| Fa Premier League 1992-93 |
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MANCHESTER UNITED: CHAMPIONS AT LAST The first Premier League title went to Manchester United , whose 26 year wait for a league championship finally ended thanks to the efforts of manager Alex Ferguson and a high quality squad of players. 19-year-old winger Ryan Giggs (also PFA Young Player Of The Year for the second year running) and long-serving striker Mark Hughes were instrumental in the club's long-awaited success, but the catalyst to the success was French striker Eric Cantona - who had helped his previous club Leeds pip the Old Trafford club to the 1992 league title. He had been signed for £1.2 million and quickly formed a strong partnership with the ever-reliable Hughes, gaining himself a reputation as a dynamic match-winner whose performances transformed United's fortunes. Other key players in the championship-winning United side were goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel , captain Steve Bruce , defender Gary Pallister and midfielder Paul Ince . All of this success was achieved with just one pre-season signing. Striker Dion Dublin had been purchased from Cambridge United for £1million, and had started well. But he missed most of the season due to a broken leg suffered in a September clash with Crystal Palace when he was tackled by Eric Young . Manchester United's Premiership title success was achieved with a 10-point lead over runners-up Aston Villa who pushed the champions all the way until they fell off the face of the earth with 4 games to go. BIG MONEY The lucrative Sky T.V sponsorship of the Premier League saw clubs plunge into the transfer market and pay vast sums of money for new players. Just before the season began, newly promoted Blackburn Rovers splashed out an English record fee of £3.5 million for Southampton's 22-year-old England striker Alan Shearer . Champions Leeds United paid £2 million for the Arsenal midfielder David Rocastle , whose gap at Highbury was filled by the £1.5 million Danish midfielder John Jensen . Shortly after the season began, Aston Villa paid £2.5 million for the Liverpool striker Dean Saunders and Tottenham forked out £2 million for the Nottingham Forest striker Teddy Sheringham . During 1992-93, tens of millions of pounds were spent by Premiership clubs on new players. CHALLENGERS Although Manchester United ended the season as champions by a 10-point margin, the Premiership title was also contested for by three other clubs. Runners-up Aston Villa constantly led the table for much of the season, but their challenge faded in the final weeks of the season and any lingering hopes were killed off three games before the season was over - they lost 1-0 at home to Oldham Athletic . Norwich City led the Premiership at Christmas in the unusual position of having a negative goal difference, their defensive frailties having been highlighted by a 7-1 defeat at Blackburn early in the season. Nevertheless, it was an excellent Premiership debut for Mike Walker's team, who achieved European qualification for the first time. Blackburn, in the top division for the first time in almost 30 years, achieved a creditable fourth-place finish. RELEGATION DOG FIGHT Nottingham Forest's league form had suffered through the sale of key players like Des Walker and Teddy Sheringham , and they were bottom of the Premiership for much of the 1992-93 season. Their relegation was confirmed in early May when they lost to Sheffield United , and manager Brian Clough announced his retirement after 18 glorious years at the helm, which had yielded one league title, two European Cups and three League Cups . Next to go were newly-promoted Middlesbrough , who slumped from mid-table at Christmas to go down in second from bottom place. Their league form had not been helped by a seven-match losing streak which began in February. Last to go down were Crystal Palace, whose four-year tenancy in the First Division had looked promising until the sale of striker Ian Wright to Arsenal. Palace's relegation paved the way for Oldham Athletic to perform a miraculous survival act which was achieved with a 4-3 win over Southampton, while Palace were unable to win their final game of the season. Other teams who successfully fought against relegation included Southampton, Ipswich Town and Leeds United. Leeds, the previous season's league champions, finished 17th of 22 having failed to win any of their 21 away fixtures. ARSENAL'S CUP DOUBLE TRIUMPH Manager George Graham achieved more success with Arsenal in 1992-93, guiding them to a unique double of both domestic cups - they beat Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 in the finals of both the FA Cup and League Cup. This success was achieved with many players still at the club from the championship winning side of 1991 which lost just one out of 38 fixtures - including David Seaman , Alan Smith , Tony Adams , Lee Dixon and Nigel Winterburn . There were also some new players in the squad. They included high-scoring striker Ian Wright (a £2.5million acquisition from Crystal Palace shortly after the title success) and Danish midfielder John Jensen - who had been signed after scoring for Denmark in their surprise Euro 92 final win over Germany. The downside to Arsenal's season was their goal-shy Premiership form, they scored the fewest goals in the division (40) despite briefly leading the table in November. Arsenal's next challenge would be the Cup Winners' Cup . Their triumph in both cup competitions allowed third-placed Premiership side Norwich City to take up the UEFA spot normally awarded to the League Cup winner. STARS OF THE SEASON PFA Player of the Year was Paul McGrath , the hard working central defender who contributed to Aston Villa's runners-up finish in the Premier League. Aged 34 at the time, he is one of the oldest players ever to receive the award. PFA Young Player of the Year was Ryan Giggs , the highly talented 19-year-old Manchester United left winger who had won the award a year earlier. This time he was instrumental in helping his team achieve their first league title since 1967 - six years before he was born. Football Writers Player of the Year was Chris Waddle , who made his return to English football with Sheffield Wednesday after three years in France with Marseille . 32-year-old Waddle helped his club reach the finals of both domestic cup competitions, although they lost 2-1 to Arsenal in both finals. Alex Ferguson was voted Manager of the Year after achieving Manchester United's first league title for 26 years. It was also the fourth season in a row he had gained some silverware for the Old Trafford club, having previously won the F.A Cup, Cup Winners Cup and League Cup. FINAL LEAGUE TABLE
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