1976–77 Football League

Overview

Liverpool retained their league championship trophy and won their first European Cup to confirm Bob Paisley as a successful replacement for Bill Shankly in his third season at the helm. Tottenham Hotspur and Stoke City's long spells in the First Division came to an end with relegation. Stoke sacked their manager Tony Waddington. On the last day of the season, Coventry City and Bristol City played out a controversial 2–2 draw, with play virtually stopping when it was heard that Sunderland had lost to Everton. Both clubs survived while Sunderland was relegated.

After Manchester United manager Tommy Docherty had admitted his affair with the wife of the club's physiotherapist, the club's directors decided that he had broken their moral code and he was sacked.

Wolverhampton Wanderers, Chelsea and Nottingham Forest gained promotion to the First Division. Brian Clough's Forest would achieve success beyond the dreams of most supporters over the next few seasons. Carlisle United, Plymouth Argyle and Hereford United occupied the three relegation places. Hereford became the first club to finish bottom of the Second Division after winning the Third Division the previous season.

Mansfield Town, Brighton & Hove Albion and Crystal Palace were the three teams promoted to the Second Division. Palace's manager was a certain Terry Venables who would enjoy more success at Palace and elsewhere over the next 20 years. Going down were Reading, Northampton Town, Grimsby Town and York City.

Cambridge United, Exeter City, Colchester United and Bradford City occupied the four promotion places in the league's lowest division. A terrible season for Workington was compounded by their failure to gain re-election to the Football League, a humiliation which saw them slip into the Northern Premier League. In their place were Southern League champions Wimbledon, who would make amazing progress over the next decade.

The British pop star Elton John took over Fourth Division side Watford and installed Graham Taylor as manager. Former Arsenal manager Bertie Mee came out of retirement to work at Watford as assistant to Graham Taylor. John immediately asserted his ambition by promising to bring First Division football to Watford.

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, 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 this season.

Re-election: 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

Main article: 1976–77 Football League First Division

10th English title Stoke City Tottenham Hotspur Ipswich Town Manchester City Newcastle United Malcolm Macdonald (25 goals each) (6 November 1976) (7 May 1977) (16 October 1976) Despite failing to win any of their final four matches, Liverpool retained the First Division title against a strong challenge by Manchester City and went on to win the European Cup for the first time, although their bid for a unique treble was ended when they lost to Manchester United in the final of the FA Cup. Liverpool finished a point ahead of Manchester City in the league. Ipswich Town, Aston Villa and Newcastle United completed the top five. Newly promoted West Bromwich Albion finished seventh.

Tottenham Hotspur went down in bottom place after a 27-year run in the First Division, along with Stoke City who had been in the First Division continuously since 1963. The final relegation place went to Sunderland, just one year after promotion.

Results

Maps

Arsenal Queens Park Rangers Tottenham West Ham

Aston Villa Birmingham Arsenal Bristol City Coventry Derby County Everton Ipswich Town Leeds United Leicester City Liverpool Middlesbrough Manchester City Manchester United Newcastle Norwich City QPR Stoke Sunderland Tottenham West Bromwich Albion West Ham

Second Division

Chelsea Nottingham Forest Plymouth Argyle Hereford United (26 goals) (9 October 1976) Nottingham Forest 6–1 Sheffield United (9 October 1976) Fulham 5–0 Oldham Athletic (4 December 1976) Fulham 6–1 Orient (7 March 1977) Luton Town 5–0 Carlisle United (26 March 1977) (22 January 1977) (24 September 1976) Wolverhampton Wanderers 2–6 Southampton (5 October 1976) Burnley 4–4 Charlton Athletic (16 October 1976) Oldham Athletic 3–5 Hereford United (16 April 1977) Wolverhampton Wanderers achieved an instant return to the First Division as champions of the Second Division, while runners-up Chelsea regained their top flight status two years after losing it. Brian Clough steered Nottingham Forest into the final promotion place, while Bolton Wanderers and Blackpool missed out by a single point.

Hereford United, Plymouth Argyle and Carlisle United went down to the Third Division.

Results

Maps

Charlton Athletic Chelsea Fulham Orient Millwall

Blackburn Rovers Blackpool Bolton Bristol Rovers Burnley Cardiff City Carlisle United Charlton Chelsea Fulham Hereford United Hull Orient Luton Town Millwall Nottingham Forest Notts County Oldham Plymouth Argyle Sheffield United Southampton Wolverhampton Wanderers

Third Division

Third Division Crystal Palace Northampton Town Reading York City

|win_B&HA=25|draw_B&HA=11|loss_B&HA=10|gf_B&HA=83|ga_B&HA=40

|status_B&HA = P

Results

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|match_BRY_B&HA=3–0

|match_CHE_B&HA=0–1

|match_CHF_B&HA=1–1

|match_CRY_B&HA=3–1

|match_GIL_B&HA=0–1

|match_GRI_B&HA=2–0

|match_LIN_B&HA=2–2

|match_MAN_B&HA=1–1

|match_NOR_B&HA=0–2

|match_OXF_B&HA=1–0

|match_PET_B&HA=2–0

|match_POR_B&HA=1–0

|match_PTV_B&HA=2–2

|match_PNE_B&HA=1–1

|match_REA_B&HA=2–3

|match_ROT_B&HA=0–0

|match_SHW_B&HA=0–0

|match_SHR_B&HA=1–0

|match_SWI_B&HA=2–1

|match_TRA_B&HA=1–3

|match_WAL_B&HA=1–0

|match_WRE_B&HA=0–0

|match_YOR_B&HA=0–1

Maps

Brighton & Hove Bury Chester Chesterfield Crystal Palace Gillingham Grimsby Town Lincoln City Mansfield Town Northampton Town Oxford Peterborough Portsmouth Port Vale Preston North End Reading Rotherham Sheffield Wednesday Shrewsbury Swindon Tranmere Walsall Wrexham York City

Fourth Division

Fourth Division Colchester United Exeter City

Results

Maps

Brentford Watford

Aldershot Barnsley Bournemouth Bradford City Brentford Cambridge Utd Colchester Crewe Alexandra Darlington Doncaster Exeter City Halifax Town Hartlepool Huddersfield Newport County Rochdale Scunthorpe & Lindsey Southend Southport Stockport Swansea City Torquay Watford Workington

Attendances

Source:

Division One

Division Two

Division Three

Division Four

References

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

References

1. "Football Round-up", by Bob Houston, ''The Observer'' (London), 3 October 1976, p. 18
2. [https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-23634720 "How English football came to love and curse the red card"], by Martin Winch, BBC News], 10 August 2013
3. "England 1976–77". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation.
4. Ian Laschke: ''Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79''. Macdonald and Jane’s, London & Sydney, 1980.
5. "English League Leading Goalscorers".
6. "Liverpool football club match record: 1977".
7. https://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/attn/archive/eng/aveeng1991.htm