1980–81 Football League

82nd season of the Football League The Football League 1980–81 Aston Villa 1979–80 1981–82 The 1980–81 season was the 82nd completed season of The Football League. This was the final league season with two points for win. Ron Saunders completed the revival of Birmingham club Aston Villa, as they won the First Division for the first time in 71 years. Villa competed in a two-horse race with Ipswich Town during the final stages of the season, eventually finishing four points ahead of the Suffolk side. Defending champions Liverpool slipped to fifth place, but compensated for this by winning the European Cup and their first League Cup. Manchester United failed to finish in the top five, a shortcoming that cost Dave Sexton his job as manager; he was succeeded by Ron Atkinson, who had finished fourth in the league and reached the UEFA Cup quarter-finals with an impressive West Bromwich Albion side – who would suffer a rapid decline after Atkinson's departure. Crystal Palace endured a dreadful season with just six wins, all at home. They were joined in relegation to the Second Division by Norwich City and Leicester City. FA Cup holders West Ham United returned to the First Division by becoming Second Division champions. Also promoted were Notts County and Swansea City, the Welsh club completing a meteoric rise under John Toshack by going from the Fourth Division to the First in just four years. Both Bristol clubs were relegated, along with Preston North End. In the Third Division, Rotherham United were champions, with Barnsley and Charlton Athletic also promoted. Hull City, Blackpool and Colchester United were relegated, as were Sheffield United, who just seven years earlier had finished sixth in the First Division. The Fourth Division saw Southend United finish as champions, with Lincoln City, Doncaster Rovers and Wimbledon occupying the other promotion places. There were no movements between the Fourth Division and the Alliance Premier League as the re-election system went in favour of the league's bottom four clubs. First Division First Division 1980–81 Aston Villa7th English title Norwich CityLeicester CityCrystal Palace European Cup Aston VillaLiverpool (as defending champions) European Cup Winners' Cup Tottenham Hotspur UEFA Cup Ipswich TownArsenalWest Bromwich AlbionSouthampton Peter WitheSteve Archibald(20 goals each)https://www.rsssf.org/tablese/engtops.html English League Leading Goalscorers RSSSF 2010-10-31 Nottingham Forest 5–0 Stoke City(30 August 1980)Manchester United 5–0 Leicester City(13 September 1980)Nottingham Forest 5–0 Leicester City(20 September 1980)Everton 5–0 Crystal Palace(20 September 1980)Middlesbrough 6–1 Norwich City(4 October 1980) Coventry City 0–5 Everton(27 September 1980)Leeds United 0–5 Arsenal(8 November 1980) Tottenham Hotspur 5–3 Ipswich Town(17 December 1980)Tottenham Hotspur 4–4 Southampton(26 December 1980) 462 1228 1979–80 1981–82 Aston Villa came top of a hotly contested title race to clinch their first top division title since 1910, using only 14 players throughout the season, with only eight scorers. Runners-up Ipswich Town had compensation for their failed title challenge in the shape of a UEFA Cup triumph, and were also semi-finalists in the FA Cup, their relatively small squad struggling in the final weeks of the season as a challenge for three major trophies took its toll. Arsenal finished third, while West Bromwich Albion enjoyed another strong season and finished fourth. Liverpool finished fifth but won their third European Cup and their first League Cup. Manchester United's failure to finish higher than eighth in the league cost manager Dave Sexton his job after four trophyless seasons in charge, and a lengthy search