title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: In a substantial campaigning "Daily Telegraph" interview (17 November 2007 – "I know how to make Londoners feel safe") which Paddick gave to support his suitability to become Mayor, he said "Policing is a dangerous job, we should trust the professional judgement of officers on the front line. We shouldn't prosecute them or their bosses if they decide to put their lives on the line for the public".


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: On 13 October 2008, at an inquest into the death, a police surveillance officer admitted that he had deleted a computer record of Cressida Dick's instruction that they could allow Menezes to "run on to Tube as [he was] not carrying anything". At the inquest he told the court that "On reflection, I looked at that and thought I cannot actually say that." The IPCC announced that it would investigate the matter "[at its] highest level of investigation".


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: In July 2006, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which like the IPCC operates independently of the Met, announced that it would not carry forward any charges against any individual involved in the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes.


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: The Metropolitan Police Commissioner in his official capacity faced criminal charges under sections 3(1) and 33(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 for "failing to provide for the health, safety and welfare of Jean Charles de Menezes".


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: The decision not to prosecute individuals was made on the grounds of insufficient evidence. The family of Menezes appealed against the decisions of the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on behalf of the Crown Prosecution Service in the High Court.


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: The legal representatives of the Metropolitan Police Service, on behalf of the office of the Commissioner, pleaded not guilty to the charges, "after the most careful consideration". The trial started on 1 October 2007.


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: On 14 December 2006, Lord Justice Richards (Richards LJ) of the High Court, sitting with Mr Justice Forbes (Forbes J) and Mr Justice Mackay (Mackay J), unanimously rejected an application for a judicial review into the decision of the office of the DPP on behalf of the CPS to rule out criminal prosecutions of the individual police officers who shot dead Jean Charles de Menezes, ruling that "[I]t was a reasonable decision... on the basis that they were likely to fail".


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: On 1 November 2007, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner in his official capacity was found guilty of the above offences, and his office was fined £175,000, together with £385,000 of legal costs. The Met published a terse release about this decision and Len Duvall, Chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority, asked that the full report on the investigation be published.


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: Much discussion following the shooting centred on the rules of engagement followed by armed police when dealing with suspected suicide bombers. Roy Ramm, a former commander of specialist operations for the Metropolitan Police, said that the rules had been changed to permit officers to "shoot to kill" potential suicide bombers, claiming headshots are the safest way to kill the suspect without risk of detonating devices.


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: The possibility of a police confrontation with a suicide bomber in the United Kingdom had reportedly been discussed following the September 11 attacks in the United States. Based on this possibility, new guidelines were developed for identifying, confronting, and dealing forcefully with terrorist suspects. These guidelines were given the code name "Operation Kratos".


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: Based in part on advice from the security forces of Israel and Sri Lanka—two countries with experience of suicide bombings—Operation Kratos guidelines allegedly state that the head or lower limbs should be aimed at when a suspected suicide bomber appears to have no intention of surrendering. This is contrary to the usual practice of aiming at the torso, which presents the biggest target, since a hit to the torso may detonate an explosive belt.


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: Sir Ian Blair appeared on television on 24 July 2005 to accept responsibility for the error on the part of the Metropolitan Police, and to acknowledge and defend the "shoot to kill" policy, saying:


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: The Met's commissioner Sir Ian Blair, and his predecessor Lord Stevens, had expressed concern about the legal position of police officers who might kill suspected suicide bombers. There is no explicit legal requirement for armed officers to warn a suspect before firing, although guidelines published by the Association of Chief Police Officers say that this "should be considered". A potential suicide bomber is thought to represent a circumstance where warning the suspect may put the public at greater risk because the bomber may detonate his explosives after being warned.


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: Lord Stevens defended the policy he introduced, despite the error that had been made. Azzam Tamimi of the Muslim Association of Britain was critical, saying: "I just cannot imagine how someone pinned to the ground can be a source of danger." Other leaders of the UK's Muslim community took a similar view. Ken Livingstone, the then Mayor of London, defended the police as having acted in the way they thought appropriate at the time, and with the aim of protecting the public.


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: Confirmation bias on the part of the Metropolitan Police may have come into play in this case. Disconfirming evidence that Menezes was the suspect may have been present, but interpreted incorrectly. The threat of a suicide bombing on the Underground may have produced stress and time pressures in individuals within the department, which in turn could have affected their decision-making thresholds.


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: Owing to the controversy surrounding the death of Menezes, the codename of Operation Kratos was dropped from all police lexicon in 2007–08, although the tactics for dealing with a suicide threat remained broadly the same.


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: During the trial an allegation was made that the police had manipulated a photo of de Menezes so as to increase his resemblance to a "terrorist", Hussain Oman. A forensic specialist concluded de Menezes' face "appeared to have been brightened and lost definition". However, when asked if there had been any manipulation of any of the primary features of the face he replied "I don't believe there has been any... but making the image brighter has changed the image."


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: On 16 August 2005, the Jean Charles de Menezes Family Campaign, also known as "Justice4Jean", began calling for a public inquiry into the "unlawful killing" of Menezes.


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: Critics such as Conservative London Assemblyman Brian Coleman have suggested that the involvement of Asad Rehman, a former leader of the Stop the War Coalition and former adviser to Respect politician George Galloway in the campaign shows that the family's campaign had been "hijacked" and the death of Menezes was being used to "advance a political aim". Galloway's secretary said that Rehman had been acting in "a personal capacity, ... not in his role as political adviser", and Menezes family members Alessandro Pereira and Vivien Figueiredo denied any manipulation.


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: The family and their campaign continue to be actively supported by Newham Monitoring Project; on 22 July 2007 they held a minute of silence outside Stockwell tube station to commemorate the second anniversary of Menezes's death. Two days earlier the campaign projected a 20 metre by 30 metre (65' x 100') image of Menezes's face with the slogan "Two Years, No Justice" on the walls of the Houses of Parliament. The campaign set up a blog for the duration of the inquest starting on 22 September 2008 and released a pre-inquest briefing.


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: On 7 January 2010, a memorial was unveiled at Stockwell tube station. It was made by local artist Mary Edwards, with the help of Menezes' cousin, Vivian Figueiredo, and Chrysoula Vardaxi, a member of a group that kept alive the memorial "shrine" to Menezes beginning within the days following his death.


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: On 10 June 2015, the Menezes family took the British government to the European Court of Human Rights over the decision not to prosecute anyone involved in the killing of Jean Charles de Menezes. The legal challenge was mounted under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights regarding state deprivation of life and use of force.


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: On 30 March 2016, the Grand Chamber held—by a majority of 13 to 4—that there had been no violation of Article 2:


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: Dissenting judges highlighted concerns about the objective reasonableness of the "honest belief, perceived for good reasons" justifying the use of force; that officers were permitted to write their notes up together; that the threshold for prosecution was more stringent than in other states; and the incongruity that no individual was subject to disciplinary action despite a finding of institutional criminal responsibility under the Health and Safety Act.


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: The inquest opened on 22 September 2008 at the John Major conference room at The Oval, Kennington, London. The coroner, Sir Michael Wright, a former High Court judge and assistant deputy coroner for Inner South London, and the jury heard from almost 70 witnesses, including over 40 police officers.


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: On the first day the inquest heard that the police officers who shot Menezes dead were "convinced" at the time that he was a suicide bomber. In his comments, Sir Michael Wright said that the two officers thought Menezes was about to detonate a "device" on the Tube. He took the inquest jury through the events leading up to Menezes's death, listing a number of occasions where officers were unclear whether or not they thought they were pursuing a bomber. The jury was told of differences between what was being relayed on radio and logged in the Scotland Yard control room and how the officers in the field were interpreting the information.


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: He said that when Menezes entered the Stockwell Tube station no member of the surveillance team had positively identified him as Hussain Osman. Regarding the decision of the two firearms officers to shoot Menezes, Sir Michael said that they had fired nine rounds between them, seven of which had struck Menezes's head at point blank range. He added that the two officers concerned were convinced that Menezes was a suicide bomber about to detonate a device, and that the only option open was an instant killing.


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: On 13 October, the IPCC launched an investigation after a Metropolitan police surveillance officer named only as "Owen" admitted that he had altered evidence submitted to the inquest. The officer had deleted one of his own computer notes which quoted deputy assistant commissioner Cressida Dick as concluding that Menezes was not a security threat. The note said "CDcan run on to tube as not carrying anything".


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: On 24 October the inquest heard that Menezes was initially not considered as a suspect, and that the police wanted unarmed officers to halt and question him in case he had information about the failed terrorist attack of 21 July 2005. Detective Sergeant Piers Dingemans and a four-man squad were tasked with stopping Menezes for intelligence purposes as he travelled to Stockwell station on a bus. Dingemans told the inquest that his car was behind the bus when he was stood down at 09:55, and said he thought this was because Menezes was then considered a suspect.


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: On 2 December Sir Michael ordered the jury, shortly before they retired to consider their verdict, that they could not return one of "unlawful killing", leaving their options as "lawful killing", or an open verdict. He said that the verdict could not be inconsistent with the earlier criminal trial. As well as the short-form verdict of "lawful killing" or "open", Sir Michael also asked them to respond to three questions of fact, and nine possible contributory factors with simple "yes", "no", or "cannot decide" answers. The Menezes family lodged an immediate application for a judicial review of the decision.


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: On 4 December, during Sir Michael's summing-up, members of the Menezes family got up and undid their jackets exposing printed slogans on their T-shirts, with the wording "Your legal right to decideunlawful killing verdict", and left the courtroom after pausing for 30 seconds in front of the jury. The following day, Sir Michael asked the jury to ignore the protest. In his summing-up, Sir Michael stated that to return a verdict of lawful killing, the jury should be "satisfied of two matters on the balance of probabilities":


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: On 9 December the jury asked the coroner whether they were required to find unanimity on the short-form verdict and all of the additional questions. Sir Michael instructed them that they should strive for unanimity, but he would accept a 10–1 or 9–2 verdict. Later that day one of the jury was permanently dismissed owing to travel plans, reducing the jury to 10, and the following day Sir Michael said he would now accept a 9–1 or 8–2 verdict.


