Social historians don’t believe in the Gregorian calendar. Decades begin and end with seismic events rather than when a drunken countdown reaches 1 and a clock ticks to midnight. For many, the Sixties began in 1963, either with the Beatles or the assassination of JFK, and the first day of the 21st century was September 11, 2001.
The story of the Premier League, while obviously less important, is similar. It began in 1992, but the product we recognise as the Premier League did not begin until the 1995-96 season, when it stumbled upon a mood of optimism and a league that would soon become the most popular in the world.
Even allowing for the traditional darkness/dawn chronology, it’s hard to fathom how quickly the Premier League got over the season of sleaze. It was like Bobby Ewing has stepped out of the shower. A combination of marquee foreign signings, brilliant young English talent and Cool Britannia giddiness changed the mood completely.
