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 FrenchmanLaurent 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.
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]
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.
