A major criticism of the Premier League

A major criticism of the Premier League has been the emergence of the so-called "Big Four" clubs (Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United).^[79][80] With the exception of Blackburn Rovers in 1994–95 and Manchester City in 2011–12, only three clubs have won the Premier League title – Manchester United (12 titles), Arsenal and Chelsea (three titles each). Sony VAIO VGN-NW21ZF Battery

In addition, Manchester United have not finished outside the top three since the formation of the Premier League. From the 1996–97 season onwards, the "Big Four" have dominated the top four spots, and thus places in the UEFA Champions League (qualification was one club for the first four seasons, increased to two clubs in 1997, three in 1999 and four since 2002). Sony VAIO VGN-NW31EF/W Battery

The benefits of qualification, especially increased revenue, are believed to have widened the gap between the "Big Four" clubs and the rest of the Premier League.^[80] Arsenal are second with 17 top four finishes, followed by Liverpool with 12 and Chelsea with 11. The team who have appeared in the top four on the most occasions, and are not part of this "Big Four", is Newcastle United. Sony VAIO VGN-NW31JF Battery

In May 2008, then Newcastle United manager Kevin Keegan said the "Big Four"'s dominance threatened the division, stating: "This league is in danger of becoming one of the most boring but great leagues in the world."^[81] Following Keegan's comments, Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore defended the league, saying, Sony VAIO VGN-NW320F/B Battery

"There are a lot of different tussles that go on in the Premier League depending on whether you're at the top, in the middle or at the bottom that make it interesting."^[82] The dominance of Chelsea and Manchester United has led some to believe that the "Big Four" has contracted to a "Big Two"; Sony VAIO VGN-NW320F/TC Battery

prior to 2012, no club other than these two had won the Premier League since 2005 and, as of May 2012, 21 of the last 28 major domestic trophies have gone to either Stamford Bridge or Old Trafford.^[83]

The years following 2009 marked a shift in the structure of the "Big Four" with two new clubs, Sony VAIO VGN-NW35E Battery

Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City, vying for top four places to secure Champions League football. In the 2009–10 season, Tottenham pipped Manchester City to finish fourth and become the first team to "break" the top four since Everton in 2005, with both Manchester City and Aston Villaalso finishing above Liverpool, one of the "Big Four" teams. Sony VAIO VGN-NW380F/S Battery

In 2010–11, Manchester City finished third – the first time a team has broken into the top three since Newcastle did so in the 2002–03 season. This has continued into the 2011–12 season, with Manchester City winning the title for the first time since 1968, the first team outside the "Big Four" to do so since 1994–95. Sony VAIO VGN-NW380F/T Battery

In addition, Chelsea finished outside the top four for the first time since 2001–02, as did Liverpool for the third season in a row. Criticism of the gap between an elite group of "super clubs" and the majority of the Premier League has continued, nevertheless, due to their increasing ability to spend more than the other Premier League clubs. Sony VAIO VGN-NW50JB Battery

One of the main criticisms levelled at the Premier League is the increasing gulf between the Premier League and the Football League. Since its split with the Football League, many established clubs in the Premier League have managed to distance themselves from their counterparts in lower leagues. Sony VAIO VGN-NW51FB/N Battery

Owing in large part to the disparity in revenue from television rights between the leagues,^[85] many newly promoted teams have found it difficult to avoid relegation in their first season in the Premier League. In every season except 2001–02 (Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers and Fulham) and 2011–12 (Queens Park Rangers, Sony VAIO VGN-NW51FB/W Battery

Swansea City andNorwich City), at least one Premier League newcomer has been relegated back to the Football League. In 1997–98 all three promoted clubs were relegated at the end of the season.^[86]

The Premier League distributes a small portion of its television revenue to clubs that are relegated from the league in the form of "parachute payments". Sony VAIO VGN-NW70JB Battery

Starting with the 2006–07 season, these payments are in the amount of £6.5 million over the club's first two seasons in lower leagues, although this rose to £11.2 million per year for clubs relegated in 2007–2008.^[85] Designed to help teams adjust to the loss of television revenues Sony VAIO VGN-NW71FB/N Battery

(the average Premier League team receives £45 million while the average Football League Championship club receives £1 million),^[85] critics maintain that the payments actually widen the gap between teams that have reached the Premier League and those that have not,^[87] leading to the common occurrence of teams "bouncing back" soon after their relegation. Sony VAIO VGN-NW71FB/W Battery

For some clubs, including Burnley, Leeds United, Charlton Athletic, Derby County, Nottingham Forest, Oldham Athletic, Sheffield Wednesday, Bradford City, Leicester City, Queens Park Rangers, Southampton, Wimbledon, and Portsmouth who have failed to win immediate promotion back to the Premier League, Sony VAIO VGN-NW91FS Battery

financial problems, including in some cases administration or even liquidation have followed. Further relegations down the footballing ladder have ensued for several clubs unable to cope with the gap.

