1975–76 in English football

The 1975–76 season was the 96th season of competitive football in England.

Overview

First Division

Liverpool won their first major trophy under Bob Paisley by narrowly winning the league title after a strong challenge from Dave Sexton's Queens Park Rangers, who finished in their highest ever position of runners-up and qualified for the UEFA Cup. Following QPR into Europe were Tommy Docherty's promising young Manchester United side, Dave Mackay's defending champions Derby County and Jimmy Armfield's Leeds United.

Going down were Wolverhampton Wanderers, Burnley and Sheffield United.

Bertie Mee, 57, retired after ten years as manager of Arsenal. The highlights of his career had been the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup triumph of 1970 and the Double win of 1971, but Arsenal had fallen behind the best in recent seasons and Mee handed over the reins to Terry Neill.

Second Division

Three years after winning the FA Cup, Bob Stokoe's Sunderland finally won promotion to the top flight as Second Division champions. Bristol City and West Bromwich Albion occupied the two other promotion places. Oxford United, York City and Portsmouth went down to the Third Division.

The division's biggest headline hitters were Southampton, who finished sixth in the league but surprised the footballing world by overcoming Manchester United to win the FA Cup.

Third Division

Hereford United won the Third Division title to reach the Second Division just four years after joining the league. Also going up to the Second Division were Cardiff City and Millwall. Aldershot, Colchester United, Southend United and Halifax Town were relegated to the Fourth Division. Narrowly avoiding the drop were Sheffield Wednesday, who during the interwar years had won the League championship and the FA Cup.

Fourth Division

32-year-old Graham Taylor achieved the first success of his managerial career by winning the Fourth Division title for Lincoln City. He was linked with several job vacancies in the First and Second Divisions but surprised everyone by taking over at Elton John's Watford, who were still in the Fourth Division. Joining Lincoln in the Third Division were Northampton Town, Reading and Tranmere Rovers.

The Football League voted in favour of the bottom four clubs remaining in the Fourth Division, and so there were no departures or arrivals in the league for 1976–77.

FA Cup

Southampton pulled off one of the greatest upsets in the history of FA Cup finals when a Bobby Stokes goal gave them victory over Manchester United at Wembley. It was the first major trophy in the club's history.

League Cup

Manchester City beat Newcastle to claim the League Cup, their first major trophy for six years. It would be 35 years before they would win another major trophy.

European football

Liverpool won the UEFA Cup for the second time after a 4–3 aggregate victory over Club Bruges in the final. The 1975 FA Cup winners West Ham United reached the final of the European Cup Winners' Cup, where they lost 4–2 to another Belgian side, Anderlecht. League champions Derby County lost 6–5 on aggregate to Real Madrid in the second round of the European Cup.[1]

Star players

Star managers

Top goalscorers

First Division

Second Division

Third Division

Fourth Division

Diary of the season

16 August 1975: The First Division season begins with reigning champions Derby County held to a 1–1 draw by Sheffield United. Last season's Second Division champions Manchester United win 2–0 away to Wolverhampton Wanderers, while Queens Park Rangers beat Liverpool 2–0.[2]

23 August 1975: Derby County are beaten 5–1 by Queens Park Rangers at the Baseball Ground in their first home League match of the season.[2]

31 August 1975: Manchester United lead the First Division by one point from West Ham United at the end of August.[2]

30 September 1975: Two London clubs, Queens Park Rangers and West Ham United, lead the First Division table at the end of September, a point ahead of Manchester United. Sheffield United are bottom with just three points from ten matches.[2]

30 October 1975: England lose 2–1 to Czechoslovakia in Bratislava in a European Championship qualifier.[3]

31 October 1975: Seven clubs all lie within two points at the top of the First Division, with the table led by Queens Park Rangers, Manchester United and West Ham United. Sheffield United are already five points adrift of Wolverhampton Wanderers at the bottom, while Leicester City are still looking for their first win, having drawn nine of their fourteen games so far.[2]

8 November 1975: Manchester United fall from first place to third after the Red Devils were beaten by Liverpool. The new league leaders are West Ham United, with second-placed Derby level on points with the London club. Elsewhere, braces from Leeds United's Duncan McKenzie and Colin Bell of Manchester City help their clubs beat Newcastle United and Birmingham City respectively.[4]

