Anyone watching this?
Amazing how I’m getting nervous about games I know the outcome of, 25 years on.
Amazing how I’m getting nervous about games I know the outcome of, 25 years on.
Television 99 Documentary on Prime
- Thread starter 2 man midfield
- Start date
Jay-Z’s new song sounds shit
Gonna have a look tomorrow.
Seen all three episodes now, and it was bloody brilliant! 
Yorke has aged very well btw!
Yorke has aged very well btw!
Saving this for post F.A Cup Final misery.
Looking forward to watching this.
We really are bleeding this dry though
We really are bleeding this dry though
I’ve only seen 1.5 episodes, and to be honest it’s not really anything we haven’t heard or seen before. Still a decent watch though.Looking forward to watching this.
We really are bleeding this dry though
It’s probably a more captivating story than 90% of the other BS football docs out there at the moment, to be fair.Looking forward to watching this.
We really are bleeding this dry though
I want the 08 documentary. Minus the fecking FA Cup. Just HOW?!
Feels weird to me that there’s only 9 years between the two. Seems like much longer than 2015 to now ago.
That fecking Portsmouth game though. Talk about unlucky.
Shame Keane wasn't directly involved/interviewed for it.
It's good, but nothing we didn't already know, but then, I'm ancient, might be more interesting to younger fans.
It's good, but nothing we didn't already know, but then, I'm ancient, might be more interesting to younger fans.
There’s a couple of times where various people hint that a treble had never been done before, and I’m not sure why. I get nobody in England had, but PSV, Ajax, Celtic had all done trebles before, no?
Watching now. Will post thoughts later.
The last episode makes a big deal about sir Alex getting the team wrong, how everyone else could see it, and that we basically won it in spite of him. Was it seen this way at the time? Or was he given credit for his subs scoring the goals?
I don't think SAF could've set up the team any differently for the final. Maybe, maybe have Blomqvist play on the right and put Giggs back in his natural left sided role. I seem to remember Mitton saying Blomqvist had more experience in his career at that time playing on the right.
Obviously they meant in England. Not even the all conquering Liverpool, thanks to us.
I remember saying back in 99 when the team was announced it was a mistake. He should have have gone with Johnsen in midfield to help with Bayern's physicality, and kept Beckham and Giggs in their positions.
You don't hand your opponent a massive boost before a game; the wing play from those 2 had been magnificent all season and in a stroke it was gone. We suddenly had no Keane in midfield, no Scholes in midfield, no Beckham on the right and no Giggs on the left. It was an awful call regardless of ultimately winning.
Johnsen played midfield quite a bit, including against Inter at the San Siro, it's not like he couldn't do it.
Either May in at centre half, or Neville their with Brown RB.
Anyway, it ended up not mattering, but he totally got away with one.
Could've played May at CB and Johnsen CM with Beckham and Giggs wide in their preferred position.
If Berg could have played I think he'd have gone with this with Berg in for May and Johnsen moved up, maybe he didn't trust May in the game.
I've only finished the second episode but the tone is a bit strange.
The first episode makes it seem like winning the league was a monumental, backs against the wall, david vs. goliath thing. They focus on us dropping down to 10th with no mention that we went 2nd two games later. They then gloss over us going top at the end of January and staying there until April. Strangely, the run-in was probably closer in real life than they made it appear here.
High focus on the things that maybe weren't as big of an issue as they make it sound? Schmikes form, Kidd leaving, Fergie choosing horses over football for an afternoon.
Yorke/Cole, Scholes/Keane, Neville/Neville get a lot of attention. Giggs, Beckham, Solskjaer, Stam, Berg, Johnsen far less.
Lack of Solskjaer generally - no mention of him scoring 4 against Forest despite the first episode concentrating on our league campaign (I half expect this will be mentioned in ep 3 though).
Christmas party? Who the feck cares.
Best thing is the footage of us training at the cliff. It feels like they've scoured the archives for some of that stuff and it's great to watch.
Oh and Coley is class.
Edit: McClaren is hilarious too.
