General United Discussion

Ji Sung Park back on Saturday?

stefanunited — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:29:29 GMT

This guy is the best player in the world, we need him back asap. Hopefully on Saturday he will make a dramatic return!!

Absolute proof this message board is crazy

4-4-2 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:12:12 GMT

Two threads were made at roughly the same time

1 Long or short sleeve shirt ?

2 RIO FERDINAND will not play for utd again this year..............................

No prizes for guessing which got the most replies.

SAF ban should be removed.

Manfan-SA — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:16:20 GMT

After the controversial hand-ball by Henry on Wednesday night against Ireland the world is starting to ask the same questions that SAF has been asking for years.

Are the referees "fit" enough to do the job justice?

Football is faster, more popular and richer than it ever has been. Player salaries and transfer fees have shot through the roof. Clubs are heavily invested in and have become multi-national businesses. Tickets to games have inflated over the years as has fan expectations.

The referee system remains unchanged...

Most other high profile sports have introduced a video referee system. Cricket & Rugby use it each week and the results are fantastic. Game flow is not hampered and some very risky decisions are made abundantly clear. How many poor referee decisions have cost a team not only the win but possibly the revenue generated from getting to the next round of a cup or winning a title.

Ireland have been harshly knocked out of the biggest footballing and sporting event in the world because of poor refereeing. Manchester United have been on the receiving end of some terrible decisions that have cost us dearly.

SAF has been advocating this for years and he has never backed down from an opinion that the world now sees as being justified. The FA should remove the touchline ban they imposed on SAF and review some of his comments in this light.

What do you guys think?

You Can't Criticise A Man Utd Player, Because He's A Man Utd Player.

Solomon Onilado — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:49:25 GMT

As the title suggests, this is what I'm basing my thread on.

I find it quite pathetic that I see people on here expecting ALL players to get MAXIMUM support without ANY slating WHATSOEVER. Well I'm sorry, you bum bum lickers who blindly look past players performances whilst saying "support him" "you can't be a supporter" are pathetic to say the least.

ALL PLAYERS are open to criticism. NO PLAYER in our squad is immune from criticism. As hard as that may be for you people you'll have to deal with it and move on.

Let's take Nani for example. Now I've made absolutely NO secret that I'm disliking him big time at the moment. I'm then seeing threads about comparing NANI WITH BERBATOV (pathetic again to say the least) and how it's a valid comparison. That's an absolute joke. Nani's been playing poor, very poor, so poor that I've regarded him as a player who plays like an amputated dog MIXED with a 4 year old in the park learning how to pass the ball. And yet "I'm not a supporter" Please, it's either you GROW UP and learn that no player is immune from criticism or you carry on crying when people (like Nani) get slated day in day out. I'm also being told I'll have to eat my words like it's a bad thing. Well for you guys who think I don't like eating my words, of course I want to eat my words, of course I want to see Nani performing (which he's not at all), of course I wanna be able to say "Nani you are absolute quality, I'm so glad he shut me up" BUT at the moment it looks nowhere near that and it's annoying and pitiful how some people can say others and I are no supporters of the club. Lol I'm free to slate whoever I want and it's very, very pitiful when people try and come out as the goodies and the top dogs and call other people non supporters to gain (or try) respect.

Bottom line is, you guys who act like all players are immune from criticism are absolutely joking with yourselves. All players are open to criticism. End of.

Rooney: Capello can kill you with stare

Hot Girls Love Me - I love them 2 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:18:09 GMT

Rooney: Capello can kill you with stare



2009-11-18 @ Manchester United news	Subscribe

Manchester United ace Wayne Rooney admits he's more frightened of England coach Fabio Capello than Sir Alex Ferguson. The England striker, 24, can take the hairdryer treatment but not the Capello stare. Rooney said: "It's just little things. Like when he walks down the corridor past you. "The way he holds himself, the way he looks at you. You just know he's a tough man - he has that aura about him. Sometimes he just walks by as if you're not even there and it can be quite intimidating." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Capello looks like a guy whos just fed up from life in my opinion lol. He looks far from Intimidating. Come urn Rooney your supposed to be the tough guy

Atmosphere in stands.

mancs are reds — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:19:08 GMT

I posted this a while ago on my old account, but another thread has come up about it, so I'd though I would post it again here.

Stretford End

tier 2 - decent view. fantastic atmosphere. people stand and sing for most of the game

tier 1 - atnosphere good at the bottom few rows. Not great in other parts due to family stand

family stand - atmosphere pretty poor but good place to sit if you're with families

East Stand

tier 1 - amazing for the big games but at times been really poor this season

tier 2 - decent view but awful atmosphere

North Stand

tier 1 - great view but atmosphere only decent for the big games

tier 2 - good view but hardly anyone there sings

tier 3 - sat there recently when I swapped tickets for a game. View not great but was suprised that the atmosphere is actually pretty good.

