1976–77 Football League

Football League
Second Division
Season	1976–77
Champions	Wolverhampton Wanderers (2nd title)
Promoted	Chelsea,; Nottingham Forest
Relegated	Carlisle United,; Hereford United,; Plymouth Argyle
Matches played	462
Goals scored	1,290 (2.79 per match)
Top goalscorer	Mickey Walsh (Blackpool), 26
Biggest home win	Blackburn –Notts County 6–1 (9 Oct 1976); Fulham –Orient 6–1 (7 Mar 1977); Nottingham Forest –Sheffield United 6–1 (9 Oct 1976); Fulham –Oldham 5–0 (4 Dec 1976); Luton –Carlisle 5–0 (26 Mar 1977)
Biggest away win	Carlisle –Southampton 0–6 (22 Jan 1977)
Highest scoring	Charlton –Southampton 6–2 (24 Sep 1976); Burnley –Charlton 4–4 (16 Oct 1976); Oldham –Hereford 3–5 (16 Apr 1977); Wolverhampton –Southampton 2–6 (5 Oct 1976)
	← 1975–76 1977–78 →

Football League
First Division
Season	1976–77
Champions	Liverpool (10th English title)
Relegated	Stoke City; Sunderland,; Tottenham Hotspur
European Cup	Liverpool
FA Cup winners; Cup Winners' Cup	Manchester United (4th FA Cup title)
UEFA Cup	Aston Villa,; Ipswich Town; Manchester City,; Newcastle United
Matches played	462
Goals scored	1,183 (2.56 per match)
Top goalscorer	Andy Gray (Aston Villa), 25; Malcolm Macdonald (Arsenal), 25
Biggest home win	Ipswich – West Brom 7–0 (6 Nov 1976)
Biggest away win	Leicester – West Brom 0–5 (7 Mar 1977)
Highest scoring	Derby – Tottenham 8–2 (16 Oct 1976)
	← 1975–76 1977–78 →

The Football League
Season	1976–77
Champions	Liverpool
Relegated	Workington
	← 1975–76 1977–78 →

The 1976–77 season was the 78th completed season of The Football League.

As of this season, goal difference (GD in league tables) was used to separate the clubs finishing level on points. The earlier system, used from the season 1894–95 until the 1975–76 had been the so-called goal average (goals scored divided by goals conceded), or more properly put, goal ratio. In case one or more teams had the same positive goal difference, this earlier system favoured those teams who had scored fewer goals. Now the system would favour the teams that had scored more goals, and it was hoped that more goals would be seen as a result of this new system.

Overview[]

Liverpool retained their league championship trophy and won their first European Cup to confirm Bob Paisley as a successful replacement for Bill Shankly in his third season at the helm. Tottenham Hotspur and Stoke City's long spells in the First Division came to an end with relegation. Stoke sacked their manager Tony Waddington. On the last day of the season, Coventry City and Bristol City played out a controversial 2–2 draw, with play virtually stopping when it was heard that Sunderland had lost to Everton. Both clubs survived while Sunderland was relegated.

After Manchester United manager Tommy Docherty had admitted his affair with the wife of the club's physiotherapist, the club's directors decided that he had broken their moral code and he was sacked.

Wolverhampton Wanderers, Chelsea and Nottingham Forest gained promotion to the First Division. Brian Clough's Forest would achieve success beyond the dreams of most supporters over the next few seasons. Carlisle United, Plymouth Argyle and Hereford United occupied the three relegation places. Hereford became the first club to finish bottom of the Second Division after winning the Third Division the previous season.

Mansfield Town, Brighton & Hove Albion and Crystal Palace were the three teams promoted to the Second Division. Palace's manager was a certain Terry Venables who would enjoy more success at Palace and elsewhere over the next 20 years. Going down were Reading, Northampton Town, Grimsby Town and York City.

Cambridge United, Exeter City, Colchester United and Bradford City occupied the four promotion places in the league's lowest division. A terrible season for Workington was compounded by their failure to gain re-election to the Football League, a humiliation which saw them slip into the Northern Premier League. In their place were Southern League champions Wimbledon, who would make amazing progress over the next decade.

The British pop star Elton John took over Fourth Division side Watford and installed Graham Taylor as manager. Former Arsenal manager Bertie Mee came out of retirement to work at Watford as assistant to Graham Taylor. John immediately asserted his ambition by promising to bring First Division football to Watford.

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^[1] and in Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79,^[2] with home and away statistics separated.

Beginning with the season 1894–95, clubs finishing level on points were separated according to goal average (goals scored divided by goals conceded), or more properly put, goal ratio. In case one or more teams had the same goal difference, this system favoured those teams who had scored fewer goals. The goal average system was eventually scrapped beginning with this season.

Re-election: 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.^[2]

First Division[]

Despite failing to win any of their final four matches,^[4] Liverpool retained the First Division title against a strong challenge by Manchester City and went on to win the European Cup for the first time, although their bid for a unique treble was ended when they lost to Manchester United in the final of the FA Cup. Liverpool finished a point ahead of Manchester City in the league. Ipswich Town, Aston Villa and Newcastle United completed the top five. Newly promoted West Bromwich Albion finished sixth.

Tottenham Hotspur went down in bottom place after a 27-year run in the First Division, along with Stoke City who had been in the First Division continuously since 1963. The final relegation place went to Sunderland, just one year after promotion.

