Salford City vs Class of '92 XI preview

adamhigginsuk
Aug 5, 2014
2 min read

The stars of the past: The graduation of the Class of '92 inspired a successful era at Manchester United (Picture from the Press Association)

MANCHESTER United’s Class of ‘92 will turn out in a star-studded friendly against Salford City FC on Thursday at the AJ Bell Stadium.

Five graduates from the all-conquering squad of 22 years ago - Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Nicky Butt - will be involved after taking over the non-league club in March.

With the rest of the side made up of past team-mates, fellow former United legends David Beckham and Eric Cantona have been rumoured to play in front of a capacity crowd of 12,000.

Ex-United trainee Robbie Savage is also expected to take part with funds raised from the match going towards the running of Salford City FC, who currently play in the eighth tier of English football.

Phil Power’s side, who finished eighth in the Evo Stick League First Division North last term, have won only three of their eight pre-season friendlies so far.

A host of new signings - including former Manchester City trainee Danny Warrender and ex-Hyde United striker Gareth Seddon - have been announced so far this summer in preparation for the new league season with more expected to come.

The Ammies have also changed the colour of their home strip from tangerine, which they have sported for the past decade, to red.

Salford are seeking to engineer a rise through the divisions with a bold target of reaching the Championship in the next 15 years under the guidance of the Class of ’92, who decided to invest in the city’s community football after working on a documentary charting their Old Trafford success.

The quintet of the two Nevilles, Butt, Giggs and Scholes were part of the famous United side that won the FA Youth Cup in 1992 before forming the backbone of arguably Sir Alex Ferguson’s most successful team in his 27-year tenure.

Speaking when the friendly was announced in May, the Class of ’92 stars said in a statement: “We are really looking forward to the match, it will certainly be competitive.

"It will be good to play with each other again, it’s been a long time but more importantly we will want to give Salford City a tough game."

Former Everton skipper Phil Neville added that the aim of the project is to "make the next 15-30 years really special for the people of Salford".

The eagerly-anticipated friendly will mark the start of an exciting new era for the Ammies whilst officially launching the Class of ’92 takeover.

Class of ’92 Where are they now series: