- List of Manchester United F.C. managers
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Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester. The club was formed in Newton Heath in 1878 as Newton Heath LYR F.C., and played their first competitive match in October 1886, when they entered the First Round of the 1886–87 FA Cup. The club was renamed Manchester United F.C. in 1902, and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.
Since the beginning of the club's official managerial records in 1892 to the end of the 2010–11 season, Manchester United have had 18 full-time managers.
The longest-serving and most successful person to manage Manchester United is Sir Alex Ferguson, who has won twelve Premier League titles, five FA Cups, four League Cups, ten Community Shields, two UEFA Champions League titles, one UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, one UEFA Super Cup, one Intercontinental Cup and one FIFA Club World Cup in his 25-year reign as manager.
Contents
Managerial history
From 1878 to 1914, the team was selected by a committee whose secretary had the same powers and role as a manager has today. There were four secretaries during this period, A. H. Albut, James West, Ernest Mangnall and John Bentley.
Ernest Mangnall was the first man to bring any major silverware to the club, winning the club's first ever Football League title in 1908. This was followed by the FA Cup the following season, and another league title in 1911. Despite this success, though, he left the club a year later to join local rivals Manchester City. Coincidently, Mangnall's last match in charge of United was the Old Trafford derby of 7 September 1912.[1] John Bentley took over as club secretary, but was replaced two years later by Jack Robson, who became the club's first full-time manager. He remained in the post for seven years, but resigned in December 1921 after succumbing to a bout of pneumonia.[2]
Robson was followed soon after by John Chapman. However, in Chapman's first season at the club, they were relegated to the Second Division for the first time since 1906. Three years in the Second Division followed, before promotion back to the First Division. After guiding the club to 9th place in the league and the FA Cup semi-finals in 1925–26, Chapman received a telegram from the Football Association on 8 October 1926 informing him of his suspension from management for the rest of the season; no reason was given. Half-back Lal Hilditch took over for the remainder of the season, before Herbert Bamlett took permanent control.
Bamlett was manager for four years, but was unable to muster any success, the club's highest position during his reign being 12th.[3] The club was relegated to the Second Division again in 1931, and Bamlett was replaced by club secretary Walter Crickmer. This was Crickmer's first of two spells as manager of the club, retaining his position as secretary all the while. It lasted only a season, though, as he failed to return the club to the First Division. In June 1932, Scott Duncan was appointed as manager, but in his second season in charge he led the club to what remains a club record lowest League position; 20th in the Second Division. The club held faith in Duncan though, and he managed to get the club back into the First Division by 1936. However, the club was relegated again the following year, and Walter Crickmer resumed control until the end of the Second World War.
Before the end of the war, the club approached Matt Busby, who had just turned down the opportunity to join the coaching staff at Liverpool, on the grounds that he wanted more responsibility over the playing side of the club than merely the selection of the team.[3] United allowed Busby the responsibilities he requested, and in his first five seasons in charge he guided the team to four second-place finishes in the league, before finally winning his first title in 1952. He soon set about replacing many of the more experienced players with a group of youths who came to be known as the "Busby Babes". This team went on to win two league titles in 1955–56 and 1956–57, as well as reaching two FA Cup finals. Unfortunately, the careers of many of the players were cut short by the Munich air disaster, which also left Busby fighting for his life.[4]
While Busby was in hospital recovering from the injuries he sustained in the air crash, his managerial duties were left to his assistant, Jimmy Murphy. After Busby recovered, he set about rebuilding his side, and within five years, in 1963, he had won the FA Cup for the first time in 15 years. This was followed up by two league titles in three years, and then the greatest prize in European club football, the European Cup. He continued as manager for one more year after this success, leaving his managerial duties to club trainer Wilf McGuinness. McGuinness struggled in his new post, however, and Busby was convinced to return for the second half of the 1970–71 season.[4] However, he retired from football permanently that summer, and was succeeded that summer by Frank O'Farrell. O'Farrell's stay was short-lived, though, as his inability to control George Best's extravagances forced the board to sack him with three years still to run on his contract.
