1997/98
ARSENE Wenger’s first full season in English football ended with a fantastic league and cup double. His acquisitions of pacy winger Marc Overmars and the dynamic Emmanuel Petit, combined with the brilliance of Dennis Bergkamp were the main reasons why Arsenal managed to break Manchester United’s stranglehold on the Premiership. In fact, it looked like Manchester United could only throw the title away when Phil Neville struck his first senior goal to beat Chelsea 1-0 on February 28 at Stamford Bridge. Some bookmakers began paying out after that result, but Arsenal had other ideas. They overhauled the 11-point deficit, with the big breaker being Overmars sole goal to see off United at Old Trafford on March 14. As Liverpool and Newcastle nicked draws at Old Trafford over the Easter period, Arsenal continued to fly, steamrolling both Blackburn Rovers and Wimbledon with consummate ease. On May 3, another awesome display was enough. The Gunners thrashed Everton at Highbury 4-0 to seal the title, with the icing on the cake coming from a magnificent Tony Adams volley in stoppage time. The formidable backline and football flair meant that the ‘1-0 to the Arsenal’ chant was consigned to the history books. Wenger leading them to their first championship in eight years and becoming the first foreign manager to achieve his dream of managing a Premiership side to title glory. At times, Blackburn showed some of their old spark, beating Sheffield Wednesday 7-2 and Aston Villa 4-0 early in the season. Chris Sutton ended the season as joint top scorer with 18 goals, but Roy Hodgson’s side faded badly in the finishing straight to sixth place. Chelsea sensationally sacked Ruud Gullit in February whilst in second position, claiming they couldn’t meet the Dutchman’s demands over a new contract. Gianluca Vialli was thrown into the job and although he guided the Blues to success in the League Cup and Cup Winners Cup, their league season capitulated, only losing one less game than relegated Bolton Wanderers. Michael Owen joined Sutton and Coventry’s Dion Dublin at the top of the scorer’s charts and was a shining figure in another inconsistent season for Liverpool. They finished 12 points behind the champions and it led to some major changes in the Anfield management for the following season. Merseyside neighbours Everton had a nightmare campaign and going into the final games, were in the bottom three. A nervy 1-1 draw at home to Coventry City was good enough for a last ditch survival, as Bolton lost 2-0 at Chelsea. For the first and only time in Premiership history, all three promoted clubs (Bolton, Barnsley and Crystal Palace) went straight back down to Division One.
CHAMPIONS: Arsenal, 2nd: Manchester United, 3rd: Liverpool, 4th: Chelsea, 5th: Leeds United, 6th: Blackburn Rovers, 7th: Aston Villa, 8th; West Ham United, 9th: Derby County, 10th: Leicester City
RELEGATED: Bolton Wanderers, Barnsley, Crystal Palace
BIGGEST WIN: Manchester United 7-0 Barnsley (25 October 1997)
HIGHEST SCORING GAMES: Blackburn Rovers 7-2 Sheffield Wednesday (25 August 1997), Wimbledon 2-6 Tottenham Hotspur (2 May 1998), Blackburn Rovers 5-3 Leicester City (28 February 1998)
TOP SCORERS: Owen (Liverpool) 18, Sutton (Blackburn) 18, Dublin (Coventry City) 18, Bergkamp (Arsenal) 16, Hasselbaink (Leeds) 16, Gallacher (Blackburn) 16, Cole (Manchester United) 15, Hartson (West Ham) 15, Huckerby (Coventry City) 14, Wanchope (Derby) 13, Overmars (Arsenal) 12
1998/99
THIS will be the season that will always be remembered for Manchester United’s historic treble. In the Premiership, they were taken to the wire by Arsenal and were also pushed most of the way by the multi-millionaires from Chelsea. It was gripping stuff on the last day, as Arsenal relied on a positive result from Old Trafford, which involved their deadly North London rivals, Tottenham. For a while, it seemed positive for the defending champions, especially after Les Ferdinand put Tottenham in the lead midway through the first half. However, his goal was cancelled out by David Beckham, before Andy Cole lobbed Ian Walker and finally silenced those critics who had portrayed him as the enemy for all those missed chances at West Ham on the final day of the 94/95 season. Kanu’s winner at home to Aston Villa was not enough for Arsenal, with Arsene Wenger’s side falling one point short and ending gallant runners-up. The deciding result was Arsenal conceding a late winner five days earlier to Leeds United and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink at Elland Road. If they’d held on for a draw in that game, it would have been back-to-back titles for the North Londoners. After last season’s disappointment, Alex Ferguson had spent big in the summer, acquiring Jaap Stam and Dwight Yorke. With Yorke and Cole in perfect harmony upfront and scoring goals almost at freewill, the Red Devils remained unbeaten in the league after a 2-3 reverse at home to Middlesbrough before Christmas. Chelsea came close, but fell away in the final hurdle. The death knell for Gianluca Vialli’s team was a match against Leicester City in mid-April, where his side threw away a 