Burkinshaw was succeeded as manager by his assistant Peter Shreeves in June 1984. According to Scholar, Aberdeen manager Alex Ferguson, who joined Manchester United two years later, had reneged on an agreement to take over. Tottenham enjoyed a strong start to the 1984–85 season and looked poised to win the league title by the winter, but a series of poor home results in 1985 resulted in the team being leapfrogged by eventual champions Everton and runners-up Liverpool. Their final position of third place in the league should have secured them a UEFA Cup place, but the Heysel disaster on 29 May 1985, which saw 39 spectators crushed to death when Liverpool fans rioted at the 1985 European Cup Final, resulted in all English clubs being banned from European competitions. In 1986, Perryman departed after 19 years at the club (17 years in the first team) and a record 655 league appearances. The same year Spurs also sold its training ground at Cheshunt that the club had owned since 1952 for over £4 million. The 1985–86 season proved disappointing despite the signings of Chris Waddle and Paul Allen in the summer of 1985, and Shreeves was sacked at the end of the season.