Premier League Rewind: 7th-8th November 1998

Results: Aston Villa 3-2 Tottenham Hotspur, Blackburn Rovers 1-2 Coventry City, Charlton Athletic 0-0 Leicester City, Liverpool FC 1-2 Derby County, Nottingham Forest 0-1 Wimbledon, Southampton 3-3 Middlesbrough, Arsenal 1-0 Everton, Leeds United 2-1 Sheffield Wednesday, Manchester United 0-0 Newcastle United, West Ham United 1-1 Chelsea

The 7^th-8^th November 1998 weekend would be one of shattering blows for an Italian striker, the end of ‘The Boot Room’ regime at a leading Premier League club and a wonderful debut for another forward in the Midlands.

The big news going into this round of games was Aston Villa’s acquisition of the ex-Manchester United forward Dion Dublin. Villa had pipped Blackburn Rovers to the signature of Dublin, who had decided to call time on his four-year spell as the leading marksman at Coventry City.

Just 48 hours after arriving at Villa Park, Dublin made his Aston Villa debut as the league leaders welcomed Tottenham Hotspur. With virtually his first opportunity, he scored after 31 minutes. Four minutes later, he made it 2-0 with another composed finish and when Stan Collymore made it 3-0 two minutes into the second half, John Gregory’s side were going to be staying as the table toppers. Despite two late goals from Darren Anderton and Ramon Vega, Villa held on for a 3-2 victory which looked more comfortable than the actual scoreline suggested. Gregory’s side were still unbeaten after 11 matches and finished the weekend two points clear. For new Tottenham manager George Graham, it was just one win from his first four matches in the post and Spurs sat a below-par 14^th in the table.

Only three places above them were Liverpool FC. The Reds had won just one of their last seven matches and that run got worse when Derby County won 2-1 at Anfield. Early goals inside the first 30 minutes from Kevin Harper and Paulo Wanchope spearheaded Derby to an amazing victory. The pressure was growing on Liverpool’s wisdom of appointing joint-managers. It was Gerard Houllier and Roy Evans in the dugout together and the latter was taking most of the flak. Less than a week later, Evans had parted company with the club and Houllier would take sole charge of the team. The final link to ‘The Boot Room’ which had dominated Anfield for over 30 years had been severed.

Liverpool were some way off the pace which was being set by Villa. Among the chasing pack were Chelsea and they extended their unbeaten run to nine matches after drawing 1-1 at West Ham United. Celestine Babayaro scored the equaliser to preserve this record. However, this match would be overshadowed by a horrific injury sustained by Pierluigi Casiraghi. The Italian had scored just once and his 10^th appearance for the Londoners would be his last. An unfortunate collision in the penalty area with West Ham goalkeeper Shaka Hislop led to a serious cruciate knee ligament injury. Chelsea boss Gianluca Vialli admitted his season was over but was optimistic Casiraghi could recover. In truth, he would never play professional football again, retiring in 2002 after 10 unsuccessful operations.

Defending champions Arsenal moved above Manchester United into second place. Nicolas Anelka’s early goal after six minutes was enough to defeat Everton 1-0 at Highbury whilst the Red Devils were held to a goalless draw by a stubborn Newcastle United at Old Trafford.

At the wrong end of the table, Southampton remained bottom after an enthralling 3-3 draw with Middlesbrough. The visitors had both Phil Stamp and Robbie Mustoe sent off by referee Paul Alcock and required a 90^th minute equaliser from defender Gianluca Festa to rescue a point. Coventry City and Blackburn Rovers swapped places with the Sky Blues’ 2-1 win in Lancashire moving them out of the relegation zone at Blackburn’s expense.

What else happened in November 1998?

• The United States House of Representatives’ Judiciary Committee begins impeachment hearings against American president Bill Clinton over the Lewinsky scandal.
• The European Court of Human Rights is instituted.
• The United Kingdom formally abolishes the death penalty.
• Former professional wrestler, Jesse Ventura is elected Governor of Minnesota.
• Daimler-Benz completes a merger with Chrysler Corporation to form Daimler-Chrysler.
• A new subscription movie channel from Channel 4, FilmFour is launched.
• Mika Hakkinen wins the Japanese Grand Prix to become Formula One World Champion for the first time in his career.

