First Division. One outsider, two teams fighting for the title.
KRC Genk – very weak this season – last with 15 points and relegated.
RWD Molenbbek – lost the battle for survival and ended relegated: 17th with 25 points. Very quickly Brussels went down from 3 teams in the top league to one in the next season.
K. Beerschot VAC – survived by a point: 16th with 26 points.
Cercle Brugge KSV – 15th with 27 points.
KSC Lokeren Oost-Vlaanderen – 14th with 28 points. Nothing special, but two Nigerians will become very well known in the 1990s – Siasia and Rufai.
KRC Mechelen – 13th with 28 points.
KSK Beveren – 12th with 28 points. Back to their modest tradition, the good years were over.
R Charleroi SC – 11th with 29 points.
Lierse SK – 10th with 29 points.
KSV Waregem – 9th with 30 points.
KV Kortrijk – 8th with 35 points.
K Sint-Truidense VV – 7th with 35 points.
Standard Liege – 6th with 36 points.
Royal Antwerp FC – 5th with 42 points.
Club Brugge – 4th with 43 points.
RFC Liege – 3rd with 46 points. Wonderful season for usually modest club. They had a number of strong players – 3 second-rate Yugoslavs (Stojic, Varga and Malbasa), two up and coming Belgians – Vejt and Boffin, and another one of little talent, but who will change football for ever and not for good (depending on standpoint) in the 1990s – one Jean-Marc Bosman. Hats down to these boys, though – they were inferior to the selections and Club Brugge and Standard, but finished well ahead of the famous clubs.
Anderlecht – 2nd with 53 points. Fought for the title as usual, scored most goals in the league (83), had strong squad – perhaps the best in the country on paper – but finished 4 points behind the winners.
KV Mechelen won the Belgian title just one year after winning the Cup Winners Cup. 25 wins, 7 ties, 2 losses and 64-20 goal-difference did it – they finished with 57 points: 4 points ahead of mighty Anderlecht. The team excited many a viewer in the previous year and it was so sweet to see them winning again. Since for many this club was somewhat ‘new arrival’, the title most likely was their first – in fact, it their 4th, but 40 years passed since they won their 3rd title – no wonder their success was considered absolutely new. Well, the long wait was over at last.
The squad was pretty much the same as the one winning the Cup Winners Cup, but eventually changes occurred .
The ambitious program started in the mid-80s worked better than expected – KV Mechelen had the best period in its history and the only problem was the future: sudden fame is almost always deadly for a small club. So far nobody was looking and they were able to recruit good players, but now… the opposite was going to happen, including their coach Aad de Mos. But the moment was great and the team deserved its success.
KSC Hasselt was last and out with 18 points.
RC Harelbeke – 15th with 20 points and out.
FC Verbroedering Geel -14th with 24 points.
K. Stade Leuven – 13th with 26 points.
KSK Tongeren – 12th with 27 points.
FC Lommelse SK – 11th with 27 points.
K. Th. Diest – 10th with 27 points.
Racing Jet Wavre – 9th with 28 points. One has to keep foundation date – or rather registration date – of Belgian clubs, for almost every change canceled previous club and new one started. So, the previous featured team Diest, although familiar name, was actually just coming to existence. On the other hand Racing Jet only changed location – and the name, consequently – from Brussels to Wavre. Something like that…
K. Berchem Sport – 8th with 29 points. As usual, many foreigners played in Belgium – Berchem had the Czechoslovak veteran striker Werner Licka, for example. Now 35-years old and fading away from minds – his fame really was in 1980.
K. Patro Eisden – 6th with 31 points.
KSC Eendracht Aalst – 5th with 32 points.
FC Germinal Ekeren won the championship with 44 points from 19 wins, 6 ties, 5 losses, 63-33 goal-difference. Well desereved victory, getting then direct promotion to First Division.
Why FC Eeklo was given place in the promotion play-offs is unclear, but did not help them – they finished last with 4 points.
K. Boom – 3rd with 4 points.
RFC Seresien – 2nd with 6 points.
KAA Gent – won the play-offs and the promotion with 10 points – 5 wins and 1 lost game, 10-3 goal-difference. Won when mattered and went up along with Germinal Ekeren.
This was more or less the last great run of the old club from Vienna. They came close to winning championship and Cup, a championship, if not the Cup; a Cup, if not the championship… but finished second in both competitions. Who know what their fate would have been, if they won a trophy this year… may be they will be still playing in the city they were founded today and not representing another town. But they lost.
Swarovski Tirol (Innsbruck) won a great double. It was their first – in fact, their first trophies ever. Football in the city of Innsbruck has weird history, closely related to the famous jewelry firm Swarovski. Fate depended on the whimsical involvement of Swarovski and still depends… So, there is always a principal team in the eyes of city fans, but… it is not the same club. Amalgamations, name changes, new establishments, sometimes buying league licenses from already existing ot just folding club, bu the colours are always white, black, and green, so… it is the same club and it is not… Even the names repeat themselves – Wattens, Wacker, Tirol, with or without Swarovski attached to them. By the rules, Swarovski Tirol was new club, formed in 1986, which immediately bought the license of Wacker, seemingly on their last legs (only to be reincarnated later for better confusion). Once again, it was ambitious Swarovski project, but if fans recall the great early 1970s, officially this only 3-years old club, which in this short time managed to triumph – 1st title, 1st Cup, 1st double! If it was really brand new club, such a sharp rising from nothing to national domination would be great… but in local eyes it was just continuation, their boys finally came back on top again. Today this club does not exist and for many years too, but… there is still white, black and green in Innsbruck. Anyhow, when Swarovski decides to invest in football, they do not joke – Ernst Happel was hired to coach and he was a winner to the end of his career. He got a good skeleton of solid players – aging stars, in the Austrian tradition, but what names! Bruno Pezzey (now 34) was back from West Germany and was joined by 33-years old Yugoslav Ivica Kalinic in defense. The West German Hansi Muller (32) commanded midfield, helped by former Rapid star Peter Hrstic (28). Austrian national team striker Peter Pacult (30) was the force in front of the opposition’s net and experienced Austrian goalkeeper Klaus Lindenberger (32) was solid defender of Tirol’s own net. No matter how weird Happel was, he delivered always – and his team quickly delivered first success – and not just success, but a double!
Innsbruck was happy again and the future… ah, the future depended on Swarovski…
VSE Sankt Polten (4th in the first phase with 25 points) ended 8th with 17th points. If Vorwaerts Steyr had the 1975 European player of the year, St. Polten boasted the 1978 World champion and best player Mario Kempes. Now 35-years old Argentine was playing his second season with St. Polten and third season in Austria, where he started with First Vienna. Along with him played the typical for Austrian football Yugoslav players – Petrovic and Brankovic – plus two well respected Austrians – Ogris and Pichler – but the team either lost steam or interest in the spring final stage.
Grazer AK (7th in the fall with 22 points) finished 7th with 20 points.
Rapid (5th with 24 points in the fall) finished 4th with 29 point. Not a factor this season. Rapid had 5 foreigners – some of them were little known (Mladen Munjakovic -Yugoslavia, Gudmundur Torfason – Iceland, and Daniel Rodriguez – Uruguay), but the last two were very well known, however, in the Austrian tradition, old: the former Soviet national team midfielder Sergey Shavlo (second season with Rapid, 33 years old) and the former Yugoslav national team striker Zlatko Kranjcar, who played many years for Rapid, now 33 years old.
FK Austria (Vienna, 3rd in the fall with 30 points) finished 3rd with 31 points. They were the only club with different approach, not looking for old foreign stars, but for current vintage – the Argentina striker Jose Percudani (24) arrived in 1987 from Independiente (Avellaneda). He was joined by Enrique Baez (23), arriving from Wanderers (Montevideo) in 1988. Both were national team players when Austria signed them, Baez played in the 1987 Copa America, so they appeared to be highly promising reinforcements. However, when they donned the violet shirt of Austria, neither was called again to the national team of his country. It could be said that Austria was a dead end for them… and Austria did not win the title this year.
