2020 is the 45th anniversary of Manchester United’s year in the Second Division.
The decline after the European Cup win of 1968 had come with the shock of relegation immortalised by Denis Law’s back-heeled goal for Manchester City at Old Trafford, even if the strike itself did not actually send Law’s former team down.
Manager Tommy Docherty expected to be sacked – but he was given a case of champagne by Sir Matt Busby and told he had the faith of the board and time to turn it around. A year later, Docherty had laid the foundations for one of the most exciting Old Trafford teams of all-time.
The following are excerpts from my book on the Second Division season which is available on this website now. We study three key moments in the campaign – the opening day, the game against Sunderland in Old Trafford which became a landmark in its own right, and finally the return of Wilf McGuinness with his York City team as United were on the verge of promotion – with Docherty making an important tactical decision.
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It was said that there were supporters camping outside Brisbane Road the evening before the game for the opportunity to watch United’s first game of the season. Just under 18,000 crammed into the ground with a reported 6,000 more locked out, which would become something of a familiar theme throughout the season. Orient were good opponents for United to gauge the difficulty of the task which lay ahead of them as the London-based outfit had missed out on promotion the previous campaign by a single point.
Jill Palmer of the Evening Standard was keen to point out there was some consolation for that in her Orient match-day programme column, saying “We could not go to the First Division, so it has almost come to us, in the shape of one of football’s great names, Manchester United.” Orient manager George Petchey also made mention of the opponents in his notes. “Today’s attractive visitors Manchester United have won just about every honour in the game in their illustrious history,” Petchey said. “I am confident that the team he (Docherty) is rebuilding will be competing for a place in the top three of the Division at the end of the season.”
Incidentally, listed at number 12 on the match programme for the O’s was seventeen year old Laurie Cunningham, who was profiled inside. “Orient manager George Petchey is certain his debut winger Laurie Cunningham is going to be a great player,” it said.“And on the evidence of what I saw at Upton Park, Petchey could be spot on with that prediction.” Cunningham would, of course, be signed by United on loan by Ron Atkinson years later to bolster the squad’s front line.
The paucity of United’s attack had been highlighted by Docherty’s unusually conservative approach throughout most of the start of the 73/74 season. Sir Matt Busby had encouraged Docherty to be more positive but it wasn’t until shortly after the signing of Jim McCalliog in March that the shackles came off.A comprehensive 3-1 win at Stamford Bridge had given the Reds what was to ultimately vain hope but what it did do was instill a new, defiant attitude that quickly spread throughout the club. An injury to Steve James in that game against Chelsea meant Brian Greenhoff had to move back into central defence but his attitude as a forward thinking distributor of the ball had a profound impact on the team’s adventure. Docherty’s line of thought that if United were going to go down, they were going to down all guns blazing – it was as admirable as it was ultimately ill-fated but it was this change in attitude which would forever change the way his teams would play and, in time, be remembered.
Greenhoff was back in midfield for the Second Division opener and just before the half hour, his searching through ball found the captain Willie Morgan who thrashed the ball into the Orient goal. United’s class told on the day and they were able to contend with the abrupt and physical approach of their opponents – their second goal underlined the positivity of the game plan.With a quarter of an hour remaining,Alex Forsyth took a free kick that was met at the back post by a thundering Stewart Houston header which went in off the post. Only Martin Buchan of the outfield contingent had stayed back – the measured Scot was probably still trying to take in what he would later describe as the ‘wild tackling’ of the Second Division.
In the programme for United’s second home game of the season against Portsmouth, Manchester Evening News journalist David Meek was forthcoming in his praise for the men involved in United’s first goal. “His (Morgan) goal in London was a cracker, splendidly created by Brian Greenhoff but magnificently scored by Morgan who with his ability and experience should be scoring much more frequently… Brian Greenhoff can also look ahead with confidence… he is next in line for the captaincy of Manchester United.” Meek also recalled the words of Docherty in praise of the Barnsley-born utility man who was flavour of the month. “Brian has matured a lot since he came into the team. He is the right material to become a captain of the future.”
The 2-0 result may have been just what was expected anyway but United still deserved some credit for the composed way in which they tackled what was a stern test to life in the Second Division. In many ways, the Reds would be in a no-win situation for the rest of the season.The expectation was such that they could have won every game and no-one would have blinked an eye but United still had to maintain composure and concentration if they wanted to turn their undoubted superior quality into results.
