1972–73 Football League

The Football League
Season	1972–73
Champions	Liverpool
← 1971–72 1973–74 →

The 1972–1973 season was the 74th completed season of The Football League.

Liverpool cruised to another championship triumph in Bill Shankly's penultimate season as manager despite competition from Arsenal, Leeds United, Ipswich Town and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Manchester United sacked manager Frank O'Farrell after 18 months in charge. He had been unable to mount a title challenge. Tommy Docherty, the 44-year-old Scottish national coach and former Aston Villa manager, was appointed as his successor.

Bobby Charlton and Denis Law both played their last games for the club while George Best's appearances were becoming increasingly rare.

Burnley and Queens Park Rangers won promotion to the First Division. Huddersfield Town's decline continued as they slid into the Third Division, where they were joined by Brighton & Hove Albion.

Bolton Wanderers and Notts County occupied the two promotion places in the Third Division. Rotherham United, Brentford, Swansea City and Scunthorpe United were relegated to the Fourth Division.

Hereford United were promoted from the Fourth Division in their first season as a Football League club. They had been elected to the Football League a year earlier after winning the Southern League and achieving a shock win over Newcastle United in the FA Cup. They were joined in the promotion zone by champions Southport, Cambridge United and Aldershot. Newport County missed promotion only on goal average. There were no arrivals or departures in the league for 1973.

Final league tables and results

The tables 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 the 1976–77 season.

Since the goal average was used for this purpose for such a long time, it is presented in the tables below even for the seasons prior to 1894–95, and since the goal difference is a more informative piece of information for a modern reader than the goal average, the goal difference is added in this presentation after the goal average.

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

Football League, First Division
Season	1972–73
Champions	Liverpool (8th English title)
Relegated	Crystal Palace West Bromwich Albion
European Cup 1973–74	Liverpool
FA Cup winners European Cup Winners' Cup 1973–74	Sunderland (2nd Div.) (2nd FA Cup title)
UEFA Cup 1973–74	Ipswich Town Leeds United Tottenham Hotspur Wolverhampton Wanderers
Matches played	462
Goals scored	1160 (2.51 per match)
Top goalscorer	Robson (West Ham United), 28 ^[3]
Biggest home win	Leeds – Arsenal 6–1 (9 Mar 1973) Crystal Palace – Manchester United 5–0 (16 Oct 1972) Derby – Arsenal 5–0 (25 Nov 1972) Leeds – Derby 5–0 (7 Oct 1972) Liverpool – Sheffield United 5–0 (23 Sep 1972)
Biggest away win	West Bromwich – Crystal Palace 0–4 (3 Mar 1973)
Highest scoring	Wolverhampton – Stoke 5–3 (30 Sep 1972)
← 1971–72 1973–74 →

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	W	D	L	F	A	F	A	GA	GD	Pts	Notes
1	Liverpool	42	17	3	1	45	19	8	7	6	27	23	72	42	1.714	+30	60	European Cup 1973–74 First round
2	Arsenal	42	14	5	2	31	14	9	6	6	26	29	57	43	1.326	+14	57	^{[notes 1]}
3	Leeds United	42	15	4	2	45	13	6	7	8	26	32	71	45	1.578	+26	53	UEFA Cup 1973–74 First round
4	Ipswich Town	42	10	7	4	34	20	7	7	7	21	25	55	45	1.222	+10	48	UEFA Cup 1973–74 First round
5	Wolverhampton Wanderers	42	13	3	5	43	23	5	8	8	23	31	66	54	1.222	+12	47	UEFA Cup 1973–74 First round
6	West Ham United	42	12	5	4	45	25	5	7	9	22	28	67	53	1.264	+14	46
7	Derby County	42	15	3	3	43	18	4	5	12	13	36	56	54	1.037	+2	46
8	Tottenham Hotspur	42	10	5	6	33	23	6	8	7	25	25	58	48	1.208	+10	45	UEFA Cup 1973–74 First round ^{[notes 2]}
9	Newcastle United	42	12	6	3	35	19	4	7	10	25	32	60	51	1.176	+9	45
10	Birmingham City	42	11	7	3	39	22	4	5	12	14	32	53	54	0.981	–1	42
11	Manchester City	42	12	4	5	36	20	3	7	11	21	40	57	60	0.950	–3	41
12	Chelsea	42	9	6	6	30	22	4	8	9	19	29	49	51	0.961	–2	40
13	Southampton	42	8	11	2	26	17	3	7	11	21	35	47	52	0.904	–5	40
14	Sheffield United	42	11	4	6	28	18	4	6	11	23	41	51	59	0.864	–8	40
15	Stoke City	42	11	8	2	38	17	3	2	16	23	39	61	56	1.089	+1	38
16	Leicester City	42	7	9	5	23	18	3	8	10	17	28	40	46	0.870	–6	37
17	Everton	42	9	5	7	27	21	4	6	11	14	28	41	49	0.837	–8	37
18	Manchester United	42	9	7	5	24	19	3	6	12	20	41	44	60	0.733	–16	37
19	Coventry City	42	9	5	7	27	24	4	4	13	13	31	40	55	0.727	–15	35
20	Norwich City	42	7	9	5	22	19	4	1	16	14	44	36	63	0.571	–27	32
21	Crystal Palace	42	7	7	7	25	21	2	5	14	16	37	41	58	0.707	–17	30
22	West Bromwich Albion	42	8	7	6	25	24	1	3	17	13	38	38	62	0.613	–24	28

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

↑ Tottenham Hotspur qualified for the UEFA Cup 1973–74 as League cup winners. At the time, only one club per English city could enter the UEFA Cup; thus, fellow
London club Arsenal were excluded in spite of finishing second in the League. This rule had applied in all countries in the Fairs Cup, but it was the Football League, not UEFA,
which continued to apply it in England in the UEFA Cup. Fox, Norman (2 June 1973). "Three up and down for top two divisions". The Times. Issue 58798, p. 23, col. A.
↑ Tottenham Hotspur qualified for the UEFA Cup 1973–74 as League cup winners. See note 1 about why Arsenal could not participate in the UEFA Cup.

