PLUS THE NEW KING OF OLD TRAFFORD/
WHEN Sir Alex Ferguson discusses the impact Eric Cantona made at United it is the swagger and selfconfidence that come to the fore, before the work rate and the example he set to his team-mates.
Cantona signed for United as the long wait for a league title continued, but many shrewd judges consider him the final piece of the jigsaw of Ferguson’s first great United team.
He came in and looked like he belonged, then he trained with the fervour and application of a born winner and took that onto the pitch. He lifted every single team-mate in that 1992/93 side.
Since then there’s been plenty of United signings who have made significant impacts on the pitch and done so relatively quickly, but until the January arrival of Bruno Fernandes few had come close to matching Cantona’s seismic impact across the squad.
If the Frenchman was the catalyst to United’s first title under Ferguson, then Fernandes could well turn out to be the turning point under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer if the form that has taken them to a 15-game unbeaten run since the end of January is maintained.
Fernandes’ double at Brighton on Tuesday night took him to six goals and four assists in 13 appearances for the club, but the mere numbers alone, as impressive as they are, do not tell the full story – it is the standards he is setting.
United have gone from a team lacking creativity and inspiration pre-January to a side who suddenly look swashbuckling. The successive 3-0 Premier League victories against Sheffield United and Brighton have been two of their most complete displays of the season.
When Fernandes arrived for £47m Solskjaer knew he was getting a player, but what he couldn’t be certain about was the character and leadership that he would bring, traits that he has infused this squad with.
Within three weeks the United boss had seen enough to realise he’d got a player who could be crucial in the dressing room as well as on the pitch.
“He’s another conductor, a leader and winner. He wants to win, He doesn’t take 99 per cent as good enough and he’s impressed me,” Solskjaer said in February. “That’s something you see when you watch him but you don’t really know about until you have him in your group. He’s been absolutely top class.”
Fernandes was bellowing instructions and demanding more of his team-mates within 45 minutes of being a United player and he has barely stopped since. The need to direct and cajole team-mates has diminished however, with United looking a different side since his arrival.
It’s difficult to believe the team that has dominated against Sheffield United and Brighton is the same who that lost limply to Burnley at Old Trafford, the last defeat this season before the current 15-game unbeaten run began.
From the moment he made his debut against Wolves Fernandes has looked like he belongs at Old Trafford. For a club that had lost its way over the
He wants to win. He doesn’t take 99 per cent as good enough
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on Bruno Fernandes
previous seven years, failing to mount a serious title challenge in that time, he has been a reminder of what it takes to play for United and the confidence that should bring.
It’s the same kind of influence Cantona had on the United squad of 1992. “If ever there was one player, anywhere in the word, that was made for United, it was Cantona,” Ferguson said of the Frenchman.
“He swaggered in, stuck his chest out, raised his head and surveyed everything as though he were asking: ‘I’m Cantona. How big are you? Are you big enough for me?’”
This is what Gary Pallister has since said of Cantona’s arrival: “We had a very strong team spirit and some great personalities and characters. But Eric just walked in with that straight-back stance as if to say, ‘I was born for this place.’ Being a character is one thing but to carry it off you have to have the ability to go with it. Eric did.
“We were a professional squad but Eric brought a new professionalism to the club. It was unique. He started training before us and stayed out longer than anyone else. It was a real eye-opener. It had a big effect on us and I also know how much it impacted on the Class of ‘92. The likes of David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and Gary Neville learnt so much from Eric and his professionalism.”
Fernandes has only played 13 games for United, he can’t be compared to Cantona yet, but on the evidence of his first few months as a United player he is on the right track.
He has the same traits and sense of belief that Cantona bought to Old Trafford from Elland Road.
To see the way Fernandes has transformed United, not just in terms of creativity but the confidence in their game and the quality of their play, is to marvel at the idea that he cost just £47m.
He was on the radar of almost every top European club before joining United and has transformed United. He could well be the most important signing in a generation if he can maintain this impact.