1988–89 Football League

The Football League
Season	1988–89
Champions	Arsenal
Relegated	Darlington
← 1987–88 1989–90 →

The 1988–1989 season was the 90th completed season of the Football League.^[1]

No European qualification took place due to the Heysel Stadium disaster suspension in place.

Prior to the 1986–87 season membership of the Football League was dependent on a system of election by the other member teams. From 1986 that system came to an end, and instead, the club finishing last in the Fourth Division was automatically demoted to Conference. This season the casualty was Darlington.

First Division

Summary

A fiercely-contested title race went right to the wire, with the title-deciding game featuring both contenders not being played until 26 May — six days after the FA Cup final — as the league season was extended following the Hillsborough disaster on 15 April, which at that time claimed the lives of 95 Liverpool fans. Liverpool went on to lift the trophy in the second all-Merseyside FA Cup final in four seasons, and a strong second half of the season had taken them to the top of the league; they needed only a draw at home to second-placed Arsenal to clinch the title. The Gunners, on the other hand, needed to win by at least two clear goals to beat the Merseysiders to the title, and that was exactly what they did. A late goal from Michael Thomas ended Arsenal's 18-year wait to be champions of England again, the only time the English league has been decided by goals for.

There were no shortage of rivals for the title throughout the season. Millwall, in the First Division for the first time, frequently topped the table during the season's early stages and were consistently in the top five until well after Christmas, and still managed to finish 10th despite not winning any of their final 10 games. Norwich City, who also reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup, were strong contenders for most of the season and finished fourth. Third placed Nottingham Forest, who won the League Cup and the Full Members Cup (their first pieces of silverware since winning the European Cup in 1980) had a mediocre first half of the season before finding their form after Christmas, although they never looked like serious title contenders. Their East Midlands rivals Derby County were on the fringes of the title race for much of the season, and their fifth place finish was their highest for well over a decade.

Three teams who were among the pre-season title favourites failed to make an impact in the title race. Everton could only manage an eighth place finish, their lowest final position since 1982, although they did well in the cup competitions, finishing runners-up in the FA Cup and Full Members Cup. Tottenham, who had spent millions in the transfer market since Terry Venables became manager, were bottom of the table in late October but enjoyed an upturn in form during the second half of the season to secure sixth place in the final table. Manchester United continued to rebuild under Alex Ferguson, but a failure to convert draws into victories during the first half of the season and a run of bad results during the season's final stages dragged them down to 11th place in the final table, although a good run of form after Christmas had projected them into the fringes of the title race, and things went downhill after an FA Cup quarter-final exit.

The loss of Paul Gascoigne to Tottenham in the first £2million deal between English clubs gave Newcastle manager Willie McFaul a chance to spend heavily in the transfer market, but his signings failed to gel and he was sacked in October with the Tynesiders bottom of the First Division. His successor Jim Smith was unable to keep Newcastle up, and they went down in bottom place, while Smith's old club QPR finish a steady ninth under new player-manager Trevor Francis. John Lyall's 15-year spell as West Ham manager came to an end after relegation and the decision of the board not to renew his contract. The final relegation place went to Middlesbrough, who had enjoyed good form for a newly promoted side (and one which had been virtually bankrupt and in the Third Division in 1986) until a late slump send them straight back into the Second Division. Aston Villa narrowly avoided the drop after a similar downturn in performances during the season's final stages.

Final table

Football League, First Division
Season	1988–89
Champions	Arsenal (9th English title)
Relegated	Middlesbrough Newcastle United West Ham United
European Cup 1989–90	No qualifications^[2]
FA Cup winners	Liverpool
European Cup Winners' Cup 1989–90	No qualifications^[2]
UEFA Cup 1989–90	No qualifications^[2]
Matches played	380
Goals scored	926 (2.44 per match)
Top goalscorer	A. Smith (Arsenal), 23 ^[3]
Biggest home win	Luton Town – Southampton 6–1 (2 Jan 1989)
Biggest away win	Millwall – Tottenham Hotspur 0–5 (29 Apr 1989)
Highest scoring	Luton Town – Southampton 6–1 (2 Jan 1989); Luton Town – Charlton 5–2 (2 May 1989); Queens Park Rangers – Wimbledon 4–3 (8 Apr 1989); Coventry –Middlesbrough 3–4 (1 Oct 1988); Middlesbrough – Nottingham Forest 3–4 (22 Apr 1989)
Longest winning run	Liverpool (9 games)
Longest unbeaten run	Liverpool (18 games)
Longest losing run	Southampton (5 games)
← 1987–88 1989–90 →

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	W	D	L	F	A	F	A	GD	Pts	Notes
1	Arsenal	38	10	6	3	35	19	12	4	3	38	17	73	36	37	76	Champions^{[notes 1]}
2	Liverpool	38	11	5	3	33	11	11	5	3	32	17	65	28	37	76	FA Cup Winners
3	Nottingham Forest	38	8	7	4	31	16	9	6	4	33	27	64	43	21	64	League Cup Winners
4	Norwich City	38	8	7	4	23	20	9	4	6	25	25	48	45	3	62
5	Derby County	38	9	3	7	23	18	8	4	7	17	20	40	38	2	58
6	Tottenham Hotspur	38	8	6	5	31	24	7	6	6	29	22	60	46	14	57
7	Coventry City	38	9	4	6	28	23	5	9	5	19	19	47	42	5	55
8	Everton	38	10	7	2	33	18	4	5	10	17	27	50	45	5	54
9	Queens Park Rangers	38	9	5	5	23	16	5	6	8	20	21	43	37	6	53
10	Millwall	38	10	3	6	27	21	4	8	7	20	31	47	52	–5	53
11	Manchester United	38	10	5	4	27	13	3	7	9	18	22	45	35	10	51
12	Wimbledon	38	10	3	6	30	19	4	6	9	20	27	50	46	4	51
13	Southampton	38	6	7	6	25	26	4	8	7	27	40	52	66	–14	45
14	Charlton Athletic	38	6	7	6	25	24	4	5	10	19	34	44	58	–14	42
15	Sheffield Wednesday	38	6	6	7	21	25	4	6	9	13	26	34	51	–17	42
16	Luton Town	38	8	6	5	32	21	2	5	12	10	31	42	52	–10	41
17	Aston Villa	38	7	6	6	25	22	2	7	10	20	34	45	56	–11	40
18	Middlesbrough	38	6	7	6	28	30	3	5	11	16	31	44	61	–17	39
19	West Ham United	38	3	6	10	19	30	7	2	10	18	32	37	62	–25	38
20	Newcastle United	38	3	6	10	19	28	4	4	11	13	35	32	63	–31	31

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

↑ English teams were banned by UEFA from its competitions from the season 1985–86 on until the season 1990–91 because of the Heysel Disaster in 1985, involving Liverpool fans.

