1990-91 season in review

[Swift]

When I was a kid, I had a copy of the Rothmans Football Yearbook for, I think, the 1994-95 season. For those who aren't aware of what it was, it was basically a football almanac of the season with every result in England from the top to the non-leagues, along with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. There were also club-by-club stats for all of the League teams. This thing was roughly 1000 pages, and was heaven to a football fan/stats nerd.

 

On a whim, I picked up a random one on Ebay recently, the 1991-92 yearbook (dealing with the 1990-91 season). For about 15 pages, there is a diary of the year and I though it'd be fun to post some of the interesting highlights much like those WON quotes threads.

 

Going into the season, Liverpool were champions, English clubs had been banned from participating in Europe due to the Heysel tragedy for the last 5 years, but UEFA had just agreed to re-admit them and the 1990 World Cup was about to begin. The creation of a 'Premier league' in England was being mooted too.

 

I'll start with the first few months, and will update throughout the week. This isn't exhaustive. This is just me picking and choosing interesting tidbits, but please comment so that I don't feel I'm wasting my time.

 

*************************************************************************

 

June 1990

 

14th - Dario Gradi, seven years at Crewe as manager, is given a ten year contract.

 

25th - Hibs fans urged to close their accounts with the Bank of Scotland who are backing Hearts takeover.

 

28th - First change in offside law for 65 years announced by FIFA; players level no longer offside.

 

30th - Brian Tiler, Bournemouth's former managing director is killed in a car crash in Italy, manager Harry Redknapp is injured.

 

July 1990

 

4th - Italians claim defeat aginst Argentina in the World Cup was due to an unlucky 17. It was Italy's 17th match at the San Paolo Stadium, Naples; it produced a goal for them in 17 minutes from Salvatore Schillaci but Roberto Donadoni, who wore the No. 17 shirt, missed the fateful penalty.

 

8th - West Germany win the World Cup beating Argentina 1-0 with a late penalty. Two Argentines are sent off: Pedro Monzon and Gustavo Dezotti, the first players dismissed in a World Cup Final.

 

13th - Hearts call off takeover plans for Hibernian.

 

19th - Tottenham deny bid of £12m for Paul Gascoigne and Gary Lineker from Juventus.

 

23rd - Hooliganism costs QPR an extension of their £600,000 sponsorship with KLM because of Dutch and English fans' misbehaviour.

 

25th - The Football Association oppose the Football League's intention to return to a 22 club First Division and may not approve the idea.

 

26th - England manager Taylor joins the anti 22 club First Division lobby.

 

31st - Graham White closes Colne Dynamoes, runaway winners of the HFS Loans League, after abusive and threatening calls and letters from supporters who wanted the club to play in the GM Vauxhall Conference.

 

31st - Scarborough's Black Death vodka shirt advertising is queried by League.

 

August 1990

 

2nd - Clubs vote to return to a 22 club First Division by 1991-92 and increase League complement to 94 by 1992-93 with two clubs from the GM Vauxhall Conference. Only Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United oppose the idea, but conflict with the FA seems inevitable.

 

6th - Gordon Taylor, chief executive of the PFA criticises influx of foreign players into the Football League.

 

7th - Liverpool announce profit of £572,000 despite wages, bonus payments and expenses rising to around £4m. Five employees earn more than £230,000.

 

9th - Sunderland announce profit of over £30,000.

 

9th - First time in 20 years no Football League club has come before the FA disciplinary committee.

 

12th - ITV acquire exclusive rights to televise Manchester United's and Aston Villa's European games.

 

14th - Through satellite and more conventional TV outlets, armchair viewers could look forward to 115 live games this season. BSB will have 70, ITV 21.

 

16th - Luton may lift ban on away fans in 1991-92.

 

18th - Fans hoping to see Kotor play Bokeljan in Yugoslavia's Third Division discover a circus on the pitch and are allowed in free to watch it.

 

21st - Oxford United watch Aylesbury prisoner Paul Reynolds, serving sentence for armed robbery.

 

22nd - Leeds United face expulsion from Football League and the FA if there is further misbehaviour by fans.

 

22nd - Vandals flood part of Arsenal's Highbury ground.

