1977–78 Football League

The 1977–78 season was the 79th completed season of The Football League.

The Football League

Season	1977–78
Champions	Nottingham Forest
Relegated	Southport
New Club in League	Wimbledon
← 1976–77 1978–79 →

Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest side took the First Division by storm, first winning the League Cup on 22 March and then confirming themselves as league champions the following month. They joined a small and exclusive company of clubs who have won the league championship one season after promotion.

Manchester United broke the British transfer fee record on 9 February by paying Leeds United £495,000 for Scottish defender Gordon McQueen.

Bob Latchford was the top goalscorer, winning a £10,000 prize offered by a national newspaper for the first footballer to reach 30 goals in a single season,[1] which had not happened in the First Division since the 1971–72 season and in the Second Division since the 1965–66 season.[2]

West Ham United, Newcastle United and Leicester City were relegated from the First Division.

Bolton Wanderers, Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur were promoted from the Second Division, while Blackpool, Mansfield Town and Hull City were relegated

Wrexham, Cambridge United and Preston North End were promoted from the Third Division, while Portsmouth, Port Vale, Bradford City and Hereford United were relegated.

Wimbledon played their first season in the Football League, replacing Workington. Watford, Southend United, Swansea City and Brentford were promoted, while Southport were not re-elected. Southport was the last club to leave the Football League through the re-election process.

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 website[3] and in Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79[4] 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.[4]

First Division

Football League
First Division

Season	1977–78
Champions	Nottingham Forest (1st English title)
Relegated	Leicester City Newcastle United West Ham United
1978–79 European Cup	Nottingham Forest Liverpool (defending champions)
FA Cup winners 1978–79 European Cup Winners' Cup	Ipswich Town (1st FA Cup title)
1978–79 UEFA Cup	Arsenal Everton Manchester City West Bromwich Albion
Matches played	462
Goals scored	1,231 (2.66 per match)
Top goalscorer	Bob Latchford (Everton), 30 [2]
Biggest home win	Everton – Chelsea 6–0 (29 Apr 1978) Everton –Coventry 6–0 (26 Nov 1977)
Biggest away win	Leicester – Everton 1–5 (15 Apr 1978) QPR – Everton 1–5 (8 Oct 1977) Leicester – Liverpool 0–4 (26 Nov 1977) Manchester United – Nottingham Forest 0–4 (17 Dec 1977) Everton – Manchester United 2-6 (26 Dec 1977)
Highest scoring	Coventry – Norwich City 5–4 (27 Dec 1977) Birmingham – Chelsea 4–5 (31 Dec 1977)
← 1976–77 1978–79 →

Brian Clough became only the second manager in the history of English football to win the top division title with two clubs, when he guided Nottingham Forest to their first ever top division title. It was an incredible achievement for a Forest side who were one of just a few teams to win the First Division title a year after promotion. Forest finished seven points above Liverpool, who retained the European Cup. Everton, Manchester City and Arsenal completed the top five, while West Bromwich Albion finished sixth for the second successive season, qualifying for the UEFA Cup again. An exciting Coventry City side finished in 7th position, narrowly missing-out on UEFA Cup qualification. This was the club's second-highest ever league finish, after their sixth position in 1969–70.[5]

Manchester United dipped to 10th place in their first season under new manager Dave Sexton, while Bobby Robson successfully fought off relegation with Ipswich Town and then guided them to their first FA Cup triumph of their history.

Newcastle United, who had finished fifth a year earlier, endured a terrible season and went down bracketed together with Leicester City at the bottom of the table. The Tynesiders had been in the First Division for 13 years, while Leicester's latest run in the First Division had lasted for seven years. West Ham United occupied the final relegation place, ending their 20-year spell in the First Division.

Pos	Team	Pld	HW	HD	HL	HGF	HGA	AW	AD	AL	AGF	AGA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Nottingham Forest (C)	42	15	6	0	37	8	10	8	3	32	16	+45	64	League Champions, qualified for European Cup 1978–79 First round[lower-alpha 1]
2	Liverpool	42	15	4	2	37	11	9	5	7	28	23	+31	57	European Cup 1978–79 First round[lower-alpha 2]
3	Everton	42	14	4	3	47	22	8	7	6	29	23	+31	55	UEFA Cup 1978–79 First round
4	Manchester City	42	14	4	3	46	21	6	8	7	28	30	+23	52
5	Arsenal	42	14	5	2	38	12	7	5	9	22	25	+23	52
6	West Bromwich Albion	42	13	5	3	35	18	5	9	7	27	35	+9	50
7	Coventry City	42	13	5	3	48	23	5	7	9	27	39	+13	48
8	Aston Villa	42	11	4	6	33	18	7	6	8	24	24	+15	46
9	Leeds United	42	12	4	5	39	21	6	6	9	24	32	+10	46
10	Manchester United	42	9	6	6	32	23	7	4	10	35	40	+4	42
11	Birmingham City	42	8	5	8	32	30	8	4	9	23	30	−5	41
12	Derby County	42	10	7	4	37	24	4	6	11	17	35	−5	41
13	Norwich City	42	10	8	3	28	20	1	10	10	24	46	−14	40
14	Middlesbrough	42	8	8	5	25	19	4	7	10	17	35	−12	39
15	Wolverhampton Wanderers	42	7	8	6	30	27	5	4	12	21	37	−13	36
16	Chelsea	42	7	11	3	28	20	4	3	14	18	49	−23	36
17	Bristol City	42	9	6	6	37	26	2	7	12	12	27	−4	35
18	Ipswich Town	42	10	5	6	32	24	1	8	12	15	37	−14	35	FA Cup winners, qualified for UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1978–79 First round
19	Queens Park Rangers	42	8	8	5	27	26	1	7	13	20	38	−17	33
20	West Ham United	42	8	6	7	31	28	4	2	15	21	41	−17	32	Relegated
21	Newcastle United	42	4	6	11	26	37	2	4	15	16	41	−36	22
22	Leicester City	42	4	7	10	16	32	1	5	15	10	38	−44	22

