1988–89 Football League

90th season of the Football League May 2022 The Football League 1988–89 Arsenal Darlington New club in League Lincoln City 1987–88 1989–90 The 1988–89 season was the 90th completed season of the Football League.https://www.rsssf.org/engpaul/FLA/1988-89.html England 1988–89 2010-02-24 https://web.archive.org/web/20100125003554/http://www.rsssf.com/engpaul/FLA/1988-89.html 25 January 2010 RSSSF live 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 First Division 1988–89 Arsenal9th English title MiddlesbroughWest Ham UnitedNewcastle United Alan Smith(23 goals)https://www.rsssf.org/tablese/engtops.html English League Leading Goalscorers RSSSF 2010-10-31 Luton Town 6–1 Southampton(2 January 1989) Millwall 0–5 Tottenham Hotspur(29 April 1989) Coventry City 3–4 Middlesbrough(1 October 1988)Luton Town 6–1 Southampton(2 January 1989)Queens Park Rangers 4–3 Wimbledon(8 April 1989)Middlesbrough 3–4 Nottingham Forest(22 April 1989)Luton Town 5–2 Charlton Athletic(2 May 1989) 380 962 9 matchesLiverpool 18 matchesLiverpool 5 matchesSouthampton 1987–88 1989–90 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, in which 97 Liverpool fans died.BBC Hillsborough inquests: The 96 who died https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-26765007 BBC 26 May 2021 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 scored. 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; a good run of form after Christmas had projected them into the fringes of the title race, but their season ultimately collapsed after an FA Cup quarter-final exit. The loss of Paul Gascoigne to Tottenham in the first £2 million 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 finished 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 dropped them back into the Second Division. Aston Villa narrowly avoided the drop after a similar downturn in performances during the season's final stages. main WDL First Division World Football ARS, LIV, NFO, NOR, DER, TOT, COV, EVE, QPR, MIL, MUN, WIM, SOU, CHA, SHW, LUT, AVL, MID, WHU, NEW EXEC EXCWC EXUC EXUC REL REL REL complete 22 10 6 73 36 9 13 16 45 56 10 12 16 44 58 14 13 11 47 42 17 7 14 40 38 14 12 12 50 45 22 10 6 65 28 10 11 17 42 52 13 12 13 45 35 9 12 17 44 61 14 11 13 47 52 7 10 21 32 63 17 11 10 48 45 17 13 8 64 43 14 11 13 43 37 10 12 16 34 51 10 15 13 52 66 15 12 11 60 46 10 8 20 37 62 14 9 15 50 46 C R R R 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 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 European Cup Winners' Cup white Disqualified from the UEFA Cup red1 Relegation to the Second Division Liverpool would have qualified as FA Cup winners. Nottingham Forest would have qualified as League Cup winners. First Division results main FBR grey ARS AST CHA COV DER EVE LIV LUT MUN MID MIL NEW NWC NOT QPR SHW SOU TOT WHU WDN 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 complete Managerial changes Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment Newcastle United NIR Willie McFaul Sacked 10 October 1988 19th ENG Colin Suggett (caretaker) 10 October 1988 Sheffield Wednesday ENG Howard Wilkinson Signed by Leeds United 12 October 1988 9th ENG Peter Eustace 12 October 1988 Newcastle United ENG Colin Suggett End of caretaker spell 14 December 1988 20th ENG Jim Smith 14 December 1988 Queens Park Rangers ENG Jim Smith Signed by Newcastle United 14 December 1988 13th ENG Trevor Francis 14 December 1988 Sheffield Wednesday ENG