1990–91 Football League

The 1990–91 season was the 92nd completed season of The Football League.

The Football League
Season1990–91
ChampionsArsenal
New club in LeagueDarlington

Final league tables and results

The tables and results below are reproduced here in the exact form that they can be found at The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation,[1] with home and away statistics separated.

First Division
Main article: 1990–91 Football League First Division
Football League, First Division
Season1990–91
ChampionsArsenal (10th English title)
RelegatedDerby County
Sunderland
European CupArsenal
Cup Winners' CupTottenham Hotspur
Manchester United
UEFA CupLiverpool[2]
Matches played380
Goals scored1,049 (2.76 per match)
Top goalscorerAlan Smith (Arsenal), 22 [3]
Biggest home winNottingham Forest 7–0 Chelsea (20 Apr 1991)
Biggest away winDerby County 1–7 Liverpool (23 Mar 1991)
Highest scoringDerby County 4–6 Chelsea (15 Dec 1990)
Longest winning runLiverpool (8 games)
Longest unbeaten runArsenal (23 games)
Longest losing runQueens Park Rangers (8 games)
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Arsenal (C) 38 24 13 1 74 18 +56 83[lower-alpha 1] Qualification for the European Cup
2 Liverpool 38 23 7 8 77 40 +37 76 Qualification for the UEFA Cup
3 Crystal Palace 38 20 9 9 50 41 +9 69
4 Leeds United 38 19 7 12 65 47 +18 64
5 Manchester City 38 17 11 10 64 53 +11 62
6 Manchester United 38 16 12 10 58 45 +13 59[lower-alpha 1] Qualification for the European Cup Winners' Cup first round
7 Wimbledon 38 14 14 10 53 46 +7 56
8 Nottingham Forest 38 14 12 12 65 50 +15 54
9 Everton 38 13 12 13 50 46 +4 51
10 Tottenham Hotspur 38 11 16 11 51 50 +1 49 Qualification for the European Cup Winners' Cup qualifying round
11 Chelsea 38 13 10 15 58 69 −11 49
12 Queens Park Rangers 38 12 10 16 44 53 −9 46
13 Sheffield United 38 13 7 18 36 55 −19 46
14 Southampton 38 12 9 17 58 69 −11 45
15 Norwich City 38 13 6 19 41 64 −23 45
16 Coventry City 38 11 11 16 42 49 −7 44
17 Aston Villa 38 9 14 15 46 58 −12 41
18 Luton Town 38 10 7 21 42 61 −19 37
19 Sunderland (R) 38 8 10 20 38 60 −22 34 Relegation to the Second Division
20 Derby County (R) 38 5 9 24 37 75 −38 24
Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champion; (R) Relegated.
Notes:
  1. Arsenal deducted two points; Manchester United deducted one point due to a brawl in a game between both teams.

First Division results
Home \ Away ARS AST CHE COV CRY DER EVE LEE LIV LUT MCI MUN NWC NOT QPR SHU SOU SUN TOT WDN
Arsenal 5–0 4–1 6–1 4–0 3–0 1–0 2–0 3–0 2–1 2–2 3–1 2–0 1–1 2–0 4–1 4–0 1–0 0–0 2–2
Aston Villa 0–0 2–2 2–1 2–0 3–2 2–2 0–0 0–0 1–2 1–5 1–1 2–1 1–1 2–2 2–1 1–1 3–0 3–2 1–2
Chelsea 2–1 1–0 2–1 2–1 2–1 1–2 1–2 4–2 3–3 1–1 3–2 1–1 0–0 2–0 2–2 0–2 3–2 3–2 0–0
Coventry City 0–2 2–1 1–0 3–1 3–0 3–1 1–1 0–1 2–1 3–1 2–2 2–0 2–2 3–1 0–0 1–2 0–0 2–0 0–0
Crystal Palace 0–0 0–0 2–1 2–1 2–1 0–0 1–1 1–0 1–0 1–3 3–0 1–3 2–2 0–0 1–0 2–1 2–1 1–0 4–3
Derby County 0–2 0–2 4–6 1–1 0–2 2–3 0–1 1–7 2–1 1–1 0–0 0–0 2–1 1–1 1–1 6–2 3–3 0–1 1–1
Everton 1–1 1–0 2–2 1–0 0–0 2–0 2–3 2–3 1–0 2–0 0–1 1–0 0–0 3–0 1–2 3–0 2–0 1–1 1–2
Leeds United 2–2 5–2 4–1 2–0 1–2 3–0 2–0 4–5 2–1 1–2 0–0 3–0 3–1 2–3 2–1 2–1 5–0 0–2 3–0
Liverpool 0–1 2–1 2–0 1–1 3–0 2–0 3–1 3–0 4–0 2–2 4–0 3–0 2–0 1–3 2–0 3–2 2–1 2–0 1–1
Luton Town 1–1 2–0 2–0 1–0 1–1 2–0 1–1 1–0 3–1 2–2 0–1 0–1 1–0 1–2 0–1 3–4 1–2 0–0 0–1
Manchester City 0–1 2–1 2–1 2–0 0–2 2–1 1–0 2–3 0–3 3–0 3–3 2–1 3–1 2–1 2–0 3–3 3–2 2–1 1–1
Manchester United 0–1 1–1 2–3 2–0 2–0 3–1 0–2 1–1 1–1 4–1 1–0 3–0 0–1 3–1 2–0 3–2 3–0 1–1 2–1
Norwich City 0–0 2–0 1–3 2–2 0–3 2–1 1–0 2–0 1–1 1–3 1–2 0–3 2–6 1–0 3–0 3–1 3–2 2–1 0–4
Nottingham Forest 0–2 2–2 7–0 3–0 0–1 1–0 3–1 4–3 2–1 2–2 1–3 1–1 5–0 1–1 2–0 3–1 2–0 1–2 2–1
Queens Park Rangers 1–3 2–1 1–0 1–0 1–2 1–1 1–1 2–0 1–1 6–1 1–0 1–1 1–3 1–2 1–2 2–1 3–2 0–0 0–1
Sheffield United 0–2 2–1 1–0 0–1 0–1 1–0 0–0 0–2 1–3 2–1 1–1 2–1 2–1 3–2 1–0 4–1 0–2 2–2 1–2
Southampton 1–1 1–1 3–3 2–1 2–3 0–1 3–4 2–0 1–0 1–2 2–1 1–1 1–0 1–1 3–1 2–0 3–1 3–0 1–1
Sunderland 0–0 1–3 1–0 0–0 2–1 1–2 2–2 0–1 0–1 2–0 1–1 2–1 1–2 1–0 0–1 0–1 1–0 0–0 0–0
Tottenham Hotspur 0–0 2–1 1–1 2–2 1–1 3–0 3–3 0–0 1–3 2–1 3–1 1–2 2–1 1–1 0–0 4–0 2–0 3–3 4–2
Wimbledon 0–3 0–0 2–1 1–0 0–3 3–1 2–1 0–1 1–2 2–0 1–1 1–3 0–0 3–1 3–0 1–1 1–1 2–2 5–1
Source:
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Overview

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 occupied their highest-ever finish, but were denied qualification for the UEFA Cup due to Liverpool being readmitted to European competition a year earlier than anticipated.

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. They did, however, reach the semi-finals of the League Cup, where they lost to Manchester United.

Down at the bottom end of the table, Derby County went down in bottom place with just five wins all season despite the 17 league goals of Welsh striker Dean Saunders, who was then sold to Liverpool. The final relegation place went to Sunderland on the last day of the season.

On 1 November, Everton had sacked manager Colin Harvey after three-and-a-half years at the helm. Manchester City’s Howard Kendall returned to Everton for his second spell as manager, with Harvey returning as assistant.

15 November saw two First Division clubs appoint player-managers. Peter Reid, 34, stepped up to the manager’s seat at Manchester City. Terry Butcher, still only 31, was recruited from Glasgow Rangers to take over from John Sillett at Coventry City, making him the youngest manager in the Football League.

Bobby Campbell quit his managerial duties at Chelsea at the end of his fourth season in charge, becoming personal assistant to chairman Ken Bates and handing over managerial duties to Ian Porterfield.

Jimmy Ryan was sacked by Luton Town just after achieving a second successive last-day escape from relegation. He was replaced by David Pleat, who had previously been at Kenilworth Road from 1978 to 1986.

Jozef Venglos left Aston Villa after one season to be succeeded by Sheffield Wednesday’s Ron Atkinson, who himself was succeeded by Trevor Francis.

Queen's Park Rangers sacked Don Howe at the end of the season, replacing him with Gerry Francis from Bristol Rovers.

Southampton’s Chris Nicholl was dismissed at the end of his sixth season with the club, being replaced by Crystal Palace coach Ian Branfoot.

First Division maps
Locations of the Football League First Division 1990–1991 teams
Locations of the Football League First Division London teams 1990–1991

