timeline of English football

This is a timeline of English football which contains notable football-related events that have occurred both on and off the field.

1840s - 1850s - 1860s - 1870s - 1880s - 1890s - 1900s - 1910s - 1920s - 1930s - 1940s - 1950s - 1960s - 1970s - 1980s - 1990s - 2000s

2000s

2007 - 2006 - 2005 - 2004 - 2003 - 2002 - 2001 - 2000

2007

Leeds United were hit with the biggest point deduction in English football history on the 4th August after the club was sold without a C.V.A. after entering administration, required by league rules^[1].
Chelsea F.C. won a cup double winning the FA Cup in the first final back at the recently completed Wembley Stadium. The match however was not one of the better finals to ever have graced the wembley turf and finished 1-0. Didier Drogba scored the only goal in the last minute of extra-time. Ryan Giggs set a new record for the player to appear in the most finals, however he could not beat Mark Hughes' record for the most finals won by one player. The victory by Chelsea stopped Manchester United from winning the Double.
Leeds United A.F.C. entered administration on 4th May after a number of years struggling with the debt incurred by previous boards.
Chelsea F.C. became League Cup champions after beating Arsenal F.C. 2-1 at the Millennium Stadium. This was also the last major English Cup Final to be played at the Millennium Stadium before the move back to Wembley Stadium after its completion.
American tycoons George N. Gillett Jr. and Tom Hicks pay £174.1m to take over Liverpool F.C.

2006

Doug Ellis steps down as Aston Villa chairman after 31 years running the club. It was bought by American billionaire Randy Lerner for £64 million.
John Terry succeeds David Beckham as England's national team captain. Liverpool's Steven Gerrard is named vice-captain.
Sven-Göran Eriksson announces that he will step down as England manager following the 2006 World Cup. He will be succeeded by Steve McClaren with effect from 1 August.
Chelsea win the Premiership for the second year in succession.
Thierry Henry scores the last ever goal, and the last ever hat trick, in the final game at Highbury before Arsenal move to their new 60,000-seat Emirates Stadium
Manchester United win the League Cup for the second time in their history beating Wigan Athletic 4-0 at the Millennium Stadium.
Middlesbrough reach the UEFA Cup final for the first time in their history, only to be beaten 4-0 by Sevilla.
Peter Osgood, a Chelsea legend, dies of a heart attack aged 59.
Charlton Athletic become the first Premiership club to change their shirt design mid-season.
Alan Shearer retires two weeks early following a knee injury. After 18 years, the former England and Newcastle captain bows out as the Premiership's leading goalscorer of all time with 260 goals in 441 games but only one trophy, the 1994-95 Premiership title. ^[2]
Sunderland are relegated from the Premiership, and break their own record set three years earlier for the lowest points accumulated, ending the season with just fifteen.
Reading are promoted to the Premiership, for the first time in their history, after winning the Football League Championship with a record 106 points.
Liverpool beat West Ham 3-1 on penalties in the 125th FA Cup final after the game finished 3-3 in normal time. Being the last FA Cup game at the Millennium Stadium, it was fitting that it was one of the best of all time.
Arsenal's first UEFA Champions League final sees Jens Lehmann become the first player dismissed in a final as FC Barcelona win 2-1.
The players of Aston Villa make history on July 14 by issuing a joint statement critical of chairman Doug Ellis, the first ever time such a statement has been formally issued to the press by a collective of players from any English football club.

2005

Liverpool defeat CSKA Moscow 3-2 after extra time to win the European Super Cup for a third time, an English record.
Liverpool win the Champions League on penalties, after drawing 3-3 with AC Milan in Istanbul for a fifth time, an English record.
Chelsea win the Premiership title with just one defeat all season - which has been bettered only by Arsenal's unbeaten season a year earlier. They set a new Premiership record for fewest goals conceded (15) and most points attained (95).
Arsenal become the first team to win the FA Cup on penalties when they triumph over Manchester United.
George Best, one of the greatest footballers in the history of Manchester United and the footballing world, dies aged 59.
Wigan Athletic reach the top division for the first time in their history after finishing runners up in the Football League Championship, mirroring Fulham's achievement four years previously of having made their way from League Two to the Premier League.
Coventry City move into the new 32,500-seat Ricoh Arena after 106 years at the Highfield Road stadium.
The Malcolm Glazer takeover of Manchester United leads to disgruntled fans creating F.C. United of Manchester.

