# 1977–78 Mansfield Town F.C. season

The 1977–78 season was Mansfield Town's 41st season in the Football League and their first in the Second Division. They finished in 21st position with 31 points, seven points from safety. It remains to date their only season in the second tier of English football.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Relegation |
| 1 | Bolton Wanderers (C, P) | 42 | 24 | 10 | 8 | 63 | 33 | +30 | 58 | Promotion to the First Division |
| 2 | Southampton (P) | 42 | 22 | 13 | 7 | 70 | 39 | +31 | 57 | Promotion to the First Division |
| 3 | Tottenham Hotspur (P) | 42 | 20 | 16 | 6 | 83 | 49 | +34 | 56 | Promotion to the First Division |
| 4 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 42 | 22 | 12 | 8 | 63 | 38 | +25 | 56 | |
| 5 | Blackburn Rovers | 42 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 56 | 60 | −4 | 45 | |
| 6 | Sunderland | 42 | 14 | 16 | 12 | 67 | 59 | +8 | 44 | |
| 7 | Stoke City | 42 | 16 | 10 | 16 | 53 | 49 | +4 | 42 | |
| 8 | Oldham Athletic | 42 | 13 | 16 | 13 | 54 | 58 | −4 | 42 | |
| 9 | Crystal Palace | 42 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 50 | 47 | +3 | 41 | |
| 10 | Fulham | 42 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 49 | 49 | 0 | 41 | |
| 11 | Burnley | 42 | 15 | 10 | 17 | 56 | 64 | −8 | 40 | |
| 12 | Sheffield United | 42 | 16 | 8 | 18 | 62 | 73 | −11 | 40 | |
| 13 | Luton Town | 42 | 14 | 10 | 18 | 54 | 52 | +2 | 38 | |
| 14 | Orient | 42 | 10 | 18 | 14 | 43 | 49 | −6 | 38 | |
| 15 | Notts County | 42 | 11 | 16 | 15 | 54 | 62 | −8 | 38 | |
| 16 | Millwall | 42 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 49 | 57 | −8 | 38 | |
| 17 | Charlton Athletic | 42 | 13 | 12 | 17 | 55 | 68 | −13 | 38 | |
| 18 | Bristol Rovers | 42 | 13 | 12 | 17 | 61 | 77 | −16 | 38 | |
| 19 | Cardiff City | 42 | 13 | 12 | 17 | 51 | 71 | −20 | 38 | |
| 20 | Blackpool (R) | 42 | 12 | 13 | 17 | 59 | 60 | −1 | 37 | Relegation to the Third Division |
| 21 | Mansfield Town (R) | 42 | 10 | 11 | 21 | 49 | 69 | −20 | 31 | Relegation to the Third Division |
| 22 | Hull City (R) | 42 | 8 | 12 | 22 | 34 | 52 | −18 | 28 | Relegation to the Third Division |

