# 1999–2000 West Ham United F.C. season

During the 1999–2000 season, West Ham United competed in the Premier League.

## Season summary

West Ham's involvement in the Intertoto Cup meant that they would have their shortest close-season in history. Only 62 days had passed since the last game of the previous season before West Ham took to the field against Jokerit of Finland.
West Ham had already played four games before the Premier League season began, and this match-fitness head-start on the rest of the division would see them in third place after five games.
Although they lost in the first leg of the Intertoto Cup Final 1–0 at home to Metz, West Ham managed to win the return leg 3–1 two weeks later and ensure UEFA Cup football.
Harry Redknapp regarded this result as his greatest night as West Ham's manager: "That was a great performance and a great day for West Ham, to win the Intertoto Cup and to be in the UEFA Cup and turning in such an outstanding performance against a good French team, to go over there and play so well and win 3–1. We took great support over to France and they enjoyed their day. Yeah, I think that was special. That was a real good day for me and West Ham's history."
Frank Lampard was West Ham's top European goalscorer with four in ten games. He was ever-present in West Ham's European campaign, along with Trevor Sinclair, Paolo Di Canio and captain Steve Lomas.
After making only one substitute appearance in West Ham's first Intertoto Cup game, Ian Wright was loaned to Nottingham Forest. Later in the season he signed a permanent deal at Celtic.
On 15 December 1999, West Ham played a League Cup quarter-final game against Aston Villa. The game went to extra time and a reserve player, Emmanuel Omoyinmi, was brought on as a substitute for Paulo Wanchope in the 113th minute. Unknown to Redknapp, Omoyinmi had previously played in the competition for Gillingham, where he had spent time on loan earlier in the season, and was thus ineligible to play. Although the Hammers won the game on penalties, the game was replayed after the Football League upheld a complaint by Villa. West Ham lost the replay 3–1. The error eventually led to the resignations of the club secretary Graham Mackrell and the football secretary Alison Dowd: "Whatever happens, I'm responsible for administration here at West Ham United. The buck does stop with me," said Mackrell.
26 March 2000 saw West Ham meet Wimbledon. The Hammers had only beaten the Dons at home twice in the previous ten meetings between the clubs. The 9th minute of the game saw Di Canio score what would become the BBC's "Goal of the Season" with an airborne volley. Frédéric Kanouté doubled West Ham's lead in the 59th minute, before Wimbledon pulled one back after 75 minutes with a 25-yard volley from former Hammer Michael Hughes.
West Ham's heaviest defeat of the season came on 1 April when they were demolished by table-toppers and eventual champions Manchester United. Wanchope opened the scoring in the 11th minute but Manchester United proceeded to score seven, including a Paul Scholes hat-trick.
This sparked West Ham into a run of three straight wins, culminating with their biggest win of the season on 22 April, when they beat Coventry City 5–0. Di Canio scored in the 48th and 67th minutes, with the other goals coming from Michael Carrick, Javier Margas and Kanouté.
The Boleyn Ground saw its largest attendance of the season (26,044) on the last day against Leeds United. The game ended 0–0, and West Ham finished 9th in the Premier League, putting them in the top nine for the third consecutive season. Redknapp said after the Leeds game: "It's been a good season again. People don't realise that West Ham have only finished in the top ten 14 times in its entire history and this is only the second time that we've done it three years running."
Di Canio was the season's leading scorer with 17 goals in all competitions. Sinclair made the most appearances with 49 in all competitions.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 7 | Sunderland | 38 | 16 | 10 | 12 | 57 | 56 | +1 | 58 | |
| 8 | Leicester City | 38 | 16 | 7 | 15 | 55 | 55 | 0 | 55 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 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 | |
* ↑ Leicester City qualified for the UEFA Cup as League Cup winners.

### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Source: 1999–2000 FA Premier League table

## Results

West Ham United's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### FA Premier League