South Stand

poor atmosphere for nearly all games, however, it's a good place to sit if you're with older people or young children.

poor o shea and gibson

colin mc nelis — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:13:41 GMT

Your heart goes out to our 2 lads. I think o shea going off affected ireland real bad.

they going to need some lifting

10 of the best last minute goals!!

peteytemp85 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:22:52 GMT

1. Solskjaer vs Bayern Munich 99'

2. Sheringham vs Bayern Munich 99'

3. Owen vs Man City 09'

4. Ferdinand vs Liverpool 05'

5. Hughes vs Oldham 94'

6. Solskjaer vs Liverpool 99'

7. Beckham vs Leicester 98'

8. Forlan vs Chelsea 02'

9. Tevez vs Blackburn 08'

10. Forlan vs Southampton 02'

Can anyone think of any other brilliant last minute goals??

NANI should go centre forward

Agentman007 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:21:24 GMT

He's good on the wings with the crosses of course (assist on both Portugual goals vs BsH) but he's got more striking potential with a central view of the wood. Thats my call and I'm sticking to it so listen up SAF and please listen to Nani himself because his request is most righteous brother.

Could UTD go bust?

BetterRedThanDead — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:51:11 GMT

I was reading some threads on here about the financial situation and so I went off to do a bit of research, did you know all the profit that UTD make is taken by the Glazer's, if it wasn't for them we would be debt free. UTD makes a profit but the Glazer holding companies have lost money every year. There is one loan that is growing at a rate of 14% year that is not paid off but added to the debt, so for instance a loan of £200M becomes £228M the year after it becomes £259M the year after it becomes £296M........ get the gist.

It is not inconceivable the we could do a Leeds.

sir alex rant at agents is it a swipe at nani and foster?

aroundball forever — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:09:13 GMT

i love the way sir alex works its not a direct attack on nani and foster but you get the feeling that his rant about agents and mondern footballers being fragile was direct at them after the rubbish both of them have said or the papers would have you believe they said. its easy to see how sir alex comments will go over both fosters and nani heads because like most players today ownly thinking about the next big pay day or tranfer because its a world cup year and they think they have a right to be there when theres players at other clubs that will more likely get the spot because there more in form or seen as a better player for that place.

so its true what sir alex said today mondern players do live in a cocoon made by there angent.and the responsibility for there owen performance is a clear swipe at nani that he is clearly on very thin ice with sir alex now. i could be reading more into it than is made out to be but sir alex doesnt attack his players in public in the papers but it a message of some sort to them.

What do you think are the best seats? (apart from the stretford end)

greya47 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:26:51 GMT

United's Title Race

Rob Hillery — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:27:07 GMT

Ok, so the first part of the season is over. United made a decent start with 22 points from 10 games, losing to Liverpool, Burnley and dropping points to Sunderland, I think the 2 points we dropped to Sunderland were the most dissapointing. Those 2 points would have given us 24 from 30 which would have represented a good start. So we have moved onto the middle part of the season. 18 matches, 54 points on the line. United have done well over this period in the last 3 season's collecting 44 from 54 in 06/07, 41 from 54 in 07/08 and 44 from 54 last season. I think if we can get to 66 points with 10 games remaining, which is the start of March, we should be well in the title race. With our big-match experiance in the last part of the season I would fancy us to put in a good challenge. With 3 points secured against Blackburn, the lose agianst Chelsea was a blow, even if the performance was one of our best of the season. Now we have to put a good run togther and show some consistency, something the manager mentioned in his press conference. The league will start now,” he said. “I think you’ll get some sort of consistency about it. “Teams aren’t worrying about which players will be coming back from international duty or arranging flights for them to come back on time. Now we’ve got the players for four months and we’re delighted with that.”

My target for United is 66 points, which meant we needed 44 from 54. That gives us a 10-point cushion, we have already dropped 3 points against Chelsea which means the cushion we have is reduced to 7 points, so there is a little bit of pressure on the players, which might bring out the best in them. They have a good attitude and experiance to bouncing back and I fancy us to put a run togther now, because the fixture list over the next 4 months drops off a little. Champions League qualification has been sealed and we only play 3 teams in the current top 8 in the next 16 matches and only 1 of the big four clubs, so United have a chance to gather some points. Where do we need to improve to put a run togther?

Attack - United's present strike rate is 1.92, which despite the bad press over the subject, is the 2nd best we have put togther in the last 3 season's. 06/07 = 2.25, 07/08 = 1.75, 08/09 = 1.66. I don't think there is too much of a big issue there at the moment.

Defence - United average goals conceded is the area of most concern. It is 1.00, not good enough. This is double what we have benn averaging in recent season's. 06/07 = 0.41, 07/08 = 0.50 and 08/09 = 0.44. Why has the defence not been upto scratch this season?

