The Football League Centenary Trophy (also known as the Mercantile Credit Centenary Trophy for sponsorship reasons) was an English football tournament held during the
1988-89 season to celebrate the 100th birthday of
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 ...
. The competition was played on a knockout basis between the top eight sides from the
Football League First Division
The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...
the previous season, with the final between
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 ...
and
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 ...
taking place at the birthplace of League football,
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 ...
's home ground,
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 stations ...
on 9 October 1988.
Goals from
Paul Davis and
Michael Thomas Michael or Mike Thomas may refer to:
Entertainment
* Michael M. Thomas (born 1936), American novelist of financial thrillers
* Michael Tilson Thomas (born 1944), American conductor, pianist, and composer
* Michael Thomas (actor) (1952–2019), Bri ...
gave Arsenal a 2–1 victory, with
Clayton Blackmore
Clayton Graham Blackmore (born 23 September 1964) is a Welsh former international footballer. He was a combative player known for his attacking free kicks and a utility player who excelled in defence, but could play equally well in midfield.
Bl ...
the scorer for United. Despite most of the country's leading clubs being involved, crowds for the Centenary Trophy were generally disappointing and only the semi-final match between Arsenal and
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 ...
attracted more than 25,000.
Background
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 ...
marked its centenary during the 1987–88 and 1988–89 seasons with a number of events; an exhibition game between a
Football League XI The English Football League XI was a representative side of the Football League. The team regularly played against the Scottish Football League XI and other national league select teams between 1891 and 1976.
For a long period the annual fixture b ...
and a
World XI
In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...
in August 1987, followed by a
Centenary Friendly Tournament eight months later.
The final centrepiece was the Football League Centenary Trophy, a one-off tournament which commenced at the start of the 1988–89 season.
The clubs which qualified for the tournament were the previous season's top eight, as follows:
Matches
Quarter-finals
The quarter-finals were staged over three days in August 1988. Liverpool recorded the biggest win of the round, defeating Nottingham Forest 4–1 at a half-capacity
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. ...
.
The home side rested striker
John Aldridge
John William Aldridge (born 18 September 1958) is a former football player and manager. He was a prolific, record-breaking striker best known for his time with English club Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in M ...
and started
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 to ...
who
player-manager
A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...
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 ...
said "...needed some matches. We might as well get him as fit as we can, as quickly as we can."
All of Liverpool's four goals came in the second half;
Barry Venison
Barry Venison (born 16 August 1964) is an English football coach, former professional footballer and sports television pundit.
As a player was a defender from 1981 to 1997. He played for Sunderland, Liverpool, Newcastle United, Galatasaray and ...
set them on their way to victory with a well-hit shot in the 50th minute.
Manchester United meanwhile secured a place in the semi-finals with a 1–0 win against Everton.
Gordon Strachan
Gordon David Strachan ( born 9 February 1957) is a Scottish former football coach and player. He played for Dundee, Aberdeen, Manchester United, Leeds United and Coventry City, as well as the Scotland national team. He has since managed Cove ...
scored the game's only goal in the second half, heading in at the far post.
It was his first goal for the club, much to the delight and amusement of 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 ...
: "You're waiting for your first goal of the season, you've got people like
McClair">rianMcClair and
Hughes">arkHughes on the park and it comes from Gordon Strachan's head!"
Newcastle United needed extra time to overcome their opponents Wimbledon; the tie was settled by
Michael O'Neill's goal in the 109th minute.
Arsenal completed the semi-final line up with a 2–0 win away at Queens Park Rangers.
Semi-finals
The semi-finals were played over two days in September 1988. Arsenal faced Liverpool at their home ground,
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 ...
.
Injuries to eight first-team players, notably goalkeeper
Bruce Grobbelaar
Bruce David Grobbelaar (born 6 October 1957) is a Zimbabwean former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, most prominently for English team Liverpool between 1981 and 1994, and for the Zimbabwean national team. He is remembered fo ...
, defender
Alan Hansen
Alan David Hansen (born 13 June 1955) is a Scottish former footballer and BBC television football pundit. He played as a central defender for Partick Thistle, for the successful Liverpool team of the late 1970s and 1980s, and for the Scotland ...
