| Competition: | Premier League |
| Season: | 2011–12 |
| Dates: | 13 August 2011 – 13 May 2012 |
| Winners: | Manchester City 1st Premier League title 3rd English title |
| Continentalcup1: | Champions League |
| Continentalcup1 Qualifiers: | Manchester City Manchester United Arsenal Chelsea (as Champions League winners) |
| Continentalcup2: | Europa League |
| Continentalcup2 Qualifiers: | Tottenham Hotspur Newcastle United Liverpool |
| Relegated: | Bolton Wanderers Blackburn Rovers Wolverhampton Wanderers |
| League Topscorer Section: | Top scorers |
| League Topscorer: | Robin van Persie (30 goals) |
| Best Goalkeeper: | Joe Hart (17 clean sheets) |
| Biggest Home Win: | (28 August 2011) (2 October 2011) (4 February 2012) |
| Biggest Away Win: | (10 September 2011) (23 October 2011) (21 December 2011) Wolverhampton Wanderers 0–5 Manchester United (18 March 2012) (14 April 2012) |
| Highest Scoring: | Manchester United 8–2 Arsenal (28 August 2011) |
| Matches: | 380 |
| Total Goals: | 1066 |
| Longest Wins: | 8 games Manchester United |
| Longest Unbeaten: | 14 games Manchester City |
| Longest Winless: | 12 games Wolverhampton Wanderers |
| Longest Losses: | 8 games Wigan Athletic |
| Highest Attendance: | 75,627 Manchester United 4–1 Wolverhampton Wanderers (10 December 2011) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 15,195 Queens Park Rangers 0–4 Bolton Wanderers (13 August 2011) |
| Attendance: | 13,148,465[1] |
| Average Attendance: | 34,601 |
| Prevseason: | 2010–11 |
| Nextseason: | 2012–13 |
The 2011–12 Premier League (known as the Barclays Premier League for sponsorship reasons) was the 20th season of the Premier League since its establishment in 1992. The season began on 13 August 2011 and ended on 13 May 2012 with Manchester City sealing their third league title – their first since 1968 – with victory over Queens Park Rangers on the final day. The title was City's first Premier League success, making them the fifth club to win the Premier League in its 20-year history.[2] City finished level on 89 points with Manchester United, but they had a superior goal difference to their local rivals, making it the only time the Premier League had been won on goal difference.
The league was contested by 20 teams, 17 returning from the 2010–11 season and three promoted from the Football League Championship. Championship winners Queens Park Rangers and runners-up Norwich City gained automatic promotion whilst Swansea City gained promotion through the Football League Championship play-offs beating Reading 4–2 in May 2011, becoming the first non-English team to play in the Premier League. All three promoted clubs avoided relegation for the first time since the 2001–02 campaign. The season was voted as the greatest Premier League season in the Premier League 20 Seasons Awards.[3]
Manchester City won the title in a tense finale, their first championship since 1968. City's local rivals Manchester United were the early pace-setters, leading the table until October when they drew at Liverpool allowing Manchester City to overtake them. The following week, City increased their lead to five points with a shock 6–1 away victory at Old Trafford, which they maintained until December, when they dropped points and their lead narrowed, but City remained in front until March, when a defeat at Swansea City saw them drop behind United. City's bad form continued for the next month while United went on a winning run, so that with six matches remaining United were eight points ahead of City and the title seemingly decided. However, United then faltered with a defeat and a draw in their next three games, while City won all three to narrow the gap to three points. City then beat United 1–0 at the City of Manchester Stadium to move back ahead of United on goal difference. Both sides won their penultimate matches to maintain the status quo.
