1988–89 Manchester United F.C. season

Manchester United

1988–89 season
Chairman	Martin Edwards
Manager	Alex Ferguson
First Division	11th
FA Cup	Sixth Round
League Cup	Third Round
Top goalscorer	League: Mark Hughes (14) All: Mark Hughes (16) Brian McClair (16)
Highest home attendance	55,040 vs Nottingham Forest (18 March 1989)
Lowest home attendance	23,368 vs Wimbledon (2 May 1989)
Average home attendance	38,061
Home colours Away colours Third colours
← 1987–88 1989–90 →

The 1988–89 season was Manchester United's 86th season in the Football League, and their 14th consecutive season in the top division of English football.^[1] Despite finishing second in the 1987–88 season, Manchester United did not play in the UEFA Cup in 1988–89 due to the ban on English clubs in Europe since the Heysel stadium disaster.

Former Manchester United striker Mark Hughes returned to the club following spells at Barcelona and Bayern Munich, while several important youth players including Lee Sharpe were given regular first team football in light of injuries to key players. Also new to the squad was goalkeeper Jim Leighton, who conceded just 35 goals in 38 league games and kept 15 clean sheets. Mid-season signings were defender Mal Donaghy from Luton Town and winger Ralph Milne from Bristol City. It was the final season at the club for Gordon Strachan, who left in March, and was followed at the end of the season by the departures of Norman Whiteside and Paul McGrath, while Remi Moses retired due to injury.

United had a slow start in the league, including a nine-match winless run incorporating eight draws and a defeat, from September to November, followed by a mid-season run of strong form which lifted them from mid table to the top three, before a run of disappointing results to the season dragged them down to 11th place in the final table. They suffered an early exit from the League Cup and lost their final chance of silverware in March when they were beaten by Nottingham Forest at Old Trafford in the FA Cup quarter final.

Pre-season

Manchester United talisman Mark Hughes returned to Old Trafford in 1988 after spells in Europe with Barcelona and Bayern Munich for a club record fee of £1.8 million. But Ferguson's other high profile target, Paul Gascoigne, turned down an opportunity to move to Manchester United despite a verbal agreement between Ferguson and the player and a Maltese holiday paid for by the United manager.^[2] Ferguson signed Jim Leighton from former club Aberdeen for £750,000 in order to fill the goalkeeping void left by the retiring Gary Bailey, the underperforming Chris Turner and the injury-prone Gary Walsh.^[3]

Season performance

Manchester United's inconsistency was highlighted early on, recording three consecutive wins; following the 2–0 victory over West Ham United towards the end of September, before failing to record another one until early December, ten games later. Manchester United also recorded six wins from seven games between Boxing Day 1988 and 11 February 1989 before their league season faltered, recording just three more victories in the season.

With the club failing to achieve in the league, many fans began to realise that the cups would be the only realistic opportunity for silverware. They needed three games to defeat Queens Park Rangers in the FA Cup Third Round, before hitting four past Oxford United in the next round. United's three biggest attendances for the season came in the FA Cup, highlighting its importance to the fans, though the campaign eventually ended in defeat at the hands of Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest side in the quarter finals.

Manchester United were also unsuccessful in the season's League Cup; after confidently defeating Rotherham United over two legs, they lost 2–1 to Wimbledon at Plough Lane and were knocked out of the competition.

