1975–76 Dundalk F.C. season
1975–76 season | ||
---|---|---|
Manager | Jim McLaughlin | |
League of Ireland | 1st (champions) | |
FAI Cup | First round | |
League Cup | Second round | |
Leinster Senior Cup | First round | |
Top goalscorer | League: Terry Flanagan (11) All: Terry Flanagan (11) | |
| ||
Dundalk entered the 1975–76 season on the back of a fifth-place finish the previous season. 1975–76 was Jim McLaughlin's first full season as manager, having replaced John Smith in November 1974. It was Dundalk's 50th consecutive season in the top tier of Irish football.
Season summary
[edit]The previous season had seen manager John Smith quit only two matches into the league programme for a new job outside football.[1] Smith's resignation paved the way for the appointment of Jim McLaughlin as player-manager on 20 November 1974.[2] But the Dundalk board that had taken control of the club in the summer of 1973 had already exhausted its available funding, and McLaughlin had been obliged to see what could be salvaged of the season with Smith's squad. His fifth-place finish was seen as "creditable", given the decline in the club's fortunes since the previous League title win in 1966–67. Going into the new season, he retained the players who had impressed, and signed a number of players who had been on the fringe at their clubs or were coming from non-League sides – reflecting the limited budget he was operating under.[3]
The season opened with the League Cup in September, and McLaughlin's new side were knocked out in the second round. Louth rivals Drogheda United knocked them out of the Leinster Cup in the first round. The league schedule got under way on 5 October 1975, and saw a number of formerly successful clubs, such as Waterford, Cork Celtic and Cork Hibernians, all bring in fading stars from England – Bobby Charlton, George Best, Geoff Hurst and Rodney Marsh – in a bid to entice back the support they had lost as their fortunes had ebbed.[4][5][6] Meanwhile, Dundalk, needing no circus acts, were soon in a two-way tussle with Finn Harps at the top of the table. Struggling for goals early on, the signing of Terry Flanagan from Bohemians in November, after what would be their only defeat of the season, allowed them to press on. A 2–0 victory in a top of the table clash away to Finn Harps in February, in which Flanagan scored both goals, saw Dundalk go clear in the table.[7] They were knocked out in the first round of the FAI Cup a week later, but they dropped only two points in the League subsequently, before clinching the title by beating Cork Hibernians at home in front of a packed Oriel Park with a game to spare.[8]
First-Team Squad (1975–76)
[edit]Sources:[9]
No. | Name | Years | League | FAI Cup | League Cup | Leinster Senior Cup | Total | Goals |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Richie Blackmore | 1974–1985 | 26 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 31 | 0 |
2 | Brian McConville | 1964–1978 | 26 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 31 | 0 |
3 | Jim McLaughlin | 1974–1983 | 26 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 30 | 1 |
4 | Tommy McConville | 1967–1986 | 25 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 30 | 4 |
5 | Jackie McManus | 1973–1977 | 26 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 31 | 6 |
6 | Seamus McDowell | 1975–1977 | 26 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 30 | 10 |
7 | Jimmy Dainty | 1973–1980 | 25 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 30 | 7 |
8 | Sean McLoughlin | 1975–1976 | 23 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 26 | 4 |
9 | Terry Flanagan | 1975–1978 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 11 |
10 | Sean Sheehy | 1970–1977 | 26 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 30 | 9 |
11 | Tony Cavanagh | 1972–1977 | 24 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 28 | 3 |
12 | Con Davey | 1973–1975 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 1 |
13 | Paul Connellan | 1974–1976 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 1 |
14 | Alan Spavin | 1976 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
15 | Joe Nicholl | 1975–1976 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
Competitions
[edit]League Cup
[edit]Source:[10]
- First round
14 September 1975 | Shelbourne | 0–3 | Dundalk | Dublin |
Stadium: Harold's Cross Stadium |
21 September 1975 | Dundalk | 3–1 | Shelbourne | Dundalk |
Stadium: Oriel Park |
Dundalk won 6–1 on aggregate
- Second round
28 September 1975 | Waterford | 2–0 | Dundalk | Waterford |
Stadium: Kilcohan Park |
Leinster Senior Cup
[edit]Source:[10]
- First Round
25 September 1975 | Dundalk | 1–2 | Drogheda United | Dundalk |
