The reaction to Cantona's retirement and his replacement

AFIABM

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I remember him retiring, but not the reaction to his replacement with Sheringham.

What was the reaction to the choice of replacement? I can imagine the age raising eyebrows. And were the reasons for Cantona's retirement fully understood at the time?

I read about his feeling disillusioned with football, but it still feels strange given he had unfinished business in the European Cup and was only 30. Had he been declining that season and wanted to finish on a high?
 
AFIABM said:
I remember him retiring, but not the reaction to his replacement with Sheringham.

What was the reaction to the choice of replacement? I can imagine the age raising eyebrows. And were the reasons for Cantona's retirement fully understood at the time?

I read about his feeling disillusioned with football, but it still feels strange given he had unfinished business in the European Cup and was only 30. Had he been declining that season and wanted to finish on a high?
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I was young at the time, but I think to a child version of myself Cantona's retirement felt very sudden especially at such a young age.

Sheringham felt like an underwhelming replacement but I think it was mostly due to his age. Actually I just checked and apparently he was 31 when he signed but he felt like he was ancient :lol: however he was a good signing for us
 
AFIABM said:
I remember him retiring, but not the reaction to his replacement with Sheringham.

What was the reaction to the choice of replacement? I can imagine the age raising eyebrows. And were the reasons for Cantona's retirement fully understood at the time?

I read about his feeling disillusioned with football, but it still feels strange given he had unfinished business in the European Cup and was only 30. Had he been declining that season and wanted to finish on a high?
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I was astonished when he retired.

He’s was still brilliant.

The only criticism you could levy at him was that he never really made an impact in Europe - but that was true of the team, not just him.

I’m not sure he ever got over the ban, and felt that outside of United the world was against him.

I was completely underwhelmed by Sheringham. He was a year older, which seemed strange at the time, albeit I was only 16.

It is truly amazing the impact he had in such a small amount of time.
 
From what I remember there was a lot of bewilderment and shock from United fans when he retired. I think Sheringham was seen as a shrewd signing without being of remotely the same iconic calibre as King Eric. But there was a lot of belief in Fergie. United had had that season without him when he was suspended and gave up the title, so if I remember correctly the press consensus was that United might struggle. It is also worth remembering that he hadn’t come off his best season, and I remember thinking that at the time. That we’d be okay. To be honest it’s all a bit hazy.

Many, many years later I had a beer with his brother Joel and he told me that the factores that led to his retirement were (a) the commercial obligations and use of his image for companies he felt ethically opposed to, and (b) because he’d advised Fergie and Edward’s of the need to sign Zidane when he was at Bordeaux, and spoken to him many times to get his agreement to come to United. Apparently we had a deal lined up but then Edward’s pulled the plug because he thought it was too expensive for such a player. Zidane ended up going to Juve and apparently Cantona really held on to that.
 
I remember being shocked when he retired, really thought he’d “un-retire” after a few months of a break. He was such a mad genius that I felt he’d comeback. Maybe that was just my youthful positivity at the time.

I remember back in those days being disappointed by us signing Teddy, disgusted that we lost out on Salas to Lazio, devastated when we didn’t sign Shearer, walking around on a stiffy all week when I heard we’d signed Stam and thought Yorke was a weird, underwhelming signing. Fun times. Loved picking up the newspaper or going on teletext to hear about signings or potential signings.
 
I was in the student union in deepest darkest South Wales, an annoying Bolton fan told me the news so I got hammered on £1 double gins. Don’t remember much after that. Teddy did ok though.
 
IrishMcD said:
I remember being shocked when he retired, really thought he’d “un-retire” after a few months of a break. He was such a mad genius that I felt he’d comeback. Maybe that was just my youthful positivity at the time.

I remember back in those days being disappointed by us signing Teddy, disgusted that we lost out on Salas to Lazio, devastated when we didn’t sign Shearer, walking around on a stiffy all week when I heard we’d signed Stam and thought Yorke was a weird, underwhelming signing. Fun times. Loved picking up the newspaper or going on teletext to hear about signings or potential signings.
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Exactly the same core memory.
 
