List of Manchester United F.C. managers
Manchester United Football Club is a professional football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. The club was formed in Newton Heath in 1878 as Newton Heath LYR F.C., and played their first competitive match in October 1886, when they entered the First Round of the 1886–87 FA Cup. The club was renamed Manchester United F.C. in 1902, and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.
From the beginning of the club's official managerial records in 1892 to the start of the 2022–23 season, Manchester United have had 23 full-time managers. The current manager is Erik ten Hag who took over from interim manager Ralf Rangnick on 23 May 2022.
The longest-serving and most successful person to manage Manchester United is Sir Alex Ferguson, who won 13 Premier League titles, five FA Cups, four League Cups, 10 Community Shields, two UEFA Champions League titles, one UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, one UEFA Super Cup, one Intercontinental Cup and one FIFA Club World Cup in his managerial reign of more than 26 years.
Managerial history
From 1878 to 1914, the team was selected by a committee whose secretary had the same powers and role as a manager has today. There were four secretaries during this period, A. H. Albut, James West, Ernest Mangnall and John Bentley.
Ernest Mangnall was the first man to bring any major silverware to the club, winning the club's first ever Football League title in 1908. This was followed by the FA Cup the following season, and another league title in 1911. Despite this success, though, he left the club a year later to join local rivals Manchester City. Coincidentally, Mangnall's last match in charge of United was the Old Trafford derby of 7 September 1912.[1] John Bentley took over as club secretary, but was replaced two years later by Jack Robson, who became the club's first full-time manager. He remained in the post for seven years, but resigned in December 1921 after succumbing to a bout of pneumonia.[2]
Robson was followed soon after by John Chapman. However, in Chapman's first season at the club, they were relegated to the Second Division for the first time since 1906. Three years in the Second Division followed, before promotion back to the First Division. After guiding the club to 9th place in the league and the FA Cup semi-finals in 1925–26, Chapman received a telegram from the Football Association on 8 October 1926 informing him of his suspension from management for the rest of the season; no reason was given. Half-back Lal Hilditch took over for the remainder of the season, before Herbert Bamlett took permanent control.
Bamlett was manager for four years, but was unable to muster any success, the club's highest position during his reign being 12th.[3] The club was relegated to the Second Division again in 1931, and Bamlett was replaced by club secretary Walter Crickmer. This was Crickmer's first of two spells as manager of the club, retaining his position as secretary all the while. It lasted only a season, though, as he failed to return the club to the First Division. In June 1932, Scott Duncan was appointed as manager, but in his second season in charge he led the club to what remains a club record lowest League position; 20th in the Second Division. The club held faith in Duncan though, and he managed to get the club back into the First Division by 1936. However, the club was relegated again the following year, and Walter Crickmer resumed control until the end of the Second World War.
Before the end of the war, the club approached Matt Busby, who had just turned down the opportunity to join the coaching staff at Liverpool, on the grounds that he wanted more responsibility over the playing side of the club than merely the selection of the team.[3] United allowed Busby the responsibilities he requested, and in his first five seasons in charge he guided the team to four second-place finishes in the league, before finally winning his first title in 1952. He soon set about replacing many of the more experienced players with a group of youths who came to be known as the "Busby Babes". This team went on to win two league titles in 1955–56 and 1956–57, as well as reaching two FA Cup finals. Unfortunately, the careers of many of the players were cut short by the Munich air disaster, which also left Busby fighting for his life.[4]
While Busby was in hospital recovering from the injuries he sustained in the air crash, his managerial duties were left to his assistant,
O'Farrell's replacement was to be