 

25th - Seasons's opening League games produce crowds of 528,661, the highest opening figures since 1981-82.

 

27th - Everton goalkeeper Neville Southall fined week's wages for his goalmouth sit-in at half time on Saturday.

 

30th - Southall spoken to by police for alleged swearing during game with Coventry.

 

September 1990

 

4th - Steve Bruce (Manchester United) becomes first Division One player to be sent off for 'professional foul'.

 

8th - David Longhurst, 25, collapses and dies shortly before half time during York's home game with Lincoln, the first fatality in a league game since 1927 when Sam Wynne dies playing for Bury v Sheffield United. In May 1969, referee Roy Harper died while in charge of York v Halifax game.

 

12th - Faeroe Islands beat Austria 1-0 in Sweden in their first competitive international.

 

12th - Republic of Ireland's 1-0 win over Morocco in Dublin produces their 53rd goal in 44 games under Jack Charlton and 28th clean sheet.

 

14th - Tony Ward, who had left arm amputated after motorcycle accident, joins Stevenage.

 

15th - Doncaster goalkeeper Paul Crichton saves one penalty kick three times against Rochdale.

 

16th - Alfred Riedl, Austria's Under-21 coach takes over from Josef Hickersberge who resigned after the Faeroes farce.

 

18th - Wrexham can use only 7 of the 13 players on duty at Blackpool on Saturday, in their Cup Winners' Cup tie because of UEFA regulations on four 'foreign' players per team.

 

18th - John Thomas, Preston striker breaks leg after 25 seconds against his former club Bolton.

 

19th - Manchester United and Aston Villa launch England's re-entry into Europe with 2-0 and 3-1 wins respectively over Pecsi Munkas and Banik Ostrava. Wrexham survive in a goalless draw with Lyngby.

 

22nd - Real Madrid and AC Milan want to revamp later stages of European cups in mini-leagues.

[Death From Above]

Man I love this kind of stuff. Back before the Interwebz, I used to keep a scrapbook of newspaper articles on hockey out of the Edmonton Journal in (I guess) my early teen years, and now years later I really regret that I didn't keep up with it and keep the collection together. There just isn't enough of this sort of random stuff that's wound up on the internet in the years since.

 

31st - Scarborough's Black Death vodka shirt advertising is queried by League.

 

I just had to try and google this one.

 

[Swift]

October 1990

 

1st - Censured Tottenham physiotherapist David Butler requests personal hearing from FA following alleged remarks to a referee while treating a head injury to David Howells two weeks prior to last Saturday.

 

4th - Home Secretary urged to introduce legislation outlawing racist and abusive chants.

 

9th - FA confirm that somersault throw-in by Changez Khan of Stafford Rangers is legitimate and approved by FIFA.

 

12th - Football League plan to back the World Cup bid for 1998.

 

15th - Wrexham, 40 minutes away from Manchester, must start their journey for the Cup Winners' Cup 24 hours before the match because of UEFA rules.

 

15th - FA promote bid for 1996 European Championship finals.

 

19th - Southend turn down 'name-your-price' bid from Zurich Grasshoppers for their two groundsmen after being impressed with the Roots Hall pitch in a TV film.

 

20th - Mass brawl at Old Trafford of 21 Manchester United and Arsenal players, only Arsenal goalkeeper David Seaman is not involved.

 

22nd - The FA charges Manchester United and Arsenal with bringing the game into disrepute.

 

23rd - Arsenal fine manager George graham and five players two weeks wages for the Old Trafford affair.

 

24th - Real Madrid's 9-1 win over Tirol equals their highest score in Europe for 29 years and Hugo Sanchez's four goals equal the quartet achieved by Ferenc Puskas in the 1960 European Cup Final.

 

26th - Cardiff City are banned from buying or selling players.

 

28th - Rangers win the Skol Cup, beating Celtic 2-1 after extra time before 62,817 at Hampden Park, but manager Graeme Souness' appearance on the pitch might lead to a further ban as he is already serving one.

 

November 1990

 

1st - Barcelona poised to sign Jan Molby, the Liverpool midfield player, for £1m.

 

2nd - Manchester United become the first club in Britain to insure the lives of their fans.

