I Division. The last three teams were doomed early, but there was a race between 5 teams for escape from the last relegation spot. At the top – the familiar dominance of Liverpool keeping the rest of the league far away, followed by rapidly improving Manchester United, also separated from the rest by a vast distance. Perhaps it is worth noting the success of players-managers: nothing new about it, particularly in England, but usually they were not that many and not leading winning teams – now Kenny Dalglish put a new twist to Liverpool’s tradition to replace one home-grown manager with his former helper and another former Liverpool’s star was successful player-manager of Glasgow Rangers – Graham Souness. Scots were the current best managers – Souness, Dalglish, and Ferguson and the helm of Manchester United.
Oxford United – last with 31 points and saying goodbye to top league football.
Watford – its great story ended: 20th with 32 points. Looks like the club followed the career of Elton John… the rock-star was no longer hot ticket and his club also declined.
Portsmouth – 19th with 35 points. Lasted a single season in the top league and was relegated.
No end to the suffering of Chelsea – 18th with 42 points and relegated again. It was not that didn’t try, but hardly bad luck (the larger relegation group because of the reduction of the league plus ending in that group only on goal-difference) – the squad was poor quality and there was hardly any other way because of still shaky financial situation.
Charlton Athletic survived: 17th with 42 points. Thanks to 4 goals better goal-difference than Chelsea.
West Ham United also survived on goal-difference: 16th with 42 points.
Derby County ended 15th with 43 points. Escaped relegation and may be Peter Shilton was the happiest of the bunch: still the number 1 goalkeeper of England.
Norwich City – 14th with 45 points.
Tottenham Hotspur – 13th with 47 points. Just a few years ago there were great hopes of Spurs going to the very top and rivaling Liverpool. Now the direction was the opposite. Ray Clemence and Ossie Ardiles, and Johhny Metgod were approaching retirement fast, their best years already in the past. To a point, Nico Claesen’s best years were in the past too. Chris Waddle’s… Terry Venables? Better look at Barcelona’s photo of this season, not at the above picture.
Southampton – 12th with 50 points. Their strong period ended and no surprise: the risky approach to recruit aging stars eventually run dry.
Sheffield Wednesday – doing well: 11th with 53 points, but seemingly on ascent.
Coventry City – 10th with 53 points.
Luton Town – 9th with 53 points and such position itself was achievement for them, but there was more to the team seemingly at its peak – arguably, they had their best season ever.
Newcastle United – 8th with 56 points. Optimistic season and fortune tellers were predicting great future. Paul Gascoigne was the trump card.
Wimbledon – 7th with 57 points. They finished a place higher in the previous season, but still this season was sensational and perhaps their best. The true Cinderella story… leaving Luton Town in the dust.
Arsenal – 6th with 66 points. Good work of George Graham, but not the finish product yet – if one can speak of Arsenal’s finished product.
Queen’s Park Rangers – 5th with 67 points. Strong season, bringing back memories of mid-70s, and good team in which Terry Fenwick was the current big star, but QPR usually did not last long among the best.
Everton – 4th with 70 points. Yes, they were still strong, but already the myth, based on ‘if’, was taking roots: if English clubs were banned from playing in the European tournaments, courtesy of hated Liverpool, Everton would have conquered the world already and sky was the limit from there. True, they left Liverpool 9 points behind in the victorious previous season, but now were 20 points behind Liverpool and 11 points behind Manchester City. Hardly a prove of greatness. And the squad was not all that impressive… even the English national team players in it were not leaders – the big stars of the moment played for other teams.
Nottingham Forest – 3rd with 73 points. Brian Clough still managed to keep the team high in the league, but it was already clear for some time that success was impossible. Not a title contender this squad, not even second-best.
Manchester United with reserve team, youth and all – 2nd with 81 points. Alex Ferguson was doing a good job, building and improving, and it showed – the rest of the league was left far behind. Yet, it was still a building process and the team was not ready even to challenge Liverpool.
Liverpool quickly recovered by the humiliating previous season, when they were left in the dust by city rivals Everton and came back thunderously: they lost only 2 games, won 26, tied 12, scored 87 goals, permitting only 24 in their net, and finished with 90 points. Nobody was even close to them – in anything! Manchester United was left 9 points behind and never mind the rest of the league. Liverpool outscored Manchester United by 16 goals and never mind the rest. Everton was bested defensively by 3 goals, but allowing only 24 goals in their net was astonishing achievement in the tough and attacking English football. Of course, the team was wonderful and full of well known stars and Kenny Dalglish was simply proving that Liverpool was grooming excellent managers one after another. Yet, Liverpool’s dominance was tiring and even alarming – after all, Liverpool sold during the season Lawrenson, Wark, and Walsh and still was head and shoulders above the whole league with second-rater like John Aldridge and risky goalkeeper Bruce Grobelaar. Was Englsih football becoming so bland that it was enough to have Aldridge to keep winning? No need for the likes of Rush, Keegan, Toshack… no need to hunt Gascoigne – Aldridge was enough… Then again, it was Liverpool – let not pile on Aldridge, because they already had youngsters going to be big – Peter Beardsley and Steve McMahon.
Just one more title for Liverpool… so routine.