for a new manager saw West Bromwich Albion's Ron Atkinson named as his successor. Everton appointed their former player Howard Kendall as manager after a disappointing 15th-place finish. Tottenham, meanwhile, only finished 10th in the league but achieved a sixth triumph in the FA Cup at the expense of Manchester City, who climbed up to 12th place in the league after an upturn in fortunes brought about the October change of manager from Malcolm Allison to John Bond. Bond's former club Norwich City went down to the Second Division along with Leicester City and Crystal Palace. Final table main WDL First Division World Football AVL, IPS, ARS, WBA, LIV, SOU, NFO, MUN, LEE, TOT, STK, MCI, BIR, MID, EVE, COV, SUN, WOL, BHA, NOR, LEI, CRY EC1R UC1R UC1R UC1R EC1RC UC1R CWC1R REL REL REL complete 19 15 8 61 45 26 8 8 72 40 13 12 17 50 61 14 7 21 54 67 13 10 19 48 68 6 7 29 47 83 13 10 19 55 58 23 10 9 77 43 17 10 15 39 47 13 6 23 40 67 17 17 8 62 42 14 11 17 56 59 15 18 9 51 36 16 5 21 53 61 13 7 22 49 73 19 12 11 62 44 20 10 12 76 56 12 18 12 51 60 14 7 21 52 53 14 15 13 70 68 20 12 10 60 42 13 9 20 43 55 C R R R Arsenal Aston Villa Birmingham City Brighton & Hove Albion Coventry City Crystal Palace Everton Ipswich Town Leeds United Leicester City Liverpool Manchester City Manchester United Middlesbrough Norwich City Nottingham Forest Southampton Stoke City Sunderland 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 blue1 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round green1 Qualification for the European Cup first round Liverpool qualified for the European Cup first round as the 1980–81 European Cup winners. yellow1 Qualification for the European Cup Winners' Cup first round Tottenham Hotspur qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup first round as the 1980–81 FA Cup winners. red1 Relegation to the Second Division Results main FBR grey ARS AST BIR BHA COV CRY EVE IPS LEE LEI LIV MCI MUN MID NWC NOT SOU STK SUN TOT WBA WOL Arsenal 2–0 2–1 2–0 2–2 3–2 2–1 1–1 0–0 1–0 1–0 2–0 2–1 2–2 3–1 1–0 1–1 2–0 2–2 2–0 2–2 1–1 Aston Villa 1–1 3–0 4–1 1–0 2–1 0–2 1–2 1–1 2–0 2–0 1–0 3–3 3–0 1–0 2–0 2–1 1–0 4–0 3–0 1–0 2–1 Birmingham City 3–1 1–2 2–1 3–1 1–0 1–1 1–3 0–2 1–2 1–1 2–0 0–0 2–1 4–0 2–0 0–3 1–1 3–2 2–1 1–1 1–0 Brighton & Hove Albion 0–1 1–0 2–2 4–1 3–2 1–3 1–0 2–0 2–1 2–2 1–2 1–4 0–1 2–0 0–1 2–0 1–1 2–1 0–2 1–2 2–0 Coventry City 3–1 1–2 2–1 3–3 3–1 0–5 0–4 2–1 4–1 0–0 1–1 0–2 1–0 0–1 1–1 1–0 2–2 2–1 0–1 3–0 2–2 Crystal Palace 2–2 0–1 3–1 0–3 0–3 2–3 1–2 0–1 2–1 2–2 2–3 1–0 5–2 4–1 1–3 3–2 1–1 0–1 3–4 0–1 0–0 Everton 1–2 1–3 1–1 4–3 3–0 5–0 0–0 1–2 1–0 2–2 0–2 0–1 4–1 0–2 0–0 2–1 0–1 2–1 2–2 1–1 2–0 Ipswich Town 0–2 1–0 5–1 2–0 2–0 3–2 4–0 1–1 3–1 1–1 1–0 1–1 1–0 2–0 2–0 2–3 4–0 4–1 3–0 0–0 3–1 Leeds United 0–5 1–2 0–0 1–0 3–0 1–0 1–0 3–0 1–2 0–0 1–0 0–0 2–1 1–0 1–0 0–3 1–3 1–0 0–0 0–0 1–3 Leicester City 1–0 2–4 1–0 0–1 1–3 1–1 0–1 0–1 0–1 2–0 1–1 1–0 1–0 1–2 1–1 2–2 1–1 0–1 2–1 0–2 2–0 Liverpool 1–1 2–1 2–2 4–1 2–1 3–0 1–0 1–1 0–0 1–2 1–0 0–1 4–2 4–1 0–0 2–0 3–0 0–1 2–1 4–0 1–0 Manchester City 1–1 2–2 0–1 1–1 3–0 1–1 3–1 1–1 1–0 3–3 0–3 1–0 3–2 1–0 1–1 3–0 1–2 0–4 3–1 2–1 4–0 Manchester United 0–0 3–3 2–0 2–1 0–0 1–0 2–0 2–1 0–1 5–0 0–0 2–2 3–0 1–0 1–1 1–1 2–2 1–1 0–0 2–1 0–0 Middlesbrough 2–1 2–1 1–2 1–0 0–1 2–0 1–0 2–1 3–0 1–0 1–2 2–2 1–1 6–1 0–0 1–1 3–1 1–0 4–1 2–1 2–0 Norwich City 1–1 1–3 2–2 3–1 2–0 1–1 2–1 1–0 2–3 2–3 0–1 2–0 2–2 2–0 1–1 1–0 5–1 1–0 2–2 0–2 1–1 Nottingham Forest 3–1 2–2 2–1 4–1 1–1 3–0 1–0 1–2 2–1 5–0 0–0 3–2 1–2 1–0 2–1 2–1 5–0 3–1 0–3 2–1 1–0 Southampton 3–1 1–2 3–1 3–1 1–0 4–2 3–0 3–3 2–1 4–0 2–2 2–0 1–0 1–0 2–1 2–0 1–2 2–1 1–1 2–2 4–2 Stoke City 1–1 1–1 0–0 0–0 2–2 1–0 2–2 2–2 3–0 1–0 2–2 2–1 1–2 1–0 3–1 1–2 1–2 2–0 2–3 0–0 3–2 Sunderland 2–0 1–2 