   #copyright

Manchester United F.C.

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Sports teams

   Manchester United
   Manchester United's emblem
   Full name Manchester United Football Club
   Nickname(s) The Red Devils, United
   Founded 1878, as Newton Heath LYR FC
   Ground Old Trafford
   Capacity 76,312
   Chairman Flag of United States Joel & Avram Glazer
   Manager Flag of Scotland Sir Alex Ferguson
   League Premier League
   2005-06 2nd


   Team colours Team colours Team colours
   Team colours
   Team colours
   　
   Home colours

                                         Team colours Team colours Team colours
                                         Team colours
                                         Team colours
                                         　
                                         Away colours

   Manchester United Football Club are an English football club, based at
   the Old Trafford stadium in Trafford, Greater Manchester, and are one
   of the most popular sports clubs in the world, with over 50 million
   supporters worldwide. Manchester United are one of the most successful
   clubs in English football and are second only to Liverpool F.C. in
   terms of trophies won by an English club. They have won the Premier
   League/ Football League 15 times, the FA Cup a record 11 times, the
   League Cup twice, the European Cup/UEFA Champions League 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. Among European clubs, they have been perennial
   revenue leaders for the late 1990s and early 2000s, they are still the
   fourth richest (in terms of revenue) in the world.

   Since 1991, the club had been run as a public limited company, with an
   attempted takeover by Rupert Murdoch in 1998 blocked by the British
   Government. During the late 1990s, the club's value floated to a peak
   of £1 billion, making a takeover unlikely. However, in May 2005 Malcolm
   Glazer completed a hostile takeover of the club and delisted it from
   the stock exchange.

   The current club captain of Manchester United is Gary Neville, who took
   over from Roy Keane on 16 November 2005.

History

Early years (1878-1945)

   The Manchester United team at the start of the 1905/6 season in which
   they were runners up in Division 2 and promoted
   The Manchester United team at the start of the 1905/6 season in which
   they were runners up in Division 2 and promoted

   The club was formed as Newton Heath LYR F.C. in 1878 as the works team
   of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway depot at Newton Heath, then
   started to sever it's links with the rail depot in 1890, becoming
   Newton Heath F.C.. After nearing bankruptcy in 1902, the club was taken
   over by J H Davies who changed its name to Manchester United, chosen
   over Manchester Central and Manchester Celtic. The Old Trafford
   Football Ground was bombed during the Second World War, leading the
   club to seek charity from their then more-illustrious neighbours
   Manchester City, who allowed them to play their games at Maine Road for
   a period.

The Busby years (1945-1969)

   Matt Busby was appointed manager in 1945 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.
   A plaque at Old Trafford in honour of the players who died in the
   Munich Air Disaster.
   A plaque at Old Trafford in honour of the players who died in the
   Munich Air Disaster.

   Tragedy struck the following season, when the plane carrying the team
   home from a European Cup match crashed on take-off at a refuelling stop
   in Munich, Germany. The Munich air disaster of 6 February 1958 claimed
   the lives of eight players and another fifteen passengers. There were
   rumors of the club folding and withdrawing from competitions, but with
   Jimmy Murphy taking over as manager while Busby recovered from his
   injuries, the club continued playing with a makeshift side. Despite the
   accident, they reached the FA Cup final again, where they lost to
   Bolton. At the end of the season, UEFA offered the FA the opportunity
   to submit both United and the eventual champions, Wolverhampton, for
   the 1958-59 European Cup as a tribute to the victims, but the FA
   declined.

   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, being 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

   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)

   Alex Ferguson arrived from Aberdeen 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 throughout the next two seasons, with many of
   Ferguson's signings not reaching the expectations of the fans. Alex
   Ferguson was reportedly on the verge of being sacked at the beginning
   of 1990 but a Mark Robins goal gave United a narrow 1-0 win in the
   third round of the FA Cup over Nottingham Forest kept the season alive
   and the team went on to win the competition, beating Crystal Palace in
   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 floated on the London Stock Exchange with a valuation of £47
   million, bringing its finances into the public eye.

   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, who would go on to
   become the team captain. 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 for
   racial abuse, 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, and the feat was nicknamed the
   "Double Double".

