Who'd have thunk it? Today is the 20th anniversary of us selling Eric Cantona to them across the Pennines. Was selling the mercurial Frenchman for £1.2m a sound bit of business by a manager who couldn't get along with a non-english speaking prima-donna, or the worst bit of business we'd do up until the Bates era?
We got rid of Cantona cos we had morals. He was a prima donna He (apparantly) slept with Leeds footballer wife He had disciplinary problems. So we got rid. We all knew how good he was
Its a pic of Cantona sitting next to Chapman with Batty & Macca just chilling out having a cuppa! Your not missing much mate
If memory serves me well the photo was taken 26/4/1992 Sunday afternoon we had won at Bramhall Lane beating Sheffield United 3-2 at lunch time and Man U were playing Liverpool and if they didn't win (they drew) we would win the league (which we did).
He never shagged her, urban myth. He was not a prima donna. He only had disciplinary issue & that was at Scum with the Kung fu kick. The problem was Sargent Wilko couldn't see a team built around Eric & his style of football was all wrong for the Frenchman. The rest is history.
I think Wilkinson recognised how good he was, he just liked his players to follow certain intructions on the pitch and work for the team, whereas Cantona prefered more of a free role and be more individualist, rather than having to worry about tactics. That being said he scored hattricks against both Liverpool and spurs, and put in some brilliant performances for Leeds, so the idea he couldnt fit into Wilkinson's system is abit of an excuse in my opinion. Man Utd weren't that far removed from the way Leeds played, with fast paced, high energy style, in fact Ferguson has gone on record before to say he took some ideas from Wilkinsonâs 92 side. The actual turning point in their relationship was the game against Rangers in the champions league, which came at a time when Leeds' form took a nose dive, and it really confirmed that the ageing title winning side was already in terminal decline. Wilkinson gets a lot of undue criticism for the Cantona saga, but he recognised how good a player he was otherwise he wouldn't have signed him in the first place, I think he gradually became frustrated with him not wanting to follow instructions and not being a 'team player', so used him as a scapegoat for the poor form of the rest of the side. That being said, the real mistake was made by the Leeds board in losing patience and sacking Wilkinson before he had the chance to build a new side around the youth players coming through like Kewell, Smith, Woodgate etc, they would have had more chance of reaching their true potential under Wilkinson than under O'leary
Cantona left because the board saw the dollar signs and couldn't resist. As for the kung fu kick, Cantona should have been banned for life, but the FA sh*t scared of ManUre.
I do recall hearing on numerous occasions that he was a naughty boy with Chapman's missus. But as to whether it was good business or not, I think not. Whatever his faults, he was a guy who could change a game with a moment of brilliance. That he produced so much of it for u no hoo just adds to the irritation. Just for the record, I believe that he's the only player to have won the title with the club he was with every season he finished. The only season he & his team didn't win the title was the Kung Fu season. Rather tells you a lot I think about just how good he was.
Not only Chapmans missus but with Newsomes girlfriend as well, if you come across Lorimer in the bar ask him straight out on the quiet, he will not say no, i peronally wished he had carried walking to the Kop that night he scored a penalty for Manure, but i think it was Irwin who grabbed him and turned him away, he would of been lynched the French ****er.
No no no nooooooo! Cantona was a right bastard in France. Fist fights on the pitch, thowing balls at the refs and wasnt shy of a red card! He was really on his last chance when Sheffield Wednesday took a punt on him