Source:
(C) Champion.
Notes:

1. Nottingham Forest also won the League cup this year.
2. Liverpool won the European Cup, now for the second year running, and thus qualified for the following season's competition.

Stats

Record

• Most wins: Nottingham Forest (25)
• Fewest losses: Nottingham Forest (3)
• Most goals scored: Everton (76)
• Fewest goals conceded: Nottingham Forest (24)
• Best goal difference ratio: Nottingham Forest (+45)
• Most draws: Norwich City (18)
• Fewest draws: West Ham United (8)
• Most losses: Newcastle United (26)
• Fewest wins: Leicester City (5)
• Fewest goals scored: Leicester City (26)
• Most goals conceded: Newcastle United (78)
• Worst goal difference ratio: Leicester City (-44)

Results

Home \ Away	ARS	AST	BIR	BRI	CHE	COV	DER	EVE	IPS	LEE	LEI	LIV	MCI	MUN	MID	NEW	NWC	NOT	QPR	WBA	WHU	WOL
Arsenal		0–1	1–1	4–1	3–0	1–1	1–3	1–0	1–0	1–1	2–1	0–0	3–0	3–1	1–0	2–1	0–0	3–0	1–0	4–0	3–0	3–1
Aston Villa	1–0		0–1	1–0	2–0	1–1	0–0	1–2	6–1	3–1	0–0	0–3	1–4	2–1	0–1	2–0	3–0	0–1	1–1	3–0	4–1	2–0
Birmingham	1–1	1–0		3–0	4–5	1–1	3–1	0–0	0–0	2–3	1–1	0–1	1–4	1–4	1–2	3–0	2–1	0–2	2–1	1–2	3–0	2–1
Bristol City	0–2	1–1	0–1		3–0	1–1	3–1	0–1	2–0	3–2	0–0	1–1	2–2	0–1	4–1	3–1	3–0	1–3	2–2	3–1	3–2	2–3
Chelsea	0–0	0–0	2–0	1–0		1–2	1–1	0–1	5–3	1–2	0–0	3–1	0–0	2–2	0–0	2–2	1–1	1–0	3–1	2–2	2–1	1–1
Coventry City	1–2	2–3	4–0	1–1	5–1		3–1	3–2	1–1	2–2	1–0	1–0	4–2	3–0	2–1	0–0	5–4	0–0	4–1	1–2	1–0	4–0
Derby County	3–0	0–3	1–3	1–0	1–1	4–2		0–1	0–0	2–2	4–1	4–2	2–1	0–1	4–1	1–1	2–2	0–0	2–0	1–1	2–1	3–1
Everton	2–0	1–0	2–1	1–0	6–0	6–0	2–1		1–0	2–0	2–0	0–1	1–1	2–6	3–0	4–4	3–0	1–3	3–3	3–1	2–1	0–0
Ipswich Town	1–0	2–0	5–2	1–0	1–0	1–1	1–2	3–3		0–1	1–0	1–1	1–0	1–2	1–1	2–1	4–0	0–2	3–2	2–2	0–2	1–2
Leeds United	1–3	1–1	1–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	2–0	3–1	2–1		5–1	1–2	2–0	1–1	5–0	0–2	2–2	1–0	3–0	2–2	1–2	2–1
Leicester City	1–1	0–2	1–4	0–0	0–2	1–2	1–1	1–5	2–1	0–0		0–4	0–1	2–3	0–0	3–0	2–2	0–3	0–0	0–1	1–0	1–0
Liverpool	1–0	1–2	2–3	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–0	0–0	2–2	1–0	3–2		4–0	3–1	2–0	2–0	3–0	0–0	1–0	3–0	2–0	1–0
Manchester City	2–1	2–0	3–0	2–0	6–2	3–1	1–1	1–0	2–1	2–3	0–0	3–1		3–1	2–2	4–0	4–0	0–0	2–1	1–3	3–2	0–2
Manchester United	1–2	1–1	1–2	1–1	0–1	2–1	4–0	1–2	0–0	0–1	3–1	2–0	2–2		0–0	3–2	1–0	0–4	3–1	1–1	3–0	3–1
Middlesbrough	0–1	1–0	1–2	2–0	2–0	1–1	3–1	0–0	1–1	2–1	0–1	1–1	0–2	2–1		2–0	2–2	2–2	1–1	1–0	1–2	0–0
Newcastle United	1–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–0	1–2	1–2	0–2	0–1	3–2	2–0	0–2	2–2	2–2	2–4		2–2	0–2	0–3	0–3	2–3	4–0
Norwich City	1–0	2–1	1–0	1–0	0–0	1–2	0–0	0–0	1–0	3–0	2–0	2–1	1–3	1–3	1–1	2–1		3–3	1–1	1–1	2–2	2–1
Nottingham Forest	2–0	2–0	0–0	1–0	3–1	2–1	3–0	1–1	4–0	1–1	1–0	1–1	2–1	2–1	4–0	2–0	1–1		1–0	0–0	2–0	2–0
Queens Park Rangers	2–1	1–2	0–0	2–2	1–1	2–1	0–0	1–5	3–3	0–0	3–0	2–0	1–1	2–2	1–0	0–1	2–1	0–2		2–1	1–0	1–3
West Bromwich Albion	1–3	0–3	3–1	2–1	3–0	3–3	1–0	3–1	1–0	1–0	2–0	0–1	0–0	4–0	2–1	2–0	0–0	2–2	2–0		1–0	2–2
West Ham United	2–2	2–2	1–0	1–2	3–1	2–1	3–0	1–1	3–0	0–1	3–2	0–2	0–1	2–1	0–2	1–0	1–3	0–0	2–2	3–3		1–2
Wolverhampton Wanderers	1–1	3–1	0–1	0–0	1–3	1–3	1–2	3–1	0–0	3–1	3–0	1–3	1–1	2–1	0–0	1–0	3–3	2–3	1–0	1–1	2–2

