1991–92 Football League First Division

The 1991–92 season was the 93rd in the history of the Football League First Division, as well as the division's final season as the top flight of English football.

Football League First Division
Season1991–92
ChampionsLeeds United
3rd English title
RelegatedLuton Town
Notts County
West Ham United
Champions LeagueLeeds United
European Cup Winners' CupLiverpool
UEFA CupManchester United
Sheffield Wednesday
Matches played462
Goals scored1,175 (2.54 per match)
Top goalscorerIan Wright
(29 goals)[1]
Biggest home winArsenal 7–1 Sheffield Wednesday
(15 February 1992)
Biggest away winSheffield Wednesday 1–6 Leeds United
(12 January 1992)
Highest scoringOldham Athletic 3–6 Manchester United
(26 December 1991)
Longest winning run6 matches
Southampton
Longest unbeaten run17 matches
Arsenal
Longest losing run6 matches
Norwich City

Overview
Locations of the Premier League 1992–93 teams
Greater London Premier League football clubs

Leeds United won the last ever league championship before the Premier League was born, thanks to the efforts of players like Gordon Strachan, Lee Chapman, David Batty and Gary McAllister. On 26 April 1992, Leeds beat Sheffield United 3–2 at Bramall Lane and with the news that their challengers Manchester United lost 2–0 to Liverpool at Anfield, it confirmed them as champions.

Newly promoted Sheffield Wednesday finished in third and secured UEFA Cup qualification.

The previous season's defending champions Arsenal slipped to 4th place and never made a serious threat to retain their title. The previous season's runners-up Liverpool slipped to 6th in their first full season under the management of Graeme Souness, although they did win the FA Cup. Liverpool's Merseyside rivals Everton finished a disappointing 12th – a three-place setback on their finish the previous season.

Newly promoted West Ham United were relegated in bottom place. On 25 April 1992, West Ham's relegation was confirmed when they lost 1–0 at Coventry City. This win for Coventry also relegated Notts County – another newly promoted side – rendering their 2–0 defeat at Manchester City on the same day as academic. The last day of the season saw Luton Town lose their top flight status after ten seasons. They needed to win at Notts County and for Coventry to lose at Aston Villa. Coventry did lose 2–0 at Villa Park but unfortunately for Luton, they lost 2–1 which kept Coventry up and sent Luton down. Seventeen years later The Hatters would fall into the Conference (the 5th level of the English football system), while Notts County fell into it 10 years after them. Luton would not return to the top division until 2023, while Notts County have remained outside the top two divisions since 1995.

For much of the season, Southampton's 21-year-old striker Alan Shearer was the target of much media speculation about a move to a leading First Division club. The likes of Liverpool and Manchester United were strongly linked with his signature during the autumn, but Shearer decided to stay put on the south coast before making a decision about his future at the end of the season. Shearer was capped for the senior England side for the first time in February 1992, and scored on his debut. Another English striker who established himself as a top scorer at this level this season was the Sheffield Wednesday striker David Hirst, scoring the goals that helped the Owls win the League Cup and an instant return to the First Division in 1990–91, and finishing among the First Division's leading scorers in 1991–92.

Manchester United's teenage winger Ryan Giggs, who had played twice for the first team the previous season, received plaudits for his outstanding performances and picked up the PFA Young Player of the Year award as well as a League Cup winner's medal, establishing himself as a regular player before his 18th birthday. Other young players who made the headlines this season were Liverpool's teenage winger Steve McManaman and new signing Rob Jones, Aston Villa's Trinidadian striker Dwight Yorke and Nottingham Forest midfielder Roy Keane.

As a wave of new names began to dominate the English game, Tottenham Hotspur's high scoring striker Gary Lineker announced in November that he would be leaving the club at the end of the season to sign for the Japanese side Grampus Eight, and also confirmed his decision to retire from the England team after the European championships that summer.

