1989/90: Aston Villa v Manchester United

As the decade drew to a close, the pressure on Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson was growing, as he prepared to take his expensively assembled team to Aston Villa.

After three years in the Old Trafford hotseat, it appeared as if Alex Ferguson was no nearer to unlocking the door to success at Manchester United. In fact, as 1990 approached, speculation grew that the former Aberdeen manager was about to go the way of many of his predecessors. 

Seemingly unable to get a tune out of his squad - which the press regularly pointed out had been assembled at a vast cost - performances during the winter of 1989 lurched from one disaster to another. Sliding towards the relegation zone, it was little wonder that some fans had decided that enough was enough.

Pete Molyneux's famous banner during a home defeat to Crystal Palace painted a very clear picture: "3 YEARS OF EXCUSES AND IT'S STILL CRAP....TA RA FERGIE." Part of an abysmal set of league results in December and January, the Palace reverse did little to ease the pressure. Three defeats - away at Arsenal, and Old Trafford losses against Palace and Tottenham - brought little pre-Christmas cheer for Ferguson or the United faithful.

The rot was stopped at Anfield, and although they were unlucky not to win the match, the 0-0 draw was a microcosm of the decade in terms of league performance. Able to raise their game for the red-hot atmosphere of clashes with their near neighbours, it must have been infuriating for United supporters that the team couldn't do it on a Tuesday night in Stoke (or the 1980s equivalent).

Just three days later, Ferguson would bemoan this lack of consistency in a demoralising Boxing Day defeat at Villa Park that added volume to the dissenting voices on the terraces. United may have been without influential skipper Bryan Robson - another key component of their 1980s problems - but the display in Birmingham was pitiful.

The stadium would be kind to Ferguson in the future, yet a visit to Villa Park was definitely not top of his wish list during his winter of discontent. Flying high under Graham Taylor, Aston Villa were tussling at the top of the table with the last two league champions in Liverpool and Arsenal. And one of the success stories at the club would rub further salt into Ferguson's wounds.

Paul McGrath had endured a tempestuous relationship with Ferguson as his time at Old Trafford came to an end. A troubled man, initially it looked as if his career at Villa was heading the same way after Taylor had signed McGrath for £425,000 in the summer of 1989. But gradually the Irish international started to demonstrate why he would become a hero at the club.

Sometimes used in midfield, it was as part of a three-man centre back unit alongside Kent Nielsen and Derek Mountfield that McGrath truly flourished. With Nigel Spink playing behind a strong five-man defence, the foundations were in place for a surprising title bid.

The experienced Gordon Cowans in midfield, flanked by Tony Daley and the unexpected success of left winger Ian Ormondroyd, provided the ammunition for Ian Olney and another player that had gone through the exit door at Old Trafford. 

David Platt was beginning to establish himself as a star for the future, winning the PFA Players' Player of the Year award at the end of the season before his life-changing experience at Italia 90. With his surging runs from midfield, the man who had left United in 1985 would often appear in the right place at the right time. 

Ferguson could have done without Platt's interventions on another turbulent day. With hundreds locked outside the ground, the midday kick off was delayed for 15 minutes, as a crowd of 41,247 crammed in, many taking the opportunity to either mock or berate United's beleaguered boss. 

From the off it looked as if it would be a very long afternoon for Ferguson's struggling team. With no Robson, Neil Webb and Danny Wallace, the lack of drive and creativity was evident throughout. Nielsen would keep Mark Hughes quiet, as the visitors mustered just four shots, none of them on target.

United did at least manage to get to half-time level. Yet with Daley buzzing about, and 22-year-old left back Gareth Williams thriving on his first league start, it was the home team that had been constantly on the front foot. This would be confirmed in a second half that triggered more debate over Ferguson's position.

The deadlock was broken in scrappy fashion in the 56th minute. After a Cowans free kick had been cleared by Mike Phelan, headers from Mountfield and McGrath saw Platt denied by Jim Leighton. But the rebound fell to Olney who slotted home from a tight angle, scoring his 9th league goal of the season.

Seven minutes later the match was over. Olney set Daley away, and after the winger had flown past Mike Phelan, he squared for Platt who held off Viv Anderson and left Leighton on the seat of his pants to slot home his 12th league goal of an already memorable campaign. United simply had no answer to the onslaught.

Leighton saved well from Daley, before the final goal in the 78th minute. Again Platt was involved, laying off a Daley cross into the path of full back Kevin Gage, who drilled home from the edge of the box. Three goals in 22 second half minutes had condemned United to a fourth league defeat in their last five matches.

Villa fans took great pleasure in the demise of United and their manager. "Fergie, Fergie, on the dole!" echoed from the Holte End, yet it was the cries of "What a load of rubbish" from the travelling support that was more worrying for Ferguson. Many made their feelings heard when Ferguson and his players headed towards the tunnel after the 3-0 drubbing.

'Sparkling Villa give United a hangover' declared the headline in the Guardian, as the press jostled for position to criticise Ferguson. "United's board cannot continue to ignore an embarrassing run of six games without a win...not when they've paid £13 million to win the league," John Wragg noted in the Express. The knives were being sharpened.

The man himself was honest in his assessment. "It was another example of the lack of consistency which has bedevilled United down the years," Ferguson complained. "Half a dozen of our lads don't seem to realise that you are playing Liverpool-type matches all the time with this club. After Anfield, and allowing for the fact that the weekend game obviously drained us, this was a terrible disappointment."

Ferguson had kept his players inside the dressing room for 40 minutes. Not that it did much good in terms of league performances. With two draws and three defeats in their next five Division One matches, United slumped to 17th place, just a point off the drop zone. But two FA Cup wins in that time, one a crucial and unexpected triumph at the City Ground, offered a much-needed distraction.

"They [Villa] are a team built on strong foundations, character and ability. United are a team constructed on sand." It was hard to find faults with the words of John Wragg in his match report of Villa's 3-0 Boxing Day win. Yet it would be United rather than Villa that ended the season claiming silverware.

Football is indeed a funny old game. Although Villa would fall short in 1989/90, their success in finishing runners-up to Liverpool saw England come calling for Taylor after Italia 90. If Ferguson thought criticism aimed at him was relentless during December 1989, then it had nothing on what was waiting for Taylor over the next three years.