Key
	League Champions, qualified for European Cup
	FA Cup winners, qualified for Cup Winners' Cup
	Qualified for UEFA Cup
	League cup Winners, qualified for UEFA Cup
	Relegated

First Division results

Home ╲ Away	Arsenal !ARS	Birmingham City !BIR	Chelsea !CHE	Coventry City !COV	Crystal Palace !CRY	Derby County !DER	Everton !EVE	Ipswich Town !IPS	Leeds United !LEE	Leicester City !LEI	Liverpool !LIV	Manchester City !MCI	Manchester United !MUN	Newcastle United !NEW	Norwich City !NOR	Sheffield United !SHU	Southampton !SOU	Stoke City !STK	Tottenham Hotspur !TOT	West Bromwich Albion !WBA	West Ham United !WHU	Wolverhampton Wanderers !WOL
Arsenal !Arsenal		2–0	1–1	0–2	1–0	0–1	1–0	1–0	2–1	1–0	0–0	0–0	3–1	2–2	2–0	3–2	1–0	2–0	1–1	2–1	1–0	5–2
Birmingham City !Birmingham City	1–1		2–2	3–0	1–1	2–0	2–1	1–2	2–1	1–1	2–1	4–1	3–1	3–2	4–1	1–2	1–1	3–1	0–0	3–2	0–0	0–1
Chelsea !Chelsea	0–1	0–0		2–0	0–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	4–0	1–1	1–2	2–1	1–0	1–1	3–1	4–2	2–1	1–3	0–1	3–1	1–3	0–2
Coventry City !Coventry City	1–1	0–0	1–3		2–0	0–2	1–0	2–1	0–1	3–2	1–2	3–2	1–1	0–3	3–1	3–0	1–1	2–1	0–1	0–0	3–1	0–1
Crystal Palace !Crystal Palace	2–3	0–0	2–0	0–1		0–0	1–0	1–1	2–2	0–1	1–1	1–0	5–0	2–1	0–2	0–1	3–0	3–2	0–0	0–2	1–3	1–1
Derby County !Derby County	5–0	1–0	1–2	2–0	2–2		3–1	3–0	2–3	2–1	2–1	1–0	3–1	1–1	1–0	2–1	4–0	0–3	2–1	2–0	1–1	3–0
Everton !Everton	0–0	1–1	1–0	2–0	1–1	1–0		2–2	1–2	0–1	0–2	2–3	2–0	3–1	2–2	2–1	0–1	2–0	3–1	1–0	1–2	0–1
Ipswich Town !Ipswich Town	1–2	2–0	3–0	2–0	2–1	3–1	0–1		2–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	4–1	1–0	1–2	1–1	2–2	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–1
Leeds United !Leeds United	6–1	4–0	1–1	1–1	4–0	5–0	2–1	3–3		3–1	1–2	3–0	0–1	1–0	2–0	2–1	1–0	1–0	2–1	2–0	1–0	0–0
Leicester City !Leicester City	0–1	0–1	1–1	0–0	2–1	0–0	1–2	1–1	2–0		3–2	1–1	2–2	0–0	1–2	0–0	1–0	2–0	0–1	3–1	2–1	1–1
Liverpool !Liverpool	0–2	4–3	3–1	2–0	1–0	1–1	1–0	2–1	2–0	0–0		2–0	2–0	3–2	3–1	5–0	3–2	2–1	1–1	1–0	3–2	4–2
Manchester City !Manchester City	1–2	1–0	0–1	1–2	2–3	4–0	0–1	1–1	1–0	1–0	1–1		3–0	2–0	3–0	3–1	2–1	1–1	2–1	2–1	4–3	1–1
Manchester United !Manchester United	0–0	1–0	0–0	0–1	2–0	3–0	0–0	1–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–0		2–1	1–0	1–2	2–1	0–2	1–4	2–1	2–2	2–1
Newcastle United !Newcastle United	2–1	3–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	0–0	1–2	3–2	2–2	2–1	2–1	2–1		3–1	4–1	0–0	1–0	0–1	1–1	1–2	2–1
Norwich City !Norwich City	3–2	1–2	1–0	1–1	2–1	1–0	1–1	0–0	1–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–1		1–1	0–0	2–0	2–1	2–0	0–1	1–1
Sheffield United !Sheffield United	1–0	0–1	2–1	3–1	2–0	3–1	0–1	0–0	0–2	2–0	0–3	1–1	1–0	1–2	2–0		3–1	0–0	3–2	3–0	0–0	1–2
Southampton !Southampton	2–2	2–0	3–1	2–1	2–0	1–1	0–0	1–2	3–1	0–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–0	1–1		1–0	1–1	2–1	0–0	1–1
Stoke City !Stoke City	0–0	1–2	1–1	2–1	2–0	4–0	1–1	1–0	2–2	1–0	0–1	5–1	2–2	2–0	2–0	2–2	3–3		1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0
Tottenham Hotspur !Tottenham Hotspur	1–2	2–0	0–1	2–1	2–1	1–0	3–0	0–1	0–0	1–1	1–2	2–3	1–1	3–2	3–0	2–0	1–2	4–3		1–1	1–0	2–2
West Bromwich Albion !West Bromwich Albion	1–0	2–2	1–1	1–0	0–4	2–1	4–1	2–0	1–1	1–0	1–1	1–2	2–2	2–3	0–1	0–2	1–1	2–1	0–1		0–0	1–0
West Ham United !West Ham United	1–2	2–0	3–1	1–0	4–0	1–2	2–0	0–1	1–1	5–2	0–1	2–1	2–2	1–1	4–0	3–1	4–3	3–2	2–2	2–1		2–2
Wolverhampton Wanderers !Wolverhampton Wanderers	1–3	3–2	1–0	3–0	1–1	1–2	4–2	0–1	0–2	2–0	2–1	5–1	2–0	1–1	3–0	1–1	0–1	5–3	3–2	2–0	3–0

