Tony Daley on the season that changed English football forever

Aston Villa had their sights set on being the first team to lift the Premier League trophy in April 1993.

The club were one point off the top of the table with three games left to play. A historic and ground-breaking season for English football looked set to go right to the wire.

As the Premier League celebrates its 30^th birthday, one of the members of Villa's title-contending team, Tony Daley, takes us back to the inaugural 1992/93 season…

Sandwiched between Chelsea’s Vinnie Jones and Manchester United’s Lee Sharpe on the back row, Aston Villa’s Tony Daley put on a smile for a photo that would change the face of English football forever.

One player from each of the 22 teams in the top tier of the domestic game had been assembled for a media day ahead of the 1992/93 season, with the ensuing marketing campaign announcing the arrival of the 'Premiership' to the world.  

The slogan ‘It’s a whole new ball game’ was emblazoned on the picture, which appeared on billboards across the country.

With the click of a camera, a new era for English football had begun.

“Going down to the shoot I didn’t know what to expect,” said Daley.

“We were going to do a photograph and a Live & Kicking advert for it. All the players were taking the mickey and wondering what it was all about. All this wasn’t being done before, the media side of it. All of the players were intrigued.

“Everyone was chatting about football and we were all talking about what was going to happen with the Premiership and the razzmatazz around it.”

He added: “Seeing the advert when it came out, there was such a big deal about it and I thought ‘wow, this is going to be something big’.”

The photo of Daley and his counterparts in their respective club colours wasn’t the only advertising material deployed by BSkyB after their £304 million outlay to secure the rights to show live matches on a five-year deal.

A TV advert, featuring Daley lifting dumbbells, Gordon Strachan receiving a massage and hard man Jones taking a shower, raised plenty of eyebrows.

The surprises kept coming when the football started, with cheerleaders, giant inflatable pigs, live music at half-time and people parachuting the match ball onto the pitch all common sights at stadiums during the inaugural season.

Daley said: “All this money was being put in by Sky and the players didn’t have a clue what was going on. I remember the first Monday night game when they had all the cheerleaders.

“Live games were on two or three times a week and we were thinking that this is a big stage. Before you’d get one live game a week and that was it.”

He added: “Things were quite insular before – you’d have to be in the know, only writing positive stuff about the team and only one or two reporters were in with the team.

“Now there was access to the players because there was a demand for it with the money that was being brought into the game. You were contracted to do these things, so there was more access to the players and the club.”

Despite some of the peculiar advertisements, punditry and pre-match antics, Villa’s homegrown winger, who was 24 at the time, could see how quickly the Premiership and the money that came with it was changing the face of the English game.

Clubs throughout the league were spending their newfound wealth, and Villa were no exception. After a mediocre start of two wins, three draws and two defeats, manager Ron Atkinson broke the club’s transfer record to sign Dean Saunders from Liverpool for £2.5 million.

“Million-pound players were few and far between at the time, so paying £2.5 million makes you stop and look around,” Daley said.

“That was the sort of signing that needed to be made because all the teams were investing the TV money and wanting to stay in the Premiership. Teams were spending money to ensure they could improve.”

The forward would help to change the course of Villa’s season. Saunders struck up a lethal partnership with Dalian Atkinson as Villa lost only two of their subsequent 18 league games after the Welshman’s arrival.

Confidence was flowing through a team that was built on the rock-solid foundations of defenders Earl Barrett, Paul McGrath, Shaun Teale and Steve Staunton. Ray Houghton, Kevin Richardson and Garry Parker among others drove the team on from midfield, paving the way to goal for Villa’s strikers.

Manchester United, Norwich City and Villa all spent time at the top of the table as the lead changed hands several times before a two-way title tussle developed.

Villa trailed United by a single point heading into the final three games of the season.

“At that time, getting into the top six was an ambition for us,” Daley recalled.

“Playing in Europe was the thing we were aiming for. That first season we played some fantastic football, and we just ran out of steam towards the end. We thought that we could go on and win the league.”  

Hopes of a dramatic finale to the Premiership’s first title race went up in smoke as Villa lost their final three matches of the campaign.

However, the second-place finish achieved in the 1992/93 season remains the club’s best performance in the Premier League - as it’s now known – era, and it’s a source of pride for Daley.  

“Finishing as runners-up in the first Premier League season was a fantastic achievement, which I have no regrets about,” he said.

“Initially, I was disappointed not to win the league that year, but when you get a bit older and wiser you can see that we played out of our skin that year. No one gave us a prayer of challenging for the title, so to do that was a magnificent achievement.”

English football had been changed forever. The first Premier League season left fans around the world wanting more. And they weren’t the only ones.

“’Wow, give me more. This is fantastic’,” Daley said of his feelings at the end of the 1992/93 season.

“I’m glad I’ve played some part in that and been involved in a fantastic Premier League season. You just knew it was going to be massive and each year it’s got bigger and better.

“That was my lasting memory of that first season, especially finishing as runners-up. The coverage was unprecedented, I’d never experienced that before.

“The spotlight was on the top two or three teams and Villa were part of that. Week in, week out, with the advent of 24-hour football, it was great.”