Our midfeild needs to protect the defence better, we have conceded 4 goals form in front of our defence. Ferguson needs to get the balance right in midfeild and hopefully the return of Owen Hargreaves will be a big boast in that particular area. The defenders also need to do more and close oppostion down around the edge of the box.
The goalkeeping error's made by Ben Foster were damaging to the player more then anyone, but the return of Van der Sar should help ease that worry.
The Ferdinand-Vidic partnership has been the foundation of our success in recent years and the injuries they have both suffered, Back and Calf injuries have meant they have played togther in only 33% of our matches so far. Last season in the first 10 that played togther in 83% of matches. I think Vidic has recovered from his injury, but Ferdinand needs abit of time to recover and get over this Back problem. Jonny Evans should be given a run of games alongside Vidic, with Brown as a back-up for those two.

Hopefully now the sqaud can push on abit and close the gap over Chelsea, but this part of the season is massive.

COME ON UNITED! BE THE UNITED!! BE THE CHAMPIONS

alisandro lopez — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:16:30 GMT

Buying not solve the problem.... Man Utd need new tactical to adapt... to create,to defend,to control,to hold,to absorb and to play the perfect game such as Barca or Arsenal..."Sorry to said".. Soccer is like dancing,if u follow the steps,every movement will looked a LIVE..Beauty.. Same to soccer,'" tactical,pattern play and strategy ""will make the game looked alive,perfect.... NOT JUST BLAME THE REFF... I agree, "LUCK" is important, but its only give 0.1% contribution.. I hope now u all know what is mean by ""PLAY FROM UR HEARTS"...........Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh......

RIO FERDINAND will not play for Manchester United again this year

Maff26 — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 02:57:44 GMT

he has been ruled out until new year. good news vidic is back 100% fit for everton

Long or short sleeve shirts?

stefanunited — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:00:56 GMT

Do they make a difference? Mentally? Physically? What do you think?

Wake up

RED always — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:04:33 GMT

i watched my country get dumped out of the world cup over a player that has won it all.its time my team started entertaining me like they did even tho we lost the best player in the world.wer still the hard working team that beat barcelona 1-0 and won the champs league.rooney your a brillant player with the heart of gold.deliver us wot we kno u can do another champs league nd premier league and oberton thanks for bring me hope in this bad time keep up the good work nd be the player we know you can be.

The Treble this year?

stefanunited — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:58:47 GMT

Yes it is very unlikely. But just imagine if we ended up becoming this incredible force and went on some madness 20game winning streak in all competitions and ended up winning absolutely everything. What would you do?

Is instant replay need in football?

Irby — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:14:53 GMT

After watching that match of Ireland and France it seems the some type of instant replay is needed. I think with football it should be kept to an absolute minimum but after seeing a nation cheated out the world cup i think the issue must be reviewed. What is your take and if you think it should be describe how you would work/implement instant replay

to sad, 4-0, 5-0, 5-1, 6-0, 3-0 days are gone

lezawang — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 02:28:23 GMT

we do not hear anymore about results like 4-0 etc.. 2 years ago.. people use to joke when manutd scrore 2 goals then they would say the result will end 4-0 and it would be true because like 70% of the games ended 4-0, 4-1 and with very creative and long distance goals..

these days 1-0, 1-1 or 2-1 results and goals either last minute, own goal or tap in. too sad

is hargreaves nearly fit????

colin mc nelis — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:31:14 GMT

Just wondering guys is Hargreaves near fitness yet??

Fergi - I Paid 100 Pounds For My First Player.

Nitish_a23 — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:49:52 GMT

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/2736559/I-paid-100-for-my-first-player.html

Jonny Evans Injured

robi prosser — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 18:32:39 GMT

Evans has just been taken off at half time with a calf injury so hopefully it is not a bad one and he will be fit by the Everton match

Which team do you most enjoy beating?

ManUtd.com Journalist — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:18:35 GMT

In the November issue of Inside United, Patrice Evra identifies the game against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge as the one he most wants to win.

Now we want to know what you think. Which opponents do you most enjoy beating, and why? Is it our traditional adversaries Liverpool and City, or do you prefer the more recent rivalry with the men from Stamford Bridge? Arsenal? Leeds? Or another team entirely?

Post your answers here and some of the best will appear in the next issue of Inside United. Thank you!

Info that you should all know before posting on the forum.

Rj28 — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 22:29:17 GMT

OK here is some basic information that I think that anyone who is new to the forum or falls into either of the above should no.

History

Early years (1878–1945)

The club was formed as Newton Heath L&YR F.C. in 1878 as the works team of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway depot at Newton Heath. The club's shirts were green and gold halves. They played on a small, dilapidated field on North Road, near the future site of the Manchester Piccadilly railway station for fifteen years, before moving to Bank Street in the nearby town of Clayton in 1893. The club had entered the Football League the previous year and began to sever its links with the rail depot, becoming an independent company, appointing a club secretary and dropping the "L&YR" from their name to become simply Newton Heath F.C.. Not long afterwards, in 1902, the club neared bankruptcy, with debts of over £2500. At one point, their Bank Street ground was even closed by the bailiffs.