   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)

   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 against 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 one of the greatest comebacks ever witnessed,
   losing going into injury time and scoring twice to win 2-1. Ferguson
   was subsequently knighted for his services to football. Rounding out
   that record breaking year, Manchester United also won the
   Intercontinental Cup after beating Palmeiras 1-0 in Tokyo.

After the Treble (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. In 2000,
   Manchester United became one of 14 founder members of the G-14 group of
   leading European football clubs. Ferguson adopted more defensive
   tactics to make United harder to beat in Europe but it was not a
   success and United finished the 2001-02 Premiership season in third
   place. They regained the league the following season ( 2002-03) and
   started the following season well, but their form dropped significantly
   when Rio Ferdinand received a controversial eight month suspension for
   missing a drugs test. They did win the 2004 FA 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 FA Cup eluded them as Arsenal
   beat United on penalties after a goalless draw after 120 minutes. 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 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, Ryan
   Giggs 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 neighbours Wigan Athletic 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. At the end of the 2005-2006 season, one of United's key
   strikers, Ruud van Nistelrooy, left the club to join Real Madrid, due
   to a row with Alex Ferguson.

   The 2006-07 season saw United return to the attacking style of football
   that was the cornerstone of their years of success in the late 1990s,
   scoring almost 20 more goals in 32 matches than second placed side
   Chelsea. In January 2007, United signed Henrik Larsson on a two-month
   loan from Swedish side Helsingborgs, and the striker played an
   important role in positioning United on course for a second Treble.
   United advanced to the semi-finals of the Champions' League on 11 April
   2007.

   In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Manchester United's entry
   into European competition, as well as the 50th anniversary of the
   Treaty of Rome, Manchester United played Marcello Lippi's European XI
   at Old Trafford on 13 March 2007. United won the game 4-3, including
   two goals from Wayne Rooney.

   United are still on course to complete another Treble, having set up a
   meeting with Chelsea at the first FA Cup Final at the new Wembley
   Stadium on Saturday 19 May 2007, following a 4-1 defeat of Watford in
   the semi-final. United will meet Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League
   final, if the team wins the semi-final second leg at AC Milan.

The Malcolm Glazer takeover

   On 13 May 2005, American businessman Malcolm Glazer acquired a
   controlling interest in the club through his investment vehicle Red
   Football Ltd. in a takeover valuing the club at approximately £800
   million (approx. $1.5 billion). On 16 May, 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
   8 June he appointed his sons to the board of Manchester United as
   non-executive directors.

   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.

Club crest and colours

   During its Newton Heath days, the club's home jerseys were yellow and
   green; this strip was revived as an away kit in the early 1990s to
   commemorate the club's 100 year anniversary. Manchester United's most
   recognised home strip is red jerseys, white shorts and black socks.
   Away strips are usually white jerseys with black shorts and white
   socks.

   Third kits are usually all blue but the club has also used all black
   and on one occasion in the 1995-96 season they used all grey. This kit
   was dropped after Manchester United failed to win a single game while
   wearing it. At half-time during a game against Southampton, when
   Manchester United were already 3-0 down, they switched to another blue
   and white kit, eventually lost 3-1. According to the players, the grey
   kit wasn't visible enough which led to the poor results.

   Their jerseys now sport their main sponsor AIG. Currently, Manchester
   United's jerseys are red with gold stripes going down the side. The
   sleeves are capped with white and the AIG and Nike logos are also
   white. The MUFC embroidery at the bottom of the shirt is in gold. The
   club crest sits on a white shield. The away jerseys are white with
   black panels down the side. The crest sits on a black shield. The
   sleeves and collar are capped in gold and the AIG, Nike, and MUFC
   symbols are black.

   The Manchester United crest has been altered on a few occasions, but
   the basic form remains similar. The badge is derived from the crest of
   the city of Manchester. The devil on the club badge stems from the
   club's nickname "The Red Devils", which was adopted in the early 60s
   after Sir Matt Busby heard it in reference to the red-shirted Salford
   rugby league side. By the end of the 1960s, the devil had started to be
   included on club programmes and scarves, before it was finally
   incorporated into the club badge in 1970, holding its unmistakable
   trident. In 1998, the badge was once again redesigned, this time
   removing the words "Football Club".

