1988-89 in English football

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The 1988-89 season was the 109th season of competitive football in England.

[edit] Overview

[edit] Hillsborough disaster

Main article: Hillsborough disaster

On 15 April, a crowd crush at the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough saw 94 people killed and more than 300 injured. A 95th Liverpool supporter died in hospital shortly after. The final death toll became 96 in March 1993, when Tony Bland died after being in a coma for nearly four years. A subsequent inquiry into the tragedy led to the Taylor Report, in which Lord Justice Taylor of Gosforth ordered that all top division clubs should have all-seater stadiums from the 1994-95 season onwards.

[edit] First Division

Arsenal won the league title on goals scored with the last kick of the season, as they beat Liverpool 2-0 at Anfield to claim the championship trophy and deny Kenny Dalglish's men a unique second double, with goals from Alan Smith and Michael Thomas. Third place in the league was occupied by League Cup and Simod Cup winners Nottingham Forest. In their second season back in the top flight, Derby County beat eventual champions Arsenal home and away on their way to achieving an impressive fifth place finish, while Dave Stringer's Norwich made the most of their limited resources by finishing fourth.

Ian Rush returned to Liverpool after a season with Juventus and was once again a prolific goalscorer. Mark Hughes returned to Manchester United after two seasons with Barcelona and his brilliance earned him the PFA Player of the Year award - although he couldn't help his side finish any higher than a disappointing 11th in the First Division.

Newcastle United endured a disastrous season and succumbed to relegation after finishing bottom of the First Division. They were joined by West Ham United, who later sacked long-serving manager John Lyall; he was replaced by the Swindon Town manager Lou Macari. The other relegated side was Middlesbrough.

[edit] Second Division

Chelsea returned to the First Division at the first time of asking by totalling 99 points as Second Division champions. Manchester City ended their two-year exile from the top flight by finishing runners-up in the Second Division. The third promotion place went to Steve Coppell's stylish Crystal Palace side.

A disastrous season saw Walsall slip out of the Second Division after just one season. They were then joined by Birmingham City, who fell into the league's third tier for the first time in their history. Shrewsbury Town's luck finally ran out as they occupied the final relegation spot and fell back into the league's third tier after 10 years.

[edit] Third Division

The prolific goalscoring of striker Steve Bull and expertise of manager Graham Turner saw Wolves promoted for the second season running as Third Division champions. Dave Bassett's Sheffield United followed Wolves up in second place. The Third Division playoffs were won by John Rudge's hard working Port Vale side.

The Third Division relegation spots were filled by Gillingham, Chesterfield, Southend United and Aldershot.

[edit] Fourth Division

22 points from their final 8 games saw Frank Clark's Leyton Orient make a late run into the Fourth Division playoffs and win the final to gain promotion. The automatic promotion places went to Rotherham United, Tranmere Rovers and Crewe Alexandra.

At the bottom end of the table, Darlington struggled all season long and not even the arrival of enthusiastic young manager Brian Little could save them from losing their league place - which was gained by Conference champions Maidstone United.

[edit] Non-league

Newport County went out of business on 27 February. They were then expelled from the Conference for failing to fulfill their fixtures.

[edit] Change in playoff format

The play-off system was slightly altered - the fourth-bottom team in the First Division would no longer be relegated if they lost in the play-offs, as too many teams staying up could have played havoc with the number of teams in the First and Second Divisions.

[edit] FA Cup

Liverpool won the FA Cup by beating Everton 3-2 at Wembley. Ian Rush, who had returned to Anfield after a year at Juventus the previous summer, scored twice.

[edit] League Cup and Simod Cup

Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest ended their nine-year trophy drought by beating holders Luton Town 3-1 in the final to win the League Cup. Nottingham Forest also won the Simod Cup beating Everton 4-3 in the final, having come twice from behind.

[edit] Star players

PFA Player of the Year went to Mark Hughes, who had returned to Manchester United after two unhappy seasons with Barcelona in Spain. PFA Young Player of the Year award went to Arsenal's young winger Paul Merson, who helped his side win their first league title for 18 years.

