Playing position Name Eric Harrison Years Team Role Football player | 1957–1964 Halifax Town Position Wing half 1964–1966 Hartlepools United | |
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Date of birth (1938-02-05) 5 February 1938 (age 77) Place of birth Mytholmroyd, Yorkshire, England | ||
Eric Harrison (born 5 February 1938) is an English former professional football player and coach. He is probably best known for being the man behind the Manchester United youth setup that produced the group of players known as "Fergie's Fledglings", including David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville and Paul Scholes.
Harrison began his football career as a player with his local club, Halifax Town. Interested in coaching from the outset, Harrison set about earning his coaching badges as soon as possible.
Hired from Everton in June 1981 by new Manchester United manager Ron Atkinson, with whom Harrison had played for the Royal Air Force football team, Harrison took the post of youth team manager. It was his responsibility to help guide the club's young players and mould them into future first-teamers. When Atkinson was sacked in 1986, his replacement, Alex Ferguson, decided to keep Harrison on as youth coach. Dissatisfied with the number of players coming through the United youth system, Ferguson called a meeting with Harrison to discuss potential improvements. Harrison pointed out that he had already made Norman Whiteside and a couple of others into first team players, but Ferguson argued that this was still not enough. Harrison retorted "Right, we'll do a deal. You get me better-quality players, and I'll get you more youngsters in the first team." Ferguson agreed and set about increasing the club's scouting network two-or-threefold.