57 amazing things to happen since the last time a Man Utd FA Cup tie wasn't shown on TV
Manchester United are preparing for their 57th consecutive televised FA Cup tie away to Blackburn this weekend.
It's an incredible run which stretches back 12 years. In fact the last fixture that United played that wasn't in full glare of the TV audience was in January 2005 when United drew 0-0 at home to Exeter. Indeed there are no members of that starting line-up left at Old Trafford today.
United's starting XI in 2005: Tim Howard, Phil Neville, Wes Brown, Gerard Pique, Jon Spector, Chris Eagles, Djemba-Djemba, Phil Jones, Liam Miller, David Bellion, Kieran Richardson.
If you thought 2016 was a humdinger of a year, then the 12 years that have passed since United's last non-TV appearance has witnessed some momentum events and occasions.
1. Emeli Sande over kill
London won the right to stage the 2012 London Olympics, indeed staged said glorious Games and made us overdose/induldge (depending on your preference) in the performances of Emeli Sande.
2. This tower is on fire
The Burj Khalifa in Dubai became the world's tallest building at 2,716.5ft in 2007 and celebrated ringing in 2016 by trying to steal the city's pyrotechnical display with a blaze of their own.
3. From loathed to loved
Gary Neville retired as a much loathed Red to supporters outside OT, became a much loved pundit and dabbled in failed management and coaching roles with Valencia and England.
4. A forward thinking nation
Barack Obama was elected as America's first black president on November 5, 2008. The country making two steps forward then deciding to return to the dark ages in 2017 - albeit one with a highly colourful exterior.
5. Unbelievable Tekkers
Video-sharing American website YouTube was founded in February 2005 in the process carving out actual jobs for people who are quite good at keepy uppies and the like including F2 Freestyles Billy Wingrove and Jeremy Lynch.
6. Lies, lies, and more lies
Lance Armstrong won a record-setting seventh consecutive Tour de France title in July 2005 and retires as a bona fide legend. There's one snag, it turns out he's a dirty lying drugs cheat.
7. The future of news
Jack Dorsey sent the first ever Tweet on March 21, 2006 (below) allowing any Joe Bloggs the chance to air their views, promote their word, post banal irrelevance in just 140 characters.
8. Blunt's arrival
James Blunt's 'You're Beautiful' ditty becomes the most popular song of 2005 but even the self-deprecating artist years later apologises for his 'annoying' love song that was 'force-fed down people's throats'. Interestingly the fifth song on that top 100 list was Axel F's 'Crazy Frog' which isn't irritating in any way.
9. The smartphone revolution
Apple launched the first ever smartphone in January 2007 - the iPhone 2G putting an end to the Nokia brick dominance.
10. Turkey twizzlers no more
There was victory for TV chef Jamie Oliver back in 2005 after his one-man crusade to ban turkey twizzlers from school menus.
11. The strange new word entries
Year on UK Word of the Year entries into the Oxford English Dictionary have varied from Sudoku (2005) Simples (2009), selfie (2013) to the 'Face with Tears of Joy' emoji in 2015.
12. The new 007
Daniel Craig unseated Pierce Brosnan as James Bond in 2005 with his first movie in said role Casino Royale becoming the highest-grossing in the series at the time.
13. A brutal cull
Pluto was given the chop as an actual planet in 2006.
14. Britney's close, close shave
Britney Spears' deep struggles unfolded in the public eye - no more so when she shaved her head while paparazzi snapped away in 2007.
15. Never missing a moment of your favourite TV
Fans of Eastenders never had to fear missing an episode of Eastenders again when BBC iplayer was introduced in July 2007.
16. The Jay-Z backlash
"I'm not having hip-hop at Glastonbury. It's wrong," was Noel Gallagher's reaction to Jay-Z's headlining of Glastonbury in 2008.
17. The Fed Express
Roger Federer has won 14 of his 18 grand slam titles since 2005.
18. The smoking ban
The smoking ban came into force in England in July 2007 with Wetherspoons ending many an unemployed man's afternoon beer by becoming the first major chain to introduce the ban on indoor smoking.
19. Zidane's faux pas
Zinedine Zidane signs off with 'that' moment on the biggest of stages in 2006.
20. 9/11 attacks ringleader killed
Former al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden is killed in Pakistan in 2011.
21. Madonna's growing army
Madonna has adopted four African children since 2005 - her latest additions being twin girls from Malawi.
22. Launching the tablet
Apple releases the first iPad in 2010 bringing relief to parents worldwide on long-haul flights.
23. The Woods affair(s)
Tiger Woods crashes his car in a late-night incident at his home back in 2009. If only that was the least of his troubles...
24. Death of Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II, the third longest-serving pontiff in history, dies at 84-years-old in April 2005. Over 4 million people travel to the Vatican to mourn him.
25. Arrival of Messi
Lionel Messi scored his first La Liga goal for Barcelona in May 2005 from a Ronaldinho assist at the tender age of 17.
26. Trump's wedding... and presidency
Donald Trump married model Melania Knauss in 2005 in a million-dollar wedding covered by every major media outlet with attendance from among others Bill and Hillary Clinton. Fast-forward to 2017 and he is, incredibly, the most powerful man in the world.
27. The changing guard of Doctor Who
There have been three Doctor Whos since 2005: David Tennant, Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi.
28. Queen of the big screen
Meryl Streep has received seven Oscar nomations since 2005 for films ranging from The Devil Wears Prada to Florence Foster Jenkins.
29. The emergence of Bolt
Usain Bolt won the first of his nine Olympic gold medals (he has since been stripped of one because of his naughty ex-team-mate) at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
30. Is it a bird, is it a plane, no it's a meteor...
A meteor crashed in Chelyabinsk, Russia in 2013 scaring the bejesus out of everyone.
31. Balding's bad timing
Clare Balding was forced to apologise to Grand National winning jockey Liam Treadwell for making fun of his teeth on air in 2009.
32. England cricketers on the lash
England won the Ashes back after a 16-losing streak in 2005 with Kevin Pietersen, Stuart Broad and James Anderson allegedly relieving themselves on the Oval pitch during the celebrations.
33. The 21st century dating game
TV property expert Sarah Beeny launched dating website mysinglefriend.com in 2005 with Grindr (2009) and Tinder (2012) muscling their way into the market.
34. The selfie phenomenon
Ellen DeGeneres' celeb-filled selfie during the 2014 Oscars ceremony set the record for most retweeted tweet of all time.
35. Hidden Jules
Julian Assange, WikiLeaks founder, is arrested in 2010. After hiding out in the UK, Ecuador granted asylum in June 2012 to prevent Assange's extradition to Sweden for questioning about a sexual assualt accusation.
36. Jacko dies
Michael Jackson is found not guilty of all charges at the end of a four-month child abuse trial in June 2005. Four years later the popstar is found dead at his home in Beverly Hills after suffering a cardiac arrest.
37. The first-ever face transplant
France's Isabelle Dinoire underwent the world's first face transplant in November 2005 after her pet dog ripped off her nose, mouth and chin.
38. Dame Ellen sets incredible record
Ellen MacArthur survives an encounter with a whale to break the world record for the fastest solo circumnavigation of the globe. She sailed the 27,354 miles in just 71 days, 14 hours and 18 minutes in February 2005.
39. Harry Potter's final chapter also makes history
J K Rowling released the final book of the Harry Potter Series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and sells over 11 million copies in the first 24 hours - becoming the fastest selling book in history.
40. Three World Cups - and England's decline
Three Fifa World Cups have been held in Germany, South Africa and Brazil during which time England have gone from heroic quarter-final failures to group stage flops.
41. Three Euros - and England's decline
Three European Championships have been staged in Austria and Switzerland, Poland and Ukraine, and France during which time England have gone from missing the party, punished by penalties and utter humiliation.
42. Liverpool's European miracle
Liverpool staged the Miracle of Istanbul in 2005 with six minutes of football that stunned AC Milan and sent in-game betting world into meltdown.
43. Katrina causes devastation
Hurricane Katrina was the third strongest hurricane to make landfall in the US in 2005 and killed over 1,800 people from Louisiana and Missisippi.
44. Ward triumphs in X-Factor
Shayne Ward won the 2005 edition of X-Factor with a heartfelt 'That's My Goal' number.
45. The Apprentice makes its debut
Back in 2005, the first series of the UK version of the Apprentice made it's debut on BBC Two. The winner? Tim Campbell of course.
46. Man City bring the noise
Man Utd's neighbours get slightly rowdier following the takeover of Sheikh Mansour and his Abu Dhabi crew in 2008.
47. Countdown host passes away
Daytime viewers and consonant and vowel lovers are in mourning following the death of Countdown legend Richard Whiteley in 2005.
48. Saddam Hussein meets his end
Saddam Hussein was sentenced to death by hanging in 2006 after being convicted of crimes against humanity.
49. Leeds have plenty of leaders
Leeds have had 14 different managers (either full-time or as caretaker) since Kevin Blackwell departed in September 2006.
50. Phone hacking brings end to News of the World
Allegations of phone hacking in 2006 led to the eventual closure of News of the World five years later. A year later and Rupert Murdoch launched a Sunday edition of The Sun.
51. Playstation evolution
Two new Playstations have been released since 2015. The PlayStation 3 model in 2006 followed by the 4 in 2013.
52. Jade Goody race row and tragic death
Jade Goody was engulfed in a Celebrity Big Brother racism row in 2007 for her treatment towards fellow contestant, Indian actress Shipal Shetty. She died of cervical cancer two years later.
53. Theresa May MP made PM
Theresa May became the fourth Prime Minister to rule our land since 2005 - albeit by not winning a general election.
54. Money goes up in smoke
The cost of buying a cigarette packet of 20 in 2005 cost £4.82 and has since increased to £9.40.
55. Duffy in Brits treble
Welsh singer-songer Duffy (remember her?) wins three Brit awards in 2009.
56. Higgs Boson revealed
Scientists confirmed the existence of the Higgs Boson, oh yes they did in 2013.
57. The clocks stops on Martin-Paltrow relationship
Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin consciously uncoupled in 2013. I.e they broke up but remained friends.
