1965–66 Manchester United F.C. season
Introduction The 1965–66 season was Manchester United's 64th season in the Football League, and their 21st consecutive season in the top division of English football.As defending champions of the First Division title, they finished fourth and secured qualification for the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. They lost to eventual winners Everton in the FA Cup semifinal.In the European Cup, they were also semi-finalists, edged out by Yugoslav champions Partizan Belgrade. They had to negotiate a preliminary round of the competition before qualifying for the first round, and did so by achieving a 9–2 aggregate win over Finnish champions HJK Helsinki.United's top scorer for this season was David Herd, with 24 league goals and 33 in all competitions.
FA Charity Shield DateOpponentsH / AResultF–AScorersAttendance14 August 1965LiverpoolH2–2Best, Herd48,502
First Division DateOpponentsH / AResultF–AScorersAttendance21 August 1965Sheffield WednesdayH1–0Herd37,52424 August 1965Nottingham ForestA2–4Aston, Best33,74428 August 1965Northampton TownA1–1Connelly21,1401 September 1965Nottingham ForestH0–038,7774 September 1965Stoke CityH1–1Herd37,6038 September 1965Newcastle UnitedA2–1Herd, Law57,38011 September 1965BurnleyA0–330,23515 September 1965Newcastle UnitedH1–1Stiles30,40118 September 1965ChelseaH4–1Law (3), Charlton37,91725 September 1965ArsenalA2–4Aston, Charlton56,7579 October 1965LiverpoolH2–0Best, Law58,16116 October 1965Tottenham HotspurA1–5Charlton58,05123 October 1965FulhamH4–1Herd (3), Charlton32,71630 October 1965BlackpoolA2–1Herd (2)24,7036 November 1965Blackburn RoversH2–2Charlton, Law38,82313 November 1965Leicester CityA5–0Herd (2), Best, Charlton, Connelly34,55120 November 1965Sheffield UnitedH3–1Best (2), Law37,9224 December 1965West Ham UnitedH0–032,92411 December 1965SunderlandA3–2Best (2), Herd37,41715 December 1965EvertonH3–0Best, Charlton, Herd32,62418 December 1965Tottenham HotspurH5–1Law (2), Charlton, Herd, Beal (o.g. )39,27027 December 1965West Bromwich AlbionH1–1Law54,1021 January 1966LiverpoolA1–2Law53,7908 January 1966SunderlandA1–1Best39,16212 January 1966Leeds UnitedA1–1Herd49,67215 January 1966FulhamA1–0Charlton33,01829 January 1966Sheffield WednesdayA0–039,2815 February 1966Northampton TownH6–2Charlton (3), Law (2), Connelly34,98619 February 1966Stoke CityA2–2Connelly, Herd36,66726 February 1966BurnleyH4–2Herd (3), Charlton49,89212 March 1966ChelseaA0–260,26919 March 1966ArsenalH2–1Law, Stiles47,2466 April 1966Aston VillaA1–1Cantwell28,2119 April 1966Leicester CityH1–2Connelly42,59316 April 1966Sheffield UnitedA1–3Sadler22,33025 April 1966EvertonA0–050,84327 April 1966BlackpoolH2–1Charlton, Law26,95330 April 1966West Ham UnitedA2–3Aston, Cantwell36,4164 May 1966West Bromwich AlbionA3–3Aston, T. Dunne, Herd22,6097 May 1966Blackburn RoversA4–1Herd (2), Charlton, Sadler14,5139 May 1966Aston VillaH6–1Herd (2), Sadler (2), Charlton, Ryan23,03919 May 1966Leeds UnitedH1–1Herd35,008
FA Cup DateRoundOpponentsH / AResultF–AScorersAttendance22 January 1966Round 3Derby CountyA5–2Best (2), Law (2), Herd33,82712 February 1966Round 4Rotherham UnitedH0–054,26315 February 1966Round 4ReplayRotherham UnitedA1–0Connelly23,5005 March 1966Round 5Wolverhampton WanderersA4–2Law (2), Best, Herd53,50026 March 1966Round 6Preston North EndA1–1Herd37,87630 March 1966Round 6ReplayPreston North EndH3–1Law (2), Connelly60,43323 April 1966Semi-finalEvertonN0–160,000
European Cup DateRoundOpponentsH / AResultF–AScorersAttendance22 September 1965Preliminary roundFirst legHJK HelsinkiA3–2Connelly, Herd, Law25,0006 October 1965Preliminary roundSecond legHJK HelsinkiH6–0Connelly (3), Best (2), Charlton30,38817 November 1965Round 1First legVorwärts BerlinA2–0Connelly, Law40,0001 December 1965Round 1Second legVorwärts BerlinH3–1Herd (3)30,0822 February 1966Quarter-finalFirst legBenficaH3–2Foulkes, Herd, Law64,0359 March 1966Quarter-finalSecond legBenficaA5–1Best (2), Charlton, Connelly, Crerand75,00013 April 1966Semi-finalFirst legPartizanA0–260,00020 April 1966Semi-finalSecond legPartizanH1–0Stiles62,500
Squad statistics Pos.NameLeagueFA CupEuropean CupOtherTotalAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsGK Pat Dunne80002010110GK David Gaskell8000100090GK Harry Gregg260705000380FB Shay Brennan280505010390FB Noel Cantwell232203010292FB Tony Dunne401708010560FB Bobby Noble2000000020HB Pat Crerand410707110561HB John Fitzpatrick3(1)00010004(1)0HB Bill Foulkes330708100481HB Nobby Stiles392708110553FW Willie Anderson5(1)01010007(1)0FW John Aston, Jr.234202010284FW George Best3195364114317FW Bobby Charlton38167082105418FW John Connelly31(1)562860045(1)13FW David Herd36(1)2473751151(1)33FW Denis Law33157683104924FW Jimmy Ryan4100000041FW David Sadler104000000104
References