Second Division
Football League, Second Division
Season1990–91
ChampionsOldham Athletic (1st title)
PromotedNotts County,
Sheffield Wednesday,
West Ham United
RelegatedHull City,
West Bromwich Albion
Matches played552
Goals scored1,481 (2.68 per match)
Top goalscorerTeddy Sheringham (Millwall), 38 [3]
Pos Team Pld HW HD HL HGF HGA AW AD AL AGF AGA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Oldham Athletic 46 17 5 1 55 21 8 8 7 28 32 +30 88 Division Champions, promoted
2 West Ham United 46 15 6 2 41 18 9 9 5 19 16 +26 87 Promoted
3 Sheffield Wednesday 46 12 10 1 43 23 10 6 7 37 28 +29 82 Promoted[lower-alpha 1]
4 Notts County 46 14 4 5 45 28 9 7 7 31 27 +21 80 Promoted through play-offs[lower-alpha 2]
5 Millwall 46 11 6 6 43 28 9 7 7 27 23 +19 73 Participated in play-offs
6 Brighton & Hove Albion 46 12 4 7 37 31 9 3 11 26 38 −6 70
7 Middlesbrough 46 12 4 7 36 17 8 5 10 30 30 +19 69
8 Barnsley 46 13 7 3 39 16 6 5 12 24 32 +15 69
9 Bristol City 46 14 5 4 44 28 6 2 15 24 43 −3 67
10 Oxford United 46 10 9 4 41 29 4 10 9 28 37 +3 61
11 Newcastle United 46 8 10 5 24 22 6 7 10 25 34 −7 59
12 Wolverhampton Wanderers 46 11 6 6 45 35 2 13 8 18 28 0 58
13 Bristol Rovers 46 11 7 5 29 20 4 6 13 27 39 −3 58
14 Ipswich Town 46 9 8 6 32 28 4 10 9 28 40 −8 57
15 Port Vale 46 10 4 9 32 24 5 8 10 24 40 −8 57
16 Charlton Athletic 46 8 7 8 27 25 5 10 8 30 36 −4 56
17 Portsmouth 46 10 6 7 34 27 4 5 14 24 43 −12 53
18 Plymouth Argyle 46 10 10 3 36 20 2 7 14 18 48 −14 53
19 Blackburn Rovers 46 8 6 9 26 27 6 4 13 25 39 −15 52
20 Watford 46 5 8 10 24 32 7 7 9 21 27 −14 51
21 Swindon Town 46 8 6 9 31 30 4 8 11 34 43 −8 50
22 Leicester City 46 12 4 7 41 33 2 4 17 19 50 −23 50
23 West Bromwich Albion 46 7 11 5 26 21 3 7 13 26 40 −9 48 Relegated
24 Hull City 46 6 10 7 35 32 4 5 14 22 53 −28 45
Source:
Notes:
  1. Sheffield Wednesday were this season's League Cup winners but did not earn a place in the UEFA Cup.[2]
  2. Notts County won the play-offs and were promoted.

Second Division results
Home \ Away BAR BLB B&HA BRI BRR CHA HUL IPS LEI MID MIL NEW NTC OLD OXF PLY PTV POR SHW SWI WAT WBA WHU WOL
Barnsley 0–1 2–1 2–0 1–0 1–1 3–1 5–1 1–1 1–0 1–2 1–1 1–0 0–1 3–0 1–0 1–1 4–0 1–1 5–1 2–1 1–1 1–0 1–1
Blackburn Rovers 1–2 1–2 0–1 2–2 2–2 2–1 0–1 4–1 1–0 1–0 0–1 0–1 2–0 1–3 0–0 1–1 1–1 1–0 2–1 0–2 0–3 3–1 1–1
Brighton & Hove Albion 1–0 1–0 0–1 0–1 3–2 3–1 2–1 3–0 2–4 0–0 4–2 0–0 1–2 0–3 3–2 1–2 3–2 0–4 3–3 3–0 2–0 1–0 1–1
Bristol City 1–0 4–2 3–1 1–0 0–1 4–1 4–2 1–0 3–0 1–4 1–0 3–2 1–2 3–1 1–1 1–1 4–1 1–1 0–4 3–2 2–0 1–1 1–1
Bristol Rovers 2–1 1–2 1–3 3–2 2–1 1–1 1–0 0–0 2–0 1–0 1–1 1–1 2–0 1–0 0–0 2–0 1–2 0–1 2–1 3–1 1–1 0–1 1–1
Charlton Athletic 2–1 0–0 1–2 2–1 2–2 2–1 1–1 1–2 0–1 0–0 1–0 3–1 1–1 3–3 0–1 0–1 2–1 0–1 1–2 1–2 2–0 1–1 1–0
Hull City 1–2 3–1 0–1 1–2 2–0 2–2 3–3 5–2 0–0 1–1 2–1 1–2 2–2 3–3 2–0 3–2 0–2 0–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 0–0 1–2
Ipswich Town 2–0 2–1 1–3 1–1 2–1 4–4 2–0 3–2 0–1 0–3 2–1 0–0 1–2 1–1 3–1 3–0 2–2 0–2 1–1 1–1 1–0 0–1 0–0
Leicester City 2–1 1–3 3–0 3–0 3–2 1–2 0–1 1–2 4–3 1–2 5–4 2–1 0–0 1–0 3–1 1–1 2–1 2–4 2–2 0–0 2–1 1–2 1–0
Middlesbrough 1–0 0–1 2–0 2–1 1–2 1–2 3–0 1–1 6–0 2–1 3–0 1–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 4–0 1–2 0–2 2–0 1–2 3–2 0–0 2–0
Millwall 4–1 2–1 3–0 1–2 1–1 3–1 3–3 1–1 2–1 2–2 0–1 1–2 0–0 1–2 4–1 1–2 2–0 4–2 1–0 0–2 4–1 1–1 2–1
Newcastle United 0–0 1–0 0–0 0–0 0–2 1–3 1–2 2–2 2–1 0–0 1–2 0–2 3–2 2–2 2–0 2–0 2–1 1–0 1–1 1–0 1–1 1–1 0–0
Notts County 2–3 4–1 2–1 3–2 3–2 2–2 2–1 3–1 0–2 3–2 0–1 3–0 2–0 3–1 4–0 1–1 2–1 0–2 0–0 1–0 4–3 0–1 1–1
Oldham Athletic 2–0 1–1 6–1 2–1 2–0 1–1 1–2 2–0 2–0 2–0 1–1 1–1 2–1 3–0 5–3 2–0 3–1 3–2 3–2 4–1 2–1 1–1 4–1
Oxford United 2–0 0–0 3–0 3–1 3–1 1–1 1–0 2–1 2–2 2–5 0–0 0–0 3–3 5–1 0–0 5–2 1–0 2–2 2–4 0–1 1–3 2–1 1–1
Plymouth Argyle 1–1 4–1 2–0 1–0 2–2 2–0 4–1 0–0 2–0 1–1 3–2 0–1 0–0 1–2 2–2 2–0 1–1 1–1 3–3 1–1 2–0 0–1 1–0
Port Vale 0–1 3–0 0–1 3–2 3–2 1–1 0–0 1–2 2–0 3–1 0–2 0–1 0–1 1–0 1–0 5–1 3–2 1–1 3–1 0–0 1–2 0–1 1–2
Portsmouth 0–0 3–2 1–0 4–1 3–1 0–1 5–1 1–1 3–1 0–3 0–0 0–1 2–1 1–4 1–1 3–1 2–4 2–0 2–1 0–1 1–1 0–1 0–0
Sheffield Wednesday 3–1 3–1 1–1 3–1 2–1 0–0 5–1 2–2 0–0 2–0 2–1 2–2 2–2 2–2 0–2 3–0 1–1 2–1 2–1 2–0 1–0 1–1 2–2
Swindon Town 1–2 1–1 1–3 0–1 0–2 1–1 3–1 1–0 5–2 1–3 0–0 3–2 1–2 2–2 0–0 1–1 1–2 3–0 2–1 1–2 2–1 0–1 1–0
Watford 0–0 0–3 0–1 2–3 1–1 2–1 0–1 1–1 1–0 0–3 1–2 1–2 1–3 1–1 1–1 2–0 2–1 0–1 2–2 2–2 1–1 0–1 3–1
West Bromwich Albion 1–1 2–0 1–1 2–1 3–1 1–0 1–1 1–2 2–1 0–1 0–1 1–1 2–2 0–0 2–0 1–2 1–1 0–0 1–2 2–1 1–1 0–0 1–1
West Ham United 3–2 1–0 2–1 1–0 1–0 2–1 7–1 3–1 1–0 0–0 3–1 1–1 1–2 2–0 2–0 2–2 0–0 1–1 1–3 2–0 1–0 3–1 1–1
Wolverhampton Wanderers 0–5 2–3 2–3 4–0 1–1 3–0 0–0 2–2 2–1 1–0 4–1 2–1 0–2 2–3 3–3 3–1 3–1 3–1 3–2 1–2 0–0 2–2 2–1
Source:
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Overview

