English football : English Premier League 2008/2009 season preview

Double crown for Manchester United

Manchester United retained their English crown by two points from Chelsea after a 2-0 win at Wigan Athletic on the final day of the 2007/08 season. Cristiano Ronaldo's first-half penalty, his 31st league goal of the Premiership campaign, and Ryan Giggs' 80th-minute strike secured United their 10th Premier League title in 16 years. Rivals Chelsea were held to a 1-1 tie by Bolton Wanderers. Manchester United also clinched a 6-5 penalty shootout win over Chelsea after a 1-1 draw in the first all-English UEFA Champions League final. The victory came just 10 days after manager Alex Ferguson's side edged Chelsea to win the Premier League title. In Moscow's final, Ronaldo, considered by many Europe's top player, scored his 42nd goal of the season.

• Champions: Manchester United (Champions League)
• Runners-up: Chelsea (Champions League)
• Third place: Arsenal ( Champions League 3rd qualifying round)
• Fourth place: Liverpool ( Champions League 3rd qualifying round)
• Fifth place: Everton (UEFA Cup)
• Sixth place: Aston Villa (Intertoto Cup)
• English FA Cup winners: Portsmouth (UEFA Cup)
• English League Cup winners: Tottenham Hotspur (UEFA Cup)
• Fair Play spot: Manchester City (UEFA Cup)
• Relegated: Reading, Birmingham City, Derby County
• Promoted: West Brom, Stoke City, Hull City.

West Bromwich Albion and Stoke City secured promotion to the Premier League after the final round of Championship fixtures. Hull earned promotion to the English Premier League for the first time in their 104-history, beating Bristol City 1-0 in the League Championship playoff final.

This table shows the overall number of titles for each club in English Premiership since 1889 and their league standings in the last five seasons.

Ronaldo staying at Manchester United... for now

In August, Cristiano Ronaldo ended the close season's most drawn out transfer saga, deciding to stay with Manchester United for at least this campaign. The world's media have been speculating on Ronaldo's future for months, with Real Madrid reportedly willing to pay a world record transfer for the favorite to win FIFA's 2008 World Player of the Year award. The star winger also refused several times to commit his future to United, having spent the summer making no secret of his desire to join the Spanish champion. After finishing his saga, manager Alex Ferguson, keenly aware the Portugal goal scorer could face a hostile reception from home fans, issued a passionate defense of Ronaldo, who apologized for sparking the rift between the clubs.

However, Cristiano Ronaldo will only return to action in October because of ankle surgery. He was operated in July after playing with pain over the final two months of the 2007/08 English season and through the European Championship. United beat Portsmouth to win English football's season-opening Community Shield in a penalty shootout for the second straight season. Portsmouth had forced a 0-0 draw against the Premier League champions but lost the shootout 3-1. It was a deserved win for United in the annual match between the English champions and FA Cup holders, although the failure to score in 90 minutes highlighted the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo in attack.

This page is introduction to the 2008/09 English Premier League season. Latest news, statistics, results and predictions you can find on our main Euro Football > England page.

Luiz Felipe Scolari hired as Chelsea manager

Former Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari became Chelsea's manager after this summer's European Championship. The 59-year-old has held the reins of the Portugal team since 2003 and led them to the final of EURO 2004 and the last four of the 2006 World Cup. He also guided his native Brazil to their fifth world title in 2002. Scolari replaces manager Avram Grant, who was dismissed just three days after Chelsea were defeated by Manchester United in the UEFA Champions League final. Despite signing a four-year contract when he succeeded the popular Jose Mourinho in September and guiding the club to the final of UEFA's premier club competition for the first time in their history, Grant's position had been subject to speculation all last season.

During the summer, Chelsea have acquired Portugal defender Jose Bosingwa from Porto for a reported fee of €20m. The 25-year-old, who is regarded as one of the best right backs in Europe, has agreed a three-year contract. Chelsea have also signed Deco from Barcelona, with the Brazil-born midfielder following his former Portugal coach Scolari to Stamford Bridge. The signing was the first for Chelsea since Scolari announced that he was leaving Portugal for the London club. Deco, 30, has agreed a two-year contract, with Barcelona receiving a reported €10m. He had two years left on his contract with the Catalans, but new coach Pep Guardiola said that Deco wasn't part of his plans for this season.

This table shows the English Premier League standings for the 2007/2008 season.

English clubs spend big on football stars

Tottenham Hotspur have bolstered their squad for the new season by signing England midfielder David Bentley from Blackburn Rovers for an initial €19m. The fee could, however, rise to €21.5m depending upon the 23-year-old's performances. That would exceed the €21m Spurs paid for Dinamo Zagreb playmaker Luka Modric. Meanwhile, Blackburn have appointed Paul Ince as their new manager, making him the first black Englishman in charge of a topflight English club. The former English international has agreed a three-year contract to replace Mark Hughes, who moved to Manchester City after Sven-Goran Eriksson's departure.

Tottenham striker Robbie Keane joined Liverpool on a four-year contract, completing one of the biggest Premier League transfers this sumer. The transfer fee was reported to be in the region of €25m. The 28-year-old Ireland captain has been with Tottenham for six years, his longest ever spell with a team following stints with Wolves, Coventry, Inter and Leeds. Keane scored 80 league goals in 197 games for the Londoners. He links up with fellow summer recruits David Ngog, Diego Cavalieri, Philipp Degen and Andrea Dossena at Liverpool.

France midfielder Samir Nasri joins Arsenal from Marseille for a fee thought to be in the region of €14.5m. The 21-year-old has signed what Arsenal describe as a "long-term contract". Meanwhile, Emmanuel Adebayor has agreed to stay at the club after being promised an improved contract, ending speculation he would move to Barcelona or Milan. The 24-year-old striker had three years left on his existing Arsenal contract. He scored 30 goals in 48 appearances last season.

"Big Four" in title race

The race of the title predictably will be among the so-called "Big Four," lead by reigning champions for the past two years, Manchester United, and big-spending Chelsea, the runners-up in the last two seasons and previous winners in 2005/06 and 2004/05. Such is the gap with the rest of the league, they are expected once again to be hotly pursued by Arsenal and Liverpool, the other two of the "Big Four" teams, which have dominated the English Premier League since its foundation in 1992.

The preseason odds for the outright winner of the 2008/09 English Premier League

FA Cup finals in last five years

2004   Manchester United - Millwall   3:0
2005   Arsenal - Manchester United   0:0   (5:4 on penalties)
2006   Liverpool - West Ham United   3:3 (3:1 on penalties)
2007   Chelsea - Manchester United   1:0   (after extra time)
2008   Portsmouth - Cardiff City   1:0

League Cup finals in last five years

2004   Middlesbrough - Bolton   2:1
2005   Chelsea - Liverpool   3:2   (after extra time)
2006   Manchester United - Wigan Athletic   4:0
2007   Chelsea - Arsenal   2:1
2008   Tottenham Hotspur - Chelsea   2:1