Source: Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane’s, London & Sydney, 1980.
1 ^{^} The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

First Division maps

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Locations of the Football League First Division 1972–1973 teams

Locations of the Football League First Division London teams 1972–1973

Second Division

Football League, Second Division
Season	1972–73
Champions	Burnley (2nd title)
Promoted	Queens Park Rangers
Relegated	Brighton & Hove Albion, Huddersfield Town
Matches played	462
Goals scored	1156 (2.5 per match)
Top goalscorer	Don Givens (Queens Park Rangers), 23 ^[3]
Biggest home win	Carlisle –Preston North End 6–1 (26 Dec 1972) QPR –Portsmouth 5–0 (31 Mar 1973) QPR –Swindon 5–0 (17 Feb 1973)
Biggest away win	Preston North End –Portsmouth 0–5 (10 Feb 1973)
Highest scoring	Blackpool –Brighton & Hove 6–2 (19 Apr 1973) Hull –Preston North End 6–2 (27 Jan 1973)
← 1971–72 1973–74 →

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	W	D	L	F	A	F	A	GA	GD	Pts	Notes
1	Burnley	42	13	6	2	44	18	11	8	2	28	17	72	35	2.057	+37	62
2	Queens Park Rangers	42	16	4	1	54	13	8	9	4	27	24	81	37	2.189	+44	61
3	Aston Villa	42	12	5	4	27	17	6	9	6	24	30	51	47	1.085	+4	50
4	Middlesbrough	42	12	6	3	29	15	5	7	9	17	28	46	43	1.070	+3	47
5	Bristol City	42	10	7	4	34	18	7	5	9	29	33	63	51	1.235	+12	46
6	Sunderland	42	12	6	3	35	17	5	6	10	24	32	59	49	1.204	+10	46	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1973–74 First round
7	Blackpool	42	12	6	3	37	17	6	4	11	19	34	56	51	1.098	+5	46
8	Oxford United	42	14	2	5	36	18	5	5	11	16	25	52	43	1.209	+9	45
9	Fulham	42	11	6	4	32	16	5	6	10	26	33	58	49	1.184	+9	44
10	Sheffield Wednesday	42	14	4	3	40	20	3	6	12	19	35	59	55	1.073	+4	44
11	Millwall	42	12	5	4	33	18	4	5	12	22	29	55	47	1.170	+8	42
12	Luton Town	42	6	9	6	24	23	9	2	10	20	30	44	53	0.830	–9	41
13	Hull City	42	9	7	5	39	22	5	5	11	25	37	64	59	1.085	+5	40
14	Nottingham Forest	42	12	5	4	32	18	2	7	12	15	34	47	52	0.904	–5	40
15	Orient	42	11	6	4	33	18	1	6	14	16	35	49	53	0.925	–4	36
16	Swindon Town	42	8	9	4	28	23	2	7	12	18	37	46	60	0.767	–14	36
17	Portsmouth	42	7	6	8	21	22	5	5	11	21	37	42	59	0.712	–17	35
18	Carlisle United	42	10	5	6	40	24	1	7	13	10	28	50	52	0.962	–2	34
19	Preston North End	42	6	8	7	19	25	5	4	12	18	39	37	64	0.578	–27	34
20	Cardiff City	42	11	4	6	32	21	0	7	14	11	37	43	58	0.741	–15	33	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1973–74 First round
21	Huddersfield Town	42	7	9	5	21	20	1	8	12	15	36	36	56	0.643	–20	33
22	Brighton & Hove Albion	42	7	8	6	32	31	1	5	15	14	52	46	83	0.554	–37	29

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

Key
	Division Champions, promoted
	Promoted
	FA Cup winners, qualified for Cup Winners' Cup
	Welsh Cup winners, qualified for Cup Winners' Cup
	Relegated

