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1972–73 Manchester United F.C. season

{{Short description|91st season in existence of Manchester United}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2015}}

{{Use British English|date=March 2015}}

{{Infobox football club season

| club = Manchester United

| season = 1972–73

| manager = Frank O'Farrell
(until 19 December 1972)
Tommy Docherty
(from 22 December 1972)

| chairman = Louis Edwards

| league = First Division

| league result = 18th

| cup1 = FA Cup

| cup1 result = Third Round

| cup2 = League Cup

| cup2 result = Third Round

| cup3 = Anglo-Italian Cup

| cup3 result = Group stage (2nd)

| league topscorer =
Bobby Charlton (6)

| season topscorer =
Bobby Charlton (7)

| highest attendance = 61,676 vs Manchester City (21 April 1973)

| lowest attendance = 21,486 vs Oxford United (12 September 1972)

| average attendance = 46,703

| pattern_la1 = _whiteborder |pattern_b1 = _whitecollar_trineck |pattern_ra1 = _whiteborder |pattern_sh1 = |pattern_so1 = _redtopwhitestripe

| leftarm1 = E20E0E |body1 = E20E0E |rightarm1 = E20E0E |shorts1 = FFFFFF |socks1 = 000000

| pattern_la2 = |pattern_b2 = _whitecollar_trineck |pattern_ra2 = |pattern_sh2 = |pattern_so2 =

| leftarm2 = FFFFFF |body2 = FFFFFF |rightarm2 = FFFFFF |shorts2 = FFFFFF |socks2 = FFFFFF

| pattern_la3 = _borderblue |pattern_b3 = _bluecollar_trineck |pattern_ra3 = _borderblue |pattern_sh3 = |pattern_so3 = _blue_band

| leftarm3 = FFE123 |body3 = FFE123 |rightarm3 = FFE123 |shorts3 = 0000C0 |socks3 = FFE123

| prevseason = 1971–72

| nextseason = 1973–74

}}

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.{{cite web |url=http://www.stretfordend.co.uk/seasons/season1973.html |title=Manchester United Season 1972/73 |access-date=21 December 2011|publisher=StretfordEnd.co.uk }} For the first and only season United took part in the Anglo-Italian Cup, the 1973 version.{{cite web|url=http://www.stretfordend.co.uk/competitions/angloitalian.html |title=United in the Anglo-Italian Cup |access-date=21 December 2011|publisher=StretfordEnd.co.uk }}

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.{{cite web |title=Managers – Frank O'Farrell |url=http://www.aboutmanutd.com/man-u-managers/frank-ofarrell.html |work=AboutManUtd.com |publisher=About ManUtd |access-date=9 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111108055910/http://www.aboutmanutd.com/man-u-managers/frank-ofarrell.html |archive-date=8 November 2011 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }} On the same day, the club's directors also announced that the errant George Best would not be playing for them again.{{cite news |first=Ben |last=Blackmore |title=Comebacks that are best forgotten |url=http://www.espn.co.uk/espn/sport/story/53051.html |work=ESPN.co.uk |publisher=ESPN |date=29 October 2010 |access-date=9 March 2012 }}

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

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
Date

!Opponents

!H / A

!Result
F–A

!Scorers

!Attendance

bgcolor="#ffdddd"

|12 August 1972

|Ipswich Town

|H

|1–2

|Law

|51,459

bgcolor="#ffdddd"

|15 August 1972

|Liverpool

|A

|0–2

|

|54,779

bgcolor="#ffdddd"

|19 August 1972

|Everton

|A

|0–2

|

|52,348

bgcolor="#ffffdd"

|23 August 1972

|Leicester City

|H

|1–1

|Best

|40,067

bgcolor="#ffffdd"

|26 August 1972

|Arsenal

|H

|0–0

|

|48,108

bgcolor="#ffffdd"

|30 August 1972

|Chelsea

|H

|0–0

|

|44,482

bgcolor="#ffffdd"