Pos	Team v t	Pld	HW	HD	HL	HGF	HGA	AW	AD	AL	AGF	AGA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Liverpool (C)	42	18	3	0	47	11	5	8	8	15	22	+29	57	Qualified for European Cup
2	Manchester City	42	15	5	1	38	13	6	9	6	22	21	+26	56	Qualified for UEFA Cup
3	Ipswich Town	42	15	4	2	41	11	7	4	10	25	28	+27	52	Qualified for UEFA Cup
4	Aston Villa	42	17	3	1	55	17	5	4	12	21	33	+26	51	League Cup winners, qualified for UEFA Cup
5	Newcastle United	42	14	6	1	40	15	4	7	10	24	34	+15	49	Qualified for UEFA Cup
6	Manchester United	42	12	6	3	41	22	6	5	10	30	40	+9	47	FA Cup winners, qualified for Cup Winners' Cup
7	West Bromwich Albion	42	10	6	5	38	22	6	7	8	24	34	+6	45
8	Arsenal	42	11	6	4	37	20	5	5	11	27	39	+5	43
9	Everton	42	9	7	5	35	24	5	7	9	27	40	−2	42
10	Leeds United	42	8	8	5	28	26	7	4	10	20	25	−3	42
11	Leicester City	42	8	9	4	30	28	4	9	8	17	32	−13	42
12	Middlesbrough	42	11	6	4	25	14	3	7	11	15	31	−5	41
13	Birmingham City	42	10	6	5	38	25	3	6	12	25	36	+2	38
14	Queens Park Rangers	42	10	7	4	31	21	3	5	13	16	31	−5	38
15	Derby County	42	9	9	3	36	18	0	10	11	14	37	−5	37
16	Norwich City	42	12	4	5	30	23	2	5	14	17	41	−17	37
17	West Ham United	42	9	6	6	28	23	2	8	11	18	42	−19	36
18	Bristol City	42	8	7	6	25	19	3	6	12	13	29	−10	35
19	Coventry City	42	7	9	5	34	26	3	6	12	14	33	−11	35
20	Sunderland	42	9	5	7	29	16	2	7	12	17	38	−8	34	Relegated
21	Stoke City	42	9	8	4	21	16	1	6	14	7	35	−23	34
22	Tottenham Hotspur	42	9	7	5	26	20	3	2	16	22	52	−24	33

Source:^{[citation needed]}
(C) League Champions

Results[]

Home \ Away	ARS	AST	BIR	BRI	COV	DER	EVE	IPS	LEE	LEI	LIV	MCI	MUN	MID	NEW	NWC	QPR	STK	SUN	TOT	WBA	WHU
Arsenal		3–0	4–0	0–1	2–0	0–0	3–1	1–4	1–1	3–0	1–1	0–0	3–1	1–1	5–3	1–0	3–2	2–0	0–0	1–0	1–2	2–3
Aston Villa	5–1		1–2	3–1	2–2	4–0	2–0	5–2	2–1	2–0	5–1	1–1	3–2	1–0	2–1	1–0	1–1	1–0	4–1	2–1	4–0	4–0
Birmingham City	3–3	2–1		3–0	3–0	5–1	1–1	2–4	0–0	1–1	2–1	0–0	2–3	3–1	1–2	3–2	2–1	2–0	2–0	1–2	0–1	0–0
Bristol City	2–0	0–0	0–1		0–0	2–2	1–2	1–2	1–0	0–1	2–1	1–0	1–1	1–2	1–1	3–1	1–0	1–1	4–1	1–0	1–2	1–1
Coventry City	1–2	2–3	2–1	2–2		2–0	4–2	1–1	4–2	1–1	0–0	0–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	5–2	1–2	1–1	1–1	1–1
Derby County	0–0	2–1	0–0	2–0	1–1		2–3	0–0	0–1	1–0	2–3	4–0	0–0	0–0	4–2	2–2	2–0	2–0	1–0	8–2	2–2	1–1
Everton	2–1	0–2	2–2	2–0	1–1	2–0		1–1	0–2	1–2	0–0	2–2	1–2	2–2	2–0	3–1	1–3	3–0	2–0	4–0	1–1	3–2
Ipswich Town	3–1	1–0	1–0	1–0	2–1	0–0	2–0		1–1	0–0	1–0	1–0	2–1	0–1	2–0	5–0	2–2	0–1	3–1	3–1	7–0	4–1
Leeds United	2–1	1–3	1–0	2–0	1–2	2–0	0–0	2–1		2–2	1–1	0–2	0–2		2–2	3–2	0–1	1–1	1–1	2–1	2–2	1–1
Leicester City	4–1	1–1	2–6	0–0	3–1	1–1	1–1	1–0	0–1		0–1	2–2	1–1	3–3	1–0	1–1	2–2	1–0	2–0	2–1	0–5	2–0
Liverpool	2–0	3–0	4–1	2–1	3–1	3–1	3–1	2–1	3–1	5–1		2–1	1–0	0–0	1–0	1–0	3–1	4–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	0–0
Manchester City	1–0	2–0	2–1	2–1	2–0	3–2	1–1	2–1	2–1	5–0	1–1		1–3	1–0	0–0	2–0	0–0	0–0	1–0	5–0	1–0	4–2
Manchester United	3–2	2–0	2–2	2–1	2–0	3–1	4–0	0–1	1–0	1–1	0–0	3–1		2–0	3–1	2–2	1–0	3–0	3–3	2–3	2–2	0–2
Middlesbrough	3–0	3–2	2–2	0–0	1–0	2–0	2–2	0–2		0–1	0–1	0–0	3–0		1–0	1–0	0–2	0–0	2–1	2–0	1–0	1–1
Newcastle United	0–2	3–2	3–2	0–0	1–0	2–2	4–1	1–1	3–0	0–0	1–0	2–2	2–2	1–0		5–1	2–0	1–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	3–0
Norwich City	1–3	1–1	1–0	2–1	3–0	0–0	2–1	0–1	1–2	3–2	2–1	0–2	2–1	1–0	3–2		2–0	1–1	2–2	1–3	1–0	1–0
Queens Park Rangers	2–1	2–1	2–2	0–1	1–1	1–1	0–4	1–0	0–0	3–2	1–1	0–0	4–0	3–0	1–2	2–3		2–0	2–0	2–1	1–0	1–1
Stoke City	1–1	1–0	1–0	2–2	2–0	1–0	0–1	2–1	2–1	0–1	0–0	0–2	3–3	3–1	0–0	0–0	1–0		0–0	0–0		2–1
Sunderland	2–2	0–1	1–0	1–0	0–1	1–1	0–1	1–0	0–1	0–0	0–1	0–2	2–1	4–0	2–2	0–1	1–0	0–0		2–1	6–1	6–0
Tottenham Hotspur	2–2	3–1	1–0	0–1	0–1	0–0	3–3	1–0	1–0	2–0	1–0	2–2	1–3	0–0	0–2	1–1	3–0	2–0	1–1		0–2	2–1
West Bromwich Albion	0–2	1–1	2–1	1–1	1–1	1–0	3–0	4–0	1–2	2–2	0–1	0–2	4–0	2–1	1–1	2–0	1–1		2–3	4–2		3–0
West Ham United	0–2	0–1	2–2	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–2	0–2	1–3	0–0	2–0	1–0	4–2	0–1	1–2	1–0	1–0	1–0	1–1	5–3	0–0

Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane’s, London & Sydney, 1980.
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Maps[]

Arsenal

Queens Park Rangers

Tottenham

West Ham

Locations of the Football League First Division London teams 1976–1977

Aston Villa

Birmingham

Arsenal

Bristol City

Coventry

Derby County

Everton

Ipswich Town

Leeds United

Leicester City

Liverpool

Middlesbrough

Manchester City

Manchester United

Newcastle

Norwich City

QPR

Stoke

Sunderland

Tottenham

West Bromwich Albion

West Ham

Locations of the Football League First Division 1976–1977 teams

Second Division[]

Wolverhampton Wanderers achieved an instant return to the First Division as champions of the Second Division, while runners-up Chelsea regained their top flight status two years after losing it. Brian Clough steered Nottingham Forest into the final promotion place, while Bolton Wanderers and Blackpool missed out by a single point.

Hereford United, Plymouth Argyle and Carlisle United went down to the Third Division.

Pos	Team	Pld	HW	HD	HL	HGF	HGA	AW	AD	AL	AGF	AGA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Wolverhampton Wanderers	42	15	3	3	48	21	7	10	4	36	24	+39	57	Division Champions, promoted
2	Chelsea	42	15	6	0	51	22	6	7	8	22	31	+20	55	Promoted
3	Nottingham Forest	42	14	3	4	53	22	7	7	7	24	21	+34	52	Promoted
4	Bolton Wanderers	42	15	2	4	46	21	5	9	7	29	33	+21	51
5	Blackpool	42	11	7	3	29	17	6	10	5	29	25	+16	51
6	Luton Town	42	13	5	3	39	17	8	1	12	28	31	+19	48
7	Charlton Athletic	42	14	5	2	52	27	2	11	8	19	31	+13	48
8	Notts County	42	11	5	5	29	20	8	5	8	36	40	+5	48
9	Southampton	42	12	6	3	40	24	5	4	12	32	43	+5	44
10	Millwall	42	9	6	6	31	22	6	7	8	26	31	+4	43
11	Sheffield United	42	9	8	4	32	25	5	4	12	22	38	−9	40
12	Blackburn Rovers	42	12	4	5	31	18	3	5	13	11	36	−12	39
13	Oldham Athletic	42	11	6	4	37	23	3	4	14	15	41	−12	38
14	Hull City	42	9	8	4	31	17	1	9	11	14	36	−8	37
15	Bristol Rovers	42	8	9	4	32	27	4	4	13	21	41	−15	37
16	Burnley	42	8	9	4	27	20	3	5	13	19	44	−18	36
17	Fulham	42	9	7	5	39	25	2	6	13	15	36	−7	35
18	Cardiff City	42	7	6	8	30	30	5	4	12	26	37	−11	34	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1977–78 First round^[a]
19	Orient	42	4	8	9	18	23	5	8	8	19	32	−18	34
20	Carlisle United	42	7	7	7	31	33	4	5	12	18	42	−26	34	Relegated
21	Plymouth Argyle	42	5	9	7	27	25	3	7	11	19	40	−19	32
22	Hereford United	42	6	9	6	28	30	2	6	13	29	48	−21	31

Source:^{[citation needed]}
Notes:

^ Cardiff City were runners-up in the Welsh Cup final, and since winners Shrewsbury Town are an English club, Cardiff City were awarded the right to participate in Cup Winners' Cup.

