Showing posts with label Tommy Docherty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tommy Docherty. Show all posts

Opening day loss at home: how bad is that for United?

Just the second home loss to the start of the Premier League season for Manchester United. First was in 2014 under Louis van Gaal's first match in charge when United lost to Swansea 1-2 with captain Wayne Rooney's consolation strike while Ander Herrera made his debut and subsequently club signed Angel di Maria from Real Madrid who left after just one bad season. United finished 4th in the Dutchman's first season in charge improving from 7th under Moyes previously. Solskjaer had taken the team from 14th after the draw with Liverpool to 3rd in the last season but is a slow start warranted yet again?

Lost 1-3 to Crystal Palace in this seasons' opener. A much heaver defeat for Solskjaer than van Gaal with a much better squad though. Main reason is the lack of rest after a pandemic enforced break and subsequent lack of pre-season to bring players up to match fitness required for the demands of the grueling season. Paul Pogba was rushed back after just recuperating from corona virus. Donny van de Beek came on for Pogba looking sharp and scored a goal on debut. Did Scott McTominay provide enough protection for the defense? Perhaps van Gaal's honest assessment forced United's hand to break British transfer record for di Maria "To win the title this season would be a miracle. But that isn't to say that it isn't possible, I think the Glazer family understand this or I would not have accepted this job." Solskjaer hasn't said anything as striking for Glazers to act.

Prior to 2014 loss the next one was far back in 1972 season a 1-2 loss to Ipswich Town, that's 40 year proud unbeaten home record in between. Frank O'Farrell lost his job midway through that season after a nine-game winless streak at the start did not improve league position enough and United were hovering over the foot of the table ushering in the Tommy Docherty era. That unbeaten record withstood the changes in managers from Docherty(2 matches unbeaten in opening home fixtures), Sexton(2), Atkinson(4) to Ferguson(15). It is a blemish on Solskjaer's reign unfortunately especially since he is so steeped in United's rich history.

Absence of fans makes the loss less scathing but equally affects how tamely the team might respond. Would Solskjaer have used Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Scott McTominay and David James in front of fans at Old Trafford in the first match of the season? Is it a subtle dig at the Glazers to force Jadon Sancho transfer? Even Jose Mourinho managed to win both his two home games at the start of 2nd and 3rd year in charge. Could Solskjaer instead have taken advantage of not having fans to start with two defensive midfielders in order to neutralize the opposition before unleashing Greenwood for the last twenty minutes?

First away loss was in the inaugural Premier League season against Sheffield United 1-2 with Mark Hughes scoring the only goal and ultimately United went on to win their first league title after 26 years. Next one was against Aston Villa 1-3 when Sir Alex Ferguson introduced his fledglings that made Alan Hansen to say "you can't win anything with kids" that helped create a siege mentality to unite the squad winning their second double of Premier League and FA Cup. United lost 0-1 in 2004-05 to Chelsea under their new coach Jose Mourinho in his first match in the English Premier League. United finished 3rd and trophy-less that season. Injury hit squad were without both strikers in Ruud van Nistelrooy and Louis Saha while captain Roy Keane played as centre-half. Team: Howard, Silvestre, Gary Neville, Keane, Fortune, Miller, O'Shea, Djemba-Djemba, Giggs, Scholes

Solskjaer rightly pointed out that United must rebound quickly. They face Luton Town away in League Cup 3rd round on Tuesday wherein the squad will be much different than the one that faced Crystal Palace with Dean Henderson certain to make his debut in goal, before visiting Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League at the Amex Arena on Saturday. Amidst an exceptional season due to the pandemic form book goes out of the window more often and United must do their bit first to take advantage. League Cup can serve as a tough practice match as the Hatters defeated Derby County and Reading in their first two rounds, and help United regain their sharpness. Is giving important players a vacation one after another like Ferguson (Beckham, Scholes, Schmeichel) did during the treble winning season the answer? Due to Euro 2021 having been postponed to next summer, next season clubs might face the same issue? Hope Glazers understand that squad depth and rotation certainly helps before the transfer window closes.

