THE
STORY OF
MAn UTDey Yorkie, 27 games left – 27 more wins,
we’ve had an unbelievable season.” It
started as a light-hearted moment when
Peter Schmeichel said that to Dwight Yorke
after the FA Cup fourth-round win over
Liverpool. “It became our joke,” said the
great Dane. “Hey Yorkie, 26 games left – 26
more wins and we’ve had an unbelievable
season...” The it gets below 10 wins and
suddenly you’re “Wait a minute...”.
It all began in the summer of 1998. The
previous season a home defeat by Arsenal in
March followed by successive 1-1 draws at
Old Trafford against Newcastle United and
Liverpool in April had cost Manchester United
the league title by a single point. Alex
Ferguson decided, as ever, to refresh his
squad and signed Jaap Stam from PSV
Eindhoven (as pretty much a direct replacement for the departing
Gary Pallister), Swedish winger Jesper Blomqvist from Parma and
Dwight Yorke from Aston Villa. Villa hadn’t wanted to sell Yorke, but
the player pushed through a move. Ferguson always had in mind an
ideal model of four top strikers that he could rotate and rest as
necessary; now he had that.
Yorke brought goals galore, as expected, but more than that he
brought an unforgettable smile and a bubbly, infectious personality
that seemed to give the whole squad a lift after the narrow
disappointment of the previous season. David Gill, who at the time
was the finance director and later became one of the club’s classiest
and most astute chief executives, said, “At Manchester United,
[transfer business] is mostly about buying new players. We’re not
a selling club. The profile of Manchester United is such that every time
there’s a rumour about a top player considering a move, we are bound
to be mentioned. I’d be concerned if we weren’t involved because it
sends a message about the best clubs and their position in football.”
Despite Ferguson’s acquisitions the 1998–99 season didn’t start in
a particularly promising way – August saw draws with Leicester City
and West Ham United, while September brought a heavy 3-0 defeat
at Arsenal, which must have revived memories of the London club’s
double over United the previous season. Defeats by mid-table
Sheffield Wednesday (November) and Middlesbrough (at home in
December) did little to restore confidence, though in Europe United
were engaged in some fabulous matches.
Drawn in a tough-looking group with Bayern Munich and
Barcelona, United enjoyed two 3-3 draws with the Spanish giants. The
first game saw two Barça penalties, a red card for Nicky Butt and a
spectacular free kick from David Beckham. In the second game,
Barcelona, fielding an 18-year-old Xavi in midfield, went ahead in the
first minute, but United got themselves into the game and goals from
Yorke (2) and Cole – working a superb one-two with Yorke – meant a
hard-fought Nou Camp draw.
Those results were sufficient to end Barcelona’s interest in the
tournament before the final round of group matches, as they
lost both home and away to Bayern Munich. They didn’t assure
United’s progress, however, as in those days only the group winners
were guaranteed a place in the knockouts and United finished“
H
Above right
Strikers
supreme: Cole
and Yorke
parade the
Premier League
trophy around
Old Trafford
Right A sea of
United fans
come out to
celebrate the
treble winning
bus parade
Below Ole
Gunnar Solskjaer
scores the late,
late winner in
the Champions
League final
Bottom left A
beaming Paul
Scholes is
embraced by
Teddy
Sheringham
after scoring
United’s second
goal in the FA
Cup final82 The Story of Man Utd FourFourTwo.com