It may seem strange to those of you reading this who weren’t around in the late 80s/early 90s, but the formation of the Premier League was massively controversial. In many ways, it was similar to all of the talk of the European Super League a couple of years ago – because, ultimately, it changed the very structure of football in England, and had far-reaching implications.
On one hand, you had the Football League, who ran all of the professional football competitions in England, and had done for ever.
On the other, a breakaway group of the top division clubs, who basically wanted to earn more money – and bollocks to the rest of them.
It was a long and convoluted process. Initially, it was let by media man Greg Dyke of London Weekend Television, who wooed the ‘big 5’ – Liverpool, Manchester United, Everton, Spurs and Arsenal – and convinced them that it would be of far greater interest to ITV, and therefore far more financially beneficial, if only the ‘big clubs’ were shown on TV.
Previously, all TV revenue received by the Football League was shared proportionately across all professional clubs, but big club owners saw the jackpot wheels roll in – and it always seemed to be a done deal.
Romance of football? No room for such nonsense here. The whole thing was motivated by the bigger clubs wanting to take a far greater share of TV money, and prevent them from losing revenue to lower league clubs.
Pretty charming, really.
Anyway, to cut a long story short, the whole thing happened quickly. The meeting between Dyke and his five money-hungry chairmen happened in October 1990, although talks of a ‘super league’ had rumbled intermittently for four or five years.
And, on this day back in 1991, things were really hotting up.
To make the new league happen, the clubs had to officially resign from the Football League. The FA – also seeing the opportunity to make a bob or two – endorsed the whole thing, and consequently, the FA and Football League went to war. Things hadn’t been harmonious between the FA and the Football League for quite some time, however, and the Premier League proposal offered the FA an opportunity to severely weaken the power of Football League.
There was all sorts of controversy and unknowns – including whether there’d be promotion and relegation, and whether the PFA would allow their members to play in this new breakaway league.
In the midst of this war, Sunderland had just been relegated from the top flight, having been awarded promotion somewhat fortuitously the season before.
Whether his position on the creation of the Premier League would have changed somewhat had the lads held onto their first division place is obviously a matter of conjecture, but Bob Murray – who later became very much an FA man – was calling for the PFA’s Gordon Taylor to act as a peacemaker between the warring factions after sports minister Robert Atkins declined to get involved.
Murray said:
It looks as if the Government isn’t going to get involved because of the impending litigation involving the FA and the League. Gordon Taylor now looks the obvious choice to try and find a compromise that will be good for football as a whole.
Unless Taylor and the PFA are accommodated we haven’t got the players. We must accept that there is going to be change. The big clubs have already decided that.
However, we have to find a balance that will ensure a better future for the game at all levels.
Taylor is the sort of man that won’t do football a disservice. He is well respected and represents players across a wide spectrum. I’m sure his aim will be to find a compromise that will prove suitable to the majority of his membership.
It’s got to be a compromise that suits not just players, but spectators, clubs, the FA, the League and the television companies.
It is a sad state for an industry when you have to call in a union man to sort out a mess, but I think Gordon Taylor is the best man for the job.
Taylor was very much against the proposals, which he envisaged would negatively affect the majority of his members.
I have no intention of abdicating my responsibilities to work for all my members. It is impossible for me to go along with a structure that threatens three-quarters of them with a loss of wages, status and even jobs. Remember — without players there can be no ball game.
The whole proposal was a legal and moral mess – and a high court hearing was scheduled for the end of July, to determine whether or not the Football Association was lawfully entitled to set up its breakaway Premier Division.
Regardless, the FA ploughed ahead, and 14 clubs signed an agreement to form their own breakaway league, whatever the outcome.
Ultimately, with most parties seemingly forced into a corner, the ‘big clubs’ and the FA steamrollered their way through – and while a small percentage of players and club owners have got substantially richer.
Even Gordon Taylor – the chap worried about the financial impact on his members – was happy to take personal advantage of football’s riches, ending up paying himself an annual salary of more than £2m, according to a report released just last month.
Can we honestly say it was all a great idea?
I don’t think we can. The rich have become richer, everyone else has become poorer, and when you scratch the surface there’s not that much beauty in the beautiful game.
