document_title: Premier League

question_text: who is in charge of the premier league

question_tokens: who is in charge of the premier league

text: Premier League

text: History

text: Origins

text: Despite significant European success in the 1970s and early 1980s, the late '80s marked a low point for English football. Stadiums were crumbling, supporters endured poor facilities, hooliganism was rife, and English clubs were banned from European competition for five years following the Heysel Stadium disaster in 1985.[12] The Football League First Division, the top level of English football since 1888, was behind leagues such as Italy's Serie A and Spain's La Liga in attendances and revenues, and several top English players had moved abroad.[13]

text: By the turn of the 1990s the downward trend was starting to reverse: at the 1990 FIFA World Cup, England reached the semi-finals; UEFA, European football's governing body, lifted the five-year ban on English clubs playing in European competitions in 1990, resulting in Manchester United lifting the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1991, and the Taylor Report on stadium safety standards, which proposed expensive upgrades to create all-seater stadiums in the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster, was published in January of that year.[14]

text: The 1980s also saw the major English clubs, led by the likes of Martin Edwards of Manchester United, Irving Scholar of Tottenham Hotspur and David Dein of Arsenal, beginning to be transformed into business ventures that applied commercial principles to the running of the clubs, which led to the increasing power of the elite clubs. By threatening to break away, the top clubs from Division One managed to increase their voting power, and took 50% share of all television and sponsorship income in 1986.[15] Revenue from television also became more important: the Football League received £6.3 million for a two-year agreement in 1986, but by 1988, in a deal agreed with ITV, the price rose to £44 million over four years with the leading clubs taking 75% of the cash.[16][17] The 1988 negotiations were conducted under the threat of ten clubs leaving to form a "super league", but were eventually persuaded to stay with the top clubs taking the lion share of the deal.[16][18][19] As stadiums improved and match attendance and revenues rose, the country's top teams again considered leaving the Football League in order to capitalise on the influx of money into the sport.[19]

text: Foundation

text: In 1990, the managing director of London Weekend Television (LWT), Greg Dyke, met with the representatives of the "big five" football clubs in England (Manchester United, Liverpool, Tottenham, Everton and Arsenal) over a dinner.[20] The meeting was to pave the way for a break away from The Football League. Dyke believed that it would be more lucrative for LWT if only the larger clubs in the country were featured on national television and wanted to establish whether the clubs would be interested in a larger share of television rights money.[21] The five clubs decided it was a good idea and decided to press ahead with it; however, the league would have no credibility without the backing of The Football Association and so David Dein of Arsenal held talks to see whether the FA were receptive to the idea. The FA did not enjoy an amicable relationship with the Football League at the time and considered it as a way to weaken the Football League's position.[22]

text: At the close of the 1991 season, a proposal was tabled for the establishment of a new league that would bring more money into the game overall. The Founder Members Agreement, signed on 17 July 1991 by the game's top-flight clubs, established the basic principles for setting up the FA Premier League.[23] The newly formed top division would have commercial independence from The Football Association and the Football League, giving the FA Premier League licence to negotiate its own broadcast and sponsorship agreements. The argument given at the time was that the extra income would allow English clubs to compete with teams across Europe.[13] Although Dyke played a significant role in the creation of the Premier League, Dyke and ITV would lose out in the bidding for broadcast rights as BSkyB won with a bid of £304 million over five years with the BBC awarded the highlights package broadcast on Match of the Day.[20][21]

text: In 1992, the First Division clubs resigned from the Football League en masse and on 27 May 1992 the FA Premier League was formed as a limited company working out of an office at the Football Association's then headquarters in Lancaster Gate.[13] This meant a break-up of the 104-year-old Football League that had operated until then with four divisions; the Premier League would operate with a single division and the Football League with three. There was no change in competition format; the same number of teams competed in the top flight, and promotion and relegation between the Premier League and the new First Division remained the same as the old First and Second Divisions with three teams relegated from the league and three promoted.[19]

text: The league held its first season in 1992–93. It was composed of 22 clubs for that season. The first Premier League goal was scored by Brian Deane of Sheffield United in a 2–1 win against Manchester United.[24] The 22 inaugural members of the new Premier League were Arsenal, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Chelsea, Coventry City, Crystal Palace, Everton, Ipswich Town, Leeds United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Middlesbrough, Norwich City, Nottingham Forest, Oldham Athletic, Queens Park Rangers, Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, and Wimbledon.[25] Luton Town, Notts County, and West Ham United were the three teams relegated from the old first division at the end of the 1991–92 season, and did not take part in the inaugural Premier League season.[26]

text:
Results of the 'Big Four' during the 2000s

Season
ARS
CHE
LIV
MUN

2000–01
2
6
3
1

2001–02
1
6
2
3

2002–03
2
4
5
1

2003–04
1
2
4
3

2004–05
2
1
5
3

2005–06
4
1
3
2

2006–07
4
2
3
1

2007–08
3
2
4
1

2008–09
4
3
2
1

2009–10
3
1
7
2

Top four
10
8
7
10

out of 10

     League champions
     Champions League group stage
     Champions League third qualifying round
     Champions League first qualifying round
     Europa League or UEFA Cup

text: "Top Four" dominance (2000s)

text: One significant feature of the Premier League in the mid-2000s was the dominance of the so-called "Top Four" clubs: Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United.[27][28] During this decade, they dominated the top four spots, which came with UEFA Champions League qualification, taking all top-four places in 5 out of 6 seasons from 2003–04 to 2008–09 inclusive, while every season during the 2000s saw the "Big Four" always qualifying for European competition. Arsenal went as far as winning the league without losing a single game in 2003–04, the only time it has ever happened in the Premier League.[29]

text: During the 2000s, only four sides outside the "Top Four" managed to qualify for the Champions League: Leeds United (1999–2000), Newcastle United (2001–02 and 2002–03), Everton (2004–05) and Tottenham Hotspur (2009–10) – each occupying the final Champions League spot, with the exception of Newcastle in the 2002–03 season, who finished third.

text: In May 2008 Kevin Keegan stated that "Top Four" dominance threatened the division, "This league is in danger of becoming one of the most boring but great leagues in the world."[30] Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore said in defence: "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."[31]

text: Between 2005 and 2012, there was a Premier League representative in seven of the eight Champions League finals, with only "Top Four" clubs reaching that stage. Liverpool (2005), Manchester United (2008) and Chelsea (2012) won the competition during this period, with Arsenal (2006), Liverpool (2007), Chelsea (2008) and Manchester United (2009 and 2011) all losing Champions League finals. Leeds United were the only non-"Top Four" side to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League, in the 2000–01 season.

text: Additionally, between the 1999–2000 and 2009–10 seasons, four Premier League sides reached UEFA Cup or Europa League finals, with only Liverpool managing to win the competition in 2001. Arsenal (2000), Middlesbrough (2006) and Fulham (2010) all lost their finals.

text: The years following 2009 marked a shift in the structure of the "Top Four" with Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City both breaking into the top four places on a regular basis.[32] In the 2009–10 season, Tottenham finished fourth and became the first team to break the top four since Everton five years prior.[33] 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.[34] Since the continued presence of Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur at the top end of the table, no side has won consecutive Premier League titles.

text: By the end of the 2009–10 season, each of the "Top Four" clubs had revenues in excess of €200 million, while Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur had revenues of roughly €150 million according to the Deloitte Football Money League. Manchester United had the largest revenue stream in the Premier League at €349.8 million, while Aston Villa were the closest club to the new "Big Six" with revenues of €109.4 million.[35]

text:
Results of the 'Big Six' during the 2010s

Season
ARS
CHE
LIV
MCI
MUN
TOT

2010–11
4
2
6
3
1
5

2011–12
3
6
8
1
2
4

2012–13
4
3
7
2
1
5

2013–14
4
3
2
1
7
6

2014–15
3
1
6
2
4
5

2015–16
2
10
8
4
5
3

2016–17
5
1
4
3
6
2

Top four
6
5
2
7
4
3

Top six
7
6
4
7
6
7

out of 7

     League champions
     Champions League group stage
     Champions League play-off round
     Europa League

text: Emergence of the "Big Six" (2010s)

text: Manchester City won the title in the 2011–12 season, becoming the first club outside the "Big Four" to win since Blackburn Rovers in the 1994–95 season. That season also saw two of the "Big Four" (Chelsea and Liverpool) finish outside the top four places for the first time since that season.[32] The return of Manchester City as a force in English football combined with Tottenham Hotspur finishing third and then second in the 2015–16 and 2016–17 seasons respectively meant that many viewed the "Big Four" as proliferating into the "Big Six".[citation needed]

text: With only four UEFA Champions League qualifying places available in the league, greater competition for qualification now exists, albeit from a narrow base of six clubs. In the following five seasons after the 2011–12 campaign, Manchester United and Liverpool both found themselves outside of the top four three times while Chelsea finished 10th in the 2015–16 season. Arsenal finished 5th in 2016–17, ending their record of 20 consecutive top-four finishes.[36]

text: In the 2015–16 season, the top four was breached by a non-Big Six side for the first time since Everton in 2005. Leicester City were the surprise winners of the league, qualifying for the Champions League as a result.[37] However, they were unable to follow up their title-winning season with another strong season – finishing twelfth.[citation needed]

text: Off the pitch, the "Big Six" wield financial power and influence, with these clubs arguing that they should be entitled to a greater share of revenue due to the greater stature of their clubs globally and the attractive football they aim to play.[38] Objectors argue that the egalitarian revenue structure in the Premier League helps to maintain a competitive league which is vital for its future success.[39]

text: The 2016–17 Deloitte Football Money League report showed the financial disparity between the "Big Six" and the rest of the division. All of the "Big Six" had revenues greater than €350 million, with Manchester United having the largest revenue in the league at €676.3 million. Leicester City was the closest club to the "Big Six" in terms of revenue, recording a figure of €271.1 million for that season – helped by participation in the Champions League. The eighth largest revenue generator West Ham, who didn't play in European competition, had revenues of €213.3 million, nearly half of the fifth largest club, Liverpool (€424.2 million).[40]

text: Development

text: Due to insistence by the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), the international governing body of football, that domestic leagues reduce the number of games clubs played, the number of clubs was reduced to 20, down from 22, in 1995 when four teams were relegated from the league and only two teams promoted. The top flight had only been expanded to 22 teams at the start of the 1991–92 season – the year prior to the formation of the Premier League.

text: On 8 June 2006, FIFA requested that all major European leagues, including Italy's Serie A and Spain's La Liga, be reduced to 18 teams by the start of the 2007–08 season. The Premier League responded by announcing their intention to resist such a reduction.[41] Ultimately, the 2007–08 season kicked off again with 20 teams[42], as did the other major European leagues with 20 teams.

text: The league changed its name from the FA Premier League to simply the Premier League in 2007.[43]

text: Corporate structure

text: The Football Association Premier League Ltd (FAPL)[44][45][46] is operated as a corporation and is owned by the 20 member clubs. Each club is a shareholder, with one vote each on issues such as rule changes and contracts. The clubs elect a chairman, chief executive, and board of directors to oversee the daily operations of the league.[47] The current chairman is Sir Dave Richards, who was appointed in April 1999, and the chief executive is Richard Scudamore, appointed in November 1999.[48] The former chairman and chief executive, John Quinton and Peter Leaver, were forced to resign in March 1999 after awarding consultancy contracts to former Sky executives Sam Chisholm and David Chance.[49] The Football Association is not directly involved in the day-to-day operations of the Premier League, but has veto power as a special shareholder during the election of the chairman and chief executive and when new rules are adopted by the league.[50]

text: The Premier League sends representatives to UEFA's European Club Association, the number of clubs and the clubs themselves chosen according to UEFA coefficients. For the 2012–13 season the Premier League has 10 representatives in the Association: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Everton, Fulham, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur.[51] The European Club Association is responsible for electing three members to UEFA's Club Competitions Committee, which is involved in the operations of UEFA competitions such as the Champions League and UEFA Europa League.[52]

text: Competition format

text: Competition

text: There are 20 clubs in the Premier League. During the course of a season (from August to May) each club plays the others twice (a double round-robin system), once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents', for a total of 38 games. Teams receive three points for a win and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, then goal difference, and then goals scored. If still equal, teams are deemed to occupy the same position. If there is a tie for the championship, for relegation, or for qualification to other competitions, a play-off match at a neutral venue decides rank.[53] The three lowest placed teams are relegated into the EFL Championship, and the top two teams from the Championship, together with the winner of play-offs involving the third to sixth placed Championship clubs, are promoted in their place.[54]

text: Qualification for European competitions

text: As of the 2009–10 season qualification for the UEFA Champions League changed, the top four teams in the Premier League qualify for the UEFA Champions League, with the top three teams directly entering the group stage. Previously only the top two teams qualified automatically. The fourth-placed team enters the Champions League at the play-off round for non-champions and must win a two-legged knockout tie in order to enter the group stage.[55]

text: The team placed fifth in the Premier League automatically qualifies for the UEFA Europa League, and the sixth and seventh-placed teams can also qualify, depending on the winners of the two domestic cup competitions i.e. the FA Cup and the EFL Cup. Two Europa League places are reserved for the winners of each tournament; if the winner of either the FA Cup or EFL Cup qualifies for the Champions League, then that place will go to the next-best placed finisher in the Premier League.[56][57]

text: An exception to the usual European qualification system happened in 2005, after Liverpool won the Champions League the year before, but did not finish in a Champions League qualification place in the Premier League that season. UEFA gave special dispensation for Liverpool to enter the Champions League, giving England five qualifiers.[58] UEFA subsequently ruled that the defending champions qualify for the competition the following year regardless of their domestic league placing. However, for those leagues with four entrants in the Champions League, this meant that if the Champions League winner finished outside the top four in its domestic league, it would qualify at the expense of the fourth-placed team in the league. At that time, no association could have more than four entrants in the Champions League.[59] This occurred in 2012, when Chelsea – who had won the Champions League that summer, but finished sixth in the league – qualified for the Champions League in place of Tottenham Hotspur, who went into the Europa League.[60]

text: Starting with the 2015–16 season, the Europa League champion automatically qualifies for the following season's Champions League, and the maximum number of Champions League places for any single association has increased to five. An association with four Champions League places, such as The FA, will only earn a fifth place if a club from that association that does not qualify for the Champions League through its league wins either the Champions League or Europa League.[61]

text: In 2007, the Premier League became the highest ranking European League based on the performances of English teams in European competitions over a five-year period. This broke the eight-year dominance of the Spanish league, La Liga.[62]

text: Premier League clubs in international competition

text: Between the 1992–93 and the 2016–17 seasons, Premier League clubs won the UEFA Champions League four times (and had five runners-up), behind Spain's La Liga with ten wins, and Italy's Serie A with five wins; ahead of, among others, Germany's Bundesliga with three wins. The FIFA Club World Cup (originally called the FIFA Club World Championship) has been won once by a Premier League club (Manchester United in 2008),[63] with two runners-up (Liverpool in 2005, Chelsea in 2012),[64][65] behind Spain's La Liga with five wins,[66][67] Brazil's Brasileirão with four wins,[64][65][68][69] and Italy's Serie A with two wins[70][71] (see table here).

text: Promotion and relegation

text: A system of promotion and relegation exists between the Premier League and the EFL Championship. The three lowest placed teams in the Premier League are relegated to the Championship, and the top two teams from the Championship promoted to the Premier League,[72] with an additional team promoted after a series of play-offs involving the third, fourth, fifth and sixth placed clubs. The Premier League had 22 teams when it began in 1992, but this was reduced to the present 20-team format in 1995.

text: Clubs

text: A total of 49 clubs have played in the Premier League from its inception in 1992, up to and including the 2017–18 season.[73]

text: Champions

text:
No.
Season
Champion

1
1992–93
Manchester United

2
1993–94
Manchester United

3
1994–95
Blackburn Rovers

4
1995–96
Manchester United

5
1996–97
Manchester United

6
1997–98
Arsenal

7
1998–99
Manchester United

8
1999–2000
Manchester United

9
2000–01
Manchester United

10
2001–02
Arsenal

11
2002–03
Manchester United

12
2003–04
Arsenal

13
2004–05
Chelsea

No.
Season
Champion

14
2005–06
Chelsea

15
2006–07
Manchester United

16
2007–08
Manchester United

17
2008–09
Manchester United

18
2009–10
Chelsea

19
2010–11
Manchester United

20
2011–12
Manchester City

21
2012–13
Manchester United

22
2013–14
Manchester City

23
2014–15
Chelsea

24
2015–16
Leicester City

25
2016–17
Chelsea

26
2017–18
Manchester City

text:
Club
Wins
Winning years

Manchester United
13
1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2012–13

Chelsea
5
2004–05, 2005–06, 2009–10, 2014–15, 2016–17

Arsenal
3
1997–98, 2001–02, 2003–04

Manchester City
2011–12, 2013–14, 2017–18

Blackburn Rovers
1
1994–95

Leicester City
2015–16

text: 2017–18 season

text: The following 20 clubs will compete in the Premier League during the 2017–18 season.

text:
Club
Position
in 2016–17
First season in
top division
Seasons
in top
division
Seasons
in Premier
League
First season of
current spell in
top division
Top
division
titles
Last top
division title

Arsenala, b
7000500000000000000♠5th
1904–05
101
26
1919–20
13
2003–04

AFC Bournemouthb
7000900000000000000♠9th
2015–16
3
3
2015–16
0
n/a

Brighton and Hove Albionb
7000200000000000000♠2nd in the Championship
1979–80
5
1
2017–18
0
n/a

Burnleyc
7001160000000000000♠16th
1888–89
55
4
2016–17
2
1959–60

Chelseaa, b
7000100000000000000♠1st
1907–08
83
26
1989–90
6
2016–17

Crystal Palacea
7001140000000000000♠14th
1969–70
18
9
2013–14
0
n/a

Evertona, b, c
7000700000000000000♠7th
1888–89
115
26
1954–55
9
1986–87

Huddersfield Townb
7000500000000000000♠5th in the Championship
1920–21
32
1
2017–18
3
1923–24

Leicester City
7001120000000000000♠12th
1908–09
50
12
2014–15
1
2015–16

Liverpoola, b
7000400000000000000♠4th
1894–95
103
26
1962–63
18
1989–90

Manchester Citya
7000300000000000000♠3rd
1899–1900
89
21
2002–03
5
2017–18

Manchester Uniteda, b
7000600000000000000♠6th
1892–93
93
26
1975–76
20
2012–13

Newcastle United
7000100000000000000♠1st in the Championship
1898–99
86
23
2017–18
4
1926–27

Southamptona
7000800000000000000♠8th
1966–67
41
19
2012–13
0
n/a

Stoke Cityb, c
7001130000000000000♠13th
1888–89
62
10
2008–09
0
n/a

Swansea Cityb, d
7001150000000000000♠15th
1981–82
9
7
2011–12
0
n/a

Tottenham Hotspura, b
7000200000000000000♠2nd
1909–10
83
26
1978–79
2
1960–61

Watford
7001170000000000000♠17th
1982–83
11
5
2015–16
0
n/a

West Bromwich Albionc
7001100000000000000♠10th
1888–89
81
12
2010–11
1
1919–20

West Ham United
7001110000000000000♠11th
1923–24
60
22
2012–13
0
n/a

text:
Hull City, Middlesbrough, and Sunderland were relegated to the Championship for the 2017–18 season, while Newcastle United, Brighton and Hove Albion and Huddersfield Town, as winners, runners-up and play-off final winners respectively, were promoted from the 2016–17 Championship season.
AFC Bournemouth, Stoke City, and Swansea City are the only clubs to have remained in the Premier League since their first promotion, having played 3, 10 and 7 seasons (out of 26) respectively. Brighton and Hove Albion and Huddersfield Town will make their Premier League debuts in 2017–18 season.

