April 23rd 1997: EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS FOOTBALL 

10 Reaction Postings From

 The Manchester United Mailing List

Date: Wed, 23 Apr 1997 17:06:27 -0400
From: Gary McLaughlin <mclaughl@METS.TCIMET.NET>
Subject: Disappointed, but proud

As crushed as I am, I could not be prouder of the team and the fans. They fought with everything and completely dominated the Dortmund side, except in the category that counts the most. It was a great run, and I feel they can only be stronger in the Champions Cup next year. Here's to finishing off the Premiership with a bang.

Gary

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Date: Wed, 23 Apr 1997 14:20:04 -0700
From: Richard Usher <richardu@MICROSOFT.COM>
Subject: Gallant Losers

Hi All,

So near so far - Deja Vu. Let's be rightly proud of a young side which has learnt a big lesson tonight.

Back to the Boddies :-(

Cheers Rich

richardu@microsoft.com

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Date: Thu, 24 Apr 1997 04:32:30 +0800
From: SPECTRE <spectre@PACIFIC.NET.SG>
Subject: The day my English heroes made me proud.

Hello fellow reds, regardless where you're from.

As I type this, I'm choking back my tears. Yes, we've lost at home to Dortmund, but our 11 heroes in red played like there was no tomorrow. It was a game we throughly deserved to win, a game we dominated, a game we throughly out-played our opponents but the cruel hands of fate was not on our side.

I could not believe how well we played, never in my 14yrs of supporting United have I seen the players play so well. This team has a future! I'm sure we'll make it next year, so let's all get behind the team. As for the supporters and fans, you guys have been great. I wished I could be in the stadium sharing every

moment. Suddenly it makes supporting United all worth while (I'm still holding back my tears here)! I can't wait for the first-hand reports to come in. I know I'll get shite tomorrow in school, but I know that my heroes have done me proud. The ABUs can say all they want, but I know why I love United and the passion they invoke in me, and no one can take that away! Thank you, all of you for making life so meaningful!

We'll be back next year, bet on it!

Jeffrey aka The SPECTRE Email : spectre@pacific.net.sg

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Date: Thu, 24 Apr 1997 07:24:57 +0000
From: "David Marshall, Brisbane, Australia" <dmarsha@TPGI.COM.AU>
Subject: Not sure what to say.

Hello Everybody, I'm not sure what I want to say because I feel utterly confused. Sad, frustrated and proud. Sad because we won't be paying our respects in Munich. Frustrated that we could have missed so many chances to score and allow them such a simple goal. Proud of the lads on the park who really did

go for it to the last minute when there was no hope - and proud of the Reds at OT who sang, supported and stayed to the end. When the Red Flag burst out to drown the Dortmund singing about ten minutes from the end it reminded me of what being real Manchester United supporter is all about. Tears in the

eyes stuff. A night of no luck for us and lots for them. This team will do the job with perhaps some minor additions next year I'm sure. We had Martin Tyler commentating here in Oz and I didn't get the whiff of ABU sentiment from him. Absolutely down the middle neutral. I think he is a real pro. The local
studio men, Les Murray (an Oz Hungarian who lived in the UK for a long time and persitant critic of English football) and Tom Anderson (a Scot who admits to being a United fan), waffled on after the game about United's naive tactics, English football's ineptitude in general and how, seeing so many

overseas stars are in the Premier league now, English teams should be importing foreign managers too if they are to progress in Europe. As far as the tactical criticism is concerned, I can't see it's too bad tactics to make eight or ten chances to the opponents one or two. They used Chelsea and Arsenal as examples

of the virtues of continental coaching triumphs and, in fairness, it must be said both sides have done well this season, but I'll take Fergie any time.

I know you will all be gutted, but remember we are Reds and that must console us. There is no other club in the world to match us and any other in the UK would be willing to swap our position as beaten EC semi-finalists and Premier league champions both current and soon to be recrowned! Cheers,

David Marshall Brisbane, Australia

Red till I'm dead.

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Date: Thu, 24 Apr 1997 05:29:22 +0800
From: Clarence Chan <art60266@LEONIS.NUS.SG>
Subject: The Greatest Loss of All..

Hello all.

Life just isn't fair.

So I thought that United would give the visitors a roasting; well, they did but the means did not justify the end (or is it the other way round in this case?). I thought that EVERY player played their hearts out tonight - Cole, Beckham, Johnsen and the Nevilles would be the MEN of the match. But alas, no matter

how much they pounded the Dortmund defense, the ball just wouldn't go in - Nooooo. We had like 15 corners but could not convert any of them into goals. Speaking about which, if only the 2 goals had not been disallowed, I'm sure that things would have been very different.