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.

Maps

Arsenal

Chelsea

Queens Park Rangers

West Ham

Locations of the Football League First Division London teams 1977–1978

Arsenal

Aston Villa

Birmingham

Bristol City

Chelsea

Coventry

Derby County

Everton

Ipswich Town

Leeds United

Leicester City

Liverpool

Middlesbrough

Manchester City

Manchester United

Newcastle

Norwich City

Nottingham Forest

QPR

West Bromwich Albion

West Ham

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Locations of the Football League First Division 1977–1978 teams

Second Division

Football League
Second Division

Season	1977–78
Champions	Bolton Wanderers (2nd title)
Promoted	Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur
Relegated	Blackpool, Hull City, Mansfield Town
Matches played	462
Goals scored	1,235 (2.67 per match)
Top goalscorer	Bob Hatton (Blackpool), 22 [2]
Biggest home win	Tottenham Hotspur –Bristol Rovers 9-0 (22 Oct 1977) [6]
Biggest away win	Cardiff City –Sheffield United 1–6 (3 Dec 1977)
Highest scoring	Bolton –Cardiff City 6–3 (10 Dec 1977)
← 1976–77 1978–79 →

Bolton Wanderers ended their 14-year exile from the top flight by clinching the Second Division title in a tight promotion race between the top four teams. Southampton went up as runners-up, while Tottenham clinched the final promotion place following a final day draw with Southampton. Brighton missed out on a First Division place on goal difference, forcing them to prepare for a fresh assault on reaching the First Division for the first time in their history in 1979.

Hull City, Mansfield Town and Blackpool went down to the Third Division.

Pos	Team	Pld	HW	HD	HL	HGF	HGA	AW	AD	AL	AGF	AGA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Bolton Wanderers	42	16	4	1	39	14	8	6	7	24	19	+30	58	Division Champions, promoted
2	Southampton	42	15	4	2	44	16	7	9	5	26	23	+31	57	Promoted
3	Tottenham Hotspur	42	13	7	1	50	19	7	9	5	33	30	+34	56
4	Brighton & Hove Albion	42	15	5	1	43	21	7	7	7	20	17	+25	56
5	Blackburn Rovers	42	12	4	5	33	16	4	9	8	23	44	−4	45
6	Sunderland	42	11	6	4	36	17	3	10	8	31	42	+8	44
7	Stoke City	42	13	5	3	38	16	3	5	13	15	33	+4	42
8	Oldham Athletic	42	9	10	2	32	20	4	6	11	22	38	−4	42
9	Crystal Palace	42	9	7	5	31	20	4	8	9	19	27	+3	41
10	Fulham	42	9	8	4	32	19	5	5	11	17	30	0	41
11	Burnley	42	11	6	4	35	20	4	4	13	21	44	−8	40
12	Sheffield United	42	13	4	4	38	22	3	4	14	24	51	−11	40
13	Luton Town	42	11	4	6	35	20	3	6	12	19	32	+2	38
14	Orient	42	8	11	2	30	20	2	7	12	13	29	−6	38
15	Notts County	42	10	9	2	36	22	1	7	13	18	40	−8	38
16	Millwall	42	8	8	5	23	20	4	6	11	26	37	−8	38
17	Charlton Athletic	42	11	6	4	38	27	2	6	13	17	41	−13	38
18	Bristol Rovers	42	10	7	4	40	26	3	5	13	21	51	−16	38
19	Cardiff City	42	12	6	3	32	23	1	6	14	19	48	−20	38
20	Blackpool	42	7	8	6	35	25	5	5	11	24	35	−1	37	Relegated
21	Mansfield Town	42	6	6	9	30	34	4	5	12	19	35	−20	31
22	Hull City	42	6	6	9	23	25	2	6	13	11	27	−18	28

