Manchester United

Manchester Uniteds reputation as Englands most famous and, arguably, greatest club is built on the backs of numerous great players ' from Duncan Edwards to Ryan Giggs and George Best to David Beckham ' outstanding football and insatiable appetite for success. Throw in seventeen league titles, three European Cups and countless other accolades and it is easy to understand why they are Englands best supported club, and claim the largest fan base worldwide.

Introduction

Manchester United is England's most famous football club. Based in the northern industrial city of Manchester, the reigning English Premier League champions claim to be the best supported team in the world with a global fan base of 330 million. Certainly they are the best supported team in England by some distance, and their Old Trafford Stadium, with its capacity of 76, 212, is some 16, 000 seats bigger than the stadium of its nearest Premier League rival, Arsenal.

Although United lag behind Liverpool as the country's most successful club, with ten league titles since Liverpool's last success in 1990 they are by far the most successful English team of the modern era. In 1968 they became the first English club to lift the European Cup, beating Benfica 4-1, a title they regained in 1999, when they won it as part of an unprecedented treble. A third European Cup was won in 2008, 40 years to the day after their first, following a penalties victory over Chelsea. They have also won the FA Cup a record 11 times.

A vastly successful marketing and commercial operation off the field, United, have, since the late-1990s been the richest football club in the world with a market valuation of around 900 million (1.3 billion/ $1.8 billion) as of 2008. This, combined with their huge out of town support has led some United supporters to become disillusioned with the club, claiming that it has lost its heart and soul. United have been owned since May 2005 by the American Glazer family following a long and acrimonious takeover battle. For some fans this was the final straw, causing them to form a new team, FC United, which they believe to be imbued with the sort of values that their lamented team has lost.

United have been managed by Sir Alex Ferguson since November 1986. Ferguson has the most successful domestic record of any manager in English football history, and is pipped only by Liverpool's Bob Paisley in terms of European accolades. United's current squad roster includes some of the most illustrious names in world football, with the likes of Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos Tevez, Paul Scholes, Rio Ferdinand and Ryan Giggs pulling on the famous red shirt each week.

The Newton Heath era (1878-1902)

United's origins lie with the same railways that brought such prosperity to their native city in the latter half of the nineteenth century. They were founded in 1878 as the Newton Heath L&YR FC - the works team of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway depot at Newton Heath, a district around three miles north of Manchester City centre. They played on a pitch at North Road and wore green and yellow halved shirts, initially partaking only in friendly matches against other local teams. They entered local competitions such as Lancashire Cup and the Manchester District and Challenge Cup from 1883 onwards and from 1886, the FA Cup, the country's premier national trophy.

Despite the status that came from partaking in such a competition, Newton Heath lagged behind other northern teams, such as Preston North End and Everton, at the time. When the Football League, a professional competition, was inaugurated in 1888, Newton Heath were not invited to join. Instead they joined The Combination, a rival league which soon faltered due to substandard teams and lack of revenue. When, in 1892, however, the league was expanded to 16 teams (with a Second Division encompassing a further dozen sides) Newton Heath were invited to join.

They were not, initially, a great success, finishing their first season rock bottom and only evading relegation with a play off victory over Small Heath (nowadays known as Birmingham City), who had finished top of the Second Division. Nor was Newton Heath's second season - 1893/94 - much more successful as they again finished the season last in the First Division. They did, however, achieve one significant milestone, albeit an unwanted one. After losing a play off to Second Division Champions Liverpool, Newton Heath became the first team in world football to be relegated.

Newton Heath had by now moved to a new ground at Bank Street, in the suburb of Clayton. They had also dropped formal links with the railway, dropping the L&YR' from its name. But they were a poor side though and laboured through the rest of the 1890s in the second division. Neighbours Manchester City were comfortably the best team in Manchester during this time.

By the start of the twentieth century, Newton Heath's dire mediocrity had precipitated an appalling financial situation. Flagging ticket sales had given way to huge debts and the club neared bankruptcy. At one point Bank Street was closed by bailiffs. The nadir came in the 1901/2 when Newton Heath finished fourth from bottom of the Second Division, having won just eleven games all year. The ailing club risked being closed for good.

Manchester United's early years (1902-11)

Newton Heath were rescued by a local businessman, John Henry Davies, who had made his money from brewing. A (possibly apophcrycal) story goes that Davies approached the captain, Harry Stafford, at a club fundraiser, at which Stafford was showing off his prized St Bernard dog, offering to buy the animal for his daughter. Stafford declined, but persuaded Davies to invest in the club and become chairman.

Davies set about transforming Newton Heath. Deciding that the club needed a fresh start he brought in a new kit - the now iconic red shirts and white shorts - and decided it needed a new name. After contemplating Manchester Central and Manchester Celtic, the club settled upon Manchester United, apparently on the advice of Louis Rocca, a young Italian immigrant.