2-0 lead and were eventually pegged back by a brilliant curling effort from Steve Guppy in stoppage time. For a while, it looked like Aston Villa could maintain a sustained challenge under John Gregory. Top at Christmas, things looked good, despite Stan Collymore being sidelined by stress! However, they collapsed in the second half of the year, ending sixth and failing to even qualify for Europe. They were pipped in the table by an ever improving Leeds United and West Ham United. During the season, Leeds managed to win seven matches in a row in the top flight, equalling a record set by Don Revie’s great side of the 1970s. It was a great effort from David O’Leary in his first season in charge, after George Graham moved to Tottenham in October, where he guided them to Worthington Cup glory, but little else. There was a changing of the guard at Liverpool, as Gerard Houillier was appointed joint manager with Roy Evans in the summer. It had ‘disaster’ written all over it and Evans quit in November. Seventh place was their worst finish in five years, but Michael Owen was joint top scorer again. It was worse for Blackburn Rovers, who slipped out of the FA Premier League. Jack Walker could only watch on, as his beloved club were relegated along with Charlton Athletic and Nottingham Forest, just four years after being champions.
CHAMPIONS: Manchester United, 2nd: Arsenal, 3rd: Chelsea, 4th: Leeds United, 5th: West Ham United, 6th: Aston Villa, 7th: Liverpool, 8th; Derby County, 9th: Middlesbrough, 10th: Leicester City
RELEGATED: Charlton Athletic, Blackburn Rovers, Nottingham Forest
BIGGEST WIN: Nottingham Forest 1-8 Manchester United (6 February 1999)
HIGHEST SCORING GAMES: Nottingham Forest 1-8 Manchester United (6 February 1999), Liverpool 7-1 Southampton (16 January 1999), Leicester City 2-6 Manchester United (16 January 1999)
SCORERS: Yorke (Manchester United) 18, Hasselbaink (Leeds) 18, Owen (Liverpool) 18, Cole (Manchester United) 17, Anelka (Arsenal) 17, Ricard (Middlesbrough) 15, Joachim (Aston Villa) 14, Fowler (Liverpool) 14, Shearer (Newcastle) 14, Dublin (Coventry & Aston Villa) 14, Zola (Chelsea) 13
1999/00
MANCHESTER United’s grip on the Premiership title continued in season 1999/2000 – coasting to the title, a mammoth 18 points clear of their nearest challengers. Although Real Madrid were too strong in their Champions League defence and there was an embarrassing early exit from the FIFA World Club Championship in Brazil, Sir Alex Ferguson’s side swept all amongst them in this campaign, as their strength in depth showed throughout. The champions only lost three games all season; one of those was a 5-0 battering at Stamford Bridge by Chelsea. Chelsea, who had ran the established challengers close the previous campaign never recovered from a 2-3 defeat at the hands of Arsenal in October, when Kanu scored an incredible 17 minute hat-trick. Fifth place was a poor finish and put Gianluca Vialli under pressure, although an FA Cup final victory at Wembley (a trophy Manchester United forfeited to play, due to their Brazil commitments) softened the blow. If there was one team that pushed Manchester United the hardest, it was David O’Leary’s young guns, Leeds United. Leeds topped the table at Christmas and gave Ferguson’s team some early season headaches, before a crucial defeat to United at home in February. Tragedy would later befall the club in April, when two Leeds supporters were stabbed to death in Istanbul before their UEFA Cup semi-final with Galatasaray. After the grief and shock, Leeds got over the finishing line and claimed the final Champions League place, ahead of Liverpool, who made a right old mess of their final matches and ended fourth, when second was theirs for the taking. Once again, Arsenal finished runners-up, but lacked the consistency to mount any serious threat to their great rivals. Daft away defeats to the likes of West Ham, Tottenham and Bradford exposed the Gunners frailties. 12 wins at home made Highfield Road a very formidable ground for Coventry City. This meant that despite not winning a single match away from home all season, relegation never looked a significant problem for the Sky Blues. It did for Newcastle early on, as Ruud Gullit was dismissed after losing out in a battle for supremacy with skipper Alan Shearer. Bobby Robson returned home, reignited Shearer’s goalscoring form and guided them to comfortable mid-table security. Among their highlights was an 8-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday on Robson’s home debut, with Shearer scoring five times. At the bottom of the table, Watford went straight back down, although they did record memorable wins over Liverpool and Chelsea in the early weeks of the season. Sheffield Wednesday sacked Danny Wilson in March and caretaker boss Peter Shreeves couldn’t keep them afloat. The final relegation spot went down to the final day of the season. David Wetherall’s fantastic header was enough for Bradford City to beat Liverpool 1-0 and keep them up. Wimbledon lost 2-0 to Southampton. They went down, ending their 14-year stay in the top flight, promoting unbridled joy at Valley Parade.
