# 1999–2000 FA Premier League

The 1999–2000 FA Premier League (known as the FA Carling Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the eighth season of the FA Premier League, and Manchester United secured their sixth Premiership title. Like the previous season, they lost only three league games all season. Unlike in the 1998–99 season, they won by a comfortable margin – 18 points as opposed to a single point.
Manchester United lost their defence of the European Cup following a 3–2 defeat against Real Madrid in the quarter-finals. The club had withdrawn from the 1999–2000 FA Cup to participate in the FIFA World Club Championship at the request of the FA who wanted Manchester United to compete to support England's bid to host the World Cup. Chelsea won the last FA Cup held at Wembley Stadium before its redevelopment. The League Cup final was won by Leicester City, for the second time in four seasons. In Europe, Leeds United reached the UEFA Cup semi-final and Arsenal were on the losing side to Galatasaray in the UEFA Cup final.
Only one newly promoted team suffered relegation: Watford, who finished in last place, and achieved a record Premiership low of just 24 points (a record since broken by Sunderland (twice), Derby County, Aston Villa, Huddersfield Town, Norwich City (twice), Sheffield United (twice), and themselves), despite a decent start to their campaign which saw them beat both Liverpool (at Anfield) and Chelsea. The most successful promoted team was Sunderland, who finished seventh in the final table and spent much of the season pushing for a place in European competition. Bradford City, back in the top division for the first time since 1922, secured their Premiership survival on the last day of the season with a 1–0 win over Liverpool. The result meant that Liverpool lost out on a Champions League place, and Wimbledon were relegated after 14 years of top-division football. Second-from-bottom Sheffield Wednesday were relegated in their penultimate game of the season, having spent 15 of the previous 16 seasons in the top division. Wednesday's season included an 8–0 defeat at Newcastle. Amazingly Coventry City went all season without an away win but still managed to secure 14th place due to an impressive home record which saw them win 12 out of their 19 matches.
As well as Premiership champions Manchester United and runners-up Arsenal, third placed Leeds United qualified for the 2000–01 Champions League. UEFA Cup places went to fourth placed Liverpool, F.A Cup winners Chelsea, and League Cup winners Leicester City.
Promoted to the Premiership for 2000–01 were First Division champions Charlton Athletic, runners-up Manchester City and playoff winners Ipswich Town. For the first time since the formation of the Premiership, all of the promoted teams had been members of the Premiership before.

## Teams

Twenty teams competed in the league – the top seventeen teams from the previous season and the three teams promoted from the First Division. The promoted teams were Sunderland, Bradford City and Watford, who returned after absences of two, seventy-seven and eleven years respectively. This was also both Bradford City and Watford's first season in the Premier League. They replaced Charlton Athletic, Blackburn Rovers and Nottingham Forest, who were relegated to the First Division. Charlton Athletic and Nottingham Forest were immediately relegated after a season's presence, while Blackburn Rovers' seven-year top flight spell came to an end.

### Stadiums and locations

| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| Arsenal | London (Highbury) | Arsenal Stadium | 38,419 |
| Aston Villa | Birmingham | Villa Park | 42,573 |
| Bradford City | Bradford | Valley Parade | 25,136 |
| Chelsea | London (Fulham) | Stamford Bridge | 42,055 |
| Coventry City | Coventry | Highfield Road | 23,489 |
| Derby County | Derby | Pride Park Stadium | 33,597 |
| Everton | Liverpool (Walton) | Goodison Park | 40,569 |
| Leeds United | Leeds | Elland Road | 40,242 |
| Leicester City | Leicester | Filbert Street | 22,000 |
| Liverpool | Liverpool (Anfield) | Anfield | 45,522 |
| Manchester United | Manchester | Old Trafford | 68,174 |
| Middlesbrough | Middlesbrough | Riverside Stadium | 35,049 |
| Newcastle United | Newcastle upon Tyne | St James' Park | 52,387 |
| Sheffield Wednesday | Sheffield | Hillsborough Stadium | 39,732 |
| Southampton | Southampton | The Dell | 15,200 |
| Sunderland | Sunderland | Stadium of Light | 49,000 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | London (Tottenham) | White Hart Lane | 36,240 |
| Watford | Watford | Vicarage Road | 19,920 |
| West Ham United | London (Upton Park) | Boleyn Ground | 35,647 |
| Wimbledon | London (Selhurst) | Selhurst Park | 26,074 |
* ↑ Due to Wimbledon lacking a home stadium, they played their home games at Selhurst Park, which is the home stadium of Crystal Palace.

### Personnel and kits

(as of 14 May 2000)
| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Arsenal | Arsène Wenger | Tony Adams | Nike | Dreamcast/Sega |
| Aston Villa | John Gregory | Gareth Southgate | Reebok | LDV Vans |
| Bradford City | Paul Jewell | Stuart McCall | Asics | JCT600 |
| Chelsea | Gianluca Vialli | Dennis Wise | Umbro | Autoglass |
| Coventry City | Gordon Strachan | Gary McAllister | CCFC Garments | Subaru |
| Derby County | Jim Smith | Darryl Powell | Puma | EDS |
| Everton | Walter Smith | Dave Watson | Umbro | One2One |
| Leeds United | David O'Leary | Lucas Radebe | Puma | Packard Bell |
| Leicester City | Martin O'Neill | Matt Elliott | Fox Leisure | Walkers Crisps |
| Liverpool | Gérard Houllier | Jamie Redknapp | Reebok | Carlsberg Group |
| Manchester United | Sir Alex Ferguson | Roy Keane | Umbro | Sharp |
| Middlesbrough | Bryan Robson | Paul Ince | Erreà | BT Cellnet |
| Newcastle United | Bobby Robson | Alan Shearer | Adidas | Newcastle Brown Ale |
| Sheffield Wednesday | Peter Shreeves (caretaker) | Des Walker | Puma | Sanderson |
| Southampton | Glenn Hoddle | Matt Le Tissier | Saints | Friends Provident |
| Sunderland | Peter Reid | Steve Bould | Asics | Reg Vardy |
| Tottenham Hotspur | George Graham | Sol Campbell | Adidas | Holsten |
| Watford | Graham Taylor | Rob Page | Le Coq Sportif | Phones4U |
| West Ham United | Harry Redknapp | Steve Lomas | Fila | Dr. Martens |
| Wimbledon | Terry Burton | Robbie Earle | Lotto | Tiny |
* $^1$ The Dreamcast logo appeared on Arsenal's home shirt while the Sega logo appeared on their away shirt.

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Wimbledon | Joe Kinnear | Resigned | 9 June 1999 | Pre-season | Egil Olsen | 9 June 1999 |
| Newcastle United | Ruud Gullit | Resigned | 28 August 1999 | 19th | Bobby Robson | 2 September 1999 |
| Southampton | Dave Jones | Contract terminated | 27 January 2000 | 17th | Glenn Hoddle | 28 January 2000 |
| Sheffield Wednesday | Danny Wilson | Sacked | 21 March 2000 | 19th | Peter Shreeves (caretaker) | 21 March 2000 |
| Wimbledon | Egil Olsen | Sacked | 1 May 2000 | 18th | Terry Burton | 1 May 2000 |
* ↑ Jones was put on gardening leave on 27 January, with Glenn Hoddle taking over as interim manager. At the end of the season, Jones's contract was terminated, and Hoddle took over the position permanently.

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Manchester United (C) | 38 | 28 | 7 | 3 | 97 | 45 | +52 | 91 | Qualification for the Champions League first group stage |
| 2 | Arsenal | 38 | 22 | 7 | 9 | 73 | 43 | +30 | 73 | Qualification for the Champions League first group stage |
| 3 | Leeds United | 38 | 21 | 6 | 11 | 58 | 43 | +15 | 69 | Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round |
| 4 | Liverpool | 38 | 19 | 10 | 9 | 51 | 30 | +21 | 67 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 5 | Chelsea | 38 | 18 | 11 | 9 | 53 | 34 | +19 | 65 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 6 | Aston Villa | 38 | 15 | 13 | 10 | 46 | 35 | +11 | 58 | Qualification for the Intertoto Cup third round |
| 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 | |
| 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 | Qualification for the Intertoto Cup second round |
| 18 | Wimbledon (R) | 38 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 46 | 74 | −28 | 33 | Relegation to the Football League First Division |
| 19 | Sheffield Wednesday (R) | 38 | 8 | 7 | 23 | 38 | 70 | −32 | 31 | Relegation to the Football League First Division |
| 20 | Watford (R) | 38 | 6 | 6 | 26 | 35 | 77 | −42 | 24 | Relegation to the Football League First Division |
* ↑ Chelsea qualified for the UEFA Cup as FA Cup winners.
* ↑ Leicester City qualified for the UEFA Cup as League Cup winners.

