Football mourns the tragic death of Gary Speed

TRIBUTES have been pouring in from across the sporting world for the Welsh team manager Gary Speed, who has died aged 42.  The ex-Leeds United and Newcastle United player was found dead at his home in Cheshire.  He is believed to have taken his own life.  The news was confirmed in a statement by the Welsh Football Association on Sunday morning; “We extend our sympathies and condolences to the family.  We ask that everyone respects the family’s privacy at this very sad time.”

       Born on September 8, 1969, Gary Speed became one of the most honest professionals in the game and the tributes over the past 24 hours since the news broke indicate that no bad word could be said about his personality.  At club level, he came through the ranks at Leeds United, under the stewardship of Howard Wilkinson.  The former FA technical director told Sky Sports; “He had so much to offer as a person and as a sportsman.  I just find it unbelievable.  I cannot start to try to understand what his family are going through.  Gary had a lot of talent and that talent became his job.  Footballers are subject to all the stress and strains of things that happen in life.”

BREAKTHROUGH: Gary Speed's best club success came at Leeds

       Making his first team debut at just 19 years of age, Speed was part of the squad alongside the likes of Gary McAllister and Eric Cantona to win the final football league title in 1992 before the inception of the FA Premier League.  Another member of the squad and a managerial counterpart when Speed was at Sheffield United, Gordon Strachan shared his memories on BBC Radio 5 Live.  “I was proud of Gary Speed, like a kind of father figure would be because he wasn’t the most talented of kids when I first met him but he wanted to make himself better.  I am going to miss his laugh, he had a childlike laugh.  I was speaking to Gary McAllister and I said I would forget the games and the goals but I would never forget his laugh and I am never going to hear that again.”

LEADER: Speed celebrates scoring for Everton against Chelsea in January 1998

         An occasional goalscorer, Gary spearheaded Leeds to two top five finishes in the Premiership between 1992 and 1995, but after 312 appearances for the Yorkshire side, felt he needed a new challenge and made a £3.5million move to Everton in the summer of 1996.  An Everton fan, Speed became Toffees captain and made his mark in a mediocre period for the Goodison Park side.  He scored his only Premiership hat-trick in a 7-1 battering of Southampton in November 1996 and it was Joe Royle who was Toffees manager when Speed spent 18 months on Merseyside; “He always had a smile on his face, he played with a smile on his face and he was one of the best players I was fortunate enough to manage and handle and I still can’t believe it.  He was part of the North Wales Everton supporter’s band and from the minute he came, he was perfect for the club.”

          Gary’s next destination was Newcastle United, where he spent the bulk of his career and probably, his best period playing football.  He spent six years on Tyneside, experienced UEFA Champions League football and was on the losing side in two successive FA Cup finals.  It was Kenny Dalglish who signed him in February 1998 for £5.5million.  He paid tribute on the eve of Liverpool’s 1-1 Premiership draw with Manchester City yesterday.  “I knew Gary Speed as a fantastic footballer, but more important than that, he was a decent man and there will be a lot of people very saddened by what has happened.  The most important people at the moment are his wife and two boys and your heart goes out to them.”  Dalglish also confirmed that he withdrew Craig Bellamy from the playing squad yesterday, as he was very close to Speed as a friend and a mentor.  At the Liberty Stadium, news broke of the tragic circumstances only an hour before Swansea City’s sombre 0-0 draw with Aston Villa.  A minute’s silence turned into a minute’s applause from both sets of supporters.  Villa goalkeeper Shay Given was bravely seen to be wiping tears away moments before kick-off.  The Republic of Ireland goalkeeper had played together with Speed throughout his time at Newcastle United.  Another former Newcastle player paid tribute on Match of the Day 2 last night, Michael Owen.  “He was a gentleman and his footballing ability is without question but I would focus on him as a person.  Gary probably lived ten miles away from me and the other day I saw him on the way to school on the kids run and we shared a wave as we drove past each other.  It’s a terrible loss and the mood of Cheshire was just utter shock and disbelief.”    

         In 2004, Speed was deemed surplus to requirements by Sir Bobby Robson and he moved onto Bolton Wanderers.  During his four years at the Reebok Stadium, Gary became the first player to make 500 Premier League appearances, which is an incredible feat as only David James and Ryan Giggs have played more games in the 20 season history.  In January 2008, Speed moved down from the Premiership in a bid to improve the fortunes of Sheffield United.  They narrowly missed out on promotion the following season and it was injury that forced Gary to retire from football, aged 40 in 2009.  He wasn’t finished at Bramwall Lane though, as he worked on his coaching badges and became Kevin Blackwell’s assistant.  In the summer of 2010, the Blades refused him permission to speak to Swansea City about the vacancy at the Liberty Stadium, when Paulo Sousa took the Leicester City job.  The current Swans manager is Brendan Rodgers; “We’re all shell-shocked.  It was a real bombshell.  Gary was a great Welshman and it’s hard to take in.  My players loved working with him with Wales and really enjoyed it.  It’s difficult to comprehend.”   

       When Blackwell was sacked at the beginning of the 2010-11 campaign, Gary took over the managerial reigns at Bramwall Lane, but he only won six of his 18 matches in charge as Sheffield United slipped towards eventual relegation from the Championship.  Another young manager finding his feet in the Championship is Speed’s former team-mate, Dean Saunders at Doncaster Rovers.  He told BBC Sport; “I just can’t believe it.  I spoke to him last week.  We roomed together all of our careers with Wales, I just can’t get my head around it.  He’s so level-headed and was just a really nice fella.”

SMILE: Gary was turning around the fortunes of the Wales team

         At international level, his association with Wales began in an international friendly against Costa Rica in May 1990.  Aged just 20 when he won his first cap, Speed was made captain of the national team by Bobby Gould and only narrowly missed out on qualifying for both the 1994 World Cup in the USA and the 2004 European Championships in Portugal.  He retired from playing international duty in October 2004, having captained his country 44 times and recording 85 caps, which is still the most ever for a Welsh outfield player.  Despite his limited experience in management, Gary signed a three year contract to replace John Toshack as coach of Wales in December 2010.  Under his stewardship, Wales became a revitalised side.  Youngsters such as Gareth Bale, Norwich’s Steve Morison and captain Aaron Ramsay became senior figures in the national team as the Welsh made a 50 place gain in the FIFA world rankings.  Although Wales didn’t qualify for Euro 2012, he led the side to impressive victories over Bulgaria, Montenegro and Switzerland to finish third in England’s qualifying group.  His last game in charge was a fine 4-1 win over Norway in an international friendly last month, which meant he had recorded five wins in his ten games as manager.  There were high hopes for a successful World Cup qualifying campaign which was due to begin next September for Brazil 2014.  

        Gary’s last public appearance was only on Saturday, when he appeared alongside McAllister on the BBC magazine show, Football Focus.  Presenter Dan Walker has been left lost for words, as he posted on Twitter yesterday; “Gary was full of life yesterday talking about his kids, the bright future with Wales, twitter and golf.  I can’t get my head around it.”  Twitter was full of tributes from many personalities yesterday.  Cricketer Dominic Cork met him on A Question of Sport.  He tweeted; “Met him on Q.O.S and what a gentleman.  Kept in touch and devastated about the news.  Just doesn’t seem real.”  BBC Five Live Formula One pitlane reporter Natalie Pinkham shared the general feeling on Twitter; “Very sad news about Gary Speed.  Thinking of his family at what must be an incredibly tough time.”  Real Madrid footballer Xabi Alonso remembered his Premiership debut for Liverpool against Speed’s Bolton in August 2004; “RIP Gary Speed.  My first PL game was against him, he showed me in that game what is British football about.”

Gary Speed - 8 September 1969 - 27 November 2011

       Gary Speed made a positive impact on so many lives, both personally and impersonally.  He was a great sporting man, with a respectful personality and will go down as a Premier League icon.  Potentially, he had a great career as a manager on the way.  For me, words can’t describe how I feel about his sudden loss and it is a huge and horrible shock for football to deal with.  Gary leaves behind a beautiful wife and two boys who he devoted and spent so much time with.  They have revealed how overwhelmed they have been by the support they have received and whilst football mourns a great character, his family are the people we should be feeling for the most.

RIP Gary Speed – The game of football will never forget you!      

