Ron Saunders completed the revival of Birmingham club Aston Villa, as they won the First Division for the first time in 71 years.
Villa competed in a two-horse race with Ipswich Town during the final stages of the season, eventually finishing four points ahead of the Suffolk side.
Manchester United failed to finish in the top five, a shortcoming that cost Dave Sexton his job as manager; he was succeeded by Ron Atkinson, who had finished fourth in the league and reached the UEFA Cup quarter-finals with an impressive West Bromwich Albion side – who would suffer a rapid decline after Atkinson's departure.
Also promoted were Notts County and Swansea City, the Welsh club completing a meteoric rise under John Toshack by going from the Fourth Division to the First in just four years.
The Fourth Division saw Southend United finish as champions, with Lincoln City, Doncaster Rovers and Wimbledon occupying the other promotion places.
Blackburn Rovers missed out on promotion on goal difference, and then lost their promising young player-manager Howard Kendall to Everton.