01x01 - Episode 1

[bunniefuu]

[crowd cheering]

The Football Association

has approved controversial plans

to set up a new super league.

[announcer] On he goes!

[crowd cheering]

[man]

When Murdoch wrote the cheque,

everyone said,

"Poor old Rupert's

lost it this time."

[Alan Shearer] How big it was

gonna be, I don't think anyone

could have predicted.

20,000 fans surrounded

St James's Park

to welcome the world's

most expensive footballer.

I would love it if we beat them.

Love it!

[Eric Cantona]

When the seagulls

follow the trawler,

they think sardines

will be thrown.

It's just all money. Each club

is one big theme park now.

[man 1] Footballers became

sort of like

rock stars overnight.

I don't think anything

prepares you for media attention

at such a young age.

[man 2] I look at myself

and think, "What an arsehole."

'Cause I'd let everything

go to my head.

[crowd cheering]

[man 3]

I've got a choice in life now.

I either go back to the booze

and the gambling and the drugs

or I go the other way.

[woman] It's like a religion.

It's something to believe in.

[interviewer] Three, two, one

Doing a documentary for the BBC

on the Premier League

in the '90s.

I know I definitely wouldn't

have been able to do that.

[laughs]

Yeah, let's go.[woman] Okay?

Yeah.

[announcer] Here's McGrath.

Oof, Vinnie Jones

caught him there.

[Jones] When I first played,

there was a lot more

crunching tackles

that you could get away with.

[whistle blows]

You're fighting for every game,

every tackle, every header

every second.

We were more of a borstal

than a football team.

People will go on YouTube

and look stuff up,

and they'll go,

"You was a lunatic!"

And I'll go, "Yeah.

I was a bit lively, yeah."

[announcer] Dreadful scenes

at Kenilworth Road.

Absolutely disgraceful.

[man]

Football was going nowhere

in the '80s.

You know, let's be honest,

you know?

There was such bad press,

stadiums were empty,

and I think people were scared

to go to football matches.

They were scared.

It was football violence,

football violence,

football violence.

There were quite often fights

on the forecourt,

you know, regularly.

And your dad was pulling me

and Phil through

at the age of five and six.

It wasn't an environment

for the family to attend.

[Jones]

At that time, it was like

all these intercity firms

going down the tube station

for a punch-up.

[narrator] In the 1980s,

football was a source of shame.

Ordinary fans

were turning their back

on the once beautiful game.

The Sunday Times branded it

a "slum sport"

watched by "slum people"

in "slum stadiums".

I'll show you this graph.

After we won the World Cup

in 1966,

attendances were at a high

of something like 30 million.

And by 1986, they had declined

to 17 million.

Had that been Tesco supermarkets

or Boots chemists

or Rank cinemas,

they'd have had to have done

something very dramatic

to stop going out of business.

[Dein]

Football was not glamorous

and there was no television

income of any consequence.

So nobody could ever say

it was a well-run business

'cause it wasn't.

["Nessun Dorma" playing]

[Pavarotti]

Nessun dorma♪

[crowd cheering]

[man] At that time,

I was working

for The Independent,

which was a new

newspaper start-up,

and the World Cup in 1990

changed our view

of how the game

could be reported,

what we could see in it.

And it produced

amazing characters.

[narrator] The emotional highs

and lows of Italia '90

marked a turning point

for English football.

Different types of people

suddenly started watching.

Football was bringing

the nation together.

[announcer] And chipped in,

and volleyed in!

And it's there by David Platt!

And Bobby Robson ecstatic.

[inaudible]

[White] And what happened

in 1990 was

you had the added drama

of those penalty sh**t-outs.

I remember being with friends

and them having

to leave the room

while the penalties

were going on.

Vincero♪

Vincero♪

[crowd roars]

[announcer] And England are out

of the World Cup.

West Germany are through

to the final on penalty kicks.

[Robson] We played a major part

in the tournament.

We've done very well

to get to the semis,

and we can go home, you know,

feeling very proud, I think.

[music crescendos]

[crowd cheering]

[narrator]

When England finally bowed out,

the match was witnessed

by a UK television audience

of more than 25 million.

[White] Lights were going on

in brains

amongst the next generation

of media moguls,

realizing, "Hang on.

This is something

very, very powerful.

And if we get this right,

there's money here."

[narrator]

With the prospect of bringing

fans back to the game,

a new breed

of business-minded chairmen

sensed the time was ripe

for a sporting revolution.

I was in the commodity business

actually trading physical sugar,

and I built up my own business,

and it was going fairly well.

A group of us got together

who were more progressive

than others

and said, you know,

it's time to change.

My own personal motto

is the motto of the turtle.

You don't get anywhere

unless you stick your neck out.

[man]

Being young and enthusiastic,

we sort of thought, well,

things need to change.

We all realized that,

really, under the 92

old football league formula,

the big clubs in England

were never really going to reach

their full potential.

The big five,

the two Liverpool clubs,

Liverpool and Everton,

the two north London clubs,

Arsenal and Spurs and United

got together,

had this unofficial cartel,

and they were trying

to work out ways that they

could grab more of the take.

[Dein] We had a famous meeting,

and the plot was laid

to break away.

The Football League

had been going

since the 1880s or something

over a hundred years

and all of a sudden,

here we come, five of us decide

here's the four divisions

of 92 clubs.

