1965–66 in English football

Diary of the season

7 October 1965: An experiment to broadcast a live game to another ground takes place. Cardiff City play Coventry City and the match is broadcast to a crowd of 10,000 at Coventry's ground Highfield Road.

11 December 1965: Victory for Liverpool over Arsenal sees the Kopites open up a three-point gap over Burnley in second at the top of the Football League, while West Bromwich Albion – formerly in third – slide down the table after Leeds United hit them for four. Leeds are not the only beneficiaries of WBA's defeat: Tottenham Hotspur's London derby win over Chelsea and Sheffield United's point against Nottingham Forest are enough for both to go above the Albion. Leeds, Tottenham, and Sheffield United have all gained 25 points, though the South Yorkshire side have played one more match than the other two. In the third tier, Walsall forward George Kirby is attacked by pitch-invading Millwall supporters.[1]

12 February 1966: Division Three table-toppers Hull City beat top-flight Nottingham Forest at Boothferry Park in the FA Cup fourth round.[2]

20 March 1966: The Jules Rimet Trophy, prize for winning the FIFA World Cup, is stolen from an exhibition at Central Hall, Westminster, where it was on show in the run-up to this summer's World Cup in England.

27 March 1966: The World Cup is recovered by Pickles, a mongrel dog, in South London.[3]

16 April 1966: Liverpool seal the First Division title for the seventh time in their history with a 2–0 home win over Stoke City.[4]

5 May 1966: Liverpool are beaten 2–1 (a.e.t.) by West German side Borussia Dortmund in the 1966 final of the European Cup Winners' Cup at Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland.

14 May 1966: Everton win the FA Cup with a 3–2 win over Sheffield Wednesday in the final at Wembley Stadium, despite going 2–0 down in the 57th minute.

11 July 1966: England, as the host nation, begin their World Cup campaign with a goalless draw against Uruguay at Wembley Stadium.

16 July 1966: England's World Cup campaign continues with a 2–0 win over Mexico (goals coming from Bobby Charlton and Roger Hunt) that moves them closes to qualifying for the next stage of the competition.

20 July 1966: England qualify for the next stage of the World Cup with a 2–0 win over France in their final group game. Roger Hunt scores both of England's goals.

23 July 1966: England beat Argentina 1–0 in the World Cup quarter-final thanks to a goal by Geoff Hurst.

26 July 1966: England reach the World Cup final by beating Portugal 2–1 in the semi-final. Bobby Charlton scores both of England's goals.

30 July 1966: England win the World Cup with a 4–2 win over West Germany in extra time. Geoff Hurst scores a hat-trick, with Martin Peters scoring the other goal.

Honours
CompetitionWinnerRunner-up
First DivisionLiverpool (7*)Leeds United
Second DivisionManchester CitySouthampton
Third DivisionHull CityMillwall
Fourth DivisionDoncaster RoversDarlington
FA CupEverton (3)Sheffield Wednesday
League CupWest Bromwich Albion (1)West Ham United
Charity ShieldManchester United and Liverpool (shared)
Home Championship England Northern Ireland

Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour. * indicates new record for competition

Football League
Main article: 1965–66 Football League

First Division

Liverpool, FA Cup winners the previous season and league champions in 1964, won the First Division title with a six-point gap over last season's runners-up Leeds United, who finished level on points with Burnley. Manchester United, who also reached the semi-finals of the European Cup, ended their defence of the league title with a fourth-place finish. Chelsea finished fifth to maintain their standing as one of the First Division's top club sides. West Bromwich Albion finished sixth and won the League Cup.

11th placed Everton compensated for a disappointing league campaign by winning the FA Cup for the first time in the postwar era.

12th placed West Ham United perhaps had the biggest influence on the English game in 1966, with England's World Cup winning team featuring captain Bobby Moore and goalscorers Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters.

