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OVERVIEW

From the start of this season, the FA Premier League would be sponsored by Carling Breweries - an association which would last for eight years. The premier league was without a sponsor for the previous season.


EVENTS

  • Manchester United broke the English transfer record before the start of the season by paying relegated Nottingham Forest £3.75million for promising young midfielder Roy Keane.

  • Graham Taylor resigned as England manager after their failure to qualify for the World Cup. He was succeeded by Terry Venables, the former Tottenham manager.

  • Sir Matt Busby died on 20th January at the age of 84. He had been associated with Manchester United since being appointed manager at the end of the Second World War, and remained at the club as a director after calling time on his glorious managerial career in 1969.

  • Manchester United won the Premiership title and F.A Cup to become only the fourth club this century to be league champions and F.A Cup winners in the same season. Only a 3-1 defeat against Aston Villa in the League Cup final prevented them from winning a unique treble of domestic trophies.

  • Howard Kendall resigned three years into his second spell as Everton manager and was replaced by Norwich City's Mike Walker.

  • Swindon Town, in the top division for the first time, were relegated from the Premiership after collecting just five wins and conceding 100 goals in 42 games.

  • Bryan Robson left Manchester United after 13 years to become player-manager of Middlesbrough.

  • Huddersfield Town relocated from Leeds Road to the new Alfred McAlpine Stadium at Kirklees.

  • After the end of the season, Tottenham Hotspur were found guilty of financial irregularities dating back to the 1980s and hit with the most severe punishment handed down on any English club: a £600,000 fine, 12 league points deducted for the 1994-95 season, and a one-year ban from the F.A Cup.

  • Northampton Town, who spent one season in the top division during the 1960s, finished bottom of Division Three but retained their league status because Conference champions Kidderminster Harriers were unable to meet the Football League's minimum stadium capacity requirements.



HONOURS



ENGLISH NATIONAL TEAM


Even with the 7-1 victory over San Marino (in which Davide Gualtieri scores the fastest goal in World Cup history) England fail to qualify for the finals of the 1994 World Cup and manager Graham Taylor resigns within days of the defeat. Terry Venables is appointed as his replacement.


Qualifying Group Final Positions



LEAGUE TABLES


FA Premier League



Football League Division One

Alan Smith kicked off his management career by guiding Crystal Palace to the Division One title and regaining their Premiership place at first time of asking. Frank Clark began Nottingham Forest's post Brian Clough era by helping them finish second in Division One and achieve promotion back to the Premiership. They were joined by playoff winners Leicester City who finally made Premiership after two successive playoff final defeats.

Oxford United's decline since losing their top flight status in 1988 continued as they slid into Division Two, along with Peterborough United and Birmingham City.


Football League Division Two

Mark McGhee won the Division Two championship for Reading after their first successful season in years. They were joined by John Rudge's Port Vale in second place. Burnley triumphed in the Division Two playoffs to come within one division of the top flight just seven years after they had almost gone down to the Conference.

Going down to Division Three were Fulham (who would be in the league's lowest tier for the first time in their history), Hartlepool United, Exeter City and Barnet.


Football League Division Three

Shrewsbury Town, Chester City and Crewe Alexandra occupied the three promotion places in Division Three, while Martin O'Neill's Wycombe Wanderers won the playoffs in their first season of league football.

Northampton Town finished bottom of the league but were saved from demotion because Conference champions Kidderminster Harriers did not meet the league's stadium capacity requirements.


TRANSFER DEALS

For subsequent transfer deals see 1994-95 In English Football .


SUCCESSFUL PLAYERS

Nottingham Forest striker Stan Collymore became one of the country's most feared marksmen after his prolific goalscoring influenced the East Midlanders to promotion to the Premiership.

Leicester City's experienced utility player Steve Walsh scored twice in the Division One playoff final to end his club's seven-year absence from the top flight.

Wolves striker Steve Bull continued to score on a regular basis, although it wasn't enough to save manager Graham Turner's job or to bring Premiership football to the Molineux.

Reading striker Jimmy Quinn scored 34 goals in his side's Division Two championship season.

Notts County midfielder Mark Draper became one of the hottest young prospects in Division One and accepted an offer from Leicester City to play for them in their first-ever Premiership season.


SUCCESSFUL MANAGERS

Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest gained promotion to the Premiership in their first season under the respective management of Alan Smith and Frank Clark.

Brian Little finally got it right with Leicester City as he helped them win promotion to the Premiership.

Jimmy Mullen inspired Burnley's third promotion in two years as they won the Division Two playoffs.

Martin O'Neill helped Wycombe gain their second successive promotion and earn a place in Division Two.


DEATHS

  • Sir Matt Busby , 84, won F.A Cup as player with Manchester City in 1934. Became one of the most famous names in world football when manager of Manchester United from 1945 to 1969. Built three great teams. The first great team made its name in the postwar years with an F.A Cup victory and a league title. Busby replaced the ageing members of this teams with exciting young players who were known as the 'Busby Babes'. They won two straight league titles before eight players died and two had their careers ended by the Munich Air Disaster in 1958. Busby himself was gravely injured but made a full recovery against all the odds. He then built a third great team for the 1960s which won an F.A Cup and two league titles before reaching its pinnacle with the European Cup in 1968. He retired a year later but remained as a director and later as president until his death, which marked the end of his assoication with the club which had lasted 49 years.

  • Tony Barton , 57, was manager of Aston Villa when they won the European Cup in 1982. Had taken over from Ron Saunders earlier during the 1981-82 season. He remained in charge for two more seasons at Villa Park and later in his career he managed Northampton Town as well as being assistant manager of Portsmouth and finally Southampton before retiring from football in 1991.

  • Danny Blanchflower , 67, was centre-half and captain of Tottenham Hotspur when they won the double in 1961, F.A Cup in 1962 and Cup Winners Cup in 1963. He retired through injury in 1964. During the late 1970s he managed Chelsea but was unable to sustain himself as a succesful football manager, although he did make a successful living as a football manager.

  • Tony Waddington , 68, was manager of Stoke City from 1960 to 1977 and guided them to League Cup glory in 1972 - still their only major trophy to date.