Manchester United History

By Author: Sarah James
Total Articles: 16
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It is hard to imagine Manchester United as anything other than one of the richest and most popular clubs in football today, yet when the club was founded in 1878, its members were little more than a few railroad workers from Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. Then the club was known as the Newton Heath LYR Football Club and only competed in football matches against other LYR departments or other railroad companies. Due to lack of confidence in their abilities, the club waited to join the English Football League until 1892, four years after the league opened.

In 1902, several local businessmen, including John Henry Davies, invested in Newton Heath to alleviate the club's financial problems. Davies became president and changed the club's name to Manchester United in May 1902. Davies also purchased the land that would later be the home of Old Trafford Stadium. In 1910 United played their first game at the stadium, losing 4-3 to Liverpool. Despite this early loss, United became League Champions during their first full season at Old Trafford.

Manchester United's performance struggled just before the League was temporarily ...
... suspended due to the outbreak of the First World War. When the League resumed in 1919, United returned with an entirely new rooster, save for Billy Meredith and Joe Spense who both played for United during the 1914/15 season. However, the team's success continued to decline and at the end of the 1927/28 season, United finished 18th in the division.

United's performance continued to decline when the team lost their first twelve matches of the 1930/31 season. The team ended the season losing nearly two-thirds of their games. Their performance led to the resignation of manager Herbert Bamlett. United was on the verge of bankruptcy when James Gibson invested £30,000 into the club and designated Scott Duncan as manager. Duncan, however, mismanaged Gibson's money and the club continued to struggle until 1938 when, with the help of new fullback Johnny Carey, United finished the season 14th in the division. However, their jubilation was short-lived as the onset of the Second World War led to another suspension of the League, this time for several years.

Manchester United saw great success when the League reopened with new manager Matt Busby, who would build United into one of greatest football teams in English history. After Busby's resignation in 1969, the team would struggle to find a strong manager until 1986, when United hired their current manager, Alex Ferguson. United achieved tremendous success under Ferguson, including making history by becoming the first English football team to win the FA Cup, the Premier League and UEFA Champions League in one season. United would also secure victory at the 2008 FIFA World Cup.

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