Manchester United squad picture 1906/07.
Manchester City needed to beat Aston Villa on the final day of the 1904/05 season to win the championship. Villa won the game 3-1 and City finished third, two points behind Newcastle United.
After the game Alec Leake, the captain of Aston Villa, claimed that Billy Meredith had offered him £10 to throw the game. Meredith was found guilty of this offence by the Football Association and was fined and suspended from playing football for a year. Manchester City refused to provide financial help for Meredith and so he decided to go public about what really was going on at the club: “What was the secret of the success of the Manchester City team? In my opinion, the fact that the club put aside the rule that no player should receive more than four pounds a week… The team delivered the goods, the club paid for the goods delivered and both sides were satisfied.” This statement created a sensation as the FA had imposed a £4 a week maximum wage on all clubs in 1901.
The Football Association now carried out an investigation into the financial activities of Manchester City. They discovered that City had been making additional payments to all their players. Tom Maley was suspended from football for life and City was fined £250. Seventeen players were fined and suspended until January 1907. City was also forced to sell their players and at an auction at the Queen’s Hotel in Manchester. The Manchester United manager, Ernest Mangnal signed the outstandingly gifted Billy Meredith for only £500. Mangnal also purchased three other talented members of the City side, Herbert Burgess, Sandy Turnbull and Jimmy Bannister.
These new players did not make their debuts until the 1st January 1907. Manchester United beat Aston Villa 1-0. The only goal of the game was scored by Sandy Turnbull from a Billy Meredith cross. United only lost four games during the remainder of the season and climbed to an eighth-place finish.
Liverpool’s match programme for the 1st April visit of United.
First Division
| Date | Opponents | H / A | ResultF – A | Scorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 September 1906 | Bristol City | A | 2 – 1 | Picken, Roberts | 5,000 |
| 3 September 1906 | Derby County | A | 2 – 2 | Schofield (2) | 5,000 |
| 8 September 1906 | Notts County | H | 0 – 0 | 30,000 | |
| 15 September 1906 | Sheffield United | A | 2 – 0 | Bell, Downie | 12,000 |
| 22 September 1906 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 1 – 2 | Peddie | 45,000 |
| 29 September 1906 | Derby County | H | 1 – 1 | Bell | 25,000 |
| 6 October 1906 | Stoke City | A | 2 – 1 | Duckworth (2) | 7,000 |
| 13 October 1906 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 1 – 1 | Wall | 20,000 |
| 20 October 1906 | Sunderland | A | 1 – 4 | Peddie | 18,000 |
| 27 October 1906 | Small Heath | H | 2 – 1 | Peddie (2) | 14,000 |
| 3 November 1906 | Everton | A | 0 – 3 | 20,000 | |
| 10 November 1906 | Woolwich Arsenal | H | 1 – 0 | Downie | 20,000 |
| 17 November 1906 | The Wednesday | A | 2 – 5 | Menzies, Peddie | 7,000 |
| 24 November 1906 | Bury | H | 2 – 4 | Peddie, Wall | 30,000 |
| 1 December 1906 | Manchester City | A | 0 – 3 | 40,000 | |
| 8 December 1906 | Middlesbrough | H | 3 – 1 | Wall (2), Sagar | 12,000 |
| 15 December 1906 | Preston North End | A | 0 – 2 | 9,000 | |
| 22 December 1906 | Newcastle United | H | 1 – 3 | Menzies | 18,000 |
| 25 December 1906 | Liverpool | H | 0 – 0 | 20,000 | |
| 26 December 1906 | Aston Villa | A | 0 – 2 | 20,000 | |
| 29 December 1906 | Bristol City | H | 0 – 0 | 10,000 | |
| 1 January 1907 | Aston Villa | H | 1 – 0 | Turnbull | 40,000 |
| 5 January 1907 | Notts County | A | 0 – 3 | 10,000 | |
| 19 January 1907 | Sheffield United | H | 2 – 0 | Turnbull, Wall | 15,000 |
| 26 January 1907 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 1 – 0 | Turnbull | 25,000 |
| 2 February 1907 | Newcastle United | A | 0 – 5 | 30,000 | |
| 9 February 1907 | Stoke City | H | 4 – 1 | Picken (2), Meredith,own goal | 15,000 |
| 16 February 1907 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 4 – 2 | Meredith (2), Sagar,Wall | 5,000 |
| 23 February 1907 | Preston North End | H | 3 – 0 | Wall (2), Sagar | 16,000 |
| 2 March 1907 | Small Heath | A | 1 – 1 | Menzies | 20,000 |
| 16 March 1907 | Woolwich Arsenal | A | 0 – 4 | 6,000 | |
| 25 March 1907 | Sunderland | H | 2 – 0 | Turnbull, Williams | 12,000 |
| 30 March 1907 | Bury | A | 2 – 1 | Menzies, Meredith | 25,000 |
| 1 April 1907 | Liverpool | A | 1 – 0 | Turnbull | 20,000 |
| 6 April 1907 | Manchester City | H | 1 – 1 | Roberts | 40,000 |
| 10 April 1907 | The Wednesday | H | 5 – 0 | Wall (3), Picken, Sagar | 10,000 |
| 13 April 1907 | Middlesbrough | A | 0 – 2 | 15,000 | |
| 22 April 1907 | Everton | H | 3 – 0 | Bannister, Meredith,Turnbull | 10,000 |
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Woolwich Arsenal | 38 | 20 | 4 | 14 | 66 | 59 | 44 |
| 8 | Manchester United | 38 | 17 | 9 | 13 | 53 | 56 | 42 |
| 9 | Small Heath | 38 | 15 | 8 | 15 | 52 | 52 | 38 |
Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points
FA Cup
| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | ResultF – A | Scorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 January 1906 | First Round | Portsmouth | A | 2 – 2 | Picken, Wall | 24,329 |
| 16 January 1906 | First RoundReplay | Portsmouth | H | 1 – 2 | Wall | 8,000 |
Squad statistics
| Pos. | Name | League | FA Cup | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| GK | Harry Moger | 38 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 40 | 0 |
| FB | Tommy Blackstock | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| FB | Bob Bonthron | 28 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 0 |
| FB | Herbert Burgess | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 |
| FB | Dick Holden | 27 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 29 | 0 |
| HB | Alex Bell | 35 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 37 | 2 |
| HB | Frank Buckley | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| HB | Alex Downie | 19 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 2 |
| HB | Dick Duckworth | 28 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 30 | 2 |
| HB | Charlie Roberts (c) | 31 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 32 | 2 |
| HB | Arthur Young | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| FW | Jack Allan | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| FW | Jimmy Bannister | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| FW | Clem Beddow | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| FW | Bill Berry | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| FW | Alex Menzies | 17 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 19 | 4 |
| FW | Billy Meredith | 16 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 5 |
| FW | Jack Peddie | 16 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 6 |
| FW | Jack Picken | 26 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 28 | 5 |
| FW | Charlie Sagar | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 4 |
| FW | Alf Schofield | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 |
| FW | Sandy Turnbull | 15 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 6 |
| FW | George Wall | 38 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 40 | 13 |
| FW | Harry Williams | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| FW | Dick Wombwell | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| FW | William Yates | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |