Season | 1978–79 |
---|---|
Champions | Liverpool |
New Club in League | Wigan Athletic |
← 1977–78 1979–80 → |
The 1978–79 season was the 80th completed season of the Football League.
Bob Paisley won his third league title at Liverpool as his side fought off competition from Nottingham Forest and West Bromwich Albion. Albion were in their first season under the management of Ron Atkinson, and pulled off a famous 5–3 away win over Manchester United with a team that included Bryan Robson, Brendan Batson, Cyrille Regis and Laurie Cunningham.
The three relegation places went to Queens Park Rangers, Birmingham City and Chelsea. QPR had declined since the departure of Dave Sexton in 1977 and were relegated just three years after finishing runners-up in the league. Meanwhile, Chelsea's manager Danny Blanchflower paid for his team's shortcomings by losing his job.
Money dominated the headlines during the season: Trevor Francis became England's first million-pound footballer after joining Nottingham Forest from Birmingham City. Liverpool became one of the first English clubs to have a shirt sponsor when they agreed a sponsorship deal with the Japanese hi-fi manufacturers Hitachi.
Crystal Palace won the Second Division title, followed by Brighton & Hove Albion, who were promoted to the top division for the first time, and third-placed Stoke City. Going down were Sheffield United, Millwall and Blackburn Rovers.
Shrewsbury Town were champions of the Third Division. The other two promotion spots were occupied by Watford and Swansea City. Peterborough United, Walsall, Tranmere Rovers and Lincoln City were relegated to the Fourth Division.
Reading, Grimsby Town, Wimbledon and Barnsley occupied the Fourth Division promotion places. The success came for Wimbledon in only their second season as a league club.
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[1] and in Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79,[2] 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
Season | 1978–79 |
---|---|
Champions | Liverpool 11th English title |
Relegated | Queens Park Rangers Birmingham City Chelsea |
European Cup | Liverpool Nottingham Forest (defending champions) |
Cup Winners' Cup | Arsenal |
UEFA Cup | West Bromwich Albion Everton Leeds United Ipswich Town |
Matches played | 462 |
Goals scored | 1,217 (2.63 per match) |
Top goalscorer | Frank Worthington (24 goals)[3] |
Biggest home win | Liverpool 7–0 Tottenham Hotspur (2 September 1978) |
Biggest away win | Tottenham Hotspur 0–5 Arsenal (23 December 1978) |
Highest scoring | Middlesbrough 7–2 Chelsea (16 December 1978) |
← 1977–78 1979–80 → |
Bob Paisley guided Liverpool to their third league title in four seasons with the highest points total (68), best home record (40 points from 21 games) and highest goals scored to conceded ratio (85 scored, 16 conceded, ratio 5.3:1) ever attained in First Division history. Nottingham Forest built on their first league title triumph by winning the European Cup and retaining the League Cup under the management of Brian Clough, who in February signed striker Trevor Francis from Birmingham City in Britain's first million-pound transfer, although Forest finished eight points behind Liverpool in second place. West Bromwich Albion's first full season under Ron Atkinson brought an impressive third-place finish and a run to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup, as well as a famous 5-3 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford just after Christmas.
Everton and Leeds United completed the top five. Seventh placed Arsenal compensated for a lack of a title challenge by beating Manchester United 3-2 in a memorable final of the FA Cup.
Chelsea, Birmingham City and QPR were relegated, while Derby County (champions just four years ago) only narrowly stayed up.
