Manchester United | Full name | Manchester United Football Club | | Nickname | The Red Devils | | Founded | 1878, as Newton Heath LYR F.C. | | Ground | Old Trafford, Trafford,
Greater Manchester | | Capacity | 68,936 (planning permission
granted to increase capacity to
76,000, Feb. 2005) | | Chairman | Sir Roy Gardner | | Manager | Sir Alex Ferguson | | League | FA Premier League | | 2003-04 | Premier League, 3rd | | |  Manchester United's emblem Manchester United F.C. (often abbreviated to Man United or just Man U, pronounced man-yoo) is an English football club based at Old Trafford in Greater Manchester.
Formed as Newton Heath LYR F.C. in 1878, as the works team of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway depot at Newton Heath, becoming Manchester United on 28 April 1902.
Traditionally one of the larger and most-supported clubs in England, Manchester United, under manager Sir Alex Ferguson achieved a degree of dominance in domestic competitions in the 1990s unseen since the great Liverpool F.C. sides of the mid 1970s and early 1980s. This culminated in 1999, with the club winning an unprecedented treble of the English Premier League, FA Cup and the UEFA Champions League.
In 2004, Manchester United qualified for the group stage of the Champions League for the ninth successive year, breaking a record held by Norway's Rosenborg. Manchester United have been largely unable to transfer their domestic dominance to European competition; in fact qualifying for the European Cup final on only two occasions in their history.
Their last success in this competition was in 1999, when they came from behind in the last minutes of the UEFA Champions League final to beat Bayern Munich 2-1. Although their dominance in English football is considered by some to be over, they are still one of the best teams in British football, the only team who remain a viable threat to Chelsea F.C. in the current 2004-2005 season. In addition, the club is the most financially successful club in England, due to its supporter base which reaches all around the world, particularly popular in Asia.
History
Main article: History of Manchester United
Manchester United began life in 1878 as Newton Heath, formed by workers of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. They nearly went bankrupt in 1902 and were rescued and renamed as Manchester United. The earliest known film of Manchester United is the 2-0 victory at Burnley on 6 December 1902, filmed by Mitchell and Kenyon.
United have had three successful eras, under Ernest Magnall in the 1900s, in the 50s and 60s under Sir Matt Busby, and in the 90s to present under Sir Alex Ferguson. They have won the FA Cup 11 times, the most of any team, and 15 league championships. They have also won the European Cup (now Champions League) twice. These trophies make them the second-most succesful club ever in England, behind Liverpool F.C. who have a record 18 league titles, 4 European Cups and 6 FA Cups.
The 1958 Manchester United team was nicknamed the "Busby Babes". On February 6, they were flying home from a European Cup match against Red Star Belgrade when the plane crashed on takeoff in a snow storm in Munich, Germany (see Munich air disaster). Eight team members were killed, and 2 players suffered career-ending injuries. Amongst the dead was Duncan Edwards, a 21-year-old who many believe was on his way to establishing himself as one of England's greatest players ever. A survivor, Bobby Charlton would help England to win the Football World Cup in 1966.
Players
Current Squad (as of January 31, 2005)
Noted Players Pre-Busby 1950s-60s 1970s-80s 1990s 2000s
Successful Managers
Managerial History - James West: July 1900 - 28 September 1903
- J. Ernest Mangnall: 30 September 1903 – 19 August 1912
- John J Bentley: August 1912 – December 1914
- John 'Jack' R. Robson: 21 December 1914 – October 1921
- John Chapman: 1 November 1921 – 7 October 1926 (suspended by the FA for undisclosed reason)
- Clarence 'Lal' George Hilditch: October 1926 - April 1927 (United’s only ever player-manger)
- Herbert Bamlett: April 1927 – April 1931
- Walter Crickmer: April 1931 – July 1932
- (Adam) Scott Matthewson Duncan: 1 August 1932 – November 1937
- Walter Crickmer: Nov 1937 – 1938
- Walter Crickmer: 1944 – 1945
- Matt Busby: 19 February 1945 – June 1969
- Jimmy Murphy: February – August 1958 (Caretaker-Manager while Busby recovered from Munich crash)
- Wilfred McGuinness: June 1969 – 29 December 1970
- Matt Busby: 29 December 1970 – June 1971
- Frank O’Farrell: 9 June 1971 – 19 December 1972
- Tommy Docherty: 30 December 1972 – 4 July 1977
- Dave Sexton: 14 July 1977 – 30 April 1981
- Ron Atkinson: June 1981 – 6 November 1986
- Alex Ferguson: 6 November 1986 - to present
Achievements - League Championships: 15
- 1908, 1911, 1952, 1956, 1957, 1965, 1967, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003
- FA Cups: 11
- 1909, 1948, 1963, 1977, 1983, 1985, 1990, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2004
- League Cup: 1
- UEFA Champions League Championships: 2
- 1967-68, 4-1 vs Benfica
- 1998-99, 2-1 vs FC Bayern M.
- UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1
- Intercontinental Cup: 1
- European Super Cup: 1
- FA Charity Shield/Community Shields: 15
- 1908, 1911, 1952, 1956, 1957, 1965*, 1967*, 1977*, 1983, 1990*, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2003 (*as joint holders)
- BBC Sports Personality of the Year Team Award
Records - Record League Victory: 10-1 v Wolverhampton Wanderers, Division 1, 15 October 1892
- Record Cup Victory: 10-0 v R.S.C. Anderlecht, Champions Cup, Preliminary Round, 26 September 1956
- Record League Defeat: 0-7 v Blackburn Rovers, Division 1, 10 April 1926
- Record Cup Defeat: 1-7 v Burnley F.C., FA Cup, 1st Round, 13 February 1901
- Most League Goals: 199 Bobby Charlton, 1956-73
- Most Goals in a Season: 32 Dennis Viollet, Division 1, 1959-60
- Most Capped Player: Bobby Charlton, 106 England
- Most League Appearances: 606 Bobby Charlton, 1956-73
Performance in the top division Manchester United have spent 79 seasons in the national top flight (only Everton, Aston Villa, Liverpool, and Arsenal have more seasons at top level), finishing in these positions: 1st: 15 2nd: 12 3rd: 5 4th: 7 5th: 2 6th: 2 7th: 2 8th: 6 9th: 3 10th: 1 11th: 3 12th: 2 13th: 4 14th: 2 15th: 2 16th: 2 17th: 1 18th: 3 19th: 1 20th: - 21st: 2 22nd: 2
Man U are one of three clubs (the remaining two being Liverpool and Arsenal) that finished 1st more often (!) than in any other table spot in the top division. Another noteworthy fact is that United have found themselves in top nine places of the table more than twice as often as in the remaining thirteen table positions, this statistics clearly proving that, throughout their history, they are usually a side to be reckoned with.
Fans Organizations
Fanzines
External links - Manchester United Official website (http://www.manutd.com/)
- FootyMania.com => Manchester United Latest News (http://www.footymania.com/club.phtml?clubID=2&leagueID=1/)
- Red Issue (http://www.redissue.co.uk/)
- 4thegame.com's Manchester United Section (http://www.4thegame.com/club/mufc/)
- Soccernet's Manchester United (http://www.soccernet.com/england/clubs/manutd/)
- Totally Red (http://hjem.get2net.dk/mufc)
- Manchester United Forum (http://www.redcafe.net)
- the Manchester United Guide (http://www.manchester-united-guide.co.uk)
- Manchester united supporters club of canada (http://www.muscc.com)
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