1930–31 Manchester United F.C. season
# 1930–31 Manchester United F.C. season

The 1930–31 season was Manchester United's 35th season in the Football League.

At the end of the season, United finished last in the league and were relegated to the Second Division, having won just seven games all season and lost all of their opening 12 fixtures. Herbert Bamlett was sacked as manager with six games remaining and relegation looking virtually certain, with club secretary Walter Crickmer stepping in as acting manager for the rest of the season (though Crickmer would, in the event, stay in charge until the summer of 1932). The last game of the season, a 4–4 home draw with Middlesbrough, was watched by fewer than 4,000 spectators, as the Great Depression further affected attendances.

## First Division

| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F – A | Scorers | Attendance |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 30 August 1930 | Aston Villa | H | 3 – 4 | Reid, Rowley, Warburton | 18,004 |
| 3 September 1930 | Middlesbrough | A | 1 – 3 | Rowley | 15,712 |
| 6 September 1930 | Chelsea | A | 2 – 6 | Reid, Spence | 68,648 |
| 10 September 1930 | Huddersfield Town | H | 0 – 6 | | 11,836 |
| 13 September 1930 | Newcastle United | H | 4 – 7 | Reid (3), Rowley | 10,907 |
| 15 September 1930 | Huddersfield Town | A | 0 – 3 | | 14,028 |
| 20 September 1930 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 0 – 3 | | 18,705 |
| 27 September 1930 | Grimsby Town | H | 0 – 2 | | 14,695 |
| 4 October 1930 | Manchester City | A | 1 – 4 | Spence | 41,757 |
| 11 October 1930 | West Ham United | A | 1 – 5 | Reid | 20,003 |
| 18 October 1930 | Arsenal | H | 1 – 2 | McLachlan | 23,406 |
| 25 October 1930 | Portsmouth | A | 1 – 4 | Rowley | 19,262 |
| 1 November 1930 | Birmingham | H | 2 – 0 | Gallimore, Rowley | 11,479 |
| 8 November 1930 | Leicester City | A | 4 – 5 | Bullock (3), McLachlan | 17,466 |
| 15 November 1930 | Blackpool | H | 0 – 0 | | 14,765 |
| 22 November 1930 | Sheffield United | A | 1 – 3 | Gallimore | 12,698 |
| 29 November 1930 | Sunderland | H | 1 – 1 | Gallimore | 10,971 |
| 6 December 1930 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 1 – 4 | Rowley | 10,802 |
| 13 December 1930 | Derby County | H | 2 – 1 | Reid, Spence | 9,701 |
| 20 December 1930 | Leeds United | A | 0 – 5 | | 11,282 |
| 25 December 1930 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 1 – 3 | Reid | 22,662 |
| 26 December 1930 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 1 – 1 | Reid | 12,741 |
| 27 December 1930 | Aston Villa | A | 0 – 7 | | 32,505 |
| 1 January 1931 | Leeds United | H | 0 – 0 | | 9,875 |
| 3 January 1931 | Chelsea | H | 1 – 0 | Warburton | 8,966 |
| 17 January 1931 | Newcastle United | A | 3 – 4 | Warburton (2), Reid | 24,835 |
| 28 January 1931 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 4 – 1 | Hopkinson, Reid, Spence, Warburton | 6,077 |
| 31 January 1931 | Grimsby Town | A | 1 – 2 | Reid | 9,305 |
| 7 February 1931 | Manchester City | H | 1 – 3 | Spence | 39,876 |
| 14 February 1931 | West Ham United | H | 1 – 0 | Gallimore | 9,745 |
| 21 February 1931 | Arsenal | A | 1 – 4 | Thomson | 41,510 |
| 7 March 1931 | Birmingham | A | 0 – 0 | | 17,678 |
| 16 March 1931 | Portsmouth | H | 0 – 1 | | 4,808 |
| 21 March 1931 | Blackpool | A | 1 – 5 | Hopkinson | 13,162 |
| 25 March 1931 | Leicester City | H | 0 – 0 | | 3,679 |
| 28 March 1931 | Sheffield United | H | 1 – 2 | Hopkinson | 5,420 |
| 3 April 1931 | Liverpool | A | 1 – 1 | Wilson | 27,782 |
| 4 April 1931 | Sunderland | A | 2 – 1 | Hopkinson, Reid | 13,590 |
| 6 April 1931 | Liverpool | H | 4 – 1 | Reid (2), McLenahan, Rowley | 8,058 |
| 11 April 1931 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 0 – 1 | | 6,414 |
| 18 April 1931 | Derby County | A | 1 – 6 | Spence | 6,610 |
| 2 May 1931 | Middlesbrough | H | 4 – 4 | Reid (2), Bennion, Gallimore | 3,969 |
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Relegation |
| 18 | West Ham United | 42 | 14 | 8 | 20 | 79 | 94 | 0.840 | 36 | |
| 19 | Birmingham | 42 | 13 | 10 | 19 | 55 | 70 | 0.786 | 36 | |
| 20 | Blackpool | 42 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 71 | 125 | 0.568 | 32 | |
| 21 | Leeds United (R) | 42 | 12 | 7 | 23 | 68 | 81 | 0.840 | 31 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 22 | Manchester United (R) | 42 | 7 | 8 | 27 | 53 | 115 | 0.461 | 22 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Relegation |
| 1 | Everton (C, P) | 42 | 28 | 5 | 9 | 121 | 66 | 1.833 | 61 | Promotion to the First Division |
| 2 | West Bromwich Albion (P) | 42 | 22 | 10 | 10 | 83 | 49 | 1.694 | 54 | Promotion to the First Division |
| 3 | Tottenham Hotspur | 42 | 22 | 7 | 13 | 88 | 55 | 1.600 | 51 | |
| 4 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 42 | 21 | 5 | 16 | 84 | 67 | 1.254 | 47 | |
| 5 | Port Vale | 42 | 21 | 5 | 16 | 67 | 61 | 1.098 | 47 | |
| 6 | Bradford Park Avenue | 42 | 18 | 10 | 14 | 97 | 66 | 1.470 | 46 | |
| 7 | Preston North End | 42 | 17 | 11 | 14 | 83 | 64 | 1.297 | 45 | |
| 8 | Burnley | 42 | 17 | 11 | 14 | 81 | 77 | 1.052 | 45 | |
| 9 | Southampton | 42 | 19 | 6 | 17 | 74 | 62 | 1.194 | 44 | |
| 10 | Bradford City | 42 | 17 | 10 | 15 | 61 | 63 | 0.968 | 44 | |
| 11 | Stoke City | 42 | 17 | 10 | 15 | 64 | 71 | 0.901 | 44 | |
| 12 | Oldham Athletic | 42 | 16 | 10 | 16 | 61 | 72 | 0.847 | 42 | |
| 13 | Bury | 42 | 19 | 3 | 20 | 75 | 82 | 0.915 | 41 | |
| 14 | Millwall | 42 | 16 | 7 | 19 | 71 | 80 | 0.888 | 39 | |
| 15 | Charlton Athletic | 42 | 15 | 9 | 18 | 59 | 86 | 0.686 | 39 | |
| 16 | Bristol City | 42 | 15 | 8 | 19 | 54 | 82 | 0.659 | 38 | |
| 17 | Nottingham Forest | 42 | 14 | 9 | 19 | 80 | 85 | 0.941 | 37 | |
| 18 | Plymouth Argyle | 42 | 14 | 8 | 20 | 76 | 84 | 0.905 | 36 | |
| 19 | Barnsley | 42 | 13 | 9 | 20 | 59 | 79 | 0.747 | 35 | |
| 20 | Swansea Town | 42 | 12 | 10 | 20 | 51 | 74 | 0.689 | 34 | |
| 21 | Reading (R) | 42 | 12 | 6 | 24 | 72 | 96 | 0.750 | 30 | Relegation to the Third Division |
| 22 | Cardiff City (R) | 42 | 8 | 9 | 25 | 47 | 87 | 0.540 | 25 | Relegation to the Third Division |

