1985–86 Football League

87th season of the Football League December 2018 December 2014 The Football League 1985–86 Liverpool 1984–85 1986–87 The 1985–86 season was the 87th completed season of The Football League. Final league tables and results The tables and results below are reproduced here in the exact form that they can be found at The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation website,https://www.rsssf.org/engpaul/FLA/1985-86.html England 1985–86 Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation 24 February 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20100127100741/http://www.rsssf.com/engpaul/FLA/1985-86.html 27 January 2010 live with home and away statistics separated. During the first five seasons of the league, that is, until the season 1893–94, re-election process concerned the clubs which finished in the bottom four of the league. From the 1894–95 season and until the 1920–21 season the re-election process was required of the clubs which finished in the bottom three of the league. From the 1922–23 season on it was required of the bottom two teams of both Third Division North and Third Division South. Since the Fourth Division was established in the 1958–59 season, the re-election process has concerned the bottom four clubs in that division.Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane’s, London & Sydney, 1980. First Division First Division 1985–86 Liverpool16th English title Ipswich TownBirmingham CityWest Bromwich Albion Gary Lineker(30 goals)https://www.rsssf.org/tablese/engtops.html English League Leading Goalscorers Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation 31 October 2010 Luton Town 7–0 Southampton(19 October 1985)West Ham United 8–1 Newcastle United(21 April 1986) Sheffield Wednesday 1–5 Everton(3 September 1985)West Bromwich Albion 1–5 Manchester United(21 September 1985)Chelsea 0–4 West Ham United(29 Mar 1986)Chelsea 1–5 Watford(5 May 1986) West Ham United 8–1 Newcastle United(21 April 1986) 462 1288 10 matchesManchester United 18 matchesWest Ham United 9 matchesWest Bromwich Albion 1984–85 1986–87 In a close three-horse race, Liverpool pipped Everton and West Ham United to the First Division title,Remember the 1985 TV blackout? Only the Big Yin knew who McAvennie was, Simon Hart, The Independent, 22 October 2011 while also defeating Merseyside rivals Everton in the FA Cup Final, thereby completing a historic double. Manchester United had been ten points clear in early November after winning their first ten matches; and thirteen of their first fifteen,When football fans did not see a single match on TV over Christmas, Steven Pye, The Guardian, 3 December 2019 but injuries, loss of form and ineffective signings had seen them fall away, leaving them still waiting for their first league title since 1967, mounting the pressure of manager Ron Atkinson, although the Old Trafford board initially decided to stick with Atkinson as their manager for the following season. Arsenal finished seventh in the league for a third successive season, their manager Don Howe resigning a few weeks before the end of the season after it was reported that Terry Venables had been offered his job. Coach Steve Burtenshaw was placed in temporary charge of the first team until the end of the season, when George Graham returned to Highbury as manager. Tottenham Hotspur finished a disappointing 10th in the league, prompting the White Hart Lane board to sack manager Peter Shreeves and replace him with Luton Town's David Pleat. At the lower end of the table, a disastrous season saw West Bromwich Albion relegated in bottom place after just four wins in the league, while nearby rivals Birmingham City fared nearly as badly, and were relegated in second place from bottom; both clubs would not return