## Results
### Football League Second Division

| Match | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 1 | 20 August 1977 | Stoke City | H | 2–1 | 14,078 | Syrett, Sharkey |
| 2 | 23 August 1977 | Crystal Palace | A | 1–3 | 19,019 | Syrett |
| 3 | 27 August 1977 | Southampton | A | 0–1 | 15,981 | |
| 4 | 3 September 1977 | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | 1–2 | 8,665 | Syrett |
| 5 | 10 September 1977 | Millwall | H | 0–0 | 7,661 | |
| 6 | 17 September 1977 | Cardiff City | A | 1–1 | 6,848 | Moss |
| 7 | 24 September 1977 | Burnley | H | 4–1 | 8,274 | Moss, Syrett, Sharkey, Hodgson |
| 8 | 1 October 1977 | Hull City | A | 2–0 | 6,263 | Moss (2) |
| 9 | 4 October 1977 | Bristol Rovers | A | 1–3 | 4,980 | Moss |
| 10 | 8 October 1977 | Sheffield United | H | 1–1 | 14,268 | Aston |
| 11 | 15 October 1977 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 0–2 | 20,655 | |
| 12 | 22 October 1977 | Sunderland | H | 1–2 | 12,825 | Syrett |
| 13 | 29 October 1977 | Notts County | H | 1–3 | 11,237 | Bird |
| 14 | 5 November 1977 | Charlton Athletic | A | 2–2 | 9,046 | Syrett, Moss |
| 15 | 12 November 1977 | Luton Town | H | 3–1 | 7,519 | Syrett, Sharkey, Miller |
| 16 | 19 November 1977 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 1–3 | 8,796 | Sharkey |
| 17 | 26 November 1977 | Oldham Athletic | H | 0–2 | 7,301 | |
| 18 | 3 December 1977 | Leyton Orient | A | 2–4 | 4,427 | Bird, Miller |
| 19 | 10 December 1977 | Blackpool | H | 1–3 | 6,981 | Sharkey |
| 20 | 17 December 1977 | Luton Town | A | 1–1 | 6,401 | Syrett |
| 21 | 26 December 1977 | Fulham | H | 2–1 | 8,456 | Bird, Foster |
| 22 | 27 December 1977 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 1–1 | 36,288 | Bird |
| 23 | 31 December 1977 | Crystal Palace | H | 1–3 | 9,291 | Aston |
| 24 | 2 January 1978 | Stoke City | A | 1–1 | 13,834 | Goodwin |
| 25 | 14 January 1978 | Southampton | H | 1–2 | 8,672 | Syrett |
| 26 | 21 January 1978 | Brighton & Hove Albion | A | 1–5 | 22,647 | O'Sullivan (o.g.) |
| 27 | 11 February 1978 | Cardiff City | H | 2–2 | 6,548 | Hodgson, Wood |
| 28 | 25 February 1978 | Hull City | H | 1–0 | 7,379 | Foster |
| 29 | 4 March 1978 | Sheffield United | A | 0–2 | 14,916 | |
| 30 | 11 March 1978 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 0–1 | 12,329 | |
| 31 | 14 March 1978 | Burnley | A | 0–2 | 9,893 | |
| 32 | 18 March 1978 | Sunderland | A | 0–1 | 14,033 | |
| 33 | 21 March 1978 | Notts County | A | 0–1 | 10,587 | |
| 34 | 25 March 1978 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 3–3 | 12,144 | Syrett (3) |
| 35 | 27 March 1978 | Fulham | A | 2–0 | 7,088 | Syrett, Foster |
| 36 | 1 April 1978 | Charlton Athletic | H | 0–3 | 6,691 | |
| 37 | 8 April 1978 | Oldham Athletic | A | 1–0 | 7,225 | Miller |
| 38 | 15 April 1978 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 2–2 | 5,859 | Syrett (2) |
| 39 | 22 April 1978 | Blackpool | A | 2–1 | 5,376 | Syrett, Miller |
| 40 | 24 April 1978 | Bristol Rovers | H | 3–0 | 6,122 | Aston (2), Miller |
| 41 | 29 April 1978 | Leyton Orient | H | 1–1 | 6,337 | Pate |
| 42 | 2 May 1978 | Millwall | A | 0–1 | 9,243 | |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| R3 | 7 January 1978 | Plymouth Argyle | H | 1–0 | 7,402 | Miller |
| R4 | 6 February 1978 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 0–1 | 23,830 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| R1 1st leg | 13 August 1977 | Lincoln City | H | 0–1 | 6,735 | |
| R1 2nd leg | 17 August 1977 | Lincoln City | A | 0–0 | 5,761 | |

## Squad statistics

* Squad list sourced from 1977–78 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 | Total | Total |
| Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| GK | Rod Arnold | 42 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 46 | 0 |
| DF | Kevin Bird | 34 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 36 | 4 |
| DF | Bob Curtis | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| DF | Barry Foster | 25 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 0 |
| DF | Colin Foster | 35 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 39 | 3 |
| DF | Ian MacKenzie | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| DF | Sandy Pate | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 |
| DF | Ian Phillips | 15(3) | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16(4) | 0 |
| DF | Mick Saxby | 19(2) | 0 | 0(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19(4) | 0 |
| DF | Ian Wood | 36 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 40 | 1 |
| MF | Gordon Hodgson | 42 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 46 | 2 |
| MF | Paul Matthews | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| MF | Ian McDonald | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 |
| MF | Billy McEwan | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| MF | Peter Morris | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| MF | Pat Sharkey | 31(1) | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33(1) | 5 |
| FW | John Aston | 24(7) | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25(7) | 4 |
| FW | Robbie Cooke | 4(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4(2) | 0 |
| FW | Dave Goodwin | 12(3) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14(3) | 1 |
| FW | Dennis Martin | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| FW | Johnny Miller | 32 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 36 | 6 |
| FW | Ernie Moss | 15 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 17 | 6 |
| FW | Kevin Randall | 0(4) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(4) | 0 |
| FW | Dave Syrett | 42 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 46 | 16 |
| – | Own goals | – | 1 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 1 |