text:
a: Founding member of the Premier League
b: Never been relegated from Premier League
c: One of the original 12 Football League teams
d: Club based in Wales

text: Non-English clubs

text: Wales

text: In 2011, a Welsh club participated in the Premier League for the first time after Swansea City gained promotion.[74][75] The first Premier League match to be played outside England was Swansea City's home match at the Liberty Stadium against Wigan Athletic on 20 August 2011.[76] In 2012–13, Swansea qualified for the Europa League by winning the League Cup.[77] The number of Welsh clubs in the Premier League increased to two for the first time in 2013–14, as Cardiff City gained promotion,[78] but they were relegated after their maiden season.[79]

text: Because they are members of the Football Association of Wales (FAW), the question of whether clubs like Swansea should represent England or Wales in European competitions has caused long-running discussions in UEFA. Swansea took one of England's three available places in the Europa League in 2013–14 by winning the League Cup in 2012–13. The right of Welsh clubs to take up such English places was in doubt until UEFA clarified the matter in March 2012, allowing them to participate.[80]

text: Scotland and Ireland

text: Participation in the Premier League by some Scottish or Irish clubs has sometimes been discussed, but without result. The idea came closest to reality in 1998, when Wimbledon received Premier League approval to relocate to Dublin, Ireland, but the move was blocked by the Football Association of Ireland.[81][82][83][84] Additionally, the media occasionally discusses the idea that Scotland's two biggest teams, Celtic and Rangers, should or will take part in the Premier League, but nothing has come of these discussions.[85]

text: Sponsorship

text: From 1993 to 2016, the Premier League had title sponsorship rights sold to two companies, which were Carling Brewery and Barclays Bank PLC; Barclays was the most recent title sponsor, having sponsored the Premier League from 2001 through 2016 (until 2004, the title sponsorship was held through its Barclaycard brand before shifting to its main banking brand in 2004).[86]

text:
Period
Sponsor
Name

1992–1993
No sponsor
FA Premier League

1993–2001
Carling
FA Carling Premiership[13]

2001–2004
Barclaycard
FA Barclaycard Premiership[13]

2004–2007
Barclays
FA Barclays Premiership

2008–2016
Barclays Premier League[13][87]

2016–
No Sponsor
Premier League

text: Barclays' deal with the Premier League expired at the end of the 2015–16 season. The FA announced on 4 June 2015 that it would not pursue any further title sponsorship deals for the Premier League, arguing that they wanted to build a "clean" brand for the competition more in line with those of major U.S. sports leagues.[88]

text: As well as sponsorship for the league itself, the Premier League has a number of official partners and suppliers.[89] The official ball supplier for the league is Nike who have had the contract since the 2000–01 season when they took over from Mitre.[90]

text: Finances

text: The Premier League has the highest revenue of any football league in the world, with total club revenues of €2.48 billion in 2009–10.[91][92] In 2013–14, due to improved television revenues and cost controls, the Premier League had net profits in excess of £78 million, exceeding all other football leagues.[93] In 2010 the Premier League was awarded the Queen's Award for Enterprise in the International Trade category for its outstanding contribution to international trade and the value it brings to English football and the United Kingdom's broadcasting industry.[94]

text: The Premier League includes some of the richest football clubs in the world. Deloitte's "Football Money League" listed seven Premier League clubs in the top 20 for the 2009–10 season,[95] and all 20 clubs were in the top 40 globally by the end of the 2013–14 season, largely as a result of increased broadcasting revenue.[96] From 2013, the league generates €2.2 billion per year in domestic and international television rights.[4]

text: Premier League clubs agreed in principle in December 2012, to radical new cost controls. The two proposals consist of a break-even rule and a cap on the amount clubs can increase their wage bill by each season. With the new television deals on the horizon, momentum has been growing to find ways of preventing the majority of the cash going straight to players and agents.[97]

text: Central payments for the 2016–17 season amounted to £2,398,515,773 across the 20 clubs, with each team receiving a flat participation fee of £35,301,989 and additional payments for TV broadcasts (£1,016,690 for general UK rights to match highlights, £1,136,083 for each live UK broadcast of their games and £39,090,596 for all overseas rights), commercial rights (a flat fee of £4,759,404) and a notional measure of "merit" which was based upon final league position.[6] The merit component was a nominal sum of £1,941,609 multiplied by each finishing place, counted from the foot of the table (e.g., Burnley finished 16th in May 2017, five places counting upwards, and received 5 × £1,941,609 = £9,708,045 merit payment).[6]

text: Media coverage

text: United Kingdom and Ireland

text:
Matches broadcast in the United Kingdom and Ireland

Seasons
Sky
Setanta
ESPN
BT
Total

1992–1997
60
–
–
–
60

1997–2001
60
–
–
–
60

2001–2004
110
–
–
–
110

2004–2007
138
–
–
–
138

2007–2009
96
42
–
–
138

2009–2013
115
–
23
–
138

2013–2016
116
–
–
38
154

2016–2019
126
–
–
42
168

text: Television has played a major role in the history of the Premier League. The League's decision to assign broadcasting rights to BSkyB in 1992 was at the time a radical decision, but one that has paid off. At the time pay television was an almost untested proposition in the UK market, as was charging fans to watch live televised football. However, a combination of Sky's strategy, the quality of Premier League football and the public's appetite for the game has seen the value of the Premier League's TV rights soar.[17]

text: The Premier League sells its television rights on a collective basis. This is in contrast to some other European Leagues, including La Liga, in which each club sells its rights individually, leading to a much higher share of the total income going to the top few clubs.[98] The money is divided into three parts:[99] half is divided equally between the clubs; one quarter is awarded on a merit basis based on final league position, the top club getting twenty times as much as the bottom club, and equal steps all the way down the table; the final quarter is paid out as facilities fees for games that are shown on television, with the top clubs generally receiving the largest shares of this. The income from overseas rights is divided equally between the twenty clubs.[100]

text: The first Sky television rights agreement was worth £304 million over five seasons.[101] The next contract, negotiated to start from the 1997–98 season, rose to £670 million over four seasons.[101] The third contract was a £1.024 billion deal with BSkyB for the three seasons from 2001–02 to 2003–04. The league brought in £320 million from the sale of its international rights for the three-year period from 2004–05 to 2006–07. It sold the rights itself on a territory-by-territory basis.[102] Sky's monopoly was broken from August 2006 when Setanta Sports was awarded rights to show two out of the six packages of matches available. This occurred following an insistence by the European Commission that exclusive rights should not be sold to one television company. Sky and Setanta paid a total of £1.7 billion, a two-thirds increase which took many commentators by surprise as it had been widely assumed that the value of the rights had levelled off following many years of rapid growth. Setanta also hold rights to a live 3 pm match solely for Irish viewers. The BBC has retained the rights to show highlights for the same three seasons (on Match of the Day) for £171.6 million, a 63 per cent increase on the £105 million it paid for the previous three-year period.[103] Sky and BT have agreed to jointly pay £84.3 million for delayed television rights to 242 games (that is the right to broadcast them in full on television and over the internet) in most cases for a period of 50 hours after 10 pm on matchday.[104] Overseas television rights fetched £625 million, nearly double the previous contract.[105] The total raised from these deals is more than £2.7 billion, giving Premier League clubs an average media income from league games of around £40 million-a-year from 2007 to 2010.[106]

text: The TV rights agreement between the Premier League and Sky has faced accusations of being a cartel, and a number of court cases have arisen as a result.[107] An investigation by the Office of Fair Trading in 2002 found BSkyB to be dominant within the pay TV sports market, but concluded that there were insufficient grounds for the claim that BSkyB had abused its dominant position.[108] In July 1999 the Premier League's method of selling rights collectively for all member clubs was investigated by the UK Restrictive Practices Court, who concluded that the agreement was not contrary to the public interest.[109]

text: The BBC's highlights package on Saturday and Sunday nights, as well as other evenings when fixtures justify, will run until 2016.[110] Television rights alone for the period 2010 to 2013 have been purchased for £1.782 billion.[111] On 22 June 2009, due to troubles encountered by Setanta Sports after it failed to meet a final deadline over a £30 million payment to the Premier League, ESPN was awarded two packages of UK rights containing a total of 46 matches that were available for the 2009–10 season as well as a package of 23 matches per season from 2010–11 to 2012–13.[112] On 13 June 2012, the Premier League announced that BT had been awarded 38 games a season for the 2013–14 through 2015–16 seasons at £246 million-a-year. The remaining 116 games were retained by Sky who paid £760 million-a-year. The total domestic rights have raised £3.018 billion, an increase of 70.2% over the 2010–11 to 2012–13 rights.[113] The value of the licensing deal rose by another 70.2% in 2015, when Sky and BT paid a total of £5.136 billion to renew their contracts with the Premier League for another three years up to the 2018–19 season.[114]

text: UK highlights

text:
Highlights programme
Duration
Channel

Match of the Day
1992–2001, 2004–present
BBC

The Premiership
2001–2004
ITV

text: Between the 1998–99 season and the 2012–13 season, RTÉ broadcast highlights on Premier Soccer Saturday and occasionally Premier Soccer Sunday. During then between the 2004–05 season and the 2006–07 season, RTÉ broadcast 15 live matches on a Saturday afternoon with each match being called Premiership Live.

