Six Premier Leagues, two League Cups, one FA Cup, a World Club Cup, a European Cup not to mention getting to four Cup Finals we didn’t win and the 3 Charity/Community Shields.

A decade in which we have seen three “different” United sides with two of those being the most successful in the clubs history, a decade which saw the rising stars of the 90′s consolidate their place in the clubs’ and football history as some of the best ever to play the game as well as a new crop of world beaters.

We Manchester United fans have been truly spoiled over the last generation, making a review of the last ten years something of a double edged sword. Too many fantastic moments to mention; and plenty of controversy to get your teeth stuck into.

As we pass the first decade of the new century, Stretford-End.com casts a fond eye over a golden period for the club and asks you to help pick winners from various categories.

In this blog we’ll concentrate on what we feel were the best games; if you feel we’ve missed one out, please feel free to add your suggestions.

Performances

25/2/2001 – Arsenal (H) 6-1

Having dominated the league for the previous 2 seasons and galloping away in the current one, there was no doubt that Manchester United were the better team of the real contenders for the league title, but just to make sure that even the staunchest Gunner had to concede it, the Champions dismantled Arsene Wenger’s men with the most thrilling half of football in Premier League history.

Out of favour Dwight Yorke was recalled for this fixture that was billed as Arsenal’s (and anyone’s, for that matter) last chance to win the title even as early as this, and he opened the scoring within 2 minutes – Arsenal levelled through Henry but this was a false dawn as United relentlessly destroyed their London opponents. Inside the first quarter of the game Yorke had completed his hat-trick, soon after setting up Keane, and Solskjaer’s clever finish made the scoreline a staggering 5-1 at half time. Somewhat predictably United eased off in the second half but there was still a cherry on the icing to come in the form of sub Sheringham sweeping home in the last minute. In terms of Championship messages no other side has ever handed such a dressing down to a rival and this was the final hurrah of a wonderful United side that went on to claim a third successive Championship.

29/9/2001 – Tottenham 5-3

Dean Richards, Les Ferdinand and Christian Ziege. Three players whose goals for the home club have somehow got lost in history – Richards got the ball rolling on his debut for Spurs who promptly went on to smash into a 3-0 lead before half time. Even at this though the renewed determination in the second half from the visitors seemed to indicate an inevitable fightback and Spurs succumbed to this – Cole, Blanc and van Nistelrooy scored the goals that restored parity before Veron gave the Champions the lead. David Beckham’s late goal put the seal on the game to provide the gloss and suggest that just as United had produced the best ever first half in the Premier League a few months earlier in the above game, they had done the same for the second half.

23/4/2003 – Real Madrid 4-3

Having suffered a first leg thrashing in Madrid United responded the only way they knew how, all out fearless attack. It’s not often that the Red Devils come up against a side as potentially kamikaze as themselves but Real fielded 5 attack minded players with Salgado and Carlos as full backs and even made attacking substitutions!

It’s less often still that an opposition player performs so well that they get a standing ovation from the entirety of Old Trafford but Ronaldo (the Brazilian one) scored a devestating hat-trick to put Madrid ahead on 3 different occasions, with the third goal an absolute beauty to all but end United’s hopes, and when he was replaced ten minutes after grabbing that third, all of the stadium rose to applaud. David Beckham came on and levelled things with a brilliant free kick before grabbing a winner (on the night) right at the death as United valiantly but ultimately in vain attempted to progress.

1/2/2005 Arsenal 4-2

This was something of the completion of a trilogy. The on-pitch haranguing as Arsenal failed to control themselves in autumn 2003, and the on-pitch repreive of van Nistelrooy to end Arsenal’s record unbeaten run and the subsequent off pitch haranguing as Arsenal failed to control themselves in autumn 2004 had lead us nicely to this Feburary evening – neither side ever really looked like challenging for the title as Chelsea had bought point after point but there was something more at stake here. If you’ve ever seen the Rocky films you’ll know what I mean when I liken this to the end scene of Rocky III, where Apollo and the title star go at it one last time with nothing really on the line.

Of course, however, the pleasantries in that circumstance were not replicated or exchanged between Wenger and Ferguson who used the media to build the game up.