 

2nd - Fulham's future is in doubt after the local council fail to obtain a compulsory purchase order on Craven Cottage.

 

5th - FA insurers facing compensation claim from Manchester United for £100,000 for injury to England captain Bryan Robson.

 

7th - Chesterfield fail to overturn a £12,500 League fine imposed for postponing a Rumbelows tie with Hartlepool because of a virus infection.

 

8th - David Butler, the Spurs physio, is cleared of swearing at a referee, his defence assisted by a lip-reading expert who studied a video film.

 

9th - Brazil complete four successive games without scoring, drawing 0-0 with Chile.

 

10th - Four thousand rioting Millwall and West Ham fans seriously damage the game's image again.

 

10th - Aston Villa's League goal famine ends after 5 hours 45 minutes.

 

11th - Manchester City discover seating damage after Leeds game.

 

12th - Arsenal have two points deducted, Manchester United one after the FA disciplinary committee deliberates on the Old Trafford brawl. Both clubs are fined £50,000.

 

13th - UEFA applaud the FA's action and it could help Liverpool's re-entry into Europe.

 

19th - John Toshack sacked by Real Madrid. His 64 game record had yielded just 8 defeats.

 

27th - Manchester United will offer Ryan Giggs a five year contract on Thursday, his 17th birthday. The former Cardiff schoolboy, eligible for either Wales or England, is said to be the finest prospect since George Best.

 

28th - Reading put up entire first team squad for sale.

 

29th - Bury put all senior squad on offer.

 

December 1990

 

1st - Tottenham's team coach is wheel-clamped during lunchtime break on way to Chelsea, then towed away with the players' kits inside. They lose 3-2.

 

3rd - Major cup competitions face penalty shoot-outs next season, cutting out second replays, because of policing requirements.

 

4th - The FA report 6,300 new referees against a loss of 4,500, many of whome have given up because of abuse and assaults.

 

6th - Salvatore Schillaci of Juventus is suspended for one match for threatening to have Bologna striker Fabbio Poli shot fro striking him. Poli is banned for two games.

 

6th - Barcelona's Bulgarian striker Hristo Stoichkov may be banned for three months for stamping on referee Ildefonso Urizar's foot.

 

11th - FA anger Manchester United by switching their third round FA Cup tie with QPR to Monday 7 January to allow BSkyB to televise it.

 

11th - Stoichkov is banned for two months and heavily fined. Johan Cruyff, the Barcelona manager, is suspended for one match for overzealous protests.

 

13th - Africa will get an extra place in the 1994 World Cup finals at the expense of Europe. Moves for wider goals and four periods of play were not followed up.

 

17th - Gary Lineker is awarded FIFA's annual Fair Play prize worth £20,000 for never being sent off or cautioned during his career.

 

18th - Oldham fined £8,000 for arriving late at West Bromwich.

 

19th - Tony Adams is jailed for nine months, five of them suspended for a drink driving offence, the third player thus imprisoned for motoring offences in recent years. Jan Molby (Liverpool) three months in October 1988 and Mick Quinn (then with Portsmouth) 21 days in December 1986.

 

19th - England's bid for the 1998 World Cup officially launched.

 

19th - The Iraqi Football Federation annexes a Kuwaiti club and plans to incorporate the rest.

 

20th - FA ban referees Graham Pooley and Mangel Singh over misinterpretation of the professional foul after sending off players for handball respectively in League and reserve team matches.

 

22nd - Gary Shaw (Shrewsbury) scores a hat-trick in 4 minutes 32 seconds.

 

22nd - Three players sent off at Tottenham v Luton by referee David Elleray. Eight others are sent off in the League and five in Scotland.

 

23rd - Three players dismissed in the Leicester v Watford game and another at Sunderland take the weekend's League total to 15, easily the worst record in the League's history.

 

27th - Stoichkov ban is reduced to six weeks.

 

28th - Diego Maradona is voted Italy's most hated man in a newspaper poll which includes Saddam Hussein, George Bush and Madonna.

 

January 1991

 

1st - In the 5 o'clock TV game, Paul Gascoigne (Tottenham Hotspur) is sent off for dissent against Manchester United. Booked five times previously in the season, it is his thrid career dismissal. He is also the first player sent off in a League fixture televised live.

