| Sadler, David
As
a player Sadler was by far one of the most versatile in Matt
Busby's squad. He was initially signed as an inside-forward,
but could perform competently in almost any position.He will
mostly however be remembered as a centre-half, where he played
most games were he had an excellent understanding of the game
and a good passer of the ball.In addition to international
honours he collected a League Championship medal in 1967 and
a European Cup winner's medal in 1968.
|
|
Nationality
|
|
England
|
|
Date
of Birth
|
|
5/2/1946
|
|
Appearances
|
|
340(7)
|
|
Goals
Scored
|
|
27
|
|
Schmeichel,
Peter
Scotland
Where
would Manchester United be without Scotland? The clubs two greatest
mangers Sir
Alex Ferguson and Sir
Matt Busby are both products of working class Glasgow and have
done more to shape the club than any other.Both have produced United's
two great era's of sucess and made the club the force it is today
in world football.Great Scottish players like Law,McClair, Buchan,
Macari and many more have been excellent servants for United.The
lack of Scottish players in the current squad and England in general
perhaps shows the decline in Scottish football since the mid 80's.Scotland
once had three of the biggest stadiums in the world with Hampden
Park, Ibrox Park and Parkhead all holding over a 100,000 people.
Picture
of Hampden Park
Sexton,
Dave
Tommy
Docherty's successor in 1977 was Chelsea manager Dave Sexton.In
contrast to the outgoing, brash Doc, Sexton was a quiet introvert,
a thinker.Many compared him his character to Busby but that's were
the similarity ended.It was a case of so near and yet so far for Sexton,
he took United to the 1979 Cup final while in 1980 they lost out on
the title to Liverpool on the last day of the season.Such painful
defeats were hard to handle and United fans were unhappy with Sexton's
lack of communication with them.The final straw was when Sexton
bought striker and super-flop Gary Birtles for £1 million who
failed to score in his first 25 games.The ghost of Birtles failure
would haunt United strikers for over a decade and with this millstone
around his neck Sexton was sacked in 1981.His replacement was Ron
Atkinson, a man similar in character to Docherty.
| Sharpe,
Lee
Bought from
Torquay in 1988 for £185,000, Lee Sharpe would have
been a regular first team player were it not for injury and
Ryan
Giggs who also played on Sharpe's
prefared left-wing position. However, he managed to win a
lot of medals anyway,the 1991 Cup Winners Cup,1992 League
Cup, the 1993,1994,1996 Premier League and 1994 F.A.Cup.In
1996-97 season Sharpe was sold to Leeds United for £4.5
million and he now plays for Bradford City.
|
|
Nationality
|
|
England
|
|
Date
of Birth
|
|
25/5/1971
|
|
Appearances
|
|
264
|
|
Goals
Scored
|
|
49
|
|
| Stapleton,
Frank
Frank Stapleton
was a top class striker who while popular with the fans was
not as prolific a scorer as everyone hoped, after his £900,000
transfer from Arsenal.However his creative play and passing
often created goals for his other team mates and he finished
United's top league scorer in his first 3 seasons. He also
won two FA Cup winners' medals in 1983 and 1985, scoring in
the 1983 final and was captain of the Republic of Ireland.He
was sold to Ajax in 1987.
|
|
Nationality
|
|
Republic
of Ireland
|
|
Date
of Birth
|
|
10/7/1956
|
|
Appearances
|
|
288 (21)
|
|
Goals
Scored
|
|
78
|
|
| Stepney,
Alex
Goalkeeper
Alex Stepney was United's reliable last line of defence from
1966-78. He appeared in goal for United in the 1968 European
Cup final and he will always be remembered for his vital save
from the great Eusebio minutes from time with the score at
1-1.In his United career he won both League title and European
Cup winners medals.
|
|
Nationality
|
|
England
|
|
Date
of Birth
|
|
18/9/1942
|
|
Appearances
|
|
546
|
|
Goals
Scored
|
|
0
|
|
| Strachen,
Gordon
Gordon
Strachen was a fiesty pint-sized midfielder in the mid-eighties
for United.Signed for £600,000 in 1984 from Aberdeen
he won an FA Cup winners medal in 1985 alongside Bryan Robson
in central midfield.It was a suprise when he was sold in 1988 to Leeds, where he won
a League Championship medal. Currently he is the outspoken
manager of Coventry City.
|
|
Nationality
|
|
Scotland
|
|
Date
of Birth
|
|
9/2/1957
|
|
Appearances
|
|
203(7)
|
|
Goals
Scored
|
|
39
|
|
|
