The 1988–89 season saw Leeds United competing in the Football League Second Division.
Season summary Following two seasons in and just outside of the promotion play-off places, Leeds made a poor start to the season, taking six points from the first six games. A League Cup victory against Peterborough United was not enough to prevent manager and former team captain Billy Bremner from being sacked. Howard Wilkinson was appointed as the new manager on 10 October after a brief caretaker stint by Peter Gunby.
Leeds rose to mid-table by December and sat in 6th by mid-February, losing only two league matches in that time. The turnaround stalled in late February and early March as a winless streak saw the team fall back to 12th in the league table. Wilkinson brought Gordon Strachan, Chris Fairclough, and Carl Shutt into the lineup, and Leeds climbed the table back to 6th by 1 April. Although these new players would be involved in the successes of subsequent years, this season's resurgence did not last, and Leeds took just 11 points from the last eight games to finish the campaign in 10th.
Competitions
Football League Second Division
League table
Results WinDrawLoss +Second Division match detailsDateOpponentVenueResultF–AScorersAttendancePositionOxford UnitedHome1–1Snodin22,03811PortsmouthAway0–4—15,26321Manchester CityHome1–1Blake23,67721BournemouthAway0–0—7,92219BarnsleyHome2–0Davison, Hilaire17,37017ChelseaHome0–2—26,08018Brighton & Hove AlbionAway1–2Baird7,10921SunderlandAway1–2Davison12,67121WatfordHome0–1—15,65721Swindon TownAway0–0—9,23421Leicester CityHome1–1Hilaire17,26321Bradford CityAway1–1Davison13,04821Hull CityHome2–1Baird, Sheridan17,53621Ipswich TownAway1–0Sheridan (pen)11,75020West Bromwich AlbionHome2–1Baird, Aizlewood20,44219Oldham AthleticAway2–2Davison (2)8,82420Birmingham CityAway0–0—6,16819Stoke CityHome4–0Baird (2), Davison, Sheridan (pen)19,93314WalsallAway3–0Davison (2), Whitlow6,88511Shrewsbury TownHome2–3Davison, Sheridan (pen)19,96714Crystal PalaceAway0–0—9,84714Blackburn RoversHome2–0Baird, Davison31,62211Plymouth ArgyleHome2–0Baird, Snodin24,04311Manchester CityAway0–0—33,03411Birmingham CityHome1–0Hilaire21,9377Oxford UnitedAway2–3Blake, Hilaire7,92811SunderlandHome2–0Davison, Sheridan (pen)31,9858WatfordAway1–1Pearson13,4399Leicester CityAway2–1Snodin, Davison14,1516Swindon TownHome0–0—22,6518Bradford CityHome3–3Baird, Blake, Hilaire33,3258West Bromwich AlbionAway1–2Adams15,91410Ipswich TownHome2–4Blake, Hilaire19,63912Hull CityAway2–1Baird, Davison8,88710BarnsleyAway2–2Aizlewood, Sheridan (pen)11,57810PortsmouthHome1–0Baird27,0498Blackburn RoversAway0–2—11,53310BournemouthHome3–0Shutt (3)21,0956Crystal PalaceHome1–2Shutt25,6049Plymouth ArgyleAway0–1—9,36510Brighton & Hove AlbionHome1–0Williams14,9157ChelseaAway0–1—30,33710Stoke CityAway3–2Davison, Strachan, Sheridan (pen)9,05110WalsallHome1–0Aizlewood13,28010Oldham AthleticHome0–0—14,45910Shrewsbury TownAway3–3Rennie, Strachan (2)4,69310
FA Cup
WinDrawLoss +FA Cup match detailsRoundDateOpponentVenueResultF–AScorersAttendanceBrighton & Hove AlbionAway2–1Baird (2)10,900Nottingham ForestAway0–2—28,107
League Cup
WinDrawLoss +League Cup match detailsRoundDateOpponentVenueResultF–AScorersAttendancePeterborough UnitedAway2–1Snodin, Baird4,979Peterborough UnitedHome3–1 (5–2 agg.)Davison, Hilaire, Sheridan (pen.)8,894Luton TownHome0–2—19,447
Full Members' Cup
WinDrawLoss +Full Members' Cup match detailsRoundDateOpponentVenueResultF–AScorersAttendanceShrewsbury TownHome3–1Davison (2), Aizlewood3,220MillwallAway0–2—4,242
First team squad
Transfers
Transfers in PlayerFrom clubTransfer fee Vince Hilaire Portsmouth £190,000 Noel Blake Portsmouth Free Andy Williams Rotherham United £175,000 Gordon Strachan Manchester United £300,000 Chris Fairclough Tottenham Hotspur £500,000 Carl Shutt Bristol City £50,000
Transfers out PlayerTo clubTransfer fee Bobby McDonald V.S. Rugby Free Vince Brockie Doncaster Rovers £15,000 Jack Ashurst Doncaster Rovers £10,000 Mickey Adams Southampton £250,000 Peter Swan Hull City £200,000 Bob Taylor Bristol City £175,000
Loaned in PlayerFrom club Ian Andrews Celtic
Loaned out PlayerTo club Ronnie Sinclair Halifax Town
Source: leeds-fans.org
References