# 1991–92 Notts County F.C. season

During the 1991–92 English football season, Notts County competed in the Football League First Division, having won promotion, via the play-offs, from the Second Division the previous season. It was Notts County's first season at this level since 1984, but ended in relegation after just one season and deprived the club of a place in the new FA Premier League.

## Season summary

Notts County were unable to extend their stay in the First Division beyond the single season and were relegated from English football's top flight, along with West Ham United and Luton Town; to County's credit, they managed to steer clear of the relegation zone until late in March. However, County still remained in the First Division: due to the restructuring of the Football League as a result of the formation of the FA Premier League, the Second Division was renamed the First Division.
County's first game of the season saw them take on eventual runners-up Manchester United at Old Trafford; County lost 2–0. However, in the home match against United, in January, County managed to scrape a 1–1 draw.

## Kit

Notts County retained their kit manufacturing deal with Matchwinner, who introduced a new home kit for the season. Nottingham-based brewers Home Bitter remained as kit sponsors, but for home games only; away from home Notts County wore kits sponsored by Edinburgh-based brewers McEwan's Lager.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 18 | Norwich City | 42 | 11 | 12 | 19 | 47 | 63 | −16 | 45 | |
| 19 | Coventry City | 42 | 11 | 11 | 20 | 35 | 44 | −9 | 44 | |
| 20 | Luton Town (R) | 42 | 10 | 12 | 20 | 38 | 71 | −33 | 42 | Relegated |
| 21 | Notts County (R) | 42 | 10 | 10 | 22 | 40 | 62 | −22 | 40 | Relegated |
| 22 | West Ham United (R) | 42 | 9 | 11 | 22 | 37 | 59 | −22 | 38 | Relegated |
* ↑ From the 1992–93 season, the first tier became the Premier League, and the second tier, then known as the Second Division, was renamed to the First Division.

## Results

Notts County's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League First Division

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 17 August 1991 | Manchester United | A | 0–2 | 46,278 | |
| 20 August 1991 | Southampton | H | 1–0 | 9,613 | Yates |
| 24 August 1991 | Nottingham Forest | H | 0–4 | 21,044 | |
| 28 August 1991 | Chelsea | A | 2–2 | 15,847 | T. Johnson, Bartlett |
| 31 August 1991 | West Ham United | A | 2–0 | 20,093 | Bartlett (2) |
| 3 September 1991 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 2–1 | 12,297 | T. Johnson (2, 1 pen) |
| 7 September 1991 | Liverpool | H | 1–2 | 16,051 | T. Johnson |
| 14 September 1991 | Coventry City | A | 0–1 | 10,685 | |
| 17 September 1991 | Sheffield United | A | 3–1 | 19,375 | Bartlett (2), Rideout |
| 21 September 1991 | Norwich City | H | 2–2 | 9,488 | Rideout, Bowen (own goal) |
| 28 September 1991 | Luton Town | A | 1–1 | 7,629 | T. Johnson (pen) |
| 6 October 1991 | Manchester City | H | 1–3 | 11,878 | Thomas |
| 19 October 1991 | Leeds United | H | 2–4 | 12,964 | Lund, T. Johnson |
| 26 October 1991 | Arsenal | A | 0–2 | 30,011 | |
| 2 November 1991 | Oldham Athletic | H | 2–0 | 7,634 | Rideout, T. Johnson |
| 16 November 1991 | Aston Villa | A | 0–1 | 23,020 | |
| 23 November 1991 | Everton | A | 0–1 | 24,230 | |
| 30 November 1991 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 0–1 | 7,901 | |
| 7 December 1991 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 1–2 | 23,364 | Craig Short |
| 20 December 1991 | Southampton | A | 1–1 | 11,054 | Slawson |
| 26 December 1991 | Chelsea | H | 2–0 | 11,933 | Yates, T. Johnson |
| 28 December 1991 | West Ham United | H | 3–0 | 11,163 | Turner, Harding, Agana |
| 1 January 1992 | Crystal Palace | A | 0–1 | 14,202 | |
| 11 January 1992 | Nottingham Forest | A | 1–1 | 30,168 | Dryden |
| 18 January 1992 | Manchester United | H | 1–1 | 21,055 | T. Johnson (pen) |
| 1 February 1992 | Leeds United | A | 0–3 | 27,224 | |
| 8 February 1992 | Arsenal | H | 0–1 | 11,221 | |
| 22 February 1992 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 1–1 | 8,300 | Bartlett |
| 25 February 1992 | Wimbledon | H | 1–1 | 6,198 | Craig Short |
| 7 March 1992 | Wimbledon | A | 0–2 | 4,196 | |
| 10 March 1992 | Aston Villa | H | 0–0 | 8,389 | |
| 14 March 1992 | Oldham Athletic | A | 3–4 | 12,125 | Draper, Williams, Lund |
| 17 March 1992 | Everton | H | 0–0 | 7,480 | |
| 21 March 1992 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 0–1 | 23,910 | |
| 28 March 1992 | Crystal Palace | H | 2–3 | 7,674 | Craig Short, Wilson |
| 31 March 1992 | Liverpool | A | 0–4 | 25,457 | |
| 7 April 1992 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 0–2 | 9,205 | |
| 11 April 1992 | Coventry City | H | 1–0 | 6,665 | Sansom (own goal) |
| 18 April 1992 | Norwich City | A | 1–0 | 12,100 | Matthews |
| 20 April 1992 | Sheffield United | H | 1–3 | 12,605 | Bartlett |
| 25 April 1992 | Manchester City | A | 0–2 | 23,426 | |
| 2 May 1992 | Luton Town | H | 2–1 | 11,380 | Matthews (2) |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 5 January 1992 | Wigan Athletic | H | 2–0 | 5,913 | Johnson, Turner |
| R4 | 4 February 1992 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 2–1 | 12,173 | Lund, Draper |
| R5 | 15 February 1992 | Norwich City | A | 0–3 | 14,511 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R2 1st leg | 24 September 1991 | Port Vale | A | 1–2 | 4,722 | Johnson |
| R2 2nd leg | 9 October 1991 | Port Vale | H | 3–2 (lost on away goals) | 4,419 | Bartlett (2), Johnson (pen) |

