2015–16 Premier League

2015–16 Premier League

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. 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.

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 to win 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. 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; effective the following season onwards, it would simply be known as the Premier League, with no sponsors attached.

Summary

2015–16 Premier League

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 and bookmakers gave 5,000–1 odds on them winning the title. 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. 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.

Despite winning their opening game against Sunderland and topping the table, they dropped back following a 5–2 home defeat to Arsenal in September. However, aided by Jamie Vardy's record feat of scoring in eleven consecutive Premier League games, 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. 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.

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. 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. 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, Stoke City and Southampton, and a loss to Chelsea 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.

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, where they remained until the final weekend of the season. Draws with West Bromwich Albion and Chelsea—in a game now known as the ‘Battle of the Bridge’—prevented them from winning their first league title since 1961. 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.

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 relegated, after a 1–0 loss at Manchester United on 16 April. On 11 May, Sunderland won 3–0 against Everton, a result which relegated both Newcastle United and Norwich City with one game remaining.

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. 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.

Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore described it as "biggest story we've ever had" in English football. Former Leicester manager Martin O'Neill described it as the "greatest achievement of this century". 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. 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'". 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." 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."

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; 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.

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

Teams

2015–16 Premier League

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

<table><thead><tr><th>Team</th><th>Location</th><th>Stadium</th><th>Capacity</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Arsenal</td><td>London (Holloway)</td><td>Emirates Stadium</td><td>60,260</td></tr><tr><td>Aston Villa</td><td>Birmingham</td><td>Villa Park</td><td>42,660</td></tr><tr><td>Bournemouth</td><td>Bournemouth</td><td>Dean Court</td><td>11,464</td></tr><tr><td>Chelsea</td><td>London (Fulham)</td><td>Stamford Bridge</td><td>41,798</td></tr><tr><td>Crystal Palace</td><td>London (Selhurst)</td><td>Selhurst Park</td><td>25,073</td></tr><tr><td>Everton</td><td>Liverpool (Walton)</td><td>Goodison Park</td><td>39,898</td></tr><tr><td>Leicester City</td><td>Leicester</td><td>King Power Stadium</td><td>32,500</td></tr><tr><td>Liverpool</td><td>Liverpool (Anfield)</td><td>Anfield</td><td>44,742</td></tr><tr><td>Manchester City</td><td>Manchester (Bradford)</td><td>City of Manchester Stadium</td><td>55,097</td></tr><tr><td>Manchester United</td><td>Manchester (Old Trafford)</td><td>Old Trafford</td><td>76,153</td></tr><tr><td>Newcastle United</td><td>Newcastle upon Tyne</td><td>St James' Park</td><td>52,338</td></tr><tr><td>Norwich City</td><td>Norwich</td><td>Carrow Road</td><td>27,010</td></tr><tr><td>Southampton</td><td>Southampton</td><td>St Mary's Stadium</td><td>32,506</td></tr><tr><td>Stoke City</td><td>Stoke-on-Trent</td><td>Britannia Stadium</td><td>27,740</td></tr><tr><td>Sunderland</td><td>Sunderland</td><td>Stadium of Light</td><td>48,707</td></tr><tr><td>Swansea City</td><td>Swansea</td><td>Liberty Stadium</td><td>20,909</td></tr><tr><td>Tottenham Hotspur</td><td>London (Tottenham)</td><td>White Hart Lane</td><td>36,284</td></tr><tr><td>Watford</td><td>Watford</td><td>Vicarage Road</td><td>21,500</td></tr><tr><td>West Bromwich Albion</td><td>West Bromwich</td><td>The Hawthorns</td><td>26,850</td></tr><tr><td>West Ham United</td><td>London (Upton Park)</td><td>Boleyn Ground</td><td>35,345</td></tr></tbody></table>