Results[]

Home \ Away	BLB	BLP	BOL	BRR	BUR	CAR	CRL	CHA	CHE	FUL	HER	HUL	LUT	MIL	NOT	NTC	OLD	ORI	PLY	SHU	SOU	WOL
Blackburn Rovers		0–1	3–1	0–0	2–2	2–1	1–3	0–0	0–2	1–0	1–0	1–0	1–0	2–0	1–3	6–1	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–0	3–0	0–2
Blackpool	1–1		1–0	4–0	1–1	1–0	0–0	2–2	0–1	3–2	2–1	0–0	1–0	4–2	1–0	1–1	0–2	3–0	0–2	1–0	1–0	2–2
Bolton Wanderers	3–1	0–3		1–0	2–1	2–1	3–4	1–0	2–2	2–1	3–1	5–1	2–1	3–1	1–1	4–0	3–0	2–0	3–0	1–2	3–0	0–1
Bristol Rovers	0–0	1–4	2–2		1–1	1–1	2–1	1–1	2–1	2–1	2–3	3–0	1–0	0–0	1–1	5–1	0–0	1–0	1–1	3–1	2–3	1–5
Burnley	3–1	0–0	0–0	1–1		0–0	2–0	4–4	1–0	3–1	1–1	0–0	1–2	1–3	0–1	3–1	1–0	3–3	0–2	1–0	2–0	0–0
Cardiff City	2–1	2–2	3–2	1–2	0–1		1–1	1–1	1–3	3–0	3–1	1–1	4–2	0–0	0–3	2–3	3–1	0–1	0–1	0–2	1–0	2–2
Carlisle United	1–1	1–1	0–1	2–3	2–1	4–3		4–2	0–1	1–2	2–2	1–1	1–1	0–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–0	3–1	4–1	0–6	2–1
Charlton Athletic	4–0	1–2	1–1	4–3	5–2	0–2	1–0		4–0	1–1	1–1	3–1	4–3	3–2	2–1	1–1	2–1	2–0	3–1	3–2	6–2	1–1
Chelsea	3–1	2–2	2–1	2–0	2–1	2–1	2–1	2–1		2–0	5–1	4–0	2–0	1–1	2–1	1–1	4–3	1–1	2–2	4–0	3–1	3–3
Fulham	2–0	0–0	0–2	1–0	2–2	1–2	2–0	1–1	3–1		4–1	0–0	1–2	2–3	2–2	1–5	5–0	6–1	2–0	3–2	1–1	0–0
Hereford United	1–0	1–1	3–3	1–1	3–0	2–2	0–0	1–2	2–2	1–0		1–0	0–1	3–1	0–1	1–4	0–0	2–3	1–1	2–2	2–0	1–6
Hull City	1–0	2–2	2–2	0–1	4–1	1–2	3–1	0–0	1–1	1–0	1–1		3–1	0–0	1–0	0–1	0–1	1–1	3–1		4–0	2–0
Luton Town	2–0	0–0	1–1	4–2	2–0	2–1	5–0	2–0	4–0	0–2	2–0	2–1		1–2	1–1	4–2	1–0	0–0	1–1	2–0	1–4	2–0
Millwall	0–1	1–1	3–0	2–0	2–0	0–2	1–1	1–1	3–0	0–0	4–2	2–1	4–2		0–2	2–5	2–1	0–1	3–0	0–1	0–0	1–1
Nottingham Forest	3–0	3–0	3–1	4–2	5–2	0–1	5–1	1–1	1–1	3–0	4–3	2–0	1–2	1–0		1–2	3–0	3–0	1–1	6–1	2–1	1–3
Notts County	0–0	2–0	0–1	2–1	5–1	1–0	2–1	0–1	2–1	0–0	3–2	1–1	0–4	1–2	1–1		1–0	0–1	2–0	2–1	3–1	1–1
Oldham Athletic	2–0	1–0	2–2	4–0	3–1	3–2	4–1	1–1	0–0	1–0	3–5	3–0	1–2	2–1	1–0	1–1		0–0	2–2	1–2	2–1	0–2
Orient	0–1	0–1	2–2	2–0	0–1	3–0	0–0	0–0	0–1	0–0	1–1	1–1	1–0	1–1	0–1	1–0	0–2		2–2	0–2	2–3	2–4
Plymouth Argyle	4–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–1	2–2	0–1	1–0	2–3	2–2	2–1	1–2	1–0	2–2	1–2	1–2	2–2	1–2		0–0	1–1	0–0
Sheffield United	1–1	1–5	2–3	2–3	1–0	3–0	3–0	3–0	1–0	1–1	1–1		0–3	1–1	2–0	1–0	2–1	1–1	1–0		2–2	2–2
Southampton	2–0	3–3	1–3	2–1	2–0	3–2	1–2	2–1	1–1	4–1	1–0	2–2	1–0	0–2	1–1	2–1	4–0	2–2	4–1	1–1		1–0
Wolverhampton Wanderers	1–2	2–1	1–0	1–0	0–0	4–1	4–0	3–0	1–1	5–1	2–1	2–1	1–2	3–1	2–1	2–2	5–0	1–0	4–0	2–1	2–6

Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane’s, London & Sydney, 1980.
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Maps[]