United had been labelled as bruisers who can’t play football; Arsenal, as always, were portrayed as angels who played wonderful untouchable football and were always dignified in defeat. The previous games unpleasantries had made for an almost immediate 3 month long build up for the return fixture and the fireworks were spitting before kick off after Vieira had attempted to confront Neville and ended up running away from Roy Keane in the tunnel. Could the game actually live up to the hype?

Yes, and spectacularly so. Vieira gave his side an early lead, this was cancelled out by Giggs whose shot took a bit of a deflection. Bergkamp restored the advantage but United slowly began to impose themselves, taking control of the game masterfully, much to the chagrin of the Arsenal players who began to behave like the enfant terribles United fans always knew them to be. Vieira was seemingly determined to make himself the villain and he spectacularly attempted to get Rooney sent off. Unpeturbed by the shenanigans, United swept into the lead with a brilliant Ronaldo double before Silvestre was sent off for headbutting Ljungberg. Looking back, we’d all have done the same. Could Arsenal have the last laugh? That was left to the rampaging substitute O’Shea to finish a swift counter attack with a sensational chip in the dying moments, followed by the iconic “did I do that, yes I did” celebration. Just as in 2001, Arsenal fans were left with the grim reality that for all their pre-match posturing that they were the supreme force, they had just been given an on pitch presentation to the contrary. You’ll notice in a later entry that this became a recurring theme throughout the decade.

10/4/07 Roma 7-1

Every once in a while you get a football game that just reflects perfection. Every player playing to the peak of his ability and combining to deliver the perfect game of football. Roma in April 2007 was just that – having lost 2-1 in Italy in the first leg, United fans were just hopeful they could turn it round.

The 8 goals that followed were all brilliantly constructed and taken; with Neville, Evra and Vidic all unable to start the home side were faced with a crisis of recent proportions and were playing an unfamiliar 4-2-3-1 with Fletcher at right back and O’Shea partnering Carrick as “sitting” midfielders. Not that Carrick did much sitting, getting the game off to an explosive start clipping a 25 yard drive in the top corner. Moments later and a “blink and you’ll miss it” counter attack featured Carrick, Heinze and Giggs whose perfectly weighted through ball was smashed home by Smith. Hardly time to catch your breath before Rooney made it three before 20 minutes, scoring via a post from Giggs’ cross. Cristiano Ronaldo scored before and after the half time break and then Carrick treated the Stretford End to a goal almost as good as his first.

Daniele De Rossi scored a cracking goal in an attempt to salvage some pride, but Evra made it a magnificent seven with a shot from the edge of the area. I could write about this game forever but perhaps the Guardian described it best when they labelled it “a performance beyond superlatives”.

5/5/09 Arsenal 3-1

In keeping with the earlier Arsenal entries; this game was billed as one for the purists. United were domestic, European and World Champions, boasted the best player in the world, the PFA Player of the Year and a record breaking defence. Arsenal had several talented but over hyped youngsters who hadn’t won anything but had one heck of a reputation.

A reputation built up before the game by Wenger who had declared his side would win. A reputation that took little more than an hour to expose as nothing more than a media elevated myth. With a Champions League Final place at stake the tie was finely balanced – Arsenal had already been battered in the first leg but somehow escaped with only a 1-0 deficit.

A cruel twist of fate struck young Arsenal full back Keiran Gibbs who fell victim to the groundstaff’s watering of the pitch in an attempt to benefit a passing game. It did, but to the horror of the home supporters, a harsh reality was panning out. Anderson’s incisive pass was pulled back by Ronaldo, Gibbs slipped, Park reacted and United had an 8th minute away goal. 3 minutes later and it was game over – a free kick fully 40 yards out would seem an impossible task for most but Ronaldo stepped up and bulleted it past Almunia. Some blame for the keeper; most of the credit should however go to the taker.

The gloss was added with one of the best goals in the competitions history that in a nutshell illustrated the true gulf in class between the two sides. Ronaldo started a counter attack from a corner, finding Park, who fed Rooney wide left. Rooney raced and then weighted the perfect pass for the arriving Ronaldo who despatched a brilliant drive into the top corner.

There was still time for Darren Fletcher to get harshly sent off for a supposed foul on the clearly always sportsmanlike Fabregas, thus being suspended for the final. van Persie scored the penalty but it was insignificant in the bigger picture as United not only progressed but had demonstrated to the world who were the real deal and who were the pretenders.

