'When the seagulls follow the trawler, it's because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea. Thank you very much.'
Eric Cantona
Eric Cantona is probably the only footballer that actually could be compared to Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Born in Paris, he played for numerous French clubs before he eventually won the league title with Olympique Marseille and later the cup with Montpellier. The Gallic goal-getter then made a surprise move to Leeds United where he helped the Yorkshire club win the First Division Championship for the first time since the 1973-74 season. To the utter despair of the Leeds United faithful Eric Cantona was put on the transfer list and sold to Manchester United for the relatively modest fee of 1.2 million pound in November 1992.
Eric Cantona was a highly gifted player who worked in tandem with Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson to fill up the trophy cabinet at Old Trafford. The Frenchman is often seen as having played a major role in the revitalisation of Manchester United and he formed a warm and close relationship with the legendary gaffer during his stay at the Theatre of Dreams. Evidently, Cantona was one of the most impressive players ever to represent Manchester United and his impact on the club was truly immense and cannot be underrated.
The France international proved to be such a great player that the majority of Manchester United fans thought that he never could be replaced. The fearless forward played 175 matches and scored 79 goals for Manchester United before he surprisingly decided to make an early retreat from the game in 1997. Always possessing the creative imperative, Eric Cantona would make perfomances that most modern day poets could only dream to emulate. A man of many talents, he also shared the same interest in seabirds as Samuel Taylor Coleridge.