The 1985–86 season was the 106th season of competitive

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Timeline

* 5 July 1985: Everton signed

striker

Gary Lineker Gary Winston Lineker (; born 30 November 1960) is an English former professional footballer and current sports broadcaster. He is regarded as having been one of the greatest English strikers. His media career began with the BBC, where he has p ...

for £800,000. * 10 July 1985: Everton sold striker Andy Gray to

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

for £150,000, six years after he first left

Villa Park Villa Park is a football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, England, with a seating capacity of 42,682. It has been the home of Premier League side Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witton and Aston railway station ...

to sign for the

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

. Gray departed from

Goodison Park Goodison Park is a football stadium in the Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area 2 miles (3 km) north of Liverpool ...

despite calls for manager

Howard Kendall Howard Kendall (22 May 1946 – 17 October 2015) was an English footballer and manager. Kendall joined Preston North End as an apprentice and stayed with the club when he turned professional. He was a runner-up in the 1964 FA Cup with Preston, ...

to retain him, as he helped Everton win three major trophies in his two seasons at the club. * 12 July 1985:

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...

signed striker

Imre Varadi Imre Varadi (born 8 July 1959) is an English former professional footballer, known as a journeyman forward who appeared for 16 different clubs at all levels of professional football in England. Playing career Varadi was born in Paddington, L ...

from

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

for £285,000. * 2 August 1985:

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

signed striker

Ian Wright Ian Edward Wright (born 3 November 1963) is an English television and radio personality and former professional footballer. He works as a pundit for BBC Sport and ITV Sport. Wright enjoyed success with London clubs Crystal Palace and Arsenal ...

from Greenwich Borough. * 10 August 1985: Everton beat

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

2–0 in the FA Charity Shield at

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

. * 12 August 1985: Sheffield Wednesday signed striker Garry Thompson from

for £450,000. * 17 August 1985: The league season began. Defending champions Everton suffered a 3–1 defeat to

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

Filbert Street Filbert Street was a football stadium in Leicester, England, which served as the home of Leicester City F.C. from 1891 until 2002. Although officially titled the City Business Stadium in the early 1990s, it remained known almost exclusively by ...

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

holders Manchester United beat Aston Villa 4–0 at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

beat

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

4–0 at

White Hart Lane White Hart Lane was a Association football, football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater i ...

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

won 3–0 against

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

, while

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...

beat

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, eas ...

4–3 at

Leeds Road Leeds Road was a football stadium in Huddersfield, England. It operated from its construction in 1908 until the Kirklees Stadium was opened nearby for the 1994–95 season. It was the home of Huddersfield Town A.F.C. from 1908 to 1994 and was ...

. The season began without any live coverage of matches on TV after talks between

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

and the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

to show live matches failed. International matches were the only matches shown on live TV.Remember the 1985 TV blackout? Only the Big Yin knew who McAvennie was
Simon Hart, The Independent, 22 October 2011When football fans did not see a single match on TV over Christmas
Steven Pye, The Guardian, 3 December 2019 * 24 August 1985:

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and t ...

achieved their first win in the First Division with a 5–0 victory over Leicester City at the Manor Ground. Watford beat West Bromwich Albion 5–1 at

Vicarage Road Vicarage Road is a stadium in Watford, England, and is the home stadium of championship club Watford. An all-seater stadium, its current capacity is 22,200. History It has been the home of Watford since 1922, when the club moved from Cas ...

. Manchester United were the only team in the First Division with a 100% record after three games, having beaten

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

2–1 at

Highbury Highbury is a district in North London and part of the London Borough of Islington in Greater London that was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads. The manor house was situ ...

. Sheffield Wednesday won 3–1 against

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

Maine Road Maine Road was a football stadium in Moss Side, Manchester, England, that was home to Manchester City F.C. from 1923 to 2003. It hosted FA Cup semi-finals, the Charity Shield, a League Cup final and England matches. Maine Road's highest atte ...

. * 26 August 1985:

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

beat

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...

5–0 at

Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892. ...

in the First Division.

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

won 2–1 against

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...

lost 6–2 to Stoke City. * 31 August 1985: Manchester United led the league after five straight wins, with Sheffield Wednesday in second place, while

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

and Newcastle United fill the next two places. Everton climbed to fifth as Lineker scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

in a 4–1 win over

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...

. In the Second Division,

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

headed the promotion race, joined in the top three by the

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...

and

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic ...

. * 4 September 1985: Manchester United won 3–0 against Newcastle United, Tottenham beat Chelsea 4–1 at White Hart Lane, Leicester and Watford tied 2–2 at Filbert Street, Aston Villa won 3–0 against West Bromwich Albion. * 7 September 1985: Manchester United won 3–0 against Oxford United at Old Trafford. Liverpool won 3–1 against

. Everton lost 3–0 to the

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

Loftus Road Loftus Road is a football stadium in White City, London, England, which is home to Queens Park Rangers. In 1981, it became the first stadium in British professional football to have an artificial pitch of Omniturf installed. This remained in ...

. Tottenham beat Newcastle 5–1 at White Hart Lane. Down in the Second Division,

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

tied 3–3 with

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...

Roker Park Roker Park was a football ground in Roker, Sunderland, England, which was the home of Sunderland A.F.C. from 1898 to 1997, before the club moved to the Stadium of Light. Its final capacity was around 22,500, with only a small part being seated; ...

. * 8 September 1985:

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

beat Leicester City 3-0 on Filbert Street. * 10 September 1985:

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

manager

Jock Stein John "Jock" Stein (5 October 1922 – 10 September 1985) was a Scottish football player and manager. He was the first manager of a British side to win the European Cup, with Celtic in 1967. Stein also guided Celtic to nine successive Scottish ...

