List of Manchester United F.C. seasons

The Manchester United team at the start of the 1905–06 season, in which they were runners-up in the Second Division and were promoted.

Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester. The club was formed in Newton Heath in 1878 as Newton Heath LYR F.C., and played their first competitive match in October 1886, when they entered the First Round of the 1886–87 FA Cup. The club was renamed Manchester United F.C. in 1902, and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.

The club has won a total of 62 major trophies, including the League Championship a record 20 times (a record 13 times in the Premier League era), the FA Cup 11 times, the League Cup four times, the Charity Shield a record 20 times (including four shared titles), the European Cup three times, the European Cup Winners Cup once, the European Super Cup once, the FIFA Club World Cup once and the Intercontinental Cup once.^[1] Manchester United is the only English club to have been crowned world champions, in 1999 and 2008. The club has also never been out of the top two divisions of English football since entering the Football League. As of the end of the 2013–14 season, they have played a total of 5,390 competitive matches.^[2]

This list details the club's achievements in major competitions, and the top scorers for each season. Top scorers in bold were also the top scorers in the English league that season. Records of competitions such as the Lancashire Cup and the Manchester and District Challenge Cup are not included due to them being considered of less importance than the FA Cup and the League Cup.

History

The club formed in 1878 as Newton Heath LYR F.C.^[3] At this time organised League football did not exist; "first class matches" were arranged on a largely ad-hoc basis and supplemented by cup competitions. Official records from these matches are sketchy at best, and are often extrapolated from newspaper reports at the time. In 1886, the club entered the FA Cup for the first time, but were knocked out in the first round. The club entered The Combination in 1888, but the league was wound up before the season could be completed.^[4] The club then joined the Football Alliance in 1889, and in 1892 were elected to the newly formed Football League First Division. Upon joining the Football League, the club dropped the "LYR" from their name, before financial troubles forced the club to restructure in 1902, including a change of name to Manchester United F.C.^[5]

In 1956–57, the club became the first English club to enter European competition, entering the European Cup, following the Football Association's refusal to allow Chelsea F.C. to enter the previous year. Eleven years later, in 1968, they became the first English club to win the European Cup, and only the second British side after Celtic F.C. had won it in 1967. Meanwhile, in 1960–61, Manchester United entered the inaugural Football League Cup, only to decline to enter for the next five years. In 1992–93, they became founder members and inaugural champions of the Premier League, and, in 1998–99, they won an unprecedented Treble of Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League. This was followed by two more Premier League titles in 1999–2000 and 2000–01, making Manchester United only the fourth club to win three consecutive English league titles. The club picked up its tenth Premier League title in the 2007–08 season, and followed it with a third Champions League title ten days later. The following season, Manchester United became the first English club to win the FIFA Club World Cup, before claiming a third consecutive Premier League title for a second time in 2008–09. In 2010–11, Manchester United gained its nineteenth top division title while passing Liverpool's record. In 2011–12, United almost won the title but two goals in injury time for Manchester City against Queens Park Rangers meant they finished second. In 2012–13, Manchester United gained its twentieth top division title.

Key

P = Played W = Games won D = Games drawn L = Games lost F = Goals for A = Goals against Pts = Points Pos = Final position

Alliance = Football Alliance Combination = The Combination Div 1 = Football League First Division Div 2 = Football League Second Division Prem = Premier League

F = Final Group = Group stage QF = Quarter-finals QR1 = First Qualifying Round QR2 = Second Qualifying Round QR3 = Third Qualifying Round QR4 = Fourth Qualifying Round RInt = Intermediate Round

R1 = Round 1 R2 = Round 2 R3 = Round 3 R4 = Round 4 R5 = Round 5 R6 = Round 6 SF = Semi-finals

