Premier League 2010-2011

The Premier League 2010-11 season kicks off next Saturday, 14^th August. Defending champions Chelsea will kick off the new campaign at home to newly-promoted West Bromwich Albion. Find all the latest updates here as we share the experience with you over the next few months.

For those who’ve just joined in:

The Premier League is England’s primary football club competition. At the top of the English Football Pyramid, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League which lies below it.

Every year the Premier League season takes place from August to May and during these 9 months, each Premier League team plays every other team twice, on a home and away basis, for a total of 38 games. Teams receive 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, and none for a loss. At the end of each season, the club with the most points is crowned champion. If points are equal, the goal difference and then goals scored determine the winner.

The Premier League consists of 20 clubs. The three lowest teams in the Premier League at the end of the season are relegated to the Football League while three teams from Football League are promoted to the Premier League.

Winners of the Premier League qualify for European championships including UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) Champions League and UEFA Europa League.

The top four teams in the Premier League qualify for the UEFA Champions League, with the top three teams directly entering the group stage. The fourth-placed team enters the Champions League at the play-off round. The team placed fifth in the Premier League automatically qualifies for the UEFA Europa League, and the sixth and seventh-place teams can also qualify, depending on the winners of the two domestic cup competitions.

Most games are played on Saturdays and Sundays, with a few games played during weekday evenings. It is sponsored by Barclays Bank and therefore officially known as the Barclays Premier League.

Promoted as "The Greatest Show On Earth", the Premier League is the world's most popular and most watched sporting league, followed worldwide by over half a billion people in 202 countries.

Since its inception in 1992, it has only been won by 4 teams – Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Arsenal and Chelsea. Manchester United has dominated the league through 11 wins and Chelsea are current Champions.

In addition to the winner's Trophy and the individual Winner's Medals, the Premier League also awards the monthly, Manager of the Month and Player of the Month awards, and the annual Manager of the Year as well as the Golden Boot, awarded to top goal scorer and the Golden Glove, awarded to the goal keeper with most clean sheets.

Premier League 2010-2011

This year’s Premier League will be the nineteenth season of the league. The 2010–11 fixtures were released on 17 June 2010 . The season will begin on 14 August 2010, and conclude on 22 May 2011.

17 teams from the 2009-10 Premier League are contesting this time, while 3 teams have been promoted from the Football League. These are 2009–10 Football League Championship champions Newcastle United and runners-up West Bromwich Albion as well as Blackpool who will be appearing for the first time in Premier League.

This will also be the first time since 1983–84 that all four major West Midlands clubs — Birmingham City, West Bromwich Albion, Aston Villa and Wolverhampton Wanderers — will all have been in the top division at the same time.
It will also be the first time that the Black Country derby will be contested in the Premier League. And with Portsmouth relegated, this season's Premier League will have no Southern English clubs outside London.

What's Making Headlines

Chelsea will take on Manchester United in the 2010 Community Shield tomorrow, 8^th August at Wembley Stadium, in what is considered to be a curtain raiser for the Premier League season starting one week from now. Premier League’s defending champions, Chelsea are the favourites to claim the Community Shield silverware. The game is usually considered a massive confidence booster for the winner as each team would most likely be the main Premiership rival for the other.

The league has introduced a "home grown players" rule this season. From this season onwards Premier League clubs will have to name a squad of up to 25 players and the new rule will require clubs to name at least eight players in their squad of 25 that have been registered domestically for a minimum of three seasons prior to their 21st birthday. The hope is that this rule change will have a beneficial knock-on effect at international level, giving England a greater pool of potential players. It aims to encourage the development of young footballers at Premier League clubs and will also reward clubs for their investment in youth.

Fixtures for this Month

Saturday, 14 August 2010

Tottenham v Man City, 12:45

Aston Villa v West Ham, 15:00

Blackburn v Everton, 15:00

Bolton v Fulham, 15:00

Sunderland v Birmingham, 15:00

Wigan v Blackpool, 15:00

Wolverhampton v Stoke, 15:00

Chelsea v West Brom, 17:30

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Sunday, 15 August 2010

Liverpool v Arsenal, 16:00

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Monday, 16 August 2010

Man Utd v Newcastle, 20:00

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Saturday, 21 August 2010

Arsenal v Blackpool, 15:00

Birmingham v Blackburn, 15:00

Everton v Wolverhampton, 15:00

Stoke v Tottenham, 15:00

West Brom v Sunderland, 15:00

West Ham v Bolton, 15:00

Wigan v Chelsea, 17:15

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Sunday, 22 August 2010

Newcastle v Aston Villa, 13:30

Fulham v Man Utd, 16:00

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Monday, 23 August 2010

Man City v Liverpool, 20:00

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Saturday, 28 August 2010

Blackburn v Arsenal, 12:45

Blackpool v Fulham, 15:00

Chelsea v Stoke, 15:00

Liverpool v West Brom, 15:00

Tottenham v Wigan, 15:00

Wolverhampton v Newcastle, 15:00

Man Utd v West Ham, 17:30

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Sunday, 29 August 2010

Bolton v Birmingham, 13:30

Sunderland v Man City, 15:00

Aston Villa v Everton, 16:00

Bledisloe Cup 2010 - Updates

The Bledisloe Cup 2010 series started on 31^st July with the first Tri-Nations match between the All Blacks and the Wallabies. We are here to bring you the latest of all the action for the next 3 months. Watch this space for regular updates:

7th August - New Zealand beat Australia to retain Bledisloe Cup

The All Blacks beat Australia 20-10 today to retain the Bledisloe Cup for the 8th year in a row.

Mila Muliaina and Conrad Smith got first-half tries for the All Blacks in Christchurch, while Australia’s only try came from full-back Kurtley Beale. The All Blacks’ defence shone in a second half where its only points came from Dan Carter's penalty after it had led 17-10 and by two tries to one at halftime.

This is also New Zealand's 9th consecutive win over the Wallabies, surpassing its own record set between 1936 and 1947. After losing the last match 49-28, the Wallabies showed a much better game this time around by slowing the All Blacks ball to gain a much greater share of possession and of territory. In fact, they dominated the opening exchanges through both territory and possession but Muliaina’s try re-emphasized the All Blacks’ ability to score through turnovers and on the counterattack. In the end, the All Black defence was unrelenting.

All Blacks need just one more point to clinch this year's Tri-Nations title as well. This would be their 10th win since the inception of the series in 1996, where as South Africa, the defending champions, have won thrice and Australia, twice.

1st August - Jimmy Cowan doubtful for next Bledisloe

The 2^nd test will be taking place next Saturday, August 8^th, at Christchurch, New Zealand. All Blacks halfback Jimmy Cowan is doubtful to play after suffering rib cartilage damage during Saturday night's match.

Cowan was replaced by Piri Weepu in the 33rd minute of the first half and All Blacks head coach Graham Henry said he was unlikely to feature when New Zealand play against the Wallabies in the 2^nd test.

We look forward eagerly to Saturday’s match as Wallabies gear up for retribution. It would be a big test for Wallabies coach Robbie Deans as Australia have not won in New Zealand since 2001.

31^st July - 1st Test

The match took place at the Etihad stadium in Melbourne. With both the All Blacks and the Wallabies unbeaten in the Tri-Nations at the time, there was some fantastic attacking rugby on both sides.

This became apparent when the All Blacks made fifty yards from turnover ball followed by Giteau making a scything break past McCaw which forced the All Blacks to give a penalty to shut down the dangerous attack.

The Wallabies had suffered their first setback as they were forced to move Matt Giteau to outside half after Quade Cooper was banned for two weeks for a dangerous tackle against the Springboks last week. Gitteau duly showed his worth by opening the scoring for the Wallabies.

The All Blacks also had the advantage of an extra man for the majority of the second half as Australian wing Drew Mitchell got his second yellow card which meant a permanent expulsion from the game.

The All Blacks have surely played a commendable game scoring seven tries in a 28-49 defeat of Australia to win 2010's first Bledisloe Cup match.

The schedule for Bledisloe Cup Matches 2010 is as follows:

• Test 1: 31st July, 2010 – Etihad Stadium, Melbourne, Australia
• Test 2: 7th August, 2010 – AMI Stadium, Christchurch, New Zealand
• Test 3: 11th September, 2010 – ANZ Stadium, Sydney, Australia
• Test 4: 30th October, 2010 – Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong

Bledisloe Cup - Past and Present

Rugby Union’s Bledisloe Cup is here once again. Saturday night saw the first match between the Wallabies and All Blacks with New Zealand winning (Wallabies 28-49 All Blacks).

But the game is not over yet. There are three more matches to look forward to in the next 3 months and we are here to bring you all the excitement and updates from the field. So stay with us through this journey and let’s share the Bledisloe experience.

The Bledisloe Cup Over The Years

There is some dispute as to when the first Bledisloe Cup match was played. The Australian Rugby Union (ARU) contends that the one-off 1931 match played at Eden Park was the first. The New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU), on the other hand, believes that the first match was when New Zealand toured Australia in 1932.

The then Governor-General of New Zealand, Lord Bledisloe, presented the Cup as a perpetual Rugby trophy and a token of good will between Australia and New Zealand. The silver Bledisloe Cup, designed in New Zealand by Nelson Isaac, and crafted by Walker and Hall in London, is the largest trophy in World Rugby.