12 November 1975: Manchester City thrash neighbours United 4–0 in the fourth round of the Football League Cup.[5]

19 November 1975: England draw 1–1 away to Portugal in their last European Championship qualifier, and must now hope that Czechoslovakia fail to beat Cyprus in order to qualify for the quarter-finals.[3]

23 November 1975: Czechoslovakia beat Cyprus 3–0 to confirm England's elimination from the European Championships.[6]

30 November 1975: The month ends with Derby County having recovered from their poor start to top the First Division table. They lead Queens Park Rangers and West Ham United by one point. Sheffield United have been joined by Birmingham City and Burnley in the relegation zone.[2]

20 December 1975: Liverpool avenge their opening day defeat to Queens Park Rangers by beating them 2–0 at Anfield in a top-of-the-table clash.[2]

31 December 1975: The year ends with Liverpool and Manchester United level on points at the top of the table, one point ahead of Leeds United and Derby County. Sheffield United are now eleven points from safety, and Wolverhampton Wanderers and Burnley complete the bottom three. Arsenal are struggling in seventeenth place.[2]

3 January 1976: FA Cup third round day throws up a set of interesting results: table toppers Liverpool eliminate reigning FA Cup winners West Ham, Manchester City hit Hartlepool United for six and two late goals for non-League Tooting & Mitcham United help them force a replay against Swindon Town.[7]

17 January 1976: Stoke City play a league game at Port Vale's Vale Park ground during repair work to the roof of the Butler Street Stand at the Victoria Ground, after it had been blown off during severe winds a fortnight earlier.

31 January 1976: Liverpool thrash West Ham United 4–0 at Upton Park but trail Manchester United by a point at the top of the table. Derby County, Leeds United and Queens Park Rangers also remain in contention.[2]

28 February 1976: Manchester City beat Newcastle United 2-1 in the League Cup final in what proved to be their last major trophy for 35 years.[5]

29 February 1976: The race for the title remains extremely close, with Liverpool, Queens Park Rangers and Manchester United tied on points at the top, and Derby County just one point behind. Leeds United trail by five points, but have at least two games in hand on each of their rivals. At the bottom, Sheffield United are ten points from safety, and Wolverhampton Wanderers, Burnley and Birmingham City appear to be fighting to avoid the other two relegation places.[2]

6 March 1976: Third Division Crystal Palace reach the FA Cup semi-finals by beating Sunderland 1–0 at Roker Park. Fourth Division giant-killers Bradford City lose 1–0 at home to Southampton, and Derby County beat Newcastle United 4–2.[8]

27 March 1976: Sheffield United are beaten 5–0 by Tottenham Hotspur and are relegated to the Second Division.[2]

31 March 1976: Unbeaten in the League since January, Queens Park Rangers lead the First Division by a point from Manchester United and Derby County with five games remaining. Liverpool are two points behind the leaders, but they and United have a game in hand.[2]

3 April 1976: Manchester United and Southampton reach the FA Cup final after 2–0 victories over Derby County and Crystal Palace respectively.[8]

8 April 1976: Malcolm Macdonald's brace helps Newcastle United beat beleaguered Birmingham City 4–0.[9]

10 April 1976: Derby County's bid to retain their League title is effectively ended when they lose 4–3 to Manchester City. Queens Park Rangers beat Middlesbrough 4–2 and have now taken 23 points from the last 24 available. They are now in control of the championship race, as Manchester United lose 3–0 at Ipswich Town and Liverpool draw 0–0 against Aston Villa.[2]

17 April 1976: Liverpool move back to the top of the First Division after they beat Stoke City 5–3 and Queens Park Rangers suffer a 3–2 defeat to Norwich City.[2]

19 April 1976: Burnley are relegated to the Second Division with one match of the season remaining.[2]

21 April 1976: Manchester United's bid for the double is virtually ended by a 1–0 loss to Stoke City, their first home League defeat of the season.[2]

24 April 1976: Queens Park Rangers end the best League season in the club's history by beating Leeds United 2–0. They are a point ahead of Liverpool, and need the Reds to lose their last match of the season to win the championship.[2]

28 April 1976: Liverpool recover from 2–0 down to beat Club Bruges 3–2 in the first leg of the UEFA Cup final at Anfield.[1]

1 May 1976: Southampton cause a major shock by beating Manchester United 1–0 in the FA Cup final thanks to a second-half goal from Bobby Stokes.[10] They emulate Sunderland's 1973 feat of winning the Cup from the Second Division.[8]

