Mike Phelan demonstrates why Manchester United will now go on to win the League Championship: Alex Ferguson has built a squad to fight on all fronts.
They were without Bryan Robson but still found the man to steer them to victory.
Mike Phelan came in as replacement and stayed to become the midfield trigger for Wembley glory. As manager Alex Ferguson told me later "Mike Phelan did a great job in midfield.
"He has not played many games this season and he came in cold, but performed brilliantly. it tells you what is inside the man. He is a player's favourite. He understands the game and kept his discipline marvellously."
Fergie's Tribute
"Nottingham Forest have to be given as much credit as us because there was not a lot in it. They have had a lot of football lately and it perhaps made the difference.
They missed Stuart Pearce and I think they missed him more than we missed our captain Bryan Robson, because we have a squad to handle that kind of blow.
It's difficult for me to say whether it was a good game, but there were certainly some pretty patterns of play.
We were certainly at full stretch in the last few minutes when Forest went for it and forced players forward
Their quick throw-ins almost caught us and there were a few scraps on the edge of our box.
In the main, though, I thought we defended well because if you follow the ball against Forest you can easily get stretched. In fact, if we hadn't performed today we would have been thrashed.
Brain McClair was made man of the match by the sponsors, but I thought our midfield was strong and showed the necessary patience. It was the springboard for our success.
Last year when we lost in the Rumbelows final against Sheffield Wednesday, we were far too complacent. We had one eye on the next round in Europe and thought we could win without losing any sweat. This time we went for it and it made the difference."
