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| Sadler,
David: 1963-1974
As
a player Sadler was by far one of the most versatile
in Sir Matt Busby's squad. He was initially signed as an
inside-forward, but could perform competently in almost
any position, though will be remembered mainly as a
centre-half in the heart of the defence.
In this role Sadler had an excellent understanding of
the game and was also good passer of the ball. In addition
to international honours he collected a League Championship
medal in 1967 and a European Cup winner's medal in 1968. Sadler left United in 1974 to join Preston North End. He currently writes a column for the MEN
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Nationality
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England
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Date of Birth
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5/2/1946
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Appearances
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326 (7)
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Goals Scored
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27
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Saha,
Louis Current
Squad player - in depth profile and pictures
Schmeichel, Peter
United
Legend - in depth profile and pictures
Scholes,
Paul Current
Squad player - in depth profile and pictures
Scotland
Where
would Manchester United be without Scotland? The clubs two greatest
ever managers Sir
Alex Ferguson and Sir
Matt Busby are both products of working class Glasgow and
have done more to shape the club than any other. Both have produced
United's two great era's of sucess and made the club the force
it is today in world football.
As one of Europe's smallest football nations they have always punched above their weight with the national side reaching eight World Cup finals and two European Championships. On a club level they have produced two of the Europe's biggest clubs in Rangers and Celtic. Scotland once had three of the biggest stadiums in the world with Hampden Park, Ibrox Park and Celtic Park all holding over 100,000 people.
Great Scottish United players include: Denis Law, Brian McClair, Paddy Crerand, Martin Buchan, Lou Macari, Sandy Turnbull, Gordon Strachan and many more have been excellent servants for United. Indeed the club was awash with Scots in the 1970's with Joe Jordan, Gordon McQueen, Stewart Houston, Jim Holton, Willie Morgan and George Graham alongside Buchan, Macari and Scottish manager Tommy Docherty.
The lack of Scottish players in the current United squad (Darren Fletcher is the only regular since Brian McClair) and England in general
perhaps shows the decline in Scottish football since the mid
80's.
| Sealey, Les: 1989-1991 & 1993-1994
East London born goalkeeper Les Sealey, made his name at Luton Town in the 1980's but he fell out of favour at Kenilworth Road in 1989. This prompted a loan move to United in December 1989. He made two league appearances during the final weeks of the season. But after a shaky display from Jim Leighton in the 3-3 1990 FA Cup final vs Crystal Palace, Sir Alex Ferguson stunned everyone when he gave Sealey the No.1 shirt for the replay. He made some impressive saves to help his side win 1-0.
Sealey is rumoured to have given his medal to Leighton but it was refused, the Scot already claimed a winners medal anyway for playing in the first game. United signed Les on a permanent basis and he was their regular goalkeeper throughout the 1990-91 season, most importantly keeping goal in their League Cup final and Cup Winners' Cup victory over Barcelona.
The arrival of Peter Schmeichel in the summer of 1991 signalled the end of Sealey's United career and he left for Aston Villa. In 1993 he returned to Manchester United on a free transfer, this time as Peter Schmeichel's understudy. Fans were shocked when at the age of 43 Sealey died of a heart attack on August 19, 2001.
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Nationality
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England
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Date of Birth
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29/9/1957
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Appearances
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31
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Clean sheets
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19
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Season ticket
Manchester United currently have 57,000 season ticket holders at Old Trafford. They are divided into three catagories: a Season Ticket, a LMTB League Match Ticket Book and a One Season Ticket. A LMTB gives no priority for cup tickets such as FA Cup and Champions League whereas a Season Ticket covers the lot. A One Season Ticket enables fans to buy a ticket to watch home games for one season only and also be given the opportunity to buy a proper season ticket later down the line should the chance arise.
The cheapest adult seat is £437 (West/East Stand Lower) the dearest £703 (North/South Stand Upper Wings). There is currently a waiting list for One United members to become a season ticket holder but it is nowhere near as long as it used to be what with the Glazer takeover, increased stadium capacity and inflated prices forcing down demand. Also the Automatic Cup Scheme introduced in 2007 requires all season ticket holders to buy tickets for cup and European matches wether they want to or not and this has proved highly unpopular to say the least.
Sexton,
Dave: 1977-1981 
Tommy Docherty's successor in 1977
was Chelsea manager Dave Sexton, the club's fourth manager in
just eight years. In contrast to the outgoing, brash Doc, Sexton
was a quiet introvert, a thinker. He had guided Chelsea to FA
Cup success over Leeds in 1970, as well as to the European Cup-winners’
Cup Final the following year. Sexton also won much admiration for taking unfancied QPR
to the brink of the League Championship in 1975-76 only to be denied on the final day of the season by Liverpool.