FC Swarovski Tirol (Innsbruck) won both first and second phase – 15 wins, 3 teas, 4 losses, and 33 points in the fall, followed by even better spring final – 9 wins, 4 ties, 1 loss. Thus, their final record was 24 wins, 7 ties, 5 losses, 78-38 goal-difference, and 39 points – 6 more than Admira/Wacker. Great victory for the new club and it was not all.
Donawitzer SV Alpine – 4th with 28 points.Crouching from left: Prof. Schweinegger (Co-Trainer), Sabitzer, Guggi, Seitner, Hobelleitner, Peintinger, Schimpl, Trippolt (Zeugwart).
SK VOEST Linz – 1st with 30 points.
LASK Linz (12th in the first phase of First Division) finished 5th with 14 points and was relegated to Second Division. Polish imports Gaida and Kensy and aging Bulgarian star Roussi Gotchev were unable to prevent the slump.
Kremser SC (from Second Division) clinched 4th place with 16 points and was promoted to First Division. The surprise Cup winners in the previous season managed to climb up.
SK Vorwaerts Steyr (9th in the first phase of First Division) finished 2nd with 19 points and remained in First Division. Must have been unpleasant surprise for Oleg Blokhin, used to be on top, now to fight for survival and avoiding relegation… Then again, he was pushing 37 and it was even surprising that he was still playing. Arguably the greatest ever Soviet star was no longer coveted by big clubs – by now only a modest club like Vorwaerts was interested in him and he was glad to play for them. Such is luck… the Soviets permitted their players to go abroad too late for Blokhin, but at least he was able to kick a bit of ball professionally in the twilight of his career, just before retirement and avoided relegation to Second Division. He played a total of 18 games and scored 1 goal for his new team and departed to Cyprus. Along with him 6 other foreigners played, little known al, the oldest of which the Yugoslav defender Radan Lukic (32) and the Iranian midfielder Ali Facel (33).
SK Sturm Graz (11th in the first phase of First Division) won the tournament with 21 points and preserved First Division spot.
Luton Town had an unique chance to win a consecutive League Cup, but unable to produce a miracle. A year ago they prevailed over Arsenal, but now lost. Would have been great if they won, though…
Nottingham Forest won their first trophy since 1980 and looked like Brian Clough was going to repeat the success 10 years ago – Nottingham was back in the big game with new team.
A matter of winning or losing… difficult to judge. Everton lost. Only in the extra-time, but perhaps even more painfully because of that. Beating their neighbours was made even more important after English clubs were banned from UEFA for the behavior of Liverpool’s fans and thus Everton lost their chance to concur the world – at least, that was their feeling. Revenge was a must… and did not happen. And perhaps at this moment Everton started to fade without fulfilling their ambitions.
Liverpool collected one more trophy, but it was more than that – even more than prevailing over the bitter city rivals: Liverpool needed some success to overcome the Hillsborough tragedy, which happened in the FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest. In a way, winning the Cup was important – paying respects to the dead fans, telling they did not die in vain. It was going to be a big tribute – win the Cup and 6 days later win the title! A double was possible. So, they won the Cup. Then they lost the title. Up and down in 6 days and the irony in that: winning in London and losing in Liverpool – that’s football.
Newcastle United had a miserable season – last with 31 points and out.
West Ham United was only slightly better – 19th with 38 points and relegated.
Middlesbrough was the third unfortunate – they finished 18th with 39 points and were relegated.
Aston Villa barely survived – 17th with 40 points.
Luton Town – 16th with 41 points. Difficult season in the league, but overall – one of their best.
Sheffield Wednesday – 15th with 42 points.
Charlton Athletic – 14th with 42 points.
Southampton – 13th with 45 points. Slowly sinking down and quite predictably so: the idea to carry on a season on the backs of few aging stars could not last forever: inevitably, there were fewer and less classier players coming – this season they had Chris Nicholl and Russell Osman which was the same as having Kevin Keegan and Peter Shilton.