text: In August 2016, it was announced that the BBC would be creating a new magazine-style show for the Premier League entitled The Premier League Show.[115]

text: Worldwide

text: The Premier League is the most-watched football league in the world, broadcast in 212 territories to 643 million homes and a potential TV audience of 4.7 billion people,[7]. The Premier League's production arm, Premier League Productions, is operated by IMG Productions and produces all content for its international television partners.

text: The Premier League is particularly popular in Asia, where it is the most widely distributed sports programme.[116] In Australia, Optus telecommunications holds exclusive rights to the Premier League, providing live broadcasts and online access (Fox Sports formerly held rights).[117] In India, the matches are broadcast live on STAR Sports. In China, the broadcast rights were awarded to Super Sports in a six-year agreement that began in the 2013–14 season.[118] As of the 2013–14 season, Canadian broadcast rights to the Premier League are jointly owned by Sportsnet and TSN, with both rival networks holding rights to 190 matches per season.[119]

text: The Premier League is broadcast in the United States through NBC Sports.[120] Premier League viewership has increased rapidly, with NBC and NBCSN averaging a record 479,000 viewers in the 2014–15 season, up 118% from 2012–13 when coverage still aired on Fox Soccer and ESPN/ESPN2 (220,000 viewers),[121] and NBC Sports has been widely praised for its coverage.[121][122][123] NBC Sports reached a six-year extension with the Premier League in 2015 to broadcast the league through the 2021–22 season in a deal valued at $1 billion (£640 million).[124][125]

text: Widening gap with lower leagues

text: There has been an 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. Owing in large part to the disparity in revenue from television rights between the leagues,[126] 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 and 2011–12, 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.[127]

text: The Premier League distributes a portion of its television revenue to clubs that are relegated from the league in the form of "parachute payments". Starting with the 2013–14 season, these payments are in excess of £60 million over four seasons.[128] Though designed to help teams adjust to the loss of television revenues (the average Premier League team receives £55 million[129] while the average Football League Championship club receives £2 million),[130] critics maintain that the payments actually widen the gap between teams that have reached the Premier League and those that have not,[131] leading to the common occurrence of teams "bouncing back" soon after their relegation. For some clubs who have failed to win immediate promotion back to the Premier League, 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.[132][133]

text: Stadiums

text: As of the 2017–18 season, Premier League football has been played in 58 stadiums since the formation of the division.[134] The Hillsborough disaster in 1989 and the subsequent Taylor Report saw a recommendation that standing terraces should be abolished; as a result all stadiums in the Premier League are all-seater.[135][136] Since the formation of the Premier League, football grounds in England have seen constant improvements to capacity and facilities, with some clubs moving to new-build stadiums.[137] Nine stadiums that have seen Premier League football have now been demolished. The stadiums for the 2017–18 season show a large disparity in capacity: Wembley Stadium, the temporary home of Tottenham Hotspur, has a capacity of 90,000 with Dean Court, the home of Bournemouth, having a capacity of 11,360.[138][139] The combined total capacity of the Premier League in the 2017–18 season is 806,033 with an average capacity of 40,302.[138]

text: Stadium attendances are a significant source of regular income for Premier League clubs.[140] For the 2016–17 season, average attendances across the league clubs were 35,838 for Premier League matches with a total aggregate attendance figure of 13,618,596.[141] This represents an increase of 14,712 from the average attendance of 21,126 recorded in the league's first season (1992–93).[142] However, during the 1992–93 season the capacities of most stadiums were reduced as clubs replaced terraces with seats in order to meet the Taylor Report's 1994–95 deadline for all-seater stadiums.[143][144] The Premier League's record average attendance of 36,144 was set during the 2007–08 season.[145] This record was then beaten in the 2013–14 season recording an average attendance of 36,695 with a total attendance of just under 14 million, the highest average in England's top flight since 1950.[146]

text: Managers

text: 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.[147] 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.[148] The UEFA Pro Licence is required by every person who wishes to manage a club in the Premier League on a permanent basis (i.e. more than 12 weeks – the amount of time an unqualified caretaker manager is allowed to take control).[149] 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; examples include Paul Hart at Portsmouth and David Pleat at Tottenham Hotspur.

text: The league's longest-serving manager was Alex Ferguson, who was in charge of Manchester United from November 1986 until his retirement at the end of the 2012–13 season, meaning that he was manager for all of the first 21 seasons of the Premier League. Arsène Wenger is the league's longest-serving current manager, having been in charge of Arsenal in the Premier League since 1996.[150] As of the 22nd game-week of the 2017/2018 season, 7 managers have been sacked, the most recent being Mark Hughes of Stoke City.[151]

text: There have been several studies into the reasoning behind, and effects of, managerial sackings. Most famously, Professor Sue Bridgewater of the University of Liverpool and Dr. Bas ter Weel of the University of Amsterdam, performed two separate studies which helped to explain the statistics behind managerial sackings. Bridgewater's study found that clubs generally sack their managers upon dropping below an average of 1 point-per-game.[152]

text:
Winning managers

Manager
Club(s)
Wins
Winning years

 Alex Ferguson
Manchester United
13
1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99,
1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2006–07,
2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2012–13

 Arsène Wenger
Arsenal
3
1997–98, 2001–02, 2003–04

 José Mourinho
Chelsea
2004–05, 2005–06, 2014–15

 Kenny Dalglish
Blackburn Rovers
1
1994–95

 Carlo Ancelotti
Chelsea
2009–10

 Roberto Mancini
Manchester City
2011–12

 Manuel Pellegrini
Manchester City
2013–14

 Claudio Ranieri
Leicester City
2015–16

 Antonio Conte
Chelsea
2016–17

 Pep Guardiola
Manchester City
2017–18

text:
Current managers

Nat.
Name
Club
Appointed
Time as manager

France !
Wenger, ArseneArsène Wenger
Arsenal
000000001996-10-01-00001 October 1996
7003788400000000000♠21 years, 214 days

England !
Howe, EddieEddie Howe
AFC Bournemouth
000000002012-10-12-000012 October 2012
7003202900000000000♠5 years, 203 days

England !
Dyche, SeanSean Dyche
Burnley
000000002012-10-30-000030 October 2012
7003201100000000000♠5 years, 185 days

Argentina !
Pochettino, MauricioMauricio Pochettino
Tottenham Hotspur
000000002014-05-27-000027 May 2014
7003143700000000000♠3 years, 341 days

England !
Hughton, ChrisChris Hughton
Brighton & Hove Albion
000000002014-12-31-000031 December 2014
7003121900000000000♠3 years, 123 days

Germany !
Klopp, JürgenJürgen Klopp
Liverpool
000000002015-10-08-00008 October 2015
7002938000000000000♠2 years, 207 days

Portugal !
Wagner, DavidDavid Wagner
Huddersfield Town
000000002015-11-05-00005 November 2015
7002910000000000000♠2 years, 179 days

Spain !
Benítez, RafaelRafael Benítez
Newcastle United
000000002016-03-11-000011 March 2016
7002783000000000000♠2 years, 53 days

Portugal !
Mourinho, JoséJosé Mourinho
Manchester United
000000002016-05-27-000027 May 2016
7002706000000000000♠1 year, 341 days

Netherlands !
Conte, AntonioAntonio Conte
Chelsea
000000002016-07-01-00001 July 2016
7002671000000000000♠1 year, 306 days

Spain !
Guardiola, PepPep Guardiola
Manchester City
000000002016-07-01-00001 July 2016
7002671000000000000♠1 year, 306 days

England !
Hodgson, RoyRoy Hodgson
Crystal Palace
000000002017-09-12-000012 September 2017
7002233000000000000♠233 days

France !
Puel, ClaudeClaude Puel
Leicester City
000000002017-10-25-000025 October 2017
7002190000000000000♠190 days

Scotland !
Moyes, DavidDavid Moyes
West Ham United
000000002017-11-07-00007 November 2017
7002177000000000000♠177 days

England !
Allardyce, SamSam Allardyce
Everton
000000002017-11-30-000030 November 2017
7002154000000000000♠154 days

Portugal !
Carvalhal, CarlosCarlos Carvalhal
Swansea City
000000002017-12-28-000028 December 2017
7002126000000000000♠126 days

Scotland !
Lambert, PaulPaul Lambert
Stoke City
000000002018-01-15-000015 January 2018
7002108000000000000♠108 days

Portugal !
Gracia, JaviJavi Gracia
Watford
000000002018-01-21-000021 January 2018
7002102000000000000♠102 days

Wales !
Hughes, MarkMark Hughes
Southampton
000000002018-03-14-000014 March 2018
7001500000000000000♠50 days

Jamaica !
Moore, DarrenDarren Moore
West Bromwich Albion
000000002018-04-02-00002 April 2018
7001310000000000000♠31 days

text: Players

text: Appearances

text:
Most appearances

Rank
Player
Apps

1
 Gareth Barry
652

2
 Ryan Giggs
632

3
 Frank Lampard
609

4
 David James
572

5
 Gary Speed
535

6
 Emile Heskey
516

7
 Mark Schwarzer
514

8
 Jamie Carragher
508

9
 Phil Neville
505

10
 Steven Gerrard
504

 Rio Ferdinand

As of 20 February 2018.[153]
Italicised players still playing professional football.
Bolded players still playing in Premier League.

