sportbible homepage
sportbible homepage
  • Home
  • Football
    • Premier League
    • Champions League
    • World Cup
    • England
    • Transfer News
    • Manchester United
    • Liverpool
    • Arsenal
    • Real Madrid
    • Barcelona
  • Formula 1
    • Red Bull
    • Ferrari
    • McLaren
    • Mercedes
    • Max Verstappen
    • Lewis Hamilton
    • Lando Norris
    • George Russell
    • Charles Leclerc
  • Boxing
  • UFC
  • More Sport
    • Tennis
    • Golf
    • NBA
    • NFL
    • Darts
    • Athletics
    • Rugby
    • Wrestling
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Archive
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Snapchat
TikTok
Threads
YouTube
Submit Your Content Here
  • LADbible
  • Tyla
  • GAMINGbible
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • FOODbible
  • UNILAD Tech
Gary Neville's Treble winning XI only played together in one Premier League game
Home>Football
Published 12:16 16 May 2023 GMT+1

Gary Neville's Treble winning XI only played together in one Premier League game

Neville refused to add any Manchester City players to his Treble XI because they haven't actually won it yet.

Ryan Sidle

Ryan Sidle

google discoverFollow us on Google Discover

Manchester United's famous Treble winning XI only played one Premier League game together, in possibly the most mind blowing stat ever.

It's been 24 years since United won the league, FA Cup and Champions League in the same season and no other English side has managed it.

That looks like it could all change this year with rivals Manchester City just four wins away from winning the trio of titles. That could actually be three if Arsenal lose to Nottingham Forest on Saturday, following their loss to Brighton last weekend.

United do have their own chance to derail Pep Guardiola's bid for a second career treble when they meet at Wembley in the FA Cup final on June 3rd.

Advert

On Monday night, Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville were discussing the merits of the two Manchester teams who could soon share their amazing achievement.

The pair were tasked with picking a combined XI of Guardiola's current side and the one that Sir Alex Ferguson led to glory nearly a quarter of a century ago.

Neville, who was a member of that team, initially refused to pick anything but Fergie's XI. The former right back argued that until City's side actually achieved it the discussion was a non-contest.

The Sky Sports pundit selected Peter Schmeichel in goal, with a back four of himself, Jaap Stam, Ronny Johnson and Dennis Irwin.

In midfield he selected the 'greatest midfield in Premier League history' of David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Roy Keane and Paul Scholes.

Then up front the duo of Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole who formed an incredible pairing were picked, however that exact XI only ever played once together.

That match came against Coventry City in February 1999, with Giggs scoring the only goal of a 1-0 win, leading Ferguson to say, "Sometimes you have to grind out a result!"

What makes the stat even more amazing is the fact that the team only played together for 45 minutes as Stam was subbed off at half time and made way for Henning Berg.

Neville recently argued with Carragher about the fact that Ferguson was a manager who changed football, claiming the Scotsman's use of rotating his squad was his legacy.

Whilst that may or may not be the case, it was certainly the reason that his strongest team only played together once in the league.

Fans in Manchester enjoy the victory parade in 1999. Image: Alamy
Fans in Manchester enjoy the victory parade in 1999. Image: Alamy

Johnson had his injury problems leading to Berg and David May getting plenty of time in defence, whilst Nicky Butt and Jesper Blomqvist played an integral part over the whole campaign in midfield.

Upfront was where the manager was able to do most of his reputation, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Teddy Sheringham available as well as Yorke and Cole.

The two other options were the two goal scorers in the Champions League final against Bayern Munich, which secured the Treble.

The pair both came off the bench and scored in right at the end of the game to secure the most dramatic of comebacks, showing how much depth Fergie had to work with. It's no wonder the XI only played once.

Featured Image Credit: Alamy

Topics: Football, Premier League, FA Cup, Manchester United, Champions League, Manchester City, Sir Alex Ferguson, Gary Neville

Ryan Sidle
Ryan Sidle

Ryan is a journalist for SPORTbible with over eight years of experience. Passionate about all sports, he mainly covers football and F1 - Daniel Ricciardo once spent an entire interview referring to him as 'Ryan Gosling,' still his proudest moment.

X

@Sidler28

Recommended reads

'I’ll smash up my next few opponents': Daniel Dubois talks Fury vs Joshua, Jake Paul crossover and avenging Usyk defeatsBrooks Running'I don't want to be missing anymore' - Jamie Vardy drops retirement hint as he talks Netflix documentaryNetflix / Untold UK: Jamie VardyFormer Man Utd No.2 suggests only reason Michael Carrick would not get the full-time jobGetty ImagesVinnie Jones ‘would love’ for rags to riches life story to be made into movie as he talks Netflix documentaryNetflix

Advert

  • Sky Sports pick combined 'Treble' XI
  • Sir Alex Ferguson would have 'killed' Manchester United players for Arsenal error
  • Gary Neville doesn't pick himself in his Manchester United XI
  • Piers Morgan thinks Arsenal would have won the league if they signed Cristiano Ronaldo

Choose your content:

an hour ago
4 hours ago
  • Getty
    an hour ago

    Man Utd close in on signing of player Ruben Amorim was desperate to bring in and be key man

    Amorim pursued the player during his final weeks in charge but was sacked before the move could be completed.

    Football
  • Getty Images
    an hour ago

    Cristiano Ronaldo's former trainer reveals the Man Utd player he immediately set out to better

    Ronaldo was doing things around strength and fitness before any other player, according to Mick Clegg.

    Football
  • talkSPORT
    4 hours ago

    'You let yourself down!' - Simon Jordan and Martin Keown involved in explosive row about Arsenal VAR controversy

    Jordan and Keown had words in the aftermath of Arsenal's dramatic Premier League win at West Ham.

    Football
  • Getty
    4 hours ago

    Premier League receive radical rule change proposal after West Ham's disallowed goal vs Arsenal

    A controversial VAR call during Sunday's game has caused a huge debate.

    Football