The race for the title- the Division 1 season '74-'75

  

 Football in 1975

This is another of my occasional series on the year 1975. This time, I want to take you on a trip to re-visit the First division campaign of 1974-75. In previous posts I have discussed how 1975 is seen as a musical in between year. This applies to football too; 1974 had seen Germany (West Germany to be accurate) host and win the World Cup. In the final they defeated the Dutch, widely seen as the best team in the competition, just as they had defeated the Hungarians, Puskas, Kocsis and all, in 1954. England had failed to qualify for the ’74 finals. The team that denied them, Poland, went on to take 3^rd place, thereby giving the lie to the tendency of the English to label them as lucky.

1976 meanwhile saw the Germans lose a penalty shoot-out to Czechoslovkia (yes, that’s right, the Germans lost a shootout!) in the final of the European championships. The winning penalty was the ‘Panenka’, an audacious chip over the goalkeeper who had already committed himself.

But what happened in between? Let’s take a look at the season that started after the World Cup in Autumn ’74 and ended in May ’75. It was in many ways an unusual season and worth examining. But before we go any further, it is worth reminding ourselves that the past is another country; they did things differently there.

Back in the mid-seventies they were playing football, then as now, eleven against eleven over ninety minutes. However, many aspects of the game have changed since then. Shall we highlight a few?

Points mean prizes

 Today, a win gets your team three points. To win the league, they may need as many as ninety points come season end. This was introduced to encourage more attacking play; a draw often feels more like two points dropped than a point gained. It has had the additional effect of prolonging fans interest in the season. A team’s theoretical chance of winning the league, qualifying for Europe or avoiding relegation can still be alive quite close to the seasons end.  

 Back in 1975 you were given two points for a win and one for a draw.  There were twenty-two teams in the division, so teams played forty-two games, but even so, you could win the league with a point’s total under sixty. Win at home, play for a draw away- that was the mantra for success.

Substitute (singular)

Teams were only allowed one substitute per game. If the goalkeeper was injured, an outfield player donned the goalkeeper’s jersey. Subs tended to be attacking players; if they replaced a defender a midfielder might drop back. In most teams too, injury permitting, the first choice players played most of the games. Squad rotation was rare, although the top teams who were competing in Europe were beginning to dabble in it.

Stand up for your team

This was the era when standing was the norm for fans, on open terraces interspersed with metal barriers. After a goal or a near miss it was not unusual for supporters to find themselves several steps down after a crowd surge. It was a predominantly male atmosphere, to an extent that we can easily forget, which may have contributed towards the frequent threat of, and often actual, violence. Standing up for your team was also about being aggressive. It was a time when a goal scored would immediately lead to chants of “you’re going to get your effing heads kicked in” but equally, an outstanding goal would sometimes be applauded by the opposing fans in reluctant admiration.  

Iconic grounds (but far from luxurious)

Another difference between then and now was the playing surface. The pitches might start out looking good but by Christmas, would deteriorate badly. Perhaps the worst in the top division was at Derby. The pitch at the Baseball Ground was notorious for being a mud bowl by January with scarcely a blade of grass to be seen.

Facilities were rudimentary, as was the catering for most fans. Some stands were still made entirely of wood and could feel precarious when people started jumping around.

Many of the grounds that hosted matches in 1975 had been home to their teams since the turn of the twentieth century. Since then, many clubs have moved to new homes. Although Liverpool still play at Anfield, Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and Everton at Goodison, some famous grounds are no more. In London, Highbury, Upton Park and White Hart Lane are now history for the fans of Arsenal, West Ham and Spurs. Likewise the Victoria Ground, the Baseball ground, Ayresome Park, and Maine road are no longer home to Stoke, Derby, Middlesborough and Manchester City.

Some other things have changed......

Other differences between then and now included the fact that the shirts weren’t sponsored; the only thing on the front was the team crest. A further significant fact lay in the origins of the players. All were from the British Isles. Being from Ireland or Scotland was classed as exotic. It was only after the 1978 World Cup when Villa and Ardiles came to Spurs and Muhren and Thyssen to Ipswich after their countries had contested the final that the foreign influx began. Likewise, teams were, at this stage, ethnically white. Change was in the air though. Cyrille Regis, Brendan Batson and Laurie Cunningham would soon star in a West Bromwich Albion team that reached the Semi-finals of the FA cup in 1978 as well as challenging in the league.

