[Red Devil]

Part Seven: 1990 -1999

The dawn of the 1990's saw Alex Ferguson collecting his first silverware as Manchester United manager, and Liverpool winning their last League Championship with an ageing team. The tide was turning. Dominance was now to ride her chariot travel along the East Lancs Road in the direction of Old Trafford.

United's 4000th game was at the City Ground Nottingham on 2nd May 1990, we got beat 4-0 before an attendance of 21186.

Fergie's first FA Cup, achieved after a replay against Crystal Palace, seemed at the time to be a stand-alone success, one that possibly saved his job after another poor season in the League. It seems, however, that Mark Robins winnig goal in the third round against forest and Lee Martin's winning goal against Palace lit the fuse for an explosion of unprecedented success.

First and foremost, winning the FA Cup in 1990 allowed United to make their return to European competition after an absence of five years. Far from being rusty, they went all the way to the final of the European Cup Winners Cup in Rotterdam where their opponents were Barcelona, the former club of United striker Mark Hughes who had left United, gone to Barcelona for 2 seasons, then a short spell at Bayern Munich before returning to United hungrier and better than ever. Two goals by Hughes sealed the match 2-1 in Fergie's favour in May 1991, 23 years after the club's previous triumph in Europe.

The other long wait, for that elusive League Championship, very nearly ended in April 1992. The Reds had already won Fergie's third trophy in March, the League Cup, and were in a two-horse race with Leeds. Liverpool were out of the running, but they still had a say in the destiny of the title, beating United 2-0 at Anfield to ruin their challenge. A player at Leeds United proved the pivot in which Leeds beat United to the Football League Title by 1 point, Eric Cantona. The 1991/92 title would be remembered in Manchester as the title that United lost, rather than the one that Leeds actually won. Leeds, after all, were not the greatest of football powers in the 1990's and their star quality was further reduced when they allowed one of their best players, Eric Cantona, to join Manchester United in December 1992.

Legend has it that Martin Edwards, the Chairman, was chatting in his office to Alex Ferguson when the phone rang, it was the Leeds Chairman. The Leeds Chairman wanted to buy Denis Irwin, the left back United had signed from Oldham. Ferguson wrote something on a piece of paper and passed it to Edwards. One word "Cantona". Martin Edwards looked at Ferguson and told the Leeds Chairman that he was not selling Irwin but would be interested in purchasing Cantona for £1m. The sale was quickly agreed and the rest, as they say, is history. This was to be Leeds United's biggest mistake in history.

In selling Eric Cantona to Old Trafford, the Yorkshire club practically handed over the keys to the League Championship. The Frenchman brought that little extra bit of magic that had been missing from United's previous campaigns and was an instant hit with the Mancunian faithful, scoring nine goals to help the Reds win their first title in 26 years. This was United's first title in 26 years and Cantona's second in a row, with two different clubs. This was also the year that saw the start of the careers of the likes of the Neville Brothers; Gary & Phil, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, David Beckham and others from the now famous class of '92.

In the following season 1993/94, the team virtually picked itself en route to an historic League and FA Cup Double, with Cantona sporting the number seven shirt that had been Bryan Robson’s property for so long. The number one, meanwhile, was undoubtedly Peter Schmeichel, arguably the best goalkeeper ever seen at Old Trafford.

Cantona’s eight-month absence from January 1995, following his clash with an insulting fan at Crystal Palace, proved to be United’s undoing as they tried to defend their Double. They lost the title by one point to Blackburn Rovers and then lost the FA Cup final by one goal to Everton. The former champions were hampered at Wembley by an injury to Steve Bruce, the brave captain who was a defensive rock in the early 1990’s. It is indicative that Cantona was held in such high esteem that fans refused to blame him for the previous season's apparent demise.

Bruce also missed the following year's FA Cup Final, at the end of the 1995/96 season, but this time the result was rather different. Liverpool stood between United and a first-ever ‘Double Double’ and were holding out for extra-time, when Cantona struck home a sublime shot in the 86th minute. The French skipper had throughout the season been an inspiration to the talented young players in the team, including David Beckham and Gary Neville. United had also stopped Liverpool from the same double, relegating them to second in the league and losing finalists at Wembley.

In May 1997, Cantona helped the club to its fourth League Championship of the decade. It was to be his last, as he surprisingly retired from football later that same month. He had become disillusioned with some of the business practises of Manchester United PLC off the field, and in the way they marketted him as a commodity and not a player. A very honest player, he could not accept this. It is worthy of note that even 10 years later, his name still resounds from the fans at Old Trafford.

The shock waves of Eric’s decision seemed to last for a whole year, as the Reds went empty-handed in 1997/98 while Arsenal won the Double. Again, injuries to key players, especially Ryan Giggs and Roy Keane were cited for United’s downfall. Again, the fans did not blame Eric.

The influence that Giggs could have on results was never more apparent than in the 1998/99 FA Cup semi-final replay, when he scored perhaps the goal of the decade – a solo run and finish that left Arsenal's defenders grasping at thin air. He collected a stray pass from an Arsenal player, prossibly Bergkamp and took off on a mazy run that saw him dribble passed defender after defender before lofting the ball, over Seaman in goal, into the far side of the goal from the left. Peter Schmeichel also saved a penalty from Bergkamp after Phil Neville was ruled to have committed a foul in the penalty area. It booked United's place in their fifth FA Cup final of the 1990's, and this time they won it, beating Newcastle United 2-0 with goals by Paul Scholes and substitute Teddy Sheringham. Argueably the easiest final United ever played in. Newcastle, with Shearer up front, never looked like troubling Manchester at all during the entire 90 minutes. It could have been a lot more goals than the two scored.

That result clinched United's third Double, six days after the Premiership title had been wrapped by Andy Cole's goal against Tottenham at Old Trafford. But still there was more to come from a remarkable campaign.

After an epic Champions League semi-final against Juventus, when Keane inspired the team to fight back from 2-0 down in the second leg, scoring a fabilous header for the first goal, United marched into an epic final against Bayern Munich in Barcelona. Although Roy Keane had been booked in this game, knowing it would mean he would not be playing in the final, he inspired United throughout and was possibly the greatest example for a captain ever seen on a football field.

United's attempts to win the European Cup for the first time since 1968 looked to be doomed when Bayern took an early lead through Mario Basler and defended it with typical German resilience. But then, in injury time, following a double substitution of Teddy Sheringham & Ole Gunnar Solskjaer late in the game, the Reds produced one of the most stunning revivals in sporting history – Sheringham equalised, turning in a shot by Giggs and and moments later his fellow substitute Ole Gunnar Solskjaer fired in the winner, from a Sheringham nod on, from a Beckham corner, to make the score 2-1. United had won the Treble; their manager Alex Ferguson was subsequently knighted as his fans around the globe basked in the glory. The Bayern Munich players were reduced to kneeling on the grass, heads on the surface, banging fists into the ground.

The Treble became a Quadruple later in the year when Sir Alex Ferguson's men travelled to Tokyo to compete for the Inter-Continental Cup. Keane's goal against Palmeiras of Brazil bestowed upon United the title of World Club Champions. Officially, at the end of the millennium, the biggest football club in the world had also become the best in the world! Could Ferguson carry on into the 21st Century?