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» Munich '58
1931-1940
| Supporter Unrest | Cash Boost | New Manager, New Hope | Worst Season Ever |
| The Only Way Is Up | The Yo-Yo Effect | World War II |

Supporter Unrest

As results continued to suffer - United began the 1930/31 season with defeats to Villa (4-0), Middlesborough (3-0), Chelsea (6-2), Huddersfield (6-0) and Newcastle (7-4) - United fans grew more and more concerned.

Attendances dropped dramatically in protest at the football that was played out before them. By the time Newcastle visited Old Trafford the crowd numbered less than 11,000.

As the discontent grew, handbills were passed out on match days asking the club to heed a five point plan drawn up by the Supporters Club.

The supporters wanted a new manager, improved scouting, new signings, five shareholders elected to the board and a share issue to raise funds to support the other points.

The club, however, failed to recognise the Supporters Club as an official body and dismissed the demands.

As the season went into October United had lost all of their games and sat at the foot of the table. As United prepared for the derby clash with Manchester City the Supporters Club issued an ultimatum. Either heed their demands or face a boycott of the fixture agianst Arsenal on October 18th.

There was no response from the club and City won the match 4-1. The following week West Ham handed out a 5-1 thrashing and the Supporters CLub called an emergency meeting at Hulme Town Hall. Apparently almost 3000 turned up.

The then secretary of the Supporters Club, Mr Greenhough, moved that the boycott of the Arsenal game should go ahead.

Charlie Roberts, the former club captain, also attended the meeting and spoke out against the boycott, instead saying the fans should get behind the team. He was shouted down, however, and a vote was taken which was almost unanimously in favour of the boycott.

The visit of Arsenal was a huge game and the press had been expecting a crowd of around 50,000. Instead only 23,000 turned out to see Arsenal win 2-1. Manchester United followed that with a 4-1 defeat to Portsmouth.

The fans spoke with their feet and attendances dipped below 10,000 a match. The only game that drew more than that for the rest of the season was the return match with rivals Manchester City.

The final home game of the season saw a pitiful 3900 turn up to watch a 4-4 draw with Middlesborough.

United had lost 27 games and won only seven, conceding a terrible 115 goals in the process. It was back to the Second Division. The board finally reacted and fired Herbert Bamlett and the club's long-serving secretary Walter Crickmer, along with Louis Rocca, took over.

Despite their love for the club, the pair could not halt the slide and as 1931 drew to a close Manchester United were once again facing bankruptcy.

This time a Mr James W. Gibson stepped in to save the club.

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Cash Boost

Gibson was a major garment manufacturer specialising in army uniforms. When the players were refused wages he was informed by sports writer Jacey Lintott.

He immediatley pledged £2000 to the club and promised more if the club met his requirements.

His terms were that he was to be chairman and could appoint his own board. This was agreed and Gibson gave the club another £30,000, settled all debts and paid the players.

The club had avoided another financial crisis. A plaque commemorating Gibson can be seen on the Sir Matt Busby Way bridge near Old Trafford.

It reads:

We love James Gibson
He saved our dream
He's a Manchester hero
Of the top football team

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New Manager, New Hope

In August 1932 Manchester United employed a new manager to replace Crickmer and Rocca. Scott Duncan took the helm and immediately promised to infuse the team with new blood and revamp the youth setup.

It all sounded great and hopes were high for a quick return to the glory years.

Duncan, however, did not keep to his word. Instead of sorting out the youth situation and introducing young, exciting players he set about spending as much of Gibson's cash as he could.

Many of his signings came from his native Scotland, including Neil Dewar from Third Lanark and Willie Chalmers from Cowdenbeath, as well as David Byrne from Shamrock Rovers and Thomas Bamford from Wrexham.

With the possible exception of Bamford, however, none were good enough players to take United back to their previous heights.

In his first season at the club Duncan could only manage a poor 12th in the Second Division.

His second season was more of a success and United finished sixth, showing some improvement but never threatening to gain promotion. For the amount of money Duncan had spent, the club expected more.