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Liverpool (C) | 42 | 30 | 8 | 4 | 85 | 16 | +69 | 68 | Qualification for the European Cup first round |
2 | Nottingham Forest | 42 | 21 | 18 | 3 | 61 | 26 | +35 | 60 | Qualification for the European Cup first round[lower-alpha 1] |
3 | West Bromwich Albion | 42 | 24 | 11 | 7 | 72 | 35 | +37 | 59 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
4 | Everton | 42 | 17 | 17 | 8 | 52 | 40 | +12 | 51 | |
5 | Leeds United | 42 | 18 | 14 | 10 | 70 | 52 | +18 | 50 | |
6 | Ipswich Town | 42 | 20 | 9 | 13 | 63 | 49 | +14 | 49 | |
7 | Arsenal | 42 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 61 | 48 | +13 | 48 | Qualification for the European Cup Winners' Cup first round[lower-alpha 2] |
8 | Aston Villa | 42 | 15 | 16 | 11 | 59 | 49 | +10 | 46 | |
9 | Manchester United | 42 | 15 | 15 | 12 | 60 | 63 | −3 | 45 | |
10 | Coventry City | 42 | 14 | 16 | 12 | 58 | 68 | −10 | 44 | |
11 | Tottenham Hotspur | 42 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 48 | 61 | −13 | 41 | |
12 | Middlesbrough | 42 | 15 | 10 | 17 | 57 | 50 | +7 | 40 | |
13 | Bristol City | 42 | 15 | 10 | 17 | 47 | 51 | −4 | 40 | |
14 | Southampton | 42 | 12 | 16 | 14 | 47 | 53 | −6 | 40 | |
15 | Manchester City | 42 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 58 | 56 | +2 | 39 | |
16 | Norwich City | 42 | 7 | 23 | 12 | 51 | 57 | −6 | 37 | |
17 | Bolton Wanderers | 42 | 12 | 11 | 19 | 54 | 75 | −21 | 35 | |
18 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 42 | 13 | 8 | 21 | 44 | 68 | −24 | 34 | |
19 | Derby County | 42 | 10 | 11 | 21 | 44 | 71 | −27 | 31 | |
20 | Queens Park Rangers (R) | 42 | 6 | 13 | 23 | 45 | 73 | −28 | 25 | Relegation to the Second Division |
21 | Birmingham City (R) | 42 | 6 | 10 | 26 | 37 | 64 | −27 | 22 | |
22 | Chelsea (R) | 42 | 5 | 10 | 27 | 44 | 92 | −48 | 20 |
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 1978–79 European Cup winners.
- ↑ Arsenal qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup first round as the 1978–79 FA Cup winners.
Results
Managerial changes
Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Leeds United | Jimmy Armfield | Sacked | 30 June 1978 | Pre-season | Jock Stein | 21 August 1978 |
Queens Park Rangers | Frank Sibley | Mutual consent | 11 July 1978 | Steve Burtenshaw | 10 August 1978 | |
Leeds United | Jock Stein | Signed by Scotland | 4 October 1978 | 11th | Jimmy Adamson | 25 October 1978 |
Wolverhampton Wanderers | Sammy Chung | Sacked | 8 November 1978 | 21st | John Barnwell | 20 November 1978 |
Chelsea | Ken Shellito | 13 December 1978 | 22nd | Danny Blanchflower | 14 December 1978 |
Maps
Second Division
Season | 1978–79 |
---|---|
Champions | Crystal Palace |
Promoted | Crystal Palace Brighton & Hove Albion Stoke City |
Relegated | Sheffield United Millwall Blackburn Rovers |
Cup Winners' Cup | Wrexham |
Matches played | 462 |
Goals scored | 1,174 (2.54 per match) |
Top goalscorer | Pop Robson (24 goals)[3] |
Biggest home win | Luton Town 7–1 Cardiff City (16 September 1978) Luton Town 6–0 Notts County (21 October 1978) |
Biggest away win | Millwall 1–4 Brighton & Hove Albion (2 September 1978) Cardiff City 1–4 Charlton Athletic (4 November 1978) Newcastle United 1–4 Sunderland (24 February 1979) Luton Town 1–4 West Ham United (26 February 1979) Blackburn Rovers 1–4 Cardiff City (28 February 1979) Charlton Athletic 1–4 Stoke City (14 April 1979) 0–3: 9 matches |
Highest scoring | Bristol Rovers 5–5 Charlton Athletic (18 November 1978) |
← 1977–78 1979–80 → |
Crystal Palace continued to excel under the management of Terry Venables as their exciting young team finished top of a hotly contested Second Division promotion race, a point ahead of Brighton (in the First Division for the first time) and Stoke City. Sunderland missed out on promotion by a single point.
