English League Tables
1984/85 Tables◄ 1985/86 Tables ►1986/87 Tables
Football League First Division 1985/86
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | Notes |
| 1st | Liverpool | 42 | 26 | 10 | 6 | 89 | 37 | +52 | 88 | Champions |
| 2nd | Everton | 42 | 26 | 8 | 8 | 87 | 41 | +46 | 86 | Runners Up |
| 3rd | West Ham United | 42 | 26 | 6 | 10 | 74 | 40 | +34 | 84 | - |
| 4th | Manchester United | 42 | 22 | 10 | 10 | 70 | 36 | +34 | 76 | - |
| 5th | Sheffield Wednesday | 42 | 21 | 10 | 11 | 63 | 54 | +9 | 73 | - |
| 6th | Chelsea | 42 | 20 | 11 | 11 | 57 | 56 | +1 | 71 | - |
| 7th | Arsenal | 42 | 20 | 9 | 13 | 49 | 47 | +2 | 69 | - |
| 8th | Nottingham Forest | 42 | 19 | 11 | 12 | 69 | 53 | +16 | 68 | - |
| 9th | Luton Town | 42 | 18 | 12 | 12 | 61 | 44 | +17 | 66 | - |
| 10th | Tottenham Hotspur | 42 | 19 | 8 | 15 | 74 | 52 | +22 | 65 | - |
| 11th | Newcastle United | 42 | 17 | 12 | 13 | 67 | 72 | -5 | 63 | - |
| 12th | Watford | 42 | 16 | 11 | 15 | 69 | 62 | +7 | 59 | - |
| 13th | Queens Park Rangers | 42 | 15 | 7 | 20 | 53 | 64 | -11 | 52 | - |
| 14th | Southampton | 42 | 12 | 10 | 20 | 51 | 62 | -11 | 46 | - |
| 15th | Manchester City | 42 | 11 | 12 | 19 | 43 | 57 | -14 | 45 | - |
| 16th | Aston Villa | 42 | 10 | 14 | 18 | 51 | 67 | -16 | 44 | - |
| 17th | Coventry City | 42 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 48 | 71 | -23 | 43 | - |
| 18th | Oxford United | 42 | 10 | 12 | 20 | 62 | 80 | -18 | 42 | - |
| 19th | Leicester City | 42 | 10 | 12 | 20 | 54 | 76 | -22 | 42 | - |
| 20th | Ipswich Town | 42 | 11 | 8 | 23 | 32 | 55 | -23 | 41 | ▼Relegated |
| 21st | Birmingham City | 42 | 8 | 5 | 29 | 30 | 73 | -43 | 29 | ▼Relegated |
| 22nd | West Bromwich Albion | 42 | 4 | 12 | 26 | 35 | 89 | -54 | 24 | ▼Relegated |
Football League Second Division 1985/86
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | Notes |
| 1st | Norwich City | 42 | 25 | 9 | 8 | 84 | 37 | +47 | 84 | ▲Champions |
| 2nd | Charlton Athletic | 42 | 22 | 11 | 9 | 78 | 45 | +33 | 77 | ▲Runners Up |
| 3rd | Wimbledon | 42 | 21 | 13 | 8 | 58 | 37 | +21 | 76 | ▲Promoted |
| 4th | Portsmouth | 42 | 22 | 7 | 13 | 69 | 41 | +28 | 73 | - |
| 5th | Crystal Palace | 42 | 19 | 9 | 14 | 57 | 52 | +5 | 66 | - |
| 6th | Hull City | 42 | 17 | 13 | 12 | 65 | 55 | +10 | 64 | - |
| 7th | Sheffield United | 42 | 17 | 11 | 14 | 64 | 63 | +1 | 62 | - |
| 8th | Oldham Athletic | 42 | 17 | 9 | 16 | 62 | 61 | +1 | 60 | - |
| 9th | Millwall | 42 | 17 | 8 | 17 | 64 | 65 | -1 | 59 | - |
| 10th | Stoke City | 42 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 48 | 50 | -2 | 57 | - |