2004

Arsenal are crowned Premiership champions after going a 38-game league season unbeaten.
Manchester United win the FA Cup for a record eleventh time.
Divisions One, Two and Three of The Football League are renamed the Football League Championship, League One and League Two respectively as part of a rebranding exercise.
Everton striker Wayne Rooney, still only 18, becomes the world's most expensive teenager when he signs for Manchester United in a transfer deal which could eventually rise to £27million from an initial £20million.
Middlesbrough beat Bolton Wanderers 2-1 in the League Cup final to win the first major trophy in their history.

2003

Liverpool win the League Cup for a record seventh time.
Arsenal win the FA Cup Final by beating Southampton 1-0
Chelsea are bought by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich in an English record takeover deal worth £150 million.
Manchester United overhaul Arsenal during the final weeks of the season to claim their eighth Premiership title in eleven seasons.
Sunderland confirm themselves as statistically the worst Premiership team ever after they are relegated with a record low of 4 wins, 19 points and 21 goals.
Leicester City win promotion to the Premiership as Division One runners-up despite having started the season in receivership with £30 million debts and a transfer embargo.
Manchester City leave Maine Road after 80 years and move into the 48,000-seat City of Manchester Stadium which had been constructed for the previous year's Commonwealth Games.

2002

Arsenal join Manchester United as the second club to have won three league championships and FA Cup doubles.
West Bromwich Albion and Birmingham City win promotion to the Premiership, ending an exile from the top flight which both clubs had begun in 1986.
Mobile phone operator MM02 replaces SEGA as Arsenal's shirt sponsor.
Leicester City leave Filbert Street after 111 years and relocate to the 32,000-seat Walkers Stadium.
Manchester United break the British transfer record once again by paying Leeds United £29million for central defender Rio Ferdinand.
Alan Shearer hits his 200th Premiership goal against Chalton Athletic at St. James' Park on 20 April 2002.
Everton become the first team to have spent 100 seasons in the top flight of English football.

2001

Manchester United become only the fourth English club to win three successive league championships, following Huddersfield Town in the 1920s, Arsenal in the 1930s, and Liverpool in the 1980s.
Liverpool complete a unique treble of the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup.
David Rocastle, who won a League Cup and two league championships with Arsenal as well as never being on the losing side in his 14 England appearances, dies of cancer aged 33.
Paul Vaessen who famously scored the winning goal for Arsenal against Juventus at the Stadio Comunale, in the second leg of a Cup Winners' Cup semi-final on April 23, 1980, (the first time an English club had beaten Juventus in Turin), dies of a drug overdose at the age of 39, He had led a troubled life since injury resulted in his premature retirement from football in 1923 aged just 21. He was known as "a forgotten hero" as his death gained no media coverage at all, incredibly announcements of Paul's death in his local free newspaper omitted the fact that he had formerly been a footballer and merely labelled him a "local addict".
Manchester United pay a British record of £19million for PSV Eindhoven's Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy and a few weeks later break their own record by splashing out £28.1million for Lazio's Argentine midfielder Juan Sebastián Verón.
Coventry City suffer relegation from the Premiership after 34 successive seasons of top flight football.
Fulham are promoted to the Premiership, becoming the first club since the Premier League's formation to have made their way from Division Three (now League Two) to the top flight.

2000

England lose 1-0 to Germany in their opening qualifier for the 2002 World Cup, in a game which is also the last game at Wembley Stadium before it closes its doors after 77 years for a complete revamp. The historic goal is scored by Dietmar Hamann.
Kevin Keegan resigns after England's defeat and is succeeded by Lazio's Swedish coach Sven-Göran Eriksson - the first foreigner to take charge of the England team.
Chelsea beat Aston Villa 1-0 to win the last FA Cup final at Wembley before its reconstruction.
Sir Stanley Matthews, one of the greatest players in the history of English footballer, dies after a short illness at the age of 85.
The new home of Welsh football is the 72,000-seat Millennium Stadium, which stands on the site of Cardiff Arms Park, and will host all English cup finals and playoff finals until Wembley is reopened.

1990s

1999 - 1998 - 1997 - 1996 - 1995 - 1994 - 1993 - 1992 - 1991 - 1990

1999

Manchester United complete a unique treble of the Premiership title, FA Cup and European Cup, and manager Alex Ferguson is honoured with a knighthood.
On-loan goalkeeper Jimmy Glass scores an injury time winner for Carlisle United on the last day of the season to preserve their league status and relegate Scarborough.
Bradford City finish runners-up in Division One to end their 77-year absence from the top flight of English football.
Glenn Hoddle is sacked as England manager after a controversial newspaper interview. He is replaced by Kevin Keegan.
Sir Alf Ramsey, manager of the 1966 England World Cup winning team, dies from Alzheimer's disease at the age of 79.
On Boxing Day, Chelsea become the first British side to field an entirely foreign (non-UK) line-up in a Premier League match against Southampton.

