Fergie's Fledglings
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Fergie's Fledglings were a group of Manchester United players recruited under the management of Alex Ferguson (often nicknamed "Fergie") and trained by Brian Kidd and Eric Harrison,[1] before eventually progressing to the first team.
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[edit] The late 1980s Fledglings
The term "Fergie's Fledglings" was first coined by the media in the 1988–89 season[2] to describe a group of young footballers who were introduced into the Manchester United first team by the manager Alex Ferguson. The group included players from the team which reached the final of the 1986 FA Youth Cup such as Lee Martin, Tony Gill and David Wilson, and other youth team players such as Russell Beardsmore, Mark Robins and Deiniol Graham as well as young players bought from other clubs such as Lee Sharpe (Torquay United F.C.) and Giuliano Maiorana (Histon F.C.).
There was some initial success for the Fledglings; in only his second start, Beardsmore inspired the team to a 3–1 win over rivals Liverpool, and an injury crisis saw Gill, Graham and Wilson drafted into the first team for an FA Cup 3rd round replay against Queens Park Rangers in which both Gill and Graham scored.
However, serious injuries and loss of form meant that most of these players did not build on their initial success and the term "Fergie's Fledglings" had fallen out of use by the following season. Beardsmore and Robins made over 50 appearances each for Manchester United but were never regulars in the team (although Robins did score a winning goal against Nottingham Forest in the Third Round of the 1990 FA Cup which is popularly believed to have saved Ferguson's job at United). Of the original batch of Fledglings, only Martin and Sharpe made more than 100 appearances for Manchester United making important contributions towards Ferguson's first trophies such as the FA Cup in 1990 and the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1991.
[edit] The 1990s Fledglings
A second wave of young players emerged at Manchester United in the early-to-mid 1990s. This group was often compared to the Busby Babes in terms of the sheer number of talented young footballers all coming through the youth system at once,[3]. Each one was developed by Manchester United from a very early age, some signing schoolboy forms with the club at the age of just 14.[4] Many of these players were part of the Manchester United team that won the 1992 FA Youth Cup, including future United regulars David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville. Also generally considered in this group are players such as Paul Scholes, an FA Youth Cup finalist in 1993 and Phil Neville – Gary's brother – who was a substitute in the 1993 FA Youth Cup Final and captained the team to the 1995 FA Youth Cup.[5]
The term "Fergie's Fledglings" came back into common usage during the 1995/1996 season, after Ferguson had conducted a mass clearout of the Manchester United old guard in order to blood the youngsters coming through. Following a 3-1 opening day away defeat to Aston Villa, pundit Alan Hansen commented on Match of the Day "You'll win nothing with kids".[6] The young side, with an average age of just 24, then went on to overturn Newcastle United's 14-point Christmas lead to win the club's third league title in four years. This was followed up by a 1–0 win over Liverpool in the 1996 FA Cup Final to secure The Double. A period of success followed, punctuated by Arsenal winning the Premier League title in 1998, culminating in the team winning The Treble in 1999.
As of 2009, of Fergie's second wave of Fledglings, only Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville and Wes Brown are left at the club.
[edit] List of Fergie's Fledglings
[edit] 1980s
- Russell Beardsmore
- Tony Gill
- Deiniol Graham
- Giuliano Maiorana
- Lee Martin
- Mark Robins
- Lee Sharpe
- David Wilson
[edit] 1990s
- David Beckham
- Nicky Butt
- Chris Casper
- Terry Cooke
- Simon Davies
- Ryan Giggs
- Keith Gillespie
- Gary Neville
- Phil Neville
- Pat McGibbon
- John O'Kane
- Kevin Pilkington
- Robbie Savage
- Paul Scholes
- Ben Thornley
- Graeme Tomlinson
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Football: Neville ready to take his chance". The Independent (London: Independent News and Media). 24 May 1997. http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football-neville-ready-to-take-his-chance-1263253.html. Retrieved on 20 January 2009.
- ^ Tyrrell, Tom & Meek, David (1994). The Hamlyn Illustrated History of Manchester United 1878-1994. Hamlyn. pp. 196-198. ISBN 0-600-58399-6.
- ^ "Manchester United still emulating "Busby Babes" 50 years after Munich disaster". The Star (Malaysia). 7 February 2008. http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/2/7/apworld/20080207195059&sec=apworld. Retrieved on 26 May 2008.
- ^ "Ryan Giggs". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. http://www.manutd.com/default.sps?pagegid={FE60904B-C2A8-4E60-9B05-700DBBC29BBC}&bioid=91965§ion=playerProfile. Retrieved on 26 May 2008.
- ^ "FERGIE'S FLEDGLINGS FLY THE NEST". 4thegame.com. 6 July 2000. http://www.4thegame.com/club/manchester-united-fc/news/69236/FERGIE%27S+FLEDGLINGS+FLY+THE+NEST.html. Retrieved on 26 May 2008.
- ^ Marshall, Adam (19 October 2007). "The XI at 11: Memorable football quotes". Setanta Sports. http://www.setanta.com/en/TV-and-Entertainment/Entertainment/XI-at-11/XI-at-11-Memorable-football-quotes/. Retrieved on 26 May 2008.
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