Champions

Runners-up

Promoted

Relegated

Seasons

Results of league and cup competitions by season

Season	Division	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts	Pos	FA Cup	League Cup	Community Shield	UEFA FIFA	Name	Goals
	League													Top goalscorer[6]
1886–87	n/a[7]	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	R1				Doughty, JackJack Doughty	2
1888–89[8]	Combination	12	8	2	2	27	13	18	n/a[8]	n/a				Doughty, JackJack Doughty Roger Doughty	6
1889–90	Alliance	22	9	2	11	40	45	20	8th	R1				Stewart, WillieWillie Stewart	10
1890–91	Alliance	22	7	3	12	37	55	17	9th	QR2				Ramsay, RobertRobert Ramsay	7
1891–92	Alliance	22	12	7	3	69	33	31	2nd[9]	QR4				Donaldson, BobBob Donaldson Alf Farman	20
1892–93	Div 1	30	6	6	18	50	85	18	16th[10]	R1				Donaldson, BobBob Donaldson	16
1893–94	Div 1	30	6	2	22	36	72	14	16th[11]	R2				Donaldson, BobBob Donaldson	10
1894–95	Div 2	30	15	8	7	78	44	38	3rd[12]	R1				Smith, DickDick Smith	20
1895–96	Div 2	30	15	3	12	66	57	33	6th	R2				Cassidy, JoeJoe Cassidy	16
1896–97	Div 2	30	17	5	8	56	34	39	2nd[13]	R3				Cassidy, JoeJoe Cassidy	25
1897–98	Div 2	30	16	6	8	64	35	38	4th	R2				Boyd, HenryHenry Boyd	22
1898–99	Div 2	34	19	5	10	67	43	43	4th	R1				Cassidy, JoeJoe Cassidy	20
1899–1900	Div 2	34	20	4	10	63	27	44	4th	QR3				Cassidy, JoeJoe Cassidy	16
1900–01	Div 2	34	14	4	16	42	38	32	10th	R1				Leigh, TomTom Leigh	14
1901–02	Div 2	34	11	6	17	38	53	28	15th	RInt				Preston, StephenStephen Preston	11
1902–03	Div 2	34	15	8	11	53	38	38	5th	R2				Peddie, JackJack Peddie	15
1903–04	Div 2	34	20	8	6	65	33	48	3rd	R2				Arkesden, TommyTommy Arkesden	15
1904–05	Div 2	34	24	5	5	81	30	53	3rd	RInt				Peddie, JackJack Peddie	17
1905–06	Div 2	38	28	6	4	90	28	62	2nd	R4				Picken, JackJack Picken	25
1906–07	Div 1	38	17	8	13	53	56	42	8th	R1				Wall, GeorgeGeorge Wall	13
1907–08	Div 1	38	23	6	9	81	48	52	1st	R4		Winners		Turnbull, SandySandy Turnbull	27
1908–09	Div 1	38	15	7	16	58	68	37	13th	Winners				Turnbull, JimmyJimmy Turnbull	22
1909–10	Div 1	38	19	7	12	69	61	45	5th	R1				Wall, GeorgeGeorge Wall	14
1910–11	Div 1	38	22	8	8	72	40	52	1st	R3				West, EnochEnoch West	20
1911–12	Div 1	38	13	11	14	45	60	37	13th	R4		Winners		West, EnochEnoch West	23
1912–13	Div 1	38	19	8	11	69	43	46	4th	R3				West, EnochEnoch West	22
1913–14	Div 1	38	15	6	17	52	62	36	14th	R1				Anderson, GeorgeGeorge Anderson	15
1914–15	Div 1	38	9	12	17	46	62	30	18th	R1				Anderson, GeorgeGeorge Anderson	10
1915–19[14]	Not held	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–					–	–
1919–20	Div 1	42	13	14	15	54	50	40	12th	R2				Spence, JoeJoe Spence	14
1920–21	Div 1	42	15	10	17	64	68	40	13th	R1				Miller, TomTom Miller Teddy Partridge	8
1921–22	Div 1	42	8	12	22	41	73	28	22nd	R1				Spence, JoeJoe Spence	15
