1976–77 Football League

78th season of the Football League The Football League 1976–77 Liverpool 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. The season was also the first in which the referee used the yellow card and the red card, with the yellow to caution the offending player, and the red to show spectators and viewers that the player had been ejected from the game. Writing in The Observer, sportswriter Bob Houston noted that the season opener was "the day the Football League went Continental, arming its referees with those coloured cards we've all learned to watch for in European and World Cup matches.""Football Round-up", by Bob Houston, The Observer (London), 3 October 1976, p. 18 On 2 October 1976, Dave Wagstaffe of Blackburn Rovers became the first player in Football League history to be shown the red card when he was sent off in a 1-0 win over Orient in a Division 2 match."How English football came to love and curse the red card", by Martin Winch, BBC News], 10 August 2013 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 websitehttps://www.rsssf.org/engpaul/FLA/1976-77.html England 1976–77 Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation 2010-02-24 https://web.archive.org/web/20100130065144/http://www.rsssf.com/engpaul/FLA/1976-77.html 30 January 2010 live and in Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79,Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane’s, London & Sydney, 1980. 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. First Division 1976–77 Football League First Division First Division 1976–77 Liverpool10th English title SunderlandStoke CityTottenham Hotspur European Cup Liverpool Cup Winners' Cup Manchester United UEFA Cup Aston VillaIpswich TownManchester CityNewcastle United Andy GrayMalcolm Macdonald(25 goals each)https://www.rsssf.org/tablese/engtops.html English League Leading Goalscorers RSSSF 2010-10-31 Ipswich Town 7–0 West Bromwich Albion(6 November 1976) Leicester City 0–5 West Bromwich Albion(7 May 1977) Derby County 8–2 Tottenham Hotspur(16 October 1976) 462 1183 1975–76 1977–78 Despite failing to win any of their final four matches,Liverpool football club match record: 1977 https://www.11v11.com/teams/liverpool/tab/matches/season/1977/ 11v11.com 15 December 2017 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 seventh. 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. Results Results Maps Greater London right 369 Locations of the Football League First Division London teams 1976–1977 Greater London 51.558 -0.103 right Greater London 51.509 -0.232 right Greater London 51.603 -0.066 right Greater London 51.532 0.039 right Arsenal Queens Park Rangers Tottenham West Ham England none 400 Locations of the Football League First Division 1976–1977 teams England 51.56 -0.10 right England 52.54 -1.87 right England 52.48 -1.89 right England 51.42 -2.59 right England 52.41 -1.51 right England 52.92 -1.476 right England 53.47 -2.97 right England 52.06 1.14 right England 53.78 -1.57 right England 52.62 -1.14 right England 53.53 -2.99 right England 53.47 -2.18 right England 53.47 -2.30 right England 54.57 -1.23 right England 54.98 -1.62 right England 52.63 1.30 right England 51.54 -0.26 right England 53.00 -2.18 right England 54.91 -1.39 right England 51.63 -0.063 right England 52.52 -1.97 right England 51.54 0.040 right 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 Second Division Second Division 1976–77 Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton WanderersChelseaNottingham Forest Carlisle UnitedPlymouth ArgyleHereford United Cup Winners' Cup Cardiff City Mickey Walsh(26 goals) Blackburn Rovers 6–1 Notts County(9 October 1976)Nottingham Forest 6–1 Sheffield United(9 