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List of Manchester United F.C. seasons

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A black-and-white photo of a football team. The players are on three levels, with four on the bottom row, four on the middle row and three on the top row. The player sitting second from the left on the bottom row has a ball at his feet, and the player in the middle of the top row is wearing a flat cap.
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 68 major trophies: the League Championship a record twenty times (seven times in the Football League era and a record thirteen times in the Premier League era), the FA Cup thirteen times, the League Cup six times, the Community Shield a record 21 times (including four shared titles), the European Cup three times, the UEFA Europa League once, the European Cup Winners' Cup once, the European Super Cup once, the Intercontinental Cup once and the FIFA Club World Cup once. 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 2023–24 season, the club has played a total of 5,941 competitive matches, and has competed in the top flight for 99 of their 125 seasons.

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. 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. They entered The Combination in 1888, but the league was wound up before the season could be completed. 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.

In 1956–57, Manchester United became the first English club to enter European competition, entering the European Cup, following the Football Association's refusal to allow Chelsea 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 had won it the year before. 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 the 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 their 10th Premier League title in the 2007–08 season, and followed it with a third Champions League title 10 days later. The following season, Manchester United became the first British club to win the FIFA Club World Cup, before becoming the first English club to claim three consecutive league titles twice. In 2010–11, Manchester United won their 19th top division title, passing Liverpool's previous record of 18, before winning a 20th title in 2012–13. In 2016–17, Manchester United won their first UEFA Europa League trophy, making them only the fifth club to win the three main European club competitions.

Key

  • Pld = Matches played
  • W = Matches won
  • D = Matches drawn
  • L = Matches lost
  • GF = Goals for
  • GA = Goals against
  • Pts = Points
  • Pos = Final position
  • 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

