The 1993–94 FA Premier League (known as the FA Carling Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the second season of the FA Premier League, the top division of professional football in England. Manchester United won the league by eight points over nearest challengers Blackburn Rovers, their second consecutive league title. Swindon Town finished bottom of the league in their first season of top-flight football and were relegated along with Sheffield United and Oldham Athletic. Manchester United also broke their own record of the most points in a season, set by themselves the previous season. This would be surpassed by Chelsea in the 2004–05 season.

Quick Facts Season, Dates ...
FA Premier League
Season1993–94
Dates14 August 1993 – 8 May 1994
ChampionsManchester United
2nd Premier League title
9th English title
RelegatedSheffield United
Oldham Athletic
Swindon Town
Champions LeagueManchester United
Cup Winners' CupArsenal
Chelsea
UEFA CupBlackburn Rovers
Newcastle United
Aston Villa
Matches played462
Goals scored1,195 (2.59 per match)
Top goalscorerAndy Cole
(34 goals)
Best goalkeeperDavid Seaman (19 clean sheets)
Biggest home winNewcastle United 7–1 Swindon Town
(12 March 1994)
Biggest away winSwindon Town 0–5 Liverpool
(22 August 1993)
Swindon Town 0–5 Leeds United
(7 May 1994)
Highest scoringNorwich City 4–5 Southampton
(9 April 1994)
Longest winning run8 games[1]
Manchester United
Longest unbeaten run22 games[1]
Manchester United
Longest winless run15 games[1]
Swindon Town
Longest losing run7 games[1]
Tottenham Hotspur
Highest attendance45,347[2]
Aston Villa 2–1 Liverpool
(7 May 1994)
Lowest attendance4,739[2]
Wimbledon 1–2 Coventry City
(26 December 1993)
Total attendance10,642,228[3]
Average attendance23,035[3]
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Overview

New league sponsors

From the start of the 1993–94 season, the FA Premier League was sponsored by Carling Breweries.

Transfers

Just before the start of the season, Roy Keane became the most expensive footballer signed by an English football team. The 22-year-old Irish midfielder left relegated Nottingham Forest for Manchester United for a fee of £3.75 million.

During the 1993–94 season, many players were transferred between Premier League clubs for fees exceeding £1 million. They included David White (Manchester City to Leeds United), David Rocastle (Leeds United to Manchester City), Roy Wegerle (Blackburn Rovers to Coventry City) and Tim Flowers (Southampton to Blackburn Rovers). At £2.5 million, Flowers became the most expensive goalkeeper in English football.

Summary

Manchester United led the 1993–94 Premier League for almost all of the season, eventually finishing as champions eight points ahead of runners-up Blackburn Rovers. They also won the FA Cup after beating Chelsea 4–0 in the final, thereby becoming only the fourth team to achieve this feat in the 20th century (after Tottenham in 1961, Arsenal in 1971 and Liverpool in 1986). Their lead of the Premier League stood at 11 points by the end of October and peaked at 16 points at one stage, but a run of bad results in March was followed by defeat at Blackburn at the beginning of April, which meant that they now led the league merely on goal difference. A return to form towards the end of April then saw United seal the league title with two games still to play.

Norwich City, Leeds United, Newcastle United, Everton and Aston Villa were among the sides who showed promise early in the season before Manchester United established a runaway lead. Norwich reached the third round of the UEFA Cup after famously beating Bayern Munich in the second round, but their league form slumped after manager Mike Walker departed to Everton in January, and the Norfolk side finished 12th. Everton's brief lead of the league in the opening stages of the season was followed by a slump in form, and manager Howard Kendall stepped down at the beginning of December with the Toffees now in the bottom half of the table. They only narrowly avoided relegation on the final day of the season. Aston Villa finished a disappointing 10th in the league, but won the Football League Cup for the fourth time.

Finishing runners-up in the Premier League were Blackburn Rovers, whose top scorer Alan Shearer found the net 31 times in the league. In third place came Newcastle United, whose 22-year-old striker Andy Cole was the Premier League's leading scorer with 34 goals in 40 games, with a total of 41 goals in all competitions. In fourth place came Arsenal, who achieved success in European competition with a 1–0 win over Parma in the Cup Winners' Cup final.

