# 1985–86 Manchester United F.C. season

The 1985–86 season was Manchester United's 84th season in the Football League, and their 11th consecutive season in the top division of English football.
Despite having won the FA Cup the previous season, the team was unable to compete in the 1985–86 European Cup Winners' Cup due to the five-year ban on English clubs competing in European competitions that was imposed following the Heysel Stadium disaster at the 1985 European Cup Final. Instead, the clubs who would have qualified for Europe all competed in the Football League Super Cup.
With no European action to distract them, they got off to a 10-match winning start in the league. They were unbeaten from their first 15 games with 41 points as at 2 November with 13 wins and 2 draws. The size of their lead at that point helped them stay top of the league until the beginning of February, despite taking only 35 points from their last 27 games and finishing fourth in the league on 76 points, 12 points behind champions Liverpool. There was no success in the cup competitions to fall back on, leading to doubts about the future of Ron Atkinson as manager. He had completed five seasons as manager without them finishing outside the top four and had won two FA Cups, but the wait for a league title was now entering its 20th season.
Media reports linked two managers with a move to Old Trafford: Terry Venables, who had just rejected an offer to return to England from Barcelona to take charge at Arsenal; and Alex Ferguson, whose Aberdeen side had broken the Old Firm dominance of Celtic and Rangers in recent seasons. Despite this speculation, Atkinson remained in charge of United into the following season, but the pressure on him to deliver success to the club remained intense.
The ban on English clubs in European competitions was extended to a second season, meaning that United would not be able to compete in the 1986–87 UEFA Cup.
Mark Hughes was once again United's top scorer, scoring 17 goals in the league and 18 in all competitions. However, he was less prolific during the second half of the season after scoring 11 times before Christmas, and on 21 March 1986 it was announced that he would be leaving United at the end of the season to sign for FC Barcelona of Spain in a £2million deal. United had already signed Nottingham Forest striker Peter Davenport as his successor. United had signed another striker, Terry Gibson from Coventry City, just after the turn of the new year.
United's title challenge was also not helped by the fact that captain Bryan Robson was only available for half of the club's league games this season due to injuries.

## FA Charity Shield

| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 10 August 1985 | Everton | N | 0–2 | | 82,000 |

## First Division

| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance | League position |
| 17 August 1985 | Aston Villa | H | 4–0 | Whiteside 48', Hughes (2) 50', 75', Olsen 84' | 49,743 | 1st |
| 20 August 1985 | Ipswich Town | A | 1–0 | Robson 63' | 18,777 | 1st |
| 24 August 1985 | Arsenal | A | 2–1 | Hughes 20', McGrath 65' | 37,145 | 1st |
| 26 August 1985 | West Ham United | H | 2–0 | Strachan 47', Hughes 55' | 50,773 | 1st |
| 31 August 1985 | Nottingham Forest | A | 3–1 | Hughes 2', Barnes 5', Stapleton 41' | 26,274 | 1st |
| 4 September 1985 | Newcastle United | H | 3–0 | Stapleton (2) 5', 11', Hughes 62' | 51,102 | 1st |
| 7 September 1985 | Oxford United | H | 3–0 | Whiteside 29', Robson 44', Barnes 72' | 51,820 | 1st |
| 14 September 1985 | Manchester City | A | 3–0 | Robson (pen.) 8', Albiston 19', Duxbury 73' | 48,773 | 1st |
| 21 September 1985 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 5–1 | Brazil (2) 6', 80', Strachan 22', Blackmore 71', Stapleton 73' | 25,068 | 1st |
| 28 September 1985 | Southampton | H | 1–0 | Hughes 75' | 52,449 | 1st |
| 5 October 1985 | Luton Town | A | 1–1 | Hughes 61' | 17,454 | 1st |
| 12 October 1985 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 2–0 | Hughes 31', Olsen 52' | 48,845 | 1st |
| 19 October 1985 | Liverpool | H | 1–1 | McGrath 65' | 54,492 | 1st |
| 26 October 1985 | Chelsea | A | 2–1 | Olsen 41', Hughes 76' | 42,485 | 1st |
| 2 November 1985 | Coventry City | H | 2–0 | Olsen (2) 18', 41' | 46,748 | 1st |
| 9 November 1985 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 0–1 | | 48,105 | 1st |
| 16 November 1985 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 0–0 | | 54,575 | 1st |
| 23 November 1985 | Leicester City | A | 0–3 | | 22,008 | 1st |
| 30 November 1985 | Watford | H | 1–1 | Brazil 68' | 42,181 | 1st |
| 7 December 1985 | Ipswich Town | H | 1–0 | Stapleton 30' | 37,981 | 1st |
| 14 December 1985 | Aston Villa | A | 3–1 | Blackmore 19', Strachan 67', Hughes 71' | 27,626 | 1st |
| 21 December 1985 | Arsenal | H | 0–1 | | 44,386 | 1st |
| 26 December 1985 | Everton | A | 1–3 | Stapleton 14' | 42,551 | 1st |
| 1 January 1986 | Birmingham City | H | 1–0 | C. Gibson 50' | 43,095 | 1st |
| 11 January 1986 | Oxford United | A | 3–1 | Whiteside 11', Hughes 74', C. Gibson 83' | 13,280 | 1st |
| 18 January 1986 | Nottingham Forest | H | 2–3 | Olsen (2) 46' (pen.), 67' | 46,717 | 1st |
| 2 February 1986 | West Ham United | A | 1–2 | Robson 26' | 22,642 | 2nd |
| 9 February 1986 | Liverpool | A | 1–1 | C. Gibson 15' | 35,064 | 2nd |
| 22 February 1986 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 3–0 | Olsen (3) 26' (pen.), 53' (pen.), 70' | 45,193 | 2nd |
| 1 March 1986 | Southampton | A | 0–1 | | 19,012 | 2nd |
| 15 March 1986 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 0–1 | | 23,407 | 3rd |
| 19 March 1986 | Luton Town | H | 2–0 | Hughes 37', McGrath 76' | 33,668 | 3rd |
| 22 March 1986 | Manchester City | H | 2–2 | C. Gibson 2', Strachan (pen.) 58' | 51,274 | 3rd |
| 29 March 1986 | Birmingham City | A | 1–1 | Robson 84' | 22,551 | 3rd |
| 31 March 1986 | Everton | H | 0–0 | | 51,189 | 3rd |
| 5 April 1986 | Coventry City | A | 3–1 | C. Gibson 13', Robson 28', Strachan 82' | 17,160 | 3rd |
| 9 April 1986 | Chelsea | H | 1–2 | Olsen (pen.) 68' | 45,355 | 3rd |
| 13 April 1986 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 0–2 | | 32,331 | 3rd |
| 16 April 1986 | Newcastle United | A | 4–2 | Robson (pen.) 2', Hughes (2) 17', 44', Whiteside 50' | 31,840 | 3rd |
| 19 April 1986 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 0–0 | | 32,357 | 3rd |
| 26 April 1986 | Leicester City | H | 4–0 | Stapleton 17', Hughes 83', Blackmore 85', Davenport (pen.) 87' | 38,840 | 3rd |
| 3 May 1986 | Watford | A | 1–1 | Hughes 26' | 18,414 | 4th |
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 2 | Everton | 42 | 26 | 8 | 8 | 87 | 41 | +46 | 86 | Disqualified from the European Cup Winners' Cup |
| 3 | West Ham United | 42 | 26 | 6 | 10 | 74 | 40 | +34 | 84 | Disqualified from the UEFA Cup |
| 4 | Manchester United | 42 | 22 | 10 | 10 | 70 | 36 | +34 | 76 | Disqualified from the UEFA Cup |
| 5 | Sheffield Wednesday | 42 | 21 | 10 | 11 | 63 | 54 | +9 | 73 | Disqualified from the UEFA Cup |
| 6 | Chelsea | 42 | 20 | 11 | 11 | 57 | 56 | +1 | 71 | |
* ↑ Since the FA Cup winners, Liverpool, would have instead qualified for the European Cup, qualification would have instead been passed down to runners-up Everton.
* ↑ Since Everton would have instead qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup, UEFA Cup qualification would have been passed down to Sheffield Wednesday.

