Ginger McCain - A grand legacy

HE ALWAYS had something to say, however controversial or funny it might have been.  However, there aren’t many trainers around in horse racing like Ginger McCain, and it is unlikely that we will see any more like him again.  McCain’s brave battle with cancer ended as he passed away peacefully in his sleep on Monday morning.  He was 80, just two days short of his 81^st birthday.  Ginger’s dedication into saving the Grand National in the 1970s and the relationship with legendary racehorse Red Rum will always be fondly remembered.  Sadly, he is no more.

     Mick Fitzgerald, who won the Grand National on Rough Quest in 1996 and rode for McCain on many occasions, summed up the feelings of many when hearing the news.  He told Sky Sports News; “Everytime anyone had anything negative to say about the Grand National, you could almost see Ginger’s blood boil.  He would fight for the National – as far as he was concerned, it was the world’s greatest horse race.”  Few could argue with that sentiment.

     Ginger McCain will always been best known for being the trainer of the greatest horse to have ever lived, Red Rum.  Although there have been great jump horses in more recent times, such as Desert Orchid, Best Mate and Kauto Star; none can hold a candle to Red Rum.  McCain would train Red Rum on a beach near Liverpool and the fond relationship between the pair would end up culminating in the greatest combination to have ever graced the Grand National.  Red Rum won the world’s greatest steeplechase three times for McCain, in 1973, 1974 and 1977.  He finished second in the same event in 1975 and 1976.  They still had a close relationship until 1995, when Red Rum was put down and buried on the Aintree racecourse.  There will only be one Red Rum, as he once famously said; “Losing the wife?  There are 2.5million women in this country – what a daft thing to say – but there was, and always will be, only one Red Rum.”

     Legendary retired horse racing commentator Peter O’Sullevan summed up the relationship, telling the BBC of the legacy between the pair; “Red Rum had very delicate, tender feet and had been with several skilful trainers before Ginger bought him.  Of course, he trained on the sands at Southport.  I don’t think we’d ever have heard of Red Rum if he’d gone anywhere else.  He will always be remembered for Red Rum – and rightly so because he and the horse appeared absolutely at the right time and were very much instrumental in saving the National at a period when it was very much in peril.”

     Red Rum wasn’t McCain only success in the Grand National and his legendary status was ensured when he won the race for the fourth time with Graeme Lee onboard, taking the spoils on Amberleigh House in 2004.  Only Fred Rimell can claim to have had as much success in the training stakes at the National.  Two years later, Ginger trained three horses in his final National before handing over control of his racing license and stables to his son, Donald.

      This April, a rather frail Ginger McCain would make his final appearance at Aintree, but would see success as Donald won his first National as a trainer.  Ballabriggs and Jason Maguire took the honours.  After the race, he said this about his son; “He’s bred to do the job and he’s done it, so why should I be proud of him?  Of course I’m very proud; he’s a bloody good trainer.”

     Despite never winning an event at the Cheltenham Festival, it is the Grand National that will always be remembered with Ginger McCain’s legacy.  Top jockey AP McCoy wrote on Twitter his thoughts on the sad loss of a racing great; “Sad to hear about the death of Aintree legend Ginger McCain, trainer of the great Red Rum.  My thoughts are with his family.  R.I.P.”

Ginger McCain - 21 September 1930 - 19 September 2011

     Born in Southport in 1930, Ginger McCain began training horses way back in 1962, using small stables behind his used-car store in the area.  He didn’t do bad then to win four Nationals and be part of some of Aintree’s greatest memories.  Horse racing has lost one of its most colourful figures and it now feels fitting that Ginger was there this year to see his son continue the proud McCain tradition of success at the Grand National.  He will be sorely missed by everyone in horse racing and next year’s Grand National meeting won’t quite feel the same without the presence of Ginger McCain – A Grand Legacy.

Ginger McCain – 21 September 1930 – 19 September 2011 - RIP

The UEFA Europa League - Is there any point in it?

By Simon Wright (Personal viewpoint)

EUROPE’s second premier club competition began last night, as the third edition of the UEFA Europa League returned.  However, is there any prestige in this competition for let’s be honest; the second-rate sides in European club football.

     The UEFA Europa League made its debut on the football scene in the 2009/10 season, following the decision to restructure the even worse UEFA Cup.  Back in the 90s, there were three European competitions, which were merged into two in 1999, when the Cup Winners Cup was ditched.  The old UEFA Cup format had an opening first round, a tedious and pathetic second group phase where losing two of your four group matches was normally okay to progress, then more knockout football until a predictably drab final.  British success in this competition was fairly normal though, with Liverpool winning it in 2001 following that amazing 5-4 final against Alaves in Dortmund.  Both Celtic and Middlesbrough made it all the way to the final and if it wasn’t for UEFA Cup glory in 2003, the name Jose Mourinho would still largely have been unheard of. 

     The new format of the Europa League does make the competition a bit more entertaining to watch, despite the demanding schedule.  Four qualifying rounds are followed by 48 teams proceeding into a typical group stage.  Twelve groups of four teams, with the sides competing playing each other home and away, like the Champions League.  After Christmas, the 24 sides that ended first and second go into the third round, joined by the eight ‘lucky losers’ who finished third in their UEFA Champions League groups.  From there on, knockout football takes place until the final at the beginning of May, which this year, will be held in Bucharest, Romania.  The final play-off round this year saw the likes of AS Roma, Sevilla, Panathinaikos and Palermo knocked out before even reaching the group phase; teams you would expect to be around in the final reckoning.

    This season, Britain will be represented by five sides.  After winning the Carling Cup in February, Birmingham City enter Europe, despite playing in the Npower Championship.  After reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League last season, Harry Redknapp’s Tottenham start rightfully as favourites.  Two years after their historic run to the final in Hamburg under Roy Hodgson, Fulham are back in the Europa League, with Martin Jol in charge.  Stoke City embark on their first continental campaign in over 40 years, a fitting reward for their run to the FA Cup final last season.  Finally, Celtic earnt a reprieve into the competition, after the side that beat them in the final playoff round; FC Sion, were expelled for fielding ineligible players against the Scottish side.  However, it wasn’t a great start for the British teams last night in the opening set of fixtures.  Celtic lost 2-0 to Atletico Madrid, Fulham were held 1-1 at home by dangerous Dutch side FC Twente, Birmingham got soundly beaten 3-1 at home by last year’s uninspiring runners-up Sporting Braga, Tottenham escaped with a 0-0 draw from Greece against PAOK Salonika and Stoke held Dynamo Kiev to a 1-1 stalemate in the Ukraine, coming so close to a historic win.

     With the extra demand on playing Thursday nights and Sunday afternoons every fortnight, most Premiership managers will see it being a poisoned chalice rather than a reward to play in the UEFA Europa League and I can’t blame them.  For example, my team Liverpool missed out on European football this season for the first time since 2000.  Although the club won’t get any of those special Euro evenings at Anfield, lose a bit of income from television revenue and ticket sales, it is predicted that Kenny Dalglish will see a major benefit for not being in an extra competition which, providing going all the way, will consist of another 20 matches!  Not only does it mean that Liverpool can focus more on the domestic cup competitions, but it provides a far clearer run than say Tottenham in the fight for fourth place in the Premiership. 

     Despite the added demand, I’m disappointed that many clubs, not just English ones don’t treat the competition with the respect it does deserve.  Once you are in it, you should do what you can to win it and it can provide memorable moments for the fans.  The UEFA Europa League is the perfect competition to blood some of the youngsters in your squad into battle.  Harry Redknapp has sent this message across already, by controversially leaving the gifted Rafael van der Vaart out of his 25-man Europa squad until the knockout stages at the earliest.  Although I admire Harry’s determination to play the youngsters, he hasn’t got the right balance.  After all, the fans and TV viewers want to see the likes of Bale, Lennon, van der Vaart, Defoe and Modric – not Livermore, Kane, Obika and Cudicini.  Youth policy has worked in this competition before.  Chris Smalling would never got his move to Manchester United had he not featured for Fulham in the early stages of the 2009/10 competition and Hodgson used the group stages to gives the likes of Martin Kelly, Jonjo Shelvey and Jay Spearing a chance in Liverpool’s first team last season; without compensating for a swift early exit too.  I love to see youth given a go, but it is frustrating to see some treat it better than others and that leads me to the question; if you don’t want to take it seriously, don’t bother qualifying for it.

     This season’s competition does have the likes of Atletico Madrid, PSV Eindhoven, Sporting Lisbon, Schalke 04 and PSG – but they aren’t the Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea, Bayern Munich and AC Milan of today’s world.  I think UEFA have found the right balance and don’t need to make swift changes to the UEFA Europa League.  It works well but should be taken far more seriously.  Otherwise, you have to question its general worth.  Channel Five don’t bite!

Transfer deadline day - Intriguing, but many stars stay put

THE transfer deadline has passed and many clubs were forced into the market on deadline day on Wednesday in a desperate attempt to strengthen their squads until January.

