1998–99 FA Premier League

1998–99 FA Premier League

Winner's medal from the 1998–99 Premier League (Manchester United Museum)

The 1998–99 FA Premier League (known as the FA Carling Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the seventh season of the Premier League, the top division of English football, since its establishment in 1992. Manchester United won a treble of the league title, the FA Cup and the UEFA Champions League. They secured their fifth league title in seven seasons after outlasting Arsenal and Chelsea in a closely fought title race, 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.

Chelsea, looking to build on a fourth-placed finish the previous season, were flying for much of the season and were in a good position to claim a first league title in 44 years. The Blues were second at Christmas and went top on Boxing Day. A loss at Highbury at the start of February was just a second in the league all season, and kept Chelsea in second place, just a point off the summit. Eventually, three draws in April against winnable opposition (mid-table sides Middlesbrough and Leicester City, and relegation-threatened Sheffield Wednesday) is what cost Chelsea a first Premiership crown. Had they won these, the Blues would've been champions. Chelsea had to settle for third place, earning a maiden Champions League appearance.

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

1998–99 FA Premier League

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 since 1986 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.

Manchester United regained the title from Arsenal on the final day of the season, and had faced competition from Chelsea until the final stages of the season, while Aston Villa had led the table for much of the first half of the season before finishing sixth.

Bottom of the Premiership in the final table came Nottingham Forest, who suffered their third relegation in seven seasons. After winning two of their opening three matches, a club record winless run of 19 matches left them firmly rooted to the bottom. Another notable low during the season saw an 8-1 defeat at home to Manchester United, by which point Dave Bassett had been replaced by Ron Atkinson, who was unable to spark a revival in fortunes and their relegation back to the First Division was confirmed with three games remaining. Forest ultimately would not return to the top flight for another 23 years.

Second from bottom came Blackburn Rovers, who just four seasons earlier had been Premiership champions. Like Forest, a change of manager, with Roy Hodgson being replaced by Brian Kidd just before Christmas failed to have the desired outcome, a goalless draw at home to Manchester United in their penultimate game of the season sealing their fate. 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 following a 1-0 defeat at home to Sheffield Wednesday on the final day. The only newly promoted club to survive was Middlesbrough, who finished in ninth place - their highest final position for more than 20 years.

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, but were widely expected to struggle in the top flight.

Teams

1998–99 FA Premier League

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 (both teams sealing an immediate return to the top flight after a single season), and Charlton Athletic (playing in the top flight after an eight-year absence). 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 returning to the First Division after a single season in the top flight.

Stadiums and locations

<table><thead><tr><th>Team</th><th>Location</th><th>Stadium</th><th>Capacity</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Arsenal</td><td>London (Highbury)</td><td>Arsenal Stadium</td><td>38,419</td></tr><tr><td>Aston Villa</td><td>Birmingham</td><td>Villa Park</td><td>42,573</td></tr><tr><td>Blackburn Rovers</td><td>Blackburn</td><td>Ewood Park</td><td>31,367</td></tr><tr><td>Charlton Athletic</td><td>London (Charlton)</td><td>The Valley</td><td>20,043</td></tr><tr><td>Chelsea</td><td>London (Fulham)</td><td>Stamford Bridge</td><td>42,055</td></tr><tr><td>Coventry City</td><td>Coventry</td><td>Highfield Road</td><td>23,489</td></tr><tr><td>Derby County</td><td>Derby</td><td>Pride Park Stadium</td><td>33,597</td></tr><tr><td>Everton</td><td>Liverpool (Walton)</td><td>Goodison Park</td><td>40,569</td></tr><tr><td>Leeds United</td><td>Leeds</td><td>Elland Road</td><td>40,242</td></tr><tr><td>Leicester City</td><td>Leicester</td><td>Filbert Street</td><td>22,000</td></tr><tr><td>Liverpool</td><td>Liverpool (Anfield)</td><td>Anfield</td><td>45,522</td></tr><tr><td>Manchester United</td><td>Manchester</td><td>Old Trafford</td><td>68,174</td></tr><tr><td>Middlesbrough</td><td>Middlesbrough</td><td>Riverside Stadium</td><td>30,000</td></tr><tr><td>Newcastle United</td><td>Newcastle upon Tyne</td><td>St James' Park</td><td>52,387</td></tr><tr><td>Nottingham Forest</td><td>West Bridgford</td><td>City Ground</td><td>30,445</td></tr><tr><td>Sheffield Wednesday</td><td>Sheffield</td><td>Hillsborough Stadium</td><td>39,732</td></tr><tr><td>Southampton</td><td>Southampton</td><td>The Dell</td><td>15,200</td></tr><tr><td>Tottenham Hotspur</td><td>London (Tottenham)</td><td>White Hart Lane</td><td>36,240</td></tr><tr><td>West Ham United</td><td>London (Upton Park)</td><td>Boleyn Ground</td><td>35,647</td></tr><tr><td>Wimbledon</td><td>London (Selhurst)</td><td>Selhurst Park</td><td>26,074</td></tr></tbody></table>