### Full Members Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| NR2 | 22 October 1991 | Sheffield United | A | 3–3 (won 2–1 on pens) | 3,291 | Draper, Bartlett, Slawson |
| NQF | 26 November 1991 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 1–0 | 4,118 | Harding |
| NSF | 8 January 1992 | Leicester City | H | 1–2 | 11,559 | Short |

## 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 | Kevin Blackwell |
| — | GK | ENG | Steve Cherry |
| — | GK | ENG | Jimmy Walker |
| — | DF | ENG | Steve Blatherwick |
| — | DF | ENG | John Brough |
| — | DF | ENG | Paul Cox |
| — | DF | ENG | Richard Dryden |
| — | DF | JAM | Michael Johnson |
| — | DF | NIR | John McClelland (on loan from Leeds United) |
| — | DF | ENG | Charlie Palmer |
| — | DF | ENG | Alan Paris |
| — | DF | ENG | Chris Short |
| — | DF | ENG | Craig Short |
| — | DF | ENG | Phil Turner |
| — | DF | ENG | Richard Walker |
| — | DF | ENG | Dean Yates |
| — | MF | SCO | Paul Devlin |
| — | MF | ENG | Mark Draper |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | ENG | Paul Harding |
| — | MF | IRL | Don O'Riordan |
| — | MF | ENG | Phil Robinson |
| — | MF | ENG | Dean Thomas |
| — | MF | ENG | Mark Wells |
| — | MF | ENG | Andy Williams |
| — | FW | ENG | Tony Agana |
| — | FW | ENG | Kevin Bartlett |
| — | FW | ENG | Gary Chapman |
| — | FW | AUS | Frank Farina (on loan from Bari) |
| — | FW | ENG | Tommy Johnson |
| — | FW | ENG | Gary Lund |
| — | FW | ENG | Rob Matthews |
| — | FW | ENG | Dave Regis |
| — | FW | ENG | Paul Rideout |
| — | FW | ENG | Steve Slawson |
| — | FW | NIR | Kevin Wilson |

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Pos | Name | From | Fee |
| 9 August 1991 | DF | Richard Dryden | Exeter City | £250,000 |
| 16 September 1991 | FW | Paul Rideout | Southampton | £250,000 |
| 12 November 1991 | FW | Tony Agana | Sheffield United | £750,000 |
| 4 February 1992 | MF | Andy Williams | Port Vale | £115,000 |
| 22 February 1992 | MF | Paul Devlin | Stafford Rangers | £40,000 |
| 26 March 1992 | FW | Rob Matthews | Loughborough University | Free transfer |
| 27 March 1992 | FW | Kevin Wilson | Chelsea | £225,000 |
| 1 May 1992 | FW | Gavin Worboys | Doncaster Rovers | £100,000 |

### Out

| Date | Pos | Name | To | Fee |
| 19 July 1991 | DF | Nick Platnauer | Leicester City | Free transfer |
| 16 August 1991 | MF | Dave Norton | Hull City | £80,000 |
| 7 November 1991 | FW | Dave Regis | Plymouth Argyle | £200,000 |
| 10 January 1992 | FW | Paul Rideout | Rangers | £500,000 |
| 12 March 1992 | FW | Tommy Johnson | Derby County | £1,300,000 |
    Transfers in: £1,730,000
    Transfers out: £2,080,000
    Total spending: £350,000