    Having received stiff criticism for the lack of new signings this summer, combined with the departures of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri to Barcelona and Manchester City respectively, a lot of attention was placed on Arsenal’s activities.  Arsene Wenger didn’t disappoint, with five new signings, though the fans might be disappointed to see no world class star come to the Emirates before closure at 11pm.  The top signing he made was the £10million capture of playmaker Mikel Arteta from Everton.  Arteta, who had revealed to BBC Football Focus presenter Dan Walker about his desire to stay at Goodison Park only ten days earlier has made the move to North London and faces big shoes to fill in the void left by Fabregas.  Wenger also strengthened his backline with the captures of big German defender Per Mertesacker from Werder Bremen and talented Brazilian left-back Andre Santos, who leaves behind Fenerbache in the wake of a match-fixing scandal that has engulfed Turkish football.  Also completing moves to Arsenal were Korean attacker Park Chu-Young from AS Monaco and out-of-favour Chelsea midfielder Yossi Benayoun.  Benayoun’s deal is a loan move, with a view to a permanent switch and it is a surprise to see Chelsea be happy to loan players out to a London rival.

    Chelsea did some late business themselves, but it wasn’t the player everyone thought might leave their club.  Despite offering £30million, plus Brazilian set-piece bullet Alex, Tottenham Hotspur rejected Chelsea’s final attempt to land Luka Modric.  For now, Modric stays at Tottenham, but whether he will have the same impact on the North London side remains to be seen, as it seemed like he was keen to make the exit for Chelsea.  So, Chelsea turned their attentions to Liverpool’s Raul Meireles.  Just half an hour before the window shut, Meireles handed in a shock transfer request to Liverpool.  Less than an hour later, he was a Chelsea player.  The midfielder, who scored Liverpool’s winner at Stamford Bridge in the Premiership back in February signed for £12million and gets to work again with new Blues boss Andre-Vilas Boas, which was the main reason for his departure from Anfield.  His conduct is sure to have angered Liverpool fans though, maybe even more so than Fernando Torres after the Spanish striker’s acrimonious departure back in January to Chelsea.

BACK: Craig Bellamy will be hoping for a fruitful second spell at Anfield

      As Meireles was saying his rushed goodbyes, Craig Bellamy was returning to Stanley Park.  Bellamy, who spent one unhappy season in the Rafa Benitez regime (2007-08) signs for Liverpool on a free transfer from Manchester City.  He spent last season on loan at Cardiff City and will provide stiff competition for Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll in the Liverpool attack.  With Bellamy arriving, David N’Gog was deemed surplus to requirements and sold to Bolton Wanderers for £4million.  Also leaving Liverpool were Christian Poulsen, who joined newly promoted French side Evian and Joe Cole, who will be desperate to kick-start his career again with a season-long loan move to Lille.  Will the anticipation of Champions League football push Cole back into the England fold?

     Another winger desperate to get the attention again from Fabio Capello is Shaun Wright-Phillips.  His second spell at Manchester City has ended and it was QPR who beat off stiff competition from Bolton and Stoke City to his signature.  It was a busy few hours for Neil Warnock, who also added Jason Puncheon from Blackpool and Anton Ferdinand from Sunderland to his squad.  Sebastian Bassong was another target, but having waited in West London all day, he was told to return to Tottenham as a potential move for Bolton’s Gary Cahill collapsed over personal terms.  Bassong might be frustrated by these events, but Harry Redknapp was in a charitable move, allowing no less than five players to leave the White Hart Lane roster.

AMBITION: Crouch's move signals Stoke have serious plans

     Alan Hutton and Jermaine Jenas have moved to Aston Villa.  Hutton’s is a permanent deal, worth around £2million, whilst Jenas goes to Villa Park on a loan deal.  David Bentley’s stalled career will be hoping to regain some momentum with recently relegated West Ham United.  Talented youngster Henri Lansbury’s loan move to Upton Park from Arsenal paved the way for PFA Player of the Year, Scott Parker to make a £5million move to Tottenham.  Spurs also sold Wilson Palacios and Peter Crouch, with the pair going to Stoke City for a joint fee of £20million.  These signatures, plus that of Cameron Jerome from Birmingham City have shown how far Stoke are coming as a force in the Premiership.

     Having lost their first three Premiership matches, Steve Kean pulled out one of the deals of the day, by bringing Scott Dann to Blackburn from Birmingham for an undisclosed fee.  Dann’s injury which ended his season at Christmas last year was one of the main factors towards Birmingham’s relegation from the Premiership.  However, Kean’s purchase of Yakubu from Everton has to be seen as questionable.  Yakubu might score a few goals, but his attitude has never endeared himself to anyone.  It was a tough day for Everton, who also sold Jermaine Beckford to rich-spending Leicester City for £3million.  Despite Royston Drenthe’s loan move from Real Madrid, David Moyes knows he needs investment from foreign owners soon and so too do the fans, otherwise it could be a similar story in January.  Other notable transfers included Gael Kakuta joined Bolton on a season’s long loan deal from Chelsea, Shaun Maloney ending a frustrating stint at Celtic to go to Wigan for a cool £1million and Bryan Ruiz’s club-record £10.5million swap from FC Twente to Fulham.

     Although key names such as Modric and Tevez ended up staying at their current owners and it didn’t quite have the impact of the January deadline day, it was an intriguing day, right up to the last minute.  Let’s see what impact these new signings will have for those who’ve spent the cash!

20 years of the FA Premier League - Part 4

2007/08

PREMIERSHIP title no.10 arrived for Manchester United on the final day of the season and in fitting fashion too.  Ryan Giggs, who had featured and scored in every Premier League campaign, came off the bench to score the second goal in a 2-0 success at Wigan Athletic.  They held off Chelsea’s challenge, as the Blues drew 1-1 at home to Bolton Wanderers.  More agony faced the West Londoners in the Champions League final; beaten by United on penalties in the Moscow showpiece, which led to Avram Grant’s sacking.  Both established frontrunners had sluggish starts to the season.  The Red Devils failed to win any of their first three matches, while Jose Mourinho resigned from Chelsea in mid-September following some dodgy results and more pressure on transfers from the interfering Roman Abramovich.  For a long while, it looked like the youngsters from Arsenal were going to get over the finish line.  Despite losing Thierry Henry in the summer to Barcelona, the Gunners strolled into an advantage as big as seven points at one stage.  However, a horrific double leg fracture for Croatian striker Eduardo seconds into the match with Birmingham City on February 22 totally derailed their challenge.  Arsene Wenger made some poisonous comments about Birmingham centre-back Martin Taylor, who made the accidental challenge on Eduardo and William Gallas furious reaction to a late penalty for the home side didn’t go down well either.  Arsenal fell away in the final two months, and ultimately slipped to third, but only four points behind the champions.  Chelsea kept piling on the pressure, helped by a crucial 2-1 win over Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on April 26, but the form of Cristiano Ronaldo was pivotal to Man Utd’s success.  Ronaldo scored a remarkable 42 goals in all competitions, 31 of these in the Premiership.  They kept their noses infront all the way to the final day win at the JJB Stadium.  Liverpool finished fourth, but had a new hero in Fernando Torres to cheer on.  ‘El Nino,’ scored 24 Premiership goals in his debut season.  At the bottom of the league, Derby County became the first side to be relegated at the end of March and ended up with the worst points tally ever.  They won just one game all season; 1-0 at home to Newcastle United in September.  Under Roy Hodgson, Fulham managed the great escape, with four wins in their last five matches.  Danny Murphy headed a dramatic late winner at Portsmouth on the final weekend, with his winner sending both Reading and Birmingham City down to the Championship, despite both relegated clubs winning big on the final day. 