Stadium: Oriel Park |
FAI Cup
[edit]Source:[10]
- First Round
15 February 1976 | Cork Celtic | 3–0 | Dundalk | Cork |
Stadium: Turners Cross |
League
[edit]Source:[10]
5 October 1975 Round 1 | Athlone Town | 0–1 | Dundalk |
12 October 1975 Round 2 | Dundalk | 2–2 | Home Farm |
19 October 1975 Round 3 | Limerick | 1–4 | Dundalk |
26 October 1975 Round 4 | Dundalk | 2–2 | St Patrick's Athletic |
2 November 1975 Round 5 | Cork Celtic | 2–1 | Dundalk |
9 November 1975 Round 6 | Dundalk | 1–1 | Finn Harps |
16 November 1975 Round 7 | Bohemians | 1–1 | Dundalk |
23 November 1975 Round 8 | Dundalk | 4–1 | Shelbourne |
7 December 1975 Round 9 | Drogheda United | 1–2 | Dundalk |
14 December 1975 Round 10 | Dundalk | 5–2 | Shamrock Rovers |
21 December 1975 Round 11 | Cork Hibernians | 1–1 | Dundalk |
28 December 1975 Round 12 | Dundalk | 3–2 | Sligo Rovers |
30 December 1975 Round 13 | Waterford | 0–2 | Dundalk |
11 January 1976 Round 14 | Home Farm | 0–0 | Dundalk |
12 January 1976 Round 15 | Dundalk | 3–0 | Athlone Town |
18 January 1976 Round 16 | Dundalk | 1–0 | Limerick |
25 January 1976 Round 17 | St Patrick's Athletic | 2–2 | Dundalk |
1 February 1976 Round 18 | Dundalk | 3–2 | Cork Celtic |
8 February 1976 Round 19 | Finn Harps | 0–2 | Dundalk |
22 February 1976 Round 20 | Dundalk | 2–2 | Bohemians |
29 February 1976 Round 21 | Shelbourne | 1–2 | Dundalk |
14 March 1976 Round 22 | Dundalk | 1–1 | Waterford |
21 March 1976 Round 23 | Dundalk | 4–1 | Drogheda United |
28 March 1976 Round 24 | Shamrock Rovers | 0–3 | Dundalk |
4 April 1976 Round 25 | Dundalk | 1–0 | Cork Hibernians |
11 April 1976 Round 26 | Sligo Rovers | 1–1 | Dundalk |
League table
[edit]Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Dundalk F.C. | 26 | 15 | 10 | 1 | 54 | 26 | +28 | 40 |
2 | Finn Harps F.C. | 26 | 15 | 6 | 5 | 57 | 35 | +22 | 36 |
3 | Waterford F.C. | 26 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 54 | 37 | +17 | 34 |
4 | Bohemian F.C. | 26 | 10 | 12 | 4 | 44 | 25 | +19 | 32 |
5 | Cork Hibernians F.C. | 26 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 37 | 24 | +13 | 31 |
6 | Drogheda United F.C. | 26 | 11 | 6 | 9 | 42 | 45 | −3 | 28 |
7 | Athlone Town A.F.C. | 26 | 12 | 4 | 10 | 40 | 49 | −9 | 28 |
8 | Cork Celtic F.C. | 26 | 11 | 5 | 10 | 41 | 34 | +7 | 27 |
9 | Shelbourne F.C. | 26 | 7 | 7 | 12 | 42 | 44 | −2 | 21 |
10 | Sligo Rovers F.C. | 26 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 32 | 49 | −17 | 20 |
11 | St Patrick's Athletic F.C. | 26 | 7 | 5 | 14 | 31 | 53 | −22 | 19 |
12 | Home Farm F.C. | 26 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 35 | 54 | −19 | 17 |
13 | Limerick F.C. | 26 | 6 | 4 | 16 | 37 | 49 | −12 | 16 |
14 | Shamrock Rovers F.C. | 26 | 4 | 7 | 15 | 27 | 49 | −22 | 15 |
Awards
[edit]Player of the Month
[edit]Month | Player | References |
---|---|---|
March | Seamus McDowell | [11] |
References
[edit]- Bibliography
- Murphy, Jim (2003). The History of Dundalk F.C.: The First 100 Years. Dundalgan Press. ASIN B0042SO3R2.
- Graham, Alex. Football in the Republic of Ireland a Statistical Record 1921–2005. Soccer Books Limited. ISBN 1-86223-135-4.
- MacSweeney, Niall (1985). A Record of League of Ireland Football 1921/2 - 1984/5. Association of Football Statisticians. ASIN B008H2CBJQ.
- Ryan, Sean; Dunne, Noel (24 October 1975). The Bass Book of Irish Soccer. Mercier Press. ISBN 9780853424505.
- Citations
- ^ "A Surprise Smith Move". The Irish Press. 15 October 1974. Retrieved 23 April 2019 – via Irish Newspaper Archives.
- ^ "Soccer". Evening Herald. 18 November 1974. Retrieved 23 April 2019 – via Irish Newspaper Archives.
- ^ Ryan, Sean (7 September 1975). "Dundalk". Sunday Independent. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
- ^ Martin, Seamus (23 February 1976). "Stars are uninspiring". Irish Independent.
- ^ Meagan, Jimmy (19 January 1976). "Big Crowd Treated As Bobby Shows His Magic". Irish Press. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
- ^ Redmond, John (19 January 1976). "Shels Take The Honours". Irish Press. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
- ^ Kelly, Liam (9 February 1976). "Harkin Sent Off In Rousing Tussle". Irish Press. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
- ^ Meagan, Jimmy (5 April 1976). "Flanagan's goal title Clincher". The Irish Press. Retrieved 23 April 2019 – via Irish Newspaper Archives.
- ^ Murphy, Jim (2013). A Dundalk FC Miscellany. Ireland: Self-published. p. 259.
- ^ a b c d Murphy, Jim (2003). History of Dundalk FC - the First 100 Years. Dundalk: Jim Murphy. p. 467.
- ^ "Seamus McDowell is 'Player of the Month' for MArch". Evening Herald. 2 April 1976. Retrieved 3 December 2019.