2001–02 Manchester United F.C. season

Manchester United
2001–02 season
Chairman	Martin Edwards
Manager	Sir Alex Ferguson
Premier League	3rd
FA Cup	Fourth round
League Cup	Third round
UEFA Champions League	Semi-finals
Charity Shield	Runners-up
Top goalscorer	League: ; Ruud van Nistelrooy (23); All: ; Ruud van Nistelrooy (36)
Highest home attendance	67,683 vs Middlesbrough (23 March 2002)
Lowest home attendance	64,827 vs Lille (18 September 2001)
Average home league attendance	67,586
	← 2000–01 2002–03 →

The 2001–02 season was Manchester United's tenth season in the Premier League, their 100th season in league football, and their 27th consecutive season in the top division of English football.^[1]

In May 2001, at the conclusion of the previous season, Sir Alex Ferguson had announced his intention to retire from football at the end of this season, and the club began the process of trying to find a successor for the most successful manager in their history. Months later, however, he reversed his decision, citing his wife and three sons as the reason for the u-turn.^[2]

The second full season of the new millennium was a disappointing one for the Red Devils as they failed to win any silverware for the first time in four years. The club finished third place in the league, their lowest finish in the Premier League era at that time, and they were knocked out of the FA Cup in the fourth round. They were also knocked out of the League Cup after fielding what was effectively a reserve team against a strong Arsenal side in the third round. United's best success this season came in the UEFA Champions League, in which they reached the semi-finals before being knocked out by eventual runners-up Bayer Leverkusen on away goals. Ultimately, United's failure to win anything came down to a dismal run of form in November and early December when they suffered five defeats in seven league games, including three defeats in a row against Arsenal, Chelsea and West Ham United. They also lost six home games in the Premier League, their worst home record since the 1977–78 season; Ferguson cited this as the main reason why they failed to win the league. They only lost three more league games all season, but that terrible form earlier in the campaign counted against United for the rest of the campaign and they finished 10 points behind champions Arsenal (who secured the title by defeating United 1–0 at Old Trafford in the penultimate game of the season) and three points behind runners-up Liverpool.

Assistant manager Steve McClaren left the club before the start of the season to become the manager of Middlesbrough. Youth team coach and former player Mike Phelan was promoted to first-team coach and took over some of the assistant manager's responsibilities, but McClaren was not replaced until the summer of 2002, when Carlos Queiroz was appointed the new assistant manager.

Winger Ryan Giggs was honoured with a testimonial match against Celtic, having now been at United for more than a decade.

£19 million striker Ruud van Nistelrooy did what was expected of him by scoring 36 goals in all competitions and collecting the PFA Player of the Year award, but £28.1 million national record signing Juan Sebastián Verón was a major disappointment in midfield, though it was in defence where United were at their weakest following the shock departure of Jaap Stam to Lazio just after the start of the season, and the surprise acquisition of 35-year-old Frenchman Laurent Blanc as his successor.

2001–02 was the final season at Old Trafford for veteran players Denis Irwin and Ronny Johnsen after 12 and six years at the club respectively. Also on the way out of the club were goalkeeper Raimond van der Gouw and striker Dwight Yorke. Striker Andy Cole left United after seven years when he sealed a transfer to Blackburn Rovers at the end of December.

Pre-season and friendlies

Date	Opponents	H/A	Result F–A	Scorers	Attendance
22 July 2001	Malaysia All-Stars	N	6–0	Van Nistelrooy (2) 7', 36', Beckham 29', Cole (2) 46', 78', Chadwick 71'	68,000
24 July 2001	Team Singapore	A	8–1	Solskjær (2) 30', 45', P. Neville 40', Beckham 52', Yorke (2) 65', 71', Van Nistelrooy 73', Giggs 90'	44,000
29 July 2001	Thailand	A	2–1	Giggs 29', Yorke 78'	65,000
1 August 2001	Celtic	H	3–4	Van Nistelrooy (2) 24', 84', Verón 64'	66,957
4 August 2001	Wrexham	A	2–2	Solskjær 31', Verón 58'	7,614
4 August 2001	Hereford United	A	6–0	Butt 23', Fortune 45', 65', Yorke 69', Cole 78', 87'	4,625
8 August 2001	Bury	A	3–0	P. Neville 49', Yorke 62', Solskjær 69'	9,929
12 November 2001	Barnsley	A	0–1

