Football Dynasty-Chapter 59: Preparation

Early in the morning, Richard had already arrived at Arsenal Stadium, waiting for Ian Wright's debut. Their opponent was Leicester City, and they were playing the match for the League Cup.

That night was definitely the night of counter-attacking for Arsenal, perfectly suited to Ian Wright's frightening pace as he finally showed why Arsenal needed him.

The game turned in a nine-minute spell around halftime. There wasn't much happening until the 44th minute when Paul Davis supplied Wright, 25 yards out on the left of the penalty area.

Wright seemed to slip but recovered as he drove a precise and penetrating low shot off the inside of the far post.

"GOAAAAALLLL!!! IAN WRIGHT MAKES A DREAM DEBUT!!!" the commentator screamed as Wright ran, tearing off his shirt in celebration.

Yes, Richard also clenched his fist seeing this goal.

Sadly, Arsenal was caught in the last minute when skipper Walsh escaped Tony Adams and headed home Tommy Wright's corner. It was disappointing, but as long as Ian does right, there are many goals to come.

In the next match against Southampton, Richard had already left London, but he didn't expect to miss Ian producing a hat-trick on his league debut. He could only watch the replay in disappointment.

19-year-old midfielder Steve McManaman also scores his first goal for Manchester City in a 2–1 defeat against Liverpool at Maine Road.

At the close of the first half of the 1991–1992 season, a proposal was tabled to establish a new league aimed at bringing more money into the game overall. The Football Association won High Court approval, ahead of the Football League, to launch the new Premier League for the following season.

The Founder Members Agreement, signed by the top-flight clubs, outlined the basic principles for setting up the FA Premier League.

This meant the newly formed top division would have commercial independence from the Football Association and the Football League, allowing the FA Premier League to negotiate its own broadcast and sponsorship agreements.

The reasoning behind this was that the extra income would enable English clubs to compete with teams across Europe.

This plan was spearheaded by Greg Dyke, the managing director of London Weekend Television, which was also part of ITV. His main goal was to have ITV broadcast the new Premier League. However, ironically, Dyke lost out in the bidding for the broadcast rights.

BSkyB won with a bid of £304 million over five years, while the BBC was awarded the highlights package for Match of the Day. With everything settled, the new Premier League would debut the following year.

Richard tapped his fingers on the table, his mind racing. Rumor had it that BSkyB was losing £10 million a week. And let's not forget, they dropped Eurosport not long after Sky Sports launched.

Would he want to be part of this? However, the person who owns BSkyB—what if he doesn't need the money?

The owner of the TV station is Rupert Murdoch, the media mogul from America. Except during a public offering, he definitely wouldn't want any interference in the management of BSkyB. After all, he knows how to run his companies.

Rupert Murdoch, the powerful media mogul, owns several media companies in the UK, such as the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, The Sunday Times, and News of the World. He's so influential that it's said even the Prime Minister is afraid of him. His power through the media is undeniable.

"Forget it," Richard decided after thinking about the pros and cons, especially the phone hacking scandal that might happen. It's better to join when they start doing an IPO rather than make an approach.

17-year-old winger Ryan Giggs scores his first league goal of the season in Manchester United's 3–0 home win over Norwich City.

A mere 3,231 fans watch Wimbledon's home game against Luton Town – the lowest postwar attendance at a First Division game.

To the national team, a year into his reign as England manager, Graham Taylor sees the national side lose for the first time when they go down 1–0 to a reunified Germany side in a friendly at Wembley.

Dean Saunders became the first player to score four goals in a European game for Liverpool as they defeated Kuusysi Lahti 6–1 at Anfield in the UEFA Cup first round, first leg.

Alan Smith of Arsenal also scored four in a 6-1 European win, at home to Austria Vienna, in the European Cup first round, first leg.

Before Boxing Day 1991/1992 began, the two teams battling at the top of the First Division were Arsenal and Leeds United. In the top scorer race, Ian Wright led with 16 goals, followed by Gary Lineker with 14 goals, and in third place was Lee Chapman from Leeds United with 13 goals.

TRING!

While waiting, Richard's phone started ringing, and he answered it.

"Okay, thank you very much for your help, Mr. Smith."

"No worries, goodbye," came the voice from the other side before Richard hung up the phone.

He sighed in relief. Finally, the Cisco IPO had gone smoothly. On the first day of the public offering, the share price was $18 per share, and Cisco's stock closed at $22, marking a 22% rise.

On the second day, he was finally able to place his bid. Thanks to the help of Barclays, he managed to purchase a total of 448,900 shares at $22.32 each for 10 million pounds, giving him a 3.61% ownership in Cisco.

Richard couldn't shake the feeling of disappointment. If only he had managed to get his hands on more—just 10 percent—and, in a sense, he had already settled for life totally.