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: On Friday 12 December 2008, the inquest into Jean Charles' death returned an open verdict. Their answers to the specific questions and contributory facts were as follows. In the latter portion, the answers "yes", "no", and "can't decide" were determined by the jury while answering the broader question "which of these other factors, if any, contributed to the death".


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: The officer identified as "Ivor" was a member of a SO12 Special Branch covert surveillance team who had followed Menezes on the bus and attempted to identify him. He has also been designated as "Hotel 3". The officer identified as "C12" or "Charlie 12" was a member of a CO19 firearms unit who first opened fire and killed Menezes.


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: With regard to his dress on the day of the shooting "The Observer" reported that he was dressed in "baseball cap, blue fleece and baggy trousers". Mark Whitby, a witness to the shooting, told Reuters that he observed Menezes wearing a large winter coat, which "looked out of place". Vivien Figueiredo, a cousin of Menezes, was later told by police that Menezes was wearing a denim jacket on the day of the shooting. Anthony Larkin, another eyewitness, told the BBC that Menezes appeared to be wearing a "bomb belt with wires coming out".


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: Based on these eyewitness reports, press speculation at the time said that wearing such heavy clothing on a warm day raised suspicions that Menezes was hiding explosives underneath, and was therefore a potential suicide bomber. At the time of the shooting, the temperature in London (at a Heathrow Airport weather station) was about 17 °C (62 °F).


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: No device resembling a bomb belt was reported as found. Menezes was also not carrying a tool bag, since he had left it with his colleague the previous evening. According to the report on leaked IPCC documents, Menezes was wearing a pair of jeans and a light denim jacket. This was confirmed by a photo of his body on the floor of the carriage after the shooting.


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: Police initially stated that they challenged Menezes and ordered him to stop outside Stockwell station. Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair said in a later press conference that a warning was issued prior to the shooting. Lee Ruston, an eyewitness who was waiting on the platform, said the police did not identify themselves. "The Times" reported "senior police sources" as saying that police policy would not require a warning to be given to a suspected suicide bomber before lethal action was taken.


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: The leaked IPCC documents indicated that Menezes was seated on the train carriage when the SO19 armed unit arrived. A shout of "police" may have been made, but the suspect had no opportunity to respond before he was shot. The leaked documents indicated that he was restrained by an undercover officer before being shot.


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: During the 2008 inquest into Menezes's death, passengers who were travelling in the same carriage also contradicted police accounts, saying that they heard no warnings and that Menezes gave no significant reaction to arrival of the policemen. One passenger said that Menezes appeared calm even as a gun was held to his head, and was clear that the police officers did not shout any warnings before shooting him.


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: Witnesses stated that up to twenty police officers in plain clothes pursued Menezes into Stockwell station, that he jumped over the ticket barrier, ran down an escalator and tried to jump onto a train. The Menezes family was briefed by the police that their son did not jump over the ticket barrier and used a Travelcard to pass through; this was subsequently confirmed by CCTV recordings shown at the Metropolitan Police trial.


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: The pathologist's post-mortem report, which was written five days after the shooting, recorded that Menezes "vaulted over the ticket barriers" and that he "ran down the stairs of the tube station". Dr Kenneth Shorrock later told the inquest that he had been given this information by police during a "walk-through" with officers at Stockwell Tube Station but he could not remember who had given him this incorrect information, which had also featured in earliest eyewitness reports.


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: It had been suggested that the man reported by eyewitnesses as jumping over the barrier may have been one of the police officers in pursuit.


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: Initial UK media reports suggested that no CCTV footage was available from the Stockwell station, as recording media had not been replaced after being removed for examination after the previous day's attempted bombings. Other reports stated that faulty cameras on the platform were the reason for the lack of video evidence. An anonymous source confirmed that CCTV footage was available for the ticket area, but that there was a problem with the platform coverage. The source suggested that there was no useful CCTV footage from the platform or the train carriage.


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: Extracts from a later police report stated that examination of the platform cameras had produced no footage. It said: "It has been established that there has been a technical problem with the CCTV equipment on the relevant platform and no footage exists." The platform CCTV system is maintained by the Tube Lines consortium in charge of maintaining the Northern Line. The company made a statement to "The Mail on Sunday" insisting that the cameras were in working order.


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: During the inquest, evidence confirmed that the video tapes had been changed by a station supervisor in three video recorders monitoring the station CCTV at 3:09am on the morning of the shooting. These machines emit an audible noise if they are not receiving an audio/video signal, but there was no indication the supervisor heard an alarm. Three days later the equipment was tested and it was found that a cable transmitting the CCTV images to the video recorders had been damaged or cut, possibly during refurbishment work (the cable may have been severed when a workman stepped on it); the following day a communications expert confirmed that the alarm was sounding as a result of this loss of signal.


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: The same police report also reported there was no footage from CCTV in the carriage where Menezes was shot, stating: "Although there was on-board CCTV in the train, due to previous incidents [the 7 July bombings], the hard drive had been removed and not replaced."


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: CCTV footage from the number 2 bus Menezes took to the station was also shown during the inquest; it too, was incomplete. The IPCC claimed this was due to excessive vibration, which prevented several cameras on the bus from working.


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: Several reasons were initially posited by media sources and family members for why Menezes may have run from police, as indicated by initial reports. A few weeks earlier, he had been attacked by a gang and may have perceived that he was in a similar situation upon seeing plainclothes officers chasing him. Several sources have speculated that irregularities about his immigration status may have given him reason to be wary of the police; evidence that emerged during the course of the criminal trial into the Health and Safety charge showed that Menezes was lawfully in the country on 22 July 2005. This is mentioned in the Stockwell One report, at footnote 4 on page 21. The "Sydney Morning Herald" reported that a colleague believed that Menezes ran simply because he was late for his job. It was later indicated by the leaked IPCC documents that Menezes may have run across the platform to get a seat on the train, and did not know at the time that he was being watched or pursued.


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: It was initially stated by police that Menezes was shot five times in the head. Mark Whitby, a passenger on the train Menezes had run onto, said: "one of [the police officers] was carrying a black handgun—it looked like an automatic—He half tripped… they pushed him to the floor, bundled on top of him and unloaded five shots into him." Another passenger, Dan Copeland, said: "an officer jumped on the door to my left and screamed, 'Everybody out!' People just froze in their seats cowering for a few seconds and then leapt up. As I turned out the door on to the platform, I heard four dull bangs." Menezes's cousin Alex Pereira, who lived with him, asserted that Menezes had been shot from behind: "I pushed my way into the morgue. They wouldn't let me see him. His mouth was twisted by the wounds and it looked like he had been shot from the back of the neck." Later reports confirmed that Jean Charles de Menezes was shot a total of eight times: seven times in the head and once in the shoulder.


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: The leaked IPCC documents also indicated that an additional three shots had missed Menezes. One witness claimed that the shots were evenly distributed over a timespan of thirty seconds. This has not been substantiated by other witness reports or the leaked IPCC documents.


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: Several commentators suggested that special forces may have been involved in the shooting. Professor Michael Clarke, Professor of Defence Studies at King's College London, went as far as to say that unless there had been a major change in policy it was likely that it was not the police who had carried out the shooting, but special forces:


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: On 4 August 2005, "The Guardian" reported that the newly created Special Reconnaissance Regiment (SRR), a special forces unit specialising in covert surveillance, was involved in the operation that led to the shooting. The anonymous Whitehall sources who provided the story stressed that the SRR was involved only in intelligence gathering, and that Menezes was shot by armed police, not by members of the SRR or other soldiers. Defence sources would not comment on speculation that SRR soldiers were among the plainclothes officers who followed Menezes onto the number 2 bus. On 21 August, the "Sunday Herald" reported that SRR men are believed to have been in the tube train when the shooting occurred.


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: "During July 2005 each surveillance team had a member of the military attached to them. Those soldiers were unarmed."


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: In the transcript of the 2008 inquest, some of the soldiers' testimonies are recorded, including that of "Hotel 11" and that of "Frank".


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: In February 2006, a woman claimed to police that a man who resembled Menezes had attacked her in a hotel room on New Year's Eve 2002 in west London. Scotland Yard spent several weeks investigating the claim. After the claim was made public in March 2006, the Menezes family denied the allegation and claimed that the Metropolitan Police were trying to smear Menezes. Although the family initially denied the request, a blood sample was eventually taken with their permission from Menezes's autopsy. On 25 April 2006 Scotland Yard announced that forensic tests on the sample had cleared Menezes.


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: The four-year legal battle by the family of Jean Charles de Menezes ended when they reached a settlement with the Metropolitan Police Service in November 2009. The MPS agreed to pay compensation to the family, who in return agreed to end their legal action. The sum of money involved in the settlement was reported to be just over £100,000; in addition the family's substantial legal costs were paid. In a joint statement with the family, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner made "a further unreserved apology to the family for the tragic death of Jean Charles de Menezes" and reiterated "that he was a totally innocent victim and in no way to blame for his untimely death".


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: One journalist reacted critically to the level of compensation paid by the Metropolitan Police, comparing the level of payout with awards by employment tribunals, and speculating that "perhaps [de Menezes'] life was worth less because he was poor."


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: Comparisons have been made between the death of Menezes and other innocent or unarmed men shot by British police officers in disputed circumstances, including Stephen Waldorf, James Ashley, Harry Stanley, and the 2 June 2006 Forest Gate raid.


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: The "Panorama" episode "Stockwell – Countdown to Killing", shown on BBC One 8 March 2006, investigated and partially dramatised the shooting.


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: The shooting was the subject of an hour-long "factual drama" titled "Stockwell", first broadcast on the UK terrestrial channel ITV1 on 21 January 2009 at 9 pm.


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: A film about Menezes's life, titled "Jean Charles", was filmed in 2008 and directed by Henrique Goldman. Selton Mello portrays Menezes and Vanessa Giácomo portrays his cousin. The movie debuted in Brazil, on 26 June 2009.