We're gonna take

the top division

of 22 clubs at the time

and break away,

form a whole new legal entity,

rebrand ourselves,

reinvent ourselves,

call ourselves

the Premier League

and start again.

[news intro playing]

Good evening.

The Football Association

has approved controversial plans

to set up a new super league,

but the decision looks certain

to cause a rift within the game.

Upsetting. Ah, more divisive,

and bringing all the aggro

to the fore again.

[female anchor]

The elite clubs will set up

their own premier division

enabling them to keep more

of the profits from sponsorship

and television.

That may not worry the fans

of Arsenal, Spurs and the rest,

but what about the likes

of Oxford, Southend

and Gillingham?

It's a difficult thing

to change anything that's been

going for over a hundred years,

and of course

there was a lot of resistance.

This is the last thing

that the man in the streets

wants or even understands.

I thought it was all about

22 men kicking the ball about.

You know, I could be

radically wrong

in that situation.

That guy, and I don't want

to talk badly about him,

but he was chairman

of the Football League,

and he said,

"It's always been like this,

for over a hundred years.

You can't change it now."

Oh, really? Well, you know what?

A hundred years ago,

buses were drawn by horses.

[man] Five, four, three

two, one and cue.

We're on BBC.

[narrator] The new founders

were staking the success

of their breakaway league

on selling TV rights

to live matches.

And just as they were looking

for broadcast partners,

television was going through

its own revolution.

[TV host] Programmes beamed

from outer space,

the shape of television to come.

In February, you'll be able

to pick up programmes

from the Astra satellite.

Now to do it, you'll need this.

This is a dish,

shallow curve there,

made by Amstrad.

Costs about £200 on sale

at Christmas.

[man] I remember it vividly.

-The phone rang.

-[ringing]

Rupert Murdoch wanted to see me.

To me, Rupert was

a mystical figure.

It was like following

Gandalf the Grey.

Gandalf the Grey, though,

wearing glasses like

the windscreen

of a Ford Cortina.

[narrator]

Rupert Murdoch was attempting

to expand his media empire

with the launch

of a new network,

Sky Television.

Rupert Murdoch

has officially launched his bid

to win over

Britain's television viewers.

He plans four new satellite

television channels.

[reporter] The man may own more

newspapers and more television

stations than anyone on Earth

[Crick] I've been a television

news reporter for 40 years.

I was at that event

when Murdoch launched Sky,

and I remember, um,

rather nervously

asking him, "Will the standards

of journalism on Sky be the same

as in your newspapers?

Fabrication and lies

and obsession

with people's private lives?"

And everybody

was absolutely stunned.

Is it going to be the same kind

of standard of journalism

as we see in those newspapers?

It'll be totally different.

I've told you it will be

absolutely first class.

-Thank you.

-And there was huge scepticism

about whether it would ever work

and whether people would pay

to subscribe to new channels

when they already had

several channels to watch.

I suppose the worry about it was

that Sky would monopolise

football on television

and therefore we wouldn't get

to watch it on Match of the Day

or on the ITV equivalent.

[Hill] At the time

the Premier League was forming,

Sky was in a fairly perilous

financial state.

We'd been losing

a lot of money

couple million quid a week

and we had a tiny,

little viewing audience.

[White] Initially,

Rupert Murdoch's idea was

that films would be the driver

of that.

You'd subscribe

rather than go into the cinema

and you'd get new movies.

But when they launched,

there wasn't much take-up.

People weren't that interested.

They realized that sport

might be the way of doing it

if we could get into sport.

Then I went looking to every

sporting body in the UK

to try and pick up rights

that weren't being used.

And, obviously, football

was top of the list.

Getting the Premier League

became that pot of gold

that we desperately needed.

Hey♪

Football's new Premier League

has struck a £300 million deal,

which means its matches

will only be seen live

on satellite TV.

[narrator]

If fans wanted to watch

live matches,

they'd have to pay £200

for a dish and a monthly

subscription on top.

When Mr. Murdoch

wrote the cheque

to the football league,

everyone said, "Oh, my God!

Poor old Rupert's

lost it this time.

He's paid too much money."

[White]

The pound signs were ringing

in the eyes

of the football club chairmen.

It was transformational

the amount of money

that was being offered by Sky.

It was huge.

[man] So how much

is he prepared to lose?

I don't know. Whatever

Whatever it takes.

[interviewer] I'm just gonna

show you one of our clips.Yeah.

All right. Go on then.

Yeah, I have to put

my glasses on.

Is that all right?Yeah.

["Alive and Kicking"

by Simple Minds playing]

Oh, God, the ad.

I remember the music.

That was it, wasn't it?

That was the start

of the Premier League.

You turn me on♪

[Jones] This was on

a Sunday morning, I think.

Obviously, we'd been out

Saturday night after the games,

you know what I mean?

No one told me

I had to bring football boots.

I think I was sponsored by Nike

at the time.

I think I had somebody's Reeboks

on, about four sizes too small,

hungover,

and, er yeah, lost my Nike

contract, thanks very much, Sky.

[laughs]

That was my start

to the Premier League, yeah.

-Who's got the touch♪

-To calm the storm inside?♪

-Who's gonna save you?♪

-Alive and kicking♪

Stay until your love is♪

Alive and kicking♪

I guess when we saw this,

we thought, "Maybe things are

a little bit different."