Blackburn Rovers went down in bottom place, a woeful 15 points adrift of safety. Northampton Town's brave first (and to date, only) season among the elite ended in relegation.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Liverpool 42 26 9 7 79 34 2.324 61 Qualified for the European Cup
2 Leeds United 42 23 9 10 79 38 2.079 55 Qualified for the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup[lower-alpha 1]
3 Burnley 42 24 7 11 79 47 1.681 55
4 Manchester United 42 18 15 9 84 59 1.424 51
5 Chelsea 42 22 7 13 65 53 1.226 51
6 West Bromwich Albion 42 19 12 11 91 69 1.319 50 Qualified for the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup[lower-alpha 1]
7 Leicester City 42 21 7 14 80 65 1.231 49
8 Tottenham Hotspur 42 16 12 14 75 66 1.136 44
9 Sheffield United 42 16 11 15 56 59 0.949 43
10 Stoke City 42 15 12 15 65 64 1.016 42
11 Everton 42 15 11 16 56 62 0.903 41 Qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup
12 West Ham United 42 15 9 18 70 83 0.843 39
13 Blackpool 42 14 9 19 55 65 0.846 37
14 Arsenal 42 12 13 17 62 75 0.827 37
15 Newcastle United 42 14 9 19 50 63 0.794 37
16 Aston Villa 42 15 6 21 69 80 0.863 36
17 Sheffield Wednesday 42 14 8 20 56 66 0.848 36
18 Nottingham Forest 42 14 8 20 56 72 0.778 36
19 Sunderland 42 14 8 20 51 72 0.708 36
20 Fulham 42 14 7 21 67 85 0.788 35
21 Northampton Town 42 10 13 19 55 92 0.598 33 Relegated to the Second Division
22 Blackburn Rovers 42 8 4 30 57 88 0.648 20
Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:
  1. West Bromwich Albion qualified for Inter-Cities Fairs Cup as Football League Cup winners.

Second Division

Manchester City's three-year exile from the top flight ended in promotion as Second Division champions, and they were joined in promotion by runners-up Southampton, who had never played in the First Division before. Coventry City missed out on a First Division debut by a single point, while Bristol City came just three points short of reclaiming the First Division place which had last been theirs in 1911.

Leyton Orient and Middlesbrough were relegated to the Third Division.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Manchester City 42 22 15 5 76 44 1.727 59 Promoted to the First Division
2 Southampton 42 22 10 10 85 56 1.518 54
3 Coventry City 42 20 13 9 73 53 1.377 53
4 Huddersfield Town 42 19 13 10 62 36 1.722 51
5 Bristol City 42 17 17 8 63 48 1.313 51
6 Wolverhampton Wanderers 42 20 10 12 87 61 1.426 50
7 Rotherham United 42 16 14 12 75 74 1.014 46
8 Derby County 42 16 11 15 71 68 1.044 43
9 Bolton Wanderers 42 16 9 17 62 59 1.051 41
10 Birmingham City 42 16 9 17 70 75 0.933 41
11 Crystal Palace 42 14 13 15 47 52 0.904 41
12 Portsmouth 42 16 8 18 74 78 0.949 40
13 Norwich City 42 12 15 15 52 52 1.000 39
14 Carlisle United 42 17 5 20 60 63 0.952 39
15 Ipswich Town 42 15 9 18 58 66 0.879 39
16 Charlton Athletic 42 12 14 16 61 70 0.871 38
17 Preston North End 42 11 15 16 62 70 0.886 37
18 Plymouth Argyle 42 12 13 17 54 63 0.857 37
19 Bury 42 14 7 21 62 76 0.816 35
20 Cardiff City 42 12 10 20 71 91 0.780 34
21 Middlesbrough 42 10 13 19 58 86 0.674 33 Relegated to the Third Division
22 Leyton Orient 42 5 13 24 38 80 0.475 23
Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Third Division

Champions Hull City and runners-up Millwall made the step upwards from the Third Division to the Second.