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: The documentary play "Stockwell" opened in July 2009 at the Landor Theatre in Clapham in London. This play featured actors reading scripts edited by playwright Kieron Barry from transcripts of the inquest.


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: "This Much Is True", written by Paul Unwin (co-creator of the BBC television show "Casualty") and Sarah Beck, is a documentary stage play following the journeys of those caught in the wake of the shooting, weaving together testimony from Menezes's family, Justice4Jean campaigners, senior police officers and lawyers. The production ran at Theatre503 in Battersea from 27 October to 21 November 2009.


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: "Hollow Point", from the album "Handmade Life", a song about the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes, was written by the English folk musician, songwriter and composer Chris Wood. "Hollow Point" won Song of the Year at the 2011 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, where Wood also won Folk Singer of the Year.


title: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

text: During "The Wall" Live tour, Roger Waters added an acoustic coda to "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)" with additional lyrics in honour of Menezes. This song is part of the and called "The Ballad of Jean Charles de Menezes". An animation is projected on to the wall showing a silhouette of an underground train pulling into a station, The train comes to a stop and the vocal narrative at the end of "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)" finishes with the line "stand still laddie", shots are heard and flashes of light seen in one carriage. The projection on the main circular screen then changes to a photo of Jean Charles de Menezes for the additional coda to the song.


title: Christopher Jones (actor)

text: William Frank Jones (August 18, 1941 – January 31, 2014), better known as Christopher Jones, was an American stage, movie, and television actor.


title: Christopher Jones (actor)

text: He was born in Jackson, Tennessee, where his father was a grocery clerk and his mother, Robbie, was an artist. Jones's father and aunt admitted her to the state hospital in Bolivar, Tennessee, in 1945. Jones and his brother were then placed in Boys Town in Memphis, where he became a fan of James Dean after being told he bore a resemblance to him. He then joined the Army, but went AWOL, and after serving a sentence in a military prison, he moved to New York City, where he began his acting career. His mother died when he was 19.


title: Christopher Jones (actor)

text: Jones (having adopted the stage name Christopher) made his Broadway debut on December 17, 1961, in Tennessee Williams's "The Night of the Iguana", directed by Frank Corsaro and starring Shelley Winters. Winters introduced Jones to actress Susan Strasberg, the daughter of method acting progenitor Lee Strasberg. Jones studied at Strasberg's Actors Studio. Jones married Susan in 1965; the couple divorced in 1968. Their daughter, Jennifer Robin Jones, was born in 1966.


title: Christopher Jones (actor)

text: Moving to Hollywood, Jones was cast in the title role of ABC's television series "The Legend of Jesse James", which ran for 34 episodes in the 1965–66 season. When the series ended, he accepted the title role in the movie "Chubasco" (1967) with Susan Strasberg playing his character's lover/wife. Their real marriage did not survive the filming, and they divorced in 1968.


title: Christopher Jones (actor)

text: Jones's next acting role, was rock star and presidential aspirant Max Frost in the influential cult film "Wild in the Streets" (1968), co-starring Shelley Winters, Hal Holbrook, and Richard Pryor. Later that same year, Jones appeared with Yvette Mimieux in the sex comedy "Three in the Attic".


title: Christopher Jones (actor)

text: After two films in Europe with Pia Degermark—"The Looking Glass War" and "Brief Season", both in 1970—Jones was cast by director David Lean in "Ryan's Daughter" (1970). The two men had a difficult relationship; this was the experience of many actors who worked with Lean. The problems intensified when production of the film took 12 months instead of the expected six, because Lean would wait for the right composition of clouds or the perfect storm to brew. Unbeknownst to Jones, he was drugged during his filming of "Ryan's Daughter" by Sarah Miles, according to her first autobiography, "A Right Royal Bastard"; this caused him to believe he was having a breakdown. Jones also was involved in a car crash, not knowing he had been drugged. The director and producers never informed him of the drugging. Later, Lean decided to have Julian Holloway re-record all of Jones' lines in post-production, a decision previously taken by Degermark for "The Looking Glass War". Jones received poor notices anyway, which took a personal toll on the actor. Jones returned to California after filming ended, staying for a time in his manager's guest house, the cottage behind 10050 Cielo Drive, where Sharon Tate had been murdered, and abandoned his acting career. He engaged in a few long-term relationships, took up painting and sculpting, and lived quietly at the beach with his children.


title: Christopher Jones (actor)

text: Jones was offered the part of Zed in "Pulp Fiction" (1994) by director Quentin Tarantino, but he turned it down. He made a final screen appearance in crime comedy "Mad Dog Time" (1996) for his friend, director/actor Larry Bishop, who had appeared in "Wild in the Streets". In his later years, Jones had a career as an artist and sculptor. His works included an oil painting of Rudolph Valentino that was displayed at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.


title: Christopher Jones (actor)

text: Jones died on January 31, 2014, at the age of 72, owing to complications arising from gallbladder cancer. He is survived by seven children, Jennifer Strasberg, Christopher Jones Jr., Jeromy McKenna, Delon Jones, Tauer Jones, Calin Jones, and Seagen Jones. He is interred at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.


title: Christopher Jones (actor)

text: When she was 18 years old, actress Olivia Hussey was allegedly raped by Jones in the house Roman Polanski had shared with his wife Sharon Tate, weeks after Tate's death. When she became pregnant, she had an abortion. Hussey had dated Jones in the late 1960s, but ended the relationship because, she says, he was physically abusive toward her.


title: Clerical clothing

text: Clerical clothing is non-liturgical clothing worn exclusively by clergy. It is distinct from vestments in that it is not reserved specifically for use in the liturgy. Practices vary: clerical clothing is sometimes worn under vestments, and sometimes as the everyday clothing or street wear of a priest, minister, or other clergy member. In some cases, it can be similar or identical to the habit of a monk or nun.


title: Clerical clothing

text: In modern times, many Christian clergy have adopted the use of a shirt with a clerical collar; but the use of clerical clothing is most commonly among Catholic, Anglican, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Orthodox clergy.


title: Clerical clothing

text: In 1215, the Fourth Lateran Council made it mandatory for all the Christian clergy to wear distinctive dress. Its purpose was not necessary to elevate the status of the Christian clerics; it was intended that they would catch the public eye if any member of the clergy is seen on the street. However, the rules at the time were not the same as the modern rules, and the rules vary by jurisdiction.


title: Clerical clothing

text: In Rome, Roman-rite Catholic clergy are permitted to wear black, grey, and blue clerical shirts, while in most countries they are permitted to wear only black, quite likely because of long-standing custom and to distinguish them from non-Catholic clergy.


title: Clerical clothing

text: This applies to the Latin clergy only. Clergy of the Eastern Catholic Churches dress in a similar fashion to local Orthodox clergy.


title: Clerical clothing

text: In the Eastern Catholic Churches and Eastern Orthodox Churches a useful distinction between liturgical vestments and clerical clothing is that vestments are required to be blessed before being worn. Conversely, clerical clothing is not, and is regarded as daily wear.


title: Clerical clothing

text: According to the 1604 Canons of the Church of England, the clergy were supposed to wear cassock, gown, and cap whilst going about their duties. The cassock was either double or single-breasted; buttoned at the neck or shoulder and was held at the waist with a belt or cincture. The gown could either be of the special clerical shape – open at the front with balloon sleeves – or the gown of the wearer's degree. This was worn with the Canterbury cap, which gradually stiffened into the familiar 'mortar board' in the course of the 17th and 18th centuries. Cassock and gown were worn as an outdoor dress until the beginning of the nineteenth century, with the Canterbury cap being replaced by the mortarboard or tri-corn hat latterly. Increasingly, though, ordinary men's clothing in black, worn with a white shirt and either a black or white cravat, replaced the dress prescribed by the Canons.


title: Clerical clothing

text: In the 19th century, it was fashionable among gentlemen to wear a detachable collar which was washed and starched separately from the shirt. Initially, with the detachable collar, Anglican clergy wore a white cravat, later a white bow tie, with a waistcoat with a standing collar and a loose clerical frock coat resembling a knee-length cassock with multiple buttons to waist level. Alternatively, they could wear the normal style of gentleman's frock coat and a rabat (see above). In the earlier part of the century, Evangelicals often wore 'swallow tail' coats to distinguish themselves from the high church clergy who favoured the frock coat. This distinction is mentioned as late as 1857 when it is alluded to in Anthony Trollope's "Barchester Towers". In the middle of the century, Anglican clergy began turning the collar around backward, creating the first versions of the "dog collar". This form of distinctive dress was seen as a controversial affectation of the high church party, but as time progressed the collar-turned-backward became more common and even survived the demise of detachable collars among the general public. Although the black waistcoat has given way to a black shirt, the collar has become a daily part of a clerical costume for most Anglican clergy. However, some Anglican clergy join with ministers of reformed churches in eschewing distinctive clerical costumes entirely..


title: Clerical clothing

text: During the 20th century, Anglican bishops began wearing purple (officially violet) shirts as a sign of their office. Along with the pectoral cross and episcopal ring, this marks them off from other clergy in appearance. While there is no law among the churches of the Anglican Communion that prevents other members of the clergy from wearing a purple shirt, to do so is generally not considered appropriate.


title: Clerical clothing

text: Until the Regency period, Anglican clergy regularly wore the cassock in public. After enjoying something of a revival in the mid-20th century, this custom is again less common. The traditional Anglican headwear with the cassock was the Canterbury cap, which is now seldom used. Many Anglo-Catholic clergy still wear the biretta. From the mid-18th century, bishops and archdeacons traditionally wore a shortened version of the cassock, called an apron (which hung just above the knee), along with breeches and gaiters. The gaiters, buttoned up the side, would cover the trouser leg to a point just below the knee. This form of everyday vesture, common up until the 1960s, is now almost extinct. (This was appropriate for them in the time when some of their travelling would be on horseback but continued into the middle of the 20th century.)