J Ernest Mangnall was also brought in as Secretary-Manager and charged with the task of returning United to the First Division. Under his astute leadership and with the help of some big money signings - such as half back Charlie Roberts, signed from Grimsby Town in April 1904 for a club record 750 - United finally achieved this in 1906, having finished Division Two runners up to Bristol City.

After a season of consolidation in 1906/07, United won their first league title the following year. Their success was not, however, without some controversy. Players were limited to a fixed wage of 4 per week, but when it was discovered that rivals, Manchester City, were paying 6 or 7, the Football Association banned 17 of their players from ever appearing in a blue shirt again. United profited from the situation as Mangnall managed to sign winger Billy Meredith, the so-called Welsh Wizard' and possibly the finest footballer of his era, later adding four other City players. These included Sandy Turnbull, a prolific striker who would die in the First World War. After their league success, United won their first FA Cup in 1909, Turnbull scoring the only goal in the final victory over Bristol City.

John-Henry Davies, meanwhile, continued his off the pitch revival. After decreeing Bank Street an unfit stadium for champions, in 1909 he purchased a plot of land at Old Trafford, in Stretford, south west of the city centre, and commissioned the Scottish architect, Archibald Leitch, to build a 100, 000 capacity stadium (later reduced to 80, 000 on financial grounds). Leitch is the most famous stadium designer in history and is responsible for the design of 20 major stadia, including Goodison, Anfield, Highbury, Hampden Park and Ibrox. The new ground opened on February 19, 1910 with a league match against Liverpool (which United lost 3-4, having been 3-0 up at one stage).

In 1910/11, Old Trafford's first full season, United again won the First Division title, edging past runners up, Aston Villa, by a single point. Little could anybody have envisaged the hard times that were to follow.

Hard times (1912-45)

In the summer of 1912 J. Ernest Mangnall left United after nearly a decade in charge. The man who had made United's first great team by poaching the best players from Manchester City made the reverse journey and would lead the Maine Road club for the following twelve years.

United, meanwhile would be beset by a grim torpor and be subsumed by a steady precipitous decline. Mangnall's replacements - John Bentley (1912-14) and Jack Robson (1914-21) - were unable to recapture past glories. After finishing 1912/13 in fourth place, they slipped to fourteenth the following season, and eighteenth in 1914/15, missing out on relegation by a single point. The intervention of war did little to allay the mediocrity at Old Trafford and in 1922, under John Chapman who was Secretary-Manager, they succumbed to relegation.

Other scandals, meanwhile befell United. It emerged, following an FA enquiry, that an Easter match in 1915 between United and Liverpool had been fixed 2-0 in United's favour, with players of both clubs profiting from local odds of 7-1 on such a result. Four Liverpool and four United players (Laurence Cook, Sandy Turnbull, Arthur Whalley and Enoch Knocker' West) were charged and banned for life (all but Knocker West had their punishments lifted after the war), but the result, which allowed United to avoid relegation, stood.

Through the inter-war years, United were the perennial yo-yo club, meandering between the top flight and the second division. They were promoted as Second Division runners up in 1925, relegated after finishing bottom in 1931 (after losing 27 of their 42 matches and slipping 116 goals), promoted as Second Division Champions in 1935, relegated yet again in 1937, and promoted as runners up in 1938. United's nadir came in 1933/34, when they finished twentieth in the Second Division, avoiding relegation to the Third Division (North) by a single point. Survival was only secured on the last day of the season, with a 2-0 win at nearest rivals, Millwall.

This grim decline tested the patience of even United's most hardened fans. Only 3, 507 turned up for the opening match of the 1931/32 season and as the season went on, the situation deteriorated with bankruptcy a genuine threat. By December 1931, there was no money to pay the players wages. At this stage, James Gibson, a local manufacturer of army uniforms, stepped in with an investment of 30, 000. Although not enough to turn around United's fortunes, it was enough to save them in the interim and a year later he was elected club President and Chairman.

Gibson was an innovator and moved to turn the club around. He arranged for trains to stop at Old Trafford on match days, thus meaning fans no longer had to walk miles to get to see United play. He invested in United's junior teams, laying the basis for the club's return to greatness. He also took out a lease on training grounds in the Broughton district, which would come to be known as The Cliff.

Although United's revival was often stuttering, by the end of the 1930s some fine players had begun to establish themselves in the first team. These included Stan Pearson, a prolific and gifted inside forward, Jack Rowley, a young and powerful striker, and Johnny Carey, a formidable right back from Dublin. Such players would be integral to United's revival in the 1940s.

