Manchester United

A

Preface

This E-book is report about Manchester United it’s a part of
Technology subject.This’s for lern about the history of Manchester

United.

I hope that this book will be helpful for interested person and who
want to lern about the history of Manchester United.If you have either

an advice or mistake I humbly accept and say sorry for here.

Natapat Klaisuban
15 October 2020



Contents B

Preface Page
content A
HIsory B
Munich-remembered
Trophies 1-23
Reference 24
25
26



1

History

Manchester United Football Club was first
formed in 1878, albeit under a different name -
Newton Heath LYR (Lancashire and Yorkshire
Railway).

Little suspecting the impact they were about to have on the national,
even global game, the workers in the railway yard at Newton Heath
indulged their passion for association football with games against other
departments of the LYR and other railway companies.

Indeed, when the Football League was formed in 1888, Newton Heath
did not consider themselves good enough to become founder members
alongside the likes of Blackburn Rovers and Preston North End. Instead,
they waited until 1892 to make their entrance, joining the league at
Division One level but were sadly relegated to Division Two after just two
seasons in the top flight.

Financial problems plagued the club and, by the start of the 20th
Century, it seemed they were destined for extinction. The team was
saved, however, by local brewery owner John Henry Davies. Legend
has it that he learned of the club's plight when he found a dog belonging
to captain Harry Stafford.

Davies decided to invest in Newton Heath, in return for some interest in
running it. This led to a change of name and, after several alternatives
including Manchester Central and Manchester Celtic were rejected,
Manchester United was born in April/May of 1902.

The next influential figure to arrive at United was Ernest Mangnall, who
was appointed secretary in September 1903 but is widely acknowledged
as being the club's first manager. His side, including new signings like
goalkeeper Harry Moger and forward Charlie Sagar, finished third in the
Second Division in 1903/04 and again in 1904/05.

The following season, 1905/06, was to prove one of the greatest in the
early life of Manchester United. The half-back line of Dick
Duckworth, Alex Bell and captain Charlie Roberts were instrumental in
the side which reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup but, more
importantly, finished as runners-up in the Second Division. Some 12

2

years after being relegated, United reclaimed their place in the top flight.
To celebrate, Mangnall signed Billy Meredith from rivals Manchester
City. Nicknamed the Welsh Wizard, Meredith had been implicated in a
bribery scandal at City, and was due to be auctioned along with 17 other
players. Mangnall shrewdly made his move early, and acquired
Meredith's signature before the bidding began.

The winger's arrival proved to be inspirational - Meredith set up
countless goals for Sandy Turnbull in 1907/08 when United won the
Football League title for the first time. As champions, United played in
the first-ever Charity Shield in 1908. They duly won the trophy, beating
Southern League champions QPR 4-0 thanks largely to a hat-trick from
Sandy's namesake, Jimmy Turnbull. The third trophy to be added to the
club's honours board was the FA Cup, at the end of a tremendous run in
1909. United beat Bristol City 1-0 in the final, thanks to Sandy Turnbull's
winner.

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The words Old Trafford entered footballing
folklore for the first time during the 1909/10
season. The land on which the stadium was
built was bought by the Manchester Brewery
Company (through John Henry Davies) and
leased to the club.

Davies himself paid for the building work, which commenced in 1908
under the supervision of architect Archibald Leitch. By 1910, the club
had moved lock, stock and barrel from their old home of Bank Street.
United's opening fixture at Old Trafford was played on 19 February
1910. The new hosts lost 4-3 to their first visitors Liverpool, but the
stadium was successful in accommodating an 80,000 capacity crowd.
Two days previously, the old wooden stand at Bank Street had been
blown down by strong winds - further evidence, perhaps, that United
were suited to and needed their new home.

Indeed, United were crowned League champions for the second time at
the end of their first full season at Old Trafford - 1910/1911. The Reds
clinched the title at home on the final day of the season, beating
Sunderland 5-1 with Harold Halse grabbing two of the goals. Halse also
scored six goals as United beat Swindon Town 8-4 to clinch the Charity
Shield.

Despite such feats, United could not maintain the winning run and, in
1911/12, the defending champions finished in a disappointing 13th
place. Secretary-manager Ernest Mangnall bore the brunt of the
criticism, and resigned to join United's neighbours and rivals Manchester
City. The search for Mangnall's successor finished at the door of JJ
Bentley, the president of the Football League. Under his guidance, the
Reds claimed fourth place in the League at the end of the 1912/13
season.

The 1913/14 term was a period of transition, while the following
campaign was notable for a change of management - in December
1914, the roles of secretary and team manager were separated for the
first time. Bentley became full-time secretary and John Robson was
appointed to look after and select the team. Robson's team was a
shadow of the one which had performed so well in the previous decade,

4

as only George Stacey, Billy Meredith, Sandy Turnbull and George Wall
remained from the 1909 FA Cup-winning side. Not surprisingly, the club
struggled, only escaping relegation by a single point.

Before United could form a plan for recovery, the outbreak of the First
World War put football firmly to the back of people's minds. The Football
League was suspended, and clubs resorted to playing in regional
competitions. United played in the Lancashire Prinicipal and Subsidiary
Tournaments for four seasons, but this was a less than successful
diversion, the misery compounded by the fact that two of the club's
players were found guilty of match fixing. Enoch West was banned for
life, as was Sandy Turnbull, who joined the Footballers' Battalion to help
Britain's war effort. Tragically, Turnbull was killed during battle in
France in May 1917, and another link to the club’s earliest glory
years lost.