Winners Runners-up Promoted Relegated

Seasons

Results of league and cup competitions by season
Season League FA Cup EFL Cup Community
Shield 		UEFA
FIFA 		Top goalscorer(s)
Division Tier Pld W D L GF GA Pts Pos Player(s) Goals
1886–87 — — — — — — — — — R1 N/A N/A Jack Doughty 4
1888–89 Combination 12 8 2 2 27 13 18 — — Jack Doughty
Roger Doughty		 6
1889–90 Alliance 22 9 2 11 40 45 20 8th R1 Willie Stewart 10
1890–91 Alliance 22 7 3 12 37 55 17 9th QR2 Bob Ramsay 7
1891–92 Alliance 22 12 7 3 69 33 31 2nd QR4 Bob Donaldson
Alf Farman		 20
1892–93 Div 1 1 30 6 6 18 50 85 18 16th R1 Bob Donaldson 16
1893–94 Div 1 ↓ 30 6 2 22 36 72 14 16th R2 Bob Donaldson 10
1894–95 Div 2 2 30 15 8 7 78 44 38 3rd R1 Dick Smith 20
1895–96 Div 2 30 15 3 12 66 57 33 6th R2 Joe Cassidy 16
1896–97 Div 2 30 17 5 8 56 34 39 2nd R3 Joe Cassidy 25
1897–98 Div 2 30 16 6 8 64 35 38 4th R2 Henry Boyd 22
1898–99 Div 2 34 19 5 10 67 43 43 4th R1 Joe Cassidy 20
1899–1900 Div 2 34 20 4 10 63 27 44 4th QR3 Joe Cassidy 16
1900–01 Div 2 34 14 4 16 42 38 32 10th R1 Tommy Leigh 14
1901–02 Div 2 34 11 6 17 38 53 28 15th RInt Stephen Preston 11
1902–03 Div 2 34 15 8 11 53 38 38 5th R2 Jack Peddie 15
1903–04 Div 2 34 20 8 6 65 33 48 3rd R2 Tommy Arkesden 15
1904–05 Div 2 34 24 5 5 81 30 53 3rd RInt Jack Peddie 17
1905–06 Div 2 ↑ 38 28 6 4 90 28 62 2nd R4 Jack Picken 25
1906–07 Div 1 1 38 17 8 13 53 56 42 8th R1 George Wall 13
1907–08 Div 1 38 23 6 9 81 48 52 1st R4 Winners Sandy Turnbull 27
1908–09 Div 1 38 15 7 16 58 68 37 13th Winners Jimmy Turnbull 22
1909–10 Div 1 38 19 7 12 69 61 45 5th R1 George Wall 14
1910–11 Div 1 38 22 8 8 72 40 52 1st R3 Enoch West 20
1911–12 Div 1 38 13 11 14 45 60 37 13th R4 Winners Enoch West 23
1912–13 Div 1 38 19 8 11 69 43 46 4th R3 Enoch West 22
1913–14 Div 1 38 15 6 17 52 62 36 14th R1 George Anderson 15
1914–15 Div 1 38 9 12 17 46 62 30 18th R1 George Anderson 10
1915–19 — — — — — — — — — — — —
1919–20 Div 1 42 13 14 15 54 50 40 12th R2 Joe Spence 14
1920–21 Div 1 42 15 10 17 64 68 40 13th R1 Tom Miller
Teddy Partridge		 8
1921–22 Div 1 ↓ 42 8 12 22 41 73 28 22nd R1 Joe Spence 15
1922–23 Div 2 2 42 17 14 11 51 36 48 4th R2 Ernie Goldthorpe 14
1923–24 Div 2 42 13 14 15 52 44 40 14th R2 Arthur Lochhead 14
1924–25 Div 2 ↑ 42 23 11 8 57 23 57 2nd R1 William Henderson 14
1925–26 Div 1 1 42 19 6 17 66 73 44 9th SF Frank McPherson 20
1926–27 Div 1 42 13 14 15 52 64 40 15th R3 Joe Spence 19
1927–28 Div 1 42 16 7 19 72 80 39 18th R6 Joe Spence 24
1928–29 Div 1 42 14 13 15 66 76 41 12th R4 Jimmy Hanson 20
1929–30 Div 1 42 15 8 19 67 88 38 17th R3 Harry Rowley
Joe Spence		 12
1930–31 Div 1 ↓ 42 7 8 27 53 115 22 22nd R4 Tommy Reid 20
1931–32 Div 2 2 42 17 8 17 71 72 42 12th R3 Joe Spence 19
1932–33 Div 2 42 15 13 14 71 68 43 6th R3 Bill Ridding 11
1933–34 Div 2 42 14 6 22 59 85 34 20th R3 Neil Dewar 8
1934–35 Div 2 42 23 4 15 76 55 50 5th R4 George Mutch 19
1935–36 Div 2 ↑ 42 22 12 8 85 43 56 1st R4 George Mutch 23
1936–37 Div 1 ↓ 1 42 10 12 20 55 78 32 21st R4 Tommy Bamford 15
1937–38 Div 2 ↑ 2 42 22 9 11 82 50 53 2nd R5 Harry Baird
