1999–2000 FA Premier League explained

Competition:FA Premier League
Season:1999–2000
Dates:7 August 1999 – 14 May 2000
Winners:Manchester United
6th Premier League title
13th English title
Relegated:Wimbledon
Sheffield Wednesday
Watford
Continentalcup1:Champions League
Continentalcup1 Qualifiers:Manchester United
Arsenal
Leeds United
Continentalcup2:UEFA Cup
Continentalcup2 Qualifiers:Liverpool
Chelsea
Leicester City
Continentalcup3:Intertoto Cup
Continentalcup3 Qualifiers:Aston Villa
Bradford City
League Topscorer Section:Top scorers
League Topscorer:Kevin Phillips
(30 goals)
Best Goalkeeper:Ed de Goey (16 clean sheets)
Biggest Home Win:
(19 September 1999)
Biggest Away Win:
(18 September 1999)
Highest Scoring:
(12 February 2000)

(11 March 2000)
Matches:380
Total Goals:1060
Longest Wins:11 games[1]
Manchester United
Longest Unbeaten:16 games
Chelsea
Longest Losses:8 games
Wimbledon
Longest Winless:11 games
Sunderland
Watford
Highest Attendance:61,619

(11 March 2000)
Lowest Attendance:8,248

(12 April 2000)
Attendance:11,677,585[2]
Average Attendance:30,730
Prevseason:1998–99
Nextseason:2000–01

The 1999–2000 FA Premier League (known as the FA Carling Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the eighth season of the FA Premier League, and Manchester United secured their sixth Premiership title. Like the previous season, they lost only three league games all season. Unlike in 1998–99 season, they won by a comfortable margin – 18 points as opposed to a single point.

Manchester United lost their defence of the European Cup following a 3–2 defeat against Real Madrid in the quarter-finals. The club had withdrawn from the 1999–2000 FA Cup to participate in the FIFA World Club Championship at the request of the FA who wanted Manchester United to compete to support England's bid to host the World Cup. Chelsea won the last FA Cup held at Wembley Stadium before its redevelopment. The League Cup final was won by Leicester City, for the second time in four seasons. In Europe, Leeds United reached the UEFA Cup semi-final and Arsenal were on the losing side to Galatasaray in the UEFA Cup final.

Only one newly promoted team suffered relegation: Watford, who finished in last place, and achieved a record Premiership low of just 24 points (a record since broken by Sunderland (twice), Derby County, Aston Villa, Huddersfield Town, Norwich City (twice), Sheffield United (twice), and themselves), despite a decent start to their campaign which saw them beat both Liverpool (at Anfield) and Chelsea. The most successful promoted team was Sunderland, who finished seventh in the final table and spent much of the season pushing for a place in European competition. Bradford City, back in the top division for the first time since 1922, secured their Premiership survival on the last day of the season with a 1–0 win over Liverpool. The result meant that Liverpool lost out on a Champions League place, and Wimbledon were relegated after 14 years of top-division football. Second-from-bottom Sheffield Wednesday were relegated in their penultimate game of the season, having spent 15 of the previous 16 seasons in the top division. Wednesday's season included an 8–0 defeat at Newcastle. Amazingly Coventry City went all season without an away win but still managed to secure 14th place due to an impressive home record which saw them win 12 out of their 19 matches.

As well as Premiership champions Manchester United and runners-up Arsenal, third placed Leeds United qualified for the 2000–01 Champions League. UEFA Cup places went to fourth placed Liverpool, F.A Cup winners Chelsea, and League Cup winners Leicester City.

Promoted to the Premiership for 2000–01 were First Division champions Charlton Athletic, runners-up Manchester City and playoff winners Ipswich Town. For the first time since the formation of the Premiership, all of the promoted teams had been members of the Premiership before.

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 Sunderland, Bradford City and Watford, who returned after absences of two, seventy-seven and eleven years respectively. This was also Bradford City and Watford's first season in the Premier League. They replaced Charlton Athletic, Blackburn Rovers and Nottingham Forest, who were relegated to the First Division. Charlton Athletic and Nottingham Forest were immediately both relegated after a season's presence, while Blackburn Rovers' seven-year top flight spell came to an end.

1999 treble winners Manchester United retained their league title, leading the table for most of the season and winning their final 11 games to finish 18 points ahead of their nearest rivals Arsenal. Leeds United took the third and final Champions League place to qualify for Europe’s top club competition for the first time since the mid 1970s, ahead of Liverpool, who surrendered a place in the Champions League with a 1-0 defeat at Bradford on the last day of the season, a result which saw the hosts survive their first top flight campaign for almost 80 years. Newly promoted Sunderland finished an impressive, while eighth placed Leicester City won the League Cup.

Newly promoted Watford were relegated in bottom place, followed by Sheffield Wednesday, who had been in the top flight for all but one season since 1984. The final relegation place went to Wimbledon on the final day of their 14th season among the elite.

Stadiums and locations

TeamLocationStadiumCapacity
ArsenalArsenal Stadium38,419
Aston VillaBirminghamVilla Park42,573
Bradford CityBradfordValley Parade25,136
ChelseaLondon Stamford Bridge42,055
Coventry CityCoventryHighfield Road23,489
Derby CountyDerbyPride Park Stadium33,597
EvertonGoodison Park40,569
Leeds UnitedLeedsElland Road40,242
Leicester CityLeicesterFilbert Street22,000
LiverpoolLiverpool Anfield45,522
Manchester UnitedManchesterOld Trafford68,174
MiddlesbroughMiddlesbroughRiverside Stadium35,049
Newcastle UnitedNewcastle upon TyneSt James' Park52,387
Sheffield WednesdaySheffieldHillsborough Stadium39,732
SouthamptonSouthamptonThe Dell15,200
SunderlandSunderlandStadium of Light49,000
Tottenham HotspurLondon White Hart Lane36,240
WatfordWatfordVicarage Road19,920
West Ham UnitedLondon Boleyn Ground35,647
WimbledonLondon Selhurst Park26,074

Personnel and kits

(as of 14 May 2000)

TeamManagerCaptainKit manufacturerShirt sponsor
Arsenal Arsène Wenger Tony AdamsNikeDreamcast/Sega
Aston Villa John Gregory Gareth SouthgateReebokLDV Vans
Bradford City Paul Jewell Stuart McCallAsicsJCT600
Chelsea Gianluca Vialli Dennis WiseUmbroAutoglass
Coventry City Gordon Strachan Gary McAllisterCCFC GarmentsSubaru
Derby County Jim Smith Darryl PowellPumaEDS
Everton Walter Smith Dave WatsonUmbroOne2One
Leeds United David O'Leary Lucas RadebePumaPackard Bell
Leicester City Martin O'Neill Matt ElliottFox LeisureWalkers Crisps
Liverpool Gérard Houllier Jamie RedknappReebokCarlsberg Group
Manchester United Sir Alex Ferguson Roy KeaneUmbroSharp
Middlesbrough Bryan Robson Paul InceErreàBT Cellnet
Newcastle United Bobby Robson Alan ShearerAdidasNewcastle Brown Ale
Sheffield Wednesday Peter Shreeves (caretaker) Des WalkerPumaSanderson
Southampton Glenn Hoddle Matt Le TissierSaintsFriends Provident
Sunderland Peter Reid Steve BouldAsicsReg Vardy
Tottenham Hotspur George Graham Sol CampbellAdidasHolsten
Watford Graham Taylor Rob PageLe Coq SportifPhones4U
West Ham United Harry Redknapp Steve LomasFilaDr. Martens
Wimbledon Terry Burton Robbie EarleLottoTiny

Managerial changes

TeamOutgoing managerManner of departureDate of vacancyPosition in tableIncoming managerDate of appointment
Wimbledon Joe KinnearResigned9 June 1999Pre-season Egil Olsen9 June 1999
Newcastle United Ruud GullitResigned28 August 1999[3] 19th Bobby Robson2 September 1999[4]
Southampton Dave JonesContract terminated27 January 200017th Glenn Hoddle28 January 2000
Sheffield Wednesday Danny WilsonSacked21 March 2000[5] 19th Peter Shreeves (caretaker)21 March 2000
Wimbledon Egil OlsenSacked1 May 2000[6] 18th Terry Burton1 May 2000

League table

Season statistics

Scoring

Top scorers

RankPlayerClubGoals
1 Kevin PhillipsSunderland30
2 Alan ShearerNewcastle United23
3 Dwight YorkeManchester United20
4 Michael BridgesLeeds United19
Andy ColeManchester United
6 Thierry HenryArsenal17
7 Paolo Di CanioWest Ham United16
8 Chris ArmstrongTottenham Hotspur14
Steffen IversenTottenham Hotspur
Niall QuinnSunderland

Hat-tricks

See main article: List of Premier League hat-tricks.

Player For Against Result Date Ref
Leeds United Southampton 3–0 (A) [7]
4 Manchester United Newcastle United 5–1 (H) [8]
Sunderland Derby County 5–0 (A) [9]
5 Newcastle United Sheffield Wednesday 8–0 (H) [10]
Arsenal Chelsea 3–2 (A) [11]
Arsenal Middlesbrough 5–1 (H) [12]
4 P Manchester United Everton 5–1 (H) [13]
Everton West Ham United 4–0 (A) [14]
Leicester City Sunderland 5–2 (H) [15]
Tottenham Hotspur Southampton 7–2 (H) [16]
Manchester United Derby County 3–1 (H) [17]
Manchester United West Ham United 7–1 (H) [18]
Bradford City Derby County 4–4 (H) [19]

