HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The 1999–2000 season was the 120th season of competitive
football in England Association football, Football is the most popular sport in England. Widely regarded as the birthplace of modern football, the first official rules of the game were established in England in 1863. The country is home to the world's first footba ...
.


Overview


Premier League

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
were crowned
FA Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football ...
champions with an 18-point margin over runners-up
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
and with just 3 league defeats all season. This was despite their failure to retain the
European Cup The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...
and withdrawal from the
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
in order to compete in the FIFA Club World Championship – a campaign which was short lived. Andy Townsend also once said in ''
The Sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot Plasma (physics), plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as ...
'' that Manchester United should be "banned for life" from the FA Cup. Their season after the domination of 1998–99 was seen as a relative failure by the tabloids. Man United's failure in the FIFA Club World Championship, was surprisingly compounded by the press even more when
David Beckham Sir David Robert Joseph Beckham ( ; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Primarily a right winger and known for his range of passing, cross ...
's wife Victoria, admitted on ''
The Big Breakfast ''The Big Breakfast'' is a British breakfast light entertainment television programme that was broadcast on Channel 4 from 1992 to 2002, and as a revival from 2021 to 2022. The show had various presenters, starting with Chris Evans (presenter), ...
'' that he enjoys wearing her
thong The thong is a Clothing, garment generally used as either underwear or in some countries, as a swimsuit. It may also be worn for traditional Ceremony, ceremonies or Sport, competitions. Viewed from the front, the thong typically resembles a b ...
s. It was during this tournament he was sent off against Mexican team
Club Necaxa Impulsora del Deportivo Necaxa S.A. de C.V. (); often simply known as Club Necaxa, is a Mexican professional Association football, football club based in Aguascalientes (city), Aguascalientes. It competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican ...
, which was seen as the starting point in his team's first-round exit.
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...
made an impressive Premiership comeback by finishing seventh and just missing out on a
UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
place, in part due to 30 goals from prolific striker Kevin Phillips.
Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...
went down in bottom place with a record Premiership low of 24 points.
Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...
were next to go down. On the last day of the season,
Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...
lost 2–0 at
Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
and Bradford City achieved a shock 1–0 home win over
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
thanks to a goal by David Wetherall. This meant that Bradford had survived the drop and Liverpool had surrendered a
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...
place to
Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...
. It also meant that Wimbledon's 14-year spell in the top flight was over and they were relegated to Division One 12 years to the day that they had beaten Liverpool to achieve a shock
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
triumph.


Division One

The three promotion places in Division One went to league champions Charlton Athletic, runners-up
Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...
and playoff champions Ipswich Town. 1999–2000 also saw some of Division One's biggest clubs miss out on promotion—the biggest of these were Blackburn Rovers (11th) and
Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...
(14th). Steve Coppell ended his fourth spell as Crystal Palace manager after doing wonders to keep a virtually bankrupt club clear of the Division One relegation zone. Going down were
Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...
, Port Vale and
Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...
.
West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...
just missed out on the drop zone thanks to a late turn-around in form during the final weeks of the season which followed the appointment of Gary Megson as manager.


Division Two

David Moyes, 37, showed promise as one of the league's most highly rated young managers after he guided Preston North End to the Division Two championship. Stan Ternent's two-year rebuilding project at
Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...
paid off as they finished runners-up in the division. Joining them in Division One were Peter Taylor's Gillingham, who had reached the upper half of the league for the first time in their history. Going down were Cardiff City,
Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...
, Scunthorpe United and Chesterfield. Narrowly avoiding the drop were Oxford United, who struggled all season long despite the club's financial crisis being eased by the arrival of new
Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...
n chairman Firoz Kassam.


Division Three

Swansea City, Rotherham United,
Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...
and Peterborough United occupied the four promotion places in Division Three. Chester City were relegated on the last day of the season, ending their 69-year league career, while Shrewsbury Town and Carlisle United saved themselves from Conference football.


FA Cup

Chelsea beat Aston Villa 1–0 in the last
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
final at
Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in the London Borou ...
before its redevelopment. The competition was played despite the absence of holders
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
due to FIFA Club World Championship commitments. Their absence meant that in the 3rd round of the competition, there was an uneven number of teams, and so
Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...
were picked out of a hat of "lucky losers" and played against Aston Villa despite having lost in the 2nd round of the competition. Villa beat them 2–1. In a one-off season, most FA Cup rounds were played a few weeks earlier than their traditional dates. For example, the first round was played in late October (rather than mid-November) and the third round was held on the second Saturday in December (instead of its annual place at the start of the new year). The experiment has not been repeated since.


League Cup

Leicester City beat Tranmere Rovers 2–1 to yield their second League Cup in four seasons.


Events


United retain their title

Manchester United retained their Premiership title after losing just three league games all season and finishing 18 points ahead of runners-up Arsenal. Roy Keane was voted Player of the Year by both the PFA and FWA and Dwight Yorke finished as the club's top scorer with 20 Premiership goals. United lost their defence of the European Cup after losing to eventual winners Real Madrid in the quarter-finals. Along the way they suffered an embarrassing 5–0 domestic loss to Chelsea, the biggest ever defeat for a British team defending the European Cup.


Chelsea triumph in Wembley finale

Chelsea beat Aston Villa 1–0 in the last FA Cup final at Wembley before the stadium was closed for reconstruction. Robert di Matteo, who had scored in the 1997 final, scored the only goal of the 2000 final to give Chelsea their third FA Cup triumph and end Villa's hopes of winning the trophy for the first time since 1957.


O'Neill lured to Celtic

Martin O'Neill guided Leicester City to their second League Cup triumph in four seasons before moving north of the border to Celtic, whose 'dream team' partnership of Director of Football Kenny Dalglish and Head Coach John Barnes had ended a nightmare as they finished 21 points behind champions Rangers in the SPL title race and had suffered a shock SFA Cup exit at the hands of Inverness Caledonian Thistle, which had inspired ''
The Sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot Plasma (physics), plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as ...
'' newspaper headline: "Super Caley Go Ballistic, Celtic Are Atrocious".


