1979–80 in English football

The 1979–80 season was the 100th season of competitive football in England.

FA Cup

Main article: 1979–80 FA Cup

Second Division West Ham United, managed by John Lyall, won the FA Cup, beating Arsenal 1–0 with a Trevor Brooking goal. To this day they are the last team to win the FA Cup outside of the top league.

League Cup

Main article: 1979–80 Football League Cup

Wolverhampton Wanderers overcame the challenge of European champions Nottingham Forest to lift their second League Cup. The match finished 1–0 with a goal by Andy Gray following a mix-up between goalkeeper Peter Shilton and defender David Needham.

European football

Brian Clough's side made up for disappointment in the League by retaining the European Cup and becoming the first team to have won more European Cups than league championships. Arsenal faced Valencia CF of Spain in the Cup Winners Cup final, days after their FA Cup final loss. It finished goalless after extra time, and Arsenal lost the penalty shootout after misses from Liam Brady and Graham Rix.

Star players

Liverpool's Terry McDermott was voted Player of the Year by both the PFA and FWA. Team-mate Kenny Dalglish enjoyed another good season. PFA Young Player of the Year was Tottenham's outstanding young midfielder Glenn Hoddle. Also hitting the headlines were West Bromwich Albion's Cyrille Regis and Bryan Robson.

Star managers

• Bob Paisley yielded another league title triumph for Liverpool.
• Brian Clough retained the European Cup for Nottingham Forest.
• John Barnwell took Wolves to victory in the League Cup.
• John Lyall won the FA Cup for Second Division West Ham and his and the club's second in five seasons.
• Dave Sexton came close to ending Manchester United's long wait for a league title.
• Jock Wallace achieved promotion to the First Division with Second Division champions Leicester City.
• Jim Smith's success in the Second Division with promoted Birmingham City ensured that all four midlands clubs would be playing top flight football in 1980–81.
• Bobby Robson took Ipswich Town into the UEFA Cup after they finished third in the league.
• Terry Neill took Arsenal to runners-up spot in the Cup Winners Cup and the F.A Cup.
• Howard Kendall won promotion to the Second Division with Blackburn Rovers.
• Len Ashurst clinched Newport County's first promotion for 41 years.

Diary of the season

18 August 1979: The first round of fixtures in the inaugural season of The Alliance Premier League, now the Conference National took place.

31 August 1979: The first month of the season ends with Norwich City, who have never even finished in the top five of the First Division, leading the English league. 1978 champions Nottingham Forest are second, and there has also been a good start for unfancied teams including Middlesbrough, Stoke City and Bolton Wanderers.

5 September 1979: Manchester City sign midfielder Steve Daley from Wolverhampton Wanderers for a national record fee of £1,437,500.

8 September 1979: The national transfer record fee is broken for the second time in four days when Wolverhampton Wanderers pay almost £1,500,000 for Aston Villa and Scotland striker Andy Gray.

30 September 1979: September ends with newly promoted Crystal Palace, unbeaten after eight games, topping the First Division, one point ahead second placed of Manchester United. Bristol City, in eighth place, have joined the group of unfancied sides in the leading pack of the First Division. However, defending champions Liverpool's slow start to the season has continued as they still occupy ninth place. Derby County, champions in 1972 and 1975, are bottom of the table, joined in the relegation zone by Stoke City - who have suffered a slump in the last month - and Tottenham Hotspur.

31 October 1979: Manchester United end October as First Division leaders, with Nottingham Forest, Liverpool, Norwich City and Crystal Palace completing the top five. Brighton & Hove Albion now occupy bottom place behind Derby County, while Bolton Wanderers have slid into the relegation zone after a dismal run of form followed their strong start to the season.

30 November 1979: November ends with Manchester United still top of the First Division, Liverpool second, Crystal Palace third, Arsenal fourth and Nottingham Forest fifth. Middlesbrough are regaining contact with the leading pack after a recent upturn in fortunes. Ipswich Town, Brighton & Hove Albion and Bolton Wanderers occupy the relegation zone.

