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The '1990-91' season was the 111th season of competitive football in England.

Contents

Overview

First Division

Second Division

Third Division

Fourth Division

FA Cup

League Cup

Biggest rise

Biggest fall

League Tables

P W D L F A W D L F A Pts 1. ★ ARSENAL (C) 38 15 4 0 51 10 9 9 1 23 8 89 2. Liverpool 38 14 3 2 42 13 9 4 6 35 27 76 3. Crystal Palace 38 11 6 2 26 17 9 3 7 24 24 69 4. Leeds United 38 12 2 5 46 23 7 5 7 19 24 64 5. Manchester City 38 12 3 4 35 25 5 8 6 29 28 62 6. ★ Manchester United 38 11 4 4 34 17 5 8 6 24 28 59 7. Wimbledon 38 8 6 5 28 22 6 8 5 25 24 56 8. Nottingham Forest 38 11 4 4 42 21 3 8 8 23 29 54 9. Everton 38 9 5 5 26 15 4 7 8 24 31 51 10. Tottenham Hotspur 38 8 9 2 35 22 3 7 9 16 28 49 11. Chelsea 38 10 6 3 33 25 3 4 12 25 44 49 12. Queen's Park Rangers 38 8 5 6 27 22 4 5 10 17 31 46 13. Sheffield United 38 9 3 7 23 23 4 4 11 13 32 46 14. Southampton 38 9 6 4 33 22 3 3 13 25 47 45 15. Norwich City 38 9 3 7 27 32 4 3 12 14 32 45 16. Coventry City 38 10 6 3 30 16 1 5 13 12 33 44 17. Aston Villa 38 7 9 3 29 25 2 5 12 17 33 41 18. Luton Town 38 7 5 7 22 18 3 2 14 20 43 37 19. SUNDERLAND (R) 38 6 6 7 15 16 2 4 13 23 44 34 20. DERBY COUNTY (R) 38 3 8 8 25 36 2 1 16 12 39 24 ★ Arsenal deducted two points; Manchester United deducted one point.

P W D L F A W D L F A Pts 1. OLDHAM ATHLETIC (P) 46 17 5 1 55 21 8 8 7 28 32 88 2. WEST HAM UNITED (P) 46 15 6 2 41 18 9 9 5 19 16 87 3. SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY (P) 46 12 10 1 43 23 10 6 7 37 28 82 4. NOTTS COUNTY (P) 46 14 4 5 45 28 9 7 7 31 27 80 5. Millwall 46 11 6 6 43 28 9 7 7 27 23 73 6. Brighton & Hove Albion 46 12 4 7 37 31 9 3 11 26 38 70 7. Middlesbrough 46 12 4 7 36 17 8 5 10 30 30 69 8. Barnsley 46 13 7 3 39 16 6 5 12 24 32 69 9. Bristol City 46 14 5 4 44 28 6 2 15 24 43 67 10. Oxford United 46 10 9 4 41 29 4 10 9 28 37 61 11. Newcastle United 46 8 10 5 24 22 6 7 10 25 34 59 12. Wolverhampton Wanderers 46 11 6 6 45 35 2 13 8 18 28 58 13. Bristol Rovers 46 11 7 5 29 20 4 6 13 27 39 58 14. Ipswich Town 46 9 8 6 32 28 4 10 9 28 40 57 15. Port Vale 46 10 4 9 32 24 5 8 10 24 40 57 16. Charlton Athletic 46 8 7 8 27 25 5 10 8 30 36 56 17. Portsmouth 46 10 6 7 34 27 4 5 14 24 43 53 18. Plymouth Argyle 46 10 10 3 36 20 2 7 14 18 48 53 19. Blackburn Rovers 46 8 6 9 26 27 6 4 13 25 39 52 20. Watford 46 5 8 10 24 32 7 7 9 21 27 51 21. Swindon Town 46 8 6 9 31 30 4 8 11 34 43 50 22. Leicester City 46 12 4 7 41 33 2 4 17 19 50 50 23. WEST BROMWICH ALBION (R)46 7 11 5 26 21 3 7 13 26 40 48 24. HULL CITY (R) 46 6 10 7 35 32 4 5 14 22 53 45