We were aware that the whole

of the country were about

to embark on a journey,

but what that journey was gonna

be or how big it was gonna be,

I don't think anyone

could have predicted.

[Hill] Rupert's career

has been marked by gambles.

He's virtually pushed

all the chips

into the centre of the table.

[announcer]

The FA Premier League,

live only on Sky.

It's a whole new ball game.

[crowd cheering]

Right here, right now♪

There is no other place

That I'd rather be♪

Right here, right now♪

Watching the world wake up

From history♪

[Hill] Football is the greatest

entertainment of all time,

but it wasn't being represented

that way.

What we had to do

was market it properly.

Make people realize

the FA Premier League

was not the same.

For us, this was like

make or break.

[narrator] The multimillion-

pound injection from Sky

would have an immediate impact.

The money would be shared

between 22 teams,

but not equally.

The higher up the league table

a side finished,

the more money they'd get.

[announcer]

Good afternoon, everyone.

A new league,

even a different button to push

on your television set.

We're all lovers

of this marvellous game,

especially when players

of this pedigree are involved.

Founding members

Manchester United should have

been amongst the favourites,

but after six years in charge,

Alex Ferguson had failed to win

a league title.

The fans were losing patience.

[crowd chanting]

The club just had one theme,

and that was to go and win

the Premier League title.

Denis, Denis,

just play football. Denis!

You listened to the boss.

He knew he needed it.

You could see it in his face.

Well, the fans were ambivalent

about Ferguson up to that point.

I mean, he'd come down

from Scotland having had

this extraordinary record

with Aberdeen,

but he'd been at United then

for nearly six years,

and we still hadn't won

the league.

Manchester United

will be expected to win titles.

So that's just about the only

thing that your predecessor,

Ron Atkinson, didn't do,

and he's almost been branded

a failure after five years.

I mean, that in itself does sum

up the magnitude of the job

you've taken on, doesn't it?

[man] We hadn't won the league

since 1967.

Every year that went by,

it got more and more difficult

and the tension grew.

So by the time we got to '92,

it'd become a big

Like a monster.

It was

It was hanging over us.

Of course,

he was under enormous pressure.

I mean, we used to receive

a lot of letters

from supporters

complaining that Alex wasn't

the right man,

he'd come from Scotland,

he hadn't got experience

in the English league

and all the rest of it.

[man] Around that time,

Fergie's football was dire.

It was really poor.

So it came to me one night

that I should take the bedsheet

off the bed

and get some black paints

out the shed

and paint a banner

expressing my feelings.

The banner said "3 years

of excuses

but it's still crap

Ta ra Fergie".

Most of the crowd cheered

and applauded as they saw it,

and Fergie called it

his darkest day in football.

The overriding feeling though

was still sadness

that I'd had to do it

and I wanted to do it

and that United

were still playing poorly.

Denis, just play football.

[crowd cheering]

[announcer]

And up comes Schmeichel,

and a clean strike effected.

-[crowd roaring]

-[announcer] And Deane scores.

The start wasn't great. Uh

We actually conceded

the first ever

Premier League goal.

[announcer] Four minutes

and 36 seconds when the ball

went into the net.

[crowd roars]

[announcer] And the referee

says penalty.

[Pallister]

I'd come with a reckless slide,

and I took a little bit of flak,

as did a lot of players.

You can feel the history.

It certainly brings it home

to you very quickly.

[crowd roars]

[announcer] So Alex Ferguson's

team open with a defeat.

[Pallister]

To start that year so badly

kind of left us

doubting ourselves.

[narrator]

Something had to change

for Ferguson, and fast.

He'd been closely tracking

a young Southampton striker

who'd recently broken into

the England team.

[announcer] Straight to Cook,

and that's a lovely ball

for Shearer!

He's got himself away

from the defenders here.

He's done well.

-He's done brilliantly!

-[crowd roars]

[Merson] The all-round

centre forward.

The all-round centre forward.

I don't think people appreciate

how rock solid he was as well.

I mean, he could hold a ball up,

he was strong,

he'd run the channels,

he'd score bundles of goals.

He was the all-round package.

[narrator]

At just 21, Alan Shearer

was the country's most

talked about centre forward

and was being bombarded

with offers.

I got a call

from a representative

from Manchester United

and said, "Man United

would like to speak to you."

And I said, "Well,

that's really great, thank you,

but I have promised

that I'd give Blackburn

an answer

before the end of the week."

And they said they couldn't get

the money together

for whatever reason

for a couple of weeks,

so would I be prepared to wait?

[clears throat] I said,

"No, I'm not prepared to wait.

If you want me

that much then you'd make

something happen now."

I was disappointed

in that conversation with him,

I must say that.

He surprised me a lot.

He seemed to be

Money seemed to be

the most important thing to him.

[narrator] United's name,

history and reputation

wasn't enough.

Ferguson had been outbid.

I was actually flattered

and hugely impressed

that someone was prepared to pay

that amount of money for me,

stupidly maybe.

Alan Shearer playing

at Blackburn Rovers, you know.

Everybody wants Alan Shearer.

He could've gone anywhere.

He could've gone Man United,

anywhere he wanted,

and he went there.

[Shearer] The major factor

of me going to Blackburn

was because one of the first

things they said to me was,

"We want to win

this Premier League,

and we want to win it sharpish."

[dog barking]

[narrator] Blackburn Rovers

hadn't won a major honour

since 1928.