FWA Footballer of the Year was Liverpool captain Steve Nicol, while a special award was credited to the Liverpool players for their compassion shown to families bereaved by the Hillsborough disaster.

Down in the Third Division, 24-year-old Wolves striker Steve Bull scored 53 goals in all competitions and made a scoring debut for the England national football team.

[edit] Star managers

George Graham's three years of rebuilding Arsenal paid off as he ended their 18-year title drought with the last kick of the season. He received the Manager of the Year award for his efforts.
Kenny Dalglish compensated for Liverpool's title disappointment with victory over neighbours Everton in the F.A Cup final.
Brian Clough guided Nottingham Forest to a hard-earned League Cup triumph and also victory in the Simod Cup after they had gone nine years without a trophy.
Dave Stringer pulled off one of the shocks of the season by taking unfancied Norwich City to fourth place in the First Division.
Steve Coppell's five years of outstanding effort at Crystal Palace paid off as he got them promoted to the First Division as playoff winners.
Graham Turner's rejuventated Wolves side reached the Second Division with a second successive championship and promotion triumph.
Dave Bassett celebrated his first full season as Sheffield United manager by winning promotion to the Second Division.
John Rudge took Port Vale to their highest point in decades by guiding them to success in the Third Division promotion playoffs.
Dario Gradi took Crewe Alexandra to third place in the Fourth Division and earned them promotion after years in the league's lowest division.
Frank Clark inspired a late run of excellent form for his Leyton Orient side who won promotion to the Third Division as Fourth Division playoff winners.

[edit] Diary of the season

27 August 1988 - Millwall begin their life as a First Division side by drawing 2-2 at Aston Villa.

9 October 1988 - Former Newcastle United striker Jackie Milburn dies of cancer aged 64.

10 October 1988 - Howard Wilkinson ends six years as Sheffield Wednesday manager by agreeing to drop down a division to Leeds United, where he succeeds the sacked Billy Bremner.

29 October 1988 - Mark Lawrenson is sacked as Oxford United manager after a dispute with the club's board over the sale of striker Dean Saunders to Derby County.

18 November 1988 - Oxford United captain Tommy Caton returns to the First Division in a 100,000 move to Charlton Athletic.

7 January 1989 - Sutton United, of the GM Vauxhall Conference, knock Coventry City (the 1987 winners) out of the FA Cup with a shock 2-1 win.

28 January 1989 - Sutton United's FA Cup adventure ends in the Fourth Round when they are hammered 8-0 by Norwich City, who are also looking like surprise outside challengers for the league title.

15 April 1989 - English football endures its greatest ever tragedy with the death of 94 Liverpool supporters, and injury of an estimated 300 others, at the FA Cup semi-final clash with Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough.

17 April 1989 - Within 48 hours of the tragedy at Hillsborough, Home Secretary Douglas Hurd promises to pass new legislation which will force all Football League teams to remove standing accommodation from their stadiums.

18 April 1989 - The Hillsborough Disaster death toll reaches 95 when 14-year-old Lee Nichol dies in hospital from his injuries.

26 May 1989 - Former Leeds United and England manager Don Revie dies of Motor Neurone Disease at the age of 62.

26 May 1989 - Arsenal win the league title with the last kick of the season thanks to a late goal from Michael Thomas against Liverpool which gave them a 2-0 away win. Their triumph gave them their first league championship trophy in 18 years - by a single goal.

5 June 1989 - John Lyall, the longest-serving manager currently employed in the Football League, is sacked after 15 years in charge of West Ham United, who were recently relegated from the First Division.

[edit] Deaths

Jackie Milburn, 64, legendary goalscorer for Newcastle United and England during the 1950s. Was a cousin of England World Cup winners Bobby and Jack Charlton. Died of cancer.
Don Revie, 61, manager of the great Leeds United side of the late 1960s and early 1970s who were league champions twice, F.A Cup winners once, League Cup winners once and Fairs Cup winners once. Managed England from 1974 to 1977 but walked out on them to gain a lucrative four-year deal as national coach of the United Arab Emirates. Returned to his homeland in 1985, four years before his death from motor neurone disease.
Gerard Baron, 67, the oldest of the Hillsborough tragedy victims. He was the brother of former Liverpool player Kevin Baron, who played for Liverpool in the 1950 F.A Cup final.
George Robledo, 62, Chilean born striker, formerly of Newcastle United, died of a heart attack. He played for Chile at the 1950 World Cup and won the F.A Cup with Newcastle in both of the two seasons that followed the World Cup. In the second final, he was playing in the same team as his brother Ted Robledo.

