# 1970–71 Manchester United F.C. season

The 1970–71 season was Manchester United's 69th season in the Football League, and their 26th consecutive season in the top division of English football. In a pre-season competition United participated in the Watney Cup, which was contested by the teams that had scored the most goals in each of the four divisions of the Football League the previous season who had not been promoted or admitted to one of the European competitions.
On 29 December 1970, United manager Wilf McGuinness who struggled in his new post was replaced with Matt Busby who returned as United manager until the end of the season, guiding the club to an eighth-place finish in the league. Following speculation that the Celtic manager Jock Stein would take over during the close season of 1971, Leicester City manager Frank O'Farrell was given the United job.
United's best chance of success came in the League Cup, but they were beaten by Third Division side Aston Villa in the semi-finals.

## Watney Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 1 August 1970 | Round 1 | Reading | A | 3–2 | Charlton (2), P. Edwards | 18,348 |
| 5 August 1970 | Semi-final | Hull City | A | 1–1 (a.e.t., 4–3 p.) | Law | 34,007 |
| 8 August 1970 | Final | Derby County | A | 1–4 | Best | 32,049 |

## First Division

| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 15 August 1970 | Leeds United | H | 0–1 | | 59,523 |
| 19 August 1970 | Chelsea | H | 0–0 | | 51,079 |
| 22 August 1970 | Arsenal | A | 0–4 | | 54,137 |
| 25 August 1970 | Burnley | A | 2–0 | Law (2) | 29,442 |
| 29 August 1970 | West Ham United | H | 1–1 | Fitzpatrick | 50,959 |
| 2 September 1970 | Everton | H | 2–0 | Best, Charlton | 51,220 |
| 5 September 1970 | Liverpool | A | 1–1 | Kidd | 52,542 |
| 12 September 1970 | Coventry City | H | 2–0 | Best, Charlton | 48,912 |
| 19 September 1970 | Ipswich Town | A | 0–4 | | 27,776 |
| 26 September 1970 | Blackpool | H | 1–1 | Best | 46,647 |
| 3 October 1970 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 2–3 | Gowling, Kidd | 38,629 |
| 10 October 1970 | Crystal Palace | H | 0–1 | | 42,969 |
| 17 October 1970 | Leeds United | A | 2–2 | Charlton, Fitzpatrick | 50,169 |
| 24 October 1970 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 2–1 | Kidd, Law | 43,278 |
| 31 October 1970 | Newcastle United | A | 0–1 | | 45,195 |
| 7 November 1970 | Stoke City | H | 2–2 | Law, Sadler | 47,553 |
| 14 November 1970 | Nottingham Forest | A | 2–1 | Gowling, Sartori | 36,384 |
| 21 November 1970 | Southampton | A | 0–1 | | 30,202 |
| 28 November 1970 | Huddersfield Town | H | 1–1 | Best | 45,306 |
| 5 December 1970 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 2–2 | Best, Law | 55,693 |
| 12 December 1970 | Manchester City | H | 1–4 | Kidd | 52,686 |
| 19 December 1970 | Arsenal | H | 1–3 | Sartori | 33,182 |
| 26 December 1970 | Derby County | A | 4–4 | Law (2), Best, Kidd | 34,068 |
| 9 January 1971 | Chelsea | A | 2–1 | Gowling, Morgan | 53,482 |
| 16 January 1971 | Burnley | H | 1–1 | Aston | 40,135 |
| 30 January 1971 | Huddersfield Town | A | 2–1 | Aston, Law | 41,464 |
| 6 February 1971 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 2–1 | Best, Morgan | 48,965 |
| 20 February 1971 | Southampton | H | 5–1 | Gowling (4), Morgan | 36,060 |
| 23 February 1971 | Everton | A | 0–1 | | 52,544 |
| 27 February 1971 | Newcastle United | H | 1–0 | Kidd | 41,902 |
| 6 March 1971 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 3–4 | Aston, Best, Kidd | 41,112 |
| 13 March 1971 | Nottingham Forest | H | 2–0 | Best, Law | 40,473 |
| 20 March 1971 | Stoke City | A | 2–1 | Best (2) | 40,005 |
| 3 April 1971 | West Ham United | A | 1–2 | Best | 38,507 |
| 10 April 1971 | Derby County | H | 1–2 | Law | 45,691 |
| 12 April 1971 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 1–0 | Gowling | 41,766 |
| 13 April 1971 | Coventry City | A | 1–2 | Best | 33,849 |
| 17 April 1971 | Crystal Palace | A | 5–3 | Law (3), Best (2) | 39,146 |
| 19 April 1971 | Liverpool | H | 0–2 | | 44,004 |
| 24 April 1971 | Ipswich Town | H | 3–2 | Charlton, Best, Kidd | 33,566 |
| 1 May 1971 | Blackpool | A | 1–1 | Law | 29,857 |
| 5 May 1971 | Manchester City | A | 4–3 | Best (2), Charlton, Law | 43,626 |
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 6 | Chelsea | 42 | 18 | 15 | 9 | 52 | 42 | 1.238 | 51 | Qualification for the European Cup Winners' Cup first round |
| 7 | Southampton | 42 | 17 | 12 | 13 | 56 | 44 | 1.273 | 46 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 8 | Manchester United | 42 | 16 | 11 | 15 | 65 | 66 | 0.985 | 43 | Qualification for the Watney Cup |
| 9 | Derby County | 42 | 16 | 10 | 16 | 56 | 54 | 1.037 | 42 | |
| 10 | Coventry City | 42 | 16 | 10 | 16 | 37 | 38 | 0.974 | 42 | |
* ↑ Chelsea qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup as the 1970-71 European Cup Winners' Cup winners.
* ↑ Manchester United and West Bromwich Albion qualified for the Watney Cup as the two teams with the most goals that hadn't already qualified for a European competition.

