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1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...
91 season was the 92nd completed season 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, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...
.


Final league tables and results

The tables and results below are reproduced here in the exact form that they can be found a
The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
with home and away statistics separated.


First Division

The First Division title was won for the second time in three seasons by Arsenal, who lost just one league game all season and managed to overcome disappointments including having two points deducted for a player brawl in a league match in October, a 6-2 home defeat to Manchester United in a League Cup tie in November, and missing captain Tony Adams for two months of the season while he served a prison sentence for a motoring offence. Their only major rivals in the title race were Liverpool, who had looked set to retain the title after winning their opening eight games and remaining unbeaten in the league until December, only for their form to suffer and for manager
Kenny Dalglish Sir Kenneth Mathieson Dalglish (born 4 March 1951) is a Scottish former association football, football player and manager (association football), manager. He is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time as well as one of Celtic's, Liv ...
to suddenly announce his resignation as manager before the end of February. Long-serving coach Ronnie Moran was placed in temporary charge, with former captain
Graeme Souness Graeme James Souness (; born 6 May 1953) is a Scottish former professional football player, manager and television pundit. A midfielder, Souness achieved his greatest period of success as an integral part of the Liverpool team of the late 19 ...
returning to Anfield as manager just before the Reds surrendered their defence of the league title to Arsenal. The Reds were readmitted to European competitions after a six-year ban and qualified for the 1991-92 UEFA Cup. Crystal Palace finished third in the league to record their highest ever final position, although they were denied the chance to compete in Europe due to UEFA's decision to award only one place in the UEFA Cup to England for 1991-92. Newly promoted Leeds United finished fourth, Manchester City achieved their highest final position for more than a decade by finishing fifth, and Manchester United progressed seven places on their 1990 finish by occupying sixth place in the table, reserving their best form for the cup competitions, where they won the
European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...
and were runners-up in the
Football League Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...
. Tottenham Hotspur, who were unbeaten in the league until November before a shortage of wins for the rest of the season dragged them down to 10th, finished the season as
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
winners for a record eighth time. The season was followed by a dramatic takeover deal by computer tycoon
Alan Sugar Alan Michael Sugar, Baron Sugar (born 24 March 1947) is a British business magnate, media personality, author, politician, and political adviser. Sugar began what would later become his largest business venture, consumer electronics company A ...
, who took control of the club, cleared debts exceeding £20million, and installed manager
Terry Venables Terence Frederick Venables (6 January 1943 – 25 November 2023), often referred to as El Tel, was an English football player and manager who played for clubs including Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Queens Park Rangers and won two caps for E ...
as chief executive, although a fresh shadow hung over the club after star midfielder
Paul Gascoigne Paul John Gascoigne (, born 27 May 1967), nicknamed Gazza, is an English former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Regarded as one of the best playmakers of his generation and one of the best English footballers of ...
was left facing a long spell on the sidelines after suffering a serious knee injury in the FA Cup final, following weeks of speculation that he was on the verge of a multi-million pound transfer to
Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...
in
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
. The season saw several managerial changes as well as the changeover at Liverpool. Everton sacked manager
Colin Harvey James Colin Harvey (born 16 November 1944) is an English former professional association football, footballer who is best known for his time as a player, coach and manager with Everton F.C., Everton. Playing career Harvey was born in Liverpool ...
at the end of October and brought Howard Kendall back to
Goodison Park Goodison Park is a Association football, football stadium in Walton, Liverpool, Walton, Liverpool, England, it was the home of Premier League club Everton F.C., Everton from 1892 until 2025. It is now the home of Everton F.C. (women), Everton's ...
from Manchester City, who replaced him with 34-year-old midfielder
Peter Reid Peter Reid (born 20 June 1956) is an English football manager, pundit and former player. A defensive midfielder in his playing days, Reid enjoyed a long and successful career. He built his reputation as one of England's brightest midfield tale ...
as player-manager. On the same day that Reid took charge at
Maine Road Maine Road was a football stadium in Moss Side, Manchester, England, that was home to Manchester City from 1923 to 2003. It hosted FA Cup semi-finals, the Charity Shield, a League Cup final and England matches. Maine Road's highest attenda ...
, Coventry City completed a £350,000 move which took
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
defender
Terry Butcher Terry Ian Butcher (born 28 December 1958) is an English football manager and former player. During his playing career as a defender, Butcher captained the England national team, winning 77 caps in a ten-year international career that feature ...
to the midlands club as successor to John Sillett, with 31-year-old Butcher being the youngest manager in the Football League. Aston Villa had lost manager Graham Taylor to the England team before the season began, and appointed
Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...
coach
Jozef Venglos Jozef ( Creole, Dutch, Breton, and Slovak) or Józef ( Polish) are variants of the masculine given name Joseph in several European languages. A selection of people with that name follows. For a comprehensive list, see and . * Józef Beck (1894� ...
as his successor. Venglos, the first foreign manager in the First Division, inherited a side which had just finished runners-up in the First Division, but saw them slump to finish 17th and then resigned to be succeeded by
Ron Atkinson Ronald Frederick Atkinson (born 18 March 1939) is an English former football player and manager. Nicknamed "Big Ron", he was regarded as one of Britain's best-known football pundits in the 1990s and early 2000s. Nicknamed "The Tank" during his ...
. The end of the season saw
Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...
sack manager
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 ...
after 18 months in charge and bring former player Gerry Francis back to
Loftus Road Loftus Road, currently known as MATRADE Loftus Road Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Shepherd's Bush, West London, Greater London, England, which is home to Queens Park Rangers F.C., Queens Park Rangers Football Club, w ...
as manager. Despite keeping Luton Town up on the final day of the season, Luton Town manager Jimmy Ryan was sacked by the
Kenilworth Road Kenilworth Road, known affectionately as The Kenny, is a association football, football stadium in the area of Bury Park, Luton, Bedfordshire, England. It has been the home ground of Luton Town F.C., Luton Town Football Club since 1905. The sta ...
board of directors, who appointed
David Pleat David John Pleat (born 15 January 1945) is an English association football, football player turned manager (association football), manager, and sports commentator. Pleat made 185 Football League appearances for five clubs, scoring 26 goals. He ...
as manager for the second time.
Chris Nicholl Christopher John Nicholl (12 October 1946 – 24 February 2024) was a professional footballer who later worked as a coach and manager. A centre-back, Nicholl began his playing career at Burnley, but moved to Witton Albion after failing to br ...
's six-year spell as
Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
manager ended in dismissal and he was replaced by Ian Branfoot. Chelsea manager Bobby Campbell stood down to take on a new role as personal assistant to chairman Ken Bates, and Ian Porterfield was named as his successor. This season was also the last to feature all ‘ Big Five’ clubs in the top-half of the league until the 1995-96 Premier League season. The expansion of the First Division to 22 clubs for the 1991-92 season meant that just two teams went down to the Second Division. Derby County, who made a satisfactory start to the season but endued a disastrous second half of the campaign, went down in bottom place having won just five games all season. Sunderland went down on the final day of the season just one season after reaching the top flight, with Luton Town managing to escape relegation on the final day of the season for the third year running. Both Derby and Sunderland were relegated after losing at Maine Road.


