Manchester United F.C. is a world-famous English football club. It is based at Old Trafford Football Ground, Trafford, Greater Manchester. Manchester United is one of the most successful football clubs in English football history, having won the FA Premier League/Football League 15 times, FA Cup 11 times, the League Cup twice, the European Cup twice, the UEFA Cup Winners Cup once, the Intercontinental Cup once, and the European Super Cup once. The club has had the highest average attendance in English football for the past 34 seasons, with the exception of 1987-1989 during redevelopment at Old Trafford. [1]. The 'Red Devils' are considered to be the best supported football club in the world.
The club was formed as Newton Heath F.C. in 1878 as the works team of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway depot at Newton Heath. After nearing bankruptcy in 1902, the club was taken over by J. H. Davies who changed its name to Manchester United. The Old Trafford Football Ground was bombed during the Second World War, leading the club to seek charity from their then-illustrious neighbours Manchester City, who allowed them to play their games at Maine Road for a period. United appointed Sir Matt Busby as manager after the Second World War, and his then-unheard-of policy of producing most of the players through the club's youth team brought great success, with the club winning the Football League in 1956 and 1957. This success was halted by the Munich air disaster of 1958, in which eight of the club's players died. It was thought that the club might fold, but instead went on to win the football league in 1965 and 1967, and the European Cup in 1968.
The club did not see success again until the 1990s and early 2000s when Sir Alex Ferguson guided it to eight league championships in eleven years, most recently in the 2002-03 season. In 1999, Manchester United became the only team to win the UEFA Champions League, FA Premier League and the FA Cup in the same season. The club had been run as a Public Limited Company since 1991, and an attempted takeover by Rupert Murdoch had been blocked by the British Government in 1998, but in 2005 Malcolm Glazer completed a hostile takeover of the club which plunged the club into massive debt as his bid was heavily funded by borrowing on the assets owned already by Manchester United.
History
Early years (1878-1945)
Main article: Manchester United pre-1945
The Busby years (1945-1969)
Main article: Manchester United 1945-1969
Matt Busby was appointed manager in 1942 and took a then-unheard of approach to his job, joining the players for training as well as performing administrative tasks. He was immediately successful, with the club finishing second in the league in 1947 and winning the FA Cup in 1948.
He adopted a policy of bringing in players from the youth team whenever possible, and the team won the league in 1956 with an average age of only 22. This youth policy has now become instrumental in the club's success. The following season, they won the league again and reached the FA Cup final, losing to Aston Villa. They also became the first English team to compete in the European Cup, and reached the semi-final.
Tragedy struck the following season, when the plane carrying the team home from a European Cup match crashed on take-off at a refueling stop in Munich. The Munich air disaster of 6 February 1958 claimed the lives of eight players and another fifteen passengers. There was talk of the club folding but, with Jimmy Murphy taking over as manager while Matt Busby recovered from his injuries, the club continued playing with a makeshift side. Despite this, they reached the FA Cup final again, where they lost to Bolton.
Busby rebuilt the team throughout the early 1960s, signing players such as Denis Law and Pat Crerand. The team won the FA Cup in 1963, then won the league in 1965 and 1967 and the European Cup in 1968, the first English Club to do so. This team was notable for containing three European Footballers of the Year: Bobby Charlton, Denis Law and George Best. Busby resigned as manager in 1969 and was replaced by the reserve-team coach and former United player Wilf McGuinness.
1969-1986
Main article: Manchester United 1969-1986
Manchester United F.C badge in the 1970s.United struggled to replace Busby, and the team struggled under Wilf McGuinness and Frank O'Farrell before Tommy Docherty became manager at the end of 1972. Docherty, or 'the Doc', saved United from relegation that season but United were relegated in 1974. The team won promotion at the first attempt and reached the FA Cup final in 1976, but were beaten by Southampton. They reached the final again in 1977, beating Liverpool. In spite of this success, and his popularity with the supporters, Docherty was sacked soon after the final when he was found to have had an affair with the physiotherapist's wife.
