The 90s was a time of great change for football – and the English game was no exception, with the dawn of the Premier League in 1992.
From the national team's heartbreaking semi-final exit at Italia '90 to Manchester United's extraordinary 1998/99 treble via the oh-so-nearly glorious summer of Euro 96, the decade saw English footballers strut their stuff for club and country.
Here, we pick out the very best of the bunch from the last 10 years of the second millennium.
Number one in Blackburn Rovers’ 1994/95 Premier League title-winning team, Tim Flowers was one of the most consistent top-flight goalkeepers of the mid-90s.
Capped 11 times by England – with whom he went to Euro 96 and the 1998 World Cup – Flowers made back-to-back PFA Premier League Teams of the Year in the 1993/94 and 1994/95 seasons.
A committed and versatile centre-back, Gareth Southgate made almost 700 professional appearances during a playing career which took in all of the 90s.
The future England manager featured in the inaugural edition of the Premier League for Crystal Palace but spent most of the decade with Aston Villa, where he won the 1995/96 League Cup – before helping his country to the semi-finals of Euro 96.
A technically gifted midfielder with fantastic free kick-taking ability, Jamie Redknapp brought great flair to Liverpool throughout the 90s – having joined the Merseyside giants from Bournemouth in 1991, becoming one of Kenny Dalglish’s final signings as manager.
Part of the Reds’ 1994/95 League Cup-winning side, Redknapp earned 17 England caps between 1995 and 1999, featuring once at Euro 96.
Captain as Liverpool lifted the FA Cup in 1992, Mark Wright was a highly reliable defender who gained great popularity among Reds fans.
Capped 45 times by England, starring in Bobby Robson’s three-man backline en route to the last four of the 1990 World Cup in Italy, Wright made the top-flight PFA Team of the Year in 1990/91 and 1996/97.
An excellent attack-minded left-back, Jersey-born Graeme Le Saux starred in Blackburn’s 1994/95 Premier League title success – then became the most expensive English defender of all time when he re-joined Chelsea for £5m in 1997.
The 36-cap international went on to win the League Cup and Cup Winners’ Cup with the Blues in 1997/98, also making it into his second PFA Team of the Year.
One half of the legendary ‘SAS’ partnership with Alan Shearer which fired Blackburn to that aforementioned Premier League title, Chris Sutton banged in 49 goals across the 1993/94 and 1994/95 campaigns – including 28 for Norwich City in the former.
A joint Prem Golden Boot winner in 1997/98, Sutton’s knack of scoring glancing headers made him a significant set-piece threat.
Long before he helpfully pointed out the “stairs going up to the bedrooms” on Homes Under the Hammer, Dion Dublin was going up to meet crosses (and scoring through other means).
Having failed to establish himself at Manchester United, the striker really found his feet at Coventry City – where his average of a goal every other Premier League game in 1997/98 saw him share the Golden Boot.
Newcastle legend Rob Lee spent most of the 90s with the Magpies, playing a notable midfield role in Kevin Keegan’s memorable ‘Entertainers’ team who pushed Manchester United all the way in 1995/96 and later captaining the club.
Capped 21 times by England, Lee scored at least five Prem goals in every campaign from 1993/94 to 1996/97 – and he registered a career-best tally of 14 in all competitions in 1994/95.
A famously tough centre-half who partnered Arsenal captain Tony Adams in one of the standout defensive duos of the 90s, Martin Keown ensured legendary status with the Gunners as he helped them to the 1997/98 double under Arsene Wenger.
Keown – who won the first of his 43 England caps in 1992 as an Everton player – was voted Arsenal’s Player of the Season for the 1995/96 season.
One of England’s finest defenders, Des Walker was at his best around the turn of the decade, making four successive PFA First Division Teams of the Year.
A pacey stopper whose tackles were perennially timed to perfection, Walker – who starred prominently for Nottingham Forest and Sheffield Wednesday, either side of a one-season spell at Sampdoria – played a major role in England’s run to the 1990 World Cup semis.
