1976–77 Football League

The Football League
Season	1976–77
Champions	Liverpool
← 1975–76 1977–78 →

The 1976–1977 season was the 78th completed season of The Football League.

As of this season, goal difference (GD in league tables) was used to separate the clubs finishing level on points. The earlier system, used from the season 1894–95 until the 1975–76 had been the so-called goal average (goals scored divided by goals conceded), or more properly put, goal ratio. In case one or more teams had the same goal difference, this earlier system favoured those teams who had scored fewer goals. Now the system would favour the teams that had scored more goals, and it was hoped that more goals would be seen as a result of this new system.

Overview

Liverpool retained their league championship trophy and won their first European Cup to confirm Bob Paisley as a successful replacement for Bill Shankly in his third season at the helm. Tottenham Hotspur and Stoke City's long spells in the First Division came to an end with relegation. Stoke sacked their manager Tony Waddington. On the last day of the season, Coventry City and Bristol City played out a controversial 2–2 draw, with play virtually stopping when it was heard that Sunderland had lost to Everton. Both clubs survived while Sunderland was relegated.

After Manchester United manager Tommy Docherty had admitted his affair with the wife of the club's physiotherapist, the club's directors decided that he had broken their moral code and he was sacked.

Wolverhampton Wanderers, Chelsea and Nottingham Forest gained promotion to the First Division. Brian Clough's Forest would achieve success beyond the dreams of most supporters over the next few seasons. Carlisle United, Plymouth Argyle and Hereford United occupied the three relegation places. Hereford became the first club to finish bottom of the Second Division after winning the Third Division the previous season.

Mansfield Town, Brighton & Hove Albion and Crystal Palace were the three teams promoted to the Second Division. Palace's manager was a certain Terry Venables who would enjoy more success at Palace and elsewhere over the next 20 years. Going down were Reading, Northampton Town, Grimsby Town and York City.

Cambridge United, Exeter City, Colchester United and Bradford City occupied the four promotion places in the league's lowest division. A terrible season for Workington was compounded by their failure to gain re-election to the Football League, a humiliation which saw them slip into the Northern Premier League. In their place were Southern League champions Wimbledon, who would make amazing progress over the next decade.

The British pop star Elton John took over Fourth Division side Watford and installed Graham Taylor as manager. Former Arsenal manager Bertie Mee came out of retirement to work at Watford as assistant to Graham Taylor. John immediately asserted his ambition by promising to bring First Division football to Watford.

Final league tables and results

The tables and results below are reproduced here in the exact form that they can be found at The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation website^[1] and in Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79,^[2] with home and away statistics separated.

Beginning with the season 1894–95, clubs finishing level on points were separated according to goal average (goals scored divided by goals conceded), or more properly put, goal ratio. In case one or more teams had the same goal difference, this system favoured those teams who had scored fewer goals. The goal average system was eventually scrapped beginning with this season.

Re-election: During the first five seasons of the league, that is, until the season 1893–94, re-election process concerned the clubs which finished in the bottom four of the league. From the 1894–95 season and until the 1920–21 season the re-election process was required of the clubs which finished in the bottom three of the league. From the 1922–23 season on it was required of the bottom two teams of both Third Division North and Third Division South. Since the Fourth Division was established in the 1958–59 season, the re-election process has concerned the bottom four clubs in that division.^[2]

First Division

Liverpool retained the First Division title and went on to win the European Cup for the first time, although their bid for a unique treble was ended when they lost to Manchester United in the final of the FA Cup. Liverpool finished a point ahead of Manchester City in the league. Ipswich Town, Aston Villa and Newcastle United completed the top five. Newly promoted West Bromwich Albion finished sixth.

Tottenham Hotspur went down in bottom place after a 27-year run in the First Division, along with Stoke City who had been in the First Division continuously since 1963. The final relegation place went to Sunderland, just one year after promotion.

Football League, First Division
Season	1976–77
Champions	Liverpool (10th English title)
Relegated	Stoke City Sunderland, Tottenham Hotspur
European Cup 1977–78	Liverpool
FA Cup winners European Cup Winners' Cup 1977–78	Manchester United (4th FA Cup title)
UEFA Cup 1977–78	Aston Villa, Ipswich Town Manchester City, Newcastle United
Matches played	462
Goals scored	1183 (2.56 per match)
Top goalscorer	Andy Gray (Aston Villa), 25 Malcolm Macdonald (Arsenal), 25 ^[3]
Biggest home win	Ipswich – West Brom 7–0 (6 Nov 1976)
Biggest away win	Leicester – West Brom 0–5 (7 Mar 1977)
Highest scoring	Derby – Tottenham 8–2 (16 Oct 1976)
← 1975–76 1977–78 →

