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

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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

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Football League First Division
Season1978–79
ChampionsLiverpool
11th English title
RelegatedQueens Park Rangers
Birmingham City
Chelsea
European CupLiverpool
Nottingham Forest (defending champions)
Cup Winners' CupArsenal
UEFA CupWest Bromwich Albion
Everton
Leeds United
Ipswich Town
Matches played462
Goals scored1,217 (2.63 per match)
Top goalscorerFrank Worthington
(24 goals)[3]
Biggest home winLiverpool 7–0 Tottenham Hotspur
(2 September 1978)
Biggest away winTottenham Hotspur 0–5 Arsenal
(23 December 1978)
Highest scoringMiddlesbrough 7–2 Chelsea
(16 December 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 W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Liverpool (C) 42 30 8 4 85 16 +69 68 Qualification for the European Cup first round
2 Nottingham Forest 42 21 18 3 61 26 +35 60 Qualification for the European Cup first round[a]
3 West Bromwich Albion 42 24 11 7 72 35 +37 59 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
4 Everton 42 17 17 8 52 40 +12 51
5 Leeds United 42 18 14 10 70 52 +18 50
6 Ipswich Town 42 20 9 13 63 49 +14 49
7 Arsenal 42 17 14 11 61 48 +13 48 Qualification for the European Cup Winners' Cup first round[b]
8 Aston Villa 42 15 16 11 59 49 +10 46
9 Manchester United 42 15 15 12 60 63 −3 45
10 Coventry City 42 14 16 12 58 68 −10 44
11 Tottenham Hotspur 42 13 15 14 48 61 −13 41
12 Middlesbrough 42 15 10 17 57 50 +7 40
13 Bristol City 42 15 10 17 47 51 −4 40
14 Southampton 42 12 16 14 47 53 −6 40
15 Manchester City 42 13 13 16 58 56 +2 39
16 Norwich City 42 7 23 12 51 57 −6 37
17 Bolton Wanderers 42 12 11 19 54 75 −21 35
18 Wolverhampton Wanderers 42 13 8 21 44 68 −24 34
19 Derby County 42 10 11 21 44 71 −27 31
20 Queens Park Rangers (R) 42 6 13 23 45 73 −28 25 Relegation to the Second Division
21 Birmingham City (R) 42 6 10 26 37 64 −27 22
22 Chelsea (R) 42 5 10 27 44 92 −48 20
Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ Nottingham Forest qualified for the European Cup first round as the 1978–79 European Cup winners.
  2. ^ Arsenal qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup first round as the 1978–79 FA Cup winners.

Results

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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 City 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.

Managerial changes

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Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Leeds United   Jimmy Armfield Sacked 30 June 1978 Pre-season   Jock Stein 21 August 1978
Queens Park Rangers   Frank Sibley Mutual consent 11 July 1978   Steve Burtenshaw 10 August 1978
Leeds United   Jock Stein Signed by Scotland 4 October 1978 11th   Jimmy Adamson 25 October 1978
Wolverhampton Wanderers   Sammy Chung Sacked 8 November 1978 21st   John Barnwell 20 November 1978
Chelsea   Ken Shellito 13 December 1978 22nd   Danny Blanchflower 14 December 1978

Maps

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Locations of the Football League First Division London teams 1978–1979

Second Division

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Second Division
Season1978–79
ChampionsCrystal Palace
PromotedCrystal Palace
Brighton & Hove Albion
Stoke City
RelegatedSheffield United
Millwall
Blackburn Rovers
Cup Winners' CupWrexham
Matches played462
Goals scored1,174 (2.54 per match)
Top goalscorerPop Robson
(24 goals)[3]
Biggest home winLuton Town 7–1 Cardiff City
(16 September 1978)
Luton Town 6–0 Notts County
(21 October 1978)
Biggest away winMillwall 1–4 Brighton & Hove Albion
(2 September 1978)
Cardiff City 1–4 Charlton Athletic
(4 November 1978)
Newcastle United 1–4 Sunderland
(24 February 1979)
Luton Town 1–4 West Ham United
(26 February 1979)
Blackburn Rovers 1–4 Cardiff City
(28 February 1979)
Charlton Athletic 1–4 Stoke City
(14 April 1979)
0–3: 9 matches
Highest scoringBristol Rovers 5–5 Charlton Athletic
(18 November 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 W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Crystal Palace (C, P) 42 19 19 4 51 24 +27 57 Promotion to the First Division
2 Brighton & Hove Albion (P) 42 23 10 9 72 39 +33 56
3 Stoke City (P) 42 20 16 6 58 31 +27 56
4 Sunderland 42 22 11 9 70 44 +26 55
5 West Ham United 42 18 14 10 70 39 +31 50
6 Notts County 42 14 16 12 48 60 −12 44
7 Preston North End 42 12 18 12 59 57 +2 42
8 Newcastle United 42 17 8 17 51 55 −4 42
9 Cardiff City 42 16 10 16 56 70 −14 42
10 Fulham 42 13 15 14 50 47 +3 41
11 Orient 42 15 10 17 51 51 0 40
12 Cambridge United 42 12 16 14 44 52 −8 40
13 Burnley 42 14 12 16 51 62 −11 40
14 Oldham Athletic 42 13 13 16 52 61 −9 39
15 Wrexham 42 12 14 16 45 42 +3 38 Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round
16 Bristol Rovers 42 14 10 18 48 60 −12 38
17 Leicester City 42 10 17 15 43 52 −9 37
18 Luton Town 42 13 10 19 60 57 +3 36
19 Charlton Athletic 42 11 13 18 60 69 −9 35
20 Sheffield United (R) 42 11 12 19 52 69 −17 34 Relegation to the Third Division
21 Millwall (R) 42 11 10 21 42 61 −19 32
22 Blackburn Rovers (R) 42 10 10 22 41 72 −31 30
Source: [citation needed]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Results

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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

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Locations of the Football League Second Division London teams 1978–1979

Third Division

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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[a]
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

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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 United 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 Rovers 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

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Locations of the Football League Third Division London teams 1978–1979

Fourth Division

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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[a] 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 AFC 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: [citation needed]
Notes:
  1. ^ New club in the league; elected from Northern Premier League

Results

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Home \ Away BOU ALD BAR BRA CRE DAR DON GRI HAL HAR HER HUD NPC NOR POR PTV REA ROC SCU STP TOR WIG WDN YOR
AFC 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
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 1–0 2–0 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
Bradford City 2–1 0–2 1–2 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 1–0 1–1 0–2 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 0–0 2–1 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 1–1 2–2 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 1–0 0–0 2–0 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 0–2 1–1 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 United 0–0 2–2 1–1 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 0–0 1–1 1–1 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 2–1 0–0 1–0 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 2–0 1–2 1–1 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 4–2 2–3 0–1 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 1–1 0–1 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 1–2 1–1 3–2 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 1–0 4–0 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 2–1 1–1 0–3 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 1–0 2–0 0–1 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 1–0 2–2 0–0 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 0–1 2–1 3–2 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 1–0 3–2 1–1 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 4–0 3–1 1–1 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 2–1 1–1 0–1 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

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Locations of the Football League Fourth Division London teams 1978–1979

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "England 1978–79". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 27 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-24.
  2. ^ a b Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane’s, London & Sydney, 1980.
  3. ^ a b c d "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.