# 1977–78 Leicester City F.C. season

During the 1977–78 English football season, Leicester City F.C. competed in the Football League First Division.

## Season summary

In the 1977–78 season, Frank McLintock returned to Leicester, this time as a manager. However, he endured a difficult time in charge, as the Foxes went through a spell where they had one win in 26 matches and as a result finished bottom and were relegated back to the second tier after 7 years in the top flight. McLintock was sacked on 5 April and Ian MacFarlane took charge of the team for the final 5 games of Leicester's dismal season.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 18 | Ipswich Town | 42 | 11 | 13 | 18 | 47 | 61 | −14 | 35 | Qualification for the European Cup Winners' Cup first round |
| 19 | Queens Park Rangers | 42 | 9 | 15 | 18 | 47 | 64 | −17 | 33 | |
| 20 | West Ham United (R) | 42 | 12 | 8 | 22 | 52 | 69 | −17 | 32 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 21 | Newcastle United (R) | 42 | 6 | 10 | 26 | 42 | 78 | −36 | 22 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 22 | Leicester City (R) | 42 | 5 | 12 | 25 | 26 | 70 | −44 | 22 | Relegation to the Second Division |
* ↑ Ipswich Town qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup as the 1977–78 FA Cup winners.

## Results

Leicester City's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League First Division

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 20 August 1977 | Manchester City | A | 0–0 | 45,963 | |
| 24 August 1977 | West Ham United | H | 1–0 | 18,310 | Kember |
| 27 August 1977 | Bristol City | H | 0–0 | 17,011 | |
| 3 September 1977 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 0–3 | 14,516 | |
| 10 September 1977 | Everton | H | 1–5 | 16,425 | Sims |
| 17 September 1977 | Arsenal | A | 1–2 | 27,371 | Worthington |
| 24 September 1977 | Nottingham Forest | H | 0–3 | 21,447 | |
| 1 October 1977 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 0–3 | 20,009 | |
| 5 October 1977 | Chelsea | A | 0–0 | 19,575 | |
| 8 October 1977 | Aston Villa | H | 0–2 | 20,276 | |
| 15 October 1977 | Coventry City | H | 1–2 | 20,205 | Sammels (pen) |
| 22 October 1977 | Norwich City | A | 0–2 | 17,684 | |
| 29 October 1977 | Leeds United | H | 0–0 | 20,128 | |
| 5 November 1977 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 0–2 | 20,082 | |
| 12 November 1977 | Ipswich Town | H | 2–1 | 13,779 | Williams, Salmons |
| 19 November 1977 | Birmingham City | A | 1–1 | 21,208 | Waddle |
| 26 November 1977 | Liverpool | H | 0–4 | 26,051 | |
| 3 December 1977 | Newcastle United | A | 0–2 | 20,112 | |
| 10 December 1977 | Derby County | H | 1–1 | 21,199 | Kelly |
| 17 December 1977 | Ipswich Town | A | 0–1 | 16,905 | |
| 26 December 1977 | Middlesbrough | H | 0–0 | 18,476 | |
| 27 December 1977 | Manchester United | A | 1–3 | 57,396 | Goodwin |
| 31 December 1977 | West Ham United | A | 2–3 | 25,455 | Kember, Sims |
| 2 January 1978 | Manchester City | H | 0–1 | 24,041 | |
| 14 January 1978 | Bristol City | A | 0–0 | 19,704 | |
| 21 January 1978 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 0–0 | 16,288 | |
| 4 February 1978 | Everton | A | 0–2 | 33,707 | |
| 11 February 1978 | Arsenal | H | 1–1 | 15,780 | Williams |
| 25 February 1978 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 1–0 | 15,763 | Goodwin |
| 4 March 1978 | Aston Villa | A | 0–0 | 29,971 | |
| 11 March 1978 | Coventry City | A | 0–1 | 24,421 | |
| 14 March 1978 | Nottingham Forest | A | 0–1 | 32,355 | |
| 18 March 1978 | Norwich City | H | 2–2 | 13,077 | Williams, Davies |
| 25 March 1978 | Manchester United | H | 2–3 | 20,299 | Smith, Salmons |
| 27 March 1978 | Middlesbrough | A | 1–0 | 15,534 | Hughes |
| 28 March 1978 | Leeds United | A | 1–5 | 21,145 | Davies (pen) |
| 1 April 1978 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 0–1 | 14,637 | |
| 8 April 1978 | Liverpool | A | 2–3 | 42,979 | Hughes, White |
| 15 April 1978 | Birmingham City | H | 1–4 | 15,431 | Salmons |
| 22 April 1978 | Derby County | A | 1–4 | 18,829 | Davies |
| 26 April 1978 | Chelsea | H | 0–2 | 12,970 | |
| 29 April 1978 | Newcastle United | H | 3–0 | 11,530 | Goodwin, Davies, Salmons |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 7 January 1978 | Hull City | A | 1–0 | 12,374 | Armstrong |
| R4 | 28 January 1978 | Walsall | A | 0–1 | 17,421 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R2 | 30 August 1977 | Portsmouth | A | 0–2 | 13,842 | |

## Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| - | GK | ENG | Mark Wallington |
| - | DF | ENG | Steve Whitworth |
| - | DF | ENG | Dennis Rofe |
| - | MF | ENG | Steve Kember |
| - | DF | ENG | Steve Sims |
| - | DF | ENG | David Webb |
| - | MF | ENG | Keith Weller |
| - | MF | ENG | Jon Sammels |
| - | FW | ENG | Geoff Salmons |
| - | MF | SCO | Eddie Kelly |
| - | MF | SCO | Tommy Williams |
| - | FW | SCO | Billy Hughes |
| - | FW | ENG | Roger Davies |
| - | MF | ENG | Mark Goodwin |
| - | MF | SCO | Brian Alderson |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| - | DF | ENG | Alan Woollett |
| - | MF | ENG | George Armstrong |
| - | FW | ENG | Alan Waddle |
| - | FW | ENG | Dean Smith |
| - | DF | ENG | Jeff Blockley |
| - | FW | ENG | Frank Worthington |
| - | FW | ENG | Steve Earle |
| - | MF | SCO | Lammie Robertson |
| - | MF | ENG | Winston White |
| - | FW | ENG | Trevor Christie |
| - | DF | ENG | Larry May |
| - | MF | ENG | Neville Hamilton |
| - | MF | ENG | Derek Dawkins |
| - | DF | ENG | Kevin Farmer |