100 years ago: The first title

[rondwisan]

ManUtd.com - 20/08/2007 12:42
100 years ago: The first title :united

For United, 2007/08 is all about defending the Premier League crown, but it also marks 100 years since the first of the Reds' 16 championship successes. At the end of each month throughout the season, we'll chart the tale of United's first ever top-flight triumph...

By the broadest of reckonings, there have been seven truly exceptional United sides.

Three were the inspired creations of Matt Busby, three more the exhilarating work of Sir Alex. But what of the magnificent seventh, or to be more precise, the fabulous first? That team was the brainchild of one Ernest Mangnall, and in the early seasons of the 20th century, its impact was as sensational as that of the outfits assembled later with such flair and imagination by the two great Scots.

Mangnall’s United was a beautifully balanced fusion of breathtaking skill, canny organisation and determined industry. It embarked on the glorious campaign that climaxed in breaking United's league championship duck exactly 100 years ago this season.

The immediate parallels with Sir Alex's current combination are irresistible, particularly in attack. In terms of profile, if not in the exact nature of their play, Cristiano Ronaldo might be compared to Billy Meredith, and for Wayne Rooney, read marauding striker Sandy Turnbull.

Okay, it’s a little surreal to imagine the twinkle-toed Portuguese flankman sucking on a toothpick as he prances mesmerically beside the touchline. However, Welsh legend Meredith was known to sport his trademark aid to dental hygiene between his lips even as he tormented defenders with his devastating sleight of foot. But if Billy was a born match-winner and the club’s first superstar, Cristiano offers an unmistakable modern equivalent.

Meanwhile, between Wayne and Sandy there is an obvious similarity, not only in their prodigious goal-grabbing talent and their natural feel for the game, but also in their appearances. The pair are powerfully sturdy and compactly built, and both face the camera with a slightly belligerent ‘don’t-mess-with-me’ gaze.

Of course, the 1907/08 vintage was no two-man show. For all the crowd-pleasing pyrotechnics of Billy and Sandy, the heartbeat of the team was the majestic halfback line of Dick Duckworth, skipper Charlie Roberts and Alex Bell, while goalscoring left-winger George Wall was yet another headline grabber.

Off the field, the Reds were a club reborn. United had just survived a life-threatening cash crisis at the turn of the century, thanks substantially to two men. Local brewer, benefactor and visionary entrepreneur John Henry Davies had supplied the money and business acumen to rescue the ailing Newton Heath, renamed Manchester United in 1902, while wily secretary-manager Mangnall had been recruited from Burnley a year later.

The boss had built a new side, shrewdly snapping up winger Meredith, marksman Turnbull, full-back Herbert Burgess and inside-forward Jimmy Bannister from the ruins of the Manchester City team - a side broken up after the Blues had been found guilty of making illegal payments to its players in the pre-professional days. Promoted to the top flight in 1905/06, United consolidated the following term. Hence they were all set in September 1907 to face Aston Villa, on the opening day of what was to be an unforgettable season.

original: rondwisan