[edit] Transfers

Tottenham midfielder Chris Waddle was sold to Olympique Marseille of France in a £4.5million deal, in the latest of big money deals which saw players desert English clubs for foreign clubs who were prepared to pay higher wages. Gary Lineker ended his three-year spell at FC Barcelona to join Tottenham. He had played under Tottenham manager Terry Venables during his first season at Barcelona.

Lineker's strike partner Mark Hughes also left Barcelona and returned to his old club Manchester United in a £1.8million deal. Hughes had been a disappointment in his first season at Barcelona but had recaptured his form during a successful season-long loan deal at Bayern Munich.

[edit] Honours

Competition	Winner	Runner-up
First Division	Arsenal	Liverpool
Second Division	Chelsea	Manchester City
Third Division	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Sheffield United
Fourth Division	Rotherham United	Tranmere Rovers
FA Cup	Liverpool	Everton
League Cup	Nottingham Forest	Luton Town
Charity Shield	Liverpool	Wimbledon

[edit] League table

[edit] First Division

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Arsenal	38	22	10	6	73	36	+37	76
2	Liverpool	38	22	10	6	65	28	+37	76
3	Nottingham Forest	38	17	13	8	64	43	+21	64
4	Norwich City	38	17	11	10	48	45	+3	62
5	Derby County	38	17	7	14	40	38	+2	58
6	Tottenham Hotspur	38	15	12	11	60	46	+14	57
7	Coventry City	38	14	13	11	47	42	+5	55
8	Everton	38	14	12	12	50	45	+5	54
9	Queen's Park Rangers	38	14	11	13	43	37	+6	53
10	Millwall	38	14	11	13	47	52	-5	53
11	Manchester United	38	13	12	13	45	35	+10	51
12	Wimbledon	38	14	9	15	50	46	+4	51
13	Southampton	38	10	15	13	52	66	-14	45
14	Charlton Athletic	38	10	12	16	44	58	-14	42
15	Sheffield Wednesday	38	10	12	16	34	51	-17	42
16	Luton Town	38	10	11	17	42	52	-10	41
17	Aston Villa	38	9	13	16	45	56	-11	40
18	Middlesbrough	38	9	12	17	44	61	-17	39
19	West Ham United	38	10	8	20	37	62	-25	38
20	Newcastle United	38	7	10	21	32	63	-31	31

[edit] Second Division

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Chelsea	46	29	12	5	96	50	+46	99
2	Manchester City	46	23	13	10	77	53	+24	82
3	Crystal Palace	46	23	12	11	71	49	+22	81
4	Watford	46	22	12	12	74	48	+26	78
5	Blackburn Rovers	46	22	11	13	74	59	+15	77
6	Swindon Town	46	20	16	10	68	53	+15	76
7	Barnsley	46	20	14	12	66	58	+8	74
8	Ipswich Town	46	22	7	17	71	61	+10	73
9	West Bromwich Albion	46	18	18	10	65	41	+24	72
10	Leeds United	46	17	16	13	59	50	+9	67
11	Sunderland	46	16	15	15	60	60	+0	63
12	Bournemouth	46	18	8	20	53	62	-9	62
13	Stoke City	46	15	14	17	57	72	-15	59
14	Bradford City	46	13	17	16	52	59	-7	56
15	Leicester City	46	13	16	17	56	63	-7	55
16	Oldham Athletic	46	11	21	14	75	72	+3	54
17	Oxford United	46	14	12	20	62	70	-8	54
18	Plymouth Argyle	46	14	12	20	55	66	-11	54
19	Brighton & Hove Albion	46	14	9	23	57	66	-9	51
20	Portsmouth	46	13	12	21	53	62	-9	51
21	Hull City	46	11	14	21	52	68	-16	47
22	Shrewsbury Town	46	8	18	20	40	67	-27	42
23	Birmingham City	46	8	11	27	31	76	-45	35
24	Walsall	46	5	16	25	41	80	-39	31

