Jumat, 02 Januari 2015

History of Manchester United


The Early Years: 1878 - 1939
The story of Manchester United begins in 1878 when
employees of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
Company's Carriage and Wagon Works requested
permission and sponsorship from their employers to
start a football team. Permission was given, and Newton
Heath LYR (which stood for "Lancashire & Yorkshire
Railway") was born, playing at a pitch on North Road.
Initially they played against other teams of railway
workers, within their own company and against teams
from other companies, but in 1885, they entered in the
Manchester Cup competition and reached the final. The
next year, they won the competition.
The Football Alliance
Although Newton Heath were not good enough to join
the Football League, they were quickly outpacing their
local competition. Newton Heath spent the first ten
months of 1888 unbeaten at their home ground.
However, the idea of inter-town football had caught on,
and in 1889, a group of twelve clubs, Newton Heath
among then, formed the Football Alliance. They finished
eighth.
The next year, Newton Heath began to sever their
railway ties, dropping "LYR" from their official name.
However, strong connections remained intact; although
they no longer were sponsored by the company, most of
their players were still LYR employees.
1892 proved to be a successful season for the
"Heathens", as they finished second to Nottingham
Forest, after losing only three times all season. That
same year, the Football League enlarged and, with the
merger of the Alliance, divided into two divisions.
Newton Heath and Nottingham Forest were invited to
join the First Division. They finished last and needed a
win against Small Heath in the test match against the
Second Division champions to preserve their First
Division status.
In 1893, the team moved to a new ground in Bank Street,
Clayton, next to a chemical plant. It was said that when
Newton Heath were losing, the plant would belch out
acrid fumes in a bid to affect the visiting team. The
1893-94 campaign, however, was no better, and they
once again were in the relegation playoff against
Liverpool. This time Newton Heath were defeated 2-0
and gained the dubious honour of being the first team to
be relegated to the Second Division.
Warner (GK), Clements (FB), Brown (FB), Perrins,
Stewart, and Errantz (backs), Farman and Couper
(halfbacks), Donaldson (right wing), Carson (centre),
Mathieson (left wing)
Near-bankruptcy
The financial situation only worsened, dragging down
their on-field play. They managed only a 10th place in
the 1901 season and with ticket sales flagging and debts
mounting, the club decided to hold a four-day bazaar to
raise money. One of the attractions was a St. Bernard
dog, which escaped on one of the nights after the
bazaar had closed.
It was the escape and recapturing of the dog which led
to the meeting between team captain Harry Stafford and
John J Davies who would lead a group of businessmen.
Together, they came up with £2,000 to save the club
from bankruptcy. On April 28th 1902, Newton Heath was
replaced by Manchester United Football Club, and John
Henry Davies became the club president.
In 1903 the club took another important step by hiring
their first real team manager, J Ernest Mangnall a
charismatic publicist who knew how to work the media.
Under his leadership, the team finished third in the
Second Division. The following season, Manchester
United set a record when they went 18 games
undefeated between September 1904 and February 1905.
Mangnall created United's first successful side with a
series of signings, eventually winning promotion in 1906
and reaching the quarterfinals of the F.A Cup.Among
these signings was Billy Meredith the legendary winger
who was probably the greatest player of that era.
Ernest Mangnall managed to sign star defender Herbert
Burgess and Alec "Sandy" Turnbull also Jimmy bannister
after a scandal hit Manchester City and forced them to
sell off most of their team. It paid off, and Manchester
United won their first League Championship in 1908.
The next year, FA Cup success would follow as they
beat Bristol City in the final 1-0. Sandy Turnbull scored
the only goal and Billy Meredith was named man of the
match.
Sandy Turnbull (left) Billy Meredith (right)
"The Outcasts"
For years since the formation of the Professional
Footballers Union, tensions had mounted as players
were unable to get their employers to recognise them as
unionists. Things finally came to a head before the
1909-10 season when the League decided to ban,
without pay, any player who was a union member.
The move inflamed the players, Manchester United's
especially. They refused to give up union membership.
Most clubs turned to amateurs to replace their
professional players, but United were unable to sign
enough. It was during this period that the famous
"Outcasts FC" photograph was taken. Finally, the day
before the season was due to begin, the League gave in,
removing the suspensions and recognising the union.