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 2

1997/98

ARSENE Wenger’s first full season in English football ended with a fantastic league and cup double.  His acquisitions of pacy winger Marc Overmars and the dynamic Emmanuel Petit, combined with the brilliance of Dennis Bergkamp were the main reasons why Arsenal managed to break Manchester United’s stranglehold on the Premiership.  In fact, it looked like Manchester United could only throw the title away when Phil Neville struck his first senior goal to beat Chelsea 1-0 on February 28 at Stamford Bridge.  Some bookmakers began paying out after that result, but Arsenal had other ideas.  They overhauled the 11-point deficit, with the big breaker being Overmars sole goal to see off United at Old Trafford on March 14.  As Liverpool and Newcastle nicked draws at Old Trafford over the Easter period, Arsenal continued to fly, steamrolling both Blackburn Rovers and Wimbledon with consummate ease.  On May 3, another awesome display was enough.  The Gunners thrashed Everton at Highbury 4-0 to seal the title, with the icing on the cake coming from a magnificent Tony Adams volley in stoppage time.  The formidable backline and football flair meant that the ‘1-0 to the Arsenal’ chant was consigned to the history books.  Wenger leading them to their first championship in eight years and becoming the first foreign manager to achieve his dream of managing a Premiership side to title glory.  At times, Blackburn showed some of their old spark, beating Sheffield Wednesday 7-2 and Aston Villa 4-0 early in the season.  Chris Sutton ended the season as joint top scorer with 18 goals, but Roy Hodgson’s side faded badly in the finishing straight to sixth place.  Chelsea sensationally sacked Ruud Gullit in February whilst in second position, claiming they couldn’t meet the Dutchman’s demands over a new contract.  Gianluca Vialli was thrown into the job and although he guided the Blues to success in the League Cup and Cup Winners Cup, their league season capitulated, only losing one less game than relegated Bolton Wanderers.  Michael Owen joined Sutton and Coventry’s Dion Dublin at the top of the scorer’s charts and was a shining figure in another inconsistent season for Liverpool.  They finished 12 points behind the champions and it led to some major changes in the Anfield management for the following season.  Merseyside neighbours Everton had a nightmare campaign and going into the final games, were in the bottom three.  A nervy 1-1 draw at home to Coventry City was good enough for a last ditch survival, as Bolton lost 2-0 at Chelsea.  For the first and only time in Premiership history, all three promoted clubs (Bolton, Barnsley and Crystal Palace) went straight back down to Division One. 

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

RELEGATED: Bolton Wanderers, Barnsley, Crystal Palace

BIGGEST WIN: Manchester United 7-0 Barnsley (25 October 1997)

HIGHEST SCORING GAMES: Blackburn Rovers 7-2 Sheffield Wednesday (25 August 1997), Wimbledon 2-6 Tottenham Hotspur (2 May 1998), Blackburn Rovers 5-3 Leicester City (28 February 1998)

TOP SCORERS: Owen (Liverpool) 18, Sutton (Blackburn) 18, Dublin (Coventry City) 18, Bergkamp (Arsenal) 16, Hasselbaink (Leeds) 16, Gallacher (Blackburn) 16, Cole (Manchester United) 15, Hartson (West Ham) 15, Huckerby (Coventry City) 14, Wanchope (Derby) 13, Overmars (Arsenal) 12