AFIABM said:
I remember him retiring, but not the reaction to his replacement with Sheringham.

What was the reaction to the choice of replacement? I can imagine the age raising eyebrows. And were the reasons for Cantona's retirement fully understood at the time?

I read about his feeling disillusioned with football, but it still feels strange given he had unfinished business in the European Cup and was only 30. Had he been declining that season and wanted to finish on a high?
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I had an old friend who was a Liverpool supporter. He was older then me and he was pretty connected to their club. The mentality back then was that this would doom us. Eric was the key to United's success and Teddy was a clear downgrade from him. I was more optimistic though mainly for what Lippi said back in the day when Juventus outclassed us during a friendly. He said that United are predictable as everything must pass from Eric's feet. I deducted that if Eric isn't there anymore then the team had enough talent to 'correct itself' and trust one another more. Guess what? I was right (for once).
 
It was pretty huge news at the time when I was a kid. CBBC were covering it between the cartoons which I don’t think I ever saw done before or since (certainly for a non-British footballer). Cantona hadnt been as good as he had been around that time but from memory people just wrote it off as an inevitable dip in form.

Memory of Sheringham coming in was hazy but I believe he was seen as someone who wouldn’t dazzle you as much as Cantona, but would score more goals
 
Eric seemed to be carrying some extra pounds when he returned from summer break in 1996. He went from well built to almost stocky that summer. His performances were sluggish - he went some months without a goal in open play in the league, I think. He also missed penalties for the first time in his United career.

I think he was disappointed that the club didn't strengthen enough in the transfer market that summer. Sir Alex alluded to this in one of his books, that he felt the club's wage structure was holding them back from taking the next step in Europe. There was also some stuff about a disagreement about image rights with the club, can't remember the details.

Plus, he was an emotional guy with many passions. I'd imagine part of his decision was a little reactive to the defeat to Dortmund. He probably had some interest in artistic endeavors and simply lost the edge he needed to keep himself in top physical shape to pay football. His pride wouldn't let him drop a level like Wayne Rooney, for example, did towards the end of his time at United (with respect to Wazza).

Rooney is a good example of someone who was effectively done at the top level by the age of about 29. By retiring Cantona saved himself from looking off the pace like Wazza did the last couple of seasons he was here.
 
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There was the sense that he was decling, his all round play suffered, and he was targeted a lot. There was also the not so big surprise that he seemed less motivated and less infatuated with football. He always said things like ‘i cannot play if I am not in love’ etc. we knew Ferguson had to convince him hard to come back after the eight month ban.

The big surprise was Sheringham as the only ‘direct replacement’, because he was older, but also almost the opposite kind of player in terms of pizzazz, elegance, technical exuberance etc. But he was a real shrewd signing, and the more real replacement for Cantona was first Andy Cole and later Yorke to match him.
 
Gazza said:
Eric seemed to be carrying some extra pounds when he returned from summer break in 1996. He went from well built to almost sticky that summer. His performances were sluggish - he went some months without a goal in open play in the league, I think. He also missed penalties for the first time in his United career.

I think he was disappointed that the club didn't strengthen enough in the transfer market that summer. Sir Alex alluded to this in one of his books, that he felt the club's wage structure was holding them back from taking the next step in Europe. There was also some stuff about a disagreement about image rights with the club, can't remember the details.

Plus, he was an emotional guy with many passions. I'd imagine part of his decision was a little reactive to the defeat to Dortmund. He probably had some interest in artistic endeavors and simply lost the edge he needed to keep himself in top physical shape to pay football. His pride wouldn't let him drop a level like Wayne Rooney, for example, did towards the end of his time at United (with respect to Wazza).

Rooney is a good example of someone who was effectively done at the top level by the age of about 29. By retiring Cantona saved himself from looking off the pace like Wazza did the last couple of seasons he was here.
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Yeah he definitely got a little wider around the middle and it showed in his game.

