1978–79 Football League

The 1978–79 season was the 80th completed season of the Football League.

The Football League
Season1978–79
ChampionsLiverpool
New Club in LeagueWigan Athletic

Bob Paisley won his third league title at Liverpool as his side fought off competition from Nottingham Forest and West Bromwich Albion. Albion were in their first season under the management of Ron Atkinson, and pulled off a famous 5–3 away win over Manchester United with a team that included Bryan Robson, Brendan Batson, Cyrille Regis and Laurie Cunningham.

The three relegation places went to Queens Park Rangers, Birmingham City and Chelsea. QPR had declined since the departure of Dave Sexton in 1977 and were relegated just three years after finishing runners-up in the league. Meanwhile, Chelsea's manager Danny Blanchflower paid for his team's shortcomings by losing his job.

Money dominated the headlines during the season: Trevor Francis became England's first million-pound footballer after joining Nottingham Forest from Birmingham City. Liverpool became one of the first English clubs to have a shirt sponsor when they agreed a sponsorship deal with the Japanese hi-fi manufacturers Hitachi.

Crystal Palace won the Second Division title, followed by Brighton & Hove Albion, who were promoted to the top division for the first time, and third-placed Stoke City. Going down were Sheffield United, Millwall and Blackburn Rovers.

Shrewsbury Town were champions of the Third Division. The other two promotion spots were occupied by Watford and Swansea City. Peterborough United, Walsall, Tranmere Rovers and Lincoln City were relegated to the Fourth Division.

Reading, Grimsby Town, Wimbledon and Barnsley occupied the Fourth Division promotion places. The success came for Wimbledon in only their second season as a league club.

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[1] and in Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79,[2] 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.[2]

First Division
Football League
First Division
Season1978–79
ChampionsLiverpool (11th English title)
RelegatedBirmingham City,
Chelsea,
Queens Park Rangers
1979–80 European CupLiverpool,
Nottingham Forest (defending champions)
FA Cup winners
1979–80 European Cup Winners' Cup		Arsenal (5th FA Cup title)
1979–80 UEFA CupEverton,
Ipswich Town
Leeds United,
West Bromwich Albion
Matches played462
Goals scored1,217 (2.63 per match)
Top goalscorerFrank Worthington (Bolton Wanderers), 24 [3]
Biggest home winLiverpool – Tottenham 7–0 (2 Sep 1978)
Biggest away winTottenham – Arsenal 0–5 (23 Dec 1978)
Highest scoringMiddlesbrough – Chelsea 7–2 (16 Dec 1978)

Bob Paisley guided Liverpool to their third league title in four seasons with the highest points total (68), best home record (40 points from 21 games) and highest goals scored to conceded ratio (85 scored, 16 conceded, ratio 5.3:1) ever attained in First Division history. Nottingham Forest built on their first league title triumph by winning the European Cup and retaining the League Cup under the management of Brian Clough, who in February signed striker Trevor Francis from Birmingham City in Britain's first million-pound transfer, although Forest finished eight points behind Liverpool in second place. West Bromwich Albion's first full season under Ron Atkinson brought an impressive third-place finish and a run to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup, as well as a famous 5-3 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford just after Christmas.

Everton and Leeds United completed the top five. Seventh placed Arsenal compensated for a lack of a title challenge by beating Manchester United 3-2 in a memorable final of the FA Cup.

Chelsea, Birmingham City and QPR were relegated, while Derby County (champions just four years ago) only narrowly stayed up.

Pos Team Pld HW HD HL HGF HGA AW AD AL AGF AGA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Liverpool 42 19 2 0 51 4 11 6 4 34 12 +69 68 League Champions, qualified for European Cup 1979–80 First round
2 Nottingham Forest 42 11 10 0 34 10 10 8 3 27 16 +35 60 European Cup 1979–80 First round[lower-alpha 1]
3 West Bromwich Albion 42 13 5 3 38 15 11 6 4 34 20 +37 59 UEFA Cup 1979–80 First round
4 Everton 42 12 7 2 32 17 5 10 6 20 23 +12 51
5 Leeds United 42 11 4 6 41 25 7 10 4 29 27 +18 50
6 Ipswich Town 42 11 4 6 34 21 9 5 7 29 28 +14 49
7 Arsenal 42 11 8 2 37 18 6 6 9 24 30 +13 48 FA Cup winners, qualified for UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1979–80 First round
8 Aston Villa 42 8 9 4 37 26 7 7 7 22 23 +10 46
9 Manchester United 42 9 7 5 29 25 6 8 7 31 38 −3 45
10 Coventry City 42 11 7 3 41 29 3 9 9 17 39 −10 44
11 Tottenham Hotspur 42 7 8 6 19 25 6 7 8 29 36 −13 41
12 Middlesbrough 42 10 5 6 33 21 5 5 11 24 29 +7 40
13 Bristol City 42 11 6 4 34 19 4 4 13 13 32 −4 40
14 Southampton 42 9 10 2 35 20 3 6 12 12 33 −6 40
15 Manchester City 42 9 5 7 34 28 4 8 9 24 28 +2 39
16 Norwich City 42 7 10 4 29 19 0 13 8 22 38 −6 37
17 Bolton Wanderers 42 10 5 6 36 28 2 6 13 18 47 −21 35
18 Wolverhampton Wanderers 42 10 4 7 26 26 3 4 14 18 42 −24 34
19 Derby County 42 8 5 8 25 25 2 6 13 19 46 −27 31
20 Queens Park Rangers 42 4 9 8 24 33 2 4 15 21 40 −28 25 Relegated
21 Birmingham City 42 5 9 7 24 25 1 1 19 13 39 −27 22
22 Chelsea 42 3 5 13 23 42 2 5 14 21 50 −48 20
Source:
Notes:
  1. Nottingham Forest won this year's European Cup and thus qualified as defending champions. They also won the League cup for the second year running this year.