The first episode makes it seem like winning the league was a monumental, backs against the wall, david vs. goliath thing. They focus on us dropping down to 10th with no mention that we went 2nd two games later. They then gloss over us going top at the end of January and staying there until April. Strangely, the run-in was probably closer in real life than they made it appear here.
High focus on the things that maybe weren't as big of an issue as they make it sound? Schmikes form, Kidd leaving, Fergie choosing horses over football for an afternoon.
Yorke/Cole, Scholes/Keane, Neville/Neville get a lot of attention. Giggs, Beckham, Solskjaer, Stam, Berg, Johnsen far less.
Lack of Solskjaer generally - no mention of him scoring 4 against Forest despite the first episode concentrating on our league campaign (I half expect this will be mentioned in ep 3 though).
Christmas party? Who the feck cares.
Best thing is the footage of us training at the cliff. It feels like they've scoured the archives for some of that stuff and it's great to watch.
Oh and Coley is class.
Edit: McClaren is hilarious too.
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A decent watch.
It’s clear that the emotional connection between the players and manager absolutely drove the team.
Sir Alex’s final words:
It’s clear that the emotional connection between the players and manager absolutely drove the team.
Sir Alex’s final words:
Really resonated for some reason. I think we often can forget that football for many of us came to be a passion because it made us feel that joy. I think some here lost sight of that and can’t enjoy the little joys along the way.
Just finished it. As a younger fan who didn’t experience the 1999 season, it was a great watch.
We are far from the greatness of those years, would be nice to get back to the top one day.
We are far from the greatness of those years, would be nice to get back to the top one day.
Thought they would have shown some of that Leeds v Arsenal game at the end of the season to show how close it was in that PL season.
One of my pet peeves with documentaries like this is their obsession with showing the goals at such chaotic close up angles. The television broadcast angle is always the best, but instead we get Solskjaer’s goal against Liverpool through eyes of a drunk cameraman as you struggle to see what the feck is going on.
In the late 90s that was the broadcast angle
At least it reminded me what a horrible ABU cnut Oliver Holt is.
I had no idea Fergie resigned during the start of that season. I've read his book and I'm pretty sure it's not in that!
One of my earliest memories was going to the treble parade with my dad and uncle. What an incredible time.
Actually, in his 1999 Autobiography he mentions how in the summer of 98' people at the club (I think they were Edwards and Roland Smith) talked to him about his horse racing passion and wondered if he took his eye off the ball, etc. In the book he wrote that he then asked them if they want him to resign and they quickly said no. So the actual resignation Edwards is talking about now is obviously a step forward.
BTW, Fergie claimed in that book that he was also questioned by the club after 1994/5, another season that we ended trophiless. I'm not sure if that was a good thing (ambition) or just silliness from the club.
BTW, Fergie claimed in that book that he was also questioned by the club after 1994/5, another season that we ended trophiless. I'm not sure if that was a good thing (ambition) or just silliness from the club.
As much as the board actions annoyed me (in watching 99), I get it. Alex held those same standards for the players (play a game over being there for the birth of your child), so he needed to be held to that standard as well.
Having just finished it it did seem he got that final team really really wrong.
Also that Peter quit too early
Also how amazing that feeling Ole must have had scoring that goal, Christ
Also that Peter quit too early
Also how amazing that feeling Ole must have had scoring that goal, Christ
I'm not sure he did, actually. He did improve that season after his mid-season break, but I think the signs of age were there.
25 years today. Time flies quickly
he probably could have got another season in perhaps. Seemed like he rushed his decision mid season and possibly even regretted it by the end (although again that could be just the documentary’s pov)
Scary how dated some of it looks now. Certainly doesn't feel like 25 years ago to me.
Anyone know why SAF resigned briefly at the start of the season? Edwards talks about a "correction" he put in writing that he knew Fergie wouldn't like, but I didn't get exactly what that was.
Wasn’t it to do with the horse?
He banned him from the horses? Seems a bit much to restrict what an employee does with their free time, suppose that was the context though.
Also, that left footed ball from Gary through to Cole to get the winner vs Spurs