| Club: | Manchester United |
| Season: | 1965–66 |
| Manager: | Matt Busby |
| Chairman: | Louis Edwards |
| League: | First Division |
| League Result: | 4th |
| Cup1: | FA Cup |
| Cup1 Result: | Semi-finals |
| Cup2: | European Cup |
| Cup2 Result: | Semi-finals |
| Cup3: | Charity Shield |
| Cup3 Result: | Shared |
| League Topscorer: | David Herd (24) |
| Season Topscorer: | David Herd (33) |
| Highest Attendance: | 64,035 vs Benfica (2 February 1966) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 23,039 vs Aston Villa (9 May 1966) |
| Average Attendance: | 41,352 |
| Pattern La1: | _whiteborder |
| Pattern B1: | _whitecollar |
| Pattern Ra1: | _whiteborder |
| Leftarm1: | E20E0E |
| Body1: | E20E0E |
| Rightarm1: | E20E0E |
| Shorts1: | FFFFFF |
| Socks1: | E20E0E |
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| Rightarm2: | FFFFFF |
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| Leftarm3: | 0000C0 |
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| Rightarm3: | 0000C0 |
| Shorts3: | FFFFFF |
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| Prevseason: | 1964–65 |
| Nextseason: | 1966–67 |
The 1965–66 season was Manchester United's 64th season in the Football League, and their 21st consecutive season in the top division of English football.[1]
As defending champions of the First Division title, they finished fourth and secured qualification for the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.[2] They lost to eventual winners Everton in the FA Cup semifinal.
In the European Cup, they were also semi-finalists, edged out by Yugoslav champions Partizan Belgrade. They had to negotiate a preliminary round of the competition before qualifying for the first round, and did so by achieving a 9–2 aggregate win over Finnish champions HJK Helsinki.
United's top scorer for this season was David Herd, with 24 league goals and 33 in all competitions.
See main article: 1965 FA Charity Shield.
| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 August 1965 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 1–0 | Herd | 37,524 | |
| 24 August 1965 | Nottingham Forest | A | 2–4 | Aston, Best | 33,744 | |
| 28 August 1965 | Northampton Town | A | 1–1 | Connelly | 21,140 | |
| 1 September 1965 | Nottingham Forest | H | 0–0 | 38,777 | ||
| 4 September 1965 | Stoke City | H | 1–1 | Herd | 37,603 | |
| 8 September 1965 | Newcastle United | A | 2–1 | Herd, Law | 57,380 | |
| 11 September 1965 | Burnley | A | 0–3 | 30,235 | ||
| 15 September 1965 | Newcastle United | H | 1–1 | Stiles | 30,401 | |
| 18 September 1965 | Chelsea | H | 4–1 | Law (3), Charlton | 37,917 | |
| 25 September 1965 | Arsenal | A | 2–4 | Aston, Charlton | 56,757 | |
| 9 October 1965 | Liverpool | H | 2–0 | Best, Law | 58,161 | |
| 16 October 1965 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 1–5 | Charlton | 58,051 | |
| 23 October 1965 | Fulham | H | 4–1 | Herd (3), Charlton | 32,716 | |
| 30 October 1965 | Blackpool | A | 2–1 | Herd (2) | 24,703 | |
| 6 November 1965 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 2–2 | Charlton, Law | 38,823 | |
| 13 November 1965 | Leicester City | A | 5–0 | Herd (2), Best, Charlton, Connelly | 34,551 | |
| 20 November 1965 | Sheffield United | H | 3–1 | Best (2), Law | 37,922 | |
| 4 December 1965 | West Ham United | H | 0–0 | 32,924 | ||
| 11 December 1965 | Sunderland | A | 3–2 | Best (2), Herd | 37,417 | |
| 15 December 1965 | Everton | H | 3–0 | Best, Charlton, Herd | 32,624 | |
| 18 December 1965 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 5–1 | Law (2), Charlton, Herd, Beal (o.g.) | 39,270 | |
| 27 December 1965 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 1–1 | Law | 54,102 | |
| 1 January 1966 | Liverpool | A | 1–2 | Law | 53,790 | |
| 8 January 1966 | Sunderland | A | 1–1 | Best | 39,162 | |
| 12 January 1966 | Leeds United | A | 1–1 | Herd | 49,672 | |
| 15 January 1966 | Fulham | A | 1–0 | Charlton | 33,018 | |
| 29 January 1966 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 0–0 | 39,281 | ||
| 5 February 1966 | Northampton Town | H | 6–2 | Charlton (3), Law (2), Connelly | 34,986 | |
| 19 February 1966 | Stoke City | A | 2–2 | Connelly, Herd | 36,667 | |
