After the Treble (1999-present)

United won the league in 2000 and 2001 but the press saw these seasons as failures as they failed to regain the European Cup. Ferguson adopted more defensive tactics to make United harder to beat in Europe but it was not a success and United finished the season in third place in 2002.

They regained the league the following season (2002-03) and started the following season well, but their form dropped significantly when Rio Ferdinand received a controversial eight month suspension for missing a drugs test. They did win the 2004 FA Cup, however, knocking out Arsenal (that season's eventual champions) on their way to the final in which they beat Millwall.

The 2004-05 season was characterised by a failure to score goals, mainly due to the injury of striker Ruud van Nistelrooy and United finished the season trophyless and in third place in the league. This time, even the "consolation prize" of the FA Cup eluded them as Arsenal beat United on penalties after a goalless draw after 120 minutes. Off the pitch, the main story was the possibility of the club being taken over and at the end of the season, Tampa businessman Malcolm Glazer, (who also owns the American football team Tampa Bay Buccaneers), acquired a controlling interest in the club.

United made a poor start to the 2005-06 season, with midfielder Roy Keane leaving the club to join Celtic after publicly criticising several of his teammates, and the club failed to qualify for the knock-out phase of the UEFA Champions League for the first time in over a decade after losing to Portuguese team SL Benfica. Their season was also dealt cruel blows with injuries to key players such as Gabriel Heinze, Alan Smith, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes.

However, they were prevented from being left empty handed in successive seasons - a disappointment not endured in the last 17 years - by winning the 2006 League Cup beating newly promoted neighbours Wigan Athletic in the final 4-0. United also ensured a second-place finish and automatic Champions League qualification on the final day of the season by defeating Charlton Athletic 4-0.

At the end of the 2005-2006 season, one of United's key strikers, Ruud van Nistelrooy, left the club to join Real Madrid, due to a row with Alex Ferguson.[8] Early in January 2007, Manchester United signed Henrik Larsson on loan, who scored his first goal against Aston Villa in their 2-1 win in the FA Cup at Old Trafford.

The Treble (1998-99) History

1998-99 was when Manchester United had 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, described as by manager Alex Ferguson as the hardest of three titles . 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, United defeated Bayern Munich in what was then considered one of the greatest comebacks ever witnessed. Losing 1-0 going into injury time, Teddy Sheringham equalised after one minute, and Ole Gunnar Solskjær clinched the trophy a minute later. 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.

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

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 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 for United 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[6], 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 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 for racial abuse, 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 1997, and Eric Cantona announced his retirement from football at the age of 30. They started the following season (1997-98) well, but they finished the season in second place, behind the double-winning champions Arsenal.

1969-1986 History

United struggled to replace Busby, and the team struggled under Wilf McGuinness and Frank O'Farrell before 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. The team won promotion at the first attempt and reached the FA Cup final in 1976, but were beaten by Southampton. They reached the final again in 1977, beating Liverpool. 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, and after failing to win a trophy Sexton was sacked in 1981, despite winning his last seven games in charge.

He was replaced by the flamboyant Ron Atkinson who immediately broke the British record transfer fee to sign Bryan Robson from West Brom. Atkinson's team featured new signings such as Jesper Olsen and Gordon Strachan playing alongside the former youth-team players Norman Whiteside and Mark Hughes. United won the FA Cup 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, Atkinson was sacked.

The Busby years (1945-1969)

Matt Busby was appointed manager in 1945 and took a then-unheard of approach to his job, joining the players for training as well as performing administrative tasks. He was immediately successful, with the club finishing second in the league in 1947 and winning the FA Cup in 1948.

He adopted a policy of bringing in players from the youth team whenever possible, and the team won the league in 1956 with an average age of only 22. This youth policy has now become instrumental in the club's success. The following season, 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, and reached the semi-final.

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 and another fifteen passengers. There were rumors 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. At the end of the season, UEFA offered the FA the opportunity to submit both United and the eventual champions, Wolverhampton, for the 1958-59 European Cup as a tribute to the victims, but the FA declined.

Busby rebuilt the team throughout the early 1960s, signing players such as Denis Law and Pat Crerand. The team won the FA Cup in 1963, then won the league in 1965 and 1967 and the European Cup in 1968, being the first English club to do so. This team was notable for containing three European Footballers of the Year: Bobby Charlton, Denis Law and George Best. Busby resigned as manager in 1969 and was replaced by the reserve-team coach and former United player, Wilf McGuinness.

Early years (1878-1945) - History

The club was formed as Newton Heath LYR F.C. in 1878 as the works team of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway depot at Newton Heath, then started to sever it's links with the rail depot in 1890, becoming Newton Heath F.C.. After nearing bankruptcy in 1902, the club was taken over by J H Davies who changed its name to Manchester United, chosen over Manchester Central and Manchester Celtic. The Old Trafford Football Ground was bombed during the Second World War, leading the club to seek charity from their then more-illustrious neighbours Manchester City, who allowed them to play their games at Maine Road for a period.

what about Manchester United Team

Manchester United Football Club are a world-famous English football club, based at the Old Trafford stadium in Trafford, Greater Manchester, and are one of the most popular sports clubs in the world, with over 50 million supporters worldwide. Manchester United are one of the most successful clubs in the world and are second only to Liverpool in terms of trophies won by an English club. They have won the FA Premier League/Football League 15 times, FA Cup 11 times (an English record), the League Cup twice, the European Cup twice, the UEFA Cup Winners Cup once, the Intercontinental Cup once, and the European Super Cup once. The club has had the highest average attendance in English football for the past 34 seasons, with the exception of 1987-89 during redevelopment at Old Trafford.

Since 1991, the club had been run as a public limited company, with an attempted takeover by Rupert Murdoch in 1998 blocked by the British Government. However, in May 2005 Malcolm Glazer completed a hostile takeover of the club and delisted it from the stock exchange. The club is currently the fourth richest (in terms of revenue) in the world.

The current club captain of Manchester United is Gary Neville, who took over from Roy Keane on 16 November 2005.