1993–94 FA Premier League
The 1993–94 FA Premier League (known as the FA Carling Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the second season of the Premier League, the top division of professional football in England. Manchester United won the league by eight points over nearest challengers Blackburn Rovers, their second consecutive league title. Swindon Town finished bottom of the league in their first season of top-flight football and were relegated along with Sheffield United and Oldham Athletic. Manchester United also broke their own record of the most points in a season, set by themselves the previous season. This would be surpassed by Chelsea in the 2004–05 season.
Season | 1993–94 |
---|---|
Dates | 14 August 1993 – 08 May 1994 |
Champions | Manchester United 2nd Premier League title 9th English title |
Relegated | Sheffield United Oldham Athletic Swindon Town |
Champions League | Manchester United |
Cup Winners' Cup | Arsenal Chelsea |
UEFA Cup | Blackburn Rovers Newcastle United Aston Villa |
Goals scored | 1,195 |
Top goalscorer | Andy Cole (34) |
Biggest home win | Newcastle United 7–1 Swindon Town (12 March 1994) |
Biggest away win | Swindon Town 0–5 Liverpool (22 August 1993) Swindon Town 0–5 Leeds United (7 May 1994) |
Highest scoring | Norwich City 4–5 Southampton (9 April 1994) |
Longest winning run | 8 games[1] Manchester United |
Longest unbeaten run | 22 games[1] Manchester United |
Longest winless run | 15 games[1] Swindon Town |
Longest losing run | 7 games[1] Tottenham Hotspur |
Highest attendance | 45,347[2] Aston Villa v Liverpool (7 May 1994) |
Lowest attendance | 4,739[2] Wimbledon v Coventry City (26 December 1993) |
← 1992–93 1994–95 → |
Overview
New league sponsors
From the start of the 1993–94 season, the FA Premier League was sponsored by Carling Breweries.
Transfers
Just before the start of the season, Roy Keane became the most expensive footballer signed by an English football team. The 22-year-old Irish midfielder left relegated Nottingham Forest for Manchester United for a fee of £3.75 million.
During the 1993–94 season, many players were transferred between Premier League clubs for fees exceeding £1 million. They included David White (Manchester City to Leeds United), David Rocastle (Leeds United to Manchester City), Roy Wegerle (Blackburn Rovers to Coventry City) and Tim Flowers (Southampton to Blackburn Rovers). At £2.5 million, Flowers became the most expensive goalkeeper in English football.
Summary
Manchester United led the 1993–94 Premier League for almost all of the season, eventually finishing as champions eight points ahead of runners-up Blackburn Rovers. They also won the FA Cup after beating Chelsea 4–0 in the final, thereby becoming only the fourth team to achieve this feat in the 20th century (after Tottenham in 1961, Arsenal in 1971 and Liverpool in 1986). Their lead of the Premier League stood at 11 points by the end of October and peaked at 16 points two months later, but a run of bad results in March was followed by defeat at Blackburn at the beginning of April, which meant that they now led the league merely on goal difference. A return to form then saw United seal the league title with two games still to play.
Norwich City, Leeds United, Newcastle United, Everton and Aston Villa were among the sides who showed promise early in the season before Manchester United established a runaway lead. Norwich reached the third round of the UEFA Cup after famously beating Bayern Munich in the second round, but their league form slumped after manager Mike Walker departed to Everton in January, and the Norfolk side finished 12th. Everton's brief lead of the league in the opening stages of the season was followed by a slump in form, and manager Howard Kendall stepped down at the beginning of December with the Toffees now in the bottom half of the table. They only narrowly avoided relegation on the final day of the season. Aston Villa finished a disappointing 10th in the league, but won the Football League Cup for the fourth time.
Finishing runners-up in the Premier League were Blackburn Rovers. In third place came Newcastle United, whose 22-year-old striker Andy Cole was the Premier League's leading scorer with 34 goals in 40 games, with a total of 41 goals in all competitions. In fourth place came Arsenal, who achieved success in European competition with a 1–0 win over Parma in the Cup Winners' Cup final.
Swindon Town managed just five league wins all season and were relegated in bottom place having conceded 100 league goals in 42 games. Oldham Athletic, who had avoided relegation on goal difference the previous season, were relegated on the final day of the season after failing to win at Norwich City. The final relegation place went to Sheffield United, who were relegated from the top flight after a 3–2 defeat at Chelsea, with the winning goal coming in injury time (a draw would have been enough to survive, and a loss would have still been enough had Everton not won their final match, 3–2 at home to Wimbledon after coming from 0–2 down).
