Author Topic: A year in English football (Read 516 times)

Mac 10 † · « **on:** December 26, 2005, 12:56:46 PM »

January: Manchester United suffer a bizarre start to 2005, firstly Tottenham's Pedro Mendes' 'goal' is ruled out and then they draw 0-0 against non-league Exeter City in the FA Cup

February: Mega-rich Chelsea scoop the first silverware of the season by beating Liverpool 3-2 after extra time in an exciting Carling Cup final

March: Kevin Keegan again walks out of a job, this time at Manchester City. In other events in March, Chelsea beat Barcelona in two highly-controversial Champions League ties

April: Newcastle team-mates Lee Bowyer and Kieron Dyer shock football as they brawl with each other on the pitch in front of a stunned St James' Park crowd

May: Chelsea claim the title for the first time for 50 years, Liverpool win an unforgettable Champions League final, Rangers pip Celtic to the SPL crown and Arsenal secure the FA Cup

June: England embark on a successful end of season tour to the USA in which much-maligned striker Peter Crouch makes his debut against Columbia

July: Transfer sagas involving two of the Premiership biggest stars finally reach a conclusion. Steven Gerrard stays with Liverpool while Patrick Vieira leaves Arsenal for Juventus

August: Cash is splashed in the Premiership as the new season begins. Newcastle lure Michael Owen back from Madrid while Chelsea spend big on Michael Essien

September: England's World Cup qualification bid suffers a huge blow when they are humbled 1-0 by Northern Ireland to heap pressure on manager Sven-Goran Eriksson

October: Wigan are the season's surprise package and go second in the Premiership. In other news, England make the World Cup with wins over Austria and Poland

November: Manchester United and Northern Ireland legend George Best dies aged 59. His funeral in Belfast sees thousands of mourners line the streets to pay tribute

December: England are blessed with a kind World Cup draw, pitting them against Paraguay, Trinidad and Tobago and Sweden. Elsewhere, Man Utd are knocked out of Europe