1990–91 Football League First Division
| Season | 1990–91 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Arsenal (10th English title) |
| Relegated | Derby County Sunderland |
| European Cup 1991–92 | Arsenal |
| FA Cup winners European Cup Winners' Cup 1991–92 |
Tottenham Hotspur (8th FA Cup title) Manchester United (defending champions) |
| UEFA Cup 1991–92 | Liverpool [1] |
| Matches played | 380 |
| Goals scored | 1051 (2.77 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Alan Smith (Arsenal), 22 [2] |
| Biggest home win | Nottingham Forest – Chelsea 7–0 (20 Apr 1991) |
| Biggest away win | Derby County – Liverpool 1–7 (23 Mar 1991) |
| Highest scoring | Derby County – Chelsea 4–6 (15 Dec 1990) |
| Longest winning run | Liverpool (8 games) |
| Longest unbeaten run | Arsenal (23 games) |
| Longest losing run | Queens Park Rangers (8 games) |
|
← 1989–90
1991–92 →
|
|
Statistics of Football League First Division in the 1990-91 season.
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.
On May 6, 1991, Arsenal were crowned champions after beating Manchester United 3-1 and hearing the news that their title challengers Liverpool who finished 2nd, lost 2-1 to Nottingham Forest. Liverpool had led the table for much of the first half of the season but were 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 finished bottom with just five wins all season despite the 17 league goals of Welsh striker Dean Saunders, who was then sold to Liverpool. Their relegation was confirmed on April 20, 1991 after losing 2-1 at Manchester City. The final relegation place went to Sunderland on the last day of the season who lost 3-2 to Manchester City which meant that Luton Town stayed up by beating already-relegated Derby County 2-0.
League standings
| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | Arsenal | 38 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 51 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 1 | 23 | 8 | 83 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 38 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 42 | 13 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 35 | 27 | 76 |
| 3 | Crystal Palace | 38 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 26 | 17 | 9 | 3 | 7 | 24 | 24 | 69 |
| 4 | Leeds United | 38 | 12 | 2 | 5 | 46 | 23 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 19 | 24 | 64 |
| 5 | Manchester City | 38 | 12 | 3 | 4 | 35 | 25 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 29 | 28 | 62 |
| 6 | Manchester United | 38 | 11 | 4 | 4 | 34 | 17 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 24 | 28 | 59 |
| 7 | Wimbledon | 38 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 28 | 22 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 25 | 24 | 56 |
| 8 | Nottingham Forest | 38 | 11 | 4 | 4 | 42 | 21 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 23 | 29 | 54 |
| 9 | Everton | 38 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 26 | 15 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 24 | 31 | 51 |
| 10 | Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | 8 | 9 | 2 | 35 | 22 | 3 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 28 | 49 |
| 11 | Chelsea | 38 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 33 | 25 | 3 | 4 | 12 | 25 | 44 | 49 |
| 12 | Queens Park Rangers | 38 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 27 | 22 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 17 | 31 | 46 |
| 13 | Sheffield United | 38 | 9 | 3 | 7 | 23 | 23 | 4 | 4 | 11 | 13 | 32 | 46 |
| 14 | Southampton | 38 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 33 | 22 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 25 | 47 | 45 |
| 15 | Norwich City | 38 | 9 | 3 | 7 | 27 | 32 | 4 | 3 | 12 | 14 | 32 | 45 |
| 16 | Coventry City | 38 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 30 | 16 | 1 | 5 | 13 | 12 | 33 | 44 |
| 17 | Aston Villa | 38 | 7 | 9 | 3 | 29 | 25 | 2 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 33 | 41 |
| 18 | Luton Town | 38 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 22 | 18 | 3 | 2 | 14 | 20 | 43 | 37 |
| 19 | Sunderland | 38 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 15 | 16 | 2 | 4 | 13 | 23 | 44 | 34 |
| 20 | Derby County | 38 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 25 | 36 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 12 | 39 | 24 |
- Pld = Matches ; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; Pts = Points
- Arsenal deducted two points; Manchester United deducted one point due to a brawl in a game between both teams.
| Key | |
|---|---|
| League Champions, qualified for the European Cup | |
| Qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup | |
| Qualified for UEFA Cup | |
| Relegated |
First Division Results
| Home ╲ Away | ARS | AST | CHE | COV | CRY | DER | EVE | LEE | LIV | LUT | MCI | MUN | NOR | 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:[citation needed]
1 ^ The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Top scorers
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Alan Smith |
Arsenal | 22 |
| 2 | Lee Chapman |
Leeds United | 21 |
| 3 |  Niall Quinn |
Manchester City | 20 |
| = | John Fashanu |
Wimbledon | 20 |
| 5 | Matt Le Tissier |
Southampton | 19 |
| = | David Platt |
Aston Villa | 19 |
| 7 |  Roy Wegerle |
Queens Park Rangers | 18 |
| 8 |  Dean Saunders |
Derby County | 17 |
| 9 | Ian Rush |
Liverpool | 16 |
| = | John Barnes |
Liverpool | 16 |
References
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
