1989–90 Football League
Season | 1989–90 |
---|---|
Champions | Liverpool |
Relegated | Colchester United |
← 1988–89 1990–91 → |
The 1989–90 season was the 91st completed season of The Football League.
Liverpool overhauled a greatly improved Aston Villa side to win their 18th league championship trophy and their fifth major trophy in as many seasons under Kenny Dalglish’s management. To this day, this is still their last league title. Gary Lineker’s arrival at Tottenham Hotspur saw the North Londoners occupy third place after a season of improvement.
In this season, London had eight entrants in the top-flight, the highest number of participants ever.
Luton Town stayed up on goal difference at the expense of Sheffield Wednesday, while Charlton’s four-year spell in the First Division came to an end at the beginning of May. Millwall were rooted to the bottom of the division despite briefly topping the league in September.
Leeds United finally returned to the top flight after an eight-year exile, as Howard Wilkinson’s side lifted the Second Division championship trophy thanks to a superior goal difference over runners-up Sheffield United, won their second successive promotion under Dave Bassett.
Swindon Town won the Second Division playoff final but Sunderland were promoted instead after the Swindon board admitted a series of financial irregularities. Swindon were initially demoted to the Third Division and replaced by Tranmere, the division’s losing Play-Off finalists, but this decision was later reversed on appeal.
A.F.C. Bournemouth, Stoke City and Bradford City occupied the relegation places. Bournemouth did not return to second tier of English football until the 2014-15 season.
The city of Bristol was celebrating after Rovers were crowned champions and City finished runners-up in the Third Division to gain promotion. The third promotion spot was secured by playoff winners Notts County, who beat Leyland DAF Trophy (i.e. EFL Trophy) winners Tranmere Rovers at Wembley.
Walsall suffered a second successive relegation and would be joined in the Fourth Division the following season by Blackpool, Cardiff City and Northampton Town.
Exeter City were crowned Fourth Division champions and went up to the Third Division along with runners-up Grimsby Town, third-placed Southend United and playoff winners Cambridge United. Newly promoted Maidstone United almost ended their first league season with success, but their promotion hopes were ended by playoff failure.
Colchester United were relegated from the league and replaced by Football Conference champions Darlington, who regained their league status just one season after losing it.
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,[1] with home and away statistics separated.
First Division
Season | 1989–90 |
---|---|
Champions | Liverpool (18th English title) [2] |
Relegated | Charlton Athletic Millwall Sheffield Wednesday |
European Cup | No qualifications [2] |
European Cup Winners' Cup | Manchester United |
UEFA Cup | Aston Villa |
Matches played | 380 |
Goals scored | 987 (2.6 per match) |
Top goalscorer | Gary Lineker (Tottenham Hotspur), 24 [3] |
Biggest home win | Liverpool – Crystal Palace 9–0 (12 Sep 1989) |
Biggest away win | Coventry City – Liverpool 1–6 (5 May 1990) |
Highest scoring | Liverpool – Crystal Palace 9–0 (12 Sep 1989) Southampton – Luton Town 6–3 (25 Nov 1989) |
← 1988–89 1990–91 → |
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Liverpool (C) | 38 | 23 | 10 | 5 | 78 | 37 | +41 | 79 | Disqualified from the European Cup[a] |
2 | Aston Villa | 38 | 21 | 7 | 10 | 57 | 38 | +19 | 70 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
3 | Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | 19 | 6 | 13 | 59 | 47 | +12 | 63 | |
4 | Arsenal | 38 | 18 | 8 | 12 | 54 | 38 | +16 | 62 | |
5 | Chelsea | 38 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 58 | 50 | +8 | 60 | |