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 7 August 1999 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 1–0 | 26,010 | Lampard |
| 16 August 1999 | Aston Villa | A | 2–2 | 26,250 | Southgate (own goal), Sinclair |
| 21 August 1999 | Leicester City | H | 2–1 | 23,631 | Wanchope, Di Canio |
| 28 August 1999 | Bradford City | A | 3–0 | 17,926 | Di Canio, Sinclair, Wanchope |
| 11 September 1999 | Watford | H | 1–0 | 25,310 | Di Canio |
| 19 September 1999 | Everton | A | 0–1 | 35,154 | |
| 25 September 1999 | Coventry City | A | 0–1 | 19,993 | |
| 3 October 1999 | Arsenal | H | 2–1 | 26,009 | Di Canio (2) |
| 17 October 1999 | Middlesbrough | A | 0–2 | 31,862 | |
| 24 October 1999 | Sunderland | H | 1–1 | 26,022 | Sinclair |
| 27 October 1999 | Liverpool | A | 0–1 | 44,012 | |
| 30 October 1999 | Leeds United | A | 0–1 | 40,190 | |
| 7 November 1999 | Chelsea | A | 0–0 | 34,935 | |
| 21 November 1999 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 4–3 | 23,015 | Wanchope, Di Canio (pen), Foé, Lampard |
| 27 November 1999 | Liverpool | H | 1–0 | 26,043 | Sinclair |
| 6 December 1999 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 0–0 | 36,233 | |
| 18 December 1999 | Manchester United | H | 2–4 | 26,037 | Di Canio (2) |
| 26 December 1999 | Wimbledon | A | 2–2 | 21,180 | Sinclair, Lampard |
| 28 December 1999 | Derby County | H | 1–1 | 24,998 | Di Canio |
| 3 January 2000 | Newcastle United | A | 2–2 | 36,314 | Lampard, Štimac |
| 15 January 2000 | Aston Villa | H | 1–1 | 24,237 | Di Canio |
| 22 January 2000 | Leicester City | A | 3–1 | 19,019 | Wanchope (2), Di Canio |
| 5 February 2000 | Southampton | A | 1–2 | 15,257 | Lampard |
| 12 February 2000 | Bradford City | H | 5–4 | 25,417 | Sinclair, Moncur, Di Canio (pen), Cole, Lampard |
| 26 February 2000 | Everton | H | 0–4 | 26,025 | |
| 4 March 2000 | Watford | A | 2–1 | 18,619 | Lomas, Wanchope |
| 8 March 2000 | Southampton | H | 2–0 | 23,484 | Wanchope, Sinclair |
| 11 March 2000 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 1–3 | 21,147 | Lampard |
| 18 March 2000 | Chelsea | H | 0–0 | 26,041 | |
| 26 March 2000 | Wimbledon | H | 2–1 | 20,050 | Di Canio, Kanouté |
| 1 April 2000 | Manchester United | A | 1–7 | 61,611 | Wanchope |
| 12 April 2000 | Newcastle United | H | 2–1 | 25,817 | Wanchope (2) |
| 15 April 2000 | Derby County | A | 2–1 | 31,202 | Wanchope (2) |
| 22 April 2000 | Coventry City | H | 5–0 | 24,719 | Carrick, Margas, Di Canio (2), Kanouté |
| 29 April 2000 | Middlesbrough | H | 0–1 | 25,472 | |
| 2 May 2000 | Arsenal | A | 1–2 | 38,093 | Di Canio |
| 6 May 2000 | Sunderland | A | 0–1 | 41,684 | |
| 14 May 2000 | Leeds United | H | 0–0 | 26,044 | |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 11 December 1999 | Tranmere Rovers | A | 0–1 | 13,629 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 13 October 1999 | AFC Bournemouth | H | 2–0 | 22,067 | Keller, Lampard |
| R4 | 30 November 1999 | Birmingham City | A | 3–2 | 17,728 | Lomas, Kitson, Cole |
| R5 | 11 January 2000 | Aston Villa | H | 1–3 (a.e.t.) | 25,592 | Lampard |
NOTE: This match was a replay after West Ham were ordered to replay the match after fielding an ineligible player in the original tie

### Intertoto Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers | Referee |
| R3 1st leg | 17 July 1999 | Jokerit | H | 1–0 | 11,098 | Kitson | Miroslav Liba (Czech Republic) |
| R3 2nd leg | 24 July 1999 | Jokerit | A | 1–1 (won 2–1 on agg) | 7,667 | Lampard | Valentin Ivanov (Russia) |
| SF 1st leg | 28 July 1999 | Heerenveen | H | 1–0 | 7,485 | Lampard | Edgar Steinborn (Germany) |
| SF 2nd leg | 4 August 1999 | Heerenveen | A | 1–0 (won 2–0 on agg) | 13,500 | Wanchope | Pascal Garibian (France) |
| F 1st leg | 10 August 1999 | Metz | H | 0–1 | 25,372 | | Manuel Díaz Vega (Spain) |
| F 2nd leg | 24 August 1999 | Metz | A | 3–1 (won 3–2 on agg) | 19,599 | Sinclair, Lampard, Wanchope | Hellmut Krug (Germany) |