5

Manchester United returned to League football
on 30 August 1919, following a four-year gap
caused by the First World War. The team for
that first match back against Derby County
included many new faces

Billy Meredith was still at Old Trafford, but reaching the end of his
illustrious Old Trafford career. He made only 19 appearances in 1919/20
when United finished 12th in the First Division. The new hero of the
terraces, Joe Spence, finished the season as the team's top scorer with
14 League goals. He was joint-top scorer again in 1920/21, but this time
with half the tally as United again under-achieved to finish in 13th place.

Manager John Robson then left the club, to be replaced by John
Chapman, who reverted to the dual role of secretary/manager last held
by JJ Bentley. Meanwhile, former manager Ernest Mangnall continued to
make the local headlines with City, as they moved into a new stadium at
Maine Road.

Mangnall also re-signed Meredith for City and despite his advancing
years, it was perhaps no coincidence that United were relegated in their
first season without him, winning only eight of their 42 matches in
1921/22. Chapman's team managed to climb out of the Second Division
at the third attempt, when the on-field leadership of Frank Barson helped
ensure promotion at the end of 1924/25. United finished second to
Leicester City, after losing only eight games.

United's top-flight status was cemented with a ninth-place finish in
1925/26. Chapman's team also went on a great run in the FA Cup, but
this came to a halt in the semi-finals when Manchester City beat them 3-
0 at Bramall Lane in Sheffield. City's luck then ran out, as they lost both
the final (to Bolton) and their place in the First Division.Not that United
supporters could afford to chuckle at City's misfortune. Two months into
the 1926/27 season, they had troubles of their own when the FA
suspended manager Chapman with immediate effect, the reasons for
which never became public. Wing-half Clarence Hilditch took over as
player-manager while the club looked for a more permanent
replacement, but 'Lal' was reluctant to pick himself, and the team
suffered.

6

Chapman's permanent successor, Herbert Bamlett, arrived later that
season. He was already known to United fans as the referee who called
off the club's FA Cup quarter-final tie at Burnley in 1909, when their team
was trailing 1-0 in the midst of a blizzard. Bamlett, though, was too cold
to blow the final whistle, so Charlie Roberts had to do the job and United
went on to win the Cup that season!

Sadly, Bamlett had no further impact on United's success as their
manager. The team slowly slipped down the First Division, finishing 15th
in 1926/27 and 18th in 1927/28, only to recover slightly to end in 12th in
1928/29. Spence continued to score goals by the bucketload but not
even he could stop United's steady decline.

Their fears were realised in the next season, when United made the
worst start in their history by losing their first 12 league matches in a row.
The dozen defeats included back-to-back thrashings at Old Trafford, 6-0
by Huddersfield Town and then 7-4 by Newcastle United. The Reds
eventually lost 27 out of 42 league matches in 1930/31, conceding 115
goals. Relegation led to manager Herbert Bamlett bowing out, and
secretary Walter Crickmer taking charge of team affairs. The patience
of the supporters was being severely tested, and many of them did not
hang around - only 3,507 turned up for the opening match of the
following season. As the season went on, the situation deteriorated. By
December, there was no money to pay the players' wages. Bankruptcy
was a real threat.

The club's saviour came in the shape of James Gibson, a manufacturer
of army uniforms. He invested £30,000, paid the players and got things
back on track. He appointed a new manager, Scott Duncan, who was
given money to spend. However, he did not make the most of it. A
dreadful run under Duncan in 1933/34 took United to the brink of being
relegated into the Third Division for the first time in the club’s history.
Survival was only secured on the last day of the season, when a 2-0 win,
with goals from Tom Manley and Jack Cape, sent opponents Millwall
down instead. In that same week, Manchester City won the FA Cup, with
a man named Matt Busby in their side.

United finished the 1934/35 season in fifth place and, then in the
following term, claimed their first silverware of the decade. Unbeaten
during the last 19 games of the campaign, the Reds secured the Second
Division championship with a 3-2 win over Bury at Gigg Lane. The end-
of-season form in the Second Division suggested United would do well

7

on returning to the top flight but, by Christmas, the side had only won
four matches, including one on 25 December itself! Only 10 wins in the
whole season led to relegation, with City's fortunes again proving in stark
contrast as they were crowned League champions. The relegated United
team included Walter Winterbottom, who would later be knighted after
managing England for 16 years.

The yo-yoing continued as United were promoted again the next season,
1937/38, as runners-up to Aston Villa. Manager Duncan could only claim
some of the credit, as he left the club in November 1937 to take charge
of Ipswich Town. Walter Crickmer again stepped into the breach as
United's caretaker manager. The highlight of Duncan and Crickmer's
season was the discovery of Johnny Carey, who would later be
recognised as one of the greatest full-backs in football history. Playing
32 games and scoring six goals in a more advanced role, the Irishman
helped United to stay up this time, finishing 14th, while City took their
turn to be relegated. There was no time to gloat, however - the outbreak
of war put the Football League on hold again, for several years.

On 11 March 1941, the stadium was bombed during a German air raid.
The attack destroyed the main stand, dressing rooms and offices. It was
a devastating blow but, within a few years, there would be optimism
again around the famous old ground.