1998/99

THIS will be the season that will always be remembered for Manchester United’s historic treble.  In the Premiership, they were taken to the wire by Arsenal and were also pushed most of the way by the multi-millionaires from Chelsea.  It was gripping stuff on the last day, as Arsenal relied on a positive result from Old Trafford, which involved their deadly North London rivals, Tottenham.  For a while, it seemed positive for the defending champions, especially after Les Ferdinand put Tottenham in the lead midway through the first half.  However, his goal was cancelled out by David Beckham, before Andy Cole lobbed Ian Walker and finally silenced those critics who had portrayed him as the enemy for all those missed chances at West Ham on the final day of the 94/95 season.  Kanu’s winner at home to Aston Villa was not enough for Arsenal, with Arsene Wenger’s side falling one point short and ending gallant runners-up.  The deciding result was Arsenal conceding a late winner five days earlier to Leeds United and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink at Elland Road.  If they’d held on for a draw in that game, it would have been back-to-back titles for the North Londoners.  After last season’s disappointment, Alex Ferguson had spent big in the summer, acquiring Jaap Stam and Dwight Yorke.  With Yorke and Cole in perfect harmony upfront and scoring goals almost at freewill, the Red Devils remained unbeaten in the league after a 2-3 reverse at home to Middlesbrough before Christmas.  Chelsea came close, but fell away in the final hurdle.  The death knell for Gianluca Vialli’s team was a match against Leicester City in mid-April, where his side threw away a 2-0 lead and were eventually pegged back by a brilliant curling effort from Steve Guppy in stoppage time.  For a while, it looked like Aston Villa could maintain a sustained challenge under John Gregory.  Top at Christmas, things looked good, despite Stan Collymore being sidelined by stress!  However, they collapsed in the second half of the year, ending sixth and failing to even qualify for Europe.  They were pipped in the table by an ever improving Leeds United and West Ham United.  During the season, Leeds managed to win seven matches in a row in the top flight, equalling a record set by Don Revie’s great side of the 1970s.  It was a great effort from David O’Leary in his first season in charge, after George Graham moved to Tottenham in October, where he guided them to Worthington Cup glory, but little else.  There was a changing of the guard at Liverpool, as Gerard Houillier was appointed joint manager with Roy Evans in the summer.  It had ‘disaster’ written all over it and Evans quit in November.  Seventh place was their worst finish in five years, but Michael Owen was joint top scorer again.  It was worse for Blackburn Rovers, who slipped out of the FA Premier League.  Jack Walker could only watch on, as his beloved club were relegated along with Charlton Athletic and Nottingham Forest, just four years after being champions. 

CHAMPIONS: Manchester United, 2^nd: Arsenal, 3^rd: Chelsea, 4^th: Leeds United, 5^th: West Ham United, 6^th: Aston Villa, 7^th: Liverpool, 8^th; Derby County, 9^th: Middlesbrough, 10^th: Leicester City

RELEGATED: Charlton Athletic, Blackburn Rovers, Nottingham Forest

BIGGEST WIN: Nottingham Forest 1-8 Manchester United (6 February 1999)

HIGHEST SCORING GAMES: Nottingham Forest 1-8 Manchester United (6 February 1999), Liverpool 7-1 Southampton (16 January 1999), Leicester City 2-6 Manchester United (16 January 1999)

SCORERS: Yorke (Manchester United) 18, Hasselbaink (Leeds) 18, Owen (Liverpool) 18, Cole (Manchester United) 17, Anelka (Arsenal) 17, Ricard (Middlesbrough) 15, Joachim (Aston Villa) 14, Fowler (Liverpool) 14, Shearer (Newcastle) 14, Dublin (Coventry & Aston Villa) 14, Zola (Chelsea) 13

1999/00

MANCHESTER United’s grip on the Premiership title continued in season 1999/2000 – coasting to the title, a mammoth 18 points clear of their nearest challengers.  Although Real Madrid were too strong in their Champions League defence and there was an embarrassing early exit from the FIFA World Club Championship in Brazil, Sir Alex Ferguson’s side swept all amongst them in this campaign, as their strength in depth showed throughout.  The champions only lost three games all season; one of those was a 5-0 battering at Stamford Bridge by Chelsea.  Chelsea, who had ran the established challengers close the previous campaign never recovered from a 2-3 defeat at the hands of Arsenal in October, when Kanu scored an incredible 17 minute hat-trick.  Fifth place was a poor finish and put Gianluca Vialli under pressure, although an FA Cup final victory at Wembley (a trophy Manchester United forfeited to play, due to their Brazil commitments) softened the blow.  If there was one team that pushed Manchester United the hardest, it was David O’Leary’s young guns, Leeds United.  Leeds topped the table at Christmas and gave Ferguson’s team some early season headaches, before a crucial defeat to United at home in February.  Tragedy would later befall the club in April, when two Leeds supporters were stabbed to death in Istanbul before their UEFA Cup semi-final with Galatasaray.  After the grief and shock, Leeds got over the finishing line and claimed the final Champions League place, ahead of Liverpool, who made a right old mess of their final matches and ended fourth, when second was theirs for the taking.  Once again, Arsenal finished runners-up, but lacked the consistency to mount any serious threat to their great rivals.  Daft away defeats to the likes of West Ham, Tottenham and Bradford exposed the Gunners frailties.  12 wins at home made Highfield Road a very formidable ground for Coventry City.  This meant that despite not winning a single match away from home all season, relegation never looked a significant problem for the Sky Blues.  It did for Newcastle early on, as Ruud Gullit was dismissed after losing out in a battle for supremacy with skipper Alan Shearer.  Bobby Robson returned home, reignited Shearer’s goalscoring form and guided them to comfortable mid-table security.  Among their highlights was an 8-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday on Robson’s home debut, with Shearer scoring five times.  At the bottom of the table, Watford went straight back down, although they did record memorable wins over Liverpool and Chelsea in the early weeks of the season.  Sheffield Wednesday sacked Danny Wilson in March and caretaker boss Peter Shreeves couldn’t keep them afloat.  The final relegation spot went down to the final day of the season.  David Wetherall’s fantastic header was enough for Bradford City to beat Liverpool 1-0 and keep them up.  Wimbledon lost 2-0 to Southampton.  They went down, ending their 14-year stay in the top flight, promoting unbridled joy at Valley Parade.

