History of MUFC 1900 - 1945

PRE WAR

The start to the 20^th century held little relief for the Heathens who had acheived little in recent years and were languishing in the shadow of their rivals Man city who had been recently promoted to the 1^st division. The team at that time did see a few changes with Frank Barrett in goal Harry Stafford and Fred Erentz at the fullback positions, Morgan Griffiths and Carwright were regular choices for the halve back line while up front Bryant, jackson and Cassidy were the regulars. The club had forged strong links Wales at the time and boasted seven Welsh internationals in the lineup, many of them arriving in Manchester looking for work on the railroad. Although rich in welsh international talent the Club had not a single English International on the books (Billy Bryant was picked to represent the Football League).

Newton Heath at the turn of the century were indeed at their lowest ebb, after a decade in the Fottball league all they had to show was two years in the top flight (both years finishing at the bottom) and eight years in the second. The directors decided that new players had to be bought, but there were no funds available so a Bazzar was arranged by the club to attempt to raise cash. The event was to start on Wednesday 27^th Feb and run for 4 days, the Manchester Evening News reported that the Northern military and Bess-o’th-barn Brass bands would be playing. The Bazzar ended on Saturday evening but after paying off the cost of renting the hall it was found that the event had hardly been a success and the funds needed still had not been found. The Club’s fortunes then took a strange twist. Harry Stafford the Newton Heath captain owned a St Bernard dog, he had taken the dog to the Bazzar and tied a collecting box around its neck. The dog escaped from the hall and was found wandering the City by a Pub landord, who showed it to a Mr Henry Davies who was then a managing director of the Manchester Brewers. Davies took a fancy to the dog and immediatley bought it off the landord. Feeling guilty Davies decided to trace the dog’s owner and soon found out that it belonged to the Newton captain, after meeting with Stafford the businessman decided to help and made a financial contribution to the club, and made further promises of help for the future. Stafford did not forget that promise!

The name of Newton Heath was not liked by all, they had left their home in Newton Heath 9 years previously, and following the reorganisation of the Club many called for a name change. Manchester Central was suggested, but it was decided that it sounded too much like a railway station, also suggested and rejected was Manchester Celtic, then a Mr Louis Rocca hit upon the name Manchester United. The name had been suggested before but had not met much support, but this time it stuck and on Saturday 26^th April 1902 Newton Heath became Manchester United. This must have pleased many of the visiting teams and supporters who for years had been showing up for games at the old Newton Heath only to find a dilapidated and empty pitch, and then had to dash across town to arrive minutes before the kickoff. Manchester United’s manager in 1902 was a Mr James West, under him they had begun the season very poorly with two defeats and a draw, on Monday 28^th Sept he resigned his position and Mr Ernest Mangall became the new United manager. Mangall joined the club from Burnley where he had served as secretary. Hhe would go on to become United’s first “great” manager. The new manager had been born in Bolton and was well known in sporting circles in the North West. He was known in particular for his love of cycling, and during his youth had actually cycled the length of Great Britain from John O Groats to Lands End, he could often be spotted riding his bike to the ground. With United’s financial status at last secure Mangall proved himself a shrewd buyer in the transfer market, he brought goalie Harry Moger to United, along with Alex Bell, Dick Duckworth, and a great centre halve in Charlie Roberts. His greatest coup however was bringing the great Billy Meredith across from Man City, other Man City rebels quickly followed Meredith’s path and United stole away Herbert Burgess, Sandy Turnbull, and Jimmy Bannister from their rivals. Meredith and Roberts at the time were considered the most talented players in the land.

Manchester United’s manager Mangnall was building a side that looked better than anything the fans had seen so far.  Twenty year old Charlie Roberts was to be proved a great buy, Mangnall 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 at 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 is 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.

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 2^nd division 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!

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. Mangnall 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 debuts in a Red shirt until 1907. Billy Meredith was known as the ‘Welsh wizard’ he provided the spark that set apart man 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 8^th place and their brand of football was the talk of the town, more importantly they were poised to make an assault one the big prize, the Championship !

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 Division 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's 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 Mangnall vowed he would never go back to Hungary.

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 last eight. With the Championship trophy tucked away in the boardroom they now set sights on the only major British trophy that had so far eluded them. They started the campaign with a win against Southern league Brighton 1-0. 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 2^nd division Burnley. A goal down with only 18 minutes remaning, the United jinx at the quarter final hurdle looked to be threatening again. But Lady Luck smiled on United when Mother Nature stepped in. Snow started to fall and quickly 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 but they faced stiff opposition though in the Cup Holders Newcastle. The Geordies 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 roofs all to get a glimpse of their heroes. 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, four 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 helped to 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 players union survived and exists to this day.