It came with a man named Matt Busby, who would prove to be a hugely
important figure in the history of Manchester United. A former
Manchester City and Liverpool player, Busby served in the Ninth
Battalion of the King's Liverpool Regiment, where his leadership qualities
shone through. These qualities did not go unnoticed by United.

Busby joined the Reds in 1945, initially on a five-year contract. Little did
he know he would still be managing the club 25 years later! The young
boss did not waste any time making his mark, altering the positions of
several key players. He also founded the 'Famous Five' forwards when
he brought together Jimmy Delaney, Stan Pearson, Jack
Rowley, Charlie Mitten and Johnny Morris.

Perhaps the most important signing Busby made, however, was on the
coaching staff. Matt had metJimmy Murphy during the war, and
identified him as his perfect right-hand man. The pair formed a
partnership that would see United become a power in world football.

8

Busby and Murphy's first step on the road to glory was to build a team
that was capable of challenging for domestic honours. They succeeded
almost at the first attempt, as United finished second to Liverpool in the
first Football League campaign after the war, 1946/47. It was the club's
highest placing for 36 years, and there was extra cause for optimism
when the Reserves won their (Central) League Championship in the
same season.

Busby's mix of young local lads and established players lifted their first
trophy the following year, when beating the Blackpool side of Stanley
Matthews, Stan Mortensen and Harry Johnston in the 1948 FA Cup final.
It was 39 years to the day that United had previously won the Cup, in
1909.

The FA Cup was also the club's first major honour since winning the
League Championship in 1911, and recapturing the title would now
become the number one target for Busby's men. During the first five
seasons of his post-war reign, United finished second on four occasions,
and fourth on the other (1949/50).

The thrill of the chase for honours brought the fans flooding back – more
than one million of them passed through the turnstiles in the 1947/48
season, dragging the club out of debt. Surely these fans wouldn't have to
wait long to be rewarded with the prize they all craved.

Dressing room dissent led to Johnny Morris departing for Derby and
Charlie Mitten exporting his wing wizardry to Colombia. Fans worried by
the duo's departure were soon placated. The great Scot’s plan was to
promote the youngsters he’d been recruiting and developing in the late
1940s. Jackie Blanchflower and Roger Byrne were the first to emerge
and be labelled ‘Babes’ by the newspapers; in their debut season in
1951/52, United won the elusive League championship for the first time
since 1911.

In 1955/56 and 1956/57, Byrne lifted the Division One trophy as skipper
of a fabled young side that included several more products of Busby’s
youth academy. Eddie Colman, Mark Jones and David Pegg were all
first-team regulars, having cut their teeth in the FA Youth Cup, which
United won five years in a row from its inception in 1953.

Not all the young talent was home-grown, however. The United manager
was equally happy to plunge into the transfer market, as shown by the
big money signings of proven internationals Tommy Taylor and

9

goalkeeper Harry Gregg.Another young man who excelled for club and
country was Duncan Edwards. So powerful, talented and mature was
the Dudley teenager that Busby could not hold him back from United’s
first team. In April 1953, he became the First Division’s youngest-ever
player at the age of 16 years and 185 days.One match that epitomised
the new Busby Babes era was against Arsenal at Highbury on 1
February 1958. In front of a crowd of 63,578 the Reds beat the Gunners
in a nine-goal thriller with goals from Edwards, Taylor (2), Bobby
Charlton and Dennis Viollet.

Sadly, what was perhaps their greatest game on English soil was
destined to be the last for that particular Manchester United team. From
Highbury, the Babes headed off into Europe to play the second leg of a
tie against Red Star Belgrade. Again they won 5-4, this time on
aggregate but, on the way home, the celebrations were cut short by
tragedy.

After refuelling in Munich on 6 February 1958, the United aeroplane
crashed, killing 22 people, including seven players – Byrne, Colman,
Jones, Pegg, Taylor, Geoff Bent and Liam Whelan. Duncan Edwards
died of his injuries 15 days later in a German hospital. The club, the city
of Manchester and the English game entered a long period of mourning.
It seemed inconceivable that United could recover from such an
appalling loss.But as Busby defied the medics to recover from his crash
wounds, the team bounced back and, patched up by Jimmy Murphy,
they reached the FA Cup final in May against all odds. The Reds lost at
Wembley to Bolton Wanderers, 12 months after controversially losing
the final to Aston Villa.

Despite the appalling devastation inflicted on United’s richly talented
first-team squad, Busby and Murphy pulled together a makeshift pool of
players and, remarkably, they finished second in the league in 1958/59.
After the horrors of Munich, the rebuilding process had begun.

Dennis Viollet was one of the leading names within this team. In
1959/60, the Munich survivor broke Jack Rowley's club record by
scoring 32 goals league goals in one season, a record that still stands to
this day.

By 1962 Viollet had left the club as Busby reshaped his side once more.
This next great team still retained a link to the Busby Babes in the shape
of Bill Foulkes and Bobby Charlton, the latter coming through the ranks

10

to break goalscoring records for both club and country. Nobby Stiles also
rose through the ranks, while Denis Law came via a record £115,000
transfer from Torino.United's form was erratic at the start of the decade,
while new names settled in, but then everything came together with a
run to Wembley for the 1963 FA Cup Final. Busby's new-look team beat
Leicester 3-1, with two goals from David Herd and one by Law.

The next season saw United build on the foundations of FA Cup success
to challenge for the title – finishing second, only four points behind the
champions Liverpool. The 1962/63 season was also notable for the
signing and debut of George Best, the young man from Belfast who
would become football's first superstar. His incredible skill, pace and
control left opponents in knots, making him a hit with the fans, while his
film-star looks helped elevate his fame to celebrity status.

In 1964/65, the famous Trinity of Best, Law and Charlton took United to
new heights. They won the League championship, pipping Leeds on
goal difference, and reached the semi-finals of the European Fairs Cup
and the FA Cup. Law plundered goals galore and was named the
European Footballer of the Year.The title-winning team seemed to be
the finished article, but they finished a disappointing fourth the following
season, and exited both the FA and European Cups in the semi-finals.
The season's highlight had been the 5-1 away thrashing of Benfica in the
European Cup quarter-finals, when Best had been in blistering form and
earned the tag the 'El Beatle'.

In 1966/67, United were crowned League champions again and another
season of European Cup football was guaranteed. This time, United
would go all the way, beating Benfica in the final at Wembley. Jaime
Graca equalised Charlton's headed goal to take the game into extra-
time, but further goals from Best, Brian Kidd – on his 19th birthday – and
Charlton gave United their first European Cup. Just 10 years after Sir
Matt had seen his dream team destroyed, he had delivered the ultimate
prize. He was knighted soon afterwards.The following season saw the
European champions finish 11th in the league and fail to win a trophy.
The Reds also lost the World Club Championship 2-1 on aggregate to
Estudiantes in a match marred by on-field violence. Despite the anti-
climatic end to the decade, United had achieved incredible things in the
1960s and few could begrudge Sir Matt's retirement in 1969, after all
he'd achieved.

11

Their decision was to appoint from within, by promoting one of Busby's
coaches and former players, Wilf McGuinness, to the senior position. A
combination of ageing stars and the lack of overall control in team affairs
meant that McGuinness struggled to impose his authority. Putting
popular figures like Denis Law and Shay Brennan on the transfer list
didn't help matters, neither did George Best's distracting off-field
behaviour.

Wilf wasn't allowed to struggle for too long. On Boxing Day 1970, he was
relieved of his duties and Sir Matt was put back in temporary charge.
Frank O'Farrell was the next man to take over in June 1971 but, despite
a promising start, United's 5-0 defeat by Crystal Palace on 16 December
1972 was the Irishman's last match in charge.Although O'Farrell's tenure
was short, he still left his mark by signing Martin Buchan for a record fee
of £125,000. The former Aberdeen captain was to become a key player
for O'Farrell's successor, Tommy Docherty, who was appointed around
Christmas in 1972.The Doc's first challenge was to keep the team in the
top flight, while gradually replacing the legends of the 1960s. Bobby
Charlton had announced he would retire at the end of the 1972/73
season, Best was frequently veering off the rails once again and Law
had passed his peak. Law, in fact, was given a free transfer in July 1973,
a move which later came back to haunt Docherty. The striker joined
Manchester City and scored at Old Trafford in April 1974, on a day when
United's relegation to the Second Division was confirmed.

To Docherty's credit, the Reds bounced back very quickly. They won the
Second Division championship in style in 1974/75, with top scorer Stuart
'Pancho' Pearson contirbuting 17 league goals. Lou Macari scored the
goal that clinched promotion, at Southampton on 5 April 1975.

United then reached successive FA Cup finals, losing to Southampton in
1976, but beating Liverpool 2-1 a year later. The Doc's men rose
perfectly to the task of destroying Liverpool's Treble hopes – the
Merseyside club won the League Championship and the European Cup
on either side of United's triumph. The joy of that win didn't last very long
for the Doc, however. Just 44 days later, he was sacked following off-
field revelations.

QPR manager Dave Sexton stepped into the breach, and although he
finished no higher than 10th in the table in his first two seasons 1977/78
and 1978/79, he again guided the side to Wembley in 1979.
Unfortunately the Reds lost there, 3-2 to Arsenal in one of the most

12

memorable finishes to an FA Cup final. Gordon McQueen and Sammy
McIlroy scored in the last five minutes to bring United back from 2-0
down, only for Alan Sunderland to grab Arsenal's winner on the brink of
extra-time.

Those frenetic last few moments at Wembley summed up the 1970s for
United, a decade of high drama when great highs and lows were never
far apart.

The Reds produced another blistering finish at the end of the following
season, 1980/81, when they won their last seven league games in a
row. This time, however, only an eighth-placed finish in the table was
secured – a position which the club's board could not tolerate. Sexton
was sacked on 30 April 1981, after four seasons in the hot-seat.

Sexton’s replacement Ron Atkinson brought in Mick Brown as assistant
manager and Eric Harrison as youth coach. But it was his on-field
acquisitions that really excited the fans. He broke the British transfer
record to recruit Bryan Robson from his old club West Bromwich Albion
for £1.5million and spent around a third of that to add another ex-Albion
man, Remi Moses, to the United squad.

