The 1994 FA Cup Final

was watching a robbo documentary on mutv before (which was free to air tonight ) and wanted to know if fergie had ever given any reason why he didn't put robbo on the bench for it? seems v. harsh to have left him out, especially when everyone knew it would be his last game.

No not really, but it's a reminder of just how ruthless fergie used to be compared to how he ended up with giggs and scholes squeezing every last minute out of them.

Originally Posted by Sparky***

No not really, but it's a reminder of just how ruthless fergie used to be compared to how he ended up with giggs and scholes squeezing every last minute out of them.

true.

doesn't seem to be any bad blood between them. fergie was on it and said that robson would be in everyones greatest all time united xi.

Originally Posted by Jack Duckworth

true.

doesn't seem to be any bad blood between them. fergie was on it and said that robson would be in everyones greatest all time united xi.

of course there isn't, because bryan robson is a legend and an absolute gentleman. He obviously understood fergie's reasons.

he had better options tbf

That '94 season was the peak for me; the near domestic treble, brilliant football and a team without a weakness was amazing to someone who'd grown up with us being shit.

It never got as exciting again, even in '99.

Originally Posted by Jack Duckworth

was watching a robbo documentary on mutv before (which was free to air tonight ) and wanted to know if fergie had ever given any reason why he didn't put robbo on the bench for it? seems v. harsh to have left him out, especially when everyone knew it would be his last game.

He goes into it in his first autobiography. Said he had better players at his disposal iirc. Ruthless.

I was livid at the time tbh. However, I can now see that Chelsea having done the league double over United that season meant he had to take them seriously - there was no room for sentiment. Plus Choccy put away that half-chance beautifully.

If he could have had 7 subs he'd probably have stuck him on. Was it two then or three?

Originally Posted by tatty

That '94 season was the peak for me; the near domestic treble, brilliant football and a team without a weakness was amazing to someone who'd grown up with us being shit.

It never got as exciting again, even in '99.

It was great, but the lack of success in Europe drops it down my list into 3rd place, personally, tbhJCL.

The peak for me has been 1999 and 2008, because we went deep into all the major competitions, winning the league in exciting title races and conquering Europe by beating the best teams on the continent in nerve-shredding games, playing football the United way.

Hard to pick between 1999 and 2008, tbh. 1999 obviously had the Treble, the joy of watching the Class of '92 in their prime, Keane in his pomp, Stam bossing things at the back, Schmeichel in his last season, and the brilliant battles with Arsenal.

However, 2008 had Ronaldo, the attacking potency of him linking with Rooney and Tevez, knocking out Barcelona, Giggs beating Sir Bobby's record, and conquering Europe in the same year as the anniversary of Munich.

1999 obviously is the one though. The £#%&!ing Treble. Solskjaer. Football, bloody hell.

Moyes. :shakehead:

Originally Posted by Neo

It was great, but the lack of success in Europe drops it down my list into 3rd place, personally, tbhJCL.

The peak for me has been 1999 and 2008, because we went deep into all the major competitions, winning the league in exciting title races and conquering Europe by beating the best teams on the continent in nerve-shredding games, playing football the United way.

Hard to pick between 1999 and 2008, tbh. 1999 obviously had the Treble, the joy of watching the Class of '92 in their prime, Keane in his pomp, Stam bossing things at the back, Schmeichel in his last season, and the brilliant battles with Arsenal.

However, 2008 had Ronaldo, the attacking potency of him linking with Rooney and Tevez, knocking out Barcelona, Giggs beating Sir Bobby's record, and conquering Europe in the same year as the anniversary of Munich.

1999 obviously is the one though. The £#%&!ing Treble. Solskjaer. Football, bloody hell.

Moyes. :shakehead:

Originally Posted by Neo

It was great, but the lack of success in Europe drops it down my list into 3rd place, personally, tbhJCL.

The peak for me has been 1999 and 2008, because we went deep into all the major competitions, winning the league in exciting title races and conquering Europe by beating the best teams on the continent in nerve-shredding games, playing football the United way.

Hard to pick between 1999 and 2008, tbh. 1999 obviously had the Treble, the joy of watching the Class of '92 in their prime, Keane in his pomp, Stam bossing things at the back, Schmeichel in his last season, and the brilliant battles with Arsenal.

However, 2008 had Ronaldo, the attacking potency of him linking with Rooney and Tevez, knocking out Barcelona, Giggs beating Sir Bobby's record, and conquering Europe in the same year as the anniversary of Munich.

1999 obviously is the one though. The £#%&!ing Treble. Solskjaer. Football, bloody hell.

Moyes. :shakehead:

we'd have done more in europe without the foriegner rule.

Originally Posted by wonky no

we'd have done more in europe without the foriegner rule.

It's hard to say because our strongest side was based on 4-4-2 and destroying teams on the counter. Football in Italy and Spain had stopped playing football like this ten years previous and it was all about the build up and slow steady play, something United only managed to catch up with in the early 2000's.

Being out of European football for six years did English football no favours whatsoever :shakehead:

Great day that. Chelsea turned up in Kilburn and the pub emptied, people getting sparked all over the gaff at Wembley Park and up Wembley Way, I was sick on beer and there was a monsoon of biblical proportions.

Originally Posted by Zorg

Plus Choccy put away that half-chance beautifully.

Deserved better did that Zorgles.

Originally Posted by carlosartorial

Great day that. Chelsea turned up in Kilburn and the pub emptied, people getting sparked all over the gaff at Wembley Park and up Wembley Way, I was sick on beer and there was a monsoon of biblical proportions.

Got absolutely piss wet through getting back to the car which was parked at stanmore tube station, 4 of us ended up buying t shirts and trackie bottoms for the journey home

Originally Posted by carlosartorial

Great day that. Chelsea turned up in Kilburn and the pub emptied, people getting sparked all over the gaff at Wembley Park and up Wembley Way, I was sick on beer and there was a monsoon of biblical proportions.

Best United team/squad I've seen - no weaknesses, nails hard and played great football.

Decent weekend - on alert for the birth of my first son who arrived conveniently the next day.

Originally Posted by Zorg

Plus Choccy put away that half-chance beautifully.

Originally Posted by believe

It's hard to say because our strongest side was based on 4-4-2 and destroying teams on the counter. Football in Italy and Spain had stopped playing football like this ten years previous and it was all about the build up and slow steady play, something United only managed to catch up with in the early 2000's.

Being out of European football for six years did English football no favours whatsoever :shakehead:

in 97 we ripped into Dortmund and missed about 10 chances after previously battering favourites Porto 4-0, both times using 2 strikers plus Cantona, and had qualified from the group with similar tactical variation and in some style (despite both Juve results going against us)

in the 94/95 group we also dismantled Gothenburg at OT with Kanchelskis, Giggs and Sharpe all flying at them, and we took Galatasaray apart with just Cantona and no out and out striker. we were also superb at home to Barcelona with Hughes leading the line and a midfield 3 of Ince, Keane and Butt

it was the return to a more orthodox United 4-4-2 at the end of the decade that saw us breeze through the group in 97/98 with Sheringham off a striker, and smash the competition in the Treble season with Cole and Yorke.


basically the myth of Ferguson's tactical limitations and inflexibility is exactly that - a load of £#%&!ing %@#$&!s. the foreigner rule was easily the single biggest factor in why it took until 1997 for the side to begin to impose itself in the CL - the 2nd biggest factor was Cantona's various suspensions.

re Robson in the 94 final: he was upset cus he thought he deserved a place on merit, but iirc ferguson cited the fact that he had to look after the players who were going to be serving him the following season and beyond