Charlton Athletic

Chelsea

Fulham

Orient

Millwall

Locations of the Football League Second Division London teams 1976–1977

Blackburn Rovers

Blackpool

Bolton

Bristol Rovers

Burnley

Cardiff City

Carlisle United

Charlton

Chelsea

Fulham

Hereford United

Hull

Orient

Luton Town

Millwall

Nottingham Forest

Notts County

Oldham

Plymouth Argyle

Sheffield United

Southampton

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Locations of the Football League Second Division 1976–1977 teams

Third Division[]

Football League
Third Division
Season	1976–77
Champions	Mansfield Town (1st title)
Promoted	Brighton & Hove Albion, Crystal Palace
Relegated	Grimsby Town, Northampton Town, Reading, York City
Matches played	552
Goals scored	1,462 (2.65 per match)
Top goalscorer	Peter Ward (Brighton & Hove Albion), 32 ^[3]
← 1975–76 1977–78 →

Pos	Team	Pld	HW	HD	HL	HGF	HGA	AW	AD	AL	AGF	AGA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Mansfield Town	46	17	6	0	52	13	11	2	10	26	29	+36	64	Division Champions, promoted
2	Brighton & Hove Albion	46	19	3	1	63	14	6	8	9	20	26	+43	61	Promoted
3	Crystal Palace	46	17	5	1	46	15	6	8	9	22	25	+28	59	Promoted
4	Rotherham United	46	11	9	3	30	15	11	6	6	39	29	+25	59
5	Wrexham	46	15	6	2	47	22	9	4	10	33	32	+26	58
6	Preston North End	46	15	4	4	48	21	6	8	9	16	22	+21	54
7	Bury	46	15	2	6	41	21	8	6	9	23	38	+5	54
8	Sheffield Wednesday	46	15	4	4	39	18	7	5	11	26	37	+10	53
9	Lincoln City	46	12	9	2	50	30	7	5	11	27	40	+7	52
10	Shrewsbury Town	46	13	7	3	40	21	5	4	14	25	38	+6	47	Welsh Cup winners, not qualified for Cup Winners' Cup^[a]
11	Swindon Town	46	12	6	5	48	33	3	9	11	20	42	−7	45
12	Gillingham	46	11	8	4	31	21	5	4	14	24	43	−9	44
13	Chester	46	14	3	6	28	20	4	5	14	20	38	−10	44
14	Tranmere Rovers	46	10	7	6	31	23	3	10	10	20	30	−2	43
15	Walsall	46	8	7	8	39	32	5	8	10	18	33	−8	41
16	Peterborough United	46	11	4	8	33	28	2	11	10	22	37	−10	41
17	Oxford United	46	9	8	6	34	29	3	7	13	21	36	−10	39
18	Chesterfield	46	10	6	7	30	20	4	4	15	26	44	−8	38
19	Port Vale	46	9	7	7	29	28	2	9	12	18	43	−24	38
20	Portsmouth	46	8	9	6	28	26	3	5	15	25	44	−17	36
21	Reading	46	10	5	8	29	24	3	4	16	20	49	−24	35	Relegated
22	Northampton Town	46	9	4	10	33	29	4	4	15	27	46	−15	34
23	Grimsby Town	46	10	6	7	29	22	2	3	18	16	47	−24	33
24	York City	46	7	8	8	25	34	3	4	16	25	55	−39	32

Source: rsssf.com
Notes:

^ Shrewsbury Town were winners of the Welsh Cup this season, but as they are an English club, they did not earn a place in the Cup Winners' Cup.

Results[]

