Man United Legends: 25 YEARS SINCE KING ERIC JOINED UNITED

-
King Eric Cantona
King Eric Cantona

It is 25 years to the day since Eric Cantona signed for Manchester United and proved the missing ingredient required to conquer English football.
Alex Ferguson's masterstroke in raiding fierce rivals Leeds United for their flamboyant forward solved a striking problem and transformed the Reds into the most powerful force in the land.
As has been well documented, the move came about when Leeds chairman Bill Fotherby telephoned his opposite number Martin Edwards to make an enquiry regarding Denis Irwin's availability. It seemed a fanciful idea and Sir Alex dismissed it but asked about Cantona's situation.
"I said absolutely no way and that it was impossible," recalled Fotherby. "But I obviously knew what [manager] Howard Wilkinson felt about him. I rang Martin back and said: 'I can't believe this but Howard is willing to let the boy go'."
Sir Alex could not believe his luck and was like the cat who got the cream at the press conference unveiling the Frenchman. "The fans' reaction has been very positive and very, very good. Our supporters recognise this is a Manchester United player that is coming," purred the Reds boss. "He's an exciting player and he has got all the assets of the best players in the world.
"We look at it as progress for him. He's coming to a big, big club. Leeds is a fabulous, big club, but I think he'll find that Manchester United is even bigger. And that's maybe the stage he needs. He was thrilled at being able to join us and I'm sure he is looking forward to it."
And what about the man himself? "In any walk of life, whatever you do, you learn things every day," he said. "The day you stop learning is the day I retire from the game in general.
"When I arrive at a new club, I hope that I will be there for a reasonable amount of time. Arriving here in Manchester, I hope it's for a long time. I'm here, first of all, to win a place in the team. It's my duty to score goals and I'm also here to bring something to the team. We all have the aim of bringing honours to Manchester United."

Source:


See Also:

Eric Cantona ● Best Goals Ever




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Jose Mourinho forced Mark Clattenburg into quitting refereeing role - Express

-
Image
Jose Mourinho forced Mark Clattenburg into retiring Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho forced Mark Clattenburg into quitting his role as a referee after criticising him in the Red Devils’ 1-1 draw with Stoke last season. Clattenburg stunned football last season when he quit being a referee in order to work in Saudi Arabia. The 42-year-old has recently opened up about his decision, and also dropped major bombshells about Chelsea and Tottenham. And now, Clattenburg has revealed he made the call to quit refereeing because of Mourinho, who blasted him after Manchester United’s 1-1 draw with Stoke last term. Wayne Rooney scored a thunderbolt free-kick to secure a point for the Red Devils but Mourinho was livid at  Manchester United ’s failure to be given a penalty. And Clattenburg says it was the straw that broke the camel’s back. "I was refereeing the game when Wayne Rooney broke Bobby Charlton's record and Mourinho came into my dressing room and he was
Read more

Manchester Derby: "IT WAS A CLEAR PENALTY" said Jose Mourinho - Official Manchester United Website

-
Image
Jose Mourinho during the Derby Jose Mourinho feels the referee made "a crucial mistake" which proved decisive in Manchester United ’s derby defeat against Manchester City on Sunday afternoon. The Reds claimed for a penalty in the 79th minute when Ander Herrera went down under the challenge of Nicolas Otamendi but match official Michael Oliver chose to book the Spaniard for simulation and  City went on to win 2-1 at Old Trafford . Here are the manager's main comments from his interview with Sky Sports and post-match press conference: ‘IT WAS A CLEAR PENALTY’ “Clear penalty. I'm sorry for us, I'm sorry for Michael [Oliver, the referee]; I think he had a good performance but it's a clear penalty. The referee made a mistake, which can happen. Last season we had a similar situation here against Man City - City were winning 2-1 and [the referee] Mr [Mark] Clattenburg didn't see the penalty, [Claudio] Bravo on [Wayne] Rooney, and this one also.
Read more

Man Utd v Man City: Pep Guardiola not thinking about breaking record - BBC

-
Image
Pep Guardiola says the chance to make history is not playing on his mind  Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola says the chance to make history is not playing on his mind as he prepares for Sunday's derby with rivals Manchester United. If City win the game it will be their 14th league victory in a row - a record in a single Premier League season. However, Guardiola says his focus is only on developing a strategy to beat Jose Mourinho's side. "The record will be broken, my concern is how we win the game," he said. "If you play one game thinking about records you forget what you have to do." This is the first derby since April 2013 where the two clubs occupy the top two positions in the table. If City win at Old Trafford they will move 11 points clear while United would close the gap to five with victory. Guardiola believes it is far too early to suggest the match could be a title decider. "Winning, drawing or losing on Sunday, we
Read more