1955–56 Manchester United F.C. season

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Manchester United
1955–56 season
ChairmanHarold Hardman
ManagerMatt Busby
First Division1st
FA CupThird Round
Top goalscorerLeague:
Tommy Taylor (25)

All:
Tommy Taylor (25)
Highest home attendance62,277 vs Blackpool (7 April 1956)
Lowest home attendance22,192 vs Chelsea (19 November 1955)
Average home league attendance38,893

The 1955–56 season was Manchester United's 54th season in the Football League, and their 11th consecutive season in the top division of English football.[1]

A United side consisted mostly of players in their late teens and early twenties finished the season as league champions 11 points ahead of their nearest rivals Blackpool and Wolves.

Right-half Eddie Colman made his debut for United this season, first featuring in the league match against Bolton Wanderers at Burnden Park on 12 November 1955 and was soon a regular partner to Duncan Edwards in the United half-back positions. Colman's breakthrough forced Jeff Whitefoot out of the team and contributed to his transfer to Grimsby Town in the summer of 1956, while long-serving goalkeeper Jack Crompton played his final game for United this season.[2]

First Division

Date Opponents H / A Result
F–A
Scorers Attendance
20 August 1955 Birmingham City A 2–2 Viollet (2) 37,994
24 August 1955 Tottenham Hotspur H 2–2 Berry, Webster 25,406
27 August 1955 West Bromwich Albion H 3–1 Lewis, Scanlon, Viollet 31,996
31 August 1955 Tottenham Hotspur A 2–1 Edwards (2) 27,453
3 September 1955 Manchester City A 0–1 59,162
7 September 1955 Everton H 2–1 Blanchflower, Edwards 27,843
10 September 1955 Sheffield United A 0–1 28,241
14 September 1955 Everton A 2–4 Blanchflower, Webster 34,897
17 September 1955 Preston North End H 3–2 Pegg, Taylor, Viollet 33,078
24 September 1955 Burnley A 0–0 26,873
1 October 1955 Luton Town H 3–1 Taylor (2), Colin Webster 34,409
8 October 1955 Wolverhampton Wanderers H 4–3 Taylor (2), Doherty, Pegg 48,638
15 October 1955 Aston Villa A 4–4 Pegg (2), Blanchflower, Webster 29,478
22 October 1955 Huddersfield Town H 3–0 Berry, Pegg, Taylor 34,150
29 October 1955 Cardiff City A 1–0 Taylor 27,795
5 November 1955 Arsenal H 1–1 Taylor 41,586
12 November 1955 Bolton Wanderers A 1–3 Taylor 38,109
19 November 1955 Chelsea H 3–0 Taylor (2), Byrne 22,192
26 November 1955 Blackpool A 0–0 26,240
3 December 1955 Sunderland H 2–1 Doherty, Viollet 39,901
10 December 1955 Portsmouth A 2–3 Pegg, Taylor 24,594
17 December 1955 Birmingham City H 2–1 Jones, Viollet 27,704
24 December 1955 West Bromwich Albion A 4–1 Viollet (3), Taylor 25,168
26 December 1955 Charlton Athletic H 5–1 Viollet (2), Byrne, Doherty, Taylor 44,611
27 December 1955 Charlton Athletic A 0–3 42,040
31 December 1955 Manchester City H 2–1 Taylor, Viollet 60,956
14 January 1956 Sheffield United H 3–1 Berry, Pegg, Taylor 30,162
21 January 1956 Preston North End A 1–3 Whelan 28,047
4 February 1956 Burnley H 2–0 Taylor, Viollet 27,342
11 February 1956 Luton Town A 2–0 Viollet, Whelan 16,354
18 February 1956 Wolverhampton Wanderers A 2–0 Taylor (2) 40,014
25 February 1956 Aston Villa H 1–0 Whelan 36,277
3 March 1956 Chelsea A 4–2 Viollet (2), Pegg, Taylor 32,050
10 March 1956 Cardiff City H 1–1 Byrne 44,693
17 March 1956 Arsenal A 1–1 Viollet 50,758
24 March 1956 Bolton Wanderers H 1–0 Taylor 46,114
30 March 1956 Newcastle United H 5–2 Viollet (2), Doherty, Pegg, Taylor 58,994
31 March 1956 Huddersfield Town A 2–0 Taylor (2) 37,780
2 April 1956 Newcastle United A 0–0 37,395
7 April 1956 Blackpool H 2–1 Berry, Taylor 62,277
14 April 1956 Sunderland A 2–2 McGuinness, Whelan 19,865
21 April 1956 Portsmouth H 1–0 Viollet 38,417

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Manchester United (C) 42 25 10 7 83 51 1.627 60 Qualification for the European Cup preliminary round
2 Blackpool 42 20 9 13 86 62 1.387 49
3 Wolverhampton Wanderers 42 20 9 13 89 65 1.369 49
4 Manchester City 42 18 10 14 82 69 1.188 46
5 Arsenal 42 18 10 14 60 61 0.984 46
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
7 January 1956 Round 3 Bristol Rovers A 0–4 35,872

Squad statistics

Pos. Name League FA Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK England Jack Crompton 1 0 0 0 1 0
GK England Ray Wood 41 0 1 0 42 0
FB England Geoff Bent 4 0 0 0 4 0
FB England Roger Byrne 39 3 1 0 40 3
FB England Bill Foulkes 26 0 1 0 27 0
FB England Ian Greaves 15 0 0 0 15 0
HB Northern Ireland Jackie Blanchflower 18 3 0 0 18 3
HB England Eddie Colman 25 0 1 0 26 0
HB England Duncan Edwards 33 3 0 0 33 3
HB England Freddie Goodwin 8 0 0 0 8 0
HB England Mark Jones 42 1 1 0 43 1
HB England Wilf McGuinness 3 1 0 0 3 1
HB England Jeff Whitefoot 15 0 1 0 16 0
HB England Walter Whitehurst 1 0 0 0 1 0
FW England Johnny Berry 34 4 1 0 35 4
FW England John Doherty 16 4 1 0 17 4
FW England Eddie Lewis 4 1 0 0 4 1
FW England David Pegg 35 9 1 0 36 9
FW England Albert Scanlon 6 1 0 0 6 1
FW Northern Ireland Jackie Scott 1 0 0 0 1 0
FW England Tommy Taylor 33 25 1 0 34 25
FW England Dennis Viollet 34 20 1 0 35 20
FW Wales Colin Webster 15 4 0 0 15 4
FW Republic of Ireland Billy Whelan 13 4 0 0 13 4

References

  1. ^ "Manchester United Season 1955/56". StretfordEnd.co.uk. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
  2. ^ "Legends – Eddie Colman". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Archived from the original on 6 December 2010. Retrieved 9 March 2012.