1978–79 Football League

80th season of the Football League The Football League 1978–79 Liverpool New Club in League Wigan Athletic 1977–78 1979–80 The 1978–79 season was the 80th completed season of the Football League. Bob Paisley won his third league title at Liverpool as his side fought off competition from Nottingham Forest and West Bromwich Albion. Albion were in their first season under the management of Ron Atkinson, and pulled off a famous 5–3 away win over Manchester United with a team that included Bryan Robson, Brendan Batson, Cyrille Regis and Laurie Cunningham. 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 finishing runners-up in the league. Meanwhile, Chelsea's manager Danny Blanchflower paid for his team'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 Japanese hi-fi manufacturer Hitachi. Crystal Palace won the Second Division title, followed by Brighton & Hove Albion, who were promoted to the top division for the first time, and third-placed Stoke City. Going down were Sheffield United, Millwall and Blackburn Rovers. Shrewsbury Town were champions of the Third Division. The other two promotion spots were occupied by Watford and Swansea City. Peterborough United, Walsall, Tranmere Rovers and Lincoln City were relegated to the 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. 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/1978-79.html England 1978–79 Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation 2010-02-24 https://web.archive.org/web/20100127133251/http://www.rsssf.com/engpaul/FLA/1978-79.html 27 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. 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 Football League First Division 1978–79 Liverpool11th English title Queens Park RangersBirmingham CityChelsea European Cup LiverpoolNottingham Forest (defending champions) Cup Winners' Cup Arsenal UEFA Cup West Bromwich AlbionEvertonLeeds UnitedIpswich Town Frank Worthington(24 goals)https://www.rsssf.org/tablese/engtops.html English League Leading Goalscorers RSSSF 2010-10-31 Liverpool 7–0 Tottenham Hotspur(2 September 1978) Tottenham Hotspur 0–5 Arsenal(23 December 1978) Middlesbrough 7–2 Chelsea(16 December 1978) 462 1217 1977–78 1979–80 Bob Paisley guided Liverpool to their third league title in four seasons with the highest points total (68), best home record (40 points from 21 games) and highest goals scored to conceded ratio (85 scored, 16 conceded, ratio 5.3:1) ever attained in First Division history. Nottingham Forest built on their first league title triumph by winning the European Cup and retaining the League Cup under the management of Brian Clough, who in February signed striker Trevor Francis from Birmingham City in Britain's first million-pound transfer, although Forest finished eight points behind Liverpool in second place. West Bromwich Albion's first full season under Ron Atkinson brought an impressive third-place finish and a run to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup, as well as a famous 5-3 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford just after Christmas. Everton and Leeds United completed the top five. Seventh placed Arsenal compensated for a lack of a title challenge by beating Manchester United 3-2 in a memorable final of the FA Cup. Chelsea, Birmingham City and QPR were relegated, while Derby County (champions just four years ago) only narrowly stayed up. main WDL First Division World Football LIV, NFO, WBA, EVE, LEE, IPS, ARS, AVL, MUN, COV, TOT, MID, BRC, SOU, MCI, NOR, BOL, WOL, DER, QPR, BIR, CHE EC1R EC1R UC1R UC1R UC1R UC1R CWC1R REL REL REL complete 17 14 11 61 48 15 16 11 59 49 6 10 26 37 64 12 11 19 54 75 15 10 17 47 51 5 10 27 44 92 14 16 12 58 68 10 11 21 44 71 17 17 8 52 40 20 9 13 63 49 18 14 10 70 52 30 8 4 85 16 13 13 16 58 56 15 15 12 60 63 15 10 17 57 50 7 23 12 51 57 21 18 3 61 26 6 13 23 45 73 12 16 14 47 53 13 15 14 48 61 24 11 7 72 35 13 8 21 44 68 C R R R 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 5 2 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored QR green1 Qualification for the European Cup first round Nottingham Forest qualified for the European Cup first round as the 1978–79 European Cup winners. blue1 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round yellow1 Qualification for the European Cup Winners' Cup first round Arsenal qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup first round as the 1978–79 FA Cup winners. red1 Relegation to the Second Division Results main FBR grey ARS AST BIR BOL BRI CHE COV DER EVE IPS LEE LIV MCI MUN MID NWC NOT QPR SOU TOT WBA WOL Arsenal 1–1 3–1 1–0 2–0 5–2 1–1 2–0 2–2 4–1 2–2 1–0 1–1 1–1 0–0 1–1 2–1 5–1 1–0 1–0 1–2 0–1 Aston Villa 5–1 1–0 3–0 2–0 2–1 1–1 3–3 1–1 2–2 2–2 3–1 1–1 2–2 0–2 1–1 1–2 3–1 1–1 2–3 0–1 1–0 Birmingham City 0–0 0–1 3–0 1–1 1–1 0–0 1–1 1–3 1–1 0–1 0–3 1–2 5–1 1–3 1–0 0–2 3–1 2–2 1–0 1–1 1–1 Bolton Wanderers 4–2 0–0 2–2 1–2 2–1 0–0 2–1 3–1 2–3 3–1 1–4 2–2 3–0 0–0 3–2 0–1 2–1 2–0 1–3 0–1 3–1 Bristol City 1–3 1–0 2–1 4–1 3–1 5–0 1–0 2–2 3–1 0–0 1–0 1–1 1–2 1–1 1–1 1–3 2–0 3–1 0–0 1–0 0–1 Chelsea 1–1 0–1 2–1 4–3 0–0 1–3 1–1 0–1 2–3 0–3 0–0 1–4 0–1 2–1 3–3 1–3 1–3 1–2 1–3 1–3 1–2 Coventry City 1–1 1–1 2–1 2–2 3–2 3–2 4–2 3–2 2–2 0–0 0–0 0–3 4–3 2–1 4–1 0–0 1–0 4–0 1–3 1–3 3–0 Derby County 2–0 0–0 2–1 3–0 0–1 1–0 0–2 0–0 0–1 0–1 0–2 1–1 1–3 0–3 1–1 1–2 2–1 2–1 2–2 3–2 4–1 Everton 1–0 1–1 1–0 1–0 4–1 3–2 3–3 2–1 0–1 1–1 1–0 1–0 3–0 2–0 2–2 1–1 2–1 0–0 1–1 0–2 2–0 Ipswich Town 2–0 0–2 3–0 3–0 0–1 5–1 1–1 2–1 0–1 2–3 0–3 2–1 3–0 2–1 1–1 1–1 2–1 0–0 2–1 0–1 3–1 Leeds United 0–1 1–0 3–0 5–1 1–1 2–1 1–0 4–0 1–0 1–1 0–3 1–1 2–3 3–1 2–2 1–2 4–3 4–0 1–2 1–3 3–0 Liverpool 3–0 3–0 1–0 3–0 1–0 2–0 1–0 5–0 1–1 2–0 1–1 1–0 2–0 2–0 6–0 2–0 2–1 2–0 7–0 2–1 2–0 Manchester City 1–1 2–3 3–1 2–1 2–0 2–3 2–0 1–2 0–0 1–2 3–0 1–4 0–3 1–0 2–2 0–0 3–1 1–2 2–0 2–2 3–1 Manchester United 0–2 1–1 1–0 1–2 1–3 1–1 0–0 0–0 1–1 2–0 4–1 0–3 1–0 3–2 1–0 1–1 2–0 1–1 2–0 3–5 3–2 Middlesbrough 2–3 2–0 2–1 1–1 0–0 7–2 1–2 3–1 1–2 0–0 1–0 0–1 2–0 2–2 2–0 1–3 0–2 2–0 1–0 1–1 2–0 Norwich City 0–0 1–2 4–0 0–0 3–0 2–0 1–0 3–0 0–1 0–1 2–2 1–4 1–1 2–2 1–0 1–1 1–1 3–1 2–2 1–1 0–0 Nottingham Forest 2–1 4–0 1–0 1–1 2–0 6–0 3–0 1–1 0–0 1–0 0–0 0–0 3–1 1–1 2–2 2–1 0–0 1–0 1–1 0–0 3–1 Queens Park Rangers 1–2 1–0 1–3 1–3 1–0 0–0 5–1 2–2 1–1 0–4 1–4 1–3 2–1 1–1 1–1 0–0 0–0 0–1 2–2 0–1 3–3 Southampton 2–0 2–0 1–0 2–2 2–0 0–0 4–0 1–2 3–0 1–2 2–2 1–1 1–0 1–1 2–1 2–2 0–0 1–1 3–3 1–1 3–2 Tottenham Hotspur 0–5 1–4 1–0 2–0 1–0 2–2 1–1 2–0 1–1 1–0 1–2 0–0 0–3 1–1 1–2 0–0 1–3 1–1 0–0 1–0 1–0 West Bromwich Albion 1–1 1–1 1–0 4–0 3–1 1–0 7–1 2–1 1–0 2–1 1–2 1–1 4–0 1–0 2–0 2–2 0–1 2–1 1–0 0–1 1–1 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1–0 0–4 2–1 1–1 2–0 0–1 1–1 4–0 1–0 1–3 1–1 0–1 1–1 2–4 1–3 1–0 1–0 1–0 2–0 3–2 0–3 Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane’s, London & Sydney, 1980. Managerial changes Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment Leeds United ENG Jimmy Armfield Sacked 30 June 1978 