1990–91 Leeds United A.F.C. season

The 1990–91 season saw Leeds United A.F.C. return to the Football League First Division for the first time since 1982 after winning the 1989–90 Football League Second Division. Manager Howard Wilkinson spent heavily on building a team capable of thriving as well as surviving in the First Division, signing goalkeeper John Lukic and midfielder Gary McAllister, as Leeds finished fourth in the league and reached the semi-finals of the Football League Cup.

Leeds United

1990–91 season
Chairman	Leslie Silver
Manager	Howard Wilkinson
Stadium	Elland Road
First Division	4th
FA Cup	Fourth round
League Cup	Semi-finals
Full Members Cup	Northern final
Top goalscorer	League: Lee Chapman (21) All: Lee Chapman (31)
Highest home attendance	32,014 vs Manchester United (24 February 1991, League Cup)
Lowest home attendance	6,334 vs Derby County (22 January 1991, Full Members Cup)
Average home league attendance	25,779
← 1989–90 1991–92 →

Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK   ENG Mervyn Day — GK   ENG John Lukic — DF   IRL Jim Beglin — DF   ENG Chris Fairclough — DF   ENG Peter Haddock — DF   ENG Chris Kamara — DF   MLT Dylan Kerr — DF   NIR John McClelland — DF   ENG Glynn Snodin — DF   ENG Mel Sterland — DF   ENG Mike Whitlow — DF   ENG Chris Whyte

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF   ENG David Batty — MF   ENG Simon Grayson — MF   WAL Vinnie Jones — MF   SCO Gary McAllister — MF   WAL Gary Speed — MF   SCO Gordon Strachan (captain) — MF   ENG Andy Williams — FW   ENG Bobby Davison — FW   ENG Lee Chapman — FW   ENG John Pearson — FW   ENG Carl Shutt — FW   ENG Imre Varadi

Competitions

Football League First Division

Main article: 1990–91 Football League First Division

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
2	Liverpool	38	23	7	8	77	40	+37	76	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
3	Crystal Palace	38	20	9	9	50	41	+9	69
4	Leeds United	38	19	7	12	65	47	+18	64
5	Manchester City	38	17	11	10	64	53	+11	62
6	Manchester United	38	16	12	10	58	45	+13	59^[a]	Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round

Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
Notes:

1. Arsenal deducted two points; Manchester United deducted one point due to a brawl in a game between both teams.

Matches

Win

Draw

Loss

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result^[a]	Scorers	Attendance
25 August 1990	Everton	Away	3–2	Fairclough, Speed, Varadi	34,412
28 August 1990	Manchester United	Home	0–0	—	29,172
1 September 1990	Norwich City	Home	3–0	Chapman (2), Varadi	25,684
8 September 1990	Luton Town	Away	0–1	—	10,185
15 September 1990	Tottenham Hotspur	Home	0–2	—	31,342
23 September 1990	Sheffield United	Away	2–0	Pearson, Strachan	26,078
29 September 1990	Arsenal	Home	2–2	Chapman, Strachan (pen.)	30,085
6 October 1990	Crystal Palace	Away	1–1	Speed	21,676
20 October 1990	Queens Park Rangers	Home	2–3	Whyte, Chapman	27,443
27 October 1990	Aston Villa	Away	0–0	—	24,219
3 November 1990	Nottingham Forest	Home	3–1	Chapman, Strachan (pen.), McAllister	30,409
11 November 1990	Manchester City	Away	3–2	Chapman, Shutt, Strachan	27,782
17 November 1990	Derby County	Home	3–0	Chapman, Strachan, Speed	27,868
24 November 1990	Coventry City	Away	1–1	Chapman	16,183
1 December 1990	Southampton	Home	2–1	Fairclough, Shutt	29,341
8 December 1990	Manchester United	Away	1–1	Sterland	40,927
16 December 1990	Everton	Home	2–0	Strachan (pen.), Shutt	27,775
23 December 1990	Sunderland	Away	1–0	Sterland	23,773
26 December 1990	Chelsea	Home	4–1	Sterland, Chapman (2), Whitlow	30,893
29 December 1990	Wimbledon	Home	3–0	Chapman, Speed, Sterland	29,292
1 January 1991	Liverpool	Away	0–3	—	36,975
12 January 1991	Norwich City	Away	0–2	—	17,786
19 January 1991	Luton Town	Home	2–1	Strachan (pen.), Fairclough	27,010
2 February 1991	Tottenham Hotspur	Away	0–0	—	32,253
2 March 1991	Southampton	Away	0–2	—	16,585
9 March 1991	Coventry City	Home	2–0	Davison, Whyte	28,880
17 March 1991	Arsenal	Away	0–2	—	26,218
23 March 1991	Crystal Palace	Home	1–2	Speed	28,556
30 March 1991	Chelsea	Away	2–1	Shutt, Fairclough	17,585
2 April 1991	Sunderland	Home	5–0	Chapman (2), Shutt, Speed (2)	28,132
6 April 1991	Wimbledon	Away	1–0	Chapman	6,800
10 April 1991	Manchester City	Home	1–2	McAllister	28,757
13 April 1991	Liverpool	Home	4–5	Chapman (3), Shutt	31,460
17 April 1991	Queens Park Rangers	Away	0–2	—	10,998
23 April 1991	Derby County	Away	1–0	Shutt	12,666
4 May 1991	Aston Villa	Home	5–2	Price (o.g.), Chapman (2), Whyte, Shutt	29,188
8 May 1991	Sheffield United	Home	2–1	Sterland, Shutt	28,978
11 May 1991	Nottingham Forest	Away	3–4	Chapman (2), Shutt	25,067

Source:^[1]

FA Cup

Main article: 1990–91 FA Cup

Win

Draw

Loss

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result^[a]	Scorers	Attendance
Third round	6 January 1991	Barnsley	Away	1–1	Sterland 81'	22,424
Third round replay	9 January 1991	Barnsley	Home	4–0	Smith (o.g.) 2', Chapman 6', McAllister 83', Strachan (pen.) 86'	19,773
Fourth round	27 January 1991	Arsenal	Away	0–0	—	30,905
Fourth round replay	30 January 1991	Arsenal	Home	1–1 (a.e.t.)	Chapman 59'	27,753
Fourth round second replay	13 February 1991	Arsenal	Away	0–0 (a.e.t.)	—	30,433
Fourth round third replay	16 February 1991	Arsenal	Home	1–2	Chapman 69'	27,190

Source:^[1]

Football League Cup

Main article: 1990–91 Football League Cup

Win

Draw

Loss

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result^[a]	Scorers	Attendance
Second round first leg	26 September 1990	Leicester City	Away	0–1	—	13,744
Second round second leg	10 October 1990	Leicester City	Home	3–0	Walsh (o.g.) 75', Speed 85', Strachan 87'	19,090
Third round	31 October 1990	Oldham Athletic	Home	2–0	Chapman 22', Speed 33'	26,327
Fourth round	27 November 1990	Queens Park Rangers	Away	3–0	McAllister 2', Fairclough 14', Chapman 19'	15,832
Fifth round	16 January 1991	Aston Villa	Home	4–1	Chapman 17', 80', McAllister 54', Speed 77'	28,176
Semi-final first leg	10 February 1991	Manchester United	Away	1–2	Whyte 70'	34,050
Semi-final second leg	24 February 1991	Manchester United	Home	0–1	—	32,014

Source:^[1]

Full Members' Cup

Main article: 1990–91 Full Members' Cup

Win

Draw

Loss

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result^[a]	Scorers	Attendance
Second round	19 December 1990	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Away	2–1	Varadi 20', McAllister 74'	11,080
Third round	22 January 1991	Derby County	Home	2–1	Shutt 25', Chapman 30'	6,334
Northern semi-final	20 February 1991	Manchester City	Home	2–0 (a.e.t.)	Williams 117', Strachan 120'	11,898
Northern final first leg	19 March 1991	Everton	Home	3–3	Sterland 1', Chapman 37', 70'	13,387
Northern final second leg	21 March 1991	Everton	Away	1–3 (a.e.t.)	Sterland 21'	12,603

Source:^[1]

Transfers

Transfers in Date P Player From club Transfer fee 1 Jun 1990 DF   Chris Whyte   West Bromwich Albion £450,000 1 Jun 1990 GK   John Lukic   Arsenal £1,000,000^† 2 Jul 1990 MF   Gary McAllister   Leicester City £1,000,000 ^†Club record transfer fee at the time.

Transfers out Date P Player To club Transfer fee 1 Jun 1990 FW   Ian Baird   Middlesbrough £275,000 1 Jun 1990 DF   Noel Blake   Stoke City Undisc. 1 Jun 1990 FW   John Hendrie   Middlesbrough £275,000 1 Jun 1990 GK   Alessandro Nista   Ancona Calcio Undisc. 1 Jun 1990 DF   Chris O'Donnell   Exeter City Free 1 Jul 1990 DF   Brendan Ormsby   Doncaster Rovers Free 1 Aug 1990 MF   Mickey Thomas   Stoke City Free 11 Sep 1990 MF   Vinnie Jones   Sheffield United £650,000 1 Nov 1990 MF   Vince Hilaire   Stoke City Free

Total spending:   £1,250,000

Loaned out Start date End date P Player To club 1 Dec 1990 1 Jun 1991 DF   Jim Beglin   Blackburn Rovers 1 Mar 1991 1 Jul 1991 DF   John Pearson   Rotherham

Notes

1. Leeds United's score written first

References

1. "Leeds United 1990–91". www.ozwhitelufc.net.au. Retrieved 22 July 2020.