3–0 1–2 3–0 1–0 3–1 0–2 4–1 1–0 2–4 2–0 2–0 0–1 3–0 2–2 1–2 0–0 1–1 0–0 0–1 Tottenham Hotspur 2–0 2–0 1–0 2–2 4–1 4–2 2–2 5–3 1–1 1–2 1–1 2–1 0–0 3–2 2–3 2–0 4–4 2–2 0–0 2–3 2–2 West Bromwich Albion 0–1 0–0 2–2 2–0 1–0 1–0 2–0 3–1 1–2 3–1 2–0 3–1 3–1 3–0 3–0 2–1 2–1 0–0 2–1 4–2 1–1 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1–2 0–1 1–0 0–2 0–1 2–0 0–0 0–2 2–1 0–1 4–1 1–3 1–0 3–0 3–0 1–4 1–1 1–0 2–1 1–0 2–0 Soccerbase Managerial changes Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment Leeds United ENG Jimmy Adamson Resigned 7 September 1980 21st ENG Maurice Lindley (caretaker) 7 September 1980 Leeds United ENG Maurice Lindley End of caretaker spell 16 September 1980 21st ENG Allan Clarke 16 September 1980 Crystal Palace ENG Terry Venables Signed by Queens Park Rangers 3 October 1980 22nd WAL Ernie Walley (caretaker) 3 October 1980 Manchester City ENG Malcolm Allison Sacked 8 October 1980 21st ENG John Bond 17 October 1980 Norwich City ENG John Bond Signed by Manchester City 17 October 1980 20th ENG Ken Brown 17 October 1980 Crystal Palace WAL Ernie Walley End of caretaker spell 5 December 1980 21st ENG Malcolm Allison 5 December 1980 Crystal Palace ENG Malcolm Allison Sacked 1 February 1981 22nd ENG Dario Gradi 3 February 1981 Sunderland ENG Ken Knighton 1 April 1981 15th SCO Mick Docherty (caretaker) 1 April 1981 Manchester United ENG Dave Sexton 30 April 1981 8th ENG Jack Crompton (caretaker) 30 April 1981 Maps England left 400 Locations of the Football League First Division 1980–1981 teams England 51.56 -0.10 right England 52.54 -1.87 right England 52.48 -1.89 right England 50.83 -0.15 right England 52.41 -1.51 right England 51.40 -0.085 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 52.63 1.30 right England 53.01 -1.137 right England 50.91 -1.39 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 52.59 -2.13 right Arsenal Aston Villa Birmingham Brighton & Hove Coventry Crystal Palace Everton Ipswich Town Leeds United Leicester City Liverpool Middlesbrough Manchester City Manchester United Norwich City Nottingham Forest Southampton Stoke Sunderland Tottenham West Bromwich Albion Wolverhampton Wanderers Greater London right 369 Locations of the Football League First Division London teams 1980–1981 Greater London 51.558 -0.103 right Greater London 51.398 -0.085 right Greater London 51.603 -0.066 right Arsenal Crystal Palace Tottenham Second Division Second Division 1980–81 West Ham United West Ham UnitedNotts CountySwansea City Preston North EndBristol CityBristol Rovers David Cross(22 goals) Chelsea 6–0 Newcastle United(25 October 1980) Wrexham 0–4 Chelsea(15 November 1980)Grimsby Town 1–5 West Ham United(11 April 1981) Bolton Wanderers 6–1 Cambridge United(1 November 1980) 462 1073 1979–80 1981–82 A year after winning the FA Cup, West Ham ended their three-year exile from the First Division by clinching the Second Division title. Notts County, who finished second, went up after 55 years away from the First Division. Third placed Swansea City completed an unprecedented four-season climb from the Fourth Division to the First Division, where they had never previously played. Blackburn Rovers missed out on promotion on goal difference, and then lost their promising young player-manager Howard Kendall to Everton. Both Bristol clubs went down along with Preston North End. main WDL Second Division WHU, NTC, SWA, BLA, LUT, DER, GRI, QPR, WAT, SHW, NEW, CHE, CAM, SHR, OLD, WRE, ORI, BOL, CAR, PNE, BRC, BRV PRO PRO CWCPRO REL REL REL complete 16 18 8 42 29 14 10 18 61 66 7 16 19 29 51 5 13 24 34 65 17 6 19 53 65 12 12 18 44 60 14 12 16 46 41 15 15 12 57 52 15 15 12 44 42 18 12 12 61 46 14 14 14 30 45 18 17 7 49 38 12 15 15 39 48 13 12 17 52 56 11 14 17 41 62 15 13 14 