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The1975–76 season was the 96th season of competitivefootball inEngland.
16 August 1975: The First Division season begins with reigning championsDerby County held to a 1–1 draw bySheffield United. Last season's Second Division championsManchester United win 2–0 away toWolverhampton Wanderers, whileQueens Park Rangers beatLiverpool 2–0.[1]
23 August 1975: Derby County are beaten 5–1 by Queens Park Rangers at theBaseball Ground in their first home League match of the season.[1]
31 August 1975: Manchester United lead the First Division by one point fromWest Ham United at the end of August.[1]
30 September 1975: TwoLondon clubs, Queens Park Rangers and West Ham United, lead the First Division table at the end of September, a point ahead of Manchester United. Sheffield United are bottom with just three points from ten matches.[1]
30 October 1975:England lose 2–1 toCzechoslovakia inBratislava in aEuropean Championship qualifier.[2]
31 October 1975: Seven clubs all lie within two points at the top of the First Division, with the table led by Queens Park Rangers, Manchester United and West Ham United. Sheffield United are already five points adrift of Wolverhampton Wanderers at the bottom, whileLeicester City are still looking for their first win, having drawn nine of their fourteen games so far.[1]
8 November 1975: Manchester United fall from first place to third after theRed Devils were beaten byLiverpool. The new league leaders are West Ham United, with second-placed Derby level on points with the London club. Elsewhere, braces fromLeeds United'sDuncan McKenzie andColin Bell ofManchester City help their clubs beatNewcastle United andBirmingham City respectively.[3]
12 November 1975: Manchester City thrash neighbours United 4–0 in the fourth round of theFootball League Cup.[4]
19 November 1975: England draw 1–1 away toPortugal in their last European Championship qualifier, and must now hope that Czechoslovakia fail to beatCyprus in order to qualify for the quarter-finals.[2]
23 November 1975: Czechoslovakia beat Cyprus 3–0 to confirm England's elimination from the European Championships.[5]
30 November 1975: The month ends with Derby County having recovered from their poor start to top the First Division table. They lead Queens Park Rangers and West Ham United by one point. Sheffield United have been joined byBirmingham City andBurnley in the relegation zone.[1]
20 December 1975: Liverpool avenge their opening day defeat to Queens Park Rangers by beating them 2–0 atAnfield in a top-of-the-table clash.[1]
31 December 1975: The year ends with Liverpool and Manchester United level on points at the top of the table, one point ahead ofLeeds United and Derby County. Sheffield United are now eleven points from safety, and Wolverhampton Wanderers and Burnley complete the bottom three.Arsenal are struggling in seventeenth place.[1]
3 January 1976:FA Cup third round day throws up a set of interesting results: table toppers Liverpool eliminate reigning FA Cup winners West Ham, Manchester City hitHartlepool United for six and two late goals forIsthmian League outfitTooting & Mitcham United help them force a replay againstSwindon Town.[6]
17 January 1976:Stoke City play a league game atPort Vale'sVale Park ground during repair work to the roof of the Butler Street Stand at theVictoria Ground, after it had been blown off during severe winds a fortnight earlier.
24 January 1976: SubstituteRoger Davies' goal sees Derby County beat Liverpool in the FA Cup fourth round; the Rams' reward is a tie againstSouthend United, victors overCardiff City. Other qualifiers to round five include Division Three clubCrystal Palace, who overcame Leeds–currently second in the First Division table–atElland Road, and Fourth DivisionersBradford City, responsible for ending the FA Cup campaign of Tooting & Mitcham, the last remainingnon-Leaguers. The sole First Division match was a London derby between QPR and West Ham:Alan Taylor scoring the only goal forthe Hammers.[7]
31 January 1976: Liverpool thrash West Ham United 4–0 atUpton Park but trail Manchester United by a point at the top of the table. Derby County, Leeds United and Queens Park Rangers also remain in contention.[1]
28 February 1976: Manchester City beatNewcastle United 2–1 in theLeague Cup final.[4]
29 February 1976: The race for the title remains extremely close, with Liverpool, Queens Park Rangers and Manchester United tied on points at the top, and Derby County just one point behind. Leeds United trail by five points, but have at least two games in hand on each of their rivals. At the bottom, Sheffield United are ten points from safety, and Wolverhampton Wanderers, Burnley and Birmingham City appear to be fighting to avoid the other two relegation places.[1]