to the top flight until 2002. Their local rivals Aston Villa nearly went down with them, before a late upturn in form secured their survival. Oxford United had a memorable first season at this level as League Cup winners, but spent much of the season battling against relegation before finally managing to beat the drop. The final relegation place went to Ipswich Town, who had gradually fallen out of contention with the First Division's leading pack since Bobby Robson's departure to manage the England team four years earlier. Final table main WDL First Division World Football LIV, EVE, WHU, MUN, SHW, CHE, ARS, NFO, LUT, TOT, NEW, WAT, QPR, SOU, MCI, AVL, COV, OXF, LEI, IPS, BIR, WBA EXEC EXCWC EXUC EXUC EXUC EXUC REL REL REL complete 20 9 13 49 47 10 14 18 51 67 8 5 29 30 73 20 11 11 57 56 11 10 21 48 71 26 8 8 87 41 11 8 23 32 55 10 12 20 54 76 26 10 6 89 37 18 12 12 61 44 11 12 19 43 57 22 10 10 70 36 17 12 13 67 72 19 11 12 69 53 10 12 20 62 80 15 7 20 53 64 21 10 11 63 54 12 10 20 51 62 19 8 15 74 52 16 11 15 69 62 4 12 26 35 89 26 6 10 74 40 C R R R Arsenal Aston Villa Birmingham City Chelsea Coventry City Everton Ipswich Town Leicester City Liverpool Luton Town Manchester City Manchester United Newcastle United Nottingham Forest Oxford United Queens Park Rangers Sheffield Wednesday Southampton Tottenham Hotspur Watford West Bromwich Albion West Ham United 5 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored QR white Disqualified from the European CupEnglish 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. white Disqualified from the UEFA Cup white Disqualified from the European Cup Winners' Cup red1 Relegation to the Second Division Since the FA Cup winners, Liverpool, would have instead qualified for the European Cup, qualification would have instead been passed down to runners-up Everton. Since Everton would have instead qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup, UEFA Cup qualification would have been passed down to Sheffield Wednesday. Oxford United would have qualified as League Cup winners. First Division results main FBR grey ARS AST BIR CHE COV EVE IPS LEI LIV LUT MCI MUN NEW NOT OXF QPR SHW SOU TOT WAT WBA WHU Arsenal 3–2 0–0 2–0 3–0 0–1 1–0 1–0 2–0 2–1 1–0 1–2 0–0 1–1 2–1 3–1 1–0 3–2 0–0 0–2 2–2 1–0 Aston Villa 1–4 0–3 3–1 1–1 0–0 1–0 1–0 2–2 3–1 0–1 1–3 1–2 1–2 2–0 1–2 1–1 0–0 1–2 4–1 1–1 2–1 Birmingham City 0–1 0–0 1–2 0–1 0–2 0–1 2–1 0–2 0–2 1–0 1–1 0–1 0–1 3–1 2–0 0–2 0–2 1–2 1–2 0–1 1–0 Chelsea 2–1 2–1 2–0 1–0 2–1 1–1 2–2 0–1 1–0 1–0 1–2 1–1 4–2 1–4 1–1 2–1 2–0 2–0 1–5 3–0 0–4 Coventry City 0–2 3–3 4–4 1–1 1–3 0–1 3–0 0–3 1–0 1–1 1–3 1–2 0–0 5–2 2–1 0–1 3–2 2–3 0–2 3–0 0–1 Everton 6–1 2–0 4–1 1–1 1–1 1–0 1–2 2–3 2–0 4–0 3–1 1–0 1–1 2–0 4–3 3–1 6–1 1–0 4–1 2–0 3–1 Ipswich Town 1–2 0–3 0–1 0–2 1–0 3–4 0–2 2–1 1–1 0–0 0–1 2–2 1–0 3–2 1–0 2–1 1–1 1–0 0–0 1–0 0–1 Leicester City 2–2 3–1 4–2 0–0 2–1 3–1 1–0 0–2 0–0 1–1 3–0 2–0 0–3 4–4 1–4 2–3 2–2 1–4 2–2 2–2 0–1 Liverpool 2–0 3–0 5–0 1–1 5–0 0–2 5–0 1–0 3–2 2–0 1–1 1–1 2–0 6–0 4–1 2–2 1–0 4–1 3–1 4–1 3–1 Luton Town 2–2 2–0 2–0 1–1 0–1 2–1 1–0 3–1 0–1 2–1 1–1 2–0 1–1 1–2 2–0 1–0 7–0 1–1 3–2 3–0 0–0 Manchester City 0–1 2–2 1–1 0–1 5–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–0 1–1 0–3 1–0 1–2 0–3 2–0 1–3 1–0 2–1 0–1 2–1 2–2 Manchester United 0–1 4–0 1–0 1–2 2–0 0–0 1–0 4–0 1–1 2–0 2–2 3–0 2–3 3–0 2–0 0–2 1–0 0–0 1–1 3–0 2–0 Newcastle United 1–0 2–2 4–1 1–3 3–2 2–2 3–1 2–1 1–0 2–2 3–1 2–4 0–3 3–0 3–1 4–1 2–1 2–2 1–1 4–1 1–2 Nottingham Forest 3–2 1–1 3–0 0–0 5–2 0–0 3–1 4–3 1–1 2–0 0–2 1–3 1–2 1–1 4–0 0–1 2–1 0–1 3–2 2–1 2–1 Oxford United 3–0 1–1 0–1 2–1 0–1 1–0 4–3 5–0 2–2 1–1 1–0 1–3 1–2 1–2 3–3 0–1 3–0 1–1 1–1 2–2 1–2 Queens Park Rangers 0–1 0–1 3–1 6–0 0–2 3–0 1–0 2–0 2–1 1–1 0–0 1–0 3–1 2–1 3–1 1–1 0–2 2–5 2–1 1–0 0–1 Sheffield Wednesday 