1988–89 in English football

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

Overview

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.

Changes to Football on Television

One of the biggest changes in the history of football on television began in this season, as ITV gained exclusive rights to show Football League matches, both in live and highlights form. Most of their coverage was of live matches on Sunday afternoons of top-flight games. They would hold the exclusive rights until 1992, when they lost coverage of the newly formed Premier League to Sky Television.

It ended a long-term partnership with the BBC, who in turn struck up a partnership with the FA for exclusive coverage of the FA Cup. The BBC has not shown a live league match in England since 1988.

First Division

Arsenal won the league title on a goal scored with almost 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.

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.

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.

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.

Non-league

In their first season after relegation from the Football League, Newport County went out of business on 27 February. They were then expelled from the Conference for failing to fulfill their fixtures but reformed three months later.

Change in playoff format

The play-off system was slightly altered - the team finishing just above the relegation zone in the division above would now be automatically relegated, with the playoffs being contested by the four sides just missing out on promotion. The system has stayed in place since then (although it was not until the following season that Wembley Stadium began hosting finals).

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. This year's FA Cup featured a famous upset as First Division Coventry City, who had won the competition two years earlier, sunk to a 2-1 loss in the third round at lowly Sutton United. The joy of the non-leaguers was ended emphatically though in the next round as they were thumped 8-0 by Norwich City. Also, Third Division Brentford went on an impressive run to the quarter-finals before losing to Liverpool at Anfield.

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 after extra time, having come twice from behind. Garry Parker scored a brilliant goal for Nottingham Forest, running nearly the full length of the Wembley pitch, before beating Neville Southall in the Everton Goal. This is arguably one of the best goals scored in a Wembley final.

Like Wolverhampton Wanderers the previous season, Bolton Wanderers announced their intentions to return to the big time by winning the Sherpa Van Trophy at Wembley against Torquay United 4-1.

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 & Bayern Munich in Germany. 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.

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.

Diary of the season

7 July 1988 - Tottenham Hotspur complete a British transfer record £2million deal for Newcastle United midfielder Paul Gascoigne (21), who had been expected to sign for Manchester United. Gascoigne has signed a contract at White Hart Lane until the end of the 1992-93 season.

25 July 1988 - Less than three weeks after Tottenham broke the national transfer record by signing Paul Gascoigne, a new record is set when Everton complete the long-awaited signing of West Ham United's 23-year-old striker Tony Cottee for £2.2million.

10 August 1988 - Steve Hodge, whose place at Tottenham was put under threat by the arrival of Paul Gascoinge, returns to Nottingham Forest in a £550,000 deal.

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

5 September 1988 - Paul Gascoigne and Tony Cottee, the two most expensive signings by British clubs, receive their first full international call ups by England manager Bobby Robson for next week's fixture against Denmark.

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, while Willie McFaul (formerly player and coach) ends his 22-year association with Newcastle United when he is sacked as manager.

27 October 1988 - Manchester United pay Luton Town £650,000 for 31-year-old Northern Irish full-back Mal Donaghy.

29 October 1988 - Mark Lawrenson is sacked as Oxford United manager after a dispute with the club's board over the £1million 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.

25 November 1988 - Wimbledon defender Terry Phelan is omitted from tomorrow's squad for the First Division fixture against Liverpool due to a court appearance he faces on a charge of cannabis possession.

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.

12 January 1989 - After just seven months at Newcastle United, goalkeeper Dave Beasant signs for Second Division leaders Chelsea in a £725,000 deal which contracts him to the Stamford Bridge club until 1994.

23 January 1989 - New Portsmouth chairman Jim Gregory announces plans to build a new stadium on disused railway land adjacent to their current Fratton Park stadium.

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 challening for the First Division title in their first full season under manager Dave Stringer.

9 February 1989 - Nottingham Forest manager Brian Clough is fined £5,000 and banned from the touchline for the rest of the season for punching supporters who invaded the pitch in the recent Football League Cup quarter-final victory over Queen's Park Rangers.

14 February 1988 - Just three months after quitting West Bromwich Albion to take over at Spanish side Atletico Madrid, Ron Atkinson returns to England to succeed Peter Eustace as manager of First Division strugglers Sheffield Wednesday.

9 March 1989 - Trevor Francis, Queen's Park Rangers player-manager, breaks the club's transfer record by paying Southampton £800,000 for striker Colin Clarke.

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. Many more of the injured are still in hospital, and there are fears that six spectators who had to be resuscitated have suffered brain damage.

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.

28 May 1989 - Bolton Wanderers claim their first major trophy since the 1958 FA Cup by beating Torquay United 4-1 in the Sherpa Van Trophy final.

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.

21 June 1989 - Gary Lineker ends three years in Spain with FC Barcelona and returns to England in a £1.1million move to Tottenham Hotspur, ending speculation that he was due to link up with former Barcelona strike-partner Mark Hughes at Manchester United.

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.
* Stuart Leary, 55, played a total of nearly 500 competitive games for Charlton Athletic and Queens Park Rangers and was also a first-cricketer for Kent between 1951 and 1971.
* Steve Mills, 34, who died after a two-year battle against leukaemia, starting his playing career with Notts County and later playing for Southampton in their 1976 FA Cup triumph. His career was ended by injury at the age of 23.

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.

Honours

=Third Division=

=Fourth Division=

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

Football League Playoffs

Division Two playoff

4TeamBracket-Compact
RD1=Semi-Final
RD2=Final

score-width=

RD1-seed01=5th
RD1-team01=Blackburn Rovers
RD1-score01=1^a
RD1-seed02=4th
RD1-team02=Watford FC
RD1-score02=1

RD1-seed03=6th
RD1-team03=Swindon Town
RD1-score03=1
RD1-seed04=3rd
RD1-team04=Crystal Palace
RD1-score04=2

RD2-seed01=5th
RD2-team01=Blackburn Rovers
RD2-score01=3
RD2-seed02=3rd
RD2-team02=Crystal Palace
RD2-score02=4

^aBlackburn won on away goals after Extra Time.

Division Three playoff

4TeamBracket-Compact
RD1=Semi-Final
RD2=Final

score-width=

RD1-seed01=5th
RD1-team01=Bristol Rovers
RD1-score01=5
RD1-seed02=4th
RD1-team02=Fulham FC
RD1-score02=0

RD1-seed03=6th
RD1-team03=Preston North End
RD1-score03=2
RD1-seed04=3rd
RD1-team04=Port Vale
RD1-score04=4

RD2-seed01=5th
RD2-team01=Bristol Rovers
RD2-score01=1
RD2-seed02=3rd
RD2-team02=Port Vale
RD2-score02=2

Division Four playoff

4TeamBracket-Compact
RD1=Semi-Final
RD2=Final

score-width=

RD1-seed01=7th
RD1-team01=Wrexham
RD1-score01=5
RD1-seed02=4th
RD1-team02=Scunthorpe United
RD1-score02=1

RD1-seed03=6th
RD1-team03=Leyton Orient
RD1-score03=2
RD1-seed04=5th
RD1-team04=Scarborough
RD1-score04=1

RD2-seed01=7th
RD2-team01=Wrexham
RD2-score01=1
RD2-seed02=6th
RD2-team02=Leyton Orient
RD2-score02=2