A rundown of the 1980s’ top ten finals, including a goal by Andy Gray, a John Lennon cover by Roxy Music, and a “diabolical” performance by Jim Smith’s QPR. Brian Clough is the manager of Nottingham Forest, who won the League Cup final against Ray Harford’s Luton Town in the 1980s. Stuart Pearce is the captain of the squad. The final took place at Wembley Stadium on 31 March 1989.
The 1980s saw some memorable League Cup finals. Here are the most important ones:
June 5, 1988 - Nottingham Forest v Luton Town (not for promotion but for the title!) - 90 minutes played, 1-1 after extra time, 2-2 after penalty kicks, with Jim Smith’s QPR being the surprise package of the tournament so far scoring six goals and conceding only one in four matches. The match was decided by a dramatic penalty shoot-out where Steve Bould saved three penalties as Forest won their first trophy in eight years. The players on both sides enjoyed the final greatly: Forest’s Tony Woodcock said later that it was “the best day of his life”, while Luton’s Mick Harford admitted he “would do anything to repeat the experience”.
March 31, 1989 - Nottingham Forest v Ray Harford’s Luton Town - 90 minutes played, 0-0 after normal time, 1-1 after extra time, 2-2 after penalty kicks; this was the second consecutive League Cup final decided by a penalty shoot-out.
The 1980 Football League Cup Final was the final match of the 1979–80 Football League Cup, the Football League Cup’s 20th season, a football competition for the Football League’s 92 clubs. The match took place on March 15, 1980, at Wembley Stadium, and was contested by League Cup holders and European champions Nottingham Forest…
Forest won the match 3-1, with goals from Peter Beardsley, Ian Wallace, and John Robertson. It was their second victory in the competition, and they went on to win the League by four points from Liverpool.
The tournament was originally going to be known as the Texaco Cup after its sponsor, but when English soccer was hit by a debt crisis and had to cancel several matches, including the final, the Football Association asked its competitors if they would be willing to change the name of the tournament. All but one (the Scottish Premier Division) agreed, which led to the cancellation of the Texaco Cup namechange agreement…
The following teams participated in the 1980 Football League Cup: Aston Villa, Birmingham City, Brighton & Hove Albion, Bristol Rovers, Burnley, Chesterfield, Coventry City, Derby County, Everton, Fulham, Leeds United, Leicester City, Lincoln City, Manchester City, Millwall, Newcastle United, Norwich City, Oxford United, Portsmouth, Stoke City, Sunderland, Swindon Town, Torquay United, Wimbledon, Wycombe Wanderers.
The tournament began on August 12, 1978, and concluded on March 17, 1979, with the final. The final was played at Wembley Stadium in London between Nottingham Forest and Southampton from the First Division. It takes 90 minutes. Extra time of 30 minutes is available if needed. The match will be replayed if the scores stay equal. A replacement is someone who fills in for someone else. “England League Cup, 1978-1979.” Soccerbase.com.
The Football League Championship Cup (now known as the Capital One Cup) started in 1971. This competition is open to all professional football clubs in England, Scotland, and Wales. It is mainly used as a qualifying event for the European Championships.
The Football League Trophy started in 1957. This competition is open to all professional football clubs in England who have not qualified for the UEFA Champions League or the UEFA Europa League.
These were the finals that were played in 1978 and 1979. There were other tournaments played in between these two years: 1976, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015.
Liverpool F.C. won the Football League Cup/Championship in 1980-81. Liverpool won the 1981 League Cup Final, defeating West Ham United 2-1 in a rematch match at Villa Park on April 1, 1981, after the initial match ended 1-1 on March 14, 1981. Ian Rush and Graeme Souness scored for Liverpool, while Chris Woods scored for West Ham.
This was the second time these two clubs had met in the League Cup, with West Ham winning on their first meeting in 1979-80 4-2 at Upton Park. The win put West Ham into the 1981 FA Cup fifth round where they were defeated 1-0 by Manchester United at Old Trafford. This is the only League Cup victory by Liverpool over West Ham to date.
The League Cup win earned Liverpool a place in the 1981 European Cup final against Hamburg SV. However, they lost 3-1 at Hampden Park on May 25, 1981.
West Ham went on to finish seventh in the 1980-81 English Premier League season. They also reached the 1981 FA Cup semi-finals, losing 1-0 to Manchester United at Old Trafford. After three seasons out of the top flight, West Ham returned in 1984-85 to achieve fourth place.
Chris Woods played a major role in both League Cup victories over Liverpool. In the first match, he scored twice before being sent off in the 82nd minute.
The 1977–78 season was the 79th completed season of the Football League. Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest side took the First Division by storm, first winning the League Cup on March 22 and then confirming themselves as league champions the following month. Here are the results of each team in order of finish: Nottingham Forest, Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Leeds United, Bristol City.
Nottingham Forest’s success can be partly attributed to their excellent youth system, which produced many successful players including Stuart McCall, Brian McClair, Chris Woods, Ian Taylor and Dave Beasant. However, it is also worth mentioning that they recruited well during the season, especially at the start when they signed John Robertson from Aberdeen for £750,000 and Trevor Francis from West Ham for £300,000. Both players would go on to become key figures in the side.
They also benefited from some good fortune along the way - in particular a penalty shoot-out victory over Liverpool in the 1978 FA Cup final. This year marks the beginning of Nottingham Forest’s rise to prominence, as they are now one of England’s most successful football clubs. The club has won more than 30 trophies since then, including five English titles, two UEFA Cups, one UEFA Super Cup, one Intercontinental Cup, one Anglo-Italian Cup and one FIFA Club World Cup.
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