England blow it at Euro 2000

England overcame Scotland in the qualification playoffs to qualify for Euro 2000, and beat Germany in the group stages. But they surrendered a two-goal lead to lose 3–2 to Portugal and lost by the same scoreline to Romania, and thus failed to reach the quarter-finals. This dismal showing saw continued calls for the F.A. to terminate Kevin Keegan's contract.


Veteran Robson takes over on Tyneside

Bobby Robson, 66, became the oldest manager ever to take charge of a Premiership club when he succeeded 37-year-old Ruud Gullit as manager of Newcastle United.


Chester out, Kidderminster in

Chester City were relegated to the Conference after 69 years of Football League membership. They were replaced by Conference champions Kidderminster Harriers, who had won the Conference title six years earlier but had been refused promotion because their Aggborough ground did not meet capacity requirements.


Coppell quits Palace again

Steve Coppell was sacked as Crystal Palace manager, having been in charge of the club four times in 16 years. New owner Simon Jordan brought in Alan Smith (who had managed Palace between 1993 and 1995) as Coppell's successor. The change of hands gave Palace fans hope for the future after a financial crisis had almost put the club out of business.


Shearer quits the international stage

Alan Shearer retired from international football after playing for England at Euro 2000, much to the dismay of many fans who felt that he still had a few years left in him at the highest level.


Wimbledon relegated after 14 years

Wimbledon were relegated from the Premiership after 14 years in the top flight. Their fate was sealed on 14 May, 12 years to the day since they had achieved their famous FA Cup victory over Liverpool.


Awards

Roy Keane Roy Maurice Keane (born 10 August 1971) is an Irish football pundit, former coach, and former professional player. He is best known for his career in the Premier League, in particular his captaincy of Manchester United. He is the joint most ...
captained
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
to another Premiership title triumph and was credited with the
PFA Players' Player of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Men's Players' Player of the Year (often called the PFA Men's Players' Player of the Year, the Players' Player of the Year, or simply the Player of the Year) is an annual award given to the player who is ...
and FWA Footballer of the Year awards.
Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...
's 22-year-old Australian midfielder Harry Kewell was voted PFA Young Player of the Year after helping to secure a Champions League place for his side. Kevin Phillips scored 30 Premiership goals for
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...
to win the
Premier League Golden Boot The Premier League Golden Boot is an annual association football award presented to the leading goalscorer in the Premier League. For sponsorship purposes, it was called the Carling Golden Boot from 1994 to 2001, the Barclaycard Golden Boot from ...
and making him the season's highest scorer among all four English professional divisions.


Successful managers

Sir Alex Ferguson guided
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
to their sixth Premiership title in eight years. Gianluca Vialli won his fourth major trophy in two-and-a-half seasons by winning the
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
for Chelsea. David O'Leary ended his first full season as
Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...
manager with a run to the semi-finals of the
UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
and qualification for next season's Champions League. Peter Reid achieved a remarkable seventh-place finish for
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...
in their Premiership comeback season.
Martin O'Neill Martin Hugh Michael O'Neill, (born 1 March 1952) is a Northern Irish professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Association football, player who played as a midfielder. After a brief early career in the Irish Leag ...
ended his spell at Leicester City by achieving the Foxes' highest ever Premier League finish and by winning a second League Cup in four seasons. Joe Royle took
Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...
into the Premiership after winning a second successive promotion. Alan Curbishley guided Charlton Athletic to promotion back to the Premiership at the first attempt after they finished champions of Division One. George Burley finally got Ipswich Town into the Premiership when they triumphed in the Division One playoffs after three successive seasons of failure. David Moyes continued Preston North End's revival by guiding them to title success in Division Two. Stan Ternent guided Burnley to runners-up spot in Division Two and secured their promotion to Division One. John Hollins brought success to Swansea City, who won the Division Three title.


League tables


FA Premier League

Manchester United retained the Premier League title, winning it for the sixth time in eight seasons, and finished the season as champions by a record 18-point margin; while their season was marred by faltering results in the early stages, a struggle to replace long-serving goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel, and their controversially withdrawing from the FA Cup in favour of an ultimately fruitless entry into the 2000 FIFA Club World Championship, they made up for this in style by winning all but three games (only one of which ended in defeat) after Christmas. Arsenal finished runners-up for the second successive season, having spent much of the season well off the pace of the Champions League spots before a strong run in the late stages saw them clinch second place. Leeds United's season was essentially the opposite of those of the two teams above them, leading the table for much of the first half of the season, only for their form to completely implode in the final months, with only Liverpool's failure to win on the final day securing them a Champions League spot; their third-place finish was nonetheless their highest since title glory in 1992. Liverpool's fourth-place finish meant that they had to settle for a UEFA Cup place, a shock defeat to Bradford City (who defied all the odds to avoid relegation in their first top-flight season for nearly 80 years) preventing them from qualifying for the Champions League on the final day. Joining Liverpool in the UEFA Cup were fifth placed FA Cup Winners Chelsea, and League Cup winners Leicester City. Newly promoted Sunderland just missed out on Europe, with a winless run from Boxing Day to mid-March ending their hopes, but their seventh-place finish was their highest for decades, and star striker Kevin Phillips bagged both the Golden Boot and the European Golden shoe, scoring 30 goals. Ruud Gullit stepped down as Newcastle manager after one point from the first five games of the league campaign, paving the way for 66-year-old former England manager Bobby Robson to take up his first post in England since leaving the England job in 1990, and his first at club level since 1982. Robson steered Newcastle to an 11th-place finish and they also reached the FA Cup semi-finals. Bradford's escape from relegation meant that Wimbledon, who were beaten by Southampton on the final day of the season, were relegated from the Premiership after 14 successive seasons of top-flight football. Sheffield Wednesday went down after three seasons of steady decline, having been in the top flight for all but one season since 1984, as a horrific first half of the season, which saw them bottom with a paltry 6 points at Christmas, ultimately proved too much to recover from. Watford's first top-flight season for more than a decade ended in relegation, being undone by a poor run of form from late September onwards which saw them slip into the bottom three, where they couldn't recover, ultimately resulting in them posting the lowest-ever points total for a Premier League team until that point. Leading goalscorer: Kevin Phillips (Sunderland) – 30


