Manchester United Retro Football Shirts

Manchester United came into existence in 1902 after previous club Newton Heath L&YR FC were narrowly saved from being closed down as J.H Davies invested into the club. The name change arose from a board meeting where the members concluded that the club needed a fresh start.

With the club languishing in the second division, they eventually gained promotion to division one in 1906 with a second place finish. A season of consolidation followed before they won their first league title in 1908. The team’s early success continued with their first of many FA Cup’s being won in 1909 before another league title was claimed in 1911. In between, the club moved to their current home Old Trafford in 1910 and played their first match there against Liverpool where they lost 4-3 after being 3-0 ahead. However, that success in 1911 proved to be the last  United won for 41 years as they underwent their longest ever period without a league title. The club yo-yoed between division one and two as football became interupted due to the two World Wars breaking out.

In 1945, Matt Busby was appointed as United manager. Busby demanded that he picked his own team, brought his own players and take training sessions. In those days, these activities all together were uncommon for football managers. Immediately under Busby, the club finished 2nd in the league three years in a row between 1947-49 along with winning the FA Cup in 1948. The league title was inevitable and United claimed their first one for 41 years in 1952 before winning it again in 1956 and 1957 with a team known as the “Busby Babes”. In 1957, they also became the first English team to compete in Europe and reached the semi finals before losing to Real Madrid.

However, in 1958, tragedy struck as a plane containing the United team crashed whilst attempting to take off killing eight team members and several of the coaching staff. Matt Busby miraculously recovered after being given the last rites several times. Jimmy Murphy took over briefly and led the team to a runners up medal in the FA Cup before Busby returned to lead them to a 2nd placed league finish in 1960. Busby looked to rebuild again throughout the 1960’s and players such as Dennis Law and George Best were recruited. Although they never reached the heights of the 1950’s side, this United team still managed to win the FA Cup in 1963 and two league titles in 1965 and 1967. Perhaps their most memorable achievement was winning their first European Cup in 1968 with a 4-1 victory over Benfica in the final. Busby eventually ended his spectacular reign with his resignation in 1969.

Wilf McGuinness had the unenviable task of replacing Busby but he only lasted for one and half seasons before he was sacked. Busby was tempted back for the remainder of the campaign but left the club for the last time at the end of the 1971 season. Several managers were appointed but the club fell down to division two before winning promotion back in 1976. A season later they won the FA Cup by beating Liverpool 2-1. Dave Sexton was made manager in 1977 but failed to win over supporters and left in 1981. Ron Atkinson took charge and won two FA Cups in 1983 and 1985 but eventual poor league form saw him leave in 1986.

Alex Ferguson was appointed the same day that Atkinson left. Initial results were not particularly impressive and Ferguson was on the verge of being sacked in 1990 but rode the storm to eventually win the FA Cup in the same year with a 1-0 replay victory over Crystal Palace. The club then won the Cup Winners Cup in 1991 by beating Barcelona 2-1. This victory gave them access to the European Super Cup which United won 1-0 over Red Star Belgrade. This began the start of United’s reign of the 1990’s. The arrival of players such as Peter Schmeichel and Eric Cantona saw United win the first two Premier League titles in 1993 and 1994. The team also won the FA Cup in 1994 to complete a historic double. 1995 proved a disappointing year as Blackburn wrestled the title from United’s grip. However, in 1996, Ferugson turned to several of his youth team players prompting the famous quote from Alan Hansen “You’ll never win anything with kids.” The team proved Hansen wrong by winning a League and FA Cup double in 96 before following up with another league title in 1997. Nevertheless, they failed to regain their title in 1998 as they finished second to Arsenal.

The 1999 season proved historic for United as they became the first english club to win a treble. Along with the Premier League, United defeated Newcastle United 2-0 in the FA Cup final and beat Bayern Munich 2-1 with two late goals in a memorable encounter. Further League titles followed in 2000 and 2001 but their form dipped in 2002 and they finished in third place. 2003 saw another league triumph but another third place finish occurred in 2004 although they did win the FA Cup against Arsenal that year. The 2005 and 2006 are largely forgettable for the club with only a League Cup success over Wigan to show for their efforts. However, the club has won the league title for the last three years and managed to secure another European Cup victory in 2008. Alex Ferugson is still at the helm and has recently entered his 23rd season in charge.