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Your team's favourite five matches

Tom Halsey

Well-known member
I think mine would all be very predictable tbh.

Man Utd 2-1 Arsenal (AET) 98/99 FA Cup Semi Final Replay

I don't often go back and watch games in their entirety, and when I do I usually remember why I don't do it, but this is the one exception. A game that got uncommonly near to justifying the cliché "it had everything", we dominated for the first part yet it suddenly became a case of hanging on after Bergkamp's deflected equaliser and Keane's sending off. A disallowed Anelka goal (it took Elleray about 30 seconds to notice the linesman's flag and the Arsenal players even longer) and a stoppage-time penalty save from Schmeichel got us to extra time, where it is hard to overstate the attack vs defence nature of it. Schmeichel injured himself denying Bergkamp again but had little choice to play on what with us having used all 3 subs and being down to 10 men. Then came the Giggs goal, which really was wonderful, and 10 more minutes of frantic defending before the relief of the final whistle. My favourite old game by streets.

Juventus 2-3 Man Utd, European Cup Semi Final 2nd Leg, 98/99

Only a week on from the previous game, probably our best European performance in my lifetime. Played a Juventus side (attempting to reach their fifth European final in a row) off the park in Turin after somewhat unfortunately going 2-0 down early on. We seemed to draw Juventus every year around this time and we'd only beaten them once, also needing a stoppage time equaliser from Giggs (not entirely merited, either) to draw the first leg. I recall them calling this the greatest European comeback of all-time after the match. Until...

Man Utd 2-1 Bayern Munich, European Cup Final, 98/99

Obviously. In truth only in here because of stoppage time, the first 85 minutes really were very poor and we were lucky only to be a goal down going into the final five minutes. For some reason at this point Bayern stopped playing and we finally started, creating chances for fun, putting two of them away in the nick of time to seal the Treble. I don't know for how much longer we'll be able to say we're the only English club to do it, but we'll always be the first and I doubt any of the other clubs from other nations to complete the Treble have done it quite so dramatically. There were so many moments, not just in the above three matches, where it could have gone wrong and so nearly did.

Everton 2-4 Man Utd, 06/07

Four years without a title (it seemed ages at the time!) and it looked like we were about to blow it. A transitional side blossomed in the first half of the season, but in the second half nerves began to show and Chelsea started reeling us in. With four matches left, we were three points clear but when Everton went 2-0 up it looked like being cut to nothing, as Chelsea took the lead at home to Bolton. But a second-half comeback (complete with own goal from agent Neville, P.) combined with a late Kevin Davies equaliser at Stamford Bridge instead moved us five clear with three left and the brink of the title. Probably the most I've enjoyed a title other than 1999.

Man Utd 1-0 Barcelona, European Cup Semi Final 2nd Leg, 07/08

The most nervous I've ever been watching a football match. The game itself wasn't great (save for a superb winner from Scholes) but the feeling of euphoria on the final whistle is something that I've not experienced since after a football match. We had the better of the chances but Xavi and Iniesta's mastery of possession was already well established by this point and they did spend a lot of time camped around our 18 yard box. Henry missed a golden chance about 5 minutes from the end that would have taken them through on away goals, but he headed straight at VDS from inside the six yard box and we made it to Moscow. Us winning the final was obviously very enjoyable, and Terry's penalty miss was one of the great schadenfreude moments, but for sheer nervous energy it didn't match the semi-final. Not sure why really.

EDIT: I forgot I had written that they would all be predictable before then going on to select the Everton game.
 

Tom Halsey

Well-known member
5) Man Utd 0 Arsenal 1 97/98 Premier League

Most football fans live in a protective cocoon of pessimism. Yes, we'd beaten United 3-2 at Highbury earlier in the season but after Blackburn had turned us over 3-1 at the dear old marble halls near Xmas Fergie's boys had something like a 13 point advantage.

I think one of the major bookmakers had even paid out on United winning the title and they were something like 1/8 to retain it before this game, holding a nine point lead as they did (albeit with the Arse having games in hand).

We played United off the park that day, Adams and Keown looked imperial at the back and we probably should've won more comfortably. But 11 minutes from time Overmars latched onto an Anelka flick and coolly dispatched it into Schmeichel sr's bottom corner.

It was only then I allowed myself to believe and we actually secured the titled with a couple of games to spare and then duly completed the double in Arsene's first full season.

Good times.


This would definitely make my five least favourite ftr. Probably the most impressive reeling in by a team chasing a runaway leader that I can think of, especially in the Prem era.
 

Uppercut

Well-known member
Haha I don’t remember Arsenal being comfortably better at all, hence all the Manniger heroics, but 8-year-old me wore extremely United-tinted glasses.

Halsey covered the ones from ‘99 but leaving out the Chelsea final is madness. I’d round it off with the 4-3 derby where Owen scored the winner. Not sure I’ve ever celebrated a goal so hard.
 

GIMH

Norwood's on Fire
You saying that makes me think I should have put the 3-2 against Chester in mine


You see what I mean
 

sledger

Spanish_Vicente
This would definitely make my five least favourite ftr. Probably the most impressive reeling in by a team chasing a runaway leader that I can think of, especially in the Prem era.
5 least favourite matches probably a good idea for another thread tbh.
 

Uppercut

Well-known member
5 favourite matches not involving your team imo. Such fond memories of Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink sinking Arsenal in the penultimate game of '99.
 

