Wednesday, October 3, 2012

United lost five times in the entire season

United lost five times in the entire season; three times in the league, as well as in the Charity Shield at the start of the season, and their League Cup quarter-final, in which they were defeated by eventual winners, Tottenham Hotspur. They defeated every other Premier League team at least once and were undefeated in the Champions League – Barcelona was the only team that United played in Europe without beating them at least once. Sony Vaio VGN-FZ31J Battery At the expense of their presence in the 1999–2000 FA Cup, Manchester United competed in the inaugural FIFA Club World Championship, but failed to make it past the group stage. However, the team won 16 of their remaining 20 Premier League games to win the title with an 18-point margin over runners-up Arsenal, losing just three games all season. Sony Vaio VGN-FZ31B Battery The following season, Manchester United won a third successive league title the following season, Alex Ferguson becoming first manager to achieve this feat. At the end of the season, Teddy Sheringham collected both the PFA Player of the Year award and the FWA Player of the Year award, before returning to Tottenham Hotspur; Sony Vaio VGN-FZ32B Battery he was succeeded by club record signing Ruud van Nistelrooy, a record swiftly broken by the £28.1 million signing of Argentine midfielder Juan Sebastián Verón. 2001–02 was a trophyless season; Manchester United was knocked out of the Champions League by Bayer Leverkusen, the FA Cupby Middlesbrough, and finished third in the Premier League. Sony Vaio VGN-FZ32 Battery The season was also marked by the decision of Sir Alex Ferguson to make a U-turn and stay on as manager, after he had stated that he would retire at the end of the season after fifteen years at the club.[25] The 2002 close season saw the club break the national transfer record with the £29 million signing ofLeeds United and England centre-half Rio Ferdinand.[26] Sony Vaio VGN-FZ38M Battery He helped Manchester United to another Premier League title in 2002–03, the club's eighth title in 11 seasons.[27] The league success was one of the more remarkable because the team were 8-points behind leaders Arsenal in March 2003.[28] Soon afterwards, David Beckham was sold to Real Madrid for £25 million, following arguments with Ferguson. Sony Vaio VGN-FZ31Z Battery Before the start of the season, a highly rated 18-year old Cristiano Ronaldo arrived from Sporting CP for £12.24 million. In the 2003–04 season, Manchester United won the FA Cup for the 11th time in their history, but after Rio Ferdinand received an eight-month suspension for failing to attend a drugs test, the club finished third in the Premier League. Sony VAIO VPCS11AGJ Battery Just after the start of the 2004–05 campaign, the club signed highly-regarded 19-year-old striker Wayne Rooney from Everton for £25.6 million. In the 2004 Final, United defeated Millwall 3–0. The club reached the FA Cup final again the following season, but were beaten by Arsenal in a penalty shoot-out, the first time that the FA Cup Final had been decided on penalties. Sony VAIO VPCS11AHJ Battery Chelsea finished this season as Premier League champions; Manchester United finished third. In May 2005, the Glazer family acquired a majority shareholding in Manchester United in a takeover valuing the club at £800 million, and a month later delisted it from the London Stock Exchange.[29] In protest, a group of fans formed a splinter club, F.C. United of Manchester. Sony VAIO VPCS11AVJ Battery The following season's European campaign saw the club finish bottom of its group in the UEFA Champions League, failing to qualify for the UEFA Cup, the first time the club had not reached the knock-out stages of the tournament since it was created in 1992.[32] Sony VAIO VPCS11J7E/B Battery In November, Roy Keane left the club in acrimonious fashion after criticising his fellow players so severely in an MUTV interview that chief executive David Gill ordered it not to be broadcast.[33] The subsequent January transfer window saw the arrival of defenders Nemanja Vidić and Patrice Evra, who helped the club to its second League Cup, Sony VAIO VPCS11M1E/W Battery defeating Wigan Athletic 4–0 in the final at the Millennium Stadium.[34] However, Manchester United finished second in the Premier League, eight points behind champions Chelsea. In the 2006–07 season, Manchester United suffered a shock fourth round exit from the Carling Cup at the hands of Southend United.[35] Sony VAIO VPCS11V9E Battery The club's Champions League campaign was more successful; in the second leg of their quarter-final, the team defeated Roma 7–1 (8–3 on aggregate), the club's largest margin of victory in a European game since they beat the Irish team Waterford United 7–1 in the first round of the 1968 European Cup.