# 1965–66 Manchester United F.C. season

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

| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 14 August 1965 | Liverpool | H | 2–2 | Best, Herd | 48,502 |

## First Division

| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 21 August 1965 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 1–0 | Herd | 37,524 |
| 24 August 1965 | Nottingham Forest | A | 2–4 | Aston, Best | 33,744 |
| 28 August 1965 | Northampton Town | A | 1–1 | Connelly | 21,140 |
| 1 September 1965 | Nottingham Forest | H | 0–0 | | 38,777 |
| 4 September 1965 | Stoke City | H | 1–1 | Herd | 37,603 |
| 8 September 1965 | Newcastle United | A | 2–1 | Herd, Law | 57,380 |
| 11 September 1965 | Burnley | A | 0–3 | | 30,235 |
| 15 September 1965 | Newcastle United | H | 1–1 | Stiles | 30,401 |
| 18 September 1965 | Chelsea | H | 4–1 | Law (3), Charlton | 37,917 |
| 25 September 1965 | Arsenal | A | 2–4 | Aston, Charlton | 56,757 |
| 9 October 1965 | Liverpool | H | 2–0 | Best, Law | 58,161 |
| 16 October 1965 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 1–5 | Charlton | 58,051 |
| 23 October 1965 | Fulham | H | 4–1 | Herd (3), Charlton | 32,716 |
| 30 October 1965 | Blackpool | A | 2–1 | Herd (2) | 24,703 |
| 6 November 1965 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 2–2 | Charlton, Law | 38,823 |
| 13 November 1965 | Leicester City | A | 5–0 | Herd (2), Best, Charlton, Connelly | 34,551 |
| 20 November 1965 | Sheffield United | H | 3–1 | Best (2), Law | 37,922 |
| 4 December 1965 | West Ham United | H | 0–0 | | 32,924 |
| 11 December 1965 | Sunderland | A | 3–2 | Best (2), Herd | 37,417 |
| 15 December 1965 | Everton | H | 3–0 | Best, Charlton, Herd | 32,624 |
| 18 December 1965 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 5–1 | Law (2), Charlton, Herd, Beal (o.g.) | 39,270 |
| 27 December 1965 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 1–1 | Law | 54,102 |
| 1 January 1966 | Liverpool | A | 1–2 | Law | 53,790 |
| 8 January 1966 | Sunderland | A | 1–1 | Best | 39,162 |
| 12 January 1966 | Leeds United | A | 1–1 | Herd | 49,672 |
| 15 January 1966 | Fulham | A | 1–0 | Charlton | 33,018 |
| 29 January 1966 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 0–0 | | 39,281 |
| 5 February 1966 | Northampton Town | H | 6–2 | Charlton (3), Law (2), Connelly | 34,986 |
| 19 February 1966 | Stoke City | A | 2–2 | Connelly, Herd | 36,667 |
| 26 February 1966 | Burnley | H | 4–2 | Herd (3), Charlton | 49,892 |
| 12 March 1966 | Chelsea | A | 0–2 | | 60,269 |
| 19 March 1966 | Arsenal | H | 2–1 | Law, Stiles | 47,246 |
| 6 April 1966 | Aston Villa | A | 1–1 | Cantwell | 28,211 |
| 9 April 1966 | Leicester City | H | 1–2 | Connelly | 42,593 |
| 16 April 1966 | Sheffield United | A | 1–3 | Sadler | 22,330 |
| 25 April 1966 | Everton | A | 0–0 | | 50,843 |
| 27 April 1966 | Blackpool | H | 2–1 | Charlton, Law | 26,953 |
| 30 April 1966 | West Ham United | A | 2–3 | Aston, Cantwell | 36,416 |
| 4 May 1966 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 3–3 | Aston, T. Dunne, Herd | 22,609 |
| 7 May 1966 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 4–1 | Herd (2), Charlton, Sadler | 14,513 |
| 9 May 1966 | Aston Villa | H | 6–1 | Herd (2), Sadler (2), Charlton, Ryan | 23,039 |
| 19 May 1966 | Leeds United | H | 1–1 | Herd | 35,008 |
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Liverpool (C) | 42 | 26 | 9 | 7 | 79 | 34 | 2.324 | 61 | Qualification for the European Cup first round |
| 2 | Leeds United | 42 | 23 | 9 | 10 | 79 | 38 | 2.079 | 55 | Qualification for the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup second round |
| 3 | Burnley | 42 | 24 | 7 | 11 | 79 | 47 | 1.681 | 55 | Qualification for the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup first round |
| 4 | Manchester United | 42 | 18 | 15 | 9 | 84 | 59 | 1.424 | 51 | |
| 5 | Chelsea | 42 | 22 | 7 | 13 | 65 | 53 | 1.226 | 51 | |
| 6 | West Bromwich Albion | 42 | 19 | 12 | 11 | 91 | 69 | 1.319 | 50 | Qualification for the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup second round |
| 7 | Leicester City | 42 | 21 | 7 | 14 | 80 | 65 | 1.231 | 49 | |
| 8 | Tottenham Hotspur | 42 | 16 | 12 | 14 | 75 | 66 | 1.136 | 44 | |
| 9 | Sheffield United | 42 | 16 | 11 | 15 | 56 | 59 | 0.949 | 43 | |
| 10 | Stoke City | 42 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 65 | 64 | 1.016 | 42 | |
| 11 | Everton | 42 | 15 | 11 | 16 | 56 | 62 | 0.903 | 41 | Qualification for the European Cup Winners' Cup first round |
| 12 | West Ham United | 42 | 15 | 9 | 18 | 70 | 83 | 0.843 | 39 | |
| 13 | Blackpool | 42 | 14 | 9 | 19 | 55 | 65 | 0.846 | 37 | |
| 14 | Arsenal | 42 | 12 | 13 | 17 | 62 | 75 | 0.827 | 37 | |
| 15 | Newcastle United | 42 | 14 | 9 | 19 | 50 | 63 | 0.794 | 37 | |
| 16 | Aston Villa | 42 | 15 | 6 | 21 | 69 | 80 | 0.863 | 36 | |
| 17 | Sheffield Wednesday | 42 | 14 | 8 | 20 | 56 | 66 | 0.848 | 36 | |
| 18 | Nottingham Forest | 42 | 14 | 8 | 20 | 56 | 72 | 0.778 | 36 | |
| 19 | Sunderland | 42 | 14 | 8 | 20 | 51 | 72 | 0.708 | 36 | |
| 20 | Fulham | 42 | 14 | 7 | 21 | 67 | 85 | 0.788 | 35 | |
| 21 | Northampton Town (R) | 42 | 10 | 13 | 19 | 55 | 92 | 0.598 | 33 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 22 | Blackburn Rovers (R) | 42 | 8 | 4 | 30 | 57 | 88 | 0.648 | 20 | Relegation to the Second Division |
* ↑ Everton qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup as the 1965–66 FA Cup winners.

