새로운 새벽 | A New Dawn

When twenty-two football clubs kicked off the new season in August 1992, we saw a new dawn in English football, with the creation of the FA Premier League.

A world of difference

The Premier League was, in many ways, very different from the Premier League today, but some things remained the same. The first champion of the Premier League was the current champion, Manchester United, while nine other clubs in the current Premier League were also there; Arsenal, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester City, Middlesbrough and Tottenham Hotspur.

The ‘Big Four’ were not as dominant back then, however, as Liverpool finished down in sixth place in that first season while Arsenal and Chelsea were even lower, down in tenth and eleventh places respectively. United won the title with ten points to spare and their closest challengers that season were Aston Villa, Norwich City and Blackburn.

Several teams have fallen from grace since those heady days of 1992 and the Premier League of that year included such teams as Leeds United, Nottingham Forest and Queens Park Rangers as well as Oldham Athletic, Southampton, Coventry City, Ipswich Town, Crystal Palace and both of the Steel City clubs, Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday, plus the now-defunct Wimbledon.

Of the current Premier League clubs, Newcastle United and West Ham United were in Division One and would be promoted to the Premier League at the end of the season, while Portsmouth just missed out on going up by losing in the play-offs and Sunderland narrowly survived relegation to Division Two. Down in Division Two were Stoke City, Bolton Wanderers and West Bromwich Albion, who would all be promoted to the second tier, plus Fulham in mid-table and Hull City, who missed relegation to the bottom division by one place and Wigan Athletic, who would be relegated to the bottom tier that season.

The season

The first season of the Premier League started on 15 August, 1992 and the first goal was scored by Sheffield United striker, Brian Deane, as the Blades upset title favourites, Man United, 2-1. Television coverage had provided the funds for the creation of the Premier League, and BSkyB had paid 305 million pounds for those exclusive rights. The first match shown live was from Anfield on 16 August and was a victory by Nottingham Forest over Liverpool, with Teddy Sheringham, netting the first live goal. Sheringham then moved to Tottenham later that month and became the Premier League’s top scorer with 22 goals.

The season itself saw Manchester United end its 26-year wait for a league title and manager, Alex Ferguson, rewarded as Manager of the Year, while Ryan Giggs was voted Young Player of the Year for a second consecutive year by his colleagues at the PFA, (Professional Footballers’ Association). The victorious Red Devils were also inspired by their top scorer, Mark Hughes, alongside the hugely talented but temperamental Frenchman, Eric Cantona, who was sensationally signed from Leeds United in November. Also notable were the calm and dependable Gary Pallister at the back and the tenacious and confident Paul Ince, who would become England’s first black captain at the end of the season, in midfield.

Success and disappointment

Arsenal may have struggled in the League, but the club and their fans had a great time in the knockout competitions, as the Gunners won a unique double of both the League Cup and the FA Cup, to the dismay of Sheffield Wednesday fans, as the Owls, finished as losing finalists in both tournaments, despite the wondrous talents of winger Chris Waddle, who was voted Footballer of the Year. Aston Villa’s classy centre-back, Paul McGrath, meanwhile, was chosen as the PFA’s Player of the Year.

Even more disappointed were the fans of Nottingham Forest, Crystal Palace and Middlesbrough as those three teams were relegated at the end of the first season of the Premier League, to the relief of Oldham Athletic, as the Latics survived for another season only on goal difference and by the tiny margin of two goals, after winning the final game of the season 4-3 away at Southampton.

What do you think?
How has the Premier League changed since 1992?

© Andy Wray, British Council Thailand and Bangkok Post

Sources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FA_Premier_League_1992%E2%80%9393 (retrieved 11 August, 2008)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992-93_in_English_football (retrieved 11 August, 2008)


<Questions>

Understanding the story
1. When was the first season of the Premier League?
2. On what date did the season begin?
3. Which team was the first champion of the Premier League?
4. How many clubs played in the Premier League that season?
5. How many current Premier League teams played in that first season?

Answer

Players
1. Who scored the first goal in the Premier League?
2. Who was voted as Footballer of the Year?
3. Who was voted as the PFA Player of the Year?
4. Who was the PFA’s Young Player of the Year?
5. Who scored the first live televised goal in the Premier League?

Answer

True or false?
1. Arsenal won both the FA Cup and the League Cup.
2. Sheffield United lost in the final of the FA Cup and the League Cup.
3. Manchester United and Liverpool both lost their first games.
4. Wigan Athletic played in the bottom division of the Football League that season.
5. Oldham Athletic was relegated at the end of the first season.

Answer

Nicknames
Who are these teams?
1. The Red Devils
2. The Gunners
3. The Owls
4. The Blades
5. The Latics

Answer

Vocabulary
Match these meanings with the words in bold in the story.
1. disappointment
2. extremely good
3. money
4. scoring
5. determined
6. exciting
7. moody
8. more important
9. those trying to win
10. stopped being popular

Answer