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Shock Results: Aston Villa 1-4 Coventry City (February 1999)

Goalscorers: John Aloisi 23, 75, George Boateng 51, 84, Dion Dublin 55 PEN

Teams:

Aston Villa: Michael Oakes, Riccardo Scimeca, Gareth Southgate, Steve Watson (Gareth Barry 44), Alan Wright, Simon Grayson, Lee Hendrie, Ian Taylor (Mark Draper 29, Stan Collymore 55), Paul Merson, Dion Dublin, Julian Joachim

Coventry City: Magnus Hedman, David Burrows, Paul Williams, Richard Shaw, Roland Nilsson, Steve Froggatt, Paul Telfer, George Boateng, Gary McAllister, John Aloisi, Darren Huckerby (Gary McSheffrey 90)

Referee: Uriah Rennie, Attendance: 38,799

For a long period in the 1998-1999 season, Aston Villa were seen as genuine title contenders. They were top of the table on Christmas Day but by the end of February, they were wilting under the pressure. Three successive defeats had dropped them to fourth place in the table and they needed to get back to winning ways in this Midlands derby with Coventry City.

As with usual tradition, the Sky Blues were in the midst of a relegation tussle, so their chances of pulling off a victory at Villa Park were seen as slim despite the drop in form from John Gregory’s side.

Coventry took the lead in the 23^rd minute. On his return to Villa Park, Steve Froggatt set-up a chance for Australian forward John Aloisi to score. Aloisi, making his first start in eight games, guided his shot past Michael Oakes, leaving Riccardo Scimeca rather flat-footed in the process.

That was the main highlight of a disappointing first half but Coventry’s desire to win seemed greater. As the sleet started to fall around the ground, the gloom began to deepen for Villa supporters. George Boateng powered a shot home at the near post after some careless possession play from the home side. Coventry, who had won at Villa Park in the FA Cup a season ago were closing in on a rare away win.

Gregory needed a response from his team. He got it in the 55^th minute. Richard Shaw’s clumsy challenge on Julian Joachim saw Uriah Rennie point to the penalty spot. Former Coventry lynchpin Dion Dublin, who had transferred to the Villans in early November, emphatically dispatched the penalty beyond Magnus Hedman. It was his first goal of 1999.

Aston Villa had come from 2-0 down earlier in the season to earn a point away at Nottingham Forest and to beat Arsenal but this was going to be a different story. With 15 minutes left, Coventry regained their two-goal advantage. From Froggatt’s free-kick, Aloisi connected perfectly on the volley and struck the ball well beyond Oakes. Aloisi was only starting because injury had ruled Noel Whelan out. He’d taken his chance and in breathtaking fashion.

Boateng completely dominated the midfield battle and with six minutes remaining, he put the icing on the cake for the travelling fans. Gary McAllister chipped a ball through which horribly exposed Villa’s frail offside trap. Boateng ghosted past a rather static Alan Wright, then beat the onrushing Oakes to the ball, getting enough on the contact to lob the ball into the back of the net. Coventry’s joy was complete. This was their first-ever league victory at Villa Park and it was well worth the wait. They’d finish in 15^th position whilst Villa only managed sixth and missed out completely on European qualification. Their season which had promised so much ultimately delivered so little.

Shock Results: Coventry City 5-0 Blackburn Rovers (December 1995)

Goalscorers: David Busst 40, Dion Dublin 60, David Rennie 64, Peter Ndlovu 74, John Salako 88

Teams:

Coventry City: Steve Ogrizovic, David Rennie, David Busst, Marcus Hall, Ally Pickering, Paul Telfer, Chris Whyte, Kevin Richardson, John Salako, Peter Ndlovu, Dion Dublin

Blackburn Rovers: Tim Flowers, Graeme Le Saux, Henning Berg, Nicky Marker, David Batty, Tim Sherwood, Lars Bohinen (Billy McKinlay 45), Stuart Ripley, Mike Newell (Paul Warhurst 33), Alan Shearer, Chris Sutton

Referee: Steve Dunn, Attendance: 13,409

Coventry City hosted Blackburn Rovers in December 1995 desperate for a win. They were still in single digits in terms of points and hadn’t achieved a maximum three points since beating Manchester City in their second game of the campaign. Reigning Premier League champions Blackburn Rovers were not making the best of title defences but were unbeaten in three games. However, they were yet to win on their travels in the top-flight in 1995-1996.

