Munich Cloud Lingers

With several new recruits in place Manchester United set about trying to regain the First Division title but the toll of Munich was still felt and the 1960/61 season ended disappointingly, with the club finishing in seventh.

United occassionally sparked into life, beating Burnley and Chelsea 6-0, but there were also some embarrassing lows, losing 6-0 to Leicester and 7-2 to Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup. Consistency was a big problem.

Attendances began to fall, although the Manchester derby still managed to draw 61,000.

1960/61 was the first year that Manchester United entered the League Cup, although it was an inauspicious start, crashing out in the second round.

The purchase of David Herd from Arsenal for the 1961/62 season could do nothing to stop United's decline.

Although Herd finished the season as leading scorer at the club with 14 goals, United could do no better than 15th in the league.

They faired better in the FA Cup, reaching the semi-final but Spurs knocked them out 3-1. Attendances again suffered with the derby against Manchester City attracting a disappointing 56,000 crowd.

1962/63 was even worse. United finished 19th, only just avoiding relegation. But two signings during the season were to have a major impact in the years to come.

Jigsaw Pieces

Denis Law signed from Torino for £116,000. A goalscorer and entertainer, Law drew in the crowds wherever United visited. A match at Everton's Goodison Park saw 69,000 pack themselves in.

It was a different story at home, though, with Old Trafford attendances continuing to fall. Only 49,000 bothered to watch the derby that year.

While Law was a great addition to the side, there was still something missing. Busby knew what it was and in February of 1963 he bought Pat Crerand from Glasgow Celtic.

Paddy, as he was known, had a wonderful touch and his vision helped Denis Law progress from great goalscorer to genius.

While league form was abysmal the FA Cup was a different story. United reached the final and were in the unfamiliar position of underdogs as they prepared to face much-fancied Leicester City.

Goals from Herd (2) and Law were enough to secure a 3-1 win for the 'underdogs' and United had their first trophy since the disaster in '58.

Times were changing and the United squad were slowly moving out of the shadow of Munich, becoming a team of their own.

The 1963/64 season following the Cup success saw the finished product take to the field. The crowds were back at Old Trafford and the club was buzzing again.

Finishing touches to the squad included David Sadler, John Connelly and the great George Best, who broke through from the youth team to the first team.

United's youngsters, including the mercurial George Best, won the FA Youth Cup, beating Swindon Town 5-2 on aggregate.

Not only was the club's first team almost complete but Busby's commitment to youth was once again beginning to show through.

Success in the league was not far off. United finished second with Denis Law notching 42 goals in all competitions, while also reaching the semi-final of the FA Cup (lost to West Ham) and the quarter final of the Cup Winners' Cup (lost to Sporting Lisbon).

The Cup Winners' Cup venture was United's first season back in Europe since 1958.

Championship Status Regained

And then it came. In the 1964/65 season United recaptured the league title, beating Leeds United in one of the closest finishes ever in the league. Goal difference had to be used to separate the two sides.

Denis Law was voted European Player of the Year, the first British player to receive the award.

At Old Trafford work began on the largest cantilever stand in the country. It would eventually hold 10,000 seats and feature Europe's first executive boxes.

Before the 1965/66 season begins, club chairman Harold Hardman dies at the age of 83. Director Louis Edwards assumes the role.

A 2-2 draw with Liverpool in the Charity Shield got the season off to a reasonable start but United were unable to retain the league, finishing fourth.

The FA Cup saw United knocked out at the semi-final stage for the fourth time in five years, but in the European Cup they again made their mark, although were unfortunate to get knocked out by Partisan Belgrade in the semis, 2-1 on aggregate.

That result was more of a shock after United had seen off the challenge of a talented Benfica side in the quarter finals, winning in Portugal by an amazing 5-1.

John Aston Jr, son of the original John Aston, made his league debut this year with his proud father, then a coach at the club, looking on.

Herd was the clubs top league scorer with 24 goals.

Such was Old Trafford's quality as a football stadium that it hosted three World Cup games in the year England beat Germany to lift the Jules Rimet for the first and only time.

As the 1966/67 season kicked off Bobby Charlton receives the European Footballer of the Year award for 1966. The second United player to do so, after Denis Law.

Busby splashed out £55,000 on goalkeeper Alex Stepney, then a record for a goalkeeper.

It was to prove a vital purchase as United lifted their seventh First Division title with big wins against Sunderland (5-0) and West Ham (6-1) along the way.

A Dream Realised

And so United headed back into the European Cup. Many felt that the team of '58 were going to win the European Cup and the disaster in Munich robbed them of that. Since then, a sense of purpose had invaded Old Trafford. It was felt that the only way to bury the ghosts from Munich would be to lift the European Cup.

And in 1967/68 Matt Busby did just that, taking his team all the way to the final at Wembley.

Along the way they beat Hibernians of Malta 4-0, Sarajevo 2-1, Gornik Zabrze 2-1 and Real Madrid 4-3, all on aggregate.

Benfica were the opposition in the final. The game ebbed and flowed with neither side able to break the deadlock until Bobby Charlton scored. Unfortunately as United were close to victory, Graca scored for Benfica, sending the game into extra time.

That was only the cue for United to destroy their opponents. Best restored the lead before Charlton ensured victory with his second of the game. It was only left to Brian Kidd to mark his 19th birthday with a header in the European Cup final to give United a 4-1 victory.

Busby's dream had been realised and the ghost of Munich put to rest. Survivors from the tragedy that played that day were Charlton and United's central defender Bill Foulkes, by that time 36 years old.

In honour of the triumph Matt Busby received two awards, the freedom of the City of Manchester and a knighthood for services to football. From now on it would be Sir Matt Busby.

United could only finish second in the league to bitter rivals Manchester City that same season, but the horror of that was wiped away with the Wembley triumph.

Decline

Although it wasn't recognised then it is clear now that the team that finally lifted the European Cup was actually in decline. The likes of Crerand, Charlton and Foulkes were coming to the end of their playing days so it is no surprise now to look back and see that the period of decline United entered could only have been avoided with the influx of new players at the same standard as those already in place.

But Busby, perhaps because his dream was realised or perhaps because of a fierce loyalty to his current team, did not make any serious signings. In the 1968/69 season United finished a poor 11th in the league.

Any chance of retaining the European Cup went at the semi final stage as AC Milan recorded a 2-1 aggregate victory.

United played in the World Club Cup against South American champions Estudiantes from Argentina. It was a violent affair as the Argentinians did all they could to upset the flow of United's football. Nobby Stiles got himself sent off in the first leg and Estudiantes went on to win 2-1 on aggregate.

At the end of the season Busby chose to retire. He had accomplished what he set out to do and chose to bow out. Wilf McGuinness took his place as manager while Busby took up the role of general manager.

The season that followed was a turbulent one. Many of the senior players would or could not accept McGuinness' authority. He had, after all, been much closer to the, acting as go between in his role as assistant manager between the players and Busby. Often the likes of Crerand and Charlton were seen heading to Busby's office to complain about something they disagreed with.

Added to that George Best, although playing out of his skin on the field, was misbehaving at his worst off it. He finished the season as top goalscorer but the publicity he was generating outside Old Trafford was harming the team considerably. McGuiness certainly didn't know what to do with him.

Ian Ure was signed from Arsenal as a replacement for Bill Foulkes, who retired at the same time as Matt Busby after nearly 20 years at the club. He would be sorely missed.

In December 1970 McGuinness was relieved as manager and Sir Matt Busby agreed to once again take the reigns. His appointment came too late to do anything but see United finish eighth, as well as go out of both domestic cup competitions at the semi final stage.