 

2nd - Referee Ken Redfern suspended for one match for failing to send off a player for serious foul play.

 

4th - Financially hit Bordeaux may be automatically relegated with debts of £31m.

 

6th - Some 300 fans are arrested in Italy following riots in Turin, Genoa and Florence.

 

8th - The FA of Wales want offside law changed after successful trial in the Welsh League; players are not offside if they receive the ball from their own half of the field.

 

9th - Football League to enquire into allegations of irregular payments at Chelsea.

 

9th - Keith Hackett becomes third referee overruled by the authorities, when his dismissal of Keith Dublin (Watford) is reversed to a caution. Gordon Taylor of the PFA expresses concern over number of dismissals.

 

10th - Manchester United plan to follow Tottenham and Millwall onto the Stock Market.

 

11th - Chelsea, found guilty of four irregular payments, are fined £105,000 and may contest it in the courts.

 

13th - Greek youth, 16, dies after being hit by rocket before AEK Athens v Olympiakos game.

 

14th - FA express concern over George Courtney's interpretation of the professional foul when not dismissing a player in the Barnsley v Leeds FA Cup tie at Elland Road.

 

19th - Harrow referee David Elleray books Sheffield United's Vinny Jones after five seconds and sends him off in the second half. Among other dismissals, Aldershot and Exeter City each have two sent off.

 

23rd - Referee Courtney hits the headlines again in the Rumbelows Cup tie between Manchester United and Southampton. He dismissed Jimmy Case for a trip on Bryan Robson 40 yards from goal, but does not show the red card to Les Sealey, Manchester United goalkeeper, for bringing down Rod Wallace.

 

24th - Video helps clear Neil Webb of using violent conduct in the England B game against Algeria, but TV companies are to be asked by the football authorities to edit close-ups of players.

 

25th - Referee Courtney will be asked by the FA to reconsider the Case 'case'.

 

28th - Marseille president Bernard Tapie is banned for a year over allegations of bribing players and intimidating referees.

 

31st - Relegation from the Premier Division in Scotland is cancelled as Falkirk's reorganisation plan is adopted. Next term, the division will consist of 12 teams, playing 44 matches, the First Division will have 12 and the Second Division 14. Promotion and relegation will be two up, two down.

 

31st - English clubs back scheme for 1998 World Cup to be staged in England.

 

31st - Lord Justice Taylor appeals to clubs to ground-share.

[Swift]

February 1990

 

2nd - Arsenal's unbeaten League run ends after 23 matches and 26 overall when they lose 2-1 at Chelsea.

 

3rd - Liverpool fail to take over at the top of the First Division from Arsenal after a 1-1 draw at Manchester United. But they are 8-13 favourites for the title with Arsenal 5-4.

 

4th - The Rugby Football Union refuse Wimbledon's plea to stage games at Twickenham.

 

5th - Roger Milla virtually rules himself out of the Cameroon v England friendly after allegedly demanding money.

 

6th - The FA turn down Southampton's appeal over the Jimmy Case sending off and confirm the £1,000 fine on Arsenal captain Tony Adams for a gesture at Loftus Road during the match with QPR last year.

 

8th - Eight countries apply for the 1998 World Cup finals: England, Brazil, Chile, France, Switzerland, India, Morocco and Portugal.

 

8th - Irving Scholar (Tottenham chairman) suggest a winter break of two or three weeks.

 

9th - Snow, ice and arctic conditions reduce the programme to four Football League and eight Scottish League games, the worst list of postponements since New Year's Day 1979 when only three English games survived.

 

12th - League to sound out referees over becoming professional.

 

13th - Diego Maradona linked with drug and sex ring.

 

13th - Cardiff have seven days to repay £255,000 owed to the local council.

 

14th - Gordon Taylor calls for dismissals to be sufficient punishment for professional fouls. FA are to propose that deliberate handball be included as serious foul play and want clarification of the professional foul in the penalty area.

 

15th - South Yorkshire police admit blunder at Rotherham the previous month when exit gates remained closed as 2,000 Stoke fans tried to leave.

 

17th - The USA's hopes of a professional outdoor league collapse.

 

19th - Arsenal captain Adams injured in second reserve game since being released from prison on the previous Thursday.

