A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 

Bailey, Gary: 1978-1987 Gary Bailey kept goal for United from 1978-87. Though born in Ipswich he spent his youth in South Africa. His father was also a goalkeeper and no doubt this rubbed off on Gary for in 1978 made hsi debut for United on 18th November in a 2-0 win at home to Ipswich Town. He was a fine keeper able to pull off magnificent saves, most importantly in the last minute of the 1983 FA Cup Final when he denied Gordon Smith a winner for Brighton. His main weakness was an inability to deal with crosses. He won two FA Cup medals in 1983 and 1985 before a knee injury forced him out of the United side in 1987 in favour of Jim Leighton. Gary served under three United manager's: Dave Sexton, Ron Atkinson and Alex Ferguson. He now works as an anchor man on televison for a South African football show covering Premiership games. Nationality England Date of Birth 9/8/1958 Appearances 373 Clean sheets 160 Barthez, Fabien: 2001-2004 A World Cup winner with France in 1998 Fabien Barthez captured the French peoples imagination with his performances and the bizarre ritual in which Lauren Blanc would kiss his bald head before each game. He arrived at Old Trafford in August 2001 with a reputation for being a character with many weird eccentricities. However, his first season was a triumph as he answered all thet questions about how he would handle rainy Manchester compared to sunny Monaco. Barthez performed brilliantly throughout the season and became a real favourite with the fans. The fans loved his eccentric behaviour, his taunting dribbles and step-overs past opposing strikers, not to mention most importantly, those awesome reaction saves. Very often was it was critical saves that kept United from defeat or dropping valuable points. The 2001-2002 season was split into two parts for him. In the first half he had a nightmare. The Frenchman had always been outlandish but he seemed to be taking more risks outside his penalty area, more dribbling, more clowning than goalkeeping. Against Arsenal he made two critical errors which gave Arsenal a 3-1 win, at Anfield he gifted Liverpool a goal from a fumbled cross and at home to Deportivo made two crazy mix-ups with Wes Brown giving the Spaniards two goals. There was much speculation as to what was the source of Barthez's decline, critics urged him to be dropped and there was talk of United selling him. However, Sir Alex Ferguson had faith in his goalkeeper and stuck by him. Consequently in the second half of the season, Barthez repaired his reputation with consistent, solid performances and the spectacular saves that he was famous for. In 2002-2003 Fabien helped United create the best defensive record in the Premiership wth a more steady approach. One highlight was a fabulous save to deny Deitmar Hamann's 30 yard rocket at Anfield as United held on to win 2-1. On the downside, the Frenchman seemed to pick up a lot of injuries, noticeably in games which he had just conceded a goal. He was also widely criticised in United's exit to Real Madrid in the Champions League, especially for Ronaldo's opener which beat him to the near post. It would prove to be his last ever game as the managers patience had finally run out. Sir Alex dropped the Frenchman for the final 3 games of the season and condemned him to the reserves the following seasn as newly signed keeper Tim Howard flourished. Eventually Barthez was loaned out to Marseille in January 2004 and United released him to join the French club for free. Nationality France Date of Birth 28/6/1971 Appearances 138 Clean sheets 48 Beckham, David  United Legend - in depth profile and pictures Berg, Henning: 1997-2000 Henning Berg was a central defender with United from 1997-2000 during which time he won 2 Premier League titles in 1997,99 and the Champions League in 1999. Berg was signed from Blackburn Rovers in August 1997 for £5 Million. His aerial ability, ball-winning and positional skills as well as a composed style served United well. He regularly formed a defensive partnership with fellow Norwegian Ronny Johnsen, which was continued at International level for Norway whom Berg has played over 75 times. He most famous moment is probably the off-the-line clearances that stopped Inter Milan scoring at Old Trafford and the San Siro in the Champions League Quarter Final of 1999. Berg had his best season in 1999 but after injury failed to regain a regular first team place. After a spell on loan in December 2000 he returned to Blackburn Rovers. Nationality Norway Date of Birth 1/9/19 69 Appearances   103 (21) Goals Scored 3 Berry, Johnny: 1951-1958 An excellent crosser of the ball, with a powerful shot, Johnny Berry was a speedy right winger with excellent ball control, who won three League Championship medals in 1952, 56 and 57. Berry was one of only two players left in the side from the Championship winning team of 1952 when United triumphed in the 1956-57 