Peter Eustace Sacked 14 February 1989 18th ENG Ron Atkinson 14 February 1989 First Division maps England left 400 Locations of the Football League First Division 1988–1989 teams England 51.56 -0.10 right England 52.54 -1.87 right England 51.47 0.07 right England 52.41 -1.51 right England 52.92 -1.476 right England 53.47 -2.97 right England 53.53 -2.99 right England 51.9 -0.433 right England 53.47 -2.30 right England 51.48 -0.048 right England 54.57 -1.23 right England 54.98 -1.62 right England 52.63 1.30 right England 53.01 -1.137 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 51.54 0.040 right England 51.43 -0.19 right Arsenal Aston Villa Charlton Coventry Derby County Everton Liverpool Luton Town Manchester United Millwall Middlesbrough Newcastle Norwich City Nottingham Forest QPR Sheffield Wednesday Southampton Tottenham West Ham Wimbledon Greater London right 369 Locations of the Football League First Division London teams 1988–1989 Greater London 51.558 -0.103 right Greater London 51.486 0.036 right Greater London 51.481 -0.048 right Greater London 51.603 -0.066 right Greater London 51.509 -0.232 right Greater London 51.532 0.039 right Greater London 51.43 -0.19 right Arsenal Charlton Athletic Millwall Tottenham Queens Park Rangers West Ham Wimbledon Second Division Second Division 1988–89 Chelsea ChelseaManchester CityCrystal Palace Shrewsbury TownBirmingham CityWalsall Keith Edwards(26 goals) West Bromwich Albion 6–0 Stoke City(18 December 1988) Walsall 0–7 Chelsea(4 February 1989) Blackburn Rovers 5–4 Crystal Palace(8 October 1988) 552 1465 7 matches 23 matches 32 matches 1987–88 1989–90 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. main WDL Second Division thestatcat.co.uk CHE, MCI, CRY, WAT, BLA, SWI, BAR, IPS, WBA, LEE, SUN, BOU, STK, BRA, LEI, OLD, OXF, PLY, BHA, POR, HUL, SHR, BIR, WAL PRO PRO PPO PPO PPO PPO REL REL REL complete 20 14 12 66 58 8 11 27 31 76 22 11 13 74 59 18 8 20 53 62 13 17 16 52 59 14 9 23 57 66 29 12 5 96 50 23 12 11 71 49 11 14 21 52 68 22 7 17 71 61 17 16 13 59 50 13 16 17 56 63 23 13 10 77 53 11 21 14 75 72 14 12 20 62 70 14 12 20 55 66 13 12 21 53 62 8 18 20 40 67 15 14 17 57 72 16 15 15 60 60 20 16 10 68 53 5 16 25 41 80 22 12 12 74 48 18 18 10 65 41 C, P P O, P R R R 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 Stoke City Sunderland Swindon Town Walsall Watford West Bromwich Albion 5 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored QR green1 Promotion to the First Division yellow1 Qualification for the Second Division play-offs red1 Relegation to the Third Division Second Division play-offs Football League Championship play-offs#1989 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-finals1st leg –21 May; 2nd leg –24 May 1989 Finals1st leg –31 May; 2nd leg –3 June 1989 30px 200px 3rd Crystal Palace 0 2 2 6th Swindon Town 1 0 1 4th Watford 0 1 1 5th Blackburn RoversBlackburn won on away goals after extra time. 0 1 1 3rd Crystal Palace 1 3 4 5th Blackburn Rovers 3 0 3 Second Division results main FBR grey BOU BAR BIR BLB BRA B&HA CHE CRY HUL IPS LEE LEI MCI OLD OXF PLY POR SHR STK SUN SWI WAL WAT WBA AFC 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 complete The match on March 27 1989 between Brighton & Hove Albion and Crystal Palace saw referee Kelvin Morton award a British record of five penalties in 27 minutes either side of half-time, with Palace earning three penalties in the space of just five minutes.Ward