Soccer Teams

Barclay's Premier league

Manchester United F.C.

Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.

The 1958 Munich air disaster claimed the lives of eight players. In 1968, under the management of Matt Busby, Manchester United was the first English football club to win the European Cup. The current manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, has won 24 major honours since he took over in November 1986.[3][4]

Manchester United has won many trophies in English football, including a record 19 league titles, a record 11 FA Cups,[5] four League Cups and a record 19 FA Community Shields. The club has also won three European Cups, one UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, one UEFA Super Cup, one Intercontinental Cup and one FIFA Club World Cup. In 1998–99, the club won a Treble of the Premier League, the FA Cup and the UEFA Champions League, an unprecedented feat for an English club.

Manchester United is one of the wealthiest and most widely supported football teams in the world.[6][7][8][9] As of April 2012, the club is number one in Forbes magazine's annual ranking of the world's 50 most valuable sports teams, valued at £1.4 billion.[10] After being floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1991, the club was purchased by Malcolm Glazer in May 2005 in a deal valuing the club at almost £800 million.

Manchester City F.C.

Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's (West Gorton), they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894. The club has played at the City of Manchester Stadium since 2003, having played at Maine Road from 1923. The club's most successful period was in the late 1960s and early 1970s when they won the League Championship, FA Cup, League Cup and European Cup Winners' Cup under the management team of Joe Mercer and Malcolm Allison.

After losing the 1981 FA Cup Final, the club went through a period of decline culminating in relegation to the third tier of English football in 1998 for the first time in their history. The club has since regained top flight status where they have spent the majority of their history. In August 2008, the club was purchased by Abu Dhabi United Group, resulting in the club becoming one of the richest football clubs in the world. In 2011, Manchester City qualified for the Champions League and won the FA Cup. On 13th May, 2012, Manchester City defeated Queen's Park Rangers 3–2, with two injury time goals, to win the 2011–2012 Premier League.

Arsenal F.C.

Arsenal Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Holloway, London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups. Arsenal holds the record for the longest uninterrupted period in the English top flight and would be placed first in an aggregated league of the entire 20th century.[2] It is the second side to complete an English top flight season unbeaten (in the 2003–04 season), and the only one to do it across 38 matches.

Arsenal was founded in 1886 in Woolwich and in 1893 became the first club from the south of England to join the Football League. In 1913, it moved north across the city to Arsenal Stadium in Highbury. In the 1930s the club won five League Championship titles and two FA Cups. After a lean period in the post-war years it won the League and FA Cup Double, in the 1970–71 season, and in the 1990s and first decade of the 21st century won two more Doubles and reached the 2006 UEFA Champions League Final. Arsenal has a long-standing rivalry with neighbours Tottenham Hotspur, with whom it contests the North London derby. Arsenal is the fourth most valuable association football club in the world as of 2012, valued at $1.3 billion.

Chelsea F.C.

Chelsea Football Club is an English football club based in Fulham, London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners seven times and League Cup winners four times. They have also achieved European success, reaching the UEFA Champions' League final twice and winning the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup twice.

Chelsea's home is the 41,837-seat Stamford Bridge stadium, where they have played since their establishment. The club had their first major success in 1955, when they won the league championship, and won several cup competitions during the 1960s, 1970s, 1990s and 2000s. The past decade has been the most successful period in Chelsea’s history, capped by winning their first league and FA Cup "Double" in 2010. Since 2003 they have been owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.[4]

Chelsea's regular kit colours are royal blue shirts and shorts with white socks, the combination used since the 1960s. The club crest has been changed several times in attempts to modernise or re-brand; the current crest, featuring a ceremonial lion holding a staff, is a modified version of one first adopted in the 1950s.[5] The club has sustained the fifth highest average all-time attendance in English football.[6] Their average home gate for the 2010–11 season was 41,435, the sixth highest in the Premier League.

Liverpool F.C.

Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won 18 League titles, the second most in English football, as well as seven FA Cups and a record eight League Cups. Liverpool has also won more European titles than any other English club, with five European Cups, three UEFA Cups and three UEFA Super Cups.

