Archive Methodology

Source hierarchy

The archive begins with official competition, league, federation, club, company and public-record material. Museums, libraries and established statistical institutions are used for historical context and cross-checking. Reputable contemporary reporting supports appointments, departures and disputed events that official summaries do not fully explain.

Reference databases can help find a lead, but a substantial or contested claim is not published solely because it appears in a crowd-edited source. Source links are descriptive, and research features include the date on which their evidence was reviewed.

Fact, calculation and interpretation

Confirmed facts are statements directly supported by the cited record. Calculated analysis is derived from published figures and explains the formula or grouping used. Editorial interpretation identifies a pattern or significance and is labelled when it extends beyond a source's explicit wording.

Generated tables and repeated page components help keep records consistent, but automation does not decide whether a claim is historically important or adequately supported. John Williams manually reviews substantive narrative, source selection and interpretation before publication.

Manager records

Managers are included when the record identifies them as responsible for men's first-team competitive matches. Early secretary-managers remain in scope because administration and team control were combined. Caretaker, interim and permanent appointments are labelled separately.

Match totals cover competitive first-team fixtures unless a page states otherwise. Win percentage is wins divided by matches managed. Repeat appointments remain separate spells: Sir Matt Busby's return, Michael Carrick's 2021 caretaker spell and his later head-coach stages are not collapsed into a single tenure.

Season records

League positions and points are checked against official league or competition records where available, then established statistical archives. Historical points are printed as awarded in that season; the archive does not retrospectively convert two-points-for-a-win campaigns to modern scoring.

Abandoned wartime competition and structurally unusual seasons require visible notes. Position comparisons are avoided when league size, division or competition format makes them misleading. Current or recently completed campaigns carry a fact-check date.

Trophy counting

League championships, FA Cups, League Cups and major UEFA competitions are separated from other listed honours. Community and Charity Shields remain visible but are not treated as equivalent to those competitions. Shared Shields are labelled, and friendlies or testimonials are excluded from competitive totals.

Incomplete or conflicting evidence

When sources disagree, the archive first checks whether they are counting the same thing. League-only and all-competition appearances, match date and appointment date, and permanent and caretaker responsibility commonly produce different totals. If the conflict cannot be resolved, the uncertainty remains visible rather than being silently replaced with a preferred number.

Living people and sensitive history

Claims about living people require reliable contemporary evidence and neutral language. Rumour is excluded. Fatalities and disasters are described through authoritative records, with chronology separated from interpretation and without decorative or sensational treatment.

Updates and corrections

A publication date records when an article first appeared. A substantive update date changes only when research, analysis or a material fact changes. A fact-check date records the most recent evidence review. Styling or deployment alone does not reset these dates.

Readers can submit evidence through the corrections process. Accepted changes are applied to the relevant record and to any connected pages that derive from it.