The 1993–94 season was the 114th season of competitive football in England.
Overview From the start of this season, the Premier League was sponsored by Carling, an association which lasted 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 midfielder Roy Keane. Graham Taylor resigned as England manager after their failure to qualify for the World Cup. He was succeeded by Terry Venables. Sir Matt Busby died on 20 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 managerial career in 1969. Manchester United won the Premiership title and FA Cup to become only the fourth club this century to be league champions and FA Cup winners in the same season. Howard Kendall resigned three years into his second spell as Everton manager and was replaced by Norwich City's Mike Walker. They looked set for relegation from the Premiership on the final day of the season as they were 2–0 down to Wimbledon but turned the tables on their opponents to win 3–2 and beat the drop. Sheffield United went down instead. Swindon Town, in the top division for the first time, were relegated from the Premiership after collecting just five wins, conceding 100 goals in 42 games. Bryan Robson left Manchester United after 13 years to become player-manager of Middlesbrough in place of Lennie Lawrence. Huddersfield Town relocated from Leeds Road to the new Alfred McAlpine Stadium at Kirklees. After the end of the season, Tottenham Hotspur were docked five points and 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. The points deduction and FA Cup were eventually quashed after a series of appeals, although the fine was increased to £1.5million. 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. This was the first time that there had been no exits or arrivals in the Football League since the re-election system was scrapped in 1987.
Notable debutants
15 September 1993: Darren Eadie, 18-year-old winger, makes his debut for Norwich City in their first-ever European fixture – the UEFA Cup first round first leg clash with Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem.
22 September 1993: Robbie Fowler, 18-year-old striker, makes his debut for Liverpool in their 3–1 win at Fulham in the Football League Cup second round first leg.
29 September 1993: Stephen Carr, 17-year-old Irish defender, makes his debut for Tottenham Hotspur in a Premier League fixture against Ipswich Town at Portman Road.
3 November 1993: Ade Akinbiyi, 19-year-old striker, makes his debut as a substitute for Norwich City in their UEFA Cup second round, second leg fixture with Bayern Munich at Carrow Road, which ends in a 1–1 draw.
4 May 1994: Michael Duberry, 17-year-old defender, played in Chelsea's final Premier League game of the season – a 2–1 home defeat by Coventry City.
Top goalscorers
Premier League Andy Cole (Newcastle United) – 34 goals
Division One John McGinlay (Bolton Wanderers) – 25 goals
Division Two Jimmy Quinn (Reading) – 35 goals
Division Three Tony Ellis (Preston North End) – 26 goals Honours CompetitionWinnerFA CupManchester United (8*)League CupAston Villa (4*)FA Premier LeagueManchester United (9/2*)Football League First DivisionCrystal PalaceFootball League Second DivisionReadingFootball League Third DivisionShrewsbury
Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour (First Division & Premier League). Number after slash is Premier League only. * indicates new record for competition
England national team DateOppositionVenueCompetitionResultScore8 September 1993PolandWembleyWorld Cup QualifierWon3–013 October 1993NetherlandsRotterdamWorld Cup QualifierLost0–217 November 1993San MarinoBolognaWorld Cup QualifierWon7–19 March 1994DenmarkWembleyFriendlyWon1–017 May 1994GreeceWembleyFriendlyWon5–022 May 1994NorwayWembleyFriendlyDrew0–0
Even with the 7–1 victory over San Marino (in which Davide Gualtieri scores the fastest goal in FIFA World Cup qualification history). England fail to qualify for the finals of the 1994 World Cup and manager Graham Taylor resigns within days of the failure. Terry Venables is appointed as his replacement.
Qualifying group final positions TeamPlayedWonDrawnLostForAgainstPointsNorway1072125516Netherlands1063129915England1053226913Poland1032510158Turkey1031611197San Marino100192461
League tables
FA Premiership
The second season of the Premier League saw Manchester United retain their title, taking the lead before the end of August and not surrendering it all season, holding a double-digit lead for much of it and eventually finishing eight points ahead of runners-up Blackburn Rovers, who had managed to draw level on points with them a few weeks before the season's end. United then went on to lift the FA Cup and become only the sixth team ever to win the double of the league title and FA Cup. Their top scorer and key player Eric Cantona was voted PFA Players' Player of the Year, while colleagues including Ryan Giggs, Paul Ince and Lee Sharpe also received many plaudits. Blackburn Rovers finished runners-up, thanks to Alan Shearer, whose 31 goals earned him the FWA Footballer of the Year award but weren't quite enough to gain his team the league title.