Recent 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 AIG as the new shirt 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 now have the most valuable sponsorship deal in the world, due to
   the £15 million-a-year deal Juventus had with oil firm Tamoil being
   renegotiated. The four-year agreement has been heralded as largest
   sponsorship deal in British history, eclipsing Chelsea's deal with
   Samsung. Other companies that Manchester United currently have
   sponsorship deals with include:
     * AIG - Principal Sponsor
     * Nike - Official Sportswear Partner
     * Audi - Official Car Supplier and Dugout Seat Provider
     * Budweiser - Official Beer
     * AirAsia - Official Low Fare Airline
     * Betfred - Official Betting Partner
     * Tourism Malaysia - Official Destination Partner
     * Century Radio - Official Radio Station
     * viagogo - Secondary Ticketing Partner
     * Royal Resorts - Official Leisure Property Development Partner

Support

   Before World War II, few English football supporters travelled to away
   games because of the time, cost, and the fact that few had cars at the
   time. 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
   United 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 caused United's support to swell 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 a higher
   proportion of Manchester City season ticket holders live 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 1998. 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.

   Despite the anger towards the new owners, attendances have continued to
   increase, and the team's excellent performances have re-kindled the
   enthusiasm of the supporters. In recent years there has been much
   debate about the lack of atmosphere at Old Trafford for some games but
   during the 2006/7 season there have been several passionate and raucous
   occasions, possibly unsurpassed anywhere in European football.

   The vocal United fans have a reputation for being innovative with a
   plethora of newly-created chants becoming established each season.
   Academic studies have confirmed that United's fans are likely to use a
   bigger repertoire of songs and chants at each game than any of their
   rivals.

   The most popular chant is "Who the f**k are Man United?". It is an
   adaptation of Glory Glory Man United, which was sung by rival fans. The
   words of the original song were changed to belittle the reputation of
   Manchester United, with the connotations that Manchester United are not
   a big 'glorious' team, but mainly just to annoy the supporters. The
   United faithful however, reflected this song with great ironic effect,
   singing this song when United are winning, so when rival supporters
   question who Manchester United are, United's supporters reply with this
   song, reminding them that Manchester United are the team that are
   winning.

Players

First-team squad

   As of 11 March 2007, according to combined sources on the official
   website: . All loans until 30 June 2007 unless otherwise stated.

   No.                     Position           Player
   1   Flag of Netherlands GK       Edwin van der Sar
   2   Flag of England     DF       Gary Neville ( captain)
   3   Flag of France      DF       Patrice Evra
   4   Flag of Argentina   DF       Gabriel Heinze
   5   Flag of England     DF       Rio Ferdinand
   6   Flag of England     DF       Wes Brown
   7   Flag of Portugal    MF       Cristiano Ronaldo
   8   Flag of England     FW       Wayne Rooney
   9   Flag of France      FW       Louis Saha
   11  Flag of Wales       MF       Ryan Giggs ( vice-captain)
   13  Flag of South Korea MF       Park Ji-Sung
   14  Flag of England     FW       Alan Smith
   15  Flag of Serbia      DF       Nemanja Vidić

   No. Position Player
   16 Flag of England MF Michael Carrick
   18 Flag of England MF Paul Scholes
   20 Flag of Norway FW Ole Gunnar Solskjær
   21 Flag of People's Republic of China FW Dong Fangzhuo
   22 Flag of Republic of Ireland DF John O'Shea
   23 Flag of England MF Kieran Richardson
   24 Flag of Scotland MF Darren Fletcher
   27 Flag of France DF Mikael Silvestre
   29 Flag of Poland GK Tomasz Kuszczak (on loan from West Brom )
   32 Flag of Northern Ireland DF Craig Cathcart
   33 Flag of England MF Chris Eagles
   35 Flag of England DF Kieran Lee
   38 Flag of England GK Tom Heaton

On loan

   All loans until 30 June 2007 unless otherwise stated.

   No.                 Position                     Player
   19  Flag of Italy   FW       Giuseppe Rossi (on loan to Parma)
   26  Flag of England DF       Phil Bardsley (on loan to Aston Villa until 19
                                May 2007)
   28  Flag of Spain   DF       Gerard Piqué (on loan to Real Zaragoza)
   ––  Flag of England GK       Ben Foster (on loan to Watford)

Reserves and academy squad

   See Manchester United F.C. Reserves & Academy Squad.

Ladies team

   Manchester United Ladies were founded in 1977, and officially became a
   part of Manchester United FC at the start of the 2001/2 season. They
   played in the Northern Combination league (the third tier of women's
   football in England) until they were controversially disbanded before
   the start of the 2004/5 season for financial reasons. The decision was
   met with considerable criticism given the huge profits made by
   Manchester United and also due to the fact that the teams were
   withdrawn from all their leagues before the players were even informed
   of the decision.

Former players

Player records

European Footballer of the Year winners (Ballon d'Or)

     * Denis Law - 1964
     * Bobby Charlton - 1966
     * George Best - 1968

Most appearances for Manchester United

   As of match played 24 April 2007 and according to official site.
   Players in bold are still currently playing for Manchester United.
   #                   Name                       Career     Appearances Goals
   1  Flag of England Sir Bobby Charlton      1954 - 1973    759         249
   2  Flag of Wales Ryan Giggs                1990 - present 712         140
   3  Flag of England Bill Foulkes            1952 - 1970    688         9
   4  Flag of England Gary Neville            1992 - present 540         7
   5  Flag of England Alex Stepney            1966 - 1978    539         2
   6  Flag of Republic of Ireland Tony Dunne  1960 - 1973    536         2
   7  Flag of England Paul Scholes            1993 - present 532         137
   8  Flag of Republic of Ireland Denis Irwin 1990 - 2002    529         33
   9  Flag of England Joe Spence              1919 - 1933    510         168
   10 Flag of Scotland Arthur Albiston        1974 - 1988    485         7

Most goals scored for Manchester United

   # Name Career Appearances Goals Goals/Game
   Ratio
   1 Flag of England Sir Bobby Charlton 1954 - 1973 759 249 0.328
   2 Flag of Scotland Denis Law 1962 - 1973 404 237 0.587
   3 Flag of England Jack Rowley 1937 - 1955 424 212 0.500
   4= Flag of Northern Ireland George Best 1963 - 1974 470 179 0.381
   4= Flag of England Dennis Viollet 1949 - 1962 293 179 0.611
   6 Flag of England Joe Spence 1919 - 1933 510 168 0.329
   7 Flag of Wales Mark Hughes 1980 - 1986, 1988 - 1995 466 164 0.352
   8 Flag of Netherlands Ruud van Nistelrooy 2001 - 2006 220 150 0.682
   9 Flag of England Stan Pearson 1935 - 1954 347 148 0.427
   10 Flag of Scotland David Herd 1961 - 1968 265 145 0.547

Club officials

   Board of Directors
     * Owner: Malcolm Glazer
     * Honorary Life President: Martin Edwards
     * Joint Chairmen: Joel Glazer & Avram Glazer
     * Chief Executive: David Gill
     * Chief Operating Officer: Michael Bolingbroke (will take up post at
       the end of May 2007)
     * Group Commercial Director: Lee Daley
     * Non-Executive Directors: Bryan Glazer, Edward Glazer, Kevin Glazer
       & Darcie Glazer
     * Football Board Directors: Martin Edwards, Sir Bobby Charlton,
       Maurice Watkins, Michael Edelson & Ken Merrett (Secretary)

   Senior club staff
     * Company Secretary: Patrick Stewart
     * Assistant Company Secretary: Ken Ramsden
     * Director of Communications: Phil Townsend
     * Director of Commercial Enterprises: Ben Hatton
     * Director of Marketing: vacant
     * Director of Financial Services: Steve Falk
     * Director of Finance & IT: Steve Deaville
     * Director of Facilities: Clive Snell