Swindon Town managed just five league wins all season and were relegated in bottom place having conceded 100 league goals in 42 games; their record for the most goals conceded in a Premier League season would last for three decades before it was surpassed by Sheffield United in 2024. Oldham Athletic, who had avoided relegation on goal difference the previous season, were relegated on the final day of the season after failing to win at Norwich City. The final relegation place went to Sheffield United, who were relegated from the top flight after a 3–2 defeat at Chelsea, with the winning goal coming in injury time (a draw would have been enough to survive, and a loss would have still been enough had Everton not won their final match, 3–2 at home to Wimbledon after coming from 0–2 down). Ipswich Town, who failed to win any of their final 11 games, avoided relegation by holding Blackburn to a goalless draw at Ewood Park, and were less than a minute from being relegated, only to be saved by Chelsea’s late win over Sheffield United.

Teams

Twenty-two teams competed in the league—the top nineteen teams from the previous season and the three teams promoted from the First Division. The promoted teams were Newcastle United, West Ham United and Swindon Town. Newcastle United and West Ham United returned to the top flight after absences of four and one year, respectively, while Swindon Town played in the top flight for the first and only time. They replaced Crystal Palace, Middlesbrough and Nottingham Forest, who were relegated to the First Division after their top flight spells of four, one and sixteen years, respectively.

Stadiums and locations

Greater Manchester Premier League football clubs
  1. Due to Wimbledon lacking a home stadium, they played their home games at Selhurst Park, which is the home stadium of Crystal Palace.

Personnel and kits

(as of 8 May 1994)

More information Team, Manager ...
Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
Arsenal Scotland George Graham England Tony Adams Adidas JVC
Aston Villa England Ron Atkinson England Kevin Richardson Asics Müller
Blackburn Rovers Scotland Kenny Dalglish England Tim Sherwood Asics McEwan's Lager
Chelsea England Glenn Hoddle England Dennis Wise Umbro Amiga
Coventry City England Phil Neal England Brian Borrows Ribero Peugeot
Everton Wales Mike Walker England Dave Watson Umbro NEC
Ipswich Town England John Lyall England Steve Palmer Umbro Fisons
Leeds United England Howard Wilkinson Scotland Gordon Strachan Asics Thistle Hotels
Liverpool England Roy Evans Wales Ian Rush Adidas Carlsberg
Manchester City England Brian Horton England Keith Curle Umbro Brother
Manchester United Scotland Alex Ferguson England Bryan Robson Umbro Sharp
Newcastle United England Kevin Keegan England Peter Beardsley Asics McEwan's Lager
Norwich City England John Deehan England Ian Butterworth Ribero Norwich and Peterborough
Oldham Athletic England Joe Royle Republic of Ireland Mike Milligan Umbro JD Sports
Queens Park Rangers England Gerry Francis England David Bardsley Clubhouse CSF
Sheffield United England Dave Bassett England Brian Gayle Umbro Laver
Sheffield Wednesday England Trevor Francis England Chris Waddle Puma Sanderson
Southampton England Alan Ball England Matt Le Tissier Pony Dimplex
Swindon Town Scotland John Gorman England Shaun Taylor Loki Burmah
Tottenham Hotspur Argentina Osvaldo Ardiles England Gary Mabbutt Umbro Holsten
West Ham United England Billy Bonds England Steve Potts Pony Dagenham Motors
Wimbledon Republic of Ireland Joe Kinnear Wales Vinnie Jones Ribero LBC
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Managerial changes

More information Team, Outgoing manager ...
Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Chelsea England David Webb End of caretaker spell 11 May 1993 Pre-season England Glenn Hoddle 4 June 1993
Ipswich Town England John Lyall Promoted to Director of Football 30 May 1993 England Mick McGiven 1 June 1993
Swindon Town England Glenn Hoddle Signed by Chelsea 4 June 1993 Scotland John Gorman 4 June 1993
Tottenham Hotspur England Doug Livermore
England Ray Clemence
Sacked 19 June 1993 Argentina Osvaldo Ardiles 19 June 1993
Manchester City England Peter Reid Sacked 26 August 1993 20th England Tony Book (caretaker) 27 August 1993
England Tony Book End of caretaker spell 28 August 1993 17th England Brian Horton 28 August 1993
Coventry City England Bobby Gould Resigned 23 October 1993 14th England Phil Neal 23 October 1993
Everton England Howard Kendall 4 December 1993 13th Scotland Jimmy Gabriel (caretaker) 4 December 1993
Scotland Jimmy Gabriel End of caretaker spell 6 January 1994 19th Wales Mike Walker 6 January 1994
Norwich City Wales Mike Walker Signed by Everton 8th England John Deehan
Southampton England Ian Branfoot Sacked 10 January 1994 21st England Dave Merrington (caretaker) 10 January 1994
England Dave Merrington End of caretaker spell 20 January 1994 20th England Alan Ball 20 January 1994
Liverpool Scotland Graeme Souness Sacked 28 January 1994 5th England Roy Evans 30 January 1994
Ipswich Town England Mick McGiven Became assistant manager 15 February 1994 14th England John Lyall 16 February 1994
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League table

