1980–81 in English football

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.2 October 1980: Terry Venables departs Crystal Palace to take over at Queens Park Rangers, who sacked Tommy Docherty earlier that day.17 October 1980: Andy Ritchie, the highly promising Manchester United striker who turns 20 next month, is surprisingly sold to Brighton & Hove Albion for £500,000.22 October 1980: Bottom of the First Division, Manchester City win their first league match of the season at the thirteenth attempt when they defeat Tottenham Hotspur 3–1.[1] The race for three places in the First Division next season is being headed by Notts County, West Ham United and Chelsea, with Swansea City, Blackburn Rovers and Sheffield Wednesday in close contention.11 November 1980: Ipswich Town's unbeaten start to the season ends when they lose their fifteenth match 1–0 to bottom-placed Brighton & Hove Albion.Leicester City prop up the First Division having lost their last four games, and join Crystal Palace and Brighton & Hove Albion in the bottom three.Southampton and West Bromwich Albion complete the top five, while Manchester United, with fifteen draws already this season, have fallen to ninth in the table.Grimsby Town have emerged as surprise promotion contenders alongside larger clubs like Blackburn Rovers and Derby County.[11] 12 March 1981: Ken Brown continues to build for the future of First Division strugglers Norwich City by paying Queens Park Rangers £225,000 for 22-year-old goalkeeper Chris Woods.31 March 1981: Ipswich Town lose 3–0 away to Leeds United but remain one point ahead of second placed Aston Villa at the top of the First Division.[1] West Ham United and Notts County continue to head the Second Division promotion race, joined in the top three by Grimsby Town at the expense of Sheffield Wednesday, who are now eighth.8 April 1981: Aston Villa move three points clear at the top of the First Division after winning the derby against third-placed West Bromwich Albion 1–0.[1] 18 April 1981: Aston Villa take a decisive step towards the First Division title by beating Nottingham Forest 2–0 on the same day that Ipswich Town lose 2–0 at home to Arsenal.[1] Newly promoted to the First Division for next season are West Ham United after a three-year exile, Notts County after 55 years away, and Swansea City for the first time ever.[13] 8 June 1981: Having failed to save Crystal Palace from relegation, Clive Allen drops down a division to return to Queens Park Rangers in a £400,000 deal.Alan Kennedy scored the only goal of the game as Liverpool won the European Cup, beating Real Madrid 1–0 in the final at the Parc des Princes in Paris.[16] A fiercely contested First Division title race went right to the wire between Aston Villa and Ipswich Town, as challenges from the likes of Arsenal, West Bromwich Albion and Liverpool fell away during the season's closing stages.At the end of the campaign Sexton was replaced by Ron Atkinson, who had just finished fourth in the league and reached the UEFA Cup quarter finals with West Bromwich Albion.United's cross-city neighbours had also changed their manager, when dismissing Malcolm Allison in October to replace him with Norwich's John Bond, who pulled them up from the foot of the table to finish 12th in the league and reach the FA Cup final, where they took Tottenham to a replay before losing 3–2.They were joined by runners-up Notts County and a Swansea City side whose third-place finish gave them First Division football for the first time in their history and also completed a record of three promotions in four seasons.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 1933.16 June 1981: Billy Hughes, 63, played 200 league games between 1935 and 1951 for Birmingham City, Luton Town and Chelsea in a career which was disrupted by the war.