Newcastle United and Leicester City surprisingly failed to feature in the Second Division promotion race.
Blackburn Rovers, Millwall and Sheffield United went down to the Third Division.
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Crystal Palace (C, P) | 42 | 19 | 19 | 4 | 51 | 24 | +27 | 57 | Promotion to the First Division |
2 | Brighton & Hove Albion (P) | 42 | 23 | 10 | 9 | 72 | 39 | +33 | 56 | |
3 | Stoke City (P) | 42 | 20 | 16 | 6 | 58 | 31 | +27 | 56 | |
4 | Sunderland | 42 | 22 | 11 | 9 | 70 | 44 | +26 | 55 | |
5 | West Ham United | 42 | 18 | 14 | 10 | 70 | 39 | +31 | 50 | |
6 | Notts County | 42 | 14 | 16 | 12 | 48 | 60 | −12 | 44 | |
7 | Preston North End | 42 | 12 | 18 | 12 | 59 | 57 | +2 | 42 | |
8 | Newcastle United | 42 | 17 | 8 | 17 | 51 | 55 | −4 | 42 | |
9 | Cardiff City | 42 | 16 | 10 | 16 | 56 | 70 | −14 | 42 | |
10 | Fulham | 42 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 50 | 47 | +3 | 41 | |
11 | Orient | 42 | 15 | 10 | 17 | 51 | 51 | 0 | 40 | |
12 | Cambridge United | 42 | 12 | 16 | 14 | 44 | 52 | −8 | 40 | |
13 | Burnley | 42 | 14 | 12 | 16 | 51 | 62 | −11 | 40 | |
14 | Oldham Athletic | 42 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 52 | 61 | −9 | 39 | |
15 | Wrexham | 42 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 45 | 42 | +3 | 38 | Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round |
16 | Bristol Rovers | 42 | 14 | 10 | 18 | 48 | 60 | −12 | 38 | |
17 | Leicester City | 42 | 10 | 17 | 15 | 43 | 52 | −9 | 37 | |
18 | Luton Town | 42 | 13 | 10 | 19 | 60 | 57 | +3 | 36 | |
19 | Charlton Athletic | 42 | 11 | 13 | 18 | 60 | 69 | −9 | 35 | |
20 | Sheffield United (R) | 42 | 11 | 12 | 19 | 52 | 69 | −17 | 34 | Relegation to the Third Division |
21 | Millwall (R) | 42 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 42 | 61 | −19 | 32 | |
22 | Blackburn Rovers (R) | 42 | 10 | 10 | 22 | 41 | 72 | −31 | 30 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Results
Maps
Third Division
Season | 1978–79 |
---|---|
Champions | Shrewsbury Town (1st title) |
Promoted | Swansea City, Watford |
Relegated | Lincoln City, Peterborough United, Tranmere Rovers, Walsall |
Matches played | 552 |
Goals scored | 1,388 (2.51 per match) |
Top goalscorer | Ross Jenkins (Watford), 29 [3] |
← 1977–78 1979–80 → |
Pos | Team | Pld | HW | HD | HL | HGF | HGA | AW | AD | AL | AGF | AGA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Shrewsbury Town | 46 | 14 | 9 | 0 | 36 | 11 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 25 | 30 | +20 | 61 | Division Champions, promoted; Welsh Cup winners, not qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup[lower-alpha 1] |