1998

Arsenal equal Manchester United's record of two league championship and FA Cup doubles in their first full season under the management of Frenchman Arsène Wenger.
Chelsea complete a double of the Cup Winners' Cup and League Cup within four months of Gianluca Vialli taking charge of team affairs following Ruud Gullit's dismissal, which follows a dispute with chairman Ken Bates over transfer funds.
Doncaster Rovers F.C. are relegated from the Football League with a record of 34 league defeats.
Manchester City are relegated to the third tier of the English league for the first time in their history.

1997

After captaining Manchester United to their fourth Premiership title in five seasons, Eric Cantona announces his retirement as a player.
Ruud Gullit becomes the first foreign manager to win an English trophy after his Chelsea side defeated Middlesbrough 2-0 in the FA Cup final to end their 26-year trophy drought.
Middlesbrough experience a unique season. They are on the losing side in both domestic cup finals and have a 3-point deduction imposed for postponing a Premiership fixture at short notice seeing them relegated in second from bottom place - so they finished in the last two of all three major English competitions.
Alan Shearer is ruled out of football for seven months after suffering a broken ankle in a pre-season game.
Kevin Keegan shocks Newcastle United by resigning as manager just after the turn of the New Year. He felt that he could take the club no further, and is succeeded by Kenny Dalglish.
Bolton Wanderers move into the Reebok Stadium, leaving Burnden Park, their home for 102 years.

1996

Manchester United win a unique second league championship and FA Cup double. Following taunts that "You win nothing with kids", the young team hits back by achieving something that no English team has done before.
Alan Shearer becomes the world's first £15million player when he leaves Blackburn Rovers to join his hometown club Newcastle United.
England hosts the European Championships for the first time and reach the semi finals, losing 6-5 on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
Terry Venables steps down after two-and-a-half years as England manager after the European Championships and is replaced by Glenn Hoddle.
Bob Paisley, who won a record 21 prizes in nine seasons as Liverpool manager, dies, aged 77, after a long illness.
Aston Villa win the League Cup for a record equaling fifth time, against Leeds United 3-0.

1995

Manchester United's French striker Eric Cantona is banned from football for 8 months and sentenced to 120 hours community service for kicking a Crystal Palace spectator at Selhurst Park. Chelsea captain Dennis Wise is convicted of assaulting a taxi driver. Arsenal's Paul Merson and Crystal Palace's Chris Armstrong both undergo rehab after it is revealed that Merson has a cocaine addiction and alcoholism, while Armstrong had failed a drugs test. Arsenal's manager George Graham is sacked following revelations that he had accepted £425,000 in illegal payments in 1992 in connection with the acquisition of Pal Lydersen and John Jensen.
Kenny Dalglish becomes the third manager to win the English league with different clubs after Blackburn Rovers clinch the Premiership title to top the English league for the first time since 1914.

A Paul Rideout goal gives Everton a 1-0 victory over Manchester United in the FA Cup final to leave Alex Ferguson's men without a major trophy for the first time since 1989.
Bobby Stokes, who scored Southampton's winning goal in their shock win over Manchester United in the 1976 FA Cup final, dies suddenly at the age of 44.
Manchester United break the English record in January by paying Newcastle United £7million for striker Andy Cole. Five months later the record is broken again when Arsenal pay Internazionale £7.5million for Dutch striker Dennis Bergkamp. Bergkamp's record is almost instantly broken when Liverpool sign Nottingham Forest striker Stan Collymore for £8.5million.

1994

Manchester United become only the fourth club in the 20th century to win the league championship and FA Cup double. They achieve this triumph just four months after the death of legendary former manager Sir Matt Busby at the age of 84. They are denied an unprecedented 'treble' by Aston Villa, who defeat them in the final of the League Cup.
Blackburn Rovers break the English transfer fee record by paying Norwich City £5million for 21-year-old striker Chris Sutton.
Liverpool demolish the world famous Spion Kop terrace and Aston Villa clear their massive Holte End to comply with the all-seater requirements for Premiership stadiums which comes into force for the 2004-05 season.
Bryan Robson leaves Manchester United after 13 years to become player-manager of Middlesbrough.
Tottenham Hotspur are found guilty of financial irregularities dating back to the 1980s and handed the most severe punishment in the history of English football: a £600,000 fine, 12 league points deducted and a one-year ban from the FA Cup. The points deduction and the FA Cup ban are later quashed but the fine is increased to a new record of £1.5million.