Having ended up on the wrong end of a seven-goal thriller five nights earlier at Hillsborough, Ron Atkinson’s side kicked off bottom of the Premier League. Blackburn came into the match having just thrashed Norwegian champions Rosenborg 4-1 in the UEFA Champions League group stages. So, it was a huge surprise to see what would happen next, despite Rovers’ lack of form away from Ewood Park. It was a frosty and chilly afternoon at Highfield Road and Steve Dunn had to give the pitch a late inspection to ensure play could go ahead. Atkinson had a defensive crisis with the likes of David Burrows and Paul Williams out injured. He had recruited 34-year-old Chris Whyte on-loan from Birmingham City and he went straight into the side.

Coventry did the majority of the early running and it was the home side who took the lead. Marcus Hall produced a deep cross, Peter Ndlovu headed the ball across goal and central defender David Busst was in the right place to nod the ball past Tim Flowers. Blackburn had beaten Coventry in the reverse fixture 5-1 back in September but now it was the champions’ who were taking the pasting. Dion Dublin nearly made it 2-0 in the opening moments of the second half but was denied at point-blank range by Flowers. 15 minutes later, he did double the Sky Blues’ lead, flicking the ball over himself, leaving Henning Berg on the turf and slicing the ball past Flowers reach.

Number three arrived four minutes later. Kevin Richardson’s free-kick was headed in at the near post by David Rennie. Ndlovu, who was a constant pest all afternoon, made it 4-0. He skipped past three brittle Blackburn challenges and knocked in after his lovely run. Two minutes from time, John Salako completed the rout, smashing home after Blackburn struggled to clear a deep cross from Ally Pickering.

Atkinson said afterwards: “I have always thought we were capable of putting a run together. We defended very well and didn’t give Blackburn a look in.”

Coventry ended up surviving on the final day of the season, whilst Blackburn had to wait until mid-January for their first away win which came at Queens Park Rangers. They had to settle for a final finishing position of seventh but Alan Shearer did win the Golden Boot for a second successive season with 31 goals.

Shock Results: Tottenham Hotspur 1-2 Coventry City (May 1997)

Goalscorers: Dion Dublin 12, Paul Williams 38, Paul McVeigh 44

Teams:

Tottenham Hotspur: Espen Baardsen, Justin Edinburgh, John Scales, Sol Campbell, Stephen Carr, Ramon Vega, Jason Dozzell, Paul McVeigh (Neale Finn 73), Andy Sinton (Jamie Clapham 23), Ruel Fox, Teddy Sheringham

Coventry City: Steve Ogrizovic, Richard Shaw, Paul Williams, David Burrows, Paul Telfer, Kevin Richardson, Gary McAllister, Peter Ndlovu, Noel Whelan (Eoin Jess 33), Dion Dublin, Darren Huckerby

Referee: Martin Bodenham, Attendance: 33,029

Coventry City were up against it going into the final day of the 1996-1997 season. For the 10^th time in 30 years, they needed to win their final game to have any hope of remaining in the top-flight. They were in this position after a 2-1 home defeat the previous weekend to Derby County. Traffic problems on the motorways meant the game kicked off 15 minutes later than the other 3pm kick-offs, which would mean for plenty of nerves for their rivals in distress at Selhurst Park and Elland Road.

Coventry led inside 12 minutes. The talismanic Dion Dublin was given a free header by some fairly awful Tottenham marking. He made no mistake in guiding Gary McAllister’s cross past the Tottenham reserve goalkeeper Espen Baardsen. There was plenty at stake and it was shown by the will and aggression Coventry possessed in their game. Sometimes, it threatened to get out of control. Six yellow cards were dished out inside the opening half an hour and there were some needless scuffles between both sets of players. This was a game that saw nothing on the line for Tottenham. They were going to finish an uninspiring 10^th in Gerry Francis’ second full season in the dugout.

