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. For the first and only season United took part in the Anglo-Italian Cup, the 1973 version.
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. On the same day, the club’s directors also announced that the errant George Best would not be playing for them again.
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.
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 | Club | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAvg | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GAvg = Goal average; Pts = Points
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 |
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Squad statistics
| Pos. | Name | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| GK |  Alex Stepney |
38 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 43 | 0 |
| GK | Jimmy Rimmer |
4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| DF |  Martin Buchan |
42 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 47 | 0 |
| DF | Ian Donald |
4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| DF |  Tony Dunne |
24 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 27(1) | 0 |
| DF | Paul Edwards |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| DF | Alex Forsyth |
8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| DF | Jim Holton |
15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 3 |
| DF | Steve James |
22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 26 | 0 |
| DF | Tommy O’Neil |
16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 0 |
| DF | David Sadler |
19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 0 |
| DF | Arnie Sidebottom |
2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| DF | Willie Watson |
3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| DF | Tony Young |
28(2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 32(2) | 0 |
| MF |  George Best |
19 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 23 | 6 |
| MF | Bobby Charlton |
34(2) | 6 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 39(2) | 7 |
| MF | John Fitzpatrick |
5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| MF | George Graham |
18 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 1 |
| MF | Mick Martin |
14(2) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14(2) | 2 |
| MF | Sammy McIlroy |
4(6) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(3) | 1 | 4(9) | 1 |
| FW | Trevor Anderson |
2(5) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2(5) | 1 |
| FW |  Wyn Davies |
15(1) | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16(1) | 4 |
| FW | Paul Fletcher |
0(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(2) | 0 |
| FW | Brian Kidd |
17(5) | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 20(5) | 4 |
| FW | Denis Law |
9(2) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12(2) | 1 |
| FW | Lou Macari |
16 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 5 |
| FW | Ted MacDougall |
18 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 5 |
| FW | Willie Morgan |
39 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 44 | 4 |
| FW | Ian Storey-Moore |
26 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 30 | 6 |
| – | Own goals | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 |