Manchester United

In the first 12 years of the Premier League Manchester United almost made the title their 
exclusive property. The Premiership trophy rested in the Old Trafford trophy room eight times 
and when the club didn’t win the title, it only ever finished lower than second once, when 
United were third in 2002. But the team failed, miserably by their standards, to endure their 
worst Premiership campaign for 10 years in finishing outside the top two, in 2003–04, for 
only the second time in Premier League history, a full 15 points behind champions Arsenal, 
equalling their lowest-ever points total, of 75, but even back in 1997 they were champions.

The League title had eluded Manchester United since the glory days of Matt Busby, who had 
taken the club to the championship in 1967. For United it became something of a ‘Holy 
Grail’ and it was with perfect timing that the inaugural Premier League season saw United lift 
the championship for the first time in 26 years.

The catalyst for that first Premiership title was undoubtedly Eric Cantona. Signed from Leeds 
United, with whom he won the last First Division championship, Eric guided United to four 
Premiership titles in five years but his fiery character and his undoubted football talent was 
a volatile mix and after his infamous kung-fu attack on a Crystal Palace fan in 1995 he was 
suspended for eight months.

Without Eric United were beaten to the 1995 title by Blackburn but ‘Le enfant terrible’ 
promised the United fans he would make up for his ‘blip’ and he was true to his word and 
1995–96 saw the ‘double’, which Cantona had been part of in 1994, return to Old Trafford.

United retained the title a year later but Cantona shook the football world by retiring to 
pursue fame on another stage, as an actor. But by then Eric had already helped Fergie’s 
fledglings to bed into the Old Trafford nest.

As in the 1950s, when the FA Youth Cup provided the ‘Busby Babes’ it was the Youth Cup 
winning side of 1992 that proved a conveyor belt of talent that allowed United to dominate 
the Premiership in that decade. The Neville brothers, Gary and Phil, Nicky Butt, Paul Scholes 
and David Beckham were half the team that won four Premierships in the five seasons after 
Cantona’s departure.

United’s strength and resilience was a mirror of their manager and on the two occasions the 
club slipped to runners-up, 1995 and 1998, they bounced back to win the title the following 
season. And, as continuous members of the Premier League, United’s 12 years, to date, 
have been scattered with records.

In 1999–2000 the team scored the most goals in a Premiership season, 97 in 38 games. That 
same season also saw a return of 28 wins and just three defeats, a repeat of the previous 
campaign, a record they shared with Arsenal until 2004. And, for good measure, United 
racked up a record total of 92 points, with three points for a win, in 1993–94. Not 
surprisingly United hold the scoring records for the highest Premiership victory, 9–0 against 
Ipswich on 4 March 1995, when Andy Cole scored five goals, the best individual total in one 
game which he shares with Alan Shearer.

In the transfer market, too, United are record breakers. The top three British transfer 
records involved the club. In 2002 Sir Alex Ferguson spent a record £30 million in signing 
Rio Ferdinand from Leeds United. A year earlier Juan Sebastian Veron arrived from Lazio for 
£28.1 million and, arguably the best value for money, Ruud Van Nistelrooy moved to Old 
Trafford from PSV Eindhoven for £19 million in that same year.

Ironically the highest outgoing transfer from United was also the most controversial. In 
2003 David Beckham left Old Trafford, for Real Madrid, in a £25 million deal. It was the 
departure of Beckham, without a suitable replacement coming in in, and the absence of 
Rio Ferdinand, banned for eight months for missing a routine drugs test, that were, by 
general consensus, outside Old Trafford, the main reasons United faded from a stronger 
challenge to Arsenal, for the title after leading the table by four points, on the day 
Ferdinand played his last game of 2003–04. But after that defeat at Wolves United 
recovered with two successive wins but a hammer blow came when Steve McClaren’s 
Middlesbrough won at Old Trafford and there was a discernable gap on Arsenal. That gap 
widened as United were held to a couple of draws before the title dream was ended by a 
humiliating ‘derby’ defeat in. Although the team bounced back with a win over Spurs, and 
managed a first clean sheet in eight games, the challenge on Arsenal and Chelsea was over.

As United suffered the inference that the balance of power in the Premiership had shifted 
to the capital they had a number of records to point to, as well as a few they didn’t want, 
before being written-off as a Premier League force.

True the team had suffered from a lack of scoring goals, with too much reliance on Ruud 
Van Nistelrooy scoring more than twice what his nearest OT challenger, Paul Scholes could 
muster. In scoring just 64 League goals United fell short of their previous worst, in 1992–93, 
of 67, but at least they won the title. But there are still a lot more positive records on 
United’s Premier League cv than negatives.

No team has won more Premiership games, 292 to Arsenal’s 244.

No club has more Premier League points, 983 to The Gunners 863.

United have the fewest Premiership defeats, 69 against Arsenal’s 93.

They have scored more goals in the Premier League, 927 to Liverpool’s 759.

Manchester United have most wins in a Premiership campaign, 28, and have scored most 
goals in a Premier League season, 97, so accusations of a demise have to be put on hold, 
for at least another 12 seasons.

Managers

Sir Alex Ferguson          November 1986