I hated him leaving at the time but really it just adds to his legendary status.

What top level footballer quits at 30 to become an actor? Only Eric.
 
simonhch said:
From what I remember there was a lot of bewilderment and shock from United fans when he retired. I think Sheringham was seen as a shrewd signing without being of remotely the same iconic calibre as King Eric. But there was a lot of belief in Fergie. United had had that season without him when he was suspended and gave up the title, so if I remember correctly the press consensus was that United might struggle. It is also worth remembering that he hadn’t come off his best season, and I remember thinking that at the time. That we’d be okay. To be honest it’s all a bit hazy.

Many, many years later I had a beer with his brother Joel and he told me that the factores that led to his retirement were (a) the commercial obligations and use of his image for companies he felt ethically opposed to, and (b) because he’d advised Fergie and Edward’s of the need to sign Zidane when he was at Bordeaux, and spoken to him many times to get his agreement to come to United. Apparently we had a deal lined up but then Edward’s pulled the plug because he thought it was too expensive for such a player. Zidane ended up going to Juve and apparently Cantona really held on to that.
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Wow, to have a beer with Joel must have been an experience! Interesting reading and chimes with the bits and bobs I've read about it over the years, Philippe Auclair wrote a fantastically sourced book about Eric which is recommended reading and I think he touches on some of these themes.
 
I was going through a proper nihilistic, couldn’t care less, party like a lunatic and feck the consequences when Cantona retired, almost felt nihilistic when he did so, which mirrored the way I was behaving. Strange moment when I look back, and I always felt I fully understood him, which I realise now was ludicrous

I really liked Sheringham as a player, champ manager legend at the time too, so although I wasn’t happy Cantona retired I was happy we got Sheringham.
 
To be honest, Cantona had lost some pace and was starting to get some criticisms especially for slowing down our play at times. He made the perfect decision to retire in my opinion. I was massively disappointed though. He needed that spark to reignite. Never came.
 
Gazza said:
Wow, to have a beer with Joel must have been an experience! Interesting reading and chimes with the bits and bobs I've read about it over the years, Philippe Auclair wrote a fantastically sourced book about Eric which is recommended reading and I think he touches on some of these themes.
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It was! I think he was perplexed at how excited I was to meet him. I was hosting an indoor tournament sponsored by Neymar and Joel was there as a brand ambassador. He looks just like his brother. I owned the bar we drank in and I had the whole thing closed off and we just sat and chatted for a couple of hours. Really nice guy. It was evident how much of a distaste Eric had for how the game changed and the pervasive nature of the commercial side. They are both purists, but Eric - from what Joel told me - is an idealist. He just couldn’t stand how the game and the club changed over his time there, and the whole Zidane incident just made him feel as though Edward’s didn’t trust him. Separately I wonder how daft Edward’s felt later with what Zidane went on to do in the game.

I might actually have the chance to find out how close Zidane was to joining us as I am due to have dinner with him in a couple of weeks. My business partner is best mates with Del Piero, so we’ve often hung out along with Edgar Davids. Allegedly we are having dinner with a bunch of the Juve old guard, Alessandro, Thierry Henry, Edgar Davids, Nicola Amoruso. So if Zizou shows up, I’ll be sure to ask him.
 
Pretty sure in Fergie's book he mentions it coming to that awkward time where it might be time to move someone on past their peak, but not sure how to address it. Eric done it for him. Think it also says they both had annoyances the club never financially went all out to win in europe. Dominating England was the budget
 
simonhch said:
It was! I think he was perplexed at how excited I was to meet him. I was hosting an indoor tournament sponsored by Neymar and Joel was there as a brand ambassador. He looks just like his brother. I owned the bar we drank in and I had the whole thing closed off and we just sat and chatted for a couple of hours. Really nice guy. It was evident how much of a distaste Eric had for how the game changed and the pervasive nature of the commercial side. They are both purists, but Eric - from what Joel told me - is an idealist. He just couldn’t stand how the game and the club changed over his time there, and the whole Zidane incident just made him feel as though Edward’s didn’t trust him. Separately I wonder how daft Edward’s felt later with what Zidane went on to do in the game.