Tommy Bamford		 15
1938–39 Div 1 1 42 11 16 15 57 65 38 14th R3 Jimmy Hanlon 12
1939–40 Div 1 3 1 1 1 5 3 3 10th — Billy Bryant 2
1940–45 — — — — — — — — — — — —
1945–46 — — — — — — — — — R4 Jimmy Hanlon
Jack Rowley
Billy Wrigglesworth		 2
1946–47 Div 1 42 22 12 8 95 54 56 2nd R4 Jack Rowley 28
1947–48 Div 1 42 19 14 9 81 48 52 2nd Winners Jack Rowley 28
1948–49 Div 1 42 21 11 10 77 44 53 2nd SF Runners-up Jack Rowley 29
1949–50 Div 1 42 18 14 10 69 44 50 4th R6 Jack Rowley 23
1950–51 Div 1 42 24 8 10 74 40 56 2nd R6 Stan Pearson 23
1951–52 Div 1 42 23 11 8 95 52 57 1st R3 Jack Rowley 30
1952–53 Div 1 42 18 10 14 69 72 46 8th R5 Winners Stan Pearson 18
1953–54 Div 1 42 18 12 12 73 58 48 4th R3 Tommy Taylor 23
1954–55 Div 1 42 20 7 15 84 74 47 5th R4 Dennis Viollet 21
1955–56 Div 1 42 25 10 7 83 51 60 1st R3 Tommy Taylor 25
1956–57 Div 1 42 28 8 6 103 54 64 1st Runners-up Winners European Cup – SF Tommy Taylor 34
1957–58 Div 1 42 16 11 15 85 75 43 9th Runners-up Winners European Cup – SF Dennis Viollet 23
1958–59 Div 1 42 24 7 11 103 66 55 2nd R3 Bobby Charlton 29
1959–60 Div 1 42 19 7 16 102 80 45 7th R5 Dennis Viollet 32
1960–61 Div 1 42 18 9 15 88 76 45 7th R4 R2 Bobby Charlton 21
1961–62 Div 1 42 15 9 18 72 75 39 15th SF N/A David Herd 17
1962–63 Div 1 42 12 10 20 67 81 34 19th Winners N/A Denis Law 29
1963–64 Div 1 42 23 7 12 90 62 53 2nd SF N/A Runners-up Cup Winners' Cup – QF Denis Law 46
1964–65 Div 1 42 26 9 7 89 39 61 1st SF N/A Inter-Cities Fairs Cup – SF Denis Law 39
1965–66 Div 1 42 18 15 9 84 59 51 4th SF N/A Shared European Cup – SF David Herd 33
1966–67 Div 1 42 24 12 6 84 45 60 1st R4 R2 Denis Law 25
1967–68 Div 1 42 24 8 10 89 55 56 2nd R3 N/A Shared European Cup – Winners George Best 32
1968–69 Div 1 42 15 12 15 57 53 42 11th R6 N/A Denis Law 30
1969–70 Div 1 42 14 17 11 66 61 45 8th Third place SF George Best 23
1970–71 Div 1 42 16 11 15 65 66 43 8th R3 SF George Best 21
1971–72 Div 1 42 19 10 13 69 61 48 8th R6 R4 George Best 26
1972–73 Div 1 42 12 13 17 44 60 37 18th R3 R3 Bobby Charlton 7
1973–74 Div 1 ↓ 42 10 12 20 38 48 32 21st R4 R2 Lou Macari
Sammy McIlroy		 6
1974–75 Div 2 ↑ 2 42 26 9 7 66 30 61 1st R3 SF Lou Macari
Stuart Pearson		 18
1975–76 Div 1 1 42 23 10 9 68 42 56 3rd Runners-up R4 Lou Macari 15
1976–77 Div 1 42 18 11 13 71 62 47 6th Winners R5 UEFA Cup – R2 Gordon Hill 22
1977–78 Div 1 42 16 10 16 67 63 42 10th R4 R2 Shared Cup Winners' Cup – R2 Gordon Hill 19
1978–79 Div 1 42 15 15 12 60 63 45 9th Runners-up R3 Jimmy Greenhoff 17
1979–80 Div 1 42 24 10 8 65 35 58 2nd R3 R3 Joe Jordan 13
1980–81 Div 1 42 15 18 9 51 36 48 8th R4 R2 UEFA Cup – R1 Joe Jordan 15
1981–82 Div 1 42 22 12 8 59 29 78 3rd R3 R2 Frank Stapleton 13
1982–83 Div 1 42 19 13 10 56 38 70 3rd Winners Runners-up UEFA Cup – R1 Frank Stapleton 19
1983–84 Div 1 42 20 14 8 71 41 74 4th R3 R4 Winners Cup Winners' Cup – SF Frank Stapleton 19
1984–85 Div 1 42 22 10 10 77 47 76 4th Winners R3 UEFA Cup – QF Mark Hughes 24
1985–86 Div 1 42 22 10 10 70 36 76 4th R5 R4 Runners-up Ban on
English teams 		Mark Hughes 18
