Manchester United players, in particular, Charlie Roberts and Billy Meredith, were instrumental in forming the Association of Football Players' and Trainers' Union (the AFPTU) (which the press called the Players' Union) in December 1907, the second attempt to unionize players. The Players Union is today the Professional Footballers' Association. When the Football Association threatened members of the Union with suspension before the start of the 1909–10 season, Manchester United players refused to relinquish their Union membership, and referred to themselves as "The Outcasts". A compromise was reached between the Football Association and the Union before the start of that season which allowed players to be Union members.