The University of Southern Mississippi The Aquila Digital Community Master's Theses Summer 8-1-2021 Different Class: The Creation of the Premier League and the Commercialization of English Football Colin Damms Follow this and additional works at: https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses Part of the Cultural History Commons, and the European History Commons Recommended Citation Damms, Colin, "Different Class: The Creation of the Premier League and the Commercialization of English Football" (2021). Master's Theses. 848. https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/848 This Masters Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by The Aquila Digital Community. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of The Aquila Digital Community. For more information, please contact [email protected]. REFER TO THE DOCUMENT GUIDELINES FOR ADDITIONAL FORMATTING INSTRUCTIONS by Colin Damms A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate School, the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Humanities at The University of Southern Mississippi in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Approved by: Dr. Allison Abra, Committee Chair Dr. Brian LaPierre Dr. Kevin Greene August 2021 COPYRIGHT BY Colin Damms 2021 Published by the Graduate School ABSTRACT This project examines how English football evolved from a culture of hooliganism and poor upkeep into a popular and enterprising industry across the globe. The Premier League and its stars marketed the English game and its culture worldwide. Since the 1990s England has established itself as the leading club footballing nation. I argue that through football, and the culture and economics behind it, we can see the ways in which England attempted to change its image in the modern world. In the 1980s and 1990s Britain was confronted with its own established culture of violence, bigotry, and nationalist pride, particularly the sport of football. English football clubs and the English Football Association (FA) adapted in an effort to change their image and create a more accessible and marketable product. This study examines those changes and the ways in which they impacted the league, clubs, and fan culture in footballing communities. With a limited and economics-focused historiography on the subject, this work will contribute to the discussion by exploring a cultural perspective and examining the changes and economic impact from club and fan levels. It will also place this evolution within a broader European cultural context. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This work would have been impossible without the advice and support of my committee members, Dr. Kevin Greene, Dr. Brian LaPierre, and especially Dr. Allison Abra, my advisor and committee chair. I would also like to thank Dr. Kyle Zelner and Dr. Heather Stur for their support as I adjusted to working as a graduate student. Their mentorship was crucial to my growth as a professional, and reaffirmed that my decision to enroll in this program was the correct one. The guidance that my professors have given me throughout graduate school and the writing process has made my progress on this thesis possible, and I am grateful for the work they have put into this program for my fellow students and I. I would also like to extend thanks to all of my family and friends, a group that continues to grow. I want to especially thank my mother and father, Jennifer and Richard, and sisters, Rachael and Kelsey, who have been a constant support system for me throughout my life. To my friends Adam, Keith, Matthew, Philip and Robert, thank you for your years of support and brotherhood, and to all my new friends here in Hattiesburg, I couldn’t have done this without you either. I also want to thank my cohort in the History Graduate program. I especially want to thank Lucas, Hayley, and Sean, who have never hesitated to lend a hand or share from their grad school experience. And last, but not least, I want to thank Cody and Lindsey. I have trouble believing I am lucky enough to have experienced this process with friends as thoughtful and devoted as you. iii DEDICATION This work is dedicated to the memory of my Grandad, Michael Damms. He lived his life with passion and humor for those he loved, and instilled in my father and myself a love for the beautiful game. I also want to dedicate this to my friend, Philip. Through all that he endures, he is relentless in determination and action to be the person that he wants to be for those that mean the most to him. He continues to inspire me, and I am so thankful for his friendship. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. iii DEDICATION ................................................................................................................... iv LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... vi LIST OF TERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................... vii CHAPTER I - INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER II – AN END IS A START: THE FORMATION OF THE PREMIER LEAGUE ........................................................................................................................... 24 CHAPTER III - SAME PLACE, DIFFERENT FACES: ANTI-RACIST ACTIVISM IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE’S FOOTBALL COMMUNITIES ......................................... 57 CHAPTER IV – NAME ON THE TROPHY: MANCHESTER UNITED AND THE MODERN CLUB ............................................................................................................. 90 CHAPTER V – CONCLUSION ..................................................................................... 132 APPENDIX A - Figure ................................................................................................... 137 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................... 138 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 ............................................................................................................................. 50 Increase in value of Premier League Broadcasting rights in millions of Pounds Sterling. ........................................................................................................................... 137 vi LIST OF TERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS EFL English Football League FA English Football Association FIFA Federation Internationale de Football Association UEFA Union of European Football Associations vii CHAPTER I - INTRODUCTION On May 13, 2012, the final day of the 2011/12 Premier League season, Manchester United and Manchester City went into their final respective games level on points at the top of the league table. Manchester City were battling their local rivals for the league title for the first time since 1968, and both Manchester clubs left their London rivals Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspurs, and Chelsea well in the dust, the closest of them finishing nineteen points behind. Though the matches started at the same time, Manchester United’s 1-0 victory over Sunderland finished a few minutes ahead of their cross-town rivals, who at the time were down 1-2 to Queen’s Park Rangers with five minutes of stoppage time to play. If the results held, United would be champions, but if City could mount a late comeback and win, their goal difference would give them the edge in the final league table. The Citizens had struggled to build themselves up to the level of their much more successful neighbors, but after a financial takeover in 2008 they began spending like champions on marquee players to put themselves on the cusp of history. In the first minute of stoppage time, Bosnian striker Edin Dzeko scored an equalizer for City. Immediately the mood shifted in the stadium, and suddenly City’s dominance late in the game felt vindicated as their efforts materialized on the scoreboard. The season was not yet lost. QPR were well in their own goal area defending, and looked like it was only a matter of time before they conceded. Right on cue, with seconds remaining, Mario Balotelli exchanged passes with Sergio Aguero, who then darted into the area and smashed the ball past QPR’s helpless goalkeeper, winning Manchester City 1 their first league title in forty-four years. It was a league title four years and over £1 billion in the making for City’s new owners, and they were just getting started.1 Just moments after United’s match ended they believed they were champions, and now the giants of the English game were left speechless, forced to witness the beginning of the end of their dynasty via mobile phone updates. “I swear you’ll never see anything like this ever again!,” cried match commentator Martin Tyler, who’d been working match coverage for nearly as many years. “So watch it, drink it in... Two goals in added time for Manchester City to snatch the title away from Manchester United!”2 Over on another channel, commentator Peter Drury voiced similar amazement. “He’s won the league with 90 seconds of stoppage time to play! Where does football go from here?”3 The Premier League, now broadcast globally, marketed as “The Greatest Show on Earth,” had delivered. The sports world was gasping for breath in its reaction, and even in the United States,