[36] Sony VAIO VPCS11V9E/B Battery However, the club lost to AC Milan in the semi-finals. On 22 April 2007, Cristiano Ronaldo won both PFA Players' Player of the Year and PFA Young Player of the Year and joined Edwin van der Sar, Rio Ferdinand, Gary Neville, Nemanja Vidić, Patrice Evra, Paul Scholes, and Ryan Giggs in the PFA Team of the Year; eight members from the same team is a record. Sony VAIO VPCS11X9E/B Battery On 6 May, Manchester United won the Premier League for the 9th time in 15 years; Ryan Giggs broke Alan Hansen's record for the most league titles won, with his ninth winner's medal. The following season, the club was knocked out of the FA Cup in a Sixth Round clash against Portsmouth, Sony VAIO VPCS123FGB Battery a match in which Rio Ferdinand acted as goalkeeper following injury to Van der Sar and Kuszczak being sent-off. In the Champions League, Manchester United defeated Barcelona in the semi-final to set up the first all-English final, in Moscow. Following a 1–1 draw in normal time, the club defeatedChelsea 6–5 on penalties, winning the club's third European Cup. Sony VAIO VPCS125EC Battery Ryan Giggs made a record 759th appearance for the club, breaking Bobby Charlton's record and scored Manchester United's seventh penalty. The club also won the Premier League on the final day of the season, defeating Wigan Athletic 2–0, to win the European double. Sony VAIO VPCS128EC Battery In December 2008, the club beat LDU Quito in the final of the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup in Japan, becoming the first English team to win the competition. That season, Manchester United broke the both the English and European league records for the most time played without conceding a goal and on 1 March, Sony VAIO VPCS129GC Battery in the 2009 League Cup Final, the club beat Tottenham 4–1 on penalties. On 16 May, United secured their 11th Premier League title – and 18th league title overall (equalling the record held by Liverpool) – following a 0–0 draw at home to Arsenal. This was the second time the club had won three consecutive Premier League titles, Sony VAIO VPCS12C7E/B Battery but Manchester United was beaten 2–0 by Barcelona in the final in Rome on 27 May. In the following summer transfer window, Cristiano Ronaldo was sold to Real Madrid for a world record £80 million and Carlos Tevez joined local rivals Manchester City, after his loan spell came to an end.[37] Sony VAIO VPCS12L9E/B Battery On 28 February 2010, Manchester United defeated Aston Villa 2–1 at Wembley to retain the League Cup, the first time the club had successfully defended a knockout cup competition.[17] However, they were knocked out of the Champions League in the quarter-finals by Bayern Munich on away goals,[38] Sony VAIO VPCS12V9E/B Battery and were runners-up in the Premier League, finishing one point behind Chelsea.[39] During the summer, they signed an almost unknown Javier Hernandez from Guadalajara. On 8 August 2010, Manchester United defeated Chelsea 3–1 to win the FA Community Shield. The 2010–11 campaign was a successful one, Sony VAIO VPCY115FGS Battery with Manchester United overhauling early leaders Chelsea and securing a record 19th league title with a 1–1 away draw against Blackburn on 14 May 2011. They faced Barcelona again in the 2011 UEFA Champions League Final, but were defeated again 3–1. In the 2011-2012 season, Manchester United were knocked out of the League Cup by Football League Championship side Crystal Palace in the fifth round.[40] Sony VAIO VPCY115FX/BI Battery Just over a week later, they were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League in the group stages after a shock defeat to FC Basel, sending them to the UEFA Europa League for the first time.[41] In January, Manchester United were also knocked out of the FA Cup in the fourth round by Liverpool.[42] The 2011-12 campaign was ended trophyless for Manchester United. Sony VAIO VPCY115FXBI Battery Under the Glazer ownership, United have won 13 major trophies, including four Premier League titles, three Football League Cups, four FA Community Shields, one UEFA Champions League, and one FIFA Club World Cup. Manchester United Football Club was formed in 1878 as Newton Heath LYR Football Club Sony VAIO VPCY118EC Battery by the Carriage and Wagon department of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway depot at Newton Heath.