The2000–01 season was the 121st season of competitivefootball in England.
Manchester United secured their thirdPremiership title in succession and their seventh title in just nine seasons.Liverpool became only the second English side to win theLeague Cup andFA Cup in the same season, also adding theUEFA Cup to make it a unique treble.
Fulham reached the Premiership asDivision One champions to secure their five-season rise fromDivision Three. They also became the first club to have played in all four divisions of the English league since the creation of the Premiership.
Luton Town – who had been League Cup winners 13 years prior and top division members until nine years prior – andOxford United – who had been League Cup winners 15 years earlier and top division members until 13 years prior – were relegated to Division Three.
Mid-table Division Two sideWycombe Wanderers beat all odds by reaching the FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool, beating Division One sidesMillwall,Wolverhampton Wanderers, andWimbledon, as well as Premier League sideLeicester City en route to the semis. Wycombe were defeated 2–1 atVilla Park.
George Burley guided newly promotedIpswich Town to fifth place in the Premiership and achieved qualification for the UEFA Cup.
Gérard Houllier won a treble of trophies with Liverpool after they triumphed in the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup.
Sir Alex Ferguson became the first manager in English football to win three successive league titles after Manchester United (only the fourth team in history to win three straight titles) topped the Premiership's final table for the third consecutive season.
Alan Curbishley consolidated newly promotedCharlton Athletic in the Premiership with a ninth-place finish, their highest finish in nearly 50 years.
Jean Tigana won the Division One title with Fulham to gain promotion to the Premiership and end their 33-year exile from the top flight of English football.
Mark McGhee enjoyed success in his first season as Millwall manager by guiding them to the Division Two title.
Ronnie Moore surprised all the observers by winning a second successive promotion withRotherham United, who were this time elevated into Division One.
Ray Graydon won his second promotion in three years withWalsall, who triumphed in the Division Two playoffs.
Micky Adams gaveBrighton & Hove Albion their most successful season for years as they ended the campaign as Division Three champions.
Brian Talbot tookRushden & Diamonds, founded just nine years prior, into the Football League as Conference champions.
 | This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(November 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Chelsea's record signing at £15 million, topped the Premiership goalscoring charts with 23 goals.
Marcus Stewart was the Premiership's second-highest goalscorer with 19 goals for newly promoted Ipswich Town, who qualified for the UEFA Cup.
Teddy Sheringham, 35, was voted Player of the Year by both the PFA and FWA after helping Manchester United win their third successive Premiership title.[1]
Michael Owen helped Liverpool end their six-year trophy drought after his prolific goalscoring helped them win a treble of the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup.
Steven Gerrard was voted PFA Young Player of the Year as well as winning three major trophies in a single season with Liverpool.
Young French strikerLouis Saha was arguably the hottest prospect outside the Premiership after his goals helped Fulham win the Division One title to end their 33-year exile from the top flight.
Veteran strikerMark Hughes, 37, helpedBlackburn Rovers return to the Premiership two years after they were relegated.
Jamie Cureton was Division Two's top goalscorer with 27 strikes forReading.
Bobby Zamora established himself as one of the Football League's top marksmen after helping Brighton & Hove Albion win the Division Three title.
Jermain Defoe, aged 19 and on loan toAFC Bournemouth fromWest Ham United, scored in ten successive Division Two matches while on loan at theDean Court side.
With pressure building up on him followingEngland's dismalUEFA Euro 2000 campaign,Kevin Keegan resigned as manager of the England national team just minutes after a 1–0 defeat toGermany in the opening2002 FIFA World Cup qualifying match. The match, played 7 October 2000, was also the last played atWembley Stadium.Howard Wilkinson andPeter Taylor each had one-match stints as caretaker manager beforeSven-Göran Eriksson acceptedThe Football Association's offer to become the new national coach. FormerLazio coach Eriksson, 52, was the first foreigner to be appointed coach of the England national team. His first match in charge was a 3–0 win overSpain on 28 February. England would go on to win their first five matches under Eriksson, a highly promising start.
Liverpool captured the2000–01 UEFA Cup on 16 May with a 5–4 win overAlavés. The match was won in the 116th minute bygolden goal, and it completed a triplet of trophies for Liverpool which ended their six-year trophy drought as well as delivering their first trophies under Houllier's management. The League Cup had already been won with a penalty shoot-out triumph overBirmingham City in the first English final at theMillennium Stadium, and the FA Cup was secured after a dramatic 2–1 win overArsenal in which Michael Owen scored two late goals afterFreddie Ljungberg had put Arsenal ahead.
