1975–76 Arsenal F.C. season

The 1975–76 season was Arsenal Football Club's 50th consecutive season in the Football League First Division. Arsenal finished seventeenth in the league, one position worse than the previous season, their worst finish since Herbert Chapman became manager of the club in 1925.[1] Arsenal failed to find success in either the FA Cup or League Cup.

Arsenal
1975–76 season
ChairmanDenis Hill-Wood
ManagerBertie Mee
First Division17th
FA CupThird round
League CupSecond round
Top goalscorerLeague: Brian Kidd (11)
All: Brian Kidd (11)

Manager Bertie Mee retired at the end of the season.

Season summary

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Bob McNab and Charlie George both departed Arsenal prior to the beginning of the season. McNab left on a free transfer to Wolves[2] while George nearly joined manager Terry Neill at Tottenham but was tempted last-minute by Derby for £90,000.[3][1] Alan Ball also requested a transfer but did not receive it. He was instead dropped for the opening games of the season and Eddie Kelly became the captain.[4] This became a source of tension as many of the players still looked to Ball for leadership.[1]

Arsenal were knocked out of the League Cup at home by Everton and soon after, exited the FA Cup thanks to a loss to Wolves. Arsenal's season quickly became a fight against relegation.[1]

Youngsters Frank Stapleton and David O'Leary both featured regularly in the first team.[5] Within the team, morale was low. In March, Peter Storey walked out for ten days and faced a club suspension. Bertie Mee soon announced his own retirement at the end of the season.[1]

Arsenal's season neared the end with an essential game in the battle for regulation between the 17th place Gunners and the 19th place Wolves. Terry Mancini's only first-team goal against Wolves ensured Arsenal stayed up that season, despite three consecutive losses closing out the season.[1]

Final league table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
15 Newcastle United 42 15 9 18 71 62 1.145 39
16 Aston Villa 42 11 17 14 51 59 0.864 39
17 Arsenal 42 13 10 19 47 53 0.887 36
18 West Ham United 42 13 10 19 48 71 0.676 36
19 Birmingham City 42 13 7 22 57 75 0.760 33
Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored

Results

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Arsenal's score comes first[6]

Legend

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Win Draw Loss

Football League First Division

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Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
16 August 1975 Burnley A 0–0
19 August 1975 Sheffield United A 3–1 Rice, Kidd, Brady
23 August 1975 Stoke City H 0–1
26 August 1975 Norwich City H 2–1 Kelly, Ball
30 August 1975 Wolverhampton Wanderers A 0–0
6 September 1975 Leicester City H 1–1 Stapleton
13 September 1975 Aston Villa A 0–2
20 September 1975 Everton H 2–2 Stapleton, Kidd
27 September 1975 Tottenham Hotspur A 0–0
4 October 1975 Manchester City H 2–3 Ball, Cropley
11 October 1975 Coventry City H 5–0 Ball, Cropley (2), Kidd (2)
18 October 1975 Manchester United A 1–3 Kelly
25 October 1975 Middlesbrough H 2–1 Cropley, Hornsby
1 November 1975 Newcastle United A 0–2
8 November 1975 Derby County H 0–1
15 November 1975 Birmingham City A 1–3 Ball
22 November 1975 Manchester United H 3–1 Ball, Armstrong, Greenhoff o.g.
29 November 1975 West Ham United A 0–1
2 December 1975 Liverpool A 2–2 47,751 Ball, Kidd
6 December 1975 Leeds United H 1–2 Brady
13 December 1975 Stoke City A 1–2 Armstrong
20 December 1975 Burnley H 1–0 Radford
26 December 1975 Ipswich Town A 0–2
27 December 1975 Queen's Park Rangers H 2–0 Ball, Kidd
10 January 1976 Aston Villa H 0–0
17 January 1976 Leicester City A 1–2 Ross
31 January 1976 Sheffield United H 1–0 Brady
7 February 1976 Norwich City A 1–3 Kidd
18 February 1976 Derby County A 0–2
21 February 1976 Birmingham City H 1–0 Brady
24 February 1976 Liverpool H 1–0 Radford
28 February 1976 Middlesbrough A 1–0 Radford
13 March 1976 Coventry City A 1–1 Powling
16 March 1976 Newcastle United H 0–0
20 March 1976 West Ham United H 6–1 Armstrong, Ball (2), Kidd (3)
27 March 1976 Leeds United A 0–3
3 April 1976 Tottenham Hotspur H 0–2
10 April 1976 Everton A 0–0
13 April 1976 Wolverhampton Wanderers H 2–1 Cropley, Mancini
17 April 1976 Ipswich Town H 1–2 26,659 Stapleton
19 April 1976 Queen's Park Rangers A 1–2 Kidd
24 April 1976 Manchester City A 1–3 Armstrong

FA Cup

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Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R3 3 January 1976 Wolverhampton Wanderers A 0–3

League Cup

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Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R2 9 September 1975 Everton A 2–2 Cropley, Stapleton
R2R 23 September 1975 Everton H 0–1

Squad

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[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   ENG Jimmy Rimmer
- DF   NIR Pat Rice
- DF   NIR Sammy Nelson
- DF   ENG Richie Powling
- DF   ENG Terry Mancini
- DF   IRL David O'Leary
- MF   ENG George Armstrong
- MF   ENG Alan Ball
- FW   IRL Frank Stapleton
- FW   ENG Brian Kidd
- MF   IRL Liam Brady
No. Pos. Nation Player
- MF   SCO Alex Cropley
- MF   SCO Eddie Kelly
- MF   ENG Trevor Ross
- FW   ENG John Radford
- DF   ENG Peter Storey
- DF   ENG Peter Simpson
- DF   ENG Wilf Rostron
- GK   ENG Geoff Barnett
- MF   ENG John Matthews

Top scorers

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Football League First Division[7]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Soar, Phil; Tyler, Martin (1995). Arsenal: Official History. London: Hamlyn. pp. 186–87. ISBN 0600588262.
  2. ^ Lawrence, Gary (7 September 2017). "Arsenal's Master Game Reader – Highbury Hero Bob McNab". Gunners Town. Archived from the original on 20 June 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  3. ^ "Greatest 50 Players - 9. Charlie George". Arsenal. 31 May 2017. Archived from the original on 4 February 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  4. ^ Kelly, Andy (17 November 2014). "Arsenal's captains from day one". The Arsenal History. Archived from the original on 10 August 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  5. ^ "Arsenal First Team Line-Ups". The Arsenal History. Archived from the original on 28 October 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  6. ^ "Arsenal results for the 1976-1977 season – Statto.com". Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
  7. ^ Arsenal Official Handbook 1976-77. London: Arsenal. 1976. p. 37.