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

RELEGATED: Wimbledon, Sheffield Wednesday, Watford

BIGGEST WIN: Newcastle United 8-0 Sheffield Wednesday (19 September 1999)

HIGHEST SCORING GAMES: West Ham United 5-4 Bradford City (12 February 2000), Tottenham Hotspur 7-2 Southampton (11 March 2000), Bradford City 4-4 Derby County (19 April 2000)

SCORERS: Phillips (Sunderland) 30, Shearer (Newcastle) 23, Yorke (Manchester United) 20, Cole (Manchester United) 19, Bridges (Leeds) 19, Henry (Arsenal) 17, Di Canio (West Ham) 16, Armstrong (Tottenham) 14, Quinn (Sunderland) 14, Iversen (Tottenham) 14, Pahars (Southampton) 13

2000/01

ONCE again, Manchester United’s supreme class shone through, as they took their third successive Premiership title.  Their final margin of victory by ten points over Arsenal flattered the Gunners, as Sir Alex Ferguson side were miles ahead of the competition again.  This was no more evident when they played Arsenal on 25 February.  They were 5-1 up inside half an hour, eventually winning 6-1.  The crushing result took them 16 points clear of Arsene Wenger’s side.  They secured the title on Easter Saturday, with a 4-2 victory over Coventry City in a lunchtime kick-off.  Hours later, any mathematical hope Arsenal had of launching a sensational comeback were ended in a shock 3-0 loss at home to Middlesbrough, not helped by two own goals in the match.  It was a great season for Liverpool, who began to blossom under Gerard Houiller’s stewardship.  They won an incredible treble of cup competitions (UEFA Cup, Worthington Cup and FA Cup).  Not only that, but an impressive 4-0 demolition of Charlton Athletic on the final day of the season ensured Champions League qualification for the first time since the Heysel stadium disaster of 1985; a fitting reward for the club.  The season will also be remembered for a fantastic league double over the league champions Manchester United for the first time in 11 years.  Chelsea won the Charity Shield, but made a depressingly slow start to the season and dispensed with the services of Gianluca Vialli at the beginning of September.  The relatively unheard Claudio Ranieri came into the hotseat.  Ranieri got the tag of ‘The Tinkerman,’ but he managed to bring the team upto sixth position in the final standings, with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink returning to the Premiership after an unhappy season in Spain, and ending as the league’s top scorer.  Manager of the season however was George Burley.  The Scotsman, on a limited budget took his Ipswich Town side to a hugely impressive fifth position in their first season back in the top flight.  Marcus Stewart scored 19 league goals as the Tractor Boys came within a whisker of Champions League qualification.  Another side that impressed were Sunderland, with Peter Reid’s side holding down a genuine second position in January, before coming seventh for the second successive season.  Southampton bid an emotional farewell to The Dell at the end of the season after 103 years.  Despite manager Glenn Hoddle walking out on them for the Tottenham job in March, the Saints finished life at the old ground on a high, with Matt Le Tissier scoring an 89^th minute winner on the final day against Arsenal.  Another Premiership stalwart lost their status, as Coventry City finally got consigned to relegation after 34 years in the top flight.  They went down after a 3-2 defeat at Aston Villa in May with Manchester City and Bradford City also going down.

CHAMPIONS: Manchester United, 2^nd: Arsenal, 3^rd: Liverpool, 4^th: Leeds United 5^th: Ipswich Town, 6^th: Chelsea, 7^th: Sunderland, 8^th; Aston Villa, 9^th: Charlton Athletic, 10^th: Southampton

RELEGATED: Manchester City, Coventry City, Bradford City

BIGGEST WIN: Manchester United 6-0 Bradford City (5 September 2000)

HIGHEST SCORING GAMES: Arsenal 5-3 Charlton Athletic (26 August 2000), Chelsea 6-1 Coventry City (22 October 2000), Leeds United 4-3 Liverpool (4 November 2000)

SCORERS: Hasselbaink (Chelsea) 23, Stewart (Ipswich) 19, Henry (Arsenal) 17, Viduka (Leeds) 17, Owen (Liverpool) 16, Sheringham (Manchester United) 15, Heskey (Liverpool) 14, Phillips (Sunderland) 14, Boksic (Middlesbrough) 12, Smith (Leeds) 11, Poyet (Chelsea) 11

2001/02

AFTER eight loyal seasons, brewery giant Carling was replaced as title sponsors by Barclaycard.  With the change came a gripping scrap for the title between Manchester United, Newcastle United, Leeds United, Liverpool and Arsenal.  Leeds and Newcastle set the pace in the early weeks, with Manchester United struggling to integrate Juan Sebastian Veron and Ruud van Nistlerooy into their squad.  They did produce an epic comeback, from 3-0 down at half-time in September to Tottenham, storming back to win 5-3 but after a 0-1 reverse at home to West Ham in December, Sir Alex Ferguson’s team were 9^th in the table, 11 points off the pace.  Cue a historic scoring run from Van Nistlerooy, with the Dutchman becoming the first player to score in eight successive Premiership matches, as the champions charged to the top of the table.  However, Arsenal looked in even better form, staying unbeaten away from home all season and scoring in every single FA Barclaycard Premiership game.  The crunch match came on May 8, where Sylvain Wiltord’s second half winner sealed Arsenal’s second Premiership title at Old Trafford.  To take the championship away in the backyard of their main rivals just made the success all the sweeter for Arsene Wenger.  On top of that, they achieved the league and cup double and Thierry Henry edged out Van Nistlerooy and Alan Shearer to win the Golden Boot for the first time.  Worse was to come for Manchester United, as they finished out of the top two for the first time in Premiership history.  Liverpool’s 5-0 final day victory over Ipswich Town sealed runners-up spot for the Reds, despite losing manager Gerard Houillier to a serious heart scare at half-time of a match with Leeds United on October 13.  Phil Thompson did a brilliant job in caretaker charge, including inspiring the men from Merseyside to another league double over Manchester United.  Liverpool’s final day victory also meant Ipswich had to deal with relegation, just a season after finishing fifth and earning UEFA Cup qualification.  It was a terrible year for the East Midlands, with both Derby County and Leicester City changing managers as many times as hot dinners and both ended up being relegated.  This meant that for the first time in Premiership history, the three promoted clubs all managed to stay up.  Fulham were welcomed into the Barclaycard Premiership family and comfortably stayed up, as did Bolton Wanderers.  Bolton even topped the table after three matches, which included a shock win against Liverpool.  After two seasons away, Blackburn returned too and finished a creditable tenth.  Graeme Souness bought Andy Cole from Manchester United at Christmas, inspired his team to a 7-1 demolition of West Ham along the way and also earnt European football, via their triumph in the Worthington Cup final. 

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

RELEGATED: Ipswich Town, Derby County, Leicester City

BIGGEST WIN: Blackburn Rovers 7-1 West Ham United (14 October 2001)

HIGHEST SCORING GAMES: Tottenham Hotspur 3-5 Manchester United (29 September 2001), Charlton Athletic 4-4 West Ham United (19 November 2001), West Ham United 3-5 Manchester United (17 March 2002)

SCORERS: Henry (Arsenal) 24, Van Nistlerooy (Manchester United) 23, Shearer (Newcastle) 23, Hasselbaink (Chelsea) 23, Owen (Liverpool) 19, Solskjaer (Manchester United) 17, Fowler (Liverpool & Leeds) 15, Gudjohnsen (Chelsea) 14, Pahars (Southampton) 14, Cole (Manchester United & Blackburn) 13, Ljungberg (Arsenal) 12, Ricketts (Bolton) 12, Angel (Aston Villa) 12 

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 

Sky and ESPN announce TV fixtures

Sky Sports and ESPN have announced their first set of live Premiership televised fixtures for the 2011/12 season.