Football League Division One

Charlton Athletic won the division with greater ease than the final table suggested – they were in fact the first team in the country to win promotion, but a return of just 4 points from their last 7 matches allowed the pursuing teams to close the gap. Manchester City won their second successive promotion in the runners-up spot, well and truly putting the memories of their relegation to the Second Division behind them. Ipswich Town finished in the play-offs for the fourth season in a row, but this time they were successful as they triumphed over Barnsley at Wembley and won promotion back to the Premier League after a five-year absence. Wolves narrowly missed out on the playoffs for the third season running, while Huddersfield Town's eighth-place finish was perhaps the closest they had come to returning to the top flight since losing their top-flight place in 1972. Fulham finished ninth as their recent revival continued, but a failure to win a second successive promotion saw
Paul Bracewell Paul William Bracewell (born 19 July 1962) is an English former professional association football, football player and manager. Bracewell played as a midfielder. He was a member of the Everton F.C., Everton side that won the League title in 19 ...
sacked as manager and replaced with Jean Tigana, who had won a French league title and reached a European Cup semi-final with AS Monaco. Swindon suffered from a financial crisis and a transfer embargo for most of the season, and the effect on the pitch was obvious as they were relegated in bottom place. Port Vale, who had only survived the previous season due to the League's short-lived usage of Goals Scored over Goal Difference, went down with them. Walsall took their survival battle to the final day of the season, but were unable to avoid an immediate relegation back to Division Two. Leading goalscorer: Andy Hunt (Charlton Athletic) – 24


Football League Division Two

Preston won the division title after 19 years away from the top two divisions, showing great progress under promising young manager David Moyes.
Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...
, who were unfancied and even tipped for relegation by some owing to two unimpressive previous seasons, achieved promotion in the second automatic spot. After losing in the previous year's play-off final, Gillingham won promotion via the Division Two playoffs to reach the upper half of the English league for the first time in their history, their opponents in the play-off final being a
Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...
side playing their first season in the impressive new 25,000-seat JJB Stadium. Chesterfield started the season well enough, but a dreadful run of 2 wins in 20 games mid-season consigned them to relegation and spelled the end as manager for John Duncan after seven years. Scunthorpe, who had won promotion via the play-offs the previous year, never achieved enough wins to have a serious chance of survival, and went straight back down. Blackpool had been coping well in previous seasons despite financial problems, but they finally took their toll this season and helped send the club down. Cardiff were the final relegated team, eventually proving the weakest of a group of sides that could have easily gone down in the last weeks of the season. The highlight of their season was their game against
Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They currently compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed the U’s, the club h ...
, where they drew despite being a player down after 45 minutes, two players down after 63 minutes and 3 players down after 75 minutes. Oxford United finished one point clear of a second successive relegation, their future secured after being taken over by hotelier Firoz Kassam, who enabled construction work to resume on the club's long-awaited new stadium. Leading goalscorer: Andy Payton (Burnley) – 27


Football League Division Three

Swansea and Rotherham, both of whom had been dumped out in the play-off semi-finals the previous year, led the table for virtually the entire season. Swansea eventually won the title by drawing a stormy last game of the season between the two sides. The third automatic spot was won by Northampton, who were led to promotion by new manager Kevin Wilson after a poor start to the season under previous manager Ian Atkins. Peterborough won the play-offs, returning to Division Two after an absence of three years. A four-way relegation scrap took place throughout most of the season, involving Chester, Shrewsbury, Carlisle and York. York eventually pulled away to safety with some good results in the final weeks of the season, leaving the other three to face a final-day relegation battle. In the end, Chester, who had spent virtually the entire season rooted to the bottom of the table and only had the chance of a last-day escape because of similarly poor campaigns by Carlisle and Shrewsbury, were relegated to the Conference. Leading goalscorer:
Marco Gabbiadini Marco Gabbiadini (born 20 January 1968) is an English former professional association football, footballer whose career lasted 18 years from 1985 to 2003. He played for 12 different clubs, scoring a total of 226 league goals. Playing career ...
(Darlington) – 25