Just before having to be shut down for good, the club received a sizeable investment from J. H. Davies, the managing director of Manchester Breweries. Legend goes that Harry Stafford, the club captain, was showing off his prized St. Bernard dog at a club fund-raiser, when Davies approached him to buy the dog. Stafford declined, but was able to persuade Davies to invest in the club and become club chairman. It was decided at one of the early board meetings that the club required a change of name to reflect the fresh start they had been afforded. Manchester Central and Manchester Celtic were among the names suggested, before Louis Rocca, a young immigrant from Italy, said "Gentlemen, why don't we call ourselves Manchester United?" The name stuck, and Manchester United officially came into existence on 26 April 1902. Davies also decided it would be appropriate to change the club's colours, abandoning the green and gold halves of Newton Heath, and picking red and white to be the colours of Manchester United.

The Busby years (1945–1969)

1945 saw the appointment of Matt Busby to the manager's post at Old Trafford. He took an uncommon approach to his job, insisting that he be allowed to pick his own team, choose which players to sign and direct the team's training sessions himself. He had already missed out on the manager's job at his former club, Liverpool F.C., because the club saw those tasks as jobs for the directors, but United decided to take a chance on Busby's innovative ideas. Busby's first signing was not a player, but a new assistant manager by the name of Jimmy Murphy. The risk the club had taken in appointing Busby paid immediate dividends, with the club finishing second in the league in 1947, 1948 and 1949 and winning the FA Cup in 1948, thanks in part to the locally-born trio of Stan Pearson, Jack Rowley and Charlie Mitten (Rowley and Pearson both scored in the 1948 Cup Final), as well as the centre-half from the North-East, Allenby Chilton.

Charlie Mitten had fled to Colombia in search of a better salary, but the remainder of United's old heads managed to win the First Division title back in 1952. Busby knew, however, that football teams required more than just experience in the side, and so he adopted a policy of bringing in players from the youth team whenever possible. At first, the young players such as Roger Byrne, Bill Foulkes, Mark Jones and Dennis Viollet, took time to bed themselves into the side, sliding to a low of 8th place in 1953, but the team won the league again in 1956 with an average age of only 22, scoring 103 goals in the process. The youth policy set in motion by Busby has now become a hallmark of the most successful periods in the club's history (the mid-1950s, mid-to-late-1960s and 1990s). Busby's original "crop" of youth players was referred to as the Busby Babes, the jewel in the crown of which was a wing-half named Duncan Edwards. The boy from Dudley in the West Midlands made his United début at the age of just 16 back in 1953. It was said that Edwards could play at any position on the field, and many who saw him play said that he was the greatest player ever. The following season, 1956–57, they won the league again and reached the FA Cup final, losing to Aston Villa. They also became the first English team to compete in the European Cup, at the behest of the FA, who had denied Chelsea the same opportunity the previous season, and reached the semi-final, only to be knocked out by Real Madrid. En route to the semi-final, United also recorded a win that still stands as their biggest win in all competitions, beating Belgian champions Anderlecht 10–0 at Maine Road.

Tragedy struck the following season, when the plane carrying the team home from a European Cup match crashed on take-off at a refuelling stop in Munich, Germany. The Munich air disaster of 6 February 1958 claimed the lives of eight players - Geoff Bent, Roger Byrne, Eddie Colman, Duncan Edwards, Mark Jones, David Pegg, Tommy Taylor and Liam "Billy" Whelan - and another fifteen passengers, including United staff members Walter Crickmer, Bert Whalley and Tom Curry. There had already been two attempted take-offs before the fatal third, which was caused by a build-up of slush at the end of the runway slowing the plane down to a speed insufficient for take-off. The plane skidded off the end of the runway, through a fence and into an unoccupied house. United goalkeeper Harry Gregg managed to maintain consciousness after the crash, and through fear of the plane exploding at any second, he grabbed both Bobby Charlton — who had made his United début less than 18 months earlier — and Dennis Viollet by their waistbands and dragged them to safety. Seven United players died at the scene, while Duncan Edwards died a fortnight later in hospital. Right-winger Johnny Berry also survived the accident, but injuries sustained in the accident brought his football career to a premature end. Matt Busby was not given much hope of survival by the Munich doctors, and was even given the Last Rites at one point, but recovered miraculously and was finally let out of hospital after having spent over two months there.

There were rumours of the club folding and withdrawing from competitions, but with Jimmy Murphy taking over as manager while Busby recovered from his injuries, the club continued playing with a makeshift side. Despite the accident, they reached the FA Cup final again, where they lost to Bolton Wanderers. At the end of the season, UEFA offered the FA the opportunity to submit both United and the eventual champions, Wolverhampton Wanderers, for the 1958–59 European Cup as a tribute to the victims, but the FA declined. United managed to push Wolves right to the wire the following season, finishing in a creditable 2nd place; not bad for a team that had lost nine first-team players to the Munich air disaster.