Liverpool was founded in 1892 and admitted into the Football League the following year. The club has played at its home ground, Anfield, since its founding, and the team has played in an all-red home strip since 1964. The most successful period in Liverpool's history was the 1970s and '80s, when the club won numerous honours both domestically and in Europe.

The club's supporters have been involved in two major tragedies. The first was the Heysel Stadium disaster in 1985, in which charging Liverpool fans caused a wall to collapse, killing 39 Juventus supporters. In the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, 96 Liverpool supporters lost their lives due to a crush against perimeter fencing.

Liverpool has long-standing rivalries with city neighbours Everton and with Manchester United. The club's anthem is "You'll Never Walk Alone".

Tottenham Hotspur F.C.

Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English football club based in Tottenham, London, that plays in the Premier League. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane.

Founded in 1882, Tottenham won the FA Cup for the first time in 1901, making it the only non-League club to do so since the formation of the Football League. Tottenham was the first club in the 20th century to achieve the League and FA Cup Double, winning both competitions in the 1960–61 season. After successfully defending the FA Cup in 1962, in 1963 it became the first British club to win a UEFA club competition – the European Cup Winners' Cup.[2] In 1967 it won the FA Cup for a third time in the 1960s. In the 1970s Tottenham won the League Cup on two occasions and was the inaugural winner of the UEFA Cup in 1972, becoming the first British club to win two different major European trophies. In the 1980s Spurs won several trophies: the FA Cup twice, FA Community Shield and the UEFA Cup in 1984. In the 1990s the club won the FA Cup and the League Cup. When it won the League Cup once more in 2008, it meant that it had won a major trophy in each of the last six decades – an achievement only matched by Manchester United.

The club's Latin motto is Audere est Facere (lit: "To Dare Is to Do"), and its emblem is a cockerel standing upon a football. The club has a long-standing rivalry with near neighbours Arsenal. Matches between the two teams are known as the North London derby.

Newcastle United F.C.

Newcastle United Football Club (often abbreviated to NUFC) are an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892, by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since. The ground was developed into an all-seater stadium in the mid-1990s and now has a capacity of 52,387. The club has been a member of the Premier League for all but two years of the competition's history, and never dropped below the English football's second tier, since joining the Football League in 1893. In 2007, long term chairman and owner Sir John Hall sold his share in the club to Mike Ashley.

They have won four League Championship titles and six FA Cups, as well as the 1969 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup and the 2006 UEFA Intertoto Cup. Newcastle United has the eighth highest total of major honours won by an English club.[2] The club's most successful period was between 1904 and 1910, when they won an FA Cup and three of their First Division titles.

They have a fierce local rivalry with Sunderland, and the two clubs have engaged in the Tyne–Wear derby since 1898. The club's traditional kit colours are black and white striped shirts, black shorts and black socks. Their traditional crest takes elements of the city coat of arms which features two seahorses.

Everton F.C.

Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football. They have competed in the top division for a record 108 seasons, they have played more top-flight league games than any other English team and have won the League Championship nine times—the fourth most of any team.[3] Everton have remained in the top division since 1954, and were founding members of the Premier League in 1992.

Formed in 1878, Everton were founding members of The Football League in 1888 and won their first league championship two seasons later. Following four league titles and two FA Cup wins, Everton experienced a lull in the immediate post World War Two period until a revival in the 1960s, which saw the club win two league championships and an FA Cup. The mid-1980s represented their most recent period of success, with two League Championship successes, an FA Cup, and the 1985 European Cup Winners' Cup—their first continental trophy. The club's most recent major trophy was the 1995 FA Cup. The club's supporters are known as Evertonians. Everton have a large fanbase and regularly attract high attendances, averaging over 36,000 people per game: 95% of stadium capacity.[4] Everton have a notable rivalry with neighbours Liverpool F.C. and the two sides regularly contest the Merseyside Derby. Liverpool F.C. were formed in 1892 by a breakaway group consisting of Everton's former president and a few players. The dispute also resulted in Everton leaving Anfield, their home ground at the time. The club have been based at their current home ground, Goodison Park, since 1892. Plans to move to a new 50,000 seater expandable stadium in Kirkby on the Liverpool city border were blocked by a public enquiry in 2009.

The club's home colours have traditionally been royal blue and white, since the 1901–02 season. Their most famous player is Dixie Dean, who scored a record 60 league goals in the 1927–28 season. Since 2000, the club has annually recognised notable former players, nominating an "Everton Giant" at the beginning of each season.

Fulham F.C.

Fulham Football Club is a professional football club based in Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, southwest London. Founded in 1879,they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season. They are the oldest professional football team in London.

The club has spent twenty-four seasons in English football's top division, the majority of that in two spells during the 1960s and 2000s. The latter spell was associated with chairman Mohamed Al-Fayed, after the club had climbed up from the fourth tier in the 1990s. Fulham has never won a major honour, although they have reached two major finals. In 1975, as a Second Division team, they contested the FA Cup final for the only time in their history, losing 2–0 to West Ham United. Fulham reached the 2010 Europa League final, which they contested with Atlético Madrid in Hamburg, losing 2–1 after extra time.

The club has produced many English greats including Johnny Haynes, George Cohen, Bobby Robson, Rodney Marsh and Alan Mullery. They play at Craven Cottage, a ground on the banks of the River Thames in Fulham which has been their home since 1896. Fulham's training ground is located near Motspur Park, where the club's Academy is also situated.

Stoke City F.C.

Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts County.

The club plays in the Premier League after winning promotion in 2008; prior to this Stoke had not participated in top flight football for twenty-three years. Its first, and to date only, major trophy was won in the 1972 Football League Cup Final, when the team beat Chelsea 2–1. The club has won the Football League Trophy on two occasions, first in 1992 and most recently in 2000. The club's highest league finish in the top division is 4th, which was achieved in the 1935–36 and 1946–47 seasons. Stoke have competed in European football in 1972–73, 1974–75; and most recently in 2011–12. Stoke played in the FA Cup Final in 2011, finishing runners-up to Manchester City and has reached three FA Cup semi-finals, in 1899 then consecutively in 1971 and 1972.

Stoke's home ground is the Britannia Stadium, a 28,384 all-seater stadium reduced to 27,598 after segregation. Before the stadium was opened in 1997, the club was based at the Victoria Ground, which had been its home ground since 1878. The club's nickname is 'The Potters', named after the pottery industry in Stoke-on-Trent and its traditional home kit is a red and white vertically striped shirt, white shorts and stockings.

West Bromwich Albion F.C.

West Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English professional football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands. The club was formed in 1878 and have played at their home ground since 1900.

Albion were one of the founding members of The Football League in 1888 and have spent the majority of their existence in the top tier of English football. They have been champions of England once, in 1919–20, but have had more success in the FA Cup, with five wins. The first came in 1888, the year the league was founded, and the most recent in 1968, their last major trophy. They also won the Football League Cup at the first attempt in 1966. The club's longest consecutive period in the top division was between 1949 and 1973, and from 1986 to 2002 they spent their longest ever period out of the top division. The 2011–12 season is their sixth season in the Premier League since 2002.

The team has played in blue and white stripes for most of the club's history. Albion have a number of long-standing rivalries with other Midlands clubs; their traditional rivals have always been Aston Villa, but more recently their major rivalry has been with Wolverhampton Wanderers, with whom they contest the Black Country derby. Current manager Roy Hodgson is departing the club at the end of the season due to his appointment as manager of the England national football team.

Swansea City A.F.C.

Swansea City Association Football Club (Welsh: Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Abertawe) is a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales and currently playing in the English Premier League, the only Welsh club to have ever played in the division since the Premier League was formed. The club play their home matches at the Liberty Stadium.

One of the most successful clubs in Welsh football, they have won 10 Welsh Cups and led the English Football League First Division in December 1981, before finishing the season in a club record 6th position. Swansea are one of only two Welsh clubs to have competed in the top flight of English football, and the only and first one to have played in the Premier League being the 45th different club to participate in the competition since its inception in 1992.