|2 September 1972

|West Ham United

|A

|2–2

|Best, Storey-Moore

|32,372

bgcolor="#ffdddd"

|9 September 1972

|Coventry City

|H

|0–1

|

|37,073

bgcolor="#ffdddd"

|16 September 1972

|Wolverhampton Wanderers

|A

|0–2

|

|34,049

bgcolor="#ddffdd"

|23 September 1972

|Derby County

|H

|3–0

|Davies, Morgan, Storey-Moore

|48,255

bgcolor="#ffdddd"

|30 September 1972

|Sheffield United

|A

|0–1

|

|37,347

bgcolor="#ffffdd"

|7 October 1972

|West Bromwich Albion

|A

|2–2

|Best, Storey-Moore

|39,209

bgcolor="#ddffdd"

|14 October 1972

|Birmingham City

|H

|1–0

|MacDougall

|52,104

bgcolor="#ffdddd"

|21 October 1972

|Newcastle United

|A

|1–2

|Charlton

|38,170

bgcolor="#ffdddd"

|28 October 1972

|Tottenham Hotspur

|H

|1–4

|Charlton

|52,497

bgcolor="#ffffdd"

|4 November 1972

|Leicester City

|A

|2–2

|Best, Davies

|32,575

bgcolor="#ddffdd"

|11 November 1972

|Liverpool

|H

|2–0

|Davies, MacDougall

|53,944

bgcolor="#ffdddd"

|18 November 1972

|Manchester City

|A

|0–3

|

|52,086

bgcolor="#ddffdd"

|25 November 1972

|Southampton

|H

|2–1

|Davies, MacDougall

|36,073

bgcolor="#ddffdd"

|2 December 1972

|Norwich City

|A

|2–0

|MacDougall, Storey-Moore

|35,913

bgcolor="#ffdddd"

|9 December 1972

|Stoke City

|H

|0–2

|

|41,347

bgcolor="#ffdddd"

|16 December 1972

|Crystal Palace

|A

|0–5

|

|39,484

bgcolor="#ffffdd"

|23 December 1972

|Leeds United

|H

|1–1

|MacDougall

|46,382

bgcolor="#ffdddd"

|26 December 1972

|Derby County

|A

|1–3

|Storey-Moore

|35,098

bgcolor="#ffdddd"

|6 January 1973

|Arsenal

|A

|1–3

|Kidd

|51,194

bgcolor="#ffffdd"

|20 January 1973

|West Ham United

|H

|2–2

|Charlton, Macari

|50,878

bgcolor="#ffffdd"

|24 January 1973

|Everton

|H

|0–0

|

|58,970

bgcolor="#ffffdd"

|27 January 1973

|Coventry City

|A

|1–1

|Holton

|42,767

bgcolor="#ddffdd"

|10 February 1973

|Wolverhampton Wanderers

|H

|2–1

|Charlton (2)

|52,089

bgcolor="#ffdddd"

|17 February 1973

|Ipswich Town

|A

|1–4

|Macari

|31,918

bgcolor="#ddffdd"

|3 March 1973

|West Bromwich Albion

|H

|2–1

|Kidd, Macari

|46,735

bgcolor="#ffdddd"

|10 March 1973

|Birmingham City

|A

|1–3

|Macari

|51,278

bgcolor="#ddffdd"

|17 March 1973

|Newcastle United

|H

|2–1

|Holton, Martin

|48,426

bgcolor="#ffffdd"

|24 March 1973

|Tottenham Hotspur

|A

|1–1

|Graham

|49,751

bgcolor="#ddffdd"

|31 March 1973

|Southampton

|A

|2–0

|Charlton, Holton

|23,161

bgcolor="#ddffdd"

|7 April 1973

|Norwich City

|H

|1–0

|Martin

|48,593

bgcolor="#ddffdd"