However before this could happen further calamity befell the club. Although the Football League was suspended for the duration of the Second World War (1939-45), United, in common with most professional clubs, continued to partake in regional competitions. However, on the night of March 11, 1941, Old Trafford was destroyed in an air raid by the Luftwaffe. It would take eight years of hand-wringing over costs and rebuilding work before the club could return to its home. In the mean time, United played their matches at Manchester City's ground, Maine Road.

When peace came in 1945, James Gibson moved decisively and appointed as manager Matt Busby, a 36 year old Scottish wing half who had played for Manchester City and Liverpool in the previous decade. Few United supporters could have envisaged then that this was to be the critical turning point in the club's entire history.

Matt Busby's First Great Team (1945-52)

When Matt Busby became Manchester United manager in October 1945, he was best known as a distinguished and highly regarded professional for two of United's biggest rivals. Indeed, when peace was declared Busby - Liverpool's captain when war broke out - was offered the manager's job at Anfield. Always a man of high principle he refused the Liverpool job because their directors would not cede full control of playing matters to the new boss. Alerted by the availability of one so highly regarded within the game (if not largely untested), United made him manager.

Without a ground, and with a largely mediocre team, Busby set about transforming Manchester United. His first move was to appoint Jimmy Murphy, a tough Welshman, as his assistant and the two would form a formidable and longstanding partnership. They set in place a revolutionary scouting network, which unlike many other clubs extended far beyond the environs of their locality and would form the basis for many years of success. They were innovative trainers and Busby an astute man manager who inspired complete loyalty and utter dedication amongst his charges.

With the nucleus of a decent side - Carey, Rowley, Pearson, the winger, Charlie Mitten, and the north eastern centre half, Allenby Chilton - pre-existing the war, he added astutely to their number, restoring United after years of mediocrity. Although they were perennial nearly men in the league, finishing First Division runners up in three - 1946/47, 1947/48 and 1948/49 - consecutive years, they lifted the FA Cup in 1948, beating Stanley Matthews' Blackpool 4-2 in the Final. It was the first time they had won the FA Cup in exactly 39 years.

Four years later in 1951/52, United lifted the league title for the first time in forty years. With the senior core supported by outstanding young players, such as the midfielder, Jackie Blanchflower, and the full back, Roger Byrne, United finished four points clear of runners up Tottenham. Despite the excitement that accompanied their success, however, Matt Busby had already decided that United's destiny lay with the next generation.

The Busby Babes and Munich (1952-58)

Blanchflower and Byrne were the first products of Busby's heightened attention to youth policy, but after the championship had been won in 1952, he decided to dismantle his first great side and invest all his faith in the plethora of exciting young players making the breakthrough. Over the course of the 1952/53 season he gave debuts to David Pegg, a thrilling winger many expected to succeed Tom Finney in the England team, Dennis Viollet, an outstanding teenage centre forward, and Bill Foulkes, a redoubtable centre back, who would make more than 550 appearances for United. To their number he added Barnsley's striker, Tommy Taylor, and the Birmingham City wideman, Johnny Berry.

But the man who arguably captured the essence of the so-called Busby Babes' was the wing half, Duncan Edwards. Born in the Midlands he had been an early beneficiary of Matt Busby's extension of the Manchester United scouting system beyond the confines of Greater Manchester and Lancashire. As a player he possessed the youth and physical and footballing qualities that would define his generation. Boasting the physique of a man while still a boy he had made his first team debut at the age of 15 years 285 days on Easter Monday 1953, and less than two years later he became England's youngest international when he played against Scotland in the 7-2 victory at Wembley. A tall, powerful and physically imposing figure who played with ceaseless energy and verve, Edwards was the lynchpin of a Manchester United side who would go on to take the League Championship in 1955/56 and 1956/57. His greatest asset was his strength, ' Johnny Haynes was later to say of him. Not so much physical strength but a kind of dynamic strength which kept him endlessly on the move, covering, shadowing, backing up attacks, plunging through to finish off an attack with searing shots, as he did so often for his country. His defensive play was quite outstanding, his heading superb we built up an acute understanding of each other's play, and a joy it was to play with this man, the most indomitable player I have known.'

Matt Busby was a visionary in other respects, too. Chelsea, English Champions for the first time in 1955, had, following pressure from the Football League, withdrawn from the newly inaugurated European Cup, citing incompatibilities with the English league calendar' and been replaced by the Polish side WKS Gwardia. When Busby's United, were crowned Football League Champions a year later, it was immediately thought that they would follow Chelsea's lead. But Busby saw beyond the Football League's parochialism and how playing Europe's best clubs would benefit his brilliant young team. Despite pressure from the Football League, he stood his ground and eventually the League backed down. In September 1956 Manchester United kicked off English club's involvement in European football, with a 12-0 aggregate win over Anderlecht, and eventually progressed to a semi-final with Real Madrid the following April, where they were knocked out by the reigning European Champions.