[1] The team initially played games against other departments and rail companies at their home ground at North Road, but by 1888 the club had become a founding member of The Combination, a regional football league. Sony VAIO VPCY118GX/BI Battery However, following the league's dissolution before the end of its first season, Newton Heath joined the newly formed Football Alliance, which ran for three seasons before being merged with The Football League. This resulted in the club starting the 1892–93 season in the First Division, Sony VAIO VPCY119FJ/S Battery by which time it had become independent of the rail company, dropped the "LYR" from its name and moved to a new ground at Bank Street.[1] After just two seasons, the club was relegated to the Second Division.[1] In January 1902, with debts of £2,670 – equivalent to £210,000 as of 2012[2] – the club was served with a winding-up order.[3] Sony VAIO VPCY11AFJ Battery Captain Harry Stafford found four local businessmen – including John Henry Davies, who became club president – each willing to invest £500 in return for a direct interest in running the club.[4] As a mark of this fresh start, on 24 April 1902, the club's name was changed to "Manchester United".Sony VAIO VPCY11AGJ Battery Under Ernest Mangnall, who became club secretary in 1903, the team finished as Second Division runners-up in 1906 and secured promotion to the First Division, which it won in 1908 – the club's first league title. The following season began with victory in the first ever Charity Shield[7] and ended with the club's first FA Cup title. Sony VAIO VPCY11AHJ Battery Manchester United moved to a new stadium at Old Trafford in 1910, and won the First Division for the second time in 1911, but at the end of the following season, secretary Mangnall left to join Manchester City.[8] In 1922, three years after the resumption of football following the First World War, Sony VAIO VPCY11AVJ Battery the club was relegated to the Second Division, where it remained until regaining promotion in 1925. Relegated again in 1931, Manchester United became a yo-yo club, achieving its all-time lowest position of 20th-place in the Second Division in 1934. Following the death of John Henry Davies in October 1927, Sony VAIO VPCY11M1E/S Battery the club's finances deteriorated to the extent that Manchester United would likely have gone bankrupt had it not been for an investment of £2,000 in December 1931 by James W. Gibson, who assumed control of the club.[9] In the 1938–39 season – the last year of football before the Second World War – the club finished 14th in the First Division.[9] Sony VAIO VPCY11S1E Battery During the war, the club participated in the Wartime League and the Football League War Cup, but in 1941, Old Trafford was damaged by German bombs and would not be fully repaired until 1949. In 1878 the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company granted permission for the employees of its Carriage and Wagon department to start a football team, Sony VAIO VPCY11V9E/S Battery which was subsequently named Newton Heath LYR. LYR stood for "Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway" and was used to distinguish the team from their colleagues from the Motive Power Division, who were known as Newton Heath Loco.[1] The team was funded by the railway company, who paid the lease on its first home ground, Sony VAIO VPCY218EC/BI Battery a field close to the railway yard on North Road. It is said that the players were "tough, diligent men who formed a powerful side";[1] they initially played games against other teams of railway workers, very few of which were recorded.[11] During the 1882–83 season, Sony VAIO VPCY218EC/G Battery the team played a total of 26 recorded friendly matches, and the following season competed in the Lancashire Cup but lost 7–2 in the first round to the reserve team of Blackburn Olympic.[12] In 1884, Newton Heath LYR applied for the Manchester and District Challenge Cup and reached the final, which they lost 3–0 to Hurst at Whalley Range.[13] Sony VAIO VPCY218EC/L Battery The team never failed to score at least three goals in each of the rounds leading up to the final, including in a first round match against Eccles that had to be replayed after the Eccles management protested about Newton Heath's third goal.[12] Newton Heath reached the final of the Manchester and District Challenge Cup a further five times, winning all but one. Sony VAIO VPCY218EC/P Battery Meanwhile, in 1886, the club began to expand by signing players of national reputation such as Jack Powell, who became club captain, Jack and Roger Doughty, and Tom Burke.[14] In 1886–87 the club entered the FA Cup for the first time and were drawn away to Fleetwood Rangers in the first round; Sony VAIO VPCY21S1E/L Battery they managed to earn a 2–2 but when club captain Jack Powell refused to play a period of extra time, Fleetwood were awarded the tie. A subsequent unsuccessful protest to the Football Association[14] led to Newton Heath LYR entering a self-imposed exile from the FA Cup, which lasted until 1889. Sony VAIO VPCY21S1E/P Battery In 1888, having been spurned by the newly formed the Football League, Newton Heath entered their first ever league competition, becoming founder members of The Combination.