1978–79 in English football

The 1978–79 season was the 99th season of competitive football (soccer) in England.

1 FA Cup
2 League Cup
3 Diary of the season
4 Awards
5 Star managers
6 Honours
7 Famous debutants
8 Football League
9 Deaths
10 References

FA Cup

Main article: 1978–79 FA Cup

Manchester United had seemingly pulled off a remarkable comeback against Arsenal in the 1979 FA Cup Final to make the score 2–2 after being two goals down, but a last-minute goal from Alan Sunderland saw Arsenal lift the trophy with a 3–2 scoreline. It was Arsenal's first trophy success since Terry Neill replaced Bertie Mee as manager.

League Cup

European Cup winners Nottingham Forest added the League Cup to their honours list to complete another brilliant season for Brian Clough's revolutionaries, with a 3–2 victory over Southampton.

Diary of the season

29 November 1978: Viv Anderson, 22-year-old Nottingham Forest defender, becomes England's first black full international when he appears in the 1–0 friendly win over Czechoslovakia at Wembley Stadium.^[1]

9 February 1979: Trevor Francis becomes Britain's first £1million footballer when he transfers from Birmingham City to Nottingham Forest.

17 March 1979: Nottingham Forest retain the Football League Cup with a 3–2 win over Southampton, but Trevor Francis is unable to play in the game as he is cup-tied.

12 May 1979: Arsenal win the FA Cup to end an eight-year trophy drought, defeating Manchester United 3–2 with a last-gasp goal by Alan Sunderland cancelling out two goals in the last five minutes from Manchester United.

30 May 1979: Nottingham Forest's remarkable run of glory continues when they beat Malmo FF of Sweden 1–0 in the European Cup final. Trevor Francis scores the only goal of the game.

1 June 1979: West Bromwich Albion sell winger Laurie Cunningham to Real Madrid of Spain for £995,000.

Awards

Liam Brady was credited for his part in Arsenal's FA Cup triumph with the PFA Players' Player of the Year.
Cyrille Regis played a major part in West Bromwich Albion's best league season for years and received the PFA Young Player of the Year award in recognition of his excellence.
The FWA voted Liverpool's excellent Scottish striker Kenny Dalglish as Player of the Year.

Star managers

Bob Paisley brought league championship glory to Liverpool.
Brian Clough guided Nottingham Forest to a double triumph of the European Cup and League Cup.
Terry Neill won his first major trophy as Arsenal manager in shape of the FA Cup.
Ron Atkinson oversaw a revolution at West Bromwich Albion as a previously ungainly side came just two places and nine points away from winning the league.
Graham Taylor won his second promotion with Watford to bring them within one division of the top flight.
Gordon Lee took Everton into the UEFA Cup after steering them to fourth place in the league.
Terry Venables took Crystal Palace into the First Division – as Second Division champions.
Graham Turner took Shrewsbury Town into the Second Division for the first time by winning the Third Division title.
John Toshack completed back-to-back promotions with Swansea City to take them into the Second Division.

Honours

Competition	Winner	Runner-up
First Division	Liverpool (11*)	Nottingham Forest
Second Division	Crystal Palace	Brighton & Hove Albion
Third Division	Shrewsbury Town	Watford
Fourth Division	Reading	Grimsby Town
FA Cup	Arsenal (5)	Manchester United
League Cup	Nottingham Forest (2)	Southampton
Charity Shield	Nottingham Forest	Ipswich Town
Home Championship	England	Wales

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

Famous debutants

28 April 1979 –

Ian Rush, 17-year-old Welsh striker, makes his debut playing out of position (in midfield) for Chester in their 2–2 Third Division draw with Sheffield Wednesday at Sealand Road.^[2]
- Clive Allen, 17-year-old striker, scores a hat-trick on his debut for QPR in the 5–1 First Division win over Coventry City, though it ultimately isn't enough to prevent QPR's relegation to the Second Division.^[3]

