| Nextseason: | 1986–87 |
The 1985–86 season was the 87th completed season of The Football League.
The tables and results below are reproduced here in the exact form that they can be found at The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation website,[1] with home and away statistics separated.
During the first five seasons of the league, that is, until the season 1893–94, re-election process concerned the clubs which finished in the bottom four of the league. From the 1894–95 season and until the 1920–21 season the re-election process was required of the clubs which finished in the bottom three of the league. From the 1922–23 season on it was required of the bottom two teams of both Third Division North and Third Division South. Since the Fourth Division was established in the 1958–59 season, the re-election process has concerned the bottom four clubs in that division.[2]
| Competition: | First Division |
| Season: | 1985–86 |
| Winners: | Liverpool 16th English title |
| Relegated: | Ipswich Town Birmingham City West Bromwich Albion |
| League Topscorer: | Gary Lineker (30 goals)[3] |
| Biggest Home Win: | (19 October 1985) (21 April 1986) |
| Biggest Away Win: | (3 September 1985) (21 September 1985) (29 Mar 1986) (5 May 1986) |
| Highest Scoring: | (21 April 1986) |
| Matches: | 462 |
| Total Goals: | 1288 |
| Longest Wins: | 10 matches Manchester United |
| Longest Unbeaten: | 18 matches West Ham United |
| Longest Losses: | 9 matches West Bromwich Albion |
| Prevseason: | 1984–85 |
| Nextseason: | 1986–87 |
In a close three-horse race, Liverpool pipped Everton and West Ham United to the First Division title,[4] while also defeating Merseyside rivals Everton in the FA Cup Final, thereby completing a historic double. Manchester United had been ten points clear in early November after winning their first ten matches; and thirteen of their first fifteen,[5] but injuries, loss of form and ineffective signings had seen them fall away, leaving them still waiting for their first league title since 1967, mounting the pressure of manager Ron Atkinson, although the Old Trafford board initially decided to stick with Atkinson as their manager for the following season.
Arsenal finished seventh in the league for a third successive season, their manager Don Howe resigning a few weeks before the end of the season after it was reported that Terry Venables had been offered his job. Coach Steve Burtenshaw was placed in temporary charge of the first team until the end of the season, when George Graham returned to Highbury as manager. Tottenham Hotspur finished a disappointing 10th in the league, prompting the White Hart Lane board to sack manager Peter Shreeves and replace him with Luton Town's David Pleat.
At the lower end of the table, a disastrous season saw West Bromwich Albion relegated in bottom place after just four wins in the league, while nearby rivals Birmingham City fared nearly as badly, and were relegated in second place from bottom; both clubs would not return to the top flight until 2002. Their local rivals Aston Villa nearly went down with them, before a late upturn in form secured their survival. Oxford United had a memorable first season at this level as League Cup winners, but spent much of the season battling against relegation before finally managing to beat the drop. The final relegation place went to Ipswich Town, who had gradually fallen out of contention with the First Division's leading pack since Bobby Robson's departure to manage the England team four years earlier.
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liverpool | Joe Fagan | Retired | 30 May 1985 | Pre-season | Kenny Dalglish | 30 May 1985 | |
| Southampton | Lawrie McMenemy | Signed by Sunderland | 8 June 1985 | Chris Nicholl | 12 July 1985 | ||
| Queens Park Rangers | Frank Sibley | Became assistant manager | 11 June 1985 | Jim Smith | 11 June 1985 | ||
| Oxford United | Jim Smith | Signed by Queens Park Rangers | 11 June 1985 | Maurice Evans | 11 June 1985 | ||
| Chelsea | John Neal | Retired | 12 June 1985 | John Hollins | 12 June 1985 | ||
| Newcastle United | Jack Charlton | Resigned | 10 August 1985 | Willie McFaul | 10 August 1985 | ||
| West Bromwich Albion | Johnny Giles | 29 September 1985 | 22nd | Nobby Stiles | 29 September 1985 | ||
| Birmingham City | Ron Saunders | 16 January 1986 | 21st | John Bond | 22 January 1986 | ||
| West Bromwich Albion | Nobby Stiles | Sacked | 1 February 1986 | 22nd | Ron Saunders | 14 February 1986 | |
| Arsenal | Don Howe | Resigned | 22 March 1986 | 5th | Steve Burtenshaw (caretaker) | 22 March 1986 | |
| Coventry City | Don Mackay | Sacked | 13 April 1986 | 20th | John Sillett | 13 April 1986 |
| Competition: | Second Division |
| Season: | 1985–86 |
| Winners: | Norwich City |
| Promoted: | Norwich City Charlton Athletic Wimbledon |
| Relegated: | Carlisle United Middlesbrough Fulham |
| League Topscorer: | Kevin Drinkell (22 goals) |
| Matches: | 462 |
| Total Goals: | 1264 |
| Prevseason: | 1984–85 |
| Nextseason: | 1986–87 |
| Competition: | Football League, Third Division |
| Season: | 1985–86 |
| Winners: | Reading (1st title) |
| Continentalcup1: | Promoted |
| Continentalcup1 Qualifiers: | Derby County, Plymouth Argyle |
| Continentalcup2: | Relegated |
| Continentalcup2 Qualifiers: | Cardiff City, Lincoln City, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Swansea City |
| League Topscorer: | Trevor Senior (Reading), 27 |
| Matches: | 552 |
| Total Goals: | 1550 |
| Prevseason: | 1984–85 |
| Nextseason: | 1986–87 |
| Competition: | Football League, Fourth Division |
| Season: | 1985–86 |
| Winners: | Swindon Town (1st title) |
| Continentalcup1: | Promoted |
| Continentalcup1 Qualifiers: | Chester City, Mansfield Town, Port Vale |
| Continentalcup2: | Failed re-election |
| Continentalcup2 Qualifiers: | None |
| Continentalcup3: | New club in the league |
| League Topscorer: | Steve Taylor (Rochdale), 25 Richard Cadette (Southend United), 25 |
| Matches: | 552 |
| Total Goals: | 1576 |
| Prevseason: | 1984–85 |
| Nextseason: | 1986–87 |
As champions of the Alliance Premier League, Enfield won the right to apply for election to the Football League, to replace one of the four bottom teams in the 1985–86 Football League Fourth Division. The vote went as follows:
| width=140 | Club | width=185 | Final Position | width=50 | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21st (Fourth Division) | 64 | ||||
| 23rd (Fourth Division) | 62.5 | ||||
| 22nd (Fourth Division) | 61 | ||||
| 24th (Fourth Division) | 61 | ||||
| 1st (Alliance Premier League) | 7.5 |
Hence, all four Football League teams were re-elected, and Enfield were denied membership of the Football League.
This was the last season in which the Alliance Premier League champions had to apply for election to the Football League. From the 1986–87 season, when the Alliance Premier League was re-branded as the Football Conference, the champions were automatically promoted, provided that they met the criteria set by the Football League.