| 11th | Brighton & Hove Albion | 42 | 16 | 8 | 18 | 64 | 64 | 0 | 56 | - |
| 12th | Barnsley | 42 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 47 | 50 | -3 | 56 | - |
| 13th | Bradford City | 42 | 16 | 6 | 20 | 51 | 63 | -12 | 54 | - |
| 14th | Leeds United | 42 | 15 | 8 | 19 | 56 | 72 | -16 | 53 | - |
| 15th | Grimsby Town | 42 | 14 | 10 | 18 | 58 | 62 | -4 | 52 | - |
| 16th | Huddersfield Town | 42 | 14 | 10 | 18 | 51 | 67 | -16 | 52 | - |
| 17th | Shrewsbury Town | 42 | 14 | 9 | 19 | 52 | 64 | -12 | 51 | - |
| 18th | Sunderland | 42 | 13 | 11 | 18 | 47 | 61 | -14 | 50 | - |
| 19th | Blackburn Rovers | 42 | 12 | 13 | 17 | 53 | 62 | -9 | 49 | - |
| 20th | Carlisle United | 42 | 13 | 7 | 22 | 47 | 71 | -24 | 46 | ▼Relegated |
| 21st | Middlesbrough | 42 | 12 | 9 | 21 | 44 | 53 | -9 | 45 | ▼Relegated |
| 22nd | Fulham | 42 | 10 | 6 | 26 | 45 | 69 | -24 | 36 | ▼Relegated |
Football League Third Division 1985/86
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | Notes |
| 1st | Reading | 46 | 29 | 7 | 10 | 67 | 51 | +16 | 94 | ▲Champions |
| 2nd | Plymouth Argyle | 46 | 26 | 9 | 11 | 88 | 53 | +35 | 87 | ▲Runners Up |
| 3rd | Derby County | 46 | 23 | 15 | 8 | 80 | 41 | +39 | 84 | ▲Promoted |
| 4th | Wigan Athletic | 46 | 23 | 14 | 9 | 82 | 48 | +34 | 83 | - |
| 5th | Gillingham | 46 | 22 | 13 | 11 | 81 | 54 | +27 | 79 | - |
| 6th | Walsall | 46 | 22 | 9 | 15 | 90 | 64 | +26 | 75 | - |
| 7th | York City | 46 | 20 | 11 | 15 | 77 | 58 | +19 | 71 | - |
| 8th | Notts County | 46 | 19 | 14 | 13 | 71 | 60 | +11 | 71 | - |
| 9th | Bristol City | 46 | 18 | 14 | 14 | 69 | 60 | +9 | 68 | - |
| 10th | Brentford | 46 | 18 | 12 | 16 | 58 | 61 | -3 | 66 | - |
| 11th | Doncaster Rovers | 46 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 45 | 52 | -7 | 64 | - |
| 12th | Blackpool | 46 | 17 | 12 | 17 | 66 | 55 | +11 | 63 | - |
| 13th | Darlington | 46 | 15 | 13 | 18 | 61 | 78 | -17 | 58 | - |
| 14th | Rotherham United | 46 | 15 | 12 | 19 | 61 | 59 | +2 | 57 | - |
| 15th | AFC Bournemouth | 46 | 15 | 9 | 22 | 65 | 72 | -7 | 54 | - |
| 16th | Bristol Rovers | 46 | 14 | 12 | 20 | 51 | 75 | -24 | 54 | - |
| 17th | Chesterfield | 46 | 13 | 14 | 19 | 61 | 64 | -3 | 53 | - |
| 18th | Bolton Wanderers | 46 | 15 | 8 | 23 | 54 | 68 | -14 | 53 | - |
| 19th | Newport County | 46 | 11 | 18 | 17 | 52 | 65 | -13 | 51 | - |
| 20th | Bury | 46 | 12 | 13 | 21 | 63 | 67 | -4 | 49 | - |
| 21st | Lincoln City | 46 | 10 | 16 | 20 | 55 | 77 | -22 | 46 | ▼Relegated |
| 22nd | Cardiff City | 46 | 12 | 9 | 25 | 53 | 83 | -30 | 45 | ▼Relegated |
| 23rd | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 46 | 11 | 10 | 25 | 57 | 98 | -41 | 43 | ▼Relegated |