6 | Everton | 38 | 17 | 8 | 13 | 57 | 46 | +11 | 59 | |
7 | Southampton | 38 | 15 | 10 | 13 | 71 | 63 | +8 | 55 | |
8 | Wimbledon | 38 | 13 | 16 | 9 | 47 | 40 | +7 | 55 | |
9 | Nottingham Forest | 38 | 15 | 9 | 14 | 55 | 47 | +8 | 54 | |
10 | Norwich City | 38 | 13 | 14 | 11 | 44 | 42 | +2 | 53 | |
11 | Queens Park Rangers | 38 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 45 | 44 | +1 | 50 | |
12 | Coventry City | 38 | 14 | 7 | 17 | 39 | 59 | −20 | 49 | |
13 | Manchester United | 38 | 13 | 9 | 16 | 46 | 47 | −1 | 48 | Qualification for the European Cup Winners' Cup first round[b] |
14 | Manchester City | 38 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 43 | 52 | −9 | 48 | |
15 | Crystal Palace | 38 | 13 | 9 | 16 | 42 | 66 | −24 | 48 | |
16 | Derby County | 38 | 13 | 7 | 18 | 43 | 40 | +3 | 46 | |
17 | Luton Town | 38 | 10 | 13 | 15 | 43 | 57 | −14 | 43 | |
18 | Sheffield Wednesday (R) | 38 | 11 | 10 | 17 | 35 | 51 | −16 | 43 | Relegation to the Second Division |
19 | Charlton Athletic (R) | 38 | 7 | 9 | 22 | 31 | 57 | −26 | 30 | |
20 | Millwall (R) | 38 | 5 | 11 | 22 | 39 | 65 | −26 | 26 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
First Division results
Season | 1989–90 |
---|---|
Champions | Liverpool 18th English title |
Relegated | Sheffield Wednesday Charlton Athletic Millwall |
European Cup Winners' Cup | Manchester United |
UEFA Cup | Aston Villa |
Matches played | 380 |
Goals scored | 986 (2.59 per match) |
Top goalscorer | Gary Lineker (24 goals)[3] |
Biggest home win | Liverpool 9–0 Crystal Palace (12 September 1989) |
Biggest away win | Coventry City 1–6 Liverpool (5 May 1990) |
Highest scoring | Liverpool 9–0 Crystal Palace (12 September 1989) Southampton 6–3 Luton Town (25 November 1989) |
← 1988–89 1990–91 → |
The 1989–90 season was the 91st completed season of The Football League.
First Division maps
Season | 1989–90 |
---|---|
Champions | Leeds United (3rd title) |
Promoted | Sheffield United, Sunderland |
Relegated | Bournemouth, Bradford City, Stoke City |
Matches played | 552 |
Goals scored | 1,526 (2.76 per match) |
Top goalscorer | Micky Quinn (Newcastle United), 32 [3] |
← 1988–89 1990–91 → |
Pos | Team | Pld | HW | HD | HL | HGF | HGA | AW | AD | AL | AGF | AGA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Leeds United | 46 | 16 | 6 | 1 | 46 | 18 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 33 | 34 | +27 | 85 | Division Champions, promoted |
2 | Sheffield United | 46 | 14 | 5 | 4 | 43 | 27 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 35 | 31 | +20 | 85 | Promoted |
3 | Newcastle United | 46 | 17 | 4 | 2 | 51 | 26 | 5 | 10 | 8 | 29 | 29 | +25 | 80 | Participated in play-offs |
4 | Swindon Town | 46 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 49 | 29 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 30 | 30 | +20 | 74 | |
5 | Blackburn Rovers | 46 | 10 | 9 | 4 | 43 | 30 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 31 | 29 | +15 | 74 | |
6 | Sunderland | 46 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 41 | 32 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 29 | 32 | +6 | 74 | Promoted through play-offs[c] |
7 | West Ham United | 46 | 14 | 5 | 4 | 50 | 22 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 30 | 35 | +23 | 72 | |
8 | Oldham Athletic | 46 | 15 | 7 | 1 | 50 | 23 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 20 | 34 | +13 | 71 | |
9 | Ipswich Town | 46 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 38 | 22 | 6 | 5 | 12 | 29 | 44 | +1 | 69 | |
10 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 46 | 12 | 5 | 6 | 37 | 20 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 30 | 40 | +7 | 67 | |
11 | Port Vale | 46 | 11 | 9 | 3 | 37 | 20 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 25 | 37 | +5 | 61 | |