## Results

| Home \ Away | ARS | AVL | BRA | CHE | COV | DER | EVE | LEE | LEI | LIV | MUN | MID | NEW | SHW | SOU | SUN | TOT | WAT | WHU | WIM |
| Arsenal | | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 5–1 | 0–0 | 3–3 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 |
| Aston Villa | 1–1 | | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 |
| Bradford City | 2–1 | 1–1 | | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–4 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 0–3 | 3–0 |
| Chelsea | 2–3 | 1–0 | 1–0 | | 2–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 5–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 |
| Coventry City | 3–2 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 2–2 | | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–4 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 |
| Derby County | 1–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | | 1–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 0–5 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 4–0 |
| Everton | 0–1 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | | 4–4 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 5–0 | 2–2 | 4–2 | 1–0 | 4–0 |
| Leeds United | 0–4 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 4–1 |
| Leicester City | 0–3 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | | 2–2 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 5–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 2–1 |
| Liverpool | 2–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 0–2 | | 2–3 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 |
| Manchester United | 1–1 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 5–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | | 1–0 | 5–1 | 4–0 | 3–3 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 7–1 | 1–1 |
| Middlesbrough | 2–1 | 0–4 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–4 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 3–4 | | 2–2 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 |
| Newcastle United | 4–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 2–1 | | 8–0 | 5–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 3–3 |
| Sheffield Wednesday | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 5–1 |
| Southampton | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 2–0 | | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 |
| Sunderland | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 2–1 | 2–4 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–3 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 7–2 | 3–1 | | 4–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 |
| Watford | 2–3 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 2–3 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 1–1 | | 1–2 | 2–3 |
| West Ham United | 2–1 | 1–1 | 5–4 | 0–0 | 5–0 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–4 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 4–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | | 2–1 |
| Wimbledon | 1–3 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 2–2 | |

## Season statistics
### Scoring
#### Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Kevin Phillips | Sunderland | 30 |
| 2 | Alan Shearer | Newcastle United | 23 |
| 3 | Dwight Yorke | Manchester United | 20 |
| 4 | Michael Bridges | Leeds United | 19 |
| 4 | Andy Cole | Manchester United | 19 |
| 6 | Thierry Henry | Arsenal | 17 |
| 7 | Paolo Di Canio | West Ham United | 16 |
| 8 | Chris Armstrong | Tottenham Hotspur | 14 |
| 8 | Steffen Iversen | Tottenham Hotspur | 14 |
| 8 | Niall Quinn | Sunderland | 14 |

#### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Michael Bridges | Leeds United | Southampton | 3–0 (A) | 11 August 1999 |
| Andy Cole$^4$ | Manchester United | Newcastle United | 5–1 (H) | 30 August 1999 |
| Kevin Phillips | Sunderland | Derby County | 5–0 (A) | 18 September 1999 |
| Alan Shearer$^5$ | Newcastle United | Sheffield Wednesday | 8–0 (H) | 19 September 1999 |
| Nwankwo Kanu | Arsenal | Chelsea | 3–2 (A) | 23 October 1999 |
| Marc Overmars | Arsenal | Middlesbrough | 5–1 (H) | 21 November 1999 |
| Ole Gunnar Solskjær$^4$ $^P$ | Manchester United | Everton | 5–1 (H) | 4 December 1999 |
| Nick Barmby | Everton | West Ham United | 4–0 (A) | 26 February 2000 |
| Stan Collymore | Leicester City | Sunderland | 5–2 (H) | 5 March 2000 |
| Steffen Iversen | Tottenham Hotspur | Southampton | 7–2 (H) | 11 March 2000 |
| Dwight Yorke | Manchester United | Derby County | 3–1 (H) | 11 March 2000 |
| Paul Scholes | Manchester United | West Ham United | 7–1 (H) | 1 April 2000 |
| Dean Windass | Bradford City | Derby County | 4–4 (H) | 21 April 2000 |
    Note: $^5$ Player scored 5 goals; $^4$ Player scored 4 goals; $^P$ Player scored a perfect hat-trick; (H) – Home; (A) – Away

#### Top assists

| Rank | Player | Club | Assists |
| 1 | David Beckham | Manchester United | 15 |
| 1 | Nolberto Solano | Newcastle United | 15 |
| 3 | Paolo Di Canio | West Ham United | 13 |
| 4 | Ryan Giggs | Manchester United | 12 |
| 5 | Dennis Bergkamp | Arsenal | 9 |
| 6 | Nick Barmby | Everton | 8 |
| 6 | Thierry Henry | Arsenal | 8 |
| 6 | Steffen Iversen | Tottenham Hotspur | 8 |
| 6 | Wim Jonk | Sheffield Wednesday | 8 |
| 6 | Paul Merson | Aston Villa | 8 |

## Awards
### Monthly awards

| Month | Manager of the Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month | Player of the Month |
| Month | Manager | Club | Player | Club |
| August | Alex Ferguson | Manchester United | Robbie Keane | Coventry City |
| September | Walter Smith | Everton | Muzzy Izzet | Leicester City |
| October | Peter Reid | Sunderland | Kevin Phillips | Sunderland |
| November | Martin O'Neill | Leicester City | Sami Hyypiä | Liverpool |
| December | Gérard Houllier | Liverpool | Roy Keane | Manchester United |
| January | Danny Wilson | Sheffield Wednesday | Gareth Southgate | Aston Villa |
| February | Bobby Robson | Newcastle United | Paul Merson | Aston Villa |
| March | Alex Ferguson | Manchester United | Dwight Yorke | Manchester United |
| April | Alex Ferguson | Manchester United | Thierry Henry | Arsenal |

### Annual awards

| Award | Winner | Club |
| Premier League Manager of the Season | Alex Ferguson | Manchester United |
| Premier League Player of the Season | Kevin Phillips | Sunderland |
| PFA Players' Player of the Year | Roy Keane | Manchester United |
| PFA Young Player of the Year | Harry Kewell | Leeds United |
| FWA Footballer of the Year | Roy Keane | Manchester United |
PFA Team of the Year :
| Goalkeeper | Nigel Martyn (Leeds United) | Nigel Martyn (Leeds United) | Nigel Martyn (Leeds United) | Nigel Martyn (Leeds United) | Nigel Martyn (Leeds United) | Nigel Martyn (Leeds United) | Nigel Martyn (Leeds United) | Nigel Martyn (Leeds United) | Nigel Martyn (Leeds United) | Nigel Martyn (Leeds United) | Nigel Martyn (Leeds United) | Nigel Martyn (Leeds United) |
| Defence | Gary Kelly (Leeds United) | Gary Kelly (Leeds United) | Gary Kelly (Leeds United) | Jaap Stam (Manchester United) | Jaap Stam (Manchester United) | Jaap Stam (Manchester United) | Sami Hyypiä (Liverpool) | Sami Hyypiä (Liverpool) | Sami Hyypiä (Liverpool) | Ian Harte (Leeds United) | Ian Harte (Leeds United) | Ian Harte (Leeds United) |
| Midfield | David Beckham (Manchester United) | David Beckham (Manchester United) | David Beckham (Manchester United) | Roy Keane (Manchester United) | Roy Keane (Manchester United) | Roy Keane (Manchester United) | Patrick Vieira (Arsenal) | Patrick Vieira (Arsenal) | Patrick Vieira (Arsenal) | Harry Kewell (Leeds United) | Harry Kewell (Leeds United) | Harry Kewell (Leeds United) |
| Attack | Andy Cole (Manchester United) | Andy Cole (Manchester United) | Andy Cole (Manchester United) | Andy Cole (Manchester United) | Andy Cole (Manchester United) | Andy Cole (Manchester United) | Kevin Phillips (Sunderland) | Kevin Phillips (Sunderland) | Kevin Phillips (Sunderland) | Kevin Phillips (Sunderland) | Kevin Phillips (Sunderland) | Kevin Phillips (Sunderland) |