"1898–99 Football League The 1898–99 season was the eleventh season of The Football League. The race for the First Division title was one of the most exciting yet. Second-placed Liverpool travelled to Villa Park to face league leaders Aston Villa, needing a win to overhaul Villa and take the title on the last day of the season. Villa won 5-0 to take the title in emphatic style. Defending champions Sheffield United had the first poor title defence in English top flight history, finishing 16th out of 18, barely avoiding the two relegation places. The tables below are reproduced here in"
"Football League are Third Division club Colchester United, who smash six past Brentford. 31 March 1980: Liverpool now have a four-point lead over Manchester United at the top of the First Division. Ipswich Town and Arsenal are the nearest challengers to the top two, and Southampton complete the top five. At the bottom of the table, Bolton Wanderers managed three League wins in March, but are still in bottom place, eight points adrift of safety. Derby County and Bristol City remain with them in the drop zone. 12 April 1980: Both FA Cup semi-finals - Arsenal versus Liverpool and Everton"
"1980 Football League Cup Final The 1980 Football League Cup Final was the final match of the 1979–80 Football League Cup, the 20th season of the Football League Cup, a football competition for the 92 teams in The Football League. The match was played at Wembley Stadium on 15 March 1980, and was contested by League Cup holders and European champions Nottingham Forest and Wolverhampton Wanderers. Wolves won the match 1–0 thanks to an Andy Gray goal in the 67th minute. As both League Cup and European Cup holders, Nottingham Forest had entered the match as clear favourites. Indeed, victory"
"1980–81 in English football The 1980–81 season was the 101st season of competitive football in England. 9 August 1980: Liverpool win the Charity Shield as Terry McDermott scores the only goal in a 1–0 win over West Ham United. 14 August 1980: Having not played a first team game for Arsenal, Clive Allen leaves the club after just two months to join Crystal Palace, again costing his new club £1,250,000. 16 August 1980: Norwich City achieve the biggest win of the opening day of the First Division season, beating Stoke City 5–1. Champions Liverpool begin with a 3–0 win at"
"Six of them have won the title since then: Manchester United (13), Chelsea (5), Arsenal (3), Manchester City (3), Blackburn Rovers (1), and Leicester City (1). Following the 2003–04 season, Arsenal acquired the nickname ""The Invincibles"" as they became, and still remain, the only club to complete a Premier League campaign without losing a single game. The record of most points in a Premier League season is 100 by Manchester City in 2017–18. Despite significant European success in the 1970s and early 1980s, the late 1980s marked a low point for English football. Stadiums were crumbling, supporters endured poor facilities,"
"of the Football League in 1888, the final has never been contested by two teams from outside the top division, and there have only been eight winners who were not in the top flight: Notts County (1894); Tottenham Hotspur (1901); Wolverhampton Wanderers (1908); Barnsley (1912); West Bromwich Albion (1931); Sunderland (1973), Southampton (1976) and West Ham United (1980). With the exception of Tottenham, these clubs were all playing in the second tier (the old Second Division) – Tottenham were playing in the Southern League and were only elected to the Football League in 1908, meaning they are the only non-League"
"to replace him. 31 August 1980: The first month of the Football League season ends with Ipswich Town, Southampton and Aston Villa level at the top of the First Division after four matches. Stoke City, Manchester City and Leeds United occupy the bottom three places. The Second Division promotion race has begun with Blackburn Rovers, Derby County and Sheffield Wednesday occupying the top three places. Cambridge United, in only their 11th season as a Football League team, stand fourth in the division harbouring dreams of the quickest modern day rise from non-league football to the First Division. 7 September 1980:"
"1979–80 Football League The 1979–80 season was the 81st completed season of The Football League. Bob Paisley's Liverpool retained their league championship trophy after fighting off a determined challenge by Dave Sexton's Manchester United. Nottingham Forest failed to make a serious title challenge but compensated for this by retaining the European Cup. Bristol City and Bolton Wanderers were relegated after brief, uneventful spells in the First Division notable only because Bristol City’s relegation ends the last time South West England had a team in the top tier until Swindon Town's promotion to the Premier League in 1993. On the other"
