1968–69 in English football

The 1968–69 season was the 89th season of competitive football in England.

Honours

Competition	Winner	Runner-up
First Division	Leeds United (1)	Liverpool
Second Division	Derby County	Crystal Palace
Third Division	Watford	Swindon Town
Fourth Division	Doncaster Rovers	Halifax Town
FA Cup	Manchester City (4)	Leicester City
League Cup	Swindon Town (1)	Arsenal
Charity Shield	Manchester City	West Bromwich Albion
Home Championship	England	Scotland

Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour. * indicates new record for competition

FA Cup

Manchester City completed a disappointing season for relegated Leicester City by defeating them 1–0 in the FA Cup Final. Neil Young scored the only goal of the game, although Leicester's David Nish gained the record as the youngest captain of a cup finalist at the age of 21.^[1]

The season's big giant-killers were Third Division Mansfield Town who accounted for Sheffield United in the Third Round and West Ham in the Fifth before going out to Leicester in the Sixth Round.

League Cup

In one of the biggest shocks in the history of the competition Swindon Town won the final 3–1 against Arsenal. Swindon's non-top flight status saw them barred from competing in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup which led to the creation of the Anglo-Italian Cup the following season.

European football

Newcastle United won the first, and to date only, European trophy in their history by beating Újpest of Hungary 6–2 on aggregate to lift the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.

Football League

First Division

Leeds United won the League for the first time in their history, finishing six points ahead of Liverpool.

Manchester United's final season under the management of Sir Matt Busby before his retirement ended in an 11th place finish, although their defence of the European Cup lasted until the semi-finals. Their cross city rivals finished 13th a year after being league champions, but had an FA Cup triumph as compensation for their failed defence of the league title and their failure to succeed in the European Cup.

Newly promoted Queens Park Rangers were relegated after finishing bottom along with FA Cup runners-up Leicester City.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Leeds United (C)	42	27	13	2	66	26	2.538	67	1969–70 European Cup
2	Liverpool	42	25	11	6	63	24	2.625	61	01968–69 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup0
3	Everton	42	21	15	6	77	36	2.139	57
4	Arsenal	42	22	12	8	56	27	2.074	56
5	Chelsea	42	20	10	12	73	53	1.377	50	01968–69 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup0
6	Tottenham Hotspur	42	14	17	11	61	51	1.196	45
7	Southampton	42	16	13	13	57	48	1.188	45
8	West Ham United	42	13	18	11	66	50	1.32	44
9	Newcastle United	42	15	14	13	61	55	1.109	44	01968–69 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup0
10	West Bromwich Albion	42	16	11	15	64	67	0.955	43
11	Manchester United	42	15	12	15	57	53	1.075	42
12	Ipswich Town	42	15	11	16	59	60	0.983	41
13	Manchester City	42	15	10	17	64	55	1.164	40	01969–70 European Cup Winners' Cup0
14	Burnley	42	15	9	18	55	82	0.671	39
15	Sheffield Wednesday	42	10	16	16	41	54	0.759	36
16	Wolverhampton Wanderers	42	10	15	17	41	58	0.707	35
17	Sunderland	42	11	12	19	43	67	0.642	34
18	Nottingham Forest	42	10	13	19	45	57	0.789	33
19	Stoke City	42	9	15	18	40	63	0.635	33
20	Coventry City	42	10	11	21	46	64	0.719	31
21	Leicester City (R)	42	9	12	21	39	68	0.574	30	Relegation to 1969–70 Second Division
22	Queens Park Rangers (R)	42	4	10	28	39	95	0.411	18

Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.

Second Division

Derby County were runaway winners of the Second Division and they were joined in being promoted by runners-up Crystal Palace. Despite still boasting the talents of Johnny Haynes and George Cohen, Fulham finished bottom and were relegated. They were joined in the Third Division by perennial strugglers Bury

