# 1998–99 Bristol City F.C. season

During the 1998–99 English football season, Bristol City F.C. competed in the Football League First Division.

## Season summary

The Robins struggled back in Division One, and manager John Ward stepped down in October 1998 after chairman Davidson appointed Benny Lennartsson as a coach for the rest of the season, which infuriated the supporters. They were relegated by finishing at the bottom of the league, where Lennartsson was sacked and replaced by Gillingham's Tony Pulis.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Sunderland (C, P) | 46 | 31 | 12 | 3 | 91 | 28 | +63 | 105 | Promotion to the Premier League |
| 2 | Bradford City (P) | 46 | 26 | 9 | 11 | 82 | 47 | +35 | 87 | Promotion to the Premier League |
| 3 | Ipswich Town | 46 | 26 | 8 | 12 | 69 | 32 | +37 | 86 | Qualification for the First Division play-offs |
| 4 | Birmingham City | 46 | 23 | 12 | 11 | 66 | 37 | +29 | 81 | Qualification for the First Division play-offs |
| 5 | Watford (O, P) | 46 | 21 | 14 | 11 | 65 | 56 | +9 | 77 | Qualification for the First Division play-offs |
| 6 | Bolton Wanderers | 46 | 20 | 16 | 10 | 78 | 59 | +19 | 76 | Qualification for the First Division play-offs |
| 7 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 46 | 19 | 16 | 11 | 64 | 43 | +21 | 73 | |
| 8 | Sheffield United | 46 | 18 | 13 | 15 | 71 | 66 | +5 | 67 | |
| 9 | Norwich City | 46 | 15 | 17 | 14 | 62 | 61 | +1 | 62 | |
| 10 | Huddersfield Town | 46 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 62 | 71 | −9 | 61 | |
| 11 | Grimsby Town | 46 | 17 | 10 | 19 | 40 | 52 | −12 | 61 | |
| 12 | West Bromwich Albion | 46 | 16 | 11 | 19 | 69 | 76 | −7 | 59 | |
| 13 | Barnsley | 46 | 14 | 17 | 15 | 59 | 56 | +3 | 59 | |
| 14 | Crystal Palace | 46 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 58 | 71 | −13 | 58 | |
| 15 | Tranmere Rovers | 46 | 12 | 20 | 14 | 63 | 61 | +2 | 56 | |
| 16 | Stockport County | 46 | 12 | 17 | 17 | 49 | 60 | −11 | 53 | |
| 17 | Swindon Town | 46 | 13 | 11 | 22 | 59 | 81 | −22 | 50 | |
| 18 | Crewe Alexandra | 46 | 12 | 12 | 22 | 54 | 78 | −24 | 48 | |
| 19 | Portsmouth | 46 | 11 | 14 | 21 | 57 | 73 | −16 | 47 | |
| 20 | Queens Park Rangers | 46 | 12 | 11 | 23 | 52 | 61 | −9 | 47 | |
| 21 | Port Vale | 46 | 13 | 8 | 25 | 45 | 75 | −30 | 47 | |
| 22 | Bury (R) | 46 | 10 | 17 | 19 | 35 | 60 | −25 | 47 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 23 | Oxford United (R) | 46 | 10 | 14 | 22 | 48 | 71 | −23 | 44 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 24 | Bristol City (R) | 46 | 9 | 15 | 22 | 57 | 80 | −23 | 42 | Relegation to the Second Division |

## Results

Bristol City's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League First Division

