Manchester Football Stars of North West England

Manchester Footballers
Players & Managers from Manchester United and Manchester City Football Clubs

Gary Neville

Born on the 18th February 1975, Gary Neville joined Manchester United FC in July 1991 and became a professional player with the club in January 1993. He had previously played for Bury and Greater Manchester Schoolboys teams. His first senior appearance was in the 1992 UEFA Cup against Torpedo Moscow. By the 1994-1995 season Neville had become a regular United first team player in the full back position and was a substitute in the 1996 FA Cup Final winning match against Liverpool. Also in 1996 he was selected for the England's Euro '96 team.
In the summer of 1998, Neville was included in Glenn Still part of the England squad for the World Cup in France, Neville played in three of England's four matches.
A recurring groin injury dogged him during the 1999-2000 season, but he still managed to win another Cap for the three matches he played in Euro2000 competition. As a centre-back in the 2000-2001 season, Neville completed his 299th appearance with Manchester United so that during that season he was offered a renewed contract for six years guaranteeing a position with the club until July 2007.
A foot injury kept him out of Sven Goran Eriksson's England squad for the 2002 World Cup, and indeed prevented him from playing until September of that year.
Back on form by October 2002, he earned a sixth League Winners' Medal. So far he has earned more than 50 caps to and a veritable collection of domestic medals. Gary Neville is one of England's most experienced and reliable players and his defensive ability has proved crucial for club as well as for the England national team.

Kevin Keegan

Born 14 February 1951 at Armthorpe, near Doncaster, Yorkshire, Kevin Keegan was rejected by Doncaster and Coventry as a schoolboy, and joined Scunthorpe United as an apprentice player in 1968. He made his league debut at the age of 17 against Peterborough United.

In 1971, Bill Shankly paid £35,000 for him to join Liverpool FC - here he scored no fewer than 100 goals in 321 matches over the next 6 years and was twice elected Player of the Year in 1978 and 1979, the only British player ever to be so honoured. Controversially, he was sold to SV Hamburg in West Germany for £500,000 in June 1977, which alienated many former fans.

He returned to England to join Southampton in August 1982 and moved on to Newcastle in May 1984.

Keegan made his England debut against Wales in Cardiff at the age of 22 in 1972. During his 10 years playing for England he earned 63 caps, was captain 31 times and scored 21 goals.

His last game for England was in 1982, and he subsequently spent seven years out of football living in Spain before returning to join Newcastle United in February 1992.
In September 1998 he joined Fulham Football Club. During his first year as manager there he took the team from 18th position in the second division to become division champions, with a record number of points .

Thereafter he briefly acted as England coach in 1999 before quitting to take on management of the England team on a part-time basis, to help them qualify for the Euro2000 competition. Subsequently he took up the position full time in May 1999, but a miserable defeat in the opening game caused him to resign immediately.

Soon after, in May 2001, he was invited to become manager at Manchester City, and led them to promotion into the Premier League in his first season. During his playing career Keegan earned the reputation as one of the most popular players in British football, and became a most respected manager at Manchester City football club for a short time.

Nicholas Anelka

Paris-born striker Nicholas Anelka arrived to play for Manchester City FC at the then Maine Road stadium in June 2002 after an abortive move to Liverpool. After failing to be signed by Liverpool after a spell on loan to them, Man City manager Kevin Keegan quickly seized the opportunity to sign Anelka to the Club.
London Club Arsenal had initially signed Anelka in 1997 as a teenager for the sum of £500,000, but his temperament earned him the nickname of "Le Whinge", and in 1999 he was sold on to Real Madrid for £23million. Another disastrous season saw his return to Paris St Germaine within the year.
He played in City's losing team at Leeds but went during his first season to score a hat trick against Everton. A succession of goals in ensuing games made him a favourite with fans and on one occasion he was mobbed by adoring supporters in the streets outside Maine Road.
No stranger to controversy, fined several times for late arrival at training sessions, Anelka made international news headlines when he refused to play for his country in their friendly against Yugoslavia in France. French football authorities countered with an unsuccessful attempt to get FIFA to ban Anelka from playing for two matches - Keegan said that it was a domestic issue between the player and the French footballing authorities, and in the event no action was taken.
Anelka's early 2003-2004 performance was impressive with a hat-trick against Aston Villa and a nomination as the Thomas Cook Player of the Month for September 2003.

