1973–74 in English football

The 1973–74 season was the 94th season of competitive football in England. It is considered as the end of Leeds United dominance and the start of Liverpool's.

Football in England
Season1973–74
Men's football
First DivisionLeeds United
Second DivisionMiddlesbrough
Third DivisionOldham Athletic
Fourth DivisionPeterborough United
FA CupLiverpool
League CupWolverhampton Wanderers
Charity ShieldBurnley
← 1972–73 1974–75 →

Honours
CompetitionWinnerRunner-up
First DivisionLeeds United (2)Liverpool
Second DivisionMiddlesbroughLuton Town
Third DivisionOldham AthleticBristol Rovers
Fourth DivisionPeterborough UnitedGillingham
FA CupLiverpool (2)Newcastle United
League CupWolverhampton Wanderers (1)Manchester City
Charity ShieldBurnleyManchester City
Home ChampionshipShared by  England and  Scotland

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

Football League
Main article: 1973–74 Football League

First Division

Don Revie marked his last season as Leeds United's manager by guiding them to the league championship, before taking over from Sir Alf Ramsey as the England national team manager, with England having failed to qualify for the 1974 World Cup. Revie's Leeds side beat Liverpool to the title by five points to win it for the second time in their history. Newly promoted Burnley finished in sixth place.

Manchester United were relegated from the First Division just six years after winning the European Cup at the end of a season which had seen goalkeeper Alex Stepney as joint top scorer with two goals at Christmas.[1] Manchester United's 36-year stay at the top ended after their penultimate game of the season, a 1–0 home defeat against Manchester City; former Manchester United striker Denis Law scored Manchester City's winning goal. Despite this, the board kept faith in manager Tommy Docherty as the man to regain the club's top flight place.

Joining Manchester United in the Second Division were Norwich City and Southampton. This was the first season in which the League introduced three relegation places from the top division.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Leeds United 42 24 14 4 66 31 2.129 62 Qualified for the European Cup
2 Liverpool 42 22 13 7 52 31 1.677 57 Qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup
3 Derby County 42 17 14 11 52 42 1.238 48 Qualified for the UEFA Cup[lower-alpha 1]
4 Ipswich Town 42 18 11 13 67 58 1.155 47
5 Stoke City 42 15 16 11 54 42 1.286 46
6 Burnley 42 16 14 12 56 53 1.057 46
7 Everton 42 16 12 14 50 48 1.042 44
8 Queens Park Rangers 42 13 17 12 56 52 1.077 43
9 Leicester City 42 13 16 13 51 41 1.244 42
10 Arsenal 42 14 14 14 49 51 0.961 42
11 Tottenham Hotspur 42 14 14 14 45 50 0.900 42
12 Wolverhampton Wanderers 42 13 15 14 49 49 1.000 41 Qualified for the UEFA Cup[lower-alpha 1]
13 Sheffield United 42 14 12 16 44 49 0.898 40
14 Manchester City 42 14 12 16 39 46 0.848 40
15 Newcastle United 42 13 12 17 49 48 1.021 38
16 Coventry City 42 14 10 18 43 54 0.796 38
17 Chelsea 42 12 13 17 56 60 0.933 37
18 West Ham United 42 11 15 16 55 60 0.917 37
19 Birmingham City 42 12 13 17 52 64 0.813 37
20 Southampton 42 11 14 17 47 68 0.691 36 Relegated to the Second Division
21 Manchester United 42 10 12 20 38 48 0.792 32
22 Norwich City 42 7 15 20 37 62 0.597 29
Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:
  1. Wolverhampton Wanderers qualified for the UEFA Cup as the Football League Cup winners.