P W D L F A W D L F A Pts 1. CAMBRIDGE UNITED (P) 46 14 5 4 42 22 11 6 6 33 23 86 2. SOUTHEND UNITED (P) 46 13 6 4 34 23 13 1 9 33 28 85 3. GRIMSBY TOWN (P) 46 16 3 4 42 13 8 8 7 24 21 83 4. Bolton Wanderers 46 14 5 4 33 18 10 6 7 31 32 83 5. TRANMERE ROVERS (P) 46 13 5 5 38 21 10 4 9 26 25 78 6. Brentford 46 12 4 7 30 22 9 9 5 29 25 76 7. Bury 46 13 6 4 39 26 7 7 9 28 30 73 8. Bradford City 46 13 3 7 36 22 7 7 9 26 32 70 9. Bournemouth 46 14 6 3 37 20 5 7 11 21 38 70 10. Wigan Athletic 46 14 3 6 40 20 6 6 11 31 34 69 11. Huddersfield Town 46 13 3 7 37 23 5 10 8 20 28 67 12. Birmingham City 46 8 9 6 21 21 8 8 7 24 28 65 13. Leyton Orient 46 15 2 6 35 19 3 8 12 20 39 64 14. Stoke City 46 9 7 7 36 29 7 5 11 19 30 60 15. Reading 46 11 5 7 34 28 6 3 14 19 38 59 16. Exeter City 46 12 6 5 35 16 4 3 16 23 36 57 17. Preston North End 46 11 5 7 33 29 4 6 13 21 38 56 18. Shrewsbury Town 46 8 7 8 29 22 6 3 14 32 46 52 19. Chester City 46 10 3 10 27 27 4 6 13 19 31 51 20. Swansea City 46 8 6 9 31 33 5 3 15 18 39 48 21. Fulham 46 8 8 7 27 22 2 8 13 14 34 46 22. CREWE ALEXANDRA (R) 46 6 9 8 35 35 5 2 16 27 45 44 23. ROTHERHAM UNITED (R) 46 5 10 8 31 38 5 2 16 19 49 42 24. MANSFIELD TOWN (R) 46 5 8 10 23 27 3 6 14 19 36 38

P W D L F A W D L F A Pts 1. DARLINGTON (P) 46 13 8 2 36 14 9 9 5 32 24 83 2. STOCKPORT COUNTY (P) 46 16 6 1 54 19 7 7 9 30 28 82 3. HARTLEPOOL UNITED (P) 46 15 5 3 35 15 9 5 9 32 33 82 4. PETERBOROUGH UNITED (P) 46 13 9 1 38 15 8 8 7 29 30 80 5. Blackpool 46 17 3 3 55 17 6 7 10 23 30 79 6. Burnley 46 17 5 1 46 16 6 5 12 24 35 79 7. TORQUAY UNITED (P) 46 14 7 2 37 13 4 11 8 27 34 72 8. Scunthorpe United 46 17 4 2 51 20 3 7 13 20 42 71 9. Scarborough 46 13 5 5 36 21 6 7 10 23 35 69 10. Northampton 46 14 5 4 34 21 4 8 11 23 37 67 11. Doncaster Rovers 46 12 5 6 36 22 5 9 9 20 24 65 12. Rochdale 46 10 9 4 29 22 5 8 10 21 31 62 13. Cardiff City 46 10 6 7 26 23 5 9 9 17 31 60 14. Lincoln City 46 10 7 6 32 27 4 10 9 18 34 59 15. Gillingham 46 9 9 5 35 27 3 9 11 22 33 54 16. Walsall 46 7 12 4 25 17 5 5 13 23 34 53 17. Hereford United 46 9 10 4 32 19 4 4 15 21 39 53 18. Chesterfield 46 8 12 3 33 26 5 2 16 14 36 53 19. Maidstone United 46 9 5 9 42 34 4 7 12 24 37 51 20. Carlisle United 46 12 3 8 30 30 1 6 16 17 59 48 21. York City 46 8 6 9 21 23 3 7 13 24 34 46 22. Halifax Town 46 9 6 8 34 29 3 4 16 25 50 46 23. Aldershot 46 8 7 8 38 43 2 4 17 23 58 41 24. Wrexham 46 8 7 8 33 34 2 3 18 15 40 40

