OVERVIEW
Manchester United are the most successful Premier League club having
won the title 10 times. It all began in 1993 when manager Sir Alex
Ferguson ended a 26-year wait to lift the Premier League crown.
The signing of Eric Cantona for £1.2million from Leeds United proved
a masterstroke as the Frenchman was instrumental in the title victory,
along with the likes of Gary Pallister, Denis Irwin, Ryan Giggs and
Paul Ince.
United retained the trophy in the following campaign and romped to
further titles in 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2003. More
silverware was added to the Red Devils' burgeoning trophy cabinet with
FA Cup success in 1994, 1996, 1999 and 2004, plus League Cup victories
in 1992 and 2006.
Perhaps the most memorable time in the club's history was the
treble-winning season of 1999 when they added the European Champions
League trophy to the league title and FA Cup.
Chelsea briefly broke their league dominance with title wins in 2005
and 2006. But in the 2006/07 season, the Red Devils roared back to
regain the Barclays Premiership.
They went one better last season, enjoying their most successful
campaign since winning the treble. They saw off the challenge of
Chelsea and Arsenal to win an exciting Barclays Premier League title
race and defeated the Blues on penalties in the Champions League final
after a 1-1 draw between the two sides in Moscow.
CLUB HERITAGE
Formed as Newton Heath L&YR F.C in 1878, the club changed its
name to Manchester United in 1902. Six years later they clinched the
Division One title, then the FA Cup in 1909, and another title triumph
in 1911.
Matt Busby became manager in 1945 and steered United to championship
victories in 1952, 1956 and 1957. They became the first English club to
compete in the European Cup and reached the semi-final, before going
out to Real Madrid. Tragedy struck in 1958 when the plane carrying the
team home from a European match crashed, killing eight players.
Busby survived and led his rebuilt team to an FA Cup win in 1963,
then league titles in 1965 and 1967. United won the European Cup in
1968 with victory over Benfica in the final - the first English club to
do so. When Busby resigned in 1969, his successors failed to continue
his glorious triumphs and United were relegated five years later.
They managed to regain their top-flight status at the first attempt
and later won the FA Cup in 1977. More FA Cup success followed in 1983
and 1985. But it was United's 1990 FA Cup replay win over Crystal
Palace that proved to be the springboard to becoming the force they are
today.
It saved under-pressure manager Alex Ferguson from losing his job
and he went on to win the European Cup Winners' Cup the season after
and began their Premier League dominance with the 1993 title
PREMIER LEAGUE HISTORY
1992/93 - Inaugural members of the Premier League
1992/93 - Eric Cantona signs from Leeds United for £1.2million
1992/93 - Win FA Carling Premiership
1993/94 - Win FA Carling Premiership and FA Cup
1995/96 - Win FA Carling Premiership and FA Cup
1996/97 - Win FA Carling Premiership
1998/99 - Win FA Carling Premiership, European Cup, and FA Cup
1999/00 - Win FA Carling Premiership
2000/01 - Win FA Carling Premiership
2001/02 - Juan Sebastian Veron breaks the British transfer record with a £28million move from Lazio
2002/03 - Win Barclaycard Premiership
2003/04 - Win FA Cup
2005/06 - American Malcolm Glazer takes control of club
2005/06 - Win League Cup
2006/07 - Win Barclays Premiership
2007/08 - Win Barclays Premier League, win European Cup