CHAMPIONS: Manchester United, 2^nd: Chelsea 3^rd: Arsenal, 4^th: Liverpool 5^th: Everton, 6^th: Aston Villa, 7^th: Blackburn Rovers, 8^th; Portsmouth, 9^th: Manchester City, 10^th: West Ham United

RELEGATED: Reading, Birmingham City, Derby County

BIGGEST WIN: Middlesbrough 8-1 Manchester City (11 May 2008)

HIGHEST SCORING GAMES: Portsmouth 7-4 Reading (30 September 2007), Tottenham Hotspur 6-4 Reading (29 December 2007), Middlesbrough 8-1 Manchester City (11 May 2008)

SCORERS: Ronaldo (Manchester United) 31, Adebayor (Arsenal) 24, Torres (Liverpool) 24, Santa Cruz (Blackburn) 19, Berbatov (Tottenham) 15, Yakubu (Everton) 15, Benjani (Portsmouth & Manchester City) 15, Keane (Tottenham) 15, Tevez (Manchester United) 14, Carew (Aston Villa) 13, Rooney (Manchester United) 12, Defoe (Tottenham & Portsmouth) 12, Gerrard (Liverpool) 11

2008/09

FOR the second time in Premiership history, Manchester United managed to win three successive league titles.  A 0-0 draw at home to Arsenal on the final Saturday of the season was enough to see them over the finishing line.  They were pushed all the way by a much-improved Liverpool side, who recorded their highest ever Premiership points tally on the way to second spot.  Rafa Benitez would lookback on some silly home draws against the likes of Stoke City, Hull City and Fulham which ultimately cost them the title.  Liverpool lost only two games all season (away at Tottenham and Middlesbrough), and held a five point lead at the turn of the year, but a succession of draws in January gave Manchester United the chance to overhaul the lead the Reds had built-up.  Benitez ranted about United’s record of arguing with referees, which made the battle between the two clubs even more personal.  The deciding results were three games in April.  After losing 1-4 at home to Liverpool at Old Trafford, then 2-0 at Fulham the following week, United needed a stoppage time winner from teenager Federico Macheda to beat a fading Aston Villa side 3-2 at the beginning of the month.  A fortnight later, Liverpool dropped points in a pulsating 4-4 draw with Arsenal, in which Andrei Arshavin scored all four goals for the visitors in a stunning individual performance.  Four days later, inspired by Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov and Carlos Tevez, Manchester United stormed back from 2-0 down to beat Tottenham 5-2 at Old Trafford.  Later results didn’t matter and it was a special title for United, as they equalled Liverpool’s record of 18 league championships.  Chelsea struggled for most of the season and sacked the unpopular Luis Felipe Scolari in February, following a dismal draw at home to Hull City.  Guus Hiddink took temporary charge and improved results helped the men from West London finish third and win the FA Cup.  On transfer deadline day, Manchester City got bought by the Abu Dhabi United group, turning them into one of the richest football clubs in the world.  Although they only finished mid-table this campaign, they showed the flexible wealth by persuading temperamental Robinho to join from Real Madrid in a new British transfer record deal; £32.5million.  It was a terrible season on Tyneside, as Sunderland only just survived, while both Newcastle United and Middlesbrough were relegated.  Newcastle’s demise came under four managers, and not even club legend Alan Shearer could save the club from the drop.  Newcastle’s final day relegation meant despite winning only one of their last 17 matches, Hull City survived.  Cue Phil Brown’s horrific singing!  Tottenham sacked Juande Ramos after only managing two points in their first eight games, but Harry Redknapp left Portsmouth to steer the club to eighth, behind Fulham, who managed seventh and their best ever finish in the top flight.    

CHAMPIONS: Manchester United, 2^nd: Liverpool 3^rd: Chelsea, 4^th: Arsenal 5^th: Everton, 6^th: Aston Villa, 7^th: Fulham, 8^th; Tottenham, 9^th: West Ham United, 10^th: Manchester City

RELEGATED: Newcastle United, Middlesbrough, West Brom

BIGGEST WIN: Manchester City 6-0 Portsmouth (21 September 2008)

HIGHEST SCORING GAMES: Arsenal 4-4 Tottenham Hotspur (29 October 2008), Liverpool 4-4 Arsenal (21 April 2009), Manchester United 5-2 Tottenham Hotspur (25 April 2009)

SCORERS: Anelka (Chelsea) 19, Ronaldo (Manchester United) 18, Gerrard (Liverpool) 16, Robinho (Manchester City) 14, Torres (Liverpool) 14, Rooney (Manchester United) 12, Kuyt (Liverpool) 12, Lampard (Chelsea) 12, Agbonlahor (Aston Villa) 12, Bent (Tottenham) 12, Davies (Bolton) 12, Van Persie (Arsenal) 11, Carew (Aston Villa) 11, Fuller (Stoke City) 11, Crouch (Portsmouth) 11

2009/10

THE world of football was rocked by Cristiano Ronaldo’s record transfer fee departure from Manchester United to Real Madrid for £80million before the start of the season.  The game also lost the great Sir Bobby Robson, who passed away after a long, brave fight with cancer in July.  Manchester City continued to flex their muscles in the transfer market, bringing in Gareth Barry, Joleon Lescott, Emmanuel Adebayor and controversially, Carlos Tevez in the summer.  Mark Hughes was sacked in December, after a run of eight successive Premiership draws, a new record.  Roberto Mancini was installed as new boss, but City lost out on a Champions League spot, following a 0-1 loss at home to rivals Tottenham in the final week of the season.  Tottenham finished in the lucrative position ahead of City, Aston Villa and Liverpool, who finished in their worst position in the league since 1999.  Rafa Benitez parted company with the club the following summer.  Once again, Arsenal’s title challenge faded in the closing stages of the season, which included a dramatic collapse away to Wigan Athletic in mid-April.  2-0 up with ten minutes to go at the DW Stadium, the Gunners somehow lost 3-2; a result which kept Wigan in the Premiership.  Burnley, Hull City and Portsmouth were the three clubs who were relegated at the end of the season.  Despite beating Manchester United in their first home Premiership match at Turf Moor, the Clarets lost manager Owen Coyle to Bolton Wanderers in the New Year in acrimonious circumstances.  With it was a loss of form, which saw them, condemned to the drop at the end of April.  It was even worse for Portsmouth, as their financial mess unravelled during the season.  In February, Pompey became the first club in the history of this era to enter administration and hence earn themselves a nine point deduction.  For Avram Grant, it was mission impossible and he went to West Ham United at the end of the season; once the Hammers board decided to crush Gianfranco Zola’s morale and dismiss him.  Another side that impressed in the season were Birmingham City.  Under Alex McLeish, the side went on the longest unbeaten run of the season, which stood at 12 games between late October and the end of January.  The Blues finished a commendable ninth.  At the top of the table, it was Chelsea and Manchester United who once again took the title battle down to the final day of the season.  Carlo Ancelotti’s side were one point clear at the start of play and ultimately didn’t have to worry about matters.  The Blues crushed Wigan 8-0 at Stamford Bridge, with Didier Drogba hitting a hat-trick to secure himself the Golden Boot.  It meant Manchester United had to settle for runners-up spot, despite a 4-0 trouncing of Stoke City at Old Trafford.  For the third time in Premiership history, in Ancelotti’s first season and with over 100 goals too, Chelsea became Premiership champions.  

CHAMPIONS: Chelsea, 2^nd: Manchester United 3^rd: Arsenal, 4^th: Tottenham 5^th: Manchester City, 6^th: Aston Villa, 7^th: Liverpool, 8^th; Everton, 9^th: Birmingham City, 10^th: Blackburn Rovers

RELEGATED: Burnley, Hull City, Portsmouth

BIGGEST WIN: Tottenham Hotspur 9-1 Wigan Athletic (22 November 2009)

HIGHEST SCORING GAMES: Tottenham Hotspur 9-1 Wigan Athletic (22 November 2009), Chelsea 7-2 Sunderland (18 January 2010), Chelsea 8-0 Wigan Athletic (9 May 2010)

SCORERS: Drogba (Chelsea) 29, Rooney (Manchester United) 26, Bent (Sunderland) 24, Tevez (Manchester City) 23, Lampard (Chelsea) 22, Defoe (Tottenham) 18, Torres (Liverpool) 18, Fabregas (Arsenal) 15, Adebayor (Manchester City) 14, Agbonlahor (Aston Villa) 13, Saha (Everton) 13, Malouda (Chelsea) 12, Berbatov (Manchester United) 12, Anelka (Chelsea) 11