## FA Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F – A | Scorers | Attendance |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 10 January 1931 | Round 3 | Stoke City | A | 3 – 3 | Reid (3) | 23,415 |
| 14 January 1931 | Round 3 Replay | Stoke City | H | 0 – 0 | | 22,013 |
| 19 January 1931 | Round 3 Replay | Stoke City | N | 4 – 2 | Hopkinson (2), Gallimore, Spence | 11,788 |
| 24 January 1931 | Round 4 | Grimsby Town | A | 0 – 1 | | 15,000 |

## Squad statistics

| Pos. | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | Total | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| GK | Arthur Chesters | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| GK | Alf Steward | 38 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 42 | 0 |
| FB | Thomas Jones | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| FB | Jack Mellor | 35 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 39 | 0 |
| FB | Jack Silcock | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 0 |
| HB | Ray Bennion | 36 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 40 | 1 |
| HB | Bill Dale | 22 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 26 | 0 |
| HB | Lal Hilditch | 25 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 29 | 0 |
| HB | George Lydon | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| HB | Hugh McLenahan | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 1 |
| HB | Thomas Parker | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| HB | Frank Williams | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| HB | Jack Wilson | 20 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 1 |
| FW | Jimmy Bullock | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 3 |
| FW | Stanley Gallimore | 28 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 32 | 6 |
| FW | Samuel Hopkinson | 17 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 19 | 6 |
| FW | George McLachlan | 42 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 46 | 2 |
| FW | Charlie Ramsden | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| FW | Tommy Reid | 30 | 17 | 3 | 3 | 33 | 20 |
| FW | Harry Rowley | 29 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 7 |
| FW | Joe Spence | 35 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 37 | 7 |
| FW | Arthur Thomson | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| FW | Arthur Warburton | 18 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 22 | 5 |