## FA Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 2 January 1971 | Round 3 | Middlesbrough | H | 0–0 | | 47,924 |
| 5 January 1971 | Round 3 Replay | Middlesbrough | A | 1–2 | Best | 41,000 |

## League Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 9 September 1970 | Round 2 | Aldershot | A | 3–1 | Best, Kidd, Law | 18,509 |
| 7 October 1970 | Round 3 | Portsmouth | H | 1–0 | Charlton | 32,068 |
| 28 October 1970 | Round 4 | Chelsea | H | 2–1 | Charlton, Best | 47,565 |
| 18 November 1970 | Round 5 | Crystal Palace | H | 4–2 | Fitzpatrick, Kidd (2), Charlton | 48,961 |
| 16 December 1970 | Semi-final First leg | Aston Villa | H | 1–1 | Kidd | 48,889 |
| 23 December 1970 | Semi-final Second leg | Aston Villa | A | 1–2 | Kidd | 63,000 |

## Squad statistics

| Pos. | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Total | Total |
| Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| GK | Jimmy Rimmer | 20 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 28 | 0 |
| GK | Alex Stepney | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 0 |
| DF | Francis Burns | 16(4) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 17(5) | 0 |
| DF | Ian Donald | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| DF | Tony Dunne | 35 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 42 | 0 |
| DF | Paul Edwards | 29(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 32(1) | 0 |
| DF | Steve James | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3(1) | 0 | 16(1) | 0 |
| DF | Tommy O'Neil | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| DF | David Sadler | 32 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 39 | 1 |
| DF | Ian Ure | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 0 |
| DF | Willie Watson | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| DF | Tony Young | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 |
| MF | John Aston, Jr. | 19(1) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3(1) | 0 | 22(2) | 3 |
| MF | George Best | 40 | 18 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 48 | 21 |
| MF | Bobby Charlton | 42 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 50 | 8 |
| MF | Paddy Crerand | 24 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 0 |
| MF | John Fitzpatrick | 35 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 43 | 3 |
| MF | Willie Morgan | 25 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 29 | 3 |
| MF | Carlo Sartori | 2(5) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3(5) | 2 |
| MF | Nobby Stiles | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 19 | 0 |
| FW | Alan Gowling | 17(3) | 8 | 0(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 18(4) | 8 |
| FW | Brian Kidd | 24(1) | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 32(1) | 13 |
| FW | Denis Law | 28 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 34 | 16 |
| – | Own goals | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 |