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The 1990-91 season was the 111th season of competitive football in England.
Overview
First Division
Arsenal took their second league title in three seasons despite a season during which it often looked as though the good points would be outnumbered by the bad points. A player brawl in a league fixture against Manchester United in October saw Arsenal have two points deducted, and a few weeks later captain Tony Adams was given a four-month prison sentence for drink-driving (he ended up serving 8 weeks). But Arsenal managed to keep up a great run of form throughout the season and were crowned league champions having lost just one league game all season long.Runners-up spot was achieved by Liverpool, who had led the table for much of the first half of the season but had been shell-shocked in February by the sudden resignation of manager Kenny Dalglish. Rangers boss Graeme Souness was brought in as his successor but was unable to bring a major trophy to Anfield. Third place in the league went to Crystal Palace, who lost out on a European place to Liverpool who were let off their European ban a year early - 1991-92 UEFA Cup - therefore missing out on their first foray into Europe.
Newly promoted Leeds United had a good season back in the First Division as they finished fourth but never really looked like challenging for the title.
Down at the bottom end of the table, Derby County went down in bottom place with just five wins all season despite the 24 league goals of Welsh striker Dean Saunders. The final relegation place went to Sunderland on the last day of the season.
Second Division
Joe Royle's cavalier Oldham Athletic side won the Second Division championship to end their 68-year exile from the First Division. They were joined by runners-up West Ham United and League Cup winners Sheffield Wednesday, who finished in third place. Neil Warnock guided Notts County to a second successive victory in the promotion playoffs.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, 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.
Third Division
Champions Cambridge United, runners-up Southend United and third-placed Grimsby Town occupied the automatic promotion places and all achieved second successive promotions. The fourth promotion place went to playoff winners Tranmere Rovers, who ended a 53-year absence from the Second Division and made it clear they were prepared to stay there when they signed ex-Liverpool striker John Aldridge.Going down to the Fourth Division were Crewe Alexandra, Rotherham United and Mansfield Town.
Fourth Division
Brian Little's Darlington 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.Wrexham finished bottom of the league but their league status was saved by the expansion of the Football League to 93 clubs for the 1991-92 season.
FA Cup
Tottenham Hotspur compensated for a slump in form during the second half of the 1990-91 league campaign by beating Nottingham Forest 2-1 in the F.A Cup final, although their triumph was overshadowed by a knee injury to star midfielder Paul Gascoigne in the opening 15 minutes.League Cup
Ron Atkinson's Sheffield Wednesday earned a shock 1-0 victory over his old club Manchester United thanks to a goal from John Sheridan - a self-confessed United supporter.Biggest rise
Oldham Athletic won the Second Division championship to return to the First Division after a 68-year absence.Biggest fall
West Bromwich Albion fell into the Third Division for the very first time, 11 years after reaching the UEFA Cup quarter finals and 12 years after missing the league championship by just two places.Successful players
The PFA Player of the Year was Manchester United striker Mark Hughes, whose prolific goalscoring included two goals in United's Cup Winners Cup triumph over Barcelona.
The FWA Player of the Year was experienced Leeds United midfielder Gordon Strachan, who helped his newly promoted side reach a creditable fourth place in the First Division.
The PFA Young Player of the Year was Manchester United's 19-year-old winger Lee Sharpe, who collected a Cup Winners Cup medal in his first season as a regular player.
Welsh striker Dean Saunders scored 24 league goals for Derby County but couldn't save them from relegation and was sold to Liverpool for a British record fee of nearly £3million.
Tottenham's Gary Lineker had another great season and helped his side win the F.A Cup to end their seven-year trophy drought.
Successful managers
George Graham guided Arsenal to their second league title in three years after they lost just one out of 38 league games.
Alex Ferguson took Manchester United to glory in the European Cup Winners Cup in the first season back in Europe for English clubs after the Heysel Disaster.
Terry Venables ended Tottenham's seven-year trophy drought with an F.A Cup triumph at the expense of Nottingham Forest.
Joe Royle won the Second Division championship for Oldham Athletic to end their 68-year absence from the First Division.
Ron Atkinson took Sheffield Wednesday to glory in the League Cup and promotion to the First Division.
Brian Little achieved a second successive promotion with Darlington, who finished top of the Fourth Division a year after they had topped the Conference.
Neil Warnock guided Notts County to a unique second successive playoff triumph as they climbed from the Third Division to the First Division with back-to-back promotions.