The Bledisloe cup matches, which were once played irregularly every few years, now happen annually, and have included Tri-Nations fixtures between the two sides since 1996.

Over the years, the Bledisloe Cup has been contended through 2-game contests and sometimes 3-game contests. Since the advent of the Tri-Nations series, it has mostly been a fixed two match series played on a home and away basis. The 2010 Bledisloe Cup, however, will be played in 4 matches.

The first time the Cup was contested in 4 matches was in 2008, with three games played in Australia and New Zealand and a fourth and potentially deciding game in Hong Kong in an effort to promote the game in Asia. It was also the first time Australia and New Zealand played in a third country outside the World Cup.

The Hong Kong match drew a crowd of 39,000 and its success has lead to more matches being held outside the nations ever since. The 4^th game of the 2010 Bledisloe Cup will be held on 30^th October at the Hong Kong Stadium in Hong Kong.

Over the years, New Zealand has won the series 37 times while Australia has won it 12 times, with the New Zealand All Blacks being the current cup holders.

New Zealand has retained the cup since 2003 with last year’s series being a clean sweep for them (they won 4-0). New Zealand’s streak has been on for the last 7 series. Although 2 of those (2004 and 2007) were draws, the trophy remained with New Zealand as it is held by the current holders in case of draws.

Australia’s longest streak has been 5 series in a row from 1998-2002.

The Bledisloe Cup results since 1931 have been as follows.

