The 1985–86 season was the 106th season of competitive football in England.
Timeline
5 July 1985: Everton signed England striker Gary Lineker for £800,000. 10 July 1985: Everton sold striker Andy Gray to Aston Villa for £150,000, six years after he first left Villa Park to sign for Wolverhampton Wanderers. Gray departed from Goodison Park despite calls for manager Howard Kendall to retain him, as he helped Everton win three major trophies in his two seasons at the club. 12 July 1985: West Bromwich Albion signed striker Imre Varadi from Sheffield Wednesday for £285,000. 2 August 1985: Crystal Palace signed striker Ian Wright from Greenwich Borough. 10 August 1985: Everton beat Manchester United 2–0 in the FA Charity Shield at Wembley. 12 August 1985: Sheffield Wednesday signed striker Garry Thompson from West Bromwich Albion for £450,000. 17 August 1985: The league season began. Defending champions Everton suffered a 3–1 defeat to Leicester City on Filbert Street. FA Cup holders Manchester United beat Aston Villa 4–0 at Old Trafford. Tottenham Hotspur beat Watford 4–0 at White Hart Lane. Wimbledon won 3–0 against Middlesbrough, while Huddersfield Town beat Millwall 4–3 at Leeds Road. The season began without any live coverage of matches on TV after talks between ITV and the Football League to show live matches failed. International matches were the only matches shown on live TV.Remember the 1985 TV blackout? Only the Big Yin knew who McAvennie was, Simon Hart, The Independent, 22 October 2011When football fans did not see a single match on TV over Christmas, Steven Pye, The Guardian, 3 December 2019 24 August 1985: Oxford United achieved their first win in the First Division with a 5–0 victory over Leicester City at the Manor Ground. Watford beat West Bromwich Albion 5–1 at Vicarage Road. Manchester United were the only team in the First Division with a 100% record after three games, having beaten Arsenal 2–1 at Highbury. Sheffield Wednesday won 3–1 against Manchester City at Maine Road. 26 August 1985: Liverpool beat Ipswich Town 5–0 at Anfield in the First Division. Newcastle United won 2–1 against Coventry City. Leeds United lost 6–2 to Stoke City. 31 August 1985: Manchester United led the league after five straight wins, with Sheffield Wednesday in second place, while Chelsea and Newcastle United filled the next two places. Everton climbed to fifth as Lineker scored a hat-trick in a 4–1 win over Birmingham City at Goodison Park.Manchester United FC News – United Mad. Manchesterunited-mad.co.uk (1985-08-31). Retrieved on 2011-03-23. In the Second Division, Portsmouth headed the promotion race, joined in the top three by Blackburn Rovers and Oldham Athletic. 4 September 1985: Manchester United won 3–0 against Newcastle United, Tottenham beat Chelsea 4–1 at White Hart Lane, Leicester and Watford drew 2–2 at Filbert Street, Aston Villa won 3–0 against West Bromwich Albion. 7 September 1985: Manchester United won 3–0 against Oxford United at Old Trafford. Liverpool won 3–1 against Watford. Everton lost 3–0 to Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road. Tottenham beat Newcastle 5–1 at White Hart Lane. Down in the Second Division, Sunderland drew 3–3 with Grimsby Town at Roker Park. 8 September 1985: Nottingham Forest beat Leicester City 3-0 at Filbert Street. 10 September 1985: Scotland manager Jock Stein, 62, died at the end of a 1–1 draw between Scotland and Wales in the last game of the World Cup qualifying campaign at Ninian Park. 13 September 1985: Sheffield Wednesday signed winger Mark Chamberlain from Stoke City for £300,000. 14 September 1985: In the Manchester derby, Manchester United won 3–0 at Maine Road. Liverpool drew 2–2 with Oxford United at the Manor Ground. Arsenal won 1–0 at home against Sheffield Wednesday. 