### UEFA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers | Referee |
| R1 1st leg | 16 September 1999 | Osijek | H | 3–0 | 25,331 | Wanchope, Di Canio, Lampard | Paulo Paraty (Portugal) |
| R1 2nd leg | 30 September 1999 | Osijek | A | 3–1 (won 6–1 on agg) | 15,000 | Kitson, Ruddock, Foé | Jack van Hulten (Netherlands) |
| R2 1st leg | 21 October 1999 | Steaua București | A | 0–2 | 12,550 | | Claus Bo Larsen (Denmark) |
| R2 2nd leg | 4 November 1999 | Steaua București | H | 0–0 (lost 0–2 on agg) | 24,514 | | Lubomír Puček (Czech Republic) |

## First-team squad

    Squad at end of season
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | TRI | Shaka Hislop |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Gary Charles |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Stuart Pearce |
| 4 | DF | ENG | Steve Potts |
| 5 | DF | CRO | Igor Štimac |
| 6 | DF | ENG | Neil Ruddock |
| 7 | MF | FRA | Marc Keller |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Trevor Sinclair |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Paul Kitson |
| 10 | FW | ITA | Paolo Di Canio |
| 11 | MF | NIR | Steve Lomas |
| 12 | FW | CRC | Paulo Wanchope |
| 13 | MF | CMR | Marc-Vivien Foé |
| 14 | FW | FRA | Frédéric Kanouté (on loan from Lyon) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 15 | DF | ENG | Rio Ferdinand |
| 16 | MF | ENG | John Moncur |
| 18 | MF | ENG | Frank Lampard |
| 19 | DF | ENG | Ian Pearce |
| 20 | DF | ENG | Scott Minto |
| 21 | MF | ENG | Michael Carrick |
| 22 | GK | CAN | Craig Forrest |
| 26 | MF | ENG | Joe Cole |
| 29 | GK | USA | Ian Feuer |
| 30 | DF | CHI | Javier Margas |
| 32 | GK | ENG | Stephen Bywater |
| 35 | DF | IRL | Shaun Byrne |
| 38 | DF | ENG | Adam Newton |

### Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Rob Jones (retired) |
| 14 | FW | ENG | Ian Wright (to Celtic) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 23 | DF | AUS | Chris Coyne (to Dundee) |
| 28 | GK | SCG | Saša Ilić (on loan from Charlton Athletic) |

### Reserve squad

    The following players did not make a first-team appearance this season.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 17 | MF | ENG | Leon Britton |
| 24 | FW | FRA | Samassi Abou |
| 25 | DF | ENG | Stevland Angus |
| 27 | FW | NGA | Emmanuel Omoyinmi |
| 28 | GK | ENG | Les Sealey |
| 31 | FW | TUR | Omer Riza |
| 33 | MF | ENG | Craig Etherington |
| 34 | FW | ENG | Gary Alexander |
| 36 | DF | ENG | Terrell Forbes |
| 37 | MF | NIR | Grant McCann |
| 39 | DF | ENG | Stephen Purches |
| 40 | MF | ENG | Jimmy Bullard |
| 41 | GK | IRL | Alex O'Reilly |
| 42 | FW | ENG | Jermain Defoe |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 43 | MF | AUS | Richard Garcia |
| 44 | FW | ENG | Gavin Holligan |
| 45 | DF | ENG | Ezomo Iriekpen |
| — | DF | CMR | Romarin Billong |
| — | DF | AUS | Steve Laurie |
| — | MF | AUS | Michael Ferrante |
| — | MF | FIN | Daniel Sjölund |
| — | FW | ENG | Amos Foyewa |
| — | FW | UGA | Moses Junju |