[edit] Third Division

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Wolverhampton Wanderers	46	26	14	6	96	49	+47	92
2	Sheffield United	46	25	9	12	93	54	+39	84
3	Port Vale	46	24	12	10	78	48	+30	84
4	Fulham	46	22	9	15	69	67	+2	75
5	Bristol Rovers	46	19	17	10	67	51	+16	74
6	Preston North End	46	19	15	12	79	60	+19	72
7	Brentford	46	18	14	14	66	61	+5	68
8	Chester City	46	19	11	16	64	61	+3	68
9	Notts County	46	18	13	15	64	54	+10	67
10	Bolton Wanderers	46	16	16	14	58	54	+4	64
11	Bristol City	46	18	9	19	53	55	-2	63
12	Swansea City	46	15	16	15	51	53	-2	61
13	Bury	46	16	13	17	55	67	-12	61
14	Huddersfield Town	46	17	9	20	63	73	-10	60
15	Mansfield Town	46	14	17	15	48	52	-4	59
16	Cardiff City	46	14	15	17	44	56	-12	57
17	Wigan Athletic	46	14	14	18	55	53	+2	56
18	Reading	46	15	11	20	68	72	-4	56
19	Blackpool	46	14	13	19	56	59	-3	55
20	Northampton Town	46	16	6	24	66	76	-10	54
21	Southend United	46	13	15	18	56	75	-19	54
22	Chesterfield	46	14	7	25	51	86	-35	49
23	Gillingham	46	12	4	30	47	81	-34	40
24	Aldershot	46	8	13	25	48	78	-30	37

[edit] Fourth Division

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Rotherham United	46	22	16	8	76	35	+41	82
2	Tranmere Rovers	46	21	17	8	62	43	+19	80
3	Crewe Alexandra	46	21	15	10	67	48	+19	78
4	Scunthorpe United	46	21	14	11	77	57	+20	77
5	Scarborough	46	21	14	11	67	52	+15	77
6	Leyton Orient	46	21	12	13	86	50	+36	75
7	Wrexham	46	19	14	13	77	63	+14	71
8	Cambridge United	46	18	14	14	71	62	+9	68
9	Grimsby Town	46	17	15	14	65	59	+6	66
10	Lincoln City	46	18	10	18	64	60	+4	64
11	York City	46	17	13	16	62	63	-1	64
12	Carlisle United	46	15	15	16	53	52	+1	60
13	Exeter City	46	18	6	22	65	68	-3	60
14	Torquay United	46	17	8	21	45	60	-15	59
15	Hereford United	46	14	16	16	66	72	-6	58
16	Burnley	46	14	13	19	52	61	-9	55
17	Peterborough United	46	14	12	20	52	74	-22	54
18	Rochdale	46	13	14	19	56	82	-26	53
19	Hartlepool United	46	14	10	22	50	78	-28	52
20	Stockport County	46	10	21	15	54	52	+2	51
21	Halifax Town	46	13	11	22	69	75	-6	50
22	Colchester United	46	12	14	20	60	78	-18	50
23	Doncaster Rovers	46	13	10	23	49	78	-29	49
24	Darlington	46	8	18	20	53	76	-23	42

P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

Seasons in English football
1984-85 \| 1985-86 \| 1986-87 \| 1987-88 \| 1988-89 \| 1989-90 \| 1990-91 \| 1991-92 \| 1992-93

Football in England

v • d • e

League competitions	The FA	Cup competitions
FA Premier League	England	FA Cup
The Football League (Champ, 1, 2)	(U-21) (B)	Carling Cup
Football Conference (Nat, N, S)	List of clubs	Community Shield
Northern Premier League (Prem, 1)	List of venues	Johnstone's Paint Trophy
Southern League (Prem, Mid, S&W)	(by capacity)	FA Trophy
Isthmian League (Prem, 1N, 1S)	List of leagues	FA Vase
English football league system	Records	FA NLS Cup