1973–74 Football League

The 1973–74 season was the 75th completed season of The Football League.

The Football League

Season	1973–74
Champions	Leeds United
← 1972–73 1974–75 →

Don Revie marked his last season as Leeds United's manager by guiding them to league championship glory, before taking over from Sir Alf Ramsey as the England national football team manager, with England having failed to qualify for the 1974 World Cup. Revie's conquering side had a two-horse race with Liverpool all season but won in the end, taking the title for the second time in their history by five points. Newly promoted Burnley adapted well to life back in the top flight, finishing in sixth place.

Manchester United were relegated from the First Division just six years after winning the European Cup at the end of a traumatic season. Their 36-year stay at the top was finally ended by a 1–0 home defeat against Manchester City. Former United striker Denis Law scored City's winning goal. But Birmingham City's win on that same afternoon would have sent United down even if they had beaten City. Despite this the board kept faith in manager Tommy Docherty as the man to regain the club's top flight place.

Joining 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.

Former Leeds player Jack Charlton had a fine debut in management by guiding 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 runaway champions. Third-placed Carlisle United, managed by Alan Ashman (who won the FA Cup with West Bromwich Albion in 1968), 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. Crystal Palace, Preston North End and Swindon Town were all relegated.

Promotion from the Third Division 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.

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 or arrivals in the league in 1974.

Final league tables and results

The tables 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.

Beginning with the season 1894–95, clubs finishing level on points were separated according to goal average (goals scored divided by goals conceded), or more properly put, goal ratio. In case one or more teams had the same goal difference, this system favoured those teams who had scored fewer goals. The goal average system was eventually scrapped beginning with the 1976–77 season.

Since the Fourth Division was established in the 1958–59 season, the bottom four teams of that division have been required to apply for re-election.^[2]

Match results are drawn from Rothmans for all divisions.^[2]

First Division

First Division

Season	1973–74
Champions	Leeds United 2nd title
Relegated	Southampton Manchester United Norwich City
European Cup	Leeds United
Cup Winners' Cup	Liverpool
UEFA Cup	Derby County Ipswich Town Stoke City Wolverhampton Wanderers
Matches played	462
Goals scored	1,107 (2.4 per match)
Top goalscorer	Mick Channon (21 goals)^[3]
Biggest home win	Ipswich Town 7–0 Southampton (2 February 1974)
Biggest away win	Norwich City 0–4 Arsenal (15 September 1973)
Highest scoring	Derby County 6–2 Southampton (22 September 1973)
← 1972–73 1974–75 →

It was a successful final season at the First Division's two leading clubs for their long-serving and highly successful managers who had both transformed their clubs on and off the field during lengthy reigns lasting more than a decade. Don Revie guided Leeds United to the title before calling time of 13 years as manager at Elland Road to take charge of the England team. Bill Shankly announced his retirement as Liverpool manager after 15 years after they finished second in the league and triumphed 3–0 over Newcastle United in the FA Cup Final.

Despite the controversial resignation of manager Brian Clough in October, Derby County finished third after their former player Dave Mackay returned to the Baseball Ground as Clough's successor. Ipswich Town continued to thrive among the First Division's leading company by finishing fourth in their fifth campaign under Bobby Robson. Stoke City enjoyed another strong season, finishing fifth, with England goalkeeper Peter Shilton keeping opposition strikers at bay after his predecessor Gordon Banks retired due to an eye injury suffered in a car crash. Burnley enjoyed a strong return to the First Division after two seasons away by finishing sixth.

Manchester United's 36-year spell in the First Division ended in relegation, while their cross-city rivals finished 14th and were beaten in the Football League Cup final by Wolverhampton Wanderers. Southampton's eight-year spell in the First Division ended in relegation despite 21 goals from the division's top scorer Mick Channon and a change of manager from Ted Bates to Lawrie McMenemy before Christmas. Norwich City's second season among the elite ended in relegation.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Leeds United (C)	42	24	14	4	66	31	2.129	62	Qualification for the European Cup first round
2	Liverpool	42	22	13	7	52	31	1.677	57	Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round^[a]
3	Derby County	42	17	14	11	52	42	1.238	48	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
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	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
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 (R)	42	11	14	17	47	68	0.691	36	Relegation to the Second Division
21	Manchester United (R)	42	10	12	20	38	48	0.792	32
22	Norwich City (R)	42	7	15	20	37	62	0.597	29

Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:

1. Liverpool qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup first round as the 1973-74 FA Cup winners.

Results

Home \ Away	ARS	BIR	BUR	CHE	COV	DER	EVE	IPS	LEE	LEI	LIV	MCI	MUN	NEW	NWC	QPR	SHU	SOU	STK	TOT	WHU	WOL
Arsenal		1–0	1–1	0–0	2–2	2–0	1–0	1–1	1–2	0–2	0–2	2–0	3–0	0–1	2–0	1–1	1–0	1–0	2–1	0–1	0–0	2–2
Birmingham	3–1		2–2	2–4	1–0	0–0	0–2	0–3	1–1	3–0	1–1	1–1	1–0	1–0	2–1	4–0	1–0	1–1	0–0	1–2	3–1	2–1
Burnley	2–1	2–1		1–0	2–2	1–1	3–1	0–1	0–0	0–0	2–1	3–0	0–0	1–1	1–0	2–1	1–2	3–0	1–0	2–2	1–1	1–1
Chelsea	1–3	3–1	3–0		1–0	1–1	3–1	2–3	1–2	3–2	0–1	1–0	1–3	1–0	3–0	3–3	1–2	4–0	0–1	0–0	2–4	2–2
Coventry City	3–3	0–1	1–1	2–2		1–0	1–2	0–1	0–0	1–2	1–0	2–1	1–0	2–2	1–0	0–1	3–1	2–0	2–0	1–0	0–1	1–0
Derby County	1–1	1–1	5–1	1–0	1–0		2–1	2–0	0–0	2–1	3–1	1–0	2–2	1–0	1–1	1–2	4–1	6–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0
Everton	1–0	4–1	1–0	1–1	1–0	2–1		3–0	0–0	1–1	0–1	2–0	1–0	1–1	4–1	1–0	1–1	0–3	1–1	1–1	1–0	2–1
Ipswich Town	2–2	3–0	3–2	1–1	3–0	3–0	3–0		0–3	1–1	1–1	2–1	2–1	1–3	1–1	1–0	0–1	7–0	1–1	0–0	1–3	2–0
Leeds United	3–1	3–0	1–4	1–1	3–0	2–0	3–1	3–2		1–1	1–0	1–0	0–0	1–1	1–0	2–2	0–0	2–1	1–1	1–1	4–1	4–1
Leicester City	2–0	3–3	2–0	3–0	0–2	0–1	2–1	5–0	2–2		1–1	1–1	1–0	1–0	3–0	2–0	1–1	0–1	1–1	3–0	0–1	2–2
Liverpool	0–1	3–2	1–0	1–0	2–1	2–0	0–0	4–2	1–0	1–1		4–0	2–0	2–1	1–0	2–1	1–0	1–0	1–0	3–2	1–0	1–0
Manchester City	1–2	3–1	2–0	3–2	1–0	1–0	1–1	1–3	0–1	2–0	1–1		0–0	2–1	2–1	1–0	0–1	1–1	0–0	0–0	2–1	1–1
Manchester United	1–1	1–0	3–3	2–2	2–3	0–1	3–0	2–0	0–2	1–2	0–0	0–1		1–0	0–0	2–1	1–2	0–0	1–0	0–1	3–1	0–0
Newcastle United	1–1	1–1	1–2	2–0	5–1	0–2	2–1	3–1	0–1	1–1	0–0	1–0	3–2		0–0	2–3	1–0	0–1	2–1	0–2	1–1	2–0
Norwich City	0–4	2–1	1–0	2–2	0–0	2–4	1–3	1–2	0–1	1–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1		0–0	2–1	2–0	4–0	1–1	2–2	1–1
Queens Park Rangers	2–0	2–2	2–1	1–1	3–0	0–0	1–0	0–1	0–1	0–0	2–2	3–0	3–0	3–2	1–2		0–0	1–1	3–3	3–1	0–0	0–0
Sheffield United	5–0	1–1	0–2	1–2	0–1	3–0	1–1	0–3	0–2	1–1	1–0	1–2	0–1	1–1	1–0	1–1		4–2	0–0	2–2	1–0	1–0
Southampton	1–1	0–2	2–2	0–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–2	1–0	1–0	0–2	1–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	3–0		3–0	1–1	1–1	2–1
Stoke City	0–0	5–2	4–0	1–0	3–0	0–0	0–0	1–1	3–2	1–0	1–1	1–1	1–0	2–1	2–0	4–1	1–2	4–1		1–0	2–0	2–3
Tottenham Hotspur	2–0	4–2	2–3	1–2	2–1	1–0	0–2	1–1	0–3	1–0	1–1	0–2	2–1	0–2	0–0	0–0	1–2	3–1	2–1		2–0	1–3
West Ham United	1–3	0–0	0–1	3–0	2–3	0–0	4–3	3–3	3–1	1–1	2–2	2–1	2–1	1–2	4–2	2–3	2–2	4–1	0–2	0–1		0–0
Wolverhampton Wanderers	3–1	1–0	0–2	2–0	1–1	4–0	1–1	3–1	0–2	1–0	0–1	0–0	2–1	1–0	3–1	2–4	2–0	2–1	1–1	1–1	0–0

