Season | 1979–80 |
---|---|
Champions | Liverpool |
← 1978–79 1980–81 → |
The 1979–80 season was the 81st completed season of The Football League.
Bob Paisley's Liverpool retained their league championship trophy after fighting off a determined challenge by Dave Sexton's Manchester United. Nottingham Forest failed to make a sustained title challenge but compensated for this by retaining the European Cup.
Bristol City and Bolton Wanderers were relegated after brief, uneventful spells in the First Division notable only because Bristol City’s relegation ends the last time South West England had a team in the top tier until Swindon Town's promotion to the Premier League in 1993. On the other hand, Derby County's relegation came just five years after they had been league champions.
Kevin Keegan ended his three-year spell with Hamburger SV in Germany and returned to England in a shock £400,000 move to Southampton. Lawrie McMenemy's new signing was the transfer surprise of the season. Keegan was the current European Footballer of the Year and rated as one of the best strikers in the world, while Southampton were still struggling to establish themselves as a First Division side. But this move showed that Southampton had ambition and were determined to compete with the best.
Leicester City, Sunderland and Birmingham City ended their relatively short spells in the Second Division and occupied the division's three promotion places. Going down were Fulham, Burnley and Charlton Athletic.
Grimsby Town, Blackburn Rovers and Sheffield Wednesday all achieved some long-awaited success by gaining promotion from the Third Division. Bury, Southend United, Mansfield Town and Wimbledon occupied the Third Division's relegation places.
Fallen giants Huddersfield Town and Portsmouth finally achieved some success by gaining promotion from the Fourth Division. Newport County achieved their first promotion since 1939 and Walsall were also promoted. Re-election results are given at the end of this article.
Final league tables and results
[edit]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] with home and away statistics separated.
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
[edit]Season | 1979–80 |
---|---|
Champions | Liverpool 12th English title |
Relegated | Bristol City Derby County Bolton Wanderers |
European Cup | Liverpool Nottingham Forest (as defending champions) |
UEFA Cup | Manchester United Ipswich Town Wolverhampton Wanderers |
Matches played | 462 |
Goals scored | 1,159 (2.51 per match) |
Top goalscorer | Phil Boyer (23 goals)[3] |
Biggest home win | Ipswich Town 6–0 Manchester United (1 March 1980) |
Biggest away win | Brighton & Hove Albion 0–4 Arsenal (18 August 1979) West Bromwich Albion 1–5 Nottingham Forest (1 September 1979) Everton 0–4 Ipswich Town (9 February 1980) Norwich City 0–4 Wolverhampton Wanderers (23 February 1980) |
Highest scoring | Norwich City 3–5 Liverpool (9 February 1980) |
← 1978–79 1980–81 → |
Liverpool won the First Division title for the fourth time in five seasons, finishing two points above Manchester United, who had their best league campaign for more than a decade. Ipswich Town, Arsenal and Nottingham Forest completed the top five, with Forest also retaining the European Cup, while Arsenal were on the losing side in the finals of both the FA Cup and the European Cup Winners' Cup. Wolves, who finished sixth, won the League Cup.
Bolton Wanderers, Derby County and Bristol City were relegated to the Second Division.
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Liverpool (C) | 42 | 25 | 10 | 7 | 81 | 30 | +51 | 60 | Qualification for the European Cup first round |
2 | Manchester United | 42 | 24 | 10 | 8 | 65 | 35 | +30 | 58 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
3 | Ipswich Town | 42 | 22 | 9 | 11 | 68 | 39 | +29 | 53 | |
4 | Arsenal | 42 | 18 | 16 | 8 | 52 | 36 | +16 | 52 | |
5 | Nottingham Forest | 42 | 20 | 8 | 14 | 63 | 43 | +20 | 48 | Qualification for the European Cup first round[a] |
6 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 42 | 19 | 9 | 14 | 58 | 47 | +11 | 47 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round[b] |
7 | Aston Villa | 42 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 51 | 50 | +1 | 46 | |
8 | Southampton | 42 | 18 | 9 | 15 | 65 | 53 | +12 | 45 | |
9 | Middlesbrough | 42 | 16 | 12 | 14 | 50 | 44 | +6 | 44 | |
10 | West Bromwich Albion | 42 | 11 | 19 | 12 | 54 | 50 | +4 | 41 | |
11 | Leeds United | 42 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 46 | 50 | −4 | 40 | |
12 | Norwich City | 42 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 58 | 66 | −8 | 40 | |
13 | Crystal Palace | 42 | 12 | 16 | 14 | 41 | 50 | −9 | 40 | |
14 | Tottenham Hotspur | 42 | 15 | 10 | 17 | 52 | 62 | −10 | 40 | |
15 | Coventry City | 42 | 16 | 7 | 19 | 56 | 66 | −10 | 39 | |
16 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 42 | 11 | 15 | 16 | 47 | 57 | −10 | 37 | |
17 | Manchester City | 42 | 12 | 13 | 17 | 43 | 66 | −23 | 37 | |
18 | Stoke City | 42 | 13 | 10 | 19 | 44 | 58 | −14 | 36 | |
19 | Everton | 42 | 9 | 17 | 16 | 43 | 51 | −8 | 35 | |
20 | Bristol City (R) | 42 | 9 | 13 | 20 | 37 | 66 | −29 | 31 | Relegation to the Second Division |
21 | Derby County (R) | 42 | 11 | 8 | 23 | 47 | 67 | −20 | 30 | |
22 | Bolton Wanderers (R) | 42 | 5 | 15 | 22 | 38 | 73 | −35 | 25 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- ^ Nottingham Forest qualified for the European Cup first round as the 1979–80 European Cup winners.