As English champions again in the 1956/57 campaign they qualified for the following year's tournament, and, after a 3-3 draw against Red Star Belgrade on 5 February 1958 in Yugoslavia, progressed - on aggregate - to another semi final. A day later the victorious squad embarked on its long journey home.

When Manchester United had won the title in 1956, they had boasted the youngest average age - at 22 - of any side ever to do so. Two years on, they were more mature, wiser, better footballers and promised to provide the strongest challenge yet to Real Madrid's hold on the competition; in the summer, Matt Busby's Babes' would be at the forefront of England's push for World Cup glory. Tommy Taylor had now scored some 16 goals in 19 appearances for his country; United's captain, Roger Byrne, had over the duration of 33 caps cemented a reputation as one of England's finest ever full backs, and, in the long term, had been tipped as a successor to Billy Wright's captaincy; Duncan Edwards, still only 21 years old, needed only the highest stage of them all - the World Cup Finals - to prove to the world what every English football follower already knew: that he was one of the best players on the planet. Meantime, several others including Foulkes, Pegg, Berry, and United's expertly agile goalkeeper, Ray Wood stood on the fringes of the England selectors' plans.

Several times on the journey home from Belgrade, the United charter flight was delayed. First, Berry had lost his passport and the airplane hold had to be emptied while his suitcase was unloaded and the necessary documents recovered. Then there was a stop for refuelling in Munich, a city sat coated in the white of a heavy snowfall. While the players killed time in Munich Airport's transit lounge, snow continued to come down. Forty minutes later, as the party trooped back out through an icy wind, Roger Byrne noticed that the tracks made by earlier by the plane were almost invisible. With the players on the plane, twice its pilot attempted to take off, but each time boost surge' problems caused him to pull up on the runway. The passengers trudged back off the plane while the pilots consulted with an engineer. Barely had they returned to the terminal than the party were called back. For a third time the pilot attempted to take off, and this time the plane began to advance down the runway. Yet a sense of nervousness and foreboding pervaded amongst its passengers, that quickly turned to panic as the plane hurtled along.

Ray Wood turned to Byrne, who sat with his hands tightly gripping the armrests and asked: Roger, what's happening?'

We're all going to be killed, ' came the reply. They were the last words he ever spoke.

Moments later the plane ploughed through the airport's perimeter fence and skidded across a road. A wing struck a house, separating it and part of the tail from the fuselage, which span on, hit a tree and a wooden hut, before coming to a rest in a sea of flames.

In total 22 passengers were killed instantly or at the scene, including seven players and eight journalists. The dead included Tommy Taylor, Roger Byrne and David Pegg, as well as the former Manchester City and England goalkeeper, Frank Swift, who was working as a journalist for the News of the World. I believe it was the most appalling moment of my life, ' Johnny Haynes would say of the moment he heard the news. There was the first reaction of thinking that I had not quite heard the words that were being spoken. Then there was the realisation that it really was true. Then there was the moment of disbelief and finally out of the soulless, anonymous little box came the names, names that throbbed over and over again in my mind.'

Duncan Edwards had, however, been pulled from the wreckage alive, although he had sustained severe internal injuries, a fractured leg, broken ribs and severe shock. For fifteen days he battled for his life, with the world watching his progress as he rallied, deteriorated, seemed to be pulling through, until the extent of his injuries were too much even for such a colossus, and he succumbed on 21 February. Over the years, I have played with and against many world class players, but in my mind, Duncan Edwards is the greatest of them all, ' one of his colleagues was to remember. Pele and Di Stefano were marvellous, but they needed help to play. Duncan could do it all himself.' Duncan was a man in football, but still a boy at heart, ' recalled team-mate Jackie Blanchflower. His ability was good enough for England but his potential was good enough for heaven.'

Two German enquiries attributed the cause of the tragedy to ice on the wings. Later, a separate British investigation blamed sludge on the runway. Either way, the consequences were appalling for the families of the 23 dead. On a football level, the loss of eight of its players, as well many others - including Matt Busby - who had suffered injuries of varying severity desecrated Manchester United's ranks. Jimmy Murphy, Busby's assistant, bravely took over as interim manager while Busby recovered from his injuries, but United conceded the League Championship to Wolves, bowed out of the next round of the European Cup and cruelly lost the FA Cup Final to Bolton Wanderers. It was to take them years to again reach such heights.

Munich changed the history of Manchester United. Sympathy for the Old Trafford club attracted support way beyond its ordinary constituency and helped propel it to its current status as one of the World's biggest clubs. The legend of its Munich victims rightly lives on, their names immortalised in Old Trafford lore.