Dave Sexton replaced Docherty as manager in the summer of 1977, and made the team play in a more defensive formation. This style was unpopular with supporters, who were used to the attacking football preferred by Docherty and Busby, and after failing to win a trophy Sexton was sacked in 1981, despite winning his last seven games in charge.
He was replaced by the flamboyant Ron Atkinson who immediately broke the British record transfer fee to sign Bryan Robson from West Brom. Atkinson's team featured new signings such as Jesper Olsen and Gordon Strachan playing alongside the former youth-team players Norman Whiteside and Mark Hughes. United won the FA Cup in 1983 and 1985 and were overwhelming favourites to win the league in the 1985-86 season after winning their first ten league games, opening a ten-point gap over their rivals as early as October. The team's form collapsed, however, and United finished the season in fourth place. The poor form continued into the following season, and with United on the edge of the First Division's relegation zone, Atkinson was sacked.
Alex Ferguson era, pre-treble (1986-1998)
Main article: Manchester United 1986-1998
Alex Ferguson arrived from Aberdeen FC to replace Atkinson and guided the club to an 11th place finish. The following season (1987-88), United finished second, with Brian McClair becoming the first United player since George Best to score twenty league goals in a season.
However, United struggled badly throughout 1989 and were nearly relegated, with many of Ferguson's signings not reaching the expectations of the fans. There was hope that Ferguson would be sacked at the beginning of 1990 but a win in the third round of the FA Cup over Nottingham Forest kept the season alive and United went on to win the competition, beating Crystal Palace on a replay in the final.
United won the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1990/91, beating that season's Spanish champions Barcelona in the final, but the following season was a disappointment for United as a late season slump saw them miss out on the league to rivals Leeds United. Meanwhile in 1991 the club had floated on the London Stock Exchange with a valuation of £18 million, thus bringing its finances into the public eye as never before.
The arrival of Eric Cantona in November 1992 provided the crucial spark for United, and blending with the best of trusted talent in Gary Pallister, Denis Irwin and Paul Ince, as well as budding stars like Ryan Giggs, they finished the 1992/93 season as Champions for the first time since 1967. They won the double (the league and the FA Cup) for the first time the following season, aided by the capture of Roy Keane, a determined midfielder from Nottingham Forest. In the same year however, the club was plunged into mourning following the death of legendary manager and club president Matt Busby, who died on 20 January 1994.
In 1994/95, Cantona received an eight month suspension for jumping into the crowd and assaulting Crystal Palace supporter Matthew Simmons, in United's game at Selhurst Park. Drawing their last league match and losing to Everton in the FA Cup final left United as runners-up in both the league and FA Cup. Ferguson then outraged the supporters by selling key players and replacing them with players from the club's youth team, including David Beckham, Gary Neville, Phil Neville and Paul Scholes. The new players, several of whom quickly became regular internationals for England, did surprisingly well and United won the double again in 1995-96. This was the first time any English club had won the double twice.
United's European unbeaten home record was broken by Fenerbahçe when they won 1-0 on October 30, 1996 with a deflected Elvir Bolić goal.
They won the league in 1997, and Eric Cantona announced his retirement from football at the age of 30. They started the following season (1997/98) well, but they finished the season in second place, behind the double-winning champions Arsenal.
The treble (1998-99)
Main article: Manchester United 1998-1999
1998-99 was when Manchester United had the most successful season in English club football history as they became the first and only English team to win The Treble - winning the Premiership, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League in the same season. After a very tense Premier League season, Manchester United won the title on the final day beating Tottenham Hotspur 2-1, whilst Arsenal won 1-0 with Aston Villa. Winning the Premiership was the first part of the Treble in place, the one part that manager Alex Ferguson described as the hardest. In the FA Cup Final United faced Newcastle United and won 2-0 with goals from Teddy Sheringham and Paul Scholes. In the final match of that season, the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final they defeated Bayern Munich in what was then considered the greatest comeback ever witnessed. After going down to an early goal from a Mario Basler free kick, United chased the game for 85 minutes. After 90 minutes they forced a corner which was converted home by late substitute Teddy Sheringham. Not giving up, Man Utd went for a second and it came again from a corner, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, another late substitute, poked it into the roof of the net. Ferguson was subsequently knighted for his services to football.
