[6] Manchester United play their first game outside the top flight since 1938, beating Orient 2–0 at Brisbane Road in the opening Second Division fixture.

[7] Football hooliganism was rife at the Orient match, with reports of clashes between United supporters and police, damaged Underground trains and fighting in the ground.

[10] 29 August 1974: Following a poor start to the season and a 2–1 defeat by Manchester City at White Hart Lane, longtime Tottenham Hotspur manager Bill Nicholson resigns, citing burnout and the growing rift between him and younger players.

[6] 4 October 1974: After nearly a month, Leeds United finally appoint a successor to Brian Clough by naming Jimmy Armfield of Bolton Wanderers as their new manager.

[6] 22 October 1974: Don Revie's first England squad is announced, featuring six U23 players without full senior caps: Kevin Beattie of Ipswich Town, Middlesbrough's Willie Maddren, Birmingham City forward Trevor Francis, Stoke City's Alan Hudson and QPR pair Gerry Francis and Dave Thomas.

[17] 11 December 1974: Derby County's UEFA Cup campaign is ended at the third round stage by Velež, leaving Leeds United as Britain's only club still in any of the European competitions.

[20] 31 December 1974: At the end of the year, the race for the First Division title remains remarkably close, with five points separating the top thirteen teams.

[6] 4 January 1975: Isthmian League Leatherhead reach the fourth round of the FA Cup by beating Brighton & Hove Albion 1–0.

[21] 7 January 1975: Third Division underdogs Walsall knock Manchester United out of the FA Cup by winning the third round replay 3–2 at Fellows Park, three days after the first match at Old Trafford ended in a goalless draw.

Division Two leaders Manchester United open up a six-point gap at the summit with a victory over Sheffield Wednesday, while Sunderland in second are beaten by lowly Portsmouth.

[6] 22 January 1975: Aston Villa and Norwich City complete aggregate victories in their League Cup semi-finals over Chester and Manchester United respectively.

[21] 10 February 1975: Wimbledon's FA Cup run finally ends in the fourth round replay with a 1–0 defeat to Leeds United.

[6] 27 March 1975: After three draws, Ipswich Town beat Leeds United 3–2 in the third replay of their FA Cup quarter-final at Filbert Street.

[21] 9 April 1975: Everton lose 2–1 to relegation-threatened Luton Town, and Derby County take advantage by beating Wolverhampton Wanderers 1–0 to move two points clear at the top of the table with three matches left.

[21] 12 April 1975: Stoke City's title challenge ends with defeat to Sheffield United, leaving Derby County, Liverpool, Everton and Ipswich Town as the remaining contenders.

[6] 26 April 1975: Derby County lie two points clear at the top at the end of the season after drawing their last match against Carlisle United.

[6] 28 April 1975: Tottenham Hotspur beat Leeds United 4–2 to survive in the First Division and relegate Luton Town one year after promotion.

[6] 3 May 1975: West Ham United win the FA Cup at the end of their first season under the management of John Lyall, beating Fulham 2–0 at Wembley in the final with two goals from Alan Taylor.

[24] 1973–74 League champions Leeds United reached the European Cup final at the Parc des Princes in Paris, where they lost 2–0 to Bayern Munich.

Leeds fans ran riot following the match, in which Peter Lorimer had a goal disallowed, and the club was banned from European competition for four years, later reduced to two on appeal.

[25] John Lyall kicked off his management career in style by guiding West Ham United to FA Cup glory over Fulham at Wembley.

Ron Saunders guided Aston Villa to League Cup success against Norwich City in the only final of the competition between two Second Division teams.

Liverpool finished runners-up under Bob Paisley, who had been promoted to the manager's seat from the coaching staff following Bill Shankly's retirement a month before the start of the season.

FIFA finally lifted George Best's worldwide ban from football, but Manchester United manager Tommy Docherty was not prepared to give him another chance at Old Trafford, and he joined Stockport County on a free transfer.

Don Howe paid for a second failure to take West Bromwich Albion back into the First Division and was replaced as manager by veteran player Johnny Giles.

Huddersfield Town, who had become the first English team to win three successive league titles back in the 1920s, went down to the Fourth Division with a third relegation in four seasons.