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One match at a time can do the trick for United

Prospect to face the joint holders for the most semi-finals, 30 times with Arsenal and to equal their record for most FA Cup wins, 13 will galvanize Manchester United in today's clash at Wembley against Chelsea. Secret for any sides unbeaten run is to consider one match at a time after having consistently done long term planning, example Solskjaer picking Timothy Fosu-Mensah for his first appearance in more than two years to play against the club where he was previously loaned out and Nemanja Matic did not start against Palace considering this semi-final clash. United have faced Chelsea in each of the last four seasons in the FA Cup, losing twice including the 2018 final and avenging that loss in 5th round 2019 before surrendering tamely to Wolves in quarter-finals.

Results in the last match day of English Premier League week 36 meant United guarantee a top five finish and winning 2-0 away to Crystal Palace where VAR decisions hogged the headlines lifts the pressure slightly to give this semi-final clash the importance it deserves. Frank Lampard chose to pick on those decisions to put the referee under pressure ahead of this game. Solskjaer expertly responded "Well, how long have we got? I can sit here for hours now and try to talk about this. It looks like there's a narrative. It looks like people want to influence whoever's making the decisions, but I hear people talking about luck." Confidently taking aim at comments made by both Lampard and Mourinho. "Then, if you look at the factual decisions - I don't want to sound like a certain manager, talking about facts - but if you're offside, you're offside. That's clear. Talking about lucky, the penalty that we got against Tottenham in the last minute that was taken away from us, that might be two points for us." Blues will be without influential N'golo Kante while Luke Shaw will miss out due to injury for the Reds.

Repeatedly Solskjaer has stressed the need to win the first trophy for his young team to become springboard of sustained success "It's important for this team to win their first trophy or to get to their first final together. That will help the winning culture because we have to start winning things." Momentum is crucial in the season ending run-in of games to achieve the goals be it finishing in top four or winning either FA Cup or Europa League Cup. United with 19 games unbeaten have it and now more than ever its about sustaining it to the last day of the season.

Win in extra time against relegated Norwich clearly suggests that personnel picked for FA Cup thus far in Romero, Bailly, Dalot, Lingard need not be persisted with for today's game. Ighalo was sharp to score the goal and might lead the line and spoke about his desire to better the semi-final loss while he was with Watford. Skipper Harry Maguire has played in every game which makes him a definite starter. De Gea for Romero in goal, Williams for Shaw, Wan-Bissaka for Dalot, Maguire, Lindelof, Matic, Pogba, Fernandes, Mata, Ighalo and Rashford to start. Martial and Greenwood on the bench. In the last league match a 2-1 win Solskjaer used 3-5-2 as Marcus Rashford and Paul Pogba were injured and both being available for today he might prefer to play in the predominant formation used during this unbeaten run 4-3-3.

Will Tommy Docherty make it to Wembley to watch the two famous teams he managed? At 92 would be eagerly watching from home due to the pandemic hoping for a great attacking game of football. At the core of both teams are the youth pushing through from academy aided by young managers doing a rebuild. Wembley will present its own challenges as Geoffrey Green famously pointed in 1949 "That immaculate stretch of Wembley turf . . . its rich, thick surface being something not found by April on any club enclosure in the country, and this means that many a ground pass is not given sufficient bite, and falls short of objective. The proportions of the huge stadium are another, making distances so difficult to judge in the opening phases." Gone are the twin towers in the new Wembley but the world's oldest cup competition FA Cup these days devoid of famous upsets still offers fantastic opportunity to create amazing footballing memories. United fans of certain vintage hope to seek retribution of Alan Sunderland's goal for Arsenal in 1979 after United clawed a two goal deficit to level the match, and recently in 2005 where United again lost to Arsenal on penalties in the Millennium stadium when Wembley was under construction. Chelsea stand in the way.

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No room for error as United play their first match at home without fans

Return of Premier League football showed which coach was fired up the most - no surprise its Pep Guardiola with two wins including one against Arsenal away where United had lost in the first match of this year. In fairness United did have the most shots vs Tottenham but De Gea once again made a great save from Son header so draw was a right result away. Chelsea who are 5 points ahead need to play Man City, Liverpool and Wolves while Leicester City being 9 points ahead will play Chelsea, Everton, Arsenal, Tottenham and United on the last game of the season. Manchester United have a great chance to sneak into the top 4 provided they win their remaining 8 matches.

Bergwijn's goal ruthlessly exposed the lack of pace in the heart of United defense led by captain Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof. This calls of return of Eric Bailly who had a fantastic start to his United career since 2016 which included nearly 47% of all his appearances in the first season itself while the rest have been dogged with injuries. He has pace and recovery to supplement the leadership, calmness and aerial superiority of Maguire to form a better partnership than steady one of Maguire-Lindelof. Shaw was rusty to not avert the danger by heading the ball better or putting it out of play. Wan-Bissaka meanwhile completed 100 tackles at right back in his first season!

