# 1979–80 Mansfield Town F.C. season

The 1979–80 season was Mansfield Town's 43rd season in the Football League and 15th in the Third Division they finished in 23rd position with 36 points suffering relegation to the Fourth Division.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 20 | Hull City | 46 | 12 | 16 | 18 | 51 | 69 | −18 | 40 | |
| 21 | Bury | 46 | 16 | 7 | 23 | 45 | 59 | −14 | 39 | Relegated |
| 22 | Southend United | 46 | 14 | 10 | 22 | 47 | 58 | −11 | 38 | Relegated |
| 23 | Mansfield Town | 46 | 10 | 16 | 20 | 47 | 58 | −11 | 36 | Relegated |
| 24 | Wimbledon | 46 | 10 | 14 | 22 | 52 | 81 | −29 | 34 | Relegated |

## Results
### Football League Third Division

| Match | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 1 | 18 August 1979 | Chesterfield | H | 3–2 | 5,662 | Allen, Bird, Curtis |
| 2 | 21 August 1979 | Rotherham United | A | 1–2 | 4,492 | Austin |
| 3 | 25 August 1979 | Exeter City | A | 1–2 | 3,475 | Austin |
| 4 | 1 September 1979 | Hull City | H | 1–1 | 4,320 | Austin |
| 5 | 8 September 1979 | Barnsley | A | 0–1 | 10,588 | |
| 6 | 15 September 1979 | Oxford United | H | 1–0 | 4,217 | Austin |
| 7 | 18 September 1979 | Colchester United | A | 1–2 | 2,346 | Bird |
| 8 | 22 September 1979 | Sheffield United | H | 3–4 | 11,272 | Austin, Allen, Taylor |
| 9 | 29 September 1979 | Reading | A | 0–1 | 6,123 | |
| 10 | 1 October 1979 | Colchester United | H | 0–1 | 3,754 | |
| 11 | 6 October 1979 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 0–0 | 13,263 | |
| 12 | 8 October 1979 | Rotherham United | H | 5–1 | 6,308 | Austin (3), Taylor (2) |
| 13 | 13 October 1979 | Bury | H | 1–0 | 4,486 | Hamilton |
| 14 | 20 October 1979 | Millwall | A | 2–2 | 6,039 | Austin, Lathan |
| 15 | 23 October 1979 | Carlisle United | A | 1–1 | 4,898 | Austin |
| 16 | 27 October 1979 | Gillingham | H | 2–0 | 4,598 | Taylor, Bird |
| 17 | 3 November 1979 | Chesterfield | A | 0–2 | 7,601 | |
| 18 | 6 November 1979 | Carlisle United | H | 2–1 | 4,195 | Taylor, Bird |
| 19 | 10 November 1979 | Swindon Town | H | 1–1 | 4,425 | Taylor |
| 20 | 17 November 1979 | Chester | A | 0–1 | 3,118 | |
| 21 | 1 December 1979 | Blackpool | H | 1–1 | 4,324 | Austin |
| 22 | 8 December 1979 | Grimsby Town | A | 1–2 | 7,910 | Austin |
| 23 | 21 December 1979 | Plymouth Argyle | H | 0–0 | 2,973 | |
| 24 | 26 December 1979 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 0–0 | 8,491 | |
| 25 | 29 December 1979 | Exeter City | H | 0–1 | 3,711 | |
| 26 | 12 January 1980 | Hull City | A | 1–3 | 4,243 | Allen |
| 27 | 26 January 1980 | Wimbledon | H | 1–1 | 3,897 | Bird |
| 28 | 2 February 1980 | Oxford United | A | 1–3 | 3,060 | Pollard |
| 29 | 9 February 1980 | Sheffield United | A | 0–1 | 14,921 | |
| 30 | 16 February 1980 | Reading | H | 2–2 | 3,114 | Pollard, Austin |
| 31 | 23 February 1980 | Bury | A | 2–0 | 3,606 | Pollard, Austin |
| 32 | 1 March 1980 | Millwall | H | 1–0 | 4,162 | Austin |
| 33 | 8 March 1980 | Gillingham | A | 0–2 | 4,572 | |
| 34 | 10 March 1980 | Brentford | H | 0–0 | 3,461 | |
| 35 | 15 March 1980 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 1–1 | 16,019 | Mellor (o.g.) |
| 36 | 17 March 1980 | Southend United | A | 1–1 | 2,983 | Allen |
| 37 | 22 March 1980 | Swindon Town | A | 1–2 | 8,195 | Stroud (o.g.) |
| 38 | 29 March 1980 | Chester | H | 2–1 | 3,097 | Austin (2) |
| 39 | 1 April 1980 | Plymouth Argyle | A | 0–0 | 4,669 | |
| 40 | 5 April 1980 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 0–1 | 7,385 | |
| 41 | 7 April 1980 | Brentford | A | 0–2 | 6,057 | |
| 42 | 12 April 1980 | Southend United | H | 3–1 | 3,514 | Austin (2), McClelland |
| 43 | 14 April 1980 | Barnsley | H | 1–4 | 6,789 | Bird |
| 44 | 19 April 1980 | Blackpool | A | 1–1 | 5,677 | Bird |
| 45 | 26 April 1980 | Grimsby Town | H | 0–0 | 10,095 | |
| 46 | 3 May 1980 | Wimbledon | A | 2–3 | 1,759 | Taylor, Pollard |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| R1 | 24 November 1979 | Blyth Spartans | A | 2–0 | 4,443 | McClelland, Allen |
| R2 | 15 December 1979 | Doncaster Rovers | A | 2–1 | 7,952 | Austin, Curtis |
| R3 | 5 January 1980 | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | 0–2 | 8,204 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| R1 1st leg | 11 August 1979 | York City | H | 1–0 | 3,117 | Taylor |
| R1 2nd leg | 14 August 1979 | York City | A | 2–3 | 2,590 | Wood, Hamilton |
| R2 1st leg | 29 August 1979 | Reading | A | 3–4 | 5,779 | Taylor, Bird, Austin |
| R2 2nd leg | 4 September 1979 | Reading | H | 4–2 | 4,326 | Taylor, Austin (2), McClelland |
| R3 | 25 September 1979 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 0–3 | 9,485 | |