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	W	D	L	F	A	F	A	GD	Pts	Notes
1	Liverpool	42	18	3	0	47	11	5	8	8	15	22	62	33	+29	57	European Cup 1977–78 Second round ^{[notes 1]}
2	Manchester City	42	15	5	1	38	13	6	9	6	22	21	60	34	+26	56	UEFA Cup 1977–78 First round
3	Ipswich Town	42	15	4	2	41	11	7	4	10	25	28	66	39	+27	52	UEFA Cup 1977–78 First round
4	Aston Villa	42	17	3	1	55	17	5	4	12	21	33	76	50	+26	51	UEFA Cup 1977–78 First round
5	Newcastle United	42	14	6	1	40	15	4	7	10	24	34	64	49	+15	49	UEFA Cup 1977–78 First round
6	Manchester United	42	12	6	3	41	22	6	5	10	30	40	71	62	+9	47	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1977–78 First round
7	West Bromwich Albion	42	10	6	5	38	22	6	7	8	24	34	62	56	+6	45
8	Arsenal	42	11	6	4	37	20	5	5	11	27	39	64	59	+5	43
9	Everton	42	9	7	5	35	24	5	7	9	27	40	62	64	–2	42
10	Leeds United	42	8	8	5	28	26	7	4	10	20	25	48	51	–3	42
11	Leicester City	42	8	9	4	30	28	4	9	8	17	32	47	60	–13	42
12	Middlesbrough	42	11	6	4	25	14	3	7	11	15	31	40	45	–5	41
13	Birmingham City	42	10	6	5	38	25	3	6	12	25	36	63	61	+2	38
14	Queens Park Rangers	42	10	7	4	31	21	3	5	13	16	31	47	52	–5	38
15	Derby County	42	9	9	3	36	18	0	10	11	14	37	50	55	–5	37
16	Norwich City	42	12	4	5	30	23	2	5	14	17	41	47	64	–17	37
17	West Ham United	42	9	6	6	28	23	2	8	11	18	42	46	65	–19	36
18	Bristol City	42	8	7	6	25	19	3	6	12	13	29	38	48	–10	35
19	Coventry City	42	7	9	5	34	26	3	6	12	14	33	48	59	–11	35
20	Sunderland	42	9	5	7	29	16	2	7	12	17	38	46	54	–8	34
21	Stoke City	42	9	8	4	21	16	1	6	14	7	35	28	51	–23	34
22	Tottenham Hotspur	42	9	7	5	26	20	3	2	16	22	52	48	72	–24	33

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

↑ Liverpool were also winners of European Cup this year.

Key
	League Champions, qualified for European Cup
	FA Cup winners, qualified for Cup Winners' Cup
	Qualified for UEFA Cup
	League Cup winners, qualified for UEFA Cup
	Relegated

First Division results

Home ╲ Away	Arsenal !ARS	Aston Villa !AST	Birmingham City !BIR	Bristol City !BRI	Coventry City !COV	Derby County !DER	Everton !EVE	Ipswich Town !IPS	Leeds United !LEE	Leicester City !LEI	Liverpool !LIV	Manchester City !MCI	Manchester United !MUN	Middlesbrough !MID	Newcastle United !NEW	Norwich City !NOR	Queens Park Rangers !QPR	Stoke City !STK	Sunderland !SUN	Tottenham Hotspur !TOT	West Bromwich Albion !WBA	West Ham United !WHU
Arsenal !Arsenal		3–0	4–0	0–1	2–0	0–0	3–1	1–4	1–1	3–0	1–1	0–0	3–1	1–1	5–3	1–0	3–2	2–0	0–0	1–0	1–2	2–3
Aston Villa !Aston Villa	5–1		1–2	3–1	2–2	4–0	2–0	5–2	2–1	2–0	5–1	1–1	3–2	1–0	2–1	1–0	1–1	1–0	4–1	2–1	4–0	4–0
Birmingham City !Birmingham City	3–3	2–1		3–0	3–1	5–1	1–1	2–4	0–0	1–1	2–1	0–0	2–3	3–1	1–2	3–2	2–1	2–0	2–0	1–2	0–1	0–0
Bristol City !Bristol City	2–0	0–0	0–1		0–0	2–2	1–2	1–2	1–0	0–1	2–1	1–0	1–1	1–2	1–1	3–1	1–0	1–1	4–1	1–0	1–2	1–1
Coventry City !Coventry City	1–2	2–3	2–1	2–2		2–0	4–2	1–1	4–2	1–1	0–0	0–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	5–2	1–2	1–1	1–1	1–1
Derby County !Derby County	0–0	2–1	0–0	2–0	1–1		2–3	0–0	0–1	1–0	2–3	4–0	0–0	0–0	4–2	2–2	2–0	2–0	1–0	8–2	2–2	1–1
Everton !Everton	2–1	0–2	2–2	2–0	1–1	2–0		1–1	0–2	1–2	0–0	2–2	1–2	2–2	2–0	3–1	1–3	3–0	2–0	4–0	1–1	3–2
Ipswich Town !Ipswich Town	3–1	1–0	1–0	1–0	2–1	0–0	2–0		1–1	0–0	1–0	1–0	2–1	0–1	2–0	5–0	2–2	0–1	3–1	3–1	7–0	4–1
Leeds United !Leeds United	2–1	1–3	1–0	2–0	1–2	2–0	0–0	2–1		2–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–1	2–2	3–2	0–1	1–1	1–1	2–1	2–2	1–1
Leicester City !Leicester City	4–1	1–1	2–6	0–0	3–1	1–1	1–1	1–0	0–1		0–1	2–2	1–1	3–3	1–0	1–1	2–2	1–0	2–0	2–1	0–5	2–0
Liverpool !Liverpool	2–0	3–0	4–1	2–1	3–1	3–1	3–1	2–1	3–1	5–1		2–1	1–0	0–0	1–0	1–0	3–1	4–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	0–0
Manchester City !Manchester City	1–0	2–0	2–1	2–1	2–0	3–2	1–1	2–1	2–1	5–0	1–1		1–3	1–0	0–0	2–0	0–0	0–0	1–0	5–0	1–0	4–2
Manchester United !Manchester United	3–2	2–0	2–2	2–1	2–0	3–1	4–0	0–1	1–0	1–1	0–0	3–1		2–0	3–1	2–2	1–0	3–0	3–3	2–3	2–2	0–2
Middlesbrough !Middlesbrough	3–0	3–2	2–2	0–0	1–0	2–0	2–2	0–2	1–0	0–1	0–1	0–0	3–0		1–0	1–0	0–2	0–0	2–1	2–0	1–0	1–1
Newcastle United !Newcastle United	0–2	3–2	3–2	0–0	1–0	2–2	4–1	1–1	3–0	0–0	1–0	2–2	2–2	1–0		5–1	2–0	1–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	3–0
Norwich City !Norwich City	1–3	1–1	1–0	2–1	3–0	0–0	2–1	0–1	1–2	3–2	2–1	0–2	2–1	1–0	3–2		2–0	1–1	2–2	1–3	1–0	1–0
Queens Park Rangers !Queens Park Rangers	2–1	2–1	2–2	0–1	1–1	1–1	0–4	1–0	0–0	3–2	1–1	0–0	4–0	3–0	1–2	2–3		2–0	2–0	2–1	1–0	1–1
Stoke City !Stoke City	1–1	1–0	1–0	2–2	2–0	1–0	0–1	2–1	2–1	0–1	0–0	0–2	3–3	3–1	0–0	0–0	1–0		0–0	0–0	0–2	2–1
Sunderland !Sunderland	2–2	0–1	1–0	1–0	0–1	1–1	0–1	1–0	0–1	0–0	0–1	0–2	2–1	4–0	2–2	0–1	1–0	0–0		2–1	6–1	6–0
Tottenham Hotspur !Tottenham Hotspur	2–2	3–1	1–0	0–1	0–1	0–0	3–3	1–0	1–0	2–0	1–0	2–2	1–3	0–0	0–2	1–1	3–0	2–0	1–1		0–2	2–1
West Bromwich Albion !West Bromwich Albion	0–2	1–1	2–1	1–1	1–1	1–0	3–0	4–0	1–2	2–2	0–1	0–2	4–0	2–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–3	4–2		3–0
West Ham United !West Ham United	0–2	0–1	2–2	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–2	0–2	1–3	0–0	2–0	1–0	4–2	0–1	1–2	1–0	1–0	1–0	1–1	5–3	0–0