Pre-season SCO Jock Stein 21 August 1978 Queens Park Rangers ENG Frank Sibley Mutual consent 11 July 1978 ENG Steve Burtenshaw 10 August 1978 Leeds United SCO Jock Stein Signed by Scotland 4 October 1978 11th ENG Jimmy Adamson 25 October 1978 Wolverhampton Wanderers ENG Sammy Chung Sacked 8 November 1978 21st ENG John Barnwell 20 November 1978 Chelsea ENG Ken Shellito 13 December 1978 22nd NIR Danny Blanchflower 14 December 1978 Maps Greater London right 369 Locations of the Football League First Division London teams 1978–1979 Greater London 51.558 -0.103 right Greater London 51.482 -0.191 right Greater London 51.509 -0.232 right Greater London 51.603 -0.066 right Arsenal Chelsea Queens Park Rangers Tottenham England none 400 Locations of the Football League First Division 1978–1979 teams England 51.56 -0.10 right England 52.54 -1.87 right England 52.48 -1.89 right England 53.59 -2.56 right England 51.42 -2.59 right England 51.50 -0.19 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 53.53 -2.99 right England 53.47 -2.18 right England 53.47 -2.30 right England 54.57 -1.23 right England 52.63 1.30 right England 53.01 -1.137 right England 51.54 -0.26 right England 50.91 -1.39 right England 51.63 -0.063 right England 52.52 -1.97 right England 52.59 -2.13 right Arsenal Aston Villa Birmingham Bolton Bristol City Chelsea Coventry Derby County Everton Ipswich Town Leeds United Liverpool Middlesbrough Manchester City Manchester United Norwich City Nottingham Forest QPR Southampton Tottenham West Bromwich Albion Wolverhampton Wanderers Second Division Second Division 1978–79 Crystal Palace Crystal PalaceBrighton & Hove AlbionStoke City Sheffield UnitedMillwallBlackburn Rovers Cup Winners' Cup Wrexham Pop Robson(24 goals) Luton Town 7–1 Cardiff City(16 September 1978)Luton Town 6–0 Notts County(21 October 1978) Millwall 1–4 Brighton & Hove Albion(2 September 1978)Cardiff City 1–4 Charlton Athletic(4 November 1978)Newcastle United 1–4 Sunderland(24 February 1979)Luton Town 1–4 West Ham United(26 February 1979)Blackburn Rovers 1–4 Cardiff City(28 February 1979)Charlton Athletic 1–4 Stoke City(14 April 1979)0–3: 9 matches Bristol Rovers 5–5 Charlton Athletic(18 November 1978) 462 1174 1977–78 1979–80 Crystal Palace continued to excel under the management of Terry Venables as their team finished top of a hotly contested Second Division promotion race, a point ahead of Brighton (in the First Division for the first time) and Stoke City. Sunderland missed out on promotion by a single point. Newcastle United and Leicester City surprisingly failed to feature in the Second Division promotion race. Blackburn Rovers, Millwall and Sheffield United went down to the Third Division. main WDL Second Division CRY, BHA, STK, SUN, WHU, NTC, PNE, NEW, CAR, FUL, ORI, CAM, BUR, OLD, WRE, BRV, LEI, LUT, CHA, SHU, MIL, BLA PRO PRO PRO CWC1R REL REL REL complete 10 10 22 41 72 23 10 9 72 39 14 10 18 48 60 14 12 16 51 62 12 16 14 44 52 16 10 16 56 70 11 13 18 60 69 19 19 4 51 24 13 15 14 50 47 10 17 15 43 52 13 10 19 60 57 11 10 21 42 61 17 8 17 51 55 14 16 12 48 60 13 13 16 52 61 15 10 17 51 51 12 18 12 59 57 11 12 19 52 69 20 16 6 58 31 22 11 9 70 44 18 14 10 70 39 12 14 16 45 42 C, P P P R R R Blackburn Rovers Brighton & Hove Albion Bristol Rovers Burnley Cambridge United Cardiff City Charlton Athletic Crystal Palace Fulham Leicester City Luton Town Millwall Newcastle United Notts County Oldham Athletic Orient Preston North End Sheffield United Stoke City Sunderland West Ham United