Busby rebuilt the team throughout the early 1960s, signing players such as Denis Law and Pat Crerand, all the while nurturing his new generation of youngsters. Perhaps the most famous of this new batch was a young man from Belfast named George Best. Best had a natural athleticism rarely seen, but his most valuable asset was his close control of a football. His quick feet allowed him to pass through almost any gap in the opposition defence, no matter how small. The team won the FA Cup in 1963, albeit finishing in 19th place in the First Division. The FA Cup triumph seemed to reinvigorate the players, who helped the club to 2nd place in 1964, and then went one better by winning the league in 1965 and 1967. United won the European Cup in 1968, beating Eusébio's SL Benfica 4–1 in the final, becoming the first English club to win the competition. This United team was notable for containing three European Footballers of the Year: Bobby Charlton, Denis Law and George Best. Matt Busby resigned as manager in 1969 and was replaced by the reserve-team coach and former United player, Wilf McGuinness.

1969–1986

United struggled to replace Busby, and the team struggled under Wilf McGuinness in the 1969–70 season, finishing a disappointing 8th, and following a poor start to the 1970–71 season, McGuinness was demoted back to the position of reserve team coach. Busby was coaxed back to the club, albeit only for six months. Results got better with Busby's guidance, but he finally left the club for the last time in the summer of 1971. In the meantime, United had lost a number of high-profile players such as Nobby Stiles and Pat Crerand.

Despite approaching Celtic's European Cup-winning manager, Jock Stein, for the manager's job — Stein had agreed a verbal contract to join United, but pulled out at the last minute — Frank O'Farrell was appointed as Busby's successor. However, like McGuinness, O'Farrell only lasted less than 18 months, the only difference between the two being that O'Farrell reacted to the team's poor form by bringing in some fresh talent, most specifically Martin Buchan from Aberdeen for £125,000. Tommy Docherty became manager at the end of 1972. Docherty, or "the Doc", saved United from relegation that season but United were relegated in 1974, by which time the golden trio of Best, Law and Charlton had left the club. Denis Law had moved to Manchester City in the summer of 1973, and ended up scoring the goal that many people say relegated United, and politely refused to celebrate the goal with his team mates. Players like Lou Macari, Stewart Houston and Brian Greenhoff were brought in to replace Best, Law and Charlton, but none could live up to the stature of the three that came before.

The team won promotion at the first attempt, with a young Steve Coppell making his début towards the end of that season, having joined from Tranmere Rovers, and reached the FA Cup final in 1976, but were beaten by Southampton. They reached the final again in 1977, beating Liverpool 2–1. In spite of this success and his popularity with the supporters, Docherty was sacked soon after the final when he was found to have had an affair with the physiotherapist's wife.

Dave Sexton replaced Docherty as manager in the summer of 1977, and made the team play in a more defensive formation. This style was unpopular with supporters, who were used to the attacking football preferred by Docherty and Busby. Major signings under Sexton included Joe Jordan, Gordon McQueen, Gary Bailey and Ray Wilkins, but Sexton's defensive United failed to break out of mid-table obscurity, only once finishing in the top two, and only reached the FA Cup final once, losing to Arsenal. Because of this lack of trophies, Sexton was sacked in 1981, even though he won his last seven games in charge.

He was replaced by the flamboyant Ron Atkinson, whose extrovert attitude was reflected in the clubs he managed. He immediately broke the British record transfer fee to sign Bryan Robson from his old club, West Brom. Robson would come to be touted in the future as United's best midfield player since Duncan Edwards. Atkinson's team featured new signings such as Jesper Olsen, Paul McGrath and Gordon Strachan playing alongside former youth-team players Norman Whiteside and Mark Hughes. United won the FA Cup twice in three years, in 1983 and 1985, and were overwhelming favourites to win the league in the 1985–86 season after winning their first ten league games, opening a ten-point gap over their rivals as early as October. The team's form collapsed, however, and United finished the season in fourth place. The poor form continued into the following season, and with United on the edge of the First Division's relegation zone by the beginning of November 1986, Atkinson was sacked.

Alex Ferguson era, pre-Treble (1986–1998)

Alex Ferguson arrived from Aberdeen to replace Atkinson and guided the club to an 11th place finish. The following season (1987–88), United finished second, with Brian McClair becoming the first United player since George Best to score twenty league goals in a season.

However, United struggled throughout the next two seasons, with many of Ferguson's signings not reaching the expectations of the fans. Alex Ferguson was reportedly on the verge of being sacked at the beginning of 1990 but a Mark Robins goal gave United a narrow 1–0 win in the third round of the FA Cup over Nottingham Forest. This kept the season alive, and the team went on to win the competition, beating Crystal Palace in a replay in the final.