, 62, died at the end of a 1–1 draw between Scotland and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

in the last game of the World Cup qualifying campaign at

Ninian Park Ninian Park was a football stadium in the Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales, that was the home of Cardiff City F.C. for 99 years. Opened in 1910 with a single wooden stand, it underwent numerous renovations during its lifespan and hosted fixtu ...

. * 13 September 1985: Sheffield Wednesday signed midfielder

Mark Chamberlain Mark Valentine Chamberlain (born 19 November 1961) is an English former international footballer. He is the younger brother of Neville Chamberlain, and the father of Liverpool and England international player Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Alde ...

from Stoke City for £300,000. * 14 September 1985: At the

Manchester derby The Manchester derby refers to football matches between Manchester City and Manchester United, first contested in 1881. City play at the City of Manchester Stadium in Bradford, east Manchester, while United play at Old Trafford in the borough of ...

, Manchester United won 3–0 at

. Liverpool tied 2–2 with Oxford United at the Manor Ground. Arsenal won 1–0 home against Sheffield Wednesday. * 18 September 1985:

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...

won 4–3 against

at Carrow Road. * 21 September 1985: Manchester United won 5–1 against West Bromwich Albion at

The Hawthorns The Hawthorns is an all-seater football stadium in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England, with a capacity of 26,688. It has been the home of Championship club West Bromwich Albion since 1900, when it became the sixth ground to be used by the cl ...

in the First Division. Tottenham's beat Sheffield Wednesday 5-1, and move up to fifth place. Liverpool won the

Merseyside derby The Merseyside derby is the association football, football matches between Everton F.C., Everton and Liverpool F.C., Liverpool, the two primary clubs in Liverpool, England. Named after the county of Merseyside, in which Liverpool is located, it ...

3–2 at Goodison Park. * 28 September 1985:

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in ...

left The Valley after an inspection report by safety officials, and began a groundshare with

. Manchester United won their tenth game against

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

at Old Trafford. Liverpool beat Tottenham 4–1 at Anfield. Chelsea lost 3–1 at Watford. * 29 September 1985: West Bromwich Albion fired

Johnny Giles Michael John Giles (born 6 November 1940) is an Irish former association football player and manager best remembered for his time as a midfielder with Leeds United in the 1960s and 1970s. After retiring from management in 1985, Giles served as t ...

as manager and replaced him with

Nobby Stiles Norbert Peter Stiles (18 May 194230 October 2020) was an English footballer and manager. He played for England for five years, winning 28 caps and scoring one goal. He played every minute of England's victorious 1966 FIFA World Cup campaign. In ...

. * 1 October 1985:

, UEFA Cup winners in 1981 and league runners-up as recently as 1982, lost 1–0 defeat against

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

. * 2 October 1985: Leicester and Oxford tied 4–4 in the First Division at Filbert Street. * 5 October 1985: Manchester United tied 1–1 against Luton Town, one game short of the record 11-match winning start set by Tottenham in 1960. Liverpool lost 2–1 to the Queens Park Rangers. Chelsea won 1–0 against Manchester City at Maine Road. West Bromwich Albion tied 1–1 with Tottenham. In the Second Division

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

beat Carlisle United 6–1 at the

Goldstone Ground The Goldstone Ground (or The Goldstone) was a football stadium in Hove, East Sussex that was the home ground of Brighton & Hove Albion between 1902 and 1997. History The Goldstone Ground stood on Old Shoreham Road, Hove, opposite Hove Park ...

. * 6 October 1985: Coventry City beat Leicester City 3–0 in the First Division at

Highfield Road Highfield Road was a football stadium in the city of Coventry, England. It was the home ground for Coventry City F.C. for 106 years. History It was built in 1899 in the Hillfields district, close to the city centre, and staged its final game ...

. * 8 October 1985: Aston Villa beat

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

8–1 at Villa Park. Liverpool won 5–2 against

in their second leg visit to

Boundary Park Boundary Park is a football stadium in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. Its name originates from the fact that it lies at the northwestern extremity of Oldham, with Royton and Chadderton lying immediately north and west respectively. Bound ...

, making it 8–2 over the two legs. * 11 October 1985: Leeds United fired manager Eddie Gray and replaced him with former club captain Billy Bremner, who was recruited from the Third Division side

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...

. * 12 October 1985:

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

set a football league record of winning their first 12 league games of the season, beating Newport County 2–0 at

Somerton Park Somerton Park was a football, greyhound racing and speedway stadium in Newport, South Wales. Football In April 1912 Newport County had been accepted to play in the Southern League for the 1912–13 season. Shortly afterwards, the site ...

in the Third Division. Sheffield Wednesday tied 2–2 with Coventry City, and Everton lost 2–1 to Chelsea. West Bromwich Albion tied 2–2 with Leicester. * 17 October 1985:

signed midfielder

Glenn Cockerill Glenn Cockerill (born 25 August 1959) is an English retired footballer who played more than 700 games in The Football League in a 22-year career. He was a skilled central midfielder renowned for his passing and shooting skills. Playing career Co ...

from

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

for £225,000. * 19 October 1985: Reading won 1–0 against Lincoln City at

Sincil Bank Sincil Bank Stadium, known for sponsorship reasons as LNER Stadium, is a football stadium in Lincoln, England which has been the home of Lincoln City since 1895. Previously, Lincoln City had played at the nearby John O'Gaunts ground since th ...

. In the First Division, Manchester United and Liverpool tied 1–1 at Old Trafford. Chelsea lost 2–1 to Oxford. Sheffield Wednesday beat Leicester City 3–2 at Filbert Street. Luton Town won 7–0 against Southampton at

Kenilworth Road Kenilworth Road is an association football stadium in Luton, Bedfordshire, England. It has been the home ground of Luton Town F.C., Luton Town Football Club since 1905. The stadium has also hosted women's and youth international matches, includ ...

