Stuart Pearce
Stuart Pearce, MBE is an English football manager and player. Pearce was the manager of the England national under-21 team from 2007 to 2013 and managed the Great Britain Olympic football team at the 2012 Olympics; as a player, Pearce played as a defender and appeared for Wealdstone, Coventry City, Newcastle United, West Ham United and Manchester City, but is best known for his spell at Nottingham Forest, where he captained the team and became the club's most capped International, making 76 of his 78 appearances for England while with the club and captaining the national side on nine occasions. He retired as a player in 2002 while at Manchester City, he remained with Manchester City as a coach under Kevin Keegan's managership until being promoted to the manager's job, which he held from 2005 to 2007. In 2016, he came out of retirement, signing a one-match deal with Longford, a team dubbed "The worst in Great Britain", in order to support the grass roots game. Born in Hammersmith, Pearce first attended Fryent Primary School in Kingsbury, North West London, before attending Claremont High School in Kenton.
He failed a trial at Queens Park Rangers and rejected an offer from Hull City, instead settling into a career in the non-league game with his local side, while training and working as an electrician. For five years, he was the first-choice full-back for the team amongst the biggest names of non-league football in the Alliance Premier League. In 1983, Wealdstone received an unexpected offer of £30,000 for Pearce from top-flight club Coventry City. Sky Blues manager Bobby Gould had been to watch Wealdstone, was impressed by Pearce's determination and combative attitude. Pearce agreed to the step up in clubs reluctantly – making his professional debut for Coventry immediately, he established himself as an uncompromising left back who played in a fair manner. Two years in 1985 Pearce was brought to Nottingham Forest by manager Brian Clough. Pearce was the makeweight in a £300,000 deal that saw Coventry centre-back Ian Butterworth move to Forest. Indeed, so unsure was Pearce of his footballing future that, after the transfer, he advertised his services as an electrician in Forest's match-day programme.
Pearce spent 12 years at most of it as club captain. During his playing career, he won two League Cups and the Full Members Cup, while scoring from a free-kick in the 1991 FA Cup final, when Forest were beaten by Tottenham Hotspur. In his time at the City Ground, Pearce was one of the Forest players who had to cope with the horrors of the Hillsborough disaster during the opening minutes of their FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool. Pearce played in the rescheduled match at Old Trafford, which Liverpool won 3–1, he helped them finish third in the league that year, contributed to their victories in the League Cup and Full Members Cup. He helped them retain the League Cup a year and in 1991 he had his first crack at the FA Cup, despite giving Forest an early lead against Tottenham in a match most remembered for the knee injury suffered by Pearce's opponent Paul Gascoigne, Pearce ended up on the losing side as Spurs came back to win 2–1, he was on the losing side at Wembley Stadium again the following year when Forest lost 1–0 to Manchester United in the 1992 League Cup final.
Despite their relegation from the top flight in 1993, Pearce decided to stay, helping Forest to gain promotion the following season, including scoring a header to secure promotion, under new manager Frank Clark following the retirement of Brian Clough after 18 years at the helm. He helped Forest finish third in the Premier League in the season following promotion and reach the UEFA Cup quarter-finals a year later. Pearce was appointed caretaker player-manager of Forest in December 1996, after Clark resigned with Forest bottom of the FA Premier League, his first match was at home to Arsenal. He admitted in an interview with Match of the Day that, in his first attempt at picking a starting XI, he did not realise until it was pointed out to him by his wife that he had omitted goalkeeper Mark Crossley. Forest, won the match 2–1, coming from behind after an Ian Wright goal with two goals from Alf-Inge Håland. Despite winning Manager of the Month award in January 1997, the club were relegated from the Premier League.
