Ten Hag’s job is not safe, but Liverpool win will stir the soul forever

It felt a game out of time, that will resonate for decades.

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - MARCH 17: Antony of Manchester United celebrates scoring his team's second goal with teammate Amad Diallo during the Emirates FA Cup Quarter Final between Manchester United and Liverpool FC at Old Trafford on March 17, 2024 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

And in the next round, Mark Robins. Football has found itself assailed in recent years by states, oligarchs and private equity, the concentration of resources at a handful of clubs in a tiny number of western European countries destroying the balance that once sustained it, the potential of its soft power meaning that it has been preyed upon by regimes desperate to launder their image and secure influence. But, despite all that, the sport has retained its mischievous sense of humour.

It was Robins who scored the winner for Manchester United against Nottingham Forest in 1990 that saved Alex Ferguson’s job, carrying them through the third round of the FA Cup to initiate an exhaustingly dramatic campaign that culminated in the trophy. At the end of his fourth season in the job, that was Ferguson’s first silverware at Old Trafford, the herald of 23 years of almost constant success.