United won the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1990–91, beating that season's Spanish champions Barcelona in the final, but the following season was a disappointment as a late season slump saw them miss out on the league to rivals Leeds United. Meanwhile in 1991, the club floated on the London Stock Exchange with a valuation of £47 million, bringing its finances into the public eye.

The arrival of Eric Cantona in November 1992 provided the crucial spark for United, and blending with the best of trusted talent in Gary Pallister, Denis Irwin and Paul Ince, as well as budding stars like Ryan Giggs, they finished the 1992–93 season as champions for the first time since 1967. They won the double (the league and the FA Cup) for the first time the following season, aided by the capture of Roy Keane, a determined midfielder from Nottingham Forest, who would go on to become the team captain. In the same year, however, the club was plunged into mourning following the death of legendary manager and club president Sir Matt Busby, who died on 20 January 1994.

In 1994–95, Cantona received an eight month suspension for jumping into the crowd and assaulting Crystal Palace supporter Matthew Simmons, who had given Cantona racial abuse as he left the field, in United's game at Selhurst Park. Drawing their last league match and losing to Everton in the FA Cup final left United as runners-up in both the league and FA Cup. Ferguson then outraged the supporters by selling key players and replacing them with players from the club's youth team, including David Beckham, Gary Neville, Phil Neville and Paul Scholes. The new players, several of whom quickly became regular internationals for England, did surprisingly well and United won the double again in 1995–96. This was the first time any English club had won the double twice, and the feat was nicknamed the "Double Double". They won the league in 1996–97, and Eric Cantona announced his retirement from football at the age of 30. They started the following season (1997–98) well, but they finished in second place, behind the double-winning champions Arsenal.

The Treble (1998–99)

The 1998–99 season for Manchester United was the most successful season in English club football history as they became the first and only English team to win The Treble — winning the Premiership, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League in the same season. After a very tense Premier League season, Manchester United won the title on the final day beating Tottenham Hotspur 2–1, whilst Arsenal won 1–0 against Aston Villa. Winning the Premiership was the first part of the Treble in place, the one part that manager Alex Ferguson described as the hardest. In the FA Cup Final United faced Newcastle United and won 2–0 with goals from Teddy Sheringham and Paul Scholes. In the final match of that season, the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final they defeated Bayern Munich in what is considered one of the greatest comebacks ever witnessed, losing going into injury time and scoring twice to win 2–1. Ferguson was subsequently knighted for his services to football. Rounding out that record breaking year, Manchester United also won the Intercontinental Cup after beating Palmeiras 1–0 in Tokyo.

The Malcolm Glazer takeover

On 12 May 2005, American businessman Malcolm Glazer acquired a controlling interest in the club through his investment vehicle Red Football Ltd. in a takeover valuing the club at approximately £800 million (approx. $1.5 billion). On 16 May, he increased his share to the 75% necessary to de-list the club from the Stock Exchange, making it private again, and announced his intention to do so within 20 days. On 8 June he appointed his sons to the Manchester United board as non-executive directors.

In July 2006, the club announced a refinancing package. The total amount will be £660 million, on which interest payments will be £62 million a year. This result of this new financing plan will be a 30% reduction of annual payments.

The Emblem and the Club Colours.

During its days as Newton Heath, the club's home jerseys were yellow and green; this strip was revived as an away kit in the early 1990s. In 1902, in conjunction with the name change to Manchester United, the club changed their colours to red jerseys, white shorts and black socks, which has become the standard for most Man Utd home kits ever since. The most notable exception to this is the shirt that the team wore in the 1909 FA Cup Final against Bristol City, which was white with a thin red V-neck. This design was resurrected in the 1920s before United reverted back to the all-red shirts.

The United third kit is traditionally all-blue in homage to the kit that the 1968 European Cup was won in. Exceptions to this rule have included a bright yellow kit worn in the early 1970s, the aforementioned blue and white striped shirt from 1996, which proved to be a firm favourite with the fans, and a white shirt with black and red horizontal pinstripes from 2004. United have also used what were originally used as training shirts as their third kit in the past, having adopted an all-black kit in the 1998–99 season and a dark blue shirt with maroon sides in 2001 for games against Southampton and PSV Eindhoven.

The Manchester United crest has been altered on a few occasions, but the basic form remains similar. The badge is derived from the crest of the city of Manchester. The devil on the club badge stems from the club's nickname "The Red Devils", which was adopted in the early 1960s after Matt Busby heard it in reference to the red-shirted Salford rugby league side. By the end of the 1960s, the devil had started to be included on club programmes and scarves, before it was finally incorporated into the club badge in 1970, holding its unmistakable trident. In 1998, the badge was once again redesigned, this time removing the words "Football Club". This move was met with opposition from some supporters, who viewed it as a move away from the club's footballing roots and more into the business side of the game.

