Season 1977/78
original illustrations of the kits worn during the season


The Season in brief

Under Dave Sexton United's football lacked the spontaneity of previous seasons. Occasionally they burst out of the tactical shackles imposed upon them by the new manager, most notably at Goodison Park on Boxing Day, but more often than not they struggled with Sexton's thoughtful, cautious approach.Four successive defeats in October and November ended any hopes of mounting a title challenge and the club had to be content with a final tenth place.

There were early defeats in all three of the Cup competitions in which United competed; Arsenal in the League Cup, West Brom in the FA Cup and Porto in the Cup Winners Cup. After crowd trouble in the first leg of the Cup Winners Cup first round at St. Etienne, United were thrown out of the competition, although the decision was later relaxed and the club were forced to play the home leg at least 120 miles away from Old Trafford.

There were again subtle changes to the home kit. The sleeve trim on the short sleeved shirts now possessed three thin bands above the broader bottom red band. Of course there were several variations worn during the course of the season including sleeves with two rather than three red bands on the sleeve trim, shirts with or without the Admiral logo, black shorts rather than white, or any combination of the above! Admiral produced a special change shirt for the Charity Shield in August, which was worn throughout the season.

Stepney wore a yellow jersey in both Cup Winners' Cup ties against St. Etienne (who wore green) that season, and in the tie at Porto.

Can you help identify the kits worn by United in the game against Leeds U (h) 1/3/1978.