The first Division: 1974/75

 Who was in the division in 1974-75?

Another unusual feature to draw your attention to for this season is the list of teams, those present and those absent. The most notable absentees were Manchester United, relegated the previous season. With them in what was then the Second Division were Aston Villa and Southampton, among others. In their place were some teams you might not expect- Carlisle United, there for the first and last time, and Luton Town. Other teams present in ‘74/75 have more recently returned to the top league after a long period away, Stoke City, Burnley, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Sheffield United. Also present then were Coventry City, then in the middle of a long run at the top table, who since being relegated, have failed to return, as well as Ipswich Town, currently languishing in the third tier alongside Derby County.

London was well represented, as ever, by Tottenham, Chelsea, Arsenal, West Ham and Queens Park Rangers, although none would take a meaningful role in the title race.  QPR would end the season as the top placed London team despite only finishing 11^th. They were a team on the up though and would go on to achieve a second place finish the following season. West Ham would play a significant role in the F.A. Cup, but of that, more later.

Previous winners

As that season started the last five league champions had been Everton, Arsenal, Derby, Liverpool and Leeds. Leeds United had dominated the previous season, going unbeaten for a long run of games at the start of the season and winning the title. Their Manager, Don Revie, had left to manage England and they had brought in Brian Clough, who had taken Derby County to the title in 1972. The expectation was that they were still the team to beat. Liverpool, managed by Bill Shankley, had won the F.A. Cup as a consolation and were keen to regain the league title. Derby, now managed by a former player, Dave Mackay, were still strong, whilst Everton had spent money on the likes of Martin Dobson, bought from Burnley. Arsenal were in decline and nobody’s idea of title winners.

Surprise packets?

There was one team who many fancied might feature towards the top of the table, although few expected them to win it- Ipswich Town, managed by Bobby Robson, a former England defender, had finished 4^th in 1972/73. The next season they finished 4^th again, but backed it up with a run in the UEFA cup, kickstarted by knocking out Real Madrid. Robson had acquired David Johnson from Everton and was seeing the fruits of a youth policy that had produced an England defender, Kevin Beattie, and a Scottish international full-back, George Burley.

As the season unfolded three other teams would perform above expectations. Middlesborough were one of the newly promoted sides; they had a rugged defence, epitomised by Stuart Boam, a genuine 70’s hard man. But they also had another hard man who was in addition a genuine playmaker- Graeme Sounness. His outstanding performances helped them to a high league position and himself to  a move to Liverpool, who had the clout to help themselves to other people’s top players. The previous year Terry McDermott had opposed them in the cup final for Newcastle, now he was an Anfield star.

Stoke City were still in the running for the title going into March and would eventually finish fifth; their key player was Alan Hudson (see below) a clever midfielder who could turn a game. He was supported by Jimmy McIlroy and of course they had Gordon Banks in goal. As winners of the League cup in 1972 they had self-belief.

The third over-achievers were QPR. They were developing into a genuinely classy team. Their midfield consisted of Don Masson, Don Givens and a young player called Gerry Francis, whilst goals were supplied by Stan Bowles.

One notable feature of football in this period was the tendency of teams to accommodate at least one maverick creative player, who would be a fan favourite. Stoke had Alan Hudson, QPR featured Stan Bowles, Sheffield United relied on Tony Currie, Wolves, Willie Carr and Leicester, Frank Worthington. These brilliant but unpredictable players could turn a game, but were often regarded with suspicion when it came to international recognition.  This was also a golden age for English goalkeepers. Leicester’s Peter Shilton and Liverpool’s Ray Clemence mostly shared the England no 1 shirt, but there were some able back-ups. Manchester City had Joe Corrigan and there were two Phil Parkes! One played for Wolverhampton Wanderers and one for West Ham.

 

The start of the season

First games can be unpredictable and not always a guide to a team’s eventual achievements. Newly promoted Carlisle demonstrated this; they won their first three games to be top of the nascent table. But they lost three of the next four and struggled thereafter. Champions Leeds United, by contrast, lost four of the first seven. Brian Clough had been unable to replicate at Leeds the success he had at Derby County and eventually left after just 44 days. Jimmy Armfield was brought in to replace him and managed to steer them to a respectable though disappointing 9^th place finish, as well as reaching the European Cup Final. 