John Beck completed back-to-back promotions with Cambridge United, who were Third Division champions and F.A Cup quarter finalists a year after being Fourth Division playoff winners.
Barry Fry took Barnet into the Football League as Conference champions.
John King guided Tranmere Rovers into the Second Division for the first time since the late 1930s.
European qualifiers
League champions Arsenal were England's first post-Heysel entrants for the European Cup.
Runners-up Liverpool and third-placed Crystal Palace would be England's representatives for the 1991-92 UEFA Cup.
Holders Manchester United and F.A Cup winners Tottenham Hotspur qualified for the 1991-92 Cup Winners Cup.
Significant Events
Dalglish cracks under the pressure
Kenny Dalglish resigned as Liverpool manager on 22nd February 1991, blaming the pressures of the job on his decision to quit. He was replaced by Graeme Souness.
Arsenal and United penalised for brawl
Arsenal were deducted two points and Manchester United were deducted one point after a brawl between players on both sides in an October fixture at Old Trafford. But the blow didn't have much damage on either team, as Arsenal went on to win the league title and Manchester United won the Cup Winners Cup.
Graham's gunners grab title
Despite the two-point deduction imposed for the Old Trafford fracas, and the absence of captain Tony Adams for eight weeks in mid-season while he served a prison sentence for drink-driving, Arsenal cruised to the league title with a seven-point margin over runners-up Liverpool and just one defeat on the way.
Gazza's injury agony sours Tottenham's joy
Paul Gascoigne suffered a serious knee injury in Tottenham's victorious F.A Cup final clash with Nottingham Forest, putting on hold a proposed transfer to Lazio of Italy. He was ruled out for the entire 1991-92 season.
Tottenham's cup triumph capped a great season for London clubs with Arsenal as league champions, Tottenham as F.A Cup winners, West Ham winning promotion to the First Division and Crystal Palace finished third to qualify for Europe for the first time in their history.
York plunged into mourning by Longhurst tragedy
York City striker David Longhurst, 24, collapsed and died on 8th September in a Fourth Division fixture at Bootham Crescent. The inquest revealed that he suffered from a rare heart condition.
Liverpool readmitted to Europe
Liverpool were re-admitted to European competition, having served an extra year after the ban on English clubs in Europe arising from the Heysel Disaster was lifted. They qualified for the UEFA Cup as league runners-up.
Butcher moves into management
On 15th November, a month before his 32nd birthday, Rangers and England defender Terry Butcher was appointed player-manager of Coventry City to replace John Sillett. On the same day, 34-year-old Peter Reid replaced Howard Kendall (who had returned to Everton) as manager of Manchester City.
Wednesday's trophy drought ends after 55 years
Sheffield Wednesday won the League Cup for the first time in their history with a 1-0 win over Manchester United - manager Ron Atkinson's old club. John Sheridan, the scorer of their winning goal, was a self-confessed Manchester United supporter. It was also Wednesday's first major trophy for 55 years.
Aldershot saved by 19 year old investor
Aldershot were saved from closure after 19-year-old property developer Spencer Trethewy saved the club with a £200,000 rescue deal, but he was dismissed from the club's board of directors within three months.
Albion sink to their lowest ebb
West Bromwich Albion were relegated to the Third Division for the first time in their history, little over a decade after they had almost won the league title. This disappointment came at the end of a season during which they had been knocked out of the F.A Cup by non-league Woking.
Sheringham tops the goalscoring charts
Millwall striker Teddy Sheringham was the leading goalscorer in England with 38 goals in all competitions, but was put on the transfer list after his club failed to navigate the Second Division playoffs. After the season was over, he joined Nottingham Forest in a £2million deal.
Deaths
- Peter Taylor, 62, long-term assistant manager to Brian Clough who helped him win the league championship with Derby County in 1972. He later returned to Derby as manager but was sacked in 1984 after their relegation to the Third Division.
- Joe Mercer, former England player, died on his 76th birthday after suffering a stroke. Was manager of Manchester City when they won four trophies in three seasons starting in 1968.
- Kevin Durham, 29-year-old striker, died of a heart attack just after helping Barnet win promotion to the Football League.
- Robin Friday, 38, popular centre forward with Reading and Cardiff City during the 1970s, was found dead at his London flat on Christmas Eve 1990. He had suffered a heart attack.
- David Longhurst, 24, York City striker, collapsed and died of a heart attack on 8th September during a Fourth Division fixture at Bootham Crescent.
"1990-91 in English football"