Wembley beckons for United's youth

By Vic Mills

LONDON (JP): The last week of the English season twelve months ago saw Manchester United on course for the league and cup double -- a scenario, however, that took little account of the ambitions of Blackburn and Everton.

At the death, United won nothing. In the aftermath, the feeling was very much that someone, somewhere would have to pay.

A year on, and Tyneside is inconsolable, Newcastle United having had the Premiership wrenched from its grasp by a Manchester United team that lost just one of its last 22 games.

The FA Cup final at Wembley now beckons again for Alex Ferguson -- Liverpool is the opposition -- and with it the chance to erase fully the misery of last season.

The match will be shown live on SCTV tomorrow, at 10 p.m.

In the twelve months since last May, much has changed at Old Trafford. Gone are the likes of Paul Ince, Mark Hughes and Andrei Kanchelskis; their places taken, not by big money buys, but by players from United's triumphant youth team of 1992.

A rare vintage, Ferguson has called upon Nicky Butt, David Beckham, Paul Scholes and the brothers Gary and Philip Neville. All now possess Premiership winner's medals.

Perceptive and calculating, Ferguson was careful to take his time to blood the youngsters. As the season took its course, all played pivotal roles in United's success. And the word from Old Trafford is that a new and equally brilliant crop await their chance.

Yet, Manchester United could not succeed by youth alone. The fielding of senior professionals Steve Bruce, Gary Pallister, Dennis Irwin, Brian McClaire and Roy Keane has been equally important in blending youth with experience, the tradition that Old Trafford expects.

Late to start the campaign due to suspension, Eric Cantona's contribution as both individual and team member has been immense.

Whether as scorer, creator, pacemaker or role model, Cantona has been the icing on the cake. The ingredients of which -- youth, experience and continental flair -- make United a very special cake.

Game plan

The team will not alter its game plan for Wembley. One of the key elements is its attacking midfield options, a task that can be undertaken by Cantona, Ryan Giggs, Keane, Butt or Beckham. Add to this their pace and technique, and Liverpool has some game on its hands.

With Bruce fit again, but not having played for three weeks, the likelihood is that David May will keep his center-back pairing with Pallister. The extra pace of May is likely to be needed to cover the menace of Liverpool's Robbie Fowler and Stan Collymore.

The only question mark will be Ferguson's choice of forward partner alongside Cantona. Despite the scoring in Sunday's win over Middlesbrough, Cole looks likely to remain on the bench with Scoles starting the match.

All of this may give the impression that tomorrow's final will be a one-sided affair. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Indeed, Liverpool, which has already secured a place in next season's Cup Winners Cup regardless of the result tomorrow, can rightly claim to have got the better of United in their league encounters with a convincing 2-0 win at Anfield and a 2-2 draw at Old Trafford.

The tactics of style and formation look set to make this an intriguing contest, because, unlike United which plays 4-4-2 with a flat back-four, Liverpool has adopted a more continental style with three central defenders and two wing-backs.

Thus John Scales, Mark Wright and Phil Babb form the cornerstone of the defense, with Jason McAteer and Rob Jones on the flanks to both defend and move forward when the occasion demands.

Veteran John Barnes will play in front of the central defenders with Jamie Redknapp and Steve McManaman in more orthodox midfield positions.

Up front Fowler will be the central striker with Collymore playing just behind. As potent an attacking force as there is in the game, the partnership plundered 55 goals this season.

Unluckily, Ian Rush is the odd forward out. Few doubt, however, that he will make an appearance at some stage of the match, his last for the club he has graced for 15 years.

With the pitch littered with internationals, tomorrow's game has all the makings of a classic. "My team's main feeling about the final is that it will be brilliant. Both teams are full of footballers, players with personality and pride," Ferguson said.

No less forthright was his opposite number Roy Evans. "If both teams play like they can, it's got to be a cracking game. It looks like a real footballing final," said Evans.