Manager History.

1892–1900          A. H. Albut
1900–1903          James West
1903–1912          J. Ernest Mangnall
1912–1914          John Bentley
1914–1922          Jack Robson
1922–1926          John Chapman
1926–1927          Lal Hilditch
1927–1931          Herbert Bamlett
1931–1932          Walter Crickmer
1932–1937          Scott Duncan           (First manager from outside of England)
1937–1945          Walter Crickmer
1945–1969          Sir Matt Busby         (First post-Second World War manager and longest serving manager in United's history)
1969–1970          Wilf McGuinness
1970–1971          Sir Matt Busby
1971–1972          Frank O'Farrell          (First manager from outside the United Kingdom)
1972–1977          Tommy Docherty
1977–1981          Dave Sexton
1981–1986          Ron Atkinson
1986–present      Sir Alex Ferguson     (Most successful manager in terms of trophies)

Stadium.

When the club was first founded, Newton Heath played their home games on a small field on North Road in Newton Heath, near to where Manchester Piccadilly Station is currently located. However, visiting teams often complained about the state of the pitch, which was "a bog at one end and rocky as a quarry at the other". The changing rooms were also nothing to be proud of, being located ten minutes walk away at the Three Crowns pub on Oldham Road. They were later moved to the Shears Hotel, another pub on Oldham Road, but a change was needed if the club was to continue in the Football League.

The Heathens remained at their North Road ground for fifteen years from 1878 to 1893, a year after entering the Football League, before moving to a new home at Bank Street in nearby Clayton. The new ground was not much better, only a few tufts of grass sticking up through the sandy surface, and clouds of smoke coming down from the factory next door. On one occasion, the Walsall Town Swifts even refused to play, the conditions were so bad. A layer of sand was put down by the groundsman and the visitors were finally persuaded to play, eventually losing 14–0. They protested against the result, citing the poor conditions as the reason for their loss and the match was replayed. The conditions were not much better the second time around, and the Walsall team lost again, although this time they only lost 9–0

In 1902, the club went close to bankruptcy and the Bank Street ground was closed by bailiffs due to its insolvency. The club was saved at the last minute by captain Harry Stafford, who managed to scrape together enough money to pay for the club's next away game at Bristol City and found a temporary ground at neighbouring Harpurhey for the next home game against Blackpool.

Following investment to get the club back on an even keel, they renamed as Manchester United, though still with a desire for a passable ground. Six weeks before United's first FA Cup title in April 1909, Old Trafford was named as the home of Manchester United, following the purchase of the necessary land for around £60,000. Architect Archibald Leitch was hired by United chairman John Henry Davies, and given a budget of £30,000 for construction. Original plans indicated that the stadium would hold around 100,000, though this was scaled back to 77,000. Despite this, a record attendance of 76,962 was recorded, which is more than even the current stadium officially supports. Construction was carried out by Messrs Brameld and Smith of Manchester. At the opening of the stadium, standing tickets cost sixpence, while the most expensive seats in the grandstand would have set you back five shillings. The inaugural game was played on 19 February 1910 against Liverpool F.C., and resulted in a 4–3 win for the visitors. As it happened, the change of ground could not have come soon enough. Only a few days after the club played their last game at Bank Street, the main stand was blown down in a storm.

Bombing during the Second World War, on 11 March 1941, destroyed much of the stadium, notably the main stand. The central tunnel in the South Stand was all that remained of that quarter of the ground. Though the ground was rebuilt in 1949, it meant that a game had not been played at Old Trafford for nearly 10 years as the team played all their "home" games in that period at Manchester City's ground, Maine Road. Man City charged the club £5000 per year for the use of their stadium, plus a nominal percentage of the gate receipts. United filed a report with the War Damage Commission and received compensation to the value of £22,278 for the reconstruction of the ground.

Subsequent improvements occurred, beginning with the addition of a roof first to the Stretford End and then to the North and East Stands. However, the old-fashioned roof supports obscured the view of many fans, resulting in the upgrading of the roofs to incorporate the cantilevering still seen on the stadium today. The Stretford End was the last stand to receive the upgrade to the cantilevered roof, the work being completed in time for the start of the 1993–94 season.

Floodlights were first installed at the ground in the mid-1950s. Four 180-foot (55 m)-tall pylons were erected, each housing 54 individual floodlights. The whole lighting system cost the club £40,000, and was first used for a match on 25 March 1957. However, the old style floodlights were dismantled in 1987, to be replaced by a new lighting system embedded in the roof of each of the stands, which has survived to this day.

In 1990, following the Hillsborough disaster, a report was issued which demanded all stadia must be all-seater stadia, leading to subsequent renovation, which dropped capacity to around 44,000. However, the club's popularity ensured that further development would occur. In 1995, the North Stand was redeveloped into three tiers, bringing the capacity up to approximately 55,000. This was followed by expansions of first the East and then West Stands to reach a total capacity of 68,000. The most recent expansion was completed in 2006, when the North-East and North-West Quadrants were opened, allowing the current record of 76,098, only 104 short of the stadium's maximum capacity.