- ^ Wolverhampton Wanderers qualified for the UEFA Cup as the 1979–80 Football League Cup winners.
Results
[edit]Managerial changes
[edit]Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Derby County | ![]() |
Resigned | 20 May 1979 | Pre-season | ![]() |
6 July 1979 |
Manchester City | ![]() |
Became general manager | 31 May 1979 | ![]() |
31 May 1979 | |
Bolton Wanderers | ![]() |
Sacked | 28 January 1980 | 22nd | ![]() |
28 January 1980 |
Maps
[edit]Second Division
[edit]Season | 1979–80 |
---|---|
Champions | Leicester City |
Promoted | Leicester City Sunderland Birmingham City |
Relegated | Fulham Burnley Charlton Athletic |
Cup Winners' Cup | West Ham United |
Matches played | 462 |
Goals scored | 1,162 (2.52 per match) |
Top goalscorer | Clive Allen (28 goals)[3] |
Biggest home win | Queens Park Rangers 7–0 Burnley (27 October 1979) |
Biggest away win | Orient 0–4 West Ham United (1 January 1980) Charlton Athletic 0–4 Sunderland (15 March 1980) |
Highest scoring | Orient 3–7 Chelsea (10 November 1979) |
← 1978–79 1980–81 → |
Leicester City won the Second Division title for a record sixth time to reclaim their First Division status after a two-year exile. Birmingham City achieved an instant return to the elite in third place, while the final promotion place went to Sunderland.
Chelsea missed out on promotion on goal difference, while QPR weren't far behind. West Ham United's failure to win promotion at the second attempt was compensated for by victory in the FA Cup.
Charlton Athletic, Burnley and Fulham went down to the Third Division.
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Leicester City (C, P) | 42 | 21 | 13 | 8 | 58 | 38 | +20 | 55 | Promotion to the First Division |
2 | Sunderland (P) | 42 | 21 | 12 | 9 | 69 | 42 | +27 | 54 | |
3 | Birmingham City (P) | 42 | 21 | 11 | 10 | 58 | 38 | +20 | 53 | |
4 | Chelsea | 42 | 23 | 7 | 12 | 66 | 52 | +14 | 53 | |
5 | Queens Park Rangers | 42 | 18 | 13 | 11 | 75 | 53 | +22 | 49 | |
6 | Luton Town | 42 | 16 | 17 | 9 | 66 | 45 | +21 | 49 | |
7 | West Ham United | 42 | 20 | 7 | 15 | 54 | 43 | +11 | 47 | Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round[a] |
8 | Cambridge United | 42 | 14 | 16 | 12 | 61 | 53 | +8 | 44 | |
9 | Newcastle United | 42 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 53 | 49 | +4 | 44 | |
10 | Preston North End | 42 | 12 | 19 | 11 | 56 | 52 | +4 | 43 | |
11 | Oldham Athletic | 42 | 16 | 11 | 15 | 49 | 53 | −4 | 43 | |
12 | Swansea City | 42 | 17 | 9 | 16 | 48 | 53 | −5 | 43 | |
13 | Shrewsbury Town | 42 | 18 | 5 | 19 | 60 | 53 | +7 | 41 | |
14 | Orient | 42 | 12 | 17 | 13 | 48 | 54 | −6 | 41 | |
15 | Cardiff City | 42 | 16 | 8 | 18 | 41 | 48 | −7 | 40 | |
16 | Wrexham | 42 | 16 | 6 | 20 | 40 | 49 | −9 | 38 | |
17 | Notts County | 42 | 11 | 15 | 16 | 51 | 52 | −1 | 37 | |
18 | Watford | 42 | 12 | 13 | 17 | 39 | 46 | −7 | 37 | |
19 | Bristol Rovers | 42 | 11 | 13 | 18 | 50 | 64 | −14 | 35 | |
20 | Fulham (R) | 42 | 11 | 7 | 24 | 42 | 74 | −32 | 29 | Relegation to the Third Division |
21 | Burnley (R) | 42 | 6 | 15 | 21 | 39 | 73 | −34 | 27 | |
22 | Charlton Athletic (R) | 42 | 6 | 10 | 26 | 39 | 78 | −39 | 22 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- ^ West Ham United qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup first round as the 1979–80 FA Cup winners.