First Division results


First Division maps


Second Division

The Second Division promotion race ended with Oldham Athletic as champions, sealing a return to the First Division after a 68-year absence. West Ham United reclaimed their First Division status at the second attempt, finishing runners-up in the Second Division and also reaching the semi-finals of the FA Cup. The final automatic promotion place was clinched by Sheffield Wednesday, who also won the Football League Cup to end their 56-year wait for a major trophy. Notts County then became the first team to win back-to-back promotions via the playoffs by beating Brighton 3-1 in the Second Division promotion clincher at Wembley.
Teddy Sheringham Edward Paul "Teddy" Sheringham (born 2 April 1966) is an English football manager and former player. He played as a forward, mostly as a second striker, in a 24-year professional career. Sheringham was part of the Manchester United team tha ...
found the net 38 times in the league for fifth-placed Millwall, but was unable to inspire victory in the playoffs, and was then sold to Nottingham Forest for £2.1million - a record fee for a Second Division player. Hull City were relegated to the Third Division after six years, finishing bottom of the Second Division. They were joined in relegation on the final day by West Bromwich Albion, who had already endured the misery of an FA Cup third round exit at the hands of non-league
Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in north-west Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'', and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settleme ...
, and were now facing Third Division football for the first time in their history. However, the reorganisation of the league meant that there was one less relegation place this year, and it was Leicester City who took advantage of this by finishing 22nd and avoiding relegation.