O'Farrell's replacement was to be Scotland's newly-appointed coach, Tommy Docherty. Docherty left the Scotland job after only a month in charge, and his first task at United was to keep the club in the top flight. He managed it once, but he was unable to pull it off again and the club was relegated in 1973–74. They bounced straight back up the following season, though, and in their first season back in the top flight, the team cruised to a third place finish and yet another FA Cup final. The next year, they went one better, beating Liverpool in the final to claim his first and only trophy at Old Trafford. It was soon discovered, however, that Docherty was having an affair with the wife of the club's physiotherapist, and he was immediately fired,[5] replaced by Queens Park Rangers' manager Dave Sexton.
Sexton remained in the United job for four years, but was unable to produce any silverware, and was replaced in 1981 by Ron Atkinson. Atkinson was able to rekindle the club's cup success, leading his side to two FA Cups in his five year tenure. He also oversaw a series of respectable finishes in the league, but after his disastrous start to the 1986–87 season, he was sacked.[6] His replacement, Alex Ferguson, had, in recent years, become the first manager to break the dominance of Rangers and Celtic in the Scottish league for over 15 years, winning the Scottish First Division title with Aberdeen three times in six years, as well as finishing as runner-up twice.
Since his appointment, Ferguson has been credited with the distinction of making some of the most shrewd purchases in the club's history, including the signings of Peter Schmeichel and Eric Cantona, each for less than £1.5 million.[7] With these signings, combined with the club's many experienced players, Ferguson brought the league title back to Old Trafford for the first time in 26 years. In the following decade, he won the Premier League title another six times, including a hat-trick of titles from 1999 to 2001, a feat that no other manager has yet achieved with the same club.[8] In 1999, he also led the club to an unprecedented Treble of Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League. Since then, he has added another three league titles to his trophy haul, despite a number of promises of retirement.[9] Ferguson won his tenth Premier League title in the 2007–08 season, and followed this up with his second Champions League title ten days later. In 2008–09, Ferguson guided United to another Premier League title, making Manchester United the only club and him the only manager to have won the English league title three times in a row twice. He won his twelfth title in the 2010–11 season, making 19 titles overall for United, overtaking Liverpool's record of 18.
Statistics
Information correct as of match played 5 November 2011. Only competitive matches are counted.
- Table headers
- Nationality – If the manager played international football as a player, the country/countries he played for are shown. Otherwise, the manager's nationality is given as their country of birth.
- From – The year of the manager's first game for Manchester United.
- To – The year of the manager's last game for Manchester United.
- P – The number of games managed for Manchester United.
- W – The number of games won as a manager.
- D – The number of games draw as a manager.
- L – The number of games lost as a manager.
- GF – The number of goals scored under his management.
- GA – The number of goals conceded under his management.
- Win% – The total winning percentage under his management.
- Honours – The trophies won while managing Manchester United.