After the treble (1999-present)
Main article: Manchester United 1999-present
United won the league in 2000 and 2001 but the press saw these seasons as failures as they failed to regain the European Cup. Ferguson adopted more defensive tactics to make United harder to beat in Europe but it was not a success and United finished the season in third place in 2002. They regained the league the following season (2002-03) and started the following season well, but their form dropped significantly when Rio Ferdinand received an eight month suspension for missing a drugs test. They did win the 2004 F.A. Cup, however, knocking out Arsenal (that season's eventual champions) on their way to the final in which they beat Millwall.
The 2004-05 season was characterised by a failure to score goals, mainly due to the injury of striker Ruud van Nistelrooy and United finished the season trophyless and in third place in the league. This time, even the "consolation prize" of the F.A. Cup eluded them as Arsenal beat United on penalties after a goalless match. Off the pitch, the main story was the possibility of the club being taken over and at the end of the season, Tampa businessman Malcolm Glazer, (who also owns the American Football team Tampa Bay Buccaneers), acquired a controlling interest in the club. United made a poor start to the 2005-06 season, with midfielder Roy Keane leaving the club to join his boyhood heroes Celtic after publicly criticising several of his teammates, and the club failed to qualify for the knock-out phase of the UEFA Champions League for the first time in over a decade after losing to Portuguese team SL Benfica. Their season was also dealt cruel blows with injuries to key players such as Gabriel Heinze, Alan Smith and Paul Scholes. However, they were prevented from being left empty handed in successive seasons - a disappointment not endured in the last 17 years - by winning the 2006 League Cup beating newly promoted Wigan in the final 4-0. United also ensured a second-place finish and automatic Champions League qualification on the final day of the season by defeating Charlton Athletic 4-0.
The Malcolm Glazer takeover
Main article: Malcolm Glazer takeover of Manchester United
On May 13 2005, businessman Malcolm Glazer acquired a controlling interest in the club through his investment vehicle Red Football Ltd. in a takeover valuing it at approximately £800 million ($1.47 billion). On May 16, he increased his share to the 75% necessary to delist the club from the Stock Exchange, making it private again, and announced his intention to do so within 20 days. On 7 June he appointed his sons Joel, Avram, and Bryan to the P.L.C. board of Manchester United as a non-executive directors. It was for a while expected that Joel would be installed as the new Chairman, however that never happened. At the same time Sir Roy Gardner resigned his position as Chairman of the P.L.C. board, along with non-executive directors Jim O'Neill and Ian Much. Malcolm Glazer also re-appointed Andy Anson as Commercial Director after voting him off the Board at the previous AGM. He also retained Chief Executive David Gill and Finance Director Nick Humby in their current positions in spite of their pre-takeover descriptions of the Glazer's business plan as being "aggressive and unworkable".