West Ham West Ham is an area in East London, located east of Charing Cross in the west of the modern London Borough of Newham. The area, which lies immediately to the north of the River Thames and east of the River Lea, was originally an ancien ...

's won 4–1 home against Aston Villa. West Bromwich Albion won 2–1 against Birmingham City at The Hawthorns. Charlton beat Brighton 5–3. * 20 October 1985: Tottenham was placed seventh in the First Division after winning 3–2 against Coventry City. * 22 October 1985: In the Second Division, Sunderland beat Middlesbrough 1–0 at Roker Park. * 23 October 1985: Reading tied 2–2 home with the Wolverhampton Wanderers. * 26 October 1985: Manchester United won 2–1 against Chelsea, and Liverpool beat Luton Town 3–2 at Anfield. Sheffield Wednesday won 1–0 against West Bromwich Albion. Everton tied 1–1 draw with Manchester City at Maine Road. Tottenham lost 3–1 to Leicester City. Portsmouth won 4–0 win against Millwall. Sheffield United won 4–1 against

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. Th ...

. Oldham Athletic climbed up three places to second after winning 4–0 home win against Brighton. Norwich won 2–0 against Sunderland. * 2 November 1985: Manchester United beat Coventry City 2–0 at Old Trafford, and Liverpool beat Leicester City 1–0 at Anfield. Everton lost 2–1 to West Ham. Charlton Athletic won 4–1 against Shrewsbury Town. Grimsby Town beat Millwall 5–1 at

Blundell Park Blundell Park is a football ground in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England and home to Grimsby Town Football Club. The stadium was built in 1899, but only one of the original stands remains. The current capacity of the ground is 9, ...

. Sheffield United beat Hull City 3–1 at

Bramall Lane Bramall Lane is a association football, football stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which is the home of Sheffield United F.C., Sheffield United. The stadium was originally a cricket ground, built on a road named after the Bramal ...

. * 3 November 1985: West Bromwich Albion lost 2–1 defeat to Nottingham Forest at the

City Ground The City Ground is a football stadium in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England, on the banks of the River Trent. It has been home to Nottingham Forest Football Club since 1898 and has a capacity of 30,445. The stadium was a venue when E ...

. * 9 November 1985: Manchester United lost 1–0 to Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough. Liverpool won 3–0 against Coventry City. Lineker scores hid second league hat-trick of the season as Everton beat Arsenal 6–1 at Goodison Park. West Ham won 2–1 against Oxford. Chelsea won 4–2 against Nottingham Forest. Tottenham's lost 3–1 to Luton Town, and Sheffield United won 5–1 against Oldham Athletic at Boundary Park. Hull City won 5–0 against Fulham at

Boothferry Park Boothferry Park was a football stadium in Hull, England, which was home to Hull City A.F.C. from 1946 until 2002, when they moved to the KC Stadium. In later years, financial constraints forced Hull City to allow Kwik Save and Iceland superma ...

. Carlisle United won 3–0 against Stoke City. * 13 November 1985: England completed their successful World Cup qualifying campaign by tying to

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

at Wembley. * 16 November 1985: Liverpool won 4–1 against West Bromwich Albion, while Manchester United tied with Tottenham. Everton beat Ipswich Town 4-3 at

Portman Road Portman Road is a football stadium in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, which has been the home ground of Ipswich Town F.C. since 1884. The stadium has also hosted many England youth international matches, and one senior England friendly internatio ...

. Manchester City won 2–0 against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground. In the Second Division, Brighton won 4–3 against Huddersfield, Middlesbrough won 3–2 against Oldham at Ayresome Park, and Sheffield United and the Blackburn Rovers tied 3–3 at Bramall Lane. * 23 November 1985: Manchester United lost 3–0 to Leicester City at Filbert Street. Liverpool won 2–0 against Birmingham City. Ipswich Town beat Oxford 4–3. Oldham lost 4–2 to Stoke. * 26 November 1985: Ipswich Town beat Fourth Division pace-setters

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...

6–1 at Portman Road, Chelsea tied 2–2 with Everton at Stamford Bridge and Liverpool beat Manchester United 2–1 at Anfield. Portsmouth has a rematch against Tottenham after a goalless draw at

Fratton Park Fratton Park is a football ground in Portsmouth, England, which is the home of Portsmouth F.C. Fratton Park remains as the only home football ground in Portsmouth FC's entire history. The early Fratton Park was designed by local architect A ...

, Arsenal beat Southampton 3–1, and Aston Villa won 2–1 against West Bromwich Albion. * 29 November 1985: Manchester United signed Aston Villa midfielder Colin Gibson for £275,000. * 30 November 1985: West Ham beat West Bromwich Albion 4-0, Ipswich Town won 2–1 against Sheffield Wednesday, and Everton beat Southampton 3–2 at the Dell. * 1 December 1985: Nottingham Forest tied with Oxford United at the City Ground in the First Division. * 7 December 1985: Manchester United beat Ipswich Town at Old Trafford, while

Kenny Dalglish Sir Kenneth Mathieson Dalglish (born 4 March 1951) is a Scottish former association football, football player and manager (association football), manager. During his career, he made 338 appearances for Celtic F.C., Celtic and 515 for Liverpoo ...

's team beat Aston Villa 3–0 at Anfield. Everton won 3–0 against West Bromwich Albion. * 14 December 1985: Manchester United won 3–1 against Aston Villa. Liverpool lost 2–0 against Arsenal, whose 19-year-old Irish striker

Niall Quinn Niall John Quinn (honorary MBE; born 6 October 1966) is an Irish former professional footballer, manager, businessman and sports television pundit. As a player he was a striker who played top flight football for Arsenal, Manchester City and S ...

scored on his debut. West Ham United won 2–0 win over Birmingham City. Everton lost 2–1 to Leicester City at Goodison Park. West Bromwich Albion tied 2–2 with Oxford at the Manor Ground. In the Second Division, Norwich City won 3–1 against Oldham. * 20 December 1985: The league accepted a £1.3 million offer to show nine First Division and League Cup games this season. The first match shown was the FA Cup third-round match between Charlton Athletic and West Ham on 5 January. * 21 December 1985: Arsenal defeated Manchester United 1–0 at Old Trafford in the First Division, while Liverpool and Newcastle United tie 1–1. West Ham ties 0–0 with Luton Town. Chelsea won 2–1 against Birmingham City. Norwich City won against Millwall 6–1 at Carrow Road. Wimbledon, who were only elected to the Football League in 1977 and were still in the Fourth Division three seasons ago, won 5–0 against Sheffield United. Middlesbrough beat Fulham 3–0 at

Craven Cottage Craven Cottage is a football ground in Fulham, West London, England, which has been the home of Fulham F.C. since 1896.According to the club'official website The ground's capacity is 22,384; the record attendance is 49,335, for a game against M ...

. * 22 December 1985: West Bromwich Albion won 3–1 against Watford. In the Second Division, Portsmouth won 1–0 against Carlisle United, and Derby and Blackpool won their matches in the Third Division. In the Fourth Division, Halifax scored three goals within 37 minutes against Scunthorpe United, and Iron forward John Hawley accomplished a hat-trick and won his team a point. * 26 December 1985: In the First Division, Everton beat Manchester United 3–1 at Goodison Park. Liverpool lost 1–0 to Manchester City at Maine Road, and West Ham lost 1–0 to Tottenham. * 28 December 1985: Everton won 3–1 against Sheffield Wednesday. Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion tied 1–1 at Villa Park. Chelsea won 2–0 against Tottenham. Liverpool tied 1–1 with Nottingham Forest at the City Ground. Millwall won 5–0 against Hull City. Brighton won 3–2 against Leeds at

Elland Road Elland Road is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the home of Premier League club Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the 14th largest football stadium in England. The g ...

. Portsmouth won 4–0 against Shrewsbury Town. * 1 January 1986: Manchester United beat Birmingham City 1–0 at Old Trafford. Everton tied 2–2 with Newcastle United in

Tyneside Tyneside is a built-up area across the banks of the River Tyne in northern England. Residents of the area are commonly referred to as Geordies. The whole area is surrounded by the North East Green Belt. The population of Tyneside as publishe ...

. Liverpool tied 2–2 draw with Sheffield Wednesday. Nottingham Forest beat Coventry City 5–2 at the City Ground. Hull City won 4–1 against

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

at Oakwell. Norwich City and Portsmouth won their matches. Brighton won 2–0 against Crystal Palace. * 2 January 1986:

were reported to be £1 million in debt.

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standing ...

fan Barry Fox, 22, was jailed for three years for punching a policeman unconscious in the game against

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...

at London Road on 12 October. * 4 January 1986: In the FA Cup's third round, Leicester City lost 3–1 to Third Division

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been c ...

. Liverpool won 5–0 against Norwich City. Arsenal beat Grimsby Town 4–3 at Blundell Park. Ipswich Town and Bradford tied 4–4 at Portman Road. * 5 January 1986: West Ham won 1–0 against Charlton Athletic at

Selhurst Park Selhurst Park is a football stadium in Selhurst in the London Borough of Croydon which is the home ground of Premier League side Crystal Palace. The stadium was designed by Archibald Leitch and opened in 1924. It has hosted international footba ...

. Everton won 1–0 against

. The FA Cup ties were the first televised domestic matches of the season. * 9 January 1986: Manchester United won 2–0 against Rochdale. * 11 January 1986: Manchester United beat Oxford United 3–1 at the Manor Ground. Everton won 4–3 against Queens Park Rangers. Chelsea won 1–0 over Luton Town. Ipswich Town won 1–0 against Birmingham City. West Bromwich Albion tied 1–1 to Newcastle United. Norwich City won 2–0 against Middlesbrough. Sunderland won 4–2 to Leeds United. * 12 January 1986: Liverpool won 3–2 win against Watford at Vicarage Road. * 14 January 1986: Birmingham City were knocked out of the FA Cup after losing 2–1 to

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester city centre, southwest of Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2011 Census, it had a population o ...

. * 16 January 1986:

Ron Saunders Ronald Saunders (6 November 1932 – 7 December 2019) was an English football player and manager. He played for Everton, Tonbridge Angels, Gillingham, Portsmouth, Watford and Charlton Athletic during a 16-year playing career, before moving in ...

resigned as manager of Birmingham City. * 18 January 1986: Manchester United lost 3–2 to Nottingham Forest. Lineker scored twice for Everton in their 2–0 win over Birmingham City. * 22 January 1986: Former Manchester City manager John Bond was appointed as the new manager of Birmingham City. * 25 January 1986: In the FA Cup's fourth round, Arsenal won 5–1 home against

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around 1 ...

, Sheffield Wednesday won 5–0 over

Orient The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of ''Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the c ...

, and Manchester United tied 0–0 with Sunderland at Roker Park, in which captain

Bryan Robson Bryan Robson OBE (born 11 January 1957) is an English football manager and former player. He began his career with West Bromwich Albion in 1972, where he amassed over 200 appearances and was club captain before moving to Manchester United in ...

was substituted due to a shoulder injury. * 26 January 1986: Liverpool won 2–1 win against Chelsea in the FA Cup's fourth round. * 29 January 1986: Manchester United signed striker Terry Gibson from Coventry City for £600,000. In the FA Cup fourth round replays, Tottenham beat

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League (division), National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 2 ...