bledisloe cup results 1931 - 2008

Year Winner Matches Venue 1931 New Zealand 1-0 New Zealand - 20 v Australia - 13 Auckland 1932 New Zealand 2-1 Australia - 22 v New Zealand - 17 Sydney Australia - 3 v New Zealand - 21 Brisbane Australia - 13 v New Zealand - 21 Sydney 1934 Australia 1-0 Australia - 25 v New Zealand - 11 Sydney Australia - 3 v New Zealand - 3 Sydney 1936 New Zealand 2-0 New Zealand - 11 v Australia - 6 Wellington New Zealand - 38 v Australia - 13 Dunedin 1938 New Zealand 3-0 Australia - 9 v New Zealand - 24 Sydney Australia - 14 v New Zealand - 20 Brisbane Australia - 6 v New Zealand - 14 Sydney 1946 New Zealand 2-0 New Zealand - 31 v Australia - 8 Dunedin New Zealand - 14 v Australia - 10 Auckland 1947 New Zealand 2-0 Australia - 5 v New Zealand - 13 Brisbane Australia - 14 v New Zealand - 27 Sydney 1949 Australia 2-0 New Zealand - 6 v Australia - 11 Wellington New Zealand - 9 v Australia - 16 Auckland 1951 New Zealand 3-0 Australia - 0 v New Zealand - 8 Sydney Australia - 11 v New Zealand - 17 Sydney Australia - 6 v New Zealand - 16 Brisbane 1952 New Zealand 1-1 New Zealand - 9 v Australia - 14 Christchurch New Zealand - 15 v Australia - 8 Wellington 1955 New Zealand 2-1 New Zealand - 16 v Australia - 8 Wellington New Zealand - 8 v Australia - 0 Dunedin New Zealand - 3 v Australia - 8 Auckland 1957 New Zealand 2-0 Australia - 11 v New Zealand - 25 Sydney Australia - 9 v New Zealand - 22 Brisbane 1958 New Zealand 2-1 New Zealand - 25 v Australia - 3 Wellington New Zealand - 3 v Australia - 6 Christchurch New Zealand - 17 v Australia - 8 Auckland 1962 New Zealand 4-0 Australia - 6 v New Zealand - 20 Brisbane Australia - 5 v New Zealand - 14 SCG, Sydney New Zealand - 9 v Australia - 9 Wellington New Zealand - 3 v Australia - 0 Dunedin New Zealand - 16 v Australia - 8 Auckland 1964 New Zealand 2-1 New Zealand - 14 v Australia - 9 Dunedin New Zealand - 18 v Australia - 3 Christchurch New Zealand - 5 v Australia - 20 Wellington 1967 New Zealand 1-0 New Zealand - 29 v Australia - 9 Wellington 1968 New Zealand 2-0 Australia - 11 v New Zealand - 27 Sydney Australia - 18 v New Zealand - 19 Brisbane 1972 New Zealand 3-0 New Zealand - 29 v Australia - 6 Wellington New Zealand - 30 v Australia - 17 Christchurch New Zealand - 38 v Australia - 3 Auckland 1974 New Zealand 2-0 Australia - 6 v New Zealand - 11 Sydney Australia - 16 v New Zealand - 16 Brisbane Australia - 6 v New Zealand - 16 Sydney 1978 New Zealand 2-1 New Zealand - 13 v Australia - 12 Wellington New Zealand - 22 v Australia - 6 Christchurch New Zealand - 16 v Australia - 30 Auckland 1979 Australia 1-0 Australia - 12 v New Zealand - 6 Sydney 1980 Australia 2-1 Australia - 13 v New Zealand - 9 Sydney Australia - 9 v New Zealand - 12 Brisbane Australia - 26 v New Zealand - 10 Sydney 1982 New Zealand 2-1 New Zealand - 23 v Australia - 16 Christchurch New Zealand - 16 v Australia - 19 Wellington New Zealand - 33 v Australia - 18 Auckland 1983 New Zealand 1-0 Australia - 8 v New Zealand - 18 Sydney 1984 New Zealand 2-1 Australia - 16 v New Zealand - 9 Sydney Australia - 15 v New Zealand - 19 Brisbane Australia - 24 v New Zealand - 25 Sydney 1985 New Zealand 1-0 New Zealand - 10 v Australia - 9 Auckland 1986 Australia 2-1 New Zealand - 12 v Australia - 13 Wellington New Zealand - 13 v Australia - 12 Dunedin New Zealand - 9 v Australia - 22 Auckland 1987 New Zealand 1-0 Australia - 16 v New Zealand - 30 Sydney 1988 New Zealand 2-0 Australia - 7 v New Zealand - 32 Sydney Australia - 19 v New Zealand - 19 Brisbane Australia - 9 v New Zealand - 30 Sydney 1989 New Zealand 1-0 New Zealand - 24 v Australia - 12 Auckland 1990 New Zealand 2-1 New Zealand - 21 v Australia - 6 Christchurch New Zealand - 27 v Australia - 17 Auckland New Zealand - 9 v Australia - 21 Wellington 1991 New Zealand 1-1 Australia - 21 v New Zealand - 12 Sydney New Zealand - 6 v Australia - 3 Auckland 1992 Australia 2-1 Australia - 16 v New Zealand - 15 Sydney Australia - 19 v New Zealand - 17 Brisbane Australia - 23 v New Zealand - 26 Sydney 1993 New Zealand 1-0 New Zealand - 25 v Australia - 10 Dunedin 1994 Australia 1-0 Australia - 20 v New Zealand - 16 Sydney 1995 New Zealand 2-0 New Zealand - 28 v Australia - 16 Auckland Australia - 23 v New Zealand - 34 Sydney 1996 New Zealand 2-0 New Zealand - 43 v Australia - 6 Wellington Australia - 25 v New Zealand - 32 Brisbane 1997 New Zealand 3-0 New Zealand - 30 v Australia - 13 Christchurch Australia - 18 v New Zealand - 33 Melbourne New Zealand - 36 v Australia - 24 Dunedin 1998 Australia 3-0 Australia - 24 v New Zealand - 16 Melbourne New Zealand - 23 v Australia - 27 Christchurch Australia - 19 v New Zealand - 14 Sydney 1999 Australia 1-1 New Zealand - 34 v Australia - 15 Auckland Australia - 28 v New Zealand - 7 Sydney 2000 Australia 1-1 Australia - 35 v New Zealand - 39 Sydney New Zealand - 23 v Australia - 24 Wellington 2001 Australia 2-0 New Zealand - 15 v Australia - 23 Dunedin Australia - 29 v New Zealand - 26 Sydney 2002 Australia 1-1 New Zealand - 12 v Australia - 6 Christchurch Australia - 16 v New Zealand - 14 Sydney 2003 New Zealand 2-0 Australia - 21 v New Zealand - 50 Sydney New Zealand - 21 v Australia - 17 Auckland 2004 New Zealand 1-1 New Zealand - 16 v Australia - 7 Wellington Australia - 23 v New Zealand - 18 Sydney 2005 New Zealand 2-0 Australia - 13 v New Zealand - 30 Sydney New Zealand - 34 v Australia - 24 Auckland 2006 New Zealand 3-0 New Zealand - 32 v Australia - 12 Christchurch Australia - 9 v New Zealand - 13 Brisbane New Zealand - 34 v Australia - 27 Auckland 2007 New Zealand 1-1 Australia - 20 v New Zealand - 15 Melbourne New Zealand - 26 v Australia - 12 Auckland 2008 New Zealand 3-1 Australia - 34 v New Zealand - 16 Sydney New Zealand - 39 v Australia - 10 Auckland Australia - 24 v New Zealand - 28 Brisbane Australia 14 v New Zealand 19 Hong Kong 2009 New Zealand 4-0 New Zealand 22 v Australia 16 Auckland Australia 18 v New Zealand 19 Sydney New Zealand 33 v Australia 6 Wellington Australia 19 v New Zealand 32 Tokyo

Watch this space for the latest news and updates from Bledisloe Cup 2010.

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