Football World

History of Torino F.C.

2007-10-30T13:13:00.000-07:00

History
Foot-Ball Club Torino was founded on 3 December 1906 after a meeting at the Voigt brewery in Via Pietro Micca near the center of Turin. Its foundation involved some Juventus dissidents led by Alfredo Dick, who had left the bianconeri after some at the club wanted to move Juventus out of Turin. As well as Alfredo Dick, other prominent founders included the Swiss businessman Hans Schoenbrod (first chairman), and Vittorio Pozzo (later manager of Italy).

The first ground for FBC Torino would be Velodromo Umberto I in the La Crocetta neighbourhood, for which Dick owned the lease. Torino lured some players from other clubs, including FBC Torinese who became defunct as a result. The fact that Torino's split from Juve was not amicable, saw the rise of a heated local known as the Derby della Mole.

Italian Football Championship
Torino F.C. took part in the world's first international tournament, Torneo Internazionale Stampa Sportiva 1908 which was hosted in Turin itself organised by the Italian magazine La Stampa Sportiva. Torino lost in the final 3-1 to Swiss side Servette. In 1909 it was succeeded by the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy, in which a Torino XI comprised of Juve and Torino players participated but did not make it to the final.

After the early years, Torino were denied their first championship attempt by the outbreak of World War I, and their first title was revoked in 1926/27 due to an irregularity in the match against Juventus. Torino won its first Scudetto, the Italian Serie A league Championship, the following 1927/28 season and, between 1942/43 and 1948/49, the "Grande Torino" (Great Torino), widely considered the best ever team in Italian football history, won five other straight scudetti, led by its captain, Valentino Mazzola.

On May 4, 1949, all but one player (who was out for an injury) of Grande Torino were killed when their plane crashed into the hills of Superga, on the outskirts of Turin. The club never recovered, and after a decade of mediocre seasons, they were relegated to Serie B in 1958/59, although they returned to Serie A the following season.

By the early 1960s and until the late 1980s, Torino had good results in Serie A, including another Scudetto in the 1975/76 season. Since the end of the 1980s, the club went up and down between Serie A and Serie B, the top two divisions with little success, except a Coppa Italia in 1992/93 and a Mitropa Cup win in 1990/91. Among the best results ever achieved in the club's history, it reached the UEFA Cup Final in 1991/92 only to lose it in two aggregate matches to Ajax Amsterdam without being defeated.

In 2004/05, Torino finished 3rd in Serie B and, after winning the playoffs, was promoted back in Serie A. However, the FIGC, the governing body of Italian football, expelled both Torino Calcio and F.C. Messina from Serie A, due to both clubs' financial problems. However, while Messina was re-admitted by a civil court of appeal, Torino was not and it was cancelled from the Italian sport panorama.

Thanks to the 'Lodo Petrucci' (Italian law which allows a sport club that is the direct heir of a cancelled one to be re-admitted one division below the previous one), a new club was founded under the current name Torino F.C. and was admitted to play the next season, again in Serie B. Bought by entrepreneur Urbano Cairo, Torino FC ended its 2005/2006 Serie B campaign in third place, being therefore qualified for the promotion play-offs. Torino subsequently defeated Mantova in the final to earn promotion to Serie A.

Even in its worst seasons, Torino has often achieved good results in epic matches (the so-called "derbies") against the other Turin team, Juventus. Since 1990 the club has played in the 69,040 capacity Stadio Delle Alpi, shared with Juventus. Prior to 1990 the clubs shared the Stadio Comunale for thirty years, Torino moving there from the glorious Stadio Filadelfia, home of Grande Torino. Starting with the 2006/07 season Torino will move into a new, smaller ground of its own, the Stadio Grande Torino (which is the renewed former stadio comunale).
Actually the Stadio delle Alpi (that is of Juventus Turin propriety) is closed for a future rebuilt: after that maybe Torino will still use it for a number of high profile matches. When playing at home Torino wears a maroon top and white shorts (sometimes is full maroon) but when playing else where the team wears all white. When practicing Torino wears red and white or red and black.

History of Calcio Catania

2007-10-30T13:05:00.000-07:00

History
The origins of football being played by representatives of the Province of Catania can be traced back to English cargo ships, thanks to the workers who brought the game to Sicily. Specifically the earliest Catania team can be traced to match which took place on 2 May 1901 at San Raineri di Messina against Messina, the team was named Royal Yacht Catania; an English ship with a local Catanian crew.

The ship workers team was just a pastime however, Catania's first professional and most stable football club was founded on 19 June 1908, by Italian film director Gaetano Ventimiglia and Francesco Sturzo d'Aldobrando, who founded the club under the name A.S. Educazione Fisica Pro Patria. Early on they would always play against sailors visiting the port of Catania, particularly foreign ships. Though their first ever match was against Regina Margherita an Italian battleship, the game ended in a 1-1 draw and the Catania line-up that day consisted of; Vassallo, Gismondo, Bianchi, Messina, Slaiter, Caccamo, Stellario, Binning, Cocuzza, Ventimiglia and Pappalardo. Just two years later they changed the name to Unione Sportiva Catanese.

In the North of Italy, football was more organised and those clubs competed in the early Italian Football Championships, while Catania and other Southern clubs competed in competitions such as the Lipton, Sant' Agata and Agordad cups. U.S. Catanese surived the First World War and just after it played in the local Coppa Federale Siciliana. Seven seasons later in 1927 they were entered into the Campionato Catanese, which was won in the 1928-29 season. As they gained promotion the club were entered into the Second Division, and changed their name first to Società Sportiva Catania. They first competed in Serie B in the 1934-35 season where they finished 4th; that season Genoa won the Serie B title.

Catania played in the league for three seasons during this period, before being relegated. Down in Serie C, Catania were crowned champions in the 1938-39 season, finishing above Sicilian rivals Siracusa and Messina (who came in 2nd and 3rd respectively). Their return to Serie B was not a pleasant one, the club finished bottom of the league and won only three games that season. The club's name was briefly changed to Associazione Calcio Fascista Catania during the 1942-43 season in Serie C, which ended prematurely because of the 2nd World War.

Rebirth
After World War II ended, a local competition was organised, the Campionato Siciliano. US Catanese were back; at the end of that season a local team named Elefante Catania[5] were merged into the club. The merged club kept the Catanese name and competed in Serie C during the 1945-46 season, but finished last. In the same league that season a team called Virtus Catania were also present and finished 8th.

At the end of the season, Catanese and Virtus merged together to form Club Calcio Catania, with the first president as Santi Manganaro-Passanisi (who had been president of Catanese). They were entered into Serie C where they spent three seasons, after an epic duel with Reggina for first place Catania prevailed with stars such as Goffi, Messora, Ardesi and Prevosti, gaining promotion to Serie B during 1948-49.

Calcio Catania's Golden years
The late 1950s through 1960s are considered the golden years for the Catanian club, as they managed to achieve promotion to Serie A on two separate occasions during this time. Their first promotion from Serie B came, when in the 1953-54 season Catania feat out Cagliari and Lombardy side Pro Patria to be crowned champions of the division. Their first season in Serie A, saw Catania achieve a respectable 12th place finish, but the club were forcibly relegated due to financial scandal (as were Udinese).

Under the management of Carmelo Di Bella (who had played for the club in the late '30s) Catania gained promotion from Serie B in the 1959-60 season. The race for promotion in third spot went down to the last day of the season and was very tense. Catania had lost their final game 4-2 to Brescia and needed Parma to get a good result against Triestina for the Sicilian club to secure promotion. That is exactly what happened and Catania had thus gained promotion once more. .

Catania returned into Serie A for the 1960-61 season, to begin what would be a six-year stay in the league. Their return season was emphatic as the newly promoted club finished in 8th above top Italian clubs such as Lazio and Napoli. This season produced several notable wins; they beat Napoli and Bologna twice, Sampdoria 3-0 at home and most notably they beat AC Milan 4-3 in Sicily and then on the final day of the season they beat Internazionale 2-0, with goals from Castellazzi and Calvanese. This rubbed the salt into the wounds of Inter who lost the closely contested title that year to Juventus.

Four years later in 1965 they would also finish 8th in the league, this time above Roma and Sicilian rivals Messina. Many of the club's most notable stars played around this time, such as; midfielders Alvaro Biagini and the Brazilian Cinesinho, along with wingers Carlo Facchin and Giancarlo Danova in the side. Catania more than held their own amongst the giants of Italian football, with wins against Juventus (2-0), Fiorentina (2-0) and Lazio (1-0).

Mixed fortunes in the 70s and 80s
After their relegation in 1966 Carmelo Di Bella left and Catania stayed in Serie B; clashing with Palermo in the Sicilian derby before the Palermitan club were promoted. Catania followed in 1970-71 with a third place finish; though their stay in Serie A this time was very brief and they were relegated back down after one season. Their most impressive results that season was 3-1 win against Lazio and a draw at home against AC Milan, Catania lacked goalscorers at the time as they only scored 18 goals all-together in 30 games.

Worse was to come for the club, who in 1973-74 were relegated down to Serie C, but fortunetly for the club they were able to bounce straight back with a promotion into Serie B as champions. A similar situation happened in 1976-77, where they were relegated down to Serie C. This time however, they were not able to bounce right back; they finished 2nd and then 3rd before finally being crowned champions of what was now known as Serie C1 in 1979-80.

After three short seasons, Catania were promoted in 3rd place behind AC Milan and Lazio, into Serie A. They played the 1983-84 season in Italy's top league, but it proved to be an especially dismal season, with only one win (which came against Pisa) and 12 points despite the presence of Claudio Ranieri and Brazilian imports Luvanor and Pedrinho.

Decline and revival
The decline of Catania started most evidently after its last relegation to Serie B. The team was no longer able to reach the top division of Italian fooball, and instead continued to decline, being relegated for a while into Serie C1 for the latter part of the 1980s. The lowest point of the club's history, however, was reached in 1993, when the team was cancelled by the FIGC because of financial irregularities.

However, after a long judicial battle, the magistrature declared the Italian Federation decision as invalid, and forced it to include the team back into the footballing fold. Catania was thus included in the Sicilian Eccellenza (the sixth level of Italian football), but in the meantime another Sicilian football team, Atletico Leonzio from Lentini (in the Province of Syracuse), had been relocated in the city and renamed Atletico Catania. Despite all of this, the "real" Catania was able to rise back to Serie C in a relatively small number of years, and even back to Serie B in 2002.

During 2003, Catania was at the centre of a controversy that led to the enlargement of Serie B from 20 to 24 teams, known as Caso Catania. The club claimed that Siena fielded an ineligible player in a 1-1 tie, a result which saw Catania relegated, whereas the two extra points from a victory would have kept them safe. They were awarded a 2-0 victory, before the result being reverted, and then re-awarded again. In August, the FIGC decided to let Catania, along with Genoa and Salernitana stay in Serie B, the newly-reborn Fiorentina were also added for the 2003-04 season. The ruling led to protests and boycotts by the other Serie B clubs that delayed the start of the season.

The league went down to 22 teams for 2004-05, while at the same time Serie A expanded from 18 to 20 teams. During the start of that season, Antonino Pulvirenti, chairman of the flight company Windjet and owner of Acireale, a Sicilian Serie C1 team, bought the club. Catania's new ownership let the team enjoy a revival, and in 2005-06 Catania ended in second position, earning promotion to Serie A.

Return to Serie A
The 2006-07 season saw Catania in Serie A for its first appearance in 22 years. In their first season back Catania began well, though they recorded a couple of heavy defeats, their home form saw them peak as high as 4th after 20 games.

Their return season changed drastically on 2 February 2007, due to the 2007 Catania football violence incident. It happened during the Sicilian derby with Palermo, policeman Filippo Raciti was killed during football-related violence caused by Catania ultras outside the Massimino stadium. The event led FIGC commissioner Luca Pancalli to cancel all football-related events in the country for a period of time; including league and national team matches. Catania chairman and owner Antonino Pulvirenti announced his willingness to leave the football world, stating it was not possible to go on producing football in Catania.

After the Italian football league restarted, Catania continued on but dropped in form largely. In truth their slump in form had started just before the derby incident and all together they failed to win for twelve games in a row, before beating Udinese 1-0 in late April 2007, they eventually finished 13th.

HIstory of Atalanta B.C.

2007-10-30T13:02:00.000-07:00

Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio, commonly known as just Atalanta, Atalanta Bergamo or the abbreviation Atalanta BC, is an Italian football club based in Bergamo, Lombardy. They are nicknamed the Nerazzurri and the orobici. Atalanta play in blue-and-black vertically striped shirts, black shorts and black socks.

The club stadium is the 26,638 seater Atleti Azzurri d'Italia. In Italy, Atalanta is sometimes called Regina delle provinciali (queen of the provincial clubs) to mark the fact that the club is historically one of the best among non-metropolitan ones.

The club was founded in 1907. A football club had existed in Bergamo since 1904. Founded by Swiss emigrants, it was known as FC Bergamo. The rival Atalanta club grew out of a division between different sporting societies in the town. The name is taken from the female athlete of Greek mythology. The FIGC was unimpressed with the new club and did not officially recognize them until 1914. The current club is the result of a merger between Atalanta and a third team called Bergamasca. The first, black and white coloured and the second wearing a blue and white shirt, merged in 1924 as Atalanta Bergamasca di Ginnastica e Scherma 1907. The team moved to the site of the current ground, on the Viale Giulio Cesare, in 1928.

Atalanta joined the Italian league in 1929. The club first reached Serie A in 1937, but was relegated immediately. The club returned in 1940 and remained in A until 1959; after a single season in Serie B the club was promoted and lasted a further decade in A, before relegation in 1973 led to an uncertain period of promotion and relegation between the two levels.

The club achieved its highest position in 1948, finishing in 5th place. In 1981 the club fell into Serie C1, a blow which revitalised the club. The team returned to B the next season and made it back to A in 1985. The club's form in Serie A remains uncertain, as it was relegated in 1988, 1995, 1998 and 2005.

In terms of titles the club has won little, their sole silverware is the 1963 Coppa Italia. The club has had very few good runs in Europe, the best spell ending in a Cup Winners' Cup semi-final in 1988; in 1991 Atalanta reached UEFA Cup quarter-finals.

The club has had very few famous players. However, Atalanta has been proven to run a successful youth system, producing footballers like Roberto Donadoni (Italy national team coach from July 2006), Alessio Tacchinardi, Domenico Morfeo, Giampaolo Pazzini, Riccardo Montolivo, Ivan Pelizzoli, and Samuele Dalla Bona who have quickly been grabbed by the bigger clubs. Other players who have graced the Atleti Azzurri d'Italia include Claudio Caniggia, Glenn Strömberg, Alemao, Paolo Montero, Christian Vieri, Filippo Inzaghi, Gianluigi Lentini, Cristiano Lucarelli, Cristiano Doni, and, in the past, Stefano Angeleri, Adriano Bassetto, Antonio Cabrini, Angelo Domenghini, Humberto Maschio, Giuseppe Savoldi and Gaetano Scirea.

History of Udinese Calcio

2007-10-25T06:44:00.000-07:00

The club was founded in 1896 as part of the Società Udinese di Ginnastica e Scherma. In its very first season, the club won a regional tournament organised by the National Federation of Gymnastics (FGNI). This is considered by some the first national Italian football title.

The club played in the regional leagues until 1929 when it joined Serie B. Never outstandingly successful, the club was quickly relegated and did not return to that division until 1939. Promotion to the top division was first achieved in 1950, and a final second place was reached in 1955, but the club was relegated in that same year, following a nine point deduction for irregularities; the club bounced back the next season.

The club was relegated in 1961-62 and fell all the way to Serie C by 1964. The club remained in C for fourteen seasons before returning to B, and then reaching A in 1979. The club stayed in A until 1987 and then moved between the top two divisions for a time before re-establishing themselves in A from 1995, with the club's second highest finish after 1955 coming in 1997-98 when they were third.

The club has never had success at the top level or in European competition. They have been Serie B champions twice (1955-56 and 1978-79), Serie C champions three times (1938-39, 1948-49, and 1977-78), they won the Anglo-Italian Cup once (1978), the Mitropa Cup once (1980) and the UEFA Intertoto Cup once (2000).

At the end of 2004-2005 season, the club gained the fourth position in the Italian league, and subsequently qualified for the UEFA Champions League for the first time in its history, however not achieving qualification from the group stage.

History of Genoa C.F.C.

2007-10-25T06:32:00.000-07:00

History
The club was founded on 7 September 1893 as Genoa Cricket & Athletic Club. In its earliest years, they only competed in athletics and cricket. Since the club was set up to represent England abroad, the original shirts worn by the organistation was white, the same colour as the England national team shirt. At first Italians were not permitted to join as it was a private club. Genoa's activities took place in the north-west of the city in the Campasso area, at the Piazza d'Armi. The men who founded the initial cricket and athletics club were;

* Charles De Grave Sells
* S. Blake
* G. Green
* W. Riley

* Daniel G. Fawcus
* Sandys
* E. De Thierry
* Jonathan Summerhill Sr.

* Jonathan Summerhill Jr.
* Sir Charles Alfred Payton

On 10 April 1897 the footballing section of the club was officially opened by James Richardson Spensley. It was amongst the oldest in Italian football as at the time, the only other founded clubs were two in Turin. With the football section of the club opened, Italians were allowed to join and they found a new ground in the form of Ponte Carrega. The first friendly match was participated at home, against a mixed team comprised of Internazionale Torino and FBC Torinese; Genoa lost 1–0. Not long after, Genoa recorded their first victory away against UPS Alessandria winning 2–0. Friendly games also took place against various British sailors such as those from HMS Revenge.

Championship dominance
Football in Italy stepped up a level with the creation of the Italian Football Federation and the Italian Football Championship. Genoa competed in the first Italian Championship in 1898 at Velodromo Umberto I in Turin. They defeated Ginnastica Torino 2–1 in their first official game on 8 May, before winning the first championship later that day by beating Internazionale Torino 3–1 after extra time.

Genoa returned for the following season, this time with a few changes; the name of the club was altered to Genoa Cricket & Football Club, dropping the Athletic from its name. A change in shirt colour was also in order, as they changed to white and blue vertical stripes; known in Italy as biancoblu. Genoa won their second title on 16 April 1899, by beating Internazionale Torino 3–1 for the second time. On their way to winning their third concecutive title in 1900 and proving their championship dominance, Genoa beat local rivals Sampierdarenese 7–0; a winning margain which would not be bettered by any team in the league until 1910. The final was secured with a 3–1 win over FBC Torinese.

The club strip was changed again in 1901, Genoa adopted its famous red-navy halves and therefore became known as the rossoblu; these are the colours used even to this day. After a season of finishing runners-up to Milan Cricket and Football Club, things were back on track in 1902 with their fourth title. Juventus emerged as serious contenders to Genoa's throne from 1903 onwards, when for two seasons in a row Genoa beat the Old Lady in the national final.

Notably Genoa became the first Italian football team to play an international match, when they visited France on 27 April 1903 to play FVC Nice, winning the fixture 3–0. As well as winning the Italian championship in 1904, the year was also notable for Genoa reserves winning the first ever II Categoria league season; a proto-Serie B under the top level. From 1905 onwards when they were runners-up, Genoa lost their foothold on the Italian championship; other clubs such as Juventus, Milan and Pro Vercelli stepped up.

The fall in part during this period can be traced back to 1908 when FIGC agreed to Federal Gymnastics protests forbidding the use of foreign players. Since Genoa's birth they had always had a strong English contingent. They disagreed, as did several other prominent clubs such as Milan, Torino and Firenze; as thus they withdrew from official FIGC competitions that year. The following season the federation reversed the decision and Genoa was rebuilt with players such as Luigi Ferraris and some from Switzerland. The rebuilding of the squad also saw the creation of a new ground in the Marassi area of Genoa, when built it had a capacity of 25,000 and was comparable to British stadiums of the time; it was officially opened on 22 January 1911.

Garbutt revival
With the introduction of the Italian national football team, Genoa played an important part, with the likes of Renzo De Vecchi; who was azzurri captain for some time, Edoardo Mariani and Enrico Sardi earning call-ups. Englisman William Garbutt was brought in as head coach to help revive the club; Garbutt was the first professional manager in Italy and he was considered to have a strong charisma, constantly smoking his tobacco pipe. He was dubbed "Mister" by the players; since then Italians have referred to coaches in general with the term.

Finally by 1914–15, Genoa had restored themselves as the top club from Northern Italy, winning the final round of the Northern section. However, a national final was not played due to the fact that Genoa did not have an opposition; the finals of the Southern Italian section was not decided due to the outbreak of World War I. Genoa would be awarded the title in 1919 after the end of the war, it was their first for eleven seasons. The war took a harsh toll on Genoa as players Luigi Ferraris, Adolfo Gnecco, Carlo Marassi, Alberto Sussone and Claudio Casanova all died while on military duty in Italy; while footballing founder James Richardson Spensley was killed in Germany.

Just after the war, Genoa remained a strong contender in the Northern section. Garbutt led Genoa to championship success in 1922–23 where they beat Lazio 6–1 in the final, over the course of two legs. The following season, Genoa made their way past Bologna in the Northern finals, but not without controversy; after riots in the second leg during the game in Bologna, the game was called off due to crowd rioting and FIGC awarded Genoa with a 2–0 victory. In the national final that season, Genoa beat Savoia 4-1 over the course of two legs; this would be their ninth and to date final Italian championship.

The squad during these two championship victories included; Giovanni De Prà, Ottavio Barbieri, Luigi Burlando and Renzo De Vecchi. With Genoa's championship victory in 1923–24 came the introduction of the scudetto patch; which means following the season which a club wins an Italian league championship, they are allowed to wear a shield shaped patch on their shirt which features the colours of the Italian flag. For the rest of the 1920s, the club did not win the championship, with the highest they were able to finish being second place, like in the 1927–28 season when they finished runners-up to Torino, with striker Felice Levratto scoring 20 goals in 27 games.

Fall from championship prominence
Due to the strongly British connotations attached to the name, Genoa were forced to change it by the fascist government to Genova 1893 Circolo del Calcio in 1928.
The club competed in a proto-European Cup in the form of the Mitropa Cup, where they went out in the quarter-finals after losing heavily to Rapid Vienna. They followed this with a runners-up position back at home in the league, they finished behind Ambrosiana in the 1929–30 season; this would be their last top level championship runners-up spot to date.

Winning the Coppa Italia in 1937, which was to be its last major trophy. World War II affected dramatically the entire Italian football movement, but Genoa did not recover as well as other clubs. Between the '50s and '90s, through cashflows and irregularities, Genoa slowly declined, with few notable seasons (two Coppa delle Alpi in 1962 and 1964) and more and more frequent descents into Serie B. Genoa even experienced their first relegation to Serie C in 1970.

European experience
In 1989 Genoa experienced a resurrection that led to promotion to Serie A and, in 1991, Genoa managed a fourth-place finish in the top division, and a subsequent UEFA Cup semifinal the following year. In doing so, they became the first Italian team to win at Liverpool's Anfield Road ground. In 1996 the club became the last winners of the Anglo-Italian Cup by beating Port Vale F.C..

However, the "glory" did not last and Genoa returned to Serie B in 1995 where they played for the past ten years, their longest spell there to date, whilst experiencing deep financial problems.

Recent times

Backed by a new club organisation, in 2005 Genoa finally won the second division, achieving promotion to Serie A. Yet, on July 27, 2005, Genoa was placed last (hence condemned to relegation in Serie C) by the Disciplinary Committee of the Italian football federation as consequence of accusations of fixing the last 2004-05 match against Venezia A.C. (Caso Genoa). The match was won by Genoa 3-2, but it did not affect promotion to Serie A which was achieved regardless.

On August 8, 2005, the appeal against the decision was finally turned down by the Italian federation and Genoa had to play the season in Serie C1.

The 2005-06 Serie C1 season for Genoa was very tormented. The team was handicapped by a three points penalty in the table related to the fraud in the previous season, and by a further three points penalty for fielding a disqualified player. Nevertheless, Genoa led the Serie C1/A table for most of the season. A number of consecutive poor performances early in 2006 appeared to compromise Genoa's efforts to achieve promotion and led to the temporary appointment of a substitute coach, Attilio Perotti. Following the return of Giovanni Vavassori at the helm Genoa ended the 2005-06 Serie C1/A regular season in second place, and thus took part to the playoffs; after having defeated Salernitana Calcio in the semi-finals, Genoa faced A.C. Monza in the promotion finals. Genoa won the away match 2-0 and lost 1-0 at home, thus achieving promotion to Serie B.

Genoa signed Gian Piero Gasperini as the new coach in July 2006.

The team proved itself to be one of the top clubs in the Italian Serie B division. For a significant part of the season Genoa was in second place, fighting for direct promotion to Serie A with Napoli. It would be on the final matchday that each team's fate would be decided when Napoli played 3rd placed Genoa in Genova. A win for either team would see that team promoted. A draw would see either Napoli or both teams promoted. But this latter scenario was not entirely in their hands. Fourth placed Piacenza Calcio, fighting to reduce the gap on 3rd place to less than 10 points to obtain a play-off, was hosting US Triestina who themselves were fighting to escape relegation to Serie C1. In order to do this, only a victory would do for Piacenza.

On June 10th 2007, Genoa obtained direct promotion to Serie A. The match finished in a 0-0 draw, but Piacenza were held to a 1-1 draw by Triestina after taking the lead, meaning both Napoli and Genoa were directly promoted to Serie A. When news came to Genova's Stadio Luigi Ferraris of Piacenza's final result, players and fans from both teams began to celebrate in euphoria raiding the pitch, unaware that the referee still hadn't called full time. The referee ordered that a minute of injury time was to be played. Once this finished, the celebrations officially began for two of Italy's sleeping giants.

History of S.S.C. Napoli

2007-09-24T10:37:00.000-07:00

Naples Foot-Ball Club: the early years
Football was first brought to the city of Naples by English sailors during the early 1900s. The origins of a football club can be traced back to William Poths, an Englishman employed by maritime agency named Cunard Lines, he was an avid amateur footballer in his spare time and decided to found a club while in Italy. A meeting was called at via San Severino 43 in Naples, with the intentions of creating one; Poths along with fellow Englishman Mr. Bayon and three Neapolitans called Conforti, Catterina and Amedeo Salsi formed the club as Naples Foot-Ball & Cricket Club; Salsi was nominated as the first ever president.

Their first kit comprised of a sky blue and navy blue striped shirt, with black shorts. Naples played their debut match against British sailors from a ship named Arabik, they competed for a trophy named in honour of Naples first president "Coppa Salsi". Naples were victorious winning the game 3-2, a feat made all the more impressive when considering Arabik had beaten the famed Genoa CFC 3-0 just days earlier. The Naples team that day was;

* Kock - Goalkeeper
* Garozzo - Defender
* Del Pezzo - Defender
* Littie - Defender

* Steinecaer - Defender
* Marin - Midfielder
* Scarfoglio - Midfielder
* McPherson - Midfielder

* Chaudorir - Midfielder
* Poths - Forward
* Ostermann - Forward

Two years after its foundation, the "Cricket" part of the name was dropped leaving the club's name as simply Naples Foot-Ball Club. During 1909, Sir Thomas Lipton of the famous Lipton tea brand, was visiting Sicily while travelling with his ship; he set-up a competition called the Lipton Challenge Cup. In this competition Neapolitan and Sicilian teams would face off against each other annually; the majority of the finals saw Naples playing Palermo Foot-Ball Club. Naples won the competition in the opening season, with a 4-2 result. The trophy was disputed six times in total, with Naples also winning it in 1911 and 1914.

Rivalry with US Internazionale Napoli
During 1912 the foreign part of Naples FBC broke off, under Bayon and Steinnegger a second Naples club was formed under the name of US Internazionale Napoli. Meanwhile Emilio Anatra remained president of Naples FBC, this started off a footballing rivalry in the city during the following years. They competed against each other in the Campania section of the 1912-13 Italian Championship with Naples coming out on top, before losing to Lazio in the next round.

The following season, the situation was reversed with Internazionale Napoli knocking out Naples, before losing to Lazio in the next round. This rivalry continued into its third season in the Campania section of the Championship during 1915, but after the first leg (won by Internazionale 3-0), the competition was called off because of World War I. It resumed after the war as both clubs survived, however clubs such as Puteolana, Bagnolese and Savoia were also now competative in the region. In 1922 the two rival clubs, under financial pressure, merged as the Foot-Ball Club Internazionale-Naples abbreviated as FBC Internaples.

Associazione Calcio Napoli: 1926
On 23 August 1926 the members of Internaples resolved to adopt a new name for their club and Giorgio Ascarelli was appointed as the first president of the Associazione Calcio Napoli. By the time the next season started, the top league system of Italy was split into two groups consisting of 10 teams. Napoli finished bottom of their group with a dreadful 1 point earned from 18 games.

This is what got them the nickname I ciucciarelli which means "the little donkeys", previously the football club had carried with them the emblem of the city of Naples, which was a horse. But after the aforementioned season, some in the city derided them as donkeys, the club however adopted O Ciuccio as it was called, making it their mascot and displaying it with pride. The following two seasons they did gradually better, finishing higher with this system each time.

At Napoli the fans’ great pre-war hero was Attila Sallustro, whose family had moved to Naples from Paraguay when he was a child. Sallustro, on account of his well-to-do background, took no salary from the club; but he was rewarded with a luxury motor car. His talent for scoring goals was evident in the 1928-29 season, when he scored 22 goals in 28 games for the club.

Serie A: 1930s
As Italian football moved into the 1930s, the league was formatted into a way in which it remains today. The 1929-30 season showed what Napoli could do on a larger scale, they finished 5th in a season which saw them defeat the likes of Torino, Lazio and Milan. Notably, Sallustro along with Marcello Mihalic became the first Napoli players to be called up to the Italian national football team around this period.

The next six seasons Napoli consistently finished in the top 10, including two third place spots in 1932-33 and 1933-34 under legendary English coach William Garbutt. Another notable club hero from this period was Antonio Vojak; signed from Juventus in 1929 the Italian scored 102 goals in 190 games over a six year period for Napoli. Top scorer of the first World Cup, Argentine forward Guillermo Stábile, also played at Napoli during the 1935–36 season.

The Neapolitan club was set to go into a decline in the years leading up to World War II, with up and down results in Serie A. They flirted with relegation in 1937 and again in 1940, where they stayed up on a goal difference of four over Liguria. Just one season before this they had finished in 5th. 1942 saw Napoli finally going down to Serie B, just four points separating them from the next six teams. Down in Serie B, during 1943 Napoli missed out on a promotion straight back up, by two points, finishing in third place just behind Brescia. At the end of the season, left their Stadio Giorgio Ascarelli stadium and moved into the Campo Vomero.

Post-War Napoli
When the championship was contested on a regional basis for the 1946 season, Napoli proved themselves the best team in the Centro-Sud region losing just three matches en route to a narrow league victory, finishing level on points with Bari, but with a better goal difference. They only finished mid-table in the final group, but it was enough to ensure the Neapolitans a place in Serie A the following year.

Napoli only managed to survive one season in the newly formed Serie A before in 1948, they were relegated again, until becoming champions of Serie B in 1949-50. They managed to step straight back into the groove of Serie A in the following five seasons, finising in the top six. Interestingly along with Fiorentina, Napoli would be the subject of the first ever RAI television transmission of a Serie A football match in 1956. During the rest of the fifties their league finishes were up and down, two lower key seasons were followed by a 4th place in 1957-58, above both of the Milanese teams and Roma.

The 1960s were a mixed time for Napoli, they were relegated in 1961, but finished runners-up in Serie B the following season, regaining promotion. 1962 was also notable for its cup success, Napoli lifted the Coppa Italia by beating Spal 2-1 in the final with goals from Corelli, and Ronzon; this was the first time a club competing in Serie B had won the competition. Unfortunately for Napoli, they were unable to follow up their cup success with top league stability, as they were relegated once again.

Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli: on the rise
The mid-sixties saw the club rise up again, their name was changed to Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli on June 25, 1964 and they were promoted as runners-up from Serie B during the 1964-65 season. During their first season back in Serie A, the Neapolitan side managed to finished an impressive 3rd place in the league with Argentine manager Bruno Pesaola at the helm. They also won the Coppa delle Alpi trophy in the same year, beating out Juventus.

Napoli came very close to winning the league in 1967-68, finishing just behind AC Milan in second place. During this spell for the club, their squad boasted several players who achieved wide-spread recognition in the game, including future World Cup winner Dino Zoff, the record breaking striker José Altafini and Naples born defender Antonio Juliano. The club managed to keep their name amongst the elite of Italian football in the early 70s, with two third place finishes in 1970-1971 and 1973-74.

The 1974-75 season under coach and former Napoli player Luís Vinício, would prove to be the closest Napoli had ever come to capturing the scudetto at this point in history. They ended the season just two points behind champions Juventus and the goal difference between the clubs was also only two. Although their efforts did not gain them the scudetto, it did gain the club access into Europe for the UEFA Cup 1974-75. Here Napoli would reach the third round of the competition, knocking out Portuguese club FC Porto 2-0 on the way.

Their second ever Coppa Italia trophy was won the same season, knocking out AC Milan and Fiorentina en route to the success, they beat Hellas Verona 4-0 in the final, with goals from Ginulfi, Braglia, and two from Giuseppe Savoldi. In the Anglo-Italian League Cup, Napoli beat English side Southampton 4-1 aggregate; which included a resounding 4-0 victory at home in Naples, to win the competition.

Because the club had won the Coppa Italia the previous season, they gained access to the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1976-77, giving them their second shot at European football; Napoli managed to reach the semi-finals of the competition. The last two seasons of the 70s, Napoli came in at 6th.

The Maradona era: League and European success
The 1980s for the club started in relatively good fashion with 3rd and 4th place league positions early in the decade. But it wouldn't be until Argentine Diego Maradona joined the club from FC Barcelona, in 1984 that Napoli were truly put on the world football map.

Success with Maradona was not instant. The club had to work hard, first with an 8th position in 1984-85, then the following season they stepped up further, with a 3rd place. 1986-87 proved to be Napoli's year, with Diego; Napoli won the scudetto for the first time in their history. In doing so, they also became the first and only mainland Southern Italian team (not including Sardinian club Cagliari) to win the league, this record still stands today. It wasn't just Serie A that the club won that season either, they also beat Atalanta B.C. 4-0 in the Coppa Italia final to complete the double.

In the successive year the team were knocked out in the first round of the European Cup by Real Madrid but a runners-up spot in Serie A meant qualification for the UEFA Cup. Juventus and Bayern Munich were among Napoli's victims en route to the final where Maradona and Careca scored a goal apiece late in the second half to beat VfB Stuttgart two-one in the first leg. In the second leg, played in Stuttgart, the match ended in draw (3-3): so Napoli won their first European trophy. Napoli also reached the final of the Italian Cup that year, only to be beaten by Sampdoria.

In 1990, Napoli were champions again, although in rather less auspicious circumstances than their previous Serie A title. They were awarded 2 points after the Brazilian Alemão was struck by a coin away at Atalanta's Stadio Comunale. If this was not bad enough, Napoli's physio was caught on TV cameras exhorting the player to stay on the ground. Anyway, these 2 points weren't crucial, as AC Milan lost a match with Hellas Verona, so Napoli would've won the championship anyway. Worse was to come. Maradona made inflammatory remarks during the 1990 World Cup, appealing to Neapolitans to cheer on his Argentina team over the northern dominated Italy.

The Napoli "tifosi" responded by displaying a banner in their "curva" that read: "Maradona, You are our love, but Italy is our blood". It was touching for Maradona as Napoli was the only stadium during that World Cup in which the Argentinian national anthem wasn't jeered. Apparently, Napoli fans were the "black sheep" of Italy because they rooted for Maradona. He departed after testing positive for cocaine less than a year later, the club was in financial crisis. Although he let his nightlife affect his legacy with Napoli, Maradona will still go down as the greatest Napoli player ever. He has mentioned many times that his love for Napoli is almost as much for his native team Boca Juniors.

The following year the club won the Supercoppa Italiana, the last major trophy won by Napoli, beating Juventus 5-1. The game included two goals from Careca, two from Andrea Silenzi and the 5th from Massimo Crippa, Roberto Baggio grabbed the consolation goal for the old lady. The result was a record margin victory in the competition for any club, the record still stands today.

Decline
The club started a slow decline after wining the Supercoppa Italiana. One by one, players such as Gianfranco Zola, Daniel Fonseca and Careca departed. During the earliest part of the 1990s, the club were still holding their own in the league, although lower than the Maradona era. Since a fourth place finish was achieved in 1991-92 the club's league form diminished.

In 1997 Napoli reached the final of the Italian Cup only to be beaten by Vicenza (1-0/0-3 aet). By this time their league form was less successful, from 1996 onwards their league finishes were significantly lower, and a first relegation to Serie B came in 1998 when they recorded only two wins all season.

Napoli had to wait until the 1999-00 season to achieve promotion as runners-up in Serie B back to the Italian top division. During their season back in Serie A, Napoli were relegated straight back down; although the relegation battle was quite close, U.S. Lecce and Hellas Verona had only 1 more point than the azzurri but stayed up.

In 2001-02 Napoli failed to gain promotion, missing out by one place. This set off a spiral effect which saw the club slip further; the next season they finished a lowly 16th. Worse was to come for the club however, with a debt estimated up to €70 million, the club was declared bankrupt in August 2004.

Rebirth under De Laurentiis
Under the name Napoli Soccer a new club was born, thanks to film producer Aurelio De Laurentiis; the intention was to ensure the city of Naples would not be left without a football team. During the first season down in Serie C1, Napoli narrowly missed out on promotion to U.S. Avellino after losing 2-1 in the play-offs.

In the 2005-06 season, they went one better and won the Serie C1 championship. They secured promotion on April 15, 2006, after a 2-0 win at home to Perugia. Despite the fact that Napoli were playing in such a low division, they remained among clubs with the largest fan base in Italy. With higher average attendances than most of the Serie A clubs, (breaking the Serie C attendance record with 51,000 at one game) and six million fans worldwide. The club's name was restored back to S.S.C. Napoli in May 2006 by chairman De Laurentiis.

Return to Serie A
The team proved itself to be one of the top clubs in the Italian Serie B division. For a significant part of the season Napoli was in second place, fighting for direct promotion to Serie A with Genoa CFC. After temporarily slipping to third, they moved one point ahead of Genoa on the second-last game of the season. It would be on the final matchday that each team's fate would be decided when Napoli played 3rd placed Genoa in Genova. A win for either team would see that team promoted. A draw would see either Napoli or both teams promoted. But this latter scenario was not entirely in their hands. Fourth placed Piacenza Calcio, fighting to reduce the gap on 3rd place to less than 10 points to obtain a play-off, was hosting US Triestina who themselves were fighting to escape relegation to Serie C1. In order to do this, only a victory would do for Piacenza.

On June 10th 2007, Napoli obtained direct promotion to Serie A. The match finished in a 0-0 draw, but Piacenza were held to a 1-1 draw by Triestina after taking the lead, meaning both Napoli and Genoa were directly promoted to Serie A. When news came to Genova's Stadio Luigi Ferraris of Piacenza's final result, players and fans from both teams began to celebrate in euphoria raiding the pitch, unaware that the referee still hadn't called full time. The referee ordered that a minute of injury time was to be played. Once this finished, the celebrations officially began for two of Italy's sleeping giants. The 2007-08 campaign will be the first for Napoli in Serie A since its last relegation in 2001, and the first time in Serie A under the reformed club following their subsequent bankruptcy.

History of ACF Fiorentina

2007-09-24T10:35:00.000-07:00

History
The club was founded on August 26, 1926 by the merger of Libertas and Club Sportivo Firenze. The club won its first trophy in 1939-40 with the Coppa Italia and its first scudetto (Italian championship) in 1955-56, the club were runners-up in the four following seasons. In the 1960-61 season the club won the Coppa Italia again and was also successful in Europe, winning the first Cup Winners' Cup against Rangers.

In the 1960s the club won the Coppa Italia and the Mitropa Cup in 1966 and were league champions again in the 1968-69 season. In 1974 the Viola won the Anglo-Italian League Cup. Success in the Coppa Italia was repeated in 1975, but from then until the late 1990s the club found itself in the doldrums, culminating in a season in Serie B (second division) in 1993-1994. Upon return to Serie A the club again proved able in the cup competitions, winning the Coppa Italia again in 1996 and 2000 and the Italian SuperCoppa.

2001 heralded major changes for Fiorentina, as the terrible state of the club's finances was revealed; they were unable to pay wages and had debts of around USD 50 million. The club owner, Vittorio Cecchi Gori, was able to raise some more money, but even this soon proved to be insufficient resources to sustain the club. Then, Fiorentina were relegated at the end of the 2001-02 season and went into judicially controlled administration in June 2002. This form of bankruptcy (sports companies cannot exactly fail in this way in Italy, but they can suffer a similar procedure) meant that the club was refused a place in Serie B for the 2002-03 season, and as a result, effectively ceased to exist.