More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Manchester United (C) 42 27 11 4 80 38 +42 92 Qualification for the Champions League group stage
2 Blackburn Rovers 42 25 9 8 63 36 +27 84 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
3 Newcastle United 42 23 8 11 82 41 +41 77
4 Arsenal 42 18 17 7 53 28 +25 71 Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round[a]
5 Leeds United 42 18 16 8 65 39 +26 70
6 Wimbledon 42 18 11 13 56 53 +3 65
7 Sheffield Wednesday 42 16 16 10 76 54 +22 64
8 Liverpool 42 17 9 16 59 55 +4 60
9 Queens Park Rangers 42 16 12 14 62 61 +1 60
10 Aston Villa 42 15 12 15 46 50 4 57 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round[b]
11 Coventry City 42 14 14 14 43 45 2 56
12 Norwich City 42 12 17 13 65 61 +4 53
13 West Ham United 42 13 13 16 47 58 11 52
14 Chelsea 42 13 12 17 49 53 4 51 Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round[c]
15 Tottenham Hotspur 42 11 12 19 54 59 5 45
16 Manchester City 42 9 18 15 38 49 11 45
17 Everton 42 12 8 22 42 63 21 44
18 Southampton 42 12 7 23 49 66 17 43
19 Ipswich Town 42 9 16 17 35 58 23 43
20 Sheffield United (R) 42 8 18 16 42 60 18 42 Relegation to Football League First Division
21 Oldham Athletic (R) 42 9 13 20 42 68 26 40
22 Swindon Town (R) 42 5 15 22 47 100 53 30
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Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. Arsenal qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup as the defending champions.
  2. Aston Villa qualified for the UEFA Cup as League Cup winners.
  3. Chelsea qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup as FA Cup runners-up, as winners Manchester United qualified for the Champions League.