Successful managers

European qualifiers

Significant Events

Dalglish cracks under the pressure

Arsenal and United penalised for brawl

Graham's gunners grab title

Gazza's injury agony sours Tottenham's joy

York plunged into mourning by Longhurst tragedy

Liverpool readmitted to Europe

Butcher moves into management

Wednesday's trophy drought ends after 55 years

Aldershot saved by 19-year-old investor

Albion sink to their lowest ebb

Sheringham tops the goalscoring charts

Diary of the season

National team

Asian tour

Deaths

Overview

First Division

Arsenal took their second league title in three seasons despite a season during which it often looked as though the good points would be outnumbered by the bad points. A player brawl in a league fixture against Manchester United in October saw Arsenal have two points deducted, and a few weeks later captain Tony Adams was given a four-month prison sentence for drink-driving (he ended up serving 8 weeks). But Arsenal managed to keep up a great run of form throughout the season and were crowned league champions having lost just one league game all season long.
Runners-up spot was achieved by Liverpool, who had led the table for much of the first half of the season but had been shell-shocked in February by the sudden resignation of manager Kenny Dalglish. Rangers boss Graeme Souness was brought in as his successor but was unable to bring a major trophy to Anfield. Third place in the league went to Crystal Palace, who lost out on a European place to Liverpool who were let off their European ban a year early - 1991-92 UEFA Cup - therefore missing out on their first foray into Europe.
Newly promoted Leeds United had a good season back in the First Division as they finished fourth but never really looked like challenging for the title.
Down at the bottom end of the table, Derby County went down in bottom place with just five wins all season despite the 17 league goals of Welsh striker Dean Saunders. The final relegation place went to Sunderland on the last day of the season.

Second Division

Joe Royle's cavalier Oldham Athletic side dramatically won the Second Division championship - an injury-time penalty completing a 3-2 come-from-behind win against Sheffield Wednesday in their final game, edging them the title from previous leaders West Ham United, who would be promoted as runners-up. Joining them were League Cup winners Sheffield Wednesday, who finished in third place. Neil Warnock guided Notts County to a second successive victory in the promotion playoffs.
Hull City struggled throughout the 1990-91 season and not even the appointment of new manager Terry Dolan could save their Second Division status. They were joined on the last day of the season by West Bromwich Albion, who went down to the Third Division for the first time in their history. Leicester City were saved from suffering the same humiliation by winning their final game of the season.

Third Division

Champions Cambridge United, runners-up Southend United and third-placed Grimsby Town occupied the automatic promotion places and all achieved second successive promotions. The fourth promotion place went to playoff winners Tranmere Rovers, who ended a 53-year absence from the Second Division and made it clear they were prepared to stay there when they signed ex-Liverpool striker John Aldridge.
Going down to the Fourth Division were Crewe Alexandra, Rotherham United and Mansfield Town.

Fourth Division

Brian Little's Darlington won the Fourth Division championship to earn a second successive promotion, while the other four promotion places went to Stockport County, Hartlepool United, Peterborough United and Torquay United. Torquay were the eventual winners, beating Blackpool in a penalty shootout.
Wrexham finished bottom of the league but their league status was saved by the expansion of the Football League to 93 clubs for the 1991-92 season.

FA Cup

Tottenham Hotspur compensated for a slump in form during the second half of the 1990-91 league campaign by beating Nottingham Forest 2-1 in the F.A Cup final, although their triumph was overshadowed by a knee injury to star midfielder Paul Gascoigne in the opening 15 minutes. In the previous round at Wembley against arch-rivals Arsenal, Gascoigne had scored a tremendous free-kick in a surprise 3-1 win against the champions elect.

League Cup

Ron Atkinson's Sheffield Wednesday earned a shock 1-0 victory over his old club Manchester United thanks to a goal from John Sheridan - a self-confessed Manchester City supporter.

Biggest rise

Oldham Athletic won the Second Division championship to return to the First Division after a 68-year absence.

Biggest fall

West Bromwich Albion fell into the Third Division for the very first time, 11 years after reaching the UEFA Cup quarter finals and 12 years after missing the league championship by just two places.

