1970-1979
With memories of the European Cup triumph beginning to fade, Manchester United's attentions turned to their managerial vacancy. Sir Matt Busby had led the club to the promised land but had now retired, leaving the board with a problem.
Their first solution was to appoint from within, by promoting one of Busby's coaches and former players Wilf McGuinness to the senior position. A combination of ageing players and the lack of overall control in team affairs meant that McGuinness struggled with Sir Matt looking over his shoulder. Putting players like Denis Law and Shay Brennan on the transfer list didn't help matters, neither did George Best's off-field antics.
Wilf wasn't allowed to struggle for too long. On Boxing Day 1970 he was relieved of his duties and Sir Matt was put back in temporary charge. Frank O'Farrell was the next man to take charge in June 1971 but, despite a promising start, United's 5-0 defeat by Crystal Palace on 16 December 1972 was the Irishman's last match in charge.
Although O'Farrell's reign was short, he still left his mark by signing Martin Buchan for a record fee of £125,000. The former Aberdeen captain was to become a key player for O'Farrell's successor, Tommy Docherty, who was appointed at Christmas in 1972.
The Doc's first challenge was to keep the team up while gradually replacing the legends of the 1960's. Sir Bobby Charlton had announced he would retire at the end of the 1972/73 season, George Best was veering off the rails once again and Denis Law had passed his peak. Law, in fact, was given a free transfer in July 1973, a move which later came back to haunt Docherty. The striker joined Manchester City and scored at Old Trafford in April 1974, on a day when United's relegation to the Second Division was confirmed.
To Docherty's credit, the Reds bounced back very quickly. They won the Second Division Championship in 1974/75, with top scorer Stuart 'Pancho' Pearson scoring 17 league goals. Lou Macari scored the goal that clinched promotion, at Southampton on 5 April 1975.
United then reached successive FA Cup finals, losing to Southampton in 1976, but beating Liverpool 2-1 a year later. The Doc's men rose perfectly to the challenge of destroying Liverpool's Treble hopes – the Merseyside club won the League Championship and the European Cup on either side of United's triumph. The joy of that win didn't last very long for the Doc, however. Just 44 days later, he was sacked when it emerged he had set up home with his lover Mary, the wife of the club physiotherapist Laurie Brown.
QPR manager Dave Sexton stepped into the breach, and although he finished no higher than tenth in the table in his first two seasons 1977/78 and 1978/79, he again guided the side to Wembley in 1979. Unfortunately the Reds lost there, 3-2 to Arsenal in one of the most memorable finishes to an FA Cup Final. Gordon McQueen and then Sammy McIlroy scored in the last five minutes to bring United back from 2-0 down, only for Alan Sunderland to grab Arsenal's winner on the brink of extra-time.
Those frenetic last few moments at Wembley summed up the 1970's for United, a decade of high drama when great highs and lows were never far apart. plese check here :http://www.manutd.com/en/Club/History-By-Decade/1970-1979
About us
Our GoalTo educate, motivate and inspire future generations to build better communities for all.
Manchester United recognizes the important role in the strength of the game is involved with young people.
The Foundation works in some of the most disadvantaged areas of the UK using football to change young lives for the better.
We deliver football coaching, skills training, personal development and life changing experiences, providing young people with opportunities to change their lives for the better. We use the passion for Manchester United to educate, motivate and inspire young people.
We aim to achieve our goal by delivering in five areas:
FootballWe strive to provide football opportunities for school children and those with physical or mental disabilities.
Community CohesionWe deliver a programme of football and alternative activities that act as a mechanism for community cohesion in some of the UK’s most deprived areas.
Health Using football, and other sports, we aim to develop a range of programmes that improve the health and wellbeing of local communities.
Education We develop partnerships with schools to create community hubs and also deliver a range of educational programmes to primary and secondary schools, using Manchester United as a hook to engage youngsters.
Charities The Foundation manages the Club’s charity partners, Francis House, The Christie and UNICEF, and the distribution of signed merchandise for charitable purposes.