12 | Portsmouth | 46 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 40 | 34 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 22 | 31 | −3 | 61 | |
13 | Leicester City | 46 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 34 | 29 | 5 | 6 | 12 | 33 | 50 | −12 | 59 | |
14 | Hull City | 46 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 27 | 31 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 31 | 34 | −7 | 58 | |
15 | Watford | 46 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 41 | 28 | 3 | 9 | 11 | 17 | 32 | −2 | 57 | |
16 | Plymouth Argyle | 46 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 30 | 23 | 5 | 5 | 13 | 28 | 40 | −5 | 55 | |
17 | Oxford United | 46 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 35 | 31 | 7 | 2 | 14 | 22 | 35 | −9 | 54 | |
18 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 46 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 28 | 27 | 5 | 3 | 15 | 28 | 45 | −16 | 54 | |
19 | Barnsley | 46 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 22 | 23 | 6 | 6 | 11 | 27 | 48 | −22 | 54 | |
20 | West Bromwich Albion | 46 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 35 | 37 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 32 | 34 | −4 | 51 | |
21 | Middlesbrough | 46 | 10 | 3 | 10 | 33 | 29 | 3 | 8 | 12 | 19 | 34 | −11 | 50 | |
22 | Bournemouth | 46 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 30 | 31 | 4 | 6 | 13 | 27 | 45 | −19 | 48 | Relegated |
23 | Bradford City | 46 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 26 | 24 | 0 | 8 | 15 | 18 | 44 | −24 | 41 | |
24 | Stoke City | 46 | 4 | 11 | 8 | 20 | 24 | 2 | 8 | 13 | 15 | 39 | −28 | 37 |
Notes:
- ^ Liverpool were banned by UEFA from its competitions from the season 1985–86 on for 10 years, because of the Heysel Stadium disaster in 1985, involving Liverpool fans. The ban was eventually lifted for the 1991–92 season.
- ^ Manchester United qualified for the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup as the 1989–90 FA Cup winners.
- ^ Sunderland were eventually promoted after prosecutions against Swindon Town.
Second Division results
The semifinals were decided over two legs. The final consisted of only a single match.
The full results can be found at: Football League Division Two play-offs 1990.
Semifinals 1st leg – 13 May; 2nd leg – 16 May 1990 | Final at Wembley 28 May 1990 | ||||||||
3rd | Newcastle United | 0 | |||||||
6th | Sunderland | 0 | |||||||
6th | Sunderland [notes2 1] | 0 | |||||||
4th | Swindon Town | 1 | |||||||
4th | Swindon Town | 2 | |||||||
5th | Blackburn Rovers | 1 |
- ^ Following successful prosecutions against Swindon Town and the club chairman, Brian Hillier, after they admitted 36 breaches of League rules —
35 of which are related to illegal payments, Swindon remained in the Second Division and Sunderland took their promotion place (see History of Swindon Town F.C.).
Second Division maps
Season | 1989–90 |
---|---|
Champions | Bristol Rovers (1st title) |
Promoted | Bristol City, Notts County |
Relegated | Blackpool, Cardiff City, Northampton, Walsall |
Matches played | 552 |
Goals scored | 1,414 (2.56 per match) |
Top goalscorer | Bob Taylor (Bristol City), 27 [3] |
← 1988–89 1990–91 → |
Pos | Team | Pld | HW | HD | HL | HGF | HGA | AW | AD | AL | AGF | AGA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Bristol Rovers | 46 | 15 | 8 | 0 | 43 | 14 | 11 | 7 | 5 | 28 | 21 | +36 | 93 | Division Champions, promoted |
2 | Bristol City | 46 | 15 | 5 | 3 | 40 | 16 | 12 | 5 | 6 | 36 | 24 | +36 | 91 | Promoted |
3 | Notts County | 46 | 17 | 4 | 2 | 40 | 18 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 33 | 35 | +20 | 87 | Promoted through play-offs[a] |
4 | Tranmere Rovers | 46 | 15 | 5 | 3 | 54 | 22 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 32 | 27 | +37 | 80 | Participated in play-offs |
5 | Bury | 46 | 11 | 7 | 5 | 35 | 19 | 10 | 4 | 9 | 35 | 30 | +21 | 74 | |
