Hello and welcome back to We All Follow United, your regular trip down Manchester United memory lane.
Today, we're going to start a new series on the page in which we form a five-a-side team made up of players that fall under a certain criteria.
This piece has a Gallic theme as today's Fantasy Fives theme is French Manchester United players.
Goalkeeper: Fabien Barthez (2000-2004. 139 appearances)
There's an old saying that all goalkeepers are crazy and you possibly won't get a keeper as mad as a box of frogs as Barthez again. A World Cup winner in 1998, Barthez joined United from Monaco and had helped his country win Euro 2000 in the summer before his £7.8 million switch to Old Trafford.
While his errors were highly publicised, Barthez was capable of pulling off important saves at crucial times and played an integral part in the Premier League title wins of 2000-01 and 2002-03.
The arrival of American keeper Tim Howard in the summer of 2003 saw Fabien move to Marseille on loan for the 03-04 campaign and he eventually retired at the end of the 2006-07 season.
Defender: Laurent Blanc (2001-2003. 75 appearances, 4 goals)
Sir Alex Ferguson was a longtime admirer of the French defender who was also part of the squads that won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 and finally got his man in 2001 following Jaap Stam's acrimonious departure to Lazio.
The veteran centre half shored up United's defence after some early frailties during his first season and then formed a formidable partnership with new signing Rio Ferdinand which went a long way to helping United reclaim the Premier League title in 2003. At the end of that title winning campaign, Blanc retired from professional football and headed into coaching.
As a manager, Blanc was at one time touted as a potential successor to Sir Alex as his managerial career saw him win every domestic honour possible in France, firstly with Bordeaux and latterly with Paris St Germain with a spell in charge of the French national team sandwiched in between.
Defender: Patrice Evra (2005-2014. 379 appearances, 10 goals)
French international Evra had to undergo a baptism of fire to begin his Manchester United career as his debut came in the cur and thrust of a Manchester Derby. After a disappointing start, Patrice quickly adapted to the English game and soon became United's first choice left-back.
During his nine years at Old Trafford, Evra won a glut of honours including five Premier League titles, three League Cups (including captaining the team that won the 2010 final 2-1 against Aston Villa), the Club World Cup and of course the 2008 Champions League.
Evra left United at the end of the 2013-14 season to join Italian giants Juventus and later returned to the Premier League at the end of his career, joining up with former United boss David Moyes at West Ham United, making five appearances for The Hammers towards the end of the 2017-18 season.
Forward: Eric Cantona (1992-1997. 179 appearances, 81 goals)
What is there to say about Eric Cantona that hasn't already been said. Tempestous, talismanic, feisty and deadly all at the same time.
His arrival across the Pennines from Leeds in November 1992 breathed new life into a labouring squad languishing in mid-table before going to on to end the 26-year wait for a league title. Arguably his biggest achievement came when he returned from his eight month exile that had derailed United's title challenge in 1995 to almost single handedly overturn Newcastle's 12 point lead at the top of the league, scoring some important goals along the way to helping the team claim an historic 'double double' at the end of the 1995/96 season.
If you could choose one of his 81 goals for the club to sum his contribution up then look no further than his second of the game when United defeated Sunderland 5-0 at Old Trafford on December 21st 1996. Having started the attack in midfield, Cantona (by now United captain) beat two defenders and then received the ball back from Brian McClair's short pass to lift it beyond the despairing grasp of visiting keeper Lionel Perez. As the crowd went into raptures, Cantona stood motionless soaking in the adulation whilst reminding fans why he had earned the moniker 'King Eric'.
Forward: Louis Saha (2004-2008. 124 appearances. 42 goals)
After a prolific spell in West London helping Fulham achieve and maintain Premier League status, Sir Alex Ferguson was persuaded to part with £12.4million to bring the striker to Old Trafford in January 2004.
The fee looked like it was going to be a bargain as Saha notched seven goals in his first ten matches (including a strike on his debut against Southampton) but his United career was blighted by several long-term injuries. Ruud van Nistelrooy's departure to Real Madrid in 2006 allowed Saha to become part of United's main strike force along with Wayne Rooney but after some exciting pre-Christmas form soon succumbed to another injury.
Despite these injury problems, by the time he left United to join Everton in September 2008 he had still accrued two Premier League champions medals, a League Cup and a Champions League medal over his time at Old Trafford.
That brings our look at some famous Frenchmen to have pulled on the red shirt. I hope you have enjoyed the piece and stoked some happy memories of seeing the aforementioned players in action.
Keeping in topic with the French theme, I must point you in the direction of the new book 'King Eric' by Wayne Barton. The biography takes a look at the footballing and cultural impact that Cantona made during his five years at United and tells the story of how he went on to become the club's greatest ever player. If you would like to purchase a copy then follow this link https://www.amazon.co.uk/King-Eric-Cantona-Portrait-Football/dp/1911613510/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1585933372&sr=8-1
For more old school United chatter then drop me a follow on Twitter where I can be found @BarkerGray2.
Until next time, take care.
His arrival across the Pennines from Leeds in November 1992 breathed new life into a labouring squad languishing in mid-table before going to on to end the 26-year wait for a league title. Arguably his biggest achievement came when he returned from his eight month exile that had derailed United's title challenge in 1995 to almost single handedly overturn Newcastle's 12 point lead at the top of the league, scoring some important goals along the way to helping the team claim an historic 'double double' at the end of the 1995/96 season.
If you could choose one of his 81 goals for the club to sum his contribution up then look no further than his second of the game when United defeated Sunderland 5-0 at Old Trafford on December 21st 1996. Having started the attack in midfield, Cantona (by now United captain) beat two defenders and then received the ball back from Brian McClair's short pass to lift it beyond the despairing grasp of visiting keeper Lionel Perez. As the crowd went into raptures, Cantona stood motionless soaking in the adulation whilst reminding fans why he had earned the moniker 'King Eric'.
Forward: Louis Saha (2004-2008. 124 appearances. 42 goals)
The fee looked like it was going to be a bargain as Saha notched seven goals in his first ten matches (including a strike on his debut against Southampton) but his United career was blighted by several long-term injuries. Ruud van Nistelrooy's departure to Real Madrid in 2006 allowed Saha to become part of United's main strike force along with Wayne Rooney but after some exciting pre-Christmas form soon succumbed to another injury.
Despite these injury problems, by the time he left United to join Everton in September 2008 he had still accrued two Premier League champions medals, a League Cup and a Champions League medal over his time at Old Trafford.
That brings our look at some famous Frenchmen to have pulled on the red shirt. I hope you have enjoyed the piece and stoked some happy memories of seeing the aforementioned players in action.
Keeping in topic with the French theme, I must point you in the direction of the new book 'King Eric' by Wayne Barton. The biography takes a look at the footballing and cultural impact that Cantona made during his five years at United and tells the story of how he went on to become the club's greatest ever player. If you would like to purchase a copy then follow this link https://www.amazon.co.uk/King-Eric-Cantona-Portrait-Football/dp/1911613510/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1585933372&sr=8-1
For more old school United chatter then drop me a follow on Twitter where I can be found @BarkerGray2.
Until next time, take care.
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