The 1963–64 season was Manchester United’s 62nd season in the Football League, and their 19th consecutive season in the top division of English football.
United failed to win any major trophies this season, but they made a strong challenge for the three major prizes, finishing second in the league, reaching the semi-finals of the FA Cup and the quarter-finals of the European Cup Winners’ Cup.
A notable debutant this season was 17-year-old Northern Irish forward George Best, whose debut came in the league against West Bromwich Albion on 14 September 1963.
The highly promising Best turned out a total of 17 times for United that season, scoring four goals. Striker Denis Law had an outstanding season, scoring 30 goals in the league and a total of 46 in all competitions.
FA Charity Shield
| Date | Opponents | H / A | ResultF – A | Scorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 August 1963 | Everton | A | 0 – 4 | 54,840 |
First Division
| Date | Opponents | H / A | ResultF – A | Scorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 August 1963 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 3 – 3 | Charlton (2), Moir | 32,177 |
| 28 August 1963 | Ipswich Town | H | 2 – 0 | Law (2) | 39,921 |
| 31 August 1963 | Everton | H | 5 – 1 | Chisnall (2), Law (2), Sadler | 62,965 |
| 3 September 1963 | Ipswich Town | A | 7 – 2 | Law (3), Chisnall, Moir, Sadler, Setters | 28,113 |
| 7 September 1963 | Birmingham City | A | 1 – 1 | Chisnall | 36,874 |
| 11 September 1963 | Blackpool | H | 3 – 0 | Charlton (2), Law | 47,400 |
| 14 September 1963 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 1 – 0 | Sadler | 50,453 |
| 16 September 1963 | Blackpool | A | 0 – 1 | 29,806 | |
| 21 September 1963 | Arsenal | A | 1 – 2 | Herd | 56,776 |
| 28 September 1963 | Leicester City | H | 3 – 1 | Herd (2), Setters | 41,374 |
| 2 October 1963 | Chelsea | A | 1 – 1 | Setters | 45,351 |
| 5 October 1963 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 1 – 0 | Herd | 35,872 |
| 19 October 1963 | Nottingham Forest | A | 2 – 1 | Chisnall, Quixall | 41,426 |
| 26 October 1963 | West Ham United | H | 0 – 1 | 45,120 | |
| 28 October 1963 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 2 – 2 | Quixall (2) | 41,169 |
| 2 November 1963 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 0 – 2 | 34,159 | |
| 9 November 1963 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 4 – 1 | Law (3), Herd | 57,413 |
| 16 November 1963 | Aston Villa | A | 0 – 4 | 36,276 | |
| 23 November 1963 | Liverpool | H | 0 – 1 | 54,654 | |
| 30 November 1963 | Sheffield United | A | 2 – 1 | Law (2) | 30,615 |
| 7 December 1963 | Stoke City | H | 5 – 2 | Law (4), Herd | 52,232 |
| 14 December 1963 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 3 – 1 | Herd (3) | 35,139 |
| 21 December 1963 | Everton | A | 0 – 4 | 48,027 | |
| 26 December 1963 | Burnley | A | 1 – 6 | Herd | 35,764 |
| 28 December 1963 | Burnley | H | 5 – 1 | Herd (2), Moore (2), Best | 47,834 |
| 11 January 1964 | Birmingham City | H | 1 – 2 | Sadler | 44,695 |
| 18 January 1964 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 4 – 1 | Law (2), Best, Charlton | 25,624 |
| 1 February 1964 | Arsenal | H | 3 – 1 | Herd, Law, Setters | 48,340 |
| 8 February 1964 | Leicester City | A | 2 – 3 | Herd, Law | 35,538 |
| 19 February 1964 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 5 – 0 | Best (2), Herd (2), Charlton | 33,926 |
| 22 February 1964 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 3 – 1 | Law (2), Chisnall | 36,726 |
| 7 March 1964 | West Ham United | A | 2 – 0 | Herd, Sadler | 27,027 |
| 21 March 1964 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 3 – 2 | Charlton, Law, Moore | 56,392 |
| 23 March 1964 | Chelsea | H | 1 – 1 | Law | 42,931 |
| 27 March 1964 | Fulham | A | 2 – 2 | Herd, Law | 41,769 |
| 28 March 1964 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 2 – 2 | Charlton, Herd | 44,470 |
