The Reds produced another blistering finish at the end of the following season, 1980/81, when they won their last seven league games in a row. This time, however, only an eighth-placed finish in the table was secured – a position which the club's board could not tolerate. Sexton was sacked on 30 April 1981, after four seasons in the hot-seat. Sexton’s replacement Ron Atkinson brought in Mick Brown as assistant manager and Eric Harrison as youth coach. But it was his on-field acquisitions that really excited the fans. He broke the British transfer record to recruit Bryan Robson from his old club West Bromwich Albion for £1.5million and spent around a third of that to add another ex-Albion man, Remi Moses, to the United squad. In midfield, the new arrivals wonderfully complemented the finesse of Ray Wilkins, the ball-playing England star. But still there was something missing. United needed a forward who could match the strike-rate of Ian Rush at Liverpool, with the Merseysiders winning the title again in 1982, 1983 and 1984. Atkinson’s men were never far behind, finishing third or fourth in every season of his reign. That elusive league title remained agonisingly out of reach, however. The domestic cups offered United their best chances of silverware, and in 1983, Wembley was reached in both competitions. Liverpool triumphed 2-1 after extra-time to win the League Cup, while little-fancied Brighton and Hove Albion were beaten in two attempts in the FA Cup final. A 2-2 draw was followed up by a thumping 4-0 replay win for United through goals from Robson (2), Arnold Muhren and Norman Whiteside. Whiteside’s habit of rising to the big occasion was never more gratefully received than in 1985, when he curled in the only goal of the FA Cup final to beat Everton 1-0. United had earlier been reduced to 10 men by the dismissal of Kevin Moran, who formed a great defensive partnership with Paul McGrath. It was Atkinson’s second FA Cup success in three seasons but, 18 months later, he was sacked for his inability to break Merseyside’s monopoly of the League title. Not even 10 straight wins at the start of 1985/86 term could lead him to the Holy Grail. In November 1986, United at last appointed a proven winner. At Aberdeen, Alex Ferguson had claimed every prize that Scotland had to offer, not to mention the added bonus of the European Cup Winners' Cup when his team defied the odds to beat Real Madrid in the final. Ferguson clearly had the talent for the job, but he also needed time to turn United round. The club remained patient as the Reds finished eleventh in 1986/87 and again in 1988/89. After all, the season in between, 1987/88, had offered encouraging signs as United finished second to Liverpool by winning eight and drawing two of their last 10 games. The promise of that season, and some of the signings made, would soon be fulfilled.
The 1980s would see the arrival of one of the greatest figures in the club's history, Sir Alex Ferguson, but while cup successes prior to the Scot's appointment provided memorable highs, this was the dawn before a new era in the 1990s...
United made a poor start to the 1980s but Dave Sexton and his team recovered to win eight of their last ten league games in the 1979/80 campaign, finishing just two points behind Liverpool in the title race.