For me it has been the camaraderie around camp. From the very first game to the very last, this team has shown a United Front that none of us could have imagined possible considering the shite at the WC, the squabbles last season and the fact a few things just didn't feel right for a while. Even in the goal celebrations you could see that this wasn't just a bunch of professionals working together, rather, it was a bunch of friends having a laugh whilst scoring a ton of goals. I think there's one thing that stood out more than anything else at Barcelona this season: those players are not playing with a smile on a face any longer. It reminds me of when Ronaldo was getting scolded the last few seasons for doing the wrong thing for the team - no a single soul has bollocked him all season for making mistakes and I think he has thrived in that environment. I also think it helped him to come out of his shell and express himself to the fullest. The second thing I've really appreciated this season is the effort of the 'little guys' I give O'Shea a lot of stick and have given the likes of Smith, Park, Heinze etc a harsh word or two for whatever reason, but the effort and commitment they've all put in (barring Louis and KR) has been incredible. As a squad we've been absolutely maximised this season. Every single player played a sizeable part in this title and just made you proud of them (bracketed two accepted) it just goes to show that when the spirit in camp is perfect a bunch of players can exceed expectations by a vast margin (I also think this is the case at Reading and Sunderland.) Those are my two, what's yours?
That the players have wanted it as much as I have. It's all well and good when a player scores a class goal and goes to the corner to perform a little jig that him and his 2 mates at the club came up with, but what really gets my blood pumping is when the whole team goes absolutely mental when we score. You saw the players diving into the dugout head-first when Ron scored at Fulham. You saw Rio nearly tearing the shirt off his teammates when we won at Eastlands.. in most cases it may not be life-long United fandom, but make no mistake, those lads wanted United to win the league badly. And the moment I enjoyed most was when United made it 4 (or was it 5? Or 6...), hugging a random bloke in his mid-40s whose coat had been covered with pie by Roma Ultras and turning around to a smiling Sir Bobby Charlton who returned my look with 2 thumbs up. Ah, to belong, it feels good
The celebrations everytime we get a late important goal, i thinking of 1.Fulham away 2.Liverpool away 3.Roma away 4.Milan Home 5.Everton away as DS says shows what great spirit we have and course the grandad jig!
I'd go w/the demolition of Fulham at the beginning of the season. Odd choice, I know, but there was quite a bit of doubt and skepticism about the squad. That game set the tone for the rest of the season. *pause* Maybe not my absolute favorite, but it deserves a mention. The game against Everton, of course, was probably the most jubilant.
One thing that will always be remembered about this season is the exceptional level of character our players have showed. As we all know, we've faced a number of adversities. We were written off on numerous occasions by critics, opposing fans and even fans of our own. Despite all that, we have showed that we can come together as a team and compete with Chelsea. Which brings me to the other point, the tactical change and direction of the team. We made virtually no changes since last season and the one change we did make (Carrick) didn't seem all that significant. In fact mos tof us were complaining that we don't need a deep lying playmaker but an enforcer (albeit we still do but that's besides the point in regards to this season). Scholes and Giggs have essentially re-created themselves as players and Ferguson took a giant risk changing to a formation that epitomized "attack attack attack". Barca who? Roma at home was fantastic, it was our best team performance in years, but games like Everton and Fulham away were the ones that i will really remember about this season. They really encompass why it's been such a special year for us. Despite all odds we managed to come back and win, and that's pretty much how we started the season; we weren't favorites but we fought back and only for a week or so didn't stay in first place. That is absolutely remarkable and most of the credit for that has to go to one Sir Alex Ferguson for making the most out of something so little. Outside of United, it's been a great season because Madrid and Barca were eliminated from the Champions League early. It's been a great season for German football because Bayern has finally been shown that there are other teams that can compete for the league and now they can't even make next season's Champions League. This is the first step to ensure German football will go back on track of being among the very best, and THE best in Europe, like it was for so many years.