season and was also an F.A. Cup finalist in 1957. He also gained four England caps. The Munich air crash meant he never played again, such was the severity of his injuries. Nationality England Date of Birth 1/6/1926 Appearances 273 Goals Scored 44 Best, George  United Legend - in depth profile and pictures Birtles, Garry: 1980-1982 Forward Garry Birtles had the unfortunate fate of being perhaps Manchester United's biggest ever flop. Deadly in front of goal with Nottingham Forest within two years of his arrival he was a European Cup winner scoring crucial goals that took the midlands team to glory. He won two back to back European Cups in 1979 and 1980 and a league title in 1978. In 1980, Dave Sexton took him to United for a record fee of £1.25 million. Birtles endured a nightmare start - He took almost an entire year from 22 October 1980 until 19 September 1981 vs Swansea City (h), to score his first United goal - 30 games. He did bag 11 more goals in his next 32 but the damage was done and a cut-price £250,000 sale back to the Forest ended the ordeal. Sexton's blunder went a big way to ensuring he soon got the sack.   Nationality England Date of Birth 27/7/1956 Appearances 63 (1) Goals Scored 12 Blanc, Laurent: 2001-2003 Sir Alex Ferguson had unsuccessfully attempted to lure veteran French defender Laurent Blanc to Old Trafford three times in the past but with the sudden departure of Jaap Stam, United needed a quick replacement with only 5 days before the Champions League transfer deadline. Finally at the 4th attempt the Frenchman signed for United on a free transfer on a one year contract on 30th August 2001. United became the ninth club of an eventful career that had began way back in 1983 and had saw him win a World Cup winners medal in 1998. United fans were at first alarmed at the arrival of a 35 year old and by his obvious lack of pace. Blanc quickly became the focus of critics as the team was badly leaking goals. But this was unfair for he didn't make a single error during that period, the problems were simply that those defenders around him were not playing well and it was easy to blame the newcomer. By the second half of the season United had solved their defensive woes and the big man was a towering presence. The Frenchman was impressive in the air, scoring four times from headed corners. It was his composure under pressure that stood out the most though, the cool-as-a-cucumber Blanc seemed to have never heard of the word "panic". United fans soon began calling him "Larry White" and he still did his famous "Barthez head kissing ritual", made famous in France 98, but only before every Champions League game. In July 2002, after coaxing by Ferguson, Laurent agreed to postpone his retirement and stay another year at Old Trafford. After playing most of the games in the first half of the 2002-2003 season, now at the age of 37, he was used him primarily as a reserve for the title run in. After winning a Premiership medal with the triumphant United team in May 2003, Blanc finally retired, bringing to a close a career lasting two decades. Nationality France Date of Birth 19/11/1965 Appearances 71 (4) Goals scored 4 Blanchflower, Jackie: 1951-1958 A midfielder, Jackie Blanchflower was an original Busby Babe. At inside-right he won a League title medal in the 1955-56 season and in the 1957 F.A. Cup final found himself playing in goal during United's 2-1 defeat to Villa (United's goalkeeper was injured and substitutions had'nt been invented yet). He helped Northern Ireland to their first ever victory over Italy in 1958, however the injuries sustained in the Munich air crash meant that he never played again. Nationality Northern Ireland Date of Birth 7/3/1933 Appearances 116 Goals Scored 27 Blomqvist, Jesper: 1998-2001 A star of Swedish football at a young age, Jesper Blomqvist arrived at Old Trafford for £4.4 million alongside Dwight Yorke and Jaap Stam in Autumn 1998. He was skilful, pacy down the wing and good at delivering accurate crosses. A regular player in the 1999 United Treble winnning team he won Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League winner medals. The highlight must have been his appearance in the Champions League final against Bayern but Jesper will always be a one season wonder. A few months afterwards he suffered a serious ankle injury and spent 2 more years at United attempting to regain his fitness before leaving the club for Everton on a free transfer in November 2001. Nationality Sweden Date of Birth 15/2/1975 Appearances 29 (9) Goals scored 1 Bosnich, Mark: 1999-2001 Goalkeeper Mark Bosnich had two spells at United, both of which proved miserable failures. As a youth player in 1989 he made only 3 appearances before being transferred to Aston Villa. There he built up a reputation as a top class stopper. He returned to United on a free transfer in 1999 to replace Peter Schmeichel. Sir Alex Ferguson did not like Bosnich's attitude, erratic form and suspect