13	15	18	51	59	-8	54
	17	Burnley	46	14	12	20	46	54	-8	54
	18	Hull City	46	12	16	18	49	55	-6	52
	19	Sheffield Wednesday	46	13	13	20	39	52	-13	52
	20	Derby County	46	10	20	16	53	67	-14	50
	21	Queens Park Rangers	46	12	14	20	50	65	-15	50
R	22	Crewe Alexandra	46	9	15	22	57	86	-29	42
R	23	Millwall	46	8	16	22	35	62	-27	40
R	24	Brighton & Hove Albion	46	7	17	22	39	71	-32	38

Football League One

Southend United surprised many by winning a second successive promotion, returning to the Championship after nearly a decade (when it was called Division One). Colchester United also made the Championship for the first time in their history, but their promotion was tempered by the loss of manager Phil Parkinson to Hull City. A highly competitive play-off race saw Barnsley emerge as winners, beating Swansea City at the Millennium Stadium 4-3 on penalties after both normal time and extra-time finished 2-2, to return to the Championship after three seasons of struggle in Division Two/League One. Following relegation and becoming the first former European champions to be subsequently relegated to the third year of their domestic league, Nottingham Forest srtuggled for most of the season and were in danger of the unthinkable and suffering a second sicessive relegation. The departure of Gary Megson saw a late upturn in form and surge towards the play-offs, however they missed out on the last day of the season, finishing 7th.
   At the bottom, Walsall endured their second relegation in three seasons, Swindon became the first former Premiership side to slip to the bottom division (MK Dons were relegated a few weeks later, and it's debatable whether they can be considered a "former Premiership" team), Hartlepool crashed out of the division the season after they nearly earned promotion to the Championship, while MK Dons suffered the relegation they only avoided the previous season when Wrexham were docked points for entering administration.

									D	ts
C	1	Southend United	46	23	13	10	72	43	+29	82
P	2	Colchester United	46	22	13	11	58	40	+18	79
	3	Brentford	46	20	16	10	72	52	+20	76
	4	Huddersfield Town	46	19	16	11	72	59	+13	73
P	5	Barnsley	46	18	18	10	62	44	+18	72
	6	Swansea City	46	18	17	11	78	55	+23	71
	7	Nottingham Forest	46	19	12	15	67	52	+15	69
	8	Doncaster Rovers	46	20	9	17	55	51	+4	69
	9	Bristol City	46	18	11	17	66	62	+4	65
	10	Oldham Athletic	46	18	11	17	58	60	-2	65
	11	Bradford City	46	14	19	13	51	49	+2	60
	12	Scunthorpe United	46	15	15	16	68	73	-5	60
	13	Port Vale	46	16	12	18	49	54	-5	60
	14	Gillingham	46	16	12	18	50	64	-14	60
	15	Yeovil Town	46	15	11	20	54	62	-8	56
	16	Chesterfield	46	14	14	18	63	73	-10	56
	17	Bournemouth	46	12	19	15	49	53	-4	55
	18	Tranmere Rovers	46	13	15	18	50	52	-2	54
	19	Blackpool	46	12	17	17	56	64	-8	53
	20	Rotherham United	46	12	16	18	52	62	-10	52
R	21	Hartlepool United	46	11	17	18	44	59	-15	50
R	22	Milton Keynes Dons	46	12	14	20	45	66	-21	50
R	23	Swindon Town	46	11	15	20	46	65	-19	48
R	24	Walsall	46	11	14	21	47	70	-23	47

Football League Two

Carlisle United were another side who earned a second successive promotion, only two years after a relegation from the League that some predicted would see the end of the club. Northampton Town joined them, making up for two seasons of play-off disappointment, and Leyton Orient ended a decade in the bottom division by earning promotion on nearly the last minute of the season. The side that they pushed out of the automatic promotion places, Grimsby Town, lost 1-0 to Cheltenham Town in the play-off final at the Millennium Stadium.
   Rushden and Diamonds failed to improve on the previous season, and paid the price with relegation to the Conference. Oxford United joined them, despite the return of manager Jim Smith, and became the first former winners of a major trophy to be relegated to the Conference.

									D	ts
C	1	Carlisle United	46	25	11	10	84	42	+42	86
P	2	Northampton Town	46	22	17	7	63	37	+26	83
P	3	Leyton Orient	46	22	15	9	67	51	+16	81
	4	Grimsby Town	46	22	12	12	64	44	+20	78
P	5	Cheltenham Town	46	19	15	12	65	53	+12	72
	6	Wycombe Wanderers	46	18	17	11	72	56	+16	71
	7	Lincoln City	46	15	21	10	65	53	+12	66
	8	Darlington	46	16	15	15	58	52	+6	63
	9	Peterborough United	46	17	11	18	57	49	+8	62
	10	Shrewsbury Town	46	16	13	17	55	55	+0	61
	11	Boston United	46	15	16	15	50	60	-10	61
	12	Bristol Rovers	46	17	9	20	59	67	-8	60
	13	Wrexham	46	15	14	17	61	54	+7	59
	14	Rochdale	46	14	14	18	66	69	-3	56
	15	Chester City	46	14	12	20	53	59	-6	54
	16	Mansfield Town	46	13	15	18	59	66	-7	54
	17	Macclesfield Town	46	12	18	16	60	71	-11	54
	18	Barnet	46	12	18	16	44	57	-13	54
	19	Bury*	46	12	17	17	45	57	-12	52
	20	Torquay United	46	13	13	20	53	66	-13	52
	21	Notts County	46	12	16	18	48	63	-15	52
	22	Stockport County	46	11	19	16	57	78	-21	52
R	23	Oxford United	46	11	16	19	43	56	-14	49
R	24	Rushden & Diamonds	46	11	12	23	44	76	-32	45

* Deducted 1 point for fielding an ineligible player

Non-League Football

Competition	Winners
Conference National winners	Accrington Stanley
Conference National playoff winners	Hereford United
Conference North winners	Northwich Victoria
Conference South winners	Weymouth
FA Trophy	Grays Athletic
FA Vase	Nantwich Town

Transfer deals

Summer transfer window

The summer transfer window ran from the end of the previous season until 31 August.

16 May 2005