He had relinquished managerial duties in March 1997 on the appointment of Dave Bassett. Pearce opted to leave the club at the end of the 1996–97 season after 12 years at the City Ground. Pearce joined Newcastle United along with fellow veterans John Barnes and Ian Rush in the 1997–98 season under Kenny Dalglish, played in the 1998 FA Cup final, though again he emerged on the defeated side, he scored once during his spell in a UEFA Champions League tie against Dynamo Kyiv. Pearce was isolated, along with other players including Rob Lee and John Barnes, upon Dalglish's sacking after Ruud Gullit took over. A number of players were treated coldly by Gullit, Pearce along with Barnes and Lee were made to train with the reserves despite cumulatively having over 150 England caps between them. Both Pearce and Barnes assert in their autobiographies Gullit felt threatened by the senior players in the squad, they felt they were being sidelined to prevent them challenging him for the manager's position should it arise.
Pearce claims that he once kicked Gullit up in the air during a training session, a number of other players sniggered at this due to Gullit's poor relationship with them. Pearce went on to play for West Ham United, a year after falling out of favour with Newcastle manager Ruud Gullit, he made his debut on 7 August 1999 in a 1–0 home
Coventry City F.C.
Coventry City Football Club is a professional football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The club competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system, following promotion via the playoffs from League Two in the 2017–18 season. Coventry City formed as Singers F. C. in 1883 before adopting their current name in 1898. They joined the Football League in 1919, they won their only major trophy in 1987. They are one of only five clubs to have won both the FA Youth Cup in the same season, they have reached two Football League Cup semi-finals, in 1981 and 1990. They returned to Wembley in April 2017, defeating Oxford United 2–1 to win the Football League Trophy and again in May 2018, beating Exeter City 3–1 to gain promotion to EFL League One via the play-offs; the club, nicknamed The Sky Blues because of the colour of their strip, was an inaugural member of the Premier League in 1992 and had spent 34 consecutive seasons in the English top flight prior to its relegation in 2001.
Following eleven seasons in the second-tier Football League Championship, Coventry were relegated to League One in 2012, the first time they had been in the third tier since 1964. In 2017, there was a further relegation, with the club dropping to the fourth tier of the competition for the first time since 1959. Coventry has qualified for European competitions twice. In the 1970–71 season, the team competed in the European Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, reaching the second round. Despite beating Bayern Munich 2–1 in the home leg, they had lost 1–6 in the first leg in Germany, thus were eliminated; the team was unable to compete in the 1987–88 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, due to the ban on English clubs at that time, following the Heysel disaster. From 1899 to 2005, Coventry City played at Highfield Road, which in 1981 became the first all-seater stadium in English football. In the late 1990s, the club's directors decided that a larger stadium was necessary, so chose a site in the Rowley's Green area of the city.
The 32,609-capacity Ricoh Arena was opened in August 2005. The club has played home games there since, apart from the 2013–14 season when it played at Northampton Town's Sixfields Stadium, some 35 miles away, due to a rent dispute. 1883 – The club is founded by employees of Singer, the cycle firm, with William Stanley one of the leading lights. 1898 – The club's name is changed from Singers F. C. to Coventry City. 1899 – The club move to Highfield Road following stints at Dowells Field and Stoke Road. 1901 – The club suffer their worst defeat with an 11–2 loss against Worcester-based Berwick Rangers in the qualifying round of the FA Cup. 1919 – The club are voted into the Football League, where they have remained since. 1928 – In February, with Coventry struggling near the foot of Division Three South, the club's worst attendance is recorded. Only 2,059 turn up for the match against Crystal Palace. 1932 – Centre-forward Clarrie Bourton heads the Football League scoring lists with 49 goals. The following season he scored 40 goals.
1934 – City record their biggest victory a 9–0 league drubbing of Bristol City. 1936 – Coventry City win the Third Division South championship after a nail-biting final day 2–1 victory over Torquay United and return to Division Two after eleven years in the lower division. 1958 – Goalkeeper Alf Wood becomes the oldest player to start a game for the club, which this year was a founding member of Division Four. He played against Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup aged 207 days. 1961 – Former Fulham player and PFA chairman Jimmy Hill is appointed manager following an embarrassing FA Cup defeat at home to non-league King's Lynn. 1964 – Jimmy Hill guides Coventry to promotion from Division Three as champions after a final day 1–0 victory over Colchester United. 1967 – Coventry City promoted as Second Division champions to the top flight for the first time in their history. This made BBC Sport presenter Jimmy Hill a legend at the club. Coventry's record attendance was set in this year – recorded as 51,455, against Wolverhampton Wanderers, the team that finished a close second to Coventry at the top of the table.