1993

Manchester United win the inaugural Premiership title to end their 26-year wait for the league championship. They strengthened themselves for the defence of their big prize by paying a British record fee of £3.75million for Nottingham Forest's young Irish midfielder Roy Keane.
Arsenal become the first English club to win the FA Cup and League Cup in the same season, after beating Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 in both finals.
Tony Barton, who managed Aston Villa to European Cup glory in 1982, dies of a heart attack aged 56.
Graham Taylor quits as England manager after the nation's failure to qualify for the 1994 FIFA World Cup and is succeeded by Terry Venables.
Bobby Moore, captain of England's 1966 World Cup winning team, dies at the age of 51.
Gary Lineker ends his English footballing career and signs for Japanese side Nagoya Grampus Eight for £900k. His Farewell Match was against the previous seasons League Champions Leeds United and finished Leeds United 2-1 Nagoya Grampus Eight

1992

The Football Association creates the FA Premier League, an elite league of 22 clubs which replaces the old Football League First Division as England's highest division.
Blackburn Rovers, back in the top flight for the first time since the 1960s, make Alan Shearer England's most expensive footballer by paying Southampton £3.5million for his services.
Leeds United win the last Football League First Division championship before the creation of the FA Premier League.
Aldershot, who have struggled to stay afloat for two years, finally go out of business on 25 March. Maidstone United follow suit on 17 August after their financial crisis leaves them with no option but to quit the Football League.

1991

Arsenal win the Football League title with just one defeat from 38 fixtures.
Manchester United mark the comeback of English clubs in European competition by beating FC Barcelona 2-1 in the Cup Winners' Cup final.
Liverpool are readmitted to European competition and, as First Division runners-up are entered into the UEFA Cup for the 1991-92 season.
After three years with French side AS Monaco FC, Glenn Hoddle returns to England to become player-manager of Swindon Town.
Dean Saunders becomes the most expensive player in English footballer when he is transferred from Derby County to Liverpool in a £2.9million deal.

1990

Liverpool win their eighteenth top flight title.
England reach the semi finals of the World Cup before losing to eventual winners Germany on penalties after a 1-1 draw. Manager Bobby Robson resigns after the competition to take charge of Dutch side PSV Eindhoven and is succeeded by Aston Villa manager Graham Taylor, who in turn is replaced by Czech coach Jozef Venglos - the first foreign manager in the top flight of English football.
English clubs are readmitted to European competition after a five-year ban arising from the Heysel Stadium disaster. First Division runners-up, Aston Villa, qualify for the UEFA Cup whilst FA Cup winners, Manchester United, qualify for the Cup Winners' Cup. Champions Liverpool are unable to compete in the European Cup because they have to serve an extra year of the ban.
Leeds United won the Second Division championship to end their eight-year exile from the First Division.
York City striker David Longhurst collapses and dies in his side's Fourth Division home fixture against Lincoln City at Bootham Crescent.
Bournemouth director Brian Tiler, a former Aston Villa player, is killed in a car crash. Manager Harry Redknapp is also involved in the crash but survived.

1980s

1989 - 1988 - 1987 - 1986 - 1985 - 1984 - 1983 - 1982 - 1981 - 1980

1989

Arsenal win the league championship with the last kick of the game from Michael Thomas, giving them a 2-0 away win over nearest rivals Liverpool to snatch the title on goals scored, with both teams goal difference being equal.
94 Liverpool fans die on 15 April after being crushed on the terraces at Hillsborough, where Liverpool were taking on Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup semi final.^[3] The final death toll for the disaster was 96.
Standing terraces in England are phased out after Lord Justice Taylor's report into the Hillsborough disaster.
Liverpool go on to win the FA Cup with a 3-2 extra-time victory over Everton at Wembley.
John Lyall's 15-year reign as West Ham manager comes to an end after they are relegated from the First Division.
Newport County go out of business on 27 February and are then expelled from the Football Conference for failing to fulfill their fixtures.
Leeds United's most successful ever manager, Don Revie, dies on 26 May from motor neurone disease aged 61.