Andrew Football's Strangest Matches: Extraordinary but true stories from over a century of football 2010 Portico London 1907554084 127-128Mark Bright scored and had his second kick saved by Brighton goalkeeper John Keeley. Ian Wright failed to score with the third penalty, hitting the post. Alan Curbishley scored a penalty for Brighton, followed by Palace player John Pemberton blasting his shot over the crossbar. Palace eventually won 2-1. Second Division maps Greater London right 369 Locations of the Football League Second Division London teams 1988–1989 Greater London 51.482 -0.191 right Greater London 51.398 -0.085 right Greater London 51.650 -0.401 right Chelsea Crystal Palace Watford England none 400 Locations of the Football League Second Division 1988–1989 teams England 50.73 -1.84 right England 53.55 -1.48 right England 52.48 -1.89 right England 53.82 -1.73 right England 50.83 -0.15 right England 53.75 -2.48 right England 51.50 -0.19 right England 51.40 -0.085 right England 53.74 -0.33 right England 52.06 1.14 right England 53.78 -1.57 right England 52.62 -1.14 right England 53.47 -2.18 right England 53.54 -2.12 right England 51.72 -1.21 right England 50.39 -4.15 right England 50.80 -1.06 right England 52.71 -2.75 right England 53.00 -2.18 right England 54.91 -1.39 right England 51.56 -1.77 right England 52.58 -1.98 right England 51.65 -0.40 right England 52.52 -1.97 right Bournemouth Barnsley Birmingham Bradford City Brighton & Hove Albion Blackburn Rovers Chelsea Crystal Palace Hull Ipswich Town Leeds U. Leicester City Manchester City Oldham Oxford Plymouth Argyle Portsmouth Shrewsbury Stoke Sunderland Swindon Walsall Watford West Bromwich Albion Third Division Football LeagueThird Division 1988–89 Wolverhampton Wanderers (1st title) Promoted Port ValeSheffield United Relegated AldershotChesterfieldGillinghamSouthend United Steve Bull (Wolverhampton Wanderers), 37 552 1495 1987–88 1989–90 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 Third Division 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. main WDL Third Division PR 5 WOL Wolverhampton Wanderers SHU Sheffield United PTV Port Vale FUL Fulham BRR Bristol Rovers PNE Preston North End BRE Brentford CHE Chester City NTC Notts County BOL Bolton Wanderers BRC Bristol City SWA Swansea City BRY Bury HUD Huddersfield Town MAN Mansfield Town CAR Cardiff City WIG Wigan Athletic REA Reading BLP Blackpool NOR Northampton Town STD Southend United CHF Chesterfield GIL Gillingham ALD Aldershot 26 14 6 96 49 25 9 12 93 54 24 12 10 78 48 22 9 15 69 67 19 17 10 67 51 19 15 12 79 60 18 14 14 66 61 19 11 16 64 61 18 13 15 64 54 16 16 14 58 54 18 9 19 53 55 15 16 15 51 53 16 13 17 55 67 17 9 20 63 73 14 17 15 48 52 14 15 17 44 56 14 14 18 55 53 15 11 20 68 72 14 13 19 56 59 16 6 24 66 76 13 15 18 56 75 14 7 25 51 86 12 4 30 47 81 8 13 25 48 78 CP P OP R R R R green1 Promotion to the Second Division P P yellow1 Qualification for the Third Division play-offs PP PP PP PP yellow2 Qualification for the European Cup Winners' Cup first round WC red1 Relegation to the Fourth Division R R R R complete Third Division play-offs Football League One play-offs#1989 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-finals1st leg –21/22 May; 2nd leg –25 May 1989 Finals1st leg –31 May; 2nd leg –3 June 1989 30px 200px 3rd Port Vale 1 3 4 6th Preston North End 1 1 2 4th Fulham F.C. 0 0 0 5th Bristol Rovers 1 4 5 3rd Port Vale 1 1 2 5th Bristol Rovers 1 0 1 