2004–05 FA Premier League
The 2004–05 FA Premier League began on 14 August 2004 and ended on 15 May 2005. Arsenal were the defending champions after going unbeaten the previous season. Chelsea won the title with a then record 95 points, which was previously set by Manchester United in the 1993-94 season, and later surpassed by Manchester City in the 2017–18 season, securing the title with a 2–0 win at the Reebok Stadium against Bolton Wanderers. Chelsea also broke a number of other records during their campaign, most notably breaking the record of most games won in a single Premier League campaign, securing 29 wins in the league in home and away matches.
Season summary
Arsenal were the favourites to defend their title after finishing the previous season unbeaten, but they also faced competition in the form of regular challengers Manchester United and Chelsea, the latter under the new management of Portuguese José Mourinho, who had just won the UEFA Champions League with Porto. Liverpool also had a new manager in Spaniard Rafael Benítez, who had just won La Liga and the UEFA Cup with Valencia and were expected to challenge for the title too. Another managerial change at a club aiming for the top was at Tottenham Hotspur, who appointed Jacques Santini, who had just led France to the quarter-finals of the 2004 European Championship.At the other end of the table, amongst those tipped for relegation were Norwich City, Crystal Palace and West Bromwich Albion, having all just been promoted from the First Division. Everton, Manchester City, Blackburn Rovers and Portsmouth were also tipped to struggle, the first three finishing just outside the relegation places the previous season and Portsmouth being in their second season.
For the first time since the advent of the Premier League in 1992, no team was mathematically relegated before the final day of the season. In each of the last three weekends of the season, the team that was bottom of the table at the start of the weekend finished it outside the drop zone. The final round of the season started on 15 May with West Bromwich Albion at the bottom, Southampton and Crystal Palace one point ahead and Norwich City a further point ahead, in the last safe spot.
West Brom, who had been bottom of the table and eight points from safety on Christmas Day, did their part by defeating Portsmouth at home 2–0. Norwich, the only side to have their fate completely in their own hands, lost 6–0 at Fulham and went down. Southampton lost 2–1 at home to Manchester United and were relegated after 27 years in the top flight. Palace, away to Charlton Athletic, were leading 2–1 after 71 minutes, but with eight minutes to go, Charlton's Jonathan Fortune equalised to relegate Palace. Thus, West Brom stayed up, becoming the first club in Premier League history to avoid relegation after being bottom of the table at Christmas.
Arsenal's record-breaking unbeaten streak of 49 games was ended on 24 October 2004, when Manchester United beat them 2–0 at Old Trafford.
At the end of the 90 minutes in all four matches, cameras focused on West Brom's home ground, The Hawthorns, as confirmation of other results began to filter through. Once the realisation dawned on the players and fans that survival had been achieved, a mass pitch invasion was sparked, with huge celebrations. The Portsmouth fans joined in the celebrations as, through losing, they had "helped" relegate arch-rivals Southampton. The defeat itself mattered little to Portsmouth, as they would be unable to improve on their final position of 16th due to 15th-placed Blackburn Rovers' greater points tally.
Teams
Twenty teams competed in the league – the top seventeen teams from the previous season and the three teams promoted from the First Division. The promoted teams were Norwich City, West Bromwich Albion and Crystal Palace, returning to the top flight after an absence of nine, one and six years respectively. They replaced Leicester City, Leeds United and Wolverhampton Wanderers, who had been relegated to the Championship. Leicester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers were relegated after a season's presence while Leeds United ended their top flight spell of fourteen years.Stadiums and Locations
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| Arsenal | London | Arsenal Stadium | 38,419 |
| Aston Villa | Birmingham | Villa Park | 42,553 |
| Birmingham City | Birmingham | St Andrew's | 30,079 |
| Blackburn Rovers | Blackburn | Ewood Park | 31,367 |
| Bolton Wanderers | Bolton | Reebok Stadium | 28,723 |
| Charlton Athletic | London | The Valley | 27,111 |
| Chelsea | London | Stamford Bridge | 42,360 |
| Crystal Palace | London | Selhurst Park | 25,073 |
| Everton | Liverpool | Goodison Park | 40,569 |
| Fulham | London | Craven Cottage | 24,600 |
| Liverpool | Liverpool | Anfield | 45,276 |
| Manchester City | Manchester | City of Manchester Stadium | 48,000 |
| Manchester United | Old Trafford | Old Trafford | 68,217 |
| Middlesbrough | Middlesbrough | Riverside Stadium | 35,049 |
| Newcastle United | Newcastle upon Tyne | St James' Park | 52,387 |
| Norwich City | Norwich | Carrow Road | 27,010 |
| Portsmouth | Portsmouth | Fratton Park | 20,220 |
| Southampton | Southampton | St Mary's Stadium | 32,505 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | London | White Hart Lane | 36,240 |
| West Bromwich Albion | West Bromwich | The Hawthorns | 26,484 |
Personnel and kits
Managerial changes
League table
Results
Top scorers
Awards
Monthly awards
Annual awards
PFA Players' Player of the Year
The PFA Player's Player of the year award was won by Chelsea captain John Terry.PFA Young Player of the Year
Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney was the recipient for this award.PFA Fans' Player of the Year
Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard won this award for the first time.PFA Team of the year
Goalkeeper – Petr ČechDefenders – Gary Neville, John Terry, Rio Ferdinand, Ashley Cole
Midfielders – Shaun Wright-Phillips, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Arjen Robben
Strikers – Thierry Henry, Andy Johnson