But having clinched

the final spot

in the new Premier League,

this was a small club

with big ambitions.

Where's Blackburn?

Where's Blackburn?

Blackburn?

Ah, it's a town in the north?

[laughs]

Yorkshire, is it?

Seaside town?[man] Sorry?

Um, it's in Merseyside

near Manchester.

[scoffs]

Blackburn

Tony Blackburn? [laughs]

You don't think that people

don't know about this place

because it's your be-all

and end-all, isn't it?

Wow.

Blackburn Rovers,

Julie speaking.

I came to Ewood Park

when I was 29.

My family have always been

Blackburn Rovers fans. Always.

It was a poor place.

It was poor.

You know, the stadium was poor.

There were a row

of terraced houses,

and they bought

the two end terraces.

One was converted into a gym

for the players,

and it was grim.

I mean, grim.

The town needed a lift.

The day that he did take over,

the club secretary said,

"I'm expecting a fax."

Usually, I had to pick up

the fax and take it in to him,

but he were there hovering

over it, waiting and waiting

and waiting,

and when it finally

came through, he says

Held it up, and he said,

"This will change our lives

forever."

[reporter] Jack Walker is

a millionaire many times over.

One survey ranks him as

the 24th richest man in Britain

and lives a life of true luxury.

His wealth wasn't inherited

or won. He earned it.

I'm fortunate. I managed to

sell my business two years ago,

and I now have the time to do

what I always wanted to do

and be involved

in the Blackburn Rovers.

[narrator] Walker had sold

the family steel business

and now had £360 million

burning a hole in his pocket.

[White] The established giants

did not like the arrival

of Walker.

This was meant to be

a super league.

This was meant to be creating

a world in which Liverpool,

Manchester United, Arsenal

and Tottenham reigned supreme,

not some upstart

with a bit of cash.

[crowd cheering]

I had to go in

and I had to do the business.

I had to score goals.

It shocked us.

You think, "Hold on a minute,

3.6 million,

and he's only how old,

and he's done what?

He'd better be good." [laughs]

[man] Free kick!

[crowd jeers]

[crowd chanting]

Not worth the money!

Not worth the money!

Not worth the money!

Not worth the money!

[Shearer] To get off

to a good start and score a goal

was hugely important

because I cost so much then.

The pressure was on me.

[crowd roars]

[Preugschat] He didn't buy it

just to play with it.

Jack Walker meant business.

He wanted to go all the way.

[narrator] The new league was

producing unexpected plotlines,

and the success of Sky's £300

million gamble relied on

the public getting hooked in.

But the fledgling broadcaster

could not rely

on the sport itself.

It assembled a marketing team

tasked with commercializing

English football.

Marketing is everything.

It has to tell you something.

It has to touch your

your lifestyle.

Can't, can't, can't

Can't get up♪

[Smith]

I had been living in Los Angeles

and just loved

what they were doing with sport.

It was essentially

entertainment.

So you go and see something

like the LA Raiders,

and it was a show,

and the sport was in the middle

of the show.

Get up, get up♪

[Dein] I got taken to

an American football game.

The Miami Dolphins were playing.

And I'm trying to concentrate

on the game, and all I can hear

in my ear is,

"Hot dogs, Coca-Cola,

cold beer. Cold beer, hot dogs,

Coca-Cola".

And I'm finding I'm passing

a dollar bill this way,

a Coca-cola that way,

a hamburger this way. [laughs]

And that's just because

they made an event out of it,

which we didn't.

[announcer]

Ford'sMonday Night Football.

[Richard Keys]

Mondays are changing.

No longer that

start-of-the-week depression.

We're into a whole new ball game

on Sky Sports.

Good evening to you.

Manchester City

and Queens Park Rangers tonight

marking the start

of a whole new era.

But if that don't mean

Nothing♪

[Hill] Monday Night Football

was something

that we'd insisted on

in the development

of the Sky bid

right from the get-go,

and the reason was very simple.

If you looked at the viewing

figures in the United States,

the number of women watching

on Monday night

was almost double the number

that would watch

the traditional time spot,

which were on Sunday afternoon.

And it became a phenomenon

in the US,

that people would have parties,

and the weekend

didn't really end

until the football game happened

on the Monday night.

But if that don't mean

Nothing♪

I remember that the first few

games, there were dancing girls,

there were fireworks,

there was all sorts of stuff

going off,

and you're thinking, you know,

"We're just coming to play ball.

Never seen none of this before."

[Keys] It's a family crowd.

These are the Sky Strikers

about which you've heard

so much.

What you gonna do

When it all cracks up♪

What you gonna do

When the love burns down?♪

We got whacked

for the Sky Strikers.

What's it gonna take♪

[reporter] What are you actually

gonna do?

We're doing pregame

and halftime, you know,

and hopefully getting

the crowd going.

[laughs]

Just getting the crowd

entertained.

That was our attempt

at cheerleaders.

Alive and kicking♪

Which, um which didn't work.

[man] Impressed with what was in

the centre circle, boys?

Yeah, in fact,

I forgot the game was on.

I decided I'd just watch them.

Ooh, oh♪

[Smith laughing]

This was one of our ideas.

I stood in the crowd for it,

and I thought,

"This is gonna be great.

I'm gonna get their reaction."

And the guys around me said,

"What the f*ck's

going on here now?

What's all that about,

eh? What?"

