Sir Alex Ferguson Era - Part 2

Sir Alex Ferguson Era - Part 2

The era of 1995-2000 was a remarkable 5 year spell from Ferguson, which put Manchester United on top of the world again as the world's best club. During this period Alex Ferguson became Sir Alex after his treble success in 1999. The early start of 1995 is where the emergence of 'Fergie's Fledglings' came from due to the young players that came from the academy to play in the first team. This included the Neville's, Beckham, Scholes and Butt. The main reason for Ferguson turning to these youngsters was due to the club selling a few major players and then failing to replace them. Ferguson achieved a League and FA Cup double in the 95-96 season, a season which started off by Alan Hanson saying, "You can't win anything with kids." Cantona returned from suspension in October 1995 and helped lead Manchester United's relatively young squad to League success and a FA Cup victory against Liverpool. After this success it seemed Ferguson's eyes began to turn to the European Cup and trying to win a trophy which United had not won since 1968. Ferguson achieved another League title in the 96-97 season, which was the 4th in 5 years for United. Ferguson and United reached the semi-final stage of the European Cup but lost to Borussia Dortmund, who went on to win the competition. Solskjaer and Johnsen were the major signings that season. At the end of the 96-97 season Eric Cantona retired and was replaced by Teddy Sheringham. Ferguson finished 2nd to Arsenal in the 97-98 season after having a 11 point lead at one stage. Before the start of the 98-99 season Ferguson made two signings, Jaap Stam from PSV for £10.75m and Dwight Yorke from Aston Villa for £12.6m. The famous 98-99 season is known for the treble win; which was the 5th time ever a club had achieved it and the 4th time in Europe. United's final loss of that season came in December where Alex Ferguson missed the game due to a bereavement. Ferguson and United won their first of three trophies after a 2-0 win against Newcastle in the FA Cup. Ferguson then regained the title to make that two trophies in space of a few weeks. The final game of Ferguson's and Manchester United's season was against Bayern Munich in the Champions League Final at the Nou Camp on Sir Matt Busby's birthday. United scored twice in added time to win the Champions League Final 2-1 and the illustrious treble. Ferguson famously said after the game and still 14 years later is still remembered. He said "I can't believe it. I can't believe it. Football, bloody hell. But they never gave in and that's what won it." The 99-00 season wasn't as successful as the previous but Ferguson did pick up two trophies. United retained the league title and won the Intercontinental Cup. After Peter Schmeichel retired Ferguson replaced him with two goalkeepers, Mark Bosnich from Aston Villa and Massimo Taibi from Venezia.

The next 5 years 2000-2005 were mainly known for retirement and rebuilding for Ferguson and United. Before the start of the 00-01 season Sir Alex addressed the goalkeeper problem and signed Fabian Barthez from Monaco for £7.8m and Ruud van Nistelrooy from PSV for £19m. United won the league this season and which was the 3rd time in a row. In May 2001 due to problems with the board Sir Alex said he would step down, but weeks later he solved these problems. Before the start of 01-02 season there were big signings and exits by Ferguson. Jaap Stam was sold to Lazio for £16m, which Ferguson later claimed was his worst ever mistake. Ferguson signed Juan Sebastian Veron from Lazio for £28.1m and Laurent Blanc from Inter Milan. Ferguson announced that at the end of the 01-02 season he would retire, hoping it would help his team push on to more success that season. Ferguson finished 3rd in the league and ended trophyless that season. Before the 02-03 season Ferguson signed Rio Ferdinand from Leeds United for £30m. Ferguson won his and United's 8th Premier League title this year. Ferguson and United won 10 of their last 11 games meaning they came back from being 8 points behind. Before the 03-04 season Ferguson signed three players Eric Djemba-Djemba, Jose Kleberson and Cristiano Ronaldo. Djemba-Djemba and Kleberson were largely disappointing throughout the season. Ferguson was highly confident in signing Ronaldinho but due to Peter Kenyon the deal fell through and therefore United signed Ronaldo. United won their 11th FA Cup this season but finished 3rd in the league which summed up a disappointing season; Louis Saha signed in the January transfer window of the season. The 04-05 season was a trophyless season for United which was largely disappointing for Ferguson and the club. They signed teenage Wayne Rooney from Everton for £30m and Gabriel Heinze. Ferguson lost on penalties to Arsenal in the FA Cup final and finished 3rd in the league.