56 46 17 8 17 53 51 11 17 14 46 47 18 14 10 64 44 16 11 15 50 45 28 10 4 79 29 12 14 16 43 45 C, P P P R R R Blackburn Rovers Bolton Wanderers Bristol City Bristol Rovers Cambridge United Cardiff City Chelsea Derby County Grimsby Town Luton Town Newcastle United Notts County Oldham Athletic Orient Preston North End Queens Park Rangers Sheffield Wednesday Shrewsbury Town Swansea City Watford West Ham United Wrexham 5 2 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored QR green1 Promotion to the First Division green1 Cup Winners' Cup first round and promotion to the First Division red1 Relegation to the Third Division Results main FBR grey BLB BOL BRI BRR CAM CAR CHE DER GRI LUT NEW NTC OLD ORI PNE QPR SHW SHR SWA WAT WHU WRE Blackburn Rovers 0–0 1–0 2–0 2–0 2–3 1–1 1–0 2–0 3–0 3–0 0–0 1–0 2–0 0–0 2–1 3–1 2–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 1–1 Bolton Wanderers 1–2 1–1 2–0 6–1 4–2 2–3 3–1 1–1 0–3 4–0 3–0 2–0 3–1 2–1 1–2 0–0 0–2 1–4 2–1 1–1 1–1 Bristol City 2–0 3–1 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 2–2 1–1 2–1 2–0 0–1 1–1 3–1 0–0 0–1 1–0 1–1 0–1 0–0 1–1 0–2 Bristol Rovers 0–1 2–1 0–0 0–1 0–1 1–0 1–1 2–2 2–4 0–0 1–1 0–0 1–1 2–0 1–2 3–3 1–1 1–2 3–1 0–1 0–1 Cambridge United 0–0 2–3 2–1 1–3 2–0 0–1 3–0 5–1 1–3 2–1 1–2 3–1 1–0 1–0 1–0 0–2 3–1 3–1 3–1 1–2 1–0 Cardiff City 1–2 1–1 2–3 2–1 1–2 0–1 0–0 1–1 1–0 1–0 0–1 0–2 4–2 1–3 1–0 0–0 2–2 3–3 1–0 0–0 1–0 Chelsea 0–0 2–0 0–0 2–0 3–0 0–1 1–3 3–0 0–2 6–0 0–2 1–0 0–1 1–1 1–1 2–0 3–0 0–0 0–1 0–1 2–2 Derby County 2–2 1–0 1–0 2–1 0–3 1–1 3–2 2–1 2–2 2–0 2–2 4–1 1–1 1–2 3–3 3–1 1–1 0–1 1–1 2–0 0–1 Grimsby Town 0–0 4–0 1–0 2–0 3–1 0–1 2–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 2–1 0–0 2–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 1–0 1–0 1–1 1–5 1–0 Luton Town 3–1 2–2 3–1 1–0 0–0 2–2 2–0 1–2 0–2 0–1 0–1 1–2 2–1 4–2 3–0 3–0 1–1 2–2 1–0 3–2 1–1 Newcastle United 0–0 2–1 0–0 0–0 2–1 2–1 1–0 0–2 1–1 2–1 1–1 0–0 3–1 2–0 1–0 1–0 1–0 1–2 2–1 0–0 0–1 Notts County 2–0 2–1 2–1 3–1 2–0 4–2 1–1 0–0 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–2 1–0 0–0 2–1 2–0 0–0 2–1 1–2 1–1 1–1 Oldham Athletic 1–0 1–1 2–0 1–0 2–2 2–0 0–0 0–2 1–2 0–0 0–0 0–1 0–1 1–1 1–0 2–0 0–0 2–2 2–1 0–0 1–3 Orient 1–1 2–2 3–1 2–2 3–0 2–2 0–1 1–0 2–0 0–0 1–1 0–2 2–3 4–0 4–0 2–0 1–0 1–1 1–1 0–2 2–1 Preston North End 0–0 1–2 1–1 0–0 2–0 3–1 1–0 0–3 2–4 1–0 2–3 2–2 1–2 3–0 3–2 2–1 0–0 1–3 2–1 0–0 1–1 Queens Park Rangers 1–1 3–1 4–0 4–0 5–0 2–0 1–0 3–1 1–0 3–2 1–2 1–1 2–0 0–0 1–1 1–2 0–0 0–0 0–0 3–0 0–1 Sheffield Wednesday 2–1 2–0 2–1 4–1 4–1 2–0 0–0 0–0 1–2 3–1 2–0 1–2 3–0 2–2 3–0 1–0 1–1 2–0 1–0 0–1 2–1 Shrewsbury Town 1–1 1–2 4–0 3–1 2–1 2–0 2–2 1–0 1–0 0–1 1–0 1–1 2–2 1–2 3–0 3–3 2–0 0–0 2–1 0–2 1–2 Swansea City 2–0 3–0 0–0 2–1 1–1 1–1 3–0 3–1 1–0 2–2 4–0 1–1 3–0 0–2 3–0 1–2 2–3 2–1 1–0 1–3 3–1 Watford 1–1 3–1 1–0 3–1 0–0 4–2 2–3 1–1 3–1 0–1 0–0 2–0 2–1 2–0 2–1 1–1 2–1 1–0 2–1 1–2 1–0 West Ham United 2–0 2–1 5–0 2–0 4–2 1–0 4–0 3–1 2–1 1–2 1–0 4–0 1–1 2–1 5–0 3–0 2–1 3–0 2–0 3–2 1–0 Wrexham 0–1 0–1 1–0 3–1 0–0 0–1 0–4 2–2 0–2 0–0 0–0 1–1 3–2 3–1 0–1 1–1 4–0 1–2 1–1 0–1 2–2 Soccerbase Maps Greater London right 369 Locations of the Football League Second Division London teams 1980–1981 Greater London 51.482 -0.191 right Greater London 51.570 -0.058 right Greater London 51.509 -0.232 right Greater London 51.650 -0.401 right Greater London 51.532 0.039 right Chelsea Orient Queens Park Rangers Watford West Ham England none 400 Locations of the Football League Second Division 1980–1981 teams England 53.75 -2.48 right England 53.59 -2.56 right England 51.42 -2.59 right England 51.47 -2.53 right England 52.21 0.12 right England 51.47 -3.20 right England 51.50 -0.19 right England 52.92 -1.476 right England 53.56 -0.068 right England 