The Football League Centenary Tournament (also known as the Mercantile Credit Football Festival) was a friendly tournament[1] held from 16 to 17 April 1988 at Wembley Stadium to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Football League. The tournament was won by First Division Nottingham Forest, who beat Sheffield Wednesday in the final on penalties. Their success was achieved despite manager Brian Clough not attending the Saturday.[2][3] Arguably the biggest success story was Division Four side Tranmere Rovers, who a year earlier had almost been relegated out of the Football League. They defeated top-flight sides Wimbledon and Newcastle United, before taking Forest to a penalty shoot-out in the semi-finals. Despite the hopes of the Football League, the tournament was poorly attended, with attendance figures of 41,500 on the first day and 17,000 for the second in a stadium capable of holding 100,000. The attendance situation was not helped by leading London clubs such as Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and Chelsea not qualifying for the tournament.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | UK |
| Dates | 16–17 April |
| Teams | 16 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Nottingham Forest |
| Runner-up | Sheffield Wednesday |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 15 |
Background
editThe centenary of the Football League was marked by a number of events between mid-1987 and 1988, including a match at Wembley between a Football League XI and a Rest of the World XI (featuring Diego Maradona and Gary Lineker) in August 1987,[4] Football League champions Everton facing Bayern Munich in a mid-season challenge match (at a time when English clubs were banned from UEFA competitions) with Everton winning 3–1, and the Football League Centenary Trophy between leading teams held at the start of the 1988–89 season (the final was won by Arsenal against Manchester United in October 1988). Other announced events, however, including a nationwide series of fun runs, a gala classical music concert at the Royal Albert Hall, and a pop music event at Wembley Arena,[5] never took place. The celebrations, which were sponsored by Mercantile Credit, were criticised for being overly drawn-out and uninspiring.[6][7]
The competition
editThe Football League Centenary Tournament was originally announced as a six-a-side tournament involving all 92 League teams, affording many the opportunity to play at the national stadium for the first time.[5] It was subsequently changed to an 11-a-side competition featuring only 16 teams, who qualified based on points accrued from League games during a specified time window.[8]
Qualifiers
editThe following teams participated in the tournament:
| Division | Teams |
|---|---|
| First | Everton |
| Liverpool | |
| Luton Town | |
| Manchester United | |
| Newcastle United | |
| Nottingham Forest | |
| Sheffield Wednesday | |
| Wimbledon | |
| Second | Aston Villa |
| Blackburn Rovers | |
| Crystal Palace | |
| Leeds United | |
| Third | Sunderland |
| Wigan Athletic | |
| Fourth | Tranmere Rovers |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers |
Saturday 16 April 1988
editThe first day of competition consisted of the opening round and quarter-finals; matches were 40 minutes in duration.[9] Seven of the twelve matches ended up drawn (five of them goalless) and required a sudden-death penalty shootout. Teams winning on penalties are indicated by a †.
Opening round
edit| Team 1 | Result | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Tranmere Rovers | 1–0 | Wimbledon |
| Leeds United | 0–3 | Nottingham Forest |
| Luton Town | 0–2 | Manchester United |
| Aston Villa † | 0–0 | Blackburn Rovers |
| Everton † | 1–1 | Wolverhampton Wanderers |
| Crystal Palace | 0–0 | Sheffield Wednesday † |
| Wigan Athletic † | 0–0 | Sunderland |
| Liverpool | 0–0 | Newcastle United † |
Quarter finals
edit| Team 1 | Result | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Newcastle United | 0–2 | Tranmere Rovers |
| Nottingham Forest † | 0–0 | Aston Villa |
| Everton | 0–1 | Manchester United |
| Sheffield Wednesday † | 1–1 | Wigan Athletic |
Sunday 17 April 1988
editThe semi-finals and final were played on the Sunday. Matches were 60 minutes long.
Semi-finals
edit| Team 1 | Result | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Tranmere Rovers | 2–2 | Nottingham Forest † |
| Sheffield Wednesday | 2–1 | Manchester United |
Final
edit| Team 1 | Result | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Nottingham Forest † | 0–0 | Sheffield Wednesday |
References
editGeneral
editIsherwood, Glen (18 September 2006). Wembley: The Complete Record 1923-2000. Sportsbooks. p. 512. ISBN 978-1-899807-42-0.
Specific
edit- ^ Scott, Kenneth H. "Mercantile Credit Centenary Trophy". toon1892.com. Archived from the original on 27 February 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
- ^ "Manager Brian Clough misses team's big win". Toronto Star. 18 April 1988. Archived from the original on 29 July 2013. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
- ^ What on earth was the Mercantile Credit Football Festival?, The Guardian, 10 June 2015
- ^ When the Football League took on the world… Archived 5 November 2019 at the Wayback Machine, England Memories, 7 August 2015
- ^ a b Dunk, Peter, ed. (1987). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 960. ISBN 978-0-35614-354-5.
- ^ "How Arsenal won the Centenary Trophy, the least celebrated title in their history". The Guardian. 4 January 2017. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
- ^ "100 years bore: the arduous and elongated Football League centenary celebrations in 1988". These Football Times. 8 May 2017. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
- ^ Rollin, Jack, ed. (1988). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1988–89. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 429. ISBN 978-0-35615-880-8.
- ^ "Crowning delayed by League bash". The New Straits Times. 15 April 1988. Retrieved 29 July 2013.