Irwin recalls frustrations of ’95

WITH their team rampant on multiple fronts, Manchester United fans have been contemplating a repeat of 1999 in recent days but Denis Irwin was yesterday pointing to the cautionary tale that was 1995.

Back then, Irwin’s United team was chasing a double but ended up losing the FA Cup final to Everton and the league to Blackburn Rovers after their failure to defeat West Ham United at Upton Park in the last game.

“I remember going for the FA Cup and League, in 1995, and ending up with neither. Other times I ended up winning both, and in 1999 we won the treble,” said Irwin who was in Dublin to promote the Irish U12 side’s participation in the Danone Cup.

With their league lead spreading to five points after Saturday’s drama, the chances of United coming up empty-handed this time seem slim. Yet, with the Hammers again their last league appointment, Irwin’s counsel is prudent.

“Chelsea will keep going. They may not be the greatest team to look at football-wise but they are very hard to beat and know how to win, although it’s firmly in (United’s) own hands.

“They’ve got City away on Saturday which is always a tough game and then they’ve to go to Chelsea, so there is still an awful lot of work to be done.”

Ninety-five isn’t the only year that has crossed Irwin’s mind in recent days. If Saturday’s win at Goodison Park was reminiscent of any game it was United’s defeat of Sheffield Wednesday at Old Trafford in 1993.

Trailing 1-0 with time up, United’s title chase seemed to have run out of steam before Steve Bruce scored two late, late goals to flip their whole season on its head.

“It had been 26 years since we won the championship and we’d lost to Leeds the year before,” said Irwin. “There was a huge amount of pressure on us and it took a lot to win that game.”

Right now the league has been parked and all eyes will turn to Anfield and the San Siro over the next two evenings where United and Chelsea may yet confirm a third all-or-nothing head to head, this time in Athens.

With their defensive injuries so acute, Irwin believes his old club will have to approach the second leg with caution, but that they will nevertheless have to beat Dida at least once to book their flights to Greece.

“They (United) are not the type of team that can play for a 0-0, anyway. United showed great character to come from 2-1 down to win the first leg. Milan at the San Siro is a different proposition, though, and they will try to slow the game down a little while United would like to keep the tempo high.”

Claim that elusive treble and comparisons will abound with the class of ‘99 whose greatest moment, interestingly, came in another Champions League semi-final in Italy when Roy Keane inspired the mother of all comebacks against Juventus. Though they tottered over the finishing line against Bayern Munich in Barcelona, United played a scintillating brand of football that year but Irwin feels the current crop has more talent in it ranks, regardless of how this season ends.

“Our team was more of a team,” he explained. “While Giggs and Scholes are still there, you’ve got Rooney and then there is Ronaldo. So there is probably more individualism in the team this year.”

Whatever May brings, Irwin believes Alex Ferguson has seen enough to persuade him that Old Trafford should remain his place of employment for a few years to come but what of the man seen by some as his ready-made replacement? Irwin played alongside Roy Keane for nine of his 12 years at the Old Trafford and he is full of praise for how his fellow Corkman has taken Sunderland from relegation contenders to the Premiership.

Sunderland’s long suffering fan base would accept 17th place in next season’s table if offered it now but, though Keane has warned that the hard work has only just begun, his sights are fixed far higher than that.

“I think teams that come up and play football have a better chance of staying up. The example is there with Reading this season. They play football. You look at the two teams that came up with them last year, Watford and Sheffield United, who are a bit more direct, and they have struggled.

“The quality in the Premiership is that great that you have to play football to stay up. I’ve seen Sunderland and they are already playing good football. Roy will have learnt a lot from Brian Clough and Alex Ferguson, two of the greatest managers the game has known, but you’d think that he’ll still be his own man.’’