Diary of the season

17 June 1999 – David James leaves
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
after seven years in a £1.7 million move to Aston Villa. 21 June 1999 – The France national team captain Didier Deschamps joins Chelsea in a £3 million move from
Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...
. 30 June 1999 – Bradford City prepare for their first time top division season for nearly 80 years with a club record £1.4 million move for
Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...
defender David Wetherall. 5 July 1999 – Chelsea pay a club record £10 million for Blackburn Rovers striker Chris Sutton. 14 July 1999 –
Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...
pay Ipswich Town £6.5 million for midfielder Kieron Dyer and Everton pay
Trabzonspor Trabzonspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional sports club located in the city of Trabzon, located in Black Sea region, northeastern Turkey. Established in 1967 through the merger of several local clubs, Trabzonspor is one of the most prominent A ...
£3 million for on-loan striker Kevin Campbell, who scored eight goals in seven games for them late last season. 23 July 1999 – Leeds United sign striker
Michael Bridges Michael Bridges (born 5 August 1978) is an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and retired former Association football, footballer. As a player, he was a Striker (association football), striker who notably pl ...
from
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...
for £5 million. 29 July 1999 – Four years after leaving
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
, Stefan Schwarz returns to English football in a £4 million move to Sunderland from
Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...
. 31 July 1999 –
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...
sign German international midfielder Christian Ziege from
AC Milan (), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...
for £4 million. 1 August 1999 – Arsenal lift the Charity Shield thanks to a 2–1 victory over
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
at
Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in the London Borou ...
. 2 August 1999 – Arsenal sell
Nicolas Anelka Nicolas Sébastien Anelka (born 14 March 1979) is a French professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a Forward (association football), forward. As a player, he regularly featur ...
to
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...
for £23 million – the highest fee involving a British club. 3 August 1999 – Arsenal sign Thierry Henry for an estimated fee of £11 million, reuniting with his former manager
Arsène Wenger Arsène Charles Ernest Wenger (born 22 October 1949) is a French former association football, football Manager (association football), manager and football player, player who is currently serving as FIFA's Chief of Global Football Development. ...
. 4 August 1999 – Leeds United sell Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink to
Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...
of Spain for £12 million. 7 August 1999 –
Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...
mark their first game at the JJB Stadium with a 3–0 win over Scunthorpe United in Division Two. The first Premier League games of the season include Chelsea's 4–0 home win over newly-promoted Sunderland and
Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...
's 3–2 home defeat against
Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...
in their return to the top flight. Bradford City mark their first top-flight game since 1922 with a 1–0 away win over
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...
, in which Dean Saunders scores a late winner. 10 August 1999 – Kevin Phillips scores his first two Premier League goals in Sunderland's 2–0 home win over his old club Watford. 11 August 1999 – Manchester United beat
Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...
4–0 at
Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...
.
Michael Bridges Michael Bridges (born 5 August 1978) is an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and retired former Association football, footballer. As a player, he was a Striker (association football), striker who notably pl ...
scores a hat-trick for Leeds United in their 3–0 away win over Southampton. Leeds United sign Coventry City striker Darren Huckerby for £4.4 million. 14 August 1999 –
Tommy Mooney Thomas John Mooney (born 11 August 1971) is an English former professional footballer who played mainly as a striker. He made more than 600 appearances in the Football League and Premier Leaguewith 250 for Watford and more than 100 for Scarbo ...
scores for Watford in their shock 1–0 league win at Liverpool. 18 August 1999 – 19-year-old
Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...
striker Robbie Keane becomes Coventry City's record signing in a £6 million deal. 21 August 1999 – Manchester United captain
Roy Keane Roy Maurice Keane (born 10 August 1971) is an Irish football pundit, former coach, and former professional player. He is best known for his career in the Premier League, in particular his captaincy of Manchester United. He is the joint most ...
scores twice in a 2–1 win over Arsenal at
Highbury Highbury is an area of North London, England, in the London Borough of Islington. Highbury Manor Highbury was once owned by Ranulf, brother of Ilger, and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads. The manor hou ...
. 25 August 1999 – Kevin Phillips and
Niall Quinn Niall John Quinn (honorary Order of the British Empire, MBE; born 6 October 1966) is an Irish former professional Association football, footballer, manager, businessman and sports television pundit. As a player, he was a Striker (association f ...
plunge Newcastle United into crisis as they score in Sunderland's 2–1 derby win at St. James' Park, 27 August 1999 –
Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...
beat Manchester United 1–0 in
Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...
to win the
European Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions: the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was original ...
. 28 August 1999 – Ruud Gullit resigns after one year as manager of Newcastle United. 30 August 1999 – Andy Cole scores four goals against his old club Newcastle United as Manchester United beat them 5–1 at Old Trafford. 31 August 1999 – The first month of the league season ends with treble winners Manchester United looking well placed for retaining their league title as Premier League leaders with five wins and a draw from their first six games. Aston Villa are their nearest contenders, while Chelsea, West Ham United and Leicester City complete the top five. Sheffield Wednesday and Newcastle United, both winless, prop up the rest of the top flight, while Bradford City occupy the final bottom three position at the end of the first month of their first top division season for nearly 80 years. Ipswich Town are hopeful of making it back to the Premier League after five seasons away (during which time they have suffered three play-off disappointments) as they finish the first month of the season as Division One leaders. Stockport County have emerged as surprise contenders for a Premier League place as they stand second in Division One. The playoff zone is occupied by
West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...
,
Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...
,
Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...
and
Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...
. 3 September 1999 – Newcastle United appoint Bobby Robson as their new manager. The former
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
manager, 66, is the oldest manager in all four division of the English league – and almost 30 years older than his predecessor Ruud Gullit. 7 September 1999 – Ade Akinbiyi becomes the most expensive Division Two player when he leaves Bristol City for Division One promotion hopefuls Wolverhampton Wanderers. 11 September 1999 – Jamie Carragher scores two own goals as Liverpool lose 3–2 at home to Manchester United in the league. 17 September 1999 – Former England and
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
full-back Rob Jones retires from football at the age of 28 after failing to recover from a succession of injuries. 18 September 1999 – Newcastle United record the second highest win in
FA Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football ...
history when they beat Sheffield Wednesday 8–0.
Alan Shearer Alan Shearer (born 13 August 1970) is an English Association football, football pundit and former professional player who played as a striker (association football), striker. Widely regarded as one of the best strikers of all time and one of t ...
scores five goals in this game, while Kevin Phillips scores a hat-trick in Sunderland's 5–0 win at Derby County. In a rare appearance for Manchester United, Jordi Cruyff scores a late equaliser in their 1–1 home draw with Wimbledon. 30 September 1999 – Manchester United retain their lead of the Premier League, with Leeds United now their nearest contenders by a two-point margin. Arsenal, Sunderland and Chelsea complete the top five. Sheffield Wednesday remain bottom after a terrible first two months of the season, while Newcastle United remain second from bottom despite that record-breaking victory 12 days ago, and Wimbledon now occupy the final remaining relegation position. Ipswich Town and Birmingham City are level on points at the top of Division One. Charlton Athletic, Manchester City, Fulham and
Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...
complete the top six. 2 October 1999 – Sheffield Wednesday record a 5–1 home win over Wimbledon. 3 October 1999 – Chelsea crush Manchester United 5–0 – the first domestic competitive game that United have lost for nearly nine months.
