# 1980–81 Manchester United F.C. season

The 1980–81 season was Manchester United's 79th season in the Football League, and their 6th consecutive season in the top division of English football. It was the last of their four seasons under the management of Dave Sexton, who was sacked after the end of the season after failing to win the club a major trophy. The likes of Lawrie McMenemy, Brian Clough, Bobby Robson and Ron Saunders were all linked with the job, before Sexton was succeeded by West Bromwich Albion manager Ron Atkinson.
The club also paid a club record of more than £1 million for Nottingham Forest striker Garry Birtles, but the player was a huge disappointment and ended the season with just one goal from 28 appearances. The club's top scorer was Joe Jordan, who found the back of the net 15 times.
United were indeed one of the hardest teams to beat in the First Division this season, losing just nine out of 42 games and winning their final seven, but they were also held to a draw on 18 occasions. This restricted them to eighth-place finish - not even enough for a UEFA Cup place.

## First Division

| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 16 August 1980 | Middlesbrough | H | 3–0 | Macari, Grimes, Thomas | 54,394 |
| 19 August 1980 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 0–1 | | 31,955 |
| 23 August 1980 | Birmingham City | A | 0–0 | | 28,661 |
| 30 August 1980 | Sunderland | H | 1–1 | Jovanović | 51,498 |
| 6 September 1980 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 0–0 | | 40,995 |
| 13 September 1980 | Leicester City | H | 5–0 | Coppell, Grimes, Jovanović (2), Macari | 43,229 |
| 20 September 1980 | Leeds United | A | 0–0 | | 32,539 |
| 27 September 1980 | Manchester City | H | 2–2 | Coppell, Albiston | 55,918 |
| 4 October 1980 | Nottingham Forest | A | 2–1 | Macari, Coppell | 29,801 |
| 8 October 1980 | Aston Villa | H | 3–3 | McIlroy (2; 1 pen.), Coppell | 38,831 |
| 11 October 1980 | Arsenal | H | 0–0 | | 49,036 |
| 18 October 1980 | Ipswich Town | A | 1–1 | McIlroy (pen.) | 28,572 |
| 22 October 1980 | Stoke City | A | 2–1 | Jordan, Macari | 24,534 |
| 25 October 1980 | Everton | H | 2–0 | Jordan, Coppell | 54,260 |
| 1 November 1980 | Crystal Palace | A | 0–1 | | 31,449 |
| 8 November 1980 | Coventry City | H | 0–0 | | 42,794 |
| 12 November 1980 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 0–0 | | 37,959 |
| 15 November 1980 | Middlesbrough | A | 1–1 | Jordan | 20,606 |
| 22 November 1980 | Brighton & Hove Albion | A | 4–1 | Jordan (2), McIlroy, Duxbury | 23,923 |
| 29 November 1980 | Southampton | H | 1–1 | Jordan | 47,783 |
| 6 December 1980 | Norwich City | A | 2–2 | Bond (o.g.), Coppell | 18,780 |
| 13 December 1980 | Stoke City | H | 2–2 | Macari, Jordan | 39,568 |
| 20 December 1980 | Arsenal | A | 1–2 | Macari | 33,730 |
| 26 December 1980 | Liverpool | H | 0–0 | | 57,049 |
| 27 December 1980 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 1–3 | Jovanović | 38,615 |
| 10 January 1981 | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | 2–1 | McQueen, Macari | 42,208 |
| 28 January 1981 | Sunderland | A | 0–2 | | 31,910 |
| 31 January 1981 | Birmingham City | H | 2–0 | Jordan, Macari | 39,081 |
| 7 February 1981 | Leicester City | A | 0–1 | | 26,085 |
| 17 February 1981 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 0–0 | | 40,642 |
| 21 February 1981 | Manchester City | A | 0–1 | | 50,114 |
| 28 February 1981 | Leeds United | H | 0–1 | | 45,733 |
| 7 March 1981 | Southampton | A | 0–1 | | 22,698 |
| 14 March 1981 | Aston Villa | A | 3–3 | Jordan (2), McIlroy (pen.) | 42,182 |
| 18 March 1981 | Nottingham Forest | H | 1–1 | Burns (o.g.) | 38,205 |
| 21 March 1981 | Ipswich Town | H | 2–1 | Thomas, Nicholl | 46,685 |
| 28 March 1981 | Everton | A | 1–0 | Jordan | 25,856 |
| 4 April 1981 | Crystal Palace | H | 1–0 | Duxbury | 37,954 |
| 11 April 1981 | Coventry City | A | 2–0 | Jordan (2) | 20,201 |
| 14 April 1981 | Liverpool | A | 1–0 | McQueen | 31,276 |
| 18 April 1981 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 2–1 | Jordan, Macari | 44,442 |
| 25 April 1981 | Norwich City | H | 1–0 | Jordan | 40,165 |
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 6 | Southampton | 42 | 20 | 10 | 12 | 76 | 56 | +20 | 50 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 7 | Nottingham Forest | 42 | 19 | 12 | 11 | 62 | 44 | +18 | 50 | |
| 8 | Manchester United | 42 | 15 | 18 | 9 | 51 | 36 | +15 | 48 | |
| 9 | Leeds United | 42 | 17 | 10 | 15 | 39 | 47 | −8 | 44 | |
| 10 | Tottenham Hotspur | 42 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 70 | 68 | +2 | 43 | Qualification for the European Cup Winners' Cup first round |
* ↑ Tottenham Hotspur qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup first round as the 1980–81 FA Cup winners.

