2006–07 in English Football - Diary of The Season

Diary of The Season

• 22 June 2006 – Fixtures for the Premier League and the Football League are released.
• 30 June 2006 – Rupert Lowe resigns from Southampton. Michael Wilde's consortium takes control of the club.
• 27 July 2006 – A consortium led by Niall Quinn takes full control of Sunderland after previously buying out the former chairman Bob Murray.
• 1 August 2006 – Steve McClaren begins his job as England manager.
• 2 August 2006 – Leeds United chairman Ken Bates reports his former club Chelsea to The Football Association, Premier League and FIFA over the alleged 'tapping-up' of three Leeds youth team players.
• 5 August 2006 – The Football League season begins, with Luton Town beating Leicester City 2–0 in the first game.
• 8 August 2006 – The 500,000th goal in the history of English league football (FA Premier League and Football League) was scored by Huddersfield Town's Gary Taylor-Fletcher in their 3–0 victory over Rotherham United.
• 10 August 2006 – John Terry is appointed as the new captain of England.
• 12 August 2006 – The Football Conference begins, along with most other non-league campaigns.
• 13 August 2006 – Liverpool take the first silverware of the season, as they beat Chelsea 2–1 in the FA Community Shield at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.
• 19 August 2006 – The Premier League season begins with Sheffield United and Liverpool drawing 1–1.
• 23 August 2006 – Manchester City defender Ben Thatcher elbows Portsmouth's Pedro Mendes in the face at the City of Manchester Stadium, after the two challenged for the same ball. This left Mendes unconscious and needing hospital treatment. Thatcher was shown a yellow card for the incident, but he was later banned by his club and charged with violent misconduct by The FA. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer scores his first competitive goal in more than three years in Manchester United's 3–0 away league win over Charlton Athletic.
• 31 August 2006 – Chelsea are fined £40,000 by The F.A. for breaching doping regulations.
• 31 August 2006: August ends with last season's runners-up Manchester United top of the Premiership with three wins out of three. Portsmouth, Aston Villa, Everton, Chelsea, West Ham United and Liverpool complete the top seven. Watford, Sheffield United and Blackburn Rovers prop up the table with one point each from their opening three matches, with Arsenal only above the relegation zone on goal difference.
• 4 September 2006 – Andy Webster's controversial move to Wigan Athletic is ratified by FIFA.
• 8 September 2006 – Liverpool get permission from Liverpool city council to build a new 60,000 all-seater stadium in nearby Stanley Park.
• 18 September 2006 – Bryan Robson is sacked after less than two years as manager of West Bromwich Albion.
• 19 September 2006 – After becoming majority shareholder at the club, Randy Lerner officially becomes chairman of Aston Villa, replacing 82-year-old Doug Ellis. A BBC Panorama programme is aired, alleging widespread corruption in the English game.
• 30 September 2006 – September ends with reigning champions Chelsea top of the Premiership. Bolton Wanderers are keeping up their push for a European place, being only two points behind in second place. Manchester United, Portsmouth, Everton, Aston Villa and Arsenal complete the top seven, with Tottenham Hotspur, Watford and Charlton Athletic in the relegation zone.
• 1 October 2006 – Norwich City, 17th in the Championship, sack manager Nigel Worthington after nearly six years in charge.
• 14 October 2006 – Chelsea goalkeepers, Petr Čech and Carlo Cudicini, both received head injuries during their match against Reading. Čech underwent surgery for a depressed skull fracture and is expected to be out for six months, while Cudicini was treated and released.
• 16 October 2006 – Norwich City appoint West Ham United assistant manager Peter Grant as their new manager.
• 18 October 2006 – Hibernian's Tony Mowbray is appointed manager of West Bromwich Albion.
• 28 October 2006 – Aston Villa, the last unbeaten team in any professional English division, lose 3–1 to Liverpool at Anfield.
• 30 October 2006 – Manchester United have moved to the top of the Premiership on goal difference; both United and Chelsea have 25 points apiece. Bolton, Portsmouth, Arsenal, Everton and Aston Villa complete the top seven, while Watford, Sheffield United and Charlton Athletic finish the month in the relegation zone.
• 21 November 2006 – West Ham United accept Eggert Magnússon's £85m takeover bid for the club.
• 29 November 2006 – England National Game XI, the English semi-professional team, win the inaugural European Challenge Trophy after a 4–1 win over Holland.
• 30 November 2006 – Manchester United remain top of the Premiership, three points ahead of Chelsea. Portsmouth, having narrowly avoided relegation the previous season, are maintaining their European push although they are 11 points adrift of Chelsea in third. Bolton, Aston Villa, Arsenal and Liverpool complete the top seven, while Sheffield United, Watford and Charlton Athletic remain in the relegation zone.