text: Foreign players and transfer regulations

text: 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 Ireland.[154] By 2000–01, 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,[155] and on 14 February 2005 Arsenal were the first to name a completely foreign 16-man squad for a match.[156] By 2009, under 40% of the players in the Premier League were English.[157]

text: In response to concerns that clubs were increasingly passing over young English players in favour of foreign players, in 1999, the Home Office tightened its rules for granting work permits to players from countries outside of the European Union.[158] 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, 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.[159]

text: Players may only be transferred during transfer windows that are set by the Football Association. The two 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.[160] 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.[161][162] This was to enable the 'home grown' rule to be enacted, 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'.[161]

text: Player wages and transfer fees

text: 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 when the average player wage was £75,000 per year.[163] The average salary stands at £1.1 million as of the 2008–09 season.[164] As of 2015, average salaries in the Premier League are higher than for any other football league in the world.[165]

text: The record transfer fee for a Premier League player has risen steadily 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.[166] The record rose steadily in the Premier League's first few seasons, until Alan Shearer made a record breaking £15 million move to Newcastle United in 1996.[166] All three of the most expensive transfers in the sport's history had a Premier League club on the selling or buying end, with Juventus selling Paul Pogba to Manchester United in August 2016 for a fee of £89 million, Tottenham Hotspur selling Gareth Bale to Real Madrid for £85 million in 2013,[167] Manchester United's sale of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid for £80 million in 2009,[168] and Liverpool selling Luis Suárez to Barcelona for £75 million in 2014.[169]

text: Top scorers

text:
Rank
Name
Years
Goals
Apps
Ratio

1
 Alan Shearer
1992–2006
260
441
0.59

2
 Wayne Rooney
2002–
208
478
0.44

3
 Andrew Cole
1992–2008
187
414
0.45

4
 Frank Lampard
1995–2015
177
609
0.29

5
 Thierry Henry
1999–2007, 2012
175
258
0.68

6
 Robbie Fowler
1993–2009
163
379
0.43

7
 Jermain Defoe
2001–2003, 2004–2014, 2015–
161
483
0.33

8
 Michael Owen
1996–2004, 2005–13
150
326
0.46

9
 Les Ferdinand
1992–2005
149
351
0.42

10
 Teddy Sheringham
1992–2007
146
418
0.35

text:
Italics denotes players still playing professional football,
Bold denotes players still playing in the Premier League.

text: The Golden Boot is awarded to the top Premier League scorer at the end of each season. Former Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United striker Alan Shearer holds the record for most Premier League goals with 260.[171] Twenty-five players have reached the 100-goal mark.[172] Since the first Premier League season in 1992–93, 14 different players from 10 different clubs have won or shared the top scorers title.[173] Thierry Henry won his fourth overall scoring title by scoring 27 goals in the 2005–06 season. Andrew Cole and Alan Shearer hold the record for most goals in a season (34) – for Newcastle and Blackburn respectively.[174] Ryan Giggs of Manchester United holds the record for scoring goals in consecutive seasons, having scored in the first 21 seasons of the league.[175]

text: Awards

text: Trophy

text: The Premier League maintains two trophies – the genuine trophy (held by the reigning champions) and a spare replica. Two trophies are held in the event that two different clubs could win the League on the final day of the season.[176] In the rare event that more than two clubs are vying for the title on the final day of the season – then a replica won by a previous club is used.[177]

text: The current Premier League trophy was created by Royal Jewellers Asprey of London. It consists of a trophy with a golden crown and a malachite plinth base. The plinth weighs 33 pounds (15 kg) and the trophy weighs 22 pounds (10.0 kg).[178] The trophy and plinth are 76 cm (30 in) tall, 43 cm (17 in) wide and 25 cm (9.8 in) deep.[179]

text: Its main body is solid sterling silver and silver gilt, while its plinth is made of malachite, a semi-precious stone. The plinth has a silver band around its circumference, upon which the names of the title-winning clubs are listed. Malachite's green colour is also representative of the green field of play.[179] The design of the trophy is based on the heraldry of Three Lions that is associated with English football. Two of the lions are found above the handles on either side of the trophy – the third is symbolised by the captain of the title-winning team as he raises the trophy, and its gold crown, above his head at the end of the season.[180] The ribbons that drape the handles are presented in the team colours of the league champions that year.

text: In 2004, a special gold version of the trophy was commissioned to commemorate Arsenal winning the title without a single defeat.[181]

text: Player and manager awards

text: In addition to the winner's trophy and the individual winner's medals awarded to players, the Premier League also awards the monthly Manager of the Month, Player of the Month and Goal of the Month awards,[182] as well as annual awards for Manager of the Season,[183] Player of the Season,[184] Golden Boot and the Golden Glove awards.[185]. From the 2017/18 season, players also receive a milestone award for 100 appearances and every century there after and also players who score 50 goals and multiples thereof. Each player to reach these milestones will receive a presentation box from the Premier League containing a special medallion and a plaque commemorating their achievement[186].

text: 20 Seasons Awards

text: In 2012, the Premier League celebrated its second decade by holding the 20 Seasons Awards:[187]

text:
Fantasy Team of the 20 Seasons

Panel Choice: Peter Schmeichel, Gary Neville, Tony Adams, Rio Ferdinand, Ashley Cole, Cristiano Ronaldo, Roy Keane, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Thierry Henry, Alan Shearer
Public Vote: Peter Schmeichel, Gary Neville, Tony Adams, Nemanja Vidić, Ashley Cole, Cristiano Ronaldo, Steven Gerrard, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Thierry Henry, Alan Shearer

text:
Best Manager: Sir Alex Ferguson
Best Player: Ryan Giggs
Most Appearances: Gareth Barry (652)
Top Goalscorer: Alan Shearer (260)
Most Clean Sheets: David James (173)
500 Club: Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, Gareth Barry, Ryan Giggs, David James, Gary Speed, Frank Lampard, Emile Heskey, and Sol Campbell.
Best Goal: Wayne Rooney, 12 February 2011, Man. United vs Man. City
Best Save: Craig Gordon, 18 December 2010, Sunderland vs Bolton
Best Team: 2003–04 Arsenal


document_title: King Arthur: Legend of the Sword

question_text: who played merlin in king arthur legend of the sword

root

text: King Arthur: Legend of the Sword

text: Plot

text: Mordred, an iron fisted warlock, and his armies lay siege to Camelot, seeking to establish the dominance of magic-wielding mages over humankind. Uther Pendragon, king of the Britons, infiltrates Mordred's lair and beheads him, saving Camelot. Uther's treacherous brother Vortigern, who covets the throne, orchestrates a coup and sacrifices his wife Elsa to moat hags in order to become a demon knight, who kills Uther's wife and slays him in combat. The only survivor is Uther's son, who drifts away in a boat and ends up in Londinium, where he is found and raised by prostitutes.

tag: p

text: Arthur grows into a skilled fighter and man of the streets. Arthur and his friends confront a group of Vikings who had mistreated one of the prostitutes, forcing him to pay her restitution. Afterwards, the brothel is raided by the Blacklegs, Vortigern's minions, and Arthur learns that the Vikings were under the king's protection. Arthur tries to escape the city but is caught and put on a ship with hundreds of other men; the Blacklegs have been forcing all men of Arthur's age to try to pull a sword that has appeared near the castle from the surrounding stone. Arthur is able to remove the sword but is quickly overwhelmed by its power and passes out. Vortigern meets with him in the dungeon, revealing his true lineage.

text: Meanwhile, a mage identifying herself as an acolyte of Merlin presents herself to Uther's former general, Sir Bedivere. At Arthur's planned execution, the mage uses her magic to stage a diversion while Bedivere's men rescue Arthur. Taken to Bedivere's hideout, Arthur initially refuses to help them. The mage persuades Bedivere to take Arthur to a realm called the "Darklands," where he's given a vision of how Uther sacrificed himself to save Arthur and entomb the sword in stone. Arthur learns Vortigern was responsible for persuading Mordred to rebel against humanity, and he returns determined to destroy Vortigen.

text: With his friends and Bedivere's men, Arthur stages a series of ambushes against Vortigern, culminating in an assassination attempt in Londinium. The rebels sense a trap but attack anyway, fleeing to a fighters' school run by Arthur's mentor George, where they are overrun by the Blacklegs. Seeing the mage held at knifepoint, Arthur unleashes Excalibur's potential, single-handedly killing all of the soldiers. The rebels are able to escape the city except for Arthur's injured friend Back Lack, who is killed at Vortigern's hand.

text: Ashamed of his failures, Arthur tries to throw away the sword, but the Lady of the Lake returns it and shows him a vision of England's future under Vortigern's rule. Coming to terms with his responsibility, Arthur reunites with Bedivere. When they return to the rebel hideout, however, they discover all of their allies dead, Vortigern having found them and delivered an ultimatum: if Arthur does not surrender himself, the captured mage and Back Lack's son Blue will die.

text: Arthur surrenders himself, but as Vortigern is about to execute his nephew, a giant snake summoned by the mage attacks and devours Vortigern's men. While Bedivere and the others lead an attack on the castle, a desperate Vortigern sacrifices his only daughter and is transformed into the demon knight, confronting Arthur in a separate dimension. Despite his fighting skill, Arthur is beaten, and he is about to submit when he witnesses a vision of his father, convincing him to accept the sword and his character as his own. Arthur violently slays Vortigern but blesses him as he dies.

text: In the aftermath, Arthur dissolves Vortigern's pact with the Vikings and begins building a round table where his knighted friends will meet. Blue and the prostitutes arrive with the crown of Uther, which Arthur accepts, holding the sword aloft.

text: Cast

text:
Charlie Hunnam as King Arthur, Uther's son, Vortigern's nephew and the would-be king of Britain who was raised by prostitutes.
Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey as the Mage, a woman working for Merlin who supports Arthur and the resistance.
Djimon Hounsou as Sir Bedivere, the leader of the resistance and a former knight of Uther.
Aidan Gillen as Goosefat Bill, a skilled archer, Bedivere's friend, former knight of Uther and member of the resistance.
Jude Law as Vortigern, Uther's brother, Elsa's husband, Catia's father, Arthur's uncle and the tyrannical ruthless king of Britain.
Eric Bana as Uther Pendragon, Vortigern's brother, Arthur's father and the king of Britain.
Kingsley Ben-Adir as Sir Tristan "Wet Stick", Arthur and Back Lack's childhood friend who is later knighted by Bedivere.
Craig McGinlay as Sir Percival, a member of the resistance who is later turned knighted by Bedivere.
Tom Wu as Sir George, Arthur's mentor and a skilled fighter who helps the resistance and is later knighted by Bedivere.
Neil Maskell as Back Lack, Arthur and Tristan's childhood friend and Blue's father, who helps the resistance.
Freddie Fox as Rubio, a member of the resistance who later betrays them under torture and helps Vortigern.
Annabelle Wallis as Maggie, Vortigern's maid who helps the resistance.
Bleu Landau as Blue, Back Lack's son.
Mikael Persbrandt as Greybeard, a viking who has deals with Vortigern.
Poppy Delevingne as Igraine, Arthur's mother and Uther's wife: she is killed by Vortigern in the beginning of the film.

