1975–76 Manchester United F.C. season

94th season in existence of Manchester United

Manchester United 1975–76 football season
Manchester United
1975–76 season
ChairmanLouis Edwards
ManagerTommy Docherty
First Division3rd
FA CupRunners-up
League CupFourth Round
Top goalscorerLeague:
Stuart Pearson (13)

All:
Lou Macari (15)
Highest home attendance61,879 vs Everton (17 April 1976)
Lowest home attendance25,286 vs Brentford (10 September 1975)
Average home league attendance53,276
Home colours
Away colours

The 1975–76 season was Manchester United's 74th season in The Football League[1] and first in the First Division after winning the Second Division the season prior. They finished the season third in the First Division, their highest placing since 1968,[2] to qualify for the UEFA Cup.

They reached the FA Cup Final at Wembley, where they lost 1–0 to Southampton of the Second Division. The only goal of the game came from Saints striker Bobby Stokes. It was the second time since World War II that a Second Division team had won the trophy, the other occasion had been three years earlier, when Sunderland beat Leeds United.

First Division

Date Opponents H / A Result
F–A
Scorers Attendance League
position
16 August 1975 Wolverhampton Wanderers A 2–0 Macari (2) 32,348 1st
19 August 1975 Birmingham City A 2–0 McIlroy (2) 33,177 1st
23 August 1975 Sheffield United H 5–1 Pearson (2), Badger (o.g.), Daly, McIlroy 55,948 1st
27 August 1975 Coventry City H 1–1 Pearson 52,169 1st
30 August 1975 Stoke City A 1–0 Dodd (o.g.) 33,092 1st
6 September 1975 Tottenham Hotspur H 3–2 Pratt (o.g.), Daly (2; 1 pen.) 51,641 1st
13 September 1975 Queens Park Rangers A 0–1 29,237 1st
20 September 1975 Ipswich Town H 1–0 Houston 50,513 1st
24 September 1975 Derby County A 1–2 Daly 33,187 2nd
27 September 1975 Manchester City A 2–2 McCreery, Macari 46,931 3rd
4 October 1975 Leicester City H 0–0 47,878 1st
11 October 1975 Leeds United A 2–1 McIlroy (2) 40,264 2nd
18 October 1975 Arsenal H 3–1 Coppell (2), Pearson 53,885 1st
25 October 1975 West Ham United A 1–2 Macari 38,601 2nd
1 November 1975 Norwich City H 1–0 Pearson 50,587 1st
8 November 1975 Liverpool A 1–3 Coppell 49,137 5th
15 November 1975 Aston Villa H 2–0 Coppell, McIlroy 51,682 3rd
22 November 1975 Arsenal A 1–3 Pearson 40,102 5th
29 November 1975 Newcastle United H 1–0 Daly 52,624 4th
6 December 1975 Middlesbrough A 0–0 32,454 4th
13 December 1975 Sheffield United A 4–1 Pearson (2), Hill, Macari 31,741 3rd
20 December 1975 Wolverhampton Wanderers H 1–0 Hill 44,269 2nd
23 December 1975 Everton A 1–1 Macari 41,732 1st
27 December 1975 Burnley H 2–1 McIlroy, Macari 59,726 2nd
10 January 1976 Queens Park Rangers H 2–1 Hill, McIlroy 58,312 1st
17 January 1976 Tottenham Hotspur A 1–1 Hill 49,189 1st
31 January 1976 Birmingham City H 3–1 Forsyth, Macari, McIlroy 50,726 1st
7 February 1976 Coventry City A 1–1 Macari 33,922 2nd
18 February 1976 Liverpool H 0–0 59,709 2nd
21 February 1976 Aston Villa A 1–2 Macari 50,094 3rd
25 February 1976 Derby County H 1–1 Pearson 59,632 3rd
28 February 1976 West Ham United H 4–0 Forsyth, Macari, McCreery, Pearson 57,220 3rd
13 March 1976 Leeds United H 3–2 Houston, Pearson, Daly 59,429 3rd
17 March 1976 Norwich City A 1–1 Hill 27,782 2nd
20 March 1976 Newcastle United A 4–3 Pearson (2), Bird (o.g.), Howard (o.g.) 45,048 2nd
27 March 1976 Middlesbrough H 3–0 Daly (pen.), McCreery, Hill 58,527 2nd
10 April 1976 Ipswich Town A 0–3 34,889 3rd
17 April 1976 Everton H 2–1 Kenyon (o.g.), McCreery 61,879 3rd
19 April 1976 Burnley A 1–0 Macari 27,418 3rd
21 April 1976 Stoke City H 0–1 53,879 3rd
24 April 1976 Leicester City A 1–2 Coyne 31,053 3rd
4 May 1976 Manchester City H 2–0 Hill, McIlroy 59,517 3rd
Pos Team
  • v
  • t
  • e
Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Liverpool (C) 42 23 14 5 66 31 2.129 60 Qualification for the European Cup first round
2 Queens Park Rangers 42 24 11 7 67 33 2.030 59 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
3 Manchester United 42 23 10 9 68 42 1.619 56
4 Derby County 42 21 11 10 75 58 1.293 53
5 Leeds United 42 21 9 12 65 46 1.413 51
Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions

FA Cup

Date Round Opponents H / A Result
F–A
Scorers Attendance
3 January 1976 Round 3 Oxford United H 2–1 Daly (2; 2 pen.) 41,082
24 January 1976 Round 4 Peterborough United H 3–1 Forsyth, McIlroy, Hill 56,352
14 February 1976 Round 5 Leicester City A 2–1 Macari, Daly 34,000
6 March 1976 Round 6 Wolverhampton Wanderers H 1–1 Daly 59,433
9 March 1976 Round 6
Replay
Wolverhampton Wanderers A 3–2 (aet) Pearson, Greenhoff, McIlroy 44,373
3 April 1976 Semi-Final Derby County N 2–0 Hill (2) 55,000
1 May 1976 Final Southampton N 0–1 100,000

League Cup

Date Round Opponents H / A Result
F–A
Scorers Attendance
10 September 1975 Round 2 Brentford H 2–1 Macari, McIlroy 25,286
22 September 1975 Round 3 Aston Villa A 2–1 Macari, Coppell 41,447
12 November 1975 Round 4 Manchester City A 0–4 50,182

Squad statistics

Pos. Name League FA Cup League Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK Republic of Ireland Paddy Roche 4 0 0 0 1 0 5 0
GK England Alex Stepney 38 0 7 0 2 0 47 0
DF Scotland Arthur Albiston 2(1) 0 0 0 0 0 2(1) 0
DF Scotland Martin Buchan 42 0 7 0 3 0 52 0
DF Scotland Alex Forsyth 28 2 7 1 0 0 35 3
DF England Brian Greenhoff 40 0 7 1 3 0 50 1
DF England Tony Grimshaw 0(1) 0 0 0 0(1) 0 0(2) 0
DF Scotland Stewart Houston 42 2 7 0 3 0 52 2
DF Northern Ireland Jimmy Nicholl 15(5) 0 0(2) 0 3 0 18(7) 0
DF England Tony Young 0(1) 0 0 0 0 0 0(1) 0
MF England Steve Coppell 39 4 7 0 3 1 49 5
MF Republic of Ireland Gerry Daly 41 7 7 4 3 0 51 11
MF Northern Ireland Tommy Jackson 16(1) 0 0 0 3 0 19(1) 0
MF England Jimmy Kelly 0(1) 0 0 0 0 0 0(1) 0
MF Northern Ireland David McCreery 12(16) 4 1(2) 0 0(1) 0 13(19) 4
MF Northern Ireland Sammy McIlroy 41 10 7 2 3 1 51 13
FW England Peter Coyne 1(1) 1 0 0 0 0 1(1) 1
FW England Gordon Hill 26 7 7 3 0 0 33 10
FW Scotland Lou Macari 36 12 6 1 3 2 45 15
FW England Stuart Pearson 39 13 7 1 3 0 49 14
Own goals 6 0 0 6

References

  1. ^ "Manchester United Season 1975/76". StretfordEnd.co.uk. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
  2. ^ "Managers – Tommy Docherty". AboutManUtd.com. About ManUtd. Archived from the original on 8 November 2011. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
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