"1979–80 Football League Cup The 1979–80 Football League Cup was the 20th season of the Football League Cup, a knockout competition for England's top 92 football clubs. The winners qualified for the 1980–81 UEFA Cup, if not already qualified for European competition. Wolverhampton Wanderers won the competition by defeating the reigning holders and European champions Nottingham Forest 1–0 in the final on 15 March 1980. This was their second League Cup success, after winning in 1974. The 56 Football League clubs who had comprised the Third and Fourth Divisions during the previous season, plus the bottom eight of the Second"
"Football League Fourth Division. The vote went as follows: As a result of this, all four Football League teams were re-elected, and Altrincham were denied membership of the League. 1980–81 Football League The 1980–81 season was the 82nd completed season of The Football League. Ron Saunders completed the revival of Birmingham club Aston Villa, as they won the First Division for the first time in 71 years. Villa competed in a two-horse race with Ipswich Town during the final stages of the season, eventually finishing four points ahead of the Suffolk side. Defending champions Liverpool slipped to fifth place, but"
"1980–81 Football League The 1980–81 season was the 82nd completed season of The Football League. Ron Saunders completed the revival of Birmingham club Aston Villa, as they won the First Division for the first time in 71 years. Villa competed in a two-horse race with Ipswich Town during the final stages of the season, eventually finishing four points ahead of the Suffolk side. Defending champions Liverpool slipped to fifth place, but compensated for this by winning the European Cup and their first-ever League Cup. Manchester United failed to finish in the top five, a shortcoming that cost Dave Sexton his"
"first league match of the season at the thirteenth attempt when they defeat Tottenham Hotspur 3–1. 31 October 1980: Aston Villa, who last won a top division title in 1910, finish October as First Division leaders, though Ipswich Town, still unbeaten, are two points behind them with two games in hand. Liverpool, Nottingham Forest, Manchester United and West Bromwich Albion are a further two points behind. Crystal Palace, Manchester City and Brighton & Hove Albion occupy the relegation places. The race for three places in the First Division next season is being headed by Notts County, West Ham United and"
"place. Arsenal and Southampton complete the top five. Bolton Wanderers remain bottom, with just one League win from their first 27 matches, and Derby County and Bristol City also remain in the relegation zone, with Everton occupying the last safe spot. 1 March 1980: Everton lose 2–1 at home to Liverpool in the First Division Merseyside derby, and during the game their legendary former striker Dixie Dean dies from a heart attack in the stands, aged 72. Manchester United's title hopes are dashed by a 6–0 thrashing at Ipswich Town. 8 March 1980: Second Division West Ham United beat Aston"
"beating Liverpool 1-0 in the FA Cup semi-final third replay at Highfield Road. Liverpool agree a fee of £300,000 for Chester striker Ian Rush, 18. 3 May 1980: Liverpool clinch the league title in their penultimate league game of the season by beating Aston Villa 4–1 at Anfield. The result is rendered academic by Manchester United's 2–0 defeat to Leeds United. Ipswich Town lose the unbeaten League run that they have maintained for over five months against Manchester City, but remain third. In the Third Division, Kevin Drinkell fires three of Grimsby Town's four without reply at home to Sheffield"
"1980–81 Western Football League The 1980–81 season was the 79th in the history of the Western Football League. The league champions for the second time in their history were Bridgwater Town. The champions of Division One were Chippenham Town. The Premier Division remained at twenty clubs after Ilminster Town were relegated to the First Division, and A.F.C. Bournemouth Reserves and Exeter City Reserves left the league. Three clubs joined: The First Division was reduced from twenty-two to nineteen clubs after Westland-Yeovil left the league, and Devizes Town, Liskeard Athletic and Melksham Town were promoted to the Premier Division. One new"
"sides. NB Finals played over two legs, aggregate score given. St Mirren became the only Scottish winner of the event following their success in 1979–80, defeating Bristol City 2–0 at Ashton Gate Stadium in the first leg, before a 3–1 home 2nd leg victory on 16 April 1980. Chesterfield's victory in the 1980–81 event was secured with an extra-time goal from Alan Crawford. Blackburn Rovers, Blackpool, Bristol City, Carlisle United, Chelsea, Fulham, Hull City, Leicester City, Manchester City, Mansfield Town, Middlesbrough, Newcastle United, Norwich City, Sheffield United, Sunderland, West Bromwich Albion Aberdeen, Ayr United, Dundee, Falkirk, Heart of Midlothian, Motherwell,"
