Ultimate United
United's Most Accomplished Teenagers 1 Nov 2017 00:14
A look at the most accomplished teenagers ever to play for Manchester United.
By Philip Meese, Chief Editor
Marcus Rashford has now turned 20 years old, and is without a doubt one of Manchester United’s most dangerous attacking threats. In less than two years of being a first team player, he has lifted three trophies and become an important player for club and country.
Manchester United have a rich history of giving young players a chance, whether they have graduated from the academy or been brought in from other clubs. This article looks at how Rashford’s time as a teenager at Old Trafford measures up to some of the players who preceded him.
We have compared him to eleven past United heroes, all of whom made at least fifty appearances for the club before their twentieth birthday. Because of this criteria, United legends such as Bobby Charlton, Mark Hughes, Paul Scholes and David Beckham do not make the list. All of the statistics below relate to their respective Manchester United careers while still a teenager.
Duncan Edwards
Debut Year: 1953 Debut Age: 16 Debut Goals: 0 Appearances: 106 Goals: 9
Trophies Won: 1 Cup Finals Played: 0 Cup Final Goals: 0
No surprise to see that the most iconic of the Busby Babes heads this list. Making his debut for the club while still at schoolboy age, he quickly became one of the first names on the team sheet. By the time the Munich Air Disaster claimed his life at the age of just 21, he had made 177 appearances. He won the first of two league titles at the age of 19, and repeated this the following year.
Nobby Stiles
Debut Year: 1960 Debut Age: 18 Debut Goals: 0 Appearances: 69 Goals: 9
Trophies Won: 0 Cup Finals Played: 0 Cup Final Goals: 0
A born and bred United fan who became an automatic starter from the day the first put on the shirt. Although the club was still recovering from the aftermath of Munich when Stiles broke through, he became an important part of one of their best ever sides. The defensive midfielder would go on to lift the World Cup with England, and the European Cup with United in addition to two league titles and an F.A. Cup.
George Best
Debut Year: 1963 Debut Age: 17 Debut Goals: 0 Appearances: 128 Goals: 37
Trophies Won: 1 Cup Finals Played: 0 Cup Final Goals: 0
The man who many rate as the finest player ever to grace Old Trafford was thrown into the deep end as a raw 17 year old against West Bromwich Albion in a 1-0 victory. By the time he turned twenty he was known to football fans all over the world for his one-man destruction of Benfica in Lisbon. By this point he had already lifted his first league title at the age of 18, and would go on to star in the 1968 European Cup Final against the same opponents.
Many articles have been written about his off-field lifestyle, but the fact that he retired at 27, having played in the first team for over ten years, shows what an impact he made at such a young age.
Brian Kidd
Debut Year: 1967 Debut Age: 18 Debut Goals: 0 Appearances: 92 Goals: 21
Trophies Won: 1 Cup Finals Played: 1 Cup Final Goals: 1
A man who will always be synonymous with United history, and his achievements should not be undervalued for his association with cross-town rivals Manchester City. Many modern fans will remember him as Alex Ferguson’s assistant during the 1990’s, but Kidd had already engraved his name in United folklore long before then. During his debut season, he was drafted in as replacement for injured striker David Herd. He finished that season by scoring United’s third goal against Benfica in the 1968 European Cup Final, on his 19th birthday of all things.
Sammy McIlroy
Debut Year: 1971 Debut Age: 17 Debut Goals: 1 Appearances: 65 Goals: 11
Trophies Won: 0 Cup Finals Played: 0 Cup Final Goals: 0
The man known as the “Last Busby Babe” was actually given his debut by Frank O’Farrell, and became an instant hero to United fans. His first appearance saw him score in a 3-3 draw at Maine Road in the Manchester Derby. In the 1973-74 season, while still only 19, McIlroy was the clubs joint top scorer, although the fact that six goals was enough to achieve this is a good indication of why the club were relegated that season. The Northern Ireland midfielder player at Old Trafford for over ten years, and represented his country at two World Cups after leaving United in 1982.
Norman Whiteside
Debut Year: 1982 Debut Age: 16 Debut Goals: 0 Appearances: 146 Goals: 39
Trophies Won: 1 Cup Finals Played: 2 Cup Final Goals: 2
Without a doubt, Whiteside was one of United’s greatest players of the 1980’s, and in terms of natural talent he was probably the best. After just two appearances as a 16 year old at the back-end of the 1981-82 season, he was selected by the Northern Ireland for their World Cup squad, breaking Pelé’s record as the youngest player to appear at the tournament. Over the following twelve months he would break even more records, as the youngest player to score a senior goal for Manchester United, but also to score in both League and F.A. Cup Finals (both in 1983). To this day, none of the records have been eclipsed by any other player.
In 1985, Whiteside once again scored in the final of the F.A. Cup, although this goal came just eleven days after his twentieth birthday. By this time he had played almost 150 games for the club. It is frightening to think of what he achieved at such a young age, and saddening to think that his career was ended by injury at the age of just 26, while playing for Everton.
