Champions
| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southend United | 46 | 30 | 7 | 9 | 79 | 31 | 48 | 67 | pr |
| 2 | Lincoln City | 46 | 25 | 15 | 6 | 66 | 25 | 41 | 65 | pr |
| 3 | Doncaster Rovers | 46 | 22 | 12 | 12 | 59 | 49 | 10 | 56 | pr |
| 4 | Wimbledon | 46 | 23 | 9 | 14 | 64 | 46 | 18 | 55 | pr |
| 5 | Peterborough United | 46 | 17 | 18 | 11 | 68 | 54 | 14 | 52 | |
| 6 | Aldershot | 46 | 18 | 14 | 14 | 43 | 41 | 2 | 50 | |
| 7 | Mansfield Town | 46 | 20 | 9 | 17 | 58 | 44 | 14 | 49 | |
| 8 | Darlington | 46 | 19 | 11 | 16 | 65 | 59 | 6 | 49 | |
| 9 | Hartlepool United | 46 | 20 | 9 | 17 | 64 | 61 | 3 | 49 | |
| 10 | Northampton Town | 46 | 18 | 13 | 15 | 65 | 67 | -2 | 49 | |
| 11 | Wigan Athletic | 46 | 18 | 11 | 17 | 51 | 55 | -4 | 47 | |
| 12 | Bury | 46 | 17 | 11 | 18 | 70 | 62 | 8 | 45 | |
| 13 | Bournemouth | 46 | 16 | 13 | 17 | 47 | 48 | -1 | 45 | |
| 14 | Bradford City | 46 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 53 | 60 | -7 | 44 | |
| 15 | Rochdale | 46 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 60 | 70 | -10 | 43 | |
| 16 | Scunthorpe United | 46 | 11 | 20 | 15 | 60 | 69 | -9 | 42 | |
| 17 | Torquay United | 46 | 18 | 5 | 23 | 55 | 63 | -8 | 41 | |
| 18 | Crewe Alexandra | 46 | 13 | 14 | 19 | 48 | 61 | -13 | 40 | |
| 19 | Port Vale | 46 | 12 | 15 | 19 | 57 | 70 | -13 | 39 | |
| 20 | Stockport County | 46 | 16 | 7 | 23 | 44 | 57 | -13 | 39 | |
| 21 | Tranmere Rovers | 46 | 13 | 10 | 23 | 59 | 73 | -14 | 36 | re |
| 22 | Hereford United | 46 | 11 | 13 | 22 | 38 | 62 | -24 | 35 | re |
| 23 | Halifax Town | 46 | 11 | 12 | 23 | 44 | 71 | -27 | 34 | re |
| 24 | York City | 46 | 12 | 9 | 25 | 47 | 66 | -19 | 33 | re |
| Date | Opponent | Score | Att. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 July 1980 | Away | Heybridge Swifts | Friendly | 2–1 | W | 0 | → |
| 28 July 1980 | Home | Tottenham Hotspur | Friendly | 1–1 | D | 0 | → |
| 30 July 1980 | Home | West Ham United | Friendly | 2–0 | W | 0 | → |
| 1 August 1980 | Away | Basildon Utd | Friendly | 3–0 | W | 0 | → |
| 2 August 1980 | Away | Basildon Utd | Friendly | 3–0 | W | 0 | → |
| 9 August 1980 | Home | Oxford Utd | League Cup | 1–0 | W | 3032 | → |
| 13 August 1980 | Away | Oxford Utd | League Cup | 0–2 | L | 2989 | → |
| 16 August 1980 | Away | Bury | League | 2–1 | W | 2647 | → |
| 18 August 1980 | Home | Port Vale | League | 5–1 | W | 3948 | → |
| 22 August 1980 | Home | Tranmere Rovers | League | 2–0 | W | 4600 | → |
| 5 September 1980 | Home | York City | League | 3–0 | W | 5166 | → |
| 13 September 1980 | Away | Hereford United | League | 0–0 | D | 2464 | → |
| 15 September 1980 | Home | Peterborough Utd | League | 1–0 | W | 6063 | → |
| 19 September 1980 | Away | Doncaster Rovers | League | 0–1 | L | 6044 | → |
| 23 September 1980 | Away | Northampton Town | League | 0–2 | L | 2337 | → |
| 26 September 1980 | Home | Hartlepool United | League | 4–0 | W | 5112 | → |
| 1 October 1980 | Away | Peterborough Utd | League | 2–5 | L | 4087 | → |
| 3 October 1980 | Home | Mansfield Town | League | 2–0 | W | 4440 | → |
| 7 October 1980 | Away | Wimbledon | League | 1–0 | W | 1995 | → |
| 11 October 1980 | Away | Halifax Town | League | 5–1 | W | 1609 | → |
| 17 October 1980 | Home | Scunthorpe United | League | 2–0 | W | 5260 | → |
| 20 October 1980 | Home | Wigan A | League | 1–0 | W | 5460 | → |
| 25 October 1980 | Away | Darlington | League | 2–0 | W | 2083 | → |
| 29 October 1980 | Away | Crewe Alexandra | League | 1–1 | D | 3974 | → |
| 31 October 1980 | Home | Stockport County | League | 2–0 | W | 5842 | → |
| 3 November 1980 | Home | Wimbledon | League | 1–0 | W | 4924 | → |
| 8 November 1980 | Away | Lincoln City | League | 1–2 | L | 7128 | → |
| 10 November 1980 | Away | Port Vale | League | 0–1 | L | 2780 | → |
| 15 November 1980 | Home | Bury | League | 1–0 | W | 4312 | → |
| 22 November 1980 | Home | Hereford United | FA Cup | 0–1 | L | 4922 | → |
| 5 December 1980 | Away | Rochdale | League | 2–0 | W | 2214 | → |
| 12 December 1980 | Home | Bradford City | League | 3–1 | W | 4761 | → |
| 19 December 1980 | Home | Torquay United | League | 3–1 | W | 4206 | → |
| 26 December 1980 | Away | AFC Bournemouth | League | 1–2 | L | 4381 | → |
| 27 December 1980 | Home | Aldershot | League | 3–0 | W | 6983 | → |
| 3 January 1981 | Away | Wigan A | League | 1–0 | W | 5267 | → |
| 9 January 1981 | Home | Darlington | League | 1–0 | W | 5070 | → |
| 23 January 1981 | Home | Northampton Town | League | 0–0 | D | 5910 | → |
| 30 January 1981 | Away | Tranmere Rovers | League | 2–2 | D | 2127 | → |
| 6 February 1981 | Home | Hereford United | League | 2–0 | W | 5285 | → |
| 14 February 1981 | Away | York City | League | 1–0 | W | 2129 | → |
| 21 February 1981 | Away | Hartlepool United | League | 3–1 | W | 3751 | → |
| 27 February 1981 | Home | Doncaster Rovers | League | 0–0 | D | 6100 | → |
| 4 March 1981 | Away | Bradford City | League | 1–2 | L | 2369 | → |
| 7 March 1981 | Away | Mansfield Town | League | 1–0 | W | 4379 | → |
| 13 March 1981 | Home | Halifax Town | League | 5–1 | W | 5547 | → |
| 22 March 1981 | Away | Scunthorpe United | League | 1–2 | L | 3605 | → |
| 27 March 1981 | Home | Crewe Alexandra | League | 3–0 | W | 6210 | → |
| 3 April 1981 | Away | Stockport County | League | 0–1 | L | 2278 | → |
| 11 April 1981 | Home | Lincoln City | League | 0–0 | D | 11195 | → |
| 17 April 1981 | Home | AFC Bournemouth | League | 2–1 | W | 7372 | → |
| 18 April 1981 | Away | Aldershot | League | 2–1 | W | 4433 | → |
| 25 April 1981 | Away | Torquay United | League | 3–0 | W | 1767 | → |
| 1 May 1981 | Home | Rochdale | League | 1–1 | D | 10668 | → |
| 4 May 1981 | Away | Shepshed Charterhouse | Friendly | 0–0 | D | 0 | → |
| 8 May 1981 | Home | Wolverhampton W. | Friendly | 1–0 | W | 0 | → |
| 11 May 1981 | Away | East Thurrock United | Friendly | 0–0 | D | 0 | → |