Then, six minutes before half-time, Coventry crucially extended their lead. McAllister was once again the architect. The Scot, experiencing his first Highfield Road season after leaving Leeds United the previous summer produced a decisive corner into the box. Defender Paul Williams volleyed home to give Sky Blues’ supporters the chance to dream of another amazing escape act.

Despite having little to play for, Tottenham weren’t going to completely keel over and hand the game to their opponents. Two minutes before half-time, Teddy Sheringham’s free-kick struck the woodwork and the rebound fell nicely for Paul McVeigh to score his first-ever goal for Tottenham.

That started the nerves for the Coventry supporters and they grew throughout the second half, especially when the final scores came in at the other games. Middlesbrough were consigned to the drop after drawing at Leeds, whilst Sunderland had lost late on to Wimbledon. It meant if Coventry could hold on for the last 14 minutes, they would remain a Premier League club. However, it took all of Steve Ogrizovic’s experience and knowhow as time and again, the veteran denied Tottenham an equaliser with a string of fine saves.

When referee Martin Bodenham blew his whistle at full-time, it confirmed Coventry City had survived again against the odds. Afterwards, manager Gordon Strachan said: “I enjoyed watching the players enjoy themselves celebrating with each other. At the end you feel nothing for yourself, you feel for the players and the fans and everyone associated with the club.”

Coventry stayed in the top-flight for another four years before succumbing to the inevitable in 2001. They are sadly now in the bottom tier of the Football League.

Seasonal Records: 1997-1998

For all the statistical fans out there, here are some of the season’s records from the 1997-1998 Premier League season, as a third Premier League team emerged as a championship-winning side.

FINAL TABLE

Position	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
1	Arsenal	38	23	9	6	68	33	+35	78
2	Manchester United	38	23	8	7	73	26	+47	77
3	Liverpool FC	38	18	11	9	68	42	+26	65
4	Chelsea	38	20	3	15	71	43	+28	63
5	Leeds United	38	17	8	13	57	46	+11	59
6	Blackburn Rovers	38	16	10	12	57	52	+5	58
7	Aston Villa	38	17	6	15	49	48	+1	57
8	West Ham United	38	16	8	14	56	57	-1	56
9	Derby County	38	16	7	15	52	49	+3	55
10	Leicester City	38	13	14	11	51	41	+10	53
11	Coventry City	38	12	16	10	46	44	+2	52
12	Southampton	38	14	6	18	50	55	-5	48
13	Newcastle United	38	11	11	16	35	44	-9	44
14	Tottenham Hotspur	38	11	11	16	44	56	-12	44
15	Wimbledon	38	10	14	14	34	46	-12	44
16	Sheffield Wednesday	38	12	8	18	52	67	-15	44
17	Everton	38	9	13	16	41	56	-15	40
18	Bolton Wanderers	38	9	13	16	41	61	-20	40
19	Barnsley	38	10	5	23	37	82	-45	35
20	Crystal Palace	38	8	9	21	37	71	-34	33

THE BASIC STATS

Goals Scored	1019
European qualifiers	Arsenal (UEFA Champions League), Manchester United (UEFA Champions League), Liverpool FC (UEFA Cup), Leeds United (UEFA Cup), Blackburn Rovers (UEFA Cup), Aston Villa (UEFA Cup), Chelsea (UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup), Newcastle United (UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup), Crystal Palace (UEFA Intertoto Cup)
Longest winning run	10 games (Arsenal)
Longest unbeaten run	18 games (Arsenal)
Longest winless run	15 games (Crystal Palace)
Longest losing run	8 games (Crystal Palace)
Highest attendance	55,306 (Manchester United vs. Wimbledon)
Lowest attendance	7,688 (Wimbledon vs. Barnsley)

