1986-1987, Manchester United season

The 1986-1987 season saw the beginning of a new era in the history of Manchester United. On 6 November 1986 Alex Ferguson, then of Aberdeen, was appointed manager following the sacking of Ron Atkinson.

The season began badly. Six of the first eight league games were lost and, by the beginning of November, the club was nearly at the bottom of the league. On 4 November, they were then knocked-out of the League Cup, with a miserable performance at Southampton leading to a 4-1 defeat. Despite resisting Atkinson’s offer to resign at the end of the previous season, the board now took the initiative and, following the defeat at Southampton, the manager was dismissed. Alex Ferguson was appointed in his place, and enthusiastically began what was to prove an enormously demanding job.Much needed to change at Old Trafford if Manchester United wasn’t to remain an under-achieving club. The first task - avoiding relegation - was achieved when improved results left the club in mid-table at the end of the season. Ron Atkinson’s last signing, Peter Davenport from Nottingham Forest, was the club’s top scorer.

Manchester United did no better in the FA Cup than in the League Cup, losing at home to Coventry City in the fourth round. The third round provided the new manager with his first Manchester derby. United beat City 1-0 at Old Trafford. The new manager also achieved early success against arch-rivals Liverpool. In Ferguson’s first season, Manchester United beat Liverpool 1-0, both home and away.

From the beginning, Ferguson brought to the club a more disciplined and demanding regime. With his assistant Archie Knox (brought with him from Aberdeen) he introduced new training routines which greatly improved levels of fitness. By the end of his first season, Ferguson knew that player changes were also necessary. After a further couple of seasons, only five of the players he originally inherited remained at the club.