The 1994-95 season rarely saw Manchester United out of the headlines, although they were not always the sort of headlines the club wanted.
Cantona then became infamous for an incident that occurred on January 27, 1995. In an away match against Crystal Palace, he launched a 'kung-fu' style kick against an abusive Crystal Palace fan after being sent off by the referee. At a press conference called later, Cantona gave what is perhaps his most famous quote. As the journalists gathered to hear him speak, Cantona entered the room, sat down and said in a slow and deliberate manner;
"When the seagulls... follow the trawler... it's because they think...
sardines will be thrown... into the sea"
He then got up from his seat and left, leaving many of the assembled crowd bemused. He was sentenced to 120 hours of community service after an appeal court overturned a 2 week prison sentence for assault. He was also suspended by The Football Association until the following October.
There had been much speculation that Cantona would leave English football when his ban finished, but Alex Ferguson persuaded him to stay in Manchester and he was once again inspirational. United had sold several key players at the start of the season and replaced them with players from the club's youth team and, as in 1992, their prospects of winning the league were not looking good. Cantona scored a penalty against Liverpool in his first game after the ban, and his goals helped United to recapture the league having been ten points behind in December. He also scored the winning goal in that year's F.A. Cup final, making United the first team to win the double twice. On a brighter note, United broke the English transfer record again by paying £7million for Newcastle United's free-scoring striker Andy Cole. He had been signed just two 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. United almost made it three 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. The disappointment was made all the more frustrating because champions Blackburn 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. This left United without a major trophy for the first time since 1989.
The Double Double Before the 1995-96 season began, United announced the sale of three of their star players - Paul Ince to Inter Milan, Mark Hughes to Chelsea 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 United youth player in the mid 1980's) and Paul Gascoigne (who had snubbed the club in favour of Spurs in 1988) were all linked with moves to United. But United began the season without a major signing and a side made up of young players like David Beckham (20), Gary Neville (20), Philip Neville (18), Paul Scholes (21) and Nicky Butt (20) lost 3-1 at Aston Villa on the opening day of the season. Many pundits wrote United's title chances off and expected big spending clubs like Newcastle, Liverpool and Arsenal to win the season's honours. Alex Ferguson was defiant of the critics, and following the return of Eric Cantona in early October, United 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. United 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. Eric Cantona, who scored 19 goals in 1995-96 (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 suspension. Cantona was made team captain following the departure of veteran Steve Bruce to Birmingham City 1995-96 was one of the most successful seasons in the history of Manchester United, and the success was perhaps made even sweeter by the fact that so many people had written the club's chances off almost before the season began. | .More Success
Manchester United won their fourth Premiership title in five seasons in 1996-97, with little-known Norwegian striker Ole Gunnar Solskjær forcing his way into the side after his £1.5million move from Molde F.K. and scoring 19 goals in all competitions. Ryan Giggs, David Beckham and Gary Neville all had an impressive seasons while Eric Cantona and Andy Cole both fell below their expected standards.
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 £3.5million. But he was unable to claim the right-wing position from the brilliant young David Beckham and eventually moved to Benfica. 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. He was replaced by the respected England international Teddy Sheringham, a £3.5million signing from Tottenham who was initially disappointing but would later start to repay his fee in style. The 1997-98 season saw Manchester United overhauled by Arsenal in the Premiership and finish empty-handed for only the second time in the 1990's. 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 from PSV, Trinidadian striker Dwight Yorke from Aston Villa and Swedish winger Jesper Blomqvist from Parma. He was determined to avoid disappointment in 1998-99, although even he could surely not have predicted just how successful United would be. The Treble
Manchester United won their final game of the 1998-99 season to ensure that they, and not Arsenal, would be Premiership champions. A week later they completed a unique third English Premiership/FA Cup double by beating Newcastle United 2-0. Four days after the FA Cup success they took on Bayern Munich at the Nou Camp, Barcelona, in the final of the successor to the European Cup, the UEFA Champions League. Mario Basler's early strike appeared to have won it for the Germans as they led 1-0 after 90 minutes, but the referee allowed 3 minutes of stoppage time. Teddy Sheringham appeared to have forced extra time when he fired in an equaliser within the first minute of stoppage time, but Ole Gunnar Solskjær scored the winner and made history with the last kick of the game. Manchester United became the first English team to win the Premiership/FA Cup/Champions League treble. Alex Ferguson was later awarded a knighthood for his contribution to United's success. Into The New Millennium
The new millennium has seen Sir Alex Ferguson's side land more silverware, although they have faced some stiff competition off other teams - first Arsenal and now Chelsea.
Many players have come and gone. Since the 1999 treble success, Peter Schmeichel, Denis Irwin, Ronny Johnsen, David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Andy Cole, Teddy Sheringham, Jaap Stam and Dwight Yorke have all left to be replaced by a new generation of players including Tim Howard, Roy Carroll, Rio Ferdinand, Gabriel Heinze, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Wayne Rooney. Other expensive players like Fabien Barthez and Juan Sebastian Veron have arrived and left within the space of a few seasons.
United won the Premiership title in 1999-2000 with an 18-point margin over runners-up Arsenal and just three league defeats all season. They won their third successive title the following season, making United the fourth team to achieve that success and Sir Alex Ferguson the first manager to stay in charge of any team throughout a championship hat-trick.
United won another Premiership title in 2002-03, overhauling Arsenal to secure their eighth title in 11 seasons. Ferguson even described this success as his greatest achievement since becoming United manager in 1986.
But the sale of David Beckham and the suspension of Rio Ferdinand (for a total of 8 months, including the final 4 months of the season) sabotaged United's title challenge in 2003-04 and they finished third in the Premiership, which was won by unbeaten Arsenal. United were knocked out of the Champions League by eventual winners FC Porto and the League Cup by Aston Villa, but they salvaged some success by beating Millwall 3-0 in the FA Cup final.
To date, Sir Alex Ferguson is the most successful manager in English football. He has so far won eight Premiership titles, five FA Cups, one League Cup, one European Cup, one Cup Winners' Cup, one Intercontinental Cup and seven Charity/Community Shields (one shared) - 24 trophies in all. He had expressed a desire to continue in his job for a good few years yet, and there is surely more to come. He may even help United emulate Liverpool's record as winning the most trophies than any other English football club.
In 2004-05, Manchester United finished third in the Premiership - the third time in four seasons they have finished in that position. They were knocked out of the Champions League by AC Milan in the Second Round and the League Cup by Chelsea in the semifinal, and lost the FA Cup to Arsenal on May 21st. During the close-season, at least two major signings would be useful if United are to perform to the best of their ability in 2005-06. A title challenge should be their minimum target, as they have been realistic challengers in the league for the last 14 seasons. The European Cup should also be a priority, as they have yet to equal the success of 1968 and 1999.
|