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 10^th 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 19^th 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 21^st 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 sixpence.

As League Champions United were once again invited to play in the Charity Shield. This time their opponents were Swindon town winners of the Southern League. The game was played again at Stamford Bridge but only attracted a crowd of 8,000 which was a pity because the two teams served up 12 goals in a 8-4 win for United. 1911 began another bleak period for our Reds. Ernest Mangnall had created a great team, but in August of 1912 he surprisingly left the club and joined Manchester City as their new manager. Earlier the same week he had turned down a 1,500 pound bid from City for United captain Charlie Roberts, after a emergency meeting of the board at Old Trafford it was decided that they could not change Mangnall’s mind and he left with their blessing. Eighteen months later City were top of division 1 and United were struggling next to bottom. Mangnall’s achievements at United cannot be underestimated, not only did he win two championships and a FA Cup win, he bought players of class and flair who gave United class and a reputation for attacking flowing football. He had also built the finest stadium in the land at Old Trafford to accommodate all this talent. It would take United 40 years to recover from the loss of him.

United were back in dire financial straits in 1913 following the building of Old Trafford, it was a huge debt to the club and with the war years beckoning it was indeed dark days for the Club. The move of their manager to City was a sensation to the Old Trafford faithful, but it got worse. Concerned with the debt the Board accepted a 1500 pound bid from Oldham Athletic for their captain and spiritual leader Charlie Roberts. This action caused shock waves throughout the City. The Mangnall move had marking the beginning of the end for United and the Roberts deal was merely another nail in the coffin. Players were being sold and the magnificent Manchester United team was finally broken. Then war was declared on August 4 1914. The belief at the time was it would be a short affair and that the mainsteam life of the public would not be affected, therefore the League decided to continue on. Initially there was no effect on the game, but as players enlisted in the services to join Lord Kitchener's mighty Army the ranks of players became depleted and it wasn’t long before the attendances fell way off as the public lost its appetite for fun. After being faced with the reality of a World War United ended the season avoiding relegation by the skin of their teeth.

On good Friday 1915 United faced rivals Liverpool at Od Trafford, United were struggling for survival while Liverpool were comfortable in the middle of the table, with no chance for either Championship or Relegation. The game finished with a rather surprising victory to United 2-0, but it didn’t end there. The ref had reckoned it had been a peculiar game to say the least, and the press had commented on Liverpool’s lackadaisical approach, they had missed a penalty and never looked like the true Liverpool. Within a few weeks more speculation with a handbill that was being passed around Liverpool and Manchester put out by a firm of Bookmakers who it seemed at taken an unusual amount of bets for a United 2-0 win. Although it was not unusual in those days to bet on football games it was unusual to bet on the actual score. The Bookies had laid 7-1 against United winning 2-0. Before long the Football league conducted a formal inquiry into the game and a commission came up with the findings that the game had indeed been fixed by players from both teams. Three United players (Turnbull, West, and Whalley) and four Liverpool players (Sheldon, Miller, Fairfoul, Purcell) were charged with the offense and all were found guilty. The ringleader was reported to be Sheldon an ex United player playing for Liverpool. The players were suspended from the game for life. Only West of United formally protested his innocence taking out a libel action suit against the FA, which he lost in court. The League decided to lift the ban at the end of the war on all players except West who continued to protest his innocence. But he was never forgiven and the ban wasn’t lifted on him until 1945 by which time he was a bitter and disillusioned man who had long since shunned all mention of Football. Interestingly enough the fix was done not to save United from relegation, but to put money in the players' pockets. United survived the drop that year by exactly 2 points. Football was officially suspended at the end of the 1914-15 season due to the war in Europe. In the place of the Football league a variety of regional divisions were established. United joined forces with Everton, Liverpool, Man City and Stockport County to form a Lancashire League southern section, but in time the Country was split into a North and South sections, a guesting system was set up as more and more players were called up for active duty. It was a dark period for United their magnificent ground at Old Trafford stood silent and empty and with most of their team away fighting the war in Europe the results got worse and worse. Stockport, Oldham and Rochdale regularly beat them and in March 1916 they could only attract a crowd of 500 spectators to watch them lose by a single goal to Oldham and slump to the bottom of even their short league.
 

