What happened to the seven “fantastic prospect Man Utd” Alex Ferguson tipped greatness

Manchester United are known for producing excellent talent, but there will always be those players who have fallen from grace.

In 2001, club legend Sir Alex Ferguson picked seven United youths for honors.

“We have great prospects at Old Trafford,” he said.

“Darren Fletcher, who we hope can overcome the broken leg, is good.

“Michael Stewart and Luke Chadwick are doing very well, and John O’Shea is also doing well.

“There is a young left back named Paul Tierney who is doing well, as is Danny Pugh. But there is a guy who started now, he’s 16, named Kieran Richardson.

“He will become a fantastic player”.

So what happened to those fantastic prospects?

Kieran Richardson

After a year at United’s academy, 2001/02, Richardson began making appearances for the first team in the 2002/03 season.

His best season came in 2005/06, when he made 36 first appearances. The following year, the last at United, he made 24.

Five seasons followed at Sunderland, two apiece at Fulham and Aston Villa.

His final season came at Cardiff where he made just six appearances.

At his peak, Richardson won eight appearances for England and scored twice.

Danny Pugh

Despite Ferguson’s name, the defender and midfielder have only made seven appearances for United’s first team.

In 2004 he switched to rival Leeds – who was in the league by then – and spent two seasons there before moving to Preston North End.

Impressive in Deepdale, Pugh was captured by Stoke and has been in their books for five seasons, including playing in the Premier League.

A comeback to Leeds in the league followed, as did spells at Sheffield Wednesday, Coventry City, Bury, Blackpool and finally Port Vale.

Pugh is still at Vale today after taking up a managerial position.

John O’Shea

One of the most successful names on this list. O’Shea certainly played his part at United.

The coach spent 12 years as a senior at Old Trafford, only being loaned out twice in the beginning.

The Irishman made 393 appearances for United, scoring 15 goals, including a delicious chip against Arsenal.

O’Shea has won five Premier League titles, one FA Cup and one Champions League at United.

He also recorded 118 appearances for the Republic of Ireland.

Seven seasons followed at Sunderland before retiring to Reading where he is now head coach.

Paul Tierney

Winner of the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year award in 2001/02, things did not go as planned for Paul Tierney.

After making zero Premier League appearances for United and three loan spells at Crewe, Colchester and Bradford City, Tierney was released in 2005.

Tierney spent time in Livingston, Blackpool and Stockport, never making a good impression.

His last playing spell was against non-league side Altrincham, but it lasted less than a month.

Michael Stewart

Stewart spent between 1997 and 2005 on the books of Manchester United, making eight league appearances.

The midfielder had periods on loan at Nottingham Forest and Hearts before making a permanent move to the Hibernian.

Stewart had better luck in Scotland, making 54 league appearances at Easter Road before moving on to rivals Hearts.

Three full seasons of 87 appearances followed when he left the club with my mutual consent in 2010.

A switch to Genclerbirligi’s Turkish side followed but an injury hit Stewart in January, citing the club had not honored his contract.

Stewart spent his final season at Charlton, making eight appearances.

He has won four appearances in Scotland.

After playing, Stewart appeared as a columnist a few times, but was suspended by BBC Scotland earlier this year following comments he had made about the Rangers media officer.

Luke Chadwick

Chadwick made 39 appearances in all competitions for United between 1999 and 2004 before moving to West Ham.

The midfielder was promising, playing 22 times in the 2000/01 season alone. He just couldn’t solve it.

Stages in Stoke, Norwich, six seasons at MK Dons and two at Cambridge United followed.

He hung up his boots in 2015 and stayed at Cambridge as a coach.

Recently, Chadwick spoke about the abuses he suffered as a player on his appearance.

“They abused me simply because of my looks,” she said. “It was tough. It made me feel really sad about myself.”

Darren Fletcher

It rivals O’Shea as the most esteemed name on this list. With 342 appearances between 2002 and 2015, Fletcher won five Premier League titles, one FA Cup, one League Cup and one Champions League.

Unfortunately, ulcerative colitis interrupted his final years at Old Trafford.

The Scotsman spent two and a half seasons in West Brom and two more in Stoke before hanging up his boots.

He also made 80 appearances for Scotland.

Fletcher is now often seen as an expert alongside Rio Ferdinand and Paul Scholes.