51.57 -0.01 right England 51.9 -0.433 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 51.54 -0.26 right England 53.41 -1.50 right England 52.71 -2.75 right England 51.62 -3.95 right England 51.65 -0.40 right England 51.54 0.040 right England 53.03 -2.98 right Blackburn Rovers Bolton Bristol City Bristol Rovers Cambridge Utd Cardiff City Chelsea Derby County Grimsby Town Orient Luton Town Newcastle Notts County Oldham Preston North End QPR Sheffield Wednesday Shrewsbury Swansea City Watford West Ham Wrexham Third Division Football LeagueThird Division 1980–81 Rotherham United (1st title) Promoted BarnsleyCharlton Athletic Relegated BlackpoolColchester UnitedHull CitySheffield United Tony Kellow (Exeter City), 25 552 1337 1979–80 1981–82 main WDL Third Division 2 PR 5 ROT Rotherham United BAR Barnsley CHA Charlton Athletic HUD Huddersfield Town CHF Chesterfield POR Portsmouth PLY Plymouth Argyle BUR Burnley BRE Brentford REA Reading EXE Exeter City NPC Newport County FUL Fulham OXF Oxford United GIL Gillingham MIL Millwall SWI Swindon Town CHE Chester CRL Carlisle United WAL Walsall SHU Sheffield United COL Colchester United BLP Blackpool HUL Hull City 24 13 9 62 32 21 17 8 72 45 25 9 12 63 44 21 14 11 71 40 23 10 13 72 48 22 9 15 55 47 19 14 13 56 44 18 14 14 60 48 14 19 13 52 49 18 10 18 62 62 16 13 17 62 66 15 13 18 64 61 15 13 18 57 64 13 17 16 39 47 12 18 16 48 58 14 14 18 43 60 13 15 18 51 56 15 11 20 38 48 14 13 19 56 70 13 15 18 59 74 14 12 20 65 63 14 11 21 45 65 9 14 23 45 75 8 16 22 40 71 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 BAR BLP BRE BUR CRL CHA CHE CHF COL EXE FUL GIL HUD HUL MIL NPC OXF PLY POR REA ROT SHU SWI WAL Barnsley 2–0 0–1 3–2 3–1 0–0 2–0 1–1 3–0 1–0 2–2 3–3 1–0 5–0 2–0 4–1 1–1 2–1 1–2 2–3 1–0 2–1 2–0 3–0 Blackpool 1–0 0–3 0–0 0–1 0–2 2–3 0–3 1–1 0–0 0–2 4–0 1–2 2–2 0–0 2–4 1–1 1–0 0–2 0–0 0–0 2–1 1–1 1–0 Brentford 1–1 2–0 0–0 1–1 0–1 0–1 3–2 2–1 0–1 1–3 3–3 0–0 2–2 1–0 0–1 3–0 0–1 2–2 1–2 2–1 1–1 1–1 4–0 Burnley 0–1 4–1 2–0 0–3 0–1 1–0 1–0 1–0 1–0 3–0 3–2 4–2 2–0 5–0 1–1 1–1 2–1 1–3 1–2 1–1 3–2 0–0 0–0 Carlisle United 2–2 2–0 1–2 3–2 1–2 3–0 2–6 4–0 1–1 2–2 0–0 1–1 2–0 2–1 1–4 0–0 2–0 0–0 0–0 0–1 0–3 2–1 1–1 Charlton Athletic 1–1 2–1 3–1 2–0 2–1 1–0 1–0 1–2 1–0 1–1 2–1 1–2 3–2 0–0 3–0 0–0 1–1 1–2 4–2 2–0 2–0 0–0 2–0 Chester 2–2 2–1 0–0 0–0 1–0 4–0 2–1 0–0 1–0 0–1 1–2 0–2 4–1 0–1 1–1 0–1 1–0 0–1 1–0 0–1 3–2 1–0 1–0 Chesterfield 0–0 3–2 2–1 3–0 1–0 0–1 2–0 3–0 1–0 0–0 2–0 2–1 1–0 3–0 3–2 2–1 2–2 3–0 3–2 2–0 1–0 2–2 1–2 Colchester United 2–2 3–2 0–2 2–1 1–0 2–0 1–1 1–1 1–2 3–2 2–1 1–2 2–0 3–0 1–0 3–0 2–2 1–0 1–2 0–0 1–1 1–0 1–1 Exeter City 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 2–0 4–3 2–2 2–2 4–0 1–0 2–1 1–4 1–3 2–0 2–2 1–1 1–1 2–0 3–1 2–1 1–1 3–4 0–3 Fulham 2–3 1–2 1–1 0–2 2–3 1–0 0–1 1–1 1–0 0–1 3–2 2–2 0–0 1–1 2–1 0–4 0–0 3–0 1–2 1–1 2–1 2–0 2–1 Gillingham 1–1 3–1 2–0 0–0 0–1 0–1 2–1 1–0 0–0 1–5 1–0 0–0 2–0 1–2 3–2 1–1 0–1 0–1 2–0 0–0 2–2 0–0 1–0 Huddersfield Town 1–0 1–1 3–0 0–0 1–1 0–1 0–0 2–0 2–0 5–0 4–2 1–0 5–0 0–1 1–4 2–0 2–0 0–0 4–1 1–0 1–0 0–2 1–1 Hull City 1–2 2–1 0–0 0–0 0–1 0–2 0–0 0–0 0–1 3–3 0–1 2–2 2–1 3–1 3–1 0–1 1–0 2–1 2–0 1–2 1–1 0–0 0–1 Millwall 1–1 0–0 2–2 2–2 3–0 2–0 1–0 0–2 3–1 1–0 3–1 0–0 2–1 1–1 0–0 2–1 1–1 0–0 2–1 0–1 1–4 3–1 0–1 Newport County 0–0 3–1 1–1 1–2 4–0 1–2 1–1 5–1 1–0 2–1 2–1 1–1 3–2 4–0 2–1 0–1 0–2 2–1 0–0 0–1 4–0 0–2 1–1 Oxford United 1–1 0–2 1–1 0–2 1–2 1–0 1–0 0–3 2–1 1–2 2–0 1–1 0–2 1–1 1–0 0–1 0–0 1–2 2–1 1–1 2–0 0–0 1–1 Plymouth Argyle 1–3 0–2 0–1 2–1 4–1 1–1 2–0 1–0 1–1 0–2 2–1 4–1 0–0 0–0 2–0 3–2 3–0 1–0 2–1 3–1 1–0 0–0 2–0 Portsmouth 0–1 3–3 0–2 4–2 2–1 1–0 2–0 1–0 2–1 5–0 1–0 0–0 1–2 2–1 2–1 0–0 1–1 1–3 0–0 3–1 1–0 1–0 2–0 Reading 3–2 3–0 0–0 1–3 3–1 1–3 3–0 2–3 1–0 2–1 0–0 0–1 