6 March 1976: Third DivisionCrystal Palace reach theFA Cup semi-finals by beatingSunderland 1–0 atRoker Park. Fourth Division giant-killersBradford City lose 1–0 at home toSouthampton, and Derby County beat Newcastle United 4–2.[8]
27 March 1976: Sheffield United are beaten 5–0 byTottenham Hotspur and are relegated to the Second Division.[1]
31 March 1976: Unbeaten in the League since January, Queens Park Rangers lead the First Division by a point from Manchester United and Derby County with five games remaining. Liverpool are two points behind the leaders, but they and United have a game in hand.[1]
3 April 1976: Manchester United and Southampton reach the FA Cup final after 2–0 victories over Derby County and Crystal Palace respectively.[8]
8 April 1976:Malcolm Macdonald's brace helps Newcastle United beat beleaguered Birmingham City 4–0.[9]
10 April 1976: Derby County's bid to retain their League title is effectively ended when they lose 4–3 toManchester City. Queens Park Rangers beat Middlesbrough 4–2 and have now taken 23 points from the last 24 available. They are now in control of the championship race, as Manchester United lose 3–0 atIpswich Town and Liverpool draw 0–0 againstAston Villa.[1]
17 April 1976: Liverpool move back to the top of the First Division after they beatStoke City 5–3 and Queens Park Rangers suffer a 3–2 defeat toNorwich City.[1]
19 April 1976: Burnley are relegated to the Second Division with one match of the season remaining.[1]
21 April 1976: Manchester United's bid for the double is virtually ended by a 1–0 loss to Stoke City, their first home League defeat of the season.[1]
24 April 1976: Queens Park Rangers end the best League season in the club's history by beating Leeds United 2–0. They are a point ahead of Liverpool, and need the Reds to lose their last match of the season to win the championship.[1]
28 April 1976: Liverpool recover from 2–0 down to beatClub Bruges 3–2 in the first leg of theUEFA Cup final at Anfield.[10]
1 May 1976: Southampton cause a major shock by beating Manchester United 1–0 in theFA Cup final thanks to a second-half goal fromBobby Stokes.[11] They emulate Sunderland's1973 feat of winning the Cup from the Second Division.[8]
4 May 1976: Liverpool come from a goal down to beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 3–1 and win the League title.[12] They finish a point ahead of Queens Park Rangers and four ahead of Manchester United. The defeat condemns Wolves to relegation alongside Sheffield United and Burnley.[1]
5 May 1976: West Ham United lose 4–2 toAnderlecht in theEuropean Cup Winners' Cup final at theHeysel Stadium inBrussels.[10]
15 May 1976: England lose 2–1 toScotland atHampden Park in their lastHome Championship match.Kenny Dalglish scores the winning goal when his shot goes between the legs of England goalkeeperRay Clemence.[2]
19 May 1976: Liverpool claim their second European trophy by drawing 1–1 with Club Bruges to complete a 4–3 aggregate victory in the UEFA Cup final.[10]
28 May 1976: England come from two goals down at half-time to beatItaly 3–2 inNew York City in a tournament organised to commemorate the bicentenary of theindependence of the USA.[2]
13 June 1976: England beatFinland 4–1 in their first qualifying match for the1978 World Cup.[2]
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Liverpool won theUEFA Cup for the second time after a 4–3 aggregate victory overClub Bruges in thefinal. The 1975FA Cup winnersWest Ham United reached thefinal of theEuropean Cup Winners' Cup, where they lost 4–2 to another Belgian side,Anderlecht. League championsDerby County lost 6–5 on aggregate toReal Madrid in the second round of theEuropean Cup.[10]
Southampton pulled off one of the greatest upsets in the history of FA Cup finals when aBobby Stokes goal gave them victory overManchester United atWembley. It was the first major trophy in the club's history.Crystal Palace of the Third Division had an inspired run from the first round through to the semi-finals, beatingLeeds United,Chelsea andSunderland along the way, all of whom were in higher divisions.
Manchester City beatNewcastle to claim theLeague Cup, their first major trophy for six years.Dennis Tueart scored a brilliant overhead kick to win the game.
Liverpool won the First Division title and theUEFA Cup in their second season under the management ofBob Paisley. They finished just one point ahead of Queens Park Rangers, who had emerged as serious title contenders under the managementDave Sexton, who had won silverware with Chelsea a few seasons earlier. Manchester United enjoyed a strong First Division comeback by finishing third. Derby County's defence of the league title finished with a fourth-place finish. Leeds United continued to recover from the departure ofDon Revie by moving up to fifth place a year after finishing ninth.
FA Cup holders West Ham United could only manage an 18th-place finish in the league, and were runners-up in theEuropean Cup Winners' Cup.
