How it Began…

Manchester United first name was Newton Heath L&YR FC (Oh my…). It was a team formed by workers who worked at the Lancashire and Workshire Railway depot in 1878. Their first ground was located at North Road, near the future site of Manchester Piccadilly railway station. After fifteen years playing their football there, the club moved to Bank Street nearby the town Clayton in 1893. The previous year, the club entered the Football League and started to become an independent company, and also changed their name into simply Newton Heath FC.

One of the earliest of Newton Heath team photos

In 1902, the club was on the brink of bankruptcy, with debts over £ 2500 (which was high on those days’ standards..). Even the Bank Street ground was closed by the bailiffs, imagine what would happen today if Newton Heath was closed for good huh ?

Thankfully, a managing director of Manchester Breweries put down some investment on the struggling football club. His name was J.H. Davies. There was a legend that says that Davies was actually wanted to buy a St. Bernard dog which was belonged to Harry Stafford (Newton Heath FC Captain), but instead Harry managed to persuade Davies to invest in the club and become club chairman. If that legend was right, then Manchester United was saved by a St. Bernard dog, what could be more fitting than to be saved by a dog which was famous for its ability to save lives :D ?

During an early board meetings, it was decided that the club needed a name change as a reflection of their fresh start. Manchester Celtic ( ewww… ) and Manchester Central (yuck…) was among the names that were suggesterd, until a young Italian immigrant named Louis Rocca suggested the name “Manchester United”. The name was picked and Newton Heath was officially re-Christened in the name of Manchester United on 26 April 1902. The team jerseys’ colour was also changed from green and gold into red and white.

In 1905-06 Second Division, Manchester United finished second and for the first time was promoted into the First Division (back then the Premiere Division was called the First Division). United finished in 8th, before finally won their first league title in 1908.

United won the first ever Charity Shield in the following season and also their first FA Cup. In the 1910-11 season, Unites won the league title for the second time, and on the process, the club moved to their new home ground, the soon to be recognized as the Theater of Dreams, The Old Trafford. United played their first game at one of the “Meccas” of football on 19 February 1910 against rival Liverpool. Unfortunately, United loss 4-3, thrown away a 3-0 lead in the process :( .

In 1911-12 season United failed to win any title. And United failed to win the league title in the next 41 years… The longest ever run in United’s history for not winning the league…

The Busby Babes

In 1945, Matt Busby (later to be knighted “Sir”) was appointed as manager at Old Trafford. He insisted that he be allowed to pick his own players, choose which players to sign and give direction in the team’s training session. Because of those uncommon approach, he missed out the manager’s job at his former Liverpool FC. Manchester United decided to give Busby a chance with his innovative approaches. His first signing tough was not a player, instead an assistant manager by the name of Jimmy Murphy. Busby proved his unconventional approach by finishing second in the league for three consecutive seasons : 1947,1948 and 1949. He also gave United the FA Cup trophy in 1948, giving fame to the local born trio players of Stan Pearson, Charley Mitten and Jack Rowley, as well as the centre back Allenby Chilton.

Mitten then fled to Colombia for a better salary, but still United were strong enough to finally win their league title in 41 years in 1952. Busby also adopted the youth regeneration policy by bringing youth players into the senior team whenever possible. It took some time for talented young players such as Roger Byrne, Bill Foulkes and Dennis Violet to adapt in the stiff competition, but finally the team won the league again in 1956. The average age of the team at that time was 22, scoring a whoping 103 goals in the process. Busby youth policy set up a benchmark for Manchester United until now. The youth team formed by Busby gave birth to the nick-name “The Busby Babes” for that period’s Manchester United squad. The crown jewel of that team was a bloke named Duncan Edwards, a simple lad from the West Midlands who made his United debut at the tender age of 16 in 1953. It was said that Duncan Edwards can play in every position, and anyone who ever saw him played, said that he was the greatest player ever to grace the football pitch.

In 1956-57 season, United won the league again and reached the FA Cup final, but only managed to be runner up, losing to Aston Villa. United also for the first time represented England in the European Cup, losing to Real Madrid, a major European powerhouse at that time, in the semi-final. United also shown their potential in the European Cup competition by knocking the Belgian representatives Anderlecht with a 10-0 whooping…

The Munich Air Disaster…

One of the grimmest chapter in both Manchester United and football’s history was unfolded in the following season…

The plane carrying the team home from a European Cup match crashed on a take off after refueling in Munich Germany on 6 February 1958. Eight players were killed : Geoff Bent, Roger Byrne, Eddie Colman, Mark Jones, David Pegg, Tommy Taylor, Liam “Billy” Whelan, and the highly talented Duncan Edwards. United staff members who also got killed in the tragedy were : Walter Crickmer, Bert Whalley and Tom Curry. Bobby Charlton and Dennis Violet was saved by United’s goalkeeper Harry Gregg, who managed to maintain consciousness following the crash. Matt Busby was not given much hope of survival, but he miraculously recovered following a Last Rites, and finally left the hospital in over two months.

