# 1949–50 Manchester United F.C. season

The 1949–50 season was Manchester United's 48th season in the Football League. They finished fourth in the First Division and reached the sixth round proper of the FA Cup.
A notable acquisition by the club during this season was 18-year-old goalkeeper Ray Wood, who was signed from Darlington as manager Matt Busby looked to find a younger goalkeeper to provide competition for Jack Crompton and Reg Allen for the 1950s.

## First Division

| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F – A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 20 August 1949 | Derby County | A | 1–0 | Rowley | 35,687 |
| 24 August 1949 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 3–0 | Mitten, Rowley, own goal | 41,748 |
| 27 August 1949 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 1–1 | Pearson | 44,655 |
| 31 August 1949 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 2–1 | Mitten, Pearson | 36,277 |
| 3 September 1949 | Manchester City | H | 2–1 | Pearson (2) | 47,760 |
| 7 September 1949 | Liverpool | A | 1–1 | Mitten | 51,587 |
| 10 September 1949 | Chelsea | A | 1–1 | Rowley | 61,357 |
| 17 September 1949 | Stoke City | H | 2–2 | Rowley (2) | 43,522 |
| 24 September 1949 | Burnley | A | 0–1 | | 41,072 |
| 1 October 1949 | Sunderland | H | 1–3 | Pearson | 49,260 |
| 8 October 1949 | Charlton Athletic | H | 3–2 | Mitten (2), Rowley | 43,809 |
| 15 October 1949 | Aston Villa | A | 4–0 | Mitten (2), Bogan, Rowley | 47,483 |
| 22 October 1949 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 3–0 | Pearson (2), Bogan | 51,427 |
| 29 October 1949 | Portsmouth | A | 0–0 | | 41,098 |
| 5 November 1949 | Huddersfield Town | H | 6–0 | Pearson (2), Rowley (2), Delaney, Mitten | 40,295 |
| 12 November 1949 | Everton | A | 0–0 | | 46,672 |
| 19 November 1949 | Middlesbrough | H | 2–0 | Pearson, Rowley | 42,626 |
| 26 November 1949 | Blackpool | A | 3–3 | Pearson (2), Bogan | 27,742 |
| 3 December 1949 | Newcastle United | H | 1–1 | Mitten | 30,343 |
| 10 December 1949 | Fulham | A | 0–1 | | 35,362 |
| 17 December 1949 | Derby County | H | 0–1 | | 33,753 |
| 24 December 1949 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 2–1 | Bogan, Rowley | 46,973 |
| 26 December 1949 | Arsenal | H | 2–0 | Pearson (2) | 53,928 |
| 27 December 1949 | Arsenal | A | 0–0 | | 65,133 |
| 31 December 1949 | Manchester City | A | 2–1 | Delaney, Pearson | 63,704 |
| 14 January 1950 | Chelsea | H | 1–0 | Mitten | 46,954 |
| 21 January 1950 | Stoke City | A | 1–3 | Mitten | 38,877 |
| 4 February 1950 | Burnley | H | 3–2 | Rowley (2), Mitten | 46,702 |
| 18 February 1950 | Sunderland | A | 2–2 | Chilton, Rowley | 63,251 |
| 25 February 1950 | Charlton Athletic | A | 2–1 | Carey, Rowley | 44,920 |
| 8 March 1950 | Aston Villa | H | 7–0 | Mitten (4), Downie (2), Rowley | 22,149 |
| 11 March 1950 | Middlesbrough | A | 3–2 | Downie (2), Rowley | 46,702 |
| 15 March 1950 | Liverpool | H | 0–0 | | 43,456 |
| 18 March 1950 | Blackpool | H | 1–2 | Delaney | 53,688 |
| 25 March 1950 | Huddersfield Town | A | 1–3 | Downie | 34,348 |
| 1 April 1950 | Everton | H | 1–1 | Delaney | 35,381 |
| 7 April 1950 | Birmingham City | H | 0–2 | | 47,170 |
| 8 April 1950 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 1–1 | Rowley | 54,296 |
| 10 April 1950 | Birmingham City | A | 0–0 | | 35,863 |
| 15 April 1950 | Portsmouth | H | 0–2 | | 44,908 |
| 22 April 1950 | Newcastle United | A | 1–2 | Downie | 52,203 |
| 29 April 1950 | Fulham | H | 3–0 | Rowley (2), Cockburn | 11,968 |
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Relegation |
| 1 | Portsmouth (C) | 42 | 22 | 9 | 11 | 74 | 38 | 1.947 | 53 | |
| 2 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 42 | 20 | 13 | 9 | 76 | 49 | 1.551 | 53 | |
| 3 | Sunderland | 42 | 21 | 10 | 11 | 83 | 62 | 1.339 | 52 | |
| 4 | Manchester United | 42 | 18 | 14 | 10 | 69 | 44 | 1.568 | 50 | |
| 5 | Newcastle United | 42 | 19 | 12 | 11 | 77 | 55 | 1.400 | 50 | |
| 6 | Arsenal | 42 | 19 | 11 | 12 | 79 | 55 | 1.436 | 49 | |
| 7 | Blackpool | 42 | 17 | 15 | 10 | 46 | 35 | 1.314 | 49 | |
| 8 | Liverpool | 42 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 64 | 54 | 1.185 | 48 | |
| 9 | Middlesbrough | 42 | 20 | 7 | 15 | 59 | 48 | 1.229 | 47 | |
| 10 | Burnley | 42 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 40 | 40 | 1.000 | 45 | |
| 11 | Derby County | 42 | 17 | 10 | 15 | 69 | 61 | 1.131 | 44 | |
| 12 | Aston Villa | 42 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 61 | 61 | 1.000 | 42 | |
| 13 | Chelsea | 42 | 12 | 16 | 14 | 58 | 65 | 0.892 | 40 | |
| 14 | West Bromwich Albion | 42 | 14 | 12 | 16 | 47 | 53 | 0.887 | 40 | |
| 15 | Huddersfield Town | 42 | 14 | 9 | 19 | 52 | 73 | 0.712 | 37 | |
| 16 | Bolton Wanderers | 42 | 10 | 14 | 18 | 45 | 59 | 0.763 | 34 | |
| 17 | Fulham | 42 | 10 | 14 | 18 | 41 | 54 | 0.759 | 34 | |
| 18 | Everton | 42 | 10 | 14 | 18 | 42 | 66 | 0.636 | 34 | |
| 19 | Stoke City | 42 | 11 | 12 | 19 | 45 | 75 | 0.600 | 34 | |
| 20 | Charlton Athletic | 42 | 13 | 6 | 23 | 53 | 65 | 0.815 | 32 | |
| 21 | Manchester City (R) | 42 | 8 | 13 | 21 | 36 | 68 | 0.529 | 29 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 22 | Birmingham City (R) | 42 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 31 | 67 | 0.463 | 28 | Relegation to the Second Division |