Results
[edit]Maps
[edit]Third Division
[edit]Season | 1979–80 |
---|---|
Champions | Grimsby Town (1st title) |
Promoted | Blackburn Rovers, Sheffield Wednesday |
Relegated | Bury, Mansfield Town, Southend United, Wimbledon |
Matches played | 552 |
Goals scored | 1,422 (2.58 per match) |
Top goalscorer | Terry Curran (Sheffield Wednesday), 22 [3] |
← 1978–79 1980–81 → |
Pos | Team | Pld | HW | HD | HL | HGF | HGA | AW | AD | AL | AGF | AGA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Grimsby Town | 46 | 18 | 2 | 3 | 46 | 16 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 27 | 26 | +31 | 62 | Division Champions, promoted |
2 | Blackburn Rovers | 46 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 34 | 17 | 12 | 4 | 7 | 24 | 19 | +22 | 59 | Promoted |
3 | Sheffield Wednesday | 46 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 44 | 20 | 9 | 10 | 4 | 37 | 27 | +34 | 58 | |
4 | Chesterfield | 46 | 16 | 5 | 2 | 46 | 16 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 25 | 30 | +25 | 57 | |
5 | Colchester United | 46 | 10 | 10 | 3 | 39 | 20 | 10 | 2 | 11 | 25 | 36 | +8 | 52 | |
6 | Carlisle United | 46 | 13 | 6 | 4 | 45 | 26 | 5 | 6 | 12 | 21 | 30 | +10 | 48 | |
7 | Reading | 46 | 14 | 6 | 3 | 43 | 19 | 2 | 10 | 11 | 23 | 46 | +1 | 48 | |
8 | Exeter City | 46 | 14 | 5 | 4 | 38 | 22 | 5 | 5 | 13 | 22 | 46 | −8 | 48 | |
9 | Chester | 46 | 14 | 6 | 3 | 29 | 18 | 3 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 39 | −8 | 47 | |
10 | Swindon Town | 46 | 15 | 4 | 4 | 50 | 20 | 4 | 4 | 15 | 21 | 43 | +8 | 46 | |
11 | Barnsley | 46 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 29 | 20 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 24 | 36 | −3 | 46 | |
12 | Sheffield United | 46 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 35 | 21 | 5 | 5 | 13 | 25 | 45 | −6 | 46 | |
13 | Rotherham United | 46 | 13 | 4 | 6 | 38 | 24 | 5 | 6 | 12 | 20 | 42 | −8 | 46 | |
14 | Millwall | 46 | 14 | 6 | 3 | 49 | 23 | 2 | 7 | 14 | 16 | 36 | +6 | 45 | |
15 | Plymouth Argyle | 46 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 39 | 17 | 3 | 5 | 15 | 20 | 38 | +4 | 44 | |
16 | Gillingham | 46 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 26 | 18 | 6 | 5 | 12 | 23 | 33 | −2 | 42 | |
17 | Oxford United | 46 | 10 | 4 | 9 | 34 | 24 | 4 | 9 | 10 | 23 | 38 | −5 | 41 | |
18 | Blackpool | 46 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 39 | 34 | 5 | 4 | 14 | 23 | 40 | −12 | 41 | |
19 | Brentford | 46 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 33 | 26 | 5 | 5 | 13 | 26 | 47 | −14 | 41 | |
20 | Hull City | 46 | 11 | 7 | 5 | 29 | 21 | 1 | 9 | 13 | 22 | 48 | −18 | 40 | |
21 | Bury | 46 | 10 | 4 | 9 | 30 | 23 | 6 | 3 | 14 | 15 | 36 | −14 | 39 | Relegated |
22 | Southend United | 46 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 33 | 23 | 3 | 4 | 16 | 14 | 35 | −11 | 38 | |
23 | Mansfield Town | 46 | 9 | 9 | 5 | 31 | 24 | 1 | 7 | 15 | 16 | 34 | −11 | 36 | |
24 | Wimbledon | 46 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 34 | 38 | 4 | 6 | 13 | 18 | 43 | −29 | 34 |
Results
[edit]Maps
[edit]Fourth Division
[edit]Season | 1979–80 |
---|---|
Champions | Huddersfield Town (1st title) |
Promoted | Newport County, Portsmouth, Walsall |
Failed re-election | None |
Matches played | 552 |
Goals scored | 1,460 (2.64 per match) |
Top goalscorer | Colin Garwood (Portsmouth / Aldershot), 27 [3] |
← 1978–79 1980–81 → |
Pos | Team | Pld | HW | HD | HL | HGF | HGA | AW | AD | AL | AGF | AGA | GD | Pts | Promotion |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Huddersfield Town | 46 | 16 | 5 | 2 | 61 | 18 | 11 | 7 | 5 | 40 | 30 | +53 | 66 | Division Champions, promoted |
2 | Walsall | 46 | 12 | 9 | 2 | 43 | 23 | 11 | 9 | 3 | 32 | 24 | +28 | 64 | Promoted |