The goals were flowing again, but the defence couldn't match it. United finished with 71 goals, a large amount for a midtable Second Division side. Bamford was responsible for the majority.

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Worst Season Ever

The 1933/34 season is still United's worst in its history. A 7-3 defeat by Grimsby showed just how bad things were and in the struggle to find a winning side Duncan used 38 players through the season.

The last game of the season saw United face Millwall with victory the only result that would save them from the unthinkable - relegation to the Third Division.

The Manchester Evening News were already writing the club off, describing the year as "the most heartbreaking season in the history of Manchester United".

United sat second from bottom of the Second Division on 32 points. Millwall were a place above on 33 points. Lincoln, lying bottom, were already relegated.

As the match began Millwall forced United back for much of the first half and looked the more likely to score. Then, out of the blue, United broke away and scored and went into the halftime break with a tenuous 1-0 lead.

Within two minutes of the restart, though, John Cape put United 2-0 up and the team visibly relaxed, running out comfortably with a 2-0 victory and escaping the drop.

On the same day, cross-city rivals Manchester City beat Portsmouth 2-1 to win the FA Cup at Wembley. One member of that team was a certain Matt Busby...

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The Only Way Is Up

After such a close shave with relegation to the Third Division the only way for the club to go was up. And they duly did, finishing fifth in the 1934/35 season. However, the goals were now drying up and United managed only 55 all season.

After such a marked improvement United were tipped for promotion the following season. Early results did not seem to back this optimism up, however, and a loss to Bradford City in January of 1936 seemed to indicate another battle against relegation to the Third Division.

A remarkable turnaround occurred instead. United did not lose another game and by March had climbed to fourth place, just three points off the top of the table.

By April they were up to second and the fans began to believe that promotion was possible. At the end of April United faced a game away at Bury with a win vital to stay in the promotion hunt.

Some 20,000 fans travelled to Gigg Lane and United did not let them down, winning 3-2 in a pulsating game.

At the final whistle United's fans poured onto the pitch and carried the team off on their shoulders.

Promotion would be assured with a point from the following week's game at Old Trafford. The team obliged with a 1-1 result and United were crowned Second Division champions.

Looking at the stats it is clear that home form was the reason for the success. United lost only two and drew only three matches at home all season, scoring 55 goals.

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| The Only Way Is Up | The Yo-Yo Effect | World War II |

The Yo-Yo Effect

The celebrations for United fans were brief. The first season back in the First Division was not a good one. The club were sent straight back down to the Second.

Only 10 wins all season put paid to any hope of staying up, although victories over Manchester City and Arsenal at Old Trafford were brief highlights of a poor year.

1937 saw two significant signings at Old Trafford, ones for which Duncan should be given credit. Firstly, Johnny Carey signed from St James' Gate, a Dublin side, for £250. Originally signed as an inside forward, Carey switched to full back after the Second World War where he made his name as one of the greats, both for United and in general.

The second signing was youngster Jack Rowley, signed from Bournemouth for £3000. Rowley's goals helped United secure promotion back to the First Division in his first full season.

Just 15 games into the 1937/38 season Scott Duncan resigned as manager to sign for Ipswich Town only a year into a five year contract.

Walter Crickmer was again installed as manager and in his first game United put seven goals past Chesterfield for a 7-1 win.

That sparked a run that saw United finish in second place, good enough to secure promotion. Across town, Manchester City were relegated to the Second Division.

At this point, a man by the name of Jimmy Porter took over as manager, where he remained through the war years until 1944 when Crickmer took over again. Obviously due to the war, Porter had only one year in charge of a full United squad, the 1938/39 season.

He managed to avoid relegation by a narrow margin, finishing 14th with 11 wins, 16 draws and 15 losses. United only scored 65 goals, but must have had a rock solid defence as the goal difference was still +27.

This was also the season that Old Trafford got its record crowd, 76,962 for the FA Cup semi-final between Wolves and Grimsby.

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| The Only Way Is Up | The Yo-Yo Effect | World War II |

World War II

Three games into the 1939/40 season war was declared on Germany. Two days later the Football League met and decided to cancel all leagues for the duration.

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