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Manchester United

1992–93 season
Chairman	Martin Edwards
Manager	Alex Ferguson
Premier League	1st
FA Cup	Fifth round
League Cup	Third round
UEFA Cup	First round
Top goalscorer	League: Mark Hughes (15) All: Mark Hughes (16)
Highest home attendance	40,447 vsBlackburn Rovers (3 May 1993)
Lowest home attendance	19,998 vsTorpedo Moscow (16 September 1992)
Average home league attendance	35,132
Home colours Away colours Third colours
← 1991–92 1993–94 →

The 1992–93 season wasManchester United's first season in the newly formedFA Premier League, and their 18th consecutive season in the top division ofEnglish football.^[1]

The season was marked by the club winning the inaugural Premier League title, ending their 26-year run without an English league title. They ended up winning the title by a 10-point margin over runners-upAston Villa, but had fought a three-horse race for much of the season with both Villa andNorwich City, not topping the table until January. The arrival ofEric Cantona fromLeeds United for £1 million in late November helped boost United's title challenge, after they had been as low as 10th in the league shortly before. Cantona's arrival came after new strikerDion Dublin had been ruled out for six months with a broken leg, and Cantona was the catalyst in United's triumph which was confirmed on 2 May 1993 when Aston Villa lost at home toOldham Athletic and therefore could not catch up to United.

Mark Hughes topped the goalscoring charts with 15 league goals, whileRyan Giggs was votedPFA Young Player of the Year for the second year in succession.Steve Bruce was United's captain for much of the season, as the veteranBryan Robson missed many games due to injury. The arrival of Eric Cantona saw former strikerBrian McClair switched into midfield, further restricting Robson's first team chances.

In theUEFA Cup, United lost on penalties toTorpedo Moscow ofRussia, after two goalless draws. TheirLeague Cup campaign ended in the Third Round with defeat atAston Villa. TheirFA Cup campaign ended in the Fifth Round when they lost 2–1 toSheffield United.

Making their debuts this season were teenagersDavid Beckham,Nicky Butt andGary Neville.

Before the season began, United were linked with a move forSouthampton strikerAlan Shearer, but the player signed forBlackburn Rovers instead. Dion Dublin was then signed from Cambridge United, but was injured just one month after his arrival, and United struggled to find the net in the weeks that followed, the club was linked with the signature of numerous other strikers. A £3 million bid forSheffield Wednesday'sDavid Hirst was rejected, whileSheffield United strikerBrian Deane was also linked with a move toOld Trafford, but no firm offer was made. The hunt for a new striker ended on 26 November, whenEric Cantona was signed from Leeds United for a fee of just over £1 million.

By the end of the season, United were being linked with a move forNottingham Forest's 21-year-oldIrish midfielderRoy Keane, who was also a target forArsenal andBlackburn Rovers. After the player came close to joining Blackburn, United signed him on 19 July 1993 for a British record fee of £3.75 million.

It was the last season atOld Trafford for midfielderNeil Webb, who returned toNottingham Forest in November after losing his place in the Old Trafford first team.Russell Beardsmore, who did not play a game during the season, joinedAFC Bournemouth on a free transfer at the end of the season.

Pos.	Name	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK	Peter Schmeichel	42	0	3	0	2	0	1	0	48	0
GK	Gary Walsh	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	2	0
DF	Clayton Blackmore	12(2)	0	0(1)	0	1	0	1	0	14(3)	0
DF	Steve Bruce	42	5	3	0	3	0	2	0	50	5
DF	Denis Irwin	40	5	3	0	3	0	2	0	48	5
DF	Lee Martin	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	2	0
DF	Gary Neville	0	0	0	0	0	0	0(1)	0	0(1)	0
DF	Gary Pallister	42	1	3	0	3	0	2	0	50	1
DF	Paul Parker	31	1	3	0	2	0	0(1)	0	36(1)	1
MF	David Beckham	0	0	0	0	0(1)	0	0	0	0(1)	0
MF	Nicky Butt	0(1)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0(1)	0
MF	Darren Ferguson	15	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	16	0
MF	Ryan Giggs	40(1)	9	2	2	2	0	1	0	45(1)	11
MF	Keith Gillespie	0	0	1(1)	1	0	0	0	0	1(1)	1
MF	Paul Ince	41	6	2	0	3	0	1	0	47	6
MF	Andrei Kanchelskis	14(13)	3	1	0	2(1)	0	1	0	18(14)	3
MF	Mike Phelan	5(6)	0	2	1	0	0	1	0	8(6)	1
MF	Bryan Robson	5(9)	1	0(1)	0	1	0	0(1)	0	6(11)	1
MF	Lee Sharpe	27	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	30	1
MF	Neil Webb	0(1)	0	0	0	1	0	2	0	3(1)	0
FW	Eric Cantona	21(1)	9	1	0	0	0	0	0	22(1)	9
FW	Dion Dublin	3(4)	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	3(4)	1
FW	Mark Hughes	41	15	2	0	3	1	2	0	48	16
FW	Brian McClair	41(1)	9	3	0	3	0	2	0	49(1)	9
FW	Danny Wallace	0(2)	0	1	0	1	1	2	0	4(2)	1

United's first departure of the 1992–93 season wasMal Donaghy, who joinedChelsea on 13 August. The next day,Mark Robins signed forNorwich City for a fee of £800,000. Also on their way out of the club were Republic of Ireland defenderDerek Brazil, Northern Irish forward Colin Telford, and English midfielderNeil Webb.