Second Division results

Home ╲ Away	Aston Villa !AST	Blackpool !BLP	Brighton & Hove Albion !BHA	Bristol City !BRI	Burnley !BUR	Cardiff City !CAR	Carlisle United !CRL	Fulham !FUL	Huddersfield Town !HUD	Hull City !HUL	Luton Town !LUT	Middlesbrough !MID	Millwall !MIL	Nottingham Forest !NOT	Orient !ORI	Oxford United !OXF	Portsmouth !POR	Preston North End !PNE	Queens Park Rangers !QPR	Sheffield Wednesday !SHW	Sunderland !SUN	Swindon Town !SWI
Aston Villa !Aston Villa		0–0	1–1	1–0	0–3	2–0	1–0	2–3	2–0	2–0	0–2	1–1	1–0	2–2	1–0	2–1	2–0	1–1	0–1	2–1	2–0	2–1
Blackpool !Blackpool	1–1		6–2	3–0	1–2	1–0	0–0	2–0	1–1	4–3	1–1	0–1	2–1	2–0	1–1	2–1	3–1	2–0	2–0	1–2	0–0	2–0
Brighton & Hove Albion !Brighton & Hove Albion	1–3	1–2		1–1	0–1	2–2	1–0	2–1	2–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–3	2–2	2–1	2–2	1–1	2–0	1–2	3–3	2–2	3–1
Bristol City !Bristol City	3–0	3–0	3–1		0–1	1–0	4–1	1–1	0–0	2–1	0–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	2–2	0–0	3–1	2–1	1–2	1–2	1–0	3–0
Burnley !Burnley	4–1	4–3	3–0	1–1		3–0	2–2	2–2	2–1	4–1	3–0	0–0	2–1	1–0	1–2	1–1	4–0	2–0	1–1	0–1	2–0	2–1
Cardiff City !Cardiff City	0–2	1–2	1–1	1–3	0–1		1–0	3–1	4–1	0–2	2–1	2–0	1–0	2–1	3–1	2–0	0–2	3–0	0–0	4–1	1–1	1–1
Carlisle United !Carlisle United	2–2	2–3	5–1	1–2	1–1	4–0		2–1	0–0	0–1	2–0	1–1	0–1	1–2	1–0	2–1	1–0	6–1	1–3	1–1	4–3	3–0
Fulham !Fulham	2–0	2–0	5–1	5–1	1–1	1–1	1–0		1–1	2–0	0–1	2–1	1–0	3–1	1–1	2–0	0–0	1–3	0–2	1–0	1–2	0–0
Huddersfield Town !Huddersfield Town	1–1	1–0	0–2	0–1	0–2	2–1	1–1	1–0		1–3	1–2	1–1	1–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	0–0	2–2	1–0	1–1	1–1
Hull City !Hull City	1–2	1–2	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	0–0		4–0	3–1	0–2	0–0	2–0	0–1	5–1	6–2	4–1	1–1	0–2	3–2
Luton Town !Luton Town	0–0	2–2	2–1	1–3	2–2	1–1	0–1	1–0	4–1	1–2		0–1	2–2	1–0	1–1	0–1	2–2	1–0	2–2	0–0	1–0	0–1
Middlesbrough !Middlesbrough	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–1	3–3	2–0	1–0	1–2	2–1	1–0	0–1		1–0	0–0	3–2	1–0	3–0	0–0	0–0	3–0	2–1	0–2
Millwall !Millwall	1–1	1–1	3–0	3–0	1–1	1–1	1–0	1–3	1–0	2–0	3–2	1–0		2–1	2–0	3–1	0–2	4–1	0–1	2–1	0–1	1–1
Nottingham Forest !Nottingham Forest	1–1	4–0	1–0	1–0	3–0	2–1	2–1	2–1	1–1	1–2	0–1	1–3	3–2		2–1	2–1	0–0	0–1	0–0	3–0	1–0	2–2
Orient !Orient	4–0	2–0	1–0	0–2	1–1	0–0	2–1	3–2	3–1	0–0	0–1	2–0	3–1	3–0		1–1	0–1	1–2	2–2	3–2	1–1	1–0
Oxford United !Oxford United	2–0	0–1	3–0	0–2	0–2	2–1	1–1	0–0	2–0	5–2	2–1	4–0	2–1	1–0	2–1		1–3	0–2	2–0	1–0	5–1	1–0
Portsmouth !Portsmouth	0–1	1–0	2–0	0–3	0–2	3–1	0–0	1–2	1–2	2–2	2–2	0–0	1–1	2–0	1–0	1–0		0–1	0–1	1–0	2–3	1–1
Preston North End !Preston North End	0–1	0–3	4–0	3–3	1–1	0–0	1–0	0–3	0–0	1–0	2–0	0–1	1–0	2–1	0–0	0–1	0–5		1–1	1–1	1–3	1–1
Queens Park Rangers !Queens Park Rangers	1–0	4–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	3–0	4–0	2–0	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	1–3	3–0	3–1	0–0	5–0	3–0		4–2	3–2	5–0
Sheffield Wednesday !Sheffield Wednesday	2–2	2–0	1–1	3–2	0–1	1–0	0–0	3–0	3–2	4–2	4–0	2–1	2–2	1–2	2–0	0–1	2–1	2–1	3–1		1–0	2–1
Sunderland !Sunderland	2–2	1–0	4–0	2–2	0–1	2–1	2–1	0–0	3–0	1–1	0–2	4–0	2–0	4–1	1–0	1–0	2–0	0–0	0–3	1–1		3–2
Swindon Town !Swindon Town	1–3	0–0	2–2	2–1	0–1	3–0	2–0	2–2	1–1	2–1	0–2	1–0	0–0	0–0	3–1	1–3	1–1	3–2	2–2	1–0	1–1

Second Division maps

Locations of the Football League Second Division 1972–1973 teams

Locations of the Football League Second Division London teams 1972–1973

Third Division

Football League, Third Division
Season	1972–73
Champions	Bolton Wanderers (1st title)
Promoted	Notts County
Relegated	Brentford, Rotherham United, Scunthorpe United, Swansea City
Matches played	552
Goals scored	1371 (2.48 per match)
Top goalscorer	Arthur Horsfield (Charlton Athletic), 26 ^[3]
← 1971–72 1973–74 →

