LES SEALEY helped save Sir Alex Ferguson from being sacked by Manchester United.
But it came at a cost when a shock injury at Wembley almost proved fatal.
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Now his story has been uncovered thanks to lost tapes found 23 years after his death.
Sealey joined United on loan from Luton in 1990 and played just twice under Ferguson – with Jim Leighton as No1.
However, Fergie decided to drop his fellow Scot for the FA Cup final replay after he scored a hat-trick in the opening 3-3 draw.
Ferguson said: “Sealey was arrogant and at times downright arrogant, so I didn’t foresee him losing his nerve at Wembley.”
This decision permanently destroyed Leighton’s relationship with the manager, but it proved to be a smart decision as United won 1–0, giving Ferguson his long-awaited first trophy since taking charge at Old Trafford in 1986.
His heroics earned Sealey a permanent move to Manchester United and he became a first team player in 1991.
But another Wembley appearance 11 months later would change his life forever.
United faced Sheffield Wednesday – led by captain Nigel Pearson – in the 1991 League Cup final.
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John Sheridan gave the Owls a half-time lead, but it was an incident in the 78th minute that had a much greater impact.
Sealey was caught in a challenge with striker Paul Williams on Wednesday which “cut to the bone” of his knee.
He revealed: “You could actually see the workings of my knee inside the skin.”
The lively defender got into a furious on-field row with United’s physio as captain Bryan Robson tried to calm him down as blood oozed from the joint.
Incredibly, though, Sealey CONTINUED – because there was no substitute goalkeeper on Fergie’s two-man bench to call up and replace him.
He was treated after full-time but his condition worsened on the way to hospital when an ambulance was called.
And this quick intervention may have saved his life.
Sealey went under the knife but woke up in the early hours of the morning and recalled on tapes discovered by his family: “I always remember him saying, ‘Who’s a lucky boy then?’”
But then it turned out that the wound had been sewn up with dirt inside and subsequently became infected.
Any further delay in reaching the hospital could have changed his life – due to the need to amputate his leg – or even ended his life if he contracted blood poisoning.
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Inside of 24 DAYSHowever, Sealey made a dramatic and extraordinary return and started the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup final against Barcelona in Rotterdam – with Leighton exiled by Fergie.
So the East Ender started between the sticks, despite having done no training and having not “handled the ball” since his ordeal at Wembley.
Mark Hughes scored twice for United in the second half before Ronald Koeman scored a free-kick 11 minutes from time – but the Red Devils held on for Ferguson’s second major honour.
On Koeman’s free-kick, Sealey said in his memoirs: “I would have saved it with my nose if I had been fit, but I just couldn’t get it across the goal.”
The pair were reunited after the game, when they were called in by drug testers and Koeman saw the extent of the damage to the goalkeeper’s knee, prompting a “look of complete astonishment” from the Dutchman.
Another voice recording of Sealey said: “He just said to me, ‘Les, I don’t know how you played with that.’”
A cult hero at Old Trafford, Sealey, then 33, rejected a one-year contract extension because he wanted two more years and ended up leaving United for Aston Villa at the end of the 1990-91 season.
Two years later, however, he returned as a replacement for Peter Schmeichel and was named in the starting line-up for the 1994 League Cup final against Villa when the Great Dane served a red card suspension.
Jim Leighton on FA Cup Final defeat
SIR ALEX FERGUSON dropped his regular number 1 Jim Leighton for the 1990 FA Cup final replay.
Leighton scored in the 3-3 draw at Wembley – but was replaced by loanee Les Sealey for the replay.
It was a big decision – but one that proved to be the right one as Ferguson ended his long wait for his first title at United.
But it came at the cost of her relationship with Leighton.
The former goalkeeper told the BBC in 2018: “It was quite cold during the period, more or less the last six months that I was with the team.
“And then it dropped to zero a few weeks after the final.
“And we’ve never spoken since and never will again.”
Asked why, he said: “I didn’t like a lot of the things he said and did.”
Ferguson later explained: “Sealey was arrogant and at times downright arrogant, so I didn’t foresee him losing his nerve at Wembley.”
It turned out to be his last United appearance – meaning three of his last four United games were cup finals – and again he ended up on the losing side, just like three years earlier.
Sealey had spells at Blackpool, West Ham and Leyton Orient but continued to be plagued by his knee, which never fully recovered – even revealing in his tapes that he visited a healer recommended by his United team-mate Robson.
The goalkeeper said: “Robson swears blindly that he had a small fracture in his tibia.
“She put her hands on his tibia and he had an X-ray the next day and the fracture disappeared.”
He added that it felt like “a hot iron” when she touched his knee.
Fittingly, Sealey made the final appearance of his Hammers career at United on the final day of the 1996-97 season.
He was retained in the West Ham squad until 1999–2000, during which time he worked as the club’s goalkeeping coach.
And Sealey remained in this role until his tragic death in August 2001, passing away after a heart attack at the age of 43.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