5–0, Manchester United beat Sunderland 3–0, and Millwall beat Aston Villa 1–0. * 1 February 1986: Everton won 1–0 home against Tottenham. Liverpool lost 2–1 defeat to Ipswich. Stiles resigned after four months as West Bromwich Albion's manager. * 2 February 1986: Manchester United lost 2–1 to West Ham. * 4 February 1986: Everton signed striker

Warren Aspinall Warren Aspinall (born 13 September 1967) is an English former footballer who played as a midfielder or forward in the Football League, most notably for Portsmouth and Carlisle United. He began his career with hometown club Wigan Athletic, earn ...

from Wigan Athletic for £150,000. * 8 February 1986: Chelsea lost 4–1 to Oxford United. * 9 February 1986: Everton remained at the top of the First Division on goal difference after Liverpool and Manchester United tied 1–1 at Anfield. * 11 February 1986: Everton won 4–0 home against Manchester City. * 12 February 1986: The League Cup semi-finals began to be played. Aston Villa tied 2–2 with Oxford United, and Liverpool lost 1–0 to the Queens Park Rangers. * 14 February 1986: One month after leaving Birmingham City, Ron Saunders was named as the new manager of West Bromwich Albion. * 15 February 1986: Liverpool tied 1–1 with

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...

Bootham Crescent Bootham Crescent in York, England, was the home of York City football club and York City Knights rugby league club. With a capacity of 8,256, it is near the city centre, just over a mile from York railway station. York City leased land at B ...

in the fifth round of the FA Cup. * 16 February 1986: Coventry City and Birmingham City tied 4-4 at Highfield Road. * 18 February 1986: York City lost the fifth round replay 3–1 to Anfield. * 22 February 1986: Manchester United won 3–0 against West Bromwich Albion when

Jesper Olsen Jesper Olsen (born 20 March 1961) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a left winger. He is best remembered for representing Ajax of the Netherlands and Manchester United of England. He was a regular player for the Danish n ...

accomplished a hat-trick. * 1 March 1986: Everton beat Aston Villa 2–0 at home. Manchester United lost 1–0 to Southampton. * 2 March 1986: Liverpool beat Tottenham 2–1 at White Hart Lane in the league. * 4 March 1986: Everton won 2–1 against Tottenham in the fifth round of the FA Cup. * 5 March 1986: In the FA Cup's fifth round, Watford tied 1–1 with

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...

at Vicarage Road, while Manchester United tied 1–1 with West Ham at Upton Park. Southampton won 1–0 against Millwall in a replay, while Sheffield Wednesday beat Derby County at Hillsborough, and Luton Town beat Arsenal 3–0 in a second replay. Liverpool tied 2–2 with the Queens Park Rangers at Anfield. * 8 March 1986: Watford beat Bury 3–0 at

Gigg Lane Gigg Lane is a football ground in Bury, Greater Manchester, England, built for Bury F.C. in 1885. The first match was played on 12 September 1885 between Bury and a team from Wigan. One of the world's oldest professional football stadiums, Gig ...

. In the first two quarter-final ties, Everton tied 2–2 with Luton Town and forced a replay, while Southampton won 2–0 against Brighton. Aston Villa remained in the relegation zone after losing 4–1 to Arsenal, Chelsea won 1–0 against Manchester City, Ipswich Town won 1–0 home against Nottingham Forest, Liverpool beat the Queen Park Rangers 4–1 at Anfield, and West Bromwich Albion lost 5–0 defeat to Tottenham. * 9 March 1986: Manchester United lost 2–0 to West Ham in the FA Cup's fifth round replays. * 11 March 1986: Liverpool tied with Watford 0–0 in the FA Cup quarter-final. Arsenal won 2–1 against Ipswich Town. Southampton beat the Queens Park Rangers 2–0 at

. * 12 March 1986: Oxford United reached the League Cup final for the first time after beating Aston Villa 4–3 on aggregate. Manchester United signed striker

Peter Davenport Peter Davenport (born 24 March 1961) is an English former professional footballer and manager who has managed teams in both the Welsh and English leagues. He has also managed classes as a substitute teacher. Born in Birkenhead, Cheshire, he won ...

from Nottingham Forest for £750,000. The

England U21 The England national under-21 football team, also known as England under-21s or England U21(s), is considered to be the feeder team for the England national football team. This team is for England players aged under 21 at the start of the calen ...

team defeated

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

1–0 in the European Championship quarter-final in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, with the only goal of the game coming from

midfielder

Nick Pickering Nicholas Pickering (born 4 August 1963 in South Shields) is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder in the Football League for Sunderland, Coventry City, Derby County, Darlington and Burnley. He was capped once for the E ...

.England – U-21 International Results 1986–1995 – Details
. Rsssf.com. Retrieved on 2011-03-23. In the FA Cup, West Ham lost 2–1 to Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough. Everton beat Luton Town 1–0 in the quarter-final replay at Goodison Park. Birmingham City lost 4–2 to Leicester City at Filbert Street. Norwich City won 4–1 against Huddersfield Town. * 14 March 1986: Portsmouth signed Oldham Athletic striker

Micky Quinn Michael Quinn (born 2 May 1962) is an English former professional footballer and sports radio presenter for TalkSPORT. As a player he was a centre forward from 1979 until 1996. He most notably played in the Premier League for Coventry City, a ...

