1998–99 FA Premier League

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 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.

FA Premier League
Season1998–99
Dates15 August 1998 – 16 May 1999
ChampionsManchester United
5th Premier League title
12th English title
RelegatedCharlton Athletic
Nottingham Forest
Blackburn Rovers
Champions LeagueManchester United
Arsenal
Chelsea
UEFA CupLeeds United
Newcastle United
Tottenham Hotspur
Intertoto CupWest Ham United
Matches played380
Goals scored959 (2.52 per match)
Top goalscorerJimmy Floyd Hasselbaink
Michael Owen
Dwight Yorke
(18 goals each)
Biggest home winLiverpool 7–1 Southampton
(16 January 1999)
Everton 6–0 West Ham United
(8 May 1999)
Biggest away winNottingham Forest 1–8 Manchester United
(6 February 1999)
Highest scoringNottingham Forest 1–8 Manchester United
(6 February 1999)
Longest winning run7 games[1]
Leeds United
Longest unbeaten run21 games[1]
Chelsea
Longest winless run19 games[1]
Nottingham Forest
Longest losing run8 games[1]
Charlton Athletic
Highest attendance55,316
Manchester United v Southampton
(27 February 1999)
Lowest attendance11,717
Wimbledon v Coventry City
(5 December 1998)
Average attendance30,591

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 (both teams sealing an immediate return to the top flight) 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 immediately returning to the First Division after a mere season's presence.

Stadiums and Locations
Locations of the 1998–99 Premier League teams
Greater London Premier League football clubs
Team Location Stadium Capacity
Arsenal London (Highbury) Arsenal Stadium 38,419
Aston Villa Birmingham Villa Park 42,573
Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Ewood Park 31,367
Charlton Athletic London (Charlton) The Valley 28,723
Chelsea London (Fulham) Stamford Bridge 42,055
Coventry City Coventry Highfield Road 23,489
Derby County Derby Pride Park Stadium 33,597
Everton Liverpool (Walton) Goodison Park 40,569
Leeds United Leeds Elland Road 40,242
Leicester City Leicester Filbert Street 22,000
Liverpool Liverpool (Anfield) Anfield 45,522
Manchester United Old Trafford Old Trafford 68,174
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough Riverside Stadium 30,000
Newcastle United Newcastle upon Tyne St James' Park 52,387
Nottingham Forest West Bridgford City Ground 30,445
Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Hillsborough Stadium 39,732
Southampton Southampton The Dell 15,200
Tottenham Hotspur London (Tottenham) White Hart Lane 36,240
West Ham United London (Upton Park) Boleyn Ground 35,647
Wimbledon London (Wimbledon) Selhurst Park[lower-alpha 1] 26,074
  1. Due to Wimbledon lacking a home stadium, they played their home games at Selhurst Park, which is the home stadium of Crystal Palace.

Personnel and kits

(as of 16 May 1999)

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

Managerial changes
Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Sheffield Wednesday Ron Atkinson End of caretaker spell 17 May 1998 Pre-season Danny Wilson 6 July 1998
Everton Howard Kendall Resigned 1 July 1998 Walter Smith 1 July 1998
Liverpool Roy Evans (sole charge) N/A[lower-alpha 1] Roy Evans
Gérard Houllier (co-managers)
Newcastle United Kenny Dalglish Sacked 27 August 1998 13th Ruud Gullit 27 August 1998
Tottenham Hotspur Christian Gross 5 September 1998 14th David Pleat
Chris Hughton (co-caretakers)		 7 September 1998
David Pleat
Chris Hughton		 End of caretaker spell 1 October 1998 13th George Graham 1 October 1998
Leeds United George Graham Signed by Tottenham 7th David O'Leary
Liverpool Roy Evans (as co-manager) Resigned 12 November 1998 11th Gérard Houllier (taking sole charge) 12 November 1998
Blackburn Rovers Roy Hodgson Sacked 21 November 1998 20th Tony Parkes (caretaker) 21 November 1998
Tony Parkes End of caretaker spell 4 December 1998 Brian Kidd 4 December 1998
Nottingham Forest Dave Bassett Sacked 5 January 1999 Ron Atkinson (caretaker) 5 January 1999
Wimbledon Joe Kinnear Illness 3 March 1999[lower-alpha 2] 6th Terry Burton
Mick Harford (co-caretakers)		 3 March 1999
  1. Houllier joined Evans as co-manager
  2. Kinnear remained contracted as manager until the season ended, and did not return to the club

League table
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[lower-alpha 1]
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[lower-alpha 2]
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
Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champion; (R) Relegated.
Notes:
  1. Tottenham Hotspur qualified for the UEFA Cup as League Cup winners.
  2. As Manchester United qualified for the Champions League, their UEFA Cup place as FA Cup winners defaulted to Newcastle United, the runners-up.