Results

More information Home \ Away, ARS ...
Home \ Away ARS AVL BLB CHE COV EVE IPS LEE LIV MCI MUN NEW NOR OLD QPR SHU SHW SOU SWI TOT WHU WIM
Arsenal 1–2 1–0 1–0 0–3 2–0 4–0 2–1 1–0 0–0 2–2 2–1 0–0 1–1 0–0 3–0 1–0 1–0 1–1 1–1 0–2 1–1
Aston Villa 1–2 0–1 1–0 0–0 0–0 0–1 1–0 2–1 0–0 1–2 0–2 0–0 1–2 4–1 1–0 2–2 0–2 5–0 1–0 3–1 0–1
Blackburn Rovers 1–1 1–0 2–0 2–1 2–0 0–0 2–1 2–0 2–0 2–0 1–0 2–3 1–0 1–1 0–0 1–1 2–0 3–1 1–0 0–2 3–0
Chelsea 0–2 1–1 1–2 1–2 4–2 1–1 1–1 1–0 0–0 1–0 1–0 1–2 0–1 2–0 3–2 1–1 2–0 2–0 4–3 2–0 2–0
Coventry City 1–0 0–1 2–1 1–1 2–1 1–0 0–2 1–0 4–0 0–1 2–1 2–1 1–1 0–1 0–0 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–0 1–1 1–2
Everton 1–1 0–1 0–3 4–2 0–0 0–0 1–1 2–0 1–0 0–1 0–2 1–5 2–1 0–3 4–2 0–2 1–0 6–2 0–1 0–1 3–2
Ipswich Town 1–5 1–2 1–0 1–0 0–2 0–2 0–0 1–2 2–2 1–2 1–1 2–1 0–0 1–3 3–2 1–4 1–0 1–1 2–2 1–1 0–0
Leeds United 2–1 2–0 3–3 4–1 1–0 3–0 0–0 2–0 3–2 0–2 1–1 0–4 1–0 1–1 2–1 2–2 0–0 3–0 2–0 1–0 4–0
Liverpool 0–0 2–1 0–1 2–1 1–0 2–1 1–0 2–0 2–1 3–3 0–2 0–1 2–1 3–2 1–2 2–0 4–2 2–2 1–2 2–0 1–1
Manchester City 0–0 3–0 0–2 2–2 1–1 1–0 2–1 1–1 1–1 2–3 2–1 1–1 1–1 3–0 0–0 1–3 1–1 2–1 0–2 0–0 0–1
Manchester United 1–0 3–1 1–1 0–1 0–0 1–0 0–0 0–0 1–0 2–0 1–1 2–2 3–2 2–1 3–0 5–0 2–0 4–2 2–1 3–0 3–1
Newcastle United 2–0 5–1 1–1 0–0 4–0 1–0 2–0 1–1 3–0 2–0 1–1 3–0 3–2 1–2 4–0 4–2 1–2 7–1 0–1 2–0 4–0
Norwich City 1–1 1–2 2–2 1–1 1–0 3–0 1–0 2–1 2–2 1–1 0–2 1–2 1–1 3–4 0–1 1–1 4–5 0–0 1–2 0–0 0–1
Oldham Athletic 0–0 1–1 1–2 2–1 3–3 0–1 0–3 1–1 0–3 0–0 2–5 1–3 2–1 4–1 1–1 0–0 2–1 2–1 0–2 1–2 1–1
Queens Park Rangers 1–1 2–2 1–0 1–1 5–1 2–1 3–0 0–4 1–3 1–1 2–3 1–2 2–2 2–0 2–1 1–2 2–1 1–3 1–1 0–0 1–0
Sheffield United 1–1 1–2 1–2 1–0 0–0 0–0 1–1 2–2 0–0 0–1 0–3 2–0 1–2 2–1 1–1 1–1 0–0 3–1 2–2 3–2 2–1
Sheffield Wednesday 0–1 0–0 1–2 3–1 0–0 5–1 5–0 3–3 3–1 1–1 2–3 0–1 3–3 3–0 3–1 3–1 2–0 3–3 1–0 5–0 2–2
Southampton 0–4 4–1 3–1 3–1 1–0 0–2 0–1 0–2 4–2 0–1 1–3 2–1 0–1 1–3 0–1 3–3 1–1 5–1 1–0 0–2 1–0
Swindon Town 0–4 1–2 1–3 1–3 3–1 1–1 2–2 0–5 0–5 1–3 2–2 2–2 3–3 0–1 1–0 0–0 0–1 2–1 2–1 1–1 2–4
Tottenham Hotspur 0–1 1–1 0–2 1–1 1–2 3–2 1–1 1–1 3–3 1–0 0–1 1–2 1–3 5–0 1–2 2–2 1–3 3–0 1–1 1–4 1–1
West Ham United 0–0 0–0 1–2 1–0 3–2 0–1 2–1 0–1 1–2 3–1 2–2 2–4 3–3 2–0 0–4 0–0 2–0 3–3 0–0 1–3 0–2
Wimbledon 0–3 2–2 4–1 1–1 1–2 1–1 0–2 1–0 1–1 1–0 1–0 4–2 3–1 3–0 1–1 2–0 2–1 1–0 3–0 2–1 1–2
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Source: 11v11
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Season statistics

Top scorers

Thumb
Newcastle's Andy Cole was the top scorer in the 1993–94 Premier League season, with 34 goals. In addition, he also assisted 13 goals for the club over the season.
More information Rank, Player ...
Rank Player Club Goals[4]
1 England Andy Cole Newcastle United 34
2 England Alan Shearer Blackburn Rovers 31
3 England Matt Le Tissier Southampton 25
England Chris Sutton Norwich City
5 England Ian Wright Arsenal 23
6 England Peter Beardsley Newcastle United 21
7 England Mark Bright Sheffield Wednesday 19
8 France Eric Cantona Manchester United 18
9 England Dean Holdsworth Wimbledon 17
England Rod Wallace Leeds United
10 England Tony Cottee Everton 16
England Les Ferdinand Queens Park Rangers
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Hat-tricks

Thumb
Tony Cottee was one of five players who scored more than one hat-trick in the 1993–94 Premier League season.
More information Player, For ...
PlayerForAgainstResultDate
England Micky QuinnCoventry CityArsenal3–0 (A)[5]14 August 1993
England Tony CotteeEvertonSheffield United4–2 (H)[6]21 August 1993
England Kevin CampbellArsenalIpswich Town4–0 (H)[7]11 September 1993
Nigeria Efan Ekoku4Norwich CityEverton5–1 (A)[8]25 September 1993
England Alan ShearerBlackburn RoversLeeds United3–3 (A)[9]23 October 1993
England Peter BeardsleyNewcastle UnitedWimbledon4–0 (H)[10]30 October 1993
England Robbie FowlerLiverpoolSouthampton4–2 (H)[11]
England Bradley AllenQueens Park RangersEverton3–0 (A)[12]20 November 1993
England Andy ColeNewcastle UnitedLiverpool3–0 (H)[13]21 November 1993
England Kevin CampbellArsenalSwindon Town4–0 (A)[14]27 December 1993
England Tony CotteeEverton6–2 (H)[15]15 January 1994
Norway Jan Åge FjørtoftSwindon TownCoventry City3–1 (H)[16]5 February 1994
Wales Dean SaundersAston VillaSwindon Town5–0 (H)[17]12 February 1994
England Matt Le TissierSouthamptonLiverpool4–2 (H)[18]14 February 1994
England Andy ColeNewcastle UnitedCoventry City4–0 (H)[19]23 February 1994
England Ian WrightArsenalIpswich Town5–1 (A)[20]5 March 1994
Southampton4–0 (A)[21]19 March 1994
England Matt Le TissierSouthamptonNorwich City5–4 (A)[22]9 April 1994
England Dean HoldsworthWimbledonOldham Athletic3–0 (H)[23]26 April 1994
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Note: 4 – player scored 4 goals; (H) – Home; (A) – Away

Clean sheets

More information Rank, Player ...
Rank Player Club Clean
sheets[24]
1 England David Seaman Arsenal 19
2 Denmark Peter Schmeichel Manchester United 15
3 Czech Republic Luděk Mikloško West Ham United 14
4 England Tim Flowers Southampton 13
5 Russia Dmitri Kharine Chelsea 11
England Steve Ogrizovic Coventry City
Netherlands Hans Segers Wimbledon
Wales Neville Southall Everton
9 England Tony Coton Manchester City 10
Canada Craig Forrest Ipswich Town
Scotland Bryan Gunn Norwich City
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Discipline

Player

Club

  • Most yellow cards: 44[27]
    • Sheffield United
  • Fewest yellow cards: 12[27]
    • Coventry City
  • Most red cards: 4[28]
    • Oldham Athletic
    • Sheffield United
  • Fewest red cards: 0[28]
    • Blackburn Rovers
    • Coventry City
    • Everton
    • Ipswich Town
    • Leeds United
    • Manchester City
    • Wimbledon

Awards

Thumb
Joe Kinnear was Manager of the Month three times during the 1993–94 Premier League season.

Monthly awards

More information Month, Manager of the Month ...
Month Manager of the Month References
Manager Club
August Scotland Alex Ferguson Manchester United [29]
September Republic of Ireland Joe Kinnear Wimbledon [29]
October Wales Mike Walker Norwich City [29]
November England Kevin Keegan Newcastle United [29]
December England Trevor Francis Sheffield Wednesday [29]
January Scotland Kenny Dalglish Blackburn Rovers [29]
February England Joe Royle Oldham Athletic [29]
March Republic of Ireland Joe Kinnear Wimbledon [29]
April [29]
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Annual awards

Quick Facts
Close
More information PFA Team of the Year, Goalkeeper ...
PFA Team of the Year[34]
Goalkeeper England Tim Flowers
(Blackburn Rovers)
Defenders Republic of Ireland Gary Kelly
(Leeds United)
England Gary Pallister
(Manchester United)
England Tony Adams
(Arsenal)
Republic of Ireland Denis Irwin
(Manchester United)
Midfielders England Paul Ince
(Manchester United)
Scotland Gary McAllister
(Leeds United)
England David Batty
(Blackburn Rovers)
Forwards England Alan Shearer
(Blackburn Rovers)
France Eric Cantona
(Manchester United)
England Peter Beardsley
(Newcastle United)
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See also

References and notes

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