Newcastle United and Arsenal will be involved in the first televised fixture of the season, to be shown on ESPN at 5.30pm on Saturday 13 August.  I bet the broadcaster will be hoping for another memorable battle between these sides.  Last season's corresponding fixture finished in a 4-4 draw.  A day later, last year's top two will be involved in a double bill on Ford Super Sunday.  Chelsea visit FA Cup finalists Stoke City at 1.30pm on August 14, followed by defending champions Manchester United's trip to the Hawthorns to face West Brom at 4pm.  Twenty-four hours later, Manchester City begin their quest for Premiership glory against newboys Swansea City in the first Monday Night Football of the campaign at 8pm.

The following weekend sees Arsenal v Liverpool and Manchester United v Tottenham on Sky Sports, with the following fixtures all confirmed until the end of November.

13 AUG 11	Newcastle United v Arsenal	17:30
14 AUG 11	Stoke City v Chelsea	13:30
14 AUG 11	West Bromwich Albion v Manchester United	16:00
15 AUG 11	Manchester City v Swansea City	20:00
20 AUG 11	Arsenal v Liverpool	12:45
20 AUG 11	Chelsea v West Bromwich Albion	17:30
21 AUG 11	Bolton Wanderers v Manchester City	16:00
22 AUG 11	Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur	20:00
27 AUG 11	Aston Villa v Wolverhampton Wanderers	12:05
27 AUG 11	Liverpool v Bolton Wanderers	17:30
28 AUG 11	Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City	13:30
28 AUG 11	Manchester United v Arsenal	16:00
10 SEP 11	Bolton Wanderers v Manchester United	17:30
11 SEP 11	Norwich City v West Bromwich Albion	13:30
11 SEP 11	Fulham v Blackburn Rovers	16:00
12 SEP 11	Queens Park Rangers v Newcastle United	20:00
17 SEP 11	Blackburn Rovers v Arsenal	12:45
18 SEP 11	Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool	13:30
18 SEP 11	Manchester United v Chelsea	16:00
24 SEP 11	Manchester City v Everton	12:45
24 SEP 11	Stoke City v Manchester United	17:30
25 SEP 11	Queens Park Rangers v Aston Villa	16:00
26 SEP 11	Norwich City v Sunderland	20:00
01 OCT 11	Everton v Liverpool	12:45
02 OCT 11	Bolton Wanderers v Chelsea	13:30
02 OCT 11	Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal	16:00
15 OCT 11	Liverpool v Manchester United	12:45
15 OCT 11	Chelsea v Everton	17:30
16 OCT 11	Manchester City v Aston Villa	13:30
16 OCT 11	Newcastle United v Tottenham Hotspur	16:00
22 OCT 11	Wolverhampton Wanderers v Swansea City	12:45
22 OCT 11	Liverpool Norwich City	17:30
23 OCT 11	Manchester United v Manchester City	13:30
23 OCT 11	Queens Park Rangers v Chelsea	16:00
29 OCT 11	Chelsea v Arsenal	12:45
29 OCT 11	West Bromwich Albion v Liverpool	17:30
30 OCT 11	Tottenham Hotspur v Queens Park Rangers	16:00
31 OCT 11	Stoke City v Newcastle United	20:00
05 NOV 11	Newcastle United v Everton	12:45
05 NOV 11	Queens Park Rangers v Manchester City	17:30
06 NOV 11	Wolverhampton Wanderers v Wigan Athletic	13:30
06 NOV 11	Fulham v Tottenham Hotspur	16:00
19 NOV 11	Norwich City v Arsenal	12:45
19 NOV 11	Swansea City v Manchester United	17:30
20 NOV 11	Chelsea v Liverpool	16:00
21 NOV 11	Tottenham Hotspur v Aston Villa	20:00
26 NOV 11	Arsenal v Fulham	17:30
27 NOV 11	Swansea City v Aston Villa	13:30
27 NOV 11	Liverpool v Manchester City	16:00
28 NOV 11	Stoke City v Blackburn Rovers	20:00