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??)
so exp. 
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