2009-2010, Manchester United season

The 2009-2010 season began apprehensively and ended disappointingly. The initial concern was ‘who would replace Cristiano Ronaldo?’ The answer - in terms of goals - was Wayne Rooney, but even his thirty-four goals couldn’t deliver more than the Carling Cup.

In place of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez, came Antonia Valencia and Michael Owen. Valencia was signed from Wigan for £16m. He was no Ronaldo, but proved consistently impressive on the right wing. Owen arrived on a free transfer from relegated Newcastle United. He was used more as a substitute than a starter. He scored a memorable late winner against Manchester City and a Champions League hat-trick against VfL Wolfsburg before his season ended in early March with a hamstring injury. The three senior players, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville, all completed a further season, with Giggs winning various awards (including the 2009 BBC Sports Personality of the Year). Patrice Evra made more appearances than anyone else, featuring in every single Premiership match. The season’s disappointing players’ story was the number of injuries sustained, especially by defenders. At one point, in December, nearly every first-team defender was unavailable because of injury. Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic rarely played together at the centre of the defence. The return of Owen Hargreaves was anticipated for most of the season but, apart from one very brief substitute appearance, it didn’t happen.

Despite injuries and inconsistent form, Manchester United competed for the Premiership up to the final day of the season. The Premiership was eventually won by Chelsea, preventing Manchester United winning a record-breaking fourth consecutive title. The Premiership challenge was inspired by Wayne Rooney. He scored twenty-six of his thirty-four goals in the Premiership. 2009-2010 was his best Manchester United season to date and he ended it as both the PFA Players’ Player of the Year and the Football Writers’ Footballer of the Year. An ankle injury in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich effectively ended his season. He made four further appearances, but wasn’t fully fit and scored no further goals.

Rooney’s injury contributed to Manchester United being knocked-out of the Champions League by Bayern Munich at the quarter-final stage. In the FA Cup, the Club lost 0-1 to Leeds United in the third round. It was a first third-round defeat in twenty-six years - and to a team in the Championship Second Division! There was greater success in the Carling Cup. A team, usually featuring reserves and younger players, won the trophy, defeating Aston Villa 2-1 in the final.

Off the field, the season saw growing disenchantment with the Glazers. Loan re-financing revealed the huge level of debt being carried by the Club. While it was maintained that the £80m received for Ronaldo was available for re-investment, supporters weren’t convinced. They began to wear green and yellow, the original colours of Newton Heath, to demonstrate their antipathy towards the Glazers. Meanwhile, some wealthy businessmen - referred to as The Red Knights - began to plot a buy-out. They were interested in buying the Club, but the Glazers weren’t interested in selling.

At the end of the season, a number of Manchester United players went to South Africa for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. None played with particular distinction. For them it must have been the final disappointment in a disappointing season.