2–1 2–0 4–1 1–1 0–1 1–1 2–1 1–1 1–0 4–1 2–0 Rotherham United 2–0 4–0 4–1 1–0 3–0 3–0 0–0 0–0 2–0 3–1 2–2 2–0 0–0 1–1 3–0 1–0 0–0 2–1 3–0 2–0 2–1 1–0 2–1 Sheffield United 1–1 4–2 0–0 0–0 2–2 3–2 2–0 2–0 3–0 3–1 1–2 0–1 2–2 3–1 2–3 2–0 1–0 0–0 1–0 2–0 1–2 3–0 0–1 Swindon Town 2–0 1–2 0–0 0–3 1–1 0–3 1–2 0–1 3–0 2–2 3–4 0–0 1–0 3–1 0–0 1–1 1–0 3–0 0–2 3–1 2–1 5–2 3–1 Walsall 1–1 2–2 2–3 3–1 4–3 2–2 2–1 4–3 3–1 1–3 1–2 3–3 2–2 1–1 0–0 1–0 0–3 1–3 2–0 2–2 0–2 4–4 2–1 Soccerbase Maps Greater London right 369 Locations of the Football League Third Division London teams 1980–1981 Greater London 51.486 -0.31 right Greater London 51.486 0.036 right Greater London 51.475 -0.222 right Greater London 51.481 -0.048 right Brentford Charlton Athletic Fulham Millwall England none 400 Locations of the Football League Third Division teams 1980–1981 England 53.55 -1.48 right England 53.81 -3.05 right England 51.486 -0.32 right England 53.79 -2.25 right England 54.90 -2.91 right England 51.47 0.07 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 51.45 -0.24 right England 53.64 -1.78 right England 53.74 -0.33 right England 51.48 -0.048 right England 51.59 -3.00 right England 51.72 -1.21 right England 50.39 -4.15 right England 50.80 -1.06 right England 51.41 -0.97 right England 53.43 -1.36 right England 53.37 -1.47 right England 51.56 -1.77 right England 52.58 -1.98 right Barnsley Blackpool Brentford Burnley Carlisle United Charlton Chester Chesterfield Colchester Exeter City Gillingham Fulham Huddersfield Hull Millwall Oxford Newport County Plymouth Argyle Portsmouth Reading Rotherham Sheffield United Swindon Walsall Fourth Division Football LeagueFourth Division 1980–81 Southend United (1st title) Promoted Lincoln CityDoncaster RoversWimbledon Failed re-election None New club in the league Alan Cork (Wimbledon), 23 552 1364 1979–80 1981–82 main WDL Fourth Division P 5 2 STD Southend United LIN Lincoln City DON Doncaster Rovers WDN Wimbledon PET Peterborough United ALD Aldershot MAN Mansfield Town DAR Darlington HAR Hartlepool United NOR Northampton Town WIG Wigan Athletic BRY Bury BOU Bournemouth BRA Bradford City ROC Rochdale SCU Scunthorpe United TOR Torquay United CRE Crewe Alexandra PTV Port Vale STP Stockport County TRA Tranmere Rovers HER Hereford United HAL Halifax Town YOR York City 30 7 9 79 31 25 15 6 66 25 22 12 12 59 49 23 9 14 64 46 17 18 11 68 54 18 14 14 43 41 20 9 17 58 44 19 11 16 65 59 20 9 17 64 61 18 13 15 65 67 18 11 17 51 55 17 11 18 70 62 16 13 17 47 48 14 16 16 53 60 14 15 17 60 70 11 20 15 60 69 18 5 23 55 63 13 14 19 48 61 12 15 19 57 70 16 7 23 44 57 13 10 23 59 73 11 13 22 38 62 11 12 23 44 71 12 9 25 47 66 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 ALD BOU BRA BRY CRE DAR DON HAL HAR HER LIN MAN NOR PET PTV ROC SCU STD STP TOR TRA WIG WDN YOR Aldershot 0–0 1–1 1–0 2–0 2–1 1–0 2–1 2–1 4–0 0–0 1–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 1–2 3–0 2–1 3–2 0–1 2–0 1–1 Bournemouth 0–2 4–0 2–2 0–0 3–3 1–2 2–1 1–0 1–0 0–1 0–1 0–0 4–1 0–0 2–1 2–2 2–1 0–1 1–1 1–0 3–0 0–1 1–1 Bradford City 1–0 1–1 0–2 2–2 3–0 1–1 0–0 2–0 0–1 1–2 0–2 3–1 1–1 2–1 2–1 0–0 2–1 1–1 2–0 0–3 3–3 2–0 1–1 Bury 0–0 3–0 2–2 1–3 1–2 2–0 0–0 0–0 2–1 1–1 4–1 1–2 1–1 2–1 3–1 6–1 1–2 0–1 3–0 2–2 0–0 1–0 2–0 Crewe Alexandra 0–0 0–2 1–0 2–2 1–1 0–0 2–1 2–0 5–0 0–3 1–2 3–1 1–0 0–0 1–0 1–0 1–1 2–0 0–1 3–0 1–2 0–3 1–1 Darlington 1–2 1–2 2–1 2–1 2–1 5–0 3–1 3–0 2–1 0–0 2–2 1–0 2–0 1–1 4–4 0–1 0–2 2–2 1–0 2–0 3–1 4–1 0–0 Doncaster Rovers 1–0 2–1 2–0 1–0 1–1 2–0 0–0 1–2 5–1 0–1 2–1 1–1 0–4 2–0 1–2 1–0 1–0 2–1 2–0 1–0 1–1 2–1 3–2 Halifax Town 1–0 1–2 2–0 4–2 1–0 1–2 0–3 1–2 0–0 1–3 0–2 0–1 2–3 2–2 2–0 1–0 1–5 2–0 2–1 1–1 0–1 0–1 3–1 Hartlepool 1–0 1–0 2–2 1–2 6–2 2–0 1–0 3–0 2–0 2–0 0–1 2–3 1–1 3–0 2–2 2–0 