Teams
Twenty-two teams competed in the league – the top nineteen teams from the previous season and the three teams promoted from the First Division. The promoted teams were Newcastle United, West Ham United and Swindon Town. Newcastle United and West Ham United returned to the top flight after absences of four and one year respectively, while Swindon Town played in the top flight for the first time. They replaced Crystal Palace, Middlesbrough and Nottingham Forest, who were relegated to the First Division after their top flight spells of four, one and sixteen years respectively.
Stadiums and locations
- Due to Wimbledon lacking a home stadium, they played their home games at Selhurst Park, which is the home stadium of Crystal Palace.
Personnel and kits
(as of 8 May 1994)
Managerial changes
Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chelsea | David Webb | End of caretaker spell | 11 May 1993 | Pre-season | Glenn Hoddle | 4 June 1993 |
Ipswich Town | John Lyall | Promoted to Director of Football | 30 May 1993 | Mick McGiven | 1 June 1993 | |
Swindon Town | Glenn Hoddle | Signed by Chelsea | 4 June 1993 | John Gorman | 4 June 1993 | |
Tottenham Hotspur | Doug Livermore Ray Clemence |
Sacked | 19 June 1993 | Osvaldo Ardiles | 19 June 1993 | |
Manchester City | Peter Reid | Sacked | 26 August 1993 | 20th | Tony Book (caretaker) | 27 August 1993 |
Tony Book | End of caretaker spell | 28 August 1993 | 17th | Brian Horton | 28 August 1993 | |
Coventry City | Bobby Gould | Resigned | 23 October 1993 | 14th | Phil Neal | 23 October 1993 |
Everton | Howard Kendall | 4 December 1993 | 13th | Jimmy Gabriel (caretaker) | 4 December 1993 | |
Jimmy Gabriel | End of caretaker spell | 6 January 1994 | 19th | Mike Walker | 6 January 1994 | |
Norwich City | Mike Walker | Signed by Everton | 8th | John Deehan | ||
Southampton | Ian Branfoot | Sacked | 10 January 1994 | 21st | Dave Merrington (caretaker) | 10 January 1994 |
Dave Merrington | End of caretaker spell | 20 January 1994 | 20th | Alan Ball | 20 January 1994 | |
Liverpool | Graeme Souness | Sacked | 28 January 1994 | 5th | Roy Evans | 30 January 1994 |
Ipswich Town | Mick McGiven | Became assistant manager | 15 February 1994 | 14th | John Lyall | 16 February 1994 |
League table
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Manchester United (C) | 42 | 27 | 11 | 4 | 80 | 38 | +42 | 92 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
2 | Blackburn Rovers | 42 | 25 | 9 | 8 | 63 | 36 | +27 | 84 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
3 | Newcastle United | 42 | 23 | 8 | 11 | 82 | 41 | +41 | 77 | |
4 | Arsenal | 42 | 18 | 17 | 7 | 53 | 28 | +25 | 71 | Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round[lower-alpha 1] |
5 | Leeds United | 42 | 18 | 16 | 8 | 65 | 39 | +26 | 70 | |
6 | Wimbledon | 42 | 18 | 11 | 13 | 56 | 53 | +3 | 65 | |
7 | Sheffield Wednesday | 42 | 16 | 16 | 10 | 76 | 54 | +22 | 64 | |
8 | Liverpool | 42 | 17 | 9 | 16 | 59 | 55 | +4 | 60 | |
9 | Queens Park Rangers | 42 | 16 | 12 | 14 | 62 | 61 | +1 | 60 | |
10 | Aston Villa | 42 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 46 | 50 | −4 | 57 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round[lower-alpha 2] |
11 | Coventry City | 42 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 43 | 45 | −2 | 56 | |
12 | Norwich City | 42 | 12 | 17 | 13 | 65 | 61 | +4 | 53 | |
13 | West Ham United | 42 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 47 | 58 | −11 | 52 | |
14 | Chelsea | 42 | 13 | 12 | 17 | 49 | 53 | −4 | 51 | Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round[lower-alpha 3] |
15 | Tottenham Hotspur | 42 | 11 | 12 | 19 | 54 | 59 | −5 | 45 | |
16 | Manchester City | 42 | 9 | 18 | 15 | 38 | 49 | −11 | 45 | |
17 | Everton | 42 | 12 | 8 | 22 | 42 | 63 | −21 | 44 | |
18 | Southampton | 42 | 12 | 7 | 23 | 49 | 66 | −17 | 43 | |
19 | Ipswich Town | 42 | 9 | 16 | 17 | 35 | 58 | −23 | 43 | |
20 | Sheffield United (R) | 42 | 8 | 18 | 16 | 42 | 60 | −18 | 42 | Relegation to the Football League First Division |
21 | Oldham Athletic (R) | 42 | 9 | 13 | 20 | 42 | 68 | −26 | 40 | |
22 | Swindon Town (R) | 42 | 5 | 15 | 22 | 47 | 100 | −53 | 30 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- Arsenal qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup as the defending champions.