3 | Newport County | 46 | 16 | 5 | 2 | 47 | 22 | 11 | 2 | 10 | 36 | 28 | +33 | 61 | Welsh Cup winners, qualified for UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1980–81 First round |
4 | Portsmouth | 46 | 15 | 5 | 3 | 62 | 23 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 29 | 26 | +42 | 60 | Promoted |
5 | Bradford City | 46 | 14 | 6 | 3 | 44 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 33 | 36 | +27 | 60 | |
6 | Wigan Athletic | 46 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 42 | 26 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 34 | 35 | +15 | 55 | |
7 | Lincoln City | 46 | 14 | 8 | 1 | 43 | 12 | 4 | 9 | 10 | 21 | 30 | +22 | 53 | |
8 | Peterborough United | 46 | 14 | 3 | 6 | 39 | 22 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 19 | 25 | +11 | 52 | |
9 | Torquay United | 46 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 47 | 25 | 2 | 10 | 11 | 23 | 44 | +1 | 47 | |
10 | Aldershot | 46 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 35 | 23 | 6 | 6 | 11 | 27 | 30 | +9 | 45 | |
11 | Bournemouth | 46 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 32 | 25 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 20 | 26 | +1 | 44 | |
12 | Doncaster Rovers | 46 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 37 | 27 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 25 | 36 | −1 | 44 | |
13 | Northampton Town | 46 | 14 | 5 | 4 | 33 | 16 | 2 | 7 | 14 | 18 | 50 | −15 | 44 | |
14 | Scunthorpe United | 46 | 11 | 9 | 3 | 37 | 23 | 3 | 6 | 14 | 21 | 52 | −17 | 43 | |
15 | Tranmere Rovers | 46 | 10 | 4 | 9 | 32 | 24 | 4 | 9 | 10 | 18 | 32 | −6 | 41 | |
16 | Stockport County | 46 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 30 | 31 | 5 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 41 | −24 | 40 | |
17 | York City | 46 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 35 | 34 | 5 | 5 | 13 | 30 | 48 | −17 | 39 | |
18 | Halifax Town | 46 | 11 | 9 | 3 | 29 | 20 | 2 | 4 | 17 | 17 | 52 | −26 | 39 | |
19 | Hartlepool United | 46 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 36 | 28 | 4 | 3 | 16 | 23 | 36 | −5 | 38 | |
20 | Port Vale | 46 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 34 | 24 | 4 | 6 | 13 | 22 | 46 | −14 | 36 | |
21 | Hereford United | 46 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 22 | 21 | 3 | 7 | 13 | 16 | 31 | −14 | 36 | Re-elected |
22 | Darlington | 46 | 7 | 11 | 5 | 33 | 26 | 2 | 6 | 15 | 17 | 48 | −24 | 35 | |
23 | Crewe Alexandra | 46 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 25 | 27 | 1 | 7 | 15 | 10 | 41 | −33 | 35 | |
24 | Rochdale | 46 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 20 | 28 | 1 | 6 | 16 | 13 | 51 | −46 | 27 |
Results
[edit]Maps
[edit]Election/Re-election to the Football League
[edit]Winners of the Alliance Premier League, Altrincham, won the right to apply for election to the Football League to replace one of the four bottom teams in the 1979–80 Football League Division Four. The vote went as follows:
Club | Final Position | Votes |
---|---|---|
Darlington | 22nd (Division Four) | 49 |
Crewe Alexandra | 23rd (Division Four) | 48 |
Hereford United | 21st (Division Four) | 48 |
Rochdale | 24th (Division Four) | 26 |
Altrincham | 1st (Alliance Premier League) | 25 |
As a result of this, all four Football League teams were re-elected, and Altrincham were denied membership of the League.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "England 1979–80". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 27 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-24.
- ^ Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane’s, London & Sydney, 1980.
- ^ a b c d "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.