In July 2006 the club announced a refinancing package. Previously the debt taken on by the Glazers to financing the club was split between the club and the family, but now it will all be in the club. The total amount will be £660 million, on which interest payments will be £62 million a year. This is a 30% reduction in interest charges. The club stated, "The value of Manchester United has increased in the last year, which is why lenders want to invest in the club.... 'This move represents good housekeeping and it ensures that Sir Alex Ferguson will be provided with sufficient funds to compete in the transfer market." The Manchester United Supporters' Trust responded, "'The amount of money needed to be repaid overall is huge.... 'The interest payment is one thing but what about the actual £660million? It is difficult to see how these sums can be reached without significant increases in ticket prices, which, as we always suspected, means the fans will effectively be paying for someone to borrow money to own their club."[2]
Sponsorship
On 23 November 2005, Vodafone ended their £36 million, four year shirt sponsorship deal with Manchester United. On 6 April 2006, chief executive David Gill announced American International Group (AIG) as the new shirt[3] sponsors of Manchester United in a British record shirt sponsorship deal of £56.5 million to be paid over four years (£14.1 million a year). Manchester United will have the largest sponsorship in the world ahead of Italian side Juventus, who have a £12.8 million a year sponsorship with Tamoil [4]. The four-year agreement has been heralded as largest sponsorship deal in British history, eclipsing Chelsea's deal with Samsung, but may amount to little more than a loan reduction in view of AIG's interest in the hedge funds that lent the Glazers part of the $1 billion they borrowed to buy the club.[citation needed]
Support
Before the Second World War, few English football supporters travelled to away games because of the time and cost. As City and United played home matches on alternate Saturdays, many Mancunians would watch United one week and City the next. After the war, a stronger rivalry developed and it became more common for a supporter to choose one team to follow exclusively.
When United won the league in 1956, they had the highest average home attendance in the league, a record that had been held by Newcastle for the previous few years. Following the Munich air disaster in 1958, more people began to support United and many started to go to matches. This swelled United’s support and is one reason why United have had the highest league attendances in English football for almost every season since then, even as a second division side in 1974-75.
A 2002 report, Do You Come From Manchester? showed that Manchester City had the higher proportion of season ticket holders living in the Manchester postal districts, whilst United had the higher absolute number of season ticket holders living in the same area.
In the late 1990s and early part of the 2000s, an increasing source of concern for many United supporters was the possibility of the club being taken over. The supporters’ group IMUSA (Independent Manchester United Supporters' Association) were extremely active in opposing a proposed takeover by Rupert Murdoch in 1999. Another pressure group, Shareholders United Against Murdoch (which became Shareholders United and is now the Manchester United Supporters' Trust) was formed at around this time to encourage supporters to buy shares in the club, partly to enable supporters to have a greater say in the issues that concern them, such as ticket prices and allocation, and partly to reduce the risk of an unwanted party buying enough shares to take over the club. However, this scheme failed to prevent Malcolm Glazer from becoming the majority share holder. Many supporters were outraged, and some formed a new club called F.C. United of Manchester.
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name: Manchester United
website: http://www.manutd.com
city: Manchester
Stadium: Old Trafford
Manager: Sir Alex Ferguson
History - Introduction
Relive the past, bask in the glory… United supporters can do both in this section of ManUtd.com.
The Archive contains details of every competitive first team match in the club’s history, from Newton Heath’s earliest adventures in the Football Alliance through to the final fixture of last season. For all matches played before 1998/99, you can see United’s team and scorers – from 1998/99 onwards, you can read both teams, goal times, and a match report.
The History By Decade section is for those supporters who prefer stories to statistics. It tells the story of United’s development from a local works football team to a globally admired empire in no less than eleven chapters, the eleventh charting the current decade.
Honours Board
European Champion Clubs Cup 1968, 1999
European Cup Winners Cup 1991
FA Premier League 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003
Football League Division One 1908, 1911, 1952, 1956, 1957, 1965, 1967
FA Challenge Cup 1909, 1948, 1963, 1977, 1983, 1985, 1990, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2004
Football League Cup 1992, 2006
Inter-Continental Cup 1999
UEFA Super Cup 1991
FA Charity Shield 1908, 1911, 1952, 1956, 1957, 1965*, 1967*, 1977*, 1983, 1990*, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2003 (*as joint holders)
1878-1909
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 or 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. They waited instead until 1892 to make their entrance.
Financial problems plagued Newton Heath, and by the start of the twentieth century it seemed they were destined for extinction. The club was saved, however, by a local brewery owner, John Henry Davies. Legend has it that he learned of the club's plight when he found a dog belonging to Newton Heath captain Harry Stafford.
