The history of FC Manchester United (1878-1969)

Foundation of the club and the first seasons (1878–1889)

The history of Manchester United begins in 1878 when workers at the Newton Heath Carriage Works , part of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, requested permission and sponsorship from their employers to create a football team . Permission was obtained, resulting in the creation of the Newton Heath Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway team. The team spent their matches on the North Road field, located not far from the Newton Heath Carriage Works ^[4] . The condition of the football field was unsatisfactory, the lawn drainage practically did not work. Due to the proximity of the railway, the stadium was often shrouded in thick clouds of steam from passing trains. There wasn’t even a place for changing rooms at the stadium, so the players changed clothes in various pubs on the Oldham Road , for example, in the Three Crowns pub and the Shears Hotel ) located a couple of hundred yards from the stadium ^[5] .

In the first years after its founding, Newton Heat did not play often, mainly against other railway teams. Records of the Newton Heat games have been preserved since the 1880/81 season ^[6] .

Season 1880/81. Friendlies

Season 1881/82. Friendlies

In the 1882/83 season, the “ Gentiles ” ( English the Heathens , known by the nickname “Newton Heat”) played a total of 26 friendly matches .

In the 1883/84 season , Newton Heat applied to participate in the Lancashire Cup . This was the first season in which the club played an official match. The team flew out of the Cup in the first round, losing to the reserve team of last year's winners of the FA Cup , Blackburn Olympic , with a score of 7: 2 ^[7] .

After that, the club management decided that the county cup was too complicated a tournament for the young team, and applied for participation in a tournament called the challenge cup of Manchester and the surrounding area . In the 1884/85 season , Newton Heat reached the finals of this cup on the first try. Before the final, the team scored at least 3 goals in each match, including the first round match against Eccles, which was replayed because the Eccles coaching staff protested the third goal scored by Newton Heat players ^[7] . However, for the final match, the team lost their form and lost to the Hurst club 3-0 ^[4] (subsequently, Newton Heat reached the final of the Challenge Cup for Manchester and the surrounding area 5 times, losing only once). In the Lancashire Cup, “Newton Heat” was able to reach only the second round, after which the team did not participate in this tournament for the next four seasons.

In the 1885/86 season , Newton Heat won its first regional level trophy, becoming the owner of the Manchester Cup and the surrounding area. In 1886, the club decided to expand and improve its status from "junior" to a more professional. Famous football players across the country moved to the club: Jack Powell , who became the team captain , Jack and Roger Doughty , Tom Burke ^[8] . With increasing club status, the level of play and competition has also increased, as in the 1886/87 season , Newton Heat played for the first time in its history in the FA Cup . In the first round of the Newton Heat Cup, he met with the Fleetwood Rangers; the match ended in a draw with a score 2: 2 by the end of regular time. The referee decided to continue the match in extra time , but the captain of Newton Heat Jack Powell refused to play in extra time and the match was stopped. Fleetwood filed a protest with the Football Association . The protest was satisfied and the Fleetwood Rangers went to the next round ^[8] . After that, “Newton Heat” in protest went into voluntary “exile”, refusing to participate in the FA Cup until 1889.

In the 1887/88 season , Newton Heat won the Manchester Cup and the surrounding area again. In the summer of 1888, Newton Heat applied for entry into the Football League of England , but was refused. After that, the club became one of the founding members of an alternative league called “ Combination ” ^[9] . The first season of “Newton Heat” in the regular season began quite successfully, but in April 1889 the Combination had financial difficulties and was dissolved before the end of the season, although at the time of dissolution, “Newton Heat” was in first place in the standings. In the same season, the team won the Manchester Cup and the surrounding area ^[10] .

Football Alliance (1889–1892)

There were more and more supporters of the organization of a football tournament between clubs in different cities, not strong enough to enter the Football League of England. In 1889, a group of 12 clubs (Birmingham St. Georges, Bootle, Darven , Grimsby Town , Long Eaton Rangers, Crew Alexandra , Nottingham Forest , Newton Heat, Small Heath , Sunderland Albion, Walsall Town Swifts , and Wensday have formed the Football Alliance . In the first season of the Football Alliance, Newton Heat finished in eighth place. The club also won the Manchester Cup and the surrounding area.

The following year, Newton Heat officially abandoned the addition of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway in its title. The railroad company stopped sponsoring the club, but most of the Newton Heat players were still Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway employees.

