1985–86 in English football

The 1985-86 season was the 106th season of competitive football in England.

Overview

First Division

The championship crown went to Liverpool for the 16th time in their history at the end of their first season under the management of Kenny Dalglish, but they had to fight off some very stiff competition to get the big prize. Neighbours Everton came second, having been first for nearly the entire campaign and looked favourites to win a second successive title, however a monumental finish from Liverpool which saw them win 8 out of there last 9 games, to eventually win the title, while West Ham United came third and Manchester United finished in fourth place. Ron Atkinson's United side had looked set for title glory after winning their first 10 games of the season, but a slump in form during the second half of the season ruined their title hopes.

Going down from the First Division were Ipswich Town, Birmingham City and West Bromwich Albion. Ipswich, who had been league runners-up and UEFA Cup winners just a few seasons earlier, had never been the same since the departure of Bobby Robson for the England job in 1982 and had gradually faded away under his successor Bobby Ferguson. Birmingham had only won promotion the year before, but had struggled on their comeback to the First Division and relegation had looked certain throughout the season. Albion had suffered badly since manager Ron Atkinson had moved to Manchester United and taken key players Bryan Robson and Remi Moses with him, and their luck finally ran out as they ended the 1985-86 season bottom of the First Division with just four wins from 42 league games.

George Graham, who had played in Arsenal's 1970-71 Double-winning side, returned to the club as their new manager after Don Howe had resigned. By the time Graham returned to Arsenal, the club had gone 15 years without a league title and seven years without a major trophy. Graham's task was to bring some success to the Gunners who had been increasingly eclipsed by rivals Tottenham Hotspur during the 1980s.

The first half of the season was witnessed only in the flesh, as a dispute over the television rights meant no Football League action was seen by TV viewers until January 1986.

Second Division

League Cup holders Norwich City were most people's favourites for an instant return to the First Division, and Ken Brown's men proved the observers correct by gaining promotion. But the two other promotion places went to two of the least fancied sides. Charlton, managed by Lennie Lawrence, had narrowly escaped closure three years earlier and just after the start of the 1985-86 had been forced to ground-share with Crystal Palace because their own stadium was condemned by safety officials. But Lawrence and his players made a huge effort to push for promotion and they succeeded. The third and final promotion place went to Dave Bassett's Wimbledon, who were only in their ninth season as a league club.

Carlisle United, whose fortunes had slumped dramatically since their one-year stay in the top flight during the 1970s, were relegated to the Third Division having been in the upper half of the league for well over a decade. Harry Gregg, the former Manchester United goalkeeper who helped rescue passengers at the Munich air disaster, was appointed Carlisle's manager at the end of the season. Following them down were Fulham and financially-troubled Middlesbrough.

Third Division

The Third Division promotion places in 1985-86 went to Reading, Plymouth Argyle and Derby County - the beginning of the return to the top for the Rams under Arthur Cox.

The relegation places went to Lincoln City, Cardiff City, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Swansea City. Just a few seasons earlier, Wolves and Swansea had been enjoying good fortunes in the First Division - Wolves as League Cup winners in 1980 and Swansea as sixth-placed in the First Division. But financial problems had caught up with both clubs and pushed them into a downward spiral.

Fourth Division

Swindon Town, Chester City, Mansfield Town and Port Vale occupied the Fourth Division promotion places in 1985-86. Credit to Swindon manager Lou Macari for beginning the reversal of decline for a club who had been League Cup winners in 1969. And to Harry McNally for guiding Chester to only the second promotion in their 55-year league career.

In the Fourth Division for the first time were two of England's oldest and most famous clubs - Burnley and Preston North End. 1985-86 was the last season of re-election before the introduction of automatic relegation from the Fourth Division. Preston finished second from bottom, just above Torquay United, and only avoided losing their league status because the league's other members voted for them in favour of Gola League champions Enfield. Burnley's fortunes were not quite so bad, but a mid-table finish wasn't anywhere near good enough for promotion. Another Fourth Division struggling side, Tranmere Rovers, almost went out of business during the season but were saved at the eleventh hour by a new chairman.

FA Cup

Liverpool beat neighbours Everton 3-1 in the final to complete only the third league championship and FA Cup double of the 20th century. Key player in the triumph was striker Ian Rush, who scored twice.

League Cup

Oxford United marked their First Division debut season with an impressive 3-0 victory over QPR - managed by former Oxford boss Jim Smith - in the League Cup final.

Star players

*Everton's new signing Gary Lineker scored more than 30 competitive goals for his team as they pursued the domestic honours all season long before being beaten to both the league title and FA Cup by neighbours Liverpool. Lineker was voted Player of the Year by both the PFA and FWA.
*West Ham's club record third-place finish was mainly down to the prolific goalscoring of young striker Tony Cottee who was credited with the PFA Young Player of the Year award for his strong performances.
*Liverpool's double glory was achieved thanks to the efforts of their whole playing squad, but the driving force in their triumph was undoubtedly striker Ian Rush who had yet another great season.
*Manchester United's ever-improving striker Mark Hughes had another brilliant season but was unable to halt his side's late-season slump, which cost them the league title.
*Northern Ireland goalkeeper Pat Jennings hung up his gloves at the age of 41 to draw the curtain on a 25-year career which had seen him turn out for Watford, Tottenham and Arsenal. He famously scored for Tottenham against Manchester United with a goal-line clearance in the 1967 Charity Shield.