Results


Overview

Joe Royle’s cavalier
Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...
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 West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...
, who would be promoted as runners-up. Joining them were League Cup winners
Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...
, who finished in third place.
Neil Warnock Neil Warnock (born 1 December 1948) is an English football manager and former player who is currently football advisor at Torquay United. He is also a television and radio pundit. In a managerial career spanning five decades, Warnock has managed ...
guided
Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...
to a second successive victory in the promotion play-offs. 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 West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...
, 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. Albion had sacked player-manager Brian Talbot in January following an
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
exit at the hands of non-league
Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in north-west Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'', and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settleme ...
, but his successor
Bobby Gould Robert Alfred Gould (born 12 June 1946) is an English former footballer and manager. Early life Robert Alfred Gould was born in Wyken, Coventry, Warwickshire on Wednesday, 12 June 1946. He is the son of Henry Gould and Helen McKellar Gould ...
was unable to save Albion from the dreaded drop. Newly promoted Bristol Rovers attained their highest league finish in years, finishing 13th. But manager Gerry Francis then resigned to take over at Queen’s Park Rangers, handing over the reins to
Martin Dobson Martin Dobson (born 14 February 1948) is an English former professional football player and coach. A midfielder who was an England national football team, England international, he was the first player to be transferred for £300,000, when Evert ...
, who was just weeks into his job as Northwich Victoria manager. Jim Smith left
Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...
in March after more than two years at the helm, making a swift return to management with
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...
as successor to Frank Burrows, while
Ossie Ardiles Osvaldo César Ardiles (born 3 August 1952), more commonly known as Ossie Ardiles, is an Argentine football manager, pundit and former player. A competitive and skilled midfielder, Ardiles became a cult hero in England, along with Glenn Hoddl ...
was the new man in charge on
Tyneside Tyneside is a List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, built-up area across the banks of the River Tyne, England, River Tyne in Northern England. The population of Tyneside as published in the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 774,891 ...
after leaving
Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...
. 33-year-old
Glenn Hoddle Glenn Hoddle (born 27 October 1957) is an English former football player and manager. He currently works as a television pundit and commentator for ITV Sport and TNT Sports. He played as a midfielder for Tottenham Hotspur, Monaco, Chelsea and ...
was named as Swindon’s new manager.
Colin Todd Colin Todd (born 12 December 1948) is an English football manager and former player. He was most recently the manager of Esbjerg fB. As a player, he made more than 600 appearances in the Football League, playing as a defender for Sunderland, ...
departed from
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...
after their failure to succeed in the play-offs, being replaced by
Lennie Lawrence Robin Michael Lawrence, commonly known as Lennie Lawrence, (born 12 December 1947) is an English football manager. He is assistant manager and non-executive director at National League side Hartlepool United. Lawrence was a semi-professional a ...
who called time on nine years with Charlton Athletic, who appointed Alan Curbishley and Steve Gritt as joint player-managers.
David Pleat David John Pleat (born 15 January 1945) is an English association football, football player turned manager (association football), manager, and sports commentator. Pleat made 185 Football League appearances for five clubs, scoring 26 goals. He ...
was sacked by Leicester City in February, with Gordon Lee taking charge until the end of the season and being replaced by Brian Little. In January
Jack Walker Jack Walker (19 May 1929 – 17 August 2000) was a British industrialist and businessman. Walker built his fortune in the steel industry, amassing a personal fortune of £600 million. He then went on to become the owner and benefactor of Blac ...
purchased
Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...
.