On 4 August 2001, United played two friendly matches simultaneously, against Wrexham (Brian Flynn's and Kevin Reeves' testimonial) and Hereford United. The first-team squad was split in two, with Jimmy Ryan taking charge at Hereford.^[3]^[4]^[5]

FA Charity Shield

Date	Opponents	H/A	Result F–A	Scorers	Attendance
12 August 2001	Liverpool	N	1–2	Van Nistelrooy 51'	70,227

Premier League

Date	Opponents	H/A	Result F–A	Scorers	Attendance	League position
19 August 2001	Fulham	H	3–2	Beckham 36', Van Nistelrooy (2) 51', 53'	67,534	4th
22 August 2001	Blackburn Rovers	A	2–2	Giggs 20', Beckham 78'	29,836	3rd
26 August 2001	Aston Villa	A	1–1	Alpay 90' (o.g.)	42,632	5th
8 September 2001	Everton	H	4–1	Verón 4', Cole 40', Fortune 46', Beckham 90'	67,534	2nd
15 September 2001	Newcastle United	A	3–4	Van Nistelrooy 29', Giggs 62', Verón 64'	52,056	4th
22 September 2001	Ipswich Town	H	4–0	Johnsen 13', Solskjær (2) 20', 90', Cole 89'	67,551	3rd
29 September 2001	Tottenham Hotspur	A	5–3	Cole 46', Blanc 58', Van Nistelrooy 72', Verón 76', Beckham 87'	36,038	2nd
13 October 2001	Sunderland	A	3–1	Varga 35' (o.g.), Giggs 59', Cole 66'	48,305	3rd
20 October 2001	Bolton Wanderers	H	1–2	Verón 25'	67,559	3rd
27 October 2001	Leeds United	H	1–1	Solskjær 89'	67,555	5th
4 November 2001	Liverpool	A	1–3	Beckham 50'	44,361	6th
17 November 2001	Leicester City	H	2–0	Van Nistelrooy 21', Yorke 50'	67,651	4th
25 November 2001	Arsenal	A	1–3	Scholes 14'	38,174	6th
1 December 2001	Chelsea	H	0–3		67,544	7th
8 December 2001	West Ham United	H	0–1		67,582	9th
12 December 2001	Derby County	H	5–0	Solskjær (2) 6', 58', Keane 10', Van Nistelrooy 63', Scholes 89'	67,577	5th
15 December 2001	Middlesbrough	A	1–0	Van Nistelrooy 76'	34,358	5th
22 December 2001	Southampton	H	6–1	Van Nistelrooy (3) 1', 34', 54', Solskjær 41', Keane 72', P. Neville 78'	67,638	4th
26 December 2001	Everton	A	2–0	Giggs 78', Van Nistelrooy 85'	39,948	5th
30 December 2001	Fulham	A	3–2	Giggs (2) 5', 47', Van Nistelrooy 45'	21,159	5th
2 January 2002	Newcastle United	H	3–1	Van Nistelrooy 24', Scholes (2) 50', 62'	67,646	2nd
13 January 2002	Southampton	A	3–1	Van Nistelrooy 9', Beckham 45', Solskjær 63'	31,858	1st
19 January 2002	Blackburn Rovers	H	2–1	Van Nistelrooy 45' (pen.), Keane 81'	67,552	1st
22 January 2002	Liverpool	H	0–1		67,599	1st
29 January 2002	Bolton Wanderers	A	4–0	Solskjær (3) 15', 39', 64', Van Nistelrooy 83'	27,350	1st
2 February 2002	Sunderland	H	4–1	P. Neville 6', Beckham 25', Van Nistelrooy (2) 28', 44' (pen.)	67,587	1st
10 February 2002	Charlton Athletic	A	2–0	Solskjær (2) 33', 74'	26,475	1st
23 February 2002	Aston Villa	H	1–0	Van Nistelrooy 50'	67,592	1st
3 March 2002	Derby County	A	2–2	Scholes 41', Verón 60'	33,041	1st
6 March 2002	Tottenham Hotspur	H	4–0	Beckham (2) 15', 64', Van Nistelrooy (2) 43' (pen.), 76'	67,599	1st
16 March 2002	West Ham United	A	5–3	Beckham (2) 17', 89' (pen.), Butt 22', Scholes 55', Solskjær 64'	35,281	1st
23 March 2002	Middlesbrough	H	0–1		67,683	1st
30 March 2002	Leeds United	A	4–3	Scholes 9', Solskjær (2) 37', 39', Giggs 54'	40,058	2nd
6 April 2002	Leicester City	A	1–0	Solskjær 61'	21,447	2nd
20 April 2002	Chelsea	A	3–0	Scholes 15', Van Nistelrooy 41', Solskjær 86'	41,725	2nd
27 April 2002	Ipswich Town	A	1–0	Van Nistelrooy 45' (pen.)	28,433	2nd
8 May 2002	Arsenal	H	0–1		67,580	3rd
11 May 2002	Charlton Athletic	H	0–0		67,571	3rd