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	W	D	L	F	A	F	A	GA	GD	Pts
1	Bolton Wanderers	46	18	4	1	44	9	7	7	9	29	30	73	39	1.872	+34	61
2	Notts County	46	17	4	2	40	12	6	7	10	27	35	67	47	1.426	+20	57
3	Blackburn Rovers	46	12	8	3	34	16	8	7	8	23	31	57	47	1.213	+10	55
4	Oldham Athletic	46	12	7	4	40	18	7	9	7	32	36	72	54	1.333	+18	54
5	Bristol Rovers	46	17	4	2	55	20	3	9	11	22	36	77	56	1.375	+21	53
6	Port Vale	46	15	6	2	41	21	6	5	12	15	48	56	69	0.812	–13	53
7	Bournemouth	46	14	6	3	44	16	3	10	10	22	28	66	44	1.500	+22	50
8	Plymouth Argyle	46	14	3	6	43	26	6	7	10	31	40	74	66	1.121	+8	50
9	Grimsby Town	46	16	2	5	45	18	4	6	13	22	43	67	61	1.098	+6	48
10	Tranmere Rovers	46	12	8	3	38	17	3	8	12	18	35	56	52	1.077	+4	46
11	Charlton Athletic	46	12	7	4	46	24	5	4	14	23	43	69	67	1.030	+2	45
12	Wrexham	46	11	9	3	39	23	3	8	12	16	31	55	54	1.019	+1	45
13	Rochdale	46	8	8	7	22	26	6	9	8	26	28	48	54	0.889	–6	45
14	Southend United	46	13	6	4	40	14	4	4	15	21	40	61	54	1.130	+7	44
15	Shrewsbury Town	46	10	10	3	31	21	5	4	14	15	33	46	54	0.852	–8	44
16	Chesterfield	46	13	4	6	37	22	4	5	14	20	39	57	61	0.934	–4	43
17	Walsall	46	14	3	6	37	26	4	4	15	19	40	56	66	0.848	–10	43
18	York City	46	8	10	5	24	14	5	5	13	18	32	42	46	0.913	–4	41
19	Watford	46	11	8	4	32	23	1	9	13	11	25	43	48	0.896	–5	41
20	Halifax Town	46	9	8	6	29	23	4	7	12	14	30	43	53	0.811	–10	41
21	Rotherham United	46	12	4	7	34	27	5	3	15	17	38	51	65	0.785	–14	41
22	Brentford	46	12	5	6	33	18	3	2	18	18	51	51	69	0.739	–18	37
23	Swansea City	46	11	5	7	37	29	3	4	16	14	44	51	73	0.699	–22	37
24	Scunthorpe United	46	8	7	8	18	25	2	3	18	15	47	33	72	0.458	–39	30