Old Trafford
1909 was also a milestone for United for another reason.
John Henry Davies once again lent financial support by
lending £60,000, a huge sum at the time, to finalise the
team's move to Old Trafford. They played their first game
there on 19 February 1910 as Liverpool spoiled the
celebrations with a 4-3 win in a close game.
Ernest Mangnall's leadership brought United to their first
successful era. They would be the first winners of the
Charity Shield in 1908, win the F.A Cup in 1909 and the
League again in 1911. The Charity Shield victory in 1911
would be the end of this era and J Ernest Mangnall
would leave the next year for Manchester City.
United would stumble without their charismatic manager,
narrowly escaping relegation in 1914, before the Football
League was suspended at the outbreak of World War
1during which Sandy Turnbull was killed in France.
Charity Shield
Post World War I
The League resumed in 1919, but United only managed
12th place. The worst was yet to come and in 1921/22,
they won only eight of 42 games and were relegated.
Billy Meredith had also left in 1921, following Ernest
Mangnall.
United finally returned to the top flight in 1925, finishing
second to Leicester City. But in 1927, one of the great
builders of Manchester United died. John Henry Davies,
who had saved the club from extinction and brought
them to Old Trafford, died and was replaced by G H
Lawton as club president.
A new manager, Herbert Bamlet was appointed but his
reign was not a successful one as United slowly slipped
in the standings, finally finishing bottom of the league in
1931 and being relegated after starting the season losing
twelve times in a row. The finances were once again in a
mess, and Herbert Bamlett lost his job. The players had
gone to collect their wages on Christmas week and told
there was no money available. Another financial bailout
was needed.
Enter James W Gibson who was approached by a
Manchester sportswriter, Stacey Lintott. He met with the
board and offered to help on condition that he became
chairman and could choose his directors. They had little
choice but to agree, and Gibson invested £30,000 into
the club. A new manager was found, Scott Duncan, one
of the new breed of managers who were retired players,
now common, but an innovation in those days.
Scott Duncan
In 1934, United were at the lowest point in their history.
On the final day of the season they were placed second-
last in the table with their final match away against
Millwall who were one point ahead. With destiny in their
own hands, they beat Millwall 2-0 and stayed in the
Second Division by one point.
The next season saw an improvement. United finished
5th, and they announced their return to the top flight
with a shout as they won the Second Division title in
1936 after being unbeaten in the last 19 games of the
season.
Their joy was short-lived, however, as they were
relegated back to the Second Division the next season.
Scott Duncan resigned. United picked themselves up,
however, finishing runners-up in 1938 and returning to
the First Division. They would stay there for 36 years;
after placing 14th the next season, World War II broke
out.
Matt Busby
The Second World War saw Old Trafford destroyed by
German bombs on March 11,1941. In 1945,Matt Busby
former captain of Manchester City, was appointed
manager. He was ahead of his time, and is thought to
have been the first manager to go out on the field with
his players during training. A series of astute signings
added on to the nucleus of the squad, and he began the
youth system that would later pay big-time dividends.
League football resumed for the 1946-47 season and
United finished second. They would repeat this twice,
and though disappointed by this failure, they did deliver
the FA Cup in 1948. It was the first of many trophies to
come.
League success finally came in 1952, with United, led by
Johnny Carey demolishing second-placed Arsenal 6-1
on the final day of the season and finishing four points
ahead of Arsenal and Tottenham.
Matt Busby
The Busby Babes
The next season saw the introduction of the Busby
Babes as the Championship team began to lose steam.
David Pegg, Jackie Blanchflower, Dennis Violet, Duncan
Edwards, and Bill Foulkes all made their first
appearances in the 1952-53 season. They finished 8th in
1954 and fifth in 1955 before finally breaking out and
destroying the competition in 1955-56, clinching the
title by an 11-point margin. The team's average age was
22. Only two players in the 1956 team, Roger Byrne and
Johnny Berry, were also around for the first
Championship four years earlier.
One of the stars of the team was Duncan Edwards, who
set the record as the youngest player ever to be capped
for England when he played against Scotland at the age
of 17 and 8 months. The record stood for almost 50
years before being broken in 1998 by Michael Owen. His
legendary status, no doubt added to by his tragic death,
is best measured by the fact that he placed 6th in a 1999
poll of Manchester United fans, asking them to name the
top 50 United players of all time.