October 1976)Fulham 5–0 Oldham Athletic(4 December 1976)Fulham 6–1 Orient(7 March 1977)Luton Town 5–0 Carlisle United(26 March 1977) Carlisle United 0–6 Southampton(22 January 1977) Charlton Athletic 6–2 Southampton(24 September 1976)Wolverhampton Wanderers 2–6 Southampton(5 October 1976)Burnley 4–4 Charlton Athletic(16 October 1976)Oldham Athletic 3–5 Hereford United(16 April 1977) 462 1290 1975–76 1977–78 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. main WDL Second Division WOL, CHE, NFO, BOL, BLP, LUT, CHA, NTC, SOU, MIL, SHU, BLA, OLD, HUL, BRV, BUR, FUL, CAR, ORI, CRL, PLY, HER PRO PRO PRO CWC1R REL REL REL complete 15 9 18 42 54 17 17 8 58 42 20 11 11 75 54 12 13 17 53 68 11 14 17 46 64 12 10 20 56 67 11 12 19 49 75 16 16 10 71 58 21 13 8 73 53 11 13 18 54 61 8 15 19 57 78 10 17 15 45 53 21 6 15 67 48 15 13 14 57 53 21 10 11 77 43 19 10 13 65 60 14 10 18 52 64 9 16 17 37 55 8 16 18 46 65 14 12 16 54 63 17 10 15 72 67 22 13 7 84 45 C, P P P R R R Blackburn Rovers Blackpool Bolton Wanderers Bristol Rovers Burnley Cardiff City Carlisle United Charlton Athletic Chelsea Fulham Hereford United Hull City Luton Town Millwall Nottingham Forest Notts County Oldham Athletic Orient Plymouth Argyle Sheffield United Southampton Wolverhampton Wanderers 5 2 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored QR green1 Promotion to the First Division yellow1 Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round red1 Relegation to the Third Division Results main FBR grey 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 1–1 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 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 Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane’s, London & Sydney, 1980. Maps Greater London right 369 Locations of the Football League Second Division London teams 1976–1977 Greater London 51.486 0.036 right Greater London 51.482 -0.191 right Greater London 51.475 -0.222 right Greater London 51.570 -0.058 right Greater London 51.481 -0.048 right Charlton Athletic Chelsea Fulham Orient Millwall England none 400 Locations of the Football League Second Division 1976–1977 teams England 53.75 -2.48 right England 53.81 -3.05 right England 53.59 -2.56 right England 51.47 -2.53 right England 53.79 -2.25 right England 51.47 -3.20 right England 51.47 0.07 right England 51.50 -0.19 right England 54.90 -2.91 right England 51.45 -0.24 right England 52.06 -2.72 right England 53.74 -0.33 right England 51.57 -0.01 right England 51.9 -0.433 right England 51.48 -0.048 right England 53.01 -1.137 right England 52.94 -1.137 right England 53.54 -2.12 right England 50.39 -4.15 right England 53.37 -1.47 right England 50.91 -1.39 right England 52.59 -2.13 right 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 Third Division Football LeagueThird Division 1976–77 Mansfield Town (1st title) Promoted Brighton & Hove AlbionCrystal Palace Relegated Grimsby TownNorthampton TownReadingYork City Peter Ward (Brighton & Hove Albion), 32 552 1462 1975–76 1977–78 main WDL Third Division 2 PR 5 MAN Mansfield Town B&HA Brighton & Hove Albion CRY Crystal Palace ROT Rotherham United WRE Wrexham PNE Preston North End BRY Bury SHW Sheffield Wednesday LIN Lincoln City SHR Shrewsbury Town SWI Swindon Town GIL Gillingham CHE Chester TRA Tranmere Rovers WAL Walsall PET Peterborough United OXF Oxford United CHF Chesterfield PTV Port Vale POR Portsmouth REA Reading NOR Northampton Town GRI Grimsby Town YOR York City 28 8 10 78 42 25 11 10 83 40 23 13 10 68 40 22 15 9 69 44 24 10 12 80 54 21 12 13 64 43 23 8 15 64 59 22 9 15 65 55 19 14 13 77 70 18 11 17 65 59 15 15 16 68 75 16 12 18 55 64 18 8 20 48 58 13 17 16 51 53 13 15 18 57 65 13 15 18 55 65 12 15 19 55 65 14 