It has been estimated that for any further development to be attempted on the stadium, specifically the South Stand which is still only one tier high, development costs would almost equal the £114 million already spent on the stadium in the last fourteen years. This is due to the fact that up to fifty houses would have to be bought out by the club, which would cause a lot of disruption to local residents, and any extension would have to be built over the top of the railway line that runs adjacent to the stadium. Ideally, the expansion would include bringing the South Stand up to at least two tiers and filling in the South-West and South-East quadrants to restore the "bowl" effect of the stadium. Present estimates put the projected capacity of the completed stadium at approximately 96,000, more than the new Wembley Stadium.

Rivalries

United's number one rival is difficult to determine. Traditionally, the closest rivals have been Liverpool, Manchester City and Leeds, though Arsenal have come into the frame in recent years. Currently, most fans see Liverpool as their biggest rivals, due to the success of both clubs as well as their proximity to each other, while others rate intra-city rivals Manchester City as their biggest rivals. The Liverpool rivalry began during the 1960s when the two clubs were among the strongest in England, and have been competing closely just about every season since. The Manchester City rivalry dates back to the Newton Heath era of the 1890s, and has remained fierce due to both clubs being in the same division for much of their history.

Whilst based in traditional Yorkshire-Lancashire rivalry, the rivalry with Leeds United began during the late 1960s when Leeds emerged as a top side, and continued through the 1970s and 1980s before arguably reaching its apex when Leeds pipped United to the league title in 1992. The rivalry with Arsenal is more recent and based more on battles on the pitch; it has been particularly intense since Arsenal and United have been in direct competition for several trophies since the late-1990s.

Honours

Domestic

League

Premier League (including (Old) First Division) titles: 17

(Old) Second Division: 2

Cups

FA Cup: 11

League Cup: 2

FA Charity/Community Shield: 16 (12 outright, 4 shared)

European

European Cup / UEFA Champions League: 3
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1

European Super Cup: 1

Intercontinental Cup/World Club Championship: 1

Why we NEVER use Man .U.

Man .U. is not a term United fans refer to themselves as. The term is only used by other supporters as a complete and utter insult to our club. The "U" is meant to be "you" by the rival fans.

An early example of its usage is this chant by West Brom fans: "Duncan Edwards is manure, rotting in his grave, man you are manure- rotting in your grave". The origin of "Man .U." is a song to insult the dead Duncan Edwards.

Liverpool and Leeds fans copied this with their own man you /u versions to insult all of the lads who died at munich.

"Man .U. Man .U. went on a plane Man .U. Man .U. never came back again"

and..

"Man .U. Never Intended Coming Home" (if you combine the first letter of each word you get the word "munich").

I hope this makes it clearer that saying Man .U. is an insult, particularly to the older supporters and to see United fans using it now is shameful. I hope a few might read this, understand and spread the word.

So please refrain from using this term ever again.

The Forum

Sub - Forums:

OK this should be obvious but some people still seem to have trouble with it but please post your topics in the right sub-forum.

Transfer Speculation: News about players that have been linked or you think would improve the squad.

>>Transfer Section guidelines created by ziQ_gaUchO<<

General United Discussion: This is for all the latest news to do with Manchester United.

The Opposition: News about United's opponents.

Fixtures & Results: Upcoming fixtures and previous results.

Fanzone: Fun and Games

Players & Staff: Current Players and Staff at the club. Others belong in the transfer section.

United Legends: Great players past and present who have played for the Club

Feedback & Queries: Feedback and queries for the Admins and other members of the board

Munich Remembered: Memorial sub-forum remembering those who died in the Munich disaster and thier families.

Feedback & Queries: Comments and questions about the board and the club.

Talking Reds Improvements: Your ideas on how the Forum could be improved.

Talking on the forum:

Due to the nature of the forum we have many posters from countries where English isn't thier first language.

Because of this please do not use leetspeak ( 7|-|@7 |\/|3@|\|5 7@|_|<1|\|9 |_1|<3 7|-|15 ) because those who don't speak perfect English may not be able to read this and it causes trouble for others. Short hand is also frowed apon for the same reason.

If you are dyslexic (like myself) don't fret, mistakes are made and can be corrected.

The Mods:

Other than ManUtdMod several new Community Mods have been promoted on the board. There job is simply to help keep order on the forum (deleting duplicate thread, sorting out abusive members and genrally helping the board run smoothly). They are as follows:

Gavinio

Matt Cornejo

TakenAsRed

They can be easily recognised in the the Forums by the Moderator badge under thier avatar :

Any problems with abusive members or duplicate threads can be directed to them (if active). Please remember to use the report button that be found at the bottom left of each post for reporting.