"on seven occasions followed by the now-defunct Durham Wasps who won the title five times. The Belfast Giants, Cardiff Devils and the Coventry Blaze have each been champions four times. The Nottingham Panthers, the only club to have played in all 37 seasons, have won the title twice (additionally Nottingham were English champions twice before the British National League was formed). The Murrayfield Racers, a predecessor of the Edinburgh Capitals, won the championship on two occasions. The Durham Wasps, Murrayfield Racers, Cardiff Devils, Sheffield Steelers and Coventry Blaze are the only sides to have successfully defended a title. Teams in"
"1979–80 in English football The 1979–80 season was the 100th season of competitive football in England. 11 August 1979: League champions Liverpool defeat FA Cup holders Arsenal 3–1 at Wembley Stadium to win the Charity Shield. 18 August 1979: Arsenal move straight to the top of the First Division table with a 4–0 away win against newly promoted Brighton & Hove Albion on the first day of the League season. The first round of fixtures in the inaugural season of the Alliance Premier League, now the National League, takes place. 31 August 1979: The first month of the season ends"
"Crystal Palace puts them on the verge of retaining the title. 28 April 1980: Arsenal and Liverpool require another replay after drawing 1–1 again in their FA Cup semi-final second replay at Villa Park. 29 April 1980: Bristol City lose 5–2 at Southampton to take the final First Division relegation spot. 30 April 1980: Liverpool are level on points with Manchester United at the end of April, with a superior goal difference and with two matches remaining to the Red Devils' one. Ipswich Town are third, five points behind. 1 May 1980: Arsenal finally reach the FA Cup final after"
"close to being replaced by Alliance champions Altrincham, surviving by just two votes. First Division Second Division Third Division Fourth Division The divisional champions of the major non-League competitions were: 13 August 1980: George Haslam, 82, was a half-back during the interwar years for Manchester United, Darwen and Portsmouth. 29 August 1980: Billy Furness, 71, scored 93 league goals from inside-forward between 1928 and 1947 for Leeds United and Norwich City and was capped once for England in 1933. 6 September 1980: Joe Bradford, 79, scored a club record 267 goals in all competitions for Birmingham City between 1920 and"
"United; a result that sees the Mariners crowned third-tier champions. 10 May 1980: Trevor Brooking scores the winning goal as Second Division West Ham United triumph 1–0 over holders Arsenal in the FA Cup final. 14 May 1980: Arsenal lose 5–4 in a penalty shoot-out to Valencia after a 0–0 draw in the European Cup Winners' Cup Final. 19 May 1980: More than two weeks after the planned final day of the season, the First Division fixtures are completed when Arsenal lose 5–0 to Middlesbrough. The result leaves Ipswich Town one point ahead of the Gunners in third place. 28"
"of the century to win the double. 1972 saw Derby County win the league title for the first time under the management of Brian Clough, while Leeds United continued to enjoy success as FA Cup winners and Stoke City lifted the League Cup to claim the first major trophy of their history. The League Cup was shunned by a number of leading English clubs during the 1960s, before the Football League eventually made participation compulsory for all member clubs. The first winners were Aston Villa, still statistically the most successful club in English football at this point. Their local rivals"
"of 88 league clubs. After half a century of cup finals and internationals being hosted at various venues across England, the national stadium at Wembley was opened in 1923, with the ""White Horse Final"" being the first FA Cup final to be played there. Bolton Wanderers defeated West Ham United to win this landmark game. Bolton Wanderers would win the FA Cup on three occasions during the 1920s. The inter-war years were dominated by Huddersfield Town, Everton and Arsenal, who won eleven of the eighteen league titles contested between them, with Huddersfield and Arsenal each grabbing a three consecutive titles,"
"1980s with a host of major honours and international players. Association football, on the other hand, was scarcely a claim to fame until 1967, when Coventry City F.C. finally won promotion to the top flight of English football as champions of the Football League Second Division. They would stay among the elite for the next 34 years, reaching their pinnacle with FA Cup glory in 1987—the first and to date only major trophy in the club's history. Their long stay in the top flight of English football ended in relegation in 2001, and in 2012 they were relegated again to"
"1987–88 in English football The 1987–88 season was the 108th season of competitive football in England. Liverpool won the league title for the seventeenth time, with a comfortable nine-point margin and just two defeats all season. Their key players were two new signings – winger John Barnes and forward Peter Beardsley, John Aldridge scored 26 league goals and helped defy any doubts that people might have had as to whether Liverpool could challenge for honours after Ian Rush's departure to Juventus. Second in the league were Manchester United, rejuvenated under Alex Ferguson – who had bought some impressive new players"