In midfield, the new arrivals wonderfully complemented the finesse of
Ray Wilkins, the ball-playing England star. But still there was something
missing. United needed a forward who could match the strike-rate of Ian
Rush at Liverpool, with the Merseysiders winning the title again in 1982,
1983 and 1984. Atkinson’s men were never far behind, finishing third or
fourth in every season of his reign. That elusive league title remained
agonisingly out of reach, however.The domestic cups offered United
their best chances of silverware, and in 1983, Wembley was reached in
both competitions. Liverpool triumphed 2-1 after extra-time to win the
League Cup, while little-fancied Brighton and Hove Albion were beaten
in two attempts in the FA Cup final. A 2-2 draw was followed up by a
thumping 4-0 replay win for United through goals from Robson (2),
Arnold Muhren and Norman Whiteside.

Whiteside’s habit of rising to the big occasion was never more gratefully
received than in 1985, when he curled in the only goal of the FA Cup
final to beat Everton 1-0. United had earlier been reduced to 10 men by
the dismissal of Kevin Moran, who formed a great defensive partnership
with Paul McGrath.It was Atkinson’s second FA Cup success in three
seasons but, 18 months later, he was sacked for his inability to break

13

Merseyside’s monopoly of the League title. Not even 10 straight wins at
the start of 1985/86 term could lead him to the Holy Grail.

In November 1986, United at last appointed a proven winner. At
Aberdeen, Alex Ferguson had claimed every prize that Scotland had to
offer, not to mention the added bonus of the European Cup Winners'
Cup when his team defied the odds to beat Real Madrid in the
final.Ferguson clearly had the talent for the job, but he also needed time
to turn United round. The club remained patient as the Reds finished
eleventh in 1986/87 and again in 1988/89. After all, the season in
between, 1987/88, had offered encouraging signs as United finished
second to Liverpool by winning eight and drawing two of their last 10
games.The promise of that season, and some of the signings made,
would soon be fulfilled.

Ferguson's first FA Cup, achieved after a replay against Crystal Palace,
at the time seemed to be a stand-alone success, one that possibly
saved his job after another poor season in the League. But nine years
later, it seemed that Lee Martin's winning goal against Palace lit the fuse
for an explosion of unprecedented success.

First and foremost, winning the FA Cup in 1990 allowed United to make
a return to European competition after an absence of five years following
the Heysel disaster. Far from being rusty, the Reds went all the way to
the final of the European Cup Winners' Cup in Rotterdam where the
opponents were Barcelona, the former club of United striker Mark
Hughes. Two goals by Hughes sealed the match 2-1 in United's favour
in May 1991, 23 years after the club's previous triumph in Europe.The
other long wait, for that elusive League championship, very nearly ended
in 1992. The Reds had already won the manager's third trophy in March,
the League Cup, and were in a two-horse race with Leeds. Liverpool
were out of the running, but still had a say in the destiny of the title,
beating United 2-0 at Anfield to end their arch rival's challenge.

The 1991/92 title would be remembered in Manchester as the title that
United lost, rather than the one that Leeds actually won. Leeds, after all,
were not the greatest of football powers in the 1990s and their star
quality was further reduced when they allowed one of their best players
to cross the Pennines in December 1992.In selling Eric Cantona to Old
Trafford, the Yorkshire club practically handed over the keys to the
League championship. The Frenchman brought the little extra bit of
magic and confidence that had been missing from United's previous

14

campaigns and was an instant hit with the Mancunian faithful, scoring
nine goals to help the Reds win their first title in 26 years.

In the following season, 1993/94, the team virtually picked itself en route
to an historic League and FA Cup Double, with Cantona sporting the
number seven shirt that had been Bryan Robson’s property for so long.
The number one, meanwhile, was undoubtedly Peter Schmeichel,
arguably the best goalkeeper ever seen in the English game.Cantona’s
eight-month absence from January 1995, following his clash with a fan
at Crystal Palace, proved to be United’s undoing as they tried to defend
their Double. The Reds surrendered the title by one point to Blackburn
Rovers and then lost the FA Cup final by one goal to Everton. The
former champions were hampered at Wembley by an injury to Steve
Bruce, the brave captain who was a defensive rock in the early 1990s,
and his replacement at half-time, Ryan Giggs, was also not fully fit.

Bruce also missed the following year's FA Cup Final, at the end of the
1995/96 season, but this time the result was rather different. Liverpool
stood between United and a first-ever ‘Double Double’ and were holding
out for extra-time, when Cantona struck home a sublime shot in the 86th
minute. The French skipper had throughout the season been an
inspiration to the talented young players in the team, including David
Beckham and Gary Neville.

In May 1997, Cantona helped the club to its fourth League title of the
decade. It was to be his last, as he surprisingly retired from football later
that same month. The shock waves of Eric’s decision seemed to last for
a whole year, as the Reds went empty-handed in 1997/98 while Arsenal
won the Double. Again, injuries to key players, especially Giggs and Roy
Keane, were cited for United’s downfall.The influence that Giggs could
have on results was never more apparent than in the 1999 FA Cup
semi-final replay, when he scored perhaps the goal of the decade – a
solo run and finish that left Arsenal's defenders grasping at thin air. It
booked United's place in their fifth FA Cup final of the 1990s, and this
time Ferguson's men won it, beating Newcastle United 2-0 with goals by
Paul Scholes and substitute Teddy Sheringham.That result clinched
United's third Double, six days after the Premiership title had been
wrapped up by Andy Cole's goal against Tottenham at Old Trafford. But
still there was more to come from a remarkable campaign. After an epic
Champions League semi-final against Juventus, when Keane inspired

15

the team to fight back from 2-0 down in the second leg, United marched
into an epic final against Bayern Munich in Barcelona.

