Ahead of our game against Fulham, Giles Oakley has reflected on United vs Fulham over the years.

As the Manchester United supporters' unprecedented Green & Gold protest movement gathers momentum , consciously rooted in the club's Victorian origins as Newton Heath, there has seldom been a better moment to explore the Red Devils' sometimes tragic history and sense of identity.

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Back in the early 1950's Manchester United made a far sighted decision which had major ramifications for the club at the time and has continued to produce handsome dividends until this very day....
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The singing of The Flowers of Manchester will take place under the Munich plaque at 2pm before the Portsmouth home game. The singing will be conducted by Pete Martin of the folk group Hanky Park.

The lyrics can be found on the Munich 58 website so if you're going down to the ground, print out a copy of the lyrics so you can sing along, and if possible, print out copies for others.

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He hurtles down the muddy left touchline, shoulders square on, head down, shorts hitched up, plain white socks a blur, heavy brown lace-up football at his feet as he bursts past floundering defenders to the by-line before launching a cross into the path of an on-rushing team-mate. It could be to Bobby Charlton for a net-ripping thunderbolt, or for gaunt-faced Dennis Viollet to ghost onto and despatch into the far corner with a shimmy of the hips, or perhaps golden-haired Albert Quixall will silence the critics again with a volley of unstoppable power.

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Former Busby Babe Albert Scanlon has died at the age of 74 in Salford, Manchester United official website has confirmed. Scanlon had been suffering from poor health for some time, having been...
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Albert Scanlon was 22 when the Munich Air Disaster occurred and he suffered terrible head injuries and a broken leg in the crash. Recovered and played well for several years on the wing, scoring 16 league goals the season after the crash.

Born in Hulme, Scanlon came through United's youth system and made his début for Sir Matt's first team when he was just 19-years-old.

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Manchester United's emphasis on the development and use of youth is nothing new. Football Fan Cast.com analyses the lineage in tremendous youth coaches and developers of talent at Manchester United.
Manchester United's emphasis on the development and use of youth is nothing new. In the 50's Joe Armstrong and Jimmy Murphy recruited and trained a set of young men that went on into the first team and under Sir Matt Busby became ‘The Busby Babes'. Click to continue reading...

With Sir Matt Busby still in hospital, recovering from the tragedy in Munich, Jimmy Murphy, the man Busby made his assistant manager when being appointed himself, took the reins. It had been his job to scout and train the team which was known as the Busby Babes, known for his dedication to the job, but after the Munich Air Disaster, he became the caretaker manager.

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Cometh the celebrity, cometh the hangers-on and there is no bigger hanger-on to English football than Sky television as another Premier League season begins.
Nothing has ticked me off more this week than the invasive Sky adverts at the railway station where I catch my daily train, in the free newspaper I read on the way to work and even on the internet when I get home. Click to continue reading...

Giles Oakley has offered us some more insight to United of days gone by, looking at the best 'street-fighters' at United, in two parts.

I have often wondered if I am the only person who witnessed both of the two most spectacular match-day assaults ever perpetrated by Manchester United players on spectators, explosively sudden moments of violence which occured with a 35 year interval between them and which had markedly different impacts on the players concerned, and on the club.

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Earlier today I was looking around the football news websites to find a suitable topic on which to write on. I came across the Serie A news and one thing struck me when I glimpsed at the table for the 2009/10 season; Torino weren't there. I'll be honest and admit that I didn't catch much [...] Click to continue reading...

Hello there, I'm in the middle of moving house, hence there will be some minimal blogging today. I will probably be more detailed when I am well settled in my new abode internet connectivity permitting. In the meantime, hopefully, Stephen Darwin might fill in, or even who knows I might swoop in when I find an idle computer with internet connection like a starved dog on a juicy bone and pen some, mostly inconsequential, words.

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I was lucky enough to visit the memorials for the Busby Babes yesterday, the original one and the one made in 2004. It was an odd feeling being so close to a place that has shaped our club`s history, which totally devastated so many people and destroyed a team that had the potential to be one of the greatest of all time.