Alan Shearer Alan Shearer (born 13 August 1970) is an English Association football, football pundit and former professional player who played as a striker (association football), striker. Widely regarded as one of the best strikers of all time and one of t ...
scores twice as Newcastle beat Middlesbrough 2–1. 24 October 1999 – A Premier League thriller at
Goodison Park Goodison Park is a Association football, football stadium in Walton, Liverpool, Walton, Liverpool, England, it was the home of Premier League club Everton F.C., Everton from 1892 until 2025. It is now the home of Everton F.C. (women), Everton's ...
sees Everton and Leeds United draw 4–4, a result that ends the Yorkshire club's 10-match winning streak. Elsewhere, a late Trevor Sinclair equalizer for West Ham United stops ten-man Sunderland's ascension to the top; the Black Cats instead rise to third. 31 October 1999 – October draws to a close with Leeds United as the new Premier League leaders, with Manchester United in second place and trailing them by two points. Arsenal, Sunderland and Leicester City complete the top five. Sheffield Wednesday remain bottom, with Watford and Bradford City completing the bottom three. Manchester City lead Division One, with Ipswich Town, Charlton Athletic and Birmingham City level on points as their nearest rivals.
Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...
and Fulham complete the top six. 13 November 1999 – Paul Scholes scores twice as
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
beat
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
2–0 at
Hampden Park Hampden Park ( ; Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden'') is a association football, football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland, which is the national stadium of football in Scotland and home of the Scotland national football ...
in the
Euro 2000 The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. The finals tournament was ...
qualifying playoff first leg.England Match No. 763 – Scotland – 13 November 1999 – Match Summary and Report
Englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved on 23 March 2011.
17 November 1999 — England qualify for Euro 2000 despite a 1–0 second leg defeat by Scotland at Wembley. Arsenal announce plans to move to a new 60,000-seat stadium at Ashburton Grove near
Highbury Highbury is an area of North London, England, in the London Borough of Islington. Highbury Manor Highbury was once owned by Ranulf, brother of Ilger, and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads. The manor hou ...
, their home since 1913. 20 November 1999 –
Marc Overmars Marc Overmars (; born 29 March 1973) is a Dutch former professional association football, footballer and former director of football at Belgian First Division A, Belgian Pro League side Royal Antwerp F.C. He was previously director of football a ...
scores a hat-trick in Arsenal's 5–1 home league win over Middlesbrough. 30 November 1999 – Manchester United are back on top of the Premier League as November draws to a close, with former leaders Leeds United now bracketed on points with Arsenal as their nearest rivals. Newly promoted Sunderland's excellent start to the season sees them still in fourth place, with a resurgent Liverpool standing fifth. Sheffield Wednesday and Watford continue to prop up the rest of the Premier League, accompanied in the drop zone by a Derby County side who had spent the previous two seasons chasing a place in Europe. Manchester City remain top of Division One, with Huddersfield Town now second and in the hunt for top division for the first time in nearly 30 years. Charlton Athletic, Ipswich Town, Barnsley and Fulham occupy the playoff places. 1 December 1999 – Film producer and actor Bill Kenwright, 54, completes a takeover of Everton after buying out former owner Peter Johnson. 4 December 1999 – Ole Gunnar Solskjaer scores four goals in Manchester United's 5–1 home league win over Everton. 31 December 1999 – 1999 draws to a close and as the new millennium approaches, Leeds United are back on top though with just a one-point lead over Manchester United who have a game in hand. Arsenal, Sunderland and Liverpool are the only three teams still posing a reasonable threat to the top two. Sheffield Wednesday's terrible season has continued as they remain bottom with a mere two wins and nine points from their first 20 games, while Watford and Derby County remain in the bottom three. The race for promotion to the Premier League is still headed by Manchester City and Huddersfield Town, while Charlton Athletic, Ipswich Town, Barnsley and Stockport County complete the top six. 8 January 2000 – Liverpool suffer a shock 1–0 home defeat to Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup fourth round. Tranmere Rovers, on a good run in the League Cup, progress to the fifth round of the FA Cup after a surprise 1–0 win at home to Sunderland in the fourth round. There is a major shock also for Bradford City, who are crushed 3–1 by Division Two Gillingham at Priestfield. 12 January 2000 – Liberian striker
George Weah George Manneh Oppong Weah (born 1 October 1966) is a Liberian politician and former professional Association football, footballer who served as the 25th president of Liberia from 2018 to 2024. Before his election for the presidency, Weah served ...
, 31, joins Chelsea on a six-month loan from A.C. Milan. 19 January 2000 – Arsenal's hopes of FA Cup glory are ended in a replay penalty shoot-out defeat by Leicester City, who boost their own bid for a cup double. 29 January 2000 – The FA Cup fifth round brings some surprise results as Gillingham's giant-killing run continues with a 3–1 home win over Sheffield Wednesday and Charlton Athletic win at Coventry City to give the rest of the Premier League some idea of what they will be performing like when inevitable promotion is achieved. Leicester City's hopes of a domestic cup double are ended when they lose 2–1 at Chelsea, while Cambridge United's impressive run ends in a 3–1 home defeat by Bolton Wanderers. On the transfer front, Division One strugglers West Bromwich Albion sell their Italian midfielder Enzo Maresca to
Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...
for £4 million. 30 January 2000 –
Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...
striker Martin Aldridge, 25, on loan to Rushden & Diamonds, dies in an
Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
hospital after being injured in a car crash in
Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...
. 31 January 2000 – Struggling Sheffield Wednesday complete the month unbeaten in the
FA Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football ...
. Danny Wilson is named FA Premier League Manager of the Month, but the club are still in the relegation zone, though no longer in the bottom place (now occupied by Watford. Bradford City occupy the other relegation position. Manchester United now lead at the top on goal difference ahead of Leeds United, with Arsenal and Liverpool still posing a threat but Sunderland's challenge is ebbing away. Charlton Athletic have taken over from Manchester City as Division One leaders. Ipswich Town, Barnsley, Huddersfield Town and Wolverhampton Wanderers complete the top six. 12 February 2000 – Manchester United suffer their first Premier League defeat in four months, and only their third of the season, as they lose 3–0 at Newcastle United. A Premier League thriller at Upton Park sees West Ham United beat Bradford City 5–4. 19 February 2000 – Bolton Wanderers reach the FA Cup semi-finals with a 1–0 win over Charlton Athletic as they hope to challenge for a "Wembley double" of the FA Cup final and Division One play-off final. 20 February 2000 – Gillingham's FA Cup dreams are ended with a 5–0 defeat at Chelsea, while a 2–1 defeat at home to Aston Villa resigns Everton to another season of disappointment in Walter Smith's second season as manager. Tranmere Rovers are eliminated by Newcastle United after a brave 3–2 defeat. 23 February 2000 –
Stanley Matthews Sir Stanley Matthews (1 February 1915 – 23 February 2000) was an English Association football, footballer who played as an Forward (association football)#Outside forward, outside right. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the Br ...
, one of the greatest English footballers of all time, dies at the age of 85. 26 February 2000 – Wimbledon become the first team this season to be unbeaten twice in the league by Manchester United after holding them to a 2–2 draw at
Selhurst Park Selhurst Park is a football stadium in Selhurst, in the London Borough of Croydon, England, which is the home ground of Premier League club Crystal Palace. The stadium was designed by Archibald Leitch and opened in 1924. It has hosted interna ...
. 29 February 2000 – Manchester United have now extended their Premier League lead to six points as February ends, with Leeds United posing the closest threat, while Arsenal and Liverpool (along with a resurgent Chelsea) pose a more distant threat, and Sunderland are now focused on qualifying for the
UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
rather than challenging for the league title. Sheffield Wednesday and Watford continue to prop up the Premier League, with Bradford City joining them in the drop zone. Charlton Athletic and Manchester City continue to head the Division One promotion race, with Ipswich Town, Barnsley, Huddersfield Town and Birmingham City completing the top six. 4 March 2000 – Debutant striker Stan Collymore scores a hat-trick for Leicester City in their 5–2 win over
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...
in the Premier League, just days after his transfer from Aston Villa. 7 March 2000 –
John Hartson John Hartson (born 5 April 1975) is a Welsh former professional footballer, coach and sports television pundit for S4C, Sky Sports, Premier Sports TV and TNT Sports. As a player he was a striker, notably for Scottish club Celtic where his ti ...