- Aston Villa qualified for the UEFA Cup as League Cup winners.
- Chelsea qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup as FA Cup runners-up, as winners Manchester United qualified for the Champions League.
Results
Season statistics
Top scorers
Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Andy Cole | Newcastle United | 34 |
2 | Alan Shearer | Blackburn Rovers | 31 |
3 | Matt Le Tissier | Southampton | 25 |
Chris Sutton | Norwich City | 25 | |
5 | Ian Wright | Arsenal | 23 |
6 | Peter Beardsley | Newcastle United | 21 |
7 | Mark Bright | Sheffield Wednesday | 19 |
8 | Eric Cantona | Manchester United | 18 |
9 | Dean Holdsworth | Wimbledon | 17 |
Rod Wallace | Leeds United | 17 |
Hat-tricks
Player | For | Against | Result | Date | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Micky Quinn | Coventry City | Arsenal | 3–0 (A) | 14 August 1993 | [3] |
Tony Cottee | Everton | Sheffield United | 4–2 (H) | 21 August 1993 | [4] |
Kevin Campbell | Arsenal | Ipswich Town | 4–0 (H) | 11 September 1993 | [5] |
Efan Ekoku | Norwich City | Everton | 5–1 (A) | 25 September 1993 | [6] |
Alan Shearer | Blackburn Rovers | Leeds United | 3–3 (A) | 23 October 1993 | [7] |
Peter Beardsley | Newcastle United | Wimbledon | 4–0 (H) | 30 October 1993 | [8] |
Robbie Fowler | Liverpool | Southampton | 4–2 (H) | 30 October 1993 | [9] |
Bradley Allen | Queens Park Rangers | Everton | 3–0 (A) | 20 October 1993 | [10] |
Andy Cole | Newcastle United | Liverpool | 3–0 (H) | 21 October 1993 | [11] |
Kevin Campbell | Arsenal | Swindon Town | 4–0 (H) | 27 December 1993 | [12] |
Tony Cottee | Everton | Swindon Town | 6–2 (H) | 15 January 1994 | [13] |
Jan Åge Fjørtoft | Swindon Town | Coventry City | 3–1 (H) | 5 February 1994 | [14] |
Dean Saunders | Aston Villa | Swindon Town | 5–0 (H) | 12 February 1994 | [15] |
Matt Le Tissier | Southampton | Liverpool | 4–2 (H) | 14 February 1994 | [16] |
Andy Cole | Newcastle United | Coventry City | 4–0 (H) | 23 February 1994 | [17] |
Ian Wright | Arsenal | Ipswich Town | 5–1 (A) | 5 March 1994 | [18] |
Ian Wright | Arsenal | Southampton | 4–0 (A) | 19 March 1994 | [19] |
Matt Le Tissier | Southampton | Norwich City | 5–4 (A) | 9 April 1994 | [20] |
Dean Holdsworth | Wimbledon | Oldham Athletic | 3–0 (H) | 26 April 1994 | [21] |
- Note: (H) – Home; (A) – Away
Top assists
Rank | Player | Club | Assists[22] |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Andy Cole | Newcastle United | 13 |
2 | Eric Cantona | Manchester United | 12 |
3 | Brian Deane | Sheffield United | 11 |
Ruel Fox | Norwich City | ||
Chris Sutton | Norwich City | ||
6 | Matty Holmes | West Ham United | 10 |
Paul Ince | Manchester United | ||
Scott Sellars | Newcastle United | ||
/ Matt Le Tissier | Southampton |
Awards
Monthly awards
Month | Manager of the Month | References | |
---|---|---|---|
Manager | Club | ||
August | Alex Ferguson | Manchester United | [23] |
September | Joe Kinnear | Wimbledon | [23] |
October | Mike Walker | Norwich City | [23] |
November | Kevin Keegan | Newcastle United | [23] |
December | Trevor Francis | Sheffield Wednesday | [23] |
January | Kenny Dalglish | Blackburn Rovers | [23] |
February | Joe Royle | Oldham Athletic | [23] |
March | Joe Kinnear | Wimbledon | [23] |
April | [23] |
Annual awards
Flowers
Kelly
Pallister
Adams
Irwin
Ince
McAllister
Batty
Shearer
Cantona
Beardsley
|
Award | Winner | Club |
---|---|---|
Premier League Manager of the Season | Alex Ferguson | Manchester United |
PFA Players' Player of the Year | Eric Cantona[24] | Manchester United |
PFA Young Player of the Year | Andy Cole[25] | Newcastle United |
FWA Footballer of the Year | Alan Shearer[26] | Blackburn Rovers |
PFA Team of the Year | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Goalkeeper | Tim Flowers (Blackburn Rovers) | |||||||||||
