2010/11 Premier League season review
Manchester United won the 2010/11 Premier League with 80 points, nine clear of Chelsea and Manchester City. It was their 19th English title, taking them past Liverpool's record of 18, and they went unbeaten in their first 24 league games to get there.
In Fantasy Premier League, Nani was the top scorer with 198 points, and Chris McGurn won the overall game with 2,372 points from about 2.35 million managers.
You can replay the season here with a £100m squad picked from 335 players across all 20 clubs, or read on for how it unfolded.
A summer of new managers
Chelsea went into 2010/11 as the defending champions, and opened with two 6-0 wins, at home to West Brom and away at Wigan. Didier Drogba scored a hat-trick in the first.
Several of their rivals started under new management:
- Liverpool replaced Rafael Benítez with Roy Hodgson, who arrived from Fulham on 1 July. Fulham appointed Mark Hughes in his place.
- Aston Villa lost Martin O'Neill, who resigned on 9 August, five days before the opening weekend. Gérard Houllier took over in September.
- West Ham had appointed Avram Grant in June after sacking Gianfranco Zola.
The promoted clubs were Newcastle, West Brom and Blackpool. For Blackpool it was a first season in the Premier League and a return to the top flight after 39 years, under Ian Holloway.
How United won a record 19th title
Manchester United were hard to beat rather than dominant. They didn't win an away league game until 24 October, at Stoke, the same week Wayne Rooney said he wanted to leave the club before signing a new five-year contract.
What carried them early on was Dimitar Berbatov. He scored a hat-trick in a 3-2 win over Liverpool on 19 September and five goals in a 7-1 win over Blackburn on 27 November, the highest-scoring game of the season. He finished with 20 league goals.
United went 24 league games unbeaten until a 2-1 defeat at Wolves on 5 February 2011. A week later Rooney scored the winner against Manchester City with an overhead kick. Behind them the challengers kept slipping:
- Chelsea went five league games without a win before beating Bolton on 29 December, and parted company with assistant manager Ray Wilkins in November. On deadline day they paid Liverpool a British record £50m for Fernando Torres, who didn't score for them until 24 April.
- Arsenal led 4-0 at Newcastle on 5 February, then had Abou Diaby sent off and drew 4-4, with Cheick Tioté volleying the equaliser. They also lost the League Cup final to Birmingham.
The title was effectively decided on 8 May at Old Trafford. Javier Hernández scored after 36 seconds, Nemanja Vidić added a second and United beat Chelsea 2-1. Six days later a 1-1 draw at Blackburn, with Rooney scoring a penalty in the 73rd minute, made them champions with a game to spare.
Sir Alex Ferguson was Manager of the Season and Vidić the Premier League's Player of the Season. The season ended with a 3-1 defeat by Barcelona in the Champions League final at Wembley.
The chasing pack and a final-day relegation fight
Behind United, three clubs finished within three points of each other:
- Chelsea recovered to finish second on 71 points, but sacked Carlo Ancelotti on 22 May, straight after the final game.
- Manchester City were third on the same points, behind Chelsea on goal difference. Carlos Tevez shared the Golden Boot with Berbatov on 20 goals, Joe Hart kept a league-high 18 clean sheets, and City beat Stoke 1-0 in the FA Cup final.
- Arsenal finished fourth on 68 points. Robin van Persie scored 18 league goals and Jack Wilshere was PFA Young Player of the Year.
- Tottenham were fifth, with Gareth Bale named PFA Players' Player of the Year.
- Liverpool finished sixth. Hodgson left by mutual consent on 8 January and Kenny Dalglish returned the same day. In the January window Liverpool sold Torres to Chelsea and signed Andy Carroll from Newcastle for £35m.
It was a season of sackings further down the table. Newcastle sacked Chris Hughton on 6 December, midway through their first season back, and appointed Alan Pardew three days later. Blackburn sacked Sam Allardyce on 13 December and replaced him with Steve Kean. West Brom sacked Roberto Di Matteo on 6 February and, five days later, appointed Roy Hodgson, barely a month after he had left Liverpool.
