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2015–16 Premier League

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The 2015–16 Premier League (known as the Barclays Premier League for sponsorship reasons) was the 24th season of the Premier League, the top English professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1992, and the 117th season of top-flight English football overall. The season began on 8 August 2015, and was scheduled to conclude on 15 May 2016.[6] However, the match between Manchester United and Bournemouth on the final day was postponed to 17 May 2016 due to a suspicious package found at Old Trafford.[7]

Premier League
Season2015–16
Dates8 August 2015 – 17 May 2016
ChampionsLeicester City
1st Premier League title
1st English title
RelegatedNewcastle United
Norwich City
Aston Villa
Champions LeagueLeicester City
Arsenal
Tottenham Hotspur
Manchester City
Europa LeagueManchester United
Southampton
West Ham United
Matches played380
Goals scored1,026 (2.7 per match)
Top goalscorerHarry Kane
(25 goals)[1]
Best goalkeeperPetr Čech (16 clean sheets)[2]
Biggest home winManchester City 6–1 Newcastle United
(3 October 2015)[3]
Biggest away winAston Villa 0–6 Liverpool
(14 February 2016)[3]
Highest scoringNorwich City 4–5 Liverpool
(23 January 2016)[3]
Longest winning run6 matches[4]
Tottenham Hotspur
Longest unbeaten run15 matches[4]
Chelsea
Longest winless run19 matches[4]
Aston Villa
Longest losing run11 matches[4]
Aston Villa
Highest attendance75,415[5]
Manchester United 2–1 Swansea City
(2 January 2016)
Lowest attendance10,863[5]
Bournemouth 1–3 Stoke City
(13 February 2016)
Total attendance13,851,698[5]
Average attendance36,451[5]

Chelsea began the season as defending champions of the 2014–15 season. Bournemouth, Watford and Norwich City entered as the three promoted teams from the 2014–15 Football League Championship.

Leicester City, managed by Italian Claudio Ranieri, were crowned champions for the first time in their 132-year history, with 2 games to spare, becoming the 24th club to become English football champions, and the sixth club to win the Premier League. Many commentators consider this to be one of the greatest sporting shocks in history, especially given that Leicester spent a great deal of the previous season at the bottom of the table before rallying towards the season's end to finish 14th. At the beginning of the season, bookmakers had given Leicester City odds of 5000/1 against them winning the league. On 28 November 2015, Leicester striker Jamie Vardy set a new record by scoring in 11 consecutive matches with his goal against Manchester United, surpassing Ruud van Nistelrooy's Premier League record of 10 straight games with a goal, which he set in 2003.[8] Leicester celebrated their title win with renditions of "Nessun dorma" and "Con te partirò" by Andrea Bocelli, who sang for the Leicester fans on the pitch of the King Power Stadium in May.

Aston Villa, one of seven teams who had played in the Premier League since its inaugural season, were relegated from the top flight in England for the first time since 1987.

This was the last season in which the league was sponsored by Barclays; starting next season, it would simply be known as the Premier League, without any sponsors attached.[9]

Summary

Leicester City were the surprise of the season. Following their late escape from relegation in the previous season many pundits had predicted that they would be relegated[10] and bookmakers gave 5,000–1 odds on them winning the title.[11] After the dismissal of manager Nigel Pearson, they began the new season with Italian Claudio Ranieri in charge. Pearson had been known for his short temper with the press, while Ranieri has a reputation for good humour.[12] The appointment was met with scepticism by pundits, including Leicester fan and former player Gary Lineker, as Ranieri had recently been sacked from his previous post as manager of the Greece national team after suffering a humiliating defeat to the Faroe Islands in his last game in charge.[12][13]

Despite winning their opening game against Sunderland and topping the table, they dropped back following a 5–2 home defeat to Arsenal in September.[14] However, aided by Jamie Vardy's record feat of scoring in eleven consecutive Premier League games,[1] they then remained unbeaten – and returned to the top of the table – until 26 December, when a 1–0 defeat to Liverpool dropped them to second place. They returned to the top after a 1–1 draw with Aston Villa on 16 January, and remained there for the rest of the season.[14] Following a 2–2 draw between Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge on 2 May 2016, and having two more games to play, Leicester City were confirmed champions, their first title in the top flight of English football, eclipsing the runners-up spot they reached in 1929.[11]

Defending champions Chelsea sacked manager José Mourinho in December while in 16th place and eventually failed to qualify for European football for the first time in two decades. Eden Hazard, the previous season's PFA Players' Player of the Year, did not score a league goal until late April.[15] They eventually finished 10th, breaking the record for lowest finish for a Premier League title holder – 7th, held jointly by Blackburn Rovers in 1995–96 and Manchester United in 2013–14.[16] This record only stood for one year, as Leicester City finished 12th the following season.