The club was promptly re-established in August 2002 as Florentia Viola with a new owner, Diego Della Valle, and was admitted into Serie C2, the fourth tier of Italian football. The only player to remain at the club as they began their new life was Angelo Di Livio, whose commitment to the cause of resurrecting the club further endeared him to the fans. Helped by Di Livio, the club won its regional section in Serie C2 with considerable ease at the end of the 2002-03 season, which would normally have led to a promotion to Serie C1. However, due to the bizarre Caso Catania (Catania Case) the club skipped Serie C1 and was admitted into Serie B. This was only possible because the Italian Football Federation chose to resolve the Catania situation by increasing the number of teams in Serie B from 20 to 24. In the 2003 off-season, the club also bought back the right to use the Fiorentina name and the famous shirt design, and re-incorporated itself as ACF Fiorentina. Matches were still being played at the Artemio Franchi stadium.

The club's unusual double promotion was not without controversy, with some suggesting that Fiorentina did not deserve it; however, the club remained in Serie B and managed to finish the 2003-04 season in sixth place. This achievement placed the Viola in a two-legged playoff against Perugia (the 15th-place finisher in Serie A) for a position in Serie A. Fiorentina completed their remarkable comeback by winning the match 2-1 on aggregate, with both goals scored by Enrico Fantini, to gain promotion back to Serie A. In their first season back in Italian football's top flight, the club struggled to avoid relegation, securing survival only on the last day of the season, and avoiding a relegation playoff only on head-to-head record against Bologna and Parma.

In 2005-06, their form greatly improved, and they had qualified for the 3rd Qualifying round of the Champions League by earning the 4th place in the Serie A with 74 points. The combination of defence by captain Dario Dainelli and Czech international regular Tomáš Ujfaluši, midfield by Cristian Brocchi, wing by Martin Jorgensen, playmaking by Stefano Fiore and key marksman Luca Toni with Sebastian Frey as goalkeeper proved to be an outstanding force in Serie A. Fiorentina officially regained their status as an Italian elite, especially with Toni himself having scored an amazing 31 goals in just 34 appearances, the first player to pass the 30 goal mark since Antonio Valentin Angelillo in the 1958-59 season - which has seen him claim the European Golden Boot.

However, on July 14, 2006 Fiorentina were relegated to Serie B due to their involvement in the 2006 Serie A match fixing scandal and given a 12 point penalty. However, on appeal, the team was reinstated to the Serie A, albeit with a 19 point penalty for the 2006-07 season. The team also lost their UEFA Champions League 2006-07 place.[1] After the start of the season, upon appealing to the Italian courts, Fiorentina's penalization was reduced to 15 points from 19, which was still far heavier than club officials had hoped for. Despite starting the 2006-2007 season with the 15 point penalty, Fiorentina managed to secure a place in the 2007-2008 edition of the UEFA Cup.

History of Atalanta B.C.

2007-09-24T10:34:00.000-07:00

History
The club was founded in 1907. A football club had existed in Bergamo since 1904. Founded by Swiss emigrants, it was known as FC Bergamo. The rival Atalanta club grew out of a division between different sporting societies in the town. The name is taken from the female athlete of Greek mythology. The FIGC was unimpressed with the new club and did not officially recognize them until 1914. The current club is the result of a merger between Atalanta and a third team called Bergamasca. The first, black and white coloured and the second wearing a blue and white shirt, merged in 1924 as Atalanta Bergamasca di Ginnastica e Scherma 1907. The team moved to the site of the current ground, on the Viale Giulio Cesare, in 1928.

Atalanta joined the Italian league in 1929. The club first reached Serie A in 1937, but was relegated immediately. The club returned in 1940 and remained in A until 1959; after a single season in Serie B the club was promoted and lasted a further decade in A, before relegation in 1973 led to an uncertain period of promotion and relegation between the two levels.

The club achieved its highest position in 1948, finishing in 5th place. In 1981 the club fell into Serie C1, a blow which revitalised the club. The team returned to B the next season and made it back to A in 1985. The club's form in Serie A remains uncertain, as it was relegated in 1988, 1995, 1998 and 2005.

In terms of titles the club has won little, their sole silverware is the 1963 Coppa Italia. The club has had very few good runs in Europe, the best spell ending in a Cup Winners' Cup semi-final in 1988; in 1991 Atalanta reached UEFA Cup quarter-finals.

The club has had very few famous players. However, Atalanta has been proven to run a successful youth system, producing footballers like Roberto Donadoni (Italy national team coach from July 2006), Alessio Tacchinardi, Domenico Morfeo, Giampaolo Pazzini, Riccardo Montolivo, Ivan Pelizzoli, and Samuele Dalla Bona who have quickly been grabbed by the bigger clubs. Other players who have graced the Atleti Azzurri d'Italia include Claudio Caniggia, Glenn Strömberg, Alemao, Paolo Montero, Christian Vieri, Filippo Inzaghi, Gianluigi Lentini, Cristiano Lucarelli, Cristiano Doni, and, in the past, Stefano Angeleri, Adriano Bassetto, Antonio Cabrini, Angelo Domenghini, Humberto Maschio, Giuseppe Savoldi and Gaetano Scirea.

History of F.C. Internazionale Milano

2007-09-24T10:30:00.000-07:00

History
The club was founded on March 9, 1908 as Internazionale FBC Milano, following a "schism" from the Milan Cricket and Football Club. A group of Italians and Swiss (Giorgio Muggiani, a painter who also designed the club's logo, Bossard, Lana, Bertoloni, De Olma, Enrico Hintermann, Arturo Hintermann, Carlo Hintermann, Pietro Dell'Oro, Ugo and Hans Rietmann, Voelkel, Maner, Wipf, and Carlo Ardussi) were unhappy about the domination of Italians in the AC Milan team, and broke away from them, leading to the creation of Internazionale. From the beginning, the club was open to foreign players and thus lived up to her founding name.

The club won its very first Scudetto (championship) in 1910 and its second in 1920. The captain and coach of the first Scudetto was Virgilio Fossati, who was killed in World War I. In 1928, during the Fascist era, the club was forced to merge with the Milanese Unione Sportiva and was renamed Ambrosiana SS Milano two years later it was altered to AS Ambrosiana Milano. They wore white shirts around this time with a red cross emblazoned on it. This shirt design was inspired by the flag and coat of arms of the city of Milan (which is derived from the flag of the patron saint of Milan, St. Ambrose and dates back to the 4th century AD). By 1933 the name was changed again, this time to AS Ambrosiana Inter Milano.

Their first Coppa Italia (Italian Cup) was won in 1938-39, led by the great legend Giuseppe Meazza, for whom the San Siro stadium is officially named, and a fifth league championship followed in 1940, despite an injury to Meazza. After the end of World War II, the club re-emmerged under a name close to their original one; Internazionale FC Milano, they have kept this ever since.

La Grande Inter
Following the war, Inter won its sixth championship in 1953 and the seventh in 1954. Following these titles, Inter was to enter the best years of its history, affectionately known as the era of La Grande Inter (The Great Inter). During this magnificent period, with Helenio Herrera as head coach, the club won 3 league championships in 1963, 1965 and 1966. The most famous moments during this decade also include Inter's 2 back-to-back European Cup wins. In 1964, Inter won the first of those tournaments, playing against the famous Spanish club Real Madrid. The next season, playing in their home stadium, the San Siro, they defeated two-time former champion, Benfica.

Following the golden era of the 1960s, Inter managed to win their eleventh league title in 1971 and their twelfth in 1980. Inter were defeated for the second time in five years in the final of the European Cup, going down 0-2 to Johan Cruijff's Ajax Amsterdam in 1972. During the 1970s and the 1980s, Inter also added two to its Coppa Italia tally, in 1977-78 and 1981-82.

Led by the German trio of Andreas Brehme, Jürgen Klinsmann and Lothar Matthäus, Inter captured the 1989 Serie A championship and the Italian Supercup to open the following season.

Dark times
The 1990s was a period of disappointment. Whilst their great rivals AC Milan and Juventus were achieving success both domestically and in Europe, Inter were left behind, with some mediocre positions in the standings, their worst coming in 1994 when they finished just 1 point from relegation. Inter's fortunes started to improve in the 1990s. Inter achieved some European success with 3 UEFA Cup victories in 1991, 1994 and 1998.

With Massimo Moratti's takeover from Ernesto Pellegrini in 1995 Inter were promised more success with many high profile signings like Ronaldo, Christian Vieri and Hernan Crespo, with Inter twice breaking the world's record transfer fee in this period. However the 1990s remained a decade of disappointment and is the only decade in Inter's history in which they did not win a single Italian Serie A Championship. They were only 45 minutes away from capturing the Scudetto on May 5, 2002 when they needed to maintain a one goal advantage over Lazio at Rome's Olimpico stadium when Inter collapsed and let in three second-half Lazio goals that enabled Juventus to pip their bitter rivals to the championship. The 2003 Champions League was met with more disappointment. Being tied 1-1 with AC Milan, only for AC Milan to advance on the away goals rule.

Resurrection
On June 15, 2005, Inter won the Coppa Italia, defeating AS Roma in the two-legged final 3-0 on aggregate (1-0 win in Milan and 2-0 win in Rome) and followed that up on 20 August 2005, by winning the Supercoppa Italiana after an extra-time 1-0 victory against original 04-05 Serie A champions Juventus (before being stripped of this title). This Super Cup win was Inter's first since 1989, coincidentally the same year since Inter last won the Scudetto before 2006. On 11 May 2006, Inter retained their Coppa Italia trophy by once again, defeating AS Roma with a 4-1 aggregate victory (A 1-1 scoreline in Rome and a 3-1 win at the Giuseppe Meazza, San Siro).

Inter were awarded the 2005-06 Serie A championship as they were the highest placed side in the season's final league table after points were stripped from Juventus and AC Milan - both sides involved in the match fixing scandal that year. On 14 July 2006, The Italian Federal Appeal Commission found Serie A clubs Juventus, Lazio, Fiorentina, Reggina and AC Milan guilty of match-fixing and charged the 5 clubs with their respective punishments, (although all charges were later reduced in some capacity). So with the confirmed relegation of Juventus to Serie B (for the first ever time in their history) and the 8-point deduction for city rivals AC Milan, Inter became favorites to retain their Serie A title for the upcoming 2006-07 Serie A season.

During the season, Inter went on a record-breaking run of 17 consecutive victories in Serie A, starting on September 25 2006 with a 4-1 home victory over Livorno, and ending on February 28, 2007, after a 1-1 draw at home to Udinese. The 5-2 away win at Catania on February 25 2007 broke the original record of 15 matches held by both Bayern Munich & Real Madrid from the "Big 5" (the top flight leagues in England, Italy, Spain, France & Germany). The run lasted for almost 5 months and holds among the best in European league football, with just Benfica (29 wins), Celtic (25 wins) and PSV Eindhoven (22 wins) bettering the run. Inter's form dipped a little as they scored 0-0 and 2-2 draws against relegation-battlers Reggina and slumping Palermo (respectively), the latter game featuring a second-half comeback after Palermo went up 2-0 at halftime. They could not keep their invincible form near the end of the season as well, as they lost their first game of the domestic season to Roma in the San Siro 3-1 thanks to two late Roma goals. Inter had enjoyed an unbeaten Serie A run for just under a year. This was a feat that was never accomplished by any other club.

On April 22, 2007 Inter were crowned Serie A champions for the 2nd consecutive season after defeating Siena 2-1 at Stadio Artemio Franchi. Italian World Cup winning defender Marco Materazzi scored both goals in the 18th and 60th minute, with the latter being a penalty. This is the first time Inter have won the Scudetto, on merit alone, since 1989. In addition, within hours after clinching their 2nd consecutive league title, the club confirmed head coach Roberto Mancini had signed a 4-year extension to his current contract, with an option to extend it for a further 12 months, which, if extended, would expire at the end of the 2011-12 campaign. Inter president Massimo Moratti claimed that this contractual agreement was made "some time ago"

History of A.S. Roma

2007-09-24T10:27:00.000-07:00

Foundation
A.S. Roma was founded in July 1927. At the time, the city of Rome had several teams in the Italian football league: S.S. Lazio (1900), Roman F.C. (1903), S.S. Alba-Audace Roma (founded in 1926 through the merger of Alba (1911) and Audace) and Fortitudo-Pro Roma S.G.S. (founded in 1926 through the merger of Fortitudo (1908) and Pro Roma (1912)), however most of them were weak financially and uncompetitive. Spurned on by the desire for each Italian city to be competitive in Serie A (as was done in Florence, Naples and Bari), Alba-Audace, Fortitudo-Pro Roma and Roman merged to form A.S. Roma. After a short use of the Motovelodromo Appio stadium, the yellow-red team settled in the working-class streets of Testaccio, where it built the extraordinary all-wooden homonym ground. The area still remains the club's spiritual heartland. Other grounds that have been used by A.S. Roma are the Stadio Flaminio and the Stadio Olimpico (the latter was built in 1952).

1920s-1950s
A.S. Roma took part in their first national league in the 1929-30 season and won their first Scudetto in 1941-42. However, they would have to wait a considerable 41 years for their second triumph in the 1982-83 season and 18 years for their third in 2000-01. They have been runners-up in 1930-31, 1935-36, 1980-81, 1983-84, 1985-86, 2001-02, 2003-04, 2005-06 (after the final verdict on the match-fixing scandal) and 2006-07. A.S. Roma have been relegated only once in their 80 year history: this came at the end of the 1950-51 season, though they made a swift return to Serie A the following season.

1950s-1970s
After returning to Serie A in 1952, Roma spent the remainder 1950s and early 1960s in the top half of Serie A. From 1963 to 1979 AS Roma endured a period of mediocrity with 3rd place in 1974-75 being the best they could manage, punctured by either mid-table mediocrity or flirtation with relegation. Notable players in this period include defender Giacomo Losi and midfielders Franco Cordova and Giancarlo De Sisti.

1980s-Present Day
With talented players including Bruno Conti, Agostino Di Bartolomei, Roberto Pruzzo and Falcao, Roma would begin the 1980s in its best position to challenge for the title since 1942. After narrowly (and controversially) missing out in 1981 to Juventus, they broke through in 1983 amidst joyous celebrations in the capital. They reached the European Cup final the following year, only to lose to Liverpool on penalties. In the 1990-1991 season, Roma reached the UEFA Cup final in which they lost to Inter Milan 2-1 on aggregate.

They have more or less remained in the top half of Serie A ever since, occasionally mounting a serious challenge for the title, which they won again in the 2000/2001 season by beating Parma 3-1 on the last day of the season, edging out Juventus by two points.

Francesco Totti was one of the main reasons for Roma's victory that season and has since become an icon of the club equal in status to Pruzzo and Conti before him. He is a hero to Roma supporters, even more today thanks to Italy's 2006 FIFA World Cup success. Since then Totti has become Roma's top scorer beating Pruzzo's previous tally of 106 goals.

Roma came close to a successful defense of their title, but lost out as another title race with Juve went to the wire. They missed out by just one point and had to settle for second place and an automatic UEFA Champions League spot. Since they won the scudetto Roma have finished second every season in either the Serie A or the Coppa Italia. They lost out to AC Milan in the Coppa Italia final in the 2002-2003 season (losing 4-2 on aggregate), and again in the Serie A in the 2003-2004 season where they finished second.

2004-2005 was an abysmal campaign where Roma flirted with relegation before finishing in 8th place. They managed to secure a UEFA Cup spot by reaching the Coppa Italia final which they lost to Inter Milan 3-0 on aggregate. Their Champions League campaign was even worse as they only managed 1 point from 6 games before finishing last in their group. Their first game was a 3-0 victory for Dynamo Kiev as they got penalized because an object from the stands hit the referee. The match was called off, victory was given to the Ukrainian outfit, and Roma had to play 2 home games behind closed doors. Their only point came from the 1-1 draw at home with Bayer Leverkusen thanks to a late goal by Vincenzo Montella.

AS Roma also made to the final of the 2005/06 Coppa Italia to face Inter Milan. They drew the First leg 1-1 but lost the return leg 3-1, losing 4-2 on aggregate. This was the second year in a row they lost to Inter Milan in the Coppa Italia final.

AS Roma beat Olympique Lyonnais to reach the quarter finals of the Champions League in 2007, but after taking a 2-1 lead over Manchester United at home and being undefeated in 10 games in all competitions, they suffered a 7-1 defeat in the second leg at Old Trafford (8-3 on aggregate). This was their first defeat in Europe since losing 1-0 to Shakhtar Donetsk in the group stage. It was also the biggest margin of victory in a quarter final match of either the European Cup or Champions League, since 1957-58, when Real Madrid beat Sevilla 8-0 (10-2 on aggregate).

The team secured second place in Serie A with three games to go, behind Inter Milan. Although the nerazzurri dominated the championship, they lost the match against Roma 1-3 in San Siro. The two clubs also faced each other in the two legs of the 2007 Coppa Italia final. Roma won the cup after an impressive 6-2 in the first leg, while lost 2-1 the second leg. It was the eighth Coppa Italia in Roma's history.

History of Bolton Wanderers F.C.

2007-09-20T11:23:00.000-07:00

Early history
The club was founded in 1874 as Christ Church FC, but changed its name to Bolton Wanderers in 1877. Bolton were one of the 12 founder members of the Football League, which formed in 1888. Having remained in the Football League since its formation, Bolton have spent more time in the top flight (Premier League/old First Division) than out of it.

In 1894 Bolton reached the final of football's oldest competition, the FA Cup, for the first time, but lost 4-1 to Notts County at Goodison Park. A decade later they were runners-up a second time, losing 1-0 to local rivals Manchester City at Crystal Palace on April 23, 1904. On April 28, 1923 Bolton won the cup at their third attempt to win their first major trophy, beating West Ham United 2-0 in the first ever Wembley final. The match, famously known as The White Horse Final was played in front of over 127,000 supporters. Bolton's centre-forward, David Jack scored the first ever goal at Wembley Stadium. They became the most successful cup side of the twenties, also winning in 1926 and 1929, beating Manchester City and Portsmouth respectively.

From 1935 to 1964, Bolton enjoyed an uninterrupted stay in the top flight- regarded by fans as a golden era, spearheaded in the 1950s by Nat Lofthouse. They would not return to the top flight until 1978, where they lasted but two seasons before a period of further decline set in.

In 1953 Bolton played in one of the most famous FA Cup finals of all time - The Stanley Matthews Final of 1953. Bolton lost the game to Blackpool 4-3 after throwing away a 3-1 lead. Blackpool were victorious thanks to the skills of Matthews and the goals of Stan Mortensen.

Bolton Wanderers have not won a major trophy since 1958, when two Nat Lofthouse goals saw them overcome Manchester United in the FA Cup final in front of a 100,000 crowd at Wembley. The closest they have come to winning a major trophy since then is finishing runners-up in the League Cup, first in 1995 and again in 2004.

At the end of the 1986–87 season, Bolton Wanderers suffered relegation to the Fourth Division for the first time in their history. But the board kept faith in manager Phil Neal and they won promotion back to the Third Division at the first attempt. The deciding goal was scored by Robbie Savage in a 1-0 win at Wrexham. Neal remained in charge until the summer of 1992 when he made way for Bruce Rioch, who a few years earlier had won two successive promotions with Middlesbrough.

In the early part of Rioch's tenure, Bolton gained a giantkilling reputation in cup competitions. In 1993 Bolton beat FA Cup holders Liverpool 2-0 in a third round replay thanks to goals from John McGinlay and Andy Walker. The club also defeated higher division opposition in the form of Wolves that year before bowing out to Derby County. In 1994 Bolton beat FA Cup holders Arsenal 3-1 in a fourth round replay, and went on to reach the Quarter Finals, bowing out 1-0 at home to local rivals (and then Premier League) Oldham Athletic. Bolton also defeated top division opposition in the form of Everton and Aston Villa that year.

Bolton reach the Premiership
Bolton reached the Premiership in 1995, under the management of Bruce Rioch, thanks to a victory over Reading in the Division One playoff final. After being 2–0 down at half-time, two goals from Bolton in the final 15 minutes of the game forced extra time and they went on to win 4-3 and return to top division football after a 15-year exile. They had been on the losing side at Wembley a few weeks earlier, having lost 2-1 to Liverpool in the League Cup final.

Rioch left to take charge at Arsenal after the promotion success. He was replaced by Derby County manager Roy McFarland, who was joined by his former assistant Colin Todd. Bolton were bottom for virtually all of the 1995-96 Premiership campaign and despite several new signings, Bolton dismissed McFarland on New Year's Day 1996 and appointed Todd in his place. Todd was unable to save Bolton from relegation but the board kept faith in him. It is worth noting, however, that Bolton's form improved noticeably under Todd with 19 points from their last 16 games.

The Bolton board's loyalty in Todd was rewarded when they won promotion back to the Premiership at the first attempt thanks to a season in which they achieved 98 league points and 100 goals in the process of securing the Division One Championship. They could have achieved 100 league points and 100 league goals save for drawing the last game of the season at Tranmere Rovers 2-2.

A second relegation and another promotion
Bolton were relegated on goal difference at the end of the 1997-98 Premiership campaign, going down to Division One with the previous season's other two promoted sides— Barnsley and Crystal Palace. Bolton reached the 1999 Division One playoff final but lost to Watford. Colin Todd resigned as manager soon after and was replaced by Notts County's Sam Allardyce.

1999-00 brought disappointment for Bolton under their new manager as they lost in the semi finals of the Division One playoffs, the League Cup and the FA Cup. However, happier times were around the corner as in 2000–01 Sam Allardyce and his team got it right by beating Preston North End 3-0 in the Division One playoff final with goals from Gareth Farrelly, Michael Ricketts and Ricardo Gardner respectively. The club was then promoted back to the Premiership.

Staying up
In 2000 Bolton reached the Semi Finals of the FA Cup at Wembley but were defeated by Aston Villa in a penalty shoot-out. The defeat meant that Bolton could not achieve the historic feat of featuring in the first and last cup finals at Wembley. Dean Holdsworth, who was the club's record signing at the time, scored his penalty after earlier missing a glorious chance to put Bolton in the final. Wanderers lost after Allan Johnston and Michael Johansen saw their efforts saved by future England goalkeeper David James.

Bolton went top of the Premiership after winning their first three games of the 2001-02 season, but failed to keep up their winning ways and wallowed away to 16th place in the final table - just enough to secure their first-ever Premiership survival, and their first top flight survival since 1979.

Bolton struggled throughout 2002-03 but managed to stay up, winning their final game of the season 2-1 against Middlesbrough thanks to goals from Per Frandsen and Jay Jay Okocha. The victory condemned West Ham United to relegation. In 2003-04, despite a poor start which saw them lose 6-2 to Manchester City and 4-0 to both Manchester United and Premiership newcomers Portsmouth, Bolton nevertheless enjoyed their best season for some 50 years. They reached the League Cup final, losing 2-1 to Middlesbrough. Despite this setback, Bolton finished eighth - much higher than most pundits had predicted them to finish when the season began, and could even have gone one higher on the final day in mid-May 2004 and qualified for Europe had they won their last match of the season; however, a 2-0 defeat at home to Fulham (Bolton's bogey team in the Premiership) saw their excellent season end on something of a disappointing note. However, although nobody could have known it at this time, better things were still to come...

Qualification for Europe
Bolton's impressive progress continued in 2004-05. They secured an impressive sixth place finish - equal on points with European champions Liverpool, who finished fifth by goal difference - and a 1-1 draw against Portsmouth in their penultimate match of the season guaranteed them qualification for a European competition (the UEFA Cup) for the first time in their history. With the outcome also assuring Portsmouth safety from the relegation trapdoor, the result was a carnival atmosphere that saw both sets of fans invade the pitch at the end of the match.

Bolton's renaissance continued into 2005-06, when they achieved another eighth place in the Premiership. The club's first foray into European football saw them knock out Lokomotiv Plovdiv in the opening round. In the group stage they played Turkish giants Besiktas, Vitória de Guimarães, Zenit St. Petersburg and eventual winners Sevilla in which they were unbeaten. They progressed in the knockout stages where they were knocked out by Marseille in the last 32.

A further sign of the club's recent progression came when Sam Allardyce was linked with the England manager's job after it was announced that Sven-Göran Eriksson would step down after the 2006 World Cup. Allardyce was also linked with the Newcastle manager's job until it was given to Glenn Roeder.

Bolton broke their transfer record in August 2006 with the £8 million signing of French striker Nicolas Anelka from Turkish side Fenerbahce. His first goals came in the 3-1 victory over Arsenal, his old side.

Bolton qualified for the Uefa Cup for the second time in 2007 finishing a point in front of Reading in 7th place courtesy of a 2-2 draw in their final game of the season against Aston Villa coupled with Portsmouth's failure to beat Arsenal on the same day.

Allardyce makes way for Lee
On April 29, 2007, Allardyce announced his resignation as manager after almost eight years in the job. It was revealed he had tendered his resignation two weeks earlier. Allardyce initially refused to disclose the reasons for his shock departure, while the club maintained the reasons for the split were private. Allardyce eventually revealed that his exit from Bolton hinged on the lack of forthcoming silverware amidst heavy speculation that he would be joining Newcastle United F.C.

Following speculation that Gary Speed might replace Allardyce, the club's assistant manager, Sammy Lee, took over as manager the day after Allardyce's resignation. On May 1st, 2007, Lee named Speed as his new first team coach alongside Ricky Sbragia and Jimmy Phillips.

The start to Lee’s managerial career with Bolton proved tense, with his first game in charge a 3-1 loss to West Ham United who were battling relegation. Lee’s second match in charge was at home to the Premiership's in-form side, Aston Villa. This match would decide the fate of Bolton’s hopes of gaining a UEFA cup for the second time in their history. Bolton twice threw away the lead with the game finishing a 2-2 draw after a late Luke Moore equaliser for Villa. However, with Reading and Portsmouth both also drawing their final matches, the result was enough for Bolton to seal 7th position in the league and qualification for the UEFA Cup.

History of Derby County F.C.

2007-09-20T11:18:00.000-07:00

Early years
The club was formed in 1884 as an offshoot of Derbyshire County Cricket Club. They originally wanted to name themselves directly after the cricket club as Derbyshire County FC, but objections from the local football association (who thought the name was too long) led them to choose Derby County FC.

The Rams, as Derby County are known, initially played at the Racecourse Ground, like their parent cricket club. As well as competing in a number of friendly matches and informal competitions, Derby County also entered the premier British football competition of the time: the FA Cup.

Derby County were founder members of The Football League when it was launched in 1888. In 1891, they absorbed another Derby club, Derby Midland F.C., who had been members of the Midland League. Steve Bloomer, generally considered to be Derby County's best-ever player, joined the club in 1892. In 1895 the club moved to a new stadium, The Baseball Ground (so called because it was previously used for baseball), which became their home for the next 102 years, and adopted their traditional colours of black and white.

On 16 April 1898, Derby appeared in their first FA Cup final at Crystal Palace, but unfortunately lost 3-1.They were losing finalists again on April 15, 1899 (4-1 to Sheffield United) and April 18, 1903 (6-0 to Bury). Derby's luck didn't get any better and they were relegated to the Football League's Second Division for the first time in 1907, but under Jimmy Methven's management they re-signed Steve Bloomer and regained their First Division place in 1911. Bloomer's captaincy of the side that contained 'The 5 Bs' of himself, ('Major' Frank Buckley, Tommy Barbour, Horace Barnes, Jimmy Bauchop) was a feature just before World War I.

In 1914 they were relegated again, but instantly won the Second Division to get promoted (though World War I meant that they had to wait until 1919 to play First Division football again). After just two seasons, they were relegated yet again in 1921.

However, more successful times lay ahead, instigated by Derby's promotion in 1926. Despite not winning anything, the club became a formidable force, with constantly high finishes, from the late 1920s and all the way through the 1939-1940 season, which was abandoned due to World War II. For example, in the 1929-1930 season Derby County finished in second place in the First Division with 50 points behind Sheffield Wednesday on 60 points.

FA Cup triumph
The FA Cup restarted in the 1945-1946 season. Derby got to the final again, but this time managed to go all the way and win by beating Charlton Athletic 4-1 after extra time. (Derby's previous lack of success in the FA Cup — they also regularly lost at the semi-final stage — gave rise to a superstition that the club was subject to a gypsy curse, supposedly because of Gypsy anger that the Baseball Ground was built on a Gypsy camping ground. Prior to the 1946 final, Derby County players went so far as to ask the Gypsies to lift the curse.)

The Football League restarted the following season and, despite the Cup win, Derby could not reproduce their pre-War form and were eventually relegated in 1953. Things went from bad to worse and in 1955 they were relegated to the Third Division North for the first time in their history. The third tier proved easy for Derby, though: they finished second at the first attempt and then bettered it by finishing first (and gaining promotion) the following season.

The Brian Clough years
In 1967, the now-legendary Brian Clough took over Derby County (in partnership with assistant manager Peter Taylor) and led them to their greatest glories. When Clough took over the team, the Rams were treading water in the Second Division and the club's only honour, the 1946 FA Cup win, was becoming a distant memory. There was little expectation that the young manager was going to lead his team to the club's first League Championship.

With Clough having clinched the influential signing of Dave Mackay, Derby were promoted to the First Division in 1969, finished fourth in 1970, got banned from competing in Europe due to financial irregularities in 1971, and won their first ever Football League Championship in 1972. With their season ended, Clough traveled to the Scilly Islands with his family while his Derby side flew to Majorca. Back home, Leeds United and Liverpool failed to get the results necessary in their last games and the Rams clinched the title on May 8, 1972.

Though Derby did not retain their title the following season, they did reach the semi-finals of the European Cup, eventually losing to Italian side Juventus in a controversial match which was subject to subsequent allegations that the Italian club had bribed the match officials, leading Clough to call the Italians "cheating bastards".

Clough's frequent outspoken comments against football's establishment (which had led to Derby being threatened with expulsion from the Football League) eventually led to him falling out with the board of directors at the club, and Clough and Taylor both left in 1973, to widespread uproar from Rams fans, who demanded the board resign and Clough be reinstated.

Second Football League Championship
With the high profile signings of Francis Lee and Bruce Rioch, Derby's League success was repeated in 1974-1975 season when they won the title again, this time under Dave Mackay. Before the 1975-1976 season the Rams made another big name signing in Charlie George and that season saw the Rams face mighty Real Madrid in the European Cup. In one of the greatest games at the Baseball Ground, Charlie George scored a hat-trick as Derby ran out 4-1 winners. Progress in the competition was halted by a 1-5 loss in the second leg at Madrid's Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.

Declining fortunes
Derby's form declined towards the end of the 1970s and they went down to the Second Division in 1980.

Though they challenged well in their first season, Derby's stay in the Second Division was not a happy one and they were relegated to the now-national Third Division in 1984, their centenary year and just nine years after their last Championship.

Return to the top
After the relegation, the club appointed former Newcastle United manager Arthur Cox to stop the rot — and stop it he did. After a two year stint in the Third Division, Cox's emerging side were promoted to the Second Division and won it at the first attempt, returning to the old First Division in 1987.

The club finished fifth in the 1988-1989 season, with the team now containing stars like Peter Shilton, Mark Wright, Dean Saunders and Ted McMinn. However, English clubs were banned from European competition at the time, so the Rams missed out on a place in the UEFA Cup that their high finish otherwise would have earned.

This was Cox's team at its peak; a lack of further investment from controversial chairman Robert Maxwell lead to a decline shortly after. With Maxwell soon dead from suspected suicide, the club was relegated back to the Second Division in 1991 (which became the "new" First Division a year later when the old First Division clubs broke away to form the FA Premier League). At this time, local newspaper businessman Lionel Pickering became the majority shareholder of the club.

Derby's hopes of earning immediate promotion to the new FA Premier League in 1992 were ended when they lost to eventual winners Blackburn Rovers in the play-off semi-finals. The same year, Derby paid £2.5 million for Notts County's central defender Craig Short. At the time — and for five years afterwards — he was the most expensive player to be signed by a club outside the top flight.

The FA Premier League (or, more precisely, the money it brought) made it even more difficult for Derby to gain promotion to the Premier League, let alone stay there. Cox resigned in late 1993 citing health problems, and Roy McFarland returned as manager. Despite big spending, however, McFarland failed to get the side anywhere near the top of the division apart from a defeat at the hands of Leicester City in the 1993-1994 play-off final and was sacked in 1995 after a mid-table finish. Jim Smith was appointed as the club's new manager. Although the season started slowly, the hugely influential signing of sweeper Igor Stimac proved pivotal. Throwing his brief of 'a top-half finish' out the window, Smith guided the Rams to a second-place finish and, more importantly, the Premier League.

Premier Rams and Pride Park Stadium
Derby County made an excellent Premiership début in the 1996-1997 season, finishing 12th in the final table with a side containing quality players like Paulo Wanchope, Aljosa Asanovic, Igor Stimac and Jacob Laursen.

The club moved into the new 30,000-seat (later upgraded to 33,597-seat) Pride Park Stadium for the 1997-1998 season and was able to attract quality signings like Stefano Eranio and Francesco Baiano.

Progress continued in the next two seasons. The Rams finishing ninth and eighth places before a decline in form saw the club finish 16th at the end of the 1999-2000 Premiership campaign. Another relegation battle followed in 2000-2001 when Derby narrowly avoided the drop by finished 17th in the Premiership — one place clear of relegation.

Jim Smith resigned as manager in October 2001 after rejecting an offer to become the club's director of football. He was replaced by assistant manager and former player Colin Todd. Todd remained in charge for just three months before he was sacked in the aftermath of a humiliating FA Cup Third Round home defeat against Third Division strugglers Bristol Rovers.

At the end of January 2002, John Gregory was appointed Derby manager less than a week after walking out on Aston Villa. Derby won their first two games under Gregory's management and also held title chasing Manchester United to a draw, suggesting that Gregory might be able to save Derby from relegation. But seven defeats from their final eight fixtures condemned Derby to relegation from the Premiership after six successive seasons of top division football.

Back in The Football League
Derby County's relegation back to The Football League saw the club enter a serious financial crisis, which forced them to sell many key players and build a team mostly of home-grown youngsters like Tom Huddlestone and Lee Grant. Gregory was suspended from his managerial duties over alleged misconduct and former Ipswich Town boss George Burley was drafted in as a temporary manager. An 18th place finish was secured. At the end of the season Gregory's contract was terminated and Burley received the job on a permanent basis.

The club's parent company went briefly into liquidation in October 2003 and the majority shareholder Lionel Pickering gave way to a new board of John Sleightholme, Jeremy Keith and Steve Harding, who bought the club for £3. Derby finished 20th in the 2003-2004 First Division campaign, but improved dramatically in the 2004-2005 season and finished 4th in the Football League Championship (the new name for the Football League First Division) and qualified for a promotion play-off spot, though lost in the semi-finals to Preston North End.

Soon afterwards, Burley resigned citing differences between himself and the board. He was replaced by Phil Brown. Brown failed to find much success in the job, however, and was sacked in January 2006, after a bad run of results, including a 6-1 hammering at Coventry City and an embarrassing 3-1 FA Cup exit to League One side Colchester United. Terry Westley, the academy coach at the time, took over first team duties until the end of the season and saved Derby from relegation.

Recent times
Derby's Chairman, John Sleightholme, resigned in April 2006, saying his position had become untenable. The rest of the board followed him later that month. A popular consortium of local businessmen led by former vice-chairman Peter Gadsby bought the club, reducing its debt and returning Pride Park Stadium to the club's ownership in the process. In June 2006, former Preston North End boss Billy Davies was appointed Derby County's new permanent manager, with Julian Darby as his first-team coach. In his first season, Davies took Derby to the Championship play-offs, where they beat Southampton on penalties in the semi-finals before defeating West Bromwich Albion 1-0 with a second-half Stephen Pearson goal (his first for the club) at the new Wembley Stadium to secure a return to the Premier League and the £60m windfall that achievement is reputed to bring.

History of Reading F.C.

2007-09-20T11:11:00.000-07:00

Reading were formed on 25 December 1871. They were originally nicknamed the The Biscuitmen after one of the main trades in the town, Huntley & Palmers biscuits, but changed to the Royals in the 1970s, when the company closed their factory[2]. This history is reflected in the name of the club's unofficial fanzine, Hob Nob Anyone?, named after a popular British biscuit.

The club played at Reading Recreation Ground until 1878, before moving on to Reading Cricket Ground (1878–1882), Coley Park (1882–1889) and Caversham Cricket Ground (1889–1896). The switch to professionalism in 1895 resulted in the need for a bigger ground and, to this end, the club moved again, to the purpose-built Elm Park on 5 September 1896. The crest design is based upon the club colours, a crown which in heraldry represents royal sovereignty for the County of Berkshire and a lion which is an image of Reading most famous landmark, the Forbury lion.

In 1913 Reading toured Italy and beat Genoa 4-2 and A.C. Milan 5-0, narrowly lost 2-1 to Casale, before beating Italian champions Pro Vercelli 6-0 and the full Italian national team 2-0, prompting the leading sports newspaper Corriere della Sera to write "without doubt, Reading FC are the finest foreign team seen in Italy." Reading were invited back for another tour the following year, but there is no evidence it took place. It is possible it was cancelled due to the imminence of World War I, which claimed the lives of many Reading F.C. players, including Alan Foster, who put a hat-trick past Milan.

Reading were elected to the Third Division of the Football League in 1920, and have spent the majority of the time since then in the third tier of the league, with occasional flirtations with the second and fourth tiers.

Reading's best performance in the FA Cup came in 1926–27 when they lost to eventual winners Cardiff City in the semi-final. The side's moment of cup glory came in 1988 when they won the Simod Cup, beating a number of top flight sides en-route to their Wembley win over Luton Town.

Reading were promoted to the Second Division as champions in 1986 under the management of Ian Branfoot, but were relegated back to the Third Division in 1988. Branfoot left in October 1989, having failed to get the Royals back into the Second Division. His successor, Ian Porterfield, lasted just 18 months before further failures cost him his job. The appointment of Mark McGhee as player-manager in June 1991 saw Reading move forward.

They were crowned champions of the new Division Two in 1994 and, when McGhee moved to Leicester City halfway through the following season, Reading still appeared in with a chance of a second straight promotion. 35-year-old striker Jimmy Quinn was put in charge of the first team alongside midfielder Mick Gooding and guided Reading to runners-up in the final Division One table — only to be denied automatic promotion because of the streamlining of the Premier League, from 22 teams to 20. Reading had eased past Tranmere Rovers in the play-off semi-finals and looked to have booked their place in the Premiership after building up a 2-0 lead over Bolton Wanderers by half time in the final. Two late goals from Bolton forced extra time and the match ended 4-3 to Bolton. Quinn and Gooding's contracts were not renewed two years later after Reading had slid into the bottom half of Division One.

Their successor, Terry Bullivant, lasted less than one season before being sacked in March 1998. The Royals finished that season bottom of Division One and slipped into Division Two. Former Celtic boss, Tommy Burns lasted just 18 months before being replaced by Alan Pardew who had previously been reserve team manager before being released. 1998 also saw Reading move into the new 24,200-seat Madejski Stadium — named after chairman John Madejski — in the Smallmead area of the town.

In 2001, Reading became the first football club to register their fans as an official member of their squad, in recognition of the fact that the supporters in the stadium on a match day can sometimes influence the match just as much as a player on the pitch. The idea came from supporter Andy Manson in the summer of 2001 when the number 13 was left vacant by then boss Alan Pardew after the departure of the club's number 13, Keith Scott. Since then the "player" registered with squad number 13, has been named 'Reading Fans'.

Reading made it back to Division One in 2002 after finishing runners-up in Division Two. Good form the following season saw them finish fourth in Division One and qualify for the play-offs. Their promotion hopes were ended by a defeat against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the semi-finals, Reading's third unsuccessful attempt to gain promotion via the play-offs. Pardew acrimoniously moved to West Ham United the following October and was replaced at Reading by Brighton & Hove Albion's Steve Coppell.

In 2004–05, Reading finished seventh in the Football League Championship and just missed out in the play-offs.

Reading reach the Premiership
On 25 March 2006, Reading won promotion to the Premier League for the first time in their history. A 1-1 draw away at Leicester, coupled with Watford's defeat against Millwall, and Leeds United only drawing with Stoke City, secured Reading one of the top two automatic promotion places in the Championship. MPs congratulated Reading's successful season with two early day motions shortly after Reading finally secured promotion. The following week, they celebrated winning the Championship after defeating Derby County 5-0, while Stoke City held Sheffield Utd 1-1. This sparked a pitch invasion and the players celebrated in front of the fans from the safety of the directors' box. The Club also secured a record amount of points for the second tier — 106 — and fell only one short of scoring 100 goals. Reading lost only two games during the season.

First Premier League season - 2006–07
The 2006–07 season saw Reading make their first ever appearance in the top flight of English football. In the club's first Premiership game, Reading found themselves down 2-0 inside the first twenty minutes to Middlesbrough, but in a stunning turnaround the Royals netted home their first Premiership goals and won 3-2. Striker Dave Kitson became the first player to score for Reading in the top flight of football. While it is commonplace for teams who get promoted to the Premiership to experience a one-and-done season before being relegated, Reading distanced themselves from that curse (rather like fellow promoted clubs in the past, e.g. Wigan Athletic and Portsmouth), proving themselves more than worthy opposition for any team in the division.

Reading notched up some impressive results during the early stages of the season, including a draw against Manchester United and a narrow defeat to defending champions Chelsea, leading many commentators to change their opinion of the Premiership's newest member.

