# 1951–52 in English football

The 1951–52 season was the 72nd season of competitive football in England.

## Overview

Four years after guiding them to glory in the FA Cup, Matt Busby guided Manchester United to their first league title triumph in 41 years. While still captained by Johnny Carey and featuring several other players from the 1948 FA Cup winning team, Busby was now giving regular action to young players including Roger Byrne, Johnny Berry and Jackie Blanchflower, and had already invested in the future by making a move for the young goalkeeper Ray Wood.
Tottenham Hotspur, the previous season's champions, had to settle for second place this season.
Newcastle United retained the FA Cup, the centrepiece of their team being the forward line-up of Jackie Milburn and the Chilean brothers George and Ted Robledo.

## Honours

| Competition | Winner | Runner-up |
| First Division | Manchester United (3) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| Second Division | Sheffield Wednesday | Cardiff City |
| Third Division North | Lincoln City | Grimsby Town |
| Third Division South | Plymouth Argyle | Reading |
| FA Cup | Newcastle United (5) | Arsenal |
| Charity Shield | Tottenham Hotspur | Newcastle United |
| Home Championship | Shared by England & Wales | Shared by England & Wales |
Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour. * indicates new record for competition

## Football League
### First Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Manchester United | 42 | 23 | 11 | 8 | 95 | 52 | 1.827 | 57 | |
| 2 | Tottenham Hotspur | 42 | 22 | 9 | 11 | 76 | 51 | 1.490 | 53 | |
| 3 | Arsenal | 42 | 21 | 11 | 10 | 80 | 61 | 1.311 | 53 | |
| 4 | Portsmouth | 42 | 20 | 8 | 14 | 68 | 58 | 1.172 | 48 | |
| 5 | Bolton Wanderers | 42 | 19 | 10 | 13 | 65 | 61 | 1.066 | 48 | |
| 6 | Aston Villa | 42 | 19 | 9 | 14 | 79 | 70 | 1.129 | 47 | |
| 7 | Preston North End | 42 | 17 | 12 | 13 | 74 | 54 | 1.370 | 46 | |
| 8 | Newcastle United | 42 | 18 | 9 | 15 | 98 | 73 | 1.342 | 45 | |
| 9 | Blackpool | 42 | 18 | 9 | 15 | 64 | 64 | 1.000 | 45 | |
| 10 | Charlton Athletic | 42 | 17 | 10 | 15 | 68 | 63 | 1.079 | 44 | |
| 11 | Liverpool | 42 | 12 | 19 | 11 | 57 | 61 | 0.934 | 43 | |
| 12 | Sunderland | 42 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 70 | 61 | 1.148 | 42 | |
| 13 | West Bromwich Albion | 42 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 74 | 77 | 0.961 | 41 | |
| 14 | Burnley | 42 | 15 | 10 | 17 | 56 | 63 | 0.889 | 40 | |
| 15 | Manchester City | 42 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 58 | 61 | 0.951 | 39 | |
| 16 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 42 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 73 | 73 | 1.000 | 38 | |
| 17 | Derby County | 42 | 15 | 7 | 20 | 63 | 80 | 0.788 | 37 | |
| 18 | Middlesbrough | 42 | 15 | 6 | 21 | 64 | 88 | 0.727 | 36 | |
| 19 | Chelsea | 42 | 14 | 8 | 20 | 52 | 72 | 0.722 | 36 | |
| 20 | Stoke City | 42 | 12 | 7 | 23 | 49 | 88 | 0.557 | 31 | |
| 21 | Huddersfield Town | 42 | 10 | 8 | 24 | 49 | 82 | 0.598 | 28 | Relegated to the Second Division |
| 22 | Fulham | 42 | 8 | 11 | 23 | 58 | 77 | 0.753 | 27 | Relegated to the Second Division |

### Second Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Sheffield Wednesday | 42 | 21 | 11 | 10 | 100 | 66 | 1.515 | 53 | Promoted to the First Division |
| 2 | Cardiff City | 42 | 20 | 11 | 11 | 72 | 54 | 1.333 | 51 | Promoted to the First Division |
| 3 | Birmingham City | 42 | 21 | 9 | 12 | 67 | 56 | 1.196 | 51 | |
| 4 | Nottingham Forest | 42 | 18 | 13 | 11 | 77 | 62 | 1.242 | 49 | |
| 5 | Leicester City | 42 | 19 | 9 | 14 | 78 | 64 | 1.219 | 47 | |
| 6 | Leeds United | 42 | 18 | 11 | 13 | 59 | 57 | 1.035 | 47 | |
| 7 | Everton | 42 | 17 | 10 | 15 | 64 | 58 | 1.103 | 44 | |
| 8 | Luton Town | 42 | 16 | 12 | 14 | 77 | 78 | 0.987 | 44 | |
| 9 | Rotherham United | 42 | 17 | 8 | 17 | 73 | 71 | 1.028 | 42 | |
| 10 | Brentford | 42 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 54 | 55 | 0.982 | 42 | |
| 11 | Sheffield United | 42 | 18 | 5 | 19 | 90 | 76 | 1.184 | 41 | |
| 12 | West Ham United | 42 | 15 | 11 | 16 | 67 | 77 | 0.870 | 41 | |
| 13 | Southampton | 42 | 15 | 11 | 16 | 61 | 73 | 0.836 | 41 | |
| 14 | Blackburn Rovers | 42 | 17 | 6 | 19 | 54 | 63 | 0.857 | 40 | |
| 15 | Notts County | 42 | 16 | 7 | 19 | 71 | 68 | 1.044 | 39 | |
| 16 | Doncaster Rovers | 42 | 13 | 12 | 17 | 55 | 60 | 0.917 | 38 | |
| 17 | Bury | 42 | 15 | 7 | 20 | 67 | 69 | 0.971 | 37 | |
| 18 | Hull City | 42 | 13 | 11 | 18 | 60 | 70 | 0.857 | 37 | |
| 19 | Swansea Town | 42 | 12 | 12 | 18 | 72 | 76 | 0.947 | 36 | |
| 20 | Barnsley | 42 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 59 | 72 | 0.819 | 36 | |
| 21 | Coventry City | 42 | 14 | 6 | 22 | 59 | 82 | 0.720 | 34 | Relegated to the Third Division South |
| 22 | Queens Park Rangers | 42 | 11 | 12 | 19 | 52 | 81 | 0.642 | 34 | Relegated to the Third Division South |

### Third Division North

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Lincoln City | 46 | 30 | 9 | 7 | 121 | 52 | 2.327 | 69 | Promoted to the Second Division |
| 2 | Grimsby Town | 46 | 29 | 8 | 9 | 96 | 45 | 2.133 | 66 | |
| 3 | Stockport County | 46 | 23 | 13 | 10 | 74 | 40 | 1.850 | 59 | |
| 4 | Oldham Athletic | 46 | 24 | 9 | 13 | 90 | 61 | 1.475 | 57 | |
| 5 | Gateshead | 46 | 21 | 11 | 14 | 66 | 49 | 1.347 | 53 | |
| 6 | Mansfield Town | 46 | 22 | 8 | 16 | 73 | 60 | 1.217 | 52 | |
| 7 | Carlisle United | 46 | 19 | 13 | 14 | 62 | 57 | 1.088 | 51 | |
| 8 | Bradford Park Avenue | 46 | 19 | 12 | 15 | 74 | 64 | 1.156 | 50 | |
| 9 | Hartlepools United | 46 | 21 | 8 | 17 | 71 | 65 | 1.092 | 50 | |
| 10 | York City | 46 | 18 | 13 | 15 | 73 | 52 | 1.404 | 49 | |
| 11 | Tranmere Rovers | 46 | 21 | 6 | 19 | 76 | 71 | 1.070 | 48 | |
| 12 | Barrow | 46 | 17 | 12 | 17 | 57 | 61 | 0.934 | 46 | |
| 13 | Chesterfield | 46 | 17 | 11 | 18 | 65 | 66 | 0.985 | 45 | |
| 14 | Scunthorpe & Lindsey United | 46 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 65 | 74 | 0.878 | 44 | |
| 15 | Bradford City | 46 | 16 | 10 | 20 | 61 | 68 | 0.897 | 42 | |
| 16 | Crewe Alexandra | 46 | 17 | 8 | 21 | 63 | 82 | 0.768 | 42 | |
| 17 | Southport | 46 | 15 | 11 | 20 | 53 | 71 | 0.746 | 41 | |
| 18 | Wrexham | 46 | 15 | 9 | 22 | 63 | 73 | 0.863 | 39 | |
| 19 | Chester | 46 | 15 | 9 | 22 | 72 | 85 | 0.847 | 39 | |
| 20 | Halifax Town | 46 | 14 | 7 | 25 | 61 | 97 | 0.629 | 35 | |
| 21 | Rochdale | 46 | 11 | 13 | 22 | 47 | 79 | 0.595 | 35 | |
| 22 | Accrington Stanley | 46 | 10 | 12 | 24 | 61 | 92 | 0.663 | 32 | |
| 23 | Darlington | 46 | 11 | 9 | 26 | 64 | 103 | 0.621 | 31 | Re-elected |
| 24 | Workington | 46 | 11 | 7 | 28 | 50 | 91 | 0.549 | 29 | Re-elected |

