1985-1992 Heysel and Hillsborough

During the 1970s and 1980s, the spectre of hooliganism had begun to haunt English football. The Heysel Stadium disaster was the epitome of this, with English hooligans mixing with poor policing and an old stadium to cause the deaths of 39 Juventus fans during the 1985 European Cup final. This led to English teams being banned from European football for five years, and Liverpool - the club involved - being banned for six.

Even when English teams were re-admitted, it was not until 1995 that they regained all of their lost places. And it took a while for English teams to re-establish themselves in Europe. Although Manchester United won the European Cup Winners' Cup in the first season after the ban was lifted, the European Cup was not won by an English club until 1999 - 15 years after the last triumph.

The Hillsborough disaster, which also involved Liverpool, though not related to hooliganism but caused by bad policing, an old stadium and anti-hooligan fences led to 94 deaths and more than 300 injuries. The final death toll was 96. These two tragedies led to a modernization of English football and English grounds. Efforts were made to remove hooligans from English football, whilst the Taylor Report led to the grounds of all top level clubs becoming all-seater.

On the field, Liverpool's domination was coming to an end; it also saw the culmination of the phenomenal rise of Wimbledon, who rose from the Fourth Division to the First in just four seasons, before finishing sixth in their inaugural season in the top flight and beating Liverpool 1-0 in the 1988 FA Cup final, one of the competition's biggest shocks. Another team to make an improbably quick rise from Fourth to First Divisions was Swansea City, who had climbed three divisions between 1977 and 1981. They finished sixth in their first top division campaign, but were relegated the following year and in 1986 fell back into the Fourth Division.

A number of other small clubs achieved success at this time. Charlton Athletic, who were forced to leave The Valley and ground-share with West Ham for safety reasons in 1985, won promotion to the First Division in 1986 after an exile of nearly 30 years. They defied the odds by remaining at this level until their luck finally ran out and they were relegated in 1990. Norwich City went down to the Second Division in 1985 but that blow was cushioned by a League Cup triumph. They returned to the top flight a year later and finished fifth on their comeback, also coming fourth and reaching the FA Cup semi-finals in 1989. They reached another FA Cup semi-final in 1992. Oxford United, who had only joined the Football League in 1962, reached the First Division in 1985 and lifted the League Cup the following season. They went back down again in 1988, the same year that Middlesbrough reached the First Division a mere two seasons after almost going out of business.

Many fallen giants fell on hard times during the later part of the 1980s. Burnley and Preston North End (both Football League founders with five league titles between them), were relegated to the Fourth Division in 1985. Preston were promoted back to the Third Division in 1987, but that year saw Burnley narrowly avoid becoming the first team to suffer automatic relegation to the Conference (that humiliation was endured by Lincoln City instead) and it was not until 1992 that Burnley won promotion from the basement division.

One fallen giant to enjoy something of a resurgence in this era was Derby County. They had been relegated to the Third Division in 1984, just nine years after being league champions, but back-to-back promotions saw them back in the First Division in 1987. They emerged as surprise title contenders in 1988-89 and finished fifth, only missing out on a UEFA Cup place due to the ban on English clubs in European competition. But Derby were unable to sustain their run of success, and went down to the Second Division in 1991.

In 1986, Wolverhampton Wanderers fell into the Fourth Division for the first time in their history, and became only the second English team to endure three successive relegations. By 1989, they had won promotion to the Second Division almost single-handedly thanks to the goalscoring exploits of striker Steve Bull, who became the first English footballer to score 50 or more competitive goals in successive seasons. Local businessman Jack Hayward took the club over in 1990, and declared his ambition to restore Wolves as a major footballing force.
Bolton Wanderers, four times FA Cup winners, were relegated to the Fourth Division in 1987, the same year that Sunderland fell into the Third Division for the first time in their history. Both teams, however, won promotion at the first attempt.

With Liverpool's fortunes waning, George Graham's Arsenal started to win trophies again, with a League Cup in 1987 and two league titles, in 1989 and 1991, the former being won in the final minute of the final game of the season against title rivals Liverpool, with young midfielder Michael Thomas scoring the crucial goal. Arsenal would go on to be the first side to pick up the Cup Double in 1993, and followed it with a Cup Winners' Cup the year after.
Arsenal's neighbours Tottenham were also successful, winning the FA Cup in 1990-91, with midfielder Paul Gascoigne proving the hero in the semi-finals against Arsenal before injuring himself in the final against Nottingham Forest. Tottenham bought Barcelona's high-scoring England striker Gary Lineker in 1989, and he continued his excellent form over three years at the club before leaving to finish his career in Japan.

Leeds had finally won promotion back to the top flight in 1990 and under Howard Wilkinson they won the 1991-92 league title. Wilkinson is still the most recent English manager to win the league championship. However, the departure of Eric Cantona to Manchester United, amongst other factors, meant they were unable to make a regular challenge for the title following the creation of the Premier League.

England's national team under Bobby Robson also enjoyed success, losing controversially to Argentina in the 1986 World Cup and unluckily on penalties to Germany in the semi-finals of the 1990 World Cup, eventually finishing fourth. This success for the national team, and the gradually improving grounds, helped to reinvigorate football's popularity. Attendances rose from the late 1980s and continued to do so as football moved into the business era.
The late 1980s and early 1990s saw the emergence of numerous young players who went on to reach great heights in the game. These include Paul Gascoigne, David Platt, Matt Le Tissier, Lee Sharpe, Ryan Giggs and Paul Merson.

Established great players who were still playing the top in the early 1990s include Ian Rush, Peter Beardsley, Bryan Robson, Steve Bruce, Neville Southall and Ray Wilkins.
This era also saw many famous names hanging up their boots after long and illustrious careers. These include Ray Clemence, Gary Bailey, Alan Hansen, Craig Johnston, Norman Whiteside, Andy Gray and Billy Bonds.

Successful managers of this era include Kenny Dalglish, George Graham, Howard Kendall, Howard Wilkinson, Alex Ferguson, Bobby Gould, John Lyall, Jim Smith, Maurice Evans and Dave Bassett.

1992 - 1999 The Premier League and Sky Television >