fitness. The arrival of Fabien Barthez signalled the end and Bosnich made another free-transfer move to Chelsea in January 2001 were he later failed a drugs test and was sacked. Nationality Australia Date of Birth 13/1/1972 Appearances 37 Clean Sheets 14 Brennan, Shay: 1958-1970 A former United youth team player, Full-back Shay Brennan won two League Championship medals with United in 1965 and 1967 as well as a European Cup winners' medal in 1968. Brennan became a key member of United's victorious side in the mid/late 1960's with his solid and consistent play. His ability to carry the ball forward quickly and beat opponents helped to establish him as a major asset to both his club and country. Born in Manchester, the full back was the first English-born player to play for Ireland, taking advantage of a change by FIFA to the eligibility rules. Brennan played for the Republic of Ireland 19 times. In 1986 a crowd of 10,000 attended a benefit match in Dublin to honour the legend, when Shamrock Rovers played Manchester United. Sadly he died at the age of 63 in June 2000. Nationality Republic of Ireland Date of Birth 6/5/1937 Appearances 355 (1) Goals Scored 6 Brown, Wes  Current Squad player - in depth profile and pictures Bruce, Steve  United Legend - in depth profile and pictures Buchan, Martin: 1972-1983 Buchan cost a record £125,000 but was worth every penny. Frank O'Farrell brought him to England from Aberdeen in March 1972 to form the cornerstone of a new United defence. By then, though still only 23, Martin had played for his country, captained his club, won a Scottish Cup medal and been voted Scottish player of the year. For a man of quality and maturity beyond his years, United gladly paid the £125,000, and rarely have they struck a better bargain. He saw the club through the bad times of relegation and the good times of winning the 1977 FA Cup in which he was exceptional during the final versus Liverpool in United's 2-1 victory. After 1977 United were back challenging at the top of the first division again, though title glory remained elusive. Buchan was to spend over 11 years at Old Trafford, 6 of them as captain. He played in three cup finals, eventually leaving in 1983 after injury problems cost him his first team place. For a decade the Scotsman stood alone as Manchester United's most important player. The Aberdeen man must go down as one of United's greatest captains, a cool, classy defender and a great leader. Nationality Scotland Date of Birth 6/3/1949 Appearances 455 Goals Scored 4 Busby, Sir Matt  United Legend - in depth profile and pictures  Busby Babes Manchester, Manchester United, A bunch of bouncing Busby Babes, They deserve to be knighted. If ever they're playing in your town, You must get to that football ground, Take a look and you will see, Football taught by Matt Busby. In 1953 Sir Matt Busby threw the management rulebook out the window and replaced most of his senior first team stars with youth players. He filled United's first team, who had won the League in 1952, with seven youth starlets in a First Division match at Huddersfield Town in October 1953. Young, bright and exciting, the legendary Busby Babes were born as this team of mainly youngsters took the league by storm and brought a breath of optimistic fresh air to austere post-war England. The Babes featured such great talents as Bobby Charlton , Duncan Edwards , Roger Byrne, Eddie Colman , Dennis Viollet , Tommy Taylor , Bill Foulkes and Jackie Blanchflower. They were a brilliant and devastating team whose games were full of goals and fans flocked to see their attacking, flowing football. The Babes set the standard for the "United way" of playing still evident today. Two League titles followed in 1956, and 1957. Busby's side narrowly missed out on the League and Cup double in 1957 when they were robbed in the FA Cup final to Aston Villa. United had to play with virtually 10 men for the 84 minutes after goalkeeper Ray Wood was rendered unconscious with a broken cheekbone from a brutal Peter McParland bodycheck. The visionary Busby had also created a stir by entering Manchester United into the European Champions Cup. In the 1957 they had reached the semi-final and were only elimated by the great Real Madrid team who went on to lift the trophy. The 1957-58 season saw Busby's team determined to go one step further, reach the final and become champions of Europe. United were also looking to make it a third League title in a row come May 1958. The average age of the United side was only 22 in August 1957. On February 6th 1958 after having successfully progessed to the European Cup Semi-final tie after drawing 3-3 with Red Star Belgrade the United players were returning home when tragedy struck. The plane carrying the team crashed at Munich airport killing many of the aircraft's passengers, including eight of the players and severely injuring Matt Busby. The famous Busby Babes were gone. It was and remains to this