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arsenal

Chelsea

Queens Park Rangers

Tottenham

West Ham

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Locations of the Football League First Division London teams 1973–1974

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arsenal

Birmingham

Burnley

Chelsea

Coventry

Derby County

Everton

Ipswich Town

Leeds United

Leicester City

Liverpool

Manchester City

Manchester United

Newcastle

Norwich City

QPR

Sheffield United

Southampton

Stoke

Tottenham

West Ham

Wolverhampton Wanderers

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Locations of the Football League First Division 1973–1974 teams

Second Division

Second Division

Season	1973–74
Champions	Middlesbrough
Promoted	Middlesbrough Luton Town Carlisle United
Relegated	Crystal Palace Preston North End Swindon Town
Cup Winners' Cup	Cardiff City
Matches played	462
Goals scored	1,106 (2.39 per match)
Top goalscorer	Duncan McKenzie (26 goals)^[3]
Biggest home win	Middlesbrough 8–0 Sheffield Wednesday (20 April 1974)
Biggest away win	Fulham 0–4 Middlesbrough (9 Mar 1974) Notts County 1–5 Sheffield Wednesday (9 March 1974) West Bromwich Albion 0–4 Middlesbrough (16 March 1974)
Highest scoring	Middlesbrough 8–0 Sheffield Wednesday (20 April 1974)
← 1972–73 1974–75 →

Jack Charlton made a superb start to his managerial career by guiding Middlesbrough to the Second Division title - and a place in the First Division - by a margin of 15 points above runners-up Luton Town, who ended their 14-year exile from the elite despite financial difficulties. The final promotion place was snatched by Carlisle United, who reached the First Division for the first time in their history. Orient missed out on promotion by a single point. Other teams who just missed out on promotion included Nottingham Forest, Sunderland and West Bromwich Albion.

Crystal Palace were relegated for a second successive season, while Preston North End went down in their first season under the management of the legendary Bobby Charlton, who then re-registered himself as a player in his efforts to reverse the decline of the once great Lancashire club. Swindon Town went down in bottom place after five seasons in the Second Division.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Middlesbrough (C, P)	42	27	11	4	77	30	2.567	65	Promotion to the First Division
2	Luton Town (P)	42	19	12	11	64	51	1.255	50
3	Carlisle United (P)	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	Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round
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 (R)	42	11	12	19	43	56	0.768	34	Relegation to the Third Division
21	Preston North End (R)	42	9	14	19	40	62	0.645	31
22	Swindon Town (R)	42	7	11	24	36	72	0.500	25