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer played Marcus Rashford who was also returning from injury like Paul Pogba who came on for the last 30 minutes and earned United a valuable point. Instead Solskjaer missed an opportunity to have started Odion Ighalo at centre-forward with Anthony Martial playing wide on the left followed by double substitution of Rashford and Pogba. Daniel James did not have space to run into and had a difficult game. He has kept United afloat in the first half of the season by his industry and runs surprising opponents much like Martial had in his first season under Louis van Gaal.

Solskjaer responded brilliantly to criticism of David de Gea by saying "David is the best goalkeeper in the world. He makes great saves and wins games for us and I still think he’s the best goalkeeper in the world." This is a welcome departure from Mourinho who would name call his player's if they erred. The positive news of Scott McTominay agreeing a new contract till 2025 might shield from the announcement of Jude Bellingham opting for Borussia Dotmund and Angel Gomes not having signed on the offer still open from MUFC. There will be a one-minute silence before the match in honour of United's best defensive left back Tony Dunne whose funeral procession went passed Sir Matt Busby way on Tuesday and a banner 'The Quiet Man - Tony Dune' will hang from Stretford End for today's match.
Old Trafford is all decked up with fans involvement at stands with banners, words of Sir Matt Busby "Football is nothing without fans." and fan mosaic submitted by 40,000 participants online. Solskjaer is on a 12 match unbeaten run thanks in main part due to impact of Bruno Fernandes transfer who tops all attacking charts of goals, assists, shots and passes in penalty area.
Blades will be without suspended John Egan and unavailable Dean Henderson but Chris Wilder will try to push influential duo Jack O'Connell and John Fleck following a draw at Aston Villa and their worst defeat this season against Newcastle. The corresponding fixture United were 0-2 down and a loss might have sealed Solskjaer's fate due to woeful display until about 70th minute but for United's comeback of the season to draw the match 3-3 made all the difference. Thankfully United will not be forced to pick Phil Jones today. This might be the first match where Fernandes and Pogba start.

Last home defeat in league to Sheffield United was on 26 December, 1973 when United lost 1-2 and were eventually relegated under Tommy Docherty. The same year in August the last cricket match 'Roses Rivalry' between Yorkshire vs Lancashire was played at Bramall Lane a favourite ground of lifelong Manchester United fan Geoffrey Boycott. United line-up that day: Stepney (GK), Buchan, Holton, Young, Griffiths, B Greenhoff, McIlroy, Morgan, Graham, Macari(1), Best.
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United's best defensive left back Tony Dunne passes away

Irishman Tony Dune watched the Busby Babes play against Shamrock Rovers in European Cup in 1957 and later was spotted by United's great scout Billy Behan who signed him from Shelbourne United for just #5,000 in 1960. Initially brought as a cover for Noel Cantwell and Shay Brennan he ended up playing a big part it all the major honours won in the 1960's heyday including an FA Cup, two League titles, two Charity Shield's and an European Cup in 1968.
Tony Dunne made his debut on 15th October, 1960 in a 3-5 away loss to Burnley at Turf Moor in which Dennis Viollet scored a hat-trick. Injury to Cantwell meant Dunne notched up 28 league appearances in his second season itself at left-back while in his 3rd season he played at right-back 8 of 25 times as cover for injured Shay Brennan including the FA Cup final to become the first choice full-back ahead of the two, missing just 8 matches in next 5 seasons. He scored his first goal in a 3-3 draw away at West Brom on 4th May, 1966 and his last in a 2-2 draw away at Newcastle on 9th Dec, 1967.

In one of the rare quotes of Tony Dunne he said the following of the 1967 Championship win: "We realised that teams without as much ability as us were giving more effort. Our great players in particular realised this and came through at just the right time."