20/9/09 Manchester City 4-3

Sir Alex called it the greatest derby of all time and with that kind of billing how could we possibly leave it out of a list of this nature? You won’t need telling; particularly due to it’s recency; but City had spent big over the year. Making the British record signing who regularly seems to disappear, spending over £200m on some of the games more likeable characters such as Craig “golf club” Bellamy, Gareth “I need to play Champions League football” Barry and Emmanuel “Why don’t you love me?” Adebayor, not to forget showing all of their class with sky high billboards of one of their new recruits celebrating. A goal. Scored for United.

Ben Foster started for Edwin van der Sar, Rio Ferdinand played despite being clearly short of any kind of fitness while a little known English striker called Michael Owen was on the bench.

Wayne Rooney got the game off to a flier with a goal in the first few minutes; Barry equalised after Tevez capitalised on a blunder from Foster. The first half had set the platform and the second half was almost a thrill a minute. Ryan Giggs’ cross was headed in by Fletcher but within minutes an exceptional Bellamy shot from 20 yards gave Foster no chance and made it 2-2. United’s previous goalscoring combination worked again as Fletcher headed in Giggs’ free kick. As the game entered it’s latter stages however City looked to have snatched a point – Ferdinand’s woeful attempt at, well, whatever it was he tried, failed, and Bellamy nicked in to race the full length of the United half. Foster in goal hesitated then came, proving that indecision was final, and the equaliser seemed to have been the final act of this compelling script.

It wasn’t, of course. In the 6th or 7th minute of stoppage time Ryan Giggs turned provider again, this time brilliantly finding Michael Owen who had crept into some space and steered the ball unerringly past Given to create the most unlikely of stories. There was still enough time for City to mount an attack; they didn’t score and inevitably blamed the amount of time added on for their defeat, nonetheless United had put City back in their box after all the early season bleating.

Goals

Scholes v Bradford, 2000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JReo8IqtSm8

Scholes v Boro, 2000

Scholes v Panathinkaikos, 2000

Scholes v Villa, 2006

Scholes v Barcelona, 2008

Ronaldo v Portsmouth, 2008

Ronaldo v Porto, 2009

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqpbMHc5XVU

Ronaldo v Arsenal, 2009

Rooney v Newcastle, 2005

Rooney v Boro, 2006

Rooney v Portsmouth, 2007

van Nistelrooy v Fulham, 2003

Beckham v Man City, 2001

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGLHqh5Iigg

So there you have it! Our take on the best of the noughties. We will be doing a special blog on the player of the noughties in the next two days.

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Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs has added another trophy to his bulging cabinet after being awarded the BBC Sports Personality of the Year for 2009.Giggs finished ahead of Jenson Button in second and Jessica Ennis in third despite entering the running as a 20-1 outsider (some bookies were offering 66-1 a few weeks ago).

The Welsh winger who is the most decorated player in the history of the English game accepted the award with typical humility, reminding his children that they had to go to school the next day! Giggs has enjoyed something of a rebirth in what is supposed to be the twilight of his career as he won the Premier League, Carling Cup and played in the Champions League Final, broke 800 appearances for the club and has undoubtedly been the star performer for the team in the calender year.

Giggs has won eleven Premier League titles, Two European Cups, Four FA Cups, Two League Cups and a whole host of other trophies. He is an amazing servant to our club and the national sport. A role model for kids wishing to becoming professional footballers. His dedication to his talent, physique and passion for our club is a tribute to him as a man. We now all await the knighthood….

Below are a list of Giggsy greatest goals over the years. We’d love to hear from you on what Giggsy goal/moment you always think of.

1. 1992/93

Spurs @ White Hart Lane – Giggs collects the ball, dances past one challenge, then nutmegs the next defender, rounds the goalkeeper, and despite the tightest of angles, finds the net with a great finish.

2. 1992/93

Blackburn @ Old Trafford – as the United faithful basked in the glory of their title triumph after a 26 year wait, Giggs’ great 30 yard free kick restored parity from Rovers’ shock lead.