 

19th - League may introduce two-legged European-style Rumbelows Cup to overcome replay date problems.

 

20th - Winding up proceedings taken against Cardiff.

 

20th - Wimbledon's ground-sharing hopes with QPR are dashed by the Football Trust, who say both clubs would not qualift for ground improvement payments.

 

21st - Rangers fined a record £23,000 by the Scottish FA after a rotating advertising sign displaying Tennents' name was not switched on in the Scottish Cup third round tie the previous month.

 

21st - Wealdstone's Lower Mead Ground is sold to Tesco for £6m.

 

22nd - Kenny Dalglish resigns as Liverpool manager. Ronnie Moran becomes caretaker.

 

23rd - Liverpool crash 3-1 on Luton's artifical surface, while Arsenal beat Crystal Palace 4-0 to lead on a goal difference of ten better than the Merseysiders.

 

23rd - Tottenham lose 5-1 at Wimbledon after only being one down with 19 minutes to go.

 

27th - Dave Watson ends the Merseyside marathon with a goal for Everton against Liverpool in their fifth round second replay in the FA Cup, completing a week of misery at Anfield. Graeme Souness counts himself out of the Liverpool managerial stakes.

 

28th - Bobby Robson criticised as being 'too soft' to manage PSV Eindhoven, the Dutch league leaders.

 

28th - Wendy Toms is selected as first woman to take an offical part in a League game as fourth official for Bournemouth v Reading on March 12.

 

March 1990

 

1st - Alan Hansen retires at Liverpool.

 

3rd - With David Seaman's sure handling and a 66th minute strike from Paul Merson, Arsenal take a three point lead over Liverpool at Anfield.

 

4th - West Ham's Trevor Morley is stabbed in a domestic row at his home.

 

5th - FIFA applaud the Italian League's decision to employ full-time referees.

 

6th - Real Sociedad manager John Toshack rules himself out of the Anfield job. George Graham adds his name to the list of non-Liverpool aspirants.

 

6th - Cardiff, Swansea and Wrexham may be barred from the Welsh Cup from 1992-93 unless they quit the Football League.

 

7th - Scottish FA to drop cup replays because of increased league fixtures.

 

8th - Tottenham deny knowledge of a £7m bid from Lazio for Paul Gascoigne.

 

9th - Liverpool win their first post-Dalglish game beating Manchester City 3-0 at Main Road with the help of two Jan Molby penalties.

 

9th - Abel Resino, goalkeeper of Atletico Madrid, claims world record 1,230 minutes without conceding a goal after the 3-0 win against Osasuna.

 

13th - Terry Venables mounts a bid to takeover the Tottenham club.

 

14th - The FA and League agree to pay Luton and Oldham £100,000 each towards replacing their artificial pitches.

 

16th - Abel Resino's record ends at 1,275 minutes.

 

18th - Gascoigne's transfer moves nearer after a world record £8.5m bid and a prospective 5 year contract worth £400,000 a year after tax.

 

19th - Reading forced to pay £265,118 by High Court after injuries to five policemen during crowd disturbances in a Reading v Bristol City match.

 

20th - Walsall are up for sale for the third time in five years.

 

20th - Lights fail at Marseille but they beat AC Milan 1-0 for a 2-1 aggregate European Cup win, and the Dynamo Dresden v Red Star Belgrade game is called off after crowd rioting in the 78th minute.

 

22nd - Venables' consortium attempt apparently collapses.

 

23rd - Liverpool's 7-1 win at Derby revives their championship hopes as Arsenal are held to a goalless draw at Norwich.

 

27th - AC Milan banned from Euopean competition for a season after walking off the pitch during the floodlight failure at Marseille and refusing to return. Dresden are banned for two seasons. Red Star are fined £6,000 but are declared 3-0 winners of the tie.

 

28th - Maradona's future in doubt after allegations of failing to pass a drugs test.

 

28th - Wealdstone to share Vicarage Road with Watford next season.

 

29th - Maradona guilty of using cocaine.

 

30th - Though Arsenal do not manage more than a 2-0 win at lowly Derby, Liverpool are well beaten 3-1 at Anfield by QPR, leaving the Gunners two points ahead and 3-1 on favourites for the title.