Sheffield United's terrible season saw them relegated in bottom place after five years back in the First Division. They went down with Burnley and Wolves.
Bertie Mee, 57, retired after ten years as manager of Arsenal. The highlights of his career had been theInter-Cities Fairs Cup triumph of 1970 andthe Double win of 1971, but Arsenal had fallen behind the best in recent seasons and Mee handed over the reins toTerry Neill.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool(C) | 42 | 23 | 14 | 5 | 66 | 31 | 2.129 | 60 | Qualification for theEuropean Cup first round |
| 2 | Queens Park Rangers | 42 | 24 | 11 | 7 | 67 | 33 | 2.030 | 59 | Qualification for theUEFA Cup first round |
| 3 | Manchester United | 42 | 23 | 10 | 9 | 68 | 42 | 1.619 | 56 | |
| 4 | Derby County | 42 | 21 | 11 | 10 | 75 | 58 | 1.293 | 53 | |
| 5 | Leeds United | 42 | 21 | 9 | 12 | 65 | 46 | 1.413 | 51 | |
| 6 | Ipswich Town | 42 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 54 | 48 | 1.125 | 46 | |
| 7 | Leicester City | 42 | 13 | 19 | 10 | 48 | 51 | 0.941 | 45 | |
| 8 | Manchester City | 42 | 16 | 11 | 15 | 64 | 46 | 1.391 | 43 | Qualification for theUEFA Cup first round |
| 9 | Tottenham Hotspur | 42 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 63 | 63 | 1.000 | 43 | |
| 10 | Norwich City | 42 | 16 | 10 | 16 | 58 | 58 | 1.000 | 42 | |
| 11 | Everton | 42 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 60 | 66 | 0.909 | 42 | |
| 12 | Stoke City | 42 | 15 | 11 | 16 | 48 | 50 | 0.960 | 41 | |
| 13 | Middlesbrough | 42 | 15 | 10 | 17 | 46 | 45 | 1.022 | 40 | |
| 14 | Coventry City | 42 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 47 | 57 | 0.825 | 40 | |
| 15 | Newcastle United | 42 | 15 | 9 | 18 | 71 | 62 | 1.145 | 39 | |
| 16 | Aston Villa | 42 | 11 | 17 | 14 | 51 | 59 | 0.864 | 39 | |
| 17 | Arsenal | 42 | 13 | 10 | 19 | 47 | 53 | 0.887 | 36 | |
| 18 | West Ham United | 42 | 13 | 10 | 19 | 48 | 71 | 0.676 | 36 | |
| 19 | Birmingham City | 42 | 13 | 7 | 22 | 57 | 75 | 0.760 | 33 | |
| 20 | Wolverhampton Wanderers(R) | 42 | 10 | 10 | 22 | 51 | 68 | 0.750 | 30 | Relegation to theSecond Division |
| 21 | Burnley(R) | 42 | 9 | 10 | 23 | 43 | 66 | 0.652 | 28 | |
| 22 | Sheffield United(R) | 42 | 6 | 10 | 26 | 33 | 82 | 0.402 | 22 |
Three years after their famous FA Cup win, Sunderland finally made it out of the Second Division as champions. Bristol City finished runners-up to end their 65-year exile from the First Division.Johnny Giles enjoyed a dream start to his managerial career by ending West Bromwich Albion's three-year stay in the Second Division. Bolton Wanderers missed out on promotion by a single point underIan Greaves. Sixth placed Southampton won the first silverware of their history by winning the FA Cup at the expense of Manchester United.
Nottingham Forest finished eighth inBrian Clough's first full season as manager. Chelsea finished a disappointing 11th in their first season outside the top flight for over a decade.