3. 1993/94

QPR @ Loftus Road – Perhaps the goal that started to make serious work of the comparisons between Giggs and George Best (and indeed, the goal which prompted Best to say “they might start calling me the old Ryan Giggs!”), the winger made effortless work of four despairing challenges at pace before switching direction and clipping the ball past the keeper.

4. 1995/96

Chelsea @ Stamford Bridge – an oft-forgotten goal, Giggs span Steve Clarke repeatedly in different directions before stabbing the ball home.

5. 1995/96

Manchester City @ Maine Road – Classic moment in Manchester derby history as Keith Curle invited Giggsy to strike for about 5 yards, Giggs finally did from the edge of the area, defying all that were watching to find the top corner with a stinging drive.

6. 1997/98

Juventus @ Old Trafford – After a couple of years of European anti-climax against perennial yardstick Juventus, Ryan Giggs burst through the Juventus defence to smash home a goal that secured United’s victory, and more than that, finally re-established the confidence of the home side among the major European players.

7. 1998/99

Arsenal @ Villa Park – In keeping with Giggs’ era defining goals is arguably the greatest goal ever scored – as much for the way in which it inspired a Manchester United side battling with their opponents for what could have been generation defining as it was for the amazing ability required to score it. Do you need reminding that he ran 60 yards, skinning the best defence in Europe, before smashing the goal past England great David Seaman? Probably not. Do you need reminding that Giggs started the game on the bench due to his dodgy hamstrings and that Fergie’s instructions upon Ryan collecting the ball were “run to the corner”? Probably. It seems a bit unfair to the rest of the goals that this one is in the collection, so if you like, discard this one from your choice.

8. 2000/2001

Bradford @ Valley Parade – Another astonishingly underrated strike. Had an Arsenal or Liverpool player scored it you may never have heard the end of it, but anyway – Giggs picks up a high ball with instant control, gives the defender twisted blood (see what I did?) and drills in via the near post. Pure class, pure genius.

9. 2001/2002

Deportivo @ Old Trafford – In my previous blog regarding our number 11 I did describe this as “fewer sights in football are as great as seeing Giggs put defenders on their arse”. Dribbling in from the right, he slots in with his left at the near post. With, of course, the obligatory arse-placed defender.

2002/03

10. Juventus @ Delle Alpi – Maybe equally as significant for the fact that Giggs was facing criticsm from United fans for the first time after a glaring miss against Arsenal in the Cup, he came on to race past two challenges and screw past Buffon with his right foot from 18 yards, pointed to his name on the shirt, silencing the doubters.

2004/05

11. Chelsea @ Old Trafford – Probably in the bigger picture the most meaningless goal of the selection seeing as it came in a 2-1 home defeat in the League Cup, this really classy flick with the outside of the left boot over Cech gave everyone a clear reminder of Giggs’ unparalelled technical ability.

2005/06

12. Birmingham @ Old Trafford – Ryan picks up a pass from Ferdinand, ‘megs the defender, one-two’s with Rooney then races behind the defence to drive home.

2008/09

13. West Ham @ Upton Park – Fellow veteran Scholes drives out a 30 yards pass which Giggs instantly controls, then races into the area, beating two men before driving home with his right foot. At the age of 35, Giggs shows that there are still few players capable of his level of effortless brilliance.

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Unsurprisingly, Wayne Rooney is our player of the month for August. While Cristiano Ronaldo settles in with his £80m price tag, conversely it is on Rooney’s shoulders that this £80m responsibility has been shifted to – the task of becoming less sidekick and more leading light comes with extra pressure when the terms “world player of the year” and “most expensive player ever” are bandied about.

There are plenty of United fans however who always believed Rooney to be the brains of the operation, the true heartbeat of the side. And, naturally, Rooney has blossomed under the spotlight of expectation with a thundering 5 goals in his first 5 games.

His average rating of 7.6 for the 5 games (including the Community Shield) is heavily weighed down by the collective team shambles at Turf Moor – in all other games we’ve ranked him at least 8 / 10, and Man of the Match on three occasions.

While his new club striker team mate Michael Owen may have sent a brochure around in the summer illustrating his talents, United’s number 10 has done his talking on the pitch – painting himself as last minute saviour, the man to dig the team out of a sticky situation, chief orchestrator of an on song display, and the man for the big occasion all in one month.