Results
Home \ Away ARS AST BIR BOL BRI CHE COV DER EVE IPS LEE LIV MCI MUN MID NWC NOT QPR SOU TOT WBA WOL
Arsenal 1–1 3–1 1–0 2–0 5–2 1–1 2–0 2–2 4–1 2–2 1–0 1–1 1–1 0–0 1–1 2–1 5–1 1–0 1–0 1–2 0–1
Aston Villa 5–1 1–0 3–0 2–0 2–1 1–1 3–3 1–1 2–2 2–2 3–1 1–1 2–2 0–2 1–1 1–2 3–1 1–1 2–3 0–1 1–0
Birmingham 0–0 0–1 3–0 1–1 1–1 0–0 1–1 1–3 1–1 0–1 0–3 1–2 5–1 1–3 1–0 0–2 3–1 2–2 1–0 1–1 1–1
Bolton Wanderers 4–2 0–0 2–2 1–2 2–1 0–0 2–1 3–1 2–3 3–1 1–4 2–2 3–0 0–0 3–2 0–1 2–1 2–0 1–3 0–1 3–1
Bristol City 1–3 1–0 2–1 4–1 3–1 5–0 1–0 2–2 3–1 0–0 1–0 1–1 1–2 1–1 1–1 1–3 2–0 3–1 0–0 1–0 0–1
Chelsea 1–1 0–1 2–1 4–3 0–0 1–3 1–1 0–1 2–3 0–3 0–0 1–4 0–1 2–1 3–3 1–3 1–3 1–2 1–3 1–3 1–2
Coventry City 1–1 1–1 2–1 2–2 3–2 3–2 4–2 3–2 2–2 0–0 0–0 0–3 4–3 2–1 4–1 0–0 1–0 4–0 1–3 1–3 3–0
Derby County 2–0 0–0 2–1 3–0 0–1 1–0 0–2 0–0 0–1 0–1 0–2 1–1 1–3 0–3 1–1 1–2 2–1 2–1 2–2 3–2 4–1
Everton 1–0 1–1 1–0 1–0 4–1 3–2 3–3 2–1 0–1 1–1 1–0 1–0 3–0 2–0 2–2 1–1 2–1 0–0 1–1 0–2 2–0
Ipswich Town 2–0 0–2 3–0 3–0 0–1 5–1 1–1 2–1 0–1 2–3 0–3 2–1 3–0 2–1 1–1 1–1 2–1 0–0 2–1 0–1 3–1
Leeds United 0–1 1–0 3–0 5–1 1–1 2–1 1–0 4–0 1–0 1–1 0–3 1–1 2–3 3–1 2–2 1–2 4–3 4–0 1–2 1–3 3–0
Liverpool 3–0 3–0 1–0 3–0 1–0 2–0 1–0 5–0 1–1 2–0 1–1 1–0 2–0 2–0 6–0 2–0 2–1 2–0 7–0 2–1 2–0
Manchester City 1–1 2–3 3–1 2–1 2–0 2–3 2–0 1–2 0–0 1–2 3–0 1–4 0–3 1–0 2–2 0–0 3–1 1–2 2–0 2–2 3–1
Manchester United 0–2 1–1 1–0 1–2 1–3 1–1 0–0 0–0 1–1 2–0 4–1 0–3 1–0 3–2 1–0 1–1 2–0 1–1 2–0 3–5 3–2
Middlesbrough 2–3 2–0 2–1 1–1 0–0 7–2 1–2 3–1 1–2 0–0 1–0 0–1 2–0 2–2 2–0 1–3 0–2 2–0 1–0 1–1 2–0
Norwich City 0–0 1–2 4–0 0–0 3–0 2–0 1–0 3–0 0–1 0–1 2–2 1–4 1–1 2–2 1–0 1–1 1–1 3–1 2–2 1–1 0–0
Nottingham Forest 2–1 4–0 1–0 1–1 2–0 6–0 3–0 1–1 0–0 1–0 0–0 0–0 3–1 1–1 2–2 2–1 0–0 1–0 1–1 0–0 3–1
Queens Park Rangers 1–2 1–0 1–3 1–3 1–0 0–0 5–1 2–2 1–1 0–4 1–4 1–3 2–1 1–1 1–1 0–0 0–0 0–1 2–2 0–1 3–3
Southampton 2–0 2–0 1–0 2–2 2–0 0–0 4–0 1–2 3–0 1–2 2–2 1–1 1–0 1–1 2–1 2–2 0–0 1–1 3–3 1–1 3–2
Tottenham Hotspur 0–5 1–4 1–0 2–0 1–0 2–2 1–1 2–0 1–1 1–0 1–2 0–0 0–3 1–1 1–2 0–0 1–3 1–1 0–0 1–0 1–0
West Bromwich Albion 1–1 1–1 1–0 4–0 3–1 1–0 7–1 2–1 1–0 2–1 1–2 1–1 4–0 1–0 2–0 2–2 0–1 2–1 1–0 0–1 1–1
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1–0 0–4 2–1 1–1 2–0 0–1 1–1 4–0 1–0 1–3 1–1 0–1 1–1 2–4 1–3 1–0 1–0 1–0 2–0 3–2 0–3
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
Locations of the Football League First Division London teams 1978–1979
Locations of the Football League First Division 1978–1979 teams