He was seen as a safe pair of hands and many compared his kindly demeanor to Busby - but that's were the
similarity ended. It was a case of so near and yet so far for
Sexton, he took United to the 1979 Cup final while in 1980 they
lost out on the title to Liverpool on the last day of the season.
Such painful defeats were hard to handle and United fans grew
unhappy with Sexton's cautious, slightly dour style of play and his lack of communication skills. The final straw was when he bought striker and super-flop Garry Birtles
for £1 million, who failed to score in his first 30 games.
The ghost of Birtles failure would haunt United strikers for
over a decade. With this millstone around his neck, Sexton's reputation was damaged beyond repair. Even though he won his final seven games in charge he was still sacked in April 1981. United wanted a man with a big personality once again, a man similar in character to Docherty and his name would be Ron Atkinson.
Shareholders United
Founded in 1998 as 'Shareholders United Against Murdoch' Shareholders United was
a non-profit, democratic (elected Directors and Committee)
and non-party political organisation. The original aim was to maintain the independence
of Manchester United by having supporters
of the club buying up all the shares. The logic being if United were controlled by the fans
it would be better for everybody as it would keep any money
generated within Old Trafford.
A billionaire owner
like Malcolm Glazer is unlikely to have United's best interests
at heart, nor does the majority of shareholders who are after
one thing - profit. Given the fact that there are no more public shares in the club after the Glazer takeover SU became MUST (Manchester United Supporters Trust) in May 2005 and has vowed to continue the fight against the hated American.
MUST Manchester United supporters trust
Sharp Electronics
Japanese Electonics giant Sharp were Manchester United's main
club sponsors from 1982-2000. The sight of the name "Sharp"
on the red shirt became synonymous with United. It is extremely
rare for a football club to have a single shirt sponsor for
as long a period of time as 18 years. Vodafone
took over in July 2000 in a multi-million pound deal.
| Sharpe,
Lee: 1988-1996
Bought
from Torquay in 1988 for £185,000, Lee Sharpe
would have been a regular first team player were it
not for injury and Ryan
Giggs who also played on Sharpe's
prefared left-wing position.
However, he managed to win a lot of medals anyway: The
1991 Cup Winners Cup,1992 League Cup, the 1993,1994,1996
Premier League and 1994 F.A.Cup. He was famous for doing
an Elvis impersonation at the corner flag when he scored
a goal and for getting lots of fan mail from female admirers.
Illlness sidelinded him for much of the 1996 season
and the emergence of David Beckham and Paul Scholes
left little place for him in the Old Trafford first
team. In the summer of 1996 Sharpe was sold to Leeds United for £4.5
million where he stuggled with injury problems. He played for Bradford City and then a number of smaller clubs. Eventally injury
took its toll and he was forced to retire from top flight
football in 2003. He has since went on to become a reality TV star and media personality.
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Nationality
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England
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Date
of Birth
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25/5/1971
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Appearances
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212
(50)
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Goals
Scored
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36
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Sheringham,
Teddy United
Legend - in depth profile and pictures
Silvestre,
Mikael Current
Squad player - in depth profile and pictures
Solskjaer,
Ole Gunnar United
Legend - in depth profile and pictures
| Spence,
Joe: 1918-1933
Born in Throckley, Northumberland, Joe Spence played for United between 1918 and 1933. He signed for United from north-east amateur side, Scotswood and scored four in a 5-1 Lancashire Section drubbing of Bury at Old Trafford on his debut. He was a forward who liked to attack down the wing but was unfortunate to be at Old Trafford during such a barren period in the club's history. The crowd loved his genial skills and popularised the chant "Give it to Joe" as Spence was the undoubted star of the team.
He remains among the top 10 appearance makers for the club and his 481 league games was a record that stood for 40 years until surpassed by Bill Foulkes. Joe later returned to work for United in a coaching and scouting role.
He is currently 6th on the all-time list for goals with 168 and 7th for appearances with 510.
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Nationality
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England
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Date
of Birth
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5/12/1898
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Appearances
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510
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Goals
Scored
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168
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Stam,
Jaap United
Legend - in depth profile and pictures
| Stapleton,
Frank: 1981-1987
Frank
Stapleton was a top class striker who while popular
with the fans was not as prolific a scorer as everyone
hoped. He was Ron Atkinson's first major signing after
his £900,000 transfer from Arsenal in 1981. However his creative play and passing often created
goals for his other team mates and he finished United's
top league scorer in his first 3 seasons.
