We heard how Man United captured the first Premier League title and dominated the 1990s last time… someone surely had to challenge them in those first few years? Not many at the start of the decade would have bet money on that being Blackburn Rovers, who hadn’t troubled the top flight since the late 60s.

However, local steel magnate Jack Walker pumped money into his boyhood club to fire them to promotion in time for the Premier League’s inaugural season – and then continued to hoover up the best young talent in Britain to – in his words – ‘make Man United look cheap’.

Just a couple of years later they’d done the seemingly impossible and wrestled the title from Alex Ferguson, Eric Cantona and Co. We’ve spoken to the Premier League’s leading lights from the time about a story that seems even more incredible all these years later – including Rovers’ victorious captain Tim Sherwood and their record signing Chris Sutton.

Chapter Two is the Premier League Storybook’s first real twist…