Personnel and kits

(As of May 1992)

Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
Arsenal Scotland George Graham England Tony Adams Adidas JVC
Aston Villa England Ron Atkinson England Stuart Gray Umbro Mita Copiers
Chelsea Scotland Ian Porterfield Republic of Ireland Andy Townsend Umbro Commodore International
Coventry City England Terry Butcher England Brian Borrows Asics Peugeot
Crystal Palace England Steve Coppell England Geoff Thomas Bukta Tulip Computers NV
Everton England Howard Kendall Wales Kevin Ratcliffe Umbro NEC
Leeds United England Howard Wilkinson Scotland Gordon Strachan Umbro Yorkshire Evening Post
Liverpool Scotland Graeme Sounessa England Mark Wright Adidas Candy
Luton Town Scotland Jimmy Ryan England Trevor Peakeb Umbro Universal Salvage Auctions
Manchester City England Peter Reid England Steve Redmond Umbro Brother Industries
Manchester United Scotland Alex Ferguson England Bryan Robson Adidas Sharp
Norwich City Wales David Williams (caretaker) England Ian Butterworth Asics Asics
Nottingham Forest England Brian Clough England Stuart Pearce Umbro Shipstones (home), Labatts (away)
Notts County England Neil Warnock England Craig Short Matchwinner Home Bitter (home), McEwan's Lager (away)
Oldham Athletic England Joe Royle Republic of Ireland Mike Milligan Umbro Bovis
Queens Park Rangers England Gerry Francis England Ray Wilkins Brooks Brooks
Sheffield United England Dave Bassett England Brian Gayle Umbro Laver
Sheffield Wednesday England Trevor Francis England Nigel Pearson Umbro None (Until December)
Mr. Tom (From January)
Southampton England Ian Branfoot England Glenn Cockerill Admiral Draper Tools
Tottenham Hotspur Wales Peter Shreeves England Gary Mabbutt Umbro Holsten
West Ham United England Billy Bonds England Ian Bishop Bukta BAC Windows
Wimbledon Republic of Ireland Joe Kinnear England John Scales Admiral No sponsor
a.^ Souness was absent from his duties after being diagnosed with a heart condition on 8 April 1992. Though Souness officially remained team manager, Ronnie Moran effectively took over the role for the remainder of the season.[2]
b.^ Trevor Peake is understood to have been team Captain in January but it is unknown when he was appointed.[3]

Managerial changes
Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Aston Villa Czechoslovakia Jozef Vengloš Mutual consent 28 May 1991 Pre-season England Ron Atkinson 8 June 1991
Queens Park Rangers England Don Howe Sacked 31 May 1991 England Gerry Francis 1 June 1991
Tottenham Hotspur England Terry Venables Became general manager 1 June 1991 Wales Peter Shreeves 1 June 1991
Sheffield Wednesday England Ron Atkinson Signed by Aston Villa 8 June 1991 England Trevor Francis 8 June 1991
Luton Town Scotland Jim Ryan Sacked 13 June 1991 England David Pleat 15 June 1991
Wimbledon England Ray Harford Resigned 7 October 1991 8th England Peter Withe 10 October 1991
Coventry City England Terry Butcher Sacked 6 January 1992 17th England Don Howe 7 January 1992
Wimbledon England Peter Withe Sacked 19 January 1992 19th Republic of Ireland Joe Kinnear 19 January 1992
Norwich City England Dave Stringer Resigned 1 May 1992 18th Wales David Williams 1 May 1992

League standings

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Leeds United (C) 42 22 16 4 74 37 +37 82 Qualification for the UEFA Champions League first round
2 Manchester United 42 21 15 6 63 33 +30 78 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round[lower-alpha 1]
3 Sheffield Wednesday 42 21 12 9 62 49 +13 75
4 Arsenal 42 19 15 8 81 47 +34 72
5 Manchester City 42 20 10 12 61 48 +13 70
6 Liverpool 42 16 16 10 47 40 +7 64 Qualification for the European Cup Winners' Cup first round
7 Aston Villa 42 17 9 16 48 44 +4 60
8 Nottingham Forest 42 16 11 15 60 58 +2 59
9 Sheffield United 42 16 9 17 65 63 +2 57
10 Crystal Palace 42 14 15 13 53 61 −8 57
11 Queens Park Rangers 42 12 18 12 48 47 +1 54
12 Everton 42 13 14 15 52 51 +1 53
13 Wimbledon 42 13 14 15 53 53 0 53
14 Chelsea 42 13 14 15 50 60 −10 53
15 Tottenham Hotspur 42 15 7 20 58 63 −5 52
16 Southampton 42 14 10 18 39 55 −16 52
17 Oldham Athletic 42 14 9 19 63 67 −4 51
18 Norwich City 42 11 12 19 47 63 −16 45
19 Coventry City 42 11 11 20 35 44 −9 44
20 Luton Town (R) 42 10 12 20 39 71 −32 42 Relegated[lower-alpha 2]
21 Notts County (R) 42 10 10 22 40 62 −22 40
22 West Ham United (R) 42 9 11 22 37 59 −22 38
Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. Manchester United also won the League Cup – that UEFA Cup qualifying place was passed down to the third-placed League team.[4][5]
  2. From the 1992–93 season, the first tier became the Premier League, and the second tier, then known as the Second Division, was renamed to the First Division.

