One season after being relegated from the Premier League, Nottingham Forest achieved an instant comeback as Division One champions, meaning that manager
Dave Bassett had now taken charge of promotion-winning teams eight times in 18 seasons. They were joined on the final day of the season by Middlesbrough, who had only been relegated the previous season due to a points deduction. Charlton Athletic clinched the final promotion place in dramatic fashion, beating Sunderland on penalties after a thrilling match which ended 4-4 after extra time and restored the
South London club to the top flight for the first time since 1990. Ipswich Town and Sheffield United were the beaten semi-finalists, while Birmingham City missed out on the playoffs on goals scored. Stockport County, in the league's second tier for the first time in decades, finished an impressive eighth. FA Cup semi-finalists Wolves finished ninth, missing out on the playoffs. Reading's final season at
Elm Park ended in relegation in bottom place, meaning that they would begin life at their impressive new
Madejski Stadium as a Division Two rather than Division One side. A dramatic final day of the season saw Stoke City host Manchester City at their new
Britannia Stadium, with both teams knowing that victory was their only chance of survival. In the end, the visitors triumphed 5-2 but both sides were relegated due to Portsmouth, Port Vale and QPR all winning and securing survival. The season saw numerous managerial changes in Division One. Despite being on a run to the semi-finals of the FA Cup and being in the hunt for promotion to the Premier League,
Nigel Spackman stood down in March after less than a year in charge of Sheffield United, with his assistant
Steve Thompson taking charge for the crucial final weeks of the season.
Steve Bruce, the Birmingham City captain, was then appointed player-manager at
Bramall Lane. At the other end of the table,
Terry Bullivant was sacked by Reading in March having only been appointed the previous summer, with the former Celtic manager
Tommy Burns being appointed as his successor. Stoke City began the season with
Chic Bates as manager, but a mid-season downturn in form saw his dismissal in January and the appointment of
Chris Kamara, who won just one of his 14 games in charge and was dismissed with five games left to play and Stoke deep in the relegation battle.
Alan Durban took charge for the final five games, but was unable to save the Potters from relegation. Manchester City sacked manager
Frank Clark in February after just over a year in charge, and replaced him with the former
Everton manager
Joe Royle. QPR's dismal form saw manager
Bruce Rioch replaced by West Bromwich Albion's
Ray Harford in early December, with Harford's successor at
The Hawthorns being
Denis Smith, recruited from debt-ridden Oxford United. The new manager at the
Manor Ground was
Malcolm Shotton, who managed to guide the
Thames Valley side to a secure mid table finish in spite of the club's rising debts, which resulted in construction of the club's new stadium being halted. Portsmouth sacked
Terry Fenwick in February after three years in charge and replaced him with
Alan Ball, the manager of their most recent promotion-winning side in 1987. Huddersfield Town's dismal start to the campaign saw
Brian Horton sacked in September and replaced by
Peter Jackson, who guided the Terriers to a secure mid table finish.
Mike Walker, whose first spell in charge of Norwich City had seen a Premier League title challenge and a memorable
UEFA Cup run, stood down at
Carrow Road with several games still to play as Norwich headed for another disappointing mid table finish. After the season was over, the
Carrow Road board of directors appointed Bruce Rioch as their sixth manager in as many years.
Table Play-offs Results Top scorers Maps Attendances Source: ==Second Division ==