Norman Whiteside

Norman Whiteside (born 7 May 1965) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder and striker.

His injury problems started as early as 1980, when he was 15 years old and saw Glentoran's physio Bobby McGregor to resolve a groin strain; Whiteside said that the highly physical massage to which he was subjected damaged his pelvis and robbed him of his natural pace.

His lack of pace was later seen as the one weakness in his game.

At the age of 17 years and 323 days, he beat Liverpool centre-half Alan Hansen to score in the League Cup final defeat at Wembley, making him the youngest player to score in a League Cup final; his consistent performances against Liverpool during the 1980s earned him the moniker of the "Scourge of the Scousers" from United supporters.

He gave an assist to Stapleton in the FA Cup Final, which finished as a 2–2 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion.

At the age of 18 years and 18 days, he then scored a headed goal in the replay, which United won 4–0, to become the youngest player to score in an FA Cup Final.

He also became the first player to score in both domestic cup finals in the same season.

He played 57 times in all competitions that season and missed just three league games, scoring a total of 14 goals.

Six weeks into his apprenticeship, in July 1981, and an innocuous looking challenge by a Preston North End player in an 'A' team game saw Whiteside requiring an operation on his right knee.

Had the injury occurred a couple of years later he would have been able to have pioneering keyhole surgery, which could potentially have saved his career.

Whiteside began his career at Manchester United, signing professional forms in 1982 at the age of 17 and quickly becoming a key member of the side.

Winning 38 caps for Northern Ireland, he played at the 1982 and 1986 World Cups, and also helped his country to win the last British Home Championship in 1983–84.

After retiring as a player he became a podiatrist, and still works at the corporate hospitality department at Old Trafford.

Born in Belfast to Norman and Aileen Whiteside, he grew up on Shankill Road; because of this and his aggressive, physical playing style, he was later nicknamed the "Shankill Skinhead" by Manchester United supporters.

The family later moved to 10 Danube Street, and the family's poverty meant that Whiteside had to share a bed with his two brothers.

He remained relatively unscathed by The Troubles, for his Protestant parents kept a firm watch on their children to ensure that they did not stray far from home and that none of them became involved with Ulster loyalism.

At the age of around seven he joined the Boys' Brigade, and quickly showed his natural talent for football, scoring ten goals in a game against boys almost twice his age.

He was educated at Cairnmartin High School, and became famous in the Shankill area as a footballing prodigy by the age of 11.

He was said to have been discovered by Ipswich Town scout Jim Rodgers (his goals at schoolboy level meant that he was already well known to all the football scouts in Northern Ireland), who was told by manager Bobby Robson to wait until Whiteside grew older.

Instead, it was Manchester United's 80-year-old Ulster scout Bob Bishop, who previously unearthed Belfast-born George Best and Sammy McIlroy for the club, who first offered him a trial at an English club.

Whiteside's family were Manchester United supporters, though the youngster himself held no particular allegiance.

He found that he had been offered schoolboy terms at the club during a school trip to the United States; on the trip, he and his classmates met President Jimmy Carter at the Oval Office, a rare and extraordinary occasion for children from a disadvantaged background.

A few days before Whiteside was old enough to sign schoolboy terms with Manchester United, he was offered a trial at Liverpool, causing United's chief scout Joe Brown to fly over to Belfast to immediately offer him the schoolboy contract to sign.

Whiteside remained in Belfast, and flew over to Manchester every weekend for training.

From the age of 14 he was constantly compared to George Best (by that time in the twilight of his career), and Whiteside did little to discourage such comparisons when he told a journalist that "the only thing I have in common with George Best is that we come from the same place, play for the same club and were discovered by the same man".

After a seven-month lay-off and a further operation to remove cartilage, he returned to fitness in January 1982.

He had to adapt his playing style to compensate for his damaged knee and pelvis, and developed well under youth team coach Eric Harrison.

Whiteside became United's youngest first-team player since Duncan Edwards in 1953, when he made his debut as a substitute against Brighton & Hove Albion in a 1–0 league win at the Goldstone Ground on 24 April 1982, two weeks before his 17th birthday.

He later played in the FA Youth Cup final defeat to Watford, though it would be just another year before he appeared in the final of the senior competition.

His performances at the World Cup convinced manager Ron Atkinson to start Whiteside alongside Frank Stapleton at the front of United's attack for the 1982–83 season.

The pair were similar players in that they held the ball up and made frequent runs into the box, allowing midfielder Bryan Robson to join in the attack.

Whiteside scored four goals in the first five games of the campaign, before entering a seventeen-game drought.

He scored six goals in 16 games in domestic cup competitions that season, helping Manchester United to the finals of both the League Cup and FA Cup, notably by scoring past Arsenal in the FA Cup semi-finals.

He scored 68 goals in 278 league and cup appearances for the club over the next seven years, picking up two FA Cup winner's medals in 1983 and 1985, as well as playing in the 1982 FA Youth Cup final, the 1983 League Cup final, and the FA Charity Shield in 1983.

He remained with United until July 1989, when he was sold to Everton for £600,000.

However, he retired from playing two years later, aged only 26, due to a knee injury.

Whiteside holds records as the youngest player to take part in a FIFA World Cup, the youngest player to score in a League Cup and FA Cup final, and the youngest player to score a senior goal for Manchester United.

He turned professional at Old Trafford on his 17th birthday, signing a three-year contract, and he shared a room with Steve Coppell, who was heading into retirement due to a knee injury of his own.

He also struck up a close friendship with Paul McGrath, who would also face similar problems with his knee.

On the final day of the season, eight days after his 17th birthday, he became the club's youngest goalscorer in a 2–0 home win over Stoke City.