League Tables

===First Division

P W D L F A W D L F A Pts
1.
★ ARSENAL (C) 38 15 4 0 51 10 9 9 1 23 8 89
2. Liverpool 38 14 3 2 42 13 9 4 6 35 27 76
3. Crystal Palace 38 11 6 2 26 17 9 3 7 24 24 69
4. Leeds United 38 12 2 5 46 23 7 5 7 19 24 64
5. Manchester City 38 12 3 4 35 25 5 8 6 29 28 62
6.
★ Manchester United 38 11 4 4 34 17 5 8 6 24 28 59
7. Wimbledon 38 8 6 5 28 22 6 8 5 25 24 56
8. Nottingham Forest 38 11 4 4 42 21 3 8 8 23 29 54
9. Everton 38 9 5 5 26 15 4 7 8 24 31 51
10. Tottenham Hotspur 38 8 9 2 35 22 3 7 9 16 28 49
11. Chelsea 38 10 6 3 33 25 3 4 12 25 44 49
12. Queen's Park Rangers 38 8 5 6 27 22 4 5 10 17 31 46
13. Sheffield United 38 9 3 7 23 23 4 4 11 13 32 46
14. Southampton 38 9 6 4 33 22 3 3 13 25 47 45
15. Norwich City 38 9 3 7 27 32 4 3 12 14 32 45
16. Coventry City 38 10 6 3 30 16 1 5 13 12 33 44
17. Aston Villa 38 7 9 3 29 25 2 5 12 17 33 41
18. Luton Town 38 7 5 7 22 18 3 2 14 20 43 37
19. SUNDERLAND (R) 38 6 6 7 15 16 2 4 13 23 44 34
20. DERBY COUNTY (R) 38 3 8 8 25 36 2 1 16 12 39 24

★ Arsenal deducted two points; Manchester United deducted one point.

Second Division

P W D L F A W D L F A Pts
1. OLDHAM ATHLETIC (P) 46 17 5 1 55 21 8 8 7 28 32 88
2. WEST HAM UNITED (P) 46 15 6 2 41 18 9 9 5 19 16 87
3. SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY (P) 46 12 10 1 43 23 10 6 7 37 28 82
4. NOTTS COUNTY (P) 46 14 4 5 45 28 9 7 7 31 27 80
5. Millwall 46 11 6 6 43 28 9 7 7 27 23 73
6. Brighton & Hove Albion 46 12 4 7 37 31 9 3 11 26 38 70
7. Middlesbrough 46 12 4 7 36 17 8 5 10 30 30 69
8. Barnsley 46 13 7 3 39 16 6 5 12 24 32 69
9. Bristol City 46 14 5 4 44 28 6 2 15 24 43 67
10. Oxford United 46 10 9 4 41 29 4 10 9 28 37 61
11. Newcastle United 46 8 10 5 24 22 6 7 10 25 34 59
12. Wolverhampton Wanderers 46 11 6 6 45 35 2 13 8 18 28 58
13. Bristol Rovers 46 11 7 5 29 20 4 6 13 27 39 58
14. Ipswich Town 46 9 8 6 32 28 4 10 9 28 40 57
15. Port Vale 46 10 4 9 32 24 5 8 10 24 40 57
16. Charlton Athletic 46 8 7 8 27 25 5 10 8 30 36 56
17. Portsmouth 46 10 6 7 34 27 4 5 14 24 43 53
18. Plymouth Argyle 46 10 10 3 36 20 2 7 14 18 48 53
19. Blackburn Rovers 46 8 6 9 26 27 6 4 13 25 39 52
20. Watford 46 5 8 10 24 32 7 7 9 21 27 51
21. Swindon Town 46 8 6 9 31 30 4 8 11 34 43 50
22. Leicester City 46 12 4 7 41 33 2 4 17 19 50 50
23. WEST BROMWICH ALBION (R)46 7 11 5 26 21 3 7 13 26 40 48
24. HULL CITY (R) 46 6 10 7 35 32 4 5 14 22 53 45