In the 1890/91 season , Newton Heat ranked ninth in the Football Alliance.

The 1891/92 season was successful for the “ pagans ”: they finished second in the Football Alliance, losing only three matches for the entire season and eventually losing first place to the Nottingham Forest club.

First Seasons in the Football League

In the same year, there was an expansion of the Football League , which merged with the Football Alliance, and began to consist of two divisions. Newton Heath and Nottingham Forest were invited to the First Division . In the 1892/93 season , Newton Heat ranked last in the standings of the Football League First Division. In order to maintain a place in the First Division, the club had to play a playoff match against the champions of the Second Division , the club " Small Hit ". The first match between the teams ended in a draw, and the Newton Heat, which managed to retain a place in the First Division, turned out to be stronger in the replay.

In 1893, Newton Heat moved to the new Bank Street Stadium in Clayton, which was located near a chemical plant. It was said that when the Newton Heat lost, the plant spewed corrosive gases in order to disorganize the players of the guest team.

In the 1893/94 season , Newton Heat again finished the championship in last 16th place and again played the playoff match, this time with Liverpool . Newton Heat lost and became the first club in history to fly to the Second Division.

New title and first trophies

Starting with the 1894/95 season, Newton Heat played in the Second Division , in which he had to play for the next 12 seasons. The difficult financial situation faced by the club at the beginning of the 20th century had a negative impact on the team’s game results. In the 1900/1901 season, Newton Heat finished only in 10th place of the championship, having lost 16 matches with 4 draws and 14 victories. Ticket sales declined, club debts increased. The club management decided to organize a charity bazaar in order to raise funds for the team. The bazaar lasted four days, and in order to attract more public attention, a St. Bernard dog belonging to team captain Harry Stafford began to attend. A box for collecting money was tied to the dog’s back. A few days later, the dog managed to escape, after which he was somehow found by a local businessman, John Henry Davis . Davis’s daughter liked the dog, and the businessman decided to find out who owned the animal. After that, there was a meeting between Davis and the owner of the dog, Captain "Newton Heat" Harry Stafford. Stafford convinced Davis to invest in the team. As a result, they both invested £ 2000 in the club and saved the team from bankruptcy. John Henry Davis became president of the club, and on April 28, 1902, the club changed its name to Manchester United (the Manchester Celtic and Manchester Central options were also considered, but the Manchester United option proposed by Louis Rocca was selected). The color of the team’s t-shirts was also changed from green from gold to red with white. The changes came very on time, as the 1901/02 season, “Newton Heat” completed extremely unsuccessfully, finishing in 15th place and gaining only 28 points.

In the 1902/03 season, the club was already playing under the new name Manchester United. Cash investments, as well as several new players gave the team a new impetus. United won 15 matches in the league and finished fifth with 38 points.

The team started the season 1903/04 unsuccessfully, and in September 1903 Ernest Mangnell , a charismatic publicist who knows how to work with the press, was appointed head coach of the club. His dynamic style positively influenced the results of the team. By the end of the season, 28 different players played for the main roster. Mangnell believed that in training, players should run without a ball, so that in real matches held on Saturdays, players would run with a thirst to take possession of them. Players such as goalkeeper Harry Moger and striker Charlie Sagar came to the club . In the first season, under the leadership of Mangnell, United took third place in the Second Division. In the 1904/05 season, United set a record by not losing for 18 consecutive matches after losing to Bolton 2-0 in September 1904. Only in February 1905 the club lost to Lincoln 3-0. This season, United took third place with 53 points. At this time, the club was experiencing financial difficulties, as they were forbidden to sell alcohol at the stadium.

In the 1905/06 season, Manchester United took 2nd place in the league, securing access to the First Division, and also reached the quarter finals of the FA Cup , defeating Aston Villa in the fifth round of the tournament with a score of 5: 1. The key role in this was played by the team’s brilliant midline in the person of the central midfielder and team captain Charlie Roberts and extreme midfielders Dick Duckuert and Alex Bell . Twelve years later, Manchester United returned to the First Division. ^[eleven]

In 1906, a football scandal erupted around Manchester City in England: the club was caught in financial fraud and was forced to auction most of its players. Thus, the legendary Welsh winger Billy Meredith , as well as Herbert Burgess , Sandy Turnbull and Jimmy Bannister , moved from City to United. Transfers were successful: thanks to Billy Meredith’s brilliant passes and Sandy Turnbull’s goals, Manchester United won their first First Division title in the 1907/08 season. At the end of the season, United received the right to play in the first ever Super Bowl match against the winners of the FA Cup , Queens Park Rangers . United won 4-0 with a hat-trick by Jimmy Turnbull, Sandy Turnbull’s namesake.