Paul Scholes

Paul Scholes was born on 16th November 1974 in Salford, and joined Manchester United as a trainee in July 1991 before becoming a professional footballer in January 1993. As a young mid-fielder Scholes was a promising youth and reserve team player, winning an FA Youth Cup winners' medal in 1992 and a runners-up medal in the same competition a year later. He was also a member of the England Under-18 team which won the European Championships in 1993.
In September 1994 he made his league debut playing against Ipswich Town, where, despite losing that game, he scored both of Man United's 2 goals. By the end of the 1994-1995 season he had become a regular first team player and appeared in the 1998 World Cup Finals, scoring in England's opening match against Tunisia.
A low point in his career came in the 1998-1999 season when he became the first England player ever to be sent off at Wembley Arena during the drawn Euro 2000 qualifying match against Sweden.
His game is notable for its accurate passing and bold tackling and these skills were evident in the defeat of Scotland at Hampden Park, where Scholes scored both goals in the Euro 2000 play-off. This performance earned him the England Supporters Club title of Player of the Year.
By 2001 Scholes had become a regular England player and received his fifth Premiership Winners Medal at the end of that season after making 44 appearances and scoring eleven goals, 15 of these being European Cup goals - one more than the record held by Denis Law.
In July 2001 his contract at Manchester United was extended until June 2006. The year 2002 saw him as part of the England squad at the 2002 World Cup finals in Japan and South Korea. Paul Scholes is an inveterate striker, and is equally comfortable with a spectacular long range shot or with a short tap in from on the goal line, and seems to save his best performances for big games.

Rio Ferdinand

Rio Ferdinand was born in November 1978 in Peckham, South East London. As a young aspiring player he was centre-forward for his local junior team, Bloomfields, where he was reputed to have scored 30 goals in a season. Later he went on to Eltham Town as an Under-13 and Under-14 player. It was while he was at Eltham that he was spotted by a West Ham talent scout.
Ferdinand first signed for West Ham as a schoolboy at the tender age of fourteen. By the time he was ready to leave school at sixteen, he had been invited to join Middlesbrough, Norwich City, Millwall, Charlton and Chelsea. However, he remained with West Ham on a two-year Youth Training Scheme contract for the princely sum of £30 per week, and all the boots he could clean. Rio's attitude and ability clearly impressed West Ham, who signed him on his first professional contract at the age of 17 - he made his debut as a professional footballer as a substitute against Sheffield Wednesday at Upton Park.
By 1997 he was playing in the senior team and on the 1st of February of that year he scored his first senior goal. In all Ferdinand was to make 152 appearances for West Ham, before he was signed over to Leeds United for £18million in November 2000 - at that time a British record fee for a defender.
By the end of the 2002 season he had been universally recognised as a most accomplished defender and was much sought after. As one of England's most outstanding performers in the 2002 World Cup, his potential transfer value rocketed during the 2002 World Cup, and Manchester United began to show interest in acquiring him for the club. After weeks of speculation and subsequent negotiation, Rio Ferdinand was signed for a new British record fee of £30million - then the world's most expensive defender!
Initially dogged with injury and loss of form at Old Trafford, his game slowly developed to top form as United overtook Arsenal to win the 15th League title in their history.

Robbie Fowler

Born in Toxteth, Liverpool on the 9th of April 1975, Robbie Fowler claims to have been playing with footballs since the age of three. His arrival at Maine Road was possibly one of the shrewdest purchases by manager Kevin Keegan. As a fervent Everton supporter Fowler was spotted by a Liverpool scout and signed up as a 14 year old boy. He made his Liverpool debut in September 1993 as an 18 year old when he scored all five goals in the second-leg league cup game against Fulham. In the 1996-1997 season he scored 31 goals and won his first England cap. His growing reputation began to draw comparisons with great past British footballers like Jimmy Greaves.
In 330 matches at Liverpool, Fowler scored 171 goals in all, the peak of his Liverpool career probably coming in 2001, when, as a stand-in Captain for the team, they won all three major football trophies.
In November 2001, he moved to Leeds United at Elland Road, where, despite injuries, he scored 14 goals in 30 league appearances during a 14 month stay with the club. In 2002 he was a member of the England World Cup Squad in Japan and Korea.
His move to join Kevin Keegan's Manchester City team at Maine Road was universally welcomed by fans. His first goal for City was scored in their 1-0 win over Birmingham.
Robbie Fowler is regarded as probably the best natural goalscorer in England. He is equally happy aiming at the goal mouth with either foot, head, in the box, out the box - in fact, almost anywhere. Ongoing injuries have prevented him from playing more at international level.