[whistle blows]

[announcer] Here he comes. Yes!

[crowd shouting]

[laughs]

[crowd chanting]

I go, "Okay, we didn't

quite get that right. Okay."

But the idea had

a germ of something in it.

Let's entertain. Let's do better

than a brass band at halftime.

[playing sax solo

from "Baker Street"]

For us, there were

no boundaries anymore.

We wanted everybody

in that crowd.

We wanted women, we wanted kids,

we wanted everybody.

We got advertising boards

that weren't flat pieces of wood

or cardboard.

They revolved.

And then you could have

ball boys branded

with another form

of advertising.

Oh, and by the way, you can have

people in your stadium early,

so you're gonna sell more food,

you're gonna sell more beer,

you're gonna sell

more merchandise.

And anything that moved

was saleable.

Many football fans certainly

feel that commercialism

is the priority of the game now.

And I think we ought to remember

it's a sport.

It's not pure business at all.

Yeah, playing Monday night games

is such a k*ller.

How can fans from Manchester

travel into Southampton,

hundreds of miles,

on Monday night,

pouring rain?

No chance.

Haven't got money for that.

It's just out of order.

Totally out of order.

Yes, it was done

for financial gain.

No question,

and I make no bones about it.

And in a way,

it was a bit outrageous, really.

But it worked.

[stadium announcer] Our thanks

to the Sky Strikers.

[narrator] Having failed

to land Alan Shearer,

Alex Ferguson was desperate

to find another frontman.

He took a risk on a newcomer

from the lower leagues,

23-year-old Dion Dublin.

[Ferguson] Well, I think we

tried to be a bit sane about it.

You know? We did get involved

in Alan Shearer a bit,

but when it came

to the situation where, oh

the terms

and the actual transfer fees

for a 21-year-old,

we just felt Dion Dublin

was an alternative.

He's comfortable on the ball,

and I think he's got

a decent goal-scoring record.

And I just felt that probably,

possibly, we've got

the better value.

[narrator]

But just three weeks later,

disaster struck.

The tackle was horrendous,

and it broke his leg

and his ankle at the joint.

You knew straightaway

he was in trouble.

And he was a great guy, and he'd

really just got into the team

and started playing.

Come from Cambridge,

which was back then

in the second or third division

or whatever it was.

And he was just finding his feet

as a Manchester United player.

[narrator]

The pressure was mounting

on Alex Ferguson.

Manchester United fans

were growing impatient

and success looked

a long way off.

If I asked you which side

had only gained one victory

from their last ten matches,

scoring just six goals,

it might surprise you

the answer is Manchester United.

[Edwards] We were having

a tough time in the league,

and once we knew the seriousness

of Dublin's injury,

then we had to bring in

somebody else.

[phone rings]

I was literally in my office

one day,

and I got a call

from Bill Fotherby,

who was the chief executive

of Leeds United.

And Bill said, "Martin,

we're wondering,

would you be prepared

to sell us Denis Irwin?"

And I said, "We can't let Denis

go. He's too important", I said.

"But we'll take Eric

off your hands."

[narrator] In France,

Eric Cantona had earned

a reputation

as a difficult character

to manage and had fallen out

with his coach.

[in French]

[Cantona in French]

[narrator] After threatening

to quit football altogether,

he'd moved to England

to play for Leeds United,

but the rumour was

he was less than settled.

[Edwards] I'd heard

through the grapevine

that Howard Wilkinson

didn't particularly get on

with Eric.

You know, he was a bit

of a maverick character

and Howard couldn't cope

with him and the rest of it,

and I'd heard

that he wasn't happy with him.

So I just happened to throw in,

"Would you be prepared

to sell Cantona?"

"Right. What would you

be prepared to pay?"

I said a million.

"Don't be stupid", he said.

"I'll not let him go

for a million.

What about 1.5?"

"No, no. No, a million."

"You give me 1.2"

"Look, I've said a million.

We've discussed it

all last week.

We're taking him off your hands.

Howard wants to get rid of him."

"Well, listen," he said.

"We'll do a million,

but can we say it's 1.2?"

He says, "We'll get slaughtered

by our supporters here."

I said, "You can say what you

like, Bill. Say what you like."

[man 1] Au revoir,Leeds.

Bonjour,Manchester.

[man 2] The footballing

fraternity was stunned

when Cantona left Leeds

after just a year.

[man 3] Now Manchester United

have to try and tame

the wayward talent

of the French international.

[man 4]

All right, look in this one.

-[man 5] And this one, please.

-[man 6] This one, please.

[men shouting]

[Cantona] I came from France

where they wanted us

to be all the same.

But England was was special.

They could accept somebody

who was

was a certain kind

of personality.

Somebody who is a bit different

can be accepted and loved.

[men shouting]

All the best, mate.

[reporter] Eric, can I ask you,

are you surprised to be here?

No.[man] No, he's not surprised.

He arrived at Old Trafford

like he was already the king

of Old Trafford.

He walked in with his chest

puffed out, his collars up.

Just such a confidence

about the lad.

[Cantona] The day I signed

for Manchester United,

I'd say

It was a great club,

and I had to

I had to succeed.

[reporter]

Are you able to tell us

how much the deal was for?

Ah, 1.2 million.

[reporter] Has playing

English football made him

a more mature person

and less of

an enfant terrible?

[laughter]

[speaking French]

[interpreter]

It still upsets him, that image,

as it did before.