The Rising: Manchester United in the 1960s

Still strapped to his seat, but thrown to safety on that terrible afternoon in Bavaria was Busby's latest rising star, Bobby Charlton. Born in Ashington, Northumberland in October 1937, Charlton came from footballing stock and was part of an emergent footballing dynasty, which included several uncles who had played professionally, including Jackie Milburn, and a brother - Jack - who was centre half at Leeds United. Like Milburn he was a forward, but the similarities ended there. Like his friend Edwards, Bobby Charlton was a unique figure, impossible to readily categorise in one set position or another. In his early career at least, he spent much of it out wide, but he was always most effective when cutting inside and setting forth on one of his dashing charges into the heart of the opposition's defence, or firing as explosive shot in on goal, often from distance, usually with deadly, searing accuracy. Bobby Charlton was not a great goalscorer, but he still scored plenty of goals. He was not a man to set up chance after chance, but when his team scored a goal, he was invariably in the thick of the action. Nor was he one to nonchalantly grace the field, but he could be as elegant as he was direct. Pinning down the essence of Bobby Charlton is no easy task, but, for whomever he played and whenever he played, if something positive happened he would be part of it, and, in 1958, scarred by Munich though he was, the 20 year old was already an excellent player. Over subsequent years, however, he was to become a true great, greater perhaps than any other individual to set foot on an English football field in the latter half of the twentieth century.

Charlton was often to be the focal point of United's revival, which, over the subsequent decade was frequently to be an arduous struggle. United's rebuilding started with the signing of Sheffield Wednesday winger, Albert Quixall, for a British record fee of 45, 000. Two years later Busby made more important signings: the steely wing half, Maurice Setters; the instinctive and brilliant Scottish striker, Denis Law; and the experienced Irish full back, Noel Cantwell. Such additions stabilised United, but previous glories were initially harder to replicate. Although they won the FA Cup again in 1963, they finished the 1962/63 season in a disappointing nineteenth position after previous finishes of fifteenth and seventh.

The FA Cup win in 1963 nevertheless reinvigorated United. Outstanding young players such as Nobby Stiles, a defensive midfielder par excellence, centre back David Sadler, and, perhaps crucially, the Northern Irish winger, George Best, evoked memories of the original Busby Babes.

Best, in particular, was a cause for excitement. An instinctive, precocious and brilliant player he had been turned down as a 15 year old by Glentoran for being too small. Yet his ability to outwit opponents through a combination of pace, trickery and, above all, imagination captured Busby's attention and, quickly, the world's affection. As Danny Blanchflower, a fellow Ulsterman, observed: Best makes a greater appeal to the senses than Tom Finney and Stanley Matthews. His movements are quicker, lighter, more balletic. He offers the greater surprise to the mind and eye, he has the more refined, unexpected range. And with it all there is his utter disregard of physical danger. He has ice in his veins, warmth in his heart and timing and balance in his feet.' Many who saw him play would say he was the greatest footballer of all time - in his native Belfast they have a saying: 'Maradona good, Pele better, George Best' - but his talents would be overshadowed by an appetite for the high life, and ultimately, self destruction.

All that was to come a decade later, nevertheless, and by the team he entered a revived United team in 1963/64 he was helping United push eventual champions Liverpool hard for the title. In 1964/65 United pipped Leeds United to the League Championship on goal average and Law was crowned European Footballer of the Year. United reclaimed the title again two years later.

By now the Best-Law-Charlton forward line was considered the most exciting attacking force in European football. In the 1966 European Cup, Best had already torn the formidable Benfica apart in Lisbon, inspiring a famous 5-1 quarter final victory, although United were dumped out in the semi final by Partizan Belgrade. Given another chance in 1967/68, Best again inspired United to a semi final win over six-time winners, Real Madrid. In the final, against Benfica, Best again proved the Portuguese team's nemesis, scoring the goal that put United 2-1 up in extra time. A double from Charlton and a further goal by teenager Brian Kidd brought United a 4-1 win.

Ten years had passed since the nightmare of Munich and Busby was knighted for his achievement. The following January, United's manager, nearing his sixtieth birthday and 25 years in charge, announced his retirement from football.

Years of decline (1969-86)

United's reserve team coach, Wilf McGuinness, inherited Busby's job, but he took over a team in transition. The likes of Law, Charlton and Stiles were in decline, and United's youth policy, while still producing good players, was not as fruitful as it had been in the past. Best, meantime, was self destructing under a fug of tabloid scandal. United finished the 1969/70 season in a disappointing eighth position. When results failed to improve the following year, McGuinness was demoted and Busby briefly coaxed out of retirement to lead United to eighth at the end of 1970/71.