, who scored 34 goals since he joined the Latics in January 1984, for £150,000. * 15 March 1986: Liverpool won against Southampton 2–1 at the Dell. Norwich beat Carlisle United 2–1 at Carrow Road. * 16 March 1986: Everton tied 1–1 with Chelsea. * 17 March 1986: Liverpool won their FA Cup quarter-final replay against Watford 2–1 at Vicarage Road. * 21 March 1986: Manchester United announced striker

Mark Hughes Leslie Mark Hughes (born 1 November 1963) is a Welsh football coach and former player who is the manager of Bradford City. During his playing career he usually operated as a forward or midfielder. He had two spells at Manchester United, an ...

was to join

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, managed by former Queens Park Rangers and Crystal Palace boss

Terry Venables Terence Frederick Venables (born 6 January 1943), often referred to as El Tel, is an English former football player and manager, and an author. During the 1960s and '70s, he played for various clubs including Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Queen ...

, for a fee of £2 million at the end of the season. * 22 March 1986:

Don Howe Donald Howe (12 October 1935 – 23 December 2015) was an English football player, coach, manager and pundit. As a right back Howe featured for clubs West Bromwich Albion and Arsenal together with the England national football team in his pla ...

resigns as Arsenal's manager after reports that Venables was offered his job. His final game in charge was Arsenal's 3–0 victory over Coventry. Coach

Steve Burtenshaw Stephen Burtenshaw (23 November 1935 – 17 February 2022) was an English football player and manager. Burtenshaw played as a wing half for Brighton & Hove Albion. As a manager, he was at the helm of clubs Sheffield Wednesday, Everton, Queens ...

remained in temporary charge at Highbury. Manchester United tied 2–2 in the

. Liverpool beat Oxford United 6–0 at Anfield. Birmingham City won 3–0 against Aston Villa. Norwich City won 5–2 against Sheffield United. * 23 March 1986: The first final of the

Full Members Cup The Full Members' Cup was an association football cup competition held in English football from 1985 to 1992. It was also known under its sponsored names of the Simod Cup from 1987 to 1989 and the Zenith Data Systems Cup from 1989 to 1992. Th ...

was played at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

, with Chelsea defeating

5–4 with a hat-trick from

David Speedie David Robert Speedie (born 20 February 1960) is a Scottish former footballer who played for several clubs in England during the 1980s and 1990s, most notably Chelsea, Coventry City, Liverpool and Blackburn Rovers. He accumulated more than 500 f ...

and two goals from

Colin Lee Colin Lee (born 12 June 1956) is an English football manager and former footballer. He is currently head of football at South Dartmoor Community College in Ashburton, Devon along with Chris Beard. Playing career Lee began his football career ...

. * 25 March 1986: Steve Perryman, 34, left Tottenham after 17 years and signed on to Oxford United as a free transfer. * 26 March 1986: In the return leg of the under-21 European Championship quarter-final, England tied 1–1 with Denmark at

. Everton goalkeeper

Neville Southall Neville Southall (born 16 September 1958) is a Welsh former international footballer. He has been described as one of the best goalkeepers of his generation and won the FWA Footballer of the Year award in 1985. He joined Bury from Winsford ...

was ruled out after an ankle injury suffered on international duty for Wales. * 27 March 1986: On transfer deadline day, Wimbledon paid £125,000 for Millwall striker

John Fashanu John Fashanu (, born 18 September 1962) is an English television presenter and former professional footballer. In his former career, he was a centre-forward from 1978 until 1995, most notably in an eight-year spell at Wimbledon in which he w ...

. After Southall's injury, Everton signed veteran goalkeeper Pat Jennings on a short-term contract. * 29 March 1986: Everton maintained their lead of the First Division with a 1–0 win over Newcastle United. Liverpool tied 0–0 with Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough. Manchester United tied 1–1 with Birmingham, while West Ham won against Chelsea 4–0 at Stamford Bridge. West Bromwich Albion won 1–0 against Southampton at The Hawthorns. * 31 March 1986: Liverpool won 2–0 against Manchester City, and Everton tied 0–0 with Manchester United at Old Trafford. Chelsea lost 6–0 to the Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road. West Ham beat Tottenham 2–1 at Upton Park. * 1 April 1986: West Bromwich Albion lost 3–0 to Luton Town. Arsenal lost 3–0 to Watford. * 5 April 1986: Liverpool beat Southampton 2–0 in the FA Cup semi-final at

. Everton won 2–1 against Sheffield Wednesday in the other semi-final at Villa Park. Manchester United won 3–1 against Coventry City. Arsenal won 1–0 against Manchester City, while Chelsea tied 1–1 with Ipswich Town. Fulham lost 4–2 away to Sunderland. Norwich won 3–0 home against Brighton. * 6 April 1986: Birmingham City lost 2–0 to Luton Town. * 8 April 1986: West Ham won 1–0 home against Southampton. * 9 April 1986: England's under-21 team lost 2–0 to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...

in the semi-final first leg. Manchester United lost 2–1 to Chelsea. Aston Villa tied 2–2 with Newcastle United in Tyneside after Oxford won against Watford. Birmingham City lost 4–1 to Newcastle. Liverpool won 5–0 against Coventry City, while Everton won 1–0 against Arsenal. West Ham beat Oxford United 3–1 at Upton Park, and Aston Villa won 4–1 against Watford. Chelsea tied 0–0 with Nottingham Forest. Norwich City won 2–0 against Bradford City. The South West Londoners won 3–0 against the Rokermen at

Plough Lane Plough Lane – named The Cherry Red Records Stadium for sponsorship reasons – is a football stadium in Wimbledon, south-west London, which has been the home of AFC Wimbledon since 3 November 2020. A groundshare with rugby league side London ...

. * 12 April 1986: West Bromwich Albion were relegated from the First Division after losing 1–0 to the Queens Park Rangers. * 13 April 1986: Manchester United lost 2–0 to Sheffield Wednesday. * 14 April 1986: Tottenham agreed to a £50,000 fee with Millwall for 18-year-old defender

Neil Ruddock Neil "Razor" Ruddock (born 9 May 1968) is an English former professional footballer and television personality who is a club director at Enfield. As a player he was a central defender from 1986 to 2003, and was voted the 17th "hardest football ...