• 5 December 2006 – Macclesfield Town, the last team without a win in the Football League, beat Rochdale 1–0 at Moss Rose.
• 20 December 2006 – Bury are thrown out of this season's FA Cup after they fielded an ineligible player, Stephen Turnbull, on-loan from Hartlepool United in their 3–1 second round replay win at Chester City on 12 December. Chester will replace Bury in the third round. Lord Stevens releases the results of his inquiry in the allegation of corruption in the English game, pin-pointing seventeen transfers that he will investigate further.
• 23 December 2006 – Doncaster Rovers play their final game at Belle Vue against Nottingham Forest. They move into the 15,000 seat Keepmoat Stadium.
• 30 December 2006 – Moritz Volz of Fulham scored the 15,000th goal in the history of the F.A. Premier League, opening the scoring in his side's 2–2 draw away at Chelsea.
• 30 December 2006 – Manchester United have increased the gap between them and Chelsea, still in second place, to six points. Bolton, Liverpool, Arsenal, Portsmouth and Everton complete the top seven. Watford see in the New Year being bottom of the Premiership and ten points adrift of safety, with West Ham United and Charlton Athletic also several points behind fellow strugglers Sheffield United, Wigan Athletic and Middlesbrough.
• 11 January 2007 – Former Barrow defender James Cotterill is sentenced to four months in prison for causing grievous bodily harm to Bristol Rovers player Sean Rigg during an FA Cup first round match in November 2006. Rigg suffered a double fracture of the jaw after being punched by Cotterill.
• 25 January 2007 – Peter Taylor leaves his job as England under-21 manager, stating that he wants to focus on managing his other team, Crystal Palace.
• 31 January 2007 – Manchester United remain top of the Premiership and look safe to reclaim the title they last won in 2003. Chelsea remain six points behind, with Liverpool, Arsenal, Bolton, Portsmouth and Reading (the latter expected by many to struggle in their first ever top-flight campaign) completing the top seven. The relegation zone remains unchanged from the end of December, but the strugglers are cranking up the pressure on Wigan Athletic.
• 1 February. 2007 – Stuart Pearce is appointed as Peter Taylor's replacement.
• 6 February 2007 – George Gillett and Tom Hicks complete their takeover of Liverpool.
• 7 February 2007 – Milan Mandarić completes his takeover of Leicester City.
• 25 February 2007 – Chelsea defeat Arsenal 2–1 in the Carling Cup final at the Millennium Stadium. The match was marred by a mass brawl between the two sides during the final few minutes of the game, in which three players were sent off.
• 28 March 2007 – Manchester United now lead Chelsea by nine points, but have played one match more. Liverpool, Arsenal and Bolton are still in the mix for a Champions League place, with sixth-placed Reading and seventh-place Everton's challenge for UEFA Cup qualification is being threatened by Portsmouth and Tottenham. Wigan remains six points ahead of eighteenth-placed Charlton, joined in the relegation zone by West Ham and Watford.
• 3 March 2007 – Stockport County set a Football League record of nine consecutive wins without conceding a goal by beating Swindon Town 3–0 at Edgeley Park. Goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey keeps the club record nine consecutive clean sheets and is named Player of the Month for February 2007.
• 17 March 2007 – The new Wembley Stadium opens for a special community event.
• 31 March 2007 – Chelsea have moved to within six points of leaders Manchester United but, with only seven matches left to play, there is little hope of the Londoners retaining the title for a third successive season. Liverpool and Arsenal have put distance between Bolton in the chase for the Champions League, who complete the top seven with Everton and Tottenham. Charlton, West Ham and Watford remain in the relegation zone but have caught up with strugglers Wigan and Sheffield United, now only three points and one point above the relegation zone respectively.
• 1 April 2007 – Doncaster Rovers win the competition for lower-division football league clubs, as they beat Bristol Rovers 3–2 after extra time in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.
• 7 April 2007 – Dagenham & Redbridge win the Conference National and promotion to the Football League.
• 9 April 2007 – St Albans City are relegated from the Conference National. Brentford are relegated to League Two.
• 10 April 2007 – Manchester United beat AS Roma 7–1 in the Champions League quarter-final second leg at Old Trafford, completing an 8–3 aggregate victory and booking their first semi-final appearance in the competition for five years.
• 14 April 2007 – Torquay United are relegated to the Conference. Scunthorpe United are promoted to the Championship. Hartlepool United and Walsall are both promoted to League One. Rotherham United are relegated to League Two.
• 20 April 2007 – Luton Town are relegated to League One.