Key
	League Champions, excluded from the European Cup
	FA Cup Winners, but excluded from the Cup Winners' Cup
	League Cup winners, excluded from UEFA Cup
	Relegated

First division Results table

Home ╲ Away	Arsenal !ARS	Aston Villa !AST	Charlton Athletic !CHA	Coventry City !COV	Derby County !DER	Everton !EVE	Liverpool !LIV	Luton Town !LUT	Manchester United !MUN	Middlesbrough !MID	Millwall !MIL	Newcastle United !NEW	Norwich City !NOR	Nottingham Forest !NOT	Queens Park Rangers !QPR	Sheffield Wednesday !SHW	Southampton !SOU	Tottenham Hotspur !TOT	West Ham United !WHU	Wimbledon !WDN
Arsenal !Arsenal		2–3	2–2	2–0	1–2	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–1	3–0	0–0	1–0	5–0	1–3	2–1	1–1	2–2	2–0	2–1	2–2
Aston Villa !Aston Villa	0–3		1–2	1–1	1–2	2–0	1–1	2–1	0–0	1–1	2–2	3–1	3–1	1–1	2–1	2–0	1–2	2–1	0–1	0–1
Charlton Athletic !Charlton Athletic	2–3	2–2		0–0	3–0	1–2	0–3	3–0	1–0	2–0	0–3	2–2	1–2	0–1	1–1	2–1	2–2	2–2	0–0	1–0
Coventry City !Coventry City	1–0	2–1	3–0		0–2	0–1	1–3	1–0	1–0	3–4	0–0	1–2	2–1	2–2	0–3	5–0	2–1	1–1	1–1	2–1
Derby County !Derby County	2–1	2–1	0–0	1–0		3–2	0–1	0–1	2–2	1–0	0–1	2–0	0–1	0–2	0–1	1–0	3–1	1–1	1–2	4–1
Everton !Everton	1–3	1–1	3–2	3–1	1–0		0–0	0–2	1–1	2–1	1–1	4–0	1–1	1–1	4–1	1–0	4–1	1–0	3–1	1–1
Liverpool !Liverpool	0–2	1–0	2–0	0–0	1–0	1–1		5–0	1–0	3–0	1–1	1–2	0–1	1–0	2–0	5–1	2–0	1–1	5–1	1–1
Luton Town !Luton Town	1–1	1–1	5–2	2–2	3–0	1–0	1–0		0–2	1–0	1–2	0–0	1–0	2–3	0–0	0–1	6–1	1–3	4–1	2–2
Manchester United !Manchester United	1–1	1–1	3–0	0–1	0–2	1–2	3–1	2–0		1–0	3–0	2–0	1–2	2–0	0–0	1–1	2–2	1–0	2–0	1–0
Middlesbrough !Middlesbrough	0–1	3–3	0–0	1–1	0–1	3–3	0–4	2–1	1–0		4–2	1–1	2–3	3–4	1–0	0–1	3–3	2–2	1–0	1–0
Millwall !Millwall	1–2	2–0	1–0	1–0	1–0	2–1	1–2	3–1	0–0	2–0		4–0	2–3	2–2	3–2	1–0	1–1	0–5	0–1	0–1
Newcastle United !Newcastle United	0–1	1–2	0–2	0–3	0–1	2–0	2–2	0–0	0–0	3–0	1–1		0–2	0–1	1–2	1–3	3–3	2–2	1–2	2–1
Norwich City !Norwich City	0–0	2–2	1–3	1–2	1–0	1–0	0–1	2–2	2–1	0–0	2–2	0–2		2–1	1–0	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–1	1–0
Nottingham Forest !Nottingham Forest	1–4	4–0	4–0	0–0	1–1	2–0	2–1	0–0	2–0	2–2	4–1	1–1	2–0		0–0	1–1	3–0	1–2	1–2	0–1
Queens Park Rangers !Queens Park Rangers	0–0	1–0	1–0	2–1	0–1	0–0	0–1	1–1	3–2	0–0	1–2	3–0	1–1	1–2		2–0	0–1	1–0	2–1	4–3
Sheffield Wednesday !Sheffield Wednesday	2–1	1–0	3–1	1–2	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–0	0–2	1–0	3–0	1–2	2–2	0–3	0–2		1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1
Southampton !Southampton	1–3	3–1	2–0	2–2	0–0	1–1	1–3	2–1	2–1	1–3	2–2	1–0	0–0	1–1	1–4	1–2		0–2	4–0	0–0
Tottenham Hotspur !Tottenham Hotspur	2–3	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–3	2–1	1–2	0–0	2–2	3–2	2–0	2–0	2–1	1–2	2–2	0–0	1–2		3–0	3–2
West Ham United !West Ham United	1–4	2–2	1–3	1–1	1–1	0–1	0–2	1–0	1–3	1–2	3–0	2–0	0–2	3–3	0–0	0–0	1–2	0–2		1–2
Wimbledon !Wimbledon	1–5	1–0	1–1	0–1	4–0	2–1	1–2	4–0	1–1	1–1	1–0	4–0	0–2	4–1	1–0	1–0	2–1	1–2	0–1

Source:
1 ^{^} The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

First Division maps

Locations of the Football League First Division 1988–1989 teams

Locations of the Football League First Division London teams 1988–1989

Second Division

Chelsea sealed an instant return to the First Division by sealing the Second Division title and gaining 99 points - the highest total in the club's history. Runners-up Manchester City, with a promising young side including Andy Hinchcliffe, David White and Paul Lake, returned to the elite after two seasons away as runners-up. Steve Coppell's rejuvenation of Crystal Palace finally paid off and five seasons and two near misses with promotion when they triumphed over Blackburn Rovers in the two-legged playoff final and overturned a two-goal deficit in the first leg which had looked to have ended the Lancashire side's 23-year absence from the First Division. Defeat in the semi-finals prevented an instant return to the First Division for Watford, while the other beaten semi-finalists Swindon narrowly missed out on matching the four-season rise from the Fourth Division to the First achieved earlier in the decade by Swansea and Wimbledon.

Despite the loss of manager Ron Atkinson to Atletico Madrid in October, West Bromwich Albion remained in the thick of the promotion race under new player-manager Brian Talbot and looked all set for promotion as late as February when they occupied second place, but a slump in form pushed them down to ninth place - not enough for even a place in the playoffs.