1986–87 Div 1 42 14 14 14 52 45 56 11th R4 R3 Peter Davenport 16
1987–88 Div 1 40 23 12 5 71 38 81 2nd R5 R5 Brian McClair 31
1988–89 Div 1 38 13 12 13 45 35 51 11th R6 R3 Mark Hughes
Brian McClair		 16
1989–90 Div 1 38 13 9 16 46 47 48 13th Winners R3 Mark Hughes 15
1990–91 Div 1 38 16 12 10 58 45 59 6th R5 Runners-up Shared Cup Winners' Cup – Winners Mark Hughes
Brian McClair		 21
1991–92 Div 1 42 21 15 6 63 33 78 2nd R4 Winners Brian McClair 24
1992–93 Prem 42 24 12 6 67 31 84 1st R5 R3 UEFA Cup – R1 Mark Hughes 16
1993–94 Prem 42 27 11 4 80 38 92 1st Winners Runners-up Winners Champions League – R2 Eric Cantona 25
1994–95 Prem 42 26 10 6 77 28 88 2nd Runners-up R3 Winners Champions League – Group Andrei Kanchelskis 15
1995–96 Prem 38 25 7 6 73 35 82 1st Winners R2 UEFA Cup – R1 Eric Cantona 19
1996–97 Prem 38 21 12 5 76 44 75 1st R4 R4 Winners Champions League – SF Ole Gunnar Solskjær 19
1997–98 Prem 38 23 8 7 73 26 77 2nd R5 R3 Winners Champions League – QF Andy Cole 25
1998–99 Prem 38 22 13 3 80 37 79 1st Winners R5 Runners-up Champions League – Winners Dwight Yorke 29
1999–2000 Prem 38 28 7 3 97 45 91 1st N/A R3 Runners-up Dwight Yorke 24
2000–01 Prem 38 24 8 6 79 31 80 1st R4 R4 Runners-up Champions League – QF Teddy Sheringham 21
2001–02 Prem 38 24 5 9 87 45 77 3rd R4 R3 Runners-up Champions League – SF Ruud van Nistelrooy 36
2002–03 Prem 38 25 8 5 74 34 83 1st R5 Runners-up Champions League – QF Ruud van Nistelrooy 44
2003–04 Prem 38 23 6 9 64 35 75 3rd Winners R4 Winners Champions League – Round of 16 Ruud van Nistelrooy 30
2004–05 Prem 38 22 11 5 58 26 77 3rd Runners-up SF Runners-up Champions League – Round of 16 Wayne Rooney 17
2005–06 Prem 38 25 8 5 72 34 83 2nd R5 Winners Champions League – Group Ruud van Nistelrooy 24
2006–07 Prem 38 28 5 5 83 27 89 1st Runners-up R4 Champions League – SF Wayne Rooney
Cristiano Ronaldo		 23
2007–08 Prem 38 27 6 5 80 22 87 1st R6 R3 Winners Champions League – Winners Cristiano Ronaldo 42
2008–09 Prem 38 28 6 4 68 24 90 1st SF Winners Winners Cristiano Ronaldo 26
2009–10 Prem 38 27 4 7 86 28 85 2nd R3 Winners Runners-up Champions League – QF Wayne Rooney 34
2010–11 Prem 38 23 11 4 78 37 80 1st SF R5 Winners Champions League – Runners-up Dimitar Berbatov 21
2011–12 Prem 38 28 5 5 89 33 89 2nd R4 R5 Winners Wayne Rooney 34
2012–13 Prem 38 28 5 5 86 43 89 1st R6 R4 Robin van Persie 30
2013–14 Prem 38 19 7 12 64 43 64 7th R3 SF Winners Wayne Rooney 19
2014–15 Prem 38 20 10 8 62 37 70 4th R6 R2 Wayne Rooney 14
2015–16 Prem 38 19 9 10 49 35 66 5th Winners R4 Anthony Martial 17
2016–17 Prem 38 18 15 5 54 29 69 6th R6 Winners Winners Zlatan Ibrahimović 28
2017–18 Prem 38 25 6 7 68 28 81 2nd Runners-up R5 Romelu Lukaku 27
2018–19 Prem 38 19 9 10 65 54 66 6th R6 R3 Paul Pogba 16
2019–20 Prem 38 18 12 8 66 36 66 3rd SF SF Anthony Martial 23
2020–21 Prem 38 21 11 6 73 44 74 2nd R6 SF Bruno Fernandes 28
2021–22 Prem 38 16 10 12 57 57 58 6th R4 R3 Cristiano Ronaldo 24
2022–23 Prem 38 23 6 9 58 43 75 3rd Runners-up Winners Marcus Rashford 30
2023–24 Prem 38 18 6 14 57 58 60 8th Winners R4 Rasmus Højlund 16