AWARDS

PFA Players’ Player of the Year	Dennis Bergkamp (Arsenal)
PFA Young Player of the Year	Michael Owen (Liverpool FC)
Football Writers’ Award	Dennis Bergkamp (Arsenal)
PFA Team of the Year	Nigel Martyn, Graeme Le Saux, Colin Hendry, Gary Pallister, Gary Neville, David Batty, Nicky Butt, David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Dennis Bergkamp, Michael Owen
Manager of the Year	Arsene Wenger (Arsenal)
Goal of the Season	Dennis Bergkamp (Leicester City vs. ARSENAL)

HAT-TRICK HEROES

Player	Teams	Score	Date
Dion Dublin	Coventry City vs. Chelsea	3-2	9th August 1997
Chris Sutton	Aston Villa vs. Blackburn Rovers	0-4	13th August 1997
Gianluca Vialli (4)	Barnsley vs. Chelsea	0-6	24th August 1997
Dennis Bergkamp	Leicester City vs. Arsenal	3-3	27th August 1997
Ian Wright	Arsenal vs. Bolton Wanderers	4-1	13th September 1997
Patrik Berger	Liverpool FC vs. Chelsea	4-2	5th October 1997
Andy Cole	Manchester United vs. Barnsley	7-0	25th October 1997
Andy Booth	Sheffield Wednesday vs. Bolton Wanderers	5-0	8th November 1997
Gianfranco Zola	Chelsea vs. Derby County	4-0	29th November 1997
Tore Andre Flo	Tottenham Hotspur vs. Chelsea	1-6	6th December 1997
Duncan Ferguson	Everton vs. Bolton Wanderers	3-2	28th December 1997
Kevin Gallacher	Blackburn Rovers vs. Aston Villa	5-0	17th January 1998
Michael Owen	Sheffield Wednesday vs. Liverpool FC	3-3	14th February 1998
Chris Sutton	Blackburn Rovers vs. Leicester City	5-3	28th February 1998
Darren Huckerby	Leeds United vs. Coventry City	3-3	25th April 1998
Jurgen Klinsmann (4)	Wimbledon vs. Tottenham Hotspur	2-6	2nd May 1998

 

TOP SCORERS

Position	Player	Teams	No of Goals
1=	Michael Owen	Liverpool FC	18
1=	Chris Sutton	Blackburn Rovers	18
1=	Dion Dublin	Coventry City	18
4=	Dennis Bergkamp	Arsenal	16
4=	Andy Cole	Manchester United	16
4=	Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink	Leeds United	16
4=	Kevin Gallacher	Blackburn Rovers	16
8	John Hartson	West Ham United	15
9	Darren Huckerby	Coventry City	14
10	Paulo Wanchope	Derby County	13
11=	Marc Overmars	Arsenal	12
11=	Dwight Yorke	Aston Villa	12
11=	Francesco Baiano	Derby County	12
11=	Paolo di Canio	Sheffield Wednesday	12
11=	Nathan Blake	Bolton Wanderers	12
16=	Tore Andre Flo	Chelsea	11
16=	Matt Le Tissier	Southampton	11
16=	Steve McManaman	Liverpool FC	11
16=	Gianluca Vialli	Chelsea	11
16=	Duncan Ferguson	Everton	11
16=	Egil Ostenstad	Southampton	11
22=	Ian Wright	Arsenal	10
22=	Rod Wallace	Leeds United	10
22=	Emile Heskey	Leicester City	10
22=	Neil Redfearn	Barnsley	10

BIGGEST VICTORIES

Manchester United 7-0 Barnsley	25th October 1997
Barnsley 0-6 Chelsea	24th August 1997
West Ham United 6-0 Barnsley	10th January 1998
Blackburn Rovers 7-2 Sheffield Wednesday	25th August 1997
Manchester United 6-1 Sheffield Wednesday	1st November 1997
Tottenham Hotspur 1-6 Chelsea	6th December 1997
Arsenal 5-0 Barnsley	4th October 1997
Liverpool FC 5-0 West Ham United	2nd May 1998
Derby County 0-5 Leeds United	15th March 1998
Blackburn Rovers 5-0 Aston Villa	17th January 1998

 