1970 – Under Noel Cantwell, Coventry finish 6th in the First Division, their highest League placing. Coventry qualify for the European Fairs Cup but lost 7–3 on aggregate in the second round to Bayern Munich, despite winning the second leg 2–1 at Highfield Road. 1977 – Coventry City escaped relegation after drawing with Bristol City who escaped relegation. The result of this game relegated Sunderland, which caused allegations of match fixing over the outcome of the match due to the result of the Sunderland game being relayed to Coventry City and Bristol City players on the stadium screen before their game had finished. 1978 – The strike partnership of Ian Wallace and Mick Ferguson helped the Sky Blues finish in seventh position in the First Division, their second-highest final league placing, but fractionally missing out on a UEFA Cup place. 1981 – The club reaches the League Cup semi-final but are denied their first Wembley appearance by West Ham United, despite being 3–2 ahead after the first leg.
Highfield Road becomes England's first all-seater stadium. 1987 – The Sky Blues won the FA Cup, beating Tottenham Hotspur in the final. It is their only major trophy to date, they were runners-up to Everton in August in the Charity Shield. Coventry won the FA Youth Cup in this year. 1989 – Coventry were defeated by non-league Sutton United in the FA Cup Third Round, only 19 months after lifting the trophy. However, their impressive league for
Aidy Boothroyd
Adrian Neil Boothroyd is an English former footballer, manager of the England U21 team. At club level, he was manager of Watford from 2005 to 2008. During his time with Watford, he was known as one of the best young managers in England. At the time of his departure, he was the youngest and the second longest serving manager in the division. Boothroyd had short spells at Colchester United and Coventry City. In 2011, he replaced Gary Johnson at Northampton Town. After saving the club from relegation in the 2011–12 season, he took Northampton to the League Two Playoff final in May 2013, only to be defeated in the final. After a poor start to the 2013–14 season, he was relieved of his duties on 21 December 2013, with the club bottom of the Football League. Boothroyd was born in West Riding of Yorkshire, he started as a youth team player at Huddersfield Town and made his first team debut for the club in 1989. He played. After a short spell in Scotland with Heart of Midlothian, in which he scored two goals against Huntly in a 6–0 win in the Scottish Cup in 1993, he signed for Mansfield Town, where he played 102 matches, scoring 3 goals in the process.
He left the club in 1996 to play for Peterborough United. Boothroyd picked up a career-ending injury after scoring a single goal, he retired from the game in 1998. After ending his playing career at Peterborough United, Boothroyd was appointed coach of the Under 17, Under 19 and reserve teams at the club, his tactical nous and drive impressed, he left Peterborough in 2001 to join Norwich City as their youth team coach under Nigel Worthington. After two years at Carrow Road, Boothroyd assumed the positions of Youth Development Officer and Technical Director at West Bromwich Albion, joining in October 2003. A short spell at The Hawthorns ended, when he was appointed first-team coach at Leeds United in July 2004, He was appointed manager of Watford in March 2005 at the age of 34; the board backed their decision despite initial scepticism by Watford fans and the club entered a new era under Boothroyd. He managed to steer the club clear of relegation, with 1–0 victories over Stoke City and Rotherham United.
At the beginning of the 2005–06 season, Boothroyd signalled his intentions by declaring that his aim for the forthcoming campaign would be promotion to the Premier League. As the season progressed, Boothroyd's side gained more and more confidence, come the end of the season, had cemented a place in the play-offs. After overcoming Crystal Palace in the two-legged semi-final, Boothroyd's team came up against the club where he used to coach. Watford claimed a place in the top league of English football; the rapid improvement in Watford's results in his first season in charge led to Boothroyd winning the Championship Manager of the Month in February 2006. Boothroyd continued as Watford manager for the duration of the 2006–07 season, but Watford finished 20th and were relegated. Watford reached the FA Cup semi-finals, Boothroyd was awarded a new three-year contract. In July 2006, he completed his UEFA Pro Licence in coaching. A good start to the 2007–08 season saw Watford twelve points clear at the top of the Championship after nineteen games.
