1999–2000 in English football

The 1999–2000 season was the 120th season of competitive football in England.

Overview

Premier League

Manchester United were crowned FA Premier League champions with an 18-point margin over runners-up Arsenal and with just 3 league defeats all season. This was despite their failure to retain the European Cup and withdrawal from the FA Cup in order to compete in the FIFA Club World Championship — a campaign which was short lived. Andy Townsend also once said in The Sun that Manchester United should be "banned for life" from the FA Cup. Their season after the domination of 98/99 was seen as a relative failure by the tabloids. Man United's failure in the FIFA Club World Championship, was suprisingly compounded by the press even more when David Beckham's wife Victoria, admitted on The Big Breakfast that he enjoys wearing her thongs. It was during this tournament he was sent off against Mexican team Club Necaxa, which was seen as the starting point in his teams first-round exit.

Sunderland make an impressive Premiership comeback by finishing seventh and just missing out on a UEFA Cup place thanks to 30 goals from brilliant striker Kevin Phillips.

Watford went down in bottom place with a record Premiership low of 24 points. Sheffield Wednesday were next to go down. On the last day of the season, Wimbledon lost 3-0 at Southampton and Bradford City achieved a shock 1-0 home win over Liverpool thanks to a goal by David Wetherall. This meant that Bradford had survived the drop and Liverpool had surrendered a UEFA Champions League place. 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 triumph.

Division One

The three promotion places in Division One went to champions Charlton Athletic, runners-up Manchester City and playoff winners 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 (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, Port Vale and Swindon Town. West Bromwich Albion 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 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, 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 Tanzanian chairman Firoz Kassam.

Division Three

Swansea City, Rotherham United, Northampton Town 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 final at Wembley before its redevelopment. The competition was played despite the absence of holders Manchester United due to FIFA Club World Cup commitments. Their absence meant that in the 3rd round of the competition, there was an uneven number of teams, and so Darlington FC 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 runners-up Real Madrid in the quarter finals. Along the way they suffered an embarassing 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 F.A 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 F.A 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 22 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 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 two-goal leads to lose 3-2 to both Portugal and Romania and 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's luck finally runs out

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 that they had achieved their famous F.A Cup victory over Liverpool.

Successful players

Roy Keane captained Manchester United to another Premiership title triumph and was credited with the Player of the Year awards from both the PFA and FWA.

Leeds United's exciting 22-year-old Australian midfielder Harry Kewell was voted PFA Young Player of the Year after helping secure a Champions League place for his side.

Kevin Phillips opened his Premiership goalscoring account at Sunderland with 30 goals in a season - making him the highest scoring footballer in the whole league.

Andy Cole scored 19 Premiership goals for Manchester United — the highest number of goals he had scored in any season for the Old Trafford club.

Shaun Goater was a regular goalscorer for Manchester City who reached the Premiership with a second successive promotion.

Successful managers

Sir Alex Ferguson guided Manchester United 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 for Chelsea.

David O'Leary ended his first full season as Leeds United manager with a run to the semi finals of the UEFA Cup and qualification for next season's Champions League.

Peter Reid achieved a remarkable seventh-place finish for Sunderland in their Premiership comeback season.

Joe Royle took Manchester City 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.

Biggest rise

Gillingham won the Division Two playoffs to reach the upper half of the English league for the first time in their history.

Biggest fall

Wimbledon were relegated from the Premiership after 14 successive seasons of top flight football. 12 years earlier they had been F.A Cup winners.

League tables

FA Premier League

• For more detail on the Premiership this season see FA Premier League 1999-2000

Pos	Team	Pl	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Manchester United	38	28	7	3	97	45	+52	91
2	Arsenal	38	22	7	9	73	43	+30	73
3	Leeds United	38	21	6	11	58	43	+15	69
4	Liverpool	38	19	10	9	51	30	+21	67
5	Chelsea	38	18	11	9	53	34	+19	65
6	Aston Villa	38	15	13	10	46	35	+11	58
7	Sunderland	38	16	10	12	57	56	+1	58
8	Leicester City	38	16	7	15	55	55	0	55
9	West Ham United	38	15	10	13	52	53	−1	55
10	Tottenham Hotspur	38	15	8	15	57	49	+8	53
11	Newcastle United	38	14	10	14	63	54	+9	52
12	Middlesbrough	38	14	10	14	46	52	−6	52
13	Everton	38	12	14	12	59	49	+10	50
14	Coventry City	38	12	8	18	47	54	−7	44
15	Southampton	38	12	8	18	45	62	−17	44
16	Derby County	38	9	11	18	44	57	−13	38
17	Bradford City	38	9	9	20	38	68	−30	36
18	Wimbledon	38	7	12	19	46	74	−28	33
19	Sheffield Wednesday	38	8	7	23	38	70	−32	31
20	Watford	38	6	6	26	35	77	−42	24

