Ernest Mangnall, Manchester United manager

Ernest Mangnall was the first manager (officially club secretary) to bring success to Manchester United. In his nine seasons he won two League titles and the FA Cup. He was also the first to manage a team playing at Old Trafford. The club moved from Bank Street to Old Trafford in February 1910.

Mangnall was a Lancastrian, born in Bolton and educated at Bolton Grammar School. In his youth he was both a footballer and cyclist. He played amateur football as a goalkeeper and succeeded in riding his bike from John O’Groats to Lands End. In 1900 he became club secretary of Burnley and then, in 1903, club secretary of Manchester United. In 1903 the club was in League Division Two. Promotion was achieved in Mangnall’s third season (1905-1906) and two years later (1907-1908) Manchester United won its first League title. The following year (1908-1909) the club won the FA Cup for the first time and then the League title again two years after that (1910-1911). By 1912, Mangnall believed his team needed re-building and, in the absence of funds to do so, he resigned and moved to Manchester City. (He remains the only person to have managed both Manchester clubs.)

Mangnall can, arguably, be ranked alongside Busby and Ferguson as one of the three great Manchester United managers. He developed an unofficial scouting network to inform him of the skills and potential availability of players. He bought shrewdly. He placed great emphasis on physical fitness and was an excellent motivator. Mangnall was the first at Manchester United to have complete control of the team, he was the first to understand and use the media, and the first to take the club into Europe (a post-season tour after winning the League in 1908).