The Championship was defended successfully in 1957,
though the dream of the League and FA Cup Double was
crushed along with goalkeeper Ray Wood's cheekbone
after Aston Villa's Peter McParland smashed into him six
minutes into the final at Wembley. United lost 2-1.
1956 was also a milestone year, as United defied the
League authorities to take part in the European
Championship (now the UEFA Champions League). The
League had previously successfully pressured Chelsea
not to take part out of fear that they would not be able
to cope with the schedule, and sent a letter forbidding
United to take part. However, The Football Association
supported Matt Busby and United became England's first
representatives in Europe.
United's first European match was away to Belgian
champions Anderlecht, and they pulled off a respectable
2-0 win. However, fans at the return leg in Maine Road -
European matches could not be hosted at Old Trafford
until the semi-finals of that season as floodlights had
not been installed - saw an absolute destruction derby.
Anderlecht never knew what hit them as United scored
ten goals without reply.
United beat Borussia Dortmund and Athletic Bilbao in
much closer circumstances, having to come back
against Bilbao from two goals behind in the second leg,
before falling to Real Madrid in the semifinal.
The line up just before the air crash
Munich Air Disaster
Main article: Munich Air Disaster
The Busby Babes seemed destined to dominate the
soccer world for time to come and had captured the
imagination of the fans; already they had proved
themselves both at home and in Europe. The 1957/58
season opened with talk of a treble - The League, the FA
Cup, and the European Cup. But fate had decided it was
not to be. On 6 February 1958 the BEA Elizabethan plane
carrying them home from Belgrade crashed on takeoff in
Munich and the dream was over.
United arrived in Yugoslavia to meet Red Star Belgrade
in the second leg of the quarter finals. The first leg in
Manchester had ended in a 2-1 win for United. United
scored three goals quickly, but by the end Red Star
managed to claw back to level it 3-3 after 90 minutes.
The Reds went through to the semi-final 5-4 on
aggregate.
The plane, a chartered aircraft, left Belgrade and stopped
at Munich to refuel. Take off had to be aborted twice
because of boost surging, a common problem in the
Elizabethan. The problem was caused by too rich a fuel
mixture, which causes the engines to over-accelerate.
The problem was exacerbated by the altitude of the
Munich airport.
The pilots were able to control the surging on the third
takeoff attempt, but as they reached the V1 "decision
speed" (after which it is unsafe to abort takeoff), the
airspeed suddenly dropped. The aircraft left the runway,
crashed through a fence and into a house. The left wing
and the tail were ripped off and the starboard side of the
fuselage hit a fuel tank and exploded.
Officially, the cause of the accident was build-up of
snow on the runway which had caused to aircraft to
lose speed and crash.
United fans will never forget
Mark Jones, David Pegg, Roger Byrne, Geoff Bent, Eddie
Colman, Liam Whelan, and Tommy Taylor were killed
instantly. Club secretary Walter Crickmar, and coaches
Tom Curry and Bert Whalley were also killed. Duncan
Edwards, Matt Busby, and Johnny Berry were critically
injured, and Duncan Edwards would die three weeks
later. Johnny Berry and Jackie Blanchflower survived but
never played again. Four other passengers and two of
the crew were also killed, as were eight sportswriters
travelling with the team, including former England
goalkeeper Frank Swift. It was the most tragic day
English football had ever seen, rivaled in world football
only by the Superga air disaster in 1949 which killed the
entire Torino team (and later by a 1993 crash that killed
the entire Zambian National Team).
The Flowers of Manchester Tribute Song
When the song ends wait for menu, select one of the
other film's or reports on the Busby Babes.
Rebuilding
Matt Busby eventually recovered after hovering near
death and the mammoth task of rebuilding began. One of
the survivors of Munich, Bobby Charlton, would play a
critical role.
United struggled in the League after Munich, winning
only one of their last 14 matches and finishing in 9th
place. However, they pulled together for the FA Cup
matches and made it to the final, but lost to Bolton. The
next season, with some injured players, including
Dennis Violet, returning to the line-up and survivors like
Bobby Charlton stepping up, United managed to finish in
2nd place without needing to dip into the transfer
market. A period of rebuilding followed the next year
with several significant signings, including Denis Law,
Pat Crerand, and Noel Cantwell. Despite a poor 19th
place in the 1962-63 season, United managed to beat
Leicester 3-1 at Wembley to win the FA Cup.