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Derby County (C)	42	26	11	5	65	32	2.031	63	Promotion to 1969–70 First Division
2	Crystal Palace (P)	42	22	12	8	70	47	1.489	56
3	Charlton Athletic	42	18	14	10	61	52	1.173	50
4	Middlesbrough	42	19	11	12	58	49	1.184	49
5	Cardiff City	42	20	7	15	67	54	1.241	47	01969–70 European Cup Winners' Cup0
6	Huddersfield Town	42	17	12	13	53	46	1.152	46
7	Birmingham City	42	18	8	16	73	59	1.237	44
8	Blackpool	42	14	15	13	51	41	1.244	43
9	Sheffield United	42	16	11	15	61	50	1.22	43
10	Millwall	42	17	9	16	57	49	1.163	43
11	Hull City	42	13	16	13	59	52	1.135	42
12	Carlisle United	42	16	10	16	46	49	0.939	42
13	Norwich City	42	15	10	17	53	56	0.946	40
14	Preston North End	42	12	15	15	38	44	0.864	39
15	Portsmouth	42	12	14	16	58	58	1	38
16	Bristol City	42	11	16	15	46	53	0.868	38
17	Bolton Wanderers	42	11	16	15	55	67	0.821	38
18	Aston Villa	42	12	14	16	37	48	0.771	38
19	Blackburn Rovers	42	13	11	18	52	63	0.825	37
20	Oxford United	42	12	9	21	34	55	0.618	33
21	Bury (R)	42	11	8	23	51	80	0.638	30	Relegation to 1969–70 Third Division
22	Fulham (R)	42	7	11	24	40	81	0.494	25

Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.

Third Division

Watford won the title on goal average from Swindon Town and both teams were duly promoted. At the bottom end Northampton Town, Hartlepool, Crewe Alexandra and Oldham Athletic were all relegated.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Watford (C)	46	27	10	9	74	34	2.176	64	Promotion to 1969–70 Second Division
2	Swindon Town (P)	46	27	10	9	71	35	2.029	64
3	Luton Town	46	25	11	10	74	38	1.947	61
4	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	46	21	9	16	60	45	1.333	51
5	Plymouth Argyle	46	17	15	14	53	49	1.082	49
6	Torquay United	46	18	12	16	54	46	1.174	48
7	Tranmere Rovers	46	19	10	17	70	68	1.029	48
8	Southport	46	17	13	16	71	64	1.109	47
9	Stockport County	46	16	14	16	67	68	0.985	46
10	Barnsley	46	16	14	16	58	63	0.921	46
11	Rotherham United	46	16	13	17	56	50	1.12	45
12	Brighton & Hove Albion	46	16	13	17	72	65	1.108	45
13	Walsall	46	14	16	16	50	49	1.02	44
14	Reading	46	15	13	18	67	66	1.015	43
15	Mansfield Town	46	16	11	19	58	62	0.935	43
16	Bristol Rovers	46	16	11	19	63	71	0.887	43
17	Shrewsbury Town	46	16	11	19	51	67	0.761	43
18	Orient	46	14	14	18	51	58	0.879	42
19	Barrow	46	17	8	21	56	75	0.747	42
20	Gillingham	46	13	15	18	54	63	0.857	41
21	Northampton Town (R)	46	14	12	20	54	61	0.885	40	Relegation to 1969–70 Fourth Division
22	Hartlepool United (R)	46	10	19	17	40	70	0.571	39
23	Crewe Alexandra (R)	46	13	9	24	52	76	0.684	35
24	Oldham Athletic (R)	46	13	9	24	50	83	0.602	35

Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.

Fourth Division

The Division was won by Doncaster Rovers, who were promoted along with Halifax Town, Rochdale and Bradford City. No team failed re-election so no new members were admitted to the Football League.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Doncaster Rovers (C)	46	21	17	8	65	38	1.711	59	Promotion to 1969–70 Third Division
2	Halifax Town (P)	46	20	17	9	53	37	1.432	57
3	Rochdale (P)	46	18	20	8	68	35	1.943	56
4	Bradford City (P)	46	18	20	8	65	46	1.413	56
5	Darlington	46	17	18	11	62	45	1.378	52
6	Colchester United	46	20	12	14	57	53	1.075	52
7	Southend United	46	19	13	14	78	61	1.279	51
8	Lincoln City	46	17	17	12	54	52	1.038	51
9	Wrexham	46	18	14	14	61	52	1.173	50
10	Swansea Town	46	19	11	16	58	54	1.074	49
11	Brentford	46	18	12	16	64	65	0.985	48
12	Workington	46	15	17	14	40	43	0.93	47
13	Port Vale	46	16	14	16	46	46	1	46
14	Chester	46	16	13	17	76	66	1.152	45
15	Aldershot	46	19	7	20	66	66	1	45
16	Scunthorpe United	46	18	8	20	61	60	1.017	44
17	Exeter City	46	16	11	19	66	65	1.015	43
18	Peterborough United	46	13	16	17	60	57	1.053	42
19	Notts County	46	12	18	16	48	57	0.842	42
20	Chesterfield	46	13	15	18	43	50	0.86	41
21	York City	46	14	11	21	53	75	0.707	39	Re-elected
22	Newport County	46	11	14	21	49	74	0.662	36
23	Grimsby Town	46	9	15	22	47	69	0.681	33
24	Bradford Park Avenue	46	5	10	31	32	106	0.302	20

Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.