Frank was an especially lethal finisher with his head. In his
United career he played alongside Gary Birtles, Norman
Whiteside and Mark Hughes. He also won two FA Cup winners' medals in 1983 and 1985,
scoring in the 1983 final and was captain of the Republic
of Ireland.
With Atkinson's United slumped at the foot
of the table in 1986, Alex Ferguson's arrival signalled
the beginning of the end for the Irishman. He was sold
to Ajax Amsterdam in 1987 and went on to captain Ireland in the 1988 European Championship finals, including a famous 1-0 victory over England. Today he works as a media pundit for Sky and Talksport.
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Nationality
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Republic
of Ireland
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Date
of Birth
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10/7/1956
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Appearances
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265
(21)
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Goals
Scored
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78
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| Stepney,
Alex: 1966-1978
Goalkeeper
Alex Stepney joined Manchester United in August 1966
from Chelsea for £55,000, a then world record fee for
a goalkeeper
He was United's reliable last line of defence from 1966-78.
14 clean sheets in 34 league appearances helped United
to the League Championship in 1967. He appeared in goal
for United in the 1968 European Cup final and will always
be remembered for his vital save from the great Eusebio
minutes from time with the score at 1-1.
The great Portuguese striker already with a goal to
his name, was through one on one with Stepney but blasted
his shot low and at the United keeper.
In his United career he won both League title and European
Cup winners medals and is the club's all-time top scoring
goalkeeper - he converted two penalties in 1973-74 season.
After losing his first team place in the early 70's
he regained it and set a then record of 92 consecutive
appearances. He was first choice until 1978 when injury
problems struck and he eventually left Old Trafford
to play football in the USA.
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Nationality
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England
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Date
of Birth
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8/9/1942
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Appearances
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535
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Clean
sheets
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175
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| Strachan,
Gordon: 1984-1989
Gordon
Strachen was a fiesty pint-sized midfielder in the mid-eighties
for United. Ron Atkinson signed
him for £600,000 in 1984 from Aberdeen were he
had won two Scottish League titles, the Scottish FA
Cup three times, the European Cup Winners' Cup and the
European Super Cup.
At Old Trafford he was had to settle for
an FA Cup winners medal in 1985 were he played alongside
Bryan Robson in central midfield. Reunited with Ferguson
when the manager also made the move from Aberdeen to
Manchester in 1986, their relationship eventually turned
sour. Nonetheless it was a surprise to fans when he was sold in 1988
to Leeds United, where he got revenge by winning a League Championship
medal in 1992 at Ferguson's expense.
After managing Coventry City he became manager of
Southampton and led them to the FA Cup Final in 2003. After taking two years out of management he recently took the job of manager at Celtic were he has won two SPL titles. An ongoing feud has developed between Strachen and Sir Alex Ferguson after Fergie accused him of being highly untrustworthy in his autobiography.
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Nationality
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Scotland
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Date
of Birth
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9/2/1957
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Appearances
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195
(6)
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Goals
Scored
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38
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Stretford End 
The west side of Old Trafford for most fans, will always be the legendary Stretford End - so called because the Stretford area of Manchester lies directly behind it. Despite being little more than a large shed this was a much loved and subsequently missed piece of architecture. Once a modest open terrace, a roof was added and the terracing expanded in 1960. In the Sixties it came into its own. Crammed behind the goal was a heaving mass of almost 20,000 standing United fans who were amongst the loudest in Britain.
It was once measured that the roar from the crowd was louder than a Jumbo Jet taking off. The Stretty also had a seating area (wooden seats!!!) behind the terracing called E Stand. In its final years the roof sported a huge blue advertising banner proclaiming "Wonderfuel Gas".
After the Hillsborough disaster of 1989 the Government demanded standing at football gorunds should be phased out. The last game played in front of the famous old terrace was a 3-1 win over Spurs on 2nd May 1992. A new £10 million all-seater cantilever stand was completed for the start of the 1993-94 season and had a family seating area.
In August 2000 a second tier of seating was added to the stand. You can also see many banners draped over the upper deck, created by United fans to celebrate past history and taunt rivals. A statue of 60's striker Denis Law in the upper concourse was placed there in 2002 - Law was known as "The King of The Stretford End". When United's sponsorship deal with Vodafone ended in 2006 the words "Stretford End" were painted on the seats. It still remains the loudest part of the stadium for noise and singing.
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