1998–99 FA Premier League


The 1998–99 FA Premier League was the seventh season of the Premier League, the top division of English football, since its establishment in 1992. Manchester United won a unique treble of the league title, the FA Cup and the UEFA Champions League. They secured their fifth league championship in seven seasons after losing just three league games all season.
The season was also the 100th season of top flight football in England, not counting years lost to the two World Wars. Of the original clubs in the first Football League season, only Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Derby County and Everton were present for this season.
Arsenal failed to retain their title, despite having the same points tally as last season 78 points, but had at one point looked as though they were on the brink of winning the title, after beating fellow rivals Tottenham Hotspur, while Manchester United had drawn against Liverpool, 2–2. However, Manchester United pushed on and took advantage of Arsenal's 1–0 defeat at Leeds United in the penultimate match of the season and despite going 1–0 down against Tottenham on the final day, came back to win 2–1 and clinch the title. Should they have failed to win, Arsenal would have been crowned champions once more.
To achieve their success, the Manchester United playing squad had been altered substantially during the close season. A total of more than £28 million had been spent on Dwight Yorke, Jaap Stam and Jesper Blomqvist, while several older players left the club; Gary Pallister returned to Middlesbrough after nine years for £2.5 million, while Brian McClair returned to Motherwell on a free transfer. In December, however, McClair was back in the Premier League as Brian Kidd's assistant at Blackburn Rovers.

Season summary

At the end of 1998–99, the Premiership would have three Champions League places. Manchester United as well as runners-up Arsenal and third placed Chelsea would be playing in the following season's Champions League. There would only be one automatic UEFA Cup place from the league – taken by fourth-placed Leeds United. Fifth-placed West Ham United qualified for the UEFA Cup via the Intertoto Cup after achieving their highest league finish for thirteen years as they continued to make progress under Harry Redknapp, outperforming several "bigger" clubs with greater resources. Also qualifying were Newcastle United via the 1998–99 FA Cup final, and Tottenham Hotspur via the League Cup.
Bottom of the Premiership in the final table came Nottingham Forest, who suffered their third relegation in seven seasons. One notable low for Forest this season was an 8–1 drubbing at home, by Manchester United. Second from bottom came Blackburn Rovers, who just four seasons earlier had been Premiership champions. The final relegation place went to Charlton Athletic, who went down at the end of their first spell in the top flight for nine seasons. The only newly promoted club to survive was Middlesbrough, who finished in a respectable ninth place.
None of the teams relegated from the Premiership the previous season regained their top division status in 1999, although First Division champions Sunderland regained their Premiership place after a two-year exile. The other two relegation places went to long-term absentees from the top division. Playoff winners Watford regained their top division place after an absence of 11 years, but runners-up Bradford had been outside of the top division for 77 years. These two promotion winners surprised the observers more than any other Division One side during 1998–99.

Teams

Twenty teams competed in the league – the top seventeen teams from the previous season and the three teams promoted from the First Division. The promoted teams were Nottingham Forest, Middlesbrough and Charlton Athletic. This was also Charlton Athletic's first season in the Premier League. They replaced Bolton Wanderers, Barnsley and Crystal Palace, with all three relegated teams immediately returning to the First Division after a mere season's presence.

Stadiums and Locations

TeamLocationStadiumCapacity
ArsenalLondon Arsenal Stadium38,419
Aston VillaBirminghamVilla Park42,573
Blackburn RoversBlackburnEwood Park31,367
Charlton AthleticLondon The Valley28,723
ChelseaLondon Stamford Bridge42,055
Coventry CityCoventryHighfield Road23,489
Derby CountyDerbyPride Park Stadium33,597
EvertonLiverpool Goodison Park40,569
Leeds UnitedLeedsElland Road40,242
Leicester CityLeicesterFilbert Street22,000
LiverpoolLiverpool Anfield45,522
Manchester UnitedOld TraffordOld Trafford68,174
MiddlesbroughMiddlesbroughRiverside Stadium
Newcastle UnitedNewcastle upon TyneSt James' Park52,387
Nottingham ForestWest BridgfordCity Ground30,445
Sheffield WednesdaySheffieldHillsborough Stadium39,732
SouthamptonSouthamptonThe Dell15,200
Tottenham HotspurLondon White Hart Lane36,240
West Ham UnitedLondon Boleyn Ground35,647
WimbledonLondon Selhurst Park26,074