6 | Bolton Wanderers | 46 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 32 | 19 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 27 | 29 | +11 | 69 | |
7 | Birmingham City | 46 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 33 | 19 | 8 | 5 | 10 | 27 | 40 | +1 | 66 | |
8 | Huddersfield Town | 46 | 11 | 5 | 7 | 30 | 23 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 31 | 39 | −1 | 65 | |
9 | Rotherham United | 46 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 48 | 28 | 5 | 7 | 11 | 23 | 34 | +9 | 64 | |
10 | Reading | 46 | 10 | 9 | 4 | 33 | 21 | 5 | 10 | 8 | 24 | 32 | +4 | 64 | |
11 | Shrewsbury Town | 46 | 10 | 9 | 4 | 38 | 24 | 6 | 6 | 11 | 21 | 30 | +5 | 63 | |
12 | Crewe Alexandra | 46 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 32 | 24 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 24 | 29 | +3 | 62 | |
13 | Brentford | 46 | 11 | 4 | 8 | 41 | 31 | 7 | 3 | 13 | 25 | 35 | 0 | 61 | |
14 | Leyton Orient | 46 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 28 | 24 | 7 | 4 | 12 | 24 | 32 | −4 | 58 | |
15 | Mansfield Town | 46 | 13 | 2 | 8 | 34 | 25 | 3 | 5 | 15 | 16 | 40 | −15 | 55 | |
16 | Chester City | 46 | 11 | 7 | 5 | 30 | 23 | 2 | 8 | 13 | 13 | 32 | −12 | 54 | |
17 | Swansea City | 46 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 25 | 27 | 4 | 6 | 13 | 20 | 36 | −18 | 54 | |
18 | Wigan Athletic | 46 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 29 | 22 | 3 | 8 | 12 | 19 | 42 | −16 | 53 | |
19 | Preston North End | 46 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 42 | 30 | 4 | 3 | 16 | 23 | 49 | −14 | 52 | |
20 | Fulham | 46 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 33 | 27 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 22 | 39 | −11 | 51 | |
21 | Cardiff City | 46 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 30 | 35 | 6 | 5 | 12 | 21 | 35 | −19 | 50 | Relegated |
22 | Northampton Town | 46 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 27 | 31 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 24 | 37 | −17 | 47 | |
23 | Blackpool | 46 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 29 | 33 | 2 | 10 | 11 | 20 | 40 | −24 | 46 | |
24 | Walsall | 46 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 23 | 30 | 3 | 6 | 14 | 17 | 42 | −32 | 41 |
Notes:
- ^ Notts County were promoted through the play-offs.
Third Division results
The semifinals were decided over two legs. The final consisted of only a single match.
The full results can be found at: Football League Division Three play-offs 1990.
Semifinals 1st leg – 13 May; 2nd leg – 16 May 1990 | Final at Wembley 27 May 1990 | ||||||||
3rd | Notts County | 1 | |||||||
6th | Bolton Wanderers | 1 | |||||||
3rd | Notts County | 2 | |||||||
4th | Tranmere Rovers | 0 | |||||||
4th | Tranmere Rovers | 0 | |||||||
5th | Bury | 0 |
Third Division maps
Season | 1989–90 |
---|---|
Champions | Exeter City (1st title) |
Promoted | Cambridge United, Grimsby Town, Southend United |
Relegated to Conference | Colchester United |
New club in the league | Maidstone United |
Matches played | 552 |
Goals scored | 1,426 (2.58 per match) |
Top goalscorer | Brett Angell (Stockport County), 23 [3] |
← 1988–89 1990–91 → |
Pos | Team | Pld | HW | HD | HL | HGF | HGA | AW | AD | AL | AGF | AGA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Exeter City | 46 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 50 | 14 | 8 | 2 | 13 | 33 | 34 | +35 | 89 | Division Champions, promoted |
2 | Grimsby Town | 46 | 14 | 4 | 5 | 41 | 20 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 29 | 27 | +23 | 79 | Promoted |
3 | Southend United | 46 | 15 | 3 | 5 | 35 | 14 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 26 | 34 | +13 | 75 | |
4 | Stockport County | 46 | 13 | 6 | 4 | 45 | 27 | 8 | 5 | 10 | 23 | 35 | +6 | 74 | Participated in play-offs |