Premier League football has been played in 50 stadia since the formation of the Premier League in 1992. Sony VAIO VGN-NW91GS Battery

The Hillsborough disaster in 1989 and the subsequentTaylor Report saw a recommendation that standing terraces should be abolished; as a result all stadia in the Premier League are all-seater.^[91][92] Since the formation of the Premier League, football grounds in England have seen constant improvements to capacity and facilities, Sony VAIO VGN-NW91VS Battery

with some clubs moving to new-build stadia.^[93] Nine stadia that have seen Premier League football have now been demolished. The stadia for the 2010–11 season show a large disparity in capacity:Old Trafford, the home of Manchester United has a capacity of 75,957^[94] with Bloomfield Road, the home of Blackpool, having a capacity of 16,220.^[95] Sony VAIO VGN-SR51B/P Battery

The combined total capacity of the Premier League in the 2010–11 season is 770,477 with an average capacity of 38,523.^[96]

Stadium attendances are a significant source of regular income for Premier League clubs.^[97] Sony VAIO VGN-SR51B/S Battery

For the 2009–10 season, average attendances across the league clubs were 34,215 for Premier League matches with a total aggregate attendance figure of 13,001,616.^[96] This represents an increase of 13,089 from the average attendance of 21,126 recorded in the league's first season (1992–93).^[98] Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MF Battery

However, during the 1992–93 season the capacities of most stadia were reduced as clubs replaced terraces with seats in order to meet the Taylor Report's 1994–95 deadline for all-seater stadia.^[99][100] The Premier League's record average attendance of 36,144 was set during the 2007–08 season. Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MF/P Battery

Managers in the Premier League are involved in the day to day running of the team, including the training, team selection, and player acquisition. Their influence varies from club-to-club and is related to the ownership of the club and the relationship of the manager with fans.^[102] Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MF/S Battery

Managers are required to have a UEFA Pro Licence which is the final coaching qualification available, and follows the completion of the UEFA 'B' and 'A' Licences.^[103] The UEFA Pro Licence is required by every person who wishes to manage a club in the Premier League on a permanent basis Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MF/W Battery

(i. e. more than 12 weeks – the amount of time an unqualifiedcaretaker manager is allowed to take control).^[104] Caretaker appointments are managers that fill the gap between a managerial departure and a new appointment. Several caretaker managers have gone on to secure a permanent managerial post after performing well as a caretaker; Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MR Battery

examples include Paul Hart at Portsmouth andDavid Pleat at Tottenham Hotspur.

Only one manager, Alex Ferguson, has remained in his position since the formation of the Premier League in 1992.^[105] Arsène Wenger has been in charge of Arsenalin the Premier League since 1996, while David Moyes has been Everton's manager since 2002. Sony VAIO VGN-SR59VG Battery

No English manager has won the Premier League; the six managers to have won the title comprise two Scots Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United, twelve wins) and Kenny Dalglish (Blackburn Rovers, one win), a Frenchman (Arsène Wenger, Arsenal, three wins), Sony VAIO VPC CW2MFX/PU Battery

a Portuguese (José Mourinho, Chelsea, two wins) and two Italians (Carlo Ancelotti, Chelsea and Roberto Mancini, Manchester City, one win each).

At the inception of the Premier League in 1992–93, just eleven players named in the starting line-ups for the first round of matches hailed from outside of the United Kingdom or Republic of Ireland.^[109] Sony VAIO VPC S11V9E/B Battery

By2000–01, the number of foreign players participating in the Premier League was 36 per cent of the total. In the 2004–05 season the figure had increased to 45 per cent. On 26 December 1999, Chelsea became the first Premier League side to field an entirely foreign starting line-up,^[110] Sony VAIO VPCB119GJ/B Battery

and on 14 February 2005 Arsenal were the first to name a completely foreign 16-man squad for a match.^[111] By 2009 the average Premier League team had an average of 13 foreign players in their side^[112] with under 40% of the players in the Premier League being English.^[113] Sony VAIO VPCB11AGJ Battery

The effect of foreign players on the England national football team has been the subject of a long-standing debate with some such as José Luis Astiazarán, president of Spain's La Liga, suggesting that the high number of young foreign players is the reason behind the national side's lack of success at international football tournaments.^[113] Sony VAIO VPCB11AVJ Battery

Vicente del Bosque, the manager of the Spanish national team, disagrees stating that he "didn't think it's damaging for English football to have people from abroad."^[114]

