# 1998–99 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season

During the 1998–99 season, Tottenham Hotspur participated in the English Premier League.

## Season summary

A dismal start to the season saw Christian Gross lose his job as Tottenham manager less than a year after taking over. There were a few raised eyebrows when the job went to George Graham – who had achieved so much success during his reign at Tottenham's deadly rivals Arsenal. But the appointment brought instant success: though Tottenham were unable to progress beyond 11th place in the final Premiership table, they triumphed in the Worthington Cup (while also reaching the FA Cup semi-final) to attain only their second European campaign of the post-Heysel era.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 9 | Middlesbrough | 38 | 12 | 15 | 11 | 48 | 54 | −6 | 51 | |
| 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 |
* ↑ 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 matchday

| Match | 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 | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | H | A | A | A | H | A | H | H | A |
| Result | L | L | W | W | L | D | D | W | L | W | D | L | D | W | L | W | D | L | D | W | D | D | D | D | D | D | W | L | W | L | D | W | W | L | L | L | D | L |
| Position | 20 | 19 | 14 | 8 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 8 | 9 | 12 | 14 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 11 |

## Results

Tottenham Hotspur's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### FA Premier League

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 15 August 1998 | Wimbledon | A | 1–3 | 23,031 | Fox |
| 22 August 1998 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 0–3 | 32,129 | |
| 29 August 1998 | Everton | A | 1–0 | 39,378 | Ferdinand |
| 9 September 1998 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 2–1 | 28,331 | Nielsen, Ferdinand |
| 13 September 1998 | Middlesbrough | H | 0–3 | 30,345 | |
| 19 September 1998 | Southampton | A | 1–1 | 15,204 | Fox |
| 26 September 1998 | Leeds United | H | 3–3 | 35,535 | Vega, Iversen, Campbell |
| 3 October 1998 | Derby County | A | 1–0 | 30,083 | Campbell |
| 19 October 1998 | Leicester City | A | 1–2 | 20,787 | Ferdinand |
| 24 October 1998 | Newcastle United | H | 2–0 | 36,047 | Iversen (2) |
| 2 November 1998 | Charlton Athletic | H | 2–2 | 32,202 | Nielsen, Armstrong |
| 7 November 1998 | Aston Villa | A | 2–3 | 39,241 | Anderton (pen), Vega |
| 14 November 1998 | Arsenal | A | 0–0 | 38,278 | |
| 21 November 1998 | Nottingham Forest | H | 2–0 | 35,832 | Nielsen, Armstrong |
| 28 November 1998 | West Ham United | A | 1–2 | 26,044 | Armstrong |
| 5 December 1998 | Liverpool | H | 2–1 | 36,125 | Fox, Carragher (own goal) |
| 12 December 1998 | Manchester United | H | 2–2 | 36,097 | Campbell (2) |
| 19 December 1998 | Chelsea | A | 0–2 | 34,881 | |
| 26 December 1998 | Coventry City | A | 1–1 | 23,098 | Campbell |
| 28 December 1998 | Everton | H | 4–1 | 36,053 | Ferdinand, Armstrong (3) |
| 9 January 1999 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 0–0 | 28,204 | |
| 16 January 1999 | Wimbledon | H | 0–0 | 32,422 | |
| 30 January 1999 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 1–1 | 29,643 | Iversen |
| 6 February 1999 | Coventry City | H | 0–0 | 34,376 | |
| 20 February 1999 | Middlesbrough | A | 0–0 | 34,687 | |
| 27 February 1999 | Derby County | H | 1–1 | 35,392 | Sherwood |
| 2 March 1999 | Southampton | H | 3–0 | 28,580 | Armstrong, Iversen, Dominguez |
| 10 March 1999 | Leeds United | A | 0–2 | 34,521 | |
| 13 March 1999 | Aston Villa | H | 1–0 | 35,963 | Sherwood |
| 3 April 1999 | Leicester City | H | 0–2 | 35,415 | |
| 5 April 1999 | Newcastle United | A | 1–1 | 36,655 | Anderton (pen) |
| 17 April 1999 | Nottingham Forest | A | 1–0 | 25,181 | Iversen |
| 20 April 1999 | Charlton Athletic | A | 4–1 | 20,043 | Iversen, Campbell, Dominguez, Ginola |
| 24 April 1999 | West Ham United | H | 1–2 | 36,089 | Ginola |
| 1 May 1999 | Liverpool | A | 2–3 | 44,007 | Carragher (own goal), Iversen |
| 5 May 1999 | Arsenal | H | 1–3 | 36,019 | Anderton |
| 10 May 1999 | Chelsea | H | 2–2 | 35,878 | Iversen, Ginola |
| 16 May 1999 | Manchester United | A | 1–2 | 55,189 | Ferdinand |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 2 January 1999 | Watford | H | 5–2 | 36,022 | Iversen (2), Anderton (pen), Nielsen, Fox |
| R4 | 23 January 1999 | Wimbledon | A | 1–1 | 22,229 | Ginola |
| R4R | 2 February 1999 | Wimbledon | H | 3–0 | 24,049 | Sinton, Nielsen (2) |
| R5 | 13 February 1999 | Leeds United | A | 1–1 | 39,696 | Sherwood |
| R5R | 24 February 1999 | Leeds United | H | 2–0 | 32,307 | Anderton, Ginola |
| QF | 16 March 1999 | Barnsley | A | 1–0 | 18,793 | Ginola |
| SF | 11 April 1999 | Newcastle United | N | 0–2 | 53,609 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R2 1st Leg | 15 September 1998 | Brentford | A | 3–2 | 11,831 | Carr, Vega, Dominguez |
| R2 2nd Leg | 23 September 1998 | Brentford | H | 3–2 (won 6–4 on agg) | 22,980 | Campbell, Nielsen, Armstrong |
| R3 | 27 October 1998 | Northampton Town | A | 3–1 | 7,422 | Armstrong (2), Campbell |
| R4 | 10 November 1998 | Liverpool | A | 3–1 | 20,772 | Iversen, Scales, Nielsen |
| QF | 2 December 1998 | Manchester United | H | 3–1 | 35,702 | Armstrong (2), Ginola |
| SF 1st Leg | 27 January 1999 | Wimbledon | H | 0–0 | 35,997 | |
| SF 2nd Leg | 16 February 1999 | Wimbledon | A | 1–0 (won 1–0 on agg) | 25,204 | Iversen |
| F | 21 March 1999 | Leicester City | N | 1–0 | 77,892 | Nielsen |