Tony Dunne had great pace to recover the ball but rarely used it for attacking purposes and one of the reasons for not venturing forward might be the plethora of options United had in forward positions. Matt Busby chose to use Dunne as his last man when going forward so as to stop the counter-attack from the opposing team utilizing the pace of Manchester United's most capped Irishman. Sir Bobby Charlton recalls how he trained with Dunne especially dividing duties on the left wing if any of opposing players tried to run with the ball and trying to overlap the opposition to create an avenue of attack. This also helped improve the duo's positioning when not in possession of the ball. By the time of winning the European Cup, Tony Dunne was hailed as the best left back in Europe of the 60's and played in all European games that season. In the 5-1 scintillating win over Benfica in Lisbon in 1966 European Cup quarter-finals Dunne provided the cross from foul on Charlton for George Best to head home the first goal.

United veteran Bill Foulkes led the defense for much of the 60's with Nobby Stiles made this assessment of his two full-backs Dunne and Brennan: "What a contrast this make to the old-time defenders who were invariably big brawny fellows whose aim was to stop the wingers at any cost. They fit into the modern concept which calls for defenders to have the skill of forwards with an eye for going up in attack whenever the situation calls for it.  Both of them rely on skill for getting the ball rather than brute strength, and they can speed along, especially Tony who must be one of the fastest backs in the business."

His last game for United was in a 1-4 away loss to Ipswich on 17th Feb, 1973. He left United at the same time as Denis Law after Tommy Docherty took over and began purging the old side. Since the acrimony over his testimonial he had limited his visits to Old Trafford even declining to attend the Champions' League finals in '99 as guest. He joined Bolton Wonderers at the age of 32 and notched up 170 games helping them to lift the second division title in 1978. He ended his career with North American Soccer League in United States with Detroit Express.
Slight similarity with Ferguson claiming Denis Irwin was his best buy who was also a left back and an Irishman. Also in the reckoning to be greatest left back of Manchester United will be former captain Roger Byrne as well as Arthur Albiston and Patrice Evra. Both Dunne and Irwin were not the stars of their teams but quiet, consistent performers and versatile to play on either flanks never giving their boss any trouble. While picking the all time greatest United XI the former player and legend of Leeds United Johnny Giles includes both Irishman at two full back positions perhaps at the expense of another Irishman Johnny Carey who has the first talent scouted for United by Billy Behan.

In 2011 the club bought all the medals and memorabilia when Dunne had put them for auction. He is not related to another Dunne of the same era the goal keeper Pat. In total Anthony Peter Dunne played in about 535 matches scoring 2 goals and like many of the stars of the 60's had settled near Manchester. Here is the club's tribute video.

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Solskjaer under renewed focus as United aim to halt three match barren run

Manchester United have not only failed to win their last three English Premier League matches but also failed to score; 0-2 at Anfield, 0-2 to Burnley and 0-0 to Wolves both at Old Trafford. As a result they have not been able to close to the gap on the fourth position presently held by their next opponents Chelsea whom they face on Monday night. Ten points separate ten chasing teams below the fourth spot and based on worst start since 1989 United are certainly not the favourites to clinch it.

Two different stories emerged recently linked with Molde, Solskjaer's former club. The desperation to land a striker meant Solskjaer turned to his own ex-business partner, friend and agent Jim Solbakken whose associates deal with both Joshua King and Odion Ighalo. United had signed just one player in keeper Anders Lindegaard from Solbakken under Sir Alex Ferguson and now this deadline day transfer does raise concerns as the tenure of Solskjaer at Cardiff City paints a grim picture of a manager unable to come to terms with task at hand. Solskjaer to his credit has avoided the mistakes in recruitment that was a catastrophe at Cardiff City which included three Norwegian players who were also Solbakken clients. The second issue was the case of Solskjaer persisting with a player Babacar Saar while awaiting trial. Whatever the issue with Glazers handling of United they as a club will not like to be associated with an entity under cloud. Will that lead to Tommy Docherty like situation all over again remains to be seen.

The media adviser of Ed Woodward the ex-reporter for tabloid The Sun, Neil Ashton was spotted at Griffin Park where Mauricio Pochettino was also in attendance to watch Leeds United play. Rumour-mill was in overdrive coupled with above stories to paint a doomsday scenario for Solskjaer. That pressure was eased greatly by the news of UEFA banning Man City from Champions' League for next two seasons and a fine of 30 million Euro's which means that if United were to finish fifth they could still play in Champions' League next season thus saving Solskjaer's job. Europa League Cup has too many good teams left that makes a United win improbable. The English FA should also investigate if the titles won by Man City since the take over by Sheikh Mansour are legitimate. The 2011-12 win by City over United on goal difference under Sir Alex Ferguson and 2017-18 win by City over United with a massive 19 point difference under Jose Mourinho. Twenty times league Champions might become Twenty two! This ban reminds of the early days of last century wherein an alert United under shrewd Ernest Mangnall lured City's star players Billy Meredith, Sandy Turnbull who had helped them win the 1904 FA Cup were banned subsequently to aid the Red Devils win their first League and Cup titles in 1907 and 1908.