SirAlex Ferguson became the first manager in English football to win three successive League titles afterManchester United were crownedPremier League champions for the third season running. Their title was secured with 80 points and a 10-point gap between themselves and runners-upArsenal. Most bookmakers had closed their books before the turn of the New Year and admitted that United were certain of their seventh Premier League title in the last nine years.The Red Devils' 6–1 home league victory over Arsenal on 25 February 2001 was the turning point as Arsenal's hopes of winning the title were ended in late April 2001.
United were not the first team to win three straight league titles.Huddersfield Town, Arsenal and Liverpool had all done it before, but with managerial changes in between.
Fulham won theDivision One title to end their 33-year absence from the top flight. The key men in this success were money-spinning chairmanMohamed Al-Fayed, enthusiastic managerJean Tigana and free scoring strikerLouis Saha.
Fulham's return to the top flight of English football came four years after they had won promotion from Division Three and been taken over by Al-Fayed in a £30 million deal. With his target of Premiership football finally achieved, al Fayed was now determined to turn Fulham into the "Manchester United of the South".
Despite Sir Alex Ferguson winning a third successive Premiership title with Manchester United and Gérard Houllier's three successes in cup competitions,Ipswich Town'sGeorge Burley received the Manager of the Year award.
Burley, 45, had been atPortman Road since December 1994, when he took over fromJohn Lyall at an Ipswich side rooted to the foot of the Premiership. He was unable to save them from the drop but quickly put together a new team in hope of getting Ipswich back in the elite of English football. They endured three successive playoff failures before winning the Division One playoff final in 2000 and ending a five-year exile from the Premiership.
Most people had tipped Ipswich to go straight back down in 2000–01, but they spent most of the season in the top five and finished fifth to claim a2001–02 UEFA Cup place – their first foray in Europe for 20 years.
After the end of the 2000–01 season, Sir Alex Ferguson began a summer of heavy spending. Before the season was over he had agreed an English record fee of £19 million withPSV forRuud van Nistelrooy, the 25-year-old Dutch striker who had agreed to sign for United a year earlier, but his original move was scrapped after he suffered a serious knee injury. Then, on 12 July, Ferguson broke the English transfer fee record again. This time he brought in Argentine midfielderJuan Sebastián Verón, 26, from Lazio in a £28.1 million deal.
At the bottom ofThe Football League, the battle for survival went to the last day of the season, with the bottom two sidesTorquay United andBarnet playing each other at Barnet's Underhill Ground. Both teams knew that if they lost they would be relegated to theConference.[2] Torquay were 3–0 up at half-time, but Barnet, playing with five up front for periods of the second half, scored twice to keep the tension levels high until the end of the match. It finished 3–2 to Torquay and Barnet lost their league place.[3]
| Competition | Winner |
|---|---|
| FA Premier League | Manchester United |
| FA Cup | Liverpool |
| Football League Cup | Liverpool |
| Football League Trophy | Port Vale |
| Football League First Division | Fulham |
| Football League Second Division | Millwall |
| Football League Third Division | Brighton & Hove Albion |
| FA Community Shield | Chelsea |
England  | 2–1 |  Finland |
|---|---|---|
| Owen 44' Beckham 50' | Riihilahti 26' |
Manchester United became the fourth team in history to win a third consecutive English league title; in one of the least eventful title races in Premier League history, they went top after seven games and never relinquished their lead, nor looked to be in any danger of doing so. Arsenal likewise never dropped below second place after mid-October, leaving the real drama as who being who would take third spot, and thereby the final Champions League place.
Ultimately, Liverpool finished third and won both domestic cup competitions as well as the UEFA Cup, becoming the first-ever club to win this treble of cups. Leeds United finished fourth, being left to rue a terrible first half of the season that saw them look in danger of being sucked into the relegation fight, but somewhat made up for this with much better form after Christmas and more significantly, a run to the semi-finals of the Champions League.