Source:

Results

Home \ Away	BLB	BLP	BOL	B&HA	BRR	BUR	CAR	CHA	CRY	FUL	HUL	LUT	MAN	MIL	NTC	OLD	ORI	SHU	SOU	STK	SUN	TOT
Blackburn Rovers		1–2	0–1	0–1	0–1	0–1	3–0	2–1	3–0	4–0	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–1	1–0	4–2	1–0	1–1	2–1	2–1	1–1	0–0
Blackpool	5–2		0–2	0–1	3–1	1–1	3–0	5–1	3–1	1–2	3–0	2–1	1–2	2–2	2–2	1–1	0–0	1–1	0–1	1–1	1–1	0–2
Bolton Wanderers	4–2	2–1		1–1	3–0	1–2	6–3	2–1	2–0	0–0	1–0	2–1	2–0	2–1	2–0	1–0	2–0	2–1	0–0	1–1	2–0	1–0
Brighton & Hove Albion	2–2	2–1	1–2		1–1	2–1	4–0	1–0	1–1	2–0	2–1	3–2	5–1	3–2	2–1	1–1	1–0	2–1	1–1	2–1	2–1	3–1
Bristol Rovers	4–1	2–0	0–1	0–4		2–2	3–2	2–2	3–0	0–0	1–1	1–2	3–1	2–0	2–2	0–0	2–1	4–1	0–0	4–1	3–2	2–3
Burnley	2–3	0–1	0–1	0–0	3–1		4–2	1–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–1	2–0	0–2	3–1	4–1	0–0	4–1	3–3	1–0	0–0	2–1
Cardiff City	1–1	2–1	1–0	1–0	1–1	2–1		1–0	2–2	3–1	0–0	1–4	1–1	4–1	2–1	1–0	0–1	1–6	1–0	2–0	5–2	0–0
Charlton Athletic	2–2	3–1	2–1	4–3	3–1	3–2	0–0		1–0	0–1	0–1	0–0	2–2	0–2	0–0	2–2	2–1	3–0	1–3	3–2	3–2	4–1
Crystal Palace	5–0	2–2	2–1	0–0	1–0	1–1	2–0	1–1		2–3	0–1	3–3	3–1	1–0	2–0	0–0	1–0	1–0	1–2	0–1	2–2	1–2
Fulham	0–0	1–1	2–0	2–1	1–1	4–1	1–0	1–1	1–1		2–0	1–0	0–2	0–1	5–1	0–2	1–2	2–0	1–1	3–0	3–3	1–1
Hull City	0–1	2–0	0–0	1–1	0–1	1–3	4–1	0–2	1–0	0–1		1–1	0–2	3–2	1–1	0–1	2–2	2–3	0–3	0–0	3–0	2–0
Luton Town	0–0	4–0	2–1	1–0	1–1	1–2	3–1	7–1	1–0	1–0	1–1		1–1	1–0	2–0	0–1	1–0	4–0	1–2	1–2	1–3	1–4
Mansfield Town	2–2	1–3	0–1	1–2	3–0	4–1	2–2	0–3	1–3	2–1	1–0	3–1		0–0	1–3	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–2	2–1	1–2	3–3
Millwall	1–1	2–0	1–0	0–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–3	0–3	1–1	1–0	1–0		0–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	3–0	0–0	3–1	1–3
Notts County	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–0	3–2	3–0	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–1	2–0	1–0	1–1		3–2	1–1	1–2	2–3	2–0	2–2	3–3
Oldham Athletic	0–2	2–1	2–2	1–1	4–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–1	1–0	0–1	2–2	2–1		2–1	3–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1
Orient	0–0	1–4	1–1	0–1	2–1	3–0	2–1	0–0	0–0	1–1	2–1	0–0	4–2	0–0	0–0	5–3		3–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	1–1
Sheffield United	2–0	0–0	1–5	2–0	1–1	2–1	0–1	1–0	0–2	2–1	2–0	4–1	2–0	5–2	4–1	1–0	2–0		3–2	1–2	1–1	2–2
Southampton	5–0	2–0	2–2	1–1	3–1	3–0	3–1	4–1	2–0	2–0	1–0	0–1	1–0	2–3	3–1	2–2	1–0	2–1		1–0	4–2	0–0
Stoke City	4–2	1–2	0–0	1–0	3–2	2–1	2–0	4–0	0–2	2–0	1–0	0–0	1–1	2–1	1–1	3–0	5–1	4–0	1–0		0–0	1–3
Sunderland	0–1	2–1	0–2	0–2	5–1	3–0	1–1	3–0	0–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–0	2–0	3–1	3–1	1–1	5–1	0–0	1–0		1–2
Tottenham Hotspur	4–0	2–2	1–0	0–0	9–0	3–0	2–1	2–1	2–2	1–0	1–0	2–0	1–1	3–3	2–1	5–1	1–1	4–2	0–0	3–1	2–3

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.

