BRYAN ROBSON ON THE 1990 EPIC:
CAPTAIN MARVEL ON HIS CRUCIAL ROLE IN CLASSIC 1990 FINAL
THE 1990 FA Cup final is remembered for Sir Alex Ferguson dropping goalkeeper Jim Leighton after Manchester United snatched a 3-3 draw with Crystal Palace in extra time. Ferguson replaced Leighton with Les Sealey for the replay and defender Lee Martin scored the only goal to give Sir Alex his first trophy as United manager.
Sportsmail talks to some of the key United figures...
BRYAN ROBSON
THE big news was Jim Leighton being dropped. It was a massive decision, but that became the hallmark of the gaffer’s career. He wasn’t afraid of big decisions. We went into a team meeting and the gaffer broke the news. It was horrible to see because Jim was really upset and a lot of the lads consoled him.
He’d played in all the games, but Sir Alex thought he had been at fault for some of the Palace goals and decided to go with Les Sealey.
Palace targeted Les. Mark Bright would have been sent off today as he clattered into Les a few times, but he stood strong and made a few great saves.
The Liverpool lads used to give me stick that I refereed the games, and I did try to influence the ref in that final. It was just how I used to be. I figured the Palace players may be a little less experienced, so I was on at the ref appealing for everything.
I’d push it as far as I could, never swearing, but applying the pressure up to the point of the ref saying ‘if you don’t shut up I’ll book you’.
The game was key for us because it kick- started the Ferguson era. It gave the lads belief. We won the Cup Winners’ Cup the following year, then the Premier League. SIR ALEX FERGUSON (IN HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY: MANAGING MY LIFE) IN THE dressing-room after the first game I noticed Jim Leighton with his head in his hands, completely shattered. I went over and gave him a pat, but received no response. He looked to me like a beaten man.
Jim knew he had given another poor performance and he felt helpless. I felt for him but a decision that was bound to hurt him further was forming in my mind. I thought if I sent him out in the replay and he made another bad mistake it would destroy him and cost us the Cup. Was Les Sealey a better goalkeeper than Jim? No, but he thought he was, and that can be important in a Cup Final.
Prior to dinner on the eve of the replay, I broke the news to him and he took it very badly.
JIM LEIGHTON
HE (Ferguson) is not interested in speaking to me, I am not interested in speaking to him.
He took me aside to tell me that I was out of his Wembley line-up and that Les Sealey would be taking my place. I could not see straight and was rendered speechless.
Sealey came to my room that night. Basically, he wanted to convey some sort of apology. He also asked if I could do him a favour, but I knew what was coming, so I cut him short. ‘No,’ I told him. ‘I don’t want your medal.’
When I asked him if, in the same circumstances, he would accept a medal from me, he shook his head. United’s fans howled at me as I walked around the track to take my place in the stand. I wished I could make myself invisible for every pair of eyes in the ground, 80,000 of them, seemed to be trained on me. STEVE BRUCE WE PRACTISED set-pieces all week because Sir Alex believed that if we defended them well we’d win. Palace scored from a set-piece after 17 minutes!
We were chasing it in extra time, and it was amazing how many times we went on to score late on like that. Sparky scored with seven minutes to go to get a replay. Once we got that equaliser we were quietly confident about the replay.
When Lee Martin scored, you might have asked what the hell he was doing there. Why was he at the far post? But that was another one of Fergie’s traits: a full- back getting on to a diagonal pass. MARK HUGHES MY ABIDING memory was the celebration for the first goal. The first one to jump on me was Choccy (Brian McClair) and, for whatever reason, he decided to throttle me. I wanted to celebrate, but I couldn’t because Choccy had his hands round my throat.
At that stage, we were trying to find our way. We were three years into Sir Alex’s tenure and we needed to do something. The FA Cup victory allowed us to become a winning team. LEE MARTIN I HEARD a shout from the bench to get forward. So I ran about 70 yards to get in the box and Neil Webb picked me out with a pass like a pitching wedge right at the pin.
I managed to get my shot away just as my calf seized up with cramp. People say it’s one of the most under-rated Cup final goals, but I doubt if any has hurt the scorer so much! And here’s how the Palace goalkeeper saw it...
NIGEL MARTYN
AT 3-2, the mistake we made was thinking that was it. A cup run can become linked with destiny. You think it’s going to be your year.
I remember our captain Geoff Thomas saying Bryan Robson refereed the game. But he was the England captain and was just using his experience.
The two games were different. Maybe United altered things to stop us. It was pretty dull until Lee Martin scored.
He controlled the ball and it sat up. Then he just smashed it.
I came out to make myself big, but there was no time to react.