 

April 1990

 

1st - A Matthew Le Tissier goal after four minutes is sufficient for Southampton to beat Liverpool at The Dell.

 

2nd - Terry Venables hopeful of a deal to take over Tottenham.

 

2nd - Maradona flees to Argentina.

 

3rd - Arsenal complete a 5-0 demolition of Aston Villa to move five points clear of Liverpool.

 

5th - The FA's idea of an 18 team Super League starting 1992-93 threatens a revolution in the game.

 

6th - After Arsenal's 2-0 win at Sheffield United, the bookmakers are refusing to take any more money on George Graham's team.

 

7th - Gordon Taylor, the PFA chief executive, expresses serious reservation about the proposed Super League.

 

8th - Football League president Bill Fox claims that the FA have 'hijacked' the First Division.

 

9th - A Le Tissier equaliser salvages a point for Southampton in the 1-1 draw with Arsenal, but Liverpool are similarly held at home by Coventry.

 

11th - The League, who acknowledge themselves powerless to prevent clubs defecting, are to investigate the FA's Blueprint For Football, but are denied access to it. The Football Supporters Association comes out against the Super League.

 

12th - After UEFA do a deal with the EEC, all clubs in Europe will be allowed to field at least five foreign players in League matches next year.

 

13th - Liverpool win 5-4 at Leeds but only after surrendering a 4 goal lead.

 

15th - Rangers manager Graeme Souness is tipped to take over as Liverpool manager.

 

16th - Souness moves to Anfield with a five year contract.

 

17th - Arsenal are held 2-2 by Manchester City and David Seaman concedes only his 16th goal of the season equalling Ray Clemence's effort for Liverpool in 1978-79.

 

17th - Cardiff have a winding-up order adjourned.

 

19th - Liverpool re-admitted to Europe after six years.

 

19th - Legislation creating new criminal offences of invading the pitch, throwing missiles and shouting obscene or racist chants at football matches clears the Commons.

 

20th - After beating Norwich 3-0, Liverpool need only a draw with Crystal Palace at Anfield on Tuesday to ensure runners-up position and a place in the UEFA Cup.

 

22nd - The Vauxhall League will become the Diadora League next season after a £400,000 deal with the Italian sports shoe and clothing makers.

 

23rd - Arsenal maintain their three point lead by beating QPR 2-0. Liverpool beat Crystal Palace 3-0, Ian Rush scoring the 300th goal of his career.

 

25th - Leeds United consider using No. 13 after a plague of injuries to their left-backs this season. Four have been sidelined.

 

27th - Teddy Sheringham scores another hat-trick for Millwall, his fourth of the season.

 

30th - Manchester United may be allowed to play a League game after 11th May.

 

May 1990

 

2nd - The 1994 World Cup finals may be staged partly indoors.

 

3rd - In 1994, players will have their names on their shirt backs and numbers on the front.

 

3rd - Brian Clough returns from holiday and suspends reserve coach Archie Gemmell for allowing his team to throw away the Central League title by losing three out of four games.

 

4th - Liverpool fail again, this time losing 4-2 at Chelsea, while Arsenal kick off when all other games are ended and draw 0-0 with relegation-threatened Sunderland in a televised affair.

 

6th - Liverpool's 2-1 afternoon defeat against Nottingham Forest, covered by television, hands the championship to Arsenal whose evening celebration ends with a 3-1 over Manchester United, Alan Smith scoring a hat-trick; an anti-climactic end to the title race, courtesy of the small screen.

 

8th - Crowd trouble mars the first leg of the UEFA Cup Final in Milan as Inter beat Roma 2-0.

 

8th - Hamburg may be banned from the German Bundesliga with debts of £4.3m.

 

8th - 21 leading clubs agree in principle to the FA's plans for a Super League. Chelsea chairman Ken Bates wants nursery clubs to be permitted.

 

9th - The Football League plan to fight the FA over the Super League plan, pointing out the likelihood of heavy fines if clubs break away.

 

10th - Luton end away fan ban.

 

11th - The League's 92nd season ends with a flourish of free scoring and big crowds after no fewer than 35 teams had theoretical chances of improving their various positions in 29 of the matches. A best-of-season 580,129 takes the attendance figure into credit for the fifth successive term.