Second Division
Football League
Second Division
Season1978–79
ChampionsCrystal Palace (1st title)
PromotedBrighton & Hove Albion,
Stoke City
RelegatedBlackburn Rovers,
Millwall,
Sheffield United
Matches played462
Goals scored1,174 (2.54 per match)
Top goalscorerPop Robson (West Ham United) 24 [3]
Biggest home winLuton –Cardiff City 7–1 (16 Sep 1978)
Luton –Notts County 6–0 (21 Oct 1978)
Biggest away winBlackburn –Cardiff City 1–4 (28 Feb 1979)
Cardiff City –Charlton 1–4 (4 Nov 1978)
Charlton –Stoke 1–4 (14 Apr 1979)
Luton –West Ham 1–4 (26 Feb 1979)
Millwall –Brighton & Hove 1–4 (2 Sep 1979)
Newcastle –Sunderland 1–4 (24 Feb 1979)
0–3: 9 matches
Highest scoringBristol Rovers –Charlton 5–5 (18 Nov 1978)

Crystal Palace continued to excel under the management of Terry Venables as their exciting young team finished top of a hotly contested Second Division promotion race, a point ahead of Brighton (in the First Division for the first time) and Stoke City. Sunderland missed out on promotion by a single point.

Newcastle United and Leicester City surprisingly failed to feature in the Second Division promotion race.

Blackburn Rovers, Millwall and Sheffield United went down to the Third Division.

Pos Team Pld HW HD HL HGF HGA AW AD AL AGF AGA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Crystal Palace 42 12 7 2 30 11 7 12 2 21 13 +27 57 Division Champions, promoted
2 Brighton & Hove Albion 42 16 3 2 44 11 7 7 7 28 28 +33 56 Promoted
3 Stoke City 42 11 7 3 35 15 9 9 3 23 16 +27 56
4 Sunderland 42 13 3 5 39 19 9 8 4 31 25 +26 55
5 West Ham United 42 12 7 2 46 15 6 7 8 24 24 +31 50
6 Notts County 42 8 10 3 23 15 6 6 9 25 45 −12 44
7 Preston North End 42 7 11 3 36 23 5 7 9 23 34 +2 42
8 Newcastle United 42 13 3 5 35 24 4 5 12 16 31 −4 42
9 Cardiff City 42 12 5 4 34 23 4 5 12 22 47 −14 42
10 Fulham 42 10 7 4 35 19 3 8 10 15 28 +3 41
11 Orient 42 11 5 5 32 18 4 5 12 19 33 0 40
12 Cambridge United 42 7 10 4 22 15 5 6 10 22 37 −8 40
13 Burnley 42 11 6 4 31 22 3 6 12 20 40 −11 40
14 Oldham Athletic 42 10 7 4 36 23 3 6 12 16 38 −9 39
15 Wrexham 42 10 6 5 31 16 2 8 11 14 26 +3 38 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1979–80 First round[lower-alpha 1]
16 Bristol Rovers 42 10 6 5 34 23 4 4 13 14 37 −12 38
17 Leicester City 42 7 8 6 28 23 3 9 9 15 29 −9 37
18 Luton Town 42 11 5 5 46 24 2 5 14 14 33 +3 36
19 Charlton Athletic 42 6 8 7 28 28 5 5 11 32 41 −9 35
20 Sheffield United 42 9 6 6 34 24 2 6 13 18 45 −17 34 Relegated
21 Millwall 42 7 4 10 22 29 4 6 11 20 32 −19 32
22 Blackburn Rovers 42 5 8 8 24 29 5 2 14 17 43 −31 30
Source:
Notes:
  1. Wrexham were runners-up in the Welsh Cup final, and since winners Shrewsbury Town are an English club, Wrexham were awarded the right to participate in the European Cup Winners' Cup.