26 December 1979: The Steel City derby in the Third Division sees Sheffield Wednesday beat Sheffield United 4–0, attracting a crowd of nearly 50,000. This event becomes known as the "Boxing Day Massacre".

31 December 1979: The decade ends with Liverpool narrowly ahead of Manchester United at the top of the First Division, with a widening gap between themselves and the rest of the First Division. Southampton's recent surge in form has seen them climb into third place, while Arsenal and Aston Villa complete the top five. Crystal Palace are sliding out of the race for honours and have now fallen into ninth place. Bristol City's slump has continued and they have new joined Derby County and Bolton Wanderers in the relegation zone.

29 February 1980: With the season approaching its final quarter, Manchester United are level on points at the top of the First Division with Liverpool. A resurgent Ipswich Town are five points behind in third place and looking for a late run to take them to their second top division title. Arsenal and Southampton complete the top five. Crystal Palace's hopes of a European place, let alone a push for the title, are now looking doubtful as the occupy 11th place. Bolton Wanderers are looking unlikely to survive as their dreadful run of form since the autumn has failed to improve. Derby County's survival hopes are looking none too bright either. Bristol City complete the relegation zone, with Everton occupying the last safe spot.

1 March 1980: Everton lose 2–1 at home to Liverpool in the First Division Merseyside derby, and during the game their legendary former striker Dixie Dean dies from a heart attack in the stands aged 72.Manchester United's title hopes are dashed by a 6-0 defeat at Ipswich Town.

31 March 1980: Liverpool now have a four-point lead over Manchester United at the top of the First Division. Ipswich Town and Arsenal are the top two's nearest rivals and Southampton complete the top five. Down at the bottom of the table, Bolton Wanderers have enjoyed six wins in the last month but are still in bottom place and eight points adrift of safety. Derby County and Bristol City remain with them in the drop zone.

1 May 1980: Liverpool agree a fee of £300,000 for Chester striker Ian Rush, 18.

3 May 1980: Liverpool clinch the league title in their penultimate league game of the seasonThey beat Aston Villa 4-1 at Anfield.

10 May 1980: Trevor Brooking scores the winning goal as Second Division West Ham triumph 1–0 over holders Arsenal in the FA Cup final.

13 June 1980: Clive Allen, 19, becomes the most expensive teenager in Europe when he joins Arsenal from Queen's Park Rangers in a £1,250,000 deal.

Famous debutants

18 August 1979: Tommy Caton, 16-year-old defender, makes his debut for First Division side Manchester City on the opening day of the season in a goalless home draw with newly promoted Crystal Palace, just weeks after leaving school. [16]

7 April 1980: Paul Davis, 18-year-old midfielder, makes his First Division debut for Arsenal in a 2–1 win over local rivals Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane. [17]

Deaths

• 26 August 1979 – Sam Lawrie, 44, former Middlesbrough and Charlton Athletic winger.
• c. 24 January 1980 – Terry Anderson, 35, former Norwich City winger; drowned.
• 1 March 1980 – Dixie Dean, 73, legendary Everton striker who scored 60 league goals in the 1927–28 season; died on 1 March after suffering a heart attack while watching Everton's game against Liverpool at Goodison Park.

Honours

Competition	Winner	Runner-up
First Division	Liverpool (12*)	Manchester United
Second Division	Leicester City	Sunderland
Third Division	Grimsby Town	Blackburn Rovers
Fourth Division	Huddersfield Town	Walsall
FA Cup	West Ham United (3)	Arsenal
League Cup	Wolverhampton Wanderers (1)	Nottingham Forest
Charity Shield	Liverpool	Arsenal
Home Championship	Northern Ireland	England

Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour. * indicates new record for competition

Football League

Main article: 1979–80 Football League

First Division

Bob Paisley's Liverpool retained their league championship trophy after fighting off a determined challenge by Dave Sexton's Manchester United. Nottingham Forest failed to make a serious title challenge but compensated for this by retaining the European Cup.

