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Howard Kendall 's world class Everton side beat neighbours Liverpool to the league championship, while Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United followed closely behind. The blue half of Merseyside also collected the Cup Winners' Cup . But there would be no English clubs playing in Europe for an indefinite period after this season, as crowd trouble at Liverpool's European Cup final defeat against Juventus at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels had resulted in the death of 39 spectators.

Stoke City finished bottom of the First Division with just three league wins all season and just 17 points - a record low under the 3 points for a win system in any division. Norwich City and Sunderland occupied the two other relegation places.


SECOND DIVISION

Jim Smith 's Oxford side won a successive promotion as Second Division champions and reached the First Division after just 23 years as Football League members. Following them into the big time were Birmingham City and Manchester City .

Slipping out of the league's second tier were Cardiff City , joined by Notts County and Wolverhampton Wanderers - both relegated for the second season in succession.


THIRD DIVISION

Bradford City 's Third Division championship glory was overshadowed on the final day of the season when a fire at their Valley Parade ground killed 56 spectators - including two followers of their opponents Lincoln City .

The other two promotion places in the Third Division were occupied by Millwall and Hull City .

Going down from the Third Division were Cambridge United (who won just four games all season), Orient , Burnley and Preston North End . Burnley and Preston were founder members of the Football League who had reached great heights in the past - just 25 years ago Burnley had been league champions. But those successes were now very much a distant memory as both clubs slid into the league's fourth tier for the first time.

Swansea City , who had finished sixth in the First Division just three years earlier, continued to suffer as a result of their financial problems as they narrowly avoided a third successive relegation.


FOURTH DIVISION

Chesterfield , Blackpool , Darlington and Bury were promoted to the Third Division after occupying the Fourth Division's top four places.

The bottom four clubs, Halifax Town , Stockport County , Northampton Town (who had spent a season in the First Division some 20 years earlier) and Torquay United , all retained their league status after a successful re-election campaign at the expense of Gola League champions Maidstone United .


FA CUP

Manchester United overcame the dismissal of Kevin Moran to beat Everton 1-0 at Wembley thanks to a goal in extra time by exciting young midfielder Norman Whiteside .


LEAGUE CUP

Norwich became the first club to win a major trophy in a relegation season as they lifted the League Cup after beating Sunderland , who went down with them to the Second Division.


STAR PLAYERS

Everton 's hugely successful side included PFA Player of the Year Peter Reid and FWA Player of the Year Neville Southall , although the likes of Andy Gray and Trevor Steven also hit the headlines with their strong performances.

PFA Young Player of the Year was Manchester United 's hugely promising young Welsh striker Mark Hughes , who helped his side lift the FA Cup . His team-mates Bryan Robson , Gordon Strachan and Gary Bailey also received praise for their showings throughout the season.


STAR MANAGERS

Howard Kendall brought glory to Everton as they lifted the league championship trophy and the Cup Winners' Cup .

Ron Atkinson won his second FA Cup in three years with Manchester United .

Jim Smith brought First Division football to Oxford United less than a quarter of a century after they were elected to the league.

Former Arsenal player George Graham achieved managerial success with Millwall as they won promotion to the Second Division, and would soon be enjoying success at a higher level.

Another former footballer, Cyril Knowles (who played for Tottenham in the late 1960s and early 1970s ), enjoyed success in management by getting Darlington promoted to the Third Division.


BIGGEST RISE

Oxford United won the Second Division championship to reach the First Division for the first time - just 23 years after being elected to the Football League. Back in 1962, their chairman at the time had said: ''I think this club has a fair future.'' 23 years on, this proved to be quite an understatement!


BIGGEST FALL

Burnley were relegated to the Fourth Division for the first time in their history, just 25 years after they had been league champions.


SIGNIFICANT EVENTS

  • 56 spectators were burnt to death and more than 200 were injured when a fire ripped through the Main Stand at Valley Parade during Bradford City's Third Division fixture with Lincoln City on 11th May.

  • Less than three weeks after the Bradford Fire, 39 spectators (mostly Italian) were trampled to death on the terraces of Heysel Stadium where Liverpool took on Juventus in the European Cup final. The sequel to the tragedy was a subsequent 5-year ban by UEFA on English clubs in European competition, with a 6-year ban on Liverpool.

  • Manchester United won their second F.A Cup in three years after a Norman Whiteside goal gave them an extra-time 1-0 victory over Everton at Wembley.

  • Howard Kendall established Everton as one of Europe's top clubs as they won the league championship with four games to spare and added the Cup Winners Cup to their list of honours.

  • Joe Fagan retired as Liverpool manager and handed the reins over to Kenny Dalglish.

  • Second Division champions Oxford United were promoted to the First Division in only their 23rd season in the Football League.

  • Just 25 years after winning the league title, Burnley slipped into the Fourth Division for the first time in their history. Also suffering this humiliation were Preston North End, who as recently as the 1950s had still been regarded as one of England's top clubs.

  • Stoke City were relegated from the First Division having won just three league games all season. They also had a total of 17 points - a record low under the 3 points for a win system.

  • Norwich City were relegated from the First Division but became the only English club to win a major trophy in the same season as their relegation by beating Sunderland, who went down with them, in the League Cup final.

  • Financially-troubled Wolverhampton Wanderers fell into the Third Division after enduring their second successive relegation.