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As the Premier League indulges in its tenth birthday cake, the gulf in class between the top flight and the rest of the Football League has stretched almost beyond repair

At the time of going to press it seems that a new Premiership record will be set this season – and, as the ridiculous fuss over Alan Shearer’s 200th goal since 1992 shows, those are the kind of records that count these days. This season, the tenth since football began, is almost cer­tain to be the first that all of the promoted teams have succeeded in staying in the Premiership.

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Monday 1 Arsenal go a point clear after a 3-0 win at Charlton. “We know it’s down to us now,” says Arsène. “We’ve gifted six goals in two games,” sighs a baffled David O’Leary as Leeds’ Champs League hopes fade further with a 2-1 defeat at Spurs. Ipswich slip into the bottom three after Marcus Bent misses a penalty in a goalless draw with Chelsea, while John Gregory is “almost lost for words” after Derby’s 1-0 home defeat by Middlesbrough. Everton survive the early dismissal of a punch-throwing Duncan Ferguson (“He was stupid and I’ve told him,” says his new manager) to record a 3-1 win over Bolton, also reduced to ten. In the First, West Brom’s 1-0 win at Coventry takes them level on points with Wolves, beaten 2-0 at home by Man City. Brighton go two points clear at the top of the Second with a last-minute winner against Bristol City, displacing Reading who draw at home with Northampton. Several Luton players are questioned by police following a nightclub brawl to celebrate their promotion. Halifax, 5-0 losers at Darlington, go down to the Conference for the second time in nine years.

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Friday 1 Portsmouth chairman Milan Mandaric threatens to withhold the wages of his players and coaching staff: “They expect to go through the motions and then to receive a huge wage packet. It’s extortion.” The PFA’s Gordon Taylor is unimpressed: “It’s quite naive really, it’s going back to the Dark Ages.”

Saturday 2 “You are blessed to to witness something like that,” says Arsène as Dennis Bergkamp scores another spectacular goal in a 2-0 win at Newcastle that keeps his team second. Frank Sinclair nearly matches that with a 30-yard lob at Middlesbrough, but it’s past his own keeper for the only goal of the game. Liverpool go third after winning 2-0 at Fulham. Andy Cole’s dismissal for a foul on Mike Whitlow during Blackburn’s 1-1 draw at Bolton prompts a right old rumpus, with a scuffle between players and a home steward, and both managers exchanging unpleasantries. Stan Ternent rounds on Burnley fans who boo their team after a home draw with Norwich keeps them fifth in the First: “They have champagne tastes on beer money.” Halifax are ten points adrift at the bottom of the Third after losing 3-1 at Leyton Orient.

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Saturday 2 Man Utd march on with a 4-1 win over sliding Sunderland but Arsenal slip up, drawing 1-1 at home with Southampton, for whom Matt Le Tissier is booked while warming up for saying something rude to an assistant referee. Newcastle come from behind twice to beat Bolton 3-2, one of their goals stemming from a free-kick given for Bolton’s keeper holding on to the ball for more than six seconds. John Gregory celebrates a debut win at Derby, 1-0 against Spurs, and explains why he hopes the FA won’t impose a touchline ban for alleged misconduct a month ago: “I need to be out there to kick a backside and offer a cuddle.” Wolves close to within three points of Man City with a 2-1 win over Rotherham, whose manager Ronnie Moore is unhappy about the controversial decider: “If that ball crossed the line I’ll wear a dress next week.” Robert Prosinecki hits a hat-trick for Portsmouth but they only get a point in a 4-4 draw with Barnsley, who equalise in the last minute. Reading take a break from seven successive wins with a 1-1 draw at Bury, but still lead the Second by seven points. In the Third, Luton cut Plymouth’s lead to four points by beating them 2-0.

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When it comes to the manager's job, clubs are rarely in doubt whether they should, as Ron Atkinson would say, stick or twist. But would it make sense to hold their nerve when things go wrong? Neil Turton gives his opinion on Barnsley

April 26, 1997 – Barnsley were Premier League, in the Promised Land. And Danny Wilson had taken us there. Five years on seems like a lifetime. We are more or less back where we began, flirting with relegation from the First Division, only with a smartly developed stadium, a wage bill which has trebled for the experience and perhaps a bit of an inflated sense of ourselves. And we have had five managers in as many years.

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