1955–56 Manchester United F.C. season

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]

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

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

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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

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Date Round Opponents H / A Result
F – A
Scorers Attendance
7 January 1956 Round 3 Bristol Rovers A 0–4 35,872

Squad statistics

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

References

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  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.