1977–78 Football League

The 1977–78 season was the 79th completed season of The Football League. The season began on 20 August 1977 and ended after 42 matches on 4 May 1978.

Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest side took the First Division by storm, first winning the League Cup on 22 March and then confirming themselves as league champions the following month. They joined a small and exclusive company of clubs who have won the league championship one season after promotion.

Manchester United broke the British transfer fee record on 9 February by paying Leeds United £495,000 for Scottish defender Gordon McQueen.

Bob Latchford was the top goalscorer, winning a £10,000 prize offered by a national newspaper for the first footballer to reach 30 goals in a single season,Bob Latchford , Everton F.C. website which had not happened in the First Division since the 1971–72 season and in the Second Division since the 1965–66 season.

West Ham United, Newcastle United and Leicester City were relegated from the First Division.

Bolton Wanderers, Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur were promoted from the Second Division, while Blackpool, Mansfield Town and Hull City were relegated

Wrexham, Cambridge United and Preston North End were promoted from the Third Division, while Portsmouth, Port Vale, Bradford City and Hereford United were relegated.

Wimbledon played their first season in the Football League, replacing Workington. Watford, Southend United, Swansea City and Brentford were promoted, while Southport were not re-elected. Southport was the last club to leave the Football League through the re-election process.

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 1978–79Ian 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.

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.

First Division

Brian Clough became only the third manager in the history of English football to win the top division title with two clubs, when he guided Nottingham Forest to their first ever top division title. It was an incredible achievement for a Forest side who were one of just a few teams to win the First Division title a year after promotion. Forest finished seven points above Liverpool, who retained the European Cup. Everton, Manchester City and Arsenal completed the top five, while West Bromwich Albion finished sixth for the second successive season, qualifying for the UEFA Cup again. An exciting Coventry City side finished in seventh position, narrowly missing-out on UEFA Cup qualification. This was the club's second-highest ever league finish, after their sixth position in 1969–70.

Manchester United dropped to tenth in their first season under new manager Dave Sexton, while Bobby Robson successfully fought off relegation with Ipswich Town and then guided them to their first FA Cup triumph of their history.

Newcastle United, who had finished fifth a year earlier and had been in the First Division for thirteen years, endured a torrid season and went down with Leicester City and West Ham, ending the latter's twenty-year spell in the Division.

Stats Record Most wins: Nottingham Forest (25) Fewest losses: Nottingham Forest (3) Most goals scored: Everton (76) Fewest goals conceded: Nottingham Forest (24) Best goal difference ratio: Nottingham Forest (+45) Most draws: Norwich City (18) Fewest draws: West Ham United (8) Most losses: Newcastle United (26) Fewest wins: Leicester City (5) Fewest goals scored: Leicester City (26) Most goals conceded: Newcastle United (78) Worst goal difference ratio: Leicester City (-44)

Results

Managerial changes

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment Middlesbrough Harold Shepherdson End of caretaker spell 6 May 1977 Pre-season John Neal 6 May 1977 Leicester City Jimmy Bloomfield Resigned 23 May 1977 Frank McLintock 6 June 1977 West Bromwich Albion Johnny Giles Resigned 26 May 1977 Ronnie Allen 21 June 1977 Chelsea Eddie McCreadie Resigned 1 July 1977 Ken Shellito 6 July 1977 Manchester United Tommy Docherty Sacked 4 July 1977 Dave Sexton 14 July 1977 Queens Park Rangers Dave Sexton Signed by Manchester United 14 July 1977 Frank Sibley 14 July 1977 Birmingham City Willie Bell Resigned 5 September 1977 22nd Alf Ramsey (caretaker) 5 September 1977 Derby County Colin Murphy Demoted to coach 17 September 1977 21st Tommy Docherty 17 September 1977 Newcastle United Richard Dinnis Sacked 9 November 1977 22nd Bill McGarry 18 November 1977 West Bromwich Albion Ronnie Allen Resigned 22 December 1977 4th Ron Atkinson 12 January 1978 Birmingham City Alf Ramsey End of caretaker spell 12 March 1978 18th Jim Smith 12 March 1978 Leicester City Frank McLintock Sacked 5 April 1978 22nd Ian MacFarlane (caretaker) 5 April 1977