Football in EnglandAston VillaWest Ham UnitedRotherham UnitedSouthend UnitedAlliance Premier LeagueAltrinchamFA CupTottenham HotspurLeague CupLiverpoolCharity Shield1979–801981–82footballTerry McDermottArsenalClive AllenCrystal PalaceNorwich CityFirst DivisionStoke CityKevin KeeganSouthamptonManchester CitySteve ArchibaldGarth CrooksNottingham ForestBill McGarryJoe HarveyFootball LeagueIpswich TownLeeds UnitedBlackburn RoversDerby CountySheffield WednesdayCambridge UnitedCarlisle UnitedMartin HarveyBob StokoeArthur CoxJimmy AdamsonAllan ClarkeNorman HunterEvertonNotts CountyMalcolm AllisonJohn BondKen BrownTerry VenablesTommy DochertyErnie WalleyAndy RitchieManchester UnitedBrighton & Hove AlbionWest Bromwich AlbionChelseaDave WatsonLeicester CityLuton TownOrientVilla ParkRon NoadesDario GradiDave BassettGrimsby TownQueens Park RangersChris WoodsVancouver WhitecapsZimbabweBruce GrobbelaarKen KnightonMick DochertyGordon LeeHoward KendallMiddlesbroughDave SextonBrazilRon Atkinson1982 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 4England national football team results (1980–1999)England's1982 World CupNorwayWembleyRomaniaBucharestSwitzerlandScotlandHome ChampionshipNorthern IrelandHungaryAlan KennedyEuropean CupReal MadridParc des Princes1981 UEFA Cup FinalAZ AlkmaarBobby RobsonPortman Road1980–81 FA CupRicardo VillaOsvaldo ArdilesArgentinaKeith BurkinshawTommy HutchisonWrexhamMaine RoadGoodison ParkExeter CityNewcastle UnitedCity GroundFrans ThijssenUEFA CupHighburyHillsborough1980–81 Football League Cup1981 Football League Cup Final1980–81 Football LeagueGarry BirtlesBirmingham CityCoventry CitySunderlandWolverhampton Wanderers1980–81 European CupBristol CityBristol RoversPreston North EndSwansea CityWatfordShrewsbury TownOldham AthleticBolton WanderersCardiff CityIan PorterfieldSouth YorkshireBarnsleyCharlton AthleticHuddersfield TownChesterfieldPortsmouthPlymouth ArgyleBurnleyBrentfordReadingNewport CountyFulhamOxford UnitedGillinghamMillwallSwindon TownChesterWalsallSheffield UnitedColchester UnitedBlackpoolHull CityYork CityLincoln CityDoncaster RoversWimbledonPeterborough UnitedAldershotMansfield TownDarlingtonHartlepool UnitedNorthampton TownWigan AthleticBournemouthBradford CityRochdaleScunthorpe UnitedTorquay UnitedCrewe AlexandraPort ValeStockport CountyTranmere RoversHereford UnitedHalifax TownPeter WitheDavid CrossTony KellowAlan CorkIsthmian LeagueSlough TownNorthern Premier LeagueRuncornSouthern LeagueAlvechurchDartfordFA TrophyBishop's StortfordFA VaseWhickhamJohn WarkPFA Players' Player of the YearGary ShawPFA Young Player of the YearFWA Footballer of the YearRon SaundersBob PaisleyJohn LyallJohn ToshackTerry NeillJimmy SirrelGeorge HaslamDarwenBilly FurnessJoe BradfordJim LewisTom WaringAccrington StanleyGeorge BeelMerthyr TownSammy CrooksDurham CityJoe JacquesReg SpencerDes HarlockBert LyonsBilly HughesBilly CharltonSouth ShieldsWayback Machine1871–721872–731873–741874–751875–761876–771877–781878–791879–801880–811881–821882–831883–841884–851885–861886–871887–881888–891889–901890–911891–921892–931893–941894–951895–961896–971897–981898–991899–19001900–011901–021902–031903–041904–051905–061906–071907–081908–091909–101910–111911–121912–131913–141914–151915–161916–171917–181918–191919–201920–211921–221922–231923–241924–251925–261926–271927–281928–291929–301930–311931–321932–331933–341934–351935–361936–371937–381938–391939–401940–411941–421942–431943–441944–451945–461946–471947–481948–491949–501950–511951–521952–531953–541954–551955–561956–571957–581958–591959–601960–611961–621962–631963–641964–651965–661966–671967–681968–691969–701970–711971–721972–731973–741974–751975–761976–771977–781978–791982–831983–841984–851985–861986–871987–881988–891989–901990–911991–921992–931993–941994–951995–961996–971997–981998–991999–20002000–012001–022002–032003–042004–052005–062006–072007–082008–092009–102010–112011–122012–132013–142014–152015–162016–172017–182018–192019–202020–212021–222022–232023–242024–25Ron Greenwood1982 FIFA World CupqualificationSecond DivisionThird DivisionFourth DivisionAthenian LeagueCheshire County LeagueCombined Counties LeagueTown & Country LeagueEssex Senior LeagueHellenic LeagueKent LeagueMidland Football CombinationMidland LeagueNorthern LeagueSussex County LeagueUnited Counties LeagueWest Midlands (Regional) LeagueWestern LeagueYorkshire LeagueQualifying roundsEuropean Cup Winners' CupAnglo-Scottish Cup