Results
Home \ Away BLB B&HA BRR BUR CAM CAR CHA CRY FUL LEI LUT MIL NEW NTC OLD ORI PNE SHU STK SUN WHU WRE
Blackburn Rovers 1–1 0–2 1–2 1–0 1–4 1–2 1–1 2–1 1–1 0–0 1–1 1–3 3–4 0–2 3–0 0–1 2–0 2–2 1–1 1–0 1–1
Brighton & Hove Albion 2–1 3–0 2–1 0–2 5–0 2–0 0–0 3–0 3–1 3–1 3–0 2–0 0–0 1–0 2–0 5–1 2–0 1–1 2–0 1–2 2–1
Bristol Rovers 4–1 1–2 2–0 2–0 4–2 5–5 0–1 3–1 1–1 2–0 0–3 2–0 2–2 0–0 2–1 0–1 2–1 0–0 0–0 0–1 2–1
Burnley 2–1 3–0 2–0 1–1 0–0 2–1 2–1 5–3 2–2 2–1 0–1 1–0 2–1 1–0 0–1 1–1 1–1 0–3 1–2 3–2 0–0
Cambridge United 0–1 0–0 1–1 2–2 5–0 1–1 0–0 1–0 1–1 0–0 2–1 0–0 0–1 3–3 3–1 1–0 1–0 0–1 0–2 0–0 1–0
Cardiff City 2–0 3–1 2–0 1–1 1–0 1–4 2–2 2–0 1–0 2–1 2–1 2–1 2–3 1–3 1–0 2–2 4–0 1–3 1–1 0–0 1–0
Charlton Athletic 2–0 0–3 3–0 1–1 2–3 1–1 1–1 0–0 1–0 1–2 2–4 4–1 1–1 2–0 0–2 1–1 3–1 1–4 1–2 0–0 1–1
Crystal Palace 3–0 3–1 0–1 2–0 1–1 2–0 1–0 0–1 3–1 3–1 0–0 1–0 2–0 1–0 1–1 0–0 3–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–0
Fulham 1–2 0–1 3–0 0–0 5–1 2–2 3–1 0–0 3–0 1–0 1–0 1–3 1–1 1–0 2–2 5–3 2–0 2–0 2–2 0–0 0–1
Leicester City 1–1 4–1 0–0 2–1 1–1 1–2 0–3 1–1 1–0 3–0 0–0 2–1 0–1 2–0 5–3 1–1 0–1 1–1 1–2 1–2 1–1
Luton Town 2–1 1–1 3–2 4–1 1–1 7–1 3–0 0–1 2–0 0–1 2–2 2–0 6–0 6–1 2–1 1–2 1–1 0–0 0–3 1–4 2–1
Millwall 1–1 1–4 0–3 0–2 2–0 2–0 0–2 0–3 0–0 2–0 0–2 2–1 0–1 2–3 2–0 0–2 1–1 3–0 0–1 2–1 2–2
Newcastle United 3–1 1–3 3–0 3–1 1–0 3–0 5–3 1–0 0–0 1–0 1–0 1–0 1–2 1–1 0–0 4–3 1–3 2–0 1–4 0–3 2–0
Notts County 2–1 1–0 2–1 1–1 1–1 1–0 1–1 0–0 1–1 0–1 3–1 1–1 1–2 0–0 1–0 0–0 4–1 0–1 1–1 1–0 1–1
Oldham Athletic 5–0 1–3 3–1 2–0 4–1 2–1 0–3 0–0 0–2 2–1 2–0 4–1 1–3 3–3 0–0 2–0 1–1 1–1 0–0 2–2 1–0
Orient 2–0 3–3 1–1 2–1 3–0 2–2 2–1 0–1 1–0 0–1 3–2 2–1 2–0 3–0 0–0 2–0 1–1 0–1 3–0 0–2 0–1
Preston North End 4–1 1–0 1–1 2–2 0–2 2–1 6–1 2–3 2–2 4–0 2–2 0–0 0–0 1–1 1–1 1–1 2–2 0–1 3–1 0–0 2–1
Sheffield United 0–1 0–1 1–0 4–0 3–3 2–1 2–1 0–2 1–1 2–2 1–1 0–2 1–0 5–1 4–2 1–2 0–1 0–0 3–2 3–0 1–1
Stoke City 1–2 2–2 2–0 3–1 1–3 2–0 2–2 1–1 2–0 0–0 0–0 2–0 0–0 2–0 4–0 3–1 1–1 2–1 0–1 2–0 3–0
Sunderland 0–1 2–1 5–0 3–1 0–2 1–2 1–0 1–2 1–1 1–1 1–0 3–2 1–1 3–0 3–0 1–0 3–1 6–2 0–1 2–1 1–0
West Ham United 4–0 0–0 2–0 3–1 5–0 1–1 2–0 1–1 0–1 1–1 1–0 3–0 5–0 5–2 3–0 0–2 3–1 2–0 1–1 3–3 1–1
Wrexham 2–1 0–0 0–1 0–1 2–0 1–2 1–1 0–0 1–1 0–0 2–0 3–0 0–0 3–1 2–0 3–1 2–1 4–0 0–1 1–2 4–3
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
Locations of the Football League Second Division London teams 1978–1979
Locations of the Football League Second Division 1978–1979 teams