## FA Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 9 January 1986 | Round 3 | Rochdale | H | 2–0 | Stapleton 15', Hughes 68' | 40,223 |
| 25 January 1986 | Round 4 | Sunderland | A | 0–0 | | 35,484 |
| 29 January 1986 | Round 4 Replay | Sunderland | H | 3–0 | Whiteside 28', Olsen (2) 38', 54' (pen.) | 43,402 |
| 5 March 1986 | Round 5 | West Ham United | A | 1–1 | Stapleton 73' | 26,441 |
| 9 March 1986 | Round 5 Replay | West Ham United | H | 0–2 | | 30,441 |

## Football League Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 24 September 1985 | Round 2 First leg | Crystal Palace | A | 1–0 | Barnes 59' | 21,507 |
| 9 October 1985 | Round 2 Second leg | Crystal Palace | H | 1–0 | Whiteside 38' | 26,118 |
| 29 October 1985 | Round 3 | West Ham United | H | 1–0 | Whiteside 77' | 32,056 |
| 26 November 1985 | Round 4 | Liverpool | A | 1–2 | McGrath 7' | 41,291 |

## Football League Super Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 18 September 1985 | Group stage | Everton | H | 2–4 | Robson (pen.) 45', Stapleton 61' | 33,859 |
| 6 November 1985 | Group stage | Norwich City | H | 1–1 | Whiteside (pen.) | 20,130 |
| 4 December 1985 | Group stage | Everton | A | 0–1 | | 20,542 |
| 11 December 1985 | Group stage | Norwich City | A | 1–1 | C. Gibson | 15,449 |
Group 1 :
| Pos. | Team | Pld. | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts. |
| 1 | Everton | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 9 |
| 2 | Norwich City | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 5 |
| 3 | Manchester United | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 7 | –3 | 2 |
Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

## Squad statistics

| Pos. | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| GK | Gary Bailey | 25 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 34 | 0 |
| GK | Chris Turner | 17 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 0 |
| DF | Arthur Albiston | 37 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 48 | 1 |
| DF | Clayton Blackmore | 12 | 3 | 2(2) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 20(2) | 3 |
| DF | Mike Duxbury | 21(2) | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 29(2) | 1 |
| DF | Billy Garton | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| DF | John Gidman | 24 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 30 | 0 |
| DF | Mark Higgins | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| DF | Graeme Hogg | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 21 | 0 |
| DF | Paul McGrath | 40 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 53 | 4 |
| DF | John Sivebæk | 2(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2(1) | 0 |
| MF | Mark Dempsey | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 2(1) | 0 |
| MF | Colin Gibson | 18 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 24 | 6 |
| MF | Kevin Moran | 18(1) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 26(1) | 0 |
| MF | Remi Moses | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 4(1) | 0 |
| MF | Jesper Olsen | 25(3) | 11 | 3(2) | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 34(5) | 13 |
| MF | Bryan Robson | 21 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 28 | 8 |
| MF | Gordon Strachan | 27(1) | 5 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3(1) | 0 | 36(2) | 5 |
| MF | Norman Whiteside | 37 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 51 | 8 |
| FW | Peter Barnes | 12(1) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 17(1) | 3 |
| FW | Alan Brazil | 1(10) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2(2) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6(12) | 3 |
| FW | Peter Davenport | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 |
| FW | Terry Gibson | 2(5) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2(5) | 0 |
| FW | Mark Hughes | 40 | 17 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 49 | 18 |
| FW | Frank Stapleton | 34(7) | 7 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 47(7) | 10 |
| FW | Nicky Wood | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 |