Fergie’s best and worst FA Cup memories

Saturday’s game against Arsenal will be Sir Alex Ferguson’s 100th FA Cup tie with United. During that time the club has won 67 games while only losing 15 times and Fergie has collected the trophy on five occasions.

There have been a few highs and lows since Fergie made his FA Cup debut back in 1990 and, with his century only a game away, now seems a good time to reflect back on past glories…and a few games you might not want to remember.

Uppers

3. The 1996 final against Liverpool was a dreadful game, which was eventually settled by a returning hero. Eric Cantona managed to miss an army of Liverpool players to score the game’s only goal and secure the Double – while we also got to laugh at the Scousers in their white suits.

2. Mark Robins’ strike that put high-flying Nottingham Forest out of the Cup probably saved Ferguson’s job – and he went on to win his first trophy after defeating an Ian Wright inspired Crystal Palace 1-0 in a final replay.

1. Ryan Giggs’ meandering run past five Arsenal players and the thunderous shot that finished it will probably be remembered as the greatest goal in FA Cup history – tainted only slightly by Giggs’ decision to unveil his hairy chest to the world. Let’s hope for more of the same on Saturday.

Downers

3. Losing to Barnsley in 1998 was probably the club’s worst FA Cup exit under Ferguson. We had 28 attempts on goal but still couldn’t prevent a surprise 3-2 defeat to lower league opposition – and we didn’t manage to win a trophy that season either.

2. Our 2-0 defeat to Arsenal in the fifth round of the 2003 enraged Fergie enough to kick a boot at the face of one David Beckham – and the rest is history.

1. Another bad memory at the hands of Arsenal. We were all over them for the entirety of the 2005 Cup Final but Wenger’s surprisingly negative tactics saw them hold on for extra time and eventually steal the trophy 5-4 on penalties – let’s hope history doesn’t repeat itself this time.

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