In 1990, Manchester United were going through a rough spell under Sir Alex Ferguson who had taken charge four years before.
Coventry City manager Mark Robins, who was just 20 at the time, had just broken into the Man United first-team coming through the Academy.
Having gone without a win in 11 league games, tensions were building on Sir Alex as they were drawn to face Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup that year.
Robins went down in the history books for scoring a decisive goal against Nottingham Forest which ultimately led to Man United lifting the FA Cup after beating Crystal Palace in the final.
Former Man United assistant coach Mike Phelan, who was part of the squad as a player in the 90s, told The Guardian: "We felt it was a massive game because we’d struggled a little bit leading up to it.
"There was a lot of talk about Alex being under pressure but we were not thinking about that, we were focused on the game and how important it was for us in general to get some momentum."
Discussing the impact of Robins and his goal, Phelan added: "It was not often that youngsters would get their chance in the United team, which at that time had some seriously talented players in there even though we weren’t performing as well as we should.
"From the manager’s point of view, he [Robins] was a great risk-taker – even if they were calculated, and when you need goals in the team, you put a goalscorer in and Robins had a reputation for scoring goals.
"He was a quiet and unassuming kid but you do not expect them to be too blase, you expect them to come and put their head down, wanting to impress, which he did with the goal."
As fate would have it, Robins effectively saved Sir Alex's job. Fast forward to 2024 and he's now up for a big FA Cup semi-final against his former side, who find themselves in a similar predicament.
Man United are once again on a winless run with Erik ten Hag's future as uncertain as ever. He desperately needs to get a win against the Championship side to end 2023/24 on a respectable note.
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