Crowd trouble continued to dog the Reds and it is debatable whether the good will extended to United by Orient prior to the game will have lasted for long afterwards. David Meek reported ‘young United fans brought disgrace to the club on the trip to London’. There had been stories of a fight between United and Arsenal fans on London’s Euston Road near St. Pancras station in the morning before the game.
Another ‘c’ word that was key to promotion chances and on the lips of many was confidence. Were United still feeling sorry for themselves? There was certainly a very sombre mood in the match programme for the first Old Trafford game of the season, where the Reds welcomed Millwall.
Louis Edwards :
“It makes me very sad to write a message for the first time as Chairman of a Second Division Club especially as it it some 36 years since we were last in this position. Undoubtedly last season was a big disappointment to the Directors, Manager, Players and staff and was a great blow to our supporters. I can only assure you that every possible effort is being and will be made by everyone at the Club to achieve of fortune and, if at all possible, to get back in the First Division at the first attempt.”
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In the match programme prior to the following game against Sunderland, David Meek wrote that ‘Manchester United fans have had their fingers crossed all week for Stuart Pearson’. The North East club were second in the table and United had the opportunity to re-establish a huge six point gap – and Tommy Docherty was keen to do so in style. “One thing I promise you… Manchester United will make their promotion bid playing football,” he declared in his column. “I am prompted to say this after the disappointment of our defeat at Hull. I felt our opponents overstepped the mark with their aggression… I know that a great many of our supporters were disappointed at the result and perhaps worried that we should have lost two away matches on the trot. So it is the time to point out that I don’t see the defeat as any slackening in our own team. In fact I thought we played some brilliant football. We enjoyed most of the play and while it would be fair to criticise the finishing I was completely satisfied with the manner and style of play which in the long term is the most important thing.
“It is the most important thing because it means that overall, if your standard of football is right, then you will win matches… it is football all the way for us. It will be the theme of the match this afternoon and I take great pleasure in welcoming Sunderland to Old Trafford for what I am confident will be a match in keeping with a contest between the two top teams of the division.”
Saturday 30th November – Division Two – Old Trafford (60,585)
Manchester United 3-2 Sunderland
Pearson, Morgan, McIlroy
Stepney, Forsyth, Houston, Greenhoff, Holton, Buchan, Morgan, McIlroy, Pearson, Macari, Daly
Sub : Davies
Galvanised by their manager’s confidence and a crowd which was the biggest in any League match in England all season, Manchester United put on a display so thrilling that it was featured on ‘Match of the Day’ – the BBC flagship soccer show that even then was usually solely the exclusive property of the First Division fixtures. “There isn’t a superlative in the dictionary fit to describe this game adequately, so I’ve coined one of our own – magnifantabulous!” wrote one reporter. “This one will have Jimmy Hill purring like a kitten,” remarked the proud Tommy Docherty of his team’s performance.
Opposing manager Bob Stokoe wasn’t quite as satisfied with the game, saying, “The whole thing has been turned into ‘Referee of the Day’,” after a decision by the referee Gordon Hill (no, not that one!) to ignore his linesman’s flag and allow Willie Morgan’s equaliser to stand with the game firmly poised in the visitors favour. Stokoe’s annoyance couldn’t undermine his own team’s fantastic contribution to a spectacle which was brought to life in the 11th minute by the fit Pearson. Indeed, the forward looked positively sprightly as he danced around a tackle and smartly finished with his trusted left foot from twenty yards to send the home crowd crazy. Where other teams have wilted under similar pressure, the visitors showed fine resolve to level immediately – attacking straight from kick off, Kerr won a challenge with Houston on the edge of the area and drilled a slide rule pass across goal. Sunderland number eight Billy Hughes was on hand to convert with less than twenty seconds of play between the goals.
The blue touch paper was lit and Sunderland scored another within two minutes of getting level – Bryan ‘Pop’ Robson and Hughes worked perfectly in tandem (a phrase that may well have been uttered many times at Old Trafford a decade later!) down the right hand side of United’s defence to fashion an opportunity which the latter lashed beyond Stepney. Hughes was desperately close to a hat-trick in the first half but his volley from 18 yards was dealt with by Stepney – and then the tricky midfielder almost returned the compliment to his team-mate Robson, who latched on to a through ball, beating the offside trip but not Stepney, whose smothering of the ball kept United in a game when they were on the ropes.
Half time came at the perfect time for the Reds, who regrouped and equalised shortly after the break – Pearson beat his marker and whipped in a terrific left foot cross, which Morgan converted at the far post. The referee consulted with his linesman, who had raised his flag due to McIlroy being in an offside position – but decided the Northern Irishman was not interfering with play, much to the anger of the travelling team. With the momentum, Docherty decided to throw Davies into the action in place of Greenhoff.