Source: Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane’s, London & Sydney, 1980.
1 ^{^} The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

First Division maps

Locations of the Football League First Division 1976–1977 teams

Locations of the Football League First Division London teams 1976–1977

Second Division

Wolverhampton Wanderers achieved an instant return to the First Division as champions of the Second Division, while runners-up Chelsea regained their top flight status two years after losing it. Brian Clough steered Nottingham Forest into the final promotion place, while Bolton Wanderers and Blackpool missed out by a single point.

Hereford United, Plymouth Argyle and Carlisle United went down to the Third Division.

Football League, Second Division
Season	1976–77
Champions	Wolverhampton Wanderers (2nd title)
Promoted	Chelsea, Nottingham Forest
Relegated	Carlisle United, Hereford United, Plymouth Argyle
Matches played	462
Goals scored	1290 (2.79 per match)
Top goalscorer	Mickey Walsh (Blackpool), 26 ^[3]
Biggest home win	Blackburn –Notts County 6–1 (9 Oct 1976) Fulham –Orient 6–1 (7 Mar 1977) Nottingham Forest –Sheffield United 6–1 (9 Oct 1976) Fulham –Oldham 5–0 (4 Dec 1976) Luton –Carlisle 5–0 (26 Mar 1977)
Biggest away win	Carlisle –Southampton 0–6 (22 Jan 1977)
Highest scoring	Charlton –Southampton 6–2 (24 Sep 1976) Burnley –Charlton 4–4 (16 Oct 1976) Oldham –Hereford 3–5 (16 Apr 1977) Wolverhampton –Southampton 2–6 (5 Oct 1976)
← 1975–76 1977–78 →

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	W	D	L	F	A	F	A	GD	Pts	Notes
1	Wolverhampton Wanderers	42	15	3	3	48	21	7	10	4	36	24	84	45	+39	57
2	Chelsea	42	15	6	0	51	22	6	7	8	22	31	73	53	+20	55
3	Nottingham Forest	42	14	3	4	53	22	7	7	7	24	21	77	43	+34	52
4	Bolton Wanderers	42	15	2	4	46	21	5	9	7	29	33	75	54	+21	51
5	Blackpool	42	11	7	3	29	17	6	10	5	29	25	58	42	+16	51
6	Luton Town	42	13	5	3	39	17	8	1	12	28	31	67	48	+19	48
7	Charlton Athletic	42	14	5	2	52	27	2	11	8	19	31	71	58	+13	48
8	Notts County	42	11	5	5	29	20	8	5	8	36	40	65	60	+5	48
9	Southampton	42	12	6	3	40	24	5	4	12	32	43	72	67	+5	44
10	Millwall	42	9	6	6	31	22	6	7	8	26	31	57	53	+4	43
11	Sheffield United	42	9	8	4	32	25	5	4	12	22	38	54	63	–9	40
12	Blackburn Rovers	42	12	4	5	31	18	3	5	13	11	36	42	54	–12	39
13	Oldham Athletic	42	11	6	4	37	23	3	4	14	15	41	52	64	–12	38
14	Hull City	42	9	8	4	31	17	1	9	11	14	36	45	53	–8	37
15	Bristol Rovers	42	8	9	4	32	27	4	4	13	21	41	53	68	–15	37
16	Burnley	42	8	9	4	27	20	3	5	13	19	44	46	64	–18	36
17	Fulham	42	9	7	5	39	25	2	6	13	15	36	54	61	–7	35
18	Cardiff City	42	7	6	8	30	30	5	4	12	26	37	56	67	–11	34	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1977–78 First round ^{[notes2 1]}
19	Orient	42	4	8	9	18	23	5	8	8	19	32	37	55	–18	34
20	Carlisle United	42	7	7	7	31	33	4	5	12	18	42	49	75	–26	34
21	Plymouth Argyle	42	5	9	7	27	25	3	7	11	19	40	46	65	–19	32
22	Hereford United	42	6	9	6	28	30	2	6	13	29	48	57	78	–21	31

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

↑ Cardiff City were runners-up in the Welsh Cup final, and since winners Shrewsbury Town are an English club, Cardiff City
were awarded the right to participate in Cup Winners' Cup.