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

Key
	Division Champions, promoted
	Promoted
	Relegated

Third Division results

Home ╲ Away	Blackburn Rovers !BLB	Bolton Wanderers !BOL	AFC Bournemouth !BOU	Brentford !BRE	Bristol Rovers !BRO	Charlton Athletic !CHA	Chesterfield !CHF	Grimsby Town !GRI	Halifax Town !HAL	Notts County !NTC	Oldham Athletic !OLD	Plymouth Argyle !PLY	Port Vale !PTV	Rochdale !ROC	Rotherham United !ROT	Scunthorpe United !SCU	Shrewsbury Town !SHR	Southend !STD	Swansea City !SWA	Tranmere !TRA	Walsall !WAL	Watford !WAT	Wrexham !WRE	York City !YOR
Blackburn Rovers !Blackburn Rovers		0–3	2–1	2–1	0–0	3–1	0–1	0–0	3–0	2–0	1–1	3–1	0–1	1–1	2–1	3–0	0–0	2–1	3–0	2–2	2–0	0–0	1–1	2–0
Bolton Wanderers !Bolton Wanderers	0–1		3–0	2–0	2–0	3–0	1–0	2–0	3–0	2–2	2–1	2–0	2–0	2–1	2–1	0–0	2–0	1–1	3–0	2–0	3–1	1–1	1–0	3–0
AFC Bournemouth !AFC Bournemouth	3–0	2–0		3–2	0–0	3–1	2–2	1–1	1–0	1–1	2–0	0–1	4–0	4–2	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	0–1	3–0	1–0	2–3
Brentford !Brentford	4–0	2–1	1–1		2–1	1–0	3–1	0–1	0–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	5–0	1–0	1–1	1–0	1–2	1–2	0–2	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–0	2–0
Bristol Rovers !Bristol Rovers	3–0	1–1	2–0	3–1		2–1	2–2	2–1	4–1	1–0	3–3	2–0	4–1	0–0	3–0	5–1	5–1	1–2	3–1	2–0	2–1	2–1	2–0	1–2
Charlton Athletic !Charlton Athletic	1–2	2–3	1–1	2–1	3–3		2–2	1–1	1–0	6–1	4–2	3–0	2–0	1–0	1–2	2–0	1–2	0–0	6–0	1–1	1–1	2–1	2–1	1–0
Chesterfield !Chesterfield	3–1	0–1	1–1	3–0	0–1	1–0		2–1	2–0	0–2	4–1	2–2	1–2	2–1	3–2	2–1	2–0	2–4	1–0	2–0	3–0	0–0	1–2	0–0
Grimsby Town !Grimsby Town	2–0	2–0	0–1	4–0	2–0	0–2	2–1		0–0	3–1	6–2	1–1	0–1	1–0	2–1	1–0	3–2	3–1	2–0	2–0	6–2	2–0	0–1	1–2
Halifax Town !Halifax Town	2–2	1–1	2–0	3–2	3–0	3–0	0–1	1–1		0–1	0–3	2–1	2–2	0–0	0–1	1–0	0–1	2–1	1–1	2–1	0–1	1–1	2–2	1–0
Notts County !Notts County	0–0	1–0	0–2	1–0	2–0	3–1	2–0	4–0	3–0		2–4	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–0	2–0	1–0	2–0	2–0	4–1	1–1	1–0	1–0	1–0
Oldham Athletic !Oldham Athletic	1–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	3–0	0–1	3–0	1–2	1–1	1–1		7–1	1–0	0–0	1–0	3–0	2–1	0–1	2–0	3–1	2–1	2–1	2–2	1–1
Plymouth Argyle !Plymouth Argyle	1–2	1–0	1–0	0–1	3–2	5–0	2–2	3–1	2–1	1–4	1–3		2–1	3–2	4–1	3–0	3–0	2–0	3–1	0–1	0–2	1–1	1–0	1–1
Port Vale !Port Vale	2–1	2–2	2–1	1–0	2–1	3–1	2–1	3–0	2–1	1–1	0–2	1–1		0–0	4–1	2–0	1–1	3–1	3–1	0–0	1–2	1–0	3–2	2–1
Rochdale !Rochdale	0–1	2–2	1–0	0–1	0–0	0–2	1–2	3–2	0–0	4–1	0–0	0–6	0–0		0–1	0–2	1–1	3–2	1–1	1–1	2–1	1–0	1–0	1–0
Rotherham United !Rotherham United	1–1	1–0	2–7	2–1	1–1	2–1	1–0	2–0	0–1	1–4	2–3	1–0	7–0	0–0		2–1	2–0	1–0	0–2	1–2	2–0	1–0	1–1	1–2
Scunthorpe United !Scunthorpe United	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–0	0–2	0–2	0–1	1–2	0–3	1–0	0–0	1–1	0–1	1–2	2–1		1–0	0–0	1–0	1–5	2–1	1–0	1–1	1–0
Shrewsbury Town !Shrewsbury Town	2–0	0–2	0–0	2–0	4–2	0–2	2–0	3–2	0–0	0–0	2–2	1–1	2–3	3–2	1–1	4–2		1–0	2–1	0–0	1–1	0–0	0–0	1–0
Southend !Southend	0–1	1–1	2–2	4–0	0–0	1–1	5–1	2–0	1–1	2–1	0–1	3–1	5–0	1–2	1–0	1–0	2–0		3–1	1–0	2–0	0–0	0–1	3–0
Swansea City !Swansea City	2–2	2–3	1–0	2–1	0–2	2–1	2–1	6–2	2–0	3–0	0–0	1–1	0–1	2–3	0–1	2–1	0–2	1–1		1–1	2–1	2–1	3–1	1–3
Tranmere !Tranmere	1–1	1–1	0–0	6–2	1–1	4–0	1–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–1	2–2	2–0	0–1	2–0	2–1	1–0	3–1	1–1		3–1	1–0	4–0	1–0
Walsall !Walsall	0–2	3–2	1–0	3–0	4–3	3–2	3–2	1–0	0–1	1–3	3–0	1–3	2–0	0–2	1–0	1–1	1–0	3–1	1–1	2–0		1–3	2–0	0–0
Watford !Watford	1–3	2–1	3–2	2–2	2–1	1–1	0–0	1–2	2–1	1–0	2–1	3–2	1–1	0–0	1–1	5–1	0–1	1–0	0–1	1–0	1–0		0–0	2–2
Wrexham !Wrexham	0–0	1–3	1–1	4–1	2–2	2–2	1–0	3–2	0–0	2–0	1–1	1–2	5–0	3–3	1–0	1–2	0–0	4–2	1–0	0–0	2–1	1–0		3–1
York City !York City	1–0	0–1	0–0	0–1	0–0	1–1	2–0	0–0	2–1	1–1	0–0	1–2	0–0	1–2	0–1	3–1	2–1	2–0	3–0	4–1	0–0	0–0	1–1

Third Division maps

Locations of the Football League Third Division teams 1972–1973

Brentford

Charlton Athletic

Watford

Locations of the Football League Third Division London teams 1972–1973

Fourth Division

Football League, Fourth Division
Season	1972–73
Champions	Southport (1st title)
Promoted	Aldershot, Cambridge United, Hereford United
Failed re-election	None
Matches played	552
Goals scored	1347 (2.44 per match)
Top goalscorer	Fred Binney (Exeter City), 27 ^[3]
← 1971–72 1973–74 →

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	W	D	L	F	A	F	A	GA	GD	Pts
1	Southport	46	17	4	2	40	19	9	6	8	31	29	71	48	1.479	+23	62
2	Hereford United	46	18	4	1	39	12	5	8	10	17	26	56	38	1.474	+18	58
3	Cambridge United	46	15	6	2	40	23	5	11	7	27	34	67	57	1.175	+10	57
4	Aldershot	46	14	6	3	33	14	8	6	9	27	24	60	38	1.579	+22	56
5	Newport County	46	14	6	3	37	18	8	6	9	27	26	64	44	1.455	+20	56
6	Mansfield Town	46	15	7	1	52	17	5	7	11	26	34	78	51	1.529	+27	54
7	Reading	46	14	7	2	33	7	3	11	9	18	31	51	38	1.342	+13	52
8	Exeter City	46	13	8	2	40	18	5	6	12	17	33	57	51	1.118	+6	50
9	Gillingham	46	15	4	4	44	20	4	7	12	19	38	63	58	1.086	+5	49
10	Lincoln City	46	12	7	4	38	27	4	9	10	26	30	64	57	1.123	+7	48
11	Stockport County	46	14	7	2	38	18	4	5	14	15	35	53	53	1.000	±0	48
12	Bury	46	11	7	5	37	19	3	11	9	21	32	58	51	1.137	+7	46
13	Workington	46	15	7	1	44	20	2	5	16	15	41	59	61	0.967	–2	46
14	Barnsley	46	9	8	6	32	24	5	8	10	26	36	58	60	0.967	–2	44
15	Chester	46	11	6	6	40	19	3	9	11	21	33	61	52	1.173	+9	43
16	Bradford City	46	12	6	5	42	25	4	5	14	19	40	61	65	0.938	–4	43
17	Doncaster Rovers	46	10	8	5	28	19	5	4	14	21	39	49	58	0.845	–9	42
18	Torquay United	46	8	10	5	23	17	4	7	12	21	30	44	47	0.936	–3	41
19	Peterborough United	46	10	8	5	42	29	4	5	14	29	47	71	76	0.934	–5	41
20	Hartlepool	46	8	10	5	17	15	4	7	12	17	34	34	49	0.694	–15	41
21	Crewe Alexandra	46	7	8	8	18	23	2	10	11	20	38	38	61	0.623	–23	36
22	Colchester United	46	8	8	7	36	28	2	3	18	12	48	48	76	0.632	–28	31
23	Northampton Town	46	7	6	10	24	30	3	5	15	16	43	40	73	0.548	–33	31
24	Darlington	46	5	9	9	28	41	2	6	15	14	44	42	85	0.494	–43	29

