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Manchester United Win the 1990 FA Cup - Photo: Twitter |
During his 26 years reign with Manchester United, Sir Alex won an incredible 38 trophies and oversaw a culture of excellence and relentless expectations. Some of the trophy haul included 13 Premier League titles, five FA Cups, and two UEFA Champions League titles. Off the field, Sir Alex was knighted in the 1999 Queen's Birthday Honours list for his services to the game.
For all these incredible achievements, his early years at Old Trafford were a struggle as the board, history and the fan’s expectations weighed on his shoulders and the results on the field were poor. After three years of disappointments, it came to a head when it was rumoured that he had one game to save his job.
That game was FA Cup third round game against Nottingham Forest on January 7th 1990 and who knows what would have happened if Manchester United had lost.
ONE GAME TO SAVE HIS JOB..........
United are now the byword for sporting excellence, multi-million pound signings, blanket media coverage and a global fan base; but these foundations were laid in the late eighties and early nineties. United were a huge club in the sixties and the pressures of expectation were stifling as the years rolled on without success. Alex Ferguson was the man to answer the call, little Aberdeen had punched above their weight in the SPL and in Europe and "Fergie" with his impressive track record was seen as the person to install discipline into a then average team.
There were some darker days when the Stretford End were becoming increasingly impatient at the lack of success under the first four years of Alex Ferguson's underachieving reign.
In the '89-90 season, United again flattered to deceive with a 4-1 opening day victory over Arsenal but then went onto to endure another mediocre season including a 5-1 drubbing at the hands of their cross city rivals Manchester city.
MARK ROBINS SAVES THE DAY! FA CUP THIRD ROUND. JAN, 1990.
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Mark Robin Scores in the third round of the FA Cup. Photo: Alamy |
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Was this the goal which changed football history? Photo: Getty Images |
1990 FA CUP FINAL REPLAY. LEE MARTIN AND LES SEALEY - OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME
Lee Martin Scores.....
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Lee Martin - Photo: Getty Images |
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The late Les Sealey |
His replacement was the late Les Sealey, another journeyman who was given an once in a life opportunity and literally grabbed it by keeping a clean sheet; a much more tense affair was settled by then youth player Lee Martin who scored the only goal (and only scored one more for United!). Importantly Ferguson had won a trophy, his position was secure and the foundations of success were laid. The success hungry club had its first taste of glory and this momentum would continue and continue.......
ONE NIGHT IN ROTTERDAM. UNITED VERSUS BARCELONA....... Cup Winners Cup Final
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Cup Winners Cup Final 1991 - Photo: Getty Images |
15 MINUTES OF FAME......
Lee Martin never again reached the heights of his winning goal again and went on to make fleeting appearances for United, Celtic and Bristol City and now works in education as a youth career advisor, a world away from United. Les Sealey sadly passed away due to a heart condition in 2001 but as a measure of a man gave his FA cup winner's medal to Jim Leighton (Both eventually got medals) and remains a cult hero.
Mark Robins is now manager at Coventry City and cites Ferguson was a hugely positive influence. Many players came and left United and assisted with the development of the club under Fergie's reign; hopefully the three aforementioned player's roles, no matter how small, will be remembered and appreciated for their fans forever.
By Christopher KL Lau