I960 Nottingham Forest wins the European Cup for the second year running
1981 Queen’s Park Rangers install an artificial playing surface at their home ground,
Loftus Road, the first club to do so; however the pitch was re-turfed in 1987
Liverpool wins the European Cup for a third time
Football League introduces three points for a win
1982 The League Cup becomes the Milk Cup under a sponsorship deal with the Milk Marketing Board
Aston Villa wins the European Cup after beating Bayern Munich in the Final, meaning six consecutive successes for English clubs in the competition
Twelfth World Cup held in Spain sees Italy winning the competition after England lost in the second group stages to West Germany
England record their greatest victory at Wembley by beating Luxembourg 9-0
1983 The Football League is sponsored by Canon
Tottenham Hotspur becomes the first football club to be floated on the Stock Exchange
1984 Liverpool’s fourth win in the European Cup Final
1985 Everton win the European Cup Winners’ Cup
A fire in a wooden stand at Bradford City’s ground kills 56 spectators
39 fans die as a result of rioting during the European Cup Final at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels. As a result UEFA place an indefinite ban on English football clubs entering European competitions; ending a winning streak by British clubs which saw them winning seven out of eight European Cup titles since 1977
1986 Thirteenth World Cup, held in Mexico and won by Argentina but famous for Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ goal against England in the quarter-finals
Two substitutes allowed in FA and League Cup matches
Aberdeen manager Alex Ferguson becomes the new Manchester United manager
The First Division is reduced to twenty teams
1987 Re-election to the Football League abolished and automatic promotion for the winners of the Conference established
To celebrate its centenary the Football League played a Football League vs. Rest of the World one-off fixture at Wembley, which saw the Football League win 3-0
1988 Transfer of Ian Rush from Juventus to Liverpool for ?2.8m establishes a new record transfer fee
1989 95 football fans crushed to death at the beginning of an FA Cup semi-final match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Sheffield Wednesday’s Hillsborough ground (the total number of deaths became 96 when Tony Bland died four years later). Lord Justice Taylor is commissioned to investigate the tragedy
Teenager stand-in keeper Nigel Spink is Villa hero.
World History
