1963–64 Manchester United F.C. season

The 1963–64 season was Manchester United's 62nd season in the Football League, and their 19th consecutive season in the top division of English football.^[1] United failed to win any major trophies this season, but they made a strong challenge for the three major prizes, finishing second in the league, reaching the semi-finals of the FA Cup and the quarter-finals of the European Cup Winners' Cup. A notable debutant this season was 17-year-old Northern Irish forward George Best, whose debut came in the league against West Bromwich Albion on 14 September 1963.^[2] The highly promising Best turned out a total of 17 times for United that season, scoring four goals. Striker Denis Law had an outstanding season, scoring 30 goals in the league and a total of 46 in all competitions.^[3]

Manchester United

1963–64 season
The United team that faced Willem II in the Cup Winners' Cup, 25 September 1963
Chairman	Harold Hardman
Manager	Matt Busby
First Division	2nd
FA Cup	Semi-finals
Cup Winners' Cup	Quarter-finals
Charity Shield	Runners-up
Top goalscorer	League: Denis Law (30) All: Denis Law (46)
Highest home attendance	63,700 vs Sunderland (29 February 1964)
Lowest home attendance	25,848 vs Aston Villa (6 April 1964)
Average home league attendance	45,891
Home colours Away colours
← 1962–63 1964–65 →

FA Charity Shield

Main article: 1963 FA Charity Shield

Date	Opponents	H / A	Result F–A	Scorers	Attendance
17 August 1963	Everton	A	0–4		54,840

First Division

Date	Opponents	H / A	Result F–A	Scorers	Attendance
24 August 1963	Sheffield Wednesday	A	3–3	Charlton (2), Moir	32,177
28 August 1963	Ipswich Town	H	2–0	Law (2)	39,921
31 August 1963	Everton	H	5–1	Chisnall (2), Law (2), Sadler	62,965
3 September 1963	Ipswich Town	A	7–2	Law (3), Chisnall, Moir, Sadler, Setters	28,113
7 September 1963	Birmingham City	A	1–1	Chisnall	36,874
11 September 1963	Blackpool	H	3–0	Charlton (2), Law	47,400
14 September 1963	West Bromwich Albion	H	1–0	Sadler	50,453
16 September 1963	Blackpool	A	0–1		29,806
21 September 1963	Arsenal	A	1–2	Herd	56,776
28 September 1963	Leicester City	H	3–1	Herd (2), Setters	41,374
2 October 1963	Chelsea	A	1–1	Setters	45,351
5 October 1963	Bolton Wanderers	A	1–0	Herd	35,872
19 October 1963	Nottingham Forest	A	2–1	Chisnall, Quixall	41,426
26 October 1963	West Ham United	H	0–1		45,120
28 October 1963	Blackburn Rovers	H	2–2	Quixall (2)	41,169
2 November 1963	Wolverhampton Wanderers	A	0–2		34,159
9 November 1963	Tottenham Hotspur	H	4–1	Law (3), Herd	57,413
16 November 1963	Aston Villa	A	0–4		36,276
23 November 1963	Liverpool	H	0–1		54,654
30 November 1963	Sheffield United	A	2–1	Law (2)	30,615
7 December 1963	Stoke City	H	5–2	Law (4), Herd	52,232
14 December 1963	Sheffield Wednesday	H	3–1	Herd (3)	35,139
21 December 1963	Everton	A	0–4		48,027
26 December 1963	Burnley	A	1–6	Herd	35,764
28 December 1963	Burnley	H	5–1	Herd (2), Moore (2), Best	47,834
11 January 1964	Birmingham City	H	1–2	Sadler	44,695
18 January 1964	West Bromwich Albion	A	4–1	Law (2), Best, Charlton	25,624
1 February 1964	Arsenal	H	3–1	Herd, Law, Setters	48,340
8 February 1964	Leicester City	A	2–3	Herd, Law	35,538
19 February 1964	Bolton Wanderers	H	5–0	Best (2), Herd (2), Charlton	33,926
22 February 1964	Blackburn Rovers	A	3–1	Law (2), Chisnall	36,726
7 March 1964	West Ham United	A	2–0	Herd, Sadler	27,027
21 March 1964	Tottenham Hotspur	A	3–2	Charlton, Law, Moore	56,392
23 March 1964	Chelsea	H	1–1	Law	42,931
27 March 1964	Fulham	A	2–2	Herd, Law	41,769
28 March 1964	Wolverhampton Wanderers	H	2–2	Charlton, Herd	44,470
30 March 1964	Fulham	H	3–0	Crerand, Foulkes, Herd	42,279
4 April 1964	Liverpool	A	0–3		52,559
6 April 1964	Aston Villa	H	1–0	Law	25,848
13 April 1964	Sheffield United	H	2–1	Law, Moir	27,587
18 April 1964	Stoke City	A	1–3	Charlton	45,670
25 April 1964	Nottingham Forest	H	3–1	Law (2), Moore	31,671