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Arsenal (C)	38	26	9	3	79	36	+43	87	Qualification for the Champions League first group stage
2	Liverpool	38	24	8	6	67	30	+37	80	Qualification for the Champions League first group stage
3	Manchester United	38	24	5	9	87	45	+42	77	Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round
4	Newcastle United	38	21	8	9	74	52	+22	71
5	Leeds United	38	18	12	8	53	37	+16	66	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round^[a]

Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions
Notes:

^ Since Arsenal qualified for the Champions League, their UEFA Cup place as FA Cup winners defaulted to Chelsea, the losing finalists.

FA Cup

Date	Round	Opponents	H/A	Result F–A	Scorers	Attendance
6 January 2002	Round 3	Aston Villa	A	3–2	Solskjær 77', Van Nistelrooy (2) 80', 82'	38,444
26 January 2002	Round 4	Middlesbrough	A	0–2		17,624

League Cup

Date	Round	Opponents	H/A	Result F–A	Scorers	Attendance
5 November 2001	Round 3	Arsenal	A	0–4		30,693

UEFA Champions League

Group stage

Date	Opponents	H/A	Result F–A	Scorers	Attendance	Group position
18 September 2001	Lille	H	1–0	Beckham 90'	64,827	1st
25 September 2001	Deportivo La Coruña	A	1–2	Scholes 40'	33,108	2nd
10 October 2001	Olympiacos	A	2–0	Beckham 66', Cole 82'	73,537	1st
17 October 2001	Deportivo La Coruña	H	2–3	Van Nistelrooy (2) 7', 40'	65,585	2nd
23 October 2001	Olympiacos	H	3–0	Solskjær 80', Giggs 88', Van Nistelrooy 90'	66,769	2nd
31 October 2001	Lille	A	1–1	Solskjær 6'	37,400	2nd

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Deportivo La Coruña	6	2	4	0	10	8	+2	10	Advance to second group stage
2	Manchester United	6	3	1	2	10	6	+4	10	Advance to second group stage
3	Lille	6	1	3	2	7	7	0	6	Transfer to UEFA Cup
4	Olympiacos	6	1	2	3	6	12	−6	5

