MANCHESTER UNITED NEED AMOR' TIME

COMMENT RUBEN CAN SUCCEED BUT HE MUST BE SHOWN THE PATIENCE FERGIE GOT

- patdolan

THE problem with Manchester United is NOT the manager.

It is the lack of character inside the hearts of those players.

And that's not all.

This is also a club that has a bizarre and unsustainable ownership model.

Alex Ferguson joined United on November 6, 1986 and didn't win his first trophy until the FA Cup was gathered after a replay on May 17, 1990.

A defender called Lee Martin was the unlikely hero, getting the winner in the replay after the first game had finished 3-3.

In that replay, after Ferguson had had the courage to leave out the goal-keeper he had brought with him from Aberdeen, Jim Leighton, his team consisted of nine Englishmen, one Scot and a Welshman.

It wasn't the most talented team United ever put together during Ferguson's reign but it was a tough gang of committed and talented players who had massive hearts, exemplified by Captain Fantastic, Brian Robson.

That courage he possessed meant he was not always fit but he was always feared.

Paul Ince was right beside him in the middle of that midfield. Ince was an absolutely fabulous talent who was as competitive as they come.

And Steve Bruce was at the heart of the defence. He made his name on the back of being committed and brave.

His career path, from Gillingham to Norwich to United, was the story of a battler. The same could be said of Mike Phelan, who like Bruce, was signed from Norwich. Opponents knew they had to go to war to get the better of Phelan, Bruce, Robson and Ince.

At the top of the pitch, United had a blend of intelligence and grit - Brian McClair and Mark Hughes.