1904-1905

Manchester United's manager Ernest Magnall was building a side that looked better than anything the fans had seen so far, 20 year old Charlie Roberts was to be proved a great buy, Magnall had signed him from Grimsby for the grand total of 400 pounds, he was sturdily built and extremely fast, it was reorted that he could run the hundred yards in 11 seconds. This was the time that the world record stood at 9.6 seconds!

Vittorio Pozzo the Italian national team coach was reported to be a huge fan of Roberts and took back to Italy a lasting memory of the player after he visited Clayton to watch him play. Pozzo went on to create one of the finest pre war teams ever to play the game, he had stated publicly that Roberts had been his inspiration.

Strangely enough, the English team selectors didn't seem to agree and Roberts only played for England 3 times, it was believed that his image as somewhat of a rebel contributed to him being ignored this way. Roberts wore his shorts short, this was a time when the FA had ruled that all shorts were to cover the knee, he had also been a pioneer in the Players Union becoming its chairman and later becoming a leader in the "outcasts" (to be explained later).

On Boxing Day 1904 United entertained Liverpool at Clayton, 40,000 fans showed up for the game and United defeated the Merseysiders 3-1. It was a high point in the season though, Liverpool took their revenge 4 months later and hammered United 4-0 at Anfield to finish the season at the top of the table and again deny United the promotion they desperately desired.