Key
	Division Champions, promoted
	Promoted
	Qualified for Cup Winners' Cup
	Relegated

Second Division results

Home ╲ Away	Blackburn Rovers !BLB	Blackpool !BLP	Bolton Wanderers !BOL	Bristol Rovers !BRO	Burnley !BUR	Carlisle United !CRL	Cardiff City !CAR	Charlton Athletic !CHA	Chelsea !CHE	Fulham !FUL	Hereford United !HER	Hull City !HUL	Luton Town !LUT	Millwall !MIL	Nottingham Forest !NOT	Notts County !NTC	Oldham Athletic !OLD	Orient !ORI	Plymouth Argyle !PLY	Sheffield United !SHU	Southampton !SOU	Wolverhampton Wanderers !WOL
Blackburn Rovers !Blackburn Rovers		0–1	3–1	0–0	2–2	2–1	1–3	0–0	0–2	1–0	1–0	1–0	1–0	2–0	1–3	6–1	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–0	3–0	0–2
Blackpool !Blackpool	1–1		1–0	4–0	1–1	1–0	0–0	2–2	0–1	3–2	2–1	0–0	1–0	4–2	1–0	1–1	0–2	3–0	0–2	1–0	1–0	2–2
Bolton Wanderers !Bolton Wanderers	3–1	0–3		1–0	2–1	2–1	3–4	1–0	2–2	2–1	3–1	5–1	2–1	3–1	1–1	4–0	3–0	2–0	3–0	1–2	3–0	0–1
Bristol Rovers !Bristol Rovers	0–0	1–4	2–2		1–1	1–1	2–1	1–1	2–1	2–1	2–3	3–0	1–0	0–0	1–1	5–1	0–0	1–0	1–1	3–1	2–3	1–5
Burnley !Burnley	3–1	0–0	0–0	1–1		0–0	2–0	4–4	1–0	3–1	1–1	0–0	1–2	1–3	0–1	3–1	1–0	3–3	0–2	1–0	2–0	0–0
Cardiff City !Cardiff City	2–1	2–2	3–2	1–2	0–1		1–1	1–1	1–3	3–0	3–1	1–1	4–2	0–0	0–3	2–3	3–1	0–1	0–1	0–2	1–0	2–2
Carlisle United !Carlisle United	1–1	1–1	0–1	2–3	2–1	4–3		4–2	0–1	1–2	2–2	1–1	1–1	0–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–0	3–1	4–1	0–6	2–1
Charlton Athletic !Charlton Athletic	4–0	1–2	1–1	4–3	5–2	0–2	1–0		4–0	1–1	1–1	3–1	4–3	3–2	2–1	1–1	2–1	2–0	3–1	3–2	6–2	1–1
Chelsea !Chelsea	3–1	2–2	2–1	2–0	2–1	2–1	2–1	2–1		2–0	5–1	4–0	2–0	1–1	2–1	1–1	4–3	1–1	2–2	4–0	3–1	3–3
Fulham !Fulham	2–0	0–0	0–2	1–0	2–2	1–2	2–0	1–1	3–1		4–1	0–0	1–2	2–3	2–2	1–5	5–0	6–1	2–0	3–2	1–1	0–0
Hereford United !Hereford United	1–0	1–1	3–3	1–1	3–0	2–2	0–0	1–2	2–2	1–0		1–0	0–1	3–1	0–1	1–4	0–0	2–3	1–1	2–2	2–0	1–6
Hull City !Hull City	1–0	2–2	2–2	0–1	4–1	1–2	3–1	0–0	1–1	1–0	1–1		3–1	0–0	1–0	0–1	0–1	1–1	3–1	1–1	4–0	2–0
Luton Town !Luton Town	2–0	0–0	1–1	4–2	2–0	2–1	5–0	2–0	4–0	0–2	2–0	2–1		1–2	1–1	4–2	1–0	0–0	1–1	2–0	1–4	2–0
Millwall !Millwall	0–1	1–1	3–0	2–0	2–0	0–2	1–1	1–1	3–0	0–0	4–2	2–1	4–2		0–2	2–5	2–1	0–1	3–0	0–1	0–0	1–1
Nottingham Forest !Nottingham Forest	3–0	3–0	3–1	4–2	5–2	0–1	5–1	1–1	1–1	3–0	4–3	2–0	1–2	1–0		1–2	3–0	3–0	1–1	6–1	2–1	1–3
Notts County !Notts County	0–0	2–0	0–1	2–1	5–1	1–0	2–1	0–1	2–1	0–0	3–2	1–1	0–4	1–2	1–1		1–0	0–1	2–0	2–1	3–1	1–1
Oldham Athletic !Oldham Athletic	2–0	1–0	2–2	4–0	3–1	3–2	4–1	1–1	0–0	1–0	3–5	3–0	1–2	2–1	1–0	1–1		0–0	2–2	1–2	2–1	0–2
Orient !Orient	0–1	0–1	2–2	2–0	0–1	3–0	0–0	0–0	0–1	0–0	1–1	1–1	1–0	1–1	0–1	1–0	0–2		2–2	0–2	2–3	2–4
Plymouth Argyle !Plymouth Argyle	4–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–1	2–2	0–1	1–0	2–3	2–2	2–1	1–2	1–0	2–2	1–2	1–2	2–2	1–2		0–0	1–1	0–0
Sheffield United !Sheffield United	1–1	1–5	2–3	2–3	1–0	3–0	3–0	3–0	1–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–3	1–1	2–0	1–0	2–1	1–1	1–0		2–2	2–2
Southampton !Southampton	2–0	3–3	1–3	2–1	2–0	3–2	1–2	2–1	1–1	4–1	1–0	2–2	1–0	0–2	1–1	2–1	4–0	2–2	4–1	1–1		1–0
Wolverhampton Wanderers !Wolverhampton Wanderers	1–2	2–1	1–0	1–0	0–0	4–1	4–0	3–0	1–1	5–1	2–1	2–1	1–2	3–1	2–1	2–2	5–0	1–0	4–0	2–1	2–6

