The Premier League is the top division in English football and has been so since it began in 1992. Prior to the Premiership League 1 was the top football division but this changed when many clubs wanted to break away from the F.A. and Football Leagues in order to take advantage of more lucrative sponsorship deals and T.V. rights revenue.
Currently 20 teams take part in the English Premier League every year, with each team playing every other team twice throughout the season and receiving 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for a loss. After every team has played 38 games the club with the most points wins the Premiership title, maximum prize money and gains automatic qualification for the next seasons Champions League competition.
As well as this the clubs that finish 2nd, 3rd and 4th in the Premier League qualify for the lucrative UEFA Champions League, the teams that finish 5th, 6th and 7th qualify for the Europa League (formerly the UEFA Cup) and the bottom 3 clubs in the Premier League are relegated to the second English football division which is known as the Championship.
Premier League Winners - 1992-2010
Since the Premier League began in 1992 only 4 teams have managed to win the title despite 43 different clubs taking part at some point during the 18 Premiership seasons. Manchester United were the very first Premier League winners and have gone on to win the trophy a record 11 times. The other 3 winners over the 18 years are Arsenal, Chelsea and surprisingly Blackburn Rovers. Here is the full list:
- 1992 - 1993 - Winners - Manchester United - Runners Up - Aston Villa
- 1993 - 1994 - Winners - Manchester United - Runners Up - Blackburn
- 1994 - 1995 - Winners - Blackburn - Runners Up - Manchester United
- 1995 - 1996 - Winners - Manchester United - Runners Up - Newcastle
- 1996 - 1997 - Winners - Manchester United - Runners Up - Newcastle
- 1997 - 1998 - Winners - Arsenal - Runners Up - Manchester United
- 1998 - 1999 - Winners - Manchester United - Runners Up - Arsenal
- 1999 - 2000 - Winners - Manchester United - Runners Up - Arsenal
- 2000 - 2001 - Winners - Manchester United - Runners Up - Arsenal
- 2001 - 2002 - Winners - Arsenal - Runners Up - Liverpool
- 2002 - 2003 - Winners - Manchester United - Runners Up - Arsenal
- 2003 - 2004 - Winners - Arsenal - Runners Up - Chelsea
- 2004 - 2005 - Winners - Chelsea - Runners Up - Arsenal
- 2005 - 2006 - Winners - Chelsea - Runners Up - Manchester United
- 2006 - 2007 - Winners - Manchester United - Runners Up - Chelsea
- 2007 - 2008 - Winners - Manchester United - Runners Up - Chelsea
- 2008 - 2009 - Winners - Manchester United - Runners Up - Liverpool
- 2009 - 2010 - Winners - Chelsea - Runners Up - Manchester United
So it is clear that Manchester United have completely dominated the Premier League since it began in 1992, winning it 11 times with the next best being Arsenal and Chelsea winning it 3 times each. Blackburn are definitely the surprise winners mixed in there but more of a surprise in the fact that Liverpool, a consistent top 4 team, have never won the Premiership.
Matthew Read - I love writing! Over the last 6 years I have written CD reviews, book reviews, interviews and features for music magazines like No-Title, ...
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