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Liverpool (C)	42	26	5	11	92	45	2.044	57	Qualification for the European Cup preliminary round
2	Manchester United	42	23	7	12	90	62	1.452	53	Qualification for the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup first round
3	Everton	42	21	10	11	84	64	1.313	52
4	Tottenham Hotspur	42	22	7	13	97	81	1.198	51
5	Chelsea	42	20	10	12	72	56	1.286	50
6	Sheffield Wednesday	42	19	11	12	84	67	1.254	49
7	Blackburn Rovers	42	18	10	14	89	65	1.369	46
8	Arsenal	42	17	11	14	90	82	1.098	45
9	Burnley	42	17	10	15	71	64	1.109	44
10	West Bromwich Albion	42	16	11	15	70	61	1.148	43
11	Leicester City	42	16	11	15	61	58	1.052	43
12	Sheffield United	42	16	11	15	61	64	0.953	43
13	Nottingham Forest	42	16	9	17	64	68	0.941	41
14	West Ham United	42	14	12	16	69	74	0.932	40	Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round
15	Fulham	42	13	13	16	58	65	0.892	39
16	Wolverhampton Wanderers	42	12	15	15	70	80	0.875	39
17	Stoke City	42	14	10	18	77	78	0.987	38
18	Blackpool	42	13	9	20	52	73	0.712	35
19	Aston Villa	42	11	12	19	62	71	0.873	34
20	Birmingham City	42	11	7	24	54	92	0.587	29
21	Bolton Wanderers (R)	42	10	8	24	48	80	0.600	28	Relegation to the Second Division
22	Ipswich Town (R)	42	9	7	26	56	121	0.463	25

Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated

FA Cup

Date	Round	Opponents	H / A	Result F–A	Scorers	Attendance
4 January 1964	Round 3	Southampton	A	3–2	Crerand, Herd, Moore	29,164
25 January 1964	Round 4	Bristol Rovers	H	4–1	Law (3), Herd	55,772
15 February 1964	Round 5	Barnsley	A	4–0	Law (2), Best, Herd	38,076
29 February 1964	Round 6	Sunderland	H	3–3	Best, Charlton, own goal	63,700
4 March 1964	Round 6 Replay	Sunderland	A	2–2	Charlton, Law	68,000
9 March 1964	Round 6 2nd Replay	Sunderland	N	5–1	Law (3), Chisnall, Herd	54,952
14 March 1964	Semi-final	West Ham United	N	1–3	Law	65,000

European Cup Winners' Cup

Date	Round	Opponents	H / A	Result F–A	Scorers	Attendance
25 September 1963	First round First leg	Willem II	A	1–1	Herd	20,000
15 October 1963	First round Second leg	Willem II	H	6–1	Law (3), Charlton, Chisnall, Setters	46,272
3 December 1963	Second round First leg	Tottenham Hotspur	A	0–2		57,447
10 December 1963	Second round Second leg	Tottenham Hotspur	H	4–1	Charlton (2), Herd (2)	50,000
26 February 1964	Quarter-final First leg	Sporting CP	H	4–1	Law (3), Charlton	60,000
18 March 1964	Quarter-final Second leg	Sporting CP	A	0–5		40,000

Squad statistics

Pos.	Name	League		FA Cup		Cup Winners' Cup		Other		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK	David Gaskell	17	0	7	0	4	0	1	0	29	0
GK	Harry Gregg	25	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	27	0
FB	Shay Brennan	17	0	5	0	2	0	0	0	24	0
FB	Noel Cantwell	28	0	2	0	4	0	1	0	35	0
FB	Tony Dunne	40	0	7	0	6	0	1	0	54	0
HB	Pat Crerand	41	1	7	1	6	0	1	0	55	2
HB	Bill Foulkes	41	1	7	0	6	0	1	0	55	1
HB	Maurice Setters	32	4	7	0	6	1	1	0	46	5
HB	Nobby Stiles	17	0	2	0	2	0	0	0	21	0
HB	Wilf Tranter	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
FW	Willie Anderson	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
FW	George Best	17	4	7	2	2	0	0	0	26	6
FW	Bobby Charlton	40	9	7	2	6	4	1	0	54	15
FW	Phil Chisnall	20	6	4	1	4	1	0	0	28	8
FW	Johnny Giles	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
FW	David Herd	30	20	7	4	6	3	1	0	44	27
FW	Denis Law	30	30	6	10	5	6	1	0	42	46
FW	Ian Moir	18	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	18	3
FW	Graham Moore	18	4	1	1	0	0	0	0	19	5
FW	Albert Quixall	9	3	0	0	3	0	1	0	13	3
FW	David Sadler	19	5	0	0	2	0	0	0	21	5

References

1. "Manchester United Season 1963/64". StretfordEnd.co.uk. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
2. "George Best: 1946–2005". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 23 November 2005. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
3. "Legends – George Best". Stretford-End.com. Stretford-End. Retrieved 9 March 2012.