Perhaps one of the highlights of the season came on 1 January 2007, when Reading beat West Ham United 6-0. It represents the club's first ever 'double' in the top flight, as Reading had won at Upton Park 1-0 previously in the season. The 2-0 victory over Manchester City on 3 February 2007 took Reading to 40 points in the Premiership, the total seen by some as that required to avoid relegation. After that impressive start to 2007, the Royals recorded three defeats in quick succession to Middlesbrough, to Manchester United in an FA Cup Fifth Round replay, and to Arsenal. John Oster scored his first Premiership goal for the club against Middlesbrough, and his first goal in the top flight since scoring for Everton in the club's 4-2 win over Barnsley in September 1997. The FA Cup replay against Manchester United was notable in that Reading contrived to concede three goals in the opening six minutes of the game. The final score was 3-2 to Manchester United. Reading's final game of the season was an away fixture to Blackburn Rovers, which ended 3-3 from which Reading came from behind three times, with goals from Seol Ki-Hyeon, Kevin Doyle and Brynjar Gunnarsson. The result was not enough for qualification for the UEFA Cup for the 2006–07 season as it meant that Reading finished the season in eighth place with 55 points. Reading also turned down the chance to play in the Intertoto Cup meaning it was passed down to Portsmouth, who also rejected it, passing it to Blackburn who accepted the offer. The club's top scorer in the league was Kevin Doyle with 13 goals, whilst top scorer overall was Leroy Lita with 14.

Peace Cup 2007
Reading took part in the 2007 Peace Cup in South Korea. After defeat to River Plate and victories over Lyon and Shimizu S-Pulse, Reading failed to qualify for the final on goal difference.

2nd Premier League Season - 2007–08
Reading's second season in the Premier League began on 12 August 2007, with an away fixture against champions Manchester United, in which the match ended in a scoreless draw, Dave Kitson being controversially sent off after less than a minute for a challenge on Patrice Evra. On 15 August 2007 Reading's first home game of the season finished with a 1-2 defeat to Chelsea. Reading took the lead through André Bikey, but two goals in the five minutes immediately after half time from Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba condemned Reading to their first defeat of the season. Reading's next home game on 18 August 2007 against Everton finished with a 1-0 win for Reading as a consequence of Stephen Hunt's 44th minute volley. Reading then took on Bolton Wanderers and were defeated 3-0 away. Reading next played Swansea City away on 27 August 2007 in the first round of the League Cup, Reading won 1-0 because of Leroy Lita's goal in extra time, Sam Sodje was sent off for two controversial yellow cards in this match. Reading were yet again defeated 3-0 this time at home to West Ham United with two goals from Matthew Etherington and one goal from Craig Bellamy. Reading's next game was away to Sunderland at the Stadium of Light where they lost 2-1, with Kenwyne Jones and Danny Wallace scoring for Sunderland, and Dave Kitson getting Reading's goal.

Records
Reading hold the English league record for the longest winning sequence at the start of a season with 13 victories in succession at the beginning of season 1985-86.

In 1979, Reading goalkeeper Steve Death went 1103 minutes without conceding a goal, also an English league record.

They also hold the embarrassing honour of having experienced more FA Cup defeats than any other team. This is because Reading are the oldest club still competing in the competition never to have won the Cup. Notts County entered the competition at the same time as Reading, in 1877-78. However, because County won the cup in 1894 (and so were unbeaten in that season), they have suffered one fewer defeat in the competition than Reading. In the year that County won the Cup, Reading suffered their worst ever defeat, losing 18-0 to Preston North End, at least partly because the Preston players used studs on their quagmire of a pitch.[citation needed]

During their successful 2005-06 Premiership promotion campaign, Reading broke another record when they went 33 matches unbeaten, the longest in the history of England's second tier, from 9 August 2005 until they lost to Luton Town on 17 February 2006. In the same season, Reading broke Sunderland's record for most points in a season in English football history, finishing with 106 points, and breaking the previous record by a single point.[16] Reading narrowly failed to become the first team to finish a season with both 100 goals and 100 points, but fell short by one goal, scoring "only" 99 times.

Reading staked its claim to one of English football's more unlikely records in the FA Cup competition of its fledgling Premiership campaign. Having reached the 5th round of the competition for the first time in nearly a decade, Reading secured a creditable 1-1 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford, only to concede three goals in the first 5 minutes and 41 seconds of the replay, eventually losing the game 3-2. The Independent suggests that this represents the worst ever start to a game by a team in English football[18], superseding the three goals conceded by Derby County in the first nine minutes of its home Premiership match with Leicester City in 1997-98.

History of Tottenham Hotspur F.C.

2007-09-20T11:07:00.000-07:00

From formation to the first league title
In 1882 the Hotspur Football Club was formed by grammar school boys from the bible class at All Hallows Church. They were also members of Hotspur Cricket Club and it is thought that the name Hotspur was associated with Sir Henry Percy (Sir Harry Hotspur) who lived locally in the 14th century. The team later became Tottenham Hotspur to distinguish itself from another team called London Hotspur.

At first Spurs played in navy blue shirts. The club colours then varied from light blue and white halved jerseys, to red shirts and blue shorts, through chocolate brown and old gold and then finally, in the 1899-00 season, to white shirts and navy blue shorts as a tribute to Preston North End, the most successful team of the time.

In 1888 Tottenham moved their home fixtures from the River Lee marshes to Northumberland Park where the club was able to charge for spectator admission. They turned professional just before Christmas 1895 and were then admitted to the Southern League and attracted crowds nearing 15,000. Charles Roberts became chairman in 1898 and stayed in post until 1943.

In 1899 Spurs made their final ground move to a former market garden in nearby High Road, Tottenham. In time the ground became known as White Hart Lane, a local thoroughfare. Tottenham were the considerable beneficiaries of the escalating unionisation of the northern professional game in the 1890s. Both John Cameron and John Bell, formerly Everton players came to play for Tottenham as a result of the conflict caused by their organisation of the Association Footballers' Union, a forerunner of the Professional Footballers' Association. As a direct result of this in 1900, Tottenham won the Southern League title and crowned this achievement the next year by winning the FA Cup - becoming the only non-League club to do so since the formation of the Football League.

Tottenham won election to the Second Division of the Football League for the 1908-09 season, immediately winning promotion as runners-up to the First Division. Their record between 1910 and the Great War was poor and when football was suspended at the end of the 1914-15 season, Tottenham were bottom of the league.

When football resumed in 1919, the First Division was expanded from 20 to 22 teams. The Football League extended one of the additional places to 19th-place Chelsea (who would have been relegated with Spurs for the 1915-1916 season) and the other to Arsenal. This promotion - Arsenal had finished only fifth in Division 2 the previous season - was controversial, and cemented a bitter rivaly (begun six years earlier, with Arsenal's relocation to Tottenham's hinterland) that continues to this day. Tottenham were Division Two Champions in 1919-20 and in the following year, on April 23, 1921, Spurs went all the way to their second FA Cup Final victory beating Wolves 1-0 at Stamford Bridge.

After finishing second to Liverpool in the League in 1922, Spurs experienced a steady decline, culminating in 1928's relegation. Spurs were unable to advance beyond the quarter finals of the FA Cup, getting that far three years running 1935-1938. On September 3 1939, as Neville Chamberlain declared war, Spurs were seventh in the Second Division. League Football was abandoned for the "duration".

Following the war, football was an extremely popular interest attracting thousands of supporters each week-end. By 1949 Arthur Rowe was manager at the club and developed the “push and run” tactical style of play. This involved quickly laying the ball off to a team-mate and running past the marking tackler to collect the return pass. It proved an effective way to move the ball at pace with players' positions and responsibility being totally fluid. Rising to the top of the Second Division, Tottenham ran away with their first ever league title, winning the First Division Championship in 1951. Playing heroes included Alf Ramsey, Ronnie Burgess, Ted Ditchburn, Len Duquemin, Sonny Walters and Bill Nicholson.

The 1960s and 1970s
Nicholson had joined Tottenham Hotspur as an apprentice in 1936. The following 68 years saw him serve the club in every capacity from boot room to president. In his first game as manager on 11 October 1958, Spurs beat Everton 10-4. This was their record win at the time and a sign of things to come. He subsequently guided Tottenham to major trophy success three seasons in a row in the early 1960s: the double in 1961, the FA Cup and European Cup Semi-final in 1962, and the Cup Winners' Cup in 1963. Key players included Danny Blanchflower, John White, Dave Mackay, Cliff Jones and Jimmy Greaves.

After 1964, the "Double" side began to disintegrate due to age, injuries and transfers. Nicholson rebuilt a second successful team with imports like Alan Gilzean, Mike England, Alan Mullery, Terry Venables, Joe Kinnear and Cyril Knowles. They beat Chelsea to win the 1967 FA Cup Final and finished third in the league.

Nicholson added the League Cup (1971 and 1973) and the UEFA Cup (1972) to Tottenham's illustrious history before he resigned at the start of the 1974-75 season due to both a poor start, and his disgust at seeing rioting fans in Rotterdam in a UEFA Cup final, which Spurs lost.

Nicholson had won 8 major trophies in 16 years and his spell in charge was without doubt the most glorious period in the club's history. However, what he left behind was an ageing squad and Spurs could no longer claim to be a true force in English football. Nicholson wished to select his replacement and lined up a 'dream team' of Johnny Giles and Danny Blanchflower to take over, but the Spurs board ignored his advice and appointed ex Arsenal player Terry Neill, who narrowly avoided relegation at the end of 1974-5. Never accepted by the fans, Neill left the club in 1976 and was replaced by his assistant Keith Burkinshaw that summer.

Tottenham slipped out of the First Division at the end of the 1976-77 season, after 27 years in the top flight. This was soon followed by the unwise sale of their Northern Ireland international goalkeeper Pat Jennings to arch rivals Arsenal, a move that shocked the club's fans and proved to be a serious error. Jennings played on for another eight years for Spurs' rivals, while Tottenham took until 1981 to replace him with a goalkeeper of genuine class in Ray Clemence from Liverpool.

Despite relegation, the board kept faith with Burkinshaw and the team immediately won promotion to the top flight. In the summer of 1978 Burkinshaw rocked the football world by signing two Argentinian World Cup stars Osvaldo Ardiles and Ricardo Villa which was the kind of transfer coup never seen before in British football. But it took time for a new team to be forged into a successful unit.

The 1980s
It was not until 1981 that Burkinshaw was rewarded with a trophy - the FA Cup - by beating Manchester City 3-2 in a replay, with Ricky Villa scoring his memorable solo goal. Spurs retained the trophy the following year again after another replay, beating QPR. During this season the club chased four trophies and only a fixture pile up prevented a much closer challenge for the league title. At Easter, Spurs had games in hand which, if they had won, would have put them top ahead of Liverpool. But it was too much to ask and they had to settle for a fourth place finish.

Spurs reached the League Cup Final and were just 3 minutes away from victory before Liverpool equalised and then won in extra time. In the Cup Winners' Cup a disappointing semi-final with Barcelona was lost by a single goal in Spain, following a 1-1 draw at home.

Most neutrals agreed though Spurs deserved a trophy and, while the Cup Final was not the most exciting (Spurs were in fact holding on for the entire second half), it was a just reward. Key players in this successful Tottenham side included Steve Archibald, Garth Crooks, Glenn Hoddle, Osvaldo Ardiles, and Steve Perryman who, in 17 seasons, played 655 league games for Spurs. These players inspired Tottenham to UEFA Cup glory in 1984, but several weeks before this victory Burkinshaw announced he would be leaving at the end of that season. Hindsight shows that the failure to hold on to Burkinshaw was a major turning point in the club's history. He had won three trophies in four seasons with a brand of football not seen for many years. It is worth considering that prior to the 1984 UEFA Cup win, Spurs had won eleven major trophies - virtually one trophy every two seasons. This remains a prime reason why many still regard Spurs as a major club and why success is still expected by the fans.

The board initially approached Aberdeen manager Alex Ferguson to succeed Burkinshaw and a deal came close to being signed, but when he opted to stay in Scotland the board turned to Burkinshaw's assistant, Peter Shreeves.

In 1982 the club was bought by Monte Carlo-based property tycoon Irving Scholar. He arrived in a boardroom which had seen just one or two proficient directors since the forties. The challenge for Scholar was to reinstate financial stability after the construction of the new West Stand which had almost bankrupted the club. Peter Shreeves was in charge for two seasons, achieving a third place finish in 1984-85 when Spurs were close contenders for the title all the way until Easter when a run of terrible home results ruined their chances. Shreeves lost his job after a slump in 1985-86.

Luton Town manager David Pleat was appointed the new manager, and for much of 1986-87 it looked as though it would be a very successful season. Playing with a five man midfield (Hoddle, Ardiles, Hodge, Allen, Waddle) supplying the prolific Clive Allen, Tottenham mounted a sustained challenge on all fronts. At one point in March, if they had won their remaining 13 matches, they would have claimed all domestic honours. As it was, they were defeated in an agonising League Cup semi final by rivals Arsenal.[1] After faltering at the final hurdle in the league, Spurs' hopes hinged on the FA Cup. Spurs had never before lost a domestic cup final while their opponents, Coventry, had never before even reached a Cup Final. Spurs were the favourites but suffered a 3-2 defeat at the hands of John Sillett's team. That a season of such splendid quality could produce no honours was hard to take for Spurs, but the future still looked bright.

However, as was to become a pattern in years to come, just when things appeared settled a 'banana skin' appeared. Pleat quit in October 1987 following allegations about his private life. He returned a decade later, but his short spell in charge was one of the great 'if only' stories in the club's history. Former Spurs player Terry Venables was named Pleat's successor, and after two league seasons, guided the club to third place in 1989-90 and an FA Cup win in 1991. The new-look Tottenham team included two players who starred in England's run to the semi-finals of the 1990 FIFA World Cup – Paul Gascoigne and Gary Lineker.

Premier League
In 1990, a slump in the property market left chairman Scholar on the verge of bankruptcy. Venables joined forces with businessman Alan Sugar to take over Tottenham Hotspur PLC and pay off its £20 million debt, part of which involved the sale of Gascoigne. Venables became chief executive, with Shreeves again taking charge of first-team duties. His second spell as team manager lasted just one season, before he was dismissed in favour of joint coaches Ray Clemence and Doug Livermore. Tottenham's first Premier League season ended with a mid-table finish and Venables was removed from the club's board after a legal dispute with Sugar. Ossie Ardiles became the club's next manager in 1993.

Under Ardiles, Tottenham employed the Famous Five: Teddy Sheringham and Klinsmann up front, Nick Barmby just behind, Darren Anderton on the right and Dumitrescu on the left. Klinsmann was a sensation, scoring freely and becoming a firm fan favourite. Ultimately these expensive signings made little difference to Tottenham's form and Ardiles was sacked in September 1994.

During the 1994 close season, Tottenham was found guilty of making illegal payments to players and given one of the most severe punishments in English football history: a 12 point deduction, a one year FA Cup ban, and a £600,000 fine. Sugar protested and the Cup ban and points deduction were quashed.

Ardiles was replaced by Gerry Francis. He initially turned around the club's fortunes dramatically. Tottenham climbed to seventh in the league, and reached the FA Cup semi-finals, a mere 4-1 defeat against eventual winners, Everton, blocking them. Francis was unable to take the club forward from this point and his judgement in the transfer market was flawed.

1996-97 saw Tottenham finish in tenth place, and at the end of the season star striker Teddy Sheringham was sold to Manchester United after contract negotiations broke down. In November 1997, with Spurs second from bottom and in danger of relegation, Francis was sacked. Christian Gross, coach of Swiss champions Grasshoppers, was appointed. He failed to turn around the club's fortunes, however, and the team battled against the drop for the remainder of the campaign. Legendary striker Jürgen Klinsmann was re-signed in January, but initially failed to recreate the form of his first spell at the club. Four goals in a 6-2 win away to Wimbledon in the penultimate game of the season was, however, enough to secure survival.

Gross was sacked just three games into the following season, and George Graham was soon hired to take over. Despite heavy criticism from fans due to Graham's previous association with Arsenal, in his first season as Spurs manager the club secured a mid-table finish and won the League Cup. In the final against Leicester City at Wembley, full-back Justin Edinburgh was sent off after an altercation with Robbie Savage on the hour mark, but Spurs secured a dramatic victory through Allan Nielsen's diving header in the 93rd minute of the game. Spurs also reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup, where they were beaten 2-0 by Newcastle after extra-time, after the referee had not given Spurs a definite penalty for handball in normal time. To cap a good season, star player David Ginola won both the PFA and Football Writers' Player of the Year awards.

However, another disappointing league finish followed in 1999-00. In 2001, Sugar's patience broke. He sold his controlling interest to ENIC Sports PLC, run by Daniel Levy.

Team management passed to Tottenham legend Glenn Hoddle who took over in April 2001 with the team lying thirteenth in the table. His first game saw defeat to Arsenal in an FA Cup semi-final. The club captain, Sol Campbell, defected to Arsenal on a Bosman free transfer that summer.

Hoddle turned to more experienced players in the shape of Teddy Sheringham, Gus Poyet and Christian Ziege for inspiration, and Spurs played some good football in the opening months of his management. Season 2001-02 saw Spurs finish in ninth place, as well as reaching the League Cup final, where they lost to Blackburn Rovers, having been the favourites after their 5-1 demolition of Chelsea in the previous round.

The only significant outlay prior to the following campaign was £7 million for Robbie Keane, who joined from Leeds United. 2002-03 started well, with Tottenham in the top six as late as early February. But with just seven points in the final 10 games, the club finished in tenth place. Several players publicly criticised Hoddle's management and communication skills. Six games into the 2003-04 season, Hoddle was sacked and David Pleat took over on a caretaker basis until a full-time successor could be found.

In May 2004, Tottenham signed French team manager Jacques Santini as head coach, with Martin Jol as his assistant and Frank Arnesen as Sporting Director. Santini quit the club in bizarre circumstances after just 13 games. He was replaced by Jol. The big Dutchman became a favourite with the passionate Spurs crowd and in his first season he almost managed to secure a European place. In the event, Spurs missed out on the final day of the season, and finished in ninth place. It was clear progress was being made. When Arnesen defected to Chelsea, Spurs appointed Damien Comolli as Sporting Director.

During 2005-06 Spurs spent six months in fourth place but ended fifth. Going into the final game of the season, they led rivals Arsenal by a point, but were forced to play their match at West Ham with a team suffering from an illness picked up the evening before. Spurs lost and were pipped to a Champions League place, but it was success nevertheless in gaining a place in the UEFA Cup.

Season 2006-07
For the 2006-2007 season, Tottenham changed kit sponsors to PUMA and shirt advertisers to Mansion.[2] Spurs home shirt saw the removal of the blue shoulders, with the away kit changing from cyan shorts to navy shorts, and the alternate kit changing from yellow to chocolate brown. Spurs wore an 'all-white' kit where possible for European fixtures, continuing a long-standing tradition. A notable signing was Dimitar Berbatov from Bayer Leverkusen.

The season began with Jol losing holding midfielder Michael Carrick to Manchester United and club captain Ledley King to injury for the best part of the season. The acquisition of Pascal Chimbonda, Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Didier Zokora, Berbatov and Steed Malbranque essentially meant a new side had to gel.

2006-07 was marred by injuries, particularly in defensive areas with Ledley King, Paul Stalteri, Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Young-Pyo Lee, Anthony Gardner, Jermaine Jenas, Steed Malbranque and Teemu Tainio all suffering long-term injuries while Didier Zokora, Dimitar Berbatov, Robbie Keane and Aaron Lennon all suffered injuries causing Jol to rarely have a settled XI to pick for a extended periods.

Premiership form in the first half of the season was erratic, although there was a rare home win over reigning-champions Chelsea in November. Away form was poor during the first half of the season but saw a vast improvement in the second half with just two away losses from January to the end of the season and just one defeat in their final six away games, against Chelsea just 36 hours after playing a UEFA Cup tie in Spain.

The improvement in Spurs' away form, good home performances and an excellent late season lifted Spurs into fifth position in the final table and therefore into the UEFA Cup for the second year running. Tottenham show definite signs of attractive and effective football as Martin Jol makes his mark on the squad. Spurs reached the FA Cup quarter-final round but lost to Chelsea 1-2 having drawn 3-3 away. The League Cup run took them to the semi-finals, where they faced Arsenal. The home leg ended 2-2, but hopes of glory ended in the away leg losing 3-1 in extra time. In the UEFA Cup, Tottenham progressed to the quarter-finals, where they faced the cup holders and eventual winners Sevilla in the quarter finals, and were eliminated from the competition 4-3 on aggregate (2-1 away and 2-2 at home).

The highly effective Berbatov-Keane strike partnership was rewarded when they were named joint Player of the Month for April, a rare occurrence in the history of the award.

Season 2007-08
Tottenham completed their first signing prior to the 2007-08 season buying the highly-rated 17 year old left back Gareth Bale from Southampton for an initial fee of £5 million which may rise to £10 million, depending on his and the team's performances. Robbie Keane was rewarded on May 28, 2007 with a new five year contract with the club until 2012. Spurs also completed the signing of Adel Taarabt on a permanent basis following his loan from RC Lens. The fee was undisclosed. On 8 June Spurs signed defender Yuri Berchiche from Athletic Bilbao, who will be part of the Spurs Academy. On June 29, Spurs signed England forward Darren Bent, from Charlton Athletic, for the reported fee of £16.5 million (a club record) to be paid over a period of three years. Another major signing was French central defender and Under-21 captain Younes Kaboul from AJ Auxerre for a fee believed to be about £8 million. On 25 July Spurs announced the signing of 17 year old midfielder Danny Rose from Leeds United.[3] German midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng joined from Hertha BSC Berlin on 31 July 2007 for an undisclosed fee.

For this season, Tottenham will be playing in an all-white kit for the first time since the 1980s, as opposed to having navy blue shorts. The away kit is all navy blue, while the third kit is all yellow. There is also a shirt to celebrate the club's 125th anniversary, which is white and sky blue halves, and this will only be worn for one game, against Aston Villa F.C at home on October 1st 2007.

Regardless of their ambitious off-season transfers their season started in disappointing fashion, with the club near the relegation zone, and a defeat at home to rivals Arsena

History of Fulham F.C.

2007-09-20T10:59:00.000-07:00

Amateur days 1879-1898
Fulham started its existence in 1879 as Fulham St Andrew's Church Sunday School, founded by worshippers at the C of E church on Star Road, West Kensington, which still stands today with a plaque commemorating the team's foundation. They won the West London Amateur Cup in 1887 and, having shortened the name to its present form in 1888, they then won the West London League in 1893 at the first attempt. One of the club's first ever kits was half red, half white shirts with white shorts worn in the 1886-7 season. Fulham started playing at their current ground Craven Cottage in 1896, their first game against now defunct rivals Minerva F.C.

Southern League 1898-1907
The club gained professional status on December 12, 1898, in the same year that they were admitted into the Southern League's 2nd division. They adopted a kit very similar to modern Arsenal colours in this period, which was worn during the 1900-01 season. In 1902-03 they won promotion from this division, entering the Southern League 1st Division. The club's first recorded all-white club kit came in 1903, and ever since then the club has been playing in all-white shirts and black shorts, with socks going through various evolutions of black and/or white, but are now normally white-only.[5] The club won the Southern League twice, in 1905-06 and 1906-07.

Into the Football League 1907-1949
Fulham gained admission to the national Football League after the second of their Southern League triumphs. The club's first ever league game, playing in the 2nd Division's 1907-8 season, saw them losing 1-0 at home to Hull City on September 3, 1907. The first win came a few days later on September 7, 1907 at Derby County's Baseball Ground, by a score line of 1-0. When they eventually found their feet in the division they impressed, ending up only three points short of promotion in 4th place. However, this was the best season they had in their twenty one year stay in that division, and after only winning 13 out of 42 games in the 1927-28 season Fulham were relegated to the 3rd Division South, which was created in 1920.

A highlight of that first season was an 8-3 away win at Luton Town in an FA Cup game. The club actually managed to reach the semi-finals of that tournament, where they were humbled 6-0 by Newcastle United. This is still a record loss for an FA Cup semi-final game. A couple of years later the club won the London Challenge Cup in the 1909-10 season.

During this period, businessman and politician Henry Norris was the club chairman and curiously he had an indirect role in the foundation of Fulham's local rivals Chelsea F.C.. When he rejected an offer from businessman Gus Mears to move Fulham to land where the present-day Chelsea stadium Stamford Bridge is situated, Mears decided to create his own team to occupy the ground. In 1910, Norris started to combine his role at Fulham with the chairmanship of Arsenal.

After finishing 5th, 7th and 9th (out of 22 teams) in their first three seasons in the 3rd Division South, Fulham won the division in the 1931-32 season. In doing so they beat Torquay United 10-2, won 24 out of 42 games and scored 111 goals, thus being promoted back to the Second Division. The next season they missed out on a second consecutive promotion, finishing 3rd behind Tottenham Hotspur and Stoke City. A mixed bag of league performances followed, although the club also reached another FA Cup semi-final during the 1935-36 season. On 8 October 1938 Craven Cottage saw its all-time highest attendance at a match against Millwall FC, with a crowd of 49,335 watching the game.

League and cup football were severely disrupted by the outbreak of World War II in 1939, with the Football League split into regional divisions temporarily, with a national Football League War Cup and a London War Cup up for grabs. Post-war, a full league programme was only restored for 1946-47. In the 3rd season of what is now considered the modern era of football, Fulham finished top of the Second Division, with a win-loss-draw record of 24-9-9 (identical to that which won them the 3rd Division South 17 years previously).

1949-1969
Promotion to the top tier of English football saw the club perform poorly, finishing 17th in their first year and 18th in their second. In only their third season of First Division football, Fulham finished rock bottom of the 22-team league in the 1951-52 season, winning only 8 of 42 games. On May 20th 1951, Fulham played one of their first ever games in North America in an exhibition match against Celtic F.C. at Delorimier Stadium in Montreal in front of 29,000.

A few seasons of mediocrity in the 2nd Division followed, but then the club reached the FA Cup semi-finals in 1958 and used this momentum to win promotion back to the 1st Division in the following season, having finished 2nd to Sheffield Wednesday. Graham Leggat joined Fulham in 1958 as well, who went on to score 134 goals in 277 appearances, (making him the club's fifth all-time top scorer). In the 1959-60 season they achieved 10th position in the 1st Division, which until finishing 9th in the FA Premier League 2003-04 was their highest ever league position. This accompanied another appearance in the last four of the FA Cup in 1962.

By this time the club were regularly playing in front of 30,000 plus crowds at Craven Cottage, despite struggling in the League. The club experienced several close escapes from relegation none more spectacular than in 1965-66. On the morning of 26 February 1966 Fulham had just 15 points from 29 matches. The last 13 games saw Fulham win 9 and draw 2 to reach safety. Eventually the club suffered relegation in the 1967-68 season having won just 10 out of their 42 games. However even that was not as catastrophic as the calamity of next season. Winning only 7 in 42, the club were again relegated to the 3rd Division. (Note that this is not the same as the 3rd Division South, as the regional 3rd Divisions had been removed with the 1959 creation of the 4th Division).

It is impossible to talk about Fulham's history without mentioning probably the single most influential character in Fulham's history: Johnny Haynes. 'Mr. Fulham' or 'The Maestro' as he later came to be known signed for The Cottagers as a schoolboy in 1950, making his first team debut on Boxing Day 1952 against Southampton at Craven Cottage. Haynes played for another 18 years, notching up 657 appearances (along with many other club records too), his last appearance for Fulham coming on the 17 January 1970. He is often considered as the greatest player in Fulham history, and never played for another team in Britain. He gained 52 caps for England (22 as captain), with many being earned while playing for Fulham in the Second Division. Haynes was injured in a motorbike incident in Blackpool in 1962, but by his own admissions never regained the fitness or form to play for England again, missing out on England's victory in the 1966 World Cup which he would have stood a chance of being selected for. The Stevenage Road Stand was re-named in his honour after his death in a car crash in 2005.

1970-1994
The aforementioned 3rd Division hiatus lasted only two seasons though, they were then promoted back to the Second Division as runners-up in 1970-71. This spell also saw Fulham invited to the not particularly prestigious Anglo-Italian Cup, which saw the club draw four out of four games in two appearances in tournament between 1972 and 1974. Thus started of a period of high-profile signings for the club under Alec Stock in the mid-70s, including Alan Mullery and Bobby Moore. The reward of this was their only ever FA Cup final in 1975, having won their first semi-final in five attempts. The club then lost to West Ham in the final. This gained the club qualification to another low-key European tournament, the Anglo-Scottish Cup, where they made the final, losing to Middlesbrough.

That run in the FA Cup saw the setting of an improbable record, that of the most games needed to reach the final, Fulham playing 11 games including replays. In the build up to the 12th game, the Wembley final, Tony Rees and The Cottagers released a single, "Viva el Fulham" (based on Manolo Escobar's "Y viva España") which is still played (and occasionally chanted) at Fulham games. It reached No.46 in the Pop Charts in 1975. The club set another record in the 70s, when they took part in the first ever British league game to be played on a Sunday against Millwall F.C. in 1974, which was staged at Craven Cottage.

George Best played 47 times for the club in the 1976-77 season. Rodney Marsh, who having grown up with Fulham in the 60s went on to play 1st Division football and play for England, rejoined the club in the same season, playing only 16 games. This capped one of the most successful eras in Fulham history.

The hangover from this meant the club were relegated again after winning only 11 in 42 in the 1979-80 season, which saw Bobby Campbell's sacking to be replaced by Malcolm Macdonald. With a strong squad during his 1980-84 period in charge (with players such as Ray Houghton, Tony Gale, Paul Parker, Gerry Peyton and Ray Lewington), they won promotion again in 1981-82 back to Division 2. In 1980, Fulham founded the rugby league club that is now Harlequins Rugby League designed to be an extra stream of income for the football club. Then called 'Fulham Rugby League', they played at Craven Cottage until moving away from the parent club in 1984.

Fulham narrowly missed out on back-to-back promotions, to the First Division losing 1-0 to Derby away on the last day of the 1982-83 season - although the match was abandoned after 88 mins due to a pitch invasion. The side which had shown so much promise was gradually sold off and broken up as the club had debts to pay off, so it was little surprise when the club were relegated again to the Third Division in 1986. The club nearly went out of business in 1987 and the same year saw the break-down of an ill-advised merger attempt with QPR. It was only the intervention of ex-player Jimmy Hill that allowed the club to stay in business as a re-structured 'Fulham FC 1987 Ltd.' In 1987 the club took part in what was one of the longest penalty shoot-outs recorded - it needed 28 spot kicks to sort out a winner between them and Aldershot following a Freight Rover Trophy match.

In 1992 the foundation of the Premier League saw Fulham's division of the time, the 3rd Division, re-named the 2nd Division. (There is a joke amongst football fans that at the end of the 1991-92 season they started to celebrate promotion, before realising all that had happened was that the FA had changed the numbers.) However the club were relegated from that to the new 3rd Division after a poor 1993-94 season, seeing the club in the basement of the Football League, with Ian Branfoot appointed as new manager.

Rock Bottom 1994-7
After a 7th place finish in his first season in charge the club hit its historical rock bottom with its performance in the 1995-96 season, finishing 17th out of 24th. This season included a loss against Torquay United, who were at the time rock bottom of the Division, with Fulham just one place above them. Branfoot was soon sacked as Manager, but remained at the club in other capacities for a short while.

However, in February 1996 the club appointed then-player Micky Adams as manager, and it was in the summer of that year that his revolution really took off. That signalled the start of the new era of Fulham Football Club.

Micky Adams was appointed as manager and oversaw an upturn in form that lifted the side out of what little relegation danger was present. The next season he engineered a complete turnaround in form and his side, captained by Simon Morgan, finished second - only missing out on first place due to the league dropping the old "goal difference" system in favour of a "goals scored" tally. (While Fulham's goal difference was one better than that of champions Wigan Athletic, they scored twelve fewer goals.) This was somewhat ironic, as the club's then Chairman Jimmy Hill, had successfully argued that goals scored should decide places of teams tied on points while sitting on an FA panel.

Rise through the Divisions 1997-2001
Millionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed purchased the club that summer and fired Adams in the aftermath of a poor start. In Adams' place he installed a managerial 'dream team' of Ray Wilkins (as First Team Manager) and Kevin Keegan (as Chief Operating Officer), pledging that the club would reach the Premiership within five years.

After an argument over team selection, Wilkins left the club in May 1998 to hand over the full managerial duties to Keegan, who steered the club to a spectacular promotion the next season, winning 101 points of a possible 138, captained by Chris Coleman - then the most expensive footballer outside the top two divisions of the English league. Keegan then left to become manager of the England team, and veteran player Paul Bracewell was put in charge.

Bracewell was sacked in March 2000, as Fulham's promising early season form dwindled away. Frenchman Jean Tigana was put in charge and having signed a number of young stars, including Louis Saha, he guided Fulham to their third promotion in five seasons in the 2000-01 season in emphatic style, scoring 100 goals in 46 games. That gave Fulham top flight status for the first time since 1968, which had only taken four years - one shorter than Al Fayed's pledge. During this season club captain and subsequent manager, Chris Coleman, was involved in a car crash which eventually finished his playing career. Fulham's run through the divisions saw many players come and go, but the only player to play for the club in all four leagues was Sean Davis, indeed he is one of few players to ever have played at every level of professional football with one team.

Fulham and Tigana in the Premiership 2001-2003
Fulham were widely tipped to take the Premiership by storm, with many pundits[19] predicting a challenge for the UEFA cup or even Champions League places (although others were less kind), but their first Premiership season was largely underwhelming; despite a couple of good games and some flashes of brilliance, the end product was a respectable 13th place finish. Fulham remain the only team in this millienium to host top-flight football with some standing areas. Due to restrictions on standings, Fulham decamped to Loftus Road, during the 2002-3 and 2003-4 seasons while their own stadium was rebuilt, but then returned back to Craven Cottage.

The following season saw Fulham dangerously close to the relegation zone, and chairman Mohammed Al Fayed told Tigana that his contract would not be renewed at the end of the season. But an awful run of results, culminating in a 4-0 home defeat by Blackburn Rovers led him to be sacked before the season came to an end with relegation desperately near. Jean Tigana made the club's record signing, buying Steve Marlet from Olympique Marseille for £11.5 million. He failed to live up to expectations playing only 54 league games in 3 years, and scoring only 11 goals. He was loaned out to Olympique de Marseille for 18 months when Coleman took over, with his sizeable contract still being paid by the English team, before it eventually expired.

Chris Coleman 2003-2007
Chris Coleman took charge for five games at the end of that (2002-03) season, earning Fulham 10 points out of a possible 15 and preserving a place in the Premier League for the next season. Coleman was given the manager's job on a permanent basis in the summer of 2003 and despite predictions that the inexperience of Coleman would result in Fulham's relegation,[21] he kept the club well clear of relegation, guiding them to a club record ninth place finish in his debut season. This might have been greater had the club not come under significant financial pressure to sell Louis Saha to Manchester United, for which they received a club record £13 million. The final day of the season saw them win 2-0 away to Bolton - a third goal could have seen them jump the Trotters into eighth place. Coleman notched up another impressive performance in the 2004-05 season and guided Fulham to a secure 13th place finish. The 2005-06 season proved a tougher affair, but safety was once again mathematically assured with three games left of the season and a 1-0 win over Wigan Athletic. There were three relative high points in an inconsistent season: a 6-1 rout of West Bromwich Albion, a 1-0 win over rivals and champions Chelsea in the West London derby, and a 2-0 win over 2005 European champions Liverpool F.C. Fulham's home form was the best outside the top six, with 12 wins from 18 games, while their away form was the worst in the entire league with one win and four draws from 18 games. A game they were winning away 1-0, versus Sunderland, was abandoned after 21 minutes because of persistent snowfall. Finally, on 29 April 2006, Fulham achieved a first away victory of the campaign with a 2-1 win over Manchester City F.C.. Despite the difficulties experienced throughout this season, Fulham achieved a 12th place finish - an improvement on the previous campaign.

Fulham did not get off to a good start in 2006-07, losing their first match 5-1 to Manchester United at Old Trafford. This result consigned them to the foot of the table and left them as the season's favourites for early relegation contenders with the bookies; but then recovered well and were riding as high as 8th at one point in December 2006.

Many signings including Vincenzo Montella, Alexey Smertin, Simon Davies and Clint Dempsey were brought during January. Between Mid December and May however, Fulham only won a single game, a 2-1 victory over Newcastle United. In the same time period Fulham drew 9 games and lost 4. Additionally Fulham were dumped out of the FA Cup 4-0 by Tottenham Hotspur. On the 10 April 2007, following defeats at the hands of Manchester City (3-1) and Everton (4-1) Fulham Football Club terminated the contracts of Chris Coleman and Steve Kean with immediate effect, while Northern Ireland manager Lawrie Sanchez and Les Reed were put in temporary charge.

Lawrie Sanchez 2007-present

Lawrie Sanchez's first match saw him lose away to Reading. In his third match, he looked to gain a much needed point against Arsenal when Simon Davies scored a 78th minute equaliser, but 2 late Arsenal goals saw Fulham lose 3-1 and stay 1 point above the Relegation Zone. [22]. Sanchez's next game was against a Liverpool side that rested many starters after a mid-week Champions League match; a Clint Dempsey goal ensured Sanchez's first win as Fulham caretaker manager. This win, in combination with the results of other matches from the same weekend, ensured Fulham's safety from relegation. On Friday 11 May 2007 Sanchez resigned from his position as manager of Northern Ireland to become the permanent Fulham manager.[23] On the 9th of July 2007, Sanchez made his first major signing for Fulham, buying Diomansy Kamara from West Brom for £6 million. During the summer of 2007 Sanchez has bought several new players after the Chairman announced more funds would be available to him to try avoid relegation. He has particularly focused on bringing in new blood to the defence. Players like Chris Baird, Paul Konchesky and Aaron Hughes all have signed to try and stop the defensive problems of the previous year. On the 5 July 2007 Sanchez signed midfielder Steven Davis for a fee in the region of £4 million from Aston Villa. It is clear that Sanchez has a lot of faith in Davis, as he is not only spending a large fee on the player, but he has also made him Northern Ireland's youngest modern day captain. Sanchez later moved to sign prolific Northern Irish Striker David Healy for a price of £1.5 million from Leeds United F.C. and highly rated QPR winger Lee Cook for £2,5 million. Healy has scored 29 goals out of 59 games for his country, most of which were under Sanchez. The last signings of the summer before the season started were those of Watford's Algerian international Hameur Bouazza, and Australian youngster Adrian Leijer. After a goalkeeping crisis, when Antti Niemi was injured before the first game of the season against Arsenal, and Tony Warner made mistakes leading to goals against Bolton and Middlesbrough, Sanchez made his 10th signing that of veteran US goalkeeper Kasey Keller. Youngster Nathan Ashton as the end of the transfer window began to loom, and on transfer deadline day, Sanchez brought in another 4 players - Dejan Stefanović from Portsmouth, Seol Ki-Hyeon from Reading and Danny Murphy from Tottenham on permanent deals, and Shefki Kuqi from Ipswich on loan until January.

History of Portsmouth F.C.

2007-09-20T10:47:00.000-07:00

Early years (1882 - 1911)
Football was played in Portsmouth from the 1850's and was popular for sailors and dockers to play in the city. The current club was founded in 1898 with John Brickwood, owner of the local brewery, as chairman, and Frank Brettell as the club's first manager. A common myth is that the club's first goalkeeper was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. While Conan Doyle did play for an amateur side as AC Smith, Portsmouth AFC, that flourished from 1882 to 1894, the first goalkeeper of the professional era was Matt Reilly who previously played for the successful Royal Artillery team.

The club's first league match was played at Chatham Town on 2 September 1899 (a 1-0 victory), followed three days later by the first match at Fratton Park against local rivals Southampton. That first season was hugely successful, with the club winning 20 out of 28 league matches, earning them runners-up spot in the Southern League. The league was won for the first time in the 1901-02 season, by which time Brettell had been replaced by club captain Bob Blyth as manager.

The 1906-1907 season was highlighted by the visit of Manchester United to Fratton Park in the FA Cup, which generated a record attendance of 24,329. A 2-2 draw meant a replay in Manchester, and Portsmouth recorded a famous 2-1 win. However, this record attendance was surpassed two seasons later when Sheffield Wednesday visited Fratton for the second round of the new FA Cup.

1910-11 saw Portsmouth relegated, but with the recruitment of Bob Brown as manager the team were promoted the next season.

Climbing up the league (1919 - 1927)
Football was suspended during World War I, but following the resumption of matches Portsmouth won the Southern League for the second time. Continuing success saw them in the Third Division for the 1920-21 season. They finished 12th that year, but won the league in the 1923-24 season. The club continued to perform well in the Second Division, winning promotion by finishing 2nd in the 1926-27 season, gaining a record 9-1 win over Notts County along the way.

Life at the top (1927 - 1939)
Portsmouth's debut season in the First Division was a struggle. The next season they continued to falter, losing 10-0 to Leicester City, still a club record defeat. However, despite their failings in the league that season also saw Portsmouth reach the FA Cup final for the first time, which they lost to Bolton Wanderers.

