Alternative Football History Part IX – Only Liverpool banned from Europe! 1986/87

Following on from last week’s article about what could have happened all English clubs except Liverpool were still allowed to enter European competitions in the late 80’s, this time I have written an alternative 1986/87 season.
Everton are in the Cup Winners Cup while Oxford United reached the UEFA Cup after winning the Milk Cup. It was their first tie competing in a European competition with Sheffield Wednesday also making their European debut.
West Ham United and Manchester United also represented England in the UEFA Cup following successful league campaigns the previous season.

The story starts with Everton’s run in the 1986/87, a competition that they qualified for despite finishing runners-up to rivals Liverpool in the FA Cup Final the previous season. Liverpool would have qualified for the European Cup instead but due to their ban, no English sides would compete in the elite European competition.
Everton were drawn against Greek side Olympiakos in the First Round and convincingly beat them 6-0 over two legs. All the goals came in the first leg at Goodison Park, with Graeme Sharp scoring four times and Peter Reid adding a brace.

The Second Round was a little tougher, as they came from 2-0 down in the first leg against Polish side Katowice to win 5-0 at Goodison in the second leg. It was Adrian Heath’s turn to take the match ball home with him this time, bagging a first half hat-trick in only 18 minutes. Graeme Sharp added his fifth of the competition midway through the second half and Kevin Ratcliffe added the last goal of the game in the 85th minute.

It was at the Quarter Final where Everton would end their run, losing on away goals to a single goal to Malmo. They dominated much of the first leg at home but couldn’t get the goal they needed. The Swedish side took advantage and scored on the counter attack, before adopting a very defensive approach in the second leg and went through 1-0 on aggregate.

Meanwhile in the UEFA Cup, all four English sides reached the Third Round of the competition.
Debutants Oxford United were paired with Irish side Galway United in the first round and narrowly won 1-0 in the first leg after Ray Houghton scored in the first half in his native country.
The second leg was a much easier game and with a crowd of 9,000 watching on almost in disbelief that their side were playing in Europe. This was because only two years before, Oxford were in the Third Division.
The home fans were treated to a dazzling performance from their team, who never took their foot off the pedal and won the match handsomely 7-0. Dean Saunders grabbed four goals before half-time, Martin Foyle scored a brace and Tommy Caton sealed the win in the final minute.

United’s first real test came in the Second Round when they faced Spartak Moscow. They managed to draw 0-0 on the other side of the Iron Curtain before winning 1-0 at the Manor Ground. Dean Saunders was the hero yet again, scoring the winner in the 77th minute.
The fairytale came to an end in the Third Round with a 4-2 aggregate defeat to Inter Milan. United went 2-0 down inside the first eight minutes at the Manor Ground in the first leg and despite managing to get a 2-2 draw out of the game, lost the second leg at the San Siro 2-0.

Sheffield Wednesday had a rather boring run in the UEFA Cup, scoring only five goals in the six games that they played.
A 1-0 aggregate win over French side Nantes in the First Round was followed up with a 2-1 win at home to Feyenoord in Round Two. The Dutch side won the first leg at Hillsborough by a single goal but an heroic performance in Rotterdam saw Wednesday win 2-0 and secure a place in the next round.
Italian side Torino knocked Wednesday out in the Third Round on the away goals rule. Wednesday defended very well in Turin and managed to get a 0-0 draw but they conceded two sloppy goals in the last 20 minutes to draw 2-2 at Hillsborough.

West Ham United continued their attractive attacking football seen over the course of the previous season that saw them finish in third place in Division One.
The East Londoners won 4-0 in the first leg of their First Round match over AEK Athens at Upton Park. Tony Cottee and Frank McAvennie both scored two goals.
This was followed by a convincing 6-0 drubbing of the Greek side in the second leg, Cottee scoring five and George Parris adding the sixth.

The Hammers’ Second Round opponents were Dutch side FC Groningen and they were narrowly beaten 1-0 after Frank McAvennie scored the only game of the tie in the second leg at Upton Park.
The Third Round was to be the end of the road for West Ham as they were knocked out by Vitoria de Guimares. After a 0-0 draw in Portugal, Frank McAvennie scored the opener after seven minutes, but Vitoria snuck two goals in towards the end of the first half. Try as they might, West Ham couldn’t break down the stubborn Portuguese defence and were continually frustrated by time-wasting tactics employed by their opponents.

Manchester United played in three glamour ties in comparison to their English compatriots.
The First Round brought Scottish side Glasgow Rangers down to Old Trafford. A convincing 3-0 win courtesy of a Frank Stapleton hat-trick effectively ended the tie and was followed up with a goalless draw north of the border at Ibrox.
Borussia Monchengladbach were beaten 1-0 home and away with both goals coming from Norman Whiteside before Barcelona came to town.

Barcelona had recently signed Mark Hughes from United as well as England striker Gary Lineker. Both started the first leg at Old Trafford and Lineker scored twice in a 2-0 win.
The second leg at the Nou Camp was played in front of a raucous crowd who had a lot to celebrate as Lineker scored a second half hat-trick to send the Catalans into the Quarter Final.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this alternative 1986/87 European season review. I will write up an alternative review of the following season which will have Coventry City in the Cup Winners Cup!

About Author

Chris Amy

See author's posts