Football League Centenary Trophy

Football League Centenary Trophy
Tournament details
Country	England
Dates	29 August – 9 October 1988
Teams	8
Final positions
Champions	Arsenal
Runner-up	Manchester United
Tournament statistics
Matches played	7
Goals scored	17 (2.43 per match)
Attendance	130,025 (18,575 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)	Brian Marwood; (2 goals)

The Football League Centenary Trophy (also known as the Mercantile Credit Centenary Trophy for sponsorship reasons) was an English football tournament held during the 1988–89 season to celebrate the 100th birthday of The Football League. The competition was played on a knockout basis between the top eight sides from the Football League First Division the previous season, with the final between Arsenal and Manchester United taking place at the birthplace of League football, Aston Villa's home ground, Villa Park on 9 October 1988.

Goals from Paul Davis and Michael Thomas gave Arsenal a 2–1 victory, with Clayton Blackmore the scorer for United.^[1] Despite most of the country's leading clubs being involved, crowds for the Centenary Trophy were generally disappointing and only the semi-final match between Arsenal and Liverpool attracted more than 25,000.^[2]

^ Rollin (1989), p. 604.
^ Pye, Steven (4 January 2017). "How Arsenal won the Centenary Trophy, the least celebrated title in their history". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 May 2017.

[FOOTNOTERollin1989604-1] Rollin (1989), p. 604.

[Guardian-2] Pye, Steven (4 January 2017). "How Arsenal won the Centenary Trophy, the least celebrated title in their history". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 May 2017.

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