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| Gaizka Mendieta in action |
I had watched Mendieta play for Valencia in the early 2000s, leading them to two champions league finals. In 2000 they lost to Madrid and in 2001 they lost to Bayern Munich in a penalty shootout. When he arrived at the Riverside I thought he was looking for his last payout.
His two goals and ability to read the game destroyed Ferguson game plan.
The Manchester United team was undergoing rebuilding especially the defence was to the bare minimum.
Here were the defenders that day..
Van der Sar, Bardsley (Richardson 31), Ferdinand (Brown 87), O'Shea, Silvestre
A central defensive partnership between Ferdinand and O’shea was laughable. Silvestre was a disaster waiting to happen. Phil Bardsley never even managed to make it at Manchester United same as Kieran Richardson. To make it worse Richardson was not even a defender. He was a winger.
In midfield the great Roy Keane was missing due to an injury and is the subject of this blog. He was the engine of the team, he carried the team in high esteem but this game led to his downfall at Manchester United. The midfield consisting Alan Smith, Darren Fletcher and Scholes was to lightweight and couldn't hold the powerful players of middlesbrough.
Middlesbrough midfield had Mendieta, Rochemback and Pogatetz. The strikers were Yakubu Aiyegbeni, a powerful built Nigerian and another powerful player Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.
With the defense so light and the Midfield non existent Boro picked out Manchester United and Roy Keane days at Manchester United came to an end, abrupt end.
In the built up to the game he had said he didn't know if he will be given a new contract because he was in the last year of his contract.
The story goes that he felt the other players were not giving all for the team especially young Alan Smith and Darren Fletcher. He gave them a dress down during a MUTV interview which was not aired.
The next thing he was out of Manchester United.
How the media reported
Manchester United lost more ground on Chelsea at the top of the table after a woeful display at the Riverside.
Edwin van der Sar gifted Middlesbrough the lead when he let Gaizka Mendieta's shot slip through his fingers.
A mistake by Rio Ferdinand let in Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink for the second, and Yakubu Ayegbeni made it 3-0 from the spot after Stuart Parnaby was fouled.
Yakubu set up Mendieta to make it 4-0, and even Cristiano Ronaldo's header did not take the shine off Boro's victory.
Sir Alex Ferguson's side play Chelsea at Old Trafford on 6 November but will go into that game already 13 points adrift of the leaders - albeit with a game in hand - and with their title hopes hanging by….courtesy bbc
Edwin van der Sar gifted Middlesbrough the lead when he let Gaizka Mendieta's shot slip through his fingers.
A mistake by Rio Ferdinand let in Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink for the second, and Yakubu Ayegbeni made it 3-0 from the spot after Stuart Parnaby was fouled.
Yakubu set up Mendieta to make it 4-0, and even Cristiano Ronaldo's header did not take the shine off Boro's victory.
Sir Alex Ferguson's side play Chelsea at Old Trafford on 6 November but will go into that game already 13 points adrift of the leaders - albeit with a game in hand - and with their title hopes hanging by….courtesy bbc
This was United's equal-worst defeat in the Premiership since Chelsea hammered them 5-0 in 1999 - and, surprise, surprise, it's Chelsea they meet next Sunday in the game that promises to be one of the season's most critical but, after this debacle, could prove merely academic.
United are now 13 points behind Jose Mourinho's men and although there are plenty of points still to play for and no one ever won anything in October, United's chances of challenging for the title look, to say the least, limited...courtesy the Guardian sport
United are now 13 points behind Jose Mourinho's men and although there are plenty of points still to play for and no one ever won anything in October, United's chances of challenging for the title look, to say the least, limited...courtesy the Guardian sport
On Keane leaving this is how the bbc reported. ..
United confirmed on Friday that Keane, 34, had left with immediate effect, bringing to a sudden end his 12-and-a-half years at Old Trafford.
Keane had said he was not expecting to get a new contract, with his current deal up at the end of the season.
But he criticised the side last month in an interview to MUTV, which was never shown, and that appears to have brought forward his departure.
Keane's outburst on MUTV, which is the club's own television station, came after a 4-1 defeat to Middlesbrough in which he did not feature because he broke his foot in a 0-0 draw against Liverpool on 18 September.
That game at Anfield now becomes his last game for United.
Keane's representative Michael Kennedy...bbc
The only goal of the game for Man Utd was by a certain Cristiano Ronaldo.Keane had said he was not expecting to get a new contract, with his current deal up at the end of the season.
But he criticised the side last month in an interview to MUTV, which was never shown, and that appears to have brought forward his departure.
Keane's outburst on MUTV, which is the club's own television station, came after a 4-1 defeat to Middlesbrough in which he did not feature because he broke his foot in a 0-0 draw against Liverpool on 18 September.
That game at Anfield now becomes his last game for United.
Keane's representative Michael Kennedy...bbc
The video clip for the game can be found here… video
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