[15] In April 1889, The Combination hit financial difficulties and was wound up before the season could be completed.[16] Sony VAIO VPCY21S1E/SI Battery In 1890, after an unsuccessful application (they received only one vote) to join the Football League, Newton Heath and 11 other clubs not in the League formed an organisation known as the Football Alliance, in which they finished eighth in the first season. After three further applications, Sony VAIO VPCCW2S1E/P Battery the club joined the Football League when it merged with the Football Alliance in 1892 and Newton Heath was elected to the First Division. In their final season in the Football Alliance, the club finished second to Nottingham Forest, who joined them in the First Division. Sony VAIO VPCCW2S1E/R Battery By this time, the club had severed its formal ties with the railway company and had dropped the "LYR" from their name, although most players were still employees of the railway company. The club had also become a limited company, raising £2000 of share capital (at £1 each) via an application form which was returned to club secretary A.H.Albut, the club's first full-time official, who also assumed managerial duties. Sony VAIO VPCCW2S1E/W Battery In their first season in the Football League, Newton Heath finished in last place and retained their First Division status by virtue of a win against Second Division champions Small Heath (later Birmingham City F.C.) in the playoff. In 1893, the team moved to a new ground in Bank Street, Clayton, next to a chemical plant. Sony VAIO VPCCW2S5C CN1 Battery It was said that when Newton Heath were losing, the plant would belch out acrid fumes in a bid to affect the visiting team. The 1893–94 campaign, however, was no better, and they once again were in the relegation playoff against Liverpool. This time Newton Heath were defeated 2–0 and had the dubious honour of being the first team to be relegated to the Second Division. Sony VAIO VPCF112FX/B Battery On 9 March 1895, the manager of visiting Walsall Town Swifts registered an official complaint against the state of the pitch; "drab expanses of wet sand, tufted sparsely with grass". The game went ahead and Newton Heath beat Walsall Town 14–0, the largest unofficial margin of victory in the clubs history, Sony VAIO VPCF115FG/B Battery but the result was declared null and void. In 1897, the club made the play-offs but failed to make back into the First Division. They managed only 10th place in the 1901 season, losing more games than they won and with ticket sales flagging and debts mounting, Sony VAIO VPCF116FGBI Battery the club decided to hold a four-day bazaar to raise money at St James Hall, Manchester. One of the attractions was a St. Bernard dog, which escaped with a collection tin on one of the nights after the bazaar had closed. The dog then found its way to John Henry Davies whose daughter became so smitten with it that he enquired about the origin of the tin, and in doing so saved the club. Sony VAIO VPCF117FJ/W Battery On 9 January 1902, Club President William Healey applied to the court for a winding-up order against the club, claiming he was owed £242 17s. 10d.[17] On Monday, 13 January 1902, the Manchester Guardian reported: "“Attention was directed to the Second League by the unusual experience of Newton Heath. Sony VAIO VPCF117HG/BI Battery The club is financially in a bad way. A winding up order to meet a debt of £242 precipitated matters last week and no arrangements could be made for playing the game fixed for Saturday. One hears that a new club will be formed out of the ashes of the old one, but this has not been decided definitely.” Sony VAIO VPCF118FJ/W Battery Newton Heath were revived in time to play their next fixture on Saturday, 18 January 1902.[18] It was the escape and recapturing of the dog which led to the meeting between team captain Harry Stafford and Davies, who would lead a group of businessmen. Together, they came up with £2,000 to save the club. Sony VAIO VPCF119FC Battery John Henry Davies became the club president, and on 24 April 1902, given that the team now had few ties with its origins; it was no longer based in Newton Heath, the new owners renamed the club Manchester United Football Club, after considering the alternate names "Manchester Celtic" and "Manchester Central". They also changed the team's colours to red and white. Sony VAIO VPCF119FC/BI Battery Having been saved from liquidation by four wealthy businessmen, the club played its first season as Manchester United in 1902–03. The badly