Sliding doors moments in United history

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Is Fergie's united career the same if Mike Phelan doesn't pop the balloon?
 
MancunianAngels said:
Had a chat with some mates the other night talking about "sliding doors" moments. Imagining how different things would be if things had gone slightly differently. The main ones that came to mind were:

1989 Fa Cup semi final v Forest. We lost 1-0 but had we beaten them, we would have faced Liverpool in the semi-final. The Hillsborough disaster doesn't happen as the semi final between United and Liverpool is almost certainly moved to another ground.

Forest again. This time it's the famous Mark Robins moment v Liverpool in January 1990.

Losing the 1992 title. An interesting one. We were favourites to win the league up until 5 games to go but we lost 3 of the final 5 games. Had we won the title though, there's every chance Cantona dissappears from Leeds in the summer of 92. In addition, do United dominate in the same way if that determination after the heartbreak of 92 is no longer there?

Porto at home in 2004. Tim Howard puts a free kick round the post and we hold out to go through on away goals. That result means no Mourinho Champions League win. Does he still end up at Chelsea the following summer? Do they end up with Sven instead?
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Paul Scholes also scored a goal but was given offside when he was at least a 2 feet onside. One of the worst calls I've ever seen. It would have put us 2-0 up on the night.
 
Pavl3n said:
Most probably. With Haaland on our team I doubt we would've cared about Ronaldo.

I still can't get over how the desire of some people to bring back Ronaldo destructed whatever Ole was building and sent us back to where we were when Ole took over.
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I think losing to Villareal destructed what Ole was building. Ronaldo was just the finishing blow.
 
Jericholyte2 said:
Losing to Portsmouth in the Cup when we won the league/CL double - we should have won a 2nd treble that year!
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Equally given we only won the league on the final day and only won the CL with fine margins against Barca and then due to Terry's slip, it could've meant a trophyless season.
 
One that always sticks with me is the FA cup defeat at home to Portsmouth in 2008, a second treble would have been virtually guaranteed meeting West Brom in the semi and then Cardiff in the final.
 
KirkDuyt said:
Rensenbrink scores the injury time winner against Argentina in 78 instead of hitting the post. Videla's regime has our national team thrown out of a plane, King Willem Alexander never marries Maxima due to this lasting tension and never has children, the line of succession is broken and we finallly become a republic.

If only....

Still thinking about how to link this to United.
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The president of the Argentine FA Alfredo Cantilo heroically denounces the regime for chucking your lads out of the plane. He's jailed, and in the subsequent turmoil all domestic football in Argentina is suspended. The 18 year old Diego Maradona is smuggled out of the country and inevitably joins Utd, for some compelling and obvious reason that has slipped my mind for now. We become absolutely class, Liverpool don't win anything for the remainder of the 70s and any of the 80s. Everything is great.
 
mjstokes85 said:
One that always sticks with me is the FA cup defeat at home to Portsmouth in 2008, a second treble would have been virtually guaranteed meeting West Brom in the semi and then Cardiff in the final.
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On the other side of that, the extra games would have killed us and we would lost out on either the Premier League or Champions League.
 
mjstokes85 said:
One that always sticks with me is the FA cup defeat at home to Portsmouth in 2008, a second treble would have been virtually guaranteed meeting West Brom in the semi and then Cardiff in the final.
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Same here. Atkinson I think it was not giving a clear penalty early doors was a pisstake.

After West Brom we could have surely afforded to rest a few players against a Championship Cardiff in the final, ready for Moscow on the Wednesday.
 
Pat_Mustard said:
The president of the Argentine FA Alfredo Cantilo heroically denounces the regime for chucking your lads out of the plane. He's jailed, and in the subsequent turmoil all domestic football in Argentina is suspended. The 18 year old Diego Maradona is smuggled out of the country and inevitably joins Utd, for some compelling and obvious reason that has slipped my mind for now. We become absolutely class, Liverpool don't win anything for the remainder of the 70s and any of the 80s. Everything is great.
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Well done :lol:
 
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