The good form saw Boothroyd named Championship Manager of the Month for October 2007 after Watford maintained a 100% record. However this could not be sustained and a poor run of form in second half of the season saw Boothroyd coming in for criticism for his team selections, direct style of play and dealings in the transfer market. One win in thirteen going into the last game of the season saw Watford in danger of missing out on a play-off spot altogether but a 1–1 draw against Blackpool was enough to secure sixth place on goal difference ahead of Wolverhampton Wanderers. In their play-off semi-final against Hull City Watford lost 2–0 at Vicarage Road and 4–1 at the KC Stadium. After missing out on an immediate return to Premier League, Boothroyd announced his intention to re-build the side for next season, change the team's style of play. However, he left Watford by mutual consent on 3 November 2008, after a home defeat to Blackpool. On 2 September 2009, Boothroyd was announced as the new manager of League One side Colchester United, succeeding Paul Lambert.
In his first game as Colchester boss the team drew 0–0 with Southampton and the team won five of the first nine games in his charge. The first defeat came in his 10th game in a 2–1 defeat to Millwall, his first signing as Colchester boss was the loan of John-Joe O'Toole and his first permanent signing was Kayode Odejayi. O'Toole was subsequently signed on a permanent basis and he signed David Prutton from Leeds United, Ian Henderson from Ankaragücü and Morten Knudsen from Norway. Boothroyd added another loan signing with Franck Queudrue arriving on loan from Birmingham City. Colchester, under Boothroyd, were in the top 6 for over half of the campaign. However, a poor run of form towards the end of the season which saw them win only 2 games of their last 14 games, this saw them drop just outside the play-offs and finish in 8th position in League One. At this time, Boothroyd indicated his intentions to cull the squad and remove some "dead wood" to put together another promotion push. On 20 May 2010, Boothroyd left the club to take over Championship side Coventry City.
On 20 May 2010, Boothroyd was announced as the new manager of Championship side Coventry City, succeeding Chris Coleman. His first game in charge was on 7 August, in which Boothroyd led Coventry City to an opening day victory over Portsmouth with both goals from Freddy Eastwood. On 14 March 2011, Boothroyd was sacked by Coventry City after a run of poor results, which saw the
Cap (sport)
In sport, a cap is a metaphorical term for a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of association football. In the early days of football, the concept of each team wearing a set of matching shirts had not been universally adopted, so each side would distinguish itself from the other by wearing a specific sort of cap. An early illustration of the first international football match between Scotland and England in 1872 shows the Scottish players wearing cowls, the English wearing a variety of school caps; the practice was first approved on 10 May 1886 for association football after a proposal made by N. Lane Jackson, founder of the Corinthians: That all players taking part for England in future international matches be presented with a white silk cap with red rose embroidered on the front; these to be termed International Caps. The act of awarding a cap is applied to other sports.
Although in some sports physical caps may not now always be given the term "cap" for an international or other appearance has been retained as an indicator of the number of occasions on which a sportsperson has represented a team in a particular sport. Thus, a "cap" is awarded for each game played and so a player who has played x games, for the team, is said to have been capped x times or have won x caps; the practice of awarding a physical cap varies from sport to sport. It may be awarded prior to a player's debut or for national teams, a commemorative cap may be awarded after a player reaches the 100th cap; as an example, the England men's association football teams still awards physical caps. Players are awarded one cap for every match they play — unless they play in a World Cup or European Championship finals tournament, they are given a single cap for the competition — with the names of all their opponents stitched into the fabric of the cap itself. For example, when David Beckham made his one hundredth appearance for England, because a number of his appearances had been at World Cup and European Championship final tournaments for which he received only one cap, he received only his 85th physical cap.