Notes

  1. Goals in all competitions (Football League or Premier League, FA Cup, EFL Cup, European and FA Community Shield) are counted.
  2. The club did not start playing league football until 1888.
  3. The EFL Cup, historically more known as the League Cup, was first created for the 1960–61 season.
  4. The first UEFA club competition, the European Cup, currently known as the UEFA Champions League, was created for the 1955–56 season.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. 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.
  11. No competitive football was played between 1915 and 1919 due to the First World War.
  12. Lowest League finish
  13. The 1939–40 season was abandoned in early September and all results annulled, after only three matches had been played; Manchester United were tenth in the table at the time.
  14. No competitive football was played between 1939 and 1946 due to the Second World War.
  15. The FA Cup was contested in 1945–46 but the Football League did not resume until the following season.
  16. 32 goals in the First Division
  17. ^ 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. They then missed two consecutive seasons in 1967–68 and 1968–69.
  18. ^ 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.
  19. Joint top scorer with Ron Davies of Southampton
  20. 28 goals in the First Division
  21. The 1981–82 season saw the introduction of three points for a win.
  22. Manchester United were deducted one point after a brawl in a game with Arsenal on 20 October 1990.
  23. The 22 top English clubs broke away from the Football League to form the FA Premier League as the new top tier of the English football pyramid.
  24. Joint top scorer with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink of Leeds United and Michael Owen of Liverpool
  25. 18 goals in the Premier League
  26. Manchester United did not enter the 1999–2000 FA Cup due to their commitment to the 2000 FIFA Club World Championship in Brazil.
  27. 25 goals in the Premier League
  28. 31 goals in the Premier League
  29. Joint top scorer with Carlos Tevez of Manchester City
  30. 20 goals in the Premier League
  31. 26 goals in the Premier League

References

General

  • Murphy, Alex (2006). The Official Illustrated History of Manchester United. London: Orion Books. ISBN 0-7528-7603-1.
  • Shury, Alan; Landamore, Brian (2005) . The Definitive Newton Heath F.C. 'Definitive' Club Histories (2nd ed.). Nottingham: SoccerData. ISBN 1-899468-16-1.
  • "StretfordEnd.co.uk". Archived from the original on 23 April 2012. Retrieved 19 February 2010.
  • Rundle, Richard. "Manchester United". Football Club History Database. Archived from the original on 15 July 2015. Retrieved 19 February 2010.

Specific

  1. "Trophy Room". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 2007. Archived from the original on 18 May 2012. Retrieved 28 May 2007.
  2. "Won, Drawn, Lost". StretfordEnd.co.uk. Barn End Media. Archived from the original on 23 March 2015. Retrieved 16 August 2020. 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) . "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. "Manchester United achieve European clean sweep". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 24 May 2017. Archived from the original on 12 May 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
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