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.

Best FA Cup games involving United

So far it has been a disappointing season for Manchester United. With Thursday's loss to Midtjylland the only realistic chance for united winning a trophy is the FA Cup.

Monday they visit Shrewsbury, a tricky fixture.

Over the years Man United has been involved in some mouth watering ties in the FA Cup.

Manchester United 0 Arsenal 2

This game led to the departure of David Beckham from Manchester United in 2003. Ferguson was so furious that he kicked a boot which ended up hitting Beckham just above the eye. While Beckham played down the incident, his days at Old Trafford were numbered.

Manchester United 3 Millwall 0

While this game is not known for being explosive,  it's significance cannot be ignored. It is the last time Manchester United won the FA Cup. A youthful Cristiano Ronaldo was among the scorers as United easily won the game at the Millennium Stadium.

Manchester United would later appear in two other finals,  against Arsenal in 2005 where they completely outplayed Arsenal but ended up losing on penalty shootout and Chelsea in 2007 losing by a single goal from Didier Drogba.

The replay

A highly explosive semi-final encounter with Arsenal in 1999 was settled by perhaps the greatest goal in the FA Cup history. The dream for the Treble had just began

Video for the goal 

Manchester United 1 Sheffield United 0

Wayne Rooney Celebrates his goal against Sheffield United 

There are those teams you expect to roll over when they see a team like Manchester United but Sheffield had there own game plan. Frustrate Manchester United and get a replay which would be of more help due to the financial reward. They nearly did pull it off but credit should go to Memphis, he was more positive when he came on and knew how to beat his man.

Manchester United continue to struggle in front of goal only managing two shots on target against league one side Sheffield United. The first shot on target came in the 66 minute while the second one was in the 90+4 minute,  a penalty after Memphis Depay had been fouled. Memphis went down theatrically taking advantage of a poor Hammond tackle. To me the penalty was soft and it shouldn’t have been given.
United continue to dominate the opposition with possession football but that cutting age or key pass to the forwards is lacking. The players desire to beat the next man is lacking therefore they would prefer a safe side way or back pass than move the ball forward.

All cannot be taken from Sheffield United and would feel hard done after the effort they had put in. They deserved more from the game as there game plan had worked until that Hammond error late in the game.

For now Van Gaal will celebrate they have qualified for the fourth round but deep inside he knows his team is underperforming. The type of game Manchester United are playing is not what the fans were used to. The fans want to see the team taking risks by attacking at will.

Fellaini in the midfield didn’t add any attacking threat to the team and in fact it is as if he was playing more defensively. To play two defensive Midfielders against league one opposition at Old Trafford shows Van Gaal doesn’t believe in his team ability to see off games.

Away games against Newcastle and Liverpool follow and if the team set up continue this way I see Van Gaal not lasting long. Mourinho and Guardiola are available and the one year remaining on Van Gaal contract may be terminated.

Manchester United vs Sheffield United FA cup

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On paper it looks like a mismatch, Manchester United being expected to roll over the blades, but this is the Fa cup where chances for a ‘cupset’ are very high. Manchester United form this season has been erratic,  so this game may not be straightforward as you would think.

Sheffield United have an excellent recent cup record against higher-ranked opponents, winning five of their last six ties losing one.
Since losing to Leeds United in the third round in 2010 Manchester United have not lost against minor leagues teams although last season they required a replay against Cambridge United so as to progress to the fifth round where they lost to the eventual champions Arsenal.


For Manchester United Jesse Lingard is back after being sidelined by an injury. Phil Jones is unavailable and Adnan Januzaj lacks match fitness after his loan stint at Borussia Dortmund.

Head to Head
According to 11vs11.com the blades have a decent record against Manchester United winning 34 games and losing only 43 games. 15 games have been drawn.
 Although that record seams decent, they have lost the last six games against Manchester United the latest being a Michael Carrick inspired 2-0 win in 2007.

Carrick, Alan Smith and Darren Fletcher celebrate against Sheffield United in 2007

 Sheffield most recent win was in February 1993 that is 22 years ago. It was a 2-1 win in the FA cup.
I expect Sheffield to give there all but Van Gaal has a point to prove so United will win this one.