The following season, Manchester United achieved their first success in the FA Cup, winning in the 1909 finals against Bristol City 1-0. Sandy Turnbull scored the only goal in this meeting, and Billy Meredith was recognized as the player of the match.

The Rebels

After the creation of the Football Union, the differences between football players and clubs grew. Employers of football players did not recognize the membership of the players in the union . As a result, before the start of the 1909/10 season, the leadership of the Football League decided to disqualify, without paying a salary, any players in the union.

This decision has outraged many players, especially Manchester United players. They refused to leave the union. Many clubs began to attract amateur football players to replace disqualified professionals, but United could not sign enough amateurs. It was during this period that the famous photo of the Outcasts FC football club, made up of United players, was taken. As a result, one day before the start of the season, the League leadership reversed its decision, having removed all disqualifications and officially recognized the union of football players.

Old Trafford

1909 became an important point in the history of the club for one more reason. John Henry Davis again earmarked £ 60,000 (a lot of money for that period) to move the club to a new stadium, Old Trafford . The first United match at the new stadium took place on February 19, 1910 - it was a meeting with Liverpool , which the Merseysides won in an equal fight with a score of 4: 3.

In the 1910/11 season , Manchester United won the championship again, ahead of Aston Villa by one point. In the last round of the championship, United defeated Sunderland with a score of 5: 1 ( Harold Hals was noted as a “double”). Hals also scored six goals in a match at the English Super Bowl , ending with United defeating Swindon Town with a score of 8: 4.

The next season, 1911/12, was unsuccessful for United. The club finished the championship only in 13th place. Mangnell resigned by moving to Manchester City . The new coach of Manchester United was John Bentley , president of the Football League. Under his leadership, the club took 4th place in the 1912/13 season. However, the attendance of team matches fell to 15,000, and the roster began to age.

In December 1914, the posts of secretary and head coach were first divided. John Bentley was appointed secretary, and Jack Robson received the right to manage the team and choose the composition for matches.

Robson's team was only a shadow of the team formed by Mangnell. Of the roster who won the FA Cup in 1909, only George Stacy, Billy Meredith, Sandy Turnbull and George Wall remained in the club. Only one point saved the club from relegation to the Second Division in the 1914/15 season. The three United players ( Inok West , Arthur Wally and Sandy Turnbull) were then accused of organizing a contractual match with Liverpool players, in which United had to win. This provoked the British scandal of 1915 . United players were found guilty of organizing a match and were disqualified for life.

In connection with the outbreak of World War I, competitions in the Football League were suspended. During the war, Manchester United played in the local Lancashire tournament.

Sandy Turnbull joined the ranks of the British Army, and in May 1917 he was killed in France.

After World War I

The championship resumed in 1919, and many new faces appeared in Manchester United. Of the generation of Mangnell's time, only two players remain. But, despite this, United did not perform very well, taking only 12th place in the first post-war season, although attendance at home club matches often exceeded 40,000. The unsuccessful performances of United took place against the backdrop of the successful restructuring of Manchester City , which was led by former United coach Ernest Mangnell . In the 1921/22 season, Manchester United performed even worse, having won only eight of 42 matches and conceded 72 goals, after which they flew out of the First Division. Billy Meredith left the team in 1921 , following Mangnell to Manchester City .

United, speaking in the Second Division, was only a shadow of the former team. There were no star football players from the pre-war era in the club, and only Joe Spence differed from the new players, who consistently scored for his club. Fans are already used to seeing little-known teams such as Clapton and South Shields at Old Trafford. In its first season, after flying to the Second Division, United finished in 4th place, and in the 1923/24 season it was already in 14th place, losing to clubs like Clapton.

In 1925, United returned to the top division of the championship under the leadership of John Chapman , who again combined the duties of the head coach and secretary, thus replacing two people at once: coach John Robson and secretary John Bentley. That season Manchester United took second place after Leicester City , thanks in large part to Frank Barson , who was hired to boost the team’s spirit. In 1927, one of the main figures in the history of the club, John Henry Davis , who saved the team from bankruptcy and financed the construction of the Old Trafford stadium, died. He was replaced by JH Lawton, who once coached United, as club president. In the same year, Chapman received a lifelong disqualification from football, the reasons for which are known only to him and the Football Association. Until the end of the season, the acting head coach of United was an experienced football player Lal Hildich . The team lost 15 matches and finished the championship only in 15th place.