Wrexham 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 B&HA BRR BUR CAM CAR CHA CRY FUL LEI LUT MIL NEW NTC OLD ORI PNE SHU STK SUN WHU WRE Blackburn Rovers 1–1 0–2 1–2 1–0 1–4 1–2 1–1 2–1 1–1 0–0 1–1 1–3 3–4 0–2 3–0 0–1 2–0 2–2 1–1 1–0 1–1 Brighton & Hove Albion 2–1 3–0 2–1 0–2 5–0 2–0 0–0 3–0 3–1 3–1 3–0 2–0 0–0 1–0 2–0 5–1 2–0 1–1 2–0 1–2 2–1 Bristol Rovers 4–1 1–2 2–0 2–0 4–2 5–5 0–1 3–1 1–1 2–0 0–3 2–0 2–2 0–0 2–1 0–1 2–1 0–0 0–0 0–1 2–1 Burnley 2–1 3–0 2–0 1–1 0–0 2–1 2–1 5–3 2–2 2–1 0–1 1–0 2–1 1–0 0–1 1–1 1–1 0–3 1–2 3–2 0–0 Cambridge United 0–1 0–0 1–1 2–2 5–0 1–1 0–0 1–0 1–1 0–0 2–1 0–0 0–1 3–3 3–1 1–0 1–0 0–1 0–2 0–0 1–0 Cardiff City 2–0 3–1 2–0 1–1 1–0 1–4 2–2 2–0 1–0 2–1 2–1 2–1 2–3 1–3 1–0 2–2 4–0 1–3 1–1 0–0 1–0 Charlton Athletic 2–0 0–3 3–0 1–1 2–3 1–1 1–1 0–0 1–0 1–2 2–4 4–1 1–1 2–0 0–2 1–1 3–1 1–4 1–2 0–0 1–1 Crystal Palace 3–0 3–1 0–1 2–0 1–1 2–0 1–0 0–1 3–1 3–1 0–0 1–0 2–0 1–0 1–1 0–0 3–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–0 Fulham 1–2 0–1 3–0 0–0 5–1 2–2 3–1 0–0 3–0 1–0 1–0 1–3 1–1 1–0 2–2 5–3 2–0 2–0 2–2 0–0 0–1 Leicester City 1–1 4–1 0–0 2–1 1–1 1–2 0–3 1–1 1–0 3–0 0–0 2–1 0–1 2–0 5–3 1–1 0–1 1–1 1–2 1–2 1–1 Luton Town 2–1 1–1 3–2 4–1 1–1 7–1 3–0 0–1 2–0 0–1 2–2 2–0 6–0 6–1 2–1 1–2 1–1 0–0 0–3 1–4 2–1 Millwall 1–1 1–4 0–3 0–2 2–0 2–0 0–2 0–3 0–0 2–0 0–2 2–1 0–1 2–3 2–0 0–2 1–1 3–0 0–1 2–1 2–2 Newcastle United 3–1 1–3 3–0 3–1 1–0 3–0 5–3 1–0 0–0 1–0 1–0 1–0 1–2 1–1 0–0 4–3 1–3 2–0 1–4 0–3 2–0 Notts County 2–1 1–0 2–1 1–1 1–1 1–0 1–1 0–0 1–1 0–1 3–1 1–1 1–2 0–0 1–0 0–0 4–1 0–1 1–1 1–0 1–1 Oldham Athletic 5–0 1–3 3–1 2–0 4–1 2–1 0–3 0–0 0–2 2–1 2–0 4–1 1–3 3–3 0–0 2–0 1–1 1–1 0–0 2–2 1–0 Orient 2–0 3–3 1–1 2–1 3–0 2–2 2–1 0–1 1–0 0–1 3–2 2–1 2–0 3–0 0–0 2–0 1–1 0–1 3–0 0–2 0–1 Preston North End 4–1 1–0 1–1 2–2 0–2 2–1 6–1 2–3 2–2 4–0 2–2 0–0 0–0 1–1 1–1 1–1 2–2 0–1 3–1 0–0 2–1 Sheffield United 0–1 0–1 1–0 4–0 3–3 2–1 2–1 0–2 1–1 2–2 1–1 0–2 1–0 5–1 4–2 1–2 0–1 0–0 3–2 3–0 1–1 Stoke City 1–2 2–2 2–0 3–1 1–3 2–0 2–2 1–1 2–0 0–0 0–0 2–0 0–0 2–0 4–0 3–1 1–1 2–1 0–1 2–0 3–0 Sunderland 0–1 2–1 5–0 3–1 0–2 1–2 1–0 1–2 1–1 1–1 1–0 3–2 1–1 3–0 3–0 1–0 3–1 6–2 0–1 2–1 1–0 West Ham United 4–0 0–0 2–0 3–1 5–0 1–1 2–0 1–1 0–1 1–1 1–0 3–0 5–0 5–2 3–0 0–2 3–1 2–0 1–1 3–3 1–1 Wrexham 2–1 0–0 0–1 0–1 2–0 1–2 1–1 0–0 1–1 0–0 2–0 3–0 0–0 3–1 2–0 3–1 2–1 4–0 0–1 1–2 4–3 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 1978–1979 Greater London 51.486 0.036 right Greater London 51.398 -0.085 right Greater London 51.475 -0.222 right Greater London 51.570 -0.058 right Greater London 51.481 -0.048 right Greater London 51.532 0.039 right Charlton Athletic Crystal Palace Fulham Orient Millwall West Ham England none 400 Locations of the Football League Second Division 1978–1979 teams England 53.75 -2.48 right England 50.83 -0.15 right England 51.47 -2.53 right England 53.79 -2.25 right England 52.21 0.12 right England 51.47 -3.20 right England 51.47 0.07 right England 51.40 -0.085 right England 51.45 -0.24 right England 52.62 -1.14 right England 51.57 -0.01 right England 51.9 -0.433 right England 51.48 -0.048 right England 54.98 -1.62 right England 52.94 -1.137 right England 53.54 -2.12 right England 53.75 -2.7 right England 53.37 -1.47 right England 53.00 -2.18 right England 54.91 -1.39 right England 51.54 0.040 right England 53.03 -2.98 right Blackburn Rovers Brighton & Hove Bristol Rovers Burnley Cambridge Utd Cardiff City Charlton Crystal Palace Fulham Leicester City Orient Luton Town Millwall Newcastle Notts County Oldham