Jump to content

1976–77 Arsenal F.C. season

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Arsenal
1976–1977 season
ChairmanDenis Hill-Wood
ManagerTerry Neill
First Division8th place
FA Cup5th round
League CupQuarter finals
Top goalscorerLeague:
Malcolm Macdonald (25)

All:
Malcolm Macdonald (29)
Highest home attendance52,285 vs Chelsea (26 October 1976)
Lowest home attendance19,517 vs West Bromwich Albion (23 October 1976)
Average home league attendance32,671

The 1976–77 season was Arsenal Football Club's 51st consecutive season in the Football League First Division. The first season under new manager Terry Neill, Arsenal finished eighth in the league and reached the quarterfinals of the League Cup.

New signing Malcolm Macdonald was Arsenal's top scorer. Long-tenured defender Pat Rice assumed the captaincy. Neill oversaw significant turnover in the side throughout the season, seeing the exodus of players such as Alan Ball and John Radford. Along with Macdonald, Neill brought in players like Willie Young and Alan Hudson.

Season summary

[edit]

In the 1976–77 season, former Tottenham boss Terry Neill was recruited by the Arsenal board to replace Bertie Mee in the summer.[1] At the age of 34 he became the youngest Arsenal manager to date.[2][3] Neill brought his number two, Wilf Dixon, from Spurs. Bobby Campbell, the previous coach, left the club a few weeks later to become Fulham's coach.[4] Alan Ball, who had favoured Campbell to become the next manager, was ousted with a move to Southampton for £60,000 in December.[1][5]

As would become a trademark of Neill's management, Neill looked to bring in a big-name striker. Newcastle's star Malcolm Macdonald was available and Neill got him for £333,333, a British transfer record.[2][6] Macdonald formed a fruitful partnership with Frank Stapleton.[1]

Arsenal started the season well with just two defeats in their first nine league games but their title challenge soon began to fade. Arsenal relied heavily on Macdonald for goals. He rewarded them, scoring hat-tricks against both Newcastle and Birmingham.[1] However, when Macdonald went through a poor run of form, Arsenal followed, finding 8 defeats in 11 league games picking up just 3 points out of the possible 22. The Gunners finished the season in a disappointing 8th place.[1]

In the FA Cup, Arsenal easily beat Notts County and Coventry City. However, their run ended against Middlesbrough in a 4-1 loss.[1] Arsenal penetrated deeper into the League Cup, beating Carlisle United before taking their tie with Blackpool to a second replay before triumphing. Arsenal overcame Chelsea in a 2-1 victory at home in front of a season-record crowd to reach the quarterfinals. They lost 2-1 to Queens Park Rangers, ending their League Cup run.

By the end of the season, only two members of the 1971 Double side remained in the first team: George Armstrong and Pat Rice. Armstrong left for Leicester at the end of the season.[1] There were many other departures. John Radford, having lost his place to Stapleton, left to West Ham in December after 14 years at the club, playing 383 league games.[7] Peter Storey was another player to leave, being unable to hold down a first-team place. He moved to Fulham for £10,000 and retired a few games later. Neill also moved Eddie Kelly to QPR, Alex Cropley (£135,000 to Aston Villa), and Terry Mancini (Aldershot).[1] He brought in Willie Young who he had known at Spurs,[8] and Alan Hudson in the spring for £200,000 from Stoke.[1][9]

Final league table

[edit]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
6 Manchester United 42 18 11 13 71 62 +9 47 Qualification for the European Cup Winners' Cup first round[a]
7 West Bromwich Albion 42 16 13 13 62 56 +6 45
8 Arsenal 42 16 11 15 64 59 +5 43
9 Everton 42 14 14 14 62 64 −2 42
10 Leeds United 42 15 12 15 48 51 −3 42
Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
Notes:
  1. ^ Manchester United qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup first round as the 1976–77 FA Cup winners.

Results

[edit]

Arsenal's score comes first[10]

