PL Analyser

History of the Premier League

• There are over a billion people in the world who are football fans. English Premier league is according to majority of them is the best and most competitive league in the world. But nobody knows about the history of the Premier League. So, lets take a deep dive into the History.

  Despite great European success in the 1970s and early 1980s, English football reached a low point in the late 1980s. Stadiums were collapsing, fans were treated poorly, hooliganism was rampant, and English clubs were barred from European participation for five years after the Heysel Stadium disaster in 1985. The Football League First Division, which has been the top level of English football since 1888, was falling behind leagues like Serie A in Italy and La Liga in Spain in terms of attendance and money, and some top English players had relocated abroad. 

  The decreasing trend was beginning to reverse around the turn of the century. England reached the semi-finals of the 1990 FIFA World Cup, and UEFA, the governing body of European football, abolished the five-year ban on English clubs competing in European competitions in 1990, resulting in Manchester United winning the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup in 1991. In the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster, the Taylor Report on Stadium Safety Standards was issued in January 1990, proposing costly renovations to build all-seater stadiums. 

  Major English clubs began to turn into business operations in the 1980s, employing commercial ideas to club administration in order to maximize revenue. Manchester United’s Martin Edwards, Tottenham Hotspur’s Irving Scholar, and Arsenal’s David Dein were among the pioneers in this shift. The top clubs sought to increase their power and revenue as a result of the commercial imperative: the clubs in Division One threatened to break away from the Football League, and in doing so, they were able to increase their voting power and obtain a more favorable financial arrangement, taking a 50% share of all television and sponsorship revenue in 1986. They requested that television corporations pay more for their broadcast of football matches, and television money became increasingly important. In 1986, the Football League got £6.3 million for a two-year pact, but by 1988, the price had risen to £44 million over four years in a deal with ITV, with the top clubs receiving 75% of the money. By the early 1990s, the big teams were considering splitting away once more, especially given that they had to fund the Taylor Report’s planned stadium upgrades. 

  Greg Dyke, managing director of London Weekend Television (LWT), hosted a dinner in 1990 with representatives from England’s “big five” football clubs (Manchester United, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Everton, and Arsenal).

   The purpose of the meeting was to lay the groundwork for a split from the Football League. Dyke believed that if only the country’s largest clubs were broadcast on national television, it would be more profitable for LWT, and he wanted to see whether the clubs would be interested in a larger portion of the television rights money. 

  The five teams agreed with the plan and decided to go ahead with it; however, the league would be worthless without the support of the Football Association, so David Dein of Arsenal met with FA officials to see if they were interested in the idea. The FA and the Football League had a tense relationship at the time, and the FA saw it as a method to damage the Football League’s position. In June 1991, the FA published Blueprint for the Future of Football, a report that backed the Premier League proposal, with the FA as the ultimate authority overseeing the breakaway league.

  Bruno Fernandes – the midfield maestro!

  Bruno Fernandes, that’s the name Manchester United fans have been singing for the past 2 years. Before his arrival the club was in an utter shamble and everyone had lost their hope of qualifying for Champions League that season. Players were consistently underperforming and one of the reasons why United were unable to beat even a mid-table team. It was really not a good time for Manchester United and It was happening till the Month of January. 

  30th January 2020, the second last day of the winter transfer window. As usual, Manchester United were having a very poor window. The negotiations for Bruno were dragged on for 4 Months. He was supposed to join the club in the month of August for 33mn Pounds. Manchester United were reluctant to pay that sum of money then. Finally, on the date of 30th Manchester United bought Bruno Fernandes for what was thought to be a whopping fee of 48mn pounds + 15mn in the additional bonuses from Sporting CP. 

  He arrived in Manchester with huge pressure on his shoulders. Fans were expecting a lot from him. They made his chant before his arrival itself. He was walking into a sinking ship. Rival fans didn’t think of him as much. They knew he was a good player but as he is coming from a totally different league and nation, they thought he will take time to adapt.This is where they were wrong. OMG what a player he turned out to be. He came in like a superhero who saves a train from falling off the broken bridge.  In the first month playing in the Premier League, he won the Manchester United and Premier League player of the month award. He continued with his amazing performances in the Month of March as well and again he won Manchester United as well as Premier League player of the month. 

  Because of the Pandemic, the season was called off for a period of 3 months. Even after project restart, he won yet another PL POTM as well as the Manchester United POTM. This means that he had 3 POTM awards in the five months he had been at the club. 

  He became the first player after Cristiano Ronaldo back in 2008 to win back to back POTMs. In the short span of 14 Games, Bruno scored 8 Goals and assisted for 7 which is a ridiculous number for a midfielder. 

  He brought hope to Manchester United fans and single handedly carried us to a 3rd finish and a guaranteed spot for Champions league football. 

