1974–75 Football League

The 1974–75 season was the 76th completed season of The Football League.

Dave Mackay guided Derby County to their second league title in four years having overcome strong competition from Liverpool, Ipswich Town, Everton, Stoke City, Sheffield United and Middlesbrough in a title race which went right to the wire. There was disappointment at Bramall Lane after Sheffield United's title challenge ended in failure without even a UEFA Cup place, but this would be as good as it got for the Blades as a sharp decline soon set in and within a few seasons had pushed them into the Fourth Division.

Carlisle United, in the First Division for the first time, topped the league three games into the season but were unable to maintain their good start and were eventually relegated in bottom place. Joining the Cumbrians in the drop zone were Luton Town and Chelsea.

Brian Clough was named as Don Revie's successor at Leeds United but was dismissed after just 44 days in charge. He was replaced by Jimmy Armfield.

Manchester United's directors kept faith in Tommy Docherty after their relegation to the Second Division, and he rewarded them with the Second Division championship to return immediately to the top flight. They were joined by Aston Villa (who also won the League Cup) and Norwich City. Docherty had built a new-look team containing players such as Jim Holton, Stuart Pearson and Brian Greenhoff. Meanwhile, FIFA finally lifted George Best's worldwide ban from football; however, Docherty was not prepared to give him another chance at Old Trafford and he joined Stockport County on a free transfer.

Millwall, Cardiff City and Sheffield Wednesday were the three unlucky clubs who were unable to escape the Second Division drop zone. In the space of a few years, Sheffield Wednesday had slumped to the Third Division having previously been a strong First Division side.

Blackburn Rovers, Plymouth Argyle and Charlton Athletic occupied the three promotion places in the Third Division.

Going down were AFC Bournemouth, Tranmere Rovers, Watford and Huddersfield Town. This meant that Huddersfield would be playing Fourth Division football for the first time in their history, the first former English champions so to do. Watford, meanwhile, were enduring their last unsuccessful season for many years to come.

Mansfield Town, Shrewsbury Town, Rotherham United and Chester occupied the four promotion places in the Fourth Division. Chester had finally managed promotion after 44 years of league membership, narrowly edging out Lincoln City on goal average.

Scunthorpe United, who had narrowly missed out on top-division football during the 1960s, found themselves bottom of the league but retained their league status after being re-elected along with the three clubs placed above them.

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 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.

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.

First Division

A tight title race saw just five points separating the top seven sides, with Derby County finally winning the title in their first full season under the management of Dave Mackay. Liverpool finished runners-up under Bob Paisley, who had succeeded the legendary Bill Shankly at the start of the season. Ipswich Town, Everton, Stoke City, Sheffield United and newly promoted Middlesbrough completed the top seven.

Despite the close nature of the final table; most pundits had dubbed Everton Champions elect going into the closing stages. The Merseysiders had lost just four games all season, topped the table and appeared to have a relatively trouble-free run-in mostly against teams in the bottom half of the table. The pressure of the title being theirs to lose appeared to get to the Toffeemen who inexplicably lost four of their last nine games, three of which, against Luton, Carlisle, who would ultimately be relegated, and Sheffield United in a game they had led 2-0 in at half time, ultimately costing them the title. Liverpool also came within a hair's breadth of the title, with a 1-0 loss at Middlesbrough in the penultimate game of the season proving their undoing.

Leeds United began life without Don Revie in disastrous fashion, with Brian Clough being sacked after 44 days in charge, having won just one league game. His successor Jimmy Armfield dragged them up to ninth place in the final table and also took them to their first European Cup final, but they were on the losing side and a riot by their fans saw them banned from European competitions for three years. Arsenal finished a disappointing 16th in the league, one of their lowest finishes in more than half a century of unbroken First Division membership. Their North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur finished just one place and one point above the relegation zone. Luton Town's First Division comeback ended in relegation after just one season, while financial problems contributed to Chelsea's relegation and the end of their 12-year run in the First Division. Carlisle United had an incredible start to their first season in the First Division, topping the league after winning their first three games, but were eventually relegated in bottom place.

Results

Maps

Second Division

Tommy Docherty responded to the loyalty of the Manchester United directors who kept faith in him after their first relegation in nearly 40 years by delivering an return to the First Division, as his young side were crowned champions of the Second Division. Aston Villa ended their eight-year absence from the top flight by finishing runners-up, being divisional top scorers and also lifting the League Cup, in the final of which they beat Norwich City, who finished third in the league and so clinched the final promotion place.

Sunderland and Bristol City just missed out on promotion, while ninth placed Fulham partly compensated for a lack of a serious promotion challenge by reaching their first ever FA Cup final, although they lost to West Ham United. Nottingham Forest looked to build for a better future and end their spell of Second Division struggle by appointing Brian Clough as manager in January.

Sheffield Wednesday were relegated to the Third Division for the first time in their history after a terrible season in which they managed only five league wins. They finished 14 points adrift of safety and went down along with Millwall and Cardiff City.

