1976–77 Football League First Division

Football League First Division
Season1976–77
ChampionsLiverpool
10th English title
RelegatedSunderland
Stoke City
Tottenham Hotspur
European CupLiverpool
European Cup Winners' CupManchester United
UEFA CupManchester City
Ipswich Town
Aston Villa
Newcastle United
Matches played462
Goals scored1,183 (2.56 per match)
Top goalscorerAndy Gray
Malcolm Macdonald
(25 goals each)[1]
Biggest home winIpswich Town 7–0 West Bromwich Albion
(6 November 1976)
Biggest away winLeicester City 0–5 West Bromwich Albion
(7 March 1977)
Highest scoringDerby County 8–2 Tottenham Hotspur
(16 October 1976)

Statistics of Football League First Division in the 1976–77 season.

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 were 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.

League standings

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Liverpool (C) 42 23 11 8 62 33 +29 57 Qualification for the European Cup second round
2 Manchester City 42 21 14 7 60 34 +26 56 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
3 Ipswich Town 42 22 8 12 66 39 +27 52
4 Aston Villa 42 22 7 13 76 50 +26 51
5 Newcastle United 42 18 13 11 64 49 +15 49
6 Manchester United 42 18 11 13 71 62 +9 47 Qualification for the European Cup Winners' Cup first round[a]
7 West Bromwich Albion 42 16 13 13 62 56 +6 45
8 Arsenal 42 16 11 15 64 59 +5 43
9 Everton 42 14 14 14 62 64 −2 42
10 Leeds United 42 15 12 15 48 51 −3 42
11 Leicester City 42 12 18 12 47 60 −13 42
12 Middlesbrough 42 14 13 15 40 45 −5 41
13 Birmingham City 42 13 12 17 63 61 +2 38
14 Queens Park Rangers 42 13 12 17 47 52 −5 38
15 Derby County 42 9 19 14 50 55 −5 37
16 Norwich City 42 14 9 19 47 64 −17 37
17 West Ham United 42 11 14 17 46 65 −19 36
18 Bristol City 42 11 13 18 38 48 −10 35
19 Coventry City 42 10 15 17 48 59 −11 35
20 Sunderland (R) 42 11 12 19 46 54 −8 34 Relegation to the Second Division
21 Stoke City (R) 42 10 14 18 28 51 −23 34
22 Tottenham Hotspur (R) 42 12 9 21 48 72 −24 33
Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ Manchester United qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup first round as the 1976–77 FA Cup winners.

Stats

Record

  • Most wins: Liverpool (23)
  • Fewest losses: Manchester City (7)
  • Most goals scored: Aston Villa (76)
  • Fewest goals conceded: Liverpool (33)
  • Best goal difference ratio: Liverpool (+29)
  • Most draws: Derby County (19)
  • Fewest draws: Aston Villa (7)
  • Most losses: Tottenham Hotspur
  • Fewest wins: Derby County (9)
  • Fewest goals scored: Stoke City (28)
  • Most goals conceded: Tottenham Hotspur (72)
  • Worst goal difference ratio: Tottenham Hotspur (–24)