It’s fair to say that a great deal of United’s trophy aspirations lie with Rooney – and if he continues to perform in such a manner, Sir Alex’s troops may well have some medals come the end of the season.

Goal of the month : Dimitar Berbatov v Wigan

In a great team performance, this goal was the perfect snapshot – clever link up with Scholes and Rooney finding the Bulgarian who exquisitely controlled the ball over the keeper and finished emphatically.

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As we approach 2009 there is much to reflect on over the past year – which for me personally has been truly amazing. Having got married and had a superb stag do in Newcastle (not in that order) it was left up to Ryan Giggs and Edwin Van der Sar to make the month of May the best time of my life.

So, still being on a high from this monumental season, I want to take a look back at the moments and people that made this year so special in the history of Manchester United. From the despair of losing 2-1 to Chelsea in late April to the hysteria of beating them in May and even to the last gasp Nemanja Vidic goal against Sunderland recently – its been an amazing year!

Player of the year – Rio Ferdinand

Most other websites and blogs would give it to Ronaldo hands down and in terms of performance and importance to the side – he does win hands down. However, his immaturity and total disregard for the club in the summer means that I just can’t give the award to the lad. I’m sure i’ll get criticised immensely for not placing him as my number one man but I just can’t after his role in the summer transfer to Real Madrid. Ever since I first set eyes on Ronaldo, I knew the boy had it all – he just now needs to be a tad more humble – which may come in time. However, my player of 2008 at United is Rio Ferdinand.

Ferdinand, in my eyes, in the best defender in Europe from both a physical point of view and also technical point of view. Rio is happy to bring the ball out of defense and join in with play going forward. He is also extremely quick in identifying danger – whereas when he was younger he would have used his pace and strength to cover for the movement of top strikers – he has now added this to his armory.

Ferdinand has found, in Nemanja Vidic, a defender who complements him superbly – although in terms of heading the ball out of danger – Ferdinand has again improved immensely. I always felt that Rio played very well against faster players who where technically gifted rather than against target men such as Drogba or Ferguson. You now feel confident that Rio can marshal any top forward from around Europe and he has come a long way from the ‘Rio sign the deal’ days.

Game of season – Manchester United 1-0 Barcelona

It was written in the stars that United would get to Moscow and having to overcome, quite possibly, the best passing team in Europe, without Wayne Rooney, was a monumental achievement. We witnessed one of the great goals scored at Old Trafford by Paul Scholes and you could hear the spirits of Juventus in 99 quietly diminishing as he struck the shot past Valdes. As we all know Scholes missed the final in 99 and it was so satisfying to see him rocket us to the final and Fergie declare that he was to be the first name on the teamsheet.

It was such a tense night – with the Manchester crowd in full flow and we got to the final after some nerve wracking final minutes. A Barcelona goal would have put us out and destroy the dream of the Double – however thanks to Scholes it just was meant to be that United would make the final!

Other superb performances include that first half in Moscow, the 4-0 drumming of Arsenal, the 6-0 victory over Newcastle United, the 3-0 victory over Liverpool and recently the 2-0 victory over Blackburn Rovers.

Goal of the season – Ronaldo freekick against Portsmouth

Quite literally, jaw dropping technique used to get the ball over the wall and into the top left hand corner (of David James) of the net. Breathtaking strike, which really cannot be downplayed – this goal deserves all the superlatives it received and will do for a long time. The freekick, I believe, had the same impact on football that the Roberto Carlos freekick had a decade and a half earlier when he scored against France in 1997. Ronaldo proved that he could score goals with his head, left foot, right foot, one on one, outside the box and from set pieces. Glorious goal.

Other goals worth mentioning are the Owen Hargreaves freekick against Arsenal in the 2-1 victory in April, Ronaldo’s goal against Roma in Rome, Scholes’ goal against Barcelona at Old Trafford and Danny Welbeck at Old Trafford against Stoke City.

Conclusion to an amazing season

So there you have it! Stretford-end.com’s pick of 2008 from a quite brilliant year. Noticeable mention for Jonny Evans who has been brilliant this season and I think he will go on to become a top class centre half.