1963 saw the debut of George Best, completing the trio
of Charlton, Law and Best that would power Manchester
United to the triumphant heights of the 1960s. United
finished second that season, then won the League in
1964-65 by goal average over Leeds. The rebuilding was
complete, Bobby Charlton and Bill Foulkes were the only
Munich survivors in that team.
That season was significant in other ways too, as
England were hosting the 1966 World Cup and had
announced that Old Trafford would be among the
stadiums to be upgraded at the government's expense.
United won another league title in 1966-67, qualifying
them for the European Cup the next season and laying
the groundwork for the climatic triumph of that era.
Champions of Europe
The run to the European Cup began easily enough, and
the Reds cruised past Malta team Hibernians for a 4-0
win on aggregate. A tough, physical series against
Sarajevo was next, followed by Gornik Zabreze from
Poland. United won 2-1 on aggregate and then came the
semi-final match that was just as, if not more important
than the final itself - two matches against the mighty
Real Madrid. Real played a defensive game in the first
leg at Old Trafford, stifling the offensive magic of the
Reds. United managed a 1-0 victory, but it was a very
small advantage to take into the Bernabeu.
Denis Law was suffering from a knee injury, so Busby
decided instead to call up the veteran defender Bill
Foulkes. The game started badly for United as Real
Madrid ran circles around them, leading 3-1 at half-time,
3-2 on aggregate. United came back strongly after the
break and pounded the Real defence to no avail for half
an hour until David Sadler levelled the aggregate score.
Then Bill Foulkes played the hero as he buried a pass
from George Best into the goal. It was the only goal he
ever scored in European competition, though it was
probably the most important.
United were through to the final and faced Benfica at
Wembley. In many ways it was an emotional day, Matt
Busby's journey finally coming full circle after the
tragically aborted promise of the Busby Babes. It was
also a testament to Busby's skill in judging talent, as
only two of the 12 players in the line-up that day had
cost transfer fees to acquire.
Bobby Charlton scored, and Jaime Graca equalised.
Benfica piled on the pressure in the dying minutes and it
took a brilliant reflex save from Alex Stepney to deny
Eusebio the winning goal. United managed to hold out
until extra time. Then George Best finally broke free of
the stifling marking of the Benfica defence and scored.
Benfica were reeling and Brian Kidd, celebrating his 19th
birthday, put another in the net. Kidd would later be part
of another successful United team, this time as Alex
Ferguson's assistant manager. Bobby Charlton finished
off Benfica with a high shot for a 4-1 victory and United
became the first English team to win the European Cup.
Matt Busby would later be Knighted for his
accomplishments, as well as being awarded the Freedom
of Manchester.
After Busby
With a lukewarm 11th in the League the next season,
Matt Busby retired to become the general manager Wilf
McGuiness, the reserve team coach, was promoted to
take Busby's place, but he quickly faltered in the
footsteps of the great man, which wasn't helped by
Busby's presence in the background. After just one and
a half seasons, with the team floundering, he was fired
and replaced with Frank OFarrel.
At this time George Best was also becoming a problem,
continually flouting the rules and getting into various
disciplinary troubles. Eventually, one day short of his
26th birthday, he announced his retirement, only to
resume playing a few days later.
While Best's erratic behaviour didn't help, United
continued to struggle, opening the 1972-73 season with
a disastrous nine games without a win. The board began
making plans to bring in Tommy Docherty as manager
and on 19 December, Frank O'Farrell lost his job. In a
way it was the end of an era, with Bobby Charlton's
testimonial having been held the previous day and
George Best retiring on the same day.
Matt Busby
Tommy Docherty, the manager of Scotland's national
team, took over and immediately began to rebuild the
side with a series of signings, most notably Lou Macari
from Celtic FC, United recovered and a series of wins
brought them to 16th position. At this point, Bobby
Charlton announced his retirement. United finished that
season in 18th place.
Denis Law left during the close season to sign for
Manchester City, which sparked some protests among
fans. George Best also came out of retirement once more
to sign with the team for the 1973-74 season. United
were once more caught in a relegation battle and entered
the penultimate game of the season needing to win two
games and for Birmingham to lose in order to stay in the
First Division. Birmingham won their game and Denis
Law sealed United's fate with the only goal of the game.