needed injection of cash, plus some new players, gave the flagging side the boost it needed. They won 15 league games, notched up 38 points and finished fifth. Sony VAIO VPCF119FJ/BI Battery After a bad start to the season, the club took another important step in 1903 in hiring their first real team manager, Ernest Mangnall, a charismatic publicist who knew how to work the media. Under his leadership, the team finished third in the Second Division. The following season, Sony VAIO VPCF11AFJ Battery Manchester United set a record when they went 18 games undefeated after losing to Bolton 2–0 in September 1904 up until they lost to Lincoln City 3–0 in February 1905. During the season they finished 3rd with 53 points. Off the field the club suffered a financial setback when they were banned from selling alcohol inside the ground. Sony VAIO VPCF11AGJ Battery Mangnall created United's first successful side with a series of signings, eventually winning promotion in 1906. They finished second overall and reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, beating Aston Villa 5–1 in the fifth round. Among these signings was Billy Meredith, the legendary winger who was probably the greatest player of that era. Sony VAIO VPCF11AHJ Battery Ernest Mangnall managed to sign star defender Herbert Burgess, Alec "Sandy" Turnbull, and Jimmy Bannister after a scandal hitManchester City and forced them to sell off most of their team. It paid off, and Manchester United won their first League Championship in 1908. They even attempted to sign Australian rugby footballer, Sony VAIO VPCF11JFX/B Battery Dally Messenger, a man recognised by some to be the top footballer of any code in his day. The next year, FA Cup success would follow as they beat Bristol City in the final 1–0. Sandy Turnbull scored the only goal and Billy Meredith was named man of the match. Sony VAIO VPCF11M1E Battery 1909 was also a milestone for United for another reason. John Henry Davies once again lent financial support by lending £60,000, a huge sum at the time, to finalise the team's move to Old Trafford. They played their first game there on 19 February 1910 as Liverpool spoiled the celebrations with a 4–3 win in a close game. Sony VAIO VPCF11M1E/H Battery Ernest Mangnall's leadership brought United to their first successful era. They would be the first winners of the Charity Shield in 1908, and the League again in 1911 pipping Aston Villa on a tense last day of the season. The Charity Shield victory in 1911 would be the end of this era and Mangnall would leave the next year for Manchester City. Sony VAIO VPCF11MFX/B Battery Manchester United players, in particular, Charlie Roberts and Billy Meredith, were instrumental in forming the Association of Football Players' and Trainers' Union (the AFPTU) (which the press called the Players' Union) in December 1907, the second attempt to unionize players. Sony VAIO VPCF11S1E Battery The Players Union is today the Professional Footballers' Association. When the Football Association threatened members of the Union with suspension before the start of the 1909–10 season, Manchester United players refused to relinquish their Union membership, and referred to themselves as "The Outcasts".Sony VAIO VPCF11S1E/B Battery A compromise was reached between the Football Association and the Union before the start of that season which allowed players to be Union members. Without Mangnall, the club stumbled to 13th place in 1912. Attendances slumped to 15,000 and the squad started to age under the leadership of JJ Bentley. Sony VAIO VPCF11Z1E Battery They narrowly escaped relegation in 1914–15 by one point; three of United's players were later found to have conspired with Liverpool players in fixing a United win in the match between the sides, in the 1915 British football betting scandal. The United players were found guilty of match fixing and banned for life. Sony VAIO VPCF11Z1E/BI Battery The Football League was suspended at the outbreak of the First World War, during which Sandy Turnbull was killed in France. On 28 December 1914, Jack Robson was appointed as the club's first official manager; previously, the club secretary had been responsible for the majority of matters relating to the playing of the game. Sony VAIO VPCF11ZHJ Battery Mangnall's position as secretary was first filled by T.J. Wallworth, then by J.J. Bentley, under whom Robson worked. No football was played during the war, which meant that the club was not generating any revenue, but the club had to continue to pay for the running of Old Trafford, and as such the financial situation worsened. Sony VAIO VPCF127HGBI Battery At the end of the 1921–22 season, Manchester United were relegated to the Second Division, having won only eight games. United finally