1970-1985 The rise of Liverpool

The 1970s was an odd decade in English football, with the national team disappointing. They failed to qualify for the 1974 and 1978 World Cups and only made the second round in 1982. English club sides, however, dominated on the continent. Altogether, in the 1970s, English clubs won eight European titles and lost out in four finals; whilst from 1977 to 1984 English clubs won seven out of eight European Cups.

London clubs were among the success stories of the early 1970s. Bertie Mee's Arsenal had been in the doldrums for much of the past two decades; after suffering two League Cup final defeats in 1968 and 1969 (to Leeds United and Third Division Swindon Town respectively), they finally won silverware with the Fairs Cup in 1970, followed by the League and Cup Double in 1971, making them only the second team of the 20th century to do so. However, Arsenal's success under Mee soon ran dry. Chelsea also enjoyed silverware, claiming the FA Cup in 1970 and the Winners Cup a year later.

Tottenham were also successful, with a UEFA Cup and League Cup in 1971 and 1973 respectively, However, the dominant team in England in this period was Liverpool, winning league titles in 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1982 and 1983. They also collected three European Cups, three FA Cups and four League Cups, under Shankly and his successor Bob Paisley, who retired as manager in 1983. Players such as Emlyn Hughes and Alan Hansen helped Liverpool have a solid and reliable side, whose skill and talent was supported by a strong work ethic and the famous "boot room" identity.

The other notably successful teams of the era were: Nottingham Forest, Everton and Aston Villa. Forest, led by Brian Clough (who had previously won the title with Derby County), who won a league championship followed by two European Cups, and a League Cup. Everton took the title twice in the mid 80s, as well as an FA Cup and Cup Winners Cup, but were denied the opportunity of pressing on for European Cup success by the Heysel ban. Aston Villa had bounced back from relegation to the Third Division in 1970, winning promotion to the top flight in 1975 and a League Cup the same year, and again in 1977. They went on to win the 1981 league title and the year after won the European Cup, becoming the fourth English club to do so, beating Bayern Munich 1-0 in Rotterdam.

Leeds had initially built on their success, winning an FA Cup in 1972 and the league title in 1973-74. However, after Don Revie left for England in 1974, they won no more trophies and were relegated in 1982. Another side successful in the early 70s, Arsenal, had little to shout about until they played a trio of Cup Finals between 1978 and 1980, only winning the one, in 1979, 3-2 against Manchester United. Fellow London side West Ham United beat them in the following year's final, to add to the Cup they won in 1975. After relegation in 1977, Tottenham bounced back and were resurgent in this period, winning the FA Cup twice and the UEFA Cup in 1974.

Other clubs did not fare as well in the 1970s; Manchester United began to decline that eventually saw them relegated in 1974. However, they were promoted back the following season, and reached three cup finals in four years (1976, 1977 and 1979), though they only won the 1977 final. United went on to finish second twice during the 1980s and won another FA Cup in 1983, but were as yet unable to consistently win silverware. On the other hand, their neighbours City struggled in the early 1980s; after reaching the 1981 Cup Final, they declined rapidly and were relegated in 1983, in spite of infamously heavy spending on players who rarely lived up to their price tags.

Meanwhile, Chelsea were also going through a turbulent time, with financial problems and the loss of key players meaning they spent most of 1970s and 1980s bouncing between the First and Second Divisions. In 1983, they only narrowly avoided relegation to the Third Division, but were promoted the following year.

Wolves, who had arguably been the best team of the 1950s and were still a reasonable force in 1980 (when they finished sixth and won the League Cup), suffered a spectacular decline which began in 1984 and ended in 1986 with three successive relegations that saw them in the Fourth Division for the first time. They were not alone in suffering a relegation hat-trick; Bristol City had completed the first such humiliation in 1982.

Wolves were one of several once-great sides to endure a decline during the 1970s and early 1980s. Huddersfield Town (who complete the first league title hat-trick during the 1920s) were relegated from the First Division in 1971 and fell into the Fourth Division in 1975, not winning promotion until 1980. Portsmouth (league champions in 1949 and 1950) fell into the Fourth Division in 1978 as an almost bankrupt side, but climbed out of it in 1980 and within five years were in the hunt for a First Division comeback. Derby County were league champions in 1972 and 1975, but a rapid decline saw them fall into the Second Division in 1980 and the Third Division in 1984.

The period was also marked by some surprise FA Cup wins by lower-division teams over top-flight sides; these included Sunderland (beating Leeds United in 1973), Southampton (beating Manchester United in 1976) and West Ham United (beating Arsenal in 1980). Bobby Robson's Ipswich Town were another successful smaller club, winning the FA Cup in 1978 and the UEFA Cup in 1981.

During this period transfer fees began to rise rapidly as more money entered the game; Trevor Francis became Britain's first million-pound rated footballer in 1979. 1979 also saw the formation of the Football Conference. This was the first national league to develop below the Football League, and was the beginning of a formalisation of the English football pyramid. The first seven Conference champions failed to gain election to the Football League, but in 1986 it was decided that the following year's champions would be automatically promoted to the league to replace the Fourth Division's bottom side....

The re-election system saw Cambridge United elected to the league in 1970, Hereford United in 1972, Wimbledon in 1977 and Wigan Athletic in 1978. Cambridge reached the Second Division in 1978 and were a competent side at this level for five seasons before a terrible decline saw them fall back into the Fourth Division in 1985. Hereford reached the Second Division after just four years of league membership, only to endure back-to-back relegations which pushed them back into the Fourth Division in 1978. Wimbledon's first two promotions from the Fourth Division ended in relegation after just one season, but by 1984 they had reached the Second Division and their biggest successes were yet to come.

Players who dominated the English scene during the 1970s and early 1980s include Kevin Keegan, Kenny Dalglish, Graeme Souness, Peter Shilton, Bryan Robson, John Wark, Liam Brady, Steve Perryman, Glenn Hoddle and Alan Hansen.

Older players whose careers finished during this time include Bobby Moore, Bobby Charlton, George Best, Denis Law, Jimmy Greaves, Billy Bremner, Jack Charlton, Emlyn Hughes, Gordon Banks and Alex Stepney.

Successful managers of this era include Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley, Don Revie, John Lyall, Brian Clough, Ron Saunders, Ron Atkinson, Bobby Robson and Keith Burkinshaw.

1985 - 1992 Heysel and Hillsborough >