2010/11

WAYNE Rooney had a largely troubled season, but his 76^th minute penalty on May 14 earnt Manchester United a 1-1 draw at Blackburn Rovers; good enough for United’s 19^th league title, overtaking Liverpool’s long-standing record.  They did it, despite only winning five games away from home all season, with the lowest points tally to win the league since 1997/98.  However, only newly promoted West Brom managed to take a point from Old Trafford all season in the league.  Despite finishing second, Chelsea sacked Carlo Ancelotti at the end of the season, after a fairly unconvincing campaign.  For long periods, it was Arsenal who became Manchester United’s closest challengers, but once again, they screwed up dramatically in the run-in.  Wenger’s side were knocked out of three cup competitions in 11 days, threw away a 4-0 lead to draw 4-4 at Newcastle in February and only two wins in their last ten league matches saw them drop to fourth and out of the automatic Champions League qualifying spots.  This meant that despite uncertainty about the future of Carlos Tevez, Manchester City stole third place, their best ever Premiership finish.  Tevez ended joint top scorer with Dimitar Berbatov for the season, and to cap things off for Roberto Mancini’s side, they won the FA Cup too.  It was a miserable season for Liverpool, who looked like they were going to be in a relegation battle in mid-season.  Roy Hodgson was sacked after an unhappy six months in the job, Fernando Torres was sold to Chelsea on deadline day for a record £50million and unpopular owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks had to sell the club in October despite numerous attempts to stop the process.  Kenny Dalglish returned to the dugout and guided the Reds to sixth place, including memorable late season wins over both Manchester clubs.  He also signed Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez, but ultimately, the Reds missed out on Europe for the first time since 2000.  Hodgson eventually turned up at West Brom in February and proved that his management skills still were up to scratch, by easing the Baggies comfortably away from a relegation scrap into a solid 11^th place finish.  Respected Sky Sports presenters Richard Keys and Andy Gray were shamed in a sexism row over women in football.  They made off-air sexist comments about West Ham chief executive Karen Brady and female line assistant Sian Massey before the televised Wolves v Liverpool game in January.  Further damming video revelations in the week forthcoming saw Gray sacked and Keys resigning in disgrace.  Also having a disgraceful season were West Ham United, who treated Avram Grant badly all season.  They looked a liability throughout and despite Scott Parker’s heroic efforts, a 3-2 defeat at Wigan Athletic on the penultimate weekend sent the Hammers down.  Grant’s humiliation was complete when he sacked just an hour after the match.  On ‘Survival Sunday,’ five clubs still might end up being relegated.  Blackburn Rovers new Indian owners had made a catastrophic mistake by sacking Sam Allardyce in December, with the club in comfortable mid-table security!  Although they were in the race for the drop, a wonderful first half at Wolves saw them 3-0 up at half-time and secure of any relegation threat.  It put Wolves right in the mire, despite Mick McCarthy’s team winning at Anfield and beating Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United at Molineux during the campaign.  Blackpool had entertained all neutrals throughout the season, with their flowing attack or nothing football.  They did take a surprising 2-1 lead at Manchester United on the last day, but their poor defensive record cost them and a 4-2 loss meant Ian Holloway’s brave Tangerines joined West Ham in relegation misery.  For a long duration of the campaign, Wigan Athletic looked destined for the drop, but put together a strong end to the season which saw them unbeaten in their last five matches.  A Hugo Rodallega header beat Stoke City at the Britannia to keep Roberto Martinez’s side up against the odds.  This left Birmingham City in huge peril.  Although they won the Carling Cup, two wins in their last eleven matches had seen Alex McLeish’s side slip into the relegation battle.  Ultimately, a late Stephen Hunt goal, which pulled Wolves back to a 2-3 defeat against Blackburn, combined with an even later Roman Pavyluchenko strike for Tottenham against Birmingham sent McLeish’s men down and kept Wolves in the league, on the most incredible final day in the league’s history.  However, despite being unconvincing at times, it was Manchester United’s season once again and a fitting way for Paul Scholes and Edwin van der Sar to bow out of the game, as both retired after the Champions League final defeat to Barcelona at Wembley.

CHAMPIONS: Manchester United, 2^nd: Chelsea 3^rd: Manchester City, 4^th: Arsenal 5^th: Tottenham, 6^th: Liverpool, 7^th: Everton, 8^th; Fulham, 9^th: Aston Villa, 10^th: Sunderland

RELEGATED: Birmingham City, Blackpool, West Ham United

BIGGEST WIN: Manchester United 7-1 Blackburn Rovers (27 November 2010)

HIGHEST SCORING GAMES: Manchester United 7-1 Blackburn Rovers (27 November 2010), Newcastle United 4-4 Arsenal (5 February 2011), Everton 5-3 Blackpool (5 February 2011)

SCORERS: Berbatov (Manchester United) 20, Tevez (Manchester City) 20, Van Persie (Arsenal) 18, Bent (Sunderland & Aston Villa) 17, Odemwingie (West Brom) 15, Hernandez (Manchester United) 13, Kuyt (Liverpool) 13, Van der Vaart (Tottenham) 13, Carroll (Newcastle & Liverpool) 13, Malouda (Chelsea) 13, Campbell (Blackpool) 13, Drogba (Chelsea) 12, Dempsey (Fulham) 12

2011/12 (Table & scorers after three matches)

THE 20^th season has begun with the two Manchester clubs looking unstoppable.  Manchester United handed Arsenal their biggest defeat in Premiership history, with an 8-2 mauling at Old Trafford.  Only hours earlier, Manchester City thumped Tottenham 5-1 at White Hart Lane, with Edin Dzeko scoring four goals.  Under Kenny Dalglish, Liverpool spent big to acquire Jordan Henderson, Charlie Adam and Stewart Downing to the club in the summer.  The good times seem to be coming back to Anfield, with two wins in three games, including an impressive success away at Arsenal, with Luis Suarez looking like the natural replacement for Fernando Torres.  Torres’s new club Chelsea have a new gaffer, as Andre Vilas-Boas arrived in the summer.  They have looked unconvincing so far, but have signed youngster Romelu Lukaku and Valencia playmaker Juan Manuel Mata and kept pace with the leading contenders.  Wolves, Stoke City, Aston Villa and Wigan Athletic have all made solid starts too, remaining unbeaten but with Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri gone, plus numerous suspensions and injuries, Arsenal are contemplating life in the bottom four.  However, there is plenty of time to go in what is turning out to be a special season already.

1^st: Manchester United, 2^nd: Manchester City 3^rd: Liverpool, 4^th: Chelsea 5^th: Wolves 6^th: Newcastle United, 7^th: Aston Villa, 8^th; Wigan Athletic, 9^th: Stoke City, 10^th: Bolton Wanderers

IN BOTTOM THREE: West Brom, Blackburn Rovers, Tottenham Hotspur

BIGGEST WIN: Manchester United 8-2 Arsenal (28 August 2011)

SCORERS: Dzeko (Manchester City) 6, Rooney (Manchester United) 5, Aguero (Manchester City) 3, Young (Manchester United) 3, Klasnic (Bolton) 3, Best (Newcastle) 2, Long (West Brom) 2, Suarez (Liverpool) 2, Silva (Manchester City) 2

20 years of the FA Premier League - Part 3

2002/03

HAVING ended the previous season empty-handed, Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United were determined for revenge in 2002/03 and they hunted Arsenal down successfully to regain the Premiership title.  It was their eighth success in 11 years.  Despite having broken the British transfer record to sign Rio Ferdinand from Leeds United for £30million; old frailties seemed to be around Ferguson’s team early in the season.  Bolton beat them at Old Trafford for the second successive season, with Leeds and Manchester City (in the last Manchester derby at Maine Road) also inflicting early season defeats.  Meanwhile, Arsenal and Liverpool both started the season in sensational fashion.  Liverpool went 12 games unbeaten at the start of the season, but then endured a miserable run in wintertime.  Gerard Houiller’s side went 11 games without a win, dropped to 7^th and saw their title challenge melt away.  However, Arsenal continued to fly, with Thierry Henry, Sylvain Wiltord and Robert Pires all in great form.  On March 2, they beat Charlton Athletic at Highbury 2-0 to extend their points advantage over Manchester United to eight points.  Gradually, United took bites out of the deficit, until they overhauled them before a Highbury face-off in mid-April.  Ruud Van Nistlerooy swung the Premiership pendulum United’s way with an early goal, but two Henry strikes in the opening moments of the second half turned the game around.  A free header from Ryan Giggs drew the sides level, before Sol Campbell was sent off controversially for an accidental elbow into the face of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.  The game finished 2-2, and injuries and suspensions took their toll on Wenger’s side.  Ten days later, they threw away a 2-0 lead to draw at Bolton and a week later, it was all over.  Marc Viduka’s 87^th minute winner was not only enough for Leeds to win 3-2 at Highbury and ensure Premiership football at Elland Road for another season, but give the title to one of their bitter rivals.  Newcastle United launched a brief title assault, with Sir Bobby Robson’s exciting young side finishing a creditable third.  Chelsea took the final Champions League spot on offer, as Claudio Ranieri penniless side won the £25million showdown with Liverpool on the final day of the season.  Little did we know of the drama and the new investment to enter West London that summer!  The stress of management was also shown as Glenn Roeder collapsed and was taken to hospital after West Ham beat Middlesbrough 1-0 on April 21.  Trevor Brooking took over the reins, but he couldn’t save his beloved club from shock relegation on the final day of the season.

