about Man Utd in the 90s till now. for those soccer(esp Man Utd)
fans, hehe, enjoy!!
i started watching (and playing) in primary 2. of coz i dunno the
names nor the teams. but 1 dark rainy morning in primary 3, we were
stuck at the canteen b4 assembly since we couldnt play on the
basketball court. my fren introduced me to this loser club called
Manchester United. those days, everybody were Liverpool fans since
they enjoyed great success with ray clemence, ian rush, phil
thompson, alan hansen, kenny daglish, kevin keegan, john barnes,
john toshack and dunno who else la, winning 4 European Cups.
Manchester United was not that popular but i soon began to like
this club. it juz won the European Cup Winners Cup in 90-91(pri 2),
beating Barcelona(with Ronald Koeman and Michael Laudrup) 2-1.
dennis irwin, gary pallister, steve bruce, bryan robson, paul ince,
lee sharpe, mark hughes(2 goals) and brian mcclair became familiar
names. however, they lost the league title to Leeds United in
91-92(pri 3). i was just a little sad only cos i wasnt a die-hard
fan yet. furthermore, this was the season 18 yr old Ryan Giggs
emerged, winning the PFA young player of the year award. the welsh
wing wizard became 1 of my most fave players and if u din know, i
have a jersey in his name... of coz, all Man Utd fans know they
bought Eric Cantona(the guy who won the title for Leeds the
previous season) in nov 92 for 1.2 million pounds and the rest, as
they say, is history. won the League Cup over Nottingham Forest
with McClair scoring; champions in 92-93(pri 4: did not get into
EM1 cos i watched too much soccer) in the 1st Premier League
season, and 1st title since 1967. Giggs won the young player of the
year award again. at the end of the season, they paid an English
record fee of £3.75 million for Nottingham Forest's 22 yr old Irish
midfielder Roy Keane. Alex Ferguson saw Keane as a long-term
replacement for the ageing Bryan Robson, who would remain at Old
Trafford for one more season before leaving to become
player-manager of Middlesbrough. Man Utd won the double (league and
FA Cup) in 93-94(pri 5), leading the Premier League table almost
the whole season and winning by 7 points over Blackburn. thrashed
Chelsea 4-0 in the FA Cup final at Wembley with Cantona scoring 2
penalties and McClair scoring 1. Cantona scored 25 goals in all
competitions and won the PFA player of the year award. however,
they lost the League Cup final to Aston Villa.
sadly, the legendary ex-manager and president Matt Busby, died on
20 Jan 94. he was the guy who won the 1st European Cup for Man Utd
in 1968 as manager. they beat Benfica(with Eusebio) 4-1 with Bobby
Charlton(2 goals), Denis Law, Brian Kidd(1) and of coz, George
Best(1) to become the 1st English team to win the European Cup. in
94-95(pri 6) Eric Cantona was banned for 8 months and ordered to
serve 120 hours of community service for kicking a Crystal Palace
supporter who had taunted him after being sent off in a January
fixture at Selhurst Park. its the 1st of many stunts by Man Utd
players. Man Utd was also without players like Paul Parker, Giggs
and Andrei Kanchelskis for long periods of time due to injury. on a
brighter note, they broke the English transfer record again by
paying £7million for Newcastle United's free-scoring striker Andy
Cole, signed just 2 weeks before the Cantona incident as an
eventual replacement for Mark Hughes, but with Cantona suspended it
was Hughes who ended up being Cole's partner for the rest of the
season. dumb right? Man Utd thrashed Ipswich 9-0 in March with
Cole(5 goals), Keane, Ince and Hughes(2) scoring. they almost made
it 3 Premiership titles in a row, but just couldn't get the better
of West Ham United who held them to a 1-1 away draw on the final
day of the season. i watched the fucking match and Andy Cole
couldnt score a 1-on-1 in the 80+ min!!! the disappointment was
made all the more frustrating because champions Blackburn Rovers
(with the SAS power combination of Alan Shearer and Chris
Sutton)had lost their final game of the season to Liverpool (the
former club of manager Kenny Dalglish) and a victory for United
would have seen Alex Ferguson's side win the title. The FA Cup also
slipped out of United's grasp when they lost 1-0 to unfancied
Everton in the final at Wembley. WTF??!! This left Man Utd without
a major trophy for the first time since 1989.
