During the 1988–89 English football season, Millwall F.C. competed in the Football League First Division. This was Millwall's 62nd season in the Football League, and first ever season in the top tier of English football, after achieving promotion from the Second Division as Champions in 1987–88.
| 1988–89 season | |
|---|---|
| Chairman |  Reg Burr |
| Manager |  John Docherty |
| Stadium | The Den |
| First Division | 10th |
| FA Cup | Fourth round |
| League Cup | Third round |
| Full Members Cup | Third round |
| Top goalscorer | League: Tony Cascarino (13) All: Teddy Sheringham (15) Tony Cascarino (15) |
| Highest home attendance | 22,103 (vs. Liverpool) |
| Lowest home attendance | 11,394 (vs. Middlesbrough) |
| Average home league attendance | 15,468 |
Season summary edit
Millwall had won promotion to the First Division for the first time in their history as Second Division champions at the end of the 1987–88 season, and were among the pre-season favourites for relegation, but defied the odds and were top of the First Division by the beginning of October, having won four of their first six league games. By Christmas, they were still an impressive fifth in the league, but finished 10th at the end of the season after failing to win any of their final 10 games. Perhaps the only low point of the season was being defeated by arch-rivals West Ham United twice during the season, although Millwall still outperformed their local rivals for the first time in decades, as the Hammers were relegated in 19th place.
Millwall finished one place above Manchester United, one of the pre-season title favourites, and spent much of the season in a higher position than other teams who failed to emerge as title contenders after being among the pre-season favourites, including Everton and Tottenham Hotspur – who both eventually finished slightly above Millwall.
Millwall's high placing owed much to the strike partnership of Teddy Sheringham and Tony Cascarino.
In his autobiography, Sheringham said of the season, "It was a crazy exhilarating time. There we were, little Millwall, in our first season in the First Division and topping the table until about March. Everybody said it couldn't last and of course it couldn't and it didn't, but we gave them all a good run for their money. We were beating the best teams when we shouldn't and getting away draws to which we had no right."
Squad edit
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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League table edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Everton | 38 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 50 | 45 | +5 | 54 |
| 9 | Queens Park Rangers | 38 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 43 | 37 | +6 | 53 |
| 10 | Millwall | 38 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 47 | 52 | −5 | 53 |
| 11 | Manchester United | 38 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 45 | 35 | +10 | 51 |
| 12 | Wimbledon | 38 | 14 | 9 | 15 | 50 | 46 | +4 | 51 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
Transfers edit
In edit
Out edit
Results edit
First Division edit
August edit
- 27 August: Aston Villa 2–2 Millwall
September edit
- 3 September: Millwall 1–0 Derby County
- 10 September: Charlton Athletic 0–3 Millwall
- 17 September: Millwall 2–1 Everton
- 24 September: Norwich City 2–2 Millwall
October edit
- 1 October: Millwall 3–2 QPR
- 15 October: Coventry City 0–0 Millwall
- 22 October: Millwall 2–2 Nottingham Forest
- 29 October: Middlesbrough 4–2 Millwall
November edit
- 5 November: Millwall 3–1 Luton Town
- 12 November: Liverpool 1–1 Millwall
- 19 November: Millwall 4–0 Newcastle United
- 26 November: Southampton 2–2 Millwall
December edit
- 3 December: Millwall 0–1 West Ham United
- 10 December: Tottenham Hotspur 2–0 Millwall
- 17 December: Millwall 1–0 Sheffield Wednesday
- 26 December: Wimbledon 1–0 Millwall
- 31 December: Derby County 0–1 Millwall
January edit
- 2 January: Millwall 1–0 Charlton Athletic
- 14 January: Manchester United 3–0 Millwall
- 22 January: Millwall 2–3 Norwich City
February edit
- 4 February: QPR 1–2 Millwall
- 11 February: Millwall 1–2 Arsenal
- 21 February: Millwall 2–0 Middlesbrough
- 25 February: Millwall 1–0 Coventry City
- 28 February: Arsenal 0–0 Millwall
March edit
- 11 March: Luton Town 1–2 Millwall
- 18 March: Millwall 2–0 Aston Villa
- 25 March: Everton 1–1 Millwall
- 27 March: Millwall 0–1 Wimbledon
April edit
- 1 April: Sheffield Wednesday 3–0 Millwall
- 8 April: Millwall 0–0 Manchester United
- 11 April: Millwall 1–2 Liverpool
- 22 April: West Ham United 3–0 Millwall
- 29 April: Millwall 0–5 Tottenham Hotspur
May edit
- 3 May: Nottingham Forest 4–1 Millwall
- 6 May: Newcastle United 1–1 Millwall
- 13 May: Millwall 1–1 Southampton
FA Cup edit
January edit
- 7 January: Millwall 3–2 Luton Town
- 29 January: Millwall 0–2 Liverpool
League Cup edit
September edit
- 27 September: Millwall 3–0 Gillingham
October edit
- 11 October: Gillingham 1–3 Millwall
November edit
- 2 November: Aston Villa 3–1 Millwall
Simod Cup edit
- 9 November: Millwall 1–1 BarnsleyAET (Millwall won 3–0 on penalties)
- 29 November: Millwall 2–0 Leeds United
- 20 December: Everton 2–0 Millwall