Third Division

P W D L F A W D L F A Pts
1. CAMBRIDGE UNITED (P) 46 14 5 4 42 22 11 6 6 33 23 86
2. SOUTHEND UNITED (P) 46 13 6 4 34 23 13 1 9 33 28 85
3. GRIMSBY TOWN (P) 46 16 3 4 42 13 8 8 7 24 21 83
4. Bolton Wanderers 46 14 5 4 33 18 10 6 7 31 32 83
5. TRANMERE ROVERS (P) 46 13 5 5 38 21 10 4 9 26 25 78
6. Brentford 46 12 4 7 30 22 9 9 5 29 25 76
7. Bury 46 13 6 4 39 26 7 7 9 28 30 73
8. Bradford City 46 13 3 7 36 22 7 7 9 26 32 70
9. Bournemouth 46 14 6 3 37 20 5 7 11 21 38 70
10. Wigan Athletic 46 14 3 6 40 20 6 6 11 31 34 69
11. Huddersfield Town 46 13 3 7 37 23 5 10 8 20 28 67
12. Birmingham City 46 8 9 6 21 21 8 8 7 24 28 65
13. Leyton Orient 46 15 2 6 35 19 3 8 12 20 39 64
14. Stoke City 46 9 7 7 36 29 7 5 11 19 30 60
15. Reading 46 11 5 7 34 28 6 3 14 19 38 59
16. Exeter City 46 12 6 5 35 16 4 3 16 23 36 57
17. Preston North End 46 11 5 7 33 29 4 6 13 21 38 56
18. Shrewsbury Town 46 8 7 8 29 22 6 3 14 32 46 52
19. Chester City 46 10 3 10 27 27 4 6 13 19 31 51
20. Swansea City 46 8 6 9 31 33 5 3 15 18 39 48
21. Fulham 46 8 8 7 27 22 2 8 13 14 34 46
22. CREWE ALEXANDRA (R) 46 6 9 8 35 35 5 2 16 27 45 44
23. ROTHERHAM UNITED (R) 46 5 10 8 31 38 5 2 16 19 49 42
24. MANSFIELD TOWN (R) 46 5 8 10 23 27 3 6 14 19 36 38

Fourth Division=

P W D L F A W D L F A Pts
1. DARLINGTON (P) 46 13 8 2 36 14 9 9 5 32 24 83
2. STOCKPORT COUNTY (P) 46 16 6 1 54 19 7 7 9 30 28 82
3. HARTLEPOOL UNITED (P) 46 15 5 3 35 15 9 5 9 32 33 82
4. PETERBOROUGH UNITED (P) 46 13 9 1 38 15 8 8 7 29 30 80
5. Blackpool 46 17 3 3 55 17 6 7 10 23 30 79
6. Burnley 46 17 5 1 46 16 6 5 12 24 35 79
7. TORQUAY UNITED (P) 46 14 7 2 37 13 4 11 8 27 34 72
8. Scunthorpe United 46 17 4 2 51 20 3 7 13 20 42 71
9. Scarborough 46 13 5 5 36 21 6 7 10 23 35 69
10. Northampton 46 14 5 4 34 21 4 8 11 23 37 67
11. Doncaster Rovers 46 12 5 6 36 22 5 9 9 20 24 65
12. Rochdale 46 10 9 4 29 22 5 8 10 21 31 62
13. Cardiff City 46 10 6 7 26 23 5 9 9 17 31 60
14. Lincoln City 46 10 7 6 32 27 4 10 9 18 34 59
15. Gillingham 46 9 9 5 35 27 3 9 11 22 33 54
16. Walsall 46 7 12 4 25 17 5 5 13 23 34 53
17. Hereford United 46 9 10 4 32 19 4 4 15 21 39 53
18. Chesterfield 46 8 12 3 33 26 5 2 16 14 36 53
19. Maidstone United 46 9 5 9 42 34 4 7 12 24 37 51
20. Carlisle United 46 12 3 8 30 30 1 6 16 17 59 48
21. York City 46 8 6 9 21 23 3 7 13 24 34 46
22. Halifax Town 46 9 6 8 34 29 3 4 16 25 50 46
23. Aldershot 46 8 7 8 38 43 2 4 17 23 58 41
24. Wrexham 46 8 7 8 33 34 2 3 18 15 40 40

Successful players ==
The PFA Player of the Year was Manchester United striker Mark Hughes, whose prolific goalscoring included two goals in United's Cup Winners Cup triumph over Barcelona.
The FWA Player of the Year was experienced Leeds United midfielder Gordon Strachan, who helped his newly promoted side reach a creditable fourth place in the First Division.
The PFA Young Player of the Year was Manchester United's 19-year-old winger Lee Sharpe, who collected a Cup Winners Cup medal in his first season as a regular player.
Welsh striker Dean Saunders scored 24 league goals for Derby County but couldn't save them from relegation and was sold to Liverpool for a British record fee of nearly £3million.
Tottenham's Gary Lineker had another great season and helped his side win the F.A Cup to end their seven-year trophy drought.