Arsenal, looking for their first title since 2004 and following a poor start, improved and in early January took the top spot from Leicester. However, a poor run of results, including draws with Liverpool,[17] Stoke City[18] and Southampton,[19] and a loss to Chelsea[20] saw them drop to fourth by mid-February. They remained in contention, but draws with West Ham United, Sunderland and Crystal Palace in April saw their title hopes vanish.[21][22][23]

Meanwhile, Arsenal's London rivals Tottenham Hotspur won six matches in a row, and when Arsenal lost to Manchester United at the end of February, Tottenham leapfrogged them into second place,[24] where they remained until the final weekend of the season. Draws with West Bromwich Albion[25] and Chelsea prevented them from winning their first league title since 1961. Tottenham's title challenge came to an end after their 2–2 draw at Chelsea on 2 May, with many altercations between players and benches on and off the field, especially after Eden Hazard scored the equalizing and final goal.[26] Mark Clattenburg, who refereed the game, subsequently stated that he could have "sent three players off from Tottenham" but chose instead to allow them to play on, giving the team a total of nine yellow cards (a league record), so as to allow them to "self destruct" and have no one else to blame but themselves.[27][28] After a 2–1 home loss to Southampton and a 5–1 defeat away to Newcastle United in their final two matches, Tottenham ended the season in third place, one point behind Arsenal.[29]

West Ham United, in their final season at the Boleyn Ground after 112 years, achieved 62 points, a club record for a Premier League campaign. It was also the first Premier League season where they had finished with a positive goal difference (+14) and West Ham's eight defeats was also a club record for the fewest losses suffered in a Premier League season.

Aston Villa, a presence in the Premier League since the league's foundation in 1992 and present in the top division since the 1988–89 season, were the first team to be mathematically relegated, after a 1–0 loss at Manchester United on 16 April.[30] On 11 May, Sunderland won 3–0 against Everton, a result which relegated both Newcastle United and Norwich City with one game remaining.[31]

All of the final fixtures of the season were scheduled for 15 May and were to kick off at the same time. However, Manchester United's home game against Bournemouth was called off after Old Trafford was evacuated because of the discovery of a suspicious device, which was destroyed in a controlled explosion. It was confirmed to be an accidental leftover from a training exercise.[32] The match was played two days later on 17 May, with United winning 3–1.

Reactions

The unlikely nature of Leicester's title led to a flood of coverage from across the globe. Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted his congratulations, saying it was "An extraordinary, thoroughly deserved, Premier League title." Congratulations were also sent by the Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who praised his compatriot Ranieri.[33]

Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore described it as "biggest story we've ever had" in English football.[34] Former Leicester manager Martin O'Neill described it as the "greatest achievement of this century".[34] Gary Lineker, the former Leicester striker who led a consortium that saved the club from administration in 2002, had said he would host the BBC football show Match of the Day in his underwear if Leicester won the title. After they won the title, he did indeed present the show clad only in boxer shorts.[35] He said: "There were no odds that I would have taken at the start of the season. No odds. You could have given me 10 million to one and I'd have said 'Nah, it's a waste of a quid'".[36] José Mourinho, manager of 2015 champions Chelsea and Ranieri's replacement at the same team eleven years earlier, sent his congratulations, saying, "I lost my title to Claudio Ranieri and it is with incredible emotion that I live this magic moment in his career."[37]Ranieri said after winning his first title at the age of 64 that he would not have appreciated it as a young man: "Now I am an old man I can feel it much better."[37][38]

The long odds bookmakers had given Leicester at the start of the season led to them incurring losses of up to £25 million, with one punter winning over £100,000, having wagered £20 at the original 5,000–1 odds;[39] the largest payout was £200,000 to an anonymous bettor who wagered £100 on the team in October when the odds had gone down to 2,000–1.[40]

Superstitious claims of phenomena helping Leicester win the league include the club's Thai owners engaging Buddhist monks to bless the players,[33] and the reburial of King Richard III in the city's cathedral in March 2015.[41]

Notes

1.^ This is a Premier League record. The all-time, first-tier of English football record stands at 12, by Jimmy Dunne in 1932.[42]
2.^ A promise which he later kept.[43] The reference includes a brief clip from the beginning of the programme.