Second Division

Former Leeds United player Jack Charlton had managed Middlesbrough to the Second Division title and a place in the First Division. Second in the table were Luton Town, who finished 15 points behind the champions. Third-placed Carlisle United, managed by Alan Ashman, gained a place in the First Division for the first, and so far only, time in their history, completing a rapid rise from the Fourth Division to the First Division. Preston North End and Swindon Town were relegated along with Crystal Palace, who suffered a second successive relegation.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Middlesbrough 42 27 11 4 77 30 2.567 65 Promoted to the First Division
2 Luton Town 42 19 12 11 64 51 1.255 50
3 Carlisle United 42 20 9 13 61 48 1.271 49
4 Orient 42 15 18 9 55 42 1.310 48
5 Blackpool 42 17 13 12 57 40 1.425 47
6 Sunderland 42 19 9 14 58 44 1.318 47
7 Nottingham Forest 42 15 15 12 57 43 1.326 45
8 West Bromwich Albion 42 14 16 12 48 45 1.067 44
9 Hull City 42 13 17 12 46 47 0.979 43
10 Notts County 42 15 13 14 55 60 0.917 43
11 Bolton Wanderers 42 15 12 15 44 40 1.100 42
12 Millwall 42 14 14 14 51 51 1.000 42
13 Fulham 42 16 10 16 39 43 0.907 42
14 Aston Villa 42 13 15 14 48 45 1.067 41
15 Portsmouth 42 14 12 16 45 62 0.726 40
16 Bristol City 42 14 10 18 47 54 0.870 38
17 Cardiff City 42 10 16 16 49 62 0.790 36
18 Oxford United 42 10 16 16 35 46 0.761 36
19 Sheffield Wednesday 42 12 11 19 51 63 0.810 35
20 Crystal Palace 42 11 12 19 43 56 0.768 34 Relegated to the Third Division
21 Preston North End 42 9 14 19 40 62 0.645 31[lower-alpha 1]
22 Swindon Town 42 7 11 24 36 72 0.500 25
Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:
  1. Preston North End had one point deducted for fielding an ineligible player.

Third Division

Promotion was secured by champions Oldham Athletic, Bristol Rovers and York City, which at the time represented York's highest ever League finish. Cambridge United, Shrewsbury Town, Southport and Rochdale were all relegated.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Oldham Athletic 46 25 12 9 83 47 1.766 62 Promoted to the Second Division
2 Bristol Rovers 46 22 17 7 65 33 1.970 61
3 York City 46 21 19 6 67 38 1.763 61
4 Wrexham 46 22 12 12 63 43 1.465 56
5 Chesterfield 46 21 14 11 55 42 1.310 56
6 Grimsby Town 46 18 15 13 67 50 1.340 51
7 Watford 46 19 12 15 64 56 1.143 50
8 Aldershot 46 19 11 16 65 52 1.250 49
9 Halifax Town 46 14 21 11 48 51 0.941 49
10 Huddersfield Town 46 17 13 16 56 55 1.018 47
11 Bournemouth 46 16 15 15 54 58 0.931 47
12 Southend United 46 16 14 16 62 62 1.000 46
13 Blackburn Rovers 46 18 10 18 62 64 0.969 46
14 Charlton Athletic 46 19 8 19 66 73 0.904 46
15 Walsall 46 16 13 17 57 48 1.188 45
16 Tranmere Rovers 46 15 15 16 50 44 1.136 45
17 Plymouth Argyle 46 17 10 19 59 54 1.093 44
18 Hereford United 46 14 15 17 53 57 0.930 43
19 Brighton & Hove Albion 46 16 11 19 52 58 0.897 43
20 Port Vale 46 14 14 18 52 58 0.897 42
21 Cambridge United 46 13 9 24 48 81 0.593 35 Relegated to the Fourth Division
22 Shrewsbury Town 46 10 11 25 41 62 0.661 31
23 Southport 46 6 16 24 35 82 0.427 28
24 Rochdale 46 2 17 27 38 94 0.404 21
Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Fourth Division

Peterborough United won Division Four and were promoted along with Gillingham, Colchester United and Bury. The league's re-election system voted in favour of the bottom four league clubs and there were no departures from or arrivals into the league in 1974.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Peterborough United 46 27 11 8 75 38 1.974 65 Promoted to the Third Division
2 Gillingham 46 25 12 9 90 49 1.837 62
3 Colchester United 46 24 12 10 73 36 2.028 60
4 Bury 46 24 11 11 81 49 1.653 59
5 Northampton Town 46 20 13 13 63 48 1.313 53
6 Reading 46 16 19 11 58 37 1.568 51
7 Chester 46 17 15 14 54 55 0.982 49
8 Bradford City 46 17 14 15 58 52 1.115 48
9 Newport County 46 16 14 16 56 65 0.862 45[lower-alpha 1]
10 Exeter City 45 18 8 19 58 55 1.055 44[lower-alpha 2]
11 Hartlepool 46 16 12 18 48 47 1.021 44
12 Lincoln City 46 16 12 18 63 67 0.940 44
13 Barnsley 46 17 10 19 58 64 0.906 44
14 Swansea City 46 16 11 19 45 46 0.978 43
15 Rotherham United 46 15 13 18 56 58 0.966 43
16 Torquay United 46 13 17 16 52 57 0.912 43
17 Mansfield Town 46 13 17 16 62 69 0.899 43
18 Scunthorpe United 45 14 12 19 47 64 0.734 42[lower-alpha 2]
19 Brentford 46 12 16 18 48 50 0.960 40
20 Darlington 46 13 13 20 40 62 0.645 39
21 Crewe Alexandra 46 14 10 22 43 71 0.606 38 Re-elected
22 Doncaster Rovers 46 12 11 23 47 80 0.588 35
23 Workington 46 11 13 22 43 74 0.581 35
24 Stockport County 46 7 20 19 44 69 0.638 34
Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:
  1. Newport County had one point deducted for fielding an ineligible player.
  2. Scunthorpe United – Exeter City was never played; Exeter failed to turn up and Scunthorpe were awarded the points.