Third Division
Football League
Third Division
Season1978–79
ChampionsShrewsbury Town (1st title)
PromotedSwansea City,
Watford
RelegatedLincoln City,
Peterborough United,
Tranmere Rovers,
Walsall
Matches played552
Goals scored1,388 (2.51 per match)
Top goalscorerRoss Jenkins (Watford), 29 [3]
Pos Team Pld HW HD HL HGF HGA AW AD AL AGF AGA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Shrewsbury Town 46 14 9 0 36 11 7 10 6 25 30 +20 61 Division Champions, promoted; Welsh Cup winners, not qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup[lower-alpha 1]
2 Watford 46 15 5 3 47 22 9 7 7 36 30 +31 60 Promoted
3 Swansea City 46 16 6 1 57 32 8 6 9 26 29 +22 60
4 Gillingham 46 15 7 1 39 15 6 10 7 26 27 +23 59
5 Swindon Town 46 17 2 4 44 14 8 5 10 30 38 +22 57
6 Carlisle United 46 11 10 2 31 13 4 12 7 22 29 +11 52
7 Colchester United 46 13 9 1 35 19 4 8 11 25 36 +5 51
8 Hull City 46 12 9 2 36 14 7 2 14 30 47 +5 49
9 Exeter City 46 14 6 3 38 18 3 9 11 23 38 +5 49
10 Brentford 46 14 4 5 35 19 5 5 13 18 30 +4 47
11 Oxford United 46 10 8 5 27 20 4 10 9 17 30 −6 46
12 Blackpool 46 12 5 6 38 19 6 4 13 23 40 +2 45
13 Southend United 46 11 6 6 30 17 4 9 10 21 32 +2 45
14 Sheffield Wednesday 46 9 8 6 30 22 4 11 8 23 31 0 45
15 Plymouth Argyle 46 11 9 3 40 27 4 5 14 27 41 −1 44
16 Chester 46 11 9 3 42 21 3 7 13 15 40 −4 44
17 Rotherham United 46 13 3 7 30 23 4 7 12 19 32 −6 44
18 Mansfield Town 46 7 11 5 30 24 5 8 10 21 28 −1 43
19 Bury 46 6 11 6 35 32 5 9 9 24 33 −6 42
20 Chesterfield 46 10 5 8 35 34 3 9 11 16 31 −14 40
21 Peterborough United 46 8 7 8 26 24 3 7 13 18 39 −19 36 Relegated
22 Walsall 46 7 6 10 34 32 3 6 14 22 39 −15 32
23 Tranmere Rovers 46 4 12 7 26 31 2 4 17 19 47 −33 28
24 Lincoln City 46 5 7 11 26 38 2 4 17 15 50 −47 25
Source: rsssf.com
Notes:
  1. Shrewsbury Town were winners of the Welsh Cup winners this season, but as they are an English club, they did not earn a place in the Cup Winners' Cup.

