When the Premier League introduced squad numbers, there was just one team who lined up on the opening weekend in August 1993 with all of their players numbered from 1-11.
Unfortunately for Oldham Athletic, they didn’t benefit from any kind of karma – a 3-0 home defeat to Ipswich Town set the tone for a season that would end in relegation, with the Latics yet to return to the top flight.
The previous season, they had looked dead and buried but wins in their last three matches against Aston Villa (handing the title to Manchester United), Liverpool and Southampton saw them survive at the expense of Crystal Palace.
Given that the starting 11 in that chaotic 4-3 victory against the Saints was the same as that which began against Ipswich three months later, one would expect the numbers to have been the same. However, as can be seen below, there was a slight wrinkle, leading to an unusual-looking back four.
1992-93 final game
1992-93 final game, 1993-94 squad numbers
1993-94 opening game
Back in the days of smaller squads, more players tended to be versatile. So it was that, after the 4-1 loss to Tottenham Hotspur in their fourth-last match of 1992-93 – when they trailed Sheffield United by two points and Palace by five, with a game more played – manager Joe Royle made a change in personnel that led to a few positional switches.
Centre-back Steve Redmond came into the side, replacing wide midfielder Neil Adams – and taking the number 7. Number 11 Nick Henry reverted to the left side of midfield from the right, with Gunnar Halle pushing forward from right-back while Craig Fleming slotted across from the centre of defence.
With the advent of permanent numbering, Royle enacted a pleasing tidy-up. Goalkeeper Paul Gerrard kept the number 1 despite the seniority of Jon Hallworth, though the more experienced man would play more often during a campaign that saw Oldham reach the FA Cup semi-finals, conceding a late equaliser to double-chasing Manchester United before losing the replay.
Halle did occasionally play at right-back – and even once at left-back – in 1993-94 but, by and large, when Fleming played at centre-back, it was the emerging Chris Makin who was at right-back, wearing an appropriate 22.
The squad in full was:
