Three games into the 1974-75 season, United stood proudly on top of the Football League, having picked up maximum points from wins against Chelsea, Middlesbrough and Tottenham Hotspur.

The novelty soon wore off. By Christmas, the Cumbrians were in the bottom three and relegation became inevitable once winter turned into spring. Nevertheless, their one season in the sun was still a heady time for United. Their cultured football won them many admirers and they refused to betray their principles despite their obvious plight.

In midfield, there were few more stylish performers than Ray Train or more determined than Les O'Neill. However, a chronic shortage of goals in such top class company was to prove crucial in the final analysis. Very rarely did United receive a thrashing; their final goal difference of just -16 was evidence of this. The five clubs above them in the final table all conceded more goals.

But a pattern of narrow defeats had set in by the autumn. Ray Kennedy grabbed the only goal at Brunton Park in October as Liverpool came away with a 1-0 victory in front of 20,844. In the next home game, the champions-to-be Derby County were hammered 3-0, but six successive defeats followed, all bar one by single goal margins.

Over Christmas, United pulled off a magnificent 3-2 win at Goodison Park over Everton, then challenging for the title, but five days later on Boxing Day they were ambushed by a last minute goal from Malcolm 'Supermac' MacDonald of Newcastle, who had been less than charitable in his remarks about Carlisle's status as a top flight club.

The FA Cup provided a respite from the struggle in the league and United reached the Sixth Round for the one and only time in their history. However, they had the misfortune to come up against a Fulham team who had an inspired keeper in Peter Mellor. The Londoners scored a goal after a fatal error by Allan Ross and Mellor then produced a series of outstanding saves to keep the Blues out.

With a heavy 5-2 defeat at Stoke in March seemingly the last straw, United rolled up their sleeves and engineered a mini revival in the climax to the season, winning against Everton again and Burnley and edging out Wolves in the last home game. They even played party poopers in Derby's triumphal end-of-season celebration of the championship. A goalless draw served to illustrate the narrow line between success (the Rams finished first) and failure (the Cumbrians were bottom).