Davies decided to invest in the club, 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 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. Twelve 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 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 Championship for the first time. As champions, United played in the first ever Charity Shield in 1908. They duly won the trophy, beating FA Cup winners QPR 4-0 thanks 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 goal.
And so the first chapter in the club's history ended on a high note, with the promise of more to come in the next, including a move to a certain new stadium…
1910-1919
The words Old Trafford entered football 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 (John Henry Davies) and leased to the club. Davies himself paid for the building work, which commenced in 1908 under the supervision of the renowned architect Archibald Leitch. By 1910, the club had moved lock, stock and barrel from their old home of Bank Street.
United's first 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 in their history, at the end of their first full season at Old Trafford - 1910/1911. They 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 wasn't the only goalscoring hero of that second Championship season. Another was the swashbuckling forward Enoch ‘Knocker’ West, who scored 19 goals during the campaign. United also won the Charity Shield, beating Swindon Town 8-4, with Halse grabbing a double hat-trick.
Despite such feats, United could not keep up their winning run and in 1911/12, the defending champions finished disappointingly in thirteenth 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 season was a period of transition, with Charlie Roberts and Alex Bell sold to Oldham and Blackburn respectively. United finished in 14th, with West finishing as top scorer for the third season in a row.
The 1914/15 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, 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. To rub salt into the wound, Mangnall's Manchester City side finished in fifth place, thirteen places above United.
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 a battle in France in May 1917, to leave Manchester United without another of their early century heroes for their return to league football in 1919/20.
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 - in fact only two of the men on duty had played in United's previous league game at the end of the 1914/15 season.
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 8 of their 42 matches in 1921/22.
Chapman's team that played in the Second Division was bereft of any star names, and failed to win promotion at the first (1922/23) or even the second attempt (1923/24). The on-field leadership of Frank Barson eventually brought about a marked improvement, however, resulting in 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. 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 laugh at City. Two months into the 1926/27 season, they had troubles of their own when the FA suspended manager John 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 to play, and the team suffered as a result.
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 did 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 12th in 1928/29. Joe Spence continued to score goals by the bucketload but not even he could stop United's steady decline...
The decline that had started in the 1920's continued at the outset of the 1930's. United finished 17th in 1929/30, to fill their fans with dread.
Manchester United squad, 1935
Their fears were realised in the next season, when United made the worst start in their history by losing their first twelve 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 season was into November before Herbert Bamlett's team took their first points, by winning 2-0 at home to Birmingham City.
United eventually lost 27 of their 42 league matches in 1930/31, conceding 115 goals. Their relegation led to Bamlett bowing out, and secretary Walter Crickmer taking charge of team affairs. There was to be no immediate improvement, however. United lost their opening two matches of 1931/32, in the Second Division.
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. 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 the club 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.
Walter Winterbottom
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 they won 2-0 with goals from Tom Manley and Jack Cape to send their opponents, Millwall, down instead. In that same week, Manchester City had 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 1935/36 claimed their first silverware of the decade. Unbeaten during the last 19 games of the campaign, they secured the Second Division Championship with a 3-2 win over Bury at Gigg Lane, thanks to goals from Manley and George Mutch.
Their end-of-season form in the Second Division suggested United would do well on their return to the First, but by Christmas they had only won four matches, including one on Christmas Day itself! Only ten wins in the whole season meant relegation, with City again providing stark contrast as the 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. Scott Duncan could only claim some of the credit, as he left the club in November 1937 to become manager 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, Carey 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.
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The outbreak of the Second World War forced football to the very back of people's minds between 1939 and 1946. But even in the absence of League football, Old Trafford was still the focus of attention.
Mitten scores v Wolves, 1949 FA Cup semi-final
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 the most 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!
Busby didn't waste any time in 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 met Jimmy 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.