's proposed move from
Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...
to Tottenham Hotspur collapses after he fails a medical. 10 March 2000 – Liverpool pay a club record £11 million for Leicester City striker Emile Heskey. 11 March 2000 –
Steffen Iversen Steffen Iversen (born 10 November 1976) is a Norwegian former Association football, footballer who last worked as player-manager for Norwegian 4th division side :no:Sportsklubben Trygg/Lade, Trygg/Lade as a Striker (association football), striker ...
scores a hat-trick in Tottenham's 7–2 home league win over Southampton. 22 March 2000 – Dean Windass scores a hat-trick in Bradford City's 4–4 relegation crunch thriller with Derby County at
Valley Parade Valley Parade, currently known as University of Bradford Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is an all-seater association football, football stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The stadium was built in 1886 as the home of Manningham F.C. ...
. 31 March 2000 – Manchester United are now looking all set for title glory as they head the table by a seven-point margin with Leeds United as their closest rivals. Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal are looking more and more distant a threat in the race to prevent the Premier League trophy from remaining at
Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...
. At the other end of the table, Sheffield Wednesday and Watford are looking doomed, with Bradford City occupying the final relegation position and Derby County hovering dangerously close to the drop zone. The race for Premier League football next season is headed by Charlton Athletic and Ipswich Town. Barnsley, Manchester City, Huddersfield Town and Birmingham City complete the top six. 2 April 2000 – Aston Villa beat Bolton Wanderers on penalties after a goalless draw in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley, to reach their first FA Cup final for 43 years. 5 April 2000 – Two Leeds United Fans, Chris Loftus and Kevin Speight are killed on the eve of the club's UEFA Cup Semi-final against Galatasaray. 9 April 2000 – Two goals from Gus Poyet give Chelsea a 2–1 win over Newcastle United in the FA Cup semi-final. 10 April 2000 – A late surge by Middlesbrough is unable to prevent Manchester United from winning a thrilling Premier League 4–3 at the
Riverside Stadium The Riverside Stadium is a football stadium in Middlesbrough, England, which has been the home of Middlesbrough since its opening in 1995. It has an all-seated capacity of 34,742, although provisional planning permission is in place to expan ...
. 15 April 2000 – All Premier League matches kicked off at 3.06 pm, to commemorate the 96 Liverpool supporters who lost their lives in the
Hillsborough disaster The Hillsborough disaster was a fatal crowd crush at a football match at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989. It occurred during an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in the tw ...
. 19 April 2000 – Derby County bring Georgi Kinkladze back to England after two years with
Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * Ajax (play), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...
after agreeing a £3 million deal. Manchester United surrender their defence of the
European Cup The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...
after losing 3–2 at home to
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...
in the quarter-final second leg. 21 April 2000 – Charlton Athletic win promotion back to the Premier League after one season away. 22 April 2000 – Manchester United seal their sixth Premier League title in eight seasons with a 3–1 win at Southampton. 29 April 2000 – Bradford City boost their survival bid and dent Wimbledon's with a 3–0 win at Valley Parade. 30 April 2000 – April draws to a close with champions Manchester United an incredible 19 points ahead of second placed Arsenal, who have two games in hand. Liverpool are looking set for the third Champions League place, while Chelsea head the UEFA Cup race. Leeds United meanwhile have fallen to fifth place after a disastrous run of results, and now look unlikely to even qualify for European competition at all. Aston Villa, Sunderland and West Ham United remain in with a slim chance of taking the league's UEFA Cup slot. Charlton Athletic have been confirmed as Division One champions, but the race for second place is still being contested by Manchester City and Ipswich Town. 7 May 2000 – Chester City are relegated to the
Football Conference The National League of English Football Clubs is a professional Association football, football league in England that consists of 72 teams, divided equally between the National League (division), National League North and National League South ...
after 69 years of
Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...
membership. On the same day, Manchester City secure promotion to the Premier League as Division One runners-up (their second successive promotion), Walsall suffer relegation to Division Two, Burnley secure promotion to Division One as Division Two runners-up, and Northampton seal the third and final automatic promotion place in Division Three. Chester City's place in the Football League will be taken by Conference champions Kidderminster Harriers. 9 May 2000 – Sheffield Wednesday are relegated from the Premier League after nine successive seasons of top-flight football, but go down fighting with a 3–3 draw against Arsenal. 14 May 2000 – Wimbledon lose 2–0 at Southampton and are relegated to Division One after 14 years in the top flight, and 12 years to the day after their FA Cup triumph over Liverpool. Bradford City, meanwhile, confirm their survival with a 1–0 win over Liverpool, who surrender a Champions League place to Leeds United. 14 May 2000 – ITV announces a £500 million bid to bring live
Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
matches onto terrestrial television for the first time. If the deal goes ahead, it will be the first time since 1992 (when the Premier League was created from the old
Football League First Division The Football League First Division was the top division of the Football League in England from 1888 until the end of the 1991–92 season, when its teams broke away to form the Premier League. From 1992 to 2004, the name First Division was g ...
) that live top division football has been shown on any terrestrial television channel. 18 May 2000 – West Ham United sell Marc-Vivien Foé to
Olympique Lyonnais Olympique Lyonnais (), commonly referred to as simply Lyon () or OL, is a French professional association football, football club based in Lyon, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France. With origins dating back to 1899, they were founded in 1950 and p ...
for £6 million. 20 May 2000 – Chelsea beat Aston Villa 1–0 in the last FA Cup final to be played at
Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in the London Borou ...
before the 77-year-old stadium is rebuilt. Roberto Di Matteo, who scored for Chelsea in the opening minute of their 1997 triumph, scores the only goal of the game. 29 May 2000 – Ipswich Town seal promotion to the Premier League after a five-year exile by defeating
Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...
4–2 in the Division One playoff final at Wembley. It is their first win at Wembley since they won the FA Cup in 1978. 30 May 2000 – Arsenal sign
Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...
defender
Lauren Lauren is mostly a feminine given name. The name's meaning may be "laurel tree", "sweet of honor", or "wisdom". It is derived from the French name Laurence, a feminine version of Laurent, which is in turn derived from the Roman surname Laurent ...
for £7.2 million from
Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...
. 31 May 2000 – Manchester United pay a national record fee for a goalkeeper when they sign AS Monaco and France goalkeeper Fabien Barthez for £7.8 million. 1 June 2000 –
Martin O'Neill Martin Hugh Michael O'Neill, (born 1 March 1952) is a Northern Irish professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Association football, player who played as a midfielder. After a brief early career in the Irish Leag ...
leaves Leicester City to take over as manager of
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...
. Tottenham Hotspur pay a club record £11 million for
Dynamo Kyiv The Football Club 'Dynamo Kyiv', also known as Dynamo Kyiv, or simply Dynamo, ( ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Dynamo Sports Society ...
striker Serhii Rebrov. 2 June 2000 – Chelsea equal the national transfer record (set by
Alan Shearer Alan Shearer (born 13 August 1970) is an English Association football, football pundit and former professional player who played as a striker (association football), striker. Widely regarded as one of the best strikers of all time and one of t ...
four years ago) with a £15 million move for Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. 14 June 2000 –
Match of the Day ''Match of the Day'' (abbreviated to ''MOTD'') is a Association football, football highlights programme, typically broadcast on BBC One on Saturday nights during the Premier League season. ''Match of the Day'' is one of the BBC's longest-runn ...
, the longest-running and most popular football programme on British television, is set to end after next season as a result of ITV's £183 million deal to show highlights from Premier League games. 20 June 2000 – Chelsea sign
Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...
ic striker
Eiður Guðjohnsen Eiður Smári Guðjohnsen (transliterated as Eidur Smari Gudjohnsen; born 15 September 1978) is an Icelandic professional football coach and former player who played as a forward. Eiður saw his greatest success in England and Spain with Chels ...
from Bolton Wanderers for £5 million.


