Twenty Years of the Premier League

Glory, Goals and Greed

An enlightening account of the FA Premier League's eventful first twenty years

Joe Lovejoy is the author of Bestie, the bestselling authorised biography of George Best, and Sven: The Final Reckoning. He was also worked with Ryan Giggs on Giggs: The Autobiography. He lives in Pontypool, South Wales.

The FA Premier League was born 20 years ago, on 23 September 1991, and has since established itself as the most popular club competition in world football. At the start, however, there was opposition from the players' union and the Football League. Then the breakaway elite were faced with the exposure of the game's 'bungs' culture, which stained the reputations of Brian Clough and George Graham, among others. 
 
After weathering that storm, the new league was threatened again by the very real possibility of financial meltdown, which was averted only by the controversial takeover of many top clubs by predatory overseas owners. 
 
Joe Lovejoy reported on the creation of the Premier League for The Independent and revisits the story in Glory, Goals and Greed, interviewing many of the 'founding fathers'. Later, as chief football correspondent at the Sunday Times, he witnessed all the main events and has spoken again to those involved to shed new light on the best matches, best players and standout incidents of the Premier League's enthralling first 20 years.

Ryan Giggs

Joe Lovejoy

A testament to fourteen brilliant years in the game

The Autobiography

Ryan Giggs first played for Manchester United in the season before the Premiership began; back when Bryan Robson was still captain. He took possession of United's left wing and never loosened his grip. Over a fourteen year career so far, he's seen them all come and go: Cantona, Schmeichel, Beckham and the rest. 
Sir Alex Ferguson said of Giggs 'I knew we had an outstanding talent when we gave him his debut.' That was back in 1991, but it remains as true in 2005 as it ever was. Giggs has been a pivotal figure in United's dominance of the Premiership. There have been rivals but no other team can match the their sustained record of success over recent years. And Giggs is the only player to have played in all eight of those title winning campaigns. 
Off the pitch, Ryan Giggs has always closely guarded his private life. But here he opens up for the first time, sharing details of the sometimes turbulent childhood that shaped him and the relationships that have mattered to him to reveal the man behind the famous number 11 red shirt. 
One thing seems clear: the Old Trafford crowd will be singing 'Giggs will tear you apart again!' for a few years yet ...

Giggs

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