1990–91 Manchester United F.C. season

English football club season March 2015 December 2021 European Cup Winners Cup (8024436274).jpg The Cup Winners' Cup, on display at the National Football Museum in Manchester Manchester United 1990–91 Alex Ferguson Martin Edwards First Division 6th FA Cup Fifth round League Cup Runners-up Cup Winners' Cup Winners Charity Shield Shared Brian McClairSteve Bruce(13 each) Brian McClairMark Hughes(21 each) 47,485 vs Aston Villa (29 December 1990) 29,405 vs Wrexham (23 October 1990) 43,222 _manutdh9092 _manutdh9092 _manutdh9092 _manutdh9092 _color_3_stripes_white E20E0E E20E0E E20E0E FFFFFF 000000 _manutda9092 _manutda9092 _manutda9092 _manutda9092 _color_3_stripes_white 0000C0 0000C0 0000C0 0000C0 0000C0 _manutda8892 _manutda8892 _manutda8892 _manutd39092 _manutda8892 FFFFFF FFFFFF FFFFFF 000000 FFFFFF 1989–90 1991–92 The 1990–91 season was Manchester United's 89th season in the Football League, and their 16th consecutive season in the top division of English football.https://www.mufcinfo.com/manupag/results/results_archive.php?season=1990-1991 Manchester United season 1990-1991 14 September 2023 MUFCinfo.com After winning the FA Cup the previous year to end a five-year trophy drought and claim their first major trophy under the management of Alex Ferguson, United went on to achieve more success by lifting the European Cup Winners' Cup – their first European trophy since their European Cup triumph 23 years earlier – by beating Barcelona 2–1 in Rotterdam, with Mark Hughes scoring both goals. It was the first season back in European competitions for English clubs following the lifting of the ban which had been imposed back in 1985 due to the Heysel Stadium disaster. Hughes was voted PFA Player of the Year, while promising young winger Lee Sharpe was voted PFA Young Player of the Year. Fellow winger Ryan Giggs, aged 17 and said to be the club's finest young prospect since George Best, signed a professional contract in late November, and soon broke into the first team, making two league appearances and scoring one goal. A new arrival at the club was full-back Denis Irwin, signed from Oldham Athletic for a fee of £625,000 in the close season. Following his impressive performance in the previous season's FA Cup final replay, Les Sealey's loan move became permanent on a one-year contract, and he was the club's first choice goalkeeper for the season, but left on a free transfer at the season's end and signed for Aston Villa. United also reached the League Cup final for the second time, but suffered a shock defeat to Sheffield Wednesday (managed by former United boss Ron Atkinson). In the league, United improved upon the previous season's 13th-place finish, but erratic form meant that they failed to mount a title challenge and finished sixth and were below neighbours Manchester City for the first time since 1978. Their defence of the FA Cup ended in the Fifth Round when they lost 2–1 to Norwich City. Assistant manager Archie Knox resigned late in the campaign to take the same role at Rangers, and was replaced by Brian Kidd. It was the final season at Old Trafford for veteran defender Viv Anderson, who had failed to reclaim his place in the first team and was sold to Sheffield Wednesday in January 1991. Winger Ralph Milne, who had not played a first team game for the club for nearly two years, was given a free transfer at the end of the season. Colin Gibson, who had rarely been selected since the 1988–89 season, was sold to Leicester City just before Christmas. Goalkeeper Gary Walsh, who stood in for the injured Les Sealey in several late season games, made his first appearances for United in three years. Lee Martin, the hero of the previous season's FA Cup final, suffered a back injury and appeared in less than half of the season's games, as Alex Ferguson chose Denis Irwin as his regular right-back and Clayton Blackmore as his regular left-back. Striker Mark Robins, another star of the cup run, had a less successful season, with fewer first team opportunities and just five goals in all competitions, despite some promising performances in the autumn. Pre-season and friendlies DateOpponentsH / AResultF–AScorersAttendance1 August 1990BuryA0–07,1623 August 1990Cork CityA0–08,0005 August 1990Waterford UnitedA4–0Hughes, Anderson, Robins, Sharpe4,7508 August 1990Derry CityA1–1Robins9,71011 August 1990Irish LeagueN3–0McClair, Hughes, Wallace10,03713 August 1990BohemiansA3–0Robins (2), Wallace13,87815 August 1990RangersA1–0Beardsmore31,81820 November 1990CelticH1–3Hughes41,658 FA Charity Shield 1990 FA Charity Shield DateOpponentsH / AResultF–AScorersAttendance18 August 1990LiverpoolN1–1Blackmore 44'66,558 First Division 1990–91 Football League First Division DateOpponentsH / AResultF–AScorersAttendanceLeagueposition25 August 1990Coventry CityH2–0Bruce 57', Webb 70'46,7154th28 August 1990Leeds UnitedA0–029,1743rd1 September 1990SunderlandA1–2McClair 70'26,1056th4 September 1990Luton TownA1–0Robins 24'12,5764th8 September 1990Queens Park RangersH3–1McClair 3', Robins (2) 62', 81'43,4273rd16 September 1990LiverpoolA0–435,7266th22 September 1990SouthamptonH3–2McClair 20', Blackmore 61', Hughes 62'41,2883rd29 September 1990Nottingham ForestH0–146,7665th20 October 1990ArsenalH0–147,3227th27 October 1990Manchester CityA3–3Hughes 37', McClair (2) 80', 83'36,4276th3 November 1990Crystal PalaceH2–0Webb 11', Wallace 19'45,7246th10 November 1990Derby CountyA0–021,1156th17 November 1990Sheffield UnitedH2–0Bruce 65', Hughes 86'45,9036th25 November 1990ChelseaH2–3Wallace 23', Hughes 72'37,8367th1 December 1990EvertonA1–0Sharpe 64'32,4007th8 December 1990Leeds UnitedH1–1Webb 49'40,9477th15 December 1990Coventry CityA2–2Hughes 5', Wallace 89'17,1069th22 December 1990WimbledonA3–1Bruce (2) 69' (pen.), 88' (pen.), Hughes 80'9,6447th26 December 1990Norwich CityH3–0Hughes 54', McClair (2) 69', 90'39,8016th29 December 1990Aston VillaH1–1Bruce 17' (pen.)47,4856th1 January 1991Tottenham HotspurA2–1Bruce 37' (pen.), McClair 90'29,3995th12 January 1991SunderlandH3–0Hughes (2) 8', 41', McClair 15'45,3945th19 January 1991Queens Park RangersA1–1Phelan 83'18,5445th3 February 1991LiverpoolH1–1Bruce 26' (pen.)43,6905th26 February 1991Sheffield UnitedA1–2Blackmore 52' (pen.)27,5705th2 March 1991EvertonH0–245,6565th9 March 1991ChelseaA2–3Hughes 33', McClair 62'22,8186th13 March 1991SouthamptonA1–1Ince 57'15,7015th16 March 1991Nottingham ForestA1–1Blackmore 38'23,8595th23 March 1991Luton TownH4–1Bruce (2) 7', 47', Robins 70', McClair 83'41,7525th30 March 1991Norwich CityA3–0Bruce (2) 18', 74' (pen.), Ince 30'18,2825th2 April 1991WimbledonH2–1Bruce 54', McClair 88'36,6605th6 April 1991Aston VillaA1–1 Sharpe 63'33,3075th16 April 1991Derby CountyH3–1Blackmore 22', McClair 66', Robson 85'32,7764th4 May 1991Manchester CityH1–0Giggs 22'45,2866th6 May 1991ArsenalA1–3Bruce 90' (pen.)40,2296th11 May 1991Crystal PalaceA0–325,3016th20 May 1991Tottenham HotspurH1–1Ince 7'46,7916th MUN y FA Cup 1990–91 FA Cup DateRoundOpponentsH / AResultF–AScorersAttendance7 January 1991Round 3Queens Park RangersH2–1Hughes 19', McClair 74'35,06526 January 1991Round 4Bolton WanderersH1–0Hughes 79'43,29318 February 1991Round 5Norwich CityA1–2McClair 37'23,058 League Cup 1990–91 Football League Cup DateRoundOpponentsH / AResultF–AScorersAttendance26 September 1990Round 2First legHalifax TownA3–1Blackmore 25', McClair 87', Webb 88'6,84110 October 1990Round 2Second legHalifax TownH2–1Bruce 42' (pen.), Anderson 58'22,29531 October 1990Round 3LiverpoolH3–1Bruce 36' (pen.), Hughes 37', Sharpe 81'42,03328 November 1990Round 4ArsenalA6–2Blackmore 2', Hughes 44', Sharpe (3) 44', 75', 78', Wallace 81'40,84416 January 1991Round 5SouthamptonA1–1Hughes 78'21,10123 January 1991Round 5ReplaySouthamptonH3–2Hughes (3) 51', 61', 79'41,90310 February 1991Semi-finalFirst legLeeds UnitedH2–1Sharpe 67', McClair 80'34,05024 February 1991Semi-finalSecond legLeeds UnitedA1–0Sharpe 90'32,01421 April 1991FinalSheffield WednesdayN0–177,612 Cup Winners' Cup 1990–91 European Cup Winners' Cup _manutd1991cwc _manutd1991cwc _manutd1991cwc _manutdh9092 _red_top_3_white_stripes FFFFFF FFFFFF FFFFFF FFFFFF FFFFFF Special Edition kit worn in the final DateRoundOpponentsH / AResultF–AScorersAttendance19 September 1990Round 1First legPécsi MunkásH2–0Blackmore 9', Webb 16'28,4113 October 1990Round 1Second