Final table

Football League, Second Division
Season	1988–89
Champions	Chelsea (2nd title)
Promoted	Crystal Palace, Manchester City
Relegated	Birmingham City, Shrewsbury Town, Walsall
Matches played	552
Goals scored	1,465 (2.65 per match)
Top goalscorer	Keith Edwards (Hull City), 26 ^[3]
← 1987–88 1989–90 →

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	W	D	L	F	A	F	A	GD	Pts	Notes
1	Chelsea	46	15	6	2	50	25	14	6	3	46	25	96	50	+46	99
2	Manchester City	46	12	8	3	48	28	11	5	7	29	25	77	53	+24	82
3	Crystal Palace	46	15	6	2	42	17	8	6	9	29	32	71	49	+22	81	^{[notes3 1]}
4	Watford	46	14	5	4	41	18	8	7	8	33	30	74	48	+26	78
5	Blackburn Rovers	46	16	4	3	50	22	6	7	10	24	37	74	59	+15	77
6	Swindon Town	46	13	8	2	35	15	7	8	8	33	38	68	53	+15	76
7	Barnsley	46	12	8	3	37	21	8	6	9	29	37	66	58	+8	74
8	Ipswich Town	46	13	3	7	42	23	9	4	10	29	38	71	61	+10	73
9	West Bromwich Albion	46	13	7	3	43	18	5	11	7	22	23	65	41	+24	72
10	Leeds United	46	12	6	5	34	20	5	10	8	25	30	59	50	+9	67
11	Sunderland	46	12	8	3	40	23	4	7	12	20	37	60	60	±0	63
12	Bournemouth	46	13	3	7	32	20	5	5	13	21	42	53	62	–9	62
13	Stoke City	46	10	9	4	33	25	5	5	13	24	47	57	72	–15	59
14	Bradford City	46	8	11	4	29	22	5	6	12	23	37	52	59	–7	56
15	Leicester City	46	11	6	6	31	20	2	10	11	25	43	56	63	–7	55
16	Oldham Athletic	46	9	10	4	49	32	2	11	10	26	40	75	72	+3	54
17	Oxford United	46	11	6	6	40	34	3	6	14	22	36	62	70	–8	54
18	Plymouth Argyle	46	11	4	8	35	22	3	8	12	20	44	55	66	–11	54
19	Brighton & Hove Albion	46	11	5	7	36	24	3	4	16	21	42	57	66	–9	51
20	Portsmouth	46	10	6	7	33	21	3	6	14	20	41	53	62	–9	51
21	Hull City	46	7	9	7	31	25	4	5	14	21	43	52	68	–16	47
22	Shrewsbury Town	46	4	11	8	25	31	4	7	12	15	36	40	67	–27	42
23	Birmingham City	46	6	4	13	21	33	2	7	14	10	43	31	76	–45	35
24	Walsall	46	3	10	10	27	42	2	6	15	14	38	41	80	–39	31

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

↑ Crystal Palace won the play-offs and were promoted.

Key
	Division Champions, promoted
	Promoted
	Participated in play-offs
	Promoted through play-offs
	Relegated

Second Division play-offs

Both the semifinals and the finals were decided over two legs.
The full results can be found at: Football League Division Two play-offs 1989.

Semi-finals 1st leg –21 May; 2nd leg –24 May 1989					Finals 1st leg –31 May; 2nd leg –3 June 1989


3rd	Crystal Palace	0	2	2

6th	Swindon Town	1	0	1
					3rd	Crystal Palace	1	3	4

					5th	Blackburn Rovers	3	0	3
4th	Watford	0	1	1

5th	Blackburn Rovers^{[notes2 1]}	0	1	1

↑ Blackburn won on away goals after extra time.