Personnel and kits

TeamManagerCaptainKit manufacturerShirt sponsor
Arsenal Arsène Wenger Tony AdamsNikeJVC
Aston Villa John Gregory Gareth SouthgateReebokLDV Vans
Blackburn Rovers Brian Kidd Garry FlitcroftUhlsportCIS
Charlton Athletic Alan Curbishley Mark KinsellaLe Coq SportifMesh Computers
Chelsea Gianluca Vialli Dennis WiseUmbroAutoglass
Coventry City Gordon Strachan Gary McAllisterLe Coq SportifSubaru
Derby County Jim Smith Igor ŠtimacPumaEDS
Everton Walter Smith Dave WatsonUmbroOne2One
Leeds United David O'Leary Lucas RadebePumaPackard Bell
Leicester City Martin O'Neill Steve WalshFox LeisureWalkers
Liverpool Gérard Houllier Paul InceReebokCarlsberg
Manchester United Alex Ferguson Roy KeaneUmbroSharp
Middlesbrough Bryan Robson Andy TownsendErreàCellnet
Newcastle United Ruud Gullit Alan ShearerAdidasNewcastle Brown Ale
Nottingham Forest Ron Atkinson Steve ChettleUmbroPinnacle Insurance
Sheffield Wednesday Danny Wilson Peter AthertonPumaSanderson
Southampton Dave Jones Matt Le TissierPonySanderson
Tottenham Hotspur George Graham Sol CampbellPonyHewlett-Packard
West Ham United Harry Redknapp Steve LomasPonyDr. Martens
Wimbledon Terry Burton
Mick Harford 		Robbie EarleLottoElonex

Managerial changes

League table

Results

Season statistics

Scoring

Top scorers

RankPlayerClubGoals
1 Jimmy Floyd HasselbainkLeeds United18
1 Michael OwenLiverpool18
1 Dwight YorkeManchester United18
4 Nicolas AnelkaArsenal17
4 Andy ColeManchester United17
6 Hámilton RicardMiddlesbrough15
7 Dion DublinAston Villa14
7 Robbie FowlerLiverpool14
7 Julian JoachimAston Villa14
7 Alan ShearerNewcastle United14

Hat-tricks

PlayerForAgainstResultDateRef
Charlton AthleticSouthampton5–0 22 8 1998
LiverpoolNewcastle United4–1 30 8 1998
4LiverpoolNottingham Forest5–1 24 10 1998
Aston VillaLeicester City4–1 14 11 1998
LiverpoolAston Villa4–2 21 11 1998
Tottenham HotspurEverton4–1 28 12 1998
Coventry CityNottingham Forest4–0 9 1 1999
PLiverpoolSouthampton7–1 16 1 1999
Manchester UnitedLeicester City6–2 16 1 1999
4 Manchester UnitedNottingham Forest8–1 6 2 1999
ArsenalLeicester City5–0 20 2 1999
EvertonWest Ham United6–0 8 5 1999

Top assists

RankPlayerClubAssists
1 Dennis BergkampArsenal13
1 Jimmy Floyd HasselbainkLeeds United13
3 David BeckhamManchester United11
3 Eyal BerkovicWest Ham United11
3 Steve GuppyLeicester City11
3 Dwight YorkeManchester United11
7 David GinolaTottenham Hotspur10
8 Darren AndertonTottenham Hotspur9
8 Harry KewellLeeds United9
10 James BeattieSouthampton7

Awards

Monthly awards

Annual awards

AwardWinnerClub
Premier League Manager of the Season Alex FergusonManchester United
Premier League Player of the Season Dwight YorkeManchester United
PFA Players' Player of the Year David GinolaTottenham Hotspur
PFA Young Player of the Year Nicolas AnelkaArsenal
FWA Footballer of the Year David GinolaTottenham Hotspur