day one of football's worst tragedies. The team had been almost wiped out and the world was forever robbed of great players like Edwards and Taylor. People will be forever left wondering what might have been and what the team could have went on to accomplish. There can be no doubt the Munich disaster and death of the Busby Babes formed an integral part in making the Manchester United the world's most famous football club. Of course, Busby rebuilt the club again and another fantastic team won the 1968 European Cup but the legacy of the Babes and Munich was never and never will be forgotten. The team that lined up in the final game with Red Star Belgrade before the fatal crash was: Harry Gregg, Bill Foulkes, Roger Byrne, Duncan Edwards, Mark Jones, Eddie Colman, Kenny Morgans, Bobby Charlton, Tommy Taylor, Denis Viollet and Albert Scanlon. Other squad members present who did not play (as there were no substitutions in that era) were Jackie Blanchflower, Geoff Bent, Billy Whelan, Ray Wood, David Pegg and Johnny Berry. Edwards, Byrne, Colman, Pegg, Bent, Jones, Taylor and Whelan died in the crash, while, of the survivors Berry and Blanchflower would never play football again. Report: The story of the Munich Air Disaster  Butt, Nicky: 1991-2004 Nicky Butt signed for Manchester United as a trainee in July 1991 after playing for Oldham and Greater Manchester Schoolboys. He was a part of the successful FA Youth Cup side in 1992, scoring twice in the first leg of the final against Crystal Palace. His first team debut came on 21st November 1992, as a 65th minute substitute for Paul Ince against Oldham Athletic. By the end of the 1994-95 season he had earned himself a place in the starting line up for the FA Cup Final, but finished with a runners-up medal after losing 1-0 to Everton. Twelve months later Butt was to collect a winners' medal in the 1996 FA Cup Final, completing a League and Cup double for himself and the Reds. When Roy Keane was absent through injury in 1997, Butt was outstanding in central midfield alongside Ronny Johnsen. Butt's hard tackling style made him primarily a defensive midfielder rather than creator. His role was of a classic fetcher and carrier, covering every blade of grass but he also boasted clever passing skills and could make timely runs into the box. The 1998-99 Treble season saw less starting apprearances yet he still had an excellent year with great display's against Leeds, Juventus, Liverpool and Arsenal. When Keane and Scholes were both suspended for the 1999 Champions League Final, Butt became invaluable as the only available central midfielder, however it meant he wasn't risked for the FA Cup Final. In In 1999-2000 he started 21 games and was a sub 11 times so he certainly played a significant role in the title truimph. Butt scored an important last minute equaliser away at Sunderland as well as goals against Derby, Vasco and home to Sunderland. The following season he scored his first European goal, a belter at home to Sturm Graz and featured in 41 games of United's successful Premiership winning season. Sven Goran Eriksson also called Butt up to the England squad where he played against Albania, Spain and Finland. In 2001-2002 Butt had an excellent season starting 31 games and took on an increasingly important role as anchor man in the United midfield. Many had predicted the arrival of Juan Sebastian Veron would mean the end of Nicky's Old Trafford career but he proved the critics wrong with consistent high quality performances (something Veron was unable to do). Consequently he also played more international games and made the England World Cup squad for Japan/Korea 2002. His performances in the World Cup games were outstanding, in fact, the great Pele even said that Butt was the player of the tournament and he received high praise from fans and pundits alike. Ironically it was an ankle injury sustained while playing for England against Macedonia that disrupted his season in 2002-2003. However, after Feburary, Butt was a back as a regular fixture in the starting eleven providing his brand of steel and energy in the United engine room. In his final season he was restricted to more subsitute appearances and was obviously unhappy at sitting on the bench. Djemba-Djemba, Kleberson and the newly converted holding-man, Phil Neville, meant the Reds had a surplus of defensive midfielders. Rumours of a transfer to Middlesbrough or Birmingham began and a move looked on the cards in January 2004. Butt decided to fight for his place but eventually had to admit defeat - he was no longer guaranteed first team football. In July 2004 Butt made a £2.5 million move to Newcastle United ending 13 years at Old Trafford and so marking the departure of another of the homegrown stars that produced so much success for the club in the last decade. Nationality England Date of Birth 21/1/1975 Appearances 298 (79) Goals Scored 23 Byrne, Roger  United Legend - in depth profile and pictures