Manchester United's manager Ernest Magnall was building a side that looked better than anything the fans had seen so far, 20 year old Charlie Roberts was to be proved a great buy, Magnall had signed him from Grimsby for the grand total of 400 pounds, he was sturdily built and extremely fast, it was reorted that he could run the hundred yards in 11 seconds. This was the time that the world record stood at 9.6 seconds! Vittorio Pozzo the Italian national team coach was reported to be a huge fan of Roberts and took back to Italy a lasting memory of the player after he visited Clayton to watch him play. Pozzo went on to create one of the finest pre war teams ever to play the game, he had stated publicly that Roberts had been his inspiration. Strangely enough, the English team selectors didn't seem to agree and Roberts only played for England 3 times, it was believed that his image as somewhat of a rebel contributed to him being ignored this way. Roberts wore his shorts short, this was a time when the FA had ruled that all shorts were to cover the knee, he had also been a pioneer in the Players Union becoming its chairman and later becoming a leader in the "outcasts" (to be explained later). On Boxing Day 1904 United entertained Liverpool at Clayton, 40,000 fans showed up for the game and United defeated the Merseysiders 3-1. It was a high point in the season though, Liverpool took their revenge 4 months later and hammered United 4-0 at Anfield to finish the season at the top of the table and again deny United the promotion they desperately desired. 1904/05
After 12 unhappy seasons in the second division 1906 was the year that United finally claimed their place again in the top flight. One of the seasons finest results in the Clubs young history was a Cup tie win over the mighty Aston Villa, Villa had won the League Championship in 1894, 1896, 1897, 1899 and 1900 they had also won the FA Cup in years 1887, 1895, 1897 and 1905. Everyone had Villa as hot favorites to hammer the 2nd div. United, but before a record crowd of over 40,000 (gate receipts 1,460 pound) United proceeded to hammer the Villa team 5-1 on the mud bath Clayton pitch. United's joy was short lived though Woolwich Arsenal beat them in the next round 3-2. Promotion was clinched with a 3-1 victory over Leeds City (yes they were called City back then) and United finished the season out in style by trouncing Burton United 6-0 at Clayton. When the final whistle blew the crowd invaded the pitch and carried the team shoulder high from the field. Ernest Mangnall addressed the cheering fans and promised them that this was only the beginning, He was right! 1906
1907 was the year that Manchester United finally arrived as a major force in the footballing world. Boasting an exciting lineup and playing a brand of football that was to become a hallmark at the club. The backbone of the team had come across from their rivals Man City after a sensational scandal had erupted at the Ardwick club. Players were all supposed to be on a fixed wage of 4 pounds per game, it was discovered that City had been paying 6 or 7 pounds a week per player. The FA were furious about this discovery and dismissed five of the Man City directors and banned 17 of its players from ever appearing in a blue shirt again. Magnall acted swiftly and managed first of all to sign Billy Meredith (in 1906) he later added the services of 4 other City players. Meredith had also been involved in a bribe fiasco and it is said he was lucky not to be banned from the game for life. It is interesting to note here that although the players were signed in 1906, they all were serving FA mandated suspensions, so they did not make their debut's in a Red shirt until 1907. Billy Meredith was known as the 'Welsh wizard' he provided the spark that set apart Manchester United from other clubs establishing a tradition for players of the highest quality to follow him. He was the George Best of the Edwardian era - rebellious, skilled and popular. Many questions about the players long layoffs were soon answered in the first game of 1907 against Aston villa when an inspired Meredith darted and teased the Villa defence, finally plotting its downfall by laying on a cross for Turnball to slam into the net. By the end of the season United had climbed to 8th place and their brand of football was the talk of the town, more importantly they were poised to make an assault on the big prize, the Championship! 1907
The 1908 season began in fine style for the men from Clayton, a 4-1 hammering of Villa, a 4-0 win against Liverpool and a 2-1 win over Middlesbourgh, after 14 games had been played United had only dropped 2 points and stood (for the first time) proudly on top of Div 1. The wins were not squeaked out either, six against Newcastle away, Five at Blackburn, four against Everton, Arsenal and Birmingham. United's football was the talk of the footballing press! But despite the roaring start to the season they finished it rather slowly, with a run of 7 defeats in a row. But they were the Champions for the first time and set a new league record with 82 goals scored. Following the season end the United board decided to reward the team with a trip to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. they first played a combined Vienna Sport and Vienna FC team and won comfortably 4-0 and then travelled on by train to Budapest for two games against Ferencvaros. United won the first 6-2, but the second sparked off a minor diplomatic incident. United started the game in roaring style and the Hungarian fans applauded in admiration for the English Champions, but United continued to pile it on, and the scene turned sour as the referee sent off three United players and a mini riot developed. Eventually the police got the scene under control and United finished the game with 8 players, and a 7-0 win. But it was not to end there, as the ref blew the final whistle, stones were hurled from the terraces, players were spat on and police had to finally charge the crowd with swords drawn to disperse the throng. United were transported by open top bus to their hotel, and encountered another mob that rained stones down upon them, several players sustained head wounds before the police again got the crowd under control. The Hungarian authorities apologised profusely and United diplomatically shrugged the incidents off and promised to return again the following year. Upon arriving back in Manchester, Magnall vowed he would never go back to Hungary. 1908
