1988–89 Football League

The 1988–89 season was the 90th completed season of the Football League.[1]

The Football League
Season1988–89
ChampionsArsenal
RelegatedDarlington
New club in LeagueLincoln City

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
Season1988–89
ChampionsArsenal
9th English title
RelegatedMiddlesbrough
West Ham United
Newcastle United
Matches played380
Goals scored962 (2.53 per match)
Top goalscorerAlan Smith
(23 goals)[2]
Biggest home winLuton Town 6–1 Southampton
(2 January 1989)
Biggest away winMillwall 0–5 Tottenham Hotspur
(29 April 1989)
Highest scoringCoventry 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)
Longest winning run9 matches
Liverpool
Longest unbeaten run18 matches
Liverpool
Longest losing run5 matches
Southampton

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.[3] 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.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Arsenal (C) 38 22 10 6 73 36 +37 76 Disqualified from the European Cup[4]
2 Liverpool[lower-alpha 1] 38 22 10 6 65 28 +37 76 Disqualified from the European Cup Winners' Cup[5]
3 Nottingham Forest[lower-alpha 2] 38 17 13 8 64 43 +21 64 Disqualified from the UEFA Cup[6]
4 Norwich City 38 17 11 10 48 45 +3 62
5 Derby County 38 17 7 14 40 38 +2 58
6 Tottenham Hotspur 38 15 12 11 60 46 +14 57
7 Coventry City 38 14 13 11 47 42 +5 55
8 Everton 38 14 12 12 50 45 +5 54
9 Queens Park Rangers 38 14 11 13 43 37 +6 53
10 Millwall 38 14 11 13 47 52 −5 53
11 Manchester United 38 13 12 13 45 35 +10 51
12 Wimbledon 38 14 9 15 50 46 +4 51
13 Southampton 38 10 15 13 52 66 −14 45
14 Charlton Athletic 38 10 12 16 44 58 −14 42
15 Sheffield Wednesday 38 10 12 16 34 51 −17 42
16 Luton Town 38 10 11 17 42 52 −10 41
17 Aston Villa 38 9 13 16 45 56 −11 40
18 Middlesbrough (R) 38 9 12 17 44 61 −17 39 Relegation to the Second Division
19 West Ham United (R) 38 10 8 20 37 62 −25 38
20 Newcastle United (R) 38 7 10 21 32 63 −31 31
Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. Liverpool would have qualified as FA Cup winners.
  2. Nottingham Forest would have qualified as League Cup winners.

First Division results table
Home \ Away 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
Source:
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Managerial changes
Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Newcastle United Northern Ireland Willie McFaul Sacked 10 October 1988 19th England Colin Suggett (caretaker) 10 October 1988
Sheffield Wednesday England Howard Wilkinson Signed by Leeds United 12 October 1988 9th England Peter Eustace 12 October 1988
Newcastle United England Colin Suggett End of caretaker spell 14 December 1988 20th England Jim Smith 14 December 1988
Queens Park Rangers England Jim Smith Signed by Newcastle United 14 December 1988 13th England Trevor Francis 14 December 1988
Sheffield Wednesday England Peter Eustace Sacked 14 February 1989 18th England Ron Atkinson 14 February 1989

First Division maps
Locations of the Football League First Division 1988–1989 teams
Locations of the Football League First Division London teams 1988–1989

Second Division
Second Division
Season1988–89
ChampionsChelsea
PromotedChelsea
Manchester City
Crystal Palace
RelegatedShrewsbury Town
Birmingham City
Walsall
Matches played552
Goals scored1,465 (2.65 per match)
Top goalscorerKeith Edwards
(26 goals)[2]
Biggest home winWest Bromwich Albion 6–0 Stoke City
(18 December 1988)
Biggest away winWalsall 0–7 Chelsea
(4 February 1989)
Highest scoringBlackburn Rovers 5–4 Crystal Palace
(8 October 1988)
Longest winning run7 matches
Longest unbeaten run23 matches
Longest losing run32 matches