The world record holder for the highest number of international caps as of 5 November 2010 is retired American player Kristine Lilly, who has 354 caps. In men's association football, the record belongs to former player Ahmed Hassan of Egypt; the first footballer to win 100 international caps was Billy Wright of England's Wolverhampton Wanderers. Wright went on to appear 105 times for England, 90 of them. FIFA rules state that any club that refuses to release a player for national team duty is barred from using the player for two matches, a rule, intended to discourage clubs from pretending that the player is injured. However, it is a player's choice to refuse to retire from his or her national team; some current leading holders of association football caps are: 184 – Ahmed Hassan, Egypt 178 – Hossam Hassan, Egypt 178 – Mohamed Al-Deayea, Saudi Arabia 177 – Claudio Suárez, Mexico 178 in Mexican records 169 – Gianluigi Buffon, Italy 168 – Iván Hurtado, Ecuador 167 – Iker Casillas, Spain 166 – Vitālijs Astafjevs, Latvia 164 – Cobi Jones, United States 163 - Sergio Ramos, Spain 163 – Mohammed Al-Khilaiwi, Saudi Arabia 161 – Adnan Al-Talyani, United Arab Emirates 158 – Bader Al-Mutawa, Kuwait 157 – Landon Donovan, United States 354 – Kristine Lilly, United States World record holder 311 – Christie Rampone, United States 275 – Mia Hamm, United States 272 – Julie Foudy, United States 259 - Christine Sinclair, Canada 256 – Abby Wambach, United States 239 – Joy Fawcett, United States 231 – Heather O'Reilly, United States 214 – Birgit Prinz, Germany 214 – Therese Sjögran, SwedenBold denotes players active in international football.
In cricket, there are two types of caps. Firstly, there is the international type; some countries award a domestic type known as a "county cap". The latter system is most applied in English county cricket. Most counties do not automatically award caps to players on their first appearance. Indeed, one can play at the highest domestic level for several years, have a quite significant career in first-class cricket, without winning a cap; the world record for the number of caps in Test cricket is held by Sachin Tendulkar of India, who has, over the course of a 22-year career, collected 200. Tendulkar holds the record for One Day Internationals, with 463 caps. In rugby union, 35 players have reached 100 international caps as of 5 June 2012. Players from England, Scotland and Ireland are eligible for selection to the British and Irish Lions touring squad. Lions matches are classed as full international tests, caps are awarded; the Pacific Islanders team, composed of players from Fiji, Tonga and Cook Islands have a similar arrangement, although no players involved have so far reached 100 caps.
Players still active at Test level are in bold type. Richie McCaw, New Zealand — 148 Brian O'Driscoll, Ireland — 141 George Gregan, Australia — 139 Gethin Jenkins, Wales, 131 — Ronan O'Gara, Ireland — 130 Keven Mealamu, New Zealand — 125 Victor
Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer, CBE, DL is an English retired footballer. He played as a striker in the top level of English league football for Southampton, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United and the England national team, he is the Premier League's record goalscorer. He was named Football Writers' Association Player of the Year in 1994 and won the PFA Player of the Year award in 1995. In 1996, he was third in the FIFA World Player of the Year awards. In 2004 Shearer was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players. Shearer scored 283 league goals in his career, including a record 260 in the Premier League with a joint record 11 Premier League hat-tricks, a total of 422 in all competitions including international at all levels; until his retirement from international football in 2000, he appeared 63 times for his country and scored 30 goals. Shearer had a goals-to-game ratio of 0.667 throughout his career. Since retiring as a player in 2006, Shearer has worked as a television pundit for the BBC.
