There was an odd feeling going into the 2001-02 season. We’d finished seventh in the top flight for the previous two seasons, but there was already a feeling of what might have been.
Our form had fallen off a cliff after Christmas for the previous two years, and there was no sign that the playing staff had the turnover it needed to continue competing. The main issue was that just a week before this fixture at the Stadium of Light, Niall Quinn had enjoyed celebrating his 35th birthday, and for a while,
the question on most supporters’ lips was who would replace him.
Quinn’s partnership with Kevin Phillips had been devastating in the two years it took to lift us out of Division One, and the two years we had finished in the top half of the Premier League – but everyone knew this was coming to an end.
In the summer of 2001, it seemed Peter Reid also knew this and attempted to provide an extra option up top, which came in the form of Lilian Laslandes, who arrived from Bordeaux for around £3.6m. Laslandes had a decent record in France and had picked up seven caps for the national side, so it didn’t look bad on paper.
The French striker lined up in the starting XI on the opening day of the season along with Swiss international full-back Bernt Haas, but these were the only two debutants as we beat Ipswich Town 1-0. It was a decent start to the season as we sat fifth in the table after eight games, which culminated in a 2-0 victory over Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium – with Reid getting one over his former employee at Roker, Sam Allardyce.
Next up was the visit of Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United, who were sitting third and three points behind early leaders Leeds United. When the team sheets were submitted before kick-off, there was a realisation that Ferguson had one eye on the Champions League fixture against Deportivo La Coruna that was to follow on the Wednesday after this fixture.
David Beckham, Fabian Barthez, Roy Keane, Juan Sebastian Veron and Ronny Johnson were all left out of the squad completely and Dwight Yorke and Ruud van Nistelrooy only had a place on the bench, but despite the changes, it was United who made the better start.
Paul Scholes and Andy Cole had chances in the first ten minutes to put the visitors ahead, but after Reid’s side weathered the early storm, they began to have some joy. Julio Arca, in particular, looked sharp, and Quinn and Phillips were causing issues in the United defence, but the dreadlock was broken just after the half hour.
A following move down the United right got Luke Chadwick close to the goal line where he put in a dangerous ball into the box that looked like it was perfect for Scholes to meet the ball on one of his trademark runs, but the ball just went over his head and didn’t give any time for Stanislav Varga to react and put into his own net.
Reid’s side reacted well to the setback and although United were good for the lead, there were chances for either side going into the break but it remained 0-1.
At half-time Reid was forced into a change when Kevin Kilbane came off injured and was replaced by new signing David Bellion. And in the opening exchanges of the second half Sunderland looked the better side, which was why a second for United just before the hour was a blow.
A slick move ended up with Andy Cole on the edge of the box sliding an inch-perfect ball through to Ryan Giggs, who ran on to it and slotted past Thomas Sorensen without any fuss. Less than ten minutes later the game was completely out of sight when Chadwick switched the play and found Cole in acres of space inside the box, who slid the ball home to make it three.
The away side took their foot off the gas in the later stages with their midweek challenge ahead, and with just under ten minutes remaining, Stefan Schwarz played a lovely ball over the top for Phillips to chase down, brush off Wes Brown, take it past Roy Carroll and slot home for a consolation.
Unfortunately, it was just one of those days that Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United were on it and there wasn’t too much you could do about it.
FA Barclaycard Premiership
Stadium of Light
Sunderland 1-3 Manchester United
[Phillips 83’ – Varga (OG) 35’, Giggs 59’, Cole 66’]
Sunderland: Sorensen, Williams, Craddock, Varga, Gray, Kilbane (Bellion), Thirlwell, Schwarz, Arca, Phillips, Quinn Substitute not used: Macho, McCartney, Medina, Laslandes
Manchester United: Carroll, G. Neville, Brown, Blanc (P. Neville), Silvestre, Chadwick, Butt, Scholes (Stewart), Giggs (Yorke), Cole, Solksjaer Substitute not used: Van Der Gouw, Van Nistelrooy
Attendance: 48,305