Maps

Second Division

Bolton Wanderers ended their 14-year exile from the top flight by clinching the Second Division title in a tight promotion race between the top four teams. Southampton went up as runners-up, while Tottenham clinched the final promotion place following a final day draw with Southampton. Brighton missed out on a First Division place on goal difference, forcing them to prepare for a fresh assault on reaching the First Division for the first time in their history in 1979.

Hull City, Mansfield Town and Blackpool went down to the Third Division.

Results

Managerial changes Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment Orient George Petchey Resigned 26 August 1977 21st Jimmy Bloomfield 12 September 1977 Hull City John Kaye Sacked 29 September 1977 13th Bobby Collins 1 October 1977 Notts County Ron Fenton Sacked 5 October 1977 21st Jimmy Sirrel 9 October 1977 Sheffield United Jimmy Sirrel Signed by Notts County 9 October 1977 15th Cec Coldwell (caretaker) 9 October 1977 Bristol Rovers Don Megson Sacked 22 November 1977 21st Bobby Campbell 22 November 1977 Millwall Gordon Jago Resigned 5 December 1977 18th George Petchey 4 January 1978 Stoke City George Eastham Sacked 9 January 1978 14th Alan Durban 13 February 1978 Sheffield United Cec Coldwell End of caretaker spell 23 January 1978 11th Harry Haslam 23 January 1978 Luton Town Harry Haslam Signed by Sheffield United 23 January 1978 7th David Pleat 23 January 1978 Blackpool Allan Brown Mutual consent 6 February 1978 7th Jimmy Meadows 7 March 1978 Hull City Bobby Collins Sacked 10 February 1978 18th Wilf McGuinness (caretaker) 10 February 1978 Mansfield Town Peter Morris Sacked 22 February 1978 22nd Billy Bingham 25 February 1978 Blackburn Rovers Jim Smith Signed by Birmingham City 12 March 1978 5th Jim Iley 14 April 1978 Hull City Wilf McGuinness End of caretaker spell 17 April 1978 21st Ken Houghton 17 April 1978

Maps

Third Division

Results

Maps

Fourth Division

Results

Maps

Attendances Source:

Division One No. Club Average Highest Lowest 1 Manchester United 51,860 58,398 41,625 2 Liverpool FC 45,546 51,668 38,249 3 Manchester City FC 41,687 50,856 32,412 4 Everton FC 39,513 52,759 33,402 5 Aston Villa FC 35,464 45,436 25,493 6 Arsenal FC 35,446 47,110 23,506 7 Nottingham Forest FC 32,501 47,218 21,743 8 Leeds United FC 29,186 46,727 16,531 9 Chelsea FC 28,734 44,093 18,108 10 West Ham United FC 25,620 37,448 19,260 11 Newcastle United FC 24,729 41,612 7,986 12 West Bromwich Albion FC 24,126 36,067 17,053 13 Birmingham City FC 23,911 33,679 14,302 14 Ipswich Town FC 23,586 30,384 16,952 15 Bristol City FC 23,357 31,506 16,993 16 Coventry City FC 23,353 36,894 13,910 17 Derby County FC 23,345 33,384 18,189 18 Wolverhampton Wanderers FC 22,311 30,644 15,466 19 Queens Park Rangers FC 19,941 26,267 12,925 20 Middlesbrough FC 19,874 30,805 13,247 21 Norwich City FC 19,375 29,168 12,836 22 Leicester City FC 17,768 26,051 11,530