I think Arsenal and Chelsea drawing yesterday was my favorite moment of the season because it sealed the title that we deserved this year. Larrsons stay rates second just because I always wanted him here and he was great even though it was too short of a stay. Beyond that the Roma game was amazing, and when we played Chelski yearlier in the year and Saha scored my friend and I went totally nuts even though we were watching the game with massive hangovers and could hardly move up to that point. Beating the scouse bastards always rates, high and Rooney's winner against Milan was pretty amazing as well. There were also a few runs with the ball by Ronaldo that were individual moments that made me jump out of my seat, the Bolton game stands out to me as one game where he looked unplayable with the ball at his feet.
The football. I knew we were capable of great attacking football, but what we've been putting on show this season is breath taking. Its marvelous to the point that, I find it hard to watch any other game for a full 90 minutes (apart from the key fixtures from other teams). When Fulham came to OT at the beginning of the season, I expected a win, but not that much. Another favoute thing about this season, is how I was proven to be wrong when it comes to me doubting Giggsy's longevity, and Ole's contributions. Giggsy came flying out the gate from game 1. Even though at times he was forced into the SS role, and he didnt look pleasant {again, at times} he adjusted. Scholes coming back and playing a totally different game than we're used to seeing. One thing that pleases me to most though. We were so dominant with attacking football. 7 players were on the league XI. Ronaldo winning all the awards. Winning the league. There is much more, but Im clocking out of work, right now.
My favorite moment = O'Shea doing the dippers at Anfield in front of the Kop. I've really, really enjoyed the footy we've played. I loved how we didn't whimper out of the CL and we had several performances in the competition to be very proud of. It was great to see that we won the title because of the contributions of the whole squad. With the injuries we've had, this season really had some opportunities to go down the crapper, but the squaddies came in and responded big time when needed. Also, getting to see 20LEGEND back in action and really helping out a lot was just icing on the cake for this great season.
A lot of obvious things, I loved doing in the Scousers twice, Giggs and Scholes (as well as Ole for that matter) form. 7-1 was probably the one day when I was the happiest except for the day we won the title. Ronaldo has been a revelation as well as Vidic. I just enjoy watching them do their thing, more then most other players. I remember playing Fulham at home for the first match, what a atmosphere that was. Especially when Ronaldo scored, I don't think I'll ever forget those 10 seconds. I want to be able to say two more. Beating down the Hammers and winning the FA Cup. Really though, it has been an amazing season. All I could have asked for and more.
I found most enjoyable our level of play and its consistency. We were able to play a very fluid attacking play and maintained that for the most of the season. It was a complete team effort and instead of relying on one individual to carry the team, we were just a group who won and lost together. The group dynamic was also amazing. So much danger from so many areas. I love the partnership between Vidic and Rio. I read a lot of comments which already shelve Vidic for next season if Evans stays. Nothing against Evans, but I don't really like to hear that stuff. Vidic has been a very vital and special piece to the puzzle. He is the defender that a lot of us have been waiting for. He is still young and although he still makes goofs, he fights out there and has tremendous spirit. He and Rio, ying and yang. Plus, he scores goals. That partnership there is one of my favourite things about this season. The arrival of Ronaldo. Yes, I know he's been here for three years already, but he didn't "arrive" until this year. He was always a very good player, but this year. Its good hearing people mention a United player amongst the "best player in the world currently" camp. The free flowing attack that he, Giggsy, Rooney, Paulie, and Carrick developed was amazing. We always wanted to attack, attack, attack, but the elegance in which we attacked this season was amazing. No longer were Arsenal the most attractive football team in England. I've heard us more talked about in fluidness over those Spanish clubs that are supposed to ooze elegance on the pitch. Paul Scholes, he "holds hands" Scholes being able to alter his role for the team, and effectively, has also been a favourite thing for me this season. Where other seasons, he has been out of sorts. Yeah, sure, he's done all the little things, but we still missed his "ghosting" into the box. But this season, he took that new role and made it his own. His incisive passing returned better than before. He pulled the strings in that midfield like he never has. His beautiful game was more at play and more on exhibition, because even though not everyone can see what he did, if you remember the start of the play, it started with Scholes. Ronaldo, on the pitch, always deferred to Scholes. Scholes has been excellent this year, and if not for Ronaldo's "world class" season, he would be our player of the year. Double visions, eh? Hit the one in the middle. As has been mentioned, the comraderie on this team has been wonderful to watch. The goal celebrations, the sing songs in the pub, stuff like that that doesn't go seen. Watching Middlesbrough try to take out one of our boys and having the beast return in Rooney. It has been a wonderful campaign. Lets hope these guys continue to love one another. My most favorite things this season though? Its that feeling that no matter what happened, no matter how far down we go, the boys would battle back. That belief that had wavered the past couple of seasons. We never sat on a 1-nil lead. We played our game. Down 0-1, 0-2, 0-3, there was still that belief that we were still in the game. We still believed that moment of magic would come. The never say die spirit. That is trademark United. This team had it so much more than any team in the last couple of years. Where will the goals come from? Nothing against that guy, but I'm so glad he's in Madrid and not our Ron. Peace.