Source: RSSSF

Second group stage

Date	Opponents	H/A	Result F–A	Scorers	Attendance	Group position
20 November 2001	Bayern Munich	A	1–1	Van Nistelrooy 74'	59,000	2nd
5 December 2001	Boavista	H	3–0	Van Nistelrooy (2) 31', 62', Blanc 55'	66,274	1st
20 February 2002	Nantes	A	1–1	Van Nistelrooy 90' (pen.)	38,285	1st
26 February 2002	Nantes	H	5–1	Beckham 18', Solskjær (2) 31', 78', Silvestre 38', Van Nistelrooy 64' (pen.)	66,492	1st
13 March 2002	Bayern Munich	H	0–0		66,818	1st
19 March 2002	Boavista	A	3–0	Blanc 14', Solskjær 29', Beckham 51' (pen.)	13,223	1st

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification	MUN	BAY	BOA	NAN
1	Manchester United	6	3	3	0	13	3	+10	12	Advance to knockout stage	—	0–0	3–0	5–1
2	Bayern Munich	6	3	3	0	5	2	+3	12	Advance to knockout stage	1–1	—	1–0	2–1
3	Boavista	6	1	2	3	2	8	−6	5		0–3	0–0	—	1–0
4	Nantes	6	0	2	4	4	11	−7	2		1–1	0–1	1–1	—

Source: RSSSF

Knockout phase

Date	Round	Opponents	H/A	Result F–A	Scorers	Attendance
2 April 2002	Quarter-final First leg	Deportivo La Coruña	A	2–0	Beckham 15', Van Nistelrooy 41'	32,351
10 April 2002	Quarter-final Second leg	Deportivo La Coruña	H	3–2	Solskjær (2) 23', 56', Giggs 69'	65,875
24 April 2002	Semi-final First leg	Bayer Leverkusen	H	2–2	Živković 29' (o.g.), Van Nistelrooy 67' (pen.)	66,534
30 April 2002	Semi-final Second leg	Bayer Leverkusen	A	1–1	Keane 28'	22,500

Squad statistics

No.	Pos.	Name	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Europe		Other		Total
No.	Pos.	Name	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	Fabien Barthez	32	0	1	0	0	0	15	0	1	0	49	0
2	DF	Gary Neville	31(3)	0	2	0	0	0	14	0	1	0	48(3)	0
3	DF	Denis Irwin	10(2)	0	0	0	0	0	8(2)	0	1	0	19(4)	0
4	MF	Juan Sebastián Verón	24(2)	5	1	0	0	0	13	0	0	0	38(2)	5
5	DF	Ronny Johnsen	9(1)	1	0	0	0	0	8(1)	0	0	0	17(2)	1
6	DF	Laurent Blanc	29	1	2	0	0	0	15	2	0	0	46	3
6	DF	Jaap Stam	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	0
7	MF	David Beckham	23(5)	11	1	0	0	0	13	5	1	0	38(5)	16
8	MF	Nicky Butt	20(5)	1	2	0	0	0	8(1)	0	1	0	31(6)	1
9	FW	Andy Cole	7(4)	4	0	0	0	0	1(3)	1	0	0	8(7)	5
10	FW	Ruud van Nistelrooy	29(3)	23	0(2)	2	0	0	14	10	1	1	44(5)	36
11	MF	Ryan Giggs	18(7)	7	0(1)	0	0	0	13	2	1	0	32(8)	9
12	DF	Phil Neville	21(7)	2	2	0	1	0	3(4)	0	0	0	27(11)	2
13	GK	Roy Carroll	6(1)	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	9(1)	0
14	DF	David May	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	3	0
15	MF	Luke Chadwick	5(3)	0	1(1)	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	7(4)	0
16	MF	Roy Keane (c)	28	3	2	0	0	0	11(1)	1	1	0	42(1)	4
17	GK	Raimond van der Gouw	0(1)	0	0	0	0(1)	0	0	0	0	0	0(2)	0
18	MF	Paul Scholes	30(5)	8	2	0	0	0	13	1	1	0	46(5)	9
19	FW	Dwight Yorke	4(6)	1	0(1)	0	1	0	1(2)	0	0(1)	0	6(10)	1
20	FW	Ole Gunnar Solskjær	23(7)	17	2	1	0	0	5(10)	7	0	0	30(17)	25
21	FW	Diego Forlán	6(7)	0	0	0	0	0	1(4)	0	0	0	7(11)	0
22	DF	Ronnie Wallwork	0(1)	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2(1)	0
23	DF	Michael Clegg	0	0	0	0	0(1)	0	0	0	0	0	0(1)	0
24	DF	Wes Brown	15(2)	0	0	0	0	0	5(2)	0	0	0	20(4)	0
25	MF	Quinton Fortune	8(6)	1	0	0	0	0	3(2)	0	0	0	11(8)	1
27	DF	Mikaël Silvestre	31(4)	0	2	0	0	0	10(3)	1	1	0	44(7)	1
28	MF	Michael Stewart	2(1)	0	0	0	1	0	0(1)	0	0	0	3(2)	0
30	DF	John O'Shea	4(5)	0	0	0	1	0	0(3)	0	0	0	5(8)	0
32	MF	Bojan Djordjic	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
34	DF	Lee Roche	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
36	FW	Jimmy Davis	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
37	FW	Danny Webber	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
40	FW	Daniel Nardiello	0	0	0	0	0(1)	0	0	0	0	0	0(1)	0
–	–	Own goals	–	2	–	0	–	0	–	1	–	0	–	3

