Steve Coppell ended his fourth spell as Crystal Palace manager after doing wonders to keep a virtually bankrupt club clear of the Division One relegation zone.
West Bromwich Albion just missed out on the drop zone thanks to a late turn-around in form during the final weeks of the season which followed the appointment of Gary Megson as manager.
David Moyes, 37, showed promise as one of the league’s most highly rated young managers after he guided Preston North End to the Division Two championship.
Stan Ternent’s two-year rebuilding project at Burnley paid off as they finished runners-up in the division and would establish themselves as a second tier side for nine years until promotion to the Premier League happened at the end of the 2008–09 season.
Narrowly avoiding the drop were Oxford United, who struggled all season long despite the club’s financial crisis being eased by the arrival of new Tanzanian chairman Firoz Kassam.