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| Season | 1998–99 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 15 August 1998 – 16 May 1999 |
| Champions | Manchester United 5th Premier League title 12thEnglish title |
| Relegated | Charlton Athletic Blackburn Rovers Nottingham Forest |
| Champions League | Manchester United Arsenal Chelsea |
| UEFA Cup | Leeds United Newcastle United Tottenham Hotspur |
| Intertoto Cup | West Ham United |
| Matches | 380 |
| Goals | 959 (2.52 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink Michael Owen Dwight Yorke (18 goals each) |
| Best goalkeeper | David Seaman (19 clean sheets) |
| Biggest home win | Liverpool 7–1Southampton (16 January 1999) Everton 6–0 West Ham United (8 May 1999) |
| Biggest away win | Nottingham Forest 1–8 Manchester United (6 February 1999) |
| Highest scoring | Nottingham Forest 1–8 Manchester United (6 February 1999) |
| Longest winning run | 7 games[1] Leeds United |
| Longest unbeaten run | 21 games[1] Chelsea |
| Longest winless run | 19 games[1] Nottingham Forest |
| Longest losing run | 8 games[1] Charlton Athletic |
| Highest attendance | 55,316 Manchester United 2–1 Southampton (27 February 1999) |
| Lowest attendance | 11,717 Wimbledon 2–1Coventry City (5 December 1998) |
| Total attendance | 11,623,113[2] |
| Average attendance | 30,587[2] |
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The1998–99 FA Premier League (known as theFACarling Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the seventh season of thePremier League, the top division of English football, since its establishment in 1992.Manchester United won atreble of the league title, theFA Cup and theUEFA Champions League. They secured their fifth league title in seven seasons after outlastingArsenal andChelsea 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 thefirst Football League season, onlyAston Villa,Blackburn Rovers,Derby County andEverton 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 rivalsTottenham Hotspur, while Manchester United had drawn againstLiverpool, 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 sidesMiddlesbrough andLeicester City, and relegation-threatenedSheffield 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 onDwight Yorke,Jaap Stam andJesper Blomqvist, while several older players left the club;Gary Pallister returned toMiddlesbrough after nine years for £2.5 million, whileBrian McClair returned toMotherwell on a free transfer. In December, however, McClair was back in the Premier League asBrian Kidd's assistant atBlackburn Rovers.
At the end of 1998–99, the Premiership would have three Champions League places. Manchester United as well as runners-upArsenal and third placedChelsea would be playing in the following season'sChampions League. There would only be one automaticUEFA Cup place from the league – taken by fourth-placedLeeds United. Fifth-placedWest Ham United qualified for the UEFA Cup via theIntertoto Cup after achieving their highest league finish since 1986 as they continued to make progress underHarry Redknapp, outperforming several "bigger" clubs with greater resources. Also qualifying wereNewcastle United via the1998–99 FA Cupfinal, andTottenham Hotspur via theLeague 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 cameNottingham 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 pointDave Bassett had been replaced byRon Atkinson, who was unable to spark a revival in fortunes and their relegation back to theFirst 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, withRoy Hodgson being replaced byBrian 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 toCharlton 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 toSheffield 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 championsSunderland regained their Premiership place after a two-year exile. The other two relegation places went to long-term absentees from the top division. Playoff winnersWatford regained their top division place after an absence of 11 years, but runners-upBradford 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.
Twenty teams competed in the league – the top seventeen teams from the previous season and the three teams promoted from theFirst Division. The promoted teams wereNottingham Forest,Middlesbrough (both teams sealing an immediate return to the top flight after a single season), andCharlton Athletic (playing in the top flight after an eight-year absence). This was also Charlton Athletic's first season in the Premier League. They replacedBolton Wanderers,Barnsley andCrystal Palace, with all three relegated teams returning to theFirst Division after a single season in the top flight.
| 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 | 20,043 |
| 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 | Manchester | 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(Selhurst) | Selhurst Park[a] | 26,074 |
(as of 16 May 1999)
| 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[a] | 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 PleatChris 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[b] | 6th | Terry BurtonMick Harford (co-caretakers) | 3 March 1999 |
| 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 theChampions 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 theChampions League third qualifying round |
| 4 | Leeds United | 38 | 18 | 13 | 7 | 62 | 34 | +28 | 67 | Qualification for theUEFA Cup first round |
| 5 | West Ham United | 38 | 16 | 9 | 13 | 46 | 53 | −7 | 57 | Qualification for theIntertoto 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 theUEFA 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 theUEFA 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 toFootball 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 |
| Home \ Away | ARS | AVL | BLB | CHA | CHE | COV | DER | EVE | LEE | LEI | LIV | MUN | MID | NEW | NFO | SHW | SOU | TOT | WHU | WIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
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| 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 |
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clive Mendonca | Charlton Athletic | Southampton | 5–0 (H) | 22 August 1998 | [3] |
| Michael Owen | Liverpool | Newcastle United | 4–1 (A) | 30 August 1998 | [4] |
| Michael Owen4 | Liverpool | Nottingham Forest | 5–1 (H) | 24 October 1998 | [5] |
| Dion Dublin | Aston Villa | Leicester City | 4–1 (A) | 14 November 1998 | [6] |
| Robbie Fowler | Liverpool | Aston Villa | 4–2 (A) | 21 November 1998 | [7] |
| Chris Armstrong | Tottenham Hotspur | Everton | 4–1 (H) | 28 December 1998 | [8] |
| Darren Huckerby | Coventry City | Nottingham Forest | 4–0 (H) | 9 January 1999 | [9] |
| Robbie FowlerP | Liverpool | Southampton | 7–1 (H) | 16 January 1999 | [10] |
| Dwight Yorke | Manchester United | Leicester City | 6–2 (A) | 16 January 1999 | [11] |
 Ole Gunnar Solskjær4 † | Manchester United | Nottingham Forest | 8–1 (A) | 6 February 1999 | [12] |
| Nicolas Anelka | Arsenal | Leicester City | 5–0 (H) | 20 February 1999 | [13] |
| Kevin Campbell | Everton | West Ham United | 6–0 (H) | 8 May 1999 | [14] |
| Rank | Player | Club | Assists[15] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 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[16] | 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 |
| 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) | |||||||||||
| 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) | ||||||||||