title: Clerical clothing

text: Some Anglican clergy favour a double-breasted cassock (known as a Sarum cassock), often with an external button at chest level on which to hook an academic hood (which is worn as part of the choir habit). However, many clergy, especially most Anglo-Catholic clergy, choose the single breasted cassock. Like Roman Catholic clergy, some Anglican clergy wear the fascia (known within Anglicanism as a cincture) around the waist, while others prefer a belt. Where extra protection from the elements is needed a cloak may be worn over the cassock.


title: Clerical clothing

text: Clergy of the Royal Peculiars, senior chaplains to the forces, members of the Chapels Royal and honorary chaplains to the Queen may wear a scarlet cassock and a special badge (Queen's cipher surmounted by St Edward's crown surrounded by oak and laurel leaves) on their scarf.


title: Clerical clothing

text: It has been mentioned above that the headcover normally worn with the cassock is the biretta (for Roman Catholics) or the Canterbury Cap (for Anglicans). In the 19th century, like most men of the time, clergy wore the tall silk (top) hat with their outdoor dress and this remained traditional for bishops and other senior clergy for many years. However many clergy preferred to wear the "cappello romano", a distinctive broad brimmed round topped hat resembling a low crowned bowler and this remained popular until World War I, when it tended to be substituted by the dark or black Homburg style hat worn by many professional men until more recent times.


title: Clerical clothing

text: Lutheran clerical clothing varies depending on locality and denomination. The clerical clothing of Lutheran priests and bishops often mirrors that of Catholic clergy; cassock or clerical shirt and a detachable clerical collar. In Scandinavia, but also in Germany, Lutheran bishops usually wear a pectoral cross.


title: Clerical clothing

text: Danish clergy will wear a black cassock, as in Anglican and Catholic traditions, but with a distinctive ruff. Pastors in the old hanseatic towns of Hamburg and Lübeck may also wear ruff ("Halskrause" in German). The ruff is a large collar, stiffly starched, worn over the top of a full clerical collar. Until the 1980s, this used to be the custom in Norway also, and was a relic of the period when Denmark-Norway had shared a common monarchy (1384-1814). In Sweden, a distinctive form of frock coat (called "kaftan") was worn by the clergy, and is still seen on formal occasions when it is worn with a stand-up collar and short bands.


title: Clerical clothing

text: German pastors usually wear a black gown with two white preaching tabs when conducting services. For non-liturgical events, they wear ordinary clothing or a clerical shirt and collar. For more formal occasions they may wear a black Lutherrock, a form of frock coat.


title: Clerical clothing

text: Most traditional PCUSA and PCA churches (mainline Presbyterian denominations) wear either the Geneva gown which came from John Calvin's attire preaching in Geneva, Switzerland. However many of the PCUSA and other Presbyterian denominations will wear cassocks as well. This is also common practice in the Canadian Presbyterian denominations.


title: Clerical clothing

text: In the Church of Scotland, the mother church for the mainline Presbyterian Church, the Minister will not wear ornate clerical vestments. Generally, a black or colored Geneva gown is worn over a cassock with preaching neck bands and stoles. However more and more colored and ornate vestments are worn in the Church of Scotland. In fact, most all of the ministers of the Church of Scotland wear reverse collars and ornate vestments.


title: Clerical clothing

text: In both the American and the Scottish churches, many of the ministers will wear clerical collars with their suits. Again this is very common in the PCUSA and to a lesser degree in PCA and other Presbyterian denominations. In the Church of Scotland, this is a very common practice with the ministers.


title: Clerical clothing

text: In British Methodism, a minister (presbyter) often wears a simple business suit with a coloured shirt and clerical collar. For more formal services a minister will adopt a cassock with bands. For ceremonial and very formal occasions, such as the Remembrance Day service at the Cenotaph in London, a traditional black Geneva preaching gown, academic hood and bands may be worn.


title: Clerical clothing

text: Methodist deacons (male or female) have a less strict dress code; but they often wear dark blue clothing, and always wear the pectoral cross of their religious order.


title: Clerical clothing

text: Dress in the United Methodist Church differs from the British norms. There are no official rules on vestments or clerical clothing. Therefore, use of clerical clothing by United Methodist clergy varies greatly by location and situation. Methodist clergy frequently wear clerical clothing on pastoral visits at hospitals and nursing facilities. Elders will most frequently wear black or blue clerical shirts while bishops will wear purple.


title: Johnny Vaughan

text: Jonathan Randal Vaughan (born 16 July 1966) is an English television and radio presenter and a film critic. He was the main presenter of "Capital Breakfast" alongside Lisa Snowdon on 95.8 Capital FM between 2004 and 2011.


title: Johnny Vaughan

text: Vaughan currently presents the Radio X drivetime show, weekdays from 4pm to 7pm (commonly referred to on air as "The 4til7 Thang") and "The Kickabout" every Saturday from 11am to 1pm. Vaughan also writes a weekly column in "The Sun" newspaper reviewing recent film releases.


title: Johnny Vaughan

text: Vaughan was born in Barnet, London, to an engineer father, Randal, and a psychotherapist mother, Fay.


title: Johnny Vaughan

text: Vaughan went to St Andrew's Primary School in Totteridge, Barnet and private boarding schools, Bramcote School, Gamston, Nottinghamshire and Uppingham School, Rutland. During his school years he showed a talent for comedy, playing the violin and singing.


title: Johnny Vaughan

text: On leaving school, Vaughan moved back to London and originally wanted to become a writer. He ended up with a variety of jobs ranging from a grill chef to even starting his own business selling boxer shorts.


title: Johnny Vaughan

text: In 1988, aged 21, Vaughan was arrested for trying to sell £15,000 of cocaine to undercover police officers in a hotel on the M1 motorway near Northampton. In the immediate aftermath of his initial success with Moviewatch, Vaughan claimed in interviews, including one with "Mayfair" magazine, that he had been incarcerated for the distribution of pornographic videotapes.


title: Johnny Vaughan

text: One night, an old schoolfriend, a student, called and asked him if he had any drug connections; the friend had met somebody who wanted to know. (The somebody, it turned out, was a drug dealer who had been arrested and was now working for the police.) No, said Vaughan, he didn't.


title: Johnny Vaughan

text: 'The next day,' Vaughan says, 'I do bump into someone. He calls me and says, "Tell your friend it's all sorted."' Vaughan arranged the meeting at a service station on the M1, and went there to introduce the protagonists. He was slammed against a wall by a policeman who asked him how old he was. When Vaughan said 21, the cop said, "You won't be seeing sunshine again until you're 36."


title: Johnny Vaughan

text: He was given a four-year jail sentence for dealing cocaine, served at Stocken Prison in Rutland. On release from prison, Vaughan decided to turn his life around and started a job working as a journalist for the "Peterborough Herald" newspaper, reporting on legal cases in his column, "Johnny Vaughan in the Courts".


title: Johnny Vaughan

text: His big break came in 1993 when he visited a friend's production company and through a chance meeting was offered a job with Channel 4. He started his television career presenting the movie review show "Moviewatch", as well as the music show "Naked City" and his own chat show "Here's Johnny". He also hosted a late night show, "Fabulous", on the old BBC Radio Five in 1993.


title: Johnny Vaughan

text: Channel 4 producers decided he was a natural in front of the camera, and in light of ailing viewing figures he was chosen to front "The Big Breakfast" from 1997 until 2001, forming a successful partnership with former programme weather girl and actress Denise van Outen from 1998. Van Outen's cheeky ""Essex girl"" personality played off well against the quick wit of Vaughan, and together they recovered audience figures to record levels. One feature of Vaughan's presentation was the way in which he frequently interacted with the various cameramen and technical people in the studio, turning some of them into popular characters in their own right. His ability to build a rapport with regulars from different walks of life such as Trevor Baylis, Mark Bright and Drusilla Beyfus, as well as the depth of knowledge he revealed in his Shed interviews, established him as something of a polymath. Also notable was that each programme finished with a zany situational competition in which Johnny revealed considerable talent as a character actor. In parallel with "The Big Breakfast" Vaughan presented another film show, "The Johnny Vaughan Film Show".


title: Johnny Vaughan

text: Van Outen left to pursue her acting career at the end of 1998. The partnership with replacement model Kelly Brook failed to reproduce the chemistry between Vaughan and Van Outen, and audience figures "plummeted". Brook was replaced by Liza Tarbuck and Van Outen returned again as main female presenter in 2000 but the show was unrevivable. Vaughan and Van Outen left the show in January 2001 after both their contracts had run out.


title: Johnny Vaughan

text: In 2001, the BBC reportedly paid Vaughan £2.5 million to leave Channel 4. He transferred to the BBC to present a late-night talk show, "Johnny Vaughan Tonight" in the same vein of American shows by Johnny Carson and Jay Leno. Viewing figures were good (the show regularly received 2.5 – 3 million viewers a night) and commentators suggested that the format was best suited to the free-wheeling Vaughan. However, a highly promoted BBC Two sitcom vehicle "'Orrible", which Vaughan wrote and acted in, was poorly received by the critics. The show lost 40% of its audience over its first three episodes and was not renewed for a second series.


title: Johnny Vaughan

text: In October 2003 he devised and produced and was the first presenter of BBC Radio Five Live's "Fighting Talk", a sport-related comedy show. Further television appearances ensued, when Vaughan tried a revival of his on screen relationship with Van Outen in 2004 in the BBC's Saturday night family show "Passport to Paradise", which lasted for one series. During this period at the BBC, Vaughan also co-hosted 12 episodes of "Superstars (British TV programme)", a revival of the hugely popular sports competition which ran on British TV from 1973 to 1985.


title: Johnny Vaughan

text: In April 2004, Vaughan moved to radio and returned to the "zoo" format, when he replaced Chris Tarrant as the presenter of "Capital Breakfast" on 95.8 Capital FM, which saw the listening figures for his show drop from over 1.3 million to 980,000 listeners, according to RAJAR statistics.


title: Johnny Vaughan

text: In January 2008, Vaughan was reunited with van Outen when she joined him on the breakfast show in a move to boost listening figures, but she left the show halfway through her contract in June 2008. In August 2008, van Outen was replaced by model Lisa Snowdon. The show rose in the ratings, reclaiming the top spot of London's breakfast radio chart in October 2008, with an average weekly audience of 862,000 listeners. In 2010–11, his breakfast show had regular audiences in excess of 1 million. On 18 November 2011, Vaughan left "Capital Breakfast", and was replaced by Dave Berry.


title: Johnny Vaughan

text: In August 2013, it was announced Vaughan had signed for talkSPORT hosting a new show for Saturday morning from 11am to 1pm called the Warm Up alongside friends James Brown and Gavin Woods. The show looked ahead to the weekend's football action and went head to head with Vaughan's former show Fighting Talk on BBC Radio 5 Live. Alongside this role, he also covered for Colin Murray in his 10am1pm slot when he was unavailable. His last show on talkSPORT was on 19 September 2015 leaving talkSPORT to host the new drivetime show from 4pm to 7pm as part of the new weekday daytime lineup on Radio X.


title: Johnny Vaughan

text: Vaughan wrote the UK's first "dope opera", "Top Buzzer", which aired in 2004 on MTV and later on Five. Vaughan has also been heavily involved with telethon charity drives such as "Children in Need", "Comic Relief" and "Sport Relief". In 2004 the BBC ran "a search to find the nation's best-loved sitcom" with a format that aped that of the 100 Greatest Britons. One celebrity championed each of the top ten sitcoms, presenting an hour-long special on why their favourite was the best. Vaughan was the presenter of the segment on prison-based sitcom "Porridge".


title: Johnny Vaughan

text: In 2005, Vaughan became the host of the American reality/game show "My Kind of Town" on ABC. The show was cancelled after four episodes. He was also featured in the 2005 film "", playing an awards ceremony host.


title: Johnny Vaughan

text: Vaughan presented the controversial hoax "reality" show "Space Cadets" for Channel 4. In June 2006, Vaughan appeared as a guest on "TV Heaven, Telly Hell". He was a team captain on the Channel 4 comedy panel show "Best of the Worst" that also features team captain David Mitchell (Peep Show) and chairman Alexander Armstrong.


title: Johnny Vaughan

text: In December 2006, Vaughan made a guest appearance on the BBC comedy panel game QI (Series D, Episode 10, "Divination"). Vaughan has his own television production company, "World's End". In 2009, he presented a Premier League Football DVD titled "Johnny Vaughan's Own Goals & Gaffs III".


title: Johnny Vaughan

text: In 2011, Vaughan appeared in the TV show "Mud Men" on History Channel. Accompanied by Steve Brooker, he ventured out into the Thames shoreline in search of hidden artefacts and treasures.


title: Johnny Vaughan

text: During the London 2012 Olympics, Vaughan joined Absolute Radio to present the Olympic Drivetime show. As Absolute Radio was also the official station of the BT London Live concerts in Hyde Park, which were also held during the Games, Vaughan also participated in the on-stage presenting of the acts and interviews with Team GB athletes and medalists.


title: Johnny Vaughan

text: Vaughan participated in a 2018 episode of quiz show "Pointless Celebrities", reaching the final round alongside fellow Radio X DJ Toby Tarrant.


title: Johnny Vaughan

text: Vaughan married his long-term partner costume designer Antonia Davies in August 1999. The couple met when he was working in a video store as a teenager. Elvis Costello performed at their wedding. In 2003 they lived in Wandsworth Common, South London. Vaughan's father-in-law was Nick Davies, once foreign editor of the "Daily Mirror". They had two children and a bulldog, but divorced in 2014.


title: Johnny Vaughan

text: In March 1999, as a result of his experience of prison Catholic chaplains, Vaughan was received into the Catholic Church at Westminster Cathedral. He is a supporter of Chelsea F.C.


title: Johnny Vaughan

text: In July 2008, he shaved his head to raise money for the Capital Radio charity, "Help a Capital Child", of which he is an ambassador.


title: 2009–10 Manchester United F.C. season

text: The 2009–10 season was Manchester United's 18th season in the Premier League, and their 35th consecutive season in the top division of English football. Having equalled Liverpool's record of 18 English league titles the previous season, Manchester United were looking to break that record with an unprecedented fourth consecutive Premier League title in 2009–10, but they were ultimately beaten to the title by Chelsea by a single point. They also had the chance to be the first team to reach three consecutive Champions League finals since Juventus in 1998, but they were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Bayern Munich.


title: 2009–10 Manchester United F.C. season

text: On 28 February 2010, United won the League Cup for the second season in a row, defeating Aston Villa 2–1 at Wembley. In doing so, they became the first club to successfully defend the trophy since Nottingham Forest in 1990, and the third club to do so overall, after Forest (1989 and 1990) and Liverpool (1981, 1982, 1983 and 1984). It was United's fourth League Cup title, and their third in five years. It was the first time United had ever successfully defended a major cup. They were, however, knocked out of the FA Cup in the third round after a surprise 1–0 home loss to fierce rivals Leeds United.


title: 2009–10 Manchester United F.C. season

text: Manchester United announced the first four fixtures of their 2009 pre-season schedule on 14 January 2009, with the team touring Asia for the seventh time since 1995. The 22-man squad first headed out to Malaysia on 16 July 2009, in time for their first fixture two days later against a Malaysia XI at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur. United took a 2–0 lead in the first half-hour through Rooney and Nani, but Mohd Amri Yahyah pulled one back on the stroke of half-time before pulling the sides level seven minutes into the second half. Michael Owen then scored his first goal for Manchester United in the 85th minute to win the match for the club. The team was then scheduled to travel to Jakarta, Indonesia four days later, where they would play against an Indonesian Super League Select XI at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium on 20 July. However, following the bombings on 17 July, the club cancelled the match. Had the match gone ahead, it would have been United's first visit to Indonesia since 1975, and only the second time in history. Instead, the team played a second match against the Malaysia XI at Bukit Jalil on 20 July, which they won 2–0 with goals from Federico Macheda and Michael Owen in the first 15 minutes.


title: 2009–10 Manchester United F.C. season

text: They then flew to South Korea for a match against FC Seoul at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on 24 July. After going into the half-time interval 2–1 down, goals from Federico Macheda and Dimitar Berbatov led United to a 3–2 win. The final match of the tour was played in China on 26 July 2009 against Hangzhou Greentown at the Yellow Dragon Stadium in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. Although it took more than a quarter of the match before the first goal came, they then began to flow thick and fast as Michael Owen scored a brace, Dimitar Berbatov, Zoran Tošić and Nani got one each, and Ryan Giggs scored a hat-trick from the bench to secure an 8–2 win.


title: 2009–10 Manchester United F.C. season

text: En route from returning from East Asia, the United team travelled to Munich to take part in the Audi Cup on 29 and 30 July 2009. The tournament, organised to celebrate Audi's 100th year in business, featured the hosts Bayern Munich, as well as Milan and Boca Juniors. Four matches were played at the Allianz Arena in Munich over two days, with United first playing against Boca Juniors. With a 2–1 win featuring a maiden goal for Anderson and a debut goal for Antonio Valencia, United secured a place in the final against Bayern Munich the next day. Both sides played out a cagey goalless draw, meaning that the match went straight to penalties. The score reached 6–6 after seven penalties each before Jonny Evans saw his kick saved by Michael Rensing, allowing Daniel Van Buyten to seal the win for the host team. After returning to England, United played their final friendly of the summer at Old Trafford against Valencia on 5 August 2009. Second half goals from Wayne Rooney and Tom Cleverley secured a 2–0 win.


title: 2009–10 Manchester United F.C. season

text: As 2008–09 Premier League champions, United kicked off the 2009–10 season with the traditional annual curtain-raiser, the 2009 FA Community Shield, on 9 August 2009, when they played against 2008–09 FA Cup winners Chelsea. Portuguese international Nani opened the scoring for United in the 10th minute, but Chelsea equalised through his compatriot Ricardo Carvalho seven minutes into the second half. Chelsea then took the lead through a controversial Frank Lampard goal in the 70th minute; with Manchester United in possession, Michael Ballack body-checked Patrice Evra only for the referee to play advantage. With Evra still on the floor, possession then changed leaving United short-handed in defence, allowing Lampard to shoot past Ben Foster in the United goal. With Chelsea leading as the match went into injury time, Ryan Giggs played in Wayne Rooney, who lifted the ball over the onrushing Petr Čech to take the match to penalties. Lampard opened the scoring in the shootout, only for Ryan Giggs to have his kick down the middle of the goal saved by the feet of Čech. Ballack, Carrick and Drogba all converted before Evra's tame effort was held by Čech. That left Salomon Kalou with the opportunity to win the game for Chelsea, which he took with aplomb, smashing the ball into the top corner of the goal. If Manchester United had won, it would have made them the first team to win the FA Community Shield outright three times in a row.


title: 2009–10 Manchester United F.C. season

text: The 2009–10 Premier League fixtures were released on 17 June 2009, with Manchester United opening their campaign against Championship runners-up Birmingham City on 16 August 2009. Despite missing several of their first-choice defenders and goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, United won the match 1–0 with a first-half goal from Wayne Rooney. The goal came in the 34th minute, when Dimitar Berbatov released Nani down the left. The Portuguese international then crossed for Rooney, whose header ricocheted back off the post to him, allowing him to tap in with Hart beaten.


title: 2009–10 Manchester United F.C. season

text: Three days later, "the Red Devils" suffered their first defeat of the season, going down by a single goal at Burnley. United went behind after 19 minutes, as Robbie Blake hit a volley into the top corner of the net after Stephen Jordan's cross was only half-cleared by Patrice Evra. Blake himself conceded a penalty on the stroke of half-time, but Michael Carrick had his kick saved by Brian Jensen, low to the goalkeeper's right. As "the Reds" – wearing their all-black change strip – searched for an equaliser, the final ball kept evading them and several moves came to nothing, leaving United to endure a defeat by the newly promoted club.