Results

Maps

Third Division

Results

Maps

Fourth Division

Results

Maps

Attendances Source:

Division One No. Club Average Highest Lowest 1 Liverpool FC 45,966 55,853 35,151 2 Everton FC 40,021 57,190 31,882 3 Leeds United FC 34,822 50,084 25,832 4 Newcastle United FC 34,614 43,526 21,895 5 Manchester City FC 32,898 45,194 24,047 6 Birmingham City FC 30,854 36,513 24,240 7 West Ham United FC 29,872 40,256 20,977 8 Middlesbrough FC 28,605 39,500 21,478 9 Arsenal FC 28,315 43,762 16,540 10 Chelsea FC 27,396 39,461 11,048 11 Stoke City FC 27,339 46,023 20,526 12 Derby County FC 26,719 36,882 21,197 13 Tottenham Hotspur FC 26,458 50,998 12,813 14 Ipswich Town FC 24,924 31,642 20,193 15 Leicester City FC 23,765 38,143 16,636 16 Wolverhampton Wanderers FC 23,405 34,875 15,187 17 Sheffield United FC 22,555 38,442 14,694 18 Queens Park Rangers FC 20,394 28,357 13,244 19 Burnley FC 19,641 32,111 14,644 20 Coventry City FC 19,100 25,460 15,217 21 Luton Town FC 17,396 23,096 10,464 22 Carlisle United FC 14,530 20,844 8,339

Division Two

No. Club Average Highest Lowest 1 Manchester United 48,389 60,585 40,671 2 Sunderland AFC 29,931 45,976 24,000 3 Aston Villa FC 27,653 57,266 15,840 4 Norwich City FC 22,460 35,943 16,981 5 Southampton FC 15,910 21,866 11,491 6 Bristol City FC 14,061 28,953 9,300 7 Bolton Wanderers FC 13,800 38,152 8,199 8 Sheffield Wednesday FC 13,453 35,230 7,585 9 Nottingham Forest FC 13,000 25,013 7,957 10 Oldham Athletic FC 12,492 26,356 9,240 11 Portsmouth FC 12,474 25,608 7,412 12 West Bromwich Albion FC 12,424 29,614 7,812 13 Bristol Rovers FC 12,222 20,911 8,667 14 Notts County FC 10,927 20,303 7,227 15 Fulham FC 10,809 26,513 5,739 16 Blackpool FC 10,112 25,370 4,922 17 Cardiff City FC 9,143 22,344 5,648 18 York City FC 8,954 15,314 6,321 19 Millwall FC 8,583 17,540 4,963 20 Hull City AFC 8,573 23,287 5,203 21 Oxford United FC 8,261 15,959 5,772 22 Leyton Orient FC 7,605 17,772 4,352

Division Three

No. Club Average Highest Lowest 1 Crystal Palace FC 17,274 24,271 12,835 2 Plymouth Argyle FC 14,060 28,744 5,175 3 Blackburn Rovers FC 12,651 24,007 5,858 4 Brighton & Hove Albion FC 11,751 26,123 8,172 5 Charlton Athletic FC 10,444 26,104 4,527 6 Preston North End FC 9,568 18,042 5,819 7 Peterborough United FC 8,446 13,172 4,580 8 Swindon Town FC 8,280 12,094 5,130 9 Gillingham FC 7,331 14,565 4,824 10 Hereford United FC 7,230 11,488 4,807 11 Southend United FC 6,655 17,648 4,466 12 Watford FC 6,460 11,635 3,941 13 Walsall FC 6,268 10,251 2,927 14 AFC Bournemouth 5,988 10,307 4,116 15 Grimsby Town FC 5,962 9,250 4,501 16 Bury FC 5,527 11,963 3,428 17 Huddersfield Town AFC 5,428 8,122 2,455 18 Colchester United FC 4,937 7,790 3,202 19 Chesterfield FC 4,615 8,692 3,257 20 Aldershot Town FC 4,385 8,790 2,464 21 Wrexham AFC 4,376 8,226 2,463 22 Port Vale FC 4,346 9,135 2,704 23 Tranmere Rovers 2,803 6,534 1,264 24 Halifax Town AFC 2,681 8,689 1,241

Division Four

No. Club Average Highest Lowest 1 Mansfield Town FC 7,204 14,392 3,109 2 Lincoln City FC 5,795 13,108 2,461 3 Rotherham United FC 5,488 11,669 2,738 4 Reading FC 5,386 9,787 3,855 5 Brentford FC 5,172 6,485 3,983 6 Chester City FC 4,745 8,583 2,625 7 Barnsley FC 4,646 7,810 2,666 8 Northampton Town FC 4,179 7,275 2,482 9 Shrewsbury Town FC 4,125 8,913 2,880 10 Exeter City FC 3,435 7,271 2,271 11 Bradford City AFC 3,191 4,970 1,697 12 Cambridge United FC 3,021 4,159 1,858 13 Doncaster Rovers FC 2,975 7,278 1,286 14 Torquay United FC 2,868 5,570 1,822 15 Newport County AFC 2,674 4,165 1,535 16 Crewe Alexandra FC 2,649 5,118 1,506 17 Hartlepool United FC 2,634 5,178 1,627 18 Scunthorpe United FC 2,239 6,044 1,440 19 Darlington FC 2,233 3,974 1,582 20 Stockport County FC 2,099 2,721 1,500 21 Swansea City AFC 2,070 3,501 1,428 22 Southport FC 1,737 2,657 924 23 Rochdale AFC 1,507 2,317 1,033 24 Workington AFC 1,481 2,113 1,102

See also 1974–75 in English football

References