Manchester United's players celebrate on their open-top bus parade after winning the Treble in 1999.
Manchester United scooped a historic Treble in 1998/99.
After winning back-to-back Premier League titles in 1996 and 1997, imagine the frustration Manchester United must have felt at missing out on a third successive crown in 1998 by a single point.
United had won four of the first five Premier League titles, scooping two either side of being pipped to the 1995 crown by Blackburn Rovers.
The Lancashire outfit, who were under the stewardship of Sir Kenny Dalglish at the time, beat United to top spot by a single point. It was the exact same scenario when Arsenal pipped United to the summit in 1998.
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United ended the 1997/98 season having won just the Community Shield. They exited the FA Cup at the fifth round stage, bowed out of the League Cup at the third round stage and said farewell to the Champions League at the quarter-final stage.
It meant United, during the summer of 1998, had to come up with the plan for how they could wrestle back the Premier League title and become a stronger force in Europe. Sir Alex Ferguson decided loosening the purse strings in the transfer market would help his team's case.
Jaap Stam was the first statement signing of the summer, arriving from PSV Eindhoven to strengthen the defence, before Trinidad and Tobago international Dwight Yorke arrived from Aston Villa. United signed the striker in a deal worth north of £12.5million two days before their second Premier League game of the campaign.
Yorke had established himself as one of the Premier League's most reliable goalscorers, scoring 46 times across the three proceeding Premier League campaigns prior to moving to Old Trafford. He scored 17 goals apiece in 1995/96 and 1996/97. and netted 12 in 1997/98.
United, understandably, felt Yorke was what was the missing link in their quest to try and reclaim the Premier League title. The now-53-year-old soon hit the ground running in Manchester, scoring twice on his home debut in a 4-1 win over Charlton Athletic.
Those two strikes were the first of 29 goals Yorke plundered in his maiden season at United - and 18 of them were scored in the Premier League. His goals contributed to United reclaiming the Premier League title, beating Arsenal to it by a single point.
Dwight Yorke (left) hit the ground running at Manchester United. (Image: Clive Brunskill/Allsport.)
Of Yorke's 18 league goals that season, a third of them directly earned United 11 points. Without them, they would have finished fourth.
As well as scoring 18 goals en route to United reclaiming the Premier League crown, the striker, who spent four years at United, also netted eight goals to help the club win the Champions League, and plundered three to help them scoop the FA Cup.
To say United got their money's worth is an understatement. Yorke ended the season as the club's leading goalscorer, netting five more than his nearest rival, Andy Cole.
Having blossomed in his first season at Old Trafford, helping United clinch a famous Treble, Ferguson challenged Yorke to build on his 1998/99 tally of 29 goals the following season. However, the former Sunderland man fell short of reaching the target Ferguson set him, resulting in him being given a response you came to expect from Ferguson, whose demands were sky-high.
"In the first season I scored 29 goals, in the second year I scored 26, and the gaffer said to me 'you're a failure'," Yorke recalled. "I was top scorer again and we won the Premier League, but he said I was a failure.
"But you look back and I get where he was coming from. This is where you need to push yourself even further by getting more than 29.
Dwight Yorke (left) played a starring role in the Treble-winning campaign. (Image: Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images.)
"You look at [Lionel] Messi and [Cristiano] Ronaldo and that's the kind of levels he's trying to push you to, but I didn't see it then. Finishing as the top scorer with 26 goals was very rewarding for me, but the gaffer wasn't too pleased.
"Then in my third year I had 14 goals from 22 starts, which is not a bad return. But that wasn't good enough at United. That was the level the manager was demanding of you and I get it now."
Fresh from winning the Treble in 1998/99, United won the Premier League crown again the following season, winning it at a canter. They won 28 of their 38 matches, amassing 91 points to finish 18 clear of second-placed Arsenal.
Yorke was once again their leading marksman in the league, scoring 20 goals in 32 appearances. He was, as his numbers demonstrated, often reliable in front of goal.
However, Ferguson, just as Yorke has documented, was not pleased by the fact the now-Trinidad and Tobago boss allowed his overall output to slip. Yorke, though, felt he could have scored even more goals than the 29 he did get in his first season in M16.
"I should have scored more goals," he continued. "I was disappointed I only scored 29 goals, even though that was unbelievable in my first year.
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"I think the manager robbed me of a few games when I felt I should have played and could have scored goals!
"He substituted me when I was on the verge of scoring a hat-trick. I was on two goals and he takes me off to have a rest! You look back and think 'bloody hell, gaffer, you robbed me of a few goals over the years'."
Unfortunately for Yorke, he never managed to replicate the standards he hit in his first season at United, with his attacking output declining year-on-year. His final season at Old Trafford (2001/02) saw him score just one goal.
It resulted in him being offloaded in July 2002 and sealing a move to Blackburn Rovers. He spent two years at Ewood Park before going on to have spells at Birmingham City, Sydney FC and Sunderland.
Although his career fizzled out towards its conclusion, his exploits in the 1998/99 Treble-winning campaign will never be forgotten in M16.
This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
Keep warm on the sidelines
Beat the cold weather with these winter warmers
There's plenty of deals to keep you warm from head to toe on match day.
We've found heated clothing like gloves, gilets and hats, plus foot warmers and a simple thermal beanie that'll help you beat the winter weather.
from £9.99
Various