Premier League, 1999 (1998-99)

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Premier League – Season Review 1998-99

The 1998-99 FA Carling Premiership was the seventh season in the competition’s history. In the 100th season of top-flight football in England, Manchester United won their fifth Premier League title as well as completing a unique treble of league, FA Cup and Champions League. Following a close season spending spree of £28million, United’s form didn’t reach top gear until the end of December when they commenced an unbeaten run of 33 games. Arsenal pushed them all the way and finished only one point in arrears due to United’s last day win against Tottenham Hotspur.

Chelsea qualified for the Champions League for the first time by finishing in third position. The UEFA Cup qualifiers were Leeds United (league position), Newcastle United (FA Cup finalists) and Tottenham Hotspur (Worthington Cup winners). West Ham United also decided to enter the UEFA Intertoto Cup.

Blackburn Rovers were relegated to the Football League only four seasons after being Premier League champions. Charlton Athletic and Nottingham Forest made an immediate return to the First Division. Forest found life particularly tough at the top. The suffered a 1-8 home defeat by Manchester United and were on the bottom rung from mid-December onwards.

Alex Ferguson was named Carling Manager of the Season. David Ginola of Tottenham Hotspur won the PFA Players' Player of the Year award and the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year award. Manchester United’s Dwight Yorke was named Carling Player of the Year. The Golden Boot was shared by Dwight Yorke, Michael Owen (Liverpool) and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (Leeds United) with 18 goals each.

The PFA Premier League Team of the Year was:

  • Nigel Martyn (Leeds United)
  • Gary Neville (Manchester United), Jaap Stam (Manchester United), Sol Campbell (Tottenham Hotspur), Denis Irwin (Manchester United)
  • David Beckham (Manchester United), Patrick Vieira (Arsenal), Emmanuel Petit (Arsenal), David Ginola (Tottenham Hotspur)
  • Nicolas Anelka (Arsenal), Dwight Yorke (Manchester United)

The average attendance was 30,591. The highest attendance was 55,316 for Southampton’s visit to Manchester United on 27 February 1999. The lowest attendance of the season was the 11,717 who witnessed the game between Wimbledon and Coventry City on 5 December 1998 at Selhurst Park.