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The 1998–99 season was the 119th season of competitive football in England.
Overview
Premier League
Manchester United overcame close competition from Arsenal and Chelsea to win their fifth Premiership title in seven seasons. They went on to win the treble of the Premiership title, FA Cup and European Cup, an achievement which gained manager Alex Ferguson a knighthood.
Nottingham Forest went down to Division One just one season after winning promotion. They had started the season terribly after manager Dave Bassett was sacked and Dutch striker Pierre van Hooijdonk refused to play after a dispute with the club. Experienced Ron Atkinson was brought in on a temporary contract but could not stave off relegation. Joining Forest in the Premiership drop zone were Blackburn Rovers, who had been Premiership champions just four years earlier, and Charlton Athletic. Southampton avoided relegation on the last day of the season, and their survival also signalled the go-ahead for a new stadium which would be in use for the 2001–02 season.
Division One
Sunderland were crowned Division One champions with a record 105 points, having lost just three games all season. The two other promotion places were secured by two of the division's least fancied sides – runners-up Bradford City, back in the top division for the first time in 77 years, and playoff winners Watford, who thus won their second successive promotion during Graham Taylor's second spell as manager.
Bury, Oxford United and Bristol City occupied the three relegation places in Division One. Oxford's dismal season was mainly down to debts of £10 million which were putting the club in real danger of closure and had also resulted in the suspension of construction of their new stadium near the Blackbird Leys estate.
Division Two
Kevin Keegan completed his spell as Fulham manager before taking the England job by guiding the Cottagers to the Division Two championship with 101 points. Following them up were runners-up Walsall and playoff winners Manchester City.
Going down were York City, Northampton Town, Lincoln City and Macclesfield Town. Narrowly avoiding the drop to Division Three were Oldham Athletic, who just five years earlier had been a Premiership side and FA Cup semi-finalists.
Division Three
Brentford, Cambridge United, Cardiff City and Scunthorpe United occupied the four promotion places in Division Three.
Carlisle United secured their league status with seconds to spare in their final game. They entered the game in bottom place, and with 90 minutes on the clock in their home game against Plymouth Argyle they were drawing 1–1 and needed a win to stay up. The referee then allowed four minutes of stoppage time and with just seconds to go, goalkeeper Jimmy Glass came upfield and scored from a rebounded corner to preserve his club's place in the league, which had been held since 1928. Scarborough, who had only joined the league in 1987, were relegated instead. Glass, 25, had been signed on loan from Swindon Town after the transfer deadline because an injury crisis had left Carlisle without a goalkeeper for the final few games of the season.
FA Cup
Manchester United beat Newcastle United 2–0 to secure their third double triumph in six seasons and completed the second part of their treble.
League Cup
Tottenham Hotspur, under the management of George Graham, won the League Cup by defeating Leicester City in the final. On the way they knocked out Manchester United, stopping Scotsman Alex Ferguson emulating his fellow countrymen Celtic's quadruple success of 1967.
Individual awards and records
Tottenham's French midfielder David Ginola was voted PFA Players' Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year after helping his club win the League Cup.
19-year-old Arsenal and France striker Nicolas Anelka was voted PFA Young Player of the Year.
David Seaman became the most successful goalkeeper in English league history after conceding just 17 league goals in a season with Arsenal.
Successful managers
Alex Ferguson was knighted after guiding Manchester United to the treble of the Premiership title, FA Cup and European Cup.
George Graham gave Tottenham Hotspur their first successful season for almost a decade by guiding them to League Cup glory.
Peter Reid took Sunderland into the Premiership as Division One champions with 105 points.
Harry Redknapp guided West Ham United to fifth place in the Premiership to secure their first European qualification for nearly 20 years.
Paul Jewell ended Bradford City's 77-year wait for a return to the top division.
Graham Taylor took Watford into the Premiership as they won the Division One playoffs and secured their second successive promotion.
Kevin Keegan finished his spell as Fulham manager by guiding them to the Division Two title with 101 points, before quitting to concentrate on his role as England manager.
Ray Graydon pulled off a major surprise in his first season as Walsall manager by gaining promotion to Division One.
Steve Cotterill, 35, guided Cheltenham Town into the Football League as Conference champions.
Brian Laws took Scunthorpe United out of the league's basement division for the first time in more than a decade after they won the Division Three playoffs.
Events
Ferguson knighted after United's treble
Manchester United completed the treble of the Premiership title, FA Cup and European Cup.
Part one of United's treble was completed when they beat Tottenham 2–1 on the last day of the season to ensure that Arsenal did not retain the Premiership title. A week later they completed the second part of the treble with a 2–0 victory over Newcastle United in the FA Cup final.
United's treble aspirations seemed to have been thwarted in the European Cup final at Barcelona's Nou Camp stadium, with Bayern Munich leading 1–0 at the end of normal time. Referee Pierluigi Collina allowed three minutes of stoppage time and within the first minute, substitute Teddy Sheringham forced an equaliser. Sheringham's goal looked to have forced extra time, but with the last kick of the game Ole Gunnar Solskjær scored a winner and United fans and players went wild.