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Day One: July 29th 2009
Leave home 4.40am to arrive at Manchester Airport for 5am (ish).
Get a full English and watch the planes take off.
Take off 7.05am from Terminal 1. Get the iPod on and read more of Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief.
Arrive in Frankfurt for 9.

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Since "Fergie's Fledglings" because the biggest thing since the "Busby Babes", the pressure has been on the Manchester United academy to produce excellent talent.

When looking at the squads of our rivals, it's bizarre that United's academy is sometimes viewed as a bit of a failure. As if being unable to bring through a group of players like we did in 1995 means our academy isn't good enough.

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A Liverpool FC fans group today vowed to investigate after Reds supporters apparently mocked the Munich disaster at an end-of-season party.
Footage has emerged from the Olympia venue of a room full of supporters singing derogatory references about the 1958 air crash which killed 23 people – many of them Busby Babes. Click to continue reading...

The Liverpool Echo has brought attention to the 'Spirit of Shankly' end of season party, which saw a performer on stage chanting Munich and the crowd around him doing the same.

The SOS issued an appology two weeks after the incident, following video recordings from a guest's mobile phone finding it's way on to the internet.

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Following Part I of the interview with Balague yesterday, Part II has now been published.

Part Two of the Republik of Mancunia - Guillen Balague - FCB News battle

Guillem: You both seem to talk about destinies, historical references and past records quite a lot..

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Today would have been Sir Matt Busby's 100th birthday, thank you for it all.

"If you don't put them in, you can't know what you've got."

"100 Today" was originally published at The Republik of Mancunia. Click to continue reading...

Like the 'Believe' and European Cup mosaics of the past two semi-finals and last year's final, United fans in Rome will be creating a mosaic which reads 'for Sir Matt'.

Sir Matt Busby would have been 90 on the day we won the European Cup back in 1999 and the eve of this year's final will mark what would have been his 100th birthday.

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The Daily Mail has looked at the greatest football teams of all time, with one of Sir Alex Ferguson's sides coming second to the 1970 World Cup winning side (Felix, Brito, Piazza, Carlos Alberto, Everaldo, Clodoaldo, Gerson, Jairzinho, Tostao, Pele, Rivelino)

46 Manchester United (1994)
Schmeichel, Parker, Bruce, Pallister, Irwin, Kanchelskis, Keane, Ince, Giggs, Hughes, Cantona

English champions and FA Cup

Eric Cantona was bringing the good times back to United, while the likes of Roy Keane, Paul Ince and Ryan Giggs were emerging as heroes.

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In light of the International break, The Daily Mail has looked at England's all-time greatest heroes. Unsurprisingly, several United players feature. 46. Duncan Edwards One of the Busby Babes who tragically perished as a result of injuries sustained in the Munich Air Crash. A brilliant wing half, who was robbed of what would have been a sensational [. Click to continue reading...

"Matt Busby is without the doubt the greatest manager that ever lived. I am not saying I think he is the greatest manager, I am saying he is the greatest manager. Facts can prove that. He had tremendous courage, and his foresight and ability, everything a man needs to be a football manager, Matt Busby [. Click to continue reading...

"Matt Busby is without the doubt the greatest manager that ever lived. I am not saying I think he is the greatest manager, I am saying he is the greatest manager. Facts can prove that. He had tremendous courage, and his foresight and ability, everything a man needs to be a football manager, Matt Busby [. Click to continue reading...

Two down, three to go. That is the way everyone appears to be looking at it. As hard as Sir Alex (Ferguson) and Sir Bobby (Charlton) try to tell everyone otherwise, to lower expectation and spare the players from the pressure, even they must realise that Manchester United are on the brink of an unprecedented clean sweep of five trophies: a quintuple. Click to continue reading...

United's official website have got a few interesting pieces up today in remembrance of those who lost their lives 51 years ago today. Sir Alex Ferguson speaks of his great admiration for Sir Matt Busby, taking pride in the foundation of our club originating from Busby's work. Fergie also talks of Busby's bravery to come back [. Click to continue reading...