Season 1980–81 Champion Aston Villa F.C. | Champions Aston Villa | |
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Similar 1985–86 Football League, 1989–90 Football League, 1991–92 Football League, 1993–94 FA Premier League | ||
The 1980–1981 season was the 82nd 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
- ElectionRe election to the Football League
- References
Ron Saunders completed Aston Villa's revival, as they ended their 71-year wait for the league championship trophy. They competed in a two-horse race with Ipswich Town during the final stages of the season before pipping the Suffolk side at the post. Liverpool slipped into fifth place but compensated for this downfall by lifting the European Cup and their first-ever League Cup. But Manchester United failed to make the top five and this shortcoming cost Dave Sexton his manager's job. He was succeeded by Ron Atkinson, who had just finished fourth in the league and reached the UEFA Cup quarterfinals with an impressive West Bromwich Albion side — who would suffer a rapid decline after Atkinson's departure.
Crystal Palace endured a dreadful season with just six wins. They were joined in the Second Division by also-doomed Norwich City and Leicester City.
FA Cup holders West Ham United regained their First Division status by lifting the Second Division championship trophy. They were joined by Notts County and Swansea City, completing a meteoric rise under John Toshack, from the Fourth Division to the First in just four years.
Both Bristol clubs were relegated from the Second Division in 1980–81. They were joined in the drop zone by Preston North End.
Rotherham United, Barnsley and Charlton Athletic occupied the promotion places in the Third Division. Hull City, Blackpool and Colchester United were joined in the Third Division drop zone by Sheffield United - who just seven years earlier had finished sixth in the First Division.
Southend United, Lincoln City, Doncaster Rovers and Wimbledon occupied the four promotion places in the Fourth Division. There were no movements between the Fourth Division and the Alliance Premier League as the re-election system went in favour of the league's bottom four clubs.
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, 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
Aston Villa came top of a hotly contested title race to clinch their first top division title since 1910 and amazingly only using 14 players throughout the season. Runners-up Ipswich Town had compensation for their failed title challenge in the shape of a UEFA Cup triumph, and were also semi-finalists in the FA Cup, their relatively small squad struggling in the final weeks of the season as a challenge for three major trophies took its toll. Arsenal finished third, while West Bromwich Albion enjoyed another strong season and finished fourth. Liverpool finished fifth but compensated for a relatively low finish in the league by winning their third European Cup and their first-ever Football League Cup.
Manchester United's failure to finish higher than eighth in the league cost manager Dave Sexton his job after four trophyless seasons in charge, and a lengthy search for a new manager saw West Bromwich Albion's Ron Atkinson named as his successor. Everton appointed their former player Howard Kendall as manager after a disappointing 15th-place finish. Tottenham, meanwhile, only finished 11th in the league but achieved a sixth triumph in the FA Cup at the expense of Manchester City, who climbed up to 12th place in the league after an upturn in fortunes brought about the October change of manager from Malcolm Allison to John Bond.
Bond's former club Norwich City went down to the Second Division along with Leicester City and Crystal Palace.
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: [1] Soccerbase
1 ^ The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Second Division
A year after winning the FA Cup, West Ham ended their three-year exile from the First Division by clinching the Second Division title. Notts County, who finished second, went up after 55 years away from the First Division. Third placed Swansea City completed an unprecedented four-season climb from the Fourth Division to the First Division, where they had never previously played. Blackburn Rovers missed out on promotion on goal difference, and then lost their promising young player-manager Howard Kendall to Everton.
Both Bristol clubs went down along with Preston North End.
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: [2] Soccerbase
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: [3] Soccerbase
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: [4] Soccerbase
1 ^ The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Election/Re-election to the Football League
Altrincham F.C. won the Alliance Premier League for the second season running and earned the right to apply for election to the Football League to replace one of the four bottom sides in the 1980–81 Football League Fourth Division. The vote went as follows:
As a result of this, all four Football League teams were re-elected, and Altrincham were denied membership of the League.