Second Division maps

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Locations of the Football League Second Division 1976–1977 teams

Locations of the Football League Second Division London teams 1976–1977

Third Division

Football League, Third Division
Season	1976–77
Champions	Mansfield Town (1st title)
Promoted	Brighton & Hove Albion, Crystal Palace
Relegated	Grimsby Town, Northampton Town, Reading, York City
Matches played	552
Goals scored	1426 (2.58 per match)
Top goalscorer	Peter Ward (Brighton & Hove Albion), 32 ^[3]
← 1975–76 1977–78 →

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	W	D	L	F	A	F	A	GD	Pts	Notes
1	Mansfield Town	46	17	6	0	52	13	11	2	10	26	29	78	42	+36	64
2	Brighton & Hove Albion	46	19	3	1	63	14	6	8	9	20	26	83	40	+43	61
3	Crystal Palace	46	17	5	1	46	15	6	8	9	22	25	68	40	+28	59
4	Rotherham United	46	11	9	3	30	15	11	6	6	39	29	69	44	+25	59
5	Wrexham	46	15	6	2	47	22	9	4	10	33	32	80	54	+26	58
6	Preston North End	46	15	4	4	48	21	6	8	9	16	22	64	43	+21	54
7	Bury	46	15	2	6	41	21	8	6	9	23	38	64	59	+5	54
8	Sheffield Wednesday	46	15	4	4	39	18	7	5	11	26	37	65	55	+10	53
9	Lincoln City	46	12	9	2	50	30	7	5	11	27	40	77	70	+7	52
10	Shrewsbury Town	46	13	7	3	40	21	5	4	14	25	38	65	59	+6	47	^{[notes3 1]}
11	Swindon Town	46	12	6	5	48	33	3	9	11	20	42	68	75	–7	45
12	Gillingham	46	11	8	4	31	21	5	4	14	24	43	55	64	–9	44
13	Chester	46	14	3	6	28	20	4	5	14	20	38	48	58	–10	44
14	Tranmere Rovers	46	10	7	6	31	23	3	10	10	20	30	51	53	–2	43
15	Walsall	46	8	7	8	39	32	5	8	10	18	33	57	65	–8	41
16	Peterborough United	46	11	4	8	33	28	2	11	10	22	37	55	65	–10	41
17	Oxford United	46	9	8	6	34	29	3	7	13	21	36	55	65	–10	39
18	Chesterfield	46	10	6	7	30	20	4	4	15	26	44	56	64	–8	38
19	Port Vale	46	9	7	7	29	28	2	9	12	18	43	47	71	–24	38
20	Portsmouth	46	8	9	6	28	26	3	5	15	25	44	53	70	–17	36
21	Reading	46	10	5	8	29	24	3	4	16	20	49	49	73	–24	35
22	Northampton Town	46	9	4	10	33	29	4	4	15	27	46	60	75	–15	34
23	Grimsby Town	46	10	6	7	29	22	2	3	18	16	47	45	69	–24	33
24	York City	46	7	8	8	25	34	3	4	16	25	55	50	89	–39	32

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

↑ Shrewsbury Town were winners of the Welsh Cup this season, but as they are an English club, they did not
earn a place in the Cup Winners' Cup.

Key
	Division Champions, promoted
	Promoted
	Welsh Cup winners, not qualified for Cup Winners' Cup
	Relegated