Teams

Twenty teams competed in the league – the top seventeen teams from the previous season and the three teams promoted from the Championship. The promoted teams were Bournemouth (playing in the top flight for the first time ever), Watford (returning to the top flight after eight years) and Norwich City (returning after a season's absence). They replaced Hull City (relegated to the Championship after a two-year spell in the top flight), Burnley and Queens Park Rangers (both teams relegated after a season's presence).

Stadiums and locations

class=notpageimage|
Locations of the 2015–16 Premier League teams
class=notpageimage|
Greater London Premier League football clubs
Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.
TeamLocationStadiumCapacity[44]
ArsenalLondon (Holloway)Emirates Stadium60,260
Aston VillaBirminghamVilla Park42,660
BournemouthBournemouthDean Court11,464
ChelseaLondon (Fulham)Stamford Bridge41,798
Crystal PalaceLondon (Selhurst)Selhurst Park25,073
EvertonLiverpool (Walton)Goodison Park39,571
Leicester CityLeicesterKing Power Stadium32,312
LiverpoolLiverpool (Anfield)Anfield44,742
Manchester CityManchester (Bradford)City of Manchester Stadium55,097
Manchester UnitedManchester (Old Trafford)Old Trafford75,653
Newcastle UnitedNewcastle upon TyneSt James' Park52,338
Norwich CityNorwichCarrow Road27,010
SouthamptonSouthamptonSt Mary's Stadium32,505
Stoke CityStoke-on-TrentBritannia Stadium27,740
SunderlandSunderlandStadium of Light48,707
Swansea CitySwanseaLiberty Stadium20,909
Tottenham HotspurLondon (Tottenham)White Hart Lane36,284
WatfordWatfordVicarage Road21,500
West Bromwich AlbionWest BromwichThe Hawthorns26,850
West Ham UnitedLondon (Upton Park)Boleyn Ground[a]35,345

Personnel and kits

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2015–16 Premier League kits.
TeamManagerCaptainKit manufacturerShirt sponsor
Arsenal Arsène Wenger Mikel Arteta[46]Puma[47]Emirates[48]
Aston Villa Eric Black (caretaker) Micah Richards[49]Macron[50]Intuit QuickBooks[51]
Bournemouth Eddie Howe Tommy Elphick[52]JD Sports[53]Mansion Group[54]
Chelsea Guus Hiddink (caretaker) John Terry[55]Adidas[56]Yokohama[57]
Crystal Palace Alan Pardew Mile Jedinak[58]Macron[59]Mansion Group[60]
Everton David Unsworth
Joe Royle (caretakers)		 Phil Jagielka[61]Umbro[62]Chang[63]
Leicester City Claudio Ranieri Wes Morgan[64]Puma[65]King Power[66]
Liverpool Jürgen Klopp Jordan Henderson[67]New Balance[68]Standard Chartered[68]
Manchester City Manuel Pellegrini Vincent Kompany[69]Nike[70]Etihad Airways[71]
Manchester United Louis van Gaal Wayne Rooney[72]Adidas[73]Chevrolet[74]
Newcastle United Rafael Benítez Fabricio Coloccini[75]Puma[76]Wonga[77]
Norwich City Alex Neil Russell Martin[78]Erreà[79]Aviva[79]
Southampton Ronald Koeman José Fonte[80]Adidas[81]Veho[82]
Stoke City Mark Hughes Ryan Shawcross[83]New Balance[84]Bet365[85]
Sunderland Sam Allardyce John O'Shea[86]Adidas[87]Dafabet[88]
Swansea City Francesco Guidolin Ashley Williams[89]Adidas[90]GWFX[91]
Tottenham Hotspur Mauricio Pochettino Hugo Lloris[92]Under Armour[93]AIA[94]
Watford Quique Sánchez Flores Troy Deeney[95]Puma[96]138.com[97]
West Bromwich Albion Tony Pulis Darren Fletcher[98]Adidas[99]Tlcbet[100]
West Ham United Slaven Bilić Mark Noble[101]Umbro[102]Betway[103]
  • Additionally, referee kits are made by Nike, sponsored by EA Sports, and Nike has a new match ball, the Ordem Premier League.

