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For now we're going to take a look back at the first of our thirteen Premier League triumphs and reminisce about the 1992-93 season when United finished top of the pile for the first time in 26 years as English football embraced a brave new world.
An Indifferent Start
The despair of losing the title to cross-Pennine rivals Leeds at the end of the previous season still rankled as United lined up for their opening game of the 1992-93 campaign and their first under the authority of the Premier League which had launched during the summer to much fanfare. Unfortunately, the season couldn't really have started any worse when Sheffield United's Brian Deane wrote himself into pub quiz questions forever more when he scored the new league's first goal after just five minutes. Despite Mark Hughes pulling a goal back, he was unable to stir a comeback and United went on to lose their opening fixture 2-1 at Bramall Lane.
It actually took United until their fourth game to record their first victory of the season. Old Trafford's opening game of the season saw Everton go back up the East Lancs Road with the points after they defeated United 3-0 and Alex Ferguson's men could only muster a 1-1 draw with Ipswich four days later. The first win eventually came on August 24th when Dion Dublin, the club's only summer signing of note in a £1,000,000 deal from Cambridge United, grabbed the winning goal with two minutes remaining in a Monday night 1-0 win away at Southampton.
Dion Dublin was United's only major signing during the summer of 1992. Despite missing a large portion of the season after suffering a broken leg, the former Cambridge forward still received a winner's medal at the end of the season.
The win at The Dell kickstarted a run of five consecutive wins with United taking maximum points from Nottingham Forest, Crystal Palace (in front of a sub 30,000 crowd!), the previous season's champions Leeds and a 2-0 revenge win over Everton at Goodison Park. The winning run ground to a halt with a 1-1 draw away at Tottenham and suddenly form slipped to the extent that United then went on a run of seven games without a win.
Worryingly enough, the lack of goals that plagued the title run-in during the previous season appeared to be rearing it's ugly head again as The Red Devils only notched three times during this run. Two of them came as a brace from Mark Hughes dragged United back from 2-0 down to record a 2-2 draw at Old Trafford against Liverpool. Thankfully, reinforcements were just around the corner.
Bonjour Monsieur Cantona!
A usual run of the mill meeting between Alex Ferguson and chairman Martin Edwards was interrupted by a phone call from Leeds United chairman Bill Fotherby. The Elland Road supremo's enquiry regarding Denis Irwin's availability was politely rebuffed but before the phone's receiver was put back on the hook, Ferguson prompted his chairman to ask about Eric Cantona. Within what appeared to be the blink of an eye, the Frenchman had swapped West Yorkshire for Manchester with the £1.200,000 fee going down as one of the biggest bargains in English football history.
Eric Cantona is paraded as a Manchester United for the first time in front of the press following his November 1992 transfer to Old Trafford from Leeds United.
United were in the midsts of a four game winning streak when Cantona joined the club, having disposed of Oldham Athletic 3-0 at Old Trafford and pre-season favourites Arsenal 1-0 at Highbury.
The Frenchman's debut came in the cauldron of a Manchester derby in which goals from Paul Ince and Mark Hughes gave United the bragging rights after a 2-1 win over Manchester City. Cantona got himself on the scoresheet for the first time as a United player in a 1-1 draw with Chelsea in the last game before Christmas while the team showed tremendous fighting spirit to recover from 3-0 down to salvage a point and draw 3-3 in a pulsating Boxing Day encounter with Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough.
Another Gear
Cantona's arrival (much like the introduction of Bruno Fernandes during 2019-2020) galvanised the team and gave them fresh impetus as they would not drop below third place for the remainder of the season.
Following a 5-0 home thumping of Coventry City, United welcomed Tottenham Hotspur to Old Trafford for the first league game of 1993. Cantona placed his own indelible stamp on proceedings, opening the scoring and then setting up Denis Irwin in sublime style for United's second goal, gently lifting the ball into the path of the Irish full-back to hammer beyond a powerless Erik Thorsvedt in the Spurs goal. Irwin's goal was the first in a frantic five minute spell during which Brian McClair and Paul Parker added further strikes to record an emphatic 4-1 win.
Lee Sharpe and Jamie Redknapp, two of football's poster boys of the early 1990s, tussle for the ball during United's 2-1 win over Liverpool at Anfield in March 1993.
