Chris Turner On Manchester United, Sheffield Wednesday And Ron Atkinson | OneFootball

“Well, yeah, I mean, when you’re starting out on a footballing career—which you hope is as long as possible—the early years are crucial. Getting into the team at 17, when I look back, was unbelievable, really. At the time, you don’t fully realise it, but to be playing in the first team in the old Third Division as a goalkeeper was tough.

“My first season, I played 45 out of 46 games and, as you say, I won Young Player of the Year and Player of the Year—great achievements. But it was a good schooling. In those days, goalkeepers were physically targeted every week—corners, free kicks, everything. You had to grow up quickly and withstand a lot of challenges that simply wouldn’t happen today.”

After your time at Sheffield Wednesday, including a loan spell at Lincoln, you moved to Sunderland, where you played a key role in their League Cup final run, defeating teams like Nottingham Forest, Tottenham, and Chelsea. That journey reflected the club’s progress—how did your experience at Sunderland compare to your time at Sheffield Wednesday?

“Sunderland were in League Two; Wednesday were in League Three. The ultimate goal was to get to League One. I went to Sunderland, and it was a fantastic club. I had never been to Sunderland in my life before signing at 19 or 20. I ended up staying for five or six seasons. It was a great time—great club, great fans, a massive club.

“Roker Park was a tremendous stadium to play at, especially for midweek cup ties and league games. In my first season, we won promotion. My first game for Sunderland, officially, was playing in the Wearside League for the reserves at a place called Murton, while the first team played at Roker Park in front of 28,000 fans. I was playing in front of a man and his dog that day. But by the end of the season, we were playing West Ham at Roker Park in front of 47,000 fans, with thousands locked outside, as we needed a draw to get promoted. We won 2-0.

”My first season was unbelievable—getting promoted to the top league in my first year under Ken Knighton, who had been my youth team coach at Sheffield Wednesday. It was a dream come true. I was competing with Barry Siddall, a top-class goalkeeper, and I got my opportunity, playing three-quarters of the season in the first team.”

You talked about the success of promotion, but what was the League Cup run to get to Wembley like?

“The first round was a doubleheader against Crystal Palace. We won at home 1-0 and got a 0-0 draw away. Then we drew Nottingham Forest—0-0 away and won 1-0 at Roker Park.

“Next, we faced Tottenham. After a 0-0 draw at home, we won 2-1 at White Hart Lane, where I saved a late penalty to keep the score at 2-1. Then we played Watford away, who had never lost a cup tie at Vicarage Road under Graham Taylor. After a postponed first game, we won 1-0 in the rescheduled match.

“The biggest challenge was Chelsea in a two-legged semi-final, but we beat them home and away. We played Norwich the week before the final in the league and beat them 3-1 at Carrow Road. Unfortunately, the final itself was a bit of a damp squib—we lost 1-0 to a deflected goal. People forget we missed a penalty in the last 15 minutes; Clive Walker hit the post. If that had gone in, who knows?

“Every young boy or girl dreams of playing at Wembley. The opportunity was unbelievable for all of us. We weren’t doing great in the league, but the cup was our escape, and we had a great run.”

“Running out at Wembley in front of 100,000 fans was an incredible experience. Not many players get to do that. The elite players do it regularly, but for the average professional, it’s a rare achievement. Even though we lost, it was fantastic.

“For me personally, the cup run was fantastic because every game was highlighted on TV, and my performances against Tottenham, Watford, and Chelsea were highly praised. That ultimately led to my move to Manchester United.”

”I was delighted to receive the call especially when it was the chairman, Martin Edwards who contacted me. He rang me, and I went to Old Trafford to sign. While I was in Edwards’ office, Big Ron called from Marbella. He was on his sunbed with a glass of champagne, toasting the signing. His words were, ‘If you play for us as well as you have against us, you’ll have a great opportunity at Old Trafford.’

”I didn’t see Ron until the first day of pre-season in July. It was a thrill. I could have stayed at Sunderland—financially, there wasn’t a huge difference—but it was the opportunity to play for the biggest club in England. It was something I couldn’t turn down.”

When you arrived, you were training with players like Norman Whiteside, Paul McGrath, Bryan Robson, Mark Hughes, and Frank Stapleton. How did you feel stepping into that dressing room?

“These were players I had faced twice a season, and you had to be at your best to compete against them. When you’re at Manchester United, you realise the pressure they are under every game.

“In terms of personalities, there wasn’t a huge difference from my previous clubs—the difference was in quality. But they were great people, very welcoming, and made me feel at home straight away.

“Now, you were training and playing with them. In all fairness, there wasn’t a lot of difference in terms of character and personality between the players. The difference was in quality—Manchester United players were obviously top-notch in the country at the time. But as players and as people, they were fantastic to train with, play with, and be associated with.

“There was never a sense of ‘I’m an international, you’re not.’ When a new player joined the squad, they made you feel welcome. I felt at home straight away in the first week of training.

“My very first session was actually quite funny. Big Ron said to me and Gary Bailey to pick two teams—eight versus eight, nine versus nine, whatever the numbers were. I was picking your regulars—Norman Whiteside, Paul McGrath, Bryan Robson, Kevin Moran, Arthur Albiston—those sorts of players. And Gary was picking the younger players at the time—Mark Hughes, Clayton Blackmore, and a number of others.

“Well, they absolutely wiped the floor with us. After the game, Gary said, “Well, that’s the first thing you’ve learned at the club, Chris. On Mondays, don’t pick those players, because after a game on Saturday, those boys have had a heavy weekend out, so they don’t train particularly well on Mondays.” That was an eye-opener, to say the least.”

Manchester United is a club that players around the world dream of representing, and you’ve had the privilege of doing so over 50 times. Looking back, what are the standout moments from your time at the club?

“I take great pride in saying that even today, people refer to me as an ex-Manchester United goalkeeper. That title carries a lot of weight.

“Every time you played, it was in front of big crowds, home or away. The expectations and pressure were enormous. I remember we lost our first game of the season 1-0 at a full-house Highbury. Charlie Nicholas scored in about the 85th minute. The next day, the papers were full of headlines like ‘Man United won’t challenge this season,’ ‘Man United not up to it.’

“We had lost one game—our first fixture—away to a good Arsenal side, by a late goal! But that was the expectation placed on you as a Manchester United player. You had to be at your best every Saturday.

“That’s why, when Manchester United started winning trophies, the excellence they displayed week in, week out, was unbelievable—formidable.”

“I was fortunate to play under two top-class managers: Ron Atkinson and Sir Alex Ferguson. Being around the club gave me great experience and confidence when I started my coaching and managerial career.”

“Very different. Big Ron was what you’d call a player’s manager. He made training enjoyable—he even joined in! He still thought he was the scheming central defender he used to be at Oxford.

“He took great pride in playing with the lads and made us feel special. His team talks focused on us more than the opposition. He made us believe we were a great side.

“At the time, Liverpool were the dominant force. His team had a good go at challenging them and were unfortunate not to win the title one season when we really should have.

“Then Sir Alex came in, and he was totally different. He had a coach, Archie Knox, who ran the training sessions. Alex would come out for 15-20 minutes, walk around, chat with players individually, then go back down to The Cliff.

“His methods were built on power, demands, and a mentality of ‘We are Manchester United, we don’t get beaten.’ He was driven. You could see it in everything he did.

”He had done an unbelievable job in Scotland, breaking up the Rangers-Celtic dominance with Aberdeen, which was unheard of. Then he came to England to wrestle the league title away from Liverpool, and although it took him four or five years, he eventually did it.

“Totally different management styles, but both winners.”

“Yes, we did. We had confidence in ourselves. We were playing great football in the Second Division and were top of the league.

“We had already beaten strong First Division sides like Coventry and Chelsea in previous rounds. Manchester United were a top side, but at that time, they hadn’t won anything under Ferguson yet. They had a European final coming up against Barcelona, so we felt we had a chance.

“Ron took us away to Bisham Abbey for a few days to train and relax. He made us feel like we were going to win.

“On the day, we nullified their strengths. Lee Sharpe was tearing teams apart that season, but we shut him down. We took the lead and, apart from a great chance Brian McClair had that I saved, we kept them quiet.”

Finally, Chris, upon retirement, you managed Hartlepool, Sheffield Wednesday, and Stockport. How did management compare to playing?

“I enjoyed it. I spent years coaching at Leicester and Wolves, working with players like Emile Heskey, Robbie Keane, Jand oleon Lescott.

“Then, at Hartlepool, they were always in the bottom three. I turned them into a team that made the playoffs three years in a row and left them 12 points clear at the top of League Two.

“Management is different from playing, but I loved building teams and helping young players become professionals.”