England’s first-choice right-back at Euro 96, Gary Neville graduated from Manchester United’s famed Class of ’92 to become one of the game’s best in his position.
Included in three consecutive PFA Premier League Teams of the Year from 1997 to 1999, Neville enjoyed his career pinnacle in 1998/99 as an integral member of United’s immortal treble-winning team under Sir Alex Ferguson.
An exceptional dribbler who made for hugely entertaining viewing, Peter Beardsley was – aptly – one of Newcastle’s foremost ‘Entertainers’ of the mid-90s.
An absolute legend at St. James’ Park – where he had two memorable spells – the 59-time England forward had begun the decade by winning the First Division title with Liverpool, from where he crossed the Merseyside divide to Everton in 1991.
England’s go-to left-back for the majority of the 90s, Stuart Pearce established himself as a true icon in the history of Nottingham Forest and the national team alike.
Among the greatest goalscoring defenders ever, free-kick and penalty expert ‘Psycho’ (so nicknamed for his, er, uncompromising approach to the game) lifted the 1989/90 League Cup with Forest and was integral to England reaching the last four of Euro 96.
A devastatingly clinical striker whose prime was cut short by injuries, Robbie Fowler exploded onto the Premier League scene as a teenager.
At 18, in just his fifth league appearance, the two-time PFA Young Player of the Year scored a hat-trick against Southampton – and his tallies of 25 and 28 goals in 1994/95 and 1995/96 respectively would have scooped the Golden Boot if not for a certain Alan Shearer.
Unfortunate never to be capped by England, Steve Bruce was up there with the Premier League’s finest centre-backs of the early 90s.
Partnering Gary Pallister to great effect at Manchester United, Bruce – whose aerial excellence helped him rack up more than 100 career goals – became the first English player of the 20th century to captain a team to the double, doing so with the Red Devils in 1993/94.
Gary Pallister became one of the most expensive British footballers in history when he joined Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United from Middlesbrough for £2.3m in 1989.
He proved himself to be worth every penny, perfectly complementing the more physical Bruce with his calmness and great technical ability – and helping United to four Premier League titles, three FA Cups, a League Cup and a Cup Winners’ Cup overall.
England’s undisputed first-choice goalkeeper during the latter part of the 90s, David Seaman quickly rose to prominence after joining Arsenal from QPR in 1990.
Integral to the Gunners’ title triumphs under George Graham in the old First Division and Arsene Wenger in the Premier League, the moustachioed (not yet ponytailed) icon led the top flight in clean sheets in 1993/94 and 1998/99.
Before sparking the wrath of Tottenham fans by joining arch-rivals Arsenal, Sol Campbell was one of Spurs own and a club legend – and he established himself as such during the 90s.
Among the top centre-backs of his generation, the 73-cap England international captained Spurs to League Cup victory in 1998/99 – when he was also named in the PFA Team of the Year for the first time in his career.
Arguably England’s most successful export of the 90s, David Platt spent much of the decade in Italy – where he won the UEFA Cup with Juventus and the Coppa Italia with Sampdoria – having caught the eye at Italia ’90.
Named 1989/90 PFA Players’ Player of the Year towards the end of his short but memorable spell with Aston Villa, the free-scoring midfielder starred in Arsenal’s 1997/98 double win.
A prolific goalscorer for QPR and Newcastle during the early years of the Premier League, Les Ferdinand holds the record for the most goals in the competition without ever scoring a penalty (149).
Voted 1995/96 PFA Players’ Player of the Year as Kevin Keegan’s ‘Entertainers’ finished as top-flight runners-up, ‘Sir Les’ also contributed 49 Prem assists and notched five goals in 17 international outings.
Another Englishman who went on to enjoy great success overseas – in his case with Real Madrid – Steve McManaman rose through the ranks at hometown club Liverpool to become one of Europe’s most electric wingers.
An FA Cup and League Cup winner with the Reds, McManaman led the Premier League for assists in 1995/96 – then played a key role as England almost brought football home at Euro ’96.