The relegation fight went to the final day. West Ham went down first, on 15 May, after losing 3-2 at Wigan, and Avram Grant left the club the same day. That left two places to settle on 22 May:
- Blackpool led at Old Trafford in the second half but lost 4-2.
- Birmingham lost at Tottenham to an injury-time winner from Roman Pavlyuchenko, in the same season they won the League Cup.
- Wolves lost 3-2 at home to Blackburn but survived by a point, and Wigan stayed up by winning 1-0 at Stoke.
2010/11 Premier League final table
| # | Club | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester United | 38 | 23 | 11 | 4 | 78 | 37 | +41 | 80 |
| 2 | Chelsea | 38 | 21 | 8 | 9 | 69 | 33 | +36 | 71 |
| 3 | Manchester City | 38 | 21 | 8 | 9 | 60 | 33 | +27 | 71 |
| 4 | Arsenal | 38 | 19 | 11 | 8 | 72 | 43 | +29 | 68 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | 16 | 14 | 8 | 55 | 46 | +9 | 62 |
| 6 | Liverpool | 38 | 17 | 7 | 14 | 59 | 44 | +15 | 58 |
| 7 | Everton | 38 | 13 | 15 | 10 | 51 | 45 | +6 | 54 |
| 8 | Fulham | 38 | 11 | 16 | 11 | 49 | 43 | +6 | 49 |
| 9 | Aston Villa | 38 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 48 | 59 | -11 | 48 |
| 10 | Sunderland | 38 | 12 | 11 | 15 | 45 | 56 | -11 | 47 |
| 11 | West Brom | 38 | 12 | 11 | 15 | 56 | 71 | -15 | 47 |
| 12 | Newcastle | 38 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 56 | 57 | -1 | 46 |
| 13 | Stoke | 38 | 13 | 7 | 18 | 46 | 48 | -2 | 46 |
| 14 | Bolton | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 52 | 56 | -4 | 46 |
| 15 | Blackburn | 38 | 11 | 10 | 17 | 46 | 59 | -13 | 43 |
| 16 | Wigan | 38 | 9 | 15 | 14 | 40 | 61 | -21 | 42 |
| 17 | Wolves | 38 | 11 | 7 | 20 | 46 | 66 | -20 | 40 |
| 18 | Birmingham | 38 | 8 | 15 | 15 | 37 | 58 | -21 | 39 |
| 19 | Blackpool | 38 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 55 | 78 | -23 | 39 |
| 20 | West Ham | 38 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 43 | 70 | -27 | 33 |
The bottom three were relegated. In the game, every result behind this table plays out as it really happened.
2010/11 top scorers
| Player | Goals | Assists | Our price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dimitar Berbatov Manchester United | 20 | 4 | £10.0m |
| Carlos Tevez Manchester City | 20 | 6 | £11.5m |
| Robin van Persie Arsenal | 18 | 7 | £9.5m |
| Darren Bent Sunderland | 17 | 1 | £8.0m |
| Peter Odemwingie West Brom | 15 | 7 | £8.5m |
| Javier Hernández Manchester United | 13 | 1 | £7.5m |
| Andy Carroll Newcastle | 13 | 3 | £7.5m |
| Rafael van der Vaart Tottenham Hotspur | 13 | 8 | £10.5m |
| DJ Campbell Blackpool | 13 | 1 | £7.0m |
| Florent Malouda Chelsea | 13 | 4 | £10.0m |
2010/11 assist leaders
| Player | Assists | Goals | Our price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nani Manchester United | 14 | 9 | £11.0m |
| Didier Drogba Chelsea | 13 | 11 | £9.0m |
| Cesc Fàbregas Arsenal | 11 | 3 | £7.0m |
| Andrey Arshavin Arsenal | 11 | 6 | £8.5m |
| Wayne Rooney Manchester United | 11 | 11 | £9.0m |
| Leighton Baines Everton | 11 | 5 | £6.5m |
| Ashley Young Aston Villa | 10 | 7 | £6.5m |
| Joey Barton Newcastle | 9 | 4 | £7.0m |
| Chris Brunt West Brom | 9 | 4 | £6.0m |
| Jermaine Pennant Stoke | 8 | 3 | £6.5m |
League goals and assists only. Players who moved clubs mid-season are listed under the club they played most for.