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 9 August 1998 | Oxford United | H | 2–2 | 13,729 | S Andersen (2) |
| 15 August 1998 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 1–1 | 13,337 | Hewlett |
| 22 August 1998 | Watford | H | 1–4 | 13,063 | S Andersen |
| 29 August 1998 | Tranmere Rovers | A | 1–1 | 5,960 | Akinbiyi |
| 31 August 1998 | Huddersfield Town | H | 1–2 | 11,801 | Goodridge |
| 5 September 1998 | Swindon Town | A | 2–3 | 8,537 | Akinbiyi, Bell (pen) |
| 8 September 1998 | Sunderland | A | 1–1 | 34,111 | S Andersen |
| 13 September 1998 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 1–3 | 13,761 | Watts |
| 19 September 1998 | Ipswich Town | A | 1–3 | 13,657 | Akinbiyi |
| 26 September 1998 | Crewe Alexandra | H | 5–2 | 9,810 | Doherty, Goodridge, Murray, Akinbiyi, Hutchings |
| 29 September 1998 | Barnsley | H | 1–1 | 12,005 | Bell |
| 3 October 1998 | Bury | A | 1–0 | 4,794 | Bell (pen) |
| 10 October 1998 | Portsmouth | H | 2–2 | 13,056 | Murray, S Andersen |
| 17 October 1998 | Port Vale | A | 2–3 | 6,691 | Murray, Akinbiyi |
| 20 October 1998 | Grimsby Town | A | 1–2 | 5,082 | S Andersen |
| 23 October 1998 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 2–1 | 12,026 | Akinbiyi, Bell (pen) |
| 31 October 1998 | Bradford City | A | 0–5 | 14,468 | |
| 7 November 1998 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 1–6 | 15,432 | Hutchings |
| 14 November 1998 | Crystal Palace | A | 1–2 | 17,821 | S Andersen |
| 21 November 1998 | Stockport County | H | 1–1 | 11,032 | Thorpe |
| 28 November 1998 | Birmingham City | A | 2–4 | 17,577 | Thorpe, S Andersen |
| 5 December 1998 | Sheffield United | H | 2–0 | 11,134 | Bell (pen), Akinbiyi |
| 12 December 1998 | Crystal Palace | H | 1–1 | 13,014 | Akinbiyi |
| 19 December 1998 | Norwich City | A | 1–2 | 17,022 | Akinbiyi |
| 26 December 1998 | Watford | A | 0–1 | 15,081 | |
| 28 December 1998 | Swindon Town | H | 3–1 | 16,257 | Torpey (2), Akinbiyi |
| 9 January 1999 | Oxford United | A | 0–0 | 9,434 | |
| 16 January 1999 | Tranmere Rovers | H | 1–1 | 13,217 | Locke |
| 30 January 1999 | Huddersfield Town | A | 2–2 | 14,034 | Akinbiyi, Locke |
| 5 February 1999 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 0–0 | 13,841 | |
| 13 February 1999 | Sunderland | H | 0–1 | 15,736 | |
| 20 February 1999 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 2–2 | 16,490 | Akinbiyi (2) |
| 27 February 1999 | Ipswich Town | H | 0–1 | 14,065 | |
| 9 March 1999 | Bury | H | 1–1 | 11,606 | S Andersen |
| 13 March 1999 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 0–3 | 25,237 | |
| 20 March 1999 | Bradford City | H | 2–3 | 10,870 | Akinbiyi, S Andersen |
| 23 March 1999 | Barnsley | A | 0–2 | 14,733 | |
| 3 April 1999 | Port Vale | H | 2–0 | 11,039 | Akinbiyi, Howells |
| 5 April 1999 | Portsmouth | A | 1–0 | 13,026 | Locke |
| 10 April 1999 | Grimsby Town | H | 4–1 | 11,616 | Torpey, Akinbiyi (2), Tinnion |
| 13 April 1999 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 0–1 | 14,459 | |
| 17 April 1999 | Stockport County | A | 2–2 | 7,602 | Brennan, Torpey |
| 24 April 1999 | Birmingham City | H | 1–2 | 15,845 | Akinbiyi |
| 27 April 1999 | Crewe Alexandra | A | 0–1 | 5,579 | |
| 1 May 1999 | Sheffield United | A | 1–3 | 17,310 | Akinbiyi |
| 9 May 1999 | Norwich City | H | 1–0 | 11,362 | Pinamonte |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 2 January 1999 | Everton | H | 0–2 | 19,608 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 1st Leg | 11 August 1998 | Shrewsbury Town | H | 4–0 | 3,585 | Hutchings, Akinbiyi (2), S Andersen |
| R1 2nd Leg | 18 August 1998 | Shrewsbury Town | A | 3–4 (won 7–4 on agg) | 1,011 | Thorpe, Akinbiyi, Doherty |
| R2 1st Leg | 16 September 1998 | Crewe Alexandra | H | 1–1 | 3,082 | Akinbiyi |
| R2 2nd Leg | 22 September 1998 | Crewe Alexandra | A | 0–2 (lost 1–3 on agg) | 3,089 | |

## 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 | Keith Welch |
| - | DF | ENG | Adam Locke |
| - | DF | ENG | Louis Carey |
| - | DF | ENG | Michael Bell |
| - | DF | CAN | Jim Brennan |
| - | MF | ENG | Brian Tinnion |
| - | MF | SCO | Scott Murray |
| - | FW | NGA | Ade Akinbiyi |
| - | FW | BRB | Gregory Goodridge |
| - | MF | NIR | Tommy Doherty |
| - | FW | DEN | Søren Andersen |
| - | DF | SWE | Mark Shail (captain) |
| - | GK | ENG | Steve Phillips |
| - | DF | WAL | Robert Edwards |
| - | FW | ENG | Steve Torpey |
| - | MF | ENG | Carl Hutchings |
| - | DF | ENG | Julian Watts |
| - | DF | ENG | Aaron Brown |
| - | DF | HUN | Vilmos Sebők |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| - | FW | ENG | Tony Thorpe |
| - | MF | ENG | Matthew Hewlett |
| - | DF | MDA | Ion Testemitanu |
| - | MF | ENG | David Howells (on loan from Southampton) |
| - | DF | ENG | Shaun Taylor |
| - | FW | SCO | Colin Cramb |
| - | DF | ENG | Sean Dyche |
| - | DF | WAL | Christian Edwards (on loan from Nottingham Forest) |
| - | MF | ENG | Neil Heaney (on loan from Manchester City) |
| - | GK | DEN | Bo Andersen |
| - | DF | NED | Clemens Zwijnenberg |
| - | DF | ENG | Kevin Langan |
| - | FW | ITA | Lorenzo Pinamonte |
| - | DF | SCO | Andy Jordan |
| - | DF | ENG | Matt Hill |
| - | FW | ENG | Alex Meechan |
| - | MF | ENG | Joe Burnell |
| - | GK | ENG | Stuart Naylor |