On Class of 07

Av: Andy Mitten

Sir Alex Ferguson trodde ikke at Uniteds juniorlag i 2006/07 var kapable til å vine FA Youth Cup, men han må nok ha tenkt seg om en gang til da Paul McGuinness’ lag nådde finalen.

De slo også Liverpool 2-1 på Anfield i den første finalen, foran 19.518 tilskuere. De unge United-spillerne lot seg ikke stresse av en masse tilskuere, og hadde slått ut Arsenal i semifinalen, foran 38.187 tilskuere i London.

Tom Cleverley og Daniel Welbeck var blant spillerne man la merke til. Begge spilte for A-laget året etter. Welbeck i en treningskamp i Saudi-Arabia, Cleverley i Sør-Afrika.

Liverpool var regjerendemestere, gode nok til å slå et glimrende Manchester City-lag i finalen i 2006, men United hadde vunnet på Merseyside, takket være et selvmål og en straffe fra vikarierende kaptein, Sam Hewson.

– Jeg håper bare at supporterne våre støtter opp om disse gutta, sa Ferguson før returkampen.

– De har gjort en fantastisk jobb ved å komme hit, og det har langt ifra vært en enkel reise. Jeg håper de klarer å sikre seieren sammenlagt, la han til.

Det kom nærmere 25.000 på Old Trafford, men som i den første kampen manglet United Cleverley, Craig Cathcart og keeper Ben Amos. United tapte 1-0, men bortemålsregelen gjaldt ikke og kampen endte med straffespark-konkurranse. Liverpool, med null spillere som nå spiller for A-laget, vant den 4-3 og trofeet for andre år på rad.

Mange av United-gutta spilte også på laget som tre måneder senere vant det første Champions Youth Cup i Malaysia. United slo mange av juniorlagene fra noen av verdens beste klubber på vei mot seieren – Porto, Boca Juniors, Flamengo og Barcelona. Fremtiden for unggutta så lys ut, men seks år senere har karrierene deres tatt vidt forskjellige retninger.

Jeg skriver om dette nå fordi jeg nylig møtte Febian Brandy i Wallsall. Han var stjernen på 07-laget, og toppscorer i Champions Youth Cup-finalen.

Febian ble født og oppvokst på Moss Side, og har flere opp- og nedturer enn de fleste bak seg. Karrieren har imidlertid tatt seg opp igjen nå, og han stortrives i League One med Wallsall. Han er fortsatt også en nær venn med Cleverley og Welbeck, som begge altså nå også spiller for England. Han besøker også jevnlig «Hull-gutta», men vi kommer tilbake til dem.

United stilte med følgende lag på Anfield i den første finalekampen: Ron Robert Zieler, Richard Eckersley, Corry Evans, Kenny Strickland, James Chester, Danny Drinkwater, Welbeck, Sam Hewson (kaptein), Brandy, Chris Fagan og Danny Galbraith.

Tyske Zieler er nå førstevalget for Hanover 96, Robert Enkes tidligere klubb. Han er dermed lagkamerat med tidligere Molde- og United-spiss Mame Diouf – og United møtte jo Hannover i en treningskamp før sesongen som en del av Diouf-avtalen. Både Zieler og Diouf gjør det også eksepsjonelt bra. Zieler ble tatt ut på det tyske A-landslaget i 2011, selv om han nå er tyskernes tredjevalg mellom stengene.

Salford-fødte Richard Eckersley spilte fire ganger for United i 2009, og ble også tilbudt en ny kontrakt. Han valgte imidlertid å gå til Burnley – selv om det irriterte Ferguson. Overgangen fungerte heller ikke for ham, det var så vidt han fikk spille. Han reiste så over Atlanterhavet, og lykkes for Toronto i MLS. Broren hans, Adam, spiller for AGF i Danmark.

Midtstopper og midtbanespiller Corry Evans er den yngre broren til Jonny Evans, og er nå én av disse «Hull-gutta» jeg nevnte. Han spiller fast for Championship-laget som akkurat nå ligger på 2. plass der, og ser ut som om de skal klare å rykke opp til Premier League. Han spiller også på det nordirske landslaget. En annen av unggutta, som ble født i Warrington, er James Chester, som United solgte for 300.000 pund.

– Det var en vanskelig avgjørelse å drar fra United, men jeg tror jeg har kommet rett sted, sier Chester.

– Det er andre United-gutter her også, noe som har hjulpet meg i å finne meg til rette her. Vi bor og koser oss sammen. Man flytter mye når man er fotballspillere, og jeg har selv bodd i Plymouth, Peterborough og Carlisle, så det er deilig å ha funnet seg til rette her.

