Editing Manchester United F.C. (section)

===1969–1986===
{{Main|History of Manchester United F.C. (1969–1986)}}
[[File:Bryan Robson at the cliff -march 92.JPG|thumb|upright|[[Bryan Robson]] was the captain of Manchester United for 12 years, longer than any other player.<ref>Barnes et al. (2001), p. 110.</ref>|alt=A smiling man with dark hair wearing a white, green and blue tracksuit top over a blue shirt. He is holding a washbag under his right arm.]]
Following an eighth-place finish in the [[1969–70 Manchester United F.C. season|1969–70 season]] and a poor start to the [[1970–71 Manchester United F.C. season|1970–71 season]], Busby was persuaded to temporarily resume managerial duties, and McGuinness returned to his position as reserve team coach. In June 1971, [[Frank O'Farrell]] was appointed as manager, but lasted less than 18&nbsp;months before being replaced by [[Tommy Docherty]] in December 1972.<ref>Murphy (2006), p. 134.</ref> Docherty saved Manchester United from relegation that season, only to see them relegated in 1974; by that time the trio of Best, Law, and Charlton had left the club.<ref name="barnes_18-19"/> The team won promotion at the first attempt and reached the FA Cup final in [[1976 FA Cup final|1976]], but were beaten by [[Southampton F.C.|Southampton]]. They reached the final again in [[1977 FA Cup final|1977]], beating [[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]] 2–1. Docherty was dismissed shortly afterwards, following the revelation of his affair with the club physiotherapist's wife.<ref name="barnes_19">Barnes et al. (2001), p. 19.</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=1977: Manchester United sack manager |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/4/newsid_2492000/2492743.stm |work=BBC News |date=4 July 1977 |access-date=2 April 2010 |archive-date=28 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110828180430/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/4/newsid_2492000/2492743.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Dave Sexton]] replaced Docherty as manager in the summer of 1977. Despite major signings, including [[Joe Jordan (footballer)|Joe Jordan]], [[Gordon McQueen]], [[Gary Bailey]], and [[Ray Wilkins]], the team failed to win any trophies; they finished second in 1979–80 and lost to [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]] in the [[1979 FA Cup final]]. Sexton was dismissed in 1981, even though the team won the last seven games under his direction.<ref name="barnes_20">Barnes et al. (2001), p. 20.</ref> He was replaced by [[Ron Atkinson]], who immediately broke the British record transfer fee to sign [[Bryan Robson]] from his former club [[West Bromwich Albion F.C.|West Bromwich Albion]]. Under Atkinson, Manchester United won the FA Cup in [[1983 FA Cup final|1983]] and [[1985 FA Cup final|1985]] and beat [[Liverpool F.C.–Manchester United F.C. rivalry|rivals]] Liverpool to win the [[1983 FA Charity Shield|1983 Charity Shield]]. In [[1985–86 Manchester United F.C. season|1985–86]], after 13 wins and two draws in its first 15 matches, the club was favourite to win the league but finished in fourth place. The following season, with the club in danger of relegation by November, Atkinson was dismissed.<ref name="barnes_20-21">Barnes et al. (2001), pp. 20–1.</ref>