1922–23	Div 2	42	17	14	11	51	36	48	4th	R2				Goldthorpe, ErnieErnie Goldthorpe	14
1923–24	Div 2	42	13	14	15	52	44	40	14th	R2				Lochhead, ArthurArthur Lochhead	14
1924–25	Div 2	42	23	11	8	57	23	57	2nd	R1				Henderson, WilliamWilliam Henderson	14
1925–26	Div 1	42	19	6	17	66	73	44	9th	SF				McPherson, FrankFrank McPherson	20
1926–27	Div 1	42	13	14	15	52	64	40	15th	R3				Spence, JoeJoe Spence	19
1927–28	Div 1	42	16	7	19	72	80	39	18th	R6				Spence, JoeJoe Spence	24
1928–29	Div 1	42	14	13	15	66	76	41	12th	R4				Hanson, JimmyJimmy Hanson	20
1929–30	Div 1	42	15	8	19	67	88	38	17th	R3				Rowley, HarryHarry Rowley Joe Spence	12
1930–31	Div 1	42	7	8	27	53	115	22	22nd	R4				Thomas ReidTom Reid	20
1931–32	Div 2	42	17	8	17	71	72	42	12th	R3				Spence, JoeJoe Spence	19
1932–33	Div 2	42	15	13	14	71	68	43	6th	R3				Ridding, BillBill Ridding	11
1933–34	Div 2	42	14	6	22	59	85	34	20th	R3				Dewar, NeilNeil Dewar	8
1934–35	Div 2	42	23	4	15	76	55	50	5th	R4				Mutch, GeorgeGeorge Mutch	19
1935–36	Div 2	42	22	12	8	85	43	56	1st	R4				Mutch, GeorgeGeorge Mutch	23
1936–37	Div 1	42	10	12	20	55	78	32	21st	R4				Bamford, TommyTommy Bamford	15
1937–38	Div 2	42	22	9	11	82	50	53	2nd	R5				Baird, HarryHarry Baird Tommy Bamford	15
1938–39	Div 1	42	11	16	15	57	65	38	14th	R3				Hanlon, JimmyJimmy Hanlon	12
1939–40[15]	Div 1	3	1	1	1	5	3	3	9th[15]	n/a				Bryant, BillyBilly Bryant	2
1940–45[16]	Not held	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–					–	–
1945–46	n/a[17]	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	R4				Hanlon, JimmyJimmy Hanlon Jack Rowley Billy Wrigglesworth	2
1946–47	Div 1	42	22	12	8	95	54	56	2nd	R4				Rowley, JackJack Rowley	28
1947–48	Div 1	42	19	14	9	81	48	52	2nd	Winners				Rowley, JackJack Rowley	28
1948–49	Div 1	42	21	11	10	77	44	53	2nd	SF		Runners-up		Rowley, JackJack Rowley	29
1949–50	Div 1	42	18	14	10	69	44	50	4th	R6				Rowley, JackJack Rowley	23
1950–51	Div 1	42	24	8	10	74	40	56	2nd	R6				Pearson, StanStan Pearson	23
1951–52	Div 1	42	23	11	8	95	52	57	1st	R3				Rowley, JackJack Rowley	30
1952–53	Div 1	42	18	10	14	69	72	46	8th	R5		Winners		Pearson, StanStan Pearson	18
1953–54	Div 1	42	18	12	12	73	58	48	4th	R3				Taylor, TommyTommy Taylor	23
1954–55	Div 1	42	20	7	15	84	74	47	5th	R4				Viollet, DennisDennis Viollet	21
1955–56	Div 1	42	25	10	7	83	51	60	1st	R3				Taylor, TommyTommy Taylor	25
1956–57	Div 1	42	28	8	6	103	54	64	1st	Runners-up		Winners	European Cup – SF	Taylor, TommyTommy Taylor	34
1957–58	Div 1	42	16	11	15	85	75	43	9th	Runners-up		Winners	European Cup – SF	Viollet, DennisDennis Viollet	23
1958–59	Div 1	42	24	7	11	103	66	55	2nd	R3				Charlton, BobbyBobby Charlton	29
1959–60	Div 1	42	19	7	16	102	80	45	7th	R5				Viollet, DennisDennis Viollet	32[18]
1960–61	Div 1	42	18	9	15	88	76	45	7th	R4	R2			Charlton, BobbyBobby Charlton	21
