1963–64 Manchester United F.C. season

Manchester United
1963–64 season
The United team that faced Willem II in the Cup Winners' Cup, 25 September 1963
ChairmanHarold Hardman
ManagerMatt Busby
First Division2nd
FA CupSemi-finals
Cup Winners' CupQuarter-finals
Charity ShieldRunners-up
Top goalscorerLeague:
Denis Law (30)
All:
Denis Law (46)
Highest home attendance63,700 vs Sunderland (29 February 1964)
Lowest home attendance25,848 vs Aston Villa (6 April 1964)
Average home league attendance45,891

The 1963–64 season was Manchester United's 62nd season in the Football League, and their 19th consecutive season in the top division of English football.[1] United failed to win any major trophies this season, but they made a strong challenge for the three major prizes, finishing second in the league, reaching the semi-finals of the FA Cup and the quarter-finals of the European Cup Winners' Cup. A notable debutant this season was 17-year-old Northern Irish forward George Best, whose debut came in the league against West Bromwich Albion on 14 September 1963.[2] The highly promising Best turned out a total of 17 times for United that season, scoring four goals. Striker Denis Law had an outstanding season, scoring 30 goals in the league and a total of 46 in all competitions.[3]

FA Charity Shield

Main article: 1963 FA Charity Shield
Date Opponents H / A Result
F–A 		Scorers Attendance
17 August 1963 Everton A 0–4 54,840

First Division

Date Opponents H / A Result
F–A 		Scorers Attendance
24 August 1963 Sheffield Wednesday A 3–3 Charlton (2), Moir 32,177
28 August 1963 Ipswich Town H 2–0 Law (2) 39,921
31 August 1963 Everton H 5–1 Chisnall (2), Law (2), Sadler 62,965
3 September 1963 Ipswich Town A 7–2 Law (3), Chisnall, Moir, Sadler, Setters 28,113
7 September 1963 Birmingham City A 1–1 Chisnall 36,874
11 September 1963 Blackpool H 3–0 Charlton (2), Law 47,400
14 September 1963 West Bromwich Albion H 1–0 Sadler 50,453
16 September 1963 Blackpool A 0–1 29,806
21 September 1963 Arsenal A 1–2 Herd 56,776
28 September 1963 Leicester City H 3–1 Herd (2), Setters 41,374
2 October 1963 Chelsea A 1–1 Setters 45,351
5 October 1963 Bolton Wanderers A 1–0 Herd 35,872
19 October 1963 Nottingham Forest A 2–1 Chisnall, Quixall 41,426
26 October 1963 West Ham United H 0–1 45,120
28 October 1963 Blackburn Rovers H 2–2 Quixall (2) 41,169
2 November 1963 Wolverhampton Wanderers A 0–2 34,159
9 November 1963 Tottenham Hotspur H 4–1 Law (3), Herd 57,413
16 November 1963 Aston Villa A 0–4 36,276
23 November 1963 Liverpool H 0–1 54,654
30 November 1963 Sheffield United A 2–1 Law (2) 30,615
7 December 1963 Stoke City H 5–2 Law (4), Herd 52,232
14 December 1963 Sheffield Wednesday H 3–1 Herd (3) 35,139
21 December 1963 Everton A 0–4 48,027
26 December 1963 Burnley A 1–6 Herd 35,764
28 December 1963 Burnley H 5–1 Herd (2), Moore (2), Best 47,834
11 January 1964 Birmingham City H 1–2 Sadler 44,695
18 January 1964 West Bromwich Albion A 4–1 Law (2), Best, Charlton 25,624
1 February 1964 Arsenal H 3–1 Herd, Law, Setters 48,340
8 February 1964 Leicester City A 2–3 Herd, Law 35,538
19 February 1964 Bolton Wanderers H 5–0 Best (2), Herd (2), Charlton 33,926
22 February 1964 Blackburn Rovers A 3–1 Law (2), Chisnall 36,726
7 March 1964 West Ham United A 2–0 Herd, Sadler 27,027
21 March 1964 Tottenham Hotspur A 3–2 Charlton, Law, Moore 56,392
23 March 1964 Chelsea H 1–1 Law 42,931
27 March 1964 Fulham A 2–2 Herd, Law 41,769
28 March 1964 Wolverhampton Wanderers H 2–2 Charlton, Herd 44,470
30 March 1964 Fulham H 3–0 Crerand, Foulkes, Herd 42,279
4 April 1964 Liverpool A 0–3 52,559
6 April 1964 Aston Villa H 1–0 Law 25,848
13 April 1964 Sheffield United H 2–1 Law, Moir 27,587
18 April 1964 Stoke City A 1–3 Charlton 45,670
25 April 1964 Nottingham Forest H 3–1 Law (2), Moore 31,671