[interviewer] He's got

a fiery reputation

a fiery Frenchman,

and, with due respect,

a fiery Scot.

How's that relationship

gonna develop?

Well, the French and Scots have

great old alliances

if you know your history.

I'm hoping this is part

of a new alliance.

He has got a bad-boy image,

hasn't he? How are you

gonna deal with that?

Well, we'll just have

this experience.

Hopefully, I have

the experience to handle it.

This might be

a new challenge for me too.

[announcer] There hasn't been

a more controversial move

in English football.

£1.2 million it cost

for Cantona to come

to Old Trafford.

Great cross, Phelan arriving.

Cantona made it. Yes!

[crowd roaring]

Eric Cantona's first goal

for Manchester United

just seemed to land.

He's always had coaches

or managers who were

trying to shape him,

where Fergie let him be

a free spirit.

[Cantona] And when you receive

the ball, you want to

It's like caressing the ball.

It's like a dance.

[announcer] Cantona,

he's really in the mood.

[crowd roars]

They say a rising tide

lifts all boats,

and Cantona was a rising tide.

He was exciting.

It was good to watch.

It was like we had United back.

[announcer] Passed forward.

But not past the first time,

but he does the second time.

Of course I was a winner.

I wanted to win,

but I have to express myself.

[announcer] Cross with a left

from Irwin. Cantona's looping

header, and a goal!

-[crowd cheering]

-[announcer]

And the cult hero here

has his status elevated

even higher.

Eric Cantona was

a producer's gift from God.

Here you had this

wonderful, wonderful character.

He almost had

a hip-hugging hologram

around him when he was playing,

that he was always

doing something.

The eye couldn't leave him.

[Cantona]

Like the lions or the tigers,

you know, the way they move.

Like this, like they are

sleeping, you know?

But if they move,

they move quickly.

[announcer]

Over the goalkeeper, Cantona!

Confidence, arrogance, belief,

he had all those things.

He was different. He did art.

And then he'd talk

about painting pictures

on a football pitch.

Nobody used that analogy.

I certainly never used that,

and I'm painting pictures

on a football pitch.

That's how Eric saw himself,

as an artist.

[Cantona] If you see

all the movements

of the players, you know,

on the pitch,

if you can draw it, you know,

make a big,

wonderful piece of art.

[announcer]

Cantona making ground in

the middle, and he finds him!

Yes! A magnificent equalizer

by Manchester United!

Eric Cantona!

[narrator]

The £360 million fortune

of steel magnate Jack Walker

was having a direct impact

on the title race.

The return on his investment

was being paid back

with interest.

[crowd cheering]

[both]

A Shearer shirt, please.

[woman] What size?Small boy's.

We never really had fan mail

for players, you know.

But with Alan Shearer,

it was a different story.

It just came in thick and fast.

My mum and dad were so proud

'cause they couldn't wait to

tell everybody where I worked.

"Oh, she works

for Blackburn Rovers.

She's Alan Shearer's secretary."

If they'd said I were a surgeon,

they would just be as proud.

[announcer] He's Oh!

[Hendry] It could have been

an expensive failure,

but it was never gonna be

an expensive failure

because as a finisher of goals,

Alan Shearer was just

as good as there was.

Who was that?Shearer.

Shearer scored.

I used to think that the day

Would never come♪

I'd see the light in the shade

Of the morning sun♪

All of a sudden, there were

a new life in the town.

[to "Winter Wonderland"]

There's only one

Alan Shearer♪

Walking along

Singing a song♪

Walking

In a Shearer wonderland♪

[both] Yay! [laughing]

[announcer] They've done it!

They've caught Leeds out,

and Wilcox, who's got one goal,

can get another one,

or he might lay it on

who else but Alan Shearer!

[crowd cheering]

[Shearer] You felt a sort

of a ping go in my knee.

When any player goes down

and then doesn't move very much,

you automatically think

that's something serious.

That runs through

everybody's mind, and certainly

through mine as well.

A ruptured cruciate ligament

back in '92, '93

was viewed as

a career-threatening injury.

[crowd chanting]

Shearer! Shearer! Shearer!

[Preugschat] We'd just got going

in the Premier League,

and then all of a sudden,

it's cut, you know?

Alan's gone.

Heartbreaking.

The one time

where the cost of this guy

actually came into my thoughts

was when the surgeon produced

a hammer and a chisel,

and I thought, "Oh, my God,

you can't take that

to this guy's knee.

You know, he's worth a fortune."

[Shearer]

It's a long, hard road back,

and you've got to accept that.

But then I was determined

to get back bigger

and stronger than ever.

[funk music playing]

Get down, get down♪

The most complete

football service in the world,

seven days a week,

Sky Sports is in a league

of its own. This is why.

Sky had a commercial association

with other branches

of Murdoch's media empire.

So he had The Sun,

which was the most popular

daily newspaper.

He had The Times,

which was the paper of record.

And what he could do

was fantastically push

this new product

on the pages of his newspapers.

The Sunday Times,of course,

was part of the Murdoch empire,

so you're not calling it

a slum sport anymore.

You're saying,

"This is something

you should get involved in."

[man] It's quite good, really,

you know what I mean?

Bit of coverage,

see much more of the game.

I like the interviews after.

It's all right, mate.

See plenty of football.

So I like it, know what I mean?