In response to concerns that clubs were increasingly passing over young British players in favour of signing less-expensive foreign players, Sony VAIO VPCB11V9E Battery

in 1999, the Home Office tightened its rules for granting work permits to players from countries outside of the European Union.^[115] Currently a non-EU player applying for the permit must have played for his country in at least 75 per cent of its competitive 'A' team matches for which he was available for selection during the previous two years, Sony VAIO VPCB11X9E Battery

and his country must have averaged at least 70th place in the official FIFA world rankings over the previous two years. If a player does not meet those criteria, the club wishing to sign him may appeal if they believe that he is a special talent and "able to contribute significantly to the development of the game at the top level in the UK." Sony VAIO VPCCW18FJ/P Battery

One area where the Premier League's player registration rules are more restrictive than those of some other football leagues, such as those of Belgium and Portugal, is that academy level non-EU players have little access to English football by law.

Players can only be transferred during transfer windows that are set by the Football Association. Sony VAIO VPCCW18FJ/R Battery

The two current transfer windows run from the last day of the season to 31 August and from 31 December to 31 January. Player registrations cannot be exchanged outside these windows except under specific licence from the FA, usually on an emergency basis.^[117] Sony VAIO VPCCW18FJ/W Battery

As of the 2010–11 season, the Premier League introduced new rules mandating that each club must register a maximum 25-man squad of players aged over 21, with the squad list only allowed to be changed in transfer windows or in exceptional circumstances.^[ This was to enable the 'home grown' rule to be enacted, Sony VAIO VPCCW19FJ/W Battery

whereby the League would also from 2010 require at least 8 of the named 25 man squad to be made up of 'home-grown players', defined as a player who:

irrespective of his nationality or age, has been registered with any club affiliated to The Football Association or the Welsh Football Associationfor a period, continuous or not, Sony VAIO VPCCW1AFJ Battery

of three entire seasons or 36 months prior to his 21st birthday (or the end of the season during which he turns 21).

There is no team or individual salary cap in the Premier League. As a result of the increasingly lucrative television deals, player wages rose sharply following the formation of the Premier League. Sony VAIO VPCCW1AHJ Battery

In the first Premier League season the average player wage was £75,000 per year,^[120] but subsequently rose by an average 20 per cent per year for a decade,^[121] £409,000 in 2000–01, £676,000 in 2003–04 season^[122] rising to £1.1 million for the 2008–09 season.^[123] Sony VAIO VPCCW1S1E Battery

The record transfer fee for a Premier League has been broken several times over the lifetime of the competition. Prior to the start of the first Premier League season Alan Shearer became the first British player to command a transfer fee of more than £3 million.^[124] The record rose steadily in the Premier League's first few seasons, Sony VAIO VPCCW1S1E/B Battery

until Alan Shearer made a world record breaking £15 million move to Newcastle United in 1996.^[124] This stood as a British record for four years until it was eclipsed by the £18 million Leeds paid West Ham for Rio Ferdinand.^[124] Manchester United subsequently broke the record three times by signingRuud van Nistelrooy, Juan Sebastián Verón and Rio Ferdinand.^[125] Sony VAIO VPCCW1S1E/L Battery

Chelsea broke the record in May 2006, when they signed Andriy Shevchenko, from Milan. The exact figure of the transfer fee was not disclosed, but was reported as being around £30 million.^[126] This was surpassed by Manchester City's transfer of Robinho fromReal Madrid on 1 September 2008 for £32.5 million.^[127] Sony VAIO VPCCW1S1E/P Battery

This fee was then surpassed twice on deadline day of the January 2011 window, first by Andy Carroll's £35 million move from Newcastle United to Liverpool.^[128] This was then beaten when Fernando Torres moved from Liverpool to Chelsea for £50 million.^[129] The Torres deal remains the British transfer record paid for a player. Sony VAIO VPCCW1S1E/R Battery

The record transfer in the sport's history had a Premier League club on the selling end, with Manchester United accepting an £80 million bid from Real Madrid for Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009.

Players in the Premier League compete for the Premier League Golden Boot, Sony VAIO VPCCW1S1E/W Battery

awarded to the top scorer at the end of each season, as well as for Golden Boot awards for the first person to score 10, 20 or 30 goals in a season. They can also compete for the informal competitions of Goal of the Month and Goal of the Season. Former Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United striker Alan Shearer holds the record for most Premier League goals with 260. Sony VAIO VPCCW21FX/B Battery

Shearer finished among the top ten goal scorers in 10 out of his 14 seasons in the Premier League and won the top scorer title three times. During the 1995–96 season he became the first player to score 100 Premier League goals. Since then, 21 other players have reached the 100-goal mark.^[131] Sony VAIO VPCCW21FX/L Battery