Back in 1991, Manchester United made relatively light work of Cambridge United in the two-legged League Cup tie between the clubs.
Goals from Ryan Giggs, Brian McClair and Steve Bruce secured a 3-0 win for the Red Devils at Old Trafford, although the U's held their own in the return meeting at the Abbey Stadium as they secured a 1-1 draw thanks to a strike from future Man United centre-forward Dion Dublin.
The two teams will meet for the first time since then in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Friday night and here, Sports Mole has looked ahead to the encounter with Richard Wilkins, now manager of non-league Leiston, who was in the Cambridge starting lineups 24 years ago.
What are your memories of those matches against Man United? It was before the days of squad rotation, so you were up against a strong United team, weren't you?
"It was a lovely draw to get, but as a player you don't want to get hammered. You want to do yourself justice and sometimes the most important thing is the first 15 or 20 minutes. If I remember rightly, Michael Cheetham had half a chance during that period and we didn't do badly.
"They scored just before half time and we came out for the second half after a decent team talk, but Brian McClair scored soon after. Then we started to think that this was going to be tough. We kept going, though, and the only disappointment was that Steve Bruce got a free header to make it 3-0. There was still 20 minutes or so to go and then you really started to fear the worst. We managed to keep it at that, though, and looking back it was a great occasion.
© Getty Images
"It was great to play against such big-name players and the pitch there just seemed so big, especially when you're 3-0 down! We didn't do bad. We just conceded a couple of soft goals and their quality shone through.
"When we played them at our place, the tie was over unless we scored pretty quickly. They scored early and Dion Dublin equalised, so we drew 1-1 and it was quite an even encounter. It was great for the fans to see those players. Both games went so quickly, but I've got a lot of memories because when you're up against the likes of Bryan Robson, it's what you dream about. We may have lost 4-1 on aggregate, but we didn't do ourselves any disgrace."
What made that Cambridge squad so competitive? After all, you reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup in two successive seasons.
"There was a lot of togetherness and we knew how the manager wanted us to play. We were well organised and very, very fit, but we had quality as well. We had players that could score goals and were a big team, so we could score goals from long throws, which I used to take, and corners. There was a real big physical presence up there and that upset a lot of teams. We were direct and sometimes teams cannot handle that physicality."
Moving on to Friday evening, how important is it that Cambridge score the first goal?
"The one thing about the tie is that Cambridge are not expected to win. So, if Man United do score early, Cambridge have got to make sure they put a lid on that and keep it at 1-0. There will be more panic if they go 2-0 down. At 1-0, you're always in the game, but any more and it's difficult. Some people might say that at 1-0 to Man United it will be game over, but I never believe that because someone could strike a worldie, which can happen.
© Getty Images
"I'd be surprised if Louis van Gaal changes the United team too much. It's not the sort of game that those players tend to want to play in. Tackles will be flying in - that's the nature of Cambridge's league. They can ruffle a few feathers. When we played them at Old Trafford, we were very physical and direct. I can remember a few comments being made by their players in the first few minutes about the challenges that were going in. You need to get under their skin and cause a few problems."
Is that the best chance Cambridge have of getting a positive result? Being physical in their approach, playing direct etc?
"Whatever way Cambridge play, they need to play out of their skins and hope that Man United have a big off day. They might drop back and look to hit United on the counter-attack, or maybe they'll go direct. The biggest problem Richard Money has got is if they do go a little gung-ho, United have got the quality to pick them off. It's not an easy decision to make between pushing forward and sitting off to let United have the ball.
"The biggest issue is that you've got is to look at who you're playing against. Obviously, these are world-class players that are proven at the highest level. At times you have to give a lot of respect to the opposition, but at the same time you've got to have a gameplan. United have some pace in the wide areas with Angel di Maria and Antonio Valencia and the strikers speak for themselves.
"Cambridge has a nice pitch, but it's quite tight. That's something that United will not be used to so you might be able to press them a little bit more easily than if you were at Old Trafford. The biggest thing from Cambridge's point of view is that they do themselves justice, so they can hold their heads up high at the final whistle. Listen, if Cambridge play to the best of their ability and so do Man United, they will win by three or four goals - that's the nature of it.
© Getty Images
"I've played in many FA Cup games where a decision goes against you or a silly foul is given away. It can become quite a level playing field quite quickly and Cambridge need to try to make that happen. The crowd can play a massive part because they can push the team forward."
Would Cambridge prefer to be playing at Old Trafford? Or would that lessen their chances of causing an upset?
"I don't think Man United will be relishing going to the Abbey Stadium, but if you spin that on its head, Cambridge would prefer to be going to Old Trafford for the financial reasons. Ideally, it will be a draw and a replay, but it's going to be tough.
"I've been on both sides of the coin. Sometimes when you go to a side that is two or three divisions below you, they can raise their game and if everyone in your team drops by 10%, you're effectively losing a player. The first 15 or 20 minutes will be vital. If Cambridge can keep it tight then a little bit of uncertainty might start to creep in. I wouldn't say it would be panic, but from United's point of view they will want to be one or two up in the first 20 minutes, then it's game, set and match. If it's 0-0, things can happen - players get sent off, deflected goals that sort of thing."
During your managerial career, particularly when in charge of Ryman Premier Division side Bury, the team caused some upsets. How do you make players believe that they are capable of beating teams that are at a higher level than them?
"You have to stress the fact that it's 11 vs. 11. You let them know that everyone is going to have to play well, produce and eight out of 10 performance and in the other dressing room you're hoping that a few do fives. Then, all of a sudden, if certain players aren't performing, you can catch people out.
"The Man United players will be used to it, but it's the mental side of the game that is the most important thing in these ties. When we went to Man United, we believed that we could do ourselves justice - you need that. You've got to be organised, yet football is played in the head as much as anywhere else and you need players to be mentally tough.
© Getty Images
"As long as you're forceful and on the front foot when you can be, you've got a chance. The biggest thing is that you can't afford to commit individual errors. If Man United cut through you and score a great goal, you've got to hold your hands up. But if someone doesn't go with their runner, doesn't make a clearance or takes an extra touch that they don't need and it ends in a sloppy goal, that puts the team on the back-foot.
"They are good enough without goals being given to them. At Bury, we beat a lot of teams at a higher level. Sometimes we turned up and you could see it in the eyes of the players that they were up for it and you could see in the opposition that they didn't fancy it. If you can sense that, you've got to jump on it. The pressure is on Man United, not Cambridge. The only pressure on them comes from the dressing room."
Cambridge United host Manchester United in the FA Cup this Friday, with kickoff at 7.55pm.
Liam Apicella