Results
Home \ Away ARS AST BLB CHA CHE COV DER EVE LEE LEI LIV MUN MID NEW NOT SHW SOU TOT WHU WDN
Arsenal 1–0 1–0 0–0 1–0 2–0 1–0 1–0 3–1 5–0 0–0 3–0 1–1 3–0 2–1 3–0 1–1 0–0 1–0 5–1
Aston Villa 3–2 1–3 3–4 0–3 1–4 1–0 3–0 1–2 1–1 2–4 1–1 3–1 1–0 2–0 2–1 3–0 3–2 0–0 2–0
Blackburn Rovers 1–2 2–1 1–0 3–4 1–2 0–0 1–2 1–0 1–0 1–3 0–0 0–0 0–0 1–2 1–4 0–2 1–1 3–0 3–1
Charlton Athletic 0–1 0–1 0–0 0–1 1–1 1–2 1–2 1–1 0–0 1–0 0–1 1–1 2–2 0–0 0–1 5–0 1–4 4–2 2–0
Chelsea 0–0 2–1 1–1 2–1 2–1 2–1 3–1 1–0 2–2 2–1 0–0 2–0 1–1 2–1 1–1 1–0 2–0 0–1 3–0
Coventry City 0–1 1–2 1–1 2–1 2–1 1–1 3–0 2–2 1–1 2–1 0–1 1–2 1–5 4–0 1–0 1–0 1–1 0–0 2–1
Derby County 0–0 2–1 1–0 0–2 2–2 0–0 2–1 2–2 2–0 3–2 1–1 2–1 3–4 1–0 1–0 0–0 0–1 0–2 0–0
Everton 0–2 0–0 0–0 4–1 0–0 2–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 1–4 5–0 1–0 0–1 1–2 1–0 0–1 6–0 1–1
Leeds United 1–0 0–0 1–0 4–1 0–0 2–0 4–1 1–0 0–1 0–0 1–1 2–0 0–1 3–1 2–1 3–0 2–0 4–0 2–2
Leicester City 1–1 2–2 1–1 1–1 2–4 1–0 1–2 2–0 1–2 1–0 2–6 0–1 2–0 3–1 0–2 2–0 2–1 0–0 1–1
Liverpool 0–0 0–1 2–0 3–3 1–1 2–0 1–2 3–2 1–3 0–1 2–2 3–1 4–2 5–1 2–0 7–1 3–2 2–2 3–0
Manchester United 1–1 2–1 3–2 4–1 1–1 2–0 1–0 3–1 3–2 2–2 2–0 2–3 0–0 3–0 3–0 2–1 2–1 4–1 5–1
Middlesbrough 1–6 0–0 2–1 2–0 0–0 2–0 1–1 2–2 0–0 0–0 1–3 0–1 2–2 1–1 4–0 3–0 0–0 1–0 3–1
Newcastle United 1–1 2–1 1–1 0–0 0–1 4–1 2–1 1–3 0–3 1–0 1–4 1–2 1–1 2–0 1–1 4–0 1–1 0–3 3–1
Nottingham Forest 0–1 2–2 2–2 0–1 1–3 1–0 2–2 0–2 1–1 1–0 2–2 1–8 1–2 1–2 2–0 1–1 0–1 0–0 0–1
Sheffield Wednesday 1–0 0–1 3–0 3–0 0–0 1–2 0–1 0–0 0–2 0–1 1–0 3–1 3–1 1–1 3–2 0–0 0–0 0–1 1–2
Southampton 0–0 1–4 3–3 3–1 0–2 2–1 0–1 2–0 3–0 2–1 1–2 0–3 3–3 2–1 1–2 1–0 1–1 1–0 3–1
Tottenham Hotspur 1–3 1–0 2–1 2–2 2–2 0–0 1–1 4–1 3–3 0–2 2–1 2–2 0–3 2–0 2–0 0–3 3–0 1–2 0–0
West Ham United 0–4 0–0 2–0 0–1 1–1 2–0 5–1 2–1 1–5 3–2 2–1 0–0 4–0 2–0 2–1 0–4 1–0 2–1 3–4
Wimbledon 1–0 0–0 1–1 2–1 1–2 2–1 2–1 1–2 1–1 0–1 1–0 1–1 2–2 1–1 1–3 2–1 0–2 3–1 0–0
Source:
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Season statistics

