Season 1885/86
original illustrations of the kits worn during the season

Possible Kit with navy knickerbockers
unitedkits_kit_0057
unitedkits_number_0057
Possible Kit with white knickerbockers
unitedkits_kit_0054
unitedkits_number_0054
The Season in brief

A new Company was founded in 1885, with Fred Attock as President, probably to take advantage of the FA's acceptance of professionalism that July. It is extremely doubtful however that the club initially employed any professionals.

The 'Heathens' again reached the Manchester Cup Final, which remained open to amateur players only. En route they scored twenty goals and conceded just one. The final against Manchester FC, was watched by around 6,500. Newton Heath won the Cup but their 2-1 victory was fortunate. Reports suggest that their first goal, after just three minutes, was handled the ball over the line by J Watkins.

The Lancashire FA organised both Senior and Junior Challenge Cups. Newton Heath, much to the chagrin of the committee, were placed in the Junior competition. The reserves were sent to the first round tie at Lytham, and were beaten 6-3.

There remains a great deal of doubt concerning the team colours. In the absence of any definitive contemporary evidence, we believe it is probable that the playes wore red and white quartered shirts, the colours of the L&Y Railway.

However, modern club histories list the club colours as green and gold, although they don't offer any compelling evidence to support this claim. These colours were supposedly included in a match report from a Bolton newspaper in November 1880, but the report remains untraced.

Football was a much more physical game than today and given the club's lack of resources, it is probable that players used laces to repair torn off shirt buttons rather than replace the entire shirt.

Whatever the colour of their shirts, the Heathens would probably have continued to wear different coloured knickerbockers.