Personnel and kits

<table><thead><tr><th>Team</th><th>Manager</th><th>Captain</th><th>Kit manufacturer</th><th>Shirt sponsor</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Arsenal</td><td>Arsène Wenger</td><td>Tony Adams</td><td>Nike</td><td>JVC</td></tr><tr><td>Aston Villa</td><td>John Gregory</td><td>Gareth Southgate</td><td>Reebok</td><td>LDV Vans</td></tr><tr><td>Blackburn Rovers</td><td>Brian Kidd</td><td>Garry Flitcroft</td><td>Uhlsport</td><td>CIS</td></tr><tr><td>Charlton Athletic</td><td>Alan Curbishley</td><td>Mark Kinsella</td><td>Le Coq Sportif</td><td>Mesh Computers</td></tr><tr><td>Chelsea</td><td>Gianluca Vialli</td><td>Dennis Wise</td><td>Umbro</td><td>Autoglass</td></tr><tr><td>Coventry City</td><td>Gordon Strachan</td><td>Gary McAllister</td><td>Le Coq Sportif</td><td>Subaru</td></tr><tr><td>Derby County</td><td>Jim Smith</td><td>Igor Štimac</td><td>Puma</td><td>EDS</td></tr><tr><td>Everton</td><td>Walter Smith</td><td>Dave Watson</td><td>Umbro</td><td>One2One</td></tr><tr><td>Leeds United</td><td>David O'Leary</td><td>Lucas Radebe</td><td>Puma</td><td>Packard Bell</td></tr><tr><td>Leicester City</td><td>Martin O'Neill</td><td>Steve Walsh</td><td>Fox Leisure</td><td>Walkers</td></tr><tr><td>Liverpool</td><td>Gérard Houllier</td><td>Paul Ince</td><td>Reebok</td><td>Carlsberg</td></tr><tr><td>Manchester United</td><td>Alex Ferguson</td><td>Roy Keane</td><td>Umbro</td><td>Sharp</td></tr><tr><td>Middlesbrough</td><td>Bryan Robson</td><td>Andy Townsend</td><td>Erreà</td><td>Cellnet</td></tr><tr><td>Newcastle United</td><td>Ruud Gullit</td><td>Alan Shearer</td><td>Adidas</td><td>Newcastle Brown Ale</td></tr><tr><td>Nottingham Forest</td><td>Ron Atkinson</td><td>Steve Chettle</td><td>Umbro</td><td>Pinnacle Insurance</td></tr><tr><td>Sheffield Wednesday</td><td>Danny Wilson</td><td>Peter Atherton</td><td>Puma</td><td>Sanderson</td></tr><tr><td>Southampton</td><td>Dave Jones</td><td>Matt Le Tissier</td><td>Pony</td><td>Sanderson</td></tr><tr><td>Tottenham Hotspur</td><td>George Graham</td><td>Sol Campbell</td><td>Pony</td><td>Hewlett-Packard</td></tr><tr><td>West Ham United</td><td>Harry Redknapp</td><td>Steve Lomas</td><td>Pony</td><td>Dr. Martens</td></tr><tr><td>Wimbledon</td><td>Terry Burton Mick Harford (caretaker)</td><td>Robbie Earle</td><td>Lotto</td><td>Elonex</td></tr></tbody></table>