Going into the final matches, which were played simultaneously, City were top of the league, ahead of Manchester United on goal difference. However, a Wayne Rooney goal away to Sunderland gave United the advantage. A 39th-minute goal from Pablo Zabaleta, his first of the season, put City back on top at half time. In a dramatic second half Djibril Cissé equalised for Queens Park Rangers in the 48th minute. Shortly after, Joey Barton of QPR was sent off for elbowing Carlos Tevez; on his way off the pitch, he kicked Sergio Agüero, attempted to headbutt Vincent Kompany and squared up to Mario Balotelli. Despite the numerical advantage, City went behind after Jamie Mackie gave QPR the lead in the 66th minute. As time wound down in both matches, it appeared that Manchester United would win the title with their victory over Sunderland. But Edin Džeko equalised for City in the 92nd minute. While United players waited on the field at Sunderland for a possible trophy presentation, Manchester City's Sergio Agüero scored the game winner in the 94th minute to clinch the title on goal difference.[4] [5]
For most of the season, Tottenham Hotspur were in third place, a couple of points behind the Manchester clubs, and there was much speculation as to whether Tottenham could mount a title challenge. However, from late February onward their season collapsed, starting with a 5–2 defeat to local rivals Arsenal, whom they had been 10 points ahead of before the game, and just four wins in their last 13 games condemned Tottenham to finishing a point below Arsenal, who finished third to join Manchester City and Manchester United in the UEFA Champions League,[6] Arsenal completed a strong recovery from a disastrous start to the season including their 8–2 defeat at Manchester United in August. Tottenham finished in the fourth and final Champions League slot but missed out on qualification for the competition because Chelsea's victory in the 2012 Champions League final automatically entitled them to defend their title in the 2012–13 tournament at the expense of the lowest ranked team that would otherwise qualify for the competition through league position. This was the first time that this rule had been implemented in the Premier League, having been introduced by UEFA after Liverpool's controversial qualification for the 2005–06 UEFA Champions League. This consequently marked the first time that the club finishing fourth in the Premier League had not qualified for the tournament since the fourth qualifying spot was introduced in the 2001–02 season. Newcastle United finished fifth and qualified for the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League.[7] Everton finished 7th, just above local rivals Liverpool. Despite finishing above them for the first time in seven years, it was Liverpool who claimed the final Europa League slot, by virtue of winning the 2011–12 Football League Cup.[8]
At the bottom of the league, Wolverhampton Wanderers were the first to be relegated on 22 April, following a 2–0 loss to eventual champions Manchester City. Blackburn Rovers would soon follow on 7 May after a 1–0 loss to Wigan Athletic. On the final day of the season, Bolton Wanderers needed a win against Stoke City, and for QPR to lose to guarantee their survival. However, they failed to beat Stoke, drawing 2–2, and were relegated, with QPR avoiding the drop, despite losing to Manchester City. For the second time in the Premier League's history, none of the three clubs promoted from the Championship in the previous season were relegated at the end of the season with the other two teams, Swansea City and Norwich City, finishing 11th and 12th respectively. The last time all three newly promoted teams stayed up (2001–02), Blackburn and Bolton were two of those teams.
Liverpool's Luis Suárez was found guilty of racially abusing Manchester United's Patrice Evra and was given an eight-match ban.
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 Queens Park Rangers, Norwich City and Swansea City, returning to the top flight after absences of fifteen, six and twenty-eight years respectively. This was also Swansea City's first season in the Premier League. This was the first season where a Welsh team competed in the top flight of English football since the 1982–83 season and the first season in the Premier League era where a Welsh team competed. They replaced Birmingham City, Blackpool and West Ham United, who were relegated to the Championship after their top-flight spells of two, one and six years respectively.
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenal |  | Nike | Emirates | ||
| Aston Villa | 4 | Nike | Genting Casinos | ||
| Blackburn Rovers | 5 | Umbro | The Prince's Trust[10] | ||
| Bolton Wanderers |  | Reebok | |||
| Chelsea |  | Adidas | Samsung | ||
| Everton | Le Coq Sportif | Chang Beer | |||
| Fulham | Kappa | FxPro | |||
| Liverpool | Adidas | Standard Chartered | |||
| Manchester City | |  | Umbro | Etihad Airways | |
| Manchester United | 6 | Nike | Aon | ||
| Newcastle United |  | Puma | Northern Rock/Virgin Money1 | ||
| Norwich City | Erreà | Aviva | |||
| Queens Park Rangers | Lotto | No sponsor7/Malaysia Airlines and Air Asia2 | |||
| Stoke City | Adidas | Britannia | |||
| Sunderland | Umbro | Tombola | |||
| Swansea City | Adidas | 32Red | |||
| Tottenham Hotspur | Puma | Aurasma3 | |||
| West Bromwich Albion | Adidas | Bodog | |||
| Wigan Athletic | MiFit | 12BET | |||
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | BURRDA | Sportingbet |
In addition, Nike had a new design for their match ball (white from August to October and March to May; high-visibility yellow from November through February) called Seitiro, featuring a modified flame design.[17]
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position at departure | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chelsea | | Sacked | 22 May 2011[18] | Pre-season | 22 June 2011[19] | |
| Aston Villa | | Resigned on grounds of ill health | 1 June 2011[20] | 17 June 2011[21] | ||
| Fulham | Resigned | 2 June 2011[22] | 7 June 2011[23] | |||
| Sunderland | Sacked | 30 November 2011[24] | 16th | 3 December 2011[25] | ||
| Queens Park Rangers | 8 January 2012[26] | 17th | 10 January 2012[27] | |||
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 13 February 2012[28] | 18th | 24 February 2012[29] | |||
| Chelsea | 4 March 2012[30] | 5th | Roberto Di Matteo | 4 March 2012 |
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals[34] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robin van Persie | Arsenal | 30 |
| 2 | Wayne Rooney | Manchester United | 27 |
| 3 | Sergio Agüero | Manchester City | 23 |
| 4 | Clint Dempsey | Fulham | 17 |
| Emmanuel Adebayor | Tottenham Hotspur | ||
| Yakubu | Blackburn Rovers | ||
| 7 | Demba Ba | Newcastle United | 16 |
| 8 | Grant Holt | Norwich City | 15 |
| 9 | Edin Džeko | Manchester City | 14 |
| 10 | Mario Balotelli | Manchester City | 13 |
| Papiss Cissé | Newcastle United |
See main article: List of Premier League hat-tricks.