Newly promoted Newcastle United finished third, largely thanks to the 34 goals of PFA Young Player of the Year Andy Cole who was the division's top scorer and his formidable strike partner Peter Beardsley, as well as support from the likes of Rob Lee and Barry Venison. Fourth placed Arsenal won the European Cup Winners' Cup to claim their sixth trophy in eight seasons under manager George Graham. Leeds United completed the top five, recovering from their dismal Premier League debut the previous season, while unfancied Wimbledon achieved an impressive sixth-place finish.
The previous season's runners-up, Aston Villa, dropped to 10th place in the league but compensated for this with a League Cup triumph. Norwich, who had finished third the previous campaign, started the season well but their league form slumped after manager Mike Walker left for Everton in January and they finished twelfth, while Walker's new club only narrowly avoided relegation.
Swindon Town, in the top flight for the first time, endured a hopeless season with just five wins in the league, 100 goals conceded and no wins from their opening 16 games; they went bottom of the table after three games, and never left it. Oldham Athletic's three-year spell in the top flight came to an end after they failed to defeat Norwich on the final day of the season, just weeks after they had almost reached the FA Cup final before a last-gasp equaliser for Manchester United in the semi-final forced a replay, in which they were well beaten. The last relegation place went to Sheffield United, who were relegated in dramatic fashion when they suffered a last minute defeat to FA Cup finalists Chelsea. Their late collapse meant that Ipswich Town were the lucky side to preserve their top flight status.
Leading goalscorer: Andy Cole (Newcastle United) - 34
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 invitation. Frank Clark began Nottingham Forest's post Brian Clough era by helping them finish second to achieve promotion back to the top flight. They were joined by play-off winners Leicester City, who beat local rivals Derby County in the final which they finally won promotion to the Premiership after two successive play-off final defeats.
Notts County narrowly missed out on the play-offs, as did Wolverhampton Wanderers, who had just replaced Graham Turner as manager after nearly eight years with the former England manager Graham Taylor. Ninth placed Middlesbrough brought in Manchester United and former England captain Bryan Robson as their new player-manager at the end of the season to succeed Lennie Lawrence.
Oxford United's decline since losing their top flight status in 1988 continued as they slid into Division Two, along with Peterborough United (who had finished a strong 10th in the previous season, their first in the second tier) and Birmingham City. Newly promoted West Bromwich Albion narrowly avoided relegation at the expense of their local rivals, while Portsmouth's bottom half finish was a major disappointment after they had almost won promotion the previous season, although they did at least have the satisfaction of reaching the quarter-final of the League Cup and taking Manchester United to a replay. Luton Town endured a second successive struggle against relegation, eventually finishing a point above the drop zone, but enjoyed a run to the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in nine years.
Leading goalscorer: John McGinlay (Bolton Wanderers) - 25
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 secure their second promotion in three seasons, beating a Stockport County side who lost at Wembley for the fourth time in three seasons. Peter Shilton oversaw Plymouth's best season for nearly a decade but they finished three points short of automatic promotion and lost to Burnley in the playoffs.
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. Blackpool narrowly avoided relegation, but chairman Owen Oyston decided it was time for a change after three-and-a-half seasons under the management of Billy Ayre, and appointed Sam Allardyce as the club's new manager.
Leading goalscorer: Jimmy Quinn (Reading) - 35
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. The Chairboys beat Preston North End, whose manager John Beck was looking to repeat the same success he had enjoyed at Cambridge. Carlisle and Torquay were the losing semi-finalists, but it was a big step forward for two sides who had narrowly avoided relegation to the Conference a year earlier.
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.
Wigan Athletic's first season at this level for over a decade brought their lowest ever finish of 19th place (89th out of the league's 92 clubs).
Leading goalscorer: Tony Ellis (Preston North End) - 26
Successful players Eric Cantona received the PFA Players' Player of the Year award after his 25 goals in all competitions were the key force in Manchester United's double glory.
Alan Shearer was voted FWA Footballer of the Year after returning from injury to score 31 Premier League goals for runners-up Blackburn Rovers.
Andy Cole was voted PFA Young Player of the Year after finishing top scorer in the Premier League with 34 goals for newly promoted Newcastle United, who finished third and qualified for Europe for the first time since the 1970s.