In 2009, he left his BBC role to become Newcastle United's manager in the last eight games of their 2008–09 season, in an unsuccessful attempt to save them from relegation. Shearer is a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, a Deputy Lieutenant of Northumberland, a Freeman of Newcastle upon Tyne and an honorary Doctor of Civil Law of Northumbria and Newcastle Universities. Shearer was born in Newcastle, in 1970 to working-class parents Alan and Anne Shearer, his father, a sheet-metal worker, encouraged a keen Shearer to play football in his youth, the young player continued with the sport as he progressed through school. He was educated at Gosforth High School. Growing up playing on the streets of his hometown, he played in midfield because "it meant could get more involved in the games." Shearer captained his school team and helped a Newcastle City Schools team win a seven-a-side tournament at St James' Park, before joining the amateur Wallsend Boys Club as a teenager. It was while playing for the Wallsend club that he was spotted by Southampton's scout, Jack Hixon, which resulted in Shearer spending his summers training with the club's youth team, a time he would refer to as "the making of me".
Shearer had successful trials for First Division clubs West Bromwich Albion, Manchester City and Newcastle United, before being offered a youth contract with Southampton in April 1986. Shearer was promoted to the first team after spending two years with the youth squad, he made his professional debut for Southampton on 26 March 1988, coming on as a substitute in a First Division fixture at Chelsea, before prompting national headlines in his full debut at The Dell two weeks later. He scored a hat-trick, helping the team to a 4–2 victory against Arsenal, thus becoming the youngest player – at 17 years, 240 days – to score a hat-trick in the top division, breaking Jimmy Greaves' 30-year–old record. Shearer ended the 1987–88 season with three goals in five games, was rewarded with his first professional contract. Despite this auspicious start to his career, Shearer was only eased into the first team and made just ten goalless appearances for the club the following season. Throughout his career Shearer was recognised for his strength, during his time at Southampton, enabled him to retain the ball and provide opportunities for teammates.
Playing as a lone striker between wide men, Rod Wallace and Matt Le Tissier, Shearer scored three goals in 26 appearances in the 1989–90 season, in the next, four goals in 36 games. His performances in the centre of the Saints attack were soon recognised by the fans, who voted him their Player of the Year for 1991. In the middle of 1991, Shearer was a member of the England national under-21 football squad in the Toulon Tournament in Toulon, France. Shearer was the star of the tournament, it was during the 1991 -- 92 season. 13 goals in 41 appearances for the Saints led to an England call-up. A possible move for Shearer was being mentioned in the media during late autumn of 1991, but he rejected talk of a transfer and vowed to see out the season with Southampton, resisting the temptation of a possible transfer to the two clubs who headed the title race for most of the season. Speculation of a transfer to Liverpool, who finished the season as FA Cup winners came to nothing. During the middle of 1992, Southampton's manager, Ian Branfoot, became "the most popular manager in English football", as he took telephone calls from clubs "trying to bargain with players they don't want plus cash".
Although Branfoot accepted that a sale was inevitable, he claimed that "whatever happens, we are in the driving seat". In July 1992, Shearer was sold to Blackburn Rovers for a fee of £3.6 million, with David Speedie reluctantly moving to The Dell as part of the deal. Despite Branfoot's claim to be "in the driving seat", Saints failed to include a "sell-on clause" in the contract. Shearer, less than a month off his 22nd birthday, was the most expensive player in British football. In his four years in the Southampton first team, Shearer made a total of 158 appearances in all competitions, scoring 43 goals. Despite making just one goalless appearance as England failed to progress past the Euro 1992 group stages, Shearer was soon subject to an English transfer record-breaking £3.6 million bid from Blackburn Rovers. Although there was interest from Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, Blackburn benefactor Jack Walker's millions were enough to prise the striker from the
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 249,470; the demonym for people from the city is'Wulfrunian'. Part of Staffordshire, the city grew as a market town specialising in the woollen trade. In the Industrial Revolution, it became a major centre for coal mining, steel production, lock making and the manufacture of cars and motorcycles; the economy of the city is still based on engineering, including a large aerospace industry, as well as the service sector. The city is named after Wulfrun, who founded the town from the Anglo-Saxon Wulfrūnehēantūn. Prior to the Norman Conquest, the area's name appears only as variants of Heantune or Hamtun, the prefix Wulfrun or similar appearing in 1070 and thereafter. Alternatively, the city may have earned its original name from Wulfereēantūn after the Mercian King, who tradition tells us established an abbey in 659, though no evidence of an abbey has been found; the variation Wolveren Hampton is seen in medieval records, e.g. in 1381.