Portsmouth, York City and Oxford United finished the season relegated to the Third Division.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sunderland(C, P) | 42 | 24 | 8 | 10 | 67 | 36 | 1.861 | 56 | Promotion to theFirst Division |
| 2 | Bristol City(P) | 42 | 19 | 15 | 8 | 59 | 35 | 1.686 | 53 | |
| 3 | West Bromwich Albion(P) | 42 | 20 | 13 | 9 | 50 | 33 | 1.515 | 53 | |
| 4 | Bolton Wanderers | 42 | 20 | 12 | 10 | 64 | 38 | 1.684 | 52 | |
| 5 | Notts County | 42 | 19 | 11 | 12 | 60 | 41 | 1.463 | 49 | |
| 6 | Southampton | 42 | 21 | 7 | 14 | 66 | 50 | 1.320 | 49 | Qualification for theCup Winners' Cup first round[a] |
| 7 | Luton Town | 42 | 19 | 10 | 13 | 61 | 51 | 1.196 | 48 | |
| 8 | Nottingham Forest | 42 | 17 | 12 | 13 | 55 | 40 | 1.375 | 46 | |
| 9 | Charlton Athletic | 42 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 61 | 72 | 0.847 | 42 | |
| 10 | Blackpool | 42 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 40 | 49 | 0.816 | 42 | |
| 11 | Chelsea | 42 | 12 | 16 | 14 | 53 | 54 | 0.981 | 40 | |
| 12 | Fulham | 42 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 45 | 47 | 0.957 | 40 | |
| 13 | Orient | 42 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 37 | 39 | 0.949 | 40 | |
| 14 | Hull City | 42 | 14 | 11 | 17 | 45 | 49 | 0.918 | 39 | |
| 15 | Blackburn Rovers | 42 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 45 | 50 | 0.900 | 38 | |
| 16 | Plymouth Argyle | 42 | 13 | 12 | 17 | 48 | 54 | 0.889 | 38 | |
| 17 | Oldham Athletic | 42 | 13 | 12 | 17 | 57 | 68 | 0.838 | 38 | |
| 18 | Bristol Rovers | 42 | 11 | 16 | 15 | 38 | 50 | 0.760 | 38 | |
| 19 | Carlisle United | 42 | 12 | 13 | 17 | 45 | 59 | 0.763 | 37 | |
| 20 | Oxford United(R) | 42 | 11 | 11 | 20 | 39 | 59 | 0.661 | 33 | Relegation to theThird Division |
| 21 | York City(R) | 42 | 10 | 8 | 24 | 39 | 71 | 0.549 | 28 | |
| 22 | Portsmouth(R) | 42 | 9 | 7 | 26 | 32 | 61 | 0.525 | 25 |
Hereford United won the Third Division title and with it promotion to the Second Division in only their fourth season in theFootball League. Cardiff City and Millwall went up with them to seal an instant return to the Second Division. Brighton, managed by Brian Clough's former assistantPeter Taylor, missed out on promotion by one place. Crystal Palace, semi-finalists in the FA Cup, missed out on promotion after a late season collapse in form, which was followed by the replacement ofMalcolm Allison as manager withTerry Venables.
Halifax, Southend, Colchester and Aldershot were relegated. Narrowly avoiding the drop were Sheffield Wednesday, who during the interwar years had won the League championship and the FA Cup, and which resulted in their lowest League finish ever.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hereford United(C, P) | 46 | 26 | 11 | 9 | 86 | 55 | 1.564 | 63 | Promotion to theSecond Division |
| 2 | Cardiff City(P) | 46 | 22 | 13 | 11 | 69 | 48 | 1.438 | 57 | Cup Winners' Cup preliminary round and promotion to theSecond Division |
| 3 | Millwall(P) | 46 | 20 | 16 | 10 | 54 | 43 | 1.256 | 56 | Promotion to theSecond Division |
| 4 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 46 | 22 | 9 | 15 | 78 | 53 | 1.472 | 53 | |
| 5 | Crystal Palace | 46 | 18 | 17 | 11 | 61 | 46 | 1.326 | 53 | |
| 6 | Wrexham | 46 | 20 | 12 | 14 | 66 | 55 | 1.200 | 52 | |
| 7 | Walsall | 46 | 18 | 14 | 14 | 74 | 61 | 1.213 | 50 | |
| 8 | Preston North End | 46 | 19 | 10 | 17 | 62 | 57 | 1.088 | 48 | |
| 9 | Shrewsbury Town | 46 | 19 | 10 | 17 | 61 | 59 | 1.034 | 48 | |
| 10 | Peterborough United | 46 | 15 | 18 | 13 | 63 | 63 | 1.000 | 48 | |
| 11 | Mansfield Town | 46 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 58 | 52 | 1.115 | 47 | |
| 12 | Port Vale | 46 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 55 | 54 | 1.019 | 46 | |
| 13 | Bury | 46 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 51 | 46 | 1.109 | 44 | |
| 14 | Chesterfield | 46 | 17 | 9 | 20 | 69 | 69 | 1.000 | 43 | |
| 15 | Gillingham | 46 | 12 | 19 | 15 | 58 | 68 | 0.853 | 43 | |
| 16 | Rotherham United | 46 | 15 | 12 | 19 | 54 | 65 | 0.831 | 42 | |
| 17 | Chester | 46 | 15 | 12 | 19 | 43 | 62 | 0.694 | 42 | |
| 18 | Grimsby Town | 46 | 15 | 10 | 21 | 62 | 74 | 0.838 | 40 | |
| 19 | Swindon Town | 46 | 16 | 8 | 22 | 62 | 75 | 0.827 | 40 | |
| 20 | Sheffield Wednesday | 46 | 12 | 16 | 18 | 48 | 59 | 0.814 | 40 | |
| 21 | Aldershot(R) | 46 | 13 | 13 | 20 | 59 | 75 | 0.787 | 39 | Relegation to theFourth Division |
| 22 | Colchester United(R) | 46 | 12 | 14 | 20 | 41 | 65 | 0.631 | 38 | |
| 23 | Southend United(R) | 46 | 12 | 13 | 21 | 65 | 75 | 0.867 | 37 | |
| 24 | Halifax Town(R) | 46 | 11 | 13 | 22 | 41 | 61 | 0.672 | 35 |
32-year-oldGraham Taylor achieved the first success of his managerial career by winning the Fourth Division title for Lincoln City. Their points total of 74 was and remains the record for the Football League during the period when 2 points were awarded for a win.[13] He was linked with several job vacancies in the First and Second Divisions but surprised everyone by taking over atElton John's Watford, who were still standing in the Fourth Division. Joining Lincoln in the Third Division were Northampton Town, Reading and Tranmere Rovers.