Successful managers

George Graham guided Arsenal to their second league title in three years after they lost just one out of 38 league games.
Alex Ferguson took Manchester United to glory in the European Cup Winners Cup in the first season back in Europe for English clubs after the Heysel Disaster.
Terry Venables ended Tottenham's seven-year trophy drought with an F.A Cup triumph at the expense of Nottingham Forest.
Joe Royle won the Second Division championship for Oldham Athletic to end their 68-year absence from the First Division.
Ron Atkinson took Sheffield Wednesday to glory in the League Cup and promotion to the First Division.
Brian Little achieved a second successive promotion with Darlington, who finished top of the Fourth Division a year after they had topped the Conference.
Neil Warnock guided Notts County to a unique second successive playoff triumph as they climbed from the Third Division to the First Division with back-to-back promotions.
John Beck completed back-to-back promotions with Cambridge United, who were Third Division champions and F.A Cup quarter finalists a year after being Fourth Division playoff winners.
Barry Fry took Barnet into the Football League as Conference champions.
John King guided Tranmere Rovers into the Second Division for the first time since the late 1930s.

European qualifiers

League champions Arsenal were England's first post-Heysel entrants for the European Cup.
Runners-up Liverpool and third-placed Crystal Palace would be England's representatives for the 1991-92 UEFA Cup.
Holders Manchester United and F.A Cup winners Tottenham Hotspur qualified for the 1991-92 Cup Winners Cup.

Significant Events

Dalglish cracks under the pressure

Kenny Dalglish resigned as Liverpool manager on 22 February 1991, blaming the pressures of the job on his decision to quit. He was replaced by Graeme Souness of Glasgow Rangers, but Souness was unable to stop Arsenal from beating Liverpool to the league title.

Arsenal and United penalised for brawl

Arsenal were deducted two points and Manchester United were deducted one point after a brawl between players on both sides in an October fixture at Old Trafford. But the blow didn't have much damage on either team, as Arsenal went on to win the league title and Manchester United won the Cup Winners Cup.

Graham's gunners grab title

Despite the two-point deduction imposed for the Old Trafford fracas, and the absence of captain Tony Adams for eight weeks in mid-season while he served a prison sentence for drink-driving, Arsenal cruised to the league title with a seven-point margin over runners-up Liverpool and just one defeat on the way.

Gazza's injury agony sours Tottenham's joy

Paul Gascoigne suffered a serious knee injury in Tottenham's victorious F.A Cup final clash with Nottingham Forest, putting on hold a proposed transfer to Lazio of Italy. He was ruled out for the entire 1991-92 season.
Tottenham's cup triumph capped a great season for London clubs with Arsenal as league champions, Tottenham as F.A Cup winners, West Ham winning promotion to the First Division while Crystal Palace finished third in the top tier - their highest finish ever.

York plunged into mourning by Longhurst tragedy

York City striker David Longhurst, 24, collapsed and died on 8 September in a Fourth Division fixture at Bootham Crescent. The inquest revealed that he suffered from a rare heart condition.

Liverpool readmitted to Europe

Liverpool were re-admitted to European competition, having served an extra year after the ban on English clubs in Europe arising from the Heysel Disaster was lifted one year early - Crystal Palace were the club who lost out through this. They qualified for the UEFA Cup as league runners-up.

Butcher moves into management

On 15 November, a month before his 32nd birthday, Rangers and England defender Terry Butcher was appointed player-manager of Coventry City to replace John Sillett. On the same day, 34-year-old Peter Reid replaced Howard Kendall (who had returned to Everton) as manager of Manchester City.

Wednesday's trophy drought ends after 55 years

Sheffield Wednesday won the League Cup for the first time in their history with a 1-0 win over Manchester United - manager Ron Atkinson's old club. John Sheridan, the scorer of their winning goal, was a self-confessed Manchester United supporter. It was also Wednesday's first major trophy for 55 years.

Aldershot saved by 19-year-old investor

Aldershot were saved from closure in August 1990 after 19-year-old "property developer" Spencer Trethewy signed an affadavit for around £200,000 which saw off a winding-up order; however, other parties paid the money on his behalf, and within three months he was dismissed from the club's board of directors when he failed to repay the sums he had borrowed.