legPécsi MunkásA1–0McClair 77'17,00023 October 1990Round 2First legWrexhamH3–0McClair 40', Bruce 42' (pen.), Pallister 59'29,4057 November 1990Round 2Second legWrexhamA2–0Robins 31', Bruce 35'13,3276 March 1991Quarter-finalsFirst legMontpellierH1–1McClair 1'41,94219 March 1991Quarter-finalsSecond legMontpellierA2–0Blackmore 45+4', Bruce 49' (pen.)18,00010 April 1991Semi-finalsFirst legLegia WarsawA3–1McClair 38', Hughes 54', Bruce 67'20,00024 April 1991Semi-finalsSecond legLegia WarsawH1–1Sharpe 28'44,26915 May 1991FinalBarcelonaN2–1Hughes (2) 67', 74'45,000http://en.archive.uefa.com/uefa/news/kind=1/newsid=2577.html https://archive.today/20120716101258/http://en.archive.uefa.com/uefa/news/kind=1/newsid=2577.html dead 16 July 2012 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: All-time finals Union of European Football Associations 30 June 2005 13 August 2014 Events of the season The 1989–90 campaign had brought Alex Ferguson his first major trophy in four seasons as manager of Manchester United, as they defeated Crystal Palace after a replay to win the FA Cup for the seventh time, equalling the record held by Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur. However, their league form had arguably been their worst since relegation 16 years earlier, as they finished 13th in the First Division, and the squad still needed a few changes before United could be seen as serious title challengers. Goalkeeper Les Sealey had received a permanent contract after a successful loan spell at Old Trafford that had begun the previous December when he joined from Luton Town, and for the 1990–91 season Ferguson chose Sealey as his first choice goalkeeper. Previous first choice goalkeeper Jim Leighton remained at the club, facing competition for second choice status from the younger Gary Walsh and Mark Bosnich. Ferguson's only other major signing of the summer was Denis Irwin, the Republic of Ireland international who joined from Oldham Athletic and was capable of playing on either side of defence, providing competition for Mike Phelan on the right and Lee Martin and Clayton Blackmore on the left. The midfield line-up was similarly impressive – Paul Ince, Neil Webb, Bryan Robson and Danny Wallace – with the added bonus of Phelan also being able to play in central midfield or on the right side. 19-year-old Lee Sharpe was capable of playing on either wing, showing promise as a star of the future. In attack, Mark Hughes and Brian McClair were an established partnership but 21-year-old Mark Robins was looking like a top striker of the future and a possible threat to McClair's place in the team. On 10 July 1990, UEFA confirmed that English clubs would be able to compete in European competitions after five years following the Heysel disaster, meaning that Manchester United would be able to compete in the European Cup Winners' Cup. The league season began six weeks later with a 2–0 home win over Coventry City in the First Division, a week after they were joint winners of the FA Charity Shield with a 1–1 draw against Liverpool at Wembley Stadium. On 19 September, Manchester United marked their return to European competition with a 2–0 win over Pecsi Munkas of Hungary in the first round first leg of the European Cup Winners' Cup, progressing to the next stage of the European Cup Winners' Cup two weeks later by winning the second leg 1–0. By that date, they had also progressed to the Football League Cup third round with a 5–2 aggregate win over Halifax Town in the second round. There were ugly scenes at Old Trafford on 20 October, when all 11 Manchester United players and 10 Arsenal players were involved in a brawl in the First Division clash at Old Trafford. Arsenal won 1–0 but United were docked a league point for this, while Arsenal (who, by this stage, were the biggest threat to leaders Liverpool in the title race) were docked two points and both clubs were fined £50000. Three days later, Manchester United defeated Wrexham 3–0 in the European Cup Winners' Cup second round first leg at Old Trafford. At the end of the month, they eliminated Liverpool from the Football League Cup in the third round with a 3–1 win at Old