THE ROARING TWENTIES

In 1919 League Football finally resumed after its four-year disruption. United started the season looking nothing like the powerhouse they had been before the war. Players had transferred out to other Clubs, Billy Meredith was arguing with the club over a transfer, West of course was still banned while Sandy Turnbull had been killed in action during the war. John Robson was the new manager and he brought in a brood of young players he had been grooming, along with several modest signings such as Clarence Hilditich from Altringham, and Charlie Moore from Hednesford Town. The team did not challenge for the league or Cup but finished a respectable 12^th place. Crowds were coming back to the stadiums to watch the game again, the average gate at all 1^st division matches in 1920 was 22,000 while United’s average was around 30,000. On December 27^th 1920 70,504 fans showed up to watch United take on Aston Villa. For the record Villa beat the Reds 3-1 that day. The Stadium that had been such a drain on their capital for so many years was now beginning to pay dividends, as it would for many years to come.

Since the end of the war United had finished up in 12^th and 13^th position in the league and had no joy in the FA Cup. The 1921 season started out in terrible fashion with just five points from 7 games. Their manager John Robson had become ill and it was agreed that he would step down to assistant manager to make way for John Chapman a Scot United hired away from Airdrieonians. The deterioration continued under Chapman’s watch with Man City thrashing them 4-1. United sank to the bottom of the league and stayed there the length of the season. They were relegated to the 2^nd Division again after finishing with only 28 points. Joe Spence was the only bright light for the team. He had joined United in 1919 from Scotswood and remained at Old Trafford until June 1933 when he moved to Bradford City. In all he made 510 appearances for the club, a record that stood for 40 years when it was bettered by Bill Foukes.

In 1923 life in the second division proved to be more difficult than United had anticipated, they were favorites to return to the top flight on their first attempt, instead they finished in 4^th place while Notts County finished as Champions and were promoted. During the season County had stayed on top and it was very surprising to them that while entertaining United at City Ground United soundly thrashed them 6-1. County had a goalie that was considered one of the best anywhere, Albert Iremonger who stood 6’6” tall, but on that day he spent the whole afternoon trying to keep the rampant Reds away. The man of the match was Frank Barson the United centre half. He had been signed by United from Aston Villa for 5,000 pounds and the promise of his own pub if United gained promotion within three years. They were and the story goes that when Frank opened the door of his new pub he was swamped in the rush and decided then and there that running a pub was not the life for him. The story of United’s season this year was one of a team that had all the talent, but maybe not the will to win.

On the 20^th of September 1926 an FA investigating committe met at the Grand Hotel in Manchester to begin an inquiry into the affairs of Manchester United. The committe met again in Sheffield the following week and then met once more back in Manchester the first week of October. What they were investigating to this day remains unknown but on the 7^th of October they announced to an astonished footballing public that United manager John Chapman was to be suspended from Football for improper conduct in his position as secretary-manager of the Manchester United Football Club. Nothing further was added and no explanation has ever been given to this day. In Chapman's place United appointed Clarence Hilditch as caretaker. Clarence was the starting right half for United. To this date he remains the only player-manager in the Club's history. Hilditch did a workmanlike job and managed to keep the Reds in the first division that year, but by the skin of their teeth. Hilditch would be replaced 7 months later by an old Friend of United’s !

The Old Trafford team began the 1928 season with a new Manager, Mr Herbert Bamlett. His claim to fame had been to take a struggling Middlesbrough from the second to the first the previous year. United fans remembered him for doing something else. Bamlett had been an accomplished referee and had even referreed the 1915 FA Cup final. He was also the referee that had called off the 1909 Burnley - United Cup tie because of the snowstorm (United won the rearranged match and went on to lift the Cup). Maybe United owed him a favour for that decision. The new manager did not bring good times back to Old Trafford, the team hovered just above the relegation zone all season and on April 22^nd found themselves at the foot of the table. It was the last game of the season and the logjam at the bottom was so tight that there was only 7 points separating the bottom club from the 4^th placed team in the league. United were 2rd from the bottom but all the three bottom clubs were level on points and games played. It was to come down to the last game of the season, and goal average. The visitors that day were Liverpool and not many of the United faithful held out much hope with both Spurs and Middlesbrough having better goal average. Within 11 minutes United favorite Joe Spence had shot United into the league. Rawlings added two more before Liverpool replied and then Spence added another to make the halftime score 4-1. As the teams came out for the second half Old Trafford was alive, the 30,000 strong crowd willing the team on, and it worked. Spence scored two more to complete his hat trick and send Liverpool home losers by six goals to one. At the end of the game the players stayed on the field waiting nervously for the Spurs and Middlesbrough results. Had they done enough to stay up? They had!  Spurs and Middlesbrough went down and United had dodged a bullet, they stayed up based upon goal average. The 6^th goal had bettered their average enough.