Results
Home \ Away BLP BRE BRY CRL CHE CHF COL EXE GIL HUL LIN MAN OXF PET PLY ROT SHW SHR STD SWA SWI TRA WAL WAT
Blackpool 0–1 1–2 3–1 3–0 0–0 2–1 1–1 2–0 3–1 2–0 2–0 1–0 0–0 0–0 1–2 0–1 5–0 1–2 1–3 5–2 2–0 2–1 1–1
Brentford 3–2 0–1 0–0 6–0 0–3 1–0 0–0 0–2 1–0 2–1 1–0 3–0 0–0 2–1 1–0 2–1 2–3 3–0 1–0 1–2 2–0 1–0 3–3
Bury 1–3 2–3 2–2 1–1 3–1 2–2 4–2 2–2 1–1 2–2 0–0 1–1 1–0 1–2 3–2 0–0 3–0 3–3 0–1 0–1 1–0 1–1 1–2
Carlisle United 1–1 1–0 1–2 1–1 1–1 4–0 1–1 1–0 2–2 2–0 1–0 0–1 4–1 1–1 1–1 0–0 1–1 0–0 2–0 2–0 2–0 1–0 1–0
Chester 4–2 3–1 1–1 1–2 3–0 2–2 3–0 1–1 2–1 5–1 1–1 4–1 1–1 0–0 0–1 2–2 0–0 0–1 2–0 2–0 1–1 2–1 2–1
Chesterfield 1–3 0–0 2–1 2–3 3–1 2–1 0–1 0–2 1–2 1–3 1–0 1–1 3–1 1–3 1–0 3–3 2–1 3–2 2–1 1–1 5–2 0–0 0–2
Colchester United 3–1 1–1 0–0 2–1 2–1 0–0 2–2 2–2 2–1 2–0 1–0 1–1 4–2 2–1 0–0 1–0 1–0 1–1 2–2 3–2 1–0 2–0 0–1
Exeter City 3–0 2–2 2–1 3–2 0–1 3–1 2–1 0–0 3–1 3–2 0–0 2–0 1–0 1–0 2–0 2–2 0–1 0–0 2–1 1–2 3–0 3–1 0–0
Gillingham 2–0 0–0 3–3 0–0 1–0 2–1 3–0 2–0 2–0 4–2 0–0 2–1 1–0 2–0 0–0 0–0 2–0 1–0 2–0 2–2 3–2 3–1 2–3
Hull City 0–0 1–0 4–1 1–1 3–0 1–1 1–0 1–0 0–1 0–0 3–0 0–1 1–1 2–1 1–0 1–1 1–1 2–0 2–2 1–1 2–1 4–1 4–0
Lincoln City 1–2 1–0 1–4 1–1 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–1 2–4 4–2 0–1 2–2 0–1 3–3 3–0 1–2 1–2 1–1 2–1 0–3 2–1 1–1 0–5
Mansfield Town 1–1 2–1 3–0 1–0 2–0 2–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 0–2 2–0 1–1 1–1 5–0 0–1 1–1 2–2 1–1 2–2 0–1 0–0 1–3 0–3
Oxford United 1–0 0–1 0–0 5–1 0–0 1–1 2–0 3–2 1–1 1–0 2–1 3–2 0–2 3–2 1–0 1–1 0–1 0–0 0–2 0–1 0–0 2–1 1–1
Peterborough United 1–2 3–1 2–2 0–0 2–1 0–0 1–2 1–1 1–1 3–0 0–1 1–2 1–1 2–1 1–1 2–0 0–2 0–1 2–0 2–1 1–0 0–3 0–1
Plymouth Argyle 0–0 2–1 3–0 2–0 2–2 1–1 1–1 4–2 2–1 3–4 2–1 1–4 0–1 3–2 2–0 2–0 1–1 1–1 2–2 2–0 2–2 1–0 1–1
Rotherham United 2–1 1–0 2–1 1–3 0–1 1–0 1–0 2–1 1–1 0–2 2–0 2–0 0–0 1–1 1–0 0–1 1–2 2–1 0–1 1–3 3–2 4–1 2–1
Sheffield Wednesday 2–0 1–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 4–0 0–0 2–1 2–1 2–3 0–0 1–2 1–1 3–0 2–3 2–1 0–0 3–2 0–0 2–1 1–2 0–2 2–3
Shrewsbury Town 2–0 1–0 1–0 0–0 1–0 1–1 2–0 4–1 1–1 1–0 2–0 2–2 0–0 2–0 2–0 3–1 2–2 2–0 3–0 0–0 2–1 1–1 1–1
Southend 4–0 1–1 0–0 1–1 0–1 2–0 1–1 0–1 0–1 3–0 2–0 1–1 2–0 0–0 2–1 2–1 2–1 0–1 0–2 5–3 0–1 1–0 1–0
Swansea City 1–0 2–1 2–0 0–0 2–2 2–1 4–1 1–0 3–1 5–3 3–0 3–2 1–1 4–1 2–1 4–4 4–2 1–1 3–2 1–2 4–3 2–2 3–2
Swindon Town 0–1 2–0 2–1 0–0 2–0 1–0 1–2 1–1 3–1 2–0 6–0 1–0 2–0 3–1 1–3 1–0 3–0 2–1 1–0 0–1 4–1 4–1 2–0
Tranmere 0–2 0–1 0–0 1–1 6–2 1–1 1–5 2–2 1–1 1–3 0–0 1–2 1–0 1–0 2–1 1–1 1–1 2–2 1–2 1–2 1–1 0–0 1–1
Walsall 2–1 2–3 0–1 1–2 2–1 0–1 2–2 2–2 0–1 1–2 4–1 1–1 0–1 4–1 2–1 0–1 0–2 1–1 1–1 1–1 4–1 2–0 2–4
Watford 5–1 2–0 3–3 2–1 1–0 2–0 0–3 1–0 1–0 4–0 2–0 1–1 4–2 1–2 2–2 2–2 1–0 2–2 2–0 0–2 2–0 4–0 3–1
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
Locations of the Football League Third Division London teams 1978–1979
Locations of the Football League Third Division teams 1978–1979