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Results

Home \ Away	AST	BLP	BOL	BRI	CAR	CRL	CRY	FUL	HUL	LUT	MID	MIL	NOT	NTC	ORI	OXF	POR	PNE	SHW	SUN	SWI	WBA
Aston Villa		0–1	1–1	2–2	5–0	2–1	2–1	1–1	1–1	0–1	1–1	0–0	3–1	1–1	2–2	2–0	4–1	2–0	1–0	1–2	1–1	1–3
Blackpool	2–1		0–2	2–2	2–1	4–0	1–0	2–0	1–2	3–0	0–0	1–0	2–2	0–1	1–1	2–0	5–0	3–0	0–0	0–2	2–0	2–3
Bolton Wanderers	1–2	1–1		2–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	0–0	1–0	1–0	2–1	0–1	1–0	1–3	1–1	2–1	4–0	0–2	4–2	1–0	2–0	1–1
Bristol City	0–1	0–1	1–0		3–2	2–0	0–1	0–1	3–1	1–3	1–1	5–2	1–0	2–2	0–2	0–0	0–2	0–0	2–0	2–0	1–0	1–1
Cardiff City	0–1	1–0	1–0	0–1		2–2	1–1	0–0	1–3	0–0	3–2	1–3	1–1	1–0	1–1	5–0	1–1	2–0	0–1	4–1	2–1	0–1
Carlisle United	2–0	2–3	1–0	2–1	1–1		1–0	3–0	4–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–1	3–0	3–0	2–1	0–2	2–2	2–2	1–0	5–1	0–1
Crystal Palace	0–0	1–2	0–0	3–1	3–3	0–1		0–2	0–2	1–2	2–3	1–1	0–1	1–4	0–0	2–0	0–0	2–0	0–0	3–0	4–2	1–0
Fulham	1–0	0–0	1–0	2–1	0–1	0–2	1–3		0–0	2–1	0–4	2–0	2–0	2–0	0–3	3–1	2–0	0–0	4–1	0–2	4–1	0–0
Hull City	1–1	1–0	0–0	2–1	1–1	1–1	3–0	2–0		1–3	1–3	1–1	0–0	1–0	1–1	0–0	4–1	1–0	2–1	2–0	0–1	0–0
Luton Town	1–0	3–0	2–1	1–0	1–0	6–1	2–1	1–1	2–2		0–1	3–0	2–2	1–1	3–1	0–1	3–3	4–2	2–1	3–4	2–1	0–2
Middlesbrough	0–0	0–0	0–0	2–0	3–0	1–0	2–0	0–2	1–0	2–1		2–1	1–0	4–0	3–2	1–0	3–0	3–0	8–0	2–1	2–1	0–0
Millwall	1–1	2–2	2–1	0–2	2–0	1–2	3–2	1–0	3–0	0–1	0–1		0–0	0–0	0–1	0–0	1–1	5–1	1–0	2–1	3–0	1–0
Nottingham Forest	1–2	2–0	3–2	1–1	2–1	2–0	1–2	3–0	0–0	4–0	5–1	3–0		0–0	2–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–1	2–2	2–0	1–4
Notts County	2–0	0–3	0–0	2–1	1–1	0–3	1–3	2–1	3–2	1–1	2–2	3–3	0–1		2–4	0–0	4–0	2–1	1–5	1–4	2–0	1–0
Orient	1–1	3–2	3–0	0–1	1–2	0–1	3–0	1–0	1–1	2–0	0–0	1–1	2–1	1–1		1–1	2–1	2–2	0–1	2–1	0–0	2–0
Oxford United	2–1	2–2	0–2	5–0	4–2	0–1	1–1	0–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–3	1–0	2–1	1–1		3–0	1–1	1–0	0–1	1–1	1–0
Portsmouth	2–0	0–0	0–2	1–0	1–0	2–1	2–2	3–0	3–1	0–0	0–1	0–0	0–2	1–2	0–0	2–1		3–0	1–1	1–1	3–1	1–1
Preston North End	0–0	1–3	2–1	1–1	2–2	0–1	1–1	0–1	2–0	2–2	2–4	2–0	2–1	0–2	0–1	0–0	2–1		0–0	1–0	1–1	3–1
Sheffield Wednesday	2–4	0–0	1–0	3–1	5–0	1–0	4–0	0–3	1–1	2–2	2–2	3–2	1–1	0–0	1–2	0–1	1–2	1–0		0–1	2–1	3–1
Sunderland	2–0	2–1	3–0	1–2	1–1	2–1	0–0	1–0	1–0	0–1	0–2	4–0	0–0	1–2	1–1	0–0	3–0	2–1	3–1		4–1	1–1
Swindon Town	1–0	1–0	2–2	0–1	1–1	2–2	0–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–1	1–3	0–0	1–4	2–2	1–0	1–2	3–1	3–1	0–2		1–0
West Bromwich Albion	2–0	1–1	0–0	2–2	2–2	1–1	1–0	2–0	2–3	1–1	0–4	1–1	3–3	2–1	1–0	1–0	1–2	0–2	2–0	1–1	2–0

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

 

 

 

 

 

Crystal Palace

Fulham

Orient

Millwall

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Locations of the Football League Second Division London teams 1973–1974

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aston Villa

Blackpool

Bolton

Bristol City

Carlisle United

Cardiff City

Crystal Palace

Fulham

Hull

Orient

Luton Town

Middlesbrough

Millwall

Nottingham Forest

Notts County

Oxford

Portsmouth

Preston North End

Sheffield Wednesday

Sunderland

Swindon

West Bromwich Albion

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Locations of the Football League Second Division 1973–1974 teams

Third Division

Football League
Third Division

Season	1973–74
Champions	Oldham Athletic (1st title)
Promoted	Bristol Rovers, York City
Relegated	Cambridge United, Rochdale, Shrewsbury Town, Southport
Matches played	552
Goals scored	1,362 (2.47 per match)
Top goalscorer	Billy Jennings (Watford), 26 ^[3]
← 1972–73 1974–75 →

Pos	Team	Pld	HW	HD	HL	HGF	HGA	AW	AD	AL	AGF	AGA	GAv	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Oldham Athletic	46	13	6	4	50	23	12	6	5	33	24	1.766	62	Division Champions, promoted
2	Bristol Rovers	46	15	6	2	37	15	7	11	5	28	18	1.970	61	Promoted
3	York City	46	13	8	2	37	15	8	11	4	30	23	1.763	61
4	Wrexham	46	15	6	2	44	15	7	6	10	19	28	1.465	56
5	Chesterfield	46	14	6	3	31	16	7	8	8	24	26	1.310	56
6	Grimsby Town	46	14	6	3	48	21	4	9	10	19	29	1.340	51
7	Watford	46	12	6	5	34	21	7	6	10	30	35	1.143	50
8	Aldershot	46	13	6	4	47	22	6	5	12	18	30	1.250	49
9	Halifax Town	46	9	11	3	23	15	5	10	8	25	36	0.941	49
10	Huddersfield Town	46	14	5	4	37	16	3	8	12	19	39	1.018	47
11	AFC Bournemouth	46	11	5	7	25	23	5	10	8	29	35	0.931	47
12	Southend United	46	10	7	6	40	30	6	7	10	22	32	1.000	46
13	Blackburn Rovers	46	13	4	6	38	21	5	6	12	24	43	0.969	46
14	Charlton Athletic	46	13	5	5	43	29	6	3	14	23	44	0.904	46
15	Walsall	46	11	7	5	37	19	5	6	12	20	29	1.188	45
16	Tranmere Rovers	46	10	8	5	31	15	5	7	11	19	29	1.136	45
17	Plymouth Argyle	46	13	6	4	37	17	4	4	15	22	37	1.093	44
18	Hereford United	46	10	5	8	31	25	4	10	9	22	32	0.930	43
19	Brighton & Hove Albion	46	10	3	10	31	31	6	8	9	21	27	0.897	43
20	Port Vale	46	12	6	5	37	23	2	8	13	15	35	0.897	42
21	Cambridge United	46	11	7	5	36	27	2	2	19	12	54	0.593	35	Relegated
22	Shrewsbury Town	46	7	7	9	24	24	3	4	16	17	38	0.661	31
23	Southport	46	4	14	5	19	20	2	2	19	16	62	0.427	28
24	Rochdale	46	1	12	10	24	38	1	5	17	14	56	0.404	21