In the 1927/28 season, Herbert Bamlett was appointed the head coach of the team, who had already managed to prove himself to Manchester fans in a bad light, having canceled the United ball in a match with Burnley in the FA Cup in 1909, and was booed a little if not at every match. However, he managed to win the FA Cup with the club. However, despite the success of Joe Spence in scoring, in the championship United continued to perform unsuccessfully, not rising above 12th place, and in the 1930/31 season he lost 12 starting matches in a row and finished the championship in last place. The financial situation in the club also remained tense, and Herbert Bamlett, who was under a powerful wave of criticism, was fired. The next season, club secretary Walter Krickmer was appointed head coach, and chief scout Luis Rocca became his assistant. The club simply did not have the money to invite an experienced coach to the team. On Christmas week, the players came for a salary, but they were told that the club has no money. United once again stood on the brink of bankruptcy.

This time James William Gibson , a local textile business entrepreneur, saved the club from ruin. He was reached by sports journalist from Manchester Stacy Lintott, who reported on the club’s financial problems. James Gibson met with the club's board of directors and offered financial assistance, in return for which he demanded the post of chairman of Manchester United and the authority to appoint club directors. The board of directors agreed, and Gibson invested £ 30,000 in the club. Scott Duncan , one of the first coaches of the new generation to complete the career of professional football players, was invited to the post of head coach of the team (currently this is a universal phenomenon, but it was rare in those years).

Duncan and the Cricker again

The first season under the leadership of Duncan (1932/33) was relatively successful: the team took sixth place, but already in the 1933/34 season, United achieved the lowest result in its history of playing in the Football League . On the last day of the season, the team was in second place from the end of the second division standings and had an away game with Millwall club, ahead of United by 1 point. United defeated Millwall 2-0 with Tom Manley and Jack Cape goals and retained a spot in the Second Division. That week, United's main rival, Manchester City , won the FA Cup, with Matt Busby playing in the city, who will become Manchester United's coach in the future.

In the 1934/35 season, the club performed better, winning ten of its eleven matches in October and November 1934. It seemed that stability returned to the team, and the fans began to fill the Old Trafford stands again. This season the club finished in 5th place, and in the 1935/36 season won the Second Division, giving a series of 19 matches without defeats at the finish of the season. The title of the Second Division was won in the match against Bury , which United won 3-2, thanks to the goals of Manley and George Match, before the eyes of 31 thousand fans who, after the end of the match, ran onto the field, celebrating the team’s return to the First division.

The joy of the fans did not last long: in the next season, the club again flew to the Second Division. United was also played by Walter Winterbottom , who later became the head coach of the England national football team . Scott Duncan left the club, and Krickmer again became the head coach. According to the results of the 1937/38 season, United, having a debt of £ 70,000, took second place and returned to the First Division, and now did not leave the top division of English football until the 1974/75 season.

Among the young talents of the club, Johnny Carey , Jack Rowley and Stan Pearson stood out brighter. The club completed the 1938/39 season in 14th place, after which the competition was discontinued due to the outbreak of World War II .

Old Trafford Bombing

During World War II (1939–1945), official football tournaments were not held in England, but Manchester United took part in unofficial regional tournaments. Old Trafford Stadium was badly damaged after a German air raid on Manchester on the morning of March 11, 1941 . It took eight years to reconstruct it, and until 1949 United played home games at Main Road , Manchester City Stadium.

The Parish of Matt Busby

In 1945, a five-year contract with Manchester United was signed by Matt Busby , who was only 36 years old. He was known for his innovative ideas, combining coaching and managerial work in the club. It is believed that he was the first head coach of the club, who went on the field with other players during training. He brought together a number of experienced players on one team, including former Celtic footballer Jimmy Delaney , Jack Rowley , Charlie Mitten and Johnny Morris , who together with Stan Pearson formed the “ famous five ” forwards, which added strength and attacking power to the team. Busby also began to create a youth training system, which in the future brought great dividends to the club. In addition, during the war, Matt Busby found a great helper, Jimmy Murphy , who was involved in training young players, scouting, and also became Busby's assistant during training and matches. The tandem with him allowed Busby to make Manchester United one of the strongest teams in the world.

