English Premier League Overview |
The English Premier League was launched in 1992 amidst a blaze of publicity. Live football was beamed into our living rooms on a much more regular basis and the face of football was changed forever. More money came into the game and so worldwide superstars joined the fun and some famous names have graced the Premiership in the 19 years since its inception.
So far, only seven teams have been ever present in the Premier League since 1992: Aston Villa, Arsenal, Everton, Manchester United, Liverpool, Spurs and Chelsea have remained in the top flight throughout and, after a few scares here and there, look set to remain there for many years to come.
In that time, Manchester United have been by far the most successful, winning the title on 11 occasions. Next come Chelsea and Arsenal who both have 3 wins. Incredibly, only four clubs to date have lifted the trophy - Blackburn Rovers were the other - and an English manager is yet to take a club to the title.
Until recent times, Liverpool have enjoyed a regular Champions League place in the EPL but, by their standards, this has been a lean period for them. With Kenny Dalglish back at the helm, fans will be hoping that the Glory Days are soon to return.
Aston Villa and Everton, while remaining consistent have yet to really make their mark on the Premier League. Both clubs are steeped in history with countless honours behind them and it would be fair in many ways to label them as `sleeping giants`.
Spurs are the Premiership`s consistent under achievers. Another club with a glorious past, Spurs finally made the Champions League last season but are struggling to retain their place in the top four thanks to the emergence of Manchester City.
The Eastland`s club will be looking to challenge the dominance of some of these big names. It does appear that only money will now buy success and City have that in spades. Under Roberto Mancini they look to be set to achieve the success that an open cheque book demands and will be hoping for nothing less than to land the title before long.
In the lower reaches of the English Premier League, there is a catalogue of historic clubs with a string of English League wins and FA Cup triumphs to their names. Wolves and Blackpool, to name but two, are clubs that are struggling with Premiership life but they have a glorious history and some of English football`s best known players such as Stan Mortensen, Stanley Matthews and Billy Wright are associated with them.
Sunderland and Newcastle too are massive names in English football and they, amongst many others will be hoping to challenge the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United again before too long.
The English Premier League changed English Football forever when it was introduced in 1992. Some fans are happy with the progress while others resent the amount of money that has been brought into the game and the fact that the Premiership is dominated by just a select few. One thing that`s for certain is that we have the EPL to thank for letting us watch live football on line and that has to be a good thing.