- Key
- (n/a) = Information not available
List of Manchester United F.C. managers Name Nationality From To P W D L GF GA Win%[nb 1] Honours Notes A. H. Albut 
England1892 1900 (n/a) (n/a) (n/a) (n/a) (n/a) (n/a) (n/a) [nb 2][nb 3] James West England1900 September 1903 113 46 20 47 159 147 40.71 [nb 2][10] Ernest Mangnall England10 October 1903 9 September 1912 373 202 76 95 700 476 54.16 2 First Division titles
1 FA Cup
2 Charity Shields[nb 2][11] T. J. Wallworth (n/a) 9 September 1912 20 October 1912 6 3 2 1 11 7 50.00 [nb 4] John Bentley England28 October 1912 28 December 1914 82 36 16 30 127 110 43.90 [nb 2][12] Jack Robson 
Scotland28 December 1914 31 October 1921 139 41 42 56 183 207 29.50 [13] John Chapman England31 October 1921 8 October 1926 221 86 58 77 287 274 38.91 [14] Lal Hilditch England8 October 1926 13 April 1927 33 10 10 13 38 47 30.30 [15] Herbert Bamlett England13 April 1927 9 November 1931 183 57 42 84 280 374 31.15 [16] Walter Crickmer England9 November 1931 13 July 1932 43 17 8 18 72 76 39.53 [17] Scott Duncan Scotland13 July 1932 7 November 1937 235 92 53 90 371 362 39.15 [18] Walter Crickmer England9 November 1937 15 February 1945 76 30 24 22 131 112 39.47 [17] Matt Busby Scotland1 October 1945 4 June 1969 1,120 565 263 292 2,286 1,536 50.45 5 First Division titles
2 FA Cups
5 Charity Shields
1 European Cup[19] Jimmy Murphy 
WalesFebruary 1958 June 1958 22 5 7 10 27 42 22.73 [nb 5][20] Wilf McGuinness England4 June 1969 29 December 1970 87 32 32 23 127 111 36.78 [21] Matt Busby Scotland29 December 1970 8 June 1971 21 11 3 7 38 30 52.38 [19] Frank O'Farrell 
Ireland8 June 1971 19 December 1972 81 30 24 27 115 111 37.04 [22] Tommy Docherty Scotland22 December 1972 4 July 1977 228 107 56 65 333 252 46.93 1 FA Cup [23] Dave Sexton England14 July 1977 29 April 1981 201 81 64 56 290 240 40.30 1 Charity Shield (shared) [24] Ron Atkinson England9 June 1981 6 November 1986 292 146 79 67 461 266 50.00 2 FA Cups
1 Charity Shield[25] Alex Ferguson Scotland6 November 1986 Present 1,410 837 326 247 2,580 1,262 59.36 12 Premier League titles
5 FA Cups
4 League Cups
10 Community Shields (inc. 1 shared)[nb 6]
2 UEFA Champions Leagues
1 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
1 UEFA Super Cup
1 Intercontinental Cup
1 FIFA Club World Cup[26] Notes
- ^ Win% is rounded to two decimal places
- ^ a b c d Secretary of the committee that chose the team
- ^ Information regarding A. H. Albut's managerial record is unavailable due to his exact date of appointment being unknown.
- ^ Wallworth was only the club's acting secretary, and, as such, he is not included in any official lists of the club's managers.
- ^ Murphy was installed as the club's caretaker manager while Busby was in hospital recovering from the Munich air disaster.
- ^ Five of Ferguson's Community Shields were won while the competition was still known as the FA Charity Shield.
References
- ^ Cawley, Steve; James, Gary (1991). The Pride of Manchester. ACL & Polar. pp. 56–57. ISBN 0-951-4862-1-7.
- ^ "Down memory lane 1889–1928". This is The North East. http://www.communigate.co.uk/ne/elliscupfounded1889/page3.phtml. Retrieved 30 November 2010.
- ^ a b Barnes, Justyn; Bostock, Adam; Butler, Cliff; Ferguson, Jim; Meek, David; Mitten, Andy; Pilger, Sam; Taylor, Frank OBE et al. (2001). The Official Manchester United Illustrated Encyclopedia. London: Manchester United Books. ISBN 0-233-99964-7.
- ^ a b "Sir Matt Busby". ManUtdZone.com. http://www.manutdzone.com/legends/SirMattBusby.htm. Retrieved 16 November 2007.
- ^ "Football – Docherty Sacked for Love Affair". 1977. http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/kenanderson/centsport/1977-80.html. Retrieved 16 November 2007.
- ^ "Atkinson, Ron: 1981–1986". ManUtdZone.com. http://www.manutdzone.com/atoz/a.html. Retrieved 16 November 2007.
- ^ "Ferguson: 21 best signings". Manchester United (Manchester Evening News). 7 November 2007. http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/manchester_united/s/1023296_ferguson_21_best_signings. Retrieved 16 November 2007.
- ^ "Ferguson celebrates title triumph". BBC Sport. 25 November 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/1277358.stm. Retrieved 25 November 2007.
- ^ "Ferguson to quit Man Utd in 2002". BBC Sport. 18 May 2001. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/1338641.stm. Retrieved 23 November 2007.
