Facebook X (Twitter) Blue Sky MUFCINFO.COM Instagram Account Munich Air Disaster
MUFC Logo

MANCHESTER UNITED
LEAGUE TABLES
1980/1981 to 1989/1990
League Tables

Explore Manchester United’s official Football League standings from the 1980/81 to 1989/90 seasons, chronicling a decade of change and challenges before the Premier League era. This page includes season-by-season league tables, final positions, and points under managers such as Dave Sexton, Ron Atkinson, and the arrival of Sir Alex Ferguson in 1986. Discover how United battled for domestic honours, experienced near misses, and laid the foundation for future dominance. Essential reading for fans, football historians, and statisticians exploring United’s First Division legacy.
Useful Links
Home
Main League Tables
1892-1900 1900-1909 1910-1919 1920-1929 1930-1939 1940-1949 1950-1959 1960-1969 1970-1979 1980-1989 1990-1999 2000-2009 2010-2019 2020-2029
FINAL LEAGUE DIVISION ONE TABLE
1980/1981
League Division One Trophy
Position Team P W D L F A Diff +/- Points
1st Aston Villa (C) 42 26 8 8 72 40 +32 60
2nd Ipswich Town 42 23 10 9 77 43 +34 56
3rd Arsenal 42 19 15 8 61 45 +16 53
4th West Bromwich Albion 42 20 12 10 60 42 +18 52
5th Liverpool 42 17 17 8 62 42 +20 51
6th Southampton 42 20 10 12 76 56 +20 50
7th Nottingham Forest 42 19 12 11 62 44 +18 50
8th MANCHESTER UNITED 42 15 18 9 51 36 +15 48
9th Leeds United 42 17 10 15 39 47 -8 44
10th Tottenham Hotspur 42 14 15 13 70 68 +2 43
11th Stoke City 42 12 18 12 51 60 -9 42
12th Manchester City 42 14 11 17 56 59 -3 39
13th Birmingham City 42 13 12 17 50 61 -11 38
14th Middlesbrough 42 16 5 21 53 61 -8 37
15th Everton 42 13 10 19 55 58 -3 36
16th Coventry City 42 13 10 19 48 68 -20 36
17th Sunderland 42 14 7 21 52 53 -1 35
18th Wolverhampton Wanderers 42 13 9 20 43 55 -12 35
19th Brighton & Hove Albion 42 14 7 21 54 67 -13 35
20th Norwich City (R) 42 13 7 22 49 73 -24 33
21st Leicester City (R) 42 13 6 23 40 67 -27 32
22nd Crystal Palace (R) 42 6 7 29 47 83 -36 19
                   
FINAL LEAGUE DIVISION ONE TABLE
1981/1982
League Division One Trophy
Position Team P W D L F A Diff +/- Points
1st Liverpool (C) 42 26 9 7 80 32 +48 87
2nd Ipswich Town 42 26 5 11 75 53 +22 83
3rd MANCHESTER UNITED 42 22 12 8 59 29 +30 78
4th Tottenham Hotspur 42 20 11 11 67 48 +19 71
5th Arsenal 42 20 11 11 48 37 +11 71
6th Swansea City 42 21 6 15 58 51 +7 69
7th Southampton 42 19 9 14 72 67 +5 66
8th Everton 42 17 13 12 56 50 +6 64
9th West Ham United 42 14 16 12 66 57 +9 58
10th Manchester City 42 15 13 14 49 50 -1 58
11th Aston Villa 42 15 12 15 55 53 +2 57
12th Nottingham Forest 42 15 12 15 42 48 -6 57
13th Brighton & Hove Albion 42 13 13 16 43 52 -9 52
14th Coventry City 42 13 11 18 56 62 -6 50
15th Notts County 42 13 8 21 61 69 -8 47
16th Birmingham City 42 10 14 18 53 61 -8 44
17th West Bromwich Albion 42 11 11 20 46 57 -11 44
18th Stoke City 42 12 8 22 44 63 -19 44
19th Sunderland 42 11 11 20 38 58 -20 44
20th Leeds United (R) 42 10 12 20 39 61 -22 42
21st Wolverhampton Wanderers (R) 42 10 10 22 32 63 -31 40
22nd Middlesbrough (R) 42 8 15 19 34 52 -18 39
                   
FINAL LEAGUE DIVISION ONE TABLE
1982/1983
League Division One Trophy
Position Team P W D L F A Diff +/- Points
1st Liverpool (C) 42 24 10 8 87 37 +50 82
2nd Watford 42 22 5 15 74 57 +17 71
3rd MANCHESTER UNITED 42 19 13 10 56 38 +18 70
4th Tottenham Hotspur 42 20 9 13 65 50 +15 69
5th Nottingham Forest 42 20 9 13 62 50 +12 69
6th Aston Villa 42 21 5 16 62 50 +12 68
7th Everton 42 18 10 14 66 48 +18 64
8th West Ham United 42 20 4 18 68 62 +6 64
9th Ipswich Town 42 15 13 14 64 50 +14 58
10th Arsenal 42 16 10 16 58 56 +2 58
11th West Bromwich Albion 42 15 12 15 51 49 +2 57
12th Southampton 42 15 12 15 54 58 -4 57
13th Stoke City 42 16 9 17 53 64 -11 57
14th Norwich City 42 14 12 16 52 58 -6 54
15th Notts County 42 15 7 20 55 71 -16 52
16th Sunderland 42 12 14 16 48 61 -13 50
17th Birmingham City 42 12 14 16 40 55 -15 50
18th Luton Town 42 12 13 17 65 84 -19 49
19th Coventry City 42 13 9 20 48 59 -11 48
20th Manchester City (R) 42 13 8 21 47 70 -23 47
21st Swansea City (R) 42 10 11 21 51 69 -18 41
22nd Brighton & Hove Albion (R) 42 9 13 20 38 68 -30 40
                   
FINAL CANON LEAGUE DIVISION ONE TABLE
1983/1984
League Division One Trophy
Position Team P W D L F A Diff +/- Points
1st Liverpool (C) 42 22 14 6 73 32 +41 80
2nd Southampton 42 22 11 9 66 38 +28 77
3rd Nottingham Forest 42 22 8 12 76 45 +31 74
4th MANCHESTER UNITED 42 20 14 8 71 41 +30 74
5th Queens Park Rangers 42 22 7 13 67 37 +30 73
6th Arsenal 42 18 9 15 74 60 +14 63
7th Everton 42 16 14 12 44 42 +2 62
8th Tottenham Hotspur 42 17 10 15 64 65 -1 61
9th West Ham United 42 17 9 16 60 55 +5 60
10th Aston Villa 42 17 9 16 59 61 -2 60
11th Watford 42 16 9 17 68 77 -9 57
12th Ipswich Town 42 15 8 19 55 57 -2 53
13th Sunderland 42 13 13 16 42 53 -11 52
14th Norwich City 42 12 15 15 48 49 -1 51
15th Leicester City 42 13 12 17 65 68 -3 51
16th Luton Town 42 14 9 19 53 66 -13 51
17th West Bromwich Albion 42 14 9 19 48 62 -14 51
18th Stoke City 42 13 11 18 44 63 -19 50
19th Coventry City 42 13 11 18 57 77 -20 50
20th Birmingham City (R) 42 12 12 18 39 50 -11 48
21st Notts County (R) 42 10 11 21 50 72 -22 41
22nd Wolverhampton Wanderers (R) 42 6 11 25 27 80 -53 29
                   
FINAL CANON LEAGUE DIVISION ONE TABLE
1984/1985
League Division One Trophy
Position Team P W D L F A Diff +/- Points
1st Everton (C) 42 28 6 8 88 43 +45 90
2nd Liverpool 42 22 11 9 68 35 +33 77
3rd Tottenham Hotspur 42 23 8 11 78 51 +27 77
4th MANCHESTER UNITED 42 22 10 10 77 47 +30 76
5th Southampton 42 19 11 12 56 47 +9 68
6th Chelsea 42 18 12 12 63 48 +15 66
7th Arsenal 42 19 9 14 61 49 +12 66
8th Sheffield Wednesday 42 17 14 11 58 45 +13 65
9th Nottingham Forest 42 19 7 16 56 48 +8 64
10th Aston Villa 42 15 11 16 60 60 +0 56
11th Watford 42 14 13 15 81 71 +10 55
12th West Bromwich Albion 42 16 7 19 58 62 -4 55
13th Luton Town 42 15 9 18 57 61 -4 54
14th Newcastle United 42 13 13 16 55 70 -15 52
15th Leicester City 42 15 6 21 65 73 -8 51
16th West Ham United 42 13 12 17 51 68 -17 51
17th Ipswich Town 42 13 11 18 46 57 -11 50
18th Coventry City 42 15 5 22 47 64 -17 50
19th Queens Park Rangers 42 13 11 18 53 72 -19 50
20th Norwich City (R) 42 13 10 19 46 64 -18 49
21st Sunderland (R) 42 10 10 22 40 62 -22 40
22nd Stoke City (R) 42 3 8 31 24 91 -67 17
                   
