May 1998: The last time England won a match without a United player (that’s 177 matches!)… So, why is Old Trafford such a hotbed of ‘hate’ for the Three Lions?
‘Let’s All Laugh At England’, ‘Arg-en-tina!’ and plain old ‘We Hate England’… just three songs frequently belted out on the Old Trafford terraces. Manchester United fans may not like the national team but the Three Lions sure rely on the Premier League champions, as this MailOnline Sport study reveals.
The last time England won a match without the participation of a single United player was in May 1998 — an extraordinary 177 games and more than 15 years ago.
The relief among the England management to have Wayne Rooney back from injury therefore will be understandable ahead of the decisive World Cup qualifiers against Montenegro and Poland.
Rooney was absent for the draw in Ukraine, as Rickie Lambert manfully toiled in the role of lone frontrunner, and the United forward’s creativity, along with the diligence of club team-mate Danny Welbeck — returning from suspension — will restore firepower to Roy Hodgson’s squad.
With Liverpool’s Daniel Sturridge also missing from the Kiev stalemate, there was little to surprise in England’s pragmatic defensive set-up.
Yet there was one statistical oddity: for the first time in Hodgson’s reign as England manager, not a single United player was selected in his starting line-up.
In every other of Hodgson’s 19 games in charge, a United player had featured in his first XI. But deprived of the services of Rooney and Welbeck, Hodgson fielded a team without any representation from the champions, although Ashley Young and Tom Cleverley made appearances as second-half substitutes.
Young, of course, will not feature in these pivotal clashes, having been dropped from the squad after an alarming dip in form over the last 12 months.
Nonetheless, United’s presence in the England squad remains wholesome, with six Old Trafford representatives selected by Hodgson — Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, Cleverley (although he has now been ruled out with a calf injury), Michael Carrick, Rooney and Welbeck – considerably more than any other Premier League side.
The next best are Chelsea, Everton and Tottenham, who each had three players named by Hodgson in his latest squad.
In August 2011, former United manager Sir Alex Ferguson hit out at the English FA, feeling that a number of decisions went against his side during the previous season: ‘The FA may realise who has produced more players for their country than any club in the world. Maybe they will realise how important we are to England instead of treating us like s***.’
The dislike runs both ways and fuels animosity on both sides. This is potentially the longest-running club-v-country row. Wembley Stadium often rocks to chants of ‘Stand-Up If You Hate Man U’ during home international matches.
That particular song was sung louder still when England played at Old Trafford and, worse still, in 2001, when seven United stars played in the same England team against Albania. The singing didn’t stop even after Paul Scholes and Andy Cole scored.
On the other side, United fans could warmly support the likes of Alan Shearer of Blackburn and Newcastle, and Liverpool duo Robbie Fowler and Steven Gerrard.
Injuries on international duty obviously also play a part. Steve Coppell (November 1981) and Neil Webb (September 1989) both had their United careers cut short following injury sustained representing the national side. Bryan Robson, too, seemed to pick up a major injury every time he played for England.
Ferguson’s comments may have been an ill-judged jibe but this MailOnline Sport study can reveal the extent to which England have depended upon Manchester United players over the last 20 years.
Since February 1993, the England team has completed a football match without requiring the services of a Manchester United player — either as a starter or coming off the bench — on just six occasions.
Two managers — Kevin Keegan and Sven Goran Eriksson — never managed an England game without using a United man. Hodgson thus far falls into the same category.
The setting for that match in 1998 when England last won a match without the participation of a United player was Casablanca in Morocco, as Glenn Hoddle’s preparations for the World Cup in France took England to North Africa to play in the King Hassam II Cup.