1961–62	Div 1	42	15	9	18	72	75	39	15th	SF	n/a[19]			Herd, DavidDavid Herd	17
1962–63	Div 1	42	12	10	20	67	81	34	19th	Winners	n/a[19]			Law, DenisDenis Law	29
1963–64	Div 1	42	23	7	12	90	62	53	2nd	SF	n/a[19]	Runners-up	Cup Winners' Cup – QF	Law, DenisDenis Law	46
1964–65	Div 1	42	26	9	7	89	39	61	1st	SF	n/a[19]		Inter-Cities Fairs Cup – SF	Law, DenisDenis Law	39
1965–66	Div 1	42	18	15	9	84	59	51	4th	SF	n/a[19]	Shared[20]	European Cup – SF	Herd, DavidDavid Herd	33
1966–67	Div 1	42	24	12	6	84	45	60	1st	R4	R2			Law, DenisDenis Law	25
1967–68	Div 1	42	24	8	10	89	55	56	2nd	R3		Shared[20]	European Cup – Winners	Best, GeorgeGeorge Best[21]	32[22]
1968–69	Div 1	42	15	12	15	57	53	42	11th	R6			European Cup – SF Intercontinental Cup – Runners-up	Law, DenisDenis Law	30
1969–70	Div 1	42	14	17	11	66	61	45	8th	Third place	SF			Best, GeorgeGeorge Best	23
1970–71	Div 1	42	16	11	15	65	66	43	8th	R3	SF			Best, GeorgeGeorge Best	21
1971–72	Div 1	42	19	10	13	69	61	48	8th	R6	R4			Best, GeorgeGeorge Best	26
1972–73	Div 1	42	12	13	17	44	60	37	18th	R3	R3			Charlton, BobbyBobby Charlton	7
1973–74	Div 1	42	10	12	20	38	48	32	21st	R4	R2			Macari, LouLou Macari Sammy McIlroy	6
1974–75	Div 2	42	26	9	7	66	30	61	1st	R3	SF			Macari, LouLou Macari Stuart Pearson	18
1975–76	Div 1	42	23	10	9	68	42	56	3rd	Runners-up	R4			Macari, LouLou Macari	15
1976–77	Div 1	42	18	11	13	71	62	47	6th	Winners	R5		UEFA Cup – R2	Hill, GordonGordon Hill	22
1977–78	Div 1	42	16	10	16	67	63	42	10th	R4	R2	Shared[20]	Cup Winners' Cup – R2	Hill, GordonGordon Hill	19
1978–79	Div 1	42	15	15	12	60	63	45	9th	Runners-up	R3			Greenhoff, JimmyJimmy Greenhoff	17
1979–80	Div 1	42	24	10	8	65	35	58	2nd	R3	R3			Jordan, JoeJoe Jordan	13
1980–81	Div 1	42	15	18	9	51	36	48	8th	R4	R2		UEFA Cup – R1	Jordan, JoeJoe Jordan	15
1981–82	Div 1	42	22	12	8	59	29	78[23]	3rd	R3	R2			Stapleton, FrankFrank Stapleton	13
1982–83	Div 1	42	19	13	10	56	38	70	3rd	Winners	Runners-up		UEFA Cup – R1	Stapleton, FrankFrank Stapleton	19
1983–84	Div 1	42	20	14	8	71	41	74	4th	R3	R4	Winners	Cup Winners' Cup – SF	Stapleton, FrankFrank Stapleton	19
1984–85	Div 1	42	22	10	10	77	47	76	4th	Winners	R3		UEFA Cup – QF	Hughes, MarkMark Hughes	24
1985–86	Div 1	42	22	10	10	70	36	76	4th	R5	R4	Runners-up		Hughes, MarkMark Hughes	18
1986–87	Div 1	42	14	14	14	52	45	56	11th	R4	R3			Davenport, PeterPeter Davenport	16
1987–88	Div 1	40	23	12	5	71	38	81	2nd	R5	R5			McClair, BrianBrian McClair	31
1988–89	Div 1	38	13	12	13	45	35	51	11th	R6	R3			Hughes, MarkMark Hughes Brian McClair	16
1989–90	Div 1	38	13	9	16	46	47	48	13th	Winners	R3			Hughes, MarkMark Hughes	15
1990–91	Div 1	38	16	12	10	58	45	59[24]	6th	R5	Runners-up	Shared[20]	Cup Winners' Cup – Winners	Hughes, MarkMark Hughes Brian McClair	21
1991–92	Div 1	42	21	15	6	63	33	78	2nd	R4	Winners		Cup Winners' Cup – R2 Super Cup – Winners	McClair, BrianBrian McClair	24
1992–93	Prem	42	24	12	6	67	31	84	1st	R5	R3		UEFA Cup – R1	Hughes, MarkMark Hughes	16
1993–94	Prem	42	27	11	4	80	38	92	1st	Winners	Runners-up	Winners	Champions League – R2	Cantona, EricEric Cantona	25
1994–95	Prem	42	26	10	6	77	28	88	2nd	Runners-up	R3	Winners	Champions League – Group	Kanchelskis, AndreiAndrei Kanchelskis	15
1995–96	Prem	38	25	7	6	73	35	82	1st	Winners	R2		UEFA Cup – R1	Cantona, EricEric Cantona	19
1996–97	Prem	38	21	12	5	76	44	75	1st	R4	R4	Winners	Champions League – SF	Solskjaer, Ole GunnarOle Gunnar Solskjær	19
1997–98	Prem	38	23	8	7	73	26	77	2nd	R5	R3	Winners	Champions League – QF	Cole, AndyAndy Cole	25
1998–99	Prem	38	22	13	3	80	37	79	1st	Winners	R5	Runners-up	Champions League – Winners	Yorke, DwightDwight Yorke[25]	29[26]
1999–2000	Prem	38	28	7	3	97	45	91	1st	n/a[27]	R3	Runners-up	Champions League – QF Super Cup – Runners-up Intercontinental Cup – Winners Club World Championship – Group	Yorke, DwightDwight Yorke	24
2000–01	Prem	38	24	8	6	79	31	80	1st	R4	R4	Runners-up	Champions League – QF	Sheringham, TeddyTeddy Sheringham	21
2001–02	Prem	38	24	5	9	87	45	77	3rd	R4	R3	Runners-up	Champions League – SF	Nistelrooy, Ruud vanRuud van Nistelrooy	36
2002–03	Prem	38	25	8	5	74	34	83	1st	R5	Runners-up		Champions League – QF	Nistelrooy, Ruud vanRuud van Nistelrooy	44[28]
2003–04	Prem	38	23	6	9	64	35	75	3rd	Winners	R4	Winners	Champions League – Round of 16	Nistelrooy, Ruud vanRuud van Nistelrooy	30
2004–05	Prem	38	22	11	5	58	26	77	3rd	Runners-up	SF	Runners-up	Champions League – Round of 16	Rooney, WayneWayne Rooney	17
2005–06	Prem	38	25	8	5	72	34	83	2nd	R5	Winners		Champions League – Group	Nistelrooy, Ruud vanRuud van Nistelrooy	24
2006–07	Prem	38	28	5	5	83	27	89	1st	Runners-up	R4		Champions League – SF	Rooney, WayneWayne Rooney Cristiano Ronaldo	23
2007–08	Prem	38	27	6	5	80	22	87	1st	R6	R3	Winners	Champions League – Winners	Ronaldo, CristianoCristiano Ronaldo	42[29]
2008–09	Prem	38	28	6	4	68	24	90	1st	SF	Winners	Winners	Champions League – Runners-up Super Cup – Runners-up Club World Cup – Winners	Ronaldo, CristianoCristiano Ronaldo	26
2009–10	Prem	38	27	4	7	86	28	85	2nd	R3	Winners	Runners-up	Champions League – QF	Rooney, WayneWayne Rooney	34
2010–11	Prem	38	23	11	4	78	37	80	1st	SF	R5	Winners	Champions League – Runners-up	Berbatov, DimitarDimitar Berbatov[30]	21[31]
2011–12	Prem	38	28	5	5	89	33	89	2nd	R4	R5	Winners	Champions League – Group Europa League – Round of 16	Rooney, WayneWayne Rooney	34
2012–13	Prem	38	28	5	5	86	43	89	1st	R6	R4		Champions League – Round of 16	Persie, Robin vanRobin van Persie	30[32]
2013–14	Prem	38	19	7	12	64	43	64	7th	R3	SF	Winners	Champions League – QF	Rooney, WayneWayne Rooney	19
2014–15	Prem	38	20	10	8	62	37	70	4th	R6	R2			Rooney, WayneWayne Rooney	14