Also a mention for the man of the year – Sir Alex Ferguson – couldn’t be anyone else could it? He has shown that he is a true genius that will go down as the greatest manager to have worked in England. He has evolved with the changes demanded by modern day football – a process that nearly every other manager fails with. Sir Alex is a legend of the game and legend of Old Trafford. Remember the crap the media where spouting around 2004/05/06 about that he had ‘lost it’ and that ‘United need to get rid of him to move forward’? Well done Fergie.
Do you agree with our selections? Do you disagree at all? Please state – i’m sure the player of season will rattle some people.

Other than that – have a great New Year and have a great night out tomorrow!

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2008 has been an amazing year for the club, the manager and the players that played such an epic part in the double winning year.  However, World Soccer magazine has announced that Cristiano Ronaldo is their World Player of the year, Sir Alex Ferguson is World manager of the year whilst Spain are given the award of team of the year for their exploits at the European Championships this summer.

Maybe a tad biased but surely United should have been awarded this?  Yes it is a democracy and people can vote for who they want – but surely a season long campaign outweighs a brilliant summer performance?  I would be fine with Spain winning the award and considered the best team of 2008, after all I thought they were a joy to watch and proved that you can have four very technical players operating in the midfield and it was certainly a victory for possession football, but they won with nearly half the votes!  I would argue it should have been much closer than that!

Anyhow – here are the votes and who won what.  A mention for young Anderson who featured in the young player of the year award – as soon as he gets that first goal they’ll be flying in!

World Player of the Year 

1. Cristiano Ronaldo 48.4%
2. Lionel Messi 15.1
3. Fernando Torres 13.6%
4. Iker Casillas 5.7%
5. Xavi 5.1%
6. David Villa 2.1%
7. Andrei Arshavin 1.4%
8. Marcos Senna 0.7%
9. Franck Ribery 0.6%
10. Zlatan Ibrahimovic 0.5%
11. Others 6.8%

World Manager of the year

1. Sir Alex Ferguson 37.8%
   
2. Luis Aragones 28.8%
3. Dick Advocaat 17.1%
4. Hassan Shehata 3.5%
5. Guus Hiddink 2.8%
6. Cesare Prandelli 1.4%
7. Faith Terim 1.2%
8. Muricy Ramalho 0.9%
9. Phil Brown 0.8%
10. Roberto Mancini 0.5%
11. Others 5.2%

Team of the year

1. Spain 41.1%
2. Manchester United 29.2%
3. Zenit St Petersburg 9.1%
4. LDU Quito 5.8%
5. Egypt 4.4%
6. CFR Cluj 1.2%
7. Argentina 1.1%
8. Hoffenheim 0.9%
9. Russia 0.8%
10. Anorthosis Famagusta 0.6%
11. Other 5.8%

Young Player of year

1. Lionel Messi 44.2%
2. Sergio Aguero 20.1%
3. Karim Benzema 10.2%
4. Cesc Fabregas 5.3%
5. Anderson 2.8%
6. Pato 2.1%
7. Bojan Krkic 1.4%
8. Theo Walcott 1.1%
9. Sebastian Giovinco 0.9%
10. Carlos Vela 0.6%
11. Others 11.3%

So there you have it!  The World Soccer player of the year awards place United as the 2nd best team of 2008 with Ronaldo and Fergie top in their categories.  Was pleased to see exciting youngsters such as Aguero and Benzema in the young player of the year awards and I think that Aguero has a bright, bright future ahead of him…..considering he will soon have Diego Maradona as his father in law!

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United players in the top 100:

(1) Ronaldo

(9) Ferdinand

(24) Rooney

(34) Vidic

(37) Berbatov

(40) Evra

(48) Tevez

(95) Scholes

You may or may not agree with the players included or you may not entirely agree with the list but it does make some great viewing and gets a good debate going. For instance accordingly to the list Ballack is a better player than Rooney, Terry is a better defender than Vidic and Mascherano is apparently more important than Berbatov, Tevez and Scholes. What do you think of the players included? Do you think other players such as Anderson and Carrick should be included? I will try and get the rest of the list later on.  For the record, Chelsea have 12 players in the list, Arsenal 4 and Liverpool 3 – a bit like the European awards where Cech, Terry and Lampard won the best awards for their positions!

You can have your say on the list from their football blog.

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