The Archive

Villa and Ipswich battle it out for the title. By Josh Widdicombe

The long-term significance
The new decade brought the first signs of a new England team. West Brom captain Bryan Robson made his international debut, becoming Captain Marvel for club and country for a decade before taking to management like a duck to oil. Terry Butcher also established himself at the centre of the England defence, becoming the youngest England player at Spain 1982. Gary Lineker made his first appearance in the top flight for Leicester, often playing out wide, while Chris Waddle, Peter Beardsley and Mark Wright were also starting out. After this campaign the rule of three points for a win was introduced, replacing the system that had operated since the Football League’s formation in 1888-89.

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The menace of meddling chairmen

“The only crisis we have here is when we’ve run out of champagne in the boardroom,” said John Cobbold when Ipswich chairman. The Cobbolds, whose family brewery was one of the town’s main employers, are often held up to exemplify the attitude of the patrician dynasties who used to own many teams. They may have looked upon their clubs as heirlooms – one of the last of the breed, Peter Hill-Wood at Arsenal, has been magnificently disdainful of the rumoured interest in the club from US billionaire Stan Kroenke – but they also knew better than to interfere with the manager’s role.

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The papers get over-excited about the new season

The Premier League: a fetid pit of greed serving up underheated fare to jaded consumers? Or a breath of fresh air ushering in yet another glitzy rollercoaster ride? Is football awful? Or is it, in fact, great? You may be feeling a little confused if you’ve read the papers much this month.

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Players are moving from the sportspages to the style sections in expensive trousers

Footballers have had a long and sometimes painful relationship with fashion. The default position has always been that they’re basically a bit of a joke when it comes to this kind of thing. The nature of the joke may have changed over time – from terrible slacks, bad hair and nylon blazers to the current blizzard of conspicuous consumption – but it’s never really gone away.

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Thaksin Shinawatra’s arrival at Eastlands has tested some supporters’ loyalties. But, as Ian Plenderleith finds out, a tour of Manchester City, Dundee and Chelsea sites suggests many fans are quick to move on

The fan of changing loyalties ­remains an object of scorn, but in these cash-grabbing times when a club’s dubious new owner can alienate lifelong supporters, it somehow seems appropriate that the official Premier League site hosts a column by someone purporting to be The Fickle Fan. It’s meant to be funny, and the idea’s not a bad one – the columnist follows a team until it loses, and then transfers allegiance to the victor.

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