Second Division results

Home ╲ Away	Barnsley !BAR	Birmingham City !BIR	Blackburn Rovers !BLB	Bournemouth !BOU	Bradford City !BRA	Brighton & Hove Albion !BHA	Chelsea !CHE	Crystal Palace !CRY	Hull City !HUL	Ipswich Town !IPS	Leeds United !LEE	Leicester City !LEI	Manchester City !MCI	Oldham Athletic !OLD	Oxford United !OXF	Plymouth Argyle !PLY	Portsmouth !POR	Shrewsbury Town !SHR	Stoke City !STK	Sunderland !SUN	Swindon Town !SWI	Walsall !WAL	Watford !WAT	West Bromwich Albion !WBA
Barnsley !Barnsley		0–0	0–1	5–2	0–0	2–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–2	3–0	1–2	4–3	1–0	3–1	1–0	1–0	1–0	3–0	1–1	1–0	2–2	2–1
Birmingham City !Birmingham City	3–5		2–0	0–1	1–0	1–2	1–4	0–1	1–0	1–0	0–0	2–3	0–2	0–0	0–0	0–1	0–0	1–2	0–1	3–2	1–2	1–0	2–3	1–4
Blackburn Rovers !Blackburn Rovers	2–1	3–0		2–0	2–1	2–1	1–1	5–4	4–0	1–0	2–0	0–0	4–0	3–1	3–1	1–2	3–1	0–1	4–3	2–2	0–0	3–0	2–1	1–2
Bournemouth !Bournemouth	3–2	0–1	2–1		3–0	2–1	1–0	2–0	5–1	1–0	0–0	2–1	0–1	2–2	2–1	0–0	1–0	0–1	0–1	0–1	2–3	2–1	0–1	2–1
Bradford City !Bradford City	1–2	2–2	1–1	0–1		0–1	2–2	0–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	2–1	1–1	2–0	0–0	1–1	2–1	1–0	0–0	1–0	2–2	3–1	2–1	2–0
Brighton & Hove Albion !Brighton & Hove Albion	0–1	4–0	3–0	1–2	1–3		0–1	3–1	1–1	0–1	2–1	1–1	2–1	2–0	2–1	2–2	2–1	3–1	1–1	3–0	0–2	2–2	1–0	0–1
Chelsea !Chelsea	5–3	3–1	1–2	2–0	3–1	2–0		1–0	2–1	3–0	1–0	2–1	1–3	2–2	1–1	5–0	3–3	2–0	2–1	1–1	3–2	2–0	2–2	1–1
Crystal Palace !Crystal Palace	1–1	4–1	2–2	2–3	2–0	2–1	1–1		3–1	2–0	0–0	4–2	0–0	2–0	1–0	4–1	2–0	1–1	1–0	1–0	2–1	4–0	0–2	1–0
Hull City !Hull City	0–0	1–1	1–3	4–0	1–1	5–2	3–0	0–1		1–1	1–2	2–2	1–0	1–1	1–2	3–0	1–1	3–0	1–4	0–0	1–0	0–0	0–3	0–1
Ipswich Town !Ipswich Town	2–0	4–0	2–0	3–1	1–1	2–3	0–1	1–2	1–1		0–1	2–0	1–0	2–1	1–2	2–2	0–1	2–0	5–1	2–0	1–2	3–1	3–2	2–1
Leeds United !Leeds United	2–0	1–0	2–0	3–0	3–3	1–0	0–2	1–2	2–1	2–4		1–1	1–1	0–0	1–1	2–0	1–0	2–3	4–0	2–0	0–0	1–0	0–1	2–1
Leicester City !Leicester City	0–1	2–0	4–0	0–1	1–0	1–0	2–0	2–2	0–2	0–1	1–2		0–0	1–2	1–0	1–0	2–1	1–1	2–0	3–1	3–3	1–0	2–2	1–1
Manchester City !Manchester City	1–2	0–0	1–0	3–3	4–0	2–1	2–3	1–1	4–1	4–0	0–0	4–2		1–4	2–1	2–0	4–1	2–2	2–1	1–1	2–1	2–2	3–1	1–1
Oldham Athletic !Oldham Athletic	1–1	4–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–1	1–4	2–3	2–2	4–0	2–2	1–1	0–1		3–0	2–2	5–3	3–0	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–0	3–1	1–3
Oxford United !Oxford United	2–0	3–0	1–1	3–1	3–4	3–2	2–3	1–0	1–0	1–1	3–2	1–1	2–4	1–1		0–1	1–0	4–1	3–2	2–4	1–1	1–0	0–4	1–1
Plymouth Argyle !Plymouth Argyle	1–2	0–1	4–3	1–1	3–1	3–0	0–1	0–2	2–0	0–1	1–0	1–1	0–1	3–0	3–1		0–1	0–0	4–0	1–4	4–1	2–0	1–0	1–1
Portsmouth !Portsmouth	3–0	1–0	1–2	2–1	1–2	2–0	2–3	1–1	1–3	0–1	4–0	3–0	0–1	1–1	2–1	2–0		2–0	0–0	2–0	0–2	1–1	2–2	0–0
Shrewsbury Town !Shrewsbury Town	2–3	0–0	1–1	1–0	1–3	1–1	1–1	2–1	1–3	1–5	3–3	3–0	0–1	0–0	2–2	2–0	1–2		1–2	0–0	0–1	0–0	1–1	1–1
Stoke City !Stoke City	1–1	1–0	0–1	2–1	2–1	2–2	0–3	2–1	4–0	1–1	2–3	2–2	3–1	0–0	1–0	2–2	2–2	0–0		2–0	2–1	0–3	2–0	0–0
Sunderland !Sunderland	1–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	0–0	1–0	1–2	1–1	2–0	4–0	2–1	2–2	2–4	3–2	1–0	2–1	4–0	2–1	1–1		4–0	0–3	1–1	1–1
Swindon Town !Swindon Town	0–0	2–1	1–1	3–1	1–0	3–0	1–1	1–0	1–0	2–3	0–0	2–1	1–2	2–2	3–0	1–0	1–1	1–0	3–0	4–1		1–0	1–1	0–0
Walsall !Walsall	1–3	5–0	1–2	1–1	0–1	1–0	0–7	0–0	1–1	2–4	0–3	0–1	3–3	2–2	1–5	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–2	2–0	2–2		0–1	0–0
Watford !Watford	4–0	1–0	2–2	1–0	2–0	1–1	1–2	0–1	2–0	3–2	1–1	2–1	1–0	3–1	1–1	3–0	1–0	0–0	3–2	0–1	2–3	5–0		2–0
West Bromwich Albion !West Bromwich Albion	1–1	0–0	2–0	0–0	1–0	1–0	2–3	5–3	2–0	1–2	2–1	1–1	1–0	3–1	3–2	2–2	3–0	4–0	6–0	0–0	3–1	0–0	0–1

Source:
1 ^{^} The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Second Division maps

Locations of the Football League Second Division 1988–1989 teams

Chelsea

Crystal Palace

Watford

Locations of the Football League Second Division London teams 1988–1989

Third Division

Wolverhampton Wanderers, spearheaded by high-scoring striker Steve Bull, clinched a second successive promotion - again as champions - as they ran away with the Third Division title just 12 months after finishing champions of the Fourth Division. Bull, who broke the 50-goal barrier in all competitions for the second successive season, then became one of the few players to be selected for the senior England side when he was capped for his country for the first time. Sheffield United clinched the second promotion place a season after relegation - the fifth time in less than a decade that their manager Dave Bassett had managed a promotion-winning team, following his four promotions with Wimbledon. The final promotion place went to playoff winners Port Vale, who returned to the Second Division for the first time since 1957.

Aldershot's two-season stay in the Third Division ended with relegation in bottom place after a disastrous season. Gillingham, who had almost won promotion two years earlier, as did Chesterfield, and a Southend side whose 54 points was a greater tally than any other team to suffer relegation in Football League history.

Football League, Third Division
Season	1988–89
Champions	Wolverhampton Wanderers (1st title)
Promoted	Port Vale, Sheffield United
Relegated	Aldershot, Chesterfield, Gillingham, Southend United
Matches played	552
Goals scored	1,495 (2.71 per match)
Top goalscorer	Steve Bull (Wolverhampton Wanderers), 37 ^[3]
← 1987–88 1989–90 →

