The 1973–74 season was the 75th completed season of The Football League.
Don Revie marked his last season as Leeds United's manager by guiding them to league championship glory, before taking over from Sir Alf Ramsey as the England national football team manager, with England having failed to qualify for the 1974 World Cup. Revie's conquering side had a two-horse race with Liverpool all season but won in the end, taking the title for the second time in their history by five points. Newly promoted Burnley adapted well to life back in the top flight, finishing in sixth place.
Manchester United were relegated from the First Division just six years after winning the European Cup at the end of a traumatic season. Their 36-year stay at the top was finally ended by a 1–0 home defeat against Manchester City. Former United striker Denis Law scored City's winning goal. But Birmingham City's win on that same afternoon would have sent United down even if they had beaten City. Despite this the board kept faith in manager Tommy Docherty as the man to regain the club's top flight place.
Joining United in the Second Division were Norwich City and Southampton. This was the first season in which the League introduced three relegation places from the top division.
Former Leeds player Jack Charlton had a fine debut in management by guiding Middlesbrough to the Second Division title and a place in the First Division. Second in the table were Luton Town, who finished 15 points behind the runaway champions. Third-placed Carlisle United, managed by Alan Ashman (who won the FA Cup with West Bromwich Albion in 1968), gained a place in the First Division for the first, and so far only, time in their history, completing a rapid rise from the Fourth Division to the First Division. Crystal Palace, Preston North End and Swindon Town were all relegated.
Promotion from the Third Division was secured by champions Oldham Athletic, Bristol Rovers and York City, which at the time represented York's highest ever League finish. Cambridge United, Shrewsbury Town, Southport and Rochdale were all relegated.
Peterborough United won Division Four and were promoted along with Gillingham, Colchester United and Bury. The league's re-election system voted in favour of the bottom four league clubs and there were no departures or arrivals in the league in 1974.
Final league tables and results
The tables below are reproduced here in the exact form that they can be found at The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation website and in Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79,Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane’s, London & Sydney, 1980. 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 the 1976–77 season.
This season marked the introduction of relegating the bottom three teams in the league, replacing the previous system in which only the bottom two were relegated, in place since automatic promotion/relegation was introduced in the 1898-99 season. Since the Fourth Division was established in the 1958–59 season, the bottom four teams of that division have been required to apply for re-election.
Match results are drawn from Rothmans for all divisions.
First Division
1973 - 74 was the final season for the long-serving managers of two of the First Division's leading clubs. Both are regarded as having transformed their clubs on and off the field during lengthy reigns lasting more than a decade. Don Revie guided Leeds United to the title before calling time of 13 years as manager at Elland Road to take charge of the England team. Bill Shankly announced his retirement as Liverpool manager after 15 years after they finished second in the league and triumphed 3–0 over Newcastle United in the FA Cup Final.
Despite the controversial resignation of manager Brian Clough in October, Derby County finished third after their former player Dave Mackay returned to the Baseball Ground as Clough's successor. Ipswich Town continued to thrive among the First Division's leading company by finishing fourth in their fifth campaign under Bobby Robson. Stoke City enjoyed another strong season, finishing fifth, with England goalkeeper Peter Shilton keeping opposition strikers at bay after his predecessor Gordon Banks retired due to an eye injury suffered in a car crash. Burnley enjoyed a strong return to the First Division after two seasons away by finishing sixth.
Manchester United's 36-year spell in the First Division ended in relegation, while their cross-city rivals finished 14th and were beaten in the Football League Cup final by Wolverhampton Wanderers. Southampton's eight-year spell in the First Division ended in relegation despite 21 goals from the division's top scorer Mick Channon and a change of manager from Ted Bates to Lawrie McMenemy before Christmas. Norwich City's second season among the elite ended in relegation.
Results
Maps
Second Division
Jack Charlton started his managerial career by guiding Middlesbrough to the Second Division title and a place in the First Division. Middlesbrough finished 15 points above runners-up Luton Town, who ended their 14-year exile from the elite despite financial difficulties. The final promotion place was snatched by Carlisle United, who reached the First Division for the first time in their history. Orient missed out on promotion by a single point. Other teams who just missed out on promotion included Nottingham Forest, Sunderland and West Bromwich Albion.
Crystal Palace were relegated for a second successive season, while Preston North End went down in their first season under the management of the legendary Bobby Charlton, who then re-registered himself as a player in his efforts to reverse the decline of the once great Lancashire club. Swindon Town went down in bottom place after five seasons in the Second Division.
Results
Maps
Third Division
Results
Maps
Fourth Division
Results
Scunthorpe United v Exeter City was never played; Exeter failed to turn up and Scunthorpe were awarded two points.