Roy Keane

Roy Keane was born in Cork, Ireland, on 10 October 1971. After several abortive attempts to get apprenticeships with any English League clubs, Keane's chance came in 1989 when, at the age of 18, manager Brian Clough took him to play at Nottingham Forest. A promising youngster, by the end of his first full season he had played in the 1991 FA Cup Final, collecting a runners up medal.
In May 1991 he was spotted by Jack Charlton, manager of the Ireland national team, who gave him his first full international cap. However, Nottingham Forest were relegated the following season and Keane was sold to Manchester United for a record fee of £3.75 million.
Here he soon emerged as a powerful midfield player, helping United win six Premier League Championships, including two doubles in 1994 and 1996. He also participated in the 1994 World Cup Finals and is a regular international for the Republic of Ireland.
In 1997 he was made team captain, but in less than two months he was sidelined after a serious knee injury. Keane soon fought his way back to full fitness to lead the team out, at Wembley, in the 1998 pre season Charity Shield.
His career has enjoyed mixed fortunes: a sending-off against Juventus, forced him to miss the final in Barcelona. Several ankle injuries also prevented him from playing for the rest of that season. Rumours of a possible move from United abounded until in the 1999-2000 season, Keene was offered a new deal. After that, as team captain, his skills were was recognised by both the Football Writers and the Professional Footballers Association, who both voted him Player of the Year. He went on in 2001 to lead United to a seventh Championship title.
On the international front, despite his on-pitch successes, following a row with the team manager he was sent off the pitch and subsequently, he retired from international football 'on medical grounds'.
In his published autobiography, he admitted to having injured Manchester City's Alf Inge Haaland on purpose during a vicious tackle, and was punished by a five-match ban and a large fine. This ban and a serious leg/hip operation put his future in question, but despite being out of action for almost six months, Keane made it very clear that he still has a few years left in him yet!
Keane left United in November 2005 after a reported difference of opinion between himself and Sir Alex Ferguson and disparaging remarks he is said to have made about several team-mates.

Ruud van Nistelrooy

Full name: Rutgerus Johannes Martinius Ruud van Nistelrooy. Born on 1st July 1976 in Oss, in the south-central region of the Netherlands, Ruud van Nistelrooy is a natural sportsman who played football for his local village team, as well as tennis and gymnastics as a schoolboy. As a boy in his village team he played as a sweeper. In 1993 his professional football career began when he moved to the Second Division side FC Den Bosch. Here he was able to show off his skills behind the forward line. Within four years he had moved onto the Dutch First Division with SC Heerenveen as a striker. He quickly accrued 13 goals from 30 appearances.
By November 1998, he had made his international debut for Holland in a 1-1 draw against Germany, and by the end of his first season in 1999, he had become top scorer in the Dutch League with 31 goals to be voted Dutch Player of the Year.
His scoring record with PSV Eindoven included 60 goals during the two seasons. In the 1999-2000 season he scored two hat-tricks against Ajax.
By April 2000, Manchester United had become interested in acquiring van Nistelrooy, despite medical tests showing a weakness in his right knee, sustained in a friendly against Silkeborg that same month. However, he refused a reparative operation, knowing that would rule him out for the Euro2000 competition. Ironically, two days later, back in Eindhoven, he ruptured a ligament in the same knee and was forced to watch Euro2000 by television.
Considerable encouragement by Sir Alex Ferguson was a source of strength in the player's rehabilitation, and, with the aid of a personal trainer, he set out on the road to recovery.
By March 2001, van Nistelrooy made a comeback with PSV, continuing to score goals, before he made a long-awaited move to Manchester United, for a then British record transfer fee of £19 million.
At Old Trafford he scored in his very first match - the Charity Shield defeat to Liverpool. He went on to accrue 36 goals in his debut season. In the 2002-2003 season he tallied 44 goals and United went on to win the 2002-2003 Premiership.