Division Two

No. Club Average Highest Lowest 1 Tottenham Hotspur FC 33,417 50,097 24,636 2 Brighton & Hove Albion FC 25,265 33,431 18,969 3 Bolton Wanderers FC 22,877 36,384 16,232 4 Sunderland AFC 22,276 31,960 11,161 5 Southampton FC 21,167 28,846 15,789 6 Crystal Palace FC 19,636 40,522 11,509 7 Sheffield United FC 15,489 31,207 11,595 8 Stoke City FC 15,038 21,012 10,992 9 Blackburn Rovers FC 12,227 27,835 6,316 10 Burnley FC 11,581 27,427 7,242 11 Charlton Athletic FC 11,307 30,706 5,139 12 Fulham FC 10,550 24,763 6,064 13 Blackpool FC 10,118 25,789 4,695 14 Oldham Athletic FC 9,583 22,184 6,452 15 Notts County FC 9,268 15,718 7,200 16 Luton Town FC 9,252 17,024 5,913 17 Mansfield Town FC 8,982 14,268 5,859 18 Leyton Orient FC 8,365 24,131 4,427 19 Cardiff City FC 8,365 12,538 5,663 20 Millwall FC 8,197 15,216 3,322 21 Bristol Rovers FC 8,108 17,708 4,550 22 Hull City AFC 6,835 16,189 3,645

Division Three

No. Club Average Highest Lowest 1 Wrexham AFC 11,651 23,451 5,260 2 Sheffield Wednesday FC 11,592 18,973 8,661 3 Portsmouth FC 9,678 13,152 5,825 4 Preston North End FC 8,799 16,078 5,319 5 Swindon Town FC 7,367 11,265 4,135 6 Gillingham FC 7,178 10,978 3,450 7 Plymouth Argyle FC 6,763 12,635 4,639 8 Peterborough United FC 5,974 10,156 3,943 9 Cambridge United FC 5,633 10,998 3,397 10 Carlisle United FC 5,319 11,309 3,693 11 Walsall FC 5,317 8,341 4,218 12 Bradford City AFC 5,103 12,825 3,203 13 Bury FC 4,979 9,783 2,536 14 Oxford United FC 4,972 9,083 3,382 15 Rotherham United FC 4,913 12,630 3,244 16 Hereford United FC 4,900 10,183 3,441 17 Exeter City FC 4,887 8,334 3,156 18 Lincoln City FC 4,878 8,811 3,205 19 Chesterfield FC 4,866 12,495 2,748 20 Colchester United FC 4,572 6,447 2,554 21 Chester City FC 4,165 9,801 2,121 22 Port Vale FC 3,947 6,912 3,220 23 Tranmere Rovers 3,926 7,224 2,035 24 Shrewsbury Town FC 3,378 6,116 1,727

Division Four

No. Club Average Highest Lowest 1 Watford FC 11,352 18,947 6,850 2 Brentford FC 8,578 14,496 5,492 3 Swansea City AFC 8,108 16,152 4,240 4 Southend United FC 7,287 11,810 3,693 5 Barnsley FC 5,659 8,797 2,642 6 Grimsby Town FC 4,696 7,434 2,731 7 Reading FC 4,567 7,384 2,457 8 Huddersfield Town AFC 4,508 7,583 1,638 9 Aldershot Town FC 4,347 8,175 2,190 10 Newport County AFC 4,074 8,520 2,112 11 Stockport County FC 4,010 6,177 2,168 12 Northampton Town FC 3,517 8,041 2,278 13 AFC Bournemouth 3,348 6,532 2,221 14 Scunthorpe United FC 3,281 7,771 1,959 15 Doncaster Rovers FC 3,228 7,971 1,440 16 Wimbledon FC 3,135 7,324 1,440 17 Torquay United FC 2,878 6,398 1,845 18 Hartlepool United FC 2,833 5,299 1,926 19 Crewe Alexandra FC 2,290 4,652 1,462 20 York City FC 2,284 4,192 1,389 21 Halifax Town AFC 2,199 4,956 1,077 22 Darlington FC 1,993 3,372 1,115 23 Southport FC 1,873 2,834 838 24 Rochdale AFC 1,275 2,668 734

See also 1977–78 in English football

References

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