Notes and references

Bibliography

• Murphy, Alex (2006). The Official Illustrated History of Manchester United. London: Orion Books. ISBN 0-7528-7603-1.
• Shury, Alan; Landamore, Brian (2005) [2002]. The Definitive Newton Heath F.C. 'Definitive' Club Histories (2nd ed.). Nottingham: SoccerData. ISBN 1-899468-16-1.
• "StretfordEnd.co.uk". Retrieved 19 February 2010.
• Rundle, Richard. "Manchester United". Football Club History Database. Retrieved 19 February 2010.

Footnotes

1. "Trophy Room". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 2007. Retrieved 28 May 2007.
2. "Won, Drawn, Lost". StretfordEnd.co.uk. Retrieved 23 April 2013. Excludes matches from the abandoned 1939–40 season
3. Murphy, Alex (2006). "1878-1915: From Newton Heath to Old Trafford". The Official Illustrated History of Manchester United. London: Orion Books. p. 11. ISBN 0-7528-7603-1.
4. Shury, Alan; Landamore, Brian (2005) [2002]. "History of Newton Heath F.C.". The Definitive Newton Heath F.C. 'Definitive' Club Histories (Second ed.). Nottingham: SoccerData. p. 11. ISBN 1-899468-16-1. ...the Combination was wound up in April 1889. From Newton Heath's viewpoint, that was a pity. They had almost completed their programme of 16 games and had the best record of the 20 clubs.
5. Murphy, Alex (2006). "1878-1915: From Newton Heath to Old Trafford". The Official Illustrated History of Manchester United. London: Orion Books. p. 15. ISBN 0-7528-7603-1.
6. Goals in all competitions (Football League or Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup and European) are counted.
7. The club did not start playing league football until 1888.
8. The 1888–89 season was cut short for Newton Heath, as the Combination was wound up in April 1889, and so the team was unable to complete its programme of 16 matches. However, records show that the club had the best record of all the teams in the league at that point.
9. In 1892, the Football Alliance and the Football League decided to merge. Due to their second place finish in the 1891–92 Football Alliance, Newton Heath were elected to the Football League First Division for the following season.
10. Formal promotion and relegation had not yet been established, and so the bottom team in the Football League First Division would play a so-called "Test match" against the top team in the Second Division, Small Heath. Newton Heath drew the original Test match 1–1, then won the replay 5–2, and retained their place in the First Division.
11. Formal promotion and relegation had still not been introduced, and so another Test match was played between Newton Heath and Liverpool, the winners of the Second Division. Newton Heath lost, and were relegated.
12. As a reward for finishing in 3rd place, Newton Heath played yet another Test match against the team that finished third from bottom in the First Division, Stoke City. They lost, and remained in the Second Division.
13. For finishing in 2nd place, Newton Heath had to play Test matches against Burnley and Sunderland in order to gain promotion to Division One. They beat Burnley over two legs, but lost to Sunderland and remained in Division Two.
14. No competitive football was played between 1915 and 1919 due to the First World War
15. The 1939–40 season was abandoned in early September and all results annulled, after only three matches had been played; Manchester United were ninth in the table at the time.
16. No competitive football was played between 1939 and 1946 due to the Second World War
17. The FA Cup was contested in 1945–46 but the Football League did not resume until the following season.
18. 32 goals in the First Division
19. Despite entering the first League Cup in 1960–61, like many other major clubs Manchester United declined to take part again until the 1966–67 season.
20. From 1939 to 1993, in the event of a draw, the Charity Shield would be shared between the two competing teams, with each team having possession of the trophy for six months.
21. Joint top scorer with Ron Davies of Southampton
22. 28 goals in the First Division
23. The 1981–82 season saw the introduction of three points for a win
24. Manchester United were deducted one point after a brawl in a game with Arsenal on 20 October 1990.
25. Joint top scorer with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink of Leeds United and Michael Owen of Liverpool
26. 18 goals in the Premier League
27. Manchester United did not enter the 1999–2000 FA Cup due to their commitment to the 2000 FIFA Club World Championship in Brazil.
28. 25 goals in the Premier League
29. 31 goals in the Premier League
30. Joint top scorer with Carlos Tevez of Manchester City
31. 20 goals in the Premier League
32. 26 goals in the Premier League