FA CHARITY / COMMUNITY SHIELD

• 1908
• 1911
• 1952
• 1956
• 1957
• 1965
• 1967
• 1977

• 1983
• 1990
• 1993
• 1994
• 1996
• 1997
• 2003
• 2007

• 2008
• 2010
• 2011

Community Shield Community Shield

From its humble beginnings in 1908, when it was known as the Sheriff of London Shield, to its place today as the annual curtain raiser to the English football season, the FA Community Shield (until recent years known as the FA Charity Shield) has long been an important part of the football calendar.

The Shield was initially introduced as a professionals v amateurs charity match with the first game being played in 1908. The reigning Football League Champions, Manchester United, took on Queens Park Rangers, the then-Southern League Champions. This format, with the occasional representative side taking part, was to form the basis of the competition for many years.

The competition's profile was raised immeasurably in 1974 when the then-FA Secretary Ted Croker proposed the Shield be played at Wembley. It was to prove a great success with the 1974 encounter attracting 67,000 fans when Liverpool beat Leeds United 6-5 on penalties after a 1-1 draw.

Nowadays whenever a Charity Shield match is drawn the tie is decided by a penalty shoot-out, although for a short spell during the 1980s and 1990s the trophy was shared. United hold the record for Shield appearances and also the most wins - 13.

United appeared in no fewer than seven Shield matches in the 1990s - winning four, drawing one and losing one. In 2001 United appeared in their sixth Shield in a row and eighth in nine years. United also competed in the highest scoring Shield match ever when they defeated Swindon Town 8-4 in 1911.

The Reds suffered Community Shield defeats at the start of the 1998/99, 1999/2000 and 2000/01 seasons, but went on to win the league title at the end of each term.

After going down 2-1 to Liverpool in 2001 Shield, Tim Howard was the hero in the 2003 victory over Arsenal, acrobatically saving spot-kicks from Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Robert Pires to give United a 4-3 penalty shoot-out win after the game had ended 1-1. Arsenal gained revenge a year later, sealing a 3-1 victory over Sir Alex's men.

United claimed two successive shoot-out victories in the 2007 and 2008 spectacles against Chelsea and Portsmouth respectively.

Having lost out to Chelsea in the 2009 clash, the Reds ensured a positive start to the 2010/11 campaign with a 3-1 victory over the Blues. Goals from Antonio Valencia, Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez - making his full debut as a half-time substitute - and Dimitar Berbatov secured a record 18th triumph.

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FOOTBALL LEAGUE CUP

Football League Cup Football League Cup

• 1992
• 2006
• 2009
• 2010

The Carling Cup or Football League Cup (also previously known as the Worthington Cup, Milk Cup, Coca-Cola Cup and Rumbelows Cup) was first played in 1961. Manchester United have won it four times; the Reds overcame Nottingham Forest 1-0 in the 1992 final, beat Wigan Athletic 4-0 in 2006, vanquished Tottenham on penalties in 2009 and came from behind to defeat Aston Villa 2-1 in 2010.

United would probably rather forget the team's first match in the Football League Cup. On 2 November 1960 the Reds lost 2-1 in the Second round to Third Division Bradford City. The club had to wait until 1983 for a first appearance in a final when the opponents that day were Liverpool. A young Norman Whiteside, only seventeen years of age at the time, gave United the lead but Liverpool came back to win in extra time.

Undoubtedly the club’s golden period in the competition came in the early nineties when United reached three finals in four years. On the way to the 1991 final - which the Reds lost to Ron Atkinson’s Sheffield Wednesday - Sir Alex Ferguson's young side demolished the then League Champions Arsenal 6-2 at Highbury. In 1992, United reached Wembley again and won the competition for the first time, beating Nottingham Forest 1-0 thanks to a goal from Brian McClair.

The Reds' next final appearance, in 1994, ended in defeat (1-3) to Ron Atkinson's Aston Villa. Victory would have ultimately given the club the domestic ‘Treble’ as the side would go on to win the League and FA Cup later that year.