Sexton remained in the United job for four years, but was unable to produce any silverware, and was replaced in 1981 by
During his tenure, Ferguson was credited with the distinction of making some of the most shrewd purchases in the club's history, including the signings of
In his first match, Moyes gave United their 20th Community Shield and his first trophy as United manager; however, after failing to lead the club to Champions League qualification, he was sacked before the end of his first season, with Ryan Giggs taking temporary charge for the final four games of the 2013–14 season where the club finished seventh, their lowest league finish since the establishment of the Premier League.[10] Netherlands manager Louis van Gaal was appointed as Moyes' permanent replacement on 19 May 2014, taking charge after the end of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.[11] In his inaugural season, United signed many prominent players and returned to the Champions League with a 4th-place finish. In his second season, United finished in 5th place behind Manchester City, out of Champions League position, but won the 2015–16 FA Cup, the club's first in a dozen years. The board, however, decided that not enough progress had been made from the previous season and Van Gaal was sacked on 23 May 2016, just two days after lifting the cup. He was replaced by two-time European champion and two-time Chelsea boss José Mourinho four days later. Mourinho became United's fourth manager (including Giggs) in as many years since Ferguson's retirement. He won the League Cup and Europa League in his first season – the first UEFA Europa League title in the club's history and thus completing the UEFA treble, but failed to win any silverware in 2017–18 as United finished second in both the league and FA Cup. He was sacked on 18 December 2018 after the team won just seven of their opening 17 matches of the 2018–19 season. Former club forward Ole Gunnar Solskjær was appointed as caretaker manager for the rest of the season.[12] On 19 January 2019, Solskjær won his seventh out of seven games in charge of United, a new club record, and on 28 March 2019, following victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, Solskjær was given the job permanently. He became the first former United player to manage the club permanently since Wilf McGuinness.[13] On 21 November 2021, Solskjær left his post as the first full-time manager since Frank O'Farrell to not win a trophy for United, just like McGuinness did, and was replaced by first-team coach Michael Carrick on caretaking basis until 2 December 2021.[14] German Ralf Rangnick was appointed interim manager until the end of the season.[15]
On 21 April 2022, Erik ten Hag was announced as the new full-time manager.[16] On 26 February 2023, he successfully brought United to their first competitive trophy in nearly six years as they won the EFL Cup final against Newcastle United.[17]
Statistics
Information correct after match played on 21 April 2024. Only competitive matches are counted.
- Table headers
- Nationality – If the manager played international football as a player, the country/countries he played for are shown. Otherwise, the manager's nationality is given as their country of birth.
- From – The year of the manager's first game for Manchester United.
- To – The year of the manager's last game for Manchester United.
- P – The number of games managed for Manchester United.
- W – The number of games won as a manager.
- D – The number of games drawn as a manager.
- L – The number of games lost as a manager.
- GF – The number of goals scored under his management.
- GA – The number of goals conceded under his management.
- Win% – The total winning percentage under his management.
- Honours – The trophies won while managing Manchester United.
- Key
- (n/a) = Information not available
- p = Player-manager
Image | Name | Nationality | From | To | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | Win%[nb 1] | Honours | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A. H. Albut | England | 1889 | 26 May 1900 | 351 | 156 | 59 | 136 | 692 | 594 | 44.44 | [nb 2][nb 3] | ||
James West | England | 27 May 1900 | September 1903 | 113 | 46 | 20 | 47 | 159 | 147 | 40.71 | [nb 2][18] | ||
Ernest Mangnall | England | 10 October 1903 | 9 September 1912 | 373 | 202 | 76 | 95 | 700 | 476 | 54.16 | First Division titles 1 FA Cup 2 Charity Shields |
2 [nb 2][19] | |
T. J. Wallworth | England | 9 September 1912 | 20 October 1912 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 7 | 50.00 | [nb 4] | ||