### Third Division South

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Plymouth Argyle | 46 | 29 | 8 | 9 | 107 | 53 | 2.019 | 66 | Promoted to the Second Division |
| 2 | Reading | 46 | 29 | 3 | 14 | 112 | 60 | 1.867 | 61 | |
| 3 | Norwich City | 46 | 26 | 9 | 11 | 89 | 50 | 1.780 | 61 | |
| 4 | Millwall | 46 | 23 | 12 | 11 | 74 | 53 | 1.396 | 58 | |
| 5 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 46 | 24 | 10 | 12 | 87 | 63 | 1.381 | 58 | |
| 6 | Newport County | 46 | 21 | 12 | 13 | 77 | 76 | 1.013 | 54 | |
| 7 | Bristol Rovers | 46 | 20 | 12 | 14 | 89 | 53 | 1.679 | 52 | |
| 8 | Northampton Town | 46 | 22 | 5 | 19 | 93 | 74 | 1.257 | 49 | |
| 9 | Southend United | 46 | 19 | 10 | 17 | 75 | 66 | 1.136 | 48 | |
| 10 | Colchester United | 46 | 17 | 12 | 17 | 56 | 77 | 0.727 | 46 | |
| 11 | Torquay United | 46 | 17 | 10 | 19 | 86 | 98 | 0.878 | 44 | |
| 12 | Aldershot | 46 | 18 | 8 | 20 | 78 | 89 | 0.876 | 44 | |
| 13 | Port Vale | 46 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 50 | 66 | 0.758 | 43 | Transferred to the Third Division North |
| 14 | Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic | 46 | 16 | 10 | 20 | 69 | 75 | 0.920 | 42 | |
| 15 | Bristol City | 46 | 15 | 12 | 19 | 58 | 69 | 0.841 | 42 | |
| 16 | Swindon Town | 46 | 14 | 14 | 18 | 51 | 68 | 0.750 | 42 | |
| 17 | Ipswich Town | 46 | 16 | 9 | 21 | 63 | 74 | 0.851 | 41 | |
| 18 | Leyton Orient | 46 | 16 | 9 | 21 | 55 | 68 | 0.809 | 41 | |
| 19 | Crystal Palace | 46 | 15 | 9 | 22 | 61 | 80 | 0.763 | 39 | |
| 20 | Shrewsbury Town | 46 | 13 | 10 | 23 | 62 | 86 | 0.721 | 36 | |
| 21 | Watford | 46 | 13 | 10 | 23 | 57 | 81 | 0.704 | 36 | |
| 22 | Gillingham | 46 | 11 | 13 | 22 | 71 | 81 | 0.877 | 35 | |
| 23 | Exeter City | 46 | 13 | 9 | 24 | 65 | 86 | 0.756 | 35 | Re-elected |
| 24 | Walsall | 46 | 13 | 5 | 28 | 55 | 94 | 0.585 | 31 | Re-elected |

### Top goalscorers

First Division
* George Robledo (Newcastle United) – 33 goals
Second Division
* Derek Dooley (Sheffield Wednesday) – 46 goals
Third Division North
* Andy Graver (Lincoln City) – 36 goals
Third Division South
* Ronnie Blackman (Reading) – 39 goals