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Sitting at the top of the Premier League table and 56 places above Crewe Alexandra in the English football pyramid, Manchester United shouldn’t have faced any difficulties against League One Railways.

But after beating Liverpool 2-0 in the Premier League at Old Trafford on 22 October 2006, United, just three days later, nearly collapsed in the League Cup third round at Gresty Road, avoiding by little one of the biggest upsets in the history of the competition. Such was the level of superiority of the Reds, that ex-manager Sir Alex Ferguson, like most Premier League managers when faced with opposition from the lower leagues, felt he was within his rights to make changes. on a large scale, and asked his fringe players to get the job. done with minimal effort.

And after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who faced competition from the likes of Wayne Rooney and Louis Saha for a starting job at the time, put the Reds ahead on 26 minutes, they were well on their way to getting the job done without too much fuss

However, following Luke Varney’s equalizer with 17 minutes of regular time remaining on the clock, United were suddenly in danger of suffering one of their most embarrassing results of the Ferguson era. While the Reds had beaten Liverpool in the build-up to the trip to Crewe, the home side had, four days earlier, lost at home to Blackpool. United should have been winning at a canter.

But after the match had gone to extra time and the prospect of a penalty shootout loomed, injecting more confidence into Crewe’s veins, Ferguson and United were saved by 18-year-old senior debutant Kieran Lee. The right-back, who had come off the bench to replace David Gray four minutes after Varney’s equalizer, latched on to Alan Smith’s excellent pass, charged into the field and scored a composed effort, which Solskjaer would have felt proud, past the goalie Ben. Williams in the 119th minute.

It was a moment that every young man at United dreams of, but very few have experienced. The feeling of scoring on your senior debut with a club of the stature of the Reds must be overcome. But while it was a moment for Lee to treasure, Ferguson was relieved to have avoided the spot-shooting lottery.

“Kieran is a good player for sure,” Ferguson said, speaking after the game. “He has good skill, all he needs is time to develop. He showed great awareness to run for goal and that saved me from embarrassment because he never won the penalty shootout.”

Unfortunately for the academy graduate, however, his heroism that October night did not prove to be a defining moment in his United career. The now Bolton Wanderers player, who has since morphed into a central midfielder, made just two more appearances for United before leaving the club to join Oldham Athletic in July 2008.

One of those two appearances saw him win a guard of honor from Chelsea players at Stamford Bridge in May 2007. With the Premier League title already wrapped up, Ferguson fielded a very different squad for the trip to the capital, made up of marginal players and young people. Lee started at right back and helped United to a point. Of the 11 players who started the goalless draw that night, Lee is the only player yet to hang up his boots.

Now, at the age of 34, Lee is a fixture at nearby Bolton. He has made 35 appearances for the club so far this season and is desperately trying to help them escape the clutches of League One via the play-off places. He joined Wanderers in January 2021 on a free transfer, after almost six months without a club.

At the end of the Covid-hit 2019/20 campaign, Lee left Sheffield on Wednesday after eight seasons and 217 appearances at Hillsborough. A loyal servant, often serenaded with chants of ‘Her touch from him is golden’, he was adored by those of a blue and white persuasion, most of all for his effort and commitment.

Playing under five different permanent managers during his time in the Wednesday colors, Lee, who used to share Carrington’s training grounds with a young Cristiano Ronaldo, rose from being a right-back to one of the best midfielders off the pitch. Premier league. Often a reliable source of goals, he was often underestimated by those who didn’t watch him week after week.

A quiet and reserved person, Lee has rarely stepped forward and done interviews; he only usually talks to the media when he signs a new contract, for example. In the field, however, he remains a classy and well-respected operator. He was so crucial during their Wednesday days that former boss Carlos Carvalhal once described him as the Owls’ own Andres Iniesta.

After eight years at Hillsborough, Lee, who made his second and penultimate appearance for United in a shock 1-0 defeat to Southend United in the League Cup round that followed the win at Crewe, joined Bolton when they were fighting tooth and nail to get out of League Two. That means he has played in all four professional divisions of English soccer, scored a goal for United in the same game as Solskjaer, shared a dressing room with Ronaldo and played in the same defense as Gabriel Heinze and John O’Shea. . Few can say that they have done all that.

Although Lee, who won United’s Awarded Reserve Player of the Year in 2007, he never got the chance to try to equip himself as a Premier League player and rub shoulders with the likes of Rooney and Ronaldo more often, the latter’s determination and hunger for success leaving a lasting impression on the Bolton. ace.

Speaking in an interview with the Post in 2015, Lee said: “When training at United was over, we’d all go inside to eat. After that, the guys would go back out and do our job like picking up the balls. Ronaldo would still be around. doing their own skills.

“He would stay out to be the best. And he became the best. Not me, I was waiting to go home! But he left an impression on me, that work ethic. I’ve never seen anyone like him, before or since “. from.”

Although Lee never came close to Ronaldo’s level, he has established himself as one of the EFL’s most underappreciated operators over the last decade, planting a seed in the hearts of thousands of fans who have seen him, be it in Oldham, on Wednesday . or Bolton. But while his crowning moment in United Colors may not be remembered as vividly, it was a moment that he saved Ferguson, in his own words, from embarrassment.

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