United went on to lose just once between the new year and early March as they began building the sort of form that got the Old Trafford faithful talking in serious terms that the 26-year long wait for a league title was finally at an end. The title talk was cooled somewhat during March as United went on a four game winless streak, losing to Oldham Athletic at Boundary Park before consecutive draws against Aston Villa, Manchester City and Arsenal.
The Hallmark Of Champions
Norwich City had been the surprise package as the third team locked in the title battle with United and Aston Villa, at one point topping the table despite having a negative goal difference (the only side in Premier League history to do so). Unfortunately for Mike Walker and The Canaries, their title challenge was ended in spectacular style.
In front of the Sky Sports 'Monday Night Football' cameras, United tore into Norwich like a pack of wolves in a display of scintillating attacking football and amassing a 3-0 lead inside the opening twenty minutes thanks to goals from Ryan Giggs, Andrei Kanchelskis and Eric Cantona, not even a consolation from Ruel Fox in the second half could dampen United's spirits.
If the Norwich result displayed United's championship quality, they showed the other side of what it takes to be champions in their next game when Sheffield Wednesday came to Old Trafford.
After the referee had to be substituted for the fourth official, Wednesday went ahead via a John Sheridan penalty, as time was ticking away it appeared the championship might be too just as it had at the same time the previous year. Parity was restored with four minutes remaining when Steve Bruce rose to head home an equaliser and spark an extraordinary turn of events.
Owing to the substitution of the match official, an astonishing seven minutes of injury time were played. In what has been commonly accepted as the birth of 'Fergie Time' and with the added period entering it's sixth minute Ryan Giggs swung a corner into the Wednesday penalty area, the ball found it's way out to the right wing and was chased out by Gary Pallister of all people. The centre-half's cross was met by his defensive partner Bruce who powered another header into the net. The goal was met with euphoric scenes as Alex Ferguson and his assistant Brian Kidd charged out of the technical area with Kidd sinking to his knees and thanking the heavens on the pitch. Within the space of five days, United had displayed all the hallmarks of a champion side, the prize was now tantalisingly close.
Steve Bruce wheels away in celebration after his header has given United a decisive 2-1 lead in stoppage time of the clash against Sheffield Wednesday in April 1993.
Glory Glory Man United
The win over Wednesday was the second of the seven consecutive wins that propelled United towards the title with further wins coming over Coventry City, Chelsea and a tumultuous 2-0 win at Selhurst Park over Crystal Palace. Mark Hughes smashed home a trademark volley before Paul Ince sealed the points to put United on the brink of glory. Given they had lost to Blackburn in the evening's early kick off, the ball was now very much in Aston Villa's court as they knew defeat in their next match with Oldham would hand the title to United.
Just as they had done to United earlier in the season, Oldham aided their battle against relegation from the top flight by taking the scalp of one of the front runners, their 1-0 win over Villa at Boundary Park going some way to ensuring they played Premier League football during the 1993-94 season. More importantly however for those of a United persuasion, it made certain of the fact they could no longer be caught at the top of the table. For the first time since the days of Busby, Law, Charlton and Best, Manchester United were once again champions of England.
In front of a sell-out crowd and in a party atmosphere at Old Trafford, United recovered from a goal down to defeat Blackburn 3-1 with goals coming from Ryan Giggs, Paul Ince and Gary Palmister. The latter goal came in stoppage time and the big defender ensured that every outfield player had scored a league goal during the season as he thumped a low free kick beyond the grasp of Bobby Mimms.
Club captains Steve Bruce and Bryan Robson hold the Premier League trophy aloft for the first time in front of a jubilant Old Trafford crowd.
With Matt Busby and Bobby Charlton in attendance there were emotional scenes as Steve Bruce and Bryan Robson jointly received the new Premier League trophy to rapturous applause and cheers to finally cement the fact that Manchester United were back at the top of the tree and that the rest of the league had better get used to the sight of United lifting the trophy aloft! It was to become a common sight over the next 20+ years.
Well that brings a close to our look back at the 1992-93 league campaign. I hope it has stirred some happy memories for you. If you have a particular memory of the season then why not follow us on Twitter @RewindRed and get in touch.
We'll be back soon with some more United nostalgia so until next time, take care.