Managerial changes

<table><thead><tr><th>Team</th><th>Outgoing manager</th><th>Manner of departure</th><th>Date of vacancy</th><th>Position in table</th><th>Incoming manager</th><th>Date of appointment</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Sheffield Wednesday</td><td>Ron Atkinson</td><td>End of caretaker spell</td><td>17 May 1998</td><td>Pre-season</td><td>Danny Wilson</td><td>6 July 1998</td></tr><tr><td>Everton</td><td>Howard Kendall</td><td>Resigned</td><td>1 July 1998</td><td>Walter Smith</td><td>1 July 1998</td></tr><tr><td>Liverpool</td><td>Roy Evans (sole charge)</td><td>N/A</td><td>Roy Evans Gérard Houllier (co-managers)</td></tr><tr><td>Newcastle United</td><td>Kenny Dalglish</td><td>Sacked</td><td>27 August 1998</td><td>13th</td><td>Ruud Gullit</td><td>27 August 1998</td></tr><tr><td>Tottenham Hotspur</td><td>Christian Gross</td><td>5 September 1998</td><td>14th</td><td>David Pleat Chris Hughton (co-caretakers)</td><td>7 September 1998</td></tr><tr><td>David Pleat Chris Hughton</td><td>End of caretaker spell</td><td>1 October 1998</td><td>13th</td><td>George Graham</td><td>1 October 1998</td></tr><tr><td>Leeds United</td><td>George Graham</td><td>Signed by Tottenham</td><td>7th</td><td>David O'Leary</td></tr><tr><td>Liverpool</td><td>Roy Evans (as co-manager)</td><td>Resigned</td><td>12 November 1998</td><td>11th</td><td>Gérard Houllier (taking sole charge)</td><td>12 November 1998</td></tr><tr><td>Blackburn Rovers</td><td>Roy Hodgson</td><td>Sacked</td><td>21 November 1998</td><td>20th</td><td>Tony Parkes (caretaker)</td><td>21 November 1998</td></tr><tr><td>Tony Parkes</td><td>End of caretaker spell</td><td>4 December 1998</td><td>Brian Kidd</td><td>4 December 1998</td></tr><tr><td>Nottingham Forest</td><td>Dave Bassett</td><td>Sacked</td><td>5 January 1999</td><td>Ron Atkinson (caretaker)</td><td>5 January 1999</td></tr><tr><td>Wimbledon</td><td>Joe Kinnear</td><td>Illness</td><td>3 March 1999</td><td>6th</td><td>Terry Burton Mick Harford (co-caretakers)</td><td>3 March 1999</td></tr></tbody></table>

League table

1998–99 FA Premier League

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Manchester United (C)	38	22	13	3	80	37	+43	79	Qualification for the Champions League first group stage
2	Arsenal	38	22	12	4	59	17	+42	78
3	Chelsea	38	20	15	3	57	30	+27	75	Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round
4	Leeds United	38	18	13	7	62	34	+28	67	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
5	West Ham United	38	16	9	13	46	53	−7	57	Qualification for the Intertoto Cup third round
6	Aston Villa	38	15	10	13	51	46	+5	55
7	Liverpool	38	15	9	14	68	49	+19	54
8	Derby County	38	13	13	12	40	45	−5	52
9	Middlesbrough	38	12	15	11	48	54	−6	51
10	Leicester City	38	12	13	13	40	46	−6	49
11	Tottenham Hotspur	38	11	14	13	47	50	−3	47	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
12	Sheffield Wednesday	38	13	7	18	41	42	−1	46
13	Newcastle United	38	11	13	14	48	54	−6	46	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
14	Everton	38	11	10	17	42	47	−5	43
15	Coventry City	38	11	9	18	39	51	−12	42
16	Wimbledon	38	10	12	16	40	63	−23	42
17	Southampton	38	11	8	19	37	64	−27	41
18	Charlton Athletic (R)	38	8	12	18	41	56	−15	36	Relegation to Football League First Division
19	Blackburn Rovers (R)	38	7	14	17	38	52	−14	35
20	Nottingham Forest (R)	38	7	9	22	35	69	−34	30

Season statistics

Top scorers

Liverpool's Michael Owen was the joint top scorer for the second time, with 18 goals.

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink	Leeds United	18
Michael Owen	Liverpool
Dwight Yorke	Manchester United
4	Nicolas Anelka	Arsenal	17
Andy Cole	Manchester United
6	Hámilton Ricard	Middlesbrough	15
7	Dion Dublin	Aston Villa	14
Robbie Fowler	Liverpool
Julian Joachim	Aston Villa
Alan Shearer	Newcastle United

Hat-tricks

Manchester United's Ole Gunnar Solskjær became the first player to score a hat-trick as a substitute in the Premier League.

Player	For	Against	Result	Date	Ref
Clive Mendonca	Charlton Athletic	Southampton	5–0 (H)	22 August 1998
Michael Owen	Liverpool	Newcastle United	4–1 (A)	30 August 1998
Michael Owen4	Liverpool	Nottingham Forest	5–1 (H)	24 October 1998
Dion Dublin	Aston Villa	Leicester City	4–1 (A)	14 November 1998
Robbie Fowler	Liverpool	Aston Villa	4–2 (A)	21 November 1998
Chris Armstrong	Tottenham Hotspur	Everton	4–1 (H)	28 December 1998
Darren Huckerby	Coventry City	Nottingham Forest	4–0 (H)	9 January 1999
Robbie FowlerP	Liverpool	Southampton	7–1 (H)	16 January 1999
Dwight Yorke	Manchester United	Leicester City	6–2 (A)	16 January 1999
Ole Gunnar Solskjær4 †	Manchester United	Nottingham Forest	8–1 (A)	6 February 1999
Nicolas Anelka	Arsenal	Leicester City	5–0 (H)	20 February 1999
Kevin Campbell	Everton	West Ham United	6–0 (H)	8 May 1999

Note: 4 Player scored 4 goals; P Player scored a perfect hat-trick; † Player scored hat-trick as a substitute; (H) – Home; (A) – Away

Top assists

Arsenal's Dennis Bergkamp was the joint top assist provider with 13 goals for the club in the 1998–99 Premier League season.

