As Eric Cantona was getting back to full fitness and was set to feature against Brighton in the FA Cup fourth round, United boss Alex Ferguson was mulling a new striker partnership at the club. His plan was to play Ryan Giggs alongside the Frenchman to form a new strike force. That was United’s response to the injury to Mark Hughes, who was out of the side with a damaged ankle.
Alex Ferguson said “Ryan Giggs is good enough to play anywhere. Cantona will be back upfront with him and he has the experience and vision to help him. The other advantage of moving Ryan again is that I can keep Andrei Kanchelskis on the team. He did a good job at QPR and keeping him in the team is the best way to make it clear to him that he is very much part of the setup.”