10 22 56 64 11 16 19 47 71 11 14 21 53 70 13 9 24 49 73 13 8 25 60 75 12 9 25 45 69 10 12 24 50 89 CP P P R R R R green1 Promotion to the Second Division P P P red1 Relegation to the Fourth Division R R R R complete rsssf.com Results main FBR grey 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 0–1 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 2–1 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 2–2 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 1–0 1–2 1–1 4–2 0–0 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 3–1 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 0–0 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 2–0 1–0 2–0 1–1 0–2 0–3 0–1 0–0 4–1 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 0–1 1–0 1–1 1–2 1–0 2–0 1–1 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 1–3 0–1 3–1 3–1 0–0 3–1 3–2 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 1–0 0–4 4–3 1–0 0–1 2–2 2–4 5–2 1–0 1–1 2–2 3–2 5–1 Tranmere Rovers 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 3–1 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 1–1 0–2 0–3 4–2 1–0 0–0 0–0 Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane’s, London & Sydney, 1980. Maps England none 400 Locations of the Football League Third Division teams 1976–1977 England 50.83 -0.15 right England 53.58 -2.295 right England 53.19 -2.89 right England 53.24 -1.43 right England 51.40 -0.085 right England 51.38 0.55 right England 53.56 -0.068 right England 53.23 -0.54 right England 53.14 -1.20 right England 52.24 -0.90 right England 51.72 -1.21 right England 52.58 -0.25 right England 50.80 -1.06 right England 53.06 -2.21 right England 53.75 -2.7 right England 51.41 -0.97 right England 53.43 -1.36 right England 53.41 -1.50 right England 52.71 -2.75 right England 51.56 -1.77 right England 53.37 -3.04 right England 52.58 -1.98 right England 53.03 -2.98 right England 53.96 -1.08 right 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 Fourth Division Football LeagueFourth Division 1976–77 Cambridge United (1st title) Promoted Bradford CityColchester UnitedExeter City Failed re-election Workington New club in the league Brian Joicey (Barnsley), 25 552 1423 1975–76 1977–78 main WDL Fourth Division PR 5 2 CAM Cambridge United EXE Exeter City COL Colchester United BRA Bradford City SWA Swansea City BAR Barnsley WAT Watford DON Doncaster Rovers HUD Huddersfield Town STD Southend United DAR Darlington CRE Crewe Alexandra BOU Bournemouth STP Stockport County BRE Brentford TOR Torquay United ALD Aldershot ROC Rochdale NPC Newport County SCU Scunthorpe United HAL Halifax Town HAR Hartlepool SOU Southport WRK Workington 26 13 7 87 40 25 12 9 70 46 25 9 12 77 43 23 13 10 78 51 25 8 13 92 68 23 9 14 62 39 18 15 13 67 50 21 9 16 71 65 19 12 15 60 49 15 19 12 52 45 18 13 15 59 64 19 11 16 47 60 15 18 13 54 44 13 19 14 53 57 18 7 21 77 76 17 9 20 59 67 16 11 19 49 59 13 12 21 50 59 14 10 22 42 58 13 11 22 49 73 11 14 21 47 58 10 12 24 47 73 3 19 24 33 77 4 11 31 41 102 CP P P P R green1 Promotion to the Third Division P P P P red2 Re-elected REE REE REE red1 Failed re-election and demoted to the Northern Premier League FAIL complete Results main FBR grey BOU ALD BAR BRA BRE CAM COL CRE DAR DON EXE HAL HAR HUD NPC ROC SCU STD SOU STP SWA TOR WAT WRK AFC 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 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 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 United 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 Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane’s, London & Sydney, 1980. Maps Greater London right 369 Locations of the Football League Fourth Division London teams 1976–1977 Greater London 51.486 -0.31 right Greater London 51.650 -0.401 right Brentford Watford England none 400 Locations of the Football League Fourth Division teams 1976–1977 England 51.25 -0.75 right England 53.55 -1.48 right England 50.73 -1.84 right England 53.82 -1.73 right England 51.486 -0.32 right England 52.21 0.12 right England 51.89 0.90 right England 53.10 -2.44 right England 54.53 -1.55 right England 53.52 -1.133 right England 50.72 -3.53 right England 53.72 -1.86 right England 54.69 -1.21 right England 53.64 -1.78 right England 51.59 -3.00 right England 53.61 -2.16 right England 53.58 -0.65 right England 51.55 0.70 right England 53.65 -3.01 right England 53.41 -2.16 right England 51.62 -3.95 right England 50.48 -3.52 right England 51.65 -0.40 right England 54.64 -3.55 right 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 Attendances Source:https://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/attn/archive/eng/aveeng1991.htm Historical attendances European-football-statistics.co.uk July 18, 2026 Division One # Football club Average attendance 1 Manchester United 53,710 2 Liverpool FC 47,221 3 Manchester City FC 40,058 4 Aston Villa FC 37,903 5 Newcastle United FC 33,599 6 Sunderland AFC 32,943 7 Arsenal FC 32,663 8 Leeds United FC 30,530 9 Tottenham Hotspur FC 30,173 10 Everton FC 30,046 11 Birmingham City FC 28,338 12 Ipswich Town FC 26,672 13 West Ham United FC 26,064 14 Derby County FC 25,008 15 West Bromwich Albion FC 24,525 16 Bristol City FC 23,522 17 Norwich City FC 22,305 18 Middlesbrough FC 21,480 19 Coventry City FC 21,247 20 Queens Park Rangers FC 21,062 21 Stoke City FC 19,027 22 Leicester City FC 18,807 Division Two # Football club Average attendance 1 Chelsea FC 30,633 2 Bolton Wanderers FC 21,795 3 Wolverhampton Wanderers FC 21,227 4 Southampton FC 19,480 5 Nottingham Forest FC 18,064 6 Sheffield United FC 16,779 7 Fulham FC 14,589 8 Plymouth Argyle FC 13,329 9 Blackpool FC 13,171 10 Cardiff City FC 12,790 11 Burnley FC 12,173 12 Luton Town FC 11,387 13 Charlton Athletic FC 11,057 14 Notts County FC 10,943 15 Millwall FC 10,601 16 Blackburn Rovers FC 10,130 17 Oldham Athletic FC 9,944 18 Bristol Rovers FC 8,431 19 Hull City AFC 7,924 20 Carlisle United FC 7,680 21 Hereford United FC 7,240 22 Leyton Orient FC 6,222 Division Three # Football club Average attendance 1 Brighton & Hove Albion FC 20,197 2 Crystal Palace FC 16,106 3 Sheffield Wednesday FC 13,688 4 Portsmouth FC 11,564 5 Wrexham AFC 9,328 6 Mansfield Town FC 8,439 7 Preston North End FC 7,987 8 Swindon Town FC 7,846 9 Lincoln City FC 7,145 10 Reading FC 6,761 11 Rotherham United FC 6,682 12 Peterborough United FC 5,996 13 Northampton Town FC 5,750 14 Walsall FC 5,498 15 Gillingham FC 5,444 16 Chesterfield FC 5,322 17 Bury FC 5,299 18 Oxford United FC 5,152 19 Shrewsbury Town FC 4,974 20 Grimsby Town FC 4,738 21 Chester City FC 4,609 22 Port Vale FC 4,357 23 Tranmere Rovers 3,251 24 York City FC 3,005 Division Four # Football club Average attendance 1 Huddersfield Town AFC 6,148 2 Watford FC 6,035 3 Bradford City AFC 5,630 4 Southend United FC 5,551 5 Barnsley FC 5,529 6 Swansea City AFC 5,311 7 Brentford FC 5,121 8 Colchester United FC 4,651 9 Doncaster Rovers FC 4,631 10 Exeter City FC 4,624 11 Cambridge United FC 4,445 12 AFC Bournemouth 4,035 13 Stockport County FC 3,851 14 Aldershot Town FC 3,631 15 Scunthorpe United FC 3,483 16 Torquay United FC 2,958 17 Darlington FC 2,744 18 Newport County AFC 2,612 19 Crewe Alexandra FC 2,379 20 Halifax Town AFC 2,340 21 Hartlepool United FC 1,911 22 Rochdale AFC 1,745 23 Southport FC 1,438 24 Workington AFC 1,338 See also 1976-77 in English football References Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane's, London & Sydney, 1980. 1976–77 League