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| Countries |  England |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1999 |
| Divisions | 2 |
| Number of teams | 20 |
| Relegation to | Central League (North) Football Combination (South) |
| Level on pyramid | Level 1 |
| Current champions | Aston Villa Reserves (2008–09) |
 2009–10 season |
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The Premier Reserve League (officially known as The Barclays Premier Reserve League for sponsorship reasons), is the top reserve team league for the top English football teams in the Premier League. The league is split into a northern and a southern division.
The league in its current form started out in 1999, replacing The Central League in the north and The Football Combination in the south as the top level of reserve-team football, although these competitions still continue for lower-level teams.
Teams are not relegated from the Premier Reserve League based on their final league position, but on the league position of their respective clubs' senior teams. If a senior team is relegated from the Premier League, then the reserve team is relegated from the Premier Reserve League and replaced by the reserve team of the promoted team from the Championship.
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Past winners
| Season | Northern Champions | Southern Champions | Play-off Final Winners |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999–00 | Liverpool Reserves | Derby County Reserves | – |
| 2000–01 | Everton Reserves | Derby County Reserves | – |
| 2001–02 | Manchester United Reserves | Ipswich Town Reserves | – |
| 2002–03 | Sunderland Reserves | Watford Reserves | – |
| 2003–04 | Aston Villa Reserves | Charlton Athletic Reserves | – |
| 2004–05 | Manchester United Reserves | Charlton Athletic Reserves | Manchester United Reserves |
| 2005–06 | Manchester United Reserves | Tottenham Hotspur Reserves | Manchester United Reserves |
| 2006–07 | Bolton Wanderers Reserves | Reading Reserves | Reading Reserves |
| 2007–08 | Liverpool Reserves | Aston Villa Reserves | Liverpool Reserves |
| 2008–09 | Sunderland Reserves | Aston Villa Reserves | Aston Villa Reserves |
From 2004–05 onwards, the League held its first play-off between the champions of the two sections. Northern Champions Manchester United Reserves beat Southern Champions Charlton Athletic Reserves 4–2 at The Valley. In the 2005–06 Play-off, held at Old Trafford, Manchester United Reserves beat Tottenham Hotspur Reserves 2–0. The 2007 final, held at the Madejski Stadium, Reading beat Bolton 2–0. Liverpool Reserves beat Aston Villa Reserves 3–0 in the 2008 final at Anfield. Aston Villa reached the final again next season and beat Sunderland 3–1 at Villa Park.
Winners table
| Team | Northern titles |
Southern titles |
Northern & Southern |
National titles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester United Reserves | 3 | – | 3 | 2 |
| Aston Villa Reserves | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| Liverpool Reserves | 2 | – | 2 | 1 |
| Reading Reserves | – | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Sunderland Reserves | 2 | – | 2 | 0 |
| Derby County Reserves | – | 2 | 2 | – |
| Charlton Athletic Reserves | – | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Tottenham Hotspur Reserves | – | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Bolton Wanderers Reserves | 1 | – | 1 | 0 |
| Everton Reserves | 1 | – | 1 | – |
| Ipswich Town Reserves | – | 1 | 1 | – |
| Watford Reserves | – | 1 | 1 | – |
Current participants
- See Premier Reserve League 2008–09 for the 2008–09 season league tables.
The Premier Reserve League was restructured for the 2006–07 season, with only reserve teams of members of the Premier League taking part in the competition. The 20 members of the Premier Reserve League for the 2009–10 season are:
| Premier Reserve League North | Premier Reserve League South |
|---|---|
| Blackburn Rovers Reserves | Arsenal F.C. Reserves |
| Bolton Wanderers Reserves | Aston Villa Reserves |
| Burnley Reserves | Birmingham City Reserves |
| Everton F.C. Reserves | Chelsea F.C. Reserves |
| Hull City Reserves | Fulham Reserves |
| Liverpool F.C. Reserves | Portsmouth Reserves |
| Manchester City F.C. Reserves | Stoke City Reserves |
| Manchester United F.C. Reserves | Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Reserves |
| Sunderland Reserves | West Ham United F.C. Reserves |
| Wigan Athletic F.C. Reserves | Wolverhampton Wanderers Reserves |
See also
External links
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