| 24th | Swansea City | 46 | 11 | 10 | 25 | 43 | 87 | -44 | 43 | ▼Relegated |
Football League Fourth Division 1985/86
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | Notes |
| 1st | Swindon Town | 46 | 32 | 6 | 8 | 82 | 43 | +39 | 102 | ▲Champions |
| 2nd | Chester City | 46 | 23 | 15 | 8 | 83 | 50 | +33 | 84 | ▲Runners Up |
| 3rd | Mansfield Town | 46 | 23 | 12 | 11 | 74 | 47 | +27 | 81 | ▲Promoted |
| 4th | Port Vale | 46 | 21 | 16 | 9 | 67 | 37 | +30 | 79 | ▲Promoted |
| 5th | Orient | 46 | 20 | 12 | 14 | 79 | 64 | +15 | 72 | - |
| 6th | Colchester United | 46 | 19 | 13 | 14 | 88 | 63 | +25 | 70 | - |
| 7th | Hartlepool United | 46 | 20 | 10 | 16 | 68 | 67 | +1 | 70 | - |
| 8th | Northampton Town | 46 | 18 | 10 | 18 | 79 | 58 | +21 | 64 | - |
| 9th | Southend United | 46 | 18 | 10 | 18 | 69 | 67 | +2 | 64 | - |
| 10th | Hereford United | 46 | 18 | 10 | 18 | 74 | 73 | +1 | 64 | - |
| 11th | Stockport County | 46 | 17 | 13 | 16 | 63 | 71 | -8 | 64 | - |
| 12th | Crewe Alexandra | 46 | 18 | 9 | 19 | 54 | 61 | -7 | 63 | - |
| 13th | Wrexham | 46 | 17 | 9 | 20 | 68 | 80 | -12 | 60 | - |
| 14th | Burnley | 46 | 16 | 11 | 19 | 60 | 65 | -5 | 59 | - |
| 15th | Scunthorpe United | 46 | 15 | 14 | 17 | 50 | 55 | -5 | 59 | - |
| 16th | Aldershot | 46 | 17 | 7 | 22 | 66 | 74 | -8 | 58 | - |
| 17th | Peterborough United | 46 | 13 | 17 | 16 | 52 | 64 | -12 | 56 | - |
| 18th | Rochdale | 46 | 14 | 13 | 19 | 57 | 77 | -20 | 55 | - |
| 19th | Tranmere Rovers | 46 | 15 | 9 | 22 | 74 | 73 | +1 | 54 | - |
| 20th | Halifax Town | 46 | 14 | 12 | 20 | 60 | 71 | -11 | 54 | - |
| 21st | Exeter City | 46 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 47 | 59 | -12 | 54 | Re-Elected |
| 22nd | Cambridge United | 46 | 15 | 9 | 22 | 65 | 80 | -15 | 54 | Re-Elected |
| 23rd | Preston North End | 46 | 11 | 10 | 25 | 54 | 89 | -35 | 43 | Re-Elected |
| 24th | Torquay United | 46 | 9 | 10 | 27 | 43 | 88 | -45 | 37 | Re-Elected |
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Election for League Membership |
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| The bottom four league sides faced re-election and were joined in the vote by non-league Enfield for the last ever Election vote needed for league membership. | ||
| Votes | Club | End Result |
| 64 | Exeter City | Re Elected to the League |
| 62.5 | Preston North End | Re Elected to the League |
| 61 | Cambridge United | Re Elected to the League |
| 61 | Torquay United | Re Elected to the League |
| 7.5 | Enfield | Not Elected to the League |
1984/85 Tables◄ 1985/86 Tables ►1986/87 Tables
