Manchester United’s Class of 92 often had it their own way during their playing careers, but with some in attendance – and other notable in their absence – they watched Salford get thrashed
There’s a motivational quote on a corridor wall of Salford’s quaint Moor Lane ground about sticking together and never giving up.
Gary Neville and a couple of other graduates from the fabled Class of 92 might need a reminder. Eleven years after Neville, Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and Phil Neville joined forces to buy a club struggling to make ends meet in the Northern Premier League Division One North, half of them decided not to be there for the biggest game in the Ammies’ humble 85-year history.
Giggs was on the bench as part of manager Karl Robinson’s backroom staff. Scholes and Butt were wrapped up tight despite being in the heated seats of the directors’ box. The rest? Nowhere to be seen.
Okay, there’s not a Manchester United legend born who would have enjoyed watching almost 50,000 City fans doing the Poznan after Jame McAtee scored his team’s seventh goal. But the absence of Neville senior, the spokesman and driving force for a project that continues to haemorrhage £70,000 in losses every week despite now residing in League Two, was a shock.
He took to ‘X’ after the third-round draw was made to joke that Pep Guardiola would be “getting sacked in the morning.” Yet Red Nev had gone skiing, apparently. To be fair, the snow drifts on the hills that surround his hometown of Bury are quite a sight at the moment.
Perhaps it should have been obvious to anyone with a knowledge of Mancunian football that seeing City run riot against the team you own is not the kind of spectacle Neville would enjoy. He still hasn’t forgiven himself for giving a goal away against City in a derby more than 21 years ago.
And there could be much bigger days ahead, with Salford third in the table and hopes of yet another promotion starting to really take root. But if half of the ownership didn’t fancy their team’s chances of landing a shock then what were the players to think?
Neville would have been watching on the telly with a glass or three of Apres-ski, of course. He might have been on the hard stuff by the end. If he feared witnessing an avalanche of goals when Jeremy Doku and Divin Mubama both scored for the champions in the opening 20 minutes he was right.
By then the home fans were already coming through loud and clear about what they thought about the man they love to hate. Teenager Nico O’Reilly scored his first goal for his hometown club just before half-time.
And even Jack Grealish got himself on the scoresheet for the first time in over a year when he lured Ossama Ashley into a rash challenge and then sent Matty Young the wrong way from the penalty spot.
McAtee – who is from the Salford district of Little Hulton – scored twice either side of a Doku penalty before claiming a hat-trick and the the match-ball in the 81st minute. Salford ferried almost 5,500 fans across the River Irwell – and they knew as soon as Doku fired City ahead after seven minutes that the only thing they would take from the evening would be to taunt the home supporters from the top tier of the South Stand.
They might have even been awarded with the thrill of seeing their team give City a bloody nose. But Kylian Kouassi was unable to make the most of a couple of sights of Ederson’s goal and Kevin Berkoe screwed a shot wide from a decent position.
As Guardiola pointed out on the eve of the game, his luxury £2.5million CitySuites penthouse sits on the Salford side of the Irwell, so he was coming up against his hometown club. He gave a debut to 20-year-old striker Mubama, while youth graduates O’Reilly and Jahmal Simpson-Pusey also started the game.
But the champions also had Treble winners Ederson, Nathan Ake, Jack Grealish and Ilkay Gundogan. And with City already overwhelming the visitors, the City boss decided to send on Phil Foden and Mateo Kovacic. At least he didn’t unleash Erling Haaland.
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Learn more