The King presents the Cup to Johnny Carey, 1948
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 won their first trophy the following year, when they beat 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 Matt 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….
The 1950's dawned with the break-up of Matt Busby’s first successful United side - the 1948 FA Cup-winning team.
Dressing room dissent led to Johnny Morris departing for Derby and Charlie Mitten exporting his wing wizardry to Colombia. Some United supporters were worried to lose star players of that calibre, but any fans that placed their faith in Busby were soon rewarded.
The great Scot’s plan was to promote the youngsters he’d been recruiting and grooming in the late 1940’s. Jackie Blanchflower and Roger Byrne were the first to emerge and be labelled ‘Babes’ by the newspapers; in their debut season 1951/52, United won the League Championship for the first time since 1911.
Byrne, aged 21, played a big part in that success, making 24 appearances, including the final six on the wing, from where he scored seven goals. He then returned to his customary left-back role, and captained the side for four years from February 1954.
In 1955/56 and 1956/57, Byrne lifted the Championship trophy as skipper of a great 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.
United - League Champions 1957
Not all the young talent was home-grown, however. The United manager was equally happy to plunge into the transfer market, and in March 1953, he spent one pound short of thirty thousand on Tommy Taylor, the prolific Barnsley striker. He proved to be an excellent signing, as he continued to knock in the goals for United and England. Another big-money transfer saw Harry Gregg arrive from Doncaster Rovers in December 1957. The fee of £23,000 was a world record fee for a goalkeeper at the time, but it was money well spent as Gregg immediately became United's regular shot-stopper. He was also number one for his country, Northern Ireland.
Another young man who excelled for club and country was Duncan Edwards. So powerful, talented and mature was the Dudley teenager that Matt Busby could not hold him back from United’s first team. In April
参考资料：http://www
因为托蒂是罗马人 而又一直在罗马踢球。
球技又好 是球队得领袖，所以人们就送“罗马王子”这个称号给他 就如皮耶罗是“斑马王子”
弗兰西斯科-托蒂
生日: 1976年 9月27日
身高: 180 cm
体重: 82 kg
位置: 中场
现效力俱乐部: 罗马 (ITA)
国家队进球数: 9 (截止到 7月09日)
国家队出场次数: 58 (截止到 7月09日)
首次国际比赛出场: Italy v. Switzerland (10月10日)
俱乐部历史
1992至今 AS罗马
简介
弗兰西斯科·托蒂首次参加意大利甲级联赛是于1993年3月28日代表家乡球队罗马队。他自幼就已加入了这家俱乐部，
而他所展示出的潜力令人无可争议。早在16岁时，他就表现出了为人赞叹的技术和意识。
类似于托蒂那样的天才少年时常会面临江郎才尽的巨大危险。而在托蒂职业生涯初期，他先后得到了经验老到的主教练博斯科夫和马佐尼很好的保护，未受到新闻媒体的太多追捧。二人都曾在托蒂成长的年代执教过罗马队。在成为职业球员初期，他还曾在罗马和意大利青年队中发挥过重要作用。1996年欧洲U-21锦标赛在巴塞罗那举行时，他是蓝军的夺冠功臣之一。
在随后执教罗马队的两任主教练中，捷克人泽曼为实施自己的4-3-3阵型，曾将托蒂安排到边锋位置上；而法比奥·卡佩罗是意大利足球史上最为成功的主帅之一。尽管托蒂与这两位教练员相处得并不融洽，但他在自己的星路上依然一帆风顺。在泽曼执教期间，他磨炼了自己的进攻技术；而在卡佩罗执教期间，他又显著提高了自己的战术素养。在卡佩罗担任主教练、托蒂担任队长期间，罗马队曾于2001年夺取了意甲联赛的冠军。这是他们在18年中的第一次，历史上的第三次联赛冠军。
已经备受罗马球迷推崇的托蒂目前已成为意大利最为人熟知的面孔，是许多体育类和综合类出版物的明星人物。而他对罗马队的忠心使其名望得到了进一步提升。只效力过罗马一家俱乐部的他曾多次回绝了北方豪门俱乐部的转会邀请。本来他如果加盟其他强队，会有机会更多地夺取冠军，但他为了罗马足球的声誉，还是选择了留下来。
