Manchester United F.C.

Belgian Second Division. The slimming of the logo reflected both lower-profile, smaller tyres on sport compact automobiles and a more athletic, slimmer, and trimmer Bib. League Two. By the 1980's, Bibendum was being shown as a running Bib, and in 1998, a slimmed-down version became the company's new logo; his vision had improved, and he had long since given up smoking. League One. O'Galop's logo was based on bicycle tyres, and wore glasses and smoked a cigar. League Championship. His shape has changed over the years.

Premier League. The name of the plump tyre-man has entered the language to describe the appearance of someone obese or wearing comically bulky clothing: "How can I wrap up warm without looking like the Michelin Man?". As of February 1, 2006. At the latest, it was in 1908, when Michelin commissioned Curnonsky to write a newspaper column signed "Bibendum". Although the full effects of Glazer's takeover on the club's support are not yet known, the club has claimed a record number of season ticket sales, however, given the many empty seats in the ground in some European games and lack of freedom of information from the club, this is as yet unverified. It is unclear when the word "Bibendum" came to be the name of the character himself. The new club plays in the North West Counties League Second Division, and attracts an average attendance of almost 3000. The 1898 poster showed him offering the toast Nunc est bibendum ("Cheers!" in Latin) to his scrawny competitors with a glass full of road hazards, with the title and the tag "'À votre santé': Le pneu Michelin boit l'obstacle" ('Cheers!': The Michelin tire drinks/soaks up obstacles).

United of Manchester. Today, Bibendum is one of the world's most recognized trademarks, representing Michelin in over 150 countries. Many supporters were outraged, and some formed a new club called F.C. André Michelin apparently commissioned the creation of this jolly, rotund figure after his brother, Édouard, observed that a display of stacked tyres resembled a human form. However, this scheme failed to prevent Malcolm Glazer from becoming the majority shareholder in the club. The company's symbol is Bibendum, the Michelin Man, introduced in 1898 by French artist O'Galop (pseudonym of Marius Rossillon), and one of the world's oldest trademarks. Another pressure group, Shareholders United Against Murdoch (which became Shareholders United and is now the Manchester United Supporters Trust) was formed at around this time to encourage supporters to buy shares in the club, partly to enable supporters to have a greater say in the issues that concern them, such as ticket prices and allocation, and partly to reduce the risk of an unwanted party buying enough shares to take over the club. [2].

The supporters’ group IMUSA (Independent Manchester United Supporters' Association) were extremely active in opposing a proposed takeover by Rupert Murdoch in 1999. In December 2005 and as a result of the difficult relationship with the sport's governing body, Michelin announced they will not extend their involvement in Formula One beyond the 2006 season. In the late 1990s and early part of the 2000s, an increasing source of concern for many United supporters was the possibility of the club being taken over. Michelin criticised the move claiming "this event illustrates F1's problems of incoherent decision-making and lack of transparency." [1]. The club estimates they have 675 million fans around the world, with 80 million fans in Asia alone. In a public rebuke FIA President Max Mosley wrote "There are simple arguments for a single tyre and if [Michelin boss Edouard Michelin] is not aware of this he shows an almost comical lack of knowledge of modern Formula One." Another disagreement has been the reintroduction of tyre changes during pit-stops from 2006. A 2002 report, Do You Come From Manchester? indicate that Manchester City, have a higher proportion of season ticket holders living in the Manchester area, althogh they sold fewer season tickets overall. Michelin criticised the FIA's intention to move to a single source (i.e one brand) tyre from 2008 and threatened to withdraw from the sport.

This swelled United’s support and is one reason why United have had the highest league attendances in English football for almost every season since then, even as a second division side in 1974-75. The most high profile disagreement was the United States Grand Prix and the acrimony afterwards. Following the Munich air disaster in 1958, more people from outside Manchester began to support United and, as travel became quicker and cheaper, many started to go to matches. Michelin have had a difficult relationship with the sport's governing body (the FIA) since around 2003 and this escalated to apparent disdain between the two parties during the 2005 season. When United won the league in 1956, they had the highest average home attendance in the league, a record that had been held by Newcastle for the previous few years. Additionally, they announced that they would provide 20,000 complimentary tickets for the 2006 race to spectators who had attended the 2005 event. After the war, a stronger rivalry developed and it became more common for a supporter to choose one team to follow exclusively. The company committed to refunding the price of all tickets for the race.