Famous debutants

* Ashley Cole, 18, was involved in Arsenal's League Cup tie at
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...
in November 1999, with his first taste of league action following in a loan spell at Crystal Palace. * A future rival of Cole's for the England left-back slot, Nicky Shorey, 18, is brought on as substitute for Leyton Orient at Shrewsbury Town in February 2000. * Shaun Wright-Phillips helps
Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...
win at
Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...
in the League Cup in August 1999, two months before his 18th birthday. *
Michael Carrick Michael Carrick (born 28 July 1981) is an English professional Association football, football coach and former player who was most recently the head coach of club Middlesbrough F.C., Middlesbrough. He is considered as one of the best midfield ...
makes his professional debut, for
West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...
, in the Intertoto Cup in the 1–1 draw with FC Jokerit in August 1999.


Retirements

* David Hirst, 32, retired after a spell at
Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
which lasted for more than two years but was disrupted by a series of injuries. * Peter Beardsley, 38, finished his professional career on 28 October 1999 after spending 10 months at Hartlepool United, but prolonged his playing career at non-league level with
Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system after winning the 202 ...
in the
Football Conference The National League of English Football Clubs is a professional Association football, football league in England that consists of 72 teams, divided equally between the National League (division), National League North and National League South ...
until finally retiring on 30 November. * Jim Leighton, 41, who was in the English league with Manchester United as a goalkeeper from 1988 to 1992 (being first choice in his first two seasons there), finished his career in his native Scotland with
Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...
. * Ian Wright, 36, retired at the end of the season after a four-month spell with
Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...
, in which his four goals from 15 games helped them win promotion from Division Two. *
Nigel Spink Nigel Philip Spink (born 8 August 1958) is an English football coach and former professional footballer. He played as a goalkeeper from 1976 until 2001. He made his name at Aston Villa and also made one appearance for England at international l ...
, 41, one of the oldest and longest serving players in the English leagues, finally retired at professional level after a three-year spell at Millwall, though he would continue at non-league level for a year as player-manager of Forest Green Rovers.Nigel Spink , Football Betting
Soccer Base. Retrieved on 23 March 2011.