  In the next season, which is the 2020-21 season, his form didn’t drop off. He was performing day in and day out. That season as well, he won the PL POTM award for the Month of November 2020. He scored a whopping 18 goals in PL alone while providing 12 assists as well. He broke the record of most goals from a midfielder which was held previously by  legendary Frank Lampard (27 goals in all comps) in this season by scoring 28 goals. With his help United were able to finish second in the table just below their local rivals Manchester City. 

  This season i.e. 2021-22 season, he had an amazing start with scoring a hattrick in the first game. After that overall Manchester United’s performances were poor. Even though he is having a rough patch in the Premier league, he is still the leading the charts in assists in the UCL.    

  Manchester United this Season

  On 14 August 2021, the league season began with a home encounter against Roses rival Leeds United. In a 5–1 triumph, Paul Pogba equaled a Premier League record with four assists, while Bruno Fernandes scored a hat-trick and Mason Greenwood and Fred scored the other two goals. For the visitors, Luke Ayling scored the only goal. The next week, United travelled to Southampton and fell behind after Fred deflected Ché Adams’ shot past David de Gea for an own goal on the half-hour mark. Greenwood equalised 10 minutes into the second half, but United couldn’t find a winner, and the game ended 1–1, extending United’s unbeaten away run to 27 league games, equaling Arsenal’s record set in 2004. The next week, on August 29, 2021, United broke the record when they travelled to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the last match before the season’s first international break. Following his transfer from Real Madrid, Raphael Varane made his debut, assisting Greenwood on the game’s lone goal to secure a 1–0 victory.

  United’s first game after the international break came against Newcastle United at Old Trafford on September 11th, which marked Cristiano Ronaldo’s second appearance for the club following his re-signing from Juventus. Greenwood’s long-range shot was mishandled by Newcastle goalkeeper Freddie Woodman, and he took advantage of the rebound to open the score in injury time at the end of the first half. In the 56th minute, Newcastle’s Javier Manquillo equalised, but six minutes later, Ronaldo restored United’s advantage with a shot through Woodman’s legs after a through-ball from Luke Shaw. 10 minutes from full time, Fernandes added a third goal with a long-range strike, before Jesse Lingard scored his first goal for the club since August 2020, as United won 4–1 and returned to the top of the table. United fell behind on the half-hour mark after a shot from Sad Benrahma was deflected past De Gea by Varane; however, Ronaldo equalised less than five minutes later, following up after his initial shot was saved by Lukasz Fabiaski. Lingard put United ahead with a curling drive into the top corner from just inside the penalty area a minute from the conclusion of normal time, but West Ham were awarded a penalty deep into injury time after Shaw was deemed to have handled the ball in his own area. Mark Noble was brought in particularly to attempt the spot kick, but De Gea made the save by diving the right way; it was his first penalty save in the league since October 2014. [14] On September 25, United hosted Aston Villa, and defenders Harry Maguire and Shaw were both injured just before halftime. The game stayed scoreless until Kortney Hause headed in a corner in the 88th minute. In injury time, the Villa defender touched the ball after an Edinson Cavani flick-on, but Fernandes’ penalty attempt flew over the bar, giving Villa their first win at Old Trafford in any tournament since December 2009.

  Anthony Martial scored his first club goal since the 9–0 win against Southampton in February just before halftime in United’s first match in October, at home to Everton; however, Andros Townsend equalised for the visitors 20 minutes into the second half. In the 86th minute, Yerry Mina thought he had scored the game-winning goal, but the video assistant referee ruled it out for offside (VAR). Following the international break, United faced Leicester City at the King Power Stadium two weeks later. Greenwood scored first, but Youri Tielemans equalised just after the half-hour mark, and alar Söyüncü put Leicester ahead with 12 minutes remaining. Marcus Rashford equalised in his first appearance since the UEFA Euro 2020 Final, but Jamie Vardy restored Leicester’s lead a minute later, and Patson Daka scored a fourth in injury time to end United’s Premier League unbeaten run at 29 games. United hosted Liverpool the next week, and Naby Keta scored in the fifth minute before Diogo Jota increased the lead eight minutes later. Salah added two more goals before halftime to put United four goals behind at the break for only the second time in a Premier League game, before completing his hat-trick five minutes later. Pogba was subsequently sent out for a two-footed tackle on Keta, resulting in United’s worst-ever home defeat to Liverpool. [18] United travelled to Tottenham Hotspur on October 30th, on the verge of losing three league games in a row for the first time since December 2015. United won the match 3–0, playing with five at the back after Varane’s comeback from injury with Cavani starting up front alongside Ronaldo. Ronaldo scored six minutes before halftime, then assisted on Cavani’s first goal of the season almost 20 minutes into the second half, and Rashford rounded out the scoring four minutes later.

