The 1989–90 season was the 110th season of competitive football in England.
Overview English clubs were still banned from competing in European competitions following the Heysel Stadium disaster.
The season marked the beginning of the regular trend for clubs to leave their homes of many years and head for purpose built new stadia, following the bold move to Glanford Park by Scunthorpe United in 1988. Walsall and Chester City brought the curtain down on their many years at Fellows Park and Sealand Road respectively (both with games against Rotherham United). Walsall moved to the Bescot Stadium, while Chester began a groundshare with Macclesfield Town at Moss Rose until their new stadium was completed.
Meanwhile, Football Conference sides Wycombe Wanderers and Yeovil Town relocated to Adams Park and Huish Park respectively.
Diary of the season 1 July 1989 – Midfielder Mike Phelan joins Manchester United in a £750,000 transfer from Norwich City.
5 July 1989 – Lou Macari departs from Swindon Town to succeed John Lyall as manager of West Ham United. He is only the sixth manager to have taken charge of West Ham since their formation in 1900.
6 July 1989 – After just four months at Glasgow Rangers, Mel Sterland leaves the Scottish league champions and returns to England in a move to Second Division Leeds United for £600,000.
8 July 1989 – Olympique Marseille pay Tottenham Hotspur £4.5 million for winger Chris Waddle, a fee that makes him the most expensive British player. After a year in France with Bordeaux, Clive Allen returns to England in a £1million move to newly promoted Manchester City.
10 July 1989 – Scottish striker Mark McGhee returns to Newcastle United on a free transfer from Scottish Cup winners Celtic.
11 July 1989 – Aston Villa sign Kent Nielsen, the Denmark central defender, from Brøndby in a £500,000 deal.
12 July 1989 – Glenn Hysen, the Swedish defender who had been expected to sign for Manchester United, is instead signed by Liverpool. Don Howe, a member of the English coaching staff, resigns as assistant manager of Wimbledon and becomes assistant to Trevor Francis at Queens Park Rangers.
13 July 1989 – Third Division Notts County reject a £750,000 bid for 22–year–old defender Dean Yates.
15 July 1989 – Laurie Cunningham, who played in Wimbledon's FA Cup triumph 14 months ago and had a successful spell with West Bromwich Albion in the late 1970s, dies in a car crash in Spain. He was 33 years old and had been playing for Rayo Vallecano at the time of his death.
17 July 1989 – Liverpool sign 18–year–old defender Steve Harkness from Carlisle United for £75,000. Tottenham Hotspur sign midfielder Steve Sedgley from Coventry City for £750,000.
19 July 1989 – Former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Ossie Ardiles, 37 next month, is appointed player–manager of Swindon Town.
21 July 1989 – A tribunal orders Manchester United to pay £1.5 million to Nottingham Forest for 26–year–old midfielder Neil Webb.
24 July 1989 – Aston Villa sign Manchester United defender Paul McGrath for £400,000.
26 July 1989 – Norman Whiteside moves from Manchester United to Everton for £750,000.
27 July 1989 – Everton pay Leicester City £1.1 million for striker Mike Newell.
28 July 1989 – Maidstone United prepare for their first Football League season with a £10,000 move for 19–year–old Leytonstone defender Warren Barton.
31 July 1989 – Norwich City pay Coventry City £525,000 for Welsh winger David Phillips.
3 August 1989 – Nottingham Forest pay Leeds United £650,000 for Republic of Ireland midfielder John Sheridan.
7 August 1989 – Everton sign Aston Villa defender Martin Keown for £750,000.
12 August 1989 - Liverpool beat Arsenal 1–0 in the Charity Shield at Wembley. Peter Beardsley scores the only goal of the game.
14 August 1989 – Adrian Heath returns to English football after less than a year in Spain when he joins Aston Villa from Espanyol for £360,000.
18 August 1989 – Property tycoon Michael Knighton agrees to buy control of Manchester United in a deal which is believed to be worth around £20 million.
19 August 1989 – On the first day of the First Division season, champions Arsenal lose 4–1 away to Manchester United, while Liverpool beat Manchester City 3–1. Second Division promotion favourites Newcastle United and Leeds United clash at St James' Park in a match which ends with the home side winning 5–2, with Micky Quinn scoring four goals on his Newcastle debut. In the Second Division, Frank McAvennie breaks his leg in West Ham's 1–1 draw at Stoke and is expected to be out of action until at least the winter.Strike legends return | News | Latest News | News | West Ham United. Whufc.com. Retrieved on 23 March 2011.
21 August 1989 – Luton Town pay a club record £650,000 for striker Lars Elstrup from Danish side OB Odense.
22 August 1989 – Tottenham Hotspur sign defender Pat van den Hauwe from Everton for £650,000.
23 August 1989 – Paul Bracewell, who has missed most of the last three years because of injury, joins Sunderland for £250,000.
24 August 1989 – West Ham United boost their Second Division promotion push with a £675,000 move for Queens Park Rangers midfielder Martin Allen, just weeks after a move to First Division champions Arsenal collapsed.
26 August 1989 - Newly promoted Chelsea go top of the First Division after three games with a 4–0 home win over Sheffield Wednesday. Derby County beat Manchester United 2–0 at the Baseball Ground. A Second Division encounter at Dean Court sees AFC Bournemouth beat Hull City 5–4.
29 August 1989 – Gary Pallister becomes Britain's most expensive defender in a £2.3 million move from Middlesbrough to Manchester United.
30 August 1989 - Manchester United suffer another disappointing First Division result, losing 2–0 at home to Norwich City. Coventry City go top of the First Division with a 2–1 home win over Manchester City.
