1972–73 Cambridge United F.C. season
# 1972–73 Cambridge United F.C. season

The 1972–73 season was Cambridge United's 3rd season in the Football League.

Cambridge had a fine season finishing in 3rd position and thus gaining promotion to the Third Division after only three seasons in the Football League.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Liverpool (C) | 42 | 25 | 10 | 7 | 72 | 42 | 1.714 | 60 | Qualification for the European Cup first round |
| 2 | Arsenal | 42 | 23 | 11 | 8 | 57 | 43 | 1.326 | 57 | |
| 3 | Leeds United | 42 | 21 | 11 | 10 | 71 | 45 | 1.578 | 53 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 4 | Ipswich Town | 42 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 55 | 45 | 1.222 | 48 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 5 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 42 | 18 | 11 | 13 | 66 | 54 | 1.222 | 47 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 6 | West Ham United | 42 | 17 | 12 | 13 | 67 | 53 | 1.264 | 46 | Qualification for the Watney Cup |
| 7 | Derby County | 42 | 19 | 8 | 15 | 56 | 54 | 1.037 | 46 | |
| 8 | Tottenham Hotspur | 42 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 58 | 48 | 1.208 | 45 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 9 | Newcastle United | 42 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 60 | 51 | 1.176 | 45 | |
| 10 | Birmingham City | 42 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 53 | 54 | 0.981 | 42 | |
| 11 | Manchester City | 42 | 15 | 11 | 16 | 57 | 60 | 0.950 | 41 | |
| 12 | Chelsea | 42 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 49 | 51 | 0.961 | 40 | |
| 13 | Southampton | 42 | 11 | 18 | 13 | 47 | 52 | 0.904 | 40 | |
| 14 | Sheffield United | 42 | 15 | 10 | 17 | 51 | 59 | 0.864 | 40 | |
| 15 | Stoke City | 42 | 14 | 10 | 18 | 61 | 56 | 1.089 | 38 | Qualification for the Watney Cup |
| 16 | Leicester City | 42 | 10 | 17 | 15 | 40 | 46 | 0.870 | 37 | |
| 17 | Everton | 42 | 13 | 11 | 18 | 41 | 49 | 0.837 | 37 | |
| 18 | Manchester United | 42 | 12 | 13 | 17 | 44 | 60 | 0.733 | 37 | |
| 19 | Coventry City | 42 | 13 | 9 | 20 | 40 | 55 | 0.727 | 35 | |
| 20 | Norwich City | 42 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 36 | 63 | 0.571 | 32 | |
| 21 | Crystal Palace (R) | 42 | 9 | 12 | 21 | 41 | 58 | 0.707 | 30 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 22 | West Bromwich Albion (R) | 42 | 9 | 10 | 23 | 38 | 62 | 0.613 | 28 | Relegation to the Second Division |

* 1 2 West Ham United and Stoke City qualified for the Watney Cup as the two teams with the most goals that hadn't already qualified for a European competition.

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Southport (C, P) | 46 | 26 | 10 | 10 | 71 | 48 | 1.479 | 62 | Promoted to the Third Division |
| 2 | Hereford United (P) | 46 | 23 | 12 | 11 | 56 | 38 | 1.474 | 58 | Promoted to the Third Division |
| 3 | Cambridge United (P) | 46 | 20 | 17 | 9 | 67 | 57 | 1.175 | 57 | Promoted to the Third Division |
| 4 | Aldershot (P) | 46 | 22 | 12 | 12 | 60 | 38 | 1.579 | 56 | Promoted to the Third Division |
| 5 | Newport County | 46 | 22 | 12 | 12 | 64 | 44 | 1.455 | 56 | |