Lee Sharpe
Debut Year: 1988 Debut Age: 17 Debut Goals: 0 Appearances: 90 Goals: 9
Trophies Won: 1 Cup Finals Played: 2 Cup Final Goals: 0
The first player on this list not to have come directly from United’s academy, but signed from Torquay United after just a handful of first team appearances. Sharpe was used sparingly at first, and left out of the 1990 F.A. Cup Final. The following year, however, he became an integral part of the team, starting both the League Cup Final defeat to Sheffield Wednesday, and the Cup Winners’ Cup Final win over Barcelona. One of United’s most popular players of the 1990’s, we all remember the Sharpey Shuffle.
Ryan Giggs
Debut Year: 1991 Debut Age: 17 Debut Goals: 0 Appearances: 121 Goals: 22
Trophies Won: 3 Cup Finals Played: 2 Cup Final Goals: 0
After making his debut as a substitute against Everton in 1991, Giggs scored on his first start, a winning goal against City, which was helped into the net by Colin Hendry. Over the next three years, Giggs would become a phenomenon in English football, with comparisons to George Best muted every time he scored another wonder goal. The electric pace and close control were one of the deadliest weapons in Ferguson’s first title winning side. Giggs lifted the Premier League title while aged just 19, to add to the League Cup and UEFA Super Cup medals already sitting in his trophy cabinet. He would win a few more trophies before retiring in 2014, a few months before his 41st birthday.
Phil Neville
Debut Year: 1995 Debut Age: 17 Debut Goals: 0 Appearances: 50 Goals: 0
Trophies Won: 2 Cup Finals Played: 1 Cup Final Goals: 0
Despite the media circus that surrounds the “Class of 92”, Phil Neville is the only one of that side to reach 50 Manchester United appearances while still a teenager, and he only just scraped that. Phil was seen as the more talented of the two brothers, although both he and Gary made their debut at the same age. In his first few years at the club he was used primarily as a full back, although in later years he was shifted into midfield when certain marking jobs were required. By the time he reached his twentieth birthday, Neville had already won a Premier League and F.A. Cup double.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Debut Year: 2003 Debut Age: 18 Debut Goals: 0 Appearances: 73 Goals: 11
Trophies Won: 1 Cup Finals Played: 1 Cup Final Goals: 1
One of the best footballers the planet has ever seen honed his craft at Old Trafford. Brought into the club as an 18 year old after running rings round John O’Shea in a pre-season friendly against Sporting Lisbon, Ronaldo’s then-club. He was instantly given the recently departed David Beckham’s number 7 shirt, and came off the bench for a half hour cameo against Bolton Wanderers, with a performance that instantly had the Old Trafford crowd off their seats.
Ronaldo capped his first season by opening the scoring in the 2004 F.A. Cup Final against Millwall. His raw talent could be frustrating at times, seemingly trying to win games on his own, but it was clear to most that we were looking at future Ballon d’Or winner. What was not so predictable, however, was that he would go on to the one of the greatest of all time, which is now not in question.
Wayne Rooney
Debut Year: 2004 Debut Age: 18 Debut Goals: 3 Appearances: 54 Goals: 21
Trophies Won: 1 Cup Finals Played: 1 Cup Final Goals: 1
Few players have made an Old Trafford debut as impressive as Wayne Rooney. Fenerbahçe goalkeeper Rü?tü Reçber looked very foolish for his pre-match comments that he was not worried about Rooney due to the fact he hadn’t previously played Champions League football. The young striker’s response was to promptly smash a hat trick past him.
At the time of his signing, Ruud van Nistelrooy was the main striker at Old Trafford, but Rooney showed a maturity in adapting to the bigger stage. It’s probably fair to say that in his early years, Rooney was more advanced in his development than Ronaldo, although this did not last long after they both left their teenage years behind.
Marcus Rashford
Debut Year: 2016 Debut Age: 18 Debut Goals: 2 Appearances: 87 Goals: 26
Trophies Won: 3 Cup Finals Played: 4 Cup Final Goals: 0
The young Mancunian has become universally loved by the Old Trafford faithful. His combination of electric pace, exceptional work rate and the fact that he is a local boy are all contributing factors to this. One of the most impressive statistics in his career is that he has scored on his first appearance in the Premier League, the League Cup, the Europa League, the Champions League and the Manchester Derby. Just for good measure, he also scored on his England debut.
Rashford was drafted into the squad when Manchester United were having an injury crisis, which was so bad that even reserve team striker Will Keane found himself on the sidelines. Rashford scored twice on his debut against FC Midtjylland, and repeated the trick against Arsenal a few days later. He has never looked back, and won the F.A. Cup, League Cup and Europa League in his brief career to date.
Final Thoughts
There are some real United legends on the list above, and all of them went onto to make their mark at Old Trafford at different stages of their careers. But who had the best teenage career?
For me, it’s a toss-up between George Best, Ryan Giggs and Norman Whiteside. I am edging towards the latter simply for the fact that, while most lads his age were attending college, starting their first job, signing on, Whiteside was leading the attack for one of the biggest clubs in the world, and was one of the most important players in the team. Best played in a team with Denis Law and Bobby Charlton, Giggs played with Mark Hughes and Eric Cantona. Throw in the fact that he scored in two cup finals before the age of 18, and broke several records which still stand to this day, and it is hard to argue against him.
You could probably make a case, however, for many of the players above being the best teenager in Manchester United’s history. To play fifty or more games for the club at such a young age takes some doing. Some of the best players in the clubs’ history didn’t manage it, as is noted by their absence from this list.
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