Fergies Fledglings

by Wayne Barton

Fergie's Fledglings is the most comprehensive and unique record of its kind, telling the story of Manchester United's successful and prolific youth system through the eyes and words of the players who experienced it. The most prominent 'Fledglings' of the first wave in the late 1980s describe the foundations and how Sir Alex Ferguson tried to work from the blueprint of the vision Sir Matt Busby had for Manchester United; members of the class of '92 give unique insight on how and why that team achieved so much success, and a whole host of names share how Ferguson managed to move with the times with youth development as United evolved into the biggest club in the world. Stories of success, near miss, circumstance and personal tragedy are told in this most thorough, chronological walk through the most successful era in English football management history.

280 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1600

Reviews

[Jonny Brick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A loving chronicle of Academy products who suffered blocked pathways to the first team, injury hell and bad luck. Great reportage, put into context by Wayne, with emphasis on the importance of good management encouraging excellence in the players.

[Tony Moss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wayne Barton

Brilliantly compiled book. Wayne Barton has written about the boys who don't quite make it for whatever reason, be it bad luck with injury or just too many good players ahead of them. Some went on to have good careers elsewhere, others not so much

[Abhinav · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great ode to a prolific academy the cliff and now Carrington. This anthology contains players you might have forgotten.

[Mark Gillespie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and insightful

A really interesting read. Many books have been done about big players and big games, it's a really interesting counterpoint to hear about the lives and insights of people on the fringes of those events, and how they saw things.