1972–73 Manchester United F.C. season

The 1972–73 season was Manchester United's 71st season in the Football League, and their 28th consecutive season in the top division of English football.[1] For the first and only season United took part in the Anglo-Italian Cup, the 1973 version.[2]

Manchester United
1972–73 season
ChairmanLouis Edwards
ManagerFrank O'Farrell
(until 19 December 1972)
Tommy Docherty
(from 22 December 1972)
First Division18th
FA CupThird Round
League CupThird Round
Anglo-Italian CupGroup stage (2nd)
Top goalscorerLeague:
Bobby Charlton (6)
All:
Bobby Charlton (7)
Highest home attendance61,676 vs Manchester City (21 April 1973)
Lowest home attendance21,486 vs Oxford United (12 September 1972)
Average home league attendance46,703

In September 1972, Frank O'Farrell signed Welsh international centre-forward Wyn Davies from Manchester City for a fee of £60,000. The signing paid immediate dividends with Davies scoring on his United debut in a 3-0 win against Derby County. Shortly afterwards, O'Farrell paid Bournemouth, then in the Third Division, a reported £194,445 for the services of striker, Ted MacDougall. Despite these signings, United's results were poor and on 19 December 1972, Frank O'Farrell was sacked as United manager following a 5–0 defeat at Crystal Palace that had left them in real danger of relegation, with little improvement having been made on United's dismal nine-match winless start to the league campaign.[3] On the same day, the club's directors also announced that the errant George Best would not be playing for them again.[4]

Three days later Tommy Docherty was appointed as the new manager, after he resigned from the Scotland national team, and he guided United to survival. He also restored George Best to the team. Docherty's guided United to 18th place in the final table, after they managed seven league victories following his appointment.

United struggled to find goals in the league, only managing 44 from 42 games, with Bobby Charlton - in his final season as a player before retiring - topping the club's goalscoring charts with a mere six goals in the First Division. Denis Law, who had rarely played this season, was given a free transfer at the end of the campaign after 11 years with the club.

First Division
Date Opponents H / A Result
F – A		 Scorers Attendance
12 August 1972 Ipswich Town H 1 – 2 Law 51,459
15 August 1972 Liverpool A 0 – 2 54,779
19 August 1972 Everton A 0 – 2 52,348
23 August 1972 Leicester City H 1 – 1 Best 40,067
26 August 1972 Arsenal H 0 – 0 48,108
30 August 1972 Chelsea H 0 – 0 44,482
2 September 1972 West Ham United A 2 – 2 Best, Storey-Moore 32,372
9 September 1972 Coventry City H 0 – 1 37,073
16 September 1972 Wolverhampton Wanderers A 0 – 2 34,049
23 September 1972 Derby County H 3 – 0 Davies, Morgan, Storey-Moore 48,255
30 September 1972 Sheffield United A 0 – 1 37,347
7 October 1972 West Bromwich Albion A 2 – 2 Best, Storey-Moore 39,209
14 October 1972 Birmingham City H 1 – 0 MacDougall 52,104
21 October 1972 Newcastle United A 1 – 2 Charlton 38,170
28 October 1972 Tottenham Hotspur H 1 – 4 Charlton 52,497
4 November 1972 Leicester City A 2 – 2 Best, Davies 32,575
11 November 1972 Liverpool H 2 – 0 Davies, MacDougall 53,944
18 November 1972 Manchester City A 0 – 3 52,086
25 November 1972 Southampton H 2 – 1 Davies, MacDougall 36,073
2 December 1972 Norwich City A 2 – 0 MacDougall, Storey-Moore 35,913
9 December 1972 Stoke City H 0 – 2 41,347
16 December 1972 Crystal Palace A 0 – 5 39,484
23 December 1972 Leeds United H 1 – 1 MacDougall 46,382
26 December 1972 Derby County A 1 – 3 Storey-Moore 35,098
6 January 1973 Arsenal A 1 – 3 Kidd 51,194
20 January 1973 West Ham United H 2 – 2 Charlton, Macari 50,878
24 January 1973 Everton H 0 – 0 58,970
27 January 1973 Coventry City A 1 – 1 Holton 42,767
10 February 1973 Wolverhampton Wanderers H 2 – 1 Charlton (2) 52,089
17 February 1973 Ipswich Town A 1 – 4 Macari 31,918
3 March 1973 West Bromwich Albion H 2 – 1 Kidd, Macari 46,735
10 March 1973 Birmingham City A 1 – 3 Macari 51,278
17 March 1973 Newcastle United H 2 – 1 Holton, Martin 48,426
24 March 1973 Tottenham Hotspur A 1 – 1 Graham 49,751
31 March 1973 Southampton A 2 – 0 Charlton, Holton 23,161
7 April 1973 Norwich City H 1 – 0 Martin 48,593
11 April 1973 Crystal Palace H 2 – 0 Kidd, Morgan 46,891
14 April 1973 Stoke City A 2 – 2 Macari, Morgan 37,051
18 April 1973 Leeds United A 1 – 0 Anderson 45,450
21 April 1973 Manchester City H 0 – 0 61,676
23 April 1973 Sheffield United H 1 – 2 Kidd 57,280
28 April 1973 Chelsea A 0 – 1 44,184
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
16 Leicester City 42 10 17 15 40 46 0.870 37
17 Everton 42 13 11 18 41 49 0.837 37
18 Manchester United 42 12 13 17 44 60 0.733 37
19 Coventry City 42 13 9 20 40 55 0.727 35
20 Norwich City 42 11 10 21 36 63 0.571 32
Source:

FA Cup
Date Round Opponents H / A Result
F – A		 Scorers Attendance
13 January 1973 Round 3 Wolverhampton Wanderers A 0 – 1 40,005

League Cup
Date Round Opponents H / A Result
F – A		 Scorers Attendance
6 September 1972 Round 2 Oxford United A 2 – 2 Law, Charlton 16,560
12 September 1972 Round 2
Replay		 Oxford United H 3 – 1 Best (2), Storey-Moore 21,486
3 October 1972 Round 3 Bristol Rovers A 1 – 1 Morgan 33,597
11 October 1972 Round 3
Replay		 Bristol Rovers H 1 – 2 McIlroy 29,348

Anglo-Italian Cup
Date Opponents H / A Result
F – A		 Scorers Attendance
21 February 1973 Fiorentina H 1 – 1 Holton 23,951
21 March 1973 Lazio A 0 – 0 52,834
4 April 1973 Bari H 3 – 1 Law, Storey-Moore, Martin 14,303
2 May 1973 Verona A 4 – 1 Charlton (2), Olney, Fletcher 8,168

Squad statistics
Pos. Name League FA Cup League Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK Alex Stepney 3801040430
GK Jimmy Rimmer 40000040
DF Martin Buchan 4201040470
DF Ian Donald 40001050
DF Tony Dunne 2400(1)03027(1)0
DF Paul Edwards 10000010
DF Alex Forsyth 80100090
DF Jim Holton 1530000153
DF Steve James 2200040260
DF Tommy O'Neil 1600010170
DF David Sadler 1901020220
DF Arnie Sidebottom 20000020
DF Willie Watson 30001040
DF Tony Young 28(2)0103032(2)0
MF George Best 1940042236
MF Bobby Charlton 34(2)6104139(2)7
MF John Fitzpatrick 50001060
MF George Graham 1811000191
MF Mick Martin 14(2)2000014(2)2
MF Sammy McIlroy 4(6)0000(3)14(9)1
FW Trevor Anderson 2(5)100002(5)1
FW Wyn Davies 15(1)4100016(1)4
FW Paul Fletcher 0(2)000000(2)0
FW Brian Kidd 17(5)4102020(5)4
FW Denis Law 9(2)1102112(2)2
FW Lou Macari 1650000165
FW Ted MacDougall 1850000185
FW Willie Morgan 3941040444
FW Ian Storey-Moore 2650041306
–Own goals –0–0–0–0

Anglo-Italian Cup matches are not included in statistics

References
  1. "Manchester United Season 1972/73". StretfordEnd.co.uk. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
  2. "United in the Anglo-Italian Cup". StretfordEnd.co.uk. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
  3. "Managers – Frank O'Farrell". AboutManUtd.com. About ManUtd. Archived from the original on 8 November 2011. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
  4. Blackmore, Ben (29 October 2010). "Comebacks that are best forgotten". ESPN.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
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