- ^ "UNITED under James WEST". StretfordEnd.co.uk. http://www.stretfordend.co.uk/managers/west.html. Retrieved 15 November 2007.
- ^ "UNITED under Ernest MANGNALL". StretfordEnd.co.uk. http://www.stretfordend.co.uk/managers/mangnall.html. Retrieved 15 November 2007.
- ^ "UNITED under J J BENTLEY". StretfordEnd.co.uk. http://www.stretfordend.co.uk/managers/bentley.html. Retrieved 15 November 2007.
- ^ "UNITED under John ROBSON". StretfordEnd.co.uk. http://www.stretfordend.co.uk/managers/robson.html. Retrieved 15 November 2007.
- ^ "UNITED under John CHAPMAN". StretfordEnd.co.uk. http://www.stretfordend.co.uk/managers/chapman.html. Retrieved 15 November 2007.
- ^ "UNITED under Clarence HILDITCH". StretfordEnd.co.uk. http://www.stretfordend.co.uk/managers/hilditch.html. Retrieved 15 November 2007.
- ^ "UNITED under Herbert BAMLETT". StretfordEnd.co.uk. http://www.stretfordend.co.uk/managers/bamlett.html. Retrieved 15 November 2007.
- ^ a b "UNITED under Walter CRICKMER". StretfordEnd.co.uk. http://www.stretfordend.co.uk/managers/crickmer.html. Retrieved 15 November 2007.
- ^ "UNITED under Scott DUNCAN". StretfordEnd.co.uk. http://www.stretfordend.co.uk/managers/duncan.html. Retrieved 15 November 2007.
- ^ a b "UNITED under Sir Matt BUSBY". StretfordEnd.co.uk. http://www.stretfordend.co.uk/managers/busby.html. Retrieved 15 November 2007.
- ^ "UNITED under Jimmy MURPHY". StretfordEnd.co.uk. http://www.stretfordend.co.uk/managers/murphy.html. Retrieved 15 November 2007.
- ^ "UNITED under Wilf McGUINNESS". StretfordEnd.co.uk. http://www.stretfordend.co.uk/managers/mcguinness.html. Retrieved 15 November 2007.
- ^ "UNITED under Frank O'FARRELL". StretfordEnd.co.uk. http://www.stretfordend.co.uk/managers/ofarrell.html. Retrieved 15 November 2007.
- ^ "UNITED under Tommy DOCHERTY". StretfordEnd.co.uk. http://www.stretfordend.co.uk/managers/docherty.html. Retrieved 15 November 2007.
- ^ "UNITED under Dave SEXTON". StretfordEnd.co.uk. http://www.stretfordend.co.uk/managers/sexton.html. Retrieved 15 November 2007.
- ^ "UNITED under Ron ATKINSON". StretfordEnd.co.uk. http://www.stretfordend.co.uk/managers/atkinson.html. Retrieved 15 November 2007.
- ^ "UNITED under Sir Alex FERGUSON". StretfordEnd.co.uk. http://www.stretfordend.co.uk/managers/ferguson.html. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
- Murphy, Alex. The Official Illustrated History of Manchester United. Orion Books. ISBN 0752876031.
- "Manchester United Managerial History". MUFCInfo.com. http://www.mufcinfo.com/manupag/managers/managers.html. Retrieved 25 May 2009.
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Commons:Manchester UnitedManchester United F.C. – managers Albut (secretary) (1892–1900) · West (secretary) (1900–03) · Mangnall (secretary) (1903–12) · Bentley (secretary) (1912–14) · Robson (1914–21) · Chapman (1921–26) · Hilditch (player) (1926–27) · Bamlett (1927–31) · Crickmer (1931–32) · Duncan (1932–37) · Crickmer (1937–45) · Busby (1945–69) · McGuinness (1969–70) · Busby (1970–71) · O'Farrell (1971–72) · Docherty (1972–77) · Sexton (1977–81) · Atkinson (1981–86) · Ferguson (1986–)
Categories:- Manchester United F.C. managers
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