John Bentley | England | 28 October 1912 | 28 December 1914 | 82 | 36 | 16 | 30 | 127 | 110 | 43.90 | [nb 2][20] | ||
Jack Robson | England | 28 December 1914 | 31 October 1921 | 139 | 41 | 42 | 56 | 183 | 207 | 29.50 | [21] | ||
John Chapman | Scotland | 31 October 1921 | 8 October 1926 | 221 | 86 | 58 | 77 | 287 | 274 | 38.91 | [22] | ||
Lal Hilditchp | England | 8 October 1926 | 13 April 1927 | 33 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 38 | 47 | 30.30 | [23] | ||
Herbert Bamlett | England | 13 April 1927 | 9 November 1931 | 183 | 57 | 42 | 84 | 280 | 374 | 31.15 | [24] | ||
Walter Crickmer | England | 9 November 1931 | 13 July 1932 | 43 | 17 | 8 | 18 | 72 | 76 | 39.53 | [25] | ||
Scott Duncan | Scotland | 13 July 1932 | 7 November 1937 | 235 | 92 | 53 | 90 | 371 | 362 | 39.15 | Second Division title | 1[26] | |
Walter Crickmer | England | 9 November 1937 | 15 February 1945 | 76 | 30 | 24 | 22 | 131 | 112 | 39.47 | [25] | ||
Matt Busby | Scotland | 1 October 1945 | 4 June 1969 | 1,120 | 565 | 263 | 292 | 2,286 | 1,536 | 50.45 | First Division titles 2 FA Cups 5 Charity Shields (inc. 2 shared) 1 European Cup |
5 [27] | |
Jimmy Murphy (caretaker) | Wales | February 1958 | June 1958 | 22 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 27 | 42 | 22.73 | [nb 5][28] | ||
Wilf McGuinness | England | 4 June 1969 | 29 December 1970 | 87 | 32 | 32 | 23 | 127 | 111 | 36.78 | [29] | ||
Matt Busby | Scotland | 29 December 1970 | 8 June 1971 | 21 | 11 | 3 | 7 | 38 | 30 | 52.38 | [27] | ||
Frank O'Farrell | Ireland | 8 June 1971 | 19 December 1972 | 81 | 30 | 24 | 27 | 115 | 111 | 37.04 | [30] | ||
Tommy Docherty | Scotland | 22 December 1972 | 4 July 1977 | 228 | 107 | 56 | 65 | 333 | 252 | 46.93 | FA Cup 1 Second Division title |
1 [31] | |
Dave Sexton | England | 14 July 1977 | 30 April 1981 | 201 | 81 | 64 | 56 | 290 | 240 | 40.30 | Charity Shield (shared) | 1[32] | |
Ron Atkinson | England | 9 June 1981 | 6 November 1986 | 292 | 146 | 79 | 67 | 461 | 266 | 50.00 | FA Cups 1 Charity Shield |
2 [33] | |
Alex Ferguson | Scotland | 6 November 1986 | 19 May 2013 | 1,500 | 895 | 338 | 267 | 2,769 | 1,365 | 59.67 | Premier League titles 5 FA Cups 4 League Cups 10 Community Shields (inc. 1 shared)[nb 6] 2 UEFA Champions Leagues 1 European Cup Winners' Cup 1 European Super Cup 1 Intercontinental Cup 1 FIFA Club World Cup |
13 [34][35] | |
David Moyes | Scotland | 1 July 2013 | 22 April 2014 | 51 | 27 | 9 | 15 | 86 | 54 | 52.94 | 1 Community Shield | [36] | |
Ryan Giggsp (caretaker) | Wales | 22 April 2014 | 11 May 2014 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 50.00 | [37] | ||
Louis van Gaal | Netherlands | 16 July 2014 | 23 May 2016 | 103 | 54 | 25 | 24 | 158 | 98 | 52.43 | 1 FA Cup | [38] | |
José Mourinho | Portugal | 27 May 2016 | 18 December 2018 | 144 | 84 | 32 | 28 | 244 | 121 | 58.33 | 1 UEFA Europa League 1 League Cup 1 Community Shield |
[39] | |
Ole Gunnar Solskjær | Norway | 19 December 2018[nb 7] | 21 November 2021 | 168 | 91 | 37 | 40 | 323 | 165 | 54.17 | [40] | ||
Michael Carrick (caretaker) | England | 21 November 2021 | 2 December 2021 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 66.67 | [41] | ||
Ralf Rangnick (interim) | Germany | 3 December 2021 | 22 May 2022 | 29 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 37 | 37 | 37.93 | [42] | ||
Erik ten Hag | Netherlands | 23 May 2022 | Incumbent | 114 | 66 | 19 | 29 | 198 | 144 | 57.89 | 1 League Cup | [43] |
Notes
- ^ Win% is rounded to two decimal places
- ^ a b c d Secretary of the committee that chose the team
- ^ Information regarding A. H. Albut's managerial record is unavailable due to his exact date of appointment being unknown.
- ^ Wallworth was only the club's acting secretary, and, as such, he is not included in any official lists of the club's managers.
- ^ Murphy was installed as the club's caretaker manager while Busby was in hospital recovering from the Munich air disaster.
- ^ Five of Ferguson's Community Shields were won while the competition was still known as the FA Charity Shield.
- ^ Solskjær served as caretaker manager until 28 March 2019, when he was hired on a permanent basis.
References
- ISBN 0-9514862-1-7.
- ^ "Down memory lane 1889–1928". This is The North East. Archived from the original on 12 June 2011. Retrieved 30 November 2010.
- ^ ISBN 0-233-99964-7.
- ^ a b "Sir Matt Busby". ManUtdZone.com. Archived from the original on 28 May 2007. Retrieved 16 November 2007.
- ^ "Football – Docherty Sacked for Love Affair". 1977. Retrieved 16 November 2007.
- ^ "Atkinson, Ron: 1981–1986". ManUtdZone.com. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 16 November 2007.