2–0 2–0 5–1 1–1 2–2 1–5 1–0 1–0 0–0 3–2 3–2 1–0 2–2 2–1 2–1 0–0 2–1 1–2 2–1 1–0 2–2 Southampton 3–0 0–0 1–0 0–1 1–1 2–3 1–0 0–0 1–2 1–2 3–0 1–0 1–1 3–1 1–1 3–0 2–3 1–0 3–1 3–1 1–1 Tottenham Hotspur 1–0 4–2 2–0 4–1 0–1 0–1 2–0 1–3 1–2 1–3 0–2 0–0 5–1 0–3 5–1 1–1 5–1 5–3 4–0 5–0 1–0 Watford 3–0 1–1 3–0 3–1 3–0 0–2 0–0 2–1 2–3 1–2 3–2 1–1 4–1 1–1 2–2 2–0 2–1 1–1 1–0 5–1 0–2 West Bromwich Albion 0–0 0–3 2–1 0–3 0–0 0–3 1–2 2–2 1–2 1–2 2–3 1–5 1–1 1–1 1–1 0–1 1–1 1–0 1–1 3–1 2–3 West Ham United 0–0 4–1 2–0 1–2 1–0 2–1 2–1 3–0 2–2 0–1 1–0 2–1 8–1 4–2 3–1 3–1 1–0 1–0 2–1 2–1 4–0 complete Managerial changes Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment Liverpool ENG Joe Fagan Retired 30 May 1985 Pre-season SCO Kenny Dalglish 30 May 1985 Southampton ENG Lawrie McMenemy Signed by Sunderland 8 June 1985 NIR Chris Nicholl 12 July 1985 Queens Park Rangers ENG Frank Sibley Became assistant manager 11 June 1985 ENG Jim Smith 11 June 1985 Oxford United ENG Jim Smith Signed by Queens Park Rangers 11 June 1985 ENG Maurice Evans 11 June 1985 Chelsea ENG John Neal Retired 12 June 1985 ENG John Hollins 12 June 1985 Newcastle United ENG Jack Charlton Resigned 10 August 1985 NIR Willie McFaul 10 August 1985 West Bromwich Albion IRE Johnny Giles 29 September 1985 22nd ENG Nobby Stiles 29 September 1985 Birmingham City ENG Ron Saunders 16 January 1986 21st ENG John Bond 22 January 1986 West Bromwich Albion ENG Nobby Stiles Sacked 1 February 1986 22nd ENG Ron Saunders 14 February 1986 Arsenal ENG Don Howe Resigned 22 March 1986 5th ENG Steve Burtenshaw (caretaker) 22 March 1986 Coventry City SCO Don Mackay Sacked 13 April 1986 20th ENG John Sillett 13 April 1986 First Division maps Greater London right 369 Locations of the Football League First Division London teams 1985–1986 Greater London 51.558 -0.103 right Greater London 51.482 -0.191 right Greater London 51.603 -0.066 right Greater London 51.509 -0.232 right Greater London 51.650 -0.401 right Greater London 51.532 0.039 right Arsenal Chelsea Tottenham Queens Park Rangers Watford West Ham England none 400 Locations of the Football League First Division 1985–1986 teams England 51.56 -0.10 right England 52.54 -1.87 right England 52.48 -1.89 right England 51.50 -0.19 right England 52.41 -1.51 right England 53.44 -2.97 right England 52.06 1.14 right England 52.62 -1.14 right England 53.42 -2.95 right England 51.9 -0.433 right England 53.47 -2.18 right England 53.47 -2.30 right England 54.98 -1.62 right England 53.01 -1.137 right England 51.72 -1.21 right England 51.54 -0.26 right England 53.41 -1.50 right England 50.91 -1.39 right England 51.63 -0.063 right England 51.65 -0.40 right England 52.52 -1.97 right England 51.54 0.040 right Arsenal Aston Villa Birmingham Chelsea Coventry Everton Ipswich Town Leicester City Liverpool Luton Town Manchester City Man United Newcastle Nottingham Forest Oxford QPR Sheffield Wednesday Southampton Tottenham Watford West Bromwich Albion West Ham Second Division Second Division 1985–86 Norwich City Norwich CityCharlton AthleticWimbledon Carlisle UnitedMiddlesbroughFulham Kevin Drinkell(22 goals) 462 1264 1984–85 1986–87 main WDL Second Division NOR, CHA, WIM, POR, CRY, HUL, SHU, OLD, MIL, STK, BHA, BAR, BRA, LEE, GRI, HUD, SHR, SUN, BLA, CRL, MID, FUL PRO PRO PRO REL REL REL complete 14 14 14 47 50 12 13 17 53 62 16 6 20 51 63 16 8 18 64 64 13 7 22 47 71 22 11 9 78 45 19 9 14 57 52 10 6 26 45 69 14 10 18 58 62 14 10 18 51 67 17 13 12 65 55 15 8 19 56 72 12 9 21 44 53 17 8 17 64 65 25 9 8 84 37 17 9 16 62 61 22 7 13 69 41 17 11 14 64 63 14 9 19 52 64 14 15 13 48 50 13 11 18 47 61 21 13 8 58 37 C, P P P R R R Barnsley Blackburn Rovers Bradford City Brighton & Hove Albion Carlisle United Charlton Athletic Crystal Palace Fulham Grimsby Town Huddersfield Town Hull City Leeds