Preston North End Sheffield United Stoke Sunderland West Ham Wrexham Third Division Football LeagueThird Division 1978–79 Shrewsbury Town (1st title) Promoted Swansea City,Watford Relegated Lincoln City,Peterborough United,Tranmere Rovers,Walsall Ross Jenkins (Watford), 29 552 1388 1977–78 1979–80 main WDL Third Division 2 PR 5 SHR Shrewsbury Town WAT Watford SWA Swansea City GIL Gillingham SWI Swindon Town CRL Carlisle United COL Colchester United HUL Hull City EXE Exeter City BRE Brentford OXF Oxford United BLP Blackpool STD Southend United SHW Sheffield Wednesday PLY Plymouth Argyle CHE Chester ROT Rotherham United MAN Mansfield Town BRY Bury CHF Chesterfield PET Peterborough United WAL Walsall TRA Tranmere Rovers LIN Lincoln City 21 19 6 61 41 24 12 10 83 52 24 12 10 83 61 21 17 8 65 42 25 7 14 74 52 15 22 9 53 42 17 17 12 60 55 19 11 16 66 61 17 15 14 61 56 19 9 18 53 49 14 18 14 44 50 18 9 19 61 59 15 15 16 51 49 13 19 14 53 53 15 14 17 67 68 14 16 16 57 61 17 10 19 49 55 12 19 15 51 52 11 20 15 59 65 13 14 19 51 65 11 14 21 44 63 10 12 24 56 71 6 16 24 45 78 7 11 28 41 88 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 BLP BRE BRY CRL CHE CHF COL EXE GIL HUL LIN MAN OXF PET PLY ROT SHW SHR STD SWA SWI TRA WAL WAT Blackpool 0–1 1–2 3–1 3–0 0–0 2–1 1–1 2–0 3–1 2–0 2–0 1–0 0–0 0–0 1–2 0–1 5–0 1–2 1–3 5–2 2–0 2–1 1–1 Brentford 3–2 0–1 0–0 6–0 0–3 1–0 0–0 0–2 1–0 2–1 1–0 3–0 0–0 2–1 1–0 2–1 2–3 3–0 1–0 1–2 2–0 1–0 3–3 Bury 1–3 2–3 2–2 1–1 3–1 2–2 4–2 2–2 1–1 2–2 0–0 1–1 1–0 1–2 3–2 0–0 3–0 3–3 0–1 0–1 1–0 1–1 1–2 Carlisle United 1–1 1–0 1–2 1–1 1–1 4–0 1–1 1–0 2–2 2–0 1–0 0–1 4–1 1–1 1–1 0–0 1–1 0–0 2–0 2–0 2–0 1–0 1–0 Chester 4–2 3–1 1–1 1–2 3–0 2–2 3–0 1–1 2–1 5–1 1–1 4–1 1–1 0–0 0–1 2–2 0–0 0–1 2–0 2–0 1–1 2–1 2–1 Chesterfield 1–3 0–0 2–1 2–3 3–1 2–1 0–1 0–2 1–2 1–3 1–0 1–1 3–1 1–3 1–0 3–3 2–1 3–2 2–1 1–1 5–2 0–0 0–2 Colchester United 3–1 1–1 0–0 2–1 2–1 0–0 2–2 2–2 2–1 2–0 1–0 1–1 4–2 2–1 0–0 1–0 1–0 1–1 2–2 3–2 1–0 2–0 0–1 Exeter City 3–0 2–2 2–1 3–2 0–1 3–1 2–1 0–0 3–1 3–2 0–0 2–0 1–0 1–0 2–0 2–2 0–1 0–0 2–1 1–2 3–0 3–1 0–0 Gillingham 2–0 0–0 3–3 0–0 1–0 2–1 3–0 2–0 2–0 4–2 0–0 2–1 1–0 2–0 0–0 0–0 2–0 1–0 2–0 2–2 3–2 3–1 2–3 Hull City 0–0 1–0 4–1 1–1 3–0 1–1 1–0 1–0 0–1 0–0 3–0 0–1 1–1 2–1 1–0 1–1 1–1 2–0 2–2 1–1 2–1 4–1 4–0 Lincoln City 1–2 1–0 1–4 1–1 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–1 2–4 4–2 0–1 2–2 0–1 3–3 3–0 1–2 1–2 1–1 2–1 0–3 2–1 1–1 0–5 Mansfield Town 1–1 2–1 3–0 1–0 2–0 2–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 0–2 2–0 1–1 1–1 5–0 0–1 1–1 2–2 1–1 2–2 0–1 0–0 1–3 0–3 Oxford United 1–0 0–1 0–0 5–1 0–0 1–1 2–0 3–2 1–1 1–0 2–1 3–2 0–2 3–2 1–0 1–1 0–1 0–0 0–2 0–1 0–0 2–1 1–1 Peterborough United 1–2 3–1 2–2 0–0 2–1 0–0 1–2 1–1 1–1 3–0 0–1 1–2 1–1 2–1 1–1 2–0 0–2 0–1 2–0 2–1 1–0 0–3 0–1 Plymouth Argyle 0–0 2–1 3–0 2–0 2–2 1–1 1–1 4–2 2–1 3–4 2–1 1–4 0–1 3–2 2–0 2–0 1–1 1–1 2–2 2–0 2–2 1–0 1–1 Rotherham United 2–1 1–0 2–1 1–3 0–1 1–0 1–0 2–1 1–1 0–2 2–0 2–0 0–0 1–1 1–0 0–1 1–2 2–1 0–1 1–3 3–2 4–1 2–1 Sheffield Wednesday 2–0 1–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 4–0 0–0 2–1 2–1 2–3 0–0 1–2 1–1 3–0 2–3 2–1 0–0 3–2 0–0 2–1 1–2 0–2 2–3 Shrewsbury Town 2–0 1–0 1–0 0–0 1–0 1–1 2–0 4–1 1–1 1–0 2–0 2–2 0–0 2–0 2–0 3–1 2–2 2–0 3–0 0–0 2–1 1–1 1–1 Southend United 4–0 1–1 0–0 1–1 0–1 2–0 1–1 0–1 0–1 3–0 2–0 1–1 2–0 0–0 2–1 2–1 2–1 0–1 0–2 5–3 0–1 1–0 1–0 Swansea City 1–0 2–1 2–0 0–0 2–2 2–1 4–1 1–0 3–1 5–3 3–0 3–2 1–1 4–1 2–1 4–4 4–2 1–1 3–2 1–2 4–3 2–2 3–2 Swindon Town 0–1 2–0 2–1 0–0 2–0 1–0 1–2 1–1 3–1 2–0 6–0 1–0 2–0 3–1 1–3 1–0 3–0 2–1 1–0 0–1 4–1 4–1 2–0 Tranmere Rovers 0–2 0–1 0–0 1–1 6–2 1–1 1–5 2–2 1–1 1–3 0–0 1–2 1–0 1–0 2–1 1–1 1–1 2–2 1–2 1–2 1–1 0–0 1–1 Walsall 2–1 2–3 0–1 1–2 2–1 0–1 2–2 2–2 0–1 1–2 4–1 1–1 0–1 4–1 2–1 0–1 0–2 1–1 1–1 1–1 4–1 2–0 2–4 Watford 5–1 2–0 3–3 2–1 1–0 2–0 0–3 1–0 1–0 4–0 2–0 1–1 4–2 1–2 2–2 2–2 1–0 2–2 2–0 0–2 2–0 4–0 3–1 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 Third Division London teams 1978–1979 Greater London 51.486 -0.31 right Greater London 51.650 -0.401 right Brentford Watford England none 400 Locations of the Football League Third Division teams 1978–1979 England 53.81 -3.05 right England 51.486 -0.32 right England 53.58 -2.295 right England 54.90 -2.91 right England 53.19 -2.89 right England 53.24 -1.43 right England 51.89 0.90 right England 50.72 -3.53 right England 51.38 0.55 right England 53.74 -0.33 right England 53.23 -0.54 right England 53.14 -1.20 right England 51.72 -1.21 right England 52.58 -0.25 right England 50.39 -4.15 right England 53.43 -1.36 right England 53.41 -1.50 right England 52.71 -2.75 right England 51.55 0.70 right England 51.62 -3.95 right England 51.56 -1.77 right England 53.37 -3.04 right England 52.58 -1.98 right England 51.65 -0.40 right Blackpool Brentford Bury Carlisle United Chester Chesterfield Colchester Exeter City Gillingham Hull Lincoln City Mansfield Town Oxford Peterborough Plymouth Argyle Rotherham Sheffield Wednesday Shrewsbury Southend Swansea City Swindon Tranmere Walsall Watford Fourth Division Football LeagueFourth Division 1978–79 Reading (1st title) Promoted Barnsley,Grimsby Town,Wimbledon Failed re-election None New club in the league Wigan Athletic John Dungworth (Aldershot), 26 552 1409 1977–78 1979–80 main WDL Fourth Division P 5 2 REA Reading GRI Grimsby Town WDN Wimbledon BAR Barnsley ALD Aldershot WIG Wigan Athletic POR Portsmouth NPC Newport County HUD Huddersfield Town YOR York City TOR Torquay United SCU Scunthorpe United HAR Hartlepool United HER Hereford United BRA Bradford City PTV Port Vale STP Stockport County BOU Bournemouth NOR Northampton Town ROC Rochdale DAR Darlington DON Doncaster Rovers HAL Halifax Town CRE Crewe Alexandra 26 13 7 76 35 26 9 11 82 49 25 11 10 78 46 24 13 9 73 42 20 17 9 63 47 21 13 12 63 48 20 12 14 62 48 21 10 15 66 55 18 11 17 57 53 18 11 17 51 55 19 8 19 58 65 17 11 18 54 60 13 18 15 57 66 15 13 18 53 53 17 9 20 62 68 14 14 18 57 70 14 12 20 58 60 14 11 21 47 48 15 9 22 64 76 15 9 22 47 64 11 15 20 49 66 13 11 22 50 73 9 8 29 39 72 6 14 26 43 90 CP P P P green1 Promotion to the Third Division P P P P red2 Re-elected REE REE REE REE complete Results main FBR grey BOU ALD BAR BRA CRE DAR DON GRI HAL HAR HER HUD NPC NOR POR PTV REA ROC SCU STP TOR WIG WDN YOR AFC Bournemouth 0–1 0–2 1–0 0–1 2–2 7–1 0–0 1–0 0–1 1–1 2–0 3–1 0–0 3–1 3–1 0–0 3–1 0–0 3–1 1–0 2–1 1–2 1–2 Aldershot 1–0 1–0 6–0 3–0 1–1 2–1 2–0 1–0 1–1 2–0 1–0 2–3 2–0 0–2 1–1 2–2 1–0 2–0 3–2 1–0 1–0 1–1 1–0 Barnsley 2–0 1–0 0–1 3–1 1–1 3–0 2–1 4–2 1–0 2–1 1–0 1–0 1–1 1–1 6–2 3–1 0–3 4–1 4–4 1–2 0–0 3–1 3–0 Bradford City 0–2 1–2 2–1 6–0 0–0 1–0 1–3 3–0 1–2 2–1 1–1 1–3 3–0 2–0 2–3 2–3 1–0 1–1 1–1 3–1 1–1 1–0 2–1 Crewe Alexandra 1–1 0–2 1–0 1–2 1–1 2–4 0–3 1–0 0–1 0–0 3–3 0–1 2–4 0–0 1–5 0–2 1–2 0–2 2–2 6–2 1–1 1–2 0–1 Darlington 2–1 0–0 0–0 1–1 1–1 3–2 0–1 2–1 0–1 2–1 1–0 1–0 0–0 2–0 4–0 1–2 0–2 2–2 0–1 1–2 1–1 1–1 0–1 Doncaster Rovers 1–1 2–2 1–1 2–0 2–0 2–3 0–1 1–1 0–0 1–0 0–2 0–0 2–0 2–3 1–3 2–2 1–0 0–0 2–0 1–0 0–1 1–0 1–2 Grimsby Town 