As United and City played home matches on alternate Saturdays, many Mancunians would watch United one week and City the next. On June 28, Michelin announced that it would offer compensation to all race fans who had purchased tickets for the Grand Prix. Before the Second World War, few English football supporters travelled to away games because of the time and cost. Following the 2005 United States Grand Prix, where Michelin would not allow the Formula One teams it supplies to race due to safety concerns, Michelin's share price fell by 2.5% (though it recovered later the same day). The Glazers have promised that Sir Alex Ferguson will still be able to purchase "big-name" players. Michelin in contrast had much more testing and race data due to the larger number of teams running their tyres. Some United fans have expressed concern that in the fallout from the Glazer takeover, which left the club £265 million in debt, Manchester United will no longer have the money to compete in the transfer market with the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Chelsea. This was in part due to new regulations stating that tyres must last the whole race distance (and qualifying) and also due to the fact with only one top team running Bridgestone tyres (Ferrari), they alone were responsible for much of the development work.

On 7 June he appointed his sons Joel, Avram, and Bryan to the board with Joel becoming Exectuive Co Chairman, Avram Non Exective Co Chairman and Bryan a Non Executive Director, at the same time Sir Roy Gardner resigned the chairmanship, and two other non-executive directors resigned. Michelin's tyres were initially uncompetitive compared to rival Bridgestone's, however by 2005 Michelin were totally dominant. On May 16, he increased his share to the 75% necessary to delist the club from the Stock Exchange, taking it private again, and announced his intention to do so within 20 days. Toyota joined F1 in 2002 with Michelin tyres and McLaren and Minardi also signed up with the company. On May 12, 2005, the United States businessman Malcolm Glazer acquired a controlling interest in the club in a takeover valuing it at approximately £800 million ($1.47 billion). In that first year they supplied Williams, Jaguar, Benetton (renamed Renault in 2002) and Prost.
. Michelin stopped supplying Formula One teams in 1984 but returned to Formula One in 2001.

United made a poor start to the 2005-06 season, with team captain Roy Keane leaving the club to join his boyhood heroes Celtic after publicly criticising several of his teammates, and the club failed to qualify for the knock-out phase of the UEFA Champions League for the first time in over a decade. Two years later, they bought out Uniroyal Inc., a business founded in 1892 as the United States Rubber Company. Off the pitch, the main story was the possibility of the club being taken over and at the end of the season, Tampa businessman Malcolm Glazer acquired a controlling interest in the club. Goodrich Company founded in 1870. Cup eluded them — although they completely outplayed Arsenal in one of the most one-sided finals ever seen they were beaten on penalties. In 1988, Michelin acquired the tyre and rubber manufacturing divisions of the American B.F. This time, even the "consolation prize" of the F.A. Michelin owned the automobile manufacturer Citroën between 1934 and 1976.

The 2004-05 season was characterised by a failure to score goals, mainly due to the injury of striker Ruud van Nistelrooy and United finished the season trophyless and in third place in the league. Incorporated on May 28, 1889, Michelin's activities date back to 1830 in vulcanized rubber, before they moved into tyres for bicycles and later for cars. Cup, however, knocking out Arsenal (that season's eventual champions) on their way to the final. . They did win the 2004 F.A. The tyre manufacturing subsidiary is officially called Manufacture Française des Pneumatiques Michelin, "Michelin tyre manufacturing company of France". They regained the league the following season (2002-03) and started the following season well, but their form dropped significantly when Rio Ferdinand received an eight month suspension for missing a drugs test. However, it is also famous for for its Red and Green travel guides, for the Michelin stars the Red Guide awards to restaurants for their cooking, for its road maps, and for its historic emblem Bibendum, the Michelin Man.

Ferguson adopted more defensive tactics to make United harder to beat in Europe but it was not a success and United finished the season in third place in 2002. Michelin (full name: Compagnie Générale des Établissements Michelin) (Euronext: ML) based in Clermont-Ferrand, France in the Auvergne région of France, is primarily a tyre manufacturer. United won the league by record margins in 2000 and 2001 but the press saw these seasons as failures as they failed to regain the European Cup. Ferguson was knighted for his contributions to British football as a result. (See The Treble for an explanation of different types of "Treble" or Manchester United Treble for a more in-depth look at the 1998-1999 season.) The final of the Champions League, widely regarded as the one of the greatest finals ever, was especially exciting as United were trailing 1-0 with one minute to go, but two goals in stoppage time gave them a win over Bayern Munich (The only team ever to have come from behind to win a Champions League final in normal time.) The club's first choice central-midfielders, Roy Keane and Paul Scholes, missed the match through suspension.

