Let’s now jump forward from Crystal Palace and the Kung-fu nightmare at Selhurst Park in January 1995 to Crystal Palace at Villa Park on Sunday 9th April. Old antagonisms from the league encounter had hardly had time to subside when United were to face Palace again, this time on neutral turf in the FA Cup Semi Final which United had reached by beating Sheffield United, Wrexham, Leeds (yes!) and QPR, while still keeping pace with Blackburn all the way at the top of the Premiership. There was still the very real possibility of winning a third Premiership title on the trot and a League & Cup Double for the second year running. Even without the suspended Eric Cantona it was all to play for.
Villa Park has long been a happy hunting ground for United, a place steeped in tradition, venue of many an epic cup-tie, and it’s a terrific stadium, fronted by a dignified red-brick entrance like a resplendent Victorian, er, villa, with club museum and lounges within. The corridors leading up to the press box were lined with fading old team-photos and action shots, including annoying reminders that for all their reputation as under-achievers, Villa had actually won the European Cup far more recently than United. I had a seat just in front of the radio commentary position, but mercifully, there was no sign of Alan Green, whose relentless hostility to United does nothing to dispel the belief in an anti-United bias at the BBC. Much more pleasing was seeing Frank Stapleton, a highly intelligent centre-forward at Old Trafford in the ’80s, hero of the ’85 FA Cup triumph against Everton when he dropped back to centre-half after Kevin Moran got sent off. He can seem a bit grumpy, but I like his seriousness about football. And United.
The semi was a typically fraught affair, with United below their best, but superior nonetheless, and the tension never let up. A young kid called David Beckham was playing out wide on the right. Not my first glimpse of him, but I watched him closely, always keen to see youngsters prosper. He looked too slow and one-paced for a winger and I was disappointed, but I thought he might do better more centrally. Only goes to show…
To read this story in full, purchase Red Matters from Amazon.
Man Utd News 24/7
Thanks again Giles!
I was about 13 years old when we lost the title against West Ham, and I remember being exceptionally dissapointed – West Ham were one of those teams that you are just supposed to beat, especially for games of such importance, and I think it was around this time that I realised that mid table teams, heck, even bottom of the table teams like the Eagles will always rise it up a notch when playing against United…
Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, they beat the regular teams – we have to beat teams that have had a shot of adrenalin administered to them every time, thats why we’re champions.
What a read an amazing fantastic read as a 28 year old these where my years the time when I was 100% united knew when all the games where on knew all the players and stats and everything an that was one of the greatest things I’ve ever read
fucking fantastic! Giles Oakley mate!one of the best pieces of articles i have read in my life, really:-)!if you were to publish a book about your life experiences you’d be a millionaire literally.this is a coffee and book,jaw dropping scenario,brilliant.i feel the death of nixon was injustice.so there must have also been lots of ABU’s in the past and i only thought there was the infamous Alan”you’ll never win anything with kids.”Hansen.it was final day heartbreak at Upton Park.i feel after the FA cup final against Everton king eric needed to prove himself to his teammates,fergie and to the fans that he could come back and repay the faith.
poor nick lad must have been disheartened when palace went down.
fair play to the palace fans for not taunting eric and united about the kung fu incident on the way back to Selhurst.
Fantastic read as usual,Giles.Thoroughly enjoyed it.As a 15 year old who’s been watching United only for the last 6 years or so,it’s always nice for me to learn things about the club that I don’t already know.
PS:I saw your reply to me on part one just now as I had gone on a school trip for 3 days,during which I had no internet.(I’ve missed 4 days of worth of articles.
)
Hope your health gets better soon.
Thanks for this Giles.
I remember the 94/95 season very well… I’m often surprised at how raw the emotions of that season remain after all this time; particularly given everything that has happened since then. At the time of the Catona affair and the so near, yet so far season, I was going through a differcult time in my life, and football (especially Manchester United) seemed to take on extra significance for me. I think this happens to all football supporters at some stage in thier life as the big events in thier lives coincide with memorable events on the football pitch, thereby adding extra context and depth to the memory. I was very depressed about all things football following the season finale and I actually considered giving it all up – an absolutely ridiculous notion which I now realise is absolutely impossible. I have friends at work who aren’t football fans, and I sometimes envy them for that… I love United and I generally love football but I must admit that the tension ahead of big games (which are never ending for United), the relentness cycle of needing to win it all again, the analysis, the money, the debt and the tribal nature of fans can be draining…
That said, I love being a United fan and I love United, and with comes responsibility – one which I will pass on (with mixed emotions) to my son and daughters…
how are ye lads?
off topic anyone have a link for the reserve game tonight? obertan is starting…
great read…
you should be getting yourself a book deal mate..
The boogeyman 15? Lol. You are too young mate!! You should be sleeping by now..Hahahaha(just kidding).
Can somebody give us a link for the reserve match!! Is it true obertan is starting??
Giles Oakley
great read.loved it.get well soon.
can’t wait to see obertan he looks exciting.
guys we you think that he has what it takes to adjust to the english game?i certainly am confident he will blossom and under the guidance of fergie and the united staff we will have unearthed a superstar.cos we don’t want another djemba-djemba,do we?
spine tingling reading again, this are memories i have as a child, can’t waity for the next segment
obertan is looking good…got some nice skills:D
reserves
2-0 currently Fabio scored and Brandy
http://www.justin.tv/vip_boxing_4/popout
obertan looking good, his pace is lethal and fuck me is he talll, intenglient player, good feet
How is the line up? Who are we playing against?