30 April 1979 – Kevin Moran, Irish defender, makes his English league debut for Manchester United the day after his 23rd birthday in a 1–1 draw with Southampton in a First Division game at The Dell.^[4]

Football League

Main article: 1978–79 Football League

First Division

Bob Paisley won his third league title at Liverpool as his conquering side fought off competition from the likes of Nottingham Forest and West Bromwich Albion to achieve their triumph. The final points tally of 68 was a record under the two points for a win system and Ray Clemence kept 28 clean sheets in a season that saw Liverpool concede only four goals at home. Albion were in their first season under the management of Ron Atkinson, and during the season pulled off a famous 5–3 away win over Manchester United. Albion's playing staff included some of the most competent young players in the league, including Bryan Robson, Brendan Batson, Cyrille Regis and Laurie Cunningham.

At the other end of the First Division table, the three relegation places went to Queens Park Rangers, Birmingham City and Chelsea. QPR had declined since the departure of Dave Sexton in 1977 and were relegated just three years after coming within a whisker of the league title. Meanwhile, Chelsea manager Danny Blanchflower paid for Chelsea's shortcomings by losing his job.

Money dominated the headlines during the season: Trevor Francis became England's first million-pound footballer after joining Nottingham Forest from Birmingham City. Liverpool became one of the first English clubs to have a shirt sponsor when they agreed a sponsorship deal with the Japanese hi-fi manufacturers Hitachi. By the end of the season, more and more English clubs were signing money-spinning sponsorship deals with commercial firms as the sporting world became even more obsessed with advertising.

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Liverpool	42	30	8	4	85	16	+69	68
2	Nottingham Forest	42	21	18	3	61	26	+35	60
3	West Bromwich Albion	42	24	11	7	72	35	+37	59
4	Everton	42	17	17	8	52	40	+12	51
5	Leeds United	42	18	14	10	70	52	+18	50
6	Ipswich Town	42	20	9	13	63	49	+14	49
7	Arsenal	42	17	14	11	61	48	+13	48
8	Aston Villa	42	15	16	11	59	49	+10	46
9	Manchester United	42	15	15	12	60	63	−3	45
10	Coventry City	42	14	16	12	58	68	−10	44
11	Tottenham Hotspur	42	13	15	14	48	61	−13	41
12	Middlesbrough	42	15	10	17	57	50	+7	40
13	Bristol City	42	15	10	17	47	51	−4	40
14	Southampton	42	12	16	14	47	53	−6	40
15	Manchester City	42	13	13	16	58	56	+2	39
16	Norwich City	42	7	23	12	51	57	−6	37
17	Bolton Wanderers	42	12	11	19	54	75	−21	35
18	Wolverhampton Wanderers	42	13	8	21	44	68	−24	34
19	Derby County	42	10	11	21	44	71	−27	31
20	Queens Park Rangers	42	6	13	23	45	73	−28	25
21	Birmingham City	42	6	10	26	37	64	−27	22
22	Chelsea	42	5	10	27	44	92	−48	20

Second Division

Crystal Palace won the Second Division title, followed by rivalsBrighton & Hove Albion (in the top division for the first time) and third-placed Stoke City, to achieve promotion to the top flight. Going down were Sheffield United, Millwall and Blackburn Rovers.