, and winger
John Barnes
John Charles Bryan Barnes MBE (born 7 November 1963) is a former professional football player and manager. He currently works as an author, commentator and pundit for ESPN and SuperSport. Initially a quick, skilful left winger, he moved to cent ...
meant the visitors fielded an unfamiliar side, one which required the involvement of Dalglish towards the end of the tie.
Arsenal took the lead just after the half-hour mark when a corner was flicked on by
Alan Smith and
Perry Groves
Perry Groves (born 19 April 1965) is an English former association football, footballer, known chiefly for his time at Arsenal F.C., Arsenal. He was a fast-paced player who usually played as a Midfielder#Winger, winger, and occasionally as a Stri ...
was in space to nudge the ball past
Mike Hooper.
Liverpool equalised in the second half through
Steve Staunton
Stephen Staunton (born 19 January 1969) is an Irish football manager, scout and former professional footballer.
He played as a defender (association football), defender with two separate spells each with Premier League sides Aston Villa F.C., A ...
, but
Brian Marwood
Brian Marwood (born 5 February 1960) is an English former footballer who made more than 400 appearances in the Football League and was capped once for England. He is City Football Group’s Managing Director of Global Football.
Club career
H ...
's volley restored Arsenal's lead and they held on for a place in the final.
The second semi-final tie, between Manchester United and Newcastle United 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 ...
was decided in extra time.
A audience of just under 15,000 – "one of the smallest crowds to gather at Old Trafford for a senior fixture in many years" – saw two halves of insipid attacking football but stout defending.
Newcastle came close to scoring the winner two minutes before normal time was up, only for substitute
Mirandinha
Francisco Ernandi Lima da Silva (born 2 July 1959 in Brasilia), better known as Mirandinha, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a striker.
Club career
He had unsuccessful early spells at Ceará and Fortaleza, befor ...
to miss.
Defender
Steve Bruce
Stephen Roger Bruce (born 31 December 1960) is an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a centre-back. He most recently managed West Bromwich Albion F.C., West Br ...
scored inside 44 seconds of extra time, and ten minutes later McClair headed in to give United a 2–0 win.
Final
The tournament reached its climax on 9 October 1988, when Arsenal competed against Manchester United. The match was held at
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 stations ...
, considered the birthplace of the Football League. Before the match United 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 ...
told a reporter there was "not so much pressure" on his teammates to win the competition, but noted the incentive of beating Arsenal as the winners stood to receive
£50,000.
[ See als]
YouTube
footage, from 40 seconds in. The first half, played under drizzle, saw Arsenal score twice in four minutes to take a commanding lead before the break.
Paul Davis broke the deadlock, before he turned provider and set
Michael Thomas Michael or Mike Thomas may refer to:
Entertainment
* Michael M. Thomas (born 1936), American novelist of financial thrillers
* Michael Tilson Thomas (born 1944), American conductor, pianist, and composer
* Michael Thomas (actor) (1952–2019), Bri ...
up to score their second.
Once the rain stopped and United introduced Strachan on to the field, both sides played at a frantic pace.
United ended the half strongly, and scored with six minutes of normal time remaining through
Clayton Blackmore
Clayton Graham Blackmore (born 23 September 1964) is a Welsh former international footballer. He was a combative player known for his attacking free kicks and a utility player who excelled in defence, but could play equally well in midfield.
Bl ...
.
Strachan almost equalised but for
Lee Dixon
Lee Michael Dixon (born 17 March 1964) is an English retired professional footballer and pundit who played as a right-back for Arsenal. Dixon was also capped 22 times for England.
A childhood Manchester City fan, Dixon began his footballing ca ...
's intervention on the goal line.
Journalist Ian Ridley praised the end-to-end nature of the final and felt it showcased the best of English football, writing in ''The Guardian'': "
tillustrated perfectly the major development in the modern game; the swiftness that English supporters demand and that excites overseas viewers."
In his match report, Steve Curry of the ''
Daily Express
The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...
'' summarised: "The League’s centenary celebrations have, overall, been a shambles, but this rousing finale at least left one worthwhile memory."
Goalscorers
References
General
*
Specific
{{DEFAULTSORT:Football League Centenary Trophy
Defunct football cup competitions in England
1988–89 in English football
Centennial anniversaries
August 1988 sports events in the United Kingdom
September 1988 sports events in the United Kingdom
October 1988 sports events in the United Kingdom