Personnel and kits

<table><thead><tr><th>Team</th><th>Manager</th><th>Captain</th><th>Kit manufacturer</th><th>Shirt sponsor</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Arsenal</td><td>Arsène Wenger</td><td>Mikel Arteta</td><td>Puma</td><td>Emirates</td></tr><tr><td>Aston Villa</td><td>Eric Black (caretaker)</td><td>Micah Richards</td><td>Macron</td><td>Intuit QuickBooks</td></tr><tr><td>Bournemouth</td><td>Eddie Howe</td><td>Tommy Elphick</td><td>JD Sports</td><td>Mansion Group</td></tr><tr><td>Chelsea</td><td>Guus Hiddink (caretaker)</td><td>John Terry</td><td>Adidas</td><td>Yokohama</td></tr><tr><td>Crystal Palace</td><td>Alan Pardew</td><td>Mile Jedinak</td><td>Macron</td><td>Mansion Group</td></tr><tr><td>Everton</td><td>David Unsworth Joe Royle (caretakers)</td><td>Phil Jagielka</td><td>Umbro</td><td>Chang</td></tr><tr><td>Leicester City</td><td>Claudio Ranieri</td><td>Wes Morgan</td><td>Puma</td><td>King Power</td></tr><tr><td>Liverpool</td><td>Jürgen Klopp</td><td>Jordan Henderson</td><td>New Balance</td><td>Standard Chartered</td></tr><tr><td>Manchester City</td><td>Manuel Pellegrini</td><td>Vincent Kompany</td><td>Nike</td><td>Etihad Airways</td></tr><tr><td>Manchester United</td><td>Louis van Gaal</td><td>Wayne Rooney</td><td>Adidas</td><td>Chevrolet</td></tr><tr><td>Newcastle United</td><td>Rafael Benítez</td><td>Fabricio Coloccini</td><td>Puma</td><td>Wonga</td></tr><tr><td>Norwich City</td><td>Alex Neil</td><td>Russell Martin</td><td>Erreà</td><td>Aviva</td></tr><tr><td>Southampton</td><td>Ronald Koeman</td><td>José Fonte</td><td>Adidas</td><td>Veho</td></tr><tr><td>Stoke City</td><td>Mark Hughes</td><td>Ryan Shawcross</td><td>New Balance</td><td>Bet365</td></tr><tr><td>Sunderland</td><td>Sam Allardyce</td><td>John O'Shea</td><td>Adidas</td><td>Dafabet</td></tr><tr><td>Swansea City</td><td>Francesco Guidolin</td><td>Ashley Williams</td><td>Adidas</td><td>GWFX</td></tr><tr><td>Tottenham Hotspur</td><td>Mauricio Pochettino</td><td>Hugo Lloris</td><td>Under Armour</td><td>AIA</td></tr><tr><td>Watford</td><td>Quique Sánchez Flores</td><td>Troy Deeney</td><td>Puma</td><td>138.com</td></tr><tr><td>West Bromwich Albion</td><td>Tony Pulis</td><td>Darren Fletcher</td><td>Adidas</td><td>Tlcbet</td></tr><tr><td>West Ham United</td><td>Slaven Bilić</td><td>Mark Noble</td><td>Umbro</td><td>Betway</td></tr></tbody></table>

• Additionally, referee kits are made by Nike, sponsored by EA Sports, and Nike has a new match ball, the Ordem Premier League.