Third Division results

Home ╲ Away	Brighton & Hove Albion !BHA	Bury !BRY	Chester City !CHE	Chesterfield !CHF	Crystal Palace !CRY	Gillingham !GIL	Grimsby Town !GRI	Lincoln City !LIN	Mansfield Town !MAN	Northampton Town !NOR	Oxford United !OXF	Peterborough United !PET	Portsmouth !POR	Port Vale !PTV	Preston North End !PNE	Reading !REA	Rotherham United !ROT	Sheffield Wednesday !SHW	Shrewsbury Town !SHR	Swindon Town !SWI	Tranmere !TRA	Walsall !WAL	Wrexham !WRE	York City !YOR
Brighton & Hove Albion !Brighton & Hove Albion		1–1	3–0	2–1	1–1	2–0	3–0	4–0	3–1	2–0	3–2	1–0	4–0	1–0	2–0	2–0	3–1	3–2	4–0	4–0	1–1	7–0	0–2	7–2
Bury !Bury	3–0		2–0	3–1	0–1	3–1	2–0	3–0	2–0	1–1	2–1	4–1	1–0	3–0	3–2	1–0	1–1	1–3	0–1	0–1	2–1	0–2	0–2	4–2
Chester !Chester	0–1	1–0		1–2	2–1	1–0	2–0	1–0	1–0	2–1	1–3	2–1	1–1	1–1	0–0	3–1	1–3	1–0	1–2	2–1	1–0	1–0	1–2	1–0
Chesterfield !Chesterfield	1–1	7–0	1–0		0–2	1–0	0–1	1–4	0–1	0–0	2–0	0–0	1–2	4–0	1–1	4–0	1–0	2–0	1–1	0–1	0–0	1–0	0–6	2–0
Crystal Palace !Crystal Palace	3–1	2–1	1–2	0–0		3–1	2–1	4–1	2–0	1–1	2–2	0–0	2–1	2–0	1–0	1–1	2–1	4–0	2–1	5–0	1–0	3–0	2–1	1–0
Gillingham !Gillingham	0–1	1–0	1–0	2–1	0–3		1–1	0–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–2	1–0	2–1	2–2	3–0	1–0	2–0	2–0
Grimsby Town !Grimsby Town	2–0	2–0	0–0	1–2	0–1	1–1		1–2	0–1	0–1	1–2	2–2	1–0	2–4	1–0	2–1	1–1	1–1	2–1	2–0	1–0	2–2	3–0	1–0
Lincoln City !Lincoln City	2–2	2–3	3–3	3–2	3–2	4–0	2–0		3–2	5–4	0–1	1–1	2–1	2–0	2–0	3–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	0–0	2–2	4–1	1–1	2–0
Mansfield Town !Mansfield Town	1–1	5–0	1–1	2–1	1–0	2–2	3–0	3–1		3–0	3–0	1–1	2–0	2–1	3–1	4–0	3–1	1–0	1–0	1–1	1–1	3–0	2–0	4–1
Northampton Town !Northampton Town	0–2	3–0	0–0	2–1	3–0	1–2	0–0	1–0	0–1		1–0	2–2	3–1	3–0	0–1	1–2	1–4	0–2	5–3	1–1	3–4	0–1	0–2	3–0
Oxford United !Oxford United	1–0	2–2	2–0	3–2	0–1	3–1	5–2	1–2	0–3	1–0		2–3	2–1	0–0	2–2	1–0	1–2	1–1	4–2	0–0	1–1	0–0	2–2	0–2
Peterborough United !Peterborough United	2–0	0–1	3–2	0–3	0–0	0–1	3–1	1–2	2–1	3–1	2–0		4–2	1–1	0–0	2–1	0–2	1–2	2–1	1–0	0–0	3–5	0–2	3–0
Portsmouth !Portsmouth	1–0	1–1	2–1	0–1	0–0	3–2	1–2	1–1	2–2	2–1	1–1	0–0		1–1	0–0	0–2	5–1	0–3	2–0	2–1	0–3	1–1	0–1	3–1
Port Vale !Port Vale	2–2	0–1	1–0	1–1	4–1	1–2	2–0	1–0	1–4	2–1	2–1	1–1	1–0		0–0	1–0	1–4	2–0	1–2	2–2	1–1	0–0	2–3	0–2
Preston North End !Preston North End	1–1	0–1	3–4	2–2	2–1	1–0	2–1	3–0	1–2	3–0	2–1	6–2	0–0	4–0		3–0	0–0	4–1	2–1	2–0	1–0	0–1	2–1	4–2
Reading !Reading	2–3	1–3	2–0	2–0	0–0	1–2	2–0	1–2	1–0	2–4	2–0	1–0	2–0	1–1	0–2		0–3	0–1	0–0	4–1	0–0	2–1	2–0	1–1
Rotherham United !Rotherham United	0–0	3–0	1–1	1–0	1–1	1–0	3–2	1–0	3–0	2–0	1–1	0–0	2–2	1–1	2–0	1–2		0–1	1–0	1–1	1–2	1–0	2–0	1–1
Sheffield Wednesday !Sheffield Wednesday	0–0	1–0	3–0	4–1	1–0	2–0	1–0	1–1	0–2	2–1	2–0	4–0	1–1	1–2	1–0	2–1	1–3		0–1	3–1	3–1	0–0	3–1	3–2
Shrewsbury Town !Shrewsbury Town	1–0	0–1	2–0	3–0	1–1	4–2	2–1	2–1	0–0	3–0	1–0	2–1	4–1	1–1	1–2	2–0	0–0	1–1		2–2	2–2	1–2	3–2	2–1
Swindon Town !Swindon Town	2–1	0–1	2–1	3–0	1–1	2–2	4–1	2–2	0–1	5–1	1–0	0–4	4–3	1–0	0–1	2–2	2–4	5–2	1–0		1–1	2–2	3–2	5–1
Tranmere !Tranmere	1–3	1–2	0–1	2–1	1–0	2–0	2–0	2–2	4–0	2–1	1–1	2–0	1–3	1–1	0–0	2–1	0–1	1–0	2–1	0–1		0–0	0–0	4–4
Walsall !Walsall	1–0	3–3	1–0	2–2	0–0	1–2	1–0	1–3	1–2	0–3	2–2	1–1	1–1	3–1	0–1	6–1	0–1	5–1	3–3	2–0	2–0		2–3	1–2
Wrexham !Wrexham	0–0	0–0	4–2	3–1	2–4	2–1	3–2	3–0	0–1	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	6–2	2–0	3–1	2–1	2–2	1–0	2–2	2–0	1–0		1–1
York City !York City	0–1	2–2	0–2	2–1	2–1	2–2	1–1	2–2	0–1	1–4	2–1	2–1	1–4	1–0	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–3	4–2	1–0	0–0	0–0

Third Division maps

Locations of the Football League Third Division teams 1976–1977

Fourth Division

Football League, Fourth Division
Season	1976–77
Champions	Cambridge United (1st title)
Promoted	Bradford City, Colchester United, Exeter City
Failed re-election	Workington
Matches played	552
Goals scored	1423 (2.58 per match)
Top goalscorer	Brian Joicey (Barnsley), 25 ^[3]
← 1975–76 1977–78 →

