1979–80 in English football

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

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

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.^[1]

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.^[2]

5 September 1979: Manchester City sign midfielder Steve Daley from Wolverhampton Wanderers for a national record fee of £1,437,500.^[3]

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.^[4]

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.^[5]

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.^[6]

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.^[7]

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".^[8]

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.^[9]

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.^[10]

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.^[11] Manchester United's title hopes are dashed by a 6-0 defeat at Ipswich Town.^[12]

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.^[13]

1 May 1980: Liverpool agree a fee of £300,000 for Chester striker Ian Rush, 18.^[14]

3 May 1980: Liverpool clinch the league title in their penultimate league game of the season^[15] They beat Aston Villa 4-1 at Anfield.^[16]

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

This section requires expansion.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

References