1971–72 Cambridge United F.C. season
# 1971–72 Cambridge United F.C. season

The 1971–72 season was Cambridge United's 2nd season in the Football League.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Derby County (C) | 42 | 24 | 10 | 8 | 69 | 33 | 2.091 | 58 | Qualification for the European Cup first round |
| 2 | Leeds United | 42 | 24 | 9 | 9 | 73 | 31 | 2.355 | 57 | Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round |
| 3 | Liverpool | 42 | 24 | 9 | 9 | 64 | 30 | 2.133 | 57 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 4 | Manchester City | 42 | 23 | 11 | 8 | 77 | 45 | 1.711 | 57 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 5 | Arsenal | 42 | 22 | 8 | 12 | 58 | 40 | 1.450 | 52 | |
| 6 | Tottenham Hotspur | 42 | 19 | 13 | 10 | 63 | 42 | 1.500 | 51 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 7 | Chelsea | 42 | 18 | 12 | 12 | 58 | 49 | 1.184 | 48 | |
| 8 | Manchester United | 42 | 19 | 10 | 13 | 69 | 61 | 1.131 | 48 | |
| 9 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 42 | 18 | 11 | 13 | 65 | 57 | 1.140 | 47 | Qualification for the Watney Cup |
| 10 | Sheffield United | 42 | 17 | 12 | 13 | 61 | 60 | 1.017 | 46 | Qualification for the Watney Cup |
| 11 | Newcastle United | 42 | 15 | 11 | 16 | 49 | 52 | 0.942 | 41 | |
| 12 | Leicester City | 42 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 41 | 46 | 0.891 | 39 | |
| 13 | Ipswich Town | 42 | 11 | 16 | 15 | 39 | 53 | 0.736 | 38 | |
| 14 | West Ham United | 42 | 12 | 12 | 18 | 47 | 51 | 0.922 | 36 | |
| 15 | Everton | 42 | 9 | 18 | 15 | 37 | 48 | 0.771 | 36 | |
| 16 | West Bromwich Albion | 42 | 12 | 11 | 19 | 42 | 54 | 0.778 | 35 | |
| 17 | Stoke City | 42 | 10 | 15 | 17 | 39 | 56 | 0.696 | 35 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 18 | Coventry City | 42 | 9 | 15 | 18 | 44 | 67 | 0.657 | 33 | |
| 19 | Southampton | 42 | 12 | 7 | 23 | 52 | 80 | 0.650 | 31 | |
| 20 | Crystal Palace | 42 | 8 | 13 | 21 | 39 | 65 | 0.600 | 29 | |
| 21 | Nottingham Forest (R) | 42 | 8 | 9 | 25 | 47 | 81 | 0.580 | 25 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 22 | Huddersfield Town (R) | 42 | 6 | 13 | 23 | 27 | 59 | 0.458 | 25 | Relegation to the Second Division |

* ↑ Leeds United qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup as the 1971-72 FA Cup winners.
* ↑ Tottenham Hotspur qualified for the UEFA Cup as the 1971-72 UEFA Cup winners.
* ↑ Wolverhampton Wanderers and Sheffield United 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 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 8 | Peterborough United | 46 | 17 | 16 | 13 | 82 | 64 | 1.281 | 50 | Qualified for 1972 Watney Cup |
| 9 | Bury | 46 | 19 | 12 | 15 | 73 | 59 | 1.237 | 50 | |
| 10 | Cambridge United | 46 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 62 | 60 | 1.033 | 48 | |
| 11 | Colchester United | 46 | 19 | 10 | 17 | 70 | 69 | 1.014 | 48 | |
| 12 | Doncaster Rovers | 46 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 56 | 63 | 0.889 | 46 | |

* ↑ The two teams who scored the most goals in each division, and did not qualify for Europe and were not promoted, qualified for the Watney Cup.

