Little Book of Manchester United (16 page)

*United captain Charlie Roberts before their match against Arsenal in 1912.

Even though new clauses in players’ contracts demanded that they renounce the Union, Roberts decided to fight, whereupon he was suspended by the FA. Like Meredith and several other United players, Roberts became one of ‘The Outcasts’ and began training independently for the 1909-10 season. When the FA were forced to reassess their position and players were allowed to return just hours before the beginning of the season, Roberts was able to go back to the job he did best, captaining the strong United side.

After nine years at United he was transferred to Oldham Athletic aged 30 and he went on to captain his new side to second place in the League Championship during the 1914-15 season. His fight for the Players’ Union may have cost Roberts the opportunity of caps for England, as he gained only three, but Northern Ireland chose him to represent them nine times.

Robson

Only five players have ever played for England more times than Bryan Robson and only two have captained the national team more than he did. For nearly ten years, Robson led United and England, collecting 90 caps and six trophies. A win against Barcelona in the 1984 European Cup Winners’ Cup quarter-final where he scored two goals showed him at his best.

Born on 11 January 1957, Robson started his career aged 15 with West Bromwich Albion. At 5ft 2in, weighing only 7 stone he was small, but according to his then manager Don Howe showed character and inner confidence. He was put on a diet of Guinness and raw eggs which helped to build him up and he made his professional debut for Albion in April 1975. In the following season he played 16 times and the club won promotion. But Robson broke his leg three times during his first season and still managed eight goals in 23 appearances.

At Albion, Ron Atkinson was the manager under whom he worked best and the team went on to reach the UEFA Cup quarter-final beating Manchester United 5-3 at Old Trafford. After Atkinson moved to United, he managed to persuade Robson to join him so he could build a team around him to challenge Liverpool’s domination. He made his debut for United at Tottenham in October 1981 four days after signing for the club for a record £1.5 million. He had made his debut for England a year earlier when they played the Republic of Ireland.

*Bryan Robson celebrates another United victory.

During 1982, while Kevin Keegan was out through injury, Robson became England’s most influential player and Bobby Robson, the England manager (1982-90), was Robson’s biggest fan, giving him the name of ‘Captain Marvel’. Later that same year, Atkinson made him captain of United and he led the team to the 1983 FA Cup. In 1994 after several lean years with United, Robson was offered a coaching role at United but chose instead to head into management with Middlesbrough and later Bradford City and WBA.

Ronaldo

Love him or loathe his theatrical antics, there is little doubt that Cristiano Ronaldo was one of the best players ever to pull on the famous red shirt.

In six years at Old Trafford, the Portuguese winger exhausted all superlatives as he matured from the inexperienced youngster who left Sporting Lisbon in 2003 to become arguably the best footballer on the planet.

The story goes that Sir Alex was persuaded to buy Ronaldo – largely unknown when he signed as an 18-year-old for £12.24 million in 2003 – by his players on the plane home from a pre-season friendly against Sporting. In his first season for the club, Ronaldo made 39 appearances and scored eight goals including one in the FA Cup Final against Millwall and was named the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year.

On the international scene, he was one of the few Portuguese players who emerged from Euro 2004 with their reputation enhanced, while he survived an unseemly spat with clubmate Wayne Rooney in the following World Cup to become United’s star of the 2006-07 season. That all paled into relative insignificance, however, compared with his achievements in the following campaign.

*Cristiano battles with Barcelona’s Rafael Marquez during the UEFA Champions League semi-final, April 2008.

Taking the world by storm, Ronaldo scored 42 goals as United were supreme during 2007-08. His magical 2008 was rounded off with another string of individual honours. In October he was named Player of the Year, and in December became the first United player since George Best in 1968 to be awarded the prestigious Ballon d’Or trophy. To cap it off, in January 2009, he became the first Red to win the FIFA World Player of the Year award.

In his final appearance of the 2008-09 season at Old Trafford, Ronaldo received his third Championship medal after the Reds sealed the title with a point against Arsenal. At that stage, there was no indication that Cristiano was contemplating an exit – but that all changed less than a month later when the club announced it had accepted Real Madrid’s world record £80 million offer.

Rooney

Wayne Rooney joined United on 31 August 2004, transferring from Everton for a fee that could eventually reach £30 million. His League debut was against Spurs at Goodison Park at the start of the 2002-03 season, and nine games in he scored his first Premiership goal at the age of 16 in Everton’s 2-1 victory over Arsenal.

*Rooney in action in the Premier League, 2008.

With exceptional talents quickly spotted at international level, Rooney, born 24 October 1985, became England’s youngest ever player in February 2003 when he was brought on as a substitute against Australia at Upton Park. He became the youngest player to score for his country when aged just 17 he netted a goal in September 2003 against Macedonia. He further impressed for England at the European Championships in Portugal in 2004 where he scored four goals in four games, but his preparations for the 2006 World Cup were hampered by a broken metatarsal and his form didn’t live up to expectations.

Sir Alex Ferguson had been watching Rooney since he was 14 and it was at this point that he decided he needed to sign the young striker, who made his debut for the club on 28 September 2004 against Fenerbahce. He scored twice in that match to endear himself to the United fans and would finish the season as the club’s top scorer with 17 goals in all competitions.

*Rooney in the Champions League, September 2004.

Over the following six years he has notched 252 appearances scoring 131 goals. But it’s not just Wayne’s goals that have endeared him to the United faithful. A tireless worker, he always gives 100 per cent and can’t stand losing. They’re traits that have, from time to time, landed him in hot water but Reds fans recognise the odd over-zealous challenge or act of petulance is merely a by-product of Rooney’s immense passion and will to win.

Rowley

At the age of 17, in only his second appearance for United, Jack Rowley scored four goals in a League match against Swansea Town. Born 7 October 1920 in Wolverhampton, Rowley signed for United in 1937. As centre-forward, he proved he was a true professional having been spotted by Major Frank Buckley who never actually played him for the first team at Wolverhampton Wanderers.

He moved to Bournemouth and scored ten goals in his first 11 matches but was quickly signed by United who paid £3,000 for him. Like other players during World War II, Rowley missed around six seasons while on active service having joined the South Staffordshire Regiment. At the start of the war, League football was not played, but the government soon realised it was good for public morale and professional players then in service were actively encouraged to play for the League club they were nearest to.

*Alf Ramsey (right) of Spurs tussles for the ball with Jack Rowley of Manchester United during their match at White Hart Lane, September 1953.

Ironically, Rowley guested for Wolves and scored eight goals in the match, but making a guest appearance for Tottenham in 1944 proved memorable when he topped their goalscoring list and helped them win the League South title. He also played for England that same year and was given an assignment in the front line at the D-Day Normandy landings.

He returned to Old Trafford and became United’s leading goalscorer during the 1945-46 season with 20 goals in 28 matches. During his 422 appearances for the club he scored 208 times. He moved to Plymouth Argyle in 1955 to become player-manager.

C
HAPTER 19:
S
-
S
CHMEICHEL,
S
CHOLES,
S
TEPNEY,
S
TILES,
S
TRETFORD
E
ND,
S
UPPORTERS’
C
LUB