Rank	Player	Club	Assists
1	Dennis Bergkamp	Arsenal	13
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink	Leeds United
3	David Beckham	Manchester United	11
Eyal Berkovic	West Ham United
Steve Guppy	Leicester City
Dwight Yorke	Manchester United
7	David Ginola	Tottenham Hotspur	10
8	Darren Anderton	Tottenham Hotspur	9
Harry Kewell	Leeds United
10	James Beattie	Southampton	7

Awards

Monthly awards

<table><thead><tr><th>Month</th><th>Manager of the Month</th><th>Player of the Month</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Manager</td><td>Club</td><td>Player</td><td>Club</td></tr><tr><td>August</td><td>Alan Curbishley</td><td>Charlton Athletic</td><td>Michael Owen</td><td>Liverpool</td></tr><tr><td>September</td><td>John Gregory</td><td>Aston Villa</td><td>Alan Shearer</td><td>Newcastle United</td></tr><tr><td>October</td><td>Martin O'Neill</td><td>Leicester City</td><td>Roy Keane</td><td>Manchester United</td></tr><tr><td>November</td><td>Harry Redknapp</td><td>West Ham United</td><td>Dion Dublin</td><td>Aston Villa</td></tr><tr><td>December</td><td>Brian Kidd</td><td>Blackburn Rovers</td><td>David Ginola</td><td>Tottenham Hotspur</td></tr><tr><td>January</td><td>Alex Ferguson</td><td>Manchester United</td><td>Dwight Yorke</td><td>Manchester United</td></tr><tr><td>February</td><td>Alan Curbishley</td><td>Charlton Athletic</td><td>Nicolas Anelka</td><td>Arsenal</td></tr><tr><td>March</td><td>David O'Leary</td><td>Leeds United</td><td>Ray Parlour</td><td>Arsenal</td></tr><tr><td>April</td><td>Alex Ferguson</td><td>Manchester United</td><td>Kevin Campbell</td><td>Everton</td></tr></tbody></table>

Annual awards

<table><thead><tr><th>Award</th><th>Winner</th><th>Club</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Premier League Manager of the Season</td><td>Alex Ferguson</td><td>Manchester United</td></tr><tr><td>Premier League Player of the Season</td><td>Dwight Yorke</td><td>Manchester United</td></tr><tr><td>PFA Players' Player of the Year</td><td>David Ginola</td><td>Tottenham Hotspur</td></tr><tr><td>PFA Young Player of the Year</td><td>Nicolas Anelka</td><td>Arsenal</td></tr><tr><td>FWA Footballer of the Year</td><td>David Ginola</td><td>Tottenham Hotspur</td></tr></tbody></table>

PFA Team of the Year
Goalkeeper	Nigel Martyn (Leeds United)
Defenders	Gary Neville (Manchester United)	Sol Campbell (Tottenham Hotspur)	Jaap Stam (Manchester United)	Denis Irwin (Manchester United)
Midfielders	David Beckham (Manchester United)	Emmanuel Petit (Arsenal)	Patrick Vieira (Arsenal)	David Ginola (Tottenham Hotspur)
Forwards	Dwight Yorke (Manchester United)	Nicolas Anelka (Arsenal)

Attendances

1998–99 FA Premier League

No.	Club	Matches	Total attendance	Average
1	Manchester United	19	1,048,580	55,188
2	Liverpool FC	19	823,105	43,321
3	Arsenal FC	19	722,450	38,024
4	Aston Villa	19	701,795	36,937
5	Newcastle United	19	696,631	36,665
6	Everton FC	19	687,856	36,203
7	Leeds United	19	681,056	35,845
8	Chelsea FC	19	660,273	34,751
9	Middlesbrough FC	19	653,393	34,389
10	Tottenham Hotspur	19	649,307	34,174
11	Derby County	19	554,698	29,195
12	Sheffield Wednesday	19	508,161	26,745
13	Blackburn Rovers	19	489,459	25,761
14	West Ham United	19	487,996	25,684
15	Nottingham Forest	19	463,894	24,415
16	Coventry City	19	394,791	20,778
17	Leicester City	19	388,910	20,469
18	Charlton Athletic	19	376,637	19,823
19	Wimbledon FC	19	346,468	18,235
20	Southampton FC	19	287,653	15,140