Maps

Charlton Athletic

Crystal Palace

Fulham

Orient

Millwall

Tottenham

Locations of the Football League Second Division London teams 1977–1978

Blackburn Rovers

Blackpool

Bolton

Brighton & Hove

Bristol Rovers

Burnley

Cardiff City

Charlton

Crystal Palace

Fulham

Hull

Orient

Luton Town

Mansfield Town

Millwall

Notts County

Oldham

Sheffield United

Southampton

Stoke

Sunderland

Tottenham

Locations of the Football League Second Division 1977–1978 teams

Third Division

Football League
Third Division

Season	1977–78
Champions	Wrexham (1st title)
Promoted	Cambridge United, Preston North End
Relegated	Bradford City, Hereford United, Portsmouth, Port Vale
Matches played	552
Goals scored	1,373 (2.49 per match)
Top goalscorer	Alex Bruce (Preston North End), 27 [2]
← 1976–77 1978–79 →

Pos	Team	Pld	HW	HD	HL	HGF	HGA	AW	AD	AL	AGF	AGA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Wrexham	46	14	8	1	48	19	9	7	7	30	26	+33	61	Division Champions, Welsh Cup Champions, promoted, qualified for Cup Winners' Cup[lower-alpha 1]
2	Cambridge United	46	19	3	1	49	11	4	9	10	23	40	+21	58	Promoted
3	Preston North End	46	16	5	2	48	19	4	11	8	15	19	+25	56
4	Peterborough United	46	15	7	1	32	11	5	9	9	15	22	+14	56
5	Chester	46	14	8	1	41	24	2	14	7	18	32	+3	54
6	Walsall	46	12	8	3	35	17	6	9	8	26	33	+11	53
7	Gillingham	46	11	10	2	36	21	4	10	9	31	39	+7	50
8	Colchester United	46	10	11	2	36	16	5	7	11	19	28	+11	48
9	Chesterfield	46	14	6	3	40	16	3	8	12	18	33	+9	48
10	Swindon Town	46	12	7	4	40	22	4	9	10	27	38	+7	48
11	Shrewsbury Town	46	11	7	5	42	23	5	8	10	21	34	+6	47
12	Tranmere Rovers	46	13	7	3	39	19	3	8	12	18	33	+5	47
13	Carlisle United	46	10	9	4	32	26	4	10	9	27	33	0	47
14	Sheffield Wednesday	46	13	7	3	28	14	2	9	12	22	38	−2	46
15	Bury	46	7	13	3	34	22	6	6	11	28	34	+6	45
16	Lincoln City	46	10	8	5	35	26	5	7	11	18	35	−8	45
17	Exeter City	46	11	8	4	30	18	4	6	13	19	41	−10	44
18	Oxford United	46	11	10	2	38	21	2	4	17	26	46	−3	40
19	Plymouth Argyle	46	7	8	8	33	28	4	9	10	28	40	−7	39
20	Rotherham United	46	11	5	7	26	19	2	8	13	25	49	−17	39
21	Port Vale	46	7	11	5	28	23	1	9	13	18	44	−21	36	Relegated
22	Bradford City	46	11	6	6	40	29	1	4	18	16	57	−30	34
23	Hereford United	46	9	9	5	28	22	0	5	18	6	38	−26	32
24	Portsmouth	46	4	11	8	31	38	3	6	14	10	37	−34	31

Source: rsssf.com
Notes:

1. Wrexham qualified for 1978–79 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: First round as Welsh Cup winners.

