Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson
Josh Lawless
Sir Alex Ferguson brought through a number of youngsters at Manchester United, with the famed Class of '92 crop the most high-profile example.
David Beckham, Gary and Phil Neville, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Nicky Butt all came through the ranks together at United and won a slew of trophies, including the memorable treble in 1999, under the tutelage of Ferguson.
With Ferguson playing a central role, United have had youth at the heart of their philosophy and named an academy player in their matchday squad for 4000 consecutive games.
When the Class of 92 graduates were fully-fledged first-team players, Ferguson was enthused about another batch of "terrific" prospects a few years later in 2001 and predicted them to achieve great things.
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"Darren Fletcher, who we hope will get over his broken leg, is good. Michael Stewart and Luke Chadwick are doing very well, and John O'Shea's doing well too," Ferguson said, naming seven players, as per the Manchester Evening News.
"There's a young left-back called Paul Tierney who's doing well, as is Danny Pugh.
"But there's a young boy who has started now, he's 16, called Kieran Richardson. He's going to be a fantastic player."
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But what happened to the list of stars and where are they now?
Ferguson swore down the phone to get Fletcher to sign for United and he spent 13 years in the first-team, winning five Premier League titles and playing 342 times before leaving for West Brom.
The former Stoke City midfielder returned to United in a coaching capacity and had a spell as technical director before being appointed the club's Under 18 lead coach on Monday.
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Fletcher's twin sons Jack and Tyler are both in the youth set-up at United.
Another Scot, Stewart did not make the grade at United and turned out for Nottingham Forest and Hearts on loan, before returning to the Scottish outfit after a stint with rivals Hibs.
The ex Scotland international provided punditry on Scottish Premiership games for the likes of BBC and TNT Sports.
O'Shea was the ultimate utility man for Ferguson in his 12 years at United, whether it was deputising as a goalkeeper or nutmegging Ballon d'Or Luis Figo.
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He later played for Sunderland and Reading became assistant manager of the Republic of Ireland national team last year.
Brother of former Norwich defender Marc, Tierney was United's Young Player of the Year in the 2001/02 season but played just once in a League Cup tie.
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He represented Livingston, Blackpool, Stockport County, and Altrincham but is now the Council Tax Team Leader for Salford City Council.
Tipped for stardom, Chadwick played 25 times in the Premier League for United but bounced around clubs like West Ham, Stoke City, Norwich City, MK Dons and boyhood club Cambridge United.
He is now the director of 'Football Fun factory' and in May, he released his autobiography 'Not Just a Pretty Face', where he opened up about receiving abuse and mental health struggles as well his football career.
Pugh departed in 2004 after seven appearances and had a respectable professional career. After hanging up his boots, he had a spell back at Stoke City as their U18 Player Care Officer.
Ferguson believed Richardson had all the makings of being a top player but he only played 81 times for United. Scorer of a brace on his England debut, Richardson played for Sunderland, Fulham, Aston Villa and Cardiff.
Sporting a very different appearance on a podcast in 2023, Richardson revealed he had become a luxury watch dealer.
"I get a lot of customers from the trust side and that's fine," he told Steven Sulley Study podcast.
"I have a lot of clients but don't like to tell the big names - I don't want to open that can of worms, these watches are proper assets.
"I'm private. I have massive clients, trust me - it's different if they want to put it out there. I am thinking about people, not the pound notes. Safety."