The Munich Memorial Plaque

The Rebuilding and The European Glory…

The Badge that was used in the 1960's to early 70's

The team then had to go through a rebuilding period in the early 60’s. Busby signed players such as Denis Law and Pat Crerand. During this era, a young man from Belfast by the name of George Best was about to grace football with his unique style and talent. Best was best known for his close control of the ball with his quick, witty feet. Those attributes allowed him to get by defenders through the smallest gap of space. In 1963, the team won the FA Cup again and in 1965, following a second place in the previous season, the team won the league again. In 1967 United won another league title before making their mark in European competition as the first English club ever to win the European competition by winning the European Cup in 1968, beating Benfica 4-1. In 1969 Matt Busby resigned as manager and was replaced by Wilf McGuinness.

The Low Mediocre Era of the 70’s and 80’s…

After Busby left, United faced an era of struggle and mediocrity. In 1969-70, United only managed to finish 8th. Busby returned to the club after a poor start in the 1970-71 season, results got better, but unfortunately Busby left the club again after only six months in charge in the summer of 1971.

The next man who took charge of United was Frank O’Farrell. O’Farrell only lasted less than 18 months. Then Tommy “Doc” Docherty was appointed as manager at the end of 1972. Doc saved United from relegation that season, but the inevitable relegation finally happened in 1974, the time where the golden trio of Best, Law and Charlton had left the club. Ironically, Law who moved to derby rival, Manchester City in 1973, was the one who scored the goal that relegated United. In respect to his former club, whom he had took to European glory in 1968, Best refused to celebrate his goal after scoring.

It doesn’t take long for United to bounce back into the First Division. Steve Coppell made his debut in 1976, and the team also reached the FA Cup final in the same year, but got beaten by Southampton. In 1977, United finally won their first major trophy after the Busby era by beating rivals Liverpool 2-1 in the final. But then again, nothing could ruin anything worse than a woman. Doc was sacked after he was found to have an affair with one of the club staff’s wife, despite his success and popularity with the supporters.

Dave Sexton ( WHAT A NAME !!!!) was appointed as manager in 1977. And he made the team played more defensive. Defensive style was never a popular style for United supporters. Sexton made one of the deadliest sin in football : “Play defensive and get crappy results”… when people play defensive but wins, nobody’s gonna say anything. But when you play defensive and gets bad results, you deserved to be bledgestoned (seriously…). With his defensive tactics, United failed to break out from mediocrity. In 1981, Sexton was finally sacked despite winning his last seven games in charge.

“Big Ron” Ron Atkinson replaced Sexton. He then signed the soon to be “Captain Marvel” Bryan Robson from West Brom. Robson was said to be the best United midfielder since Duncan Edwards. He also signed the ever so lovable Gordon Strachan. Both of them then play with players from the youth such as Norman Whiteside and the second greatest player ever comes out of Wales after Ryan Giggs, Mark Hughes (Ian Rush doesn’t even come close to Mark Hughes… :p). In 1983 and 1985, United won the FA Cup. In 1985-86 United were the favourites to win the league after winning the first ten league games. However the team’s collapsed and finally only manage to finish 4th. The poor form continued to the next season, and by the beginning of November 1986, United was on the edge of the relegation zone. Atkinson was then sacked, to be replaced by some sort of demi-God from the land of the north…

The Alex Ferguson Era
(When hairs were dried in the locker room…)

Alex “Fergie” Ferguson arrived from Aberdeen in Scotland to replace Big Ron. He managed to guide the club into the mediocre 11th place finish. However in 1987-88 season, United managed to finish second with Brian McClair became the first United player since George Best to score twenty goals in a season.

But the next two seasons, United struggled again. In 1990, Fergie was even said to be on the verge of being sacked. But United managed to secure a vital 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup third round, and then went on to win the FA Cup, beating Crystal Palace in the final replay.

In 1990-91 season United became the first English club to win a European Trophy since the Heysel Tragedy in Belgium, by beating Barcelona in the Cup Winners’ Cup Final. But the following season was ended in disappointment as United  missed out the League Title to rivals Leeds United. In 1991, is also the first time United brought its finances to the public eye by floating on the London Stock Exchange with a valuation of £ 47 million.