Following their first Championship victory United played QPR in the Charity Shield match, the game was played at Chelsea's Stamford Bridge and finished in a 1-1 tie, a replay was arranged and this time more than 40,000 turned out to watch United put on an impressive display with Turnbull getting a hatrick in their 4-0 win. In United's history they had come no closer to winning the FA Cup than the 8th round, with the Championship trophy tucked away in the boardroom they now set sights on the only major British trophy that had so far alluded them. They started the campaign with a win against Southern league Brighton 1-0, and in the second round were drawn at home again this time against Everton. The Toffees were eliminated by a goal from Halse and the Reds marched on. The Rovers of Blackburn were United's next victim getting a severe 6-1 thrashing at Clayton. For the first time that year they were drawn away in the next round to 2nd div. Burnley and were down a goal to nil and looked like they were going out of the Cup again at the eight round when Mother Nature stepped in, snow started to fall in the 18th minute of the game, it turned into a blizzard and the ref had no option but to call off the tie, the replay favored the Reds and they won a 3-2 contest. United were now in the semi-finals for the first time in their history, they faced stiff opposition though in the Cup Holders Newcastle, the Geordie's fell to another goal from Halse and United were through to the final. (Newcastle did go on to win the Championship). The final took place at the Crystal Palace and Bristol City were United's opponents. The City of Manchester was gripped with Cup fever and train excursions to London were offered to the fans for 11 shillings each. United were forced to change their strip and instead of their usual scarlet red they wore white with a red "V". The City of Manchester poured into the Capital and despite the threat of rain 70,000 fans packed into the ground to watch Turnbull score the only goal of the game and with it win the Cup for United. Billy Meredith is said to have been the difference in the two sides, although by most accounts it was a poor game. After their Cup win the United team were taken to the Alhambra Theatre where they were entertained by football 's favorite comedian of the time Mr George Robey, accompanying United fans in tweed caps and jackets were a stark contrast to the clientele of the dress circle in their evening jackets and bow ties. The next morning there was something of a scare when the lid to the cup could not be found, it was eventually discovered in the pocket of Sandy Turnbulls jacket where some practical joker had hid it. The United team arrived at central station Manchester at 3:30pm that afternoon and were surprised to find an estimated 300,000 fans waiting to welcome them back home, with the brass band playing "see, the conquering hero comes." Mangnall opened the door of his carriage and lifted the old trophy high to a huge roar from the crowd, following Mangnall dressed in cloth cap came Charlie Roberts and the rest of the United team, many of them wearing red and white hats. A Motor coach took them through the City and all along the route people hung from windows, climbed statues, perched on roof's all to get a glimpse of their hero's. Never before had Albert Square seen such scenes. The procession continued to the Clayton ground where over 30,000 fans had been awaiting them for over 3 hours. It was to be the old Clayton grounds finest hour, for United had already given notice that they would be soon quitting its muddy fields for a new stadium being built at Old Trafford. United still had a game left to play and not surprisingly lost to Arsenal, after the game United's chairman took the FA Cup and filled it with champagne, he then took it to the Arsenal dressing room and invited them to drink to United's health. In August 1909, 4 months after winning the FA cup, the whole Manchester United team was suspended by the FA for refusing to renounce the trade union they had help form. At the outset it had been every professional player in the country that had joined the Union, but after pressure from the FA they dropped out one by one until only the Manchester United team was left, the United players stood firm and gained themselves the nickname "the outcasts". It seemed like the end of the season before it started for the club that had just begun to taste success, but when all seemed lost Tim Coleman of Everton walked out on his team mates and sided with the United players, Newcastle United, Middlesborough, and Sunderland all changed their minds also and were followed soon by the rest of the Everton team and the Liverpool team. The FA backed down! A muddled agreement was signed and the crisis was over, but it is thanks to that United team that the player union survived and exists to this day. 1909
The move to a new stadium had been agreed to in 1908, Clayton was a disgrace of a pitch, during the winter months it was a quagmire and hardly a fitting place for a team that had won the FA Cup and Championship. The old stadium was sold to the Manchester Corporation for 5,000 pounds and the new site in Trafford Park was purchased with the help of a grant for 60,000 pounds. The new stadium was planned to be the largest and finest in the country, it was originally designed to hold 100,000 fans, but after construction estimates soared an additional 30,000 pounds over budget, the plans were revised, restricting the gate to around 60,000. United played their last game at Clayton's Bank street ground on Jan 10th 1910 defeating Spurs 5-0. Shortly after United officially left the old ground a gale swept across Manchester and blew down the Bank Street stand causing damage to houses in the surrounding area. The new ground was opened on Feb 19th and named 'Old Trafford'. Liverpool were the opponents that day and spoiled the Party by beating United 4-3 after United had led 2-0, they soon got used to the new ground though, it was 21st October a year later before they suffered another defeat at home. The price of admission for the games at Old Trafford at the time was, best reserved seats five shillings, and to stand on the terraces cost six pence. 1910
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