The Football League voted in favour of the bottom four clubs remaining in the Fourth Division, and so there were no departures or arrivals in the league for 1976–77.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Promotion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lincoln City(C, P) | 46 | 32 | 10 | 4 | 111 | 39 | 2.846 | 74 | Promotion to theThird Division |
| 2 | Northampton Town(P) | 46 | 29 | 10 | 7 | 87 | 40 | 2.175 | 68 | |
| 3 | Reading(P) | 46 | 24 | 12 | 10 | 70 | 51 | 1.373 | 60 | |
| 4 | Tranmere Rovers(P) | 46 | 24 | 10 | 12 | 89 | 55 | 1.618 | 58 | |
| 5 | Huddersfield Town | 46 | 21 | 14 | 11 | 56 | 41 | 1.366 | 56 | |
| 6 | Bournemouth | 46 | 20 | 12 | 14 | 57 | 48 | 1.188 | 52 | |
| 7 | Exeter City | 46 | 18 | 14 | 14 | 56 | 47 | 1.191 | 50 | |
| 8 | Watford | 46 | 22 | 6 | 18 | 62 | 62 | 1.000 | 50 | |
| 9 | Torquay United | 46 | 18 | 14 | 14 | 55 | 63 | 0.873 | 50 | |
| 10 | Doncaster Rovers | 46 | 19 | 11 | 16 | 75 | 69 | 1.087 | 49 | |
| 11 | Swansea City | 46 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 66 | 57 | 1.158 | 47 | |
| 12 | Barnsley | 46 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 52 | 48 | 1.083 | 44 | |
| 13 | Cambridge United | 46 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 58 | 62 | 0.935 | 43 | |
| 14 | Hartlepool | 46 | 16 | 10 | 20 | 62 | 78 | 0.795 | 42 | |
| 15 | Rochdale | 46 | 12 | 18 | 16 | 40 | 54 | 0.741 | 42 | |
| 16 | Crewe Alexandra | 46 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 58 | 57 | 1.018 | 41 | |
| 17 | Bradford City | 46 | 12 | 17 | 17 | 63 | 65 | 0.969 | 41 | |
| 18 | Brentford | 46 | 14 | 13 | 19 | 56 | 60 | 0.933 | 41 | |
| 19 | Scunthorpe United | 46 | 14 | 10 | 22 | 50 | 59 | 0.847 | 38 | |
| 20 | Darlington | 46 | 14 | 10 | 22 | 48 | 57 | 0.842 | 38 | |
| 21 | Stockport County | 46 | 13 | 12 | 21 | 43 | 76 | 0.566 | 38 | Re-elected |
| 22 | Newport County | 46 | 13 | 9 | 24 | 57 | 90 | 0.633 | 35 | |
| 23 | Southport | 46 | 8 | 10 | 28 | 41 | 77 | 0.532 | 26 | |
| 24 | Workington | 46 | 7 | 7 | 32 | 30 | 87 | 0.345 | 21 |
First Division
Second Division
Third Division
Fourth Division
| Competition | Winners |
|---|---|
| Isthmian League | Enfield |
| Northern Premier League | Runcorn |
| Southern League | Wimbledon |
| FA Trophy | Scarborough |
| FA Vase | Billericay Town |