Manchester United were relegated to the Second
Division for the first time since 1938.
Tommy Docherty
Revival
Despite relegation, attendances at Old Trafford were as
ever, still the best in the country and during their
infamous 1974-75 season in the old division two their
attendances saw no equal. Manchester United players
also responded well, winning the Second Division and
returning to the top flight, where they topped the
standings in the early stages of the season.
The following in the top division their winning form
slipped mid-season and they finished third. A good FA
Cup run also ended in disappointment at Wembley with
defeat by Southhampton in the final.
Major referee cockups saw United perform poorly in the
league in 1976-77 and at one stage being in danger of
relegation, but United also managed to book a trip to
Wembley [again], this time upsetting Liverpool to win
the FA Cup.
The Mary Brown Affair
But just over a month later, news broke of Tommy
Docherty's love affair with Mary Brown, the wife of the
team's physiotherapist, when he announced that he was
leaving his wife to marry her. When Docherty refused to
resign, the board dismissed him .
Dave Sexton
Docherty had been popular with the fans, and the new
manager, Dave Sexton, needed success to dispel the
unfavourable comparisons. With the FA Cup win, United
qualified for the Cup Winners Cup, but were nearly
expelled because of crowd trouble in Saint-Etienne. Once
more United made it to the FA Cup final, but narrowly
lost to Arsenal in what was known as the "five-minute
final" for the flurry of goals in the last minutes.
The 1979-80 season saw the Reds narrowly miss out on
league glory, finishing second to Liverpool. During that
season, United fans were blamed for a collapse at
Ayrsome Park causing the death of two Middlesborough
supporters. Controversy also erupted over allegations
that, top football clubs including United, had been
making illegal payments to young players.
An injury crisis at the start of 1980-81 caused the team
to slump to mid-table and fall in the FA Cup. Despite a
rally in which United won seven games in a row, the
fans had made up their minds and Dave Sexton lost his
job.
Dave Sexton
Ron Atkinson
Ron Atkinson was hired in June 1981 to take over. He
would sign Bryan Robson from West Brom for record
£1.5 million. Norman Whiteside also broke through the
youth ranks. Success followed as United won the 1983
FA Cup after a replay against Brighton.
Although United crashed out of the FA Cup the next year
in a humbling defeat at the hands of Third Division
Bournemouth, they managed to beat Barcelona in the
Cup Winners Cup and made it to the semi-finals before
losing to Juventus. Mark Hughes made his debut the
following season and was selected as the Young
Footballer of the year. But once again, United were
disappointed in their bid for a League championship.
In 1985, Manchester United would beat League
champions Everton to win another FA Cup, but not
without some drama as Kevin Moran became the first
player, albeit controversially, to ever be sent off in an FA
Cup final. Down to ten men, Norman Whiteside scored
the only goal of the game in extra time to win the Cup.
Once more, however, injuries and a lack of fan support
would conspire to bring down a Manchester United
manager. United raced to the top of the standings with a
run of victories, but then injuries piled up and a slump
began. When United lost the top spot and news broke of
Mark Hughes's imminent move to Barcelona, the fans
were angry, and Atkinson was finally sacked after a 4-1
loss to Southhampton.
Ron Atkinson
Alex Ferguson
Alex Ferguson was hired from Aberdeen on Nov 6th,
1986, barely hours after Atkinson was sacked. When he
took over, United were languishing at second from
bottom, but Ferguson managed them to finish the
season in 11th place. That summer, Ferguson signed
some major players, including Viv Anderson, Brian
McClair, Stev Bruce and Jim Leighton.
In 1987-88, United were foiled in their attempts to land
silverware, finishing runners-up to the league title,
clawing back to 9 points behind from Liverpool's 17-
point lead, and exiting the FA Cup at the fifth round
stage. At the end of the season, fans celebrated the
return of Mark Hughes, who was regarded to have
flopped abroad.
Following the ineffectual 1988-89 season (finishing 11th
after slipping in the late season), Ferguson began
introducing some youth players into the side, and
bought footballers such as Gary Pallister, Paul Ince and
Danny Wallace. However, he came under fire for several
poor performances, including a humiliating 5-1 loss to
huge rivals Manchester City, not helped by the media
furore over a takeover bid by Michael Knighton. Despite
calls in January 1990 (at which point United were sitting
15th out of 20) for him to be sacked, Ferguson guided
United to win the that season's FA Cup, silencing the
critics and beginning the most successful period in the
team's history. A finish in the league at position 13 was
disappointing, but confidence was high that the
following season would yield a higher place.