Portsmouth managed to survive relegation, and their fortunes began to change. In the 1930-31 season the club finished 4th. The 1933-34 season saw Portsmouth again reach the FA Cup Final, beating Manchester United, Bolton Wanderers, Leicester City and Birmingham City on the way. Unfortunately the club was again defeated in the final, this time to Manchester City.

Having established themselves in the top flight, the 1938-39 season saw Portsmouth reach their third FA Cup Final. This time the club managed to defeat the favourites, Wolves, convincingly 4-1. Bert Barlow scored twice whilst Cliff Parker and Jock Anderson completed the famous victory.

League football was again suspended due to World War II, (however they did reach the 1942 London War Cup Final losing to Brentford at Wembley) meaning Pompey hold the unusual distinction of holding the FA Cup for the longest uninterrupted period as the trophy wasn't contested again until the 1945-46 season. Nevertheless, with the Wartime Leagues in operation, Pompey signed various players of other clubs who happened to be serving in the Forces and stationed near Portsmouth on a temporary basis. One such was Andy Black of Glasgow Rangers who on one notable occasion scored 8 goals in a 16 - 1 thrashing of Clapton Orient.

Glory years (1946 - 1959)
League football resumed for the 1946-47 campaign. In Pompey's Golden Jubilee season of 1948-49, the club were tipped to be the first team of the 20th century to win the Football League and FA Cup double. However, Pompey crashed out of the FA Cup in the semi-final against Leicester City, but made up for it by claiming the league title in spectacular fashion. That season also saw a record attendance of 51,385, a record which still stands to this day.

The club retained the title the following year, beating Aston Villa 5-1 on the last day of the season, and are thus one of only five English teams to have won back to back titles since World War II.

Pompey enjoyed a fourth-place finish in 1951-52, but in the summer of 1952 championship-winning manager Bob Jackson left for Hull City. The players who had featured in the club's recent successes were now ageing and the young players coming into the side were not of comparable quality. Although the team finished third in 1954-55, subsequent seasons saw Pompey struggle and they were relegated to the Second Division in 1959.

Life in the lower leagues (1961 - 1976)
Portsmouth went down to the Third Division in 1961 but were promoted back to the Second Division at the first time of asking under the guidance of George Smith.

Despite limited financial means, Smith maintained Portsmouth's second division status throughout the sixties until moving upstairs to become General Manager in April 1970. A cash injection that accompanied the arrival of John Deacon as chairman in 1972, failed to improve Pompey's league position. With Deacon unable to continue bankrolling the club on the same scale, Pompey were relegated to the Third Division in 1976.

Near oblivion (1976 - 1980)
In November 1976 the club found itself needing to raise £25,000 to pay off debts and so avoid bankruptcy. The money was raised from supporter contributions after a campaign led by the local newspaper The News.

With players having to be sold to ease the club's financial situation, and no money available for replacements, Pompey were forced to rely on an untried manager, Ian St John and inexperienced young players. Consequently, they were relegated to the Fourth Division in 1978.

During this period and throughout the 1980s, Portsmouth was one of a number of football clubs with a reputation for Football hooliganism. The most notorious gang was called the 6:57 Crew. A self-proclaimed 'casual firm' of football hooligans, whose name came from the fact that many supporters would catch the 6:57 train from nearby Fratton railway station to London for away games. The advent of all-seater stadia following the Taylor Report into the Hillsborough disaster of 1989 contributed to a decrease in organised football-related violence, and the 6:57 Crew was gradually reduced to nothing by the 1990s. Two books have been written about the 6.57 Crew, Rolling With The 6.57 Crew by Cass Pennant & Rob Silvester and Playing Up With Pompey By Bob Beech.

Back on track (1980 - 1988)
Pompey were promoted back to Division Three in 1980, and in the 1982-83 season they won the Third Division championship, gaining promotion back to the Second Division.

Under Alan Ball's management, Pompey narrowly missed winning promotion to the First Division twice before finally succeeding in 1986-87. Unfortunately, by the middle of the 1987-88 season the club was again in grave financial trouble, and Pompey were relegated straight back to the Second Division. The summer of 1988 saw Deacon sell the club to London based businessman and former QPR Chairman, Jim Gregory.

Waiting for success (1988 - 2002)
Jim Smith's arrival as manager at the start of the 1991-92 season, combined with the emergence of some good young players, sparked a revival in the team's fortunes and that year Pompey reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup, losing on penalties to eventual winners Liverpool after a replay. The following season, Pompey missed out on promotion to the FA Premier League only by virtue of having scored one less goal than West Ham United.

Chairman Gregory now called in the money he had lent the club over preceding seasons, and so players were sold with little funds available to buy replacements. The team's form declined, and Smith was controversially sacked in 1995 and replaced by Terry Fenwick. Relegation to the Second Division was avoided on the last day of the 1995-96 season when Pompey won away to Huddersfield Town while other results went the club's way.

In the summer of 1996 Terry Venables arrived at Pompey as a consultant, later taking over as chairman after buying the club for £1. The team enjoyed a run to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup in 1996-97, beating FA Premier League side Leeds United en route, but finished just short of the qualifying places for the play-offs for promotion to the Premier League. The 1997-98 season saw Venables lose his popularity with the club's supporters, as he signed several Australian players, most of whom failed to perform with much distinction, while his role as coach of the Australian national team meant he was frequently absent from Portsmouth; meanwhile, the team's results were poor. Two-thirds of the way through the season he and unpopular manager Fenwick left the club, Venables selling his shareholding back to Martin Gregory, son of former chairman Jim, while Alan Ball returned as manager. Relegation was again avoided on the last day of the season.

Pompey's centenary season, 1998-99, saw a serious financial crisis hit the club, and in December 1998 Portsmouth went into financial administration. Milan Mandarić saved the club with a takeover deal in May 1999, and the new chairman immediately started investing. Things did not get off to the best start under Mandarić, as Ball was sacked in November 1999 with the club near the bottom of the table. Tony Pulis took over and steered the club to safety, but only lasted ten months at the helm after which he was put on gardening leave (and sacked not long afterwards) due to a poor relationship with Mandarić. Veteran player Steve Claridge stepped up to manager, and some initial success saw talk of promotion to the Premiership, only for a horrific run of defeats to set in after the new year, resulting in Claridge being reduced back to player and being replaced in 2001 by Chelsea coach Graham Rix. Rix did not prove an entirely popular appointment, as he had been jailed for a sexual offence two years previously,[1] and the club only survived on the last day of the season when they won their final game and Huddersfield Town lost theirs, keeping Portsmouth up at their expense.

Over the summer, recently sacked West Ham manager Harry Redknapp was appointed Director of Football, and most observers concluded that the minute results did not swing Rix's way, he would be sacked and replaced by Redknapp. Sure enough, after an early promotion charge degenerated into mid-table mediocrity and Pompey were knocked out of the FA Cup by Third Division side Leyton Orient, Rix lost his job in early 2002, with Redknapp taking over as predicted. Former manager Jim Smith was asked to team up with Redknapp, and while he initially turned the offer down to remain as assistant at Coventry City, he soon arrived at Portsmouth after Coventry sacked most of their coaching staff near the end of the season.

Portsmouth reach the Premiership (2002 - 2004)
In Redknapp's first full season in charge, (2002-03), he brought in a number of experienced Premiership players such as Steve Stone, Patrik Berger, Tim Sherwood and Paul Merson, and combined them with younger, up-and-coming talents such as Gary O'Neil and Matthew Taylor. Pompey stormed the league, comfortably beating second-placed Leicester City to the 2002-03 Division One Championship winning in the title with a game to spare.[2] The following season the club tipped for immediate relegation from the Premiership surprised many by staying up and have remained in the top flight ever since. During their four Premiership seasons to date Pompey have produced some surprise results, notably three home wins - including two in consecutive seasons - against Manchester United.

In their Premiership debut season, Portsmouth had one of the best home records in the Premiership, but poor away form restricted them to a 13th place finish. Had they been able to match their impressive home form on their travels, then a top half finish or even a European place could have been achieved. After the third game of the season, a 4-0 home victory against Bolton Wanderers, Pompey topped the Premiership and were comfortably in mid-table throughout the autumn, inflicting a resounding 6-1 victory at Fratton Park on Leeds United in November 2003. A 1-1 draw against Arsenal at Highbury, when Teddy Sheringham put Pompey in control before half-time, before a foul on the title-bound Gunners' Robert Pires earned the Londoners a penalty in the closing stages of the match, which when converted effectively ended the South Coast club's chance of registering a famous away win over Arsenal, signalled the start of a run of eleven games in a row without victory for Pompey. There were suggestions, backed by evidence from video replays on the BBC's Match of the Day, that Pires may have dived in the box during the match at Highbury, precipitating the award of the penalty, although Pires has always vehemently maintained his innocence. Nevertheless, this draw marked the first of a horrendous run of results that left the team odds on to be relegated in mid-March. However, a 1-0 win at home to rivals Southampton followed by a first Premiership away win at Blackburn Rovers' Ewood Park proved to be the catalyst for a run of form that included a famous 1-0 win over Manchester United in April, with Steve Stone (rejected by Sir Alex Ferguson on a bid to join Manchester United less than two years earlier) the scorer in Pompey's first win over Manchester United for nearly 60 years. This surprise win handed Pompey a relegation lifeline as it lifted them out of the drop-zone for the first time since February. A 2-1 away win over Leeds United and a 1-1 draw at home to Fulham in their next two matches confirmed that Portsmouth would not be relegated in their first Premiership season. The club signed off their impressive Premiership debut season with a 5-1 crushing of the season's league cup winners Middlesbrough at Fratton Park on the final day of the season on 15th May 2004.

Crisis and Struggle (2004 - 2006)
Despite their successful partnership, Mandarić and Redknapp clashed several times during their time together. At the end of the 2003-04 season Mandarić was considering replacing some of the club's coaching staff, including Redknapp's assistant Jim Smith. No changes took place, and after an uneasy start to the 2004-2005 season, failing to win any of their first three matches, two consecutive home wins (4-3 over Fulham and 3-1 over Crystal Palace) started a steady run of form (including a famous 2-0 win over Manchester United at Fratton Park in October) that saw them remain comfortably in mid-table between August and December. However, despite the team's achievements on the pitch, behind the scenes all was not well. The two clashed again more seriously when Mandarić proposed appointing another director in November, with responsibility for the youth set-up at the club. Redknapp disapproved of the proposal but Mandarić pressed ahead and appointed Velimir Zajec. Redknapp, along with his assistant Jim Smith, subsequently resigned with immediate effect on 23 November.

Zajec took over as manager, initially as caretaker, then on 20 December 2004 the club announced that he would manage the team for the remainder of the season. Their first game under Zajec was a 1-0 away win over Bolton Wanderers, in a hard-fought match where Portsmouth captain Arjan de Zeeuw and Bolton striker El-Hadji Diouf had an on-pitch skirmish in the second half that later prompted Diouf to spit in de Zeeuw's face[3]. This victory lifted Portsmouth into the top half of the table for the first time since August. However, on 7 April 2005 after a poor run of results which saw Portsmouth wallow away from as high as ninth place on Boxing Day to 15th position in the table by the end of March, Alain Perrin was appointed team manager, with Zajec reverting to his director's role.

After having looked in real danger of relegation for most of the second half of the season, Portsmouth's 4-1 victory at home to local rivals Southampton on 24 April 2005 brought the club close to securing Premiership survival which became virtually certain six days later when, although Portsmouth lost at Manchester City, two clubs lower in the table also failed to win their matches, leaving Portsmouth needing only a single point from their two remaining games to make survival certain. A week later Portsmouth made sure of their safety with a 1-1 home draw against Bolton Wanderers in their penultimate game of the season, a result that meant they could not finish lower than 16th place (eventually their final position). On 15 May 2005, the final day of the season, Portsmouth's 2-0 defeat at West Bromwich Albion gave Albion survival and relegated Southampton, resulting in a carnival atmosphere at the end of the match which saw both sets of fans invade the pitch. The 2005-06 season thus saw Portsmouth play in a higher league than rivals Southampton for the first time since 1960.

Yakubu Aiyegbeni, Pompey's main goal threat for the past two and a half seasons was sold to Middlesbrough for £7.5 m and several other players were transferred as Perrin began to stamp his authority on the club. After many years of waiting, plans emerged for a redevelopment of Fratton Park itself - the aim being to turn a dilapidated, old style league ground into a 21st century, 30,000 seat stadium. Off the field changes also occurred with departure of Director of Football Zajec for personal reasons.

Portsmouth continued to struggle in the 2005-2006 season, winning just two games between August and November - a lucky 1-0 victory over Everton at Goodison Park (courtesy of an own goal by Everton's Duncan Ferguson) and a 4-1 away win over Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. During a hard-fought 1-0 defeat to Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium in early October where Portsmouth enjoyed the lion's share of possession and goal chances only to succumb to a superb first-half volley by Bolton's Kevin Nolan, Perrin's continual harassment of the match officials saw him ordered away from the pitchside by the referee, an incident that landed Perrin in hot water with the FA and also led many pundits to believe his demise was now only a matter of time. The club's series of poor results (that set a record low number of points for a Portsmouth manager) continued into December 2005, at which time Mandaric finally reached the end of his tether and Alain Perrin was sacked.

Former manager Harry Redknapp took charge again a couple of weeks later, leaving south coast rivals Southampton. The appointment made headlines on the sports pages of the UK press, with fans divided into strong pro and anti Redknapp camps. Unusual betting patterns shortly before Redknapp left Southampton resulted in the club and Redknapp himself being investigated by the FA. After months of investigation, no charges followed. The return of Redknapp to the club lifted morale for Portsmouth, and in late December 2005 they finally scored their first victory at Fratton Park since April with a 2-1 success over relegation rivals West Bromwich Albion and followed it up with another 2-1 home victory over West Ham. These two wins and a 1-1 draw against Fulham lifted Portsmouth from 19th to 16th in the table, but soon after, three heavy away defeats in a row (3-0 against both Manchester United and Liverpool and 4-0 against Arsenal) dropped Portsmouth to the foot of the table at the New Year. By now, many bookies believed that any prospect of survival was over.

A Change of Fortunes (2006 - present)
In January 2006, Milan Mandarić confirmed he was to sell a stake in the club to Franco-Russian businessman Alexandre Gaydamak[4], and a cash injection of a reported £15 million enabled Portsmouth to purchase Benjani Mwaruwari from AJ Auxerre for a club record £4.1 m as well as Sean Davis, Pedro Mendes and Noé Pamarot; taking Wayne Routledge, Azar Karadaş and Andrés D'Alessandro on loan.

It appeared that this new cash injection, the return of Harry Redknapp to the club and the arrival of several new players would be too little too late for Portsmouth, as at the beginning of March 2006 they were twelve points adrift from safety with ten matches left.

When their chief relegation rivals Birmingham City thrashed Portsmouth 5-0 - Pompey's heaviest defeat to date in the Premiership, and also their sixth consecutive match without scoring a goal - Pompey looked certain to be relegated and the result also seemed to have put both Birmingham and WBA out of Pompey's reach. Despite a valiant effort, the club were unable to repeat their home success against Manchester United for a third consecutive season, and lost their clash at Fratton Park 3-1.

However, a late equaliser by on-loan Azar Karadaş in a 1-1 home draw against Bolton Wanderers, followed by a last minute winning goal by Pedro Mendes at home to Manchester City sparked a dramatic change in form and fortunes in March and April, which coincided with a loss of form for both Birmingham and WBA. After gaining 17 points from 8 games, Portsmouth avoided relegation on April 29 2006 when a win in the penultimate game of the season at Wigan Athletic, combined with Birmingham City's failure to beat Newcastle United, put Portsmouth beyond the pursuit of the Premiership's bottom three sides.

On 19 July, 2006, co-owner and club chairman Milan Mandarić transferred full ownership of the club over to Alexandre Gaydamak, after a 7-year tenure, that saw Portsmouth rise from the brink of liquidation into the top tier of domestic football. Mandarić remained at the club as Non-Executive Chairman until 25 September, 2006, before taking over English Championship club Leicester City.

During the summer transfer window, England internationals Glen Johnson (on a one-season loan from Chelsea), David James and Sol Campbell were signed as well as former under 21 midfielder David Thompson. Thompson departed for Bolton Wanderers in February 2007, but James and Campbell have both stayed at Portsmouth since. Veteran strikers Nwankwo Kanu and Andrew Cole were brought in on short-term contracts, with midfielders Manuel Fernandes and Roudolphe Douala joining on loan. Serbian international midfielder Ognjen Koroman's loan from Terek Grozny was extended for a further season, although he left the club in January 2007. Pompey's most expensive signing of the transfer window was that of Croatia international Niko Kranjčar, who cost £3.5 million from Hajduk Split.

Portsmouth made a strong start to the 2006-07 Premiership campaign without conceding any goals in their first five games and were briefly top of the Premiership. Two defeats in a row to Bolton Wanderers (1-0 at Fratton) and Tottenham Hotspur (2-1 at White Hart Lane) dented this record, but the team continued to make progress and build on their strong start so that at Christmas they still occupied fourth place (only a point behind third-placed Bolton), prompting speculation that they might emulate the achievements of former Premier League strugglers Bolton, Everton and Middlesbrough by qualifying for the UEFA Cup or even the Champions League, though Manchester United and Chelsea's excellent early-season form meant that neither Bolton and Portsmouth nor any other Premiership sides were considered serious title challengers by this stage. However, a run of poorer results after Christmas moved Portsmouth down towards mid-table.

Nevertheless, Portsmouth could still take many positives from their 2006-2007 campaign, not least the fact that they had never, at any stage of the season, looked to be in danger of relegation - largely due to their massive improvement in away game form compared with their three previous Premiership outings - and also that their home form had remained consistently strong. Additionally, there were also many encouraging results for the club, including victories over Manchester United, Everton, Reading, Newcastle United and Liverpool. By the end of the season they had amassed 54 points from 38 games (their best-ever achievement in the Premiership and their most successful finish to a season in fifty years) and recovered from their mid-season slump to finish a respectable ninth in the final table - much higher than many pundits had predicted before the season started. However, Portsmouth declined to participate in the UEFA Intertoto Cup 2007, preferring to honour a commitment they had made to play in the Barclays Asia Trophy 2007 in Hong Kong with Liverpool, Fulham and South China AA between July 24 and July 27, dates which clash with Intertoto ties.

On May 21, 2007, Canterbury of New Zealand announced a deal to make the kit for Portsmouth. This was the company's first venture into football.[5]

Portsmouth started the 2007/08 season on a good note with a 1-0 victory over Fulham and a penalty shootout win over Liverpool to clinch the Asia Trophy, prevailing 4-2 after the match had ended in a goal-less draw. Two Premier League draws with newly-promoted Derby County and reigning champions Manchester United preserved their unbeaten start to the season before they scored their first league victory with a 3-1 success over Bolton Wanderers at Fratton Park.

History of Sunderland A.F.C.

2007-09-20T10:37:00.000-07:00

The Team of All-Talents
Sunderland A.F.C. was founded by Glaswegian school-teacher James Allan in 1879, to provide "recreational amusement" for the area's schoolteachers, under the name of 'Sunderland & District Teachers Association'. The club's first competitive game is thought to be against Ferryhill Athletic on 13 November 1880, with Sunderland losing 1-0 and wearing an all blue strip, in a sharp contrast to the now famous red and white stripes.

The club's first ground was the 'Blue House Field' in Hendon, close to James Allan's boarding school, and would change their home a further four times in seven years before settling at the 'Newcastle Road' ground in 1886.

In 1881, in order to relax financial troubles, the name was changed to Sunderland Association Football Club and non-teachers were allowed to join. S.A.F.C. turned professional in 1885, the same year they recruited a number of Scotsmen, their first international players.

In 1887 the club was split in two due to the influx of paid professional players pushing the local men out of the first team. In protest over this many of the best local players (and club-founder James Allan) left the club and formed their own team, Sunderland Albion F.C. A brief rivalry began, peaking in 1890 when The Football League promised admission for just one of the teams. A deciding playoff was held; SAFC won. Sunderland Albion remained an amateur club, and gradually faded into obscurity.

Sunderland AFC joined the Football League in time for the 1890-91 season, which was only the league's third season. Stoke City F.C., one of the twelve Football League founder members dropped out after two seasons. Sunderland took their place, effectively making them the 'thirteenth' team in English football.

In the early years of the Football League, SAFC were the most Northern top-flight team and often had to pay opposing teams' travel expenses. Over six seasons "the team of all the talents" lost only one home game and became the first side to win the league three times.

The club shared this period of dominance with Aston Villa, and the battles between these clubs were immortalised in a famous Thomas MM Hemy painting of the two clubs in action during the 1894-1895 season, the first ever painting of a competitive football league match. Entitled 'A Corner Kick', the painting now stands in the doorway of the club's current stadium, The Stadium of Light.

From 1886 until 1898 SAFC's home was at Newcastle Road; ironically, Newcastle United are their main rivals. In 1898, the Club moved to what would become their home for almost a century, Roker Park. Initially the ground had a capacity of 30,000, but over the following decades it was continually expanded and at its peak held an official crowd of over 75,000.

In 1904 the club was rocked by a financial scandal involving the club's right back Andrew McCombie, in which Sunderland's board of Directors gave the player £100 in order to start up in business, with the view that his benefit game would see him repay the money. McCombie however saw the money as a gift and refused to pay back the club. The Football Association launched an inquiry and agreed with McCombie, stating that it was a "resigning/win/draw bonus" and furthermore the books of Sunderland showing financial irregularities, and so violating the rules of the game. Sunderland were fined £250, with six directors being suspended for two and a half years. Furthermore, Alex McCombie would go onto sign for Newcastle United, and be instrumental in Newcastle's spell of league dominance of the era. The club were shook heavily by this and began to struggle in the league, the only true bright point of the remainder of the decade being a 1-9 hammering of Newcastle United away in 1908, which is still the biggest away victory of any team the top flight. Also, in 1905 the club were involved in the first ever £1,000 transfer fee for a player when Alf Common signed for Middlesbrough.

On 19 April 1913 Sunderland narrowly missed out on becoming one of the first clubs to win the double when they were beaten 1-0 by Aston Villa in the FA Cup Final at Crystal Palace. The crowd that day was 121,919; the second-highest ever to watch an FA Cup Final, behind the 1923 White Horse Final.

This decade in the clubs history also saw the goalscoring prowess of Charles Buchan, who played in the 1913 cup final and would go onto score 224 goals for the club, which means he stands today as the second highest goal-scorer in the club's history after Bob Gurney's record of 228.

After World War I
World War I saw the break-up of the Sunderland team as men went off to fight on the continent - many not returning.

The team was rebuilt and in the 20's and 30's the club fielded some of its greatest ever players, including Bobby Gurney, Charlie Buchan and Raich Carter. Bank-rolled by wealthy shipyard owners, Sunderland broke regular transfer records bringing the likes of Dave Halliday to the club. Despite the investment, Sunderland failed to win any trophies until 1936, when they won the league championship for the sixth (and last) time. The following year, they eventually won their first FA Cup in a 3-1 victory over Preston North End in front of 93,495 at Wembley. The goals were scored by Gurney, Carter and Eddie Burbanks.

The team looked set to win many more trophies in the seasons ahead before the misery of the Second World War broke out. The football league was suspended.

The Decline of Sunderland A.F.C
When the League restarted after the war, Sunderland's fortunes took a turn for the worse. In 1949 they suffered one of the greatest shock results in the history of the FA Cup, losing 2-1 to non-league Yeovil Town.

Bank of England
Sunderland was known as the "Bank of England" club during the 50's due to its reputation for high-spending (breaking transfer records to bring in the likes of Trevor Ford and Len Shackleton). Despite high-spending on transfer-fees, the club's hands were tied regarding player wages due to a FA-imposed £15-per-week wage-cap. In January 1957, a letter was delivered to the FA from a 'Smith', in it, the author made allegations that Sunderland were making illegal payments to players. The FA sent an investigation team to the club, who found evidence of illegal activity in the club accounts, including a £3,000 bill for 'straw' to cover the pitch. The team uncovered a string of similar accounting glitches; Contract companies were purposely charging Sunderland excessive fees for services, and later sending credit-notes to redress the balance. These credit notes were passed on to players. In total, just over £5,000 was handled in this way. The club Chairman and chief financier along with three club directors were permanently suspended. The club was fined a record £5,000, manager Bill Murray was fined £200, and a number of players, including record-signing Trevor Ford were temporarily suspended. The punishment was severe, and sent shock-waves through the world of football and sent Sunderland into disarray. Ironically, the wage-cap was removed in 1961.

In 1958, in the aftermath of the illegal-payments scandal, Sunderland were relegated from Division One for the first time in their history. Sunderland's 68 unbroken years at the top flight was at the time a record in English football; since then, it has been surpassed by Arsenal. The local sports newspaper, the "Football Echo", had always been pink - but after relegation it was sold in white, headlines claimed the colour change was "due to the shock".

Second Relegation
Despite losing the remarkable Brian Clough to injury in the early 60's, Sunderland were promoted back to the top-flight in 1964; after six long years in the second division. Unfortunately, Sunderland failed to make an impact in the top-flight - they never finished higher than 15th and six years later in 1970, they were eventually relegated for the second time. Despite the poor league showing, during this time Sunderland had some notable players: Jimmy Montgomery in goal, Charlie Hurley in defence, George Herd and Jim Baxter in midfield and George Mulhall on the wing.

The 1973 Cup Final
On 5 May 1973, second-division Sunderland ended a fairy-tale cup run by beating cup-holders Leeds United in the FA Cup Final. A first-half goal by Scotsman Ian Porterfield was the only goal of the game - in no small part thanks to an outstanding double-save by goalkeeper Jimmy Montgomery, first from a Cherry header, and then a powerful follow-up by Peter Lorimer. It is often described as one of the greatest saves of all-time. At the end of the game, Sunderland manager Bob Stokoe ran on to the pitch to embrace his goalkeeper, an enduring image in FA Cup history. It was the first time a team from outside of the top-flight had lifted the cup in over 40 years.

Many fans who followed the 1973 Cup run describe the quarter-final against Manchester City or Arsenal semi-final as the greatest football games ever played by Sunderland.

After 1973
In 1976 Sunderland were once again promoted to the first division. They only lasted a season but returned in 1980 for another five-year stint in the top flight. During this time the club never managed to finish higher than 13th place and were perpetual league strugglers. Notable players in this period included Chris Turner, Barry Venison, Gary Rowell, Gordon Chisholm, Mark Proctor, Paul Bracewell, Stan Cummins, Nick Pickering and Iain Munro.

1985 proved to be a cruel year for Sunderland fans; they reached their first League Cup final, but lost 1-0 to Norwich with Clive Walker missing a penalty. At the end of the 1984-85 season they were relegated back to the second division.

Darkest Days
Sunderland reached their lowest ebb in 1987 when they suffered relegation to the Third Division, losing in a two-leg play-off to Gillingham F.C. Even the return of '73 cup hero Bob Stokoe following the sacking of manager Lawrie McMenemy couldn't keep Sunderland up. It was the first time in the club's history that they had fallen in to the lower divisions. Under their new manager Denis Smith, promotion was gained at the first attempt as Sunderland went back up as champions in 1988.

Two years later they reached the Second Division playoff final after beating Newcastle United in the semi-final. This fixture is noted for the final leg at St. James' Park on 16 May 1990 where disappointed Newcastle fans, seeing their team two-nil down with only five minutes remaining, invaded the pitch in the hope of forcing an abandonment. Despite losing 1-0 to Swindon Town at Wembley, Sunderland were promoted a few weeks later in place of Swindon - who remained in the Second Division after admitting financial irregularities.

Sunderland went back down after just one season in the First Division, despite taking over 15,000 expectant fans to the final game of the season away at Manchester City. The Wearsiders subsequently struggled in mid-table in 1991-92. However, the club evoked the spirit of '73 with a scintillating run to the FA Cup final - where they lost 2-0 to Liverpool on 9 May 1992, but did beat Chelsea in a pulsating quarter-final replay on 18 March. Smith had quit as manager during the season and was replaced by his assistant Malcolm Crosby, who in turn resigned after less than a year despite success in taking the club to only the fourth FA Cup final in their history. Crosby was replaced by Terry Butcher.

Before the end of 1993, Butcher's short-lived reign as manager came to an end and he was replaced by Mick Buxton. Buxton fared a little longer, being sacked in March 1995. At this stage, Sunderland were in real danger of relegation from Division One. The club's board turned to Peter Reid as manager and his target was simple - to keep Sunderland clear of relegation. That objective was achieved within weeks and he was rewarded with a permanent contract.

Peter Reid's first full season as Sunderland manager was a huge success. They cruised to the Division One title and gained promotion to the Premiership for the first time since the league re-structuring. But a shortage of goals caused by Reid's reluctance to pay big money for unproven strikers, coupled with injuries which kept key players out of the picture for long stretches of the season, sabotaged their chances of success during 1996-97, despite beating Manchester United (winning 2-1 on 22 March 1997), Arsenal (winning 1-0 on 11 January 1997) and Chelsea (winning 3-0 on 15 December 1996) at Roker Park. As at Maine Road six years earlier, Sunderland went into the final day of the season unsure of safety and were ultimately relegated on the last day of the season, this time at Selhurst Park, losing 1-0 to Wimbledon.

New home
1996-97 also marked the end of Sunderland's 99-year tenancy at Roker Park. That summer, the club relocated to the 42,000-seat Stadium of Light at Monkwearmouth - the largest club stadium to be built in England for more than 70 years. Its capacity has since been expanded to 49,000 seats and is currently the fourth largest club stadium in England. The name was at first derided by fans, not least because it seemed to be a corruption of the name of SL Benfica's stadium, Estadio da Luz, translated into English (something which has subsequently been disproven). Due to the rich mining industry of Sunderland's traditional catchment area of support, the stadium's reference to the miners' davy lamp has since met approval by fans.

1997-98: Wembley drama keeps Sunderland down
In their first season at their new ground, Sunderland overcame a bumpy start to finish third. After beating Sheffield United in the playoff semi-final, they reached the final at Wembley. Over 40,000 fans travelled from the North-East to see an incredible game against Charlton Athletic which ended 4-4 after extra time. After a phenomenal season of goalscoring, new striker Kevin Phillips scored here as well, meaning that he broke Brian Clough's post-war single season goalscoring record with a tally of 35. Charlton, however, went on to win the game on a penalty shootout, as Michael Gray had his penalty saved by Charlton goalkeeper Saša Ilić. It is often regarded as one of the best games seen at Wembley in recent years.[citation needed]

1998-99: Record breaking promotion
Sunderland returned to the English Premiership after running away with the Division One title in 1998-99 season with a record 105 league points. Kevin Phillips had another brilliant season, reaching the 25-goals-a-season mark despite spending several months of the season sidelined by injury. Highlights of 1998-99 included beating Tranmere Rovers 5-0 on 22 August 1998, the 7-0 demolition of Oxford United on 19 September 1998, gaining promotion at Bury after winning 5-2 on 13 April 1999, and the Championship party, winning 2-1 against Birmingham City on 9 May 1999 in a blaze of fireworks and rock 'n' roll courtesy of contemporary band Republica, performing live pre-match.

1999-2001: Strong comeback
Over the next two seasons, Sunderland finished seventh — just missing out on a place in European competition both times. With a team containing many international players, included some capped for England (Kevin Phillips, Gavin McCann, Michael Gray), Sunderland fans began to believe that the club had finally come out of the dark era and were re-established as a permanent top-flight club. Phillips won the European Golden Boot in his first top-flight season with Sunderland, scoring 30 goals. Average attendances at the Stadium of Light were some of the highest in the club's history.

The 1999-2000 season started with despair at Stamford Bridge as Sunderland were rocked by a 4-0 thumping at the hands of Chelsea on 7 August 1999. However, far from bringing Wearside back down to earth, Sunderland took it in their stride tearing the Premiership apart with forward-thinking, exciting football. Upon entering the new Millennium, Sunderland were sitting third in the Premiership table, having lost only three times between their opening day defeat at Chelsea. On their way surging up the table, Wearside turned the tables on Chelsea, avenging their 4-0 drubbing with a 4-1 win at the Stadium of Light on 4 December 1999. Other notable results saw the Mackems beat Spurs, Southampton, Watford, Aston Villa, Bradford City, Sheffield Wednesday, Leicester City and, famously, in a glorious night for Sunderland, a 2-1 victory over rivals Newcastle United in the rain at St. James' Park on 25 August 1999, which saw Alan Shearer relegated to the bench and Magpies boss Ruud Gullit lose his job. Manchester United and Arsenal also offered little resistance as they were held to draws on Wearside. After an inconsistent start to 2000, Sunderland dropped off the pace slightly and ended in seventh place, still a highly creditable finish on their return to the Premier League, and the club's highest league placing in over fifty years.

The 2000-01 season was much the same, and again the club ended the season the seventh best team in England, four places higher than Newcastle.

2001-2003: Slump
In 2001-02, however, the club narrowly avoided relegation. They were the lowest scoring team in the Premiership with just 28 goals. Despite this, nine more points would have seen them finish seventh. First hurdle exits from both cup competitions built up the pressure on Peter Reid.

In 2002-03 they finished bottom, with an English Premiership record low of 4 wins, 21 goals and 19 points. Peter Reid had been sacked in October and been replaced with Howard Wilkinson, with Steve Cotterill as his assistant. Wilkinson's reign was catastrophic, and he left the club after only six months in charge. Although Sunderland were outside the relegation area at Christmas with 18 points, poor performances (they only picked up one more point) and a series of 17 straight defeats (only better by Darwen in League history with 18 straight defeats) saw Sunderland relegated with a then-record low points total in the Premiership of 19 points.

Former Republic of Ireland manager Mick McCarthy came to the club in mid-March, and all he could do was make plans for the future as Sunderland's final 15 Premiership games all ended in defeat. In addition to relegation, heavy activity in the transfer market (including £10m paid for Tore André Flo and Marcus Stewart shortly before Reid's sacking) meant that Sunderland found itself in debt for more than £35 million, and the club was forced to sell many of its best players and close a number of club shops.

2003-2005: Rejuventation
In their first season back in the second-tier, McCarthy began to rebuild the squad with players mainly brought in from lower divisions. Despite the transition, Sunderland finished a respectable third, and only a penalty shoot-out defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace prevented them from reaching the playoff final. In the 2004-05 season, Sunderland finished top of the table in the Coca-Cola Championship, returning to the Premiership.

2005-2006: Another record breaking relegation
2005-06 was a torrid time for the Wearsiders. Sunderland, for the first time in their history, failed to win a home game before Christmas. Embarrassment was compounded when they were knocked out of the FA Cup at the 4th round stage by League One side Brentford. Manager Mick McCarthy was sacked in March, and replaced by caretaker manager Kevin Ball. Ball, a former club captain and fans' favourite, became the 30th man to take control in Sunderland's history, but the fourth in the last 4 years. He faced an almost impossible task of keeping Sunderland in the Premier League. The Black Cats' relegation to the Championship was sealed on 14 April by a scoreless draw against Manchester United at Old Trafford, leaving them on 12 points with five matches left to play and 17 points from any chance of safety.

Sunderland won their final home game of 2005-06 with a 2-1 win over Fulham, which prevented them from the suffering further humiliation of becoming the first English professional club to have gone a whole season without winning a single home game in the league.

2006 Keane and Quinn management
Sunderland began the 2006-07 with new backroom staff, as former player Niall Quinn, backed by the Drumaville Consortium, completed their £10m takeover of the club. Out-going chairman Bob Murray left Sunderland A.F.C. after two eventful decades in charge; above all else, he was responsible for the club's move to the Stadium of Light.

Quinn tempted former Manchester United and Republic of Ireland legend Roy Keane to take his first managerial post in charge of Sunderland amid national media frenzy. Sunderland had lost their first three games of the season before Keane's arrival, and they have improved drastically since then, finally reaching the playoff zone in February.

Sunderland did the unthinkable at the beginning of the season and secured a promotional spot to the Premier League with Birmingham. They then once again were crowned champions of the football league by beating Luton town 5-0 away as Birmingham lost 1-0 away to Preston North End.

2007 to present
Sunderland celebrated 10 years at the Stadium of Light with a 1-1 draw with Juventus, and prepared for the oncoming season as Roy Keane spent nearly 40 million on new players for the squad whilst also smashing the British transfer record for a goalkeeper with the 9 million pound transfer of Craig Gordon. Whilst other notable transfers included Andy Cole, Michael Chopra and Kieran Richardson. Sunderland's season took off with a 1-0 home shock victory against Tottenham, as Michael Chopra scored in the very last minute.

History of Middlesbrough F.C.

2007-09-19T15:33:00.000-07:00

Formation through to the Great War (1876-1914)
According to Boro folklore, the idea for forming the football club was suggested during a tripe supper at the Corporation Hotel, Middlesbrough, and while this has since been discovered by club historian Harry Glasper to be untrue, it is certainly true that like many football clubs of the time (such as Sheffield Wednesday), Middlesbrough F.C. were formed by members of the local cricket club wishing to stay fit during the winter. Indeed, it was at Albert Park on Linthorpe Road where players from Middlesbrough Amateur Cricket Club formed the fledgling team. The club retained its amateur status until 1899 when several members of Middlesbrough FC split to form Middlesbrough Ironopolis over a dispute. Both teams made their debuts as professional teams within a week of each other in December 1899.

After three years it was clear that both clubs were becoming more successful and club officials knew that only an amalgamation would give them a serious chance of a place in the Football League. On 7th May 1892 an application was made to the Football League under the name of Middlesbrough and Ironopolis Football and Athletic Company Ltd. The application failed and both clubs went their separate ways once more, as Middlesbrough FC reverted to their amateur status. They won the FA Amateur Cup in 1895 and again in 1898. The following year, 1899, Middlesbrough turned professional again in an attempt to gain entry to the Football League, and on 18th May 1899, backed by local neighbours Newcastle United and Sunderland, they were admitted to the Second Division, narrowly ahead of Blackpool.

Boro’s first season in the FL was not a success, as they failed to win an away game, finishing 14th out of 18 teams. The 1901-02 campaign saw Boro finish second, to gain promotion to the First Division, where they would play their home games in their new ground, Ayresome Park, with a North Stand designed by Archibald Leitch, that would be their home for the next 92 years. This was exactly next to Ironopolis's old stadium, known as The Paradise Ground.

By February 1905, Boro had not won an away game for two years, and in an attempt to remedy this the board sanctioned the controversial transfer of Alf Common for a then record fee of £1000. The following season, Steve Bloomer arrived from Derby County, and by 1907-08 Boro had secured their highest finish in the top division, finishing sixth, just two points behind champions Aston Villa.

National scandal was to follow in 1910, when Boro defeated local rivals Sunderland 1-0. It was to emerge after the match that Boro manager Andy Walker had offered Sunderland’s players the sum of £2 each to let Boro win the game. The Sunderland players told their manager and he took it further. Walker was given an indefinite suspension from the FL, and Middlesbrough’s season petered out to a drab conclusion. Four years later, Middlesbrough enjoyed their highest finish to date, as they ended the 1913-14 season in third place, before the First World War intervened.

Between the World Wars (1919-1939)
After the war, several players were too old to continue, and three had been killed in action. Before the season restarted, Boro were victorious in the Northern Victory League, and looked forward to competitive football again. While striker George Elliott and keeper Tim Williamson were still at the top of their game, the team's chance at the championship had faded and they finished mid-table. They remained there for the next few seasons, before finally slipping to relegation in 1923-24, finishing 22nd of 22, ten points adrift of their nearest rivals.

Three seasons later, they won the Division Two title, despite gaining only one point from their first four games. For their fifth game, injury meant George Camsell, signed from Third Division North side Durham City the previous season, got a start. He was to prove a revelation, and finished with a record 59 league goals, including nine hat tricks. He would continue as top scorer for each of the next ten seasons.

Although back in the top flight, the club didn't last long. Despite a good start to the season, Herbert Bamlett was replaced in January 1928, and replaced by former Spurs boss Peter McWilliam. However, following this, the club slipped to bottom of the table and were relagated. They bounced straight back the next season though, winning another Second Division title, remaining in the top flight after that until 1954.

After several seasons of milling around the bottom reaches of the table, 1936-37 saw the emergence of Wilf Mannion, whom Boro had signed from local club South Bank St Peter's. George Hardwick, who came from South Bank East End, also emerged. Both would go on to become England internationals in the years ahead. Boro rose to seventh that season, before moving to fifth, then up to fourth, their highest since before the First World War. Under former Grimsby boss Wilf Gallow, the club looked good to challenge for the 1939-40 title. In fact, Boro were second-bottom after three games, when war was declared, and broke up arguably their finest ever side.

A steady decline (1946-1966)
After the war, the club was unable to recover the form of the previous seasons and hovered around mid-table and the early rounds of the FA Cup. With Jamaican-born Lindy Delapenha playing on the wing, Boro climbed to ninth in 1949-50. The next season, nearing Christmas, Boro headed the First Division table, but a 1-0 defeat at Leeds knocked confidence and they slipped to sixth. Midway through the season, Hardwick also left the club to become player-manager of Oldham, and afterwards the team began to falter, eventually falling to relagation in 1953-54.

Their first season began awfully, but they managed to recover and finish 12th. A 6-0 win over West Ham and a 9-0 defeat to Blackburn showed it was a season of mixed results. Mannion had refused to sign a new contract upon relegation and was transferred to Hull City, where soon afterwards he disappeared into non-league football.