Joe Royle’s cavalier Oldham Athletic side dramatically won the Second Division championship — an injury-time penalty completing a 3–2 come-from-behind win against Sheffield Wednesday in their final game, edging them the title from previous leaders West Ham United, who would be promoted as runners-up. Joining them were League Cup winners Sheffield Wednesday, who finished in third place. Neil Warnock guided Notts County to a second successive victory in the promotion play-offs.

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. Albion had sacked player-manager Brian Talbot in January following an FA Cup exit at the hands of non-league Woking, but his successor Bobby Gould was unable to save Albion from the dreaded drop.

Newly promoted Bristol Rovers attained their highest league finish in years, finishing 13th. But manager Gerry Francis then resigned to take over at Queen’s Park Rangers, handing over the reins to Martin Dobson, who was just weeks into his job as Northwich Victoria manager.

Jim Smith left Newcastle United in March after more than two years at the helm, making a swift return to management with Portsmouth as successor to Frank Burrows, while Ossie Ardiles was the new man in charge on Tyneside after leaving Swindon Town. 33-year-old Glenn Hoddle was named as Swindon’s new manager.

Colin Todd departed from Middlesbrough after their failure to succeed in the play-offs, being replaced by Lennie Lawrence who called time on nine years with Charlton Athletic, who appointed Alan Curbishley and Steve Gritt as joint player-managers.

David Pleat was sacked by Leicester City in February, with Gordon Lee taking charge until the end of the season and being replaced by Brian Little.

In January Jack Walker purchased Blackburn Rovers.

Second Division play-offs
Main article: Football League Championship play-offs § 1991

The semifinals were decided over two legs, and only the aggregates are given in the schemata below. The final consisted of only a single match.
The full results can be found at: Football League Division Two play-offs 1991.

  Semifinals
1st leg – May 19; 2nd leg – May 22, 1991		 Final at Wembley
June 2, 1991
                     
4th Notts County 1 1 2  
7th Middlesbrough 1 0 1  
    4th Notts County 3
  6th Brighton & Hove Albion 1
5th Millwall 1 1 2
6th Brighton & Hove Albion 4 2 5  

Second Division maps
Locations of the Football League Second Division 1990–1991 teams
Locations of the Football League Second Division London teams 1990–1991

Third Division
Football League, Third Division
Season1990–91
ChampionsCambridge United (1st title)
PromotedGrimsby Town,
Southend United,
Tranmere Rovers
RelegatedCrewe Alexandra,
Mansfield Town,
Rotherham United
Matches played552
Goals scored1,381 (2.5 per match)
Top goalscorerBrett Angell (Southend United), 26;
Tony Philliskirk (Bolton Wanderers), 26 [3]
Pos Team Pld HW HD HL HGF HGA AW AD AL AGF AGA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Cambridge United 46 14 5 4 42 22 11 6 6 33 23 +30 86 Division Champions, promoted
2 Southend United 46 13 6 4 34 23 13 1 9 33 28 +16 85 Promoted
3 Grimsby Town 46 16 3 4 42 13 8 8 7 24 21 +32 83
4 Bolton Wanderers 46 14 5 4 33 18 10 6 7 31 32 +14 83 Participated in play-offs
5 Tranmere Rovers 46 13 5 5 38 21 10 4 9 26 25 +18 78 Promoted through play-offs[lower-alpha 1]
6 Brentford 46 12 4 7 30 22 9 9 5 29 25 +12 76 Participated in play-offs
7 Bury 46 13 6 4 39 26 7 7 9 28 30 +11 73
8 Bradford City 46 13 3 7 36 22 7 7 9 26 32 +8 70
9 Bournemouth 46 14 6 3 37 20 5 7 11 21 38 0 70
10 Wigan Athletic 46 14 3 6 40 20 6 6 11 31 34 +17 69
11 Huddersfield Town 46 13 3 7 37 23 5 10 8 20 28 +6 67
12 Birmingham City 46 8 9 6 21 21 8 8 7 24 28 −4 65
13 Leyton Orient 46 15 2 6 35 19 3 8 12 20 39 −3 64
14 Stoke City 46 9 7 7 36 29 7 5 11 19 30 −4 60
15 Reading 46 11 5 7 34 28 6 3 14 19 38 −13 59
16 Exeter City 46 12 6 5 35 16 4 3 16 23 36 +6 57
17 Preston North End 46 11 5 7 33 29 4 6 13 21 38 −13 56
18 Shrewsbury Town 46 8 7 8 29 22 6 3 14 32 46 −7 52
19 Chester City 46 10 3 10 27 27 4 6 13 19 31 −12 51
20 Swansea City 46 8 6 9 31 33 5 3 15 18 39 −23 48 Welsh Cup winners, qualified for the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1991–92 First round
21 Fulham 46 8 8 7 27 22 2 8 13 14 34 −15 46
22 Crewe Alexandra 46 6 9 8 35 35 5 2 16 27 45 −18 44 Relegated
23 Rotherham United 46 5 10 8 31 38 5 2 16 19 49 −37 42
24 Mansfield Town 46 5 8 10 23 27 3 6 14 19 36 −21 38
Source:
Notes:
  1. Tranmere Rovers won the play-offs and were promoted.

