Sir Alex Ferguson was ‘TERRIFIED’ of Steve McManaman, says Peter Schmeichel, who claims the legendary Manchester United boss even had special plans to mark the ex-Liverpool midfielder out of 1996 FA Cup final… but was convinced not to!
- Sir Alex Ferguson was ‘terrified’ of Steve McManaman, says Peter Schmeichel
- The legendary Manchester United boss was left ‘in a sweat’ by the Liverpool man
- Ferguson even had special plans to mark him out of the 1996 FA Cup final
- He wanted a 19-year-old Phil Neville to follow McManaman wherever he went
- However, after talking with his most senior players, Sir Alex abandoned the plan
Sir Alex Ferguson was absolutely ‘terrified’ of facing Steve McManaman, according to Manchester United legend Peter Schmeichel.
Ferguson, United’s most successful ever boss and arguably the greatest manager of all time, would often nullify any opponent’s main threats by marking them out of the game over the course of his 26 trophy-laden years as the club’s head coach.
However, while Ferguson has been there, done it and beat them all, Schmeichel claims Liverpool’s iconic midfielder McManaman always left the Scot ‘in a sweat’.
Sir Alex Ferguson was ‘terrified’ of Steve McManaman (centre), says Peter Schmeichel
Schmeichel (right), United’s legendary goalkeeper, insists McManaman always had Ferguson (left) ‘in a sweat’ when the Red Devils faced Liverpool
Ahead of the 1996 FA Cup final, Schmeichel claims Ferguson was contemplating marking McManaman out of the Wembley showpiece by sticking a 19-year-old Phil Neville on him and instructing the defender to follow him like a hawk.
The theory behind it was that if Liverpool’s best player – in Ferguson’s eyes – was kept quiet at Wembley, then United would have the best chance of emerging victorious.
‘In some ways, this was no surprise because Ferguson was terrified of McManaman,’ Schmeichel recalls in his autobiography One.
Ferguson wanted to man-mark McManaman (centre) out of the 1996 FA Cup final
He wanted to stick a 19-year-old Phil Neville on him and instruct the defender to follow him
‘McManaman was the only opposing player he ever paid attention to in the Premier League.
‘I mean, he would mention Alan Shearer and other major opposing players in team talks but never with any fear. However, McManaman always had him in a sweat.
‘And, to be fair, Steve was a fantastic footballer. Fergie’s thinking was always that if you took McManaman out of the game, you took Liverpool out.’
However, after a meeting with some of United’s most senior players – Schmeichel, Eric Cantona, Gary Pallister, Roy Keane and Steve Bruce – where they discussed the tactic to stick Neville on McManaman, the legendary Scot was convinced not to give the midfielder such special attention.
However, the legendary Scot was convinced not to, with Eric Cantona (left) scoring the winner
Schmeichel continued: ‘”No this is what we’re doing,” he affirmed. Then Eric spoke. And Eric never spoke. He said: “Gaffer… bad idea.”
‘Fergie said: “Aye… okay, we’re not doing it. Lads, off you go”.’
United went on to win that final, remembered for Liverpool’s white pre-match suits, with Eric Cantona scoring the winning goal five minutes from time.