The biggest surprise of the season came with Ipswich Town, who were newly promoted to the Premiership after five years away and most people's favourites for the drop. Ipswich surprised all the observers by challenging for a place in the top-three and eventually winding up in fifth place, enough to merit UEFA Cup qualification. It was theSuffolk club's highest league finish since 1982. Chelsea took sixth place and thereby the final UEFA Cup spot, as despite the controversial early-season sacking ofGianluca Vialli, the most successful manager in the club's history at that point, they eventually regrouped under new managerClaudio Ranieri.
Newly promoted Charlton Athletic finished an impressive ninth, while Leicester City started the season as unlikely title contenders, but lost nine of their final ten Premiership matches to finish 13th.
Bradford City were the first team to be relegated, having won just five Premiership games all season in their second season after promotion, as an extensive investment in players failed to pay off and would lead to financial troubles in the years ahead. Joining them were Coventry City, whose luck finally ran out after 34 years in the top flight; a late upturn in form seemed to herald another of the Sky Blues' dramatic escapes from relegation, but a run of only one point from their last games proved fatal. Manchester City occupied the final relegation spot; while they started the season respectably well, they only won four matches after the start of November, making this the fifth time in six seasons that they were either promoted or relegated.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester United(C) | 38 | 24 | 8 | 6 | 79 | 31 | +48 | 80 | Qualification for theChampions League first group stage |
| 2 | Arsenal | 38 | 20 | 10 | 8 | 63 | 38 | +25 | 70 | |
| 3 | Liverpool | 38 | 20 | 9 | 9 | 71 | 39 | +32 | 69 | Qualification for theChampions League third qualifying round[a] |
| 4 | Leeds United | 38 | 20 | 8 | 10 | 64 | 43 | +21 | 68 | Qualification for theUEFA Cup first round[a] |
| 5 | Ipswich Town | 38 | 20 | 6 | 12 | 57 | 42 | +15 | 66 | |
| 6 | Chelsea | 38 | 17 | 10 | 11 | 68 | 45 | +23 | 61 | |
| 7 | Sunderland | 38 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 46 | 41 | +5 | 57 | |
| 8 | Aston Villa | 38 | 13 | 15 | 10 | 46 | 43 | +3 | 54 | Qualification for theIntertoto Cup third round |
| 9 | Charlton Athletic | 38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 50 | 57 | −7 | 52 | |
| 10 | Southampton | 38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 40 | 48 | −8 | 52 | |
| 11 | Newcastle United | 38 | 14 | 9 | 15 | 44 | 50 | −6 | 51 | Qualification for theIntertoto Cup third round |
| 12 | Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | 13 | 10 | 15 | 47 | 54 | −7 | 49 | |
| 13 | Leicester City | 38 | 14 | 6 | 18 | 39 | 51 | −12 | 48 | |
| 14 | Middlesbrough | 38 | 9 | 15 | 14 | 44 | 44 | 0 | 42 | |
| 15 | West Ham United | 38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 45 | 50 | −5 | 42 | |
| 16 | Everton | 38 | 11 | 9 | 18 | 45 | 59 | −14 | 42 | |
| 17 | Derby County | 38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 37 | 59 | −22 | 42 | |
| 18 | Manchester City(R) | 38 | 8 | 10 | 20 | 41 | 65 | −24 | 34 | Relegation to theFootball League First Division |
| 19 | Coventry City(R) | 38 | 8 | 10 | 20 | 36 | 63 | −27 | 34 | |
| 20 | Bradford City(R) | 38 | 5 | 11 | 22 | 30 | 70 | −40 | 26 |
Leading goalscorer:Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (Chelsea) – 23
Under the management ofJean Tigana, but with only two changes to the previous season's first team, Fulham won the division easily. Blackburn Rovers managed to edge close rivals Bolton Wanderers to the automatic promotion spot, though their rivalry would continue the following season as Bolton defeated Preston North End (another set of close rivals) in the playoffs.
Burnley's seventh-place finish put them just one place short of the playoffs and the chance of ending their 25-year absence from the top flight. Wimbledon finished eighth in their first season outside the top flight for 15 years. Watford faltered to finish ninth after a strong start to the season suggested that they would win promotion back to the Premier League, prompting the resignation ofGraham Taylor as manager and the appointment ofGianluca Vialli in his place.
Tranmere's recent cup successes failed to translate into league form, and they finished bottom, just behind Queens Park Rangers, who fell into the third tier for the first time since the 1960s. An unlikely series of results in the final few weeks sent Huddersfield down to Division Two, when they had looked safe at the start of April. Narrowly avoiding relegation were Crystal Palace, whose dramatic last day victory over Stockport ensured survival for a club who spent the previous two seasons struggling with a financial crisis.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fulham(C, P) | 46 | 30 | 11 | 5 | 90 | 32 | +58 | 101 | Promotion to thePremier League |
| 2 | Blackburn Rovers(P) | 46 | 26 | 13 | 7 | 76 | 39 | +37 | 91 | |
| 3 | Bolton Wanderers(O, P) | 46 | 24 | 15 | 7 | 76 | 45 | +31 | 87 | Qualification for theFirst Division play-offs |
| 4 | Preston North End | 46 | 23 | 9 | 14 | 64 | 52 | +12 | 78 | |
| 5 | Birmingham City | 46 | 23 | 9 | 14 | 59 | 48 | +11 | 78 | |
| 6 | West Bromwich Albion | 46 | 21 | 11 | 14 | 60 | 52 | +8 | 74 | |
| 7 | Burnley | 46 | 21 | 9 | 16 | 50 | 54 | −4 | 72 | |
| 8 | Wimbledon | 46 | 17 | 18 | 11 | 71 | 50 | +21 | 69 | |
| 9 | Watford | 46 | 20 | 9 | 17 | 76 | 67 | +9 | 69 | |
| 10 | Sheffield United | 46 | 19 | 11 | 16 | 52 | 49 | +3 | 68 | |
| 11 | Nottingham Forest | 46 | 20 | 8 | 18 | 55 | 53 | +2 | 68 | |
| 12 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 46 | 14 | 13 | 19 | 45 | 48 | −3 | 55 | |
| 13 | Gillingham | 46 | 13 | 16 | 17 | 61 | 66 | −5 | 55 | |
| 14 | Crewe Alexandra | 46 | 15 | 10 | 21 | 47 | 62 | −15 | 55 | |
| 15 | Norwich City | 46 | 14 | 12 | 20 | 46 | 58 | −12 | 54 | |
| 16 | Barnsley | 46 | 15 | 9 | 22 | 49 | 62 | −13 | 54 | |
| 17 | Sheffield Wednesday | 46 | 15 | 8 | 23 | 52 | 71 | −19 | 53 | |
| 18 | Grimsby Town | 46 | 14 | 10 | 22 | 43 | 62 | −19 | 52 | |
| 19 | Stockport County | 46 | 11 | 18 | 17 | 58 | 65 | −7 | 51 | |
| 20 | Portsmouth | 46 | 10 | 19 | 17 | 47 | 59 | −12 | 49 | |
| 21 | Crystal Palace | 46 | 12 | 13 | 21 | 57 | 70 | −13 | 49 | |
| 22 | Huddersfield Town(R) | 46 | 11 | 15 | 20 | 48 | 57 | −9 | 48 | Relegation to theSecond Division |
| 23 | Queens Park Rangers(R) | 46 | 7 | 19 | 20 | 45 | 75 | −30 | 40 | |
| 24 | Tranmere Rovers(R) | 46 | 9 | 11 | 26 | 46 | 77 | −31 | 38 |
Leading goalscorer:Louis Saha (Fulham) – 27
Millwall, who had failed to impress since relegation from the First Division in 1996, finally secured promotion as divisional champions. Making perhaps bigger headlines were unfashionable Rotherham United, who instead of struggling as the pundits predicted, took the second automatic promotion spot, pushing Millwall perilously close for the title. Walsall recovered from the previous year's last-day relegation and won the playoffs.
