# 1976–77 Manchester United F.C. 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. 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.

## 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 |
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 4 | Aston Villa | 42 | 22 | 7 | 13 | 76 | 50 | +26 | 51 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 5 | Newcastle United | 42 | 18 | 13 | 11 | 64 | 49 | +15 | 49 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 6 | Manchester United | 42 | 18 | 11 | 13 | 71 | 62 | +9 | 47 | Qualification for the European Cup Winners' Cup first round |
| 7 | West Bromwich Albion | 42 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 62 | 56 | +6 | 45 | |
| 8 | Arsenal | 42 | 16 | 11 | 15 | 64 | 59 | +5 | 43 | |
* ↑ 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

| Pos. | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | UEFA Cup | UEFA Cup | Total | Total |
| Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| GK | Paddy Roche | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| GK | Alex Stepney | 40 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 57 | 0 |
| DF | Arthur Albiston | 14(3) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2(2) | 0 | 2(1) | 0 | 19(6) | 0 |
| DF | Martin Buchan | 33 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 46 | 0 |
| DF | Alex Forsyth | 3(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4(1) | 0 |
| DF | Brian Greenhoff | 40 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 57 | 5 |
| DF | Stewart Houston | 36 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 51 | 5 |
| DF | Jimmy Nicholl | 39 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 55 | 1 |
| DF | Steve Paterson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0(2) | 0 | 3(2) | 0 |
| DF | Colin Waldron | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| MF | Jonathan Clark | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 |
| MF | Steve Coppell | 40 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 56 | 8 |
| MF | Gerry Daly | 16(1) | 4 | 0(1) | 0 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 26(2) | 7 |
| MF | Tommy Jackson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| MF | David McCreery | 9(16) | 2 | 0(3) | 0 | 3(2) | 0 | 1(3) | 0 | 13(24) | 2 |
| MF | Chris McGrath | 2(4) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2(5) | 0 |
| MF | Sammy McIlroy | 39(1) | 2 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 56(1) | 3 |
| FW | Alan Foggon | 0(3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(3) | 0 |
| FW | Jimmy Greenhoff | 27 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 12 |
| FW | Gordon Hill | 38(1) | 15 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 55(1) | 22 |
| FW | Lou Macari | 38 | 9 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 53 | 14 |
| FW | Stuart Pearson | 39 | 15 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 53 | 19 |
| – | Own goals | – | 4 | – | 0 | – | 1 | – | 0 | – | 5 |