Managerial changes

TeamOutgoing managerManner of
departure		Date of vacancyPosition in tableIncoming managerDate of
appointment
West Ham United Sam AllardyceEnd of contract24 May 2015[104]Pre-season Slaven Bilić9 June 2015[105]
Watford Slaviša Jokanović5 June 2015[106] Quique Sánchez Flores5 June 2015[106]
Newcastle United John CarverSacked9 June 2015[107] Steve McClaren10 June 2015[108]
Leicester City Nigel Pearson30 June 2015[109] Claudio Ranieri13 July 2015[110]
Sunderland Dick AdvocaatResigned4 October 2015[111]19th Sam Allardyce9 October 2015[112]
Liverpool Brendan RodgersSacked4 October 2015[113]10th Jürgen Klopp8 October 2015[114]
Aston Villa Tim Sherwood25 October 2015[115]19th Rémi Garde2 November 2015[116]
Swansea City Garry Monk9 December 2015[117]15th Alan Curtis7 January 2016[118]
Chelsea José Mourinho17 December 2015[119]16th Guus Hiddink19 December 2015[120]
Swansea City Alan CurtisEnd of caretaker spell18 January 2016[121]18th Francesco Guidolin18 January 2016[121]
Newcastle United Steve McClarenSacked11 March 2016[122]19th Rafael Benítez11 March 2016[123]
Aston Villa Rémi GardeMutual consent29 March 2016[124]20th Eric Black29 March 2016[124]
Everton Roberto MartínezSacked12 May 2016[125]12th David Unsworth
Joe Royle (caretakers)		12 May 2016[125]

League table

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification or relegation
1Leicester City (C)38231236836+3281Qualification for the Champions League group stage
2Arsenal38201176536+2971
3Tottenham Hotspur38191366935+3470
4Manchester City38199107141+3066Qualification for the Champions League play-off round
5Manchester United38199104935+1466Qualification for the Europa League group stage[a]
6Southampton38189115941+1863
7West Ham United38161486551+1462Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round[b]
8Liverpool381612106350+1360
9Stoke City38149154155−1451
10Chelsea381214125953+650
11Everton381114135955+447
12Swansea City381211154252−1047
13Watford38129174050−1045
14West Bromwich Albion381013153448−1443
15Crystal Palace38119183951−1242
16Bournemouth38119184567−2242
17Sunderland38912174862−1439
18Newcastle United (R)38910194465−2137Relegation to EFL Championship
19Norwich City (R)3897223967−2834
20Aston Villa (R)3838272776−4917
Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Play-offs (only if needed to decide champion, teams for relegation or teams for UEFA competitions).[126]
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:

Results

Home \ AwayARSAVLBOUCHECRYEVELEILIVMCIMUNNEWNORSOUSTKSUNSWATOTWATWBAWHU
Arsenal—4–02–00–11–12–12–10–02–13–01–01–00–02–03–11–21–14–02–00–2
Aston Villa0–2—1–20–41–01–31–10–60–00–10–02–02–40–12–21–20–22–30–11–1
Bournemouth0–20–1—1–40–03–31–11–20–42–10–13–02–01–32–03–21–51–11–11–3
Chelsea2–02–00–1—1–23–31–11–30–31–15–11–01–31–13–12–22–22–22–22–2
Crystal Palace1–22–11–20–3—0–00–11–20–10–05–11–01–02–10–10–01–31–22–01–3
Everton0–24–02–13–11–1—2–31–10–20–33–03–01–13–46–21–21–12–20–12–3
Leicester City2–53–20–02–11–03–1—2–00–01–11–01–01–03–04–24–01–12–12–22–2
Liverpool3–33–21–01–11–24–01–0—3–00–12–21–11–14–12–21–01–12–02–20–3
Manchester City2–24–05–13–04–00–01–31–4—0–16–12–13–14–04–12–11–22–02–11–2
Manchester United3–21–03–10–02–01–01–13–10–0—0–01–20–13–03–02–11–01–02–00–0
Newcastle United0–11–11–32–21–00–10–32–01–13–3—6–22–20–01–13–05–11–21–02–1
Norwich City1–12–03–11–21–31–11–24–50–00–13–2—1–01–10–31–00–34–20–12–2
Southampton4–01–12–01–24–10–32–23–24–22–33–13–0—0–11–13–10–22–03–01–0
Stoke City0–02–12–11–01–20–32–20–12–02–01–03–11–2—1–12–20–40–20–12–1
Sunderland0–03–11–13–22–23–00–20–10–12–13–01–30–12–0—1–10–10–10–02–2
Swansea City0–31–02–21–01–10–00–33–11–12–12–01–00–10–12–4—2–21–01–00–0
Tottenham Hotspur2–23–13–00–01–00–00–10–04–13–01–23–01–22–24–12–1—1–01–14–1
Watford0–33–20–00–00–11–10–13–01–21–22–12–00–01–22–21–01–2—0–02–0
West Bromwich Albion2–10–01–22–33–22–32–31–10–31–01–00–10–02–11–01–11–10–1—0–3
West Ham United3–32–03–42–12–21–11–22–02–23–22–02–22–10–01–01–41–03–11–1—
Source: Barclays Premier League results
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Season statistics

