NUFC Season Summaries
NUFC Season 1961/62
| Manager | C Mitten, N Smith |
| Lge Pos | D2 - 11th |
| FA Cup | 3rd |
| Lge Cup | 2nd |
| Euro | |
| Attendance | 27,359 |
| Top Scorer | I Allchurch [11] |
United did not make a good start in the lower league and a 1-0 defeat at The Dell at the end of September saw them drop into 18th; their worst position since the dark days of the late thirties.
Mitten was eventually sacked in October and long serving trainer Norman Smith reluctantly stepped into the hot seat.
His mission was straightforward but far from simple: arrest the slide and keep the club up. Luckily the team rallied around the popular trainer and finished in 11th place.
Once again the side was very unsettled (31 players used), but there were some signs of Mitten's youth policy paying dividends as youngsters such as Alan Suddick, Colin Clish and George Dalton performed well.
There was more cup humiliation as United were beaten in the FA Cup by newly elected Peterborough. In the League Cup they were knocked out at the second round stage by Sheffield United.