Debut: 1-0 win vs Brighton (as sub), April 24th 1982
League Record: 193 games (+13 as sub), 47 goals
Sold to: Everton (£600,000), July 1989
Like Paul McGrath, there’s no doubting Norman Whiteside was a hero in a red shirt but he’s also one I’ve very few clear recollections of. It’s perhaps worth noting that Big Norm is the last player we’ll come across who played under Ron Atkinson.
Hailing from an area of Northern Ireland where he would see people get drills through their kneecaps, the “Shankill Skinhead” followed the paths of George Best and Sammy McIlory in joining the youth ranks at Old Trafford. Physically mature way beyond his years, he came off the bench for his debut a few weeks before his 17th birthday and on his full debut against Stoke a month later, scored his first goal.
Famously, he went to that summer’s World Cup in Spain with Northern Ireland, breaking Pele’s record to become the youngest player to ever play in the finals and taking part in their surprise 1-0 victory over the host nation. He would also be in his country’s squad for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.
Another record was broken in a remarkable first full season (82/83), when he became the youngest player to score in a Wembley cup final, opening the scoring in the League Cup final against Liverpool. Sadly, the scouse won 2-1. Compensation came with winning the FA Cup weeks later. Big Norm had seen us make the final by scoring a brilliant volley to see off Arsenal in the semi-final and he scored in the replay of the final too, the second in the 4-0 drubbing of Brighton.
Despite only being 18, there was attention coming his way from the biggest names in Europe. Whiteside considered himself, perhaps rightly, too young to be moving away and committed himself to United, luckily for us. By the time of the 1985 FA Cup final, he'd been moved back into midfield due to the emergence of Mark Hughes. This was the game that would see his most sublime moment: deep into extra time, with United down to ten men against an Everton team that were recently crowned champions, Hughes put a ball out wide to Norman, who was knackered out, but still managed to use one of their defenders as a shield to curl a shot into the net.
It was a sublime finish, that sadly proved to be a peak in Whiteside's career. Over the next few years, injuries would begin to take their toll. He didn't help himself by enjoying a few too many drinks in those periods out of action and when Ferguson took over, he was determined to rid the club of what he saw as a dangerous drink culture.
His last truly great moment in a United shirt came at Anfield in the Spring of 1988. Liverpool were miles ahead in the league and, after a Bryan Robson opener, had gone 3-1 up. To make matters worse, Colin Gibson had managed to get himself sent off. Fergie knew what was needed and sent Stormin’ Norman on for one last bit of Scousebusting.
Within minutes, in a real "you won’t see that anymore" series of actions, he had "sorted" Steve McMahon with a tackle verging on GBH and “accidentally” elbowed John Barnes in the windpipe, essentially putting the two players causing us the most trouble out of the game. Robbo and Gordon Strachan scored to offer some great memories in consolation to only finishing second in the league.
Soon after, frustrated by lack of first team action, he put in a transfer request that was accepted, only for injury troubles to put off any would-be suitors. His last season (1988/89) saw him only make six appearances but Fergie somehow wangled a decent fee out of Everton, who got a year’s service out of him before he had to retire through injury. Putting his negative experiences to good use, he went back to school and, to his credit, qualified as a Podiatrist, in which capacity he presently works for several football clubs.
What makes his early retirement from the game sadder is that when we won the league and cup double in 1994, four years after his retirement, he was still younger than a fair few of our team!
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