## FA Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 3 January 1981 | Round 3 | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | 2–2 | Duxbury, Thomas | 42,199 |
| 7 January 1981 | Round 3 Replay | Brighton & Hove Albion | A | 2–0 | Nicholl, Birtles | 26,915 |
| 24 January 1981 | Round 4 | Nottingham Forest | A | 0–1 | | 34,110 |

## League Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 27 August 1980 | Round 2 First leg | Coventry City | H | 0–1 | | 31,656 |
| 2 September 1980 | Round 2 Second leg | Coventry City | A | 0–1 | | 18,946 |

## UEFA Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 17 September 1980 | Round 1 First leg | Widzew Łódź | H | 1–1 | McIlroy | 38,037 |
| 1 October 1980 | Round 1 Second leg | Widzew Łódź | A | 0–0 | | 40,000 |

## 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 | Gary Bailey | 40 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 47 | 0 |
| GK | Paddy Roche | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| DF | Arthur Albiston | 42 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 49 | 1 |
| DF | Martin Buchan | 26 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 32 | 0 |
| DF | Mike Duxbury | 27(6) | 2 | 0(2) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 28(9) | 3 |
| DF | Nikola Jovanović | 19 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 24 | 4 |
| DF | Gordon McQueen | 11 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 2 |
| DF | Kevin Moran | 32 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 33(1) | 0 |
| DF | Jimmy Nicholl | 36 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 43 | 2 |
| DF | Anthony Whelan | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 |
| MF | Steve Coppell | 42 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 49 | 6 |
| MF | Ashley Grimes | 6(2) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8(2) | 2 |
| MF | Lou Macari | 37(1) | 9 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 43(1) | 9 |
| MF | Chris McGrath | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| MF | Sammy McIlroy | 31(1) | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 36(1) | 6 |
| MF | Tom Sloan | 0(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(3) | 0 |
| MF | Mickey Thomas | 30 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 37 | 3 |
| MF | Ray Wilkins | 11(2) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13(2) | 0 |
| FW | Garry Birtles | 25 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 1 |
| FW | Jimmy Greenhoff | 8(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11(1) | 0 |
| FW | Joe Jordan | 33 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 37 | 15 |
| FW | Scott McGarvey | 0(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(2) | 0 |
| FW | Andy Ritchie | 3(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5(1) | 0 |