Davies was instantly involved in the action – his cross field pass found Forsyth, who in turn played it to Daly. Daly’s cross was met first time by McIlroy, who made no mistake from inside the area to give the Reds the lead for the second time in the game. It was a lead that they wouldn’t relinquish. United had fallen behind to two goals in a matter of seconds and had responded with a quick fire double of their own, though the Morgan and McIlroy goals were six minutes apart.
For McIlroy, the winner brought immense personal satisfaction. “There was only really Villa and Sunderland who came and had a real go,” he says. “They had good teams, a great support and an away support, they were games we played in thinking might finish 5-4. The atmosphere against Sunderland was incredible – the Stretford End was so loud. They came out flying and got in front, but we managed to turn it around. I got the winner in a 3-2 win… it was a hell of a game. I’ll never forget it. It was under the lights in the second half because it was winter and everything about it was electrifying. We were so pumped up we didn’t want the game to stop. They were a decent side and I think they were overwhelmed by the noise – I think it was that which got us the result that day. To score that day was incredible, one of the favourite goals of my career… not so much because of the execution or the finish, but the feeling of scoring it and the atmosphere and noise that followed. Sometimes in football the emotion and occasion is what you remember as much as how good a goal is.”
Aside from the obvious boost that United received from winning such a fantastic game against their closest rivals in the Division, it was the third game in a row that the Reds had recovered from a setback in a home game to get a win. To make it the perfect day and make it a great end to the month, despite the crowd being as big as it had been anywhere in England all season, there were no arrests made.
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United’s Saturday game was against York City, and with the rapid turnaround of games, Docherty’s programme notes had been written before the game against Bristol Rovers – but they carried a fairly prophetic warning. “We seem to have made a habit of giving away gift goals against Norwich this season, I don’t say it is bad luck either, more like bad professionalism,” he lamented. “Frequently I have been more worried about our mistakes than anything the opposition might do. I know we have a good defence – the goals against figures prove that – but if we could wipe out the unforced slips it would be even better.”
Still, Docherty was in positive mood in what he described ‘could be the crucial weekend for Manchester United’. “I must say that I am very happy about our recovery of form,” he expressed. “A few weeks ago our results were far from championship figures. Three points from five games was poor, but note the improvement from the next five games with a return of seven points. That was certainly championship form and a neat little run after a bad spell that put us back on the right track.”
York City – themselves battling relegation – had also changed managers during the season, with a familiar name, Wilf McGuinness, taking charge. It was McGuinness of course who had taken what to some might have seemed like the poisoned chalice, being the first man to attempt to succeed Sir Matt Busby at Manchester United. Luck had not been his friend and ultimately he was dismissed; after four years in Greece, coaching Aris Thessaloniki and Panachaiki, in February 1975 he had been given the York job. It was his first return to Old Trafford.
Saturday 29th March – Division Two – Old Trafford (46,802)
Manchester United 2-1 York City
Morgan, Macari
Stepney, Forsyth, Houston, Morgan, Greenhoff, Buchan, Coppell, McIlroy, Pearson, Macari, Daly
“Wilf was more nervous than the players,” claimed visiting defender Barry Swallow, despite this being the largest League crowd York had ever played in front of. The only notable action of the first half was an injury to the linesman in the 28th minute – play was stopped while the search for a replacement went on, and eventually, it took an announcement from the public address system to source somebody from the crowd to do it!
The confidence of recent form wasn’t helping United’s cause (though it may have only been natural that their resources were drained) and it took until the 75th minute for the breakthrough to finally come. Forsyth’s free kick was flicked on by Houston, and Morgan (in the number four shirt, not his usual number seven) was on hand to finish from close in. Ten minutes later, Macari found space in the penalty area after a pass from Morgan (who originally appeared to control the ball with his hand), but was brought down. He gesticulated for a penalty but referee Pat Partridge didn’t award it – still in control of the ball, Macari promptly jumped up and smashed it into the goal.
The points were safe but Docherty was left to curse another late lack of concentration when York went straight down the field and scored through Jimmy Seal. Of the two managers, though, McGuinness was the one angrier at full time. “Two bad decisions cost us the game. I didn’t think it should have been a free kick that led to the first goal and Morgan clearly handled before the second was scored,” he argued.
