Screen Shot 2014-12-24 at 11.53.38The day after Boxing Day during the 1995-96 season, Manchester United took on Newcastle at Old Trafford. Ahead of kick-off, the visitors were 10 points clear at the top of the table, with a goal difference superior by 10, and with four more wins to their name.

Of the previous five games, United had drawn three, before losing two on the bounce, with painful defeats away to Liverpool and then Leeds.

After missing out on the title to Blackburn on the final day of the season before, it looked as though United were now prepared to surrender the title to Newcastle.

If United lost, they would be 13 points behind, bereft of confidence and with little chance of reclaiming the Premier League title. Whatever Sir Alex Ferguson said to the players ahead of kick-off that day though, it worked.

United took the lead with just five minutes played after Ryan Giggs sprinted down the left wing and played in a perfect defence-splitting ball to former Newcastle striker, Andy Cole. These days, if a player scored a goal like that, he would probably try and supress any sort of emotion, ‘out of respect’ for his former club. Cole had been at United for less than a year but that didn’t stop him from sprinting off ecstatically.

Early in to the second half, Phil Neville played what was probably the ball for his life from just inside Newcastle’s half to the back post, where an unmarked Roy Keane was waiting. He smashed it in to the back of the net and United won 2-0.

“We didn’t really look like we wanted it enough,” Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan said after the game. He was right. United went on to win 13 of the final 15 games of the season and even though Keegan would have loved it if his team had beaten United, he was left wanting, with United winning the league and FA Cup.

United play Newcastle on Boxing Day this year and the Reds are again 10 points behind the league leaders, although this time around it’s Chelsea they are chasing. Newcastle have just crept in to the top half of the table, above Liverpool, despite losing the derby against Sunderland last week.

There’s no Ferguson, there’s almost certainly no title up for grabs, but let’s hope that this Christmas time against Newcastle that Louis van Gaal comes up with the goods.