The next season, United finished the league in 6th and
went out of the FA Cup in the 5th round to Norwich City.
However, that season the ban on English teams entering
European competition (following the Heysel Stadium
disaster was lifted, and the team went on to win the
European Cup Winners Cup against Barcelona in
Rotterdam. Mark Hughes scored both United's goals in a
2-1 win against his old team. They also finished
runners-up in the League Cup, losing 1-0 to Second
Division Sheffie. The following season, however, they
did manage to capture the trophy, beating Nottingham
Forest 1-0. A tremendous season was let down in the
final game, meaning United finished runners-up to
Leeds and also won the League Cup. The 1991-92
season was also important in that 18-year old winger
Ryan Giggs and goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel were
brought into the team.
Alex Ferguson "The Boss"
Cantona Joins
The final piece in the puzzle was finally pushed home in
1992 as forward Eric Cantona was signed for £1.2 million
from Leeds, after a slow start to the season. Cantona
had previously proved too fiery for many teams but fitted
straight in at Manchester United. He formed an
impressive partnership with Mark Hughes, scoring and
creating many chances which had previously been
lacking. As a result, the team's performances boosted
them up the table, and after 26 years, Manchester United
won the inaugural FA Carling Premiership in 1993,
finishing 10 points above Aston Villa.
22-year old midfielder Roy Keane was bought from
Nottingham Forest for a then record fee of £3.75m for the
1993-94 season. Despite being marked by the death of
United legend Sir Matt Busby on Jan 20th, 1994, United
managed to retain the Premiership, also adding the FA
Cup after a 4-0 win in the final against Chelsea. Even
though they missed out on a domestic treble, losing 3-1
to Aston Villa in the final of the League Cup, United had
claimed the first League-Cup double since Liverpool in
1986.
Disappointment followed the next season as both the
League and the FA Cup slipped from grasp in the last
weeks of the season. Eric Cantona was also involved in
the infamous attack on a fan at Selhurst Park which led
to him being charged with assault and being banned for
9 months. Andy Cole was signed during the Winter for a
record £7m from Newcastle United, but in spite of this,
United finished trophyless - losing the Premiership for
the first time, to the surprise champions Blackburn, and
being beaten by Everton in the FA Cup final. If the
Premier League had been decided on the old two points
per win system (changed to three points per win in
1981), United would have been Champions again. With
the close season transfer controversy of Paul Ince, mark
Hughes and Andre Kanchelksis all leaving the team,
many pundits expected Ferguson to be sacked at some
point during the next season.
Ferguson replaced them with young players from the FA
Youth Cup winning team after failing to make a major
signing that summer. Defeat in the opening game (3-1 to
Aston Villa) prompted the infamous "You'll never win
anything with kids" remark by the BBC pundit Alan
Hansen. However, the introduction of players such as
Gary Neville, David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt
and Phil Neville allowed Ferguson to develop a brilliant
young side, which, powered by Cantona's return after
his ban, brought a second League and FA Cup double -
the first team to achieve the "Double Double". The FA
Cup was won with a 1-0 victory, the only goal being
scored by Cantona, who that season was voted Football
writers Player of the year by the footballing press and
made team captain by his club after the departure of
Steve Bruce to Birmingham City.
Manchester United then bought several players for the
96-97 season, but the most successful turned out to be
Ole Gunnar Solksjaer, who finished the season as top
scorer, despite often lacking a starting place; and Ronnie
Johnson, who was a key figure in defence. They
overcame injuries and a fixture glut this season to retain
the Championship. There was disappointment in the
UEFA Champions League as they demolished FC Porto
4-0 before falling in the semi-finals to eventual winners
Borussia Dortmund. There was, however, shock to follow
as Cantona announced his retirement at the end of that
season's campaign, sending shock waves around the
world. United held on to his contract, but he never
played professionally again.