In November 1992, Eric “The King” Cantona arrived at Old Trafford. Legends said that when Eric was walking along with Fergie prior to his signing at the Old Trafford Stadium, Fergie asked him “So, what do you think Eric ? Are you big enough for this club ?”, Eric then replied “The right question, is wheter this club is big enough for me…”. Any common manager would kick that arogant French back to Leeds, but not Fergie. He was so impressed by Eric’s confidence that he knew right at that time he had found himself a jewel for the club…

A combination of Cantona, Pallister in defence, Ince in the midfield, and an emerging young star in Ryan Giggs gave United the league title in 1992 for the first time since 1967. The following season they won the league again along with the FA Cup, aided by Roy Keane, a typical Irish hard man in the midfield who came from Nottingham Forest. However, in the same year, the club and its supporters mourned the death of the legendary manager, Sir Matt Busby, on 20 January 1994.

Eric Cantona put the "Kick Racism out of Football"
Slogan into practice...

In 1994-95, Cantona’s Marseille-ish temper (also seen on the likes of Zidane…), got the better of him as he was suspended for eight months for lunging a beautifully crafted martial arts kick to a Crystal Palace fan named Matthew Simmons (the bastard fan deserved it, but everybody including the FA hate us until now, so nothing can be done really…). Some said that Cantona kicked him because the fan threw racist joke at him, some said that Cantona kicked him because the fan threw racist remarks towards Paul Ince who was black, either way, one thing that can’t be denied, Cantona put the “Lets Kick Racism Out of Football” into practice unlike the football higher ranking officials, and for that I, representing the whole United fan feels that the FA and Crystal Palace can kiss my as*…

The following season, Fergie made a somewhat unpopular move by selling key players and promoting youth team players such as Scholes, the Nevilles and Beckham into the senior squad. The media and pundits lashed everything that they can lash out by saying things like “You can’t win trophies with kids”, but boy, did we prove them wrong by scoring a “Double Season” once again in 1995-1996 season. United superiority was then unquestionable and that feat was remembered as the “Double-Double”.

Gary Neville, Class of '92 Veteran

In 1996-97, with fresh blood like Karel Poborsky and Jordi Cruyff, and also with the maturing of the Class of 1992, United won the league again under the leadership of Cantona and Ferguson as manager. Cantona, however decided to take an early retirement at the age of 30, a decision that was mourned and respected by the fans. The effects of Cantona’s departure was came to realization in the following season when United finished second behin Arsenal eventough playing exquisit football in that season.

The Treble…

The Greatest England Club Ever...

One particular United star started the 1998-99 season with a rough start. David Beckham was sent off in the 1998 World Cup match against Argentina and became the public enemy number 1 in England. His sending off was said to be the cause of England short hand in the competition. Now, everytime United play, all the boos were sent towards Beckham.

However, David showed to the England public that he is more than just a pretty face on the pitch. The boos only made him stronger and more focus than ever. Instead of making David slumped into a deeper hole, all the boos actually made him play the best football of his life.

In 1998-99, Fergie also signed some players that were not superstar status at that time, but they were great team players with a lot of talents to show. Dwight Yorke was signed from Aston Villa, his upfront partnership with Andy Cole was considered as one of the best strikers partnership duo ever in the world, a 6’4” bald headed Dutch defender with a short name of “Stam” was signed from PSV Eindhoven, and also a reliable left Swedish winger for a Ryan Giggs back up ( he constantly faces problems with his harmstring ) in the name of Jesper Blomqvist was signed from AC Milan.

The season ends with a dramatic fashion, especially in the league and in the Champions League. In the Premiership, United secured the title by beating Tottenham 2-1, and in the process, Tottenham actually got the 1-0 lead. With United victory, the Arsenal 1-0 win over Aston Villa could not do any good. In the FA Cup, United won 2-0 against Newcastle in a comfortable manner. And then there was the match in Nou Camp that Bayern Muenchen fans will not forget even in hundreds of years…

Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal... Eat your hearts out...

The 1999 ECL final was a dream final between two clubs that gave the best performances in Europe that year. Both United and Bayern survived the group of horror in the previous round that put both clubs in the same group with Spanish giants Barcelona. United was without their two influential midfielder, Scholes and Roy Keane who got suspended for yellow car accumulation in the dramatic match victory against Juventus in Turin. That forced the midfield composition to change dramtically with Giggs and Blomqvist (two left footers) to play on the wing, while Beckham goes to the center with Nicky Butt.

I still remember the match in the back of my head. Bayern took the early lead with a free kick from Mario Basler. Then United dominate the first half trying to get an equaliser. In the second half United’s determination almost cost the match as Carsten Jancker almost scored the second goal with a beautiful bycicle kick that hit the bar. Our mighty goal keeper Peter “the Great Dane” Schemeichel pulled off some sensational saves, he really proved his worth of being the captain in one of the most memorable night in the club’s history.