CHAMPIONS: Manchester United, 2nd: Arsenal, 3rd: Leeds United, 4th: Liverpool 5th: Chelsea, 6th: Aston Villa, 7th: Sunderland, 8th; Leicester City, 9th: West Ham United, 10th: Tottenham
RELEGATED: Wimbledon, Sheffield Wednesday, Watford
BIGGEST WIN: Newcastle United 8-0 Sheffield Wednesday (19 September 1999)
HIGHEST SCORING GAMES: West Ham United 5-4 Bradford City (12 February 2000), Tottenham Hotspur 7-2 Southampton (11 March 2000), Bradford City 4-4 Derby County (19 April 2000)
SCORERS: Phillips (Sunderland) 30, Shearer (Newcastle) 23, Yorke (Manchester United) 20, Cole (Manchester United) 19, Bridges (Leeds) 19, Henry (Arsenal) 17, Di Canio (West Ham) 16, Armstrong (Tottenham) 14, Quinn (Sunderland) 14, Iversen (Tottenham) 14, Pahars (Southampton) 13
2000/01
ONCE again, Manchester United’s supreme class shone through, as they took their third successive Premiership title. Their final margin of victory by ten points over Arsenal flattered the Gunners, as Sir Alex Ferguson side were miles ahead of the competition again. This was no more evident when they played Arsenal on 25 February. They were 5-1 up inside half an hour, eventually winning 6-1. The crushing result took them 16 points clear of Arsene Wenger’s side. They secured the title on Easter Saturday, with a 4-2 victory over Coventry City in a lunchtime kick-off. Hours later, any mathematical hope Arsenal had of launching a sensational comeback were ended in a shock 3-0 loss at home to Middlesbrough, not helped by two own goals in the match. It was a great season for Liverpool, who began to blossom under Gerard Houiller’s stewardship. They won an incredible treble of cup competitions (UEFA Cup, Worthington Cup and FA Cup). Not only that, but an impressive 4-0 demolition of Charlton Athletic on the final day of the season ensured Champions League qualification for the first time since the Heysel stadium disaster of 1985; a fitting reward for the club. The season will also be remembered for a fantastic league double over the league champions Manchester United for the first time in 11 years. Chelsea won the Charity Shield, but made a depressingly slow start to the season and dispensed with the services of Gianluca Vialli at the beginning of September. The relatively unheard Claudio Ranieri came into the hotseat. Ranieri got the tag of ‘The Tinkerman,’ but he managed to bring the team upto sixth position in the final standings, with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink returning to the Premiership after an unhappy season in Spain, and ending as the league’s top scorer. Manager of the season however was George Burley. The Scotsman, on a limited budget took his Ipswich Town side to a hugely impressive fifth position in their first season back in the top flight. Marcus Stewart scored 19 league goals as the Tractor Boys came within a whisker of Champions League qualification. Another side that impressed were Sunderland, with Peter Reid’s side holding down a genuine second position in January, before coming seventh for the second successive season. Southampton bid an emotional farewell to The Dell at the end of the season after 103 years. Despite manager Glenn Hoddle walking out on them for the Tottenham job in March, the Saints finished life at the old ground on a high, with Matt Le Tissier scoring an 89th minute winner on the final day against Arsenal. Another Premiership stalwart lost their status, as Coventry City finally got consigned to relegation after 34 years in the top flight. They went down after a 3-2 defeat at Aston Villa in May with Manchester City and Bradford City also going down.