• 21 April 2007 – Watford are relegated from the Premiership. Droylsden are promoted to the Conference.
• 22 April 2007 – Cristiano Ronaldo is named PFA Player of the Year as well as PFA Young Player of the Year. Eight out of the eleven players who are named in the PFA Premiership Team of the Year are Manchester United players, including Cristiano Ronaldo.
• 24 April 2007 – Tamworth and Southport are relegated from the Conference. Manchester United beat AC Milan 3–2 in the Champions League semi-final first leg at Old Trafford.
• 28 April 2007 – Southend United are relegated from the Championship. Chesterfield and Bradford City are both relegated from League One.
• 29 April 2007 – Derby County lose to Crystal Palace meaning that Birmingham City and Sunderland are promoted to the Premiership. Sam Allardyce resigns after seven and a half years as manager of Bolton Wanderers.
• 30 April 2007 – Sammy Lee is promoted from the coaching staff to the manager's seat at Bolton Wanderers.
• 30 April 2007 – Manchester United remain five points ahead of Chelsea with both left with three games to play, but both have secured automatic Champions League qualification, meaning Liverpool and Arsenal will both have to face a two-legged tie to secure qualification to the group stage. Two points separate Bolton, Everton, Reading, Portsmouth and Tottenham in the race to qualify for the UEFA Cup. At the bottom of the table Watford have already been relegated, with Charlton and a resurgent West Ham completing the relegation zone but still with a slim chance of survival at the possible expense of Wigan, Fulham, Sheffield United and Middlesbrough.
• 1 May 2007 – Liverpool beat Chelsea on penalties in the Champions League semi-final at Anfield after both sides won their home leg 1–0.
• 2 May 2007 – Manchester United's hopes of an all-English European Cup final with Liverpool are ended when they lose 3–0 to AC Milan in the semi-final second leg at the San Siro.
• 4 May 2007 – Leeds United are relegated to League One for the first time in their history after they go into administration.
• 5 May 2007 – Manchester United come out on top in the Manchester derby beating Manchester City 1–0. In doing so United extend their lead at the top of the Premiership to 8 points. City's failure to score means that they set a new record for the fewest goals scored at home in a season by a club in the top flight, with only 10 scored in the season. Bristol City are promoted to the Championship. Boston United are relegated to the Conference. Swindon Town are promoted to League One and Walsall are League Two champions. MK Dons moved out of the National Hockey Stadium and into stadium:mk
• 6 May 2007 – Manchester United win the Premiership after Chelsea only draw 1–1 at Arsenal. Sunderland win the Championship with a 5–0 win at Luton Town, whilst Birmingham City lose 1–0 at Preston North End.
• 7 May 2007 – Arsenal Ladies completed an unprecedented Quadruple of trophies, defeating Charlton Athletic 4–1 in the FA Women's Cup final, to add to their FA Women's Premier League, Women's League Cup and UEFA Women's Cup victories. Charlton Athletic are relegated from the Premiership after they lose to Tottenham Hotspur.
• 13 May 2007 – Sheffield United are relegated from the Premiership after losing 2–1 at home to Wigan Athletic and West Ham United beat Manchester United 1–0 at Old Trafford. The season ends with Manchester United champions, Chelsea runners-up and Liverpool and Arsenal completing the top four. Tottenham, Everton and Bolton all qualify for the UEFA Cup.
• 16 May 2007 – Neil Warnock resigns after seven and a half years in charge of Sheffield United.
• 18 May 2007 – The Football League confirms that Boston United were deducted 10 points for entering a Company Voluntary Arrangement in the final seconds of their League Two defeat at Wrexham, a game which saw The Pilgrims relegated.
• 19 May 2007 – Chelsea beat Manchester United 1–0 to win the FA Cup.
• 20 May 2007 – Morecambe are promoted to the Football League after beating Exeter City 2–1 in the Conference National play-off final.
• 23 May 2007 – AC Milan beat Liverpool 2–1 in the European Cup final in Athens, two years after Liverpool had beaten the Italians on penalties after a 3–3 draw in the Istanbul final.
• 26 May 2007 – Bristol Rovers win the League Two play-off final.
• 27 May 2007 – Blackpool win the League One play off final.
• 28 May 2007 – Derby County defeat West Bromwich Albion 1–0 in the Championship play-off final.
• 20 June 2007 – Nottingham Forest announce plans to relocate from the City Ground to a new 50,000-seat stadium by 2014. Scarborough, who were relegated from the Conference North this season but are best remembered for being Football League members from 1897 to 1999, go out of business with debts of £2.5million.
• 25 June 2007 – Five days after the demise of the 128-year-old Scarborough FC, a new club – Scarborough Athletic – is formed.