CLASS OF ’92: OUT OF THEIR LEAGUE, BBC1, 9pm Thursday, 29th
What do impossibly rich men do when they retire? The popular belief is that they buy a yacht or a succession of supercars and spend their free time driving, sailing, tinkering and wishing they were back at work. These former Manchester United players don’t have such a problem: the famous Class of ’92”– Alex Ferguson’s young players who were dismissed by Alan Hansen as “kids” – have retired from playing but haven’t taken the usual route of the retired footballer and gone into coaching or commentating. Instead, Ryan Giggs, Phil and Gary Neville, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt have decided to buy a football club.
Salford City FC is run by part-timers. The manager puts in some coaching sessions after work, the match-day pies and Bovril are served by volunteers and the grounds are maintained by dedicated fans. Everyone is unpaid; they’re all doing it for the love of their tiny football club.
So how will they react now that the rich boys have decided to take over? Will they be grateful for the injection of cash and expertise or will they resent the flashy newcomers?
The Class of ’92 dream of taking Salford City to the top of the Premier League, but can they do that without losing the club’s spirit and traditions and without alienating the volunteers and fans who’ve been its lifeblood thus far?
This first episode shows the tensions: Phil Neville expects professionalism in his coaching sessions but the players and equipment aren’t ready: “Phil Neville’s flappin’ cos we’ve got no balls!”
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