A local tradition states that King Wulfhere of Mercia founded an abbey of St Mary at Wolverhampton in 659. Wolverhampton is recorded as being the site of a decisive battle between the unified Mercian Angles and West Saxons against the raiding Danes in 910, although sources are unclear as to whether the battle itself took place in Wednesfield or Tettenhall; the Mercians and West Saxons claimed a decisive victory, the field of Woden is recognised by numerous place names in Wednesfield. In 985, King Ethelred the Unready granted lands at a place referred to as Heantun to Lady Wulfrun by royal charter, hence founding the settlement. In 994, a monastery was consecrated in Wolverhampton for which Wulfrun granted land at Upper Arley in Worcestershire, Willenhall, Pelsall, Ogley Hay near Brownhills, Hilton near Wall, Kinvaston, Hilton near Wolverhampton, Featherstone; this became the site for the current St. Peter's Church. A statue of Lady Wulfrun, sculpted by Sir Charles Wheeler, can be seen on the stairs outside the church.
Wolverhampton is recorded in the Domesday Book in 1086 as being in the Hundred of Seisdon and the county of Staffordshire. The lords of the manor are listed as the canons of St Mary, with the tenant-in-chief being Samson, William the Conqueror's personal chaplain. Wolverhampton at this date is a large settlement of fifty households. In 1179, there is mention of a market held in the town, in 1204 it had come to the attention of King John that the town did not possess a Royal Charter for holding a market; this charter for a weekly market held on a Wednesday was granted on 4 February 1258 by Henry III. It is held that in the 14th and 15th centuries that Wolverhampton was one of the "staple towns" of the woollen trade, which today can be seen by the inclusion of a woolpack on the city's coat of arms, by the many small streets in the city centre, called "Fold", as well as Woolpack Street and Woolpack Alley. In 1512, Sir Stephen Jenyns, a former Lord Mayor of London and a twice Master of the Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors, born in the city, founded Wolverhampton Grammar School, one of the oldest active schools in Britain.
From the 16th century onwards, Wolverhampton became home to a number of metal industries including lock and key making and iron and brass working. Wolverhampton suffered two Great Fires: the first in April 1590, the second in September 1696. Both fires started in today's Salop Street; the first fire lasted for five days and left nearly 700 people homeless, whilst the second destroyed 60 homes in the first five hours. This second fire led to the purchase of the first fire engine within the city in September 1703. On 27 January 1606, two farmers, Thomas Smart and John Holyhead of Rowley Regis, were executed on High Green, now Queen Square, for sheltering two of the Gunpowder Plotters, Robert Wintour and Stephen Littleton, who had fled to the Midlands; the pair played no part in the original plot but suffered a traitor's death of being hanged and quartered on butcher's blocks set up in the square a few days before the execution of Guy Fawkes and several other plotters in London. There is evidence that Wolverhampton may have been the location of the first working Newcomen Steam Engine in 1712.
The young Princess Alexandrina Victoria of Kent is known to have visited Wolverhampton in the 1830s and described it as "a large and dirty town" but one which received her "with great friendliness and pleasure". In Victorian times, Wolverhampton grew to be a wealthy town due to the huge amount of industry that occurred as a result of the abundance of coal and iron deposits in the area; the remains of this wealth can be seen in local houses such as Wightwick Manor and The Mount, Tettenhall Towers. All three are located in the western fringe of Wolverhampton, in the areas known as Wightwick and Tettenhall. Many other houses of similar stature were demolished in the 1970s. Wolverhampton gained its first parliamentary representation as part of the Reform Act 1832, when it was one of 22 large towns that were allocated two members of parliament. A local mob attacking electors who voted or intended to vote for the Tory candidate led to the 1835 Wolverhampton riot, with Dragoons called in to end the intimidation.
