NUFC Season Summaries
NUFC Season 1985/86
| Manager | Iam McFaul |
| Lge Pos | D1 - 11th |
| FA Cup | 3rd |
| Lge Cup | 3rd |
| Euro | |
| Attendance | 23,307 |
| Top Scorer | Beardsley 19 |
The Regular Cast
- Thomas/McKellar
- Anderson
- Wharton/Bailey
- McCreery
- Clarke
- Roeder
- McDonald/Stephenson
- Gascoigne
- Reilly/Whitehurst
- Beardsley
- Stewart/Cunningham
Who would have thought that the failure to sign the weasly Eric Gates could have led to the loss of a United manager; but that was effectively what happened when Charlton walked out after a few thousand disgruntled fans barracked him during a pre-season friendly
Coach Iam McFaul was installed as caretaker boss and with the help of the inspiration Beardsley and the erratic brilliance of Gascoigne he managed to steady the ship and as a result was offered a contract to the end of the season.
McFaul brought in some more of the Youth Cup winning side with Paul Stephenson and Joe Allon both managing spells in the side.
He also turfed out most of Charlton's medicore signings although it is arguable that the replacements he brought in were even worse (Bailey, Stewart, Whitehurst)
A 11th place finish was more than most would have expected; indeed United were relegation favourites at the start of the season.
We made our usual early cup exits to Oxford (who went on to win the League Cup) and Brighton (who reached the FA Cup Final).