With Manchester United’s most decorated name Ryan Giggs elevated to player-manager you have to go back 88 years to find the last time England’s most successful club were in a similar position.
It didn’t start well: a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Bolton not the welcome Clarence Hilditch had envisaged.
But then managing United was never easy as David Moyes found out this season, culminating in the sack on Tuesday to make his reign the second shortest magerial tenure at the Old Trafford powerhouse.
The move has sparked rumours worldwide about the next boss but for now United are under the control, on the pitch at least, of veteran Giggs, only the second player-manager in the club’s history after Hilditch in 1926.
Hilditch took control at Old Trafford on October 8 following John Chapman’s suspension from management after he was found guilty of improper conduct by the Football Association.
The half back arrived at Old Trafford in 1916 but had to wait until the conclusion of the First World War and the resumption of the Football League to make his debut in 1919.
Only 32 at the time, Hilditch was considered a popular member of the United dressing room and was given the responsibility of continuing the work done by Chapman.
Chapman had taken over the reigns from Jack Robson in 1921 and in his first season United were relegated to the second division.
However, United’s first Scottish manager began to rebuild the side and although they faced two more seasons in the second tier, they were finally promoted back to the top flight in 1925.
In their first season back Chapman steered United to a top-half finish as well as the semi-finals of the FA Cup where local rivals Manchester City defeated them 3-0.
All seemed good at Old Trafford, as Chapman had also improved the club’s financial standing by helping reduce their debt as he created a winning side on a low budget.
But in September 1926 the FA appointed a commission to investigate affairs at Old Trafford and a month later it was announced that Chapman would be suspended for the rest of the season for ‘improper conduct in his position as secretary/manager’.
Chapman would never manage in club football again despite denying the accusations.
United, meanwhile, were eight games into their second season back in the first division and were in desperate need of a replacement for Chapman.
Hilditch was chosen to take control of the club having been there for ten years but he got off to a terrible start, losing 4-0 away to Bolton in his first game in charge.
The 1926/27 season proved to be a mediocre one for Hilditch as he only won nine of his 30 games en route to a finish of 15th and elimination from the FA Cup in the third round by Reading.
Of the 30 games he managed he ended up starting in 16, as Hilditch appeared to struggle balancing both roles losing 14 games that season.
In the end he was unable to last until the conclusion of the season as United brought in Herbert Bamlett in April 1927.
Hilditch though stayed at Old Trafford as a player for a further five seasons as he went on to clock up more than 300 league appearances for the Reds.
Main image courtesy of DHL via YouTube, with thanks.