Second Division play-offs

The semifinals were decided over two legs, and only the aggregates are given in the schemata below. The final consisted of only a single match.
The full results can be found at: Football League Division Two play-offs 1991.


Second Division maps


Third Division

An incredible season for the newly promoted teams in the Third Division saw champions Cambridge United, runners-up Grimsby Town and third placed Southend United all win a second successive promotion. The final promotion place went to playoff winners Tranmere Rovers, who had last played Second Division football in the 1930s, and prepared to thrive as this higher level by signing former Liverpool striker John Aldridge shortly after securing promotion. Rotherham United and Crewe Alexandra both dropped back into the Fourth Division after just two seasons in the Third Division, with this being Crewe's first relegation for over 20 years, while Mansfield Town's relegation ended their five-year spell in the Third Division. However, the reorganisation of the Football League meant one fewer relegation place in the Third Division, with Fulham finishing 21st but being spared from Fourth Division football for the first time as a result.


Third Division results


Third Division play-offs

The semifinals were decided over two legs, and only the aggregates are given in the schemata below. The final consisted of only a single match.
The full results can be found at: Football League Division Three play-offs 1991.


Third Division maps


Fourth Division

A year after sealing an instant return to the Football League,
Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...
clinched the Fourth Division title to earn a second successive promotion. Their run of success under manager Brian Little attracted the attention of bigger clubs, and after the end of the season he accepted an offer to manage Leicester City in the Second Division. Stockport County finished runners-up to end their lengthy stay in the Fourth Division, and in doing so their
Uruguayan Uruguayans () are people identified with the country of Uruguay, through citizenship or descent. Uruguay is home to people of different ethnic origins. As a result, many Uruguayans do not equate their nationality with ethnicity, but with citizen ...
manager became the first foreign manager to achieve promotion in the Football League. Hartlepool United, another team who had endured a long run in the league's lowest tier, sealed promotion in third place, with coach Alan Murray taking charge for the final four months of the season due to manager Cyril Knowles becoming seriously ill, taking over on a permanent basis after the end of the season when Knowles declared himself unable to continue as manager. The fourth promotion place went to Peterborough United, despite the
Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...
club changing its manager twice of the course of the season, beginning with
Mark Lawrenson Mark Thomas Lawrenson (born 2 June 1957) is an English former professional association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football), defender for Liverpool F.C., Liverpool, among others, during the 1970s and 1980s. After ...
in charge, before switching to Dave Booth in mid November and finally appointing Chris Turner in January. As with the Second and Third Divisions, the reorganisation of the Football League gave the Fourth Division an additional promotion place, with five teams going up this season instead of the usual four. The final promotion place was clinched by Torquay United, who defeated Blackpool in a penalty shootout in the playoff final, becoming the first Football League team to win promotion on penalties, and ending a run of nearly 20 seasons in the Fourth Division for the
Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...
club. The admission of a 93rd club to the Football League for the 1991-92 season meant that there was no relegation from the Fourth Division this season, meaning that bottom placed Wrexham held onto their league status. Joining the league for the 1991-92 season were the Conference champions Barnet, managed by former
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
youth team player Barry Fry.


Fourth Division results


Overview

Brian Little’s
Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...
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 United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. They have played their ho ...
. Torquay were the eventual winners, beating
Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...
in a penalty shootout.
Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...
finished bottom of the league for the first time since 1965–66, but due to League expansion they avoided relegation into the Conference. Brian Little left Darlington just after their promotion success, taking over at Leicester City, leaving Frank Gray to pick up the pieces at the Feethams. Manager Cyril Knowles departed from Hartlepool on sick leave three months before their promotion, with player-coach Alan Murray overseeing the final stages of the campaign. Murray took over on a permanent basis when Knowles confirmed that he would be unable to return to the club following brain surgery.


Fourth Division play-offs

The semifinals were decided over two legs, and only the aggregates are given in the schemata below. The final consisted of only a single match.
The full results can be found at: Football League Division Four play-offs 1991.


Fourth Division maps


See also

*
1990-91 in English football Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1990-91 Football League English Football League seasons