One of few players to play for both Manchester United and Liverpool, Paul Ince spent his best years with the former – starring prominently in their first two Premier League title wins.
A tireless box-to-box midfielder, the England national team’s first black captain – who impressed for Inter between his two stints in the North West – was voted 1992/93 Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year by United’s fans.
A prodigious member of the Class of ’92, Paul Scholes made his Manchester United first-team debut in September 1994 – and he never looked back.
By the end of the decade, he had established himself as a top-class midfielder and, partnering Roy Keane, played a pivotal part in the Red Devil’s historic 1998/99 treble triumph – when he won his third off 11 career Premier League titles.
An all-time great Premier League goalscorer, Teddy Sheringham struck over 100 times during the 90s alone – including a brace in England’s 4-1 Euro 96 thrashing of the Netherlands.
The Prem’s first Golden Boot winner with 22 goals in 1992/93 (one for Nottingham Forest, 21 for Tottenham), the opportunistic Sheringham memorably equalised for Manchester United as they miraculously fought back to beat Bayern Munich in the 1999 Champions League final.
A tremendously gifted attacking midfielder who somehow only won eight caps for England, Matt Le Tissier has to go down as one of the most entertaining players of the Premier League era.
Among the very best players in Southampton’s history, the Guernsey-born genius was the first midfielder to reach the 100-goal mark in the Prem – and he produced some of the competition’s most jaw-dropping finishes.
One of the most formidable strikers in the game at his peak, Andy Cole was dubbed ‘Cole the Goal’ with good reason.
Prolific either side of his 1995 British-record £7m move from Newcastle to Manchester United – where he won the treble – Cole’s record of 34 goals in a Premier League season – set in 1993/94, when he also scooped PFA Young Player of the Year – stood for almost 30 years.
Famously a late bloomer, Ian Wright was playing non-League football for Greenwich Borough as late as 1985.
After proving his quality at Crystal Palace, the popular striker joined Arsenal in 1991 – and it was with the Gunners that he would cement his legend, chalking up 185 goals in seven seasons as one of the deadliest frontmen around, and ending his Highbury career as a Premier League champion.
Ballon d’Or winner in 2001, Michael Owen was well on his way to that prestigious accolade by the end of the 90s – when he started tearing the Premier League up as a 17-year-old at Liverpool.
PFA Young Player of the Year and joint Golden Boot winner in his first full professional season, 1997/98, Owen emphatically confirmed his prodigious talent with that goal for England against Argentina at France 98.
An exceptional centre-half who captained Arsenal to their first Premier League title in 1997/98 and wore the England armband, the towering Tony Adams was an old-school defender who stood out among the finest of his era.
Under Arsene Wenger, he honed his ball-playing ability to take his game to a new level relatively late in his career, and there is absolutely no doubting his status as a Gunners icon.
From the moment he sent the ball looping over Wimbledon goalkeeper Neil Sullivan on the opening day of the 1996/97 Premier League season (you know the goal), it should have been obvious that David Beckham was destined for superstardom.
By the end of the 90s, that much was undeniable: Becks had starred in Manchester United’s incredible treble, finished as Ballon d’Or runner-up, and was already becoming an England legend.
Perhaps the most entertaining English footballer there’s ever been, 1990/91 Spurs FA Cup-winning star Paul Gascoigne took his special game to even greater heights whenever he wore Three Lions on his chest.
From tears at Italia ’90 to the ‘dentist’s chair’ celebration at Euro 96 – and, of course, the myriad moments of magic he conjured up with the ball at his feet – Gazza was truly one of a kind.
The ultimate Premier League scorer with a competition-record 260 goals, Alan Shearer undoubtedly goes down among the very best strikers ever to do it.
Utterly formidable in firing Blackburn to the title and almost repeating the feat with hometown club Newcastle, the two-time PFA Players’ Player of the Year won three straight Prem Golden Boots between 1995 and 1997 – before doing likewise in an England shirt at Euro 96.
