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Manchester United

Manchester United Football Club was first formed in 1878, albeit under a different name - Newton Heath LYR (Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway).

The words Old Trafford entered football folklore for the first time during the 1909/10 season. The land on which the stadium was built was bought by the Manchester Brewery Company (John Henry Davies) and leased to the club. Davies himself paid for the building work, which commenced in 1908 under the supervision of the renowned architect Archibald Leitch. By 1910, the club had moved lock, stock and barrel from their old home of Bank Street. United's first fixture at Old Trafford was played on 19 February 1910. The new hosts lost 4-3 to their first visitors Liverpool, but the stadium was successful in accommodating an 80,000 capacity crowd. Two days previously, the old wooden stand at Bank Street had been blown down by strong winds - further evidence, perhaps, that United were suited to and needed their new home.

United were relegated in their first season without Billy Meredith, winning only 8 of their 42 matches in 1921/22. John Chapman's team that played in the Second Division was bereft of any star names, and failed to win promotion at the first (1922/23) or even the second attempt (1923/24). The on-field leadership of Frank Barson eventually brought about a marked improvement, however, resulting in promotion at the end of 1924/25. United finished second to Leicester City, after losing only eight games.

The decline that had started in the 1920's continued at the outset of the 1930's. United finished 17th in 1929/30, to fill their fans with dread. The outbreak of the Second World War forced football to the very back of people's minds between 1939 and 1946. The 1950's dawned with the break-up of Matt Busby’s first successful United side - the 1948 FA Cup-winning team. Busby's plan was to promote the youngsters he’d been recruiting and grooming in the late 1940’s. Jackie Blanchflower and Roger Byrne were the first to emerge and be labelled ‘Babes’ by the newspapers; in their debut season 1951/52, United won the League Championship for the first time since 1911. Byrne, aged 21, played a big part in that success, making 24 appearances, including the final six on the wing, from where he scored seven goals. He then returned to his customary left-back role, and captained the side for four years from February 1954. In 1955/56 and 1956/57, Byrne lifted the Championship trophy as skipper of a great young side that included several more products of Busby’s youth academy. Eddie Colman, Mark Jones and David Pegg were all first team regulars, having cut their teeth in the FA Youth Cup, which United won five years in a row from its inception in 1953.

After building one of the greatest teams seen in England, Matt Busby had to start all over again at the start of the 1960's. The Munich air disaster had robbed him, and football, of some of the era's greatest players. But the great manager was never one to sit still for long. Once he had recovered from his own injuries, he set about building another side to take the world by storm.

United's form was erratic at the start of the 1960s, while the new names settled in, but then everything came together with a run to Wembley for the 1962/63 FA Cup Final. Matt Busby's new-look team beat Leicester City 3-1, with two goals from David Herd and one by Denis Law. The next season saw United build on the foundations of FA Cup success to challenge for the title – United finished second, only four points behind the champions Liverpool, to whom they lost both at home and away. The 1962/63 season was also notable for the signing and debut of George Best, the young man from Belfast who would become football's first superstar. It was a case of Best by name, best by nature. His incredible skill, pace and control left opponents in knots, making him a hit with the fans, while his filmstar looks made him a hit with the ladies.

Frequent success in cup competitions, including lifting the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1991, translated into league success in 1993 - the inaugural season of the FA Premier League (1992-93). The red machine went on to dominate English football under Sir Alex Ferguson's leadership. An unprecedented double of FA Premier League and FA Cup Doubles were captured in 1994 and 1996, before 1999's thrilling FA Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League Treble triumph.