1–3 1–0 0–2 3–0 3–1 2–3 1–0 Hereford United 0–0 1–0 4–0 0–1 0–0 0–1 1–3 0–1 3–0 0–2 2–1 4–1 1–1 2–3 3–0 2–1 0–0 2–0 0–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 Lincoln City 0–1 2–0 1–1 2–1 2–1 1–0 1–1 3–0 2–0 1–0 1–1 8–0 1–1 1–0 3–0 2–2 2–1 1–0 5–0 2–0 2–0 0–0 1–1 Mansfield Town 1–2 1–1 1–0 2–0 4–1 1–0 1–1 0–1 0–1 4–0 2–0 2–0 2–1 5–0 2–2 1–0 0–1 1–0 1–1 1–1 3–1 1–0 0–1 Northampton Town 2–0 0–1 0–1 5–3 4–1 2–2 0–2 2–1 3–1 0–0 1–1 0–1 2–2 5–1 3–2 3–3 2–0 0–1 1–0 3–1 1–1 1–1 2–0 Peterborough United 0–0 1–0 2–2 2–0 2–1 1–0 0–1 2–2 1–1 3–0 1–0 1–0 3–0 1–1 2–2 0–2 5–2 1–2 1–3 4–1 0–0 1–1 3–0 Port Vale 0–1 0–2 2–1 1–3 2–2 4–2 3–0 0–0 1–1 4–0 0–1 0–0 1–1 1–1 1–1 2–2 1–0 2–0 3–1 5–1 3–0 2–3 2–0 Rochdale 2–0 0–0 0–2 2–1 2–0 0–0 2–2 1–1 1–1 0–0 1–0 1–4 0–1 2–3 2–1 4–0 0–2 2–1 2–1 3–1 3–0 2–0 3–2 Scunthorpe United 2–2 1–1 1–0 2–2 1–1 3–0 1–1 2–2 3–3 3–1 2–2 2–0 0–2 1–1 1–1 1–1 2–1 2–0 0–2 2–0 4–4 1–2 3–2 Southend United 3–0 2–1 3–1 1–0 3–0 1–0 0–0 5–1 4–0 2–0 0–0 2–0 0–0 1–0 5–1 1–1 2–0 2–0 3–1 2–0 1–0 1–0 3–0 Stockport County 1–0 2–1 1–2 1–2 1–3 0–1 2–1 1–1 0–2 0–0 0–0 2–1 1–2 3–4 2–1 2–2 2–0 1–0 4–1 1–0 0–1 0–0 2–0 Torquay United 2–0 2–0 2–0 3–1 1–0 0–2 2–3 1–0 2–1 0–1 1–2 1–1 3–3 2–0 4–0 2–0 2–1 0–3 1–2 2–1 2–0 2–3 1–2 Tranmere 3–1 0–1 1–1 3–1 0–1 3–1 1–1 2–0 2–2 2–1 0–0 1–0 3–2 1–2 1–2 3–1 1–2 2–2 1–0 1–0 2–3 3–0 5–0 Wigan Athletic 1–0 0–1 0–1 2–1 0–0 3–1 3–0 4–1 0–3 1–0 0–2 2–0 3–0 1–1 1–0 0–1 1–1 0–1 2–1 2–0 1–1 1–0 1–0 Wimbledon 4–0 2–0 2–2 2–4 2–0 1–1 1–0 3–0 5–0 0–0 0–1 2–1 1–0 2–1 1–0 4–1 2–2 0–1 1–2 1–0 2–1 1–0 3–0 York City 4–1 4–0 0–3 0–1 2–0 1–2 0–1 1–1 0–1 1–2 1–0 2–0 1–2 1–2 4–1 1–2 1–0 0–1 1–0 0–0 4–1 2–1 0–1 Soccerbase Maps England left 400 Locations of the Football League Fourth Division teams 1980–1981 England 51.25 -0.75 right England 50.73 -1.84 right England 53.82 -1.73 right England 53.58 -2.295 right England 53.10 -2.44 right England 54.53 -1.55 right England 53.52 -1.133 right England 53.72 -1.86 right England 54.69 -1.21 right England 52.06 -2.72 right England 53.23 -0.54 right England 53.14 -1.20 right England 52.24 -0.90 right England 52.58 -0.25 right England 53.06 -2.21 right England 53.61 -2.16 right England 53.58 -0.65 right England 51.55 0.70 right England 53.41 -2.16 right England 50.48 -3.52 right England 53.37 -3.04 right England 53.55 -2.65 right England 51.43 -0.19 right England 53.96 -1.08 right Aldershot Bournemouth Bradford City Bury Crewe Alexandra Darlington Doncaster Halifax T. Hartlepool Hereford United Lincoln City Mansfield Town Northampton Town Peterborough Port Vale Rochdale Scunthorpe & Lindsey Southend Stockport Torquay Tranmere Wigan Athletic Wimbledon York City Greater London right 369 Locations of the Football League Fourth Division London teams 1980–1981 51.43 -0.19 right Wimbledon Election/Re-election to the Football League Altrincham won the Alliance Premier League for the second season running and earned the right to apply for election to the Football League to replace one of the four bottom sides in the 1980–81 Football League Fourth Division. The vote went as follows: Club Final Position Votes Tranmere Rovers 21st (Fourth Division) 48 Hereford United 22nd (Fourth Division) 46 York City 24th (Fourth Division) 46 Halifax Town 23rd (Fourth Division) 41 Altrincham 1st (Alliance Premier League) 15 As a result of this, all four Football League teams were re-elected, and Altrincham were denied membership of the League. Attendances Source:https://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/attn/archive/eng/aveeng1981.htm Historical attendances European-football-statistics.co.uk July 18, 2026 Division One No. Club Average Highest Lowest 1 Manchester United 45,071 57,049 37,954 2 Liverpool FC 37,547 48,114 24,462 3 Manchester City