| Competition: | The Football League |
| Season: | 1977–78 |
| Winners: | Nottingham Forest |
| Relegated: | Southport |
| Continentalcup1: | New Club in League |
| Continentalcup1 Qualifiers: | Wimbledon |
| Prevseason: | 1976–77 |
| Nextseason: | 1978–79 |
The 1977–78 season was the 79th completed season of The Football League. The season began on 20 August 1977 and ended after 42 matches on 4 May 1978.[1]
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,[2] which had not happened in the First Division since the 1971–72 season and in the Second Division since the 1965–66 season.[3]
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.
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[4] and in Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79[5] 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.[5]
| Competition: | First Division |
| Season: | 1977–78 |
| Winners: | Nottingham Forest 1st English title |
| Relegated: | West Ham United Newcastle United Leicester City |
| Continentalcup1: | European Cup |
| Continentalcup1 Qualifiers: | Nottingham Forest Liverpool (defending champions) |
| Continentalcup2: | Cup Winners' Cup |
| Continentalcup2 Qualifiers: | Ipswich Town |
| Continentalcup3: | UEFA Cup |
| Continentalcup3 Qualifiers: | Everton Manchester City Arsenal West Bromwich Albion |
| League Topscorer: | Bob Latchford (30 goals) |
| Biggest Home Win: | (26 November 1977) (29 April 1978) |
| Biggest Away Win: | (8 October 1977) (26 November 1977) (17 December 1977) (26 December 1977) (15 April 1978) |
| Highest Scoring: | (27 December 1977) (31 December 1977) |
| Matches: | 462 |
| Total Goals: | 1231 |
| Prevseason: | 1976–77 |
| Nextseason: | 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.[6]
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.
Record
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Middlesbrough | Harold Shepherdson | End of caretaker spell | 6 May 1977 | Pre-season | John Neal | 6 May 1977 | |
| Leicester City | Jimmy Bloomfield | Resigned | 23 May 1977 | Frank McLintock | 6 June 1977 | ||
| West Bromwich Albion | Johnny Giles | Resigned | 26 May 1977 | Ronnie Allen | 21 June 1977 | ||
| Chelsea | Eddie McCreadie | Resigned | 1 July 1977 | Ken Shellito | 6 July 1977 | ||
| Manchester United | Tommy Docherty | Sacked | 4 July 1977 | Dave Sexton | 14 July 1977 | ||
| Queens Park Rangers | Dave Sexton | Signed by Manchester United | 14 July 1977 | Frank Sibley | 14 July 1977 | ||
| Birmingham City | Willie Bell | Resigned | 5 September 1977 | 22nd | Alf Ramsey (caretaker) | 5 September 1977 | |
| Derby County | Colin Murphy | Demoted to coach | 17 September 1977 | 21st | Tommy Docherty | 17 September 1977 | |
| Newcastle United | Richard Dinnis | Sacked | 9 November 1977 | 22nd | Bill McGarry | 18 November 1977 | |
| West Bromwich Albion | Ronnie Allen | Resigned | 22 December 1977 | 4th | Ron Atkinson | 12 January 1978 | |
| Birmingham City | Alf Ramsey | End of caretaker spell | 12 March 1978 | 18th | Jim Smith | 12 March 1978 | |
| Leicester City | Frank McLintock | Sacked | 5 April 1978 | 22nd | Ian MacFarlane (caretaker) | 5 April 1977 |
| Competition: | Second Division |
| Season: | 1977–78 |
| Winners: | Bolton Wanderers |
| Promoted: | Bolton Wanderers Southampton Tottenham Hotspur |
| Relegated: | Blackpool Mansfield Town Hull City |
| League Topscorer: | Bob Hatton (22 goals) |
| Biggest Home Win: | (22 October 1977) |
| Biggest Away Win: | (3 December 1977) |
| Highest Scoring: | (10 December 1977) |
| Matches: | 462 |
| Total Goals: | 1235 |
| Prevseason: | 1976–77 |
| Nextseason: | 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.
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orient | George Petchey | Resigned | 26 August 1977 | 21st | Jimmy Bloomfield | 12 September 1977 | |
| Hull City | John Kaye | Sacked | 29 September 1977 | 13th | Bobby Collins | 1 October 1977 | |
| Notts County | Ron Fenton | Sacked | 5 October 1977 | 21st | Jimmy Sirrel | 9 October 1977 | |
| Sheffield United | Jimmy Sirrel | Signed by Notts County | 9 October 1977 | 15th | Cec Coldwell (caretaker) | 9 October 1977 | |
| Bristol Rovers | Don Megson | Sacked | 22 November 1977 | 21st | Bobby Campbell | 22 November 1977 | |
| Millwall | Gordon Jago | Resigned | 5 December 1977 | 18th | George Petchey | 4 January 1978 | |
| Stoke City | George Eastham | Sacked | 9 January 1978 | 14th | Alan Durban | 13 January 1978 | |
| Sheffield United | Cec Coldwell | End of caretaker spell | 23 January 1978 | 11th | Harry Haslam | 23 January 1978 | |
| Luton Town | Harry Haslam | Signed by Sheffield United | 23 January 1978 | 7th | David Pleat | 23 January 1978 | |
| Blackpool | Allan Brown | Mutual consent | 6 February 1978 | 7th | Jimmy Meadows | 7 March 1978 | |
| Hull City | Bobby Collins | Sacked | 10 February 1978 | 18th | Wilf McGuinness (caretaker) | 10 February 1978 | |
| Mansfield Town | Peter Morris | Sacked | 22 February 1978 | 22nd | Billy Bingham | 25 February 1978 | |
| Blackburn Rovers | Jim Smith | Signed by Birmingham City | 12 March 1978 | 5th | Jim Iley | 14 April 1978 | |
| Hull City | Wilf McGuinness | End of caretaker spell | 17 April 1978 | 21st | Ken Houghton | 17 April 1978 |
| Competition: | Football League Third Division |
| Season: | 1977–78 |
| Winners: | Wrexham (1st title) |
| Continentalcup1: | Promoted |
| Continentalcup2: | Relegated |
| League Topscorer: | Alex Bruce (Preston North End), 27 |
| Matches: | 552 |
| Total Goals: | 1373 |
| Nextseason: | 1978–79 |
| Competition: | Football League Fourth Division |
| Season: | 1977–78 |
| Winners: | Watford (1st title) |
| Continentalcup1: | Promoted |
| Continentalcup2: | Failed re-election |
| Continentalcup3: | New club in the league |
| League Topscorer: | Alan Curtis (Swansea City), 32 Steve Phillips (Brentford), 32 |
| Matches: | 552 |
| Total Goals: | 1427 |
| Nextseason: | 1978–79 |