Results
Home \ Away ARS AST CHE COV CRY EVE LEE LIV LUT MCI MUN NWC NOT NTC OLD QPR SHU SHW SOU TOT WHU WDN
Arsenal 0–0 3–2 1–2 4–1 4–2 1–1 4–0 2–0 2–1 1–1 1–1 3–3 2–0 2–1 1–1 5–2 7–1 5–1 2–0 0–1 1–1
Aston Villa 3–1 3–1 2–0 0–1 0–0 1–4 1–0 4–0 3–1 0–1 1–0 3–1 1–0 1–0 0–1 1–1 0–1 2–1 0–0 3–1 2–1
Chelsea 1–1 2–0 0–1 1–1 2–2 0–1 2–2 4–1 1–1 1–3 0–3 1–0 2–2 4–2 2–1 1–2 0–3 1–1 2–0 2–1 2–2
Coventry City 0–1 1–0 0–1 1–2 0–1 0–0 0–0 5–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–2 1–0 1–1 2–2 3–1 0–0 2–0 1–2 1–0 0–1
Crystal Palace 1–4 0–0 0–0 0–1 2–0 1–0 1–0 1–1 1–1 1–3 3–4 0–0 1–0 0–0 2–2 2–1 1–1 1–0 1–2 2–3 3–2
Everton 3–1 0–2 2–1 3–0 2–2 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–2 0–0 1–1 1–1 1–0 2–1 0–0 0–2 0–1 0–1 3–1 4–0 2–0
Leeds United 2–2 0–0 3–0 2–0 1–1 1–0 1–0 2–0 3–0 1–1 1–0 1–0 3–0 1–0 2–0 4–3 1–1 3–3 1–1 0–0 5–1
Liverpool 2–0 1–1 1–2 1–0 1–2 3–1 0–0 2–1 2–2 2–0 2–1 2–0 4–0 2–1 1–0 2–1 1–1 0–0 2–1 1–0 2–3
Luton Town 1–0 2–0 2–0 1–0 1–1 0–1 0–2 0–0 2–2 1–1 2–0 2–1 1–1 2–1 0–1 2–1 2–2 2–1 0–0 0–1 2–1
Manchester City 1–0 2–0 0–0 1–0 3–2 0–1 4–0 2–1 4–0 0–0 2–1 2–1 2–0 1–2 2–2 3–2 0–1 0–1 1–0 2–0 0–0
Manchester United 1–1 1–0 1–1 4–0 2–0 1–0 1–1 0–0 5–0 1–1 3–0 1–2 2–0 1–0 1–4 2–0 1–1 1–0 3–1 2–1 0–0
Norwich City 1–3 2–1 0–1 3–2 3–3 4–3 2–2 3–0 1–0 0–0 1–3 0–0 0–1 1–2 0–1 2–2 1–0 2–1 0–1 2–1 1–1
Nottingham Forest 3–2 2–0 1–1 1–0 5–1 2–1 0–0 1–1 1–1 2–0 1–0 2–0 1–1 3–1 1–1 2–5 0–2 1–3 1–3 2–2 4–2
Notts County 0–1 0–0 2–0 1–0 2–3 0–0 2–4 1–2 2–1 1–3 1–1 2–2 0–4 2–0 0–1 1–3 2–1 1–0 0–2 3–0 1–1
Oldham Athletic 1–1 3–2 3–0 2–1 2–3 2–2 2–0 2–3 5–1 2–5 3–6 2–2 2–1 4–3 2–1 2–1 3–0 1–1 1–0 2–2 0–1
Queens Park Rangers 0–0 0–1 2–2 1–1 1–0 3–1 4–1 0–0 2–1 4–0 0–0 0–2 0–2 1–1 1–3 1–0 1–1 2–2 1–2 0–0 1–1
Sheffield United 1–1 2–0 0–1 0–3 1–1 2–1 2–3 2–0 1–1 4–2 1–2 1–0 4–2 1–3 2–0 0–0 2–0 0–2 2–0 1–1 0–0
Sheffield Wednesday 1–1 2–3 3–0 1–1 4–1 2–1 1–6 0–0 3–2 2–0 3–2 2–0 2–1 1–0 1–1 4–1 1–3 2–0 0–0 2–1 2–0
Southampton 0–4 1–1 1–0 0–0 1–0 1–2 0–4 1–1 2–1 0–3 0–1 0–0 0–1 1–1 1–0 2–1 2–4 0–1 2–3 1–0 1–0
Tottenham Hotspur 1–1 2–5 1–3 4–3 0–1 3–3 1–3 1–2 4–1 0–1 1–2 3–0 1–2 2–1 0–0 2–0 0–1 0–2 1–2 3–0 3–2
West Ham United 0–2 3–1 1–1 0–1 0–2 0–2 1–3 0–0 0–0 1–2 1–0 4–0 3–0 0–2 1–0 2–2 1–1 1–2 0–1 2–1 1–1
Wimbledon 1–3 2–0 1–2 1–1 1–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 3–0 2–1 1–2 3–1 3–0 2–0 2–1 0–1 3–0 2–1 0–1 3–5 2–0
Source:
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Top scorers
Rank Player Club Goals
1 England Ian Wright Crystal Palace/Arsenal 29
2 England Gary Lineker Tottenham Hotspur 28
3 England John Fashanu Wimbledon 18
England David Hirst Sheffield Wednesday
Scotland Brian McClair Manchester United
England David White Manchester City
7 England Mark Bright Crystal Palace 17
8 England Lee Chapman Leeds United 16
9 England Peter Beardsley Everton 15
10 England Robbie Earle Wimbledon 14