returned to the top flight under John Chapman in 1925, finishing second to Leicester City. In 1927 John Henry Davies, who had saved the club from extinction and brought them to Old Trafford, Sony VAIO VPCF137HG/BI Battery died and was replaced by G H Lawton as club president. On 7 October 1926, the Football Association announced that Chapman had been suspended from "taking part in football or football management" during the 1926–27 season "For improper conduct in his position as Secretary-Manager of the Manchester United Football Club"[19] Sony VAIO VPCS111FM/S Battery and was replaced for the rest of the season by experienced player Lal Hilditch. A new manager, Herbert Bamlett was installed, but the club never finished higher than 12th in 1929 and finally finishing bottom of the First Division in 1931 after starting the season losing twelve times in a row. Sony VAIO VPCS115EC Battery The finances were once again in a mess, and the much criticised Herbert Bamlett resigned. SecretaryWalter Crickmer was given control of the team for the next season, and was aided by chief scout Louis Rocca, largely because the club couldn't afford a new manager. Sony VAIO VPCS115FG Battery The players had gone to collect their wages on Christmas week and were told there was no money available. Another financial bailout was needed. They managed to finish mid table in the Second Division in 1931-32, despite losing 7-0 at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Boxing Day 1931, Sony VAIO VPCS117GG Battery but with the club's finances precarious it seemed possible that the club could go out of business.[20] Enter James W. Gibson, who was approached by a Manchester sportswriter, Stacey Lintott. He met with the board and offered to help on condition that he became chairman and could choose his directors. Sony VAIO VPCS117GGB Battery They had little choice but to agree, and Gibson invested £30,000 into the club. A new manager was found, Scott Duncan, one of the new breed of managers who were retired players, now common, but an innovation in those days. In 1934, United reached their lowest ever league position. Sony VAIO VPCS118EC Battery On the final day of the season they were placed second-last in the table with their final match away against Millwall, who were one point ahead. With destiny in their own hands, they beat Millwall 2–0 and stayed in the Second Division by one point. The next season saw an improvement with the side winning ten out of eleven games during October and November 1934. Sony VAIO VPCS119FJ/B Battery It seemed things were back on track and the fans started to flock back to Old Trafford as United finished 5th, and they announced their return to the top flight with a shout as they won the Second Division title in 1936 after being unbeaten in the last 19 games of the season. Sony VAIO VPCS119GC Battery The title was won with a 3–2 victory at Bury, where over 31,000 fans invaded the pitch to celebrate a return to the big time. Their joy was short-lived, however, as they were relegated back to the Second Division the next season. Scott Duncan resigned, and Crickmer resumed the manager's chair. Sony VAIO VPCS11AFJ Battery Although now £70,000 in debt, United picked themselves up and finished runners-up in 1938, returning to the First Division, with future stars such as Johnny Carey, Jack Rowley and Stan Pearson. They would stay there for 36 years; after finishing 14th the next season, World War II broke out. Sony VAIO VPC CW2MFX/PU Battery Upon the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, association football was effectively frozen,[9] and Old Trafford was requisitioned by the military to be used as a depot.[21] Football continued to be played at the stadium, but a German bombing raid on Sony VAIO VPC S11V9E/B Battery Trafford Park on 22 December 1940 damaged the stadium to the extent that a Christmas Day fixture against Stockport County had to be switched to Stockport's ground.[21] Football resumed at Old Trafford on 8 March 1941, but another German raid on 11 March 1941 destroyed much of the stadium, notably the main stand (now the South Stand), Sony VAIO VPCB119GJ/B Battery forcing the club's operations to move to Cornbrook Cold Storage, owned by United chairman James W. Gibson.[21] After pressure from Gibson, the War Damage Commission granted Manchester United £4,800 to remove the debris and £17,478 to rebuild the stands.[22] Sony VAIO VPCB11AGJ Battery During the reconstruction of the stadium, Manchester United played their "home" games at Maine Road, the home of Manchester City, at a cost of £5,000 a year plus a percentage of the gate receipts. Sony VAIO VPCB11AVJ Battery,Sony VAIO VPCB11V9E Battery,Sony VAIO VPCB11X9E Battery

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