Sir Alex Ferguson
Former Manchester United defender Wes Brown has revealed that togetherness and unity was a huge part of the success he had in his career and believes that’s why a lot of the squads he was part of are still friends. Brown made his first-team debut for United in 1998 after being named the Jimmy Murphy Academy player of the year for the previous two seasons in a row. He was part of the first-team squad that won the treble in 1999, making 21 appearances during the season in all competitions before injuries took their toll. He missed the entirety of the next campaign through injuries but was a regular for the next 11 seasons, starring in the 2008 Champions League victory, before leaving for Sunderland in 2011. Brown is now an ambassador for the club and has spoken about how he believes that the togetherness in training between himself and his former teammates is what made them such a tough team to beat.
Wes Brown said: “Looking back at training sessions, that made us all really. The way we would listen, work hard, made us become the best team out there. I still see some of my teammates. I’m sure this is down to how we enjoyed training and playing together. The focus we had at the time helped make us unstoppable.”
Traits of that togetherness can be seen in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s squad today but they are yet to see the same level of success, having gone four years without a trophy now and eight years without a Premier League title. United will be looking to end that drought this season, starting with their opening fixture against Leeds United at Old Trafford on August 14th. They will play four more pre-season fixtures before then however against QPR, Brentford FC, Preston North End and Everton, with the first of those on Sunday July 25th at 3pm.
