Robbie Savage made 346 Premier League appearances during a long career at the top level, but he admits there’s only one surprising word he’d use to describe his time at Manchester United – failure.
Savage came through the youth ranks at Old Trafford and was part of the famous Class of ’92 side, playing as a striker as Manchester United won the FA Youth Cup final that year against Crystal Palace, in a line-up that also contained Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, Gary Neville and Nicky Butt.
He’d go on to success as a Wales international after impressing at Crewe Alexandra to earn moves to Leicester City, Birmingham City, Blackburn Rovers and Derby County in the Premier League, but gives a rather harsh verdict on his time with the Red Devils.
Asked what one word he’d use to describe his time at Manchester United, during an interview with FourFourTwo, Savage says: “Failure. I was in the Class of ’92 and my time there was unbelievable – there’ll never be a group like that ever again, with that many players going on to what they did.
“We won the FA Youth Cup and we were a tight group: a lot of us were in digs and we’d go and do extra training together, we were so close. I learned so much under Eric Harrison. But when you’re at Manchester United, your aim is to play for the first team.”
Savage’s son Charlie would later join the club’s youth system himself, then made his first-team debut in a Champions League match at home to Young Boys in 2021, on a night when Robbie was working as a co-commentator at Old Trafford for BT Sport. Understandably, it was an emotional moment.
“My son did it – he played in the first team, so he achieved his goal,” says Savage, speaking on behalf of Planet Sport Bet.
“If you’d said to me all those years ago, “Your son will play in the first team but you won’t – would you take that?”, of course I would have done.
“I failed, but when Charlie came on against Young Boys, that meant far more to me.”
Charlie has since become a senior Wales international, making his first appearance for his country in October after joining Reading last summer.
It’s given Robbie immense pride – asked how far Charlie can go in football, he says: “It’s down to him. I’ve only facilitated things as his dad, taxi-ing him around, like his mum, like every parent.
“I’m not a pushy parent; I’ll always be the one who says, “Did you enjoy it?” If he asks me things, I’ll give the best answer I can; at times it might not be what he wants to hear, but he can get to where he wants to because he cares, he’s got great resilience and he’s dedicated.
“If you’ve got those things, plus ability, which he has – and he’s a humble guy – then you’ll have an opportunity.
“He’s achieved more at 20 than I did, which means more to me than anything.”
Robbie Savage is a Planet Sport Bet ambassador
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