. The Queens Park Rangers beat Leicester City 4–1 in the First Division at Filbert Street. * 15 April 1986: Everton won 2–0 win against Watford. Chelsea won 2–1 against West Ham. * 16 April 1986: Liverpool beat Luton Town 1–0 at Kenilworth Road, and Aston Villa beat Ipswich Town 1–0. Manchester United won 4–2 against Newcastle United. Birmingham City lost 2–0 to Tottenham. * 19 April 1986: Birmingham City lost 2–0 at home to Southampton and were relegated from the First Division. Manchester United tied 0–0 with Tottenham at White Hart Lane. Everton beat Ipswich Town 1–0, and Liverpool won 2–1 against West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns. Norwich City tied 1–1 with Stoke City. * 20 April 1986: Oxford United beat the Queens Park Rangers 3–0 in the League Cup final at Wembley. * 21 April 1986: West Ham United beat Newcastle United 8–1 in the league at Upton Park, with defender

Alvin Martin Alvin Edward Martin (born 29 July 1958) is an English football manager, former professional footballer and pundit. As a player, he was a defender, playing most of his footballing career for West Ham United he appeared in 598 games for them, s ...

scoring a hat-trick. * 23 April 1986: England's under-21 tied 1–1 with Italy at the County Ground in

Swindon Swindon () is a town and unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Wiltshire, England. As of the 2021 Census, the population of Swindon was 201,669, making it the largest town in the county. The Swindon un ...

, with Arsenal midfielder Stewart Robson scoring their only goal. * 26 April 1986: The Wolverhampton Wanderers became the third West Midlands club to be relegated, and the second English league club to be relegated three consecutive times, after their descent into the Fourth Division is confirmed. Liverpool defender

Gary Gillespie Gary Thompson Gillespie (born 5 July 1960) is a Scottish former professional football defender who played for Coventry City and later Liverpool, through much of the 1980s. Liverpool His three goals in that double winning season all came in th ...

scores a hat-trick in a 5–0 league win over Birmingham City at

, while Everton tied 0–0 with Nottingham Forest. West Ham won 1–0 home against Coventry City, while Manchester United beat Leicester City 4–0 at Old Trafford. Chelsea lost 3–1 to Aston Villa. Ipswich Town climbed three places above being relegated with a 3–2 win over Oxford United. Fulham was relegated from the Second Division despite a 2–1 home win against Huddersfield Town, while Middlesbrough beat Millwall 3–0 to climb out of the bottom three, while Sunderland lost 3–1 to Brighton. * 28 April 1986: Ray Stewart received a penalty, which gave West Ham the 1–0 win against Manchester City. * 29 April 1986: Charlton Athletic won 2–0 against Fulham. Carlisle won 2–0 against Brighton at

Brunton Park Brunton Park is a football stadium and the home of Carlisle United. It is situated in the city of Carlisle and has a certified capacity of 17,949. The ground opened in 1909. Brunton Park's grandstand burned down in 1953 and the stadium floode ...

. Sunderland won 2–0 against Shrewsbury Town. * 30 April 1986: Everton lost 1–0 to Oxford, Liverpool won 2–0 against Leicester, and West Ham won 2–1 against Ipswich Town. * 1 May 1986: Chelsea agreed to a £400,000 fee for Hibernian striker

Gordon Durie Gordon Scott Durie (born on 6 December, 1965 in Paisley) is the Scottish former professional footballer, a utility player who usually played as a striker. He played for East Fife, Hibernian, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Rangers and Hearts. ...

. * 3 May 1986: Dalglish scored the only goal as Liverpool beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge to win the First Division title. Everton won against Southampton 6–1. Ipswich Town lost their last match 1–0 to Sheffield Wednesday. Coventry City and Leicester City secured survival with home wins. Charlton Athletic sealed their promotion from the Second Division with a 3–2 win against relegation-threatened Carlisle United. Wimbledon reached the First Division by winning 1–0 against Huddersfield. * 5 May 1986: The First Division ended with four matches and 21 goals. Oxford United beat Arsenal 3–0, Chelsea finished sixth after losing 5–1 to Watford, Everton placed second after winning 3–1 against West Ham at Goodison Park, and Tottenham won 5–3 against Southampton. The Second Division ended with Blackburn winning 3–1 against Grimsby Town at Ewood Park, while Carlisle lost 2–1 to Oldham at

. Reading won the Third Division after a 2–0 win over the Doncaster Rovers, and were promoted to the Second Division. Lincoln City was relegated after they lost 3–2 to the Wolves. Fourth Division champions Swindon Town finished the season with a Football League record of 102 points. * 6 May 1986: Everton manager

dismissed speculation that Lineker would sign for Barcelona. * 7 May 1986: After the Fourth Division ended, Rochdale tied 1–1 with Peterborough United at London Road and finished 18th to avoid having to apply for re-election to the Football League. * 9 May 1986: Derby County was promoted from the Third Division after a 2–1 win over Rotherham United at the Baseball Ground. * 10 May 1986:

Ian Rush Ian James Rush (born 20 October 1961) is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a forward. At club level Rush played for Liverpool from 1980–1987 and 1988–1996. He is the club's all-time leading goalscorer, having scored a t ...

scored twice for Liverpool, beating Everton 3–1 in the first-ever all-

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan county, metropolitan and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England, 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Merse ...

