The 1918–19 season was Manchester United’s fourth and final season in the non-competitive War League during the First World War.
With the ongoing First World War, once again Manchester United played non-competitive war league football. In the principal tournament they contested the Lancashire Section, in a 30-game season. In the subsidiary tournament they contested Group C of the Lancashire Section, in a group of four teams.
However, none of these were considered to be competitive football, and thus their records are not recognised by the Football League.
United begun to struggle financially due to the impact of the war. As the season begun, the club were rocked by the death of John Bentley, who had remained at the club following his departure as manager in 1914 – ill health forced his retirement from an administration role in 1916 but he remained involved and associated with United until passing away in September 1918.
Lancashire Section Principal Tournament
| Date | Opponents | H / A | ResultF – A | Scorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 September 1918 | Oldham Athletic | H | 1 – 4 | ||
| 14 September 1918 | Oldham Athletic | A | 2 – 0 | ||
| 21 September 1918 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 1 – 0 | ||
| 28 September 1918 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 1 – 1 | ||
| 5 October 1918 | Manchester City | H | 0 – 2 | ||
| 12 October 1918 | Manchester City | A | 0 – 0 | ||
| 19 October 1918 | Everton | H | 1 – 1 | ||
| 26 October 1918 | Everton | A | 2 – 6 | ||
| 2 November 1918 | Rochdale | H | 3 – 1 | ||
| 9 November 1918 | Rochdale | A | 0 – 1 | ||
| 16 November 1918 | Preston North End | A | 2 – 4 | ||
| 23 November 1918 | Preston North End | H | 1 – 2 | ||
| 30 November 1918 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 1 – 3 | ||
| 7 December 1918 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 1 – 0 | ||
| 14 December 1918 | Port Vale | A | 1 – 3 | ||
| 21 December 1918 | Port Vale | H | 5 – 1 | ||
| 28 December 1918 | Blackpool | A | 2 – 2 | ||
| 11 January 1919 | Stockport County | A | 1 – 2 | ||
| 18 January 1919 | Stockport County | H | 0 – 2 | ||
| 25 January 1919 | Liverpool | A | 1 – 1 | ||
| 1 February 1919 | Liverpool | H | 0 – 1 | ||
| 8 February 1919 | Southport Vulcan | A | 1 – 2 | ||
| 15 February 1919 | Southport Vulcan | H | 1 – 3 | ||
| 22 February 1919 | Burnley | A | 2 – 4 | ||
| 1 March 1919 | Burnley | H | 4 – 0 | ||
| 8 March 1919 | Stoke | A | 2 – 1 | ||
| 15 March 1919 | Stoke | H | 3 – 1 | ||
| 23 March 1919 | Bury | A | 2 – 0 | ||
| 29 March 1919 | Bury | H | 5 – 1 | ||
| 30 April 1919 | Blackpool | H | 5 – 1 |
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Stockport County | 30 | 11 | 7 | 12 | 48 | 52 | –4 | 29 |
| 9 | Manchester United | 30 | 11 | 5 | 14 | 51 | 50 | +1 | 27 |
| 10 | Rochdale | 30 | 11 | 5 | 14 | 56 | 61 | –5 | 27 |
Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points
Lancashire Section Subsidiary Tournament Group C
| Date | Opponents | H / A | ResultF – A | Scorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 April 1919 | Port Vale | A | 3 – 1 | ||
| 12 April 1919 | Port Vale | H | 2 – 1 | ||
| 18 April 1919 | Manchester City | A | 0 – 3 | ||
| 19 April 1919 | Stoke | H | 0 – 1 | ||
| 21 April 1919 | Manchester City | H | 2 – 4 | ||
| 26 April 1919 | Stoke | A | 2 – 4 |
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester City | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 4 | +10 | 11 |
| 2 | Stoke | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 10 | –1 | 6 |
| 3 | Manchester United | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 14 | –5 | 4 |
| 4 | Port Vale | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 13 | –4 | 3 |
Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points