Wales
Many of United's
best players have came from the small nation of Wales, the most notable being
Ryan Giggs, Clayton Blackmore, Mickey Thomas, Billy
Meredith and Mark
Hughes. Hughes spectacular volley for Wales against Spain in 1987
must go down as one of the all-time great goals. Despite having produced many of the great British players the Welsh national team has surprisingly never done that well in World Cups or European championships.
United won the 2004 FA Cup and 2006 League Cup at the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff but also lost in the 2005 FA Cup and 2003 League Cup finals. The Reds have support throughout Wales and a sizeable number travel up to Old Trafford for home games.
Wembley
Every year in the 1990's United have been at Wembley
for a Cup final or Charity Shield. Whatever people may think of it, Wembley has been kind to United, with 14 FA Cup, 1 European Cup, 4 League Cup and 11 Charity Shield appearances in total. It is the site of a ten FA Cup wins and the 1968 European Cup final win over
Benfica.
The stadium, once the envy of the world became an outdated dump and was demolished in 2001 for a new high-tech one, without the famous
twin towers. Whether the new 90,000 stadium will hold the magic of old remains to be seen.
Picture:
Old Wembley Stadium
Whiteside,
Norman
| Whelan, Billy: 1955-1958
Liam "Billy" Whelan began his career with Irish club Home Farm before joining Manchester United in 1955. He was an inside forward, a role supporting the centre forwards from a more central position than that of a winger. He made 96 appearances in three years, scoring a highly prolific 52 goals, better than a goal every other match.
Whelan was killed in the disaster of Munich 1958, Just before the plane crashed he was heard to say: "If this is the end, then I'm ready for it". In the Dublin suburb of Cabra the railway bridge has been renamed in his honour.
| | Nationality | | Republic of Ireland | | Date of Birth | | 1/4/1935 | | Appearances | | 96 | | Goals Scored | | 52 |
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| Wilkins,
Ray: 1979-1984
Bought from Chelsea for £825,000 in 1979, Ray "Butch" Wilkins arrival was met with high expectations. United fans saw him as the man to help bring the title to Dave Sexton's team but ended up criticising his mostly defensive midfield play and negativity.
Wilkin's was said to be more likely to pass a ball sideways rather than forwards giving him the nicknames "Squareball Wilkins" and "The Crab" because of it. That said, he was a regular England player, captained his country for several games, won 84 caps and appeared in World Cup's 1982 and 1986.
In 1983 he played in United's losing League Cup final side. However, a few months later he played in the FA Cup final against Brighton and scored with a famous curling shot. It was to be his most famous moment playing in the red of United.
The game ended in a 2-2 draw but he won a winners' medal as United won the replay 4-0. After a good season the following campaign it was a surprise that he was sold to AC Milan for £1.5 million in the summer of 1984. He joined PSG in France three years later and returned to the UK in 1987 were he played for a number of clubs including Rangers QPR and Millwall. He has also been manager of QPR, Fulham and a Sky TV pundit.
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Nationality
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England
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Date of Birth
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14/9/1956
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Appearances
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190 (3)
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Goals Scored
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10
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