4 May 1976: Liverpool come from a goal down to beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 3–1 and win the League title.[11] They finish a point ahead of Queens Park Rangers and four ahead of Manchester United. The defeat condemns Wolves to relegation alongside Sheffield United and Burnley.[2]

5 May 1976: West Ham United lose 4–2 to Anderlecht in the European Cup Winners' Cup final at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels.[1]

15 May 1976: England lose 2–1 to Scotland at Hampden Park in their last Home Championship match. Kenny Dalglish scores the winning goal when his shot goes between the legs of England goalkeeper Ray Clemence.[3]

19 May 1976: Liverpool claim their second European trophy by drawing 1–1 with Club Bruges to complete a 4–3 aggregate victory in the UEFA Cup final.[1]

28 May 1976: England come from two goals down at half-time to beat Italy 3–2 in New York in a tournament organised to commemorate the bicentenary of the independence of the USA.[3]

13 June 1976: England beat Finland 4–1 in their first qualifying match for the 1978 World Cup.[3]

Honours

CompetitionWinnerRunner-up
First DivisionLiverpool (9*)Queens Park Rangers
Second DivisionSunderlandBristol City
Third DivisionHereford UnitedCardiff City
Fourth DivisionLincoln CityNorthampton Town
FA CupSouthampton (1)Manchester United
League CupManchester City (2*)Newcastle United
Charity ShieldDerby CountyWest Ham United
Home Championship Scotland England

Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour. * indicates new record for competition

League table

First Division

Liverpool won the First Division title and the UEFA Cup in their second season under the management of Bob Paisley. They finished just one point ahead of QPR, who had emerged as serious title contenders under the management Dave Sexton, who had won silverware with Chelsea a few seasons earlier. Manchester United enjoyed a strong First Division comeback by finishing third, but then suffered a shock defeat to Southampton in the final of the FA Cup. Derby County's defence of the league title finished with a fourth-place finish. Leeds United continued to recover from the departure of Don Revie by moving up to fifth place a year after finishing ninth. Manchester City compensated for a failure to mount a title challenge by winning the League Cup.

FA Cup holders West Ham United could only manage an 18th-place finish in the league, and were runners-up in the European Cup Winners' Cup.

Sheffield United's terrible season saw them relegated in bottom place after five years back in the First Division. They went down with Burnley and Wolves.

PosClubPWDLFAGDPts
1Liverpool422314566313560
2Queens Park Rangers422411767333459
3Manchester United422310968422656
4Derby County4221111075581753
5Leeds United422191265461951
6Ipswich Town421614125448646
7Leicester City421319104851−345
8Manchester City4216111564461843
9Tottenham Hotspur421415136363043
10Norwich City421610165858042
11Everton421512156066−642
12Stoke City421511164850−241
13Middlesbrough421510174645140
14Coventry City421314154757−1040
15Newcastle United42159187162939
16Aston Villa421117145159−639
17Arsenal421310194753−636
18West Ham United421310194871−2336
19Birmingham City42137225775−1833
20Wolverhampton Wanderers421010225168−1730
21Burnley42910234366−2328
22Sheffield United42610263382−4922

Second Division

Three years after their famous FA Cup win, Sunderland finally made it out of the Second Division as champions. Bristol City finished runners-up to end their 65-year exile from the First Division. Johnny Giles enjoyed a dream start to his managerial career by ending West Bromwich Albion's three-year stay in the Second Division. Bolton Wanderers missed out on promotion by a single point under Ian Greaves. Sixth placed Southampton won the first silverware of their history by winning the FA Cup at the expense of Manchester United.

Nottingham Forest finished eighth in Brian Clough's first full season as manager. Chelsea finished a disappointing 11th in their first season outside the top flight for over a decade.

Portsmouth, York City and Oxford United finished the season relegated to the Third Division.