Hull-gutta ledes også av Steve Bruce og har også andre tidligere United-spillere som Paul McShane, Joe Dudgeon, Robbie Brady og Cameron Stewart (nå på lån i Blackburn).

Én annen Manchester-født midtbanespiller fra 2007-laget, Danny Drinkwater, spiller også i Championship, men ikke i Hull. Han spiller for et Leicester-lag som også jager opprykk.

Både Hull-gutta og Drinkwater tjener imidlertid godt. En midtbanespiller i Championship kan tjene 10.000 pund i uka.

2007-laget var egentlig ledet av Belfast-fødte Craig Cathcart, men han gikk glipp av finalen den gangen fordi han kom med på benken i FA-cupsemifinalen i 2007. Han spiller også i Championship, for Blackpool, og akkurat som Corry Evans spiller han for det nordirske landslaget.

De fleste fra 2007-laget tjener altså gode penger på fotballen sin. Sannheten er nemlig at hvis man er så god at man spiller for et veldig godt juniorlag i United, så er man nesten sikret en god karriere. Det er likevel tvilsomt om du lykkes i United, selv om både Welbeck og Cleverley har klart det fra 07-laget. Keeper Ben Amos er også i United, etter at han returnerte fra lån hvor? Jo, i Hull.

Alle lyktes imidlertid ikke.

Kenny Strickland, som ble født i Ormskirk (nær Liverpool) var seks år i United, og fikk med seg 2007-finalen. Han ble løst fra kontrakten, og skrev under for Chelsea i 2009. Han var i Chelsea i ett år, før han dro på prøvespill i Tranmere og fortsatte i Marine, et halvprofesjonelt lag i Liverpool. Kenny (oppkalt etter farens helt, Kenny Dalglish) spiller nå for Skelmersdale United i Evostick League One, som er 8. nivå i engelsk fotball. Han spilte en gang på Old Trafford, men forrige uke skulle han spille mot amatørlaget Trafford, foran om lag 200 tilskuere.

He may have reassessed that opinion when Paul McGuinness’s side reached the final, beating Liverpool 2-1 at Anfield in front 19,518 in the first leg. The young Reds were not daunted by big crowds – they’d knocked Arsenal out in the semi-final, with 38,187 watching the London leg. Tom Cleverley and Daniel Welbeck were players ones to watch. Both would play for the first team the following year, Welbeck in a Saudi Arabian friendly, Cleverley in South Africa.

Liverpool were the holders, good enough to beat an excellent Manchester City team in the 2006 final. United had triumphed on Merseyside, thanks to a penalty from stand-in skipper Sam Hewson and an own goal.

“I just hope our support gets behind these lads,” said Ferguson before the second leg. “They’ve done a fantastic job getting there and it’s not been an easy ride for them…I hope they can now seal the result.”

Nearly 25,000 attended at Old Trafford. As with the first, United were missing Cleverley, Craig Cathcart and goalkeeper Ben Amos. United lost 1-0, but the away goals rule didn’t count and the game went to penalties. Liverpool, featuring no players who currently play for their first team, won 4-3 to retain their crown.

Many of the players were in the young United side which won the inaugural Champions Youth Cup in Malaysia three months later, beating the best youth sides from all the world’s top clubs. United defeated Porto, Boca Juniors, Flamengo, Barcelona and Juventus on the way to the title.

The futures of the young players looked bright, but, six years on, they’ve experienced vastly differing fortunes.

I’m writing this now because I travelled to Walsall recently with Febian Brandy, star of that 2007 team and the goalscorer in the Champions Youth Cup final.

Moss Side born and bred, he’s experienced more ups and downs than most, but his career has been resurrected and he’s thriving in League One with Walsall. He’s still very close to his former team mates Cleverley and Welbeck, both full England internationals. And he still sees the ‘Hull lads’. We’ll come to them.

The United team at Anfield in the final was Ron Robert Zieler, Richard Eckersley, Corry Evans, Kenny Strickland, James Chester, Danny Drinkwater, Welbeck, Sam Hewson (captain), Brandy, Chris Fagan and Danny Galbraith.

German goalkeeper Zieler is now the first choice for Hanover 96, Robert Enke’s former club. Among his team mates are former Molde and United striker Mame Diouf; the Reds played Hanover pre-season as part of his transfer deal. Both are doing exceptionally well, with Zieler called up to the German National team in 2011, though he’s currently Germany’s third choice ‘keeper.

Salford born full-back Richard Eckersley played four times for United in 2009. He was offered another contract, but chose to go to Burnley, much to Ferguson’s displeasure. The move didn’t work out, he barely played. He then crossed the Atlantic, where he’s excelling for Toronto in the MLS. His brother Adam plays for AGF in Denmark.