The championship of England resumed in the 1946/47 season. “For the first time in 36 years, United took 2nd place at the end of the season. In addition, the reserve team won the Central League for reservists. This gave rise to optimism for both fans and club directors. In the 1947/48 season, the club again took 2nd place in the championship, and also won the FA Cup for the first time in 39 years, winning the Blackpool final match with a score of 4: 2. The 1948 FA Cup was the first of many trophies won by Matt Busby. The team’s home stadium, Old Trafford , was destroyed by German bombing during World War II , so United played their home games at Manchester City , Main Road , from 1945 to 1949. Reconstruction of the stadium was carried out, largely thanks to fans who showed an incredibly high percentage of attendance in the 1947/48 season. United fans have bought about a million tickets for their team's matches this season.

Manchester United won the First Division in the 1951/52 season, 41 years after their last championship. In the last round of the championship, United, led by captain Johnny Carey , defeated the Arsenal in second place with a score of 6: 1 and finished in first place, ahead of the Gunners by four points. However, this team was already quite old and the coach faced the task of replacing most of the “veterans” with young players.

Baby Busby

Matt Busby made a completely atypical decision for his time on how to restructure the team. Instead of spending huge sums of money on famous football players, he invited teenagers who had recently graduated from school to the team. Within five years, Busby made only two serious transfers, signing winger Johnny Berry from Birmingham City and center forward Tommy Taylor from Barnsley . A little later, in 1956, Busby bought goalkeeper Harry Gregg .

The first of the young Busby pupils who entered the field were Jackie Blanchflower and Roger Byrne in the 1951/52 season. United won the championship of England this season, and when Johnny Carey finished his career in the 1952/53 season, other Busby kids started to make their way to United. Dennis Wiollet , Duncan Edwards , Bill Foulkes and David Pegg , who debuted in the 1952/53 season. Many players of that time were discovered by United Scouts: the main scout, Joe Armstrong (he was looking for talented players in the north of England), Bob Bishop (Belfast), Billy Beekhan (Dublin) and Bob Harper. In the 1953/54 season, United finished in 8th place, in the 1954/55 season - in 5th, until it finally won the championship in the 1955/56 season, ahead of the closest pursuers by 11 points. The average age of the team that won the championship was 22 years. The success of the team was largely determined by the brilliant attacking duo of strikers Tommy Taylor and Dennis Wiollet . Despite the resistance of the Football League , United became the first English club in the European Cup .

One of the most striking football players of that team was Duncan Edwards , who became the youngest player to be called up to the England team - he entered the field in a match against Scotland at the age of 17 years and 8 months. This record lasted 50 years and was broken only in 1998 by Michael Owen . In addition, he owned a different age record - he went to his first match in the First Division when he was 16 years old 185 days. Edwards remained a true legend in the fans' memory, as evidenced by a 1999 fan poll in which Duncan finished 6th on the list of the 50 greatest United players of all time.

In the 1956/57 season, Manchester United defended their league title. Tommy Taylor scored 22 goals, Liam Whelan - 26, and young Bobby Charlton - 10 goals. In the same season, United reached the final of the FA Cup , in which they met with Aston Villa . Already in the 6th minute of the match, United goalkeeper Ray Wood was injured, and since there were no substitutions in football at that time, the remaining time at the gate was spent by quarterback Jackie Blanchflower. United eventually lost to Ville 2-1.

The first European match for United was an away game with the champion of Belgium, Anderlecht , which ended in a victory for the English club with a score of 2: 0. The return match was held at Main Road ( Old Trafford could not yet receive European matches, since there were no spotlights on it). United defeated the opponent with a score of 10: 0. This result is still a record victory for Manchester United in European competition. Then United defeated Dortmund Borussia and Athletic Bilbao , but lost to Real Madrid in the semi-finals.

Munich plane crash

It seemed that the " Busby kids " are simply doomed to success in the home and European arena. In the 1957/58 season, talk began about “treble” - a victory in the championship, the FA Cup and the European Cup. But fate judged otherwise. On February 6, 1958, the Airspeed Ambassador plane, in which footballers flew home from Belgrade, crashed, taking the lives of eight United players.

