Season Dates: August 2006 – May 2007
Champions: Manchester United
Top Scorer (Golden Boot): Didier Drogba (Chelsea) – 20 goals
Relegated Teams: Sheffield United, Charlton Athletic, Watford
European Qualification:
Champions League: Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal
Europa League: Tottenham Hotspur, Everton, Bolton Wanderers
Season Overview:
The 2006/07 Premier League season saw Manchester United reclaim the title after three years without winning England’s top flight. The Red Devils ended up finishing six points ahead of Chelsea. Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney played crucial roles in United’s success, with Ronaldo winning the Player of the Year award.
Chelsea, the defending champions, finished second but managed to win both domestic cup competitions. Liverpool and Arsenal completed the top four, while Tottenham secured a UEFA Cup place.
At the bottom, Sheffield United, Charlton Athletic, and Watford were relegated, with Sheffield United’s fate sealed on the final day but not without controversy.
Month-by-Month Breakdown
August 2006 – The Season Begins
Manchester United started with a 5-1 win over Fulham, while Chelsea suffered an early defeat to Middlesbrough. Was this a sign of things to come in the title race?
Player of the Month: Ryan Giggs (Manchester United)
September 2006 – Chelsea Bounce Back
Chelsea climbed up the table with an impressive win against Liverpool amongst others, while Arsenal struggled with early inconsistency.
Player of the Month: Andrew Johnson (Everton)
October 2006 – United and Chelsea Pull Away
Manchester United and Chelsea established themselves as title favourites, with the former picking up a big win at the beginning of the month against Newcastle. Cristiano Ronaldo continued to show the world why he was so highly-rated.
Player of the Month: Paul Scholes (Manchester United)
November 2006 – Liverpool Recover
Liverpool improved after a poor start, while Portsmouth stayed in the top four.
Player of the Month: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
December 2006 – Festive Period Drama
United maintained their lead, while Chelsea stumbled with costly draws that ended up proving to be too much to overcome come the end of the season.
Player of the Month: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
January 2007 – United Strengthen Position
United continued their dominance, while West Ham slipped into the relegation zone, something very few fans thought would happen at the beginning of the season.
Player of the Month: Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal)
February 2007 – Title Race Narrows
Chelsea cut United’s lead to six points after key wins. Was the tide beginning to turn?
Player of the Month: Ryan Giggs (Manchester United)
March 2007 – Sheffield United in Trouble
Sheffield United’s poor form put them in danger of relegation, but very few predicted how things were going to turn out at the end of the season.
Player of the Month: Petr Cech (Chelsea)
April 2007 – United Edge Closer
United defeated Everton 4-2 in a comeback win that virtually secured the title for the Red Devils after a few years strangely without one.
Player of the Month: Robbie Keane & Dimitar Berbatov (Tottenham)
May 2007 – United Crowned Champions
A 1-0 win over Manchester City helped United secure the league title, with the top-flight triumphant made even sweeter by the fact it was secured against their arch-rivals. Sheffield United were controversially relegated after losing to Wigan on the final day, with Carlos Tevez’s key role in West Ham’s survival sparking legal disputes over third-party ownership.
Season Stats & Key Records
Golden Boot & Top Goal Scorers
- Didier Drogba (Chelsea) – 20 goals
- Benni McCarthy (Blackburn Rovers) – 18 goals
- Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United) – 17 goals
Most Assists
- Cesc Fàbregas (Arsenal) – 11 assists
- Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) – 11 assists
- Frank Lampard (Chelsea) – 10 assists
Golden Glove (Most Clean Sheets)
- Pepe Reina (Liverpool) – 19 clean sheets
- Tim Howard (Everton) – 14 clean sheets
- Marcus Hahnemann (Reading) – 13 clean sheets
Big Matches & Moments
Best Match: Everton 2-4 Manchester United (April 28, 2007) – A thrilling comeback win for the Red Devils sure helped their chances of winning the title.
Biggest Upset: Middlesbrough 2-1 Chelsea (August 23, 2006) – Early setback for Chelsea as they suffered a shock defeat to Middlesbrough.
Most Dramatic Match: West Ham 3-4 Tottenham (March 4, 2007) – Late goals sealed Spurs’ victory which would have given West Ham a better chance of not getting involved in the relegation scrap come the end of the season.
Managerial Changes
- Charlton – Iain Dowie sacked (November 13, 2006) – replaced by Les Reed
- West Ham – Alan Pardew sacked (December 11, 2006) – replaced by Alan Curbishley
- Charlton – Les Reed sacked (December 24, 2006) – replaced by Alan Pardew
- Fulham – Chris Coleman sacked (April 10, 2007) – replaced by Lawrie Sanchez
- Bolton – Sam Allardyce sacked (April 29, 2007) – replaced by Sammy Lee
- Newcastle – Glenn Roeder sacked (May 6, 2007) – replaced by Nigel Pearson (caretaker)
Transfers & Squad Movement
- Andriy Shevchenko – AC Milan to Chelsea – £30m
- Michael Carrick – Tottenham to Manchester United – £22m
- John Obi Mikel – Lyn to Chelsea – £16.5m
Awards & Honors
- Premier League Manager of the Season: Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United)
- Premier League Player of the Season: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
- Premier League Young Player of the Season: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
European Performance
- Liverpool – UCL final to AC Milan
- Chelsea – UCL Semi-Finals by Liverpool
- Manchester United – UCL Semi-Finals by AC Milan
- Arsenal – UCL Round of 16 by PSV Eindhoven
- Tottenham Hotspur – UC Quarter-Finals by Sevilla
- Newcastle United – UC Round of 16 by AZ Alkmaar
- Blackburn Rovers – UC Round of 32 by Bayer Leverkusen
- West Ham United – UC First Round by Palermo
