| Football League Cup | |
| Year: | 1999–2000 |
| Other Title: | League Cup, Worthington Cup |
| Country: | England Wales |
| Num Teams: | 92 |
| Defending Champions: | Tottenham Hotspur |
| Champions: | Leicester City |
| Count: | 3 |
| Runner-Up: | Tranmere Rovers |
| Top Goal Scorer: | David Kelly (8 goals) |
| Prevseason: | 1998–99 |
| Nextseason: | 2000–01 |
The 1999–2000 Football League Cup (known as the Worthington Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 40th staging of the Football League Cup, a knockout competition for England's top 92 football clubs.
The competition began on 10 August 1999, and ended with the final on 27 February 2000, the last final to be held at the old Wembley Stadium. For the first time in English football history, the entire draw for each round was made after the first round.[1] This meant each team could plot their route to the final as well as predicting future opponents.
The tournament was won by Leicester City, who beat Tranmere Rovers 2–1 in the final, thanks to two goals from Matt Elliott, sandwiched by an equaliser from David Kelly.[2]
The 70 First, Second and Third Division clubs (with the exception of Blackburn Rovers and Charlton Athletic, who were relegated from the Premiership last season) compete from the first round. Each section is divided equally into a pot of seeded clubs and a pot of unseeded clubs. Clubs' rankings depend upon their finishing position in the 1998–99 season.
The 35 winners from the first round joined the 13 Premier League clubs not participating in European competition, along with Blackburn Rovers And Charlton Athletic in round two. First leg matches were played on 14 and 15 September, second leg matches were played on 21 and 22 September.
| Tie no | Home team1 | (1st Leg) (2nd Leg) Aggregate | Away team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester City | (0–0) (3–4) 3–4 | Southampton |
| 2 | Nottingham Forest | (2–1) (0–0) 2–1 | Bristol City |
| 3 | Barnsley | (1–1) (3–3) 4–4 | Stockport County |
| Barnsley win on away goals | |||
| 4 | Birmingham City | (2–0) (1–0) 3–0 | Bristol Rovers |
| 5 | Bradford City | (1–1) (2–2) 3–3 | Reading |
| Bradford City win on away goals | |||
| 6 | Crystal Palace | (3–3) (2–4) 5–7 | Leicester City |
| 7 | Cardiff City | (1–1) (1–3) 2–4 | Wimbledon |
| 8 | Charlton Athletic | (0–0) (0–0) 0–0 | Bournemouth |
| After extra time – Bournemouth win 3 – 1 on penalties | |||
| 9 | Chester City | (0–1) (0–5) 0–6 | Aston Villa |
| 10 | Chesterfield | (0–0) (1–2) 1–2 | Middlesbrough |
| 11 | Crewe Alexandra | (2–1) (1–1) 3–2 | Ipswich Town |
| 12 | Gillingham | (1–4) (0–2) 1–6 | Bolton Wanderers |
| 13 | Grimsby Town | (4–1) (0–1) 4–2 | Leyton Orient |
| 14 | Huddersfield Town | (2–1) (2–2) 4–3 | Notts County |
| 15 | Hull City | (1–5) (2–4) 3–9 | Liverpool |
| 16 | Norwich City | (0–4) (0–2) 0–6 | Fulham |
| 17 | Oxford United | (1–1) (1–0) 2–1 | Everton |
| 18 | Portsmouth | (0–3) (1–3) 1–6 | Blackburn Rovers |
| 19 | Sheffield United | (2–0) (0–3) 2–3 | Preston |
| 20 | Stoke City | (0–0) (1–3) 1–3 | Sheffield Wednesday |
| 21 | Sunderland | (3–2) (5–0) 8–2 | Walsall |
| 22 | Swansea City | (0–0) (1–3) 1–3 | Derby County |
| 23 | Tranmere Rovers | (5–1) (1–3) 6–4 | Coventry City |
| 24 | Watford | (2–0) (1–3) 3–3 | Wigan Athletic |
| Watford win on away goals | |||
| 25 | West Bromwich Albion | (1–1) (4–3) 5–4 | Wycombe Wanderers |
The 25 winners from the second round joined the seven Premiership clubs participating in European competition in round three. Matches were played on 12 and 13 October.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aston Villa | 3–0 | Manchester United | 13 October 1999 |
| 2 | Chelsea | 0–1 | Huddersfield Town | 13 October 1999 |
| 3 | Derby County | 1–2 | Bolton Wanderers | 13 October 1999 |
| 4 | Leeds United | 1–0 | Blackburn Rovers | 13 October 1999 |
| 5 | Leicester City | 2–0 | Grimsby Town | 13 October 1999 |
| 6 | Middlesbrough | 1–0 | Watford | 13 October 1999 |
| 7 | Sheffield Wednesday | 4–1 | Nottingham Forest | 13 October 1999 |
| 8 | Southampton | 2–1 | Liverpool | 13 October 1999 |
| 9 | Tottenham Hotspur | 3–1 | Crewe Alexandra | 13 October 1999 |
| 10 | West Ham United | 2–0 | Bournemouth | 13 October 1999 |
| 11 | Arsenal | 2–1 | Preston | 12 October 1999 |
| 12 | Bradford City | 2–3 | Barnsley | 12 October 1999 |
| 13 | Wimbledon | 3–2 | Sunderland | 12 October 1999 |
| 14 | Birmingham City | 2–0 | Newcastle United | 12 October 1999 |
| 15 | Tranmere Rovers | 2–0 | Oxford United | 12 October 1999 |
| 16 | West Bromwich Albion | 1–2 | Fulham | 12 October 1999 |
Most matches were played on 30 November 1 December with one played on 15 December.
The four matches were played between 14 December and 12 January.
NOTE: This match was a replay after West Ham were ordered to replay the match after fielding an ineligible player in the original tie. West Ham had won the original tie on penalties.[3]
The semi-final draw was made in December 1999 after the conclusion of the quarter finals. Unlike the other rounds, the semi-final ties were played over two legs, with each team playing one leg at home. The first leg matches were played on 12 and 25 January 2000, the second leg matches were played on 26 January and 2 February 2000. Tranmere Rovers reached the first major cup final of their history with a fine win over Bolton Wanderers, while Leicester City's victory over Aston Villa gave them their third appearance in the competition's final in four years.
Tranmere Rovers won 4–0 on aggregateLeicester City won 1–0 on aggregate
See main article: 2000 Football League Cup Final. The 2000 Worthington Cup Final was played on 27 February 2000 and was contested between Leicester City and Tranmere Rovers at Wembley Stadium. Leicester won the game 2–1.