## Results

### Legend

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

### Football League Fourth Division

| Match | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 14 August 1971 | Chester | A | 1 – 1 | 4,541 | Akers |
| 2 | 21 August 1971 | Northampton Town | H | 1 – 1 | 5,638 | Foote |
| 3 | 27 August 1971 | Southport | A | 1 – 4 | 3,388 | Akers |
| 4 | 1 September 1971 | Gillingham | A | 0 – 2 | 6,424 | |
| 5 | 4 September 1971 | Crewe Alexandra | H | 3 – 2 | 3,909 | Phillips, Horrey, Hollett |
| 6 | 11 September 1971 | Bury | A | 1 – 0 | 2,602 | Greenhalgh |
| 7 | 18 September 1971 | Darlington | H | 6 – 0 | 4,621 | Greenhalgh (4), Collins, Carr (o.g.) |
| 8 | 25 September 1971 | Lincoln City | A | 1 – 3 | 5,679 | Phillips |
| 9 | 29 September 1971 | Exeter City | H | 0 – 1 | 4,924 | |
| 10 | 2 October 1971 | Aldershot | H | 1 – 1 | 4,781 | Phillips |
| 11 | 9 October 1971 | Doncaster Rovers | A | 1 – 1 | 3,521 | Phillips |
| 12 | 16 October 1971 | Chester | H | 2 – 0 | 3,289 | Phillips, Harris |
| 13 | 20 October 1971 | Workington | A | 1 – 0 | 3,983 | Phillips |
| 14 | 23 October 1971 | Colchester United | H | 4 – 2 | 7,320 | Harris (2), Foote, Lill |
| 15 | 30 October 1971 | Newport County | A | 0 – 3 | 3,824 | |
| 16 | 6 November 1971 | Reading | H | 4 – 1 | 5,159 | Foote, Lill, Eades, Greenhalgh |
| 17 | 12 November 1971 | Stockport County | A | 0 – 3 | 2,389 | |
| 18 | 27 November 1971 | Barrow | A | 1 – 1 | 1,031 | Walton |
| 19 | 4 December 1971 | Southend United | H | 1 – 1 | 6,260 | Greenhalgh |
| 20 | 18 December 1971 | Crewe Alexandra | A | 1 – 1 | 1,868 | Phillips |
| 21 | 27 December 1971 | Grimsby Town | H | 3 – 1 | 8,591 | Phillips, Walton, Lill |
| 22 | 1 January 1972 | Darlington | A | 1 – 2 | 3,198 | Hollett |
| 23 | 8 January 1972 | Southport | H | 0 – 0 | 4,723 | |
| 24 | 15 January 1972 | Hartlepool United | A | 2 – 1 | 2,369 | Harris, Collins |
| 25 | 22 January 1972 | Exeter City | A | 4 – 3 | 3,649 | Walton (2), Lill, Greenhalgh |
| 26 | 5 February 1972 | Brentford | H | 1 – 1 | 6,861 | Walker |
| 27 | 12 February 1972 | Colchester United | H | 1 – 1 | 5,663 | Lill |
| 28 | 19 February 1972 | Newport County | H | 0 – 1 | 4,618 | |
| 29 | 26 February 1972 | Reading | A | 0 – 1 | 6,608 | |
| 30 | 4 March 1972 | Stockport County | H | 2 – 0 | 3,913 | Collins, Greenhalgh |
| 31 | 9 March 1972 | Peterborough United | A | 0 – 2 | 4,950 | |
| 32 | 11 March 1972 | Doncaster Rovers | H | 1 – 1 | 3,207 | Greenhalgh |
| 33 | 15 March 1972 | Hartlepool United | H | 2 – 1 | 3,619 | Conlon, Guild |
| 34 | 18 March 1972 | Northampton Town | A | 2 – 1 | 3,781 | Collins, Greenhalgh |
| 35 | 20 March 1972 | Workington | H | 0 – 0 | 4,826 | |
| 36 | 25 March 1972 | Bury | H | 0 – 2 | 4,413 | |
| 37 | 31 March 1972 | Aldershot | A | 1 – 1 | 4,437 | Greenhalgh |
| 38 | 1 April 1972 | Grimsby Town | A | 1 – 2 | 12,741 | Foote |
| 39 | 3 April 1972 | Lincoln City | H | 0 – 0 | 6,588 | |
| 40 | 8 April 1972 | Brentford | A | 1 – 2 | 9,061 | Greenhalgh |
| 41 | 11 April 1972 | Scunthorpe United | A | 1 – 2 | 6,145 | Pointer |
| 42 | 15 April 1972 | Barrow | H | 1 – 0 | 3,887 | Lill |
| 43 | 19 April 1972 | Peterborough United | H | 2 – 5 | 4,248 | Greenhalgh (2) |
| 44 | 21 April 1972 | Southend United | A | 2 – 1 | 17,303 | Greenhalgh (2) |
| 45 | 26 April 1972 | Gillingham | H | 2 – 1 | 3,260 | Greenhalgh, Conlon |
| 46 | 29 April 1972 | Scunthorpe United | H | 2 – 0 | 3,927 | Greenhalgh, Conlon |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| R1 | 20 November 1971 | Weymouth | H | 2 – 0 | 4,643 | Hollett, Collins |
| R2 | 11 December 1971 | Bristol Rovers | A | 0 – 3 | 8,788 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| R1 | 17 August 1971 | Fulham | A | 0 – 4 | 8,360 | |

## 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 | 45 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 48 | 2 |
| DF | Jack Bannister | 6(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7(2) | 0 |
| MF | John Collins | 40(1) | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 43(1) | 5 |
| FW | Bryan Conlon | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 3 |
| DF | Terry Eades | 44 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 47 | 1 |
| MF | Chris Foote | 38(2) | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 41(2) | 4 |
| FW | Brian Greenhalgh | 44 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 46 | 19 |
| DF | Alan Guild | 44 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 47 | 1 |
| MF | George Harris | 11(1) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11(1) | 4 |
| FW | Ivan Hollett | 8(1) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0(1) | 0 | 9(2) | 3 |
| MF | Roly Horrey | 5(1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5(1) | 1 |
| MF | David Lill | 42(3) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6(1) | 1 |
| MF | John Murray | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| FW | Peter Phillips | 33(1) | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 35(1) | 8 |
| MF | Keith Pointer | 4(2) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4(2) | 1 |
| GK | Trevor Roberts | 21 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 0 |
| DF | Jimmy Thompson | 40 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 0 |
| GK | Peter Vasper | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 0 |
| MF | Dennis Walker | 12(6) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13(6) | 1 |
| MF | Ronnie Walton | 25 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 4 |
| DF | Jimmy White | 3(2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4(2) | 0 |