One lousy shot at goal was all the Dortmund players could muster all night and it had to go in. Ten thousand curses to that! If we had taken half our chances, chances which were so painstakingly and deliberately carved out, we would have been 5-nil up at half time. This time, Beckham's delivery was

faultless. The midfield performed as if there were 2 Roy Keanes in there (even though there were none). The defense played their part. (pause) Schmeichel should have saved that! Anyway, why cry over spilt milk as they say? There will always be another tomorrow, another brighter day to look forward to... No!

We have reached the end of the road. United shall play no more part in the Champions' League - they have knocked themselves out!

This is a loss that will remain firmly etched at the back of my mind for as long as I live. Words are beginning to fail me. We have come so close but yet could not be further from the wretched truth. Cantona, where were you when we needed you? Oh yes, you were there but alas, lady luck just wasn't

on your side. So with a heavy heart, I turn away to face another new day which is just beginning to dawn on me - literally. It is 5 o'clock in the morning here in Singapore. To end, thank you all for all the memories and all the sleepless nights; but most importantly for letting me be part of the GREATEST

footballing team in the world - MANCHESTER UNITED. Let us march on and win our fourth league title in five years. There is no stopping the might of Manchester United. We will be back!!!

Clarence Chan

PS. To all those that I've missed out - if it's not on paper, it's in my heart. _______ It is our determination that dictates the future, It is our dreams that are omnipotent. - truly, they are...

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Date: Wed, 23 Apr 1997 14:40:28 -0700
From: Steve Edge <Roguefolk@MINDLINK.BC.CA>
Subject: Thoughts on today's game

A bitter disappointment for The Reds today. I thought we played very well, and I think the turning point was the early disallowed goal. What was wrong with it? Of course, when Dortmund scored it was always going to be a monumental task.

The only time Ive seen United so dominant and so unlucky was against Juventus at OT. And that says a lot about United this season I guess. Something is missing at the highest level, I think. Luck is a component, certainly - the ESPN commentator, Seamus Gallen, mentioned a quote from former NY

Cosmos star Bogicevic (I think), who said sometimes the ball turns its back on you. Great expression! But theres more to it than that, surely.

It was no disgrace to lose today. The support was great. The commitment of the players could not be questioned. Kohler made an unbelievable stop from Cantona. Pallister should have scored. Shots were blocked, deflected wide, and veered off target. The German defence performed miracles. There was a

catalogue of near misses throughout the game for the Reds. And we had two goals disallowed, the second one was a very harsh decision; the first was questionable at least.

I wonder what else United could have done? They did everything but score. It was one of those days. But it was another of those days in Dortmund (where we really lost this tie by not seizing the initiative that was there for the taking). And at home to Juventus was another of those days. And Fenerbahce at

home to a lesser extent. Coincidence? Doesnt look that way, does it?

Individually the players played very well. Collectively they missed a little cohesion, which to be fair, has not really been present very often this season. But it is difficult - if not impossible - to single anyone out for criticism. Why should we? The guys played their hearts out. Cole, Cantona and Solskjaer were

brilliant. Beckhams shooting was off, but he had a great game. Giggs didnt look fit, and cant score with right foot volleys in front of goal even when he is fit. Johnsen was magnificent. They are all heroes. Sometimes even thats not enough.

Keep the faith. The Championship is still ours for the taking, and then we can have a real go at the Champions League next season. Watching Juventus today (it's half time right now) I must say I'm almost relieved we don't have to play them again next month. No I'm not; I'm really pissed off about it! I hope

United don't lose heart now. Leicester should feel the backlash instead. It's days like this that test our commitment to the cause; don't give up.

Steve Edge Vancouver Red

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Date: Wed, 23 Apr 1997 23:31:34 +0100
From: Peter Hargreaves <peter@CHESWEM.U-NET.COM>
Subject: If only

Tonight it was a case of 'if only', but sadly we just weren't good enough. Credit to the Germans they defended well and rode their luck. I don't like the cheating, never have, but at the end of the day we can hold our heads up high and they have to face the day of judgement.

Let's all look forward now.

If somebody had told me at Christmas in 1989 that by 1997 we would have won the Championship more than once (or even once) and the double twice, and just failed to reach the final of the European Cup, I would have felt pretty bloody good. So let's all look on the bright side.

Please, for once, let's have NO criticism of any of those Red-shirted heros. They all ran their bollocks off and on another night....well it would have been a different story.

We're still Manchester United, we're still the greatest club in the world. Let nobody forget that.

Keep the Faith, I wouldn't swap my team for any other, Pete Peter Hargreaves (United Kingdom) http://www.cheswem.u-net.com/

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Date: Thu, 24 Apr 1997 00:13:17 +0100
From: Richard Martin <Richard.Martin@JSTAND.DEMON.CO.UK>
Subject: Lost for words

I'm sure that this will one of many such postings tonight,some of which will be from exiled reds who watched the game on TV,and some of which will be from those of us who were there.