United Middlesbrough Millwall Norwich City Oldham Athletic Portsmouth Sheffield United Shrewsbury Town Stoke City Sunderland Wimbledon 5 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored QR green1 Promotion to the First Division red1 Relegation to the Third Division Results main FBR grey BAR BLB BRA B&HA CRL CHA CRY FUL GRI HUD HUL LEE MID MIL NWC OLD POR SHU SHR STK SUN WDN Barnsley 1–1 2–2 3–2 1–2 2–1 2–4 2–0 1–0 1–3 1–4 3–0 0–0 2–1 2–2 1–0 0–1 2–1 2–0 0–0 1–1 0–1 Blackburn Rovers 0–3 3–0 1–4 2–0 0–0 1–2 1–0 3–1 0–1 2–2 2–0 0–1 1–2 2–1 0–0 1–0 6–1 1–1 0–1 2–0 2–0 Bradford City 2–0 3–2 3–2 1–0 1–2 1–0 3–1 0–1 3–0 4–2 0–1 2–1 0–2 0–2 1–0 2–1 1–4 3–1 3–1 2–0 1–1 Brighton & Hove Albion 0–1 3–1 2–1 6–1 3–5 2–0 2–3 2–2 4–3 3–1 0–1 3–3 1–0 1–1 1–1 2–3 0–0 0–2 2–0 3–1 2–0 Carlisle United 1–1 2–1 1–2 2–0 2–3 2–2 2–1 1–2 2–0 2–1 1–2 1–0 1–0 0–4 3–1 0–1 1–0 0–2 3–0 1–2 2–3 Charlton Athletic 2–1 3–0 1–1 2–2 3–0 3–1 2–0 2–0 3–0 1–2 4–0 2–0 3–3 1–0 1–1 1–2 2–0 4–1 2–0 2–1 0–0 Crystal Palace 1–0 2–0 2–1 1–0 1–1 2–1 0–0 2–1 2–3 0–2 3–0 2–1 2–1 1–2 3–2 2–1 1–1 0–1 0–1 1–0 1–3 Fulham 2–0 3–3 4–1 1–0 0–1 0–3 2–3 2–1 2–1 1–1 3–1 0–3 1–2 0–1 2–2 0–1 2–3 2–1 1–0 1–2 0–2 Grimsby Town 1–2 5–2 2–0 0–2 1–0 2–2 3–0 1–0 1–1 0–1 1–0 3–2 5–1 1–0 1–4 1–0 0–1 3–1 3–3 1–1 0–1 Huddersfield Town 1–1 0–0 2–0 1–0 3–3 0–2 0–0 1–3 2–2 2–1 3–1 0–3 4–3 0–0 2–0 1–2 3–1 1–0 2–0 2–0 0–1 Hull City 0–1 2–2 1–0 2–0 4–0 1–1 1–2 5–0 2–0 3–1 2–1 0–0 3–0 1–0 4–2 2–2 0–0 4–3 0–2 1–1 1–1 Leeds United 0–2 1–1 2–1 2–3 2–0 1–2 1–3 1–0 1–1 2–0 1–1 1–0 3–1 0–2 3–1 2–1 1–1 1–1 4–0 1–1 0–0 Middlesbrough 0–0 0–0 1–1 0–1 1–3 1–3 0–2 1–0 3–1 0–1 1–2 2–2 3–0 1–1 3–2 1–0 1–2 3–1 1–1 2–0 1–0 Millwall 2–2 0–1 2–1 0–1 3–1 2–2 3–2 1–1 1–0 2–1 5–0 3–1 3–0 4–2 0–1 0–4 3–0 2–0 2–3 1–0 0–1 Norwich City 1–1 3–0 0–0 3–0 2–1 3–1 4–3 2–1 3–2 4–1 2–0 4–0 2–0 6–1 1–0 2–0 4–0 3–1 1–1 0–0 1–2 Oldham Athletic 1–1 3–1 0–1 4–0 2–1 2–1 2–0 2–1 2–1 1–1 3–1 3–1 1–0 0–0 1–3 2–0 1–5 4–3 2–4 2–2 2–1 Portsmouth 1–1 3–0 4–0 1–2 4–0 1–0 1–0 1–1 3–1 4–1 1–1 2–3 1–0 2–1 2–0 1–2 0–3 4–0 3–0 3–0 1–1 Sheffield United 3–1 3–3 3–1 3–0 1–0 1–1 0–0 2–1 1–1 1–1 3–1 3–2 0–1 1–3 2–5 2–0 0–0 1–1 1–2 1–0 4–0 Shrewsbury Town 3–0 2–0 2–0 2–1 0–0 2–1 0–2 2–1 0–2 3–0 0–0 1–3 2–1 1–1 0–3 2–0 1–1 3–1 1–0 1–2 1–1 Stoke City 0–0 2–2 3–1 1–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 1–0 1–1 3–0 0–1 6–2 3–2 0–0 1–1 2–0 2–0 1–3 2–2 1–0 0–0 Sunderland 2–0 0–2 1–1 2–1 2–2 1–2 1–1 4–2 3–3 1–0 1–1 4–2 1–0 1–2 0–2 0–3 1–3 2–1 2–0 2–0 2–1 Wimbledon 1–0 1–1 1–0 0–0 4–1 3–1 1–1 1–0 3–0 2–2 3–1 0–3 3–0 1–1 2–1 0–0 1–3 5–0 2–1 1–0 3–0 complete Second Division maps Greater London right 369 Locations of the Football League Second Division London teams 1985–1986 Greater London 51.486 0.036 right Greater London 51.398 -0.085 right Greater London 51.475 -0.222 right Greater London 51.481 -0.048 right Greater London 51.43 -0.19 right Charlton Athletic Crystal Palace Fulham Millwall Wimbledon England none 400 Locations of the Football League Second Division 1985–1986 teams England 53.55 -1.48 right England 53.82 -1.73 right England 50.83 -0.15 right England 53.75 -2.48 right England 54.90 -2.91 right England 51.47 0.07 right England 51.40 -0.085 right England 51.45 -0.24 right England 53.56 -0.068 right England 53.64 -1.78 right England 53.74 -0.33 right England 53.78 -1.57 right England 54.57 -1.23 right England 51.48 -0.048 right England 52.63 1.30 right England 53.54 -2.12 right England 50.80 -1.06 right England 53.37 -1.47 right England 52.71 -2.75 right England 53.00 -2.18 right England 54.91 -1.39 right England 51.43 -0.19 right Barnsley Bradford City Brighton & Hove Blackburn Rovers Carlisle United Charlton Crystal Palace Fulham Grimsby Town Huddersfield Hull Leeds U. Middlesbrough Millwall Norwich City Oldham Portsmouth Sheffield United