2005–06 Manchester United F.C. season
124th season in existence of Manchester United / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The 2005–06 season was Manchester United's 14th season in the Premier League, and their 31st consecutive season in the top division of English football.[1]
2005–06 season | ||||
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Chairman | Joel & Avram Glazer | |||
Manager | Sir Alex Ferguson | |||
Stadium | Old Trafford | |||
FA Premier League | 2nd | |||
FA Cup | Fifth Round | |||
League Cup | Winners | |||
UEFA Champions League | Group stage | |||
Top goalscorer | League: Ruud van Nistelrooy (21) All: Ruud van Nistelrooy (24) | |||
Highest home attendance | 73,006 vs Charlton Athletic (7 May 2006) | |||
Lowest home attendance | 43,673 vs Barnet (26 October 2005) | |||
Average home league attendance | 68,765 | |||
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After having finished in third place in both of the previous two seasons, the Red Devils improved slightly to finish the 2005–06 season in second place, despite finishing 8 points off the lead.
However, despite the improvement in their league form, United's European form took a massive blow, with the club failing to reach the knockout stage of the UEFA Champions League for the first time since 1994–95. The club fared better in the FA Cup, reaching the Fifth Round, but their real success came in the League Cup, in which they beat Wigan Athletic 4–0 in the final. United became the first club in Premier League history to score 1,000 goals, a milestone reached on 29 October in the 4–1 defeat to Middlesbrough at the Riverside, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring the goal.[2]
The 2005–06 season also saw the departure of club captain Roy Keane, who had been at Old Trafford since 1993. Keane played his last game for the club on 18 September 2005 in a goalless draw with Liverpool, but was forced to withdraw from the match only a couple of minutes before full-time. It was later revealed that Keane had picked up a foot injury and he eventually left the club for his boyhood team Celtic on 18 November 2005. Keane was subsequently replaced as captain by his deputy, Gary Neville. On 25 November 2005, just seven days after Keane left the club, United fans were plunged into mourning by the death of legendary former player George Best, who died at age 59.