McGuinness’ recalled the return in his 2008 autobiography. “It felt overwhelmingly peculiar to be operating from the away dugout, but there was absolutely no question of divided loyalties,” he said. “I was very proud of how my team played. I think we deserved a point and the goal by Lou Macari which turned out to be the difference between the sides was an outrage. The little fella caught the ball in both hands, ran with it for ten yards and then drop-kicked it into our net – at least, that’s how I remember it!”
Jokes aside, McGuinness was left touched by the welcome he received by both the club and the United manager. “I was profoundly moved, too, by the warmth of the reception I received at Old Trafford. The fans were fantastic, greeting me with genuine affection and appreciation, together with a dash of sympathy over the way I’d had to leave… Then there was Tommy Docherty, the current boss, who could not have made me more welcome. The Doc can be a contradictory customer because he says some outrageous things at times, but he can also be one of the most supportive men in football. When I had broken my leg all those years earlier, one of the first letters I received was from Tommy, outlining how he had made a complete recovery after breaking his own leg and predicting that I would do the same. It was a lovely touch because he was an established star at the time and I hardly knew him. You never forget generosity of spirit like that.”
Showing the kind of spirit they had at Old Trafford, McGuinness’ York City stayed up. In his future career as an after-dinner speaker, one of his many soundbites was that he had ‘managed York City in the Fourth, Third and Second Divisions – just in the wrong order!’ after two consecutive relegations in 1976 and 1977.
Manchester United’s game with York City may not seem relatively remarkable but it was the game which saw the birth of what would become the formation Docherty’s team would most commonly become to be associated with – 4-2-4. The 4-4-2 which had been the shape for most of the season was slowly being advanced, possibly through the attacking capabilities of his side and the way that they had naturally fallen together. As was stated earlier, Brian Greenhoff’s permanent move into the back four was made the following season, but that is where he played against York City. Morgan and Coppell were both wide men but Docherty’s interpretation of the capabilities of each player were perhaps best illustrated in his subtle, yet profound description of the two – Morgan being an outside right, and Coppell being a winger. The irony, of course, is that of the two, Coppell was undoubtedly the grafter in comparison, with Morgan probably a more natural ‘winger’ with his penchant for the incredible. Daly and Macari as midfielders could not exactly be said to be defensive minded, but equally, were not work shy. McIlroy was up front with Pearson. Eventually, McIlroy would move further back in place of Daly, and Jimmy Greenhoff and Gordon Hill would come in to complete the shape of the side.
Docherty openly confesses that the permanent Brian Greenhoff switch was almost ‘an accident’ although maybe he does not give himself due credit; Greenhoff had been used at centre half often enough for the manager to be aware of the defensive, and attacking, qualities he brought to the team in whichever role he played. Likewise, if pressed, he may well concede that the injury to Steve James against Bristol Rovers was the reason for the seed of this tactical revolution being planted rather than a masterminded brainwave.
It would be unnecessarily sycophantic to declare that Docherty was the creator of football tactics in the modern era but just as he doesn’t give himself the credit for the subtle changes which made such a difference, it should commonly be accepted that he isn’t given the credit by a majority who seem to think Manchester United Football Club went from Sir Matt Busby to Sir Alex Ferguson and the years in between were all a terrible dream. Ferguson was pretty open about following Busby’s blueprint, particularly in the sense that the club ought to have a successful youth system. That much is faithful to the philosophy which Busby and Jimmy Murphy put in place.
Though the use of orthodox wingers was hardly alien to Manchester United, it had been a long time since conventional right sided and left sided wide men were implemented. That, of course, was down to the brilliant George Best causing havoc all over the front line.
In selecting a 4-2-4, Docherty was proceeding with a structure that would go on to not only be the hallmark of his side but also, arguably, that of the successful Manchester United side of the 1990’s and beyond under Sir Alex Ferguson.
It could even be contended that until Louis van Gaal’s implementation of a three man defence in July 2014, Docherty’s Manchester United shape had been in place for forty years. “I think that might be fair,” agrees McIlroy. “The tradition of great wingers at the club preceded Tommy Docherty with Willie Morgan and John Aston under Sir Matt but they were usually joined by George Best – and he wasn’t a winger in the traditional sense. Jonny and Willie were out and out wingers. But when Stevie and Willie played on the wings, that was two proper wingers… and since then we’ve always been renowned for having great wingers. Sir Matt did love wingers, and when the Doc put in the 4-2-4 system, it was just great to see. It was great to play in, too, for the likes of me, Gerry and Lou. Alls we loved doing was getting the ball, doing our little bit and then giving it the wingers. We used to play some unbelievable one touch, off the cuff football. It was unbelievable to play in.”
