Red
Devils
Manchester United are known as "The
Red Devils". Why? I hear you ask.
Was the club founded by Salford
Satanists? The answer is no (although
when they where known as Newton
Heath they did get called "the
Heathens" which is also a bit irreligious). From the change of name in 1902, Manchester United FC were nicknamed simply
"The Reds" or "United" until the media dubbed them
"The
Busby Babes" in the mid 1950's.
However, after the Munich disaster in 1958 that name was no longer appropriate.
In the early 1960's Salford Rugby
club toured France wearing red shirts
and became known as "The Red Devils".
Manager Sir Matt Busby liked the sound of
it, thinking that a scary devil is more intimidating to opponents
than angelic babes. He declared Manchester United should
also be known as the "The Red Devils" and soon the club began incorporating the devil logo into match programmes and scarves. In 1970 the club badge was redesigned, but now with a cheeky wee devil in the centre holding a pitch-fork. The United club crest had originally been the City of Manchester coat of arms. During the mid 60's it became similar to the current design but instead of the devil in the centre it had 3 diagonal yellow lines. Click here to see the evolution of the Manchester United club badge.
The "devil badge" was incorporated onto the home shirt for the first time in 1972 after the FA recommended English clubs copyright their crests.
It has become one of the most instantly recognisable commercial symbols in the world and has remained virtually unchanged ever since - although in the mid 1980's Adidas added two football boots on each corner and in 1998 the words "Football club" were removed, much to the annoyance of die-hard fans. In the mid 1990's the club introduced the official "fun" matchday
mascot "Fred the Red" - a giant
Red Devil (who has his
own line of less-than-popular kids merchandise).
The question remains, if indeed United are in league with the
dark lord Satan then why are they
so successful and Southampton (The
Saints), Everton (A Church adjoins
their stadium) so rubbish? After
all God would surely give his teams
all the luck. Of course, Manchester United have a club Chaplain, The Rev John Boyers. Maybe he does a lot of good work to ensure that never-ending supply of last minute goals....
Robson,
Bryan
United Legend - in depth
profile and pictures
Rocca,
Louis
Louis Rocca was an immigrant Italian ice cream baron in early 20th century Manchester who may have made the ultimate
contribution to Manchester United
- the name of the club itself. In
1902 Newton
Heath were looking for a name
change and weren't too happy with
any of the suggestions. "Manchester Central" sounded too much like a railway station while "Manchester Celtic" was rejected for sounding too Irish/Scottish and was not representative of the club or city as a whole.
It wasn't until chief player scout Louis Rocca
in a moment of inspiration (probably)
uttered the words "Gentlemen, why
don't we call ourselves Manchester
United?" Or so the story goes for it is also claimed he may have just overheard the idea from elsewhere but little did he or anyone else know those
two words would dominate the lives
of millions of people and become
the world's most successful sporting
organisation.
Rocca went on to serve the club for another 30 years and at one point was joint manager. However, the question must be,
if he hadn't come up with the name
would history be different? What if Man City had been called Man Utd instead and Man Utd had adopted the name Man City? Would
the club still have been successful
if not known as United? Are people right now, in an alternare universe sitting there looking at websites called www.manroverszone.com? Or www.manwandererszone.com??????????
| Roberts,
Charlie: 1904-1913
A
half-back with great leadership
qualities from 1904-13 Roberts formed
the heart of United's first great
team. He had excellent all round
ball skills great reserves of energy and lightning pace. (could
run 100 yards in 11 seconds) His pale appearance led to his nickname of "the ghost in boots". A partnership with Alec Bell and
Dick Duckworth made the United half-back
line legendary.
Charlie was transferred to United from Grimsby Town in 1904 for £600. With United he won two League Championship medals in
1908 and 1911 and an F.A. Cup winners'
medal in 1909. He also helped reform
the Players Union which led to him
and other United players being "The
Outcasts FC" when United suspended
them for refusing to leave the Union.
In August 1913, he joined Oldham Athletic for £1,500, a record fee for the club. Roberts died in 1939 at the age of 56 in Manchester Royal Infirmary after an operation on his skull to cure "dizzy spells" he had been having. It has been suggested he died due to brain injuries caused by heading the old-style leather football.
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Nationality
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England
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Date
of Birth
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6/4/1883
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Appearances
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299
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Goals
Scored
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23
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| Robins, Mark: 1988-1992
Striker Mark Robins had a short career at Old Trafford but he scored one of the most important goals in Manchester United history. In the 1989-90 season the Reds were on a miserable run in the league including a 5-1 mauling at Manchester City. Alex Ferguson was facing the sack after three barren years. The FA Cup was his last throw of the dice. The 3rd Round was a daunting trip away to Nottingham Forest but Robins scored the vital winner in a gritty 1-0 win.
United went on to win the cup that year and Robins scored the semi-final replay winner against Oldham. Ferguson went to on to managerial greatness but Robins left for Norwich City in 1992. His goals in the 1992-93 season helped them qualify for Europe for the first time. He would go on to play for a host of clubs including Leicester City, FC Copenhagen, Reading, Manchester City and Sheffield Wednesday.
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Nationality
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England
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Date
of Birth
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22/12/1969
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Appearances
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27 (42)
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Goals
Scored
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17
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Rooney, Wayne Current
Squad player - in depth profile and pictures
| Rowley,
Jack: 1937-1955
At
his peak Jack Rowley was probably the
best striker in the country. His goals came from either his lethal
left foot or his accurate heading and on average he scored a goal every other game. Rowley was named "The Gunner" because
of his powerful shooting. Not only a goal scorer, his all round play
was excellent with him often providing
goals for others.
Rowley was signed from Bournemouth & Boscombe by United for £3,000 in 1937.
A full England international, he scored twice in
United's 4-2 FA Cup final classic
win in 1948, over Blackpool. In 1952 his 30 League goals helped
United to the First Division Championship. He retired in 1955 and later went on to manage Oldham Athletic and Ajax Amsterdam for the 1963-64 season.
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Nationality
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England
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Date
of Birth
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7/10/1920
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Appearances
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422
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Goals
Scored
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208
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