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

Key
	Division Champions, promoted
	Promoted
	New club in the league, see Hereford United
	Re-elected
	Failed re-election (none)

Fourth Division results

Home ╲ Away	Aldershot !ALD	Barnsley !BAR	Bradford City !BRA	Bury !BRY	Cambridge United !CAM	Chester !CHR	Colchester United !COL	Crewe Alexandra !CRE	Darlington !DAR	Doncaster Rovers !DON	Exeter City !EXE	Gillingham !GIL	Hartlepool United !HAR	Hereford United !HER	Lincoln City !LIN	Mansfield Town !MAN	Newport County !NPC	Northampton Town !NOR	Peterborough United !PET	Reading !REA	Southport !SOU	Stockport County !STP	Torquay United !TOR	Workington !WRK
Aldershot !Aldershot		0–2	2–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	3–0	3–1	1–0	0–0	0–0	2–1	2–0	0–0	0–1	0–2	3–0	2–1	1–0	2–2	2–0	2–1	2–0
Barnsley !Barnsley	0–2		1–2	0–1	3–1	0–0	4–0	2–2	0–2	4–2	1–1	1–1	2–1	0–0	4–1	1–1	2–1	2–0	3–2	0–0	0–1	1–3	0–0	1–0
Bradford City !Bradford City	1–0	3–1		0–0	0–1	0–1	3–0	2–2	7–0	4–3	4–0	3–1	0–2	1–1	3–1	1–1	2–1	2–1	1–4	1–1	0–2	1–0	1–0	2–2
Bury !Bury	1–2	2–1	0–0		1–1	1–1	4–0	0–1	1–0	5–0	2–1	2–1	1–1	3–0	0–4	1–0	0–0	2–2	3–1	4–0	0–1	1–2	0–0	3–0
Cambridge United !Cambridge United	2–2	1–1	2–1	2–2		1–0	3–0	1–0	0–3	3–1	1–3	3–1	1–1	1–0	2–1	3–2	3–1	3–1	3–1	1–0	2–2	1–0	0–0	1–0
Chester !Chester	0–0	0–0	1–1	2–0	1–1		4–0	2–1	5–0	1–2	0–1	1–0	2–0	0–1	2–1	2–2	0–2	3–0	8–2	2–0	0–0	2–0	1–2	1–3
Colchester United !Colchester United	2–3	1–2	0–0	2–1	0–1	2–3		5–1	1–0	1–1	1–2	4–0	1–1	1–0	0–2	1–1	1–3	2–2	1–0	2–2	3–1	3–0	1–1	1–1
Crewe Alexandra !Crewe Alexandra	0–2	1–0	1–2	2–1	1–1	1–1	1–2		0–0	0–1	1–0	1–1	2–0	2–1	1–1	0–4	0–0	1–0	0–2	0–0	0–2	0–1	1–1	2–0
Darlington !Darlington	1–4	0–0	1–0	1–1	3–3	1–1	2–1	3–1		0–1	0–0	2–3	1–2	2–2	1–1	2–3	2–3	0–0	2–2	0–2	0–7	2–0	0–3	2–1
Doncaster Rovers !Doncaster Rovers	1–0	0–0	1–0	4–1	0–0	0–0	1–0	0–2	2–0		5–1	0–1	2–1	0–0	1–1	0–1	1–5	3–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–2	1–0	1–1
Exeter City !Exeter City	1–0	2–1	5–1	1–1	3–1	0–0	1–0	0–0	1–1	0–1		3–2	1–1	1–0	2–0	4–2	0–0	4–1	1–1	0–0	0–1	3–0	3–2	4–2
Gillingham !Gillingham	1–2	5–1	4–2	2–2	1–2	1–0	2–1	3–2	4–0	3–0	1–0		2–0	2–0	1–1	2–1	0–0	1–3	2–0	1–0	2–0	3–0	1–1	0–2
Hartlepool United !Hartlepool United	1–1	1–4	1–0	1–1	0–0	0–0	2–1	1–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	2–0		0–1	1–0	1–1	1–0	2–0	0–1	1–2	0–2	0–0	1–0	1–0
Hereford United !Hereford United	1–0	1–2	1–0	1–0	2–1	3–1	4–1	1–0	1–0	3–2	1–0	0–0	0–0		2–1	3–1	2–0	2–0	3–0	3–0	2–2	1–0	2–1	0–0
Lincoln City !Lincoln City	0–2	1–2	2–1	2–2	2–1	1–0	3–2	1–1	1–0	2–1	2–2	1–0	1–2	4–1		1–1	0–2	1–1	1–0	0–0	3–1	5–3	3–1	1–1
Mansfield Town !Mansfield Town	2–0	3–1	4–1	1–1	3–1	4–1	1–1	5–1	5–0	0–0	3–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	0–2		0–0	1–0	4–2	1–1	3–3	1–0	2–1	4–0
Newport County !Newport County	2–1	1–1	0–0	4–3	0–2	3–2	1–0	0–0	0–0	1–0	2–0	5–1	5–1	0–1	2–2	0–1		1–0	1–1	1–0	3–1	1–0	2–1	2–0
Northampton Town !Northampton Town	0–2	2–2	1–2	0–1	2–2	1–0	4–0	1–0	2–2	0–2	1–2	2–1	3–1	0–4	0–0	1–0	0–1		1–3	1–1	0–1	1–1	0–2	1–0
Peterborough United !Peterborough United	1–0	6–3	3–0	1–1	1–1	2–2	2–2	4–3	1–1	3–1	1–1	0–1	3–0	1–1	2–2	1–0	1–0	1–2		4–2	0–1	2–3	0–1	2–1
Reading !Reading	0–0	0–0	2–0	0–0	1–0	2–1	0–1	1–1	1–0	1–0	2–0	3–1	1–0	0–1	1–1	2–0	5–0	3–0	2–0		1–1	0–0	3–0	2–0
Southport !Southport	3–1	1–0	3–1	2–1	1–1	3–2	1–0	2–0	2–1	2–2	1–0	0–0	1–1	2–0	1–0	3–1	0–2	1–2	2–1	4–1		1–0	2–1	2–1
Stockport County !Stockport County	1–1	2–0	3–1	0–0	2–2	2–1	2–0	0–0	3–1	2–1	1–0	2–3	0–1	1–1	2–1	2–1	1–0	0–0	3–2	2–2	2–0		2–0	3–0
Torquay United !Torquay United	1–1	0–0	1–2	0–1	1–2	1–2	0–0	0–0	2–1	1–0	0–2	0–0	1–0	0–0	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–1	1–0	2–2	2–0	0–0		3–0
Workington !Workington	2–1	3–2	1–1	2–0	5–1	3–1	1–0	1–1	2–1	2–0	3–1	1–1	0–0	2–1	0–3	2–0	3–2	3–0	2–2	0–0	2–0	2–0	2–2