Manchester City started the season strong, so dominant that they began with a hat-trick of wins: a 1-0 victory at Coventry, followed by a 2-1 defeat of Liverpool, and a 3-2 win over Crystal Palace, all at Maine Road.

The Blues remained unbeaten with a 0-0 draw at Norwich but then suffered their first setback, losing 2-1 to Arsenal at Highbury. Despite the defeat, they sat in a lofty third place in the league after five games.

They maintained a 100% home record by beating Nottingham Forest 2-1 and securing another 2-1 win at West Ham, leaving Peter Reid's side in 6th position after six games.

However, on their travels, City suffered a 3-0 loss to Leeds. Two more defeats followed: a 1-0 loss to Sheffield Wednesday and a 1-0 defeat to Everton, both at Maine Road.

The ship was steadied with a 1-0 win at Tottenham before City suffered a spate of injuries in a 2-1 home defeat against Oldham. Niall Quinn, Keith Curle, and Andy Hill all looked likely to be out for at least the next game.

City's league form continued through Christmas with a fourth away win on the trot, a 3-0 victory at Southampton.

Colin Hendry's two-year spell at Maine Road ended on November 7 as he moved to Blackburn for £750,000. City then drew 0-0 at Maine Road against rivals Manchester United.

It was six games unbeaten as City drew 2-2 at Luton, leaving them well-positioned in the league, in 3rd place with 30 points.

A further draw in the league, 0-0 at home to Wimbledon, was followed by City's exit from the League Cup, where they were beaten 2-1 at Middlesbrough in the 4th round.

A first defeat in eight league games saw City beaten 3-1 at Aston Villa, and then the Blues drew 2-2 with QPR at Maine Road, dropping to 5th in the league but level on points with third-placed Sheffield Wednesday.

A good Christmas period followed, with a 2-1 Boxing Day win against Norwich and then a 1-0 win over Arsenal two days later, both at Maine Road.

At the end of the year, Clive Allen moved to Chelsea.

The first day of 1992 brought a 1-1 draw at Chelsea, but then in the FA Cup, City were knocked out by their bogey side, Middlesbrough, 2-1 in the 3rd Round.

Back to the league, the Blues drew 1-1 at Crystal Palace. Peter Reid's men were now 4th, equal on points with 3rd-place Liverpool but 11 points behind leaders Leeds.

The Blues kept the pressure on at the top with two 1-0 wins at Maine Road against Coventry and Tottenham before a disappointing 4-2 defeat at Sheffield United.

City looked unbeatable as they disposed of Luton 4-0; however, away from Manchester, the Blues were struggling. They were beaten 2-1 at Wimbledon and 4-0 at QPR, where Les Ferdinand scored a brace.

For the first time in a long while, after 32 games, the Citizens had 53 points and were still in a lofty 4th position.

Leeds' visit to Maine Road produced an excellent 4-0 win for Peter Reid's side, followed by a battling 1-1 draw at Old Trafford against Manchester United.

The Blues were still struggling on their travels, and it was 13 away matches without a win as they lost 2-0 at Sheffield Wednesday.

City then beat West Ham 2-0 at Maine Road, and finally, at the 14th attempt, the Blues won away from home 2-1 against Everton at Goodison Park.

At the end of the season, City finished in style, beating Notts County 2-0 at Maine Road, followed by a 5-2 win at Oldham in the last game of the campaign, securing an excellent 5th-place finish in the league.

After the 1991/1992 season ended, Richard was disappointed. Defending champions Arsenal slipped to fourth place and were never a serious threat to retain their title, which meant Ian Wright had not won the championship that year.

The happy news, however, was that Ian Wright became the top scorer in the First Division with 29 goals. Below him was Gary Lineker with 28 goals. Richard was very pleased with the result.

The last league championship before the creation of the Premier League was won by Leeds United. They simply capitalized on Manchester United's slip-ups toward the end of the season.

Anyone who watched Manchester United's final match could clearly see Sir Alex Ferguson standing silently on the sidelines, fuming over his team's failure.

They couldn't help it. Gordon Strachan, the former Manchester United winger, was a key leader for Leeds, while Lee Chapman, the team's main striker, scored crucial goals throughout the campaign. David Batty provided tough tackling, Gary Speed brought energy to the midfield, and Gary McAllister orchestrated Leeds' play.

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Together, they overhauled Manchester United.

Back to Richard—just as he was about to call Ian to congratulate him on becoming the top scorer, his phone rang first. He picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Richard, it's me, Adam."

Adam Lewis, the go-to Premier League lawyer who had represented Manchester City in their 115 FFP violation case in the future.

"Adam, how are you? Why are you calling me?"

"There has been progress in the Jean-Marc Bosman case," Adam reported.

Immediately, Richard's face became serious.