Scoring

Top scorers

RankPlayerClubGoals[1]
1 Harry KaneTottenham Hotspur25
2 Sergio AgüeroManchester City24
Jamie VardyLeicester City
4 Romelu LukakuEverton18
5 Riyad MahrezLeicester City17
6 Olivier GiroudArsenal16
7 Jermain DefoeSunderland15
Odion IghaloWatford
9 Troy DeeneyWatford13
Alexis SánchezArsenal

Hat-tricks

PlayerForAgainstResultDateRef
Callum WilsonBournemouthWest Ham United4–3 (A)22 August 2015[127]
Steven NaismithEvertonChelsea3–1 (H)12 September 2015[128]
Alexis SánchezArsenalLeicester City5–2 (A)26 September 2015[129]
Sergio Agüero5Manchester CityNewcastle United6–1 (H)3 October 2015[130]
Raheem SterlingManchester CityBournemouth5–1 (H)17 October 2015[131]
Georginio Wijnaldum4Newcastle UnitedNorwich City6–2 (H)18 October 2015[132]
Harry KaneTottenham HotspurBournemouth5–1 (A)25 October 2015[133]
Arouna KonéEvertonSunderland6–2 (H)1 November 2015[134]
Riyad MahrezLeicester CitySwansea City3–0 (A)5 December 2015[135]
Jermain DefoeSunderlandSwansea City4–2 (A)13 January 2016[136]
Andy CarrollWest Ham UnitedArsenal3–3 (H)9 April 2016[137]
Sergio AgüeroManchester CityChelsea3–0 (A)16 April 2016[138]
Sadio ManéSouthamptonManchester City4–2 (H)1 May 2016[139]
Olivier GiroudArsenalAston Villa4–0 (H)15 May 2016[140]
Notes

4 Player scored 4 goals
5 Player scored 5 goals
(H) – Home team
(A) – Away team

Clean sheets

RankPlayerClubClean
sheets[2]
1 Petr ČechArsenal16
2 David de GeaManchester United15
Joe HartManchester City
Kasper SchmeichelLeicester City
5 Hugo LlorisTottenham Hotspur13
6 Heurelho GomesWatford11
Simon MignoletLiverpool
8 Jack ButlandStoke City10
9 AdriánWest Ham United9
Łukasz FabiańskiSwansea City

Discipline

Player

Club

  • Most yellow cards: 74[142]
    • Aston Villa
  • Most red cards: 6[142]
    • Southampton

Awards

Monthly awards

MonthManager of the MonthPlayer of the MonthReference
ManagerClubPlayerClub
August Manuel PellegriniManchester City André AyewSwansea City[143]
September Mauricio PochettinoTottenham Hotspur Anthony MartialManchester United[144]
October Arsène WengerArsenal Jamie VardyLeicester City[145]
November Claudio RanieriLeicester City[146]
December Quique Sánchez FloresWatford Odion IghaloWatford[147]
January Ronald KoemanSouthampton Sergio AgüeroManchester City[148]
February Mauricio PochettinoTottenham Hotspur Fraser ForsterSouthampton[149]
March Claudio RanieriLeicester City Harry KaneTottenham Hotspur[150]
April Sergio AgüeroManchester City[151]

Annual awards

AwardWinnerClub
Premier League Manager of the Season Claudio Ranieri[152]Leicester City
Premier League Player of the Season Jamie Vardy[153]Leicester City
PFA Players' Player of the Year Riyad Mahrez[154]Leicester City
PFA Young Player of the Year Dele Alli[155]Tottenham Hotspur
FWA Footballer of the Year Jamie Vardy[156]Leicester City
PFA Team of the Year[157]
Goalkeeper David de Gea (Manchester United)
Defence Héctor Bellerín (Arsenal) Toby Alderweireld (Tottenham Hotspur) Wes Morgan (Leicester City) Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur)
Midfield Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City) Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur) N'Golo Kanté (Leicester City) Dimitri Payet (West Ham United)
Attack Jamie Vardy (Leicester City) Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur)

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to FA Premier League season 2015-2016.
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