Name:
David MAY
Shirt Number: 14
Position: Central Defender
Date of Birth: June 24, 1970
Birthplace: Oldham, England
Transfer Fee: £1.2 million
David May was signed by Blackburn Rovers as a
schoolboy and progressed through the ranks of junior football
with the Lancashire side into the first team, playing in the team
which gained promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs
in 1991/92.
When May's contract was up in the summer of 1994,
Alex Ferguson moved in to sign him for £1.2 million - with
a view to him eventually replacing Steve Bruce. However, his first
season at Old Trafford did not go as planned. He was played out
of position for much of the campaign and the Bruce-Pallister partnership
at the back seemed to be as strong as ever.
The following season May fought hard to win a
regular place in the centre of United's defence and by the end
of the camapaign the centre-half position had become his. He was
part of the squad that won the Double in 1995/96, but really came
of age in 1996/97 when some great displays earned him a call-up
to Glenn Hoddle's England squad before being forced to withdraw
because of an injury.
A frustrating run of injuries meant that his
1998/99 season did not get underway until the latter stages. This
was at the time that Alex Ferguson was looking to rest key players
as the season approached its amazing Treble climax.
His reappearance came too late to earn him a
Premiership medal, although he had certainly played his part.
He made up for lost time, however, with another FA Cup winners'
medal and also a Champions League winners' medal.
David's 1999/2000 season must have made him wonder
if he'd been cursed. After playing the second half of the Charity
Shield against Arsenal, he picked up a knock in a friendly at
Wigan. That kept him out until November, when he made a comeback
against Sturm Graz.
He was left out of the squad that travelled to
Brazil, and went on loan to Huddersfield. That only lasted a few
days, as he pulled a hamstring. Then, in his first training session
back with the first team, he ruptured his Achilles, ending any
hopes of another return before the end of the season.
Although David's injury problems have continued
during the 2000/2001 season in March he made a number of appearances
on the United bench as he began to return to full fitness. A regular
in the Reserve side, Maysie did not make it back into the senior
side before the end of the season.