### Anglo-Scottish Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| PR | 31 July 1979 | Sheffield United | A | 0–1 | 4,875 | |
| PR | 4 August 1979 | Notts County | H | 0–1 | 3,527 | |
| PR | 8 August 1979 | Cambridge United | A | 1–1 | 4,620 | Curtis |

## Squad statistics

* Squad list sourced from 1979–80 Mansfield Town F.C. season at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
| Pos. | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Anglo-Scottish Cup | Anglo-Scottish Cup | Total | Total |
| Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| GK | Rod Arnold | 43 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 54 | 0 |
| GK | Martin New | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| DF | Kevin Bird | 38 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 49 | 7 |
| DF | Adrian Burrows | 17 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17(1) | 0 |
| DF | Bob Curtis | 31(3) | 1 | 2(1) | 1 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 41(5) | 3 |
| DF | Derek Dawkins | 35 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 46 | 0 |
| DF | Barry Foster | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 23 | 0 |
| DF | John McClelland | 43 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2(1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 48(1) | 3 |
| DF | Les McJannet | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| DF | Ian Wood | 21 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 30 | 1 |
| DF | Brian Thompson | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 9(1) | 0 |
| MF | Neville Hamilton | 32(1) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 41(1) | 2 |
| MF | John Lathan | 29 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 1 |
| MF | Arthur Mann | 35 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 0 |
| MF | Gary Saxby | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| FW | Russell Allen | 38(6) | 4 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 48(6) | 6 |
| FW | Terry Austin | 46 | 19 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 57 | 22 |
| FW | David Caldwell | 1(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1(2) | 0 |
| FW | Dave Goodwin | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(2) | 0 | 0(2) | 0 | 4(4) | 0 |
| FW | Johnny Miller | 9(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9(1) | 0 |
| FW | Brian Pollard | 20 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 4 |
| FW | Steve Taylor | 30(7) | 7 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 41(7) | 10 |
| FW | Brian Thomson | 5(3) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7(3) | 0 |
| – | Own goals | – | 2 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 2 |