5 deadliest striker duos in Manchester United history

Modified Feb 28, 2020 11:41 GMT

Wayne Rooney formed a formidable partnership with Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United

#3 Stan Pearson and Jack Rowley

Jack Rowley joined Manchester United as a 17-year-old in 1937. It was around the same time that another teenager was making his first senior appearance for the Red Devils- Stan Pearson. The two of them showed promise of a bright future, but that partnership was broken as Pearson left to serve the 2nd/4th regiment in the Second World War. The fighter that he was, Pearson emerged a stronger character at the end of the war and came back to Old Trafford to fulfill his destiny.

By then, Rowley had turned into a very capable goalscorer himself. Pearson immediately struck a chord with his countryman and the old spark in their strike partnership was back. Under Sir Matt Busby’s tutelage, United were emerging out of the shadows and marching towards regaining their lost glory. With the right guidance from Busby, the Pearson-Rowley striker partnership blossomed into one of the finest of the world and propelled United to the 1948 FA Cup.

The Red Devils continued to gather forces at the turn of the decade and Rowley’s goalscoring prowess continued to make a mark, earning him the nickname “Gunner”. Pearson also complemented him fairly well and the two of them were at the mix once again as the Red Devils won the league in 1952.

By the time Rowley left United in February 1955, he had scored 211 goals from 424 appearances. He is only the 4th United player to score more than 200 goals for the club. Pearson managed 148 goals from 343 appearances for the Red Devils, before leaving for Bury in 1954.

About the author

Deepungsu is a veteran football journalist who has been covering daily transfer roundups and news for over six years at Sportskeeda. He has written over 8500 articles for the website, and has garnered over 19.5Million reads.

Deepungsu holds a PG degree in Microbiology and an MBA degree in Total Quality Management. He has an extensive two-decade long writing experience, which includes a decade of sports blogging. His writing prowess has even led his work getting cited on the legendary Franz Beckenbauer's Wikipedia page.

Inspired by Diego Maradona, Deepungsu played as an attacking midfielder for his local club at subdivision level in his initial years and scored an important goal or two. However, his all-time favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and evidently, he feels Argentina's glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment for fulfilling his long-standing dream. He is also an ardent East Bengal fan.

Deepungsu has been a Manchester United supporter since the year 2000. Unsurprisingly, his favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson and the Scotsman helped him get through some of the toughest days of his life. Like the fiery Scot, Deepungsu also leaves no stone unturned when it comes to accuracy in articles and only relies on credible sources.

Despite believing in Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland to create an iconic rivalry, Deepungsu reckons no one can match the longevity of Messi and Ronaldo. He spends his leisure time writing about life on his blog, reading books, and playing the guitar.

Know More

Edited by Rachel Syiemlieh