Meanwhile, arriving in the summer were American forwardJovan Kirovski, Northern Irish centre-backPat McGibbon and English forwardDion Dublin. French forwardEric Cantona joined later on 27 November.

On 19 March, Kieran Toal left United to sign forMotherwell. Raphael Burke was released on 10 April, whileRussell Beardsmore joinedBournemouth on 29 June.Adrian Doherty,George Switzer, andIan Wilkinson left the club a day after Beardsmore's departure.

United's only winter arrival wasLes Sealey, who signed fromAston Villa on 6 January.

Date	Pos.	Name	From	Fee
July 1992	FW	Jovan Kirovski	Unattached	Free
1 August 1992	DF	Pat McGibbon	Portadown	£100k
7 August 1992	FW	Dion Dublin	Cambridge United	£1m
27 November 1992	FW	Eric Cantona	Leeds United	£1.2m
6 January 1993	GK	Les Sealey	Aston Villa	Undisclosed

Date	Pos.	Name	To	Fee
13 August 1992	DF	Mal Donaghy	Chelsea	£150k
14 August 1992	FW	Mark Robins	Norwich City	£800k
24 August 1992	DF	Derek Brazil	Cardiff City	£85k
7 September 1992	FW	Colin Telford	Released	Free
23 November 1992	MF	Neil Webb	Nottingham Forest	£800k
19 March 1993	MF	Kieran Toal	Motherwell	Undisclosed
10 April 1993	FW	Raphael Burke	Released	Free
29 June 1993	MF	Russell Beardsmore	Bournemouth	Undisclosed
30 June 1993	FW	Adrian Doherty	Derry City	Undisclosed
30 June 1993	DF	George Switzer	Darlington	Undisclosed
30 June 1993	GK	Ian Wilkinson	Stockport County	Undisclosed

Date From	Date To	Position	Name	From
5 November 1992	5 December 1992	GK	Fraser Digby	Swindon Town

Date From	Date To	Position	Name	To
August 1992	24 August 1992	DF	Derek Brazil	Cardiff City
8 January 1993	22 January 1993	FW	Colin McKee	Bury
25 March 1993	31 May 1993	FW	Danny Wallace	Millwall

After a shortage of goals in the second half of the previous season had cost United the league title,Alex Ferguson began the hunt to sign a new striker. A name which had been strongly linked with United for months wasAlan Shearer, the 21-year-oldSouthampton andEngland striker. United's hopes of signing Shearer were given a boost on 7 July when Southampton managerIan Branfoot announced that Shearer could leave theHampshire club if the price was right.

While the hunt was on for one striker to join United, another was on his way out of the club. StrikerMark Robins, who had rarely played in 1991–92, was on the transfer list and finally signed forNorwich City, whose new managerMike Walker paid £800,000 as he looked to build an attack capable of scoring the goals to keep the Canaries in the newFA Premier League. His new team unexpectedly emerged as title contenders in the first season of the new Premier League.

The race to sign Alan Shearer was lost on 23 July, when the player opted for a national record £3.6 million move to newly promotedBlackburn Rovers, managed byKenny Dalglish and bankrolled by ownerJack Walker, who were looking set to re-establish themselves as a top club in their first top flight campaign since the 1960s.

United did express interest in signingTottenham Hotspur'sPaul Stewart,^[2] a versatile player capable of playing in attack and midfield, but the player signed forLiverpool instead.^[3]

The hunt to find a new striker ended on 7 August, eight days before the start of the new season, whenDion Dublin signed fromCambridge United for £1 million as United's only close season signing. Dublin, 23, had been one of the most competent goalscorers outside the top flight during the last three seasons as Cambridge soared from the Fourth Division to the brink of the Premier League, though it was clear^{[according to whom?]} that he would start off his time atOld Trafford as an understudy toMark Hughes andBrian McClair.

United's first game of the season was againstSheffield United atBramall Lane, and was a major disappointment as they lost 2–1 and theSouth Yorkshire club's strikerBrian Deane earned the distinction of scoring the first goal of the new Premier League.

Two days later, 21-year-old wingerLee Sharpe was diagnosed withviral meningitis and was ruled out for over three months.

The first Premier League game at Old Trafford was on 19 August, againstEverton, but was a huge disappointment as United lost 3–0 in their second worst home defeat since Alex Ferguson took over as manager in November 1986. United's first point came on 22 August when they drew 1–1 draw at home to newly promotedIpswich Town.