|11 April 1973

|Crystal Palace

|H

|2–0

|Kidd, Morgan

|46,891

bgcolor="#ffffdd"

|14 April 1973

|Stoke City

|A

|2–2

|Macari, Morgan

|37,051

bgcolor="#ddffdd"

|18 April 1973

|Leeds United

|A

|1–0

|Anderson

|45,450

bgcolor="#ffffdd"

|21 April 1973

|Manchester City

|H

|0–0

|

|61,676

bgcolor="#ffdddd"

|23 April 1973

|Sheffield United

|H

|1–2

|Kidd

|57,280

bgcolor="#ffdddd"

|28 April 1973

|Chelsea

|A

|0–1

|

|44,184

{{:1972–73 Football League|transcludesection=First Division|showteam=MUN|only_totals=y}}

FA Cup

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
Date

!Round

!Opponents

!H / A

!Result
F–A

!Scorers

!Attendance

bgcolor="#ffdddd"

|13 January 1973

|Round 3

|Wolverhampton Wanderers

|A

|0–1

|

|40,005

League Cup

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
Date

!Round

!Opponents

!H / A

!Result
F–A

!Scorers

!Attendance

bgcolor="#ffffdd"

|6 September 1972

|Round 2

|Oxford United

|A

|2–2

|Law, Charlton

|16,560

bgcolor="#ddffdd"

|12 September 1972

|Round 2
Replay

|Oxford United

|H

|3–1

|Best (2), Storey-Moore

|21,486

bgcolor="#ffffdd"

|3 October 1972

|Round 3

|Bristol Rovers

|A

|1–1

|Morgan

|33,597

bgcolor="#ffdddd"

|11 October 1972

|Round 3
Replay

|Bristol Rovers

|H

|1–2

|McIlroy

|29,348

Anglo-Italian Cup

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
Date

!Opponents

!H / A

!Result
F–A

!Scorers

!Attendance

bgcolor="#ffffdd"

|21 February 1973

|Fiorentina

|H

|1–1

|Holton

|23,951

bgcolor="#ffffdd"

|21 March 1973

|Lazio

|A

|0–0

|

|52,834

bgcolor="#ddffdd"

|4 April 1973

|Bari

|H

|3–1

|Law, Storey-Moore, Martin

|14,303

bgcolor="#ddffdd"

|2 May 1973

|Verona

|A

|4–1

|Charlton (2), Olney, Fletcher

|8,168

{{col-start}}

{{col-2}}

;English Group 1

class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
width="175"|Club

!width="20"|{{Tooltip| Pld | Played}}

!width="20"|{{Tooltip| W | Won}}

!width="20"|{{Tooltip| D | Drawn}}

!width="20"|{{Tooltip| L | Lost}}

!width="20"|{{Tooltip| GF | Goals for}}

!width="20"|{{Tooltip| GA | Goals against}}

!width="20"|{{Tooltip| Pts | Points}}

bgcolor="#ddffdd"

|align="left"|Crystal Palace

|4

3101047
bgcolor="#ffdddd"

|align="left"|Manchester United

|4

220836
bgcolor="#ffdddd"

|align="left"|Luton Town

|4

211845
bgcolor="#ffdddd"

|align="left"|Hull City

|4

211435

{{col-2}}

;Italian Group 1

class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
width="175"|Club

!width="20"|{{Tooltip| Pld | Played}}

!width="20"|{{Tooltip| W | Won}}

!width="20"|{{Tooltip| D | Drawn}}

!width="20"|{{Tooltip| L | Lost}}

!width="20"|{{Tooltip| GF | Goals for}}

!width="20"|{{Tooltip| GA | Goals against}}

!width="20"|{{Tooltip| Pts | Points}}

bgcolor="#ddffdd"

|align="left"|Fiorentina

|4

121444
bgcolor="#ffdddd"

|align="left"|Lazio

|4

022472
bgcolor="#ffdddd"

|align="left"|Verona

|4

1035112
bgcolor="#ffdddd"

|align="left"|Bari

|4

013181

{{col-2}}

{{col-end}}

Squad statistics

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
rowspan="2" valign="bottom"|Pos.