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	W	D	L	F	A	F	A	GD	Pts	Notes
1	Wolverhampton Wanderers	46	18	4	1	61	19	8	10	5	35	30	96	49	+47	92
2	Sheffield United	46	16	3	4	57	21	9	6	8	36	33	93	54	+39	84
3	Port Vale	46	15	3	5	46	21	9	9	5	32	27	78	48	+30	84	^{[notes4 1]}
4	Fulham	46	12	7	4	42	28	10	2	11	27	39	69	67	+2	75
5	Bristol Rovers	46	9	11	3	34	21	10	6	7	33	30	67	51	+16	74
6	Preston North End	46	14	7	2	56	31	5	8	10	23	29	79	60	+19	72
7	Brentford	46	14	5	4	36	21	4	9	10	30	40	66	61	+5	68
8	Chester City	46	12	6	5	38	18	7	5	11	26	43	64	61	+3	68
9	Notts County	46	11	7	5	37	22	7	6	10	27	32	64	54	+10	67
10	Bolton Wanderers	46	12	8	3	42	23	4	8	11	16	31	58	54	+4	64
11	Bristol City	46	10	3	10	32	25	8	6	9	21	30	53	55	–2	63
12	Swansea City	46	11	8	4	33	22	4	8	11	18	31	51	53	–2	61	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1989–90 First round
13	Bury	46	11	7	5	27	22	5	6	12	28	45	55	67	–12	61
14	Huddersfield Town	46	10	8	5	35	25	7	1	15	28	48	63	73	–10	60
15	Mansfield Town	46	10	8	5	32	22	4	9	10	16	30	48	52	–4	59
16	Cardiff City	46	10	9	4	30	16	4	6	13	14	40	44	56	–12	57
17	Wigan Athletic	46	9	5	9	28	22	5	9	9	27	31	55	53	+2	56
18	Reading	46	10	6	7	37	29	5	5	13	31	43	68	72	–4	56
19	Blackpool	46	10	6	7	36	29	4	7	12	20	30	56	59	–3	55
20	Northampton Town	46	11	2	10	41	34	5	4	14	25	42	66	76	–10	54
21	Southend United	46	10	9	4	33	26	3	6	14	23	49	56	75	–19	54
22	Chesterfield	46	9	5	9	35	35	5	2	16	16	51	51	86	–35	49
23	Gillingham	46	7	3	13	25	32	5	1	17	22	49	47	81	–34	40
24	Aldershot	46	7	6	10	29	29	1	7	15	19	49	48	78	–30	37

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

↑ Port Vale won the play-offs and were promoted.

Key
	Division Champions, promoted
	Promoted
	Welsh Cup winners, qualified for Cup Winners' Cup
	Participated in play-offs
	Promoted through play-offs
	Relegated

Third Division play-offs

Both the semifinals and the finals were decided over two legs.
The full results can be found at: Football League Division Three play-offs 1989.

Semi-finals 1st leg –21/22 May; 2nd leg –25 May 1989					Finals 1st leg –31 May; 2nd leg –3 June 1989


3rd	Port Vale	1	3	4

6th	Preston North End	1	1	2
					3rd	Port Vale	1	1	2

					5th	Bristol Rovers	1	0	1
4th	Fulham F.C.	0	0	0

5th	Bristol Rovers	1	4	5

Third Division results

Home ╲ Away	Aldershot !ALD	Blackpool !BLP	Bolton Wanderers !BOL	Brentford !BRE	Bristol City !BRI	Bristol Rovers !BRO	Bury !BRY	Cardiff City !CAR	Chester City !CHE	Chesterfield !CHF	Fulham !FUL	Gillingham !GIL	Huddersfield Town !HUD	Mansfield Town !MAN	Northampton Town !NOR	Notts County !NTC	Port Vale !PTV	Preston North End !PNE	Reading !REA	Sheffield United !SHU	Southend United !STD	Swansea City !SWA	Wigan Athletic !WIG	Wolverhampton Wanderers !WOL
Aldershot !Aldershot		1–0	0–3	0–0	0–1	1–3	4–1	0–1	1–1	2–0	1–2	0–2	0–1	0–0	5–1	2–3	2–2	2–1	1–1	1–0	2–2	0–1	3–1	1–2
Blackpool !Blackpool	4–0		2–0	0–3	2–2	1–1	2–2	1–0	1–1	1–2	0–1	4–1	2–1	1–1	3–1	0–1	3–2	1–0	2–4	1–2	3–2	0–0	2–0	0–2
Bolton Wanderers !Bolton Wanderers	1–0	2–2		4–2	2–0	1–1	2–4	4–0	0–1	5–0	3–2	2–1	3–1	0–0	2–1	3–3	1–1	1–0	1–1	2–0	0–0	1–0	1–1	1–2
Brentford !Brentford	2–1	1–0	3–0		3–0	2–1	2–2	1–1	0–1	1–0	0–1	1–0	1–0	1–0	2–0	2–1	2–1	0–2	3–2	1–4	4–0	1–1	1–1	2–2
Bristol City !Bristol City	1–1	1–2	1–1	0–1		0–1	3–0	2–0	0–1	4–0	1–5	1–0	6–1	2–0	3–1	0–4	0–1	1–1	2–1	2–0	0–2	2–0	0–1	0–1
Bristol Rovers !Bristol Rovers	2–2	1–0	2–0	1–2	1–1		1–3	0–1	4–1	2–1	0–0	2–0	5–1	0–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	1–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–2	0–0
Bury !Bury	0–1	0–0	0–0	3–1	2–1	0–0		1–0	2–1	2–1	3–1	1–0	0–6	0–1	0–1	1–1	0–0	1–1	2–1	1–2	3–1	1–0	1–1	3–1
Cardiff City !Cardiff City	3–2	0–0	1–0	1–0	1–1	2–2	3–0		2–0	0–1	1–2	1–0	3–0	0–0	1–0	0–1	3–0	0–0	1–2	0–0	2–0	2–2	2–2	1–1
Chester !Chester	1–1	1–1	0–0	3–2	2–0	0–2	2–0	0–0		3–1	7–0	2–0	3–0	0–0	2–1	1–0	1–2	0–1	3–0	0–1	2–4	3–1	1–0	1–1
Chesterfield !Chesterfield	2–1	0–2	1–1	2–2	1–0	0–3	1–2	4–0	1–2		4–1	3–1	1–1	1–3	1–1	3–0	1–2	0–3	2–4	2–1	2–1	2–0	1–1	0–3
Fulham !Fulham	5–1	1–1	1–1	3–3	3–1	0–2	1–0	2–0	4–1	2–1		1–2	1–2	1–1	3–2	2–1	1–2	2–1	2–1	2–2	1–0	1–0	1–1	2–2
Gillingham !Gillingham	1–1	1–0	0–1	0–0	0–1	2–3	3–4	1–2	0–2	0–1	0–1		1–2	3–0	1–0	2–1	1–0	1–3	0–1	2–1	1–1	2–3	2–1	1–3
Huddersfield Town !Huddersfield Town	2–1	1–1	0–1	1–2	0–1	2–3	3–2	1–0	3–1	1–1	2–0	1–1		2–0	1–2	3–1	0–0	2–0	2–2	3–2	3–2	1–1	1–1	0–0
Mansfield Town !Mansfield Town	1–1	0–1	1–1	1–0	2–2	2–1	1–1	2–2	2–0	3–1	3–1	2–1	1–0		1–1	1–1	0–1	0–3	2–1	0–1	4–0	0–0	0–1	3–1
Northampton Town !Northampton Town	6–0	4–2	2–3	1–0	1–3	1–2	2–0	3–0	0–2	3–0	2–1	1–2	1–3	2–1		1–3	1–3	1–0	1–3	1–2	2–2	1–0	1–1	3–1
Notts County !Notts County	4–1	1–1	2–0	3–0	0–0	1–0	3–0	2–0	2–2	4–0	0–1	1–2	3–0	2–1	0–1		1–4	0–0	3–3	1–4	1–1	1–0	1–0	1–1
Port Vale !Port Vale	3–0	1–0	2–1	3–2	0–1	1–0	1–3	6–1	1–2	5–0	3–0	2–1	2–0	1–2	1–2	1–0		1–1	3–0	3–3	2–0	2–1	2–1	0–0
Preston North End !Preston North End	2–2	1–0	3–1	5–3	2–0	1–1	1–0	3–3	3–3	6–0	1–4	5–0	1–0	2–0	3–2	3–0	1–3		2–1	2–0	3–2	1–1	2–2	3–3
Reading !Reading	3–1	2–1	1–1	2–2	1–2	3–1	1–1	3–1	3–1	0–0	0–1	1–2	2–1	1–0	1–1	1–3	3–0	2–2		1–3	4–0	2–0	0–3	0–2
Sheffield United !Sheffield United	1–0	4–1	4–0	2–2	3–0	4–1	2–1	0–1	6–1	1–3	1–0	4–2	5–1	1–2	4–0	1–1	0–0	3–1	1–0		1–2	5–1	2–1	2–0
Southend United !Southend United	1–1	2–1	2–0	1–1	1–2	2–2	1–1	0–0	1–0	3–1	0–0	2–1	2–4	1–1	2–1	1–1	1–1	2–1	2–1	2–1		0–2	1–2	3–1
Swansea City !Swansea City	1–0	1–2	1–0	1–1	1–1	1–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	3–2	1–0	3–1	1–0	2–0	0–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	2–0		1–2	2–5
Wigan Athletic !Wigan Athletic	2–1	2–1	1–1	1–1	0–1	3–0	1–0	1–0	3–0	0–2	0–1	3–0	0–2	0–0	1–3	0–1	0–2	1–1	3–0	1–2	3–0	1–2		1–1
Wolverhampton Wanderers !Wolverhampton Wanderers	1–0	2–1	1–0	2–0	2–0	0–1	4–0	2–0	3–1	1–0	5–2	6–1	4–1	6–2	3–2	0–0	3–3	6–0	2–1	2–2	3–0	1–1	2–1