  Manchester United began November by hosting their local rivals, Manchester City, at Old Trafford. Eric Bailly started in place of Varane, who had been injured in the Champions League match against Atalanta four days prior, and it was the Ivorian defender who put Joo Cancelo’s cross into his own net, albeit for the away side. When Bailly was replaced by Jadon Sancho just before halftime, Bernardo Silva doubled City’s lead. In the second half, City looked the more likely to score, but De Gea was able to keep them out for the rest of the game, and United went into the international break nine points behind league leaders Chelsea. [20] United were defeated 4–1 by newly promoted Watford on November 20, 2021, dropping them to seventh place in the rankings. De Gea saved a penalty from Ismala Sarr (as well as the original, which had to be retaken due to encroachment), but Sarr eventually scored right before half-time. Five minutes into the second half, Donny van de Beek scored his first goal of the season, but Maguire was sent out for a second yellow card. Joo Pedro and Emmanuel Dennis scored in added time to seal Watford’s triumph as United looked for an equaliser. The next day, it was revealed that Solskjr had resigned by mutual consent and that Michael Carrick had taken over as caretaker manager. United faced Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in Carrick’s first Premier League match in command, making him the first English manager to lead United in a league match since Ron Atkinson in November 1986. After Jorginho mishandled a long clearance from Fernandes, Sancho took advantage of a two-on-one situation with Édouard Mendy to score his first league goal for United; however, Jorginho made amends from the penalty spot after Aaron Wan-Bissaka fouled Thiago Silva in the box. Chelsea are still looking for their first league win against United since November 2017, as the match ended 1–1.

  United began December with a match versus Arsenal at Old Trafford. Arsenal’s Emile Smith Rowe scored with a shot from just outside the penalty area in the 13th minute, while De Gea lay hurt in the middle of the goal after Fred stepped on his ankle. After a VAR review, the goal was awarded after it had been initially disallowed. Fernandes scored for the first time in in three months to bring United level after 31 minutes. United took the lead seven minutes after the break, with Ronaldo scoring his 800th career goal in the process. Martin degaard equalised for Arsenal two minutes later before fouling Fred and giving away a penalty. United’s first league win against Arsenal since 2018 came thanks to Ronaldo’s penalty, which he sent down the centre of the goal. Ralf Rangnick took over for the game against Crystal Palace on 5 December, having been waiting for his work visa since his hiring on November 29. United won 1–0 thanks to a goal from Fred in the 77th minute, keeping their first league clean sheet at home since defeating West Ham 1–0 on March 14th. United’s next encounter was against Norwich City, which they won 1–0 thanks to a penalty from Ronaldo. On the 27th of December, the team faced Newcastle in their first post-outbreak match. Cavani equalised in the second half after Allan Saint-Maximin scored within seven minutes. United met Burnley at home three days later in the final Premier League match of 2021. Within the opening seven minutes, Scott McTominay scored his first goal in nearly 11 months. After diverting Sancho’s shot slightly into the net, Ben Mee scored an own goal. The hosts won 3–1 and concluded the year in sixth place, with Ronaldo scoring the third goal three minutes later and Aaron Lennon scoring his first ever goal against United in the 38th minute.

  United began the season by hosting Wolverhampton Wanderers at Old Trafford. Phil Jones was named to the starting lineup for the first time, and he played a senior match for the first time in 23 months. Ronaldo’s header was disallowed for offside before Joo Moutinho scored the game-winning goal in the 82nd minute, giving Wolves their first Old Trafford victory since February 9, 1980, when they also won 1–0. They played away to Aston Villa twelve days later. Fernandes scored twice to put United up 2-0, but Jacob Ramsey equalised in the 77th minute and provided the equaliser for substitute Philippe Coutinho, who made his Villa debut in the 81st minute. The match against Brentford was rescheduled for January 19th, and Anthony Elanga scored his first competitive goal of the season seven minutes before Greenwood scored his first league goal since the defeat at Leicester on October 16th.  Rashford scored his first goal in all competitions since scoring at Tottenham on 30 October, eight minutes before Ivan Toney scored the hosts’ consolation as United became the first team in Premier League history to win 300 away matches. West Ham came to visit on the 22nd of January, in United’s final game before the Premier League winter break, which falls during the non-European international break. With just seconds of added time remaining, Rashford scored the game-winning goal off an onside positioning and assist from Cavani, giving United their first win under Rangnick.

  On February 8, United took the lead against Burnley in the 12th minute through Raphael Varane, but the goal was ruled off after Maguire fouled Jay Rodriguez. After a feed from Shaw, Paul Pogba scored his first goal of the season six minutes later to put them in front for good. Rodriguez levelled the score with an assist from Wout Weghorst just two minutes into the second half after an own goal by Josh Brownhill was disallowed.