1950–51 Manchester United F.C. season

The 1950–51 season was Manchester United's 49th season in the Football League. The club finished runners-up to champions Tottenham Hotspur in the league and were also quarter-finalists in the FA Cup.

Manchester United

1950–51 season
Chairman	James W. Gibson
Manager	Matt Busby
First Division	2nd
FA Cup	Sixth Round
Top goalscorer	League: Stan Pearson (18) All: Stan Pearson (23)
Highest home attendance	55,434 vs Leeds United (27 January 1951)
Lowest home attendance	24,764 vs West Bromwich Albion (14 April 1951)
Average home league attendance	38,752
Home colours Away colours
← 1949–50 1951–52 →

A notable debutant for the club this season was 17-year-old Barnsley born centre-half Mark Jones.^[1]

First Division

Date	Opponents	H / A	Result F–A	Scorers	Attendance
19 August 1950	Fulham	H	1–0	Pearson	44,042
23 August 1950	Liverpool	A	1–2	Rowley	30,211
26 August 1950	Bolton Wanderers	A	0–1		40,431
30 August 1950	Liverpool	H	1–0	Downie	34,835
2 September 1950	Blackpool	H	1–0	Bogan	53,260
4 September 1950	Aston Villa	A	3–1	Rowley (2), Pearson	42,724
9 September 1950	Tottenham Hotspur	A	0–1		60,621
13 September 1950	Aston Villa	H	0–0		33,021
16 September 1950	Charlton Athletic	H	3–0	Delaney, Pearson, Rowley	36,619
23 September 1950	Middlesbrough	A	2–1	Pearson (2)	48,051
30 September 1950	Wolverhampton Wanderers	A	0–0		45,898
7 October 1950	Sheffield Wednesday	H	3–1	Downie, McShane, Rowley	40,651
14 October 1950	Arsenal	A	0–3		66,150
21 October 1950	Portsmouth	H	0–0		41,842
28 October 1950	Everton	A	4–1	Rowley (2), Aston, Pearson	51,142
4 November 1950	Burnley	H	1–1	McShane	39,454
11 November 1950	Chelsea	A	0–1		51,882
18 November 1950	Stoke City	H	0–0		30,031
25 November 1950	West Bromwich Albion	A	1–0	Birch	28,146
2 December 1950	Newcastle United	H	1–2	Birch	34,502
9 December 1950	Huddersfield Town	A	3–2	Aston (2), Birkett	26,713
16 December 1950	Fulham	A	2–2	Pearson (2)	19,649
23 December 1950	Bolton Wanderers	H	2–3	Aston, Pearson	35,382
25 December 1950	Sunderland	A	1–2	Aston	41,215
26 December 1950	Sunderland	H	3–5	Bogan (2), Aston	35,176
13 January 1951	Tottenham Hotspur	H	2–1	Birch, Rowley	43,283
20 January 1951	Charlton Athletic	A	2–1	Aston, Birkett	31,978
3 February 1951	Middlesbrough	H	1–0	Pearson	44,633
17 February 1951	Wolverhampton Wanderers	H	2–1	Birch, Rowley	42,022
26 February 1951	Sheffield Wednesday	A	4–0	McShane, Downie, Pearson, Rowley	25,693
3 March 1951	Arsenal	H	3–1	Aston (2), Downie	46,202
10 March 1951	Portsmouth	A	0–0		33,148
17 March 1951	Everton	H	3–0	Aston, Downie, Pearson	29,317
23 March 1951	Derby County	H	2–0	Aston, Downie	42,009
24 March 1951	Burnley	A	2–1	Aston, McShane	36,656
26 March 1951	Derby County	A	4–2	Aston, Downie, Pearson, Rowley	25,860
31 March 1951	Chelsea	H	4–1	Pearson (3), McShane	25,779
7 April 1951	Stoke City	A	0–2		25,690
14 April 1951	West Bromwich Albion	H	3–0	Downie, Pearson, Rowley	24,764
21 April 1951	Newcastle United	A	2–0	Rowley, Pearson	45,209
28 April 1951	Huddersfield Town	H	6–0	Aston (2), McShane (2), Downie, Rowley	25,560
5 May 1951	Blackpool	A	1–1	Downie	22,864

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts
1	Tottenham Hotspur (C)	42	25	10	7	82	44	1.864	60
2	Manchester United	42	24	8	10	74	40	1.850	56
3	Blackpool	42	20	10	12	79	53	1.491	50
4	Newcastle United	42	18	13	11	62	53	1.170	49
5	Arsenal	42	19	9	14	73	56	1.304	47

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
6 January 1951	Round 3	Oldham Athletic	H	4–1	Pearson, Aston, Birch, own goal	37,161
27 January 1951	Round 4	Leeds United	H	4–0	Pearson (3), Rowley	55,434
10 February 1951	Round 5	Arsenal	H	1–0	Pearson	55,058
24 February 1951	Round 6	Birmingham City	A	0–1		50,000

Squad statistics

Pos.	Name	League		FA Cup		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK	Reg Allen	40	0	4	0	44	0
GK	Jack Crompton	2	0	0	0	2	0
FB	Johnny Carey	39	0	4	0	43	0
FB	Tommy Lowrie	0	0	1	0	1	0
FB	Thomas McNulty	4	0	1	0	5	0
FB	Billy Redman	16	0	2	0	18	0
HB	Allenby Chilton	38	0	4	0	42	0
HB	Henry Cockburn	35	0	4	0	39	0
HB	Don Gibson	32	0	3	0	35	0
HB	Mark Jones	4	0	0	0	4	0
HB	Billy McGlen	26	0	1	0	27	0
HB	Ed McIlvenny	2	0	0	0	2	0
HB	Jeff Whitefoot	2	0	0	0	2	0
FW	John Aston, Sr.	41	15	4	1	45	16
FW	Brian Birch	8	4	4	1	12	5
FW	Cliff Birkett	9	2	4	0	13	2
FW	Tommy Bogan	11	3	0	0	11	3
FW	Laurie Cassidy	1	0	0	0	1	0
FW	Frank Clempson	2	0	0	0	2	0
FW	Jimmy Delaney	13	1	0	0	13	1
FW	John Downie	29	10	0	0	29	10
FW	Harry McShane	30	7	1	0	31	7
FW	Stan Pearson	39	18	4	5	43	23
FW	Jack Rowley	39	14	3	1	42	15
–	Own goals	–	0	–	1	–	1