haha damn long right? anyway in 95-96(sec 1) Man Utd sold their 3
star players: Paul Ince to Inter Milan for £8 million, Mark Hughes
to Chelsea for £1.5 million and Andrei Kanchelskis to Everton - for
a combined fee of £14million. Alex Ferguson was expected to splash
out a large sum of money on a world class player; Roberto Baggio,
Marc Overmars, Darren Anderton, David Platt (who had been a Man Utd
youth player in the mid 1980s) and Paul Gascoigne (who had snubbed
the club in favour of Tottenham Hotspurs in 198
were
all linked with moves to Man Utd. But Man Utd began the season
without a major signing and a side made up of young players (later
called Fergie's Fledgings) like David Beckham (20), Gary Neville
(20), Philip Neville (1, Paul
Scholes (21) and Nicky Butt (20) lost 3-1 at Aston Villa on the
opening day of the season. i felt disappointed esp after the
previous season's loss to Blackburn. many pundits wrote Man
United's title chances off and expected big spending clubs like
Newcastle, Liverpool and Arsenal to win the season's honours. Alan
Hansen's assessment "you can't win the League with kids" on Match
Of The Day proved the most infamous. Alex Ferguson was defiant of
the critics, and following the return of Eric Cantona in early
October, Man Utd went into overdrive. they chased Newcastle United
for the top-of-the-table position and didn't give up hope even when
trailing Kevin Keegan's side by 10 points at Christmas. they
finally went top of the Premiership in mid-March, shortly after
beating Newcastle at St James' Park, and their title success was
confirmed with a 3-0 away win at Bryan Robson's Middlesbrough on
the final day of the season. a week later United beat Liverpool 1-0
in the FA Cup final to become the first ever English club to win
the league title/FA Cup double twice (called the Double Double).
Eric Cantona, who scored 19 goals in 95-96 (including the FA Cup
final winner), was voted Footballer of the Year by football
journalists who were impressed at the way he had returned from his
8 month suspension. Cantona was made team captain following the
departure of veteran Steve Bruce to Birmingham City on a free
transfer. this was 1 of the sweetest seasons as a Man Utd
supporter. i really admire Ferguson's guts, sticking with young
players and his never-give-up attitude when 10 points behind
Newcastle. thats the reason i like this club alot.
in 96-97(sec 2), Manchester United won their fourth Premiership
title in five seasons, with little-known Norwegian striker Ole
Gunnar Solskjær forcing his way into the side after his £1.5
million move from Molde F.K. and scoring 19 goals in all
competitions. the supersub has come!! Giggs, Beckham (he scored
THAT wonder goal from the halfway line(60 yards) against Wimbledon
in the League on the opening day)and Gary Neville all had an
impressive season while Cantona and Andy Cole both fell below their
expected standards. there was disappointment in the Champions
League as they demolished FC Porto 4-0 on aggregate before falling
in the semi-finals to eventual winners Borussia Dortmund. sigh this
is the beginning of disappointment in the Champions League; aiming
high now since they are the Premier League winners so consistently.
the club's most expensive acquisition in the summer of 1996 had
been Karel Poborský, the 23-year-old Czech winger signed from
Slavia Prague for £3.5 million. but he was unable to claim the
right-wing position from the brilliant young David Beckham and
eventually moved to Benfica. a flop la basically. at the end of the
season, Eric Cantona sent shock waves throughout the footballing
world by announcing his retirement from football just a few days
before his 31st birthday. Cantona explained his relatively early
retirement by saying that he wanted to retire while still at his
peak, and not wallow away into mediocrity. i was so sad and
disappointed but i admire his attitude. this way, all fans will
remember him at his peak (as i do now) and that he left when he won
the League for Man Utd. sigh that time i din have $$ to buy his
jersey.... and im regretting i din buy the Cantona Nike tee when i
was in KL in July 2005... he was replaced by the respected England
international Teddy Sheringham, a £3.5 million signing from
Tottenham who was initially disappointing but would later start to
repay his fee in style. and what style sia!! after a bitter sweet
season, the 97-98(sec 3) season saw Manchester United overhauled by
Arsenal (by 1 fucking point!!) in the Premiership and finish
empty-handed for only the second time in the 1990's. Arsenal won
the FA Cup to complete the double. shortly after this
disappointment, Alex Ferguson went on a spending spree of £28.35
million (twice breaking the club's transfer record) by signing
Dutch defender Jaap Stam(£10.5 million) from PSV, Trinidadian
striker Dwight Yorke(£12.6 million) from Aston Villa and Swedish
winger Jesper Blomqvist from Parma. he was determined to avoid
disappointment in 98-99, although even he could surely not have
predicted just how successful United would be.