* ↑ New club in the league; elected from Southern League

## Results

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |
| - | - | - |

### Football League Fourth Division

| Match | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 12 August 1972 | Darlington | H | 0 – 3 | 3,478 | |
| 2 | 19 August 1972 | Barnsley | A | 1 – 3 | 2,808 | Walker |
| 3 | 26 August 1972 | Doncaster Rovers | H | 3 – 1 | 2,941 | Brookes (o.g.), Collins, Phillips |
| 4 | 30 August 1972 | Mansfield Town | A | 1 – 3 | 5,216 | Lill |
| 5 | 2 September 1972 | Exeter City | A | 1 – 3 | 3,249 | Pointer |
| 6 | 9 September 1972 | Hartlepool United | H | 1 – 1 | 2,647 | Lill |
| 7 | 16 September 1972 | Newport County | A | 2 – 0 | 3,564 | Lill, Greenhalgh |
| 8 | 20 September 1972 | Stockport County | H | 1 – 0 | 2,952 | Robinson |
| 9 | 23 September 1972 | Peterborough United | H | 3 – 1 | 4,378 | Lill, Greenhalgh, Collins |
| 10 | 26 September 1972 | Gillingham | A | 2 – 1 | 2,173 | Collins, Greenhalgh |
| 11 | 30 September 1972 | Northampton Town | A | 2 – 2 | 3,439 | Collins, Watson |
| 12 | 7 October 1972 | Bradford City | H | 2 – 1 | 3,960 | Collins, Greenhalgh |
| 13 | 11 October 1972 | Hereford United | H | 1 – 0 | 4,112 | Phillips |
| 14 | 13 October 1972 | Southport | A | 1 – 1 | 4,108 | Phillips |
| 15 | 20 October 1972 | Colchester United | H | 3 – 0 | 4,465 | Noble (o.g.), Collins, Ross |
| 16 | 25 October 1972 | Crewe Alexandra | A | 1 – 1 | 1,701 | Walton |
| 17 | 28 October 1972 | Chester | A | 1 – 1 | 3,605 | Ross |
| 18 | 4 November 1972 | Gillingham | H | 3 – 1 | 4,656 | Collins, Lill, Walton |
| 19 | 10 November 1972 | Stockport County | A | 2 – 2 | 3,165 | Lill (2) |
| 20 | 25 November 1972 | Workington | A | 1 – 5 | 1,112 | Eades |
| 21 | 2 December 1972 | Torquay United | H | 0 – 0 | 3,244 | |
| 22 | 9 December 1972 | Northampton Town | H | 3 – 1 | 3,539 | Lill, Greenhalgh (2) |
| 23 | 16 December 1972 | Bury | H | 1 – 1 | 2,337 | Greenhalgh |
| 24 | 23 December 1972 | Aldershot | H | 2 – 2 | 3,918 | Collins, Greenhalgh |
| 25 | 26 December 1972 | Peterborough United | A | 1 – 1 | 7,577 | Greenhalgh |
| 26 | 30 December 1972 | Barnsley | H | 1 – 1 | 3,864 | Lill |
| 27 | 6 January 1973 | Doncaster Rovers | A | 0 – 0 | 1,735 | |
| 28 | 20 January 1973 | Exeter City | H | 1 – 3 | 3,979 | Watson |
| 29 | 27 January 1973 | Hartlepool United | A | 0 – 0 | 3,036 | |
| 30 | 31 January 1973 | Crewe Alexandra | H | 1 – 0 | 3,074 | Greenhalgh |
| 31 | 3 February 1973 | Hereford United | A | 1 – 2 | 8,907 | Greenhalgh |
| 32 | 10 February 1973 | Newport County | H | 3 – 1 | 3,496 | Watson, Lill, Phillips |
| 33 | 17 February 1973 | Darlington | A | 3 – 3 | 1,412 | Lill, Ross, Watson |
| 34 | 24 February 1973 | Bury | H | 2 – 2 | 3,768 | Greenhalgh (2) |
| 35 | 2 March 1973 | Bradford City | A | 1 – 0 | 5,031 | Ross |
| 36 | 7 March 1973 | Lincoln City | H | 2 – 1 | 3,736 | Watson, Phillips |
| 37 | 10 March 1973 | Southport | H | 2 – 2 | 5,504 | Ross (2) |
| 38 | 16 March 1973 | Colchester United | A | 1 – 0 | 3,888 | Ross |
| 39 | 21 March 1973 | Reading | A | 0 – 1 | 5,589 | |
| 40 | 24 March 1973 | Chester | H | 1 – 0 | 3,935 | Lill |
| 41 | 31 March 1973 | Workington | H | 1 – 0 | 4,028 | Greenhalgh |
| 42 | 7 April 1973 | Torquay United | A | 2 – 1 | 4,014 | Greenhalgh (2) |
| 43 | 14 April 1973 | Reading | H | 1 – 0 | 6,033 | Ross |
| 44 | 21 April 1973 | Lincoln City | A | 1 – 2 | 4,801 | Greenhalgh |
| 45 | 24 April 1973 | Aldershot | A | 1 – 1 | 10,800 | Greenhalgh |
| 46 | 28 April 1973 | Mansfield Town | H | 3 – 2 | 11,542 | Ross, Walton (2) |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| R1 | 18 November 1972 | Bournemouth | A | 1 – 5 | 10,034 | Collins |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| R1 | 16 August 1972 | Brentford | A | 0 – 1 | 7,750 | |

## Squad statistics

| Pos. | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Total | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| DF | Vic Akers | 32 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 34 | 0 |
| DF | Jack Bannister | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 0 |
| DF | Martin Binks | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | John Collins | 35(3) | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 36(3) | 9 |
| FW | Bryan Conlon | 4(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5(1) | 0 |
| DF | Terry Eades | 38 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 40 | 1 |
| MF | Chris Foote | 19(6) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 21(6) | 0 |
| FW | Brian Greenhalgh | 45 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 47 | 18 |
| DF | Alan Guild | 41(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42(1) | 0 |
| MF | David Lill | 45 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 47 | 12 |
| FW | Peter Phillips | 6(12) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6(12) | 5 |
| MF | Keith Pointer | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| DF | Graham Rathbone | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| FW | Terry Robinson | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| MF | Bobby Ross | 32 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 9 |
| FW | Dave Simmons | 0(3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(3) | 0 |
| GK | Graham Smith | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| DF | Jimmy Thompson | 45 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 47 | 0 |
| GK | Peter Vasper | 34 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 0 |
| MF | Dennis Walker | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| MF | Ronnie Walton | 37 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 5 |
| MF | Graham Watson | 39 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 4 |