United tried, and ultimately failed, to recruit Celtic's European Cup winning manager, Jock Stein, to the manager's position. When that failed, in June 1971, United appointed Leicester City's Irish manager, Frank O'Farrell. Despite a positive start, results were not sustained and O'Farrell was unable to better eighth place. A catastrophic 0-5 defeat to Crystal Palace at the end of 1972 saw O'Farrell fired.

Tommy Docherty was next to take charge at Old Trafford. A former Scotland and Chelsea manager, Docherty's media savvy and charisma belied a purportedly astute tactical brain. He saved United from relegation in 1972/73, but what followed the next year seems implausible now - United were relegated! After a dire season, United went into a derby game with Manchester City needing a win and for relegation rivals to lose. Denis Law, now playing for City, back heeled a late second goal in a 2-0 win that effectively sealed his former club's downfall. United fans rioted, causing the game's abandonment, but United were condemned to Division Two.

United were promoted as Second Division champions in 1974/75, and the following season pushed Liverpool hard for the League title, but finished third. United also reached the first of consecutive FA Cup Finals, losing 0-1 to Second Division Southampton. A year later, in 1977, they beat Liverpool 2-1 to claim their first silverware since the European Cup.

Docherty's days, nevertheless, were numbered, and after it was revealed in the tabloid press that he was having an extra-marital affair with the physiotherapist's wife, Mary Brown, he was sacked by the United board. Dave sexton, who had succeeded Docherty at Stamford Bridge, and gone on to build an attractive team at Queens Park Rangers, took the manager's job.

League success would initially prove elusive for United and they finished tenth in 1977/78 and ninth a year later. Nevertheless United reached the FA Cup Final in 1979, which was lost in dramatic fashion to Arsenal. In 1979/80, United came within a couple of points of champions, Liverpool, but again fell short at the last. Sexton was dismissed in April 1981, where victory in each o his final seven games, masked a dreadful season in which United ultimately finished eighth.

Although championship success was ultimately elusive for United in this era, Old Trafford was still illuminated by some fine players. As well as the flickering embers of the Busby era, United boasted players such as Steve Coppell, an outstanding Liverpudlian winger; Lou Macari, a formidable Scottish forward; Kevin Moran, who was the first man to win Gaelic football's All Ireland Final and the FA Cup; midfielder Ray Wilkins, who captained England in a distinguished career that also took in Chelsea, Milan and Rangers; Bryan Robson, a British record signing, courageous captain of club and country, and the finest goalscoring midfielder of his generation; Jesper Olsen, a slight but impudent Danish winger; Mark Hughes, a talismanic and fearsome Welsh centre forward; and, who could forget, Paul McGrath - Dublin's black pearl' and an outstanding centre back. Individually they were as good as any other player to grace the top flight. Collectively they always seemed to fall just short.

Ferguson's first years (1986-95)

Ron Atkinson's replacement as United manager was Alex Ferguson. Born in Govan, a tough working class of Glasgow, in 1941, Ferguson had worked as toolmaker in the city's shipyards while playing as an amateur for Queens Park and St Johnstone, before turning professional, aged 23, when he joined Dunfirmline. Although his career has been described as undistinguished, he later played for Rangers, where he was subject of a record Scottish transfer, and scored goals wherever he turned out. He became East Stirlingshire manager in June 1974, aged just 32, and took over at St Mirren in October that year. Here he served notice of his credentials, transforming a moribund club stuck in the reaches of the old Scottish Second Division into First Division champions. In 1978 he became Aberdeen manager and was the last man to break the hegemony of the Glasgow clubs, three times winning the Scottish title as well as the Scottish FA Cup and the European Cup Winners Cup. Awarded the OBE in 1984, he turned down the opportunity to manage Rangers, Arsenal and Tottenham, before the United job came calling.

Ferguson's teams were always renowned for their youth and attacking flair. Like Matt Busby four decades earlier, Ferguson set about revitalizing United's youth and scouting policy, which, with some exceptions like Mark Hughes and Norman Whiteside, was less productive than it had been. This would reap spectacular rewards through the 1990s. The new manager was also a renowned disciplinarian and set to break up a drinking culture that had taken hold over the dressing room. The central protagonists - Paul McGrath, Whiteside and Bryan Robson - were broken up, with McGrath sold to Aston Villa and Whiteside to Everton. Robson, who was still indispensable to United and England was retained.