United's attempts to win the European Cup for the first time since 1968
looked to be doomed when Bayern took an early lead through Mario
Basler and defended it with typical German resilience. But then, in injury
time, the Reds produced one of the most stunning revivals in sporting
history – Sheringham equalised and, moments later, his fellow substitute
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer fired in the winner to make the score 2-1. United
clinched an unprecedented, historic Treble and Ferguson was
subsequently knighted as fans around the globe basked in the glory.

The Treble became a Quadruple later in the year when Sir Alex's men
travelled to Tokyo to compete for the Inter-Continental Cup. Keane's
goal against Palmeiras of Brazil bestowed upon United the title of World
Club Champions. Officially, at the end of the Millennium, the biggest
football club in the world had also become the best in the world!

16

United started the new decade, century and
millennium in typical pioneering fashion,
entering a brand new competition – the FIFA
Club World Championship in Brazil – but at the
expense of participation in the FA Cup, of
which the Reds were the holders.

The January jaunt to South America didn't result in any silverware but it
gave the players valuable relaxation time in the sun. Rejuvenated by
this, United raced ahead of the rivals in the title race on return to
England, after they had failed to capitalise at the start of the year. Sir
Alex's men achieved their sixth Premiership title early, in April, and still
without a convincing replacement for Peter Schmeichel. A host of
goalkeepers, including Mark Bosnich, tried and failed to establish
themselves during the 1999/2000 season. So it was hardly surprising
when World Cup and European Championship winner Fabien Barthez
joined United in July 2000.

The eccentric but formidable French goalkeeper helped United to win a
third successive title in 2000/01, a feat that had previously been
achieved by only a handful of clubs in England. Liverpool had been the
last team to do it, in 1982, 1983 and 1984, but this was under the
supervision of two different managers - Bob Paisley and Joe Fagan.

Sir Alex had been at the helm for all three of United's back-to-back titles,
and was the first manager in English football to achieve the hat-trick. On
the back of this latest trophy, he announced his impending retirement,
only to thankfully change his mind and decide to stay.Ferguson's major
signing in the summer of 2002 was Rio Ferdinand, one of England's best
performers at the World Cup finals in Japan and Korea. The £30m
acquisition from Leeds added the steel that had arguably been missing
from United's defence since the departure of Jaap Stam to Lazio.

Ferdinand helped the Reds to recapture the Premiership title in May
2003, a season that marked the departure of one of United’s favourite
sons. David Beckham left his longtime home by signing for Real Madrid
but his career as a Red ended on a high, scoring a trademark free-kick
against Everton in his final game.

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Arsenal reclaimed the League title in 2004 but the Reds won the FA Cup
for an 11th time, beating Millwall 3-0 in the 2004 final at Cardiff's
Millennium Stadium. A year later, United were back in Wales to face
Arsenal for the trophy. Chelsea had taken the Premiership and League
Cup, and it was the Gunners who triumphed on penalties despite a
dominant display from United - for whom Wayne Rooney and Cristiano
Ronaldo were outstanding. The following season brought maiden
silverware for the pair as the Reds beat Wigan Athletic in the League
Cup final.For Sir Alex and his players, the main aim remained Premier
League glory, which was duly snared the following season as United
notched a 16th League title, finishing six points clear of reigning
champions Chelsea. While the whole squad performed admirably to
snatch the title back from Stamford Bridge, the man who took most of
the plaudits was Ronaldo, who collected 13 personal honours during the
campaign - including the PFA Player and Young Player of the Year
award.While it seemed improbable that the winger could top his 2006/07
heroics, he did just that the following season. Ronaldo played a major
part - scoring 42 goals - as the Reds saw off the challenge of Chelsea in
the two biggest competitions going. Strengthened by the summer
signings of Owen Hargreaves, Carlos Tevez, Anderson and Nani, United
recovered from a slow start to the season to head the table for almost
the entire campaign. Despite a late charge from Chelsea, a final-day
victory at Wigan (in which Ryan Giggs scored the clinching goal on the
day he equalled the club's all-time appearances record) secured a 17th
league title for United.

Ten days later, in Moscow, the Reds and Blues duked it out for
silverware again as two English clubs met in the final of the Champions
League or European Cup for the first time. Ronaldo's opener was
cancelled out by Frank Lampard and, after 120 tense minutes, the match
went to penalties. Ronaldo's miss gave John Terry the chance to take
the trophy, but the Chelsea skipper slipped and smacked his effort
against a post. Reprieved, United went on to win the shootout when
Edwin van der Sar saved Nicolas Anelka's effort, ensuring that Europe's
biggest competition had been won by the men from Manchester for a
third time.

How do you top a season like 2007/08? Well, Sir Alex's men did their
very best and only defeat at the very last hurdle - against Barcelona in
the Champions League final - prevented the Reds from a historic trophy
haul. Despite ultimate disappointment in Europe, United dominated

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almost every other competition. In December, the Reds flew to Japan to
compete in the FIFA Club World Cup and a solitary Rooney goal against
Ecuador's Liga de Quito in the final was enough to crown United world
champions.

