1951–52 Manchester United F.C. season
70th season in existence of Manchester United
Manchester United 1951–52 football season
The 1951–52 season was Manchester United 's 50th season in the Football League , and their seventh consecutive season in the top division of English football . They finished the season as champions for the first time in 41 years, securing their title on the final day of the season with a 6–1 home win over an Arsenal side who were their last remaining contenders in the race for the title.
United were still captained by Johnny Carey , who along with the likes of high scoring forward Jack Rowley had been at the club since before the war and helped them win the FA Cup in 1948, but by this stage most of the players from United's first postwar side were now in their thirties, and Busby was gradually replacing his older stars with younger players from the youth team. He made a club record move for Birmingham City winger Johnny Berry before the start of this title winning season, and also drafted in 22-year-old Roger Byrne from the reserve side to occupy the left wing, with Byrne scoring a host of crucial goals to help United clinch the title. Another young player who made his debut in the season, but did not play enough times to collect a championship medal, was the Belfast born teenager Jackie Blanchflower , who was equally capable as a half-back or inside-forward.[1]
Friendlies
Date
Opponents
H / A
Result F–A
Scorers
Attendance
26 September 1951
Hapoel
H
6–0
Rowley (2), Pearson (2), Walton , Aston
12,000
23 February 1952
Manchester City
H
4–2
Pearson (2), Aston , Clempson
25,002
29 March 1952
Hibernian
H
1–1
Clempson
20,098
9 May 1952
New Jersey XI
N
4–0
Byrne (2), Berry , Carey
9,000
11 May 1952
Philadelphia All-Stars
N
4–0
Rowley (2), Clempson , Byrne
5,000
13 May 1952
Montreal All-Stars
N
10–0
Rowley (3), Downie (3), Clempson (3), McShane
6,400
18 May 1952
American League XI
N
5–1
Clempson (2), Berry , Rowley , Downie
7,150
21 May 1952
Fall River All-Stars
N
11–1
Rowley (7), Downie (3), Martin (o.g. )
3,102
25 May 1952
Stuttgart
N
5–2
Byrne , Clempson , Downie /Rowley , Downie/Byrne, Rowley
5,874
27 May 1952
Chicago All-Stars
N
6–1
Rowley (3), Downie (2), Aston
3,564
1 June 1952
Atlas
N
2–0
Pearson , Byrne (pen. )
8 June 1952
Atlas
N
4–3
Pearson (3), Byrne
12,000
12 June 1952
Toronto Ulster United
N
4–2
Clempson , Aston , Downie , Pearson
10,000
14 June 1952
Tottenham Hotspur
N
0–1
25,321
15 June 1952
Tottenham Hotspur
N
1–2
Rowley
24,582
First Division
Date
Opponents
H / A
Result F–A
Scorers
Attendance
18 August 1951
West Bromwich Albion
A
3–3
Rowley (3)
27,486
22 August 1951
Middlesbrough
H
4–2
Rowley (3), Pearson
37,339
25 August 1951
Newcastle United
H
2–1
Downie , Rowley
51,850
29 August 1951
Middlesbrough
A
4–1
Pearson (2), Rowley (2)
44,212
1 September 1951
Bolton Wanderers
A
0–1
52,239
5 September 1951
Charlton Athletic
H
3–2
Rowley (2), Downie
26,773
8 September 1951
Stoke City
H
4–0
Rowley (3), Pearson
48,660
12 September 1951
Charlton Athletic
A
2–2
Downie (2)
28,806
15 September 1951
Manchester City
A
2–1
Berry , McShane
52,571
22 September 1951
Tottenham Hotspur
A
0–2
70,882
29 September 1951
Preston North End
H
1–2
Aston
53,454
6 October 1951
Derby County
H
2–1
Berry , Pearson
39,767
13 October 1951
Aston Villa
A
5–2
Pearson (2), Rowley (2), Bond
47,795
20 October 1951
Sunderland
H
0–1
40,915
27 October 1951
Wolverhampton Wanderers
A
2–0
Pearson , Rowley
46,167
3 November 1951
Huddersfield Town
H
1–1
Pearson
25,616
10 November 1951
Chelsea
A
2–4
Pearson , Rowley
48,960
17 November 1951
Portsmouth
H
1–3
Downie
35,914
24 November 1951
Liverpool
A
0–0
42,378
1 December 1951
Blackpool
H
3–1
Downie (2), Rowley
34,154
8 December 1951
Arsenal
A
3–1
Pearson , Rowley , own goal
55,451
15 December 1951
West Bromwich Albion
H
5–1
Downie (2), Pearson (2), Berry
27,584
22 December 1951
Newcastle United
A
2–2
Bond , Cockburn
45,414
25 December 1951
Fulham
H
3–2
Berry , Bond , Rowley
33,802
26 December 1951
Fulham
A
3–3
Bond , Pearson , Rowley
32,671
29 December 1951
Bolton Wanderers
H
1–0
Pearson
53,205
5 January 1952
Stoke City
A
0–0
36,389
19 January 1952
Manchester City
H
1–1
Carey
54,245
26 January 1952
Tottenham Hotspur
H
2–0
Pearson , own goal
40,845
9 February 1952
Preston North End
A
2–1
Aston , Berry
38,792
16 February 1952
Derby County
A
3–0
Aston , Pearson , Rowley
27,693
1 March 1952
Aston Villa
H
1–1
Berry
38,910
8 March 1952
Sunderland
A
2–1
Cockburn , Rowley
48,078
15 March 1952
Wolverhampton Wanderers
H
2–0
Aston , Clempson
45,109
22 March 1952
Huddersfield Town
A
2–3
Clempson , Pearson
30,316
5 April 1952
Portsmouth
A
0–1
25,522
11 April 1952
Burnley
A
1–1
Byrne
38,907
12 April 1952
Liverpool
H
4–0
Byrne (2), Downie , Rowley
42,970
14 April 1952
Burnley
H
6–1
Byrne (2), Carey , Downie , Pearson , Rowley
44,508
19 April 1952
Blackpool
A
2–2
Byrne , Rowley
29,118
21 April 1952
Chelsea
H
3–0
Carey , Pearson , own goal
37,436
26 April 1952
Arsenal
H
6–1
Rowley (3), Pearson (2), Byrne
53,651
Source:
World Football Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions
FA Cup
Date
Round
Opponents
H / A
Result F–A
Scorers
Attendance
12 January 1952
Round 3
Hull City
A
0–2
43,517
Squad statistics
References