I've had some 3 hours now to come to terms with my emotions,but the more that I think about it,the worse it feels.Devastated,gutted, heartbroken.These words don't even come close to how I feel.I was so sure that we would win tonight.Hell,I had even booked up 3 days in Munich straight after the first leg as I
knew that we were the better team and that our class would show through.I was looking forward to Munich for so many reasons. Now it feels like my heart has been wrenched out of me.

It wouldn't feel so bad if we had been beaten by a better side,or of their 'keeper had played the game of his life.The truth is that we should have had the game sewn up by half-time,and the second half then should have been used to scare the life out of Juventus for the final.I can't bring myself around to ever

watching the video of this game.In fact I've just rewound the tape and started to record over it,just to make sure.How did we miss so many chances,so many very easy chances ? How can Germany have so much luck against England when it comes to semi- finals ? I'm at a complete loss to find any answers.

The team will learn from their experiences this season.We will come back bigger,better,stronger,but it is going to hurt like hell until the campaign begins again next season.

In the meantime,we mustn't let our heads drop as we still have a big job ahead of us in making sure of winning the championship again.

-- Richard

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Date: Wed, 23 Apr 1997 23:11:00 +0200
From: Terje Andreas Schulze <Terje.Schulze@STUD.OSIR.HIHM.NO>
Subject: S*** Happens!!!!

Manchester United - Borussia Dortmund (0-1) 0-1 Lars Ricken 8

What can I say? What about: S*** happens? Dortmund won 2-0 on aggregate. Insane? Perverse? Yes, indeed. It is a shame on behalf of the game we love that Dortmund qualified for the finale, and not United. OK...it was 1-0 after 1.leg....almost fair. In my opinion we had deserved a goal. Today we could

have scored at least 5 (five); 8 if we were abit effective. We had 14 corners. (That would have been 10 goals against Liverpool!) We had God knows how many shots wide or on target. United owned the ball, I guess about 60% of the game. I didn't count, but I'm not far from the truth if I say that Dortmund

crossed the midline about 5 times during the game! I'm sitting here with one question. "What the h*** happened?". How is this possible? A b.....d sitting next to me shouted this when Andy Cole was booked: "He should have been sent off, then WE (yes, he was a Red Devil) would at least get rid of him!" Prick!

In my opinion Cole was our best striker tonight. He created lot's of chances, but unfortunately he was as effective as the rest of the United-players. It turned out to be one of those days that the ball just wouldn't go in. We could have played with 20 strikers; and we would still scored 0 - zero - nill - nothing!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGH!!!!!!! (That was just a brief description of what is on my mind right now!) I'm not going to type all the players that missed "sitters", coz I don't remember half of them; many players missed more than once. All I can say is that we had

probably about 20 shots on/off target; Dortmund had 4. Footy isn't always fair.....

I'm putting on my slippers.....no more beers tonight :o(

Here's to another 1st place in Premier League. We're back in Europe next season...... :o)

F*** DORTMUND, Terje

True RED since 1990.

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Date: Wed, 23 Apr 1997 21:48:57 -0400
From: Paul Sambla <bm249@FREENET.TORONTO.ON.CA>
Subject: Time for recriminations

Alright, I want answers, dammit! Which one of you out there forgot to get out the lucky scarf, forgot to put on the lucky bobble hat, or (horror of horrors) changed socks for todays game? Huh? Because someone's to blame for our luck changing between now and Saturday! The lads skill was the same. Pete

had it right. There's not one single other team I'd rather support. Even at the death, the team were giving it their all. There's ABSOLUTLY no quit about this team, and it makes you really, really proud to wear the colours. A hundred times I've watched teams play, and thought, "Goddamn, what they need is

someone like me in there, who doesn't have the most skill, but'll die for the cause." Tonight, we had 11 who bleed red out there. I don't feel gutted. Depressed? Of course. but my god, they were magnificent. And I'd like to mention something here - in the past I've commented that I'd rather have the Newcastle

reaction from fans after losing, than United fans after winning. That is to say, I want to see emotion on the part of supporters rather than the benchwarmers I was subjected to on my one and only trip to O.T. I take it all back. To see the crowd clapping and singing, right to the end...that's why we're special. I could

hear the Borussia fans, but at the end, the United fans seemed to be undaunted. We know we'll be back. The look on the face of Beckham, or Butt, or Neville, or Neville, or May, or Pallister, or Solskjar, or Johnson, or Giggs, or Fergie - we'll be back. This young team HATES to lose. It hurts to go out, but it

hurts an awful lot less than Galatasary, or Barcalona, or any of the other disappointements I've been through in my comparitivly short time supporting United. The worst thing is that it's Munich that we miss out on - that hurts. Just tell me what city the EC Final is in next year. I've got a game to look forward to.

Sorry this letter's so long. But I've rarely felt prouder to be a Manchester United supporter.

Paul (another Toronto Red)

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Barry Leeming,Denmark
barry@mufc.dk OT 

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