Fourth Division
Football League
Fourth Division
Season1978–79
ChampionsReading (1st title)
PromotedBarnsley,
Grimsby Town,
Wimbledon
Failed re-electionNone
New club in the leagueWigan Athletic
Matches played552
Goals scored1,409 (2.55 per match)
Top goalscorerJohn Dungworth (Aldershot), 26 [3]
Pos Team Pld HW HD HL HGF HGA AW AD AL AGF AGA GD Pts Promotion
1 Reading 46 19 3 1 49 8 7 10 6 27 27 +41 65 Division Champions, promoted
2 Grimsby Town 46 15 5 3 51 23 11 4 8 31 26 +33 61 Promoted
3 Wimbledon 46 18 3 2 50 20 7 8 8 28 26 +32 61
4 Barnsley 46 15 5 3 47 23 9 8 6 26 19 +31 61
5 Aldershot 46 16 5 2 38 14 4 12 7 25 33 +16 57
6 Wigan Athletic[lower-alpha 1] 46 14 5 4 40 24 7 8 8 23 24 +15 55
7 Portsmouth 46 13 7 3 35 12 7 5 11 27 36 +14 52
8 Newport County 46 12 5 6 39 28 9 5 9 27 27 +11 52
9 Huddersfield Town 46 13 8 2 32 15 5 3 15 25 38 +4 47
10 York City 46 11 6 6 33 24 7 5 11 18 31 −4 47
11 Torquay United 46 14 4 5 38 24 5 4 14 20 41 −7 46
12 Scunthorpe United 46 12 3 8 33 30 5 8 10 21 30 −6 45
13 Hartlepool United 46 7 12 4 35 28 6 6 11 22 38 −9 44
14 Hereford United 46 12 8 3 35 18 3 5 15 18 35 0 43
15 Bradford City 46 11 5 7 38 26 6 4 13 24 42 −6 43
16 Port Vale 46 8 10 5 29 28 6 4 13 28 42 −13 42
17 Stockport County 46 11 5 7 33 21 3 7 13 25 39 −2 40
18 Bournemouth 46 11 6 6 34 19 3 5 15 13 29 −1 39
19 Northampton Town 46 12 4 7 40 30 3 5 15 24 46 −12 39
20 Rochdale 46 11 4 8 25 26 4 5 14 22 38 −17 39
21 Darlington 46 8 8 7 25 21 3 7 13 24 45 −17 37 Re-elected
22 Doncaster Rovers 46 8 8 7 25 22 5 3 15 25 51 −23 37
23 Halifax Town 46 7 5 11 24 32 2 3 18 15 40 −33 26
24 Crewe Alexandra 46 3 7 13 24 41 3 7 13 19 49 −47 26
Source:
Notes:
  1. New club in the league