   Management
     * Manager: Sir Alex Ferguson
     * Assistant Manager: Carlos Queiroz
     * First Team Coach: Mike Phelan
     * Goalkeeping Coach: Tony Coton
     * Fitness Coach: Valter di Salvo
     * Strength & Conditioning Coach: Mick Clegg
     * Caretaker Reserve Team Coach: Brian McClair
     * Chief Scout: Jim Lawlor
     * Chief European Scout: Martin Ferguson

   Academy coaching staff
     * Director of Youth Academy: Brian McClair
     * Director of Youth Football: Jimmy Ryan
     * Assistant Director for 17-21 Year olds: Paul McGuinness
     * Assistant Director for 9-16 Year olds: Tony Whelan
     * Under 18's Coach: Paul McGuinness
     * Under 13-16's Coach: Mark Dempsey
     * Under 11-12's Coach: Tony Whelan
     * Under 9-10's Coach: Eamon Mulvey
     * Technical Skills Development Coach: René Meulensteen
     * Director of Goalkeeping Training: Richard Hartis
     * Academy Coaches: Eddie Leach, Tommy Martin, Mike Glennie & Andy
       Welsh

   Medical staff
     * Club Doctor: Dr. Steve McNally
     * Assistant Club Doctor: Dr. Tony Gill
     * First Team Physiotherapist: Rob Swire
     * Reserve Team Physiotherapist: Neil Hough
     * Senior Academy Physiotherapist: Mandy Johnson
     * Academy Physiotherapists: John Davin & Richard Merron
     * Masseurs: Gary Armer & Rod Thornley
     * Club Dietician: Trevor Lea

Managerial history

                      Name                            Period
   Flag of England A. H. Albut                 1892-1900
   Flag of England James West                  1900-1903
   Flag of England J. Ernest Mangnall          1903-1912
   Flag of England John Bentley                1912-1914
   Flag of England Jack Robson                 1914-1922
   Flag of England John Chapman                1921-1927
   Flag of England Lal Hilditch                1926-1927
   Flag of England Herbert Bamlett             1927-1931
   Flag of England Walter Crickmer             1931-1932 & 1937-1945
   Flag of Scotland Scott Duncan               1932-1937
   Flag of Scotland Sir Matt Busby             1945-1969 & 1970-1971
   Flag of England Wilf McGuinness             1969-1970
   Flag of Republic of Ireland Frank O'Farrell 1971-1972
   Flag of Scotland Tommy Docherty             1972-1977
   Flag of England Dave Sexton                 1977-1981
   Flag of England Ron Atkinson                1981-1986
   Flag of Scotland Sir Alex Ferguson          1986—

Honours

Domestic

League

     * Premier League (including (Old) First Division) titles: 15
          + 1907-08, 1910-11, 1951-52, 1955-56, 1956-57, 1964-65, 1966-67,
            1992-93, 1993-94, 1995-96, 1996-97, 1998-99, 1999-00, 2000-01,
            2002-03
     * (Old) Second Division 2
          + 1935-36, 1974-75

Cups

     * FA Cup 11¹
          + 1909, 1948, 1963, 1977, 1983, 1985, 1990, 1994, 1996, 1999,
            2004
     * League Cup 2
          + 1992, 2006
     * FA Charity/Community Shield 15¹
          + 1908, 1911, 1952, 1956, 1957, 1965*, 1967*, 1977*, 1983,
            1990*, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2003 (* joint holders)

European

     * European Cup / UEFA Champions League 2
          + 1968, 1999
     * UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1
          + 1991
     * European Super Cup 1
          + 1991