I might actually have the chance to find out how close Zidane was to joining us as I am due to have dinner with him in a couple of weeks. My business partner is best mates with Del Piero, so we’ve often hung out along with Edgar Davids. Allegedly we are having dinner with a bunch of the Juve old guard, Alessandro, Thierry Henry, Edgar Davids, Nicola Amoruso. So if Zizou shows up, I’ll be sure to ask him.
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This is so cool. I can only imagine the stories you've picked up being connected to such people. I hope you got to kick a ball around with some of them! Cheers for sharing these bits with us!

Regarding Eric's idealist streak, I do wonder how his own participation in the business sat with him. Didn't he become one of Nike's main brand ambassadors when he retired? Having said that, I'm definitely not trying to make cheap "hypocrite" digs, it's a bit more complicated when you're a footballer and need to maximize your revenue during your career, I'd just be interested to know if Eric ever publicly reflected on this dichotomy.
 
simonhch said:
From what I remember there was a lot of bewilderment and shock from United fans when he retired. I think Sheringham was seen as a shrewd signing without being of remotely the same iconic calibre as King Eric. But there was a lot of belief in Fergie. United had had that season without him when he was suspended and gave up the title, so if I remember correctly the press consensus was that United might struggle. It is also worth remembering that he hadn’t come off his best season, and I remember thinking that at the time. That we’d be okay. To be honest it’s all a bit hazy.

Many, many years later I had a beer with his brother Joel and he told me that the factores that led to his retirement were (a) the commercial obligations and use of his image for companies he felt ethically opposed to, and (b) because he’d advised Fergie and Edward’s of the need to sign Zidane when he was at Bordeaux, and spoken to him many times to get his agreement to come to United. Apparently we had a deal lined up but then Edward’s pulled the plug because he thought it was too expensive for such a player. Zidane ended up going to Juve and apparently Cantona really held on to that.
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simonhch said:
It was! I think he was perplexed at how excited I was to meet him. I was hosting an indoor tournament sponsored by Neymar and Joel was there as a brand ambassador. He looks just like his brother. I owned the bar we drank in and I had the whole thing closed off and we just sat and chatted for a couple of hours. Really nice guy. It was evident how much of a distaste Eric had for how the game changed and the pervasive nature of the commercial side. They are both purists, but Eric - from what Joel told me - is an idealist. He just couldn’t stand how the game and the club changed over his time there, and the whole Zidane incident just made him feel as though Edward’s didn’t trust him. Separately I wonder how daft Edward’s felt later with what Zidane went on to do in the game.

I might actually have the chance to find out how close Zidane was to joining us as I am due to have dinner with him in a couple of weeks. My business partner is best mates with Del Piero, so we’ve often hung out along with Edgar Davids. Allegedly we are having dinner with a bunch of the Juve old guard, Alessandro, Thierry Henry, Edgar Davids, Nicola Amoruso. So if Zizou shows up, I’ll be sure to ask him.
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You'd imagine Ferguson would have been furious re Zidane, because we surely would have been much more competitive in Europe than we were.
 
I was devastated when he retired, he was (and still is) my favourite player ever. I don’t remember feeling too surprised though, I think it felt like his time with us was coming to an end, and there was an element of relief that I wouldn’t have to see him in another teams shirt. It seemed like the appropriate end to the career of one of the most unique and legendary players in the club’s history.
 
