THE NOUGHTIES - UNITEDS DECADE: 1999/2000
Out of nowhere the decade is coming to an end, so over the next few weeks – cunningly, until the end of the decade – I’ll be looking back at the past 10 seasons: the good, the bads, the shit signings and the memorable occasions. Noughties*, we loved you…
(*seriously, does anyone actually call them ‘the Noughties’?)
1999/2000: The Season After…
1998/99 was the greatest season in the club’s history, so it was pretty inevitable that words such as ‘disappointment’ and ‘anti-climax’ were going to be attached to the following season. Still, we completely dominated in the league – scoring 97 goals, receiving our highest ever points total for a 38 game season and ending an amazing 18 points clear – however we failed to hold on to our other two trophies. We were knocked out of Europe by the eventual winners Madrid – drawing 0-0 at the Bernabeu then 2-3 in an epic OT encounter – and of course we weren’t even IN the FA cup. In other news, we used 4 keepers – Taibi of course the most memorable – in our endless attempt to replace Schmeichel, and Beckham shaved his hair.
Players In.
Bosnich
Fortune
Silvestre
Taibi
Top 4:
United – 91 points
Arsenal – 73
Leeds – 69
Liverpool – 67
Bottom 4:
Bradford City – 36
---------------------------------
Wimbledon – 33
Sheffield Wednesday – 31
Watford – 24
Goal. Beckham dribbles vs. Real (CL Quarter Final Second Leg at Old Trafford). Hands down my favourite EVER Beckham goal (About 2:10). In the league, a toss-up between Cole’s over-head against Leicester (9 seconds), Scholes's classic straight-from-the-corner volley against Bradford, and Beckham’s free-kick vs. West Ham at Old Trafford (55 seconds).
Player. Keano. I remember there was a lot of shit surrounding his contract negotiations, but he showed why he was offered £50k-a-week (ridiculous amounts back then…not even what Nani is paid now…); scoring 12 goals including 2 at Highbury and the winner in the Intercontinental Cup in Tokyo.
Remembered for?
Memorable away victories against our main title challengers: Arsenal (2-1) and Leeds (1-0), and impressive European nights at Old Trafford against Valencia (3-0) and Fiorentina (3-1).
Also winning the Intercontinental Cup in Tokyo; where Bosnich was robbed of the Toyota MOTM award (literally the MOTM prize was a car).
Also...this:
Best to forget…
The f**king Club World Championship. A pointless occasion that saw us not only fail miserably (losing 1, drawing 1 and winning 1; all against weaker opposition) however ashamedly pull-out of the FA cup. This was a decision that instantly vilified the club and brought the seeming realisation to the public (and mainly the media – highlighted by The Mirror’s ‘save the FA cup’ campaign) that United were corporate through and through…even though it was under the advice of the FA to do so in order to make England seem more ‘global’ in the face of the 2006 World Cup bid.
0-5 at the Bridge. The performance of Treble winners? Really??
(*seriously, does anyone actually call them ‘the Noughties’?)
1999/2000: The Season After…
1998/99 was the greatest season in the club’s history, so it was pretty inevitable that words such as ‘disappointment’ and ‘anti-climax’ were going to be attached to the following season. Still, we completely dominated in the league – scoring 97 goals, receiving our highest ever points total for a 38 game season and ending an amazing 18 points clear – however we failed to hold on to our other two trophies. We were knocked out of Europe by the eventual winners Madrid – drawing 0-0 at the Bernabeu then 2-3 in an epic OT encounter – and of course we weren’t even IN the FA cup. In other news, we used 4 keepers – Taibi of course the most memorable – in our endless attempt to replace Schmeichel, and Beckham shaved his hair.
Players In.
Bosnich
Fortune
Silvestre
Taibi
Top 4:
United – 91 pointsArsenal – 73
Leeds – 69
Liverpool – 67
Bottom 4:
Bradford City – 36
---------------------------------
Wimbledon – 33
Sheffield Wednesday – 31
Watford – 24
Goal. Beckham dribbles vs. Real (CL Quarter Final Second Leg at Old Trafford). Hands down my favourite EVER Beckham goal (About 2:10). In the league, a toss-up between Cole’s over-head against Leicester (9 seconds), Scholes's classic straight-from-the-corner volley against Bradford, and Beckham’s free-kick vs. West Ham at Old Trafford (55 seconds).
Player. Keano. I remember there was a lot of shit surrounding his contract negotiations, but he showed why he was offered £50k-a-week (ridiculous amounts back then…not even what Nani is paid now…); scoring 12 goals including 2 at Highbury and the winner in the Intercontinental Cup in Tokyo.
Remembered for?
Memorable away victories against our main title challengers: Arsenal (2-1) and Leeds (1-0), and impressive European nights at Old Trafford against Valencia (3-0) and Fiorentina (3-1).
Also winning the Intercontinental Cup in Tokyo; where Bosnich was robbed of the Toyota MOTM award (literally the MOTM prize was a car).
Also...this:
Best to forget…
The f**king Club World Championship. A pointless occasion that saw us not only fail miserably (losing 1, drawing 1 and winning 1; all against weaker opposition) however ashamedly pull-out of the FA cup. This was a decision that instantly vilified the club and brought the seeming realisation to the public (and mainly the media – highlighted by The Mirror’s ‘save the FA cup’ campaign) that United were corporate through and through…even though it was under the advice of the FA to do so in order to make England seem more ‘global’ in the face of the 2006 World Cup bid.
0-5 at the Bridge. The performance of Treble winners? Really??
No no one calls them the "naughties". It's actually the "noughties" num-nuts. You know because of the noughts.
ReplyDeleteyeh, but clearly I meant they're the 'naughties' cos ooooh they were so naughty...?
ReplyDeleteI'll change it now.