Solskjaer has three wins and a draw against Chelsea including the opening day 4-0 win of this season and earlier beat an under strength blues at the Bridge in the League Cup. United have a chance to do a double over their bogey team in Premier League for the first time since 1987-88 when it was the old First Division. Solskjaer confirmed he will not play Scott McTominay, Eric Bailly or Timothy Fosu-Mensah nor long time absentee Paul Pogba and of them the loss of McTominay will be huge that might tilt the match in blues favour. Marcus Rashford is out injured.

Usual back five, Fernandes-Fred with Pereira-Mata-James and Martial likely the starting XI. Ighalo off the bench for his debut as Martial moves to left in the second half. Thus far Solskjaer has played all his signings straight into first XI to underscore his point about poor quality of the side he inherited - Daniel James, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Harry Maguire and Bruno Fernandes. Without Rashford to run in and supply a pass or a one-two, Martial seems aloof hence Solskjaer will be tempted to start with Ighalo and revert Martial to left of front three. Ighalo will push Martial to deliver or step-in himself. Greenwood in his breakthrough year has exceeded expectations whenever has has come off the bench while he is still in his developing years in terms of physique to start the match.

First match of this season and the first match after the first winter break, both against Chelsea! This break isn't like the international one where players disperse to national teams and then lose focus on return to their respective clubs but instead its renews the focus with training sessions away from media glare like United's at Marbella, Spain. Solskjaer got his wish in January transfer window with two signings and not Frank Lampard that increases the expectations despite the blues shrewdly signing Hakim Ziyech for the summer instead of comparatively costly and inexperienced Jadon Sancho. United need to learn and tie down their overseas targets now for the summer thinking ahead especially how slow they negotiate a player transfer. Commercial deals do not take that much time given Woodward's specialty! That once again proves the need for a Director of Football at United.

Hope Tommy Docherty is present to watch his two great sides battle it out as he hasn't been invited to Old Trafford since 2014. United are six points behind Chelsea and if they lose this match top four will be almost out of sight increasing the pressure on Solskjaer that Luke Shaw tried to deflect on players.
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Solskjaer must deliver now that Fernandes and Ighalo are in

The protracted transfer of Bruno Fernandes and deadline day dream of Odion Ighalo realized to assuage not only Solskjaer but also the agitating fans who brought upon themselves disrepute by throwing flare at Ed Woodward's home. Fernandes was being chased by Manchester United for a long time yet it consumed almost the entire January window to leave too little time to process for a much needed striker given the injury to Marcus Rashford. Odion Ighalo top scored for 3rd place Nigeria in the 2019 African Cup of Nations ahead of much fancied Mo Salah, Riyad Mahrez, Sadio Mane, Wilfred Zaha and becomes the first major signing to a big club in the English Premier League from the Chinese Super League. Fans are fully behind the Nigerian who gets to fulfill his wish of emulating his childhood hero's Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke in playing for his beloved club. The loan move also means that MUFC do not spend big on a short term assignment and at the same time get an option to sign him later if indeed he proves to be a success at Old Trafford.

The results since the new year has been depressing. Loss to Arsenal, Liverpool and Burnley sandwiched between the two legged progress in the FA Cup against Wolves and a loss in two legs to neighbours City in the League Cup. The two victories came against bottom side Norwich and league two side Tranmere in the FA Cup 4th round! Burnley beat MUFC at Old Trafford for the first time since September, 1962. The last match before the winter break was a draw against Wolves in which Bruno Fernandes made his debut with five shots of goal, organizing the midfield but dropped deep to support the team that reduced his potency to score or assist. MUFC played better in the second half, after 88 minutes Dalot was introduced to play on right wing not Tahith Chong and the Portuguese sent his header off Man of the Match Aaron Wan-Bissaka's cross wide of the goal.

