REVIEW OF THE NOUGHTIES: 2001/02

2001/2002.

A strange old season, as although we won nothing (thus immediately considered a disappointment) at times we played amazing football and had many memorable and so-near-yet-so-far moments. Considering we only came 3^rd (especially rubbish as we spent £55million on Van Nistelrooy, Veron and Forlan to enhance our side) we managed to score an impressive 87 in the league – compared with 67 by 2^nd placed Liverpool and 79 by 1^st placed Arsenal. We did however concede a shocking 45 that season, and our deplorable home form saw us lose 6; with 9 defeats in total.

Other than Ruud, who became an instant hero with his prolific and record-breaking goalscoring (36 in all comps and a record 8 on the trot in the league), our other acquisitions were heavily scrutinised throughout the campaign. First came Blanc, who – at the tender age of 35 – was dubiously brought in to replace the iconic Stam; then Veron, who apparently struggled to slot into our already illustrious midfield and hence live up to the £28million price tag; and Forlan, who just wouldn’t score.




Blanc was the immediate scapegoat for our poor form in the first half of the season; with The Sun cunningly discovering that the first letters of the 5 teams we had lost to in the first few months – Bolton, Liverpool, Arsenal, Newcastle, Chelsea – spelt one thing. And then we lost to West Ham in early December, which f**ked that right up.

Barthez as well though, aka the best ‘keeper in the world, was horrendous in that first half; highlighted with his two blunders at home to Deportivo in the CL group stages that lost us the game 2-3, and a further two clangers away to Arsenal (1-3). Still, as everyone delighted in the seeming realisation that United were just not united anymore, we persevered to prove that that’s EXACTLY what we were and always will be. While the noise from the opposition camp was all in the same tune – one of glee at our demise – we went top in January and didn't actually surrender the title until the penultimate game. An overall poor season, but at times in 2001/02, we were simply unbelievable.




…in other news, Stam got shipped off to Lazio at the start of the season; something about his book, and Coley left in January after 7 seasons for Souness’s Blackburn. Also: Ferguson made a u-turn on his retirement plans; it’s the Barclaycard Premier League now, thank you very much; remember Beckham and his metatarsal?; and, unforgettably, 9/11.

Players In.

Van Nistelrooy

Veron

Blanc

Carroll

Forlan





Top 4: 

Arsenal – 87

Liverpool – 80

United – 77

Newcastle Utd – 71

Bottom 4:

Sunderland – 40

-------------------------------

Ipswich Town – 36

Derby County – 30

Leicester City – 28

Goal. Personally I think our goals of the season all came from the Champions League quarter final vs Deportivo. In the first leg, Beckham struck a beauty from distance (30 yards maybe? I haven't got a clue about yards); and at home, I always loved Solskjaer's second purely for Veron's ridiculous pass. Thirdly, Giggs's goal for his old-school and typically 'Giggs' solo play that's always rather delightful to see.

Player. Van Nistelrooy. 36 goals in a season. The highest total of any foreign player ever in his debut season. Welcome to England.

Remembered for?

5-3 vs. Tottenham (a). Possibly the greatest comeback in Premier League history. 3-0 down at half-time and out of it. But Beckham, Blanc, Cole, Van Nistelrooy and Veron helped turn a humiliating, out-of-sorts performance into an unbelievable display of spirit. Truly the stuff of Champions…shame we couldn’t maintain the football we played in those 45 minute all season.

Also, the 3^rd round Cup tie at Villa Park. Another amazing comeback (from 2-0 down on 54 minutes to winning 3-2) brought about scenes of old, as the crowd invaded the pitch at fulltime and Beckham was lofted high. Although not exactly the same impact as the semi-final win against Arsenal 3 years previous, still a highly memorable and inspiring Winters night nonetheless.

Best to forget…

More disappointment in Europe, as we were cruelly and undeservedly dumped out in the semis by Bayer Leverkusen on away goals. More embarrassing was the 2-0 defeat at the (empty) Riverside that saw us knocked out of the Cup. A shockingly poor defensive display – thanks largely to the performance of Larry White – was largely to blame as Boro knocked us out prematurely in the 4^th round. And of course, more embarrassing STILL was May 8th 2002: Arsenal win the title at Old Trafford.