United arrived in Yugoslavia to play the second quarterfinal match of the European Cup with the Red Star . The first home match in Manchester ended with a victory for United with a score of 2: 1. In Belgrade , Manchester United quickly scored three goals, but then gave the initiative to the opponent and the hosts played three goals. The match ended with the score 3: 3. “ Reds ” reached the semifinals, as they were leading in the sum of two meetings with a score of 5: 4. After the disaster, United won only one match in the championship, because of which it flew out of the champion race and took only ninth place in the season ^[12] . United were able to reach the final of the FA Cup , although they lost to Bolton in it 2-0 ^[12] , and also beat Milan at Old Trafford in the semifinals of the European Cup, but, unfortunately, in In the second leg at San Siro , Milan won with a score of 4: 0 ^[12] .

Team Restoration and Rebuilding in the 60s

Due to injuries, Jackie Blanchflower and Johnny Berry never played football again, and Kenny Morgans was never able to reach the level at which he played before the disaster. Severely injured, Matt Busby spent 2 months in the hospital. His chances of survival were initially rated at no more than 50%.

While Busby was recovering from injuries, his assistant Jimmy Murphy became the interim head coach. After the Munich tragedy, United won only one of the 14 remaining matches in the championship and finished in 9th place. However, the team successfully performed in the FA Cup , reaching the finals of this tournament , in which they lost to Bolton 2-0. At the end of the season, UEFA invited the Football Association of England to approve two clubs: Champions, Wolverhampton Wanderers , and Manchester United, to commemorate the victims of the Munich tragedy, to participate in the 1958/59 European Cup . However, the Football Association refused.

After the death of most of the " baby Busby " Matt Busby had to create a new team. It was based on the survivors of the Munich disaster, Bobby Charlton and Bill Foulkes . Club breeders began to actively search for new talented players.

In 1963, a young North Irish footballer, George Best , made his United debut as part of an offensive trio with Bobby Charlton and Denis Low , which became the Manchester United brand name in the 1960s . The first trophy of Manchester United after the Munich disaster was the FA Cup, won in the 1962/63 season in the match against Leicester City . In the 1963/64 season, Denis Low scored a record 46 goals in all tournaments. This season United finished in second place, behind the champion, Liverpool, by 4 points. Already in the next season 1964/65, United won the championship, ahead of Leeds United in terms of goal difference. From September to December 1964, United scored 13 victories in 15 matches. In addition, the team showed itself in the European arena, reaching the semi-finals of the Fairs Cup . The restructuring of the team was completed.

In 1966, England hosted the World Cup , and Old Trafford became one of the stadiums that underwent reconstruction at the expense of government spending in preparation for the world championship. United players Bobby Charlton and Nobby Styles played for England in the World Cup finals , beating West Germany with a score of 4: 2.

In the 1966/67 season, United did not lose in the last 20 matches of the championship, and after defeating West Ham with a score of 6: 1, he secured a champion title and qualification for the European Cup in the next season.

1968 European Triumph

After winning the championship of the 1966/67 season, the club got the opportunity to play in the European Cup. Having passed all the stages of the tournament, Manchester United for the first time overcame the stage of the semifinals, which he could not overcome in the previous two seasons. This year the club for the first time in its history reached the final of the European Cup , where it met with the Portuguese club Benfica . Manchester United won the match 4-1 and became the first English club to win this prestigious club trophy of the Old World. In the championship, the club took second place, losing two points to Manchester City .

Shortly afterwards, Matt Busby was knighted.

The End of the Matt Busby Era

The 1968/69 season was the last for Busby. The club took 11th place in the championship and made it to the semifinals of the European Cup. At the end of the season, Busby officially left the club’s head coach and became its director. The great Busby era is over.

• The club. History by Decade. 1878-1899 (English) . ManUtd.com . Archived on August 19, 2011.
• The club. History by Decade. 1900-1909 (English) . ManUtd.com . Archived on August 19, 2011.
• The club. History by Decade. 1910-1919 (English) . ManUtd.com . Archived on August 19, 2011.
• The club. History by Decade. 1920-1929 (English) . ManUtd.com . Archived on August 19, 2011.
• The club. History by Decade. 1930-1939 (English) . ManUtd.com . Archived on August 19, 2011.
• The club. History by Decade. 1940-1949 (English) . ManUtd.com . Archived on August 19, 2011.
• The club. History by Decade. 1950-1959 (English) . ManUtd.com . Archived on August 19, 2011.
• The club. History by Decade. 1960-1969 (English) . ManUtd.com . Archived on August 19, 2011.