sport news Premier League 30 years on: How Manchester United won the inaugural 1992-93 ... trends now

In our second piece marking the 30 year anniversary of the Premier League's first season, Sportsmail tells the story of the season on the pitch which culminated in Manchester United winning their first top-flight title for 26 years.

After all planning, hype and build-up, the eagerly-anticipated opening day arrived on August 15, 1992.

In contrast to the cosmopolitan league of today only 14 of the 242 players who started the first round of games were foreign, compared to 130 last season, while 16 of the managers were English and the remaining six Scottish.

On the pitch, the first weekend was a sign of things to come during the debut Premier League season - the division's strikers were central to the story.

Four minutes and 36 seconds in, Sheffield United's Brian Deane scored the first ever Premier League goal against Manchester United.

Down at Arsenal, Sutton remembered: 'We were 2-0 down and 15 minutes into the second half [manager] Mike [Walker] made an inspired substitution - he took me off, put Mark Robins on and Norwich end up winning 4-2, Robins scoring a brilliant chip, and we were off and running. It's amazing what a bit of confidence can do. We had lost every pre-season game and were as surprised as anybody.'

At Crystal Palace, £3.6million English record signing Alan Shearer was finally showing his Blackburn team-mates what the fuss was about.

'In pre-season he didn't show any of the form that warranted that type of fee,' Blackburn goalkeeper Bobby Mimms said.

'Being brutally honest as a bunch of players we were probably thinking "what have we signed here?"

'Alan will be first to admit he hated running. Pre-season was all about that and he was stiff and achy. I've only beaten one person on the longer running because I'm no athlete myself and Alan is that man!

'Then when the balls come out, God he can run. As soon as the season started, what a player. He'd run his socks off for the team, scored unbelievable goals, every type you could imagine. The first game, he smashed two in from outside the box and you're thinking "God, we've got a player here."

Mimms also remembered Blackburn's 3-3 draw at Palace for another reason.

'That was the first season where the referees could wear green and [team-mate] Kevin Moran was colour blind and Kenny [Dalglish] says "you can't play in green,' the colour of our goalie top," Mimms said.

'So on the hottest day of the year, I end up in a big thick rugby top. Kevin said if I've got the same colour on as the ref he'll end up passing to him! It didn't impact me, apart from me thinking "you look like a scruff on the opening day of the season."

The next day Teddy Sheringham notched the first ever live televised Premier League goal, firing Nottingham Forest to a 1-0 Ford Super Sunday win against Liverpool.

It was his final Forest goal before a £2.1m move to Tottenham, where he scored 21 more to win the golden boot.

And, according to former team-mate Roy Keane, it was a sale that led to Forest's demise and eventual relegation, confirmed on an emotional May day that doubled as legendary manager Brian Clough's final home game in charge.

Buoyed by opening day victory at Arsenal, Norwich were the surprise Premier League pace setters until the end of December.

Though in November, Manchester United signed Eric Cantona from defending champions Leeds, a shock £1.2m capture that transformed their season and proved the catalyst for their era of Premier League dominance.

Parker said: 'Steve Bruce and Pally [Gary Pallister] said good things about him to the boss because when they were up against him at Leeds and the boss listened. He really believed what they were saying about players and sometimes you have to listen to players. Good managers, top managers listen.'

Cantona's impact was transformative. In his autobiography, One, former United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel said: 'Thanks to Eric suddenly individual training became the culture. One of Eric's biggest contributions was demonstrating an awareness of what the job of a footballer should be. He infused a culture that you can actually improve your skills without having a coach there helping you.'

Parker, a long-time Prostate Cancer UK ambassador supporting the charity's upcoming Football March in September, added: 'Manchester United's first title was predominantly about Eric Cantona. There were [good] players there but sometimes you need that maverick, someone who can play off the cuff, do something different. He raised everyone, got the fans really believing that it was going to be that season. No other player in that era could have walked into a football club and did what he did.'

United were bottom of the first ever Premier League table published after losing their first two games and eighth when Cantona joined but went top for the first time after a 4-1 win against Spurs that would have pleased Ferguson for more than just the swashbuckling nature of the performance.

'He wasn't keen on London teams, didn't want to lose to them. Hated it,' chuckled Parker, who scored his only United league goal in the Old Trafford game.

'I don't know why he just kept wanting to tell me and Paul Ince how he hated London teams.

'He would have been really smiling because to beat Spurs and go top of the league as well would have definitely made his weekend.'

Shortly before that on Boxing Day, Shearer suffered the season-ending knee injury against Leeds which robbed then second-placed Blackburn of their best hope of remaining challengers.

'That injury put us on the back foot,' now-Norwich academy goalkeeper coach Mimms recalled of the setback for 16-goal Shearer who, despite not playing again, ended the season

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