1988

Liverpool wrap up their seventeenth league title after losing just two league games in a 40-game season.
Wimbledon beat Liverpool 1-0 to win the FA Cup in one of the most dramatic finals seen at Wembley. The triumph came at the end of Wimbledon's 11th season as a Football League club and only their second as First Division members.
Luton Town win the first major trophy of their history by beating Arsenal 3-2 in the League Cup final.
Jackie Milburn, the legendary former Newcastle United striker, dies of cancer at the age of 64.
Lincoln City, the first club to suffer automatic relegation from the Football League, regain their league status at the first time of asking by clinching the Football Conference title.

1987

Tottenham manager David Pleat resigns after rumours in the media that he has been involved in a vice ring. He is replaced by Terry Venables.
Coventry City win the first major trophy in their history by beating Tottenham Hotspur (unbeaten in their previous seven finals) 3-2 in the FA Cup final.
Everton win their ninth league title
Lincoln City become the first English club to suffer automatic relegation from the Football League after the re-election system is scrapped. They are replaced by Conference champions Scarborough.
Former Aston Villa and Wales midfielder Trevor Hockey dies of a heart attack at the age of 43.

1986

England are eliminated from the 1986 FIFA World Cup in the quarter finals after losing 2-1 to Argentina, whose first goal had been an obviously deliberate handball by Diego Maradona - an act which he quickly labelled the Hand of God goal. Argentina go on to win the competition.
Liverpool win the league championship and FA Cup double in Kenny Dalglish's first season as player-manager.
Sir Stanley Rous, one of the Football Association's most prominent administrators, dies at the age of 90. Shortly after his death, a stand at Watford's Vicarage Road stadium is to be named in his honour.
Wimbledon are promoted to the First Division in only their ninth season as a Football League club.
Wolverhampton Wanderers complete a hat trick of successive relegations to fall into the Fourth Division for the first time in their history.

1985

56 spectators are burnt to death and more than 200 are injured in a fire at Bradford City's Valley Parade stadium on 11 May.
39 spectators, most of them Italian, are trampled to death in rioting on the terraces of the Heysel Stadium at the European Cup final between Liverpool and Juventus.^[4] Despite the carnage, the match is played and Juventus win 1-0. The sequel of the tragedy was a 5-year ban on English clubs from European competition, with a 6-year ban on Liverpool.
Everton establish themself as one of the strongest club sides in Europe after winning the league championship with four matches to spare and adding the Cup Winners' Cup to their trophy cabinet.
Anton Johnson is banned from football for life after it is revealed that he had illegally taken control of two football clubs (Southend United and Rotherham United) at the same time and had also mishandled the finances of both clubs.
Preston North End and Burnley are both relegated to the Fourth Division for the first time.
16 years old Matthew Le Tissier finishes a trial at Oxford United and signs for Southampton.
Oxford United promoted to the top flight, after claiming the Second Division championship, a year after they won the Third Division championship in 1984, the only club to have won two consecutive championships on the way to the Top Flight.

1984

Liverpool become the first English club to win three major competitions in the same season when they win the league championship, the League Cup and the European Cup in Joe Fagan's first season as manager.
Everton beat Watford in the FA Cup final to win their first major trophy under the management of Howard Kendall.
Kevin Keegan calls time on his playing career after helping Newcastle United win promotion to the First Division.
Ian Rush is voted Footballer of the Year by the PFA after scoring 32 goals to help Liverpool win their third successive league title.
Tony Barton is sacked after two-and-a-half years as manager of Aston Villa. He had won the European Cup just three months after being appointed. Villa replace him with Shrewsbury Town's manager Graham Turner.

1983

The Football Association and then Scottish Football Association initiate the end of the British Home Championships by announcing they will not enter after the 1983-84 competition.
Manchester United beat Brighton & Hove Albion 4-0 in the FA Cup replay after a 2-2 draw in the first match to win their first major trophy under the management of Ron Atkinson.
Watford finish second in the league at the end of their first season in the First Division.
The Football Association keep faith in England manager Bobby Robson despite the country's failure to qualify for the 1984 European Football Championship.
Bob Paisley retires after nine years as Liverpool manager. He finishes on a high with the league championship and League Cup to bring his tally of major prizes to an English record of 21.
Sharp Electronics become the first official sponsors of Manchester United.

