The 1988-89 season was the 109th season of competitive footbal in England.

Overview

Hillsborough disaster

On 15 April, a crowd crush at the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough saw 94 people killed and more than 300 injured. A 95th Liverpool supporter died in hospital shortly after. The final death toll became 96 in March 1993, when Tony Bland died after being in a coma for nearly four years. A subsequent inquiry into the tragedy led to the Taylor Report, in which Lord Justice Taylor of Gosforth ordered that all top division clubs should have all-seater stadiums from the 1994-95 season onwards.

First Division

Arsenal won the league title on goals scored with the last kick of the season, as they beat Liverpool 2-0 at Anfield to claim the championship trophy and deny Kenny Dalglish's men a unique second double; goals from Alan Smith and Michael Thomas gave . Third place in the league was occupied by League Cup winners Nottingham Forest. In their second season back in the top flight, Derby County beat eventual champions Arsenal home and away on their way to achieving an impressive fourth place finish, while Dave Stringer's Norwich made the most of their limited resources by finishing fifth.

Ian Rush returned to Liverpool after a season with Juventus and was once again a prolific goalscorer. Mark Hughes returned to Manchester United after two seasons with Barcelona and his brilliance earned him the PFA Player of the Year award - although he couldn't help his side finish any higher than a disappointing 11th in the First Division.

Newcastle United endured a disastrous season and succumbed to relegation after finishing bottom of the First Division. They were joined by West Ham United, who later sacked long-serving manager John Lyall; he was replaced by the Swindon Town manager Lou Macari. The other relegated side was Middlesbrough.

Second Division

Chelsea returned to the First Division at the first time of asking by totalling 99 points as Second Division champions. Manchester City ended their two-year exile from the top flight by finishing runners-up in the Second Division. The third promotion place went to Steve Coppell's stylish Crystal Palace side.

A disastrous season saw Walsall slip out of the Second Division after just one season. They were then joined by Birmingham City, who fell into the league's third tier for the first time in their history. Shrewsbury Town's luck finally ran out as they occupied the final relegation spot and fell back into the league's third tier after 10 years.

Third Division

The prolific goalscoring of striker Steve Bull and expertise of manager Graham Turner saw Wolves promoted for the second season running as Third Division champions. Dave Bassett's Sheffield United followed Wolves up in second place. The Third Division playoffs were won by John Rudge's hard working Port Vale side.

The Third Division relegation spots were filled by Gillingham, Chesterfield, Southend United and Aldershot.

Fourth Division

22 points from their final 8 games saw Frank Clark's Leyton Orient make a late run into the Fourth Division playoffs and win the final to gain promotion. The automatic promotion places went to Rotherham United, Tranmere Rovers and Crewe Alexandra.

At the bottom end of the table, Darlington struggled all season long and not even the arrival of enthusiastic young manager Brian Little could save them from losing their league place - which was gained by Conference champions Maidstone United.

Non-league

Newport County went out of business on 27 February. They were then expelled from the Conference for failing to fulfill their fixtures.

Change in playoff format

The play-off system was slightly altered - the fourth-bottom team in the First Division would no longer be relegated if they lost in the play-offs, as too many teams staying up could have played havoc with the number of teams in the First and Second Divisions.

FA Cup

Liverpool won the FA Cup by beating Everton 3-2 at Wembley. Ian Rush, who had returned to Anfield after a year at Juventus the previous summer, scored twice.

League Cup

Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest ended their nine-year trophy drought by beating holders Luton Town 2-1 to win the League Cup.

Star players

PFA Player of the Year went to Mark Hughes, who had returned to Manchester United after two unhappy seasons with Barcelona in Spain. PFA Young Player of the Year award went to Arsenal's young winger Paul Merson, who helped his side win their first league title for 18 years.

FWA Footballer of the Year was Liverpool captain Steve Nicol, while a special award was credited to the Liverpool players for their compassion shown to families bereaved by the Hillsborough disaster.

Down in the Third Division, 24-year-old Wolves striker Steve Bull scored 53 goals in all competitions and made a scoring debut for the England national football team.

Star managers

• George Graham's three years of rebuilding Arsenal paid off as he ended their 18-year title drought with the last kick of the season. He received the Manager of the Year award for his efforts.
• Kenny Dalglish compensated for Liverpool's title disappointment with victory over neighbours Everton in the F.A Cup final.
• Brian Clough guided Nottingham Forest to a hard-earned League Cup triumph after they had gone nine years without a trophy.
• Steve Coppell's five years of outstanding effort at Crystal Palace paid off as he got them promoted to the First Division as playoff winners.
• Graham Turner's rejuventated Wolves side reached the Second Division with a second successive championship and promotion triumph.

Deaths

• Jackie Milburn, 64, legendary goalscorer for Newcastle United and England during the 1950s. Was a cousin of England World Cup winners Bobby and Jack Charlton. Died of cancer.
• Don Revie, 61, manager of the great Leeds United side of the late 1960s and early 1970s who were league champions twice, F.A Cup winners once, League Cup winners once and Fairs Cup winners once. Managed England from 1974 to 1977 but walked out on them to gain a lucrative four-year deal as national coach of the United Arab Emirates. Returned to his homeland in 1985, four years before his death from motor neurone disease.
• Gerard Baron, 67, the oldest of the Hillsborough tragedy victims. He was the brother of former Liverpool player Kevin Baron, who played for Liverpool in the 1950 F.A Cup final.
• George Robledo, 66, Chilean born striker, formerly of Newcastle United, died of a heart attack. He played for Chile at the 1950 World Cup and won the F.A Cup with Newcastle in both of the two seasons that followed the World Cup. In the second final, he was playing in the same team as his brother Ted Robledo!

Transfers

Tottenham midfielder Chris Waddle was sold to Olympique Marseille of France in a £4.5million deal, in the latest of big money deals which saw players desert English clubs for foreign clubs who were prepared to pay higher wages. Gary Lineker ended his three-year spell at FC Barcelona to join Tottenham. He had played under Tottenham manager Terry Venables during his first season at Barcelona.

Lineker's strike partner Mark Hughes also left Barcelona and returned to his old club Manchester United in a £1.8million deal. Hughes had been a disappointment in his first season at Barcelona but had recaptured his form during a successful season-long loan deal at Bayern Munich.

Honours

League table

First Division

Second Division

Third Division

Fourth Division