Football League Second Division 1989/90
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | Notes |
| 1st | Leeds United | 46 | 24 | 13 | 9 | 79 | 52 | +27 | 85 | ▲Champions |
| 2nd | Sheffield United | 46 | 24 | 13 | 9 | 78 | 58 | +20 | 85 | ▲Runners Up |
| 3rd | Newcastle United | 46 | 22 | 14 | 10 | 80 | 55 | +25 | 80 | ♦Playoffs |
| 4th | Swindon Town | 46 | 20 | 14 | 12 | 79 | 59 | +20 | 74 | ♦PO Winners* |
| 5th | Blackburn Rovers | 46 | 19 | 17 | 10 | 74 | 59 | +15 | 74 | ♦Playoffs |
| 6th | Sunderland | 46 | 20 | 14 | 12 | 70 | 64 | +6 | 74 | ♦▲Promoted* |
| 7th | West Ham United | 46 | 20 | 12 | 14 | 80 | 57 | +23 | 72 | - |
| 8th | Oldham Athletic | 46 | 19 | 14 | 13 | 70 | 57 | +13 | 71 | - |
| 9th | Ipswich Town | 46 | 19 | 12 | 15 | 67 | 66 | +1 | 69 | - |
| 10th | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 46 | 18 | 13 | 15 | 67 | 60 | +7 | 67 | - |
| 11th | Port Vale | 46 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 62 | 57 | +5 | 61 | - |
| 12th | Portsmouth | 46 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 62 | 65 | -3 | 61 | - |
| 13th | Leicester City | 46 | 15 | 14 | 17 | 67 | 79 | -12 | 59 | - |
| 14th | Hull City | 46 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 58 | 65 | -7 | 58 | - |
| 15th | Watford | 46 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 58 | 60 | -2 | 57 | - |
| 16th | Plymouth Argyle | 46 | 14 | 13 | 19 | 58 | 63 | -5 | 55 | - |
| 17th | Oxford United | 46 | 15 | 9 | 22 | 57 | 66 | -9 | 54 | - |
| 18th | Brighton & Hove Albion | 46 | 15 | 9 | 22 | 56 | 72 | -16 | 54 | - |
| 19th | Barnsley | 46 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 49 | 71 | -22 | 54 | - |
| 20th | West Bromwich Albion | 46 | 12 | 15 | 19 | 67 | 71 | -4 | 51 | - |
| 21st | Middlesbrough | 46 | 13 | 11 | 22 | 52 | 63 | -11 | 50 | - |
| 22nd | AFC Bournemouth | 46 | 12 | 12 | 22 | 57 | 76 | -19 | 48 | ▼Relegated |
| 23rd | Bradford City | 46 | 9 | 14 | 23 | 44 | 68 | -24 | 41 | ▼Relegated |
| 24th | Stoke City | 46 | 6 | 19 | 21 | 35 | 63 | -28 | 37 | ▼Relegated |
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Football League Second Division Playoffs |
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Semi Finals 1st Leg |
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| Date | Home | Score | Away |
| Sun May 13 | Blackburn Rovers | 1-2 | Swindon Town |
| Sun May 13 | Sunderland | 0-0 | Newcastle United |
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Semi Finals 2nd Leg |
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| Wed May 16 | Swindon Town | 2-1 | Blackburn Rovers |
| Swindon Town won 4-2 on aggregate | |||
| Wed May 16 | Newcastle United | 0-2 | Sunderland |
| Sunderland won 2-0 on aggregate | |||
| Final | |||
| Mon May 28 | Swindon Town | 1-0 | Sunderland |
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End of Season Notes |
| ▼Sheffield Wednesday were Relegated from the First Division |
| ▼Charlton Athletic were Relegated from the First Division |
| ▼Millwall were Relegated from the First Division |
| ▲Leeds United were Promoted to the First Division |
| ▲Sheffield United were Promoted to the First Division |
| ♦ Newcastle United Qualified for the Playoffs |
| ♦ Swindon Town Qualified for the Playoffs |
| ♦ Blackburn Rovers Qualified for the Playoffs |
| ♦ Sunderland Qualified for the Playoffs |
| ▲Sunderland were Promoted to the First Division via the Playoffs taking the place of Winners Swindon Town - see below note |
| * Swindon earned the right to play in the First Division by winning the play-offs but as a punishment for breach of League rules (mainly illegal payments to players) they were relegated to the Third Division, later reduced to relegation back to the Second Division. The club they beat in the play-off final, Sunderland, were promoted in their place to the First Division. |
| ▼Bournemouth were Relegated to the Third Division |
| ▼Bradford City were Relegated to the Third Division |
| ▼Stoke City were Relegated to the Third Division |
| ▲Bristol Rovers were Promoted from the Third Division |
| ▲Bristol City were Promoted from the Third Division |
| ▲Notts County were Promoted from the Third Division via the Playoffs |