5 | Maidstone United[a] | 46 | 14 | 4 | 5 | 49 | 21 | 8 | 3 | 12 | 28 | 40 | +16 | 73 | |
6 | Cambridge United | 46 | 14 | 3 | 6 | 45 | 30 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 31 | 36 | +10 | 73 | Promoted through play-offs[b] |
7 | Chesterfield | 46 | 12 | 9 | 2 | 41 | 19 | 7 | 5 | 11 | 22 | 31 | +13 | 71 | Participated in play-offs |
8 | Carlisle United | 46 | 15 | 4 | 4 | 38 | 20 | 6 | 4 | 13 | 23 | 40 | +1 | 71 | |
9 | Peterborough United | 46 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 35 | 23 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 24 | 23 | +13 | 68 | |
10 | Lincoln City | 46 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 30 | 27 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 18 | 21 | 0 | 68 | |
11 | Scunthorpe United | 46 | 9 | 9 | 5 | 42 | 25 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 27 | 29 | +15 | 66 | |
12 | Rochdale | 46 | 11 | 4 | 8 | 28 | 23 | 9 | 2 | 12 | 24 | 32 | −3 | 66 | |
13 | York City | 46 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 29 | 24 | 6 | 11 | 6 | 26 | 29 | +2 | 64 | |
14 | Gillingham | 46 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 28 | 21 | 8 | 3 | 12 | 18 | 27 | −2 | 62 | |
15 | Torquay United | 46 | 12 | 2 | 9 | 33 | 29 | 3 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 37 | −13 | 57 | |
16 | Burnley | 46 | 6 | 10 | 7 | 19 | 18 | 8 | 4 | 11 | 26 | 37 | −10 | 56 | |
17 | Hereford United | 46 | 7 | 4 | 12 | 31 | 32 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 25 | 30 | −6 | 55 | |
18 | Scarborough | 46 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 35 | 28 | 5 | 5 | 13 | 25 | 45 | −13 | 55 | |
19 | Hartlepool United | 46 | 12 | 4 | 7 | 45 | 33 | 3 | 6 | 14 | 21 | 55 | −22 | 55 | |
20 | Doncaster Rovers | 46 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 29 | 29 | 7 | 2 | 14 | 24 | 31 | −7 | 51 | |
21 | Wrexham | 46 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 28 | 28 | 5 | 4 | 14 | 23 | 39 | −16 | 51 | Welsh Cup runners-up, qualified for UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1990–91 First round[c] |
22 | Aldershot | 46 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 28 | 26 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 21 | 43 | −20 | 50 | |
23 | Halifax Town | 46 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 31 | 29 | 7 | 4 | 12 | 26 | 36 | −8 | 49 | |
24 | Colchester United | 46 | 9 | 3 | 11 | 26 | 25 | 2 | 7 | 14 | 22 | 50 | −27 | 43 | Relegated to Conference |
Notes:
- ^ New club in the league
- ^ Cambridge United were promoted through play-offs.
- ^ Wrexham were runners-up in the Welsh Cup final, and since winners Hereford United are an English club, Wrexham were awarded the right to participate in the Cup Winners' Cup.
Fourth Division results
The semifinals were decided over two. The final consisted of only a single match.
The full results can be found at: Football League Division Four play-offs 1990.
Semifinals 1st leg –13 May; 2nd leg –16 May 1990 | Final at Wembley 26 May 1990 | ||||||||
4th | Stockport County | 0 | |||||||
7th | Chesterfield | 4 | |||||||
7th | Chesterfield | 0 | |||||||
6th | Cambridge United | 1 | |||||||
5th | Maidstone United (1897) | 1 | |||||||
6th | Cambridge United | 1 |
Fourth Division maps
See also
References
- ^ "England 1989–90". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 26 January 2010. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
Liverpool-ban
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b c d e "English League Leading Goalscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 31 October 2010. Cite error: The named reference "topscorers" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ "English Division Two (old) 1989-1990 : Table". Statto Organisation Limited. Archived from the original on 30 September 2013. Retrieved 5 August 2013.