by Terry Groves

Created on: February 10, 2009

In January 1961 something happened which was to change the course of professional football world wide. The Professional Footballers Association, the players' Trade Union, called, in time-honoured trade union fashion, for a strike because it could not get its own way with the authorities. Jimmy Hill, a player for Brentford and Fulham later to become manager and a director of Coventry City and a TV pundit of renown, was its leader. Up to this point professional footballers were subject to a maximum wage, then 20 per week. Their contracts also, in theory, tied them to their club for life although this was rarely invoked and they did change clubs. The Football League eventually backed down before the strike started and the maximum wage was no more.Gradually money took over as the dominant force in the game. Clubs that had it thrived for the most part, those that didn't went down the ladder.

In truth football was a bit late catching on to the possibilities. In fairness it must be said that the UK was coming out of a recession which had led to the Labour government virtually bankrupting the country by trying to spend its way out of trouble. Much like the present time in fact. Also football had a major problem with hooliganism which it was exporting into Europe, which had plenty of its own, to much wailing and gnashing of teeth. One legacy of this is that even today more police are on duty at football matches not only than all other sports combined but also than on the streets of the towns and cities they are supposed to protect.

The Football League first obtained sponsorship in 1982 for its Cup competition which was renamed the Milk Cup. The next season 1983-4 the League itself was sponsored for the first time by Canon. Certain big clubs were playing a waiting game whilst all this went on seeking advantages for the future. A slight set-back occurred in proceedings when British clubs were banned for 2 years from European competition for hooliganism related matters. This loss of considerable income concentrated minds. Britain was starting to thrive again and its football clubs were successful and popular world wide. They wished to capitalise on this popularity. Manchester United led the way then as now and were one of the prime movers in the suggestion that a Super League of some sort should be formed. So strong wasthis movement it frightened the authorities. Eventually in 1992 the Football Association Premier League was born. Consisting of 20 clubs, 2 fewer than in

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