This game saw the victims of Munich air disaster remembered by a ceremony before the game at the memorial and during the game with a round of applause in the 58th minute. Neither Ed Woodward nor the Glazer family were present in the stadium to mark one of most important events in the annual calendar of the great institution that Sir Matt Busby painstakingly build from the bombed Old Trafford pitch post the war. The fans walk-out protest did not materialize either in the 68th minute. United and Wolves having played each other six times within a year lacked the edge to tilt the match as players and staff longed for the winter break due to depleted squad and additional matches for Europa League qualification respectively. The winter break after almost two thirds of the league fixtures having been completed isn't correctly placed but is positive step towards fulfilling a long standing demand from Sir Alex Ferguson who cited this as a major reason why continental teams had an edge in winning the European trophies during his reign. United now have not scored a goal in their last three league games against Liverpool, Burnley and Wolves.

The next six games are against Chelsea, Watford, Everton, Man City, Tottenham and Sheffield United till 21st March while most of the later seven games of the season are against the bottom half of the league except the last one against Leicester City. Solskjaer has got the two players to push for the top four, and two Cups FA and Europa. For final top four spot there are ten clubs within seven point gap chasing Chelsea including MUFC. Solskjaer is yet to win three consecutive league matches this season and based on form will lead United to its lowest ever points total in Premier League history. The return date of Paul Pogba is not yet known. Based on form if Solskjaer finishes outside the top six and fails to win a trophy questions will be raised over his position. Mauricio Pochettino who has worked on a shoe-string budget will attract the interest of any club owner, more so the business minded Glazers. As in the summer and January window this break will also see a plethora of stories linking Manchester United to attract its millions of fans to sites based at times not on fact but fiction like the take-over by Saudi's, player stories like Pogba and summer transfer wish list.

United face yet another old team of Tommy Docherty in Derby County in 5th round of FA Cup at Pride Park where Wayne Rooney is trying to revive the clubs push for promotion. Tonight the youth team play Leeds in the FA Youth Cup 5th round a stage reached for the first time since 2012 speaks volumes of the way the competition synonymous with Busby Babes and club now have not kept pace. The restructuring of the youth setup in the summer is progressing in the right direction at least. The prospect of Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba playing together will cheer the supporters only if the club becomes more transparent over the Frenchman's progress from injury which on paper does not sound too serious. Pogba doing well at Euro 2020 and later sold to the highest bidder in the extended summer transfer window till end of August is the best hope. Fans though are more excited about Scott McTominay's return to help push for top 4.
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United should honour Docherty now as they realize the task Solskjaer has

Tommy Docherty was sacked as Manchester United manager after winning the 1977 FA Cup as reports of his affair with club physio's wife was made public. More details emerged about the way he conducted deals out of advertisements, tour games, tickets for FA Cup matches, belittling the senior players etc during the libel he threw at Willie Morgan who called him "about the worst manager there had ever been." The impulsive Docherty retorted "Any manager who says he has not cheated or lied is not being honest." Based on Sir Matt Busby's high standards he should have sent Docherty off much before winning the first major trophy for MUFC after he won the European Cup in 1968.

Docherty was managing Scotland with Jimmy Johnstone, Kenny Dalglish, Billy Bremner, Peter Lorimer, Denis Law, Lou Macari, Martin Buchan calling them "the most talented squad the national team has ever been able to call upon" who were well on their way to qualify for 1974 World Cup. Sir Matt Busby poached him after consulting seniors in the team from Scotland. With the retirement of Sir Bobby Charlton at the end of the season MUFC board had a huge outlay for transfers and Doc brought four Scottish players in Alex Forsyth, George Graham, Lou Macari and Jim Holton to being dubbed the first million dollar team. Drew 1-1 with Leeds United in his first match and once played eight Scottish players in a league match against West Ham. Incidentally MUFC lost to Arsenal in the first match of '73 and went out of the FA Cup to Wolves 0-1. MUFC avoided relegation by finishing 18th but the next season they succumbed.

Docherty' reign preceded with the sacking of George Best simultaneously with that of previous manager Frank O'Farrell and the Ulsterman was persuaded to re-join briefly between Oct '73 to Jan '74 [Won 2, Drew 4, Lost 7, scored twice]. Charlton ended his career in his first season and then Doc transfer listed Denis Law who joined local rivals City to send MUFC infamously into the second division with his back heel. End of the United Trinity of Ballon d'Or winners with 287 most amazing matches between them starting with 4-1 win over West Brom when all three scored on 18, Jan 1964 to 28, Oct 1972 in a 1-4 loss to Tottenham!

