The Red Devils have been a dominant force in the Premier League era, but when did they last suffer the ignominy of dropping down a division?
Manchester United are by far the most successful club of the Premier League era, having won 13 league titles since 1992. Under Sir Alex Ferguson, the club never finished below third place and in the legendary Scot’s final season at Old Trafford, United were crowned champions. The Red Devils have not won a league title since.
They appear to be a long way off that pace again in the present, as Erik ten Hag’s reign gets off to a disastrous start, and back-to-back defeats to open the 2022-23 campaign left a heavyweight outfit propping up the English top-flight table.
Talk of relegation may be premature, but struggles for form do beg the question: when was the last time United suffered the ignominy of dropping down a division? GOAL is on hand to provide the answer…
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When were Man Utd last relegated?
The Red Devils’ most recent relegation came in the 1973-74 season when they finished in 21st place, with just 32 points to their name. The Red Devils lost 20 games that season, including their opening fixture 3-0 to Arsenal and their final game of the campaign 1-0 to Stoke City.
The lowest United have finished in the Premier League is seventh during the 2013-14 season under David Moyes, the season immediately after Ferguson’s departure. As a result of their poor league performance, the Red Devils also failed to qualify for any European competition for the first time since the 1989-90 season.
Their worst Premier League points return was posted in the 2021-22 campaign, with just 58 collected across 38 games. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, a 1999 Treble-winning hero from his playing days, was dismissed midway through that season, with Ralf Rangnick failing to deliver an upturn in fortune following his appointment on an interim basis.
While United have been finding the going tough of late, they have experienced far worse in their history. They have been relegated five times since their formation as a club in 1878, including one time under their original name, Newton Heath LYR F.C.
When have Manchester United been relegated?
Season
League
1893-94
First Division
1921-22
First Division
1930-31
First Division
1936-37
First Division
1973-74
Division One
Before the formation of the Premier League, Manchester United spent most of their time in the First Division – the former name of the top-flight in English football.
After spending just one season in the Second Division, Manchester United were promoted back to the big time in 1975 as champions.
Manchester United have been relegated on four other occasions prior to the 1970s: 1894, 1922, 1931 and 1937.
They have never played lower than the second tier of English football, although they needed a win over Millwall on the final day of the season in 1934 to avoid relegation. United duly beat the London club 2-0 and leapfrogged the Lions in the table to relegate them instead.
United are part of an elite group of six to have played every Premier League season since its founding in 1992, alongside Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool and Tottenham.
