Manchester United in the FA Cup since 1996

The FA Cup from 1996

Eric Cantona scoring the winning goal in the 1996 FA cup final. Ryan Giggs weaving run against Arsenal at Villa Park in 1999. Meeting Millwall,  of all teams in 2004. Heartbreak for Paul Scholes in 2005 after United had dominated the game. Didier Drogba led Chelsea breaking United hearts in 2007 final. 

 

Portsmouth qualifying in expense of United to go and win the Fa cup followed by being relegated. These are some  of those games Manchester United have been involved in since 1995.

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King Eric led the charge against the bitter enemy, Liverpool in 1996. A youthful United side that had been written off by BBC pundit Alan Hansen, a former Liverpool player, against all odds ended up winning the league and the FA Cup. Led by King Eric, the Fergie Fledglings, as they were known, beat Liverpool 1-0 at Wembley. King Cantona scored the lone goal in the second half to give Ferguson his second FA cup since 1994.

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Ryan Giggs tearing defences apart 1999

A special year in Manchester United history. The Treble year. Arsenal stood between Manchester United and Wembley. The contest which had to go for a replay at Villa Park was settled by one of the best goal ever in the FA Cup.

Newcastle were next in line at Wembley. The game ended 2-0 in favour of United.

Millwall succumbs to CR7 and Ruud Van Nistelrooy

This was more like a formality. Millwall were 10th in the Championship and Man United had just finished 3rd in the premier league. A superb header from Cristiano Ronaldo and two goals including a penalty from Ruud Van Nistelrooy secured the FA Cup.

Heartbreak at the Millennium Stadium.

I still do not believe we lost this game. United utterly dominated the game such that Arsenal had only one shot on target in 120 minutes. 
 




Paul Scholes had tried his best in the game, controlling the midfield from the start to end. The heartbreak was he couldn't convert his penalty therefore handing the title to Arsenal.

Against Portsmouth in 2008

A straightforward game, so it seemed but Portsmouth had other ideas. Everyone expected Manchester United to easily win the game considering Portsmouth were fighting relegation. United had the lethal strike force of Tevez, Ronaldo and Rooney.

Sulley Ali Muntari scored the lone goal from the spot therefore ending United hopes of winning the treble like in 1999. Rio Ferdinand was the goalkeeper as Muntari took the Penalty.

Drogba in 2007

The great Ivorian scored the lone goal as Chelsea won the final at the Millennium Stadium.

FERGUSON VS VAN GAAL

Ferguson vs Van Gaal

Ferguson  started as a manager at the edge of 32 years at East Stirlingshire. He was quickly snapped up by St Mirren where he won the Old first division title. Aberdeen came for him and the rest is history. The tables below show his achievements at both Manchester United and Aberdeen. At Manchester United he took time to settle but after winning his first trophy in 1990 and the second the European cup winners cup in 1991 against Barcelona  his star started to rise until his retirement as a Manchester United manager in 2013.

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The table below shows his achievements but success is not measured only with trophies but his ability to create a team, protect his players from media and dressing room harmony. Ferguson was known for his hairdryer treatment of the players but the players never reported him to the media except David Beckham.

To Ferguson the team came first before the player. No player was bigger than the club and if it means selling the player for the sake of dressing room harmony he would do it. Jaap Stam tried he was sold immediately to Lazio.

David Beckham tried and immediately he was on his way to Madrid.

The table below summarizes Ferguson Achievements at both Aberdeen and Manchester United.

Team	Title	Year
Aberdeen	SPL (3)	1980, 1984, 1985
	SCOTTISH CUP (4), SCOTTISH LEAGUE CUP(1)	1982, 1983,1984,1986,1986
	UEFA CUP WINNERS CUP	1983

Team	Title	Year
Manchester United	Premier League (13)	1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2013
	FA CUP(5)	1990,1994,1996,1999 and 2004
	League Cup (4)	1992, 2006, 2009, 2010
	UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE (2)	1999 and 2008

Louis Van Gaal

He is one of the most decorated managers of the game. His playing career started at Ajax Amsterdam and ended at Az Alkmar.

He started his management career at AZ as an assistant then he moved to Ajax Amsterdam also as an assistant.

He was appointed the Manager of of Ajax in 1991. The period 1991-1997 is one of the most successful time of Van Gaal.

His Achievements at Ajax were phenomenal.

In 1992 he won the UEFA CUP, in 1993 the KNVB CUP.

The Eredivisie titles followed in 1994, 95 and 96.

In 1995 he won the the Eredivisie title unbeaten.

Ajax European football dominance was also witnessed during this time.  In 1995 he won the European Champions League against the defending champions AC Milan. 1996 he lost the Champions League final against Juventus.

It should be noted that most of this trophies were achieved with homegrown players from the Ajax Academy. Players like Patrick Kluivert,  Edgar Davids came later to dominate football.

It was no surprise when Barcelona came calling.

At Barca he won two la liga titles and the Copa del Rey but a clash of personalities with his players caused him to move in may 2000.

An unsuccessful stint as Netherlands coach and a second return to Barcelona followed. The second stint was worse and he had to cut short his contract in mid-season.

In 2008 while managing AZ he surprised many by winning the Eredivisie.

A successful stint as the Netherlands team manager followed. Now he is at Manchester United.

Playing style

Van Gaal style is about dominating possession until an opening arrives. This leads to so many sideways passing and passing backwards. Some critics have called the style ugly because it does not allow individual brilliance. It has also been argued his style is too rigid and creating chances for scoring is minimal. His rigid structure has always lead to clash with players especially Rivaldo at Barcelona where Van Gaal wanted to use him as a winger but Rivaldo preferred to play centrally.

But it has been fruitful if you consider the number of trophies he has won down the road.

