1968–69 Football League First Division

1968–69 season of Football League First Division Football league season

Football League First Division
Season	1968–69
Champions	Leeds United 1st English title
Relegated	Leicester City Queens Park Rangers
European Cup	Leeds United
European Cup Winners' Cup	Manchester City
Inter-Cities Fairs Cup	Liverpool Arsenal Southampton Newcastle United
Matches played	462
Goals scored	1,213 (2.63 per match)
Top goalscorer	Jimmy Greaves (27 goals)
← 1967–68 1969–70 →

Statistics of Football League First Division in the 1968-69 season.

Overview

Leeds United won the First Division title for the first time in the club's history that season. They wrapped up the title on 28 April 1969, with a 0–0 draw at title challengers Liverpool and finished the season unbeaten at home. Queens Park Rangers went down on 29 March, after losing 2–1 at home to Liverpool. Leicester City joined them after losing 3–2 at Manchester United, where a win would have saved Leicester from relegation at the expense of Coventry City.

League standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Leeds United (C)	42	27	13	2	66	26	2.538	67	Qualification for the European Cup first round
2	Liverpool	42	25	11	6	63	24	2.625	61	Qualification for the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup first round
3	Everton	42	21	15	6	77	36	2.139	57
4	Arsenal	42	22	12	8	56	27	2.074	56	Qualification for the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup first round
5	Chelsea	42	20	10	12	73	53	1.377	50
6	Tottenham Hotspur	42	14	17	11	61	51	1.196	45
7	Southampton	42	16	13	13	57	48	1.188	45	Qualification for the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup first round
8	West Ham United	42	13	18	11	66	50	1.320	44
9	Newcastle United	42	15	14	13	61	55	1.109	44	Qualification for the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup first round
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	Qualification for the European Cup Winners' Cup first round
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 the Second Division
22	Queens Park Rangers (R)	42	4	10	28	39	95	0.411	18	Relegation to the Second Division

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

Everton were ineligible to participate in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup as Liverpool had already qualified. Under the rules of the cup, only one team per city could participate. Arsenal took their place as the highest-ranked team that hadn't already qualified for a European competition.
Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur were ineligible to participate in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup as Arsenal had already qualified. Under the rules of the cup, only one team per city could participate. Southampton took their place as the highest-ranked team that hadn't already qualified for a European competition.
West Ham United were ineligible to participate in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup as Arsenal had already qualified. Under the rules of the cup, only one team per city could participate. Newcastle United took their place as the highest-ranked team that hadn't already qualified for a European competition.
Manchester City qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup as the 1968-69 FA Cup winners.

Results

Home \ Away	ARS	BUR	CHE	COV	EVE	IPS	LEE	LEI	LIV	MCI	MUN	NEW	NOT	QPR	SHW	SOU	STK	SUN	TOT	WBA	WHU	WOL
Arsenal		2–0	0–1	2–1	3–1	0–2	1–2	3–0	1–1	4–1	3–0	0–0	1–1	2–1	2–0	0–0	1–0	0–0	1–0	2–0	0–0	3–1
Burnley	0–1		2–1	1–1	1–2	1–0	5–1	2–1	0–4	2–1	1–0	1–0	3–1	2–2	2–0	3–1	1–1	1–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	1–1
Chelsea	2–1	2–3		2–1	1–1	3–1	1–1	3–0	1–2	2–0	3–2	1–1	1–1	2–1	1–0	2–3	1–0	5–1	2–2	3–1	1–1	1–1
Coventry City	0–1	4–1	0–1		2–2	0–2	0–1	1–0	0–0	1–1	2–1	2–1	1–1	5–0	3–0	1–1	1–1	3–1	1–2	4–2	1–2	0–1
Everton	1–0	3–0	1–2	3–0		2–2	0–0	7–1	0–0	2–0	0–0	1–1	2–1	4–0	3–0	1–0	2–1	2–0	0–2	4–0	1–0	4–0
Ipswich Town	1–2	2–0	1–3	0–0	2–2		2–3	2–1	0–2	2–1	1–0	1–4	2–3	3–0	2–0	0–0	3–1	1–0	0–1	4–1	2–2	1–0
Leeds United	2–0	6–1	1–0	3–0	2–1	2–0		2–0	1–0	1–0	2–1	2–1	1–0	4–1	2–0	3–2	2–0	1–1	0–0	0–0	2–0	2–1
Leicester City	0–0	0–2	1–4	1–1	1–1	1–3	1–1		1–2	3–0	2–1	2–1	2–2	2–0	1–1	3–1	0–0	2–1	1–0	0–2	1–1	2–0
Liverpool	1–1	1–1	2–1	2–0	1–1	4–0	0–0	4–0		2–1	2–0	2–1	0–2	2–0	1–0	1–0	2–1	4–1	1–0	1–0	2–0	1–0
Manchester City	1–1	7–0	4–1	4–2	1–3	1–1	3–1	2–0	1–0		0–0	1–0	3–3	3–1	0–1	1–1	3–1	1–0	4–0	5–1	1–1	3–2
Manchester United	0–0	2–0	0–4	1–0	2–1	0–0	0–0	3–2	1–0	0–1		3–1	3–1	8–1	1–0	1–2	1–1	4–1	3–1	2–1	1–1	2–0
Newcastle United	2–1	1–0	3–2	2–0	0–0	2–1	0–1	0–0	1–1	1–0	2–0		1–1	3–2	3–2	4–1	5–0	1–1	2–2	2–3	1–1	4–1
Nottingham Forest	0–2	2–2	1–2	0–0	1–0	1–2	0–2	0–0	0–1	1–0	0–1	2–4		1–0	0–0	1–0	3–3	1–0	0–2	3–0	0–1	0–0
Queens Park Rangers	0–1	0–2	0–4	0–1	0–1	2–1	0–1	1–1	1–2	1–1	2–3	1–1	2–1		3–2	1–1	2–1	2–2	1–1	0–4	1–1	0–1
Sheffield Wednesday	0–5	1–0	1–1	3–0	2–2	2–1	0–0	1–3	1–2	1–1	5–4	1–1	0–1	4–0		0–0	2–1	1–1	0–0	1–0	1–1	0–2
Southampton	1–2	5–1	5–0	1–0	2–5	2–2	1–3	1–0	2–0	3–0	2–0	0–0	1–1	3–2	1–1		2–0	1–0	2–1	2–0	2–2	2–1
Stoke City	1–3	1–3	2–0	0–3	0–0	2–1	1–5	1–0	0–0	1–0	0–0	1–0	3–1	1–1	1–1	1–0		2–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	4–1
Sunderland	0–0	2–0	3–2	3–0	1–3	3–0	0–1	2–0	0–2	0–4	1–1	1–1	3–1	0–0	0–0	1–0	4–1		0–0	0–1	2–1	2–0
Tottenham Hotspur	1–2	7–0	1–0	2–0	1–1	2–2	0–0	3–2	2–1	1–1	2–2	0–1	2–1	3–2	1–2	2–1	1–1	5–1		1–1	1–0	1–1
West Bromwich Albion	1–0	3–2	0–3	6–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	0–0	2–0	3–1	5–1	2–5	3–1	0–0	1–2	2–1	3–0	4–3		3–1	0–0
West Ham United	1–2	5–0	0–0	5–2	1–4	1–3	1–1	4–0	1–1	2–1	0–0	3–1	1–0	4–3	1–1	0–0	0–0	8–0	2–2	4–0		3–1
Wolverhampton Wanderers	0–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–2	1–1	0–0	1–0	0–6	3–1	2–2	5–0	1–0	3–1	0–3	0–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–1	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.

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
Queens Park Rangers	Alec Stock	Illness	1 August 1968	Pre-season	Bill Dodgin Jr.	1 August 1968
Queens Park Rangers	Bill Dodgin Jr.	Demoted to coach	2 November 1968	22nd	Tommy Docherty	2 November 1968
Wolverhampton Wanderers	Ronnie Allen	Sacked	17 November 1968	14th	Bill McGarry	23 November 1968
Ipswich Town	Bill McGarry	Signed by Wolverhampton Wanderers	23 November 1968	17th	Cyril Lea (caretaker)	23 November 1968
Queens Park Rangers	Tommy Docherty	Resigned	30 November 1968	22nd	Les Allen	1 December 1968
Nottingham Forest	Johnny Carey	Sacked	30 December 1968	19th	Matt Gillies	2 January 1969
Leicester City	Matt Gillies	Signed by Nottingham Forest	2 January 1969	20th	Frank O'Farrell	5 January 1969
Ipswich Town	Cyril Lea	End of caretaker spell	13 January 1969	18th	Bobby Robson	13 January 1969
Sheffield Wednesday	Jack Marshall	Sacked	2 April 1969	13th	Tom McAnearney (caretaker)	2 April 1969

Top scorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Jimmy Greaves	Tottenham Hotspur	27
2	Geoff Hurst	West Ham United	25
3	Joe Royle	Everton	22
4	Pop Robson	Newcastle United	21
=	Jeff Astle	West Bromwich Albion	21
5	Ron Davies	Southampton	20

References

"English League Leading Goalscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 2010-10-31.