Swansea City A.F.C. was founded in 1912 as Swansea Town and joined the Football League in 1921. The club changed their name in 1969, when it adopted the name Swansea City to reflect Swansea's new status as a city.[1] Since 2005 Swansea City have played their home games at the Liberty Stadium, a ground they share with the Ospreys Rugby Union Club. Before 2005 the club's home ground was Vetch Field.

Swansea City and its supporters are unofficially known as 'Jacks'. One explanation for this name is that during the 17th century, sailors from Swansea were respected and any 'Swansea Jack' was allowed to join the crew based simply on the town's reputation for good sailors. Many, however, believe that the name originates from the renowned life-saving dog Swansea Jack.

Norwich City F.C.

Norwich City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. As of the 2011–12 season, Norwich City are again playing in the Premier League after a six-year absence, having finished as runner up in the Championship in 2010–11 and winning automatic promotion.

The club was founded in 1902. They first won promotion to the Football League First Division in 1972, and have played a total of 21 seasons in the top flight, with a longest continuous spell of nine seasons. Norwich have won the League Cup twice, in 1962 and 1985. They were founder members of the Premier League in 1992–93, finishing third in the inaugural season and played in its first three seasons, reaching the UEFA Cup 3rd Round, returning for one season in 2004–05.

Since 1935, Norwich have played their home games at Carrow Road and have a long-standing and fierce rivalry with East Anglian neighbours Ipswich Town, with whom they have contested the East Anglian derby 138 times. The fans' song "On The Ball, City" is regarded as being the oldest football song in the world.

Sunderland A.F.C.

Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who play in the Premier League. Since its formation in 1879, the club has won six First Division titles—in 1892, 1893, 1895, 1902, 1913, and 1936—and the FA Cup twice, in 1937 and 1973.

The Sunderland team won their first FA Cup in 1937 with a 3–1 victory over Preston North End, and remained in the top league for 68 successive seasons (spanning 80 years because of the war years' interruption) until they were relegated for the first time in 1958. Sunderland's most notable trophy after the Second World War was their second FA Cup in 1973, when the club secured a 1–0 victory over Leeds United. The team has won the second tier title five times in that period and the third tier title once.

Sunderland play their home games at the 49,000 capacity all-seater Stadium of Light having moved from Roker Park in 1997. The original ground capacity was 42,000 which was increased to 49,000 following redevelopment in 2000. Sunderland have a long-standing rivalry with their neighbouring club Newcastle United, with whom they have contested the Tyne–Wear derby since 1898.

Wigan Athletic F.C.

Wigan Athletic Football Club are an English professional football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, who are in the Premier League, having been promoted from the Championship in 2005. Their current spell in the Premier League is the only top flight run in the club's history.

They have played at the DW Stadium since 1999, sharing the stadium with rugby league club Wigan Warriors. They previously played at Springfield Park for 67 years. The club's nickname is Latics, derived from a contraction of the word "Athletic".

As of the 2011–12 season, Wigan Athletic are the youngest club in the Premier League, having only been formed in 1932.

Aston Villa F.C.

Aston Villa Football Club ( /ˈæstən ˈvɪllə/; also known as Villa, The Villa, The Villans and The Lions)[4] is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder members of the Premier League in 1992, and have remained there ever since.[5] The club was floated by the previous owner and chairman Doug Ellis, but in 2006 full control of the club was acquired by Randy Lerner.

They are one of the oldest and most successful football clubs in England, having won the First Division Championship seven times and the FA Cup seven times.[6] Villa also won the 1981–82 European Cup, one of only four English clubs to win what is now the UEFA Champions League.[7] Aston Villa has the fourth highest total of major honours won by an English club.[6] They have a fierce local rivalry with Birmingham City. The Second City derby between Aston Villa and Birmingham City has been played since 1879.[8] The club's traditional kit colours are claret shirts with sky blue sleeves, white shorts and sky blue socks. Their traditional badge is of a rampant gold lion on a light blue background with the club's motto "Prepared" underneath; a modified version of this was adopted in 2007.

Bolton Wanderers F.C.

Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton Greater Manchester.[3] Founder members of the Football League, Bolton were a successful cup side in the 1920s, winning the FA Cup three times. The club won the cup a fourth time in 1958. A leaner spell followed, reaching a nadir in 1987 when the club spent a season in the Fourth Division. The club regained top-flight status in 1995 after a 15-year absence.

In 2005–06 they participated in European competition for the first time, reaching the last 32 of the UEFA Cup. Bolton qualified for the 2007–08 tournament by finishing 7th in the 2006–07 Premier League season and reached the last 16 of the competition. Bolton Wanderers moved to the Reebok Stadium in 1997. Their former home was Burnden Park, where they played for 102 years. Bolton have spent the highest number of seasons in the top flight without winning the title (the 2011–12 season is their 73rd, non-consecutive year in the top flight).[4] The highest position they have achieved in the top flight is third in the Football League First Division on three occasions (1891–92, 1920–21 and 1924–25). They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001 and were relegated to the Championship on the 13th May 2012.

Blackburn Rovers F.C.

Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team formerly competed in the Premier League, the top tier of English football, but was relegated at the end of the 2011-12 season.

The club was established in 1875, becoming a founding member of The Football League in 1888. It is one of only three clubs to have been both a founder member of the Football League and the Premier League (the others being Aston Villa and Everton). In 1890 Rovers moved to its permanent home at Ewood Park. Prior to the formation of the Premier League in 1992, most of the club's successes were before 1930, when it had gained league and FA Cup trophies on several occasions. Relegation in 1966 was followed by 26 successive seasons of football outside the top flight.

In 1992, Blackburn was promoted to the new Premier League a year after being taken over by local steel baron Jack Walker, who installed Kenny Dalglish as manager. In 1995, Blackburn became league champions, having spent millions of pounds on players like Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton. However, the title-winning team was quickly split up and, in 1999, the club was relegated. It was promoted back to the Premier League two years later, just after Walker's death, and has been in the top flight ever since. During this time it has qualified for the UEFA Cup four times: once as League Cup winners, twice as the Premier League's sixth-placed team and once via the Intertoto Cup. The 2009–10 season marked the club's 70th nonconsecutive year in the top flight. Blackburn are currently one of only five clubs to have won the Premier League, along with Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, and Manchester City. The club's Latin motto is "Arte et labore", the club's translation of which is "By Skill & Hard Work".

Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.

Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (commonly referred to as Wolves) is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Football League Championship, the second highest level of English football, after they got relegated from the Premier League during the 2011–12 season.[2] The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at Molineux. Historically, Wolves have been highly influential, most notably as being founder members of the Football League, as well as having played an instrumental role in the establishment of the European Cup, later to become the UEFA Champions League.

Having won the FA Cup twice before the outbreak of the First World War, Wolves consolidated their reputation as a top side under the legendary management of ex-player Stan Cullis after the Second World War, going on to win the league three times and the FA Cup twice between 1949 and 1960. It was at this time that the European Cup competition was established, after the English press declared Wolves "Champions of the World" following their victories against such top European and World sides as South Africa, Racing, Spartak Moscow, and Honvéd in some of football's first live televised games.[3]

Wolves have yet to match the successes of the Stan Cullis era, although they did contest the first UEFA Cup final in 1972 against Tottenham Hotspur, and won the League Cup in 1974 under Bill McGarry and again in 1980 under John Barnwell. However, a decline set in and they found themselves in the Fourth Division by 1986, before a revival and back-to-back promotions under manager Graham Turner and record goalscorer Steve Bull saw them finish the decade in the Second Division, winning the Football League Trophy along the way.

Their 19-year exile from the top flight ended when manager Dave Jones guided the club to promotion to the Premier League for a solitary season. A new approach under former Republic of Ireland manager Mick McCarthy saw the club promoted back to the Premier League in 2009 as Football League Championship champions where they have remained for three seasons. McCarthy was fired in February 2012,[4] a decision that eventually led to assistant manager Terry Connor being placed in charge for the remainder of the current season that saw their relegation.[5] He will be succeeded on a permanent basis by Ståle Solbakken.