Fourth Division maps

Locations of the Football League Fourth Division teams 1972–1973

External links

Season 1972-73 complete complete lineups, tables and squads at Historical Football Lineups

References

↑ "England 1972–73". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 2010-02-24.
1 2 Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane’s, London & Sydney, 1980.
1 2 3 4 "English League Leading Goalscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 2010-10-31.

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

The Football League seasons

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1972–73 in English football

« 1971–72

1973–74 »

FA competitions

Football League

Lower leagues

European competitions

Related to national team

Club seasons

First Division	Arsenal Birmingham City Chelsea Coventry City Crystal Palace Derby County Everton Ipswich Town Leeds United Leicester City Liverpool Manchester City Manchester United Newcastle United Norwich City Queens Park Rangers Sheffield United Southampton Stoke City Tottenham Hotspur Wolverhampton Wanderers

Second Division	Aston Villa Blackpool Brighton & Hove Albion Bristol City Burnley Cardiff City Carlisle United Fulham Huddersfield Town Hull City Leyton Orient Luton Town Middlesbrough Millwall Nottingham Forest Oxford United Portsmouth Preston North End Sheffield Wednesday Sunderland Swindon Town West Bromwich Albion West Ham United

Third Division	Blackburn Rovers Bolton Wanderers Bournemouth Brentford Bristol Rovers Charlton Athletic Chesterfield Grimsby Town Halifax Town Notts County Oldham Athletic Plymouth Argyle Port Vale Rochdale Rotherham United Scunthorpe United Shrewsbury Town Southend United Swansea City Tranmere Rovers Walsall Watford Wrexham York City

Fourth Division	Aldershot Barnsley Bradford City Bury Cambridge United Chester Colchester United Crewe Alexandra Darlington Doncaster Rovers Exeter City Gillingham Hartlepool United Hereford United Lincoln City Mansfield Town Newport County Northampton Town Peterborough United Reading Southport Stockport County Torquay United Workington

1972–73 in European football (UEFA)

« 1971–72 1973–74 »

Domestic leagues	Albania Austria Belgium Bulgaria Cyprus Czechoslovakia Denmark '72 '73 England Estonia '72 '73 Faroe Islands '72 '73 Finland '72 '73 France East Germany West Germany Greece Hungary Iceland '72 '73 Israel Italy Latvia '72 '73 Lithuania '72 '73 Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Northern Ireland Norway '72 '73 Poland Portugal Republic of Ireland Romania Scotland Soviet Union '72 '73 Spain Sweden '72 '73 Switzerland Turkey Yugoslavia

Domestic cups	Albania Austria Belgium Bulgaria Cyprus Czechoslovakia Denmark England Faroe Islands '72 '73 Finland '72 '73 France East Germany West Germany Greece Hungary Iceland '72 '73 Israel Italy Liechtenstein Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Northern Ireland Norway '72 '73 Poland Portugal Republic of Ireland Romania Scotland Soviet Union '72 '73 Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Wales

League cups	England West Germany Scotland Switzerland

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

Other competitions	Intertoto Cup European Super Cup

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1972–73 Football League

Final league tables and results

First Division

First Division results

First Division maps

Second Division

Second Division results

Second Division maps

Third Division

Third Division results

Third Division maps

Fourth Division

Fourth Division results

Fourth Division maps

See also

External links

References