| 30 March 1964 | Fulham | H | 3 – 0 | Crerand, Foulkes, Herd | 42,279 |
| 4 April 1964 | Liverpool | A | 0 – 3 | 52,559 | |
| 6 April 1964 | Aston Villa | H | 1 – 0 | Law | 25,848 |
| 13 April 1964 | Sheffield United | H | 2 – 1 | Law, Moir | 27,587 |
| 18 April 1964 | Stoke City | A | 1 – 3 | Charlton | 45,670 |
| 25 April 1964 | Nottingham Forest | H | 3 – 1 | Law (2), Moore | 31,671 |
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 42 | 26 | 5 | 11 | 92 | 45 | 57 |
| 2 | Manchester United | 42 | 23 | 7 | 12 | 90 | 62 | 53 |
| 3 | Everton | 42 | 21 | 10 | 11 | 84 | 64 | 52 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 January 1964 | Round 3 | Southampton | A | 3 – 2 | Crerand, Herd, Moore | 29,164 |
| 25 January 1964 | Round 4 | Bristol Rovers | H | 4 – 1 | Law (3), Herd | 55,772 |
| 15 February 1964 | Round 5 | Barnsley | A | 4 – 0 | Law (2), Best, Herd | 38,076 |
| 29 February 1964 | Round 6 | Sunderland | H | 3 – 3 | Best, Charlton, own goal | 63,700 |
| 4 March 1964 | Round 6Replay | Sunderland | A | 2 – 2 | Charlton, Law | 68,000 |
| 9 March 1964 | Round 62nd Replay | Sunderland | N | 5 – 1 | Law (3), Chisnall, Herd | 54,952 |
| 14 March 1964 | Semi-final | West Ham United | N | 1 – 3 | Law | 65,000 |
European Cup Winners’ Cup
| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | ResultF – A | Scorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 September 1963 | Round 1First leg | Willem II | A | 1 – 1 | Herd | 20,000 |
| 15 October 1963 | Round 1Second leg | Willem II | H | 6 – 1 | Law (3), Charlton, Chisnall, Setters | 46,272 |
| 3 December 1963 | Round 2First leg | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 0 – 2 | 57,447 | |
| 10 December 1963 | Round 2Second leg | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 4 – 1 | Charlton (2), Herd (2) | 50,000 |
| 26 February 1964 | Quarter-finalFirst leg | Sporting CP | H | 4 – 1 | Law (3), Charlton | 60,000 |
| 18 March 1964 | Quarter-finalSecond leg | Sporting CP | A | 0 – 5 | 40,000 |
Squad statistics
| Pos. | Name | League | FA Cup | Cup Winners’ Cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| GK | David Gaskell | 17 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 0 |
| GK | Harry Gregg | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 0 |
| FB | Shay Brennan | 17 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 0 |
| FB | Noel Cantwell | 28 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 35 | 0 |
| FB | Tony Dunne | 40 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 54 | 0 |
| HB | Pat Crerand | 41 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 55 | 2 |
| HB | Bill Foulkes | 41 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 55 | 1 |
| HB | Maurice Setters | 32 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 46 | 5 |
| HB | Nobby Stiles | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 0 |
| HB | Wilf Tranter | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | Willie Anderson | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| FW | George Best | 17 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 6 |
| FW | Bobby Charlton | 40 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 54 | 15 |
| FW | Phil Chisnall | 20 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 8 |
| FW | Johnny Giles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | David Herd | 30 | 20 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 44 | 27 |
| FW | Denis Law | 30 | 30 | 6 | 10 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 46 |
| FW | Ian Moir | 18 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 3 |
| FW | Graham Moore | 18 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 5 |
| FW | Albert Quixall | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 3 |
| FW | David Sadler | 19 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 5 |