Source: rsssf.com

Results

Home \ Away	BOU	ALD	BLB	B&HA	BRR	CAM	CHA	CHF	GRI	HAL	HER	HUD	OLD	PLY	PTV	ROC	SHR	STD	SOU	TRA	WAL	WAT	WRE	YOR
AFC Bournemouth		3–0	1–2	0–0	0–3	1–0	1–0	0–1	1–1	1–1	3–2	1–0	0–3	0–0	2–2	2–0	1–0	1–3	2–0	2–1	1–0	1–0	0–1	1–3
Aldershot	1–3		4–0	0–1	2–3	6–0	2–1	2–2	1–0	2–1	1–0	1–0	0–1	3–2	0–0	4–0	2–2	3–3	4–0	0–0	1–0	1–0	5–1	2–2
Blackburn Rovers	4–3	1–2		3–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	2–1	1–0	1–1	1–2	1–0	0–1	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	1–0	2–1	0–0	0–2	5–0	1–2	4–0
Brighton & Hove Albion	0–2	0–1	3–0		2–8	4–1	1–2	0–0	1–1	0–1	2–1	1–2	1–2	1–0	2–1	2–1	2–0	0–2	4–0	1–3	2–1	0–1	2–1	0–0
Bristol Rovers	3–0	2–1	3–0	1–1		1–0	2–1	1–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–1	1–2	4–2	1–1	1–1	1–0	4–0	3–1	1–0	0–2	1–0	1–0	0–0
Cambridge United	2–1	1–2	0–2	1–1	2–2		1–0	1–2	0–1	0–1	2–0	2–2	1–1	3–1	4–2	3–3	2–1	3–2	2–0	1–0	0–0	3–2	2–1	0–0
Charlton Athletic	0–0	2–0	4–3	0–4	1–1	2–0		3–3	2–1	5–2	2–0	2–1	4–1	2–0	2–0	3–0	3–3	2–1	0–1	1–0	0–1	1–3	0–0	2–4
Chesterfield	2–1	0–0	3–0	1–0	0–0	3–0	3–1		1–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–0	1–0	2–1	1–0	0–2	0–0	4–2	1–0	1–0	3–1	2–2	0–2
Grimsby Town	1–1	1–0	4–2	0–0	1–1	1–0	5–0	1–1		4–1	1–3	2–1	2–1	3–0	2–0	5–1	1–2	2–1	2–1	5–0	1–0	2–2	1–1	1–2
Halifax Town	1–1	0–0	1–1	2–2	0–0	0–1	2–1	2–0	1–2		1–1	0–0	0–0	1–0	1–0	1–0	1–0	0–0	1–1	2–1	3–1	0–0	1–2	2–1
Hereford United	0–2	0–2	1–0	3–0	0–0	0–0	2–3	2–1	2–1	3–1		0–1	3–4	0–1	2–1	2–1	1–1	1–2	3–0	0–2	3–1	1–1	2–0	0–0
Huddersfield Town	1–1	1–0	1–0	2–2	1–2	2–1	2–0	1–0	1–0	4–0	0–0		2–1	2–1	3–0	5–0	1–0	0–1	3–1	0–0	2–2	1–2	2–1	0–1
Oldham Athletic	4–2	2–0	2–3	0–1	1–1	6–1	0–2	0–0	3–1	3–2	1–1	6–0		1–0	1–1	3–1	3–0	2–0	6–0	2–2	2–1	0–3	0–0	2–1
Plymouth Argyle	2–0	2–1	2–1	0–1	1–0	4–1	1–0	1–1	1–0	1–1	0–1	1–1	0–0		2–0	5–0	2–2	1–1	4–1	2–0	2–1	2–0	1–2	0–2
Port Vale	0–0	0–1	1–2	2–1	3–1	2–1	3–1	0–1	1–1	1–1	1–3	4–2	3–0	2–1		3–1	3–0	0–0	2–1	1–0	1–1	1–2	1–0	2–2
Rochdale	3–3	2–2	1–2	1–1	0–1	0–2	1–1	1–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–3	1–3	1–1		3–2	1–1	2–2	0–1	0–1	1–3	0–0	1–3
Shrewsbury Town	1–1	0–0	3–0	1–0	0–2	2–0	3–3	0–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–0	0–2	0–0	0–1	2–0		1–2	2–0	1–3	0–0	3–2	0–1	0–2
Southend	2–2	2–1	1–1	0–2	0–0	3–1	2–0	1–3	4–1	1–2	2–1	5–2	2–2	2–0	1–0	1–2	2–0		0–1	1–1	2–1	2–3	1–1	3–3
Southport	1–0	3–0	2–2	1–1	1–0	0–0	1–2	1–1	0–1	1–1	1–1	0–0	0–2	1–1	0–1	0–0	1–0	0–0		2–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1
Tranmere	1–1	0–1	1–1	4–1	0–0	5–2	2–0	1–2	0–0	0–1	0–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	3–0	1–1	1–0	2–0	3–1		3–0	1–0	0–1	0–0
Walsall	1–2	3–2	2–0	0–1	0–0	3–0	4–0	2–0	3–1	2–2	3–1	3–0	1–1	0–4	0–0	0–0	2–0	1–2	2–0	0–1		2–2	3–0	0–0
Watford	1–1	2–1	0–0	1–0	0–0	3–0	1–3	2–1	1–2	0–0	2–1	1–1	0–1	0–3	2–1	4–0	1–0	1–0	4–0	4–2	1–3		2–0	1–1
Wrexham	0–1	0–0	2–2	1–0	1–0	2–1	4–0	2–1	1–1	2–1	5–0	0–0	1–2	5–2	0–0	3–0	3–1	5–1	3–2	0–0	2–0	1–0		1–0
York City	4–1	3–1	1–0	3–0	2–1	2–0	0–1	0–0	1–1	1–1	0–0	2–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–1	0–1	1–0	4–0	2–0	1–1	2–2	1–0

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

 

 

 

Charlton Athletic

Watford

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Locations of the Football League Third Division London teams 1973–1974

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aldershot

Blackburn Rovers

Bournemouth

Brighton & Hove

Bristol Rovers

Cambridge U.

Charlton

Chesterfield

Grimsby Town

Halifax Town

Hereford United

Huddersfield

Oldham

Plymouth Argyle

Port Vale

Rochdale

Shrewsbury

Southend

Southport

Tranmere

Walsall

Watford

Wrexham

York City

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Locations of the Football League Third Division teams 1973–1974

Fourth Division

Football League
Fourth Division

Season	1973–74
Champions	Peterborough United (2nd title)
Promoted	Bury, Colchester United, Gillingham
Failed re-election	None
Matches played	552
Goals scored	1,362 (2.47 per match)
Top goalscorer	Brian Yeo (Gillingham), 31 ^[3]
← 1972–73 1974–75 →