tag: ul

text: Kamil Lemieszewski, Jacqui Ainsley and Rob Knighton portrays Merlin, the Lady of the Lake and Mordred, three important characters from the Arthurian Mythology, respectively. Katie McGrath and Millie Brady portrays Vortigern's wife, Elsa, and daughter, Catia, respectively. David Beckham appears in a cameo. Lorraine Bruce, Eline Powell and Hermione Corfield appears as the three Syrens. Michael McElhatton portrays Jack's Eye, Arthur's scout on the kingdom. Nicola Wren portrays Lucy, the prostitute who raises Arthur.

text: Production

text: After 2004's King Arthur, Warner Brothers made multiple attempts to make a new film based on Arthurian legend: One was to be a remake of Excalibur, helmed by Bryan Singer, while the other was a movie to have been titled Arthur & Lancelot, which would have starred Kit Harington and Joel Kinnaman, as King Arthur and Lancelot respectively.[8] Warner Brothers suits worried that names were not big enough, and attempted to replace both actors with more profitable ones, before eventually dropping the project all together. [8]

text: Warner's next attempt to create a new King Arthur film was an attempt to create an Arthurian cinematic universe which would span six films, following different charters before their eventual team up.[8] For this endeavor they hired director Guy Richie, who has himself attempted to make a King Arthur movie prior to that. According to The Guardian, the script soon became "a strange Frankenstein’s Monster-style screenplay" incorporating elements from several of the unproduced Arthurian scripts. [8]

text: Casting

text: In August 2014, Charlie Hunnam, Ritchie's choice for the role, was cast to play King Arthur.[9] Elizabeth Olsen was in talks for the female lead,[10] but on September 18, Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey landed the role instead.[11] On November 14, Jude Law was in talks to play the lead villain role in the film.[12] On February 11, 2015, Eric Bana was added to the cast to play Uther, the father of King Arthur.[13] Mikael Persbrandt joined the film on March 6, 2015, to play a villainous role.[14] Although there were reports Idris Elba had been cast, he would confirm, in a Reddit AMA, this was a rumor.[15] [16]

text: Filming

text: Filming in Windsor Great Park was underway in February 2015,[17] then later in North Wales from March 2, 2015.[18] Later on March 10, 2015, Ritchie tweeted a photo and confirmed the first day of shooting.[19] In April 2015, filming took place in Snowdonia, where locations used were Tryfan, Nant Gwynant near Beddgelert and Capel Curig.[20] Early in July filming continued in the Shieldaig, Loch Torridon and Applecross areas of Wester Ross in the Scottish Highlands. One day of filming also took place at The Quiraing on the Isle of Skye. Filming also took place at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden.

text: Release

text: In April 2014, Warner Bros. set the film for a July 22, 2016 release, alongside Lights Out, but it was then moved by Warner Bros. to February 17, 2017, alongside Maze Runner: The Death Cure.[21] However, The Great Wall, A Cure for Wellness and Fist Fight were also scheduled to be released on that date and Warner Bros. moved the release date from February 17, 2017 to March 24, 2017.[22] The title was changed to King Arthur: Legend of the Sword in July 2016.[23] In December 2016 the release date was again moved, this time to May 12, 2017, possibly so as not to compete with CHiPs.[24][25]

text: Promotion

text: The trailer was released on July 23, 2016, during the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con and was attached to screenings of Mechanic: Resurrection, Don't Breathe, Shut In, and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

text: It was originally planned for an IMAX release on July 22, 2016, as evident in the Comic-Con trailer,[26] but was cancelled due to it being postponed and only received non-IMAX presentations. The first extended TV spot was released on January 22, 2017, and was shown on the 2017 NFC Championship Game on Fox Broadcasting Company between the Atlanta Falcons and the Green Bay Packers and the 2017 AFC Championship Game on CBS between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New England Patriots.

text: A second trailer was released on February 20, 2017 and was attached to Logan, Kong: Skull Island, Power Rangers and Ghost in the Shell. The third and final trailer was released on April 1, 2017 and was attached to The Fate of the Furious, The Lost City of Z (which also starred Hunnam) and Free Fire. All-in-all, Warner Bros. spent $135 million on marketing the film.[7]

text: The film was shown at select AMC Theatres in a special preview on April 27, 2017, in a promotional event titled "King for a Day." Demand for tickets led AMC to expand the event to 200 theaters.[27]

text: Home media

text: King Arthur: Legend of the Sword was released on DVD, Blu-ray, 3D Blu-ray and Ultra HD on August 8, 2017.[28]

text: Reception

text: Box office

text: King Arthur: Legend of the Sword grossed $39.2 million in the United States and Canada and $107 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $146.2 million, against a production budget of $175 million.[5]

text: In North America, the film was released alongside Snatched and was initially projected to gross around $25 million from 3,702 theaters during its opening weekend.[4] It made $1.15 million from Thursday night previews at about 3,200 theaters, but after making just $5.3 million on Friday, weekend projections were lowered to $15 million.[29] It ended up debuting to $15.4 million, finishing third at the box office. Deadline.com noted that due to the film's $175 million production budget, as well as at least an additional $100 million spent on marketing, the film was destined to be a box office bomb.[30] Regarding the cost of the film, the site quoted one finance expert as saying: "Make original IP [intellectual property] for a cost effective price. If it works then spend more if necessary on the sequel. King Arthur should have been done for $60M-$80M. Warner Bros. had no reason to spend $175M-plus on this picture."[7] Comparing its opening to cost, IndieWire called the film's failings "historic".[31] The Hollywood Reporter noted that the film would likely lose about $150 million.[32] In its second weekend the film grossed $7.2 million (a drop of 53.5%), finishing 5th at the box office.[33]

text: The film debuted at #1 in an estimated 29 countries, including Russia and Scandinavia, with openings to follow in the United Kingdom, France, South Korea, and Australia.[34] Over its opening weekend, it made only $29.1 million worldwide, in 51 non-American countries.[35]

text: Critical response

text: On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 28% based on 201 reviews and an average rating of 4.6/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "King Arthur: Legend of the Sword piles mounds of modern action flash on an age-old tale – and wipes out much of what made it a classic story in the first place."[36] On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating, the film has a score 41 out of 100 based 45 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[37] On CinemaScore, audiences gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale; 56% of the opening weekend filmgoers were under the age of 35, and 59% were men.[7]

text: Writing for The Guardian, Peter Bradshaw gave the film a generally positive review: "Guy Ritchie’s cheerfully ridiculous Arthur is a gonzo monarch, a death-metal warrior-king. Ritchie’s film is at all times over the top, crashing around its digital landscapes in all manner of beserkness, sometimes whooshing along, sometimes stuck in the odd narrative doldrum. But it is often surprisingly entertaining, and whatever clunkers he has delivered in the past, Ritchie again shows that a film-maker of his craft and energy commands attention, and part of his confidence in reviving King Arthur resides here in being so unselfconscious and unconcerned about the student canon that has gone before."[38]

text: In a pan of the film for the Chicago Tribune, Michael Phillips questioned the long-term longevity of the projected series of six Arthur films from Ritchie: "I'm no businessman, but plans for a six-film franchise may be optimistic. Optimism is nowhere to be found in Ritchie's movie itself. It is a grim and stupid thing, from one of the world's most successful mediocre filmmakers, and if Shakespeare's King Lear were blogging today, he'd supply the blurb quote: 'Nothing will come of nothing.'."[39] Matt Zoller Seitz of RogerEbert.com gave the film one-and-a-half out of four stars, stating that despite the potential for a revisionist King Arthur story with "[t]he Ritchie sense of style", the overall problem is the film's lack of modulation: "Ritchie keeps rushing us along for two hours, as if to make absolutely certain that we never have time to absorb any character or moment, much less revel in the glorious, cheeky ridiculousness of the whole thing."[40]

text: Alissa Wilkinson of Vox writes that the film is "surprisingly good, and surprisingly political" in relation to the British withdrawal from the European Union, and "occasionally, it's even pretty great".[41]


document_title: Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

question_text: how big does a king charles cavalier get

text: Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

text: History[edit]

text: During the early part of the 18th century, John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, kept red and white King Charles type spaniels for hunting. The duke recorded that they were able to keep up with a trotting horse. His estate was named Blenheim in honour of his victory at the Battle of Blenheim. Because of this influence, the red and white variety of the King Charles Spaniel and thus the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel became known as the Blenheim.[4]

text: Attempts were made to recreate the original Cavalier King Charles Spaniel as early as the turn of the 20th century, using the now extinct Toy Trawler Spaniels. These attempts were documented by Judith Blunt-Lytton, 16th Baroness Wentworth, in the book "Toy Dogs and Their Ancestors Including the History And Management of Toy Spaniels, Pekingese, Japanese and Pomeranians" published under the name of the "Hon. Mrs Neville Lytton" in 1911.[5]

text: Divergence from King Charles Spaniel[edit]