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	W	D	L	F	A	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Cambridge United	46	16	5	2	57	18	10	8	5	30	22	87	40	+47	65
2	Exeter City	46	17	5	1	40	13	8	7	8	30	33	70	46	+24	62
3	Colchester United	46	19	2	2	51	14	6	7	10	26	29	77	43	+34	59
4	Bradford City	46	16	7	0	51	18	7	6	10	27	33	78	51	+27	59
5	Swansea City	46	18	3	2	60	30	7	5	11	32	38	92	68	+24	58
6	Barnsley	46	16	5	2	45	18	7	4	12	17	21	62	39	+23	55
7	Watford	46	15	7	1	46	13	3	8	12	21	37	67	50	+17	51
8	Doncaster Rovers	46	16	2	5	47	25	5	7	11	24	40	71	65	+6	51
9	Huddersfield Town	46	15	5	3	36	15	4	7	12	24	34	60	49	+11	50
10	Southend United	46	11	9	3	35	19	4	10	9	17	26	52	45	+7	49
11	Darlington	46	13	5	5	37	25	5	8	10	22	39	59	64	–5	49
12	Crewe Alexandra	46	16	6	1	36	15	3	5	15	11	45	47	60	–13	49
13	Bournemouth	46	13	8	2	39	13	2	10	11	15	31	54	44	+10	48
14	Stockport County	46	10	10	3	29	19	3	9	11	24	38	53	57	–4	45
15	Brentford	46	14	3	6	48	27	4	4	15	29	49	77	76	+1	43
16	Torquay United	46	12	5	6	33	22	5	4	14	26	45	59	67	–8	43
17	Aldershot	46	10	8	5	29	19	6	3	14	20	40	49	59	–10	43
18	Rochdale	46	8	7	8	32	25	5	5	13	18	34	50	59	–9	38
19	Newport County	46	11	6	6	33	21	3	4	16	9	37	42	58	–16	38
20	Scunthorpe United	46	11	6	6	32	24	2	5	16	17	49	49	73	–24	37
21	Halifax Town	46	11	6	6	36	18	0	8	15	11	40	47	58	–11	36
22	Hartlepool	46	8	9	6	30	20	2	3	18	17	53	47	73	–26	32
23	Southport	46	3	12	8	17	28	0	7	16	16	49	33	77	–44	25
24	Workington	46	3	7	13	23	42	1	4	18	18	60	41	102	–61	19

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

Key
	Division Champions, promoted
	Promoted
	New club in the league (none)
	Re-elected
	Failed re-election

Fourth Division results

Home ╲ Away	Aldershot !ALD	Barnsley !BAR	AFC Bournemouth !BOU	Bradford City !BRA	Brentford !BRE	Cambridge United !CAM	Colchester United !COL	Crewe Alexandra !CRE	Darlington !DAR	Doncaster Rovers !DON	Exeter City !EXE	Halifax Town !HAL	Hartlepool United !HAR	Huddersfield Town !HUD	Newport County !NPC	Rochdale !ROC	Scunthorpe United !SCU	Southend !STD	Southport !SOU	Stockport County !STP	Swansea City !SWA	Torquay United !TOR	Watford !WAT	Workington !WRK
Aldershot !Aldershot		0–1	1–0	2–1	1–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–2	1–0	2–2	0–0	3–0	1–0	4–0	0–2	1–1	0–0	1–0	2–0	2–2	0–1	2–1	2–0
Barnsley !Barnsley	1–0		3–1	2–2	2–0	2–1	0–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	3–4	1–0	3–0	2–1	2–0	2–0	5–1	3–1	1–0	1–0	1–0	2–1	1–1	4–0
AFC Bournemouth !AFC Bournemouth	4–1	1–0		1–1	3–1	0–1	0–0	0–0	0–1	3–1	2–0	3–0	2–0	1–0	1–0	1–1	2–2	2–0	5–0	3–0	1–1	1–1	2–1	1–1
Bradford City !Bradford City	3–1	0–0	1–1		3–2	0–0	1–0	1–0	3–1	3–1	1–1	3–0	2–2	3–1	3–1	3–0	4–0	2–0	1–0	3–3	4–1	3–2	0–0	4–1
Brentford !Brentford	0–1	0–1	3–2	4–0		0–2	1–4	0–0	0–3	2–2	1–0	2–1	3–1	1–3	1–1	3–2	4–2	1–0	3–0	4–0	4–0	3–2	3–0	5–0
Cambridge United !Cambridge United	4–1	0–0	2–0	2–1	3–2		2–0	2–0	4–0	3–0	1–1	4–0	2–0	1–1	3–1	0–0	1–0	2–3	5–1	2–2	2–3	4–1	4–0	4–1
Colchester United !Colchester United	1–0	1–0	1–0	2–1	2–1	0–1		3–2	4–0	1–0	3–1	3–0	6–2	3–1	5–0	1–0	1–1	0–1	4–1	1–0	1–1	4–0	1–0	3–1
Crewe Alexandra !Crewe Alexandra	1–0	1–0	2–1	1–0	3–2	1–0	1–0		1–1	1–2	2–0	3–1	3–1	0–0	2–0	1–1	2–1	1–1	0–0	2–1	3–1	2–1	2–0	1–1
Darlington !Darlington	2–1	2–1	4–0	0–0	2–2	0–2	2–0	4–0		1–3	2–1	0–0	3–1	2–0	1–0	0–2	5–2	0–0	2–1	0–2	0–4	2–1	0–0	3–2
Doncaster Rovers !Doncaster Rovers	1–2	2–1	0–0	2–3	5–0	1–1	3–2	3–0	4–0		0–3	3–0	2–1	2–0	1–0	2–0	3–0	0–3	3–1	1–0	2–1	0–4	1–0	6–3
Exeter City !Exeter City	3–0	1–0	1–1	0–0	3–2	1–1	1–0	3–0	1–0	0–2		1–0	3–1	2–0	1–0	2–1	2–0	3–1	3–1	2–1	2–0	3–0	2–2	0–0
Halifax Town !Halifax Town	2–0	0–1	2–3	2–1	0–0	0–2	1–2	3–0	2–1	6–0	1–2		1–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–1	3–1	1–1	2–1	1–0	2–0	1–1	6–1
Hartlepool United !Hartlepool United	0–2	0–2	0–1	0–1	2–0	2–2	2–2	3–0	1–1	0–0	2–2	1–0		0–1	0–1	2–0	3–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	4–0	1–0	2–0
Huddersfield Town !Huddersfield Town	2–0	1–0	0–0	3–0	1–0	1–2	0–0	0–1	3–1	2–1	0–1	1–0	4–1		3–0	2–1	1–0	1–1	1–0	2–0	2–2	2–1	2–2	2–1
Newport County !Newport County	2–1	1–1	1–0	2–0	3–1	4–2	1–2	2–1	0–1	1–2	0–3	1–1	1–1	1–1		3–0	0–0	3–0	3–1	0–1	0–2	0–0	3–0	1–0
Rochdale !Rochdale	2–1	2–3	0–0	0–1	2–3	2–2	1–0	0–1	2–2	1–0	1–2	4–1	0–1	2–2	0–0		5–0	0–0	3–0	1–1	1–0	0–1	3–1	0–3
Scunthorpe United !Scunthorpe United	1–3	1–2	0–0	2–1	2–1	0–2	2–0	4–0	3–0	1–1	4–1	2–1	2–0	0–4	1–0	0–1		1–0	1–1	2–2	0–3	0–0	0–0	3–1
Southend !Southend	5–0	1–1	2–2	4–1	2–1	0–1	0–0	1–0	0–0	2–1	2–0	1–1	1–0	1–1	1–1	3–0	1–1		3–2	0–0	1–2	0–3	2–1	2–0
Southport !Southport	0–1	1–0	0–0	0–4	1–2	0–0	1–3	0–0	0–0	2–2	1–1	0–0	1–2	2–2	0–1	1–1	2–1	0–0		1–0	1–3	1–1	1–3	1–1
Stockport County !Stockport County	0–0	2–1	1–0	1–1	2–0	0–0	1–1	1–2	2–2	2–1	0–0	1–1	1–0	2–3	2–1	0–1	1–0	0–0	2–2		3–0	2–1	2–2	1–0
Swansea City !Swansea City	4–2	2–1	3–0	2–3	5–3	3–1	2–1	3–0	2–1	1–1	0–0	2–1	4–2	2–1	3–1	3–2	2–0	2–0	2–1	4–4		4–1	1–4	4–0
Torquay United !Torquay United	0–1	1–0	2–1	0–3	1–1	2–2	2–2	5–0	2–0	0–1	0–1	3–2	1–0	1–0	1–0	2–0	1–3	0–0	0–0	1–2	2–1		3–1	3–1
Watford !Watford	1–1	1–0	1–1	1–1	0–1	2–0	2–1	3–1	1–1	5–1	4–1	0–0	4–0	2–0	2–0	3–1	2–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	4–0		2–0
Workington !Workington	1–1	0–1	1–1	0–1	1–3	0–2	2–4	1–0	2–3	1–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	3–2	0–1	0–2	1–0	0–3	2–2	2–2	1–3	2–4	0–1