- ^ "Ferguson: 21 best signings". Manchester Evening News. 7 November 2007. Retrieved 16 November 2007.
- ^ "Ferguson to quit Man Utd in 2002". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 18 May 2001. Retrieved 23 November 2007.
- ^ "United appoint Moyes". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 9 May 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
- ^ "David Moyes: Manchester United manager sacked by club". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 22 April 2014. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
- ^ "Manchester United: Louis van Gaal confirmed as new manager". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 19 May 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
- ^ "Ole Gunnar Solskjaer appointed caretaker manager". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 19 December 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
- ^ "Solskjaer announced as full-time manager". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 28 March 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
- ^ "Club statement on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 21 November 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
- ^ "Manchester United appoint Ralf Rangnick as interim manager". BBC Sport. 29 November 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
- ^ "Manchester United appoints Erik ten Hag(The Genius )as manager". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 21 April 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
- ^ McNulty, Phil (26 February 2023). "Manchester United 2-0 Newcastle United: Erik ten Hag's side win Carabao Cup for first trophy since 2017". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
- ^ "UNITED under James WEST". StretfordEnd.co.uk. Barn End Media. Retrieved 15 November 2007.
- ^ "UNITED under Ernest MANGNALL". StretfordEnd.co.uk. Barn End Media. Retrieved 15 November 2007.
- ^ "UNITED under J J BENTLEY". StretfordEnd.co.uk. Barn End Media. Retrieved 15 November 2007.
- ^ "UNITED under John ROBSON". StretfordEnd.co.uk. Barn End Media. Retrieved 15 November 2007.
- ^ "UNITED under John CHAPMAN". StretfordEnd.co.uk. Barn End Media. Retrieved 15 November 2007.
- ^ "UNITED under Clarence HILDITCH". StretfordEnd.co.uk. Barn End Media. Retrieved 15 November 2007.
- ^ "UNITED under Herbert BAMLETT". StretfordEnd.co.uk. Barn End Media. Retrieved 15 November 2007.
- ^ a b "UNITED under Walter CRICKMER". StretfordEnd.co.uk. Barn End Media. Retrieved 15 November 2007.
- ^ "UNITED under Scott DUNCAN". StretfordEnd.co.uk. Barn End Media. Retrieved 15 November 2007.
- ^ a b "UNITED under Sir Matt BUSBY". StretfordEnd.co.uk. Barn End Media. Retrieved 15 November 2007.
- ^ "UNITED under Jimmy MURPHY". StretfordEnd.co.uk. Barn End Media. Retrieved 15 November 2007.
- ^ "UNITED under Wilf McGUINNESS". StretfordEnd.co.uk. Barn End Media. Retrieved 15 November 2007.
- ^ "UNITED under Frank O'FARRELL". StretfordEnd.co.uk. Barn End Media. Retrieved 15 November 2007.
- ^ "UNITED under Tommy DOCHERTY". StretfordEnd.co.uk. Barn End Media. Retrieved 15 November 2007.
- ^ "UNITED under Dave SEXTON". StretfordEnd.co.uk. Barn End Media. Retrieved 15 November 2007.
- ^ "UNITED under Ron ATKINSON". StretfordEnd.co.uk. Barn End Media. Retrieved 15 November 2007.
- ^ "Managers: Alex Ferguson". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
- ^ "Sir Alex Ferguson Profile & MUFC Managerial Record". www.mufcinfo.com. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
- ^ "David Moyes Profile & MUFC Managerial Record". www.mufcinfo.com. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
- ^ "Ryan Giggs Profile & MUFC Managerial Record". www.mufcinfo.com. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
- ^ "Louis van Gaal Profile & MUFC Managerial Record". www.mufcinfo.com. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
- ^ "Jose Mourinho Profile & MUFC Managerial Record". www.mufcinfo.com. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
- ^ "Football: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer". footballdatabase.eu. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
- ^ "Michael Carrick Profile & MUFC Managerial Record". www.mufcinfo.com. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
- ^ "Ralf Rangnick Profile & MUFC Managerial Record". www.mufcinfo.com. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
- ^ "Erik ten Hag Profile & MUFC Managerial Record". www.mufcinfo.com. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
- Murphy, Alex. The Official Illustrated History of Manchester United. Orion Books. ISBN 0-7528-7603-1.
- "Manchester United Managerial History". MUFCInfo.com. Retrieved 25 May 2009.
External links