42 Facts About Norman Whiteside

1.

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

2.

Norman Whiteside 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.

3.

Norman 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.

4.

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

5.

Norman Whiteside 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.

6.

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

7.

Norman Whiteside was said to have been discovered by Ipswich Town scout Jim Rodgers, who was told by manager Bobby Robson to wait until Whiteside grew older.

8.

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

9.

Norman Whiteside 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.

10.

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

11.

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 Norman Whiteside requiring an operation on his right knee.

12.

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

13.

Norman Whiteside 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.

14.

Norman Whiteside 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.

15.

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

16.

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

17.

Norman Whiteside 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.

18.

Norman Whiteside became the first player to score in both domestic cup finals in the same season.

19.

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

20.

Norman Whiteside refused the move, for he felt he still had a good future with Manchester United and because he was given only a brief time to consider whether or not to relocate to a club and location about which he knew little.

21.

Norman Whiteside continued to impress, despite on-loan striker Garth Crooks being tipped to take his first-team place and sign a permanent contract.

22.

However, injury to midfielder Remi Moses left an opening at the centre of the field, and Norman Whiteside proved to be a revelation in the role with his intelligent play and positioning skills, and stayed in midfield for the rest of manager Ron Atkinson's time at the club.

23.

Norman Whiteside formed a solid partnership with Bryan Robson, despite the two being similarly attacking players, and United lost just one of their first 15 games with this new midfield partnership in operation.

24.

Norman Whiteside went on to score the winning goal in the 1985 FA Cup Final, curling a shot in from the right hand side in the 20th minute of extra time, to give ten-man United victory over Everton, and Whiteside his second FA Cup winner's medal.

25.

The press blamed the decline in form on the club's drinking culture and Ron Atkinson's lax disciplinary attitude, though in his autobiography Norman Whiteside denies that this was to blame, and states that stories of the player's drinking sessions were exaggerated.

26.

That summer, a 21-year-old Norman Whiteside played in his second World Cup.

27.

Norman Whiteside had self-assurance that was extraordinary in a 21-year-old.

28.

Norman Whiteside was an island of composure, looking up and unhurriedly making his decisions.

29.

Norman Whiteside rarely surrendered possession and he increased the angle and weight of his passes so well that the receiver never had to fight the ball.

30.

Norman Whiteside's eyes were as cold as steel and he had the temperament to match.

31.

Norman Whiteside formed a solid partnership with new signing Brian McClair, scoring 10 goals in 35 appearances, though United finished second in the league behind Liverpool, and he often found himself back in midfield or on the bench when Peter Davenport was selected to play alongside McClair.

32.

Norman Whiteside had played a total of 274 games in all competitions for United, scoring 67 goals, and collected two winner's medals in the FA Cup, despite only being 24 years old when he left.

33.

Norman Whiteside signed a four-year contract with Everton, and Alex Ferguson helped him to negotiate a pay deal that would see him earn more in two years at Goodison Park than he had done during his eight years in Manchester.

34.

Norman Whiteside had a testimonial game between Manchester United and Everton at Old Trafford in May 1992, but as United lost the title the previous week, only 7,434 turned out for the occasion.

35.

Norman Whiteside broke Pele's record as the youngest player to appear in a World Cup, when he debuted for Northern Ireland aged 17 years and 41 days at the 1982 World Cup in Spain.

36.

Northern Ireland won qualification to the World Cup for a second successive tournament with a goalless draw with England in their final group game; Norman Whiteside scored three goals during the qualification process, with his strike again Romania at Windsor Park proving to be crucial as they ended up qualifying at the Romanian's expense.

37.

Norman Whiteside won a total of 38 caps and scored nine times in eight years playing for Northern Ireland.

38.

Norman Whiteside married English-born wife Julie on 4 October 1987; the two had met when Whiteside was 16 and she was 20.

39.

Norman Whiteside quit the role as he did not enjoy the amount of time spent travelling between games.

40.

Norman Whiteside worked for the Professional Footballers' Association, while taking a postgraduate course at Manchester Metropolitan University.

41.

Norman Whiteside later took up private practice as a podiatrist in Manchester.

42.

Norman Whiteside worked as a pundit on ITV's coverage of UEFA Euro 2016.