Transfers

United's first departures of the 2001–02 season were midfield duo Jonathan Greening and Mark Wilson, who both signed for Middlesbrough on 9 August. On 27 August, Jaap Stam was controversially sold to Lazio for a fee of £16.5 million, while on 8 November, Jesper Blomqvist signed for Everton.

Arriving in the summer transfer window were Northern Irish goalkeeper Roy Carroll, Dutch forward Ruud van Nistelrooy, Argentinian midfielder Juan Sebastián Verón and French defender Laurent Blanc. Out of these players, only van Nistelrooy made much of an impact, staying at United until 2006 and scoring 150 goals in 219 appearances for United.

Departing during the winter transfer window were forward Andy Cole, who left United after six years, and Michael Clegg, who signed for Oldham Athletic on a free transfer. Paul Rachubka left United on 20 May for Charlton Athletic. Goalkeeper Raimond van der Gouw signed for West Ham United on 28 June on a free transfer, while on 30 June, defenders Denis Irwin, Ronny Johnsen and Ronnie Wallwork were released.

Luke Steele joined United on 11 May for a fee of £500,000.

In

Date	Pos.	Name	From	Fee
1 July 2001	GK	Roy Carroll	Wigan Athletic	Undisclosed
1 July 2001	FW	Ruud van Nistelrooy	PSV Eindhoven	£19m
12 July 2001	MF	Juan Sebastián Verón	Lazio	£28.1m
30 August 2001	DF	Laurent Blanc	Internazionale	£2.5m
22 January 2002	FW	Diego Forlán	Independiente	£7.5m
11 May 2002	GK	Luke Steele	Peterborough United	£500k

Out

Date	Pos.	Name	To	Fee
9 August 2001	MF	Jonathan Greening	Middlesbrough	£2m^[6]
9 August 2001	MF	Mark Wilson	Middlesbrough	£1.5m^[6]
27 August 2001	DF	Jaap Stam	Lazio	£16.5m^[7]
8 November 2001	MF	Jesper Blomqvist	Everton	Free^[8]
29 December 2001	FW	Andy Cole	Blackburn Rovers	Undisclosed^[9]
19 February 2002	DF	Michael Clegg	Oldham Athletic	Free^[10]
17 May 2002	GK	Paul Rachubka	Charlton Athletic	£200k^[11]^[12]
28 June 2002	GK	Raimond van der Gouw	West Ham United	Free^[13]
30 June 2002	DF	Denis Irwin	Released
30 June 2002	DF	Ronny Johnsen	Released
30 June 2002	DF	Ronnie Wallwork	Released