HIGHEST SCORING GAMES

No of Goals	Teams	Date
9	Blackburn Rovers 7-2 Sheffield Wednesday	25th August 1997
8	Chelsea 6-2 Crystal Palace	11th March 1998
8	Wimbledon 2-6 Tottenham Hotspur	2nd May 1998
8	Blackburn Rovers 5-3 Leicester City	28th February 1998
7	Manchester United 7-0 Barnsley	25th October 1997
7	Manchester United 6-1 Sheffield Wednesday	1st November 1997
7	Tottenham Hotspur 1-6 Chelsea	6th December 1997
7	Wimbledon 2-5 Manchester United	22nd November 1997
7	Sheffield Wednesday 2-5 Derby County	24th September 1997
7	Bolton Wanderers 5-2 Crystal Palace	2nd May 1998
7	Blackburn Rovers 3-4 Leeds United	14th September 1997
7	West Ham United 4-3 Leicester City	10th May 1998
7	Barnsley 4-3 Southampton	14th March 1998
7	Leeds United 4-3 Derby County	8th November 1997
6	Barnsley 0-6 Chelsea	24th August 1997
6	West Ham United 6-0 Barnsley	10th January 1998
6	Bolton Wanderers 1-5 Coventry City	31st January 1998
6	Liverpool FC 4-2 Chelsea	5th October 1997
6	Chelsea 4-2 Southampton	30th August 1997
6	West Ham United 2-4 Southampton	25th April 1998

 

YOUNGEST PLAYERS USED

Player	Teams	Age at the time	Date
Francis Jeffers	Manchester United 2-0 Everton	16 years, 11 months, 1 day	26th December 1997
Gareth Barry	Sheffield Wednesday 1-3 Aston Villa	17 years, 2 months, 9 days	2nd May 1998
Michael Owen	Wimbledon 1-1 Liverpool FC	17 years, 7 months, 26 days	9th August 1997
Danny Cadamarteri	Derby County 3-1 Everton	17 years, 11 months, 1 day	13th September 1997
Michael Ball	Newcastle United 1-0 Everton	17 years, 11 months, 22 days	24th September 1997
Junior Agogo	Newcastle United 2-1 Sheffield Wednesday	18 years, 8 days	9th August 1997
Stephen McPhail	Leicester City 1-0 Leeds United	18 years, 1 month, 29 days	7th February 1998
Aaron Hughes	Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 Newcastle United	18 years, 2 months, 2 days	10th January 1998
Richard Dunne	Everton 3-2 Bolton Wanderers	18 years, 3 months, 7 days	28th December 1997
Paolo Vernazza	Arsenal 1-0 Crystal Palace	18 years, 3 months, 20 days	21st February 1998

 

OLDEST PLAYERS USED

Player	Teams	Age at the time	Date
Steve Ogrizovic	Leeds United 3-3 Coventry City	40 years, 7 months, 13 days	25th April 1998
Neville Southall	Everton 0-2 Tottenham Hotspur	39 years, 2 months, 13 days	29th November 1997
Peter Beardsley	Bolton Wanderers 1-5 Coventry City	37 years, 13 days	31st January 1998
Gary Mabbutt	Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Southampton	36 years, 8 months, 17 days	10th May 1998
Peter Shirtliff	Southampton 4-1 Barnsley	36 years, 7 months, 2 days	8th November 1997
Dave Watson	Everton 1-1 Coventry City	36 years, 5 months, 20 days	10th May 1998
Clive Wilson	Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Everton	36 years, 4 months, 22 days	4th April 1998
Ian Rush	Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 Newcastle United	36 years, 2 months, 21 days	10th January 1998
Stuart Pearce	Newcastle United 3-1 Chelsea	36 years, 8 days	2nd May 1998
Ludek Miklosko	Derby County 2-0 West Ham United	35 years, 11 months, 27 days	6th December 1997

 

CLEAN SHEETS

Position	Player	Teams	No of Clean Sheets
1	Peter Schmeichel	Manchester United	16
2	Kasey Keller	Leicester City	14
3=	David Seaman	Arsenal	13
3=	Mart Poom	Derby County	13
5	Ed de Goey	Chelsea	12
6=	David James	Liverpool FC	11
6=	Nigel Martyn	Leeds United	11
6=	Tim Flowers	Blackburn Rovers	11
9	Keith Branagan	Bolton Wanderers	10
10	Mark Bosnich	Aston Villa	9