On 12 June, Alex Ferguson received a knighthood in recognition for his services to football, making him the seventh knight of English football and the third knight to be associated with Manchester United after Matt Busby and Bobby Charlton.
Hoddle ousted
On 2 February, the FA terminated Glenn Hoddle's contract as England manager after he appeared in The Times and suggested that disabled people were being "punished for sins in previous lives". His comments had sparked outrage amongst disabled people to such an extent that the FA felt they had no option but to sack him.
The search began for his successor. A month later, former Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan agreed to take charge of the England team but stayed on as Fulham manager until the end of the season, guiding them to the Division Two title.
New arrivals in Premiership
A year after their playoff final defeat to Charlton Athletic in a penalty shoot-out, Peter Reid's Sunderland returned to the Premiership after winning the Division One championship with a record 105 points. Sunderland, who had moved into their new home, the Stadium of Light, two years earlier, had been widely tipped for promotion to the top flight.
Bradford City, led by manager Paul Jewell, had been outside the top division since 1922. Their only silverware had been an FA Cup triumph in 1911. But the inexperienced Jewell surprised many observers[citation needed] by putting together a strong Bradford side who cruised to second place in Division One and booked their place in the Premiership.
The third and final place in the Premiership went to playoff winners Watford, managed by Graham Taylor for the second time (he had previously been in charge from 1976 until 1987). Taylor had finally achieved some success the previous year in form of the Division Two championship, having endured a torrid time with England and then Wolves. Watford secured a second successive promotion by beating Bolton Wanderers 2–0 in the playoff final.
Glass's last gasp goal keeps Carlisle in league
Carlisle United went into the final game of the 1998–99 Division Three campaign knowing that they had to beat Plymouth Argyle to hang on to the Football League place they had held since 1928. In April, an injury crisis had forced Carlisle to bring in goalkeeper Jimmy Glass on loan from Swindon Town and the Football League gave permission for the transfer to go ahead despite the transfer deadline having already passed.
With 90 minutes on the clock for Carlisle's home fixture against Plymouth, the referee allowed four minutes of stoppage time. Ten seconds before the end of stoppage time, Jimmy Glass ran upfield after a corner was given and slammed the ball into the back of the net to keep Carlisle in the league and send Scarborough down to the Conference.
Blackburn go down
Blackburn Rovers, Premiership champions in 1995, were relegated from the Premiership in 1999 with a side which had lost almost all of its title winning players. Roy Hodgson had arrived as manager in 1997 and achieved UEFA Cup qualification in his first season as manager, only to be sacked the following November as Blackburn found themselves caught up in a relegation battle. Manchester United's successful assistant manager Brian Kidd was brought in as his successor. But Blackburn's relegation fight was finally lost after they drew 0–0 at home to Manchester United in the penultimate game of the season. Chairman Jack Walker was now faced with finding the funds to build a side that could win promotion back to the Premiership, 12 months after he handed an open cheque book to Roy Hodgson in hope of winning the league.
Cheltenham promoted
Cheltenham Town won the Conference with Steve Cotterill guiding the Robins to the Football League. They had won the FA Trophy the previous season but were beaten to promotion by Halifax Town. They replaced Scarborough.
League tables
FA Premier League
The seventh season of the FA Premier League saw Manchester United finish champions for the fifth time, one point ahead of the previous season's champions Arsenal. United also ended Arsenal's defence of the FA Cup, going on to defeat Newcastle United in the final to become the first English team to win the league title and FA Cup double on three occasions, having already won the double in 1994 and 1996. They then went on to win the Champions League to become only the second English club to win three major trophies in the same season. This made them the first English club to win the Champions League in fifteen years, and manager Alex Ferguson was knighted.
Chelsea's revival continued with a third-place finish in the league, although they failed to add any more silverware to the three cups won in the previous two seasons. Following the loss of manager George Graham to Tottenham in the autumn, Leeds United finished fourth under their new manager David O'Leary. Fifth place went to West Ham United, who qualified for Europe for the first time in nearly twenty years. Aston Villa, who had topped the table for much of the first half of the season, could only finish sixth, while Liverpool's seventh-place finish was a disappointing start for new manager Gérard Houllier.
Tottenham Hotspur finished 11th under new manager George Graham but won the League Cup to end their eight-year wait for a major trophy and a place in Europe. They also reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup.
Newly promoted Nottingham Forest were relegated in bottom place, their third relegation in seven seasons prompting manager Ron Atkinson (only appointed in January) to announce his retirement from management. Blackburn Rovers, league champions just four years earlier, were the next team to go down; the appointment of long-serving Manchester United assistant Brian Kidd as manager appeared to have turned the corner after a terrible start to the season, but a failure to win any of their final eight matches saw them relegated. Newly promoted Charlton Athletic were the last side to lose their top flight status, going down on the final day of the season as Southampton survived.
| 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[a] |
| 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[b] |
| 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 | Zdroj:https://en.wikipedia.org?pojem=1998–99_in_English_football