Source:
1 ^{^} The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Third Division maps

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Locations of the Football League Third Division teams 1988–1989

Brentford

Fulham

Locations of the Football League Third Division London teams 1988–1989

Fourth Division

Rotherham United sealed an instant return to the Third Division as champions of the Fourth Division, while runners-up Tranmere (who had been in the battle to avoid relegation to the Conference two seasons earlier) managed to climb out of the league's basement division after spending a whole decade there. The final automatic promotion place went to Crewe, who had spent 20 consecutive seasons in the Fourth Division and had to apply for re-election seven times, before the arrival of Dario Gradi as manager in June 1983 had overseen an upturn in fortunes at Gresty Road.

Promotion had seemed out of the question for Leyton Orient, when they stood 15th in the league on 1 March 1989 with barely a quarter of the season left to play. But an excellent finish to the season saw them rise to sixth place in the final table, and they triumphed in the playoffs to clinch the division's fourth and final promotion place.

Darlington were relegated from the league as the Fourth Division's bottom club, after a post-Christmas resurgence by Colchester after the Essex side appointed Jock Wallace as manager, and the league newcomers for 1989-90 were Conference champions Maidstone United.

Football League, Fourth Division
Season	1988–89
Champions	Rotherham United (1st title)
Promoted	Crewe Alexandra, Leyton Orient, Tranmere Rovers
Relegated to Conference	Darlington
New club in the league	Lincoln City
Matches played	552
Goals scored	1,498 (2.71 per match)
Top goalscorer	Phil Stant (Hereford United), 28 ^[3]
← 1987–88 1989–90 →

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	W	D	L	F	A	F	A	GD	Pts	Notes
1	Rotherham United	46	13	6	4	44	18	9	10	4	32	17	76	35	+41	82
2	Tranmere Rovers	46	15	6	2	34	13	6	11	6	28	30	62	43	+19	80
3	Crewe Alexandra	46	13	7	3	42	24	8	8	7	25	24	67	48	+19	78
4	Scunthorpe United	46	11	9	3	40	22	10	5	8	37	35	77	57	+20	77
5	Scarborough	46	12	7	4	33	23	9	7	7	34	29	67	52	+15	77
6	Leyton Orient	46	16	2	5	61	19	5	10	8	25	31	86	50	+36	75	^{[notes5 1]}
7	Wrexham	46	12	7	4	44	28	7	7	9	33	35	77	63	+14	71
8	Cambridge United	46	13	7	3	45	25	5	7	11	26	37	71	62	+9	68
9	Grimsby Town	46	11	9	3	33	18	6	6	11	32	41	65	59	+6	66
10	Lincoln City	46	12	6	5	39	26	6	4	13	25	34	64	60	+4	64
11	York City	46	10	8	5	43	27	7	5	11	19	36	62	63	–1	64
12	Carlisle United	46	9	6	8	26	25	6	9	8	27	27	53	52	+1	60
13	Exeter City	46	14	4	5	46	23	4	2	17	19	45	65	68	–3	60
14	Torquay United	46	15	2	6	32	23	2	6	15	13	37	45	60	–15	59
15	Hereford United	46	11	8	4	40	27	3	8	12	26	45	66	72	–6	58
16	Burnley	46	12	6	5	35	20	2	7	14	17	41	52	61	–9	55
17	Peterborough United	46	10	3	10	29	32	4	9	10	23	42	52	74	–22	54
18	Rochdale	46	10	10	3	32	26	3	4	16	24	56	56	82	–26	53
19	Hartlepool United	46	10	6	7	33	33	4	4	15	17	45	50	78	–28	52
20	Stockport County	46	8	10	5	31	20	2	11	10	23	32	54	52	+2	51
21	Halifax Town	46	10	7	6	42	27	3	4	16	27	48	69	75	–6	50
22	Colchester United	46	8	7	8	35	30	4	7	12	25	48	60	78	–18	50
23	Doncaster Rovers	46	9	6	8	32	32	4	4	15	17	46	49	78	–29	49
24	Darlington	46	3	12	8	28	38	5	6	12	25	38	53	76	–23	42

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

↑ Leyton Orient won the play-offs and were promoted.