0–0 2–0 1–0 5–1 2–2 7–2 3–4 2–1 0–1 1–1 2–1 1–0 4–3 1–0 1–0 1–2 4–0 1–1 2–1 3–0 3–1 2–2 3–0 Halifax Town 1–1 0–2 0–2 2–0 0–0 0–2 0–0 1–2 2–4 1–0 2–3 1–2 2–2 2–0 0–3 0–0 2–1 2–3 2–1 1–0 1–2 2–1 0–1 Hartlepool United 2–2 1–1 0–0 2–2 2–2 0–2 3–4 1–0 3–1 2–1 2–0 0–0 2–0 1–1 1–2 0–0 5–1 1–1 1–3 3–2 1–1 1–1 1–1 Hereford United 1–1 1–1 0–0 3–1 6–1 1–0 2–0 0–1 2–2 1–0 3–0 0–3 4–3 0–1 1–0 0–0 2–2 3–1 1–0 3–1 0–0 0–0 1–0 Huddersfield Town 0–0 1–0 2–1 0–0 0–0 2–2 2–1 2–0 2–0 2–0 2–3 0–1 1–0 2–0 3–2 1–1 1–0 3–2 0–0 1–1 1–1 3–0 1–0 Newport County 1–2 1–1 2–0 2–4 1–2 2–1 3–0 1–1 2–0 3–2 4–1 2–1 2–1 1–2 1–0 3–2 0–0 2–0 1–2 1–1 2–1 1–3 1–1 Northampton Town 2–3 0–1 4–2 1–0 3–1 4–1 3–0 1–2 2–1 1–1 2–1 2–3 3–1 0–2 1–0 2–2 1–0 1–0 2–2 1–2 2–4 1–1 1–0 Portsmouth 1–1 0–1 1–1 0–1 3–0 3–0 4–0 1–3 3–1 3–0 1–0 1–0 2–1 1–0 2–0 4–0 1–1 0–0 1–1 1–0 1–0 0–0 1–1 Port Vale 1–1 3–2 1–2 2–1 2–2 2–1 1–3 1–1 0–1 2–0 1–1 1–0 1–1 2–2 0–0 0–3 1–1 2–2 2–1 1–2 2–1 1–0 0–0 Reading 4–0 1–0 1–0 3–0 3–0 1–0 3–0 4–0 1–0 3–1 3–0 1–1 2–1 5–1 2–0 0–0 2–0 0–1 3–3 1–0 2–0 1–0 3–0 Rochdale 1–1 0–3 2–1 1–0 2–1 2–1 2–0 2–5 1–1 1–1 0–2 0–2 1–0 4–1 0–2 0–1 1–0 1–0 2–0 1–0 0–2 0–0 1–2 Scunthorpe United 2–0 0–1 1–0 3–2 0–1 1–0 0–0 2–1 1–0 3–1 4–2 3–1 2–3 0–3 2–2 2–0 0–3 0–4 1–0 2–2 0–1 2–0 2–3 Stockport County 2–2 0–0 1–0 1–0 4–3 3–0 0–1 2–1 1–2 4–0 0–2 3–1 1–1 2–1 4–2 0–0 0–0 3–0 0–2 0–1 0–1 0–1 2–0 Torquay United 2–1 3–2 0–1 1–2 3–0 1–0 2–1 3–1 2–0 4–1 1–0 2–1 2–0 0–1 2–1 2–2 1–1 1–1 0–1 1–0 1–1 1–6 3–0 Wigan Athletic 3–2 1–1 1–0 1–3 1–0 2–2 1–0 0–3 1–0 2–2 0–0 2–1 2–3 2–0 2–0 5–3 3–0 3–0 1–0 2–0 3–1 1–2 1–1 Wimbledon 3–1 1–1 4–0 2–1 1–1 2–0 3–2 0–1 2–1 3–1 2–0 2–1 0–0 4–1 2–4 1–0 1–0 3–2 3–1 2–0 5–0 2–1 2–1 York City 1–1 0–1 2–1 2–2 1–0 5–2 1–1 0–0 2–0 1–1 1–0 1–3 1–2 1–0 5–3 4–0 0–1 2–1 1–0 1–0 0–0 0–1 1–4 Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane’s, London & Sydney, 1980. Maps England left 400 Locations of the Football League Fourth Division teams 1978–1979 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 53.10 -2.44 right England 54.53 -1.55 right England 53.52 -1.133 right England 53.56 -0.068 right England 53.72 -1.86 right England 54.69 -1.21 right England 52.06 -2.72 right England 53.64 -1.78 right England 51.59 -3.00 right England 52.24 -0.90 right England 50.80 -1.06 right England 53.06 -2.21 right England 51.41 -0.97 right England 53.61 -2.16 right England 53.58 -0.65 right England 53.41 -2.16 right England 50.48 -3.52 right England 53.55 -2.65 right England 51.43 -0.19 right England 53.96 -1.08 right Aldershot Barnsley Bournemouth Bradford City Crewe Alexandra Darlington Doncaster Grimsby Town Halifax Town Hartlepool Hereford United Huddersfield Newport County Northampton Town Portsmouth Port Vale Reading Rochdale Scunthorpe & Lindsey Stockport Torquay Wigan Athletic Wimbledon York City Greater London right 369 Locations of the Football League Fourth Division London teams 1978–1979 51.43 -0.19 Wimbledon right Attendances Source:https://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/attn/archive/eng/aveeng1979.htm Historical attendances European-football-statistics.co.uk July 24, 2026 Division One No. Club Average Highest Lowest 1 Manchester United 46,430 56,139 33,678 2 Liverpool FC 46,407 52,352 33,754 3 Arsenal FC 36,371 53,896 24,288 4 Manchester City FC 36,203 46,710 27,366 5 Everton FC 35,456 53,141 23,048 6 Tottenham Hotspur FC 34,902 50,541 21,560 7 Aston Villa FC 32,838 44,029 21,884 8 Nottingham Forest FC 29,587 41,898 20,388 9 Leeds United FC 27,633 41,324 