History of Manchester United F.C. (1969-1986)
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Preceding article: History of Manchester United F.C. (1945-1969)
Succeeding article: History of Manchester United F.C. (1986-1998)
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[edit] The post-Busby years
Wilf McGuinness, the reserve team coach, was promoted to take Matt Busby's place as manager. He had been associated with the club since the 1950s but he quickly faltered in the footsteps of the great man, and wasn't helped by Busby's presence in the background. United were an ageing side in need of refreshment, a circumstance McGuinness was unfortunate to come across. In December 1970, with the team floundering, he was fired. Busby returned to the manager's seat on a temporary basis until the appointment of Frank O'Farrell. Despite starting the 1971-72 season well, a run of seven defeats from 1st January meant they were to finish in 8th place for the third successive year.
At this time George Best was becoming a problem, continually flouting the rules and getting into various disciplinary troubles. Eventually, one day short of his 26th birthday, he announced his retirement, only to resume playing a few days later.
While Best's erratic behaviour didn't help, United continued to struggle, opening the 1972-73 season with a disastrous nine games without a win. The board began making plans to bring in Tommy Docherty as manager and on 19 December 1972, Frank O'Farrell lost his job following a 5-0 defeat to Crystal Palace. In a way it was the end of an era, with Bill Foulkes having retired, Bobby Charlton's testimonial having been held the previous day and George Best retiring on the same day.
[edit] Doc's red army
Docherty immediately began to rebuild the side with a series of signings, most notably Lou Macari. United recovered and finished that season in 18th place.
Denis Law left during the close season to sign for Manchester City, which sparked some protests among fans. George Best came out of retirement once more to sign with the team for the 1973-74 season. United were again caught in a relegation battle and entered the penultimate game of the season needing to win two games and for Birmingham to lose in order to stay in the First Division. Birmingham won their game and Denis Law, playing for City against United, sealed United's fate with the only goal of the game. Manchester United were relegated to the Second Division for the first time since 1937.
[edit] Revival
Despite relegation, attendances at Old Trafford swelled during the 1974-75 season and United responded well, winning the Second Division and returning to the top flight, where they topped the standings in the early stages of the 1975-76 season. Form slipped mid-season, however, and finished third. A good FA Cup run also ended in disappointment at Wembley with a 1-0 defeat by Southampton in the final.
United performed erratically in the league in 1976-77, at one stage being in danger of relegation, but ultimately finishing 8th yet they reached the FA Cup final again, this time beating Liverpool 2-1. The new-look Manchester United side contained impressive young players like Steve Coppell, Brian Greenhoff, Jimmy Greenhoff, Arthur Albiston and Stuart Pearson.
[edit] The Mary Brown affair
But just over a month later, news broke of Tommy Docherty's love affair with Mary Brown, the wife of the team's physiotherapist, when he announced that he was leaving his wife to marry her. When Docherty refused to resign, the board dismissed him. The reason given by the club was that Docherty had illegally been obtaining and selling tickets for the two cup finals, but the truth was already well-known by then.
[edit] Dave Sexton
Docherty had been popular with the fans, and the new manager, Dave Sexton, needed success to dispel the unfavorable comparisons. With the FA Cup win, United qualified for the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, but were nearly expelled because of crowd trouble in Saint-Etienne. Once more United made it to the FA Cup final in 1979, but narrowly lost to Arsenal in what was known as the "five-minute final" for the flurry of goals in the last minutes.
One of Sexton's most famous movements in the transfer market was the double signing of Joe Jordan and Gordon McQueen were brought in from Leeds.
The 1979-80 season saw the Reds narrowly miss out on league glory, finishing second to Liverpool. During that season, United fans were blamed for a collapse at Ayresome Park causing the death of two Middlesbrough supporters. Controversy also erupted over allegations that United had been making illegal payments to young players.
An injury crisis at the start of 1980-81 caused the team to slump to mid-table and fall in the FA Cup. Desperate to stop the rot, Sexton brought in Garry Birtles for £1.25m, yet he was to prove an expensive failure. United won their final seven games of the season but still finished just seventh in the league.
Despite achieving runners-up spot in the league and reaching an F.A Cup final during his time at the club, Sexton knew that 'nearly' just wasn't good enough for United fans, and he was sacked at the end of the 1980-81 season.
[edit] Ron Atkinson
United chairman Martin Edwards searched for a new manager in hope of finding someone who could bring the league title to United. Many high-profile names, including Lawrie McMenemy and Brian Clough, were linked with the vacancy, but in the end it was Ron Atkinson who got the job. He broke the British transfer record to sign Bryan Robson from West Bromwich Albion for £1.75 million, and signed Robson's team mate Remi Moses for £750,000 at the same time. Norman Whiteside soon broke through the youth ranks. Atkinson's side produced an attractive form of football, losing only eight games and finishing 3rd in his first season. Success followed as United won the 1983 FA Cup final 4-0 after a replay against Brighton.
Although United crashed out of the FA Cup the next year in a humbling defeat at the hands of Third Division Bournemouth, they managed to beat Barcelona in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and made it to the semi-finals before losing to Juventus. Mark Hughes made his debut the following season and was selected as the Young Footballer of the Year. But once again, United were disappointed in their bid for a League championship finishing in 4th place.
In 1985, Manchester United beat that season's champions Everton to win another FA Cup, but not without some drama as Kevin Moran became the first player, albeit controversially, to ever be sent off in an FA Cup final. Down to ten men, Norman Whiteside scored the only goal of the game in extra time to win the Cup.
The 1985-86 season started spectacularly for United, who won all of their first ten league games and were ten points clear at the top of the table as early as October. Their form slumped dramatically, however, with injury to Bryan Robson meaning he missed much of the season and they could only finish in fourth place. The club had decided to sell Mark Hughes against his wishes, and he developed a drink problem which seriously affected his form before signing for Barcelona in the close season for around £2 million. The following season started badly with United spending the first two months in or near the relegation zone, and after a 4-1 loss to Southampton in October 1986, Atkinson was sacked.
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