Little Book of Manchester United (11 page)

*Brian Kidd in action against Benfica in the 1968 European Cup Final.

He eventually took over the youth development project and in 1991 became assistant manager to Alex Ferguson before an ill-fated sojourn as manager at Blackburn Rovers in the late 1990s. Varied backroom management positions have followed and Kidd became assistant manager to Roberto Mancini at Manchester City after Mark Hughes’ sacking.

Kits

Although everybody today associates Manchester United with red shirts, Newton Heath started their League career in shirts with red and white quarters and blue shorts. For ten years, they switched between this, white shirts and blue shorts and green and gold shirts. With chairman John Davies, came the red shirts that have now become a tradition. The basic red shirt did not dramatically change for years – although the club did experiment with a white shirt bearing a V around the neck and maroon shirts with white hoops during the 1920 and 1930s.

* Martin Sullivan, CEO of AIG, poses with Ji-Sung Park (L), Wayne Rooney (2nd from left), Cristiano Ronaldo (2nd from right) and Gary Neville (R) after announcing the club’s new shirt sponsors in 2006.

The shirts did not include an emblem on the chest until 1973, although badges were added for special occasions including FA Cup Finals. A badge depicting a phoenix rising from the ashes was added for the 1958 Cup Final held just three months after Munich. Replica kits were first made available to supporters in 1977 and sponsors’ names appeared on the shirts in 1983.

*Steve Bruce, models the 1992 away shirt.

The club has gone back to the future with its latest first-team kit. A black ‘v-shape’ stripe features on the shirt’s chest together with a black round-neck collar – reminiscent of shirts worn by Manchester United during the 1908-09 season, when they reached the FA Cup Final.

*A group of shirts bearing the names and numbers of famous Manchester United players from the ‘90s.

From the start of the 2010-11 season, global insurance giant Aon became only the fourth sponsor in the club’s history to see its name on Manchester United shirts.

*Bryan Robson in the 1990 away shirt.

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Law

Combative Scot Denis Law’s flair for being in the right place at the right time matched with his lightning football brain made ‘the King’ a prolific goalscorer over his 11 years at Old Trafford.

His early career saw him play for Aberdeen schoolboys, where his slim build and slight squint conspired against him, but this may also explain his aggressive style of play. As he was unable to wear his glasses on the pitch he played with his right eye shut. He soon attracted the attention of Archie Beattie, whose brother Andy was manager of Huddersfield Town where he was taken on as an apprentice in 1955. An operation cured his squint which gave him sight, though slightly blurred, in his right eye.

*Denis Law takes a penalty during a match against West Ham United at Upton Park in 1970.

Matt Busby spotted Law (born 24 February 1940) in an FA Youth Cup tie against United and he offered Huddersfield £10,000 for him. The offer was rejected and Law went on to make his League debut for Huddersfield aged 16. Matt Busby, then manager of Scotland, capped Law against Wales in 1958 where he scored in a 3-0 win. After short spells for Manchester City and Torino, Law arrived at United in 1962. He quickly earned himself honours during the 1960s but missed out on the European Cup Final through injury.

After 236 goals in 399 games for United, new manager Tommy Docherty believed Law had peaked and gave him a free transfer at the end of the 1972-73 season. He moved back to Manchester City and scored the goal that consigned United to the Second Division in 1974. He retired from football that year at the age of 34.

League Championship

United predecessors Newton Heath joined an expanded First Division in 1892 and endured a torrid two-year stay in the top flight, winning just six games out of 30 in each season, although they did register their record League victory, 10-1 against Wolves in October 1892. A 12-year spell in the Second Division ended in 1906 and United went on to enjoy a successful period for the rest of that decade. Mid-table mediocrity was then the norm until relegation in 1922.

*Sir Alex Ferguson and captain Roy Keane hold the Premiership trophy.

The situation was dire on 5 May 1934 when United travelled to Millwall needing to win to avoid relegation to the Third Division (North) for the first time in their history. A 2-0 victory was achieved and two years later they clinched the Second Division title to claim a place in the top flight.

The club has played in the top division of English football since 1938 with the exception of the 1974-75 season. The club was a founding member of the Premier League in 1992, and after winning the Championship for the third time in a row in 2008-09, now holds the joint record for the most English League titles with 18.

League Cup

Prior to facing Wigan in the 2006 Final, Manchester United had won the Football League Cup just once since its inaugural 1960-61 season. That was in 1992, when a Brian McClair goal beat Nottingham Forest 1-0 to claim the Rumbelows Cup (the trophy has also been known as the Worthington Cup, Milk Cup, Coca-Cola Cup and Carling Cup in its various incarnations).

*Alex Ferguson leads out the team to celebrate being crowned FA Carling Premier League Champions, 2001.

It took them until 1982-83 to register their first appearance in the Final and their opponents were Liverpool, who were three-quarters of the way through a four-year domination of the competition. Although United took the lead through Norman Whiteside, Liverpool fought back to claim an extra-time victory. The Old Trafford side have been runners-up on two other occasions, losing to former manager Ron Atkinson’s charges each time. In 1990-91 United registered their highest away win in the competition when they demolished Arsenal 6-2 at Highbury en route to a Wembley meeting with Sheffield Wednesday. The Owls managed just one shot on target during the whole 90 minutes and John Sheridan’s strike proved decisive.