Later in the half Sheringham and Solskjaer, two back up strikers was brought into the game. It is now the 90th minute, Bayern’s Captain Lothar Matthaeus was sitting on the bench eagerly waiting for his first and probably last European Cup medal. On the pitch, the United players puts everybody out for the corner including the goal keeper !!!! Beckham crossed it in from the left side, the ball scrambled, everybody in gray and red tried to kick the ball away as far as possible, the ball dropped to Giggs, he forced to kick it with his weaker right foot, he miss-hit it, but there was Sheringham 4 feet away from the goal-line and with the simplest of touches : GOAL !!!!!!

It was 1-1 in the last minute. You should see the looks on Matthaeuss face. It was priceless. Everybody, including me, tought, we would go to overtime. But a certain “assasin” didn’t see it that way. Ole Gunnar got the ball on the left wing, he managed to drible it to the by-line and forced Kuffour to deflect it for a corner. Believe it or not, I sort of got a hunch that we gonna score a goal. As Beckham placed the ball in the corner, I said to myself “Goal…”. And so Beckham crossed it again, Sheringham then received it, gace a little nod to the ball, the ball then went right to Ole Gunnar. He then with a world class reflect deflect the ball with his shin to the roof of the goal. The ball literally went through both Kuffour and Kahn’s head with such venom, you’d feel sorry for the net. Ole Gunnar then established himself as one of the legend in the club’s history and made his nick-name “The Baby Face Assasin” comes to life. The only thing I know, is that I screamed like I never screamed before. All those tears and heart breaks when we were so close to the ECL Cup were finally paid off. I could never forget the joy pictured in the United players face, especially Beckham after all the boos given to him, the Nevilles, two native home grown players and Andy Cole, especially after so many England coaches under-rated his ability and put the likes of Shearer and Owen ahead of him. I could also never forget the tears of Kuffour and Kahn…

Ole Gunnar breaks Bayern's heart...

In 1999, Beckham should’ve won the FIFA player of the year. But somehow, FIFA seems didn’t want a United player to win it. Instead they gave it to Rivaldo, who done sh*t in Europe. Almost a decade later FIFA mess it up again by giving the trophy to Kaka, instead of Cristiano Ronaldo. Hell, they even rate Messi better than Ronaldo, despite the fact that Barcelona won squat in 2007.

United also won the Intercontinental Cup in Tokyo by beating Palmeiras (Brasil) 1-0 via a Roy Keane goal. The treble was the greatest feat ever done by any English club in the modern era, and for that Alex Ferguson was knighted by the Queen, giving him the name “Sir Alex Ferguson”.

2000 and Present Day Manchester United

In 2000 and 2001 United managed to win the league, but failed in Europe. The 2001-2002 season saw a much more defensive United, a tactic that really was never meant for a club like United. And the club only managed to finished 3rd in the league. They regained the title the following season. But in 2003-2004, Rio Ferdinand was suspended for eight months after missing a drug test. However in 2004, United still managed to win the FA Cup, defeating Milwall in the final.

Ruud van Nistelrooy knee injury was one of the main reason of United failing to score goals in matches in the 2004-2005 season. And in the FA Cup final, United was beaten by the Gunners on penalties after a 120 minutes stalmate.

Roy Keane left the club in the 2005-2006 season after he lashed out on the media about the determination of young United players like John O’Shea and Darren Fletcher. His departure led to a poor start and for the first time United was knocked out of the Champions League in the group stage in over a decade. United managed to gain a trophy however, in the form of the less important League Cup by beating Wigan 4-0 in the final. In that match, it was crystal clean that star striker Ruud van Nistelrooy didn’t see eye to eye with Sir Alex Ferguson after Fergie kept him on the bench throughout the match. At the end of the season, Ruud left for Real Madrid, leaving a legacy of an outstanding statistics of average scoring over than 30 goals per season during his run at Old Trafford.

2006-2007 season was the season where Cristiano Ronaldo showed off his magic to the public. United played one of the best football in Europe, scoring 20 goals more than second place Chelsea to win the first Premiership title in four years. Henrik Larsson, a Swedish veteran striker was brought in, and he gave an immediate impact during his short stint with the club. In the Semi Final of the European Cup however, United was beaten by AC Milan. Hey, they didn’t give the player of the year the time we won it, so why should they give it now ? Those damn FIFAs…

Today, Manchester United is still the leading football club in terms of financial, managerial and football standards. Many may not agree with it, but hey, you come across a Manchester United fan site, what do you expect ? Wheter you hate them or love them, you got to respect the achievement they have made for football and the world. From the humblest of beginning, tragedies, tears of sadness and joy, Manchester United have survived for over 100 years with its glory and hunger for more success.

The history is not yet finished to be written in golden letters for Manchester United. This pages will add more and more glories for the years to come. There will be rocks and obstacles but nothing is too hard to handle for Manchester United. Cheers to all of you Red Devils out there, hope you enjoy this as much as I do. Glory, glory, Man United….