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.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Chelsea (C, P) 46 29 12 5 96 50 +46 99 Promotion to the First Division
2 Manchester City (P) 46 23 13 10 77 53 +24 82
3 Crystal Palace (O, P) 46 23 12 11 71 49 +22 81 Qualification for the Second Division play-offs
4 Watford 46 22 12 12 74 48 +26 78
5 Blackburn Rovers 46 22 11 13 74 59 +15 77
6 Swindon Town 46 20 16 10 68 53 +15 76
7 Barnsley 46 20 14 12 66 58 +8 74
8 Ipswich Town 46 22 7 17 71 61 +10 73
9 West Bromwich Albion 46 18 18 10 65 41 +24 72
10 Leeds United 46 17 16 13 59 50 +9 67
11 Sunderland 46 16 15 15 60 60 0 63
12 Bournemouth 46 18 8 20 53 62 −9 62
13 Stoke City 46 15 14 17 57 72 −15 59
14 Bradford City 46 13 17 16 52 59 −7 56
15 Leicester City 46 13 16 17 56 63 −7 55
16 Oldham Athletic 46 11 21 14 75 72 +3 54
17 Oxford United 46 14 12 20 62 70 −8 54
18 Plymouth Argyle 46 14 12 20 55 66 −11 54
19 Brighton & Hove Albion 46 14 9 23 57 66 −9 51
20 Portsmouth 46 13 12 21 53 62 −9 51
21 Hull City 46 11 14 21 52 68 −16 47
22 Shrewsbury Town (R) 46 8 18 20 40 67 −27 42 Relegation to the Third Division
23 Birmingham City (R) 46 8 11 27 31 76 −45 35
24 Walsall (R) 46 5 16 25 41 80 −39 31
Source: thestatcat.co.uk
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Second Division play-offs
Main article: 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-finals
1st leg –21 May; 2nd leg –24 May 1989 		Finals
1st leg –31 May; 2nd leg –3 June 1989
          
3rd Crystal Palace 0 2 2
6th Swindon Town 1 0 1
3rd Crystal Palace 1 3 4
5th Blackburn Rovers 3 0 3
4th Watford 0 1 1
5th Blackburn Rovers[notes2 1] 0 1 1
  1. Blackburn won on away goals after extra time.

Second Division results
Home \ Away 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 5–2 0–0 0–1 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 0–1 3–5 2–0 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 2–0 2–1 3–0 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 0–1 1–2 2–2 1–1 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 1–2 0–1 4–0 3–0 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 2–0 5–3 3–1 1–2 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 2–3 1–1 4–1 2–2 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 4–0 0–0 1–1 1–3 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 3–1 2–0 4–0 2–0 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 3–0 2–0 1–0 2–0 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 0–1 2–0 4–0 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 3–3 1–2 0–0 1–0 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 2–0 1–1 4–0 1–1 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 3–1 2–0 3–0 1–1 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 1–1 1–2 0–1 4–3 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 2–1 3–0 1–0 1–2 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 1–0 2–3 0–0 1–1 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 2–1 1–1 1–0 0–1 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 1–1 1–0 2–2 2–0 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 3–1 0–0 2–1 1–1 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 1–1 1–3 5–0 1–2 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 1–0 4–0 1–0 2–2 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 0–0 1–1 0–0 2–0 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
Source:
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Second Division maps
Locations of the Football League Second Division London teams 1988–1989
Locations of the Football League Second Division 1988–1989 teams

Third Division
Football League, Third Division
Season1988–89
ChampionsWolverhampton Wanderers (1st title)
PromotedPort Vale,
Sheffield United
RelegatedAldershot,
Chesterfield,
Gillingham,
Southend United
Matches played552
Goals scored1,495 (2.71 per match)
Top goalscorerSteve Bull (Wolverhampton Wanderers), 37[2]

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.

Pos Team Pld HW HD HL HGF HGA AW AD AL AGF AGA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Wolverhampton Wanderers 46 18 4 1 61 19 8 10 5 35 30 +47 92 Division Champions, promoted
2 Sheffield United 46 16 3 4 57 21 9 6 8 36 33 +39 84 Promoted
3 Port Vale 46 15 3 5 46 21 9 9 5 32 27 +30 84 Promoted through play-offs[lower-alpha 1]
4 Fulham 46 12 7 4 42 28 10 2 11 27 39 +2 75 Participated in play-offs
5 Bristol Rovers 46 9 11 3 34 21 10 6 7 33 30 +16 74
6 Preston North End 46 14 7 2 56 31 5 8 10 23 29 +19 72
7 Brentford 46 14 5 4 36 21 4 9 10 30 40 +5 68
8 Chester City 46 12 6 5 38 18 7 5 11 26 43 +3 68
9 Notts County 46 11 7 5 37 22 7 6 10 27 32 +10 67
10 Bolton Wanderers 46 12 8 3 42 23 4 8 11 16 31 +4 64
11 Bristol City 46 10 3 10 32 25 8 6 9 21 30 −2 63
12 Swansea City 46 11 8 4 33 22 4 8 11 18 31 −2 61 Welsh Cup winners, qualified for UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1989–90 First round
13 Bury 46 11 7 5 27 22 5 6 12 28 45 −12 61
14 Huddersfield Town 46 10 8 5 35 25 7 1 15 28 48 −10 60
15 Mansfield Town 46 10 8 5 32 22 4 9 10 16 30 −4 59
16 Cardiff City 46 10 9 4 30 16 4 6 13 14 40 −12 57
17 Wigan Athletic 46 9 5 9 28 22 5 9 9 27 31 +2 56
18 Reading 46 10 6 7 37 29 5 5 13 31 43 −4 56
19 Blackpool 46 10 6 7 36 29 4 7 12 20 30 −3 55
20 Northampton Town 46 11 2 10 41 34 5 4 14 25 42 −10 54
21 Southend United 46 10 9 4 33 26 3 6 14 23 49 −19 54 Relegated
22 Chesterfield 46 9 5 9 35 35 5 2 16 16 51 −35 49
23 Gillingham 46 7 3 13 25 32 5 1 17 22 49 −34 40
24 Aldershot 46 7 6 10 29 29 1 7 15 19 49 −30 37
Source:
Notes:
  1. Port Vale won the play-offs and were promoted.

Third Division play-offs
Main article: 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-finals
1st leg –21/22 May; 2nd leg –25 May 1989 		Finals
1st leg –31 May; 2nd leg –3 June 1989
          
3rd Port Vale 1 3 4
6th Preston North End 1 1 2
3rd Port Vale 1 1 2
5th Bristol Rovers 1 0 1
4th Fulham F.C. 0 0 0
5th Bristol Rovers 1 4 5

Third Division results
Home \ Away 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
Source:
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Third Division maps
Locations of the Football League Third Division London teams 1988–1989
Locations of the Football League Third Division teams 1988–1989

Fourth Division
Football League, Fourth Division
Season1988–89
ChampionsRotherham United (1st title)
PromotedCrewe Alexandra,
Leyton Orient,
Tranmere Rovers
Relegated to ConferenceDarlington
New club in the leagueLincoln City
Matches played552
Goals scored1,498 (2.71 per match)
Top goalscorerPhil Stant (Hereford United), 28[2]

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.

Pos Team Pld HW HD HL HGF HGA AW AD AL AGF AGA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Rotherham United 46 13 6 4 44 18 9 10 4 32 17 +41 82 Division Champions, promoted
2 Tranmere Rovers 46 15 6 2 34 13 6 11 6 28 30 +19 80 Promoted
3 Crewe Alexandra 46 13 7 3 42 24 8 8 7 25 24 +19 78
4 Scunthorpe United 46 11 9 3 40 22 10 5 8 37 35 +20 77 Participated in play-offs
5 Scarborough 46 12 7 4 33 23 9 7 7 34 29 +15 77
6 Leyton Orient 46 16 2 5 61 19 5 10 8 25 31 +36 75 Promoted through play-offs[lower-alpha 1]
7 Wrexham 46 12 7 4 44 28 7 7 9 33 35 +14 71 Participated in play-offs
8 Cambridge United 46 13 7 3 45 25 5 7 11 26 37 +9 68
9 Grimsby Town 46 11 9 3 33 18 6 6 11 32 41 +6 66
10 Lincoln City[lower-alpha 2] 46 12 6 5 39 26 6 4 13 25 34 +4 64
11 York City 46 10 8 5 43 27 7 5 11 19 36 −1 64
12 Carlisle United 46 9 6 8 26 25 6 9 8 27 27 +1 60
13 Exeter City 46 14 4 5 46 23 4 2 17 19 45 −3 60
14 Torquay United 46 15 2 6 32 23 2 6 15 13 37 −15 59
15 Hereford United 46 11 8 4 40 27 3 8 12 26 45 −6 58
16 Burnley 46 12 6 5 35 20 2 7 14 17 41 −9 55
17 Peterborough United 46 10 3 10 29 32 4 9 10 23 42 −22 54
18 Rochdale 46 10 10 3 32 26 3 4 16 24 56 −26 53
19 Hartlepool United 46 10 6 7 33 33 4 4 15 17 45 −28 52
20 Stockport County 46 8 10 5 31 20 2 11 10 23 32 +2 51
21 Halifax Town 46 10 7 6 42 27 3 4 16 27 48 −6 50
22 Colchester United 46 8 7 8 35 30 4 7 12 25 48 −18 50
23 Doncaster Rovers 46 9 6 8 32 32 4 4 15 17 46 −29 49
24 Darlington 46 3 12 8 28 38 5 6 12 25 38 −23 42 Relegated to Conference
Source:
Notes:
  1. Leyton Orient won the play-offs and were promoted.
  2. New club in the league

Fourth Division play-offs
Main article: 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-finals
1st leg –21 May; 2nd leg –24 May 1989 		Finals
1st leg –30 May; 2nd leg –3 June 1989
          
4th Scunthorpe United 1 0 1
7th Wrexham 3 2 5
7th Wrexham 0 1 1
6th Leyton Orient 0 2 2
5th Scarborough 1 0 1
6th Leyton Orient 0 2 2

Fourth Division results
Home \ Away 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
Source:
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Fourth Division maps
Locations of the Football League Fourth Division teams 1988–1989

See also

References
  1. "England 1988–89". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 25 January 2010. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
  2. "English League Leading Goalscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 31 October 2010.
  3. "BBC Hillsborough inquests: The 96 who died". BBC. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  4. English 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.
  5. English 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.
  6. English 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.
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