On the day tickets went on sale for the Cup Tie at Chelsea, fans started queuing before 5am (many of them women deputising for their husbands) and the tickets sold-out within twenty minutes of the box-office opening.
Four North-East members of the frigate Amethyst were given a civic reception and attended the match against Birmingham.
United had to ban the players from signing autographs on the pitch before the game and during the interval due to the number of spectators (mostly boys) running onto the pitch. Against Aston Villa the situation was so bad the start of the second-half was delayed.