31 August 1989 – The first month of the league season ends with Coventry City as First Division leaders after three wins from four games. Sheffield Wednesday prop up the table, followed by newly promoted Manchester City and Crystal Palace. Defending champions Arsenal occupy a lowly 15th place. In the Second Division, West Ham United lead the table, level on points with Blackburn Rovers. The play-off places are occupied by Sheffield United (newly promoted), Ipswich Town, Watford and newly relegated Newcastle United.
1 September 1989 – John Aldridge agrees to leave Liverpool after nearly three years to join Real Sociedad of Spain for £750,000.John Aldridge | Football Betting . Soccer Base. Retrieved on 23 March 2011.
6 September 1989 – England draw 0–0 against Sweden in their fifth World Cup qualifier at Wembley.
9 September 1989 – Millwall beat Coventry City 4–1 at The Den to go top of the First Division in only their second season in the top flight. Manchester United lose for third successive game, going down 3–2 to Everton at Goodison Park. An eight-goal thriller at Carrow Road sees Norwich City and Southampton draw 4–4. In the Second Division, there are nine goals at Bramall Lane as Sheffield United beat Brighton 5–4 to go top of the table.
12 September 1989 – Liverpool defeat Crystal Palace 9–0, with eight different players scoring, including John Aldridge in his last appearance for the club.
14 September 1989 – Manchester United sign midfielder Paul Ince from West Ham United for £1 million.
15 September 1989 – Queens Park Rangers pay £175,000 for Oxford United defender David Bardsley, with striker Mark Stein moving to the Manor Ground in exchange.
16 September 1989 – Ten Swansea City fans receive 16–month prison sentences in Athens after being convicted of fighting with Panathinaikos fans after a European Cup Winners' Cup tie.The Times and The Sunday Times Archive. Newsint–archive.co.uk. Retrieved on 23 March 2011. Mark Hughes scores the season's first hat-trick in the First Division as Manchester United beat Millwall 5–1 at Old Trafford. Everton go top of the First Division with a 1–0 win over Charlton at Selhurst Park.
18 September 1989 – Manchester United sign winger Danny Wallace from Southampton for £1.2 million.
23 September 1989 – Manchester City thrash neighbours United 5–1 in the first Manchester derby since the 1986–87 season. Liverpool win 3–1 at Goodison Park in the Merseyside derby, with Ian Rush scoring twice. Sheffield United are top of the Second Division, with Blackburn Rovers second, level on points with Newcastle United. Sunderland, Leeds United and Brighton & Hove Albion complete the top six. Leicester City, often among the pre–season promotion favourites for the last three seasons, prop up the table and are in danger of relegation to the Third Division for the first time in their history.Leeds United FC News – LeedsUtdMAD. Leedsunited–mad.co.uk (30 September 1989). Retrieved on 23 March 2011.
30 September 1989 – Liverpool and Chelsea are level on points at the top of the First Division at the end of the month. Sheffield Wednesday, Charlton Athletic and Manchester United languish in the relegation zone.
2 October 1989 – Cyril Knowles, the former Tottenham Hotspur and England left–back, resigns as manager of Torquay United.
3 October 1989 – Dave Smith, the former Plymouth Argyle and Dundee F.C. manager, is appointed manager of Torquay United.
11 October 1989 – England draw 0–0 with Poland in Chorzów to secure World Cup qualification.
21 October 1989 – The last two unbeaten records in the First Division end when Liverpool and Norwich City both lose 4–1 away from home, to Southampton and Luton Town respectively. Manchester United record their third league win of the season with a 4–1 win at Coventry City. Everton go top with a 3–0 home win over Arsenal.
31 October 1989 – October ends with Liverpool as First Division leaders, one point ahead of Everton with a game in hand. Sheffield United remain top of the Second Division, with Leeds United second and the play-off places occupied by Newcastle United, West Ham United, Sunderland and Plymouth Argyle.Leeds United FC News – LeedsUtdMAD. Leedsunited–mad.co.uk (28 October 1989). Retrieved on 23 March 2011.
2 November 1989 – Everton sign winger Peter Beagrie from Stoke City for £750,000.
3 November 1989 – John Sheridan, who played just once for Nottingham Forest after joining them at the start of the season, is sold to Sheffield Wednesday for £500,000.
4 November 1989 – Chelsea move to the top of the First Division after they beat Millwall 4–0 and Liverpool lose 1–0 at home to Coventry City. Arsenal keep up the pressure by winning a dramatic encounter with Norwich City 4–3 at Highbury. In the Second Division, Swindon Town boost their hopes of reaching the First Division for the first time by beating struggling Stoke 6–0 at the County Ground.
5 November 1989 – Aston Villa record their fifth consecutive League victory with a 6–2 thrashing of Everton at Villa Park.
7 November 1989 – Mick Mills is sacked after four years as manager of Stoke City, who are winless and bottom of the Second Division.Mick Mills | Latest Betting Odds . Soccer Base. Retrieved on 23 March 2011. His successor is Alan Ball, the 1966 World Cup winner and former Portsmouth manager.
11 November 1989 - Chelsea remain top of the First Division with a 1–0 win at Everton. Derby climb from 17th to 12th place with a 6–0 win over Manchester City at the Baseball Ground. Liverpool's title hopes are dented when they lose 3–2 to QPR at Loftus Road. In the Second Division, West Bromwich Albion beat Barnsley 7–0 at home.
12 November 1989 - A Gary Pallister goal gives Manchester United a 1–0 home win over Nottingham Forest in the First Division.
13 November 1989 – Former England captain Ray Wilkins agrees to join Queens Park Rangers from Glasgow Rangers on a free transfer at the end of this month.
15 November 1989 – Howard Kendall, the former Everton manager, is dismissed by Spanish side Athletic Bilbao.