Home \ Away	B&HA	BRY	CHE	CHF	CRY	GIL	GRI	LIN	MAN	NOR	OXF	PET	POR	PTV	PNE	REA	ROT	SHW	SHR	SWI	TRA	WAL	WRE	YOR
Brighton & Hove Albion		1–1	3–0	2–1	1–1	2–0	3–0	4–0	3–1	2–0	3–2	1–0	4–0	1–0	2–0	2–0	3–1	3–2	4–0	4–0	1–1	7–0	0–2	7–2
Bury	3–0		2–0	3–1	0–1	3–1	2–0	3–0	2–0	1–1	2–1	4–1	1–0	3–0	3–2	1–0	1–1	1–3	0–1	0–1	2–1	0–2	0–2	4–2
Chester	0–1	1–0		1–2	2–1	1–0	2–0	1–0	1–0	2–1	1–3	2–1	1–1	1–1	0–0	3–1	1–3	1–0	1–2	2–1	1–0	1–0	1–2	1–0
Chesterfield	1–1	7–0	1–0		0–2	1–0	0–1	1–4		0–0	2–0	0–0	1–2	4–0	1–1	4–0	1–0	2–0	1–1	0–1	0–0	1–0	0–6	2–0
Crystal Palace	3–1	2–1	1–2	0–0		3–1	2–1	4–1	2–0	1–1	2–2	0–0	2–1	2–0	1–0	1–1	2–1	4–0	2–1	5–0	1–0	3–0	2–1	1–0
Gillingham	0–1	1–0	1–0	2–1	0–3		1–1	0–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–2	1–0	2–1	2–2	3–0	1–0	2–0	2–0
Grimsby Town	2–0	2–0	0–0	1–2	0–1	1–1		1–2	0–1	0–1	1–2	2–2	1–0	2–4	1–0	2–1	1–1	1–1	2–1	2–0	1–0	2–2	3–0	1–0
Lincoln City	2–2	2–3	3–3	3–2	3–2	4–0	2–0		3–2	5–4	0–1	1–1	2–1	2–0	2–0	3–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	0–0	2–2	4–1	1–1	2–0
Mansfield Town	1–1	5–0	1–1		1–0	2–2	3–0	3–1		3–0	3–0	1–1	2–0	2–1	3–1	4–0	3–1	1–0	1–0	1–1	1–1	3–0	2–0	4–1
Northampton Town	0–2	3–0	0–0	2–1	3–0	1–2	0–0	1–0	0–1		1–0		3–1	3–0	0–1	1–2	1–4	0–2	5–3	1–1	3–4	0–1	0–2	3–0
Oxford United	1–0	2–2	2–0	3–2	0–1	3–1	5–2	1–2	0–3	1–0		2–3	2–1	0–0	2–2		1–2	1–1	4–2		1–1	0–0	2–2	0–2
Peterborough United	2–0	0–1	3–2	0–3	0–0	0–1	3–1	1–2	2–1		2–0		4–2	1–1	0–0	2–1	0–2	1–2	2–1	1–0	0–0	3–5	0–2	3–0
Portsmouth	1–0	1–1	2–1	0–1	0–0	3–2	1–2	1–1	2–2	2–1	1–1	0–0		1–1	0–0	0–2	5–1	0–3	2–0	2–1	0–3	1–1	0–1	3–1
Port Vale	2–2	0–1	1–0	1–1	4–1	1–2	2–0	1–0	1–4	2–1	2–1	1–1	1–0		0–0	1–0	1–4	2–0	1–2	2–2	1–1		2–3	0–2
Preston North End	1–1	0–1	3–4	2–2	2–1	1–0	2–1	3–0	1–2	3–0	2–1	6–2	0–0	4–0		3–0	0–0	4–1	2–1	2–0	1–0	0–1	2–1	4–2
Reading	2–3	1–3	2–0	2–0	0–0	1–2	2–0	1–2	1–0	2–4		1–0	2–0	1–1	0–2		0–3	0–1	0–0		0–0	2–1	2–0	1–1
Rotherham United	0–0	3–0	1–1	1–0	1–1	1–0	3–2	1–0	3–0	2–0	1–1	0–0	2–2	1–1	2–0	1–2			1–0	1–1	1–2	1–0	2–0
Sheffield Wednesday	0–0	1–0	3–0	4–1	1–0	2–0	1–0	1–1	0–2	2–1	2–0	4–0	1–1	1–2	1–0	2–1			0–1	3–1	3–1	0–0	3–1
Shrewsbury Town	1–0	0–1	2–0	3–0	1–1	4–2	2–1	2–1	0–0	3–0	1–0	2–1	4–1	1–1	1–2	2–0	0–0	1–1		2–2	2–2	1–2	3–2	2–1
Swindon Town	2–1	0–1	2–1	3–0	1–1	2–2	4–1	2–2	0–1	5–1		0–4	4–3	1–0	0–1		2–4	5–2	1–0		1–1	2–2	3–2	5–1
Tranmere	1–3	1–2	0–1	2–1	1–0	2–0	2–0	2–2	4–0	2–1	1–1	2–0	1–3	1–1	0–0	2–1	0–1	1–0	2–1	0–1		0–0	0–0	4–4
Walsall	1–0	3–3	1–0	2–2	0–0	1–2	1–0	1–3	1–2	0–3	2–2	1–1	1–1		0–1	6–1	0–1	5–1	3–3	2–0	2–0		2–3	1–2
Wrexham	0–0	0–0	4–2	3–1	2–4	2–1	3–2	3–0	0–1	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	6–2	2–0	3–1	2–1	2–2	1–0	2–2	2–0	1–0		1–1
York City	0–1	2–2	0–2	2–1	2–1	2–2	1–1	2–2	0–1	1–4	2–1	2–1	1–4	1–0	0–2	1–1			0–3	4–2	1–0	0–0	0–0

Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane’s, London & Sydney, 1980.
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Maps[]

Brighton & Hove

Bury

Chester

Chesterfield

Crystal Palace

Gillingham

Grimsby Town

Lincoln City

Mansfield Town

Northampton Town

Oxford

Peterborough

Portsmouth

Port Vale

Preston North End

Reading

Rotherham

Sheffield Wednesday

Shrewsbury

Swindon

Tranmere

Walsall

Wrexham

York City

Locations of the Football League Third Division teams 1976–1977

Fourth Division[]

Football League
Fourth Division
Season	1976–77
Champions	Cambridge United (1st title)
Promoted	Bradford City, Colchester United, Exeter City
Failed re-election	Workington
Matches played	552
Goals scored	1,423 (2.58 per match)
Top goalscorer	Brian Joicey (Barnsley), 25 ^[3]
← 1975–76 1977–78 →