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Crystal Palace	42	19	19	4	51	24	+27	57
2	Brighton & Hove Albion	42	23	10	9	72	39	+33	56
3	Stoke City	42	20	16	6	58	31	+27	56
4	Sunderland	42	22	11	9	70	44	+26	55
5	West Ham United	42	18	14	10	70	39	+31	50
6	Notts County	42	14	16	12	48	60	−12	44
7	Preston North End	42	12	18	12	59	57	+2	42
8	Newcastle United	42	17	8	17	51	55	−4	42
9	Cardiff City	42	16	10	16	56	70	−14	42
10	Fulham	42	13	15	14	50	47	+3	41
11	Orient	42	15	10	17	51	51	+0	40
12	Cambridge United	42	12	16	14	44	52	−8	40
13	Burnley	42	14	12	16	51	62	−11	40
14	Oldham Athletic	42	13	13	16	52	61	−9	39
15	Wrexham	42	12	14	16	45	42	+3	38
16	Bristol Rovers	42	14	10	18	48	60	−12	38
17	Leicester City	42	10	17	15	43	52	−9	37
18	Luton Town	42	13	10	19	60	57	+3	36
19	Charlton Athletic	42	11	13	18	60	69	−9	35
20	Sheffield United	42	11	12	19	52	69	−17	34
21	Millwall	42	11	10	21	42	61	−19	32
22	Blackburn Rovers	42	10	10	22	41	72	−31	30

Third Division

Shrewsbury Town were crowned champions of the Third Division. The other two promotion spots were occupied by Watford and Swansea City, who within a few seasons would make their mark on the First Division. Peterborough United, Walsall, Tranmere Rovers and Lincoln City were relegated to the Fourth Division.

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Shrewsbury Town	46	21	19	6	61	41	+20	61
2	Watford	46	24	12	10	83	52	+31	60
3	Swansea City	46	24	12	10	83	61	+22	60
4	Gillingham	46	21	17	8	65	42	+23	59
5	Swindon Town	46	25	7	14	74	52	+22	57
6	Carlisle United	46	15	22	9	53	42	+11	52
7	Colchester United	46	17	17	12	60	55	+5	51
8	Hull City	46	19	11	16	66	61	+5	49
9	Exeter City	46	17	15	14	61	56	+5	49
10	Brentford	46	19	9	18	53	49	+4	47
11	Oxford United	46	14	18	14	44	50	−6	46
12	Blackpool	46	18	9	19	61	59	+2	45
13	Southend United	46	15	15	16	51	49	+2	45
14	Sheffield Wednesday	46	13	19	14	53	53	+0	45
15	Plymouth Argyle	46	15	14	17	67	68	−1	44
16	Chester	46	14	16	16	57	61	−4	44
17	Rotherham United	46	17	10	19	49	55	−6	44
18	Mansfield Town	46	12	19	15	51	52	−1	43
19	Bury	46	11	20	15	59	65	−6	42
20	Chesterfield	46	13	14	19	51	65	−14	40
21	Peterborough United	46	11	14	21	44	63	−19	36
22	Walsall	46	10	12	24	56	71	−15	32
23	Tranmere Rovers	46	6	16	24	45	78	−33	28
24	Lincoln City	46	7	11	28	41	88	−47	25

Fourth Division

Reading, Grimsby Town, Wimbledon and Barnsley occupied the Fourth Division promotion places. The success came for Wimbledon in only their second season as a league club and within a decade they would be an established First Division club, but things would get worse before they got better. The re-election system voted in favour of the league's bottom four clubs and there were no departures or arrivals in the league.

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Reading	46	26	13	7	76	35	+41	65
2	Grimsby Town	46	26	9	11	82	49	+33	61
3	Wimbledon	46	25	11	10	78	46	+32	61
4	Barnsley	46	24	13	9	73	42	+31	61
5	Aldershot	46	20	17	9	63	47	+16	57
6	Wigan Athletic	46	21	13	12	63	48	+15	55
7	Portsmouth	46	20	12	14	62	48	+14	52
8	Newport County	46	21	10	15	66	55	+11	52
9	Huddersfield Town	46	18	11	17	57	53	+4	47
10	York City	46	18	11	17	51	55	−4	47
11	Torquay United	46	19	8	19	58	65	−7	46
12	Scunthorpe United	46	17	11	18	54	60	−6	45
13	Hartlepool United	46	13	18	15	57	66	−9	44
14	Hereford United	46	15	13	18	53	53	+0	43
15	Bradford City	46	17	9	20	62	68	−6	43
16	Port Vale	46	14	14	18	57	70	−13	42
17	Stockport County	46	14	12	20	58	60	−2	40
18	Bournemouth	46	14	11	21	47	48	−1	39
19	Northampton Town	46	15	9	22	64	76	−12	39
20	Rochdale	46	15	9	22	47	64	−17	39
21	Darlington	46	11	15	20	49	66	−17	37
22	Doncaster Rovers	46	13	11	22	50	73	−23	37
23	Halifax Town	46	9	8	29	39	72	−33	26
24	Crewe Alexandra	46	6	14	26	43	90	−47	26