But what sort of effect would a gruelling mid-season trip to the Far East
have on the Reds' domestic aspirations? As it turned out, it only made
United stronger: Sir Alex's men reeled in Liverpool (seven points clear
when the Reds returned from Japan) before going on to win a record-
equalling 18th League title. But even before Gary Neville lifted the
Barclays Premier League trophy, the Reds had tasted success against
Tottenham in the League Cup. On that occasion, goalkeeper Ben Foster
was the penalty shootout hero after the scores remained level after 120
minutes. The Reds ended the decade having lifted a remarkable 14
trophies.

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Despite a solid start to the campaign, United’s
2009/10 term contained a sting in the tail as
Chelsea’s late surge for the line ended the
Reds’ chances of winning a fourth successive
title by a single point in a race which ran until
the final day of the season.

There was some solace to be found in the retention of the League Cup,
achieved at Aston Villa’s expense and secured by a late winner from
Wayne Rooney, whose individual excellence was rewarded with both the
PFA Player’s Player of the Year and Football Writers’ Player of the Year
awards.Despite that single piece of silverware, the 2009/10 campaign
was most notable for the heightened stakes of the Manchester derby,
with a club takeover inflating the ambition of Manchester City and putting
them in the frame for honours. United’s local authority was exerted,
however, with home and away Premier League wins and a League Cup
semi-final triumph, with each victory dramatically procured in injury-time.

Both Manchester clubs were intent on bringing the Premier League
trophy back to the North-West as the 2010/11 season began, and
United’s squad was bolstered by the low-key captures of promising
youngsters Javier Hernandez and Chris Smalling.Though largely
unknown, the duo quickly gelled with the squad and, despite a season of
largely unconvincing away form, United reclaimed the title for a record
19th domestic rule. While Rooney had powered the 2009/10 campaign
with his prolific form in front of goal, 2010/11 was notably more of a
squad success.

From the goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar – in his last season at the club –
through to the ageless influence of Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes, up to
a revitalised Rooney, all hands were at the pump as Chelsea were
dethroned.A remarkable home record was the cornerstone of the
success but, in Europe, it was miserly away form that helped propel the
Reds into another Champions League final against Barcelona, this time
at Wembley. For the second time in three years, Lionel Messi and co
were ultimately too strong for United on the night, but it was that record

20

19th league title that made it another season to remember at Old
Trafford.

The bid to quickly usher number 20 into the record books looked strong
in the early stages of 2011/12. Sir Alex Ferguson strengthened his
squad with the signings of David De Gea, Phil Jones and Ashley Young,
while homegrown talents Tom Cleverley and Danny Welbeck made the
step up to senior regularity.Despite a breathtaking start to the campaign,
the Reds were rocked by a spate of injuries and a thumping home defeat
to City, who had emerged as the only genuine challengers for the title.
Having fought on admirably against adversity – and welcomed Scholes
back in a shock retirement U-turn, United gradually reeled in Roberto
Mancini’s side and, with a month of the season remaining, had built an
eight-point lead.

However, a quickfire run of poor results allowed City to retake the lead
on the home straight, and they secured their first title in 44 years in
heartbreaking fashion, scoring twice in injury-time on the final day of the
season to beat Queens Park Rangers and top the table on goal
difference.

Inevitably, Sir Alex remained defiant, congratulating the new champions
while warning: “We’re disappointed about losing the eight-point lead, but
I’m not going to have any recriminations for any of my players. They’re a
solid bunch of lads and they’ll be fine. Don’t worry about that.”

Sir Alex's prophecy proved right less than 12 months later when his
squad, fired by the aforementioned bitter disappointment and bolstered
by the signings of Robin van Persie and Shinji Kagawa, romped to a
record 20th league title. The triumph was sealed early on 22 April 2013,
with top scorer van Persie appropriately netting a hat-trick in a glorious
3-0 home victory over Aston Villa.

The end of that 2012/13 season brought the news that millions of Reds
had been dreading for a long time: Sir Alex Ferguson was to step down
as manager of Manchester United. His retirement was announced on 8
May 2013 and his selection as successor was named the very next day.
David Moyes arrived from Everton, tasked with following in the footsteps
of British football's most successful manager.It proved to be too tall an
order for the Scot, despite his impressive if trophy-less track record at
Goodison Park. Towards the end of a disappointing 2013/14 season,
with United unable to win any of the cup competitions and lying in

21

seventh place, it was announced that Moyes had left the club. On the
same day, 22 April 2014, the Reds' longest serving and most-decorated
player Ryan Giggs was placed in temporary charge until the end of the
season.Louis van Gaal's appointmentas the permanent new manager -
and the club's first boss from outside the UK and Ireland - was
announced on 19 May 2014 and he started work in July after guiding his
native Netherlands to the semi-finals of the World Cup in Brazil. Giggs,
who had retired in May at the end of a long and glorious one-club
playing career, was retained by van Gaal in the role of assistant
manager.By the close of his first transfer window as United manager,
van Gaal had acquired six new players - club record signing Angel Di
Maria for £59.7m, Radamel Falcao on loan from Monaco, Daley Blind,
Ander Herrera, Marcos Rojo and Luke Shaw - and had allowed many
other players to leave, resulting in a much-changed squad for 2014/15.

With no European fixtures to play, van Gaal's debut season was a purely
domestic affair. In the Barclays Premier League, the first objective was
achieved as the Reds finished the campaign in the top four and
therefore qualified for a return to the Champions League. Further
reinforcements for van Gaal's squad came in the summer transfer
window of 2015, with the most exciting of the lot arriving in the shape of
Anthony Martial, the young French forward from Monaco. But perhaps
the most important deal was the new one signed by first-choice keeper
David De Gea, who had been pursued by Real Madrid for months prior
to his move falling through at the eleventh hour on deadline day.