First Division

Date	Opponents	H / A	Result F – A	Scorers	Attendance
27 August 1988	Queens Park Rangers	H	0 – 0		46,377
3 September 1988	Liverpool	A	0 – 1		42,026
10 September 1988	Middlesbrough	H	1 – 0	Robson	40,422
17 September 1988	Luton Town	A	2 – 0	Davenport, Robson	11,010
24 September 1988	West Ham United	H	2 – 0	Davenport, Hughes	39,941
1 October 1988	Tottenham Hotspur	A	2 – 2	Hughes, McClair	29,318
22 October 1988	Wimbledon	A	1 – 1	Hughes	12,143
26 October 1988	Norwich City	H	1 – 2	Hughes	36,998
30 October 1988	Everton	A	1 – 1	Hughes	27,005
5 November 1988	Aston Villa	H	1 – 1	Bruce	44,804
12 November 1988	Derby County	A	2 – 2	Hughes, McClair	24,080
19 November 1988	Southampton	H	2 – 2	Hughes, Robson	37,277
23 November 1988	Sheffield Wednesday	H	1 – 1	Hughes	30,849
27 November 1988	Newcastle United	A	0 – 0		20,350
3 December 1988	Charlton Athletic	H	3 – 0	Hughes, McClair, Milne	31,173
10 December 1988	Coventry City	A	0 – 1		19,936
17 December 1988	Arsenal	A	1 – 2	Hughes	37,422
26 December 1988	Nottingham Forest	H	2 – 0	Hughes, Milne	39,582
1 January 1989	Liverpool	H	3 – 1	Beardsmore, Hughes, McClair	44,745
2 January 1989	Middlesbrough	A	0 – 1		24,411
14 January 1989	Millwall	H	3 – 0	Blackmore, Gill, Hughes	40,931
21 January 1989	West Ham United	A	3 – 1	Martin, McClair, Strachan	29,822
5 February 1989	Tottenham Hotspur	H	1 – 0	McClair	41,423
11 February 1989	Sheffield Wednesday	A	2 – 0	McClair (2)	34,820
25 February 1989	Norwich City	A	1 – 2	McGrath	23,155
12 March 1989	Ipswich Town	A	0 – 0		28,332
25 March 1989	Luton Town	H	2 – 0	Blackmore, Milne	36,335
27 March 1989	Nottingham Forest	A	0 – 2		30,092
2 April 1989	Arsenal	H	1 – 1	own goal	37,977
8 April 1989	Millwall	A	0 – 0		17,523
15 April 1989	Derby County	H	0 – 2		34,145
22 April 1989	Charlton Athletic	A	0 – 1		12,055
29 April 1989	Coventry City	H	0 – 1		29,799
2 May 1989	Wimbledon	H	1 – 0	McClair	23,368
6 May 1989	Southampton	A	1 – 2	Beardsmore	17,021
8 May 1989	Queens Park Rangers	A	2 – 3	Blackmore, Bruce	10,017
10 May 1989	Everton	H	1 – 2	Hughes	26,722
13 May 1989	Newcastle United	H	2 – 0	McClair, Robson	30,379

Pos	Club	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
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

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

FA Cup

Date	Round	Opponents	H / A	Result F – A	Scorers	Attendance
7 January 1989	Round 3	Queens Park Rangers	H	0 – 0		36,222
11 January 1989	Round 3 Replay	Queens Park Rangers	A	2 – 2	Gill, Graham	22,236
23 January 1989	Round 3 Second Replay	Queens Park Rangers	H	3 – 0	McClair (2), Robson	46,257
28 January 1989	Round 4	Oxford United	H	4 – 0	Bruce, Hughes, Robson, own goal	47,445
18 February 1989	Round 5	Bournemouth	A	1 – 1	Hughes	12,708
22 February 1989	Round 5 Replay	Bournemouth	H	1 – 0	McClair	52,422
18 March 1989	Round 6	Nottingham Forest	H	0 – 1		55,040

Littlewoods Cup

Date	Round	Opponents	H / A	Result F – A	Scorers	Attendance
28 September 1988	Round 2 First leg	Rotherham United	A	1 – 0	Davenport	12,588
12 October 1988	Round 2 Second leg	Rotherham United	H	5 – 0	McClair (3), Bruce, Robson	20,597
2 November 1988	Round 3	Wimbledon	A	1 – 2	Robson	10,864

Events of the season

Before the season began, Paul Gascoigne snubbed Manchester United in favour of a national record move from Newcastle United to Tottenham Hotspur for £2million, and there was also talk of a similar fee being paid for PSV Eindhoven sweeper Ronald Koeman, who helped Holland win the 1988 European Championships. [1]

Norman Whiteside and Paul McGrath had been transfer listed at the end of the previous season but the lack of interest in them disappointed Alex Ferguson, who had re-signed striker Mark Hughes from FC Barcelona and brought in goalkeeper Jim Leighton from Aberdeen as successor to Sheffield Wednesday bound Chris Turner. Gordon Strachan agreed terms with Lens of France for a £100,000 transfer, but the deal fell through. Paul McGrath then came off the transfer list at his own request. [2]

On 24 September 1988, Ferguson gave debuts to 17-year-old winger Lee Sharpe and 19-year-old striker Mark Robins in the 2-0 home win over West Ham United in the First Division. This saw United occupy fifth place in the league, level on points with Southampton, a single point behind defending champions Liverpool and newly promoted Millwall, and three points behind surprise leaders Norwich City. [3] However, a 10-match winless league run (8 draws and 2 defeats) followed [4], dragging them to 11th place in the table by 27 November. [5] The winless streak ended on 3 December with an impressive 3-0 home win over Charlton Athletic. [6]

While United were on their winless streak, they sold out of favour striker Peter Davenport to Middlesbrough for £700,000. [7] They also failed in their Football League Cup quest when they lost 2-1 to Wimbledon at Plough Lane. Brian McClair scored their only goal of the game, while both of Wimbledon's goals were scored by former United striker Terry Gibson. [8]