Oxford finished bottom of the table by some distance, never looking as if they would survive and setting a number of unwanted records for the division. Swansea – who had beaten Rotherham to the Division Three title the previous season – proved almost as bad as Oxford, with their survival hopes being little better. Much was expected of Luton following massive pre-season overhauls both on and off the pitch; unfortunately their season ended in crushing disappointment, and relegation. Bristol Rovers occupied the final relegation spot, entering the League's bottom tier for the first time in their history. Swindon narrowly avoided a second successive relegation.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Millwall(C, P) | 46 | 28 | 9 | 9 | 89 | 38 | +51 | 93 | Promotion toFootball League First Division |
| 2 | Rotherham United(P) | 46 | 27 | 10 | 9 | 79 | 55 | +24 | 91 | |
| 3 | Reading | 46 | 25 | 11 | 10 | 86 | 52 | +34 | 86 | Qualification for theSecond Division play-offs |
| 4 | Walsall(O, P) | 46 | 23 | 12 | 11 | 79 | 50 | +29 | 81 | |
| 5 | Stoke City | 46 | 21 | 14 | 11 | 74 | 49 | +25 | 77 | |
| 6 | Wigan Athletic | 46 | 19 | 18 | 9 | 53 | 42 | +11 | 75 | |
| 7 | Bournemouth | 46 | 20 | 13 | 13 | 79 | 55 | +24 | 73 | |
| 8 | Notts County | 46 | 19 | 12 | 15 | 62 | 66 | −4 | 69 | |
| 9 | Bristol City | 46 | 18 | 14 | 14 | 70 | 56 | +14 | 68 | |
| 10 | Wrexham | 46 | 17 | 12 | 17 | 65 | 71 | −6 | 63 | |
| 11 | Port Vale | 46 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 55 | 49 | +6 | 62 | |
| 12 | Peterborough United | 46 | 15 | 14 | 17 | 61 | 66 | −5 | 59 | |
| 13 | Wycombe Wanderers | 46 | 15 | 14 | 17 | 46 | 53 | −7 | 59 | |
| 14 | Brentford | 46 | 14 | 17 | 15 | 56 | 70 | −14 | 59 | |
| 15 | Oldham Athletic | 46 | 15 | 13 | 18 | 53 | 65 | −12 | 58 | |
| 16 | Bury | 46 | 16 | 10 | 20 | 45 | 59 | −14 | 58 | |
| 17 | Colchester United | 46 | 15 | 12 | 19 | 55 | 59 | −4 | 57 | |
| 18 | Northampton Town | 46 | 15 | 12 | 19 | 46 | 59 | −13 | 57 | |
| 19 | Cambridge United | 46 | 14 | 11 | 21 | 61 | 77 | −16 | 53 | |
| 20 | Swindon Town | 46 | 13 | 13 | 20 | 47 | 65 | −18 | 52 | |
| 21 | Bristol Rovers(R) | 46 | 12 | 15 | 19 | 53 | 57 | −4 | 51 | Relegation toFootball League Third Division |
| 22 | Luton Town(R) | 46 | 9 | 13 | 24 | 52 | 80 | −28 | 40 | |
| 23 | Swansea City(R) | 46 | 8 | 13 | 25 | 47 | 73 | −26 | 37 | |
| 24 | Oxford United(R) | 46 | 7 | 6 | 33 | 53 | 100 | −47 | 27 |
Leading goalscorer:Jamie Cureton (Reading) andNeil Harris (Millwall), 27
After their financial nightmares and near-relegations of the previous years, Brighton finally started making serious progress, as they won the title. Chesterfield would have taken the runners-up spot; however, financial irregularities resulted in a nine-point deduction, handing second place to Cardiff instead, though Chesterfield still took the final automatic promotion spot. Blackpool sneaked into the playoffs near the end of the season, then proceeded to win them, ensuring that their spell in Division Three was a short one.