International

     * Intercontinental Cup/World Club Championship 1¹
          + 1999

Club records

     * Record League victory: 10-1 v Wolves, Division 1, 15 October 1892
     * Record Premiership victory: 9-0 Ipswich Town 4 March 1995
     * Record European Cup victory: 10-0 v Anderlecht, European Champion
       Clubs' Cup, Preliminary Round, 26 September 1956
     * Record European Cup (Champions League era) victory: 7-1 v AS Roma
       10 April 2007
     * Record home win 10-0 v Anderlecht 26 September 1956
     * Record away win: 8-1 v Nottingham Forest 6 February 1999
     * Record League defeat: 0-7 v Blackburn Rovers, Division 1, 10 April
       1926 / v Aston Villa, Division 1, 27 December 1930 / v Wolves,
       Division 2, 26 December 1931
     * Record Cup defeat: 1-7 v Burnley, FA Cup, 1st Round, 13 February
       1901
     * Record 'Home' attendance: 83,250 v Arsenal, Division 1, Maine Road,
       7 January 1948
     * Record League attendance (at Old Trafford): 76,098 v Blackburn
       Rovers, 31 March 2007.
     * Longest unbeaten run : 45 (all competitions), 24 December 1998 to 3
       October 1999
     * Most Appearances : 754 Bobby Charlton
     * Most League appearances: 606 Bobby Charlton
     * Most goals scored : 247 Bobby Charlton
     * Most League goals: 199 Bobby Charlton
     * Most League goals in a season: 32 Dennis Viollet, Division 1,
       1959-60
     * Most goals in a season in all competitions: 46 Denis Law, 1963-64
     * Most goals scored in a match: 6 George Best v Northampton Town, 7
       February 1970 / Harold Halse v Swindon Town, 25 September 1911
     * Most goals scored in European competition: 38 Ruud van Nistelrooy
     * Goals in consecutive league matches: 10 consecutive matches Ruud
       van Nistelrooy, 22 March 2003 to 23 August 2003
     * Highest transfer fee paid: £31.12 million Rio Ferdinand, 2002/2003
       (includes £300k in agents fees)
     * Most League goals in a season (by team): 103 1956/57, 1958/59
     * Most points in a 42 game season: 92 - 1993/94
     * Most points in a 38 game Season: 91 - 1999/2000
     * Most capped player: 129 Peter Schmeichel - Denmark
     * Fastest goal: 15 seconds Ryan Giggs v Southampton, Premiership, 18
       November 1995
     * Fastest four goals: 13 minutes Ole Gunnar Solskjær v Nottingham
       Forest, Premiership, 6 February 1999

Stadium information

     * Name - Old Trafford
     * Location - Greater Manchester
     * Capacity - 76,312 (all-seater stadium)
     * Inauguration - 19 February 1910
     * Pitch Size - 106 x 69.5 metres
     * Record Attendance - 76,962; Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Grimsby, 25
       March 1939.
     * Record Attendance (all-seater stadium) - 76,098; Manchester United
       vs. Blackburn Rovers, 31 March 2007.
     * Address - Sir Matt Busby Way, Old Trafford, Manchester, M16 0RA
     * Nickname(s) - The Theatre of Dreams

   Following the near-bankruptcy of the team as Newton Heath, the club
   renamed as Manchester United in 1902, though still with a desire for a
   proper ground. Old Trafford was named as the home of Manchester United
   in 1910, following the purchase of the necessary land for around
   £60,000. Original plans indicated that the stadium would hold around
   100,000, though this was scaled back to 60,000. Despite this, a record
   attendance of 76,962 was recorded, which is more than even the current
   stadium officially supports. The inaugural game was played against
   Liverpool F.C., resulting in a 4-3 win for the visitors.

   Bombing during the Second World War - 11 March 1941 - destroyed much of
   the stadium, notably the main stand. Though this was rebuilt in 1949,
   it meant that a game had not been played at Old Trafford for nearly 10
   years as the team played all their "home" games in that period at
   Manchester City's ground Maine Road.

   Subsequent improvements occurred, including all the stands being
   covered (as opposed to just the main stand originally), and proper
   floodlight installation. In 1990, though, following the Hillsborough
   disaster, a report was issued which demanded all stadia must be
   all-seater stadia. Subsequent renovation dropped capacity to around
   44,000. However, the club's popularity ensured that further development
   would occur. In 1995, the North Stand was redeveloped into three tiers,
   bringing the capacity up to approximately 55,000. This was followed by
   expansions of the East and West Stands to reach a total capacity of
   68,000. The most recent, and possibly the last expansion without buying
   out local residents land and relocating the adjacent railway line, was
   completed in 2006, when the North-East and North-West Quadrants were
   opened, allowing the current record of 76,098.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_United_F.C."
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   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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