A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
| Season | 1967–68 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Manchester City |
← 1966–67 1968–69 → | |
The 1967–68 season was the 69th completed season of the English Football League.
For the first time since 1937 Manchester City won the league title, finishing two points clear of their local rivals Manchester United. Fulham finished bottom of the league and were relegated along with Sheffield United. Coventry City, in their first ever top flight season escaped relegation by one point and would go on to stay in the top division until their eventual relegation at the end of the 2000–01 season.
Bill McGarry's Ipswich Town team won the Second Division by one point from Queens Park Rangers, with both teams promoted. Blackpool finished third on goal average and so missed out. Rotherham United and bottom club Plymouth Argyle were both relegated to the Third Division.
Oxford United won their first divisional title and achieved what was then their highest ever finish in only their sixth season as a league club in the Third Division. Runners-up Bury joined them in promotion. Grimsby Town, Colchester United and Scunthorpe United were relegated, although the biggest story concerned bottom placed Peterborough United who were docked 19 points for offering irregular bonuses to their players. Had the points been restored the club would have finished in the top half. As a result of the ruling Mansfield Town escaped relegation.
Luton Town won the Fourth Division and were promoted along with Barnsley, Hartlepools United and Crewe Alexandra. No clubs were voted out of the league.
Final league tables and results
Beginning with the season 1894–95, clubs finishing level on points were separated according to goal average (goals scored divided by goals conceded), or more properly put, goal ratio. In case one or more teams had the same goal difference, this system favoured those teams who had scored fewer goals. The goal average system was eventually replaced by goal difference, beginning with the 1976–77 season.
Since the Fourth Division was established in the 1958–59 season, the bottom four teams of that division were required to apply for re-election.[1][2]
First Division
| Season | 1967–68 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Manchester City 2nd English title |
| Relegated | Sheffield United Fulham |
| European Cup | Manchester City Manchester United |
| European Cup Winners' Cup | West Bromwich Albion |
| Inter-Cities Fairs Cup | Liverpool Leeds United Chelsea Newcastle United |
| Matches played | 462 |
| Goals scored | 1,398 (3.03 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | George Best Ron Davies (28 goals each)[3] |
| Longest winning run | 7 matches Everton |
| Longest unbeaten run | 14 matches Leeds United |
| Longest losing run | 7 matches Stoke City |
← 1966–67 1968–69 → | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester City (C) | 42 | 26 | 6 | 10 | 86 | 43 | 2.000 | 58 | Qualification for the European Cup first round |
| 2 | Manchester United | 42 | 24 | 8 | 10 | 89 | 55 | 1.618 | 56 | Qualification for the European Cup first round[a] |
| 3 | Liverpool | 42 | 22 | 11 | 9 | 71 | 40 | 1.775 | 55 | Qualification for the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup first round |
| 4 | Leeds United | 42 | 22 | 9 | 11 | 71 | 41 | 1.732 | 53 | |
| 5 | Everton | 42 | 23 | 6 | 13 | 67 | 40 | 1.675 | 52 | |
| 6 | Chelsea | 42 | 18 | 12 | 12 | 62 | 68 | 0.912 | 48 | Qualification for the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup first round[b] |
| 7 | Tottenham Hotspur | 42 | 19 | 9 | 14 | 70 | 59 | 1.186 | 47 | |
| 8 | West Bromwich Albion | 42 | 17 | 12 | 13 | 75 | 62 | 1.210 | 46 | Qualification for the European Cup Winners' Cup first round[c] |
| 9 | Arsenal | 42 | 17 | 10 | 15 | 60 | 56 | 1.071 | 44 | |
| 10 | Newcastle United | 42 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 54 | 67 | 0.806 | 41 | Qualification for the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup first round[d] |
| 11 | Nottingham Forest | 42 | 14 | 11 | 17 | 52 | 64 | 0.813 | 39 | |
| 12 | West Ham United | 42 | 14 | 10 | 18 | 73 | 69 | 1.058 | 38 | |
| 13 | Leicester City | 42 | 13 | 12 | 17 | 64 | 69 | 0.928 | 38 | |
| 14 | Burnley | 42 | 14 | 10 | 18 | 64 | 71 | 0.901 | 38 | |
| 15 | Sunderland | 42 | 13 | 11 | 18 | 51 | 61 | 0.836 | 37 | |
| 16 | Southampton | 42 | 13 | 11 | 18 | 66 | 83 | 0.795 | 37 | |
| 17 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 42 | 14 | 8 | 20 | 66 | 75 | 0.880 | 36 | |
| 18 | Stoke City | 42 | 14 | 7 | 21 | 50 | 73 | 0.685 | 35 | |
| 19 | Sheffield Wednesday | 42 | 11 | 12 | 19 | 51 | 63 | 0.810 | 34 | |
| 20 | Coventry City | 42 | 9 | 15 | 18 | 51 | 71 | 0.718 | 33 | |
| 21 | Sheffield United (R) | 42 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 49 | 70 | 0.700 | 32 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 22 | Fulham (R) | 42 | 10 | 7 | 25 | 56 | 98 | 0.571 | 27 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- ^ Manchester United qualified for the European Cup as the 1967–68 European Cup winners.
- ^ 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. Chelsea took their place as the highest-ranked team that hadn't already qualified for a European competition.
- ^ West Bromwich Albion qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup as the 1967-68 FA Cup winners.
- ^ Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur were ineligible to participate in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup as Chelsea 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.