Long before Alex Ferguson reached legendary status at Manchester United, there was a time when his job at Old Trafford was in peril. When he took over in 1986, big things were expected from the Scotsman. His first three seasons, however, didn’t yield a big title.
Come the start of the 1989-90 season, rumours surrounding his position began to make the rounds. The league campaign did nothing to calm the waters, with Manchester United sitting perilously close to the relegation zone by the time the FA Cup commenced. This prestigious knockout competition was viewed as Ferguson’s last throw of the dice.
Mark Robins’ goal helped the side get past a strong Nottingham Forest in the third-round, before close victories in succeeding fixtures took Manchester United to the final. A 3-3 draw, against Crystal Palace, in the summit clash, set the stage for an epic replay.
When the two sides faced each other for the second time, an unlikely hero emerged. In the 59th minute, Lee Martin - an unheralded left-back - made an inspired run down the far side, and chested down a pass from Neil Webb. A sweet right-footed shot followed, which whistled past the Palace custodian and into the goal. This turned out to be the match-winning play in Manchester United’s 1-0 victory. Football folklore has it that it was Martin’s strike that saved Ferguson from the axe.
Martin, who recently accompanied mediapersons on an Old Trafford special stadium tour, is modest when asked about his role in Ferguson’s career. “I cannot say that it was me who saved Sir Alex’s job. He had to pick me in the team first, so all credit goes to him. But yeah, I feel incredibly privileged to be a part of history,” Martin says.
It is true, however, that Ferguson was up against it at the time. “He struggled for the first three and half years, which is a long time. If that sort of lean period were to happen in this day and age, he would be quickly sacked,” Martin says.
Has Ferguson ever thanked Martin for extending his tenure? “Never. He didn’t talk about it then, and has never said it since. In his eyes, I was just doing my job, which is perfectly correct,” Martin says.
The goal itself came in fortuitous circumstances. Martin recalls, “The assistant coach Archie Knox yelled out to me to charge forward. I heard him, charged forward, and scored the goal. After the match, Archie came to me and said ‘When I shouted for someone to go forward, I wasn’t talking to you’. He was actually talking at Paul Ince!”
Almost immediately after that Wembley high, Martin was forced out of action for three months due to an injury. “Sir Alex called me in and said the club was a signing a young lad as a replacement, but assured me that I would return to the first-team once I made a full recovery. Well, that young lad was Denis Irwin. The rest is history. What a wonderful player Denis turned out to be,” he says.
With the consistent, brilliant Irwin taking over as left-back, Martin was forced to play second fiddle. A few years of limited match-time prompted Martin to move to Celtic FC. “It was very difficult for me to leave. I’m born and raised in Manchester - a local lad through and through. I made 108 appearances for this great institution. But then,
with Denis doing so well, it was tough for me to make the cut,” he says. After a two-year stint at Celtic, Martin moved to less-acclaimed clubs, before hanging up his boots.
Life has now come a full circle for Martin, who has returned to Manchester United to work as an MUTV analyst. The 50-year-old also travels the world with the veterans’ team, alongside Edwin van der Sar, Dwight Yorke, Andy Cole and others.
The eloquent Red Devil is thankful for all the good times. “From the age of 12 to 16, I trained at Old Trafford three times a week. At 16, Ron Atkinson [Ferguson’s predecessor] signed me as an apprentice. At 19, Sir Alex made me a first-team regular. But even then, I never thought I was good enough to play for Man U. I thought I’d be gone after a couple of games. Things have turned out wonderfully well,” a pleased Martin says.
The author was in Manchester, Newcastle and Liverpool on invitation from VisitBritain
