100 seasons at the top: 1978/9 and 1979/80; the most painful lesson learned

An index of the articles in this series tracing 100 seasons of Arsenal in the top division is published here 

The most recent articles are

• 100 seasons in the top division: 1977/78 – the return begins
• Arsenal’s 100 seasons in the top division: signs of improvement. 1976/7
• How did Arsenal collapse so quickly after the first double of 1971

By Tony Attwood

The 1977/78 season had ended with a strong feeling in the ground and around the club  that Arsenal were now, under the management that was needed to take them forward.  It was the management of Terry Neill, and it seriously felt as if Arsenal were on the way back to the top.  And indeed, when there was talk of a trophy in the season to come, it was not instantly dismissed as mere wishful thinking.  There was a lot of positive thinking about the future.

But even so, the fact was that although Arsenal had not won the league since 1971 Arsenal had remained in the top division even if they had not flourished.  Their highest league finish was runners-up in 1973, and they had achieved the same fate in the FA Cup losing the cup final of 1972.

But then a certain amount of decline had set in, the club finishing 10th in 1974 while going out in the fourth round of the cup.  And worse was to come: 16thi in the league in 1975 and a sixth round defeat to West Ham in the FA Cup.

Worse, 1976 saw the unthinkable – a collapse in the league to 17th and an exit in the third round of the Cup.  1976/77 did see a return to the top ten in the league but only just – 8th in the final table, and a 4-1 away defeat to Middlesbrough in the FA Cup.   1977/8 felt like it was going to be the year of the return to silverware, but the end result was 5th in the league and an unexpected defeat in the FA Cup final to Ipswich Town.  It was hard to take!

But of course something had to happen in the end, and it did in 1978/9; only seventh in the league but an incredibly exciting 3-2 win in the FA Cup final beating Manchester United.  At last Arsnal had another trophy for the cabinet.

In goal Jennings was now established as an ever-present for the second year in succession, while at full back Rice and Nelson almost emulated that record.  Of the forwards, Sunderland, Rix and Stapleton were again almost always present, while in the latter part of the season Price was starting to make a significant name for himself.

And it was not just Arsenal fans who remembered the FA Cup, for the last game of the season was soon labelled the Five Minute Final, and was referred to by the media in this way for years to come.  Arsenal were 2-0 up with just five minutes to go, when Manchester United got two goals, the second coming from a totally mis-hit shot.  Extra time looked inevitable, and ManU prepared to play out the remaining minutes, conserving their energy while controlling their excitement at the two late goals.

But then from the final restart, Liam Brady took the ball forward, passed to Rix who crossed for Sunderland to score and give Arsenal the 3-2 win.  It was a sequence shown on TV over and over again, and Manchester United looked if they couldn’t believe what had happened.  In fact, to be accurate, they probably couldn’t.  And neither could the commentators.

It was also wonderful to see Brady get a winners’ medal at Arsenal, having been such a sensational player, while it had become clear he would soon be departing for Italy – at the time considered to be the richest league in the world.  He was declared the player of the season, and really deserved more than his one trophy at Arsenal, but the rest of the team simply were not at his standard.

As it was, this season of winning the FA Cup was Arsenal’s first trophy since the Double at the start of the decade, and surely everyone agreed that Brady had deserved more.

Thus, Arsenal finished the season 7th, 20 points behind Liverpool at the top of the table.  But it meant that in 1979/80 Arsenal could play in Europe – in the Cup Winners’ Cup.  And it was extraordinary just how much positive thinking there was around the club, despite the fact that Arsenal had only come 7th in the league.  But Arsenal in Europe felt new and exciting, and the club seemed to be on the up.

There had been hope that Macdonald, who had missed most of the 1978/9 season through injury, might stay with the club and return to the team, as he had played in the final league match of the 1979/80 season,  but he announced his retirement in the summer.

But even so, optimism still ruled the agenda even when Arsenal lost 1-3 to Liverpool in the Charity Shield game at the start of the next season.  But then, as Arsenal won just two of the first nine league games, the feeling sank in that winning the FA Cup was all well and good, but it did not make the club the best in the land.   Especially with Brady now far away.

But there was still the Cup Winners Cup where Arsenal made it through to the semi-final with a 1-1 draw at Highbury against Juventus follwed by a 1-0 win away..  But Arsenal were now learning the meaning of fixture congestion.  They made it to the final of the Cup Winners’ Cup  after three replays in the semi-final against Juventus, and to the final of the FA Cup where they lost to West Ham.  The message was getting through – to compete on all fronts the club needed a bigger and more varied squad.

This situation left Arsenal with a ludicrous seven games to play in May, after a league season that itself was longer than that found in virtually any other country.(the full 42 games still being the season’s requirement, exactly as it had been since the election of Arsenal into the first division after the First World War).

Of coruse in those early days, there had been no League Cup and no European competition, so 42 games looked reasonable.  Now it was starting to look ludicrous.

Arsenal did become the first team ever to play in three successive FA Cup finals, but here the pressure of the multiple games proved too much and Arsenal lost to West Ham. and then four days later lost to Valencia in the Cup Winners Cup Final. To rub in the salt Arsenal lost the final league game of the 1979/80 seasonj 5-0 away to Middlesbrough in front of just 15,000 spectators.  In fact, Arsenal won just one of their last five games.  They were fourth in the league

Nottingham Forest qualified for the European Cup first round as the 1979–80 European Cup winners, while Wolverhampton Wanderers qualified for the UEFA Cup as the 1979–80 Football League Cup winners.  Arsenal did not qualify for Europe and it was clear that some serious re-thinking was needed.   A decade that had started with such incredible excitement had ended with Arsenal finishing 8th, 5th 7th, and 4th in the league.  Perhaps worse, Arsenal had ended the 1979/80 season by losing Liam Brady to Juventus.

So there was a feeling that Arsenal were in fact now just a nearly team, although such thoughts did not prepare fans in the summer of 1980 for the way the player transfers would work out.  Football, it seemed, really was changing, and losing Liam Brady was only part of the story.

1979/80 season ended like this…

 

It was a time to learn lessons – if Arsenal wanted to compete in multiple competitions, including one in Europe, a greater depth in the team was required.  The departure of Brady showed that, and Arsenal realised it was time to move forward.