Wimbledon – 12th with 51 points.
Manchester United – 11th with 51 points. Another disappointing season… Mark Hughes was back from Spain, Jesper Olsen was sold during the season. Gordon Strachan too. Alex Ferguson still had to do a lot of buying…
Millwall – 10th with 53 points. What was terrible for Manchester United, was wonderful for Millwall – all depends on size… Tony Cascarino was the most recognizable name in the team, but he was helped by young talent Teddy Sheringham.
Queens Park Rangers – 9th with 53 points. Trevor Francis still playing and David Seaman debuted for England.
Everton – 8th with 54 points. Sky was the limit, they claimed only months back…
Coventry City – 7th with 55 points.
Tottenham Hotspur – 6th with 57 points.
Derby County – 5th with 58 points. A comeback?
Norwich City – 4th with 62 points. The pleasant surprise this season.
Nottingham Forest – 3rd with 64 points. Brian Clough was keeping the team up – but they were not a title contenders.
One can imagine the grief of Liverpool… But, on the other hand, many were so tired from seeing them winning all the time, so a change of guard was welcome. Kenny Dalglish was doing great job, indeed, but the current squad compared to earlier vintages was somewhat bland. One can argue to the end of time which Liverpool was greater – the one with Keegan, or the one with Dalglish… the one with John Aldridge would not come to mind at all, although Ian Rush came back from Italy. Liverpool had unfortunate season – first, Jan Molby was in jail for awhile, serving a sentence for driving violation. Then the Hillsborough disaster blackened the hearts – and also postponed the finish of the season. The last bitter drop was losing the title at home… 22 wins, 10 ties, 6 losses, 65-28 goal-difference, 76 points. Liverpool lost the title only on scored goals – Arsenal managed 73 and placed mighty Liverpool second.
What is a disaster for one is a triumph for another… Arsenal clinched the title in the last minute. Michael Thomas was instant hero – he scored the goal on the hostile Liverpool ground which preserved the goal-difference of the rivals equal and gave the title to Arsenal on more scored goals. Such a dramatic ending: Arsenal and Liverpool were entirely equal not just on points. Both had 76 points from 22 wins, 10 ties, 6 losses, and +37 goal-difference. But the scoring record of Liverpool was 65-28 and Arsenal’s was 73-36. That did it, thanks to Thomas – the rules stipulated that in such case goals scored are the tie-break and Arsenal got the upper hand. It was almost two decades long wait, but Arsenal was champion again. Naturally, manager George Graham got legendary status and rightly so, for he managed to win the title with somewhat inferior squad – at least, if compared to Liverpool’s. Kenny Sansom was sold to Newcastle (and what an irony… the great veteran was relegated with his new team at the time when his old one became champion). A good team, but great? Certainly, Arsenal needed some classier reinforcements – goalkeeping was point in case: John Lukic, although well known, was hardly top-class keeper. But getting Seaman was still in the future – presently, it was only joy.
No matter Arsenal had to play without Tony Adams, suspended for offensive television interview, against Liverpool. No matter they had to pose in reserve yellow kit – they won the title!
Birmingham City – 23rd with 35 points and down to Third Division.
Shrewsbury Town – 22nd with 42 points and relegated.
Hull City – 21st with 47 points.
Portsmouth – 20th with 51 points.
Brighton & Hove Albion – 19th with 51 points.
Plymouth Argyle – 18th with 54 points.
Oxford United – 17th with 54 points.
Oldham Athletic – 16th with 54 points.
Leicester City – 15th with 55 points.
Bradford City – 14th with 56 points.
Stoke City – 13th with 59 points.
Bournemouth – 12th with 62 points.
Sunderland – 11th with 63 points.
Leeds United – 10th with 67 points.
West Bromwich Albion – 9th with 72 points.
Ipswich Town – 8th with 73 points.
Barnsley – 7th with 74 points.
Swindon Town – 6th with 76 points and going to promotion play-offs.
Blackburn Rovers – 5th with 77 points and going to promotion play-offs.
Watford – 4th with 78 points and to the promotion play-offs.
Manchester City – 2nd with 82 points. Fought well and gained direct promotion back to First Division.
Chelsea – had fantastic season leaving the whole league far behind. They won the championship with 99 points from 29 wins, 12 ties, 5 losses, and 96-50 goal-difference and went up to the top league. Once again…
Steve Coppell did good job rebuilding Crystal Palace and the result was promotion top First Division. Nice.
But this season belonged to Chelsea – hoping to continue their way up in the next season.
Aldershot – last and relegated with 37 points.
Chesterfield – 22nd with 49 points and relegated.
Southend United – 21st with 54 and relegated. Unfortunately, on goal-difference.
Northampton Town – 20th with 54 points. Survived on better goal-difference.
Reading – 18th with 56 points.
Wigan Athletic – 17th with 56 points.
Cardiff City – 16th with 57 points.
Mansfield Town – 15th with 59 points. Back row: Place, Anderson, Coleman, Pearcey, Beasley, Cox, Kearney, Kenworthy, Hodges
Huddersfield Town – 14th with 60 points. (Back) Kirkham, Trevitt, France, Hardwick, Mitchell, Martin, O’Doherty, Brown, Winter
Swansea City – 12th with 61points.
Bristol City – 11th with 63 points.
Bolton Wanderers – 10th with 64 points.
Notts County – 9th with 67 points. Back row: Machin, Fairclough, Atkin, Leonard, Davison, Norton, Draper, Johnson
Chester City – 8th with 68 points.
Brentford – 7th with 68 points.
Preston North End – 6th with 72 points and qualified for promotion play-offs.
Bristol Rovers – 5th with 74 points and going to promotion play-offs.
Fulham – 4th with 75 points and going to promotion play-offs.
Sheffield United – 2nd with 84 points and directly promoted to II Division. Clinched promotion on better goal-difference.
Wolverhampton Wanderers – league champions with 92 points from 26 wins, 14 ties, 6 losses, and 96-49 goal-difference. Strong and confident victory. Looked like full revival of the club was in progress – it was their second promotion in two years.
Port Vale earned the last promotion this season. As they were the least famous club among the promoted teams, it was wonderful success for them.
And the champions again – the Wolves dominated the championship and climbed up. Their prolific striker Steve Bull was the first player to reach the 50-goal mark in two consecutive season. May be they would be going even higher and back to top flight? Let keep fingers crossed.
Darlington finished last with 42 points and went down.
Doncaster Rovers – 23rd with 49 points.
Colchester United – 22nd with 50 points.
Halifax Town – 21st with 50 points.
Stockport County – 20th with 51 points. Asa Hartford failed as a player-manager and was replaced by already mentioned Danny Bergara. The Uruguayan eventually saved Stockport from relegation.
Hartlepool United – 19th with 52 points.
Rochdale – 18th with 53 points.
Peterborough United – 17th with 54 points.
Burnley – 16th with 55 points.
Hereford United – 15th with 58 points.
Torquay United – 14th with 59 points.
Exeter City- 13th with 60 points.
Carlisle United – 12th with 60 points.
York City – 11th with 64 points.
Lincoln City, just returning to their familiar division after brief exile in Football Conference, finished 10th with 64 points.
Grimsby Town – 9th with 66 points.
Cambridge United – 8th with 68 points.
Wrexham – 7th with 71 points and going to promotion play-offs.
Scarborough – 5th with 77 points and going to promotion play-offs.
Scunthorpe United – 4th with 77 points and going to promotion play-offs.
Crewe Alexandra – 3rd with 78 points and promoted to III Division. There were more than 20 years they played nothing but IV Division football, so this season was a great success.
Tranmere Rovers – 2nd with 80 points and promoted up.
Rotherham United – 1st with 82 points from 22 wins, 16 ties, 8 losses and 76-35 goal-difference. Jolly millers, indeed – they were just relegated from III Division and managed instant return.