 

13th - Cardiff may go part-time.

 

14th - Wimbledon are to move in to Selhurst Park with Crystal Palace next season.

 

15th - Manchester United fully deserve to beat Barcelona 2-1 in the Cup-Winners' Cup Final in Rotterdam, winning more easily than the score suggests.

 

16th - The principal aim of the Super League to help the England team is cast into doubt when it emerges that Bert Millichip, the chairman, and Graham Kelly, the chief executive, disagree about its 22 or 18 club format.

 

18th - Dramatic FA Cup Final sees Paul Gascoigne commit two fouls, the second resulting in him being carried off with ligament damage. Stuart Pearce whacks Forest ahead from the second free kick after 15 minutes, but referee Roger Milford fails to notice the wall being pulled apart. Tottenham then dominate, Paul Stewart equalises from an angle after 54 minutes and Des Walker, under pressure, concedes an own goal in the fourth minute of extra time.

 

20th - The final League game sees two cup winners, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur draw 1-1 before 46,791 at Old Trafford. But Spurs could be in the hands of receivers before next season and Lazio may pull out of the Gascoigne deal.

 

21st - Manchester United aim to raise £18m by floating a share issue.

 

22nd - Inter win the UEFA Cup, despite losing the second leg to Roma 1-0.

 

22nd - A Gallup survey, commissioned by the League, reveals large majority of supporters are against the Super League, 68% in fact.

 

29th - Wretched European Cup Final devoid of enterprise and expertise ends as it should; a penalty competition in which Red Star beat Marseille 5-3.

 

29th - Dundee plan takeover of Dundee United.

 

30th - Football League say that an independent survey carried out by Touche Ross, the accountants, suggests that the cost to clubs and supporters of the Super League breakaway would be £45m over the first five years.

 

June 1990

 

2nd - For the first time, promotion from a division in the Football League is decided on penalties. Torquay gain a place in Division Three by beating Blackpool 5-4 when their match had been drawn 2-2 after extra time.

 

4th - Five top English referees: George Courtney, Keith Hackett, Neil Midgley, Allan Gunn and Ray Lewis will be removed from FIFA's panel because they are over the new age limit.

 

6th - Football League gives the FA seven days notice to abandon their Blueprint or face court action. The PFA proposes a compromise.

 

6th - Celebrations for Chile's first success in the Copa Libertadores cause 9 deaths, 128 injuries and many arrests after Colo Colo beat Olimpia of Paraguay 3-0 before 65,000 in Santiago.

 

8th - Deliberate handball will be classed as a professional foul and goalkeepers will not be allowed to pat the ball forward to get around the four-step rule; two amendments to the laws of the game passed at Belfast's meeting of the International Board.

 

10th - Both Robert Maxwell and Alan Sugar, the computer millionaire, are said to be interested in takeover bids for Tottenham.

 

10th - Scarborough, the worst supported team in the League, are to build a creche to boost crowds.

 

12th - 44 MPs call for the League and the FA to settle their differences, but the FA will ask the High Court to rule on whether their plans are legal.

 

13th - Most First Division clubs plan to inform the management committe of the Football League of their intention to resign from the competition and form a premier league from 1992-93.

 

***********

 

The 1989-90 diary appropriately enough ends there.

 

Also, A quick glance at the players on the books at various clubs shows a schoolboy named Robert B. Fowler at Liverpool, a schoolboy named Sulzeer Campbell at Spurs, and schoolboys named Philip Neville, David R. J. Beckham, Nicholas Butt, Gary A. Neville and Paul Scholes at Man Utd.

[Death From Above]

Interesting seeing the League fight hopelessly against the future. Also I got a chuckle out of the US outdoor league collapsing.

 

Sad to see how often stories about crowd insanity pop up.

[Fat Spanish Waiter]

Man if I could just jump back into time and stop the hiring of Souness...

[Swift]

The Souness debacle is actually fairly reminiscent of Moyes today. Both coming in to successful clubs and replacing dynasties (a one man dynasty at Man Utd) and failing spectacularly. It would be nice if this season is the beginning of a 20+ year drought for Utd.