1998-99 was the most successful season in the club's history as United became the first English team to win The Treble - the league, the FA Cup and the Champions League in the same season. They started the following season (1997-98) well but their results were affected by a series of injuries and they finished the season in second place, behind the double winning champions Arsenal. They won the league in 1997, and Eric Cantona, announced his retirement from football at the age of 30, several years earlier than most players. Ferguson then outraged the supporters by selling key players and replacing them with players from the club's youth team, but the new players, several of whom quickly became regular internationals, did surprisingly well and United won the double again in 1995-96.

Drawing their last league match and losing to Everton in the FA Cup final left United as runners-up in both the league and FA Cup. In 1994-95, Cantona received an eight month suspension for jumping into the crowd and assulting Crystal Palace supporter Matthew Simmons. They won the double (the league and the FA Cup) for the first time the following season, but legendary manager and club president Matt Busby died that year, on 20 January 1994. The arrival of Eric Cantona in November 1992 provided the crucial spark for United, and they finished the 1992-93 season as Champions for the first time since 1967.

Meanwhile in 1991 the club had floated on the London Stock Exchange with a valuation of £18 million, thus bringing its finances into the public eye as never before. United won the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1990-91, beating that season's Spanish champions Barcelona in the final, but the following season was a disappointment for United as a late season slump saw them miss out on the league to rivals Leeds United. There was speculation that Ferguson would be sacked at the beginning of 1990 but a win in the third round of the FA Cup over Nottingham Forest kept the season alive and United went on to win the competition. However, United struggled badly throughout 1989, with many of Ferguson's signings not reaching the expectations of the fans.

The following season (1987-88), United finished second, with Brian McClair becoming the first United player since George Best to score twenty league goals in a season. Alex Ferguson replaced Atkinson and guided the club to an 11th place finish. The poor form continued into the following season, and with United on the edge of the First Division's relegation zone, Atkinson was sacked. The team's form collapsed, however, and United finished the season in fourth place.

United won the FA Cup in 1983 and 1985 and were overwhelming favourites to win the league in the 1985-86 season after winning their first ten league games, opening a ten-point gap over their rivals as early as October. Atkinson's team featured new signings such as Jesper Olsen and Gordon Strachan playing alongside the former youth-team players Norman Whiteside and Mark Hughes. He was replaced by the flamboyant Ron Atkinson who immediately broke the British record transfer fee to sign Bryan Robson from West Brom. This style was unpopular with supporters, who were used to the attacking football preferred by Docherty and Busby, and after failing to win a trophy Sexton was sacked in 1981.

Dave Sexton replaced Docherty as manager in the summer of 1977, and made the team play in a more defensive formation. In spite of this success, and his popularity with the supporters, Docherty was sacked soon after the final when he was found to have had an affair with the physiotherapist's wife. They reached the final again in 1977, beating Liverpool and preventing their opponents from completing the first ever treble, which United would go on to win in 1999. The team won promotion at the first attempt and reached the FA Cup final in 1976, but were beaten by Southampton.

Docherty, or 'the Doc', saved United from relegation that season but United were relegated in 1974. United struggled to replace Busby, and the team struggled under Wilf McGuinness and Frank O'Farrell before Tommy Docherty became manager at the end of 1972. Busby resigned as manager in 1969 and was replaced by the reserve-team coach and former United player Wilf McGuinness. This team was notable for containing three European Footballers of the Year: Bobby Charlton, Denis Law and George Best.

The team won the FA Cup in 1963, then won the league in 1965 and 1967 and the European Cup in 1968, the first English Club to do so. Busby rebuilt the team throughout the early 1960s, signing players such as Denis Law and Pat Crerand. They somehow reached the FA Cup final again, where they lost to Bolton. There was talk of the club folding but, with Jimmy Murphy taking over as manager while Matt Busby recovered from his injuries, the club continued playing with a makeshift side.

The Munich air disaster of 6 February 1958 claimed the lives of eight players and another fifteen passengers. Tragedy struck the following season, when the plane carrying the team home from a European Cup match crashed on take off at a refuelling stop in Munich. They also became the first English team to compete in the European Cup, and reached the semi-final. The following season, they won the league again and reached the FA Cup final, losing to Aston Villa.

