Soccer teams in England

Premier League teams

• Arsenal Football Club is a soccer team (called football in England) based in London, England. The team is managed by Arsene Wenger. Finishing fourth in the English Premier League in the 2006/7 season, the team features major international stars of football. Former star Thierry Henry has recently left the team after eight years of huge success, departing to Real Madrid in the summer of 2007. In 2006 the team moved from their old stadium, Arsenal Stadium, located in, and more commonly known as Highbury. The team's new stadium is named after the Dubai airline and sponsor, Emirates.

• Aston Villa Football Club is based in Aston, Birmingham, in the English Midlands. Currently coached by Martin O'Neill, a former player for Northern Ireland, Nottingham Forest, Norwich City and Manchester City.They finished the 2006/7 season in 11th position in the English Premier League.

• Blackburn Rovers Football Club are an English football team that play in the Premiership . The club hails from the town of Blackburn in Lancashire. Their home stadium is Ewood Park.

• Chelsea Football Club play at Stamford Bridge, in west London. The club is owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich and managed by Avram Grant. In 2007-08 the side was second in the Premier League.

• Everton Football Club is based in Liverpool. Founded in 1878 as a church sports side they were became of the sixteen founder members of the Football League in 1888. However, owing to a rent dispute in 1892 they left their home ground of Anfield and moved to a new site at Goodison Park, where they have played ever since. There are plans under discussion to move outside the city of Liverpool and establish a new ground over a Tesco supermarket in nearby Knowsley. The club's nickname is The Toffees, although there are several hypotheses about how the name arose it is likely that it derives from the black and white striped candy known as an Everton Mint. Everton's most deadly rivals are Liverpool who were formed in 1892 to utilise the abandoned Anfield ground. Despite Everton's successes over the years they have been overshadowed by their illustrious neighbours who hold the records for the most top flight championships as well as European trophies won in the English game.

• Fulham F.C. is based in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Their nickname is The Cottagers, after their home ground of Craven Cottage alongside the River Thames, which can usually be seen during the Oxford and Cambridge boat-race. The club was founded in 1879 and are the oldest professional soccer team in London. The club strip comprises white shirts and socks with black shorts. Despite their long history they have never won any major honors. The club is currently owned by the Egyptian millionaire and owner of Harrods, Mohamed Al-Fayed who took control in 1997.
• Official site
• Premier League - Fulham

• Liverpool Football Club was founded in 1892. The club has become the most successful club in English league history winning eighteen domestic championships as well as five European championships. The current manager is Rafael Benitez.

• Manchester City Football Club is the smaller of two English Premier League teams in the city of Manchester, England. Usually lying lower in the Premier League than their derby rivals, Manchester United, City is managed by the former manager of the English national squad, Sven-Goran Eriksson. The team plays at the City of Manchester Stadium, built as the main stadium for the 2002 Commonwealth Games. The stadium will host the UEFA Cup Final 2008. Currently, the club is owned by the former President of Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra.

• Manchester United Football Club Manchester United play in red shirts, white shorts and black socks. They were the first English club to win the European Championship. The club joined the Football League in 1892 under the name Newton Heath. Their official nickname is the "Red Devils" and the club badge features a small black devil holding a trident. They are known to their fans either as Man U, Man United or just United. In 2005 the club was taken over by the American billionaire, Malcolm Glazer. After two seasons with little success by their standards they won the Barclays Premier League again in 2007 and 2008.

• Middlesbrough Football Club ('Boro') is based in Middlesbrough, in north-east England. The side was founded in 1876 by members of Middlesbrough Cricket Club. Between 1903 and 1995 its home ground was Ayresome Park but in 1995 it moved to the Riverside Stadium. Middlesbrough were winners of the League Cup in 2004.

http://www.mfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/HistoryDetail/0,,1~51936,00.html

• Newcastle United Football Club plays at St James' Park in Newcastle upon Tyne. Their club colors are black and white stripes with black shorts. The current manager of Newcastle United is Kevin Keegan.

• Portsmouth Football Club is based in Portsmouth, on the southern coast of England. Known colloquially as 'Pompey', the club is owned by Alexandre Guydamak and managed by Harry Redknapp.

Sunderland A.F.C. are based in the northeastern city of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, where they play in the Stadium of Light. The club's nickname is The Black Cats, and the club's crest depicts two black lions support a heraldic shield. The club strip comprises red and white striped shirts with black shorts and socks. The club was founded in 1879 and joined the Football League in 1890 (replacing Stoke City). They remained remaining continuously in the top division until 1958. Since then they have been promoted to and relegated from the the top flight several times and are one of the 2007-8 season's Premier League new boys. Sunderland were successful in their early years, being League Champions five times between 1892 and 1913, with the addition of a sixth title in 1936. They won the FA Cup in 1937 and then again in 1973, which has been their only notable honor since World War II. The club is currently managed by Roy Keane. Official site Premier League - Sunderland

Championship teams

• Birmingham City Football Club was founded in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888 and later Birmingham F.C. in 1905. They finally adopted the moniker Birmingham City F.C. in 1943. The club's home ground has been St. Andrew's since 1906. Although being the second largest city in England (after London) Birmingham City Football Club have known little success in the major competitions and have lived in the shadow of their neighbours and fierce rivals Aston Villa. The club's nickname is "The Blues" on account of the color of their team strip. Birmingham City was relegated from the Premier League to the Championship mat the end of the 2007-08 season.

• Derby County F.C. Their nickname is The Rams, after the symbol for the county of Derbyshire and also the club. Their current home ground is Pride Park, but they previously played at the Baseball Ground. Derby County was relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2007-08 season.
• Official site

• Reading F.C. are an English football club based in the southern town of Reading, Berkshire. The club's nickname since 1970 is The Royals (Berkshire is known as the Royal County); formerly they were known as The Biscuitmen after the Huntley & Palmers biscuit factory. The club strip comprises royal-blue and white hooped shirts with royal-blue shorts and socks. The club was founded on Christmas Day 1871 and in 1920 joined the Third Division of the original Football League. Apart from brief excursions to the second and fourth tiers, Reading were generally a third-tier team until 2002 when the made the longer term move to second level competition. They were promoted to the Premier League in 2006 after running away with The Championship, but relegated to the Championship at the end of the 2007-08 season. The club play at the Madejski Stadium, built in 1998 and named after their multi-millionaire owner John Madejski who bought the club in 1990. Reading's worst ever defeat was by Preston North End in 1894, when they lost 18-0. Reading have registered their fans as an official (unpaid) member of their team squad, in recognition of the effect their support has for the team, and given the Number 13. The club is currently managed by Steve Coppell. Official site {http://www.premierleague.com/page/reading Premier League - Reading]