Whenever Manchester United and Aston Villa meet, my mind invariably goes back to the very first FA Cup Final that I have a clear memory of. United were the newly crowned League champions and just 90 minutes away from completing the first League – Cup double of the century, a double deemed by most pundits at the time as no longer being possible to achieve. But it was not meant to be.
History was made at Wembley by the Frenchman who seems to do nothing else. Eric Cantona, newly crowned as Footballer Of The Year scored the goal that defeated Liverpool in the FA Cup final for Manchester United to become the first club to complete the coveted Double twice.
Former Manchester United defender Kevin Moran will be watching Saturdays clash at Goodison Park with special interest – and not because it will be Wayne Rooney’s first appearance for United since his ‘troubles’ erupted. Moran had his own troubles a quarter of a century ago when he set an unwanted record by going into the history books as the first player to be sent off in an FA Cup Final during Manchester United’s 1-0 extra time defeat of Everton in 1985.
