Anglo-Scottish Cup

Programme for the 1979-80 Anglo-Scottish Cup Group C tie between Notts County and Cambridge United

The Anglo-Scottish Cup was a tournament arranged for teams in the English and Scottish football leagues during the summer for several years during the 1970s. It was created in 1975 as a new incarnation of the Texaco Cup, with a similar format to its predecessor, but involving clubs from England and Scotland only.

The competition made every attempt to maintain the status of a top-level tournament. Newcastle United were expelled from the 1976–77 competition for playing a weakened team in the first leg of their quarter-final against Ayr United.<ref>F.A. Yearbook 1977–78, p.73</ref> Over the years, however, English entrants were increasingly drawn from the lower divisions, and in 1981 the Scottish clubs withdrew as the public showed little interest in the competition. As the final winners, Chesterfield still hold the trophy and it is displayed in their Board Room. The competition continued, with English clubs only, as the Football League Group Cup.Template:Citation needed

In the 1987–88 season, an attempt was made to revive the competition as the Anglo-Scottish Challenge, pitting the holders of the FA Cup and Scottish Cup against each other, but after a poor attendance for the first leg between Coventry City and St Mirren the competition was shelved, with the second leg never played.<ref>Final Curtain: Last Anglo-Scottish cup match: Coventry City 1 St Mirren 1, 22 December 1987 Template:Webarchive, The Scotsman, 31 January 2009, accessed 23 April 2010]</ref><ref>Missing a leg Template:Webarchive, When Saturday Comes, 1 August 2007</ref><ref>Anglo-Scottish Cup Winners Challenge Template:Webarchive, StMirren.info</ref>

Nottingham Forest’s victory in the 1976-77 final over Orient was their first trophy under the management of Brian Clough, who later stated that he took the tournament seriously (when many other clubs did not) and considered it the springboard for Forest's future success, as they would go on to win a First Division title and two European Cups over the following three seasons. Clough had taken a similar stance on the competition's predecessor, the Texaco Cup, and won it with Derby County in 1972, the same year he guided them to their first league title.

Format

The format of the competition remained constant throughout the six years of its existence, and indeed the format was the same as the last edition of its forerunner, the Texaco Cup.<ref name=rsssf/>

Sixteen English clubs competed in four groups of four, with the winners of each group qualifying for the quarter-finals. Clubs played each of the other teams in their group once, with two points awarded for a win, one for a draw, and a bonus point for each side that scored three or more goals in a single match.<ref name=rsssf>Template:Cite web</ref>

Eight Scottish League clubs played a two-legged knock-out round, with the aggregate winners of each tie qualifying to the overall quarter-finals. For the overall quarter-finals, each club was paired against a club from the other country and the tournament then progressed in a knock-out format, with each tie (including the final) being played over two legs.<ref name=rsssf/>

In the early years, around half of the English clubs were drawn from that season's First Division (excepting clubs playing in Europe), although by the latter years of the tournament only two or three top-level English sides were playing, with participation stretching down to Third and Fourth Division sides.Template:Citation needed

List of finals

Ed.	Season	Winners	Template:Abbr	Runners-up
check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	Template:Centre	Template:Flagicon Middlesbrough	Template:Centre	Template:Flagicon Fulham
check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	Template:Centre	Template:Flagicon Nottingham Forest	Template:Centre	Template:Flagicon Orient
check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	Template:Centre	Template:Flagicon Bristol City	Template:Centre	Template:Flagicon St Mirren
check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	Template:Centre	Template:Flagicon Burnley	Template:Centre	Template:Flagicon Oldham Athletic
check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	Template:Centre	Template:Flagicon St Mirren	Template:Centre	Template:Flagicon Bristol City
check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	Template:Centre	Template:Flagicon Chesterfield	Template:Centre	Template:Flagicon Notts County

NB Finals played over two legs, aggregate score given.

(Source:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>)

St Mirren became the only Scottish winner of the event following their success in 1979–80, defeating Bristol City 2–0 at Ashton Gate Stadium in the first leg, before a 3–1 home 2nd leg victory on 16 April 1980.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Chesterfield's victory in the 1980–81 event was secured with an extra-time goal from Alan Crawford.Template:Citation needed

Participants

1975–76

Template:Flagicon Blackburn Rovers, Blackpool, Bristol City, Carlisle United, Chelsea, Fulham, Hull City, Leicester City, Manchester City, Mansfield Town, Middlesbrough, Newcastle United, Norwich City, Sheffield United, Sunderland, West Bromwich Albion
Template:Flagicon Aberdeen, Ayr United, Dundee, Falkirk, Heart of Midlothian, Motherwell, Queen of the South, St Johnstone

1976–77

Template:Flagicon Blackburn Rovers, Blackpool, Bolton Wanderers, Bristol City, Burnley, Chelsea, Fulham, Hull City, Middlesbrough, Newcastle United, Norwich City, Nottingham Forest, Notts County, Orient, Sheffield United, West Bromwich Albion
Template:Flagicon Aberdeen, Ayr United, Clydebank, Dundee United, Kilmarnock, Motherwell, Partick Thistle, Raith Rovers

1977–78

Template:Flagicon Birmingham City, Blackburn Rovers, Blackpool, Bolton Wanderers, Bristol City, Bristol Rovers, Burnley, Chelsea, Fulham, Hull City, Leyton Orient, Norwich City, Notts County, Oldham Athletic, Plymouth Argyle, Sheffield United
Template:Flagicon Alloa Athletic, Ayr United, Clydebank, Hibernian, Motherwell, Partick Thistle, Stirling Albion, St Mirren

1978–79

Template:Flagicon Blackburn Rovers, Blackpool, Bolton Wanderers, Bristol City, Bristol Rovers, Burnley, Cardiff City, Fulham, Leyton Orient, Mansfield Town, Norwich City, Notts County, Oldham Athletic, Preston North End, Sheffield United, Sunderland
Template:Flagicon Celtic, Clyde, Hearts, Morton, Motherwell, Partick Thistle, Raith Rovers, St Mirren

1979–80

Template:Flagicon Birmingham City, Blackburn Rovers, Blackpool, Bolton Wanderers, Bristol City, Burnley, Bury, Cambridge United, Fulham, Mansfield Town, Notts County, Oldham Athletic, Plymouth Argyle, Preston North End, Sheffield United, Sunderland
Template:Flagicon Berwick Rangers, Dundee, Dunfermline Athletic, Hibernian, Kilmarnock, Morton, Partick Thistle, St Mirren

1980–81

Template:Flagicon Blackburn Rovers, Blackpool, Bolton Wanderers, Bristol City, Burnley, Bury, Carlisle United, Chesterfield, Fulham, Grimsby Town, Hull City, Leyton Orient, Notts County, Oldham Athletic, Preston North End, Shrewsbury
Template:Flagicon Airdrieonians, East Stirlingshire, Falkirk, Hearts, Kilmarnock, Morton, Partick Thistle, Rangers

External links

• Chesterfield-related TV footage from the 1980/81 event, including a focus on the visit of Rangers

Template:Texaco Cup and Anglo-Scottish Cup Template:Football in the United Kingdom {{#invoke:Navbox|navbox}} Template:Friendly association football tournaments in England Template:Defunct football competitions in Scotland