在国家队方面，托蒂迄今并未能率意大利队取得人们所期待的好成绩。2006年德国世界杯赛将是状态正处于巅峰期的他闪耀光芒的最佳时机。但不幸的是，由于二月份遭受的脚踝伤，他能否前往德国参赛已出现疑问。他在国家队赛事中取得的最佳战绩是2000年欧锦赛上帮助蓝军打入决赛。
最近的两次重大赛事对于托蒂个人来说都是一场灾难。在2002年韩日世界杯的第二轮比赛中，托蒂吃到了红牌，而意大利队也被东道主之一的韩国队淘汰。而在2004年葡萄牙欧锦赛上，他又由于在对丹麦队比赛中的吐口水事件被停赛了四场。
托蒂在场上的最佳位置是在两名前锋身后，这个位置能使他的视野、传球能力和头脑得到最有效的发挥。他射门能力强，而强壮的身体又能帮助他与最为强悍的后卫进行对抗。意大利队未来的对手们如果在本方禁区边缘犯规被判罚任意球时，就是托蒂最好的发挥机会。
托蒂最具代表性的特长是挑射，这位意大利名将能随心所欲地精细调整球的飞行路线。范德萨就曾在这方面吃过苦头。在2000年欧锦赛对荷兰队的半决赛中，托蒂曾以一次精准的挑射在互射点球时攻破了范德萨把守的球门，确保了蓝军最终以3比1取胜，闯入决赛。
Manchester United Football Club is a world famous English football club. They are based at Old Trafford Football Ground, Trafford, Greater Manchester and the club is one of the most successful football clubs in English football history, having won the FA Premier League/Football League 15 times, FA Cup 11 times, the League Cup twice, the European Cup twice, the UEFA Cup Winners Cup once, the Intercontinental Cup once, and the European Super Cup once. The club has had the highest average attendance in English football for the past 34 seasons, with the exception of 1987-89 during redevelopment at Old Trafford[1]. The 'Red Devils' are reported to be the best-supported football club in the world.
The club was formed as Newton Heath FC in 1878 as the works team of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway depot at Newton Heath. After nearing bankruptcy in 1902, the club was taken over by J H Davies who changed its name to Manchester United. The Old Trafford Football Ground was bombed during the Second World War, leading the club to seek charity from their then-illustrious neighbours Manchester City, who allowed them to play their games at Maine Road for a period. United appointed Sir Matt Busby as manager after the Second World War, and his then-unheard-of policy of producing most of the players through the club's youth team brought great success, with the club winning the Football League in 1956 and 1957. This success was halted by the Munich air disaster of 1958, in which eight of the club's players died. It was thought that the club might fold, but instead went on to win the football league in 1965 and 1967, and the European Cup in 1968.
The club did not see success again until the 1990s and early 2000s when Sir Alex Ferguson guided it to eight league championships in eleven years, most recently in the 2002-03 season. In 1999, Manchester United became the only team to win the treble, that is the UEFA Champions League, FA Premier League and the FA Cup in the same season. The club had been run as a Public Limited Company since 1991, and an attempted takeover by Rupert Murdoch had been blocked by the British Government in 1998, but in 2005 Malcolm Glazer completed a hostile takeover of the club which plunged the club into massive debt as his bid was heavily funded by borrowing on the assets owned already by Manchester United.
The current captain of Manchester United is Gary Neville who took over from Roy Keane on 16 November 2005.
三冠王时期的图片http://post.baidu.com/f?kz=138891912
http://www.manutdcn.com/home/manu98-99/newpage1.htm
每场比赛的阵容和图片都有
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