I do agree with your central thrust, that we have been a club which, at several times in our history, has been on the verge or establishing (or re establishing) itself as a top club only to throw it away. Thats why I called the United history I did 'Triumph and Disaster'.
On this narrow point though, we were relegated with Currie in the team. That side of the 1970's, Woodward, Hemsley, Badger, Dearden, Colqhoun, had all got old together and the conveyor belt of local players that had produced Woodward and Badger as well as Birchenall and Jones in the 1960's had ground to a halt following the death of Archie Clark in (I think) 1968.