According to the history books it tells us that the Red Devils were formed in 1892; however this technically isn't fact. Under the name Newton Heath L and YR Cricket and Football Club which was formed by a committee of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company won the Manchester Cup in 1886 and, in 1892 the club was admitted into the Football League.
There history as Newton Heath is fairly plain and simple, but in 1902 the club was forced to shut up shop due to financial difficulties and declared themselves bankrupt. However a new club was formed under the name Manchester United FC.
Since then the club has gone from strength to strength; winning 36 trophies which include a record nine Premier League Champions since its formation in 1992 (seven in Division One). On the domestic Cup scene they have won the FA Cup eleven times and won five major European Trophies which included the famous treble they won in 1998-99 season.
And, last season piped Chelsea to the Premier League trophy when it looked like the Blues of London might have sneaked past the Red Devils at the last hurdle.
Club Guide
Team: Manchester United |
This was my fifth visit to Old Trafford, the third time I had seen my beloved Blades play their but it was the only time I had seen Sheffield United face Manchester United at this ground.
My first two visits were in 1998 and 2003 when the Cutlers reached the semi-final stage of the Football Association Cup; with Alan Shearer and Freddy Ljunberg netting goals as Newcastle United and Arsenal (both 0-1) put pay to any cup aspirations.
The third visit was a boring 0-0 draw against French club Lille Metropolitan in the Champions League Group Stage whilst the Blades stuffed Millwall (away) 4-0 on a cold Tuesday night with the Red Devils seeing midfielder Paul Scholes sent off for their troubles.
To celebrate the treaty of Rome and 50 years of European Football the Reds of Manchester hosted a friendly against a European Eleven side which saw the likes of Christiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs, Roberto Ayala, Steven Gerrard, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrik Larsson gracing the field.
Whilst my last visit to this great stadium came just a month after that great game which saw the Reds beat the European outfit 4-3 with Ibrahimovic slamming the cross bar with his first half penalty.
Stadium and Pitch: 9/10
Old Trafford is always as you expect it and although I have not travelled by this route they have an excellent railway system, it is however a thorn in the clubs back side as due to the railway lines behind the South Stand they have no room to improve the 76,000 capacity stadium.
The stadium began as a one tiered ground (like Leicester City) in 1995 before improving the North Stand to its whopping three tiered structure that still stands today. Whilst in 2002 the ends behind goal (East & West) were also improved to allow there mass army of fans to actually see a Manchester United fixture live.
With an 100% attendance each game it became even more vital to increase the capacity so the club decided to fill in the corners adjoining the North Stand.
The ground is fantastic and is always a pleasure to visit; even if you plan to go as a neutral its worth the visit. However the ground has been long established and although it still stands out as a great sporting venue it can't match the excellent facilities that are provided across the City at the City of Manchester Stadium, home to Manchester City FC.
Programme: 7/10
The Manchester United programme was jam packed full of information and statistics as well as current news of the club, it did however, like the Liverpool programme bask in their recent Champions League glory. In the Red Devils case this was their 7-0 humiliation of Italian outfit AS Roma.
Performance and Result: 9/10
The Blades travelled to Old Trafford with little hope of causing an upset against a Manchester United team which eventually won the Premier League. And, with United facing Charlton Athletic the following Saturday in a relegation dog fight Neil Warnock chose to field a weakened tem against the English elite.
It came as no surprise that the home team wound up the winners with a 2-0 victory with goals via Michael Carrick and Wayne Rooney. However the Blades could feel hard done by when debutant Luton Shelton was hacked down in the box by Gabriel Heinze without a flutter from the referee allowed the game to continue and Michael Tonge mashed the cross bar late on with his long range effort.
The Blades could barely complain about the result as only seven days previous the 'kings of English football' slammed seven goals without reply against Italian giants AS Roma at home in the Champions League.
United had by the end of the night put in a sterling performance whilst saw little chances created but overall a great team effort which on another day, against a less powerful opposition maybe would have won the game.
Atmosphere: 8/10
The Manchester United fans were as ever quite; with exception to cheering their two goals but the few thousand travelling Blades fans filled up the almost full 'Theatre of Dreams'.
Overall: 33/40
:: Previous Visits to Old Trafford ::
- 05.04.1998 - Sheffield United 0-1 Newcastle United (FACSF)
- 13.04.2003 - Sheffield United 0-1 Arsenal (FACSF)
- 18.09.2005 - Manchester United 0-0 Lille (UEFACL)
- 13.03.2007 - Manchester United 4-3 Europe XI (FR)
- 17.04.2007 - Manchester United 2-0 Sheffield United