10 Interesting Facts About Manchester United

1. The oldest player in town
Until recently, Stan Pearson was the oldest player to make a league appearence for United. He played against Crewe Alexandra in April 1959 aged 40 years and 101 days. However, the current United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar was born on October 29 1970, and became the new record holder by passing Stan Pearson's record in February 2011.

2. Let there be light
The first ever floodlit match at Old Trafford was against Bolton Wanderers on March 23 1957. Each pylon stood 160 feet high. Bolton won the game 2-0.

3. Double victory
Ryan Giggs, Roy Keane and Peter Schmeichel are the only players in the history of English football to have won three sets of Double Winner's Medals, with Manchester United in 1994, 1996 and 1999.

4. A very big upset
In one of the club's biggest upsets, United goalkeeper Gary Bailey saved three penalties against Ipswich Town at Portman Road in 1980. But United still lost the game 6-0.

5. A bad start for Fergie
Sir Alex Ferguson's first game as manager of Manchester United was on November 8th 1986 at Oxford United. Oxford won 2-0!

6. When footballers earned their wages
The record for the most appearences in one season at United is jointly held by Steve Bruce and Denis Irwin. They each totalled 62 appearences in the 1993/94 season.

7. A packed ground
United's highest average league attendance is a massive 75,826, set in 2006/07.

8. A not so packed ground
The lowest average league attendance for United is 11,685, but this can be excused given that the record was set in the 1930/31 season.

9. An unfortunate debut
The first ever game at Old Trafford took place on February 19th 1910 against Liverpool. The visitors won 4-3.

10. Rule Britannia!
The first ever European cup tie at Old Trafford was against Anderlecht on 26 September 1956. United won 10-0.

A browse of the links listed above will confirm the strength of feeling of many United fans against the club's owners, the Glazer family. The Glazers' debt-laden takeover of the club in 2005 fuelled much protest by fans, including the launch of the Green & Gold campaign and the formation of a rebel team, FC United of Manchester.

Growing success for FC United
A non-league club founded by amateurs, FC United of Manchester reached the second round of the FA Cup in November 2010, beating Rochdale 3-2. In the words of founder Julian Coman, the victory gave "sublime, heady vindication to a rebellion without precedent in the history of football". According to the club, the money from this amazing run will go towards building the team's own ground, a big step forward in reclaiming football for its fans.

A field of green and gold
Meanwhile, the fans' Green & Gold protest continues to gather momentum. Green and gold scarves - which have become the symbol of the anti-Glazer protest and are based on the colours of United's predecessors, Newton Heath - are seen at every match. David Beckham even sported a green and gold scarf in support of the protests on his return to Old Trafford in March 2010 (pictured above).