## FA Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F – A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 7 January 1950 | Round 3 | Weymouth | H | 4–0 | Rowley (2), Delaney, Pearson | 38,284 |
| 28 January 1950 | Round 4 | Watford | A | 1–0 | Rowley | 32,800 |
| 11 February 1950 | Round 5 | Portsmouth | H | 3–3 | Mitten (2), Pearson | 53,688 |
| 15 February 1950 | Round 5 replay | Portsmouth | A | 3–1 | Delaney, Downie, Mitten | 49,962 |
| 4 March 1950 | Round 6 | Chelsea | A | 0–2 | | 70,362 |

## Squad statistics

| Pos. | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | Total | Total |
| Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| GK | Jack Crompton | 27 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 0 |
| GK | Sonny Feehan | 12 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| GK | Joe Lancaster | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| GK | Ray Wood | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FB | John Aston, Sr. | 40 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 45 | 0 |
| FB | John Ball | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| FB | Johnny Carey | 38 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 43 | 1 |
| FB | Tommy Lowrie | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| FB | Sammy Lynn | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| FB | Thomas McNulty | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| HB | Allenby Chilton | 35 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 40 | 1 |
| HB | Henry Cockburn | 35 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 40 | 1 |
| HB | Billy McGlen | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| HB | Jack Warner | 21 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 25 | 0 |
| HB | Jeff Whitefoot | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | Brian Birch | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | Tommy Bogan | 18 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 22 | 4 |
| FW | Ted Buckle | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| FW | Frank Clempson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | Jimmy Delaney | 42 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 47 | 6 |
| FW | John Downie | 18 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 20 | 7 |
| FW | Charlie Mitten | 42 | 16 | 5 | 3 | 47 | 19 |
| FW | Stan Pearson | 41 | 15 | 4 | 2 | 45 | 17 |
| FW | Jack Rowley | 39 | 20 | 5 | 3 | 44 | 23 |
| – | Own goals | – | 1 | – | 0 | – | 1 |