Lillian Thomson

Well-known member
That Arsenal 1-0 win against Manure with the Overmars goal was most memorable for the deranged Arsenal fan that the TV cameras focused on at the end. I love football, but he was so ecstatic he really was in danger of having a fit.
 

wpdavid

Well-known member
This would definitely make my five least favourite ftr. Probably the most impressive reeling in by a team chasing a runaway leader that I can think of, especially in the Prem era.
Your lot vs Newcastle in 1995/96 worth a shout, surely?
 

wpdavid

Well-known member
5 favourite matches not involving your team imo. Such fond memories of Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink sinking Arsenal in the penultimate game of '99.
My all time favourite match not involving my team was probably at Old Trafford actually. but way before your time. I'll see if I can think of four others.
 

GIMH

Norwood's on Fire
5 favourite matches not involving your team imo. Such fond memories of Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink sinking Arsenal in the penultimate game of '99.
That game where Arshavin scored 4 against Liverpool, would have been 09 I think. 4-4 draw. Probably the best match I've watched as a neutral.
 

sledger

Spanish_Vicente
That game where Arshavin scored 4 against Liverpool, would have been 09 I think. 4-4 draw. Probably the best match I've watched as a neutral.
Haha ah yeah that was ace. Shame Fabianski was absolutely arse in that game really.
 

Tom Halsey

Well-known member
Your lot vs Newcastle in 1995/96 worth a shout, surely?
Probably second in the Prem era but whilst it was an extremely impressive achievement, I don't think it was quite as unlikely as the Arsenal one a couple of years later.

I think I'm right in saying that Newcastle only ever reached 12 points clear while we had two games in hand, and I don't think Newcastle had looked 12 points superior to us in the first half of the season anyway. I'm going off memory but I don't think either of these were the case in 1998, where we were further clear and looked far stronger than any of the chasing teams had in the first half of the season. And tbh if you'd said to someone at the start of 1998 that we wouldn't win the league they'd probably have thought that it'd have been Chelsea, Liverpool or even Blackburn to overhaul us rather than Arsenal.
 

sledger

Spanish_Vicente
Yeah, Arsenal's run to the end of the season following Xmas 1997 was absolutely blistering. Even more impressive than the invincibles season in some ways, where the last quarter of the season was basically phoned in with the foot off the gas.
 

dontcloseyoureyes

BARNES OUT
I’d round it off with the 4-3 derby where Owen scored the winner. Not sure I’ve ever celebrated a goal so hard.
This will probably make you extremely happy so I will share.

I was escorted out of an establishment after that winner because I threw a bar-stool about 20 meters into a group of tables and was calling Michael Owen a "dirty ****ing ****" extreeeeeemly loudly.

I did pretty much the same thing in the same establishment when Scholes scored the very late winner at the Etihad later in the season (or was it early in the next season? can't remember). Wasn't punted for that one though, manager on duty was a Blue from Manchester :laugh:
 

Uppercut

Well-known member
This will probably make you extremely happy so I will share.

I was escorted out of an establishment after that winner because I threw a bar-stool about 20 meters into a group of tables and was calling Michael Owen a "dirty ****ing ****" extreeeeeemly loudly.

I did pretty much the same thing in the same establishment when Scholes scored the very late winner at the Etihad later in the season (or was it early in the next season? can't remember). Wasn't punted for that one though, manager on duty was a Blue from Manchester :laugh:
:laugh: one reason I celebrated so hard is because the City fans where I was watching had been such dicks when celebrating Bellamy's equaliser. Chucking their drinks everywhere, really getting in people's faces.

I never much cared about City before or since but it was pretty intense when I lived in Manchester. If it makes you happy in return I was still living there for the Aguero goal.
 

wpdavid

Well-known member
Probably second in the Prem era but whilst it was an extremely impressive achievement, I don't think it was quite as unlikely as the Arsenal one a couple of years later.

I think I'm right in saying that Newcastle only ever reached 12 points clear while we had two games in hand, and I don't think Newcastle had looked 12 points superior to us in the first half of the season anyway. I'm going off memory but I don't think either of these were the case in 1998, where we were further clear and looked far stronger than any of the chasing teams had in the first half of the season. And tbh if you'd said to someone at the start of 1998 that we wouldn't win the league they'd probably have thought that it'd have been Chelsea, Liverpool or even Blackburn to overhaul us rather than Arsenal.

You'll remember far more about these seasons than I will. Without checking, was it 1995/96 when you lost at Villa in August and Hansen made his 'never win anything with kids' comment on MOTD? Other than that, all I remember is Keegan's meltdown, you winning 1-0 at Newcastle and Keegan messing up a good team by shoe-horning Asprilla into it. All of which is a lot more than I can remember about 1997-98. I'm afraid the Man Utd/Arsenal/Chelsea years tend to merge into one for me.
 

BoyBrumby

Englishman
I've largely blocked it out for reasons of mental wellbeing, but 2002/03 was quite a big squeak from us. We were 8 points ahead going into March, but then lost at Blackburn, turned leads into draws at Villa and the Trotters and finally ran up the white flag at home to Leeds (who'd been flirting the relegation all season), going down 3-2 in the penultimate game.

United just kept ****ing winning. Think we may even have been the only team to take points off them from March to the end of the season when we held them 2-2 at Highbury (after being ahead 2-1, obvz).
 
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