92 Forever: The Classiest ‘Class’ of them all

Fergie’s Fledgings

This is going to be one of those “rarest of the rare” categories of blogs that I’ve ever written. And it’s because of the simple reason that probably for the first time in the history of the sport a die-hard, hardcore Liverpool fan is going to be praising the ideology and dogma of a club called Manchester United. I guess this is something that every football freak on this planet, irrespective of the club that he/she follows, would do unconditionally if they’ve had the phenomenal privilege to watch a group of immensely talented boys set sail on their amazing journey to battle it out with the world to attain the well-deserved glory that they achieved.

David “Becks” Beckham, Paul “Scholesy” Scholes, Ryan “Giggsy” Giggs, Gary Neville, Phil Neville and Nicholas “Nicky” Butt. Anyone talking/writing about these fine individuals would agree with me when I say that the “Class of 92” is and perhaps will always be legendary. Not because of the reason that these footballers emitted loads of talent that was immeasurable, but solely because of the reason that never before and never till now has a class graduated that has produced multiple gifted players all at one go. It must be noted that though these players were “6” in number, their dream was just “one” – to enjoy the game and inspire a generation.

And inspire they did. In an era when British culture ruled and people were more into music and fashion than football, Manchester United was busy producing within its academy, a set of gifted individuals who were lucky enough to play with each other and most of all respected the game more than anything in the world. There was one reason that made them click the way they did, that made them closer than brothers, that completely eliminated an impetuous felling called “jealousy” between them and that made them realize they needed to have each other’s backs – Football. It was that important to them. It was their motivation.

Under the unparalleled guidance of recently retired manager Sir Alex Ferguson, the Class of 92 went on to star for the Manchester United first team during a period of unprecedented success for the northern England powerhouse. And that came as early as the 1995 season when they were “thrown” onto the field together to represent the Red Devils in all of Europe’s elite competitions. Now call it “luck”, Sir Alex’s “insight” or just sheer brilliance that the Class of 92 possessed, but it worked. Everyone from people to experienced football pundits criticized them; however, Becks, Scholsey, Giggsy, Gary, Phil and Nicky had other plans in mind.

Playing for the biggest club in the world, which at that time none of them knew, and going on a trophy binge to become one of the world’s most recognized sporting brands in history says a lot about the extraordinary character that “Fergie’s Fledglings” possessed. That’s right. After “Busby Babes” came the era of Fergie’s Fledglings – a group of players recruited and trained by Sir Alex who went on to play for the first team and embellish their names in the history books. Not only did these players gel perfectly with each other, but it was the manner in which they did it that made them what they are today and achieve what they achieved.

Now let’s see. Gary Neville played at right back. Phil Neville played at left back. David Beckham played on the right flank. Ryan Giggs took the left flank. The midfield was completely dominated by Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt. That’s more than half the team that was brought in at the same time. And the inexperience levels on the pitch were as a result very high. I guess putting myself in the shoes of the United fans at that time, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that the whole football fraternity must have thought that the Red Devils were taking an uncalled-for risk at the time. I mean who the hell were these six blokes anyway?

I’m no expert on this, but when six out of eleven players walk out to the centre of the field with the whole world thinking that it is all just a big mistake it’s kind of hard to get your game on. It’s definitely the greatest challenge that is thrown your way, especially when the positions in question here are the flanks and central midfield. The central midfield is supposed to be the “heart” of a team and the flanks its “wings”. So one can imagine the predicament a team and its manager would be in if the brand new heart and fervent wings fail to function. But that’s what the Class of 92 was ready for. Bring it on they said as their brilliant aura was inconceivable.

It was that dominating presence on field that the Red Devils had that made them the most feared team in the 1990s. People give credit to Eric Cantona, Bryan Robson, Steve Bruce, who rightly and respectfully deserve all the credit. But I guess I say this for all when I say that it was the unsurpassable versatility that Beckham, Giggs, Scholes, Butt and the Neville brothers had that made all the difference. To do a 1-2 between the rightmost extremity and the leftmost extremity on the field is a wondrous task and the Class of 92 did that with ridiculous ease. Not just in one game against one opponent. But in every game, irrespective of who the enemy was.

The debate will last forever on this topic. Some say that the Class of 1992 is overrated. It’s their opinion and they are quite rightly entitled to it. I mean if a young bunch of passionate and dedicated playmakers help a team win 6 English Premier League titles, 3 FA Cups, 4 League Cups and 1 UEFA Champions League title during their tenure (one of those seasons had a prestigious treble there as well by the way) and still be called “overrated”, then there’s nothing on this planet that a footballer can do to be truly, rightfully and undoubtedly be called a Football Legend. The Class of 92 did that and they will forever be the “Classiest” of them all.