Manchester United were rocked at the start of the season when Ernest Mangnall left to become manager of rivals Manchester City. His last game in charge was, ironically, the home defeat to City at Old Trafford.

Mangnall was succeeded by club secretary John Bentley. However, he was rather less successful in this role than his predecessor; he took little interest in the running of the team and largely left the players to their own devices. As a result, the club slumped from being title challengers to barely avoiding relegation, and Bentley handed over to Jack Robson in 1914. He remained involved with Manchester United until retiring from club administration, in 1916, due to ill health.

Still, United did finish a creditable fourth place in the table, leading the division at early points in the season.

First Division

Date	Opponents	H / A	ResultF – A	Scorers	Attendance
2 September 1912	Woolwich Arsenal	A	0 – 0		11,000
7 September 1912	Manchester City	H	0 – 1		40,000
14 September 1912	West Bromwich Albion	A	2 – 1	Livingstone, Turnbull	25,000
21 September 1912	Everton	H	2 – 0	West (2)	40,000
28 September 1912	The Wednesday	A	3 – 3	West, Turnbull	30,000
5 October 1912	Blackburn Rovers	H	1 – 1	Wall	45,000
12 October 1912	Derby County	A	1 – 2	Turnbull	15,000
19 October 1912	Tottenham Hotspur	H	2 – 0	Turnbull, West	12,000
26 October 1912	Middlesbrough	A	2 – 3	Nuttall (2)	10,000
2 November 1912	Notts County	H	2 – 1	Anderson, Meredith	12,000
9 November 1912	Sunderland	A	1 – 3	West	20,000
16 November 1912	Aston Villa	A	2 – 4	Wall, West	20,000
23 November 1912	Liverpool	H	3 – 1	Anderson (2), Wall	8,000
30 November 1912	Bolton Wanderers	A	1 – 2	Wall	25,000
7 December 1912	Sheffield United	H	4 – 0	Anderson, Turnbull,Wall, West	12,000
14 December 1912	Newcastle United	A	3 – 1	West (3)	20,000
21 December 1912	Oldham Athletic	H	0 – 0		30,000
25 December 1912	Chelsea	A	4 – 1	West (2), Anderson,Whalley	33,000
26 December 1912	Chelsea	H	4 – 2	Turnbull (2), Anderson,Wall	20,000
28 December 1912	Manchester City	A	2 – 0	West (2)	38,000
1 January 1913	Bradford City	H	2 – 0	Anderson (2)	30,000
4 January 1913	West Bromwich Albion	H	1 – 1	Roberts	25,000
18 January 1913	Everton	A	1 – 4	Hamill	20,000
25 January 1913	The Wednesday	H	2 – 0	West, Whalley	45,000
8 February 1913	Blackburn Rovers	A	0 – 0		38,000
15 February 1913	Derby County	H	4 – 0	West (2), Anderson,Turnbull	30,000
1 March 1913	Middlesbrough	H	2 – 3	Meredith, Whalley	15,000
8 March 1913	Notts County	A	2 – 1	Anderson, Turnbull	10,000
15 March 1913	Sunderland	H	1 – 3	Sheldon	15,000
21 March 1913	Woolwich Arsenal	H	2 – 0	Anderson, Whalley	20,000
22 March 1913	Aston Villa	H	4 – 0	Stacey, Turnbull, Wall,West	30,000
25 March 1913	Bradford City	A	0 – 1		25,000
29 March 1913	Liverpool	A	2 – 0	Wall, West	12,000
31 March 1913	Tottenham Hotspur	A	1 – 1	Blott	12,000
5 April 1913	Bolton Wanderers	H	2 – 1	Anderson, Wall	30,000
12 April 1913	Sheffield United	A	1 – 2	Wall	12,000
19 April 1913	Newcastle United	H	3 – 0	Hunter (2), West	10,000
26 April 1913	Oldham Athletic	A	0 – 0		3,000

Pos	Club	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts
3	The Wednesday	38	21	7	10	75	55	49
4	Manchester United	38	19	8	11	69	43	46
5	Blackburn Rovers	38	16	13	9	79	43	45

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points

FA Cup

Date	Round	Opponents	H / A	ResultF – A	Scorers	Attendance
11 January 1913	First Round	Coventry City	H	1 – 1	Wall	11,500
16 January 1913	First RoundReplay	Coventry City	A	2 – 1	Anderson, Roberts	20,042
1 February 1913	Second Round	Plymouth Argyle	A	2 – 0	Anderson, Wall	21,700
22 February 1913	Third Round	Oldham Athletic	A	0 – 0		26,932
26 February 1913	Third RoundReplay	Oldham Athletic	H	1 – 2	West	31,180