I remember being sickened... But, does 99 happen with Cantona still in the team? I don't think Ferguson would've replaced him at that stage and we might never have got that Cole - Yorke combo. Swinging doors moment
 
simonhch said:
It was! I think he was perplexed at how excited I was to meet him. I was hosting an indoor tournament sponsored by Neymar and Joel was there as a brand ambassador. He looks just like his brother. I owned the bar we drank in and I had the whole thing closed off and we just sat and chatted for a couple of hours. Really nice guy. It was evident how much of a distaste Eric had for how the game changed and the pervasive nature of the commercial side. They are both purists, but Eric - from what Joel told me - is an idealist. He just couldn’t stand how the game and the club changed over his time there, and the whole Zidane incident just made him feel as though Edward’s didn’t trust him. Separately I wonder how daft Edward’s felt later with what Zidane went on to do in the game.

I might actually have the chance to find out how close Zidane was to joining us as I am due to have dinner with him in a couple of weeks. My business partner is best mates with Del Piero, so we’ve often hung out along with Edgar Davids. Allegedly we are having dinner with a bunch of the Juve old guard, Alessandro, Thierry Henry, Edgar Davids, Nicola Amoruso. So if Zizou shows up, I’ll be sure to ask him.
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I’m livid reading this!

Missed out on Zidane AND Ronaldinho!
 
I remember a press conference was called and people speculating what is was about. Pretty sure I read on teletext that the rumour was he would drop back into a midfield role. Then boom… out of nowhere our best player quit. Most shocking day as a United fan
 
Sheringham was a bit of an anti climax when he first signed. He was a good player but was seen as old and a bit of a stop gap. Then I remember him missing a pen on his debut against his former club spurs and thought whay have we done. Was excellent business looking back though
 
Gazza said:
This is so cool. I can only imagine the stories you've picked up being connected to such people. I hope you got to kick a ball around with some of them! Cheers for sharing these bits with us!

Regarding Eric's idealist streak, I do wonder how his own participation in the business sat with him. Didn't he become one of Nike's main brand ambassadors when he retired? Having said that, I'm definitely not trying to make cheap "hypocrite" digs, it's a bit more complicated when you're a footballer and need to maximize your revenue during your career, I'd just be interested to know if Eric ever publicly reflected on this dichotomy.
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I once had a kick about with Alessandro. Absolutely unreal. He barely ran but still took the absolute piss.
 
TheReligion said:
I’m livid reading this!

Missed out on Zidane AND Ronaldinho!
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Hahaha, that’s how I felt at the time too. We would’ve had Ronaldinho, Zidane, Keane, Scholes, and Beckham behind RVN at one point. With Giggs, Giggs! off the bench. From what I’ve heard Cristiano wasn’t a replacement for the missed Ronaldinho either, he was in addition to.
 
simonhch said:
Hahaha, that’s how I felt at the time too. We would’ve had Ronaldinho, Zidane, Keane, Scholes, and Beckham behind RVN at one point. With Giggs, Giggs! off the bench. From what I’ve heard Cristiano wasn’t a replacement for the missed Ronaldinho either, he was in addition to.
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Ronaldo Ronaldinho Rooney Robben would have been surreal
 
AFIABM said:
You'd imagine Ferguson would have been furious re Zidane, because we surely would have been much more competitive in Europe than we were.
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From what I heard, Ferguson wanted Zidane but was okay with Edwards’ decision, which infuriated Cantona more. But Ferguson was a pragmatist, he never threw his toys out of the pram over a missed signing, he just got on with it. He did really want him though. According to Joel, Ferguson recommended we follow Eric’s advice and sign Zidane and it was Edwards who decided he wasn’t worth the money AFTER a deal had been largely agreed.

He did, allegedly, go mental when we missed out on Ronaldinho. But I think that was Kenyon, and I have no inside info on that.
 
IrishMcD said:
I remember being shocked when he retired, really thought he’d “un-retire” after a few months of a break. He was such a mad genius that I felt he’d comeback. Maybe that was just my youthful positivity at the time.

I remember back in those days being disappointed by us signing Teddy, disgusted that we lost out on Salas to Lazio, devastated when we didn’t sign Shearer, walking around on a stiffy all week when I heard we’d signed Stam and thought Yorke was a weird, underwhelming signing. Fun times. Loved picking up the newspaper or going on teletext to hear about signings or potential signings.
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Yes, same memories, save I remember there was an undercurrent amongst many people of Cantona not really having the same effect in Europe so to become a better team in Europe we probably had to move on from Cantona and adapt.