Star managers

*Liverpool's Kenny Dalglish kicked off his management career with the league championship and FA Cup double.
*Maurice Evans began his career as Oxford manager by winning them the League Cup in their first season as a top division club.
*Howard Kendall inspired Everton to another strong season but they were unable to beat neighbours Liverpool to the coveted double.
*John Lyall built a stylish West Ham side which came close to winning the club's first-ever league championship trophy but still did well to finish a club record third in the final table.
*Dave Bassett continued to make the most of Wimbledon's limited resources by guiding his unfancied side to promotion to the First Division at the end of only their ninth season as a league club.
*Lennie Lawrence took Charlton Athletic back in the First Division after an exile of nearly 30 years.
*Ken Brown guided Norwich City to the Second Division title in order to restore their top flight status at the first time of asking.
*Ian Branfoot guided Reading to their second promotion in three seasons after they won the Third Division title.
*Lou Macari's Swindon Town were Fourth Division champions and the first Football League team to record 100 points in a league season.
*Harry McNally took Chester City to their second promotion in 55 years of Football League membership by guiding them to runners-up spot in the Fourth Division in his first season in charge.

National team

England reached the 1986 FIFA World Cup quarter finals where they lost 2-1 to eventual winners Argentina, whose first goal by Diego Maradona was allowed despite being an obvious handball. Maradona later referred to his controversial goal as "The Hand of God".

Transfers

Terry Venables signed two British strikers for FC Barcelona - Mark Hughes from Manchester United and Gary Lineker from Everton - in hope of lifting some of the pressure building up on him after Barcelona's European Cup final defeat.

Diary of the season

11 August 1985 - Jack Charlton resigns as Newcastle United manager six days before the start of the First Division campaign, and is replaced by Willie McFaul.

17 August 1985 - The Football League season kicks off with some significant results. Oxford United begin their First Division life with a 1-1 draw at West Bromwich Albion, while resurgent sides Chelsea and Sheffield Wednesday battle it out for the same scoreline at Hillsborough.

10 September 1985 - The battle against football hooliganism is hit with a blow when a magistrates' sitting in Manchester gives Manchester United permission to sell alcohol at no less than 19 outlets at Old Trafford.

1 October 1985 - Manchester United, still with a 100% record in the First Division, enter October with a 10-point lead in the league.

19 October 1985 - England goalkeeper Peter Shilton endures one of the most miserable games of his career when he concedes seven goals for Southampton in their 7-0 First Division defeat at the hands of Luton Town.

8 November 1985 - Kevin Whitton, a Chelsea supporter, is sentenced to life imprisonment after being found guilty of some of the most serious incidents of football hooliganism ever witnessed in England, including the violent assult of a police officer amogst other things.

23 November 1985 - Frank McAvennie continues his prolific goalscoring run for West Ham United, who are looking like surprise contenders for their first ever league title. McAvennie, 24, is the top scorer in the Football League having scored 17 times so far this season.

20 December 1985 - Swansea City, struggling in the Third Division just four years after finishing sixth in the First Division, go into receivership with huge debts.

28 December 1985 - Chelsea are starting to look like surprise title contenders after they move into third place in the First Division.

4 January 1986 - One of Manchester United's main shareholders, rock star Phil Lynott, dies in a Salisbury hospital at the age of 34 after suffering multiple organ failure resulting from alcoholism and drug abuse.

14 January 1986 - Bankrupt Swansea City are given a 28-day stay of execution.

1 February 1986 - Manchester United fall off the top of the First Division for the first time this season and their place is taken by Everton.

9 February 1986 - 22 people, including a 12-year-old boy, are injured at the Liverpool-Manchester United game after hooligans sprayed a noxious substance at spectators on their way into the stadium.

22 March 1986 - Don Howe resigns as manager of Arsenal after reports that Terry Venables was about to take his job. Long-serving coach Steve Burtenshaw takes charge of first-team affairs until the end of the season.

29 March 1986 - Two of the surprise title-contenders Chelsea and West Ham meet at Stamford Bridge. West Ham destroy Chelsea 4-0 to get themselves right back in the title race. This effectively ends Chelsea's hopes as they suffer their second heavy defeat in a matter of days over the Easter period.

12 April 1986 - West Bromwich Albion and Birmingham City are relegated from the First Division as the first of possibly four victims of a rapid decline in midlands football which has accelerated in the last five years. Albion were UEFA Cup participants just four seasons ago, and their manager Ron Saunders was ironically recruited from Birmingham just three months ago.

26 April 1986 - Wolverhampton Wanderers become the third midlands club to be relegated this season, but become only the second English club ever to suffer three successive relegations after their descent into the Fourth Division is confirmed. The debt-ridden club were one of Europe's top clubs during the 1950s, winning the league three times, and were highly successful as recently as the start of this decade, having won the Football League Cup in 1980.

4 May 1986 - Charlton Athletic and Wimbledon join champions Norwich City in the First Division after winning promotion from the Second. Charlton have not played in the First Division since the 1950s, while Wimbledon have reached the top flight for the first time and completed a third promotion in four seasons (since they were Fourth Division champions in 1983), a mere nine years after being elected to the Football League.

10 May 1986 - Liverpool beat Everton 3-1 in the first-ever all-Merseyside FA Cup final. This success means that Liverpool are only the fifth club in history to win the league championship and FA Cup double, making a dream debut in management for their 35-year-old player-manager Kenny Dalglish.

20 May 1986 - Controversial plans are unveiled for Chelsea's Stamford Bridge stadium to be sold and redeveloped for housing, and for the team to ground-share with Fulham at Craven Cottage.

Honours

Third Division

Fourth Division

P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points