Scoring

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
Main article: List of Premier League hat-tricks
Manchester United's Ole Gunnar Solskjær became the first player to score a hat-trick as a substitute in the Premier League.
PlayerForAgainstResultDateRef
Clive MendoncaCharlton AthleticSouthampton5–0 (H)22 August 1998[2]
Michael OwenLiverpoolNewcastle United4–1 (A)30 August 1998[3]
Michael Owen4LiverpoolNottingham Forest5–1 (H)24 October 1998[4]
Dion DublinAston VillaLeicester City4–1 (A)14 November 1998[5]
Robbie FowlerLiverpoolAston Villa4–2 (A)21 November 1998[6]
Chris ArmstrongTottenham HotspurEverton4–1 (H)28 December 1998[7]
Darren HuckerbyCoventry CityNottingham Forest4–0 (H)9 January 1999[8]
Robbie FowlerPLiverpoolSouthampton7–1 (H)16 January 1999[9]
Dwight YorkeManchester UnitedLeicester City6–2 (A)16 January 1999[10]
Ole Gunnar Solskjær4 Manchester UnitedNottingham Forest8–1 (A)6 February 1999[11]
Nicolas AnelkaArsenalLeicester City5–0 (H)20 February 1999[12]
Kevin CampbellEvertonWest Ham United6–0 (H)8 May 1999[13]
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[14]
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
Month Manager of the Month Player of the Month
Manager Club Player Club
August Alan Curbishley Charlton Athletic Michael Owen Liverpool
September John Gregory Aston Villa Alan Shearer Newcastle United
October Martin O'Neill Leicester City Roy Keane Manchester United
November Harry Redknapp West Ham United Dion Dublin Aston Villa
December Brian Kidd Blackburn Rovers[15] David Ginola Tottenham Hotspur
January Alex Ferguson Manchester United Dwight Yorke Manchester United
February Alan Curbishley Charlton Athletic Nicolas Anelka Arsenal
March David O'Leary Leeds United Ray Parlour Arsenal
April Alex Ferguson Manchester United Kevin Campbell Everton

Annual awards
Award Winner Club
Premier League Manager of the Season Alex Ferguson Manchester United
Premier League Player of the Season Dwight Yorke Manchester United
PFA Players' Player of the Year David Ginola Tottenham Hotspur
PFA Young Player of the Year Nicolas Anelka Arsenal
FWA Footballer of the Year David Ginola Tottenham Hotspur
PFA Team of the Year
Goalkeeper Nigel Martyn (Leeds United)
Defence Gary Neville (Manchester United) Sol Campbell (Tottenham Hotspur) Jaap Stam (Manchester United) Denis Irwin (Manchester United)
Midfield David Beckham (Manchester United) Emmanuel Petit (Arsenal) Patrick Vieira (Arsenal) David Ginola (Tottenham Hotspur)
Attack Dwight Yorke (Manchester United) Nicolas Anelka (Arsenal)

Notes
  1. "English Premier League 1998–99". statto.com. Archived from the original on 10 December 2014. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  2. Brown, Geoff (22 August 1998). "Football Round-up: Mendonca's Valley high". The Independent. London. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  3. Moore, Glenn (31 August 1998). "Football: Owen defines Gullit's task with hat-trick". The Independent. London. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  4. "Soccer – England: Owen Returns With Four Goals". The New York Times. 26 October 1998. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  5. Fox, Norman (15 November 1998). "Football: Dublin's treble leaves Villa in clover". The Independent. London. Retrieved 18 July 2009.
  6. Townsend, Nick (22 November 1998). "Football Fowler trick trumps Villa". The Independent. London. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  7. Rowbottom, Mike (29 December 1998). "Football: Armstrong treble traumatises Everton". The Independent. London. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  8. Mackay, Duncan (9 January 1999). "Huckerby hat-trick fells forlorn Forest". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 16 July 2009.
  9. Bramwell, Neil (17 January 1999). "Football: Fowler preys on sorry Saints". The Independent. London. Retrieved 16 July 2009.
  10. Curtis, John. "Leicester 2–6 Manchester United". Sporting Life. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  11. "United romp to record win". BBC News. 7 February 1999. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
  12. Townsend, Nick (21 February 1999). "Football: Arsenal fired by Anelka hat-trick". The Independent. London. Retrieved 16 July 2009.
  13. Taylor, Louise (9 May 1999). "Everton joy as Campbell serves up treble treat". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 13 July 2009.
  14. "Statistical Leaders – 1999". Premier League. Archived from the original on 24 June 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  15. Collins, Roy (5 February 1999). "Kidd's silent runnings". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
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