Tuesday 29 October 2024

MUTU, FERGIE AND THE PREMIER

On October 29th, 2004, Adrian Mutu was sacked by his club, Chelsea, for testing positive for the drug, cocaine. The "Blues" ditched their £15.8 million Romanian striker, who claimed that he had used the drug in order to improve his sex life! It was suggested that he had lived up to every Transylvania stereotype by sucking on the blood of his WAG. 

Meanwhile at Old Trafford, on the same date in 2005, Fergie's boys became the first team to notch 1,000 goals, since the start of the Premier League in 1992. Fergie might not have been too excited by this event, because, the injury time goal, scored by Ronaldo, proved to be a consolation goal. in injury time, at Middlesbrough, as the home team cruised to a 4-1 victory. 

The inaugural Premier League campaign started on Saturday 15 August, 1992, with 22 clubs. The members of the new Premier League were: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Chelsea, Coventry City, Crystal Palace, Everton, Ipswich Town, Leeds United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Middlesbrough, Norwich City, Nottingham Forest, Oldham Athletic, Queens Park Rangers, Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, and Wimbledon. 


Over that span, 51 teams have played in the Premier League, two of which Cardiff City and Swansea are located in Wales.

Of these clubs, six have been ever-present in the Premier League: Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.  Preston North End is the only former top flight First Division Champions never to have played in the Premier League; there are fourteen cliubs, twelve still active, that have played in the old First Division but not in the Premier League. By contrast, Barnsley, Bournemouth, Hull City, Reading, Swindon Town and Wigan Athletic never played in the old First Division, before being promoted to the Premier League in 1997, 2015, 2008, 2006, 1993 and 2005, respectively.

When the Premier League was formed, there was always the intention to reduce the number of clubs to 20 to promote development and excellence at club and international level. This was achieved at the end of the 1994/95 season when four clubs were relegated and just two promoted.

AND TODAY?


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