PosClubPWDLFAGAPts
1Sunderland422481067361.86156
2Bristol City421915859351.68653
3West Bromwich Albion422013950331.51553
4Bolton Wanderers4220121064381.68452
5Notts County4219111260411.46349
6Southampton422171466501.32049
7Luton Town4219101361511.19648
8Nottingham Forest4217121355401.37546
9Charlton Athletic4215121561720.84742
10Blackpool4214141440490.81642
11Chelsea4212161453540.98140
12Fulham4213141545470.95740
13Orient4213141537390.94940
14Hull City4214111745490.91839
15Blackburn Rovers4212141645500.90038
16Plymouth Argyle4213121748540.88938
17Oldham Athletic4213121757680.83838
18Bristol Rovers4211161538500.76038
19Carlisle United4212131745590.76337
20Oxford United4211112039590.66133
21York City421082439710.54928
22Portsmouth42972632610.52525

Third Division

Hereford United won the Third Division title and with it promotion to the Second Division in only their fourth season in the Football League. Cardiff City and Millwall went up with them to seal an instant return to the Second Division. Brighton, manager by Brian Clough's former assistant Peter Taylor, missed out on promotion by one place. Crystal Palace, quarter-finalists in the FA Cup, missed out on promotion after a late season collapse in form, which was followed by the replacement of Malcolm Allison as manager with Terry Venables.

Halifax, Southend, Colchester and Aldershot were relegated. Sheffield Wednesday stayed up by a single point.

PosClubPWDLFAGAPts
1Hereford United462611986551.56463
2Cardiff City4622131169481.43857
3Millwall4620161054431.25656
4Brighton & Hove Albion462291578531.47253
5Crystal Palace4618171161461.32653
6Wrexham4620121466551.20052
7Walsall4618141474611.21350
8Preston North End4619101762571.08848
9Shrewsbury Town4619101761591.03448
10Peterborough United4615181363631.00048
11Mansfield Town4616151558521.11547
12Port Vale4615161555541.01946
13Bury4614161651461.10944
14Chesterfield461792069691.00043
15Gillingham4612191558680.85343
16Rotherham United4615121954650.83142
17Chester4615121943620.69442
18Grimsby Town4615102162740.83840
19Swindon Town461682262750.82740
20Sheffield Wednesday4612161848590.81440
21Aldershot4613132059750.78739
22Colchester United4612142041650.63138
23Southend United4612132165750.86737
24Halifax Town4611132241610.67235

Fourth Division

Graham Taylor took Lincoln City to the Fourth Division title and promotion to the Third Division at the fourth attempt. Northampton Town were promoted as runners-up. Reading and Tranmere also went up. Fallen giants Huddersfield Town just missed out on promotion. Workington, Southport, Newport and Stockport retained their league status.

PosClubPWDLFAGAPts
1Lincoln City4632104111392.84674
2Northampton Town462910787402.17568
3Reading4624121070511.37360
4Tranmere Rovers4624101289551.61858
5Huddersfield Town4621141156411.36656
6A.F.C. Bournemouth4620121457481.18852
7Exeter City4618141456471.19150
8Watford462261862621.00050
9Torquay United4618141455630.87350
10Doncaster Rovers4619111675691.08749
11Swansea City4616151566571.15847
12Barnsley4614161652481.08344
13Cambridge United4614151758620.93543
14Hartlepool4616102062780.79542
15Rochdale4612181640540.74142
16Crewe Alexandra4613151858571.01841
17Bradford City4612171763650.96941
18Brentford4614131956600.93341
19Scunthorpe United4614102250590.84738
20Darlington4614102248570.84238
21Stockport County4613122143760.56638
22Newport County461392457900.63335
23Southport468102841770.53226
24Workington46773230870.34521

P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GA = Goal average; Pts = Points

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 http://www.rsssf.com/ec/ec197576.html
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Smailes, Gordon (2000). The Breedon Book of Football Records. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 136. ISBN 1859832148.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Payne, Mike (1993). England: The Complete Post-War Record'. Derby: Breedon Books. ISBN 1873626398.
  4. "Manchester United deposed". The Gazette (Montreal). The Canadian Press. 10 November 1975. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  5. 1 2 Smailes, Gordon (2000). The Breedon Book of Football Records. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 256. ISBN 1859832148.
  6. Ionescu, Romeo (2008). The Complete Results & Line-ups of the European Football Championships 1958-2008. Cleethorpes: Soccer Books Ltd. ISBN 9781862231726.
  7. "Exit West Ham - in one round". The Age (Melbourne). 5 January 1976. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  8. 1 2 3 Smailes, Gordon (2000). The Breedon Book of Football Records. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 232. ISBN 1859832148.
  9. "Birmingham's hopes get a jolt". The Age (Melbourne). Australian Associated Press; Reuters. 9 April 1976. p. 23. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
  10. http://www.thefa.com/Competitions/FACompetitions/TheFACup/History/historyofthefacup/1976southamptonmanunited
  11. http://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/features/wolves-classic-match-may-1976
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