Third Division results main FBR grey ALD BLP BOL BRE BRI BRR BRY CAR CHE CHF FUL GIL HUD MAN NOR NTC PTV PNE REA SHU STD SWA WIG WOL 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 complete Third Division maps Greater London right 369 Locations of the Football League Third Division London teams 1988–1989 Greater London 51.486 -0.31 right Greater London 51.475 -0.222 right Brentford Fulham England none 400 Locations of the Football League Third Division teams 1988–1989 England 51.25 -0.75 right England 53.81 -3.05 right England 53.59 -2.56 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 53.19 -2.89 right England 53.24 -1.43 right England 51.45 -0.24 right England 51.38 0.55 right England 53.64 -1.78 right England 53.14 -1.20 right England 52.24 -0.90 right England 52.94 -1.137 right England 53.06 -2.21 right England 53.75 -2.7 right England 51.41 -0.97 right England 53.37 -1.47 right England 51.55 0.70 right England 51.62 -3.95 right England 53.55 -2.65 right England 52.59 -2.13 right Aldershot Blackpool Bolton Brentford Bristol City Bristol Rovers Bury Cardiff City Chester Chesterfield Fulham Gillingham Huddersfield Mansfield Town Northampton Town Notts County Port Vale Preston North End Reading Sheffield United Southend Swansea City Wigan Athletic Wolverhampton Wanderers Fourth Division Football LeagueFourth Division 1988–89 Rotherham United (1st title) Promoted Crewe AlexandraLeyton OrientTranmere Rovers Relegated to Conference Darlington New club in the league Lincoln City Phil Stant (Hereford United), 28 552 1498 1987–88 1989–90 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. main WDL PR Fourth Division 5 ROT Rotherham United TRA Tranmere Rovers CRE Crewe Alexandra SCU Scunthorpe United SCA Scarborough LEY Leyton Orient WRE Wrexham CAM Cambridge United GRI Grimsby Town LIN Lincoln City YOR York City CRL Carlisle United EXE Exeter City TOR Torquay United HER Hereford United BUR Burnley PET Peterborough United ROC Rochdale HAR Hartlepool United STP Stockport County HAL Halifax Town COL Colchester United DON Doncaster Rovers DAR Darlington 22 16 8 76 35 21 17 8 62 43 21 15 10 67 48 21 14 11 77 57 21 14 11 67 52 21 12 13 86 50 19 14 13 77 63 18 14 14 71 62 17 15 14 65 59 18 10 18 64 60 17 13 16 62 63 15 15 16 53 52 18 6 22 65 68 17 8 21 45 60 14 16 16 66 72 14 13 19 52 61 14 12 20 52 74 13 14 19 56 82 14 10 22 50 78 10 21 15 54 52 13 11 22 69 75 12 14 20 60 78 13 10 23 49 78 8 18 20 53 76 CP P P OP R green1 Promotion to the Third Division P P P yellow1 Qualification for the Fourth Division play-offs PP PP PP PP red1 Relegation to the Football Conference R complete Fourth Division play-offs Football League Two play-offs#1989 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-finals1st leg –21 May; 2nd leg –24 May 1989 Finals1st leg –30 May; 2nd leg –3 June 1989 30px 200px 4th Scunthorpe United 1 0 1 7th Wrexham 3 2 5 5th Scarborough 1 0 1 6th Leyton Orient 0 2 2 7th Wrexham 0 1 1 6th Leyton Orient 0 2 2 Fourth Division results main FBR grey BUR CAM CRL COL CRE DAR DON EXE GRI HAL HAR HER LEY LIN PET ROC ROT SCA SCU STP TOR TRA WRE YOR 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 complete Fourth Division maps England none 400 Locations of the Football League Fourth Division teams 1988–1989 England 53.79 -2.25 right England 52.21 0.12 right England 54.90 -2.91 right England 51.89 0.90 right England 53.10 -2.44 right England 54.53 -1.55 right England 53.52 -1.133 right