Top goalscorers

First Division

Second Division

Third Division

Fourth Division

FA Cup

The FA Cup Final was won by Liverpool, who beat Newcastle United 3–0[4] with two goals from Kevin Keegan and one from Steve Heighway. Burnley beat Leicester City 1–0 at Filbert Street in the fifth and final third-place playoff, held five days after the final.

Surprises in the earlier rounds included a first round defeat for Exeter City by Alvechurch F.C. and a 4–0 second round replay win for a Walton & Hersham team that included Dave Bassett over a Brighton & Hove Albion side managed by Brian Clough.

League Cup

Bill McGarry's Wolverhampton Wanderers beat Manchester City 2–1 in the final at Wembley Stadium with Kenny Hibbitt and John Richards getting the Wolves goals and Colin Bell replying for City. It was a first-ever League Cup win for Wolves, and their first major trophy since the Stan Cullis era more than a decade earlier.

Plymouth Argyle of the Third Division reached the semi-finals before losing to Manchester City.

European football

Tottenham Hotspur reached the UEFA Cup Final but lost 4–2 on aggregate to Feyenoord. Tottenham Hotspur supporters rioted after the second leg in Rotterdam, following Feyenoord's victory.

Player awards

Diary of the season

25 August 1973: Champions Liverpool begin the new league season with a 1–0 win at home to Stoke City.[5]

26 September 1973: England defeat Austria 7–0 at Wembley in their first international of the season, with Mick Channon, Allan Clarke and Tony Currie each scoring twice.[6]

30 September 1973: Leeds United top the First Division at the end of September, leading Coventry City by three points having dropped one point from their first nine matches. At the bottom, Birmingham City and West Ham United are still looking for their first league wins of the season.[5]

15 October 1973: Brian Clough, the Derby County manager, and his assistant Peter Taylor, leave the club after a dispute with the club's directors.[7]

17 October 1973: England fail to qualify for next summer's World Cup after Poland hold them to a 1–1 draw at Wembley in the last qualifying game, sending the Eastern European nation through at the expense of the 1966 world champions.[8]

20 October 1973: Leeds United beat Liverpool 1–0 at Elland Road to move eight points ahead of the reigning champions.[5]

23 October 1973: The eight-day saga of Brian Clough and Derby County, which has seen numerous protests by the club's fans calling for his reinstatement, ends when former Rams player Dave Mackay resigns as Nottingham Forest manager to take charge of his old club.[9]

31 October 1973: Leeds United are five points ahead of Everton, newly promoted Burnley and Derby County at the end of October.[5]

1 November 1973: Brian Clough and his assistant Peter Taylor return to the game after accepting an offer to take charge of Third Division club Brighton & Hove Albion.[10]

30 November 1973: Leeds United, without a league title since 1969, are seven points clear at the top, and still unbeaten, at the end of November. Newcastle United, Burnley, Everton and Liverpool lead the chasing pack. Birmingham City and West Ham United remain at the foot of the table, and have been joined in the relegation zone by Norwich City.[5]

31 December 1973: At the end of the year, Leeds United are still unbeaten in the league, and now lead nearest rivals Liverpool by eight points. Only goal difference keeps Manchester United, level on points with Birmingham City, out of the relegation zone.[5]

31 January 1974: Leeds United remain eight points ahead of Liverpool at the end of January. An improved run of form has seen West Ham United move out of the bottom three at the expense of Manchester United.[5]

2 February 1974: Ipswich Town thrash Southampton 7–0 at Portman Road in the biggest win of the First Division season.[5]

23 February 1974: After beginning the season with a 29-match unbeaten run, Leeds United finally suffer defeat when they are beaten 3–2 by Stoke City at the Victoria Ground.[11] However, they remain eight points ahead of Liverpool, who have moved six points ahead of third-placed Derby County.[5]

8 March 1974: A bad-tempered FA Cup quarter-final tie between Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest is halted mid-match when "hundreds of fans" invade the City Ground pitch, one of whom attacked Forest midfielder Dave Serella.[12]