Like all of his predecessors, Ferguson spent big, bringing in players like Viv Anderson, Steve Bruce and Brian McClair in his first year, and the likes of Neil Webb, Paul Ince, Mark Hughes and Gar Pallister in succeeding years. Although United finished the 1987/88 season runners up to Liverpool, they were notorious for their inconsistency. After finishing the 1988/89 season in eleventh position and starting the 1989/90 campaign badly, Ferguson was rumoured to be on the verge of the sack. The turning point came in January 1990 when, in the third round of the FA Cup against Nottingham Forest, Mark Robins scored the only goal of the game to put United through. Although United finished the season in thirteenth position (and just five points off relegation), they beat Crystal Palace in a replayed FA Cup Final.

Ferguson's second great turning point came in November 1992, when he was alerted to the availability of Leeds' mercurial and brilliant French international forward, Eric Cantona. Ferguson paid 1.5 million for the striker - a fee that would be repaid countless times. Cantona gave United an additional dimension and a killer instinct that had been lacking. Languishing in mid-table when they signed him, they kicked into gear and won their first league title in 26 years the following May.

Abetted by outstanding young players, such as Lee Sharpe, a pacy wide man, and Ryan Giggs, a precocious Welsh wideman of skill and swerve, Ferguson added to their number that summer by signing Nottingham Forest's abrasive midfield general, Roy Keane, in a British record transfer deal. A belligerent Irishman, Keane would be Ferguson's enforcer over the following decade. In goal was Peter Schmeichel, a hitherto unheard of Dane, who would become the finest custodian of his generation. This exciting young team romped to their first league and FA Cup double in 1993/94 - an outstanding achievement, though sadly too late for Sir Matt Busby, who had died that January.

The turning point in the lifeline of this United side arguably came in January 1995, when United played Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. Cantona, who was as renowned for his off-the-ball piques as he was for his brilliance, had been sent off, when, inconceivably, he launched himself into the crowd to kung fu kick a Palace fan, Matthew Simmons, who racially abused him as he left the field. Cantona was banned for eight months, and his absence seemed to impair United's momentum. They missed out on their third successive Premier League title on the last day of the season, when a win over West Ham would have secured them the title (they drew 1-1), then lost the FA Cup Final 1-0 to Everton.

That summer, Ferguson caused outrage amongst United fans as he set about dismantling the team, selling the lightening quick Ukrainian winger, Andrei Kanchelskis, to Everton, Mark Hughes to Chelsea, and Paul Ince to Internazionale, without bringing in big money replacements. Instead he relied on players from United's youth team, including David Beckham, Gary and Phil Neville, Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes. When United lost the opening game of the 1995/96 season 1-3 to Aston Villa, Match of the Day pundit, Alan Hansen, famously told viewers You'll never win anything with kids.'

Fergie's Fledglings (1995-2003)

Years later, Hansen presumption that day in August 1995 still comes back to haunt him. He severely underestimated United's crop of young players, which was as strong as had been witnessed at any club since the Busby Babes some four decades earlier.

David Beckham is the most famous of them, a tall, strong wide midfielder, with the capacity to deliver crosses and dead balls with unerring accuracy. But it was Paul Scholes, a lithe, skilful midfielder and the most technically accomplished English player since Glenn Hoddle, who was arguably the pick of the bunch. The Neville brothers provided character and versatility, with Gary emerging as the England right back for the following decade. Butt, underrated, tough and energetic, was a capable deputy to Roy Keane. He also brought in the baby-faced Norwegian striker, Ole Gunnar Solksjaer, a prolific and deadly poacher. Ryan Giggs, still aged only 21, was already a household name.

After their slow start, which saw Newcastle United assume a ten point lead at the top by Christmas, United picked up pace and reined in Newcastle's lead to become champions again. The FA Cup was also won, making United the first team to win the double double'. Cantona, who scored the Cup Final winner, made a triumphant return from his suspension, lifting the Footballer of the Year award after scoring nineteen goals. United lifted their fourth title in five years in 1996/97, but at the end of the season Cantona, always an unpredictable figure, shocked football by announcing his retirement, aged just 30. Without their talisman, United conceded the Premier League title to Arsenal the next year.

In the summer of 1998, Ferguson spent heavily for the first time in years, signing the imposing Dutch international defender, Jaap Stam, for 10.6 million, and Aston Villa's lightening quick striker, Dwight Yorke, for nearly 12 million. Arsenal, until the last, looked like retaining their Premier league crown, but a shock defeat in their penultimate game of the season, at Leeds, saw United pip them to the title. After an epic tussle with Arsenal in the FA Cup semi final, United went on to beat Newcastle United 2-0 in the Final. An unprecedented treble was completed when United beat Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League Final. Going into injury time, United were losing 0-1, but goals by Teddy Sheringham, Cantona's replacement, and Solksjaer completed one of the most famous comebacks in the history of the game. United also became the first English club to lift the Intercontiental Cup, after beating Palmerias 1-0 in Tokyo. Ferguson, like Busby before him, was subsequently knighted for his services to football.