England 50.72 -3.53 right England 53.56 -0.068 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 53.23 -0.54 right England 52.58 -0.25 right England 53.61 -2.16 right England 53.43 -1.36 right England 54.27 -0.42 right England 53.58 -0.65 right England 53.41 -2.16 right England 50.48 -3.52 right England 53.37 -3.04 right England 53.03 -2.98 right England 53.96 -1.08 right Burnley Cambridge Utd Carlisle United Colchester Crewe Alexandra Darlington Doncaster Exeter City Grimsby Town Halifax Town Hartlepool Hereford United Orient Lincoln City Peterborough Rochdale Rotherham Scarborough Scunthorpe United Stockport Torquay Tranmere Wrexham York City Attendances Source:https://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/attn/archive/eng/aveeng1989.htm Historical attendances European-football-statistics.co.uk 23 August 2026 Barclays League Division One No. Club Average 1 Liverpool FC 38,574 2 Manchester United 36,488 3 Arsenal FC 35,595 4 Everton FC 27,765 5 Tottenham Hotspur FC 24,467 6 Aston Villa FC 23,310 7 Newcastle United FC 22,921 8 Nottingham Forest FC 20,785 9 West Ham United FC 20,738 10 Sheffield Wednesday FC 20,037 11 Middlesbrough FC 19,999 12 Derby County FC 17,535 13 Norwich City FC 16,785 14 Coventry City FC 16,040 15 Southampton FC 15,590 16 Millwall FC 15,416 17 Queens Park Rangers FC 12,281 18 Luton Town FC 9,504 19 Charlton Athletic FC 9,398 20 Wimbledon FC 7,824 Barclays League Division Two No. Club Average 1 Manchester City FC 23,500 2 Leeds United FC 21,811 3 Chelsea FC 15,731 4 Sunderland AFC 14,878 5 West Bromwich Albion FC 12,757 6 Ipswich Town FC 12,666 7 Watford FC 12,292 8 Leicester City FC 10,694 9 Crystal Palace FC 10,655 10 Bradford City AFC 10,524 11 Portsmouth FC 10,201 12 Stoke City FC 9,817 13 Brighton & Hove Albion FC 9,048 14 Blackburn Rovers FC 8,891 15 Swindon Town FC 8,687 16 Plymouth Argyle FC 8,628 17 AFC Bournemouth 8,088 18 Barnsley FC 7,215 19 Oldham Athletic FC 7,204 20 Hull City AFC 6,666 21 Oxford United FC 6,352 22 Birmingham City FC 6,265 23 Walsall FC 6,108 24 Shrewsbury Town FC 4,706 Barclays League Division Three No. Club Average 1 Wolverhampton Wanderers FC 14,392 2 Sheffield United FC 12,222 3 Bristol City FC 8,121 4 Preston North End FC 7,737 5 Port Vale FC 6,731 6 Huddersfield Town AFC 5,821 7 Brentford FC 5,682 8 Notts County FC 5,675 9 Bolton Wanderers FC 5,528 10 Bristol Rovers FC 5,259 11 Reading FC 5,106 12 Fulham FC 4,938 13 Swansea City AFC 4,897 14 Cardiff City FC 4,387 15 Blackpool FC 4,277 16 Mansfield Town FC 4,006 17 Northampton Town FC 3,919 18 Chesterfield FC 3,717 19 Southend United FC 3,699 20 Gillingham FC 3,675 21 Bury FC 3,368 22 Wigan Athletic FC 3,151 23 Chester City FC 3,056 24 Aldershot Town FC 2,609 Barclays League Division Four No. Club Average 1 Burnley FC 7,062 2 Tranmere Rovers 5,331 3 Rotherham United FC 5,064 4 Scunthorpe United FC 4,547 5 Grimsby Town FC 4,302 6 Lincoln City FC 3,887 7 Leyton Orient FC 3,794 8 Crewe Alexandra FC 3,296 9 Peterborough United FC 3,262 10 Carlisle United FC 3,176 11 Scarborough FC 2,962 12 Colchester United FC 2,894 13 Stockport County FC 2,792 14 Exeter City FC 2,680 15 Cambridge United FC 2,653 16 Wrexham AFC 2,636 17 York City FC 2,614 18 Torquay United FC 2,350 19 Darlington FC 2,316 20 Doncaster Rovers FC 2,159 21 Hereford United FC 2,132 22 Hartlepool United FC 2,048 23 Rochdale AFC 1,968 24 Halifax Town AFC 1,947 See also 1988–89 in English football References 1988–89 1–4