16 March 1974: Liverpool beat Leeds United 1–0 at Anfield to move six points behind the Yorkshire side with two games in hand. At the other end of the table, Manchester United's relegation problems continue as they lose 1–0 to Birmingham City, who also remain in the bottom three.[5]

30 March 1974: Leeds United lose 3–1 at West Ham United, their third league defeat in a row, handing control of the title race to Liverpool, who are now four points behind with three games in hand.[5]

8 April 1974: Liverpool's hopes of retaining their league title are hit by a 1–0 defeat away to Sheffield United.[5]

20 April 1974: Liverpool draw 0–0 at home to Everton, allowing Leeds United to move to the verge of the title with a 3–2 win over Ipswich Town. Norwich City are relegated to the Second Division.[5]

22 April 1974: In response to the events in Nottingham in March, Newcastle are banned by the Football Association from hosting home cup games during next season.[13]

24 April 1974: Liverpool's 1–0 home defeat by Arsenal ends their double hopes and hands the league title to Leeds United.[14]

27 April 1974: Manchester United go into the Manchester derby at Old Trafford needing to beat neighbours City to stand any chance of avoiding relegation, six years after winning the European Cup. They lose 1–0 with former club hero Denis Law scoring City's only goal, but would have been relegated even if they had won due to Birmingham City winning.[15] Birmingham's win also relegates Southampton, despite the Saints' 3–0 win away to Everton. Leeds United end the season with a 1–0 away win over Queens Park Rangers.[5]

30 April 1974: Sir Alf Ramsey is sacked after 11 years as England manager.[16]

4 May 1974: Liverpool beat Newcastle United 3–0 in the FA Cup final at Wembley, with Kevin Keegan scored twice and Steve Heighway once.[17]

11 May 1974: England's first match since the dismissal of Alf Ramsey ends in a 2–0 win over Wales in the Home Championship.[6]

19 May 1974: England are beaten 2–0 by Scotland at Hampden Park and finish second in the Home Championship.[6]

29 May 1974: Tottenham Hotspur are beaten 4–2 on aggregate to Feyenoord in the UEFA Cup Final. Tottenham Hotspur supporters rioted after the second leg in Rotterdam, following Feyenoord's victory.

4 July 1974: Don Revie accepts The Football Association's offer to manage the England team, ending his 13-year reign as manager of Leeds United.[18]

12 July 1974: Bill Shankly announced his retirement as manager after 15 years. He is to be succeeded by his 55-year-old assistant Bob Paisley.[19]

30 July 1974: Brian Clough leaves Brighton & Hove Albion to become the new manager of Leeds United, but his assistant Peter Taylor remains at the Goldstone Ground and steps into the manager's seat there.

References
  1. "Goal scoring goalies: Keepers who found the net". The Independent. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  2. "English League Leading Goalscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
  3. "English League Leading Goalscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
  4. TheFA (2008). "Cup Final Statistics". Find out the result of every each and every Cup Final, as well as venue records, most wins and most appearances... Past FA Cup Finals. The Football Association. Archived from the original (web) on 6 February 2005. Retrieved 29 May 2008.
  5. Smailes, Gordon (2000). The Breedon Book of Football Records. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 132. ISBN 1859832148.
  6. Payne, Mike (1993). England: The Complete Post-War Record'. Derby: Breedon Books. ISBN 1873626398.
  7. Bagchi, Rob (30 April 2008). "You're fired: Five worst managerial sackings". The Guardian. London.
  8. "englandstats.com – A Complete Database of England Internationals Since 1872". Retrieved 22 September 2014.
  9. "Dave Mackay". Retrieved 22 September 2014.
  10. "Brian Clough". Retrieved 22 September 2014.
  11. "WAFLL – Leeds United Stats – Final Table Division One 1973–74". Retrieved 22 September 2014.
  12. "Riot may close ground: Newcastle faces tough FA penalty". The Age. Melbourne. 12 March 1974. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
  13. "Newcastle United Banned from Games". Lawrence Journal-World. Associated Press. 23 April 1974. p. 10. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
  14. "Leeds U clinches pennant". Edmonton Journal. Reuters. 25 April 1974.
  15. Ley, John (6 January 2012). "Manchester City v Manchester United: the top 10 Manchester derbies". The Daily Telegraph. London.
  16. "April 30 – Sir Alf Sacked – On This Football Day". Retrieved 22 September 2014.
  17. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 19 April 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  18. "England Managers – Don Revie". Retrieved 22 September 2014.
  19. "1974: Shankly quits Liverpool". BBC News. 12 July 1974.
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