title: 2009–10 Manchester United F.C. season

text: After the mid-week setback, United returned to winning ways at the weekend, beating Wigan Athletic 5–0 at the DW Stadium on 22 August. Despite a goalless first half, Wayne Rooney scored his 100th and 101st goals for Manchester United, either side of one from Dimitar Berbatov. Michael Owen scored his first competitive goal for the club five minutes from full-time, before Nani made it five with a free-kick in the second minute of injury time.


title: 2009–10 Manchester United F.C. season

text: United faced their first "big four" opposition of the season on 29 August, when they hosted Arsenal at Old Trafford. Arsenal opened the scoring five minutes from the end of the first half through Andrey Arshavin; the Russian playmaker had been denied a penalty claim moments earlier, but then picked the ball up from Denílson just outside the penalty area and fired a 25-yard strike past Ben Foster. Wayne Rooney won a penalty for Manchester United in the 59th minute, knocking Ryan Giggs' through-ball past Manuel Almunia, who brought the English striker down. Rooney then stepped up to take the penalty himself, and slotted it home to the 'keeper's left. Arsenal responded with a free-kick from Robin van Persie that hit the crossbar, but a United attack immediately afterwards produced a similar free kick, taken by Ryan Giggs, which Abou Diaby headed into his own net. With the final attack of the game, deep into the fifth minute of injury time, Arsenal had the ball in the net again, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside against William Gallas, and the match finished 2–1 to United. For his show of frustration with the offside decision – kicking a water bottle down the touchline – Arsène Wenger was sent off.


title: 2009–10 Manchester United F.C. season

text: After a two-week break for internationals, United returned to Premier League action with an away match against Tottenham Hotspur. Despite United having their first-choice centre-back partnership together for the first time since the 2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Spurs took the lead after 38 seconds through a Jermain Defoe bicycle kick. Ryan Giggs levelled the scores in the 25th minute, curling a free kick past Carlo Cudicini in the Tottenham goal, before Anderson gave United the lead with his first competitive goal for the club. In the space of 10 minutes in the second half, Paul Scholes received two yellow cards and was sent off, although the second booking was controversial and later criticised by manager Alex Ferguson. Nevertheless, despite being reduced to ten men, "the Red Devils" increased their lead to 3–1 as Wayne Rooney slotted the ball through Cudicini's legs for the final goal of the game – Rooney's fifth in five league matches. The result took United to second place in the league table, behind unbeaten Chelsea and ahead of Manchester City, who had a game in hand. Giggs' goal continued his record of having scored a League goal in every Premier League season since the Premier League began in 1992–93, the only player to have done so.


title: 2009–10 Manchester United F.C. season

text: Five days after playing against Beşiktaş in Turkey, United returned to England for a home match against local rivals Manchester City, the first Manchester derby of the season. Despite having only just recovered from a knee injury, Carlos Tevez was picked to start against his former team by City manager Mark Hughes (himself a former Manchester United striker). United drew first blood, as Wayne Rooney, in the second minute, scored his sixth goal in as many league games, but Gareth Barry equalised for City less than 15 minutes later after Tevez had forced an error from Ben Foster in the United goal. The score remained at 1–1 going into half-time, but no sooner than Darren Fletcher had restored United's lead, heading in a Ryan Giggs cross four minutes after the break, Craig Bellamy drew City level again as Park Ji-sung was drawn away by the run of Tevez. After Berbatov had twice been denied by saves from Shay Given, the Bulgarian striker was withdrawn for Michael Owen with 13 minutes left to play. Giggs again provided a cross for Fletcher to head United 3–2 up three minutes later, but with 10 seconds of normal time left to play, Martin Petrov was gifted possession by Rio Ferdinand and played Bellamy in, who scored past the onrushing Foster. The fourth official had already indicated that a minimum of four minutes would be added onto the 90 to account for stoppages, but Bellamy's goal celebration and United's substitution of Carrick for Anderson meant that more would have to be played. Then, in the sixth minute of added time, Giggs played a through-ball for Owen, who clipped the ball over Shay Given to clinch a last-gasp 4–3 win that temporarily sent the home side to the top of the table. Mark Hughes later expressed his aggravation at the fact that United's winning goal had come almost 90 seconds after the added time indicated by the fourth official had elapsed, and television analysis also showed that the referee should have signalled the end of the game one second before Owen's goal had crossed the line.


title: 2009–10 Manchester United F.C. season

text: The following weekend, United made the trip to Stoke-on-Trent to take on Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium. After a goalless first half, Ryan Giggs was brought on in place of Nani ten minutes into the second half, and had an almost-immediate impact. Darren Fletcher played a through-ball into the penalty area and into the path of Giggs, who then played a square ball across the edge of the six-yard box to Dimitar Berbatov, allowing the Bulgarian a simple finish. With 15 minutes left to play, Fletcher was bundled over by Rory Delap on the right side of the penalty area. The left-footed Giggs crossed the consequent free-kick into the penalty area, where John O'Shea rose above his marker, Danny Collins, to head the ball past Thomas Sørensen in the Stoke goal. The match finished at 2–0 and, combined with Chelsea's 3–1 defeat by Wigan Athletic the same day, the result meant that United finished the weekend on top of the league for the first time in the season.


title: 2009–10 Manchester United F.C. season

text: The league schedule took United back to Old Trafford for their next game against Sunderland on 3 October. United were one of four teams still protecting a 100% home record in 2009–10, but it was Sunderland who took the lead after seven minutes, as Darren Bent beat Ben Foster from outside the penalty area. It took United until five minutes into the second half to equalise: Dimitar Berbatov volleying John O'Shea's cross home with a bicycle kick. However, parity was short-lived as Kenwyne Jones scored for "the Black Cats" just seven minutes later. The Sunderland striker went up for a header with Foster, but the two collided and the ball came off the Trinidadian and trickled into the empty net. With six minutes remaining in normal time, Sunderland's former Manchester United winger Kieran Richardson was sent off for dissent, leading to a second yellow card. This allowed pressure from Manchester United to mount, and in the fourth minute of injury time, a shot across the face of goal from Patrice Evra was turned into the Sunderland goal by defender Anton Ferdinand – brother of United defender Rio. The 2–2 result maintained United's unbeaten home record for the season and gave them a one-point lead at the top of the table. However, they dropped to second place after Chelsea beat Liverpool the following day.


title: 2009–10 Manchester United F.C. season

text: Another international break followed in the middle of October, from which Wayne Rooney returned with a calf strain, ruling him out of United's next fixture against Bolton Wanderers on 17 October. However, Edwin van der Sar recovered from his hand injury to make his first appearance of the season, while Berbatov returned from the birth of his first child in Bulgaria to partner Michael Owen up front. A header from Owen, diverted into the net by Zat Knight, gave United the lead in the fifth minute, before Antonio Valencia doubled the lead just after the half-hour mark. The Ecuadorian winger played a one-two with Gary Neville to work his way into the penalty area, and then fired the ball past Jussi Jääskeläinen. Matthew Taylor pulled a goal back for Bolton, heading home a cross from Kevin Davies, but it turned out to be the last goal of the game, and United won 2–1. Following Chelsea's 2–1 defeat by Aston Villa earlier in the day, United's win sent them back to the top of the league table.


title: 2009–10 Manchester United F.C. season

text: After returning from a trip to Moscow in the Champions League in mid-week, United travelled down the M62 to take on Liverpool in the first North West derby of the season on 25 October. In the build-up to the game, much media attention had been spent on the fitness of Wayne Rooney, who had missed the club's last two games, and the prospect of Michael Owen facing his former club in Manchester United colours for the first time. Rooney was passed fit on the morning of the game, meaning that Owen started on the bench, while Giggs and Evra also started after missing the match against CSKA Moscow. Liverpool and their manager Rafael Benítez went into the game under great pressure, having lost their previous four games and on the verge of their worst losing streak in 56 years. Liverpool had also been struggling with injuries, with Steven Gerrard, Glen Johnson and Fernando Torres all doubtful for the starting line-up. Gerrard was eventually deemed not fit to play, but Johnson and Torres both started, and it was the Spanish striker who opened the scoring in the 65th minute. Yossi Benayoun, in the side as Gerrard's deputy, played a through-ball to Torres, who outpaced Nemanja Vidić before shrugging off the challenge of Rio Ferdinand and shooting past Van der Sar from a narrowing angle. A few minutes later, Michael Owen was brought on in place of Dimitar Berbatov to a chorus of boos from the Anfield crowd, but the former Liverpool man was unable to turn the game in United's favour. He did manage to draw a foul by Jamie Carragher on the edge of the Liverpool penalty area, for which Carragher received a yellow card, although there were suggestions that the Liverpool captain was the last man and should have been sent off. Vidić was booked for an unnecessary foul on Torres in the 75th minute, and then committed a cynical foul on Dirk Kuyt in the 90th, resulting in his third red card in as many matches against Liverpool. Deep into injury time, Javier Mascherano was also sent off for a second bookable offence – a rash tackle on Edwin van der Sar – but it was Liverpool who had the last word as David N'Gog sealed a 2–0 win with a goal in the sixth minute of injury time. Following Chelsea's win over Blackburn Rovers the day before, the result meant that United dropped to second place in the Premier League.


title: 2009–10 Manchester United F.C. season

text: Injuries to Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidić kept them out of United's next league match against Blackburn Rovers on 31 October, meaning that Jonny Evans and Wes Brown would continue their defensive partnership from the League Cup game against Barnsley in mid-week. Dimitar Berbatov found the back of the net in the first half, set up by a square pass from Wayne Rooney, but the goal was ruled out as Rooney was found to have been offside when Nani played him the ball in the build-up. The first legitimate goal of the game came 10 minutes into the second half: Patrice Evra hit a shot from well outside the area, but it was going well wide; Berbatov controlled the ball with one touch before swivelling and shooting into the bottom corner of Paul Robinson's goal. Rooney secured a 2–0 win for United three minutes from the end of normal time, following some neat wing play by Gabriel Obertan – making his Premier League debut – and Anderson. The French winger made his way down the touchline before allowing the Brazilian to take over; Anderson hit a left-footed cross into the area, which Rooney met with a first-time shot. A win for Arsenal in the North London derby earlier in the day had pushed United down to third place in the Premier League table, but the victory over Blackburn returned "the Red Devils" to second place by the end of the day.