I liked Sheringham as someone who could potentially unlock tricky European defences but thought he was being bought as well as Cantona's replacement, not end up being the replacement. I was never that fussed about Shearer, I thought he'd make us too one-dimensional (as he proved with the way he dominated Newcastle's style of play even after injuries reduced his mobility, and as Ruud later also demonstrated) but I was gutted about Salas.

I was completely underwhelmed by Yorke the next year, shows how much I know.
 
simonhch said:
From what I remember there was a lot of bewilderment and shock from United fans when he retired. I think Sheringham was seen as a shrewd signing without being of remotely the same iconic calibre as King Eric. But there was a lot of belief in Fergie. United had had that season without him when he was suspended and gave up the title, so if I remember correctly the press consensus was that United might struggle. It is also worth remembering that he hadn’t come off his best season, and I remember thinking that at the time. That we’d be okay. To be honest it’s all a bit hazy.

Many, many years later I had a beer with his brother Joel and he told me that the factores that led to his retirement were (a) the commercial obligations and use of his image for companies he felt ethically opposed to, and (b) because he’d advised Fergie and Edward’s of the need to sign Zidane when he was at Bordeaux, and spoken to him many times to get his agreement to come to United. Apparently we had a deal lined up but then Edward’s pulled the plug because he thought it was too expensive for such a player. Zidane ended up going to Juve and apparently Cantona really held on to that.
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Such a cool yet depressing story at the same time.
 
There was a fan made documentary at the time about how pissed off the fans were with the ownership and the lack of progress in Europe and the money the club is ripping fans off for. A lot of frustration in the transfer market, that Edwards only replaced Cantona. He didnt strengthen the squad.
 
I think it was the right time for club in all honesty, in terms of the development of the Class of 92. Eric was such a overwhelming presence that him still being around for 2-3 years as a crutch for them may have stunted their development. Not just the youngsters either, Andy Cole and he didn't work well together, which was odd given Cole was able to form working partnerships with pretty much every other player Fergie tried with him.

Eric had by his standards a pretty mediocre season in 96/97, as mentioned above looked to be carrying excess weight which wasn't helping there. Bad timing for him that Utd starting to progress in Europe came in the years after his retirement, he never really got a shot at Europe with a Utd squad that was ready to compete. I think the PL only went to more than 3 subs on the bench circa 96 as well (anyone remember?) Big squads as we see now was not a thing, which often killed Utd in Europe, going out to Monaco in 97/98 with Michael Clegg and Henning Berg the subs used with ancient McClair and Thornley the only attacking options available illustrates that.

98/99 was really the first year Fergie had depth.
 
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What's amazing was how quiet it was kept. I guess Cantona tended to keep his own counsel. Just wonder if it would've been possible nowadays with all the social media nonsense about. Main thing I remember him for that season was that chipped goal against Sunderland (and the pose). He'd definitely piled on some weight.

I felt that Sheringham was a decent replacement, if not quite the same quality. He was an interesting player in that he was sort of halfway house between a '9' and a '10'. With more pace he'd have been a hell of a player.

I always thought Yorke was a good player to be honest. Not a 'name' player, but he'd been playing well for Villa for a few seasons. Think Ferguson also tried to sigh Kluivert that summer.
 
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I think the recollections of Sheringham arent quiet correct. He definitely wasnt going to replace Cantona in our hearts, but he had shown in euro 1996 what an excellent 2nd striker and unselfish team player he was - he was very elegant and saw a pass or nudge to a better positioned player few could see.

I also think the news was broken together, so it felt shocking and sad to see an idol leave, but the void was filled.
 
AkaAkuma said:
I think the recollections of Sheringham arent quiet correct. He definitely wasnt going to replace Cantona in our hearts, but he had shown in euro 1996 what an excellent 2nd striker and unselfish team player he was - he was very elegant and saw a pass or nudge to a better positioned player few could see.