Results

Home \ Away ARS AST BIR BRI COV DER EVE IPS LEE LEI LIV MCI MUN MID NEW NWC QPR STK SUN TOT WBA WHU
Arsenal 3–0 4–0 0–1 2–0 0–0 3–1 1–4 1–1 3–0 1–1 0–0 3–1 1–1 5–3 1–0 3–2 2–0 0–0 1–0 1–2 2–3
Aston Villa 5–1 1–2 3–1 2–2 4–0 2–0 5–2 2–1 2–0 5–1 1–1 3–2 1–0 2–1 1–0 1–1 1–0 4–1 2–1 4–0 4–0
Birmingham City 3–3 2–1 3–0 3–1 5–1 1–1 2–4 0–0 1–1 2–1 0–0 2–3 3–1 1–2 3–2 2–1 2–0 2–0 1–2 0–1 0–0
Bristol City 2–0 0–0 0–1 0–0 2–2 1–2 1–2 1–0 0–1 2–1 1–0 1–1 1–2 1–1 3–1 1–0 1–1 4–1 1–0 1–2 1–1
Coventry City 1–2 2–3 2–1 2–2 2–0 4–2 1–1 4–2 1–1 0–0 0–1 0–2 1–1 1–1 2–0 2–0 5–2 1–2 1–1 1–1 1–1
Derby County 0–0 2–1 0–0 2–0 1–1 2–3 0–0 0–1 1–0 2–3 4–0 0–0 0–0 4–2 2–2 2–0 2–0 1–0 8–2 2–2 1–1
Everton 2–1 0–2 2–2 2–0 1–1 2–0 1–1 0–2 1–2 0–0 2–2 1–2 2–2 2–0 3–1 1–3 3–0 2–0 4–0 1–1 3–2
Ipswich Town 3–1 1–0 1–0 1–0 2–1 0–0 2–0 1–1 0–0 1–0 1–0 2–1 0–1 2–0 5–0 2–2 0–1 3–1 3–1 7–0 4–1
Leeds United 2–1 1–3 1–0 2–0 1–2 2–0 0–0 2–1 2–2 1–1 0–2 0–2 2–1 2–2 3–2 0–1 1–1 1–1 2–1 2–2 1–1
Leicester City 4–1 1–1 2–6 0–0 3–1 1–1 1–1 1–0 0–1 0–1 2–2 1–1 3–3 1–0 1–1 2–2 1–0 2–0 2–1 0–5 2–0
Liverpool 2–0 3–0 4–1 2–1 3–1 3–1 3–1 2–1 3–1 5–1 2–1 1–0 0–0 1–0 1–0 3–1 4–0 2–0 2–0 1–1 0–0
Manchester City 1–0 2–0 2–1 2–1 2–0 3–2 1–1 2–1 2–1 5–0 1–1 1–3 1–0 0–0 2–0 0–0 0–0 1–0 5–0 1–0 4–2
Manchester United 3–2 2–0 2–2 2–1 2–0 3–1 4–0 0–1 1–0 1–1 0–0 3–1 2–0 3–1 2–2 1–0 3–0 3–3 2–3 2–2 0–2
Middlesbrough 3–0 3–2 2–2 0–0 1–0 2–0 2–2 0–2 1–0 0–1 0–1 0–0 3–0 1–0 1–0 0–2 0–0 2–1 2–0 1–0 1–1
Newcastle United 0–2 3–2 3–2 0–0 1–0 2–2 4–1 1–1 3–0 0–0 1–0 2–2 2–2 1–0 5–1 2–0 1–0 2–0 2–0 2–0 3–0
Norwich City 1–3 1–1 1–0 2–1 3–0 0–0 2–1 0–1 1–2 3–2 2–1 0–2 2–1 1–0 3–2 2–0 1–1 2–2 1–3 1–0 1–0
Queens Park Rangers 2–1 2–1 2–2 0–1 1–1 1–1 0–4 1–0 0–0 3–2 1–1 0–0 4–0 3–0 1–2 2–3 2–0 2–0 2–1 1–0 1–1
Stoke City 1–1 1–0 1–0 2–2 2–0 1–0 0–1 2–1 2–1 0–1 0–0 0–2 3–3 3–1 0–0 0–0 1–0 0–0 0–0 0–2 2–1
Sunderland 2–2 0–1 1–0 1–0 0–1 1–1 0–1 1–0 0–1 0–0 0–1 0–2 2–1 4–0 2–2 0–1 1–0 0–0 2–1 6–1 6–0
Tottenham Hotspur 2–2 3–1 1–0 0–1 0–1 0–0 3–3 1–0 1–0 2–0 1–0 2–2 1–3 0–0 0–2 1–1 3–0 2–0 1–1 0–2 2–1
West Bromwich Albion 0–2 1–1 2–1 1–1 1–1 1–0 3–0 4–0 1–2 2–2 0–1 0–2 4–0 2–1 1–1 2–0 1–1 3–1 2–3 4–2 3–0
West Ham United 0–2 0–1 2–2 2–0 2–0 2–2 2–2 0–2 1–3 0–0 2–0 1–0 4–2 0–1 1–2 1–0 1–0 1–0 1–1 5–3 0–0
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane’s, London & Sydney, 1980.
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Managerial changes

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Arsenal England Bertie Mee Retired 4 May 1976 Pre-season Northern Ireland Terry Neill 7 July 1976
Tottenham Hotspur Northern Ireland Terry Neill Signed by Arsenal 7 July 1976 England Keith Burkinshaw 7 July 1976
Sunderland England Bob Stokoe Resigned 18 October 1976 22nd England Jimmy Adamson 1 December 1976
Derby County Scotland Dave Mackay 25 November 1976 19th England Colin Murphy 25 November 1976
Everton Northern Ireland Billy Bingham Sacked 8 January 1977 15th England Gordon Lee 1 February 1977
Newcastle United England Gordon Lee Signed by Everton 1 February 1977 7th England Richard Dinnis 1 February 1977
Stoke City England Tony Waddington Mutual consent 22 March 1977 14th England George Eastham 24 March 1977
Middlesbrough England Jack Charlton Resigned 2 April 1977 10th England Harold Shepherdson (caretaker) 2 April 1977

Team locations

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Locations of the Football League First Division 1976–1977 teams
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Locations of the Football League First Division London teams 1976–1977

References

  1. ^ "English League Leading Goalscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 2010-10-31.