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
West Ham United	Sam Allardyce	End of contract	24 May 2015	Pre-season	Slaven Bilić	9 June 2015
Watford	Slaviša Jokanović	5 June 2015	Quique Sánchez Flores	5 June 2015
Newcastle United	John Carver	Sacked	9 June 2015	Steve McClaren	10 June 2015
Leicester City	Nigel Pearson	30 June 2015	Claudio Ranieri	13 July 2015
Sunderland	Dick Advocaat	Resigned	4 October 2015	19th	Sam Allardyce	9 October 2015
Liverpool	Brendan Rodgers	Sacked	4 October 2015	10th	Jürgen Klopp	8 October 2015
Aston Villa	Tim Sherwood	25 October 2015	19th	Rémi Garde	2 November 2015
Swansea City	Garry Monk	9 December 2015	15th	Alan Curtis	7 January 2016
Chelsea	José Mourinho	17 December 2015	16th	Guus Hiddink	19 December 2015
Swansea City	Alan Curtis	End of caretaker spell	18 January 2016	18th	Francesco Guidolin	18 January 2016
Newcastle United	Steve McClaren	Sacked	11 March 2016	19th	Rafael Benítez	11 March 2016
Aston Villa	Rémi Garde	Mutual consent	29 March 2016	20th	Eric Black	29 March 2016
Everton	Roberto Martínez	Sacked	12 May 2016	12th	David Unsworth Joe Royle (caretakers)	12 May 2016

League table

2015–16 Premier League

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Leicester City (C)	38	23	12	3	68	36	+32	81	Qualification for the Champions League group stage
2	Arsenal	38	20	11	7	65	36	+29	71
3	Tottenham Hotspur	38	19	13	6	69	35	+34	70
4	Manchester City	38	19	9	10	71	41	+30	66	Qualification for the Champions League play-off round
5	Manchester United	38	19	9	10	49	35	+14	66	Qualification for the Europa League group stage
6	Southampton	38	18	9	11	59	41	+18	63
7	West Ham United	38	16	14	8	65	51	+14	62	Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round
8	Liverpool	38	16	12	10	63	50	+13	60
9	Stoke City	38	14	9	15	41	55	−14	51
10	Chelsea	38	12	14	12	59	53	+6	50
11	Everton	38	11	14	13	59	55	+4	47
12	Swansea City	38	12	11	15	42	52	−10	47
13	Watford	38	12	9	17	40	50	−10	45
14	West Bromwich Albion	38	10	13	15	34	48	−14	43
15	Crystal Palace	38	11	9	18	39	51	−12	42
16	Bournemouth	38	11	9	18	45	67	−22	42
17	Sunderland	38	9	12	17	48	62	−14	39
18	Newcastle United (R)	38	9	10	19	44	65	−21	37	Relegation to EFL Championship
19	Norwich City (R)	38	9	7	22	39	67	−28	34
20	Aston Villa (R)	38	3	8	27	27	76	−49	17

Season statistics

Top scorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Harry Kane	Tottenham Hotspur	25
2	Sergio Agüero	Manchester City	24
Jamie Vardy	Leicester City
4	Romelu Lukaku	Everton	18
5	Riyad Mahrez	Leicester City	17
6	Olivier Giroud	Arsenal	16
7	Jermain Defoe	Sunderland	15
Odion Ighalo	Watford
9	Troy Deeney	Watford	13
Alexis Sánchez	Arsenal

Hat-tricks

Player	For	Against	Result	Date	Ref
Callum Wilson	Bournemouth	West Ham United	4–3 (A)	22 August 2015
Steven Naismith	Everton	Chelsea	3–1 (H)	12 September 2015
Alexis Sánchez	Arsenal	Leicester City	5–2 (A)	26 September 2015
Sergio Agüero5	Manchester City	Newcastle United	6–1 (H)	3 October 2015
Raheem Sterling	Manchester City	Bournemouth	5–1 (H)	17 October 2015
Georginio Wijnaldum4	Newcastle United	Norwich City	6–2 (H)	18 October 2015
Harry Kane	Tottenham Hotspur	Bournemouth	5–1 (A)	25 October 2015
Arouna Koné	Everton	Sunderland	6–2 (H)	1 November 2015
Riyad Mahrez	Leicester City	Swansea City	3–0 (A)	5 December 2015
Jermain Defoe	Sunderland	Swansea City	4–2 (A)	13 January 2016
Andy Carroll	West Ham United	Arsenal	3–3 (H)	9 April 2016
Sergio Agüero	Manchester City	Chelsea	3–0 (A)	16 April 2016
Sadio Mané	Southampton	Manchester City	4–2 (H)	1 May 2016
Olivier Giroud	Arsenal	Aston Villa	4–0 (H)	15 May 2016

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

Clean sheets

Rank	Player	Club	Clean sheets
1	Petr Čech	Arsenal	16
2	David de Gea	Manchester United	15
Joe Hart	Manchester City
Kasper Schmeichel	Leicester City
5	Hugo Lloris	Tottenham Hotspur	13
6	Heurelho Gomes	Watford	11
Simon Mignolet	Liverpool
8	Jack Butland	Stoke City	10
9	Adrián	West Ham United	9
Łukasz Fabiański	Swansea City

Player

• Most yellow cards: 11 • Jack Colback (Newcastle United) • Most red cards: 3 • Victor Wanyama (Southampton)

Club

• Most yellow cards: 74 • Aston Villa • Most red cards: 6 • Southampton

Awards

Monthly awards

Month	Manager of the Month	Player of the Month	Reference
Manager	Club	Player	Club
August	Manuel Pellegrini	Manchester City	André Ayew	Swansea City
September	Mauricio Pochettino	Tottenham Hotspur	Anthony Martial	Manchester United
October	Arsène Wenger	Arsenal	Jamie Vardy	Leicester City
November	Claudio Ranieri	Leicester City
December	Quique Sánchez Flores	Watford	Odion Ighalo	Watford
January	Ronald Koeman	Southampton	Sergio Agüero	Manchester City
February	Mauricio Pochettino	Tottenham Hotspur	Fraser Forster	Southampton
March	Claudio Ranieri	Leicester City	Harry Kane	Tottenham Hotspur
April	Sergio Agüero	Manchester City

Annual awards

<table><thead><tr><th>Award</th><th>Winner</th><th>Club</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Premier League Manager of the Season</td><td>Claudio Ranieri</td><td>Leicester City</td></tr><tr><td>Premier League Player of the Season</td><td>Jamie Vardy</td><td>Leicester City</td></tr><tr><td>PFA Players' Player of the Year</td><td>Riyad Mahrez</td><td>Leicester City</td></tr><tr><td>PFA Young Player of the Year</td><td>Dele Alli</td><td>Tottenham Hotspur</td></tr><tr><td>FWA Footballer of the Year</td><td>Jamie Vardy</td><td>Leicester City</td></tr></tbody></table>

<table><thead><tr><th>PFA Team of the Year</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Goalkeeper</td><td>David de Gea (Manchester United)</td></tr><tr><td>Defence</td><td>Héctor Bellerín (Arsenal)</td><td>Toby Alderweireld (Tottenham Hotspur)</td><td>Wes Morgan (Leicester City)</td><td>Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur)</td></tr><tr><td>Midfield</td><td>Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City)</td><td>Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur)</td><td>N'Golo Kanté (Leicester City)</td><td>Dimitri Payet (West Ham United)</td></tr><tr><td>Attack</td><td>Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)</td><td>Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur)</td></tr></tbody></table>

Attendances

2015–16 Premier League

#	Football club	Home games	Average attendance
1	Manchester United	19	75,286
2	Arsenal FC	19	59,944
3	Manchester City	19	54,041
4	Newcastle United	19	49,754
5	Liverpool FC	19	43,910
6	Sunderland AFC	19	43,071
7	Chelsea FC	19	41,500
8	Everton FC	19	38,124
9	Tottenham Hotspur	19	35,776
10	West Ham United	19	34,910
11	Aston Villa	19	33,690
12	Leicester City	19	32,021
13	Southampton FC	19	30,751
14	Stoke City	19	27,534
15	Norwich City	19	26,972
16	Crystal Palace	19	24,636
17	West Bromwich Albion	19	24,631
18	Swansea City	19	20,711
19	Watford FC	19	20,594
20	AFC Bournemouth	19	11,189