I also think the news was broken together, so it felt shocking and sad to see an idol leave, but the void was filled.
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I don't think that's true actually! Sheringham was announced in July, Cantona was announced pretty much as soon as the season ended, from my recollection.

The reaction to Teddy joining was mixed as well, I think. It was said we'd paid too much for a player of his age.
 
AFIABM said:
You'd imagine Ferguson would have been furious re Zidane, because we surely would have been much more competitive in Europe than we were.
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Maybe. Thing is, I'm pretty sure Fergie mentioned - maybe in one of his books - that he thought about getting Zidane to play on the right wing. He talked to Cantona about it and Eric said Zidane sees himself as a central midfield player.

So I'm not sure it ever went further than that. I reckon if Fergie was close to getting Zidane and it fell through because of Edwards, we'd have heard about it from Fergie himself by now.
 
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simonhch said:
From what I remember there was a lot of bewilderment and shock from United fans when he retired. I think Sheringham was seen as a shrewd signing without being of remotely the same iconic calibre as King Eric. But there was a lot of belief in Fergie. United had had that season without him when he was suspended and gave up the title, so if I remember correctly the press consensus was that United might struggle. It is also worth remembering that he hadn’t come off his best season, and I remember thinking that at the time. That we’d be okay. To be honest it’s all a bit hazy.

Many, many years later I had a beer with his brother Joel and he told me that the factores that led to his retirement were (a) the commercial obligations and use of his image for companies he felt ethically opposed to, and (b) because he’d advised Fergie and Edward’s of the need to sign Zidane when he was at Bordeaux, and spoken to him many times to get his agreement to come to United. Apparently we had a deal lined up but then Edward’s pulled the plug because he thought it was too expensive for such a player. Zidane ended up going to Juve and apparently Cantona really held on to that.
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What the actual f? I've never heard that before. Maybe we actually should have taken him up on his public offer of becoming the "president of football" at United a few years ago.

Weird to feel aggrieved about something that happened decades ago at the club, which I only just learned of, but I do. Zidane...
 
Gazza said:
The reaction to Teddy joining was mixed as well, I think. It was said we'd paid too much for a player of his age.
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And it was only about 3.5m, I think. The English record was already 15m.

Regarding Cantona in Europe, I don't think we ever really found out how well we could have done with him. Sure, we had our struggles, but we improved as 96/97 went on, crushed Porto and had so many chances in both matches against Dortmund. We could easily have reached the final, with Cantona, so he was hardly a problem.
 
Gazza said:
I don't think that's true actually! Sheringham was announced in July, Cantona was announced pretty much as soon as the season ended, from my recollection.

The reaction to Teddy joining was mixed as well, I think. It was said we'd paid too much for a player of his age.
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Mid may retirement announcement and late june signing. So I was incorrect. Still early by modern standards.
 
The feeling in Ireland was that Eric was declining and gaining weight that season, and I thought it a good call to retire only very slightly past his peak, rather than stretch things out. Fergie said later that he was already showing signs of the large man he would become. That Dortmund semi-final seems to have made up his mind.

Sheringham wasn't the most likeable chap, but everyone I knew thought him a good signing, even if the fee was a bit high, as he never had much pace and would have a slower decline in his 30s as a result. Only heard that some thought different once I moved to England a lot later and chatted with United fans there.

To be honest, I was also a little bit relieved Cantona retired, despite the many moments of genius, as he was so unreliable as regards doing mad shit and getting red cards and bans, especially as the game was changing. Swindon, Arsenal, Palace, etc. For some reason, I have a vague recollection of something with Terry Hurlock too, but might be wishful thinking (what a knut that chap was).

Reading through the other comments above really brought back memories about how bad things could be at times under Martin Edwards in the 90s. Missing out on Zidane was a killer, but the development of Scholes softened the blow. And I am not sure Batistuta would have worked out in England.
 
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