Three in a Row : A Fan's Eye View of United's Championship Hat-Trick

A season of triumph for United or one of frustrated ambition? The jury is still out on season 2000-01, if only because another championship was followed by a hasty Champions League exit and trouble between Alex Ferguson and the board. When Sir Alex Ferguson became the first manager to win three championships in a row, it set the seal on another successful season at Old Trafford. From August to the start of the New Year, United were as irresistible as usual. But by Spring, despite an imminent championship, there were rumours that United''s most successful manager of all time had fallen out with the board. Following United''s exit from the Champions League, the grumbling at boardroom and terrace level grew to fever pitch. So much so that by the final fixture of the season rumour and theory had replaced sanity on the terraces, with most fans convinced ''the Wizard'' was on his way out. As ever there''s rarely a dull moment at Old Trafford. From the debate over standing to the creeping (and not so creeping) commercialism within the club, to the threats made by Trafford Borough Council and the arrival of a new chairman, United supporters had more to worry about than mere football. Linda Harvey and Paul Windridge write passionately about the events that mattered to United fans last season. From the ecstasy of a 6-1 romp against championship rivals Arsenal to the agony of defeat in Munich via a brief return for hated rivals Manchester City. Experience the highs and lows of Sir Alex Ferguson''s penultimate season in charge.