History of Manchester United F.C. (1878–1945) History of Manchester United F.C. (1878–1945) Manchester United Football Club was formed in 1878 as Newton Heath LYR Football Club by the Carriage and Wagon department of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway depot at Newton Heath. The team initially played games against other departments and rail companies at their home ground at North Road, but by 1888 the club had become a founding member of The Combination, a regional football league. However, following the league's dissolution before the end of its first season, Newton Heath joined the newly formed Football Alliance, which ran for three seasons before being merged with
Shepparton United Football Club Thomas "Jock" Spencer - who would later be named in North Melbourne Team of the Century, former Shinboner John Brady was coaxed into coaching the club. From 1966 a minor name change replaced City with Shepparton, thus United became Shepparton United. United went on to win six more premierships, including winning all three football premierships in 1980 - at that time the only club to complete the "GV Grand Slam". In the early 1980s, the club did not take long to recover from a deep financial crisis and went on to play in the 1984, 1985 and 1986 grand finals,