United lost 15 matches before March 1929 was over and again were looking contenders for the lower division. However thanks to a rousing season end they again managed to survive finishing the last 6 games with 5 wins and a draw.  Most of the explanation for this turn around could be found in the signing of Tom Reid from Liverpool. Reid, a Scot, scored 14 goals in 17 appearances that season and went on to score 67 goals in just 101 games before joining Oldham five years later. But United were still not setting the league alight. It seemed as though they stayed in a never ending battle to stay out of the relegation zone. It was to get worse !

A POOR DECADE - THE THIRTIES

As if the previous season had not been bad enough the 1930-31 campaign had to go done as one of United’s worst. They started the season losing 4-0 to Villa, followed by a 3-0 loss to Middlesbrough, and then it went downhill. Losses to Chelsea 6-2, Huddersfield 6-0 and Newcastle 7-4 and United’s usual devoted support started to wane. By the time Newcastle were waxing them at Old Trafford the crowd numbered less than 11,000. There was much discontentment from the terraces and the normally placid Supporters club began to make waves. Handbills were passed out outside the ground on match days calling for the Club to heed a five point plan that they had presented to them. The supporters wanted a new manager, an improved scouting system, some new signings, five shareholders elected to the board, and money to be raised through a new share issue. The Club ignored the demands refusing to even meet with them arguing that the Supporters Club was an unofficial body not recognized by the Club and unrepresentative of the bulk of the supporters. Results continued to get worse and by the end of September they had lost all of the opening eight games and were sitting at the foot of the table. On October 4^th the team went across town for the derby with Man City under a threat from the Supporters Club that if the board did not respond to them there would be a mass boycott of the home fixture against Arsenal scheduled for the 18^th of October. The Club did not respond. Man City defeated them 4-1, and the following week West Ham hammered them 5-1.

The Supporters Club called an emergency meeting to be held at Hulme Town Hall and as many as 3,000 were reported to have turned up. Mr Greenhough, secretary of the Supporters Club moved that the boycott against Arsenal should go ahead. Charlie Roberts, the former club captain spoke against the boycott and argued that the fans should be getting behind the team not boycotting them. Roberts was shouted down and the vote was taken to boycott the Arsenal game which was to be played the following day. The visit of the previous years Cup winning team was considered a huge game, and while the newspapers had talked about a possible 50,000 crowd, 23,000 made the effort. United lost 2-1 and followed that with a 4-1 loss to Portsmouth. After these games the attendances slumped even lower and in fact the only time the crowd bettered 10,000 the rest of the year was the local home derby with Man City. In their final game 3,900 watched them play a 4-4 tie against Middlesbrough. They had lost 27 matches while only winning 7 and conceding a staggering 115 goals. At the end of the season the board finally acted and fired Herbert Bamlett. There was no immediate replacement for him and secretary Walter Crickmer and Louis Rocca took over the reins. But even the long serving secretary, and the man who had named the Club Manchester United could not help United's slide and as 1931 ended the Club were once again almost bankrupt. It was at this point that a fairy godmother came to the rescue. This time Mr James Gibson placed 2,000 pounds at the club's disposal and indicated he was ready to make further funds available if the board would reconstitute itself. Gibson was made President and anther financial crisis averted.

After the sacking of Herbert Bamlett United took their time finding a new manager. In July 1932 finally they settled upon Mr Scott Duncan, an ex player who had guested for the club during the 1^st world war. Ducan was to be paid a salary of 800 pounds a year and after taking over at the helm he promised to infuse new blood into the team and to re-vamp the Youth system. Duncan had played with Newcastle, and Dumbarton and was also one of the few players who could boast playing for both Glasgow Celtic and Rangers.

