The former Aston Villa and Manchester United boss shared his memory of the notable clash of both teams in Wembley back in the 1990s.
Ahead of the encounter between Aston Villa and Manchester United this weekend, there is one famous figure in the dugout who has been in both teams. He was one of Villa managers who delivered silverware in his tenure with The Lions and guided them to their best finish in the Premier League history to date, Ron Atkinson.
The tactician who was the predecessor of Sir Alex Ferguson in Old Trafford recalled one of the notable duels between Villa and Red Devils, the 1994 EFL League Cup final, as reported in Birmingham mail. Villa won 3-1 at Wembley with a goal from Dalian Atkinson and Dean Saunders’ brace before Mark Hughes netted a consolation goal.
“It’s as high as any [achievement] because we were playing a United side who eventually went on to win the league and the FA Cup,”
Aston Villa was heading to the final as the non favorite. It was obvious because their opponent was the dominant force in English football. Big Ron was concerned ahead of the match, especially as they couldn’t have played Steve Staunton at that time, which would have been a huge blow for his team.
However, he managed to finally thump United after being inspired by the other team.
“On the Tuesday before the final, I saw Arsenal play United. Arsenal played a system with three up front, which caused United problems. I thought there was a lot of mileage in that.
“I went away and decided we’d play in a similar way. We needed more power in midfield. Unfortunately, very good players like Garry Parker and Ray Houghton had gone off the boil slightly, and I thought we’d get outmuscled in midfield. So, I took a chance and played a young centre-forward in midfield, Graham Fenton.
“We needed a physical presence—Fenton, Kevin Richardson, and Andy Townsend. I played the three up front, with Dalian Atkinson operating more as a right winger.
“I said to Dean Saunders before the match, ‘You can run about—run, run, run. When you’re finished running, run again. When you’ve finished that, I’ll replace you—with who, I don’t know!’ I knew Deano would relish the task on his own. That was the build-up to the game.”
That was indeed a remarkable victory but sadly also marked as his last win over Sir Alex Ferguson’s side. Big Ron’s team had not won the game versus United again until he was relieved from his post in the mid 1994/95 season.
Overall, the Liverpool-born manager had faced off Manchester United nine times during his stint in Villa Park from 1991 to 1994. He left Villa to beat them three times, the League Cup final included, and hold them in a tie once.
His first was in the third round of the 1992/93 League Cup with a single goal from Dean Saunders. The second triumph was just a few weeks later at their home turf too with the same result. It was Atkinson who bagged the winning goal.
The post The ex-Aston Villa and Manchester United boss recalled their notable encounter in Wembley appeared first on AVillaFan.com – Aston Villa Fan Site.