Alex Ferguson continued to build for the future in November by making a £20,000 move for 21-year-old midfielder Paul Dalton from non-league Brandon United. [9] He also signed 22-year-old winger Giuliano Maiorana from non-league Histon for £30,000. [10]

Five days before Christmas, Jean Busby, wife of legendary former manager and current club president Sir Matt, died after a long illness at the age of 80. [11]

A thrilling clash with Liverpool at Old Trafford on New Year's Day was dominated by 19-year-old midfielder Russell Beardsmore, who scored his first goal for the club and lifted them to sixth in the league, while Liverpool were fifth, and Arsenal and Norwich City were level at the top of the league. [12]

Soon after this successful result, Manchester United were reported to be among the clubs interested in signing Nottingham Forest and England midfielder Neil Webb, who was told by manager Brian Clough that he could leave the City Ground for around £1.5million after stating that he did not want to sign a new contract. [13]

By 11 February, United were third in the league thanks to a 2-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday that completed a four-match winning run in the First Division, though they were still 11 points behind leaders Arsenal (who had a game in hand) and 8 points behind second placed Norwich City. [14]

Manchester United reached the FA Cup quarter-finals (for the first time since they won the competition four years ago) with a 1-0 home win over AFC Bournemouth in the fifth round replay. [15], but their last chance of silverware ended when they lost 1-0 at home to Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup quarter-final.

Their form in the final weeks of the league campaign was dismal, as they finished 11th at the end of a season which had begun with such high hopes. Alex Ferguson remained determined to turn his side into title contenders, and just after the season ended he joined the race to sign England winger Trevor Steven, who had been put on the transfer list by Everton. [16], but was beaten to his signature by Rangers.

A £600,000 offer for Fiorentina and Sweden defender Glenn Hysen was accepted, but the player opted to join Liverpool instead.

Several other high profile names were also mentioned in the media as Ferguson attempted to strengthen his squad. These included West Ham United midfielder Paul Ince, Southampton winger Danny Wallace, Nottingham Forest midfielder Neil Webb and Norwich City midfielder Mike Phelan. [17]

Squad statistics

Pos.	Name	League		FA Cup		Littlewoods Cup		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK	Jim Leighton	38	0	7	0	3	0	48	0
DF	Viv Anderson	5(1)	0	0	0	0(1)	0	6(2)	0
DF	Clayton Blackmore	23(2)	3	5(1)	0	3	0	34(3)	3
DF	Steve Bruce	38	2	7	1	3	1	48	4
DF	Mal Donaghy	30	0	7	0	0	0	37	0
DF	Mike Duxbury	16(2)	0	0	0	3	0	19(2)	0
DF	Colin Gibson	1(1)	0	1	0	1	0	2(1)	0
DF	Lee Martin	20(4)	1	4(1)	0	0	0	24(5)	1
DF	Paul McGrath	18(2)	1	4(1)	0	1	0	23(3)	1
MF	Russell Beardsmore	17(6))	2	3(2)	0	1(1)	0	21(9)	2
MF	Deiniol Graham	0	0	0(1)	1	0	0	0(1)	1
MF	Ralph Milne	19(3)	3	7	0	0	0	26(3)	3
MF	Liam O'Brien	1(2)	0	0	0	1	0	2(2)	0
MF	Jesper Olsen	6(4)	0	0	0	1(1)	0	7(5)	0
MF	Bryan Robson	34	4	6	2	3	2	43	8
MF	Lee Sharpe	19(3)	0	5(1)	0	2	0	26(4)	0
MF	Gordon Strachan	21	1	5(1)	0	2(1)	0	28(1)	1
MF	Norman Whiteside	6	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
MF	David Wilson	0(4)	0	0(2)	0	0	0	0(6)	0
FW	Alan Brazil	0(1)	0	0	0	0	0	0(1)	0
FW	Peter Davenport	7(1)	2	0	0	1(1)	1	8(2)	3
FW	Mark Hughes	38	14	7	2	3	0	48	16
FW	Giuliano Maiorana	2(4)	0	0	0	0	0	2(4)	0
FW	Brian McClair	38	10	7	3	3	3	48	16
FW	Mark Robins	1(9)	0	1	0	0(1)	0	1(10)	0

References

1. ^ "Manchester United Season 1988/89". StretfordEnd.co.uk. http://www.stretfordend.co.uk/seasons/season1989.html. Retrieved 4 April 2009. 
2. ^ "The spoilers top ten transfer snubs of all time". http://www.thespoiler.co.uk/index.php/2009/01/21/the-spoilers-top-ten-transfer-snubs-of-all-time. Retrieved 3 April 2009. 
3. ^ "Aberdeen and Manchester United". http://www.afc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/clubNewsDetail/0,,10284~1335566,00.html. Retrieved 3 April 2009.