Arsenal
1976–1977 season
ChairmanDenis Hill-Wood
ManagerTerry Neill
First Division8th place
FA Cup5th round
League CupQuarter finals
Top goalscorerLeague:
Malcolm Macdonald (25)
All:
Malcolm Macdonald (29)
Highest home attendance52,285 vs Chelsea (26 October 1976)
Lowest home attendance19,517 vs West Bromwich Albion (23 October 1976)
Average home league attendance32,671

The 1976–1977 season was Arsenal Football Club's 51st consecutive season in the Football League First Division. The first season under new manager Terry Neill, Arsenal finished eighth in the league and reached the quarterfinals of the League Cup.

New signing Malcolm Macdonald was Arsenal's top scorer. Long-tenured defender Pat Rice assumed the captaincy. Neill oversaw significant turnover in the side throughout the season, seeing the exodus of players such as Alan Ball and John Radford. Along with Macdonald, Neill brought in players like Willie Young and Alan Hudson.

Season summary

In the 1976–77 season, former Tottenham boss Terry Neill was recruited by the Arsenal board to replace Bertie Mee in the summer.[1] At the age of 34 he became the youngest Arsenal manager to date.[2][3] Neill brought his number two, Wilf Dixon, from Spurs. Bobby Campbell, the previous coach, left the club a few weeks later to become Fulham's coach.[4] Alan Ball, who had favored Campbell to become the next manager, was ousted with a move to Southampton for ₤60,000 in December.[1][5]

As would become trademark of Neill's management, Neill looked to bring in a big name striker. Newcastle's star Malcom Macdonald was available and Neill got him for ₤333,333, a British transfer record.[2][6] Macdonald formed a fruitful partnership with Frank Stapleton.[1]

Arsenal started the season well with just two defeats in their first nine league games but their title challenge soon began to fade. Arsenal relied heavily on Macdonald for goals. He rewarded them, scoring hat-tricks against both Newcastle and Birmingham.[1] However, when Macdonald went through a poor run of form, Arsenal followed, finding 8 defeats in 11 league games picking up just 3 points out of the possible 22. The Gunners finished the season in a disappointing 8th place.[1]

In the FA Cup, Arsenal easily beat Notts County and Coventry City. However, their run ended against Middlesbrough in a 4-1 loss.[1] Arsenal penetrated deeper into the League Cup, beating Carlisle United before taking their tie with Blackpool to a second replay before triumphing. Arsenal overcame Chelsea in a 2-1 victory at home in front of a season-record crowd to reach the quarterfinals. They lost 1-2 to Queens Park Rangers, ending their League Cup run.

By the end of the season, only two members of the 1971 Double side remained in the first team: George Armstrong and Pat Rice. Armstrong left for Leicester at the end of the season.[1] There were many other departures. John Radford, having lost his place to Stapleton, left to West Ham in December after 14 years at the club, playing 383 league games.[7] Peter Storey was another player to leave, being unable to hold down a first-team place. He moved to Fulham for ₤10,000 and retired a few games later. Neill also moved on Eddie Kelly (QPR), Alex Cropley (₤135,000 to Aston Villa), and Terry Mancini (Aldershot).[1] He brought in Willie Young who he had known at Spurs,[8] and Alan Hudson in the spring for ₤200,000 from Stoke.[1][9]

Final league table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
6 Manchester United 42 18 11 13 71 62 +9 47 Qualification for the European Cup Winners' Cup first round[lower-alpha 1]
7 West Bromwich Albion 42 16 13 13 62 56 +6 45
8 Arsenal 42 16 11 15 64 59 +5 43
9 Everton 42 14 14 14 62 64 −2 42
10 Leeds United 42 15 12 15 48 51 −3 42
Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
Notes:
  1. ↑ Manchester United qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup first round as the 1976–77 FA Cup winners.

Results

Arsenal's score comes first[10]

Legend

Win Draw Loss

Football League First Division

DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
21 August 1976Bristol CityH0–141,082
25 August 1976Norwich CityA3–126,769Macdonald, Nelson, Stapleton
28 August 1976SunderlandA2–241,211Macdonald, Ross
4 September 1976Manchester CityH0–035,132
11 September 1976West Ham UnitedA2–031,965Ross, Stapleton
18 September 1976EvertonH3–134,076Brady, Macdonald, Stapleton
25 September 1976Ipswich TownA1–325,505Hunter (own goal)
2 October 1976Queens Park RangersH3–239,442Brady, Rice, Stapleton
16 October 1976Stoke CityH2–028,745Macdonald, Rice
20 October 1976Aston VillaA1–533,860Ball
23 October 1976Leicester CityA1–419,351Stapleton
30 October 1976Leeds UnitedA1–233,566Matthews
6 November 1976Birmingham CityH4–023,063Stapleton, Macdonald (pen.), Nelson, Ross
20 November 1976LiverpoolH1–145,016Armstrong
27 November 1976Coventry CityA2–118,313Macdonald, Stapleton
4 December 1976Newcastle UnitedH5–335,000Macdonald (3), Ross, Stapleton
15 December 1976Derby CountyA0–024,016
18 December 1976Manchester UnitedH3–139,572Brady, Macdonald (2)
27 December 1976Tottenham HotspurA2–247,751Macdonald (2)
3 January 1977Leeds UnitedH1–144,090Macdonald
15 January 1977Norwich CityH1–030,537Rice
18 January 1977Birmingham CityA3–323,247Macdonald (3)
22 January 1977Bristol CityA0–226,282
5 February 1977SunderlandH0–030,925
12 February 1977Manchester CityA0–145,368
15 February 1977MiddlesbroughA0–326,083
19 February 1977West Ham UnitedH2–338,221Brady, Stapleton
1 March 1977EvertonA1–229,802Macdonald
5 March 1977Ipswich TownH1–434,688Macdonald (pen.)
8 March 1977West Bromwich AlbionH1–219,517Macdonald
12 March 1977Queens Park RangersA1–226,191Young
23 March 1977Stoke CityA1–113,951Price
2 April 1977Leicester CityH3–023,013O'Leary (2), Rix
9 April 1977West Bromwich AlbionA2–024,275Macdonald, Stapleton
11 April 1977Tottenham HotspurH1–047,432Macdonald
16 April 1977LiverpoolA0–248,174
23 April 1977Coventry CityH2–022,790Macdonald, Stapleton
25 April 1977Aston VillaH3–023,961Armstrong, Macdonald, Nelson
30 April 1977Newcastle UnitedA2–044,677Macdonald, Matthews
3 May 1977Derby CountyH0–026,659
7 May 1977MiddlesbroughH1–123,911Stapleton
14 May 1977Manchester UnitedA2–353,232Brady, Stapleton

FA Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R38 January 1977Notts CountyA1–017,328Ross
R429 January 1977Coventry CityH3–141,078Macdonald (2), Stapleton
R526 February 1977MiddlesbroughA1–435,208Macdonald

League Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R231 August 1976Carlisle UnitedH3–221,550Macdonald, Ross (2)
R321 September 1976BlackpoolA1–118,983Armstrong
R3R28 September 1976BlackpoolH0–027,195
R3R25 October 1976BlackpoolH2–026,791Stapleton, O'Leary
R426 October 1976ChelseaH2–152,285Ross, Stapleton
QF1 December 1976Queens Park RangersA1–227,621Stapleton

Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
- GK England ENG Jimmy Rimmer
- DF Northern Ireland NIR Pat Rice
- DF Northern Ireland NIR Sammy Nelson
- MF England ENG Trevor Ross
- DF Republic of Ireland IRL David O'Leary
- DF England ENG Peter Simpson
- MF Republic of Ireland IRL Liam Brady
- MF England ENG Alan Hudson
- FW Republic of Ireland IRL Frank Stapleton
- FW England ENG Malcolm Macdonald
- MF England ENG George Armstrong
No. Pos. Nation Player
- MF England ENG Alan Ball
- DF England ENG Pat Howard
- MF England ENG John Matthews
- DF Scotland SCO Willie Young
- DF England ENG Richie Powling
- DF England ENG Peter Storey
- MF England ENG David Price
- DF England ENG Wilf Rostron
- MF England ENG Graham Rix
- MF Scotland SCO Alex Cropley
- FW England ENG John Radford

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Soar, Phil; Tyler, Martin (1995). Arsenal: Official History. London: Hamlyn. pp. 187–190. ISBN 0600588262.
  2. 1 2 "Arsenal History: 1976-1986 - Terry Neill, Don Howe and lots of cup runs". Just Arsenal. 21 May 2022. Archived from the original on 3 June 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  3. ↑ "Terry Neill, footballer who became Arsenal's youngest ever captain and later their youngest ever manager – obituary". The Telegraph. 29 July 2022. Archived from the original on 7 August 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  4. ↑ Andrews, Mark (28 December 2015). "Bobby Campbell – the Arsenal Obituary 2015". The Arsenal History. Archived from the original on 10 July 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  5. ↑ Glanville, Brian (25 April 2007). "Alan Ball obituary". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 11 October 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  6. ↑ Lawrence, Gary (2 October 2017). "Highbury Hero Supreme, the Swaggering Supermac Malcolm Macdonald". Gunners Town. Archived from the original on 6 February 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  7. ↑ "John Radford". Arsenal. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  8. ↑ "Willie Young". Arsenal. Archived from the original on 25 November 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  9. ↑ Attwood, Tony (21 June 2013). "Alan Hudson, born 21 June 1951". The History of Arsenal. Archived from the original on 4 July 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  10. ↑ "Arsenal results for the 1976-1977 season – Statto.com". Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2012.
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