1976–77 Manchester United F.C. season
95th season in existence of Manchester United
Manchester United 1976–77 football season
The 1976–77 season was Manchester United 's 75th season in the Football League , and their second consecutive season in the top division of English football .[ 1] They finished the season sixth in the league and won the FA Cup to end a nine-year spell without a major trophy. Despite this success, it was to be their last season under the management of Tommy Docherty , who had been at the helm for four-and-a-half years and revived United following several years of decline. During the close season, he was dismissed by the club after revealing his love affair with the wife of the club's physiotherapist.[ 2]
First Division
Date
Opponents
H / A
Result F–A
Scorers
Attendance
21 August 1976
Birmingham City
H
2–2
Coppell , Pearson
58,898
24 August 1976
Coventry City
A
2–0
Macari , Hill
26,775
28 August 1976
Derby County
A
0–0
30,054
4 September 1976
Tottenham Hotspur
H
2–3
Coppell , Pearson
60,723
11 September 1976
Newcastle United
A
2–2
B. Greenhoff , Pearson
39,037
18 September 1976
Middlesbrough
H
2–0
McAndrew (o.g. ), Pearson
56,712
25 September 1976
Manchester City
A
3–1
Coppell , McCreery , Daly
48,861
2 October 1976
Leeds United
A
2–0
Daly , Coppell
44,512
16 October 1976
West Bromwich Albion
A
0–4
36,615
23 October 1976
Norwich City
H
2–2
Daly (pen. ), Hill
54,356
30 October 1976
Ipswich Town
H
0–1
57,416
6 November 1976
Aston Villa
A
2–3
Pearson . Hill
44,789
10 November 1976
Sunderland
H
3–3
Hill , Pearson , B. Greenhoff
42,685
20 November 1976
Leicester City
A
1–1
Daly (pen. )
26,421
27 November 1976
West Ham United
H
0–2
55,366
18 December 1976
Arsenal
A
1–3
McIlroy
39,572
27 December 1976
Everton
H
4–0
Pearson , J. Greenhoff , Hill , Macari
56,786
1 January 1977
Aston Villa
H
2–0
Pearson (2)
55,446
3 January 1977
Ipswich Town
A
1–2
Pearson
30,105
15 January 1977
Coventry City
H
2–0
Macari (2)
46,567
19 January 1977
Bristol City
H
2–1
Pearson , B. Greenhoff
43,051
22 January 1977
Birmingham City
A
3–2
J. Greenhoff , Pearson , Houston
35,316
5 February 1977
Derby County
H
3–1
Macari , Houston , Powell (o.g. )
54,044
12 February 1977
Tottenham Hotspur
A
3–1
Macari , McIlroy , Hill
46,946
16 February 1977
Liverpool
H
0–0
57,487
19 February 1977
Newcastle United
H
3–1
J. Greenhoff (3)
51,828
5 March 1977
Manchester City
H
3–1
Pearson , Hill , Coppell
58,595
12 March 1977
Leeds United
H
1–0
Cherry (o.g. )
60,612
23 March 1977
West Bromwich Albion
H
2–2
Hill (pen. ), Coppell
51,053
2 April 1977
Norwich City
A
1–2
Powell (o.g. )
24,161
5 April 1977
Everton
A
2–1
Hill (2)
38,216
9 April 1977
Stoke City
H
3–0
Houston , Macari , Pearson
53,102
11 April 1977
Sunderland
A
1–2
Hill (pen. )
38,785
16 April 1977
Leicester City
H
1–1
J. Greenhoff
49,161
19 April 1977
Queens Park Rangers
A
0–4
28,848
26 April 1977
Middlesbrough
A
0–3
21,744
30 April 1977
Queens Park Rangers
H
1–0
Macari
50,788
3 May 1977
Liverpool
A
0–1
53,046
7 May 1977
Bristol City
A
1–1
J. Greenhoff (pen. )
28,864
11 May 1977
Stoke City
A
3–3
Hill (2), McCreery
24,204
14 May 1977
Arsenal
H
3–2
J. Greenhoff , Macari , Hill
53,232
16 May 1977
West Ham United
A
2–4
Hill , Pearson
29,904
Source:
World Football Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
Notes:
^ Manchester United qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup first round as the 1976–77 FA Cup winners.
FA Cup
Date
Round
Opponents
H / A
Result F–A
Scorers
Attendance
8 January 1977
Round 3
Walsall
H
1–0
Hill
48,870
29 January 1977
Round 4
Queens Park Rangers
H
1–0
Macari
57,422
26 February 1977
Round 5
Southampton
A
2–2
Macari , Hill
29,137
8 March 1977
Round 5 Replay
Southampton
H
2–1
J. Greenhoff (2)
58,103
19 March 1977
Round 6
Aston Villa
H
2–1
Houston , Macari
57,089
23 April 1977
Semi-final
Leeds United
N
2–1
J. Greenhoff , Coppell
55,000
21 May 1977
Final
Liverpool
N
2–1
Pearson , J. Greenhoff
100,000
League Cup
Date
Round
Opponents
H / A
Result F–A
Scorers
Attendance
1 September 1976
Round 2
Tranmere Rovers
H
5–0
Daly (2), Macari , Pearson , Hill
37,586
22 September 1976
Round 3
Sunderland
H
2–2
Pearson , Clarke (o.g. )
46,170
4 October 1976
Round 3 Replay
Sunderland
A
2–2
B. Greenhoff , Daly (pen. )
46,170
6 October 1976
Round 3 2nd Replay
Sunderland
H
1–0
B. Greenhoff
47,689
27 October 1976
Round 4
Newcastle United
H
7–2
Houston , Hill (3), Pearson , Nicholl , Coppell
52,002
1 December 1976
Round 5
Everton
H
0–3
57,738
UEFA Cup
Date
Round
Opponents
H / A
Result F–A
Scorers
Attendance
15 September 1976
Round 1 First leg
Ajax
A
0–1
30,000
29 September 1976
Round 1 Second leg
Ajax
H
2–0
Macari , McIlroy
58,918
20 October 1976
Round 2 First leg
Juventus
H
1–0
Hill
59,021
3 November 1976
Round 2 Second leg
Juventus
A
0–3
66,632
Squad statistics
References
National teams
League competitions
Levels 1–4 Levels 5–6 Levels 7–9
Athenian League (One , Two )
Cheshire County League (level 7 only )
Eastern Counties League (level 7 only )
Essex Senior League (level 7 only )
Hellenic League (Premier , One )
Kent League (level 7 only )
Lancashire Combination (level 7 only )
London Spartan League (One , Two )
Midland Football Combination (level 7 only )
Midland League (Premier , One )
Northern League (level 7 only )
South Midlands League (Premier , One )
Sussex County League (One , Two )
United Counties League (Premier , One , Two )
West Midlands (Regional) League (level 7 only )
Western League (Premier , One )
Yorkshire League (One , Two , Three )
Cup competitions
FA cups Football League cups
European competitions