## FA Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 22 January 1966 | Round 3 | Derby County | A | 5–2 | Best (2), Law (2), Herd | 33,827 |
| 12 February 1966 | Round 4 | Rotherham United | H | 0–0 | | 54,263 |
| 15 February 1966 | Round 4 Replay | Rotherham United | A | 1–0 | Connelly | 23,500 |
| 5 March 1966 | Round 5 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 4–2 | Law (2), Best, Herd | 53,500 |
| 26 March 1966 | Round 6 | Preston North End | A | 1–1 | Herd | 37,876 |
| 30 March 1966 | Round 6 Replay | Preston North End | H | 3–1 | Law (2), Connelly | 60,433 |
| 23 April 1966 | Semi-final | Everton | N | 0–1 | | 60,000 |

## European Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 22 September 1965 | Preliminary round First leg | HJK Helsinki | A | 3–2 | Connelly, Herd, Law | 25,000 |
| 6 October 1965 | Preliminary round Second leg | HJK Helsinki | H | 6–0 | Connelly (3), Best (2), Charlton | 30,388 |
| 17 November 1965 | Round 1 First leg | Vorwärts Berlin | A | 2–0 | Connelly, Law | 40,000 |
| 1 December 1965 | Round 1 Second leg | Vorwärts Berlin | H | 3–1 | Herd (3) | 30,082 |
| 2 February 1966 | Quarter-final First leg | Benfica | H | 3–2 | Foulkes, Herd, Law | 64,035 |
| 9 March 1966 | Quarter-final Second leg | Benfica | A | 5–1 | Best (2), Charlton, Connelly, Crerand | 75,000 |
| 13 April 1966 | Semi-final First leg | Partizan | A | 0–2 | | 60,000 |
| 20 April 1966 | Semi-final Second leg | Partizan | H | 1–0 | Stiles | 62,500 |

## Squad statistics

| Pos. | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | European Cup | European Cup | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| GK | Pat Dunne | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| GK | David Gaskell | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| GK | Harry Gregg | 26 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 0 |
| FB | Shay Brennan | 28 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 0 |
| FB | Noel Cantwell | 23 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 2 |
| FB | Tony Dunne | 40 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 56 | 0 |
| FB | Bobby Noble | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| HB | Paddy Crerand | 41 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 56 | 1 |
| HB | John Fitzpatrick | 3(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4(1) | 0 |
| HB | Bill Foulkes | 33 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 1 |
| HB | Nobby Stiles | 39 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 55 | 3 |
| FW | Willie Anderson | 5(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7(1) | 0 |
| FW | John Aston, Jr. | 23 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 4 |
| FW | George Best | 31 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 43 | 17 |
| FW | Bobby Charlton | 38 | 16 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 54 | 18 |
| FW | John Connelly | 31(1) | 5 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 45(1) | 13 |
| FW | David Herd | 36(1) | 24 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 51(1) | 33 |
| FW | Denis Law | 33 | 15 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 49 | 24 |
| FW | Jimmy Ryan | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| FW | David Sadler | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 4 |