Despite a decent start to 2015/16 - United navigated a Champions
League qualifying round by beating Bruges home and away and
overcoming Liverpool 3-1 at Old Trafford in the league with a debut goal
by Martial - it became a difficult campaign with multiple injuries disrupting
van Gaal's plans. Luke Shaw's leg fracture was the most serious of
these, ruling him out for the rest of the season from September. That
blow occurred away to PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League and
the Reds later bowed out by finishing third in the group behind the Dutch
side and Wolfsburg. A descent into the Europa League led to elimination
by Liverpool over two legs in the last-16 round.An early exit in the
League Cup, at home to Middlesbrough on penalties, was more than
compensated for by a stirring run in the FA Cup as van Gaal's men
brought the trophy back to Old Trafford for a record-equalling 12th time
overall and the first time since 2004. But with United's sometimes patchy
league form not good enough to secure a top-four position and a place

22

in the Champions League, media speculation about the manager's future
was rife.

Forty-eight hours after his team won the cup final at Wembley, van Gaal
and the club parted company - his tenure was over, two years into a
three-year contract.Intense speculation that Jose Mourinho would be
appointed as United's new manager proved to be accurate on Friday 27
May 2016 when the club announced his arrival in a statement on
ManUtd.com.

Executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward commented: "José is quite
simply the best manager in the game today his track record of success is
ideal to take the club forward."Mourinho himself said: "To become
Manchester United manager is a special honour in the game. It is a club
known and admired throughout the world. There is a mystique and a
romance about it which no other club can match."

By the time the new 2016/17 Premier League season kicked off, the new
boss had already collected his first piece of silverware - the Community
Shield, secured with a 2-1 win over league champions Leicester City at
Wembley - and he had acquired four exciting new players in Eric Bailly,
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and club record signing Paul
Pogba. The latter embarked on his second spell with United, having
previously made seven first-team appearances in 2011/12 after rising
through the Academy and Reserves ranks

.By the end of Mourinho’s debut season at Old Trafford he had added
two more trophies, the League Cup sealed with victory over
Southampton thanks to Zlatan’s late Wembley winner and, thrillingly, the
Europa League, that trophy completing United’s full set of honours after
a cup final triumph over Ajax in Stockholm.

In the summer of 2017, the Reds signed a prolific Premier League striker
in Romelu Lukaku from Everton. Mourinho also secured the services of
midfielder Nemanja Matic from his former club Chelsea and brought in
Sweden centre-back Victor Lindelof from Benfica. Having won the
Europa League the previous campaign, United started the 2017/18
season with a UEFA Super Cup clash against Real Madrid, but the
Spanish side emerged as 2-1 winners with goals from Isco and
Casemiro. The Reds recovered well from the disappointment, winning
six of the first seven league games.

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In January 2018, the club signed Alexis Sanchez from Arsenal and the
Chilean helped us to amass our best points tally (81) and achieve our
highest league position (second, to runaway champions Manchester
City) since Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure. We bowed out of the
Champions League by losing in the last 16 to Sevilla but we finished the
season with the 20th FA Cup final appearance in our history, only for
Chelsea to win 1-0 at Wembley and thwart Mourinho's bid for another
trophy with United.

Michael Carrick retired from playing at the end of the 2017/18 season,
12 years after signing for United, and he instantly took up a place on the
coaching staff. Meanwhile, three new players were acquired - midfielder
Fred, full-back Diogo Dalot and goalkeeper Lee Grant - before the
2018/19 term began with a 2-1 home win against Leicester City.
However, the promising start could not be maintained and in December,
with the team placed sixth in the Premier League table, the club decided
to part company with Mourinho. The Portuguese coach was replaced by
former Reds striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who was appointed as
caretaker manager until the end of the campaign.

24

On 6 February 1958, a charter plane carrying
44 people crashed after refuelling at Munich
Airport.

The accident claimed 23 lives, among them eight Manchester United
players and three club officials.
We hope these pages are a fitting tribute to the young United side many
believe would have gone on to dominate European football - the Busby
Babes.
We will never forget.

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Trophies

First Division/Premier League
Winners (20 record): 1907–08, 1910–11, 1951–52, 1955–56, 1956–57,
1964–65, 1966–67, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99,
1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11,
2012–13

Second Division
Winners (2): 1935–36, 1974–75

FA Cup
Winners (12): 1908–09, 1947–48, 1962–63, 1976–77, 1982–83, 1984–
85, 1989–90, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1998–99, 2003–04, 2015–16

Football League Cup/EFL Cup
Winners (5): 1991–92, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2016–17

FA Charity Shield/FA Community Shield

Winners (21; record): 1908, 1911, 1952, 1956, 1957, 1965*, 1967*,
1977*, 1983, 1990*, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2010,
2011, 2013, 2016 (* shared)

European Cup/UEFA Champions League
Winners (3): 1967–68, 1998–99, 2007–08

European Cup Winners' Cup
Winners (1): 1990–91

UEFA Europa League
Winners (1): 2016–17

European Super Cup

Winners (1): 1991

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Reference

-https://www.manutd.com/

-https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/all-about/manchester-
united-fc

-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_United_F.C.

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