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

Deaths

23 July 1978 – Tommy McLaren, 29, former Port Vale midfielder; committed suicide.
November 1978 – Hugh Neil, 42, former Carlisle United defender; died in a car accident.

References

^ However, West Brom's Laurie Cunningham was the first black player to wear an England shirt at any level[2] in England under-21s' friendly against Scotland at Bramall Lane on 27 April 1977England Players – Viv Anderson. Englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved on 2011-03-23.
^ English Division Three (old) 1978–1979 Results, Saturday 28th April 1979. statto.com (1979-04-28). Retrieved on 2011-03-23.
^ QPR REPORT MESSAGEBOARD – Clive Allen's Debut Hatrick – Synopsis/Report. Qprreport.proboards.com. Retrieved on 2011-03-23.
^ Kevin Moran – Manchester United FC – Football-Heroes.net. Sporting-heroes.net. Retrieved on 2011-03-23.

Seasons in English football

1973–74 \| 1974–75 \| 1975–76 \| 1976–77 \| 1977–78 \| 1978–79 \| 1979–80 \| 1980–81 \| 1981–82 \| 1982–83 \| 1983–84

1978–79 in English football

« 1977–78 1979–80 »

FA competitions	FA Cup (Qualifying Rounds, Final) • Charity Shield • FA Trophy

Football League	Football League (First Division • Second Division • Third Division • Fourth Division) • League Cup (Final)

Lower leagues	Northern Premier League · Southern Football League · Isthmian League

European competitions	European Cup (Final) · UEFA Cup · European Cup Winners' Cup

Related to national team	Ron Greenwood • Home Championship • UEFA Euro 1980 (qualification)

Club seasons

First Division	Arsenal · Aston Villa · Birmingham City · Bolton Wanderers · Bristol City · Chelsea · Coventry City · Derby County · Everton · Ipswich Town · Leeds United · Liverpool · Manchester City · Manchester United · Middlesbrough · Norwich City · Nottingham Forest · Queens Park Rangers · Southampton · Tottenham Hotspur · West Bromwich Albion · Wolverhampton Wanderers

Second Division	Blackburn Rovers · Brighton & Hove Albion · Bristol Rovers · Burnley · Cambridge United · Cardiff City · Charlton Athletic · Crystal Palace · Fulham · Leicester City · Leyton Orient · Luton Town · Millwall · Newcastle United · Notts County · Oldham Athletic · Preston North End · Sheffield United · Stoke City · Sunderland · West Ham United · Wrexham

Third Division	Blackpool · Brentford · Bury · Carlisle United · Chester · Chesterfield · Colchester United · Exeter City · Gillingham · Hull City · Lincoln City · Mansfield Town · Oxford United · Peterborough United · Plymouth Argyle · Rotherham United · Sheffield Wednesday · Shrewsbury Town · Southend United · Swansea City · Swindon Town · Tranmere Rovers · Walsall · Watford

Fourth Division	Aldershot · Barnsley · Bournemouth · Bradford City · Crewe Alexandra · Darlington · Doncaster Rovers · Grimsby Town · Halifax Town · Hartlepool United · Hereford United · Huddersfield Town · Newport County · Northampton Town · Port Vale · Portsmouth · Reading · Rochdale · Scunthorpe United · Stockport County · Torquay United · Wigan Athletic · Wimbledon · York City