page_title: History of Manchester United F.C. (1878–1945)
section_title: Change of fortune: 1903–18
hierarchical_section_title: History of Manchester United F.C. (1878–1945) / Change of fortune: 1903–18
caption_attribution_description: English: The Manchester United 1909-10 team, known as the "Outcasts FC".
context_page_description: Manchester United Football Club was formed in 1878 as Newton Heath LYR Football Club by the Carriage and Wagon department of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway depot at Newton Heath. The team initially played games against other departments and rail companies at their home ground at North Road, but by 1888 the club had become a founding member of The Combination, a regional football league. However, following the league's dissolution before the end of its first season, Newton Heath joined the newly formed Football Alliance, which ran for three seasons before being merged with The Football League. This resulted in the club starting the 1892–93 season in the First Division, by which time it had become independent of the rail company, dropped the "LYR" from its name and moved to a new ground at Bank Street. After just two seasons, the club was relegated to the Second Division.
  In January 1902, with debts of £2,670 – equivalent to £290,000 in 2020 – the club was served with a winding-up order. Captain Harry Stafford found four local businessmen – including John Henry Davies, who became club president – each willing to invest £500 in return for a direct interest in running the club.
context_section_description: After a bad start to the season, the club took another important step in 1903 in hiring their first real team manager, Ernest Mangnall, a charismatic publicist who knew how to work the media. Under his leadership, the team finished third in the Second Division. The following season, Manchester United set a record when they went 18 games undefeated after losing to Bolton 2–0 in September 1904 up until they lost to Lincoln City 3–0 in February 1905. During the season they finished 3rd with 53 points. Off the field the club suffered a financial setback when they were banned from selling alcohol inside the ground, although under the ownership of Davies they at least had solid financial backing.
  Mangnall created United's first successful side with a series of signings, eventually winning promotion in 1906. They finished second overall and reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, beating holders  Aston Villa (one of the most successful English teams of that era) 5–1 in the fifth round. Among these signings was Billy Meredith, the legendary winger who was probably the greatest player of that era.
  Ernest Mangnall managed to sign star defender Herbert Burgess, Alec "Sandy" Turnbull, and Jimmy Bannister after a scandal hit Manchester City and forced them to sell off most of their team. It paid off, and Manchester United won their first League Championship in 1908. They even attempted to sign Australian rugby footballer, Dally Messenger, a man recognised by some to be the top footballer of any code in his day. The next year, FA Cup success would follow as they beat Bristol City in the final 1–0. Sandy Turnbull scored the only goal and Billy Meredith was named man of the match.
  In 1908, John Henry Davies once again gave financial aid by lending £60,000, a huge sum at the time, to finalise the team's move to a new stadium at Old Trafford. They played their first game there on 19 February 1910 as Liverpool spoiled the celebrations with a 4–3 win in a close game. United finished that season fifth in the league.
  Ernest Mangnall's leadership brought United to their first successful era. They would be the first winners of the Charity Shield in 1908, and the League again in 1911 pipping Aston Villa on a tense last day of the season. The Charity Shield victory in 1911 would be the end of this era and Mangnall would leave the next year for Manchester City.
  Manchester United players, in particular, Charlie Roberts and Billy Meredith, were instrumental in forming the Association of Football Players' and Trainers' Union (the AFPTU) (which the press called the Players' Union) in December 1907, the second attempt to unionize players.  The Players Union is today the Professional Footballers' Association.  When the Football Association threatened members of the Union with suspension before the start of the 1909–10 season, Manchester United players refused to relinquish their Union membership, and referred to themselves as "The Outcasts".  A compromise was reached  between the Football Association and the Union before the start of that season which allowed players to be Union members.
  Without Mangnall, the club stumbled to 13th place in 1912. Attendances slumped to 15,000 and the squad started to age under the leadership of J.J. Bentley. They narrowly escaped relegation in 1914–15 by one point; three of United's players were later found to have conspired with Liverpool players in fixing a United win in the match between the sides, in the 1915 British football betting scandal. The United players were found guilty of match fixing and banned for life.
  The Football League was suspended at the outbreak of the First World War, during which Sandy Turnbull was killed in France. On 28 December 1914, Jack Robson was appointed as the club's first official manager; previously, the club secretary had been responsible for the majority of matters relating to the playing of the game. Mangnall's position as secretary was first filled by T.J. Wallworth, then by Bentley, under whom Robson worked. No football was played during the war, which meant that the club was no
caption: The "Outcasts F.C." at the start of the 1909–10 season
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