Note: 5 Player scored 5 goals; 4 Player scored 4 goals; P Player scored a perfect hat-trick; (H) – Home; (A) – Away

Top assists

RankPlayerClubAssists[20]
1 David BeckhamManchester United15
Nolberto SolanoNewcastle United
3 Paolo Di CanioWest Ham United13
4 Ryan GiggsManchester United12
5 Dennis BergkampArsenal9
6 Nick BarmbyEverton8
Thierry HenryArsenal
Steffen IversenTottenham Hotspur
Wim JonkSheffield Wednesday
Paul MersonAston Villa

Awards

Monthly awards

MonthManager of the MonthPlayer of the Month
ManagerClubPlayerClub
August Alex FergusonManchester United Robbie KeaneCoventry City
September Walter SmithEverton Muzzy IzzetLeicester City
October Peter ReidSunderland Kevin PhillipsSunderland
November Martin O'NeillLeicester City Sami HyypiäLiverpool
December Gérard HoullierLiverpool Roy KeaneManchester United
January Danny WilsonSheffield Wednesday Gareth SouthgateAston Villa
February Bobby RobsonNewcastle United Paul MersonAston Villa
March Alex FergusonManchester United Dwight YorkeManchester United
AprilManchester United Thierry HenryArsenal

Annual awards

AwardWinnerClub
Premier League Manager of the Season Alex FergusonManchester United
Premier League Player of the Season Kevin PhillipsSunderland
PFA Players' Player of the Year Roy KeaneManchester United
PFA Young Player of the Year Harry KewellLeeds United
FWA Footballer of the Year Roy KeaneManchester United
PFA Team of the Year
Goalkeeper Nigel Martyn (Leeds United)
Defence Gary Kelly (Leeds United) Jaap Stam (Manchester United) Sami Hyypiä (Liverpool) Ian Harte (Leeds United)
Midfield David Beckham (Manchester United) Roy Keane (Manchester United) Patrick Vieira (Arsenal) Harry Kewell (Leeds United)
Attack Andy Cole (Manchester United) Kevin Phillips (Sunderland)

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: English Premier League 1999–2000 . statto.com . 11 March 2015 . 2 April 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150402144453/http://www.statto.com/football/stats/england/premier-league/1999-2000/longest-sequences/full . dead .
  2. Web site: Premier League 1999/2000 » Attendance » Home matches . WorldFootball.net . 6 January 2024 .
  3. News: 28 August 1999. Ruud Gullit quits Newcastle. The Guardian. 26 October 2018.
  4. News: 3 September 1999. Robson takes Newcastle hotseat . BBC News. 26 October 2018.
  5. News: Wednesday sack Wilson and turn to Shreeves . The Guardian. 22 March 2000. 23 August 2019.
  6. News: Olsen axed by Wimbledon . BBC News . BBC . 1 May 2000 . 27 April 2012.
  7. News: Bridges blasts hat-trick . BBC Sport . 11 August 1999 . 15 July 2009.
  8. News: On this day.... BBC News . 15 July 2009 . 30 August 2002.
  9. News: Football: Phillips' hat-trick demolishes Derby . https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football-phillips-hattrick-demolishes-derby-1120324.html . 1 May 2022 . subscription . 16 July 2009 . 19 September 1999. Steve . Tongue. The Independent . London.
  10. News: In pictures: Dennis Bergkamp's 100 Arsenal goals . BBC Sport . 15 July 2009 . 4 January 2003.
  11. News: Kanu hat-trick sinks Chelsea . 23 October 1999. 15 July 2009. BBC Sport.
  12. News: Football: Arsenal revived as Overmars hits overdrive . https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football-arsenal-revived-as-overmars-hits-overdrive-1127854.html . 1 May 2022 . subscription . The Independent . 18 July 2009 . 22 November 1999. Glenn . Moore . London.
  13. News: Football: Phillips' hat-trick demolishes Derby . https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/solskjaer-singes-the-blues-742569.html . 1 May 2022 . subscription . live . 16 July 2009 . 5 December 1999. Nick . Townsend . The Independent . London.
  14. News: Hammers crumble under Barmby hat-trick . 18 July 2009 . 27 February 2000 . Simon . Brunton . The Guardian . London.
  15. News: Collymore hat-trick sinks Sunderland . BBC Sport. 5 March 2000. 18 July 2009.
  16. News: Hoddle humbled on Spurs return . 11 March 2009 . 15 July 2009. BBC Sport.
  17. News: Yorke treble tethers Rams . 15 July 2009. 11 March 2000 . BBC Sport.
  18. Web site: Manchester United 7–1 West Ham United . Soccerbase . 18 July 2009 .
  19. News: Bradford 4–4 Derby . 21 April 2000. BBC Sport . 15 July 2009.
  20. Web site: Statistical Leaders – 2000 . Premier League . 5 May 2018 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20170624144700/https://www.premierleague.com/stats/top/players/goal_assist . 24 June 2017.