A mix of young and senior players was sufficient to see United past Barnet, West Brom and Birmingham in the early rounds of the triumphant 2005/06 campaign. Sir Alex Ferguson then beefed up his side with more first-team regulars for the two-legged semi-final against Blackburn and then the final against Wigan in Cardiff. Goals from Wayne Rooney (2), Louis Saha and Cristiano Ronaldo ensured United did not finish a difficult season empty-handed.

Three years later, plenty of the players who had their first taste of silverware against the Latics were now much-decorated, but there were still a number of youngsters involved as the Reds swept to Wembley at the expense of Middlesbrough, QPR, Blackburn and Derby. Tottenham awaited in the final and, after a tense 120 minutes failed to produce a telling goal, a penalty shootout was required to give United the trophy. Ryan Giggs, Carlos Tevez, Cristiano Ronaldo and Anderson all scored, while only Vedran Corluka could find a route past Reds keeper Ben Foster, handing United a 4-1 shootout win.

In 2009/10, United became the first club since Nottingham Forest 20 years earlier to retain the cup. The Reds started the campaign with a home win over Wolves (1-0) and then beat Barnsley away (2-0) and Tottenham (2-0) at Old Trafford to tee up an all-Manchester semi-final against local rivals City. The Blues won the first leg at Eastlands 2-1 but an electric atmosphere for the return match helped the Reds to win 3-1 on the night and go through 4-3 on aggregate. Aston Villa took the lead in the Wembley final after just five minutes, when James Milner converted a penalty conceded by Nemanja Vidic. But an equaliser from Michael Owen and a second-half header from Wayne Rooney ensured

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FA Cup

• 1909
• 1948
• 1963
• 1977
• 1983
• 1985
• 1990
• 1994

• 1996
• 1999
• 2004

Following 2004's victory over Millwall, United has a record eleven FA Cups to its name and has appeared in the final on seventeen occasions. United are also the only club to appear in an FA Cup final in every decade since the war.

The club first competed in the FA Cup in 1890 as Newton Heath, but were beaten 6-1 by the then League Champions Preston North End. In fact the club had to wait until 1902, when it changed its name to Manchester United, to progress beyond the Third round.

The club’s first win in the competition came in 1909 against Bristol City (1-0). The Reds had to wait until 1948 to reach another final when they beat Blackpool 4-2 at Wembley stadium. The club appeared in consecutive finals in 1957 and 1958.

United next won the FA Cup in 1963 when a Denis Law goal helped see off Leicester City 3-1. The late 1970’s saw the club reach three finals in four years, losing to Southampton in 1976, beating Liverpool in 1977 and losing an epic final to Arsenal in 1979. After being 2-0 down, they came back to score two goals in the final five minutes only to see Arsenal snatch the Cup with almost the last kick of the game.

Two more successes followed, against Brighton in 1983 and against Everton in 1985, when United defender Kevin Moran became the first player to be sent off in a Cup final. During the Nineties the club reached no less than five finals, winning four of them. In 1990 United beat Crystal Palace 1-0 after a replay, in 1994 and 1996 the club completed the ‘Double’ after wins against Chelsea and Liverpool respectively and in 1999 United completed the second part of a historic ‘Treble’ with a 2-0 win over Newcastle.

United reached the final again in 2004. After beating arch-rivals Arsenal 1-0 in the semi-final at Villa Park, they had the more straightforward task of seeing off First Division side Millwall at the Millennium Stadium. Goals by Ronaldo and Van Nistelrooy (2) won the match 3-0 for United.

The Reds were back at the Millennium Stadium just 12 months later, in May 2005, seeking their 12th FA Cup win. This time, their arch-rivals Arsenal were waiting to meet them - and to exact their revenge, it seems, for the semi-final results of 1999 and 2004. United dominated the match and created the best chances but ultimately failed to kill-off the more defensively minded Gunners. Consequently the FA Cup Final was decided by a penalty shoot-out for the first time in its history, regrettably in Arsenal's favour.