Events of the season

• 18 August 1968 - The Manchester derby - featuring the reigning English champions Manchester City and the European Cup holders Manchester United - finishes goalless at Maine Road. Elsewhere in the First Division, draws for West Ham United and Arsenal (against Nottingham Forest and Liverpool respectively) end their 100% records, leaving Leeds United as the only First Division club with six points out of six. Crystal Palace and Millwall are the teams with maximum points in Division Two, while Mansfield Town and Lincoln City, of Divisions Three and Four, respectively have won both of their games thus far.^[2]
• November–December 1968 - Tommy Docherty manages three clubs in six weeks. He resigned from Rotherham on 6 November to take over at Queen's Park Rangers, but walked out on them after a month, and became the manager at Aston Villa on 18 December.
• 14 January 1969 – Sir Matt Busby announces that he will retire as manager of Manchester United at the end of this season.^[3]
• 20 January 1969 – Brian Purcell and Roy Evans, two Hereford United players, are killed in a car crash on their way to an FA Cup tie for the Southern Premier League club at Nuneaton Borough.^[4]
• 11 April 1969 - The Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year award is shared for the first time in the 21 years the accolade has existed: Manchester City's Tony Book and Dave Mackay of Derby County are the joint-winners. Leeds' Billy Bremner finishes third, and Jimmy Greaves of Tottenham is fourth.^[5]
• 26 April 1969 – Manchester City win the FA Cup with a Neil Young goal giving them a 1–0 win over relegated Leicester City in the Wembley final.^[6]

Star players

For the only time in its history the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year was shared by two players — Tony Book of Manchester City and Dave Mackay of Derby County.^[5] For the sixth and final time in his illustrious career Tottenham Hotspur's Jimmy Greaves was Division One top-scorer with 27 goals. He was also top-scorer in the league overall with 22 goals taking the Second Division award for John Toshack of Cardiff City,

Star managers

• Don Revie led Leeds United to their first ever League win, with a record number of points, losing just two matches and set in place a team that was to become one of the most successful of the late 1960s and early 1970s.
• Already a club legend as a player, Joe Harvey became one of Newcastle United's most celebrated managers by leading the club to European glory.
• Ken Furphy took Watford into the Second Division after a close race with Swindon Town. However Swindon's Danny Williams also won the League Cup to make his own name.

National team

The England national football team enjoyed a successful year in the build up to the 1970 FIFA World Cup, for which they had automatically qualified as holders of the trophy after the 1966 FIFA World Cup. They won the 1969 British Home Championship by beating all three opponents and only lost one game all year, to Brazil during an end of season tour to the Americas.

American tour

Mexico  v  England

1 June 1969

Mexico	0–0	England

Estadio Azteca, Mexico City

---

Uruguay  v  England

8 June 1969

Uruguay	1–2	England
Luis Cubilla		Francis Lee, Geoff Hurst

Centenario Stadium, Montevideo

---

Brazil  v  England

12 June 1969

Brazil	2–1	England
Tostao, Jairzinho		Colin Bell

Maracana Stadium, Rio de Janeiro

Deaths

• 5 October 1968 – Joe Brough, 81.^[7]
• 8 October 1968 – Frank Womack, 80.
• 14 October 1968 – Paul Shardlow, 25, heart attack.^[8]
• October 1986 – Eric Sweeney, 65^[9]
• December 1968 – Brian Hill, 31, suicide.^[8]
• 20 January 1969, Brian Purcell, 30, and Roy Evans, 25, car accident.^[8]
• 21 January 1969, Len Andrews, 80.^[10]
• April 1969, Harry Nuttall, 71
• 13 July 1969, Bobby Barclay, 62

References

1. David Nish profile
2. "Leeds only unbeaten first division club". The Gazette. Montreal. The Canadian Press. 19 August 1968. p. 29. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
3. "1969: Matt Busby retires from Man United". BBC News. 14 January 1969.
5. "MACKAY AND BOOK SHARE AWARD". The Herald. Glasgow. 11 April 1969. p. 6. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-04-15. Retrieved 2014-10-01.
7. Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 44. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
8. Player death notices
9. Eric Sweeney
10. Jones, Trefor (1996). The Watford Football Club Illustrated Who's Who. Surrey: T.G Jones. p. 24. ISBN 0-9527458-0-1.