| 26 February 1966 | Burnley | H | 4–2 | Herd (3), Charlton | 49,892 | |
| 12 March 1966 | Chelsea | A | 0–2 | 60,269 | ||
| 19 March 1966 | Arsenal | H | 2–1 | Law, Stiles | 47,246 | |
| 6 April 1966 | Aston Villa | A | 1–1 | Cantwell | 28,211 | |
| 9 April 1966 | Leicester City | H | 1–2 | Connelly | 42,593 | |
| 16 April 1966 | Sheffield United | A | 1–3 | Sadler | 22,330 | |
| 25 April 1966 | Everton | A | 0–0 | 50,843 | ||
| 27 April 1966 | Blackpool | H | 2–1 | Charlton, Law | 26,953 | |
| 30 April 1966 | West Ham United | A | 2–3 | Aston, Cantwell | 36,416 | |
| 4 May 1966 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 3–3 | Aston, T. Dunne, Herd | 22,609 | |
| 7 May 1966 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 4–1 | Herd (2), Charlton, Sadler | 14,513 | |
| 9 May 1966 | Aston Villa | H | 6–1 | Herd (2), Sadler (2), Charlton, Ryan | 23,039 | |
| 19 May 1966 | Leeds United | H | 1–1 | Herd | 35,008 |
| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 January 1966 | Round 3 | Derby County | A | 5–2 | Best (2), Law (2), Herd | 33,827 | |
| 12 February 1966 | Round 4 | Rotherham United | H | 0–0 | 54,263 | ||
| 15 February 1966 | Round 4 Replay | Rotherham United | A | 1–0 | Connelly | 23,500 | |
| 5 March 1966 | Round 5 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 4–2 | Law (2), Best, Herd | 53,500 | |
| 26 March 1966 | Round 6 | Preston North End | A | 1–1 | Herd | 37,876 | |
| 30 March 1966 | Round 6 Replay | Preston North End | H | 3–1 | Law (2), Connelly | 60,433 | |
| 23 April 1966 | Semi-final | Everton | N | 0–1 | 60,000 |
| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 September 1965 | Preliminary round First leg | HJK Helsinki | A | 3–2 | Connelly, Herd, Law | 25,000 | |
| 6 October 1965 | Preliminary round Second leg | HJK Helsinki | H | 6–0 | Connelly (3), Best (2), Charlton | 30,388 | |
| 17 November 1965 | Round 1 First leg | Vorwärts Berlin | A | 2–0 | Connelly, Law | 40,000 | |
| 1 December 1965 | Round 1 Second leg | Vorwärts Berlin | H | 3–1 | Herd (3) | 30,082 | |
| 2 February 1966 | Quarter-final First leg | Benfica | H | 3–2 | Foulkes, Herd, Law | 64,035 | |
| 9 March 1966 | Quarter-final Second leg | Benfica | A | 5–1 | Best (2), Charlton, Connelly, Crerand | 75,000 | |
| 13 April 1966 | Semi-final First leg | Partizan | A | 0–2 | 60,000 | ||
| 20 April 1966 | Semi-final Second leg | Partizan | H | 1–0 | Stiles | 62,500 |
| Pos. | Name | League | FA Cup | European Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| GK |  Pat Dunne | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 | |
| GK | David Gaskell | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | |
| GK | Harry Gregg | 26 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 0 | |
| FB | Shay Brennan | 28 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 0 | |
| FB | Noel Cantwell | 23 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 2 | |
| FB | Tony Dunne | 40 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 56 | 0 | |
| FB | Bobby Noble | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| HB | Pat Crerand | 41 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 56 | 1 | |
| HB | John Fitzpatrick | 3(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4(1) | 0 | |
| HB | Bill Foulkes | 33 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 1 | |
| HB | Nobby Stiles | 39 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 55 | 3 | |
| FW | Willie Anderson | 5(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7(1) | 0 | |
| FW | John Aston, Jr. | 23 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 4 | |
| FW | George Best | 31 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 43 | 17 | |
| FW | Bobby Charlton | 38 | 16 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 54 | 18 | |
| FW | John Connelly | 31(1) | 5 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 45(1) | 13 | |
| FW | David Herd | 36(1) | 24 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 51(1) | 33 | |
| FW | Denis Law | 33 | 15 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 49 | 24 | |
| FW | Jimmy Ryan | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | |
| FW | David Sadler | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 4 | |