MANCHESTER UNITED’S CURRENT injury crisis has led to a number of teenage prospects get their chance to impress.
It remains to be seen how much of a future this latest crop of youngsters will have at Old Trafford but for the time being, they’ve brought an energy back during a flat and tedious campaign.
In the annals of United’s history, it’s a familiar story.
Yes, the success of the Busby Babes and the Class of 92 is intrinsically linked with the club’s identity and ethos but there have also been moments when young players have breathed a new verve into United, just when they needed it most.
In the direct aftermath of the Munich Air Crash, raw and inexperienced figures like Shay Brennan, Alex Dawson, Freddie Goodwin and Mark Pearson all stepped up and delivered.
Irish international Shay Brennan prepares for a game against Arsenal in 1961. EMPICS Sports Photo Agency
EMPICS Sports Photo Agency
The talent of the young players enabled the club to stay competitive while Busby prepared to assemble his next great side. Between 1963 and 1968, United won two league titles, an FA Cup and a European Cup trophy.
But from the initial young group who popped up post-Munich, only Brennan would go on to taste any of that success.
Still, the greater contributions of those youngsters who took on such immense responsibility and who provided excitement at such a difficult time should not be under-appreciated.
There was something similar in the oft-forgotten dark days of Sir Alex Ferguson’s reign, when he was struggling to forge any definable style or substance in the late-1980s.
In his first season, United finished in 11th while some new signings – most notably Brian McClair – pushed them to the runners-up spot the following term.
Still, the chopping and changing continued as Ferguson desperately tried to transition between the Ron Atkinson era with Gordon Strachan, Remi Moses, Arthur Albiston and Gary Bailey either transferred or forced to retire.
And there were the injuries too.
It meant that Ferguson’s hand was forced and a smattering of young players were brought into the squad during the 1988/89 campaign.
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Lee Sharpe in action against Legia Warsaw in April 1991. EMPICS Sports Photo Agency
EMPICS Sports Photo Agency
Lee Sharpe was a waif-like left-back signed from Torquay United in the summer. Technical, pacy and with a keen eye for getting forward and creating, he made his debut against West Ham aged just 17.
There were others who were blooded too: Russell Beardsmore, a right-winger, though he looked more like a jockey, with speed, purpose and an eye for goal.
Mark Robins celebrates 'that' goal in January 1990. Steve Etherington / EMPICS Sport
Steve Etherington / EMPICS Sport / EMPICS Sport
Mark Robins, a blonde-haired striker who had been in the youth team for the previous two years. Lee Martin was the heir-apparent to Albiston at full-back while Giuliano Maiorana was an audacious left-winger with a gift for trickery and imagination.
Welsh striker Deiniol Graham had made his debut in 1987 having just turned 18 days before. Tony Gill’s ascent to the first-team was stunted by injury problems but was a key squad member by 1988.
It was a treasure chest and everything seemed to slot perfectly in place on 1st January 1989, when United faced Liverpool at Old Trafford.
John Barnes gave the guests the lead with twenty minutes to go but United, with Sharpe, Beardsmore and Robins in their side, responded emphatically. Beardsmore teed McClair up for a superb equaliser after a jinking run. Robins indirectly had a hand in Mark Hughes’ putting United in front while within minutes, Sharpe crossed for Beardsmore to volley low to the net.
A 3-1 come-from-behind victory against their most bitter rivals and with a collection of young players at the heart of it. United supporters were genuinely excited and the sense of hope continued for much of the month.
In mid-January, both Gill and Graham netted in a 2-2 FA Cup draw with QPR. Three days later, Gill was on the score-sheet again as United beat Millwall 3-0.
By mid-February, the side were third in the table.
And then the walking wounded began to return to the fold. From United’s remaining fourteen league games, they won three and lost eight.
It was another 11th-place finish for Fergie and his response was to sign more players that summer. Paul Ince arrived from West Ham while Mike Phelan, Neil Webb, Danny Wallace and Gary Pallister also arrived.
With Ferguson under pressure, he couldn’t be seen to turn his back on expensive additions so the enthused, exciting young players who had served him so well had to make do with cameos with the notable exception of Martin.