!rowspan="2"|Name

!colspan="2" width="85"|League

!colspan="2" width="85"|FA Cup

!colspan="2" width="85"|League Cup

!colspan="2" width="85"|Total

Apps

!Goals

!Apps

!Goals

!Apps

!Goals

!Apps

!Goals

align="left"|GKalign="left"|{{flagicon|ENG}} Alex Stepney

|38

01040430
align="left"|GKalign="left"|{{flagicon|ENG}} Jimmy Rimmer

|4

0000040
align="left"|DFalign="left"|{{flagicon|SCO}} Martin Buchan

|42

01040470
align="left"|DFalign="left"|{{flagicon|SCO}} Ian Donald

|4

0001050
align="left"|DFalign="left"|{{flagicon|IRE}} Tony Dunne

|24

00(1)03027(1)0
align="left"|DFalign="left"|{{flagicon|ENG}} Paul Edwards

|1

0000010
align="left"|DFalign="left"|{{flagicon|SCO}} Alex Forsyth

|8

0100090
align="left"|DFalign="left"|{{flagicon|SCO}} Jim Holton

|15

30000153
align="left"|DFalign="left"|{{flagicon|ENG}} Steve James

|22

00040260
align="left"|DFalign="left"|{{flagicon|ENG}} Tommy O'Neil

|16

00010170
align="left"|DFalign="left"|{{flagicon|ENG}} David Sadler

|19

01020220
align="left"|DFalign="left"|{{flagicon|ENG}} Arnie Sidebottom

|2

0000020
align="left"|DFalign="left"|{{flagicon|SCO}} Willie Watson

|3

0001040
align="left"|DFalign="left"|{{flagicon|ENG}} Tony Young

|28(2)

0103032(2)0
align="left"|MFalign="left"|{{flagicon|NIR}} George Best

|19

40042236
align="left"|MFalign="left"|{{flagicon|ENG}} Bobby Charlton

|34(2)

6104139(2)7
align="left"|MFalign="left"|{{flagicon|SCO}} John Fitzpatrick

|5

0001060
align="left"|MFalign="left"|{{flagicon|SCO}} George Graham

|18

11000191
align="left"|MFalign="left"|{{flagicon|IRE}} Mick Martin

|14(2)

2000014(2)2
align="left"|MFalign="left"|{{flagicon|NIR}} Sammy McIlroy

|4(6)

0000(3)14(9)1
align="left"|FWalign="left"|{{flagicon|NIR}} Trevor Anderson

|2(5)

100002(5)1
align="left"|FWalign="left"|{{flagicon|WAL}} Wyn Davies

|15(1)

4100016(1)4
align="left"|FWalign="left"|{{flagicon|ENG}} Peter Fletcher

|0(2)

000000(2)0
align="left"|FWalign="left"|{{flagicon|ENG}} Brian Kidd

|17(5)

4102020(5)4
align="left"|FWalign="left"|{{flagicon|SCO}} Denis Law

|9(2)

1102112(2)2
align="left"|FWalign="left"|{{flagicon|SCO}} Lou Macari

|16

50000165
align="left"|FWalign="left"|{{flagicon|SCO}} Ted MacDougall

|18

50000185
align="left"|FWalign="left"|{{flagicon|SCO}} Willie Morgan

|39

41040444
align="left"|FWalign="left"|{{flagicon|ENG}} Ian Storey-Moore

|26

50041306
align="left"|–align="left"|Own goals

|–

0–0–0–0

Anglo-Italian Cup matches are not included in statistics

References

{{reflist}}

{{Manchester United F.C. seasons}}

{{1972–73 in English football}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:1972-73 Manchester United F.C. season}}

Category:Manchester United F.C. seasons

Manchester United