TEAM OF LUNATICS AND HEADBANGERS WHO KNOCKED OUT FERGIE’S MEN

LUCKILY for Louis van Gaal and his players, they won’t have to face a collection of ‘lunatics and headbangers’ quite like the Sheffield United team who famously knocked Manchester United out of the FA Cup nearly 23 years ago. Valentine’s Day, 1993: A United team destined to win their first Premier League title three months later left Bramall Lane on the end of a shock 2-1 defeat in the fifth round. The Blades were built upon the same Crazy Gang spirit that manager Dave Bassett had fostered at Wimbledon, and recovered from Ryan Giggs’s strike to score twice in quick succession before half-time. Glyn Hodges set up the first goal for Jamie Hoyland and then beat Peter Schmeichel with a fantastic lob before Steve Bruce sent a penalty crashing against a post in the second half. ‘I’ve scored better but that’s the one everybody remembers,’ Hodges told

Sportsmail. ‘It’s nice to still be talking about it 23 years later. ‘My first thought was to lash it. But how many times have you seen Peter Schmeichel come out and spread himself like a starfish? He wasn’t expecting the lob. ‘It would be an even bigger achievement if Sheffield United could do it this time at Old Trafford. They have to believe. They can’t be daunted, particularly with the way United have been playing recently.’ Bassett revealed later that concerns over a north-south split in his squad between the Sheffield men and former Wimbledon players led him to arrange a team-bonding session in the Brecon Beacons which descended into a brawl — ‘a bit of a bundle and a scrap, a couple of cut lips’. Hodges, now 52 and in charge of Stoke City’s Under 21s, recalled: ‘Dave Bassett instilled the same Crazy Gang belief and principles in us at Sheffield United. We had similar players and personalities. ‘There were a few lunatics and headbangers: ex-Wimbledon players like me, John Gannon, Brian Gale, and Alan Cork. ‘Then there were the Sheffield lads like Jamie Hoyland, Mitch Ward, Dane Whitehouse, and Carl Bradshaw. It was a good mix. ‘People talk about team spirit. It was led by the manager, we followed his every word. ‘I remember a pre-match meal when one of the lads bet Carl Bradshaw to see

how many chocolate profiteroles he could eat. He put down a fiver and Carl was away. ‘He ate more than 20. It was like that scene in Cool Hand

Luke, we were mopping chocolate from around his mouth. ‘We were playing Chelsea at 3pm and the meal was at noon. He was running around Stamford Bridge full of profiteroles!’ After knocking out Alex Ferguson’s side, Sheffield United beat Blackburn Rovers on penalties in the quarter-finals but lost to Sheffield Wednesday in a Steel City semi-final at Wembley. ‘There were some excellent players in that team,’ added Hodges (right). ‘People didn’t give us the credit we deserved.’