Liverpool History

are an English professional football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool play in the Premier League, and are the most successful club in the history of English football, having won more trophies than any other English club. They have won a record 18 English League titles, although the last time they won the title was in 1990. Liverpool have also won five European Cups, which is an English record. Only A.C. Milan and Real Madrid have won Europe's premier club competition more times. They have also won the FA Cup and League Cup seven times. Liverpool were a founding member of the G-14 group of leading European football clubs.

Liverpool have played at Anfield since they were founded in 1892. However, plans have been formed to start work on a new 60,000 all reserved seat stadium, which could be raised to 80,000 depending on planning permission, in the summer of 2010 near Stanley Park. The venture will be funded by Tom Hicks and George Gillett, who became the club's owners on February 6, 2007.

Liverpool have a large and diverse fanbase, who hold a string of long-standing rivalries with several other clubs; the most notable of these is with neighbours Everton, with whom they regularly contest the Merseyside derby. Liverpool also have a fierce rivalry with Manchester United, due to the success of both clubs, as well as their proximity to each other. The club's fans have been involved in two major disasters. At the Heysel Stadium 39 Juventus F.C. fans died when a wall collapsed after crowd trouble in the 1985 European Cup Final, and at Hillsborough in 1989, 96 Liverpool fans lost their lives due to overcrowding.

Wigan Athletic History

Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional football team based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. They currently compete in the Premier League which is the highest division of Football in England, in which they have being playing in since their promotion from The Football League in 2005. They currently play at the JJB Stadium which they share with the rugby league club Wigan Warriors. The club is currently the youngest in its division, being only 75 years old.

Middlesbrough History

Middlesbrough Football Club (commonly known as The Boro) are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, currently playing in the Premier League. Formed in 1876, they have played at the 35,100 capacity Riverside Stadium since August 1995, their third ground since turning professional in 1889. They were founding members of the Premier League in 1992. The club's main rivals are Newcastle United and Sunderland.

The club's highest league finish to date was third in the 1913–14 season and have only spent two seasons outside of the Football League's top two divisions. The club came close to folding in 1986 after experiencing severe financial difficulties before the club was saved by a consortium led by then board member and current chairman Steve Gibson. Middlesbrough won the League Cup in 2004, the club's first and only major trophy. The manager is former captain Gareth Southgate who was appointed on June 7 2006.

The club's traditional kit colour is red, with a varying amount of white. The various crests throughout the club history, the most recent of which was adopted in May 2007,^[7] incorporate a lion rampant.

West Ham History

West Ham United Football Club is an English football club based in Upton Park, London Borough of Newham, East London, and have played their home matches at the 35,303 capacity Boleyn Ground stadium since 1904.

The club was originally founded as Thames Ironworks F.C. in 1895 and later reformed, in 1900, as their current incarnation. They initially competed in the Southern League and Western League before joining the full Football League in 1919 and enjoyed their first top flight season in 1923, also featuring in the first FA Cup Final to be held at Wembley. The club has never fallen outside the top two divisions and has won the FA Cup three times: in 1964, 1975 and 1980, and also captured the now defunct Cup Winners Cup in 1965 and the Intertoto Cup in 1999. They also won the first War Cup in 1940. The club's best league position was a third place finish in 1986 old top flight. West Ham currently holds the distinction for being the only team in the history of the Premiership to breach the 40 point boundary and still be relegated (in 2003).^[3]

They currently compete in the Premier League, after finishing in 15th position in the 2006-07 season.^[4] The club's current manager is Alan Curbishley who was appointed on 13 December 2006.^[5] The club's current captain is Australian Lucas Neill.

Fulham History

Fulham Football Club are an English football team based in Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they celebrated their 125th anniversary in 2004, and they are in the top tier of English football, the FA Premier League. Fulham are the oldest professional football team in London, usually considered to have been founded in 1879 (though Cray Wanderers F.C. are the oldest team in London still in existence).^[3]

They spent much time in the old First Division (Premiership) through the 1960s, but are yet to gain any major honours. In 1975, as a Second Division team, they contested the FA Cup final for the only time in their history, losing 2-0 to West Ham United. Fulham qualified for the UEFA Cup in 2002 by winning the Intertoto Cup, beating Bologna 5-3 in the final over two legs. In the UEFA Cup, they won through two rounds before being defeated by Hertha Berlin. In the mid-1990s they had a brief spell in the former Fourth Division, but they recovered spectacularly by the early 2000s.

They currently play at Craven Cottage, their famous home since 1896, a riverside ground on the banks of the River Thames in Fulham, having spent two years at Loftus Road while Craven Cottage was undergoing renovations to bring it up to Premier League standards. The club's training ground is located near Motspur Park (and was where Chariots of Fire among others was filmed) (Sydney Charles Wooderson set the then world mile record of 4min 6.4sec at Motspur Park's University of London Athletics ground on August 28, 1938. It was knocked down by the club), where Fulham's Academy is also situated, including a mini-stadium where the reserves play. The Fulham Ladies' team also played the majority of their games here prior to being dissolved in the summer of 2006. (Note: the ladies' team has since been re-established but is now independent from Fulham FC.)

Reading History

Reading Football Club are an association football club, based in the English town of Reading, in Berkshire. They currently play in the Premier League. When Reading gained promotion to the Premier League, on 25 March 2006, they achieved promotion to the top flight earlier in the season than any other post-war side, and also gained the highest points tally ever attained in any of England's four professional divisions. It was also the first time Reading had reached the top division in their history.

They are nicknamed the Royals, due to Reading's location in the Royal County of Berkshire. Reading's mascot is a lion called Kingsley Royal.

Manchester United History

Manchester United Football Club is an English football club, based at the Old Trafford stadium in Trafford, Greater Manchester, and is arguably the most popular football club in the world, with over 330 million supporters worldwide; 5% of the world's population.The club was a founding member of the Premier League in 1993, and has played in the top division of English football since 1975. Average attendances at the club have been higher than any other team in English football for all but six seasons since 1964–65.

The club is one of the most successful in English football; for over twenty years, since the 1986–87 season, they have won 18 major honours, which is more than any other Premier League club. They are the Premier League's reigning champions, and have won the Premier League/Football League 16 times. In 1968, they became the first English club to win the European Cup, beating S.L. Benfica 4–1, and they won a second European Cup in 1999. They also hold the record for the most FA Cup titles with 11.

Since the late 1990s, the club has been one of the richest in the world with the highest revenue of any football club,remaining the most profitable club based on operating income. Manchester United, which remains the most valuable club in the world,was a founding member of the now-defunct G-14 group of Europe's leading football clubs.

Sir Alex Ferguson has been manager of the club since 6 November 1986. The captain is Gary Neville, who succeeded Roy Keane in November 2005.