1998–99 FA Premier League
The 1998–99 FA Premier League (known as the FA Carling Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the seventh season of the Premier League, the top division of English football, since its establishment in 1992. Manchester United won a treble of the league title, the FA Cup and the UEFA Champions League. They secured their fifth league title in seven seasons after outlasting Arsenal and Chelsea in a closely fought title race, losing just three league games all season.
| Season | 1998–99 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 15 August 1998 – 16 May 1999 |
| Champions | Manchester United 5th Premier League title 12th English title |
| Relegated | Charlton Athletic Blackburn Rovers Nottingham Forest |
| Champions League | Manchester United Arsenal Chelsea |
| UEFA Cup | Leeds United Newcastle United Tottenham Hotspur |
| Intertoto Cup | West Ham United |
| Matches played | 380 |
| Goals scored | 959 (2.52 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink Michael Owen Dwight Yorke (18 goals each) |
| Best goalkeeper | David Seaman (19 clean sheets) |
| Biggest home win | Liverpool 7–1 Southampton (16 January 1999) Everton 6–0 West Ham United (8 May 1999) |
| Biggest away win | Nottingham Forest 1–8 Manchester United (6 February 1999) |
| Highest scoring | Nottingham Forest 1–8 Manchester United (6 February 1999) |
| Longest winning run | 7 games Leeds United |
| Longest unbeaten run | 21 games Chelsea |
| Longest winless run | 19 games Nottingham Forest |
| Longest losing run | 8 games Charlton Athletic |
| Highest attendance | 55,316 Manchester United 2–1 Southampton (27 February 1999) |
| Lowest attendance | 11,717 Wimbledon 2–1 Coventry City (5 December 1998) |
| Total attendance | 11,623,113 |
| Average attendance | 30,587 |
← 1997–98 | |
The season was also the 100th season of top flight football in England, not counting years lost to the two World Wars. Of the original clubs in the first Football League season, only Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Derby County and Everton were present for this season.
Arsenal failed to retain their title, despite having the same points tally as last season 78 points, but had at one point looked as though they were on the brink of winning the title, after beating fellow rivals Tottenham Hotspur, while Manchester United had drawn against Liverpool, 2–2. However, Manchester United pushed on and took advantage of Arsenal's 1–0 defeat at Leeds United in the penultimate match of the season and despite going 1–0 down against Tottenham on the final day, came back to win 2–1 and clinch the title. Should they have failed to win, Arsenal would have been crowned champions once more.
Chelsea, looking to build on a fourth-placed finish the previous season, were flying for much of the season and were in a good position to claim a first league title in 44 years. The Blues were second at Christmas and went top on Boxing Day. A loss at Highbury at the start of February was just a second in the league all season, and kept Chelsea in second place, just a point off the summit. Eventually, three draws in April against winnable opposition (mid-table sides Middlesbrough and Leicester City, and relegation-threatened Sheffield Wednesday) is what cost Chelsea a first Premiership crown. Had they won these, the Blues would've been champions. Chelsea had to settle for third place, earning a maiden Champions League appearance.
To achieve their success, the Manchester United playing squad had been altered substantially during the close season. A total of more than £28 million had been spent on Dwight Yorke, Jaap Stam and Jesper Blomqvist, while several older players left the club; Gary Pallister returned to Middlesbrough after nine years for £2.5 million, while Brian McClair returned to Motherwell on a free transfer. In December, however, McClair was back in the Premier League as Brian Kidd's assistant at Blackburn Rovers.