He would soon find out. In the 38th minute of the match that Saturday, the young Manchester United striker latched onto a misplaced back pass and drove the ball past Schmeichel from 25 yards. “Phenomenal,” cooed George Best. It was Healy’s fifth goal in six internationals and within two months he would make his Premiership debut. He never suspected then that obscurity would return to feature heavily in his future.
A week and a half ago, the day after Preston had earned their most impressive win of the season at Birmingham City in the Worthington Cup, Healy went to the gym for a work-out. The players had been given the day off, but unfortunately for 23-year-old Healy, without a goal for Northern Ireland in his