Millennials have been spoiled with a plethora of world-class Manchester United talent, with satellite TV and the internet allowing the watching world to relive reel after reel of Cristiano Ronaldo goals, David Beckham crosses or Roy Keane tackles. But, as difficult as it may be to believe, there was plenty of ability on show at Old Trafford before the TV cameras brought the Premier League to a wider audience.
Here we pick out five players a generation of fans won’t be old enough to remember.
#1 Martin Buchan
United haven’t always been one of the top sides in England. The David Moyes era, when United finished seventh, is most fans’ nadir, but there was a time when United were playing in the second tier of English football. That time was 1974, when former hero Denis Law back-heeled a winner at Old Trafford for Manchester City to relegate their bitter rivals.
The captain back then was Martin Buchan, and amidst all the turmoil, the cultured defender led United back to the big league at the first attempt the following season. Known for his supreme football brain and positional awareness, Buchan led United to victory in the FA Cup final over Liverpool three years later, and was a losing finalist in the 1979 final, known for Alan Sunderland’s late, late winner.
Buchan wouldn’t look out of place in today’s game. The Scotland international played over 450 times for United in all competitions before injuries caught up with him.
#2 Norman Whiteside
It seems somewhat churlish to call a player a legend when he retired at 26, but in terms of pure talent, Northern Ireland hadn’t seen anything like Norman Whiteside since George Best. Whiteside became the youngest Manchester United player to take to the field since Duncan Edwards in 1953 when he came on as a substitute against Brighton in 1982, and his subsequent rise was nothing short of meteoric.
He played in two World Cups before the age of 21, was the subject of an accepted bid from AC MIlan, which Whiteside himself turned down, but it was his efforts in cup finals that stood him apart. Aged 17 years and 323 days, he beat Liverpool centre-half Alan Hansen to score in the League Cup final defeat at Wembley in 1983, making him the youngest player to score in a League Cup final; before then scoring in the FA Cup final replay win over Brighton in the same year.
Then came his crowning moment. In the 1985 FA Cup final against Everton, Kevin Moran had seen red, leaving United up against it with 10 men, but the Toffees hadn’t accounted for Whiteside’s brilliance.
With just ten minutes of extra time left, Whiteside curled in one of the best goals Wembley has seen to win the cup for United. His decline was as rapid as his rise, as a mixture of booze culture and horrendous knee injuries saw him retire very young. Few have achieved so much in such a short space of time.
#3 Sammy McIlroy
It was the darkest day in Manchester United’s history, after relegation to the second division at the hands of bitter rivals Manchester City in 1974, but the exhilarating football in the Second Division title-winning season is still talked about in Manchester to this day.
The vibrant midfield maestro at the centre of this team was Sammy McIlroy, a plucky Northern Irishman who was impossible not to like. Manager Tommy Docherty had somewhat of a cull of older players following relegation, with McIlroy the figurehead of this new side.
The United team may not have won the league upon their return to the top flight until the formation of the Premier League, but the football remained enthralling, spearheaded by McIlroy for another six and a half seasons before joining Stoke. 71 United goals in his time at the club sums up the impact McIlroy had at Old Trafford. He went on to manage his country for three years after the turn of the century.
#4 Nobby Stiles
As Mancunian as they come. Nobby Stiles epitomised the values of Manchester United and gave everything for his local club. Stiles won two league titles and a European Cup with United, but it is his role in turning the club around in their darkest hour that earned him the affection of fans.
Supporters were hurting after the 1958 Munich Air Disaster and needed a new hero they could associate with. There was plenty of flamboyance in the team that ultimately won the 1968 European Cup – George Best, Bobby Charlton and Denis Law – but fans needed that tough tackling, no-nonsense defensive midfielder they could worship too, and that man was Stiles.
Stiles is one of the few players of his generation to certainly get the better of Portuguese great Eusebio, for club and country, simultaneously helping to steer England to their only World Cup win in 1966, and that famous night in the same stadium two years later as United overcame Eusebio’s Benfica to earn a first European crown. The sight of Nobby dancing is as iconic an image as it gets.
#5 Bryan Robson
Any person reading this list will know a great deal about Bryan Robson from his latter years at United, having been part of the first side to lift the Premier League after its formation in 1992, but understanding just how revered ‘Captain Marvel’ is in Manchester is an altogether different story.
The thing that made Robson so popular was his tenacity and all-round determination to succeed. Born a generation too late, if Robson would have played in his prime under Sir Alex Ferguson, he would have won the lot, of that there can be no doubt. Instead, Robson carried a slightly above average United side to three FA Cup triumphs - the first United captain to win three of the famous trophies - as well as a League Cup and European Cup Winners’ Cup success.
He went onto to earn two Premier League winners’ medals, but only playing a bit part role as his United career came to a close. One performance typified everything that Robson brought to United.
2-0 down after the first leg of the 1984 Cup Winners’ Cup quarter-final, Robson scored twice to inspire United to a 3-2 aggregate victory, and was carried off the pitch on the shoulders of jubilant supporters as their captain and hero.