Trafford, condemning the First Division leaders to their first defeat in a competitive game that season. A 5–0 aggregate win over Wrexham completed on 7 November took them into the quarter-finals of the European Cup Winners' Cup. On 27 November, Alex Ferguson offered a five-year contract to Ryan Giggs, a winger said to be the finest prospect in the British game since George Best. Giggs, who was born in Cardiff, would be eligible to sign a professional contract from his 17th birthday two days later. He obliged, and his first team debut was looking inevitable. The day before Ryan Giggs signed for Manchester United, fellow youngster Lee Sharpe scored a hat-trick for Manchester United as they defeated Arsenal 6–2 in the Football League Cup fourth round at Highbury, meaning that the Football League Cup wouldn't be heading to North London in 1991. Sharpe had another fine game four days later when he scored the only goal of the game at Goodison Park in a 1–0 win over Everton, who had made a dismal start to the First Division campaign and were in the bottom half of the table just 12 months after being title contenders. 1991 began with 2–1 win for Alex Ferguson's men at Tottenham Hotspur, though the biggest piece of news arising from the game was that the opposition's Paul Gascoigne became the first player to be sent off in a live televised First Division game. Six days later, their defence of the FA Cup began with a 2–1 win over Queen's Park Rangers in the third round at Old Trafford, and the following week they drew 1–1 at Southampton in the Football League Cup quarter-final, winning the replay 3–2 at Old Trafford thanks to a Mark Hughes hat-trick. Before the month was out, United defeated Third Division Bolton Wanderers 1–0 in the FA Cup fourth round at Old Trafford. On 10 February 1991, Manchester United beat Leeds United 2–1 in the Football League Cup semi-final first leg at Old Trafford, and two weeks later they reached the final by winning the second leg 1–0. A week earlier, however, their FA Cup defence had ended in the fifth round with a 2–1 defeat at Norwich City, a side who had given the big clubs a surprise run for their money several times in the last five years. 2 March saw the much awaited debut of Ryan Giggs, who came on as a substitute for the injured Denis Irwin in a 2–0 home defeat by Everton in the First Division. Four days later, Manchester United drew 1–1 at home to Montpellier HSC in the European Cup Winners' Cup quarter-final first leg, reaching the semi-final two weeks later by winning the return leg 2–0 in France. The contest for a place in the final began on 10 April with a 3–1 away win over Legia Warsaw of Poland in the European Cup Winners' Cup semi-final first leg. On 21 April, Manchester United suffered a surprise 1–0 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday (managed by their former manager Ron Atkinson) in the Football League Cup final. The only goal of the game was scored by Irish international midfielder John Sheridan, a self-confessed Manchester United supporter. Three days later, however, they reached the European Cup Winners' Cup final for the first time with a 4–2 aggregate win over Legia Warsaw. The final was won on 15 May 1991 in Rotterdam thanks to a 2–1 win over FC Barcelona, with Mark Hughes scored both goals against the team he had spent an unsuccessful campaign with four seasons earlier. 1990–91 was another highly successful season for Manchester United after a few years of frustration, with the boardroom featuring a major trophy once more. They had also been runners-up in a second cup final. It was the first time in 23 years that United had won a major trophy in successive seasons. Their league form had also improved, but a lack of consistency restricted them to a sixth-place finish – one place below City, who had not finished above them for more than a decade. The league title went to Arsenal for the second time in three seasons, while Liverpool finished second in what at the time was unusually a trophyless season for them. United were not the only side threatening to break up the recent Liverpool-Arsenal dominance of English football. A year after taking United to a