[8] 8 July 2010: Sunderland captain and Albanian international midfielder Lorik Cana departs to Galatasaray of Turkey for £5 million, after one season at the Stadium of Light.

[10] 14 July 2010: Los Angeles Galaxy winger David Beckham rules out taking over as England manager in the future, but declares his desire to play at Euro 2012 and the 2014 World Cup.

[12] 16 July 2010: Trevor Brooking urges the Football Association to appoint an English successor when Fabio Capello eventually departs from the role of England manager.

22 July 2010: Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill announces that he is willing sell to midfielder James Milner after the player expressed his desire to leave the club.

[21] 2 August 2010: Ipswich Town coach Gary Ablett, who managed Stockport County the previous season and won honours as a player with Liverpool and Everton, announces that he is suffering from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

[41] 4 October 2010: Bolton Wanderers striker Kevin Davies, aged 33 and uncapped at senior level, is called up to the England squad for the following week's Euro 2012 qualifier against Montenegro.

[49] 19 October 2010: Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson reveals that striker Wayne Rooney wants to leave the club, having recently decided against signing an extension to his contract which will expire at the end of next season.

[53] 25 October 2010: Aston Villa will be without the services of captain Stiliyan Petrov for at least two months due to a knee injury suffered in the 1–0 league defeat by Sunderland on Saturday.

[54] Promising Wigan Athletic midfielder James McCarthy, 19, is expected to be out of action until the New Year as a result of an ankle injury suffered in Saturday's 1–1 league draw with Bolton Wanderers.

[55] 31 October 2010: Newcastle beat local rivals Sunderland 5–1[56] at St James' Park in the Premier League, with Kevin Nolan scoring a hat-trick – the first player to do so in a game between the two clubs since Peter Beardsley in the 1984–85 season.

[61] 16 November 2010: West Ham United vice-chairman Karren Brady announces that Avram Grant's job as manager is safe despite the club being bottom of the Premier League with just one win from their opening 13 games.

[64] 25 November 2010: Mayor of London Boris Johnson gives the go-ahead from Tottenham Hotspur to rebuild White Hart Lane as a 56,000-seat stadium which is set to cost around £450million.

[73] West Ham United fall deeper into relegation trouble with a 3–1 home defeat to Manchester City, who go level on points with Arsenal at the top of the Premier League.

[81] 7 January 2011 – Roy Keane is sacked by Ipswich Town after less than two years as manager, with the Suffolk club League Cup semi-finalists but struggling the Championship.

[103] Carlos Tevez scores a first half hat-trick as Manchester City beat West Bromwich Albion 3–0 to boost their own title hopes and push their opponents deeper into the relegation battle.

[109] 21 February 2011: Plymouth Argyle issue a notice for administration, resulting in a 10-point deduction which leaves them bottom of League One and 10 points adrift of safety as their battle against a second successive relegation is made much harder.

[115] 13 March 2011: Reading, the last non-Premier League side in the FA Cup, lose 1–0 to Manchester City in the quarter final, with the winners reaching the semi-finals for the first time in 30 years.

Welsh rivals Swansea and Cardiff are joined in the play-off places by Leeds and Nottingham Forest, whilst at the bottom, Preston remain at the foot of the league with Scunthorpe and Sheffield United also in the relegation zone.

[132] 23 April 2011: British record signing Fernando Torres scores his first goal in thirteen appearances for Chelsea in their 3–0 home win over West Ham United.

[149] 8 May 2011: Manchester United beat Chelsea 2–1 at Old Trafford in the Premier League, meaning that they need just a point from their final two games to win a record 19th top division title.

[151] Wolverhampton Wanderers climb out of the relegation zone with a 3–1 home win over Black Country rivals West Bromwich Albion, whose survival (and highest league finish since 1985) has already been confirmed.

[153] It is a double success story on the same day for the city of Manchester, as United's 1–1 draw with Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park confirms their status as Premier League champions – giving them a record 19th top division title.

[158] Birmingham City remain on the brink of the relegation zone, with only goal difference keeping them clear, after losing 2–0 at home to a Fulham side occupying eighth place.

[168] 3 June 2011: Tottenham Hotspur signed Aston Villa's goalkeeper veteran Brad Friedel on a free transfer as his contract set to expire next season.

A late surge consigned Chelsea to a second-place finish; their season fell apart following the departure of first-team coach Ray Wilkins in early November and this coincided with a horrendous run of form in the winter as they picked up just 10 points from 11 games, with manager Carlo Ancelotti losing his job on the final day.

Newcastle's twelfth place was achieved despite the surprise sacking of Chris Hughton, who was replaced by Alan Pardew, and the departure of striker Andy Carroll to Liverpool for £35 million in January.

West Ham United were the first team to go down, despite the efforts of their star midfielder Scott Parker (who won the Footballer of the Year Award); the Hammers' relegation was confirmed following a 3–2 defeat at Wigan.

Cardiff City were the league's biggest chokers as they threw away their chances of automatic promotion in shocking fashion, amid reports of several players seen out drinking in the early hours before a crucial game against Middlesbrough, meaning they had to settle for the play-offs.

Sheffield United were relegated only a year after their cross-city counterparts, meaning that the Steel City derby would now be taking place in the third tier since 1980, the sacking of Kevin Blackwell after just two games and subsequent managerial instability proving their downfall.

Leading goalscorer: Clayton Donaldson (Crewe Alexandra) – 28 During the season, the England national football team played the first five of their eight scheduled Group G qualifying matches for Euro 2012.