Deaths

*6 July 1999: Johnny Campbell, 89, who was born in
Ayrshire Ayrshire (, ) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety ...
,
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
, moved south of the border in 1931 to begin his professional career with Leicester City. He played 21 league games in attack over the next two years, scoring 12 goals, before transferring to Lincoln City in 1933. He managed 104 goals in 184 league games before his professional career was ended by
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. He then continued his playing career at non-league level. *18 August 1999: Alf Kirchen, 85, was a prolific right-winger who started his career in style with 11 goals in 14 league games at
Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...
in the mid-1930s before he signed for
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
. He was then capped three times by England, scoring twice, and managed 38 goals in 92 league games for Arsenal before the outbreak of war. His career was ended by an injury suffered in a wartime match in 1943. *17 September 1999: Fred Avey, 90, had a promising start to his professional career with
Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...
in the late 1920s, scoring 28 goals in 62 league games as a forward, but lost his place in the team and was transferred to
Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. They have played their ho ...
, playing just three league games and dropping out of league football at the age of 24. *29 September 1999: Walter Joyce, 62, played 70 league games at wing-half for
Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...
between 1954 and 1964, later turning out for Blackburn Rovers and finally his hometown club Oldham Athletic before retiring from playing in 1970. He was the father of fellow footballer Warren Joyce, who played 70 league games for Burnley between 1993 and 1996 and moved into management with Hull City in November 1998. *16 October 1999: Bill Dodgin senior, 90, played at wing-half for
Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...
, Lincoln City, Charlton Athletic, Bristol Rovers and
Orient The Orient is a term referring to the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of the term ''Occident'', which refers to the Western world. In English, it is largely a meto ...
in the 1930s. He then managed
Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
,
Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...
,
Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...
and then returned to Bristol Rovers in a managerial career which stretched from 1946 to 1972, with a 13-year interval between his departure from Brentford and appointment at Bristol Rovers. His son, Bill junior, played under him at Southampton and Fulham. *27 October 1999: Johnny Byrne, 60, was a striker who played for Crystal Palace, before commanding a British transfer record fee to go to
West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...
, playing in the side that won the
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
and the
Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renamed the UEFA Cup Winne ...
in the mid-1960s. He also played for the
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
team, scoring 8 goals in 11 appearances, including a hattrick against a
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
side that featured
Eusébio Eusébio da Silva Ferreira (; 25 January 1942 – 5 January 2014), nicknamed the "Black Panther", the "Black Pearl" or "O Rei" ("The King"), was a Portuguese Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football)#Stri ...
. He later went back to Palace, then to
Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...
, before rounding out his career in
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
, with Durban City. "Budgie" would spend the rest of his life there. *1 November 1999: Dave Bickles, 55, was a full-back in the same 1960s
West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...
side. He too later played for Crystal Palace and then Colchester United before retiring from football to become a P.E. teacher in 1979. He was also a part-time coach for West Ham United. *23 December 1999: ** – Stan Flashman, 69, rescued near-bankrupt non-league Barnet with a takeover deal in 1985. He made funds available to manager Barry Fry in hope of building a quality side, and this paid off with promotion to
the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...
in 1991, but he had quit within two years with the club knee deep in financial problems once again. Although Flashman's rash attitude (which saw him sack and reinstate Fry eight times) made him unpopular with most Barnet fans, it is unlikely that Barnet would have experienced league football without his takeover – they could well have gone out of business. ** – Billy McGlen, 78, played 122 league games at wing-half for
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
in the six seasons after the end of World War II. He later played for Lincoln City and Oldham Athletic. *7 January 2000: Ken Keyworth, 65, scored 63 goals in 177 league games for Leicester City after joining them from his hometown club Rotherham United, collecting a League Cup winner's medal at Filbert Street in 1964, and scoring their consolation goal in the 1963 FA Cup final defeat to Manchester United. He was also on the losing side to Tottenham Hotspur in the 1961 final. He finished his playing career with brief spells at Coventry City and
Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...
. *30 January 2000: Martin Aldridge, 25,
Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...
striker on loan to Rushden & Diamonds, died in an
Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
hospital from injuries sustained in a car crash in
Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...
. He had been a fairly consistent goalscorer for
Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...
and Oxford United earlier in his career, and was a regular striker for Oxford during their 1996–97 Division Two promotion campaign. *23 February 2000: Sir Stanley Matthews, 85, one of the greatest footballers England ever produced, died in his native
Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England. It has an estimated population of 259,965 as of 2022, making it the largest settlement in Staffordshire ...
three weeks after his 85th birthday. Despite his on-the-field brilliance, he only ever won one major trophy – the 1953
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
with
Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...
. That game was dubbed 'The Matthews Final' because he had so influenced his side's dramatic recovery from almost certain defeat at the hands of
Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...
. *14 April 2000: Wilf Mannion, 81, died just a few weeks after his old England teammate Sir Stanley Matthews. Mannion had played 26 times for England in the immediate postwar years, and was a regular goalscorer for
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...
at club level. *16 April 2000:
Harry Clarke Henry Patrick Clarke (17 March 1889 – 6 January 1931) was an Irish stained-glass artist and book illustrator. Born in Dublin, he was a leading figure in the Irish Arts and Crafts Movement. His work was influenced by both the Art Nouveau ...
, 77, was ever-present in the title winning team of 1951 for Tottenham Hotspur, his only club. He played 295 league games at full-back for the
North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames and the City of London. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshi ...
ers between 1949 and 1956, and won an England cap in 1954. After retiring as a player, he served the club as a coach. *9 June 2000: Shay Brennan, 63, made his
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
debut as a left-winger in February 1958 in the first game after the
Munich air disaster The Munich air disaster occurred on 6 February 1958, when British European Airways Flight 609 crashed on its third attempt to take off at Munich-Riem Airport in Munich, West Germany. The aircraft was carrying the Manchester United F.C., Manche ...
, the position left vacant by the death of David Pegg and injury to Albert Scanlon. He was soon converted to a left-back and remained at United until 1970, collecting two league title medals, an FA Cup winner's medal and a European Cup winner's medal as well as playing 355 league games. Despite being born in
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
, he qualified for play for the
Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...
due to his ancestry and was capped 19 times. He later managed
Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...
in the Irish leagues and lived in Ireland until his sudden death from a heart attack.


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:1999-2000 in English football