CHAMPIONS: Manchester United, 2^nd: Arsenal 3^rd: Newcastle United, 4^th: Chelsea 5^th: Liverpool, 6^th: Blackburn Rovers, 7^th: Everton, 8^th; Southampton, 9^th: Manchester City, 10^th: Tottenham

RELEGATED: West Ham United, West Brom, Sunderland

BIGGEST WIN: West Brom 0-6 Liverpool (26 April 2003)

HIGHEST SCORING GAMES: Manchester United 5-3 Newcastle United (23 November 2002), Newcastle United 2-6 Manchester United (12 April 2003), West Ham United 3-4 Leeds United (10 November 2002)

SCORERS: Van Nistlerooy (Manchester United) 25, Henry (Arsenal) 24, Beattie (Southampton) 23, Viduka (Leeds) 20, Owen (Liverpool) 19, Shearer (Newcastle) 17, Scholes (Manchester United) 14, Pires (Arsenal) 14, Anelka (Manchester City) 14, Zola (Chelsea) 14, Keane (Leeds & Tottenham) 14, Kewell (Leeds) 14, Sheringham (Tottenham) 12, Hasselbaink (Chelsea) 11, Radzinski (Everton) 11

2003/04

ONE team dominated the 2003/04 season and totally rewrote the football history books.  On Saturday May 15 2004, Arsenal beat Leicester City 2-1 to complete a truly remarkable feat.  Not since Preston North End in 1888 had this happened.  A team had gone unbeaten for an entire league season.  The Gunners record was; P38, W26, D12, L0.  Arsene Wenger had completed total football perfection.  The turning point of their season was an early showdown with Manchester United at Old Trafford.  The match was disappointing, finishing 0-0.  However, it exploded into life in the closing stages.  Already angered by Patrick Vieira’s dismissal, Arsenal were even more incensed when Diego Forlan went down in stoppage time under a Martin Keown challenge.  Ruud Van Nistlerooy, involved in the Vieira scuffle, hit the crossbar from the penalty, and then, all hell broke loose.  Eight players were charged, with six Gunners players getting up to 18 games in total of suspensions.  After that, Arsenal let their football do the talking, rather than the aggression they showed on that awful day.  Whilst the Gunners were achieving record after record, Chelsea began spending money almost as lavishly at Harrods.  Roman Abramovich bought the club from Ken Bates in June and gave the club fortunes to spend in the transfer market.  In came the likes of Wayne Bridge, Claude Makelele, Damien Duff, Glen Johnson and Adrian Mutu and in also came a new force in the Premiership reckoning.  Chelsea topped the table on merit at the end of November and finished second, their best finish in the league since winning in 1955.  Claudio Ranieri’s reward was the sack.  Manchester United finished a distant third in the table, hobbled by Rio Ferdinand’s eight month suspension he received before Christmas for missing a drugs test.  Amongst their shock defeats was a 1-0 loss away to newly promoted Wolves in January.  Both Liverpool and Newcastle United had very inconsistent seasons, although they just about managed to scrap it out for the final Champions League spot.  A run of four wins in a row towards the season’s end meant Liverpool finished in the coveted fourth position, but Gerard Houiller lost his job after an abject campaign which saw his side finish a mammoth 30 points behind the champions.  Many other established clubs had dismal seasons too.  Tottenham sacked Glenn Hoddle in September, were in the bottom three at the turn of the year and only finished 14^th, whilst Blackburn Rovers, Manchester City and Everton finished in the bottom six after dreadful seasons.  Worse befall Leeds United however.  Champions League semi-finalists three years earlier, Leeds were relegated as their financial mess imploded with more star players being sold and total disarray in the boardroom.  Leicester City and Wolves went straight back down too, but Portsmouth finished a very creditable 13^th in their first season back in the top flight.

CHAMPIONS: Arsenal, 2^nd: Chelsea 3^rd: Manchester United, 4^th: Liverpool 5^th: Newcastle United, 6^th: Aston Villa, 7^th: Charlton Athletic, 8^th; Bolton Wanderers, 9^th: Fulham, 10^th: Birmingham City

RELEGATED: Leicester City, Leeds United, Wolves

BIGGEST WIN: Portsmouth 6-1 Leeds United (8 November 2003)

HIGHEST SCORING GAMES: Manchester City 6-2 Bolton Wanderers (18 October 2003), Tottenham Hotspur 4-4 Leicester City (22 February 2004), Middlesbrough 5-3 Birmingham City (21 March 2004)

SCORERS: Henry (Arsenal) 30, Shearer (Newcastle) 22, Saha (Fulham & Manchester United) 20, Van Nistlerooy (Manchester United) 20, Forssell (Birmingham) 17, Owen (Liverpool) 16, Angel (Aston Villa) 16, Yakubu (Portsmouth) 16, Anelka (Manchester City) 16, Pires (Arsenal) 14, Beattie (Southampton) 14, Keane (Tottenham) 14, Hasselbaink (Chelsea) 12, Ferdinand (Leicester) 12

2004/05

JOSE Mourinho was welcomed into the Premiership and his mission was simple; to deliver Chelsea their first championship in 50 years.  Along the way, he not only mastered the English game, but revolutionised Chelsea’s fortunes.  On Saturday April 30, the inspirational Frank Lampard scored twice to seal a 2-0 win at Bolton and complete Chelsea’s dream.  They became Premiership champions for the first time.  Not only that, but they rewrote the Premiership history books.  Mourinho’s men only conceded 18 goals all season, whilst new goalkeeper Petr Cech broke the record for the number of minutes he kept goal without conceding.  The Blues managed 95 points, won 27 games, which was the most ever in a 38-game season and lost only once (1-0 at Manchester City on October 16).  Blue really was the colour in 2004/05.  Established contenders Arsenal and Manchester United were forced to play second fiddle.  The Red Devils did manage to end Arsenal’s incredible unbeaten run at 49 games, after another bruising encounter between the two teams at Old Trafford ended 2-0 in United’s favour on October 24.  However, it was Arsenal who had the last laugh and finished second, ensuring automatic qualification for the Champions League.  Having sold star striker Wayne Rooney to Manchester United and been relegation favourites in pre-season, Everton defied all the critics to finish an outstanding fourth in the league, despite a humiliating 7-0 defeat at Arsenal towards the season’s end.  It meant that Everton beat Liverpool in the league table for the first time since 1987, although Rafa Benitez did mastermind an incredible Champions League triumph in his first season at the club.  A new manager became the new fashion this season too with Paul Sturrock (Southampton), Sir Bobby Robson (Newcastle), Gary Megson (West Brom) and Jacques Santini (Tottenham) among those to lose their jobs in the first three months of the season.  Graeme Souness was given the task of managing Newcastle, but he couldn’t stop an amazing incident in April, when two of his midfielders, Kieron Dyer and Lee Bowyer started fighting during a match at home to Aston Villa.  Both were sent off and banned and 14^th place was the final outcome.  At the bottom of the table, Norwich City, Southampton, Crystal Palace and West Brom got locked in an intense dogfight all season.  On ‘Survival Sunday,’ Norwich had their fate in their own hands, but lost 6-0 at Fulham and went straight back down.  Harry Redknapp failed to mastermind Southampton’s sorry season and their 27 year stay in the top flight was ended by a 1-2 loss at home to Manchester United.  West Brom beat Portsmouth 2-0 and a late Charlton equaliser from Jonathan Fortune at home to Crystal Palace was enough for the Baggies to stay up.  In doing so, West Brom became the first team ever to stay up in the Premiership, having been bottom of the table on Christmas Day.

CHAMPIONS: Chelsea, 2^nd: Arsenal 3^rd: Manchester United, 4^th: Everton 5^th: Liverpool, 6^th: Bolton Wanderers, 7^th: Middlesbrough, 8^th; Manchester City, 9^th: Tottenham, 10^th: Aston Villa

RELEGATED: Crystal Palace, Norwich City, Southampton

BIGGEST WIN: Arsenal 7-0 Everton (11 May 2005)

HIGHEST SCORING GAMES: Tottenham Hotspur 4-5 Arsenal (13 November 2004), Arsenal 5-3 Middlesbrough (22 August 2004), Tottenham Hotspur 5-2 Everton (1 January 2005)

SCORERS: Henry (Arsenal) 25, Johnson (Crystal Palace) 21, Pires (Arsenal) 14, Lampard (Chelsea) 13, Hasselbaink (Middlesbrough) 13, Defoe (Tottenham) 13, Yakubu (Portsmouth) 13, Gudjohnsen (Chelsea) 12, Cole (Fulham) 12, Crouch (Southampton) 12, Rooney (Manchester United) 11, Cahill (Everton) 11, Fowler (Manchester City) 11, Keane (Tottenham) 11, Earnshaw (West Brom) 11

2005/06

FOR the second successive season, Chelsea totally dominated the Premiership, winning the league by eight points from nearest rivals, Manchester United.  At times, Chelsea had leads in the table as big as 15 points.  They were top of the league from the third week onwards, kept clean sheets in their first six Premiership games and never looked threatened.  They won the league in crowning style, on the penultimate weekend of the season.  Goals from William Gallas, Joe Cole and Ricardo Carvalho spearheaded Chelsea to a 3-0 win over Manchester United, which highlighted the gulfing class between the two sides.  Liverpool had a much better domestic campaign this time around, winning ten games in a row between October and December and achieving a similar run from March to May.  The Anfield club also gave Robbie Fowler an emotional return in January, when he signed from Manchester City.  Four goals in the season run-in earnt him an extra season on Merseyside.  Whilst Fowler continued, Alan Shearer retired at the end of the season.  Sadly, injury forced the decision prematurely three weeks earlier than anticipated, but his final involvement was scoring a penalty at the Stadium of Light against Tyneside rivals Sunderland.  Whilst Newcastle finished seventh in the table, Sunderland had a horrific campaign.  They wound up with 13 points, which for two seasons, was the worst total ever in Premiership history.  The Black Cats only managed three wins all season and sacked Mick McCarthy in March.  After walking out on Portsmouth a year earlier to manage bitter South Coast rivals Southampton, Harry Redknapp returned to Fratton Park, and ‘Harry Houdini’ inspired the club to an incredible run of form that kept them in the Premiership.  They were eight points adrift of safety in March, but two Pedro Mendes strikes against Manchester City were the catalyst for the dramatic upturn in fortunes.  Portsmouth’s revival meant Birmingham City were relegated, just two years after finishing in the top half of the league and West Brom also couldn’t hold onto their Premier League status.  After 93 years at Highbury, time ran out on the glorious stadium as Arsenal got prepared for life at their new home.  Plus, the new 60,000 capacity Emirates Stadium could welcome Champions League football after a dramatic final day.  For much of the season, a disastrous away record meant Arsenal trailed the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and newcomers Wigan Athletic in the table.  They went into the final day a single point behind Tottenham and fell 1-2 behind at home to Wigan on Highbury’s final day.  However, the King of Highbury, Thierry Henry, said farewell in the grand manner.  He scored a hat-trick to complete a 4-2 victory.  Dodgy food chef or not, Tottenham folded at Upton Park, losing 2-1 at West Ham, which meant they were pipped to the final Champions League spot right at the end of the campaign.   