The London clubs, bar Chelsea, were also suffering at this stage. Chelsea, with two wins and three draws allied to two losses had seven points from seven games, Tottenham Hotspur four points having lost five and won two. Arsenal had five points from seven games. They were perhaps unlucky; in this season a quirk of the fixture list saw week two’s fixtures replicated in week four. Arsenal’s opponents in those weeks were Ipswich Town, whose two wins over the Gunners formed part of a storming start that saw them win six of the first seven games to top the table. Their only loss had been to Sheffield United, who also won the other game against them this season. These two defeats would prove significant at the business end of the season.

With five wins after seven Liverpool weren’t far behind Ipswich and the other Mersey club, Everton, were up there too. These three would challenge right through the season, along with, eventually, Derby County, who started slowly with four draws in the first seven.

Run-up to Christmas

After their flying start, Ipswich came back down to earth in the autumn with defeats to Wolves, West Ham and Burnley, but a win over Liverpool showed they weren’t going away. Derby had begun to notch up wins, as had Liverpool, who were beginning to look ominous. Stoke too had some momentum. As happens in most seasons, there were some topsy-turvy results. Newcastle put five past Chelsea but then conceded five to Spurs, themselves thrashed 4-0 by Ipswich. The teams played two games over the Christmas period and perhaps the most unexpected was the home loss Ipswich suffered to Luton. Although theoretically no game is any more significant than another, the two points dropped would be immensely significant at the end.  

Going into spring

The top teams continued to take points off each other; Liverpool hammered Ipswich 5-2 at Anfield, who responded by beating Derby 3-0 at Portman Road. These three looked most likely winners but Stoke and Everton were still in with a shout. At the other end of the table Luton and Carlisle were struggling to stay afloat. There was a further distraction in the shape of the FA cup. West Ham, neither challenging at the top nor in danger at the bottom of the league, reserved their best performances for the cup, progressing to the semi final, where they met Ipswich. Town had eventually prevailed over Leeds after a four game epic in an earlier round. The semi also went to a replay, West Ham prevailing 2-1 after a 1-1 draw. Ipswich though had two goals disallowed. It is possible that their physical exertions in the Cup coupled with the disappointment of their (in their fans eyes unfair) failure to reach the final contributed to their inability to close out the league.

 

With all three of the front runners still losing some games no-one was running away with the league as Easter approached. In the end it was very close. Derby finished on 52 points to become champions with Liverpool and Ipswich finishing on 51. Everton had only lost 8 games but a poor run at the end cost them the title; they drew 18 games to finish on 50 points; one victory from the title. Ipswich had won the most games of the top four; 23 against 21 for Derby and 20 for Liverpool, but also lost more, 14 to Derby’s 10 and Liverpool’s 11. They only drew 5 games. Liverpool’s 11 draws (win at home, draw away, remember?) had almost seen them over the line.

We finish on yet another ‘that was then but this is now’. Teams finishing level on points now are separated by goal difference, goals for minus goals against. In 1975 it was goal average, goals for divided by goals against. Liverpool had a goal average of 1.538 to compared with Ipswich whose was 1.500 and thus finished second by 3/100ths of a goal! No consolation for the fact that Derby were title winners of course. As ever, the fans (except those of Derby) were left with if only scenarios to ponder on. If only Everton had turned a couple of those draws into wins, if only Liverpool had not lost to struggling Arsenal. If only Ipswich had beaten Luton at home on Christmas Day.

 Conclusion

A compelling season then with several contenders for the title, some teams playing above expectations and others, like Chelsea (relegated) and Spurs (barely surviving) playing well below theirs. To this day it remains Carlisle’s only visit to the top flight. The next year Manchester United would come roaring back under Tommy Docherty playing an attacking 4-2-4 formation. Oh, and Trevor Francis, in a couple of years, would become Britain’s first million pound player. Imagine that!

For the statisticians among you, follow the link to Wikipedia for all the detail you could possibly desire: 

Wikipedia league standings page