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From the wide selection available (see nearly 100 videos past and present) we've chosen:         "So Close! - Season Review 1995-96"  which you'll find in the "Season Reviews" category. If you want a copy, follow this link, where you can order it courtesy of the excellent Blackstar website.

NUFC.com's view: Long-suffering readers of this site are accustomed to our head-in-the-sand approach when the emotion becomes all too much. Scribbling disjointed phrases about Under 17 matches on local school playing fields is no problem but when confronted with the recent traumas at the Twin Towers we were rendered incapable of meaningful comment. Well, that's the sort of feeling that leaves this tape probably the least played of my collection.

It was a real effort to dig out this tape and force myself to pour over the ashes of the season that nearly was. However, not only was the catharsis probably therapeutic for my disturbed mind, but lest we forget, this was the season of a lifetime. 

I remember the excitement of pre-season. The signings were almost exactly what I'd hoped for - Hislop, Barton, Ginola and Ferdinand strengthened us in every department. Solako, Weah and Baggio were transfers that never materialised but pre-season games at Hartlepool, Rushden & Diamonds, Celtic, Gateshead, Hearts and Spurs had me dribbling in anticipation. For an eternal pessimist to proclaim this would be our title year even surprised me.

The opening annihilation of Solako's Coventry on a sunny August Saturday set us off on the roller-coaster of emotion that most of us will never forget. You'd struggle to remember a dull game from the season as we marauded our way to the top of the table. Big Les set new scoring records, Ginola performed memorably and Beardsley was just Beardsley. Robert Lee thumped them in from all angles, Steve Watson scored that Coca-Cola winner at Anfield and even Keith Gillespie had a purple patch. Up to the defeat at Stamford Bridge, it was about as good as it gets.

Two defeats at Highbury, the Old Trafford reverse and the infamous Anfield 3-4 and Blackburn 1-2 games still churn the stomach but thankfully it's less painful watching now than it was being there. The arrival of Asprilla and Batty gave fuel to the less-discerning critics but as Keegan himself admits there were a lot of other factors that robbed us of the title that year - notably KK's admission that he screwed up with the three-at-the-back tactic which we often lamented at length on motorways that year.

Verdict: Time has passed, and now is probably a good time to re-visit this season. Yes, bits of it are still painful (and I don't just mean ITV's Duncan Woods or Roger Tames) but the rest is a record of fantasy football that only comes around once or twice in a lifetime. While Man United fans probably struggle to recall any memories from 1995-96 we can look back at dozens of spine-tinglers and gut-wrenchers that made the Keegan years so incredible and most of them are captured on this tape. They played an Oasis song at the interval at Elland Road in the final week of the season. Since then I've always associated it with this campaign. The song? "Don't Look Back in Anger".... If you haven't got a copy get it before they delete it. If you have a copy, blow off the dust and prepare for the ultimate in white-knuckle rides.

Highlight(s):
3rd place Ginola's sending off at Arsenal. A strange choice perhaps, but never has the point of someone's elbow done it's job more perfectly on someone that deserved it so much. I flippin' hate Lee Dixon....
2nd place Sheff Wed away. Beardsley's miraculous byline chip and Ginola's stunning opener. The £20 I won on having Ginola as first goalscorer financed my Rothman's Football Yearbook purchase that year....
the winner West Ham at home. Poorly represented on this tape as it only has about six of our 42 shots on target. This Tino-inspired victory still remains one of the most glorious displays by a team wearing black and white stripes in my lifetime. 

Niall MacKenzie