The FA Cup final returned to Wembley in 2007, with freshly-crowned Premiership champions United and previous incumbents Chelsea locking horns in what seemed set to be a fitting curtain raiser for the revamped stadium. In truth, the final was a massive anti-climax as United's fatigue at the end of a long season, allied to an ultra-conservative approach from Jose Mourinho's side made for a stifling affair, which was eventually settled late in extra-time by a strike from Didier Drogba.

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FA PREMIER LEAGUE / FOOTBALL LEAGUE DIVISION ONE

United have won 19 League Championships, overtaking Liverpool's long-standing record with the 2010/2011 Barclays Premier League title.

• 1908
• 1911
• 1952
• 1956
• 1957
• 1965
• 1967
• 1993

• 1994
• 1996
• 1997
• 1999
• 2000
• 2001
• 2003
• 2007

• 2008
• 2009
• 2011

The Reds' total comprises 12 Premier League titles (since 1992) and seven First Division Championships (pre-1992).

The club's first League Championship was secured in 1908, six years after the name of Newton Heath - league entrants in 1892 - was changed to Manchester United. A second title followed in 1911 but it wasn’t until after the Second World War, when United really became a force in English football under the leadership of Sir Matt Busby.

The Reds finished league runners-up in 1947, 1948, 1949 and 1951 before winning a third League Championship in 1952. The next few years were to see the birth of the famed Busby Babes. More Championships followed in 1956 and 1957 before the tragic events of the Munich air crash, which claimed the lives of 21 people, including eight United players. Busby rebuilt his team successfully in the 1960s, winning the title again in 1965 and 1967.

United had to endure a long wait of 26 years for the next title (finishing runners-up on four occasions in the meantime). Sir Alex Ferguson was the man who masterminded the triumph in the inaugural Premier League season, in 1993. The Reds have since dominated the top flight with titles in 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011.

United's title triumph of 2008/09 was achieved despite a slow start to the campaign and the rigours of fighting for seven trophies (the Club World Cup, Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup, Carling Cup, UEFA Super Cup and Community Shield). The Reds eventually clicked into gear, finishing the league season in style with 18 wins from the final 21 games. Only a point was required against Arsenal on the penultimate weekend, and a goalless draw at Old Trafford secured United's 11th title since the Premier League began and the club's 18th League Championship overall.

After Chelsea won the Double under Carlo Ancelotti, the Reds wrestled the title back to Old Trafford with a success based on the foundation of an incredible home record. After the West Londoners were beaten in front of a jubilant home crowd in a virtual title decider, a point at Blackburn sealed the 12th league success of Sir Alex's remarkable reign with Wayne Rooney's penalty ensuring United could not be caught at the top.

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Vote: Player of the Month

United were unbeaten in five games in February, with the excellent draw in Madrid the only fixture that did not yield a victory.

Once again, it means there are plenty of candidates for our Player of the Month award and whittling the shortlist down to six names was a task in itself that generated plenty of debate.

Ultimately, we have plumped for this sextet so make your vote count here.

David De Gea is a clear contender following an outstanding run of form that includes the man-of-the-match display in the Bernabeu. The Spanish shot-stopper was also voted star man in the win at Fulham and was nominated for the prize in four of the five games.

Rafael also has two man-of-the-match gongs to his name (against Everton and QPR) and the Brazilian has been superb of late. Even when tested in the first half against Real Madrid, he recovered his composure to rediscover his usual form after the interval.

Defenders feature prominently this month with Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand both worthy of inclusion for their efforts. The experienced centre-backs played together at Loftus Road, keeping a clean sheet, and look in a formidable mood.

It's been encouraging to see Michael Carrick finally getting the recognition he deserves, as the away fans' chanting on Saturday illustrated, and his consistent work should guarantee he is in the running for the overall United Player of the Year award.

And everybody is running out of superlatives to describe Ryan Giggs' incredible longevity. The Welshman has scored in consecutive Barclays Premier League matches and is providing plenty of experience and nous to help guide the Reds through at key moments.

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