With Amazon’s ’99’ documentary premiering on Thursday, the Manchester United supporters long enough in the tooth to remember those jubilant treble celebrations could be forgiven for feeling a little nostalgic.
From the highs of the Camp Nou 25 years ago to the lows of Crystal Palace today, the Red Devils side of 2024 could hardly be more removed from the iconic, Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League winners of Sir Alex Ferguson.
David Beckham, speaking at the premiere, admits that he and the rest of that legendary crop were fortunate enough to have emerged onto the scene at a time in which the club had not only Sir Alex Ferguson calling the shots, but also the esteemed Eric Harrison, Jimmy Ryan and Nobby Styles helping to bring through that fabled ‘Class of 92’.
Manchester United have fallen a long way since 1999
“I think we were lucky in our day,” a misty-eyed Beckham recalls, speaking to talkSPORT. “We had Sir Alex Ferguson, Eric Harrison, Jim Ryan, Nobby Styles…
“All these great managers and great motivators.”
Those currently in the Red Devils dugout are, perhaps, unlikely to be remembered with similar degrees of fondness, even if Erik ten Hag can mastermind an FA Cup final victory over bitter rivals Man City on May 25th.
That humiliating defeat at Selhurst Park felt like rock bottom in a season full of nadirs, Manchester United in line for their worst-ever Premier League finish of eighth a quarter-of-a-century since the greatest team in the club’s feted history secured immortality in Catalonia.
Beckham, however, is not giving up on Ten Hag yet. A self-professed admirer of the manager who ended United’s six-year trophy drought last season – the former England captain described Ten Hag as ‘a breath of fresh air‘ previously – Beckham feels that a disastrous campaign does not immediate turn the Dutchman from a good manager into a bad one.
“We all know that Erik is a very qualified manager,” Beckham adds. “And a very good manager. He has the right motives.”
Thomas Tuchel linked with Erik ten Hag’s job
Ten Hag’s biggest ‘motive’, with only a few weeks left in 2023/24, may be keeping his job. Ineos are reportedly doing their homework on a number of potential replacements, Thomas Tuchel the alleged frontrunner after narrowly missing out on a third Champions League final in the space of four years in midweek (iNews).
Tuchel possesses the most impressive CV of any of those linked with the Old Trafford post. There are, however, concerns over an underwhelming domestic record at Bayern Munich and Chelsea, his rather divisive nature, and his in-game management; Paul Scholes baffled by the decisions he made during Real Madrid’s ’99’-esque comeback at the Santiago Bernabeu in the Champions League semi-finals.
“I thought Tuchel’s substitutions were strange,” United legend Scholes tells TNT Sports, the former Dortmund and PSG boss removing Harry Kane and bringing in Kim Min-Jae.
“(Taking off) Kane was strange. As soon as (Kim) came on, in the first 30 seconds, he was all over the place.”