Wolverhampton was incorporated as a municipal borough on 15 March 1848 under the Municipal Corporations Act 1
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is a professional football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. Nicknamed "the Red Devils", the club was founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to its current stadium, Old Trafford, in 1910. Manchester United have won more trophies than any other club in English football, with a record 20 League titles, 12 FA Cups, 5 League Cups and a record 21 FA Community Shields. United have won three UEFA Champions Leagues, one UEFA Europa League, one UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, one UEFA Super Cup, one Intercontinental Cup and one FIFA Club World Cup. In 1998–99, the club became the first in the history of English football to achieve the continental European treble. By winning the UEFA Europa League in 2016–17, they became one of five clubs to have won all three main UEFA club competitions; the 1958 Munich air disaster claimed the lives of eight players.
In 1968, under the management of Matt Busby, Manchester United became the first English football club to win the European Cup. Alex Ferguson won 38 trophies as manager, including 13 Premier League titles, 5 FA Cups and 2 UEFA Champions Leagues, between 1986 and 2013, when he announced his retirement. Manchester United was the highest-earning football club in the world for 2016–17, with an annual revenue of €676.3 million, the world's most valuable football club in 2018, valued at £3.1 billion. As of June 2015, it is the world's most valuable football brand, estimated to be worth $1.2 billion. After being floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1991, the club was purchased by Malcolm Glazer in May 2005 in a deal valuing the club at £800 million, after which the company was taken private again, before going public once more in August 2012, when they made an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange. Manchester United is one of the most supported football clubs in the world, has rivalries with Liverpool, Manchester City and Leeds United.
Manchester United 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 played games against other departments and railway companies, but on 20 November 1880, they competed in their first recorded match. By 1888, the club had become a founding member of a regional football league. Following the league's dissolution after only one season, Newton Heath joined the newly formed Football Alliance, which ran for three seasons before being merged with the Football League; this resulted in the club starting the 1892–93 season in the First Division, by which time it had become independent of the railway company and dropped the "LYR" from its name. After two seasons, the club was relegated to the Second Division. In January 1902, with debts of £2,670 – equivalent to £280,000 in 2019 – the club was served with a winding-up order. Captain Harry Stafford found four local businessmen, including John Henry Davies, each willing to invest £500 in return for a direct interest in running the club and who subsequently changed the name.
Under Ernest Mangnall, who assumed managerial duties in 1903, the team finished as Second Division runners-up in 1906 and secured promotion to the First Division, which they won in 1908 – the club's first league title. The following season began with victory in the first Charity Shield and ended with the club's first FA Cup title. Manchester United won the First Division for the second time in 1911, but at the end of the following season, Mangnall left the club to join Manchester City. In 1922, three years after the resumption of football following the First World War, the club was relegated to the Second Division, where it remained until regaining promotion in 1925. Relegated again in 1931, Manchester United became a yo-yo club, achieving its all-time lowest position of 20th place in the Second Division in 1934. Following the death of principal benefactor John Henry Davies in October 1927, the club's finances deteriorated to the extent that Manchester United would have gone bankrupt had it not been for James W. Gibson, who, in December 1931, invested £2,000 and assumed control of the club.
In the 1938–39 season, the last year of football before the Second World War, the club finished 14th in the First Division. In October 1945, the impending resumption of football led to the managerial appointment of Matt Busby, who demanded an unprecedented level of control over team selection, player transfers and training sessions. Busby led the team to second-place league finishes in 1947, 1948 and 1949, to FA Cup victory in 1948. In 1952, the club won its first league title for 41 years, they won back-to-back league titles in 1956 and 1957. In 1957, Manchester United became the first English team to compete in the European Cup, despite objections from The Football League, who had denied Chelsea the same opportunity the previous season. En route to the semi-final, which they lost to Real Madrid, the team recorded a 10–0 victory over Belgian champions Anderlecht, which remains the club's biggest victory on record; the following season, on the way home from a European Cup quarter-final victory against Red Star Belgrade, the aircraft carrying the Manchester United players and journalists crashed while attempting to take off after refuelling in Munich, Germany.
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