To call the rebuild task as monumental might also be an understatement: Tommy Cavanagh as his assistant to instill discipline in the squad, appointed Brentford manager Frank Blunstone as youth coach: Arthur Albiston, Gerry Daly, Brian Greenhoff, David McCreery, Jimmy Nicholl came to the fore; moved Sammy McIlroy to midfield, gave MUFC their identity back in Steve Coppell and Gordon Hill on the wings, shrewd purchase of Stan Pearson and Jimmy Greenhoff who reserved his special for Liverpool, won promotion immediately finishing 3rd in the league and reached the FA Cup final in '76, Stopped LFC from winning the treble with that '77 FA Cup win. MUFC became the 1st English team to win the European treble under Ferguson in 1999. Led MUFC back in Europe for the first time since Busby with UEFA Cup beating Ajax but lost to Juventus in the next round despite winning the 1st leg 1-0 with a Gordon Hill masterclass while the absence of skipper Marin Buchan cost the 2nd leg.

Doc was last at Old Trafford in 2014 the experience apparently that left him sore "I won’t be back at United after them charging me for my tickets about three years ago. I got an invoice for £88 for two seats so that was it for me. If I fancy a game locally I’ll phone up Mike Summerbee at City and they always look after me. But I’m done with United." Dave Sexton who did the double over MUFC with modest Coventry might have been at Old Trafford assisting numerous England coaches. While Ron Atkinson upset MUFC with Sheffield Wednesday in League Cup final and appears on MUTV quite regularly. Doc never managed to be at a club for more than 2 seasons after his MUFC tenure and later confessed to be regretful about leaving Scotland for MUFC.

Clearly the reasons are not football related but the rebuild that has lasted till Ferguson's appointment does not justify the impertinence shown towards Tommy Docherty now in his 90's. He should have been invited for the opening game of this season which was against Doc's Chelsea for whom he played, managed and changed their colours from White to Blue. Wolves the last major club he managed whom MUFC face in the FA Cup 3rd round replay at Old Trafford this Wednesday offers the club another chance.

On this day: 14-Jan-1969 Sir Matt Busby announced his decision to retire at the end of the season and become general manager at MUFC.
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Can Mourinho emulate Dave Sexton and do the double over United

Jose Mourinho returns to Old Trafford for the first time after being sacked last December ending his two and a half year stint with Manchester United in which he won the League Cup, Europa League Cup and finished second in the league their highest finish since retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson 4 years earlier. At Tottenham he has a comparatively better and balanced side that can not just beat Manchester United but like another ex-Chelsea legendary manager who also managed MUFC in Dave Sexton do the double.

Dave Sexton coached Chelsea to triumph in 1970 FA Cup, 1971 Cup Winners Cup and took over the Managers post at Manchester United at the second time of being offered. He was one of the candidates considered to take over from Sir Matt Busby but refused while still at Chelsea. He succeeded Tommy Docherty in 1977, reached the FA Cup final in 1979 and finished second the same year which was the highest finish since the retirement of Sir Matt Busby and 12 years after the last League title. He is credited with bringing Ray Wilkins, Joe Jordan to MUFC and the flotation in the stock market hindered the ability to buy quality players. He was sacked for lack of playing style as he had previously achieved at Queens Park Rangers in mid-70's despite ending with seven wins on the trot to finish in 8th position at the end of 1980-81 season.

Sexton took over Coventry City in 1981 and did the double over Manchester United; winning 2-1 at Highfield Road on opening day of the new season with goals from Steve Whitton, Peter Bodak and 1-0 win on his return to Old Trafford with Les Sealey in goal for Sky Blues and Whitton again the goal scorer.

Post world war MUFC have had to face their previous managers only on four occasions; Tommy Docherty, Dave Sexton, Ron Atkinson and David Moyes due to the longevity of Sir Matt Busby and Sir Alex Ferguson. Sexton in charge MUFC did the double over Docherty's Derby County including a 4-0 win at Old Trafford while the fans still called that teams as Doc's. Ron Atkinson famously beat MUFC in the league cup final in April, 1991 with Sheffield Wednesday. Big Ron's side drew 0-0 at Old Trafford on his return with the Owls. David Moyes lost 1-3 on his return to Old Trafford with Sunderland while being greeted with abject silence as if he were the 'Forgotten One'.

