For 140 Years Manchester United: The Hard Time Becoming a Professional Club

There are still many things that cannot be explained in this world. One of them is about when Manchester United actually stood up. On some sites they only listed 1878 as the year the club was founded without a clear date or month of establishment.

However, a site called fcunited-international.org writes that March 5, 1878 was the forerunner to United, Newton Heath LYR (Lanchasire-Yorkshire Railways) was formed. It shows that on the day when they won a dramatic victory over Crystal Palace, Manchester United turned 140 years old. Unfortunately, the site still needs to be questioned for its authenticity and credibility.

Born for a Noble Purpose

Although the date and month regarding the formation of Newton Heath is still unclear, but they have a clear goal to build this club. The Lanchasire and Yorkshire Railways railroad companies were asked to pay attention to employees who drank alcohol after work or when they gathered on weekends.

Through a meeting held in the dining room, the company later formed Newton Heath LYR Cricket and Football Club. As the name implies, this club makes cricket and football as their main sport. Over time, the sport of cricket slowly eroded with football that began to develop rapidly. The number of spectators watching them play ball more than cricket or other sports.

However, this club has a steep road to become a professional club. The field they used on Down North Road did not have changing rooms so they often ran up to 800 meters just to change clothes. They then inevitably have to rent a hotel bathroom as a dressing room so they have to spend big money.

In addition, the existence of Newton Heath was also only used as a stepping stone for young people there to target a job in the railroad company Lanchasire and Yorkshire. In fact, young people who come to play football at Newton Heath come from various countries such as Wales or Scotland. For them, soccer is just a pastime.

Over time, Newton Heath's popularity increased. They often win in matches against other local clubs such as Manchester Arcadian Hurst or West Gorton. Even so, they still could not compensate for the strength of other clubs which at that time already had a big name like Bolton Wanderers.

They then followed the Lanchasire Cup in 1883/1884 to develop their game. In the first tournament they participated in, Newton Heath lost to Blackburn Olympic. However, from this match the quality of Newton Heath's players invited several clubs that were semi-pro status to recruit Heathens players.

The defeat made Newton Heath finally chose to make their own tournament titled Manchester Cup in 1884/1885. At the tournament, they often won five times until 1893. As the tournament, Heathens also sent several documents to the Football League to be ratified as a professional club so they could join the league.

However, their applications are often rejected by league operators. Newton Heath even formed a rival league with other clubs whose documents were as problematic as they were. It was only in 1892 that their documents were received and allowed to join the Division One league.

While still playing in the rival league, around six thousand people could be present just to watch Newton Heath's match. This is due to the price discount policy given by them so that many viewers can arrive.

It's just that the policy makes their expenses actually swell so they have to hire an Alf Albut who then revokes the application of the discounted ticket price. The policy does not reduce the interest of the audience to watch Bob Donaldson et al., Play. They could even have 10 thousand spectators when Heathen fought Burnley.

The audience's rapid interest made Albut then move their cage from North Road to Bank Street. The better quality of the court as well as the number of stands was the reason for their headquarters being moved.

Election of Bank Street is again problematic. Its location next to a chemical factory often emits a foul odor and thick smoke that can disturb the players and spectators present. United even accused of deliberately doing it all to be able to achieve instantly.

The loss of the Heathens fan base made their achievements in Division I decline. In 1893/1894 they were relegated after only occupying the 16th position. Lighter competition made Newton Heath often make big wins. One of them was a 23-0 aggregate victory over Walsall when they asked for a repeat of the first 14-0 match.

Changing the Name and Service of a Dog

In the Albut era, United began to develop into a club that increased commercially. However, they also have so much debt. Debt that is not paid that made Albut resign and was replaced by James West.

Their debt at that time was relatively large, namely 2000. Until 1901 their debts could not be repaid. On March 18, a year later, they were threatened with being dropped from the league if their debt would not be paid off. During the meeting, Heath captain Harry Stafford invited several local businesses to jointly pay their debts. This step is effective but not enough to make United able to follow the league next season.

While raising funds as a way to pay off the remaining debt, Stafford lost his dog while wandering around asking for donations. The dog named Major was later discovered by the owner of the brewery, John Henry Davies. Davies is interested in Major and intends to buy it so he can give it to his son. Stafford then accepted the offer on condition that Davies pay Newton Heath's debt. Davies finally agreed and paid off their debts. The emergence of Davies then brought a new era for Heathens. On 24 April 1902 the name Newton Heath was removed and changed to Manchester United.