Fourth Division maps

Locations of the Football League Fourth Division teams 1976–1977

Brentford

Watford

Locations of the Football League Fourth Division London teams 1976–1977

References

↑ "England 1976–77". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 30 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-24.
1 2 Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane’s, London & Sydney, 1980.
1 2 3 4 "English League Leading Goalscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 2010-10-31.

Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane’s, London & Sydney, 1980.

The Football League seasons

1888–89
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1976–77 in English football

« 1975–76

1977–78 »

FA competitions

Football League

Lower leagues

European competitions

Related to national team

Club seasons

First Division	Arsenal Aston Villa Birmingham City Bristol City Coventry City Derby County Everton Ipswich Town Leeds United Leicester City Liverpool Manchester City Manchester United Middlesbrough Newcastle United Norwich City Queens Park Rangers Stoke City Sunderland Tottenham Hotspur West Bromwich Albion

Second Division	Blackburn Rovers Blackpool Bolton Wanderers Bristol Rovers Burnley Cardiff City Carlisle United Charlton Athletic Chelsea Fulham Hereford United Hull City Leyton Orient Luton Town Millwall Nottingham Forest Notts County Oldham Athletic Plymouth Argyle Sheffield United Southampton West Ham United Wolverhampton Wanderers

Third Division	Brighton & Hove Albion Bury Chester Chesterfield Crystal Palace Gillingham Grimsby Town Lincoln City Mansfield Town Northampton Town Oxford United Peterborough United Port Vale Portsmouth Preston North End Reading Rotherham United Sheffield Wednesday Shrewsbury Town Swindon Town Tranmere Rovers Walsall Wrexham York City

Fourth Division	Aldershot Barnsley Bournemouth Bradford City Brentford Cambridge United Colchester United Crewe Alexandra Darlington Doncaster Rovers Exeter City Halifax Town Hartlepool United Huddersfield Town Newport County Rochdale Scunthorpe United Southend United Southport Stockport County Swansea City Torquay United Watford Workington

1976–77 in European football (UEFA)

« 1975–76 1977–78 »

Domestic leagues	Albania Austria Belgium Bulgaria Cyprus Czechoslovakia Denmark '76 '77 England Estonia '76 '77 Faroe Islands '76 '77 Finland '76 '77 France East Germany West Germany Greece Hungary Iceland '76 '77 Israel Italy Latvia '76 '77 Lithuania '76 '77 Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Northern Ireland Norway '76 '77 Poland Portugal Republic of Ireland Romania Scotland Soviet Union '76 '77 Spain Sweden '76 '77 Switzerland Turkey Yugoslavia

Domestic cups	Albania Austria Belgium Bulgaria Cyprus Czechoslovakia Denmark England Faroe Islands '76 '77 Finland '76 '77 France East Germany West Germany Greece Hungary Iceland '76 '77 Israel Italy Liechtenstein Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Northern Ireland Norway '76 '77 Poland Portugal Republic of Ireland Romania San Marino Scotland Soviet Union Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Wales Yugoslavia

League cups	England Poland Republic of Ireland Scotland Switzerland

UEFA competitions	European Cup (Final) Cup Winners' Cup (Final) UEFA Cup (Final) Intertoto Cup Super Cup

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1976–77 Football League

Overview

Final league tables and results

First Division

First Division results

First Division maps

Second Division

Second Division results

Second Division maps

Third Division

Third Division results

Third Division maps

Fourth Division

Fourth Division results

Fourth Division maps

See also

References