Results

Home \ Away	BRA	BRY	CAM	CRL	CHE	CHF	COL	EXE	GIL	HER	LIN	OXF	PET	PLY	POR	PTV	PNE	ROT	SHW	SHR	SWI	TRA	WAL	WRE
Bradford City		2–1	4–0	2–2	2–2	1–3	1–2	1–2	2–1	0–0	2–2	2–3	2–1	0–1	1–0	1–1	1–1	3–0	3–2	2–0	2–1	2–0	2–3	2–1
Bury	2–2		5–2	1–1	1–1	0–0	1–1	5–0	2–2	1–1	1–0	3–2	0–0	1–1	0–0	3–0	1–1	1–1	3–0	0–3	0–0	1–0	0–1	2–3
Cambridge United	4–1	3–0		2–0	0–0	2–0	2–0	2–1	2–3	2–0	5–0	2–1	1–0	3–0	1–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	3–0	2–0	5–2	1–0	2–1	1–0
Carlisle United	1–1	0–3	1–1		0–0	2–1	1–3	2–0	1–0	2–0	2–3	2–2	0–0	0–0	3–1	1–1	3–1	2–1	1–0	1–0	2–2	2–2	2–0	1–4
Chester	3–2	1–0	0–0	2–2		2–1	2–1	2–1	2–2	4–1	2–2	3–1	4–3	1–1	2–0	2–1	1–2	2–1	2–1	1–0	1–0	0–0	1–1	1–1
Chesterfield	2–0	2–1	2–1	2–1	1–2		0–0	0–0	5–2	2–1	0–0	3–0	2–0	4–1	3–0	2–0	0–1	0–0	2–2	3–1	3–1	1–1	0–1	1–0
Colchester United	3–0	1–0	2–1	2–2	2–0	2–0		3–1	1–1	0–0	1–1	1–1	3–0	3–1	4–0	2–3	0–0	0–0	1–1	1–2	2–0	0–0	1–1	1–1
Exeter City	1–0	2–2	2–4	0–1	1–1	0–0	0–0		2–1	1–0	3–0	2–1	1–0	0–0	0–1	4–1	2–0	1–0	2–1	1–1	0–0	4–2	1–1	0–1
Gillingham	4–1	1–4	3–1	1–1	1–0	3–0	1–3	1–0		4–0	0–0	2–1	0–0	1–1	0–0	1–1	2–1	2–1	2–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	3–1	0–0
Hereford United	2–1	1–0	0–0	1–0	2–2	2–1	1–0	4–0	2–0		1–1	2–1	0–0	1–3	0–2	1–1	0–0	2–3	0–1	1–1	1–1	0–1	3–2	1–1
Lincoln City	3–2	0–0	4–1	2–1	2–1	1–0	0–0	1–2	0–2	0–0		1–0	0–1	2–2	1–0	3–0	2–2	3–3	3–1	1–3	3–1	1–1	2–2	0–1
Oxford United	3–1	0–0	2–3	0–0	4–1	1–1	3–0	0–0	1–1	3–0	1–0		3–3	2–1	0–0	1–1	1–0	2–3	1–0	1–1	3–3	1–0	3–1	2–1
Peterborough United	5–0	2–1	2–0	2–1	0–0	2–0	1–0	1–1	1–1	2–1	0–1	1–0		1–0	0–0	1–1	1–0	1–0	2–1	2–1	2–0	1–0	0–0	2–2
Plymouth Argyle	6–0	0–1	0–1	0–1	2–2	2–0	1–1	2–2	1–3	2–0	1–2	2–1	1–0		3–1	3–2	0–0	1–1	1–1	2–2	0–2	0–1	3–3	0–1
Portsmouth	3–1	1–1	2–2	3–3	0–0	3–0	0–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	2–2	1–5		1–1	0–2	3–3	2–2	2–0	1–2	2–5	1–2	0–1
Port Vale	1–0	1–2	1–1	0–1	0–0	1–3	0–3	4–0	2–2	1–0	2–1	1–1	0–0	3–3	2–0		0–0	3–0	0–0	1–2	1–0	1–1	2–2	1–1
Preston North End	3–1	4–0	2–0	2–1	2–1	0–0	4–0	0–0	2–0	0–0	4–0	3–2	0–1	5–2	3–1	2–0		3–2	2–1	2–2	1–1	2–1	1–0	1–3
Rotherham United	2–1	0–3	1–0	0–0	1–1	1–2	1–0	1–0	2–0	1–0	0–0	2–0	0–1	1–2	0–1	2–0	2–1		1–2	0–0	1–3	2–0	3–0	2–2
Sheffield Wednesday	2–0	3–2	0–0	3–1	1–1	1–0	1–2	2–1	0–0	1–0	2–0	2–1	0–1	1–1	0–0	3–1	1–0	1–0		0–1	1–1	1–0	0–0	2–1
Shrewsbury Town	4–0	5–3	3–3	0–3	0–0	1–1	1–0	0–2	1–2	3–0	0–1	1–0	0–0	3–1	6–1	3–0	0–0	4–1	0–0		2–3	3–1	0–0	2–1
Swindon Town	0–1	1–1	0–0	2–2	1–1	2–1	0–0	4–0	3–2	1–0	1–0	3–2	2–0	3–1	3–1	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–2	5–0		1–0	2–3	1–2
Tranmere	0–0	0–0	0–1	3–2	5–0	1–1	1–0	2–1	1–1	2–1	3–1	4–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	2–1	1–0	2–2	3–1	2–0	1–1		0–1	3–1
Walsall	1–1	1–2	0–0	0–0	3–0	2–2	4–2	1–3	2–1	2–0	3–1	2–1	1–0	1–0	1–1	2–0	0–0	3–1	1–1	3–0	2–0	0–0		0–1
Wrexham	2–0	3–1	4–1	3–1	1–2	1–1	2–1	2–1	3–3	2–1	1–0	2–2	0–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	0–0	7–1	1–1	0–0	2–1	6–1	1–0

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.