18 September 1985: Norwich City won 4–3 against Crystal Palace at Carrow Road. 21 September 1985: Manchester United won 5–1 against West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns in the First Division. Tottenham's beat Sheffield Wednesday 5-1, and move up to fifth place. Liverpool won the Merseyside derby 3–2 at Goodison Park. 28 September 1985: Charlton Athletic left The Valley after an inspection report by safety officials, and began a groundshare with Crystal Palace. Manchester United won their tenth game against Southampton at Old Trafford. Liverpool beat Tottenham 4–1 at Anfield. Chelsea lost 3–1 at Watford. 29 September 1985: West Bromwich Albion sacked Johnny Giles as manager and replaced him with Nobby Stiles. 1 October 1985: Ipswich Town, UEFA Cup winners in 1981 and league runners-up as recently as 1982, lost 1–0 against Luton Town. 2 October 1985: Leicester and Oxford drew 4–4 in the First Division at Filbert Street. 5 October 1985: Manchester United drew 1–1 against Luton Town, one game short of the record 11-match winning start set by Tottenham in 1960. Liverpool lost 2–1 to Queens Park Rangers.Fixtures/Results – Manchester United FC – United Mad. Manchesterunited-mad.co.uk. Retrieved on 2011-03-23. Chelsea won 1–0 against Manchester City at Maine Road. West Bromwich Albion drew 1–1 with Tottenham. In the Second Division Brighton beat Carlisle United 6–1 at the Goldstone Ground. 6 October 1985: Coventry City beat Leicester City 3–0 in the First Division at Highfield Road. 8 October 1985: Aston Villa beat Exeter City 8–1 at Villa Park. Liverpool won 5–2 against Oldham Athletic in their second leg visit to Boundary Park, making it 8–2 over the two legs. 11 October 1985: Leeds United sacked manager Eddie Gray and replaced him with former club captain Billy Bremner, who was recruited from Third Division side Doncaster Rovers. 12 October 1985: Reading set a football league record of winning their first 12 league games of the season, beating Newport County 2–0 at Somerton Park in the Third Division. Sheffield Wednesday drew 2–2 with Coventry City, and Everton lost 2–1 to Chelsea. West Bromwich Albion drew 2–2 with Leicester. 17 October 1985: Southampton signed midfielder Glenn Cockerill from Sheffield United for £225,000. 19 October 1985: Reading won 1–0 against Lincoln City at Sincil Bank. In the First Division, Manchester United and Liverpool drew 1–1 at Old Trafford. Chelsea lost 2–1 to Oxford. Sheffield Wednesday beat Leicester City 3–2 at Filbert Street. Luton Town won 7–0 against Southampton at Kenilworth Road. West Ham won 4–1 at home against Aston Villa. West Bromwich Albion won 2–1 against Birmingham City at The Hawthorns. Charlton beat Brighton 5–3. 20 October 1985: Tottenham were in seventh place in the First Division after winning 3–2 against Coventry City. 22 October 1985: In the Second Division, Sunderland beat Middlesbrough 1–0 at Roker Park. 23 October 1985: Reading drew 2–2 at home with Wolverhampton Wanderers.Results 2009/10 – Reading FC – Royals Mad. Reading-mad.co.uk. Retrieved on 2011-03-23. 26 October 1985: Manchester United won 2–1 against Chelsea, and Liverpool beat Luton Town 3–2 at Anfield. Sheffield Wednesday won 1–0 against West Bromwich Albion. Everton drew 1–1 with Manchester City at Maine Road. Tottenham lost 3–1 to Leicester City. Portsmouth won 4–0 against Millwall. Sheffield United won 4–1 against Bradford City. Oldham Athletic climbed up three places to second after winning 4–0 at home against Brighton. Norwich won 2–0 against Sunderland. 2 November 1985: Manchester United beat Coventry City 2–0 at Old Trafford, and Liverpool beat Leicester City 1–0 at Anfield. Everton lost 2–1 to West Ham. Charlton Athletic won 4–1 against Shrewsbury Town. Grimsby Town beat Millwall 5–1 at Blundell Park. Sheffield United beat Hull City 3–1 at Bramall Lane. 3 November 1985: West Bromwich Albion lost 2–1 to Nottingham Forest at the City Ground. 