title: 2009–10 Manchester United F.C. season

text: United then went to Stamford Bridge to play Chelsea. Despite having good levels of possession and playing well, United ultimately suffered a 1–0 defeat, following a John Terry goal fifteen minutes from time, which dropped them to third in the table.


title: 2009–10 Manchester United F.C. season

text: Following the loss to Chelsea, United welcomed Everton to Old Trafford on 21 November. With Berbatov out injured, this gave Michael Owen a spot in the starting 11. Tomasz Kuszczak also started ahead of Ben Foster due to Van der Sar's injury. United had early chances but found it very difficult to put the ball in the back of the net. Everton created few chances and were saved by Leighton Baines and Joseph Yobo in the first 20 minutes as the Toffees held on. United turned possession into goals in the 35th minute when Evra's cross was laid off by the head of Antonio Valencia to Darren Fletcher, who emphatically drilled home a spectacular half-volley past the outstretched and former Red Tim Howard in goal for the Merseysiders. Michael Owen had a half chance to extend the lead for United shortly before half time when he timed his run perfectly to stay onside and latch onto Wayne Rooney's skilful flick. However, he would have done well to score from the tight angle as Howard quickly rushed out to block his shot. Carrick doubled the champions' lead with a low left-foot drive; Giggs' cross found a way back to him after a poor shot from Rooney and took a few touches before he picked out an unmarked Carrick at the edge of the box. Valencia made it 3–0 eight minutes later with a deflected shot off Baines that wrong-footed Howard. Scholes laid it off to him as the Ecuadorian made no mistake in wrapping up a comprehensive victory.


title: 2009–10 Manchester United F.C. season

text: Still without their usual back four, the Red Devils then travelled south to a drenched Fratton Park to play rock-bottom Portsmouth. Both Berbatov and Owen were left on the bench, meaning that Giggs and Rooney would start up front together for the first time in the season. Ben Foster's status as Manchester United's third-choice goalkeeper was also underlined as Kuszczak was selected in place of the injured Edwin van der Sar. The Pole was quickly called into action as Portsmouth began brightly, denying Aruna Dindane before an excellent acrobatic save to deny Jamie O'Hara. It took nearly half an hour before United had found the net. Rooney won a penalty after he was fouled by Michael Brown inside the penalty area; he himself stepped up to slot the resulting penalty home despite Asmir Begović tipping the curling ball. Parity was short-lived as Kevin-Prince Boateng equalised for the hosts just eight minutes later via another penalty goal after Serbian international Nemanja Vidić clumsily fouled Frédéric Piquionne. Nevertheless, United put on a master-class during the second half, Wayne Rooney scoring his first hat-trick of the season with another penalty and a superb tap-in. Three minutes from time, Giggs bagged his 100th Premier League goal with a curling free kick on the eve of his 36th birthday.


title: 2009–10 Manchester United F.C. season

text: Three days after a shock 1–0 home defeat by Aston Villa, United were visited by Wolverhampton Wanderers on 15 December. Wolves lasted 30 minutes before falling behind to a Wayne Rooney penalty which was awarded after Ronald Zubar handled Darron Gibson's corner kick. Two minutes before the interval, Nemanja Vidić – skipper for the day – headed United to a 2–0 lead despite Marcus Hahnemann making his best effort to stop the ball crossing the line. In the 66th minute, Antonio Valencia once again wrapped up another 3–0 victory, curling his effort from 16 yards into the top right-hand corner after neat play from Dimitar Berbatov.


title: 2009–10 Manchester United F.C. season

text: United suffered their fifth loss of the season on 19 December, losing 3–0 to Fulham at Craven Cottage. This was their heaviest away league defeat for over three-and-a-half years, when Chelsea clinched the 2005–06 title by beating United by the same scoreline at Stamford Bridge on 29 April 2006.


title: 2009–10 Manchester United F.C. season

text: United followed this with a visit to the KC Stadium to play Hull City, a game that they won 3–1 following goals from Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov either side of an own goal from Andy Dawson. This result lifted them back into second place.


title: 2009–10 Manchester United F.C. season

text: United ended 2009 in the league with their second 5–0 thrashing of Wigan of the season, with the goals scored by five different players. Wayne Rooney continued his fine run of form with the opening goal just before the half-hour mark, before Michael Carrick and Rafael scored before half-time. Five minutes into the second half Dimitar Berbatov scored and the rout was completed by Antonio Valencia with 15 minutes to go. The result helped United's goal difference column, but they remained second in the table behind Chelsea as the 2010 New Year came around.


title: 2009–10 Manchester United F.C. season

text: Following the unexpected defeat by Leeds United in the third round of the FA Cup, United tried to return to winning ways away at Birmingham. However, United – despite playing well – went behind and only equalised just after an hour through an own goal by Scott Dann. Both teams tried to win the match, but despite late chances for both sides the game ended 1–1 in a match that could have seen United go top had they won.


title: 2009–10 Manchester United F.C. season

text: United returned to winning ways in the league with an ultimately comfortable 3–0 win at home to Burnley. Burnley held out well until just after the hour mark before Dimitar Berbatov opened the scoring from close range. Five minutes later, Wayne Rooney slotted home the second before Mame Biram Diouf scored his first United goal in injury time.


title: 2009–10 Manchester United F.C. season

text: United took full advantage of playing their home game against Hull before Chelsea played to go top of the table (albeit having played two more games than their rivals), but for a long time the issue was in doubt. After Wayne Rooney scored after just eight minutes both teams missed a plethora of chances to score. Rio Ferdinand was very fortunate to avoid a red card and a penalty following an off-the-ball incident (for which he would later be retrospectively suspended for three games, increased to four after his appeal was turned down for being "frivolous"). With just eight minutes of normal time remaining, Rooney's early goal was still the only thing separating the two teams, but then three goals in quick succession – all from Wayne Rooney – gave United a 4–0 win. It was the first time that Rooney had scored four goals in a professional game and put United into first place until both Chelsea won one of two games in hand to drop them down to second again.


title: 2009–10 Manchester United F.C. season

text: United celebrated victory in the League Cup semi-final over local rivals Manchester City with a great performance away at third-placed Arsenal. The Gunners began the match just a point behind United and with hopes of mounting a serious title challenge to United and Chelsea. They began well, Andrey Arshavin shooting wide twice early on when well placed. But a man-of-the-match performance from Portuguese mis-fit Nani turned the match in United's favour. Firstly, a piece of skill took him past two defenders, before he put in a cross towards the far post, which keeper, Manuel Almunia palmed into his own net just after the half-hour. Five minutes later, Arsenal had a corner, but a lightning breakaway by Nani and Wayne Rooney saw the latter score his 100th Premier League goal by slotting past Almunia with a first-time shot from a great pass by the Portuguese winger just eleven seconds after Arsenal took their corner. United's attacking on the break continued to cause Arsenal trouble and five minutes into the second half Park Ji-sung broke away from within his own half and, despite having Rooney and Nani in support, slotted past Almunia to seal the three points. A late goal from Thomas Vermaelen (deflected off Jonny Evans gave Arsenal hope, but they failed to find another goal and – after missed chances from Nani and Rooney, the game ended 3–1, leaving United second, one point behind Chelsea having played a game more. Chelsea then failed to beat Hull to leave the top three having all played 24 games, Chelsea two points ahead of United with Arsenal a further four points behind.


title: 2009–10 Manchester United F.C. season

text: United returned (briefly) to the top of the table following a 5–0 thrashing of bottom club Portsmouth at home. Despite a couple of early opportunities for the visitors, including a Jonny Evans clearance off the line, United took the lead five minutes before half-time when Wayne Rooney headed home a Darren Fletcher cross. United were two up before half-time when Nani's cross was turned into his own net by Anthony Vanden Borre, the shot rolling past keeper David James. In the second-half, a Michael Carrick shot took a wild deflection off Richard Hughes to loop over keeper James and in off the crossbar before Dimitar Berbatov made up for a close-range miss in the first-half by shooting home from just outside the penalty area. Portsmouth's misery was complete with more than 20 minutes left when Marc Wilson shot spectacularly into the roof of his own net whilst trying to clear the ball. The win put United top for 24 hours, before Chelsea beat Arsenal to regain the top spot.


title: 2009–10 Manchester United F.C. season

text: United then travelled to Villa Park where they drew 1–1 with Aston Villa. Villa took the lead through a Carlos Cuéllar header but their lead was short-lived as James Collins put through his own net to make the score 1–1. Nani was sent off on 29 minutes for a two-footed tackle on Stiliyan Petrov but United held out for the point, which – combined with Everton's win over Chelsea that evening – reduced the gap at the top of the table to a single point.


title: 2009–10 Manchester United F.C. season

text: United's next game was at Goodison Park against Everton who had beaten Chelsea the previous week. United fared no better, ultimately losing 3–1, despite going in front through a Dimitar Berbatov goal after 16 minutes. However a Diniyar Bilyaletdinov goal three minutes later, followed by second-half goals from Dan Gosling and Jack Rodwell gave United their sixth Premier League defeat of the season. A win would have returned United to the top of the table, since they played before Chelsea, but this defeat, coupled with Chelseas' victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers later in the day increased the gap at the top to four points.


title: 2009–10 Manchester United F.C. season

text: Due to League Cup commitments, United had an early midweek fixture against West Ham United. The game saw the return of Ben Foster in goal but no change in goalscoring service as Wayne Rooney scored two headers and Michael Owen's first league goal since the Manchester derby saw United cruise to a 3–0 win.


title: 2009–10 Manchester United F.C. season

text: United then went to Wolverhampton Wanderers where a tight, poor game was decided by a Paul Scholes goal around ten minutes from time.


title: 2009–10 Manchester United F.C. season

text: United then played at home to Fulham where they exacted direct revenge for the 3–0 defeat at Craven Cottage earlier in the season after two goals from Wayne Rooney, from crosses by Nani and Berbatov and a late third from Dimitar Berbatov himself gave United a win as comfortable as the scoreline suggested.


