Had a few shaky moments during the season, making some costly mistakes and conceding an own goal at Birmingham. He even had a rare spell out of the side when he got injured and then found that the form of replacement Burleigh meant he was in the reserves until Burleigh himself was injured.
Unhappy with his lack of game-time he was considering a move, but after a meeting with Harvey he decided to stay. A loan move to Luton then fell through. After that he got his best run in the side when Mcfaul was injured in February. Displaying very confident handling Burleigh did so well that even when the Irishman was fit again he retained his place with Harvey explaining “Martin has done everything I have asked of him since he took over…I couldn’t leave him out at present”. During March the keen weight lifter and body builder shed half a stone in a week to bring him down to thirteen stone, his “fighting weight”. However he broke one of his fingers which sidelined him for the rest of the season.
Was an ever present in the main competitions during the season and was in excellent form throughout. He even had a bit of a scoring spree including three long range efforts. Totally out-of-character he was sent-off in the farcical game against Torino.
Consistent as ever Frank missed only one game; most of the time he was in his usual left-back slot but he also deputised for Moncur in the centre.
Missed only one game all season and scored his first goal for the club in the home victory over Birmingham.
Had an ankle injury at the start of the season and struggled a bit with his form. Received some criticism for his performances, particularly the FA Cup defeat against Luton. There were reports in March that there were some people within the club who thought he should be sold, which Bobby admitted to being “shocked and hurt” by. But Harvey let him know that there was no truth in them. Bobby knew it had not been his best season and offered injury problems and United's change to more offensive tactics in mitigation.
Was on the transfer list because after being at United for 11 years and only getting a handful of games each season, he knew he had to move on to prove himself. Although he admitted it would "break his heart" to leave. Filled in for Moncur in the first five games of the season, but lost his place to Nattrass and was used sparingly after that. Moved to Sunderland in January.
Was on the transfer-list and during July Cardiff agreed a £30,000 fee for him, but the player turned down the move. He was due a £3,000 ten-year service bonus next July. Deputised for Clark for a few games in October. Sold to Sunderland in January after ten years on Tyneside.
Played a couple of games at left-back when Moncur was injured during March.
Probably his best season in a United shirt. With his inch-perfect passing and ability to see a good early ball he was voted as man of the match in twice as many games as his nearest challenger and won the Player of the Season award.
Following intensive training to build-up his legs Jimmy Smith was declared one hundred percent fit before the season commenced. United's less direct style of play allowed him to flourish and finally he was delighting the professionals as well as the crowd. Jinky was often brilliant although the inconsistency which blighted his time on Tyneside still emerged at times. At his best he was a world-beater at his worst he could be a liability, too casual and lacking concentration. It was also suggested that he sometimes seemed more interested in pursuing personal vendettas than playing for the team. He was sent off against Torino, but the Italians were the aggressors.
Although he Missed the start of the season with a strained thigh and also suffered a spinal injury early on he was than given an extended run in the side as a defensive midfielder. Harvey was delighted with him and said “I look on Irving as a younger version of Paul Madely-he plays with the same unruffled, unhurried style and he can perform in half-a-dozen positions”. He did so well that he was called up for the England U23 squad for the game against Czechoslovakia in March although he did not play.
Thigh and ankle injuries sidelined him for much of the start. He returned in September only to suffer a knee injury when scoring against Birmingham which required a cartilage operation.
Bury youngster Mcdermott had been attracting a lot of interest (including from Liverpool) so Harvey was willing to sign him on the advice of chief scout Len Richley without having had the chance to see him play. He made his debut at Old Trafford and won some rave reviews for his performances. Harvey was impressed and said "I'm expecting really big things of him next season".
Only played a handful of games before he was stretchered off with a knee ligament injury in the 1-2 defeat at selhurst Park in September. In November he was referred to the specialist who had overseen his treatment when he was at Blackpool and operated on in November. He played a couple of reserve games and for the first-team in the friendly against the League of Ireland and got the last fifteen minutes of the Anglo-Italian Cup at Como game for the reserves later in the season, but the specialist ordered more rest. He had another “minor manipulative” operation in March. Throughout the season there was speculation that his career might be over but both Green and Harvey remained confident with the manager saying: "he'll be back for the start of next season all right."
The loss of Green gave the flam-haired Scot an opportunity but he failed to breakthrough into the first team on a regular basis. He had a spell on loan at Morton with a view to a permanent transfer, but they could not afford the fee.He declared himself ready to leave, accepting that there was "obviously no future for me".
Made the side for the first time since the end of the 1969-70 season when he deputised for Gibb, but he lost his place and was released at the end ofthe season.
An ever present, he had an excellent season and received much praise for his intelligent and unselfish play. He was top scorer for United in the League and sixth top scorer in the country, United's new attacking style, the improvement in his wife's health, the birth of his child's health and his decision to be more selfish in front of goal were all cited as factors in his revival.
Despite tiring towards the end of the season, Barrowclough had firmly established himself on the right wing, missing only a couple of games and winning recognition at U23 level for England for whom he made his debut against Wales in November and scored the winner against Scotland. Broke his hand in training in January
Scored a first half hat-trick against Wales U23 and many critics clamoured for his re-introduction into the struggling England side. Supermac was the leading scorer in England (10 goals in 11 games) before being struck down with a knee ligament injury. On his return to the side he struggled to regain his form before eventually getting his mojo back. Was sent-off in the Anglo-Italian match against Como.
Although still a ateenager Gordon was skipper of the reserves and when Macdonald was injured he was drafted in as his replacement despite being a midfielder.
Made his debut in the home game against Chelsea in March and played in the following game too.
Transfer-listed, he started pre-season training a couple of weeks early to shed some weight and ensure he was in the best possible condition in the hope of changing Harvey’s mind. Barrowclough’s injury in January allowed him a reprieve, but Burkinshaw demanded that he shaved his bushy beard off. However he remained well out of the picture as he fought unsuccessfully to get his weight down and there was not a solitary enquiry for him. At the end of the season he impressed in Ollie Burton’s testimonial and Harvey decided to give him another chance and got him to bring his parents over from trouble-torn Belfast to stop him worrying and make sure he ate properly.
Signed professional in the summer Paul was a natural centre forward with a flair for goals. Macdonald’s injury gave him his opportunity and he made his debut in the Texaco Cup match at home to Ayr in November.