9 November 1985: Manchester United lost 1–0 to Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough. Liverpool won 3–0 against Coventry City. Lineker scored his second league hat-trick of the season as Everton beat Arsenal 6–1 at Goodison Park. West Ham won 2–1 against Oxford. Chelsea won 4–2 against Nottingham Forest. Tottenham lost 3–1 to Luton Town, and Sheffield United won 5–1 against Oldham Athletic at Boundary Park. Hull City won 5–0 against Fulham at Boothferry Park. Carlisle United won 3–0 against Stoke City. 13 November 1985: England completed their successful World Cup qualifying campaign by drawing with Northern Ireland at Wembley. 16 November 1985: Liverpool won 4–1 against West Bromwich Albion, while Manchester United drew with Tottenham. Everton beat Ipswich Town 4-3 at Portman Road. Manchester City won 2–0 against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground. In the Second Division, Brighton won 4–3 against Huddersfield, Middlesbrough won 3–2 against Oldham at Ayresome Park, and Sheffield United and Blackburn Rovers drew 3–3 at Bramall Lane. 23 November 1985: Manchester United lost 3–0 to Leicester City at Filbert Street. Liverpool won 2–0 against Birmingham City. Ipswich Town lost to Oxford United 4–3 after leading 3-0. Oldham lost 4–2 to Stoke. 26 November 1985: Ipswich Town beat Fourth Division pace-setters Swindon Town 6–1 at Portman Road in the Milk Cup, Chelsea drew 2–2 with Everton at Stamford Bridge and Liverpool beat Manchester United 2–1 at Anfield. Portsmouth had a replay against Tottenham after a goalless draw at Fratton Park, Arsenal beat Southampton 3–1, and Aston Villa won 2–1 against West Bromwich Albion. 29 November 1985: Manchester United signed Aston Villa midfielder Colin Gibson for £275,000. 30 November 1985: West Ham beat West Bromwich Albion 4-0, Ipswich Town won 2–1 against Sheffield Wednesday, and Everton beat Southampton 3–2 at the Dell. 1 December 1985: Nottingham Forest drew with Oxford United at the City Ground in the First Division. 7 December 1985: Manchester United beat Ipswich Town at Old Trafford, while Kenny Dalglish's Liverpool beat Aston Villa 3–0 at Anfield. Everton won 3–0 against West Bromwich Albion. 14 December 1985: Manchester United won 3–1 against Aston Villa. Liverpool lost 2–0 against Arsenal, for whom 19-year-old Irish striker Niall Quinn scored on his debut. West Ham United won 2–0 over Birmingham City. Everton lost 2–1 to Leicester City at Goodison Park. West Bromwich Albion drew 2–2 with Oxford at the Manor Ground. In the Second Division, Norwich City won 3–1 against Oldham. 19 December 1985 – The Football League confirms that the First Division will decrease to 21 clubs for the 1987–88 season, while the Second Division will expand to 23 clubs, and that in 1988–89 the First Division will have 20 clubs and the Second Division will have 23 clubs in 1987-88 and 24 clubs in 1988-89. 20 December 1985: The league accepted a £1.3 million offer to show nine First Division and League Cup games this season. The first match shown was the FA Cup third-round match between Charlton Athletic and West Ham on 5 January. 21 December 1985: Arsenal defeated Manchester United 1–0 at Old Trafford in the First Division, while Liverpool and Newcastle United drew 1–1. West Ham drew 0–0 with Luton Town. Chelsea won 2–1 against Birmingham City. Norwich City won against Millwall 6–1 at Carrow Road. Wimbledon, who were only elected to the Football League in 1977 and were still in the Fourth Division three seasons ago, won 5–0 against Sheffield United. Middlesbrough beat Fulham 3–0 at Craven Cottage. 22 December 1985: West Bromwich Albion won 3–1 against Watford. In the Second Division, Portsmouth won 1–0 against Carlisle United, and Derby and Blackpool won their matches in the Third Division. In the Fourth Division, Halifax scored three goals within 37 minutes against Scunthorpe United, and Iron forward John Hawley accomplished a hat-trick and won his team a point. 26 December 1985: In the First Division, Everton beat Manchester United 3–1 at Goodison Park. Liverpool lost 1–0 to Manchester City at Maine Road, and West Ham lost 1–0 to Tottenham.