Loan in

Date from	Date to	Position	Name	From
4 March 2002	30 June 2002	GK	Luke Steele	Peterborough United

Loan out

Date from	Date to	Position	Name	To
23 November 2001	22 December 2001	FW	Danny Webber	Port Vale
23 November 2001	17 May 2002	GK	Paul Rachubka	Oldham Athletic
7 December 2001	30 June 2002	MF	Bojan Djordjic	Sheffield Wednesday
28 March 2002	27 April 2002	FW	Danny Webber	Watford

References

^ "Manchester United Season 2001/02". StretfordEnd.co.uk. Retrieved 8 October 2007.
^ "Ferguson's family decision". 6 February 2002.
^ Man Utd star line-up turns on the style Hereford Times, 9 August 2001. Retrieved 21 July 2008.
^ Bulls let in six but fans happy HU-FC.co.uk, 4 August 2001. Retrieved 21 July 2008.
^ Double trouble for Reds' rivals Manchester Evening News, 6 August 2001. Retrieved 21 July 2008.
^ ^a ^b "Man Utd duo complete Boro move". BBC Sport. 9 August 2001. Archived from the original on 20 March 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
^ "Stam completes Lazio move". BBC Sport. 27 August 2001. Archived from the original on 1 October 2002. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
^ "Football Transfers". BBC Sport. 8 November 2001. Archived from the original on 10 November 2001. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
^ "Souness 'delighted' with Cole signing". BBC Sport. 30 December 2001. Archived from the original on 11 March 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
^ "Latics seal Clegg coup". BBC Sport. 19 February 2002. Archived from the original on 11 March 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
^ "Transfers – May, 2002". BBC Sport. 17 May 2002. Archived from the original on 11 March 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
^ "Charlton sign Manchester United goalkeeper Paul Rachubka for an initial fee of £200,000". Charlton Athletic Football Club. 17 May 2002. Archived from the original on 2 June 2002. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
^ "Van der Gouw joins West Ham". BBC Sport. 28 June 2002. Archived from the original on 30 April 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2023.

[table_note_res_UC10.11233210848287-6] Since Arsenal qualified for the Champions League, their UEFA Cup place as FA Cup winners defaulted to Chelsea, the losing finalists.

[1] "Manchester United Season 2001/02". StretfordEnd.co.uk. Retrieved 8 October 2007.

[2] "Ferguson's family decision". 6 February 2002.

[3] Man Utd star line-up turns on the style Hereford Times, 9 August 2001. Retrieved 21 July 2008.

[4] Bulls let in six but fans happy HU-FC.co.uk, 4 August 2001. Retrieved 21 July 2008.

[5] Double trouble for Reds' rivals Manchester Evening News, 6 August 2001. Retrieved 21 July 2008.

[bbcgreening-7] "Man Utd duo complete Boro move". BBC Sport. 9 August 2001. Archived from the original on 20 March 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2023.

[8] "Stam completes Lazio move". BBC Sport. 27 August 2001. Archived from the original on 1 October 2002. Retrieved 11 March 2023.

[9] "Football Transfers". BBC Sport. 8 November 2001. Archived from the original on 10 November 2001. Retrieved 11 March 2023.

[10] "Souness 'delighted' with Cole signing". BBC Sport. 30 December 2001. Archived from the original on 11 March 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2023.

[11] "Latics seal Clegg coup". BBC Sport. 19 February 2002. Archived from the original on 11 March 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2023.

[12] "Transfers – May, 2002". BBC Sport. 17 May 2002. Archived from the original on 11 March 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2023.

[13] "Charlton sign Manchester United goalkeeper Paul Rachubka for an initial fee of £200,000". Charlton Athletic Football Club. 17 May 2002. Archived from the original on 2 June 2002. Retrieved 11 March 2023.

[14] "Van der Gouw joins West Ham". BBC Sport. 28 June 2002. Archived from the original on 30 April 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2023.

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