Key
Qualified for the Champions League
Qualified for the UEFA Cup
Relegated to Division One

Football League Division One

Pos	Team	Pl	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1.	Charlton Athletic	46	27	10	9	79	45	91
2.	Manchester City	46	26	11	9	78	40	89
3.	Ipswich Town	46	25	12	9	71	42	87
4.	Barnsley	46	24	10	12	88	67	82
5.	Birmingham City	46	22	11	13	65	44	77
6.	Bolton Wanderers	46	21	13	12	69	50	76
7.	Wolverhampton Wanderers	46	21	11	14	64	48	74
8.	Huddersfield Town	46	21	11	14	62	49	74
9.	Fulham	46	17	16	13	49	41	67
10.	Queens Park Rangers	46	16	18	12	62	53	66
11.	Blackburn Rovers	46	15	17	14	55	51	62
12.	Norwich City	46	14	15	17	45	50	57
13.	Tranmere Rovers	46	15	12	19	57	68	57
14.	Nottingham Forest	46	14	14	18	53	55	56
15.	Crystal Palace	46	13	15	18	57	67	54
16.	Sheffield United	46	13	15	18	59	66	54
17.	Stockport County	46	13	15	18	55	67	54
18.	Portsmouth	46	13	12	21	55	66	51
19.	Crewe Alexandra	46	14	9	23	46	67	51
20.	Grimsby Town	46	13	12	21	41	67	51
21.	West Bromwich Albion	46	10	19	17	43	60	49
22.	Walsall	46	11	13	22	52	77	46
23.	Port Vale	46	7	15	24	48	69	36
24.	Swindon Town	46	8	12	26	38	77	36

See also: Play-off results

Key
Promoted to the Premier League
Qualified for the promotion playoff
Relegated to Division Two

NB In the Football League goals scored (F) takes precedence over goal difference

Football League Division Two

Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1	Preston North End	46	28	11	7	74	37	91
2	Burnley	46	25	13	8	69	47	88
3	Gillingham	46	25	10	11	79	48	85
4	Wigan Athletic	46	22	17	7	72	38	83
5	Millwall	46	23	13	10	76	50	82
6	Stoke City	46	23	13	10	68	42	82
7	Bristol Rovers	46	23	11	12	69	45	80
8	Notts County	46	18	11	17	61	55	65
9	Bristol City	46	15	19	12	59	57	64
10	Reading	46	16	14	16	57	63	62
11	Wrexham	46	17	11	18	52	61	62
12	Wycombe Wanderers	46	16	13	17	56	53	61
13	Luton Town	46	17	10	19	61	65	61
14	Oldham Athletic	46	16	12	18	50	55	60
15	Bury	46	13	18	15	61	64	57
16	A.F.C. Bournemouth	46	16	9	21	59	62	57
17	Brentford	46	13	13	20	47	61	52
18	Colchester United	46	14	10	22	59	82	52
19	Cambridge United	46	12	12	22	64	65	48
20	Oxford United	46	12	9	25	43	73	45
21	Cardiff City	46	9	17	20	45	67	44
22	Blackpool	46	8	17	21	49	77	41
23	Scunthorpe United	46	9	12	25	40	74	39
24	Chesterfield	46	7	15	24	34	63	36

See also: Play-off results

Key
Promoted to the Division 1
Qualified for the promotion playoff
Relegated to Division 3

NB In the Football League goals scored (F) takes precedence over goal difference

Football League Division Three

Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1.	Swansea City	46	24	13	9	51	30	85
2.	Rotherham United	46	24	12	10	72	36	84
3.	Northampton Town	46	25	7	14	63	45	82
4.	Darlington	46	21	16	9	66	36	79
5.	Peterborough United	46	22	12	12	63	54	78
6.	Barnet	46	21	12	13	59	53	75
7.	Hartlepool United	46	21	9	16	60	49	72
8.	Cheltenham Town	46	20	10	16	50	42	70
9.	Torquay United	46	19	12	15	62	52	69
10.	Rochdale	46	18	14	14	57	54	68
11.	Brighton & Hove Albion	46	17	16	13	64	47	67
12.	Plymouth Argyle	46	16	18	12	55	51	66
13.	Macclesfield Town	46	18	11	17	66	61	65
14.	Hull City	46	15	14	17	43	43	59
15.	Lincoln City	46	15	14	17	67	69	59
16.	Southend United	46	15	14	17	53	61	56
17.	Mansfield Town	46	13	13	20	50	65	56
18.	Halifax Town	46	12	16	18	44	58	54
19.	Leyton Orient	46	13	13	20	47	52	52
20.	York City	46	12	16	18	39	53	52
21.	Exeter City	46	11	11	24	46	72	44
22.	Shrewsbury Town	46	9	13	24	40	67	40
23.	Carlisle United	46	9	12	25	42	75	39
24.	Chester City	46	10	9	27	44	79	39