Pos	Team	Pld	HW	HD	HL	HGF	HGA	AW	AD	AL	AGF	AGA	GAv	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Peterborough United	46	19	4	0	49	10	8	7	8	26	28	1.974	65	Division Champions, promoted
2	Gillingham	46	16	5	2	51	16	9	7	7	39	33	1.837	62	Promoted
3	Colchester United	46	16	5	2	46	14	8	7	8	27	22	2.028	60
4	Bury	46	18	3	2	51	14	6	8	9	30	35	1.653	59
5	Northampton Town	46	14	7	2	39	14	6	6	11	24	34	1.313	53
6	Reading	46	11	9	3	37	13	5	10	8	21	24	1.568	51
7	Chester	46	13	6	4	31	19	4	9	10	23	36	0.982	49
8	Bradford City	46	14	7	2	45	20	3	7	13	13	32	1.115	48
9	Newport County	46	13	6	4	39	23	3	8	12	17	42	0.862	45^[a]
10	Exeter City	45	12	5	6	37	20	6	3	13	21	35	1.055	44^[b]
11	Hartlepool	46	11	4	8	29	16	5	8	10	19	31	1.021	44
12	Lincoln City	46	10	8	5	40	30	6	4	13	23	37	0.940	44
13	Barnsley	46	15	5	3	42	16	2	5	16	16	48	0.906	44
14	Swansea City	46	11	6	6	28	15	5	5	13	17	31	0.978	43
15	Rotherham United	46	10	9	4	33	22	5	4	14	23	36	0.966	43
16	Torquay United	46	11	7	5	37	23	2	10	11	15	34	0.912	43
17	Mansfield Town	46	13	8	2	47	24	0	9	14	15	45	0.899	43
18	Scunthorpe United	45	12	7	3	33	17	2	5	16	14	47	0.734	42^[b]
19	Brentford	46	9	7	7	31	20	3	9	11	17	30	0.960	40
20	Darlington	46	9	8	6	29	24	4	5	14	11	38	0.645	39
21	Crewe Alexandra	46	11	5	7	28	30	3	5	15	15	41	0.606	38	Re-elected
22	Doncaster Rovers	46	10	7	6	32	22	2	4	17	15	58	0.588	35
23	Workington	46	10	8	5	33	26	1	5	17	10	48	0.581	35
24	Stockport County	46	4	12	7	22	25	3	8	12	22	44	0.638	34

Source: rsssf.com
Notes:

1. Newport County had one point deducted for fielding an ineligible player.
2. Scunthorpe United v. Exeter was never played; Exeter failed to turn up and Scunthorpe were awarded the points.