This was the start of a 20 year spell outside the top flight, but saw the emergence of another Middlesbrough great - Brian Clough. Making his debut in 1955-56, he helped the club to 14th place. From the next season, he started to establish himself in history. He rattled in the goals - 38 in that season, then 40, 43, 39 and 34, gaining his only two England caps in 1959-60, before inevitably leaving for arch-rivals Sunderland. After 204 goals in 222 games, he would be missed. Over that period, Boro maintained reasonable progress in the Second Division but never looked like gaining promotion.

After a 4th place finish in 1962-63, the only way for Boro was down. They finished 10th, 17th, then 21st. On the last day of the season, Middlesbrough needed a draw at Cardiff to stay up, who themselves needed a win to remain in the division. A hat-trick from makeshift striker Dickie Rooks couldn't help Boro, who went down 5-3, and were relegated to the Third Division for the first time.

Recovery, success and disaster (1966-1986)
It was new manager Stan Anderson's job to return the club to the second flight. After only two wins in their first ten games, fans thought the club was already on the way down to the Fourth Division, but Anderson turned it around and the team finished second. Gordon Jones was captain, and John Hickton arrived, both of whom would go on to be second and third respectively in the club's all time appearances table.

After regaining promotion to the Second Division, Boro were on good form. They wouldn't finish below ninth during the next eight seasons.[6] The FA Cup saw the club never get past the quarter-finals, a feat they were yet to accomplish in their history. John Hickton, converted from defence, was proving a revelation up front, while Willie Maddren made his debut in 1969, with John Craggs and Stuart Boam joining three seasons later. Jim Platt had also taken over in goal. With Graeme Souness joining soon after, the spine of the team to gain promotion to the First Division was there. Jack Charlton took over as manager and guided the team back to the top flight at last. They ensured promotion as early as 23 March, and with eight games of the season left, they became runaway champions, finishing with a record 65 points.

Middlesbrough spent the next eight seasons in the First Division, finishing 7th in 1974-75 and were generally a mid-table side in the seasons that followed. Some believe the side lacked the necessary firepower at the time to become serious contenders. However, the club's youth system turned out talent such as David Armstrong, Graeme Souness, Stan Cummins, Craig Johnston and Mark Proctor.

Back in the top flight, the team also gained some luck in the cups, albeit still not winning anything. In 1974-75, Boro reached the sixth round of the FA Cup and the quarter finals of the League Cup. The next season, they reached the semi final of the League Cup, where they lost 4-1 on aggregate to Manchester City. 1975-76 however was when Boro won their first silverware as a professional side, lifting the Anglo-Scottish Cup in its first season after a two-legged final win over Fulham.

After four seasons in charge, Charlton resigned as boss following three mid-table finishes, with John Neal taking over. In his first season, Boro should have reached the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time, but Second Division Leyton Orient managed to take them to a home replay and win. The league form never saw the club climb out of mid-table however.

After eleven years at the club, David Mills was sold for a then national record of £482,222 to West Bromwich Albion in 1979. Neal left in 1981 and Bobby Murdoch took over. That same year Proctor, Johnston and Armstrong all left the club. Dutch midfielder Heini Otto was signed from FC Twente. The 1981/82 season saw Middlesbrough relegated in last place.

In February 1982, chairman Charles Amer and his son Kevin, a director, left the club to be replaced by George Kitching. That season saw Middlesbrough suffer a disappointing relegation back to the Second Division. With Murdoch still as manager, and, after appearing at the World Cup, Jim Platt as captain, led Boro into another disappointing season. In a season in which Tony Mowbray made his debut, the defence was leaking goals. Murdoch was asked to resign, Kitching stepped down to be replaced by Mike McCullagh, and Malcolm Allison became manager. The club eventually finished 16th. Platt left at the end of that season and Stephen Pears came in on loan from Manchester United.

Serious financial problems were now staring Boro in the face. Allison was being pressured into off-loading star players and matters came to a head in March 1984 when he claimed it was "Better for the club to die than to linger slowly on its deathbed". This saw Allison kicked out and replaced by Willie Maddren, temporarily with some help from Jack Charlton. Middlesbrough were dropping down the table though, finising 19th in 1984-85.

On the opening day of 1985-86, Maddren named four debutants in the team that lost 3-0 to Wimbledon, one of whom was Gary Pallister. The cups were not going well either, and Boro were getting knocked out in the early rounds with alarming regularity. McCullagh left the club and was replaced by Alf Duffield, another change in chairmanship. In 1986, Maddren left to be replaced by coach Bruce Rioch. In April the club, fighting for its existance, had to borry £30,000 from the Professional Footballers' Association to pay wages. The final game of the season saw Boro relagated to the Third Division once more.

A near death experience (1986)
On 21 May 1986, the club called in the Provisional Liquidator and shortly afterwards, the club was wound up. In August, Rioch and 29 other non-playing staff were sacked by the Official Receiver and the gates to Ayresome Park were padlocked. Some players left, while others stayed under Rioch and coach Colin Todd. Without the £350,000 capital required for Football League registration, the death of the club was announced on Tyne Tees Television, and it seemed inevitable that the club would fold permanently. However, Steve Gibson, a member of the board at the time, brought together a consortium involving Bulkhaul Limited, ICI, Scottish and Newcastle Breweries and London businessman Henry Moszkowicz. With ten minutes to spare, Middlesbrough F.C. avoided missing the deadline and completed their registration with the Football League for the 1986-87 season with both a change of crest to the current version and a change of name to Middlesbrough Football and Athletic Club (1986) Ltd. With the gates to Ayresome Park having been closed by the baliffs, Middlesbrough were forced to play their opening game of the season at Hartlepool United's home ground, Victoria Park.

Rioch revival... and more ups and downs (1986 - 1994)
Manager Bruce Rioch and his players pulled together after the takeover and with his young squad including Boro legends Colin Cooper, Gary Pallister and Tony Mowbray finished second in the Third Division behind A.F.C. Bournemouth to win automatic promotion to the Second Division. A year later they won the Second Division promotion/First Division relegation playoffs, after defeating First Division Chelsea to send them down, and achieved a second successive promotion which landed them in the First Division.

Middlesbrough showed promise in 1988-89 and fought themselves to a mid-table place, but a form slump in the second half of the season culminated in relegation on the final day- they had not occupied a relegation place that season before then. Gary Pallister was sold to Manchester United for a then national record transfer fee of £2.3 million[16].Their dismal form continued into the following season and a second successive relegation looked on the cards. Rioch was subsequently dismissed in March 1990 and his successor Colin Todd just managed to save Boro from the drop. The same season saw Middlesbrough play in their first Wembley cup final, suffering a 0-2 defeat to Chelsea in the Zenith Data Systems Cup. The team was led out at Wembley by an unfit Tony Mowbray.

1990-91 saw Boro's form improve substantially and a seventh place finish was enough to qualify for the playoffs - this time four promotion places were up for grabs because the First Division was re-expanding to 22 clubs for the 1991-92 season. But the promotion dream was ended in the semi-finals when Boro lost to eventual playoff winners Notts County. Todd left soon afterwards and was succeeded by Charlton's Lennie Lawrence.

Lawrence's first season at the helm was a success, with Boro reaching the League Cup semi finals for the second time and most significantly finishing runners-up in the Second Division - booking their place in the inaugural Premier League.

Boro were mid table in the Premiership come Christmas 1992, but a run of seven defeats beginning in February dragged them down the table and they were relegated after losing their penultimate game of the season. The board kept faith in Lawrence but he resigned a year later after failing to achieve promotion back to the Premiership.

Robson revolution (1994 - 2001)
Lawrence's successor was 37-year-old player-manager Bryan Robson, who had just ended an illustrious 13-year playing career with Manchester United F.C. and was a former England captain. With assistant manager Viv Anderson, Boro spent big and brought in players like club record signing at the time Neil Cox for £1 million, club captain Nigel Pearson and Norwegian striker Jan Age Fjortoft. His first season was a great success and Boro lifted the Division One title and getting promoted back to the Premiership after a two-year exile. 1994-95 was the club's last season at Ayresome Park, from which they were relocating after 92 years to their new home at the Riverside Stadium on the banks of the River Tees.

Boro went on a massive spending spree after their promotion to the Premiership, paying £5.25million for 21-year-old Tottenham Hotspur F.C. winger Nick Barmby and £4.75million for 22-year-old Brazilian midfielder Juninho Paulista. The policy looked to have paid off as Boro stood fourth in the Premiership in October, but a terrible run of form followed and they slid to 12th place in the final table. Boro's dismal away form - just 8 goals in 19 games - also helped end their dreams of European football.

Robson paid £7m for Juventus striker Fabrizio Ravanelli and £4m for Brazilian midfielder Emerson for the following season, but Boro spent the season battling relegation instead of chasing a top-five finish. Their difficult task was compouded by a deduction of three points imposed just after Christmas, as punishment for the club's failure to fulfill a fixture against Blackburn Rovers F.C.. The club's explanation was that so many squad members had been hit by a flu virus that it could not field a competitive team; however the Football Association rejected this explanation after allegedly telling the team to do this saying that they would not be punished, effectively a stab in the back by the FA.

Meanwhile, Boro were building up an impressive cup run and reached the first senior cup final of their history in March, where they faced Leicester City F.C. in the League Cup. The deadlock was not broken until extra time, when Fabrizio Ravanelli's goal looked to have secured the trophy for Boro. But Leicester then scored an equaliser and went on to win the replay, through a goal from Steve Claridge.

Boro's three point deduction eventually cost them their Premiership status and they were relegated on the final day of the season after a draw at Elland Road. A week later they lost 2-0 to Chelsea F.C. in the FA Cup final and became the first English club to lose both major cup finals and be relegated from the top division in the same season. Despite these setbacks, Juninho still managed to finish as runner-up in the Footballer of the Year award to Gianfranco Zola.

The board kept faith in Robson and they were rewarded with promotion back to the Premiership as Division One runners-up the following season. While Emerson, Ravanelli and Juninho were all sold, new players such as Paul Merson, Marco Branca and Mark Schwarzer were brought in, helping the club not only gain promotion at the first attempt. Such was Merson's form that he was the only player from outside the top flight to be picked for England's World Cup 98 squad that year. Amazingly, Boro reached the League Cup final for the second consecutive year, unfortunately once again losing to their opponents, Chelsea, 1-0 after extra time.

During this period, Robson also acted as a coach to the England team under Terry Venables. Two more secure mid-table finishes followed, but Boro found themselves battling relegation come the 2000-01 season. Venables was appointed to work alongside Robson and they comfortably avoided the drop.

Reaching new heights under McClaren (2001 - 2006)
In the 2001 close season, Robson left the club by mutual agreement and was replaced by Steve McClaren - the Manchester United assistant manager who was regarded as one of the finest coaches in Europe and was also one of the most prominent coaches in the England team. Players such as Franck Queudrue, Michael Wilson, Jonathan Greening and £6 million signing Gareth Southgate were brought in to refresh the squad and blended with promising youth players such as Luke Wilkshire and Robbie Stockdale. His first season saw Boro finish 12th in the Premiership and reach the FA Cup semi finals.

The 2002-03 season held high hopes. After the promise showed in the previous season, fan favourite Juninho returned to the club for a third spell alongside George Boateng and Massimo Maccarone, an £8.15 million signing from Empoli and Italy's first player to be capped having never played in Serie A, was brought in to increase the firepower available to McClaren. Geremi from Real Madrid was also signed in on loan. Pre-season results were encouraging, but a cruciate ligament injury to Juninho just before the start of the season was a massive setback for the club. An 11th place finish followed, a marginal improvement on the previous season's finish but slightly disappointing considering Middlesbrough's early season form suggested that they could qualify for Europe.

The following season, 2003-04, was easily the best in the club's history. While Geremi opted to sign for Chelsea, Boudewijn Zenden, Danny Mills, and Gaizka Mendieta were brought in on loan to boost the squad. Success was to follow as they finally won a major trophy after beating Bolton Wanderers 2-1 in the League Cup final. This success also ensured that Boro would qualify for Europe - the UEFA Cup - for the first time. The season ended on a disappointing note as they were convincingly beaten 5-1 by Portsmouth on the final day - one week after they had beaten Manchester United at Old Trafford - but qualification for Europe more than made up for this.

The following season started very well, hovering around the top six until November, but a horrendous number of injuries almost sucked them into mid-table and out of the UEFA-cup qualifying places. UEFA cup qualification was eventually achieved after a 1-1 draw with Manchester City F.C. at the City of Manchester Stadium. If City had won then they would have qualified in Boro's place, and they almost made it when they where awarded a penalty kick in the final minute, but Mark Schwarzer saved Robbie Fowler's spot kick. In their inaugaral UEFA Cup run, Middlesbrough performed brightly but were eventually knocked out in the fourth round by Sporting Lisbon.

2005-06 was a mixed season for Middlesbrough. Dismal mid-season form saw them sucked into the bottom half of the Premiership, and at one stage they looked in real danger of being relegated (notably after their 7-0 loss to Arsenal), although a subsequent recovery — which included a 3-0 win over eventual champions Chelsea — saw them finish fourteenth. In McClaren's last Premiership game against Fulham, Steve picked an all English 16 with 15 of the players (except Malcolm Christie) coming from the local area and the average age of the team was less than 20 making it the youngest ever Premiership side[25]. Lee Cattermole was the captain for that match making himself Middlesbrough's youngest ever captain of the first team. To complete the set the team was the the first all English starting line-up since Bradford City's in 1999 and the first all English matchday squad since Aston Villa's in 1998 to play in the Premiership.

On 27 April 2006, Middlesbrough reached the UEFA Cup final in Eindhoven, with a victory over FC Steaua Bucureşti 4-3 on aggregate in stunning fashion, being 3-0 down on aggregate after 25 minutes of the second leg. This was the second time in the competition that 'Boro found themselves 3-0 down after 25 mins of the return leg and yet still going through as they beat FC Basel 4-3 in the Quarter Finals. Boro fans watched from the stands as their Middlesbrough team lost 4-0 in the final to Sevilla FC. Trailing Sevilla 0-1 at the break, McClaren opted for a very attacking line-up for the second half with four strikers, which had worked to great effect in the quarter and semi-finals. Middlesbrough were unlucky not to be awarded a penalty after what looked like a rather clumsy shove on Mark Viduka in the box. Nevertheless, Middlesbrough were forced to push on in desperate search of an equaliser. The final scoreline somewhat flattered Sevilla and did not accurately reflect the overall nature of the game. Whilst playing in European matches, a popular chant amongs Middlesbrough fans was "We're just a small town in Europe".

Southgate takes over (2006 - present)
On 4 May, McClaren was chosen to take over as the manager of the England national team after the 2006 World Cup. Martin O'Neill, Tony Mowbray and Alan Curbishley had been linked with the manager's job at Middlesbrough, with Steve Gibson expecting whoever took over to achieve a Champions League place in the near future. Gibson then looked within his own club and decided to make club captain Gareth Southgate the next manager of Middlesbrough F.C. Southgate signed a five-year contract and decided to finish his playing career, at the age of 35, to focus entirely on his new job. This made him the second youngest manager in the Premiership at the time. His appointment was controversial as he does not currently possess the coaching qualifications required to manage a Premiership football club. However, at a Premier League meeting on November 22, 2006, Southgate was granted a dispensation to continue in his role until the end of the season, during which time it was announced that he will study for the Uefa Pro A Licence.

George Boateng was appointed captain. Several players, including Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Franck Queudrue and Doriva left the club in the summer while left sided Argentine Julio Arca was signed from local rivals Sunderland A.F.C for a fee of £1.75m, and young Frenchman Herold Goulon from Olympique Lyonnais on a three year deal.

Southgate's competitive debut started with a 3-2 defeat to newly promoted Reading.After a 4-0 loss against Portsmouth, Southgate signed two international defenders to strengthen up his backline. England international Jonathan Woodgate joined his home-town team on loan from Real Madrid, Chelsea's German international centreback Robert Huth, and Charlton Athletic's Jamaican international striker Jason Euell were all signed in the closing days of the transfer window.

First Team coach Steve Round left the club on 15 December 2006 following a "difference in philosophy and ideas" with Gareth Southgate, and was replaced by Colin Cooper.

Lee Dong-Gook arrived from Pohang Steelers in the January transfer window, while Ray Parlour, Ugo Ehiogu and Massimo Maccarone all left the club for free.

Middlesbrough's form in 2006-07 was indifferent. Positive results such as a surprising home victory over reigning Premier League Champions Chelsea were coupled with the team losing away from home to all three newly promoted Premiership sides this season. Indeed, they registered their first away win of the season at struggling Charlton in mid-January, their first away win since April of the year before. They comprehensively beat Bolton Wanderers 5-1 at home in January, their biggest victory of the season. Middlesbrough eventually finished twelfth in league on 46 points, with the fact that they were 8 points away from a UEFA Cup spot and 8 points away from getting relegated neatly summing up their season.

In the cups, Boro suffered an embarrassing home defeat in the Carling Cup to Football League Two side Notts County in the second round. Their F.A. Cup run was decidedly longer, although this was partly due to them being taken to a replay in every round they played. Middlesbrough were eventually knocked out by champions-elect Manchester United at Old Trafford after a narrow 1-0 defeat in their quarter-final replay.

History of Birmingham City F.C.

2007-09-19T15:29:00.000-07:00

Birmingham were founded as Small Heath Alliance in 1875. The club turned professional in 1885, and in 1892 joined The Football League as founder members of the Football League Second Division. In their first season Small Heath were Second Division champions, but were denied promotion after losing test matches against Newton Heath. The following season promotion was secured after a second place finish and a test match victory over Darwen.

In 1905, a proposal was made to rename the club Birmingham City F.C., as they were the only Football League club in the city since Birmingham St George's folded in 1892. However the shareholders were not in favour, so the club became plain Birmingham Football Club instead. They moved to their current ground, St Andrews, a year later.

In 1931 the club reached the final of the FA Cup for the first time, but were defeated 2-1 by West Bromwich Albion. The 1950s saw Birmingham record their highest ever league finish, Arthur Turner's side ending the 1955-56 season in sixth position[5] in the first of ten consecutive seasons in the top flight. In the same season the club reached the FA Cup final for the second time, losing 3-1 to Manchester City. In 1963 the club reached a third major cup final, and this time were victorious, beating local rivals Aston Villa 3-1 on aggregate to win the League Cup.

The club spent the 70s and early 80s moving between the top two divisions.

Birmingham City suffered relegation from the top division at the end of the 1985-86 season. Their two following seasons in the Second Division were unsuccessful and they were finally relegated to the Third Division for the first time ever at the end of the 1988-89 season. They won promotion as Third Division runners-up three years later, at the end of the 1991-92 season, so they would find themselves members of the new Division One for the 1992-93 season. However, they were relegated from Division One at the end of the 1993-94 season (losing on goal difference to neighbours West Bromwich Albion) despite a managerial change halfway through the season in which Terry Cooper was replaced with Barry Fry.

Fry guided Birmingham to the Division Two championship and victory in the Auto Windscreens Trophy in 1994-95, but was sacked one year later after a promising 1995-96 campaign had faded away to a 15th place finish in Division One, Fry was one of the greatest characters to have managed Birmingham City and was famous for his runs along the line when the Blues had scored. His successor Trevor Francis remained in charge at Birmingham until October 2001, during which time Birmingham qualified for the playoffs in three consecutive seasons - in the 1997/98 season, Birmingham finished 7th, and missed out on the playoffs by the Goals For rule, despite having a greater goal difference, the Goal Difference rule was brought in the following season - and were on the losing side to Liverpool in the League Cup final. Francis's successor, Steve Bruce, helped Birmingham qualify for the 2001-02 Division One promotion playoffs where they defeated Norwich City (thanks to a winning penalty by Darren Carter) to win promotion to the Premier League for the first time in two decades.

Their first season in the Premiership saw Birmingham City finish impressively in 13th place. After signing French international Christophe Dugarry and others, they also defeated rivals Aston Villa home and away during the 2002-03 campaign. Birmingham City got off to a strong start in the 2003-04 season, staying in the top four for the first month and after six weeks had statistically the best defence in the division. Good form lasted until the last fourteen or so games, when the Blues stumbled and ended the season on a run of seven games without a win to finish in 10th. This dramatic drop in form coincided with the departure from the club of coach Mark Bowen.

Unfortunately, key striker Forssell injured his knee in the early part of the 2004-05 season, and this left the Blues struggling for in-form strikers. The Blues ended up finishing in 12th place.

Birmingham City entered the 2005-06 season with high expectations after finally sealing permanent deals for Mikael Forssell, Jermaine Pennant, Mehdi Nafti and Walter Pandiani. Nicky Butt also joined on a year-long loan deal from Newcastle United and Jiri Jarosik also joined on a season long loan from Chelsea. After a string of poor results, including losing twice to local rivals Aston Villa, the season that promised so much ended in relegation. The club then sold or released several players in an effort to reduce the wage bill.

After an initial strong start to the 2006-07 season with Birmingham hovering around first and second in the league, the club suffered a winless period that led to calls within the media for the removal of Bruce as manager after the club dropped to 9th in the league. However, their form soon improved and they returned to the top of the league in March.

On April 29, 2007 Birmingham and Sunderland both clinched promotion back to the Premiership at the first attempt when Derby lost 2-0 to Crystal Palace, with former Birmingham player Clinton Morrison scoring the opening goal. However Birmingham's failure to beat Preston North End in their final game meant that Sunderland secured the Championship title with their win over Luton Town.

Manager Steve Bruce has prepared for the 2007-08 Premier League season with the acquisitions of England Under 19's captain Fabrice Muamba, ex-Middlesbrough utility man Stuart Parnaby, Scotland and ex-Lokomotiv Moscow striker Garry O'Connor, former Juventus midfielder Olivier Kapo, Holland U-21 winger Daniël de Ridder, French defender Franck Queudrue, Aston Villa centre-back Liam Ridgewell, and Ghana goalkeeper Richard Kingson . The Blues have also secured the services of Lille's Brazilian defender Rafael Schmitz on a one year loan deal.

Deals for Tottenham's Egyptian internationals Mido and Hossam Ghaly both collapsed after appearing to have been completed. The bid to sign Mido ended due to an unspecified contract clause dispute, whilst Ghaly's transfer was halted after a training ground bust-up. He had actually been training with Blues for three days, in anticipation of his work permit application being approved. However, following the argument on the training ground, Birmingham used the fact that his work permit had not yet been approved - hence, he was still officially a Tottenham player - to cancel the deal.

On July 16, 2007, Hong Kong-based businessman Carson Yeung bought 29.9% of the club, making him the biggest single shareholder.[6]

The Blues in Europe
In 1956 Birmingham City became the first English club side to compete in Europe when they took part in the 1955-58 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup via invitation. The rule at the time specified one team per city invited. Some cities, including London, chose to enter teams comprising players from more than one club; Aston Villa decided not to supply players to a combined team, leaving the Blues as the city of Birmingham's representative.

Blues took part in the competition on four separate occasions between 1956 and 1962. Blues were unbeaten in the 12 home games. Of the 51 goals scored, Johnny Gordon netted 7, Jimmy Harris and Harry Hooper five apiece and Bunny Larkin and Bryan Orritt four each. The goals were divided among 19 players, including an Inter Milan defender Balleri.

Trevor Smith appeared in the most European games for Blues - 18. Brian Farmer and Johnny Watts each played 17 matches.

The biggest away crowd was that of 75,000 for the 2nd leg of the Final on the 4th of May 1960 at the Nou Camp against Barcelona. An audience of 60,000 witnessed the second leg of the semi final clash with the Catalan side in November 1957 and a similar crowd saw the clash between Barca's city neighbours RCD Espanyol in November of 1961. The biggest crowd seen at St Andrews (in European competition) was that of 40,524 for the first leg of the Blues-Barca final in March 1960.

In April 1961 Blues became the first English side to beat Internazionale (Inter Milan) at the San Siro, winning by two goals to one, goals from Jimmy Harris and Inter defender Balleri, in the semi final first leg of that season competition. Blues also won the return leg at St Andrews 2-1 with goals from Jimmy Harris and Bertie Auld.

Crest
The club changed its name from Small Heath Alliance to Birmingham in 1905 and the city's coat of arms also became the club's crest. In 1971 the famous "penguin" kit was first worn. This featured a Glasgow Rangers style "BCFC" on the shirts. In 1972 the current club badge (the globe and ball) was introduced, replacing the city's coat of arms (25/3/72) . It was the winning entry of a competition organised in the Sports Argus newspaper and was designed by a local supporter, Mr Michael Wood of Burntwood, near Walsall, West Midlands. The BCFC was still worn on club shirts until 1975 with the new badge being used on the club shirts for the first time in the 1976/77 season.

In the early 1990s colour was added for the first time to the globe and ball badge but it only lasted for a few seasons. When Blues hero Trevor Francis returned as manager in 1996, the club reverted the Rangers style BCFC badge, but it only lasted for a season and Birmingham City went back to the globe and ball badge -- which is still worn on the present day shirts.

When Birmingham City started to play football (as Small Heath Alliance) the club colours were dark blue shirts with a white sash and white shorts. In 1883-84 they changed to wearing plain blue shirts and white shorts and in 1889-90 turned out in black shirts with gold colour and cuffs and white shorts.

The very next season (1890-91) the Blues players donned light blue shirts with a dark blue trim and white shorts and this design was to stay until 1914-15 when royal blue shirts with a central white 'V replaced were introduced.

This held firm until 1927-28 when a plain royal blue shirt and white shorts came into being. During the 1930s and '40s, Blues wore traditional white collared shirts with a button-up neckline, although before the War the colour blue was a fraction lighter than it was during the forties. In the early to mid-1950s the club retained the blue shirt, white collar, white shorts design but in 1957-58 the 'V neck was introduced - and remained so until 1963 when the round neck took over (Blues still wearing white shorts).

In 1965 the large white band round the neckline disappeared, to be replaced soon afterwards by a much thinner one when Blues also donned matching blue shorts. But it was back to plain blue shirts in 1968-69 (with blue shorts) and this theme continued until 1971 when the first penguin strip was seen.

In 1975 it was back to blue shirts with a white collar and white shorts. The round neck was seen again in 1977 but in 1980 it was laced with a 'V.

A slight change in the overall design was effected during the early 80s (red socks were seen and there was a thin white strip visible on the shirt in 1984-85). A touch of red was forthcoming in the 1985-86 season (on the shoulder line) and in 1986-87 (for the very first time) Blues' shirts had a white band across the chest with white foldovers on the socks. Occasionally they also played in a lighter blue shirt with a dark blue band across the chest.

In 1989-90 (under Dave Mackay) and with Mark One flashing across the front, the shirts comprised two broad flashes on each shoulder but it was soon done away with and back to blue shirts, white collars and cuffs and white shorts as the 1990s arrived.

A patterned blue shirt was seen in 1992-93 and a distinctive design on the sleeves appeared the following season before it was back to a traditional blue shirt with a small tucked in white band under the chin for the Barry Fry era. Then, when Trevor Francis came back to St Andrew's, Blues switched to a similar penguin-design shirt (like Francis and his colleagues wore in the early '70s) with a white body, blue sleeves and neckline and white shorts.

However it was back to blue shirts with white trimmings in 1997-98 thereafter it has been a more plainer design with a designer-strip down each arm.

Blues' change strips over the years, have varied considerably with players wearing matching white shirts and shorts to white shirts and black shorts, all red, black and red halved shirts, red and black stripes with black (and sometimes white) shorts, all yellow, yellow shirts with black shorts, blue and yellow shirts and yellow shorts and even a green and yellow combination.

It was announced on 8th March that Umbro would be the new kit manufacturers from 2007-2010. Umbro's first home kit is yet another return to the penguin strip. The new away kit is predominantly white with blue trim and this year blues will also feature in a mainly red third kit. All kits include The Blues new main sponsor F&C Investments.

History of Aston Villa F.C.

2007-09-19T15:16:00.000-07:00

Formation by Villa Cross Cricketers (1874-1880)
Aston Villa Football Club was formed in March 1874 by members of the Villa Cross Wesleyan Chapel in Aston, now part of Birmingham. Members of the Aston Villa cricket team were looking for a way to stay fit during the winter months and decided to adopt the new sport of football. The four founders of Aston Villa were Jack Hughes, Frederick Matthews, Walter Price and William Scattergood. Aston Villa's first match was against the local Aston Brook St Mary's Rugby team and as a condition of the match, the Villa side had to agree to play the first half under rugby rules and the second half under football rules. Villa managed to hold St Mary's to a scoreless draw up to half time and in the second half won the historic affair by one goal, scored by Jack Hughes. Villa won their first honour, the Birmingham Senior Cup in 1880, under the captaincy of Scotsman George Ramsay.

Rise to prominence (1881-1892)
The club won its first FA Cup in 1887, under the captaincy of another Scotsman, Archie Hunter. English football had become professional in 1885. However, the Scottish draper and director of Aston Villa, William McGregor had become frustrated with watching his team in one-sided friendly matches and low attendances for all games but FA Cup ties. He saw that in order to keep interest in the game alive the top teams needed to play each other in a league much like American baseball teams did. So he wrote to the twelve leading clubs in England proposing the formation of a league. The reason the Football League was never called the English League is because McGregor intended Scottish and Welsh teams to join eventually. Welsh teams (most notably Cardiff City) did so but Scottish teams did not. Naturally, Aston Villa were one of the dozen teams that competed in the inaugural Football League in 1888. September 8 1888 saw Villa's Football League debut - a 1-1 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers as Tom Green scored the club's first League goal. Villa finished runners-up to Preston in that inaugural season.

Victorian and Edwardian golden age (1893-WWI)
It did not take long for Villa to lift their first League Championship trophy, and this was achieved in 1893-94. This would signal the start of Aston Villa's 'Golden Age' and by the start of the First World War the club had won the League Championship six times and the FA Cup five times, including in 1896-97, a League and Cup Double, a feat which would not be repeated for more than 60 years. The captain during this era was John Devey.

Villa attracted such big crowds that a new ground was needed. The club could regularly expect 25,000 people to attend home games, at a time when the FA Cup Final would attract only about 20,000. The League and FA Cup winners had previously played at Wilson Road (Birchfields), then Villa in 1876 moved to their first proper home and the Perry Barr ground was taken on a three-year lease at a rent of £7 10s for the first year, rising to £15 and £20 in subsequent years, where they stayed until 1897. In 1897, Villa's influential financial secretary, Frederick Rinder, negotiated the purchase of their current home ground, the Aston Lower Grounds. It would be a number of years before it was officially known as Villa Park.

Footballing giants of inter-war years (1920-1935)
Although they remained a major force after the war, winning their sixth FA Cup in 1920, the club began a slow decline. This can be attributed in large part to a complacency which culminated in the unthinkable, the most famous and successful football club in the world being relegated to the Second Division in 1936. However, throughout the 1920s and into the 1930s the club had many fine international players (in 1933-34 Villa had no fewer than fourteen full internationals) and continued to challenge for honours, Villa were FA Cup runners-up in 1924 and second in the League in 1931 and 1933. Throughout this period the Villa Park crowds were entertained with attacking football and goals galore, in season 1930-31 Tom 'Pongo' Waring scored 49 of Aston Villa's 128 league goals, which is still a record team total for the top division. However Villa were denied the title by the sensational Arsenal team of the 1930s.

Harder times (1936-1957)
The club's decision to appoint their first manager coincided with relegation for the first time in 1935-36. This was largely due a dismal defensive record, they conceded 110 goals, 7 of them coming from Arsenal's Ted Drake in the infamous 1-7 defeat at Villa Park. However 'The Grand Old Man' of football was crowned Second Division Champions in 1937-38 under the guidance of Jimmy Hogan; Aston Villa were back where they belonged by the outbreak of World War II. Seven seasons were lost and many careers were finished due to the conflict and Aston Villa went about rebuilding the team under the guidance of former player, Alex Massie. Massie made some bold signings in his time with the club known more than that of the 23-year-old Wales international Trevor Ford from Swansea for £9,500.

The remainder of the 1940s and the 1950s saw Villa try to re-establish themselves as a top team. However, Villa could only be described as average during this period, although they had some good players and attendances were high. Season 1956-57 saw Villa go on an unexpected FA Cup run that would culminate in them defeating the 'Busby Babes' of Manchester United in the final. It was Aston Villa's first trophy for 37 years.

Mid-century (1958-1966)
However this success proved to be a false dawn with the team finishing 14th in the league the following season. Eric Houghton was sacked (after refusing to resign) when relegation loomed in 1958-59. His successor Joe Mercer was unable to prevent the club being relegated for the second time in 1959. Again a complacency had set in at the club - the famous Aston Villa had won the FA Cup for a record seventh time - this only served to fuel the belief that Villa were too good to go down. A return to the top flight was assured however in 1960 when Villa were crowned Second Division Champions. Season 1960-61 saw Villa win the inaugural League Cup and finish respectably in the league, this was achieved with an exciting nucleus of youth players who became known as 'Mercer's Minors'.

1960s: Decline and fall (1967–1970)
The slow decline continued throughout the 1960s due to a deep seated malaise; the club had failed to adapt to the new football reality, they had a non-existent scouting network, coaching was conducted in the same way as it had been 40 years earlier and the 5 man board contained 3 members over the age of 70. It was the board who decided that they could not refuse offers for their two most valuable players, Phil Woosnam and Tony Hateley. Without them Villa were in real trouble and were relegated for the third time, under manager Dick Taylor in 1967. The fans' calls for the board to resign became more and more urgent when Villa finished 16th in the Second Division in 1968. In an attempt to avert relegation to the Third Division, the manager, Tommy Cummings was given £200,000 to spend on new players, and with supporters boycotting Villa's home games in protest at the board, debts mounted. Events on the pitch came to a head in November 1968, with Villa lying at the bottom of Division Two; the board sacked Cummings and within weeks the entire board resigned due to overwhelming pressure from fans. After much speculation, control of the club was bought by London financier Pat Matthews, he also brought in Doug Ellis as chairman and Tommy Docherty as manager.

Rebuilding (1971–1976)
However, despite breathing new life into the club and initial success, Docherty was unable to lift the team out of the danger zone and he was sacked after just a year in charge. His successor Vic Crowe, was unable to prevent Aston Villa from being relegated to the third tier of English football for the first time in its history. Nevertheless, the following season Villa reached the League Cup final after beating Manchester United in the semi-final. They were eventually defeated in the final by two late Tottenham goals.

In 1971–72 they were crowned Third Division champions at the end of a season which saw Third Division record attendances at Villa Park. The team narrowly missed out on a second successive promotion when they finished third on their return to Second Division football in 1972–73. However the following season Villa struggled and Doug Ellis sacked Crowe, replacing him with Ron Saunders.

Back amongst the elite (1977–1981)
Aston Villa's centenary season provided the double success of a League Cup final victory over Norwich and promotion to the First Division after an absence of eight seasons in 1974–75. Villa were back and due to their League Cup success were in Europe for the first time. Although Villa were knocked out in the first round by Antwerp, Saunders was assembling a team that would go on to win the European Cup seven years later. Villa won the League Cup again in 1977 by beating Everton after two final replays. The following season saw Villa reach the quarter-final of the UEFA Cup where they held their own against Spanish giants, Barcelona. That night, at the Nou Camp, the nightmare of the previous 10 years were finally laid to rest; Aston Villa were back amongst the footballing elite.

Villa won their first League Championship for 71 years, fighting off competition from Liverpool and Ipswich, in 1980–81 under the managership of Ron Saunders. This was truly remarkable as Villa only used 14 playing staff used in the whole season. It was a side brimming with talent such as midfield dynamo Gordon (Sid) Cowans; skillful winger Tony Morley; Captain Dennis Mortimer; and the strikeforce partnership of Peter Withe and local lad, Gary Shaw. To everyone's surprise, Saunders quit halfway through the 1981–82 season, (after falling out with the chairman), with Villa in the quarter final of the European Cup. He was replaced by his softly-spoken assistant manager Tony Barton.

Champions of Europe (1982-83)
On 26 May 1982, just three months after being appointed manager, Barton guided Villa to a 1–0 victory over Bayern Munich in the European Cup final in Rotterdam after beating FC Valur, Dynamo Berlin, Dinamo Kiev and RSC Anderlecht over two legs. Villa remain to this day one of only four English teams to have won the European Cup, along with Liverpool, Manchester United and Nottingham Forest. While Peter Withe scored the winner in the 67th minute, the key player that night was Nigel Spink, the 23-year-old reserve goalkeeper who had only played one match for the club in five years since joining from Chelmsford. First-choice keeper Jimmy Rimmer suffered a shoulder injury and was substituted after just 10 minutes. But Spink went on to make a number of fine saves in the game from the lethal Bayern strikeforce, which included Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. Other key players in this Villa side included Tony Morley, Gordon Cowans and Dennis Mortimer.

Rapid decline (1984–1987)
Barton remained in charge for two seasons after the European Cup triumph, but was sacked at the end of 1983–84 despite Villa having finished tenth in the First Division and having reached the semi-finals of the League Cup. In came Shrewsbury Town manager Graham Turner as his successor. Turner was unable to reverse the decline, and in 1986 they narrowly avoided relegation to the Second Division. A terrible start to the following season saw Turner sacked halfway through September. Billy McNeill's reign at Villa Park was even more difficult and shorter lived than Turner's reign. He was unable to save Villa from relegation and they went down to the Second Division in bottom place, just five years after winning the European Cup. McNeill handed in his notice and moved to Celtic just after the end of the season. Chairman Doug Ellis persuaded Watford manager Graham Taylor to take over the reins and set about bringing good fortunes back to the club.

Good times return (1988-1991)
Taylor's first season at Villa ended in automatic promotion as Second Division runners-up, being pipped to the title by Millwall. A key player in the promotion-winning side was 22-year-old midfielder David Platt, a former Manchester United reserve who had been signed from Crewe Alexandra for £200,000 just after Taylor's arrival. Platt's impressive goalscoring record and Taylor's managerial know-how ensured that Villa avoided relegation in their first season back in the top flight, and the following season (1989–90) they emerged as surprise contenders for the title. For a few weeks during the second half of the season, Villa led the league but eventually finished in second place - nine points behind champions Liverpool. Taylor then departed for the England manager's job and was succeeded by Slovak coach Jozef Venglos - the first foreign manager in the First Division.

Venglos spent one season as manager of Aston Villa (1990–91). Having finished second in Division 1 the season previous, Villa went on to qualify for the UEFA Cup, and in turn be one of the first English clubs to enter European competition following the lifting of the ban following the Heysel disaster. Furthermore, they were the first English club to play in mainland Europe in a competitive match (against Banik Ostrava).[citation needed] The second round also brought arguably Villa's best result since the 1982 European Cup Final, by beating a star-studded Inter Milan side 2–0 at Villa Park. However, this lead was overturned by Inter in the return leg 3–0, and Villa were out. Venglos stepped down after they finished just two places above the First Division relegation zone and David Platt was sold to Italian side Bari for £5 million. Aston Villa's new manager was Ron Atkinson, who had achieved considerable success with West Bromwich Albion, Manchester United and more recently Sheffield Wednesday. Villa progressed to finish sixth in 1991–92 and book their place in the new Premier League.

Villa in the Premiership (1992–2006)
Atkinson spent heavily, making expensive additions to the squad including Earl Barrett, Dean Saunders, Andy Townsend, Dalian Atkinson, Kevin Richardson, Ray Houghton and Shaun Teale. The policy nearly paid off in 1993 when Aston Villa finished runners-up to Manchester United (Atkinson's old club) in the inaugural Premier League. During that season, the strike partnership of Saunders and Atkinson was an instant hit with the Villa Park faithful and established itself as one of the most feared partnerships in the Premiership.

Villa gained their revenge over United with a 3–1 League Cup final victory the following season (which prevented United from winning a unique domestic treble) to secure a second successive UEFA Cup campaign. It was fine compensation for Atkinson's men, who had finished tenth after a slump in league form. Atkinson was dismissed in November 1994 following a poor start to the season, just 18 months after they had almost won the league championship, secured a UEFA Cup place and secured their first trophy in a decade.

Atkinson's successor Brian Little did well to keep a demoralised team in the Premiership and in the summer of 1995 reshaped the squad by selling most of the club's older players and buying in many younger players. New arrivals included Alan Wright, Gary Charles, Ian Taylor, Mark Draper, Savo Milošević, Gareth Southgate and Tommy Johnson. Several home grown players were also progressing well, especially striker Dwight Yorke and defender Ugo Ehiogu.

Aston Villa made huge progress in 1995–96 under Brian Little. They won the League Cup, reached the FA Cup semi finals and finished fourth in the Premiership. Dwight Yorke was now establishing himself as a world class striker and other players like Ugo Ehiogu and Gareth Southgate were already gaining international recognition. Villa's form dipped slightly in 1996–97 and they finished fifth, but still qualified for the UEFA Cup.