[Hill] Every pub in Britain

had to have Sky in there

for Sunday afternoon

and Monday night.

Sky had arrived.

[chattering]

[narrator] On the pitch,

a drama was starting

to take shape.

The fairy tale,

where a sleeping giant

is reawoken,

was about to enter

the closing chapter.

As his side climbed the table,

Ferguson was winning back

the fans.

But one slip, and the tide

could so easily turn.

[chattering]

[Cantona] When you didn't win

things for so long,

you have maybe more pressure.

And Alex Ferguson

was the perfect manager for that

because he had everything.

He He knows

football perfectly.

And I remember

the pre-match talk

from Alex Ferguson was always

He always finished by,

"Now you know everything.

Now enjoy it."

[chattering]

[man]

Since their last title in 1967,

United have won

numerous cup competitions,

but have continually seemed

to lack the resilience to

clinch that league title again.

[crowd singing]

[announcer] Hello again.

I'm Martin Tyler.

This is Old Trafford.

Alex Ferguson on a crusade

to try and bring

the championship here.

[narrator] With just

six matches remaining,

the game against Sheffield

Wednesday was seen as pivotal.

Locked in a title battle

with Aston Villa,

a United win would put them

top of the league

and provide momentum

for the final run-in.

[crowd chanting]

[Schmeichel]

We need to win this game

in order to stay in the race.

This is thegame.

[announcer] Sharpe

Here's McClair!

[crowd groans]

[announcer] Cantona knew

exactly what he was going

to do before the ball arrived.

When you start

to think too much,

analyse everything

You know, now they analyse

everything in football.

All I know is that

I could express myself,

and I don't want to know more.

[announcer]

That's a great touch

by Cantona for Giggs.

[crowd groans]

It's like in love.

I don't want to know

why I love my wife.

Cantona has done it again!

This is McClair.

[crowd groans]

[Pallister] We'd had

so many chances in the game,

and then all of a sudden,

this came around.

[announcer] Waddle.

Penalty!

[White] I was at that game,

and here we were,

United's inherent weakness

seemed to be there.

That nerve

about getting over the line.

There's no doubt about it.

Ferguson was desperate

to win that title.

You could almost see it

in his eyes, thinking,

"This is gonna slip away."

[crowd shouting, booing]

[stadium announcer]

The Sheffield Wednesday

penalty

scored by number five,

John Sheridan.

[Pallister] I remember

the deathly silence.

The fans were just

dumbstruck really.

You're thinking

this is a moment where

we could be throwing away

the title.

We find ourselves 1-0 down

going into the final minutes

of normal time.

[announcer] Alex Ferguson

needs his players

to dig very deep.

[Cantona] What is great

with Alex Ferguson,

he wasn't afraid to be in front

of personalities.

He had Schmeichel, Robson,

Paul Ince, Steve Bruce.

He could deal with any kind

of personality,

and more than that,

he helped them

to express themselves.

[announcer] Now Cantona.

That's a great play

by Chris Woods.

And then be part of the team.

[announcer] Hughes.

Still Hughes

and Woods has kept it

out again. Corner.

And I think this kind of team

managed like this is

stronger than anyone.

[announcer] Back to Bruce.

Oh, it's in!

Woods couldn't do it that time.

Have Manchester United

got it in them to find

another goal here?

It was that idea that,

don't think that you can

write this team off.

They'll come good at the last.

And, of course,

for a broadcaster,

that is really, really

brilliant content

because it's the cliffhanger.

You've gotta stick to the end.

You can't switch off

'cause anything could happen.

[announcer]

We're in the 90th minute.

This is Premier League drama

of the highest order.

For some reason, which I never

ever found any sense

or good explanation as to why,

Pally turned up

on the right wing.

[announcer] Pallister.

Bruce Yes!

-Yes, for Manchester United!

-[crowd roaring]

Unbelievable!

Out of the depths of despair

comes that.

It's all about the cross.

[laughs]

[crowd chanting]

[reporter] I've never seen him

go so ape sh*t.

Who?The manager.

You'll see the shot tonight.

He's run onto the track.

I think it was Brian

who went on the pitch.

Brian went on the pitch

and they went mad.

I never ever, ever saw Fergie

celebrate like that.

And when he's running up,

I think he's about to do

somersaults and everything.

And then he realizes

[snaps finger]

"Oh, I'm the manager here.

I have to contain myself."

But Brian Kidd

doesn't get that thought.

He carries on. He's on his knees

and looking at the sky

and everything.

From that moment on,

everything changed.

[Ferguson] It brought us all

excitement, the support.

Almost saying,

"We are gonna do it.

It's gonna happen."

[crowd singing]

[narrator] After

their last-minute victory,

there was no looking back

for Manchester United.

They were assured

of the Premier League title

before the season finished.

We had a sort of like a

Eh, we had a We had a

Oh, I'll put it the way it is.

We had a party at Bruce's house.

Pump it up a little more♪

Get the party going

On the dance floor♪

'Cause that's where

The party's at♪

[narrator] On the evening

before their final home game,

the players' celebrations

would become the stuff

of suburban legend.

[Pallister]

We all piled round Bruce's house

about 7:00,

and I think we left there

about 4:00 in the morning.

[laughs]

So it was like an eight,

nine-hour bender.

I don't want

A place to stay♪

[man] If the gaffer

could see us now.

Consistency, consistency.