A number of teams were threatened with relegation during the course of the season. However, in the end, Barnet – who moved long-serving managerJohn Still upstairs to make way for the higher-profile appointment ofTony Cottee early in the season – suffered a stunning collapse after a bright start, leading to a "winner takes all, loser stands small" match with Torquay on the final day of the season. Torquay won the match and ensured League survival, while Barnet returned to the Conference after a decade in the league. Carlisle endured a third successive relegation battle and were successful once again.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brighton & Hove Albion(C, P) | 46 | 28 | 8 | 10 | 73 | 35 | +38 | 92 | Promotion toFootball League Second Division |
| 2 | Cardiff City(P) | 46 | 23 | 13 | 10 | 95 | 58 | +37 | 82 | |
| 3 | Chesterfield(P) | 46 | 25 | 14 | 7 | 79 | 42 | +37 | 80[a] | |
| 4 | Hartlepool United | 46 | 21 | 14 | 11 | 71 | 54 | +17 | 77 | Qualification for theThird Division play-offs |
| 5 | Leyton Orient | 46 | 20 | 15 | 11 | 59 | 51 | +8 | 75 | |
| 6 | Hull City | 46 | 19 | 17 | 10 | 47 | 39 | +8 | 74 | |
| 7 | Blackpool(O, P) | 46 | 22 | 6 | 18 | 74 | 58 | +16 | 72 | |
| 8 | Rochdale | 46 | 18 | 17 | 11 | 59 | 48 | +11 | 71 | |
| 9 | Cheltenham Town | 46 | 18 | 14 | 14 | 59 | 52 | +7 | 68 | |
| 10 | Scunthorpe United | 46 | 18 | 11 | 17 | 62 | 52 | +10 | 65 | |
| 11 | Southend United | 46 | 15 | 18 | 13 | 55 | 53 | +2 | 63 | |
| 12 | Plymouth Argyle | 46 | 15 | 13 | 18 | 54 | 61 | −7 | 58 | |
| 13 | Mansfield Town | 46 | 15 | 13 | 18 | 64 | 72 | −8 | 58 | |
| 14 | Macclesfield Town | 46 | 14 | 14 | 18 | 51 | 62 | −11 | 56 | |
| 15 | Shrewsbury Town | 46 | 15 | 10 | 21 | 49 | 65 | −16 | 55 | |
| 16 | Kidderminster Harriers | 46 | 13 | 14 | 19 | 47 | 61 | −14 | 53 | |
| 17 | York City | 46 | 13 | 13 | 20 | 42 | 63 | −21 | 52 | |
| 18 | Lincoln City | 46 | 12 | 15 | 19 | 58 | 66 | −8 | 51 | |
| 19 | Exeter City | 46 | 12 | 14 | 20 | 40 | 58 | −18 | 50 | |
| 20 | Darlington | 46 | 12 | 13 | 21 | 44 | 56 | −12 | 49 | |
| 21 | Torquay United | 46 | 12 | 13 | 21 | 52 | 77 | −25 | 49 | |
| 22 | Carlisle United | 46 | 11 | 15 | 20 | 42 | 65 | −23 | 48 | |
| 23 | Halifax Town | 46 | 12 | 11 | 23 | 54 | 68 | −14 | 47 | |
| 24 | Barnet(R) | 46 | 12 | 9 | 25 | 67 | 81 | −14 | 45 | Relegation toFootball Conference |
Leading goalscorer:Bobby Zamora (Brighton & Hove Albion), 28
Note:Cardiff City left administration and made arrangements before promotion as runner up andChesterfield deducted 9 points for beginning financial irregularities.
Two Chelsea hooligans are jailed for planning violence at matches after being exposed by an undercover journalist in aBBC documentary. Jason Marriner, 33, ofFeltham, is sentenced to six years in prison, and 36-year-old Andrew Frain ofReading is sentenced to seven years behind bars. Both are banned from attending all football matches inEngland and Wales for the next 20 years.[12]
From Division One to the Premier League:
From Division Two to Division One:
From Division Three to Division Two:
From TheFootball Conference to Division Three:
From the Premier League to Division One:
From Division One to Division Two:
From Division Two to Division Three:
From Division Three to The Football Conference:
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal(C) | 18 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 88 | 9 | +79 | 52 | Qualification for theUEFA Cup qualifying round |
| 2 | Doncaster Belles | 18 | 15 | 0 | 3 | 58 | 13 | +45 | 45 | |
| 3 | Charlton Athletic[a] | 18 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 43 | 11 | +32 | 35 | |
| 4 | Everton | 18 | 11 | 2 | 5 | 42 | 24 | +18 | 35 | |
| 5 | Tranmere Rovers | 18 | 9 | 1 | 8 | 42 | 39 | +3 | 28 | |
| 6 | Barry Town[b] | 18 | 7 | 2 | 9 | 22 | 40 | −18 | 23 | |
| 7 | Sunderland | 18 | 5 | 1 | 12 | 29 | 50 | −21 | 16 | |