See also: Play-off results

Key
Promoted to Division 2
Qualified for the promotion playoff
Relegated to Conference

NB In the Football League goals scored (F) takes precedence over goal difference

Diary of the season

17 June 1999 — David James leaves Liverpool after seven years in a £1.7million move to Aston Villa.

21 June 1999 — France national football team captain Didier Deschamps joins Chelsea in a £3million move from Juventus.

30 June 1999 — Bradford City prepare for their first time top division season for nearly 80 years with a club record £1.4million move for Leeds United defender David Wetherall.

5 July 1999 — Chelsea pay a club record £10million for Blackburn Rovers striker Chris Sutton.

14 July 1999 — Newcastle United pay Ipswich Town £6.5million for midfielder Kieron Dyer and Everton pay Trabzonspor £3million 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 from Sunderland for £5million.

29 July 1999 — Four years after leaving Arsenal, Stefan Schwarz returns to English football in a £4million move to Sunderland from Valencia.

31 July 1999 — Middlesbrough sign German international midfielder Christian Ziege from AC Milan for £4million.

1 August 1999 — Arsenal lift the Charity Shield thanks to a 2-1 victory over Manchester United at Wembley.

2 August 1999 — Arsenal sell Nicolas Anelka for Real Madrid for £23million - the highest fee involving a British club.

4 August 1999 — Leeds United sell Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink to Atletico Madrid of Spain for £12million.

7 August 1999 — Wigan Athletic mark their first game at the JJB Stadium with a 3-0 win over Scunthorpe United in Division Two.

11 August 1999 — Leeds United sign Coventry City striker Darren Huckerby for £4.4million.

18 August 1999 — 19-year-old Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Robbie Keane becomes Coventry City's record signing in a £6million deal.

25 August 1999 — Kevin Phillips and Niall Quinn plunge Newcastle United into crisis as they score in Sunderland's 2-1 derby win at St. James' Park, leading to the resignation of Newcastle manager Ruud Gullit on 28 August, after just twelve months in charge. Newcastle have failed to win any of their opening five games so far in the season.

27 August 1999 — Lazio beat Manchester United 1-0 in Monaco to win the European Super Cup.

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. [1] Ipswich Town are hopeful of making it back to the Premier League after five seasons away (during which time they have suffered three playoff 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, Manchester City, Birmingham City and Fulham.

3 September 1999 — Newcastle United appoint Bobby Robson as their new manager. The former England 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.

17 September 1999 — Former England and Liverpool 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 history when they beat Sheffield Wednesday 8-0. Alan Shearer scores five goals in this game.

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. [2] Ipswich Town and Birmingham City are level on points at the top of Division One. Charlton Athletic, Manchester City, Fulham and Barnsley complete the top six. [3]

3 October 1999 — Chelsea crush Manchester United 5-0 in a Premier League fixture at Stamford Bridge.

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. [4] Manchester City lead Division One, with Ipswich Town, Charlton Athletic and Birmingham City level on points as their nearest rivals. Huddersfield Town and Fulham complete the top six. [5]

17 November 1999 — Arsenal announce plans to move to a new 60,000-seat stadium at Ashburton Grove near Highbury - their home since 1913. They hope to be in their new home for the 2003-04 season.

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. [6] 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. [7]

1 December 1999 — Film producer and actor Bill Kenwright, 54, completes a takeover of Everton after buying out former owner Peter Johnson.

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. [8] 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. [9]

8 January 2000 — Liverpool suffer a shock 1-0 home defeat to Blackburn Rovers (now in Division One) 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, 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 Italian midfielder Enzo Maresca to Juventus for £4million.

30 January 2000 — Blackpool striker Martin Aldridge, 25, on loan to Rushden & Diamonds, dies in an Oxford hospital after being injured in a car crash in Northamptonshire.

31 January 2000 — Struggling Sheffield Wednesday complete the month unbeaten in the FA Premier League. 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 a Watford side whose form in last four months has been little short of hopeless). Bradford City occupy the other bottom three 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. [10] Charlton Athletic have taken over from Manchester City as Division One leaders. Ipswich Town, Barnsley, Huddersfield Town and Wolverhampton Wanderers complete the top six. [11]

19 February 2000 &mdash: 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 &mdash: 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, one of the greatest English footballers of all time, dies at the age of 85.