## Statistics

| No. | Player | Position | Euro apps | Euro gls | Lge apps | Lge gls | FAC apps | LC apps | LC gls | Date signed | Previous club |
| 1999 UEFA Intertoto Cup second leg winning team ||||||||||||||
| 1 | Shaka Hislop | GK | 9 | | 22 | | 1 | 3 | | July 1998 | Newcastle United |
| 8 | Trevor Sinclair | RWB | 10 | 1 | 36 | 7 | 1 | 2+1 | | January 1998 | Queens Park Rangers |
| 4 | Steve Potts | CB | 7+1 | | 16+1 | | 1 | 1 | | May 1984 | Academy |
| 11 | Steve Lomas (captain) | CB | 10 | | 25 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | March 1997 | Manchester City |
| 15 | Rio Ferdinand | CB | 9 | | 33 | | 1 | 3 | | November 1995 | Academy |
| 7 | Marc Keller | LWB | 6+1 | | 19+4 | | | 2+1 | 1 | July 1998 | Karlsruher SC |
| 13 | Marc-Vivien Foé | CM | 5+1 | 1 | 25 | 1 | 1 | 3 | | January 1999 | Lens |
| 16 | John Moncur | CM | 5+1 | | 20+2 | 1 | | | | June 1994 | Swindon Town |
| 18 | Frank Lampard | CM | 10 | 4 | 34 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 2 | July 1995 | Academy |
| 10 | Paolo Di Canio (Hammer of the Year) | CF | 10 | 1 | 29+1 | 16 | 1 | 3 | | January 1999 | Sheffield Wednesday |
| 12 | Paulo Wanchope | CF | 7+1 | 3 | 33+2 | 12 | 0+1 | 2 | | July 1999 | Derby County |
| Substitute ||||||||||||||
| 26 | Joe Cole | M | 2+3 | | 17+5 | 1 | 1 | 2+1 | 1 | July 1997 | Academy |
| Other players ||||||||||||||
| 5 | Igor Štimac | CB | 2 | | 24 | 1 | | 2 | | August 1999 | Derby County |
| 20 | Scott Minto | LWB | 5 | | 15+3 | | 1 | 1 | | January 1999 | Benfica |
| 6 | Neil Ruddock | CB | 5 | 1 | 12+3 | | 1 | 2+1 | | July 1998 | Liverpool |
| 30 | Javier Margas | CB | 2+1 | | 15+3 | 1 | | 1 | | July 1998 | Universidad Católica |
| 22 | Craig Forrest | GK | 1 | | 9+2 | | | | | July 1995 | Ipswich Town |
| 9 | Paul Kitson | CF | 3+5 | 2 | 4+6 | | 0+1 | 0+2 | 1 | February 1997 | Newcastle United |
| Other players ||||||||||||||
| 14 | Frédéric Kanouté | F | | | 8 | 2 | | | | May 2000 | Lyon |
| 3 | Stuart Pearce | CB | | | 8 | | | | | July 1999 | Newcastle United |
| 21 | Michael Carrick | CM | 0+1 | | 4+4 | 1 | | | | July 1998 | Academy |
| 32 | Stephen Bywater | GK | | | 3+1 | | | | | 20 February 1998 | Rochdale |
| 29 | Ian Feuer | GK | | | 3 | | | | | February 2000 | Cardiff City |
| 2 | Gary Charles | RB | | | 2+2 | | | 1 | | October 1999 | Benfica |
| 2 | Rob Jones | RB | 1 | | | | | | | July 1999 | Liverpool |
| 28 | Saša Ilić | GK | | | 1 | | | | | February 2000 | Charlton Athletic |
| 19 | Ian Pearce | CB | 1+1 | | 1 | | | | | September 1997 | Blackburn Rovers |
| 38 | Adam Newton | CD | 0+1 | | 0+2 | | | | | December 1997 | Academy |
| 17 | Stan Lazaridis | LW | 0+1 | | | | | | | September 1995 | West Adelaide |
| 14 | Ian Wright | CF | 0+1 | | | | | | | August 1998 | Arsenal |
| 35 | Shaun Byrne | LWB | | | 0+1 | | | | | July 1998 | Academy |

### Starting 11

    Considering starts in all competitions
| No. | Pos. | Name | MS | Notes |
| 1 | GK | Shaka Hislop | 34 | |
| 15 | CB | Rio Ferdinand | 45 | |
| 5 | CB | Igor Štimac | 28 | |
| 4 | CB | Steve Potts | 26 | John Moncur has 28 starts |
| 8 | RM | Trevor Sinclair | 48 | |
| 11 | CM | Steve Lomas | 37 | |
| 13 | CM | Marc-Vivien Foé | 33 | |
| 18 | CM | Frank Lampard | 47 | |
| 7 | LM | Marc Keller | 27 | |
| 10 | CF | Paolo Di Canio | 42 | |
| 12 | CF | Paulo Wanchope | 41 | |

## Transfers

Signings for the 1999–2000 season included full-backs Gary Charles, for £1.2 million from Benfica, and 37-year-old former England International Stuart Pearce, who signed from Newcastle United on a free transfer. Also arriving was Croatian Igor Štimac, for £600,000, who followed his Derby County teammate Paulo Wanchope to Upton Park. West Ham had already spent £3.5 million the previous month to bring in the lanky Costa Rican.
All of these transfers had been funded by the £5.75 million sale of Eyal Berkovic to Celtic, and Stan Lazaridis' £1.9 million departure to Birmingham City. West Ham had only spent £300,000 for Lazaridis four years earlier.
Harry Redknapp had tried to bring Slaven Bilić back from Everton but the player failed a medical.

### In

* Gary Charles – Benfica, £1,200,000
* Stuart Pearce – Newcastle United, free
* Igor Štimac – Derby County, £600,000
* Paulo Wanchope – Derby County, £3,500,000

### Out

* Eyal Berkovic – Celtic, £5,750,000
* Stan Lazaridis – Birmingham City, £1,900,000