Shrewsbury Stoke Sunderland Wimbledon Third Division Football LeagueThird Division 1985–86 Reading (1st title) Promoted Derby CountyPlymouth Argyle Relegated Cardiff CityLincoln CityWolverhampton WanderersSwansea City Trevor Senior (Reading), 27 552 1550 1984–85 1986–87 main WDL Third Division PR 5 3 REA Reading PLY Plymouth Argyle DER Derby County WIG Wigan Athletic GIL Gillingham WAL Walsall YOR York City NTC Notts County BRC Bristol City BRE Brentford DON Doncaster Rovers BLP Blackpool DAR Darlington ROT Rotherham United BOU Bournemouth BRR Bristol Rovers CHF Chesterfield BOL Bolton Wanderers NPC Newport County BRY Bury LIN Lincoln City CAR Cardiff City WOL Wolverhampton Wanderers SWA Swansea City 29 7 10 67 51 26 9 11 88 53 23 15 8 80 41 23 14 9 82 48 22 13 11 81 54 22 9 15 90 64 20 11 15 77 58 19 14 13 71 60 18 14 14 69 60 18 12 16 58 61 16 16 14 45 52 17 12 17 66 55 15 13 18 61 78 15 12 19 61 59 15 9 22 65 72 14 12 20 51 75 13 14 19 61 64 15 8 23 54 68 11 18 17 52 65 12 13 21 63 67 10 16 20 55 77 12 9 25 53 83 11 10 25 57 98 11 10 25 43 87 CP P P R R R R green1 Promotion to the Second Division P P P red1 Relegation to the Fourth Division R R R R complete Third Division results main FBR grey BOU BLP BOL BRE BRC BRR BRY CAR CHF DAR DER DON GIL LIN NPC NTC PLY REA ROT SWA WAL WIG WOL YOR AFC Bournemouth 1-4 2-1 0-0 5-0 6-1 2-1 1-1 3-2 4-2 1-1 1-1 2-3 2-2 0-1 0-0 1-3 0-1 1-2 4-0 0-1 0-2 3-2 2-0 Blackpool 1-1 2-0 4-0 2-1 4-2 5-0 3-0 0-1 0-0 0-1 4-0 2-2 2-0 0-0 1-3 1-1 0-0 2-1 2-0 2-1 1-2 0-1 0-2 Bolton Wanderers 1-3 1-0 1-2 0-4 0-2 1-4 5-0 2-1 0-3 0-1 2-0 0-1 1-1 4-0 1-0 3-1 2-0 1-1 1-1 3-1 1-2 4-1 1-1 Brentford 1-1 1-1 1-0 1-2 1-0 1-0 3-0 1-0 2-1 3-3 1-3 1-2 0-1 0-0 1-1 1-1 1-2 1-1 1-0 1-3 1-3 2-1 3-3 Bristol City 2-1 2-0 1-3 0-0 2-0 4-1 2-1 0-0 1-0 1-1 4-1 1-2 1-1 3-1 3-0 2-0 3-0 3-1 0-1 2-3 1-0 3-0 2-2 Bristol Rovers 1-0 2-1 2-3 0-1 1-1 2-1 2-1 1-1 3-1 0-0 1-0 1-0 0-0 2-0 1-1 1-2 0-2 5-2 0-0 0-1 1-1 1-1 0-1 Bury 4-1 2-1 3-0 0-0 6-3 1-1 3-0 1-1 0-1 1-1 1-2 1-2 4-0 1-1 2-4 0-1 3-1 2-0 2-2 2-1 0-0 3-1 4-2 Cardiff City 1-0 0-1 0-1 1-0 1-3 2-0 0-0 0-2 0-1 0-2 0-1 1-1 2-1 1-3 1-1 1-2 1-3 2-3 1-0 1-1 3-1 1-1 2-1 Chesterfield 1-2 3-0 0-1 1-3 0-0 2-0 4-3 3-4 1-0 1-0 0-0 1-1 2-2 3-1 2-2 1-2 3-4 2-0 4-1 2-3 1-1 3-0 1-0 Darlington 2-1 1-1 0-0 3-5 2-1 3-3 1-1 4-1 2-1 2-1 0-2 3-2 1-0 3-2 2-3 0-2 0-0 2-2 6-0 0-3 1-1 2-1 1-0 Derby County 1-2 2-1 3-0 1-1 2-0 0-2 1-1 2-1 0-0 1-1 1-1 2-0 7-0 1-1 2-0 1-2 1-1 2-1 5-1 3-1 1-0 4-2 2-1 Doncaster Rovers 0-0 1-1 1-1 1-0 1-1 0-2 1-0 0-2 2-0 1-0 0-3 2-3 1-1 1-1 2-1 1-0 0-1 0-0 0-0 1-0 2-2 0-1 1-1 Gillingham 2-2 2-1 2-0 1-2 1-1 2-0 1-0 2-0 1-1 1-1 1-2 4-0 2-0 4-0 0-1 1-1 3-0 3-0 5-1 5-2 2-0 2-0 1-2 Lincoln City 0-3 1-1 3-2 3-0 1-1 2-2 2-0 0-4 2-1 1-1 0-1 3-3 1-0 1-1 0-2 1-1 0-1 0-0 4-1 3-2 0-0 2-3 3-4 Newport County 1-1 0-1 2-1 1-2 1-1 3-0 1-0 1-2 3-3 3-0 1-1 2-2 1-1 1-2 1-2 3-1 0-2 0-0 2-0 1-5 3-4 3-1 1-1 Notts County 1-2 1-0 3-1 0-4 4-0 0-0 2-2 1-4 2-1 5-0 0-3 1-1 1-1 3-2 1-2 2-0 0-0 1-0 3-0 3-1 1-1 4-0 3-1 Plymouth Argyle 3-1 4-1 2-1 2-0 4-0 4-2 3-0 4-4 0-0 4-2 4-1 0-1 3-0 2-1 2-0 0-1 0-1 4-0 2-0 2-0 2-1 3-1 2-2 Reading 1-0 1-0 1-2 3-1 1-0 3-2 2-0 1-1 4-2 0-2 1-0 2-0 1-2 0-2 2-0 3-1 4-3 2-1 2-0 2-1 1-0 2-2 0-0 Rotherham United 4-1 4-0 4-1 1-2 2-0 2-0 2-0 3-0 1-2 1-2 1-1 2-1 1-1 1-0 0-0 1-0 1-1 1-2 4-1 3-0 0-0 1-2 4-1 Swansea City 2-0 3-1 1-1 2-0 1-3 0-1 1-0 3-1 1-1 2-2 0-3 0-2 2-2 3-1 1-1 0-0 0-2 2-3 1-0 2-1 0-1 0-2 1-0 Walsall 1-1 2-0 4-2 1-2 2-1 6-0 3-2 6-3 3-0 0-0 1-1 1-0 4-1 2-1 2-0 0-0 2-2 6-0 3-1 3-1 3-3 1-1 3-1 Wigan Athletic 1-1 1-3 3-0 4-0 1-1 4-0 1-0 2-0 2-0 5-1 2-1 4-1 3-3 3-2 0-0 3-1 3-0 1-0 2-0 5-0 2-0 5-3 1-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 0-2 0-3 1-4 2-1 3-4 1-1 3-1 1-0 2-1 0-4 1-2 1-3 1-1 1-2 2-2 0-3 2-3 0-0 1-5 0-0 2-2 3-2 York City 3-0 3-0 2-1 1-0 1-1 4-0 0-0 1-1 2-0 7-0 1-3 