Football League 1965–66 in English football




1 football league

1.1 first division
1.2 second division
1.3 third division
1.4 fourth division
1.5 top goalscorers





football league

first division

liverpool, fa cup winners previous season , league champions in 1964, won first division title six-point gap on last season s runners-up leeds united, finished level on points burnley. manchester united, reached semi-finals of european cup, ended defence of league title fourth-place finish. chelsea finished fifth maintain standing 1 of first division s top club sides. west bromwich albion finished sixth , won league cup.


11th placed everton compensated disappointing league campaign winning fa cup first time in postwar era.


12th placed west ham united perhaps had biggest influence on english game in 1966, england s world cup winning team featuring captain bobby moore , goalscorers geoff hurst , martin peters.


blackburn rovers went down in bottom place, woeful 15 points adrift of safety. northampton town s brave first season among elite ended in relegation.



source: rsssf.com

rules classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored

west bromwich albion qualified inter-cities fairs cup football league cup winners.

(c) = champion; (r) = relegated; (p) = promoted; (e) = eliminated; (o) = play-off winner; (a) = advances further round.

only applicable when season not finished:

(q) = qualified phase of tournament indicated; (tq) = qualified tournament, not yet particular phase indicated; (rq) = qualified relegation tournament indicated; (dq) = disqualified tournament.


second division

manchester city s three-year exile top flight ended in promotion second division champions, , joined in promotion runners-up southampton, had never played in first division before. coventry city missed out on first division debut single point, while bristol city came 3 points short of reclaiming first division place had last been theirs in 1911.


leyton orient , middlesbrough relegated third division.



source: rsssf.com

rules 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 further round.

only applicable when season not finished:

(q) = qualified phase of tournament indicated; (tq) = qualified tournament, not yet particular phase indicated; (rq) = qualified relegation tournament indicated; (dq) = disqualified tournament.


third division

champions hull city , runners-up millwall made step upwards third division second.


york city, brentford, exeter city , southend united relegated fourth division.



source: rsssf.com

rules 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 further round.

only applicable when season not finished:

(q) = qualified phase of tournament indicated; (tq) = qualified tournament, not yet particular phase indicated; (rq) = qualified relegation tournament indicated; (dq) = disqualified tournament.


fourth division

doncaster rovers enjoyed much-overdue success clinching fourth division title , place in third division. promote darlington, torquay united , colchester united. bradford city had apply re-election league second time in 4 seasons - loss of league place have made them first former winners of major trophy voted out of football league.



source: rsssf.com

rules 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 further round.

only applicable when season not finished:

(q) = qualified phase of tournament indicated; (tq) = qualified tournament, not yet particular phase indicated; (rq) = qualified relegation tournament indicated; (dq) = disqualified tournament.


top goalscorers

first division



willie irvine (burnley) – 29 goals

second division



martin chivers (southampton) – 30 goals

third division



les allen (queens park rangers) – 30 goals

fourth division



kevin hector (bradford park avenue) – 44 goals




^ english league leading goalscorers . rsssf. retrieved 2017-06-04. 
^ english league leading goalscorers . rsssf. retrieved 2017-06-04. 






Comments