2 | Watford | 46 | 15 | 5 | 3 | 47 | 22 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 36 | 30 | +31 | 60 | Promoted |
3 | Swansea City | 46 | 16 | 6 | 1 | 57 | 32 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 26 | 29 | +22 | 60 | |
4 | Gillingham | 46 | 15 | 7 | 1 | 39 | 15 | 6 | 10 | 7 | 26 | 27 | +23 | 59 | |
5 | Swindon Town | 46 | 17 | 2 | 4 | 44 | 14 | 8 | 5 | 10 | 30 | 38 | +22 | 57 | |
6 | Carlisle United | 46 | 11 | 10 | 2 | 31 | 13 | 4 | 12 | 7 | 22 | 29 | +11 | 52 | |
7 | Colchester United | 46 | 13 | 9 | 1 | 35 | 19 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 25 | 36 | +5 | 51 | |
8 | Hull City | 46 | 12 | 9 | 2 | 36 | 14 | 7 | 2 | 14 | 30 | 47 | +5 | 49 | |
9 | Exeter City | 46 | 14 | 6 | 3 | 38 | 18 | 3 | 9 | 11 | 23 | 38 | +5 | 49 | |
10 | Brentford | 46 | 14 | 4 | 5 | 35 | 19 | 5 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 30 | +4 | 47 | |
11 | Oxford United | 46 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 27 | 20 | 4 | 10 | 9 | 17 | 30 | −6 | 46 | |
12 | Blackpool | 46 | 12 | 5 | 6 | 38 | 19 | 6 | 4 | 13 | 23 | 40 | +2 | 45 | |
13 | Southend United | 46 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 30 | 17 | 4 | 9 | 10 | 21 | 32 | +2 | 45 | |
14 | Sheffield Wednesday | 46 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 30 | 22 | 4 | 11 | 8 | 23 | 31 | 0 | 45 | |
15 | Plymouth Argyle | 46 | 11 | 9 | 3 | 40 | 27 | 4 | 5 | 14 | 27 | 41 | −1 | 44 | |
16 | Chester | 46 | 11 | 9 | 3 | 42 | 21 | 3 | 7 | 13 | 15 | 40 | −4 | 44 | |
17 | Rotherham United | 46 | 13 | 3 | 7 | 30 | 23 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 32 | −6 | 44 | |
18 | Mansfield Town | 46 | 7 | 11 | 5 | 30 | 24 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 21 | 28 | −1 | 43 | |
19 | Bury | 46 | 6 | 11 | 6 | 35 | 32 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 24 | 33 | −6 | 42 | |
20 | Chesterfield | 46 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 35 | 34 | 3 | 9 | 11 | 16 | 31 | −14 | 40 | |
21 | Peterborough United | 46 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 26 | 24 | 3 | 7 | 13 | 18 | 39 | −19 | 36 | Relegated |
22 | Walsall | 46 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 34 | 32 | 3 | 6 | 14 | 22 | 39 | −15 | 32 | |
23 | Tranmere Rovers | 46 | 4 | 12 | 7 | 26 | 31 | 2 | 4 | 17 | 19 | 47 | −33 | 28 | |
24 | Lincoln City | 46 | 5 | 7 | 11 | 26 | 38 | 2 | 4 | 17 | 15 | 50 | −47 | 25 |
Notes:
- ↑ Shrewsbury Town were winners of the Welsh Cup winners this season, but as they are an English club, they did not earn a place in the Cup Winners' Cup.
Results
Maps
Fourth Division
Season | 1978–79 |
---|---|
Champions | Reading (1st title) |
Promoted | Barnsley, Grimsby Town, Wimbledon |
Failed re-election | None |
New club in the league | Wigan Athletic |
Matches played | 552 |
Goals scored | 1,409 (2.55 per match) |
Top goalscorer | John Dungworth (Aldershot), 26 [3] |
← 1977–78 1979–80 → |
Pos | Team | Pld | HW | HD | HL | HGF | HGA | AW | AD | AL | AGF | AGA | GD | Pts | Promotion |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Reading | 46 | 19 | 3 | 1 | 49 | 8 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 27 | 27 | +41 | 65 | Division Champions, promoted |
2 | Grimsby Town | 46 | 15 | 5 | 3 | 51 | 23 | 11 | 4 | 8 | 31 | 26 | +33 | 61 | Promoted |
3 | Wimbledon | 46 | 18 | 3 | 2 | 50 | 20 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 28 | 26 | +32 | 61 | |
4 | Barnsley | 46 | 15 | 5 | 3 | 47 | 23 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 26 | 19 | +31 | 61 | |
5 | Aldershot | 46 | 16 | 5 | 2 | 38 | 14 | 4 | 12 | 7 | 25 | 33 | +16 | 57 | |
6 | Wigan Athletic[lower-alpha 1] | 46 | 14 | 5 | 4 | 40 | 24 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 23 | 24 | +15 | 55 | |
7 | Portsmouth | 46 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 35 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 11 | 27 | 36 | +14 | 52 | |
8 | Newport County | 46 | 12 | 5 | 6 | 39 | 28 | 9 | 5 | 9 | 27 | 27 | +11 | 52 | |
9 | Huddersfield Town | 46 | 13 | 8 | 2 | 32 | 15 | 5 | 3 | 15 | 25 | 38 | +4 | 47 | |
10 | York City | 46 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 33 | 24 | 7 | 5 | 11 | 18 | 31 | −4 | 47 | |
11 | Torquay United | 46 | 14 | 4 | 5 | 38 | 24 | 5 | 4 | 14 | 20 | 41 | −7 | 46 | |
12 | Scunthorpe United | 46 | 12 | 3 | 8 | 33 | 30 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 21 | 30 | −6 | 45 | |
13 | Hartlepool United | 46 | 7 | 12 | 4 | 35 | 28 | 6 | 6 | 11 | 22 | 38 | −9 | 44 | |
14 | Hereford United | 46 | 12 | 8 | 3 | 35 | 18 | 3 | 5 | 15 | 18 | 35 | 0 | 43 | |
15 | Bradford City | 46 | 11 | 5 | 7 | 38 | 26 | 6 | 4 | 13 | 24 | 42 | −6 | 43 | |
16 | Port Vale | 46 | 8 | 10 | 5 | 29 | 28 | 6 | 4 | 13 | 28 | 42 | −13 | 42 | |
17 | Stockport County | 46 | 11 | 5 | 7 | 33 | 21 | 3 | 7 | 13 | 25 | 39 | −2 | 40 | |
18 | AFC Bournemouth | 46 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 34 | 19 | 3 | 5 | 15 | 13 | 29 | −1 | 39 | |
19 | Northampton Town | 46 | 12 | 4 | 7 | 40 | 30 | 3 | 5 | 15 | 24 | 46 | −12 | 39 | |
20 | Rochdale | 46 | 11 | 4 | 8 | 25 | 26 | 4 | 5 | 14 | 22 | 38 | −17 | 39 | |
21 | Darlington | 46 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 25 | 21 | 3 | 7 | 13 | 24 | 45 | −17 | 37 | Re-elected |
22 | Doncaster Rovers | 46 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 25 | 22 | 5 | 3 | 15 | 25 | 51 | −23 | 37 | |
23 | Halifax Town | 46 | 7 | 5 | 11 | 24 | 32 | 2 | 3 | 18 | 15 | 40 | −33 | 26 | |
24 | Crewe Alexandra | 46 | 3 | 7 | 13 | 24 | 41 | 3 | 7 | 13 | 19 | 49 | −47 | 26 |
Notes:
- ↑ New club in the league; elected from Northern Premier League
Results
Maps
See also
References
- ↑ "England 1978–79". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 27 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-24.
- 1 2 Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane’s, London & Sydney, 1980.
- 1 2 3 4 "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.