1982

Ron Greenwood retires as England manager after the 1982 FIFA World Cup, which was won by Italy. He is replaced by Ipswich Town manager Bobby Robson.
Just three months after stepping up from the coaching staff to replace Ron Saunders, Tony Barton guides Aston Villa to glory in the European Cup - they beat Bayern Munich 1-0 thanks to a Peter Withe goal.
JVC Electronics become the first official sponsors of Arsenal.
Tottenham Hotspur beat Queens Park Rangers - managed by former Tottenham striker Terry Venables - to win the FA Cup for the second year running.
Swansea City finish sixth in their first season as a First Division club.

1981

The Football League begins awarding three points for a win instead of two.
Aston Villa win their first league championship for 71 years.
Ipswich Town join the list of triumphant English clubs in Europe by winning the UEFA Cup.
Liverpool win their third European Cup and their first-ever League Cup in a season where they had failed to make a serious bid for the league title.
Bill Shankly dies of a heart attack aged 67, seven years after he retired as Liverpool manager.
Ron Atkinson replaces Dave Sexton as manager of Manchester United. Three months after his appointment, West Bromwich Albion midfielder, Bryan Robson, follows his old manager to Old Trafford for an English record fee of £1.75million.

1980

Nottingham Forest retain their European Cup crown, making them the only English team to have won more European Cups than league titles.
Manchester United chairman Louis Edwards, 65, dies of a heart attack weeks after being accused of financial irregularities by ITV. Control of the club passes to his son Martin.
West Ham beat Arsenal in the FA Cup final to become the third Second Division team in eight years to win the trophy thanks to a Trevor Brooking goal.
Dixie Dean, who scored 60 goals for Everton during the 1927-28 season, dies of a heart attack at the age of 72 while watching an Everton v Liverpool game at Goodison Park on 1 March.
Emlyn Hughes, who had achieved numerous success with Liverpool before his transfer to Wolves in 1978, added the League Cup to his list of honours after helping them overcome Nottingham Forest in the final.

1970s

1979 - 1978 - 1977 - 1976 - 1975 - 1974 - 1973 - 1972 - 1971 - 1970

1979

Nottingham Forest lose their defence of the league title to Liverpool but compensate by winning the European Cup.
One of Nottingham Forest's key players in the European triumph is Trevor Francis, who four months earlier had signed from Birmingham City and became Britain's first million-pound footballer.
Arsenal overcome a late revival by Manchester United to win 3-2 in the FA Cup final - their first major trophy since Terry Neill replaced the legendary Bertie Mee as manager.
West Bromwich Albion finish third in the league with a side containing three black players - Laurie Cunningham, Cyrille Regis and Brendan Batson - who were known as the Three Degrees. Ron Atkinson's side had achieved a famous 5-3 away win over Manchester United on 29 December to put pressure on the title race.
Danny Blanchflower's short-lived and unsuccessful reign as manager of Chelsea comes to an end after the club suffers relegation to the Second Division.

1978

Newly promoted Nottingham Forest win the league title and League Cup for the first time in their history.
Ipswich Town win the FA Cup for the first time in their history.
West Bromwich Albion appoint Cambridge United's Ron Atkinson as manager.
Wigan Athletic are elected to the Football League in place of Southport
Tottenham Hotspur, back in the First Division after a one-year absence, sign two Argentine World Cup winners - Osvaldo Ardiles and Ricardo Villa - for a combined fee of £750,000.

1977

Tommy Docherty is sacked as manager of Manchester United just weeks after guiding them to FA Cup victory over Liverpool. He is replaced by Dave Sexton.
Liverpool establish themselves as one of Europe's finest sides by retaining the league title and joining the list of European Cup winners.
Aston Villa win their second League Cup in three years. 19-year-old striker Andy Gray is voted PFA Player of the Year and PFA Young Player of the Year, he remains the only player to have one both in the same season.
Peter Houseman, who played in Chelsea's FA Cup and Cup Winners' Cup winning teams of 1970 and 1971, is killed in a car crash near Oxford at the age of 31 along with his wife.
Wimbledon are elected to the Football League in place of Workington.
Kenny Dalglish joins Liverpool at a record £440,000 to replace Kevin Keegan who leaves to join Hamburg in Germany.
After a 2-1 victory to Scotland against England in the British Home Championship at Wembley Stadium, the Tartan Army invade the pitch, breaking goalposts and helping themselves to some of Wembley's turf.^[5]^[6]

1976

Liverpool win the league championship to end manager Bob Paisley's two-year quest to bring a major trophy to Anfield.
Southampton beat Manchester United 1-0 in the FA Cup final thanks to a goal from Bobby Stokes.
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