Scandals, sackings, court appearances and some memorable football during the Premier League’s most controversial season are recalled in a book reviewed by Eric Brown…
BY ERIC BROWN
Cotton Eye Joe by Rednex topped the British pop charts and John Major led a post-Thatcher Conservative government when the Premier League’s most infamous on-pitch incident disgraced football.
It was January 25, 1995 when Eric Cantona landed himself on every newspaper front page and dominated broadcast news bulletins with a rush of blood that catapulted him into spectators and court.
Manager Alex Ferguson had just replaced Mark Hughes with Andy Cole as Cantona’s strike partner in a Manchester United team intent on challenging for top spot when they visited Crystal Palace on that cold Wednesday night soon to be etched into Premier League infamy.
Cantona had already wielded heavy influence on United in the first half of the season with 12 goals and six assists in 21 starts. So Palace fans rejoiced when the fiery Frenchman was sent off by referee Alan Wilkie after appearing to kick out at defender Richard Shaw.
But the matter didn’t end there. As Cantona reached the touchline he was verbally abused by a Palace fan and responded by aiming a flying kung-fu kick at his tormentor.
Cue pandemonium, with Cantona accused of assaulting two Palace fans in the subsequent melee, police intervening and the player facing court where he initially received a prison sentence. Politicians pontificated and leader writers more accustomed to dealing with world events got stuck in.
Later, Cantona came out with his cryptic and unexplained comment: “When seagulls follow the trawler, it is because they see fish thrown into the sea.”
Plenty of other stuff happened that season, too. Chelsea and England midfielder Dennis Wise received a prison term for assaulting a taxi driver, while Arsenal manager George Graham became embroiled in a bung scandal and ultimately lost his job. Paul Merson owned up to gambling addiction and a lively managerial merry-go-round played out through the season.
The Daily Mirror led the way in revealing wrongdoers, in what had become known as the “Season of Sleaze.”
On the pitch, strikers ruled, with Blackburn Rovers fielding Shearer and Sutton, Robbie Fowler at Anfield, Stan Collymore at Nottingham Forest and Jurgen Klinsmann at Spurs to keep the pot boiling.
It all led up to a final-day title showdown between Rovers and Manchester United.
Author Rob Fletcher has unearthed much of the minutiae involved in a highly readable history of perhaps the most controversial Premier League season so far.
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