0-1 2-0 2-1 3-1 2-2 3-1 0-1 2-1 3-1 1-0 4-1 2-1 complete Soccerbase Third Division maps England left 400 Locations of the Football League Third Division teams 1985–1986 England 53.81 -3.05 right England 53.59 -2.56 right England 50.73 -1.84 right England 51.486 -0.32 right England 51.42 -2.59 right England 51.47 -2.53 right England 53.58 -2.295 right England 51.47 -3.20 right England 53.24 -1.43 right England 54.53 -1.55 right England 52.92 -1.476 right England 53.52 -1.133 right England 51.38 0.55 right England 53.23 -0.54 right England 51.59 -3.00 right England 52.94 -1.137 right England 50.39 -4.15 right England 51.41 -0.97 right England 53.43 -1.36 right England 51.62 -3.95 right England 52.58 -1.98 right England 53.55 -2.65 right England 52.59 -2.13 right England 53.96 -1.08 right Blackpool Bolton Bournemouth Brentford Bristol City Bristol Rovers Bury Cardiff City Chesterfield Darlington Derby County Doncaster Gillingham Lincoln City Newport Co. Notts County Plymouth Argyle Reading Rotherham Swansea City Walsall Wigan Athletic Wolverhampton Wanderers York City Greater London right 369 Locations of the Football League Third Division London teams 1985–1986 51.486 -0.31 right Brentford Fourth Division Football LeagueFourth Division 1985–86 Swindon Town (1st title) Promoted Chester CityMansfield TownPort Vale Failed re-election None New club in the league Steve Taylor (Rochdale), 25Richard Cadette (Southend United), 25 552 1576 1984–85 1986–87 main WDL Fourth Division PR 5 3 SWI Swindon Town CHE Chester City MAN Mansfield Town PTV Port Vale LEY Orient COL Colchester United HAR Hartlepool United NOR Northampton Town STD Southend United HER Hereford United STP Stockport County CRE Crewe Alexandra WRE Wrexham BUR Burnley SCU Scunthorpe United ALD Aldershot PET Peterborough United ROC Rochdale TRA Tranmere Rovers HAL Halifax Town EXE Exeter City CAM Cambridge United PNE Preston North End TOR Torquay United 32 6 8 82 43 23 15 8 83 50 23 12 11 74 47 21 16 9 67 37 20 12 14 79 64 19 13 14 88 63 20 10 16 68 67 18 10 18 79 58 18 10 18 69 67 18 10 18 74 73 17 13 16 63 71 18 9 19 54 61 17 9 20 68 80 16 11 19 60 65 15 14 17 50 55 17 7 22 66 74 13 17 16 52 64 14 13 19 57 77 15 9 22 74 73 14 12 20 60 71 13 15 18 47 59 15 9 22 65 80 11 10 25 54 89 9 10 27 43 88 CP P P P green1 Promotion to the Third Division P P P P yellow1 Qualification for the European Cup Winners' Cup first round ECWC1 red2 Re-elected REE REE REE REE complete Fourth Division results main FBR grey ALD BUR CAM CHE COL CRE EXE HAL HAR HER LEY MAN NOR PET PTV PNE ROC SCU STD STP SWI TOR TRA WRE Aldershot 0-2 2-1 1-1 1-1 3-2 4-0 1-2 0-1 2-0 1-1 1-2 1-0 1-0 0-0 4-0 2-1 2-1 1-3 6-1 2-4 1-1 3-1 6-0 Burnley 1-2 1-1 1-0 0-2 0-1 3-1 1-3 2-0 3-2 1-0 2-1 3-2 1-1 1-2 1-1 1-0 1-2 1-3 0-1 0-2 3-0 3-1 5-2 Cambridge United 0-2 0-4 3-2 1-3 1-0 1-1 4-0 4-2 4-0 1-2 4-2 2-5 3-1 1-3 2-0 1-0 0-1 1-2 1-2 1-1 3-0 3-2 4-3 Chester City 1-0 4-0 1-1 4-0 4-0 2-1 1-1 1-1 1-0 3-0 1-0 2-3 2-1 4-1 2-0 1-1 1-1 2-0 1-0 0-1 3-1 1-0 2-1 Colchester United 4-0 2-2 4-1 2-3 1-2 1-1 3-1 3-1 4-1 4-0 0-0 2-0 5-0 1-0 4-0 0-1 1-1 2-0 3-1 1-1 0-0 1-2 5-2 Crewe Alexandra 2-0 3-1 0-1 2-2 0-2 0-1 2-2 0-0 2-0 1-3 2-1 0-1 1-1 0-1 3-3 4-2 4-0 1-1 0-1 2-0 1-0 2-1 3-2 Exeter City 2-0 0-2 0-0 1-3 2-2 1-2 1-0 1-2 3-2 1-1 1-0 1-2 0-1 1-0 3-0 2-0 2-0 0-2 1-0 0-3 2-2 1-0 0-1 Halifax Town 1-1 2-2 1-1 1-2 2-2 1-0 1-0 3-2 1-0 2-1 1-2 2-0 1-1 2-0 2-1 1-1 2-1 2-3 0-0 1-3 0-0 1-2 5-2 Hartlepool United 2-1 3-1 2-1 1-1 4-1 4-1 0-0 3-0 2-1 1-2 1-1 2-1 2-1 1-1 1-0 2-0 0-1 1-1 3-2 1-0 1-0 1-0 3-3 Hereford United 4-1 2-2 1-0 0-2 2-0 4-1 4-1 2-1 2-2 3-2 4-2 3-0 2-1 1-1 1-1 2-2 1-1 2-1 3-2 4-1 4-1 1-4 3-1 Orient 1-1 3-0 3-1 0-0 1-2 0-1 2-2 1-0 1-1 2-2 0-1 0-1 2-2 1-0 2-0 5-0 3-0 3-0 0-1 1-0 4-2 3-1 1-3 Mansfield Town 2-0 0-0 2-0 0-0 2-1 2-2 2-1 2-0 4-0 4-0 1-1 