In his capture of the story of how Manchester United won the 1998-99 treble, Matt Dickinson reveals how a fear of different things contributed to the long-term success the Red Devils experienced under legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson for so many years.
In an analysis of Dickinson’s account by Ian Herbert of the Daily Mail, he reveals, among other things, how fear of failure and team-mates like Roy Keane kept United’s legendary players at bay, allowing them to win multiple trophies in their careers. .
In Herbert’s highly insightful analysis, he reveals how players lived on the edge and displayed a desperate need to consistently remain at the highest level of the sport. Sometimes this bordered on fear.
Herbert provides this example: “Some of Keane’s stuff was crazy. The book’s story of the feud between him and Teddy Sheringham is extraordinary for anyone unfamiliar with the club at the time.”
“The two almost came to blows on a team night in 1998 and didn’t speak to each other again for three and a half years on the same team. Even after Sheringham’s enormous contribution to the Camp Nou miracle in ’99”.
However, Ferguson is said to have done a great job navigating the tense atmosphere created by the two giants in the locker room. Gary Neville described both Sheringham and Keane as “sometimes not the most pleasant people to play with”.
Beyond Keane, Sheringham, for much of his United career, was also not on speaking terms with Andy Cole. Dwight Yorke sent messages between the two.
Despite all this, Herbert remarks, highlighting the fear of failure that defeated individual conflicts, “at the end of it all, you understand why United won the treble; why Neville instinctively ran 50 yards to take a throw-in down the left flank at Camp Nou that won the corner that Sheringham eventually scored.”
“These actions were innate and instinctive, born of brotherhood and years spent fearing the consequences.”
While that fear has been absent at Old Trafford since Ferguson’s departure nearly a decade ago, flashes of it have been evident in recent weeks in some of United’s new arrivals: Lisandro Martinez and Tyrell Malacia.
According to the Mail report, Malacia, who is emulating Patrice Evra’s intense determination, and Martinez’s no-nonsense defense are setting things in motion for the Red Devils’ bid to return to the top of English football.
The focus and work ethic of the duo, spearheaded by Erik ten Hag, who cast fear on the touchline in a similar way to Ferguson, has already begun to rub off on other players.
“United has spent millions trying to locate what it once had, but perhaps it was there all along, polished in the collective memories of one of its greatest teams.”
Fans are hoping that the Ten Hag revolution will finally be the era that marks the return of the glory days at England’s biggest football club.