Albion sink to their lowest ebb

West Bromwich Albion were relegated to the Third Division for the first time in their history, little over a decade after they had almost won the league title. This disappointment came at the end of a season during which they had been knocked out of the F.A Cup by non-league Woking.

Sheringham tops the goalscoring charts

Millwall striker Teddy Sheringham was the leading goalscorer in England with 38 goals in all competitions, but was put on the transfer list after his club failed to navigate the Second Division playoffs. After the season was over, he joined Nottingham Forest in a £2million deal.

Diary of the season

2 August 1990 - Sheikh Fahed al-Ahmed al-Sabah, vice president of FIFA, is killed during fighting in the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.
7 August 1990 - One week after being wound up in the High Court as "hopelessly insolvent" with huge debts, Aldershot are saved from closure by a rescue package put together by 19-year-old property developer Spencer Trethewy.
8 September 1990 - York City striker David Longhurst, 24, collapses and dies from a heart attack during a Fourth Division fixture at Bootham Crescent.
5 October 1990 - Peter Taylor, former managerial partner of Brian Clough, dies in the Canary Islands aged 62 after a long illness.
31 October 1990 - Everton sack manager Colin Harvey after their worst start to a league season leaves them third from bottom in the First Division.
7 November 1990 - Howard Kendall leaves Manchester City to begin his second spell as Everton manager. Colin Harvey, sacked as manager a week earlier, rejoins the club as Kendall's assistant in the manager-coach partnership that previously ran from 1981 to 1987.
14 November 1990 - Coventry City sack manager John Sillett after four-and-a-half years in charge.
15 November 1990 - Manchester City appoint 34-year-old midfielder Peter Reid as their new player-manager. Coventry City agree a 350,000 deal with Rangers to appoint 31-year-old centre-back Terry Butcher as their new manager.
19 December 1990 - Arsenal captain Tony Adams is sentenced to 4 months in prison and banned from driving for 2 years after being found guilty of drink-driving relating to a road accident on 6 May this year.
22 December 1990 - Sheffield United finally win a First Division game at the 18th attempt, but remain bottom of the table.
9 January 1991 - West Bromwich Albion sack manager Brian Talbot after their 4-2 home defeat against non-league Woking in the FA Cup Third Round.
15 February 1991 - Tony Adams is released from prison after serving half of his 4-month prison sentence for drink-driving offences.
22 February 1991 - Kenny Dalglish shocks the football world by announcing his resignation as Liverpool manager. Long-serving coach Ronnie Moran, 54, is appointed caretaker manager but insists that he does not want the job on a permanent basis.
16 April 1991 - Graeme Souness is named as Liverpool's new manager.
21 April 1991 - Sheffield Wednesday, chasing promotion to the First Division, achieve a shock 1-0 win over Manchester United in the Football League Cup Final to end their 55-year major trophy drought.
15 May 1991 - Manchester United mark a stylish return to European football by English clubs with a 2-1 win over Barcelona in the European Cup Winners' Cup final in Rotterdam. Mark Hughes scores both goals.
18 May 1991 - Paul Gascoigne suffers cruciate knee ligament damage in Tottenham Hotspur's 2-1 FA Cup final victory over Nottingham Forest.

National team

The England national football team had a successful season, winning a mini-tournament against the CIS and Argentina, progressing steadily in qualification for the 1992 UEFA European Championship and conducting a tour to South-East Asia and Oceania in which they won all four games.

Asian tour

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Deaths

★ Kevin Durham, 29, Barnet striker who died of a heart attack just weeks after helping his club win promotion to the Football League.

★ Robin Friday, 38, popular centre forward with Reading and Cardiff City during the 1970s, was found dead at his London flat on Christmas Eve 1990. He had suffered a heart attack.

★ David Longhurst, 25, York City striker, collapsed and died of a heart attack on 8 September during a Fourth Division fixture at Bootham Crescent.

★ Joe Mercer, 76, former England player, died on his birthday after suffering a stroke. Was manager of Manchester City when they won four trophies in three seasons starting in 1968.

★ Stan Mortensen, 69, former Blackpool and England striker who was one of the league's most exciting strikers in the immediate post-war years. Scored a hat-trick in the 1953 FA Cup final, to date the only player to do so.

★ Peter Taylor, 62, long-term assistant manager to Brian Clough who helped him win the league championship with Derby County in 1972. He later returned to Derby as manager but was sacked in 1984 after their relegation to the Third Division.