CHAMPIONS: Manchester United, 2nd: Arsenal, 3rd: Liverpool, 4th: Leeds United 5th: Ipswich Town, 6th: Chelsea, 7th: Sunderland, 8th; Aston Villa, 9th: Charlton Athletic, 10th: Southampton
RELEGATED: Manchester City, Coventry City, Bradford City
BIGGEST WIN: Manchester United 6-0 Bradford City (5 September 2000)
HIGHEST SCORING GAMES: Arsenal 5-3 Charlton Athletic (26 August 2000), Chelsea 6-1 Coventry City (22 October 2000), Leeds United 4-3 Liverpool (4 November 2000)
SCORERS: Hasselbaink (Chelsea) 23, Stewart (Ipswich) 19, Henry (Arsenal) 17, Viduka (Leeds) 17, Owen (Liverpool) 16, Sheringham (Manchester United) 15, Heskey (Liverpool) 14, Phillips (Sunderland) 14, Boksic (Middlesbrough) 12, Smith (Leeds) 11, Poyet (Chelsea) 11
2001/02
AFTER eight loyal seasons, brewery giant Carling was replaced as title sponsors by Barclaycard. With the change came a gripping scrap for the title between Manchester United, Newcastle United, Leeds United, Liverpool and Arsenal. Leeds and Newcastle set the pace in the early weeks, with Manchester United struggling to integrate Juan Sebastian Veron and Ruud van Nistlerooy into their squad. They did produce an epic comeback, from 3-0 down at half-time in September to Tottenham, storming back to win 5-3 but after a 0-1 reverse at home to West Ham in December, Sir Alex Ferguson’s team were 9th in the table, 11 points off the pace. Cue a historic scoring run from Van Nistlerooy, with the Dutchman becoming the first player to score in eight successive Premiership matches, as the champions charged to the top of the table. However, Arsenal looked in even better form, staying unbeaten away from home all season and scoring in every single FA Barclaycard Premiership game. The crunch match came on May 8, where Sylvain Wiltord’s second half winner sealed Arsenal’s second Premiership title at Old Trafford. To take the championship away in the backyard of their main rivals just made the success all the sweeter for Arsene Wenger. On top of that, they achieved the league and cup double and Thierry Henry edged out Van Nistlerooy and Alan Shearer to win the Golden Boot for the first time. Worse was to come for Manchester United, as they finished out of the top two for the first time in Premiership history. Liverpool’s 5-0 final day victory over Ipswich Town sealed runners-up spot for the Reds, despite losing manager Gerard Houillier to a serious heart scare at half-time of a match with Leeds United on October 13. Phil Thompson did a brilliant job in caretaker charge, including inspiring the men from Merseyside to another league double over Manchester United. Liverpool’s final day victory also meant Ipswich had to deal with relegation, just a season after finishing fifth and earning UEFA Cup qualification. It was a terrible year for the East Midlands, with both Derby County and Leicester City changing managers as many times as hot dinners and both ended up being relegated. This meant that for the first time in Premiership history, the three promoted clubs all managed to stay up. Fulham were welcomed into the Barclaycard Premiership family and comfortably stayed up, as did Bolton Wanderers. Bolton even topped the table after three matches, which included a shock win against Liverpool. After two seasons away, Blackburn returned too and finished a creditable tenth. Graeme Souness bought Andy Cole from Manchester United at Christmas, inspired his team to a 7-1 demolition of West Ham along the way and also earnt European football, via their triumph in the Worthington Cup final.
CHAMPIONS: Arsenal, 2nd: Liverpool 3rd: Manchester United, 4th: Newcastle United 5th: Leeds United, 6th: Chelsea, 7th: West Ham United, 8th; Aston Villa, 9th: Tottenham, 10th: Blackburn Rovers
RELEGATED: Ipswich Town, Derby County, Leicester City
BIGGEST WIN: Blackburn Rovers 7-1 West Ham United (14 October 2001)
HIGHEST SCORING GAMES: Tottenham Hotspur 3-5 Manchester United (29 September 2001), Charlton Athletic 4-4 West Ham United (19 November 2001), West Ham United 3-5 Manchester United (17 March 2002)
SCORERS: Henry (Arsenal) 24, Van Nistlerooy (Manchester United) 23, Shearer (Newcastle) 23, Hasselbaink (Chelsea) 23, Owen (Liverpool) 19, Solskjaer (Manchester United) 17, Fowler (Liverpool & Leeds) 15, Gudjohnsen (Chelsea) 14, Pahars (Southampton) 14, Cole (Manchester United & Blackburn) 13, Ljungberg (Arsenal) 12, Ricketts (Bolton) 12, Angel (Aston Villa) 12
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