Man utd

Eddie Colman and Duncan Edwards played in three winning teams from 1953 to 1955, while Tony Hawksworth, Wilf McGuinness and Bobby Charlton all turned out for ...

Gary Neville is the only player to captain United in two FA Youth Cup finals, leading the Reds out in the first leg of the 1992 finals – Ryan Giggs took it in the second leg – and then for both matches in 1993. Eleven years on, George Best hit three in a 14-1 win over Barrow en route to a first tournament win of the ’60s. As for notable scorelines in the final, United racked up nine goals in two legs in the competition’s inaugural year, seven in 1955 and eight in 1957, the margin between the two sides being six goals on all three occasions. He’s the only United player to score a hat-trick in an FA Cup final, youth or senior. United scored three in six minutes, 10 by half-time, and in the end, the 2,600 crowd had seen each of Duncan Edwards, David Pegg and John Doherty score five. Of the 79 finalists to play for the first team, 34 young Reds played more than 50 times for United, and 15 played over 200 times. After Harrison’s death in 2019, Sir Alex Ferguson remarked: “It was his ability to impart an education, to make good human beings as well as footballers, that made him one of the greatest coaches of our time.” Gary wore the armband in 1993 and Phil in 1995. Jimmy Murphy’s career was so much broader than this competition – he managed Wales and did so much to keep United afloat post-Munich – but his achievements in youth football are mind-boggling. United’s youth teams owned the first half-decade of the FA Youth Cup. The young Reds, who eventually earned the moniker ‘Busby’s Babes’, didn’t lose a match in the competition until 8 April 1957. Wales have six Youth Cup finalist alumni, the first pair being Clayton Blackmore and Mark Hughes, and James Chester the last. Eddie Colman and Duncan Edwards played in three winning teams from 1953 to 1955, while Tony Hawksworth, Wilf McGuinness and Bobby Charlton all turned out for the young Reds in the 1954, 1955 and 1956 finals. To mark the occasion, we're exploring the Reds' rich history in this prestigious tournament...