King and Cory Evans to join Rangers on loan in Jan.
Think it was Hewson with 2nd goal, not Fabio, great play by Fabio though.
Dont get carried away with perfomances, Stephen Hawkins would look good in this game.
http://www.justin.tv/vip_boxing_4
For our fans outside the UK enjoy
has obertan gone off at half time? havent heard his name mentioned. hewson and king look good, and obv fabio but gotta say im not too impressed with the rest, they seem to lack either invention or confidence
giles.how is your health? hope ynu are doing well .thanks mate.brilliant read as usual.i agree with many people out here that you should write a book.i would certainly buy it.i started following united in 2001 so i dont know many details of seasons before that.it is good to read from someome who can describe things so well and was so close to the action.
Tufty
mate do you know why they’re both going out on loan:-o?
they’re fantastic talents and one certainly for the future along with many united startlets. the future is bright,the future is united!:-)
ljajic,diouf coming in jan so that should ease the pain. also great future talents.do any of you guys know when cleverley’s loan deal expires?hope to see more of him,had a great debut game against valencia and capped it with a goal.
its all looking good, pogba looks really something speical so does obertan, all the youngsters are doing well, hargreaves on his way back, sar back, rafael back, mostly everyone fit now..long may it countiue
obertan looked quite good tonight,and by christ he is quick.i dont want to put pressure on the lad but he did remind me of a certain mr henry.
fabio and rafael looked fit and ready,the lad king looks promising as well.
all looking good for the reds.
Unfortunately couldn’t watch the match but from all the comments and stuff on the net, Obertan seems to have caught the eye. Good on him – always worried he was just another player to seem good on YouTube and rubbish in real life.
Hows about Febian Brandy!? He is top class. Saw him play a lot while on loan at Swansea and he’s a great talent. Would love to see him play in a few Carling Cup games.
Another perfectly written account Giles. Keep them coming. You bring back some great memories. The Keane and Southgate tussle and the battle that ensued. The final game of the season where I remember like yesterday watching it and flicking between games and the split screen thing thinking the dippers will never do us a favour. They did but we just couldn’t do it on the day with Coley missing a bagful of sitters. The FA Cup Final was a dour affair with the Rideout goal winning it. I have no doubt had Eric been playing we would have done the Double Double.
Can’t wait for Cantona’s comeback installment.
Off topic but how cocky are the bitters? Just look at some of the comments, they are hilarious. Anyone would think they had actually won something within the last 34 years!!
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/manchester_city/s/1167768_city_hold_all_the_aces
Wow, the comments made me laugh. They think Barca would wanna trade Iniesta for Robinho? Wtf, seriously?
hurr – I know, their delusions hold no bounds! They say we have an “ageing squad” that “will be finished soon”.
Wonderful account Mr. Giles. Great to hear from a seasoned ol’ chap such as yourself as compared to the immature geeks that mob blogs these days (No offence to anyone in particular, just a trend I noticed)
King Eric and hurr-Look at this.
“I mean who wants Giggs, Neville, Brown, Van Der Sar, Foster, Nani, Anderson, Vidic, Evry(sic), the woeful Ferdinand, Berbatov and let’s face it you never hear of any club chasing Rooney or the starlets Evans and the Fabios? or is it just me pereception.
Think about it? All City’s players are marketable and their values have increased significantly. Good business sense in getting the likes of Bellamy, Given, Robinho, Emmanuel and Tevez into the club with our other World Class players Barry being a snip of a price. We must have a squad now worth over 1billion.
Don’t you just love it Citizens? Onwards we go to the summit of the Premier and then conquer Europe!
Rick Jenks, Bury ”
I’m hoping that’s a United fan just riling up the City fans because no one can seriously be that dumb or delusional.
King Eric
they’re all deluded.the only thing that they may have a chance of winning is the carling cup,in the next few years but then again they’re shit enough to be knocked out in the early stages of cup competitions by clubs in league 1 and league 2.pathetic bitters.once the arabs leave they’ll go down like leeds.hope the cunts get relegated:-).
“Who Wants Berbatov?”
Have they forgotten he turned them down on deadline day and that he was one of the first people Hughes went after?
Rio Ferdinand even when off form is twice the player that Micah Richards is whereas Vidic is a cut above Toure and Lescott(though they are both good players). City have talented players and have bought well this summer I admit but their delusion is amazing
However I hate to say it…they are going to make life very difficult for teams from perhaps next season with all the money they have.
theboogeyman – Alright. Yeah that post that you pasted is the one that caught may eye. Fucking jokers.
Thanks again for the kind comments and encouragement to write a book, which I do quite fancy doing. If I did Scott and RoM would get first refusal of course. Thanks also for the good wishes for my health. I start radiotherapy next month which I’m told will be even more knackering so there may be a period of ‘radio silence ‘ from me, meaning a bit of a delay before I write the Redemption of Eric Cantona, and various other tales I have up my sleeve including ‘My letter from Matt Busby’, and ‘When I was on the Pitch with Bobby Charlton’. Oh there’s also ‘When George Best Failed to Control a Simple Pass from Bobby Charlton and Denis Law Looked Cross’.
Thanks a lot Giles, it’s always amazing to here a true supporters point of view on the history of United.