Team building as compared to Ferguson

Van Gaal is credited with giving youth a chance just as Ferguson used to do. He has discovered football gems such as Xavi Hernandez at Barcelona, Thomas Muller at Bayern Munich and many more.

Sir Alex Ferguson

A four part series looking at some of the Best Managers in Football history. Is Alex Ferguson, Guardiola, Mourinho or Van Gaal my all time Favourite??

Sir Alex Ferguson

The most successful manager in the Premier League history and also in British Football. He started his career young,  32 years.

By the time he joined Manchester United in 1986 he had a well  proven track record. He had won the Scottish Premier League with Aberdeen, that's is 1980, 1984 and 1985. This was an achievement considering the Old Firm stronghold of the league in Scotland.

Ferguson Achievements in Scotland

Team	Title	Year
Aberdeen	SPL (3)	1980, 1984, 1985
	SCOTTISH CUP (4), SCOTTISH LEAGUE CUP(1)	1982, 1983,1984,1986,1986
	UEFA CUP WINNERS CUP	1983

This achievement was unprecedented considering the team he was with. In winning the 1983 European Winners Cup he CV was greatly enhanced. The European cup didn't come on a canter, he had to beat Real Madrid of all teams in the final.

Manchester United

The early years were full of frustrations as the performance of Manchester United didn't match the fans expectations. This is the time Fergie first tried with a youthful team, the first of Fergie Fledglings. Success would eventually come starting in the early 90’s with the second Fergie Fledglings and dominance of the English Premier League. During these years, Ferguson had to rely on the Manchester United youth players,  the class of 92. This is what used to set him aside as compared to the other Managers. His ability to use home grown talent rather than buying established talent. This does not mean he didn't buy, notable players he bought included King Eric Cantona. Cantona revolutionized how Manchester United played and he is considered the man who brought Manchester United back to the map. Other notable signings include Andrew Cole, Dwight Yorke and Ruud Van Nistelrooy,  Peter Schmeichel.

As the game changed Ferguson had also to change. This started with the acquisition of Chelsea by Roman Abramovitch in 2003. This means Chelsea were buying more of the talent in the market. Ferguson experienced his first trophy drought from 2004 to 2006 winning only the FA cup during this season.

This means he had to change tactics snapping up Cristiano Ronaldo from Sporting Lisbon, Wayne Rooney from Everton. They were bought when still young and by the time they blossomed up in 2006-2007 Manchester United dominance had again started. This period is one of the most successful period in English football.

As well as winning the Premier League three times in a row, they won the champions league in 2008 and also lost to Barcelona in 2009 and 2011.

Ferguson Achievements at Manchester United

Team	Title	Year
Manchester United	Premier League (13)	1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2013
	FA CUP(5)	1990,1994,1996,1999 and 2004
	League Cup (4)	1992, 2006, 2009, 2010
	UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE (2)	1999 and 2008

Is he the best Manager of all time? Next I will be looking at Pep Guardiola. 

8-2 WHERE DID THOSE PLAYERS GO?

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The Bbc sport in its match report had said Man United had inflicted a total humiliation on Arsenal. Going ahead to say it was the worst defeat of Arsenal since 1896.

The guardian  reported that this was a relegation day for Arsenal and that Man United were gleefully unsparing as they illustrated  all the weaknesses in the ranks of the opposition who could no longer be taken as members of the elite.

The question now is what happened to that squad of players who completely demolished Arsenal at Old Trafford?

 Five players that played that day are still at Old Trafford David De Gea, Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, Wayne Rooney and Ashley Young.

I am going to look briefly at the players who started that game and have since left.

Anderson

He showed so much promise when he arrived from Porto in 2007. Confident with the ball and an eye for a killer pass he was considered the perfect replacement for Roy Keane. All of his talent was on display in the 2007-2008 season where he played a pivotal role for Manchester United helping them to win the Premier League and the Champions League against Chelsea in Moscow.

He was still an integral part of Man United in 2008-2009 season guiding them again to another Champions League final but they lost to Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona. He won his second Premier League title. 
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Something to note was his tendency to drift out of the game especially in the second half.

It is this tendency and weight which eventually took toll on him and he left United first for a loan stint at Fiorentina and then he was sold to International  Brazil.

Tom Cleverley

Loan stint at Wigan where he impressed convinced Ferguson he was now mature for the big stage and boy did he perform in this game against Arsenal. He and Anderson were the fulcrum as Manchester United dictated play against Arsenal. He never really produced another eye catching performance, maybe because his form was curtailed by frequent injuries or he was not cut out for Manchester United.

He now plies his trade at Aston Villa after Van Gaal deemed him surplus to requirement.

Nani

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He came together with Anderson from Porto in 2007. A highly talented and gifted player his only weakness was over elaborating and decision making. Just as Ronaldo had started at Man United with so many footwork, Nani started the same and most of Man United were hopeful he will become a team player. His game was not entirely that negative like this goal he scored against Tottenham (I think his first premier league goal).

As a successor for Cristiano Ronaldo he never fulfilled his potential but he had his best moments most notably against Arsenal. In this game he was in his imperious best even capping of with a goal.

He was loaned to Sporting Lisbon and later sold to Fenerbahce in Turkey.

Welbeck

I was surprised when Van Gaal sold him to Arsenal but apart from helping Arsenal win the FA cup he has been on the sidelines with an injury.

He was a good focal point of attack but sometimes he missed so many chances.

In this game he started the scoring and tormented Arsenal throughout. A Ferguson favourite, I always thought he was destined for better things at Old Trafford but I think during Moyes era his performances were a little bit below per just as most of the other players.

If he shrugs his injury problems he can fit well with the gunners.

Patrice Evra, Ji Sung Park left after having served Manchester United well.