FINAL CANON LEAGUE DIVISION ONE TABLE
1985/1986
League Division One Trophy
Position Team P W D L F A Diff +/- Points
1st Liverpool (C) 42 26 10 6 89 37 +52 88
2nd Everton 42 26 8 8 87 41 +46 86
3rd West Ham United 42 26 6 10 74 40 +34 84
4th MANCHESTER UNITED 42 22 10 10 70 36 +34 76
5th Sheffield Wednesday 42 21 10 11 63 54 +9 73
6th Chelsea 42 20 11 11 57 56 +1 71
7th Arsenal 42 20 9 13 49 47 +2 69
8th Nottingham Forest 42 19 11 12 69 53 +16 68
9th Luton Town 42 18 12 12 61 44 +17 66
10th Tottenham Hotspur 42 19 8 15 74 52 +22 65
11th Newcastle United 42 17 12 13 67 72 -5 63
12th Watford 42 16 11 15 69 62 +7 59
13th Queens Park Rangers 42 15 7 20 53 64 -11 52
14th Southampton 42 12 10 20 51 62 -11 46
15th Manchester City 42 11 12 19 43 57 -14 45
16th Aston Villa 42 10 14 18 51 67 -16 44
17th Coventry City 42 11 10 21 48 71 -23 43
18th Oxford United 42 10 12 20 62 80 -18 42
19th Leicester City 42 10 12 20 54 76 -22 42
20th Ipswich Town (R) 42 11 8 23 32 55 -23 41
21st Birmingham City (R) 42 8 5 29 30 73 -43 29
22nd West Bromwich Albion (R) 42 4 12 26 35 89 -54 24
                   
FINAL TODAY NEWSPAPER LEAGUE DIVISION ONE TABLE
1986/1987
League Division One Trophy
Position Team P W D L F A Diff +/- Points
1st Everton (C) 42 26 8 8 76 31 +45 86
2nd Liverpool 42 23 8 11 72 42 +30 77
3rd Tottenham Hotspur 42 21 8 13 68 43 +25 71
4th Arsenal 42 20 10 12 58 35 +23 70
5th Norwich City 42 17 17 8 53 51 +2 68
6th Wimbledon 42 19 9 14 57 50 +7 66
7th Luton Town 42 18 12 12 47 45 +2 66
8th Nottingham Forest 42 18 11 13 64 51 +13 65
9th Watford 42 18 9 15 67 54 +13 63
10th Coventry City 42 17 12 13 50 45 +5 63
11th MANCHESTER UNITED 42 14 14 14 52 45 +7 56
12th Southampton 42 14 10 18 69 68 +1 52
13th Sheffield Wednesday 42 13 13 16 58 59 -1 52
14th Chelsea 42 13 13 16 53 64 -11 52
15th West Ham United 42 14 10 18 52 67 -15 52
16th Queens Park Rangers 42 13 11 18 48 64 -16 50
17th Newcastle United 42 12 11 19 47 65 -18 47
18th Oxford United 42 11 13 18 44 69 -25 46
19th Charlton Athletic 42 11 11 20 45 55 -10 44
20th Leicester City (R) 42 11 9 22 54 76 -22 42
21st Manchester City (R) 42 8 15 19 36 57 -21 39
22nd Aston Villa (R) 42 8 12 22 45 79 -34 36
                   
