35 brilliant photographs from vital fundraising glamour friendly between Derry City FC and Manchester United in 2000

Derry City FC were on their financial uppers. The taxman was making phone calls.

The storied Brandywell club’s debts, excluding what it was reputed to owe the inland revenue, had risen to a staggering £180,000.

That’s about £350,000 in today’s money when inflation is taken into account.

During the summer of 2000 Paddy Crerand, by chance, had returned to Ireland to bury an uncle.

The Celtic, Manchester United and Scotland legend – also a proud Irishman through his Donegal roots – bumped into his friend John Hume when home for the funeral in Gweedore.

Paddy’s mother Sarah ‘Tim’ Boyle hailed from Bunbeg and his uncle Hughie ‘Tim’ Boyle was a celebrated footballer who played for both Gweedore and Donegal in the 1940s and 1950s.

John used to rent a house from Pat’s aunt Biddy that overlooked the world famous Magheraclogher stand and shipwreck Bád Eddie.

Thus the SDLP leader appraised Paddy of Derry’s predicament. “I’ll say to Alex,” Pat told him.

To be sure Paddy went to see the Manchester United manager in person but a letter was also later dispatched from West End Park to Old Trafford.

Fast forward to November 2000 and Paddy landed on the apron at City of Derry Airport with 16 Red Devils in tow for a glamour fixture at the Brandywell.

"I was attending the funeral of my uncle in Gweedore when I met John Hume. John asked about the possibility of having Manchester United over and I had a chat with Alex Ferguson about it.

"John then followed up our conversation with a letter, and United were delighted to accommodate a club in financial difficulty,” he told the ‘Journal’ at the time.

The game was to be played on a Monday night, November 13, after a full round of English Premier League fixtures and just five nights after Manchester United’s 1-0 victory over Dynamo Kyiv in the Champions’ League group stages.

Understandably a full strength squad would be unable to appear and the likes of Roy Keane, Denis Irwin, Andy Cole, David Beckham, Ryan Giggs were necessarily absent.

Alex Ferguson was unable to attend due to a previous family engagement but sent Mike Phelan as a plenipotentiary.

The team that played in Derry that night included stars such as the soon-to-be French international Mikaël Silvestre, David May, a 21-year-old David Healy and a very young John O’Shea.

A bit of trivia for the quizzers: which former Manchester United player played five times against Derry City, four times competitively and thrice at the Brandywell?

Raimond van der Gouw was in nets for United that night. In the early 1990s he had kept goal on four separate occasions against Derry for Vitesse Arnhem in UEFA Cup ties in 1990 and 1992.

As it happens his compatriot Phillip Cocu had been a Vitesse team mate during the 1992 European campaign. While van der Gouw would play his fifth match against Derry on November 13, 2000, Cocu, would have to wait until John Hume invited Joan Laporta’s Barcelona to Derry on August 12, 2003, to line out on the hallowed Brandywell turf again for the second time in what would be his third match against Derry.

But you could tell van der Gouw had been to Derry before...

"I can remember a little slope on the pitch," he said. "I know Vitesse qualified for the next round from both games, but I remember the first one when I think we won 1-0."

He moved to United from Vitesse in 1996.

Four years later nine thousand people packed into the Brandywell for the friendly on that cold and windy Monday night.

City held out until the 64th minute when Scottish striker Alex Notman drove the ball home following a move down the right wing.

As ‘Journal’ sports editor Arty Duffy reported at the time “Derry's local bank manager should be in a cheerful mood this morning with the news that the club is back in the 'black' and finally in a position to meet the rising debts threatening its existence”.

After the inland revenue had taken its cut the ‘Candystripes’ were in a position to cover a total deficit of £180,000 and express gratitude to both Manchester United and Glasgow Celtic, who had facilitated another big friendly in October of that year.

Manchester United: Van der Gouw, M Clegg, May, O'Shea, Silvestre, Webber, Wallwork, Stewart, Bjorbjic, Healy, Notman. Subs: Studley for Silvestre, Evans for Notman, G Clegg for Healy, Lynch for M Clegg.

Derry City: Payne, McCallion, Hargan, Hutton, Harkin, Doherty, McLaughlin, Hegarty, Coyle, Beckett, McCready. Subs: Quigley for McLaughlin, Gallagher for Hargan, Connolly for Payne, Parkhouse for Coyle, McGlynn for McCready.