Third Division results
Home \ Away BIR BOL BOU BRA BRE BRY CAM CHR CRE EXE FUL GRI HUD LEY MAN PNE REA ROT SHR STD STK SWA TRA WIG
Birmingham City 1–3 0–0 1–1 0–2 1–0 0–3 1–0 0–2 1–1 2–0 0–0 1–2 3–1 0–0 1–1 1–1 2–1 0–1 1–1 2–1 2–0 1–0 0–0
Bolton Wanderers 3–1 4–1 0–1 1–0 1–3 2–2 1–0 3–2 1–0 3–0 0–0 1–1 1–0 1–1 1–2 3–1 0–0 1–0 1–0 0–1 1–0 2–1 2–1
Bournemouth 1–2 1–0 3–1 2–0 1–1 0–1 1–0 1–1 2–1 3–0 2–1 3–1 2–2 0–0 0–0 2–0 4–2 3–2 3–1 1–1 1–0 1–0 0–3
Bradford City 2–0 1–1 3–0 0–1 3–1 0–1 2–1 2–0 3–0 0–0 0–2 2–2 4–0 1–0 2–1 2–1 1–0 2–4 2–1 1–2 0–1 1–2 2–1
Brentford 2–2 4–2 0–0 6–1 2–2 0–3 0–1 1–0 1–0 1–2 1–0 1–0 1–0 0–0 2–0 1–0 1–2 3–0 0–1 0–4 2–0 0–2 1–0
Bury 0–1 2–2 2–4 0–0 1–1 3–1 2–1 1–3 3–1 1–1 3–2 2–1 1–0 1–0 3–1 2–1 3–1 2–1 0–1 1–1 1–0 3–0 2–2
Cambridge United 0–1 2–1 4–0 2–1 0–0 2–2 1–1 3–4 1–0 1–0 1–0 0–0 1–0 2–1 1–1 3–0 4–1 3–1 1–4 3–0 2–0 3–1 2–3
Chester 0–1 0–2 0–0 4–2 1–2 1–0 0–2 3–1 1–2 1–0 1–2 1–2 2–0 1–0 1–1 1–0 1–2 3–2 1–0 1–1 2–1 0–2 1–2
Crewe Alexandra 1–1 1–3 0–2 0–0 3–3 2–2 3–1 1–3 1–1 1–1 1–2 1–1 3–3 3–0 2–2 1–0 3–1 1–2 0–2 1–2 3–0 2–3 1–0
Exeter City 0–2 2–1 2–0 2–2 1–1 2–0 0–1 1–1 3–0 0–1 0–0 2–2 2–0 2–0 4–0 1–3 2–0 3–0 1–2 2–0 2–0 0–0 1–0
Fulham 2–2 0–1 1–1 0–0 0–1 2–0 0–2 4–1 2–1 3–2 0–0 0–0 1–1 1–0 1–0 1–1 2–0 4–0 0–3 0–1 1–1 1–2 1–2
Grimsby Town 0–0 0–1 5–0 1–1 2–0 0–1 1–0 2–0 0–1 2–1 3–0 4–0 2–2 2–0 4–1 3–0 2–1 1–0 1–0 2–0 1–0 0–1 4–3
Huddersfield Town 0–1 4–0 1–3 1–2 1–2 2–1 3–1 1–1 3–1 1–0 1–0 1–1 1–0 2–2 1–0 0–2 4–0 2–1 1–2 3–0 1–2 2–1 1–0
Leyton Orient 1–1 0–1 2–0 2–1 1–2 1–0 0–3 1–0 3–2 1–0 1–0 0–2 1–0 2–1 1–0 4–0 3–0 3–2 0–1 0–2 3–0 4–0 1–1
Mansfield Town 1–2 4–0 1–1 0–1 0–2 0–1 2–2 1–0 1–3 0–2 1–1 1–1 0–0 3–3 0–1 2–0 1–2 2–1 0–1 0–0 2–0 0–2 1–1
Preston North End 2–0 1–2 0–0 0–3 1–1 1–1 0–2 0–0 5–1 1–0 1–0 1–3 1–1 2–1 3–1 1–2 1–2 4–3 2–1 2–0 2–0 0–4 2–1
Reading 2–2 0–1 2–1 1–2 1–2 1–0 2–2 2–2 2–1 1–0 1–0 2–0 1–2 1–2 2–1 3–3 2–0 1–2 2–4 1–0 0–0 1–0 3–1
Rotherham United 1–1 2–2 1–1 0–2 2–2 0–3 3–2 2–1 1–1 2–4 3–1 1–4 1–3 0–0 1–1 1–0 0–2 2–2 0–1 0–0 2–3 1–1 5–1
Shrewsbury Town 4–1 0–1 3–1 1–0 1–1 1–1 1–2 1–0 1–0 2–2 2–2 1–2 0–0 3–0 0–3 0–1 5–1 0–0 0–1 2–0 1–2 0–1 0–0
Southend United 2–1 1–1 2–1 1–1 0–1 2–1 0–0 1–1 3–2 2–1 1–1 2–0 0–1 1–1 2–1 3–2 1–2 2–1 2–1 1–0 4–1 1–0 0–2
Stoke City 0–1 2–2 1–3 2–1 2–2 2–2 1–1 2–3 1–0 2–1 2–1 0–0 2–0 1–2 3–1 0–1 0–1 3–1 1–3 4–0 2–2 1–1 2–0
Swansea City 2–0 1–2 1–2 0–2 2–2 1–2 0–0 1–0 3–1 0–3 2–2 0–0 1–0 0–0 1–2 3–1 3–1 5–0 0–1 1–4 2–1 1–1 1–6
Tranmere Rovers 1–0 1–1 1–0 2–1 2–1 1–2 2–0 1–2 2–0 1–0 1–1 1–2 2–0 3–0 6–2 2–1 0–0 1–2 1–1 3–1 1–2 2–1 1–1
Wigan Athletic 1–1 2–1 2–0 3–0 1–0 1–2 0–1 2–0 1–0 4–1 2–0 2–0 1–1 1–2 0–2 2–1 1–0 2–0 2–2 4–1 4–0 2–4 0–1
Source:
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Overview

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.

Dave Mackay was sacked by Birmingham City in January, with Lou Macari taking over until the end of the season before replacing Alan Ball at Stoke City. Birmingham then turned to Exeter’s Terry Cooper, who replaced him with Alan Ball.

Reading sacked Ian Porterfield after 18 months in charge, and signed Newcastle striker Mark McGhee as player-manager.

Leyton Orient manager Frank Clark stepped up to the role of managing director at the end of the season, with Peter Eustace being appointed head coach.

Third Division play-offs
Main article: Football League One play-offs § 1991

The semifinals were decided over two legs, and only the aggregates are given in the schemata below. The final consisted of only a single match.
The full results can be found at: Football League Division Three play-offs 1991.

  Semifinals
1st leg – May 19; 2nd leg – May 22, 1991		 Final at Wembley
June 1, 1991
                     
4th Bolton Wanderers 1 1 2  
7th Bury 1 0 1  
    4th Bolton Wanderers 0
  5th Tranmere Rovers (a.e.t.) 1
5th Tranmere Rovers 2 1 3
6th Brentford 2 0 2  

Third Division maps
Locations of the Football League Third Division teams 1990–1991
Locations of the Football League Third Division London teams 1990–1991

Fourth Division
Football League, Fourth Division
Season1990–91
ChampionsDarlington (1st title)
PromotedHartlepool United,
Peterborough United,
Stockport County,
Torquay United
Relegated to ConferenceNone
New club in the leagueDarlington
Matches played552
Goals scored1,415 (2.56 per match)
Top goalscorerSteve Norris (Halifax Town), 35 [3]
Pos Team Pld HW HD HL HGF HGA AW AD AL AGF AGA GD Pts Promotion
1 Darlington[lower-alpha 1] 46 13 8 2 36 14 9 9 5 32 24 +30 83 Division Champions, promoted
2 Stockport County 46 16 6 1 54 19 7 7 9 30 28 +37 82 Promoted
3 Hartlepool United 46 15 5 3 35 15 9 5 9 32 33 +19 82
4 Peterborough United 46 13 9 1 38 15 8 8 7 29 30 +22 80
5 Blackpool 46 17 3 3 55 17 6 7 10 23 30 +31 79 Participated in play-offs
6 Burnley 46 17 5 1 46 16 6 5 12 24 35 +19 79
7 Torquay United 46 14 7 2 37 13 4 11 8 27 34 +17 72 Promoted through play-offs[lower-alpha 2]
8 Scunthorpe United 46 17 4 2 51 20 3 7 13 20 42 +9 71 Participated in play-offs
9 Scarborough 46 13 5 5 36 21 6 7 10 23 35 +3 69
10 Northampton 46 14 5 4 34 21 4 8 11 23 37 −1 67
11 Doncaster Rovers 46 12 5 6 36 22 5 9 9 20 24 +10 65
12 Rochdale 46 10 9 4 29 22 5 8 10 21 31 −3 62
13 Cardiff City 46 10 6 7 26 23 5 9 9 17 31 −11 60
14 Lincoln City 46 10 7 6 32 27 4 10 9 18 34 −11 59
15 Gillingham 46 9 9 5 35 27 3 9 11 22 33 −3 54
16 Walsall 46 7 12 4 25 17 5 5 13 23 34 −3 53
17 Hereford United 46 9 10 4 32 19 4 4 15 21 39 −5 53
18 Chesterfield 46 8 12 3 33 26 5 2 16 14 36 −15 53
19 Maidstone United 46 9 5 9 42 34 4 7 12 24 37 −5 51
20 Carlisle United 46 12 3 8 30 30 1 6 16 17 59 −42 48
21 York City 46 8 6 9 21 23 3 7 13 24 34 −12 46
22 Halifax Town 46 9 6 8 34 29 3 4 16 25 50 −20 46
23 Aldershot 46 8 7 8 38 43 2 4 17 23 58 −40 41
24 Wrexham 46 8 7 8 33 34 2 3 18 15 40 −26 40
Source:
Notes:
  1. New club in the league
  2. Torquay United won the play-offs and were promoted.

