First Division 1956/57

Manchester United won the 1956/57 First Division with 64 points, 8 points ahead of Tottenham Hotspur. Cardiff City and Charlton Athletic were relegated. The season's 462 matches produced 1,612 goals, 3.49 a game.

Man United

Champions

1,612

Goals

3.49

Goals a game

53%

Home wins

Final table


1	Manchester UnitedMan United	42	28	8	6	103	54	+49	64
2	Tottenham HotspurTottenham	42	22	12	8	104	56	+48	56
3	Preston North EndPreston North End	42	23	10	9	84	56	+28	56
4	BlackpoolBlackpool	42	22	9	11	93	65	+28	53
5	ArsenalArsenal	42	21	8	13	85	69	+16	50
6	Wolverhampton WanderersWolves	42	20	8	14	94	70	+24	48
7	BurnleyBurnley	42	18	10	14	56	50	+6	46
8	Leeds UnitedLeeds United	42	15	14	13	72	63	+9	44
9	Bolton WanderersBolton	42	16	12	14	65	65	0	44
10	Aston VillaAston Villa	42	14	15	13	65	55	+10	43
11	West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom	42	14	14	14	59	61	-2	42
12	Birmingham CityBirmingham	42	15	9	18	69	69	0	39
13	ChelseaChelsea	42	13	13	16	73	73	0	39
14	Sheffield WednesdaySheffield Wed	42	16	6	20	82	88	-6	38
15	EvertonEverton	42	14	10	18	61	79	-18	38
16	Luton TownLuton Town	42	14	9	19	58	76	-18	37
17	Newcastle UnitedNewcastle	42	14	8	20	67	87	-20	36
18	Manchester CityMan City	42	13	9	20	78	88	-10	35
19	PortsmouthPortsmouth	42	10	13	19	62	92	-30	33
20	SunderlandSunderland	42	12	8	22	67	88	-21	32
21	Cardiff CityCardiff	42	10	9	23	53	88	-35	29
22	Charlton AthleticCharlton	42	9	4	29	62	120	-58	22

▌ Champions ▌ Relegated. Two points for a win, one for a draw; clubs level on points are split by goal average (goals scored divided by goals conceded), as they were then. Sort and filter it on the all-time table →

The 1956/57 title race

The top four's points, match day by match day. Pick other clubs or measures on the race chart →

Points, Wed 1 May 1957

Man United

Tottenham

Preston North End

Blackpool

Hover the chart to read any match day, or a club to highlight its line.

1956/57 · Wed 1 May 1957

An MP4 of this race to post on X, TikTok, Instagram or YouTube.

The 1956/57 scoreline grid

Every result of the season, home goals along the bottom and away goals up the side. Each square counts the matches that finished that way. Select a square to see those matches.

Away goals

1 2

3 4 7 4 1 2

6 16 15 7 2 2 1 2

12 28 32 20 8 8 7

9 39 27 31 15 9 2 1 1

30 38 27 20 13 6 4

Home goals

Times it's happened

Never

Once

3–4

5–9

10–19

20+

First-ever results

Every result in 1956/57 had happened before.

Biggest wins

September 1, 1956Sunderland 8–1 Charlton7-goal home win

February 2, 1957Preston North End 7–1 Portsmouth6-goal home win

September 1, 1956Preston North End 6–0 Cardiff6-goal home win

October 13, 1956Wolves 6–0 Portsmouth6-goal home win

November 3, 1956Preston North End 6–0 Sunderland6-goal home win

Highest-scoring matches

October 6, 1956Arsenal 7–3 Man City10 goals

February 16, 1957Wolves 7–3 Charlton10 goals

September 1, 1956Sunderland 8–1 Charlton9 goals

February 2, 1957Arsenal 6–3 Sheffield Wed9 goals

August 29, 1956Wolves 5–4 Luton Town9 goals

Most common results

#11–1 draw39 · 8%

#21–0 home win38 · 8%

#32–2 draw32 · 7%

#43–1 home win31 · 7%

#50–0 draw30 · 6%

How 1956/57 compares

At 3.49 goals a game, 1956/57 was the 22nd highest-scoring of the 93 old First Division seasons (the average is 3.07). Home sides won 53% of matches, against 52% across all seasons; 24% were draws and 23% away wins.

Every season 1956/57 table Race chart