Brian Little quit in February 1998 with Villa standing 15th in the Premiership, and his successor John Gregory, a former Aston Villa coach who had left to take charge of Wycombe Wanderers 18 months earlier, revitalised the club's fortunes and they finished seventh in the Premiership and qualified for the UEFA Cup; due to the progress of other teams in the top seven it was the first time that a seventh placed club had automatically qualified for the UEFA Cup.[citation needed]

Despite the £12.6million sale of Dwight Yorke to Manchester United in August 1998, John Gregory had guided Aston Villa to the top of the Premiership by the middle of the 1998–99 season. New signings Paul Merson and Dion Dublin were proving to be worth the money, while 18-year-old defender Gareth Barry was making a number of impressive performances. But Villa's form slipped during the final weeks and they finished sixth - not even enough for a UEFA Cup place.

Villa reached the FA Cup final in 2000 (for the first time since 1957), but lost 1–0 to Chelsea in a poor game. 2000–01 saw Villa finish eighth in the Premiership, although they did eventually qualify for the UEFA Cup after a successful campaign in the Intertoto Cup over the summer of 2001. Gregory quit the club in January 2002 with Villa occupying an increasingly familiar place around the middle of the Premiership.

Chairman Doug Ellis made a surprise decision to appoint Graham Taylor as manager for the second time after Gregory's sudden resignation in January 2002. Villa finished the 2001–02 season in eighth place, which was similar to most of their other Premiership finishes. Taylor quit as manager for the second time after the end of the 2002–03 season. Villa had just finished 16th in the Premiership, losing twice to arch rivals Birmingham City. Only their fine home form had saved them from relegation. Taylor's second reign at Villa had been little short of disastrous, and he had fielded, in the opinion of few, some of the least popular players ever to pull on the famous claret-and-blue shirt; Bosko Balaban signed by John Gregory on 24 August 2001 (who made eight substitute appearances in three seasons despite costing nearly £6million) and Alpay Özalan.

David O'Leary, who had taken Leeds United to the semi-finals of the 2000–01 Champions League, was drafted in as Taylor's replacement. After a poor start to the season, O'Leary transformed the team's fortunes and by Spring 2004 they were in contention for a UEFA Champions League place. But a 2–0 home defeat against Manchester United saw them finish sixth in the Premiership and narrowly miss out on a UEFA Cup place. O'Leary failed to build on the early promise and Villa's form dipped, managing to achieve only 10th place in 2004–05. The following season saw Villa slip even further, flirting dangerously close to relegation, finishing in 16th place with the worst points total in their Premiership history. The poor placing came despite O'Leary having spent more then £13million the previous summer on players such as Milan Baros, Kevin Phillips and Wilfred Bouma. The Aston Villa board were also displeased with O'Leary's decision to sell Peter Crouch to Southampton for a fee of £2million, a relatively low sum compared to the £5million payed to QPR for him two seasons earlier. What made the sale so controversial was that Crouch then went on to score an 16 goals in 33 appearances that season and was then sold to Liverpool for £7million.

Frustration within the club soon came to a head, when 14 July 2006 a group of Villa players took the unprecedented step of criticising the chairman's alleged parsimony and lack of ambition in an interview with a local newspaper. The club immediately dismissed the report as "ridiculous", but it emerged over the following few days that a group of senior players had indeed instigated the move, possibly with O'Leary's backing. The following week, David O'Leary left the club by mutual consent after three years as Aston Villa manager and his assistant Roy Aitken became caretaker manager.

Randy Lerner (2006-)
Doug Ellis introduced Martin O'Neill to over a thousand jubilant fans and the press as the Aston Villa manager at a press conference on 4 August 2006. John Robertson and Steve Walford also joined the managerial team as assistant manager and coach respectively. At the press conference O'Neill stated "It's absolutely fantastic to be back and with a club such as this. This is a fantastic challenge. I am well aware of the history of this football club. Trying to restore it to its days of former glory seems a long way away - but why not try? It is nearly 25 years since they won the European Cup but that is the dream".

After 23 years as chairman and single biggest shareholder (approx 38%), Doug Ellis decided to sell his stake in Aston Villa. This was a decision welcomed by many Villa fans, highlighted by two "Ellis Out" protests, and the "Ellis out" march. The decision to leave the club was likely to have been prompted by Ellis' ill-health. In September 2005, the club was put up for sale. There followed 10 months of little serious interest, save for an abortive bid by local businessman and self-professed life-long Villa fan Michael Neville, who formed a consortium backed by Irish property developers the Comer brothers.

After the consequences of the infamous "Villa Statement" in July 2006 saw the departure of David O'Leary, Ellis reiterated his desire to sell the club, stating that there were several interested parties, "which may or may not lead to an offer for the club". The hunt for a new manager was put on the back burner as the bidding started. Neville, once more, stated his desire to buy the club, but he was joined by the AV06 consortium of QC Nicholas Padfield, a group put together by Sven-Göran Eriksson's agent Athole Still, and the owner of NFL franchise, the Cleveland Browns, Randy Lerner.

The conclusion of the Lerner deal became a formality on 25 August when it was announced that he had secured 59.69% of the club's shares, effectively ending the Doug Ellis era at Villa Park. The 21 day period for shareholders to sell their shares expired on 4 September, and it was announced that Lerner had acquired just over 85% of the club's shares. The offer period was extended until 18 September in order to give Lerner an opportunity to obtain his desired 90% share, then extended again when it became clear that Lerner was going to achieve that share without difficulty. On 26 September it was announced that Lerner had achieved a 90% shareholding, and could complete his buy-out of the rest of the shares.[9] General Charles C Krulak, Bob Kain and Michael Martin are Villa's new non-executive directors, and Lerner appointed Richard FitzGerald as Chief Executive to replace the departed Bruce Langham, who resigned in May 2005. Although he would no longer have any power at the club, Ellis was given an President Emeritus (Life President) role.

Soon after his arrival Lerner was linked with rumours surrounding the sponsorship deals at Villa Park. One rumour was the proposed £100million sponsorship deal, that would give Martin O'Neill funds for future transfer windows. In October 2006, rumours were started that linked Lerner with a deal to remove "Villa Park" as the club's historical home name and replace it with that of a sponsor.[10] Although no names have been put forward for the renaming of the stadium, on the 7 February 2007 Aston Villa announced that their kit sponsor for the 2007–08 Barclays Premiership season would be Nike.

2006/2007 Premier League Campaign
With Randy Lerner now in charge of the club the pre season saw several multi-million pound player deals including Ashley Young and Stiliyan Petrov. Villa had the longest unbeaten start to the 2006–07 Premiership campaign, not losing until 28 October 2006, which included being the first competitive visitors to Arsenal's new Emirates Stadium when the 2006–07 season kicked off on Saturday August 19, 2006. Aston Villa also scored the first competitive goal at the Emirates Stadium in the same game when Olof Mellberg gave Aston Villa the lead on the 53rd minute. The match finished 1–1. But as the season progressed, injuries took their toll on the already paper-thin squad. Including in-form player Luke Moore who suffered a serious injury just before Christmas. Villa suffered a significant drop in form, at one stage going 11 games without a win in the league, with the threat of being sucked into a relegation battle.

The January signings of Carew, Young, Bardsley (loan) and Maloney helped bolster the squad but some took several months to settle in. John Carew however instantly became a fan favourite after scoring the winner in a 1–0 win on his home debut against West Ham. But after avoiding the threat of relegation with a good run of form, Villa finished 11th place in the league with 50 points ending the season with an unbeaten run of 9 league outings.

The last home game of the season, a 3–0 victory over Sheffield United F.C., was used to mark the 25th anniversary of Villa winning the European Cup in 1982 and was preceded by the 1982 winning team parading the trophy they won in front of a packed stadium. Scarves with the words "Proud History - Bright Future" on them were given out to all home supporters attending the match to aid the celebrations.

History of Newcastle United F.C.

2007-09-19T15:10:00.001-07:00

The Creation (1881 - 1895)
During November 1881, the Stanley Cricket Club of South Byker decided to form an association football club. They won their first match 5-0 against Elswick Leather Works 2nd XI. Just under a year later, in October 1882, they changed their name to East End FC to avoid confusion with the cricket club in the town of Stanley, Co.Durham. Shortly after this, another Byker side, Rosewood FC, merged with East End to form an even stronger side. Meanwhile, across the city, another cricket club began to take an interest in football and in August 1882, they formed West End FC. West End played their early football on their cricket pitch, but later moved to St. James' Park.

West End soon became the city's premier club. East End were anxious not to be left behind and lured Tom Watson into becoming the club secretary/manager in the close season of 1888 and from that point, never looked back; Watson made several good signings, especially from Scotland, and the Heaton club went from strength to strength, while West End's fortunes slipped dramatically.

The region's first league competition was formed in 1889 and the FA Cup began to cause interest. Ambitious East End turned professional in 1889, a huge step for a local club, and in March 1890, they made an even more adventurous move by becoming a limited company with capital of 1,000 pounds in ten shilling notes. During the spring of 1892, in a season during which their results were at an all time low, and in which they had lost to their bitter rivals, East End, five times, West End found themselves in serious trouble. They approached East End with a view to a take over, the directors having decided that the club could no longer continue.

What actually happened was that West End wound up, while some of its players and most of its backroom staff joined East End. East End also took over the lease on St. James' Park. By December 1892, they decided to give the club a new name and a new image. At a public meeting, several new names, including Newcastle Rangers and Newcastle City, were suggested, before all agreed on Newcastle United. The FA agreed to the name change on 22 December, but the new title was not legalised until 6 September 1895, when Newcastle United Football Club Co. Ltd. was constituted.

The First Glory Era (1895 - 1914)
United then developed a side which became Edwardian England's master outfit, but not before the Tynesiders went through a worrying period due to lack of support at the turnstile and lack of money at the bank. But through the help of their directors the club was propped up and they survived to become a force in the game.

Newcastle started to purchase talented players, especially from Scotland, and soon had a squad to rival all of England. With players like Colin Veitch, Jackie Rutherford, Jimmy Lawrence and Albert Shepherd, the Black'n'Whites had a team of international talent. There was Bill McCracken, Jimmy Howie, Peter McWilliam and Andy Aitken too. All were household names in their day. However, in 1908 they faced the humiliation of a 9-1 home defeat to the once local rivals Sunderland, still the record English home defeat to this day.

The Magpies lifted the League Championship on three occasions and reached five FA Cup finals in the years leading up to World War I in 1914. Geordie fans had enjoyed ten years of being the team everyone wanted to topple. United played a style of football celebrated in the game's history. It was possession football in an entertaining, rousing fashion.

Interwar Success (1919 - 1939)
After World War I, the Twenties was just as eventful. The Black'n'Whites lifted the FA Cup at Wembley in 1924 defeating Aston Villa - only the second ever final to be staged at the famous stadium. And a record signing of Scottish international centre-forward Hughie Gallacher made sure United collected another Championship trophy three years later in 1927.

Famous names continued to pull on the Newcastle striped shirt. Apart from the legendary Gallacher, the Magpies fielded the likes of Neil Harris, Stan Seymour and Frank Hudspeth. Seymour was to become an influential figure for the next 40 years as player, manager and director.

It was back to Wembley in 1932 to compete in the infamous 'Over the Line' FA Cup final with Arsenal. United won the game 2-1 after scoring a goal following a cross from Jimmy Richardson which appeared to be hit from out of play - over the line. There were no action replays then and the referee allowed the goal, a controversial talking point in FA Cup history.

Newcastle boasted master players like Sammy Weaver and Jack Allen, as well as the first player-manager in the top division in Scottish international Andy Cunningham. But after glory at the Twin Towers of Wembley, Newcastle's form slumped and by 1934 they had been relegated for the first time in their history.

Amazingly in the same season as they fell into the Second Division, United defeated Liverpool 9-2 and Everton 7-3 within the space of a week! A rebuilding process took place in the years leading up to the Second World War and by that time former star winger Stan Seymour had been appointed to the Board of Directors. A determined character, he set the foundations of United's next great period.

Postwar Success (1945 - 1976)
Former star winger Stan Seymour had been appointed to the Board of Directors just before the outbreak of World War II. A determined character, he set the foundations of United's next great period.

By the time peace was restored in 1945, Seymour was at the forefront of affairs, manager in all but name. He ensured that the Magpies possessed an entertaining eleven full of stars, a mix of home-grown talent like Jackie Milburn, Bobby Cowell and Ernie Taylor, as well as big signings in the shape of George Robledo, Bobby Mitchell, Joe Harvey, Len Shackleton and Frank Brennan.

Newcastle spent the first couple of years post-war in the Second Division. Crowds were high after the return to football, and in 1946 Newcastle recorded the joint-highest victory in English League Football history, defeating Newport County 13-0. Len Shackleton, playing his debut in that match, scored 6 goals in the match, another record for Newcastle.

Newcastle returned to the First Division in double quick time. Promotion was achieved in 1948 in front of vast crowds. An average of almost 57,000 at every home game saw United's fixtures that year, a national record for years to come. That was just the start of another period of success.

During the Fifties decade United lifted the FA Cup trophy on three occasions within a five year period. In 1951 they defeated Blackpool 2-0, a year later Arsenal were beaten 1-0 and in 1955 United crushed Manchester City 3-1. The Magpies were known in every corner of the country, and so were their players; 'Wor Jackie' Milburn and Bobby 'Dazzler' Mitchell the pick of a side that was renowned the nation over.

Despite having quality players throughout the era, stars like Ivor Allchurch, George Eastham and Len White during the latter years of the decade, United slipped from the First Division in 1961 under the controversial management of ex-Manchester United star, Charlie Mitten. It was a huge blow to the club.

An old war-horse returned to revitalise the Magpies in the shape of Joe Harvey, who had skippered the club to much of their post-war success. He teamed up with Stan Seymour to rebuild United and the Black'n'Whites returned to the elite as Second Division Champions in 1965. United then became very much an unpredictable side, always capable of defeating the best, but never quite realising their huge potential until very recently.

Joe Harvey's side qualified for Europe for the first time in 1968 and stunned everyone the following year by lifting the Inter Cities Fairs Cup; the forerunner of the UEFA Cup. United possessed a solid eleven and Newcastle's tradition of fielding a famous Number 9 at centre-forward since earliest years continued as big Welshman Wyn Davies was prominent along with the likes of Bryan "Pop" Robson, Bobby Moncur and Frank Clark.

In the years that followed European success, manager Harvey brought in a string of talented entertainers who thrilled the Gallowgate crowd. Pleasers like Jimmy Smith, Tony Green and Terry Hibbitt. And especially a new centre-forward by the name of Malcolm Macdonald.

Nicknamed 'Supermac', Macdonald was one of United's greatest hero figures. Brash, arrogant and devastating in front of goal, he led United's attack to Wembley twice, in 1974 and 1976, against Liverpool in the FA Cup and Manchester City in the League Cup. But on each occasion the Magpies failed to bring the trophy back to Tyneside.

Down... and up again (1976 - 1984)
At the start of the 1980s, United had declined dramatically and were languishing in the Second Division. Gordon Lee had replaced Harvey as boss, yet he in turn soon gave way to Richard Dinnis and then Bill McGarry. But it was Arthur Cox who steered United back again to the First Division with ex England skipper Kevin Keegan the focus of the side, having joined the Magpies in a sensational deal in 1982.

The football inspired by Keegan captivated Tyneside and United stormed into the top division in a style only bettered by Kevin's own brand of football as a manager in the next decade. Alongside Keegan were youngsters Peter Beardsley and Chris Waddle, as well as seasoned campaigners like Terry McDermott and David McCreery.

Back at the top (1984 - 1989)
One of English footballs greatest talents, Paul Gascoigne or 'Gazza', emerged as a youngster at the club during this period, under manager Jack Charlton (who later went on to take Republic of Ireland to two World Cup finals). Newcastle consolidated their place in Division One but then a period of selling their best players (Beardsley to Liverpool, and Waddle and Gazza both to Tottenham), rocked the club and led to supporter unrest, as did a share-war for control of the boardroom.

Heading towards oblivion (1989 - 1992)
The Magpies tumbled back into the Second Division in 1989 and over the next three seasons found themselves in a perilous state. They had little money, star players headed south and crowds dwindled. Several managerial changes took place - Jim Smith and Ossie Ardiles could not stop the rot. With the club hovering on the brink of a further, potentially catastrophic, relegation Newcastle United needed a saviour. They not only found one, but two, as Sir John Hall and Kevin Keegan joined forces to salvage Newcastle's reputation.

The Keegan Revolution (1992 - 1997)
When Kevin Keegan returned to Tyneside to replace Ossie Ardiles as manager on a short term contract in 1992, taking what he claimed to be the only job that could tempt him back into football, United were struggling at the wrong end of Division Two. Sir John Hall had all but taken control of the club and he needed a minor miracle to stop the Magpies from tumbling into the Third Division for the first time in their history.

If Sir John was to transform the near bankrupt club they simply had to survive relegation. Just as before, Keegan's mere presence captivated the region. United's disgruntled supporters became excited, expectant ones over-night. They packed St James Park again and United survived in Division Two on the last day of the season. Hall now turned his attention to a masterplan to develop Newcastle United into one of the superclubs of Europe. Kevin Keegan stayed on as manager and both swung into action.

The club's finances were transformed; St James Park redeveloped into a world-class stadium, now accommodating over 52,000. Keegan brought in new players, many international superstars. It was the start of a special five years under his guidance.

Spearheaded by the prolific striker Andy Cole and David Kelly, who were ably supported by midfielders Paul Bracewell, Ruel Fox, Gavin Peacock and Rob Lee, and Brian 'Killer' Kilcline (a tough free transfer defender who Keegan later claimed was his best signing) Newcastle secured promotion to the Premier League by winning the First Division Championship, often simply overwhelming opponents along the way (a 7-1 victory over Leicester City being particularly memorable). The Magpies joined the elite for the 1993-94 season and United very quickly became recognised as a serious force, claiming two second place spots and just missing out on the title over the next few seasons.

Sir John Hall's millions allowed the club to invest heavily in players, and United's squad became a virtual all international one, containing players from across the globe. Exotic foreign players like David Ginola and Faustino Asprilla, and British stars like the popular and effective veteran Peter Beardsley, striker Les Ferdinand, and later Alan Shearer brought glamour and excitement back to the North East.

The first team built up a reputation for playing an attacking, almost cavalier, brand of football under Keegan - their occasionally leaky defence was not a major problem, as the team could almost always score more than they conceded. By Christmas of the 1995 season, Newcastle had built up a seemingly unassailable 15 point lead in the Premier League. Unfortunately this lead proved less secure then Newcastle's supporters, and Keegan himself, had hoped.

Manchester United won the league by four points in the season of 1995/96. The 'mind games' of Manchester's manager Alex Ferguson (who provoked an infamous live-on-TV rant from Keegan), that teams impressive post-Christmas form, or the alteration of Newcastle's direct attacking playing style, and of personnel, that was required to accommodate the mercurial, somewhat unpredictable Asprilla have all been blamed by supporters to explain the devastating capitulation that occurred that season. A more likely explanation is that their lack of defensive nous, coupled with occasional losses in winnable games, proved to be their undoing over the full season.

The points lead that Newcastle United enjoyed at Christmas 1995 was one of the largest to be surrendered by any team in the Premiership, and Newcastle never quite looked the same threat again, although they continued to perform, finishing second again the following season. However a lack of success in English and European cup competitions meant that the clubs long long wait for a trophy did not end under Keegan.

Controversy surrounded the club in 1996 when two board members, Douglas Hall, son of Chairman Sir John Hall, and Freddie Shepherd made a series of remarks to an undercover tabloid journalist. They ridiculed Alan Shearer, called the supporters "stupid" for paying through the nose for the cheap shirts they like wearing, and stated that they preferred to do their whoring abroad because the women of Newcastle "are all dogs". Almost unbelievably, Shepherd subsequently became Chairman!

Keegan's resignation in January 1997 came just days after a 7-1 victory for his club, against Tottenham Hotspur, although fans felt it had been brewing for some time, despite a memorable 5-0 thumping of Manchester United in October 1996, and the fact that the Magpies were still looking like strong contenders for the 1996-97 Premiership title.

Falling behind the pack (1997 - 1999)
Keegan's replacement as manager was Kenny Dalglish, who it was felt would help solidify the team defensively. In their first season under his guidance Newcastle entered the Champions League, and reached the FA Cup final only to fall to a defeat by Arsenal. However, Dalglish's cautious brand of football proved unpopular with supporters used to Newcastle's previous swashbuckling style; more importantly this cautious style was not producing results. Several unsuccessful transfer deals along with a poor start to the 1998 / 1999 season led to Dalglish being sacked.

Ruud Gullit, a trophy winning manager with Chelsea a few years previously, was put in charge promising to bring back 'sexy football' to Newcastle. The team again started promisingly, and reached the FA Cup final that season. Unfortunately this time around they were to lose to Manchester United. Gullit also made some high profile mistakes in the transfer market (notably, Spanish defender Marcelino and forward Silvio Maric bore the brunt of supporters frustrations). Less forgivably, he also fell out with several senior players, including Alan Shearer, and the club captain Rob Lee, who had been the heartbeat of the team for the previous half decade. A humiliating loss to once arch-rivals Sunderland, and a dreadful start to the 1999 / 00 season prompted his resignation.

Back with the leading pack (1999 - 2004)
Veteran ex-England manager, and local boy, Sir Bobby Robson was brought in to replace Gullit. His first job, unthinkable a few years previously, was to ensure Newcastle's survival in the Premiership. This was achieved, at the expense of stylish football, but with Lee and Shearer back onside. Over the next few seasons Robson built up an exciting young squad, as well as getting to an Inter-Toto Cup final against Troyes AC, which they lost on away goals after a 4-4 draw at home. Players such as Kieron Dyer (a Gullit signing), Craig Bellamy and Laurent Robert ensured the team were capable of once again punching their weight in the league. An unlikely Championship challenge almost emerged in the last few weeks of the 2002/2003 season, and Newcastle achieved qualification for the lucrative Champions' League.

The 2002/2003 season was a particularly colourful one for Newcastle on the European stage. In the first group stage, Newcastle lost their first three matches in a row, then, in an astonishing reversal, shocked Italian giants Juventus 1-0 at St James' Park. They then controversially beat Dinamo Kiev 2-1 in Newcastle before winning the crucial last match, away to Feyenoord, 3-2 in injury time, with striker Craig Bellamy scoring the injury time winner. With Dinamo Kiev losing at home to Juventus, Newcastle progressed to the second round.

That same striker Craig Bellamy was later involved in an on-pitch brawl with Internazionale defender Marco Materazzi. Bellamy was sent off, and was punished further by a three-match ban. Compounding the disaster for Newcastle was the suspension of influential captain Alan Shearer for a similar incident, although the punishment was just a two-match ban. Newcastle went on to lose 1-4 at home.

Shearer returned in the fourth game in the 4-team group, scoring all three goals in a 3-1 demolition of Bayer Leverkusen at home. Despite a superb performance against Internazionale in the famous San Siro, only to draw 2-2, Newcastle lost at home 2-0 to Barcelona and dropped out of the Champions League.

The 2003/2004 season saw Newcastle drop out of the Champions League at the first hurdle, they beat Partizan Belgrade 1-0 away from home, but then lost 1-0 at St James' Park and were eliminated via the penalty shootout. This defeat dropped Newcastle into the first round of the UEFA Cup. Newcastle reached the semifinals of the UEFA Cup in the 2003/2004 season, defeating NAC Breda, FC Basel, Vålerenga, Mallorca and PSV along the way, before eventually being knocked out by Olympique Marseille 2-0 on aggregate.

Newcastle finished 5th in the Premiership at the end of the 2003/2004 season, which ensured qualification for the UEFA Cup once again for the 2004/2005 season.

Another Setback (Since 2004)
After nearly five years in charge, Sir Bobby Robson was dismissed on August 30, 2004 following a poor start to the 2004-05 season and alleged discontent in the dressing room. A split had grown between Robson and the club owners when they had made a number of high-profile signings, apparently without consulting him - in particular that of Patrick Kluivert. He was further undermined by the club's high profile, but futile, offer for Wayne Rooney who instead moved to Manchester United. Robson later stated his dismay at the tendency for overpaid young players to demand all the perks without proving themselves on the pitch. Events during the ensuing season, on and off the pitch have gone a long way to confirm Robson's assessment. Robson was later given a £1 million severance payment.

Graeme Souness replaced Robson on September 13, two days after the Magpies' match against Souness' former club Blackburn Rovers. After initial good results, the team soon became mired in the bottom half of the table, remaining there for the rest of the season, and opinions on Souness are mixed among fans.

Following a training ground spat, Newcastle have been forced to let go one of their main assets Craig Bellamy, while their dip in performance due to the absence of Shearer through injury has worried the fan base. Despite the heavy investment of the last ten years in high profile transfers and the benefit of Alan Shearer, Newcastle is conspicuous in having failed to secure a major title. There is also such a growing gap between teams like Newcastle and the top flight of Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea that it is unlikely the club will succeed in the near future.

In November 2004 Club Chairman Freddy Shepherd again caused controversy, stating there was no debt owed by the 'elite' clubs of the Premiership to the rest of The FA—but with his own team underperforming this was somewhat ironic as well as inappropriate.

In April 2005, Kieron Dyer and Lee Bowyer came to blows during a Premiership match against Aston Villa, in an incident later described as 'the blackest day' by Shepherd. Bowyer was fined six weeks' wages (about £200,000), and both players received playing bans by The FA. The event overshadowed the announcement that Alan Shearer had extended his playing contract for a further year, and was to take up a coaching role with the club.

Newcastle had won the home leg of their UEFA cup Quarter final against Sporting Lisbon in April, but were comprehensively outplayed during the away match and lost 4 - 1, in the process suffering several injuries. In the same week they played Manchester United in an FA Cup semifinal at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. The scoreline, again 4 - 1, reflected the one-sided nature of the encounter. This left the Intertoto Cup as the team's only route into European competition in the 2005/06 season. During this campaign a rift opened up between Souness and Shepherd with the Manager complaining that an already thin squad after a poor transfer season (the promised major signings having not materialised) was not up to the challenge.

In July 2005 rumours circulated that the club was being stalked with a new buyer but this later emerged to be the Shepherds consolidating their interests. In August 2005 they were eliminated from the Intertoto Cup after a 4-2 aggregate loss to Deportivo La Coruna, which left the club out of European competition for the 2005/06 season.

In August 2005, the club signed Michael Owen for a record £17 million from Real Madrid, surpassing the previous £15 million Newcastle paid to Blackburn Rovers for Alan Shearer, in what was arguably the biggest transfer since then. This transfer was seen by many as unlikely because Owen's former team, Liverpool were thought to be his next destination.

Late February 2006 manager Graeme Souness was fired from his position as manager, and ex West Ham manager Glen Roeder was put in charge as caretaker until a new manager was appointed. After guiding the team from 14th place, to 7th place by the end of the season, Roeder was given the job on a permanent basis with a two year contract.

They entered the penultimate weekend of September 2006 in 13th place - six places below last season's finish and much lower than the club's fans will be content with.

With Alan Shearer now retired, and Michael Owen out injured for most of this current season (he didn't come back until 30 April 2007), the club's strikerforce has been substantially weakened and this has not helped Newcastle's chances of mounting a challenge for a top-six finish. Newcastle were also embarrassed by Birmingham City in the 2006-07 F.A. Cup, Birmingham earning a replay at home with a last-minute equaliser to make the result 2-2, before comfortably demolishing Newcastle at St James' Park by five goals to one.

History of Wigan Athletic F.C.

2007-09-19T15:06:00.000-07:00

Life in the local leagues
Wigan Athletic F.C. was formed in 1932 following the demise of Wigan Borough the previous year. Wigan Athletic was the fifth attempt to stabilise a football club in the town following the demise of Wigan County, Wigan United, Wigan Town and the aforementioned Wigan Borough. Springfield Park, the former home of Wigan Borough, was purchased by the club and were elected to the Cheshire County League.

In the early history of Wigan Athletic, the most notable exploits came in the FA Cup. In the 1934-35 season, Wigan beat Carlisle United 6-1 in the first round, setting a cup record for the biggest victory by a non-league club over a league club, a record which still stands today.

In 1945, Wigan were elected to a different league, the Lancashire Combination, and in 1950 came close to election to the Football League, narrowly losing out to Scunthorpe United on a vote. In the 1953-54 season, Wigan played an FA Cup match against Hereford United in front of a crowd of 27,526, a Wigan Athletic record and also a record for a match between two non-league teams at a non-league ground. In 1961, the club moved back to the Cheshire County League.

Early league years
In 1968, Wigan were founder members of the Northern Premier League. After 34 failed election attempts, including one controversial but headline-making application in 1972 to join the Scottish League Second Division, Wigan were elected to the Football League in 1978 in place of Southport, who had finished next to bottom of the Fourth Division. Boston United were the Northern Premier League Champions in 1978 but their ground and facilities were deemed unsuitable for the Football League, therefore Wigan, as runners-up were put forward for election. In the club's first season of League football, Wigan finished sixth, and gained their first promotion two years later, prompting a ten year spell in the third tier of English football. The club won its first silverware as a League club in 1985, winning the Freight Rover Trophy.They were beaten in the Northern Final the following season by Bolton Wanderers.

Wigan were relegated from the new Division Two in 1993, and a year later finished 19th - fourth from bottom - in Division Three to complete their worst-ever league season. The following season, 1994-95, brought a secure mid-table finish.

Rising through the league
In 1995, local millionaire David Whelan purchased the club, which was then playing in the Third Division (fourth tier), and stated his ambition to take the club to the Premiership, a statement which was widely ridiculed at the time.

The first step towards Whelan's dream came true in 1997 when they won the Division Three title under the management of John Deehan. Deehan's successor Ray Mathias took Wigan to the Division Two playoffs in 1999, losing 2-1 on aggregate to neighbours Manchester City after an extremely dubious goal. This ultimately cost Mathias his job as he fell victim to Whelan's relentless drive for Premiership football. His replacement John Benson led the squad he inherited from Mathias to a commanding position at the top of Division Two in his first six months, including the demolition of local rivals Preston North End 4-1 away, only to collapse in the second half of the season and once again fail in the play-offs. This was largely attributed to the dropping of leading goalscorer Stuart Barlow who was responsible for much of the side's early success, which coupled with a series of poor quality signings of ageing, and reputedly highly paid players and a run of poor performances led to strong disapproval of the management among fans. The season ended on a depressing note with Wigan losing 3-2 to Gillingham in extra time at the last ever Division Two play-off final to be played at the old Wembley Stadium.

Benson then moved 'upstairs' to the new post of Director of Football, under new manager Bruce Rioch. Rioch was hampered by severe injury problems and after a difficult and often unimpressive first half of the season left the club in February of 2001. He was temporarily replaced by club stalwart Colin Greenall, before the surprise appointment of Steve Bruce in the closing games of the season. His arrival brought renewed vigour to Wigan performances, with the club ultimately falling foul once again of the play-offs, this time with Reading. Following this blow, Bruce left for Crystal Palace after repeatedly pledging his future to Wigan, leaving behind a club both grateful for his help in getting so close to promotion and also angry and bitter at his betrayal. It came as no great surprise to many Wigan fans when he did the same thing again to Palace, choosing to desert to rivals Birmingham.

In 2001, former player Paul Jewell took over as manager, and after a mixed first season, won the Division Two championship in 2002-03 with a points total of 100. Wigan finished seventh in the 2003-04 Division One campaign - a last minute goal by West Ham's Brian Deane in the final game of the season saw Latics drop out of the play off picture in favour of eventual play off winners Crystal Palace.

In the following season the Latics earned promotion to the Premiership by finishing second in the Coca-Cola Championship, behind Sunderland. May 8, 2005 is now regarded by most fans as the biggest day in the history of Wigan Athletic. On the final day of the 2004-05 Coca-Cola Championship campaign, the Latics beat Reading 3-1 at home to secure runners-up spot in the final table and a place in the Premiership for 2005-06. At the final whistle the stadium exploded with cheers and the Status Quo song Rockin' All Over the World was played over the PA system.

Wigan in the Barclays Premier League
Wigan's preparations for their first season in the top-flight included the signings of Henri Camara, Damien Francis, Ryan Taylor, Josip Skoko, Michael Pollitt, Stephane Henchoz, David Connolly and the return of former captain, Arjan De Zeeuw, to the club. Inevitably, he took up his former role as captain. They also brought in the then unknown Pascal Chimbonda from Bastia for a mere £500,000. Unfortunately, during the summer, star striker Nathan Ellington, whose goals had propelled the club into the Premiership, was in the midst of serious contract negotiations. Despite the club's eagerness to hold onto his services, his overly high demands seemingly were not met. This, along with his well-known striking prowess alerted other clubs. Eventually, West Bromwich Albion triggered the get-out clause in his contract and was sold for a fee of £3,000,001.

Wigan's first game in the top flight was a dream come true — a home match against English Champions Chelsea. A game in which they came close to a dream start in the league, but to no avail, falling foul to a 92nd minute winner by Hernán Crespo. After the goal, José Mourinho went as far as to commiserate Paul Jewell on his poor fortune and in his post match interview claimed that Chelsea did not deserve to win.

Wigan are only the fourth English team in the last 20 years to win promotion to the top division for the first time. The most successful debut by any of these teams was that of Wimbledon, who achieved a sixth-place finish in 1987. Millwall debuted at 10th place in 1989 before going down the following year, while Swindon Town and Barnsley were both relegated after just one season among the elite).

By November, Wigan had surpassed even their own expectations, and sat 2nd in the Premiership, after wins against Everton, Bolton Wanderers, Newcastle United, Aston Villa, Fulham and Portsmouth.

Wigan's meteoric rise continued on 24 January 2006, when the club secured their first ever place in a major cup final. Wigan lost on the night to Arsenal 2-1 after extra time but Jason Roberts' last minute strike in extra time secured an away goals victory following their 1-0 first leg semi final victory at the JJB Stadium previously. However, Wigan were defeated 4-0 by Wayne Rooney-inspired neighbours Manchester United on February 26, 2006 at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff.

During the 2005-06 season, Wigan Athletic also managed to complete double league wins over Sunderland, neighbours Manchester City and Aston Villa. Notably, Wigan Athletic took the most league points away from home, and had the most away victories outside the top three clubs. Wigan failed in their bid for European football and opted not to take part in the UEFA Intertoto Cup, yet retained a top ten finish in the Premiership. They brought in Paul Scharner in January to strengthen the side, and he quickly became a fan favourite with his heroic performances. Also, Wigan right-back Pascal Chimbonda was included in the PFA Team of the Season 2005-06 and was included in France's World Cup 2006 squad. However, this was overshadowed by his transfer request minutes after the last game of the season. He was subsequently sold to Tottenham Hotspur for £5.5 million on August 31, 2006.

During the close season, Wigan sold experienced players such as Jimmy Bullard (to Fulham), Graham Kavanagh (to Sunderland) and Jason Roberts (to Blackburn Rovers), and let Damien Francis and David Connolly leave after a season of disappointing performances and an injury-plauged season respectively. Stephane Henchoz also left after his year-long contract expired. In turn, Wigan brought in Emile Heskey, Denny Landzaat, Chris Kirkland, Antonio Valencia, Kevin Kilbane, David Cotterill, Fitz Hall and Emmerson Boyce.

After a slow start to the 2006-07 season, Wigan's fortunes picked up with four successive victories against Manchester City, Bolton Wanderers, Fulham and Charlton Athletic. However, the club's form dipped dramatically with eight consecutive losses beginning with a close 1-0 defeat at home to Arsenal on December 13. The lengthy injury to Henri Camara, along with fellow absentee Paul Scharner further hampered their winter period.

Finally, their slump ended with a 1-0 home victory against Portsmouth, on February 3. This tied in with their January transfer window signings of Caleb Folan, Julius Aghahowa and David Unsworth to help to stabilise the club's Premiership status. On March 4, 2007, Wigan stood 15th in the Premiership and were in a more comfortable position than in previous weeks, moving eight points clear of Charlton Athletic after key victories over Newcastle United & Manchester City. The club finally seemed to be moving away from the relegation mire at the right time with inspired performances from new front man Caleb Folan and stand-in goalkeeper John Filan. Nevertheless, Wigan remained in serious danger of relegation after defeats at the hands of Charlton Athletic, Bolton Wanderers and perhaps more pivotally at home against West Ham United. Coupled with the resurgence of rival strugglers Fulham and Sheffield United, Wigan went into the last game of the season needing to beat Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.

On May 13, the final day of the 2006-07 season, a 10 man Wigan team battled and beat their Sheffield opponents 2-1 and thus guaranteeing Premiership status for another year and in doing so relegated Sheffield United to the Championship. After a dominant, fast paced and confident opening, Paul Scharner rifled home Kevin Kilbane's low cross of 14 minutes to put the Latics 1-0 up. However, a recurrence of Arjan De Zeeuw's calf injury forced him off after 30 minutes, and a re-shaped Wigan were pegged back on 38 minutes through a Jon Stead header. Yet Wigan forced their way back in front in first half injury time. Phil Jagielka handled the ball inside the area while defending a free-kick, and former Blades defender David Unsworth belted home the resulting penalty. McCulloch was sent off in the 74th minute for his second booking which put Wigan under immense pressure. However, Wigan held on for one of the biggest wins in the club's history. On May 14, 2007 Paul Jewell resigned as the manager; his assistant Chris Hutchings was appointed as the new manager later that day.

Hutchings wasted no time in bringing in experienced, well-known players, such as former Newcastle footballers Titus Bramble and Antoine Sibierski, former Rennes player Mario Melchiot, Preston North End keeper Carlo Nash, the much sought after Jason Koumas, Fulham's Michael Brown, while Andreas Granqvist signed on permanently and Antonio Valencia extended his loan for another season. This poured water over Paul Jewell's argument that such players would not consider Wigan.[citation needed]. However, to allow more players into the squad, some players had to leave. This included Arjan De Zeeuw, who joined Coventry City, Matt Jackson, who signed for Watford, David Unsworth (released), John Filan (released) and former favourite, Lee McCulloch, who finally sealed his dream move to Rangers. Another fan favourite, Leighton Baines, who had already turned down a move to newly promoted Sunderland, rejected a new contract at the club, and eventually signed for his boyhood team Everton. Melchiot was installed as the new club captain following the wholesale changes.

For the 2007/08 season, Wigan's home shirt returned to blue and white stripes, having been blue with white sleeves in 2006/07. The away shirt became white with a black trim, incorporating black shorts and black socks. They also introduced a third kit; dark blue with a royal blue trim.

Final changes to the squad took place before the Transfer Deadline. This saw Wigan sign much travelled striker Marcus Bent on loan and winger Rachid Bouaouzan for £300,000. At the same time, Henri Camara left to go on loan to West Ham United, while Caleb Folan signed for Hull City for £1 million. Cameroonian left-back Salomon Olembé was brought in as a free agent on September 4.

The season began with a spirited, yet disappointing 2-1 defeat away at Everton, but this was followed by consecutive home victories: 1-0 against Middlesbrough and 3-0 against Sunderland. This led to Wigan topping the Premier League for the first time in their history. Wigan's start had seen their new signings gel quickly, with Andreas Granqvist and Titus Bramble forming a sold partnership in the defence, captain Mario Melchiot leading by example, Jason Koumas adding a new creative dimension to the midfield and Antoine Sibierski scoring in each of the first 3 games. Wigan drew 1-1 away at West Ham before losing 1-0 away at Newcastle in their next game. Wanting to emulate their successful Football League Cup run from 2006, Chris Hutchings aimed to win the trophy this time around, only to see Wigan fail at the first hurdle, losing 1-0 at home to Hull City.

Wigan's improved start to the season saw Emile Heskey recalled to the England Squad for the first time since 2005.

Sadly Emile Heskey, immediately after his England call-up, broke his foot in his next game for his club, September 15, 2007, without touching the ball. He was out injured for 6 weeks.

History of Blackburn Rovers F.C.

2007-09-18T09:56:00.000-07:00

The early years
The club Blackburn Rovers was the idea of John Lewis and Arthur Constantine during a seventeen-man meeting at the Leger Hotel, Blackburn in November 1875. The club's first secretary was Walter Duckworth, and Lewis was its first treasurer. Many of the initial members were wealthy and well-connected, and this helped the club survive and rise beyond the large number of other local teams around at the time. Blackburn has had a particular strong history of football, Rovers weren't the town's only side in the 19th Century; other rivals included Blackburn Olympic F.C. (1883 winners of the FA Cup) and Blackburn Park Road F.C., among others.

The first match played by Blackburn Rovers took place in Church, Lancashire on 18 December, 1875 -- and was a 1-1 draw. Although the make-up of the team was not recorded it is generally thought to be: Thomas Greenwood (goal), Jack Baldwin, Fred Birtwistle, (full-backs), Arthur Thomas, J. T. Sycelmore (half-backs), Walter Duckworth, John Lewis, Thomas Dean, Arthur Constantine, Harry Greenwood, Richard Birtwistle (forwards), in a 2-2-6 formation.

At the time, the club had no ground of its own and no gate receipts. The only income came from members' subscriptions, which totalled £2 8s 0d during the first season.

During the 1876-77 season, Rovers finally gained a ground of its own by renting a piece of farmland at Oozehead, on the west side of town facing Preston New Road. The ground was little more than a meadow with a pool in the middle that had to be covered with planks and turf when playing, but it did allow the club to collect gate receipts totalling 6s 6d for the season. Occasional games were also played at Pleasington Cricket Ground.