Given United and Ferguson’s perilous situation, it wasn’t the time to take risks and so, despite Robins netting freely whenever selected, McClair was still preferred up front. Despite Maiorana’s mercurial talents, Wallace was never likely to be dropped. Despite Beardsmore’s excitable on-pitch personality, Ferguson considered him too lightweight to be trusted.
The end came quickly for a few of his ‘Fledglings’. By the time Robins’ saved Ferguson’s United career (or so the myth goes) with a now-famous FA Cup winner against Nottingham Forest in January 1990, both Maiorana and Gill’s careers were effectively over because of serious injuries.
Lee Martin (centre) reached his peak in 1990 when he scored the winner in the FA Cup final replay with Crystal Palace. PA / PA Archive/Press Association Images
PA / PA Archive/Press Association Images / PA Archive/Press Association Images
Martin’s peak came in 1990, when he proved the Cup hero against Crystal Palace but soon he lost his place in the side and Denis Irwin established himself as an indispensable left-back.
Beardsmore’s contributions became less and less and when Andrei Kanchelskis arrived at the club in 1991, he took control of the right-wing position, not relinquishing it until moving to Everton in 1995. By that stage Beardsmore was with Bournemouth and he’d stay on the coast until his retirement in 1998.
Russell Beardsmore pictured here in March 1990. Phil O'Brien / EMPICS Sport
Phil O'Brien / EMPICS Sport / EMPICS Sport
Graham broke his arm in a reserve game and it took him eight months to fully recover. By the time he got back in the frame, United were treading water and Ferguson’s job was in doubt. Unsurprisingly, he never got a look in again and was sold to Barnsley in 1991.
Sharpe remained through it all and was an England international at 19. But, like so many of that group who all made the grade at the same time, his career was subsequently blighted by injuries and the rapid emergence of Ryan Giggs and others.
By the summer of 1996, he had had enough and moved to Leeds though within three years, he was struggling to make the grade at Bradford.
When Ferguson eventually brought championship success to United in 1993, he wrote about the important role the youngsters played in his book Just Champion.
The kids did a magnificent job, buying time for the restructuring that carried us to eventual success. The clinical judgement on the rookies wasn’t so important, though. They were what the crowd wanted in that period of United’s evolution – and they responded to them with a real, unbridled fervour.”
The same rings true for United’s current generation of stars. As much as you can never quite predict the future, the likes of Jesse Lingard, Cameron Borthwick-Jackson and Marcus Rashford are assured of a place in the club’s history no matter what happens next.
And that’s some achievement in itself.
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Man United's latest crop of youngsters brings back memories of forgotten 'Fergie's Fledglings'
MANCHESTER UNITED’S CURRENT injury crisis has led to a number of teenage prospects get their chance to impress.
It remains to be seen how much of a future this latest crop of youngsters will have at Old Trafford but for the time being, they’ve brought an energy back during a flat and tedious campaign.
In the annals of United’s history, it’s a familiar story.
Yes, the success of the Busby Babes and the Class of 92 is intrinsically linked with the club’s identity and ethos but there have also been moments when young players have breathed a new verve into United, just when they needed it most.
In the direct aftermath of the Munich Air Crash, raw and inexperienced figures like Shay Brennan, Alex Dawson, Freddie Goodwin and Mark Pearson all stepped up and delivered.
The talent of the young players enabled the club to stay competitive while Busby prepared to assemble his next great side. Between 1963 and 1968, United won two league titles, an FA Cup and a European Cup trophy.
But from the initial young group who popped up post-Munich, only Brennan would go on to taste any of that success.
Still, the greater contributions of those youngsters who took on such immense responsibility and who provided excitement at such a difficult time should not be under-appreciated.
There was something similar in the oft-forgotten dark days of Sir Alex Ferguson’s reign, when he was struggling to forge any definable style or substance in the late-1980s.
In his first season, United finished in 11th while some new signings – most notably Brian McClair – pushed them to the runners-up spot the following term.
Still, the chopping and changing continued as Ferguson desperately tried to transition between the Ron Atkinson era with Gordon Strachan, Remi Moses, Arthur Albiston and Gary Bailey either transferred or forced to retire.
And there were the injuries too.
It meant that Ferguson’s hand was forced and a smattering of young players were brought into the squad during the 1988/89 campaign.
Lee Sharpe was a waif-like left-back signed from Torquay United in the summer. Technical, pacy and with a keen eye for getting forward and creating, he made his debut against West Ham aged just 17.
There were others who were blooded too: Russell Beardsmore, a right-winger, though he looked more like a jockey, with speed, purpose and an eye for goal.
Mark Robins, a blonde-haired striker who had been in the youth team for the previous two years. Lee Martin was the heir-apparent to Albiston at full-back while Giuliano Maiorana was an audacious left-winger with a gift for trickery and imagination.
Welsh striker Deiniol Graham had made his debut in 1987 having just turned 18 days before. Tony Gill’s ascent to the first-team was stunted by injury problems but was a key squad member by 1988.
It was a treasure chest and everything seemed to slot perfectly in place on 1st January 1989, when United faced Liverpool at Old Trafford.
John Barnes gave the guests the lead with twenty minutes to go but United, with Sharpe, Beardsmore and Robins in their side, responded emphatically. Beardsmore teed McClair up for a superb equaliser after a jinking run. Robins indirectly had a hand in Mark Hughes’ putting United in front while within minutes, Sharpe crossed for Beardsmore to volley low to the net.
A 3-1 come-from-behind victory against their most bitter rivals and with a collection of young players at the heart of it. United supporters were genuinely excited and the sense of hope continued for much of the month.
In mid-January, both Gill and Graham netted in a 2-2 FA Cup draw with QPR. Three days later, Gill was on the score-sheet again as United beat Millwall 3-0.
By mid-February, the side were third in the table.
And then the walking wounded began to return to the fold. From United’s remaining fourteen league games, they won three and lost eight.
It was another 11th-place finish for Fergie and his response was to sign more players that summer. Paul Ince arrived from West Ham while Mike Phelan, Neil Webb, Danny Wallace and Gary Pallister also arrived.
With Ferguson under pressure, he couldn’t be seen to turn his back on expensive additions so the enthused, exciting young players who had served him so well had to make do with cameos with the notable exception of Martin.
Given United and Ferguson’s perilous situation, it wasn’t the time to take risks and so, despite Robins netting freely whenever selected, McClair was still preferred up front. Despite Maiorana’s mercurial talents, Wallace was never likely to be dropped. Despite Beardsmore’s excitable on-pitch personality, Ferguson considered him too lightweight to be trusted.
The end came quickly for a few of his ‘Fledglings’. By the time Robins’ saved Ferguson’s United career (or so the myth goes) with a now-famous FA Cup winner against Nottingham Forest in January 1990, both Maiorana and Gill’s careers were effectively over because of serious injuries.
Martin’s peak came in 1990, when he proved the Cup hero against Crystal Palace but soon he lost his place in the side and Denis Irwin established himself as an indispensable left-back.
Beardsmore’s contributions became less and less and when Andrei Kanchelskis arrived at the club in 1991, he took control of the right-wing position, not relinquishing it until moving to Everton in 1995. By that stage Beardsmore was with Bournemouth and he’d stay on the coast until his retirement in 1998.
Graham broke his arm in a reserve game and it took him eight months to fully recover. By the time he got back in the frame, United were treading water and Ferguson’s job was in doubt. Unsurprisingly, he never got a look in again and was sold to Barnsley in 1991.
Sharpe remained through it all and was an England international at 19. But, like so many of that group who all made the grade at the same time, his career was subsequently blighted by injuries and the rapid emergence of Ryan Giggs and others.
By the summer of 1996, he had had enough and moved to Leeds though within three years, he was struggling to make the grade at Bradford.
When Ferguson eventually brought championship success to United in 1993, he wrote about the important role the youngsters played in his book Just Champion.
The same rings true for United’s current generation of stars. As much as you can never quite predict the future, the likes of Jesse Lingard, Cameron Borthwick-Jackson and Marcus Rashford are assured of a place in the club’s history no matter what happens next.
And that’s some achievement in itself.
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