United's first Premier League win came at the fourth attempt on 24 August, whenDion Dublin scored his first United goal in a 1–0 win atSouthampton. The next four games were all won as United climbed to third place by mid September, with Norwich City top of the table and Blackburn Rovers second. One of those games – a 1–0 win at home toCrystal Palace – saw Dublin suffer a broken leg that ruled him out for six months. A five-match run of league draws followed, and during that run of draws came a first hurdle exit from theUEFA Cup at the hands of Russian sideTorpedo Moscow, when they lost on penalties after two goalless draws. The first leg atOld Trafford saw the debut of 17-year-old defenderGary Neville.

Later that month, United began their defence of the League Cup with a 1–1 draw atBrighton & Hove Albion in the second round first leg, in which another player – 17-year-oldDavid Beckham – made his debut. United won the return leg 1–0 at Old Trafford but their hopes of retaining the trophy ended on 28 October when they suffered a 1–0 exit to Aston Villa in the third round atVilla Park. Villa, managed by former United bossRon Atkinson were also emerging as title contenders.

United's run of draws ended on 31 October – in defeat, as they were beaten 1–0 at home byWimbledon with a goal fromLawrie Sanchez. A week later, United's winless run extended to seven matches when Ron Atkinson's Aston Villa inflicted another defeat on them at Villa Park. United were now 10th in the league, eight points behind leadersArsenal, and also behind unfashionable sides including Norwich City,Coventry City and Ipswich Town, who had been widely tipped as sides more likely to be battling against relegation rather than challenging for the title.

Ferguson realised that something had to be done if United were to remain in the title race. He made a £3 million bid forSheffield Wednesday strikerDavid Hirst, but the bid was rejected. He then received an offer from defending championsLeeds United for defenderDenis Irwin, but rejected the offer. However, Ferguson did ask managerHoward Wilkinson if he was willing to part company with 26-year-oldFrench strikerEric Cantona. On 26 November, Cantona signed for United in a £1.2 million deal, and slotted into the United attack alongside Mark Hughes, withBrian McClair being drafted into central midfield alongsidePaul Ince.

By the time Cantona arrived, United had returned to their winning ways with a 3–0 home win over strugglersOldham Athletic, in which 17-year-old midfielderNicky Butt made his debut as a substitute. The winning form continued a week later when aMark Hughes goal gave United a 1–0 win atHighbury.

A week after the win at Highbury, theManchester derby at Old Trafford ended in a 2–1 win for United in a game where Eric Cantona made his debut. His first goal for the club came on 19 December in a 1–1 draw againstChelsea atStamford Bridge. By now, United were on an upswing in the league and narrowing the gap between themselves and the top of the table.

Arguably the most exciting league game of the season was against Sheffield Wednesday atHillsborough onBoxing Day, when United fought back to draw 3–3 (after being 3–0 down at half time) with Brian McClair scoring twice and Eric Cantona once. They had now climbed up to third place in the table, five points behind leaders Norwich City and two points behind second placed Blackburn Rovers.

The resurgence continued into the new year and United's unbeaten run ended at the end of that month as they lost 2–1 to Ipswich Town, while United stood second when a draw would have been enough to put them ahead of Ipswich'sEast Anglian rivals Norwich City. January had also seen United dispose ofBury and then Brighton & Hove Albion in the FA Cup, although the league title remained the number one priority.

However, the FA Cup quest ended on 14 February whenSteve Bruce missed a penalty as United 2–1 at Sheffield United in the FA Cup fifth round, ending theirdouble hopes, though it freed them up to concentrate on the league. They finally went top on 6 March with a 2–1 win atAnfield over a Liverpool side who were now 15th in the table and just three points above the relegation zone, though this result was arguably the catalyst for United's fierce north western rivals who then turned their season around to climb to sixth place in the final table.

However, a four match winless run (a defeat and three draws) then dragged United down to third place as Norwich City and Aston Villa gained a slim lead over them by the end of March. United then dealt a major blow to Norwich's title hopes on 5 April with a 3–1 win over them atCarrow Road, before two injury time goals from Steve Bruce inspired a 2–1 win over Sheffield Wednesday at Old Trafford five days later to return United to the top of the table. United's final six games all ended in victory, with Aston Villa's surprise 1–0 home defeat to Oldham Athletic on 2 May meaning that United were now out of reach at the top of the league and the 26-year wait was over.

The next day, United won 3–1 at home against fourth placed Blackburn Rovers, whose title challenge had faded away afterAlan Shearer was ruled out for the second half of the season with a knee injury.

The campaign ended atSelhurst Park on 9 May when United won 2–1 against Wimbledon, in a game whereBryan Robson scored his first goal in 18 months. Robson, now 36, was now United's longest serving player with 12 years of unbroken service (though Mark Hughes had begun his career at Old Trafford a year earlier he did have two seasons away from the club atFC Barcelona and thenBayern Munich) but his days were looking numbered as it became clear that a younger central midfield partner was needed forPaul Ince. By the end of May, a name strongly linked to United was the 21-year-oldNottingham Forest andRepublic of Ireland midfielderRoy Keane. However, Alex Ferguson faced competition from Arsenal and Blackburn Rovers for Keane's signature. The deal was finally done on 22 July, when Keane completed his move to United for an English record fee of £3.75 million.

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