## 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 | Ian Walker |
| 2 | DF | IRL | Stephen Carr |
| 3 | DF | ITA | Paolo Tramezzani |
| 4 | MF | GER | Steffen Freund |
| 5 | DF | NOR | Roger Nilsen |
| 6 | MF | DEN | Allan Nielsen |
| 7 | MF | MSR | Ruel Fox |
| 8 | MF | ALG | Moussa Saïb |
| 9 | MF | ENG | Darren Anderton |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Les Ferdinand |
| 11 | FW | ENG | Chris Armstrong |
| 12 | DF | ENG | Justin Edinburgh |
| 13 | GK | NOR | Espen Baardsen |
| 14 | MF | FRA | David Ginola |
| 15 | DF | SUI | Ramon Vega |
| 16 | DF | ENG | Clive Wilson |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 17 | DF | ENG | John Scales |
| 18 | FW | NOR | Steffen Iversen |
| 19 | DF | ARG | Mauricio Taricco |
| 20 | MF | POR | José Dominguez |
| 21 | FW | ENG | Rory Allen |
| 22 | MF | ENG | Andy Sinton |
| 23 | DF | ENG | Sol Campbell (captain) |
| 24 | MF | ENG | Tim Sherwood |
| 25 | MF | ENG | Stephen Clemence |
| 26 | DF | ENG | Ledley King |
| 29 | FW | NIR | Paul McVeigh |
| 30 | GK | NED | Hans Segers |
| 31 | GK | ENG | Simon Brown |
| 32 | DF | ENG | Luke Young |
| 33 | MF | ENG | Mark Gower |
| 35 | DF | ENG | Alton Thelwell |

### 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 |
| 4 | MF | ITA | Nicola Berti (to Alavés) |
| 5 | DF | SCO | Colin Calderwood (to Aston Villa) |
| 24 | FW | ENG | Neale Fenn (on loan to Lincoln City) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 34 | MF | ENG | Peter Gain (to Lincoln City) |
| - | DF | ENG | Mark Arber (to Barnet) |

### 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 | Alan Marriott |
| - | DF | IRL | Simon Webb |
| - | MF | ENG | David Lee |
| - | MF | ENG | John Piercy |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| - | MF | ENG | Stuart Thurgood |
| - | FW | ENG | Peter Crouch |
| - | FW | ENG | Ian Stonebridge |