FINAL BARCLAYS LEAGUE DIVISION ONE TABLE
1987/1988
League Division One Trophy
Position Team P W D L F A Diff +/- Points
1st Liverpool (C) 40 26 12 2 87 24 +63 90
2nd MANCHESTER UNITED 40 23 12 5 71 38 +33 81
3rd Nottingham Forest 40 20 13 7 67 39 +28 73
4th Everton 40 19 13 8 53 27 +26 70
5th Queens Park Rangers 40 19 10 11 48 38 +10 67
6th Arsenal 40 18 12 10 58 39 +19 66
7th Wimbledon 40 14 15 11 58 47 +11 57
8th Newcastle United 40 14 14 12 55 53 +2 56
9th Luton Town 40 14 11 15 57 58 -1 53
10th Coventry City 40 13 14 13 46 53 -7 53
11th Sheffield Wednesday 40 15 8 17 52 66 -14 53
12th Southampton 40 12 14 14 49 53 -4 50
13th Tottenham Hotspur 40 12 11 17 38 48 -10 47
14th Norwich City 40 12 9 19 40 52 -12 45
15th Derby County 40 10 13 17 35 45 -10 43
16th West Ham United 40 9 15 16 40 52 -12 42
17th Charlton Athletic 40 9 15 16 38 52 -14 42
18th Chelsea (R) 40 9 15 16 50 68 -18 42
19th Portsmouth (R) 40 7 14 19 36 66 -30 35
20th Watford (R) 40 7 11 22 27 51 -24 32
21st Oxford United (R) 40 6 13 21 44 80 -36 31
FINAL BARCLAYS LEAGUE DIVISION ONE TABLE
1988/1989
League Division One Trophy
Position Team P W D L F A Diff +/- Points
1st Arsenal (C) 38 22 10 6 73 36 +37 76
2nd Liverpool 38 22 10 6 65 28 +37 76
3rd Nottingham Forest 38 17 13 8 64 43 +21 64
4th Norwich City 38 17 11 10 48 45 +3 62
5th Derby County 38 17 7 14 40 38 +2 58
6th Tottenham Hotspur 38 15 12 11 60 46 +14 57
7th Coventry City 38 14 13 11 47 42 +5 55
8th Everton 38 14 12 12 50 45 +5 54
9th Queens Park Rangers 38 14 11 13 43 37 +6 53
10th Millwall 38 14 11 13 47 52 -5 53
11th MANCHESTER UNITED 38 13 12 13 45 35 +10 51
12th Wimbledon 38 14 9 15 50 46 +4 51
13th Southampton 38 10 15 13 52 66 -14 45
14th Charlton Athletic 38 10 12 16 44 58 -14 42
15th Sheffield Wednesday 38 10 12 16 34 51 -17 42
16th Luton Town 38 10 11 17 42 52 -10 41
17th Aston Villa 38 9 13 16 45 56 -11 40
18th Middlesbrough (R) 38 9 12 17 44 61 -17 39
19th West Ham United (R) 38 10 8 20 37 62 -25 38
20th Newcastle United (R) 38 7 10 21 32 63 -31 31
                   
FINAL BARCLAYS LEAGUE DIVISION ONE TABLE
1989/1990
League Division One Trophy
Position Team P W D L F A Diff +/- Points
1st Liverpool (C) 38 23 10 5 78 37 +41 79
2nd Aston Villa 38 21 7 10 57 38 +19 70
3rd Tottenham Hotspur 38 19 6 13 59 47 +12 63
4th Arsenal 38 18 8 12 54 38 +16 62
5th Chelsea 38 16 12 10 58 50 +8 60
6th Everton 38 17 8 13 57 46 +11 59
7th Southampton 38 15 10 13 71 63 +8 55
8th Wimbledon 38 13 16 9 47 40 +7 55
9th Nottingham Forest 38 15 9 14 55 47 +8 54
10th Norwich City 38 13 14 11 44 42 +2 53
11th Queens Park Rangers 38 13 11 14 45 44 +1 50
12th Coventry City 38 14 7 17 39 59 −20 49
13th MANCHESTER UNITED 38 13 9 16 46 47 −1 48
14th Manchester City 38 12 12 14 43 52 −9 48
15th Crystal Palace 38 13 9 16 42 66 −24 48
16th Derby County 38 13 7 18 43 40 +3 46
17th Luton Town 38 10 13 15 43 57 −14 43
18th Sheffield Wednesday (R) 38 11 10 17 35 51 −16 43
19th Charlton Athletic (R) 38 7 9 22 31 57 −26 30
20th Millwall (R) 38 5 11 22 39 65 −26 26
                   
 

About this site

 West Cumbria Reds Branch Flag

 
MUFCINFO.com is not an official Manchester United website.
All pages are designed, maintained and copyright © Mark Graham.
Email: mufcinfo@sky.com