1992-1999 The Premier League and Sky Television

The FA Premier League was formed in 1992 when the top twenty two clubs in English football broke away from the football league, in order to increase their incomes and make themselves more competitive on a European stage. By selling TV rights separately to the football league, the clubs increased their income and exposure. The Premier League became the top level of English football, and Division One (later renamed the Football League Championship) fell to the second level.

Manchester United were the first Premiership winners, their first title in 26 years, and under Alex Ferguson, they dominated English football during the 1990s, winning five league titles (including two doubles), one League Cup, one Cup Winners' Cup and, in 1999, a unique treble: the FA Cup, League and Champions League all in one season. Their success was made even more remarkable by the high number of players who came up simultaneously through their youth system, including brothers Gary and Philip Neville, Paul Scholes and David Beckham. This success spilled over into the 2000s, as they won three league titles in four years.

United's main challengers for the title in the Premier League's first few years were Blackburn Rovers, led by star striker Alan Shearer, also won their first league title since World War I in 1994-95, and Newcastle United, who famously conceded a 10-point lead at Christmas to lose the title to United in 1995-96. Newcastle had reached the Premiership in 1993 as Division One champions, and in their first Premiership campaign finished third to qualify for the UEFA Cup. They finished second in 1996 and again in 1997, but by the end of the decade had wallowed away to mid table.

Blackburn failed to sustain their success after the 1995 title triumph, and in 1999 they were relegated to Division One.

A number of other teams challenged for the title in the early Premiership years. Aston Villa finished second in 1993, but declined over the next two seasons (despite a League Cup victory in 1994). They enjoyed a revival in 1996, winning the League Cup and finishing fourth in the Premiership, and by 1999 had qualified for the UEFA Cup five times in seven seasons, though their continental form had been unconvincing. Norwich City were surprise title contenders in 1992-93 under new manager Mike Walker, leading the table at several stages before finishing third - and doing so entered the UEFA Cup for the first time in their history. They achieved a shock win over Bayern Munich before being eliminated by Inter Milan, but were unable to keep up their good progress and in 1995 fell into Division One. By the end of the decade, they had yet to make a Premiership comeback.

Many teams that had succeed in the 1970s and 1980s did not fare as well in the Premiership. Liverpool were unable to dominate the decade as they had done in the 70s and 80s; after their 1990 title win, their only other trophies of the decade were the FA Cup in 1992 and the League Cup in 1995. Everton fared no better, although they won the FA Cup in 1995, beating Manchester United, they were continually involved in relegation battles throughout the decade. Manchester City also fought relegation, but lost, slipping into the Division One in 1996 and Division Two in 1998. But two successive promotions saw them back in the Premiership for the 2000-01 season. Nottingham Forest were relegated from the Premier League three times, in 1993, 1997 and 1999, and unlike City have yet to return.

Arsenal began the Premier League with moderate league form (a shortage of goals restricting them to 10th place) but excellent form in the cups, as they became the first English team to win both domestic cups in the same season - beating Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 in both finals. They won the Cup Winners' Cup a year later, but manager George Graham was sacked the following February after admitting to receiving a "bung" when signing Danish midfielder John Jensen in 1992. They reached the Cup Winners' Cup final for the second year running under temporary manager Stewart Houston, but finished 12th in the Premiership. They reached fifth the following season under new manager Bruce Rioch, who was sacked for a dispute with the directors soon afterwards and replaced by Frenchman Arsene Wenger. Under Wenger, they won the double in 1998 to become only the second team in English football to repeat this triumph - though, unlike Manchester United two years earlier, with an entirely different set of players.

English football grew wealthier and more popular than ever before, with clubs spending tens of millions of pounds on players and on their wages, which rose to over £100,000 a week for the top stars. This also made it harder for promoted clubs to establish themselves at the top flight. In 1993, newly promoted Middlesbrough lost their top flight status after just one season, while Blackburn finished fourth and Ipswich finished 16th (having occupied fourth place in February). In 1994, newly-promoted Swindon went down after winning just five games all season and conceding 100 goals. Newcastle, meanwhile, qualified for the UEFA Cup in third place and West Ham achieved a respectable 13th place finish. In 1995, newly-promoted Nottingham Forest matched Newcastle's success by coming third and qualifying for the UEFA Cup, while Crystal Palace and Leicester City went straight back down. In 1996, newly-promoted Bolton Wanderers went straight back down, while Middlesbrough attained a secure 12th place (they would have finished even higher had it not been for a dismal mid-season run of form which saw them endure 10 defeats from 11 games). In 1997, newly-promoted Leicester City finished ninth and won the League Cup, while Derby County finished 12th, but Sunderland went straight back down. In 1998, all three newly-promoted teams - Bolton Wanderers, Barnsley and Crystal Palace - were relegated straight back to Division One. In 1999, Middlesbrough attained an impressive ninth place finish, but Charlton Athletic and Nottingham Forest were relegated.
The Premier League was decreased from 22 to 20 clubs in 1995.

The national team over this period varied in their success, failing to qualify for the 1994 World Cup but reaching the semi-finals in Euro 96, losing on penalties to Germany at the semi-final stage. They also achieved automatic qualification for the 1998 World Cup, losing to Argentina on penalties in the Second Round. Manager Graham Taylor had quit in November 1993 after failing to attain a World Cup place, and his successor Terry Venables left after the encouraging Euro 96 campaign due to off-the-field disputes. His successor Glenn Hoddle took England to the World Cup, but was fired the following February after a controversial newspaper interview in which he suggested that disabled people were being punished for sins in a previous life. His successor Kevin Keegan achieved the task of attaining qualification for Euro 2000.

The trend for clubs to relocate to new stadiums accelerated throughout the 1990s. By the end of the decade, Walsall, Chester City, Milwall, Huddersfield Town, Northampton Town, Middlesbrough, Derby County, Sunderland, Bolton Wanderers, Stoke City, Reading and Wigan Athletic had all moved to new stadiums, and several other clubs were planning to relocate. This was due to the requirement that all Premier League and Division One stadiums had to have all-seater stadiums by the start of the 1994-95 season, although standing accommodation was still permitted at Division Two and Three stadiums, as well as non-league venues.

Prominent footballers who emerged during the 1990s include Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, Michael Owen, Sol Campbell, Chris Sutton, Robbie Fowler, Gary Neville and Rio Ferdinand.

As well as British and Irish talent, there were numerous foreign imports to the English game during the decade who went on to achieve stardom with English clubs. These include Eric Cantona, Jurgen Klinsmann, Dennis Bergkamp, Gianfranco Zola, Patrick Vieira and Peter Schmeichel.

Many experienced players whose careers began during the 1980s were still playing at the highest level as the 1990s drew to a close. These include David Seaman, Tony Adams, Gary Pallister, Colin Hendry, Paul Ince, Alan Shearer and Mark Hughes.
The decade also saw the illustrious careers of numerous legendary players draw to a close. These include Bryan Robson, Gordon Strachan, Ian Rush, Peter Beardsley, Steve Bruce, John Barnes and Peter Shilton.

Successful managers of this era include Alex Ferguson, Kenny Dalglish, Arsene Wenger, Ruud Gullit, Gianluca Vialli, George Graham, Joe Royle, Frank Clark, Brian Little and Martin O'Neill.

2000 - Present - Financial Polarization >