FC 33,587 50,114 26,141 4 Aston Villa FC 34,117 47,998 25,673 5 Arsenal FC 32,480 57,472 17,431 6 Tottenham Hotspur FC 30,724 43,398 22,741 7 Sunderland AFC 26,477 41,141 17,749 8 Everton FC 26,105 52,607 15,355 9 Ipswich Town FC 24,619 32,363 19,515 10 Nottingham Forest FC 24,483 33,930 19,690 11 Wolverhampton Wanderers FC 21,551 34,693 15,160 12 Southampton FC 21,482 24,083 18,824 13 Leeds United FC 21,377 39,206 14,333 14 West Bromwich Albion FC 20,331 34,195 14,861 15 Leicester City FC 19,476 28,455 13,666 16 Birmingham City FC 19,248 33,879 12,472 17 Brighton & Hove Albion FC 18,984 27,560 12,117 18 Crystal Palace FC 19,280 31,652 11,122 19 Norwich City FC 17,140 25,636 11,528 20 Coventry City FC 16,904 27,094 11,521 21 Middlesbrough FC 16,432 35,065 11,076 22 Stoke City FC 15,580 24,534 10,722 Division Two No. Club Average Highest Lowest 1 West Ham United FC 27,140 36,032 20,402 2 Sheffield Wednesday FC 18,624 28,518 14,230 3 Chelsea FC 17,897 32,669 11,569 4 Derby County FC 16,682 20,353 13,846 5 Newcastle United FC 16,001 24,866 11,013 6 Swansea City AFC 13,143 22,160 8,788 7 Watford FC 13,108 23,547 10,044 8 Blackburn Rovers FC 11,684 19,222 7,855 9 Grimsby Town FC 10,961 17,924 7,377 10 Queens Park Rangers FC 10,936 23,811 6,668 11 Luton Town FC 10,291 17,031 7,874 12 Bolton Wanderers FC 9,847 18,184 6,315 13 Bristol City FC 9,765 16,612 6,042 14 Notts County FC 9,551 16,560 6,565 15 Preston North End FC 7,631 19,023 4,748 16 Cardiff City FC 6,767 21,198 4,140 17 Oldham Athletic FC 6,510 12,005 4,730 18 Wrexham AFC 6,495 10,913 3,220 19 Leyton Orient FC 6,076 14,592 3,824 20 Bristol Rovers FC 5,929 10,087 3,552 21 Cambridge United FC 5,796 9,558 3,719 22 Shrewsbury Town FC 5,616 9,303 4,196 Division Three No. Club Average Highest Lowest 1 Portsmouth FC 13,514 17,412 9,172 2 Barnsley FC 12,800 25,935 8,693 3 Sheffield United FC 12,772 20,369 8,601 4 Huddersfield Town AFC 11,548 28,901 6,965 5 Rotherham United FC 7,985 13,515 4,436 6 Chesterfield FC 7,331 17,169 3,059 7 Charlton Athletic FC 7,206 12,700 3,359 8 Swindon Town FC 6,933 9,966 4,761 9 Plymouth Argyle FC 6,766 14,792 4,315 10 Brentford FC 6,752 11,610 4,883 11 Burnley FC 6,469 11,075 3,947 12 Blackpool FC 5,863 10,427 3,188 13 Newport County AFC 5,683 8,062 3,748 14 Reading FC 5,439 7,561 3,399 15 Fulham FC 5,060 9,921 3,387 16 Gillingham FC 4,676 8,775 3,228 17 Exeter City FC 4,559 8,491 3,056 18 Millwall FC 4,494 8,311 2,780 19 Hull City AFC 4,319 8,618 2,059 20 Walsall FC 4,265 6,026 3,185 21 Oxford United FC 4,132 6,477 2,741 22 Carlisle United FC 4,064 7,136 2,828 23 Chester City FC 2,892 4,863 1,778 24 Colchester United FC 2,645 4,952 1,430 Division Four No. Club Average Highest Lowest 1 Southend United FC 6,095 12,391 4,190 2 Doncaster Rovers FC 5,412 11,373 2,186 3 Lincoln City FC 4,715 8,832 3,458 4 Wigan Athletic FC 4,434 6,029 3,370 5 Peterborough United FC 4,137 6,265 2,772 6 Mansfield Town FC 3,400 4,883 1,925 7 AFC Bournemouth 3,380 5,200 2,203 8 Hartlepool United FC 3,115 5,578 1,579 9 Aldershot Town FC 2,989 4,970 1,813 10 Crewe Alexandra FC 2,909 4,634 1,881 11 Bradford City AFC 2,858 4,356 1,249 12 Bury FC 2,748 4,700 1,779 13 Port Vale FC 2,738 4,239 2,091 14 Rochdale AFC 2,565 5,230 1,474 15 Darlington FC 2,537 7,155 1,304 16 Wimbledon FC 2,484 3,898 1,775 17 Hereford United FC 2,444 3,412 1,476 18 Scunthorpe United FC 2,357 5,032 1,498 19 Stockport County FC 2,335 3,536 1,431 20 Northampton Town FC 2,196 3,800 1,380 21 York City FC 2,163 4,641 1,167 22 Torquay United FC 2,050 3,683 1,227 23 Halifax Town AFC 1,924 4,444 922 24 Tranmere Rovers 1,901 3,439 1,073 See also 1980-81 in English football References Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane's, London & Sydney, 1980. 1980–81 1–4