"1981–82 Football League The 1981–82 season was the 83rd completed season (84th overall) of The Football League. 3 points for a win was introduced for the first time in England. Champions Aston Villa finished a disappointing 11th but made up for this by triumphing in the European Cup at the first attempt. Liverpool made up for the previous season's slip in league form by winning the league championship for the 13th time in their history, fighting off competition from Ipswich Town, Manchester United and Spurs. Liverpool also won the Football League Cup for the second season in succession. The league"
"1987–88 Football League The 1987–88 season was the 89th completed season of The Football League. Liverpool won the league title with a comfortable nine-point margin and just two defeats all season. Second in the league were Manchester United. The automatically-relegated sides were Watford, Oxford United and Portsmouth. Chelsea were subsequently relegated as well after losing to Middlesbrough in the playoff final. Millwall lifted the Second Division championship trophy and gained promotion to the First Division for the first time in their history. Runners-up were Aston Villa, managed by Graham Taylor. Middlesbrough won promotion for the second season running after negotiating"
"Winners of the Alliance Premier League, Altrincham, won the right to apply for election to the Football League to replace one of the four bottom teams in the 1979–80 Football League Division Four. The vote went as follows: As a result of this, all four Football League teams were re-elected, and Altrincham were denied membership of the League. 1979–80 Football League The 1979–80 season was the 81st completed season of The Football League. Bob Paisley's Liverpool retained their league championship trophy after fighting off a determined challenge by Dave Sexton's Manchester United. Nottingham Forest failed to make a serious title"
"1980s. In this same period, Dundee United won the Scottish Premier Division once and the Scottish League Cup twice, as well as reaching the Scottish Cup final four times, the 1987 UEFA Cup Final, and the semi-final of the 1983–84 European Cup. Not only were the Old Firm not dominating the title race, but for three seasons in a row, 1983 through to 1985, the league title went to either Aberdeen or Dundee United, meaning for the first time two other teams were dominating Scottish Football. Both sides' success was limited as they entered the 1990s, with Aberdeen winning both"
"of this, all four Football League teams were re-elected, and Telford United were denied membership of the League. 1981–82 Football League The 1981–82 season was the 83rd completed season (84th overall) of The Football League. 3 points for a win was introduced for the first time in England. Champions Aston Villa finished a disappointing 11th but made up for this by triumphing in the European Cup at the first attempt. Liverpool made up for the previous season's slip in league form by winning the league championship for the 13th time in their history, fighting off competition from Ipswich Town, Manchester"
"candidates Leicester City 1–0 in an FA Cup third round replay. 31 January 1980: Liverpool hold a two-point lead over Manchester United at the end of January. Arsenal are third, five points behind the leaders having played two games more. 29 February 1980: With the season approaching its final quarter, Manchester United have moved level on points at the top of the First Division with Liverpool, who have a game in hand. Unbeaten since the beginning of December, Ipswich Town have moved from third-bottom to third-top in less than three months, and are five points behind the leaders in third"
"1980s, when both clubs challenged the Old Firm for domestic trophies. The term was used by ""Evening Times"" and ""The Glasgow Herald"". The Old Firm have more often than not been the dominant force in Scottish Football, however throughout the 1980s both Aberdeen and Dundee United were more than a match for them, regularly beating them home and away and winning many of the trophies on offer. Aberdeen were to win the Scottish Premier Division three times, the Scottish Cup four times, the Scottish League Cup twice, the European Cup Winners' Cup and the European Super Cup, all within the"
"Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur. In that time, only five teams ever won the League title: Manchester United (twelve times), Arsenal (thrice), Chelsea (thrice), Manchester City (once) and Blackburn Rovers (once). Manchester United were also the most successful team overall, never finishing outside of the top-three positions. The awards were divided into 11 categories. Fans could vote for Best Goal, Best Match, Best Save, Best Celebration and Fantasy XI of the 20 Seasons on the Premier League website. A panel selected winners for Best Player, Best Manager, Best Team, Best Season, Best Quote and"