Manchester United F.C. seasons

This is a list of seasons played by Manchester United Football Club in English and European football, from 1886 (when the club, then known as Newton Heath L&YR F.C., first entered the FA Cup) to the most recent completed season. It details the club's achievements in major competitions, and the top scorers for each season. Top scorers in bold were also the top scorers in the English league that season. Records of competitions such as the Lancashire Cup and the Manchester and District Challenge Cup are not included due to them being considered of less importance than the FA Cup and the League Cup.

The club has won the League Championship seventeen times, the FA Cup eleven times, the League Cup twice, the Charity Shield sixteen times (including four shared), the European Cup three times, the European Cup Winners Cup once, the European Super Cup once and the Intercontinental Cup once. [cite web |url=http://www.manutd.com/default.sps?pagegid={EE4D6083-FCB8-4FAB-A765-75E2B0F4B4E0} |title=Trophy Room |accessdate=2007-05-28 |year=2007 |publisher=ManUtd.com ] The club has never been out of the top two divisions of English football since entering the Football League, although they did finish in 20th in the Second Division in 1933–34, just one point away from relegation. As of the end of the 2007-08 season, they have played a total of 5045 competitive matches. [cite web |url=http://www.stretfordend.co.uk/ |title=StretfordEnd.co.uk |accessdate=2007-08-07 Excludes matches from the abandoned 1939-40 season]

History

The club formed in 1878 as "Newton Heath L&YR F.C." [cite book |last=Murphy |first=Alex |title=The Official Illustrated History of Manchester United |year=2006 |publisher=Orion Books |location=London |isbn=0-75287-603-1 |pages=pp11 |chapter=1878-1915: From Newton Heath to Old Trafford ] At this time organised League football did not exist; "first class matches" were arranged on a largely ad-hoc basis and supplemented by cup competitions. Official records from these matches are sketchy at best, and are often extrapolated from newspaper reports at the time. In 1886, the club entered the FA Cup for the first time, but were knocked out in the first round. The club entered The Combination in 1888, but the league was wound up before the season could be completed. [cite book |last=Shury |first=Alan |coauthors=Landamore, Brian |others=Allan Kristensen and Tony Brown |title=The Definitive Newton Heath F.C. |origyear=2002 |edition=Second Edition |series='Definitive' Club Histories |year=2005 |publisher=SoccerData |location=Nottingham |isbn=1899468161 |pages=pp11 |chapter=History of Newton Heath F.C. |quote=...the Combination was wound up in April 1889. From Newton Heath's viewpoint, that was a pity. They had almost completed their programme of 16 games and had the best record of the 20 clubs. ] The club then joined the Football Alliance in 1889, and in 1892 were elected to the newly-formed Football League First Division. Upon joining the Football League, the club dropped the "L&YR" from their name, before financial troubles forced the club to restructure in 1902, including a change of name to "Manchester United F.C." [cite book |last=Murphy |first=Alex |title=The Official Illustrated History of Manchester United |year=2006 |publisher=Orion Books |location=London |isbn=0-75287-603-1 |pages=pp15 |chapter=1878-1915: From Newton Heath to Old Trafford ]

In 1956–57, the club became the first English club to enter European competition, entering the European Cup, following the Football Association's refusal to allow Chelsea F.C. to enter the previous year. Eleven years later, in 1968, they became the first English club to win the European Cup, and only the second British side after Celtic F.C. had won it in 1967. Meanwhile, in 1960–61, Manchester United entered the inaugural Football League Cup, only to decline to enter for the next five years. In 1992–93, they became founder members and inaugural champions of the Premier League, and, most recently, in 1998–99, they won an unprecedented Treble of Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League. The club picked up its tenth Premier League title in the 2007–08 season, and followed it with a third Champions League title ten days later.

easons

Key

*P = Played
*W = Games won
*D = Games drawn
*L = Games lost
*F = Goals for
*A = Goals against
*Pts = Points
*Pos = Final position
*Alliance = Football Alliance
*Combination = The Combination
*Div 1 = Football League First Division
*Div 2 = Football League Second Division
*Prem = Premier League
*F = Final
*Group = Group stage
*QF = Quarter-finals
*QR1 = First Qualifying Round
*QR2 = Second Qualifying Round
*QR3 = Third Qualifying Round
*QR4 = Fourth Qualifying Round
*RInt = Intermediate Round
*R1 = Round 1
*R2 = Round 2
*R3 = Round 3
*R4 = Round 4
*R5 = Round 5
*R6 = Round 6
*SF = Semi-finals

Notes & references

*
*
*
*