Centre half/midfielder Corry Evans, younger brother of Jonny, is one of the ‘Hull boys’, a regular in the defence of the Championship side who are currently second in the league and looking good for a return to the Premier League. He’s also a Northern Ireland international. Another red from that team now at Hull is Warrington born defender/midfielder James Chester, who United sold for £300,000.

“It was always a tough decision to leave United, but I think I’ve come to the right place,” says Chester. “Other United lads are here and that helped me settle really quickly. We live together in a house and have a good laugh. You get used to moving around all the time as a footballer. I lived in Plymouth, Peterborough and Carlisle, so I’m happy to be settled.”

They’re managed by Steve Bruce and feature former Reds Paul McShane, Joe Dudgeon, Robbie Brady and Cameron Stewart (on loan at Blackburn).

Mancunian midfielder Danny Drinkwater was a midfielder in the 2007 side. He’s also in the Championship, though with promotion chasing Leicester. Like the Hull boys and the others mentioned, he’s making a good living. A midfielder in the Championship can earn £10,000 a week.

United’s 2007 youth team were captained by Belfast-born defender Craig Cathcart. He missed out on the 2007 final as he was called up for first team duty, sitting on the bench in the 2007 FA Cup semi final. He’s also in the Championship, at Blackpool and, like Evans, a Northern Ireland international.

The majority of the 2007 side are making a good living in football. If you make the level of a very good United youth team then you’re almost there. You probably won’t make it at United, though Welbeck and Cleverley have. Goalkeeper Ben Amos is still at United, having just returned from a loan. At Hull, where else?

But not all the players made it at a high level. Ormskirk (near Liverpool) born Kenny Strickland spent six years at United and played in the 2007 final. He was released and signed for Chelsea in 2009. Strickland was at Stamford Bridge for a year, before taking a trial with Tranmere and finally joining Marine, a semi-professional team in Liverpool.

Kenny (named after his dad’s hero Kenny Dalglish) is now at Skelmersdale United in the Evostick League One, English football’s 8 th level. He once played at Old Trafford, this week he was set to play against non-league Trafford in front of 200.

The stand-in captain at Anfield was Sam Hewson. He held his nerve to score at penalty at the Kop, now he plays for Fram in Iceland after a spell at Altrincham in England’s 6 th level. Hewson went from being a regular for United’s reserves and then being on the bench in a Champions League match in Roma, to being released by United in 2010 and Altrincham in 2011.

Irish striker Chris Fagan, who played up front with Brandy, plays for St. Patrick’s Athletic in Dublin, via Lincoln City, Jerez Industrial in Spain and Bohemians in Ireland. Jerez Industrial? They were aed to the Glenn Hoddle academy in Spain, set up to catch young falling stars and resurrect their careers by selling them on. That Fagan is making a living from football is a resurrection of sorts, but maybe it’s not what he would have hoped.

Fagan is not the only player from that 2007 side playing in Ireland, with Scottish winger Danny Galbraith now with Limerick, via Hibernian, where he played 52 games. His career would undoubtedly have been better had it not been for injuries.

Injuries play their part, luck too – but when it goes wrong it can go badly wrong. My cousin Paul was at United, a year below David Beckham.

“I joined United at 11 and was kept on at 16 for another two years,” he says. “I was a year below the famous class of ’92 and players like Beckham, Nicky Butt, the Neville brothers and Paul Scholes. Several of the lads in my year had very good careers and one, Michael Appleton is still one of my best mates, as is Ashley Westwood.” Both were sacked by Blackburn last week and Paul saw them socially on Friday night.

Mitten ruptured his cruciate ligament at 16. Then he damaged his Achilles. He was not surprised to be released from United at 18, then spent eight months trying his luck at Bury, Crewe, Stoke and Burnley before Premier League Coventry City took him on trial. He impressed sufficiently to earn an 18-month professional contract earning £175 a week.

Eight games into that, he ruptured his right cruciate ligament. He was already low on confidence when manager Ron Atkinson, publicly, in front of the first-team players, said: “Why are you here at this club? You’re no use to me injured.”

That comment shattered what confidence remained.

Mitten was released and moved to non-league Southport. He got fit, then broke his leg after four games. He went to Stalybridge in England’s fifth division, but fell out of football and started gambling heavily because, “I needed the buzz which football had given me. I would bet on anything for that buzz”.

He reached his nadir when his little daughter opened the letter. Luckily, his partner stuck with him on the condition that he confronted his problem with professional help.

“I didn’t do it through football,” he says, “but I’ve turned my life around and qualified as a fireman three years ago. I’m paying my debts back and life’s good again, but it took me 10 years to get over that rejection.”

Professional football sweeps what it calls its “wastage rate” under the carpet, and for thousands of discarded young men whose dreams are shattered, there is little help.

If you make it as far as United’s youth team, you’re unlikely to need help.