The History of Manchester United 1902 - 1910
By 1902, the club was in a financial trouble and were it not for the intervention of John Henry Davies, a wealthy local brewery owner; the club may well have gone under. Davies however, for a hand in running the club, invested some much needed funds and brought with him some high ambitions. With the new direction, came a new name and after consultation, the likes of Manchester Celtic and Manchester Central were rejected; Newton Heath would become known as Manchester United.
The 1902/1903 season saw Manchester United beat Arsenal twice and Manchester City in the league as well as knock Liverpool out of the FA Cup. United were knocked out of the FA Cup themselves in the second round as they lost 3 -1 to Everton at Goodison Park. Manchester United went on to finish the season in 5th behind Arsenal in 3rd and rivals City; the league winners.
In 1903, James Ernest Mangall was appointed club secretary, which was pretty much the same role a modern day manager. Mangall had previously managed at Burnley and with him at the realm, Burnley were relegated from the second division. In his first season at United, they finished 3rd, just 2 points of the league champions Preston North End and 1 point behind Arsenal.
The 1904/1905 season again saw United finish 3rd, this time behind Liverpool and Bolton. Manchester United also fell at the first hurdle in the FA Cup losing a replay to Fulham in the Intermediate round.
At start of the 1905/1906 season, Manchester United were facing their twelfth consecutive season in English football’s second tier. The team had progressed over recent seasons and Mangall had made some good signings, including Alec Bell, John Peddle, Dick Duckworth, George Wall, John Picken, Thomas Blackstock and Charlie Roberts. Mangall then signed Charlie Sagar from Burnley and his 16 league goals along with Peddle’s 18 and Picken’s 20 pushed Manchester United into a second place finish and promotion back to the First Divison. Bristol City won the league by 3 points whilst languishing in 3rd place was Chelsea. The team also had a good run in the FA Cup beating Staple Hill 7 – 2, Norwich City 3 – 0 and Aston Villa 5 – 1 before they were eventually beaten 3 – 2 by Arsenal in the fourth round.
In preparation for the new season, Mangall looked to strengthen his squad and in particular there was one player in his sights. Billy Meredith had earned himself the title of “Welsh Wizard” because of his flair, bursts of speed and mazy runs down the wing. He had earned his reputation at Manchester City. Meredith had won the FA Cup at City but had been implicated in a bribery scandal and CIty were prepararing to let him go. Mangall was aware the player was due to be auctioned off, and despite the club rivalries, made his move early and in May 1906 Meredith became a United player.
The team made an average start to the season. Meredith made his debut for United on 1st January 1907 in a 1 – 0 win over Aston Villa. The team finished the season strong with the occasional blip (a 5 – 0 smashing at Newcastle for instance) and avoided any threat of regulation. At the end of the 1906/1907 season United sat comfortably in 8th. In the first round of the FA Cup, United managed a 2 – 2 draw away to Portsmouth but failed to take advantage of playing at home in the replay and went down 2 – 1.
In their second season back in the top flight, – 1907/1908 - Manchester United, with James Ernest Mangall at the helm, won their first Championship. After 38 games, Manchester United were top of the pile, nine points ahead of nearest challengers Aston Villa. Meredith had played in the most games out of any of the players clocking up 43 appearances and his crossing had been critical in Wall and the Turnball’s (Sandy and Jimmy) return of 64 goals between them.
Winning the title in 1907/1908 season meant United would appear in their first ever Charity Shield against FA Cup winners QPR. The game was tied 1 - 1 but in the replay, Manchester United won the competition with an emphatic 4 – 0 win thanks to a hat-trick from Sandy Turnbull. At this time, the Charity Shield was played at the end of the season before the summer break.
United set about defending their crown in the 1908/1909 season with five victories in their opening five games, culminating in a 3 – 2 victory over Liverpool. The team struggled for consistency after that and suffered some heavy defeats along the way (6 – 1 to Sunderland, 5 – 0 to Middlesbrough and 4 – 1 to Arsenal). The season ending with new Champions; Newcastle and United were down in 13th. A disappointing end to the season was spared on 24th April 2009 when, in front of 71,401 spectators, Sandy Turnbull scored the only goal in a 1 – 0 victory over Burnley in the FA Cup final. Manchester United had won the FA Cup for the first time in their history. Manchester City were relegated.
In the 1909/1910 campaign, United were unable to repeat their FA Cup heroics and were knocked out in the first round after a 1 – 0 defeat away to Burnley. The season went steadily and United beat Chelsea (won at home, drew away), Arsenal (won at home, drew away) but lost both home and away to Liverpool. United finished the season in 5th, 8 points adrift of Champions Aston Villa and 3 behind Liverpool in second place. Chelsea finished the season in a relegation spot with Arsenal just escaping by 2 points.