Bristol City and Bolton Wanderers were relegated after brief and uneventful spells in the First Division, but Derby County's relegation came just five years after they had been league champions.

Kevin Keegan ended his three-year spell with Hamburger SV in Germany and returned to England in a shock £400,000 move to Southampton. Lawrie McMenemy's new signing was the transfer surprise of the season. Keegan was the currentEuropean Footballer of the Year and rated as one of the best strikers in the world, while Southampton were still struggling to establish themselves as a First Division side. But this move showed that Southampton had ambition and were determined to compete with the best.

Much of the attention in the early part of the season focussed on Manchester City where Malcolm Allison had dismantled the side selling international talents such as Asa Hartford and Peter Barnes and replacing them with unknowns and the uncapped Steve Daley for a then-staggering £1.5 million. City had a mediocre season including an FA Cup defeat by Fourth Division Halifax Town.

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Liverpool	42	25	10	7	81	30	+51	60
2	Manchester United	42	24	10	8	65	35	+30	58
3	Ipswich Town	42	22	9	11	68	39	+29	53
4	Arsenal	42	18	16	8	52	36	+16	52
5	Nottingham Forest	42	20	8	14	63	43	+20	48
6	Wolverhampton Wanderers	42	19	9	14	58	47	+11	47
7	Aston Villa	42	16	14	12	51	50	+1	46
8	Southampton	42	18	9	15	65	53	+12	45
9	Middlesbrough	42	16	12	14	50	44	+6	44
10	West Bromwich Albion	42	11	19	12	54	50	+4	41
11	Leeds United	42	13	14	15	46	50	−4	40
12	Norwich City	42	13	14	15	58	66	−8	40
13	Crystal Palace	42	12	16	14	41	50	−9	40
14	Tottenham Hotspur	42	15	10	17	52	62	−10	40
15	Coventry City	42	16	7	19	56	66	−10	39
16	Brighton & Hove Albion	42	11	15	16	47	57	−10	37
17	Manchester City	42	12	13	17	43	66	−23	37
18	Stoke City	42	13	10	19	44	58	−14	36
19	Everton	42	9	17	16	43	51	−8	35
20	Bristol City	42	9	13	20	37	66	−29	31
21	Derby County	42	11	8	23	47	67	−20	30
22	Bolton Wanderers	42	5	15	22	38	73	−35	25

Second Division

Leicester City, Sunderland and Birmingham City ended their relatively short spells in the Second Division and occupied the division's three promotion places. Going down were Fulham, Burnley and Charlton Athletic.

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Leicester City	42	21	13	8	58	38	+20	55
2	Sunderland	42	21	12	9	69	42	+27	54
3	Birmingham City	42	21	11	10	58	38	+20	53
4	Chelsea	42	23	7	12	66	52	+14	53
5	Queens Park Rangers	42	18	13	11	75	53	+22	49
6	Luton Town	42	16	17	9	66	45	+21	49
7	West Ham United	42	20	7	15	54	43	+11	47
8	Cambridge United	42	14	16	12	61	53	+8	44
9	Newcastle United	42	15	14	13	53	49	+4	44
10	Preston North End	42	12	19	11	56	52	+4	43
11	Oldham Athletic	42	16	11	15	49	53	−4	43
12	Swansea City	42	17	9	16	48	53	−5	43
13	Shrewsbury Town	42	18	5	19	60	53	+7	41
14	Leyton Orient	42	12	17	13	48	54	−6	41
15	Cardiff City	42	16	8	18	41	48	−7	40
16	Wrexham	42	16	6	20	40	49	−9	38
17	Notts County	42	11	15	16	51	52	−1	37
18	Watford	42	12	13	17	39	46	−7	37
19	Bristol Rovers	42	11	13	18	50	64	−14	35
20	Fulham	42	11	7	24	42	74	−32	29
21	Burnley	42	6	15	21	39	73	−34	27
22	Charlton Athletic	42	6	10	26	39	78	−39	22

Third Division

Grimsby Town, Blackburn Rovers and Sheffield Wednesday all achieved some long-awaited success by gaining promotion from the Third Division. Bury, Southend United, Mansfield Town and Wimbledon occupied the Third Division's relegation places.