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Liverpool (C) 42 26 5 11 92 45 2.044 57 Qualification for the European Cup preliminary round
2 Manchester United 42 23 7 12 90 62 1.452 53 Qualification for the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup first round
3 Everton 42 21 10 11 84 64 1.313 52
4 Tottenham Hotspur 42 22 7 13 97 81 1.198 51
5 Chelsea 42 20 10 12 72 56 1.286 50
6 Sheffield Wednesday 42 19 11 12 84 67 1.254 49
7 Blackburn Rovers 42 18 10 14 89 65 1.369 46
8 Arsenal 42 17 11 14 90 82 1.098 45
9 Burnley 42 17 10 15 71 64 1.109 44
10 West Bromwich Albion 42 16 11 15 70 61 1.148 43
11 Leicester City 42 16 11 15 61 58 1.052 43
12 Sheffield United 42 16 11 15 61 64 0.953 43
13 Nottingham Forest 42 16 9 17 64 68 0.941 41
14 West Ham United 42 14 12 16 69 74 0.932 40 Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round
15 Fulham 42 13 13 16 58 65 0.892 39
16 Wolverhampton Wanderers 42 12 15 15 70 80 0.875 39
17 Stoke City 42 14 10 18 77 78 0.987 38
18 Blackpool 42 13 9 20 52 73 0.712 35
19 Aston Villa 42 11 12 19 62 71 0.873 34
20 Birmingham City 42 11 7 24 54 92 0.587 29
21 Bolton Wanderers (R) 42 10 8 24 48 80 0.600 28 Relegation to the Second Division
22 Ipswich Town (R) 42 9 7 26 56 121 0.463 25
Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated

FA Cup

Date Round Opponents H / A Result
F–A 		Scorers Attendance
4 January 1964 Round 3 Southampton A 3–2 Crerand, Herd, Moore 29,164
25 January 1964 Round 4 Bristol Rovers H 4–1 Law (3), Herd 55,772
15 February 1964 Round 5 Barnsley A 4–0 Law (2), Best, Herd 38,076
29 February 1964 Round 6 Sunderland H 3–3 Best, Charlton, own goal 63,700
4 March 1964 Round 6
Replay 		Sunderland A 2–2 Charlton, Law 68,000
9 March 1964 Round 6
2nd Replay 		Sunderland N 5–1 Law (3), Chisnall, Herd 54,952
14 March 1964 Semi-final West Ham United N 1–3 Law 65,000

European Cup Winners' Cup

Date Round Opponents H / A Result
F–A 		Scorers Attendance
25 September 1963 First round
First leg 		Willem II A 1–1 Herd 20,000
15 October 1963 First round
Second leg 		Willem II H 6–1 Law (3), Charlton, Chisnall, Setters 46,272
3 December 1963 Second round
First leg 		Tottenham Hotspur A 0–2 57,447
10 December 1963 Second round
Second leg 		Tottenham Hotspur H 4–1 Charlton (2), Herd (2) 50,000
26 February 1964 Quarter-final
First leg 		Sporting CP H 4–1 Law (3), Charlton 60,000
18 March 1964 Quarter-final
Second leg 		Sporting CP A 0–5 40,000

Squad statistics

Pos. Name League FA Cup Cup Winners' Cup Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK England David Gaskell 17 0 7 0 4 0 1 0 29 0
GK Northern Ireland Harry Gregg 25 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 27 0
FB Republic of Ireland Shay Brennan 17 0 5 0 2 0 0 0 24 0
FB Republic of Ireland Noel Cantwell 28 0 2 0 4 0 1 0 35 0
FB Republic of Ireland Tony Dunne 40 0 7 0 6 0 1 0 54 0
HB Scotland Pat Crerand 41 1 7 1 6 0 1 0 55 2
HB England Bill Foulkes 41 1 7 0 6 0 1 0 55 1
HB England Maurice Setters 32 4 7 0 6 1 1 0 46 5
HB England Nobby Stiles 17 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 21 0
HB England Wilf Tranter 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
FW England Willie Anderson 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
FW Northern Ireland George Best 17 4 7 2 2 0 0 0 26 6
FW England Bobby Charlton 40 9 7 2 6 4 1 0 54 15
FW England Phil Chisnall 20 6 4 1 4 1 0 0 28 8
FW Republic of Ireland Johnny Giles 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
FW Scotland David Herd 30 20 7 4 6 3 1 0 44 27
FW Scotland Denis Law 30 30 6 10 5 6 1 0 42 46
FW Scotland Ian Moir 18 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 3
FW Wales Graham Moore 18 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 19 5
FW England Albert Quixall 9 3 0 0 3 0 1 0 13 3
FW England David Sadler 19 5 0 0 2 0 0 0 21 5

References

  1. ^ "Manchester United Season 1963/64". StretfordEnd.co.uk. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
  2. ^ "George Best: 1946–2005". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 23 November 2005. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
  3. ^ "Legends – George Best". Stretford-End.com. Stretford-End. Retrieved 9 March 2012.