# 1998–99 Sheffield Wednesday F.C. season

The 1998–99 season was Sheffield Wednesday F.C.'s 132nd season in existence. They competed in the twenty-team Premiership, the top tier of English football, finishing twelfth. It was the club's 100th season at their Hillsborough ground.

## Season summary

Danny Wilson's return to Hillsborough as manager saw them begin the season among the favourites for relegation of many pundits. But they performed reasonably well throughout the season, being one of just three sides to beat treble winners Manchester United in addition to being one of just four sides to beat second-placed Arsenal, who would finish just one point behind Manchester United. Up to 27 February 1999 – their 3–1 home win over Middlesbrough – they were boasting somewhat inconsistent yet very stable, promising mid-table form: 10th in the table, winning ten, drawing five and losing 11 of their first 26 games with an impressive goal difference of +9 and were looking like good bets for a UEFA Cup slot. However, they couldn't quite keep up the momentum and would lose their next five games which ultimately ended such hopes. However, winning three of their final seven matches ensured that they would finish 12th at the end of a campaign during which they had never faced any serious threat of relegation; a significant improvement to the previous season. The only major concern at the club was a growing mountain of debts which would have been even more of a worry had the Owls suffered relegation. An expensively assembled squad including Paolo Di Canio, Benito Carbone and Wim Jonk failed to live up to the massive wage bill the club was paying and things eventually came to a head when Italian firebrand Di Canio was sent off in a match against Arsenal and infamously proceeded to push the referee Paul Alcock on his way off, which resulted in an extended ban of 11 matches and him being fined £10,000.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 10 | Leicester City | 38 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 40 | 46 | −6 | 49 | |
| 11 | Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | 11 | 14 | 13 | 47 | 50 | −3 | 47 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 12 | Sheffield Wednesday | 38 | 13 | 7 | 18 | 41 | 42 | −1 | 46 | |
| 13 | Newcastle United | 38 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 48 | 54 | −6 | 46 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 14 | Everton | 38 | 11 | 10 | 17 | 42 | 47 | −5 | 43 | |
* ↑ Tottenham Hotspur qualified for the UEFA Cup as League Cup winners.
* ↑ As Manchester United qualified for the Champions League, their UEFA Cup place as FA Cup winners defaulted to Newcastle United, the runners-up.

### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Source: 1998-99 FA Premier League table

### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 |
| Ground | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A |
| Result | L | W | L | L | W | L | W | L | L | D | D | L | D | W | D | W | W | L | L | L | D | W | L | W | W | W | L | L | L | L | L | W | L | D | D | L | W | W |
| Position | 19 | 7 | 12 | 17 | 9 | 13 | 10 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 12 |

## Results

Sheffield Wednesday's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### FA Premier League

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 15 August 1998 | West Ham United | H | 0–1 | 30,236 | |
| 22 August 1998 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 3–0 | 32,129 | Atherton, Di Canio, Hinchcliffe |
| 29 August 1998 | Aston Villa | H | 0–1 | 25,989 | |
| 9 September 1998 | Derby County | A | 0–1 | 26,209 | |
| 12 September 1998 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 3–0 | 20,846 | Atherton, Hinchcliffe, Di Canio |
| 19 September 1998 | Wimbledon | A | 1–2 | 13,163 | Di Canio |
| 26 September 1998 | Arsenal | H | 1–0 | 27,949 | Briscoe |
| 3 October 1998 | Middlesbrough | A | 0–4 | 34,163 | |
| 18 October 1998 | Coventry City | A | 0–1 | 16,006 | |
| 24 October 1998 | Everton | H | 0–0 | 26,592 | |
| 31 October 1998 | Southampton | H | 0–0 | 30,078 | |
| 8 November 1998 | Leeds United | A | 1–2 | 30,012 | Booth |
| 14 November 1998 | Newcastle United | A | 1–1 | 36,698 | Rudi |
| 21 November 1998 | Manchester United | H | 3–1 | 39,475 | Alexandersson (2), Jonk |
| 28 November 1998 | Chelsea | A | 1–1 | 34,451 | Booth |
| 7 December 1998 | Nottingham Forest | H | 3–2 | 19,321 | Alexandersson, Carbone (2) |
| 12 December 1998 | Charlton Athletic | H | 3–0 | 26,010 | Booth, Carbone, Rudi |
| 19 December 1998 | Liverpool | A | 0–2 | 40,003 | |
| 26 December 1998 | Leicester City | H | 0–1 | 33,513 | |
| 28 December 1998 | Aston Villa | A | 1–2 | 39,217 | Carbone |
| 9 January 1999 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 0–0 | 28,204 | |
| 16 January 1999 | West Ham United | A | 4–0 | 25,642 | Hinchcliffe, Rudi, Humphreys, Carbone (pen) |
| 30 January 1999 | Derby County | H | 0–1 | 24,440 | |
| 6 February 1999 | Leicester City | A | 2–0 | 20,113 | Jonk, Carbone |
| 20 February 1999 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 4–1 | 24,643 | Sonner, Rudi (2), Booth |
| 27 February 1999 | Middlesbrough | H | 3–1 | 24,534 | Booth (2), Sonner |
| 3 March 1999 | Wimbledon | H | 1–2 | 24,116 | Thome |
| 9 March 1999 | Arsenal | A | 0–3 | 37,792 | |
| 13 March 1999 | Leeds United | H | 0–2 | 28,142 | |
| 20 March 1999 | Southampton | A | 0–1 | 15,201 | |
| 3 April 1999 | Coventry City | H | 1–2 | 28,136 | Rudi |
| 5 April 1999 | Everton | A | 2–1 | 35,270 | Carbone (2) |
| 17 April 1999 | Manchester United | A | 0–3 | 55,270 | |
| 21 April 1999 | Newcastle United | H | 1–1 | 21,545 | Scott |
| 25 April 1999 | Chelsea | H | 0–0 | 21,652 | |
| 1 May 1999 | Nottingham Forest | A | 0–2 | 20,480 | |
| 8 May 1999 | Liverpool | H | 1–0 | 27,383 | Cresswell |
| 16 May 1999 | Charlton Athletic | A | 1–0 | 20,043 | Sonner |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 3 January 1999 | Norwich City | H | 4–1 | 18,737 | Humphreys (2), Rudi, Stefanović |
| R4 | 23 January 1999 | Stockport County | H | 2–0 | 20,984 | Thome, Carbone |
| R5 | 13 February 1999 | Chelsea | H | 0–1 | 29,410 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R2 1st Leg | 16 September 1998 | Cambridge United | H | 0–1 | 8,921 | |
| R2 2nd Leg | 22 September 1998 | Cambridge United | A | 1–1 (lost 1–2 on agg) | 8,502 | Campbell (own goal) |

## Players
### First-team squad

    Squad at end of season
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | ENG | Kevin Pressman |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Peter Atherton (captain) |
| 3 | DF | NIR | Ian Nolan |
| 4 | MF | NED | Wim Jonk |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Jon Newsome |
| 6 | DF | ENG | Des Walker |
| 7 | FW | ENG | Guy Whittingham |
| 8 | FW | ITA | Benito Carbone |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Andy Booth |
| 12 | MF | SCO | Philip Scott |
| 13 | GK | ENG | Matt Clarke |
| 14 | FW | ITA | Francesco Sanetti |
| 15 | DF | ARG | Juan Cobián |
| 16 | MF | ENG | Ritchie Humphreys |
| 17 | MF | ENG | Lee Briscoe |
| 18 | DF | YUG | Dejan Stefanović |
| 19 | MF | ENG | Scott Oakes |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 20 | DF | ENG | Andy Hinchcliffe |
| 21 | FW | ENG | Richard Cresswell |
| 22 | DF | BRA | Emerson Thome |
| 23 | FW | GHA | Junior Agogo |
| 25 | MF | NOR | Petter Rudi |
| 26 | MF | SWE | Niclas Alexandersson |
| 27 | DF | ENG | Earl Barrett |
| 28 | MF | IRL | Alan Quinn |
| 29 | MF | ENG | Krystof Kotylo |
| 30 | FW | ENG | Andrew Douglas |
| 31 | MF | IRL | Mark McKeever |
| 32 | MF | NIR | Danny Sonner |
| 33 | GK | CZE | Pavel Srníček |
| 34 | MF | NIR | Owen Morrison |
| 35 | DF | ENG | Steve Haslam |
| 36 | MF | ENG | Alex Higgins |

### Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 21 | DF | MKD | Goce Sedloski (to Dinamo Zagreb) |
| 11 | FW | ITA | Paolo Di Canio (to West Ham United) |
| 12 | MF | ENG | Graham Hyde (to Birmingham City) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 25 | MF | NIR | Jim Magilton (to Ipswich Town) |
| — | MF | ENG | Mark Platts (to Torquay United) |

### Reserve squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | GK | ENG | Stuart Jones |
| — | DF | ENG | Leigh Bromby |
| — | DF | IRL | Derek Geary |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | DF | ENG | Kevin Nicholson |
| — | MF | ENG | Peter Holmes |

## Statistics
### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Premier League | Premier League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||||
| 1 | GK | ENG | Kevin Pressman | 18 | 0 | 14+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 33 | GK | CZE | Pavel Srníček | 26 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||
| 2 | DF | ENG | Peter Atherton | 43 | 2 | 38 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Jon Newsome | 7 | 0 | 2+3 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | ENG | Des Walker | 42 | 0 | 37 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | ARG | Juan Cobián | 10 | 0 | 7+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 18 | DF | SCG | Dejan Stefanović | 13 | 1 | 8+3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | DF | ENG | Andy Hinchcliffe | 36 | 3 | 32 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 22 | DF | BRA | Emerson Thome | 43 | 2 | 38 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 27 | DF | ENG | Earl Barrett | 6 | 0 | 0+5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 35 | DF | ENG | Steve Haslam | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||
| 4 | MF | NED | Wim Jonk | 43 | 2 | 38 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 12 | MF | SCO | Phillip Scott | 4 | 1 | 0+4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | ENG | Richie Humphreys | 21 | 3 | 10+9 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | ENG | Lee Briscoe | 19 | 1 | 5+11 | 1 | 0+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | ENG | Scott Oakes | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | NOR | Petter Rudi | 38 | 7 | 33+1 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 26 | MF | SWE | Niclas Alexandersson | 36 | 3 | 31+1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 28 | MF | IRL | Alan Quinn | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | MF | IRL | Mark McKeever | 3 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | MF | NIR | Danny Sonner | 29 | 3 | 24+2 | 3 | 2+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | MF | NIR | Owen Morrison | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||||
| 7 | FW | ENG | Guy Whittingham | 3 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 8 | FW | ITA | Benito Carbone | 36 | 9 | 31 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Andy Booth | 38 | 6 | 34 | 6 | 1+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 14 | FW | ITA | Francesco Sanetti | 5 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| 21 | FW | ENG | Richard Cresswell | 7 | 1 | 1+6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | FW | GHA | Junior Agogo | 2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players transferred out during the season ||||||||||||
| 11 | FW | ITA | Paolo Di Canio | 8 | 3 | 5+1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 12 | MF | ENG | Graham Hyde | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | NIR | Jim Magilton | 6 | 0 | 1+5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Last updated: 16 May 1999 Source: Competitions

### Starting 11

    Considering starts in all competitions
* GK: #33, Pavel Srnicek, 26
* RB: #2, Peter Atherton, 43
* CB: #22, Emerson Thome, 43
* CB: #6, Des Walker, 42
* LB: #20, Andy Hinchcliffe, 36
* RM: #26, Niclas Alexandersson, 34
* CM: #4, Wim Jonk, 43
* CM: #25, Petter Rudi, 37
* LM: #32, Danny Sonner, 26
* CF: #10, Andy Booth, 25
* CF: #8, Benito Carbone, 36

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Pos. | Name | From | Fee |
| 6 August 1998 | MF | Wim Jonk | PSV Eindhoven | £2,500,000 |
| 11 August 1998 | DF | Juan Cobián | Boca Juniors | Undisclosed |
| 14 October 1998 | MF | Danny Sonner | Ipswich Town | £75,000 |
| 11 November 1998 | GK | Pavel Srníček | Consenza | Free |
| 25 March 1999 | FW | Richard Cresswell | York City | £950,000 |
| 25 March 1999 | MF | Philip Scott | St Johnstone | £75,000 |

### Out

| Date | Pos. | Name | To | Fee |
| 27 January 1999 | FW | Paolo Di Canio | West Ham United | £1,750,000 |
| 5 February 1999 | MF | Graham Hyde | Birmingham City | Free |
| 22 March 1999 | MF | Jim Magilton | Ipswich Town | £682,500 |
| 25 March 1999 | MF | Mark Platts | Torquay United | Free |
    Transfers in: £3,600,000
    Transfers out: £2,432,500
    Total spending: £1,167,500