Results

Home \ Away	BAR	BRA	BRE	BRY	CHE	COL	CRE	DAR	DON	EXE	GIL	HAR	LIN	MAN	NPC	NOR	PET	REA	ROT	SCU	STP	SWA	TOR	WRK
Barnsley		2–2	2–1	3–2	1–1	0–1	2–1	1–0	2–0	3–0	3–1	2–0	0–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–0	3–2	1–0	5–0	4–0	1–0	1–0	4–0
Bradford City	3–0		1–1	4–2	1–1	1–1	0–1	3–0	1–1	1–0	0–0	2–0	4–0	3–1	3–0	1–1	1–1	4–3	2–1	2–1	0–1	3–1	2–1	3–2
Brentford	5–1	2–0		1–2	3–0	0–0	3–0	0–0	2–0	0–1	0–3	1–2	2–1	4–1	1–1	3–1	0–1	0–1	1–1	2–1	0–0	0–2	0–0	1–1
Bury	2–0	3–0	3–0		3–1	2–0	2–0	5–1	3–1	0–0	3–2	1–0	2–1	2–0	5–0	3–1	0–2	1–0	3–1	0–0	1–1	0–2	4–0	3–1
Chester	3–1	1–0	0–0	1–1		0–4	1–0	1–0	3–0	0–1	2–4	3–1	2–3	1–1	3–0	0–0	2–1	0–0	1–0	2–0	2–1	1–0	1–1	1–0
Colchester United	2–0	4–0	2–1	1–1	1–1		3–2	3–0	3–0	1–0	0–2	3–0	4–1	1–0	4–1	1–0	1–1	0–0	0–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	2–2	3–0
Crewe Alexandra	0–1	1–0	0–0	1–0	1–0	1–2		1–1	4–0	2–5	1–0	1–3	2–1	1–1	4–1	0–2	2–1	2–1	1–8	1–0	1–3	0–0	0–0	1–0
Darlington	4–2	2–1	1–2	0–0	1–2	1–0	3–0		1–0	1–0	1–3	1–1	0–3	1–0	0–1	2–3	2–2	2–1	1–1	3–0	1–1	1–1	0–0	0–0
Doncaster Rovers	1–0	2–2	1–2	1–1	1–2	2–0	0–2	0–0		1–0	1–2	2–2	2–0	0–0	2–0	2–1	3–1	0–0	1–2	1–0	1–1	3–1	0–1	5–2
Exeter City	6–1	0–0	2–1	0–3	2–1	1–0	2–0	3–0	1–2		2–1	2–0	0–1	1–1	0–1	1–1	1–2	0–1	0–0	4–0	2–1	2–0	4–2	1–1
Gillingham	1–1	2–0	1–0	3–0	1–0	4–1	3–0	0–1	5–1	2–1		3–0	2–0	2–2	1–1	3–1	1–0	0–1	1–1	7–2	2–1	1–1	2–1	4–0
Hartlepool	1–2	1–0	1–0	1–1	0–0	0–0	1–0	1–2	3–0	1–3	2–1		0–2	4–0	0–1	1–0	0–1	1–2	2–0	3–0	3–0	0–1	0–0	3–0
Lincoln City	1–1	0–1	3–2	4–3	2–2	0–1	4–2	2–1	3–3	2–1	2–3	0–1		1–1	3–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–1	1–0	1–1	2–2	3–0	2–0
Mansfield Town	2–2	0–0	1–1	1–2	3–0	2–2	1–2	1–0	2–0	3–3	2–2	2–0	4–3		2–1	2–0	2–1	1–1	3–0	2–2	5–0	2–1	2–1	2–0
Newport County	1–0	2–2	1–1	1–0	0–2	1–3	4–2	2–0	3–1	2–1	3–3	0–0	0–1	2–0		3–1	0–1	0–0	1–0	2–1	3–1	2–1	2–2	4–0
Northampton Town	2–1	3–0	0–0	3–1	3–3	0–0	1–1	5–0	3–1	1–2	0–0	1–0	1–0	2–0	1–0		0–1	3–3	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	0–0	1–0
Peterborough United	3–0	1–1	1–0	2–2	0–0	2–0	4–0	1–0	5–1	2–0	4–2	2–0	1–0	2–1	2–0	3–0		2–0	2–0	1–0	3–2	3–0	1–1	2–0
Reading	1–0	0–0	1–0	2–2	3–0	1–1	2–0	2–0	5–0	4–1	0–1	1–1	0–0	3–0	1–1	1–2	1–1		1–0	0–0	1–1	1–2	4–0	2–0
Rotherham United	2–1	2–1	1–1	1–0	3–2	0–0	1–1	0–1	1–2	4–0	1–1	2–2	2–0	2–1	1–1	1–2	3–1	1–1		1–1	1–2	1–0	1–0	1–1
Scunthorpe United	3–0	2–1	4–1	1–2	2–1	1–0	0–0	1–0	2–1		1–1	1–1	1–1	5–3	0–0	1–2	2–1	1–0	3–0		2–1	0–0	0–0	0–1
Stockport County	1–1	0–1	1–1	3–2	0–1	0–3	0–0	1–2	0–0	0–1	2–0	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	0–0	0–1	3–1		0–1	2–1	1–1
Swansea City	2–0	0–1	0–0	0–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	0–0	0–0	2–0	0–3	0–0	3–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–1	4–2	1–2	3–0		0–1	1–0
Torquay United	1–1	1–0	3–0	1–2	2–2	0–4	2–1	0–0	3–0	0–0	0–1	0–2	2–1	4–0	3–2	1–0	1–2	1–1	3–0	1–1	2–2	3–1		3–0
Workington	1–0	1–0	0–2	0–0	1–1	1–4	0–0	5–2	3–1	3–1	3–3	0–2	1–1	0–0	3–2	1–0	4–1	0–0	0–2	1–2	1–1	1–0	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.

• Scunthorpe United v Exeter City was never played; Exeter failed to turn up and Scunthorpe were awarded two points.

Maps

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Barnsley

Bradford City

Brentford

Bury

Chester

Colchester

Crewe Alexandra

Darlington

Doncaster

Exeter City

Gillingham

Hartlepool

Lincoln City

Mansfield Town

Newport County

Northampton Town

Peterborough

Reading

Rotherham

Scunthorpe & Lindsey

Stockport

Swansea City

Torquay

Workington

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Locations of the Football League Fourth Division teams 1973–1974

See also

• 1973-74 in English football

External links

• complete lineups, tables and squads at Historical Football Lineups

References

1. "England 1973–74". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 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.