Fourth Division results
Home \ Away ALD BLP BUR CAR CRL CHF DAR DON GIL HAL HAR HER LIN MDS NOR PET ROC SCA SCU STP TOR WAL WRE YOR
Aldershot 1–4 1–2 0–0 3–0 1–0 0–2 1–1 1–0 2–2 1–5 1–0 0–3 4–3 3–3 5–0 2–2 2–2 3–2 2–2 2–3 0–4 3–2 0–1
Blackpool 4–2 1–2 3–0 6–0 3–0 1–2 2–0 2–0 2–0 2–0 3–0 5–0 2–2 2–1 1–1 0–0 3–1 3–1 3–2 1–0 1–2 4–1 1–0
Burnley 3–0 2–0 2–0 2–1 0–1 3–1 1–0 2–2 2–1 4–0 2–1 2–2 2–1 3–0 4–1 1–0 2–1 1–1 3–2 1–1 2–0 2–0 0–0
Cardiff City 1–3 1–1 3–0 3–1 2–1 0–1 0–2 2–0 1–0 1–0 0–2 0–1 0–0 1–0 1–1 0–1 0–0 1–0 3–3 3–3 0–2 1–0 2–1
Carlisle United 1–2 1–0 1–1 3–2 1–0 0–2 2–3 0–4 0–3 1–0 0–1 0–0 1–0 4–1 3–2 1–1 4–1 0–3 1–0 3–1 0–3 2–0 1–0
Chesterfield 1–0 2–2 2–1 0–0 4–1 2–2 2–1 1–1 2–1 2–3 1–0 1–1 1–2 0–0 2–2 1–1 0–1 1–0 1–1 1–1 2–2 2–1 2–2
Darlington 3–1 1–1 3–1 4–1 3–1 1–0 1–1 1–1 3–0 0–1 3–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 0–1 2–0 2–1 0–0 1–0 3–0 1–0 1–0 0–0
Doncaster Rovers 3–0 1–0 2–1 1–1 4–0 0–1 0–1 1–1 1–2 2–2 3–1 1–0 3–0 2–1 0–2 1–0 0–2 2–3 1–0 1–1 2–0 3–1 2–2
Gillingham 1–1 2–2 3–2 4–0 2–1 0–1 1–0 2–0 1–0 3–0 2–1 2–2 0–2 0–0 2–3 2–2 1–1 1–1 1–3 2–2 1–0 2–3 0–0
Halifax Town 3–0 5–3 1–2 1–2 1–1 2–1 0–0 0–1 1–2 1–2 0–4 1–1 3–2 2–1 1–1 2–0 1–2 0–0 0–0 0–1 5–2 2–0 2–1
Hartlepool United 1–0 1–2 0–0 0–2 4–1 2–0 0–0 1–1 1–0 2–1 2–1 2–0 1–0 3–1 2–0 2–2 2–0 2–0 3–1 0–0 2–1 2–1 0–1
Hereford United 1–0 1–1 3–0 1–1 4–2 2–3 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–0 1–3 0–1 4–0 1–2 0–0 2–0 3–3 2–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 1–0 2–0
Lincoln City 2–2 0–1 1–0 0–0 6–2 1–1 0–3 0–0 1–1 1–0 3–1 1–1 2–1 3–1 0–2 1–2 2–0 1–2 0–3 3–2 2–1 0–0 2–1
Maidstone United 1–1 1–1 1–0 3–0 0–0 1–0 2–3 0–1 3–1 5–1 1–4 1–1 4–1 1–3 2–0 0–1 0–1 6–1 2–3 2–2 1–3 0–2 5–4
Northampton Town 2–1 1–0 0–0 0–0 1–1 1–2 0–3 0–0 2–1 1–0 3–2 3–0 1–1 2–0 1–2 3–2 0–2 2–1 1–0 1–4 5–0 1–0 2–1
Peterborough United 3–2 2–0 3–2 3–0 1–1 2–1 2–2 1–1 2–0 2–0 1–1 3–0 2–0 2–0 1–0 1–1 2–0 0–0 0–0 1–2 0–0 2–2 2–0
Rochdale 4–0 2–1 0–0 0–0 0–1 3–0 1–1 0–3 1–3 1–1 0–0 2–1 0–0 3–2 1–1 0–3 1–1 2–1 1–0 0–0 3–2 2–0 2–1
Scarborough 2–0 0–1 0–1 1–2 1–1 1–0 1–1 2–1 2–1 4–1 2–0 2–1 3–0 0–2 1–1 3–1 0–0 3–1 0–2 1–0 1–0 4–2 2–2
Scunthorpe United 6–2 2–0 1–3 0–2 2–0 3–0 2–1 1–1 1–0 4–4 2–1 3–0 2–1 2–2 3–0 1–1 2–1 3–0 3–0 3–0 1–0 2–0 2–1
Stockport County 3–2 0–0 2–2 1–1 3–1 3–1 3–1 0–0 1–1 5–1 1–3 4–2 4–0 1–0 2–0 2–1 3–0 2–2 5–0 2–1 3–0 2–0 2–0
Torquay United 5–0 2–1 2–0 2–1 3–0 2–0 2–1 1–0 3–1 3–1 0–1 1–1 0–1 1–1 0–0 0–0 3–1 2–0 1–1 1–1 0–0 1–0 2–1
Walsall 2–2 2–0 1–0 0–0 1–1 3–0 2–2 1–0 0–0 3–1 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 3–3 0–1 0–1 0–0 3–0 0–2 2–2 1–0 1–1
Wrexham 4–2 0–1 2–4 1–0 3–0 1–1 1–1 2–1 3–0 1–2 2–2 1–2 2–2 2–2 0–2 0–0 2–1 1–2 1–0 1–3 2–1 1–1 0–4
York City 2–0 0–1 2–0 1–2 2–0 0–2 0–1 3–1 1–1 3–3 0–0 1–0 1–0 0–1 0–1 0–4 0–2 2–0 2–2 0–2 0–0 1–0 0–0
Source:
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Overview

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. Torquay were the eventual winners, beating Blackpool in a penalty shootout.

Wrexham finished bottom of the league for the first time since 1965–66, but due to League expansion they avoided relegation into the Conference.

Brian Little left Darlington just after their promotion success, taking over at Leicester City, leaving Frank Gray to pick up the pieces at the Feethams.

Manager Cyril Knowles departed from Hartlepool on sick leave three months before their promotion, with player-coach Alan Murray overseeing the final stages of the campaign. Murray took over on a permanent basis when Knowles confirmed that he would be unable to return to the club following brain surgery.

Fourth Division play-offs
Main article: Football League Two play-offs § 1991

The semifinals were decided over two legs, and only the aggregates are given in the schemata below. The final consisted of only a single match.
The full results can be found at: Football League Division Four play-offs 1991.

  Semifinals
1st leg – May 19; 2nd leg – May 22, 1991		 Final at Wembley
May 31, 1991
                     
5th Blackpool 1 2 3  
8th Scunthorpe United 1 1 2  
    5th Blackpool 2 (4)
  7th Torquay United (pen.) 2 (5)
6th Burnley 0 1 1
7th Torquay United 2 0 2  

Fourth Division maps
Locations of the Football League Fourth Division teams 1990–1991

See also

References
  1. "England 1990–91". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 2010-02-24.
  2. Because of the 1985 UEFA ban, no English clubs played european matches between the 1985–86 and 1989–90 season, and England was therefore ranked as 33rd for the 1991/92-season in Europe which gave England only 1 spot in UEFA Cup.
  3. "English League Leading Goalscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 2010-10-31.
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