title: 2009–10 Manchester United F.C. season

text: Uniteds' next league game was at home against bitter rivals, Liverpool. The Merseyside team had won the last three games between the two sides, including the 2–0 win at Anfield earlier in the season. It looked like a fourth straight league win might be on the cards when Fernando Torres scored after just four minutes from a Dirk Kuyt cross. However, the lead lasted only a few minutes before Javier Mascherano pulled down Antonio Valencia. The challenge began outside the penalty area, but – on the advice of his assistant referee – official Howard Webb gave a penalty. Pepe Reina saved the kick from Wayne Rooney, but could only parry the ball back to the United forward who buried the rebound. The game remained at 1–1 until the hour mark when Park Ji-sung scored a close-range diving header from a Darren Fletcher cross. Torres and Yossi Benayoun had late chances to steal a draw, but United held on for the win. Chelsea's draw with Blackburn later that day left United two points clear of Arsenal and four ahead of Chelsea, who had played a game less than both the Gunners and United. Chelsea ultimately won their game in hand to go second in the table, a point behind United.


title: 2009–10 Manchester United F.C. season

text: United then went to the Reebok Stadium to face Bolton Wanderers. The game was fairly tight in the first half until a Jlloyd Samuel own goal put United 1–0 up after around half an hour. Saves from Edwin van der Sar kept United in front before 3 goals in twelve minutes in the second half, two from Dimitar Berbatov and one from Darron Gibson gave United a 4–0 win to stay top of the table. In the title race, Chelsea demolished Aston Villa, but Arsenal could only draw away at Birmingham City and dropped 4 points behind United in third place.


title: 2009–10 Manchester United F.C. season

text: However, the top two swapped places after Chelsea defeated United 2–1 at Old Trafford in the next League game. Wayne Rooney was unable to play, having been injured at the end of the Champions League quarter-final first leg defeat by Bayern Munich and United clearly missed their main striker with a below-par performance. Joe Cole slipped a back-heel home midway through the first half and – despite a vastly improved performance in the second, Didier Drogba scored from an offside position after 79 minutes, the goal standing despite the offside. Federico Macheda scored from close range two minutes later (though this goal was also questionable, having appeared to be scored by Macheda's hands) and, although United threw themselves forward (even Edwin van der Sar ran upfield at a late corner) Chelsea held on to take control of the title race with just five games remaining.


title: 2009–10 Manchester United F.C. season

text: Uniteds' next game was away to Blackburn Rovers and followed the 3–2 victory over Bayern Munich in the Champions League, but which was not good enough to put the Reds into the semi-finals of that competition. Having suffered a miserable few days (including the first-leg defeat at Bayern and the previous League defeat by Chelsea), United were looking to bounce back against a team that had not lost a home game since the previous August. Wayne Rooney was out injured and so Federico Macheda was up front with Dimitar Berbatov. Although United pressed hard and played the better football, they could not find their way past a resolute Blackburn defence and the game ended 0–0.


title: 2009–10 Manchester United F.C. season

text: United then went to the City of Manchester Stadium to face Manchester City in the fourth Manchester derby of the season. United needed to win to have any chance of the title, whilst City wanted to win to prevent United having any title aspirations and to boost their own hopes of being in the UEFA Champions League the following season. The game itself had few real chances. Carlos Tevez had a first-half free-kick well saved by Edwin van der Sar, whilst Wayne Rooney (passed fit for the game), Ryan Giggs, Darren Fletcher and Paul Scholes all passed up chances for United. Rooney made way for Dimitar Berbatov with 15 minutes to go. As the game entered added time, Patrick Vieira caused a scramble in the United penalty area, but the ball was eventually cleared. However, it looked as though the game would end goal-less until just 17 seconds from the scheduled end of injury time, Scholes headed in a cross from Patrice Evra to win the match for United. This, coupled with a 2–1 win for Tottenham Hotspur over Chelsea left United just 1 point off the top of the table with 3 games remaining.


title: 2009–10 Manchester United F.C. season

text: Tottenham Hotspur were the next visitors to Old Trafford in a game both teams wanted to win – United to put pressure on Chelsea and Spurs to cement their fourth spot in the League. However, the first half was abysmal, and it was almost 30 minutes before either team had a shot on goal – let alone on target. At the start of the second half, Patrice Evra began vomiting on the pitch, but ultimately stayed on and won a penalty just before the hour mark, which Ryan Giggs scored (Wayne Rooney had picked up a groin injury in training and was ruled out of the match). Ledley King scored with twenty minutes to go to restore parity, but United went back in front ten minutes later after Nani lobbed Heurelho Gomes. Nani was then fouled in the box, giving Giggs his second penalty, which he also scored to give United a 3–1 lead. Nani also began to vomit as injury time came around, but United held on to go back to the top of the table for 24 hours, before Chelsea hammered Stoke City 7–0 to return to the summit.


title: 2009–10 Manchester United F.C. season

text: By the time United played their penultimate game of the season – away to Sunderland – Chelsea had already won their penultimate game away to Liverpool and gone 4 points clear at the top of the table. With Chelsea having a vastly superior goal difference to United, this meant that the Reds had to beat Sunderland to take the title to the final game of the season. A single Nani goal after around half an hour was enough to give United the three points to put them back within a point of Chelsea at the top, with both teams having just one game to play – United at home to Stoke and Chelsea at home to Wigan.


title: 2009–10 Manchester United F.C. season

text: United beat Stoke by a score of 4 goals to nil in the final game of the season. It took almost half an hour to break the Stoke defence down, before a rebound came to Darren Fletcher who shot home. Less than ten minutes later it was 2–0, Ryan Giggs shooting under the Stoke goalkeeper. Further goals in the second half – an own goal from former United player Danny Higginbotham and a late header from Park Ji-sung gave United a comfortable win, but one that was ultimately in vain as Chelsea hammered Wigan 8–0 to win the title.


title: 2009–10 Manchester United F.C. season

text: Manchester United entered the FA Cup at the Third Round, and were the last home team drawn on 29 November 2009. They welcomed bitter rivals Leeds United to Old Trafford on 3 January 2010. Leeds reached the Third Round after beating Kettering Town 5–1 after extra time in a replay of their Second Round tie.


title: 2009–10 Manchester United F.C. season

text: With a League Cup semi-final against Manchester City three days later in mind, Alex Ferguson opted for a mix of youth and experience for the Leeds match; the midfield quartet of Gabriel Obertan, Darron Gibson, Anderson and Danny Welbeck had an average age of almost 21, while Gary Neville and Wes Brown started in defence with Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov up front. United went into the game 43 places above their opponents in the league system and started on the front foot; however, it was Leeds who opened the scoring in the 19th minute, when a long ball forward found Jermaine Beckford, who held off Wes Brown before poking the ball past Tomasz Kuszczak in the United goal. In search of an equaliser, Manchester United had two penalty appeals turned down in the second half and both Rooney and Michael Owen missed the target from close range, but the goal never came and the match finished 1–0 to Leeds, their first win at Old Trafford since 1981. The result meant that United had been eliminated from the FA Cup at the third round stage for the first time under the management of Alex Ferguson – they last lost an FA Cup third round tie in 1984, when they were beaten 2–0 by Bournemouth at Dean Court.


title: 2009–10 Manchester United F.C. season

text: As one of the seven Premier League sides involved in European competition in the 2009–10 season, Manchester United received a bye to the Third Round of the League Cup. The draw for the Third Round took place on 29 August 2009, and gave Manchester United a home tie against fellow Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers. The match was played at Old Trafford on 23 September 2009, and Alex Ferguson took the opportunity to give playing time to some of the club's fringe players, including back-up goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak, midfielder Darron Gibson and forwards Danny Welbeck and Federico Macheda, while derby hero Michael Owen was also given a position in the starting line-up. Ferguson also handed squad numbers to young Norwegian duo Joshua King and Magnus Eikrem. However, United were reduced to 10 men half-an-hour into the match as Fábio was sent off for a professional foul on Michael Kightly, who was through on goal; Ferguson responded by bringing Ritchie De Laet on in place of Macheda. Despite the numerical disadvantage, though, United went one-up in the 66th minute, as Welbeck played a one-two with Owen before firing past Wolves' goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann. With ten minutes left in the game, Ferguson gave Joshua King his professional debut, coming on in place of Welbeck. Although King had two opportunities to add to United's lead, the match finished at 1–0 and Manchester United progressed to the Fourth Round of the competition.


title: 2009–10 Manchester United F.C. season

text: The draw for the Fourth Round was made on 26 September 2009, and handed Manchester United a trip to Oakwell to play against Barnsley, who are managed by former United striker Mark Robins. The match was played on 27 October 2009, and the lower-league opposition meant that Ferguson could afford to pick some of the less experienced members of his squad, while summer signing Gabriel Obertan was given his first senior start for the club. Danny Welbeck opened the scoring for United in the sixth minute, heading home Anderson's corner for the only goal of the first half. Michael Owen doubled United's lead with a coolly taken finish 14 minutes into the second half, shooting early past former Manchester United goalkeeper Luke Steele from just inside the penalty area after playing the ball through the defender's legs. Despite a controversial red card for Gary Neville – given more for his follow-through than the actual tackle on Adam Hammill – United held on for a 2–0 win that sent them into the last eight of the competition.


title: 2009–10 Manchester United F.C. season

text: In the draw for the Fifth Round of the competition, held on 31 October 2009, United were given a home tie against Tottenham Hotspur, in a repeat of the 2009 final. The match was played on 1 December 2009. United won 2–0 after a brace from Darron Gibson in the first half. He drove his first goal low into the left side of the net after a pass from Anderson. His second goal came after he hit the ball first time after it becoming loose just outside the box, sending it too far into the right top corner for Heurelho Gomes to reach. Despite a few missed close chances from Dimitar Berbatov, Park Ji-Sung and Kiko Macheda, the score remained 2–0 for the remainder of the match.