Legend

[edit]
Win Draw Loss

Football League First Division

[edit]
Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
21 August 1976 Bristol City H 0–1 41,082
25 August 1976 Norwich City A 3–1 26,769 Macdonald, Nelson, Stapleton
28 August 1976 Sunderland A 2–2 41,211 Macdonald, Ross
4 September 1976 Manchester City H 0–0 35,132
11 September 1976 West Ham United A 2–0 31,965 Ross, Stapleton
18 September 1976 Everton H 3–1 34,076 Brady, Macdonald, Stapleton
25 September 1976 Ipswich Town A 1–3 25,505 Hunter (own goal)
2 October 1976 Queens Park Rangers H 3–2 39,442 Brady, Rice, Stapleton
16 October 1976 Stoke City H 2–0 28,745 Macdonald, Rice
20 October 1976 Aston Villa A 1–5 33,860 Ball
23 October 1976 Leicester City A 1–4 19,351 Stapleton
30 October 1976 Leeds United A 1–2 33,566 Matthews
6 November 1976 Birmingham City H 4–0 23,063 Stapleton, Macdonald (pen.), Nelson, Ross
20 November 1976 Liverpool H 1–1 45,016 Armstrong
27 November 1976 Coventry City A 2–1 18,313 Macdonald, Stapleton
4 December 1976 Newcastle United H 5–3 35,000 Macdonald (3), Ross, Stapleton
15 December 1976 Derby County A 0–0 24,016
18 December 1976 Manchester United H 3–1 39,572 Brady, Macdonald (2)
27 December 1976 Tottenham Hotspur A 2–2 47,751 Macdonald (2)
3 January 1977 Leeds United H 1–1 44,090 Macdonald
15 January 1977 Norwich City H 1–0 30,537 Rice
18 January 1977 Birmingham City A 3–3 23,247 Macdonald (3)
22 January 1977 Bristol City A 0–2 26,282
5 February 1977 Sunderland H 0–0 30,925
12 February 1977 Manchester City A 0–1 45,368
15 February 1977 Middlesbrough A 0–3 26,083
19 February 1977 West Ham United H 2–3 38,221 Brady, Stapleton
1 March 1977 Everton A 1–2 29,802 Macdonald
5 March 1977 Ipswich Town H 1–4 34,688 Macdonald (pen.)
8 March 1977 West Bromwich Albion H 1–2 19,517 Macdonald
12 March 1977 Queens Park Rangers A 1–2 26,191 Young
23 March 1977 Stoke City A 1–1 13,951 Price
2 April 1977 Leicester City H 3–0 23,013 O'Leary (2), Rix
9 April 1977 West Bromwich Albion A 2–0 24,275 Macdonald, Stapleton
11 April 1977 Tottenham Hotspur H 1–0 47,432 Macdonald
16 April 1977 Liverpool A 0–2 48,174
23 April 1977 Coventry City H 2–0 22,790 Macdonald, Stapleton
25 April 1977 Aston Villa H 3–0 23,961 Armstrong, Macdonald, Nelson
30 April 1977 Newcastle United A 2–0 44,677 Macdonald, Matthews
3 May 1977 Derby County H 0–0 26,659
7 May 1977 Middlesbrough H 1–1 23,911 Stapleton
14 May 1977 Manchester United A 2–3 53,232 Brady, Stapleton

FA Cup

[edit]
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R3 8 January 1977 Notts County A 1–0 17,328 Ross
R4 29 January 1977 Coventry City H 3–1 41,078 Macdonald (2), Stapleton
R5 26 February 1977 Middlesbrough A 1–4 35,208 Macdonald

League Cup

[edit]
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R2 31 August 1976 Carlisle United H 3–2 21,550 Macdonald, Ross (2)
R3 21 September 1976 Blackpool A 1–1 18,983 Armstrong
R3R 28 September 1976 Blackpool H 0–0 27,195
R3R2 5 October 1976 Blackpool H 2–0 26,791 Stapleton, O'Leary
R4 26 October 1976 Chelsea H 2–1 52,285 Ross, Stapleton
QF 1 December 1976 Queens Park Rangers A 1–2 27,621 Stapleton

Squad

[edit]

[1] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
- GK England ENG Jimmy Rimmer
- DF Northern Ireland NIR Pat Rice
- DF Northern Ireland NIR Sammy Nelson
- MF England ENG Trevor Ross
- DF Republic of Ireland IRL David O'Leary
- DF England ENG Peter Simpson
- MF Republic of Ireland IRL Liam Brady
- MF England ENG Alan Hudson
- FW Republic of Ireland IRL Frank Stapleton
- FW England ENG Malcolm Macdonald
- MF England ENG George Armstrong
No. Pos. Nation Player
- MF England ENG Alan Ball
- DF England ENG Pat Howard
- MF England ENG John Matthews
- DF Scotland SCO Willie Young
- DF England ENG Richie Powling
- DF England ENG Peter Storey
- MF England ENG David Price
- DF England ENG Wilf Rostron
- MF England ENG Graham Rix
- MF Scotland SCO Alex Cropley
- FW England ENG John Radford

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Soar, Phil; Tyler, Martin (1995). Arsenal: Official History. London: Hamlyn. pp. 187–190. ISBN 0600588262.
  2. ^ a b "Arsenal History: 1976-1986 - Terry Neill, Don Howe and lots of cup runs". Just Arsenal. 21 May 2022. Archived from the original on 3 June 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  3. ^ "Terry Neill, footballer who became Arsenal's youngest ever captain and later their youngest ever manager – obituary". The Telegraph. 29 July 2022. Archived from the original on 7 August 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  4. ^ Andrews, Mark (28 December 2015). "Bobby Campbell – the Arsenal Obituary 2015". The Arsenal History. Archived from the original on 10 July 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  5. ^ Glanville, Brian (25 April 2007). "Alan Ball obituary". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 11 October 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  6. ^ Lawrence, Gary (2 October 2017). "Highbury Hero Supreme, the Swaggering Supermac Malcolm Macdonald". Gunners Town. Archived from the original on 6 February 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  7. ^ "John Radford". Arsenal. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  8. ^ "Willie Young". Arsenal. Archived from the original on 25 November 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  9. ^ Attwood, Tony (21 June 2013). "Alan Hudson, born 21 June 1951". The History of Arsenal. Archived from the original on 4 July 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  10. ^ "Arsenal results for the 1976-1977 season – Statto.com". Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2012.