20,121 10 West Bromwich Albion FC 26,517 35,166 17,499 11 Chelsea FC 24,782 42,328 12,479 12 Bolton Wanderers FC 23,200 35,200 17,394 13 Coventry City FC 22,638 28,585 15,083 14 Bristol City FC 22,306 30,191 13,559 15 Ipswich Town FC 21,673 28,179 16,070 16 Derby County FC 21,555 30,156 15,227 17 Southampton FC 21,330 24,252 18,957 18 Wolverhampton Wanderers FC 20,796 30,857 14,250 19 Birmingham City FC 20,164 36,145 12,168 20 Middlesbrough FC 18,459 32,214 12,822 21 Norwich City FC 17,874 27,031 12,401 22 Queens Park Rangers FC 16,287 26,626 9,600 Division Two No. Club Average Highest Lowest 1 West Ham United FC 25,778 35,802 21,269 2 Sunderland AFC 25,454 36,526 16,829 3 Crystal Palace FC 23,294 51,482 15,183 4 Brighton & Hove Albion FC 22,145 33,028 16,216 5 Newcastle United FC 20,494 34,733 7,134 6 Stoke City FC 19,125 24,912 15,176 7 Sheffield United FC 16,339 23,118 11,913 8 Leicester City FC 14,187 20,740 10,363 9 Preston North End FC 12,117 17,829 8,906 10 Wrexham AFC 11,519 20,111 6,136 11 Burnley FC 10,748 23,133 5,837 12 Fulham FC 10,135 26,556 6,067 13 Charlton Athletic FC 9,563 22,816 5,480 14 Notts County FC 9,281 21,571 4,374 15 Cardiff City FC 9,246 14,851 5,542 16 Luton Town FC 8,792 14,205 6,002 17 Blackburn Rovers FC 8,640 17,790 4,684 18 Bristol Rovers FC 7,593 12,418 5,410 19 Leyton Orient FC 7,323 19,945 4,340 20 Oldham Athletic FC 7,045 11,284 4,637 21 Millwall FC 7,002 11,968 2,830 22 Cambridge United FC 6,849 11,406 4,663 Division Three No. Club Average Highest Lowest 1 Watford FC 14,434 26,347 10,568 2 Swansea City AFC 13,746 22,838 8,086 3 Sheffield Wednesday FC 10,860 13,930 7,444 4 Swindon Town FC 7,975 17,216 4,558 5 Plymouth Argyle FC 7,526 13,406 4,686 6 Brentford FC 7,455 13,873 5,140 7 Gillingham FC 7,143 14,902 4,157 8 Southend United FC 6,610 13,703 3,255 9 Shrewsbury Town FC 6,099 14,441 2,346 10 Blackpool FC 5,647 9,403 3,136 11 Hull City AFC 5,238 10,336 3,418 12 Carlisle United FC 5,204 8,479 3,806 13 Mansfield Town FC 5,151 11,365 3,671 14 Chesterfield FC 4,884 13,322 2,802 15 Oxford United FC 4,647 10,649 3,164 16 Peterborough United FC 4,640 8,048 1,875 17 Rotherham United FC 4,466 13,746 1,996 18 Exeter City FC 4,408 8,022 3,195 19 Chester City FC 4,052 8,855 1,956 20 Walsall FC 4,047 6,423 2,573 21 Bury FC 3,782 5,852 2,298 22 Colchester United FC 3,419 6,317 2,311 23 Lincoln City FC 3,168 7,007 1,571 24 Tranmere Rovers 2,179 5,587 984 Division Four No. Club Average Highest Lowest 1 Barnsley FC 11,048 21,261 5,828 2 Portsmouth FC 10,123 13,958 5,863 3 Reading FC 7,616 15,302 4,481 4 Wigan Athletic FC 6,701 9,427 4,459 5 Grimsby Town FC 6,528 16,138 3,903 6 Aldershot Town FC 4,163 8,967 2,560 7 Stockport County FC 4,146 9,054 2,190 8 Bradford City AFC 3,924 8,341 1,950 9 AFC Bournemouth 3,759 10,058 2,285 10 Newport County AFC 3,731 6,930 2,235 11 Wimbledon FC 3,712 8,084 2,374 12 Huddersfield Town AFC 3,649 9,382 1,680 13 Hereford United FC 3,369 5,674 2,351 14 Port Vale FC 3,287 5,226 2,160 15 Doncaster Rovers FC 3,000 9,380 1,539 16 Hartlepool United FC 2,997 5,956 1,769 17 York City FC 2,936 6,900 1,970 18 Northampton Town FC 2,895 4,694 1,572 19 Scunthorpe United FC 2,721 8,165 1,339 20 Torquay United FC 2,669 4,964 1,585 21 Crewe Alexandra FC 1,995 4,604 1,121 22 Halifax Town AFC 1,821 5,654 980 23 Darlington FC 1,807 3,513 1,086 24 Rochdale AFC 1,767 3,627 976 See also 1978-79 in English football References Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane’s, London & Sydney, 1980. 1978–79 League