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 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. [12] 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. [13]

5 March 2000 — Debutant striker Stan Collymore scores a hat-trick for Leicester City in their 5-2 win over Sunderland in the Premier League, just days after his transfer from Aston Villa.

7 March 2000 — John Hartson's proposed move from Wimbledon to Tottenham Hotspur collapses after he fails a medical.

10 March 2000 — Liverpool pay a club record £11million for Leicester City striker Emile Heskey.

31 March 2000 — Manchester United are now looking all set for title glory as they lead the league 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. 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. [14] 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. [15]

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.

9 April 2000 — Two goals from Gus Poyet give Chelsea a 2-1 win over Newcastle United in the FA Cup semi-final.

19 April 2000 — Derby County bring Georgi Kinkladze back to England after two years with Ajax after agreeing a £3million deal.

20 April 2000 — Four years after winning the Football League Cup with Aston Villa, Brian Little is appointed manager of bankrupt Division Three side Hull City.

19 April 2000 — Manchester United surrender their defence of the European Cup after losing 3-2 at home to Real Madrid in the quarter final second leg.

21 April 2000 — Charlton Athletic win promotion back to the Premier League after one season away. [16]

22 April 2000 — Manchester United secure their sixth Premier League title in eight seasons thanks to a 4-2 win at Southampton.

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 alongside Leeds United, Aston Villa, Sunderland and West Ham United. [17] 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. [18]

7 May 2000 — Chester City are relegated to the Football Conference after 69 years of Football League 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 3-0 at Southampton and are relegated to Division One after 14 years in the top flight. Bradford City, meanwhile, confirm their survival with a 1-0 win over Liverpool who surrender a Champions League place that instead went to Leeds United. Ironically, this came 12 years to the day that Wimbledon achieved their famous FA Cup triumph over Liverpool.

14 May 2000 — ITV announces a £500million bid to bring live Premier League 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) that live top division football has been shown on any terrestrial television channel. [19]

18 May 2000 — West Ham United sell Marc-Vivien Foe to Olympique Lyonnais for £6million.

20 May 2000 — Chelsea beat Aston Villa 1-0 in the last FA Cup final to be played at Wembley 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 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. [20]

30 May 2000 — Arsenal sign Cameroon defender Lauren for £7.2million from Mallorca.

31 May 2000 — Manchester United pay a national record fee for a goalkeeper when they sign AS Monaco and France goalkeeper Fabien Barthez for £7.8million.

1 June 2000 — Martin O'Neill leaves Leicester City to take over as manager of Celtic. Tottenham Hotspur pay a club record £11million for Dynamo Kiev striker Sergei Rebrov.

2 June 2000 — Chelsea equal the national transfer record (set by Alan Shearer four years ago) with a £15million move for Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.

14 June 2000 — Match of the Day, the longest-running and most popular football programme on British television, is set to end after next season as a result of ITV's £183million deal to show highlights from Premier League games.

20 June 2000 — Chelsea sign Icelandic striker Eidur Gudjohnsen from Bolton Wanderers for £5million.

Famous debutants

• Ashley Cole, 18, was involved in Arsenal's League Cup tie at Middlesbrough 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 susbtitute for Leyton Orient at Shrewsbury Town in February 2000.
• Shaun Wright-Phillips helps Manchester City win at Burnley in the League Cup in August 1999, two months before his 18th birthday.
• Michael Carrick is brought off the bench in West Ham United's 3-0 defeat at Bradford City in August 1999.

Deaths

• 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, playing in the side that won the FA Cup and the Cup Winners' Cup in the mid-1960s. He also played for the England team, scoring 8 goals in 11 appearances, including a hattrick against a Portugal side that featured Eusébio. He later went back to Palace, then to Fulham, before rounding out his career in South Africa, with Durban City. "Budgie" would spend the rest of his life there.

• November 1999: David Bickles, 55, was a full-back in the same 1960s West Ham United 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 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.

• 30 January 2000: Martin Aldridge, 25, Blackpool striker on loan to Rushden & Diamonds, died in an Oxford hospital from injuries sustained in a car crash in Northamptonshire. He had been a fairly consistent goalscorer for Northampton Town 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 three weeks after his 85th birthday. Despite his on-the-field brilliance, he only ever won one major trophy - the 1953 FA Cup with 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.

• 14 April 2000: Wilf Mannion, 81, died just a few weeks after his old England team mate Sir Stanley Matthews. Mannion had played 26 times for England in the immediate postwar years, and was a regular goalscorer for Middlesbrough at club level.