Wow, so many to list. For starters, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in a United shirt, scoring goals and being a key player while we had injury/suspension issues early on. Character - we've just said fcuk off to the critics and overcome all kinds of adversity on and off the pitch. We've come from behind, we've stamped our authority on games few thought we could. Football - loads of skill and one of the most attractive brands of football played at the top level this season. We played gung-ho United attack attack attack with personnel few thought we could use successfully. Ronaldo becoming the player we always hope he'd be - in 10 years! Paul Scholes - any other season this might have been the first on the list. He's been phenomenal and its easily one of his best seasons at United... to do that at 32 while returning from a career threatening condition. Beating Liverpool, twice! Late goals and come from behind wins. The performance of our loanees... its been a positive and even though Rossi had a bad first half of the season and Pique looked like he might not feature that often, they turned it around and are instrumental figures in their teams. Evans and Simpson helped Sunderland to the title and that's certainly a testament to our youth system and I can't wait to have these guys back. Roy Keane at Sunderland. Loads of great memmories this season, really. Putting teams to the sword was really fun. Roma, Bolton, Fulham etc... where will the goals come from a) but b) just toying with teams. the confidence was amazing. The celebrations... Rio murking people and the rocket launcher shit... fooking hillarious.
For me all the things already posted are very good. If you don't get goose bumps watching those clips posted by NM how can you cll yourself a fan. To me the standout thing was the reactions of the team. They all seemed to really enjoy the game this season. The goal celebrations were always team affairs just like the play on the field. Of all the celebrations my favorite was how Giggs reacted when Eagles scored, it was pure joy. If you remember back when Rossi scored his first and he was dogpiled by the team, that was special. You can understand the reaction as he was a great performer for the reserves the team knew he had potential and that first goal is a big step toward making the first team. However, the reaction to Eagles was better. While he has talent he is no Rossi. Giggs' reaction still had the same emotion to it. I just really liked seeing that someone as experienced as Giggs still is so excited for young players on the team, even ones who probably will not make it here.
1) Goals coming from every where on the pitch and (almost) everyone. 2) Overcoming major shortage of striker and defender in different portion of the season and still won the league. 3) Carrick proving he is MUQ and shows the world what intelligent passing & smart positioning can go a long way. 4) Evolution of Ronaldo. 5) Rooney's poor-form this season (wonder what it will be like if he is on form)
My favorite part was the double we did over you. That and the only reason Chelsea aren't breathing down your neck on Wednesday is the four points we took off them.
My favorite moments this season: The victory over Milan in the first leg The maturity of Ronaldo and Rooney The success of Carrick The spirit and bottle of the squad Seeing a match at Old Trafford
Maybe if Arsenal played every game like it was a cup final like they do against us and Chelsea, they would have done a lot better this season.
When we were crowned best team in Europe (universe), by beating the mighty Europe XI 4-3. I suppose winning the title, the 7-1 perfection against Roma and the majestic play of Ronaldo were kinda plus points as well.