## 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 | Ian Walker | 36 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 13 | GK | NOR | Espen Baardsen | 15 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 30 | GK | NED | Hans Segers | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||
| 2 | DF | IRL | Stephen Carr | 52 | 1 | 37 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 1 |
| 3 | DF | ITA | Paolo Tramezzani | 7 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | NOR | Roger Nilsen | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | DF | ENG | Justin Edinburgh | 26 | 0 | 14+2 | 0 | 4+1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | SUI | Ramon Vega | 25 | 3 | 13+3 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| 16 | DF | ENG | Clive Wilson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 17 | DF | ENG | John Scales | 9 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 19 | DF | ARG | Mauricio Taricco | 16 | 0 | 12+1 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | ENG | Sol Campbell | 52 | 8 | 37 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 2 |
| 26 | DF | ENG | Ledley King | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | DF | ENG | Luke Young | 22 | 0 | 14+1 | 0 | 3+2 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||
| 4 | MF | GER | Steffen Freund | 26 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | DEN | Allan Nielsen | 40 | 9 | 25+4 | 3 | 2+2 | 3 | 7 | 3 |
| 7 | MF | MSR | Ruel Fox | 25 | 4 | 17+3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1+2 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | ALG | Moussa Saib | 4 | 0 | 0+4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | MF | ENG | Darren Anderton | 46 | 5 | 31+1 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | FRA | David Ginola | 44 | 7 | 30 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 1 |
| 20 | MF | POR | José Dominguez | 15 | 3 | 2+11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 1 |
| 22 | MF | ENG | Andy Sinton | 34 | 1 | 12+10 | 0 | 2+4 | 1 | 3+3 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | ENG | Tim Sherwood | 18 | 3 | 12+2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | ENG | Stephen Clemence | 21 | 0 | 9+8 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 |
| 33 | MF | ENG | Mark Gower | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||||
| 10 | FW | ENG | Les Ferdinand | 35 | 5 | 22+2 | 5 | 6+1 | 0 | 2+2 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | ENG | Chris Armstrong | 44 | 12 | 24+10 | 7 | 3+2 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| 18 | FW | NOR | Steffen Iversen | 40 | 13 | 22+5 | 9 | 5+2 | 2 | 6 | 2 |
| 21 | FW | ENG | Rory Allen | 7 | 0 | 0+4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 |
| Players transferred out during the season ||||||||||||
| 4 | MF | ITA | Nicola Berti | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | SCO | Colin Calderwood | 17 | 0 | 11+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
Last updated: 15 May 1999 Source: []

### Goal scorers

Last updated: 26 July 2020. Source: premierleague.com
The list is sorted by shirt number when total goals are equal.
| Rnk | Pos | No. | Player | Premier League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Total |
| 1 | FW | 18 | Steffen Iversen | 9 | 2 | 2 | 13 |
| 2 | FW | 11 | Chris Armstrong | 7 | 0 | 5 | 12 |
| 3 | MF | 6 | Allan Nielsen | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
| 4 | DF | 23 | Sol Campbell | 6 | 0 | 2 | 8 |
| 5 | MF | 14 | David Ginola | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
| 6 | MF | 9 | Darren Anderton | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| 6 | FW | 10 | Les Ferdinand | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 8 | DF | 6 | Ruel Fox | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 9 | DF | 15 | Ramon Vega | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 9 | MF | 20 | José Dominguez | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 9 | MF | 24 | Tim Sherwood | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 12 | DF | 2 | Stephen Carr | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 12 | DF | 17 | John Scales | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 12 | MF | 22 | Andy Sinton | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | 45 | 13 | 17 | 75 |

### Clean sheets

Last updated: 26 July 2020. Source: premierleague.com
| Rnk | No. | Player | Premier League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Total |
| 1 | 1 | Ian Walker | 7 | 3 | 3 | 13 |
| 2 | 13 | Espen Baardsen | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | 12 | 3 | 3 | 18 |

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Pos. | Name | From | Fee |
| 29 June 1998 | DF | Paolo Tramezzani | Piacenza | £1,350,000 |
| 9 November 1998 | DF | Mauricio Taricco | Ipswich Town | £1,775,000 |
| 24 December 1998 | MF | Steffen Freund | Borussia Dortmund | £750,000 |
| 4 February 1999 | MF | Tim Sherwood | Blackburn Rovers | £4,000,000 |
| 25 March 1999 | DF | Roger Nilsen | Sheffield United | Free transfer |
| 17 May 1999 | MF | Willem Korsten | Vitesse Arnhem | £1,500,000 |

### Out

| Date | Pos. | Name | To | Fee |
| 14 June 1998 | MF | David Howells | Southampton | Free transfer |
| 17 June 1998 | MF | Danny Hill | Oxford United | Free transfer |
| 1 July 1998 | DF | Dean Austin | Crystal Palace | Free transfer |
| 7 July 1998 | MF | Garry Brady | Newcastle United | Free transfer |
| 20 November 1998 | DF | Mark Arber | Barnet | £75,000 |
| 31 December 1998 | MF | Nicola Berti | Alavés | Free transfer |
| 23 March 1999 | DF | Colin Calderwood | Aston Villa | £225,000 |
| 25 March 1999 | MF | Peter Gain | Lincoln City | £15,000 |
| 18 May 1999 | MF | Ross Fitzsimon | Norwich City | Free transfer |
    Transfers in: £9,375,000
    Transfers out: £315,000
    Total spending: £9,060,000