This is the second part of a special series of posts by Tony Park (aka mrmujac).
The first part covering the appointment of Dave Sexton and the first few months of the season can be found here.
DECEMBER
The period leading up to Christmas was not only inconsistent but downright crazy. A 3-1 home win over Wolves saw both Greenhoff and Pearson hit the net before a 1-2 reverse at West Ham. The Reds suddenly hit rock bottom after Nottingham Forest arrived and delivered a lesson in football winning 4-0. Whatever was said in the dressing room worked wonders as Everton were then humiliated by a resurgent United as five different players scored in a 6-2 demolition. A 3-1 home win over Leicester brought further hope of a turnaround before United lost 0-3 at Coventry on the last day of 1977.
League: Won 3 Drew 0 Lost 3
The table at New Year showed the Reds in mid-table having won nine games, drawing only three and losing ten. It was hardly inspiring, yet match reports from the period suggest that the football was anything but boring. United were either just wasteful in front of goal or careless in defence with many in the squad lacking confidence from recent results. The injuries highlighted the poor quality of the squad, injuries, that Docherty had been very lucky with the previous season.
Sexton was forced into the transfer market. It was here that many believe he made his first mistake. Not in buying new players…..but in his choice of player. With an FA Cup tie against Carlisle around the corner, Sexton decided to buy Joe Jordan. Everyone knew United needed another forward up front, but Jordan, for all his tenacity and willing, was not a goalscorer. Trevor Francis, who was also being looked at would have been a much better option.
JANUARY
The first game of 1978 brought little good cheer as Birmingham City got revenge from the opening day fixture and returned to the Midlands with both points after a 2-1 success. In the Reserves, Gary Bailey had made his debut as Sexton tried to manage the goalkeeping dilemma. United defeated Carlisle 4-2 after a replay in the FA Cup 3rd Round and then returned to league action at Ipswich. Stuart Pearson notched the winner in a 2-1 win and was again on the scoresheet in a 4-0 home win over Derby County, the Reds biggest home win of the season and something for the Stretford End to shout about. The final game of the month saw Jordan make his debut in the 1-1 home draw with West Brom in the FA Cup. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, Sexton acquired Kevin Moran from Ireland.
League: Won 2 Drew 0 Lost 1
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| Gary Bailey |
FEBRUARY
West Bromwich Albion knocked the Reds out of the FA Cup 2-3 in the replay at the Hawthorns and United failed to win one game in the entire month. A home draw with Bristol City was followed by a 2-2 result at Chelsea before Liverpool inflicted a 1-3 defeat at Anfield. The game was notable for the debut of Gordon McQueen, who had signed for a British record fee of £495,000 from Leeds United.
League: Won 0 Drew 2 Lost 1
MARCH
If Sexton was hoping for a late rally it didn’t come. Without Jordan and McQueen, Leeds were still too strong and inflicted another home defeat on the Reds, this time by an only goal. United failed to hit the net for the second home game in a row as Middlesbrough returned home with a point after Gordon Hill had a penalty saved in front of only 46,000 supporters. Successive draws at Newcastle, at home to City and away at West Brom resulted in United remaining in the bottom half of the table. For the City match, Sexton dropped Paddy Roche amd elevated Alex Stepney. Roche had conceded 29 goals in 18 games and had kept three clean sheets in that period. Finally, a 3-2 win at Leicester City was the first time United had won for 12 games. Everton then got their own revenge coming away from Old Trafford with a 2-1 victory.
It was taking time for Jordan and McQueen to settle, Pearson and Greenhoff were out of form and the defence was still leaking goals. While Sexton was responsible for the two new signings, he could hardly be blamed for the injury toll, lack of depth in the squad nor the players he inherited.
League: Won 1 Drew 4 Lost 2
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| Gordon McQueen |
APRIL
As the season came into the final month, United had nothing to play for but pride. After a 1-1 draw at home to Villa, Joe Jordan scored only his second goal since arriving in 1-3 defeat at Arsenal. The Highbury game also saw Gordon Hill wear the red shirt for the last time before his transfer to Derby County. Unbelievably, the Reds then won their next four games on the bounce, turning the form guide on it’s head after defeating QPR 3-1 at home and gaining a similar result at Norwich. A positive 3-0 win over West Ham at Old Trafford saw the Reds enter the top half of the table to be followed by a 1-0 success at Bristol City. The curtain came down on the league campaign at Wolves as United lost their final match 1-2.
League: Won 4 Drew 1 Lost 2
SUMMARY
In the final tally, United finished tenth in the league with Gordon Hill top goalscorer with 19 in all competitions. Stuart Pearson could only manage ten league goals from 30 starts while Jimmy Greenhoff notched six in 23. The form of Joe Jordan was more worrying, as he hit the net three times in fourteen appearances. Jordan’s start to his United career was to prove worse than that of Garry Birtles! At home the Reds scored 32 goals but shipped 23 at the other end and the away form no better with 35 goals scored but 40 conceded.
It did not take a rocket scientist to work out where the problems lay…unfortunately with attendances dropping, the new signings yet to perform and the sale of Gordon Hill, Sexton was already under pressure.
In hindsight many years later, I am not sure what else Sexton could have done. Certainly Tommy Cavanagh was not on the same wavelength as Sexton tactically nor with his man-management skills. Young players were often very critical of Cavanagh’s style and his coaching techniques were still dated. Sexton could have acted earlier with buying players but wanted to give the current squad a chance and maintain some continuity from Docherty’s internship. The injuries throughout the season didn't help, and his choice of Jordan and McQueen as ‘United quality’ was poor. This was no more in evidence than in the signings made by Nottingham Forest in the same period.
On the positive side, he had brought Bailey, Moran and Paul McGrath to the club, and was slowly working behind the scenes on the youth policy.
Perhaps 1978/79 was going to offer brighter things?
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