Maps
Attendances Source:
Division One No. Club Average Highest Lowest 1 Manchester United 42,712 60,025 28,589 2 Liverpool FC 42,332 56,003 21,656 3 Leeds United FC 38,666 47,058 26,778 4 Everton FC 35,351 56,098 21,747 5 Birmingham City FC 33,048 50,451 23,767 6 Newcastle United FC 32,861 55,638 19,470 7 Manchester City FC 30,756 51,331 21,590 8 Arsenal FC 30,212 50,699 13,482 9 West Ham United FC 28,394 38,416 16,513 10 Derby County FC 27,788 36,003 23,348 11 Tottenham Hotspur FC 26,124 42,756 14,034 12 Chelsea FC 25,983 40,768 8,171 13 Wolverhampton Wanderers FC 25,609 36,980 19,350 14 Leicester City FC 24,825 36,978 15,786 15 Coventry City FC 23,280 35,206 16,457 16 Norwich City FC 23,023 31,798 17,673 17 Sheffield United FC 22,917 39,972 10,832 18 Queens Park Rangers FC 22,867 35,353 12,422 19 Ipswich Town FC 22,381 33,292 15,457 20 Stoke City FC 21,587 39,687 13,843 21 Southampton FC 21,128 30,789 14,572 22 Burnley FC 20,670 40,087 13,169
Division Two
No. Club Average Highest Lowest 1 Sunderland AFC 24,409 41,658 8,142 2 Aston Villa FC 23,413 37,323 12,007 3 Middlesbrough FC 22,264 37,030 14,742 4 Crystal Palace FC 21,797 32,648 16,124 5 West Bromwich Albion FC 15,990 43,029 11,498 6 Bolton Wanderers FC 15,942 23,614 8,692 7 Sheffield Wednesday FC 14,645 23,634 7,865 8 Nottingham Forest FC 14,398 29,962 9,498 9 Bristol City FC 14,058 25,904 9,570 10 Portsmouth FC 13,675 20,062 8,669 11 Luton Town FC 12,214 20,285 4,908 12 Preston North End FC 12,174 21,747 7,650 13 Notts County FC 11,911 32,310 6,975 14 Leyton Orient FC 11,793 29,766 7,216 15 Cardiff City FC 10,714 27,139 5,999 16 Fulham FC 10,129 23,511 4,973 17 Blackpool FC 10,120 18,575 5,508 18 Millwall FC 9,516 20,176 5,906 19 Oxford United FC 8,302 13,714 5,248 20 Carlisle United FC 8,270 19,692 5,096 21 Hull City AFC 8,216 17,409 5,348 22 Swindon Town FC 7,299 14,222 2,791
Division Three
No. Club Average Highest Lowest 1 Bristol Rovers FC 13,026 22,363 7,405 2 Brighton & Hove Albion FC 10,864 18,900 5,297 3 Oldham Athletic FC 10,118 18,528 5,716 4 AFC Bournemouth 8,981 17,079 4,475 5 Hereford United FC 8,040 12,501 3,810 6 Plymouth Argyle FC 7,743 13,004 5,078 7 Blackburn Rovers FC 7,432 10,989 3,520 8 Grimsby Town FC 7,419 10,883 5,244 9 York City FC 6,885 15,829 2,929 10 Watford FC 6,683 10,202 5,358 11 Southend United FC 6,472 10,276 3,956 12 Wrexham AFC 5,957 9,883 3,534 13 Chesterfield FC 5,777 11,559 3,287 14 Huddersfield Town AFC 5,696 11,514 2,522 15 Charlton Athletic FC 5,306 11,414 3,245 16 Aldershot Town FC 5,235 13,259 1,742 17 Walsall FC 4,789 9,035 3,037 18 Cambridge United FC 4,377 7,749 1,979 19 Tranmere Rovers 4,215 6,872 2,650 20 Port Vale FC 3,959 8,505 2,556 21 Halifax Town AFC 2,849 8,126 1,346 22 Southport FC 2,547 9,504 1,083 23 Shrewsbury Town FC 2,502 5,680 1,232 24 Rochdale AFC 1,891 5,923 588
Division Four
No. Club Average Highest Lowest 1 Peterborough United FC 8,824 17,569 6,161 2 Gillingham FC 7,502 12,577 3,864 3 Reading FC 6,477 12,480 3,277 4 Colchester United FC 5,427 10,007 3,468 5 Northampton Town FC 5,424 11,378 3,137 6 Brentford FC 5,063 8,717 3,166 7 Bury FC 4,879 8,813 2,878 8 Barnsley FC 4,254 8,511 2,274 9 Exeter City FC 4,186 6,822 2,226 10 Lincoln City FC 3,930 7,150 1,800 11 Bradford City AFC 3,797 9,041 2,098 12 Rotherham United FC 3,410 6,243 2,334 13 Torquay United FC 3,392 9,265 2,014 14 Mansfield Town FC 3,160 6,924 1,909 15 Scunthorpe United FC 3,029 5,775 1,887 16 Newport County AFC 3,023 5,888 1,685 17 Swansea City AFC 2,815 6,712 1,301 18 Hartlepool United FC 2,721 6,739 844 19 Chester City FC 2,682 6,272 1,687 20 Doncaster Rovers FC 2,395 5,955 1,163 21 Stockport County FC 2,380 4,050 1,311 22 Darlington FC 2,334 4,527 1,326 23 Crewe Alexandra FC 1,921 3,259 1,302 24 Workington AFC 1,179 1,763 693
See also 1973-74 in English football
External links Season 1973-74 complete complete lineups, tables and squads at Historical Football Lineups
References