CHAMPIONS: Chelsea, 2^nd: Manchester United 3^rd: Liverpool, 4^th: Arsenal 5^th: Tottenham, 6^th: Blackburn Rovers, 7^th: Newcastle United, 8^th; Bolton Wanderers, 9^th: West Ham United, 10^th: Wigan

RELEGATED: West Brom, Birmingham City, Sunderland

BIGGEST WIN: Arsenal 7-0 Middlesbrough (14 January 2006)

HIGHEST SCORING GAMES: Blackburn Rovers 4-3 Manchester United (2 February 2006), Charlton Athletic 2-5 Manchester City (4 December 2005), Fulham 6-1 West Brom (12 February 2006)

SCORERS: Henry (Arsenal) 27, Van Nistlerooy (Manchester United) 21, Bent (Charlton) 18, Lampard (Chelsea) 16, Rooney (Manchester United) 16, Keane (Tottenham) 16, Harewood (West Ham) 14, Bellamy (Blackburn) 13, Yakubu (Middlesbrough) 13, Drogba (Chelsea) 12, Camara (Wigan) 12, Mido (Tottenham) 11, John (Fulham) 11, Gerrard (Liverpool) 10, Shearer (Newcastle) 10

2006/07

CHELSEA’s two year domination of the Premiership crown ended in 2006/07, as Manchester United became champions once again.  United secured the league title at the beginning of May, with a 1-0 win at Eastlands against goal shy Manchester City.  24 hours later, Khalid Boulahrouz was sent off and Chelsea failed to beat Arsenal at the Emirates, drawing 1-1.  This meant that Jose Mourinho’s team had to gracefully give up the title.  Manchester United were inspired by Cristiano Ronaldo, who finally began to show some consistent form at club level, which would make him one of the world’s best footballers in years to come.  Late winners away from home at Fulham and Liverpool on two successive Saturdays in springtime turned out to be very decisive for Sir Alex Ferguson’s team, despite a late slip-up against Portsmouth and a frustrating home draw with Middlesbrough.  Chelsea ended up drawing their last five matches, and tensions clearly were beginning to rise between owner and manager.  Jose Mourinho didn’t seem impressed with Roman Abramovich’s interference in purchasing both Michael Ballack and Andrei Shevchenko.  Neither player made a significant impact at Stamford Bridge.  Key injuries to the likes of John Terry and Petr Cech also had their effects on Chelsea’s season.  Liverpool edged out Arsenal by a single point, but both clubs had inconsistent campaigns.  There seemed to be positive news from Anfield in February, when George Gillett and Tom Hicks completed a deal to buy the club.  Sadly, the promises made by the pair of success and a new stadium were broken and dark days in the long-term faced the Anfield side.  The other big story of the season was West Ham’s controversial signings of Argentine pair Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano.  The club had broken Premier League third-party ownership regulations and the clubs fighting around them such as Sheffield United and Wigan Athletic were incensed when the Premier League decided on giving the Hammers a fine rather than a points deduction.  Alan Pardew was sacked in December by the new owners and Mascherano moved away from the controversy to sign for Liverpool.  However, Tevez scored a flurry of late season goals, which ultimately kept the Hammers, now managed by Alan Curbishley, up.  The great escape was completed by a last day victory at Old Trafford, with Tevez scoring the deciding goal again.  Wigan beat Sheffield United 2-1 at Bramwall Lane, which meant their Premiership adventure cruelly ended after one season back in the top flight.  Not only that, the deciding goal came from a David Unsworth penalty.  Unsworth had started the season as a Sheffield United player!  A similar fate of one season in the top flight befell Watford, whilst Charlton Athletic paid the price for sacking two managers and also were relegated. 

CHAMPIONS: Manchester United, 2^nd: Chelsea 3^rd: Liverpool, 4^th: Arsenal 5^th: Tottenham, 6^th: Everton, 7^th: Bolton Wanderers, 8^th; Reading, 9^th: Portsmouth, 10^th: Blackburn Rovers

RELEGATED: Sheffield United, Charlton Athletic, Watford

BIGGEST WIN: Reading 6-0 West Ham United (1 January 2007)

HIGHEST SCORING GAMES: Arsenal 6-2 Blackburn Rovers (23 December 2006), West Ham United 3-4 Tottenham Hotspur (4 March 2007), Blackburn Rovers 4-2 Manchester City (17 September 2006)

SCORERS: Drogba (Chelsea) 20, McCarthy (Blackburn) 18, Ronaldo (Manchester United) 17, Rooney (Manchester United) 14, Viduka (Middlesbrough) 14, Doyle (Reading) 13, Bent (Charlton) 13, Kuyt (Liverpool) 12, Berbatov (Tottenham) 12, Yakubu (Middlesbrough) 12, Lampard (Chelsea) 11, Van Persie (Arsenal) 11, Anelka (Bolton) 11, Zamora (West Ham) 11, Johnson (Everton) 11

20 years of the FA Premier League - Part 1

1992/93

THE new football revolution began in August 1992, when the 22 leading clubs in England broke away from the Football league to create the FA Premier League.  With a massive new live television deal with BSKYB, bigger sponsors and higher transfer fees, the English game changed forever.  The honour of scoring the first ever Premiership goal fell to Sheffield United’s Brian Deane.  Deane scored after five minutes in his side’s 2-1 win over Manchester United.  Title favourites Arsenal threw away a 2-0 lead at home to Norwich City on the opening weekend, losing 4-2 and only ending a disappointing 10^th in the final table.  Under Jack Walker’s millions, Blackburn Rovers were a fine 4^th in their first season in the top flight, with new English record signing Alan Shearer scoring 15 goals before a serious knee injury on Boxing Day 1992 ended his season prematurely.  Top scorer was Teddy Sheringham, who netted Sky’s first live televised goal in Nottingham Forest’s 1-0 opening weekend success over Liverpool.  A week later, Sheringham moved to Tottenham and scored another 21 goals and with it, Forest lost all direction and form.  The late, great Brian Clough decided to retire from football management, but his legacy was clouded by relegation, after an emotional final home game at the City Ground; Forest beaten 2-0 by Sheffield United on May 1.  Afterwards, Clough admitted his side hadn’t been good enough to stay up.  Middlesbrough and Crystal Palace also went down, as unfancied Oldham Athletic pulled off a remarkable run of three wins at the end of the season.  Joe Royle’s team beat Southampton 4-3 on a dramatic final day to stay afloat.  Palace lost 3-0 on the final day at Highbury to drop out of the league, relegated by an Ian Wright hat-trick.  Despite their league failings, Arsenal did manage a cup double, beating Sheffield Wednesday in both FA Cup and League Cup finals.  It was QPR who ended up as London’s top finishers, winding up a creditable fifth.  Fellow London side Chelsea sacked Ian Porterfield in February, after failing to win in 12 matches between December and February.  Unfortunately for Porterfield, he became the first manager to lose their job at this level.  Another club who struggled were defending champions Leeds United.  They sold Eric Cantona to Manchester United in November for £1.2million and proceeded to finish a dire 18^th; failing to win an away match all season.  At the top, Manchester United held off stiff challenges from Aston Villa and Norwich City to win their first title in 26 years.  The title was secured by Villa’s shock 1-0 home loss to Oldham on May 2.  One evening later, Old Trafford partied in style with a 3-1 triumph over Blackburn the crowning glory.  Alex Ferguson’s men eventually finished ten points clear at the end of the season.