On December 26^th 1933 Grimsby Town defeated the United team 7-3, things just were not getting any better at Old Trafford. During the season United searched for the right blend, and by season end they had used 38 players. On May 4^th 1934 Manchester United travelled to Millwall knowing that only a victory could save them from the humiliating drop into the 3rd division north. The Manchester Evening News had already written them off and called it “the most heartbreaking season in the history of Manchester United." They stood next to bottom on 32 points, while Millwall were just above them on 33 points. If United won the game Millwall would be relegated. Millwall started the game with a flourish and pinned the Reds back in defence for long periods of time. Then against the run of play United got a breakaway goal to make the score at halftime United 1- Millwall 0. Within two minutes of the restart Cape added another goal for United and the team began playing with confidence and won the game comfortably 2-0. United’s travelling supporters numbered over 3,000 and upon returning to Manchester Central that night the team found many thousands more waiting to welcome their hero’s home. United had survived again at the last gasp!

The Thirties had not been good years at Old Trafford so far and the 1935-36 season started out just as bad as the previous year. On January 4^th they were to lose to Bradford City, but in an amazing turnaround this loss was to be the last of the season, by Febuary they had begun climbing up the table. Manager Scott Duncan claimed it was a new plan he had installed that was the reason for the upsurge, he said they had been concentrating on getting a point away and two at home. Whatever the reason it was working and by mid March they had jumped to 4^th place just three points behind the Leaders. In April they were in 2^nd place and Old Trafford was sensing the prospect of promotion. The crucial game came on Wednesday 29 April when they travelled to nearby Bury. United had beaten them on the previous weekend at Old Trafford and a win was needed to stay in the Promotion race. As many as 20,000 fans made the short trip to see united win the game and keep their hopes alive going into the last week of the season. United did not disappoint their travelling fans and defeated Bury 3-2. After the game the fans invaded the field and carried their heroes shoulder high to the dressing rooms. The following Saturday only a point was needed for United to be crowned 2^nd division Champions, it was duly achieved with a 1-1 draw. It had been United’s home record that formed the backbone of their triumph. They had lost just two games at Old Trafford and drawn only three, scoring 55 goals.

United’s return to the top flight was indeed short lived. They returned to division two the following season. 1937 however was to mark the year two players were signed who would dramatically change the club's future fortunes. Johnny Carey joined the Club from Dublin club St James gate for 250 pounds. He began life at old Trafford as an inside forward, but would soon convert to become one of the all time great fullbacks the World had ever seen. A month after Carey’s debut Duncan signed another youngster, this time paying Bournemouth 3,000 pounds for Jack Rowley. Just two weeks after signing Rowley, Duncan resigned. At the time United were nothing more than a good 2^nd division side, however the next game after his resignation United hammered Chesterfield 7-1 and began a run that would again gain them promotion. 

In 1939, there was much apprehension on the terraces that Final Saturday before war broke out. Everyone knew that the deadline given to Germany by the British government to pull out of Poland was only hours away and everybody had realized by then that Hitler would not retreat. United were away to Charlton on what was the third game of a new season. They had begun the season brightly winning 4-0 at Grimsby followed by a weekday tie at Chelsea, but Charlton beat them this day 2-0. The next morning at 11am war was declared on Germany. The football league met two days later and made the decision to cancel the League season. It would be seven years before League soccer reappeared, although soccer was played in some form or fashion through the painful duration of the war. In place of League play, a series of regional leagues were formed much like what had happened in the 1^st world war, and a guesting system was introduced once more. This made for strange bedfellows indeed with some small 3^rd division sides often fielding famous international stars that just happened to be posted close by, while some major clubs scratched around for players. In June 1940 United fielded an unusual lineup on one occasion with Man City’s star Peter Doherty, Stanley Mathews featuring on the same forward line as a center forward who had been drafted out of a local pub team. Throughout the 6 years of hostilities there were few prizes to be won, and even fewer spectators showed up to watch, United rarely attracted a crowd of over 4,000. For the record United won the Lancashire Cup in 1941, beating Burnley, and topped their regional League in 1941-42. There was little else to boast about other than a few spectacular scorelines. New Brighton were hammered 13-1 in 1941 and Wrexham were beaten 10-3 the same year, while Burnley were defeated 9-0 in 1944. On the night of Tuesday 11^th March 1941 there was a roar around Old Trafford, but it was not coming from the terraces but rather from the drone of German planes overhead. The magnificent stadium sustained heavy bomb damage, and was in a dilapidated state, a shadow of its former self. The terraces were covered in weeds and grass and out on the famous turf a 6’ high bush had sprouted. Thanks to the kindness of Manchester City, United were given use of Maine Road, although they didn’t return any favors slamming City 7-1 a month later.