Premier League Rewind: 15th-17th October 1994

Results: Arsenal 3-1 Chelsea, Aston Villa 1-1 Norwich City, Blackburn Rovers 3-2 Liverpool FC, Crystal Palace 0-1 Newcastle United, Everton 0-2 Coventry City, Leeds United 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur, Leicester City 4-3 Southampton, Manchester United 1-0 West Ham United, Queens Park Rangers 1-2 Manchester City, Ipswich Town 1-2 Sheffield Wednesday, Nottingham Forest 3-1 Wimbledon

Whilst Blackburn Rovers and Manchester United were the two teams who would go on to dictate the destiny of the Premier League title in season 1994-1995, it wasn’t so clear who would be the team to beat in mid-October 1994. Kenny Dalglish and Alex Ferguson’s sides were in the chasing pack, but behind a couple of hot pacesetters.

Going into the weekend’s matches, Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest still held unbeaten records and these were maintained through contrasting fashions. Kevin Keegan’s Magpies’ had dropped just four points all season but their trip to Selhurst Park for a match with Crystal Palace wasn’t all about style and swagger. This time, it was about grit and determination to get all three points. They managed to achieve this with a minute to go. Palace defended brilliantly all day but Peter Beardsley produced a special effort to beat Nigel Martyn and ensure the visiting fans went home happy and still on top of the table.

Nottingham Forest had to wait until the Monday evening to respond. Frank Clark’s side were in live action on Sky Sports and played a Wimbledon side that had made a sluggish start to the season. Stan Collymore scored one of the goals of the season at the City Ground. Collecting possession from just inside the Wimbledon half, the striker went on a mazy run and as the space opened up, went for goal. The shot flew past Hans Segers as Forest went on to record a 3-1 victory and maintain their impressive start on their Premier League return.

The two sides that Dalglish cared about the most in English football clashed at Ewood Park and Blackburn Rovers prevailed in a five-goal thriller with Liverpool FC. John Barnes might have scored the goal of the weekend with a stunning acrobatic kick that rolled back the years to his prime days. It wasn’t enough though for the visitors’ to grab a share of the spoils. Two goals from Chris Sutton ensured Dalglish’s current side beat his old employers 3-2.

Liverpool FC stayed in the top four but the nightmare continued across Merseyside for Everton. Still without a win and the pressure continued to mount on the beleaguered Mike Walker. New signings Duncan Ferguson and Ian Durrant played at home to Coventry City but made little impact on the contest. Dion Dublin was among the scorers in an easy 2-0 win for Coventry. Walker insisted he wasn’t under pressure from the board afterwards but his time was almost up in the Goodison Park hotseat.

Another side that had been struggling were Leicester City but the newly-promoted Foxes’ achieved a second victory of the term in an entertaining 4-3 triumph at home to Southampton. Franz Carr scored the goal of the match as Brian Little’s side held off a late fightback from their opponents to claim all three points. It would be the last victory Little achieved with Leicester. He would walk out on the club five weeks later to take over at Midlands’ rivals Aston Villa.

Elsewhere, Arsenal beat Chelsea 3-1 in a London derby, Manchester United sneaked past West Ham United through an Eric Cantona goal and David Hirst scored an 89^th minute winner as Sheffield Wednesday beat Ipswich Town 2-1 on Super Sunday despite a late red card for Des Walker.

What else happened in October 1994?

• Fernando Henrique Cardoso is elected president of Brazil.
• Yasser Arafat, Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres are awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts in keeping peace in the Middle East.
• The USA defeats Europe 13-7 in the Solheim Cup.
• BSkyB launch two new channels; Sky Soap and Sky Travel.
• The conclusion of the Sharongate storyline in EastEnders as Grant finds out Sharon has been having an affair with his brother, Phil. An estimated 25.3 million watch the drama unfold.
• Former Academy Award winner Martha Raye dies in Los Angeles aged 78.
• Two trains crash head-on in heavy fog in Kent after a driver passes a red signal. Five are killed and 13 injured.