1998–99 Leeds United A.F.C. season


During the 1998–99 season, Leeds United competed in the Premier League.

Season summary

Leeds were expected to progress once more under manager George Graham after the former Arsenal manager guided Leeds to 5th place in his first full season in charge. Graham had added to his squad, signing defender Danny Granville and Dutch striker Clyde Winjard. After just 4 games Leeds went to top of the Premiership for the first time in their history. But rumours began to spread of George Graham taking the Tottenham job after Spurs had sacked Christian Gross, the saga dragged on when finally after a UEFA cup game against Maritimo of Portugal, Graham indeed left Leeds for Tottenham. Graham's assistant David O'Leary took charge as Leeds attempted to court Leicester boss Martin O'Neil, who eventually refused. But United's performances on the pitch began improving -despite only drawing several games, many teenage players were given debuts by O'Leary and put in great performances, such as the game against Italian giants Roma in the UEFA cup. Needless to say, O'Leary was appointed manager in time for the game against Derby which ended 2–2. Leeds then began winning regularly, playing impressive attacking football. They had several talented youngsters, including goal keeper Paul Robinson, defenders Ian Harte and Johnathan Woodgate, mid fielders Lee Bowyer and Steven McPhail, as well as strikers Alan Smith and Harry Kewell. But David O'leary was eager to bring in experienced players to add to this young team, and signed David Batty from Newcastle. Batty was a key player in the Leeds side that won the old Division 1 title in 1992 and a fan favourite. In the run up to Christmas, Leeds were almost in contention for a shot at the title, but suffered back to back losses against Southampton and Newcastle in the new year. This ended any league-winning hopes, and they were also knocked out of the FA cup. Despite this, Leeds ended the season in red hot form, setting a record of 7 straight wins and a 1–0 victory over Arsenal, costing the gunners the title race. Leeds finished an impressive 4th place in the league – their highest finish yet. With this achievement, and with one of the most exiting young squads in the country, the future certainly looked bright for United.

Final league table

;Results summary
;Results by round

Results

Leeds United's score comes first

Legend

FA Premier League

FA Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R32 January 1999Rushden & DiamondsA0–06,431
R3R13 January 1999Rushden & DiamondsH3–139,159Smith, Hasselbaink
R423 January 1999PortsmouthA5–118,864Wetherall, Harte, Kewell, Ribeiro, Wijnhard
R513 February 1999Tottenham HotspurH1–139,696Harte
R5R24 February 1999Tottenham HotspurA0–232,307

League Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R328 October 1998Bradford CityH1–027,561Kewell
R411 November 1998Leicester CityA1–220,161Kewell

UEFA Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R1 1st Leg15 September 1998MarítimoH1–038,033Hasselbaink
R1 2nd Leg29 September 1998MarítimoA0–1 10,000
R2 1st Leg20 October 1998RomaA0–143,003
R2 2nd Leg3 November 1998RomaH0–0 39,161

First-team squad

Left club during season

Reserve squad

Statistics

Appearances and goals

! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Goalkeepers
! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Defenders
! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Midfielders
! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Forwards
! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Players transferred out during the season

Starting 11

In

Out

Loaned in