ROBINS TO THE RESCUE

MICHAEL STEWART RECALLS WHEN ALEX FERGUSON'S MANCHESTER UNITED FUTURE WAS HANGING BY A THREAD 35 YEARS AGO

- 

WHEN you think about the players who played for Alex Ferguson at Manchester United the list seems endless. And if you think of the players who he had to thank for his success, the names that spring to mind are the likes of Roy Keane, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs, to name a chosen few.

But one name the great man and the fans perhaps have the most to be thankful for isn’t necessarily the most obvious. That man is Mark Robins. Because without him the course of Manchester United's history could have been completely different!

By 1986 Alex Ferguson was highly sought after. As manager of Aberdeen, he had helped break the dominance of Rangers and Celtic in the Scottish Premier Division, winning it three times (they are still the last Scottish champions other than Rangers and Celtic), and they had even managed to cause a stir in Europe by winning the European Cup Winners’ Cup and the Super Cup in 1983.

His success hadn't gone unnoticed with Wolves trying to entice him down south. But they were vastly in debt and nearly folded the previous season, so he politely declined the offer to manage them.

After Joe Fagan retired at the end of the 1984-85 season, Liverpool briefly considered approaching Ferguson before settling on Kenny Dalglish. It wasn’t until November 6, 1986, when he was unveiled as the new manager of Manchester United, that Alex Ferguson had finally found his true home. But it wasn't always a tidal wave of success.

When he took over, Ferguson knew he had a lot of hard work ahead of him and that he needed to make his own mark on the team.

The outgoing manager Ron Atkinson had led the team to five consecutive top five finishes and two FA Cup victories.