1970–71 in English football
The 1970–71 season was the 91st season of competitive football in England. FA Cup. The 1971 FA Cup Final saw Arsenal beat Liverpool 2–1 to become only the fourth club in history and the second club this century to have won the league championship and FA Cup double. Stoke City beat Everton 3–2 at Selhurst Park in a third-place playoff, held the day before the final. The biggest FA Cup shock, however, was Fourth Division Colchester United's 3–2 victory over Don Revie's Leeds United at Layer Road in the fifth round. Barnet equalled  the record for the biggest win by a non-league team over a Football League team by beating Newport County 6–1 in the First Round. League Cup. The final was held at Wembley Stadium, London. Tottenham Hotspur beat Aston Villa to win the 1971 Football League Cup Final and add to their list of trophies won under the management of Bill Nicholson. Football League. First Division. Arsenal won the league championship at the end of a season which would soon be followed by their FA Cup final tie with Liverpool. Arsenal secured the league title at White Hart Lane, the  home of bitter rivals Tottenham. They narrowly overcame Leeds to win the league, with a 12-point gap separating Leeds from third-placed Tottenham. Wolves and Liverpool joined these two teams in the UEFA Cup. Chelsea missed out on the top five on goal average but compensated for this shortcoming by achieving European Cup Winners' Cup glory over Real Madrid. Burnley and Blackpool (who won this year's Anglo-Italian Cup) were relegated to the Second Division. Burnley returned from 1973–74 to 1975–76 but Blackpool had to wait 39 years to regain their top flight status for the 2010–11 season . Wilf McGuinness was sacked at the end of 1970 after 18 unsuccessful months as manager of Manchester United. Sir Matt Busby was re-appointed as manager on a temporary basis, but never considered returning to his old job on a permanent basis. Leicester City manager Frank O'Farrell was appointed at the end of the season, ahead of more reputable candidates including Jock Stein and Don Revie. Second Division. Leicester City and Sheffield United were promoted to the First Division. Blackburn Rovers and Bolton Wanderers, two of the most famous and historic names in English football, were relegated to the Third  Division. Third Division. Preston North End and Fulham finally had something to shout about by getting promoted to the Second Division. Reading, Bury, Doncaster Rovers and Gillingham slid into the Fourth Division. Fourth Division. Notts County, Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic, Oldham Athletic and York City were promoted to the Third Division. Newport County set a new Football League record by not winning any of their first 25 matches. The Football League voted for the league's four bottom clubs to maintain their status. Top goalscorers. First Division Second Division Third Division Fourth Division European football. Leeds United won the Inter-Cities  Fairs Cup against Juventus in the two leg Final and also took part in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Trophy Play-Off which they lost 2–1 to Barcelona. There was also success in London for Chelsea, who beat Real Madrid in the European Cup Winners Cup final to win their first ever European trophy. Ford Sporting League. The Ford Sporting League was a short-lived reward scheme sponsored by the Ford Motor Company. Its only season was that of 1970–71. Clubs were awarded a point for every goal scored at home and two points for every goal scored away, but  lost 5 points if a player was booked and 10 points if a player was sent off. Points could be earned over the first 42 league games (it did not apply to cup ties) only, so that the First and Second divisions were on an equal footing with the Third and Fourth. Oldham Athletic won the competition, winning a pot of £70,000. League rules stipulated the prize money be used on stadium improvements, so the money went to build a stand in the stadium. The £70,000 prize fund was made up of 8 monthly prizes of £2,500  and then a final prize of £50,000. The points total was cumulative, which resulted in Oldham winning each prize available, as they picked up only four bookings and no red cards over the 42 game period. Ford's sponsorship of the competition is notable, with the 1970–71 season marking a watershed for sponsorship in English football. In addition to the Ford Sporting League, the season saw the first Watney Cup and first Texaco Cup, although The Football League itself turned down an offer of £600,000 to sponsor the Football League Cup. Star players. Frank McLintock was credited for  his key role in Arsenal's double triumph with the FWA Footballer of the Year award.