replay in the FA Cup final, former United player Steve Coppell enjoyed another successful season with Crystal Palace, who finished third in the league. Another former United player, Gordon Strachan, was a key player in Leeds United's impressive return to the First Division as the West Yorkshire side finished fourth. There was also a threat emerging from the blue half of Manchester for the first time in a decade, as City finished fifth under new player-manager Peter Reid. Les Sealey's one-year contract expired at the end of the season, and he now wanted a two-year deal, but departed on a free transfer to Aston Villa after being offered only a one-year deal. Also on his way out of the club was Ralph Milne, given a free transfer more than a year after his final first-team appearance. During the close season, United added the Brøndby and Denmark goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel and QPR's England right-back Paul Parker to their ranks. 1991–92 would be United's 25th season since their last league title triumph, and Alex Ferguson was determined to make sure that the title wait would end then. Squad statistics Pos.NameLeagueFA CupRumbelows CupEuropeOtherTotalAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsGKAUS Mark Bosnich200000000020GKSCO Jim Leighton000010000010GKENG Les Sealey31030808010510GKENG Gary Walsh500000100060DFENG Viv Anderson100011100031DFWAL Clayton Blackmore35430929211579DFENG Steve Bruce3113307284105019DFNIR Mal Donaghy17(8)0003(4)02(3)01023(15)0DFIRL Denis Irwin33(1)0307(1)0601050(2)0DFENG Lee Martin7(7)0102(2)03(2)00013(11)0DFENG Gary Pallister36030909110581DFENG Neil Whitworth100000000010MFENG Russell Beardsmore5(7)000101(1)0007(8)0MFSCO Darren Ferguson2(3)0000000002(3)0MFWAL Ryan Giggs1(1)1000000001(1)1MFENG Paul Ince31320607010473MFURS Andrei Kanchelskis100000000010MFENG Mike Phelan30(3)1107(1)0801047(4)1MFENG Bryan Robson15(2)13050400027(2)1MFENG Lee Sharpe20(3)230766(2)10036(5)9MFENG Neil Webb31(1)32071610046(1)5MFENG Paul Wratten0(2)0000000000(2)0FWWAL Mark Hughes29(2)1032967(1)31049(3)21FWSCO Brian McClair34(2)133292941056(2)21FWENG Mark Robins7(12)40(1)00(3)02(1)10(1)09(18)5FWENG Danny Wallace13(6)30(1)01(3)12(1)01017(11)4 Transfers In Date Pos. Name From Fee 26 March 1991 MF URS Andrei Kanchelskis URS Shakhtar Donetsk £650kKanchelskis calls time on career https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/6354263.stm BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation) 12 February 2007 15 February 2016 Out Date Pos. Name To Fee July 1990 DF ENG Michael Gray ENG Sunderland Undisclosed August 1990 DF ENG Mike Duxbury ENG Blackburn Rovers Undisclosed 13 September 1990 FW ENG Andy Rammell ENG Barnsley £100k 20 December 1990 DF ENG Colin Gibson ENG Leicester City £100k 11 December 1990 DF ENG Tony Gill Released Free 9 January 1991 DF ENG Viv Anderson ENG Sheffield Wednesday Undisclosed 6 March 1991 MF ENG Wayne Bullimore ENG Barnsley Undisclosed 15 March 1991 MF ENG Paul McGuinness Released Free 30 June 1991 GK AUS Mark Bosnich Released Free FW ENG Marcus Brameld Released Free MF WAL Lee Costa Released Free DF NIR Alan McReavie Released Free MF SCO Ralph Milne ENG Bury Undisclosed GK ENG Mike Pollitt ENG Bury Undisclosed DF ENG Les Potts Released Free MF ENG Roger Sallis Released Free GK ENG Les Sealey ENG Aston Villa Undisclosed MF ENG John Sharples SCO Hearts Undisclosed MF ENG Jimmy Shields Released Free GK ENG Jonathan Stanger Released Free DF ENG Alan Tonge ENG Exeter City Undisclosed MF ENG David Wilson ENG Exeter City Undisclosed Loan out Date From Date To Position Name To 27 September 1990 27 October 1990 DF ENG Colin Gibson ENG Port Vale 5 October 1990 5 November 1990 GK ENG Mike Pollitt ENG Oldham Athletic October 1990 November 1990 MF ENG David Wilson ENG Lincoln City 20 November 1990 20 December 1990 DF IRL Derek Brazil ENG Oldham Athletic 17 January 1991 17 February 1991 DF IRL Brian Carey ENG Wrexham 20 March 1991 20 April 1991 GK SCO Jim Leighton ENG Arsenal March 1991 May 1991 DF ENG David Wilson ENG Charlton Athletic References 1990–91 Manchester United F.C. kits 1990-91 Manchester United Category:UEFA Cup Winners' Cup–winning seasons