Season 1977–78 Champion Nottingham Forest F.C. | Champions Nottingham Forest | |
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The 1977–1978 season was the 79th completed season of The Football League.
Contents
- Final league tables and results
- First Division
- First Division results
- Second Division
- Second Division results
- Third Division
- Third Division results
- Fourth Division
- Fourth Division results
- References
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, 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 play their first season in the Football League, replacing Workington. Watford F.C., Southend United, Swansea City and Brentford were promoted, while Southport were relegated.
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.
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 second manager in the history of English football to win the top division title with two different 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.
Manchester United dipped to 10th place 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, endured a terrible season and went down bracketed together with Leicester City at the bottom of the table. The Tynesiders had been in the First Division for 13 years, while Leicester's latest run in the First Division had lasted for seven years. West Ham United occupied the final relegation place, ending their 20-year spell in the First Division.
P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points
First Division results
Source: Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane’s, London & Sydney, 1980.
1 ^ The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
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. 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.
P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points
Second Division results
Source: Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane’s, London & Sydney, 1980.
1 ^ The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Third Division
P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points
Third Division results
Source: Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane’s, London & Sydney, 1980.
1 ^ The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Fourth Division
P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points
Fourth Division results
Source: Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane’s, London & Sydney, 1980.
1 ^ The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.