Pos	Team	Pld	HW	HD	HL	HGF	HGA	AW	AD	AL	AGF	AGA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Cambridge United	46	16	5	2	57	18	10	8	5	30	22	+47	65	Division Champions, promoted
2	Exeter City	46	17	5	1	40	13	8	7	8	30	33	+24	62	Promoted
3	Colchester United	46	19	2	2	51	14	6	7	10	26	29	+34	59
4	Bradford City	46	16	7	0	51	18	7	6	10	27	33	+27	59
5	Swansea City	46	18	3	2	60	30	7	5	11	32	38	+24	58
6	Barnsley	46	16	5	2	45	18	7	4	12	17	21	+23	55
7	Watford	46	15	7	1	46	13	3	8	12	21	37	+17	51
8	Doncaster Rovers	46	16	2	5	47	25	5	7	11	24	40	+6	51
9	Huddersfield Town	46	15	5	3	36	15	4	7	12	24	34	+11	50
10	Southend United	46	11	9	3	35	19	4	10	9	17	26	+7	49
11	Darlington	46	13	5	5	37	25	5	8	10	22	39	−5	49
12	Crewe Alexandra	46	16	6	1	36	15	3	5	15	11	45	−13	49
13	Bournemouth	46	13	8	2	39	13	2	10	11	15	31	+10	48
14	Stockport County	46	10	10	3	29	19	3	9	11	24	38	−4	45
15	Brentford	46	14	3	6	48	27	4	4	15	29	49	+1	43
16	Torquay United	46	12	5	6	33	22	5	4	14	26	45	−8	43
17	Aldershot	46	10	8	5	29	19	6	3	14	20	40	−10	43
18	Rochdale	46	8	7	8	32	25	5	5	13	18	34	−9	38
19	Newport County	46	11	6	6	33	21	3	4	16	9	37	−16	38
20	Scunthorpe United	46	11	6	6	32	24	2	5	16	17	49	−24	37
21	Halifax Town	46	11	6	6	36	18	0	8	15	11	40	−11	36	Re-elected
22	Hartlepool	46	8	9	6	30	20	2	3	18	17	53	−26	32
23	Southport	46	3	12	8	17	28	0	7	16	16	49	−44	25
24	Workington	46	3	7	13	23	42	1	4	18	18	60	−61	19	Failed re-election

Source:^{[citation needed]}

Results[]

Home \ Away	ALD	BAR	BOU	BRA	BRE	CAM	COL	CRE	DAR	DON	EXE	HAL	HAR	HUD	NPC	ROC	SCU	STD	SOU	STP	SWA	TOR	WAT	WRK
Aldershot		0–1	1–0	2–1	1–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–2	1–0	2–2	0–0	3–0	1–0	4–0	0–2	1–1	0–0	1–0	2–0	2–2	0–1	2–1	2–0
Barnsley	1–0		3–1	2–2	2–0	2–1	0–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	3–4	1–0	3–0	2–1	2–0	2–0	5–1	3–1	1–0	1–0	1–0	2–1	1–1	4–0
Bournemouth	4–1	1–0		1–1	3–1	0–1	0–0	0–0	0–1	3–1	2–0	3–0	2–0	1–0	1–0	1–1	2–2	2–0	5–0	3–0	1–1	1–1	2–1	1–1
Bradford City	3–1	0–0	1–1		3–2	0–0	1–0	1–0	3–1	3–1	1–1	3–0	2–2	3–1	3–1	3–0	4–0	2–0	1–0	3–3	4–1	3–2	0–0	4–1
Brentford	0–1	0–1	3–2	4–0		0–2	1–4	0–0	0–3	2–2	1–0	2–1	3–1	1–3	1–1	3–2	4–2	1–0	3–0	4–0	4–0	3–2	3–0	5–0
Cambridge United	4–1	0–0	2–0	2–1	3–2		2–0	2–0	4–0	3–0	1–1	4–0	2–0	1–1	3–1	0–0	1–0	2–3	5–1	2–2	2–3	4–1	4–0	4–1
Colchester United	1–0	1–0	1–0	2–1	2–1	0–1		3–2	4–0	1–0	3–1	3–0	6–2	3–1	5–0	1–0	1–1	0–1	4–1	1–0	1–1	4–0	1–0	3–1
Crewe Alexandra	1–0	1–0	2–1	1–0	3–2	1–0	1–0		1–1	1–2	2–0	3–1	3–1	0–0	2–0	1–1	2–1	1–1	0–0	2–1	3–1	2–1	2–0	1–1
Darlington	2–1	2–1	4–0	0–0	2–2	0–2	2–0	4–0		1–3	2–1	0–0	3–1	2–0	1–0	0–2	5–2	0–0	2–1	0–2	0–4	2–1	0–0	3–2
Doncaster Rovers	1–2	2–1	0–0	2–3	5–0	1–1	3–2	3–0	4–0		0–3	3–0	2–1	2–0	1–0	2–0	3–0	0–3	3–1	1–0	2–1	0–4	1–0	6–3
Exeter City	3–0	1–0	1–1	0–0	3–2	1–1	1–0	3–0	1–0	0–2		1–0	3–1	2–0	1–0	2–1	2–0	3–1	3–1	2–1	2–0	3–0	2–2	0–0
Halifax Town	2–0	0–1	2–3	2–1	0–0	0–2	1–2	3–0	2–1	6–0	1–2		1–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–1	3–1	1–1	2–1	1–0	2–0	1–1	6–1
Hartlepool	0–2	0–2	0–1	0–1	2–0	2–2	2–2	3–0	1–1	0–0	2–2	1–0		0–1	0–1	2–0	3–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	4–0	1–0	2–0
Huddersfield Town	2–0	1–0	0–0	3–0	1–0	1–2	0–0	0–1	3–1	2–1	0–1	1–0	4–1		3–0	2–1	1–0	1–1	1–0	2–0	2–2	2–1	2–2	2–1
Newport County	2–1	1–1	1–0	2–0	3–1	4–2	1–2	2–1	0–1	1–2	0–3	1–1	1–1	1–1		3–0	0–0	3–0	3–1	0–1	0–2	0–0	3–0	1–0
Rochdale	2–1	2–3	0–0	0–1	2–3	2–2	1–0	0–1	2–2	1–0	1–2	4–1	0–1	2–2	0–0		5–0	0–0	3–0	1–1	1–0	0–1	3–1	0–3
Scunthorpe United	1–3	1–2	0–0	2–1	2–1	0–2	2–0	4–0	3–0	1–1	4–1	2–1	2–0	0–4	1–0	0–1		1–0	1–1	2–2	0–3	0–0	0–0	3–1
Southend	5–0	1–1	2–2	4–1	2–1	0–1	0–0	1–0	0–0	2–1	2–0	1–1	1–0	1–1	1–1	3–0	1–1		3–2	0–0	1–2	0–3	2–1	2–0
Southport	0–1	1–0	0–0	0–4	1–2	0–0	1–3	0–0	0–0	2–2	1–1	0–0	1–2	2–2	0–1	1–1	2–1	0–0		1–0	1–3	1–1	1–3	1–1
Stockport County	0–0	2–1	1–0	1–1	2–0	0–0	1–1	1–2	2–2	2–1	0–0	1–1	1–0	2–3	2–1	0–1	1–0	0–0	2–2		3–0	2–1	2–2	1–0
Swansea City	4–2	2–1	3–0	2–3	5–3	3–1	2–1	3–0	2–1	1–1	0–0	2–1	4–2	2–1	3–1	3–2	2–0	2–0	2–1	4–4		4–1	1–4	4–0
Torquay United	0–1	1–0	2–1	0–3	1–1	2–2	2–2	5–0	2–0	0–1	0–1	3–2	1–0	1–0	1–0	2–0	1–3	0–0	0–0	1–2	2–1		3–1	3–1
Watford	1–1	1–0	1–1	1–1	0–1	2–0	2–1	3–1	1–1	5–1	4–1	0–0	4–0	2–0	2–0	3–1	2–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	4–0		2–0
Workington	1–1	0–1	1–1	0–1	1–3	0–2	2–4	1–0	2–3	1–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	3–2	0–1	0–2	1–0	0–3	2–2	2–2	1–3	2–4	0–1

Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane’s, London & Sydney, 1980.
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Maps[]

Brentford

Watford

Locations of the Football League Fourth Division London teams 1976–1977

Aldershot

Barnsley

Bournemouth

Bradford City

Brentford

Cambridge Utd

Colchester

Crewe Alexandra

Darlington

Doncaster

Exeter City

Halifax Town

Hartlepool

Huddersfield

Newport County

Rochdale

Scunthorpe & Lindsey

Southend

Southport

Stockport

Swansea City

Torquay

Watford

Workington

Locations of the Football League Fourth Division teams 1976–1977

References[]

^ "England 1976–77". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 30 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-24.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane’s, London & Sydney, 1980.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d "English League Leading Goalscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 2010-10-31.
^ "Liverpool football club match record: 1977". 11v11.com. Retrieved 15 December 2017.

Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane's, London & Sydney, 1980.

[table_note_res_ECWC10.77173476934979-5] Cardiff City were runners-up in the Welsh Cup final, and since winners Shrewsbury Town are an English club, Cardiff City were awarded the right to participate in Cup Winners' Cup.

[table_note_res_WC0.79834398431626-6] Shrewsbury Town were winners of the Welsh Cup this season, but as they are an English club, they did not earn a place in the Cup Winners' Cup.

[rsssf-1] "England 1976–77". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 30 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-24.

[Rothmans-2] Jump up to: ^a ^b Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane’s, London & Sydney, 1980.

[topscorers-3] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d "English League Leading Goalscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 2010-10-31.

[4] "Liverpool football club match record: 1977". 11v11.com. Retrieved 15 December 2017.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[a]

[a]

show v t 1976–77 in European football (UEFA)
« 1975–76 1977–78 »
Domestic leagues	Albania Austria Belgium Bulgaria Cyprus Czechoslovakia Denmark '76 '77 England Faroe Islands '76 '77 Finland '76 '77 France East Germany West Germany Greece Hungary Iceland '76 '77 Israel Italy Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Northern Ireland Norway '76 '77 Poland Portugal Republic of Ireland Romania Scotland Soviet Union '76 '77 Spain Sweden '76 '77 Switzerland Turkey Yugoslavia
Domestic cups	Albania Bulgaria Cyprus England Faroe Islands Finland France West Germany Greece Hungary Iceland '77 Israel Italy Netherlands Northern Ireland Norway '76 '77 Romania Scotland Spain Wales Yugoslavia
League cups	England Scotland
Super cups	Soviet Union
UEFA competitions	European Cup (Final) Cup Winners' Cup (Final) UEFA Cup (Final) Super Cup
Non-UEFA competitions	Intertoto Cup Balkans Cup '76 '77

1976–77 Football League

Contents

Overview[]

Final league tables and results[]

First Division[]

Results[]

Maps[]

Second Division[]

Results[]

Maps[]

Third Division[]

Results[]

Maps[]

Fourth Division[]

Results[]

Maps[]

See also[]

References[]