Key
	Division Champions, promoted
	Promoted
	Participated in play-offs
	Promoted through play-offs
	New club in the league
	Relegated to Conference

Fourth Division play-offs

Both the semifinals and the finals were decided over two legs.
The full results can be found at: Football League Division Four play-offs 1989.

Semi-finals 1st leg –21 May; 2nd leg –24 May 1989					Finals 1st leg –30 May; 2nd leg –3 June 1989


4th	Scunthorpe United	1	0	1

7th	Wrexham	3	2	5
					7th	Wrexham	0	1	1

					6th	Leyton Orient	0	2	2
5th	Scarborough	1	0	1

6th	Leyton Orient	0	2	2

Fourth Division results

Home ╲ Away	Burnley !BUR	Cambridge United !CAM	Carlisle United !CRL	Colchester United !COL	Crewe Alexandra !CRE	Darlington !DAR	Doncaster Rovers !DON	Exeter City !EXE	Grimsby Town !GRI	Halifax Town !HAL	Hartlepool United !HAR	Hereford United !HER	Leyton Orient !LEY	Lincoln City !LIN	Peterborough United !PET	Rochdale !ROC	Rotherham United !ROT	Scarborough !SCA	Scunthorpe United !SCU	Stockport County !STP	Torquay United !TOR	Tranmere Rovers !TRA	Wrexham !WRE	York City !YOR
Burnley !Burnley		2–0	0–0	2–0	1–0	0–1	3–0	3–0	1–0	2–1	0–0	3–3	2–2	1–4	1–1	2–1	1–0	0–1	0–1	1–0	1–0	2–2	1–3	6–0
Cambridge United !Cambridge United	2–1		3–2	3–1	1–1	1–3	0–0	2–0	4–1	2–1	6–0	2–1	2–2	2–3	2–1	2–0	1–1	2–2	0–3	1–0	3–0	1–1	2–0	1–1
Carlisle United !Carlisle United	0–0	1–1		1–2	0–1	1–2	0–1	1–0	2–1	3–1	2–1	3–0	2–1	2–1	2–2	1–0	0–2	0–1	0–3	1–1	2–1	1–1	1–2	0–0
Colchester United !Colchester United	2–2	1–2	1–1		2–1	1–2	0–1	4–0	0–0	3–2	1–2	1–1	1–0	1–3	1–2	3–0	1–1	3–1	1–2	1–1	2–2	2–3	2–1	1–0
Crewe Alexandra !Crewe Alexandra	4–0	2–0	1–0	3–1		2–0	0–2	2–1	2–2	2–2	3–0	2–1	2–1	2–0	1–1	3–1	1–3	1–1	3–2	1–1	0–0	2–1	2–2	1–2
Darlington !Darlington	1–1	1–1	2–3	1–2	1–1		1–3	2–2	1–1	0–2	0–0	0–0	1–3	2–1	2–2	1–2	1–1	2–1	3–3	1–4	0–0	1–2	2–1	2–2
Doncaster Rovers !Doncaster Rovers	1–0	1–1	1–3	3–1	0–1	1–0		2–1	2–3	1–4	1–0	3–2	1–0	0–1	2–3	1–1	1–0	3–1	2–2	2–2	1–2	0–0	2–2	1–2
Exeter City !Exeter City	3–0	0–3	3–0	4–2	1–2	2–1	3–0		2–1	4–1	2–1	3–1	1–1	0–1	3–1	5–1	0–0	1–0	2–2	2–2	3–0	0–1	0–2	2–0
Grimsby Town !Grimsby Town	1–0	4–0	0–0	2–2	0–0	0–0	5–0	2–1		3–2	3–0	1–1	2–2	1–0	0–0	1–3	0–4	2–1	1–1	2–0	1–0	0–0	0–1	2–0
Halifax Town !Halifax Town	1–2	0–0	3–3	3–2	0–1	1–0	2–0	0–3	2–1		1–0	2–2	2–2	0–1	5–0	4–1	1–1	0–2	5–1	2–2	2–0	2–3	4–0	0–0
Hartlepool United !Hartlepool United	2–2	3–2	0–2	2–1	0–3	2–1	2–1	2–2	2–1	2–0		1–1	1–0	3–2	2–1	0–1	1–1	3–1	0–2	2–2	0–1	2–2	1–3	0–1
Hereford United !Hereford United	0–0	4–2	2–1	1–1	0–1	1–1	3–1	1–0	2–1	3–1	2–0		1–1	3–2	4–0	4–4	1–1	1–3	1–2	2–1	1–1	2–1	0–0	1–2
Leyton Orient !Leyton Orient	3–0	1–1	2–0	8–0	0–0	1–0	4–0	4–0	5–0	2–0	4–3	1–3		3–1	1–2	3–0	3–1	2–3	4–1	1–2	3–1	2–0	0–1	4–0
Lincoln City !Lincoln City	2–3	3–0	0–2	1–1	2–2	3–2	3–1	2–0	2–2	2–1	0–1	2–0	0–1		1–1	4–1	0–1	2–2	1–0	0–0	1–0	2–1	4–3	2–1
Peterborough United !Peterborough United	3–0	1–5	1–4	3–0	3–2	1–1	2–0	0–1	1–2	2–1	0–1	2–1	0–1	1–1		1–0	0–3	1–4	1–2	1–0	3–1	1–1	1–0	0–1
Rochdale !Rochdale	2–1	2–1	0–0	1–1	2–1	2–2	2–0	2–1	0–2	1–1	0–0	2–2	0–3	2–2	0–0		0–2	2–1	1–0	1–1	2–1	3–1	3–3	2–0
Rotherham United !Rotherham United	3–1	0–0	2–1	2–0	1–2	1–2	3–0	0–1	1–0	2–0	4–0	6–0	4–1	2–0	1–1	3–1		1–1	3–3	2–1	1–0	0–0	2–2	0–1
Scarborough !Scarborough	1–0	2–1	0–1	0–0	2–1	3–2	2–0	2–1	2–3	3–1	2–0	0–2	0–0	1–1	2–1	3–3	1–0		1–0	1–1	5–2	0–0	0–3	0–0
Scunthorpe United !Scunthorpe United	2–1	1–0	1–1	2–3	2–2	5–1	2–1	2–0	1–1	0–0	1–1	3–1	2–2	0–0	3–0	4–0	0–0	0–3		1–1	1–0	0–1	3–1	4–2
Stockport County !Stockport County	0–0	0–0	1–1	1–0	0–1	0–0	2–0	4–0	3–1	1–1	3–0	1–2	0–0	1–0	1–2	3–0	1–3	2–2	1–2		0–0	1–1	2–2	3–2
Torquay United !Torquay United	2–0	3–1	1–0	1–3	2–1	1–0	3–2	0–4	2–2	0–2	2–0	1–0	3–0	1–0	1–0	1–0	1–2	0–1	0–2	2–1		3–2	0–0	2–0
Tranmere Rovers !Tranmere Rovers	2–1	1–2	0–0	0–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	2–0	3–2	2–0	2–1	1–0	3–0	1–0	1–0	2–0	0–0	1–1	2–1	1–0	3–0		2–1	0–1
Wrexham !Wrexham	4–2	3–1	2–1	2–2	0–0	3–3	1–1	3–0	1–2	3–0	4–3	1–1	0–1	3–0	1–1	2–1	1–4	0–1	2–0	2–0	1–0	3–3		2–1
York City !York City	0–0	1–2	1–1	2–0	3–0	4–1	1–1	3–1	0–3	5–3	2–3	4–1	1–1	2–1	5–1	3–3	1–1	0–0	1–2	2–0	1–1	0–1	1–0