Results
Home \ Away ALD BAR BOU BRA CRE DAR DON GRI HAL HAR HER HUD NPC NOR POR PTV REA ROC SCU STP TOR WIG WDN YOR
Aldershot 1–0 1–0 6–0 3–0 1–1 2–1 2–0 1–0 1–1 2–0 1–0 2–3 2–0 0–2 1–1 2–2 1–0 2–0 3–2 1–0 1–0 1–1 1–0
Barnsley 2–0 1–0 0–1 3–1 1–1 3–0 2–1 4–2 1–0 2–1 1–0 1–0 1–1 1–1 6–2 3–1 0–3 4–1 4–4 1–2 0–0 3–1 3–0
Bournemouth 0–1 0–2 1–0 0–1 2–2 7–1 0–0 1–0 0–1 1–1 2–0 3–1 0–0 3–1 3–1 0–0 3–1 0–0 3–1 1–0 2–1 1–2 1–2
Bradford City 0–2 1–2 2–1 6–0 0–0 1–0 1–3 3–0 1–2 2–1 1–1 1–3 3–0 2–0 2–3 2–3 1–0 1–1 1–1 3–1 1–1 1–0 2–1
Crewe Alexandra 1–1 0–2 1–0 1–2 1–1 2–4 0–3 1–0 0–1 0–0 3–3 0–1 2–4 0–0 1–5 0–2 1–2 0–2 2–2 6–2 1–1 1–2 0–1
Darlington 2–1 0–0 0–0 1–1 1–1 3–2 0–1 2–1 0–1 2–1 1–0 1–0 0–0 2–0 4–0 1–2 0–2 2–2 0–1 1–2 1–1 1–1 0–1
Doncaster Rovers 1–1 2–2 1–1 2–0 2–0 2–3 0–1 1–1 0–0 1–0 0–2 0–0 2–0 2–3 1–3 2–2 1–0 0–0 2–0 1–0 0–1 1–0 1–2
Grimsby Town 0–0 2–0 1–0 5–1 2–2 7–2 3–4 2–1 0–1 1–1 2–1 1–0 4–3 1–0 1–0 1–2 4–0 1–1 2–1 3–0 3–1 2–2 3–0
Halifax Town 1–1 0–2 0–2 2–0 0–0 0–2 0–0 1–2 2–4 1–0 2–3 1–2 2–2 2–0 0–3 0–0 2–1 2–3 2–1 1–0 1–2 2–1 0–1
Hartlepool 2–2 1–1 0–0 2–2 2–2 0–2 3–4 1–0 3–1 2–1 2–0 0–0 2–0 1–1 1–2 0–0 5–1 1–1 1–3 3–2 1–1 1–1 1–1
Hereford United 1–1 1–1 0–0 3–1 6–1 1–0 2–0 0–1 2–2 1–0 3–0 0–3 4–3 0–1 1–0 0–0 2–2 3–1 1–0 3–1 0–0 0–0 1–0
Huddersfield Town 0–0 1–0 2–1 0–0 0–0 2–2 2–1 2–0 2–0 2–0 2–3 0–1 1–0 2–0 3–2 1–1 1–0 3–2 0–0 1–1 1–1 3–0 1–0
Newport County 1–2 1–1 2–0 2–4 1–2 2–1 3–0 1–1 2–0 3–2 4–1 2–1 2–1 1–2 1–0 3–2 0–0 2–0 1–2 1–1 2–1 1–3 1–1
Northampton Town 2–3 0–1 4–2 1–0 3–1 4–1 3–0 1–2 2–1 1–1 2–1 2–3 3–1 0–2 1–0 2–2 1–0 1–0 2–2 1–2 2–4 1–1 1–0
Portsmouth 1–1 0–1 1–1 0–1 3–0 3–0 4–0 1–3 3–1 3–0 1–0 1–0 2–1 1–0 2–0 4–0 1–1 0–0 1–1 1–0 1–0 0–0 1–1
Port Vale 1–1 3–2 1–2 2–1 2–2 2–1 1–3 1–1 0–1 2–0 1–1 1–0 1–1 2–2 0–0 0–3 1–1 2–2 2–1 1–2 2–1 1–0 0–0
Reading 4–0 1–0 1–0 3–0 3–0 1–0 3–0 4–0 1–0 3–1 3–0 1–1 2–1 5–1 2–0 0–0 2–0 0–1 3–3 1–0 2–0 1–0 3–0
Rochdale 1–1 0–3 2–1 1–0 2–1 2–1 2–0 2–5 1–1 1–1 0–2 0–2 1–0 4–1 0–2 0–1 1–0 1–0 2–0 1–0 0–2 0–0 1–2
Scunthorpe United 2–0 0–1 1–0 3–2 0–1 1–0 0–0 2–1 1–0 3–1 4–2 3–1 2–3 0–3 2–2 2–0 0–3 0–4 1–0 2–2 0–1 2–0 2–3
Stockport County 2–2 0–0 1–0 1–0 4–3 3–0 0–1 2–1 1–2 4–0 0–2 3–1 1–1 2–1 4–2 0–0 0–0 3–0 0–2 0–1 0–1 0–1 2–0
Torquay United 2–1 3–2 0–1 1–2 3–0 1–0 2–1 3–1 2–0 4–1 1–0 2–1 2–0 0–1 2–1 2–2 1–1 1–1 0–1 1–0 1–1 1–6 3–0
Wigan Athletic 3–2 1–1 1–0 1–3 1–0 2–2 1–0 0–3 1–0 2–2 0–0 2–1 2–3 2–0 2–0 5–3 3–0 3–0 1–0 2–0 3–1 1–2 1–1
Wimbledon 3–1 1–1 4–0 2–1 1–1 2–0 3–2 0–1 2–1 3–1 2–0 2–1 0–0 4–1 2–4 1–0 1–0 3–2 3–1 2–0 5–0 2–1 2–1
York City 1–1 0–1 2–1 2–2 1–0 5–2 1–1 0–0 2–0 1–1 1–0 1–3 1–2 1–0 5–3 4–0 0–1 2–1 1–0 1–0 0–0 0–1 1–4
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
Locations of the Football League Fourth Division teams 1978–1979
Locations of the Football League Fourth Division London teams 1978–1979

See also

References
  1. "England 1978–79". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 27 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-24.
  2. Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane’s, London & Sydney, 1980.
  3. "English League Leading Goalscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 2010-10-31.
  • Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane’s, London & Sydney, 1980.
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