The man Ince.

I love him! I love him!

[in French]

And, of course,

we tried to be sensible,

but it's difficult.

In a way,

it was quite unprofessional.

I'll say that we didn't do it

like we should have done.

But it's not my fault.

[chuckling]

[chattering]

It just went on maybe longer

than what it should have done,

to be perfectly honest.

Everything about the game

the next day was,

"One more then I'll go.

You know what?

Someone please grab me

and say I have to go,

and then I will go."

And obviously people weren't

grabbing people early enough.

Get your booty

On the floor tonight♪

[horn honking rhythmically]

Oh, when the Reds!

Oh, when the Reds!

-Go marching in!

-Go marching in!

Oh, when the Reds

Go marching in♪

I want to be in that number

When the Reds go marching in♪

Good evening from Old Trafford.

There hasn't been a night

here like this

for over a quarter

of a century.

But once again,

Manchester United

are the champions.

It's been a long, long wait

since those days of Best and Law

and Charlton.

[Molyneux] I wrote a letter

to Alex Ferguson saying

that I criticised you

when you got it wrong

or when I thought

you were getting wrong,

and it's only fair

that I applaud you now.

Alex Ferguson,

Ferguson, Ferguson♪

[Molyneux] You've made

all our dreams come true.

You've done

what you were asked to do,

and you'll always go down

in the annals of time for that,

and thanks for doing that.

I never got a reply.

And, also, I wouldn't have

blamed him for thumping me.

Well, you shouldn't drink

the night before a big game!

[all laughing]

Remember before the game

when we're

A lot of us are sitting down,

virtually trying to keep

our bodies upright

because we had maybe celebrated

a little bit too much

the night before.

[Ferguson]

This is the greatest night

of your lives.

It's a night where you can relax

and play, but win.

-[players laughing]

-Okay?

I'm not even gonna ask you

what you were up to last night.

I daren't ask you.

I daren't.

[crowd cheering]

[stadium announcer]

Here they are, the

Premier League champions, 1993,

Manchester United!

[crowd cheering]

I've never known an atmosphere

like it in Old Trafford

in all my life that night.

That was just

The relief, the enjoyment,

the party atmosphere.

We are the champions,

My friends♪

[narrator]

As the curtain came down

on the first season,

United were to be awarded

the Premier League trophy

after the final game

against their ambitious rivals,

Blackburn Rovers.

Their star striker

was still out with injury.

Don't remember anything

about that. It's irrelevant.

Well, they won the league,

we didn't.

Not interested in it.

That's why I don't remember it.

[laughs]

[announcer] Hughes trying

to help it through.

A bit of a scramble.

Cantona. Ince is in there!

And Manchester United

have taken the lead

through Paul Ince.

And Cantona is again the

provider, and again no wonder

they applaud on the bench.

[whistle blows]

[crowd cheering]

[reporter] Well, Alex,

many, many congratulations.

How good does it feel

at the moment

to know that you're

the Premier League champions?

Well, it's a wonderful,

wonderful night.

You strive all your life

to get a feeling like tonight

and to experience an atmosphere

like we have tonight is

I've never seen anything

like that in my life.

[reporter] Now when you signed

Eric Cantona, there were

probably a few raised eyebrows.

An absolutely inspired signing

in hindsight,

but can you just assess his

contribution this season to you?

I think he brought imagination

to our game

that only great players

can bring to teams

and our players immediately

were magnetised by him.

And he just created

a sort of a flair

and a chemistry

that only United supporters

can understand.

[Cantona] What I mean to him,

I don't know.

What he means to me,

it's like

He was like a second father

for me.

[interviewer]

Did he make you a better player?

I think so, yeah. Yeah.

So thanks, Alex.

Boss.

Sir Alex Ferguson.

[crowd cheering]

[White] Well, at the beginning

of that season,

there'd been huge losses

at Sky.

And then suddenly,

the Premier League

was delivering

a million subscribers

in that first season.

This was huge.

They actually turned a profit

at the end of that first season,

and it was all done

by the football.

It was wonderful.

We had amazing theatre,

we had amazing stars

and we had an amazing plotline

that we didn't have to write.

We just went along for the ride,

and it was fantastic.

[crowd]

Glory, glory Man United♪

[narrator]

Amongst the thousands of fans

witnessing United make history

was an 18-year-old on the verge

of breaking into the team.

I was in the stadium

with my mum and dad.

To see us lift the trophy,

the team that me and my dad

supported our whole lives,

was the most incredible moment.

You could feel that something

special was happening.

You could feel that there was

a change within the club.

Well, thanks[man] Shh! Shh!

to all of you

for joining me tonight.[man] Cheers.

A wonderful night.

Appreciate you all being here.

-[man] To Alex!

-Hear, hear!

[all cheering]

[Le Saux] It was a celebration

for them, but it was humiliating

for us that night.

It was a big motivator

for the next season

because how we felt afterwards

really, I think,

got our backs up.

And I think we felt,

okay, right, we've got you

in our sights.

[announcer] Ripley.

Oh, and he's come

for Alan Shearer!

Goal for Blackburn Rovers!

[man]

Football became a huge part

of the tapestry of the country.

Everybody was talking

about the Premier League.

[crowd roars]

No, I don't.

I don't have any regrets.

[announcer]

Oh, my goodness me!

Eric Cantona has kung-fu'd

a Crystal Palace fan!