United retained the league title in 2000 and 2001, but with less flair and lan than in previous years. Despite these successes, Ferguson was criticized for the failure to retain the European Cup. The flow of outstanding young talent also began to dry up, as other clubs became more competitive in their youth development and scouting strategies. United, which had in 1999 been subject of a failed takeover bid by media mogul, Rupert Murdoch, became founder members of the G-14 group of leading European clubs. In an indicator of football's globalization, United refused to enter the 2000 FA Cup, instead competing in the inaugural FIFA Club World Championship in Brazil, citing FA pressure.

At the end of the 2000/1 season, Ferguson again spent big, bringing in the powerful Dutch striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy and the Argentine playmaker Juan Sebastian Veron for a combined total of nearly 50 million. Although Van Nistelrooy scored 23 league goals and ten in the Champions League, picking up the Players Player of the Year Award, United finished the season trophy less. Ferguson spent heavily again at the end of the season, making Leeds United' Rio Ferdinand the most expensive defender in the world, when he paid 30 million to bring him to Old Trafford.

With a shored up defence, United regained the Premiership title, but cracks had started to appear in the Old Trafford dressing room. Ferguson, who always maintained a strict rule and kept egos in check, had already abruptly sold Jaap Stam in 2001 after the publication of a revelatory autobiography. Relations with Beckham, who combined his formidable footballing talents with his status as a global style icon, had deteriorated over the course of the 2002/3 season, the nadir of which came when Ferguson, in a dressing room rage, kicked a football boot, which hit and cut Beckham above the eye. The incident was front page news. The worsening relationship with his star player, saw Beckham sold to Real Madrid that summer for 25 million. Other Fergie Fledglings, such as Nicky Butt and Phil Neville, were also becoming increasingly marginalized as Ferguson brought in more and more big money signings.

United Recoiling, Then Resurgent (2003-)

Ferguson invested some of the Beckham money in Portuguese winger, Cristiano Ronaldo, then an almost unknown teenager, who he bought for 12 million from Sporting Lisbon in the summer of Beckham's departure. Although United started the season well, their form dropped considerably following Rio Ferdinand's suspension for missing a drugs test. Arsenal, who finished the season undefeated, won the Premier League, with United third, although they did beat the champions on their way to winning the FA Cup.

In the summer of 2004, Ferguson again spent big, buying Everton's explosive forward, Wayne Rooney, for 27 million, but they were still unable to keep pace with Chelsea, buoyed by oil billions, or Arsenal. United finished third in the league and lost the FA Cup Final to Arsenal in a penalty shoot out. The rancour boiled over into the 2005/6 season, when an injury ravaged United were knocked out of the group stages of the UEFA Champions League. When captain Roy Keane was critical of his colleagues in an interview with the club's TV station, his contract was terminated and he left to join Celtic.

Off the pitch, United, a PLC since the early 1990s, moved back into private ownership following an acrimonious takeover by the American Glazer family. Malcolm Glazer, a US businessman and owner of the NFL franchise, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, had long held a significant shareholding in United, but through 2004 and early 2005, he increased his shareholding until they reached a level at which he could make a formal takeover bid. He succeeded in this in February 2005.

Glazer's bid to buy Manchester United was treated with universal derision by its famously passionate fans. At the root of many complaints was the way the deal had been structured: Glazer possessed only around one third of the 800 million cash needed to buy the club, and saddled United with the shortfall, which would be paid off by the United's profits over a number of years. Fans rightly feared that they would end up picking up Glazer's tab through increased ticket prices and that the squad would suffer through lack of investment.

One group, believing that the essence of United had been sold, formed a breakaway side, named FC United, which they entered into a minor league the following summer with the intention of it rising through the football pyramid. Other fans took a more direct approach, organizing protests before, after and even during games.

Fears about reduced transfer funds were spurious and in 2006 Ferguson again spent heavily bringing in midfielder Michael Carrick, and defenders Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra. Rooney and Ronaldo clicked magnificently and after a gap of four years United lifted the Premier League title again in May 2007. Another double double was narrowly missed as Chelsea beat United 1-0 after extra time in the FA Cup Final.

Ferguson's enthusiasm at the age of 66 and after his second Champions League and twentieth major honour remained undimmed. Straight away his thoughts turned to creating a European dynasty. It's just something in me, to create that drug again, ' he said after the Final. I don't get carried away. The euphoria drains away very quickly, almost immediately, and then I move on. All I'm thinking about is next season, doing it again. That's just the way I am. It will not be easy, defending the European Cup is not easy to do. But I think this team is good enough.' After more than twenty years at the Old Trafford helm, who would possibly bet against him?