Jose Mourinho will be applauded for the trophies he won while rooting for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to do a David over Goliath with the young MUFC squad just like Dave Sexton who once fielded the youngest league side for Sky Blues in November 1982 in a match vs Liverpool, a record that stood for 36 years. Dave Sexton served England managers from Ron Greenwood to Sven-Goran Eriksson, journalist Norman Giller called him "a coach's coach".
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53 years to the debut of Big Al

Alex Stepney made his Manchester United debut today(17 September) in 1966 in goal against Manchester City in a 1-0 win with Denis Law scoring the winner. Overall he made 539 appearances keeping 175 clean sheets. He was born on 18 September, 1942.

A snapshot of his career.
  • Cockney lad who played for Milwall came via Chelsea where Tommy Docherty released him in Aug '66 for a record fee #55,000. Immediately became No 1 choice displacing David Gaskell and Pat Dunne who had shared the goal-keeping duties during the '65 League winning season.
  • Sir Matt Busby credited him for Manchester United winning the First Division league title in '67: "The single most important factor behind our championship success in 1967 was signing Alex Stepney."
  • In a Charity Shield game the traditional curtain raiser for a new season MUFC as league champions faced the FA Cup winners in Tottenham Hotspur on 12-Aug-1967. Their goal keeper Pat Jennings scored a goal from a kick which went past MUFC defenders and bounced off Alex Stepney who had come front.
  • Alex Stepney stood his ground to not only withstand Eusebio's net bursting shot but held it firmly to keep MUFC in the European Cup final of '68 which played a major role in Reds finally realizing the dream of Sir Matt Busby of becoming Champions of Europe. Eusebio immediately applauded the save from Alex Stepney aware perhaps of its consequence. His only cap for England came against Sweden at Wembley only a week earlier than the European Cup final allowing Alex Stepney to get to know the turf better.
  • His fumble cost '70 League Cup semi-final to Manchester City losing 3-4.
  • Broke two fingers while making a save to help MUFC beat West Brom 2-1 and take an important step to avoid relegation in '73. Jimmy Rimmer kept goal in his absence.
  • 89* consecutive appearances between 07-Apr-73 till 01-Feb-75.(* many claim its 92 not 89)
  • Played in all the games of the 1973-74 season when MUFC were relegated and became the 1st MUFC Goalkeeper to play through all games in a season across the League, FA Cup and League Cup. A feat only achieved since by Gary Bailey in 79-80 and Jim Leighton in 88-89 season. The great Dane Peter Schmeichel played through all games of league season only once in 92-93 while Gary Walsh played a game each in League Cup and UEFA Cup that season! Big Al even stepped up to take penalties during the summer and Doc asked him to take the ones in First Division match against Leicester City and Birmingham both of which he duly scored. Was helpless to prevent the back-heel of Denis Law who scored the goal that led to eventual relegation for the Reds.
  • Part of rebuild under Tommy Docherty to lift the Second Division title in '74. Tommy Docherty and Tommy Cavanagh changed the playing style to a simple possession based football with short passes and Alex Stepney was asked to throw the ball to nearest defender to play from the back rather than kicking the ball.
  • Part of two FA Cup finals: losing to an offside goal from Bobby Stokes of Southampton in '76 whose shot had an unfortunate bounce that beat Alex Stepney and winning a year later in '77 to stop Liverpool winning the Treble, which MUFC finally won in '99.
  • His testimonial match was against Benfica in March, 1977.
  • Played his last competitive match for MUFC on 29, April 1978 in a 1-2 loss away at Molineux against Wolverhampton Wonderers. Left MUFC after Gary Bailey was promoted following the aborted transfer of Jimmy Blyth from Coventry due to a failed medical and Paddy Roche could not cement his place. Dave Sexton dropped Alex Stepney in a first significant change to the team of Tommy Docherty in November '77 to arrest the slide favouring Roche but to no avail. For '78 season Sexton started with Roche in goal whose confidence was shattered in 1-5 loss to Birmingham City and Bailey stepped up to face Ipswich in a 2-0 win. 
  • Played in the Manchester United centenary game on 07, August 1978 against Real Madrid in a 4-0 win.
  • His autobiography revealed how Wilf McGuinness once made Sir Bobby Charlton do 20 press-ups in a suit and how Denis Law came to know about the end of his illustrious MUFC career under Tommy Docherty.
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