| 8 | Southampton Saints | 18 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 28 | 52 | −24 | 15 | |
| 9 | Millwall Lionesses(R) | 18 | 3 | 2 | 13 | 17 | 55 | −38 | 11 | Relegation to theSouthern Division |
| 10 | Liverpool(R) | 18 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 13 | 89 | −76 | 0 | Relegation to theNorthern Division |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leeds United(C, P) | 22 | 18 | 2 | 2 | 75 | 18 | +57 | 56 | Promotion to theNational Division |
| 2 | Oldham Curzon | 22 | 17 | 2 | 3 | 61 | 25 | +36 | 53 | |
| 3 | Aston Villa | 22 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 52 | 37 | +15 | 41 | |
| 4 | Bangor City | 22 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 43 | 27 | +16 | 37 | |
| 5 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 22 | 12 | 1 | 9 | 47 | 42 | +5 | 37 | |
| 6 | Birmingham City | 22 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 50 | 42 | +8 | 32 | |
| 7 | Ilkeston Town | 22 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 39 | 39 | 0 | 29 | |
| 8 | Garswood Saints | 22 | 8 | 1 | 13 | 41 | 60 | −19 | 25 | |
| 9 | Sheffield Wednesday | 22 | 7 | 3 | 12 | 30 | 53 | −23 | 24 | |
| 10 | Coventry City | 22 | 4 | 5 | 13 | 23 | 48 | −25 | 17 | |
| 11 | Newcastle Town(R) | 22 | 4 | 3 | 15 | 28 | 62 | −34 | 15 | Relegation to theMidland Combination League |
| 12 | Huddersfield Town(R) | 22 | 3 | 1 | 18 | 15 | 51 | −36 | 10 | Relegation to theNorthern Combination League |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brighton & Hove Albion(C, P) | 22 | 18 | 2 | 2 | 56 | 15 | +41 | 56 | Promotion to theNational Division |
| 2 | Chelsea | 22 | 17 | 4 | 1 | 66 | 26 | +40 | 55 | |
| 3 | Wimbledon | 22 | 15 | 2 | 5 | 56 | 31 | +25 | 47 | |
| 4 | Barnet | 22 | 13 | 3 | 6 | 66 | 33 | +33 | 42 | |
| 5 | Langford | 22 | 12 | 3 | 7 | 47 | 30 | +17 | 39 | |
| 6 | Ipswich Town | 22 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 47 | 57 | −10 | 27 | |
| 7 | Berkhamsted Town | 22 | 8 | 1 | 13 | 40 | 51 | −11 | 25 | |
| 8 | Barking | 22 | 8 | 0 | 14 | 52 | 54 | −2 | 24 | |
| 9 | Newport County | 22 | 7 | 2 | 13 | 33 | 44 | −11 | 23 | |
| 10 | Wembley Mill Hill | 22 | 6 | 2 | 14 | 35 | 64 | −29 | 20 | |
| 11 | Cardiff City(R) | 22 | 6 | 0 | 16 | 34 | 60 | −26 | 18 | Relegation to theSouth West Combination League |
| 12 | Reading Royals(R) | 22 | 2 | 2 | 18 | 25 | 92 | −67 | 8 |
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(December 2009) |
3 August 2000:Pierluigi Casiraghi, 31-year-old Italian striker, retires nearly two years after he broke his leg in a Premier League match for Chelsea and failed to make a full recovery.[26]
28 September 2000:Steve Bould, 37-year-old central defender, retires after just over a year at Sunderland, having joined them after 11 years at Arsenal where he formed part of one of the most successful defence line-ups of modern times.[27]
8 November 2000:Robbie Earle, 35-year-old Wimbledon andJamaica midfielder, retires due to a stomach injury.[28]
24 January 2001:Luc Nilis, 33-year-old Belgian striker, retires on medical advice four months after suffering a badly broken leg while playing for Aston Villa against Ipswich Town.[29]
4 May 2001:Dave Watson, 39-year-old central defender, finally retires from playing after 15 years with Everton after accepting an offer to manage Tranmere Rovers.[30]
9 May 2001:Tony Cottee, 35-year-old striker, retires after a brief spell at Millwall during their Division Two promotion run-in.[31]
4 July 2001:Gary Pallister, 36-year-old central defender, retires after 17 years in professional football after three years back at Middlesbrough, who gave him hisFootball League break when he began his first spell with them in 1984. His biggest successes came at Manchester United between 1989 and 1998, where he won four league titles, three FA Cups, a Football League Cup and the European Cup Winners' Cup. He was also capped 22 times by England between 1988 and 1996.[32]