1-0 0-1 2-1 2-3 3-2 1-1 3-0 4-2 1-1 4-0 0-1 1-1 Northampton Town 2-3 2-0 0-2 2-2 1-0 0-1 2-2 4-0 3-0 1-3 2-3 1-0 2-2 2-2 6-0 1-0 2-2 0-0 3-1 0-1 5-1 2-2 1-2 Peterborough United 3-0 0-0 0-0 3-0 1-2 0-0 1-1 1-1 3-1 0-0 2-2 4-2 0-5 1-0 1-1 1-1 1-0 1-1 2-0 3-0 2-0 0-1 1-1 Port Vale 3-1 1-1 4-1 1-1 1-1 3-0 0-0 3-2 4-0 1-0 2-0 0-0 0-0 2-0 0-1 1-1 3-1 4-0 1-1 3-0 0-0 0-0 4-0 Preston North End 1-3 1-0 1-2 3-6 3-2 1-2 2-2 0-1 2-1 2-0 1-3 0-2 1-1 2-4 0-1 1-1 0-1 3-2 1-2 0-3 4-0 2-2 1-0 Rochdale 2-0 1-0 2-1 1-2 3-3 1-0 1-1 1-0 0-2 1-1 1-4 1-1 3-2 2-1 3-3 1-1 1-0 2-1 4-1 1-2 5-0 1-1 3-2 Scunthorpe United 1-0 1-1 0-0 2-0 1-1 3-1 1-0 3-3 1-0 2-1 2-2 0-3 1-0 2-0 0-0 1-3 3-1 2-0 2-3 0-2 4-0 0-1 1-1 Southend United 2-0 2-3 1-0 1-1 2-4 0-1 2-0 2-1 3-2 3-1 5-1 3-1 0-4 0-1 2-1 2-1 5-0 2-1 0-0 0-0 1-2 2-2 3-0 Stockport County 3-2 1-1 3-1 2-2 1-1 3-0 1-1 2-1 1-3 1-1 2-3 0-2 1-0 2-2 1-2 2-1 3-0 0-0 2-1 0-2 1-1 1-1 2-0 Swindon Town 4-1 3-1 1-0 4-2 2-1 1-0 2-1 3-1 3-2 1-0 4-1 2-1 3-2 3-0 0-0 4-1 4-0 1-1 2-1 1-0 2-1 2-1 0-1 Torquay United 1-2 2-0 1-1 0-3 2-1 0-0 1-2 2-0 1-3 2-1 2-2 1-2 1-1 2-0 0-1 1-0 1-2 1-0 2-2 4-3 0-1 1-2 1-3 Tranmere Rovers 3-0 2-1 6-2 2-3 3-4 0-1 0-1 0-3 4-2 1-2 0-3 1-2 1-3 7-0 1-2 2-3 2-0 2-1 1-1 2-3 3-1 2-0 1-3 Wrexham 4-1 0-1 6-2 1-1 2-1 2-1 1-1 2-1 1-0 0-1 1-3 1-2 1-0 0-1 1-3 1-1 2-0 1-0 0-0 3-0 0-1 3-2 1-1 complete Soccerbase Fourth Division maps Greater London right 369 Locations of the Football League Fourth Division London teams 1985–1986 51.570 -0.058 Orient right England none 400 Locations of the Football League Fourth Division teams 1985–1986 England 51.25 -0.75 right England 53.79 -2.25 right England 52.21 0.12 right England 53.19 -2.89 right England 51.89 0.90 right England 53.10 -2.44 right England 50.72 -3.53 right England 53.72 -1.86 right England 54.69 -1.21 right England 52.06 -2.72 right England 51.57 -0.01 right England 53.14 -1.20 right England 52.24 -0.90 right England 52.58 -0.25 right England 53.06 -2.21 right England 53.75 -2.7 right England 53.61 -2.16 right England 53.58 -0.65 right England 51.55 0.70 right England 53.41 -2.16 right England 51.56 -1.77 right England 50.48 -3.52 right England 53.37 -3.04 right England 53.03 -2.98 right Aldershot Burnley Cambridge Utd Chester Colchester Crewe Exeter City Halifax Town Hartlepool Hereford United Mansfield Town Orient Northampton Town Peterborough Port Vale Preston North End Rochdale Scunthorpe United Southend Stockport Swindon Torquay Tranmere Wrexham Election/Re-election to the Football League As champions of the Alliance Premier League, Enfield won the right to apply for election to the Football League, to replace one of the four bottom teams in the 1985–86 Football League Fourth Division. The vote went as follows: Club Final Position Votes Exeter City 21st (Fourth Division) 64 Preston North End 23rd (Fourth Division) 62.5 Cambridge United 22nd (Fourth Division) 61 Torquay United 24th (Fourth Division) 61 Enfield 1st (Alliance Premier League) 7.5 Hence, all four Football League teams were re-elected, and Enfield were denied membership of the Football League. This was the last season in which the Alliance Premier League champions had to apply for election to the Football League. From the 1986–87 season, when the Alliance Premier League was re-branded as the Football Conference, the champions were automatically promoted, provided that they met the criteria set by the Football League. Attendances Source:https://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/attn/archive/eng/aveeng1986.htm Historical attendances European-football-statistics.co.uk 13 August 2026 Division One # Club Average Highest Lowest 1 Manchester United 46,321 54,575 32,331 2 Liverpool FC 35,271 45,445 26,219 3 Everton FC 32,226 51,348 23,357 4 Manchester City FC 24,229 48,773 18,899 5 Arsenal