Eric "The King" Cantona
The Treble
Alex Ferguson was making the Champions League his
number one priority, but still it eluded them. They fell on
away goals to Monaco in 1997-98, also finishing
runners-up to Arsenal in the League that season, again
winning no major trophies. After buying four major
players - Aston Villa's striker Dwight Yorke, PSV's
defender Jaap Stam, Parma's winger Jesper Blomqvist
and Blacburn's Henning Berg, as well as releasing long
serving players Gary Pallister and Brian McClair, finally,
the holy grail came in 1999.
The season had started slowly, losing to Arsenal,
Southampton and Middlesbrough. However, the
Middlesbrough loss in November 1998 was their last of
the season - United set up an unbeaten streak going
into their FA Cup semi-final replay against Arsenal in
what was the last ever, and is commonly regarded as
the greatest ever. United played with only ten men after
captain Roy Keane was sent off, Peter Schmeichel
brilliantly saved a 90th minute penalty kick, and Ryan
Giggs scored the winning goal in extra time with a
breathtaking run from the halfway line, followed by a
spectacular goal. This victory was followed by a
legendary comeback victory against Juventus, inspired
by captain Roy Keane, to book their place in the
Champions League final. The League was clinched at
home to Tottenham, the FA Cup with a 2-0 win over
Newcastle, before the trip to Barcelona's Nou Camp to
face Bayern Munich in the final of the Champions
League, on the day which would have been Sir Matt
Busby's 90th birthday.
Bayern Munich scored from an early Mario Basler free-
kick and United fought the rest of the game to no avail.
At 90 minutes, with the fourth official signalling 3
minutes of injury time, Manchester United won a corner
and pulled out all the stops, with the goalkeeper &
captain Peter Schmeichel going up in his last ever
appearance for the club. Bayern Munich were in shock
as Teddy Sheringham squeezed in the equaliser. Less
than a minute later, United won another corner and Ole
Gunnar Solksjaer tapped it into the roof of the net to
send the United fans into delirium and cap off the most
stunning two minutes in the history of the club.
Alex Ferguson would later follow Matt Busby's footsteps,
being Knighted for this achievement.
Three In A Row
The following season was a strong victory in the
Premier League, United finishing 18 points clear of
runners-up Arsenal, but going out to Real Madrid 3-2 in
the quarter finals and not entering the FA Cup - for the
first time in living memory, a major team decided not to
enter the competition. This was due to the desire to play
in the FIFA World Cup Championship, which clashed
with the FA Cup fifth round matches. In 2000-01, Alex
Ferguson became only the third manager to ever win
three League titles in a row. Bayern Munich also exacted
revenge by defeating United in the UEFA Champions
League quarter-finals.
United finished 2001-02 without a trophy, in a season
that also saw the arrival of Ruud Van Nistelroy. They
bounced back the following year however, clawing back
Arsenal's lead at the head of the table to win their
eighth title in eleven seasons. It is probably a
commentary on the success that Manchester United have
become used to that the 2003-04 season, which saw
them finish third in the league but win the FA Cup, was
considered a disappointment.
The Malcolm Glazer Takeover
In late 2004, Malcolm Glazer, an American billionaire who
also owned the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, made a bid to
take over the club. The bid was extremely controversial
due to his plan to saddle the club with millions of
pounds in debt. Glazer was also seen as wanting the
profit from Manchester United's worldwide popularity,
rather than investing out of a sincere love of the club
and the sport. Glazer began buying up shares of United
and managed to oust three directors from the board in
November 2004, but his takeover bid seemed to have
stalled as a 28.7% stake held by Irish horse-racing
tycoons John Magnier and JP McManus seemed secure.
The football world was thus shocked when, on May 12th,
2005, Magnier and McManus sold their stake to Glazer
for £3 a share, giving Glazer the majority shareholding.
This immediately sparked angry protests from United
fans, who protested angrily that their club was "not for
sale" and burned season ticket renewal forms. On May
16th, 2005 Glazer took control of the 75% stake needed
to delist the club from the stock exchange, which he has
promised to do.
Under the shadow of this controversy, United went to
the Millenium Stadium to defend the FA Cup. Despite
clearly dominating the game, United were simply unlucky
and they lost on penalties to arch-rivals Arsenal. This
capped off a disappointing season where they finished
third in the league, adrift of the champions, Roman
Abramovich-bankrolled Chelsea.

Tidak ada komentar:

Posting Komentar