Manchester United Football Club was Established in 1878 and the Football Club Nickname is The Red Devils.
A Brief History of Manchester United Football Club
In 1878, a football club named Newton Heath LYR FC was founded by the Carriage and Wagon department of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (LYR) depot at Newton Heath. It was the foundation of Manchester United FC. In the beginning, the club played matches against other departments. Particularly other railway companies. Initially, the club struggled just like any other inexperienced football club, losing their first recorded match 6-0 against Bolton Wanderers’ B squad.
Newton Heath LYR FC became a founding member of a regional football league called The Combination. After one season of the league, Newton Heath joined another newly created football league called The Football Alliance. Which could only last for three seasons, and later on the Football Alliance was merged with the First Division Football League. Newton Heath qualified for the First Division in 1892, but couldn’t perform well in the league. Just after spending two seasons in the First Division, the club was relegated to the Second Division.
Change of Club name and management
When Newton Heath FC left the Railway Company and became independent in 1892, the club faced many financial difficulties. By 1902, club debt reached £2,670, it was a difficult time for the club to survive. During this difficult time, Captain Harry Stafford asked four local businessmen, including John Davies, to invest in the club. They each invested £ 500 to pay off the club’s debt.
After purchasing the club in April 1902, John Davies and other partners changed the name of the club from Newton Heath to Manchester United FC. They also replaced the old green and golden with the famous red shirt and white shorts. The new management also brought huge changes in the squad by purchasing a few famous football players, including George Wall, Charlie Sagar, Harry Moger, Charlie Roberts, and Alex Bell.
Early Success of Manchester United
This new transition proved to be so favorable for the club. In 1906, Manchester United was promoted to the First Division Football league and just a season later, they won their first league title in 1908. The club also won the first ever Charity Shield and FA Cup titles in the same season. It was a great success for a young club like Manchester United. In 1910, Manchester United left its Bank Street home ground and moved to the famous Old Trafford. The Red Devils won the First Division football league for the second time in 1911.
Manchester United suffered badly from the First World War. When football resumed after the First World War, the club did not perform up to standard, and was relegated to the Second Division in 1922. Man United were promoted back to the First Division in 1925, but they could not demonstrate any impressive performance, and were relegated again to the Second Division in 1931. Dont forget to keep upto date with the Football24-7 Latest Manchester United news pages.
The Busby Babes Era
When World War II was declared in 1939, all types of competitive football were suspended in England from 1939 to 1945. After World War II in 1945, Manchester United hired Matt Busby as the new manager of the club. Busby reorganized the club and guided the team to three straight league second-place finishes (1947, 1948, and 1949). In 1948, Busby led the club to win its second FA Cup title.
Matt Busby was a visionary leader, he promoted youngsters in the club. The strategy used by Busby helped Manchester United to win two consecutive First Division league titles in 1955–56 and 1956–57. The average age of Busby’s team was 22 during the league, which made it the youngest squad in the history of English Football to win the First Division football league. The team was named as the Busby Babes.
The Munich Air Disaster
The Munich air crash is the saddest moment in Manchester United’s history. On 6 February 1958, on the way back from a victory in the European Cup quarter-final against Red Star Belgrade, a plane carrying Manchester United players and officials crashed just seconds after takeoff in Munich, Germany. In the horrific incident, 23 people lost their lives, including 8 Manchester United players. It was a huge loss for the club, and Manchester United took years to recover from the damage.
Busby miraculously survived the crash, but was seriously injured. After his recovery, he took over again as club manager. Every year on February 6th, the club organizes a ceremony at Old Trafford to commemorate the Munich air tragedy and pay tribute to the players who died in the incident.
Revival of Manchester United
When Busby rejoined the managerial position after recovering from injuries in the 1960s, he decided to rebuild the squad of the Red Devils. He signed some of the big names in the history of Manchester United including Bobby Charlton, Denis Law and Pat Crerand. They helped Man United to win the FA Cup in 1963, and two First Division league titles in 1965 and 1967.
Busby restored the confidence of the team. Manchester United won their first European Cup in 1968, defeating Benfica 4-1 in the final. It was the first English club to win the European Cup. It was the biggest achievement of the club. After winning European Cup with Manchester United, Busby resigned from the managerial position in 1969.
Shifts of Management
After Busby’s retirement, Manchester United suffered due to lack of leadership. Tommy Docherty was hired as new manager in 1972, the club couldn’t perform well under his management and it was relegated to the Second Division in 1974. Docherty helped the Red Devils to get promotion back to the First Division in 1975. Under Docherty management, the club won the FA Cup final against Liverpool in 1977, but he was replaced by Dave Sexton in the same year.
The squad continued to struggle and failed to0 achieve any significant success. Sexton’s only notable achievement was that under his administration, the team finished second in the table in 1979-80 and reached the FA Cup final the same year, but lost to Arsenal. Dave Sexton was fired in 1981 and replaced by Ron Atkinson. Under Atkinson, Man United won the Charity Shield in 1983, and won two FA Cup titles between 1983 and 1985.
Sir Alex Ferguson Era
In 1986, Manchester United was going through a bad season, the club was on the verge of relegation. To avoid relegation, Ron Atkinson was sacked and Alex Ferguson took over as club manager. The inclusion of Sir Alex Ferguson proved to be a game changer for Manchester United. The club did not perform well at first, and the Man United legend took some time to settle down. Manchester United won the FA Cup in 1989-90, beating Crystal Palace 1-0, it was the club’s first title victory under Ferguson’s leadership.
In 1991, Ferguson helped Manchester United win their first and only European Super Cup title. In 1993, the Red Devils won the Premier League after 26 years, and won the league again the following season. Manchester United became the first English club to win doubles (Premier League and FA Cup) three times in 1993–94, 1995–96, and 1998–99. It was a great achievement for a club that was in danger of relegation before Ferguson’s arrival.
The 1998-99 season was the best for Man United, they made history by winning “the Treble” (the Premier League, UEFA Champions League and FA Cup). Ferguson was knighted for his football achievements and awarded the title of Sir Alex Ferguson. Ferguson was without a doubt one of the greatest English football managers of all time. He led Man United to win 13 Premier League titles, 11 FA Community Shields, 5 FA Cups, 4 EFL Cups, 2 Champions Leagues, and 1 European Super Cup. Ferguson announced his retirement from English football as manager in 2013.
Post-Ferguson Era
When Alex Ferguson stepped down from his managerial role, he hand-picked David Moyes for the role, but the team’s results began to decline. Man United won only 19 of 38 matches the following season and finished seventh in the league. Moyes was sacked just after one season with Manchester United. Ryan Giggs, Louis van Gaal, and Jose Mourinho were later hired for managerial positions, but they did not meet the standard set by Ferguson. They all spent very little time at the club and could only add 1 FA Cup, one Community Shield title, and 1 Europa League title in the club’s honours.
In 2018, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was hired as the interim manager of the club. Under Solskjaer, United performed well in the first season, and won 14 out of 19 league matches. In 2019, Solskjaer signed a three years contract with United to bring back the legacy of the club. In the 2019-20 season, Man United finished sixth place in the league. Solskjaer brought back the spark in the club and helped Man United to finish second in the league.
The Football Club Manager is: Ralf Rangnick
The Official Website for Manchester United Supporters is: https://www.manutd.com
The Contact Details for Manchester United Football Club are as follows:
Manchester United Football Club
Old Trafford
Manchester
M16 0RA
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