CHAMPIONS: Manchester United, 2^nd: Aston Villa, 3^rd: Norwich City, 4^th: Blackburn Rovers, 5^th: QPR, 6^th: Liverpool, 7^th: Sheffield Wednesday, 8^th; Tottenham, 9^th: Manchester City, 10^th: Arsenal

RELEGATED: Crystal Palace, Middlesbrough, Nottingham Forest

BIGGEST WIN: Blackburn Rovers 7-1 Norwich City (3 October 1992)

HIGHEST SCORING GAMES: Oldham Athletic 5-3 Nottingham Forest (22 August 1992), Oldham Athletic 6-2 Wimbledon (3 April 1993), Liverpool 6-2 Tottenham (8 May 1993)

TOP SCORERS: Sheringham (Tottenham) 22, Ferdinand (QPR) 20, Holdsworth (Wimbledon) 19, Quinn (Coventry) 17, Shearer (Blackburn) 16, White (Manchester City) 16, Cantona (Manchester United) 15, Wright (Arsenal) 15, Le Tissier (Southampton) 15, Robins (Norwich City) 15

1993/94

AFTER their success in 1992/93, Manchester United went onto dominate the following season, although a mid-season wobble did almost throw away the title.  Having signed Roy Keane from Nottingham Forest in the close season, United looked awesome in the first half of the season.  Keane’s gritty determination, combined with the pace of Ryan Giggs and Andrei Kanchelskis and the natural finishing from Mark Hughes and Eric Cantona meant they established a 15 point lead at the turn of the year.  Norwich City, Leeds United and Arsenal made sporadic challenges, but the only sustained threat came from Kenny Dalglish’s Blackburn Rovers.  With Alan Shearer back to full fitness, Blackburn closed United down and capitalised on a dip in form from Ferguson’s side.  A 2-0 win at Ewood Park against the champions in April put Blackburn within striking distance.  However, a draw at home to QPR and defeats at Southampton and Coventry City ultimately meant the late surge didn’t happen.  The defeat at Highfield Road on May 2 ensured back-to-back titles for United, without kicking a ball to do it.  They beat Chelsea 4-0 in a one-sided FA Cup final to complete the double.  Newcastle United joined the Premiership fold and Kevin Keegan’s entertainers finished an excellent third in the table.  Andy Cole was in red hot form all season, finishing top scorer with a stunning 34 league goals.  One of Cole’s former sides, Arsenal had a better finish, with Ian Wright once again showing his predator striking class.  The Gunners ended the campaign 4^th and with the best defence in the league, only shipping 28 goals to opposition teams.  Graeme Souness’s miserable reign at Anfield came to an end in January, when he was sacked after a dismal FA Cup defeat at home to lowly Bristol City.  Liverpool finished a poor 8^th in the table, but did produce the comeback of the season on January 4, recovering from 3-0 down inside 21 minutes at home to Manchester United and rescuing a 3-3 draw.  Souness wasn’t the only manager to lose his job this season, with similar fates befalling Peter Reid (Manchester City), Bobby Gould (Coventry City) and Ian Branfoot (Southampton).  Swindon Town went straight back down after just one season, conceding a record 100 league goals in the process.  Relegation also befell Oldham before the final games, but the final day turned into a relegation dogfight between Everton, Southampton, Ipswich and Sheffield United.  Everton stormed back from 2-0 down to beat Wimbledon 3-2 and survive by the skin of their teeth.  Ultimately, Mark Stein’s last minute winner for Chelsea against Sheffield United sealed a 3-2 win and sent Dave Bassett’s team down, despite having been as high as 15^th, two weeks before the season’s end.  However, 93/94 belonged to one team only; Manchester United. 

CHAMPIONS: Manchester United, 2^nd: Blackburn Rovers, 3^rd: Newcastle United, 4^th: Arsenal, 5^th: Leeds United, 6^th: Wimbledon, 7^th: Sheffield Wednesday, 8^th; Liverpool, 9^th: QPR, 10^th: Aston Villa

RELEGATED: Sheffield United, Oldham Athletic, Swindon Town

BIGGEST WIN: Newcastle United 7-1 Swindon Town (11 March 1994)

HIGHEST SCORING GAMES: Norwich City 4-5 Southampton (9 April 1994), Everton 6-2 Swindon Town (15 January 1994), Oldham Athletic 2-5 Manchester United (29 December 1993)

TOP SCORERS: Cole (Newcastle) 34, Shearer (Blackburn) 31, Le Tissier (Southampton) 25, Sutton (Norwich City) 25, Wright (Arsenal) 23, Beardsley (Newcastle) 21, Bright (Sheffield Wednesday) 19, Cantona (Manchester United) 18, Wallace (Leeds) 17, Holdsworth (Wimbledon) 17, Ferdinand (QPR) 16, Cottee (Everton) 16, Campbell (Arsenal) 14, Rush (Liverpool) 14, Sheringham (Tottenham) 14

1994/95

HAVING come close the previous season, Blackburn stated their intentions in pre-season by breaking the English transfer record to sign Chris Sutton from Norwich City.  Together with Alan Shearer, the pair formed the deadly SAS partnership which would eventually spearhead Blackburn to their first championship in 81 years and in dramatic circumstances too.  Going into the final day, Rovers were two points clear of Manchester United, but were beaten 2-1 by Liverpool at Anfield.  A win at Upton Park against West Ham would have been enough for the Red Devils, but some inspired Ludek Miklosko goalkeeping and wasteful finishing meant a 1-1 draw was not enough.  So, despite conceding to Jamie Redknapp’s injury time free-kick, Blackburn fans celebrated losing a match!  Shearer’s goal tally left him as top scorer and Tim Sherwood lifted the trophy afloat on a glorious May afternoon.  The season was to be dogged by many bad headlines which dragged football’s publicity down the gutter.  Dennis Wise was jailed for assaulting a taxi driver, Chris Armstrong failed a drugs test, Paul Merson had time off the game after admitting to excessive gambling and cocaine addiction and Eric Cantona was suspended for eight months after his famous kung-fu kick on a Crystal Palace fan at Selhurst Park.  The temperament of the fantastic Frenchman had always been questioned and this time, it cost Manchester United.  Despite scoring five goals in one match against Ipswich, Andy Cole’s shock £7million move from Newcastle in January turned into an expensive flop for many Manchester United supporters.  A match-fixing scandal also gripped the game this season, with Bruce Grobbelaar, Hans Segers and John Fashanu all accused of taking money to fix matches.  All three would end up being acquitted.  Arsenal manager George Graham was sacked in disgrace in February and banned from the game for a year, after taking illegal transfer bungs for the signature of hopeless Danish midfielder John Jensen.  With the Premier League being reduced to 20 clubs from the following season onwards, there was increased pressure on managers throughout the season.  Phil Neal (Coventry), Ron Atkinson (Aston Villa) and Mike Walker (Everton) all lost their jobs during the season, due to the intense relegation scrap.  Ultimately, it was a miserable season for East Anglia with both Ipswich and Norwich City being relegated.  Norwich had started 1995 in 7^th position, but only one win in the second half of the season sealed their fate.  Crystal Palace and Leicester made instant returns to the Football League, but the other club that came up, Nottingham Forest, finished a brilliant 3^rd, having gone 12 games unbeaten at the start of the season.  Tottenham fans also had Jurgen Klinsmann to cheer on this season, as he scored on his debut, with a famous celebratory dive against Sheffield Wednesday.  Klinsmann guided Tottenham to 7^th and won the Football Writers award before returning home to Germany at the end of the season.

CHAMPIONS: Blackburn Rovers, 2^nd: Manchester United, 3^rd: Nottingham Forest, 4^th: Liverpool, 5^th: Leeds United, 6^th: Newcastle United, 7^th: Tottenham, 8^th; QPR, 9^th: Wimbledon, 10^th: Southampton

RELEGATED: Crystal Palace, Norwich City, Leicester City, Ipswich Town

BIGGEST WIN: Manchester United 9-0 Ipswich Town (4 March 1995)

HIGHEST SCORING GAMES: Manchester United 9-0 Ipswich Town (4 March 1995), Aston Villa 7-1 Wimbledon (11 February 1995), Sheffield Wednesday 1-7 Nottingham Forest (1 April 1995)

TOP SCORERS: Shearer (Blackburn) 34, Fowler (Liverpool) 25, Ferdinand (QPR) 24, Collymore (Nottingham Forest) 22, Cole (Newcastle & Manchester United) 21, Klinsmann (Tottenham) 20, Le Tissier (Southampton) 19, Sheringham (Tottenham) 18, Wright (Arsenal) 18, Sutton (Blackburn) 15

