| Ole Gunnar Solskjaer opened the scoring after
five minutes and although Chris Armstrong levelled for the
visitors, United won with two more first-half goals from David
Beckham and former Spurs old boy Teddy Sheringham.
The result ensured United's championship
celebrations went with a swing and there to watch it all was
Eric Cantona. |
David
Beckham celebrates with his son Brooklyn. |
There have been a few grumbles from supporters about
having to wait so long to get their hands on the Premiership trophy, but
neither Sir Alex Ferguson nor the thousands of fans packed into Old
Trafford on this sunny morning seemed to mind.
It was party time and United intended to enjoy every
moment of their big day.
It was a particularly special occasion for Raimond van
der Gouw - after four years at United the Dutch goalkeeper had finally
played enough games to collect a winner's medal.
Dwight Yorke would have to wait to receive his medal
because he is away on international duty with Trinidad and Tobago, but
all the other members of the title squad were here.
As promised, Jaap Stam, Beckham, Denis Irwin and Paul
Scholes returned from their mini-break as Ferguson fielded his strongest
possible side to say 'thank you' to the fans.
Gary Neville, Roy Keane and Mark Bosnich were still
injured, while Andy Cole joined them on the casualty list with his sore
toe.
On a day of presentations, Ferguson was also due to
receive his Carling Manager of the Month award for April before the
match.
In the midst of all these presentations and
celebrations, it was easy to forget that there was also a football match
on and Tottenham were determined to be party-poopers.
They are one of the three sides who have managed to
beat United in the Premiership and they would love to complete the
double and give a boost to their recovering manager George Graham.
Ferguson led the lap of honour afterwards, walking
round holding his grandson Jake's hand.
The United boss then took the microphone to address
the fans and he began by saying what an achievement it was to win the
Premiership again.
"It's another fantastic day for Manchester United
and the one thing I can tell you is that it's not easy winning our
league," he said.
"This day is special for this club and I want you
to remember that."