Surprises and disappointments
Blackpool were the story of the autumn, and the season had other surprises:
- Blackpool won 4-0 at Wigan on the opening day and were fourth after four games. They beat Liverpool home and away, their first league double over Liverpool since 1946/47, and Charlie Adam scored 12 league goals. But they won only three of their last 21 games and went down with 55 goals, more than either of the other relegated clubs.
- Birmingham beat Arsenal 2-1 in the League Cup final, qualifying for the Europa League, and were still relegated.
- Scott Parker was named Footballer of the Year by the football writers while playing for West Ham, who finished bottom.
- Darren Bent scored 17 league goals across a season split between Sunderland and Aston Villa.
Others had seasons to forget:
- Fernando Torres cost Chelsea a British record £50m and scored one league goal for them.
- Chelsea went from two 6-0 wins in August to a winter run that cost them the title, and Ancelotti his job.
- Arsenal threw away a four-goal lead at Newcastle and lost a cup final to Birmingham.
- Roy Hodgson's time at Liverpool lasted from July to early January.
- West Ham finished bottom, and their manager left on the day relegation was confirmed.
2010/11 in Fantasy Premier League
About 2.35 million managers played Fantasy Premier League in 2010/11. Chris McGurn won the game with 2,372 points, playing as Morons FC.
Nani was the top scorer with 198 points, ahead of Blackpool's Charlie Adam on 192, a remarkable total for a midfielder at a newly promoted club. Leighton Baines (178) was the top-scoring defender and Joe Hart (175) the top-scoring goalkeeper.
The league's joint top scorers did less well in the game: Tevez finished on 185 FPL points, behind three midfielders, and Berbatov on 176.
The PFA Team of the Year
Manchester United supplied four players to the players' own Team of the Year, and Arsenal three.
| Position | Players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | Edwin van der Sar (Manchester United) |
| Defenders | Bacary Sagna (Arsenal), Nemanja Vidić (Manchester United), Vincent Kompany (Manchester City), Ashley Cole (Chelsea) |
| Midfielders | Nani (Manchester United), Samir Nasri (Arsenal), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal), Gareth Bale (Tottenham) |
| Forwards | Carlos Tevez (Manchester City), Dimitar Berbatov (Manchester United) |
The season's awards: Bale was PFA Players' Player of the Year and Wilshere PFA Young Player of the Year. Scott Parker won the Football Writers' award, Vidić was the Premier League's Player of the Season, and Ferguson was Manager of the Season.
Most expensive players by position
The premium picks a £100m budget forces you to choose between in 2010/11.
Goalkeepers
- Petr Čech£6.0m
- Edwin van der Sar£6.0m
- Joe Hart£6.0m
Defenders
- Ashley Young£6.5m
- Leighton Baines£6.5m
- Charles N'Zogbia£6.0m
Midfielders
- Nani£11.0m
- Rafael van der Vaart£10.5m
- Florent Malouda£10.0m
Forwards
- Carlos Tevez£11.5m
- Dimitar Berbatov£10.0m
- Robin van Persie£9.5m
2010/11 on Retro Fantasy Football
77 managers have finished a 2010/11 season on our leaderboard (as of October 2026). The best scores so far:
- 2,124 pts
- 2,115 pts
- 2,102 pts
- 2,098 pts
- 2,091 pts
Points follow our scoring rules. Think you can beat them?
2010/11 quick answers
Who won the Premier League in 2010/11? Manchester United, with 80 points, nine ahead of Chelsea and Manchester City. It was their 19th English title.
When did Manchester United clinch the 2010/11 title? On 14 May 2011, with a 1-1 draw at Blackburn.
Who was relegated in 2010/11? Birmingham City, Blackpool and West Ham United.
Who was the Premier League top scorer in 2010/11? Dimitar Berbatov and Carlos Tevez, with 20 league goals each.
Who was PFA Player of the Year in 2010/11? Gareth Bale. Jack Wilshere was Young Player of the Year.
Who scored the most FPL points in 2010/11? Nani, with 198.
Who won Fantasy Premier League in 2010/11? Chris McGurn, with 2,372 points.