Defence | Gary Kelly (Leeds United) | Gary Pallister (Manchester United) | Tony Adams (Arsenal) | Denis Irwin (Manchester United) | ||||||||
Midfield | Paul Ince (Manchester United) | Gary McAllister (Leeds United) | David Batty (Blackburn Rovers) | |||||||||
Attack | Alan Shearer (Blackburn Rovers) | Eric Cantona (Manchester United) | Peter Beardsley (Newcastle United) |
See also
References and notes
- "English Premier League 1993–94". statto.com. Archived from the original on 19 February 2015. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
- "Match Report". Retrieved 14 March 2017.
- "On this week..." Coventry City F.C. 17 August 2007. Archived from the original on 8 December 2008. Retrieved 11 July 2009.
- Dobson, Frank (22 August 1993). "Football: Cottee hits heights". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2009.
- "Arsenal 4–0 Ipswich". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 17 May 2005. Retrieved 13 July 2009.
- "Everton 1–5 Norwich". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 8 July 2009. Retrieved 13 January 2009.
- Winter, Henry (24 October 1993). "Leeds upstage Shearer show". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2009.
- "Newcastle 4–0 MK Dons". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 8 July 2009. Retrieved 13 January 2009.
- "Liverpool 4–0 Southampton". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 27 August 2005. Retrieved 13 July 2009.
- Houston, Bob (21 November 1993). "Football: Everton lose dignity". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 18 July 2009.
- Culley, Jon (22 November 1993). "Football: Cole collects hat-trick to humble Liverpool: Strikers display their talents as Newcastle's passing game destroys weakened visitors and West Bromwich are punished for errors". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2009.
- "GGG35: Ian Wright v Swindon Town, 1993". Arsenal F.C. Archived from the original on 24 July 2009. Retrieved 13 July 2009.
- "Everton 6–0 Swindon". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 8 July 2009. Retrieved 13 January 2009.
- Slot, Owen (6 February 1994). "Football: The age of Fjortoft". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2009.
- Houston, Bob (13 February 1994). "Football: Sizzling Saunders". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2009.
- Haylett, Trevor (15 February 1994). "Football: Le Tissier sets up the rout of poor Liverpool". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2009.
- Dobson, Frank (24 February 1994). "Football: Newcastle lifted by brilliant Cole: Familiar figure helps youthful Magpies return to winning ways". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2009.
- "On this day in ..." Arsenal F.C. Archived from the original on 24 October 2008. Retrieved 13 July 2009.
- Slot, Owen (20 March 1994). "Football: Wright floors revivalists". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2009.
- Culley, Jon (10 April 1994). "Football: Le Tissier hat-trick keeps Saints afloat". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2009.
- "MK Dons 3–0 Oldham". Soccerbase. 25 September 1993. Archived from the original on 8 July 2009. Retrieved 13 January 2009.
- "Statistical Leaders – 1993". Premier League. Archived from the original on 24 June 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
- "Carling Premiership Manager of the Month 1993/94". Premier League. Archived from the original on 9 December 2006.
- England Player Honours – Professional Footballers' Association Players' Players of the Year
- England Player Honours – Professional Footballers' Association Young Players of the Year
- England Player Honours – Football Writers' Association Footballers of the Year