1995/96

THE primary title contenders in 1995/96 were Manchester United and Newcastle United.  Newcastle topped the table from day one and after beating Bolton Wanderers 2-1 on January 19, established a staggering 12 point lead over the men from Manchester United.  United started the season poorly, having sold Paul Ince and Andrei Kanchelskis and still missing Eric Cantona through suspension.  They lost 3-1 at Aston Villa on the opening day, giving Alan Hansen the chance to say ‘you can’t win anything with kids.’  Defeats at Liverpool, Leeds and 4-1 at Tottenham on New Year’s Day left United with a mountain to climb, but Cantona quickly turned the title battle into a one man crusade.  He inspired his team to an amazing run of results in the spring, which saw Newcastle’s lead disappear.  On March 4, the Frenchman scored the only goal of the game at St. James Park to make Manchester United title favourites.  A month later and Newcastle lost the greatest game in FA Premier League history; 4-3 at Liverpool, thanks to a stoppage time winner from Stan Collymore.  Despite a 3-1 loss at Southampton a week later, which was blamed on hideous grey away shirts, Ferguson’s side turned on the screw.  He started playing mind games, questioning Leeds outstanding performance at Old Trafford in mid-April and the scheduling of a Nottingham Forest v Newcastle fixture near a Stuart Pearce testimonial at the end of the season.  Kevin Keegan responded live on Sky Sports, losing his rag after an away win at Leeds on April 29.  The ‘I will love it if we beat them!’ rant has gone down in folklore, but no more.  Ian Woan scored a brilliant late goal to earn Nottingham Forest a point against Newcastle three days later and Manchester United completed the job with a comfortable 3-0 away win on the last day at Middlesbrough.  Four points was the difference at the end of the season and with the prominence of youngsters coming through at Old Trafford, such as Nicky Butt, David Beckham and Paul Scholes, a new generation of dominance began to blossom.  Whilst United were rejoicing, it was misery for their Manchester rivals, Manchester City.  A 2-2 draw at home to Liverpool on the final day of the season was not enough to keep them in the Premiership.  It was heartbreak for Alan Ball in his first season in charge at Maine Road; his side not recovering from a dismal start.  QPR and Bolton Wanderers also lost their fight against the drop.  Defending champions Blackburn never looked a factor all season, but Alan Shearer still ended top scorer again as they finished a poor 7^th, not helped by Kenny Dalglish’s decision to step aside after the title glory of the previous May.  Meanwhile, Liverpool broke the British transfer record to lure Stan Collymore to Anfield from Nottingham Forest.  He and Robbie Fowler began a formidable partnership which shot Liverpool to third place.  Chelsea had another unspectacular season, but an 11^th place finish was enough to convince England to appoint Glenn Hoddle as Terry Venables successor after Euro 96! 

CHAMPIONS: Manchester United, 2^nd: Newcastle United, 3^rd: Liverpool, 4^th: Aston Villa, 5^th: Arsenal, 6^th: Everton, 7^th: Blackburn Rovers, 8^th; Tottenham, 9^th: Nottingham Forest, 10^th: West Ham United

RELEGATED: Manchester City, QPR, Bolton Wanderers

BIGGEST WIN: Blackburn Rovers 7-0 Nottingham Forest (18 November 1995)

HIGHEST SCORING GAMES: Sheffield Wednesday 6-2 Leeds United (16 December 1995), Liverpool 4-3 Newcastle United (3 April 1996), Southampton 3-4 Nottingham Forest (19 August 1995)

TOP SCORERS: Shearer (Blackburn) 31, Fowler (Liverpool) 28, Ferdinand (Newcastle) 25, Yorke (Aston Villa) 17, Kanchelskis (Everton) 16, Sheringham (Tottenham) 16, Wright (Arsenal) 15, Armstrong (Tottenham) 15, Cantona (Manchester United) 14, Dublin (Coventry City) 14

1996/97

MANCHESTER United achieved their fourth title in five years, but struggled to show any superiority throughout the season.  Luckily, all their nearest challengers had stuttering campaigns, which meant Alex Ferguson’s side got over the line, once again by not playing.  Despite 17-year old sensation Michael Owen coming off the bench to score at Wimbledon, Liverpool’s 2-1 loss at Selhurst Park, combined with Newcastle’s 0-0 stalemate at West Ham was enough for Ferguson’s side to be crowned the best in the land again.  This was despite a horrifying six days in October, which saw his champions lose 5-0 at Newcastle and then, 6-3 to Southampton.  Liverpool established a five point lead at the turn of the year, but threw the advantage away, with costly defeats at Aston Villa (1-0) in March and Coventry (1-2) in April.  Roy Evans side had only themselves to blame, with David James guilty of several high profile blunders in the run-in.  In the end, they finished only fourth, when title glory could have been theirs.  Newcastle suffered a huge shock when Kevin Keegan resigned at the beginning of January; the previous season’s toil had taken his stress levels to new extremes.  Kenny Dalglish took up the reins and despite a leaky defence, qualified for the Champions League with a 5-0 battering of Nottingham Forest on the final day.  Newcastle also managed to persuade Alan Shearer home to Tyneside, in a record £15million move from Blackburn Rovers at the start of the season.  However, his partnership with Les Ferdinand didn’t quite blossom as many expected, due to injuries.  Arsene Wenger took over at Arsenal in September and guided his ageing Gunners side to third place, with Ian Wright once again scoring goals for fun.  Chelsea went global, by signing Gianfranco Zola.  Zola’s impact was instant when he moved from Parma in November, walking away with the Football Writers award at the end of the season.  Ruud Gullit’s side finished sixth and won the FA Cup, lifting the gloom over the Bridge, as they had to deal with the tragic death of club director Matthew Harding in a helicopter crash on the way back from a Coca Cola Cup tie at Bolton in late October.  Another side who spent the money were Middlesbrough, with Emerson and Fabrizio Ravanelli arriving at a colourful Riverside Stadium.  The season turned into a nightmare for Boro, as they lost in both domestic cup finals and were docked three points for failing to fulfil a fixture at Blackburn on December 20, claiming they had 21 players out through illness and injury!!  Consequently, they were also relegated, despite Juninho’s heroics at Leeds on the final day of the season.  Incredibly, Coventry City beat Tottenham 2-1 at White Hart Lane to stay up against the odds, with Sunderland going straight back down after a 1-0 defeat at Wimbledon.  Wimbledon themselves finished a creditable 8^th, having strung together a 20-game unbeaten run at one stage in all competitions.

CHAMPIONS: Manchester United, 2^nd: Newcastle United, 3^rd: Arsenal, 4^th: Liverpool, 5^th: Aston Villa, 6^th: Chelsea, 7^th: Sheffield Wednesday, 8^th; Wimbledon, 9^th: Leicester City, 10^th: Tottenham

RELEGATED: Sunderland, Middlesbrough, Nottingham Forest

BIGGEST WIN: Newcastle United 7-1 Tottenham Hotspur (28 December 1996)

HIGHEST SCORING GAMES: Southampton 6-3 Manchester United (26 October 1996), Everton 7-1 Southampton (16 November 1996), Chelsea 6-2 Sunderland (16 March 1997)

TOP SCORERS: Shearer (Newcastle) 25, Wright (Arsenal) 23, Solskjaer (Manchester United) 18, Fowler (Liverpool) 18, Yorke (Aston Villa) 17, Ferdinand (Newcastle) 16, Ravanelli (Middlesbrough) 16, Le Tissier (Southampton) 13, Dublin (Coventry City) 13, Bergkamp (Arsenal) 12, Juninho (Middlesbrough), Collymore (Liverpool) 12, Claridge (Leicester) 12, Cantona (Manchester United) 11 

Hillsborough papers to be released

CABINET records of documents and discussions in the aftermath of the 1989 Hillsborough football stadium disaster have been ordered for release.  The Information Commissioner Christopher Graham revealed yesterday that he felt that it was in the public interest for this information to be released.

     Under the 2000 Freedom of Information Act, the government now has either 35 days to release the records or 28 days to appeal the decision.  95 Liverpool fans were crushed to death on the terraces of Sheffield Wednesday’s Hillsborough stadium while watching the early stages of an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest.  The 96^th victim, Tony Bland, died from his injuries in 1993. 

     Campaigners have welcomed the decision to release the files, including Anne Williams, who lost her 15-year old son Kevin in the tragedy.  She told BBC News; “This is good news.  I’m very surprised.  I thought the government would block it.  At least now, we may get to the truth.”    

JUSTICE: Yesterday's ruling is a massive step forward for Liverpool

     The files are believed to include reports relating to Hillsborough that were provided to Margaret Thatcher.  Also expected are discussions between her and the then Home Secretary, Douglas Hurd and minutes of meetings she attended.  Chairman of the Hillsborough Family Support Group, Margaret Aspinall is angry that more information wasn’t released; she told the official LFC website “We have always wanted to see the minutes of Mrs. Thatcher’s meetings, but when we asked, we were always told there were no minutes taken.”  “I find it quite strange that now the minutes are going to be released.  Yet again, I feel we have been lied to.”

     After 22 years of false hope, untruthful allegations from tabloid newspapers and an inquest that was a massive miscarriage of justice, the truth of what happened on that sunny day at Hillsborough which turned into such a nightmare on April 15, 1989 might finally be revealed.  This document order means the families can feel there’s a massive step forward in the long-standing fight for justice.