FC 23,824 45,107 14,821 6 Newcastle United FC 23,434 32,183 16,785 7 Sheffield Wednesday FC 23,111 48,105 13,359 8 Chelsea FC 21,985 43,900 12,017 9 West Ham United FC 21,179 31,121 12,225 10 Tottenham Hotspur FC 20,859 33,835 9,359 11 Nottingham Forest FC 16,809 30,171 11,538 12 Watford FC 15,360 18,960 11,510 13 Aston Villa FC 15,237 27,626 8,456 14 Southampton FC 14,877 19,784 12,167 15 Ipswich Town FC 14,469 20,682 11,528 16 Queens Park Rangers FC 12,808 21,122 8,085 17 West Bromwich Albion FC 12,164 24,962 6,201 18 Leicester City FC 11,793 26,070 7,237 19 Coventry City FC 11,590 16,898 7,478 20 Luton Town FC 11,062 17,454 8,550 21 Oxford United FC 11,009 13,939 9,020 22 Birmingham City FC 10,900 24,971 5,833 Division Two # Club Average Highest Lowest 1 Sunderland AFC 16,052 21,144 11,338 2 Norwich City FC 13,722 18,956 11,148 3 Portsmouth FC 13,614 18,859 9,560 4 Leeds United FC 13,259 21,128 9,638 5 Sheffield United FC 10,798 13,854 7,367 6 Brighton & Hove Albion FC 9,726 16,717 6,258 7 Stoke City FC 8,288 11,875 6,449 8 Hull City AFC 7,672 12,824 5,344 9 Huddersfield Town AFC 6,821 11,667 4,511 10 Crystal Palace FC 6,787 11,731 3,744 11 Middlesbrough FC 6,257 19,701 4,061 12 Barnsley FC 6,067 9,410 3,827 13 Charlton Athletic FC 6,028 13,214 3,059 14 Blackburn Rovers FC 5,826 9,666 3,616 15 Bradford City AFC 5,816 10,751 3,426 16 Millwall FC 5,459 9,158 3,188 17 Grimsby Town FC 5,157 9,121 3,476 18 Oldham Athletic FC 4,651 8,195 2,510 19 Fulham FC 4,624 9,281 2,134 20 Wimbledon FC 4,578 9,046 2,351 21 Carlisle United FC 4,010 9,249 2,418 22 Shrewsbury Town FC 3,927 9,595 2,364 Division Three # Club Average Highest Lowest 1 Derby County FC 12,386 21,030 9,571 2 Plymouth Argyle FC 8,297 24,888 3,686 3 Reading FC 6,893 13,465 3,410 4 Bristol City FC 6,600 12,171 4,395 5 Walsall FC 4,891 10,480 3,282 6 Bolton Wanderers FC 4,847 9,252 2,902 7 Blackpool FC 4,536 9,473 1,995 8 Notts County FC 4,404 13,086 2,345 9 Swansea City AFC 4,306 6,989 2,779 10 Bristol Rovers FC 4,196 9,926 2,959 11 Wigan Athletic FC 4,148 9,485 2,657 12 York City FC 4,111 6,045 2,857 13 Wolverhampton Wanderers FC 4,020 9,166 2,205 14 Brentford FC 3,957 6,351 2,824 15 Gillingham FC 3,691 5,710 2,050 16 Rotherham United FC 3,474 6,030 2,101 17 AFC Bournemouth 3,424 6,105 1,873 18 Chesterfield FC 3,212 9,394 1,773 19 Cardiff City FC 3,061 8,375 1,663 20 Darlington FC 3,027 4,255 1,615 21 Bury FC 2,889 6,006 1,720 22 Doncaster Rovers FC 2,804 4,617 1,659 23 Lincoln City FC 2,617 6,237 1,379 24 Newport County AFC 2,494 6,461 1,508 Division Four # Club Average Highest Lowest 1 Swindon Town FC 6,531 12,470 3,299 2 Mansfield Town FC 3,764 8,420 2,357 3 Port Vale FC 3,581 5,976 2,461 4 Preston North End FC 3,502 5,585 2,007 5 Burnley FC 3,204 4,279 1,988 6 Chester City FC 2,953 5,253 1,473 7 Southend United FC 2,785 8,119 1,006 8 Hereford United FC 2,756 4,094 1,857 9 Stockport County FC 2,667 4,690 1,354 10 Leyton Orient FC 2,629 3,713 1,443 11 Hartlepool United FC 2,593 4,195 1,282 12 Peterborough United FC 2,590 3,866 1,512 13 Northampton Town FC 2,385 4,449 1,167 14 Colchester United FC 2,328 3,927 1,356 15 Cambridge United FC 2,089 3,234 1,235 16 Exeter City FC 1,972 2,868 1,369 17 Wrexham AFC 1,820 3,519 912 18 Crewe Alexandra FC 1,817 4,986 1,009 19 Rochdale AFC 1,790 2,600 936 20 Scunthorpe United FC 1,778 2,495 1,238 21 Tranmere Rovers 1,566 3,188 1,031 22 Aldershot Town FC 1,480 3,723 1,027 23 Halifax Town AFC 1,406 2,334 732 24 Torquay United FC 1,240 2,558 850 See also 1985–86 in English football References Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane's, London & Sydney, 1980. External links 1985–86 League Tables https://web.archive.org/web/20111003181151/http://www.oxfordunited-mad.co.uk/footydb/loadlgt.asp?divno=13&ssnno=115 3 October 2011 1985–86 1–4