Manchester United Paul Ince

paul ince in march 1991.

ince played once in second division following season before completing highly controversial transfer manchester united £1 million. ince had been photographed in manchester united kit long before transfer complete, appeared in daily express. ince received abuse west ham united fans many years afterwards. initial move postponed after failed medical, completed on 14 september 1989 after later received all-clear.

in article in 4 four 2 magazine, explained:

spoke alex ferguson , deal close being done. went on holiday, , agent @ time, ambrose mendy, said wasn t worth me coming picture in united shirt when deal completed, should 1 before left, , released when deal announced. lawrence luster of daily star took picture , put in library. after, sister paper, daily express, looking picture of me playing west ham, , found 1 of me in united shirt in pile. published , hell broke loose. came holiday discover west ham fans going mad. wasn t fault. kid, did agent told me do, took crap it.

ince made manchester united debut in 5–1 win on millwall, although next game united came in 5–1 manchester derby defeat manchester city. ince became strong presence in united midfield alongside bryan robson , neil webb, although first season of midfield partnership saw robson , in particular webb miss many games due injury. ince found himself partnering webb in centre of united midfield of 1990–91 season, robson absent close season until before christmas due injury, mike phelan appearing during robson s absence.

united won fa cup in first season, defeating crystal palace 1–0 in replay @ wembley after drawing 3–3. in both of these games, ince selected @ right-back in favour of viv anderson, favoured central midfield position being occupied mike phelan. ince man of match replay.

over next 4 seasons, robson s united career gradually wound down until left manage middlesbrough in 1994. during time, ince found himself playing alongside several other different central midfielders, including mike phelan, neil webb , darren ferguson. arrival of striker eric cantona in november 1992 saw brian mcclair become ince s regular central midfield partner until arrival of roy keane following season.

meanwhile, ince became united s key midfielder, snapping tackles, raking passes , tremendously hit shots, though not prolific goalscorer. 1 of best games came in january 1994, when scored in 2–2 away draw former club west ham in premier league.

he won second winners medal when united defeated barcelona in final of european cup winners cup in rotterdam in 1991 , received third year later when united beat nottingham forest in 1992 league cup final.

the next year, manchester united competing in inaugural premier league season ince , best friend @ time, ryan giggs @ fore , part of legendary team included mark hughes, eric cantona, peter schmeichel, andrei kanchelskis, steve bruce , denis irwin. seeking first league title 26 years, united won , ince completed domestic medal set 4 years after joining club.

manchester united continued dominate domestic game in 1993–94, enjoying unbroken lead of premier league throughout season, , ince midfield general in side won double of league , fa cup in 1994. year later , ince suffered more of familiar chants of judas when , manchester united went west ham on last day of season, needing win retain premier league crown. sadly them, draw game , blackburn rovers took title. went bad worse ince s next game saw them lose fa cup final everton, leaving united without major trophy first time in 6 seasons. during season, central midfield partner roy keane had missed 17 of united s 42 league games due injury, meaning ince found himself partnered brian mcclair , – particularly towards end of season – 20-year-old nicky butt.

in june 1995, ferguson sold ince internazionale £7.5 million – @ time 1 of biggest fees involving english club. ferguson had long sustained tempestuous relationship ince, labelling him bottler , big-time charlie , many fans saw prime reason ince being sold, rather on footballing or economic grounds. ince s sale caused unrest among united supporters, , discontent deepened when united turned younger nicky butt successor rather buying more experienced player. similar uproar followed subsequent sale of ince s teammates mark hughes , andrei kanchelskis, although younger players filled places in team contributed united s double double success in 1995–96 season triumphs of subsequent seasons.

while @ united, ince had collected 2 premier league title medals 2 fa cup winner s medals , 1 winner s medal each in european cup winners cup , football league cup. had collected runners-up medals in league cup twice , fa cup once.