Source:
1 ^{^} The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Fourth Division maps

Locations of the Football League Fourth Division teams 1988–1989

References

↑ "England 1988–89". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 25 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-24.
1 2 3 English teams were banned by UEFA from its competitions from the season 1985–86 on until the season
1990–91 because of the Heysel Disaster in 1985, involving Liverpool fans.
1 2 3 4 "English League Leading Goalscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 2010-10-31.

English Football League seasons

1888–89
1889–90
1890–91
1891–92
1892–93
1893–94
1894–95
1895–96
1896–97
1897–98
1898–99
1899–1900
1900–01
1901–02
1902–03
1903–04
1904–05
1905–06
1906–07
1907–08
1908–09
1909–10
1910–11
1911–12
1912–13
1913–14
1914–15
1915–16
1916–17
1917–18
1918–19
1919–20
1920–21
1921–22
1922–23
1923–24
1924–25
1925–26
1926–27
1927–28
1928–29
1929–30
1930–31
1931–32
1932–33
1933–34
1934–35
1935–36
1936–37
1937–38
1938–39
1939–40
1940–41
1941–42
1942–43
1943–44
1944–45
1945–46
1946–47
1947–48
1948–49
1949–50
1950–51
1951–52
1952–53
1953–54
1954–55
1955–56
1956–57
1957–58
1958–59
1959–60
1960–61
1961–62
1962–63
1963–64
1964–65
1965–66
1966–67
1967–68
1968–69
1969–70
1970–71
1971–72
1972–73
1973–74
1974–75
1975–76
1976–77
1977–78
1978–79
1979–80
1980–81
1981–82
1982–83
1983–84
1984–85
1985–86
1986–87
1987–88
1988–89
1989–90
1990–91
1991–92
1992–93
1993–94
1994–95
1995–96
1996–97
1997–98
1998–99
1999–00
2000–01
2001–02
2002–03
2003–04
2004–05
2005–06
2006–07
2007–08
2008–09
2009–10
2010–11
2011–12
2012–13
2013–14
2014–15
2015–16
2016–17
2017–18

1988–89 in English football

« 1987–88

1989–90 »

FA competitions

Football League

Lower leagues

Related to national team

Bobby Robson
Rous Cup
1990 FIFA World Cup (qualification – UEFA Group 2)

Club seasons
First Division	Arsenal Aston Villa Charlton Athletic Coventry City Derby County Everton Liverpool Luton Town Manchester United Middlesbrough Millwall Newcastle United Norwich City Nottingham Forest Queens Park Rangers Sheffield Wednesday Southampton Tottenham Hotspur West Ham United Wimbledon
Second Division	Barnsley Birmingham City Blackburn Rovers Bournemouth Bradford City Brighton & Hove Albion Chelsea Crystal Palace Hull City Ipswich Town Leeds United Leicester City Manchester City Oldham Athletic Oxford United Plymouth Argyle Portsmouth Shrewsbury Town Sunderland Swindon Town Stoke City Walsall Watford West Bromwich Albion
Third Division	Aldershot Blackpool Bolton Wanderers Brentford Bristol City Bristol Rovers Bury Cardiff City Chester City Chesterfield Fulham Gillingham Huddersfield Town Mansfield Town Northampton Town Port Vale Preston North End Notts County Reading Sheffield United Southend United Swansea City Wigan Athletic Wolverhampton Wanderers
Fourth Division	Burnley Cambridge United Carlisle United Colchester United Crewe Alexandra Darlington Doncaster Rovers Exeter City Grimsby Town Halifax Town Hartlepool United Hereford United Leyton Orient Lincoln City Peterborough United Rochdale Rotherham United Scarborough Scunthorpe United Stockport County Torquay United Tranmere Rovers Wrexham York City
Others	Newport County

1988–89 in European football (UEFA)
Domestic leagues	Albania Austria Belgium Bulgaria Cyprus Czechoslovakia Denmark '88 '89 England Faroe Islands '88 '89 Finland '88 '89 France East Germany West Germany Greece Hungary Iceland '88 '89 Israel Italy Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Northern Ireland Norway '88 '89 Poland Portugal Republic of Ireland Romania San Marino Scotland Soviet Union '88 '89 Spain Sweden '88 '89 Switzerland Turkey Yugoslavia
Domestic cups	Albania Austria Belgium Bulgaria Cyprus Czechoslovakia Denmark England Faroe Islands '88 '89 Finland '88 '89 France East Germany West Germany Greece Hungary Iceland '88 '89 Israel Italy Liechtenstein Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Northern Ireland Norway '88 '89 Poland Portugal Republic of Ireland Romania San Marino Scotland Soviet Union Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Wales Yugoslavia
League cups	England Israel Northern Ireland Republic of Ireland Scotland Soviet Union '88 '89
UEFA competitions	European Cup (Final) Cup Winners' Cup (Final) UEFA Cup (Final) Intertoto Cup Super Cup

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1988–89 Football League

First Division

Summary

Final table

First division Results table

First Division maps

Second Division

Final table

Second Division play-offs

Second Division results

Second Division maps

Third Division

Third Division play-offs

Third Division results

Third Division maps

Fourth Division

Fourth Division play-offs

Fourth Division results

Fourth Division maps

See also

References