He adopted a policy of bringing in players from the youth team whenever possible, and the team won the league in 1956 with an average age of only 22. He was immediately successful, with the club finishing second in the league in 1947 and winning the FA Cup in 1948. Matt Busby was appointed manager in 1945 and took a then-unheard of approach to his job, joining the players for training as well as performing administrative tasks. The team struggled between the first and second world wars, and by time the second world war began they were £70,000 in debt.

They won the Championship for the second time in 1911. Then with financial assistance from Davies, United moved from Bank Street to a new stadium at Old Trafford in 1910. With their new name, they won the league in 1908 and the FA Cup on April 26, 1909 against Bristol City at Crystal Palace. Davies who paid off the club's debts and changed the name to Manchester United, changing the team's colours from gold and green to red and white.

The club faced bankruptcy in 1902 and was rescued by J.H. The earliest known film of Manchester United is the 2–0 victory at Burnley on 6 December 1902, filmed by Mitchell and Kenyon. They were founder members of the Football Alliance in 1889 and joined the Football League in 1892 when it merged with the Football Alliance. The name was soon shortened to Newton Heath.

The club were formed as Newton Heath (Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway) (Newton Heath (L&YR) for short) by a group of Manchester railway workers in 1878. Manchester was founded by someone who cheats!! All they can do is cheat! Van Nistlerooy stop diving save that for swimming!. . An attempted takeover by Rupert Murdoch had been blocked by the British Government in 1999, but in 2005 Malcolm Glazer completed a hostile takeover of the club, despite considerable protests from many of United's supporters.

The club had been run as a Public Limited Company since 1991, and a takeover was a real possiblility. In 1999, Manchester United became the first team to win the FA Premier League, the FA Cup and the European Cup in the same season — a record that has still not been equalled. The club did not see great success again until the 1990s and early 2000s, when Sir Alex Ferguson guided them to eight league championships in eleven years. It was thought that the club might fold, but once Busby had recovered from his injuries he built another great team which went on to win the football league in 1965 and 1967, and became the first English winners of the European Cup in 1968.

This success was halted by the Munich air disaster of 1958, in which eight of the club's players died. United appointed Sir Matt Busby as manager after the Second World War, and his then-unheard-of policy of producing most of the players through the club's youth team brought great success, with the club winning the Football League in 1956 and 1957. Davies who changed its name to Manchester United. After nearing bankuptcy in 1902, the club was taken over by J.H.

The club was formed as Newton Heath (L & Y.R.) F.C. in 1878 as the works team of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway depot at Newton Heath. The club has had the highest average attendance in English football for the majority of the past fifty seasons. The club is one of the most successful clubs in England, having won the FA Premier League/Football League fifteen times, FA Cup eleven times and the European Cup/UEFA Champions League twice. Manchester United Football Club is an English football club, based at Old Trafford Football Ground located just outside of the city boundaries of Manchester, Lancashire.

Most points in a season: 92 1993/94. Most League Goals in a season; 103 1956/57, 1958/59. Longest unbeaten Run : (All competitions) 45, December 24, 1998 to October 3, 1999. Record Attendance Old Trafford: 76,962, Wolves v Grimsby Town, FA Cup, semi-final, 25 March 1939.

Record 'home' League Attendance: Maine Road 83,250 v Arsenal, Division 1, 7 January 1948. Record League Attendance: Old Trafford 70,504 v Aston Villa, Division 1, 27 December 1920. Most League Appearances: 606 Bobby Charlton, 1956-73. Most Capped Player: Bobby Charlton, 106 England.

Most Goals scored in a Match: 6 George Best v Northampton Town, 1970. Most League Goals in a Season: 32 Dennis Viollet, Division 1, 1959-60. Most League Goals: 199 Bobby Charlton, 1956-73. Most Goals scored : 247 Bobby Charlton.

Most Appearances : Bobby Charlton 754. Record Cup Defeat: 1-7 v Burnley, FA Cup, 1st Round, 13 February 1901. Record League Defeat: 0-7 v Blackburn Rovers, Division 1, 10 April 1926. Record away win: 8-1 v Nottingham Forest February 1999.

Record Cup Victory: 10-0 v Anderlecht, Champions Cup, Preliminary Round, 26 September 1956. Record Premiership Victory: 9-0 Ipswich Town March 1995. Record League Victory: 10-1 v Wolves, Division 1, 15 October 1892. 1968, 1999.

BBC Sports Personality of the Year Team Award: 2