The 2000–01 season was

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

's ninth season in the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

, and their 26th consecutive season in the top division of

English football Association football is the most popular sport in England, where the first modern set of rules for the code were established in 1863, which were a major influence on the development of the modern Laws of the Game. With over 40,000 association f ...

. United won the Premier League for the third successive season and the seventh time since its inauguration in 1993. They were less successful in cup competitions, going out in the fourth round of the FA Cup, the fourth round of the League Cup and the quarter-finals of the Champions League. New goalkeeper

Fabien Barthez Fabien Alain Barthez (born 28 June 1971) is a French racing driver and former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. At club level, he played football in both France and England with Toulouse, Marseille, AS Monaco, Manchester United ...

was an instant success, and previous first-choice goalkeeper

Mark Bosnich Mark John Bosnich (born 13 January 1972) is an Australian former professional footballer, who played as a goalkeeper, and sports pundit. He played in England for Premier League clubs Aston Villa, Manchester United and Chelsea. He also played in ...

failed to feature in the first team in 2000–01, opting to join

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

on a free transfer in January, despite equally limited first-team opportunities at

Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to: * Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England ** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066 * Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge * Stamford Bridge (stadium), in L ...

. Veteran striker

Teddy Sheringham Edward Paul "Teddy" Sheringham, MBE (born 2 April 1966) is an English football manager and former player. He played as a forward, mostly as a second striker, in a 24-year professional career. Sheringham began his career at Millwall, where he ...

had an excellent season, topping the club's goalscoring charts and gaining both the PFA and

FWA Player of the Year The Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year (often called the FWA Footballer of the Year, or in England simply the Footballer of the Year) is an annual award given to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the season in ...

awards. However, the arrival of Dutch striker

Ruud van Nistelrooy Rutgerus Johannes Martinus van Nistelrooij (anglicised to Van Nistelrooy; born 1 July 1976) is a Dutch professional football coach and former player. He is currently the coach of PSV Eindhoven. A former footballer, Van Nistelrooy is often consi ...

from

PSV Eindhoven Philips Sport Vereniging (; en, Philips Sports Association ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional football department, whi ...

at the end of the season prompted Sheringham to return to

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

on a free transfer. Also leaving the club was

Henning Berg Henning Stille Berg (; born 1 September 1969) is a Norwegian football manager and former player, who is the current manager of Cypriot First Division club Pafos FC. His career lasted from 1988 to 2004, most notably in the Premier League where h ...

, who was loaned to his old club

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...

just after the start of the season, and moved on a permanent contract in December, joining former United players John Curtis and

Mark Hughes Leslie Mark Hughes (born 1 November 1963) is a Welsh football coach and former player who is the manager of Bradford City. During his playing career he usually operated as a forward or midfielder. He had two spells at Manchester United, and a ...

in Blackburn's successful campaign that saw them promoted back to the Premier League after a two-year exile.

Pre-season and friendlies

FA Charity Shield

Premier League

FA Cup

League Cup

UEFA Champions League

Group stage

Second group stage

Knockout phase

Squad statistics

Transfers

On the way out of United, during the summer were defender

Danny Higginbotham Daniel John Higginbotham (born 29 December 1978) is a former professional footballer who played as a defender. Born in Manchester, England, he represented Gibraltar in international football. Higginbotham started his career in the academy of ...

, goalkeeper

Massimo Taibi Massimo Taibi (; born 18 February 1970) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper for several clubs, mostly in Italy's Serie A, B, and C1. He had a brief spell at English club Manchester United. Career Italy Taib ...

, midfielder

Jordi Cruyff Johan Jordi Cruijff (anglicised to Cruyff; born 9 February 1974) is a Association football, football coach and former player. He is the son of former player and manager Johan Cruyff. As a footballer, Cruyff played from 1992 through to 2010, in ...

, and forward

Alex Notman Alexander McKeachie Notman (born 10 December 1979) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a striker. Club career Born in Dalkeith, Notman began his career with Manchester United. He only made one substitute appearance for ...

. Higginbotham left United for

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

, after three years to fulfil his desire to play more first team football, Taibi signed for

Reggina Reggina 1914 S.r.l., commonly referred to as Reggina, is an Italian football club based in Reggio Calabria. Founded in 1914, they currently play in Serie B, and play their home matches at the 27,763 seater Stadio Oreste Granillo. They are nic ...

, after he had been on loan at the club during the second half of the 1999–2000 season, Cruyff signed for Alavés, after his United contract had expired, and Notman, who had never played a Premier League match for United, signed for

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...

, where he would remain for three years. No players arrived at United throughout the whole 2000–01 season. Leaving United during the winter were Norwegian defender

, who signed for

for a fee of £1.75 million, Northern Irish forward David Healy, who signed for

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

for a fee of £1.5 million, and Australian goalkeeper

, who signed for

on a free transfer, after United had signed

in the 2000 close season. Forward

left United to rejoin

on 26 May.

Out

Loan in

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manchester United F.C. Season 2000-01 2000-01

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...