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Manchester City | Tottenham Hotspur | 5–1[35] | ||
| Manchester United | Arsenal | 8–2[36] | |||
| Manchester City | Wigan Athletic | 3–0[37] | |||
| Manchester United | Bolton Wanderers | 5–0[38] | |||
| Newcastle United | Blackburn Rovers | 3–1[39] | |||
| Chelsea | Bolton Wanderers | 5–1[40] | |||
| Fulham | Queens Park Rangers | 6–0[41] | |||
| Arsenal | Chelsea | 5–3[42] | |||
| Newcastle United | Stoke City | 3–1[43] | |||
| Yakubu4 | Blackburn Rovers | Swansea City | 4–2[44] | ||
| Manchester United | Wigan Athletic | 5–0[45] | |||
| Fulham | Newcastle United | 5–2[46] | |||
| Arsenal | Blackburn Rovers | 7–1[47] | |||
| West Bromwich Albion | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 5–1[48] | |||
| Fulham | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 5–0[49] | |||
| Liverpool | Everton | 3–0[50] | |||
| Manchester City | Norwich City | 6–1[51] | |||
| Liverpool | Norwich City | 3–0[52] | |||
| Chelsea | Queens Park Rangers | 6–1[53] |
On 21 December in a 2–1 loss to Arsenal at Villa Park, Marc Albrighton of Aston Villa was officially credited with the 20,000th goal scored since the formation of the Premier League in 1992. He was given £20,000 from league sponsor Barclays to donate to a charity of his choice. He chose Acorns Children's Hospice, who used to sponsor Aston Villa.[54]
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joe Hart | Manchester City | 17 |
| 2 | Tim Krul | Newcastle United | 15 |
| 3 | Brad Friedel | Tottenham Hotspur | 14 |
| Michel Vorm | Swansea City | ||
| 5 | David de Gea | Manchester United | 13 |
| Wojciech Szczesny | Arsenal | ||
| 7 | Tim Howard | Everton | 12 |
| Pepe Reina | Liverpool | ||
| 9 | Simon Mignolet | Sunderland | 11 |
| 10 | Petr Čech | Chelsea | 10 |
| Ben Foster | West Bromwich Albion | ||
| Mark Schwarzer | Fulham | ||
| Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manager | Club | Player | Club | ||
| August[57] [58] | Sir Alex Ferguson | Manchester United |  Edin Džeko | Manchester City | |
| September[59] [60] | Harry Redknapp | Tottenham Hotspur |  David Silva | Manchester City | |
| October[61] | Roberto Mancini | Manchester City | Robin van Persie | Arsenal | |
| November[62] | Harry Redknapp | Tottenham Hotspur | Scott Parker | Tottenham Hotspur | |
| December[63] | Martin O'Neill | Sunderland |  Demba Ba | Newcastle United | |
| January[64] [65] | Brendan Rodgers | Swansea City | Gareth Bale | Tottenham Hotspur | |
| February[66] | Arsène Wenger | Arsenal | Peter Odemwingie | West Bromwich Albion | |
| March[67] [68] | Owen Coyle | Bolton Wanderers |  Gylfi Sigurðsson | Swansea City | |
| April[69] | Roberto Martínez | Wigan Athletic | Nikica Jelavić | Everton | |
Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew, 50, received the Premier League Manager of the Season. Pardew was the first Newcastle manager to receive the award, and only the second Englishman after Harry Redknapp to do so.
The Premier League Player of the Season award was won by Vincent Kompany of Manchester City.[70]
The Goal of the Season award was given to Papiss Cissé of Newcastle United for his second goal in their 2–0 victory against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on 28 April, becoming the first player for the club to win the award since its inception.
The PFA Players' Player of the Year was awarded to Robin van Persie.[71] The other nominees were; Sergio Aguero, Scott Parker, David Silva, Joe Hart and Wayne Rooney.[72]
| PFA Team of the Year[73] | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | Joe Hart (Manchester City) | ||||||||||||
| Defenders | Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspur) | Vincent Kompany (Manchester City) | Fabricio Coloccini (Newcastle United) | Leighton Baines (Everton) | |||||||||
| Midfielders | David Silva (Manchester City) | Yaya Touré (Manchester City) | Scott Parker (Tottenham Hotspur) | Gareth Bale (Tottenham Hotspur) | |||||||||
| Forwards | Robin van Persie (Arsenal) | Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) | |||||||||||
The PFA Young Player of the Year was awarded to Kyle Walker.[74]
The FWA Footballer of the Year was also awarded to Robin van Persie.[75]
The Premier League Golden Boot award went to Robin van Persie, who scored 30 goals.
The Premier League Golden Glove award was won by Joe Hart of Manchester City, who achieved 17 clean sheets.
Swansea City won the Premier League Fair Play Award after finishing the 2011–12 Premier League top of the Fair Play Table. The award for best behaved fans went to Norwich.[76]