RSSSF

v t e Football League First Division
First Level	1888–89 1889–90 1890–91 1891–92 1892–93 1893–94 1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92
Second Level	1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04

Football League First Division

First Level

1888–89
1889–90
1890–91
1891–92
1892–93
1893–94
1894–95
1895–96
1896–97
1897–98
1898–99
1899–1900
1900–01
1901–02
1902–03
1903–04
1904–05
1905–06
1906–07
1907–08
1908–09
1909–10
1910–11
1911–12
1912–13
1913–14
1914–15
1915–16
1916–17
1917–18
1918–19
1919–20
1920–21
1921–22
1922–23
1923–24
1924–25
1925–26
1926–27
1927–28
1928–29
1929–30
1930–31
1931–32
1932–33
1933–34
1934–35
1935–36
1936–37
1937–38
1938–39
1939–40
1940–41
1941–42
1942–43
1943–44
1944–45
1945–46
1946–47
1947–48
1948–49
1949–50
1950–51
1951–52
1952–53
1953–54
1954–55
1955–56
1956–57
1957–58
1958–59
1959–60
1960–61
1961–62
1962–63
1963–64
1964–65
1965–66
1966–67
1967–68
1968–69
1969–70
1970–71
1971–72
1972–73
1973–74
1974–75
1975–76
1976–77
1977–78
1978–79
1979–80
1980–81
1981–82
1982–83
1983–84
1984–85
1985–86
1986–87
1987–88
1988–89
1989–90
1990–91
1991–92

Second Level

1968–69 in English football

« 1967–68 1969–70 »

National teams

League competitions

Levels 1–4	Football League (First Division, Second Division, Third Division, Fourth Division)
Levels 5–6	Isthmian League (level 5 only) Northern Premier League (level 5 only) Southern League (Premier, One)
Levels 7–9	Athenian League (Premier, One, Two) Cheshire County League (level 7 only) Eastern Counties League (level 7 only) Hellenic League (Premier, One) Kent League (level 7 only) Lancashire Combination (level 7 only) Midland Football Combination (level 7 only) Midland League (level 7 only) Northern League (level 7 only) South Midlands League (Premier, One) Spartan League (level 7 only) Sussex County League (One, Two) United Counties League (One, Two) West Midlands (Regional) League (level 7 only) Western League (level 7 only) Yorkshire League (One, Two)

Cup competitions

FA cups	FA Cup (Qualifying rounds, Final) Charity Shield FA Amateur Cup
Football League cups	League Cup (Final)

European competitions

Club seasons
First Division	Arsenal Burnley Chelsea Coventry City Everton Ipswich Town Leeds United Leicester City Liverpool Manchester City Manchester United Newcastle United Nottingham Forest Queens Park Rangers Sheffield Wednesday Southampton Stoke City Sunderland Tottenham Hotspur West Bromwich Albion West Ham United Wolverhampton Wanderers
Second Division	Aston Villa Birmingham City Blackburn Rovers Blackpool Bolton Wanderers Bristol City Bury Cardiff City Carlisle United Charlton Athletic Crystal Palace Derby County Fulham Huddersfield Town Hull City Middlesbrough Millwall Norwich City Oxford United Portsmouth Preston North End Sheffield United
Third Division	Barnsley Barrow Bournemouth and Boscombe Athletic Brighton & Hove Albion Bristol Rovers Crewe Alexandra Gillingham Hartlepool United Leyton Orient Luton Town Mansfield Town Northampton Town Oldham Athletic Plymouth Argyle Reading Rotherham United Shrewsbury Town Southport Stockport County Swindon Town Torquay United Tranmere Rovers Walsall Watford
Fourth Division	Aldershot Bradford City Bradford Park Avenue Brentford Chester Chesterfield Colchester United Darlington Doncaster Rovers Exeter City Grimsby Town Halifax Town Lincoln City Newport County Notts County Peterborough United Port Vale Rochdale Scunthorpe United Southend United Swansea Town Workington Wrexham York City

Categories: