Phil Marsh: ‘Fergie was class after car crash derailed my Man Utd career’

The last thing Phil Marsh remembers before tightly shutting his eyes was a car racing towards him. When he woke up, he realised that paramedics were trying to cut him free from the wreckage of his team-mate’s Honda Civic.

Just 17 at the time, Marsh was highly thought of at Manchester United – but he was terrified his career was over before it had even begun.

The weeks and months that followed were tough, although they were helped by visits from Roy Keane and Sir Alex Ferguson.

Marsh, fully recovered both physically and mentally, went on to make his United first-team debut two and a half years later, against Crewe Alexandra in the League Cup, but that was to prove his only taste of senior action with the Reds.

He lined up alongside Alan Smith and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in a 2-1 win at Crewe in October 2006. Eight months later, however, his contract was up and he was released.

But Marsh was just thankful he had survived that night in January 2004, having been a passenger in Callum Flanagan’s car.

Flanagan and team-mate Mads Timm were involved in a 40-mile-an-hour chase with each other near United’s training complex at Carrington when the former lost control of his vehicle and hit an oncoming car.

Still can’t believe I actually survived this horrific car crash and lived to tell the tale…17 years old on my way home from football training to being air lifted in a great place with great people around me nowblessed to still be here and making the most of it cheers x pic.twitter.com/CkqEHvi55l

— Phil Marsh (@marshy2o) March 8, 2022

Marsh says: “We went ’round the corner fast and the back end spun out, and I remember a car coming towards us. I just shut my eyes and I blacked out.

“The next thing I remembered was the air ambulance