Subsequently Blackburn Rovers rented Alexandra Meadows, the home of the East Lancashire Cricket Club , for their matches. The inaugural game at Alexandra Meadows was played against Partick Thistle, the most prestigious club Rovers had played until then. The result was a 2-1 win for Blackburn, with two goals from Richard Birtwistle.

On 28 September, 1878, Blackburn Rovers became one of 23 clubs to form the Lancashire Football Association. On 1 November, 1879 the club played in the F.A. Cup for the first time, beating the Tyne Association Football Club 5-1. Rovers were eventually put out of the competition in the third round after suffering a heavy 6-0 defeat by Nottingham Forest.

Controversy erupted during 1880 when the club used players not from Blackburn to fill in for unavailable team members — this violated what, at the time, was considered an important principle of the LFA. The situation became worse at the start of the 1881 season when a Darwen player transferred to Blackburn Rovers. The move caused a great deal of bitterness between the clubs and local populations. Accusations of professionalism began to fly, with Darwen accusing Blackburn Rovers of offering the player in question, Fergie Suter, improved terms. However, Suter had initially moved to Darwen from Scotland and given up his trade as stonemason to play for the club. So the professional/amateur divide was already blurred. Nevertheless, subsequent matches between Blackburn Rovers and Darwen were fractious affairs both on and off the pitch. The teams were drawn against each other in the fourth round of the Lancashire Cup, and the clubs refused to agree on a date for the match. As a result the LFA ejected both teams from the competition. This type of controversy would only be resolved five years later in 1885 with the legalisation of professionalism.

During the 1881-82 season, the club continued to rent the facilities at Alexandra Meadows, but began to look towards a move elsewhere. As the leading club in the area, it was felt that Rovers needed its own ground. A ground was leased at Leamington Street and £500 was spent on a new grandstand capable of seating 600-700 spectators. Boards were placed around the pitch to help prevent a repeat of the crowd troubles with Darwen, and a large ornate entrance arch was erected bearing the name of the club and ground.

On 25 March, 1882 the club won through to the final of the F.A. Cup against the Old Etonians. Blackburn Rovers was the first provincial team to reach the final, but the result was a 1-0 defeat by the Old Etonians. There was no repeat of the previous season's success during the 1882-1883 season, when Rovers suffered a bitter defeat 1-0 at the hands of Darwen in the second-round. Local rivals Blackburn Olympic went on to be the first provincial team to actually win the F.A. Cup. Rovers finally won the F.A. Cup on 29 March 1884 at the Kennington Oval, with a 2-1 victory over the Scottish team Queen's Park F.C. Had it not been for this cup success the club would have folded leaving Blackburn Olympic the primary team in Blackburn. The same teams played the F.A. Cup final again the next season, with Blackburn Rovers again emerging victorious, with a 2-0 score. Rovers repeated this success yet again the next season, winning the final against West Bromwich Albion. For this three-in-a-row of F.A. Cup victories, the club was awarded a specially commissioned silver shield and given the unique privilege of displaying the club crest on its corner flags.

The 1885-86 season was the birth of the legal professional footballer, and Blackburn Rovers spent £615 on player wages for the season. Despite the new professionalism, it was a disappointing season for the club — an unusually high number of defeats would culminate in Rovers losing its three-year grip on the F.A. Cup when it lost 2-0 in the second round to the Scottish club Renton on 4 December 1886 at the Leamington Street ground. Further defeats followed in the other major cups that season.

The Football League and Ewood Park
On 2 March 1888, William McGregor, a Birmingham shopkeeper and a committee member of Aston Villa Football Club, sent a letter to five clubs — Blackburn Rovers among them — suggesting that twelve of the leading clubs should organise a series of home and away matches between themselves. With the introduction of professional players, it seemed natural that better organisation should be brought to the complex and chaotic system of friendly and competitive matches prevalent at the time. On 22 March 1888 John Birtwistle represented Blackburn Rovers at a meeting of a number of clubs at the Anderton Hotel in London. This meeting, and subsequent ones, led to the creation of the Football League, with Blackburn Rovers as part of it. Rovers finished the inaugural season of the league in fourth place, and unbeaten at home.

Blackburn Rovers again reached the F.A. Cup final on 29 March 1890 at the Kennington Oval. The club claimed the trophy, for the fourth time, by beating Sheffield Wednesday a hefty 6-1 — with left forward William Townley scoring three goals and becoming the first player to achieve a hat-trick in the F.A. Cup final. The summer of 1890 brought yet another significant event in the history of Blackburn Rovers with the decision to move again. The choice of new home was Ewood Park, and it remained the club's home for the next century or more.

Ewood Park was built in 1882, the idea of four local businessmen, and it had hosted a number of sporting events. In 1890 Blackburn Rovers purchased the ground and spent a further £1000 on refurbishments to bring it up to standard. The first match was played on 13 September 1890 against Accrington, with a 0-0 draw result.

The 1890-1891 season saw Blackburn Rovers win the F.A. Cup for fifth time against Notts County F.C. with a 3-1 victory — but this success marked beginning of a downturn in the fortunes of the club, and a long lean period would follow. During the 1896-1897 season the club stayed in the first division only as the result of a decision to increase the number of teams. The season did, however, mark the beginning of Bob Crompton's 50-year association with the club, both as a player and eventually as an F.A. Cup winning manager.

The final years of the 19th century brought little success for Blackburn Rovers and several narrow escapes from relegation.

Early 20th century
Blackburn Rovers continued to struggle during the early years of the 20th century, but the results began a gradual improvement. Major renovations were made to Ewood Park: in 1905 the Darwen End was covered at a cost of £1680 and the new Nuttall Stand was opened on New Year's Day 1907. During the first three decades of the 20th century, Blackburn Rovers were still considered a top side in the English league. They were league champions in 1912 and 1914, and F.A Cup winners in 1928, but the F.A Cup win was their last major trophy for nearly 70 years.

Mid 20th century
Blackburn Rovers maintained a respectable mid-table position in the First Division until they were finally relegated from the top flight (for the first time since the foundation of the league) in the 1935-36 season. They struggled in the second division for the next two seasons, until winning the Second Division title in the final season before the war.

When the league resumed after the war, Blackburn Rovers were relegated in their second season (1947-48) and remained in the second division for the following ten years. After promotion in 1958, they again returned to the mid-table position they had occupied in the earlier part of the century. During this time, they seldom made a serious challenge for a major trophy - although they did reach the 1960 FA Cup final, losing 3-0 to Wolverhampton after playing most of the game with only 10 men on the field, having lost full back Dave Whelan to a broken leg, the game being played in the days before substitutes were allowed. During the 1960s Blackburn Rovers had several players who made it into national teams. They were again relegated from the First Division in 1966 and began a 26-year exile from the top division.

1970s and 1980s: More frustration
During the 1970s, Blackburn Rovers bounced between the Second and Third Divisions, winning the Third Division title in 1975, but never mounted a challenge for promotion to the First Division despite the efforts of successive managers to put the club back on track. They went up as runners up in the Third Division in 1980 and have remained in the upper two tiers of the English league ever since. In 1988-89 they mounted their first serious promotion challenge for many years, and reached the Second Division playoff final in its last-ever season of the home-away two-legged format - but lost to Crystal Palace. A defeat in the 1989-90 Second Division playoff semi-finals brought more frustration to Ewood Park, but the following season saw the club taken over by local steelworks owner and lifelong supporter Jack Walker (1929-2000).

1990s: The Jack Walker revolution

Back at the top (1991-1994)
Jack Walker's takeover was too late to save Blackburn from finishing a dismal 19th in the Second Division at the end of the 1990-91 season, but the new owner had made millions of pounds available to spend on new players. Blackburn began the 1991-92 season with Don Mackay still manager, but he was soon sacked to make way for Kenny Dalglish - who had resigned as Liverpool manager some months earlier, after a six-year spell in charge had yielded five major trophies. Dalglish made several substantial signings during the season. After his appointment Rovers climbed the league, eventually opening up a significant gap at the top of the table. It seemed a foregone conclusion that Rovers would win the Second Division title, but an unexpected twist followed. Rovers lost six games in a row, causing them to fall out of the play-off places, but Rovers fought back and a 3-1 victory at Plymouth got Rovers to the final play off place. The club had got to the play-offs three times previously without success. The semi-final was against Derby County but Blackburn got off to a bad start as Derby went into a two nil lead. Blackburn recovered strongly in the second half to win 4-2. A 2-1 Derby win in the second leg couldn't stop Blackburn reaching the play-off final at Wembley where they beat Leicester City 1-0 thanks to a Mike Newell penalty. Newell, a former Leicester striker, had missed most of the 1991-92 season due to a broken leg, but his stylish comeback was enough to book Blackburn's place in the new Premier League for 1992-93 - ending 26 years outside the top flight.

Blackburn made headlines in the summer of 1992 by paying an English record fee of £3.5million for the 22-year-old Southampton and England centre forward Alan Shearer. Other expensive signings during the 1992-93 season included Chelsea defender Graeme Le Saux, Middlesbrough winger Stuart Ripley and Coventry striker Kevin Gallacher. An impressive Blackburn side remained in the title challenge for most of the season before finishing fourth in the final table, that season not quite enough for UEFA Cup place. Still, it was a remarkable comeback in the top flight after an absence of almost 30 years. Leeds midfielder David Batty and Southampton goalkeeper Tim Flowers were two key signings who helped Blackburn progress in 1993-94 and finish Premiership runners-up to arch rivals Manchester United. Blackburn broke the English transfer fee record again a few weeks later when paying Norwich City £5million for 21-year-old striker Chris Sutton. Sutton's prolific striking partnership with Alan Shearer would be dubbed the "SAS", a pun on "Sutton and Shearer" and the elite British special forces unit the SAS.

Premiership Champions (1994-1995)
Early exits from the UEFA Cup, F.A Cup and League Cup were frustrating for Blackburn in 1994-95, but turned out for the best as they could concentrate on the league and the challenge with arch rivals Manchester United for the Premiership title. During the season Blackburn suffered 2 highly controversial defeats to Manchester United. Firstly Henning Berg was wrongly sent off at Ewood Park with Blackburn leading 1-0 as TV replays clearly showed he had won the ball from Lee Sharpe, with Eric Cantona equalising with the resulting penalty and Manchester United going on to win 4-2, and secondly an equaliser from captain Tim Sherwood was disallowed controversially at Old Trafford when Alan Shearer was ruled to have fouled Roy Keane in the build up, with United taking the game 1-0. Blackburn led for most of the season but a 2-1 defeat at Dalglish's old club Liverpool on the final day of the season looked to have blown the club's dreams to pieces. But the news came through that their arch rivals Manchester United could only manage a 1-1 draw at West Ham United and the league title was back at Blackburn Rovers for the first time since 1914. Jack Walker's dream had come true: within five years of buying the club, he had taken them from strugglers in the old Second Division to champions of the Premier League.

Ray Harford era (1995-1997)
Kenny Dalglish moved upstairs to the position of Director of Football at the end of the championship season, and handed over the reins to his assistant Ray Harford (1945-2003).

Blackburn made a poor start to the 1995-96 season, and found themselves in the bottom half for most of the first half of the season. Rovers also struggled in the Champions League and finished bottom of their group with just 4 points. A 7-0 victory over Nottingham Forest on the day of the official opening of the redeveloped Ewood Park and a 4-1 win over Rosenborg (including a 9 minute Mike Newell hattrick) were two highlights of an otherwise disappointing season. Alan Shearer was instrumental again, becoming the first striker to score more than 30 Premiership goals in three successive season. Blackburn improved as the season went on, finishing seventh in the Premiership and narrowly missing out on a UEFA Cup place. Shearer was sold to hometown club Newcastle United for a then world record fee of £15million in the summer of 1996, and Blackburn were unable to find a suitable replacement.

A terrible start to the 1996-97 Premiership campaign saw Harford resign in late October with the club bottom of the division, having failed to win any of their first ten games. Relegation looked a real possibility, just two seasons after winning the league. But caretaker manager Tony Parkes turned the club's fortunes around and they eventually finished in a secure 13th place in the final table.

On 16 December 1996 with Rovers hovering above the relegation zone, it was announced at an Ewood Park press conference that Sven-Göran Eriksson had signed an "unconditional contract" with Rovers to take over as manager at the end of the season on 1 July 1997 when his contract with Italian Serie A club U.C. Sampdoria expired. The Swede had already visited Ewood Park and the club training facilities at Brockhall as well as sending representatives to watch Rovers' Premiership clashes on his behalf.
I am pleased and honoured to be coming to Blackburn Rovers next July but I am not in a position to give interviews about the next club I will be working with. I can only comment on the club I am currently employed by and that, of course, is Sampdoria.

The signing of such a high-profile manager (Eriksson had won the UEFA Cup, Portuguese Championship and Coppa Italia with previous clubs) was seen as a coup for Rovers. "We set out our stall to bring in a top man with experience of football on the continent if possible and we believe we have done just that" commented club chairman Robert Coar, "Sven's reputation is widely acknowledged across Europe and it is a major coup for him to agree to come to Blackburn from Serie A in Italy".

It was hoped that the signing of Eriksson would usher in a new era of success after the continuing difficulties following Ray Harford's disappointing tenure as manager. "Not only do I want us to be a top club in this country, I want European football to be the norm for us", said club owner Jack Walker. "If we get support as high as we want it and the public back us in every way they can then we could even consider the Walkersteel Stand".

Eriksson's move to Lancashire would not come to fruition, however. The Swede later opted to stay in Italy to enable him to spend time with his children following a divorce. He would instead go on to join Lazio in 1997, with whom he would later win the Italian Championship and UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.

Downfall (1997-1999)
Roy Hodgson was named as Blackburn's new manager in the summer of 1997, and appeared to have had a positive effect on the club as they qualified for the UEFA Cup at the end of his first season in charge. Indeed, Blackburn were one of the league's most entertaining sides, scoring 57 goals in 38 games, including 7 in one game against Sheffield Wednesday at Ewood Park. Chris Sutton and Kevin Gallacher led a prolific attack, and were able to help the team overcome the disappointing form of new signing Martin Dahlin. But Hodgson was sacked the following December with Rovers struggling near the foot of the Premiership, with key players injured for long periods and new signings struggling to settle. The £7.5m signing of young Southampton striker Kevin Davies was a disaster, with Davies only netting once in 24 games. Brian Kidd, the hugely successful Manchester United assistant manager, was named as his replacement but was unable to stave off relegation and their fate was confirmed in the penultimate game of the season - they drew 0-0 at home to Kidd's old club and did United a favour in their treble glory. Blackburn became the first (and so far, only) modern day former Premier League champions to be relegated.

The new millennium

Fighting for a comeback
1999-00 was a difficult season for Blackburn, who began the season as promotion favourites. Brian Kidd was sacked in October with the club hovering just above the Division One relegation zone, and first-team coach Tony Parkes was named caretaker manager once again. Parkes was eventually given the job on full-time time basis until the end of the season, but only remained in charge until March when the club appointed Graeme Souness as their new manager. Jack Walker died just after the start of the 2000-01 season, and the club dedicated its promotion challenge in memory of their benefactor. Promotion was achieved at the end of 2000-01, as Division One runners-up, behind Fulham F.C. Blackburn relied on the form of their young stars Matt Jansen, Damien Duff and David Dunn. They returned to the Premiership with a strong team and hopes of returning to their best.

Cup glory and European adventures
In 2001-02, the club marked their first season back in the Premiership with a tenth-place finish and their record signing, an £8m swoop for Manchester United's Andy Cole. More significantly, Blackburn won their first-ever League Cup by beating Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff - where Cole proved his worth by scoring the winning goal in the 69th minute after Matt Jansen had put Blackburn in front. Blackburn's progress under Souness continued in 2002-03 when they finished sixth on the last day, with a 4-0 win away at Tottenham, to qualify for the UEFA Cup for the second season running. During this time they signed a number of high profile players, such as Hakan Sukur and Dwight Yorke, proving they were a big club once again.

Setback
Souness's job was put on the line by a disappointing 15th-place finish in 2003-04, which saw the club go through an awful sequence of results and left the club needing a late turnaround, inspired by little known striker Jonathan Stead, to avoid relegation back to the English first division. Souness left just after the start of the following season to take charge at Newcastle. Rovers appointed Welsh national coach Mark Hughes as his successor, a key player in the club's promotion and League Cup successes a few seasons earlier. Hughes secured Blackburn's Premiership survival for the 2004-05 season as well as an FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal, with Rovers finishing 15th once again, with Hughes's arrival coinciding with the team becoming one of the most solid teams in the league, thanks to astute signings such as Ryan Nelsen and Aaron Mokoena, and good motivational skills. He was able to strengthen the setup for 2005-06 with the £3.2 million transfer of much sought-after Wales international striker Craig Bellamy from Newcastle United.

Return to Europe
Following a 1-0 victory over league champions Chelsea F.C., Blackburn secured the 6th place in the league and a spot in the UEFA Cup for the 2006-07 season - their third European qualification in five years, and their sixth foray into Europe since 1994. Striker Craig Bellamy repaid the faith shown in him by Hughes, as he scored 17 goals, 13 in the league in only 22 starts, including vital goals in the 3-2 wins over Middlesbrough and the 2-2 draw at Portsmouth. Morten Gamst Pedersen, who was signed by Graeme Souness but nurtured by Hughes to become a star, shined and attracted interest from a number of big teams for his performances and set pieces, including his two goals that won the game in a historic 2-1 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford.

2006-07
After qualifying for Europe, Blackburn signed South African striker Benni McCarthy from Porto as a replacement for the departed Craig Bellamy. Blackburn suffered a disappointing start to the season with just one point picked up from a possible nine. On 25 August 2006 the UEFA Cup draw pitted Blackburn against Red Bull Salzburg. The return leg saw Blackburn advance to the next round, courtesy of a 2-0 victory (a 4-2 aggregate win) with a goal from McCarthy and a spectacular 30-yard volley from David Bentley. Blackburn were then drawn into Group E of the UEFA Cup group stages alongside Wisla Krakow, FC Basel, Feyenoord Rotterdam, and AS Nancy. Blackburn finished top of their group and were drawn against Bayer Leverkusen; they suffered a narrow 3-2 defeat in the first leg of their tie against Bayer Leverkusen, but a 0-0 draw in the second leg saw them bow out of the competition.

The club was busy during in the January transfer window, signing David Dunn, Stephen Warnock, Christopher Samba and Bruno Berner. Leaving the squad were Dominic Matteo, Andy Taylor (loan), Joe Garner (loan), Lucas Neill and Jay McEveley. In cup competitions, Blackburn were knocked out of the Carling Cup in the Third Round, after a 2-0 defeat to Chelsea on 25 October 2006. They defeated Everton, Luton, Arsenal (after replay) and Manchester City in the FA Cup. Thereafter, they faced Chelsea for a place in the final. The semi-final was a tight affair, with Rovers missing a number of good chances to win in the second half. The team eventually went down 2-1 when Michael Ballack scored Chelsea's winner in extra time.

Rovers finished the season 10th in the league, with McCarthy netting 18 league goals. The club also qualified for the Intertoto Cup and drew Lithuanian side FK Vetra of Vilnius.

2007-08
To prepare for the 2007-08 season Blackburn invested in three new players, signing Roque Santa Cruz, Maceo Rigters and Gunnar Nielsen.

On 22 July, Blackburn travelled to Vilnius and defeated Vetra 0-2 in the first leg of the tie, goals coming courtesy of Benni McCarthy and Matt Derbyshire. Blackburn won the second leg 4-0.

On 11 August, in their first Premiership game of the season they defeated Middlesbrough 2-1, coming from 1-0 down thanks to goals by Roque Santa Cruz and Matt Derbyshire.

On 16 August, Blackburn won 1-0 in the first leg of their UEFA Cup Second Qualifying Round tie away against MyPa, thanks to another goal by Santa Cruz.

On 19 August, in their first home League game of the season, they gained a 1-1 draw against Arsenal in a very heated match, with 4 yellow cards given to Arsenal players and 3 to Blackburn. Ryan Nelsen was also shown a red card in the latter stages, after picking up his second booking. David Dunn scored his first goal on his Rovers return thanks to sloppy goalkeeping by Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann. Robin Van Persie had put Arsenal in front, also due to sloppy goalkeeping, this time from Rovers goalkeeper Brad Friedel. On 8 September David Bentley became the first Rovers player to represent England for five years, with a subsitute appearence against Israel.

History of Everton F.C.

2007-09-18T09:50:00.000-07:00

1878 the club was founded
St. Domingo Methodist Church's new chapel was opened in 1871 and six years later, Rev B.S. Chambers was appointed Minister. He was responsible for starting a cricket team for the youngsters in the parish. Because cricket can only be played in the summer, they had to find something to play during the other seasons as well. So a football club called St. Domingo F.C. was formed in 1878.

Many people outside the parish were interested in joining the football club so it was decided that the name should be changed. In November 1879 at a meeting in the Queen's Head Hotel, the team name was changed to Everton Football Club, after the surrounding area.[1] Barker and Dobson, a local sweet manufacturer introduced "Everton Mints" to honour the club. The district is also the location of the team's crest image, an old bridewell known as Prince Rupert's Tower.

Founder members of the Football League, they lost two FA Cup finals, 1-0 against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Fallowfield Stadium on March 26, 1893 and 3-2 against Aston Villa at Crystal Palace on April 10, 1897 before winning at their third attempt on April 20, 1906 again against Newcastle United at Crystal Palace. Their second successive final on April 20, 1907, however, finished in a 2-1 defeat by Sheffield Wednesday.

Interwar years: Dean and co.
Quite simply, "Dixie" Dean was one of the greatest scoring machines that the English game has seen. After averaging a goal a game for Tranmere Rovers, prolific striker Dean was lured across the River Mersey to play for Everton. In his first season for the Toffees, the 1925-26 season, Dean netted 32 league goals in 38 games (getting his first two on his debut), scored 21 in 27 the next year, and made history in 1927-28: in a seasonal performance that is unlikely to ever be bettered, Dean hit 60 league goals in 39 matches, setting a record that has stood ever since and almost single-handedly giving Everton the league title.

In a turn of events that seems unbelievable today, Everton were relegated into the second division two years later. Predictably, Dean was on top form in the secondary league, hitting 39 goals in 37 games and lifting the Toffees to promotion at the first time of asking. The following season, Dean hit 45 goals and Everton regained the league title. In 1933, they won the FA Cup, Dean becoming Everton's first ever number 9 in the 3-0 final win against Manchester City. The number 9 would become synonymous with commanding and high-scoring strikers at domestic and international level football, something Dean embodied.

The nickname "Dixie" has ambiguous origins, but it is thought that it was given to Dean because his curly hairstyle was similar to that sported by many people of African ethnicity, popularly nicknamed "dixies" at the time. Dean is said to have disliked but reluctantly accepted the tag. He played his last match for Everton on 11 December 1937 and died at a Merseyside derby at Goodison in 1980, leaving behind a legacy of 383 goals in 433 matches overall.

In the 1938-39 season Everton with Joe Mercer, the classy T.G. Jones and Tommy Lawton won the Football League Championship again. Lawton scored 34 goals in this season at the age of 19. Sadly the outbreak of World War II interrupted the careers of this team for six years which otherwise might have dominated for several years.

The 1940s/50s: The barren years
Although the nineties have been regarded as a poor decade, this era was worse. The great pre-war team were quickly split up in 1946. Tommy Lawton was restless and joined Chelsea, Joe Mercer disagreed with the manager Theo Kelly and was sold to Arsenal, and they tried to sell T.G. Jones to A.S. Roma. Soon only Ted Sagar was left.

Under the management of the uninspired and under-financed Cliff Britton, Everton were relegated after the 1950-51 season for only the second time in their history to the Second Division. This time it took three seasons before Everton were promoted in 1954 as the runners-up. The final match of the season decided promotion when the Everton beat Oldham away 4-0.

The era nevertheless had some notable players such as Dave Hickson and Bobby Collins. Memorable matches included ending Manchester United's long unbeaten run at Old Trafford with a 5-2 win in 1956.

Harry Catterick's Era (1961-1974)
The 1960s is regarded by many fans as the golden era of Everton Football Club. After the barren period of the 1950s, Harry Catterick took charge of the Everton in 1961. The team were soon to be dubbed the "School of Science" after their methodical approach in the tradition of the Everton team in the 1920s who were first given this name. Their football was inventive and flowing similar to Tottenham's "Push and Run" style. In Catterick's first full season as manager Everton conceded fewer goals than any other team and finished fourth.

The following season, the Toffees lost just six of their 42 matches and took the title, with the striking partnership of Roy Vernon and Alex Young scoring 46 goals between them (the last time two Everton players have scored more than 20 goals each in one season). Other notable players included Billy Bingham, Jimmy Gabriel, Derek Temple, Bobby Collins and Brian Labone.

In 1966, the same year the English international team won the World Cup, Everton took home the FA Cup after overturning a two-goal deficit against Sheffield Wednesday in the final to win 3-2. Everton went on to reach the 1968 final, but were unable to overcome West Bromwich Albion at Wembley.

A year later in the 1969/70 season, Everton won the Championship again thanks in part to the scoring sensation of one Joe Royle, who would later manage the club to FA Cup success in 1995. The success of the team could be seen from the number of points won (one short of the record) and nine clear of Leeds United. The team won the league in style, playing what was virtually a form of Total Football orchestrated by the "Holy Trinity" midfield of Howard Kendall, Alan Ball and Colin Harvey. With Labone at centre-half and club captain and Royle up front, this is regarded by many fans as the club's finest side ever.

Harry Catterick's team of 1969/70 seemed destined for greatness but declined quickly. The team finished 14th, 15th, 17th and 7th in the following seasons. The stress of an under-performing team was said to be a factor in Harry Catterick's poor health and eventual resignation in 1974.

Mid/late 70s - Billy Bingham and Gordon Lee (1974-1981)
Everton were on course to win the Championship in the 1974/75 season under Billy Bingham (some bookmakers had even stopped taking bets at Easter) but some surprising losses to lowly opposition ended the challenge and they finished 4th. After two relatively poor seasons (11th and 9th), Bingham left in 1977. During the interregnum, Everton reached the League Cup final in 1977 losing late in extra time of the second replay. Bob Latchford scored 30 league goals in the 1977-78 season.

Under Gordon Lee Everton finished third in 1977/78 and fourth in 1978/79 after again looking title contenders for much of these seasons, but expectations were high given the success of Liverpool and so Lee departed in 1981 - by which time Everton had suffered another setback and narrowly avoided relegation to the Second Division.

80s - Kendall's glory years (1981-1993)
Everton emerged as strong contenders in the 1980s as one of Europe's top footballing sides thanks to the efforts of manager Howard Kendall and his impressive, though cheap, playing squad which included the likes of Neville Southall, Gary Stevens, Trevor Steven, Kevin Sheedy, Andy Gray and Peter Reid. Gary Lineker also graced Goodison for a season and hit 40 goals in all before moving on to Barcelona in 1986.

Domestically, Everton won the FA Cup in 1984 and league title in 1985 and another league title in 1987. They were also league title/FA Cup runners-up to neighbouring Liverpool in 1986 and were again on the losing side to Liverpool in the 1984 League Cup final and the 1989 FA Cup final.

Significantly, European success at last reached Goodison in 1985 in the shape of the European Cup Winners' Cup. After going through two-legged rounds against University College Dublin, Inter Bratislava and Fortuna Sittard, Everton defeated German giants Bayern Munich 3-1 in the semi-finals despite trailing at half time (in a match voted the greatest in Goodison Park history) and recorded the same scoreline against Austrian club Rapid Vienna in the final.

1985 was the year in which Everton almost recorded the "treble". They managed to capture the league title and the Cup Winners' Cup but were defeated by Manchester United in the FA Cup Final thanks to Norman Whiteside's extra-time goal. Nevertheless, it was arguably the club's most successful season since its creation and has not been equalled by future Everton teams since.

Fans contend that the 1980s Everton team could have gone on to win even more European silverware after their 1985 Cup Winners' Cup success were it not for the banning of all English clubs from continental competitions by UEFA after the Heysel Stadium disaster (involving, in dark irony, Liverpool fans). Indeed, a large proportion of the title winning side was broken up following the ban. By the time the ban was lifted, Everton were no longer the team they were in 1985.

Kendall left in 1987 to hand over the reins to assistant Colin Harvey. They finished fourth in 1988 and were F.A Cup runners-up a year later.

90s Harvey, Walker, Royle and Kendall's return (1993-1997)
Harvey was eventually sacked on 1 November 1990 with Everton third from bottom in the league. During his time in charge, Harvey made Tony Cottee the first £2million player to be transferred between British clubs when he signed the 23-year-old striker from West Ham at the start of the 1988-89 season.

By the time of the Premier League's creation in 1992, Everton were no longer one of England's top footballing sides but as a club were considered one of the "big five" and were instrumental in the formation of the breakway league. Although Howard Kendall had returned as manager in November 1990, league performance was underwhelming and the first Premiership season brought an unremarkable 13th place finish which put them below much less established teams such as Queens Park Rangers, Norwich City, and Wimbledon.

Kendall quit as manager halfway through 1993-94 and was replaced by Norwich City's Mike Walker who had done an impressive job with the Canaries and made several expensive new signings in a bid to drag Everton clear of the relegation battle they now found themselves in. They went into the final game of the season needing to beat Wimbledon in order to stay up, and all hope seemed lost when they went 2-0 down in the first half. But Everton pulled off a remarkable comeback to win 3-2 and stay up.

A dreadful start to the 1994-95 season saw Walker sacked after less than a year in charge, and Everton legend Joe Royle was appointed in his place - faced with the task of achieving Premiership survival for a side who had failed to win any of their first 12 league games. His first game in charge was a memorable 2-0 victory over Liverpool. Royle dragged Everton clear of relegation and also led the club to the FA Cup for the fifth time in history, defeating Manchester United 1-0 in the final. The cup triumph was also Everton's passport to the Cup Winners Cup - their first European campaign in the post-Heysel era. Progress under Joe Royle continued in 1995-96 as they climbed to sixth place in the Premiership and were only pipped to a UEFA Cup place on the final day of the season by Arsenal. Injury problems and the sale of star Ukrainian winger Andrei Kanchelskis meant that after a promising start 1996-97 was a tough season for the blues as they slid to a 15th place finish. Royle quit in March and club captain Dave Watson was given the manager's job on a temporary basis and completed the task of Premiership survival.

Howard Kendall was appointed Everton manager for the third time during the summer of 1997, but his final reign at the helm was his least successful. With little financial backing Kendall's main concern was fighting off relegation. Everton went into the final day of the season in the Premiership's relegation places. In the end, to the immense relief of the capacity Goodison Park crowd, a 1-1 draw with Coventry City meant they finished 17th and avoided relegation because they had a greater goal difference than Bolton Wanderers. Kendall resigned soon afterwards, with the heady heights of his first spell in charge a very distant memory.

Recent years - Smith and Moyes (Since 1998)
Successful former Rangers manager Walter Smith took over from Kendall in the summer of 1998 and big things were expected along with some high profile signings but his first season brought an unremarkable 14th place finish. His chances of success were hampered by continuing financial constraints which had also contributed to the club's decline in previous years. 1999-2000 brought an unimpressive 13th place finish and Smith came under increased pressure after Everton finished 16th the following season.

The Everton board finally ran out of patience with Smith and he was sacked in March 2002 with Everton in real danger of relegation. The Smith years have come to be regarded by Everton fans as a particularly bleak period in the clubs history, with particular disdain being reserved for the unattractive style of play of the team during this period. The board turned to promising young Preston manager David Moyes with the task of moving Everton forward after years of underachievement. Moyes seemed to have made a positive impact on Everton during his first full season in charge, as they finished seventh in the Premiership and just missed out on a UEFA Cup place, in a season which was dominated by the emergence of brilliant young striker Wayne Rooney. In October 2002, he entered football folklore by scoring a sensational last-minute winner against league champions Arsenal, consigning them to their first league defeat for almost a year. He also became the youngest ever player to play for England, in February 2003 and seven months later became the youngest England goalscorer. The former record was beaten by Theo Walcott in 2006 although Rooney's first impression greatly outshone that of Walcott.

Everton suffered a major setback in 2003-04, finishing 17th and accumulating the lowest points total in the club's history. It was feared that the club's half-century stay in the top level of English football could be over when Rooney handed in a transfer request and was sold to Manchester United in August 2004 for a fee of £23million providing Wayne Rooney remained a Manchester United player until 30 June 2007 and could have potentially risen to £30million due to bonus payments for league positions, trophies, international caps and 25% excess sell on fees. [2].

However, Everton's now-diminutive squad pulled together in the 2004-05 season, thanks greatly to the 4-5-1 tactic of Moyes and the sensational form of Danish midfielder Thomas Gravesen. Despite Gravesen's sale to Real Madrid midway through the season, Everton managed to finish fourth in the table, their highest position for nearly twenty years, and achieve Champions League qualification, ahead of rivals Liverpool. In this amazing season, Everton also recorded their first victory of the new millennium over Liverpool and their first win over Manchester United since the 1995 FA Cup final.

Everton started the 2005-06 season badly, with their Champions League campaign ending in the qualifying stages. They were defeated by Villarreal, after a controversial decision by Italian referee Pierluigi Collina to disallow a seemingly legitimate Everton goal late in the second leg when the score was 3-2. This disheartening defeat had a knock-on effect and the team's form slumped with a humiliating UEFA Cup exit at the hands of Dinamo Bucharest along the way. Poor decisions in the transfer market by Moyes, most notably the signing of Per Krøldrup with many predicting he 'couldn't cut it' in the Barclays Premiership and the failure to find a strike partner for James Beattie also took their toll on a season that began with much promise.

After flailing in the relegation zone up to October 2005, Everton stopped Chelsea's nine match winning run with a 1-1 draw to spark a short revival that saw the team finally start to get regular results to put much needed points on the board. However, this was followed by another dismal run including several 4-0 defeats to sides in the bottom half of the table and a one sided derby match. A 1-0 win at Sunderland on New Year's Eve started a run of five straight Premiership wins and six matches unbeaten including victory against Arsenal- the club's best run of results since the Premiership began which hauled the team away from the relegation zone, and made a top half finish or even Europe a real possibility. This was not to be as the team remained as inconsistent as ever and a disappointing draw on the last day meant an 11th place finish instead of moving into the top half. Inconsistency and a shortage of goals let Everton down in 2005-06.

Everton began the 2006-07 season very strongly. A 2-0 away win at Tottenham, their first league win at White Hart Lane in twenty years, followed by a 3-0 drubbing of Merseyside rivals Liverpool brought great expectations from fans. New signing from Crystal Palace Andrew Johnson took centre stage having scored six goals in his opening seven games. Aside from some lapses in the first half of the season (including a run of 6 defeats in 9 league and cup games), Everton's season proved steady, and after only 2 defeats in their final 11 league games were able to end the season in 6th place, thereby qualifying for the following seasons UEFA Cup competition.

During the summer of 2007, the club announced an exciting new adventure with the addition of a professional basketball team, called the Everton Tigers, to the Community programme[3]. An amalgam with the local Toxteth Tigers community team, the professional team were entered into the top-tier professional British Basketball League as one of three expansion franchises for the 2007-08 season, and the first participant from the city of Liverpool. The club agreed a deal with Greenbank Sports Centre to act as the clubs' home venue for their inaugural season.

Back on the footballing side, the 2007/2008 season started with Everton acquiring 3 new players - Phil Jagielka from relegated Sheffield United, Leighton Baines from Wigan Athletic and Steven Pienaar acquired from Borussia Dortmund on loan. By the 4th game of the season they had bolstered their ranks further with the addition of Yakubu Aiyegbeni in a club record signing from Middlesbrough F.C. for 11.25 million pounds while Thomas Gravesen was recruited on loan from Celtic F.C. just before the transfer deadline.

Everton started the season in impressive form, reaching 3rd position in the league by mid-September.

History of West Ham United F.C.

2007-09-18T09:32:00.000-07:00

Pre-history - Old Castle Swifts F.C.
Thames Ironworks, and thereby West Ham Utd, are commonly thought to have originated from the remains of the bankrupt Old Castle Swifts F.C. in 1895. Old Castle Swifts had formed in 1892 at the behest of Castle Shipping Line employer Donald Currie and played their football opposite what is now the West Ham Police station. The club was the first professional football team in Essex, with players drawn from his predominantly Scottish work force paid extra in addition to their works wages when they made appearances for the team.

The team won the 1892-1893 West Ham Charity Cup against Barking Woodville;
"After the match the crowd made a rush to the Grand Stand where the Mayor presented the large silver cup to the captain of the Castle Swifts and Mr. Comerford of the Cup Committee announced that ‘the medals had not yet come to hand, but they would be forwarded to the winners as soon as possible’. With that the captain was lifted on to the shoulders of several of his followers and carried from the ground."

In 1895 Currie allowed the team to go bankrupt when he refused to further bankroll the team. With both the club, and their tenancy at Hermit Road now up for grabs, the philanthropic Arnold Hills (a local business owner, keen amateur sportsman, and well known enthusiast for sports, healthy living, tee-totalling, works and community orientated functions) stepped in to take up the lease and absorb some of the players into his new club including former Woolwich Arsenal player Robert Stevenson the clubs first captain and player of note.

1895-1900 - Thames Ironworks F.C. and the legacy of Arnold Hills
The club was founded in 1895 as the works side Thames Ironworks F.C. by Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Co. Ltd company chairman Arnold Hills and works foreman Dave Taylor (who also worked as a local league referee).[3] It was announced in the Thames Ironworks Gazette in the June of 1895 under the heading "The importance of co-operation between workers and management" in an effort to "wipe away the bitterness left by the recent strike":
"Mr. Taylor, who is working in the shipbuilding department, has undertaken to get up a football club for next winter and I learn that quoits and bowls will also be added to the attractions."

Arnold Hills had joined the board of the company in 1880 at the age of twenty three, and eventually progressed to the position of Managing Director. During this time the company had grown producing ironclads and steam ships (such as HMS Albion) and already had a fine history of working government contracts (producing [[HMS Warrior (1860)|HMS Warrior]) in 1860 for instance). Unfortunately they also suffered through a period of unionised dock strikes (1889, 1890, 1891) that stretched from the boilermakers to engineers, joiners and labourers on issues of pay, working hours and safety. The use of scab labour further lowered the workforces opinion of Hills and in 1892 he faced considerable pressure from management and workforce alike to find some recourse.

In response to this he began a series of initiatives that (little to his knowledge) would have further reaching consequences than improving workplace morale. Hills sponsored cricket, running, rowing and cycling teams and went on to add a full works brass band, operatic society, ambulance corps and even a debating society in an attempt to improve works relations after these several years of tense stand-offs and strike action, all as part of his "Good Fellowship system" and "Profit Sharing scheme" that also featured bonus pay on top of wages and reduced working hours.[3][2] After a serious strike in 1897 he took it upon himself to negotiate directly with his workers, circumventing the Unions and cutting their power and influence off at the root. The works still experienced strike action despite his best efforts in the years after but never to the same extent.
"Thank God this midsummer madness is passed and gone; inequities and anomalies have been done away with and now, under the Good Fellowship system and Profit Sharing Scheme, every worker knows that his individual and social rights are absolutely secured."
—Arnold Hills, 29th June 1895, Ironworks Gazette

Following the success of the 1895 F.A. Cup Final between West Bromwich Albion and Aston Villa F.C., the growth of local sides and the success of competitions such as the London League and the West Ham Cup he took more readily to the suggestion of a true works football team as a method of further improving morale. There had been for some years a Thames Ironworks Juniors side (formed in 1892) that had racked up 75 victories from 81 matches providing a solid grounding of young talent, along with those former Castle Swift players that were employed at the Ironworks (such as Johnny Stewart, George Sage and Walter Parks) to create a starting eleven.

Hills made enough funds available for the formation of the team, posting flyers and leaflet to the shop floor as well as the Ironworks Gazette, and saw a fine opportunity to take up the ground rent of the recently dissolved Old Castle Swifts at Hermit Road.

Not content with just that Mr Hills, as a former Oxford Blue in cricket, association football (earning a Corinthians cap for England against Scotland) and running, also contributed the clubs first kit - an all navy blue strip. Also as determined vegetarian, good Christian and member of the temperance movement, he regularly preached the evils of alcohol, at least initially some players were "tee-totallers" and the team was reported as such in several journals (and pushed by Mr Hills in society as such a thing)as a result Hills is also the origin of the club and players first 'nickname'. As an aside; some years later Hills, after his influence had waned, was to offer to clear the clubs debts if each player swore temperance.

Dave Taylor went back to refereeing prior to the start of the season after sorting out the initial round of friendlies, so for the first season the clubs first coach was company employee A. T. (Ted) Harsent, with the Francis Payne(secretary of Thames Ironworks company) taking up the role of Chairman and Chief Director. Tom Robinson took up the role of trainer and physio, a position he had held with Old Castle Swifts.

Mr. Hills initial concept was for a purely amateur team for the benefit of works employees. Each who wished to take part paid an initial annual stipend of 2s/6d (12.5p) and attracted fifty would-be players for the first season alone. Such was the response that a dual schedule of games was arranged to cater for the number of players, with often entirely different line-ups taking to the field at the same time. Training took place on Tuesday and Thursday nights in a gas-lit schoolroom at Trinity Church School in Barking Road. Training mainly consisted of Army physical training exercises led by Tom Robinson. They also went for runs along the Turnpike Road now known as Beckton Road. The state of amateurism was to become a bone of contention between Arnold Hills and directors due to the growing professionalism of football as espoused by future manager Syd King in 1904:
"In the summer of 1895, when the clanging of "hammers" was heard on the banks of Father Thames and the great warships were rearing their heads above the Victoria Dock Road, a few enthusiasts, with the love of football within them, were talking about the grand old game and the formation of a club for the workers of the Thames Iron Works Limited. There were platers and riveters in the Limited who had chased the big ball in the north country. There were men among them who had learned to give the subtle pass and to urge the leather goalwards. No thought of professionalism, I may say, was ever contemplated by the founders. They meant to run their club on amateur lines and their first principal was to choose their team from men in the works."

The team played on a strictly amateur basis for 1895 at least, with a team featuring a number of works employees including Thomas Freeman (ships fireman), Walter Parks (clerk), Johnny Stewart, Walter Tranter[18] and James Lindsay (all boilermakers), William Chapman, George Sage, and William Chamberlain and apprentice riveter Charlie Dove who was to have a massive influence on the clubs future at a later date.
"As an old footballer myself, I would say, get into good condition at the beginning of the season, keep on the ball, play an unselfish game, pay heed to your captain, and whatever the fortunes of the first half of the game, never despair of winning, and never give up doing your very best to the last minute of the match. That is the way to play football, and better still, that is the way to make yourselves men."
—Arnold Hills letter to players, 16th March 1896

They won the West Ham Charity Cup in their first year and competed only in friendlies and one off exhibition games for their first season. Their first ever game was against Chatham Town F.C. on 12th October in front of a crowd of 3,000 and saw Chatham run out 5-0 winners.

They joined the London League in 1896, finishing runners up after only gaining entrance due to the withdrawal of Royal Ordnance. They sported the earliest known example of floodlights (utilising docking equipment and a ball dipped in whitewash) in a game against Arsenal and several games thereafter (including a match against the aptly named "Vampires"). In 1896 the team were evicted from their ground after the council revoked their groundrent and as a result spent over a year playing their home games on the home grounds of other local sides including those of Milwall and Tottenham. Arnold Hills, at great personal cost, proposed, secured the land, then funded the development of what became the Memorial Grounds. The venue would not merely be a playing ground for the football team (indeed Hills himself described it foremostly as "the largest cycle track in London") but would incoporate all Thames Ironworks societies as well as open access for the community at large. The team celebrated by winning the London League at the first attempt at their new home, pipping the amateur precursor of Brentford F.C. by a single point.

Thames Ironworks turned professional upon entering the Southern League Second Division (the bottom level in those days) in 1898. The idea of the club as a 'works' team had gradually become less plausible with the growing professionalism in the game, and gradually the team drifted away from its original conception (though works men could still sign up and take part in training and trials).[12] In 1898 Francis Payne had been given a sum of £1000 by Arnold Hills to find the players required to push the team on as a result of which an approach was made to a player from Birmingham that ultimately resulted in Payne being suspended from football for 'tapping up' in 1899, but not before signing Charlie Craig, Syd King (two of the best fullbacks in the league), and David Lloyd (who scored close to a goal a game in his time with the club).

The team won the Southern League title at the first attempt and were promoted to First Division proper.[26] The following year they came second from bottom, but had established themselves as a fully fledged competitive team. They comfortably fended off the challenge of local rivals Fulham F.C. in a relegation play-off, 5-1 in late April 1900 and retained their First Division status.

1900-1920
In June 1900, Thames Ironworks was wound up but was immediately relaunched on July 5, 1900 as West Ham United Football Club with former player Syd King installed officially as club director, but acting as 'manager', and Charlie Paynter as assistant trainer. Club secretary was L. M . Bowen. Despite the shift in team name the club (and its fans) are to this day referred to as "The Irons" and "The Hammers" due to the original connection and still retains many rivalries (both friendly, and competitive) and community associations from these formative years. In particular they are perceived to have retained many 'working class' values even with the rapid changes in the footballing climate.

The reborn club played their games at the Memorial Ground in Plaistow (funded by Arnold Hills) but moved to a pitch in the Upton Park area when the team officially severed ties with the company (losing their works provisioned offices in the process). The new ground was originally named "The Castle", for the 1904-05 season (a local pub in Plaistow to this day is called "The Castle") sited on a plot of land near Green Street House. The original gates to the ground, with the original Hammers crest (now painted in claret and blue), can be seen in Grange Road, London E13.

Funded through local collections, sponsorship and breweries the club eventually constructed a 20,000 capacity stadium with 2000 seats. The stadium was eventually named The Boleyn Ground (in honour of being constructed upon the grounds of a former residence of Anne Boleyn, Green Street House) it is, however, generally known as Upton Park in popular media. Their first game in their new home was against local rivals Millwall F.C. (themselves an Ironworks team, albeit for a rival company) drawing a crowd of 10,000 and with West Ham running out 3-0 winners[12], and as the Daily Mirror wrote on September 2, 1904:
"Favoured by the weather turning fine after heavy rains of the morning, West Ham United began their season most auspiciously yesterday evening; when they beat Milwall by 3 goals to 0 on their new enclosure at Upton Park."

The early history of both clubs are intertwined, with West Ham initially coming out on top in a number of meetings between the two teams as part of a budding and friendly local rivaly (even momentarily ground sharing when made homeless the following year) but eventually resulting in West Ham bring promoted at the expense of Millwall. Millwall later turned down joining the fledgling Football League only to see West Ham go on to the top division and an F.A. Cup final. Later in the 1920s (rumoured to be 1926) the rivalry was supposedly spiced up during strike action made by East End companies (perceived to be West Ham fans) that Isle Of Dogs based companies (i.e. Millwall fans) refused to support breeding ill will between the two camps. The rivalry remains pronounced to this day.

West Ham Utd F.C. had joined the Western League for the 1901 season in addition to continuing playing in the Southern Division 1. In 1907 West Ham were crowned the Western League Division 1B Champions, and then defeated 1A champions Fulham 1-0 to become the Western Leagues Overall Champions.

1920-1930
Still under the leadership of Syd King and growing influence of Charlie Paynter they won election to the the Football League Second division proper in 1919 for the first post-war football season. They were first promoted to the top division in 1923 as runners-up to Notts County (on goal average ahead of Leicester City F.C.) and subsequently enjoyed 11 top flight seasons, though regularly in the lower half and only twice broaching the top ten (in 1926/27 and 1929/30). Syd eventually built an attractive footballing side built around the skills of players such as Vic Watson, Jimmy Ruffell and Syd Puddefoot, and the goalkeeping of Ted Hufton.

Also in 1923 the club took part in the first ever FA Cup to be held at the newly constructed Empire Stadium[35] more popularly known as 'Wembley' against Bolton Wanderers. The event is notable, aside from the football, for its record attendance far in excess of the organisers' expectations or stadium capacity, and the presence of 'Billie' (a horse) ridden by PC G.A. Scorey (sometimes given as "Storey") that was required to clear the pitch in order for play to start. As a result the final is commonly referred to as "The White Horse Final". The team lost 2-0 on the day in what became the marquee event for Football.

I'm forever blowing bubbles,
Pretty bubbles in the air.
They fly so high, nearly reach the sky,
And like my dreams they fade and die.
Fortune's always hiding,
I've looked everywhere...
I'm forever blowing bubbles,
pretty bubbles in the air.
—original lyrics to "Bubbles", from John Helliar

Sometime during the late twenties the club acquired one of its other longstanding monikers. At the time a Pears soap commercial featuring the curly haired child in the Millais "Bubbles" painting who resembled a player in a local schoolboy team for whom the headmaster coined singing the tune "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" with amended lyrics. Through this contrivance of association the clubs fans took it upon themselves to begin singing the popular music hall tune before home games, sometimes reinforced by the presence of a house band requested to play the refrain by Charlie Paynter.

1932 and the war years
The Syd King and Charlie Paynter partnership was dissolved acrimoniously in 1932 after the clubs 9th straight defeat, and with allegations of alcoholism and belligerence towards the Directors from King. King died a few months later, taking his own life in an alcohol fuelled depression, at the age of fifty-nine.

Long term servant Charlie Paynter, now nearly fifty and having spent more than 35 years at the club in a variety of roles, was installed as the clubs manager and immediately oversaw the club's relegation to Division 2. West Ham weren't to see the top flight again before WW2 broke out.

He oversaw the redevelopment of the team, investing heavily in a youth policy and shunning for the most part signings from other teams in an effort to usher in an entirely new public image. His plans were in tatters soon enough as the war call-up stripped the club of practically all its starting squad and several in the administration. Paynter himself was exempt due to his age. With the government insisting life carried on as normal as possible, the team (often utilising visiting players as 'guests', and a number of foreigners from the armed forces) continued to play regularly. In the League Cup however no such guests were allowed, and West Ham secured the first trophy with a 1-0 win over Blackburn Rovers in 1940 whilst watched by survivors of the Dunkirk evacuation.

The club spent the majority of its next 30 years in Division 2 under the leadership of first Charlie Paynter, and later Ted Fenton who began the process of bringing in notable names, as well as developing the first crop of young talent culminating in achieving promotion to the top division again in 1958 thanks to the goals of John Dick and defensive talent of Malcolm Allison.

Ron Greenwood: Early achievement
West Ham United first established themselves in 1964, when manager Ron Greenwood guided the club to their first major trophy in the shape of an FA Cup final victory over Preston North End. Ronnie Boyce scoring a last minute goal to secure a 3-2 victory, with striker Sissons becoming the youngest ever scorer in a cup final. The success of 1964 was repeated a year later, this time with a 2-0 European Cup Winners Cup triumph over 1860 Munich at Wembley.

The team was built upon the England international trio of Club and International Captain Bobby Moore in defence, Martin Peters in midfield and Geoff Hurst up front (all promoted through the youth system during Fenton's tenure) but also sported the likes of long time club servants John Bond and England international Ken Brown (father of Kenny Brown, who went on to play for the club in the 1990s), talented wing half Eddie Bovington, midfielder and forward Ronnie Boyce, leftback Jack Burkett (the first man to ever be substituted for the club) and rightback Joe Kirkup. Up front were the prolific striker Johnny Byrne and the slightly less prolific Brian Dear. Future manager Harry Redknapp played on the wing, the goalkeeper was Jim Standen; about this time, the club hired its first black player John Charles.

Over the next few seasons Greenwood added some of the clubs best known, and long serving, youth products. 20 year servant, and future manager, Billy Bonds, fellow (almost) 20 year servants Trevor Brooking (who also had spells managing the club) and Frank Lampard Sr. (assistant manager during Redknapp's tenure), Clyde Best and John McDowell. In addition the team acquired Bobby Ferguson as goalkeeper.

The moves ultimately helped to guide West Ham to another FA Cup success in 1975, this time against Fulham. Ron Greenwood subsequently was appointed England Manager as replacement for Don Revie after his unsuccessful premiership.

John Lyall: Continuing the tradition
He was succeeded as team manager by John Lyall (a former youth product who retired through injury), who guided West Ham to another UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final in his second season in charge (1975-76). But this time West Ham were on the losing side, going 4-2 down against Anderlecht. Two years later in 1978 and the club were relegated to the Second Division but the manager was not replaced; in addition, many players were retained long enough enjoy a second FA Cup victory under Lyall's leadership whilst still in Division 2 in 1980, a feat no side outside the top division has since achieved. This time the win was over another London club, the much-fancied Arsenal. In his time Lyall had added Phil Parkes as goalkeeper, and had the fortune of having Alvin Martin, Geoff Pike and Paul Allen emerge through the ranks to add to the defence and midfield. In addition he had captured skilful winger Alan Devonshire from non-league football, penalty taking fullback Ray Stewart from Scotland and Stuart Pearson from Cup winners Manchester United.

The game ended 1-0, with Brooking stooping to head home a goal he would have probably more easily scored with his feet as the second division side more than held its own. Young Paul Allen became the youngest player to appear in a cup final, and at one point looked set to score what would have been a goal by the youngest player also - until a professional foul from Willie Young brought him down whilst clean through in behind the defence. This 1980 FA Cup is still West Ham's most recent major trophy.

In 1981, the Hammers finished runners-up in the League Cup. Between 1982 and 1985 West Ham achieved three consecutive top ten finishes. Lyall helped them achieve their highest league finish of third in 1986, but was sacked three years later as they suffered relegation to the Second Division.

Billy Bonds era: Up and down
Lyall was replaced by Lou Macari for the 1989-90 season, but Macari resigned after less than one season as manager to concentrate on clearing his name in connection with financial irregularities at his previous club Swindon Town. The next manager to occupy the hot seat at West Ham was Billy Bonds, whose first season at the helm (1990-91) ended with runners-up spot in the Second Division and a place back in the top division. But West Ham struggled throughout the 1991-92 season and were relegated in bottom place, missing the first season of the new Premier League.

West Ham regained their top flight status at the first attempt, finishing Division One runners-up in 1992-93 and securing promotion to the Premiership. They survived relegation by a comfortable margin in 1993-94, but Bonds was informed that Harry Redknapp would take charge of the side for the next season, and to either accept the position of director of football or be sacked. Instead, Bonds resigned from the club.

Harry Redknapp era: Consolidation
One of Harry Redknapp's first actions as West Ham manager was to re-sign striker Tony Cottee from Everton. He also signed Liverpool's Don Hutchison and Mike Marsh and brought back Julian Dicks, as well as re-signing striker Iain Dowie from Southampton. Redknapp also attempted to bring young talent to the side, signing Joey Beauchamp from Oxford United and bringing through the young talent of Matthew Rush, Steve Jones and Matty Holmes. Cottee started the second spell of his West Ham career well, and formed a solid partnership with Trevor Morley aided by the Ian Bishop, Dale Gordon and the aggressive Martin Allen in midfield. The team defied the popular belief that they would return to the First Division by finishing thirteenth. In addition John Moncur was added from relegated Swindon Town.

West Ham avoided relegation again in 1994-95 and played their part in the final-day drama of the season, holding Manchester United to a 1-1 draw at Upton Park and denying them a third successive Premiership title. On paper the team was routinely outclassed by opposition, but on grass put in a series of superb performances[42]. Old hand Alvin Martin partnered Steve Potts, Tim Breacker and Dicks with longterm custodian Luděk Mikloško in goal to form a stout defence that made up for the deficiencies elsewhere in midfield and up front which had seen a number of players move on - including fan favourite Matthew Holmes, to newly christened league champions Blackburn Rovers, for £1.5m.

Redknapp spent the summer adding to the teams defence. He had previously captured Danish International centrehalf Marc Rieper in one coup and quickly followed this up by signing another international, this time the Croatian Slaven Bilić in January of 1996 for a then club record £1.65m. West Ham progressed to 10th place in 1995-96.

Crucially at this point the Jean-Marc Bosman case finally came to an end resulting in the Bosman ruling. This meant no longer would Redknapp have to balance his team based upon nationality - a problem the previous year when Mikloško, Rieper and were all classed as 'Foreign', thus leaving only one slot open for Irish/Welsh and English players. The change in ruling opened the door for a number of foreign internationals, and at the same time had seen a great number of established players within the team being shown the door (Hutchison, Burrows, Morley, Marsh, Holmes, Boere and Gordon were all released or sold on).

The following summer, going into the historic 1996-97 season, Redknapp continued looking abroad and made two of the most ambitious but perhaps least productive signings in the club's history - the Romanian national team's striker Florin Răducioiu and Portuguese winger Paulo Futre (formerly a £10m man) from AC Milan. The deals failed to work out; Răducioiu left after six months at the club and returned to Romania after falling out with the manager (famously being christened a "tart, a fairy, a little girl" by Redknapp in his autobiography for complaining about the physical nature of the English game), while Futre played just one first-team game before being beaten by a long-term knee injury and announcing his retirement (and equally famously storming out after being denied the number 10 shirt for a friendly). Coupled with the equally disastrous Marco Boogers affair, the drawn out Work Permit wrangle involving Răducioiu's compatriot Dumitrescu who had been signed 6 months earlier from Tottenham Hotspur (but had failed to play the required number of games whilst at Spurs) and the lack of a quality second striker West Ham struggled.

The 1996-97 Hammer campaign nosedived towards disaster after starting in an average fashion. Injuries to key and back-up players were critical (losing Lazaridis to a broken leg for instance, and what turned out to be the career ending injury to the promising Richard Hall signed only months before for £1.5m from Southampton), but so were the failed signings and some poor performances. The form of Michael Hughes (signed permanently after 2 years on loan from RC Strasbourg) and performances of loan signing Hugo Porfirio were a rare bright spot, as was the emergence of future England teammates Rio Ferdinand and Frank Lampard. Răducioiu's chief contribution - a curling left footed shot around a full stretch Schmeichel in a 2-2 draw - was considered by some[attribution needed] to be almost worth the transfer in itself. At Christmas the team sat low in midtable with only 5 wins and 7 draws from 19 games at which point they added only 1 point from the next 6 games sending the team to the bottom of the table.

Faced with relegation the board financed two key acquisitions. Firstly young Arsenal striker John Hartson in a £3.3m move (again breaking the clubs transfer record) and in addition the signing of Newcastle United forward Paul Kitson in a £1.2m move and battling Manchester City midfielder Steve Lomas for £1.6m. The strike pair were an instant hit, scoring 13 goals between them in 12 games as a pairing including those in a vital 4-3 win against close rivals Tottenham, a 3-2 against Chelsea and a hat-trick for Kitson and brace for Hartson in a 5-1 rout of Sheffield Wednesday in the next to last game confirming the club's survival and saving Redknapp's job.

Despite the close shave the hopes for the following 1997-98 season were high. Hartson and Kitson gave the team an exciting frontline, whilst in the midfield Redknapp added Eyal Berkovic from Southampton and Trevor Sinclair and Andy Impey from QPR. The team unfortunately had to contend with the season-long loss of captain Julian Dicks (who had played on the previous year despite needing urgent knee surgery) and the sale of Marc Rieper to Celtic, and Slaven Bilić to Everton. The profit from the sale went to acquire former England under-21s David Unsworth and Ian Pearce from Everton and Blackburn respectively.

This season marked a change in Redknapp's tactical approach, the team changing to a 5-3-2 formation for the most part of the season. This allowed Redknapp to blood the young talent of Rio Ferdinand in his preferred role as a sweeper whilst pairing him with two extremely competent defenders. The pacey Lazaridis and Impey took over wingback roles, whilst the centre of midfield was contested by Lampard, Lomas and Berkovic with Moncur preferred over Ian Bishop in reserve and Michael Hughes out in the cold. In goal Mikloško started out but injury curtailed his season (and by the next summer had moved on to QPR) resulting in Craig Forrest stepping in. However, Redknapp also managed to pluck the flamboyant Bernard Lama on loan from Paris St. Germain which helped maintain West Ham's late season push.

The season did not go entirely to plan. Kitson struggled (as he was for the remainder of his West Ham career) with niggling injuries limiting him to only 13 appearances (and 4 goals). Redknapp acquired Samassi Abou for a bargain £250,000 to add depth, and he performed admirably if sometimes lacking in quality. Nonetheless he became a crowd favourite for his languid style, skill and lampooned name (having to have it explained to him that the crowd were not 'booing' him, but in fact 'abouing' him). Hartson however scored consistently, notching 24 in his first season across all competitions, whilst Lampard flowered in midfield. The acquisition of Sinclair at Christmas injected some vital cutting edge and propelled the team for the first time into the upper half of the table resulting in the side finishing an impressive 8th.

For 1998/99 Redknapp again went foreign and signed former French International Marc Keller, exciting Cameroonian midfielder Marc-Vivien Foé and World Cup star Javier Margas. However he did not neglect home-grown talent, adding the experienced Ian Wright and Neil Ruddock, whilst also bringing Scott Minto back from abroad and Shaka Hislop in as goalkeeper on a free from Newcastle. (Hislop went on to win the Hammer of the Year award in his first season.)

West Ham started slowly and by Christmas were facing a crisis. First the club sold Andy Impey under the nose of the manager (literally removing him from a game in which he was tabled to start) and then made it clear to the manager that he would find no further funds forthcoming due to the absenteeism of Javier Margas (which was taken to highlight Redknapp's continued failure with foreign talent).) John Hartson was found to be involved in a training ground incident involving Eyal Berkovic and the owners were forced to act. Hartson was sold to Wimbledon for £7.5m as a result after having an already disappointing start to the year where he did not score until 10 games in and was notably overweight and out of shape.

Redknapp was given a some of the funds to buy in replacements. His first choice was Paolo Di Canio - who famously the previous year had pushed referee Paul Alcock to the ground - and he signed for an initial fee of £1.25m. In addition he also signed former Manchester United target Marc-Vivien Foé for £3.5m to solidify the midfield.

By the end of 1998/99 West Ham had achieved an impressive 5th place finish. But, for the only time in league history, were denied a UEFA Cup place due to new UEFA Coefficients. (The seasons to either side had seen every team down to 7th feature in the UEFA Cup.) The team instead was entered as one of England's Inter-Toto cup competitors (and a place in the UEFA Cup proper up for grabs). A victory over Metz in the two-legged final eventually earned the Hammers a place in the UEFA Cup - ending an absence of almost 20 years from European competition. Redknapp brought in Paulo Wanchope from Derby County to compliment Paolo Di Canio and Igor Štimac to replace the outgoing Unsworth.

In 1999-2000 consolidation was supposed to be the key, but once again plans were interrupted by injury. The Inter Toto and UEFA Cup expedition took a lot out of the players - but the team started the season sharper than the others, resulting in a comfortable upper-midtable position by the halfway point of the season. Tiredness, loss of form, and a build-up of injuries resulted in a slide downwards towards the end of the season, eventually resulting in a 9th place finish and a 3rd consecutive year in the top half (a first for West Ham).

The year was noticeable for the introduction of Joe Cole and Michael Carrick to the first team proper, the ignominious exit in the League Cup to Aston Villa due to an enforced replay after it transpired that last minute substitute Emmanuel Omoyimni had featured in the competition whilst on loan earlier in the season (this event saw the resignation of Martin Aldridge), and the barracking Paulo Wanchope received for the early part of the year. The striker failed to settle despite scoring 12 league goals in 33 games (an above average output). Unfortunately his erratic form and gaffes meant he would move on at the end of the year.

Marc-Vivien Foé was sold at the end of the year (his final act was a plunging tackle from behind that saw him sent off against Arsenal) and Redknapp acquired Frédéric Kanouté with the money.

End of Redknapp
The 2000-01 season was Redknapp's final year. They got off to a dismal start, hampered by further injuries (Sinclair notably, but also Ian Pearce continued absence), a number of failed loan transfers (Christian Bassila and Kaba Diawara) and unimpressive signings (Davor Šuker, reportedly on £50,000 a week[49] who only managed 8 starts, Ragnvald Soma, and the continued absence of Margas who had turned up for half of the previous season). With the team in the doldrums the board eventually accepted a bid for the teams prized asset - Rio Ferdinand - in an £18 million move to Leeds United for both the British transfer record and a world record for a defender. The deal has since been criticised, as the fee was neither upfront, nor was a sell-on bonus included; meaning the club missed out on his later £30m move to United and also a sizeable chunk of the initial transfer.

Redknapp proceeded to spend a chunk of the transfer money on a string of coolly received signings (in addition he was given a £300,000 pound bonus for agreeing not to spend the entire transfer sum and arranging the transfer to Leeds) forcing what was to be the end of his time at the club. Redknapp signed the Liverpool pairing of Rigobert Song (a solid, if erratic and unsuited to the physical Premiership, player with over 60 Caps to his name for £2.6m) and Titi Camara (an exciting attacking player who arrived massively overweight, unfit and devoid of form after being forced out of the Liverpool first team for £2.2m), along with Scottish International Christian Dailly (who had never lived up to his great early promise for £1.75m), for a total of some £8m (including fees and final cost adjustments). These transfers were later used as ammunition against the departing Redknapp, with aspersions cast regarding agent fees and the expensive nature of Camara's alleged Pay-As-You-Play contract that would have seen further monies paid after a relatively small number of games.[51] His only solid moves from a fan's point of view was the loan signing Loan signings of Hannu Tihinen from Viking FK and Svetoslav Todorov did little to improve the paucity in quality of the first team. The team's fortunes improved imperceptibly but survival was ensured thanks to the poor performances of lower sides and the team finished in 15th place, comfortably out of the relegation zone.

At this point Redknapp's relationship with the board, already strained since the Andy Impey incident, fell apart. Redknapp requested a warchest of £12m to get the club back into the top six, with a sizeable portion of this to go towards bringing in Paris St. Germain left-winger Laurent Robert, a client of football agent and close associate of Harry Redknapp Willie McKay.

Slanderous comments soon followed in the direction of the West Ham board as Redknapp gave an interview in the unofficial West Ham fanzine Over Land and Sea, focusing his tirade on the lack of funding. The outburst caused so much friction that his position as manager became untenable, and Redknapp was sacked before the end of the season.

In the aftermath Frank Lampard Sr. left the club, and due to the obvious fall-out his son Frank Lampard was sold off to Chelsea for £11m. The money was subsequently granted to incoming manager Glenn Roeder.

Glenn Roeder era: Down again
Several big names were linked with the vacant manager's job. Former West Ham player Alan Curbishley, who had rebuilt Charlton Athletic F.C. on and off the field since becoming their manager in 1991, instantly became favourite for the job but insisted he wasn't interested. Steve McClaren, who had been assistant manager of Manchester United in three successive title-winning seasons (including the 1999 treble campaign), was also linked with the job, but he was then appointed manager of Middlesbrough. So West Ham turned to youth team manager Glenn Roeder to fill the role. People[52] doubted Roeder's suitability for the job, as his only managerial exploits had been short-lived and perceived to be unsuccessful with Gillingham over 1992-93 and Watford from 1993-96.

West Ham had a slow start to the 2001-02 season, hampered by injuries to key players. New signing David James was injured before he even made an appearance whilst on International duty; Frédéric Kanouté, Michael Carrick and Paolo Di Canio nursed groin and knee problems). The board made money available for strengthening the squad and Glenn acquired respected Czech International defender Tomáš Řepka from ACF Fiorentina, and Don Hutchison for his second term with the Hammers. However, Glenn Roeder was soon under immense pressure from fans who were calling for him to be sacked, especially after witnessing back to back maulings at the hands of Everton (5-0) and Blackburn (7-1). He responded by guiding the club to a seventh-place finish in the final table, just one place short of European qualification - although there was a 12-point gap between West Ham and sixth-placed Chelsea.

The summer of 2002-03 did not bode well for the season ahead. Despite a glaring need for squad reinforcements, only positive transfer activity involved Irish international Gary Breen signing on a free transfer (he was to be later to be reviled as one of the poorest players ever to wear the West Ham shirt). Out the door went a number of experienced pros such as Paul Kitson, and a hatful of youth and fringe players. Another (by now traditional) poor start plagued West Ham United through to 2003, and this time Roeder was unable to turn things round quickly enough. The loss of Kanouté for nearly 1/3rd of the season, and Di Canio at the exact same period resulted in the teenage Jermain Defoe leading the line on his own. The loss of form of key players such as Trevor Sinclair, 2001-02 Hammer of the Year Sebastian Schemmel and Michael Carrick, who was still nursing a groin problem, combined with the absence of a dependable left back or left midfielder merely exacerbated an already difficult situation. The Hammers failed to win a single home game until January and suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of Manchester United in the FA Cup. The much attacked Gary Breen was pointedly at fault for a number of errors, but his play was not helped by the lack of any cohesive team.

During the transfer window the club acquired Les Ferdinand and Rufus Brevett, and more importantly got Di Canio and Kanouté both back on the pitch and off the treatment table. The club's form improved and they began to claw their way up the table towards safety. In April Glenn collapsed in his office and was diagnosed with a brain tumour. He was immediately given a leave of absence and 1980 FA Cup final hero Trevor Brooking took over for the final 3 games of the Premiership season. But, despite an upturn in the team's form (winning 2 and drawing 1) they were unable to overhaul Bolton Wanderers F.C. and finished 18th in the final table, 2pts short of the safety zone. West Ham drew early in the season and then lost against Bolton during the run in; a draw against Bolton in their second match would have been sufficient to see West Ham survive. Their 10-year spell in the Premiership was over.

Not since 1994-95 had a club been relegated from the division with more than 40 points (West Ham had 42), but this was no consolation for a disappointed West Ham side filled with some of the most promising young English players, all tipped for international honours. The relegation forced the sale of key players Joe Cole and Glen Johnson (both to Chelsea), Kanouté and later Jermain Defoe to Tottenham Hotspur, Trevor Sinclair to Manchester City later followed by David James in the same direction, in a bid to prevent a financial crisis at Upton Park. Glenn Roeder was sacked soon after the start of the 2003-04 season.

Alan Pardew era: Return to the Premiership
Alan Pardew was the eventual replacement for Roeder, following Brooking's second brief stint as caretaker manager. Pardew was head hunted from fellow Division One rivals (and promotion hopefuls) Reading by West Ham with the objective of promotion back to the FA Premier League. With a team whose talent had become marginalised over the previous 6 months since relegation the task did not appear to be a simple one.

The team saw over 15 new players brought in on both short and long term deals including Rob Lee, David Connolly, Marlon Harewood, Matthew Etherington, Kevin Horlock, Hayden Mullins, Nigel Reo-Coker, Andy Melville, Bobby Zamora and Brian Deane. The turn-over of players continued however with these and other acquisitions funded by the loss of David James, Jermain Defoe and Ian Pearce. The squad was bolstered with a contingent of loan signings such as Wayne Quinn, Neil Mellor, Matthew Kilgallon, Niclas Alexandersson, Robbie Stockdale and Jon Harley. As a result the team routinely lacked cohesion, and without Defoe for a large part lacked a quality striker in front of goal - though Connolly's immediate impact (5 in the 9 opening league games) and positive attitude coupled with Harewoods form went some way to make up for the loss of the future England International.

The teams form had picked up noticeably under Trevor Brooking, rising from 10th in the table to second by mid September. With Pardew installed as manager on the 18th of September the fans didn't have to wait long for their first win with the team taking a 3-0 over Crystal Palace on the 1st of October. A subsequent victory against Derby however was the last for almost a month until title run-away leaders Wigan suffered a 4-0 hammering at Upton Park. By this point the team had slipped to 8th, and were more than 6pts off the pace of the top 6 sides. Form waxed and waned through January, February and March with early fan opinion divided over their new manager but eventually the team settled into the top 6, and barring a late season dip that for a timebeing had Pardew seemingly close to the chop,[citation needed] the team came through strong to run out 4th place overall. In the Play-Off finals the team were defeated by Crystal Palace (who finished 6th that year).

The following year promotion was achieved through the play-offs. The team had only just sealed the last play-off place with a 2-1 win over Watford on the last day of the season. This time having played twice against Ipswich Town, West Ham drew 2-2 at Upton Park and won 2-0 at Portman Road over the two legs to qualify for the final at the Millennium Stadium, they achieved their aim with a 1-0 win against Preston North End, with Bobby Zamora scoring the only goal of the game in the second half.

Following promotion, the club exceeded expectations and achieved the ultimate target of survival for 2005-06 with a top-half place in the 2004-05 Premiership. Pardew claimed that he will not sell the club's best players, and appeared to have the backing of the board on this issue; he in fact spent a club record seven million to bring Dean Ashton to Upton Park. Ashton has been touted as "the next Alan Shearer". In January and February 2006, following a 3-1 home defeat by Chelsea, West Ham embarked on their best sequence of results for twenty years, winning seven games in a row in all competitions (five in the league and two in the FA Cup). The 3-2 win away to Arsenal on February 1, on West Ham's last visit to Highbury Stadium, was the most noteworthy victory during this run, with the Hammers recording their first win over Arsenal at their stadium since 1995.

This seven-game winning streak ended when they drew 0-0 with Bolton Wanderers in the FA Cup Fifth Round, however their unbeaten run continued when they drew 2-2 against Everton in the Premiership, before coming to an abrupt halt with a heavy defeat against Bolton Wanderers, losing 4-1. However Alan Pardew fielded a weakened team in that game in preparation for the FA Cup replay against Bolton again, where they won 2-1 aet with a Marlon Harewood. They then played, on 18 March, their former manager and player Harry Redknapp's club Portsmouth, on his first return to Upton Park. Portsmouth won 4-2 as Pardew rested some key players. However, two days later the Hammers beat Manchester City 2-1 to reach the FA Cup semi-finals. On Sunday 23 April, less than a week following a loss to Middlesbrough in a league fixture, West Ham defeated them 1-0 at Villa Park in the FA Cup semi, with Marlon Harewood again scoring the goal that sent the Hammers through to their first FA Cup final since they beat Arsenal in 1980. This also secured the Hammers a place in the 2006-07 UEFA Cup, as Liverpool, their final opponent, are now assured of no worse than a spot in the final qualifying round of the that season's Champions League. The Hammers, with a place in next year's 2006-07 UEFA Cup and a FA Cup Final, now had to secure a top 10 finish, a position they had held since the start of the campaign. With this in mind and the FA Cup final on May 13, Pardew had a dilemma, whether to stick out his first team and run the risk of injuries and suspensions or hold back. A mock run up of the FA Cup final saw Liverpool beat the Irons 2-1, with a late confrontation involving Mullins and Luis Garcia seeing them both sent off, missing the Final. Mullins, a key to their Premiership success would be dearly missed as he had been a defensive stronghold against many a worthy attacking force.[citation needed] On the back of that troubled match, the Hammers beat an already relegated West Bromwich Albion team 1-0, in which Dean Ashton limped off with a hamstring injury, a huge doubt for the final. This win was the sixth time the Hammers had played on a Monday night and their sixth win was a huge step towards achieving a top ten finish.

West Ham won their final game of the season 2-1 over arch rivals Tottenham Hotspur, cementing 9th place in the Premier League. Tottenham's loss to West Ham on the final day would result in Tottenham being overtaken in the league by Arsenal and therefore missing out on a Champions League place. The match was marred by controversy as many of the Tottenham players were ill on the evening before the match; this was initially believed to be "food poisoning", but was later found to be a virus that had gone round. The FA offered Tottenham a delayed kickoff which they refused. Tottenham ended up losing the match by a final score of 2-1. West Ham scored first when midfielder Carl Fletcher struck past Spurs keeper Paul Robinson. Tottenham then equalised through former Hammer striker Jermain Defoe. The Hammers had a chance to win the game when former Spurs player, Teddy Sheringham took a penalty kick. Sheringham's kick was saved. Israel international Yossi Benayoun was the hero and scored the game winning goal with a stunning strike.

Also this season, two of West Ham's longest serving managers died, Ron Greenwood and John Lyall. Greenwood and Lyall both led West Ham to FA Cup victories in 1964, 1975 and 1980.

If Pardew had guided West Ham to FA Cup glory, he would have been the first English manager to win the trophy since Joe Royle won it with Everton back in 1995. It would also have ended West Ham's 26-year wait for a major trophy which began after their FA Cup triumph in 1980. However, the game ended 3-3, despite West Ham taking a two goal lead early in the match. Eventually West Ham lost 3-1 on penalties, in what was considered by many as the best Cup final in recent years.[citation needed] It is generally accepted[attribution needed] that Pardew has got closer than any manager in a quarter of a century to restoring the glory years back at Upton Park.

During the summer break before the start of the 2006/2007 season, Pardew suffered a huge blow to his team with the loss of Dean Ashton. During training whilst on international duty, Ashton broke his ankle. He was training for England's football match the following day against Greece, which was about to be England's first match under the new manager Steve McClaren.

On the transfer deadline day for the new season, 31 August, West Ham seemed to have surprised world football when speculation mounted that two of the most promising young footballers in the world would be joining on permanent move. Carlos Tévez announced on his website that he and Javier Mascherano would be joining West Ham from Brazilian club Corinthians. West Ham confirmed shortly afterwards that not only had they signed the two Argentinians, but that they had signed on permanent deals. West Ham reportedly had to beat off competition from some major European clubs to sign the two young Argentinians.

West Ham's return to European competition, in the UEFA Cup in 2006, was ultimately short-lived as they lost 4-0 over two legs in the 1st round proper to Italian club, Palermo. This marked a major down turn in form leading to eight losses in succession in all competitions as of October 24, including a shock 2-1 loss away to League 1 side Chesterfield in the third round of the Carling Cup. The Hammers finally stopped the record-breaking run on October 29 at home to Blackburn with a 2-1 win in the Premiership, with goals from Teddy Sheringham, who in the making became the oldest ever goalscorer in the Premier League, and Hayden Mullins getting the winner in the 79th minute. They made it two wins in a row when they beat Arsenal at Upton Park with Marlon Harewood getting an 89th minute winner. The game was overshadowed by the arguments between Arsène Wenger and Alan Pardew in the manager dugouts, both have been charged by the FA. On November 21, the proposed takeover of West Ham United by a consortium headed by Icelandic businessman Eggert Magnusson went through, fuelling speculation over Pardew's future. After just 4 games with Magnusson as the new chairman of West Ham United, Pardew was sacked from the manager's role on December 11, after a 4-0 drubbing at Bolton on the Saturday before. Pardew eventually found work again on 24 December 2006, at Charlton Athletic, ironically where Pardew's replacement Curbishley had spent 15 years of his managerial career, building his reputation.

Magnússon takeover
On 21 November, West Ham announced that they had reached an agreement with a consortium headed by Icelandic businessman Eggert Magnússon for the sale of the club, worth £85m.

On 26 November, The Guardian reported that West Ham may move to the Olympic Stadium in 2012, with the running track left intact.

On 1 September, the Board of West Ham confirmed, following press speculation, that they were in takeover talks with an unnamed party. They announced that there was no link between this prospective takeover bid and the signings of Tévez and Mascherano the day before. Media Sports Investment (MSI), the company which owns the contracts of those two players, and chose to bring them to West Ham, confirmed that it had no interest in investing in European football clubs, thereby ruling itself out of being behind these talks. However, a consortium headed by former MSI frontman Kia Joorabchian entered into talks with the club on 5 September. These talks broke down in early November after further debts that had not been declared by West Ham were revealed in the due diligence process. This was compounded by the announcement that West Ham would be unable to move into the 2012 London Olympic Stadium after the event, which was to be reserved for athletics use.

On 11 December, it was confirmed that Alan Pardew has been sacked from his job as manager of West Ham after a dismal run of results, including a 4-0 loss to Bolton. In the first few days that followed the departure of Pardew it was confirmed that West Ham were in talks with Alan Curbishley, who played for the Hammers between 1975-1979.

Alan Curbishley - The Great Escape
Former West Ham United player and Charlton Athletic manager Alan Curbishley officially took over the vacant West Ham United job on December 13, 2006, just 48 hours after Alan Pardew had been sacked by new chairman Eggert Magnusson. Curbishley had been the odds-on favourite for the West Ham job straight after Pardew's departure, so it came as no surprise that Curbishley was unveiled at a press conference on December 13. Curbishley's managerial CV reads well, as he was manager at local rivals Charlton Athletic for 15 years leading up to May 2006. During that time, he took Charlton from a struggling side languishing in old Second Division to a recognized Premiership side.

Curbishley had been linked with the West Ham job five years earlier, in the summer of 2001 after Harry Redknapp left the club, but decided the time was not right for him and the job went to Glenn Roeder instead. Curbishley made an impressive start with a 1-0 victory over the current Premiership leaders Manchester United, his first ever victory over them in his managerial career, in which he won the game 1-0 with a late 75th minute winner from captain Nigel Reo-Coker.

In January 2007, with West Ham struggling in the bottom three, Curbishly made his first moves in the transfer market as West Ham United manager. His first signing was pacy Portuguese winger Luis Boa Morte from Fulham, soon followed by West Brom's Nigel Quashie. These signings were backed by defensive reinforcements in the form of young Callum Devenport, from Tottenham (who had previously been loaned to West Ham during their Championship years) and Australian captain Lucas Neill from Blackburn Rovers. Neill shunned the chance to sign for Liverpool after reportedly being offered double their proposed wage (£60k/week, compared to £30k - West Ham's highest ever earner). With Carlos Tevez out through injury, along with first choice Dean Ashton still yet to appear this season, Spanish under-21 striker Kepa Blanco was signed on loan from league-leaders Sevilla.

However, recent weeks have seen much improvement in performances and marked strengthening of confidence and self belief in the team. Couple this with crumbling morale at Sheffield United and Fulham and it appears as if the Great Escape is now in the bag.

West Ham have won 6 of their last 8 games, defeating, among others, Blackburn, Everton, Middlesbrough, and Arsenal. With West Ham's recent win over Wigan Athletic, another team struggling for survival, West Ham sure have a battling chance to survive in the Premiership. On May 5, 2007, West Ham United moved out of the relegation zone with a 3-1 win over Bolton and Wigan losing 1-0 to Middlesborough. West Ham currently reside in 17th place in the Premiership, 3 points ahead of Wigan.

Finally, on May 13th, at their last match of the season, West Ham played Manchester United at the Old Trafford. Needing at least a draw to survive in the primeirship, Carlos Tevez sent West Ham ahead 1-0 at the end of the first half injury time (45 + 1"). West Ham were finally victorious, securing a position in 15th, sending Sheffield United tumbling to the second division. After months of suffering, West Ham had survived in the Premiership