York City, Brentford, Exeter City and Southend United were relegated to the Fourth Division.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Hull City 46 31 7 8 109 62 1.758 69 Promoted to the Second Division
2 Millwall 46 27 11 8 76 43 1.767 65
3 Queens Park Rangers 46 24 9 13 95 65 1.462 57
4 Scunthorpe United 46 21 11 14 80 67 1.194 53
5 Workington 46 19 14 13 67 57 1.175 52
6 Gillingham 46 22 8 16 62 54 1.148 52
7 Swindon Town 46 19 13 14 74 48 1.542 51
8 Reading 46 19 13 14 70 63 1.111 51
9 Walsall 46 20 10 16 77 64 1.203 50
10 Shrewsbury Town 46 19 11 16 73 64 1.141 49
11 Grimsby Town 46 17 13 16 68 62 1.097 47
12 Watford 46 17 13 16 55 51 1.078 47
13 Peterborough United 46 17 12 17 80 66 1.212 46
14 Oxford United 46 19 8 19 70 74 0.946 46
15 Brighton & Hove Albion 46 16 11 19 67 65 1.031 43
16 Bristol Rovers 46 14 14 18 64 64 1.000 42
17 Swansea Town 46 15 11 20 81 96 0.844 41
18 Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic 46 13 12 21 38 56 0.679 38
19 Mansfield Town 46 15 8 23 59 89 0.663 38
20 Oldham Athletic 46 12 13 21 55 81 0.679 37
21 Southend United 46 16 4 26 54 83 0.651 36 Relegated to the Fourth Division
22 Exeter City 46 12 11 23 53 79 0.671 35
23 Brentford 46 10 12 24 48 69 0.696 32
24 York City 46 9 9 28 53 106 0.500 27
Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Fourth Division

Doncaster Rovers enjoyed some much-overdue success by clinching the Fourth Division title and a place in the Third Division. Also promote were Darlington, Torquay United and Colchester United. Bradford City had to apply for re-election to the league for the second time in four seasons - loss of their league place would have made them the first former winners of a major trophy to be voted out of the Football League.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Doncaster Rovers 46 24 11 11 85 54 1.574 59 Promoted to the Third Division
2 Darlington 46 25 9 12 72 53 1.358 59
3 Torquay United 46 24 10 12 72 49 1.469 58
4 Colchester United 46 23 10 13 70 47 1.489 56
5 Tranmere Rovers 46 24 8 14 93 66 1.409 56
6 Luton Town 46 24 8 14 90 70 1.286 56
7 Chester 46 20 12 14 79 70 1.129 52
8 Notts County 46 19 12 15 61 53 1.151 50
9 Newport County 46 18 12 16 75 75 1.000 48
10 Southport 46 18 12 16 68 69 0.986 48
11 Bradford Park Avenue 46 21 5 20 102 92 1.109 47
12 Barrow 46 16 15 15 72 76 0.947 47
13 Stockport County 46 18 6 22 71 70 1.014 42
14 Crewe Alexandra 46 16 9 21 61 63 0.968 41
15 Halifax Town 46 15 11 20 67 75 0.893 41
16 Barnsley 46 15 10 21 74 78 0.949 40
17 Aldershot 46 15 10 21 75 84 0.893 40
18 Hartlepools United 46 16 8 22 63 75 0.840 40
19 Port Vale 46 15 9 22 48 59 0.814 39
20 Chesterfield 46 13 13 20 62 78 0.795 39
21 Rochdale 46 16 5 25 71 87 0.816 37 Re-elected
22 Lincoln City 46 13 11 22 57 82 0.695 37
23 Bradford City 46 12 13 21 63 94 0.670 37
24 Wrexham 46 13 9 24 72 104 0.692 35
Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Top goalscorers

First Division

Second Division

Third Division

Fourth Division

References
  1. Davies, Eddie (15 December 1965). "Short Shots on Soccer". Schenectady Gazette. p. 32. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  2. Smart, Andy (26 January 2018). "Nottingham Forest fans suffered 'despair, disappointment and resentment' the last time Reds faced Hull City in FA Cup". nottinghampost.co.uk. Nottingham Post. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  3. "1966: Football's World Cup stolen". BBC News. 20 March 1966.
  4. Entertainment & Sports Agency Limited. "Results – Liverpool FC – LFC Online". Archived from the original on 27 May 2009. Retrieved 21 May 2009.
  5. "English League Leading Goalscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
  6. "English League Leading Goalscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
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