Maps

Charlton Athletic

Crystal Palace

Fulham

Orient

Millwall

Tottenham

Locations of the Football League Second Division London teams 1977–1978

Bradford City

Bury

Cambridge Utd

Carlisle United

Chester

Chesterfield

Colchester

Exeter City

Gillingham

Hereford United

Lincoln City

Oxford

Peterborough

Plymouth Argyle

Portsmouth

Port Vale

Preston North End

Rotherham

Sheffield Wednesday

Shrewsbury

Swindon

Tranmere

Walsall

Wrexham

Locations of the Football League Third Division teams 1977–1978

Fourth Division

Football League
Fourth Division

Season	1977–78
Champions	Watford (1st title)
Promoted	Brentford, Southend United, Swansea City
Failed re-election	Southport
New club in the league	Wimbledon
Matches played	552
Goals scored	1,427 (2.59 per match)
Top goalscorer	Alan Curtis (Swansea City), 32 Steve Phillips (Brentford), 32 [2]
← 1976–77 1978–79 →

Pos	Team	Pld	HW	HD	HL	HGF	HGA	AW	AD	AL	AGF	AGA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Watford	46	18	4	1	44	14	12	7	4	41	24	+47	71	Division Champions, promoted
2	Southend United	46	15	5	3	46	18	10	5	8	20	21	+27	60	Promoted
3	Swansea City	46	16	5	2	54	17	7	5	11	33	30	+40	56
4	Brentford	46	15	6	2	50	17	6	8	9	36	37	+32	56
5	Aldershot	46	15	8	0	45	16	4	8	11	22	31	+20	54
6	Grimsby Town	46	14	6	3	30	15	7	5	11	27	36	+6	53
7	Barnsley	46	15	4	4	44	20	3	10	10	17	29	+12	50
8	Reading	46	12	7	4	33	23	6	7	10	22	29	+3	50
9	Torquay United	46	12	6	5	43	25	4	9	10	14	31	+1	47
10	Northampton Town	46	9	8	6	32	30	8	5	10	31	38	−5	47
11	Huddersfield Town	46	13	5	5	41	21	2	10	11	22	34	+8	45
12	Doncaster Rovers	46	11	8	4	37	26	3	9	11	15	39	−13	45
13	Wimbledon[lower-alpha 1]	46	8	11	4	39	26	6	5	12	27	41	−1	44
14	Scunthorpe United	46	12	6	5	31	14	2	10	11	19	41	−5	44
15	Crewe Alexandra	46	11	8	4	34	25	4	6	13	16	44	−19	44
16	Newport County	46	14	6	3	43	22	2	5	16	22	51	−8	43
17	Bournemouth	46	12	6	5	28	20	2	9	12	13	31	−10	43
18	Stockport County	46	14	4	5	41	19	2	6	15	15	37	0	42
19	Darlington	46	10	8	5	31	22	4	5	14	21	37	−7	41
20	Halifax Town	46	7	10	6	28	23	3	11	9	24	39	−10	41
21	Hartlepool United	46	12	4	7	34	29	3	3	17	17	55	−33	37	Re-elected
22	York City	46	8	7	8	27	31	4	5	14	23	38	−19	36
23	Southport	46	5	13	5	30	32	1	6	16	22	44	−24	31	Failed re-election
24	Rochdale	46	8	6	9	29	28	0	2	21	14	57	−42	24	Re-elected

Source:
Notes:

1. New club in the league

Results

Home \ Away	ALD	BAR	BOU	BRE	CRE	DAR	DON	GRI	HAL	HAR	HUD	NPC	NOR	REA	ROC	SCU	STD	SOU	STP	SWA	TOR	WAT	WDN	YOR
Aldershot		0–0	2–0	1–0	2–0	3–2	1–0	4–2	0–0	3–0	3–3	2–2	2–1	1–1	2–0	4–0	3–0	0–0	2–1	2–2	3–0	1–0	3–1	1–1
Barnsley	2–0		3–0	0–0	4–0	2–1	0–0	1–2	3–2	3–2	1–1	1–0	2–3	4–1	4–0	3–0	1–1	2–1	0–1	0–2	2–0	1–0	3–2	2–1
Bournemouth	0–0	2–2		3–2	1–0	2–0	0–1	1–0	0–0	1–0	1–0	4–2	1–1	1–0	1–0	1–1	0–3	3–1	1–0	0–1	1–1	1–2	1–2	2–1
Brentford	2–0	2–0	1–1		5–1	2–0	2–2	3–1	4–1	2–0	1–1	3–3	3–0	1–1	4–0	2–0	1–0	0–0	4–0	0–2	3–0	0–3	4–1	1–0
Crewe Alexandra	0–2	2–1	3–1	4–6		2–2	2–0	0–2	0–0	1–0	1–1	2–0	3–2	1–1	2–1	1–1	0–1	2–0	1–1	2–1	2–0	2–2	0–0	1–0
Darlington	1–1	0–2	1–0	1–3	2–0		1–1	1–2	2–1	1–2	2–2	2–1	2–0	2–0	1–0	1–1	2–0	3–0	2–2	1–1	0–0	0–0	3–1	0–2
Doncaster Rovers	4–3	2–1	0–0	3–1	2–0	1–2		0–1	1–1	2–0	4–3	2–2	4–2	2–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–1	1–0	1–1	1–0	0–1	0–2	1–1
Grimsby Town	1–0	1–0	0–2	2–1	2–2	2–0	0–0		0–0	2–1	1–0	1–0	0–1	0–1	2–1	0–0	2–0	2–0	0–0	2–1	3–1	1–1	3–1	3–2
Halifax Town	2–1	1–1	0–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–1	0–0		3–0	0–0	3–1	0–1	2–4	3–1	2–2	0–1	2–1	1–1	3–1	0–0	1–1	1–2	2–0
Hartlepool	2–2	1–2	0–1	3–1	1–1	2–1	0–2	3–1	1–1		3–2	1–1	0–2	2–1	1–0	1–0	1–0	2–1	2–0	0–4	1–2	1–2	2–0	4–2
Huddersfield Town	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–3	3–0	2–1	4–1	1–3	2–2	3–1		2–0	0–1	0–2	3–1	4–1	2–0	3–1	0–0	0–0	1–1	1–0	3–0	1–2
Newport County	2–1	3–1	3–2	1–2	1–0	1–1	1–0	3–0	2–0	4–2	2–0		5–3	0–0	3–0	3–1	1–2	1–1	2–2	1–0	0–0	2–2	0–1	2–1
Northampton Town	1–1	1–1	1–0	2–2	0–0	2–2	0–0	2–1	1–2	5–3	3–1	2–4		0–2	3–1	1–2	0–0	1–0	2–1	3–1	1–0	0–2	0–3	1–1
Reading	1–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	2–0	2–1	3–0	0–0	2–1	2–3	1–0	2–0	0–0		4–3	1–0	0–1	3–1	2–1	1–4	3–3	1–3	2–2	1–0
Rochdale	0–0	1–1	1–1	1–2	0–2	2–0	3–1	1–3	3–1	0–1	0–0	0–1	1–1	1–0		1–1	1–2	2–1	2–1	2–1	1–3	2–3	3–0	1–2
Scunthorpe United	1–1	1–0	0–0	1–1	3–0	3–0	0–0	2–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	0–1	1–0		1–2	0–2	3–0	1–0	0–1	0–1	3–0	2–1
Southend	3–1	0–0	5–1	2–1	1–0	2–0	4–0	1–1	5–0	1–1	1–3	4–2	0–0	0–2	3–1	2–0		4–2	0–2	2–1	4–0	1–0	1–0	0–0
Southport	1–1	1–1	0–0	1–3	1–2	1–0	1–1	2–2	1–2	1–1	1–1	3–3	3–1	1–1	3–1	1–1	0–0		2–0	0–3	0–0	2–2	0–5	4–1
Stockport County	2–1	3–0	2–1	1–1	1–2	1–0	1–1	2–0	1–3	6–0	0–1	2–0	1–2	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–0	2–1		2–0	3–0	1–3	2–2	2–0
Swansea City	1–0	2–1	1–0	2–1	5–0	1–2	3–0	2–0	2–0	8–0	1–0	4–0	2–4	2–1	3–0	3–1	0–0	1–1	3–1		1–1	3–3	3–0	1–1
Torquay United	1–2	3–1	1–1	2–1	1–2	0–0	2–0	3–1	2–2	0–0	2–1	2–0	2–1	3–0	3–0	4–2	0–1	2–2	2–0	2–4		2–3	1–1	3–0
Watford	1–0	0–0	2–1	1–1	5–2	2–1	6–0	1–0	1–1	1–0	2–0	2–0	3–0	1–0	1–0	4–1	1–1	3–2	1–0	2–1	1–0		2–0	1–3
Wimbledon	1–2	0–0	3–1	1–1	0–0	1–1	3–3	2–2	3–3	3–0	2–0	3–0	2–0	1–1	5–1	0–0	1–3	2–2	2–0	1–1	0–1	1–3		2–1
York City	1–2	1–2	0–0	3–2	1–1	1–2	2–1	1–2	1–1	1–0	1–1	2–0	0–3	2–0	2–2	0–2	1–2	2–1	2–1	2–1	0–0	0–4	1–1

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.

Maps

Brentford

Wimbledon

Watford

Locations of the Football League Fourth Division London teams 1977–1978

Aldershot

Barnsley

Bournemouth

Brentford

Crewe Alexandra

Darlington

Doncaster

Grimsby Town

Halifax Town

Hartlepool

Huddersfield

Newport County

Northampton Town

Reading

Rochdale

Scunthorpe & Lindsey

Southend

Southport

Stockport

Swansea City

Torquay

Watford

Wimbledon

York City

Locations of the Football League Fourth Division teams 1977–1978

See also

• 1977-78 in English football

References

1. Bob Latchford Archived 2014-06-20 at the Wayback Machine, Everton F.C. website
2. "English League Leading Goalscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 2010-10-31.
3. "England 1977–78". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 30 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-24.
4. Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane’s, London & Sydney, 1980.
5. "Coventry City". Football Club History Database. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
6. "Spurs v Bristol Rovers 1977".

• Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane’s, London & Sydney, 1980.