the 98-99(sec 4) season started poorly with a 3-0 defeat to Arsenal
in the Charity Shield (who cares?), but Man Utd improved as the
season went on. Ole Gunnar Solskjær scored 4 goals in 10 mins as
Man Utd thrashed Nottingham Forest 8-1 in an away League game in
Feb. they were unbeaten in any competition from December 1998 until
the end of the season. the Andy Cole-Dwight Yorke combination was
lethal this season, securing many matches. in April 1999, they met
Arsenal in what was the last ever, and is commonly regarded as the
greatest ever, FA Cup semi-final replay. Beckham had scored a
nicely taken goal from outside the penalty area(25 yards) in the
18th min and Arsenal had equalised through Bergkamp in the 68th.
they were playing with only ten men after captain Roy Keane was
sent off and Peter Schmeichel brilliantly saved a 90th minute
penalty kick by Dennis Bergkamp(superb save!). Ryan Giggs scored
the winning goal in extra time with a breathtaking run, beating 5
or 6 players from the half way line, followed by a spectacular
goal, ramming it at the roof of the net over the keeper. Man Utd
followed this victory up with a legendary comeback victory against
Juventus(3-2), inspired by captain Roy Keane with a header, to book
their place in the Champions League final. The League was then
clinched at home to Tottenham (2-0)in United's final match of the
competition. They then won the FA Cup with a 2-0 win over
Newcastle, before the trip to Barcelona's Nou Camp to face Bayern
Munich in the final of the Champions League, on the day which would
have been Sir Matt Busby's 90th birthday. The dream season and i
was so afraid it would end on a sour note in the final of the
tournament which Man Utd had tasted the most disappointment. Bayern
Munich scored from an early 4th min Mario Basler free-kick(yucks!
the horror!) and Man Utd fought the rest of the game to no avail.
At 90 minutes, with the fourth official signalling 4 minutes of
injury time, they won a corner and pulled out all the stops, even
sending up goalie Peter Schmeichel, who, with Roy Keane suspended,
was serving as captain in his last ever appearance for the club.
Bayern Munich were in shock as Teddy Sheringham squeezed in the
equaliser. Less than a minute later, they won another corner and
Ole Gunnar Solskjær won it all with a goal to send the Man Utd fans
into delirium and cap off an incredible comeback. Manchester United
became the first English team to win the Premiership/FA
Cup/Champions League treble. That summer, Alex Ferguson was awarded
a knighthood for his contribution to United's success. wow i really
shouted after seeing the goal go in. call it a tyco victory, but
its a win nevertheless. i bought the season review vcd even! just
to watch this incredible story again when i felt like it. really
the season of dreams in the Theatre of Dreams. i still remember
Sammy Kuffour crying; and feeling so disappointed in the 89th
minute when Man Utd seemed to be losing the final. so close and yet
so far!! again, i loved their fighting spirit and never-give-up
attitude. never had i been so in love with Man Utd.
of coz, after reaching the summit, things always go downhill. Man
Utd won the League the next 2 seasons (99-00(18 points over
Arsenal) & 00-01(10 points over Arsenal) during JC) but failed
to win the Champions League again. meanwhile, Liverpool won the
lousy treble (the FA Cup(Owen scoring 2 in the last 8 mins to knock
out Arsenal 2-1), League Cup and UEFA Cup). disappointment was felt
but it got worse when Arsenal won the League in 01-02 (and FA Cup
to complete the Double Double; Man Utd finished 3rd behind
Liverpool). Man Utd won in 02-03 (5 points over Arsenal) with a
great fightback after trailing by as much as 12 points and i
thought there was hope, only to see it disappear when Arsenal won
again in 03-04, going undefeated the whole season with Thierry
Henry unbeatable. Man Utd finished 3rd again behind Chelsea, but
won the FA Cup though, thrashing Millwall 3-0, with van Nistelrooy
scoring 2 and Ronaldo 1. Chelsea won the league(and League Cup)
last season (04-05) with their Russian-oil sponsored team and Man
Utd finished 3rd again behind Arsenal. Liverpool amazingly beat
Chelsea in the semis and won the Champions League final against
Milan while trailing 0-3 at half-time for their 5th win overall.
Man Utd lost the FA Cup final against Arsenal on penalties when
Scholes missed the 2nd one. Im absolutely gutted. i feel Man Utd no
longer has the hunger to win and has been in decline for the past
few years. hope they can fight Chelsea better this season and allow
me to dream again.... this has been a super duper long entry, most
of it lifted from the Net(of coz la!! u think i remember
everything??)