text: In 1926, the American Roswell Eldridge offered a dog show class prize of twenty-five pounds each as a prize for the best male and females of "Blenheim Spaniels of the old type, as shown in pictures of Charles II of England's time, long face, no stop, flat skull, not inclined to be domed, with spot in centre of skull."[6] The breeders of the era were appalled, although several entered what they considered to be sub-par Cavalier King Charles Spaniels in the competition. Eldridge died before seeing his plan come to fruition, but several breeders believed in what he said and in 1928 the first Cavalier club was formed.[6] The first standard was created, based on a dog named "Ann's Son" owned by Mostyn Walker,[7] and the Kennel Club recognised the variety as "King Charles Spaniels, Cavalier type".[6]

text: The Second World War caused a drastic setback to the emerging breed, with the vast majority of breeding stock destroyed because of wartime hardship and food shortages. For instance, in the Ttiweh Cavalier Kennel, the population of sixty dogs dropped to three during the 1940s.[8] Following the war, just six dogs would survive as the new beginning from which all present-day Cavaliers descend.[6] These dogs were Ann's Son, his litter brother Wizbang Timothy, Carlo of Ttiweh, Duce of Braemore, Kobba of Kuranda and Aristide of Ttiweh.[9] The numbers increased gradually, and in 1945[10] the Kennel Club first recognised the breed in its own right as the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.[6]

text: The history of the breed in America is relatively recent. The first recorded Cavalier living in the United States was brought from the United Kingdom in 1956 by W. Lyon Brown, together with Elizabeth Spalding and other enthusiasts, she founded the Cavalier King Charles Club USA which continues to the present day. In 1994, the American Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club was created by a group of breeders to apply for recognition by the American Kennel Club. The Cavalier would go on to be recognised by the American Kennel Club in 1995,[2] and the ACKCSC became the parent club for Cavaliers.[11]

text: Description[edit]

text: Historically the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel was a lap dog and is small for a spaniel, with fully grown adults comparable in size to adolescents of other larger spaniel breeds. Breed standards state that height of a Cavalier should be between 12 to 13 inches (30 to 33 cm) with a proportionate weight between 13 to 18 pounds (5.9 to 8.2 kg). The tail is usually not docked,[12] and the Cavalier should have a silky coat of moderate length. Standards state that it should be free from curl, although a slight wave is allowed. Feathering can grow on their ears, feet, legs and tail in adulthood. Standards require this be kept long, with the feathering on the feet a particularly important aspect of the breed's features.[12]

text: The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and the English Toy Spaniel can be often confused with each other. In the United Kingdom, the English Toy Spaniel is called the King Charles Spaniel while in the United States, one of the colours of the Toy Spaniel is known as King Charles. The two breeds share similar history and only diverged from each other about 100 years ago. There are several major differences between the two breeds, with the primary difference being the size. While the Cavalier weighs on average between 13 to 18 pounds (5.9 to 8.2 kg), the King Charles is smaller at 9 to 15 pounds (4.1 to 6.8 kg). In addition their facial features while similar, are different; the Cavalier's ears are set higher and its skull is flat while the King Charles's is domed. Finally the muzzle length of the Cavalier tends to be longer than that of its King Charles cousin.[6][13]

text: Colour[edit]

text: The breed has four recognized colours. Cavaliers which have rich chestnut markings on a pearly white background are known as Blenheim in honour of Blenheim Palace, where John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, raised the predecessors to the Cavalier breed in this particular colour. In some dogs there is a chestnut spot in the middle of the forehead: this is called the "Blenheim" spot.[14] The Blenheim spot is also known as the mark of the "Duchess Thumb Print", based on the legend that Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough while awaiting news of her husband's safe return from the Battle of Blenheim, pressed the head of an expecting dam with her thumb, resulting in five puppies bearing the lucky mark after news that the battle had been won.[15] Black and Tan are dogs with black bodies with tan highlights, particularly eyebrows, cheeks, legs and beneath the tail.[16] Black and Tan is referred to as "King Charles" in the King Charles Spaniel.[6] Ruby Cavaliers should be entirely chestnut all over,[1] although some can have some white in their coats which is considered a fault under American Kennel Club conformation show rules.[17] The fourth colour is known as Tricolour, which is black and white with tan markings on cheeks, inside ears,  on eyebrows, inside legs, and on underside of tail.[16] This colour is referred to as "Prince Charles" in the King Charles Spaniel.[6]

text:
Rich chestnut markings on a white pearly coat

Black-and-tan Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

Front and top view of Blenheim Spot

Cavalier King Charles Spaniel in the window

Portrait of a young female

Two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels

text: Popularity[edit]

text:
According to statistics released by The Kennel Club, Cavaliers were the sixth most popular dog in the United Kingdom in 2007 with 11,422 registrations in a single year. Labrador Retrievers were the most popular with 45,079 registrations in that year.[18] Their popularity is on the rise in America; in 1998 they were the 56th most popular breed but in both 2007 and 2008 they were the 25th most popular.[19] They ranked higher in some individual US cities in the 2008 statistics, being eighth in both Nashville and Minneapolis-St.Paul,[20] seventh in Boston, Atlanta[21] and Washington D.C.,[22] and sixth in both New York City[20] and San Francisco.[22] The breed's popularity has continued to grow, ranking in 18th place in 2013.[23]
In 2009, the Cavalier was the fourth most popular breed in Australia with 3,196 registrations behind only Labrador Retrievers, German Shepherd Dogs and Staffordshire Bull Terriers.[24] In addition, there are also national breed clubs in Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Spain and Sweden.[25]

text: Temperament[edit]

text: The breed is highly affectionate, playful, extremely patient and eager to please.  As such, dogs of the breed are good with children and other dogs.[2] Cavaliers are not shy about socialising with much larger dogs.[26] They will adapt quickly to almost any environment, family, and location and suit city and country life.[2] Their ability to bond with larger and smaller dogs makes them ideal in houses with more than one breed of dog as long as the other dog is trained. Cavaliers rank 44th in Stanley Coren's The Intelligence of Dogs, being of average intelligence in working or obedience. Cavaliers are naturally curious and playful, but also enjoy simply cuddling up on a cushion or lap, making them excellent companion or lap dogs for medical patients and the elderly.[27]

text: Cavaliers are active and sporting. Cavaliers are successful in conformation shows, obedience and agility and they also make wonderful therapy dogs due to their sweet, gentle natures.[2] The breed is adaptable in their need for exercise, happy with either sleeping on the couch or taking long walks.[2]

text: They have an instinct to chase most things that move including vehicles on busy streets, and so most Cavaliers will never become "street-wise".[28] As they tend to regard all strangers as friends, members of the breed will usually not make good guard dogs. Spaniels have a strong hunting instinct and may endanger birds and small animals. However, owners have reported that through training their Cavaliers live happily with a variety of small animals including hamsters and gerbils.[29]

text: The Cavalier's coat requires weekly brushing, but no trimming.[2] However, some owners prefer to trim their Cavalier's long feathers and slippers which can become very dirty when walking or playing outside.

text: Health[edit]

text:
Cavaliers can notably be prone to mitral valve disease, which leads to heart failure. This appears in many Cavaliers at some point in their lives and is the most common cause of death. Some serious genetic health problems, including early-onset mitral valve disease (MVD), the potentially severely painful syringomyelia (SM), hip dysplasia, luxating patellas, and certain vision and hearing disorders are health problems for this breed.[30] As today's Cavaliers all descend from only six dogs, any inheritable disease present in at least one of the original founding dogs can be passed on to a significant proportion of future generations. This is known as the founder effect and is the likely cause of the prevalence of MVD in the breed.[31] The health problems shared with this breed include mitral valve disease, luxating patella, and hereditary eye issues such as cataracts and retinal dysplasia.[32]
Cavaliers are also affected by ear problems, a common health problem among spaniels of various types, and they can have such other general conditions as hip dysplasia, which are common across many types of dog breeds.

text: Mitral valve disease[edit]

text: Nearly all Cavaliers eventually have mitral valve disease, with heart murmurs which may progressively worsen, leading to heart failure. This condition is polygenic (affected by multiple genes), and therefore all lines of Cavaliers worldwide are susceptible. It is the leading cause of death in the breed. A survey by The Kennel Club of the United Kingdom showed that 42.8% of Cavalier deaths are cardiac related. The next most common causes are cancer (12.3%) and old age (12.2%).[33] The condition can begin to emerge at an early age and statistically may be expected to be present in more than half of all Cavalier King Charles Spaniels by age 5. It is rare for a 10-year-old Cavalier not to have a heart murmur. While heart disease is common in dogs generally – one in 10 of all dogs will eventually have heart problems – mitral valve disease is generally (as in humans) a disease of old age. The "hinge" on the heart's mitral valve loosens and can gradually deteriorate, along with the valve's flaps, causing a heart murmur (as blood seeps through the valve between heartbeats) then congestive heart failure. The Cavalier is particularly susceptible to early-onset heart disease, which may be evident in dogs as young as one or two years of age.[34]

text: Veterinary geneticists and cardiologists have developed breeding guidelines to eliminate early-onset mitral valve disease in the breed, but it is unclear if a statistically significant number of breeders follow these guidelines.[35] The chairperson of the UK CKCS Club said in 2009: "There are many members who are still not prepared to health check their breeding stock, and of those who do, it would appear that many would not hesitate to breed from affected animals."[36] The MVD breeding protocol recommends that parents should be at least 2.5 years old and heart clear, and their parents (i.e., the puppy's grandparents) should be heart clear until age 5.[37]

text: Syringomyelia[edit]

text: Syringomyelia (SM) is a condition affecting the brain and spine, causing symptoms ranging from mild discomfort to severe pain and partial paralysis. It is caused by a malformation, commonly known as Chiari Malformation, in the lower back of the skull which reduces the space available to the brain, compressing it and often forcing it out (herniating it) through the opening into the spinal cord. This blocks the flow of cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) around the brain and spine and increases the fluid's pressure, creating turbulence which in turn is believed to create fluid pockets, or syrinxes (hence the term syringomyelia), in the spinal cord. Syringomyelia is rare in most breeds but has become widespread in the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, with international research samples in the past few years consistently showing over 90% of Cavaliers have the malformation, and that between 30–70% have syrinxes.[38] However, most dogs with syrinxes are not symptomatic.  Although symptoms of syringomyelia can present at any age, they typically appear between six months and four years of age in 85% of symptomatic dogs, according to Clare Rusbridge, a research scientist. Symptoms include sensitivity around the head, neck, or shoulders, often indicated by a dog whimpering or frequently scratching at the area of his neck or shoulder.  Scratching is often unilateral – restricted to one side of the body.  Scratching motions are frequently performed without actually making physical contact with the body ("air scratching").  The scratching behavior appears involuntary and the dog frequently scratches while walking – without stopping – in a way that is very atypical of normal scratching ("bunny hopping").  Scratching typical of SM is usually worse when the dog is wearing a collar, is being walked on leash, or is excited, and first thing in the morning or at night.[39]

text: Not all dogs with SM show scratching behavior.  Not all dogs who show scratching behavior appear to be in pain, though several leading researchers, including Dr Clare Rusbridge in the UK and Drs Curtis Dewey and Dominic Marino in the US, believe scratching in SM cavaliers is a sign of pain and discomfort and of existing neurological damage to the dorsal horn region of the spine.  If onset is at an early age, a first sign may be scratching and/or rapidly appearing scoliosis.  If the problem is severe, there is likely to be poor proprioception (awareness of body position), especially with regard to the forelimbs.  Clumsiness and falling results from this problem. Progression is variable though the majority of dogs showing symptoms by age four tend to see progression of the condition.[39]

text: A veterinarian will rule out basic causes of scratching or discomfort such as ear mites, fleas, and allergies, and then, primary secretory otitis media (PSOM – glue ear), as well as spinal or limb injuries, before assuming that a Cavalier has SM.  PSOM can present similar symptoms but is much easier and cheaper to treat.[40] Episodic Falling Syndrome can also present similar symptoms. An MRI scan is normally done to confirm diagnosis of SM (and also will reveal PSOM). If a veterinarian suspects SM he or she will recommend an MRI scan.  Neurologists give scanned dogs a signed certificate noting its grade.[39]

text: Episodic Falling (EF)[edit]

text: Episodic Falling causes "exercise-induced paroxysmal hypertonicity" meaning that there is increased muscle tone in the dog and the muscles cannot relax. Previously thought to be a muscular disorder, it is now known to be neurological. EF is caused by a single recessive gene, and a genetic test is available.[41] Except for severe cases, episodes will be in response to exercise, excitement or similar exertions. Although EF is often misdiagnosed as epilepsy, which typically results in loss of consciousness, the dog remains conscious throughout the episode.[42] Severity of symptoms can range from mild, occasional falling to freezing to seizure-like episodes lasting hours. Episodes can become more or less severe as the dog gets older and there is no standard pattern to the attacks. The onset of symptoms usually occurs when a dog is between 4 months and 4 years of age.[41] It is similar to Scotty Cramp, a genetic disorder in Scottish Terriers.[43] About 1% of Cavaliers are affected by the condition, with 19% being carriers. Dogs with whole coloured coats were more likely to be affected than dogs with parti-coloured coats.[44]

text: Thrombocytopenia and macrothrombocytopenia[edit]

text: As many as half of all Cavalier King Charles Spaniels may have a congenital blood disorder called idiopathic asymptomatic thrombocytopenia, an abnormally low number of platelets in the blood, according to recent studies in Denmark and the United States. Platelets, or thrombocytes, are disk-shaped blood elements which aid in blood clotting. Excessively low numbers are the most common cause of bleeding disorders in dogs. The platelets in the blood of many Cavalier King Charles Spaniels are a combination of those of normal size for dogs and others that are abnormally oversized, or macrothrombocytes. Macrothrombocytosis also is a congenital abnormality found in at least a third of CKCSs. These large platelets function normally, and the typical Cavalier does not appear to experience any health problems due to either the size or fewer numbers of its platelets.[45]

text: Hip and knee disorders[edit]

text: Hip dysplasia is a common genetic disease that affects Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. It is not present at birth but develops with age. Hip dysplasia is diagnosed by X-rays, but it is not usually evident in X-rays of Cavaliers until they mature. Even in adult spaniels with severe hip dysplasia, X-rays may not always indicate the disease.[46] In a series of evaluations by the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals, the Cavalier was ranked 78th worst out of 157 breeds. The worst affected breeds were the Bulldog, Pug and Dogue de Bordeaux.[47]

text: Cavaliers can be subject to a genetic defect of the femur and knee called luxating patella. This condition is most often observed when a puppy is 4 to 6 months old. In the most serious cases, surgery may be indicated. The grading system for the patella runs from 1 (a tight knee), to 4 (a knee so loose that its cap is easily displaced). If a cavalier has a grade 1–2, physical rehabilitation therapy and exercise may reduce the grading and potentially avoid surgery. The grades 3–4 are most severe where surgery will most likely be needed to correct the problem to avoid the development of arthritis and lameness in the limb.[48]

text: Eye problems[edit]

text: A disorder commonly found in Cavaliers is keratoconjunctivitis sicca, colloquially known as "dry eye". The usual cause of this condition is an autoimmune reaction against the dog's lacrimal gland (tear gland), reducing the production of tears. According to the Canine Inherited Disorders Database, the condition requires continual treatment and if untreated may result in partial or total blindness.[49] This disorder can decrease or heal over time.[50]

text: A 1999 study of Cavaliers conducted by the Canine Eye Registration Foundation showed that an average of 30% of all Cavalier King Charles Spaniels evaluated had eye problems.[51] They include hereditary cataracts, corneal dystrophy, distichiasis, entropion, microphthalmia, progressive retinal atrophy, and retinal dysplasia.[52]

text: Ear disorders[edit]

text: Primary Secretory Otitis Media (PSOM), also known as glue ear, consists of a highly viscous mucus plug which fills the dog's middle ear and may cause the tympanic membrane to bulge. PSOM has been reported almost exclusively in Cavaliers, and it may affect over half of them. Because the pain and other sensations in the head and neck areas, resulting from PSOM, are similar to some symptoms caused by syringomyelia (SM), some examining veterinarians have mis-diagnosed SM in Cavaliers which actually have PSOM and not SM.[53]

text: Cavalier King Charles Spaniels may be predisposed to a form of congenital deafness, which is present at birth, due to a lack of formation or early degeneration of receptors in the inner ear, although this is relatively rare.  In addition, more recent studies have found Cavaliers that develop a progressive hearing loss, which usually begins during puppyhood and progresses until the dog is completely deaf, usually between the ages of three and five years.  The progressive nature of this form of deafness in Cavaliers is believed to be caused by degeneration of the hearing nerve rather than the lack of formation or early degeneration of the inner ear receptors.[54]

text: Urban legend[edit]

text: An urban legend claims that Charles II issued a special decree granting King Charles Spaniels permission to enter any establishment in the UK,[55][56] overriding "no dog except guide dogs" rules.  A variant of this myth relates specifically to the Houses of Parliament.[57][58] This myth is sometimes instead applied to the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.[59]

text: The UK Parliament website states: "Contrary to popular rumour, there is no Act of Parliament referring to King Charles spaniels being allowed anywhere in the Palace of Westminster. We are often asked this question and have thoroughly researched it."[57] Similarly, there is no proof of any such law covering the wider UK.  A spokesman for the Kennel Club said: "This law has been quoted from time to time. It is alleged in books that King Charles made this decree but our research hasn't tracked it down."[55]


document_title: Pandyan Grama Bank

question_text: who is the sponsoring bank for the pandian gramin bank

text: Pandyan Grama Bank

text: This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

tag: table

text:
Pandyan Grama Bank

Type

Public

Industry
Banking, Financial services

Founded
1976

Headquarters
Virudhunagar, Tamil Nadu, India

Area served

16 districts

Key people

Shri. N.RAVICHANDRAN
(Chairman )

Products
Financial Services

Net income

₹74.63 crore (US$12 million)(March 2017)

Owner
Govt of India , Govt of TN and Indian Overseas Bank

Website
www.pandyangramabank.in

text: Pandyan Grama Bank (Tamil: பாண்டியன் கிராம வங்கி) is a Scheduled public sector bank in Tamil Nadu established under Regional Rural Bank Act 1976. It was founded on 9 March 1977 at Sattur, then later shifted to Virudhunagar on 16 July 1993. It had been issued and paid up a share capital of one crore of rupees by Government of Tamil Nadu (15%), Government of India (50%) & Indian Overseas Bank(35%).[1] Primary objective of the bank is to finance for agricultural and non-agricultural sectors in rural area. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) had awarded an A rating to Pandyan Grama Bank in recognition of its performance.

text: Operations[edit]

text: Pandyan Grama Bank has its own Administrative Office at Collectorate Complex Virudhunagar. It has five Regional Offices at Virudhunagar, Sivagangai, Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli and Thanjavur. It operates in 16 districts Virudhunagar, Sivagangai, Ramanathapuram, Pudukottai, Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli, Kanyakumari, Madurai, Theni, Dindigul, Trichy, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Ariyalur and Perambalur with 313 branches in Tamil Nadu as on 09.03.2017.

text: Achievements[edit]

text: Pandyan Grama Bank(PGB) received the Best Performance award from NABARD. It was recognized as a model institution by NABARD for hosting exposure visits on SHGs and JLGs. NABARD also awarded PGB with 'A' grade for their performance. In addition to banking, PGB also hosts Insurance business in co-operation with LIC and Universal Sampo by providing their products in its branches. It is one of the fastest growing rural banks in India as identified by Reserve Bank.