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Grimsby Town	46	26	10	10	73	42	+31	62
2	Blackburn Rovers	46	25	9	12	58	36	+22	59
3	Sheffield Wednesday	46	21	16	9	81	47	+34	58
4	Chesterfield	46	23	11	12	71	46	+25	57
5	Colchester United	46	20	12	14	64	56	+8	52
6	Carlisle United	46	18	12	16	66	56	+10	48
7	Reading	46	16	16	14	66	65	+1	48
8	Exeter City	46	19	10	17	60	68	−8	48
9	Chester	46	17	13	16	49	57	−8	47
10	Swindon Town	46	19	8	19	71	63	+8	46
11	Barnsley	46	16	14	16	53	56	−3	46
12	Sheffield United	46	18	10	18	59	66	−7	46
13	Rotherham United	46	18	10	18	58	66	−8	46
14	Millwall	46	16	13	17	65	59	+6	45
15	Plymouth Argyle	46	16	12	18	59	55	+4	44
16	Gillingham	46	14	14	18	49	51	−2	42
17	Oxford United	46	14	13	19	57	62	−5	41
18	Blackpool	46	15	11	20	62	74	−12	41
19	Brentford	46	15	11	20	59	73	−14	41
20	Hull City	46	12	16	18	51	69	−18	40
21	Bury	46	16	7	23	45	59	−14	39
22	Southend United	46	14	10	22	47	57	−10	38
23	Mansfield Town	46	10	16	20	47	58	−11	36
24	Wimbledon	46	10	14	22	52	81	−29	34

Fourth Division

Huddersfield Town and Portsmouth finally achieved some success by gaining promotion from the Fourth Division. Newport County achieved their first promotion since 1939 and Walsall were also promoted. Rochdale finished bottom but survived re-election by one vote ahead of Altrincham.

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Huddersfield Town	46	27	12	7	101	48	+53	66
2	Walsall	46	23	18	5	75	47	+28	64
3	Newport County	46	27	7	12	83	50	+33	61
4	Portsmouth	46	24	12	10	91	49	+42	60
5	Bradford City	46	24	12	10	77	50	+27	60
6	Wigan Athletic	46	21	13	12	76	61	+15	55
7	Lincoln City	46	18	17	11	64	42	+22	53
8	Peterborough United	46	21	10	15	58	47	+11	52
9	Torquay United	46	15	17	14	70	69	+1	47
10	Aldershot	46	16	13	17	62	53	+9	45
11	Bournemouth	46	13	18	15	52	51	+1	44
12	Doncaster Rovers	46	15	14	17	62	63	−1	44
13	Northampton Town	46	16	12	18	51	66	−15	44
14	Scunthorpe United	46	14	15	17	58	75	−17	43
15	Tranmere Rovers	46	14	13	19	50	56	−6	41
16	Stockport County	46	14	12	20	48	72	−24	40
17	York City	46	14	11	21	65	82	−17	39
18	Halifax Town	46	13	13	20	46	72	−26	39
19	Hartlepool United	46	14	10	22	59	64	−5	38
20	Port Vale	46	12	12	22	56	70	−14	36
21	Hereford United	46	11	14	21	38	52	−14	36
22	Darlington	46	9	17	20	50	74	−24	35
23	Crewe Alexandra	46	11	13	22	35	68	−33	35
24	Rochdale	46	7	13	26	33	79	−46	27

P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points