Hat-tricks
PlayerForAgainstResultDateRef
England Carlton PalmerSheffield WednesdayQueens Park Rangers4–1 (H)31 August 1991
England Peter BeardsleyEvertonCoventry City3–0 (H)21 September 1991
England Gary Lineker (4)Tottenham HotspurWimbledon5–3 (A)21 September 1991
England Ian WrightArsenalSouthampton4–0 (A)28 September 1991
England Tony CotteeEvertonTottenham Hotspur3–1 (H)5 October 1991
England Ian Wright (4)ArsenalEverton4–2 (H)21 December 1991
England Dennis BaileyQueens Park RangersManchester United4–1 (A)1 January 1992[6]
England Lee ChapmanLeeds UnitedSheffield Wednesday6–1 (A)12 January 1992
England Lee ChapmanLeeds UnitedWimbledon5–1 (H)14 March 1992
England Darren BeckfordNorwich CityEverton4–3 (H)21 March 1992
Scotland Gordon DurieTottenham HotspurCoventry City4–3 (H)28 March 1992
England Gary LinekerTottenham HotspurWest Ham United3–0 (H)1 April 1992
England Paul MersonArsenalCrystal Palace4–1 (H)11 April 1992
Scotland Graeme Sharp (4)Oldham AthleticLuton Town5–1 (H)11 April 1992
England David WhiteManchester CityOldham Athletic5–2 (A)2 May 1992
England Ian WrightArsenalSouthampton5–1 (H)2 May 1992
Scotland Frank McAvennieWest Ham UnitedNottingham Forest3–0 (H)2 May 1992
Note: (H) – Home; (A) – Away

References
  1. "English League Leading Goalscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 31 October 2010.
  2. "Profile: Tougher than his old boots: Graeme Souness, still managing Liverpool". The Independent. 23 January 1993. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  3. "Nottingham Forest 1 Luton Town 1". When Saturday Comes (WSC). Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  4. "The Competition – EFL". English Football League.
  5. "European qualification for UEFA competitions explained". premierleague.com.
  6. Hat-trick hero still going strong, BBC Sport, 3 February 2006
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