Holding the Shield
There’s no doubt about United’s favourite number at the moment. Just a few months after sealing a record-breaking 19th league title, Nemanja Vidic and co are out to equal that mark in the Community/Charity Shield (14 outright and four shared) when the Reds meet City .But whatever the result in the now-traditional curtain-raiser to the new season, United will be sitting in splendid isolation at the pinnacle of the Shield table, as second-placed Liverpool are lagging three behind on 15. The competition was launched in 1908 as a match between the Football League champions and the Southern League winners, who were QPR. United prevailed 4-0 in the replay to bag the first ever Shield, thanks largely to a hat-trick from Jimmy Turnbull. Remarkably, United’s next Charity Shield hero, in 1911, was Harold Halse who hit six of the goals as Ernest Mangnall's champions beat Swindon 8-4 in a vastly entertaining contest. Now United endured the longest Shield hiatus in the club’s history, not contesting the trophy again until 1948. By this time, the format was champions against FA Cup holders, and Matt Busby’s Cup heroes went down 4-3 to Arsenal at Highbury.
Four years later, having lifted their first title of the Busby era, the Reds defeated Newcastle 4-2 at Old Trafford, then came the 1-0 Manchester derby victory of 1956 before a passionate affair when Aston Villa came calling in 1957. Still smarting from what they perceived as rank injustice from the FA Cup final, the Reds won easily, thanks to a Tommy Taylor hat-trick and a strike by Johnny Berry. Six years on, with the club just beginning to recover from the ravages of the Munich air crash of 1958, United were on the wrong end of a drubbing by Everton. Come 1965, United were champions again and now they shared the Shield for the first time after drawing 2-2 with Liverpool at Old Trafford. Then, having claimed another title in 1967, they divided the spoils once more, this time after a 3-3 draw with Tottenham. It was a fabulous contest and one which featured a freak goal from Spurs keeper Pat Jennings, whose steepling drop-kick bounced over Alex Stepney. A happier memory for home fans was one of Bobby Charlton’s most spectacular finishes. Liverpool were the opponents in the Reds’ next two Shield encounters, a forgettable goalless draw and shared silverware in 1977, by which time Wembley had become the regular venue, followed by a 2-0 victory in 1983. That win, courtesy of two goals from Bryan Robson.
In 1985, Everton brushed the Reds aside 2-0 but at least there were more hopeful signs in 1990 – by which time Alex Ferguson had replaced Ron Atkinson at the helm – with a 1-1 draw against Liverpool ensuring that the Shield spent six months in the Old Trafford trophy room. Thereafter, with the dawn of the Premier League, United became the dominant force in the land, a status reflected by their near-permanent presence in the annual appetiser for the new term. To be precise, Ferguson’s sides qualified for 15 of the next 19 Shield encounters, commencing with a 1-1 draw against Arsenal in 1993. The Reds won on penalties, as they would in each of their next four shoot-outs in the competition. In 1994, they needed no such device, overcoming Blackburn 2-0, then in 1996 Newcastle were crushed 4-0.
Penalties were required to dispose of Chelsea after a 1-1 deadlock in 1997, then United kicked off a run of four straight Shield defeats with a 3-0 cuffing by Arsenal in 1998. The losing sequence continued with reverses against Arsenal, 2-1 in 1999; Chelsea, 2-0 in 2000, and Liverpool, 2-1 in 2001. Then two more meetings with the Gunners produced a 1-1 stalemate and a triumph on penalties in 2003, and a 3-1 loss in 2004. There were further shoot-out successes, against Chelsea after a 1-1 draw in 2007 and Portsmouth following a goalless 90 minutes in 2008, but United’s spot-kick luck finally ran out in 2009 when they bowed to Chelsea after the final whistle blew with the score at 2-2. Javier Hernandez announced his arrival on the English scene with a goal as Chelsea were dismissed 3-1 in 2010 in what was a better game of football than is usually served up when the Shield is at stake.
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