Five Games That Changed Me: Keith Coutts

“When we were relegated in the 1970s, the rest of the old Second Division loved United coming to their grounds, because they filled every one they went to. Even before I moved to England, I kept seeing stuff in the papers, on television: ‘United have filled another ground.’

 

“I’m 70 this year,” he continues, “and when I look back, I think the Busby Babes and then Best, Law and Charlton started it off. Then Ferguson had his 26 years and kept winning things. United has just kept getting bigger and bigger. There’s always a story!”

 

Keith’s own story began in Aberdeen, until work led him down to Halifax – and a United season ticket – in 1989. Decades later, he still resides in Yorkshire and now represents over-65 season ticket holders on the Fans’ Forum.

 

“Someone I worked with was a season ticket holder at United and they told me that there'd been a seat next to them free all season,” he recalls. “So I rang up and asked for that seat, and got it. That was the start of my long association with the club.

 

“As a youngster, in the 1960s, Law, Best and Charlton, had been a joy to watch on Match of the Day. Aberdeen is my hometown team, and it’s still the first team whose result I look for on the way home from Old Trafford. Of course, Sir Alex was the manager there from 1978 until he moved to Old Trafford. Denis Law is from Aberdeen, Martin Buchan, John Fitzpatrick too. Even further back, Alex Dawson and Ian Moir. There’s been quite a connection of Aberdonians with Manchester United.

 

“I’m happily retired now, and did think about moving back [to Scotland] when I retired. But Manchester United is in my blood now!”

 

Which makes Keith an ideal subject for our Five Games That Changed Me series...

European Cup | Wembley | 29 May 1968

 

“I was a bit young at the time, only 15 years old, but I watched that game on television and was absolutely enthralled by it. George Best and Bobby Charlton... Denis Law was in hospital. All you ever got up in Scotland at that time was Sportscene on a Saturday night. I know a year before Celtic had won the European Cup and that was televised, but I wasn’t really interested in Celtic – Manchester United and Aberdeen were my two teams.

 

“When I was a youngster, most kids supported Aberdeen, Rangers or Celtic, but Manchester United would probably have been the best-supported team in England. The likes of Manchester City were up and down, and Liverpool weren’t the greatest side in the world, so it was all Manchester United. I think it goes back to Law, Best and Charlton in the 1960s. Those were such great players. From this moment on, I was an out-and-out Manchester United supporter.

FA Cup | Wembley | 14 May 1994

 

“This was my first trip to Wembley to watch United play. Two goals from Cantona, and the others from Mark Hughes and Brian McClair. I remember going with a friend who is a United supporter, who lives in Huddersfield a few miles away from me. We parked up at Stanmore and got the tube down to Wembley. There was some lovely weather that day. I remember sitting outside the ground on grass, with the sun beating down on us. There was rain later, but it was lovely and warm before the game, with beautiful sunshine. Everyone was in short sleeves.

 

“Chelsea hit the bar in the first half through Gavin Peacock, but after that United just took control. Eric Cantona in particular, scoring two penalties and putting the ball into the same spot each time! It was a wonderful day and the club’s first Double.”

FA Cup | Villa Park | 14 April 1999

 

“I’ve got to go for the semi-final replay at Villa Park in ’99. Everything happened in that game. United scored first, Arsenal equalised, Phil Neville gave away a penalty in the last minute, Schmeichel saved it, Keane was sent off. I was   at both semi-finals – the one that was drawn on the Sunday and I was back on the Wednesday. There was just a feeling after that game, from everyone, that United were going to win not just the FA Cup and the league, but also the Champions League. And of course, it came through.

 

“We were hanging on until the Giggs goal, because Keane had been sent off. He walked off the park before the referee had even shown him the red card; he just knew! Arsenal were a very, very good side. Possibly the side that caused United the most problems, especially when they had Vieira and Petit in the middle of the park, and Bergkamp up front. Games against Arsenal were the biggest of the season back then, before Chelsea became a force. To win that one over two games was absolutely amazing.

 

“Ryan Giggs’s goal? Everyone has seen it, and everyone knows about it. It’s one of the best goals ever scored, I would say. There was just this feeling that United’s luck was in for that season. And the Champions League final, later on, summed up the team: they played and fought until the end. The current team are doing that, too. Erik ten Hag is doing a wonderful job there. But this was an absolutely amazing match. Villa Park was a great place for semi-finals. I remember going to see us play Chelsea there too. Thinking about it still makes the hairs rise on the back of my neck.”

Premier League | Old Trafford | 16 May 1999

 

“The league win that season was the first part of the Treble. Spurs scored first, if I remember correctly. Everyone’s heads went down slightly, but they came out with typical Manchester United resilience and turned it round. Andy Cole chipped it over [the Spurs goalkeeper] Ian Walker and everyone started to believe, though we were hanging on until the final whistle! By god, it was a nerve-wracking day, but a fantastic outcome. The atmosphere was unbelievable at the end, because it was such a hard-won victory and a hard-won title. It was a season full of hope, some great wins and at last we’d done it.

 

“I can honestly say that it was one of the league wins I enjoyed most. It always seems something of a hollow victory if you win the league somewhere else, but if you can do it at Old Trafford. We had to win this game. Arsenal were pushing us so hard.

 

“The best United team ever? I would say so. No team before and no team after has managed to win the league, the FA Cup and the Champions League. They’d matured over a few years. There were certain players like Ince, Hughes, who were replaced by the Nevilles, Butt and Scholes. Cantona had come and gone, but he’d left a legacy. The team used to walk onto the pitch with their chests sticking out. They were confident. It was a great time to be watching Manchester United.”

FA Cup | Wembley | 22 May 1999

 

“I’m going to put a final in from that season, but I’m not going to go with the 1999 Champions League final, because everyone would do that! I’ll go for the FA Cup final, which was an excellent day out, and gets a bit forgotten [compared to winning the other two trophies]. The atmosphere was unbelievable again. It’s hard to describe but, when the final whistle went, you just knew you’d done two out of three, and the Treble was on.

 

“I was at Old Trafford when they won the league, I was at Wembley to see us win this, and then I was in Barcelona the following week. Not a bad 10 days; 10 days I’ll remember for the rest of my life.

 

“It was a walk in the park, that FA Cup final. Newcastle had some good players – Alan Shearer was with them at that time, and he was always a threat – but United just took control. It was almost as if they knew they were going to win, and they did it at a canter. They had bigger things on their mind, so they did what they had to do and won it comfortably.

 

“I don’t think any United team will achieve the Treble again, but I still love going just as much. We’ve had a bad spell since Ferguson retired, despite winning a few trophies, but I feel those days are coming back again where United are going to be a top team. Who would have thought that at the beginning of the season?”