285: Denis Irwin, Manchester United, Merlin’s Premier League 97 Official Sticker Collection

Mat Jolin-Beech takes a look back at happier times at Old Trafford when the Manchester United faithful could rely on players to turn up for big occasions and put themselves about to pick up important results. Luckily they have had good reminders of this from Scott McTominay’s Serie A victory with Napoli, Dean Henderson’s FA Cup final heroics for Crystal Palace and Jadon Sancho providing a goal and an assist to help Chelsea win the Europa Vauxhall Conference League. Over to Mat to get all misty-eyed.

Under appreciated footballers. Cult Heroes. The tireless workers. That is the backbone of who we write about here at A Sticker’s Worth 500 Words. No player more so than today’s subject epitomises that. One Joseph (who knew?) Denis Irwin. Mr Reliable.

He comes to mind off the back of a YouTube (or possibly Facebook) poll to Manchester United fans: if your life depended on it, who would you want to take, and score, a penalty? Many votes went the ways of messrs Ronaldo, Rooney, Fernandes, etc. Then the middle-aged keyboard worriers got involved (well, one other guy and then me). We both picked Denis Irwin.

Checking the state he scored twelve out of fourteen penalties he took. Not as many as I thought. But he was a set piece master before the likes of David Beckham arrived on the scene – the Jonny come lately (and happy 50th to Becks by the way – and how did that happen?!)

Now, Irwin never looked like a superstar nor rarely played like one. But he is potentially one of the most important players in modern Man United history. And no, not because in his mid-thirties he managed to keep a much younger Phil Neville out the team. And not even because he only ever had one bad game for Man United. No, it was because he opened the doors to potentially the most significant signing: one enigmatic Frenchman of the name Eric Cantona. Leeds United wanted Irwin, Sir Alex said no, then asked about Cantona and signed him is the uber distilled version of the story. Without that signing, the final piece of the puzzle that created the trophy wining juggernaut that was SAF’s Man United team of the 90s and noughties.

But Irwin was a very good, if not flashy, player. solid, dependable, reliable. All the important, but not very sexy, words. All things that do not describe Antony. A brief career history, started at Leeds, before going to Oldham Athletic and then, for what seems a bargain at £650,000, joined United in 1990 before Sky invented modern football and the Premier League. Nearly 300 games, 22 goals, and 19 trophies later – making him the joint most successful Irishman at United alongside Roy Keane and… Any guesses? Anyone? Nope? Ronnie Whelan.

He was still playing for United up to 2002, 11th May in fact, in a 0-0 draw with Charlton Athletic, when he took the captain’s armband. He then had a stint with Wolverhampton Wanderers, helping them to the Premier League, before retiring with their relegation aged 38. He also played in the 1994 USA World Cup with Ireland. And probably got sunburn like most of that team!

Finally, Irwin also proved that Manchester City really are a bunch of (enter expletive here), even before their oil money fuelled glory. In 2000, marking ten years with the club, he was awarded a testimonial against the blue half of Manchester only to be injured in a friendly game designed to raise money for charity by George Weah in a testy affair. What a bunch of…anyway, moving away from that.

All this proves that Irwin was, and still is a bloody nice man, and a very good, very solid, 7.5/10 footballer. One who marks an important era in the club history, playing an important part of it, even though it is often overlooked.