The Premier League turns 30: records, key facts and figures as the world's best league comes down to earth

The Premier League is officially 30 years old.

On Saturday August 15, 1992, the inaugural Premier League season began with a packed schedule of kick-offs at 3:00 p.m.

Its founding was the result of former Premier League clubs breaking away from the Football League to maximize their revenue potential, with much of it initially focused on the possibility of lucrative television rights deals .

As the Football Association (FA) had a strained relationship with the Football League at the time, the FA supported the breakaway league's formation plans and in July 1991 the Founding Members Agreement was signed by top clubs. .

While the Premier League fell under the auspices of the FA, the league gained economic independence from the governing body and the Football League, and this was a big part of what it becomes the giant we know in 2022.

Thirty years later, many believe it to be the best football league in the world, and today it seems only fitting to take a trip down memory lane with a look at records, stats and the key figures of the three decades of the competition…

Managing expectations

This is classic 'pub quiz' territory: which manager has presided over the most Premier League games?

You know it's either Alex Ferguson or Arsene Wenger, right? You'll probably end up choosing the Manchester United icon because of his longevity.

Alas, you would be wrong.

Wenger managed 18 more Premier League games (828) than 'Fergie' before ending his long career at Arsenal.

However, it is unlikely that Ferguson's 13 titles will ever be matched. His closest rival in that regard is Pep Guardiola (four), with Wenger joined at three by Jose Mourinho.

Play, player

In the first 30 Premier League seasons, 4,488 players have taken part in the competition, with an average of 149.6 starters per campaign.

If we ignore the inaugural and current seasons for obvious reasons, the campaign with the most debutants was 2015-16, when 162 players made their Premier League debuts.

Of the nearly 4,500 individuals to take part in the competition until the start of the 2022-23 season, Gareth Barry is the most contested (653), the last of which came in the 2017-18 season with West Brom .

It's a record that will take time to break, but if anyone has a chance to break it, it's his former Manchester City team-mate James Milner.

The 36-year-old, now from Liverpool, is fourth on the all-time list with 589 outings.

Forever young

Everyone loves a "child prodigy". The Premier League has seen more than its fair share over the years, and some started very, very young.

Mark Platts was the first 16-year-old to play in the Premier League when he made his debut for Sheffield Wednesday in February 1996.

When Matthew Briggs arrived 11 years later and played for Fulham aged 16 years and 68 days, you would have been forgiven for thinking his record would stand the test of time.

It went on for 12 years until another Fulham player slashed Briggs' record by 38 days - that player was Harvey Elliott. Now at Liverpool, the young midfielder looks set for a brilliant career.

The name of the game

Alan Shearer, Thierry Henry, Cristiano Ronaldo, Mohamed Salah, Wayne Rooney - when you think of Premier League goalscorers, these are probably the names that immediately come to mind.

Well, you're wrong. You should think of Andrew Johnson, Glen Johnson, Tommy Johnson, Bradley Johnson, Roger Johnson et al.

Why? Because more players with the Johnson surname have scored in the Premier League than any other surname.

There were 21 to be exact, two more than the Williams clan.

Synonym.

Go to Points

It's been a frustrating few (nine?) years for Man United fans, and this season has started horribly. But don't worry, folks, if you just look at the big (massive) picture, you'll definitely be fine.

United still top the overall Premier League table with 2,366 points, giving them a comfortable cushion of 219 points over second-placed Arsenal.

Manchester City may have won four of the last five league titles, a feat only United had achieved before them in the Premier League, but the real story is that they are way off on 1,635 Premier League points.< /p>

Yo-yo with flow

To be fair, almost all of you know what's coming here.

You guessed it, Norwich City's relegation last season makes them the most yo-yo (yes, we just made it up) club in Premier League history.

It was their sixth relegation to go along with their five promotions to the top flight since 1992, eliminating them by a...