FA Cup final. Liverpool became the fifth club in history to win the league championship and FA Cup double. * 13 May 1986: Tottenham fired manager

Peter Shreeves Peter Shreeves (born 30 November 1940) is a Welsh former football player, manager and coach. Career Shreeves was born in Neath in South Wales where his mother had been evacuated to during the early stages of World War II, but was brought up i ...

after two seasons in charge; he had turned Tottenham into title contenders and guided them to third place in his first season as manager, but during the second season they finished 10th in the First Division. * 14 May 1986: Millwall manager

George Graham George Graham (born 30 November 1944), nicknamed "Stroller", is a Scottish former Association football, football player and manager (association football), manager. In his successful playing career, he made 455 appearances in England's Football ...

returned to Highbury as the club's new manager.

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

manager

Alex Ferguson Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football managers of all time ...

became Arsenal's manager. * 16 May 1986:

David Pleat David John Pleat (born 15 January 1945) is an English football player turned manager, and sports commentator. Pleat made 185 Football League appearances for five clubs, scoring 26 goals. He had two spells as manager of Luton Town, and four as ...

stepped down as Luton Town's manager to become the new Tottenham manager. * 22 May 1986: 20-year-old defender

Denis Irwin Joseph Denis Irwin (born 31 October 1965) is an Irish former professional footballer and sports television presenter. As a player, he played as a full-back from 1983 to 2004. Irwin is best known for his long and successful stint at Manchester ...

joined Oldham Athletic on a free transfer from Leeds United. * 3 June 1986: England lost 1–0 to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

in their opening

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

game. Luton Town coach John Moore is named as the club's new manager. * 5 June 1986: Coventry City signed winger David Phillips from Manchester City for £150,000. * 6 June 1986:

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

tied with England. * 8 June 1986: Rush agreed to sign for Juventus for £3 million, but could be loaned back to Liverpool for the 1986–87 season. * 11 June 1986: Lineker scored a hat-trick in England's 3–0 victory over Poland national football team, Poland, which allowed them to advance to the second round of the World Cup. * 13 June 1986: Southampton signed 19-year-old goalkeeper Tim Flowers from the Wolverhampton Wanderers for £70,000, while 23-year-old midfielder Ian Crook joined Norwich City from Tottenham for £80,000. * 18 June 1986: England beat Paraguay national football team, Paraguay 3–0 and reached the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time since 1970 FIFA World Cup, 1970. * 22 June 1986: England's World Cup lost 2–1 to Argentina national football team, Argentina.

FA Cup

Liverpool beat Everton 3–1 in the final – with Rush scoring twice – to complete the third league championship and

double of the 20th century.

League Cup

After being promoted to the First Division the season before, Oxford United won the EFL Cup, League Cup, beating the Queens Park Rangers 3–0 in the final.

Football League

First Division

Liverpool narrowly reclaimed the league title from Everton. They completed their first and only league and cup double by defeating Everton in the FA Cup final. As a result of the previous year's Heysel Stadium disaster, both Liverpool and Everton missed out on the European Cup and European Cup Winners' Cup respectively, while West Ham United, Manchester United and Sheffield Wednesday all missed out on the UEFA Cup, as did Oxford United. West Bromwich Albion fell back into Division Two after ten seasons, following a campaign in which they only won four games. Birmingham City performed almost as poorly and made an immediate return to Division Two. Coventry City had spent most of the season in the relegation zone until a late revival after George Curtis (footballer, born 1939), George Curtis and John Sillett took over as co-managers with three games remaining.

Second Division

Norwich City won the Second Division title, and was promoted back to the First Division. Charlton Athletic, despite having suffered a financial crisis over the previous years and leaving their home ground The Valley to ground share with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, returned to the First Division for the first time since 1957. Wimbledon, who had been in the Fourth Division only three years prior and were in only their second-ever season in the second tier, managed to claim the third and final promotion spot. Fulham were relegated to bottom place after mounting financial pressures had forced them to sell off most of their squad during the summer. Middlesbrough suffered their second-ever relegation to the third tier, as their own financial situation worsened to the point where they were locked out of their Ayresome Park ground and nearly expelled from the Football League between the end of this season and the beginning of the following one.

Third Division

Reading won the Third Division title after beginning the season with 13 successive victories, meaning they would be playing in the Second Division for the first time since 1931. Plymouth Argyle took the runner-up spot, and Derby County was the third promoted side. The bottom two positions were occupied by Swansea City and the Wolverhampton Wanderers. Cardiff City and Lincoln City filled the other relegation spots.

Fourth Division

Swindon Town won promotion by a record-breaking 18 points, and became the second team (after York City two years previously) to exceed 100 points in a season, and was also awarded the board's decision to reinstate manager Lou Macari days after his controversial dismissal at the end of the previous season. Chester City, who had finished bottom of the league just two years prior, were promoted as runners-up. Mansfield Town and Port Vale took the two remaining promotion spaces. Torquay United, Preston North End, Cambridge United, and Exeter City were made to apply for re-election. Preston, the inaugural First Division champion back in 1888–89, saw its lowest finish ever at 23rd position almost a century from their two back-to-back titles.

Top goalscorers

First Division *

(Everton) – 30 goals Second Division * Kevin Drinkell (Norwich City) – 22 goals Third Division * Trevor Senior (Reading) – 27 goals Fourth Division * Richard Cadette (Southend United) – 25 goals

Famous debutants

* 31 August 1985:

, 21-year-old striker, made his debut for Crystal Palace in a 3–2 defeat by Huddersfield Town A.F.C., Huddersfield Town at

in the Second Division soon after joining the club from non-league Greenwich Borough. * 28 September 1985: David Rocastle, 18-year-old midfielder, made his debut for Arsenal in a 1–1 tied match with Newcastle United in the First Division at Highbury. * 23 November 1985: Martin Keown, 19-year-old defender, made his debut for Arsenal in a goalless draw with West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns.Martin Keown – Arsenal FC – Football-Heroes.net
Sporting-heroes.net. Retrieved on 2011-03-23.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:English football 1985–86 in English football,